Dark Corners

by Darren O’Sullivan

  ‘Thompson said Baz was likely to have done the same.’

  ‘What? So, it’s someone known to both?’

  ‘Likely known to all of us.’

  ‘Who the bloody hell can it be?’ He was sweating.

  ‘It’s gotta be someone connected to Chloe also.’

  ‘Her mum?’ Michael asked.

  ‘I don’t think so. She’s mental, but I don’t think she can see past her own grief.’

  ‘Then who?’

  We speculated over more names in the village, ruling them out one after the other. As before, it seemed everyone could be the Drifter, and no one at all. It even seemed it could be one of us. When I said that, I tried to sound like I was being flippant. But I watched his response. He was worried… but then, so was I.

  As the day wore on, a headache began to develop behind my eyes that increased with each passing minute, the sleep deprivation starting to take its toll. I knew if I didn’t close my eyes soon, a migraine would begin to rage. I needed to doze, just for a moment, on the sofa. Michael insisted we went upstairs, as there was only one way in which he could come for us. So, we sat in his bedroom and waited. In any other context, being in his room would have been weird, especially given my horrendous pass at him. But he didn’t seem to care. Michael made me a cup of tea, and we sat on the edge of the bed and smoked cigarettes. As the night wore on, I felt my limbs begin to feel heavy. It was only just 10 p.m. I put it down to exhaustion, at first.

  ‘It’s OK, Neve, lie down, close your eyes. I’ll stay up.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ I asked, already beginning to shuffle up the bed so my head would hit the pillow. I didn’t want to sleep, but I couldn’t help it. It was almost like I didn’t have a choice. My body was shutting down regardless.

  ‘Neve, you look shattered.’

  ‘It’s come over me so quickly. Don’t let me sleep more than a couple of hours.’

  ‘I won’t.’

  Michael got off the bed and sat himself in a chair in the corner of the room. From where I lay, I watched him looking out of the window, squinting to see shapes in the low light outside. He appeared tense, scared. I was too, and yet, I couldn’t keep my eyes open. My blinks were long and heavy, my vision struggled to focus on the solid mass of my friend only ten feet away. He looked towards me and offered a smile designed to reassure me, calm me, but it didn’t.

  ‘Michael?’ I tried to say, but my words slurred.

  ‘Shhhhh, see you in a few hours,’ he said quietly. ‘Get some sleep.’

  Chapter 45

  2nd December 2019

  Night

  Chloe visited my dreams. She probably did most nights, but I remembered it this time, which was rare. She was in a cage, begging me to find the key. As I stepped away to search, her shape changed to that of the Drifter. The cage door unlocked, and a mist, like dry ice, flooded from inside, consuming my feet, creeping up my body, numbing it until it seeped into my mouth and down my throat, freezing my screams. Then I woke with a gasp, and for a moment I couldn’t focus on anything other than trying to catch my breath. As my eyes adjusted, I could see the air from my lungs turn to condensation, and sitting up quickly, the covers fell from my body, exposing me to the cold air inside the room. My head pounded, and my mouth was so dry that it hurt to swallow.

  I searched for Michael; he was gone. His chair was empty, and beside it, the window was wide open, the curtains blowing in the cold wind. Outside, the night held strong, and I didn’t know if I’d been out for five minutes or five hours. Rolling out of the bed I grabbed my phone to see the time – ten something, I couldn’t make out the numbers without my glasses. I found them on the pillow, one of the arms bent. I put them on awkwardly, 10.47. I had been out for under an hour.

  I walked to the window. I could see no movement, no light. The lane that led to this house was as deserted as when we arrived hours before. I quietly closed the window and locked it. I wanted to call out to Michael, but thought better of it. Moving to the bedroom door I looked out into the wide upstairs hallway. I wished a light was on, so I could see into the dark corners, but I didn’t dare to flick the switch. Moving towards the stairs, I began to descend, cursing when the third from top squeezed angrily underfoot. As I reached the bottom step, I slowly looked around the banister in the direction of the kitchen, hoping I would see the light spilling under the crack in the door. It was dark. It felt like the house was empty. I couldn’t help myself and called out quietly.

