The Darkness Within

by Alanna Knight

  Meg had a better idea. Living in Edinburgh gave her little chance of exploring the sea coast, beyond school trips, but with nothing really more exciting to do than eat ice cream, she told Magnus.

  Sven, who had overheard them, had an idea. ‘I could take them somewhere in the car, get them out from under your feet,’ he told Emily.

  ‘Oh, would you? I’m sure they would love a picnic and Meg would be delighted to explore Skara Brae.’

  ‘That’s an excellent idea.’

  ‘Then I’ll leave it to you and you can consult with Meg where she would most like to go.’

  Mary entered into the discussion. Brooding over the recent criminal attacks and nervous that the taste for violence might be catching, she was fearful for the two children. However, Emily assured her that Sven was completely reliable and would not let them out of his sight, as he had promised, and he assured her that they would be quite safe at Skara Brae, now so famous that even Americans came to wonder at it.

  ‘Hardly surprising,’ said Mary acidly, ‘since they haven’t any ancient history of their own.’

  ‘Only the white incomers to North America,’ said Faro. ‘The South is rich; there was a civilisation in Peru when we were still living in our caves.’

  Meg was duly consulted. Delighted at the prospect of another adventure in the motor car with Sven, she was less eager for Skara Brae than the sea caves, entranced by her introduction to those near at hand, while Magnus said there were still some that he had never had a chance to explore up the coast further away than Hopescarth and Skailholm. Yes, still in walking distance, but much easier to get there by motor car.

  And so they set off on a calm, sunny morning accompanied by a large picnic basket. The grown-ups, they felt, were glad to get on with their preparations for departure and quite pleased at the prospect of Sven taking them off their hands for a day.

  Once out of sight of the house, the children seated in the front seat with Sven, Meg said: ‘We have a change of plan, Sven.’

  ‘And what is that?’

  Magnus said: ‘Meg would like to see some of the sea caves we haven’t explored yet. There is one not too far away, just a mile or two further down the coast road and we can scramble down the cliff face.’

  Sven frowned. ‘You are disobeying your mother and I have promised to watch over you.’

  ‘We don’t need that,’ said Magnus, aware that Sven did not share his delight in getting close to the sea, and although Sven had not said so, he disliked enclosed spaces and had a definite phobia about them. Once he told Emily that he thought it dated back from being accidentally locked in a cupboard when he was a small boy in Bergen. He had never discovered whether that was by accident or design to terrify or punish him, but it had had its required and lasting effect.

  As well as a fear of confined spaces, he also suffered from vertigo, and although he felt safe enough in a motor car on narrow cliff roads, nothing would make him venture to scramble down a steep cliff. He shuddered, but he could hardly admit this to two children. Magnus was one thing but the girl in particular was utterly fearless. Presumably, she had inherited that from her policeman grandfather. ‘You had better let me know when we approach the area and I’ll let you off.’

  ‘You are not coming with us?’

  ‘No, I am no good with heights.’

  They looked a little disdainful. Grown-ups were supposed to be good at everything, at least they did not readily admit otherwise, afraid children would think them cowards. Or take advantage of their failings.

  For reasons of his own, Sven was happy with this unexpected change of plan. He insisted they eat before they made the descent. Magnus, he knew, could climb like a mountain goat, he was used to the area, however he had promised to take care of Meg and told Sven he would take her hand over the hard bits.

  The day was no longer quite so sunny. It was past midday and cumulus clouds were gathering on the horizon, but the two children were indifferent to changes in the weather.

  ‘Don’t be too long,’ Sven said. ‘I’ll wait here for you.’

  ‘Have you got a book to read, or something?’

  Sven laughed. ‘I have things to do. Now, off you go. Remember, Magnus, you have to be out of the cave before the tide turns.’

  Magnus said shortly, ‘I know all about tides, Sven.’

  Watching them disappear, Sven decided this plan suited his purposes very well indeed.

  Halfway down the cliff, Magnus paused to fasten his bootlace while Meg inspected some interesting fissures like deep dark wells nearby.

  ‘What are these?’

