Gary Ackley remembered something that he thought Mary and Shark might find interesting.
“Oh, that’s right, I forgot to mention… my granddad’s brother, Tom… he was a drinking buddy of Ben Askew’s, back in the day.” Gary told them.
“Really?” Asked Mary. “What was he like?”
“Who? My granddad’s brother? He was sound. Bit of a piss-head, but sound.” Joked Gary. Mary gave Gary a playful push.
“No, I meant Ben Askew, you twat.” She said.
“By all accounts, he come across as a really nice bloke, a proper family man. Great uncle Tom used to drink with him all the time, and never saw anything untoward in him. Yet one day he just topped his whole family. It’s fucking mental, when you think about it.” Gary mused.
“I wonder what made him go…”
“Hush!” Said Shark, suddenly. Gary and Mary turned to her. Shark was wearing an alarmed expression.
“What? What is…”
“I said hush! Be quiet! Listen…” instructed Shark.
“Listen to what?” Asked Gary. And then he heard what she was referring to; it was a voice. A male voice. A male voice screaming for help. It was the voice of Alex Crennell.
Gary, Mary and Shark stood on the slope of Coldsleet Moor, listening to Alex Crennell’s cries for help.
“Someone… please… I’m sinking…” he shouted.
“How the fuck has Alex ended up here on the moor?” Whispered Shark.
“You know what a clumsy twat he is. He’s obviously got lost.” Surmised Gary.
“But it sounds like he’s somewhere ahead of us… how the hell has he gotten ahead of us?”
“I haven’t got a fucking clue… but that’s definitely Alex, and it sounds like he’s in big trouble. We’ve got to do something. Agreed?” Gary asked Mary and Shark. They both nodded. “Alex!” Shouted Gary. “It’s me, Gary. What’s happened to you?” There was silence for a few seconds.
“Gary! Gary! I’m stuck, man! I’m stuck in some fucking peat bog, and I’m sinking, fast!” Replied Alex, from somewhere in the mist.
“Okay. Try and calm down Alex, we’re coming to get you.” Gary turned back to Mary and Shark. “You ready, girls?” He asked them.
‘What if Alex is just pissing around?” Mary wondered.
“It doesn’t sound like he’s pissing around, Mary. I know that he’s a complete prick, but he needs our help.” Said Gary.
“Okay. Let’s go and find him then.” Mary replied.
“Right. I’ll lead the way… both of you, stay right with me.” Instructed Gary, and he left the Black Pathway, heading towards Alex Crennell’s cries for help.
The three walkers ventured onto the moor, trying to locate their former friend.
“Alex, I need you to keep talking, so that we can find you.” Shouted out Gary.
“What do you want me to fucking talk about, Gary? I don’t want a conversation, I just need you to pull me out of this fucking mud before I go under, man.” Alex shouted back to him.
“Look, Alex, we’re trying to get to you as fast as we can, but it’s a bit bloody difficult when we can’t see where you are, so, like I said before, just keep talking… how the hell did you get out onto the moor?” Gary asked.
“I don’t fucking know! I was just walking, that’s all. I thought I was heading back to Coldsleet, but I must have got lost what with all of this bloody mist. Hey, can you hurry up, Gary? I’m waist-deep in this shit and I can’t get out. It’s sucking me down, man!”
“Just keep talking, Alex. I don’t think that we’re far from you now.” Said Gary.
“Okay, okay.” Replied Alex, from somewhere nearby.
“Alex, whatever you do, don’t try and struggle. I watched a documentary a couple of years ago, about people getting trapped in quicksand. You have to just keep still, mate, don’t wriggle around, struggle… it’ll just make you sink faster.” Instructed Gary.
“But I’m not in fucking quicksand!” Whined Alex Crennell.
“I know you’re not, Alex, but it’s the same bloody principle. So just try and stay as still as possible. Understand?”
“Yeah, I understand… Gary, how deep are these sodding peat-bogs?” Alex shouted out.
“Deep enough to drown you. So just keep still.” Replied Gary.
“Okay. I’ll try.” Said Alex. “But can you hurry up? Please?” Alex pleaded.
