The Vagrant

by J Scaddon

As that day turned to night, Dylan finally awoke from his lengthy nap and wished his nephews a good night. He grabbed a handful of leftover food, kissed his sister and then left on the long walk back to his house. Ida stepped out onto the porch and watched him walk off into the darkness. He was a confident man who took the whole drama within the town in his stride. He wasn’t concerned and happily wandered his way in pitch blackness. He would tell his sister that he was more scared of snakes than any ‘travelling pyschos’. Ida worried for him. She had no way of knowing if he would make it home safely. She had offered him one of the shotguns, but at the mention of it he had just chuckled to himself, lit a cigarette and then sauntered off out of the house and off down the road. He would often stay the night, sleeping on the couch, but he was starting a new job the next morning and so wanted to get up early and dress to kill, as he put it. As he walked under the pines, he vanished from view. Ida would wait, knowing that as he entered the far clearing, she would be able to see him again by the moonlight. He would stop and wave at this point. A routine that was set in stone.

  The night was warm and the sound of the crickets was deafening amidst the eerie silence. The boys were readying themselves for bed and were obviously tired, as they trudged around with a relaxed lethargy. Ida waited for Dylan to appear in the clearing. As she did, she took a good look around her. It seemed a pointless task as the only light source under the trees was coming from the house itself. The area around the house was so dark it was like being in a stone cell with no windows or doors. By staring too hard into it, your mind began to create colours and shapes that weren’t really there, confused by the sensory deprivation. There was no way anyone could see someone walking around out there, so what was the point in trying. That being said, Ida couldn’t resist another look around. Finally, Ida saw Dylan appear in the clearing and, true to form, he turned and waved to his sister before heading off down the brightly lit path on the far side. Ida turned to head back into the house when she paused to listen. She had heard a branch crack only yards from the house.

  “Hello?” she called. She strained to see in the darkness, but it was no use. “Hello?” There was no reply. It wasn’t one of the horses as they were all in the barn. Ida had settled them all in herself. The dog was inside and the noise sounded far too loud to be a racoon.

  Ida heard the noise again. A large cracking noise followed by a tearing sound. Like a branch being stripped from a tree. She backed her way along the porch to the front door and slipped into the house. Ignoring her boys for a brief moment, she searched around the house for a flashlight. She found one in a drawer and turned it on. It was an old flashlight. It was her husbands. The batteries must have faded over the years and although it worked, it was desperately weak. Ida returned to the porch. She stepped out past the screen door and panned the feeble beam around the property. She thought she had heard the noise coming from her right, but sounds often bounced around the trees, causing confusion. She saw something sparkle. A rustling noise followed. The flashlight wasn’t strong enough to see what it was, just enough to make something sparkle. Ida descended the porch steps and walked across the yard into the opaque night air. As she got closer to the noise, she could start to see an outline. It was a horse. Relieved, she quickly made her way up to the horse and found it to be one of hers. One which she had put in the stable only an hour or two before. She led the horse back to the barn. The barn was closed. The bolt was pulled across and it was secure. The whole structure was secure. Ida knew that this particular horse had been in there as she remembered checking his hooves. She was sure of it. Working still by the flashlight, she opened the barn and stepped inside with the other horses. All seemed fine, until her foot hit something hard in the hay. She kicked it and it clunked under her foot. Within the hay was a small steel food tray. One used for cooking food on a campfire. It had been licked clean by the horses and then stamped on, so it was battered out of shape.

  As the sun rose the next morning, Ida readied her two boys for school. They were both very well behaved children and were often more of a help to their mother than a hindrance. They washed and dressed themselves whilst she prepared the breakfast. Very rarely did she need to encourage them to hurry up or to tidy after themselves. They had never known luxury enough to be waited on. They were brought up doing their fair share of chores around the house and knew better than to cause their mother any difficulties. After breakfast, Ida stood at the door and beckoned Jake and Joel as she would also be making the walk into town that morning. She had groceries to pick up and if possible she was keen to spend some social time with some of her close acquaintances.

  “Jake! Joel! A moment of your time before we head off. Now, we can talk about this on the way into town. Sheriff Glick came round yesterday when you two were living it up in the back yard. Unfortunately, there was some bad news. I’m afraid something terrible happened yesterday and it affects everyone in the town. Sadly, the Birch children will no longer be attending your school.”

  “Why?” asked Joel. “Have they been bad? Has the sheriff kicked them out of town?”

  “I wish he had. No, I’m afraid that a bad, bad man has taken their lives. I don’t know how else to put it. You’re both getting older now and should know the truth. A bad man killed them.”

  The two boys looked forlorn on hearing the news. They were old enough to understand what had been happening around them. They weren’t old enough to fully grasp the consequences or the perceived danger.

  “But Eli Birch had been singing songs about Miss Jolie. He was laughing about it. Did the same man come and get him?”

  “It looks that way!”

  “I laughed too. Does that mean the nasty man is going to come and kill me?”

  “No Joel. The nasty man is not going to come and kill you. I won’t let him. And anyway, we can trust that Sheriff Glick will track that animal down before sunset. I’m sure of it. In the meantime, I need both of you boys to be on the lookout for a stranger. Someone you have never met before. If you see someone like that then you are to tell an adult immediately. Okay?”

  “Yes Mam,” said Jake. “I’ve seen a stranger!”

  “Yes, if you see one then you tell an adult that.”

  “I’ve seen a stranger!”

  “Don’t mess Jake, this is very serious.”

  “Yes mam, I know, but you said for me to tell and I am. We both saw him yesterday.”

  “Where?” said Ida.

  “Around the back yard,” said Joel. “He waved at us and wished Jake a happy birthday.”

  “He was dirty. He had dirty black teeth and was a bit smelly. But he smiled and waved at us a lot.”

  “Where was I and where was your uncle?”

  “Uncle Dylan was asleep and you were inside fetching the lemonade. He left just before you brought our drinks out. He was dirty, but seemed friendly. He had a funny hat on with flaps at the side.”

  “Boys, we are going to have to tell the sheriff about this, after school. I will tell him in the meantime. He might search the area. Boys, if you see this man again I want you to make as much noise as you can and run to safety. He is not a friendly man. He’s a killer. A mad dog killer. You hear me?”

  Ida trembled as she spoke. Her voice rising with adrenaline. That man had been outside her house, talking and waving to her boys. She felt sick. A warm acidic taste flooded her mouth and she had to breathe deeply to calm herself. They all stepped out onto the porch. Ida searched hard through the trees. There was nothing but plant life and the wandering horses. “What did he look like?”

  Jake thought for a moment or two. “He was skinny. He had a red shirt and grey overalls and that funny hat…with flaps at the side.”

  “How old was he?”

  “I don’t know, Mam. He was a grown up.”

  Ida embraced her two boys. It frightened her that the vagrant had been by her yard. He had been by her boys. He must have let the horse out and left the tray in the barn. Ida spent the whole of the walk into
town offering her children safety advice. She repeated herself over and over to make sure it all sank in. She would certainly be loading up a shotgun when she got back that evening.