by Sam Zadgan
“Okay, you will need you to hear me out on this, because some of it may sound a little strange. Firstly, your father wasn’t lost, he was kidnapped and murdered. To understand what happened I have to tell you the full story, which goes back about almost 200 years. You realise, Stewart, you’re the first person that’s going to hear me telling this story? I wouldn’t dare tell anyone—people would think I’d gone crazy.”
Stewart eased her vulnerability with a comforting smile, so she continued with the excitement of a young child telling her parents about her day at school.
2. The story of the father
“Stewart, there is a town that exists near Bowral, which is not on the map and can only be found once every 25 years. I know how that sounds, but I’m being serious; this town is under some kind of spell, which began about 200 years ago. Back then there was a group of witches who left Bowral and settled in this town, which remains invisible to the rest of the world.
“Now, the link to you and your father is that the leader of the group of witches was a Mr Green. I couldn’t find his first name; your father was a descendent of that family.”
“Wait, how do you even know that? As far as I know we’ve never had a Green, our surname is Diamine,” Stewart was quick to interrupt.
“Yes I know, but what you don’t know, and what your father didn’t know was that his mother’s maiden name was Green,” Shannon replied. There was a pause, as Shannon allowed Stewart to accept the fact before following on.
“From what I can gather, every 25 years, someone in that blood line somehow finds their way into this town and disappears. I’ve done some other research and found pretty nasty stuff. There was a report that before this group of witches left Bowral, this red-haired woman called Charlene Everett came to town. She was known to hold some ancient Persian magic book. What I figure, which I think fits with the story, they sacrifice a descendent of Mr Green to appease their gods and so they can continue living in this invisible town.”
She took a break to take sip of her coffee. Stewart took that moment to digest what he had just heard. There were too many loose ends for his liking.
“Wait there. You have to admit this is all a bit far-fetched, but ignoring that part, let’s analyse this story. What’s the name of the town?”
Silence followed; Shannon didn’t know the name of the town, only descriptions and fables about a mysterious place.
“Okay, fine, how are these people still alive? You said they settled there 200 years ago, and no one goes in or out except for one of these descendants. I mean it’s a bit incestuous…” Stewart’s tone took on that of a professional investigative journalist, grilling a politician on prime time TV.
“No, you don’t get it—the sacrifice is for their immortality. The people there are the same people that settled there. According to this book of magic, the leader had to sacrifice his body to the group for them to stay there and to be immortal, and his soul would ascend.” She was confident in her story.
“So they kill someone every 25 years and…” Stewart was interrupted again with more of a grim reality.
“They don’t just kill; they eat the descendant. It’s a cannibalistic ritual!” she shot back.
This seemed to be reaching the limit of Stewart’s tolerance, and with an apologetic smile he stood up. “I’m sorry, Shannon, but I’ve heard enough. I think it’s best I leave now and we forget this conversation…”
“Please don’t leave Stewart. I’m trying to help you, you could be next.” Shannon’s voice carried over the café and Stewart paused.
Shannon saw her opportunity. “Tamara…she will take you there.”
This final comment seemed to resonate with Stewart on some level and he turned back and sat back down at the table.
“Okay, tell me everything you know.” He seemed much more interested now.
This was Shannon’s hook and she explained to Stewart that her father left his mother at an early age because of a girl named Tamara. She was the reason that his father had left the family, and she was the one that brought the male descendants to the town.
Shannon then put to Stewart her plan for finding and ending this abomination. A plan that involved taking Stewart to the town, much like Tamara would, but at least he would know what’s waiting and they would be able to stop it.
Stewart had little confidence in any plan. He did pose two questions: firstly, how they would enter the town; and secondly, how were they going to destroy the town and its people?
Shannon had an answer only for the second question. “When we are in the town, we will have to destroy the statues in the church. If what I’ve read is true and this is what they’ve done, then there will be five statues in the church, each one containing a body part or organ of a holy man. We will need to decapitate the one that’s got the head of the holy man.
“Depending on what demons they’ve decided to choose as their protectors, one of them will be the dominant one and that’s the one we need to decapitate. If we can do that, then we undo the creation of the town and its people.”
“Undo?” Stewart responded. He found the choice of words interesting to say the least.
Shannon, however, had taken time to read and study the material and her use of the word was quite deliberate.
“Yes, we are not going there to blow up the town and kill its people. What we will do is destroy that town and everyone in it will vanish from human history as if it never existed.” There was definite malice to her tone and resolve.
Stewart took a moment to digest Shannon’s entire story; to him it was so far a very fantastical tale.
Shannon had hoped that she had convinced him of the truth, which to her was absolute. To her dismay, however, Stewart was not convinced.
He was not going to continue the conversation or take any action on such a speculative theory. He had to admit he was intrigued by the story, as would anyone, but it was not enough for him to join what he suspected was a somewhat mentally instable woman, whose research had gone off a tangent into the realms of madness.
