by Cat Knight
“Please, don’t make me,” she protested. The scraping jumped a notch in volume, and the cold almost made her teeth chatter. “Oh, God,” she said stepping out onto the platform wondering what would come next.
The wind whistled past her ears and whipped her face. As the door clicked shut, the first wave of cold rain lashed her, half soaking her.
Wouldn’t it be better to race out of the place and at least try to get away? Not everyone had died, some had managed to leave. If she wasn’t careful the wind would blow her off the platform anyway. The rain and wind were thrashing her around on the wire mesh.
She told herself that the first order of business was to get out of the wind. Holding onto the railing, she scooted around the platform. In the wind and torrents, she failed to see the raven in her way. When her foot hit it, she jumped. Her feet slipped on the wet mesh, and she slid under the railing.
Her fingers raced along the cold metal as her grip failed, and she knew she would soon plunge to her death many metres below. Her hands reached out and found a vertical support. With a huge effort, she wrapped one arm around the support and swung up her legs. Luckily, her legs found the metal support underneath the mesh, and she quickly wrapped her thighs around it.
Everything seemed to come to a halt as she clung to the supports. The wind howled, driving rain into her eyes, blinding her.
And while she was safe for the moment, she knew the wet and the cold would soon sap her strength. She couldn’t hang on long. A bolt of lightning lit up the lighthouse, and she glimpsed a spot of red around the bottom of the support.
A high-pitched sound on the wind reached her ears.
What could that possibly be? Nora’s heart almost stopped. Was it the scream of the sailors that she heard?
Was she going to fall to her death and meet them?
Gripping on for dear life, tears began streaming down her face. She was too confused to make any sense of this at all.
More lightning flashed and illuminated the surface below her. A flash of red glinted and she knew for certain that something was lodged in a gap at the bottom of the support. What difference did that make? She was battling for her life. Whatever that was, it would have to wait.
At that moment, the support slipped. Not a big slip, a tiny slip, but even so a slip and her body lowered a little… if the support failed… She didn’t finish the thought. Being closer now, when the next flash came, she could see that the red was attached to some kind of metal.
Confused, desperate, and beside herself with fear, Nora did the only thing she could think to do.
Holding on with one hand, she bent down and felt around the support. Her fingers found cloth, and she tugged. The thing didn’t want to come out. She jerked, and it came free.
There was an instant, when she swung away from the support and the platform, but she fought and managed to hang on. She didn’t bother looking at what she had found. She shoved it into her pocket and grabbed the platform again.
“OK, FLOYD OR WOODY, OR WHOEVER THE HELL YOU ARE, IF THIS IS WHAT YOU WANT, I’VE GOT IT!”
Nothing happened.
Nora blinked the water from her eyes and fought to keep her grip despite the cold. Her fingers were beginning to cramp, and her whole body shook in the awful cold. At that moment, the raven landed on her arm.
She couldn’t believe it. How had the bird made it through the storm? Why was it there? Even as she watched, it pecked her hands.
What the bloody hell?
She shouted and spat at the bird, but it simply looked at her and pecked again. This was insane. She screamed and it flew off, only to land again on her head.
PECK.
Nora swung herself around causing the support to slip a bit more. The bird simply sat there.
“IF YOU WANT WHAT I HAVE, GET RID OF THIS BIRD OR SO HELP ME I’LL THROW THIS THING INTO THE SEA AND YOU’LL NEVER FIND IT!”
At that moment, the raven flew away. A bright light flooded the platform. Nora stared, the lighthouse lamp had come alive, something that wasn’t possible.
At least, she thought it was the lamp. It couldn’t be lightning because lightning was like a photographer’s flash.
No, this was a very bright light that lasted seconds, the seconds she needed to spot a grip in the platform mesh. She had never noticed the gaps before, the perfectly spaced gaps. She flung her hand over the side and slid her fingers into the hold and pulled.
Half her protesting body slid onto the platform as the light focused on another hold. She threw her other hand like a mountain climber and found the spaces. Another hoist, and she was atop the platform, panting and shivering.
Then, the light vanished.
She was once again in the dark and cold and wet. Coughing, sobbing, she crawled to the door, praying that it hadn’t locked behind her. Half frozen fingers clawed at the latch and managed to open the door. She fell inside and kicked the door shut. Sobbing, aching from cold, soaked from head to toe, she began to laugh. She had almost died, except for something in her pocket, something a ghost wanted, and she laughed hysterically.
Chapter Twelve
“What is this?” Erma asked.
“The Victoria Cross,” Nora answered. “Floyd’s Victoria Cross.”
Erma handed back the medal.
“Never seen one of them before.”
“Me either.”
“Where did you find it?”
“Under the platform around the lamp room.”
“Last night?”
She nodded.
“What possessed you?”
“I think Floyd wanted me to get this. And I almost didn’t. The raven didn’t want me to. But after I found it, the odours and drafts and sounds stopped.”
“And the ravens?”
“I think they are gone too. But I’m not sure.”
Erma poured herself a cup of tea and started for the bedrooms.
“I’ll change the sheets if you wish.”
“Thank you.”
