“I don’t really care, as long as we eat soon. I’m starving.”
“Lee Garden is right next to the bus stop, so that’s gotta be the best, eh, Jase?” Adam pressed.
“I fancy a bit of Thai, how about you, Ash? Jason asked.
“Whatever, but I’m choosing next time,” Ashley said, sulking.
They arrived at Lee Garden and Jason sent the twins inside to order the takeaway while he had a cigarette. The light was beginning to fade, and he knew it would be pitch black inside of an hour.
They sat in the bus shelter and had finished their food by the time the bus arrived to take them to the lane. The journey would take about twenty minutes each way, which gave them enough time to have a look around and make it home well before their mum. It was winter and would be dark soon. Jason was glad the nights were closing - he wanted to get in and out without any of the neighbours on the lane seeing them.
Jason could see the bus was approaching the lane and stood up. The twins followed and three of them made their way to the front.
“None of my business like, but if you three are heading where I think you are then you’re all crazy,” the driver said to them as the bus came to a halt.
“You’re right, it is none of your business,” Jason said as he stepped down off the bus with the twins lagging behind him.
Number six was at the opposite end of the lane and he kicked himself for not bringing a regular torch. They had torches on their phones, but didn’t want to drain the batteries. He needed to record himself as evidence, and the twins phones would be needed once they got to the house.
Adrenaline hammered through his body. He was a little pissed off he didn’t have a bigger audience than his two brothers, but tomorrow he would be the talk of the school. Matthew would choke when he watched the footage on You Tube.
The lane was darker and more secluded than he imagined. It was like something out of that movie he had watched the week before, Sleepy Hollow, and looked like it had been lost in time. A red Porsche in one driveway and a black Audi TT in another were the only signs they were in the present. Jason was determined that one day he would own a car like that. He would get his family off that shitty estate and move them somewhere like the lane.
Walking for a few more minutes, it became darker still, and Jason realised there were no street lights at this end of the lane. The only light was cast from the moon or from the windows of the houses they passed.
Jason didn’t realize the lane was so long and seemed to have walked for miles already.
“Are we there yet?” Ashley asked.
The last house looked massive, and was surrounded by tall trees, huge wrought iron railings and gates with a plaque that told them they were at number six. Jason could tell nobody was living in the house as all of the windows were boarded up and a padlocked metal gate covered the front door. From what he could see, it didn’t look derelict like he’d been expecting. Somebody was obviously maintaining the property judging by the locked port-a-cabin at the side of the front garden.
Looking around to check they were alone, Jason pushed on the main gate, but it wouldn’t move.
“Come on you two, give me a hand,” he hissed.
The three of them heaved all their weight behind it. But it wouldn’t budge. Then he noticed the padlock secured by a very thick chain.
“Hey, here’s another gate,” Adam said, heading over to the side of the fence.
The gate creaked noisily as he shoved.
“Ssssh,” Jason said, holding his finger to his lips.
“Sorry,” Adam whispered back.
Jason glanced around to check that the noise hadn’t generated any interest from the neighbours, but he couldn’t see or hear a thing. He figured, if he couldn’t see anything, there was little chance anybody would be able to see them.
Jason took his phone from his pocket and set it to record.
“We’re here on Promised Land Lane, as I said we would,” he whispered into the phone. “Say hi, Ashley, Adam.”
The twins waved at the camera, suddenly appearing braver than they had all night.
They walked through the side gate and slowly explored the front garden. They found a passageway at the side of the house. A little blue light flashed on the alarm box at the front of the property, but they had no intention of breaking into the house. They were only interested in the back garden.
Goose pimples covered Jason’s entire body as an icy chill swept over him. He’d swear they were being watched. The twins appeared fine, which spurred him on all the more. He’d never live it down if they knew how nervous he really felt. They reached the end of the passageway and there it was, the infamous garden. It stretched far and wide and was bigger than Jason had imagined.
“Put your torches on now,” Jason told the twins and one by one their torches were switched on.
There was nothing spectacular to see. Yes, it was huge with a lot of trees and overgrown grass, but it was just a garden, and Jason wondered what all the fuss was about.
“Have a look around, but don’t touch anything, you hear?” he commanded.
“Okay,” they replied in unison, as they often did
Jason walked off towards the bottom of the garden, still filming. A light from the phone lit the way and he pointed his torch in the direction of his feet in case there was anything he could trip over.
He kept looking back at the twins and was aware Adam had wandered to the side of the garden by the brick wall. Ashley stayed a couple of steps behind his twin at first then took off in the other direction.
“Oi, Jason, there’s loads of cats here.” Ashley said, his voice raised. “You know I hate cats.”
“Ssssh, you fanny. Someone will hear you,” Jason hissed.
“But cats. They scare me.”
“They were on the walls all around the place when you came into the garden. Didn’t you see them?” Jason said, irritated by his brother’s comments.
“No, I didn’t, and you know I wouldn’t have come in if had. I wanna go home now. I don’t like it here.”
“You’re acting like a girl,” Adam said, laughing at his brother.