“We’re nearly with you, Alex. Just hang on in there.” Gary tried to assure him. He looked around to Mary and Shark, who were following behind him in silence; they both looked scared.
Gary trudged forward, across the moor. His feet were starting to sink deeper into the peat with every step that he took.
“Shit, this place is fucking treacherous.” He said to Shark and Mary. “We’re gonna have to tread carefully.” He advised. Gary took another step, and his boot sank into the squelching black peat, right up to his calf. Gary started to fall forwards.
“Shark! Grab me, grab me!” He said. Shark put her arms around Gary’s waist.
“What’s the matter?” She asked.
“My foot’s stuck in some mud.” He told her. “Pull me back.” He instructed. Shark heaved backwards.
“Mary, you’re gonna have to give me a hand.” She said. Mary also put her arms around Gary’s middle, and the two young women both pulled at him. Gary felt his foot coming out of the peat.
“That’s it. Keep pulling.” He said. Gary’s boot popped free of the peat bog, and he stepped back, away from it. “Thanks.”
“Are you okay?” Asked Shark.
“Yeah, but we can’t carry on forward anymore. It’s too dangerous.”
“But what about Alex?” Responded Mary.
“Shit.” Cursed Gary to himself. “Alex!” He called out. “Alex! Are you okay?” There was no reply. “Alex? Talk to me!” Gary shouted. Silence. “Alex, just let me know that you’re okay! Say something!” Gary’s request was met with continued silence.
“Do you think he’s…”
“Yes, Mary. He must have gone under.” Said Gary. Mary put her hand to her mouth. Gary laid a hand on her shoulder, and shook his head. “We tried. There’s nothing more we can do. We’ve got to get back to the pathway. If we don’t get off this fucking moor, one of us is going to have an accident next.”
Gary Ackley looked around. The moorland mist was now so thick, he could barely see more than a couple of feet in front of him.
“Bollocks!” He suddenly cursed.
“What is it?” Asked Shark.
“I’ve lost my bearings… I can’t remember which way that we came from.” Gary admitted.
“I thought that the pathway was back down there.” Replied Shark, pointing to her right.
“Are you sure?” Gary said to her, seeking assurance. Shark nodded.
“Yeah, I think so. Look, we can’t stay here, so let’s just walk. We’ve got to get back on the trail.” She said.
“You’re right. We need to get back on the trail, and home to Coldsleet.”
“Should we phone for help? I mean, for Alex?” Mary asked.
“I don’t think there’s any point.” Gary answered. “ALEX!” He shouted once more, at the top of his voice. “ALEX! CAN YOU HEAR ME?” He bellowed, but to no avail. “It’s no good. He’s gone. Come on. Let’s find the Black Pathway. Mary, we’ll call the emergency services as soon as we get back on the trail, to let them know what’s happened.” He said.
“Okay.” Replied Mary.
“Let’s go. I’ll lead the way.” Gary walked in front of the two young women, and they slowly began to trek across the mist-shrouded Coldsleet Moor. In completely the wrong direction.
***
Howard Trenton walked behind Alex Crennell, holding a knife up to the base of Alex’s neck.
“You did good up there, Alex. That was one hell of a performance.” Howard said, smiling. “Ten out of fucking ten… well done!”
“I still don’t understand…”
; “Why I made you do all that? I would have thought that was perfectly obvious, Alex. For fucks sake, you’re really not very bright, are you? No wonder I stopped hanging around with you when we were younger… you’re lack of IQ would have probably rubbed off on me.” Sighed Howard. “I needed to get your beloved friends off the Black Pathway, make them get lost… and we’ve done it, Alex, we’ve done it! You and I, together, working like a team again, just like we did when we were kids! They’re heading south, instead of east… they’ll be off this moor soon, but nowhere near the Black Pathway.” He advised.
“How do you know which way they’re heading? I can’t see them, so how can you?” Alex asked.
“Because I can scent their trail.” Howard answered, matter-of-fact.
“You can what?” Alex responded, confused.
“I can scent their trail. We’re about a minute behind them, and they’re heading south, right off the moor and into Skerrington Forest. They’re fucked.” Howard chuckled.
Alex could feel the sharp tip of Howard’s knife against the back of his neck.
