Meadowbank: A dark fantasy thriller (The Shael Chronicles Book 2)

by Jonathan Kent

  We had decided to trek day and night to return you home post haste and get you some much needed medical attention. You see, I still believed that you were still somewhere inside, and this nightmarish entity that had taken you over, could somehow be exorcised.

  How wrong could I have been.

  On the third night of our homeward journey, both your grandfather and I were exhausted; hardly able to stand let alone walk. Our water and food rations were all depleted and with more than two days left to go, we were at our wits end. It was then that the entity inside you decided to show its full intentions.

  Somehow you had loosened yourself from your bindings, but this time rather than immediately disrupt our passage you bided your time and waited for the exact moment to make your move. It came deep in the night when it was my turn to pull the Travois. I stumbled and before I could regain my feet, you were on me. Not trying to strangle me like before, no, this was a lot worse. You pinned me to the ground and placed your hands either side of my head. With the strength you had, I feared you would crush my skull, but instead you - or more accurately the thing inside you - showed me a vision so real I thought it was actually taking place.

  You see, none of this was an accident. Somehow this thing had convinced both you and father of your mother and grandmothers existence. Its plan was to lure us to Shael, kill both your grandfather and I, and escape through the Shael gate. It had lived a solitary existence and after detecting your grandfather, had seen a way to wreak havoc in our world. A world it's pure evil could thrive in. I believe this being had previously been trapped in the world of Shael; trapped maybe by the same very people who created it.

  The next part of this tale sits very heavy on my heart, but I implore you to see that we were left with no alternative. After this vision I knew that no medicine in the world could cure you. Despite my belief that you were still in there somewhere, I could see no safe way of getting you out. So, in the dark days that followed and in hushed conversations, father and I made the dreadful decision to abandon you in Shael.

  We managed to return to the Shael gate where you kicked up an enormous pandemonium, but thankfully your bindings held and we dragged you biting and kicking to the weathered hut we had seen on our first day. There happened to be a well with freshwater and father gathered a number of supplies from the mansion which included a large amount of seeds from Sanders outhouse; supplies we believed could last you indefinitely.

  The last time I saw you, you were still tied to the Travois but thrashing so wildly you surely must have done yourself harm. With heavy hearts your grandfather and I made our way back through the Shael gate which we powered down and closed. He then performed an act using his special Shael “abilities” that, he said, would keep you from straying too far from the hut. I suspect his intentions are more for the safety of others than yourself.

  We sealed the passageway in the hope that no one should ever stumble on our dreadful secret, and as I write this letter, I cannot hold back the tears which have overcome me. I am so sorry for what I have put you through. It has been a terrible few years since I lost my beloved Molly. To now lose my mother and my only son in the space of a few weeks is something I simply cannot live with.

  Father and I have done this to you and we shall surely spend an eternity in hell for our sins. We are both in agreement that we cannot continue, and tonight shall be our last night on earth.

  I love you with all my heart, which, has sadly been irreparably broken. I hope that one day you will be in a position to forgive me.

  Farewell my son.

  Clarence

  George snapped shut the journal. 'Fuck!' he said.

  Thomas looked up. 'What's wrong?'

  'Fuck!' he said again.

  'George, what's the matter? Make some sense here.'

  'Their in trouble,' he said, 'Karen and Andrew. Shit we've been so stupid!'

  'What can we do?'

  George looked around the dingy room. 'Pass me the bag,' he said, 'I'm going to get them.'

  'Not without me you're not.'

  'Don't start with that again Thomas,' he said, 'This is serious. You need to stay here and keep that gate open.'

  'But...'

  'No buts. Keep that gate open. Watch for our return, because we may be in a hurry.'

  Thomas stood and opened the gate. 'I still think we need to keep together,' he said.

  'I agree,' said George, 'But this I need to do and I can only do it if I know you've got my back.' He shouldered the bag and without another word stepped through. Thomas watched his jittery image on the screen and then it was gone.

  Far beneath the empty mansion at the gateway between two worlds, Thomas sat alone.

  6

  A look of gradual comprehension rather than full understanding passed between Andrew and Karen. Godfrey was sat opposite on the one bed, smiling with his mouth, but telling a different story with his eyes.

  'The storm has passed', he said, 'You should really get going.'

  'What's going on here?' said Andrew, 'I don't understand.'

  Ignoring the question Godfrey stood. 'If you want to catch up with your ladies, I suggest you go right now.' This last part was spoken through gritted teeth.

  Karen went to him. 'Godfrey? Are you alright?'

  He turned, and when he did, she realised Godfrey was no longer with them. His eyes flared a deep crimson and a dark shadow came over his face. As the Godfrey thing reached for her, she stumbled backwards, her right foot catching the corner of the bed and sending her sprawling; thankfully just enough to evade the creature's grasp.

  For now, it seemed to be completely ignoring Andrew who sat transfixed by this hideous transformation. Along with the eyes and the darkening features, the creature seemed to be growing. The hut was tiny with a low slung ceiling, but before, Godfrey, had had no difficulty standing. Now the creature was stooping with its shoulders pressed firmly against the ceiling. Realizing the creature had eyes only for Karen, Andrew started to move.

