[Ben Whittle Investigations 01.0] The Revelation Room

by Mark Tilbury

  ‘Come forth, Satan. Come forth and show yourself.’

  Satan seemed content thrashing about on the floor inside the Imposter’s body. Ebb had intended to drop some acid onto the weasel’s other hand, but he didn’t want to risk his own safety by getting too close. A wounded animal was a dangerous animal.

  ‘Come forth, Satan. Come into the light and face the truth.’

  Satan’s rage frothed and bubbled on the Imposter’s lips. Ebb wouldn’t have been at all surprised to see ectoplasm forming a cocoon around him. He retreated to a safer distance and screwed the cap back onto the bottle.

  ‘I shall send Sister Alice and Brother Tweezer to attend to you later.’

  The Imposter didn’t look very grateful. He wriggled and moaned and scraped his head on the rough concrete floor as if trying to burrow his way out of the Revelation Room.

  Ebb was in no mood to pander to whims. He walked out of the Revelation Room and locked the door behind him. As soon as he understood Satan’s purpose here, the Imposter could go straight to Hell courtesy of death by a thousand cuts.

  11

  Ben and Maddie found Marcus standing outside Marks and Spencer talking to a scruffy looking youth in baggy jeans and a tee-shirt with the word ‘Dope’ printed on the front. Marcus handed the kid something. They touched knuckles.

  In spite of the heat, Marcus was wearing a long trench coat that reached right down to his knees. As the youth walked away, he squinted at Ben with bloodshot eyes. He grinned at Maddie. ‘Hey, good to see you.’

  Maddie accepted Marcus’s outstretched hand and shook it. ‘Good to see you, too.’

  Marcus tipped back his straw hat. ‘I’ll cut straight to the chase. I’ve had a word with our illustrious leader, and he says he’s willing to give you guys a go.’

  Maddie punched the air. ‘That’s brilliant news.’

  Ben felt sick.

  Marcus let go of Maddie’s hand and grinned. ‘It sure is.’

  ‘We spent last night in an alleyway,’ Maddie said. ‘I got woke up about a hundred times by a bloody tomcat.’

  ‘Edward doesn’t like cats.’

  ‘Nor do I, now,’ Maddie said.

  ‘He says they’re devious. He’s got a dog. Max. An Alsatian. Do you like dogs?’

  ‘I don’t mind them.’

  ‘Ben?’

  ‘They’re all right,’ Ben lied. Aunt Mary had owned an Alsatian when he was about six or seven. It was the nearest thing he’d seen to a bona fide monster. He remembered being terrified of it every time they visited.

  ‘You might get a chance to walk it.’

  Ben shuddered. ‘Cool.’

  ‘There’s loads of land at the farm. I hope you’re fit. Anyway, we’d better get going. Edward’s waiting for us.’

  They followed Marcus through a series of alleyways and shortcuts to a wide tree-lined street. An assortment of large detached houses sat back from the road. Some of them had vacancies signs hanging in the front windows.

  Marcus pointed to a red Land Rover 90 parked a hundred yards up the road. ‘There’s Edward.’

  Ben’s stomach flipped over.

  ‘Make sure you address him as Father. And only speak to him when he speaks to you. Okay?’

  Maddie nodded.

  ‘Be respectful at all times.’

  Ben’s feet felt as if they were wading through treacle. Everything seemed to move in slow motion. The air was thick and heavy. Maddie grabbed his hand. She squeezed it once and then let go. Ben wiped his palms on the front of his jeans.

  As they got within a few feet of the Land Rover, a short, bald, overweight man dressed in a white cotton shirt and matching trousers stepped out onto the pavement. He dabbed his forehead with a red handkerchief. ‘This must be Ben and Maddie?’

  Marcus touched the rim of his hat. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Ebb stuffed the handkerchief into his pocket and held out his hand to Ben. ‘I’m Edward Ebb. Delighted to meet you, Ben.’

  Ben shook Ebb’s hand and told the biggest lie he’d ever told in his life: ‘Pleased to meet you.’

  ‘Father,’ Marcus prompted.

  ‘Father.’

  Ebb turned to Maddie and shook her hand. ‘You have lovely eyes, Madeline.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  Creep, Ben thought.

  ‘Marcus tells me you’ve both been sleeping rough.’