“Shut up, both of you. I’m telling mum when we go home and she’ll go mad,” Ashley said, almost in tears.
“Knock it off, Ashley. The sooner we get this done, the sooner we’ll be out of here. Go and check what that flapping noise is.” Jason started the video again.
Chapter 3
Angry, and worrying about being teased by his brothers, Ashley stomped off, doing what Jason told him to. He could see French doors to his left and stairs that led from the house to the garden. The noise seemed to come from the right of the stairs. He walked towards the source of the noise and discovered a blue plastic sheet flapping about in the wind. He pulled at it to see what was underneath, surprised to see an old doll’s house. A chill ran down his spine as the wind began to howl around the garden, unnerving him.
His mum would fall in love with the toy house, and for a moment he considered coming back and stealing it for her, but it was bigger than him, so there was no way he would be able to move it alone. Perhaps Jason would help him. He got down onto his knees so he could take a closer look. It was filled with tiny pieces of furniture and, for a moment, he considered putting some of them into his pocket. He noticed that one of the compartments housed a child’s doll that looked totally out of place. He reached in and pulled it out, shining his torch on it. He felt a chill pass right through him as he looked at the creepy doll’s old fashioned clothes and weirdly placed blonde hair.
He tilted it slightly and jumped as its eyes flicked open. There was something strange about its eyes. They looked so real and seemed to focus directly on him. Ashley’s nerves got the better of him and he wanted to get out of there. But he was strangely fixated. There was something about the doll he couldn’t fathom, so he turned it all angles to get a better look.
Suddenly, something heavy landed on his back and Ashley screamed and realized
it was one of the cats.
He thrashed about and sent the cat flying, dropping the doll.
Landing on its feet, the cat’s eyes glowed as Ashley shone his torch in its direction. It hissed at him before jumping back onto the wall.
Ashley shone the torch towards the top of the wall as the other cats congregated and began to hiss at him. He’d always hated cats since being attacked by a stray his mum had brought home. He reached back to touch his neck and pressed down, feeling the sting from the scratches. He put trembling fingers to his nose and smelled the metallic scent of blood.
“Fucking cat.” He wiped his fingers on his jacket.
Moments later, Jason and Adam appeared next to him. “What the hell just happened?” Jason said, his voice sounding breathless.
Ashley pointed to the top of the wall. “One of them cats jumped on my back!” he whined.
Seeming relieved, Jason and Adam both set off laughing.
“It’s not funny,” Ashley shrieked.
“We thought you’d seen a ghost,” Jason said, between bouts of laughter.
Their laughter was infectious and soon the three of them were bent double in hysterics.
“Okay, come on now. Let’s carry on and get the hell out of here,” Jason said, straightening up.
“Hurry up, you guys. This place is giving me the creeps,” Ashley said, scrambling to his feet.
“What’s that you’ve found?” Jason asked, tapping the doll with his foot and bending down to pick it up.
“Just a stupid doll,” he said with a sneer. “It was in that house covered in the plastic.”
“Oh right, well, you carry on playing with your dolly, little girl, while we keep looking around.”
“Dick head,” Ashley said, bending over to pick up the doll from the floor.
The cats began to stir again.
***
Aware of their movements, Ashley pushed the doll back inside the house and covered it up again.
The sound of a child crying froze him to the spot. He hated the sound of kids crying at the best of times, but in the middle of a dark garden surrounded by cats the sound petrified him.
He tried to run towards his brothers, but stopped in his tracks as a man appeared in the shadows, startling him.
“You need to leave now whilst you still can,” he said, as he walked through the trees towards them.
“Who the fuck said that?” Jason shouted in the background.
“It’s that man right there,” Ashley said, pointing towards the trees.
Ashley realised the other two hadn’t seen the man yet, although he was closer to them than him. They were looking around, trying to work out where the voice was coming from.
“Adam, stay with me,” Jason ordered.
The cats began to jump down from the top of the walls and ran towards Jason and Adam circling them. The cats’ eyes shone bright as they closed their ranks, hissing as they moved.
“Can you see him, Jase?” Ashley shouted.
“I don’t see anyone, Ash.”
“Just there.” He was still pointing.
Ashley watched as Jason frantically looked around for the source of the voice.
“Where is he now?” Jason shouted.
”He’s still there.”
“Run and wait for us at the end of the Lane,” he ordered.
“I’m too scared, Jason,” Ashley shouted, unable to move.
“Don’t worry, mate,” Adam shouted. “Don’t cry.’’
“It’s not me crying.”
“There’s nothing to be scared of, I promise,” Adam said, trying to calm his brother down.
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that, young man,” the stranger said, coming closer to him. It was obvious Jason and Adam still couldn’t see him, but Ashley could.
The crying continued and appeared to be getting louder.
“You need to leave and never return. You’ve looked into that thing’s eyes, and now she’s coming for you. Run while you still can as I cannot protect you all.”
“Ashley, what did you touch?” Jason shouted
“Only that old doll,” he replied.
