The Black Pathway

by Mark C Sutton

  “It’s got to be that way. Skerrington Forest is on the southern edge of Coldsleet Moor only. So, yeah, we go in that direction.” He advised.

  “What time is it, now?” She wanted to know. Gary looked down at his watch.

  “Half four.” He answered.

  “Do you think that we’ll be able to reach Knighton before it gets dark?” Shark asked.

  “Well, we’re off the moor now, so the going should be easier, and the mist has lifted a little… yeah, we should get there before nightfall.” Gary confirmed.

  “Okay. Then let’s keep on moving…” said Shark. She checked her mobile phone. “Still no signal. What about you two?” Gary and Mary checked their telephones.

  “Nothing.” Said Gary.

  “No signal at all.” Advised Mary.

  “Well, there’s nothing we can do about that. Let’s go.” Instructed Shark, and she began to lead the way, skirting along the edge of the dark and foreboding Skerrington Forest.

  ***

  Howard carried an unconscious Alex Crennell over his shoulder.

  “Why did you have to go and fuck up like that, eh Alex? Why did you have to go and attack me? There was no need for it. I’d put away my knife… and I hadn’t told you, but I’d sort of, well, warmed to you again… just a little. It was nice having you as company… a bit like the old times. Well, it was sort of nice. You’re still an irritating, boring little fucker, but, hey ho, we can’t change who we are, eh Alex? I didn’t tell you, but I was going to let you off… not kill you… after all. I’d had a change of heart, and that doesn’t happen very often, Alex. Once I’m set on doing something, I usually carry it through.” Said Howard. He shook his head. “I don’t know what it is about you, Alex, I really don’t. Even after all of the jibes and piss-taking that I’ve suffered from you over the years, I just can’t bring myself to absolutely hate you. Even when I came up here, this morning, onto the Black Pathway… with every intention of wiping you and that bitch Mary from off the face of the Earth forever… I still couldn’t hate you. And even now, Alex, even now… I don’t hate you. And I don’t really want to kill you, either. Mary… now she’s different… a worthless little whore. A fucking prick-teasing bitch. She means nothing to me, Alex, nothing at all. But you… it’s always been so difficult. My feelings, I mean. I think I just miss the times when we WERE friends, all those years ago. Yep, that’s it. There’s a little piece of my childhood, lodged somewhere in my fucked-up head, and you’re written all over it, stamped right through it.” Smiled Howard.

  Howard Trenton took in a deep smell of the air around him. That’s interesting. Mary and her friends have changed direction… now why would that be? Wondered Howard. He noticed a thick spread of trees appearing from out of the mist. Ah, that’s why. They’ve hit Skerrington Forest, and now they’re heading east, following the edge of it, until it turns north again. They’re planning on getting back to the Black Pathway, when it cuts through the woods.

  “We can’t have that, Alex! We can’t have Mary and her pals finding their way back onto the Black Pathway Trail! I tell you something, Alex… I should kill you just for having brought that little know-all Gary Ackley up on the trail with you. Things would have been a lot simpler without that smart-arse on board.” Howard laughed. “Fuck, he’s the only one of you that actually knows what they’re doing. Not to worry. We’ll pick him off, soon enough, and then that’ll just leave Mary and that other girl… what’s her name again? Ah, that’s it… Shark… stupid fucking name. Yeah, once Gary’s gone, taking out Mary and Shark will be a piece of piss. I’m looking forward to it. This is my last party, Alex, my last little party, and it’s really good to have you all up here, along with me.” Said Howard. He stopped walking for a moment; Alex’s body was slipping off Howard’s bony shoulder. Howard leaned his neck a little to one side, and tilted his shoulder bone upwards, which secured Alex again. “That’s better.” Commented Howard. He walked a few more yards, until he was at the edge of the forest, then turned left, following the scent of the three individuals that he was hunting down.

  Howard strided forward, taking large, confident steps, quickening his pace. He took another sniff of the air.

