jannieswrite

THE APPROACHING DARKNESS

Lord James Carruthers was sitting idly playing with a letter opener when he heard a knock at the door. The letter opener was dagger shaped and made of gold. It had been a present from a sultan in Istanbul to Lord Carruthers when he had been an envoy out in that country with the British Embassy.
“Come!” grunted Lord James laying the letter opener down on his desk top and turning to the door into his office.
The door opened slowly, creaking on hinges that would benefit from a drop of oil revealing Bob Wilkins, the estate manger who crept in slowly as if testing the waters as to Lord James’ mood.
“Your lordship,” began Bob. “You called for me?” The question hung in the still air of the office.
“Yes…” Lord James started to say. “Mmmm! What was it that I wanted you to do for me?” He pondered, picking up the letter opener again and began spinning it on one of his finger tips.”Ah, yes! Willow Tree pond, if you can call it that! I want the wretched thing drained. It won’t support fish and during the summer the most abominable smells come off it!”
Bob’s face took on a worried look. “You can’t drain it m’Lord!”
“I, Wilkins, can do anything I want with my land!” retorted Lord James angrily.
“No, I’m sorry m’Lord. I meant to say that you shouldn’t drain it.” Bob replied wringing his hands.
“Why ever not?” Lord James queried.
Bob looked down at his feet. He knew that Lord and Lady Carruthers were incomers to Castle Seigne and paid no heed to the superstitions observed and wild tales told around the district. How was he to diplomatically explain his misgivings? “The local people consider it a spiritual place m’Lord,” began Bob hesitantly. “Your own servants are believers in the water’s magical properties. Now I know that you and Lady Carruthers are too pragmatic to believe in anything so farfetched, but I am sure you wouldn’t want to do anything to upset the townsfolk would you sir?”
Lord James stood up to his full six feet and glaring down at his estate manger growled; “Drain it!”

The following day the firm responsible for emptying the pond arrived. ‘Energy Logistics’ had undertaken the draining of many large projects including canals, extensive lakes and other waterways. Their equipment was new and very efficient when it came to sucking liquid out of an area. Bill Farnell was the project manager and after he had seen to siting his equipment and finding accommodation for his men, he made his way up to Castle Seigne with plans to show Lord Carruthers.
“How long do you reckon it will take to drain, Farnell?” Lord James asked after he had seen and been totally mystified by the blueprints. “It’s only a trifling puddle for goodness sake!”
Bill Farnell looked down at his plans which listed depth, length and breadth of Willow Tree pond. He knew that the upper class liked to be in charge especially of the price. “I think it will take us three days to empty the pond completely, but you realise that due to the fact that it lies at the base of high ground, it will eventually refill.”
“Ah, the draining is the first part of my plan. Once you and your men have emptied out the water, I intend to site porous pipes in the empty hole and then backfill with debris and earth. The final outcome will be a fertile piece of ground which will be continuously drained down to a nearby stream. Are you impressed, Farnell?” asked Lord James triumphantly, placing his hands on his hips.
The project manager looked down again at the plans and nodded his head;”Yes, that will work, but you are trying to outdo Nature and Mother Earth has a nasty habit of stepping in and restoring the status quo.”

For three days the pumps chugged away draining every drop of water out of Willow Tree pond. Discarded items that had been thrown into the waters began to appear by day two and the contractors carefully pulled them out and laid them on the grass. Animal’s skulls, bones, strange shaped metal objects, rotten wooden crutches, cages and three prams were found amongst the general detritus of tin cans and glass bottles.

Then, on day three, two of the pumps stopped working. Something thick and glutinous had been sucked into their maws and had stuck. Reversing the direction of the pumps did not clear the blockage and after the pumps were disconnected from their pipethe contractors had to manually clear the obstruction. And what an obstruction it was, it stank of rotten flesh and had the consistency of glue. The more the men tried to remove it the more it clung on. Eventually the residue was cleared from the pumps, but the smell hung around the workers and several of them burnt their overalls later as no end of washing would remove the stink.

Bob watched on with a jaded eye. He knew that it would not be an easy task to empty Willow Tree pond and he feared the consequences of the action.