“Hey, Howard, how about you put the knife down now? I’m not gonna do anything stupid.” He requested.
“Oh, I know that you won’t, Alex. Because if you do, it’d be just like I said earlier… I’d catch up with you and slice you into little pieces.” Reminded Howard. “But I’ll keep the knife pointed right at you. In fact, I insist that I do.” He grinned.
“Okay, okay, but I’d just feel easier if…”
“Shut your gob, Alex. There’s nothing more to say on the matter. As I said earlier, behave yourself, and I won’t hurt you. Now let’s just drop the subject.” Howard said, firmly.
“Can I ask you something?” Asked Alex.
“If you must.” Replied Howard, already bored with his new travelling companion.
“What did you mean, when you said that you could scent the trail of the others?” Alex was curious to know. “I know that you come up here a lot… have you learned all of that tracking stuff or something? Is that what you meant?” Howard laughed at this.
“You really are a fucking fool, Alex Crennell.” Replied Howard, who was enjoying humiliating his former friend. “Normal people don’t track using scent… they usually follow other signs. But not me. I’m different.” He advised.
“I don’t understand… how can you track by scent? You know, if people don’t usually do it that way?” Alex asked.
“Because my daddy was an alien,” smiled Alex, “and I’m guessing that a heightened sense of smell was one of his genetic gifts to me… bless the little bastard.” Confided Howard, and this time he burst out laughing.
***
The sound of Howard Trenton’s manic laughter echoed across Coldsleet Moor.
“What the fuck was that?” Asked Mary, frightened.
“It was somebody laughing… Alex?” Said Shark.
“That wasn’t Alex.” Replied Gary, remembering Alex’s high-pitched, childish little giggle. “There must be somebody else out here, up on the moor. Another walker.” He went on. “HEY!” Gary shouted out. “HEY! WE NEED HELP! CAN YOU HEAR ME? WE NEED HELP!” His shouts for assistance were met with silence. Gary turned to Mary and Shark. “They must have moved on.”
“What, in a couple of seconds?” Replied Shark, sarcastically. “HELP!” She called. “HELP! WE’RE LOST!”
“They’re not answering. Are you sure that it couldn’t have been Alex?” Mary asked.
“It wasn’t fucking Alex.” Snapped Gary Ackley, losing his cool. “Okay, that’s enough. Everybody, stop walking.” He said.
“Why?” Shark responded.
“Because I have no idea which fucking direction we’re heading in. We should have been back at the Black Pathway by now, but we ain’t.” Gary answered. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out a mobile phone. “We’ve got no choice, we need to call someone for help.” Gary told Mary and Shark.
Gary dialled in 999 on his mobile. The phone flashed up that there was no signal, and that his call couldn’t be made.
“Fuck it!” Swore Gary. “Shark, Mary… have you got your phones on you?” He asked. The pair nodded. “Try calling 999. My phone’s got no signal.” Shark was the first to try dialling the number. She hit exactly the same problem, and then, so did Mary. “Shit. It must be the moor blocking out reception… or maybe Knighton Mountain.” Gary said. He tried ringing 999 again. No signal. “Jesus, why do these sodding things NEVER work when you need them to?” Gary cursed. “And why won’t this mist just shift? If it’d clear, then we’d be okay, we could see where the fuck we were going.”
“Haven’t you got a compass or something like that?” Asked Shark.
“No, Shark, I don’t have a compass.” Replied Gary, in a sarcastic voice. “I didn’t think that I’d fucking well need one, just following a pathway. How about you? Did you remember to…”
“Hey, don’t start getting shitty with me, Gary. I was only asking…”
“Yeah, well don’t.” Gary said, angrily. He shook his head. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to have a go at you like that.” He apologised.
“S’okay.” Replied Shark. “We’re all pretty stressed out.”
“You can say that again… look, I don’t know what to do.” Gary admitted. “Should we just carry on, in the direction that we’re going? Or backtrack? Or just stay put, wait for the mist to lift? Problem there is, it might not clear for hours… and I don’t fancy being stuck out on this fucking moor when it gets dark, which it will do in about two hours time.”
