The Penn Friends Series Books 5-8: Penn Friends Boxset

by T H Paul

  As she approached the tree, Penny couldn’t help dwelling on how peaceful it must have been for Joy, merely drifting from this life onto; however, Penny didn’t know how to finish that thought. What came next? Did anything? Was there really an afterlife, or was that what people only hoped? She might know before the week was out.

  Penny stood silently beside the tree. Her days of climbing were over, not that she had the clothes suitable for that either; otherwise, she might have climbed onto the same branch she had done on that day with Abbey. The branch had grown even more substantial in the five years it had been.

  Through the middle of the park––out of sight of Penny, who was otherwise hidden in the August lushness of the trees now surrounding her––a jogger ran determinedly along the path, his pace between a steady jog and a fast run at times. He was probably about thirty, heading towards the far end. Just someone with life before them, happy memories no doubt.

  Penny focused back on the tree, very much alone. Joy was just a memory. Wherever she was now, it was anywhere but the base of that oak. Penny hoped Joy was happy. Penny was confident she was.

  Penny walked away from the tree without saying another word, rejoining the main path thirty seconds later. She was alone again, the jogger no doubt long cleared the park exit at the far end, running around the streets she had once delivered papers to, the man perhaps even a former recipient, for all Penny knew. It mattered not.

  Penny hadn’t yet settled on what to do with her grand finale. She had to do everything in a controlled manner. If she jumped off a bridge into a river, they might not find her body. How could she then be saved, if that were even possible? Too much time would pass. Penny didn’t even know if her human Horcrux would be able to sense her demise. Would she just come running anyway? Penny was sure she was willingly walking into something she couldn’t actually control. She had nobody, however. Penny was alone. She had been alone for too long already.

  If she died, would anyone actually mourn her?

  Penny couldn’t consider anything painful. Despite it being death––an otherwise final outcome––she had some control over how she went. It couldn’t hurt.

  Penny had seen a lot of fuss being made over a series Netflix had produced the year before. It’s final moments depicted a suicide scene, of a girl Penny’s age. It seemed to be a relatively smooth way to go. Penny settled on that idea as she headed out of the park, crossing the road back towards home. She chuckled to herself, as she checked the road and waited for it to be clear, that there she was, planning her death, yet at the same time making sure it was safe to get over to the other side.

  Deep down in her soul, there was a part of Penny that hoped she would be successful. Maybe this nurse could save her? Perhaps she would be able to get there in time? Maybe something would happen?

  As Penny came in through her front door, she had settled the idea in her mind. She would do it the following day. That night, Penny would read everything one more time, post some comments for people to find later on the threads long after she was gone, and then celebrate her last night, possibly, on earth. She would need to get some items from the shop the following morning, before making sure everything was in place. She knew she would have to leave the front door unlocked––how else would her would-be saviour get inside––and Penny started making a list of everything she had to remember.

  Tomorrow, Penny Black was going to die.

  11

  As last days go, today was a good day. It’s me, Penny, saying adios. I don’t know what will follow. I hope I’m successful, I hope my plan works, but if they don’t, it was worth a try. I leave a very little legacy behind, and only too many victims. And I was the most significant victim of the lot.

  This is it. Wish me luck.

  Penny woke earlier than usual, the sun already up, birds heard chirping as they went around their morning routine. Penny had not noticed the birds for a long time, though as she lay there in bed, reflected they must have been making the same sounds, singing the same songs, all year. She’d just been too into her mess of a life to have noticed.

  Today was different. Everything felt so final.

  Penny ate some breakfast, though had little appetite. It seemed pointless to think about food, anyway. What good would it do her? Penny showered with one eye on the bath the whole time. Later that same day, she would get into that tub for the last time. What would happen in the minutes and hours after, she did not yet know. It was all part of the mystery.

  Before that, she needed to go out. She needed to actually buy the item she would use to kill herself. On the way to the shop, however, she planned to swing by the A&E. Penny needed to know for sure that at least the nurse she had in mind was working. If she were off, maybe out of the country, that would not do. As slim as Penny sensed her chances were, she needed to at least check up on that one.

  As Penny pulled away, turning left out of her cul-de-sac, another car was soon on her tail, the same man who’d been following Penny for days already, the same man who had been reporting everything to Thomas.

  Penny was only ten minutes in the emergency room that morning. She’d seen what she was looking for.

  “Penny has just returned to A&E. I think she intends to carry out what she is planning, possibly today. I’ll keep following,” the man said.

  “Yes, don’t lose her. I’ll have someone sort the nurse.”

  Thirty minutes later Penny was pulling into a DIY superstore. She was sure they would stock what she was looking for. The man followed her in through the entrance.

  “Excuse me,” Penny asked the first assistant she saw, “I’m looking for razor blades. This place is so big, I don’t think I would know where to start looking,” Penny said, the assistant smiling at the young lady in front of him, a good-looking customer at that.

  “Sure, right this way,” he said, taking a shine to her at once. “You decorating?”

  “Sorry?” Penny said, following behind the guy who must have been a couple of years older than her. On an average day, she would have taken his interest as a good sign, but nobody preparing to kill themselves had time for such sentiment, not on the day itself.