On day four, Bill Farnell came up to the castle to speak to Lord James. The project manger looked exhausted and his facial expression reflected a fresh problem that had been encountered.
“It is a full skeleton, Lord James,” Bill said with a shudder. “It looks as if it has been there for some time, but I think we must bring the police in now. The person could have been murdered.”

Detective Sergeant David Gray and Detective Constable Colin Ferrier responded to Lord Carruther’s telephone call and after donning white suits and wellington boots inspected the remains at the bottom of the drained pond. Soon after Scene of Crime Officers arrived and after checking and photographing the skeleton, placed the bones into a ‘body bag’ and took them back to police headquarters for a post-mortem.
“I do agree with the project’s manager of ‘Energy Logistics’,” said D.S. Gray. “They look very old and I am sure we won’t get much information from them.”
“What do you think about all the ‘rubbish’ that they found in the pond?” chirped D.C. Ferrier. “Kind of spooky, all these skulls and bones and things. You’d think they were offerings or something!”

That night Lord and Lady Carruthers had a small party to celebrate the finish of phase one of their pond emptying project. Several dignitaries had been invited from the surrounding area and for a full two hours, Daimlers, Rolls Royces and Jaguars arrived outside Castle Seigne bringing guests to the celebration.

Chef Pierre Falconne was not amused. He had prepared exquisite food for the night and now that the guests and their host and hostess were seated at the dining table, they were short of one waitress. Susy Brown, who was supposed to be on duty that night had not turned up; normally she was a dependable and sensible girl, but no telephone call had been received to explain her absence.
Not wishing to delay the meal any more Chef Falconne ordered the waitresses present to start serving the soup, which that night was cream of venison.
Just as the last waitress entered the dining hall the outside door to the kitchen flew open and a breathless, besmirched Susy Brown burst in. She collapsed on a chair and began to cry hysterically. “I saw it!” she screeched. “It was all black and smelled something horrible!”
Chef Falconne tried to calm the girl, but Susy was not for calming down; “You have to believe me!” she screamed and fainted.
Bob Wilkinson entered the kitchen in time to see Susy flop over onto the floor. He was dressed in his tuxedo and bow tie and had come to see what the hullabaloo was about. “What’s wrong with her?” he asked Chef Falconne. “Has she been drinking?”
Crouching down on the floor Bob lifted the girl’s head gently and as he raised her, her eyes flickered open. “Oh, Mr Wilkinson,” she whispered. “I’m so sorry, but I got such a fright down at the Pond. It was really dreadful.”
“What was, Susy? What did you see?” asked Bob gently.
“A large figure in black,” said Susy with a shiver. “It was just hanging in the air and the smell…oh it was shocking!”

The plates of soup had all been placed on the tables by the waitresses and after the Revernd Michael Gallspurdy had said ‘Grace’ the guests picked up their spoon and tasted the soup…and,as one spat it out!
“What is this Carruthers?” shouted Major Henry Dall . “Are you bloody trying to poison us? This is awful and it stinks!”
“Lady Carruthers, I think it is time you changed your chef,” said Lady Diana Redfearn.
Lord James jumped to his feet and began ordering the waitresses to collect the plates of soup and to bring on the next course. He spluttered apologies at his guests seated around the table and instructed the wine waiter to top up any empty glasses.

Back in the kitchen Bob was attempting to get some sense out of Susy. “Susy listen to me, where did you see this figure?” Bob asked. “We have to know.”
All at once all the waitresses began rushing into the kitchen carrying plates of soup. It was such an argy bargy that soup was being spilt all about them. Chef Falconne demanded to know why his soup was being returned.
“The guests say it smells and tastes awful!” screamed a small blonde waitress. “Lord Carruthers wants the next course in like yesterday!”
Susy’s head rolled and her eyes closed; “It was at Willow Tree Pond.” She mumbled as she slipped back into a faint. Bob picked her up and carried her into a small anteroom where he laid her on a settee in the recovery position. Then he made his way out of the castle and down towards Willow Tree Pond.

