Escape From the Country Read online

  Chapter Twenty Three

  As the cellar door shut, Julie stumbled back against the small table in the hallway. Confused, she called out to Chris. A knock at the door made her jump as she clutched her chest. Cautiously walking towards the front door, she peered out of the side window to see who it was. Recognising the policeman from before she opened the door to let him in.

  “Mrs Hanley, I’m PC Chambers, we met a few days ago. I’m sorry to call at such a late hour, but I was hoping I might have a word?” The policeman stood in his uniform, looking as clean cut and official as he did before. “Do you mind if I come in?” A little dazed, Julie nodded and stood back from the door to let him in. “Are you ok, you look a little pale?” Chambers remarked.

  “I’m ok thanks, just feel a little light headed. I’m not sure where Chris is though. He was here a minute ago, in the kitchen I think. Let me go see if I can find him. Please, come through and take a seat.”

  Julie called out to Chris again. With no response, she began to search the house. After a few minutes she returned to the living room to let Chambers know she couldn’t find him.

  “I’m sorry, he must have popped out?” She said curiously.

  “A bit late to be popping out don’t you think?” He replied suspiciously.

  “I suppose it is?” In a dazed voice. “So how come you want to see him?” She said, but stumbled towards the sofa, landing against it in an awkward fashion. Chambers jumped up to help her.

  “I think you need to sit down, let me get you a glass of water.”

  “I’m fine, really.”

  “You’re clearly not, how long have you been feeling like this?”

  “Not long, although I’ve not felt quite right since I’ve been here. We’ve just put it down to the stress of moving.” Chambers gave her a quizzical look and headed to the kitchen to get her a drink. He cast his eyes around the room to see if anything looked untoward but didn't notice anything suspicious. Straining to hear, he thought he heard a voice, albeit muffled and seeming to come from below him.

  “Did you hear that?”

  “Hear what?” Julie replied.

  “Sounded like someone shouting, but from quite far away.” He walked towards the back doors and looked out onto the garden. With his hands up by his face to block the glare from the lights, he looked out onto the couple’s garden hoping to find the source of the odd sound. “There it is again.” Knowing he wasn’t hearing things, he turned to Julie only to be met with a heavy blow to the head. His legs giving way, he hit the floor with no sign of getting back up. Still conscious, he reached for his radio, only to receive another strike from the wine bottle, finally breaking over his head sending shards of glass across the living room floor.

  The cellar's hinges creaked as Julie pulled against the heavy door. Chris, blinded by the light of the hallway, turned his head to one side. The light was momentarily blocked as something was thrown down the steps, landing in a heap on the sandy floor. He cast his eyes back to the opening and squinted to make out what was going on. Again, he saw his petite wife descend the stairs with the same blank look on her face. As his eyes adjusted, he began to make out what she’d pushed down into the room. He could immediately tell it was a body, but after noticing the uniform realised it was a policeman.

  “Julie, what have you done? Is he dead?” He screamed as he struggled against the cable ties now digging into his wrists causing blood to run down his fingers. Still holding a lifeless stare, Julie dragged Chambers over to the pillar across from Chris and bound his hands in the same way. The policeman’s body slumped to the side with blood running from his head and mixing with the sand and dirt. “What are you doing? This isn’t you, we can fix this, just let me go.” He winced as the cuts on his wrists deepened and sweat ran down his face, stinging his eyes. Julie turned slowly towards him and stood staring for a few moments. Her face lacking any emotion. It was as if her soul had been taken or at least suppressed. Her hair dangled in front of her eyes in an unflattering way, adding to the zombie like manner in which she carried herself. She turned once again and climbed the steps, letting the door fall back with its weight. Slamming shut it left the two men bound with only the dim light of the lamp to illuminate their dark surroundings.

  Chapter Twenty Four

  “Hey, hey are you ok?” Chris whispered to the policeman as he came to. He knew the room was pretty much sound proof, but didn’t want to take the chance with whatever had a hold on Julie.

  “Not really, what the hell hit me?” He groaned.

  “Not sure, looks like my wife, but that’s not her.” As Chambers turned his head, Chris recognised him as the policeman who had visited only a few days ago. “Wait, why are you here anyway?” He asked.

  “Long story, but looks like we’ve both underestimated what’s going on here.”

  “Do you know why this is happening? What’s wrong with her? You must realise she’d never do anything like this.”

  “I know, it’s not her, but that doesn’t help us right now. You got anything sharp I can cut these ties with?”

