by R T Green
‘When..?’
‘When they heard blood-curling screams. They cleared off, reported it, and when the police went to the house they found old man Watson alone. He said his wife and daughter’s had left, but they didn’t believe him, searched the whole place. They never found no bodies, but the three of them have never been heard from to this day.’
‘So what happened to old man Watson?’
‘He’d clearly lost his marbles. They carted him off to a secure mental facility, where he died mysteriously four years ago.’
‘Mysteriously?’
Shirl’s voice grew even scarier. ‘One morning they found him dead, but they couldn’t find a cause of death. Some say the ghosts of his family came and took their revenge…’
Zana covered her mouth with a shaking hand. ‘Please don’t say anymore, Shirl.’ Coop put an arm around her. ‘Hey, it’s just stories, Zana. Ain’t no foundation to them. But we need to know how this ends?’
‘The house was abandoned, locked up just as it was. Apart from the wife and daughters, there were no other family members. English Heritage wants to buy the place, but there’s still a couple of years until they can legally do it, without anyone knowing for sure the missus and misses are actually dead. But many believe the four of them are still there, acting out that grisly night over and over… which is why it became a ghost hunter’s Mecca.’
‘Wow,’ Miles breathed.
Zana wiped away a tear with a trembling hand. ‘We have to get Madeline and the others out of these,’ she whispered in a shaky voice.
Coop nodded. ‘We sure do. But first we gotta work out a way to do that.’
Chapter 177
Coop suggested they get a couple of hours rest. It had been the night of all nights, and he was struggling to remember the last time he’d had any sleep. They had to come up with a plan to rescue the girls and end the hell, but exhausted minds and bodies weren’t going to help.
Tiri and her crew weren’t going anywhere in a hurry. She’d found the perfect place to start a new family.
But Coop was finding it hard to follow his own advice. After thirty minutes of lying on his bunk with a spinning head making sleep impossible, he dragged himself to the mess to brew a coffee.
He wasn’t the only one there.
‘Hey kid, you need to sleep.’
Zana glanced up to him, her sad eyes spearing pain into his heart. She tried to smile. ‘I could say the same to you.’
He sat down beside her. ‘Wish I could. Seems my brain won’t let me. You want to talk about your insomnia?’
Her head lowered again. ‘I… I’m just experiencing some self-loathing, Coop.’
‘Hey…’ He wrapped a hand around hers. ‘What’s that about, huh? Ain’t no reason for you to hate yourself.’
‘Isn’t there?’
‘Ok, tell Uncle Ryland all about it.’
She didn’t look like she wanted to, but he squeezed her hand gently, a silent message that he wasn’t going away until she said something. ‘I’ve been a hateful bitch. To Madeline. Then she deliberately put herself in grave danger, and now she must think I’ve deserted her again.’
He turned her head to face him, saw her eyes misting up. ‘First off, I don’t know what went down between you two in Maddie’s apartment, but I know what I saw when we drove to the drop-off point the first night… and that was two people in love. So I’m not getting the hateful bitch part, Zana.’
‘You weren’t there. We had an awful row, but then I shut myself away and realized something.’
‘That you were turning into your sister.’
She looked at him wide-eyed, shocked by his words. ‘How did you know…’
He wasn’t sure he should tell her, but there wasn’t much choice. ‘A while back Maddie and me had a heart-to-heart, Zana. She told me everything, what happened in Tobago, what you saw…’
‘Oh, I see.’
‘She told me because I basically forced it out of her,’ he grinned. ‘Like you right now, she was distraught about what she’d done, terrified it would rip you two apart forever.’
‘And I did my best to let it. So I’m no better than my sister.’
‘Hey… you quit with that talk. You and Tiri are a world apart.’
‘How so? We were both consumed with jealousy.’
‘Yeah, but Tiri won’t ever shake hers off. You rose above yours. Every single soul on this planet experiences jealousy at some point in their lives, kid. Those with strength and spirit fight it off, become stronger for it. You hearing me?’
