Witch Hunters and Other Stories (2018-2019)

by Ecallaw Leachim

  "That it is. I recognized it the other week, it is off the QE2, from when it did the 1975 refit. I was flogging those sheets back then for a hundred quid each, and they cost eight times that retail. Beautiful stuff, all sheets from a single tree. Plus the framing is all solid oak. Everything in here is absolutely first class materials and all of it is re-purpose. The only new things really have been the strapping, nails and bolts."

  "Nice, well, Ed just called and asked if you were around and ready for him to take a look. I guess I can call him back and say you are, hey?" Tom gets on the mobile and dials up his old school friend. "Yeah, Dad's here. Place looks finished to me. Yep, I am sure he would be happy with cash." Then hanging up the phone, said, "Let's have a cuppa and wait for 30 minutes. Ed is going to the bank on the way through."

  Harry just nodded. He would be sad to leave this build. It was the therapy he needed and though Ed was getting a bargain, it was fair trade and it got him out of a hole. Now he could focus on a caravan, or maybe a small boat if he could find a cheap mooring with safe parking for the Jag. Then a workshop and he will be all set up for his final days. "You are a good son, Tom."

  Tom looked at his wild, crazy father. The man had never said a bad word about anyone, but if he did have something to say, it was said to your face. And if it ever got to that point, he was speaking with fists. No, he was not the father the other kids had. He was never the one who was there, who took you to the sports days, who tucked you into bed at night. He was better than that. "Dad, I want you to know that I appreciate what you did for Mum and me. You didn't have to look after her, you didn't have to send her money to make sure we were fed. You didn't have to pay for my schooling.

  "You could have just gone your way and left us to fend for ourselves, but you didn't. True, you weren't around all that much, but when you were, it was great. You gave me cherished memories and all the other kids at school were jealous of ME, because they all knew who you were, and everyone respected you. You taught me everything I needed to know because of what you were, not with wasted words of what I should do. And for this I am grateful, truly grateful."

  Harry just nodded. He wasn't one for emotional displays, but he was happy the lad understood. The nanny state he was born into had lost track of what it meant to be a man. It was all rules and shoulds. It was all what you could say, and when, and to who. It was all bullshit packaged up as fudge, and sweetened with cliches.

  A real man mastered his trade, looked after his own, and made sure he made the world around him a little bit better. It wasn't all that much, but when everyone sweeps their own doorstep, you get a clean street. The world was getting richer, but the people were getting poorer. Just like Jap Bikes that did everything better, but which had no soul to preserve your dignity when you rode them.

  Ah well, his time for reflection was over. Ed had turned up and this happy chapter of his life was now due to close. Harry had really enjoyed being close to his last remaining bit of family, but as always, now it was time to move on to the next job.

  Final Inspection

  Edward Jones was no small man. His father ran an exhaust shop, and as a kid he had been in there helping him out. Constant hard work as a boy gives you the proper attitude to work and the physical build to keep you working. If the place had been knocked up with nail guns and cheap materials, a big man like that would have set off a few creaks. But there were none, the house was built the old fashioned way, mortise and tenon, pegs, everything interlocking. Nails and strapping just tightened it all up. This cottage was built to take his weight and size. No floor boards squeaked, nothing moved underfoot, and the general impression was complete solidness: a place built to last a century. The lad seemed mightily pleased as he looked through the house.

  "Mr. Jenkins, you have excelled my expectations, however I come with terrible news. Nothing to do with your work, it is first class, but it appears to have all been for nothing. My sister emailed only last night that she had made up with her husband and will not be coming over from Canada after all. It was a bit of a blow, I was looking forward to her company, but what can you do?

  "The thing is, I really can't rent it out. As you know I had to fudge council to get this through as a separate dwelling, but really, it is such a beautiful cottage it would be a complete shame to see it go to waste. Anyway, this build is perfect, far more than I expected and I have the cash here for you, so we can settle up." Ed pulled out a thick envelope and started peeling off the fifty pound notes, setting them into stacks of a thousand each.

