by Jackson Lear
“I was making them better,” the boy said.
Dead animals lined the table. Dead animals with limbs and heads stuck onto other animals, like he was building a small army.
“Jesus fucking ...” mumbled James.
The boy raised something in his hands up to James. “You want one? He brings you luck.”
James reeled back. “Get that the fuck away from me!”
“He doesn’t bite.”
James thumped the kid in the chest, which startled both of them.
“Dude, don’t hurt him,” said Loomer, but it was too late. James punched the kid in the side of the head, tumbling the kid to the ground. Nicky and Loomer pulled James away, grabbed their rum and beer, and left the train tracks.
James didn’t say anything about the incident, but Nicky and Loomer told all of their friends an abbreviated version of the story. Some of the teenagers wanted to see for themselves. They went out in the daylight to find this makeshift surgery in the bushes. After hours of searching they came away empty handed, convinced that Nicky and Loomer were full of shit. That was until Nicky’s parents came across a jar on their front doorstep. Inside was a squirrel with bird wings instead of front paws.
Claire heard about it while waiting at the bus stop. Loomer was there telling some of his friends, who already knew most of the details. Claire relayed the story to Zoe. If the master of this crime spree wasn’t this kid then it was certainly his deadbeat dad. The problem was, no one knew who the boy was or where he lived.
Last week Zoe heard Charlie warn a bird to fly far away or else the Creature will chop off its wings and feed it to a hedgehog.
They headed through Portal Close on their way to the shops.
“Is that the house?” Charlie asked, pointing at Nicky’s.
“Yeah. That’s the one,” said Zoe.
They took another route home. It was safer than going near Nicky Kalistar’s house. As soon as he and Zoe got back to Dapper Crescent Charlie ran the rest of the way back. He pushed past the side gate and – waiting by the kitchen door was an old shoebox with air holes punched through the top. Resting against the door was a pair of blue wings sewn together with a pen-sized strip of rusted metal in the centre. Attached to it was a chain that would turn the whole creation into a necklace. An old memory tugged at Charlie. Some inner sense of curiosity told him to look inside that box. After all, whatever was inside was still fluttering about, chirping in distress.
He lifted up the lid. A living de-winged blue and green bird was sewn to the front of a dead squirrel. The bird screamed in agony. Its wings, now as a necklace standing against the kitchen door, slipped away and clunked onto the ground.
In the corner of the shoebox was a small hotel-like jam jar with the heart of the squirrel inside.
Charlie didn’t dare take his eyes away from the living horror, afraid that the moment he turned around the abomination would jump up and attack him, even rip his own arms off at the sockets and use them as a barbaric form of jewellery for a larger beast, leaving him crippled and screaming. Screaming like the bird. Screaming at being torn apart while still alive.
Charlie’s heart burst in panic. He had been marked. It was an omen. His house was haunted. Death was coming for him.
Josh stared out of his bedroom window with a pair of binoculars, keeping an eye on Anthony and Amanda’s gardens. There came a knock on his door. He pulled the binoculars away from his face as fast as he could, forgetting that they were strapped around his neck. His mum came in and caught him trying to regain his balance.
“You shouldn’t do that, it’s rude,” said Liz.
“I wasn’t spying,” Josh said.
At least he was using his own and not his father’s expensive pair that had recently been finding their way into Josh’s bedroom. Anthony had a pair as well. Amanda didn’t see the point until they came up with a game. Amanda could see Josh and Anthony’s bedrooms and they could see hers, so they sent each other messages through the windows which ended up as a short game of Chinese whispers, something which always made Amanda fall over laughing, especially when she caught two confused looks from her friends. It also settled Josh on the greatest career path known to man. He was going to be a spy.
Amanda was off at her piano lesson. Anthony was at his counsellor appointment. Josh was more interested in finding who was sneaking around the neighbourhood.