  ‘Michael? Michael – where are you?’

  There was no response. But I knew there wouldn’t be one. Resting my hand on the closed kitchen door, I pushed my ear to the wood and listened. There was no sign of anyone on the other side, so I gently opened it. I could see a little better in the kitchen as a glow spilled from a small security light in the garden. As the door opened wider, I could see the back door. A shape blocked it: a long, dark coat.

  I gasped and fell backwards, landing hard on the wooden floor. The shock didn’t last long and as I fell, I assessed the coat was too high up to be worn by a person, and so it must have been hanging on the door. Scrabbling to my feet, I switched on the kitchen light. The fluorescent lamp hummed as it flickered to life. And in the light, I could see the coat I thought for moment was the Drifter. Gingerly, I moved towards it, half expecting something to happen. Placing my hands on it I pulled it down from the coat hanger. It was heavy, thick, and covered in what I could only assume was coal dust. He had been here, in this house.

  My thoughts went to Michael. Dropping the coat, I moved quickly into the hallway, switching on the lights as I did so. I wanted every light in the house on, I wanted it to feel like day. I checked downstairs, then back upstairs; the last room I entered was the one I started in. Sitting on the bed I put my hand down under the folded cover. I felt something cold, tacky, and when I pulled my hand out, there was blood on it. Flipping the cover back over, I found a top. Holly’s top.

  ‘Michael,’ I shouted. ‘Michael, where are you?’ I don’t know why I called out. He wasn’t there. The Drifter had come when I was asleep.

  I had slept and Michael had been taken. And Holly’s top… Holly’s blood, it was on my hands. I could see something poking out from under the top. Carefully, I pulled it out and turned it over. The Drifter had left me a note.

  If you ever want to see your friends again, you will come back to where this all began.

  Chapter 46

  July 1998

  Ninety minutes before…

  Wiping her wet hair out of her eyes, Neve dropped low and ducked under the barbed wire. It was harder than she thought it would be not to catch her skin, and she had to drop further, fully prone, to crawl through. The rain started only fifteen minutes before, but it was torrential, and the ground was already completely sodden. Confident she was far enough past the razor-sharp wire to not get caught, she stood and wiped her muddy hands on her jeans. She noticed the air on the other side of the fence felt different, charged.

  She turned to look at the rest of the group who all stood on the other side of the crude fence, wet through, with excitement and fear in their eyes. Behind them, she could just make out the lights coming from the village. She couldn’t help but feel a shiver run up and down her spine. She hoped that as she spoke, her own fear didn’t show. It was because of her that they were all here.

  ‘Come on, guys, it’s easy. Just do what I did, you’ll be fine.’ She waited for someone to say something in protest. No one did. The silence acted as her cue, and she turned and walked away from the six friends who stood frozen, her steps taking her towards the entrance of the old mine.

  ‘Wait, Neve—’ called Holly from the other side of the fence. ‘Are you sure we should be doing this?’

  ‘If we don’t go down and have a look now, we never will.’

  ‘Yes, maybe we have gone too far?’ chirped in Georgia.

  ‘Georgia,’ replied Neve, ‘you agreed it would be fun.’

  ‘I know, it’s just…’r />
  ‘Just what? Don’t you want to know what’s down there?’

  ‘Yeah, I guess.’

  ‘So, let’s do it. Chloe? Are you coming?’

  Chloe nodded, but didn’t move. She was struggling to pluck up the courage to take the first step.

  Neve turned and looked towards the mine. Her friends’ fear was contagious and had crawled under her skin. She thought of Jamie’s story – the trapped miner – and swore she could hear tapping. She stared at the entrance to the mine, its mouth agape, dark, cold. She felt herself hesitate, and jumped when Jamie, who had crawled under the fence, came and stood beside her, touching her arm.

  ‘Fuck it, let’s do it,’ he said quietly.

  Looking back, Neve saw Georgia helping Holly, whose top had snagged on the wire as she crawled under the fence.

  ‘Shit. My mum is gonna kill me.’

  ‘Don’t worry, I can fix it with a bit of thread,’ replied Georgia.

