Paupers Graveyard (22 page)

When they reached home, Helen jumped from the car almost before it came to a stop. Joe took the baby from the car seat and opened the door. Helen stormed inside and screamed. Joe hurried after her, and Jenny, not sure what was wrong, peeped into the hall. Towels hung from the lamps and banisters. Bits of coloured foam were sprinkled like fairy dust across the carpet. Joe stood looking around him in a daze. Jenny could hear her mother fumbling around upstairs. She looked into the kitchen. It was as bad there. Food had started to defrost, and small puddles dotted the tiles.

‘Nothing has been taken as far as I can see,' her mother's voice came from the hallway. She stood with numerous gold chains and rings draped across her fingers.

‘There's no point in calling the police out then,' Joe said.

He had placed the baby seat on the couch, and was looking around the room, running his fingers through his hair in disbelief. He went throughout the house checking the windows and doors for some sign of entry. There was none. No broken glass or a door kicked in. Jenny had started to clean up the mess. She was on her hands and knees picking up the bits of foam and dropping them into a waste bin.

‘Leave that for the vacuum,' her mother said, stepping over her and going outside to the car. She returned with her case and bags.

Jenny could hear her talking to Joe, who was also on his hands and knees in the kitchen.

‘But why do you have to go out?' he asked. ‘It's ridiculous. You've just come out of hospital. What's so important? I don't understand.'

Jenny was still there, when her mother emerged from the kitchen with a bottle of baby formula.

‘He'll need feeding in about an hour,' she thrust the bottle at Jenny.

‘Oh, okay.'

Joe came from the kitchen and grabbed his wife by the arm.

‘Stay here.'

‘Let go,' she pulled away, ‘I'll be back as soon as I can.'

They stood mute in the hallway, as the car roared to life and she drove away.

‘Well, Jen,' Joe tried to sound cheerful, ‘looks like we're on our own.'

Jenny nodded and shrugged her shoulders. She was used to her mother's strange mood swings, and, apart from the baby, everything was normal to her.

Helen drove away from the house cursing under her breath. When she was clear of the estate, she stopped and fumbled in her purse for money. Straightening the bundle of notes she had tucked in there. The money she had taken from Joe's dresser drawer. She pulled down the sun visor and checked her lipstick in the mirror. Soon she would feel better. Her dealer had magic to stop the shaking and lift her mood.

Black Jack stood a few yards away watching her. He would have come closer, got in beside her, but he was tied to this place. He had tried to leave in the past hidden in the back seat of numerous cars as they left, but was always tugged back as though an invisible cord held him.

Helen was at the end of her tether. Her dream of a happy life was rapidly falling apart. She had just given birth to a child she did not want, and by a man she did not love. She had a right to be happy, to feel young and free again. Still, there was the rush of the drug to look forward to. Helen would not have looked so pleased with herself had she seen the look on Black Jack's face. There was more to fear than an angry husband.

Tom climbed from his car and looked in amazement at the tape around the house next door. He walked over to the policeman that stood guard and asked what had happened. The news sent him running for home. Sheila lay huddled on the sofa. The room was stifling from the heat of the fire and he turned the switch down a notch.

‘Sheila, are you all right?'

‘I can't seem to get warm.'

He took her hands in his and was surprised at how cold they were.

‘I just spoke with the policeman on duty. He told me what happened.'

‘Poor Ruth,' she started to sob.

He held her, kissing her hair and promising that it would be all right. Though it was still only a little after two, the light was already beginning to fade and the room was deep in shadow.

‘We have to leave,' Sheila murmured, stirring in his arms, ‘we have to get away, before this place destroys us too.'

‘It's not this place,' he assured her, ‘it was just a terrible tragedy.'

‘No!' She bolted upright. ‘It's this place. Ruth knew it as well. It's cursed or the land is tainted. I want to leave, now.'

‘Okay.' He wasn't sure if it was her nervousness that caused his sudden feeling of unease. ‘We'll go and stay with my parents for a while. Stay there and I'll pack what we need.'

****

Elizabeth and Timmy hugged each other. They watched in silence as the man loaded suitcases into the machine. He went back into the house and came out with his wife. The woman could hardly stand and he was forced to hold her upright. Once the car doors slammed shut, Sheila closed her eyes and breathed a sight of relief. Tom turned the heater up as high as it would go.