She gave a little laugh, wiped away a tear. ‘You are a good man, Coop. And you seem to know a lot about what is hidden in your two favourite girl’s hearts.’
He grinned. ‘Yeah well, been there, done that as they say.’
‘You have someone?’
‘Nah… not anymore. Let’s just say I understand what Maddie was going through in Tobago.’
‘Oh come on, Coop… you can’t just leave that hanging.’
‘It ain’t for the here-and-now, Zana.’
‘Oh yes it is. Your Calanduran agent is going through a tough time, so she needs a pearl of wisdom from her worldly-wise boss, don’t you see?’
He laughed. ‘Have I just walked into an ambush?’
‘Yes you have. So talk.’
‘Ok. I told Maddie the first part of this story way back, so when this shit is over and you two are back together, get her to tell it to you, ok?’
‘So she ambushed you too?’
‘Not really. She’d just been ordered to kill you, so she tried to quit. I told her the story to maybe help her to decide what to do, but I didn’t tell her what happened to me next. I was in love once, back in Jamaica. Her name was Thandi. She died, took a bullet during a raid, while I was there. She was innocent though…’
‘Oh Coop…’
‘Yeah. After a while I got back on the horse, as they say, dated other girls. But each time after we parted and I lay in my bed, I felt dirty, like I’d cheated on Thandi.’ His head lowered, Zana felt his hand tighten around hers. ‘Ain’t never been able to shake that off. That was ten years ago, and I’ve not known love since.’
‘That’s so sad. You’ll find someone, Coop.’
‘Maybe. But what I’m saying is, I know how Maddie felt when Lisa came along… wanting to love again but finding more pain than pleasure. So seeing you two shaking those issues off was… gratifying. Just wouldn’t do for either of you to end up like me.’
He felt her arms around him, holding him close, grateful for his words but saddened by his pain. ‘Thank you Coop. You’re like the wise old dad I’ve never had.’
‘Hey, less of the old!’
She smiled, but it quickly faded. ‘But I fear for Madeline. We must rescue them quickly, before…’
The words faded, and her face clouded over. And Coop’s heart began to thump harder. ‘Before what, Zana?’
‘I know my sister. She will see through Madeline’s disguise straightaway. And then the goalposts will be moved.’
‘Tiri won’t harm Maddie, you know that.’
‘That isn’t strictly true, Coop. When my sister realizes she will never have Madeline for herself, then she will make sure no one else does either.’
Chapter 178
Kayla finally cried herself out, her tears of fear and terror subsiding into sobs of resignation. Her arms were clutched tight around my waist, her head pressed hard into my shoulder, and my heart wanted to scream with hatred at the evil queen who, perhaps fortunately, wasn’t in view right then.
My petrified new friend had been kidnapped and abused, time after time, and then thrown into an alien spacecraft very likely heading to yet more unspeakable and unknown hell.
And I’d told her we would be rescued.
My stomach churned with an unrelenting agony. The fear for Kayla and the other girls was hard enough to bear, but the crippling realization something had gone wrong was making it harder and harder to stay strong.
&
nbsp; I looked around the all-too-familiar cabin they’d thrown the two of us into. I wasn’t sure if it was the same one where I’d spent the best Christmas ever; they probably all looked the same. But it sure brought back recent memories.
That wasn’t helping to keep my spirits up either.
We’d been bundled into Tiri’s shuttle in a hurry, in the middle of a huge snowstorm. The lying snow was deep, treacherous. Had the van with Zana and the others in it got stuck… crashed? Or had Tiri somehow discovered them, and…
The nausea came. An unrelenting wave of gut-wrenching horror that would for sure have made me throw up if there’d been anything left in my stomach to vomit.
Oh hell.
Suddenly I knew for sure we were on our own. I’d thrown up violently when I was in my kidnapper’s car, a few minutes after he’d picked me up. Emptied the contents of my stomach.