  “The blades. You doing some DIY or something? You don’t look the type, mind.”

  “Don’t I?” she said but wasn’t going to get drawn into a conversation about what she intended to use the blades for.

  “Here,” he said, pointing to a section on the twelfth aisle that indeed had what Penny was looking for. “I hope you find what you need, and if I can help you with anything else, just ask. Paints are that way, and you’ll find brushes right next to them too,” he said, waving his arm to the left. He looked strong, his arm visible, a tattoo showing just underneath the sleeve of his t-shirt. He couldn’t help notice Penny taking it all in. He held out his hand.

  “I’m Desmond. Desmond White,” he said. Penny smiled. He smiled too. He had a charming face. Penny took his hand. It didn’t hurt to be courteous, even if this was her last day alive.

  “I’m Penny. Penny Black,” she said, adding her surname for a sense of irony. Nothing could have been more Black and White than the contrast between their fates. Desmond clearly saw the comedy too.

  “Black, is it?” He let go of her hand. Penny had still been holding his fingers long after the handshake had finished. It might be her last human contact. She wanted to make it count. “I guess I’ll see you around then?” he said, Penny just shrugging. She doubted that unless he happened to be walking down her street in about an hour and was wondering why somebody's front door was wide open. “You know where to find me. I’m usually in the bathroom and kitchen areas,” he added, smiling as he turned away from Penny. She smiled back. He was cute. But he was delaying her plan, at that moment.

  Penny scanned through the offerings before her, now it was just her. She selected the second cheapest one. Penny didn’t think there was much difference in any of them. She only needed to use it once.

  Penny went straight to the checko
ut. She placed her purchase into a bag and returned to her car.

  “She’s just purchased a blade. It’s happening soon, probably today,” the man behind her reported to Thomas, as he too reached his car. Moments later he was three cars behind Penny as they drove down the road, though it was clear she was heading back home.

  Penny parked up, staying behind the wheel for a little while longer.

  “Mum, if you can somehow hear me, I’m sorry. I didn’t know. It must have torn you apart, having me. You chose to have me, I realise that now, decided to have a family. You took that risk. You went ahead with it anyway. And it tore you apart, I see that now. You had no idea about dad, what he was like, that he was like you. You didn’t know pregnancy would force one of you to die.

  I finally understand. I have that same fate before me, and I really don’t know what is going to happen. But when I go inside, I won’t be coming out again. One way or the other, it ends today. So maybe I’ll be joining you tonight. Perhaps, wherever you are, I’ll get to see you again. I hope you aren’t angry. And if not, if somehow this works, if, for example, the nurse is able to save me, maybe I’ll be able to make things right for you? Perhaps you have a chance? I don’t know.” And Penny hadn’t thought about that until that moment. She wondered, if she was successful, what would change. Was everything about to change? “I’m sorry about it all. I didn’t know the strain you were under, didn’t know the type of man dad was behind the scenes. Did you? Is that what tore you up the most, or was it me? Seeing me become who I am? It was probably all of these things and more. Well, mum, I’m going to put an end to it, and I don’t know if it’ll make any difference. But if Lucy is able to send someone back in time––assuming that even worked––maybe I can protect myself from death? Maybe I can survive too? So I’m going now.”

  Penny got out of the car, a plastic bag in her hand, razors secure. She opened the front door, glancing quickly around, as if having one final look at a world she would not see any more, and shut the door behind her.

  “It’s today. I think Penny’s about to do it!” the man told Thomas seconds after Penny had gone inside. He was now on foot, walking towards the drive.

  “Okay, get everything ready. We only have one shot at this.”

  “And the nurse?”

  “It’s done.”

  “She’s dead?”

  “As a dormouse.”

  12

  Now that I’m at the moment, in the bathroom with the tub filling with water, it knows. This parasite knows I’m ending it all. It’s talking, demanding death, demanding I finish things. It wants me dead as much as I wish to be free. I want it gone.

  This isn’t going to be easy. I’m scared.

  Penny had kept the door unlocked. She thought about leaving it open, thought about having it wide open––inviting, welcoming for her would-be saviour––but that might attract others. Penny might not have everything in place, might not be ready. They might step in and stop her before she’d actually done it. The door would remain shut but unlocked.

  Outside, the man was in the back garden. He could hear water running. It was coming from the upstairs bathroom, Penny most probably up there. Looking through the windows in the downstairs kitchen, there was no visible sign of her. He could see the packaging open on the kitchen side, a pair of scissors used to get to the blade, but no razor in sight. She already had it with her. She could already have done the deed. He raced around to the front door.

  You have to die, you murderous traitor, the voice was now saying in Penny’s head, as vicious and vocal as Penny had ever heard it, as controlling as it had been the day Penny killed her mother. You can’t ever get rid of me, however. I’m like a skin. You’ll have to kill yourself. That’s all. Nothing will change this. You have not conquered me! You have not won! You can never win. We will always be stronger! We will forever be victorious! We are one!

  “SHUT UP!!” Penny screamed, her mind going silent for a while.

