by Andy Morris
Black Cat Tales: Black Anne: and Other Short Stories
By Andy Morris
Copyright 2014 Andy Morris
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ISBN 9781311290892
Table of Contents
One -The River Rising
Two - Revelations Part 1
Three - Black Anne
Four - The Magic in the Stones
Five - Revelations Part 2
Six - Jimmy the Shrew
Seven - Squirrel Hunting
Eight - Beyond the Elder Tree
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The River Rising
All five kids were asleep in bed and the home breathed with the brittle stillness that can only be found in the very early hours of the morning. So when the sudden sharp knocking on the front door shattered that silence it brought a sense of puzzlement and mild irritation to Rose. It wasn’t Jean out there because she’d have a key and she’d just let herself in. Jean was running late because of the floods in the town and the initial half hour wait for her had turned into three and a half hours of Rose being on her own. Claire should have been here but she had been feeling unwell so Rose had sent her home earlier. Rose didn’t mind being on her own, even though it wasn’t strictly allowed. But what she didn’t like was the idea of a visitor coming here at – she checked the time – 1:37am!
Heaving her stocky well-built frame off the low sofa different scenarios ran through Rose’s mind. It was unlikely to be kids up to no good because the home was quite isolated. Hillside Grange was situated at the end of a long driveway way off the main road, not far from where the river Tees bisected the town. But if it was kids messing around, she’d deal with them: They’d soon regret messing with the captain of the local women’s rugby team. Whatever the visitor at the door wanted, it was most likely to do with the storm. It had been raining for days now and the town had watched the Tees slowing rising day by day. Drains were already overflowing near Rose’s house and it was a miracle that her car made it through the water to get here tonight. Fortunately for Jean, she lived closer to Hillside Grange than Rose. Nevertheless, the river could be treacherous in some parts. Last year when it broke its banks in a similar flood a couple of emergency service personnel were killed, swept away from the bridge at the end of the lane and their bodies still hadn’t been found. It wasn’t uncommon for the river to claim lives though. Countless people had drowned in the swirling waters, entangled in weeds and dragged under by the strong currents. Local folklore told of a river-witch that would leave trinkets near the water’s edge. Then when children came to take them she’d grab their ankles and pull them under water. That image floated in mind as she turned to leave the lounge. That’s when she spotted the pale figure silently watching her from the doorway.
Rose almost jumped out of her skin, and swore under her breath. She was usually so unflappable and rarely felt on edge in any situation. However, for some reason the floods had brought with them an unwelcome dread and being confronted with Hayden on a night like this really startled her. A cold tingling sensation crept down her spine as she registered the sickly-looking child. It was a sad indictment but Rose had never warmed to Hayden, none of the staff could honestly say they had done. All the children here had special needs and staff had been able to form connections with the other four kids but there was something… peculiar about Hayden that people couldn’t get past. It wasn’t his appearance; the slight frame and sickly pale complexion with red blotches encircling his eyes, which made him look as if he’d been half drowned in the river. He had a kind of damp aura that he gave off and after spending any time with him staff would often want to sit next to a warm radiator afterwards, even in the middle of summer. To compound this, his skin was permanently clammy and he had an annoying habit of wanting to hold hands all the time. Maybe he was looking for some kind of attachment or comfort having been abandoned as a baby? Whatever it was, physical contact with Hayden felt unpleasant for some reason that she couldn’t articulate. When he took your hand it sometimes felt as if he was pulling you down into a cold dark place. Like a drowning victim grabbing you and pulling you under with them. More than one person described the symptoms of a mild anxiety attack when they held his hand for too long. It was hard to breathe and all you could was to try and get your hand back as quickly as you could before you went under. It was a strange sensation and very unsettling. There was definitely something that was just not right about the boy. Rose also disliked his morbid curiosity around death. Lots of kids catch and kill insects but Hayden would take on a maniacal fascination as he took every opportunity to slowly drowned them in the bathroom or outside in puddles.
The wind pelted the windows with rain causing the glass to creak in the frames. Rose felt a sudden sense of lonely isolation which Hayden’s presence only served to increase. He was drifting towards her now, arms outstretched. One hand twiddled a pen between his fingers while the other reached for Rose’s hand. The night-carer instinctively backed away from Hayden and managed to slip behind him in an effort to avoid physical contact. She was deceptively agile; a rare trait for a fourteen stone Hooker.
“Flicker is coming” Hayden’s shrill flat voice intruded on Rose’s thoughts. “Has Flicker has woken up Riverman?” Hayden rarely showed any emotion but his tone sounded a little different tonight. It wasn’t like him to get up either. “Don’t let the river in”. Rose didn’t want to dwell on it though because at that moment the visitor at the front door knocked a second time and this time Rose really did jump, noticeably.
“Fff… flip” she hissed, only just able to stop herself from using an expletive in front of one of the kids. The creeping anxiety was swelling within her, no doubt mirroring the rising Tees outside. Why was she feeling so restless tonight?
“What are you doing Hayden? Get back to bed; it’s late” Rose said composing herself as Hayden tried to take her hand again.
“No, I’m not going to hold hands Hayden. Now go back to bed, you pickle”.
“Riverman is coming, Rose”. He had never used Rose’s name before.
“Bed!”
“No good. No.” Hayden pointed to the television. Rose had had Big Brother on in the background to try and take her mind off the weather and the steadily increasing sense of unease. Mind-numbing reality TV was a great way of switching off from the real world.
“Flicker can see in” and the boy went to the television and turned it off. He quickly turned his back to the TV so as not to look at it. He hated televisions, mirrors and baths, just about anything that could show him his reflection.
“Hey, I was watching that ya Grub” Rose complained mildly. “Now get back upstairs this minute”.
“Riverman will come with Flicker”.
“Hayden, what happens when you become too tired?” Rose felt her edginess starting to erode her patience now. “You have seizures don’t you. So get back up to bed. And quietly” Rose steered him into the hallway and he started to go upstairs. He paused once to look at his twiddling pen dancing in his hand before making his way upstairs. As Rose went to answer the door her sense of unease swelled further. Hayden’s words had sunk in and were now sloshing around her head. It was amazing how he could make a person freak out and how easily it was to
soak up his creepy damp aura. Rose knew she wasn’t being deliberately unkind either. Most staff felt uneasy around him. One night she had been on a sleep-in shift and she had awoken from a troubled dream. It was the middle of the night and somehow Hayden standing in the middle of the sleep-in room. He stood in the shadow’s watching her like some eerie spectre. She could have sworn she’d locked the door when she went to bed but she must have forgotten that night. It was very unlike her. Since then whenever she did a sleep-in she would lock the door and pull a chair across it to keep it shut. Other staff had similar stories.
The mounting sense of trepidation drifted closer to Rose as she made her way down the chilly hallway towards the front door. She opened the inner porch door and could see the outline of a figure outside behind the frosted glass. Hayden’s concern about a Riverman floated through her mind again. A split-second before the lights in the house dimmed as the power dipped. Rose froze for a moment in the darkness but then they came back on again and she breathed a deep sigh. Whoever was out there it better be important because she was in no mood for games tonight.
After checking she had the staff mobile phone in her pocket she opened the front door and was met by a