  “They’re not very far in front of us now, Alex. We’re going to have to take a quick detour in a minute, through the forest, so that we can get ahead of them without being seen. We’ve got a lot to get done… damn you, Alex, you really do make everything so difficult at times… can I let you into a secret, my friend? I’m not even sure if I’m going to kill you, anymore. Do I? Don’t I? Do I? Don’t I? And as for Mary, well… I’m even beginning to wobble a bit about her now, and do you know why, Alex? Do you want to know why? Because I can think of something even worse to do to her, that’s why. Yep, something even worse than just cutting her throat, or strangling her, or pounding her to death with my fists and my feet… no, that’s the easy way out. Mary should be made to really suffer, the fucking witch… it’s only fair. She led me on, Alex, she led me on, and then she turned on me, rejected me. She made me think that she was interested in me, but it was all some stupid sort of game. Nah, death… it’s too quick, too clean, too easy. I think I’ve got something much better in mind for dear, pretty, precious Mary.” Howard smirked.

  Alex Crennell began to wake up, his head pounding from the beating that he’d taken off Howard Trenton. Both of his eyes were already turning black, his nose, broken, still dripped with blood. Alex’s mouth felt completely numb; he didn’t realise that Howard had kicked out most of his teeth. Where the fuck am I? Oh shit… it’s Howard… he’s carrying me over his fucking shoulder. The top half of Alex’s body dangled down across Howard Trenton’s back. Howard’s overcoat was twisted slightly, and Alex noticed a knife-handle jutting out of one of the pockets. His hand began to creep towards the blade.

  “I tell you what’s going to happen to Mary, Alex.” Said Howard, oblivious to the fact that Alex was now conscious. “I’m going to have sex with her. Just like my father did with my mom. I’m going to have sex with Mary Broderick, and, in thirteen months time, she’ll give birth to our baby. That’s how long my mother was pregnant with me, Alex; thirteen months. It works different with… well, people like me. I’m going to have sex with Mary Broderick, but she won’t even know that we’ve fucked, because, well, it’s not how my kind do that sort of thing. There’s no… fucking, as such. Not when we reproduce. It doesn’t happen that way. No, I’ll give Mary the good hiding that she’s got coming to her, then I’ll make her pregnant, and then she’ll have to bring up my child, all on her own. Hey! I’ll have a legacy! I’ll…”

  “Crazy fucking CUNT!” Screamed Alex Crennell, before plunging the knife deep into Howard Trenton’s lower back, and as soon as he did this, his captor went crashing to the ground like a sack of bricks.

  ***

  Mary, Shark, and Gary all turned around at the sound of shouting, coming somewhere from behind them.

  “Fuck, did you hear that?” Asked Gary.

  “Yeah, I heard it. It sounds like people fighting or something. Do you think…”

  “I think that we need to get out of this place as fast as we can.” Said Gary, alarmed. “Come on, let’s pick up our pace.” He went on.

  “But what if it’s someone in trouble?” Wondered Mary.

  “I don’t care. We’re in enough trouble ourselves, without having to worry about other people. Whatever’s going on back there doesn’t sound good. Let’s just keep out of it and get ourselves back on the Black Pathway, before it gets dark.” Whispered Gary. A short, sharp scream pierced the mist-shrouded, late afternoon sky. Gary looked down at his hands; they were shaking. “Come on, girls, faster. We need to move.” He instructed. Shark and Mary did as Gary asked, both of them picking up their pace. Mary looked back over her shoulder, but all she could see was mist. A cold chill ran up her spine, and she turned back to her friends.

  “How far do you think it is until we turn north?” She asked Gary.

  “We
must be close. Look, I know that you’re frightened. So am I, and I don’t mind admitting it. Just focus on where we’ve got to get to. We’ll be okay, Mary, I promise.” Gary assured the young woman. I shouldn’t make promises that I’m not sure I can keep, thought Gary Ackley, privately.

  ***

  Howard Trenton sat in the mud, cross-legged, next to the dead body of Alex Crennell, his knife still protruding from Alex’s left eye. Howard shook his head slowly, from side to side, glancing sidewards towards Alex.