  ‘Chimneys.’

  ‘Chimneys?’ Meg repeated and Magnus laughed. ‘Not for smoke from fires. These are for water. You’ll have heard about the roost. When the tide is high the waves flood the caves and rush out here.’

  ‘How fascinating. Can we watch for them? I’d love to see that.’

  ‘Maybe, if we look sharp. Hush! Listen. That’s a motor car on the road. That must be Sven. I recognise ours as it’s the only one hereabouts. Wait.’ He scrambled forward and climbed on to a boulder from which the road was just visible far above.

  ‘I can just see it. He’s heading back towards Yesnaby.’

  Meg shrugged. ‘Let’s get on, then.’ Frowning, she looked up at the sky. A wind had arisen and there were big clouds approaching from the west. ‘I felt a spot of rain. Let’s get to the cave before it starts.’

  Five minutes later and they had reached the largest cave Meg had seen and she was quite entranced by the way light from the outside flickered over the steep walls.

  ‘I think it goes a long way back,’ she whispered. ‘This is different, let’s explore.’

  Whispering wasn’t necessary but the cave had a temple-like structure, an atmosphere that somehow made Meg think of a chapel in the convent.

  ‘It’s very exciting. I’ve never been here before, either,’ said Magnus. ‘But we had better be careful, there are quite a few paths, leading in different directions. We don’t want to get lost.’

  ‘Let’s take this one,’ Meg said, ‘see where it leads.’

  On they went, still with that eerie light from the sea lighting the high steep walls ahead and behind them the soft susurrus of the sea. Suddenly they were faced with a high ledge. They had reached the back of the cave.

  ‘We can’t go any further. We’d better go back now,’ said Magnus.

  ‘Why?’

  ‘We’ve been here a long time, Meg.’

  ‘But there’s so much more to explore. Let’s stay a little longer.’

  ‘No,’ was the firm reply, ‘I think we should head back, now. Listen.’

  Halting in their tracks, there was a difference in the sound they had been hearing. That gentle susurrus of the sea had been replaced by a mightier, more ominous sound.

  The crescendo roar of wave on rock.

  Even before they reached the mouth of the cave, the tide had turned, the rushing waters had reached their knees and were getting steadily higher. Higher.

  They were trapped.

  Back in Yesnaby House, Emily and Rose had set aside their preparations to have a cup of tea, Mary having gone to her usual women’s guild meeting, so they had been rather enjoying the kind of chat sisters enjoy, quite trivial but rather stifled by the presence of another female, particularly one’s grandmother.

  Suddenly they observed the change in the weather, how the sunny morning had disappeared into heavy mist, which in turn had become a steady rainfall.

  ‘The children should be back any time now,’ said Rose, looking at the clock that she had never liked with its unnerving staccato tick. Strange how in moments of tension clocks’ ticking gets louder and louder, as if they are perfectly aware of what is going on in humans’ minds.

  Emily smiled and poured a second cup of tea. ‘No need to worry, Rose. Sven will be looking after them.’

  ‘They’re going to get very wet,’ said Rose anxiously, remembering Meg’s recent heavy cold.<
br />
  Emily shook her head. ‘They won’t melt. Children like Magnus are used to it, and so should you be after all the years we both spent here at his age. It was always raining.’

  Footsteps, and Faro appeared from upstairs where he had been studying the weather with the telescope, one thing he would be very sorry to leave behind in Yesnaby. He had nothing like it in Edinburgh and he was already planning, if Emily ever offered him anything from the house, what he would choose.

  ‘Getting rough out there,’ he pointed to the window, already streaming with rain and looked around. ‘Where are the children? Shouldn’t they be back by now?’

  Emily said: ‘They’ll be here shortly. Sven will be taking care of them. I hope Meg managed to get a glimpse of Skara Brae before the rain.’

  Rose was suddenly scared. She felt as if ice-cold water had been poured down her spine. Despite her sister’s words, she was certain something was wrong. She knew it; she knew these feelings were not to be ignored, her intuition like a voice whispering inside her skull told her that the children were in deadly danger.

