by Marc Scott
There was a small silence before Jamie once again threw his arms into the air as another of his favourite songs played out from the speakers. ‘What a tune!’ he shouted. ‘I really bloody love this one!’ Fearing that their journey home may now take longer than usual, Bree made a trip to the toilet, leaving Jamie singing away merrily at the table. His words were probably not the right lyrics for the song playing, but so what! He was happy, he didn’t care.
As she returned, Bree could see that the alcohol had finally worn her brother down and his head was resting on the side of his chair. Sitting down to finish her drink, something suddenly caught her attention. It gave her the strangest of feelings. There in the large mirror next to the bar, someone appeared to be looking at her, staring at both her and Jamie. Bree felt a small chill in her backbone, it was very unsettling. Her line of vision was obscured by patrons of the bar, but she could make out that the reflection was that of a girl, a small girl. She was not standing with anybody else, she was alone, just staring directly over at their table. Bree moved her head to get a better look, but the rain-drenched students were blocking her view. Then, in the mirror she could see her reflection again, she could make out the image of this strange-looking girl. She was dressed in a bright yellow coat, like a fisherman’s coat. It was far too big for her, it made her look very small. Bree moved her chair slightly, trying to get a clearer view through the crowd. She could see her again, still standing there, completely still, like a mannequin, just staring at them, fixated on her and Jamie. Bree could just about make out a small face resting on the top of that bright coat. She had tangled dark hair. It was jet-black, like black coal. Her hair was messy and strewn across her face. It was ringing wet, so was her coat. She looked like she had been swimming in that coat. Her eyes were large, like giant marbles. They were dark and black, just like her hair. ‘What does she want?’ Bree murmured under her breath.
Jamie was oblivious to what was happening. His eyes were shut tight and his head was resting comfortably on the side of his chair. He was still clutching his empty glass, which Bree prised from his grip before nudging him to wake him up. As his senses began to return to him, he could see his sister’s attention was elsewhere. The girl was still there, still watching them. She seemed to be completely captivated by her and Jamie. Sensing something was not right, Jamie piped up, ‘Who has upset you now?’ His words came out in the right order, but his slurring was much worse.
Bree nodded towards the bar area. ‘That girl, over by the large mirror,’ she said, clearly still agitated by the presence of the stranger looking over at them.
Jamie swung his head round to look but could barely see as far as the palm of his hand. ‘Don’t go and start anything in here,’ Jamie said. ‘If they bar you from here there is only that Green Dragony thingy place left. Or is that closed now?’
Bree did not hear Jamie’s drunken rambling, the constant attention of the girl in the raincoat was making her angry now. Suddenly, her brother, sensing that his sister was about to react, got to his feet, swaying for a few seconds before grabbing her arm. ‘Come on, sis, let’s get you out of here, I know what you are like.’ Bree did not need a second invitation. She grabbed her colourful scarf from her bag and wrapped it around her neck before tightening her coat, hardly taking her eyes off the girl’s reflection in the mirror for a second.
As the two of them made for the side door of the pub, Bree could not resist a parting shot at the strange-looking stalker in the shiny coat. ‘You are a weirdo!’ she snapped and then repeated herself much louder and much clearer. ‘You are a fucking weirdo!’
The pair left through the side door of the pub and waded through the mass of grey puddles that had engulfed the car park. The torrential rain was still thrashing down around them as they clambered into Bree’s Audi convertible. Bree was not happy when she saw the mud stains on her footwear. ‘I only bought these boots two weeks ago, they are Moncler, they cost nearly £500,’ she moaned. ‘Thanks, Jay, they will be fucking ruined now!’ Jamie said nothing to his sister. He fell into the car through the passenger door and rested his head on the back of the passenger seat. He closed his eyes tightly and let out a small sigh. He had, by now, had enough of his sister’s constant whinging.
