crushed Father's skull. His body twitched for a moment, then hung limp as the creature bit through the gaping hole in his skull and began eating the still throbbing pink flesh of his brain.
A scream echoed in my ears and skull, then I realised the screams were my own. More clawing hands broke through the wood, all reaching for Father's body. I stumbled backwards, turning and running into the grey drizzle that drained the light. The rain mixed with my tears as I ran as fast as I could, away from the monsters. My chest tightened as I cursed myself for complaining about having to eat maggoty mutton and green potatoes. Our last fishing line had been ripped up and taken by the sea, which had forced Father to take the journey to market to spend the last of our meagre coins. On our journey home he'd seen the wreck of that damned ship and thought there might be treasure.
I sprinted along the spits of sand, taking gulps of air fighting the pain at the back of my throat. I blinked back the tears blurring my vision as I avoided the thick black mud. Stumbling up the narrow path of raised land which ran alongside the gynn, not daring to look back over my shoulder, I pumped my legs hard, ignoring the painful beat of my heart and the pain burning my lungs as I struggled to breathe. I was now at the Black Poole, its inky waters surrounding me eddied and rippled with the wind, casting grim shadows beneath its surface; masses of rotten corpses rising from the fetid water. I pummelled my legs harder and pushed out my chest, ignoring the pain of a stitch in my side as I fled the crew of dead.
The lake opened up into the clear deep water of Marton Mere, after a half mile, the marsh on either side became a solid path, with trees to the north and east. I slowed my pace as I neared the dirt track through the small rise of farmland that marked our home. My stomach rumbled; Father and I should have been home now, having a late dinner of mouldy cheese and stale bread. I did not stop; with Father gone I had no one; the thatched hut was no longer home. I ran into the sparse wood towards our only neighbours. I half laughed to myself; in any other situation I would be running in the other direction. Hag Maud could be almost as terrifying as the dread creatures. I stumbled into the hovel in the clearing, almost running into the hearth set in the middle of the single room. The old lady stood to meet me with the business end of her broom, holding it up at her shoulder, about to run me through with the wooden shaft.
'I said you always bring trouble, lad... go or you'll be in a whole lot more!' Maud said, her voice steady, her clear grey eyes piercing me with a flinty stare.
'I... my Father... we found a wrecked ship; a caravel...from Spain... so Alard Walter said. It's out past the gynn... there's dead bodies... walking...' I said, as I circled the fire. The end of broom levelled at me did not waver as she kept pace.
'Ain't natural. That's what I call it,' she said, wrinkling her nose and spitting on the ground.
I'd guessed you'd be behind this...I not long heard the bells at St Chad's strike Nones, yet look...the sky's turned black as pitch. You and that Father of yours have cursed us all, meddling with that peculiar ship!' she shouted lunging forward as she shoved the bristled implement hard into my breastbone, sending me stumbling nearly out the door as I'd made full circle around the fire.
'I told you to stay away so away you go!' Maud stood over me, broom still in hand.
'I can't...won't... go. There's nowhere to go...We've got to stop them...' I'd regained my balance and stood my ground, facing the old woman square on.
'I know exactly what you and your damned Father have done... meddling in stuff... suppose he was looking for pirate treasure...' she said, pressing home each accusation with another prod of her broom.
'Gran stop! It isn't Ed's fault... how was anyone to know!' I turned my head to see Lily standing behind me at the door. She was framed against the flickering light of the fire, which outlined every contour of her face and turned her blond hair white, making her appear far older than her nine years; like a miniature version of her Grandmother.
'Give him the book and he can be away! Let him sort out this mess, if he hasn't already cursed us all!' Maud screamed. I gave an involuntary jump at the sight of her gaunt
face, her nostrils flared and blackened needle-sharp teeth, turned to a death-mask in the dancing light from the brazier.
Lily held the small book clutched to her chest. '...but Gran... you know Ed can't read...'
The old woman stood quiet, her face slack as she looked into the flames.
'Gran...'
'I know... I know, child...' Maud said, her voice a harsh whisper. 'I know... you must go with him...' Maud sighed as she lowered the broom, leaning her weight on it for support.
'Now get out the pair of you!' she shouted, turning her back to us as we went out into the gloaming afternoon.