  Maddie nodded. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Ebb pursed his lips and studied Maddie. ‘You’ll be pleased to know those days are behind you now.’

  ‘Thank you, Father.’

  ‘You’re welcome, Madeline. Before we get going, I must ask you both to put on a blindfold.’

  Ben’s hesitated. ‘Why?’

  Ebb smiled; it reminded Ben of sugar-coated doughnuts for some inexplicable reason. ‘It’s nothing personal, Ben. Far from it. Just a security measure.’

  ‘I don’t get it.’

  Ebb sighed. ‘There are those who seek to destroy us. I know that sounds hard to believe in the twenty-first century. You’d think that such bigotry was dead and buried along with the dinosaurs. But bigotry is our greatest enemy. One we have to fight at all costs.’

  ‘Amen,’ Marcus chirped.

  ‘Should anyone leave us, we like to be assured that our location remains a secret.’

  My father found you easily enough, Ben thought. And so did we.

  ‘What you don’t know, you can’t tell,’ Maddie said.

  ‘Precisely, Madeline. We try to go about our business and avoid confrontation. We’re just a peace-loving group of people trying to do what is right in a morally bankrupt world.’

  ‘Amen,’ Marcus chirped again.

  Ebb pursed his lips and gazed off into the distance. ‘From the minute you leave the cradle, the bigots have got their claws into you. I hope in the coming months you will come to recognise the hypocrisy that dominates the so-called free world. See it for what it is and rise up against it.’

  A shiver rippled through Ben’s body.

  ‘If you both want to jump in the back, Marcus will sort out the blindfolds for you once you are comfortable.’

  Marcus held the door open as Ben and Maddie clambered inside. He then walked to the front of the vehicle and returned with two balaclavas. Neither had eyeholes. Just a small slit in the middle to accommodate the nose.

  Ben tried not to panic as his world was plunged into darkness. Marcus leaned across him and buckled his seatbelt. He could smell stale tobacco and garlic on Marcus’s breath. He imagined those rotting front teeth sinking into his flesh like a vampire’s.

  ‘How does that feel?’ Marcus asked him.

  ‘I can’t breathe.’

  ‘You’ll be fine once we get rolling,’ Ebb promised. ‘I’ll open the window.’

  Marcus slammed the door and went to Maddie’s side. Ben listened in disbelief as Maddie told Marcus that she couldn’t wait to get going.

  Ebb started the engine. ‘Is everyone set?’

  ‘Yes, Father,’ Maddie said.

  Marcus jumped in the passenger seat and closed the door.

  Ebb asked Ben if he was ready for the journey.

  Ben wanted to rip the balaclava off his head and run away as fast as his knackered knee would allow him.

  ‘Brother Benjamin?’ Ebb prompted.

  ‘Yes. Father. I’m fine.’

  12

  The journey lasted almost an hour. It seemed like a week to Ben. Every muscle in his body ached and his head pounded.

  Ebb switched off the engine. ‘Okay, folks, you can take the balaclavas off now.’

  Ben ripped the thing from his head and threw it on the floor. He screwed up his face as bright sunlight invaded his eyes.

  Ebb turned around. ‘Home sweet home.’

  Maddie touched Ben’s arm. ‘Are you okay?’

  Ben resisted an urge to reply with sarcasm. ‘I guess.’

  Marcus held the door open for Maddie and helped her out of the Land Rover.

  Be
n climbed out onto the parched earth of a farm courtyard. He stamped his feet to encourage life into his legs. A stone outbuilding and two derelict barns surrounded the courtyard. There was a tall thin guy wearing bright yellow overalls working in one of the barns.

  Ebb paraded up and down in front of Ben and Maddie like a sergeant major greeting raw recruits. ‘Welcome to The Sons and Daughters of Salvation. First things first; I’d like to introduce you to one or two house rules.’

  Maddie looked about her. ‘Wow. A farm.’

  Marcus warned her not to speak unless spoken to.

  Maddie plucked a strand of hair out of her eyes. ‘Sorry.’

  Ebb strutted about like a peacock. ‘Sorry is not a word I accept, Madeline. Sorry implies that you have disobeyed me. However, on this occasion, I will let it go because you are still new. A little excited, perhaps?’

  ‘Yes, Father.’

  Ebb smiled.

  A smile cooked in oil, Ben thought.

