Colton Manor

by Carroll, Francene

  Silently she made her way to the kitchen door and pulled it open. It was with some difficulty that she found her way through the entrance hall in the darkness, and she was very glad she had knocked over the vase a couple of nights earlier when she collided with the hall stand. Her breath was coming out in ragged sobs as she tried the door. It was locked from inside, and she was about to give into despair when she remembered there was a spare key in the top drawer of the stand. She pulled the drawer open and almost fainted with relief when her fingers closed around it. She paused for just a moment to get her bearings but then she heard Damien bellow with rage from the kitchen. She had to move fast.

  “Don’t you dare try to run away from me again, Anna.” With shaking hands she put the key in the lock, knowing she only had seconds till he found her. She had never used this key before and for one terrifying moment it seemed like it was not going to turn, but then it gave way suddenly and she was outside in the cold night air. She closed the door softly, and locked it just as Damien stormed into the hall. She ducked down so he couldn’t see her through the glass as he tried the handle, and finding it still locked she heard his heavy footsteps on the stairs.

  “I will kill you this time, I swear to God I will. You have tested me beyond my limits.” As she ran from the house Ursula glanced back and she could see his shadow move up the stairs. It was raining again but she barely even noticed it soaking through her clothes.

  There were no neighbours for miles and the only plan she could think of was to follow the coastal road to Bonnie’s house where she could get help. When she realised that this is exactly what he’d expect her to do she stopped abruptly. The road was very narrow with cliffs on one side and a steep, rocky incline on the other for most of the way. It would be very dangerous for her to walk along in the dark, and if he did come after her there was nowhere to hide.

  She was torn as she tried to come up with another idea. She knew the beach went all the way around to Bonnie’s house, but there were rocks in between where the cliff jutted out and it would be difficult to find her way over them in the dark. She also had no idea if it was high tide and how far the water came up over the rocks. As she stood there trying to make up her mind she heard him come back down the stairs. She had to make a choice very quickly. With a last glance back in the direction of the road, she turned and ran towards the cliff and the path leading down to the beach.

  It was raining harder now, dripping into her eyes and blurring her vision. There was a full moon but it was hidden by clouds, and she found it very hard to see more than a few steps in front of her. When she heard the front door of the house fly open she picked up her pace as she headed in the direction of the path. Despite the darkness he somehow seemed to know where to find her because she soon heard his long strides and heavy breathing behind her, catching up fast. Just as she reached the spot where she thought the path began she stopped dead and stifled a scream. There was a woman standing there, just looking at her. Then she was gone.

  Something about the breeze on her face made Ursula look down at her feet and she was horrified to discover that she was standing at the edge of the cliff. If she’d taken just one step further she would have fallen right over. She had no time to overcome her shock because he was almost upon her now. As she glanced backwards the moon came out from behind a cloud and she saw his face. His empty expression sent a shudder of fear through her body.

  “There is no escape for you,” he called. She knew it was futile to even try to talk to him, but she couldn’t help herself from screaming back as the wind whipped her wet hair around her face.

  “Why are you doing this to me?”

  “You know very well why.”

  Several times he almost caught up with her on the steep descent, but she managed to get away. As soon as her feet touched the sand she ran as fast as she could across the beach towards the rocks. The cold air was raw in her lungs, and she felt like they were going to burst as she fought her way through the soft powdery surface. The only sound she could hear was the pounding of her own heart and the roar of the ocean in her ears. She dared to hope she’d manage to outrun him, but just as she stepped onto the rocks his hand closed tightly around her upper arm. Wrenching herself away she managed to get a few steps ahead of him before he caught up with her again, turning her around to face him with both hands now biting into her flesh painfully.

  For one moment she wasn’t looking at Damien at all, but a burly man with a heavy black beard and eyes filled with hatred. She lashed out blindly with her arms and legs, landing a punch on his face that caused him to lose his balance. As he slipped on the rocks he let her go for a second, and she jumped away from him. Even as he was falling he lunged for her leg but this time she was too fast, and by some miracle she managed to make her away across the slippery rocks towards the cliff face without losing her footing.

