Meadowbank: A dark fantasy thriller (The Shael Chronicles Book 2)

by Jonathan Kent

  Father then looks sheepish, as if embarrassed to continue. This seemed somewhat disquieting considering the outlandish yarn he had only just narrated. He then looks me directly in the eye and speaks the words no father in his right mind would want to hear. 'Godfrey can show us the way.'

  4

  A strange chiming sound interrupted George from his reading. He was so engulfed in the story of Clarence and the weird happenings from the spring of 1930, that it took a few seconds to register where the sound was coming from. Thomas turned off the phone alarm and stepped up to the mirror, George was horrified to see an hour had passed since Andrew and Karen left; Thomas already having performed the mirror ritual on five occasions without him even noticing.

  'Anything interesting in that one?' Thomas asked.

  'I'm sorry, what?'

  'The journal. Anyone would have thought it was Fifty Shades of Grey the way you've been drooling over it. Anything that can help us?'

  'I'm not sure yet,' he said, 'What about yours?'

  'I've got a couple of ideas, but I don't really want to be playing around with this thing until they come back. Ready?'

  Having already opened the gate George wasn't sure why Thomas needed his permission, but he nodded anyway. Seconds after Thomas placed his palm on the mirror, an image sprang onto the screen although it wasn't an image he was expecting. The dry, sun-baked Martian landscape had been replaced by an altogether gloomier image with vastly reduced visibility.

  'Is that a sandstorm?' he asked.

  'I'm not sure,' said Thomas, 'It started getting darker about half hour ago and then the wind picked up. Bit freaky how it came in so fast. Do you think they're caught up in it?'

  'Let's hope they managed to find some shelter,'

  'Should one of us go and look for them?'

  The same idea had crossed George's mind, but he'd rejected it as suicide. 'No, best we stay put. The last thing we need is getting split up more than necessary.' He could sense the boys growing frustration, but rushing off on some half baked rescue mission would more likely result in them looking for more than just the two missing women. Their best bet was to bide their time and wait. Thomas shut down the gate and returned to his side of the room.

  George, continued to read.

  Saturday May 3rd 1930 - I am still trying to comprehend the magnitude of father's tale. In some ways I am thankful for another quiet night from Godfrey, but in other ways I am intrigued by what he told me. It is true that Godfrey's night terrors started since we returned to the house and it is also true that he is calling for a mother he can only have the faintest recollection of. But if, as he says, Godfrey also has a link to this other world and if there is even the slightest possibility of seeing my dear Molly again, then selfishly I will grasp this opportunity like a drowning man gasping for one final breath.

  Throughout the course of the day, father has brought back a number of fascinating items. The likes of which I for one have never seen. It leaves me in no doubt that this other world exists, but as of yet I fail to see the connection between these physical yet alien artifacts and my sons hellish dreams. I expressed these concerns to father and his response was to give it time, all will be revealed soon enough. I fear he knows no more than I on this subject.

  Sunday May 4th 1930 - Godfrey woke in the night, but the level of distress was nowhere near as severe as on previous occasions. Gone were the bloodcurdling screams, replaced instead by an almost incantation like monologue spoke in a language I am not familiar with. I recognised the names Molly and Edith (my mother's name) but apart from that, the rest is as alien as the objects my father has shown me.

  Father was enlightened by the words, although I fear he understands them no more than I. During Godfrey's trance (for I have no other word for it) father fetched a small amber rock from his bedroom. On placing this rock on an equally alien looking silver saucer, the entire room was lit with a bright orange light emanating from the rock. It was a globe of orange speckled with millions of pulsing lights. I looked on in wonder with my mouth agape, I warrant, whilst father spoke to Godfrey.

  'Show me,' was all he said.

  Godfrey's brow furrowed as if not understanding the instructions and then his face brightened. He stood and spun on the spot and then very directly pointed to a dark pulsing area in a lower quadrant of the illumination.

  'Are you sure?' father asks, eyes wide with excitement.

  Godfrey only nods, climbs back into his bed and is instantly asleep.

  Father looks at me, eyes still moist with excitement. 'Do you know what this means?' he says.

