They all got in the car. The girls in the back and the boys in the front and headed off up the motorway towards Scotland. The trip was tedious. A few jokes here and there before they put the music on and from then on it was an uneventful run. Passing into the highlands, the moorland stretched far into the distance with mountains formed behind it. Apart from that there wasn’t really much to look at and so it wasn’t long before Lily and Frankie fell asleep.
Around lunchtime they arrived at the base of the mountain. It was beautiful not to mention big. Everyone was awake now and after seeing the view around them they got out of the car and stretched to wake themselves up.
They decided to have a sandwich before they set off to give them some energy. After the drive Jack felt tired and didn‘t real fancy doing the walk. “Why don’t we sack the walk off and just go straight to the hotel? There’s a pool, a bar?” he asked hopefully.
“Yeh but we have all day tomorrow, plus there’s tonight so we may as well do this walk whilst it’s sunny” Frankie said. Jack wasn’t sold but if Lily went with it, so would he.
“Right come on then” Jack said trying to sound excited but didn’t seem to pull it off.
“Oh come on it’ll be fun” Lily said placing a hand across his arm as she walked past him.
“Hello ello ello” Aaron said slyly to Jack.
“Right, yeh this could be fun actually” Jack said with a new found sense of anticipation.
They locked the car up and headed across the road to where they would begin. Jack looked at the top of the mountain in the distance; it was massive and loomed over the surrounding mountains. Snow covered the top of it and Jack had a sudden urge to give up now. However he never got the chance. “Let’s do this” Aaron said eagerly starting the march followed by the rest of them.
As they walked the sun shone down on them. Bringing the colour out on the trees and surrounding grass. They walked over stones and small bridges, over narrow rivers and crossed styles. The birds chirped and the clouds were few and high. It was truly a wonderful day for walking. The soft breeze which cooled their faces was perfect and every now and then they would stop and observe the wildlife.
Jack was feeling it in his legs as they continued uphill and by the time they reached the top he was thankful for the rest.
They all sat finishing their sandwiches on the light covering of snow and staring out at the beautiful landscape around them; huge forests in the distance along with distant lakes and mountains. Far below them, in the haze, were small buildings, clearly a village.
“This is amazing” Lily said as she stared at the view. “I know. Quick we need a picture” Frankie jumped up.
“Who’s got the camera” Lily said.
“Erm” Aaron stuttered not knowing his part in the whole camera situation.
“Jack?” Lily looked at hopefully.
“No I thought you guys had one” he said apologetically.
“Oh well that’s just typical” Frankie moaned.
“What, I didn’t know!” Jack retorted.
“Aaron was supposed to get it from the car.” Frankie remembered.
“Oh was he? Well I think someone should have asked him before assuming I would just know to get it” Aaron argued.
“I did ask!” she retorted.
“Nope, sorry didn’t get that memo” Aaron continued.
“You’re such a d…” Frankie didn’t finish instead Jack interrupted.
“Just use your camera on your phone it’s no biggie, we’ll just upload them onto a computer when we get back.”
“We’ll have to now” she scowled at Aaron who gave her a sly scowl back.
Jack looked quizzically at Aaron who gave him a look which said “what! I didn’t know”
Jack smiled and, after the girls finished taking pictures, they began preparing to walk down the mountain. They noticed that the sun was getting lower and would set before they had retraced their steps to the car. Jack felt that he could see a quicker way back down by following another path from the summit, with some trepidation, the others agreed to give it a try.
They had walked for a good hour and a half before the day clouded over, hastening the onset of night. A slow rumble in the sky signaled rain was coming. As they walked down the path Jack hung back to sneak a wee in a wood with a small tarn just visible through the trees.
“What you doing?” Aaron shouted.
“Having a wee man, I’ll catch up” he shouted, leaving Aaron to carry on.