“I need to ask you something,” Liz said. She looked over to Josh’s bed and saw Bilby, the cat, lying on one side with his eyes lazily fixed on the woman who kept hassling him about being on the kitchen counter. “I was just on the phone with one of the mum’s from school. Some of the boys and girls your age and younger have seen a boy going around showing them bits of dead animals.”
Josh’s reflexes kicked in. If those mums were saying it was him then …
“You haven’t seen anyone like that, have you?” Liz asked.
Josh shook his head and added a quick, “No.”
Liz remained by the door. “You can tell me if you have, you know. And if you think this boy is your friend I can tell you he isn’t, and shouldn’t be.”
“I don’t know him,” said Josh. “Was he showing them dead birds?”
“Among other things,” Liz said with a slow nod.
“What other things?”
“Things I’d rather not talk about.”
Josh fell into an ‘Oh,’ expression. His mum was in her cryptic mood again. He would have to find out the details from someone else.
“Do you know anything about what happened in Anthony’s garden?”
“No.”
“You’ll tell me if you do,” Liz said.
“Yes.”
It seemed like the end of the conversation but his mum remained by the door. After a quick debate she came in and sat on the end of Josh’s bed.
“Come and sit down,” Liz said. Josh opted to sit on the chair at his desk. With Bilby taking up the other half of the bed Josh figured he could get away with being at his desk.
“I have some ... I was speaking to Amanda’s mum this morning. It probably does have something to do with this boy showing bits of animals to people and none of this is your fault, so just bare that in mind, okay?”
Josh nodded, though he wasn’t sure why.
“Amanda’s mum thinks that you, Amanda, and Anthony,” Josh noticed that she had forgotten all about Patrick, “are the subject of a bully, possibly this same boy, but she – Amanda’s mum – has noticed that things have gone missing from her house and garden. Even some clothes that Amanda had. She’s not happy at all about this.”
It sounded like Josh would have to apologise for something he didn’t do. Maybe she had seen him with his binoculars and was having a go at him.
Liz took a deep breath and dropped the bombshell. “She told me she doesn’t want Amanda to play with you boys anymore.”
Josh didn’t quite understand, as though his mum had forgotten half of a sentence, like, “at her house.”
“I disagreed with her,” Liz said. A lump had formed in her throat that made it increasingly difficult to talk in a steady voice. Josh looked away and swivelled back and forth on his chair. Bilby stared at the open doorway leading into the corridor.
“She thinks you boys get Amanda into trouble, that you’re a bad influence on her. I don’t think that’s true at all. I’d say she is a terrific influence on you boys and you are all lucky to know each other.”
Josh’s attention shifted to his mismatched socks while his mum tore his friendship away.
“And now with this bully, and what’s happened to Anthony, and what’s happened in Amanda’s house and garden, Amanda’s mum doesn’t want her to be a part of that. She doesn’t want her daughter targeted and she thinks it’s because of you boys.”
Josh felt his chest heave as it all started to sink in. There had been no warning. No hint of trouble in the air. He had known Amanda since they were three. She lived so close that he could see her every day. In
a few weeks the four of them were all going to attend …
Oh.
There had been a warning kicked around but that was months ago.
“Amanda won’t be going to St. Bart’s either. She’s going to a different school. Another all-girls school.”
Josh’s heart dropped through his stomach. Amanda had been looking forward to St. Bart’s for years, more so because she knew so many people going there. It was the only thing that made going to Aubrey’s even remotely tolerable.
“I’m sorry Josh. It’s not fair on any of you, least of all Amanda.”
Josh couldn’t find the words to even mumble. His mum came over and gave him a hug while Josh’s arms remained limp by his side.
Liz murmured something else. Josh shrugged in return. Bilby went back to licking his paw. An hour later, Josh saw Amanda in her bedroom, howling in tears.
3
Fourteen Years Old
“We are not playing spin-the-bottle,” said Amanda, with a deep glare directed at Patrick.
“I didn’t say we should.”
“Yes you did.”
“Noooo, you asked what people usually do at these things. And at midnight people can often be found playing spin-the-bottle. So there.”