‘Put your seat belt on, Jay,’ Bree insisted. ‘These roads are going to be a nightmare tonight.’ Her brother ignored her order, he just wanted her to be quiet now. His brain told him it was time to sleep. Bree was not prepared to let that happen, she wanted to voice her opinion and he would have to listen. ‘What are you going to do without me in Australia, Jay?’ she asked in a smug manner. ‘You will be lost without me, you know that, don’t you?’
Jamie’s eyes remained closed, but a cheeky smile beamed across his face. ‘I will have to find another chauffeur, I suppose!’ he replied sarcastically, immediately evoking the wrath of his sibling.
‘I hate you sometimes, Jay, do you know that? I really hate your selfish fucking ways sometimes.’
Jamie opened his eyes and turned to his sister. He had hoped to drift off to sleep but now chose to revisit that sensitive conversation again. ‘I will call him tomorrow, sis. I need to know, we both need to know. Come with me, if I arrange to meet up with him, come with me.’
Bree had finally had enough of his taunting. ‘Well I don’t want to know!’ she barked. ‘I really don’t give a fuck, Jay! So just shut up about him now!’
As the heavy raindrops fell on the Audi, making drumbeat-like sounds on the canvas roof of her car, Bree started her engine and adjusted her windscreen wipers to maximum. ‘Put your seat belt on, Jay,’ she said again, this time in a much firmer tone. ‘The Chadbrooke road will be flooded. I am going to have to go the long way round and through the bloody Maple crossing.’ Once more her advice fell on deaf ears.
Bree shook her head, she was furious with him now. She had wanted their last few days together to be special ones and he had spoiled things. As her Audi rolled through the deepening grey puddles and on to the main road her mind began to race. A thousand mixed thoughts jumbled through her head. Gathering speed, she set off through the slippery streets, turning left at the end of Oxley High Road and on to the dimly lit side road which led down to the Maple crossing. Looking over at her brother she could see he was fast asleep now, his head pressing up against the side of the window, his mouth slightly open, tiny noises escaping through his nostrils, like a small piglet with a cold.
Trying hard to concentrate on the rain-soaked lanes ahead of her, she found dark thoughts screaming out inside her head. Why does he have to meet him? Why was he so bothered? Why was he so desperate to change things? Her concentration wavered as she tried to work out why her brother seemed hell-bent on tormenting her that night. Why did he want to go all the way to Australia and leave her on her own again? She was sure that this had been her mother’s idea. She was positive that it was her mother that had given him the money to travel thousands of miles away, to finally get her own way and split the two of them up once and for all. ‘Bitch!’ she said under her breath. ‘Fucking bitch!’
As the car approached the Maple crossing, the windscreen wipers seemed to be losing their fight with the monstrous weather conditions. Bree could hardly see the faintly lit street ahead of her and was becoming increasingly frustrated. All she could think about now was the last two miles of this horrendous journey and that cold bottle of Prosecco waiting for her at home. As the Audi neared the crossing she could just about make out a green light ahead. A good sign, she thought, she would not be delayed any further. But as she pulled up towards the pathway across the railway tracks there were other lights blocking her way, brake lights from another vehicle. It had stopped, halfway between the barriers.
‘What the fuck!’ Bree said as she brought the Audi to a halt, several feet behind the obstacle. Her vision was still blurred by the constant rain, but it was obvious that the vehicle in front of her was stationary. She pushed hard on her car horn
. ‘Come on! Come on!’ she shouted, but the vehicle made no movement. She looked across at Jamie. He was in a deep slumber.
Bree started to become more agitated and pushed harder and longer on the car horn. ‘Come on, what the fuck is the matter with you? Come on! Come on!’ Jamie was still oblivious to all the commotion. He fidgeted in his chair slightly, but nothing more. Bree felt a rage stirring inside her and once again pushed hard on the car horn, flashing her headlights at the same time in a bid to get some sort of reaction from the driver of the stranded vehicle. But there was nothing, those dimmed brake lights ahead of her were going nowhere.
‘Fucking great!’ she said as she wrapped her scarf tightly around her neck and buttoned up her coat. ‘This is all I bloody well need tonight.’ Exiting her car, she trudged through the murky puddles towards the stranded vehicle. Following the beams of her headlights she looked down to see the dark and dirty shades that had formed on her new suede boots. ‘God, these are definitely fucking ruined now!’ she moaned, as she drew nearer the obstacle ahead of her.