  She ran into the hall, pulled her rain cape off the peg.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Emily demanded.

  ‘I’m going to look for them.’

  ‘Rose, you can’t do that. Be sensible, Skara Brae’s miles away. And I keep telling you, they are all right.’

  ‘How do you know that? Aren’t you worried about Magnus?’

  ‘Magnus can take care of himself. He’s used to this weather.’

  ‘Maybe he can take care of himself. But my Meg is out there too—’

  Certain that she was going to scream if Emily kept on nagging at her, all she wanted to do was go out and search for them, she didn’t care where or how. But she had to be outside this house looking down the road, waiting to see the motor car with Sven and the children.

  Faro knew his Rose. He could see and feel her anxiety striking into his bones. He knew it was useless to be like Emily and to try to reassure her.

  He dragged his coat from the peg. ‘I’m coming with you.’

  She gave him a bleak smile of thanks. As they opened the door, with Emily behind them murmuring about them being silly and getting wet, they could barely see through the mist, but they heard it above the storm: the sound of the motor car.

  Emily pointed to its gleaming shape approaching up the long drive. ‘There they are, didn’t I tell you Sven was taking care of them?’

  The car had reached the front door. They could hardly see inside for the rain on its windows.

  But they could see enough. Enough to know as he staggered out that he was alone. Magnus and Meg were not with him.

  Rose rushed forward, seized his arm. ‘Where are they? Where are they?’ she yelled.

  He stared at her, speechless. He stammered, ‘Are they not back yet?’

  ‘You were taking them to Skara Brae.’

  ‘They changed their minds, wanted to go to the sea cave. It’s quite near,’ he added as if to console them.

  ‘Oh my God,’ said Emily, suddenly white-faced. ‘Not that one, not the one with the roost.’ And Rose remembered ten years ago how she had been trapped and almost drowned.

  In the cave, Meg said: ‘What can we do? Shall we swim for it?’

  ‘We can’t swim, not in that sea, Meg, we’d be dashed to pieces.’

  ‘There is maybe a way out,’ said Meg. ‘Remember that chimney on the way down?’

  ‘Let’s try for it.’ But he thought it was a forlorn hope. There was no certainty it connected with this particular cave and as they plunged through the rising water, he remembered that the cave branched off in several directions.

  As they reached the junction, Meg said: ‘Which one?’

  Magnus had no idea. He pointed towards the left. ‘This one?’

  Meg shook her head. ‘No, I think it’s over there, where the rock slopes down.’

  There was not time for argument, the water rising steadily and stronger in intensity. Soon it would reach their waists and if it got any higher and fiercer, then even a tall man would succumb.

  Magnus was taller and stronger than Meg. She was already a bit off balance and he reached out and took her arm as they fought their way through the waves. Was this the right branch? If he allowed Meg to choose and she chose the wrong one, then they would drown.

  The waters were now too strong and noisy for them to speak to each other. All he could shout was: ‘Are you sure?’

  She wasn’t. She was certain as she tried to stay standing and the water was past her waist that it would swallow them both. There was nothing they could do now. Only pray, as the nuns had taught her. But would anyone hear her?

  ‘Oh, Magnus, I am sorry,’ she sobbed. And suddenly there was a gleam of light in the darkness ahead. ‘That’s it, oh, Magnus, that’s the chimney! Please God—’ she gasped as the relentless flood engulfed her, knocking her feet from under her.

  Magnus was now half-swimming, holding her head above the water As they reached the wall where the cave ended, he saw that someone had answered her prayer. There was a high ledge of rock. He could save Meg.

  ‘Up you go,’ he shouted, and with all his bodily strength heaved her upward on to the rock. At first she slipped back and then with his weight behind her she got a foothold. There was another smaller rock, nearer the light from the chimney.

  ‘Stand up and I’ll push you through.’

  She turned, her face panic-stricken. ‘What about you? I can’t leave you.’

  ‘Yes, you can. You have to go, you’re smaller than me.’

  ‘No,’ she screamed. ‘No!’

  ‘Do as I say, Meg. Go on!’

