The Discovery
It was a couple of weeks after Rick had last seen the reels. He had tried not to think about them. It was difficult, especially as he knew there was something behind the reels. But it seemed life was just going on and it was hard to think back.
He tried to ignore the reels, hidden in the box in the back of his cupboard, and the pinboard, covered with towels. But at night, he'd see the picture of that little Jamaican girl in his mind; he'd see her eyes begging. For her life.
And he knew he ah to help.
Maybe he should tell Mike. It seemed the only way.
Mike was in the study. It was Halloween and the children were having a little party in the den. Minus Elektra. She had done nothing but sulk in her room and cry. Honestly, Elektra was crying. She felt useless. He knew he hated doing this, but it was what her sister had said. And now he wondered if she'd forgive him.]#
When Rick came in, he saw the boy looked scared. "What is it?" he asked. Rick looked down and said, "I read about the Harrison Orphanage. And about Juniper Tree orphanage in the nineties." Mike looked up. "I saw pictures on your wall." Rick nodded. "I haven't told anyone this, but Benjamin – the missing boy – almost came here. He was due to come two days after the rest were killed. It's complicated, but he said he saw men in his room. And the other kids kept saying people were drawing animal faces on the walls."
Rick felt a shiver go down his spine.
"Well, just don't frighten yourself." Rick walked out. He still had one more reel to look at but he needed research. It was one more attempt.
Typing Benjamin Benedict Thomas BB murder he found a description. The boy's birthday was 23rd May and there was a little picture of what he'd look like aged ten. There was also a dedication site to missing English children. Rick thought he might look.
Writing Christmas Boy, Happy New year Boy and Valentine's Day Girl on a notepad, he scrolled. Some of the earliest photos were black-and-white and he found what he was looking for. Underneath a picture was a caption Jacob Scarlet, 25/12/64. When rick clicked he read.
"Jacob was nine years old when he vanished from Sunstone Orphanage on Christmas Day 1964 in county Durham…" he looked down. A picture of the cordoned-off living room. Jacob had last been seen wearing a blue coat and red shoes, but Rick knew he'd worn pyjamas. It said that the other children there had been strangled, but rick knew they were hanged.
He looked through. It had numerous unaccredited sightings as well as an anniversary public ceremony in 1984, with people from the town, including school friends, holding candles. The video of it was fuzzy, nearly thirty years old, but he could make out big pictures of Jacob and candles. The last news link he found was from 1994 of what Jacob would look like at 39. Rick enlarged the picture and printed it before looking at information.
The next child was mark Peter Fox, who was nine years old in 1973. "Fox was born on 26th July 1964 and his parents were unstable, sending him to Millsword Orphanage in Norfolk in 1972. Fox was due to go to Charleswin orphanage in the Highlands three weeks after he vanished…" rick was a bit shocked. BB and Mark were both about to go to another orphanage.
He read that the victims, 41-year-old Isobel Watson, 44-year-old Isaac Everblue, 14-year-old Jade Blosom and 14-year-old Samantha Watkins and 15-year-old Philip Everest, were found at about 12.15am on New Year's Day 1974 when a neighbour partying had noticed the fire in the Norfolk Orphanage.
Rick read the fire was put about about twenty minutes after it began and deduced that all five victims were drugged, possibly with an unidentified green drink found in a cupboard, before being bound with tape and set on fire.
He felt sick again. But he knew he had to do this.
In the Valentine's Day one, he had no luck. He didn't know the clues. He looked through the colour photographs in 1982, stopping on a smiling brown-haired girl. She looked just like the girl. He'd seen her in a red dress.
He clicked. "Milly was eight years old when she vanished from Charleswin orphanage in Scotland…" he trailed off. The children, they were headed to orphanages the next child was taken from. It couldn't be coincidence. Looking at the page with Jacob again, he read the boy was to move to Millsword Orphanage in April. He had a hunch where Milly would have ended in.
He scrolled down the page until he found it. Juniper. She had been due to go to Juniper. And Rick was certain Fall would have ended up at…
Hmm. Rick hadn't seen Summer Holiday '08. Well, here was his excuse.
***Rick had the reels taken out, dust blown off, and set up in the den while everyone was out. He watched it, notebook ready, and the photos and articles printed beside him. It started out normal, three children at a beach. A man was walking in front, as a woman a bit older than Gina and a girl of thirteen years old talked to her. The camera was from several feet away, maybe behind a boulder.
The video had a brightly coloured ball and a boy about twelve or thirteen was throwing it, a girl with black skin and small plates catching, giggling. Then two girls, one really too old for an orphanage, the other from earlier, sunbathing with glasses. The boy went to another towel and sat there reading as the man stood up, holding a wallet.
Then complete darkness. Someone was holding the camera down at the shore. The moonlight shone on the golden sands as the foamy waves moved past. Then the camera stopped. Around four feet away from each other were the three girls and the adults. Except Rick couldn't see most of their bodies.
They were buried under the sand.
Rick felt awful. He saw the man, who was closest to the water; his head still, wrapped i9n tape, a seven inch hole round his head, filled with one of the towels. The three girls were next and the woman ta the end, her head flopping, almost dead. The ball bobbed in the waves nearby, as were the children's clothes nearby. Then the sea began moving slightly quicker, the water nearly up to the man's chin. Thank God he wasn't awake.
Rick saw with wide eyes the first girl, the black one, open her eyes slowly, looking slowly top the left and seeing the man almost completely underwater, just strands of hair floating, and then tried moving. Rick could see cracks in the sand where she was moving and trying to get out. Her eyes looked up in confusion. Why confusion? Not horror or fright?
Then Rick guessed. The killer must be someone the girl knew!
The killer must be somebody who worked in the care business but had avoided this. Perhaps they worked at where the videos had come from and hid away the evidence? Why keep it? Why not destroy it? Maybe because they liked watching the terror?
Rick turned it off. And knew what to do.
Lilly was at the laptop later. The night terrors had been too much for her and she couldn't keep the horrible drawing of a goat head out of her head now. She had tried to find the pattern online but had discovered something cruel. She'd printed it out and had now got the information by the laptop.
Gina was in the shop when she noted something. While the clerk was pricing the candy and fireworks Gina thought she saw something in the corner of her eye.
It was a bit like a shadow. A dark cloak perhaps. And a small blow of cold air. The hisses she heard also chilled her.
But she didn't know what it was.
Lying on her bed, Tee didn't see the creature slithering beneath her bed. A large cobra snake beneath the bed, moving through. She just had her eyes closed and didn't look down.
In the den, while Rick was on the laptop, Tyler was on the sofa. He didn't look at what was away from the TV; otherwise he would have been looking at a small dark scorpion beneath him.
All three of these creatures weren't actually fully in the shop, bedroom or den, but were attached to Elm tree in some way. In the curtain between this world and beyond. And that creature would be here soon.
A/N: Well, have you liked it? Especially with Halloween coming up. I would have put the chapters up the day after the reviews came but I wasn't near that computer. By the way, judopixie thanks for the reviews, although I'd like it a bit more if other people showed they liked it. A good review is a good author; a bad review is a horrific author. Anyway, with the pattern of the videos and its obvious Elmtree's next, anyone guess what's going to happen?