Life at the End of the Road

by Rey S Morfin

  ‘Did you…’ I started, and then stopped. Rey looked at me, confused, before turning his attention back to Sam. I was going to ask something along the lines of ‘Did you touch her?’, but this wasn’t a question I needed to know the answer to, and was even less a question that Rey needed to hear answered.

  ‘Look, alright,’ Sam continued, ‘The night she went missing. I was here. I was home!’

  Sam had a moment of realisation and pointed at the woman in the corner, who jumped at being brought into the middle of this conversation.

  ‘Ask her! Cass, darling, tell them I was with you.’

  ‘When?’ she asked.

  ‘This isn’t looking good, Sam,’ Rey informed him.

  ‘Four, no, five days ago! Remember! You were here, and we watched that movie, and then we…’

  ‘“That movie”?’ I prodded.

  ‘Yes! The movie, the one with that woman in! I can’t remember her name right now! This is a stressful situation, ok, I can’t rem-’

  ‘Girl Interrupted!’ the woman shouted.

  ‘Yes! That one!’ Sam slid back in his chair, relieved.

  Rey pondered this for a moment, then nodded. ‘Ok.’

  A few moments passed in silence.

  ‘But you said… you did see her. What trouble did you get her in?’

  ‘I didn’t… I didn’t get her in any trouble! I promise!’ Sam insisted. Only seconds later, he changed his testimony. ‘Well… look, ok, there’s this drug that grows around here, and…’

  Rey’s eyes opened wide. ‘Did you give it to her? Did you give her the Root?’

  Sam looked confused. ‘How do you know what it’s called?’

  Rey smacked Sam again. I started to get worried that, facing Rey in this state, Sam was going to get more than he deserved.

  ‘Fuck! Fuck! Stop fucking doing that! I was telling you the truth!’

  I stood up, walking over to Rey’s side, before whispering in his ear, ‘Ok, Rey, no more. He’s had plenty.’

  ‘Last I saw her…,’ Sam continued, ‘Last I saw her, she was looking for more of it. She was obsessed with it. I haven’t seen anything like it.’

  Rey took a small step closer to Sam and he recoiled, arms flailing up to block an attack which didn’t yet come.

  ‘I’m telling the truth! I’m telling the truth! Honest!’

  ‘Why was she looking for more? What did it do to her?’

  ‘I don’t know!’ Sam splutted. ‘Maybe she had a bad reaction to it, I dunno! I’ve never seen anyone love it so much, s-so quick.’

  ‘What did it do to her?’ Rey repeated, shouting now. ‘What’s it doing to me?!’

  Rey didn’t wait for an answer, and lunged at Sam. I jumped in quickly, pulling Rey away from the man who was now scrambling backwards across the floor.

  ‘Enough, Rey! Enough!’

  I had been able to pull Rey back. I knew, based on recent events, that if Rey had truly wanted to hurt Sam, then going through me would have been an easy feat. The fact that I’d pulled him back suggested that maybe that gentle soul was still there.

  ‘We’re going, Rey.’

  As I led Rey from the room, the woman rushed to Sam’s side, comforting him.

  Once safely away from the house, I turned and grabbed Rey by the shoulders.

  ‘You need to stay in control, Rey. You need to stay calm, fight whatever effect this Root is having on you, ok? We need you rational, not like… you were in there.’

  Rey nodded, taking deep breaths in an effort to calm himself.

  ‘Ok, Anna. I’ll try.’

  ‘Good. Let’s just take a moment now, try and regain our composure. Then we can continue.’

  ‘Continue?’ Rey asked.

  ‘If Laura wanted more of the Root, you can be very sure that she found a way to get some.’

  ‘Yes, I know what she’s like,’ Rey replied, before correcting himself, ‘Was, like.’

  ‘So let’s find out who gave it to her.’

  15

  The Root Cause

  You’re so close, reader, you’re nearly there. You’re so close to discovering the Big Bad, the grand plan, the culprit. Of course, you were probably expecting to find this out sooner or later - what good would this book be if it never revealed the true villain? It would be the biggest disappointment that I, as an author, could create. No. Of course I wouldn’t do that to you.