Amanda slowed her pace along the road to make sure Josh and Anthony both turned to see if she was okay. “Is this what you three do when I’m not around? Play kiss-each-other games?”
All at once, three fourteen year old boys spluttered, shook their heads, and cried out in defence.
Amanda grinned as she toyed with them for a little longer. “You know, the more you deny it …”
“I’ll deny it for as long as I live,” said Patrick.
Josh smiled back at Amanda. “Is that what you girls do in boarding school?”
“Tease each other?”
“No, play spin-the-bottle.”
“Why would I want to kiss other girls?”
“No clue. But you do sound well versed in a game you’ve never played before. And since none of us have seen you play it we can only assume that it was the girls at school who taught you.”
“Assume away. Doesn’t make you right.”
Patrick gawked sheepishly at Amanda. “I wouldn’t be so sure. He pegged Wendy and Amber pretty quickly.”
“Who’re they?”
“Two girls from school,” said Anthony.
Amanda looked from one face to the other as she finally twigged. “They kissed each other?”
“It was a dare,” said Anthony.
“And because it was better than kissing Greg,” said Patrick.
“Never had a shower Greg?” asked Amanda.
“The one and only.”
“Anything’s better than kissing him,” muttered Amanda.
Anthony gave her a quick nod. “He was sitting next to Amber when it happened. Wendy spun the bottle, it landed mostly on Greg. Wendy said it landed on Amber. They snogged.”
“The game ended soon after that,” said Josh.
“Why?” asked Amanda.
“They started using a no re-spin rule,” said Josh.
Patrick’s face then contorted with a grin almost larger than his features could allow. “The moment everyone agreed, Anthony spun and it landed on Josh.”
“Nooooo,” said Anthony.
“Yep!”
“Amber spun it.”
“If she did then why didn’t she kiss Josh?” asked Patrick.
“Because she got to nominate who the first person was,” said Anthony. “The bottle picked the second. And it was rigged.”
Josh nodded at Patrick. “Amber spun it. Whoever it landed on got to kiss and spin it next.”
“Oh.”
Amanda peered at Josh and Anthony. “And you two didn’t …?”
“Nope,” said Anthony.
“That’s hardly fair,” said Amanda.
“That’s what Amber and Wendy said.”
“And you agreed!”
“Because there was a fifty / fifty chance of it landing on a girl.”
“Not when Amber spins them,” said Josh. “She has that magic touch where it lands on whoever she wants.”
It was the end of the Easter holidays. On Amanda’s first day back from boarding school she knocked on Josh’s front door. Liz answered and was met with a blubbering teenager. “My parents are getting divorced. Is Josh home?”
Her parents thought it was best to announce it in person. By then her dad had already moved back to London. He still came over to visit but the house fell painfully quiet the moment he drove off.
It took a lot of sweet talking, but Liz managed to convince Maureen into allowing Amanda to join the boys in an arcade and pizza trip. The foursome crushed each other at Daytona 500, Double Dragon, and air hockey. They piled into a photo booth and pulled all the silly faces they could manage, then divided the pictures amongst themselves. One of the pizzas was half-soaked by a spilled high-glass of Coke. They worked off their soggy lunch by shooting each other in Laser Quest.
Josh’s grades were up at school. Anthony’s as well. Patrick’s … not so much. He was being tutored at home so he would be accelerated beyond his peers. His grades at school dropped due to fatigue. That only increased the hours of studying at home, though by then it was going in one ear and out the other as he tried to absorb all the worldly knowledge from his parents.
The two weeks of Easter had flown by. Amanda would be heading back to boarding school the following day. Josh, Anthony, and Patrick wouldn’t see her again until the end of June.
Amanda looked over at the edge of the industrial area and pulled her shoulders up against the cold. She forced them down again so as not to appear like she was easily spooked. “So far I haven’t seen any sign of this ghost.”