“Tell me, little boy, when you looked into its eyes, did they look back at you?”
“Don’t answer the freak,” Jason shouted again.
The child continued to cry. Terrified, Ashley was rooted to the spot. He felt the warm sensation of urine running down his legs. He tried to move, but couldn’t. Some kind of invisible force had pinned his feet to the ground.
“You must run. Now!” the man pleaded as he turned and walked towards Jason and Adam. “She’ll come for you first.”
Something was creeping up the garden. He could see its shadow, and although he shone his torch in every direction, he couldn’t catch whatever it was in the light.
The man moved closer to Jason and Adam and the cats opened up their circle to let him in before closing ranks again.
The shadowy figure crept past Jason and Adam.
“What was that?” Adam cried, dropping his phone in the long grass.
“Ashley, run!” Jason screamed as he reached for Adam and held him close.
Ashley was too scared to move and began to cry, his fists balling at his eyes in terror, but it was too late.
He knew someone was stood in front of him and hoping it was Jason, he opened his eyes, and gasped. Surprised, he felt his nerves settle instantly at the sight of a little girl, covered in dirt. Relieved, he stared at her, wondering what she was doing out so late alone. Her blonde hair was long, but it looked like big chunks had been pulled out at the roots.
“It’s okay, Jason. It’s just a little girl,” he shouted towards the rear of the garden.
She turned slightly and tilted her head to the side, causing her hair to fall further into her face.
“My name’s Ashley. What’s yours?” he asked the little girl.
She giggled.
Something about the way she giggled frightened him.
Then she moved forward, stepping quickly into the moonlight and sniffed the air.
He jumped at her sudden movement and yelled, still frozen to the spot.
“Run, Ash. Just fucking run!” Jason yelled.
Ashley ignored him. “It’s okay, Jase. I think she’s a bit mental.” His attention was on the girl. He couldn’t see her eyes through the matted hair, but he felt himself begin to calm down.
She smiled at him and sniffed the air again. Then, she walked around him, full circle.
Ashley looked down the garden and could see the man stood by Jason and Adam. He was glad he wasn’t anywhere near them – all those cats made him nervous.
He was looking forward to telling his mates in school tomorrow, even though he doubted they would believe him.
“Do you know that man?” Ashley asked the girl, but she ignored him once again. “Can you speak?”
The girl stepped closer, one foot at a time. Ashley noticed her black leather shoes, which seemed odd against the dirty dress. She sniffed the air once again and turned to face him.
Ashley realized why he couldn’t see her eyes and stumbled backwards in shock. He managed to right his footing as she lunged forward and grabbed his face, digging her nails into his flesh.
He had never felt pain like it before. It was horrific and he used all his strength to push her off him.
He fell backwards onto the grass as she scrambled over his legs and sniffed at him as she crawled up his body.
Although rigid with fear, he was aware she was still sniffing him. He noticed the stench coming from her and began to vomit. She leaned over his face as he started to choke on the vomit. He turned his head and the fiery bile escaped his throat.
In absolute terror, he could do nothing to stop her as she bent down and licked his face. The smell coming from her mouth was putrid and he began to vomit again. Her tongue felt scratchy as she ran it over his cheek.
He looked up and noticed her brown and rotted teeth. He could see bits of what he
thought was meat stuck to them.
Terrified, he let go of his bowels.
She giggled again and sniffed the air.
He screamed as she reached forward and pushed her fingers deep into his eyes, forcing them back into his head.
Chapter 4
Jason roared as he tried to force his way past the man and the cats, but it was useless. The more he pushed forwards, the further back he seemed to be.
Adam was no help. He just stood there with his hands over his ears as the tears cascaded down his face.
“I’m sorry, but it’s too late to save your brother,” the man shouted. “It’s important you listen to me now and stay calm. She knows you’re here, but won’t harm you if you do as I say. Your lives depend on it.”
Ashley’s ear piercing screams came to a sudden stop and silence fell over the garden.
Jason could see the child walk towards them and thought he heard her giggle as she passed, but he didn’t care. His only thought was his brother.
Finally able to push past the man he ran up the garden towards Ashley, terrified at what he would find. He was not prepared for the sight that greeted him.
He wailed in sorrow and dropped down to the ground pulling his brother’s limp body into his arms.
“You must leave before she returns,” the man said, walking up the garden with his arm protectively around Adam, who appeared spaced out. “She will never forget you looking into her eyes.”
“I won’t leave him,” Jason sobbed. “I have to call the police.”
Adam suddenly came to as the man lifted his arm from his shoulder. He dropped down beside Jason and began to sob, as the two of them huddled with their brother.
The man bent down and picked up the dead child’s phone and handed it to Jason.
“Do what you must, but hurry. I can’t hold her back for long.” He turned and walked away.
Jason’s fingers shook so much he struggled to dial 999. He eventually managed to give the address to the operator, before once again falling to his knees at the side of his brothers.
The police arrived a short time later with sirens wailing and lights blazing up the lane.
Promised Land Lane Page 3