  As he was counting out the cash, Tom spoke up, "Well Ed, surely we can do something here. Dad needs a place to stay and you know it will be looked after while you are away. Perhaps we can come to an easy arrangement? I know I would be happy to have him near and the kids love him."

  Ed looked up, and looking at Harry, asked, "Mr. Jenkins may have other things to do, Tom. He's not a man to sit idle, but I daresay we could come to an agreement. I am not looking to make a profit, but if you wanted to cover the rates and expenses, I am sure we could work something out. No rental contracts or bonds, of course, all done with a handshake. I am not selling here, so it is very long term."

  Harry looked at both of the men and FINALLY it dawned on him. "You bastards, this was a set up right from the start. You KNOW I don't take charity. Now I can't even take payment, because you are putting me behind the damn eight ball here."

  His son stopped him, put a hand on his shoulder, and looked his father in the eye, man to man. "Dad, look about you. You should recognize everything here. Everything! The paneling, from the QE2, you saved that from the scrap. The Oak Frame, that is from Donaldson's old farmhouse, the one you saved after you pulled the old man out from the fire. You saw it as you were driving past and went in, saved the old man, and then put it out before it took hold. The place got pulled down a few months ago but we saved the timbers. The pine is from there as well.

  "The wooden banister and steps? Those timbers came from Jenny Turner’s shed. They were stored there for decades after you managed to save them from the demolition ball that ran through her father's house when they put the new road through. Most of the floor boards came from there as well. There is not one single thing in this house that did not come directly from a situation where you were doing stuff to help others in some way. Even the old Aga is from your family home, the one you saved when you moved your Mum out because the old house was getting knocked down

  "How do you think we came across all of this? Well, when people knew you were coming out and that you were coming out with nothing, we had a meeting and put together all this stuff. Dad, we know you can't take charity, but all this, ALL this, it is what YOU saved. What we did was to put it in one place, for you. Call in the tradies, Ed, because they want to say thanks as well.

  Harry didn't know whether to shout, laugh, or cry. He wasn't good with emotion and this was too damn emotional. But he stood his ground, partly because he was tired of moving, partly because he wanted to see what this pair had cooked up, and partly because he was amazed they had fooled him for so long. And yet they also must have known he would twig onto them, because the lads that had helped him build the place were just outside.

  They filed in like naughty schoolboys who were finally found out.

  Bill the plumber was first to speak. "Mr. Jenkins, you won't remember, but when I was a kid you stopped my dad bashing my mum. You didn't just stop him, you made him see it was cowardice, and forced him to stand up and be a real man. He never bashed her again, he never hit me again, either. He stopped getting drunk every night, mostly through fear of what you would do. But because of this, I got an education, a trade, and had a real life. Without you, he would have killed her, and I would have ended up in an orphanage.

  Eric the electrician then stepped up. "Mr. Jenkins, my Mum told me only a few years ago that I owed you my life. I had no idea, but she was buying a lot of drugs in the '70s and had a bad trip, a really bad trip where she thought the only solution in her he
ad was to kill us all and go to heaven where God would decide what was right. She told me about it because I was starting to look at drugs and she could see the weirdness coming up.

  "You somehow saw what was on her mind, maybe she was buying the shit off you, I have no idea, but you sat with her for hours and talked her through. You took the scalpel from her and cut the ropes she had tied us all up with. I vaguely remembered that part, but I was only four. But the point is, you stepped up and made a difference when you didn't have to. You could have walked away, but you didn't.

  Bob the roofer was also there. "My oldest sister was about to get raped by a gang when you walked by and told them to stop. They launched themselves at you and you took a mighty hiding she said. But even in the middle of it, you looked up, and she knew you were telling her to run, which she did. The next day the newspapers spoke of seven men, the ones who were after her, all hospitalized. I owe you a debt from my sister."