  It was then they heard the first gunshot.

  The wind had died to barely a breeze and the crack of the gun was clearly heard by the three of them. For a split second it froze the creature and Andrew took his chance. He lunged across the room and rugby tackled Godfrey to the floor. His attack was so forceful that along with the creature, he too was taken off his feet; landing awkwardly on top of the writhing Godfrey. A second shot rang out sending splinters of wood from the door barely inches above his head.

  'Come out here you bastard!' came a voice from outside, 'You let them go and deal with me.'

  Andrew shot a look towards Karen, George, she mouthed. He nodded. How he'd got there so quickly and how he'd got his hands on a gun, were questions for another time. Right now, he had to deal with Godfrey who had inexplicably grown even bigger whilst he was down and was gathering himself following the tackle.

  'Karen, go!' he yelled and she didn't need to be told twice. She leapt over Andrew and the writhing form he was desperately trying to hold down, and out through the door; just as George was levelling the revolver for another shot.

  'George, don't shoot!' she screamed, 'For christ's sake don't shoot. Andrew needs help.'

  There was a split second where she was sure he hadn't recognised her and then he lowered the gun.

  'Where is he?' he said.

  'There, on the floor.'

  Andrew was very quickly losing the fight with the weird figure which was now twice his size. He was attempting to sit on its chest and pin its arms down, but failing miserably at both. Just as the creature was getting the upper hand, he felt something grab his shirt and yank him up and away.

  'Go!' bellowed George and the pistol cracked again. There was a roar, part pain, part anger from the creature and then George was beside him. 'Now we run,' he said and set off like a man half his age.

  There was an enormous crash from inside the hut followed by a second roar and then Andrew was moving too. A second crash ripped through the house, but he didn't
look back; just kept sprinting to catch up with Karen and George who already had a twenty metre head start.

  'Did you get him?' he asked.

  'No,' said George, 'Just winged it. Bastard moved as I shot.'

  'Where's the gun from George?' asked Karen.

  'Can't an old man have a secret or two? Besides, I think it came in pretty handy.'

  'Remind me to thank you later,' said Andrew, 'If there is a later that is. How far to the cave?'

  'It's about two miles,' said George.

  'You sure you're up for this?'

  'Thanks for the concern, but I've already run this saving your sorry little asses and I haven't even broken sweat. Are you sure you're up for it.'

  'Ask me that in ten minutes.'

  There was another huge crash as the Godfrey creature burst from the hut splintering the ancient door and half the roof in the process. George turned and let off another two rounds which missed their target and did no more than incense the thing even further. They resumed their run as the creature began to lumber after them.

  'Are we going to make this?' asked Karen.

  'We will if we stop asking questions,' said George, 'But it does depend on two things.'

  'What's that?'

  'Whether we can outrun a ninety year old man-beast and whether Thomas has kept that door open.'

  'Great,' said Andrew, 'Nothing like a bit of stress on my morning run.'

  In truth there was no great need for concern. They reached the base of the incline whilst the Godfrey creature was still lumbering across the flats some way in the distance. George had begun to tire towards the end, but Karen (with a little help from Andrew) supported him on the home stretch.

  They even made easy work of the slope despite the looser earth giving way underfoot. In no time, they had reached the cave; out of breath from their exertion, but elated to have made such a relatively easy escape. It was then that they ran into problems.

  The gate was closed.

  Andrew ran to the rear of the cave and began hammering on the wall. 'Thomas!' he yelled, 'Open the damn door!'

  'That's no use,' said Karen, 'He's in a completely different world. He's not going to hear you.'

  'I thought you told him to keep it open? What the fuck's he up to?'

  'I did tell him,' said George, 'I also told him we could be coming back in a hurry.'

  'Then why is it not open? That thing is going to be on us any minute. Where the fuck is he!'

  George approached him and held him firmly by the shoulders. 'You need to calm down,' he said, 'Getting yourself all worked up like this is going to help no one. I've no idea why the door isn't open, but it isn't and we have to deal with that. As you say, that thing will be here soon, and we have to deal with that.'

  'But...'

  'There's no buts here Andrew. We just have to deal.'

  Karen was at the edge of the cave looking down the incline. 'When you two have finished with your moment, perhaps we can actually do some dealing! George, hand me the revolver.'

  'I can do better than that,' he said and pulled the Luger from the bag.

  'You really are a man of many surprises,' she said and smiled. The two of them stood at the cave's mouth and cocked their guns.

  'Ready?'

  'As I'll ever be,' he said and together they fired down the incline.

  As the guns roared Andrew edged beside them and couldn't believe the sight he was met with. The creature was now unrecognizable as Godfrey. For one thing it was now nearly three times the size of an average human. On top of this, it had shed all its clothes and the skin beneath was covered in a red/black mass of sinewy muscles. Andrew was reminded of a biology text book showing a human torso with the top layer of skin stripped away. The face also showed no signs of its previous owner, instead it was hairless, covered in the same red/black tissue with what looked like horns protruding from its head.