  “You always were a sly little fucker, Alex.” He said, grinning. Howard put his hand on the puncture wound to his back. He brought the hand back around and examined it; his palm and fingers were covered in thick, sticky blood. “You did a number on me there, Alex. That was a real good shot, you sneaky piece of shit. Well done! Who knows, I might even bleed to death out here now, because of you. Or maybe I won’t. I hope not, because I’m looking forward to having a play with lovely Mary. Hey, perhaps I could play with the other girl too… what’s her name again? Whale? Dolphin?” Howard tutted, then slapped himself on the forehead, leaving a blooded palm-print on it. “No, silly me, it’s Shark… yeah, maybe I’ll have a little bit of fun with her, too. Why not?” Said Howard. He twisted his body around, so that he was on all fours, and then crawled over to Alex. Howard pulled the knife from out of Alex’s eye-socket, and a small fountain of blood spurted up into the air. Howard put the knife back into his coat pocket, and then began dragging Alex’s body towards him. A few moments later, Howard was upright, and once again carrying Alex Crennell over his shoulder. He walked off, in the direction of the others, leaving a trail of blood, oozing from his back, behind him.

  ***

  Detective Tom Grogan, together with two other armed policemen, reached the stone-bridge on top of Leeton Hill. It was almost five o’clock in the afternoon. Tom was on the phone to Kevin Burrows.

  “Have they got any helicopter support sorted out yet, Kev?” He asked his colleague.

  “Yeah, there’s one flying out from Salegate in the next half hour. They should be in your area at around five forty five.” Kevin Burrows informed him. Tom looked ahead, at the mist.

  “Good. Not sure how much help it’s gonna be though, what with this mist… did you get that weather forecast for me, Kevin?”

  “Yep. Clear skies by around seven tonight. Of course, we can’t be specific about the moor and mountains…”

  “Yeah, I know that. At least we might get a bit more visibility. It’s pretty treacherous up here at the moment.” Replied Tom.

  “The two search teams from Knighton left just under an hour ago, by the way. If Howard Trenton’s up there on the Black Pathway, as that journal of his suggested he would be, then we’re gonna catch him.” Said Kevin.

  “Maybe, but he’s had one hell of a head-start on us. I just hope that he hasn’t got to Mary and Alex yet. You read what he said he was going to do to them both… is there any more news on Kate Williams?” Tom was eager to know.

  “Well, from what Julie down at the crime scene told me, there was no doubt that Kate and the other guy…”

  “Alan Lane.” Corrected Tom.

  “Yeah, Alan Lane… there was no doubt that Kate and Alan were murdered. Just like it said they were in that fucking freak’s journal.” Said Kevin.

  “The little fucker.” Snarled Tom, who had known Kate Williams from when she was a young girl. You’re out there somewhere, Trenton, thought Tom, and we’re gonna find you too, you crazy piece of shit.

  ***

  Mary, Gary and Shark followed a natural bend as Skerrington Forest began to climb to the north, towards Knighton and the Black Pathway.

  “Shouldn’t be much longer now.” Said Gary.

  “Good. I’m bloody knackered.” Replied Shark.

  “We all are.” Smiled Gary. “At least we haven’t heard any more fucked-up shit coming from behind us in the last half hour.”

  “What do you think that was?” Queried Mary.

  “Dunno… and I don’t really want to think about it. Let’s just concentrate on getting back to the pathway.” Gary suddenly remembered something. He took his backpack from off his shoulder and opened it up. After a few seconds of rummaging around, he pulled out a small portable radio. “I’d forgotten about this. Fancy a listen to some music, girls?” Gary asked, in a bid to ease the tension within the group.

  “Switch it on.” Smiled Shark. Gary put the wireless on. Static immediately filled the air. Gary began playing with the tuning dial. After a few moments, an old seventies song crackled across the airwaves.

  “Fucking hell, I remember my dad playing this, when I was a little kid.” Said Gary, smiling at the memory. “It’s bloody awful.” He added. “No wonder mom broke up with him.”

  “Are your parents divorced then?” Asked Shark.

  “Yep. Mom threw him out years back. He was a bit of a druggie… still is. If it weren’t for my old man though, I wouldn’t be into the punk stuff. I grew up listening to all of that sort of music, coz that’s what dad always used to listen to… The Pistols, Discharge, The Exploited, GBH, Crass… oh, man, I could go and on.” Said Gary.

  “This ain’t punk.” Said Mary, referring to the song that was playing on the radio.

  “Well, Dad did listen to some shit stuff as well. But then, don’t we all? How’s the pop-punk, eh Mary?” Gary teased her.