‘It'll soon warm up,' he said as he patted her hand.

‘Thanks,' she replied, turning away so he could not see the tears that threatened.

As he steered the car out of the drive she looked back for the last time at what should have been their dream home. Elizabeth recognised the look of fear in her eyes. She too had been Black Jack's victim and her heart ached for the woman and for what she had suffered … what she would continue to suffer for evermore.

Angry now, she looked down at Timmy.

‘Where did he go?' He shook his head.

‘We have to search for him, find some way of stopping him before he hurts others.'

****

Jenny grumbled, and tried to brush away the hand that shook her. She had been sound asleep and was too ill, too worn out, to want to wake up.

They had spent hours cleaning the house and taking care of the baby. When her mother finally came home, Jenny went to her room. Joe was angry, she could still hear them arguing as she drifted off to sleep.

‘Stop, I'm too tired,' she pulled the duvet up over her mouth, trying to block out the stench.

‘Don't forget my books,' Black Jack prodded her shoulder, hurting her.

‘I'm not going to school,' she mumbled. ‘I have to mind the baby.' Her mother had crept into her room before going to bed, and informed her of this.

That whore was getting in his way. Black Jack flew through the wall and into the bedroom next door. The nursery had been painted a sunny yellow. Cartoon characters dotted the walls and stuffed toys were lined up beside one another on a seat by the window. Helen had no hand in the decoration of the room, and it showed in its simplicity and brightness.

Black Jack gazed down at the sleeping child. Reaching out, he stroked the soft skin of its cheek with his thumb. A boy child, the whore had done well. The baby moved, irritated by the touch of coarse skin on his face. He mewled softly and tried to move away. Black Jack's face hardened as he continued to gaze at the child. His child was dead and unlike the whore he would have welcomed a son. He brought his hand down once more and covered the baby's face with his open palm, blocking its nose and mouth.

‘It would have better if my mother had done the same to me,' he groaned.

Elizabeth wrenched the hand away. They had tracked him down just in time. She and Timmy tried to hold him, but were repeatedly thrown through the walls. Elizabeth ran to Helen and shook her awake.

‘Your child is in danger.'

Helen, still high on coke, started to scream.

‘Your child needs you,' Elizabeth, wrung her hands in frustration.

Joe, woken by his wife's screams, started in terror at the spectre beside the bed. Elizabeth, realising she was getting nowhere with the mother, turned to him.

‘Your child needs you. He's in terrible danger.'

He shot out of bed and ran towards the nursery. The scene he encountered on opening the door would live in his memory forever. There were two more of these spectres involved in a terrible struggle. They both turned as he entered the room, and for a moment he froze.

‘What's wrong?' Jenny stood beside him, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

‘He was trying to kill the baby,' Timmy answered.

Black Jack threw his head back, laughing. He was having great fun tonight. The unholy sound broke the spell, and Joe rushed past him, snatched up the baby and backed away.

‘I thought you were my friend,' Jenny looked at Black Jack and started to cry. He didn't answer her, just turned away and walked through the wall leading outside. He would get the child another night.

Elizabeth turned towards the man holding the baby.

‘Guard your children well. He will return, he is not easily thwarted.'

‘Yes, thank you,' Joe managed to stutter before the woman and boy disappeared.

He carried the baby and took Jenny by the hand, back to his room. The bed was empty, and he could hear Helen moving around in the bathroom. She had not witnessed what had just happened, and he was thankful for that. Jenny climbed into the bed and he got in beside her, cradling the baby on his lap. He was shaking from the shock, and the possible consequences, if the spectres hadn't helped him.

‘What are they, Jen, those things that were here?'

‘Aliens, I think; there are lots of them here.'

‘Where?'

‘Out there,' she pointed towards the window.

‘You know them?'

‘I know Black Jack. He was my friend, but now he's not. I don't like him any more. And I know Elizabeth. She helped me when I hurt my leg. I don't know the names of the other children though.'

‘Children, how many children?'

‘Lots,' Jenny managed to say, before she fell asleep.

