by Jim Ody
“Uh?”
“Nic never mentioned going away, did she?”
Fred glanced over at Keith with sympathy. He was used to this. Twenty questions, like she was still the school mistress she’d been, back in a time when beating a pupil was an accepted form of discipline.
He spoke fewer words than most, his wife was happy to grab the excess as her own. He shook his head but quickly forgot what he was denying.
A teenage girl came up behind them and Keith suddenly sat up straight. Dorothy turned and glared at the girl.
“We’re not finished, young lady!” she scolded, which instantly put an awkward fear into the girl’s eyes. Keith winked at her and was happy to see her look relieved.
Keith turned to Dorothy. “I’ll tell her you asked after her. She’ll like that.” She wouldn’t give a toss, they all knew it. His mother hated the woman as much as he did. Probably even as much Fred did!
Through pursed lips, Dorothy looked like she was struggling to come up with another reason to stay. Instead she said, “Okay then. Come on Fred, stop your dawdling!”
Fred nodded. He looked defeated like he was biding his time before dying.
The girl flashed a smile.
“I’m ever so sorry about that,” Keith said, already thinking he could use it to his advantage.
“No, problem,” she said. “I wondered whether you had any spare towels?” She pointed out to the water. “For swimming.”
Keith reached down below his desk to a large plastic tub and pulled out a cream coloured towel that had seen better days.
“Well, it just so happens I do!” He grinned. He felt like a magician. Dynamo, or Paul Daniels. One of those greats.
“Thank you!” she said. “Do I have to pay?”
Keith pointed to one of many signs his mother had put up - This one suggested that towel hiring was £2 – but then grinned.
“You going dancing tonight in the hall?”
She nodded, and looked behind her at her friends who were now waiting.
“Then how about we skip the charge, and I buy you a drink instead, huh?” He winked again. Eighteen and away for the first time. It didn’t get much better than that.
“Sure,” she said, and skipped off.
“Boom!” he pumped his fist under the table. Mr Smooth, does it again!
Little Miss Evil
Chapter 11 - Jenny
A ll she could do was sigh. She sat wrapped up in a towel thinking about the strange guy called Marshall. He had waltzed in, and just as quickly had high-tailed out. Typical, she thought. Why hadn’t he hung around? She could’ve still been talking to him.
“Come back to ours!” Brett said as he sat down. He was feverishly drying his hair with his towel, and Meg was pretending not to stare at him as she got out. He looked like a surfer, but there was a definite poshness in his voice he tried to hide.
She nudged hm playfully, the two of them having instantly clicked – already they seemed inseparable.
“I want to go and shower first!” Meg replied.
“You can shower at ours!” Brett grinned.
Meg slapped him gently. “I’m sure.”
Jenny was pleased for them. You could tell they would have a relationship – however fleeting – that would be intense. They would more than likely argue, fight, and make up, then repeat the whole cycle over and over again.
Then she saw Adam and Nat. They were now like conjoined twins. Adam got out and instantly turned to Nat and helped her out. They were quiet, and slightly more sickening, if she was honest.
Jenny glanced over at Max. “I’ll get myself out, don’t worry,” he moaned, pulling himself up. He seemed to be feeling equally left out.
Then Meg turned to Jenny. “Where did your guy go, Jen?”
Jenny looked off over the lake and up to the top of the hill. “Home. He lives up there.”
“You scared him off?” Brett laughed and Meg slapped him again. She was enjoying any excuse to touch him.
“Hey! Don’t be mean!”
“Sorry,” he winked. “I didn’t mean to!”
Adam rolled his eyes. “That’s lame, mate!”
Brett waved it away, and instead said, “So, what do you say, huh? Come back to ours we can get a few drinks, then later go get some food and do a bit of dancing! Yeah?”
Jenny looked at both Meg and Nat. Meg was grinning at him, and there was no way Nat had heard a word of it. Her lips had suddenly found Adam’s.