  Karen and George were both good aims and very few of their shots went wide. However, rather than stopping the creatures advance, they enraged it further, quickening its ascent.

  George paused to reload and looked at Andrew. 'This isn't stopping him,' he shouted above the roar of Karen's Luger, 'Get me my bag, I need to try something else.

  Andrew headed to the back of the cave to retrieve the bag. It was much heavier than expected and he marvelled at how the old man had made the run twice carrying the thing. The doorway still hadn't appeared and despite George's words, he felt the panic taking hold again. He rushed back to George and handed him the bag just as Karen was reloading a second clip.

  'Jesus George,' she said, 'What the hell is that?'

  George held up the grenade. 'Just a little war memento.'

  'Will that thing even work?'

  'There's only one way to find out,' he pulled the pin and the lever immediately sprung up, he waited two seconds and then threw.

  It wasn't a direct hit, but it did enough damage to slow the creatures progress. It landed ten feet further up the incline and the deafening explosion started a mini landslide that sent the giant back to the flats.

  'How many of those things have you got?' asked Andrew.

  'Just the four.'

  'Then use them wisely, fuck knows how long we're going to be here.'

  George nodded and took a second grenade from the bag as Karen opened fire once more with the Luger. Whatever they were doing was only going to delay the inevitable; their lives were now literally in Thomas' hands.

  7

  In the hours since George had raced through the gate, Thomas had been a busy boy. He was still furious at being benched and couldn't understand why; he was the youngest and apart from Karen, obviously the fittest. He could understand their need to protect him, but in his mind they were sidelining a valuable asset.

  Despite his frustration, he turned his mind to the task at hand; namely, learning all he could about the Shael gate. The journals were hand written and in an archaic tone, but he pretty soon got the gist of its workings. The crystals were the power supply and he learnt how, by sliding a small lever on the side of the mirror he could keep the gate open indefinitely. This could prove useful indeed and his heart leaped at the prospect of finally being able to join his colleagues.

  The journal said that the crystals could supply almost perpetual power. He didn't know if this was true or not, but judging by the blue lights that still shone after eighty odd years, he supposed it wasn't too far of a stretch. Whether they would be brave enough to test this for an extended period was another story.

  He also learnt that by toggling a second lever he could actually change the image on screen. Presumably this meant changing the destination on the other side of the gate. In all, it toggled through six different scenes - all completely different to the last - and it was the final one with a deep blue sky and a hulking building in the foreground that really caught his attention. In that one he learnt that Andrew and Karen had chosen the wrong door.

  His phone alarm chimed, telling him another ten minutes had passed and he cursed himself for not keeping the Martian landscape on screen as George had ordered. He toggled back to the original screen and instead of the motionless cave interior he was expecting, he saw carnage.

  Andrew was stood nearest the screen with his back to it. Karen and George were a few feet ahead, also with their backs to him and firing soundless guns at what Thomas first thought was a black cloud. It was only when the cloud took a lunge towards them that he saw exactly what it was; a giant black and red deformed mass bearing down on his three companions.

  Without thinking he reached through the shimmering gate and grabbed Andrew by the shoulders. Despite being a full grown male, one good yank was all he needed to pull him through. They both landed awkwardly, sprawled on their backs with Andrew laying on top of him. Andrew took a few seconds to survey the room, get his bearings and then he was up and back through the gate.

  It was a weird sensation watching Andrews half in/half out body through the gate. He could still see K
aren and George firing at the approaching creature and then Andrew must have said something as Karen reacted and turned . She didn't immediately go to Andrew, instead she touched George on the shoulder who only nodded and mouthed the word go! He took the smaller gun from her and as Andrew pulled her through, he saw George at the back of the cave blasting two revolvers from the hip like some western gunslinger.

  Karen slipped silently through and lay next to Thomas on the floor. Andrew was back at the gate with his hips and legs in one world and upper body in the other. He called to George who by this point had replaced the larger revolver with a grenade. He pulled the pin, threw it and launched himself into the open arms of Andrew. There was a bright flash on the screen as the two of them came back through, joining Karen and Thomas on the floor.

  'Thomas!' screamed George, 'Shut the gate!'

  Thomas was already moving. He flicked the tiny switch on the side of the mirror just as the hideous figure leaped. The last thing he saw before it went blank was a giant black face filling the screen. It's mouth was wide, showing row upon row of jagged black teeth and what looked like fire.

  Then, apart from the sound of his three companions breathing heavily on the floor, the room was silent.

  'Where the fuck were you?' said Andrew, 'Another minute and that...thing would've had us.'

  'I'm so sorry,' he said, 'You were all gone hours. I've been trying to figure that thing out.' He waved a deflated hand towards the mirror.

  'There's us on the verge of becoming chow for some devil dog and you're what...? Playing with some fucking toy!'

  'That's enough, Andrew,' said George, 'We are all back safe and sound. Right where we started.'

  'Exactly. Right back where we started and none the wiser as to where my wife is. This is a fucking shambles. It's easy for you to be all relaxed, it's not your fucking wife that's been taken.'