****

Helen carefully lined up the cocaine on a small mirror. Taking the piece of plastic tubing she kept especially for the purpose, she placed one end in her right nostril and the other next to the line of powder and sniffed. Moving the tube to the left nostril she repeated the process. She sat on the toilet and waited for it to take effect. The chemicals were quickly absorbed into her bloodstream, bringing a warm flush of wellbeing.

Wiping the mirror, she placed it, and the tube, back at the bottom of her cosmetic bag. Hastily wiping her nose, with the back of her hand, she went back to her room. She was surprised to find Joe sitting in bed with the children beside him.

‘I can't sleep with them in the bed.'

‘Do you really expect to sleep tonight after what's happened?' Joe was amazed at her cavalier attitude.

‘Why, what happened? I had a bad dream that's all.'

‘Helen,' his tone was cold, ‘that was not a dream.'

‘It was real? The thing I saw was real? Aaagh!' She jumped in beside him, pulling the duvet up around her.

‘It's unbelievable I know, but it's real all right.'

‘What was it?'

‘I have no idea, but I intend to find out.'

‘Well you can find out alone. I'm leaving here first thing in the morning,' she shivered.

‘This is our home, Helen. We have to fight to protect it.'

‘You do what you want, I'm leaving.'

‘What about the children?'

‘What about them? I'm sick of the children and I'm sick of you. So, shut up.'

‘Now you're being ridiculous.'

‘I'm being ridiculous? I'm not the one who wants to fight with monsters, or ghosts, or whatever the hell that thing was. Now shut up and leave me alone.'

‘What's that on your nose?' Joe reached over and brushed at the telltale white powder.

‘Talc.'

‘Taken to sniffing talc, have you?'

He'd had his suspicions of late. The huge amounts of money she spent weekly had to be going somewhere, and it wasn't into furnishing the house or grocery shopping. He'd made himself believe that a woman like Helen was expensive to keep. Not wanting to admit that her looks were a charade, that beneath her polished exterior, lay hardness and a glutinous craving for pleasure.

They sat quietly for the rest of the night, the silence broken only by the baby demanding to be fed, and Jenny's tossing and turning. The main ceiling light and the lamps at either side of the bed were all switched on, in the hope that their light would protect them from the things outside.

It was almost seven o'clock when the first fingers of dawn crept across the sky. Helen started to pack. Joe watched, sad, but resigned. For the first time since their marriage, he fully realised what a terrible mistake he had made. After another trip to the bathroom to satisfy her craving, Helen left the bedroom. The suitcase banged against her legs as she descended the stairs, causing her to swear. It was heavy, but she could not take the chance of leaving anything of value behind. Luckily, and unknown to Joe, she had kept the rent on her council house up-to-date. As an unmarried mother the rent had been nominal, and the council were still unaware of her change in marital status. Now she would return to her own kind. She had been a fool to imagine that her chosen life would satisfy her and Joe had not come out of it too badly. He now had the children he desired, so to her thinking they were all winners. Dumping the case on the floor in the hall, she stumbled into the dark sitting-room. Her head swam from the effect of the cocaine, so she lay down on the sofa to allow the dizziness to pass. The long night had been too much coming so soon after the birth, so she would rest for a while before trying to drive.

Black Jack lay face down on the nursery floor. His senses were so heightened he could see right through it. So, she was abandoning her children. Deserting the son she had never wanted. Spreading his arms wide, he allowed himself to be absorbed by the floor, blending into the soft carpet, the wooden floorboards and the yellow fibreglass insulation.

Helen's eyes opened wide as the ceiling above her bulged, taking on the shape of a man. She froze as a monster dropped towards her. He landed right on top of her; they were face to face. His red eyes stared into hers and she had not time to scream as a hand was clamped over her mouth. The smell of his skin was poisonous and she could feel the coarseness of his hair brushing against her cheeks. The cold from his body shot through her, chilling her to the very soul. She struggled, but it was useless, as all strength had left her body. She could feel his hand moving rapaciously over her skin, grasping and tearing at the flesh. The buttons on her blouse snapped beneath his fingers and she felt the chill intensify on her bare flesh.

A sudden sound from overhead made Black Jack stop and look towards the ceiling. The momentary lapse in concentration was all that was needed and Helen managed to roll from beneath him. Unaware that it was Joe's footsteps that had saved her, she ran into the hall and grabbed her suitcase. Sobbing she threw the case into the back seat and climbed into the car.