“Don’t worry Tess, we’re almost there.” Alison found the unmarked road where she knew her house was situated. She turned into the single track road. She realised there were no other properties along it, it was in complete isolation. She could see a shape in the distance. It was a large two storey house. It had been a painted white pebbledash at some point, but was now a patchy dirty yellow with cracks running up it. It had two bay sash windows at the front. One was boarded up. The windows were so dirty you couldn't see inside, and there were several smashed panes. The black paint around the windows was peeling off. The front door was boarded over and secured with a modern padlock. Outside the garden was full of scraggy gnarled bushes. The property was surrounded by a metal barbed wire topped fence. It had a sign on it; Danger Unsafe Property.
Alison took a deep breath. She had never purchased a house like this before. But she knew that if she could pull this off she would have the perfect family home, one they could never afford to buy if finished. A home where they might be able to settle and have children. She got out of the car and let Tess out to run around and have a drink. She then got Tess back into the car. “I’ll just be a minute Tess, then I’ll be back.” Alison grabbed a hard hat and a torch out of the back of the boot and shut the door. Tess whimpered. “Don’t worry darling, I’m just going inside to have a look. I don't want you to stand on any broken glass.”
Alison headed towards the house. She took out of her pocket the set of keys she had been sent in the post. She tried them one by one until she found the one that unlocked the gate in the fence. She pulled it closed behind her, then found the key which unlocked the padlock on the boarded over door. She opened the door. It was dark inside. She had only seen the picture of the exterior. This was the first time she was seeing inside. It smelt musty and damp, the air dusty. She shone the light around the empty hallway. As she stepped inside the floorboards creaked. She opened the door into what must have been the living room. There was still chairs and a table, knocked onto its side. There was a fireplace with a smashed mirror above it. There were pictures on the walls. Some had been sprayed with graffiti. Everything was covered in dust and cobwebs. She shone her light into the corner of the room. A pair of beady eyes was staring back at her. Alison stepped back, there was someone with her in the room! She shone the torch that way again and was relieved to see it wasn’t a someone, it was a deer. A taxidermic deer on display. She examined on top of the mantlepiece, there was some kind of stuffed rodent. Shining a light around the rest of the room she saw glass jars also containing various specimens.
“Well this is creepy,” Alison said out loud to herself. She shone the light at the ceilings and the corners of the room. There were hardly any cracks. She was pleased as this was a good sign. She went into the hallway and stepped tenuously onto the first wooden step of the staircase. It took her weight, so she tried the next. It seemed stable, so she went upstairs. She pushed open a door and found the first of the four bedrooms. It was furnished with a four poster bed covered in rotten bed linen. The second bedroom had a pile of cans and food wrappers in the corner. There was a soiled sleeping bag and a single shoe. Someone must have squatted here once. The third room was empty. She headed to the last bedroom and opened the door. Inside was a modern bathroom suite. There was a claw footed bath, toilet, sink and black and white tiling. There was no doubt whilst it was in an old-fashioned style it was all brand new. She flushed the toilet. It worked. She went to the sink and tried the taps. There was hot and cold water. Alison smiled as someone must have started to have renovated this property very recently. It was rare to find a place that was part renovated. She wondered what had made them stop.
After investigating all of the rooms she decided to go back to the car and give Tess some attention. She needed to make herself something to eat, and get some sleep. She would need an early night so she could start on the house first thing. That was when she heard the sound of barking outside. It was Tess. Alison ran into the hallway and down the stairs, two at a time. She got outside and could see Tess standing at the window, barking at something in the bushes.
“What is it Tess?” Alison said. She ran over to the car and let Tess out. Tess stood between Alison and the forest, barking at something in the trees. As she did, Alison could see something move. It was too big to be an animal. There was someone there watching them.