  But then, maybe you just had a quick flick through the remaining pages. Quite a few of them, aren’t there? If we’re to discover the identity of the killer soon, then what would happen in that remaining chunk of book? Is it all wrapped up? Does it delve deeply into the aftermath - the impact of Laura’s death upon myself, upon Anna, upon Joyce? No, as promised, I wouldn’t do that to you, reader, and I wouldn’t know what else I could add to the discussion of grief and loss.

  Fear not, this tale doesn’t end with the discovery of the killer, because there was so much horror to follow. Or rather, so much horror to follow in this fictional version of events - because, of course, this couldn’t possibly be the truth.

  Anna wasn’t wrong, there really was only one line of enquiry still available to us. If Sam - this time, at least - was telling the truth, then the timeline put Laura’s disappearance straight after she pursued more of the Root. Of course. Of course this came back to that foul plant - everything did. I was beginning to realise that every horror stitched into the fabric of Redbury had the Root at its core.

  The one place, in my time here, that I’d actually encountered the Root itself - and not just the chaos that it creates - was the churchyard. More specifically, it was the very far side of the churchyard, at the perimeter of the woods, where the local youth saw fit to frequent.

  When Anna wondered aloud where Laura might have gone next in her quest for more of the Root, I recounted my first - and only - experience with it. I told Anna not only how and where I came across it, but also my initial reaction: how I found myself seeing visions which couldn’t have been real, or at least couldn’t have been real today. Still thinking clearly enough to be conscious of any anguish that I might cause Anna, I skirted around any description of the content of my vision - of seeing her with Laura’s father.

  Our investigation, then, had renewed momentum - even after Sam had been less helpful than I had hoped. Part of me regretted what I had done to him, but a, separate, darker, growing part of me took the utmost pleasure in it. Perhaps, in the universe’s grand scheme, he had deserved it in some way. Perhaps I was just acting as the universe’s vessel, karma manifested, causing pain to those who have wronged. Yes. This could well be it.

  I charged onwards, down the road towards the churchyard, ready - if I had to - to hurt anyone else who might stand in my way, in fate’s way. When we arrived at our destination, as luck - or fate - would have it, two of the three teenage boys that I’d dealt with previously were there.

  ‘City-boy! You’re still with us, then?’ one called out, when he saw us approaching. The other laughed a conspiratorial laugh. These guys were beginning to really piss me off.

  ‘You knew, didn’t you?’ I accused them, ‘You knew what that stuff does to you, didn’t you?’

  The two boys laughed again. ‘Yeah, we knew. Fucks you up, doesn’t it?’

  ‘How are you both so in control?’ I asked.

  The boys’ smiles faltered and they shared a look. ‘What do you mean “in control”? We don’t smoke that much.’

  Anna piped up, ‘But you’ve become one? A Shadow? You’ve seen it?’

  The two teenagers looked even more confused now. ‘What are you two on about? How much you been smoking?’

  ‘The Shadow!’ I insisted, raising my voice, ‘You know, the fire, the eyes! You know what I’m talking about!’

  They laughed again. ‘Dunno about any of that, City-Boy.’

  Anna grabbed me by the arm. ‘I don’t think they know, Rey,’ she muttered under her breath.

  ‘That must have really messed you up, mate
. Maybe you guys can’t take it as well as us,’ one continued.

  ‘We did give him quite a lot, though,’ the other replied, ‘I got really ill that once, to be fair.’

  I shook my head. ‘Look, it doesn’t matter. I just want to know where someone might get more. If they wanted to.’

  ‘We’ve only just been able to get more ourselves,’ he replied, ‘They’ve kept it locked up for a while.’

  ‘In the woods?’ Anna asked.

  The two teenagers shared a fleeting look. ‘Yeah… how did you know?’

  ‘What about Laura? Did she come to you?’ I asked, not wasting time answering their questions.

  One of the boys sighed. ‘We did say we’d tell you, I guess. Look, alright. She came to us, but we didn’t have any, as I say: we couldn’t get our hands on any for a little while.’

  ‘So where did you send her?’

  ‘We didn’t really send her anywhere, she just left.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ I insisted, ‘She just left?’

