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by Angela Blythe

  Tommy left, and Wee Renee sat back down at the computer. She switched it off immediately. A thought had struck her. Not a nice one too. This meant a new plan of action. She needed to check something first, so made a quick phone call to Bob and Adam.

  Bob answered the phone and was surprised to hear Wee Renee again.

  ’Is this about the meeting last night? Because my Mum has already updated me with what everyone thought,’ Bob said.

  ’No, it’s important. There’s been another development this morning. Have you and Adam been down onto the canal towpath? Were you there last night when we were in the pub? I don’t know, up to pranks and japes?’ Wee Renee asked.

  ’No,’ Bob said, ‘not at all. We had two mates over for a sleepover, and they are still here. We didn’t go out of the house.’

  ’Oh, that doesn’t fit in with my theory at all. Don’t get me wrong, I’m glad about it though,’ Wee Renee said. ‘Well, they weren’t after you last night. They were after someone, or something else. It has something to do with a bench I think, but I’m going to go and investigate there. Tell Adam now and for the moment keep away from the canal.’

  ’Okay I will,’ Bob said, and Wee Renee put the phone down.

  Wee Renee got her coat on and her evidence bag together and set off towards Pat’s house. When she arrived, Pat was doing the laundry, and the house smelled of washing. Jackie was doing some ironing.

  ’Do you fancy a break you two?’ Wee Renee asked.

  ’Is this an investigating break or just a break?’ Pat asked.

  ’An investigating break. The creature’s footsteps have been seen down by the canal, and I’d like to go and see them before everyone walks over them. I also want to see if there is some evidence to be had. You know you don’t like me going anywhere alone, Pat,’ Wee Renee said. Jackie went over to the wall socket and immediately unplugged her iron.

  ‘Well I’m up for it,’ Jackie said.

  ‘Yes, we’ll come out,’ Pat said. Wee Renee seated herself at the kitchen table while the two women got their coats and shoes on. Within five minutes the three of them were walking off to the canal.

  ’The canal is the opposite end of Friarmere to the donkey path,’ Pat commented. ‘What the hell is it doing?’

  ’I wish I knew,’ Wee Renee said. ‘But it’s getting worse, isn’t it? And it’s getting more frequent.’

  ’Yes,’ Jackie said. ‘I didn’t think this would happen so soon. You know, all this mystery and monsters. I thought that might have been a one-off before.’

  ’It has come on all of a sudden, hasn’t it?’ Wee Renee said. ‘The fact is, the quicker the evidence comes in, the quicker that we can solve the mystery. Move on to the next mystery,’ Wee Renee said, nudging Pat who sighed.

  When they got to the canal, it was a little difficult to see the footprints. After all, the creature itself had walked forward and back over a lot of its own prints and then Suzanne, Tommy and Bella had not known that there were footprints there.

  It also looked that one other person had walked up maybe with a dog too. After they got further along, especially to the point where Suzanne and Tommy had realised and started avoiding them, they could clearly see the footprints.

  ’That’s huge,’ Pat said. ‘He’s even got bigger feet than me.’

  ’They probably smell better though,’ Jackie said, laughing. The three women walked a little further to the bench. Wee Renee spent half an hour looking around the bench and behind it. She could find no evidence. No fur, no droppings and no more footsteps. The two other women began to get quite bored as Wee Renee made them stand well away from the area so as not to contaminate it. Finally, Pat had had enough.

  ‘Is there anything Rene?’ Pat asked.

  ’I’m sorry to say, I don’t think there is,’ Wee Renee said. ‘It either came here and found what it was after or came here and whatever it was after wasn’t here, and it went back.’

  ’That could be an explanation,’ Jackie said. ‘It might be that it just went on a walk down here.’

  ‘These monsters have a purpose in doing something always. That’s what I’ve found,’ Wee Renee said. ‘They don’t go for strolls, not this far from the nest. There was a reason for this. We may never know what that was.’

  ’Do you know who you should ask?’ Pat said. ‘I don’t know why you’ve not already thought of it.’