She lied on the bed holding Dan’s hand tight. Dan gave her a reassuring smile. She felt the nurse rub the cold cream onto her belly. She rubbed the transducer against her. It felt cold on Alison’s skin. The nurse was quiet. She made her apologies and said she had to speak to someone. She left Alison and Dan alone in the room. After a few minutes a Doctor came in with the nurse. He looked at the screen whilst the nurse tried again. They were both silent for a minute before they looked at each other. The doctor turned to Alison. “I’m sorry,” he said.
Alison rose at six. She had spent the night asleep in the back of the Land Rover with Tess at the foot of her sleeping bag. Alison had tossed and turned, waking every time a sound came from the forest. She kept thinking about who had been in the bushes last night. Were they being watched?
She got out and stretched, her back sore. She let Tess out, but put her lead on just in case. She sat and ate a breakfast of a snack bar and a banana whilst watching Tess walk up and down the edge of the forest, sniffing every new plant. Alison felt her phone vibrate in her pocket, it was a text from Dan asking how they were. She text him back:
Hi Dan, we are both well. The B and B is fine. Looking forward to starting work today. Love you. A x
She didn't like to lie, but there was no point in worrying Dan. She couldn't afford to stay in a bed and breakfast, not now she had invested everything in the house. She knew it could be dangerous sleeping in the back of the car, but Tess would alert her if anyone came along. She pushed her feelings of guilt out of her mind. She grabbed her hard hat and put on her boots. She stood back and surveyed the house. It looked more pleasant in the light than it had when they arrived. With some work she could restore it to its former glory.
Alison spent the morning hauling as much rubbish as she could out of the house and piling it up at the end of the dirt track. She moved as much as she could; the lighter pieces of furniture, the creepy taxidermy, rotted fabric and the rubbish squatters had dumped. She left the larger pieces of furniture, realising she would need help shifting them. When she was clearing the living room she looked at the more unusual pieces of taxidermy and specimens. They were still in good condition. Alison knew they could be worth something. She really should sell them to make money, but she couldn't face the idea of having them with her in the house They really creeped her out. She threw them onto the ground and tried to forget about them.
Back inside the house she went searching for an electric box. She shouldn't find it in the hallways or the kitchen. She then realised that it might be under the stairs. She looked, but there didn't seem to be a cupboard. Then she looked at the wooden panelling, She ran her hand down it and found a hidden handle. She pulled it open and found a cupboard. It had been designed to blend in so you wouldn't know it was there. Inside the dusty cupboard, Alison brushed away the cobwebs. It was empty apart from a metal box on the wall, labelled electrics. She was pleased to find that the box was new. The electrics must have been put in by whoever had put in the bathroom. She opened the box. Inside taped to the door was a business card which read R H Property Developers, Manchester. There was a number there as well. Perhaps they were the company who had started the renovations? Alison left the card there and shut the door.
In the afternoon she heard the noise of a vehicle approaching. She saw a truck driving up the track towards her. She put Tess on her lead and tied her to a front railing, then ran outside to meet the driver. The truck was carrying a large skip.
“Hello love, your husband around?” The driver said to her.
“Husband? It was me who called your company.” The mans face reddened at h
er response.
“Sorry….It's just I don't get many woman doing renovation thats all.”
“Well, you've seen one now. Set it down over there.” She gestured to the end of the track outside of the house. She helped to guide him in as he turned the vehicle around and lowered the skip down.
“You’ve got a pretty big project going here. How many men… people have you got?” He said.
“Just me at the moment.” Alison replied. The man raised his eyebrows in a way that insinuated he thought she was mad to be working on such a big project by herself. She didn't disagree with him.
