Hello!
Welcome to ninth chapter of this story :-)
Enjoy!
Andy was walking through the field. It was summer so the grass was already tall and flowers were blooming in the warm of the late afternoon sunlight. Everywhere Andy looked she couldn't quite make out what she was seeing. It was like the unclear focus of the camera. Suddenly the atmosphere changed. Everything got darker, more bleak and Andy sensed the eerie feeling of someone chasing her. She started running and she ran until she caught a glimpse of a swing that was tied to a branch of a bent tree towards the water. She sat on it and started swinging. She watched how she went up and down and up and down. But then she smelt smoke and the swing got very hot at once. Andy felt the terrifying feeling that made her lungs squeeze unable to absorb air. She bounced off the swing and fell to the ground. But she didn't hit the ground and she kept falling until she was deep underwater and was on the verge of losing her coincence. As she was drowning she felt a tight grip of a hand that pulled her above the water. Andy dragged her body on the ground and tried to get away from the person who pulled her out of the water. She couldn't really see him but she could sense his evilness. When she stumbled away she looked around and saw that the swing was on fire. The flames were spreading fast in every direction and nothing could escape them. Beside the swing there was an old shed that also caught on fire. Andy suddenly felt the grip of the person's hand over her mouth. She tried to get away but she couldn't. At once everything got dark.
Andy woke up with a scream. Her entire body was shaking with the memory of the horror feeling from her dreams and her clothes were soaked through with sweat. Her heart was pounding fast in her chest and she could feel her heartbeat in her ears.
Andy slowly stood up and made her way to the telephone. She waited for Grace to pick up and when she did Andy sighed heavily in relief. Then she told Grace everything about her dreams. She told her about the swing and the shed, the fire spreading all around her, the deep cold darkness of the ocean and the strong grip of the hand. When she finished talking Grace first made sure that Andy was now feeling better or at least a bit calmer.
She's truly an angel, Andy thought. Grace was so much different than the people she surrounded herself with in Seattle. She really cared about Andy and she was easy to talk to. Andy also knew she didn't have to pretend to be someone she wasn't in front of her in order to become her friend and she was very grateful for that. As she was wodering about all that Andy was pulled from her thinking by Grace's words.
"Can you describe me more that shed and the swing, Andy?"
"Umm... sure. It's not really clear but as much as I remember the shed was quite big and wooden. There was some ivy covering certain parts of the walls and half of the roof. There were some bushes behind the shed and next to it there was a big tree that hang over the water and on one of its braches was tied a wooden swing. The swing looked kind of old and poorly made but it was cute. That's all I can remember."
Grace waited for a second then she cleared her throat before speaking.
"Ok this is getting more serious by the minute. Andy you've just practically described the crimescene! - I mean the place where the incident happened. And back then it all looked just as you've described."
Andy deep down inside knew that her dreams weren't just dreams but now that Grace had actually said it she felt a slight dizziness in her head. It was all getting real, now there was no way back - she had to get to the bottom of what happened here twenty years ago.
"I know how to get there, if you'd like to go.",
Grace said after they'd been quiet for some time. Andy wanted to go, but at the same time she didn't want to find out what dark secrets might be hidden in this place. Still despite all that, she asked Grace to take her there this afternoon.
Sullivan was running through the dusty alleyways of the Gealach. Music was blasting in his ears through the AirPods, which was rather dangerous considering the number of cars on the road whose drivers did not seem to care whether they would hit someone or not but he didn't care about that or about his exhaustion that made his legs barely catching up. Sullivan couldn't stop thinking of Andy; her long black hair that surprisingly suited her better than any other previous colour, her stubborn chin and the lightnings in her eyes when she saw him. She wasn't happy about him but what had he expected? Had he really hoped that she'd be pleased about it and that it would be easy? He knew that with Andy was never easy and that she had just gone through a lot of trauma and she was still processing it all. He knew it was a reckless decision to come here but he couldn't help himself but hope to help her get through all this mess. The loud squealing of the tyres pulled him from his thoughts. He'd barely had time to jump away before the car could hit him.
