Later that evening, Dianne sat down in front of the television. She didn’t have much of an appetite so settled for a simple bowl of tomato soup. The silence of the lane had taken some getting used to, but she preferred it now. She had no idea who her neighbours were and liked it that way. Besides, the ones she had seen as she was driving out of the lane hadn’t seemed like the friendliest bunch of people.
The final of Talent Time had just finished and once again she didn’t care for the winner. Dianne shouted her frustrations at the television, as though the judges could hear her, and wondered, not for the first time why she bothered to watch it. She put down the empty bowl and aimed the remote at the television, turning it off. Her bed was calling her.
Climbing the grand staircase, she headed towards her bedroom. After switching the bedside lamps on, she jumped into bed like a teenager and slid under the duvet, reaching for her Kindle. She had been reading a book called ‘An Impossible Dilemma’ and was really enjoying it despite it unnerving her. Admittedly, it was not the kind of book she usually read, but the book club she’d joined recommended it and would be discussing it at next week’s meeting.
After a few pages, she felt a wave of tiredness overcome her, making the Kindle feel like it was made of stone. She placed it down on the bedside cabinet and switched off the lamps before finding a comfortable position and closed her eyes.
Chapter 8
The sound of footsteps woke her. She sat up in bed but could only hear her own breathing and chastised herself for reading a scary book before going to sleep.
Although certain nobody could be in the house without triggering the alarm sensors, she was sure she heard the sound again… footsteps.
Her pulse quickened as the rational part of her took over. “It’s just a dream, you silly old woman,” she hissed. She snuggled back down, when she heard it again, closer this time. Jumping up, she sat at the end of the bed frozen in fear. The thought of anyone invading her home caused anger to bubble in her belly, and she wanted to run downstairs and confront the intruder.
The unmistakable sound of a little girl crying caused her heart to hammer in her chest. After a few seconds, relief flooded through her as she told herself she hadn’t switched the television off properly.
She put her dressing gown on and made her way out of the bedroom and along the landing before hearing a sound that sent fear coursing through her veins.
Somebody else was definitely in the house.
She froze. She watched as, illuminated by the table lamp she kept on overnight, the shadows crept along the walls downstairs.
A horrible wheezing kind of noise seemed to travel with the shadows. Dianne closed her eyes as the wheezing noise was punctuated by the heart-breaking cries of a little girl. She pinched the skin on her hand and willed herself to wake from this nightmare.
Dianne gasped out loud when the shadow came into view. A dirty little girl with long blonde hair stood in her hallway adjacent to the staircase. She wondered who she was, and how she’d got into her house in the middle of the night. Dianne crept towards the staircase.
The little girl made her way slowly across the hallway and sniffed the air. Her once white dress hung off her tiny frame.
The child reached the bottom of the stairs and sniffed the air again. She turned towards Dianne and smiled.
Dianne staggered backwards, crashing at the sight before her -- the child had no eyes.
She could hear the cries approaching before an unimaginable number of cats ran into the hallway, skidding on the polished floor.
Taking tentative steps forwards, she gripped the banister as she stared down at the horror below.
The wounds where the child’s eyes had once been were plainly visible, and Dianne pressed her hand to her mouth and closed her eyes, repulsed by what she was seeing. Stepping onto the bottom stair, the girl raised her arms beckoning Dianne to pick her up.
Suddenly, out of thin air, a fat black and white cat jumped in front of the girl causing her to scream and retreat from the staircase. Then another cat, and another, and another, until there were seven cats surrounding her. The noise she made could only have come from the depths of hell.
Dianne stood, rooted to the spot, watching the madness play out below her and unable to believe that what she was seeing could even be real.
The girl lunged forward causing the cats to screech at her, forcing her back into the same spot.
Suddenly, a man appeared at the other end of the landing.
Dianne screamed, her own eyes almost popping from her head.
“You looked into her eyes, didn’t you, Dianne?” the handsome stranger said, as he walked towards her. “You looked into the doll’s eyes and now she has come to claim you as her own.”
Her whole body tremored as she made the sign of the cross and began to pray. She moved down the stairs, desperate to get away from him.
He matched her steps, and by the time she reached the bottom, he was halfway down.
She froze, her eyes darting in every direction, aware she was caught in between both of them. The girl stepped backwards as the man approached.
The cats hissed at the girl causing her to fall back even further. They had formed a line and she wouldn’t cross it.
The man took a couple more steps towards her, and looked down at Dianne with sadness in his eyes. She couldn’t move as he reached forward to gently stroke her face, Then, turning away, he walked in the direction of the girl as the cats broke their line and allowed him to pass.
“Don’t you dare harm that child,” Dianne shouted as she followed him. “She’s one of God’s creatures. It is a sin.”
“A sin. Do you really believe that? Search your soul and tell me truthfully that you believe that she is one of God’s creatures,” he said pointing towards the girl. “If only you knew what this child was and what she thinks of your God.”