“I say that we keep heading forward. Sooner or later, we’ve got to come off this moor.” Suggested Shark.
“Shark’s right. We should keep moving.” Added Mary. Gary took a deep breath.
“Okay. You’re right. That’s what we’ll do.” He said, looking down at his mobile phone, which still had no signal. “That’s what we’ll do.” He repeated.
Chapter Twenty One
Howard Trenton had a change of heart. He pulled the knife away from Alex Crennell’s neck, and pocketed the blade.
“The big bad knife’s gone away, Alex.” He said. “But remember, be on your best behaviour or…” Howard Trenton didn’t get the chance to finish his sentence. Alex suddenly turned around, and kicked out at Howard as hard as he could, catching the smaller man in the groin. Howard buckled forwards, clutching at himself, in pain. Alex followed through with a vicious punch to the side of Howard’s face, and he went crashing down to the muddy floor. In an instant, Alex was down on Howard, sat astride him.
“You fucking freak!” Said Alex, before punching Howard in the face again. “You fucking nut-job!” Alex went on. He hit out again, splitting Howard’s lips.
“You’re making a bad mistake, Alex.” Howard said calmly, through a mouthful of blood.
“Shut up, you fucking…” Alex went to punch Howard again, but instead found himself flying backwards as Howard powerfully jerked his body from out underneath him. Now it was Alex’s turn to land on his back, in the mud and peat. Howard quickly got to his feet, and approached Alex. Alex tried to get up, but slipped, this time falling face-first onto the wet and dank moorland. He felt impossibly strong arms wrap around him, from behind, and then Alex was dragged back up, onto his feet.
“What did I warn you, Alex?” Asked Howard.
“Let go of me, you crazy fucking cunt.” Snarled Alex.
“No.” Responded Howard, tightening his grip.
“You’re fucking crushing me! Let go!” Shouted Alex.
“No.” Howard whispered into Alex’s ear. “We need to talk.” He continued. “As a matter of urgency.”
***
Gary, Mary and Shark stood on the edge of Skerrington Forest.
“Well, we got off the moor.” Said Gary. “It’s just a shame that we’ve come off it in completely the wrong direction.” He added.
“What is this place?” Asked Shark.
“It’s Skerrington Forest.” Replied Gary.
&n
bsp; “I thought that Skerrington Forest was past Knighton?” Commented Mary.
“Some of it is, but the forest is L-shaped, bordering Knighton to the east and the south. We’ve hit its south side. We should have been heading east.” Pointed out Gary.
“Well, can’t we just head back out onto the moor? Re-trace our steps?”
Mary asked. Gary gave her a withering look.
“You want to go back out onto the moor? In this mist?” Said Gary. Mary shrugged her shoulders.
“It was just a suggestion.”
“I know. I’m sorry, Mary, I know that you’re just trying to be helpful, but we really don’t want to be heading off back onto…”
“Hey, Gary, don’t fucking patronise her.” Interrupted Shark. Gary stared at her.
“I’m not trying to patronise anyone.” He protested.
“Well it sounded pretty fucking patronising to me.” Argued Shark. “Go easy on Mary, okay? She’s just lost her boyfriend, for fucks sake.”
“Alex wasn’t my boyfriend!” Snapped Mary.
“Oh, you know what I mean.” Shark tried to reason.
“If anyone should be upset, it’s me.” Said Gary. “Me and Alex were mates for a long time.” He reminded Mary and Shark.
“This isn’t some fucking competition, Gary.” Commented Shark, sourly.
Shark looked towards the darkness of Skerrington Forest. The mist had lifted slightly, and visibility was a little better.
“Look, we need to stop arguing amongst ourselves, and work out what we’re going to do. Where does the forest lead to, Gary?” She asked.
“Knighton Mountain. But if we follow the edge of the forest, and head east, then eventually, it’ll twist north, and we’ll be back on the way to Knighton. Whatever, if we take that route, then sooner or later, we’re gonna hit the Black Pathway again. It cuts straight through the forest.” Gary advised.
“Right, then that’s what we need to do. Follow the edge of the forest… hey, which way’s east?” Queried Shark. Gary pointed to his left.
The Black Pathway Page 21