  ‘The Sons and Daughters of Salvation are dedicated to serving the Lord Jesus Christ. We like to think that it offers our members a level of depth and meaning that cannot be found in the outside world.’

  Ben looked around the courtyard. Was his father being held captive in one of the barns?

  He’s dead. Dead and buried and rotting away in the cold earth.

  Ebb brushed something from the front of his shirt. ‘As Brother Marcus has already said, you are only permitted to speak when I address you. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes, Father,’ Maddie said.

  Ebb looked at Ben with coal-black eyes. ‘Benjamin?’

  My name’s Ben, not fucking Benjamin. ‘Yes, Father.’

  Maddie pointed to a brick-built tower standing fifty feet above the courtyard. ‘What’s that?’

  ‘For the last time, stop speaking out of turn, Madeline,’ Ebb said. ‘If you have questions, Brother Tweezer will be more than happy to answer them later.’

  Ben looked at the tower. There appeared to be someone standing at the top. A distant blob decked in yellow.

  Ebb continued. ‘Now, listen up, because this is important: every member of The Sons and Daughters of Salvation is considered an equal. We wear the same clothes. We eat the same food. We speak the same language. Anyone who gets ideas above their station will be punished. Is that clear?’

  ‘Yes,’ Maddie said.

  Ben nodded.

  Ebb drew himself up to his full height of just over five and a half feet. ‘It is not sufficient to simply nod your head.’

  ‘Sorry.’

  Sweat trickled down Ebb’s face and glistened on his top lip. ‘You’ll learn, Benjamin. You’ll learn soon enough. It’s still early days. We’re bound to encounter teething problems. As long as you understand the chain of command. Myself, then Brother Tweezer, then Brother Marcus and Sister Alice. You may go to any of the aforementioned with grievances, and they will bring those grievances to me. Do you understand?’

  Ben and Maddie answered in unison. ‘Yes, Father.’

  ‘But positive people don’t carry grievances. Positive people get on with the job in hand. Positive people serve the Lord without fear or favour. I want you to both empty your pockets and place the contents on the ground in front of you.’

  Ben suddenly remembered the pay-as-you-go phone he’d bought from Tesco the night before. Pastor Tom had told him to hide it somewhere safe in case of emergencies. What was he supposed to do now? Pretend he didn’t have it? Hurl it into the bushes surrounding the courtyard?

  After a few moments, Ebb asked, ‘Have you got a problem, Benjamin?’

  Ben shook his head.

  ‘I don’t hear you, my friend. I asked if you’ve got a problem?’

  Ben’s head was alive with the damned things. ‘No, Father.’

  ‘Then why are you standing there as if you’ve been struck dumb? I asked you to empty your pockets.’

  Ben looked at the baked earth. The baked earth offered no solutions. He took the phone from his pocket and laid it on the ground, along with some loose change and a Snickers wrapper.

  Ebb smiled. ‘Do you have a sweet tooth, Benjamin?’

  ‘Sometimes. When I need energy.’

  ‘Address the Father properly,’ Marcus shouted.

  Ben bowed his head. ‘Sorry. Father.’

  ‘The Lord shall give you all the energy you need, Benjamin. He shall shine his light upon you and fill you with His energy.’

  ‘Yes, Father.’

  Ben watched Maddie empty the front pouch of her dungarees. A pack of chewing gum. A comb. Some lipstick. A screwed up fiver. A keying with a Snoopy fob.

  ‘Thank you, Madeline. Now I’d like you both to strip down to your underwear.’

  ‘Here?’ Maddie moaned.

  ‘It’s a warm day.’

  ‘But I burn in the sun.’

  ‘You won’t be in the sun long enough to burn,’ Ebb snapped.

  Whilst they stripped, Marcus scooped up their belongings and stuffed them into the pocket of his trench coat. He then walked over to one of the barns.

  Ben stood in his boxers. The sun beat down on his exposed body. The earth scorched his feet. Out of the corner of his right eye he could see Maddie looking at him. He stared ahead, flushed with embarrassment. He hated his body. He looked like a skeleton with a stoop.

  Marcus returned with a large black refuse sack. He pulled out two pairs of bright yellow overalls and handed one each to Ben and Maddie. ‘Put these on.’

  The overalls were baggy around the middle and two inches short on the legs. Ben was just relieved to be covered up.

  Marcus put Ben and Maddie’s clothes in the bin liner and knotted it at the top.