He walked down the hill and entered the wood with a small stream running through it. Jack couldn’t help but think it would look beautiful if the sun was still up. The tarn was still and clear. In the dusk, Jack could see through to the bottom of the water. He didn’t want to taint it so he decided to relieve himself on a bush away from it. Moments later he did his flies up and began walking back towards the hill.
Something caught his eye, a small sparkle coming from amongst the stones in the pond. He bent down to shift the stones to unveil the sparkling object. He shifted more stones, it was buried deep.
After he moved more stones, he uncovered a golden plate with a small handle. Jack bent down and grabbed the handle, as he did so small spikes flipped out of the handle and into his hand. He quickly pulled his hand back. Looking at it he saw blood coming from four small wounds across his right palm. Drops of his blood floated in the water. Jack sucked the blood from his hand before washing it in the pond. He waved the blood out of the way to see what had done the damage.
Bubbles were rising in the pond where the golden plate had been and then little pieces of what looked like metal began floating to the top of the pond. Jack caught some in his palm before they dissipated before him.
“What the…” Jack couldn’t understand what had happened. Was it toxic? He heard a rumble coming from the ground behind him. He glanced behind but, seeing nothing, he turned back to the water. He looked at where the golden handled plate had been, but it was gone. He scrabbled amongst the stones but there was no trace that it had ever been there.
He decided to leave, unsure as to what just happened. He turned around and saw next to a tree behind him the earth had caved in revealing a muddy sink hole in the floor. He walked over to it cautiously. Not knowing what might be in there. Looking down at it he saw what appeared to be another gold handle with a blue glow coming from it, even though it was still mostly concealed under the ground. He cautiously grabbed it, this time with his left hand. He pulled it out and rubbed off the mud, as he did so he realised it was some sort of pendant, it was beautiful.
Jack rubbed the mud from the pendant to reveal its true beauty. Only three inches in length, it was pure gold with silver indented through it. Buried though it had been, when Jack had wiped the mud off it, it glistened as if new, not a mark or scratch on it.
The pendant or amulet, Jack couldn’t tell, curled round at either end to form a semi-circle which pointed towards the right like the letter C. Jack knew it faced the right because it was marked on one edge with a sinuous line which ran the length of it and which emitted a sky blue light. It was mesmerizing to look upon.
“Jack” Lily shouted.
Jack looked up. “Yeh I’m coming” he shouted back out of the wood.
Presuming that it had probably been lost by another traveler Jack placed the pendant in his jacket pocket, walked out of the woods and caught up with the rest of his friends.
“Come on then” he said as he reached them urging them on.
“Take your time” Aaron said starting his walk again.
“You alright” Jack said pulling back to walk beside Lily.
“Yeh, I’m fine. Where’ve you been”
“Had to use the little boys room”
“Uh lovely” she said unimpressed.
“Well you asked” Jack said matter-of-factly.
“True, anyway I can’t wait to get back to the hotel. It’s like a holiday resort there” she laughed.
“Yeh it is quite cool. So
you coming for a dip in the pool when we get back” Jack said smirking.
“I doubt it will be open but if it is…” she paused forming a cheeky grin “then yeh and then we can hit the bar” she said happily.
“Sounds like a plan. Just hope we get back before the rain starts.” Jack said looking at the dark clouds blocking out the stars above them.
“Come on you lot” Aaron shouted to them both “we’ll go through here” he finished standing next to a gate to some woods.
“Let’s just stay to the path” Frankie said seriously.
“Yeh probably best mate” Jack agreed.
“No listen I saw this when we were at the car it brings you out right next to it. Plus it’s quicker and I don’t wanna be stood outside in this rain. At least we won‘t get as wet because of the trees.” he said trying to sell it.
Jack looked at Lily as if asking her without saying anything.
“Yeh alright but come on its started to spit” she said giving in as bits of rain began falling on her top. As they walked they all put their waterproof jackets on. Trees bunched together as far as the eye could see. The ground softening as the rain began to fall faster.