  Then, Baz and Michael dropped to the floor, giggling, and as Neve turned a torch onto their faces to tell them to shut up, she could see their eyes were bright pink.

  ‘Hey, you promised you weren’t gonna get too stoned before doing this?’ she hissed.

  ‘Chill out, Neve,’ said Michael. ‘We’ve only had one spliff between us.’

  ‘Yeah, Neve, we’re good,’ chirped Baz, still giggling.

  Neve rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop herself from smiling as the pair crawled, pretending to be commandos. Baz had even taken it upon himself to cover his face in mud, and when Chloe looked at him quizzically, he responded.

  ‘Camouflage, innit.’

  ‘Shut up, you two,’ Jamie snapped. ‘You’re making enough noise for the whole village to hear.’

  They ignored Jamie and continued to pretend they were in the army, rolling towards the shadow of the old colliery. Their silliness broke the tension, and everyone smiled. That’s why everyone loved them. As Jamie ushered them towards the entrance and told them to sit, Neve looked to see Chloe wasn’t smiling, and she hadn’t crawled under the fence either. Her best friend pleaded with her with her eyes, begged her, and Neve knew Chloe really didn’t want to do this. So as not to embarrass her, Neve walked back towards the fence.

  ‘Come on, Chloe, it’ll be fine.’

  ‘Neve, is this all because of your mum leaving?’

  Chloe’s question took Neve aback; she hadn’t expected her friend to understand, and yet, she did.

  ‘I’m just trying to make memories,’ she replied, deflecting the truth.

  ‘I’m shitting myself; you know I don’t like things like this.’

  ‘Nothing is going to happen, Chloe.’

  ‘Yeah, but people died down there.’

  ‘People die in their houses. I bet someone has died in yours once.’

  ‘Oh, great! Thanks, Neve, I’m not going to be able to sleep ever again now.’

  ‘What I mean is, nothing happens in your house, does it?’

  ‘There are no stories about my house.’

  ‘Chloe, they’re just ghost stories, they aren’t real.’

  ‘What if he is down there?’

  ‘He won’t be.’

  ‘How do you know?’

  ‘Trust me, OK.’

  ‘Neve, what if he is a ghost? What if the Drifter is haunting us?’

  ‘Chloe, there is no such thing as ghosts.’

  Behind them, there was a smash as Baz threw a stone through one of the old windows. Jamie dashed across to stop him throwing another. Neve turned back to Chloe who was still on the other side.

  ‘Chloe, nothing will happen here. I promise. Besides. Once we have had a few drinks, we’ll be fine.’

  ‘Are you scared too?’

  ‘Yeah, just don’t tell the others, especially Jamie.’

  With a knowing smile, Chloe lowered herself to the ground and crawled under the fence, just like everyone else had. The wire snagged her shoe and pulled, catching her ankle and making it bleed.

  ‘Ouch, shit.’

  Neve helped Chloe to her feet and the pair joined the rest of the group who were hiding in the shadows of the colliery tower. Chloe sat down and looked at her leg. A thin line of blood could be seen running into her shoe.

  ‘Are you OK?’ Baz called, his stupid games momentarily halted.

  ‘Yeah, I’m fine.’

  ‘Right, guys, are we ready?’ asked Neve. Georgia and Chloe nodded. Jamie offered her a wink. Michael grinned at her. ‘Don’t be a prick down there. All right? You too, Baz?’

  ‘Yes, boss,’ Baz replied as Michael gave a salute.

  Neve shook her head and laughed before stepping into the mouth of the colliery. Although she didn’t believe in ghosts, she couldn’t help feeling the hairs on her arms stand on end. Slowly, she began to walk, her friends following closely behind as they entered the abandoned mine.

  And as she disappeared into the darkness, she thought about the Drifter.

  Chapter 47

  2nd December 2019

  Night

  Running downstairs, I fumbled my shoes on, barely able to tie my laces as I couldn’t stop my hands from shaking. Finding Michael’s keys, I let myself into his car and fired up the engine. I knew exactly where to go. I knew where the Drifter wanted me. If I let myself be hopeful, if I let myself believe his note, then my childhood friends would be there, still alive. What choice did I have? If I ran, like I did all those years ago, he would hurt the people whose lives I’d already ruined. I had a chance to do something right for the first time in my life – I had to do it.