By the time the main course was served the guests were famished. They had, by this time consumed a large amount of wine and on an empty stomach; it was having a disastrous effect. Quite a few of the ladies were giggling uncontrollably and Lord and Lady Carruthers were watching on with worried looks as glasses were knocked over and wine spilt.
Then when it seemed as if mayhem would break out, the waitresses began to bring in the roast pheasant, which was to be be served with dauphinose potatoes and a selection of vegetables. Soon all hilarity ceased in anticipation of the delightful meal that was to be eaten.
Just when everyone seemed content to dig in to his or her meal, one of the guests, Lady Dorothea Gallang jumped up with a loud scream; “My meat is alive!” she screeched. “There are insects all over my meal!”
Lord Carruthers left his seat and rushed to Lady Dorothea’s side. Sure enough the tender piece of pheasant was alive with maggots and several of the grubs were in the process of transforming to full blown flies. “What is happening?” he shouted as several other of his guests found livestock sprouting from their food.
“Well, I think we have just about had enough of this Carruthers!” said Major Dall throwing down his napkin angrily. “I think that we will all leave while we are able!”

Suddenly there was a large flash of light and a roaring noise in the air above the dining table. It sounded as if a large wind was roaring through the building and all at once the temperature in the room began to drop. A large black mass slowly began to materialise in the air and before too long it had solidified into a black figure. The guests stood transfixed with horror at the unholy spectacle.
“You are all under my command!” roared a voice from the figure. “No one will move till I tell them to!”
“The hell you will!” Lord Carruthers shouted, stepping forward to confront the entity and was immediately thrown onto his back. Two of his guests helped him back onto his feet.
“Now you will think of nothing,” the black figure commanded. “Your brains are empty and you will all do what I say!” The party guests and the waitresses stood like mannequins, gazing up at the creature, awaiting its next command.

Using a torch, Bob had made it down to the empty pond, but could not see any sign of the figure that had terrified Susy. He shone the torch beam on the piles of items that had been dragged from the pond and some information from his dim and distant past returned to him.
He remembered an old man in the town who had the reputation of telling stories to the children. Several of the parents had complained to the police that his tales often gave the little ones nightmares, but for the older children it provided a real thrill.
The man had told a story of an elderly woman who had provided her customers with potions and charms supposedly to ward off evil. As a child, her mother had always believed her daughter had been possessed with an evil spirit, but after the woman began to bring in money to the household from her remedies, the mother counted it as a blessing.
The Witchfinder General had been carrying out his scrutiny of various parts of the country in an effort to rid the population of witches. He scoured the highways and byways to find his victims to torture and kill in the name of Justice.
One of the old woman’s customers had had an unfortunate love affair and had attributed it to a love charm that she had bought from the ‘wise woman’ and had given her name as a possible witch to the General.
Willow Tree Pond was the nearest body of water that could be used to ‘test’ the old woman’s authenticity and so the poor soul was bound and thrown in. The test of being found to be a witch was by floating as the water was in fact ‘rejecting’ evil. Sadly the only way to prove innocence was to drown and this the old woman did, but before she sank for the final time she screamed out a warning that she would return and that all Hell would follow her!
After the drowning the pond was shunned, apart from at the beginning of the four seasons when ‘tributes’ would be thrown into the waters in an attempt to appease the old woman.
The method seemed to have worked as nothing was ever experienced after the execution, that was, until that week.
Now, thought Bob, the old woman had been released and her anger knew no bounds!

The black figure raised a thin bony finger and pointed towards the door of the dining room and like children; Lord and Lady Carruthers and their guests filed silently out of the room and made their way down through the garden towards the site of Willow Tree Pond.
A full moon shone down upon the file of figures as they approached the site of the pond and when they reached the large hole in the ground, they dutifully walked around the edge until they encircled it.
“Now Lord Carruthers,” screeched the black figure hovering above the empty pond. “Come forward now, sir!”
Lord Carruthers walked straight to the edge of the pond and fell down the muddy slope. He tumbled to the bottom, where he struggled back onto his feet. He moved to the middle of the pit and looked up at the dark figure hovering above him.
“You awoke me from my resting place!” the figure screamed. “You will return the water that I lay beneath, to me!”
Suddenly water began pouring out of Lord Carruther’s mouth, his nose and his ears. The flow continued to increase until – Lord Carruthers exploded like an overripe peach. Bits of his body and garments were thrown outwards and several of the guests were struck by them. The pool was filling quickly now and soon it had attained its original volume.
“Now my pretty ones!” the hovering figure said loudly pointing at the guests who surrounded Willow Tree Pond. “Now it is time for your contribution!”
One by one the guests began bleeding in great spurts of blood. They were all still mesmerised by the black figure and just stood stock still while their bodies were exsanguinated. The blood poured in rivulets down into the water turning the dark waters cloudy.