Damn, British, he said under his breath but he knew it was partly his fault too. If he hadn't been so focused on his thoughts this would've never happened. He looked around and saw that he was in the middle of crossroads. He spoted a small darker and not so crowded alley. The alley was practically screaming trouble but Sullivan still went down there to see where it would lead him. The first impression of the alley was rather dull. A lot of people were going to work from dusty block of flats. There were some shady people in the dark corners who were selling some colourful crystals, pots and souvenirs. There was a big poster on a bulletin board. It showed a man and a woman with smiles plastered on their lips, holding a computer. At the bottom of the poster it said:
"Techno-craft where you can fix all your problems" and "A new model of computer named Hungry Wolf, designed by James and Ivanna Hawkings - Volkov."
The computer actually seemed well designed Sullivan noticed as he observed the poster. There was something that bothered him but he couldn't figure out what. It was like a sense of deja-vu but he couldn't quite place it. The bells of the church started ringing. It was already noon and Sullivan decided to get going. He started running but he hadn't gotten far before he stopped again. He was standing in front of the casino and something caught his eye. There was a man nervously pacing back and forth at the side entrance. But man's odd behavior didn't bother Sullivan as much as his image. He looked just like the man from the poster - James Hawkings - Volkov. It was strange that even a man of his success got himself involved into shady business. A few moments had passed before a bald man appeared at the door. He was tall and stocky and his face looked very pitbull - like. His arms were covered in tattoos and he certainly didn't look like a type you would want to mess with. The man for whom Sullivan thought it was James gave the other man an envelope for which Sullivan assumed it was full of cash. The man counted the cash and then disappeared back inside. Bare moments later the supposed James made his way along the dark alley. Robert was tempted to follow him but he changed his mind after looking at his watch. It was almost noon and he needed to return to the place where he was staying. A sudden thought crossed his mind that he should call Andy and tell her about what he had seen. He knew she wasn't going to pick up.
Maybe later, he thought with a bitter smile
Andy was following Grace along the path through the field. They were talking about Andy's dreams and everything that they'd already found out. They both had to admit that they hadn't made much progress yet. Through the past week Andy was slowly realizing that all the dreams and the effort to remember and figure out the meaning of her dreams took a toll on her. She had been more and more tired lately and more anxious as well. She was pulled from her thoughts when Grace annouced that they'd arrived. With a start Andy realized that she'd been here a few days ago when she discovered that symbol carved into the tree. Everything was just as it was in her dreams and that sent unwelcomed shivers down her spine. There were some marks that the fire left on the shed twenty years ago and the swing seemed much more fragile than it did in her dreams but other than that the image was a perfect copy of her dreams. Andy took a few steps and sat on the swing.
"Becareful with that thing", Grace spoke in a tight voice but she didn't stop looking around. Andy could see she was distressed but she didn't quite understand why. It was true that the place was rather spooky but there was no immediate danger attached to it whatsoever.
"Hey, it's not that scary, Grace. You can relax, everything it's all right", said Andy giving Grace a reassuring smile. Grace turned around and looked at her. She tilted her head and narrowed her eyes before she spoke in a taunt voice.
" You really don't understand this, do you?! For you it was easy coming here because you took all of this as a mystery you have to solve but for us this is profound in our hearts. Nothing ever happens in this town and then suddenly that big incident came so unexpected and it frightened us more that you think. Gealach was all over the news accross entire Scotland and a families - important families had lost their children forever. I lost my friends and even though I was only seven years old I knew that something very serious has happened. I couldn't get out of my house for a week and all I could think about for a long time was how I'll never see them again and how I could easily be in their place that night. And this place - The events of that day left an indelible mark here. It reminds us that somewhere in this town there is someone who's very rotten to the core and evil. So don't tell me to relax, ok?"
"I'm sorry", Andy mumbled in a wobbly voice.
"It's ok, I shouldn't... I shouldn't burst out like this." Grace replied after some time.
"No you had every right to. I forgot how much that affected you... And I'm sorry about your friends."
"That's ok...Andy watch out!", Grace screamed just before the string of the swing broke and Andy fell to the ground.