  It was much easier to feel her way over the rocks using the cliff to guide her, but with the water lapping at her feet she feared the tide was rising. She could easily be swept out to sea if it got any higher, but she had no choice but to try and get to the beach on the other side of the rocks. There was no way she could turn back now. Above the roar of the ocean she was sure she heard his voice again, and Ursula knew he would not give up the chase easily.

  As she felt her way along the cliff face she came across a crack big enough to squeeze into. She did not hesitate to plunge into the darkness of the cave, knowing it could be her only chance of survival. The floor was slimy beneath her bare feet and she immediately stepped on seaweed, but she was beyond caring about such things. She was feeling her away along the damp walls when Damien bellowed right outside the entrance, almost causing her heart to stop. If she could find the cave, he could too, and she was relieved when just a couple of minutes later she came across another narrow opening. This one was too small for him to get through, and even she had trouble squeezing into it. She scraped herself on the sharp edge of the rock and grimaced in pain.

  Although her eyes had adjusted a little by now, she still could not see well. She sensed she was in a much bigger space, and she sat down on the damp ground, preparing to wait it out until the sun came up. If she ventured any further she could get lost or hurt herself on some sharp rocks. Her hope was that by morning Damien would have given up his search and gone back to the house.

  She closed her eyes but they flew open again when she heard his voice. This time it sounded further away. She was shaking uncontrollably as she buried her head in her hands, and tried to get a grip on herself. The thought of how close she had come to being murdered by someone she had just made love with was horrifying, but she couldn’t afford to give into hysteria now. She knew in her heart it was not Damien who had attacked her so brutally, but how she was going to convince other people of that she did not know. She was thankful that at least Bonnie would believe her, if she managed to make it to her house in one piece, and this was the only comfort she could find as she sat shivering in the darkness, waiting for the first light of dawn.

  Chapter Eight

  Despite her terror Ursula was physically exhausted and she dozed off a couple of times in the damp, dark cave. Each time she was awoken by the sound of Damien yelling outside. Sometimes he sounded close and at others far away, as if his voice was carried on the wind from a long distance. He wasn’t just calling for Anna now but Mary and Rebecca as well. Although the newspaper article she had found at the library did not mention the names of Edward Stanton’s other wives she guessed that this was who he was chasing in his delusional state. When the light finally began to creep into the cave Ursula said a prayer that her ordeal was almost over.

  The cavern was big, as she’d suspected, and she found several other narrow passages leading off it deeper into the labyrinth of caves that ran beneath the cliffs. It occurred to her that if she followed one of these passages she might find another way out on the other side of the rocks. She had not heard Damien’s voice for several hours, and she had no idea if he wa
s still looking for her, but her chances were better if she got as far away from Colton Manor as possible before coming out onto the beach.

  Although it was growing lighter with each second, it was still quite dark in the passage and she could barely see in front of her. She kept her eyes strained for any glimmers of light in the distance which would indicate she was moving towards an opening. She came to a sharp corner that led into a dead end and she turned around to retrace her steps, but to her intense frustration she seemed to walk for a very long time without coming back to the place she’d started. She must have somehow entered another tunnel without realizing it and now she was hopelessly lost.

  Trying to stay calm she reasoned that if she just kept walking she would eventually have to find the cave where she had spent the night, but after another ten minutes had passed she couldn’t deny the truth that she had absolutely no idea how deep the network of caves and tunnels extended beneath the cliff. She could wander around down here forever and no one would even think to look for her in this god forsaken place. She was unable to hold back her sobs as the gravity of her situation hit home.

