“I’ve found it, the entrance to the basement. But I can’t get in. I need an axe or something. Can you go and get me one and throw it through the window? Then I can get into the basement.”
“Look, Frances, I don’t like you being in there alone. I want you to come out now.” Kyle said. “And I’ve just thought of something. How was the door bolted from the inside if the store is empty?” Kyle stopped talking and waited for a reply.
Frances stood in silence and shined the flashlight up to the bolt at the top of the door. She had had to slide it open. Kyle was right. It could have only been slid shut from the inside of the store. She wasn’t alone. She heard the creak of a floorboard. She turned off her flashlight and plunged herself into darkness. She heard Kyle running away. Frances could hear her own breath as it came quickly out of her. She turned and looked into the darkness. She waited for her eyes to adjust. She heard another creak as someone moved on the floor. Frances backed up to the front door and tried the handle again. It wouldn’t budge, and she knew it. She felt her way around the walls, edging her way slowly to the back of the store, hoping to get to the back window before being confronted by whoever was in the store. But she could sense that there was someone in the doorway blocking her way out. She became aware that she could smell stale sweat and hear the sound of someone breathing. She edged her way back and headed to the counter. She got behind it and sank down. As she did so, she knocked something off of the wall which fell and smashed. She shrank down and hid behind the counter. She didn’t know what else to do. She looked at the floor and could make out what had fallen. It was the framed photograph of the store in the seventies. She stared at it, knowing that there was nothing she could do, that the person in the room knew where she was, and it wouldn’t be long before he got to her. She noticed something she hadn’t seen on the picture before. There was a third person in it. Ged and son Ged Jr. were standing outside of the store, but inside the store window was another face. It was a young boy. But this boy didn’t look happy like Ged Jr. This boy looked sullen with sunken dark eyes deep set into his scrawny, pale face. Frances heard the floorboards creak near her. She made a sharp intake of breath as she realised that someone must be standing close to her. As she made the sound, she could sense something moving through the air towards her. She felt a sharp pain on her forehead and then felt herself sink to the floor.
A Growl from the Corner
Frances felt cold hard concrete against her cheek. She was lying in the foetal position, her muscles feeling stiff. She had a metallic taste in her mouth, and her head felt like it was twice the size it should be. She opened her eyes, but her vision was doubled. She could tell it was dark and that she was somewhere she didn’t recognize. She closed her eyes again and drifted into the darkness.
~
“What do you mean you locked her in a cage? Who?” A man’s voice shouted from above. Frances opened her eyes and looked around. Her head was pounding. She raised her hand to her head. As she did so, she realised her arms were bound together. She felt dried blood on the back of her head. She sat up and knocked her head on something hard. Looking up she saw the metal bars above her head. She was in a cage barely half a metre high. She reached out both arms in front of her, it was dark, but she could make out that she was surrounded at all sides. She noticed a lock on the outside of the cage. She was locked in. She heard a noise by her feet. She looked past them in the darkness and noticed that there was another cage next to her. Frances recoiled in fright until she saw the animal inside. In it was a white Staffordshire terrier with sad brown eyes. Even in the dark Frances could see that he was so skinny you could see his ribs. His head was as close to Frances as possible and was making a whining noise, as if it was trying to comfort her. Frances stuck her feet up against the metal bars. The dog licked her shoes.
“I had no choice. She was in the store,” she heard another man’s voice say. Frances looked up in the direction of the voices.
“You should have just let her look. She wouldn’t have found anything anyway. She couldn’t have got into the basement.”
“I thought I did the right thing Ged. I’m sorry.”
“Just go back up to your room.” Frances heard the noise of heavy footsteps going upstairs and a door slamming. She looked around the room. It was dark with no windows. The only light was coming from a crack under a door which led upstairs. The air smelled of rotting flesh. There were flies buzzing around. It dawned on her she was in the basement room underneath the pet store.