In the afternoon she decided to try and make one of the rooms habitable. She needed somewhere she and Tess could sleep in. She picked a bedroom at the front of the house that looked out over the forest. Alison cleaned the glass window panes with vinegar and newspaper. Then opened them wide to let some fresh air in. She washed the walls with bleach and dusted the ceilings. She swept the floor and mopped it. It needed re-plastering and new flooring, but it would do for now. Once done, she cleaned the bathroom. When clean, Alison could see just how high quality the bathroom was. The claw footed bath was generous and had a shower attachment hooked to one side. There was a heated towel rail in a corner. The window to this room had a contemporary stained glass effect. How strange it was that someone had installed such a nice bathroom, only to sell the place before they had finished renovating. Alison ran herself a bath. Shutting the door on the rest of the house, she lied back, imagining just how lovely this house could be when finished.
When clean and dressed she went out to the car, exhausted. Tess followed her, loyal as ever but walking at a slower pace. It was coming up to six. Alison had been working non stop since her breakfast that morning.
“Come on Tess. Lets go have a break.” Tess understood her and jumped into the passenger seat of the car. Alison locked the padlock on the door and then the gate behind them and got into the car. She drove up the track and back to the road. She then headed towards the nearest village. It wasn't long before she saw a road side pub named ‘The Kings Arms’. There were hanging baskets of pink sweet pea flowers hanging each side of the hand painted sign. There was a row of picnic benches out the front. Seated at one were two hikers, their walking poles and rucksacks on the seat beside them. Alison parked up and headed to the pub, Tess following.
Inside was the perfect mixture of dark wood, heavy carpets and roaring fires. She bought Tess in, knowing that dogs would most likely be welcome. The pub smelt of ale and cooking. She headed to the bar. An older man wearing a tweed waistcoat stood behind the it.
“What can I get for you?” He said. She ordered a cheese sandwich, a bowl of chips and a shandy. She then went outside and found a table. She poured out some dried dog food into a bowl she had bought with her. She looked around and found an outside tap. Next to it was a sign telling walkers they could wash their boots there. She used the tap to fill up a bowl of water for Tess. They both eagerly ate their food, whilst Alison looked out to Bassenthwaite Lake on the horizon. At a nearby table she could see a family of four. There were a mum, dad and two young boys. One of the boys was playing with a toy truck, the other was fast asleep on his mums lap. The mum had him in one arm and was stroking his hair whilst he slept. Alison watched them with a pang of jealousy.
Alison was distracted by music blaring out of the open windows of a white van that approached and pulled up beside her Land Rover. Two men in their twenties got out, slamming the vans doors behind them. One of them sat at the table next to Alison and Tess. He ran his hand through his blonde hair, shaking out bits of white plaster. He got a tin of tobacco out of his pocket and started to roll a cigarette. His friend soon joined him clutching two pints of beer and a packet of crisps.
“Can’t believe that idiot doesn't want us back tomorrow,” the friend said. He had a shaved head with a tattoo saying ‘Rose’ on his neck.
“Yeah, well he’s a tosser isn't he? Probably ran out of money.” His friend replied whilst lighting his cigarette. Alison sat in silence listening to their conversation. She noticed one of them had a tool belt around his waist. The men had a discussion about how they didn't have any other work on that week as their boss had let them down. She had an idea. She knew what Dan would say, that she shouldn't speak to strangers. But she needed to do something drastic and she had already lied to Dan several times, what was one more?
“So are you two looking for work?” Alison said across to their table. They turned towards her, surprised that the lady with a dog was talking to them.
“Yeah,” the blonde one said. “Why you know someone who needs workmen?”
“Yes, I do.” The men looked at her in shock.
It was after nine before Alison returned to Alfred House. The sun had dipped in the sky causing shadows form the forest to fall over the track. She had stayed with Nick and Alan for a couple of drinks and chatted to them about the area. After they had gotten over their surprise of meeting a lone woman property developer, they had enjoyed listening to her stories of the different developments she had completed. They had left agreeing to do a few days cash in hand work for her. They would help her clear the rest of the furniture, repair the roof, clear the garden and put in the new kitchen. Alison couldn't really afford it, but knew that this job was too big to complete herself, no matter how much she wanted to.