Josh checked his watch. “That’s because you only ever see him at midnight. There’s still have an hour to go.”
Amanda sighed loudly. “So we’re doing another summoning?”
“Not if it just appears in the road,” said Josh.
“Which one?”
“The one we’re on right now,” said Josh, as though Amanda had purposely not paid attention to every mention of ‘the ghost is on Ashdown Road.’ Josh led them past several take-away places catering to the warehouse workers farther down the street. The rest of the area fell quickly into an industrial vibe. Rows of low level warehouses stretched on for the next mile. During the day it was shoulder to shoulder with trucks and vans, but by 7pm the whole suburb was well and truly deserted. There was a stationery wholesaler’s on the corner, a kitchenware manufacturer next door, a discount tile shop just beyond, then the largest mattress outlet shop the town would ever see. One street over were a couple of second-hand car yards, mechanics, and TV repairers. They were all locked and shuttered with fake security cameras watching the street.
“So what do you know about the ghost?” asked Amanda.
“He was murdered,” said Josh. “Back when they were building the first train lines along here. He was an aristocrat who owned aaaaall this land. He wanted double the money that he first agreed to. The builders said no, so he started disrupting their work. He told them it was either going to cost them triple in damages to repair what he dismantled, or double to allow them to keep building on his land. Construction halted while the aristocrat sat around in glee. The builders had little choice but to agree, delighting the old man, though what he didn’t know was that the builders had hatched a plan. They paid him what he wanted, but he would have to supply extra men to help them build what was lost because everything was now behind schedule. He didn’t have extra men. The builders pointed to the jail. ‘Let’s use them,’ they said.
“The aristocrat was wary, but as long as the rapists and murderers stayed behind bars then he was willing to let the low level criminals be of some use. When construction got back on track the builders grouped together all the heisters and jewel thieves in one bunch. They hired them to break into the aristocrat’s home, steal back all t
he money they had paid him, even the original sum, and bring it back to the builders. And that’s exactly what happened.
“Unfortunately, several of the criminals had a bone to pick with the guy. They wanted an end to the monarchy and socialism seemed like the way to go. They set fire to his house during the break in. The aristocrat made it out alive and came at the builders, trying to kill them. All of the prisoner-builders came out, beat him to the ground, and tried to figure out what to do. The police arrived just in time. The builders were all thrown into jail, the aristocrat got his money back, and a new company bought the rights to complete the train track for even more money, thus making the aristocrat even richer than before.”
“And sometime soon he dies?” asked Amanda.
“Of course,” said Josh. “There was a riot in the jail. The guards were overthrown, the prisoners escaped, and the original builders went back to the aristocrat. They wanted what had been their money, but he had blown it all. They tied him up and beat him, insisting that he couldn’t have spent all that money in one go. They did everything they could to get their money, be rich, and move to Australia. But he kept insisting he was broke. So they dragged him down to the train tracks and threatened to kill him if they didn’t get their money back.
“He eventually confessed. He told them exactly where the money was and how to get it. Did they pick him off the train tracks and free him? No. They left him there, tied up, ready to die. The piercing whistle of a train came soon enough. He watched it approach knowing there was nothing he could do to escape. He screamed for help and tried to break free of the ropes, but it was no good. The train hit him, breaking him apart and sending bits of his body flying in every direction.” Josh paused for dramatic effect, shot a grin back at Amanda, and carried on.
“There was a witness to all of this. A tiny, trouble-making sprite saw the whole thing. After the builders left, the sprite came forward. He told the aristocrat that he was indeed going to die and there was little the tiny sprite could do. But … there was a way to get his revenge. The aristocrat didn’t want revenge, he wanted to be freed. The sprite disappeared, giving the aristocrat time to break free. Then, just as the train appeared around the corner, the sprite returned. ‘How about now?’ he asked. The aristocrat made a deal then and there. He would be brought back as a ghost and exact his revenge on those who murdered him. And if he couldn’t get to them then he would have his revenge on their children, wherever they were.”