  ‘Yeah, she just turned her back on us and walked off.’

  ‘Why? What made her walk off? What did you tell her?’

  ‘I dunno, something about the rich guy, I think.’

  Anna interjected, something about this having caught her attention, ‘The “rich guy”? You mean the guy who lives in the mansion? Built all those new houses? What’s he got to do with it?’

  ‘Oh, yeah, right. He’s the one who owns that land, up in the woods. Thought he might have had a hand in sealing it off.’

  I immediately turned to Anna. ‘You know where he is?’

  She nodded and, with all the information we needed, we turned to walk away.

  ‘See!’ one of the youths called out, ‘This is what she did too!’

  The mansion in front of us would have been hard to miss if I hadn’t been otherwise preoccupied. It stood tall amongst the largely modest houses of the area, and the intricacy of its architectural design was something to behold. But we weren’t here to admire centuries-old British construction, we were here to reap vengeance - although I suspected that Anna wouldn’t have agreed with me r.e. our objective.

  I yanked hard on the tall metal gate in front of us which barred us from entry to the mansion’s grounds. Anna, choosing brains over brawn, instead pressed the buzzer. Without any conversation with the person on the other side of the intercom system, we were granted access. Small-town residents were less concerned with security, it seemed.

  Anna and I walked up the long, gravel driveway, the ground crunching with every step, and were greeted by an elderly gentleman who stood, hand on cane, in the doorway.

  He grunted unintelligibly at us. I looked to Anna, in case, being a local, she had more luck discerning his dialect. The confusion on her face suggest that she was as lost as I was.

  ‘We were hoping to speak with you about the land you have up in the woods,’ Anna ventured.

  The older man grunted some more, shaking his head, and I was still unable to decipher a single word. The man turned on his heel - as quickly as his cane would allow - and stepped inside the house.

  ‘Did you understand that at all?’ I asked, in case Anna’s expression had been for different reasons.

  ‘No. Something about “you again”, or “not again”, or something like that. Have you been here already?’

  ‘No,’ I replied, and then added, ‘Not that I remember, at least.’

  Anna gestured for me to follow the man inside, and I did as was told. The inside of the house was almost as impressive as the outside. The atrium was framed on one side by a wall of expensive-looking portraits, and the other was lined by a long, wide staircase. The old man stood at the very bottom, and called upwards.

  Eventually there was movement from upstairs, as though the old man had summoned someone. A younger, broader man stomped down the stairs, feet heavy. When he reached the bottom of the staircase, he turned to face me, and we recognised each other almost simultaneously. It was Stephen, the man from the bar who had almost caused trouble for us.

  Anna, sensing the rage building up inside of me - and perhaps fancying my chances against Stephen less than my chances against Sam earlier in the day - put her hand on my arm, gently holding me back.

  ‘Careful,’ she offered, under her breath.

  ‘I did tell you I’d see you again soon, didn’t I?’ Stephen bellowed, smile on his face.

  Neither Anna nor I said anything, so the man continued.

  ‘So what brings you to my doorstep?’ he asked.

  ‘I have the feeling you already know,’ Anna replied.

  Stephen smiled, chuckling slightly. ‘Very wise, very wise indeed. But, if you’ll humour me, please, just to make sure we don’t talk cross-purposes at all.’

  ‘We’ve come about the Root,’ I responded.

  ‘Twice in a week! I am popular, aren’t I?’ Stephen gestured for us to follow him, and we began through the house, ending up in a well-furnished living room. Both Anna and I were hesitant to sit down, but upon being commanded to by our host, we followed the instruction.

  ‘Apologies for the other day,’ he began. ‘The drugs… they do things to you, to your brain. That’s not who I really am, I assure you.’

  Anna and I both nodded a nervous acceptance of his apology.

  ‘So,’ he continued, ‘The Root. What about it?’

  ‘Did anyone come here-’ I started, before Anna interrupted me.

  ‘We were wondering what it does to people.’ Anna shot me a knowing look, suggesting that this interruption was for good reason.

  Stephen chuckled again. ‘What it does? What doesn’t it do?’ The man took a moment to study me, eyes narrowing. ‘I take it, then, that you’ve seen something?’

