Devil in the Detail
The directional compass has been playing me up. The thing has moved all over the place in a chaotic frenzy. I thought it might be something to do with magnetism. The air is strange today, and it feels eerie. I park up and get out of the car. I stand stock-still and listen, not a sound can be heard, not even birdsong. There’s a strong breeze, yet the trees are not rustling their leaves. I look up and notice the clouds are not moving, and I cannot see one bird in flight. For the first time in my life, I’m afraid. I mumble to myself, “What’s happening? Has the world finally ended, and why didn’t I notice it happening?”
I have the baby in our car and he’s playing happily with the abacus. He didn’t seem to notice any change. However I did, as there’s something sat behind him in his seat. It looks as if the baby is on its lap. I hate the sight I can see, as a shape or shadow that looks like a demon is nursing our child. The thing has got our baby, and I pray, “God help me, why’s this monster here, and why pick our child?”
We packed a lunch before we left home, with the idea of sharing a picnic. I gasp as the fruit is crawling with maggots and flies; the maggots are wriggling through the sandwiches. My wife Mary is hysterical, she screamed, “Get our baby out of the car quickly!”
I open the car door and try to unfasten the seat belt in his baby chair. It will not open; I try hard to unfasten the belt that’s holding him. The shadow or thing brushed my hand, and it felt like an electric shock that travelled from my arm then continued all over my body. I believe that I passed out. The life re-entered my body, and I opened my eyes to find a paramedic bent over me, and asking me questions. Then I thought about Mary and our son, “Where’s my wife and child?” I shouted.
“Please lie still,” the paramedic warned, “you’ve had a terrible shock.”
I struggled to get up, but slumped in a heap.
“Now, for your own sake, sir, keep still, you’re damaging yourself.”
I heard a siren from a police car and this seemed far away, and the flicker of blue lights flashing made me dizzy. I fought the paramedic, I wanted to know about my wife and child and ask if they’re alright.
They took me into the nearest hospital and I spent hours there trying to explain to the doctors and police about what happened to us and about the Demon holding our child. They looked at each other as if they don’t believe me. They kept me in ICU for three days to see if I can cope at home. ThepPolice never ever mentioned about Mary and our son; they just kept on asking me what happened to me.
They finally freed me and I came home to an empty house. I unlocked the garage door and put the bent and buckled car away. I sauntered up our garden path. I picked up the key from under the boulder we had placed by the front door, opened the door and went in. Our cat came to greet me, the poor thing hadn’t eaten, or had a drink in all that time. He has been rummaging in our bins to find whatever he can to eat.
The tap dripped a bit, so I guess he’d had a drink. I put the light on and looked into the bins, although most of the rubbish was all over the floor. (I noticed the things that Mary had thrown away the morning that all of this happened, and while packing our picnic, and also things she’s cleared up from our boy’s breakfast.) I went through to the playroom and stood gazing at Harry’s Tee pee. I picked up his pyramid and the colours shot around the room. I feel like my whole world has come to an abrupt end. I sat and wept, and then I can hear Mary’s voice behind me, and Harry whimpered. A hand brushed my hair and I look up through tear-soaked eyes.
“Mary! Are you two alright? No one would help me to find you both.”
A bright flash of lightning lit up the room.
“It’s really you, Mary; I thought I’d lost you both.”
Shaking, I hoped I hadn’t imagined that she and Harry are here and alright. She wrapped her arms around me and kissed me. I knew then all’s well.
“How are you Harry? Are you badly burned? We are so well blessed that you are still alive. I really did think that the lightning strike you were involved in had separated us for eternity.”
“Please explain what you’re talking about, Mary.” I was confused.
“Can’t you remember what happened to you, darling?” She looked tearful
I did explain what I thought had happened. Mary sat me down and said, “You were working late, and we had said when you got home we would go for a picnic over by the river Bourne. However, on the way home lightning struck a tree which crashed on top of our car. When the paramedics came to attend you, they said you were rambling on about a demon, and our child was sat on its lap. The lightning had caught you and burned your skin.” Mary placed her hand on the burn on my face
“This is confusing, as I know that you and our son were with me. I couldn’t get our boy out of the car, his seat belt was jammed, and that thing would not let go. The demon’s hand touched me and I got an electric shock all over my body.” I can’t believe that you were not with me, I shook my head.