  “I’ve been looking but can’t find anything. She dropped a knife earlier somewhere in here but I can’t see it. Try to see if you can reach it with your feet.” Chambers probed the floor with his legs until they both recognised the noise of metal scratching the ground.

  “I can’t get my feet over it. I’ll have to kick it to you.” He kicked out his leg, propelling the knife across the floor towards Chris. His head throbbed from the exertion and hung it low hoping the pressure would subside. Chris could see the knife but would have to drag it towards him with his foot. Aiming for the handle so not to cut himself, he managed to bring it to his hands. Having to hold the knife awkwardly between his index finger and thumb, he cut the ties and stood, rubbing his blood stricken wrists.

  “Well done, now cut me loose and we can sort this out.” Chambers told him, but there was no reaction. Chris’ body became limp as his head raised and he seemed to lose all sense of being. He slowly knelt down, picked up the knife and began to walk away. “Where are you going?” Chambers called out as Chris moved towards the steps. “Wait, cut me loose, you don’t know what you’re doing!” Chris turned and looked at him with the same stare Julie had given. Raising the knife, he climbed the steps, pushing open door leading him to the hallway. Chambers heard the knife rattle against the tiles as Chris climbed out and onto the floor above. An almighty boom followed as the cellar door was left to slam shut, casting him back into the dim light. He struggled against the ties but knew it was no use.

  Chris walked through the hallway and into the kitchen to find Julie standing at the window, looking out onto the garden towards the garage. His steps were loud and uncoordinated as he stalked his wife, causing her to realise his presence immediately. He raised the knife and stabbed down at her. She used her hand to shield her face. The blade impaled her hand, finishing only inches from her eye. With no reaction of pain, she cast the knife to one side taking Chris’ hand with it. Pulling the blade free, she slashed towards his throat, narrowly missing. Another strike came as she stabbed down at his left shoulder, this time connecting and digging in deep, sending him backwards towards the cupboards. Raising his right hand, he clenched her by the throat, pushing her back and allowing him to stand up straight. Now in control of her small frame, he pushed her across the room and into the oven. Still pushing her backwards, she began to arch awkwardly over the hob. Her arms flew out, trying to gain control, thrashing and clawing for something to use against him. Finding a saucepan, she struck Chris in the head, pushing him to one side but inadvertently catching one of the gas taps and turning it on.

  Chambers continued to wrestle with the straps around his wrists, but like Chris just caused them to dig in and break his skin. He heard a footstep across the room and stopped to listen.

  “Who’s there?” He called. Holding his breath, he listened to see if anyone else was in the cellar with him. A noise came from the table on which the lamp
stood, sounding like it moved. “Can you help me?” He pleaded with whatever was in there with him. The lamp suddenly leapt from the table and crashed onto the floor next to him, shattering glass all around. Twisting towards it, he manoeuvred himself, now able to pick up a large piece of glass to cut the ties. As he cut, the glass dug into his hand causing blood to run freely and loosen his grip. Painful as it was, he knew he had to set himself free to avoid whatever the couple had in store for him. He winced as the glass cut deeper into his skin. Finally, one of the ties broke and he was free. Running to the steps he cast his head back towards the place he’d heard the noise and briefly saw what could only have been an outline of a man. It was the briefest of moments, but he recognised the young man's solemn face. Pushing against the door, he climbed into the hallway to hear the commotion from the kitchen. Running in, he saw Chris walking towards Julie, blood pouring from his head and shoulder whilst a pool developed from Julie's wound on her hand. He grabbed Chris from behind around his neck and pulled him away from his wife. Seizing the opportunity, Julie picked up the knife and plunged it down towards Chris’ chest. A quick side step and Chambers managed to avoid either of them being struck. Throwing Chris to the ground, he took advantage of Julie’s slender figure and quickly disarmed her. Twisting her hand up behind her back, he had full control but was surprised by her strength. His goal was to put as much distance between the pair as possible. Quickly pushing her back down the hallway, he opened the front door, only to be propelled through it as Chris tackled him from behind. As he fell, he pushed Julie as far forward as possible. With her landing on the grass she was far enough away for Chambers to deal with them one at a time for the moment. He turned and saw Chris’ bulk coming down towards him as he threw a fist at his head. Deflecting it, he pushed him off balance, landing on top of him in the process. A quick glance to check where Julie was, met him with surprise as she sat up, clutching her head as if some sense had returned. Hoping the distance from the house may have something to do with it, he struck Chris across the jaw and began to drag him away towards the road. Managing to get him to the end of the drive he went back for Julie but noticed the smell of gas coming from the house. Dragging her a safe distance back, he covered his mouth and ran back into the house. Looking at the hob that was leaking, he paused for a second to consider his options. He took the box of matches he saw on the side and ran from the kitchen, back out to the front garden. Seeing the couple's BBQ, he rummaged around for anything that might be flammable. Finding a bottle of lighter fluid, he poured the contents over a fallen branch and threw it into the house. Running for cover a giant explosion came from behind him as the house exploded into a ball of fire, sending debris in every direction. The noise was deafening and the blast seemed to pass right through him pushing him to the ground several metres back. Climbing to his feet, he stood there wondering how he was going to explain what had happened and why he was even there. Whatever came next, he knew he did what had to be done.