“What have you done to her?”
“I have done nothing but love this child.”
“What you’ve done to this child is not a love I’ll ever recognise. Get out of my way, she needs my help.”
He laughed out loud mocking her, “If that’s what you believe, then you’ll need more than God’s help.”
“God is always with me, young man,” she said, clutching the gold cross around her neck.
He looked at her, his head cocked to one side. “I watched today as you picked up that cursed thing and looked into its eyes. Something made you put it back inside the house. Tell me what it was, Dianne.”
The realisation dawned on her.
“Those eyes. It was like they were looking back at me,” she said, as her voice diminished into a whisper.
Her hands flew up to her mouth as her eyes darted frantically towards the girl who was now crouched down in the corner of the hallway sniffing the air frantically. If she didn’t say it out loud it couldn’t be true.
Turning his back, he walked over to the girl, putting his hand tenderly on the side of her face.
The girl screamed as though in pain and the cats moved away from her. She used this opportunity to dart forward.
David grabbed and held onto her whilst she continued to scream, talking to her gently. “You know I cannot allow you to harm her, Maisie. I told you a long time ago that I’d returned to protect the innocent.”
The girl continued to scream, but seemed to lose her strength and she dropped to her knees, her scraggy blonde hair falling into her face. Saliva ran from her mouth as she began to moan.
Dianne inched forward towards them.
The girl frantically sniffed the air and lifted her head as though she knew Dianne was approaching.
Terror gripped her once again and Dianne stopped, turning her head away as she couldn’t bear to look at the cavities which had once held the child’s eyes.
“I want you out of my house now,” she screamed, feeling herself falling into insanity. “Now, get out. Get out of my house and take your sick games with you. Out now before I call th
e police.” She moved backwards and smashed her hand onto the panic button.
The alarm roared and cut through the silence like a knife, forcing the cats to scatter in every direction.
David released his grip on the child as he put his hands over his ears. He immediately attempted to grab hold of the girl, but it was too late.
The cats, who had been creeping back into the hallway, scattered at the sound of the alarm.
The girl began to scream once again as she made her way across the floor.
Dianne took this chance to try and help her. Throwing out her arms to encourage the child to come to her.
“No, Dianne,” David shouted as he jumped to his feet and ran towards them.
But he was too late.
Dianne held the child in her arms and brushed the dirty hair out of her face. She looked down at the child, trying to ignore the ravaged, empty eye sockets. “You poor child, what has he done to you?” she whispered.
The girl smiled and lifted her hands to Dianne’s face suddenly digging her nails into the flesh.
Dianne screamed, trying to push her away, but it was no use. The child seemed to have supernatural strength.
The girl chuckled as she continued to tear at her.
Dianne could feel the blood running down her face. The pain was unimaginable and she was momentarily blinded. She managed to get her hands to her face, and it took seconds for Dianne to realise what was wrong. Her own eyeball hung against her cheek as blood poured from the socket.
Dianne began to scream in absolute terror and found the strength to push the child off her.
Sobbing, she cradled her eyeball in her hand. She backed away from the child as David came rushing towards her and blocked the girl’s path.
Dianne stumbled backwards until she came crashing into the wall, sliding down it as her legs gave way.
The alarm stopped ringing as the cats once again reappeared, causing the girl to scream as one of them jumped onto her back and began to bite and scratch at her.
The girl fled towards the rear of the house, smashed through the French doors and into the darkness of the garden.
The cats hissed as they ran after her. The child’s screams faded into the night.
The man approached Dianne and knelt down in front of her. “Please leave this place and never return. It was cursed long ago, and you’ll never be safe whilst you remain here.”
“Please help me,” she sobbed.
“Help is coming, Dianne.”
“My eye,” she said and began to sob uncontrollably.
“There isn’t much time so I need you to listen to me. You must leave this place. If you stay here, she will never stop. You have looked into her eyes. She will come night after night and will never give up. I have kept her at bay for many years, but sometimes she is too strong and even I cannot stop her. You must go. I beg of you,” he said as he stood up.
“Who are you?”
“My name is David.” Then he too walked towards the rear of the house.
The sirens could be heard as the police sped up the Lane, their lights flashing through the windows.
“Mrs Gallagher, are you okay?” one of the officers shouted as he banged on the door. “Please open the door.”
Chapter 9
Sandra was talking to Nathan as he stood washing dishes at the kitchen sink.
He stopped dead upon hearing her plans and turned his head to look at her. The expression on his face told her he was waiting for the punchline.
“You are fucking C-R-A-Z-Y, Sandra,” he said, spelling out the word as he pulled his hands from the sink and dried them with a towel. “Truly crazy. You can’t even watch a scary movie without hiding behind a cushion and now you want to go and wander round a haunted house in the middle of the night. You have well and truly lost the plot.”
