Darkly Wood II

by Power, Max

  The house was filled with books and papers, all her mother’s research. She spent every waking moment reading or writing and Rose didn’t just feel neglected, she was neglected. By the time Daisy May realised her failing it was too late.

  Rose gave Daisy eighteen months to fall in love with her granddaughter and then she left. It all happened in the blink of an eye and in the blaze of an argument, but none of it mattered now. Rose even took all of her baby pictures. It was a deliberate mean thing to do but she wanted to hurt her mother. She went through every drawer in the house, every album and frame and left a huge hole in her mother’s heart. That particular act felt spiteful and added to the sharpness of her pain. Daisy May was left with nothing except memories and she knew how fickle they were. The only other thing she had left was a special day. One day every year when she remembered with sadness her beautiful granddaughter. She would be sixteen. Daisy May allowed a tear to fall as she thought of her daughter and granddaughter. But then she dried her eyes, washed her cup and went back to her work.

  CHAPTER FOUR – THE MAP

  A bird rose just in front of them in the long grass. Neither Holly nor Charlie had any idea what type of bird it was. They both jumped. Charlie was already getting bored. They had only been walking for about fifteen minutes along the edge of Darkly Wood, but it felt like they had been walking for a much longer time. Holly tramped along ahead of him and he marched in her footsteps. What he really wanted was Holly’s attention. His problem was that he didn’t quite know to handle Holly. She was like no other girl he knew. Perhaps part of the problem was that he was obsessed with her. Charlie was afraid to do or say anything that might upset Holly, so he mostly let her lead the way. She stopped suddenly and turned to him.

  “Give me a cigarette.”

  There was no please or thank you and Charlie handed her one which he then lit through her cupped hands.

  “Your mother would kill me if she saw me giving you a smoke.” He half laughed.

  “My mother would kill you for lots of reasons Charlie. It wouldn’t necessarily have to be anything as serious as giving me cigarettes.” Her tone was mocking and she blew smoke at him but the wind drew it away.

  “Why does she not like you Charlie? Is there some dark secret you have never told me?”

  Charles Callous Colson did indeed have a secret.

  “Don’t be daft.” There was a hesitation and a hint of embarrassment in his voice and Holly didn’t miss it.

  “There is, isn’t there. Come on Charlie spill the beans.”

  Charlie didn’t want to tell Holly and for once he defied her.

  “Leave me alone. Come on let’s keep moving. I don’t think this place even exists.”

  Holly, for all her arrogance and her thick streak of meanness, saw something in Charlie that told her she should leave it alone, at least for now.

  “Hang on I’ll look at the map again.”

  She dropped the small rucksack that she had been carrying on her shoulder to the ground and took out a little brown book. There was a neatly folded map tucked inside the back cover and she unfolded it carefully. Holly studied it for a few moments.

  “Seriously Charlie, I think you might have got us lost.”

  “Me? I’m following you…” Before he could continue in his indignation Holly laughed and handed him the map. He knew she was joking. He studied the map for a minute and then looked around.

  “I think we are there.” He looked at Holly and she returned his look with a sneer.

  “No seriously, look back down towards the village.”

  Holly looked down the slope of the hill and back to her left. Cranby was barely visible from where they stood.

  “Now look across there, straight down. Follow the line of the trees where they meet the sky.”

  He pointed into the distance and Holly saw it. The next village over was called Deermouth and the church steeple stood proud above the tree line. Charlie pointed at the map again and then at the steeple.

  “See, Darkly Manor is in line with the church in Deermouth on the map. If it’s right then we have to be pretty much there.”

  Holly could see it. Of course he was right. But there was no house, no ruins where they stood. She looked at the map again. It was very old and it was worn. Maybe it was only a rough drawing.

  “It must be nearby Charlie. Perhaps it is in further, beyond the tree line?”

  He shrugged.

  “Maybe?”

  Holly folded the map and put it back inside the book cover and then returned the book to her rucksack.

  “The forest has probably expanded since this map was drawn. Let’s go exploring in the wood.” Holly smiled at Charlie and she knew he would do whatever she asked him to do.

  “What’s the book?”

  He had seen her take it out several times to look at the map earlier in the day, but he hadn’t really noticed the cover until now. It looked old and interesting. Charlie wasn’t a great reader, but he was attracted to the physical appearance of the book.

  “It belonged to my grandmother.” Her answer was simple.

  “How come you have it, was it a present?” The smile left Holly’s face.

  “I never met her. She’s dead.” Charlie’s face dropped.

  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  “Don’t be stupid. I never met her. I don’t miss her or anything. My mother told me it was the only thing that she had to remind her of her mother. I’m not supposed to have it, but I’m not supposed to hang around with you either?” The smile returned to her face.

  “What’s the name of the book?” Charlie called out the question as Holly was already tramping her way into the wood forcing him to follow.

  “Tales of Darkly Wood.” She shouted the answer over her shoulder and he was immediately fascinated.