  Anna nodded.

  ‘Tell me, what did you see? Tell me everything.’

  ‘Nothing good. Monsters, shadows, more. I don’t know exactly how to describe it.’

  ‘You’ve only scratched the surface then! Truth be told, I think most of the town have seen the Shadows… not that anyone would ever tell you. They’re all too afraid, you see?’

  ‘They’re afraid of the Shadows?’

  ‘No, simply that they’re afraid of admitting the truth. To themselves, I mean. These people, they more and more have shunned the world of the supernatural, of superstition - just ask our poor old vicar. But then, to see something like this, that they can’t explain… that flips their whole world view on its head. Far better be it to pretend that it isn’t happening, and not-’

  ‘And not have to question their understanding of reality,’ I finished.

  Stephen gave me a look. ‘…Exactly. So, please, tell me who it was, who it was that turned into this Shadow? As far as I was aware, there were only two others in this town.’

  ‘Two?’ Anna asked.

  ‘Others?’ I added.

  Stephen held out his arms wide, as if a graceful messiah. ‘Which question shall I answer first? Please, I’m an open book, happy to help.’

  I pointed to Anna. ‘I’m afraid that’s a question I can’t answer. While I sense their presence, I couldn’t tell you who they are. I know one spends substantial time in the woods. The other… towards the North of the town. Beyond that, nothing more. And, of course, I’ve started answering your question, Rey.’

  I was sure I hadn’t given him my name, but at this point, this wasn’t a mystery that mattered enough for me to push back on it.

  ‘I sense them because I am one,’ Stephen continued, and raise his arms in innocence, ‘But there’s no reason to be afraid.’

  Neither Anna and I reacted to this news with more than a raised eyebrow.

  ‘Although, it seems… you aren’t. Interesting’ Stephen added. ‘Why is that?’

  ‘We’ve seen plenty already, I’m not sure we can be shocked by much else,’ Anna replied.

  ‘No. No, that doesn’t seem like it at all.’

  Stephen turned to me, surveying me, sniffing the air.


  ‘Is it, maybe, because there is a new one amongst us?’

  Anna watched me carefully, anxiously awaiting my reply.

  ‘Yes,’ I answered, ‘I think so. Something is happening, at least.’

  ‘I knew it! I could smell it in the air. It was more the smell of smoke on your clothes than your presence, though. You must be very new to it, not quite understanding its true potential. Perhaps I could guide you, show you the way?’

  ‘No,’ I snapped back, more quickly and aggressively than I would have liked.

  ‘No?’ Stephen asked, incredulous, ‘All these new possibilities opened up to you, and you don’t want to know how they work? I could be your mentor, Rey.’

  ‘I think I’ve had more than enough mentoring already, to be honest.’

  Stephen furrowed his brow. Anna continued looking nervously on.

  ‘Oh, you have? So you’ve met one of them? One of the others? Interesting.’

  ‘You didn’t ask who it was,’ Anna commented.

  ‘No. I didn’t. I like the mystery. Makes it all so much more magical, don’t you think?’

  ‘No,’ I repeated, ‘I don’t think so at all. Look, you said earlier something about “the second time this week”. What did you mean by that? Was she here? Was Laura here?’

  ‘Ah,’ Stephen began, placing his hands on his legs as he lent forwards towards me. ‘Yes. I guess we had to talk about this at some point. Perhaps the light conversation has come to an end, then.’

  ‘Light?’ Anna asked, her turn to be incredulous.

  Stephen ignored the throwaway comment from Anna. ‘You know, Rey, if you want to know what happened to her, if you really want to know, the Root can show you. You just need to will it to do so. You need to yearn for it with all of your soul… or whatever’s left of it. I know you said you didn’t want a guide, but I really can show you, if you’d like.’

  I looked to Anna, leaning on her to tell me whether or not this was a good decision, as I no longer fully trusted my own judgement. She gave off no discernible reaction, and continued to simply survey the two of us.

  ‘Ok. I can try that,’ I replied.

  Stephen clapped his hands together in joy. ‘Brilliant, Rey, brilliant! You’re going to absolutely love this, I promise.’