Arrival in Hell

Snow lay thick upon the ground as the small car, packed to bursting, made its way down the small road. Suitcases and rucksacks were everywhere in the footwells, the two empty rear passenger seats, and piled so high that they almost obscure he rear window.

In the occupied seats wreathe two brothers, the only survivors that would be found by Joe Harding months later, being driven towards Brookfirth, soon to be population zero, by their Mum, Alicia Evans.

“You alright back there Jacky?” Alicia asked looking through the rear-view mirror to the back seat where the younger of the two brothers was sitting, staring determinately out of the front windscreen like his life depended on it.

“How much longer Mum?” Jack replied, his face was slightly green Alicia noted with worry. A bad sign, even worse as the mass of their belongings was preventing an easy escape for Jack whenever the travel sickness would inevitably kick in. She’d hoped to have been in Brookfirth over an hour ago, but a downed tree had forced them to take an overly long diversion.

“Soon.” Alicia responds, and Jackson nods, notably keeping his mouth as shut as possible. So, hoping that Jack could keep his stomach in check for the last few miles of their journey, Alicia turned to the older brother. A much more difficult job of lying to herself was now ahead of her. “Everything is going to be alright, Will.”

Will looked up from his phone; removing a pair of blue tinted glasses as he looks over at his Mum. He’d heard that statement before, when they’d left their home in the dead of night and had been halfway towards their Auntie Joe’s house. The promise hadn’t lasted then, and he saw no reason for it to last this time either.

“Sure Mum.” Will lied, if for no other reason than to keep his little brother in the dark for a bit longer. He then put his glasses back on and resumed staring at his phone, though also not actually using it, just staring at it.

Alicia gives a half-hearted smile, glad that Will had not said anymore. She knew that her eldest knew exactly why they were running away, and from who.

The town of Brookfirth was just as dreary and bleak as Alicia remembered it from her childhood. One Main Street cut diagonally across the landscape, with offshoots coming off at random points, filled with a mixture of new builds, and old concrete structures from way back in the nineteen-fifties. It had been a town that had had no planning, streets had been added when the population had come, services had quickly followed, a GP practice, a small police station, a primary school, and a small church its spire rising higher than anything else in the town, were now all that remained though. The secondary school and the fire station were long gone, with the residents having to go to the next town over for those services.

All the buildings, the ones that hoped to remain mind you, were clustered around the Main Street, clinging to the small road as its only lifeline. All except one. On a large hill, and overlooking the town, was an elaborate Manor House, at least it had been when Alicia’s grandparents had been kids, now it was as derelict as the town it continued to watch over. The murder house, that had been the name that Alicia, along with her brother Luke and sister Joe, and everyone else in the town had called it when she was growing up here. She guessed the name hadn’t changed in all those long years.

The story had gone that the house had been used to sacrifice people, when the occult had been a lot stronger. Sacrificed who and to what, nobody knew, only thing that anyone did know, was to stay away, less you became the next victim to never be seen again.

Ever since the thirties, the house had been held by multiple people. From the government using it for secret projects during World War Two, to the flurry of private citizens that had owned it. Nobody had stayed long, all leaving after only a few weeks. The last time that Luke had messaged her, the house had been empty, the man who had owned it, apparently kept it for tax reasons, and to everyone’s knowledge, he’d never so much as stepped foot in it since buying the rapidly crumbling house.

That had apparently changed though in the five years since she’d spoken to her brother. Lights blinked down at them from the house as Alicia drove down the road. But as she turned to get a second look, thinking that she’d miss seen, the light was gone.

“Mum. I don’t feel so good.” Jack said, his face now very pale.

That was all the excuse they needed to pull the car over, right next to a small and rundown hostel, with a rotting sign with peeling letters out front reading: Craig’s Hostel. Though the ‘O’ and the ’T’ were missing. The sign saying that there were vacancies, was not needed.

The inside of hostel was a lot less rundown than the outside would have implied. The word dated came to mind as Alicia rushed Jack inside, his hand covering his mouth.

The sound of the bell ringing as the door opened and closed got the attention of the Innkeeper. She was a plump, black woman. However, despite the poor performance of her hostel she had a wide smile on her face.

“Welcome to Craig’s. How long are you going to be staying with us?” The Innkeeper said.

“Look I know it’s out of the ordinary, but my son isn’t feeling well. Can he just use your toilet.” Alicia grimaced, not wanting to hurt the woman’s feelings, but also conscious that they were on the clock, and that Jack would not be able to hold it in much longer.

“Oh.” The Innkeeper said, slightly crestfallen, though regaining her previous demeanour. “Right this way.”

As Alicia herded Jack towards the toilets, she felt her phone buzz in her pocket.

Back outside, Will sat on the car bonnet, scrolling through his text messages. He didn’t need to go inside; he’d just get in the way. And when his little brother needed to throw up, in the way, was the last place anyone would want to be.

Another text came in:

‘Where did you go?’

Will stared at the notification. His Dad. The person that they were running from for close to a year now. The reason why they had never been able to settle down anywhere.

“Can I help you boy?”

Will looked up and saw a man standing a few feet away. He was obviously a policeman, looking at the uniform, and the car a few meters away. The man himself had the look of someone who had once been physically fit, but had long since let himself go big time. A beer gut hung outside of his now too small shirt, and a second chin was only hidden by the stubble that covered his lower face.

“No.” Will replied.

“Well, you can’t just sit on people’s cars.” The Policeman said stepping forward menacingly.

If that had been an attempt to scare Will, then the Officer had failed spectacularly. He’d lived with an actual psychopath in the form of his Dad for years. So, this attempt to scare him into moving was laughable at best.

“It’s my Mum’s car.” Will said, trying to keep his voice as respectful as possible, whilst also not giving any ground. However, as he gains his confidence, the real monster sent another text:

‘I will find you.’

And then another text came through, but this one was just full of expletives about both Will and his Mum., not his little brother, but then again, his Dad had not yet turned on Jacky, so that wasn’t as much of a shock. Sighing, he quickly ignored it and looked back to see that the Policeman was still there.

“Really?” The Policeman said, clearly not believing him. Not that Will was really paying much attention to Officer anymore.

“Really.” Will replied, getting up off the bonnet and pocketing his phone, feeling it buzz yet again, another threat from his Dad no doubt. “My Mum’s inside there with my little brother right now.” Will indicated the rundown hostel.

As if on cue, his Mum and Jackson exited the hotel, followed by the Innkeeper.

“What can we do for you Elliot?” The Innkeeper asked smiling, though noticeably walking to place her own large body between them and the policeman.

“Nothing Mary.” Elliot said, though he didn’t sound happy at the sudden arrival of backup. So, he turned his attention to Alicia. “This your car, Mam?”

“It is.” Alicia replied, she immediately didn’t like the Policeman, not the way he was looking at her, and not the way he was talking like she’d done something wrong. “What’s it to you?”

“Are you staying at this establishment?” Elliot asked, and casting his gaze towards the hostel with distaste.

“Nope.” Alicia replied, putting her hands on her hips. A danger sign that both Will and Jack knew meant that it was time to leave.

Even Mary seemed to sense it as she quickly interjected. “It’s no problem Inspector. Little lad just wasn’t feeling too hot.”

Elliot grunted, but clearly seeing that no crime was being committed he prowled off towards his police car, then drove off without a backwards glance.

“What’s his problem?” Will asked as soon as the police car was past them.

“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s just very untrusting of outsiders.” Mary said batting away the concern like it was nothing.