  She was halfway up the chimney. She wasn’t sure that she could make it, and when she turned and looked back, it was in time to see the final wave reach over his head.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Outside the house, Sven could not get the motor car started. Water had got into the engine. He gave a helpless shrug.

  Faro, followed by Rose and Emily, leapt out. ‘Come on!’

  They began running down the long empty road in the direction of the sea cave; something had happened to the children and Sven was to blame. As they needed all their breath against the high wind and the rain, there was no time to put into words the questions and dreadful thoughts going through their heads.

  ‘He was taking care of them,’ Rose yelled, trying to keep up with the two who had longer legs than hers, but Faro was conscious of his seventy years, sadly lacking the energy of his younger days. His two little girls disappeared on a family picnic once long ago and got stranded on rocks while the sea piled in. Did either of them remember?

  God only knew what had happened to Meg and Magnus. Where were they? The tide was now a roaring, massive angry white foam smashing against the rocks far below, in a steady, relentless boom, rendering mere mortals helpless against its onslaught.

  Rose knew what that meant. The sea cave would now be flooded and unless Magnus had found a way out, they were both lost, drowned. Dead. Oh, dear God, how would she tell Jack that she’d lost his beloved child.

  As they reached the cliffs they saw the dreaded roost, the sea, like some submerged monster, gushing out of the chimney.

  They stopped, huddled together, Emily sobbing ‘Magnus, Magnus’, and clinging to Faro.

  Then through the rain and mist, the sight of two tiny shapes on the road, huddled together and stumbling along the road.

  ‘Magnus!’

  ‘Meg!’ The yards between them disappeared and the children were held close by two mothers, sobbing with relief.

  Faro swept Meg up in his arms but Magnus insisted that he was fine and quite capable of walking. ‘I’m too big for anyone to carry me,’ he said proudly to Emily. Meg leant over to Rose, and seizing her hand, she cried: ‘Magnus saved me, Mam. He pushed me up through the chimney. But I hung on to him.’

  Keeping pace with them, Magnus said: ‘I didn’t think I could make it through the chimney,
it was too narrow, but she wouldn’t let go. It was awful,’ he said to Emily, who had her arm tight about him.

  Meg gasped out, ‘I held on to him and yelled for help. My arm was just about breaking but I wasn’t going to let him go. Then an old shepherd with his collie dog, coming back from the fields, must have heard me and he got Magnus out.’

  ‘It was a very tight squeeze,’ he smiled at her. ‘I felt bruised all over. I could never have managed, even with Meg’s help.’

  ‘Where is this shepherd now?’ Emily asked. ‘Was he from Hopescarth?’

  ‘I didn’t know him, never seen him before,’ Magnus said. ‘When I thanked him all he said was “You’re both safe now. Go home”.’

  Meg looked at him and whispered: ‘When we turned round he had gone, remember?’

  Magnus laughed. ‘Just seemed to vanish into the mist,’ and Meg added in a solemn whisper, ‘I think he was sent, Mam.’

  Faro ignored that. ‘Whoever he was, we must find him and thank him for saving your lives.’ To which Emily added: ‘If he’s a local shepherd, everyone hereabouts will know him.’

  At that moment, Sven and the motor car appeared. Wordlessly, they piled in. Furious questions surfaced but they could wait. They were almost home, the tall house visible beyond the drive.

  An hour later, warmed, well wrapped in dry clothes and seated before a good fire, in Emily’s handsome bedroom, the two children were happily consuming scones and already their adventure was just that. A great adventure with all the terrifying bits now relegated into an exciting memory for those years long after childhood was past.

  In the kitchen their parents were consuming cups of tea, and something a little stronger for Faro, still suffering from shock. Anger erupted in a tide against Sven. They turned to him, explanations were required.

  ‘If it hadn’t been for Magnus’s quick-thinking and his knowledge of the sea caves, a few minutes more and they would have both drowned,’ Emily said.

  ‘The children are safe,’ he said lamely. ‘Thank God.’

  ‘Indeed, but no thanks to you,’ Rose replied acidly. ‘Why did you leave them?’