  And finally, Ed spoke. "It wasn't just Barry Sheene and getting my first start in life, Mr. Jenkins. You showed me something my own father could not, how to damn well LIVE. It's not as dramatic as the guys here, but for a kid with a drunk for a father who worked a council truck and never spoke to anyone, you showed me and a dozen other kids what it really meant to be a man. You were our light, Mr Jenkins. You never said a word, never gave us a lecture, and never told us what was right or wrong.

  "But we KNEW, because of how you WERE. Just because you were about we had something we could look up to and in Liverpool, for we working poor, there was nothing but misery and depression. We WANT to have you around, not for charity, not just because we genuinely want to repay a little of what we have been given, but because to all of us you are like a father.

  "But we know you will not accept charity, so I propose to sell you the right to live here for as long as you would like. Shall we say ten grand, and you cover the ongoing expenses? Because I know you will need ten to start up a workshop."

  Ed just looked at him. All the lads looked at him. They were good boys. He held back a tear, they were good boys, they meant well.

  Harry was not good with emotion. All he wanted to do was run, to get away from the surging he felt inside. He saw his father, he remembered his face, and the disappointment on it when the happy smiling son offered his father a house. He remembered how shocked and hurt he felt when the old man snarled and said: "I don't take charity."

  How could he mistake love for charity? Harry felt his heart beating, thumping in his chest. So much guilt he had carried, just trying to do something for his old man, despite the fact he was a drunk who he hardly ever saw. He didn't just turn on his son, he blamed him for insulting him. That really hurt and when he did himself in, that hurt even more.

  He remembered how, so many years before this, how his Grandfather had helped him, how he had moved in for the last ten years of his life. He recalled the sad misery on his mother's face at the funeral of his father, the unnecessary funeral of a man bound by too much pride. And besides this, it was true, he really had done so much for everyone. He was remembering it now, all the little things over so many years, giving it no thought or consequence at the time.

  Dammit, tears were starting to form in his eyes. His heart was breaking.

  "Dad," Tom spoke up. "I know now. It took me ages to get it, but now I do. You weren't home looking after me because you were out looking after everyone else. Please, accept this house, the house that you yourself build from the materials that you yourself had saved, and just be here for our kids. Be here for us like your grandad was there for you."

  That is what finally cracked Harry Jenkins. Tears rolled, his pride melted, and he saw the face of the old Gypsy woman. "You will be getting a new heart." she had said. It was true. He just nodded in resignation to his fate.

  "Well while you are all being so generous, the place needs a stove and some furniture." He said, turning away so no one saw the tears.

  Dear old Tom. He really was the best thing he ever did.

  Harry lived in that little cottage very happily for many years. He did open his workshop, and Bobby finally saw sense and moved back in with Suzy. No one mentioned the side benefits Harry had received, and continued to receive. "What the gander doesn't know can't hurt him," Harry used to say to the girls who felt guilty about their husbands not knowing. "But I promise you, if the gander DOES find out, he will want

  EPILOGUE

  Harry did open his shop, and was pleasantly surprised to discover that a whole new generation had come to love and respect the old British bikes. He got so busy that he had to take on apprentices, and show them the ropes: all the tricks of his trade, as his Grandfather had shown him.

  He even took in vintage Harleys, because the old ones had so much more character than the new ones, and even ended up sorting himself a rigid frame with a sidecar.

  Fancy that … An old dog learning new tricks!

  At least it wasn’t Japanese.

  How to Build a Tardis!

  By Prof. Jonas Paulson

  Professor Emeritus of New Technology at Oxford

  (Extract from "The God Eaters" - Available on Amazon)

  The Year is AA66. (66 Years After Apocalypse) Mankind has finally cracked the mystery of Interstellar, and is now playing with the properties of time distortion. Amidst this new sense of discovery, an ancient text from the Twentieth Century has been focused on, one which speaks of a mysterious being who was reported to have crossed the time/space continuum in a thing called a 'Tardis'. In lieu of this, Jonas Paulson, assistant to Professor Jake Hutchinson, recorded this dialogue for his students at the New Brotherhood University in London.