“It’s a yes from them!” Brett said in his loud voice. He looked at Jenny.
She held up her hands. “Nah, come on guys,” she said to her friends. “Let’s go back to our cabin and we can meet you all later.” She was almost pleading by the end.
Meg walked over and hooked her arm through Jenny’s, and surprised her by saying, “Yep! Jen’s right. You boys can go off and take cold showers, and we’ll meet you later!”
“Tease!” Brett said, and they could tell he was trying to hide the disappointment.
“Or not meet at all,” Max mumbled.
Brett walked over and pushed Max back into the water. Towel and all. There was a stunned silence around, as the girls didn’t know how to react. Just the frantic splashing by Max as he came to the surface.
“Arsehole!” Max spat through the water. Adam and Nat came up for air.
“Sorry, buddy!” Brett sung in a juvenile way. “We’ll find you a nice guy, later.”
“I’m not gay,” Max muttered as he got out.
“We don’t care!” Brett continued.
“Come on, Nat!” Meg called over. Nat looked embarrassed, and pulled away from Adam.
“I’ll see you later?” she said quietly to him.
He nodded. “Of course.”
“Well boys!” Meg said with a huge grin. “I guess we will see you later!”
“Cabin 41!” Brett called after them as Meg and Jenny coaxed Nat along with them.
“Didn’t ask!” Meg called back, not even looking. Jenny admired the way she was able to do that. She knew that Meg liked Brett, but she loved to play hard to get. To her, having a guy do all the work was what it was all about. Why should she work at it?
The three remained silent until they were back on the path, past the office, and heading out towards the cabins.
“Well, that was interesting, wasn’t it,” Meg said. “We’ve not been here half an hour and we’ve all hooked up!”
“I didn’t hook up,” Jenny said, but Meg was already waving her off.
“Really? And tell me who that mysterious guy with the indie-haircut was then? He was drooling all over you!”
“Marshall,” she said, and did her very best to suppress a smile.
“See!” Meg said, putting an arm around her. “Come on, Jenny-Wren, spill the beans!”
Jenny shrugged. “Nothing to spill… he appeared, we talked for a while… erm, he said he was local―”
“―You seeing him again?” Nat said.
Jenny shrugged, but nodded without thinking. Her sub-conscious wasn’t as subtle.
“See!” Meg repeated.
Jenny looked at the ground as she replied, “He said he might be around tonight, that’s all.”
Meg winked at Nat. “That’s all Nat!”
“Yep,” Nat continued. “That’s all!”
“Tonight should be interesting,” Meg said.
“What? Dancing?” Jenny said, but Meg and Nat had already burst into laughter!
“What?”
Nat then put a motherly arm around her. “Well, my dear,” she said in a slightly condescending way. “There are three couples and two cabins…” she let the words float around, before the penny dropped.
“Oh,” Jenny said. “I, er, won’t be doing anything like that!” And she meant it. She’d spoken to Marshall for only a few minutes. She couldn’t believe her friends were already thinking about having sex with guys they’d just met. The whole thing made her feel a little embarrassed, not to mention anxious.
>
But that wasn’t all of it.
Meg and Nat thought she’d come up with this holiday by stumbling on it via an internet search. That wasn’t true.
She took a deep breath and wondered how her life had suddenly got so complicated.
Nat was gushing over Adam to Meg, and they were both lost in their excited chatter, all fuelled by sexual tension.
What Meg and Nat didn’t know though was that Jenny had met a guy online called Harry. A tall and handsome guy twenty years older than her, he was everything. He had told her about the campsite. He’d sent her the link, and he’d promised to find her.
But now she’d met Marshall. And…well, that was just it. She didn’t know.
Maybe Marshall wouldn’t show up tonight. Maybe Harry would never find her. Was this it? Was she relying on some form of serendipity to shape her future?
“Hey daydreamer!” Meg laughed as they came to the cabin. “You thinking about Marshall?”
“No, I… No…” Meg and Nat laughed again.