Nora watched Erma disappear before she picked up the cross. If Floyd wanted her to retrieve it, then she thought she knew what to do with it.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nora watched as Wesley turned the cross over and over in his arthritic hands. She knew Wesley’s watery eyes couldn’t see the cross. She suspected that he was more than half blind. Still, she wasn’t about to question him. If Wesley said it was Floyd’s, then by all that was holy, it was Floyd’s.
“He was fond of it, wasn’t he?” Nora said.
“More fond than I can say.”
“What did he do?”
“He tried to get himself killed is what he did. You don’t charge a machine gun nest and live to tell about it. I was among those that survived because of what he did.”
“So, you want to keep the cross?”
Wesley shook his head. “It’s not mine, and while I cherish Floyd’s memory, this should be with him. You knew he had his own special ceremony, didn’t you?”
“No, what?”
“Every VE day he had one.”
“OK. What did he do?”
“On Victory in Europe day, he would put on his uniform, pin on his cross, and salute London. He was mad about that.”
“So, what should I do with it? The grave?”
“I can’t see another place for it.”
He handed back the cross and smiled, exposing mostly toothless gums.
“Thank you for bringing it to me, and thanks again for sharing the champagne. I think I can go now.”
Nora put the cross in her purse and touched the old man’s hand.
“I don’t think Floyd had a better friend.”
She left him with a smile on his face.
A bright sun made the cemetery more hospitable. Nora wound her way through the headstones. She found Floyd’s grave which was not yet grown over. She stopped to read the simple headstone. Nothing more than name and dates. For some reason, she thought he deserved more. He had saved a bunch of soldiers from certai
n death, and he should be recognized for that, if for nothing more.
She knew that when Wesley passed on, there would be virtually no one who would know what a hero Floyd had been.
Kneeling down she took the cross from her purse looking at it a moment before she began to dig.
She didn’t dig deep, just a few inches, just deep enough to ensure the medal would remain. She covered the hole and stood.
“That’s it, Floyd. We’re done, I hope. I think this is what you wanted all along. Rest in peace.”
Nora executed an awkward salute and turned to leave. She walked quickly, brushing a happy tear for Floyd away. He could go now, and she had a game to finish.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Dusk had arrived by the time Nora reached Hellfleet Point. As she parked, she looked up. Strange, there appeared to be a light on in the lamp room. She hadn’t expected that. Nor had she expected to find an open window in the cottage when she entered. For a moment, she wasn’t sure about what was going on.
“Floyd, is it you? What’s wrong. Why can’t you leave.” A long sigh of exasperation blew from her lips and she massaged her temples.
From somewhere came a soft, quavering rendition of GOD SAVE THE QUEEN. As it faded, she understood that maybe Floyd needed something more but why the lamp room again? She passed through the cottage to the tower and started up.
Then, it hit her, the unmistakable smell. It was so strong she could taste it.
Chapter Thirteen
Nora almost choked as the taste of old fish seemed to regurgitate in her throat. Nausea swirled in her stomach and she wondered if she would throw up. All she wanted to do was to fly up the stairs and breathe in the fresh air from the tower. It would be cleaner up there, at least the gusts would blow the smell away.
Trying to ignore the salty rancid taste, she made her way up the stairs. Once at the top she heard screams on the wind. The taste of rotten fish was strong in her throat, and she spat it out.
“Floyd, what’s going on?” she whispered.
A cold dark presence surrounded her. Whether it was in her head, or it was actually there she couldn’t be sure. But sinister thoughts entered her mind. I will die tonight.
Once the thought had formed, a dreadful vision played out in her mind, one where she tumbled from the tower to lie still and broken on the rocks. Panicking she tried to retreat from the stairwell, but fear had made her legs immobile. She heard her own screams sounding on the wind, and from somewhere far away, other tortured screams joined her, wailing in sorrow.
And that was when she realised. This is not Floyd. Floyd didn’t moan, he sang. She’d heard it, even tonight. The tales of sailors screaming on the wind was only ever attributed to the ghost called Woody. And so was the noxious odour. And that happened long before Floyd ever arrived at the lighthouse.
The malevolence was palpable, she almost felt it salivating. Then Nora understood.
She understood what Duncan and the townsfolk didn’t. This was not a ghost seeking vengeance. It was much more than that. She was right that there were two spirits here. But it wasn’t Woody. The other, was the ghost of the wrecker. The spirit that confronted her here was sadistic and murderous. A wrecker of ships and lives; an evil opportunist.
The shock of the revelation jolted her to action, she fought the panic and flew back down stairs running for her life. The noxious smell surrounded her. A sadistic laugh rippled softly through her mind. Nora screamed.
“FLOYD? ARE YOU HERE? I NEED YOU.”
A gust of wind blew down the stairs. The tower door was banging in rhythmic time with the strains of ‘GOD SAVE THE QUEEN’ which floated down to her.