The object blocking her route was a Shogun, a large four-by-four. It seemed to be stuck, right in the middle of the railway tracks. The car’s windows had misted over. She could not see anyone inside, but heard noises. Bree clenched her fist tightly and banged firmly on the driver’s window of the vehicle. ‘You are on the tracks!’ she yelled. ‘Can you hear me? You are on the tracks.’
Just then a whirring noise was heard from the front of the stranded vehicle, as if the engine was about to start. It lasted barely three seconds before it cut out. Seeing some movement in the front seat, Bree banged again on the window, this time much harder. ‘You are on the tracks, you need to move the car.’
The swirling wind began to howl through the crossing and the punishing rain thrashed all around them as Bree tried one more time to get a response. But she suddenly became alarmed. She could hear a child, it sounded like a small child, sobbing inside the car. She froze for a second. She knew now that the situation was urgent, she knew that she would need Jamie’s help. Trudging back through the growing puddles she began calling out to him, but her shouts were lost in the echoes of the constant downpour. When Bree reached the Audi and opened the passenger door, she could see that he was still slumped back in the car seat. The tiny pig-like noises had been replaced with a loud snoring sound. How could he be sleeping with all this going on around him? Bree thought. She shook his arm to try to bring him round. ‘Jay, you need to help!’ she screamed. ‘There are kids stuck in that car, it is on the tracks, it can’t move.’ Jamie pushed her hand away and turned his head to one side, determined to return to his slumber. Despite her shouts and shoves, she couldn’t wake him. The excessive alcohol seemed as if it had rendered him useless.
Stepping back, Bree looked down at her brother. An injection of unbridled rage ran through her veins at that moment, something sinister stirred within her. She felt as if she wanted to hit him, to hurt him, to punish him for all this stress and torment he was putting her through. She let out another shout, this time much louder than before. ‘Jay, for fuck’s sake wake up!’ No sooner had those words left her mouth than a new and very real hazard reared its head. The barrier above them had begun to shake and the green traffic light had been replaced with a flashing amber. The danger had just become real, there was a train approaching. Bree began to shake her brother’s body. She lowered her head and screamed loudly into his ear, ‘You need to wake up, Jay! You need to help me!’ Strange emotions began to take over Bree’s body at that moment. A dark cloud appeared inside her head, she felt totally helpless and alone.
Suddenly Jamie’s eyes opened. He took a few seconds to focus his vision before his mouth started working. ‘What’s all the fuss?’ he said. ‘I was soundo there.’
Bree started to panic, pointing at the dim lights of the four-by-four. She knew she had little time to explain, so kept it brief. ‘There are kids in the car, Jay, they are stuck on the tracks, the train is coming! Jay, the train is coming!’
Looking through the misted windscreen Jamie’s senses swiftly returned as it began to dawn on him what was happening. But by now the danger was almost on their doorstep, the shaking barrier was slowly starting to come down behind their car. Jamie didn’t hesitate. ‘Close the door!’ he yelled. ‘Close the bloody door!’ Bree began to panic, she didn’t know what to do, she froze. Jamie quickly reached out and pulled the car door closed. In an instant he had moved into the driver’s seat and started the engine. The barrier was almost down, he needed to act quickly. Suddenly, the wheels of the vehicle began to spin as the car jolted forward, sending a spray of slimy water into the distance. The Audi hurtled towards the rear of the Shogun, the sound of the impact thundering through the night air, the loud clashing noise of bumper meeting bumper followed by an eerie silence. All that could be heard now was the heavy rainfall as it met the widening puddles that surrounded them.
Bree stood at the side of the barrier. The falling rain had clouded her visibility, but she could see enough to know that the stranded vehicle had not moved, it was still stuck on the railway line. Her heart began to pound harder and harder as the sound of thunder cracked in the dark skies above. And then, in the corner of her eye, she could see them, the lights of the train. They were faint, but they were growing by the second, larger and larger. She took a deep breath and screamed out as loudly as she could, ‘The train, Jay! The train is coming!’