  I answer in no uncertain terms that I do not have the foggiest what any of this means. Father, seemingly lost in his thoughts, ignores my comments and snaps off the illumination.

  'It means,' he continues, 'That I now know how to find them. I know how we can get to them!'

  'We?' I say, 'I thought it was just you that could travel to this world.'

  I didn't think it possible, but his eyes widen even further. 'If Godfrey is right, then not only can we now locate them, we can bring them back through a tear between our worlds. A tear that I believe is under this very house. Now do you understand!'

  For a moment the world swims out of focus and I am forced to sit. Since mother's funeral it seems to have been one revelation after the other and my poor fragile mind is struggling to keep up. Father sees my distress and does his best to comfort me.

  'We are so close now Clarence,' he says, 'I know it's a lot to take in, but you must trust me with this. I know not what it all means, but together we have a chance to bring them both back.' He then leaves me for the night, a night in which any sleep I can get is broken and disturbed.

  Monday May 5th 1930 - Father and I speak at great length in the morning. He is much more businesslike today; more like the father I know. He explains about the numerous tears between the worlds and how, if Godfrey's coordinates are correct, there is a tear directly below the house. A tear that will not only allow the three of us to travel through, but one that will allow us to bring both my Molly and mother back. I ask him what exactly 'back' means, considering they have both passed away and his answer is brutally frank; he simply does not know.

  I express my concerns around beginning such an endeavor with so many of the household staff still around, and he agrees to let them all go. All except, Nightfall, the butler who has been a great close council to father for many years and, Sanders, the gardener to tend the grounds and maintain a modicum of normality. We agree that each of the staff shall be fully compensated and if they wish, they can remain living in the nearby cottages.

  We then discuss the whereabouts of the tear which it seems will require a great excavation from beneath the house. As this is closer to my area of expertise I begin drafting some rough architectural sketches. I explain to father that should all this lead to folly, we need to come away from it with the name Meadowbank still regarded in high esteem. He agrees, suggesting a new billiard room beneath the house should be sufficient to maintain any subterfuge. He is less enthused by my recommendation to bring in contractors to carry out the bulk of the excavation. I explain that an undertaking of such magnitude combined with the limited time scale, would make it impossible for us to complete alone. Reluctantly, he agrees, but does ask for a degree of confidentiality.

  I have some contacts in the city that have had some peripheral involvement in the drilling of the Piccadilly line and I place a call later that afternoon. The company is owned by a man called Saubers whose son I attended University with. I make the cardinal sin of saying money is no option as a certain level of discretion is required. Saubers, ever the diplomat, says he fully understands and promises that his son Daniel (now a fully fledged business partner since leaving university) along with a small team, will be with us by weeks-end. Apparently the two of them have developed some state of the art lightweight drilling paraphernalia that should make light work of our excavation.

  Tuesday 6th May 1930 - Father has amassed
an array of odd looking pieces from his other world. He says they will help us in opening the tear once we have located it. I examine these pieces with some interest, but am still completely flummoxed by their design. It would seem that the blue crystals provide an almost endless supply of power for the subsequent pieces he has brought back.

  Whilst father tinkers in his room with these parts - ably assisted on occasions by Nightfall - I, on the other hand, brush up on my architectural skills and draw up some more formal designs for our 'Billiard room'. The plan, as I see it, is to allow Saubers jnr and his team to excavate an area just short of the tear. They can complete the work on the room and then when all is complete, father and I can complete the last leg and hopefully connect the two worlds. The entire house has come alive with excitement and even my own scepticism has been replaced by a more curious fascination.

  Thursday 8th May 1930 - Saubers and his team arrived late yesterday evening. Nightfall and I made them a supper of sorts and housed the entire team (comprising of six, including Saubers) in the West wing. There are a total of eight bedrooms and the workers will each have their own accommodation. I daresay their quarters are undoubtedly more resplendent than anything they have encountered before. Some of the team are clearly from a rougher part of the world than either I, or father, have any experience of. Saubers assures me they will toe the line, but I for one will be keeping Godfrey far from their vicinity.