  When she noticed a movement at the end of the tunnel, Ursula thought she must be imagining things. Her second thought was that Damien had managed to track her down. Her adrenalin kicked in as she prepared to flee, but as she took a closer look she was stunned to see that it was a woman standing there, just staring at her. She was dressed in a long old-fashioned green gown, and Ursula could just make out her features. She remembered the vision she’d had in the kitchen just before she’d lost consciousness, and the woman who had appeared out of nowhere on the path leading down to the beach, preventing her from falling over the edge of the cliff. Both of those women had dark hair but this one was fair.

  “Who are you?” said Ursula, cautiously moving closer. The woman didn’t say anything but turned and walked down the tunnel and Ursula followed her. She remained a shadowy figure in the distance, barely visible, until she made a sudden turn and Ursula found herself in a very big cave, even bigger than the one she’d spent the night in. To her joy, she could see faint rays of light coming from the opening on the other side of the cave, and the pounding of the ocean was much louder than it had been in a long time. She looked around to see where the woman had gone, but she was nowhere to be seen. Like the other vision on the cliff she had simply vanished into thin air. It was very clear that these were not flesh and blood humans she was dealing with.

  As Ursula walked through the cave towards the entrance on the other side she noticed a scrap of green cloth buried in the sand. She bent down to pick it up and as soon as her fingers closed around it she had a vision of the woman running into the caves at night in a state of complete terror. Someone was chasing her and she feared for her life, but she had become lost and Ursula felt strongly that she had died down here.

  The cave suddenly felt very eerie, and she stood up and hurried towards the light. When she finally came out onto the beach it was still early in the morning. The sun had not risen very high in the sky and the beach was misty, but not enough to obstruct her view. She could see just a clear, empty stretch of beach before her. Bonnie’s house was just around the point. There was no sign of Damien anywhere, and the tide was out, making it easy for her to walk across the rocks to the sand. Ursula glanced around warily, before she took off, running as fast as she could. Her worst fear was that any moment she would hear his footsteps behind her and, feel his blow on her skull as he knocked her to the ground, and this time she knew she would not get up.

  ****

  Ursula tried to compose herself as she stood on the front porch of Bonnie’s home. She knew she must be a terrible sight, with her bruised and bloody face and filthy nightgown. It was still very early and she hoped Bonnie was already up as she’d told her was an early riser. She knocked tentatively on the door at first, and then a little harder until she heard movement inside. Bonnie gasped loudly from behind the door as she looked through the peep hole.

  “Oh my god, Ursula, what happened to you?” she exclaimed, throwing open the door and pulling her inside. She was wearing pink pyjamas and she had cold cream smeared all over her face. “Did you have an accident? Are you okay? Where’s Damien?”

  “Damien is the one who did this to me.” Bonnie stopped dead and her face turned white.

  “Is he sick again?” She didn’t wait for Ursula to answer but led her by the elbow to the lounge and made her sit down. “I’m going to get some ice for that eye and then I’m going to call an ambulance and the police. I can’t believe this, I’m so sorry, Ursula. I wish Tom was here, he’d know what to do, but he’s away on a business trip.” She made a move towards the phone before changing her mind and going to the fridge, but once she had opened the freezer she seemed to forget what she wanted. She closed the door and just stood there wringing her hands. Sensing that she was on the verge of tears Ursula stood up and walked over to her, this time leading her towards the kitchen table.

  “It’s okay, Bonnie, I’m fine, and I don’t want you to call an ambulance or the police, at least not yet.” Bonnie sank down on a chair and put her head in her hands for a moment before taking a deep breath and looking up at Ursula.

  “It’s that house, isn’t it? I should never have sent him over there. If anything happens to him it’s my fault. And to think what could have happened to you. I’m so, so sorry, Ursula, I should have listened to Tom and stayed right out of it.”

  “You were only trying to help me, it’s not your fault, and Damien refused to believe there was something strange going on despite everything that happened there. I also chose to ignore all the signs too. Blame isn’t going to help us now.”