Shannon tried to plead with Stewart, but she noticed that she had lost him, and avoiding the risk of appearing insane she sat back and sighed in defeat. She watched Stewart leave; all her research over the last few years may have been wasted if Stewart didn’t go along with her plan. Her hopes weren’t all dashed, however. Before Stewart had left the café, his phone rang.
“Hi Tammy, yeah, just finishing up, I’ll see you soon…”
That was enough for Shannon, but this meant that she had to watch over him. They were already in contact with Stewart, which meant his sacrifice was imminent.
3. Night before the road trip
That night Stewart had a hard time getting to sleep, the disturbing story that he had heard earlier in the day was still swirling around his head like a threatening snake ready to strike. He decided he needed to reset his mind, so he left the bed and entered the living room to kill some time watching TV. Moments later his girlfriend entered the room, sleepy and dressed in a singlet and pyjama pants covering her tall slender body. A sweet face with perfectly proportioned features and long brown straight hair with a princess part. She approached Stewart on the sofa and sat next to him, cuddling his arm and laying her head on his shoulder.
“What’s wrong baby?” she said in a tender tone.
“Nothing, just got a lot on my mind,” Stewart said as he lovingly looked at her and caressed her face.
“Not that I want to add more stress, but can we visit my parents this weekend?” She sat back apologetically as the words rolled off her tongue.
“Tammy, really? You want to tell me now? It’s such short notice.”
She inched her way forward and back on his shoulder, willing her warmth onto his body.
“I know. Mum and I have been talking about it, and she said this weekend would be best for them. We can leave in the morning and be in Bowral by about eleven. Just in time for lunch.” She flashed her pleading smile to convi
nce him.
Stewart uninterestingly nodded, and got a kiss for his troubles as Tammy went back to bed with a spring in her step.
As he sat there numbingly watching the TV, he realised that the story Shannon had told him earlier in the day was getting a little too close to reality. Not only was his girlfriend’s name Tamara, but her parents that he had never met lived in Bowral and she suddenly wanted to go visit them with very little notice.
He tried to dismiss it as an accidental correlation, but something deep down was troubling him and bringing up all kinds of questions in his mind. Either this was a coincidence, or what Shannon was telling him was rooted in some sort of truth. But what if there were a sick group of people living in the forest who believed all of this, and went through with sacrificial rituals, killing innocent people; and Tamara was the one who wooed innocent men to their final fate?
Meanwhile, Shannon was sitting outside in her car watching over Stewart’s apartment from the street. She witnessed the exchange that took place, but only noticed the shadows that were walking from one room to another. She decided that she would sleep in the car that night and made herself comfortable. But no sooner had she put her head back that she noticed something strange. The female shadow floated back into the room, then the shadow seemed to turn to the window and the edges of the shadow became less defined. Moments later the shadow turned into a dark mist in the shape of a serpent. Shannon sank back in her seat; she felt the shadow was looking directly at her, but she dared not move or make a sound.
Shannon couldn’t control a short whimper as the shadow penetrated the window and flew outside, slowly but directly towards her. She fumbled her keys, but they fell out of her hand and to the floor. She bent over to find the keys and knocked her forehead into the steering wheel so hard that she opened a gash.
She sat back up only to notice the black shadow was now at her car and seeping into her car through the window and floor of the car. The fear and the presence of this being sent Shannon into hyperventilation; her breathing became faster and louder and deeper, she had lost all control. Her brain was in overdrive trying to work out an escape, trying to control her breathing, trying to keep her alive.
Shannon woke up with the morning sun beating through the windscreen and onto her face. She blinked a few times adjusting to the light, then wiped her hands over her eyes, but there was a strange sensation under her hands, a thick sludgy wetness. She quickly looked at the palm of her hands, crimson hands, her face was covered in blood. She screamed for a moment. Then frantically she felt her forehead, thinking that the dream may have been real, but she felt no pain or irregularities on her skin. She reached into her glove box and retrieved a pack of wet tissues and proceeded to clean her face to reveal no scars, just blood.
She knew now what she had been investigating was very real and she too was involved and had no choice but to continue her path. They knew she existed and what her plans were, and they would not let her walk away or continue her life as before. Upon this revelation, she looked over at Stewart’s apartment, but the scene on the street was more interesting. Stewart had a travel bag in hand and was putting it in the boot of his car. Meanwhile, a slender brown-haired woman approached the car, kissing Stewart on the cheek before sitting down in the passenger’s seat. Once Stewart had finished loading the car, the couple made their way down the street. The road trip had begun, and Shannon would have to follow them if she was going to complete her mission.
4. Alliances found
Shannon muttered to herself as she drove her car, reciting the plan in her mind until it was solid and foolproof, all the while keeping one eye on the car that was within her view. Stewart’s car was maybe ten to fifteen car lengths ahead, driven in the southern direction towards the town and maybe to his final fate. Shannon was determined to correct this evil in the world, and this was her only chance to rid the world of this black dot that had sullied its history. After being confronted by the black shadowy mist that came to her car in the dream and the blood on her face, she knew that this could take her life too.