Chatting to Nick and Alan made her realise how lonely she was travelling around the country with just Tess for company. She was looking forward to working together as a team the next day. Alison was thinking so much, she wasn't paying much attention to where she was going. Her headlights were on illuminating the track as she reached the house. As they approached the skip she realised something was different to how she had left it. The contents of the skip was now all over the track. Someone or something had been looking through it.
“Stay here Tess,” Alison said as she parked up. She shut the door behind her. Tess pawed at it, sensing Alison's unease. Alison went over to the rubbish. There was broken glass from the mirror on the track. Wood had been snapped. There was less rubbish then before. Someone had stolen something. She looked around and realised what had gone missing. All of the taxidermy had been taken.
She was sound asleep before she heard the music play. It was her favourite song, The Way You Look Tonight. She opened her eyes, to be greeted only by black. Her eyes were covered, her head groggy and spinning. She was tied to a bed, her arms and legs spread, chained at four corners. The cold metal dug into her skin. She could smell something strange and sweet on her face. Had she been drugged? She tried to open her mouth to scream or call for help, but she realised she was gagged. She could taste the fabric on her teeth. She struggled but realised there was no escape. She could hear something in the room, there was someone there. She could hear heavy breathing. She could hear footsteps. The sound got closer and closer…
Alison awoke to the sound of a van beeping its horn outside. Tess was barking and licking Alison’s face. It was the morning after the first night they had slept in the house. She and Tess had slept in the bedroom she had cleaned yesterday. She had propped a chair under the door handle to stop anyone from being able to get in. Not that anyone one would. Alison got up and peered out of the window. Outside were Nick and Alan sitting in their white van. She quickly put some clothes on and ran downstairs.
“I was starting to think this was a wind up or something.” Nick said to her as he got out of the van.
“Sorry, I was inside… working.” She didn't want to let them know she had been asleep.
“So… what shall we do?” Alan said.
“Can you sort this for me?” She gestured to the pile of rubbish on the floor next to the skip.
“Yeah sure,” Nick said. “You didn't think of just putting it in the skip in the first place?” He said, looking at the rubbish.
“Just make a start.” Alison said, not in the mood to discuss it.
After they had moved the last of
the rubbish outside, they started to move the heavier pieces of furniture out of the house. They soon filled the skip. Next the men started replacing the damaged roof tiles.
Alison meanwhile met the delivery van who arrived to deliver a new kitchen. As she was checking it over, the man from the skip company came to collect the full skip. He got out of the vehicle and looked at Alison, busy directing people.
“Wow. I’m most impressed with how well you are doing. You know, for a…” He didn't finish his sentence, perhaps realising what he shouldn't say. He instead nodded a goodbye, then returned late morning with an empty skip.
Alison left the men filling the second skip with rubbish, and started driving to find the nearest village. When she got there she parked up, Tess walking by her side. She headed into a delicatessen and went up to the counter. A young woman wearing a hair net came to greet her.
“What can I help you with?” She said.
“Can I have four pasties, a couple of slices of cheese and a few scotch eggs please?” Alison realised as she was speaking she was covered in dust. “Oh, I’m sorry, I should have dusted myself off before I came in. I hadn’t realised I was so dirty.”
“That’s ok. Decorating?” The woman said, as she wrapped Alison’s order into individual paper bags.
“Kind of, I’m renovating a house about a mile from here. It’s up on the edge of the forest, Alfred House.”
The woman paused, her hand hovering above a scotch egg. “Alfred House? That old one right at the end of a road?”
“Yes,” Alison said. “You know it?”
“Kind of. I haven't lived in the area long. But I have heard of Alfred House. Do you want napkins and cutlery?”
“Yes please. So you know of Alfred House?” Alison said taking the bag from her. The woman started to put the order through the cash register. Alison impatiently paid her, wanting the woman to cary on talking about the house.
Haunted House Tales Page 16