  Outside, even behind the closed door, the man heard the scream. The girl was in her final moments. He jogged back to the car, knowing he had time, but not much. He opened the boot, taking out a thick metal cage, not like anything a pet owner would ever use. This container was not for any pet. It was for the darkness itself.

  “It’s happening, right now!” the man said, catching Thomas on his phone again.

  “I’m on my way!” he replied.

  Penny’s stomach was in agony, her mind screaming, as everything inside seemed to be fighting, though Penny was fighting back herself.

  “YOU DO NOT CONTROL ME,” she said. Yes, I do, I control all of you.

  “Today, you die!”

  No, today only you die. It’s hopeless to try and fight us. We can’t be defeated.

  “It doesn’t matter. I can’t carry on as I am.”

  No, you can’t. You must die.

  Penny got into the bath, fully clothed. Water spilt onto the floor, the taps still running. Penny didn’t care. The blade was on the side of the bath. It glistened in the spotlight from above, as if winking at her.

  This is pointless! You’ll just waste your own life! It won’t do you any good. We can’t be stopped!

  Downstairs, Penny could hear a knock on the door. It couldn’t have been the nurse already, or maybe it was? Perhaps she knew Penny’s life was in danger? Was that the only way she could save Penny before it was too late?

  Penny knew that would not achieve anything, and as she had that thought, a man’s voice could be heard calling through the letterbox. It apparently wasn’t the nurse.

  “Penny? Open up.”

  Penny knew she didn’t have time. Whoever it was, they were onto her. She could only imagine it was the collective, someone from her world. Maybe even someone linked to her father?

  Picking up the blade, Penny slit her left wrist, numb to the pain, as blood started to diffuse into the water around her. The redness spread with every second, the world going silent for Penny at that moment, despite the screaming inside her own head, despite the front door opening and footsteps pounding up the stairs one by one.

  Just peace, for a second, in the middle of a raging storm.

  Then the bathroom door flew open. Penny glanced over, bewilderment rising on her face. She didn’t know this man. He just stood there, metal cage in his hand.

  “Who are you?” Penny said, as more blood filled the bathtub so that she couldn’t now see through the previously clear water.

  “That doesn’t matter.”

  “You’re too late!” Penny said, defiance in her voice. This wasn’t meant to be how she expected it to happen. This wasn’t her plan. She had to die. Her Horcrux had to save her. She had to see if it could work. She would fight any attempt the man would no doubt soon make to stem the bleeding. She was sure she had caught the artery, there was nothing he could now do.

  Except he wasn’t rushing towards her.

  “She’s not coming,” is all he said.

  “What?” Penny couldn’t make any sense of it. Nothing seemed real. Here he was, breaking in on her little plan, and yet now he was there, he was standing back, letting her bleed out. And who wasn’t coming?

  “The nurse. She’s dead. She’s not coming to save you. Your plan has failed.”

  “How do you know about her?” Mild panic rushed through Penny’s body, even as the blood continued to flow out.

  “We’ve been keeping an eye on you.” He was now taking out the cage from his bag, Penny watching serenely, the voice in her head now more silent, the world otherwise more calm. Was this how death felt? “And we get one chance at this. All I need to do is wait for you to die.”

  “What?”

  “You heard me.” She had, as clear as day, but didn’t understand what he meant.

  “You aren’t here to stop me?”

  “No, quite the opposite. I am here to catch whatever it is inside of you. Thomas sent me.”

  “My father?” His smirk told Penny her answer. “But why?”
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  “Someone of your ability is rather rare. We think what you have inside of you is different to most. When we capture it, we’ll know for sure.”

  “Capture it?”

  “Yes, on death, we think it’ll leave you. It’ll be vulnerable for a few seconds when it first leaves you before it finds another. I think you’ve seen that happen once before?” She had, at the tanker.

  “You’re going to just let me die?” Panic was rising inside Penny. They’d killed the nurse? Why do that? Why not just stop her? Delay her? Why kill an innocent? And why now let Penny die herself?

  “You’ve done that yourself,” the man said. “You think daddy didn’t know about your little plan? Didn't know that you wanted to give yourself a backup? We were onto you. Did you really think he didn’t know about your little Horcrux?” Penny looked over at the man again, focused for the first time. How had he used that word? That same term. The confusion must have been understandable to see across her face, the bloody water now reflecting a red glow onto her cheeks.

  “Oh, you think daddy didn’t carry on reading those books when he walked out, did you? Thought it was only you? Your little secret? He knew. He read.” There was another crash at the front door.

  Penny knew it was Thomas. No doubt coming to gloat. No doubt there to show his daughter in her final seconds just how much smarter he was than her. Penny couldn’t die quick enough. How ironic that her father’s return to a home he hadn’t been in for five years, would be to see his daughter for the very last time?

  Okay, you win. The voice was back. Shoe against wood could be heard on the stairs. You’ll be able to have some control over us. Penny was lost in her head, the man inside her bathroom speaking, his mouth moving but she heard no sound. She understood the water was still running, though sensed nothing of it running onto her neck. She could hear the pounding on the stairs, getting closer with every passing second, but inside knew only serenity, a deep calm that defied the moment. We’ll let you live. You’re our best bet.