  “It’s about this place? What’s it about Holly? Come on now I’m interested. It’s about all the disappeared isn’t it?” She stopped and faced him. Holly Coppertop leaned in close.

  “It’s about all the people who entered Darkly Wood and either died a horrible death or were never seen again. Now come on, we’re wasting time.”

  Holly turned and again headed toward the tree line. Charlie watched her walk away. She was so gorgeous. The notion of anything bad happening to them in that moment seemed unbelievable. Charlie was just happy to be with Holly. He knew about the stories of course, or at least he knew some of them, but that’s all they were to him, stories.

  Charlie Coulson Callous, followed Holly Coppertop and they disappeared beyond the treeline. As they stepped into the shadow of the trees, something moved in the undergrowth. It caught his attention but Charlie assumed it had to be a bird or a small animal. Holly led the way and the air became slightly colder as the trees cut off the light and heat from the sun. Holly stopped and pointed.

  “Look Charlie.” She turned and smiled at him.

  He looked up and sure enough there it was. Up ahead, partly concealed by the trees and thick scrub at the edge of the wood, was the ruin of Darkly Manor. They had found it. Holly grabbed his hand and pulled him along in the excitement to explore.

  “Come on Charlie, let’s have a look”

  He was led by Holly but the mansion was at that moment irrelevant. Holly was holding his hand. His heart raced and his face flushed. Nothing else mattered and Charlie was oblivious to everything else except the touch of her hand.

  Maybe if he hadn’t been so distracted, Charlie might have noticed the thing that was watching them in the wood. It was close enough for Charlie to have seen its smile, had he looked carefully into the shadows of Darkly Wood. Neither one of them saw the thing that would devastate their calm lives. They didn’t notice the darkness that was quietly descending to overwhelm them and change things forever. Both Holly and Charlie were too preoccupied with finding their prize to notice that they were walking straight into danger.

  CHAPTER FIVE – FINIUS AND PETUNIA

  At first Cathecus felt annoy
ed. He suffered from that after effect of a lost battle that we all sometimes have, where you wish you had said or done something more. But the peculiar man in the hat had taken him by surprise. Cathecus wished he had a sharper tongue and a faster mind but time passes and it is human nature to reassess the importance of things as they fall into the past. After a very short while Cathecus forgot all about him and began to think that he was someone’s sick idea of a joke. But two days after Wormhold’s visit, Caroline came to him as he worked in the yard and everything changed.

  “You need to fetch the Doctor.”

  She spoke with urgency and her voice was filled with fear. Cathecus had already been working for a couple of hours and as was his normal practice he began his day in the yard at six thirty. He was an early riser and liked to finish up early in the day. Cathecus had not yet seen his children that morning and instinct told him that it was one of his beloved children that required help. He didn’t know what was wrong, but it was clear that Caroline was concerned.

  “Are you alright my love?” He moved towards her but Caroline had already turned and was on her way back to the house, calling over her shoulder.

  “It’s the children, get the doctor now.”

  She broke into a trot and Cathecus took off after her. He was filled with a sickening feeling. Something dreadful was happening. When he entered the house, Caroline had both children wrapped in blankets, lying on Petunia’s bed. They were pale and appeared to be asleep. Caroline looked at him as if to say, ‘Why aren’t you gone.’ Instead she simply said,

  “They won’t wake Cathecus. They won’t wake up.”

  Her eyes filled with tears that were ready to burst out through her fear. Cathecus didn’t know how he knew or why he knew but Wormhold was behind this. Perhaps he was foolish or panicking but Cathecus certainly felt as though everything was clear in that moment and he knew he must act. The vague, uncertain threat had become a reality and there was nothing uncertain anymore. Cathecus never moved so fast in all of his life. He turned and bolted through the door. He vaulted the garden wall and ran to the house of the only doctor in Cranby.

  Henry Healy was an old-school doctor. He practiced medicine like he did everything in his life, slowly, carefully and methodically. Henry didn’t like to be rushed. His old Irish mother used to say,

  “Henry Healy, slow down. The only reason to be in a hurry is if the devil is on your tail and if you live right, he shouldn’t be there in the first place.”

  “Doctor Healy you need to come quickly, there is something wrong with Finius and Petunia.”

  Henry wasn’t an excitable man but he could see that Cathecus was stressed. He had known the local stone mason for twenty years and Henry knew that Cathecus was not a man to exaggerate. So he gathered his things and tried to cool poor Cathecus down.

  “Calm down Cathecus. Tell me what’s wrong. Has there been an accident?”

  “I…I don’t know Doctor. The children…they are strange. They won’t wake and they are as pale as ghosts. You must come quickly.”

  Despite his urging, Henry Healy still took his own good time. He collected his coat and medical bag and headed out the door, being led and constantly encouraged to hurry by the increasingly agitated Cathecus.

  When he reached the house he examined the children. They had no high temperature, their breathing was normal and their heartbeats seemed perfectly fine. Henry turned them over and lifted their nightclothes to examine their bodies, but nothing seemed out of the ordinary. He was baffled. He questioned the two worried parents, trying to establish if they had eaten anything unusual or been playing anywhere that might explain contact with some poison perhaps. But there had been no unusual event or variation in diet.