  “What do you want to do?”

  “I don’t know, but if we call the police and tell them what’s going on they’ll never believe us. I’m scared of what they’ll do to Damien if he refuses to cooperate. They might get forceful with him and he could get hurt.”

  “What would make Damien act like this?”

  “I couldn’t say this to anyone else but you, but from what I’ve seen and the way he talked to me, I think Damien is reliving Edward Stanton’s life. He thought I was Anna, and then later on the beach, he was calling out for Mary and Rebecca. They must have been Stanton’s other wives.”

  “Do you mean he’s possessed?”

  “I think so.”

  “I can’t believe it, it’s just horrible. What are we going to do?”

  “We have to get him away from the house, but how I don’t know yet. I was hoping you’d have some ideas.”

  “Before we even start to think about that we have to do something about those cuts on your face. That bump looks pretty nasty too. Are you sure you don’t want me to call an ambulance or the doctor?” Ursula didn’t get a chance to reply because they were interrupted by a voice from the doorway.

  “Mummy, what’s wrong with Ursula?” They both turned to see Bonnie’s six year old daughter, Tia, standing there watching them.

  “Oh, she just had a bit of a fall, but she’s fine now,” said Bonnie getting to her feet and ushering Tia to her room at the back of the house. She shot Ursula a look. “Ursula’s just going to have a lie down in the study while you get dressed. Then I’ll make your breakfast and you can go over to Timmy’s to play. What do you think of that?”

  “You didn’t tell me we were going to Timmy’s today.”

  “That’s because it’s a surprise. Now, what would you like for breakfast?”

  “Can I have Sugar Puffs?”

  “Sure, but just for today, sweetheart. Ursula, there’s a first aid kit in the bathroom upstairs. I’ll be with you as soon as I can,” called Bonnie. Ursula climbed the stairs and almost let out a shriek when she caught sight of herself in the bathroom mirror. She looked even worse than she’d imagined. Bonnie obviously didn’t want the other children to see her in this state, and she couldn’t blame her.

  After she’d cleaned herself up a little she went into the study
and sat on the couch, looking out the window at the beach. Her stomach lurched when she saw a man with dark hair walking along the sand at a very fast pace towards the house. She was about to run downstairs and warn Bonnie when she noticed a black and white dog running ahead of the man. It was just one of Bonnie’s neighbours out for an early morning walk.

  With a deep sigh she lay back on the sofa and closed her eyes. She was immediately overcome by a wave of exhaustion. She didn’t want to fall asleep because she knew once she left her guard down the traumatic memories from the previous night would all come flooding back, but she could not fight the drowsiness that overtook her. After a couple of minutes she gave up the futile battle.

  ****

  She sat up with a start and looked around the darkened room in confusion, trying to work out where she was. The rain was beating against the window, and there was a warm body pressed against her in the bed. It took her a few moments to realise she was back at Colton Manor, and the person sleeping soundly next to her was Damien. The whole terrible ordeal had been nothing more than a very vivid nightmare. She lay back on the pillows and laughed out loud with relief. It had all seemed so terrifyingly real, but this was the true reality. She touched Damien lightly on the shoulder just to be sure, and he groaned softly and reached for her in his sleep.

  Ursula wanted nothing more than to curl up with him and forget all about her dream, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep in a hurry. Instead she slipped out of bed very gently so as not to disturb him and pulled on her slippers and dressing gown.

  It was dark and cold downstairs, and even with the lights on she couldn’t shake the eerie impressions that lingered from her dream. As she made herself a cup of tea Ursula found herself jumping at every noise as she replayed the dream over and over in her mind. The most terrifying memory was of Damien leaning over her, squeezing her neck as he tried to kill her. The crazed look in his eyes had been so cold and emotionless, as if he had no feelings at all. She had never encountered anyone that seemed so empty, and the memory of it caused her to shiver and pull her dressing gown tighter around her body.