  ‘Get Bubba to burn them,’ Ebb said. ‘When he’s done that, tell him to come to the kitchen.’

  ‘Yes, Father.’ Marcus walked towards the barn where the tall, thin guy was working.

  Ben watched Marcus walked towards the barn where the tall, thin guy was working. Now all he had left in the world was a hideous pair of bright yellow overalls and a thumping headache. This was going so much better than he could have imagined. All he needed now was Ebb’s dog to rip him to shreds, and his day would be complete.

  Ebb stood in front of Maddie. ‘Yours look made to measure, Madeline.’

  ‘Thank you, Father.’

  Ebb inclined his head and moved in front of Ben. ‘Yours seem to have come up short, Benjamin.’

  ‘Yes, Father.’

  ‘Brother Gerald was about your height. I’ll see if Sister Alice can find you a pair of his.’

  Ben wondered where Brother Gerald was now. Dead? Murdered? Buried in a field?

  ‘I trust you don’t mind hand-me-downs?’

  Ben saw something flash in those coal-black eyes. Something akin to a shadow in a window. ‘No, Father.’

  Ebb smiled. ‘Perhaps some of his enthusiasm might rub off on you. They say energy can be stored within material objects.’

  Marcus returned from the barn. ‘All good, Father.’

  Ebb rubbed his hands together. ‘Let’s get inside and meet the others.’

  They followed the two men out of the courtyard and along a narrow path overgrown with weeds and moss. Brambles and tall hedgerows flanked the path.

  Ben trod on a stone and then stubbed his toe on the path. ‘Can’t I have my trainers back?’

  ‘We don’t wear shoes,’ Ebb said.

  Ben looked at Ebb’s sandals. What the hell was that on his feet, then? Illusions?

  ‘Shoes inhibit direction,’ Ebb added. ‘We must be in direct contact with Mother Earth at all times.’

  Ben wondered what happened in winter. Did everyone have to walk around barefoot and end up with frostbite?

  They walked up to a large detached farmhouse with dirty, cream-coloured rendering and rotted window frames. There was a brass wolf’s-head knocker fixed to the front door. Ebb banged it three times, pausing a few seconds between each one. ‘The place needs a bit of work, but the Lord is ou
r main priority.’

  It needs demolishing, Ben thought.

  A short, middle-aged woman with grey spiky hair answered the door. She was also dressed in the obligatory yellow overalls. She wore a pair of half-rim spectacles with gold chains dangling from the arms.

  ‘Good afternoon, Sister Alice.’

  ‘Good afternoon, Father.’

  ‘I’d like you to meet Benjamin and Madeline. They’ll be joining us.’

  Alice smiled. ‘Pleased to meet you both.’

  Ben didn’t like the look of Alice any better than he liked the look of Ebb and Marcus. It was as if they all wore masks over their true identity. Beneath the masks, he imagined maggots crawling amongst rotting flesh.

  Alice stood aside. They walked into a hallway with filthy cream walls and a bare oak floor. ‘I trust you are well, Father?’

  Ebb closed the door. ‘Very well, Sister Alice. Thank you.’

  Alice led them along the hallway and into a massive kitchen. One end of the kitchen was given to functionality, with a large ceramic sink and a range of dark-oak cupboards and base units. Ben thought it made his local fried-chicken outlet look obsessed with hygiene. A huge pine farmhouse table, that looked capable of hosting the Last Supper, dominated the centre of the room.

  Alice fetched a teapot from the worktop next to the sink and plonked it down on the table. ‘I’ve just made it.’

  Ebb told Ben and Maddie to sit at the table. He then turned to Marcus. ‘After you’ve changed, I want you to relieve Brother Tweezer up the tower. I’d like him to come and meet Madeline and Benjamin.’

  Marcus stood up. He inclined his head like a butler and then walked out of the room. Ben noticed a strange look in Marcus’s eyes. A blank look that suggested he wasn’t in control of his own mind.

  Alice poured tea for everyone. Ben didn’t want tea. Especially black tea without sugar. To make matters worse, he burnt his top lip when he took a sip.

  Ebb grinned. A greasy grin that smeared oil on his chops. ‘I’m sorry if it’s not to your usual taste, but I’m afraid we don’t use artificial flavourings.’

  Dinner will be a riot, then, Ben thought.