“I’m going out again. I need to think about how we deal with this…problem. Now you stay upstairs and don’t come down.” Frances heard the sound of a door slamming shut. Frances realized the man’s voice was Ged’s. The other man who had slammed the door must have been the person who was inside of the house. Maybe Ged kept his brother hidden above the pet store. It went quiet, and Frances thought this could be her opportunity to try and get out. She lifted her hands up to her hair and felt for a kirby grip. She pulled one out and set to work trying it in the lock. The lock didn’t unlock like it did in the movies. Frances was scared. Then she remembered that Kyle was outside. By now he would have called the cops. It would only be a matter of time until she was rescued. And then she could expose these men for who they really were. There was a noise from a corner of the room. She wasn’t alone. She shrank back. There was a growl coming from a corner. Then she saw a pair of red eyes. It was the dog she and Kyle had seen the other night. Only its eyes were visible as if they were floating in the air. Maybe Kyle was right, and it was a ghost? But she didn’t have time to think about what it was. The door to upstairs opened, flooding the basement with light. Frances sank back into the corner of her cage, trying to make herself as small as possible. She saw a man running down the bottom of the steps. He was slender and stooped as he walked. He was wearing old clothes covered with a blood-stained apron. He wiped his running nose on his sleeve. He looked like he was in his thirties but his jaundiced looking pallor aged him. He whistled a jaunty tune to himself as he walked past the cage Frances was trapped in. He reached a set of double doors which Frances had not noticed before and pulled them open. A cacophony of noise blasted out of the doors. Inside there was cage upon cage of dogs stacked floor to ceiling. The room was crammed full. The man stepped inside and opened a cupboard. Inside it was various knives of different sizes. Frances stifled a gasp. The man didn’t notice, and he carried on whistling to himself as he selected a small knife from the wall.
“What are you doing down here?” A voice said. Frances saw Ged standing at the top of the stairs. The man jumped back and hid the knife behind his back.
“I didn’t speak to her Ged. I’m sorry.” The man said. He looked coyly at the floor like he was a child. “I’m only working Ged. I’m sorry.”
“Hurry up with your work then,” Ged shouted. “And don’t disobey me again.”
“What are we going to do with her?” The man whispered.
“I’m going to put her to sleep. Then you can do with her what you do with the dogs.” Ged said.
“I’m a human you can’t make me dog fight,” Frances said, finally finding her voice. Ged walked slowly down the steps.
“You’ve found your voice, have you? I thought you were asleep.”
“I knew there was something wrong with you. You are abusing animals and dog fighting them just like your father, and it has to stop.”
Ged laughed. “Dog fighting? Oh, you stupid girl. That was my father’s game. I run a far more lucrative business here.”
“Yeah, me and my brother make our own dog food. It’s the best dog food around! We make it out of the old dogs Ged can’t sell as pets.”
“Walter!” Ged roared. Frances thought back to the cans of dog food that she had seen when she had first visited the store. ‘The Old Store Dog Food, only the best for your pets.’ They were making it here, out of dogs. It was a sick, and twisted activity that Frances had never considered was their secret. “What
’s the matter, girl? Have you finally heard something that will shut you up?” Ged said. He walked over to the cage she was in and shook it and let out a deep laugh. The brother he referred to as Walter joined in laughing too until Ged hit him around the head. Water rubbed his head and looked sad for a minute. Then he started whistling again and went back to sharpening knives.
“You can’t kill me and turn me into dog food. You can’t,” Frances shouted.
“Who says?” Ged mocked.
“Kyle will have told the police by now. They’ll be on their way. If you let me go, then I won’t say that you tied me up and threatened to make me into dog food.” Frances heard the words come out of her mouth. They would have sounded funny if they weren’t so absurd.
“Kyle?” Ged said, walking closer to Frances. “I didn’t know that was his name.” Ged walked over to a large box on the floor covered with a sheet. He pulled it off revealing a large cage underneath. Inside was Kyle lying on the floor, his back facing out. He was motionless, the back of his shirt covered in dry blood. Frances heard someone screaming. It took her a moment to realize it was her. That was the last thing she remembered.