And that must have included the tracker.
Oh hell.
The shuttle began to shudder. It felt like we were descending, maybe heading back through the clouds. There were no windows in the small crew’s quarters, so I couldn’t see out. It didn’t seem like the journey had been very long, but I had been lost in my desolate thoughts. Kayla looked up to me, her sad eyes still full of silent tears, and a new fear.
‘I think we might be wherever it is we’re going,’ I said softly, pressing her face back into my shoulder.
Three minutes later I felt the familiar jolt as the shuttle settled onto solid ground. My favorite queen had made the perfect landing, of course. And then everything went quiet. And stayed quiet.
After ten minutes Kayla finally eased herself away from me, and stood up. ‘What’s happening? Apart from nothing.’
She put her hands onto the door, tried to ease it aside. ‘That won’t work, Kayla. There’s an electronic lock.’
She turned to look at me, her intelligent mind already answering the question she asked anyway. ‘You’ve been here before?’
I nodded. ‘Yes. I was captured once before… in the Caribbean, before this spacecraft came back to England.’
She sat down next to me on the small bunk. ‘I didn’t really understand any of that.’
I couldn’t blame her. It did kind of sound like the ramblings of an insane mind. I had to tell her, but I could write a full-length novel about the last two months of my life, so it would have to be a synopsis.
So I told my wide-eyed friend the relevant points of recent history, including who it was who’d destroyed the alien mother ship over London. At least it took her mind off the horror of the right then.
She gasped, smiled a lovely smile. ‘So you and the girl you love saved the world. That’s so romantic…’
Oh Kayla, how I wish… wish the story could have ended there, just before a panicking Carl arrived and fired the fatal shot…
It didn’t end there. And it’s not ended yet. A point suddenly rammed home to us both as the door slid aside and Spiderman one and two… or maybe three and four… or, who the hell knows… grabbed our arms and herded us to the airlock.
It’s ok webmasters, I know the way.
The raging blizzard smacked its full force into us as we were shoved down the steps and back into winter. Through the flakes I could make out the dark shape of a big old house. A really old house. I tried to see where we were, but the darkness and the snow wasn’t making it easy. Pine trees, lots of them; surrounding the beautiful house looming over us as we were led to the big wooden entrance porch and through a huge oak door.
The large entrance hall was dominated by a wide oak staircase, rising from the centre of the room and then splitting to the left and the right, giving access to a galleried landing that ran around three sides of the room. To one side, a set of double doors were open, and we were herded through them into a very large sitting room.
Someone had been busy. A log fire blazed away in the hearth of a massive stone fireplace, sending up beautiful yellow flames and a thousand crackling sparks, filling the room with delicious warmth and a cozy glow.
This is where I should have spent Christmas day… just without any aliens, terrified kidnapped girls, or churning stomachs.
Just with the company of the woman I loved.
I was so lost in my belated Christmas wish list, for a few seconds I didn’t notice she’d entered the room, until the frightened cries of the girls brought me back to harsh reality.
I couldn’t blame them for crying out. They’d suddenly realized they’d been experiencing their own close encounters of the third kind, without any of them knowing it.
My queen stood there in all her regal glory, her faithful pit-bull Peroni by her side, neither of them attempting to disguise who they were.
And then, standing quietly in a doorway to the side, I saw Lisa. Oh Lisa… are you ok? She looked to be in one piece, I couldn’t see any damage to her face, but the light wasn’t good. For a second I fought the urge to go to her, make sure she was ok, thank her properly for helping to save my life.
I managed to resist. Keeping my disguise intact was the only vague hope we had left.
But then my attention was diverted, as our royal host began to speak.
‘Girls, welcome to Hartington Manor. This will be your home for a while, and as you can already see, a much better one than the disgusting conditions you have been living in.’
I saw her cast a momentary glance to one of her henchmen. Well well, my queen, perhaps you do have the remnants of a heart after all. Then again, upping the comfort level helps with raising a rapidly-growing family, doesn’t it?