Bob stood behind a large oak tree and looked on in horror at what the men and women were being subjected to. He felt powerless knowing full well that if he betrayed his position, his blood would be spilt as easy as the rest of the people. What could he do? He thought frantically. He looked across at the pile of rusty ‘tributes’ that lay piled up on the bank. Could there be something amongst them?

The pond was now circled by corpses which lay on the grass in various forms of disarray.
“Now!” screamed the figure. “Now, come ye denizens of Hell and feast before you take over this weak world. It is yours for the taking!”

The surface of the pond was still and reflected the black figure that hovered above the waters.
Suddenly the surface became agitated and a large head protruded from the water. It looked like a cross between a dragon and tiger and without exerting itself too much, it leant over and gobbled up one of the corpses. Soon other strange creatures began emerging. A cockatrice suddenly flew out of the pond and began tearing strips of flesh from a bloodless body. A chimera growled as it feasted upon the human flesh and guarded its prize from a large serpent which slid from the waters onto the bank.
“Eat my children! Grow strong, for we have much to do tonight!” the black figure moved over its army from Hades.

Bob couldn’t stand it anymore and lunged over to the tangled pile of bone, metal and rotting wood. Reaching into the mass his hand closed on a strange shaped piece of metal. It was a large cross with crosses on each of its four legs. He had just about disentangled it from the other objects when he saw that his presence had been spotted. A large hyena hybrid was approaching him hungrily. Bob wrenched the piece of metal clear and prepared to protect himself. The black figure gave an evil laugh and pointing at Bob said; “Eat up! That flesh has plenty of blood within it!”
Forgetting about the approaching animal Bob swung the piece of metal behind his head and then threw it with all his might at the hovering abomination. The object hit the black figure and penetrated it. The creature hung in the air, suddenly motionless before all at once it fell and dropped into the water of Willow Tree Pond with a great splash.
Bob felt a sense of exhilaration as he realised that he had had some effect on the figure, but the hyena hybrid was very close to him and great gouts of saliva poured from its maw.

All at once there was a large explosion and the waters of the pond began to spin. It was a whirlpool and as it spun it sucked all about it into its middle. One by one, the hellish creatures were snatched and sucked down below the water. The unholy animal that was about to attack Bob swivelled around and the last Bob saw of it was when it went down the whirlpool’s centre.
The wind roared and screamed and the trees about the pond lashed back and forwards like whips. Bob clung on for dear life to the trunk of a mighty tree which groaned in the tempest. The water in the pond was again subsiding and gradually the pit emptied and the wind died down.

Bob carefully made his way to the edge of the hole and looked down at the bottom. He could see something down there and by carefully sliding down the muddy side, he went over to discover what it was.
A little girl crouched there and as Bob approached she raised her tear stained eyes to him. “Please sir, I am lost can you help me?” she whispered as Bob gently picked her up and carried her out of the pit.

Bob called the police and tried to explain what had happened that night. The problem was that there were no bodies and apart from blood stains around the pond, there were very few clues. Bob said that he had been up at the castle when all the guests had decided to visit the pond to see Lord Carruthers’ great achievement and that had been the last he had seen of them. Not wanting to be thought insane, he did not mention the dark figure or its involvement with the disappearances.
The police were mystified and after several months had gone by, had to declare that the case would remain ‘open’.

Bob lives in a cottage in a neighbouring town now. New people have Castle Seigne and although they had invited Bob to carry on as the estate manager, he declined, explaining that he was needed elsewhere. And elsewhere was with his daughter Mystic.
After he had taken the little girl who he found in the empty pond to the authorities, he decided to try and adopt her that was if she would have him. After many months of court appearances Bob was granted custody of the girl who he named Mystic.
Mystic is a very quiet child who likes to be alone. Often people will hear her singing little songs and reciting snatches of poetry. She often collects flowers and herbs which she uses in her little games.

Willow Tree Pond has filled again with the runoff water gently pouring from the fields and lanes. It is a peaceful place where little creatures come to drink. Birds wash their feathers in its shallows and lily pads float on its surface. All is quiet as if it is holding its breath awaiting what may come.