~
Frances opened her eyes. She was lying on a metal table. Walter was standing above her, sharpening a knife. She tried to move her arms and legs but that they were tied up. She tried to scream but realized that she was gagged.
“Ged?” She heard a voice say. “She’s woken up. You said she wouldn’t wake up.” Walter was looking down at her, his bottom lip trembling.
“Well hurry up and cut her up. Then she won’t be awake anymore.” Ged’s voice came from the next room. Frances kicked out with her feet. She heard the noise of metal objects falling onto the floor.
“Frances? Frances? Where are you?” Kyle’s voice echoed around. Frances bit down on her gag and made a muffled scream. She heard the noise of a cage banging around and heavy objects falling onto the floor. Walter turned around. Kyle came running towards them, his arms bound. He raised his arms in the air, fists clenched, and aimed them at Walter’s head. Walter held the butchers knife up in front of him. It scraped along Kyle’s arm leaving a deep gash. Kyle screamed out in pain. Walter dropped the knife onto the floor in shock. Kyle wrapped his arms around Walter’s neck and grabbed it tightly. He choked him tightly. Walter’s arms grabbed onto Kyle’s. He pulled and dug his nails in, but Kyle’s sporty frame was no match. Kyle held onto Walter until he went weak and floppy. Kyle dropped him onto the floor. There was a loud bang. Kyle fell forward onto Frances’ legs, and a pool of blood started to spread across his back. Frances screamed.
“Look what you made me do Walter!” Ged shouted coming towards them. “Walter?” Ged said as he walked over to Walter’s lifeless body on the floor. “Walter, get up you idiot. You can’t die on me now. I have enough to be dealing with.” There was a noise, a growl that interrupted Ged’s words.
“You again. Where are you?” Ged spun around and looked in the direction of the noise. Frances watched. The door to one of the cages swung open as if it was pushed, but there was nothing there. “Where are you? I can hear you?” Ged spoke as if he knew what was there. There was another growl, this time from near the bottom of the stairs. Ged held his gun out. A black shadow moved across the corner of the room. He fired a shot at it. The shadow carried on moving. It moved towards him, and the eyes started to glow. Ged ran around the side of the room and headed to the bottom of the stairs. The red eyes followed him, and there was an even louder bark. Ged went running up the stairs and fell. He knocked his head on the stairs as he fell.
Frances sat still for a minute. The red eyes turned towards her. Then the eyes turned from red to blue, and the face of a dog started to appear in the air. The body started to form behind it and a wagging tail at the end. It was a German Shepard. It came running up to Frances. Frances wasn’t sure if what she was seeing was real or because of the shock. The dog ran over to her. Frances reached down to her ankles and undid the rope that bound them. She then lowered herself to the floor, her wrists still bound. The dog started to head to the staircase, and Frances followed. Her legs shook as she took a step over Ged’s body. She lifted the other foot and went to take the next step when he moved and grabbed her ankle. She screamed as he pulled her down to the floor. The ghost dog ran back down the stairs and barked in his face, and its eyes turned red again. Ged let go of her foot in shock. Frances ran up the stairs, she glanced back over her shoulder at Kyle’s seemingly lifeless body, lying on the floor. She turned and ran, knowing she had no choice but to save herself.
Retribution
“Thank you for visiting The Old Pet Store. Let us know if you need any advice or help. And do come back and visit us.” Frances walked over to the front window and waved the couple out of the door as they carried the pet carrier between them.
“This place is amazing,” a voice said behind her. Frances turned, and it was Ashley who spoke who was standing next to Gareth.
“Ashley, Gareth it’s great to see you, come and look around,” Frances smiled. She had never thought owning a pet store would be her calling in life, but she was glad she had found it. Gareth and Ashley headed over to the notice board where Frances had put up animal rights posters and petitions. The front of the store was still full of dogs, but now they were dogs which needed to be adopted, not puppies. Frances had dropped out of university after the incident. It had been six months since then, and two months since she had taken over running The Old Pet Store.