  Saubers and I spend some time in the morning reviewing my designs. Much to my delight he makes minimal changes and thankfully, as promised, does not ask any awkward questions; the obvious one being why build another billiard room when there is already a luxurious one on the ground floor. I am hoping they keep true to their word and discretion remains throughout the course of the works.

  In the afternoon Saubers and his foreman, Appleson (a grotesque ape of a man) make a preliminary tour of our existing basement to determine the best course of action. Appleson shows an element of surprise at the depth they are required to dig, but remains silent on the matter. Saubers states the underlying bedrock is predominantly limestone and can see no reason why the work should not carry on as planned. His initial estimate is four weeks for the primary excavation followed by a further two weeks completing the structural work. Within two months we should have the bare skeleton of our billiard room extension.

  Saturday 10th May 1930 - I am thankful that the house is set so far from the village as the racket made by the drilling machines is deafening. They started work at 7am and already have shifted an enormous amount of soil and rock. They have rigged a makeshift conveyor belt from the excavation site out through the basement window to remove the soil. Two men, plus our loyal gardener, Sanders, are then tasked with moving this earth and distributing it around the estate. I have asked Sanders to be discreet with the distribution so as not to be seen from the village, he naturally obliges but with the amount of earth still to be excavated I feel this will ultimately be a fruitless exercise. I also feel that there will come a time when we are forced to let our longstanding gardener go as well. He is a fine fellow, but one that, alas, has already seen too much.

  Monday 12th May 1930 - I feel I must apologise for the brevity of my entries. After three days of relentless digging, I am a very weary man that longs for the comfort of one's bed. Work is progressing at such a rate that we already have the staircase in place and have started excavating the main chamber. At first the team were wary of my presence and insistence that I perform my fair share of the duties, but as the days have passed an uneasy working relationship has formed. Appleson is quite the taskmaster, but the rest of the team work with a familiarity and comradeship that makes their company more than welcoming. Some of this is no doubt due to their first class lodgings, but the majority is clearly due to the substantial paycheck they will be receiving at the completion of the works. If all goes to plan, both father and I firmly believe this will be money well spent.

  Saturday 17th May 1930 - The prototype drilling machine is quite the beast. Even Saubers seems impressed by its efficiency. In this past week alone we have excavated two thirds of the main chamber and despite the long, hard hours the team are enduring, they still remain in high spirits. Because of the excellent progress, we decide to take today as a rest day. I for one am thankful for this. I have blisters upon blisters on my hands and both my back and shoulders ache from the hours of lifting. I am aware that my workload is far less than the rest of the team, but they remain respectful, and dare I say, grateful for the assistance.

  I spend the day with Godfrey and father. We walk the woods, basking in the sumptuous early summer heat. Nightfall then makes us a lovely cold meat supper which we eat on the rear veranda. The piles of earth are quite ugly, but we know no other way to dispose of such quantities. Nightfall joins us for our meal. He has been keeping both Godfrey and father company whilst the work has continued and I dread the inevitable day when we must sadly let him go to. He explains that the workers were to spend the day in nearby Yeovil, no doubt visiting the many drinking establishments to be found there. I hope they can at least keep their tongues about the excavation, but after the effort they have showed this past week they thoroughly deserve their rest period.

  Friday 30th May 1930 - I am quite astounded. In little over three weeks the entire extension has been excavated. Saubers and the team have worked absolute wonders. They have began the final stages, which includes securing the ceiling, rendering the walls and laying a sturdy tiled floor. I will be sorry to say goodbye to the team as the camaraderie has been most uplifting. I have, by no means matched them with their workload, but I feel they have welcomed me as a surrogate member. Once the room has been fully secured it will be necessary to say a fond farewell.

  Thursday 5th June 1930 - The room is now fully complete. The billiard table is being delivered and installed later today to add the final touches to our elaborate disguise. There is some rudimentary electricity to the room, but after saying farewell to Saubers and the team, father and Nightfall install a loop of electric lamps powered by the blue crystals. It seems that the more elements to the loop there are, the more power it can create. Father says, that to an outsider's eyes they will appear as nothing more than elaborate light fittings, when in actual fact, they are generating a much greater source of power.