Just past the exit at Wollongong there was something peculiar ahead, a murder of black crows, not a sight that’s naturally seen or witnessed regularly. She noticed this queer flock gather and hover over Stewart’s car; like a cloud the crows cast a shadow under which Stewart drove unknowingly. This continued for a few minutes before three of the murder flew away from the congregation and circled back and out of view.
This sight would not have drawn any attention, and indeed, other motorists probably didn’t notice this, but Shannon was acutely aware of the world beyond her own. Her thoughts were interrupted though as she spotted the three crows flying down towards her car. Shockingly they were not slowing down or changing their direction; Shannon clenched her teeth and tightened her grip on the steering wheel.
A moment later the three crows in unison smashed down onto the windshield of her car with a loud thud. She swerved on impact, losing control of the car momentarily, crossing lanes and almost crashing into other cars. She screamed as she slammed her foot on the brake and the car came to a sudden stop.
The birds were all dead, one still on her car, their blood obscuring her view, but she was safe. She had instinctively pulled into the hard shoulder and out of harm’s way. However, Stewart’s car was now beyond view and she was at a loss at how she would pick up his trail.
She sat in the car, defeated, trying to rehash the plan that had now been severely shattered, but there was no bright spark of inspiration in her mind. The best alternative she conjured up was that if she continued to Bowral, there may be another way to the mysterious town on foot. With somewhat renewed energy and resolve she let the windscreen wipers remove the blood and carcass from her windscreen and she drove to Bowral.
Upon arriving in the historic town of Bowral, Shannon quickly found the local library, as she was convinced there might be some information buried in the town records. What she needed was access to local town newspapers and notices from mid-1905, but for some reason that whole year was missing from the chronological list of records. This was a either a mistake, or a deliberate attempt to hide the dark past of the town. In any case, Shannon had no time to question the motives, she needed those missing newspapers.
The librarian was a lady in her fifties, stern and weathered, with long grey hair tied up in a tight ponytail. She gazed menacingly with her aged green eyes at Shannon as she was asked about the missing records. She knew Shannon had other motives besides research.
“Why do you want records from that year?” she asked accusingly.
Shannon started out being apologetic, thinking that a sympathetic approach may help her cause.
“It’s the final piece of my report on Bowral, and that’s the one year I couldn’t find anything about, which is why I drove all the way here…I was hoping that the library of Bowral would be the best source for that information.”
The librarian was suspicious, but strangely trusting of Shannon’s motives. She could not place it, but she felt a connection with Shannon, so she agreed.
The librarian motioned to Shannon and they walked to the back corner of the library, to a wooden door. Upon entering the room of physical records, the librarian turned back to Shannon.
“Am I correct in saying you are on our side?”
Shannon was caught by surprise, and she stumbled over her positive response, not quite knowing where the line of questioning would lead to. She wasn’t at all comfortable in this dimly lit room alone with the librarian. The librarian, however, looked pleased with the answer.
“I thought so. If you are looking for that year, then you know what you’re looking for, and you know that it’s happening again tomorrow…”
Shannon’s eyes lit up with fear. “Wait…tomorrow? That’s too early…I need to save him…”
The librarian was even more intrigued by her comment and waited for Shannon to elaborate, and was told the full story and of her following Stewart to Bowral. The l
ibrarian took Shannon to the far end of the records room and opened a small wooden cupboard door revealing a large knife hanging above a glass of water.
“You’re the only person that’s seen this. But I feel that you and I were destined to meet on a day like today, and under such circumstances. It’s not too late, and this dagger will be the instrument we need to end Larwock.”
Shannon reached out to touch the knife but the librarian blocked her progress and closed the cupboard door, locking it again.
“Who are you?” Shannon finally asked the librarian.
The librarian didn’t answer; instead she took Shannon to the table and chair in the middle of the room. On the table there was a large book and a lamp overhead, which she turned on. Shannon peered down at the book; the writing was in a strange language, each letter or word made up of horizontal and vertical lines. She had a feeling she knew what the book was, but wanted to know for sure.
“Is this the Book of Ahriman?” she asked.
With the lamp illuminating her face beyond the dim light around her, the librarian finally revealed her identity.
“My name is Amanda Larwock. I’m the great granddaughter of Reverend Larwock, who served in Bowral. He was the leader of the ‘Faithful Few’ who banished that obscene cult from Bowral.
“But what he didn’t know was that he was the chosen holy man that was needed to secure that god forsaken town. This book, yes, you are right, it’s the book of Ahriman. I’ve been studying this book my whole life. It was passed down to me by my mother, and before that my grandfather, who was the first to discover the book when he tried to destroy that town.
“You have to realise, this town that is my namesake, the extermination of it is my family’s purpose. I know how to find Larwock through the forest and unlock the gates, and I have the instrument to extinguish the fire that keeps that town alive.”
5. The way to Larwock