  “What is wrong with them Doctor?” Caroline wrung her hands as she desperately hoped that he might say it was nothing serious, all the time sure that it was indeed something terrible. Henry needed to think. He sat silent on the bed and considered the dilemma. What could this strange trance be? The best thing to do would be to consult his books and if needed, seek another opinion. Henry would not be rushed no matter how panicked the children’s parents were.

  “I don’t think you need to worry Caroline.” Henry knew the family as friends in the small village but while he used their Christian names, both Caroline and Cathecus always gave him the respect that they felt such an educated man deserved, by always referring to him by his title. But the children’s mother didn’t feel much respect for that statement. She knew her babies and she knew there was something wrong.

  “Of course I’m worried Doctor. Look at them. What’s wrong with them? Why won’t they wake up?”

  “Listen to me Cathecus, Caroline; you need to let me consider this.” Henry needed time. “Everything about your children says that there is nothing wrong. Except for the fact that they are in a trance like sleep, I can honestly say they appear heathy and well. I will need to consult in order to make a full diagnosis. Tell me, have they eaten anything unusual or been out in the fields where they may have consumed some berries perhaps?” He was repeating himself but only out of desperation and it was a shot in the dark. Both Cathecus and Caroline looked at each other and repeated that they had not. But then Caroline began to doubt herself and asked,

  “I don’t know Doctor. Do you think that’s what this could be?”

  “I can’t be sure but it is a possibility.” He stood up and closed his bag. “They are fine for now. Keep checking on them, give them some water and come to me straight away if anything changes. I need to consult as I say. I will come back this afternoon and hopefully we will have a clearer picture. Perhaps they will have woken by then anyway. Please don’t worry; I’m sure they will be fine.”

  He headed for the door and he was far from sure that the children were fine. Henry was off home to check his books and he needed time to think. He spoke of consulting but the next nearest doctor was a full day’s ride away. The consulting he spoke about was with his library. Caroline showed him to the door and Cathecus rubbed his precious daughter’s cheek. He looked at Finius. They both seemed so serene. When Caroline returned, Cathecus told her that he needed some air. He walked out of the house and down the lane towards the main street. When he got there Cathecus crossed the street and walked across the small wooden bridge that led to the meadow as locals simply called it. The meadow was an expanse of grassland that led up the slope of the hill towards Darkly Wood, which sat proud at the top overlooking the village.

  He sat down on the grass and held his head in his hands. It seemed as though for once, God had abandoned him. Cathecus said a silent prayer and when he finished, he looked up towards the imposing treeline of Darkly Wood. At first he didn’t see him in the distance, but then something moved and it caught his eye. There was some distance between the figure that he caught sight of and the village and it was hard to make it out. But when Wormhold removed his tall hat and bowed, there could be no mistaking the sinister form at the edge of Darkly Wood. Cathecus felt his heart race and his head felt light as he recalled the list of names that Wormhold had given him. At the bottom of the paper were the names Finius and Petunia. In that moment, Cathecus knew that this was surely the work of Wormhold.

  ***

  Daisy May put down her pen and closed her book. She sighed, stood up and walked out into the Garden. The air was fresh and she was tired so it soothed her. It was important work that she was undertaking. Daisy knew that. But others wouldn’t. Not yet anyway. They would soon enough. Every pen stroke, every page took its toll but Daisy May Coppertop was on a mission. Soon the book would be complete. Soon the world would know the truth about people like Cathecus and more importantly, the truth about Darkly Wood.

  CHAPTER SIX – ZACHARY WESTHELLE HARTFIEL

  The Manor was enormous, much bigger than Holly had imagined. Sadly it was run down, broken and the roof had collapsed many years before. Where Holly was anticipating a building that they could sneak into and explore, Darkly Manor was a ruin, no more than a
shell and once they got up close, she was disappointed.

  They wandered around the perimeter before eventually returning to the front entrance. Despite the fact that it was mostly in ruins, the ground floor walls still stood and the window and door spaces were boarded up to keep people out. The upper floors were gone but the walls of the ground floor stood intact to keep out intruders. There seemed no way in. Holly and Charlie sat on a low wall that ran along the front of the building.

  “Ah well…” Charlie was being positive in the circumstances.

  “Yeah, ah well indeed. I thought there would be more to see.”

  Holly dropped her rucksack to the ground and took out the little book that Charlie had seen before.

  “Did you read it?” His question was simple.

  “Some of it, but there are loads of stories in here. There is one in here about Lord Terrence Darkly who lived here back in the old days. That’s why I wanted to find it. The house sounded…I don’t know…interesting.”

  She flicked through the pages as if she was trying to find something that would help them and something stirred just out of sight in the tree-line. They both looked up but ignored their first nervous instinct as they saw nothing obvious. It was a forest after all; creatures were bound to be mooching about the place.