When the laptop finally went dark to save power, Michael felt the blood seep back into his
ankles urging him to move. Mary was no longer looking at him from a picture taken in 1910 and
he was now able to move his legs. He shuffled slowly back to the table and picked up his
phone that had been beeping for ages and read the text. The text made little sense to Michael,
so he pushed the phone into his jeans pocket, grabbed his coat, and headed out into the dismal
night rain.
Michael had no plans but he knew he just had to do something. He knew Mary was alive
and he had to get her back, somehow. He paused momentarily before starting the car, who
could help him make sense of all the information in his head? Finally he nodded and turned the
key. The engine ignited effortlessly allowing him to set off immediately. He had made a
decision, one he would most probably regret later, but one he had no choice in making; he just
hoped, the headmaster was not the figure in the centre of the picture.
Despite the bleak darkness, the road felt alive with the movements of the tree braches that
swayed ferociously like a troupe of wild dancers, flailing in front of Michael as he drove, their
shadows clawing at his windscreen. The car"s headlights created ghostly images that seemed
to join in with the dance as the rain played the percussion on his car roof. He hated driving at
night in the rain, at least in the snow, you could see the hazard. He consciously held the
steering wheel at ten o"clock and two o"clock, to maintain control forcing his knuckles to turn
white and pain to shoot up his arms. The last thing he or Mary needed was for him to crash.
The car swerved, forcing Michael to compensate. That wind is picking up, it’s almost as if…
He slammed on the brakes when a fallen tree jumped out of the darkness blocking the road. He
watched for a moment as the rain drops, visible by way of his lights, bounced off the trunk and
jumped in every direction. He had narrowly missed a thick branch that was pointing into the
road like a long, sharp finger. He took a deep breath and drove around the obstacle and
continued down the road towards the village centre, picking up speed as he drove. He could
not afford to be delayed any longer.
He had only travelled a few hundred yards when the rain became so severe that it blocked
his vision. He took his foot off the accelerator and allowed the car to slow gently. He refused to
stop, however, Mary needed him, and he hoped it was not too late. He rounded the corner and
snatched a view of the darkened school in the distance; it was large, even from that point, was it
his imagination, or did it look more sinister at night? He shook his head and returned his focus
to the road and stepped on the brakes again, swerving to the right and narrowly missing
something in the road. “What the fu...!” He shouted trying to regain control of the car as it
entered into a daring spin. When the car came to a complete stop following his stalling, he
turned back to look and saw nothing. He did not feel any bump or knock, but to be sure he
grabbed the torch from the glove box and got out of the car…
As he opened the door, the rain began inflicting its painful blows. He felt the tiny pinpricks
pelt his legs even through his thick jeans. He got out of the car and his face became agonised
by the bombardment of rain drops and no doubt hail stones. He grimaced and turned up his
coat collar. Hunching his shoulders he tried to ignore the pain of each prick; he had to for
Mary"s sake. He swooped the torch over the road but could only see, barely, the hedge that
lined the road and the trees behind them. He took several steps forward, pushing hard against
the wind, if only I had put on my warmer coat. He could have sworn he saw something large in
the road, but there was nothing there. He shook his head, wiped the rain from his face and
turned round and jumped, dropping the torch and taking a step back.
Despite the large rain coat with a furry trim to the hood, Michael surmised that a woman had
caught him from stumbling. When he looked into the hood, he was surprised to see the face of
an elderly woman peering back at him, since her arms were reasonably strong and firm. He
steadied himself “I"m not goin" to stop ye going up there, but a word o" warning, Son, ye watch
yer back. That devil is an affy cunning creature and wants ye for his own. Remember this
though, ye are not alone, ye have never been alone and ye never will be alone. We"ll help ye
get up there, but once inside, ye, and only ye, can slay the beast.” She turned and faded into
the darkness, aided by her black rain coat.
“Wait…who are you? What beast? Come back!” But she had gone. His coat flapped
violently in the wind and the rain smacked the back of his head, he could hear the car"s engine
and see the headlights as bright as they were before he skidded round the old lady. Then he
realised, didn’t the engine stall?
***
Driving through the village gave Michael the creeps. Every building was dark, the street lamps
were not working and the trees were swaying in every direction at the command of the wind.
The rain fell in defiance to anything that got in its way and soaked without compromise or
prejudice. Michael"s wipers were on full and he was still struggling to see through the river
gushing from his roof. He could not remember the last time he drove in such stormy weather,
but needs were a must and Mary was definitely worth it.
Eventually he came through the other side of the village and turned the corner towards the
school which was largely obscured from view due to the swaying trees. Having driven that
particular road many times already, he estimated it would only be a few minutes before it
became visible and then only a few more minutes before he reached the long drive leading to
the school itself.
Up ahead were two points of light blocking his road, he could only assume they belonged to
a car, since everything behind them was invisible through the heavy rain. He slowed ready to
stop, just in case someone needed his help to move a stranded car, although not an ideal
situation to find himself in. Suddenly, red and blue lights began flashing silently allowing
Michael to recognise the police. Great! He better not smell my breath. He pulled up just ahead
of a figure that had suddenly appeared through the rain waving his hands at Michael.
He slowly pressed the button to lower the window as he watched the officer walk round from
the front of the car. He was heavily laden with waterproof clothing that seemed larger than his
body and a large-brimmed hat that allowed the rain to splash away and cover his face in
shadow. Michael looked up at the window, but tried to keep his head back to avoid the sting of
the rain and revealing his alcohol-smelling breath. Yet, although the window was only open
half-way down, enough rain poured in to re-soak his legs. “What"s the problem, Officer?”
The officer leant forward and rested his hand on the roof of the car, Michael was thankful he
was providing some respite from the rain, “The road ahead is flooded, and it"s impassable.”
“But I need to get through…” He remained calm, even though he was frustrated, he did not
want to give the officer an idea he had been drinking. He consciously forced his head to
maintain contact with the head rest of his seat.
“Well if you go that way,” he pointed towards a road that went off to the side. It was rarely
used because it was a single-track lane with a sheer drop on one side and given it was dark and
stormy, it would be 100 times worse, “you will bypass the obstruction and get to the school
quicker.”
“The school?” How do you know?
The policeman smiled, tapped the rim of his hat and said, “You be sure to be careful now,
Michael, your next few hours are going to be trying for you, be strong.” Before Michael could
reply or make sense of what he had just heard, the officer had turned and disappeared into the
rain. He raised the window.
He continued looking at the lights for a moment longer as the wipers furiously dashed from
side to side. On another occasion they would annoy him and he rarely put them on that fast for
that reason, but today was different. He blinked back to reality and set off down the alternative
route.
Within a matter of minutes, faster than Michael anticipated, he arrived at the back entrance
of the school, hidden behind heavy foliage and bushes. He turned the lights off so as to escape
detection from anything that could be patrolling the grounds. He did not think why that would be
the case, but since everything had already happened the way it had, it was better to be safe
than sorry. Just as he turned the lights off, his phone broke the quietness and made Michael
jump slightly. He took his phone out his pocket and read the message,
To save Mary, reveal
BD by feet
“BD? Who the hell is BD?” The complexities of the recent set of messages were confusing
Michael. He had had enough. He threw the phone to the passenger seat but it hit the floor
instead. He did not care; he had somewhere he had to be. He opened the car door and
stepped out. The rain still pouring, though it seemed softer, somehow. He switched the torch
on and ran to the school entrance.