Nora didn’t want to go back up but Floyd was there and he would help her. Sobbing she started back up the stairs reasoning that it didn’t matter where she went, the spirit of the malicious wrecker was surrounding her and she knew it wouldn’t let her leave. It would kill her one way or another. Floyd was her only hope.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
There was no light in the lamp room, just the last rays of the setting sun passing through the prism glass. The door to the platform stood open. As she went to close it, she spotted the raven. It was easily the biggest raven she had ever seen.Nora judged it to be three times the size of a normal bird. And in its beak, it held something. Nora’s necklace. Passed onto her by her grandmother, with whom she shared the same birth month. A silver necklace with a large ruby stone. Confused she wondered why the raven had it, and if this is what Floyd had wanted her to see.
She stared at the raven who stared back, as if daring her to come after it. Nora clutched at her neck, and felt the empty space. It usually sat in her jewel box when she wasn’t wearing it. How the raven had come to be in possession of it, she couldn’t begin to guess. But it didn’t matter, she knew it was at the behest of the ghost. And this ghost killed for treasure.
A sickening feeling developed in the pit of her stomach. It’s not just treasure, it’s a souvenir, the victory of another kill. Its taunting me.
Holding her breath, Nora didn’t know what to do.
The creature can have it. Why not? I’d be a fool to play games with a ghost who’s trying to kill me.
But if it’s going to kill me, I’ll be damned if I just let it mock me as well.
“Floyd, what’s going on? Why am I up here?”
The raven hopped closer to her, necklace dangling tantalisingly from its beak. She could almost reach it. Perhaps if she could grab that monstrous bird…
Nora eased out of the door, moving cautiously not wanting to spook it. But how could she spook a spook? The craziness of it made her laugh; she sounded manic. It didn’t fly off.
Nora absently wondered if she was doing that thing that psychologists call dissociation. As she moved, the raven, necklace in beak, hopped away again.
“Don’t be that way,” she said out loud. “Just give me the necklace.”
The bird merely eyed her for a moment before jumping a few more steps away.
Concentrating on the bird, Nora didn’t realize that she had moved from the solid part of the platform around to the section where she had dangled and battled with the storm. She remained unaware of it until the raven jumped into the air.
For a moment, Nora thought to leap at the bird in a desperate attempt to grab it. But when the platform swayed under her feet, she stopped herself. Frozen on the spot, she barely dared to breathe. The platform creaked and groaned as an edge of it came away from the sides. Not knowing what to do, she stood there, the raven treading air as it were, a few meters above her.
Gritting her teeth, she wondered if this was the moment she was supposed to see her whole life flash in front of her. Where are you Floyd?
She looked around and she saw another side of the section that had separated and was hanging at an angle It was between her and the door.
Not trusting the section, she hugged herself into the glass and edged around the tower and toward the other side of the open door. But now, the back of it was facing her. She needed to somehow get around it, without going too far out on to the broken section of platform. If she could do that, she should be able to jump back inside.
She leaned against the door, trying to partly close it, but it didn’t move.
Panic started to surface and she fought to keep calm. The door had to close, didn’t it? She pushed harder. It didn’t budge. She leaned out as far as she dared and looked. The problem was simple. When the platform came apart, the section by the door tilted and blocked it from closing, which blocked her from getting around it, and back inside.
She thought for a moment, wondering if she could climb onto the railing, hold onto the door, and jump. But when she actually touched the railing, she found it sickeningly unstable. She saw no way that it would hold her. Panic started to surface and she eased away from the door back against the glass of the tower.
In the scant light, she could see the sky was filled with ravens. They circled the tower as if waiting for her to fall. She
could only guess what they would do to her, once splattered on the rocks below. She thought she heard the wrecker laugh again.
Then, she remembered her mobile.
She tugged the phone from her pocket and smiled at the ravens.
“Not yet,” she said out loud. “Not yet.” Even as she tapped, the ravens attacked.
Head down, Nora didn’t see the birds coming. Two landed on her arms, pecking at her hands. Another landed in her hair, and she felt the talons grab and the beak peck. Startled, she dropped the mobile. It skidded across the mesh and slipped over the edge. She knew it had been destroyed on the rocks.
As soon as it disappeared, the birds flew off. She looked at her bleeding hands. She felt warm blood on her forehead. A hard breeze ruffled her hair. And the stench of seaweed encased her.
She pinched her nose and breathed through her mouth as the ravens flooded past her.
She looked over, and the scene horrified her. The birds were congregating on the platform section next to the one where she stood.
As she watched, more birds landed, and as they landed, the unsupported section tilted. For a moment, she wasn’t sure what was going on, but she soon realized that the sheer weight of the birds was separating the section from the rest of the platform.
Terror gripped her, and dizziness swirled in her head. Another bird landed and she screamed –
“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!” But it did no good.
The section pulled loose and plummeted, leaving almost a two-metre gap between her and the next section of the platform.
If ever Nora needed help, it was now. But who? In the soon to be dark, no one would see her. No one would hear her.
She was isolated, alone. And as she watched, the birds began to land on the next section. She stared, mesmerized, watching her last chance to survive being taken away.
Then, she heard it, or thought she heard it, that quavering version of GOD SAVE THE QUEEN.
“FLOYD!” Nora yelled. “HELP ME!”
The voice seemed right above her head. She looked up, and there dangled a boot, one of Floyd’s boots.