  Paulson looked out over the assorted gathering of students and lay people. A lot more than usual, it seemed. “Well, today, an interesting subject, something that has held a fascination for nerds and science buffs for hundreds of years: Time Travel. Specifically: How to build a TARDIS! Now, obviously the actual construction of this is a little out of our league at this present moment, but let us have a discussion on what is needed, and the possible avenues we can follow to create this.

  “We are all familiar with the ancient legends as portrayed by the BBC in the Twentieth Century, yes?” (A general nodding from the students) Paulson looks over the rim of his glasses. The usual mix of graduates and potential scientists were there, but this lecture has attracted media attention, and buzz-feeds were coming in not just from Universities but a variety of institutions from all over the world. There was an abnormally high lay-person interest as well.

  “This is a discussion, not a lecture. As you know, the doors have been opened to any who have an interest, but I stress that questions may only be asked by approved candidates. We have many viewers with interest in the subject, most of whom are not familiar with the science of tachyon inversion, time dilation, nor any of the associated equations, so in simple terms, we are keeping it light.

  “Good, well, first the basics. We are all familiar with the Light Motor, the essential propulsion unit for all space craft. It has been with us for a generation now, and even the lay-person is aware of how it works in principle, and what it does. Even so, we will look at the process in brief. Suffice to say, something similar to this must be at the heart of the Tardis. There has to be a core power unit that harvests Tachyon Energy. Now, can any of the new students here explain to me what this Tachyon Energy is?”

  A hand goes up, and Paulson nods for the girl to stand. “Yes Professor. Tachyon energy is the substratum energetic principle that exists between and beyond the atomic structure of the physical and sub-space universes. In its pure state, it appears to be uni-pole in nature, having no positive or negative charge that we can measure. As this energy devolves from singularity into polarity, it discharges frequencies that modulate into the known sub-atomic particles, and from this evolves the structure of atomic particles.”

  “Very good,” Paulson nods. Looking at his notes, Kathy Emerson, a promising student in new physics. “Can you expl
ain in simple language for the lay-people tuning in just what this process of evolvement is?

  “Of course Professor. The Tachyon emissions from their source point create Muons, Bosuns. Photons, Quarks and Neutrinos, which initially take form as energy waves. As these new energetic waves slow, they take on an alternating frequency, the first episode of positive/negative charge, and then on the basis of resonance, these forces oscillate between each other. This interaction generates a transformation, and they particulate into defined forms we can measure. They start to transform from wave to particle, though initially as a 'wavicle'. In this secondary state of flux, these now independent sub-atomic forces accumulate attraction forces which form first as super light speed Electrons, while developing in a simultaneous expression a 'reflection' that mimics a positive-negative charge, called a Positron. The excited fields of energy that are generated integrate the forming particulates of Muons and Bosuns into actual positive/negative charges, which stabilize as the protons and neutrons, as well as their reflected opposites in anti-matter.

  “Super light speed electrons are then captured by the 'weight' of the positive/negative matrix, and in being so harnessed, become electrons that are caught by core elements, thus the first atomic structures are formed. These take shape and gain a valence according to the ionic charge inherent in the mix of the three core atomic particles: the Neutron, the Proton, and the Electron. Thus the Trinity of Matter has been created.

  “Matter and Energy are therefore devolved from the Tachyon Field and as the wave/particles condense, they uptake an ionic valence and form into polarity. Polarity determines reality. Immediately prior to every devolvement of sub-atomic particulate into physical matter, the polarity of the field determines the structures that form. The charge these emerging forces carry brings out the plasmic forces inherent in all sub-atomic energetics. Subsequently, this creates the Universal Plasma that is the stable and continual charge that we now know of as the Universal Constant.” Ms. Emerson sits down.