They burst through the door, and all collapsed on their beds.
“So, we need a plan!” Meg said, suddenly sitting up cross-legged on the bed like she meant business.
“Drink.” Nat laughed. “Loosen us up a bit, yeah?”
Jenny had to laugh at that. “I’m not sure you two need loosening up any further! Nat, you’ve had your tongue in that guy’s mouth longer than you’ve spoken to each other, and Meg―” Jenny turned to her. “You’ve been playing some elaborate game of kiss chase!”
Neither of her friends took her seriously. “And what about you, Little Miss Prim & Proper? Don’t tell me you weren’t having carnal thoughts about that Marshall fella?”
“Good girls don’t tell!” she said with a nervous chuckle. She couldn’t feel any more awkward.
“We’ll get that bad girl out before the end of the week!” They all laughed.
If only they knew what was going to happen none of them would be laughing.
Little Miss Evil
Chapter 12 - Will
F iona was in the shower when Will’s mobile rang. He looked at it and cancelled the call. His stomach dropped. Here he was, having a great time away from everything, and his life was doing its very best to remind him of who he was. Stalking him no matter where he hid.
A person he no longer wanted to be.
He looked at the walls of the bedroom. He couldn’t unsee the dead woman. Had he really seen it? Or was it just his tired and stressed out mind tricking him?
Fiona walked in dripping wet, her towel loosely wrapped around her.
“I thought you were going to join me?” she said, half playfully, and half with disappointment.
He thought quickly. “I didn’t want to push my luck,” he replied. In reality, the call and the visions had successfully put out any flames of desire he’d had before.
He got up, and gently grabbing her shoulders, kissed her neck. He went into the bathroom before realising she’d been looking for more. He sighed, the last thing he wanted to do was disappoint her.
The strong jet of water hit his body, and soon he was scrubbing away at the regrets. His fingers digging into the skin as the pain felt totally deserved. Was he being a fool, chasing something that he shouldn’t have?
When he got out, he grabbed a towel, unaware of the visible tracks down his back. The slight sting of the scratches didn’t even register.
Fiona was sat on the bed in her underwear. She was scrolling on her phone looking amazing. No heterosexual male alive could not find it an alluring sight.
“I thought you were in there for the night,” she grinned.
He glanced around. The walls were white. Freshly painted. No sign of blood or an armless old woman at all.
“You okay?” she looked worried.
“Sorry,” he said, flashing a smile. “I think the shower was too hot and I’m feeling a little light headed. Plus, I’m hungry again.”
“Well,” she grinned, completely dismissing his mood. “There’s that campsite nearby, with a bar and restaurant.”
“A campsite?” he said in the same way he’d respond if she suggested they go to a Swingers Party.
She smiled at his look of horror. “It’s not all tents and bonfires! The restaurant and bar look really good, then later they play music. It might be a laugh?”
“Not charcoaled hotdogs on a camp fire, whilst some Scout leader starts off a rendition of Michael Row The Boat Ashore?”
She was rolling her eyes to that. “No! the website looks far from it!” He wasn’t convinced. He looked around the room again, and then thought any less time spent in the house might be a good thing.
“Sure, why not!” It wasn’t exactly what he had envisaged in the weeks leading up to their time away, but concluded that beaten up phrase of life is what you make it, was probably apt.
“Why don’t we pop to the pub first,” she then added. “Get a few drinks down us beforehand!”
Will liked the sound of that. “Cool,” he replied, but deep in his mind the sound of Silent Night echoed, refusing to leave.
It was another half an hour before they opened up the large pub door, and met with the half-friendly stares from the locals.
“Welcome back!” the barman said recognising them.
“Hello,” Will said, and ordered their drinks.
The barman poured the beverages and sat them on a beer towel; a drip of ale raced down the outside of the glass as if escaping, and the frothy head of bitter soon disappeared.
“How’s the house?” the barman asked. It might’ve been out of politeness, but then it might’ve been more.