Lily clung to me as we crossed the maze of narrow sand-spits, trying to avoid concealed quick-sand which made the dangerous path towards the black beacon of the tree stump which stood alone in the inky sea. The light from the lantern flickered, I could barely see under the moonless sky. Darker shadows were cast across the beach, moving alongside our path.
'I'm frightened,' Lily said, clinging to my waist as a gust of wind through the tall grass whistled over the dune ahead of us.
'You'll have to let go a bit... just hold my hand.' I struggled to hold the lantern straight in the growing wind.
Lily started crying. Her grip tightened, her fingernails digging into the flesh of my palm.
'The path's too narrow... you need to walk behind....' I said as I edged towards the sand bank. Lily whimpered and tugged me back by my shirt sleeve.
'We must move...the tide will be turning soon!'
'No, I want to go home... I don't like that scary mast; I've seen it move...'
'It's just the shifting of the sand...come on...' I said, trying to pull her forwards, but Lily stood fast, forcing the top half of my body to twist towards her so I lost my footing on the shale which shifted under my feet. Trying to keep my balance, I took a step back, but too late. I fell onto my back, dropping the lantern and sliding towards a pool of quicksand, sending Lily tumbling in. As she grabbed my legs, her weight pulled me feet-first after her.
'Ed!' Lily shouted. I heard a thick soft sound as her body broke through the surface into the heavy wet sand. I dug my hands into the soft ground, just stopping my whole body from being dragged in.
'Hold on Lily!' I said, my voice faltering as I braced myself against the ground, each muscle of my body burning with the strain.
'Help...please!' She said; her face was now just above the surface.
I clawed at the sandbank, grabbing handfuls of coarse grass, smelling the crisp green scent fresh over the thick rot of the mud as it broke off in my hands, slicing deep cuts into my flesh as I tried to grip it.
I clambered from the heavy mud, dragging through the sand that sucked at my boots. Lily's finger nails bit into the back of my legs as she tried pulling herself up my body, momentarily weakening my grip so we almost slid back into the mire. At last I pulled us free, I sat down to catch my breath as Lily clambered over me and sat hugging my back. Flickering shadows danced around us, cast by the still- burning lantern.
The black stump of the tree was tall as a full grown man. I had only ever seen it, dwarfed by distance, from the safety of the rock pools. According to local folklore it was the mast of a cursed ship, haunted by the souls of drowned crew; in truth it marked a lethal undercurrent, so Father had told me. Either way it was a place to be avoided, yet here we stood before it. The tide came lapping in, tugging at our ankles so we had to hold tight to its oily timber, hung with hairy strands of black seaweed and sharp clusters of bone-white barnacles which cut into the palms of my hands.
I held Lily between myself and the stump. Her whole body shivered as she gripped the front of my shirt with her clawed hands.
'Can you see the words?' I asked as Lily held the book. I tried to keep the lantern steady, but any change in the wind sent it swinging wildly on its handle, which I'd looped over my wrist so I coul
d hold on to the mast.
'Yes... I think so... should I start?' Lily's soft voice was almost lost with the sound of the wind howling along the sandbanks and the rumble of the waves crashing in, churning up the shingle which rattled up the beach.
'Go on then.' My voice faltered. From the corner of my eye, I saw towards the line of surf. Dark lurching shadows waded in slowly with the tide. I looked away before Lily could follow my gaze; my eyes focused on the strands of her fine hair fluttering delicately in the growing gale. She bowed her head to read the book, holding down the pages which ruffled in the wind.
After a while Lily looked up at me, her eyes wide.
'Have you read it then?' I asked, unsure if the strange soft sounds I had heard had been the sound of Lily's voice or the sounds of the wind and sea.
'Yes....is anything happening?' she asked. The edges of her mouth held the slightest curl of a smile.
I looked at her, holding my breath as I turned my head towards the shoreline. I quickly shifted around, blocking Lily's view ahead. The surf was now only a couple of hundred strides away, and teeming with foul shambling figures; corrupted bodies of the dead-come-back-to-consume-the-living walking in with the tide.
'Did you read it right? Are you sure you didn't miss anything?'
'Yes... no! Why? What's wrong? What did I do?' Lily's voice was shrill and loud. She pulled
Sand, Sea, Zombies Page 5