"I'm fine", and said almost automatically. Grace offered her a hand to pull her up but then she suddenly let go and Andy fell bacwards."Ok, I know you're mad at me but what was this?!"
"No, look!" Grace said impationately and pointed underneath the pieces that had once formed the seat of a swing. There was a piece of paper and when Andy picked it up and tourned it around she saw it was a picutre. The picutre showed a couple dressed very nicely, presumingly on their wedding day smiling at eachother.
"It could be nothing but these two look like Ivanna and James like thirty years ago." Grace said carefully and glanced at Andy.
Andy carefully folded the picture and put it in her pocket.
"Let's go to the shed", she said distractedly and made her way towards the old shed - or at least what it used to be the shed because now it was more like a pile of wood connected together.
"Are you sure, it's safe to go inside, Andy? I mean look at it. It looks as if it's about to break down."
"I'll go. You can stay here and arrange my funeral if the monsters inside eat me", said Andy with a little chuckle.
"Not funny", complained Grace but Andy could swear she heard the beginning of a smile in her voice. Andy entered the shed and looked around. There were some boxes with used garden tools and stuff like that. There was also a small desk with a chair placed behind it. With a start Andy realized that the desk was perfectly clean while everything else was covered in dust. She stumbled backwards and knocked over one of the boxes. A small scream left her mouth and she immediately heard Grace asking what happened. As Andy turned around to pick up the box she noticed that the box contained a huge pile of documents. That seemed strange cosidering the fact that people don't usually store their documents in an old abandoned shed. She picked up the box and carried it outside. Then she and Grace went through the documents. They seemed to be some kind of bank statements and they were all pretty much the same. The same number of the bank account paied quite the amount of money to another bank account number. Payments were frenquent - about one a month. Grace recognized the number of the account that was recieving the payments. It belonged to the company that ran the casino of this town and it was especially known for involving in shady business. Grace once wrote an article about one of their affairs and she memorized the number of one of their several accounts. Andy also spotted one payment but this time the unknown bank account that was usually the payer recieved enormous amount of money from the same social help centre where Andy got "adopted" by Pruitt Hererra. That was huge and Andy's eyes widened as she realized what she'd discovered. She quickly took some photos of the things that she thought were relevant and then she and Grace put the box back inside and quickly made their way back to the Moonlight. All the way back Andy was telling Grace about what she discovered.
"That means that we might really find the person who's resposible for the incident if we figure out to whom does that account belong. That's huge!"
Wben they reached the Moonlight Andy stopped.
"Is there any chance that you can get us to meet the Hawkings - Volkov family any soon?"
"Ummm... I can't say. I would have to ask Matthew if he can arrange something... why do you ask?"
"Oh, it's nothing", Andy replied slowly.
"Come on, tell me. We're in this together."
"Ok, but don't tell anyone, ok? I've already been wrong about Vera. Well, when I saw the picutre I couldn't help but notice some resemblance between Ivanna and me. But I've probably just imagined it."
"To be honest, I saw it as well but I'm not very good with faces."
"Even though you're a reporter?" Andy said in a fake disbelief.
"Everyone has its own faults, even me" Grace laughed in reply. Then Matthew opened the door.
"Do you want to come inside or would you rather talk here for another ten minutes?"
The girls both smiled and entered the house. His mum served them a warm meal and Andy and Grace told him all about their trip except few important details and asked him if he could get them to meet the enitre family Hawkings - Volkov. Matt took his time to consider their request. After some time he said that maybe he can arrange for Andy and Grace to come with him for the lunch with Hawkings-Volkov family to which he'd been invited. But that ment that they would have to attend the Sunday prayer in the church. Andy was a bit sceptical at first but then she agreed. She had finally got a chance to meet that mysterious family and maybe learn something new about them.
Grace leaned forward and kissed Matt and Andy suddenly felt an unpleasant feeling in her stomach. She wished Robert was here, she wished she didn't run away when she met him that day in Gealach.
Я сумую за тобою, she thought.
I miss you.
So, that's it!
Follow the story to find out what happens next!