Mary went on to say that the authorities had called. “They took me and our lad to Mother’s, until you got out of hospital. I’m sorry that there’s a mess, but I kicked the bin on the way out and, worrying about you, I left it. I knew the cat would be okay as I left him some meat and biscuit. I did come and see you at the hospital; however you were well out of it as they gave you tranquillizers to keep you still.”
The authorities are checking the car over and will let the family know what repairs will have to be done. They will collect it tomorrow. Mary was concerned about him driving the car home as it was well buckled, but still driveable.
The family settled down for the next week and then the strangest news. The authorities said the baby’s seat belt was jammed and no one could open it. This means if they had had an accident they might not have got their child out of the car. Barry, Mary’s husband gazed up to the sky and said, “All things happen for a reason, and I believe now that we’ve had a warning. The seat belt will be checked each time we go out from now on.” The pair complained to the baby-chair makers and they received an apology and a brand new chair. They still check it each time they go out. Because the devil’s in the detail.
Josie Smith
Hiding behind the Mask
(part 3 of The Masked Ball)
The next morning Jacqui was having some cereal and fruit when John came down. She barely looked up from the paper she was reading. She just said, “There’s some coffee if you want some.”
John poured himself a cup of black coffee and put two slices of bread in the toaster.
“Would you like some toast and marmalade?”
“No. I’d like a further explanation about this connection with Tomas and his hold over you. It’s all so bizarre. You obviously didn’t trust me with whatever problem you’ve been harbouring. You have been really weird since the Ball. I am not at all happy with secretiveness and lies. It’s like living with a stranger, so I need to know what’s going on or I’ll be moving out.”
John took his toast and marmalade and sat down opposite Jacqui.
“Where to begin? You know we were talking about starting a family and you were quite worried about making sure there would be nothing hanging over us to cause financial or any other shadows over parenthood?”
John was frowning, trying to put things in order, not wanting to make Jacqui even more angry, before he could explain. His words had quite the opposite effect.
“What the Hell has that got to do with anything? How can us planning to have a baby relate to your connections with Tomas?”
“Hang on, Jacqui. Give me a chance. I signed off on some paperwork to do with a piece of land that Tomas wanted to buy. I’ll get the file and show you what it was all about.”
John went upstairs before Jacqui could say any more. He brought down a metal box with a padlock on the front. He also brought his calculator and put that on the table. He unlocked the padlock and opened the box, taking out a thick envelope, extracting from it about five sheets of paper and passing them across to Jacqui.
“Please read those documents and then I will clarify anything you do not understand. You will see what a mistake I’ve made and why I have such a dislike of Tomas and Marten.”
Reluctantly, Jacqui looked through the paperwork and then picked out one sheet in particular, reading it more carefully. It referred to a piece of wooded land on the borders of Greater Manchester and Cheshire where it seemed that a group of free-spirited people had been living in tepees, converted vans and home-built tree huts. Apparently one of the people had created a Zen triangular home, woven to the appropriate compass points that would protect from lightning and give healthy life to inhabitants. A request for planning permission for thirty executive houses had already been put in to the Council. One of the papers, countersigned by John, was a Compulsory Purchase Order for the land. Jacqui read it again and turned to John.
“You do not have the authority to sign a Compulsory Purchase Order. Whose is the other signature?”
“That is Tomas’s father, who is on the Council. The Minister, who will have to give approval, will, of course, be Marten. Once the planning goes through I will get £150,000 for my ‘surveying work’.”
“How could you, John? I know those people will eventually be moved from there, but this will be a private development so nobody will house them. What was the significance of a block of flats, shown on the fourth page?”
“I was told that this was to be a mixture of properties, including a small block of flats, with balconies, some terraced houses and the rest up-market properties which will bring in the money. Believe me, Jacqui, I was thinking about our mortgage and us affording a family. I was, obviously, taken in, not realising how greedy they were.”
“What I can’t believe, is how naive you are! Did you really think they would care about those people, or anybody else when they stand to make about fifteen million, at a conservative estimate. Anyway, the question is—what are we going to do about it?”
Linda Dalzell
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