“You don’t have to point out the obvious, smart-arse, but it’s my job and I’m not going to let Rachel bloody Lang get one over on me.”
“Rachel can go and eat shit for all I care. She knows what effect this sort of stuff has on you and she knows your history with this place.” Sandra could tell by the flush of his cheeks he was angry. “She’s a fucking bitch and I’m going to call her in the morning to tell her so.”
“You lost the right to defend me when you screwed up our marriage so forgive me if I don’t get excited at the thought of you charging in, all guns blazing. Don’t let me stop you though. You’re the one who’ll look like a dickhead.”
“Just because I fucked up doesn’t mean I don’t still love you.”
“Fucked being the operative word, quite literally.”
“Come on, Sand. Don’t start all this again. I’m just worried for you. We may be getting divorced, but we still share this house together, and I still care about you.”
“I know,” she said quietly. “I’m sorry for being a bitch, but you won’t change my mind. Hils is coming with me so I’ll be fine.”
Nathan had just taken a gulp from his cup of tea and sprayed it across the table.
“Hils! Are you actually kidding me?” he said in between chuckles. “You might as well take Tinkerbell with you. Hils, is scared to cross the road without the little green man showing, so how is she going to protect you from the big bad ghost at Promised Land Lane?” he said sarcastically.
“Listen to me, dirty dick,” Sandra replied.
Nathan knew his wife well enough to see she was annoyed.
“She’s been my best friend for twenty-five years, and without her I would still be the broken mess you left after screwing that bitch, so why don’t you just shut your nasty mouth and mind your own business?”
“Suit yourself, but just remember, whilst you and, Hils, are playing Ghostbusters in the middle of nowhere, help will be a long time coming.”
“I know exactly where it is. I have been there before, remember.”
“Yes, I’m well aware of that fact, but I’m worried you’re not thinking straight. Don’t you remember what happened the last time we were there?”
“Of course, I do. I remember it like it was yesterday and if you’re that worried, come with us?”
She silently cursed herself for asking him.
“You must be fucking mental, Sandra. I have no intention of going anywhere near that place again. You know a kid died there a few weeks ago and you wanna go round there to sell a few copies of that rag you work for. Now I know Rachel is a heartless bitch, but I thought you had more respect than that.”
“You know damn well why I’m going and don’t deny it.” Tears filled her eyes.
“Yes, I know why you’re going and that’s precisely the reason you should never set foot there again. Sand, listen to me please. Stay away from that place. Going back there will only re-open old wounds that have never fully healed. Please babe, think about this”.
“I’m going. That’s all there is to it. It’s been twenty years since Sarah went missing. You saw exactly the same things as I did. All those cats… those horrible noises… and Sarah, she just vanished.”
She was surprised to say her sister’s name out loud in front of him. He’d tried many times over the years to talk about Sarah, but she always changed the subject. Flustered, she glared at him. “And don’t call me babe,” she snapped.
Sandra stood in silence as she thought about what happened so long ago. She was well aware, now more than ever, that night had been the glue that had held them together for twenty years.
“Yes,” Nathan said, after what seemed like endless silence. “I saw exactly what you did, and I’ve tried to forget it, but I can still see that place in my mind. That creepy old house, the noises…” He paused, examining his fingernails. “I’ve never forgotten it, and even if you go back there, I won’t. I’m sorry, but I can’t. If I’m being honest, Sand, I’m too scared to go back there.”
“Fine,” she said, dismissing his feelings, “But I’m still going. I need to know what happened to that little boy and… to Sarah. She would never hav
e left me in that way, you know that as well as I do. Something bad happened there and although my parents and the police think she used the situation to run away, I don’t believe it. If she had, she would have found me long before now. I need to know where she is and what that place has to do with it.”
“Do what you’ve got to do. I know I can’t stop you, but I can’t help you either. For the record, I think you’re crazy going back to that house, especially late at night, but if you have to do it then fill your boots and don’t come crying to me when it all goes tits up.”
“You know it’s hard to get near that house in daylight, so I have no choice but to go in the middle of the night”.
“And why do you think that is, genius?” he said sarcastically.
Regardless of what he said, Sandra knew she wouldn’t be dissuaded.
“There’s a security company that looks after the house during the day, but it’s always unguarded at night. Don’t you think that’s strange?” she said, obviously ignoring his sarcasm. “Why guard the house in the day, but not at night?”
“Everything about that house is strange. When we were kids people talked about it, and like idiots, we had to rush off to see for ourselves, and look what happened… No one ever saw Sarah again. I know you heard those weird noises and you had nightmares for years after. You still do, so why do you need to go back there?”
“I have to know what happened. Part of me has been trapped there since Sarah disappeared and I don’t feel like I can move on with my life until I know. I promise I’ll be careful, but I have to know.”
Nathan walked over to her, cupped her face in his hands and kissed her on the forehead. She flinched and stepped back before turning and heading for the door.
Promised Land Lane Page 6