“Who is this?” Ashley said, walking over to the counter. Behind the counter in a dog bed was a sleeping Staffordshire terrier. He was asleep, content after a hearty meal.
“That’s Barclay. He’s my work colleague. He keeps me company.”
“Hey babe, good day?” Frances looked up to see Kyle coming in through the front door. Frances ran over and opened it up for him. He leaned on his crutches to give her a kiss.
“Yes, it’s going great. I think I’m just where I should be.” She put her arms around him and looked around her busy store.
~
The bell sounded to tell them they only had five minutes of outside time remaining. Ged took a rolled cigarette out of the pocket of his orange jumpsuit and stood in a corner. The guards turned a blind eye to him, but he still didn’t want to make it obvious. He took his last match out of his pocket and lit his cigarette, shielding himself from the wind, so he didn’t lose it.
“Hey Ged, can you hook me up?” A voice said behind him. Ged drew his cigarette and inhaled, savouring it. He turned around and blew the smoke out in the face of the man stood behind him. He was in his early twenties, scrawny, with a tattooed face and razor-sharp cheekbones.
“I don’t think the guards heard you. Want to shout any louder?” Ged said, taking another drag.
“I’m sorry man. I just heard you’re the one to see for…you know.” He said. He took out rolled-up banknotes out of his sleeve. Ged put his hand into his pocket and took out a small chocolate candy bar. He handed it to the man without looking at him. The man pushed the money into his hand and walked away with the chocolate bar. He knew that when he opened it, he would find a small bag of white powder inside. The alarm sounded, and it was time to go in. Ged stubbed his cigarette out on a wall and put it in his pocket. He heard a sound behind him. It was of a dog growling. Ged looked up quickly and looked around. But there was nothing.
“Stupid animals,” he whispered to himself. The noise must have come from outside the walls.
Inside the cell and it wasn’t soon until lights out. It had taken Ged a while to get used to prison life, but after a while, he realized that he could do what he did best. He was a salesman after all. Now he had his drug business going he was quite happy. He sat on his bed and waited for the night guard to go past and do his headcount. When he heard the footsteps, the guard shined his flashlight on him. Ged nodded a greeting to him.
“Goodnight Morgan,” the guard said. Ged waited a few minutes then
got out his contraband flashlight. He rested it on his headboard shining the light over his shoulder. He then took out a book and reached into a hole he made in his mattress where he kept a small bottle of whisky. He opened the book and started reading. He could hear a noise coming from outside his cell. He turned his light off and stayed still. It was light footsteps, perhaps too light to be a man. Then he heard a growl.
“Hello?” He called. No one answered. He felt the back of his neck grow cold. Then he saw the two red eyes light up in front of him. The outline of a dog started to form. How could it have found him here? It bared its teeth at him and growled.
“Hey…nice doggy,” Ged said. He reached behind his head and grabbed a heavier book, was all he could think of as a weapon. But as he did so, the dog was too quick. It leapt up into the air and jumped towards him. Its teeth were bare and as it jumped onto him, aimed at his bare neck.
The Cat Clairvoyant
By Riley Amitrani
Prologue
23rd June 2015
St George’s Close
Reading
England
9:05 AM
Claire parked her car on the road at the end of the quiet cul-de-sac. She reached into her glove compartment and found her laminated sign saying ‘carer on visit.’ She didn’t think she was parking in anyone’s way, but she knew that some old people get funny about cars being on the road if they don’t recognise it.
She looked out the window at the 1970s bungalow. The paint was peeling off the window frames, the front garden was overgrown, and the curtains were drawn. It was typical of the places she visited. The residents would like to take pride in their homes but weren’t able to. She got out of the car, grabbed her bag and slammed the door behind her. She marched up the path and headed to the front door.
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