  The drilling prototype is on its last legs and before he leaves, I convince Saubers to sell it to me. Father believes he can power it from the same loop, and if it works, it will be incredibly helpful for the next stages. Even to the last, Saubers does not question the necessity for the extension. He is a fine gentleman and one that will be sorely missed.

  Friday 6th June 1930 - With father's alterations the drilling machine makes light work of the final few feet. I am now well versed in its operation - hardly an expert - but I do have sufficient knowledge to drill out a decent sized tunnel. I work into the night as Nightfall, Sanders and Godfrey help to clear the excavated material. It is tiring work and at 2am I am forced to stop. Such is the vibration on my arms, I fear feeling will not return until morning.

  Saturday 7th June 1930 - As we are nearing the final stages, it is with great sadness that we have to let Nightfall and Sanders go. They have been great allies and confidants, but trusted as they are, we cannot allow them to see the real reason for the work. Such is the mystery and power surrounding father's secret world, in the wrong hands I shudder to think what evil these newfangled contraptions could be put to. We compensate them both handsomely; neither will need to worry for money for the rest of their days. Sanders is a gentleman to the last stating that once the other members of the household had been dismissed, he knew his days were numbered.

  Nightfall is a different proposition altogether. He is incredibly affronted by the decision and even more so by the financial compensation we offer. Harsh words are spoken between father and himself, resulting in Nightfall storming from the house. I very much believe he was expecting to accompany us on our expedition and with the limited knowledge he has
of some of fathers contraptions, I fear leaving on ill terms cannot bode well for the future.

  Sunday 8th June 1930 - Work will naturally continue at a much slower pace from this point on as it is just Godfrey, father and myself. I spend the day completing the tunnel and on father's direction, widen the far end of the tunnel into a small chamber. Compared to the precise nature of the billiard room, these latter excavations are a pale imitation. Father however, says that speed rather than precision is now required. He and Godfrey spend the day creating a door that can seal the end of the passageway from the billiard room; even at this late hour, father is determined to maintain the subterfuge and keep these final preparations a secret.

  Monday 9th June 1930 - At exactly 3:31 this afternoon and almost by accident, we discover the tear. The drilling machine had become very erratic despite fathers alterations, and so for most of the day we have been taking it in turns to dig out the sections by hand. Godfrey and I were clearing the soil from fathers vain attempts and I happened to notice a glimmering from low on the ground. At first I thought it was no more than a polished rock, but when I cleared the earth surrounding it I noticed it was actually a shimmering letter sized pocket of light. It glowed a faint blue and was indeed quite mesmerizing to look at. Father was excited by the discovery and rushed to his room to collect his contraptions. For the remainder of the day he tinkered away whilst Godfrey and I cleared the remainder of the soil. It got very late and I decided to take Godfrey to bed and chatted away for some time about the adventure to come. Ever since the work has started the night terrors seem to have passed and he seems much more himself. I tell him that our expedition may be a fruitless exercise which he seems to understand, but like myself, there is an untameable excitement inside. We lay on his bed together, and so tired are we, that me must have both fallen asleep there and then.

  Tuesday 10th June 1930 - Father wakes us early. He has that excited gleam in his eyes and after a light breakfast he tells us to follow him into the basement. He has evidently been working through the night as not only is the billiard room clean and beautifully presented, but he has also completed working on his contraption that sits on the exact spot of the tear. To my eyes the contraption is similar to a free standing ladies dressing mirror, but he assures me it is our gateway to this other world. He passes Godfrey and I each a pair of ear protectors which we put on unquestioningly, and then the most wondrous thing occurs. He places his hands on either side of the mirror and there is an ear-splitting wail, had we not been wearing ear protectors the sound would have caused severe discomfort. On the mirrors screen appears an image of a world so alien there are hardly words to describe; it shows a baked sun bleached landscape dotted with craggy red rocks. Father toggles a lever on the mirrors rim and the image changes to that of a windswept beach scene, he toggles it again and this time it is a snow covered mountain range. In all there are six different scenes all completely different to the last.