“Good job we have walking boots on eh” Jack said smiling at Lily’s pink and blue walking boots. “Well most of us” he laughed “not sure what they are” he finished jokingly.
“Don’t make fun of these. These boots are awesome” she laughed.
“Best go and see if this guy actually knows where were going” Jack said moving up towards Aaron.
“Hey hold up I need something out of the back-pack.” Jack said pulling up behind Aaron.
He unzipped the bag on Aaron’s back and pulled out a small lunch box he’d brought for his sandwiches.
“You know where we’re going or what?” Jack asked emptying the remnants out of the box.
“Yeh I think it’s this way” he said pointing in front of him.
Jack wrapped the pendant in a bunch of tissue Aaron had brought in case of an emergency. Aaron continued talking as Jack placed the wrapped up pendant in his lunch box and placed it back in the bag.
“The paths over there” he started, pointing to the east “so if we keep to this route we’ll come out parallel to the exit. Plus we’ll be closer to the car” he added before a rumble in the sky signaled more rain.
“Let’s just hurry then” Jack said zipping the bag back up.
“Well we would if you’d stop stopping all the time” Aaron said jokily.
“Come on” Jack said before they both set off marching again, the girls close behind.
The rumbles were becoming more frequent and Jack could only hope that with all the rumbles and the hard rain showering down on them that it didn’t start lightning as being amongst trees was probably not the best place to be in a storm. Not only this but he could tell Frankie and Lily were becoming agitated and he wanted the mood to stay positive. The last thing he wanted was for Lily to remember their trip for being terrible. He wanted her to have the time of her life but it was far from that at the minute.
Chapter five
Banshee
The trek through the woods had taken its toll on them; all four were soaked. Lily and Frankie were less than pleased with the soft, soggy mud which covered their jeans up to their knees. Jack and Aaron, the same muddy mess, continued to lead them out of the woods and onto a small road.
“Oh my god a path, thank God!” this was the first time in hours the boys had seen a glimmer of hope in Frankie’s eyes. Lily on the other hand was still shaking from the cold. As the rain continued to pour, the four of them jumped down from the small hill and onto the narrow road. Jack, jumping down before Lily, put his hand out to help her down safely.
“Thanks” she said, lips trembling.
“Are you ok?”
“Yeah it’s just fr-freezing.” she shook.
“Here” Jack said, taking off his jacket. Passing it to Aaron “hold this a sec" he asked.
Aaron obliged and took it from him whilst Jack began taking off another jacket; thinner and hooded, he was wearing underneath. He then handed it to Lily.
“Put this on under yours, it’s dryer and it’ll keep you warmer for a bit.” He said holding it out towards her.
“No its fine” Lily said shaking.
“It’s already off now so go ahead, I’ll be fine.”
Lily obliged with a small smile and began re-dressing herself. After looking up and down the road Aaron handed Jack his jacket back.
“Which way d’ya reckon?” he asked, unsure.
Jack searched the road with his eyes whilst putting his outer jacket back on.
“Guessing that way” he nodded left whilst he zipped his coat up. “It’s downhill; we came uphill so the car must be that way.”
“How can you be sure” Frankie burst in “maybe we passed it?”
“No, we started at the bottom and by the looks of it we’re not at the bottom yet.” Jack said trying to reassure her.
Aaron began walking. “Come on then,” he said, “the quicker we get back, the sooner we can drink.”
“First thing I want is a bath” Lily mumbled as they all followed Aaron down the road.
Twenty minutes passed and there was still no sign of the car. It was getting late, rain continued to pour down, smashing against their coats. The trees either side of the road creaked as the wind howled past them. Aaron came to a stop.
“This is useless. We’ve been walking for ages.”
“Aarons right, we’re lost Jack. It’s dark and its cold and I just want to get back” Frankie said with tears building in her eyes.
Jack tried reassuring them “look we just have to keep moving, it can’t be far now.”
“None of this looks familiar Jack. I think we’ve come the wrong way.” Lily said.