  ’Who?’ Wee Renee asked.

  ’Your special friend,’ Pat said.

  ’Who? I still don’t know who you mean,’ Wee Renee said confused.

  ’Him! The single midge! Your Wee Faerie,’ Pat said.

  ’Oh yes!’ Wee Renee smiled at her. ‘You’re right love. Although it’s not the right time for him now. He likes to fly by at night or early in the morning. I think he’s a wee bit nocturnal. I’ll see if I can get him to speak to me. Thanks, Pat.’

  14. A Trip to Melden

  When Wee Renee went home, she thought long and hard about the evidence. She picked up a silver pin and put it in the canal at the bench area. This was a massive area to cover. Now that it had been seen somewhere else, she could start to relax a little about it following Bob and Adam. Wee Renee wondered if this was just the tip of the iceberg. What if it was going the other way just like Terry thought. One person who had their finger on the pulse of gossip in Melden was her friend, Our Doris. She wondered if she should take a trip over there and involve Terry.

  Wee Renee rang Terry and explained the situation. He still hadn’t heard anything but thought that it was a good idea that they not only asked Our Doris for any gossip, but also informed her just in case at some point the monster would go over there, and she would be out walking Haggis.

  Terry said that if Our Doris agreed, he would come over and pick Wee Renee up at about 2 o’clock and take her over to her friends. All three of them could have a brainstorming session.

  Wee Renee called Our Doris, and she was free all afternoon, and delighted to see her friend. She said that she would even bake some fresh biscuits.

  Terry arrived just before two and Wee Renee got in the car. She brought her evidence bag with her. This contained the rolled-up map, with the pins taken out, the sandwich bag, with fur in and some crucial clippings.

  Off they went on the journey. Terry and Wee Renee talked about the mystery, especially today’s new evidence. Terry could only think that the monster had been there for a reason and that reason was unsuccessful or not. He agreed with Wee Renee, there should be no other reason to go all that way over there for a little walk down the canal in the night time.

  Melden was a little sunnier than Friarmere when they arrived. Wee Renee said the Pennine’s were a sun blocker for their village.

  The old familiar smells of Our Doris’s house swamped them as they walked in. It always smelled like peaches and roses to Wee Renee. It also smelled a little of paint and fresh wallpaper as it had been fully decorated. There was no sign of there being a massacre in here. No face’s mashed into the carpet and no wolf parts were strewn about.

  Wee Renee sat down. After making a fuss of Haggis, she told Our Doris the story, while she ate the freshly made biscuits and drank the tea. There was a short break when Our Doris brought in some egg sandwiches, and a packet of shop bought sausage rolls. She carried on, occasionally Terry interceded when Wee Renee forgot a detail. Soon Our Doris knew everything.

  ’Another mystery?’ Our Doris mused. ‘And you haven’t involved me? I don’t know, Wee Renee. Have I done something?’ Wee Renee laughed, while Our Doris fed Haggis an egg sandwich. Terry thought he would vacate the area before that made its way through.

  ‘No, it’s not like that. It just sort of landed on us very quickly. Have you heard anything over here?’ Wee Renee asked.

  ’No not at all. If something strange has been going on I would have told you anyway,’ Our Doris said.

  ’Have you heard anything though, Our Doris. Something that could be vaguely connected to this. Strange happenings, like missing dogs o
r missing people. Even anyone’s milk that has been stolen. Anything?’ Terry asked.

  ’No not at all,’ Our Doris said, ‘but I do have an idea about the canal.’

  ’What is it?’ Wee Renee asked.

  ’What if it went down to eat some ducks?’ Our Doris asked.

  ‘No that isn’t it,’ Wee Renee said. ‘Why stop at the bench? Besides that, there were no duck feathers anywhere.’

  ‘I don’t know then,’ Our Doris said. Wee Renee got the map out and showed them the four places, which now had pinholes in them. The four places where the creature had been sighted

  ’That’s a massive area,’ Terry said. ‘Hard to police too.’