  The drive seemed to take forever, the headstocks glaring at me as I struggled to keep control of the car. I kept my foot to the floor until I reached the edge of the village. Then I slowed to the speed limit, hoping I would pass through without being seen by anyone. As I came close to The Miners’ Arms, I tried to keep myself low in my seat, but still able to watch the road, and look at the pub to try establishing the mood. It seemed to be busier than ever. Scores of people stood outside, smoking, drinking and talking despite it being so cold. There was nothing to suggest any one of them knew what was happening right now, and I didn’t know if I was relieved or not. Close to the group of drinkers, I could make out the shape of who I thought was Thompson. He sat on his own, a pint beside him. Far enough away from the group to not be involved, but I suspected, close enough to listen. As I passed, I saw in my rear-view mirror him looking at my taillights before he took out a note pad and considered something. I was confident he didn’t know it was me. I didn’t know if that was reassuring or not. No, it was a good thing. The Drifter told me to come alone, and I would, and I hoped by doing so, he would let go of my friends.

  Half a mile away from the pub, I turned into a cul-de-sac, pulled over and stopped the engine. I was close to the lane and didn’t want to leave Michael’s car anywhere suspicious. Then, climbing out, I quietly walked towards the lane, towards the hut. Towards the mine.

  Chapter 48

  2nd December 2019

  Night

  Each step I took on the dark and forgotten tarmac felt like another step towards my last. The trees that lined the lane watched with curiosity as I put one foot in front of the other. I wanted to look to my left and right, look at the trees that sat passively watching, as they had done for a hundred years. I knew I had to press on, walking a route I knew all too well.

  I walked towards the ten-foot-tall fence lined with barbed wire that enclosed the entire site. Once, when I was young, I could duck under it without maiming myself, but not now. Luckily, I didn’t need to. There was a gap, the metal fence cut away from the post and pulled out. Keeping low, I moved as fast as I could across a field towards the mine. I would plead with the Drifter, tell him the truth: it was all me. All of it. I would beg for him to let them go. They have suffered enough. Now it was my turn to pay the price for what happened.

  The uneven ground was hard to move across, and on a few occasions my ankle turned as my foot slipped into an
unseen crevice. I ploughed on, moving fast, drawing closer to the mine until its huge headstocks leant over me. I wanted to look up, see its ever-present eyes staring down, but knew if I did my head would spin. When I was only a matter of feet from the entrance, I lost my footing as the uneven ground became the tarmac car park and fell hard, my elbow jammed into my ribcage, temporarily robbing me of my ability to breath. Rolling onto my back, I fought to get air into my lungs. After a few moments, the ache in my chest began to ease and fumbling to my feet, I pressed on until my hands touched the walls of the colliery. Cold air seeped out from the shallow entrance. It wouldn’t stay cold. I knew, the further down I went, the hotter it would get. Taking a final moment to steady myself, I stepped into the entrance, the dark cavernous mouth swallowing me whole.

  Chapter 49

  July 1998

  Sixty minutes before…

  None of the group had expected it to be so dark. They had of course heard from friends and family about the ‘blackness’ of the mine. But, despite the descriptions given, it hadn’t prepared them for it. Neve led the group, slowly moving down, and it became clear very quickly that they would become lost if they were not very careful.

  ‘Neve, don’t you think we’ve explored enough?’ Holly asked, shuffling along somewhere near the back of the group.

  ‘You’re not scared, are you?’ Georgia replied.

  ‘Yes! I’m freaking out, I can’t even see my hand in front of my face.’

  ‘Hang on.’

  Baz pulled out his Zippo lighter, sparked it and a small flame began to flicker. It caught the angles of his face, and the rivets in the rock, creating sharp lines that made both he and the mine itself appear menacing. Jamie followed, igniting his disposable lighter. Michael pulled out a small wind-up torch that barely held its charge, so every few steps he had to turn the handle to generate more light. Its dull beam reflected off exposed metal rods that supported the tunnel and chains that still hung from the ceiling. Being able to see was somehow more unnerving.