They made it to the top of Devil’s Ditch and wasted no time in sliding down on their butts. They slid to the bottom and rolled back onto their feet with ease.
We’re becoming professionals at this.
The trees and bushes were trampled, and there was an empty plastic water bottle lying on the ground. The police had obviously stormed through the area, but where were they now? Were they still searching for Lily, or had they given up?
“We need to make sure we’re not seen,” said Ashley. “The police could be out here.”
Jude nodded. “When I tried to get help this morning, the woods seemed to fight me. It must have been Rita’s spell. Maybe it will keep the police from hanging around.”
“Maybe. Come on, let’s do this.”
A few minutes later, they passed the NO TRESPASSING sign. A minute after that, they were standing in the clearing and staring at the old farmhouse.
In the silvery moonlight, the farmhouse appeared ghost-like. The jagged shapes and sharp angles were unnatural among the trees and bushes, and Ashley sensed now how cursed the place was. It smelled of death and decay, and her skin tingled just being there. Something deep inside her mind – instinct, perhaps – told her to run, and screamed that she was in danger. It took several moments to override that fear.
The clearing was trampled, but there were no police officers around. They must have come, searched, and left. She imagined they were now searching the estate for Jude and Ashley.
Jude spoke. “Rita said we have to bury the locket beneath wood, stone, and flesh. Any ideas?”
Ashley strode forward into the clearing and stopped at a certain spot. She nodded at the floor where the rotting carcass of whatever animal Jude had stepped in was. “Here’s our flesh. All we need now is wood and stone.”
“Well, there’s plenty of that about.” Jude turned a circle and started kicking at the ground, sending leaves and twigs flying. He moved back towards the bushes where they had entered the clearing, and there he found a thick branch that he brought over. He threw it down next to the dead animal. “Two down, one to go.”
There was a sudden chaotic uproar, and Ashley and Jude instinctively pressed against each other. The screeching came from everywhere as birds took flight from trees and small critters bolted through the bushes. Something had disturbed the wildlife. Ashley had a good idea what.
Rose appeared in the centre of the clearing, stone-still like a statue. The only parts of her that seemed alive were her bright green eyes that cut through the darkness like sparkling gemstones. Leaves and moss swirled around her feet as a cyclonic wind rose up from the ground. Then a full-on gale spiralled through the clearing.
Ashley shielded her face with an arm as airborne twigs, stones, and weeds pummelled her. She shouted out to Jude, “We need to bury the locket.”
“How? She’s here. She’ll kill us.”
Ashley dared to move her arm away from her face to look for Rose, but the woman had gone.
Ashley sensed movement to her left.
Rose was standing right beside her. She stank of rot and decay. Parts of her flesh were hanging loose. Her bottom lip was split and bloody.
Jude shouted out a warning and pushed Ashley aside. By the time he turned to face Rose, she was already throwing an arm out to strike him. She caught him in the temple and sent him spinning to the ground.
Ashley cried out. “Jude! Jude, are you okay?”
He was dazed but managed to crawl away through the dirt and leaves. “I… I’m fine,” he said. “Stay back from her, Ash.”
He didn’t need to tell her twice. Ashley hopped backwards and put distance between herself and Rose.
Rose gave another of her unnatural smiles, and the contents of the ground beneath her feet seemed to die. The moss and weeds shrivelled up and turned black. “Girl,” she whispered. “I knew the moment I met you that you would be the one to free me. I visited you in the night, calling out for your return, and you did return. I see you. I see the darkness inside of you. The rage, it is exquisite. Let it feed.”
Ashley continued backing away, moving towards the farmhouse. “Fuck off, bitch.”
Rose cackled. The sound echoed off every tree.
The gale continued to blow, making it hard to see or even move. It was like being struck by a horde of flies, small constant assaults all over Ashley’s body – the twigs, stones, and everything else lifted into the air by Rose’s fury. Barely any moonlight made it into the clearing.
There was movement at the centre of the clearing. Rose wasn’t pursuing Ashley, but she continued to cackle. Ashley fought the urge to just plain run the hell out of there. Jude was back on his feet fifteen metres away, but still dazed. In the centre of the clearing, a new person appeared, someone with wild, frizzy hair right down to her waist.
Lily. What the fuck?
Lily appeared out of the darkness and staggered towards Jude with jerky, inhuman movements. She was a puppet pulled along on uneven strings. Her eyes were ruby red and her mouth was a massive, cavernous hole. She appeared to have no teeth, but her tongue was three times the length it should’ve been. It flapped around and licked the air.
“Little help here,” Jude cried out.
Rose was standing between Ashley and Jude, but Ashley desperately wanted to be at her friend’s side. If this was how they died, then they should do it together. So, using an athleticism she hadn’t even known she had, she dodged to the side and spun around Rose. Then, with some space, she raced to Jude’s side. He grabbed her arm and squeezed it tightly, almost like he was checking to see if she was real. “We need stone,” he said. “We have to