“Good,” Will nodded. “It’s a nice place.”
“Nice and quiet,” the barman said, and then as an afterthought added. “No strange noises, or music?” The last word was said in a way that may’ve been a question.
“No,” Will laughed.
Fiona then piped up. “Only when the radio suddenly went on!” The barman was about to move on to another customer when he stopped in his tracks.
“Really?” he said, suddenly interested. “Was it music or talking?” His lined face now deadly serious.
“Music,” Fiona smiled.
“Bloody Silent Night!” Will laughed. “Can you believe it!”
The barman glanced at a guy with an equally weathered face, who’s eyes narrowed slightly, then looked back with a false smile.
“Strange,” was all he said.
“What?” Will said. He could tell there was more to it. “There’s something you’re not telling me, isn’t there?”
The barman sighed. “Look, it’s tales, idle-gossip, and drunken fools talking too much.” He waved a hand weakly. “Pay me no mind. We don’t have a lot of entertainment in these parts!”
Will looked at Fiona, who now was worried. “No, please just tell us. If you don’t mind?”
The barman stopped for a second almost as if weighing up what he was about to say.
“Jack, here, he repainted it after the… er… when it needed freshening up.” He pointed to the old guy who looked even less enthusiastic to talk about it.
Will added in, “I did think it had been recently refurbished.”
“Yer, well,” the guy Jack started in his rural accent. “It’s nothin’ really, ‘cept I heard the same song. Scared the heebie-jeebies out of me, tell you the truth! I was on me own at the time. Anyway, I’d worked a lot of hours and my eyes started playing tricks on me. Like I say, it’s nothin’ just gave me the willies!” he laughed, which turned into a chesty cough.
Will wasn’t sure how to handle the situation, and so just replied, “Strange.” The two men nodded.
Will and Fiona went and sat in the corner of the room at a table big enough for four. But no sooner had they sat down, and Will was back up.
“I might just get some crisps,” he said. “You want some?”
She frowned and shook her head. “No, we’re going for food soon, aren’t we?”
<
br /> Will nodded, “Yeah, yeah of course. I just need something to tide me over.” He was already slipping away.
“He’s back,” The barman grinned.
“Crisps,” Will said. “Any.”
The barman shrugged, turned around and picked up some ready salted.
“Look,” Will said. “Thing is, I didn’t want to say it in front of Fiona, but… I saw something.”
The barman leant in, and Jack shuffled a bit closer. “Go on.”
Keeping his voice low, Will asked, “Did something happen at the house? I mean, in the bedroom?”
The barman and Jack exchanged glances again. The barman was usually the one to speak freely, but this time it was Jack who spoke first.
“Yes, the bedroom did have an incident. Tell me, lad, what was it you saw?”
Will glanced around at Fiona, and hoped she was on her phone or something. She wasn’t. She was watching him and looking worried.
“I saw an old woman hanged from the above rafters. There was blood everywhere, and she had no arms!”
Jack nodded. “Yes,” he sighed. “It was awful. Connie was her name. She was the sweetest old lady you’d ever meet….”
The barman jumped in. “Her husband was down here that night. He was…” he paused and looked at Jack, but Jack just looked down, worrying the bar with the nail on his thumb. “…a good friend of ours.”
Jack then spoke. “Dead. Both of them. You saw what happened to Connie, but he was sliced up in to pieces.” He took a gulp of his drink, but was visibly upset.
“What happened?” Will asked, though he didn’t want to push them too much.
The barman took over. “We don’t really know. No one was ever caught…”
“Bloody evil,” Jack said through gritted teeth. “Bob was a good man…”
“But he gambled,” the barman added. “Ther’ was talk of debts, but I dun know. The police-”
“They did fuck all!” Jack spat.
“Okay Jack. We don’t… I mean… Who knows what they had.”
Will glanced over and smiled reassuringly at Fiona. She looked even more worried now.
“Anyway, I’d better get back.”