  “What the hell!” Chris shouted as he realised what had happened, but fell back as he clutched his shoulder in agony. Looking around he saw Julie lying on the floor, lifeless with blood still pouring from her hand. Pressing against the wound, he checked her breathing. She was alive, but had lost a lot of blood. Chambers snapped back to reality and took his radio from its holder. As he called for emergency assistance the two men were shocked to silence as deafening scream came from the inferno that raged before them. It was unmistakably a woman’s scream, the shrill of it cutting right through them. It only lasted a moment but would haunt them for the rest of their lives.

  Epilogue

  Several months had passed since the young couple had lost their house in the country. Their idea of escaping their old lives for a fresh start hadn’t turned out the way they’d thought. It had managed to bring them closer, albeit in the strangest of ways. Julie’s hand healed in time but was a painful reminder of what happened in that cursed place. There was a lot of investigation into what had happened that night, but having a policeman to serve as an eye witness helped matters along. Once Chris and Julie were well enough, they met with PC Chambers to understand what had actually happened. He told them he’d lived in the village all his life and heard all sorts of stories concerning the old farm house. He told them he didn’t believe them at first, but once he joined the force his investigative nature took over, leading him to dig up local myths with the intention of disproving them. Surprising for him, things turned out otherwise. Ever since that fateful night, Chris couldn’t get away from why Chambers turned up exactly when he did, something he couldn’t put down to a coincidence. Chambers told the pair how a lot of his family also still lived in the area, mainly on his mother’s side. Still confused, Chris gave him a baffled look. Chambers smiled and simply told him his Mother’s maiden name, Fisher. Fred had called him not long after Chris paid him a visit, telling him something was going to happen at the farm house like so many times before. Wrestling with the notion, Chambers confessed he didn’t rush to see them, but thought he’d make up an excuse to call in once his shift finished. He told them both the full story of the Winshaws and how the poor traveller Joe was caught up in their wake of domestic violence and abuse. As much as the old owners had terrorised Chris and Julie, they couldn’t help but feel sorry for them on a certain level, but glad their own fate wasn’t as entwined as it could have been.

  Needless to say, the couple moved far from the countryside, although they would consider it escaping and back to urban life. Within a year, Julie was pregnant and couple were blessed with a baby girl.

  Chambers, dubbed a local hero, continued to serve in the police and was set at ease now the local evil had been extinguished. It wasn’t long before a developer secured the ground that the old house had been built on and constructed several new homes. New families moved in without incident and over the years that followed, local superstition fell from memory, becoming a little-known legend and then forgotten altogether.

  Scott never knew why, but had always fancied himself a bit of a country lad. Finally meeting a girl he felt he could settle down with, he snapped up the opportunity of owning a little piece of country life. All settled in to their new home and with a few hours to kill, he went to the end of his garden to put on some music and enjoy the sun. His new hammock had arrived that morning and seizing the opportunity the weather had brought him, he tied it to the tops of two fence posts, crossing the width of his narrow garden. Lying there as the sun shone across his face he relaxed and started to doze off. An hour or so later, he stirred as he thought he heard his girlfriend call to him.

  "Jen, is that you?" With no reply, he laid back and continued to enjoy his relaxing afternoon in the sun. Certain he'd heard her for a second time, he sat back up and looked around. He reached across to his phone and paused the music. "Jen? Do you want something?" he called but there was nothing but silence. He hung there for a moment, realising that even the birds had stopped singing and the wind had dropped, leaving nothing but a deafening silence. Startled, he spun round, nearly falling from the sling he lay in, shocked by the woman's voice coming from behind him.

  “Hello gorgeous, you look like fun!”