Frankie was now in tears though it was hard to tell from all the rain leaking off her face. “Aw what are we going to do?”
“If we carry on down here we can ask someone for directions.” Jack told her.
“Who the hell are we going to ask for directions genius? There’s no-one around here!” Frankie huffed and shot Aaron a deadly look “this is all your fault!”
Aaron looked stunned “mine!” he replied.
“Let’s go through here” she mimicked “it’ll be fine we’ll get there faster, that’s what you said and now look” she groaned.
“Well we can’t turn around now” Aaron said matter-of-factly.
“I swear I’m never listening to you again, you…” she started.
“Look Frankie we're all feeling the same as you but its pointless turning around now. We may as well just carry on now we’re here.” Jack said.
“Jack’s right we’ve been walking for ages let’s just keep walking until we find someone” Lily said rubbing her arms together for warmth, the hood from the top Jack had given her now lifted over her head.
Aaron started again. “This is a nightmare, its freezing.”
“It’s not going to get any warmer standing around so come on.” Jack said marching on.
The four of them continued down the dark, empty road. Their legs tired and their clothes soaked through. The rain had come to a slow stop and the moon emerged intermittently through the clearing clouds but their clothes had become so damp it would have taken all night for them to dry. Suddenly, a sudden screech on the wind made them all stop still. Lily grabbed Jack’s arm, turning him slightly, her eyes focused towards the dark of the woods.
“What was that” she said turning to him.
“Just the wind I think”
Another loud shriek came from further in the woods. Frankie screamed.
“I’m scared. This isn’t funny.”
Aaron turned around with a nervy look on his face. “What is that?”
“This isn’t happening” Lily said worriedly.
Jack stood still, scanning the woods for some sign of the source of the noise when suddenly the shriek sounded again, this time
louder and more clearly, it was obviously closer. It was a noise unlike anything any of them had ever heard, reminiscent of fingers scraping across a blackboard but amplified a hundred-fold. The sound pierced the air, echoing through the trees. Frankie and Lily were now in tears. Aaron, the same cautious look on his face as Jack, moved next to him as they searched but it was black but for the outline of the trees silhouetted by the moonlight. Jack felt goose-bumps all over his body.
“What is it” Frankie whispered, lips trembling.
“Ssshh” Aaron cautioned.
Jacks eyes lit up with fear. “Did you see that? Something moved over there.” he said pointing to the dark woods.
“Who’s out there?” Aaron shouted to the empty wood.
Another loud shriek reverberated through the trees making the hairs on the back of their necks stand up. “There!” Jack pointed into the woods where he saw a dark figure lurking. “There! RUN! RUN!”
Jack grabbed Lily’s hand, pulling her with him to stop her from falling behind. They had run no more than a hundred yards before something came out of the tree-line immediately in front of them. They stopped suddenly with absolute fear overpowering them, rooting them to the spot. It stood over eight feet tall and wore a long thin cloak which concealed its entire body. A hood, seemingly attached to its large cloak, or was it its skin? Jack couldn’t tell, hung on its head and darkened its face, concealing its features. It was the scariest thing they had ever seen and it seemed to be staring towards them. It tilted its head to the left and Frankie and Lily gasped in terror.
“What do you want” Aaron shouted to it as Frankie, full of tears, shook behind him.
Whatever it was it didn’t respond. It just seemed to gaze at them. Jack stepped in front of Lily eyeing the unresponsive figure in the dark. “Look we are just trying to get home, ok? We don’t want any trouble.”
The figures head tilted back and the moonlight shone revealing its face. They saw its huge chiseled face crinkled and dark, almost as if it was burnt. Its pin-like eyes glistened scarlet in the moonlight. Its nose was nothing more than a lump under its eyes. It seemed to be staring at Jack now. Jack was nervous and took a step back. As he did so the dark figure tilted its head back so that it was looking up.
The Amulets (An 'Amulets of Andarrin' tale) Page 3