The queen mother was still speaking. ‘Shortly there will be heat and power, to make your lives even better, and when I have finished addressing you all, you will be taken to your rooms, where your chains will be removed. I do not wish to see you tethered like wild animals.’
She glanced in my direction. Instinctively I moved a little so Kayla’s head obscured mine. In the dim light she couldn’t possibly recognize me, but it was a natural reaction, given the history between the two of us.
But watch your back Tiri, because you’ll know exactly who I am when endgame comes to call.
‘I want you all to be as comfortable as possible, and will make it my personal duty to ensure you are. I realize this is frightening for you all, and unsettling…’
That’s not how I’d put it, grandmother.
‘… but please understand you are doing a noble and wonderful thing in making it possible for a race of people to grow and flourish once more. I am deeply indebted to you all. As time passes you will be joined by other girls, and so our family will quickly grow. But for the time being, while we prepare the entire house, you will be placed two to a room.’
I felt Kayla’s hand slip into mine. I guess her subconscious was telling her if she clung on for dear life we wouldn’t be separated.
‘In the hours of darkness you will be locked in your rooms, but in the daytime you will be free to enjoy the rest of the house. But please be aware, there is no escape. Hartington Manor is miles from any other building or village, and my men will be watching at all times. Anyone attempting to escape will be shot. As the song says… “you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave the Hotel Calandura”’. She laughed at her own joke.
No one else did.
And yes, the grandmother from hell was back to her evil self. Making sure those she cared about were comfortable, and then telling them if they didn’t enjoy her hospitality they would be extinguished.
Leopards, spots, and all that jazz.
Chapter 179
Kayla and me got to stay together. We were placed in a room that looked like a time capsule. Old flock wallpaper covered the upper part of the walls, peeling and damp. But nowhere near as damp as our last apartment.
The lower parts of the walls were wood paneled. In the centre of the room, an oak bed sat between two matching bedside tables. Old wooden furniture covered two walls, and an ancient iron radiator stood in the corner, th
e only indication that relatively-modern technology had invaded the eighteenth century house. A dressing table with a mirror on carved wooden supports stood against one wall, still with scent-bottles, combs and a hairbrush nestling amongst the cobwebs.
What the hell is this place? A land-locked version the Mary Rose? However the house came to be abandoned, it sure seemed like the occupants had left in a hurry.
Kayla stood at the big window. The faded, dusty drapes were pulled to the sides by pitted brass hold-backs. ‘That alien woman was right… we are in the middle of nowhere.’
I joined her, looked out. The first light of day made it a little easier to see, but it wasn’t a pretty sight. Well it was, if you liked Christmas card scenes. The snow had relented a little, enough for us to see the steep, wooded hills surrounding us, their tops shrouded by the low clouds and a mist of snow.
It would be the perfect setting if they ever made The Shining 2.
Maybe in more ways than one.
We heard the key turn in the old lock, and Spiderman whatever walked in. For a second Kayla’s shaking hand clutched my arm, but he wasn’t there to abuse either of us. In his arms was a pile of logs, and he knelt at the small grate and lit a fire. Then he left, and the key turned in the lock once more.
But his short visit was a very welcome one. The fire gave the room a cozy glow, and two bodies chilled to the bone knelt next to it and allowed its warmth to soothe us.
I told Kayla why my friends hadn’t come, saw her head lower as she realized no one on the planet now knew where we were. I lifted her chin with a finger. ‘Hey you, I’m going to end this… I don’t know how yet, but no one is ever going to abuse you again. I just need to work out a plan.’
She shook her head. ‘How can we ever escape? You heard what that alien woman said… we’re miles from anywhere. There’s seven stupid spider men, one human-looking one, two alien women and one black girl who obviously isn’t really human… and just you against all of them?’
Wow. In the middle of all the fear and terror my new friend had taken it all in, noted just how many bad guys there were. Go you, Kayla.