Jamie could see the same lights from his side window. In an instant, the Audi’s engine roared back into action. The vehicle reversed, eight, maybe ten feet. The barrier was now firmly closed, so there was no room to move any further. A small silence followed at the poorly illuminated crossing. All that could be heard during these desperate seconds was the falling rain and the purring of the engine beneath the bonnet. Suddenly, the screech of the tyres broke that silence as Bree’s car lunged forward at a searing pace. An almighty smash followed as it found its target again. This time it worked, the force of the Audi sending the larger vehicle careering across the puddles towards the barrier on the other side of the crossing. There followed a few seconds of nervy silence, almost as if someone had paused a scene in a movie.
Bree lifted her head and looked to her left. She suddenly became trapped in that moment. Those distant lights were no longer distant, they were there. They tore through the dark night like a spotlight falling from a stanchion. In an instant more than three hundred tons of speeding steel smashed full on into the side of her convertible, the screeching sound of metal meeting metal echoing through the railway sidings. The full force of the passenger train sent Bree’s car hurtling through the air like a juggler’s club in a circus ring, but in this tragic performance, there would be no one there to catch its fall. Time seemed to stand still as the car turned twice in mid-air and landed upside down further down the track. Bree stood rooted to the spot as she heard the screeching of the locomotive’s brakes. They ripped through her body. They were louder than the rain, louder than the wind, screaming out as they desperately tried to bring the train to a halt. But their efforts were in vain. The engine struck the wounded carcass of the convertible for the second time, rolling it over and crushing the remains beneath its wheels of steel. Scattered bits of the battered car frame flew up into the soggy countryside, showering the idyllic backdrop with tangled pieces of metal.
Bree finally caught her breath. Filling her lungs, she let out an ear-piercing scream that ricocheted around the Maple crossing. ‘Jaaayymmeeee!’
Her legs gave way beneath her and she fell to her knees. She squeezed her head tightly, bowing it down, lower and lower until her rain-soaked hair was lying in the sodden earth. She tried to scream again, but nothing came out of her mouth, like a small injured child that could not catch their breath to release a cry of despair. The first of a million tears left her eyes as the gushing rain lashed down around her body. That was the second that she knew, she knew she had lost him, she knew he wa
s gone. In her heart she knew that her brother was dead.
The level crossing suddenly came to life. Car doors were slamming, people from both sides of the barrier were scurrying backwards and forwards. Some people braved the elements to venture further down the track, to where the remains of the car might be. Bree could not hear anything, her mind had completely shut off. People were talking to her, but there were just no sounds, it was as if she had suddenly been struck deaf. In the middle of all this pandemonium, a grey-haired man without a coat on reached down and wrapped his arms around her shaking torso, clutching her tightly to his chest in a bid to offer her some comfort. She looked around to see more people arriving. Some were on their phones calling for emergency services, others were trying to make sense of the catastrophe that had taken place. As her senses slowly returned Bree could hear the frantic screams of a woman and could make out the sobbing cries of a small child. She would, however, have taken no solace from knowing that the passengers of the stranded vehicle were safe and well. Jamie was gone, that was all that mattered to her.
Bree raised her head slightly as the old man, now soaked through, attempted to help her to her feet. The merciless downpour continued to fall around her aching body and the howling wind carried the remnants of her final scream into the distance. But just then, beyond the darkness, she heard a small voice call out to her, a voice she recognised. Suddenly, through the punishing rainfall, amidst the growing number of do-gooders arriving to offer their assistance, she could see her, she was as clear as anything now, the girl from the bar. She was there, on a small hill overlooking the level crossing, her bright yellow coat standing out like a beacon for lost sailors. The tiny figure was motionless. She was watching, just staring, as she had done in the pub. She was looking down from the hill, studying the aftermath of the tragedy. What unsettled Bree more than anything was that she realised now that she knew who that girl was.