  ’It is Terry. It encompasses all our houses in Friarmere. However, I still believe that it is living up there on the Moors, in the Melden Triangle,’ Wee Renee said, tapping the pinhole in the Moors.

  ’What is it up to? That monster is after something, I just don’t know what yet. It’s killing people. It’s watching people. Where’s it come from? I don’t know, but I bet you we’ll start to hear things on a daily basis. I can just tell this is snowballing. This creature is on a mission and isn’t going to stop until it succeeds,’ Terry said.

  ’The thing is Terry, I think it’s getting foolhardy. It’s getting desperate. It’s started to be seen a lot. What if it is has been living there for years. Why now? What is so important for it to come out into the public? It’s very worrying,’ Wee Renee said. ‘My neighbour’s Suzanne and Tommy are at their wit's end. They don’t want to walk the dog, they are petrified.’

  ’Not like us,’ Terry said.

  ’No. One creature is nothing to us,’ Our Doris said.

  ’Of course, they have witnessed it too, albeit in the fog. I might be scared if I had seen it, I won’t belittle their testimony. Of course, you two, that’s if it is one creature. We think one has been in all these places. It could be separate beasts. There could be lots of them, all of the same type,’ Wee Renee said. ‘Although, I hope not for pity’s sake.’

  ’Whether it’s one or whether it’s many, they are certainly starting to spread their wings,’ Our Doris said, shaking her head.

  Matt tried to sleep that afternoon but every time he closed his eyes, he could still see himself running across the Moors. If this carried on, he would have to go to the Doctors.

  He couldn’t continue like this. If he had no sleep, he couldn’t function. This week was going to be quite a stressful week at work. He needed more time sleeping, not less.

  He thought about taking a drive to the supermarket before the shops closed early on Sundays. Maybe get some herbal calming tablets, he definitely needed something to help him sleep.

  He did not know whether this was the answer but thought he would try. If he didn’t find any, he would be taking some kind of painkiller and alcohol cocktail tonight. He would rather get knocked out, than dream anything at all.

  15. The Bin Bag

  By the time Terry took Wee Renee back, it was nearly dark. He dropped her off and immediately drove back home. Half an hour later he would have seen something very interesting just to the left of him on the Moors of Melden.

  Another creature was there. This one had far more human in him than the monster they currently hunted. In fact, it had been human at one point but now wasn’t. Not anymore. He had transcended into a creature that fed off all forms, in the human world, in the netherworld, below ground – on the ancient ones. Yes, he was another form of hybrid, but this time it didn’t have anything to do with the Morgan siblings.

  This was the one that Wee Renee suspected that could be the culprit, right at the beginning. When she asked Tommy if it glowed. And sure enough, at night time, it did.

  This creature was deadly. Far deadlier than the thing that was prowling around Friarmere. More lethal than whatever had been the scourge throughout the Melden Triangle during the winter. This creature was a predator, consciously and purposely. Not for its own survival either - for greed and gain. Ultimately for power.

  It prayed on anything it felt would suit its own purposes. It liked to pick up little snippets of items, pieces of supernatural creatures. To him they were worth their weight in gold, even more so. And he collected them.

  He had a purpose in acquiring them – a final amalgamation of specific and precious items. But it would take a long time to collect them all.

  He would have lots of fun before he got to that though. It was always fun to find a piece he desperately needed, especially if getting it, meant hardship. Then the prize was even better. Usually not to the unsuspecting donor, however. For them, it usually meant death.

  He needed all these items for something so significant that there would be no stopping him. He would quite simply rule the world. What a wonderful day that would be, for him, anyway.

  For now, the pieces were all safe. In stasis. He stored them all in various bin bags in a secret place. His secret house. In there they kept forever fresh. A magical place.

  All the parts weren’t here yet. Time was the biggest obstacle he faced, as patience wasn’t one of his virtue’s. Actually, he lacked all virtues completely.