  “Pop-punk’s not shit!” Mary argued.

  “Yeah it is, it’s a pile of old fucking bollocks! It’s not proper punk.” Replied Gary.

  “I know. That’s why it’s called pop-punk.” Answered-back Mary, who then flicked the finger at Gary. And that’s when Shark let out a scream.

  ***

  That afternoon… on the day that Howard had followed Mary and the others up onto the Black Pathway… it was fucking mental. Our house, our home, it suddenly filled with coppers, and Kay and I were told that we would have to leave. Some neighbours of ours, Martin and Anne, they let us stay at theirs for a while. Within an hour of us arriving, the police were hammering on their front door. They wanted to speak to me about something that they’d found in Howard’s bedroom, concealed under a loose floorboard. So, off I went, back up to the house. The police led me into the kitchen. One of the coppers was sat at the table, and he had an A4 -sized book in front of him.

  “Sit down, Lucas.” Said the policeman, I forget his name. I did as I was told. The copper pushed the book in front of me. “Have you ever seen this before?” He asked. I looked at the book. Scrawled across the plain white cover, in red marker pen, were the words,

  ‘Journal of Howard Trenton - My thoughts and reflections on life’. I shook my head. I’d never seen the book before in my life. “Are you sure about that, Lucas?” Said the copper.

  “Absolutely.” I confirmed.

  The policeman that was questioning me about Howard’s secret journal didn’t exactly pull any punches.

  “If what your cousin has written down in this diary is true, then he’s gone up to the Black Pathway Trail to murder your wife’s sister, Mary.” The copper told me. “Seems that he’s not taken too kindly to being knocked back by her, a couple of weeks ago.” He continued. “There’s also a confession in here, in relation to a double-murder that Howard says he carried out last night, down near the harbour. Do you know a Miss Kate Williams, Lucas?” The policeman quizzed me.

  “I’ve heard Howard talk about her. I think that she was a staff member at Elman College… not one of his tutors though. I think that Kate was more of a friend to How…”

  “Nice to see that he treats his friends with such kindness. It says in this journal that he tried impregnate her, but failed. So it looks like your cousin might be a rapist, as well as a killer. Bet that makes you feel proud, eh Lucas?” The copper had said to me… the sarcastic cunt. At that point, I tried to get up from the table, and was ordered to stay put. To this day, I can’t understand why the policeman was treating ME like shit, as if I were the murderer. In fairness though
, I had a lot of dealings with the police over the days, weeks, and months that followed; he was the only rotten apple that I ever encountered in our local force.

  The copper had come out with one revelation after another… I couldn’t take it all in. I was told that Howard had, according to his journal, murdered eleven people, including Alfie Whitehouse. I was informed that Howard’s first killing occurred when he was just thirteen years of age. Howard was a rapist, by his own admission. Did I know any of this, the policeman kept asking?

  “Yeah, of course I did, because I’d be quite happy with someone like that living under the same roof as myself, my wife, and her younger sister.” I answered back, displaying a thick slab of sarcasm. The policeman kept asking me if I wanted to have a read through the journal that was in front of me, and I kept telling him that I didn’t. “You’ve already told me what Howard has written down in it. That’s enough for me, thanks. I don’t want to see it.” I said.

  “Some of it’s fascinating reading though… did you know that your cousin thinks that his father is actually an alien?” Laughed the copper. “By all accounts, his mom told him that she was raped by an extraterrestrial! How fucking mental is that? Your cousin’s as mad as a hatter. Sounds like his mother was as well! I doubt he’ll end up in prison though… they’ll probably give him the cushy alternative, down at Ashworth or Broadmoor.” He smirked.

  I was finally allowed to leave the house, and return to Martin and Anne’s, after an hour of sitting in the kitchen of my own home, being goaded and grilled by that prick of a copper. At this point, there were other policemen, outside, blocking off any access to the house. It was a hive of activity. Most of the neighbours were out in force, and the ones that weren’t out in the street were hiding behind their curtains, peeking out, trying to be a little less obvious with their curiosity. As I walked back down to Anne and Martin’s, one of my friends who lived just three doors down from us, Rick, called me over.