  They would come, he knew they would eventually. He had faith in himself, in the sense that he knew what he was doing. Plus, there was a secret weapon at his disposal. He had collected something a short while ago. It was pretty hard to do. But as usual, it ended up in his possession after effort and bloodshed.

  This thing was like a lucky rabbit’s foot. It was absolutely nothing to do with his important collection. Just a lovely extra. It gave three wishes. He needed only to use one of them. The other two he would save for the future.

  For it to work, he had to split it. He had to take one part with him and keep the other part locked away. There was a bit of problem with that. He had left it just one day to hunt for an important piece, and it had disappeared. He would find it again in time. He still had the important piece in his bin bags, the wishing part.

  So, he had made one wish. The wish was that he would get all his pieces in time. What a brilliant wish.

  He had missed out on one of the items he needed recently and had the feeling without this wish, that it would be quite a long time before he would have the chance to get it again. Now he knew that it would be in his hands very soon.

  Tonight, he was on the Moors collecting pieces from the spirits of the restless ghosts. He could take their essence or soul, so to speak. They still drifted around, but they could never be free. He didn’t need the essences for himself, but it was useful as a bartering item with other creatures.

  Then he saw a man walking towards him. Never to let an opportunity slip by, the creature stopped and waited for the man to approach. The man didn’t seem scared of him of him at all, which was strange, he should be.

  ’Hello there,’ said the man. ‘Are you able to communicate with me?’

  ’Yes, I can and can communicate on any plane you wish,’ the predator said eloquently.

  ’I’ve been watching you, a lot. I have watched you collect pieces from different creatures and monsters surrounding the Moors. I find it very interesting,’ the man said. The predator was annoyed at this. How very bold of the man! It didn’t like to be spied on. Who else was watching? However, it decided to be nice, for the moment. To hear the human out.

  ’I’m very pleased to meet someone who has the intelligence to find my work interesting. Someone who has the foresight. Because that is exactly what it is,’ the predator said.

  ‘I’ve been watching you, as I said,’ the man said, ‘and what I’ve seen I’ve liked.’ The creature gave a little bow with its head to acknowledge the compliment.

  ‘I wonder what you are doing with them, and even more, I wonder if we could make a deal. I might have something that would interest you. Something that you don’t have. I am betting you could offer me something quite amazing in return,’ the man asked.

  ’What would you like? A wish, wealth, power, a particular woman?’ The predator a
sked.

  ’You can do all that? I should have thought bigger, I suppose. Can you raise vampires from the dead? Ones that have been dust for quite a while?’ The man asked. ‘I have kept parts, you see.’

  ‘That is certainly a task. I suppose I could in do it time. The one wish I just offered, could help you there instead,’ it said.

  ’Would that cover one or two ladies?’ the man asked, pushing his glasses up his nose with his middle finger, before licking his lips.

  ’Probably just the one,’ it admitted.

  ‘Ah, well I’ll wait until I can get them both then,’ the man said.

  ‘What do you have to offer me in return?’ The predator asked.

  ‘I don’t have it with me now, so there is no point killing me to get it, but how would you like a dead vampire Master’s bone, and I’ve even got some of his blood, to sweeten the pot?’ the man said.

  ’That is exactly what I want,’ it said. It smiled at the man. The smile was horrific.

  ’So, do we have a deal?’ The man asked.

  ’Yes, we do, and I’ll shake on it,’ it said.

  ’Fair enough. My name is Michael Thompson,’ he said and put out his hand. The glowing creature put out his and they shook hands and laughed. The deal was done. The glowing demon’s wish had worked.

  16. About the Car

  Just before Band, Bob and Adam were talking about what a great weekend they had had, but tomorrow was back to School. They talked through the days of the week. Making their plans of how they would move forward with Zoe and Emily.

  Then they spoke about the sleepover. The two boys suspected that the other boys had been around them because of their infamy. But Bob and Adam tried to put that to the back of their minds.

  ’I couldn’t believe they wanted pictures of us against a horror film backdrop,’ Bob said. ‘That was a bit cheesy wasn’t it?’