Jack's Discoveries

The small house looked empty, but with the warnings of this man rocketing around inside his mind, Jackson crouched at the bottom of the dirt track that led to Gavin’s home. Next to him were Joe and Noah.

“Are we actually doing this?” Jack asked looking at his two new friends.

“Don’t tell me you’re thinking about backing out?” Noah asked looking at Jackson.

“No.” Jackson retorted. A lie, but after what Will had done at the school gates, he wanted to prove that he was just as tough as his older brother. “It’s just, what if we get caught?”

Noah only smiled at this. “That’s half the fun newbie. Anyway, what’s life without a little risk?”

With that, Noah hurried off towards the small house, leaving Jackson and Joe behind.

“Is he always like this?” Jackson asked looking at the younger and more timid of the twins. Joe, shrugged and hurried off after Noah, leaving Jackson only one choice but to follow along.

The car was just as run down as the school bus that Gavin drove. It was covered in rust, and looked like it was barely holding itself together.

Noah, taking out a thin wire, began feeding it through a gap in the driver’s side window. Behind him Joe was jumping nervously up and down.

“What’s taking so long?” Joe asked casting a gaze at the bus driver’s house. A small concrete structure that looked weirdly out of place in the wooded terrain.

“If you shut up it might take less time.” Noah replied irritably.

A grunting sound suddenly came from the house.

Jackson looked up in alarm. The last thing he needed was for him to be discovered and brought back home at half midnight. His Mum would kill him if she found out, especially after his Dad had been seen in the town. He wasn’t stupid, despite what his family treated him, he knew what had been going on with his parents.

“Don’t worry, Jack.” Noah said without concern, something that his twin was showing like Jack. “Gavin ain’t waking up anytime soon.”

“How’d you know that?” Jack asked as Noah managed to unlock the door.

“Cause last year we let off a load of fireworks in his garden. Didn’t wake up.” Noah replied, opening the door, and began immediately rummaging around in the glove compartment.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Jack asked, his gaze instinctively flitting back to the bus driver’s house. Despite what he’d been told, Jack didn’t trust the fact that the driver was going to remain asleep through this.

“Money.” Joe said, shoving his brother aside so he could get a look in on the potential loot.

“Great.” Jack murmured to himself, realising only now that he’d been brought along for a robbery. Well, his Mum had wanted him to try new things whilst they were all up here.

“It’s not like that.” Noah said, taking the hint from Jack’s tone. “We’re just looking to redistribute the wealth he nicks from us every morning.”

“Yeah. He robs us. So, we rob him.” Joe said a wide smile on his face.

Jack wasn’t reassured. All he needed now was for a light to come on from the small house. Or even worse, the sound of a cop car to come from the road. And he’d be a dead man.

“Found it.” Noah said taking out a wad of cash.

“Shit.” Jack said finally getting in on the action. The allure of rolled up money was too much to ignore. “Wait. It’s two quid for the bus ride, right?”

“Yeah. So?” Joe replied.

“So, why’s there a roll of notes in his car? Why is it not a coin stack?” Jack asked, seeing that he was surpassed to fill the role of brains in this operation. Neither of the twins having much of that quality to go around if they thought that this was their money.

Reality seemed to dawn on both their faces, Jack witnessed in the moonlight.

Noah then dropped the cash onto the passenger seat, and reached in the glove compartment once more.

None of them said a word as Noah continued to fumble about. Jack stood listening, hoping that he’d just been overthinking it. He’d had that problem before.

That was when they all heard it, the clicking sound coming from the car. The sound of something opening that had been hidden.

“Got it.” Noah said with a smile and brought up a series of photographs. Flicking through them, Noah smirked, then stopped about halfway through. “What the absolute fuck.” Noah said, his voice quiet, too quiet. He dropped the image that had stopped him onto the passenger seat along with the money, quickly followed by the rest of the images.

Jack and Joe rushed forward, eager to see the loot. But both withdrew quickly with the same looks of horror that Noah had over his face.

Pictures of naked people, the one that had caused Noah to drop the images was one with kids on them, some about the same age as them, some older, some younger now littered the driver’s seat.

“We gotta get outa here.” Jack said as he stared opened mouthed at the pictures. This was bad. They’d just thought that the bus driver was mean, but this showed that he was much, much worse than anyone knew.

“He’s a fuckin’ pedo.” Noah said grabbing hold of Jack and backing away from the open car door. They all backed down the driveway, all heads flashing between where they were going, and the making sure that Gavin didn’t decide to wake up and see them from his house window.

Things were going well. Until one of the twins, Joe, Jack guessed stepped on a twig. The cracking sound echoed violently around them.

A light from the house came on.

“Run for it!” Noah shouted. They didn’t need to be told. All three of them hurtled back up the street towards home.

Jack was now going on pure instinct. If they were caught, then they were dead, no worse than dead. He’d been afraid of the police finding them breaking into the car. But right now, the police finding them might be for the best.

His heart hammered as he ran back down the jitty that would lead him to the safety of Brookfirth.

As Jack finally came to a stop as he skidded to a halt on the now quiet Main Street, he looked around, nobody there, he was all alone. Joe and Noah must have gone in the opposite direction, he knew they didn’t live in the Brookfirth.

When he’d first seen this street here, the day he and his Mum and Brother had arrived, it had seemed eerie, but nothing more. Now, in the dead of night, the buildings loomed large over him, the streetlights flickered, causing shadows to randomly appear. And it was cold.

It was the middle of winter sure, but even so, it shouldn’t be this cold.

A creaking something coming from directly behind him made him jump around, his heart going double time. He stopped when he saw that it was just an old sign. It was one of the few not advertising one of Mr Davis’s many businesses.

Then from somewhere in the distance, he heard a scream.

Jack spun around at the sound, squinting through the darkness. He’d only known the twins for a few days, but he was sure that the scream had come from one, or both of them.

“Hello?” Jack said into the darkness. “Guys. Is that you?”

Nothing, the night was still empty. Then he saw it. Something by the entrance to the jitty that apparently led up to the big house on the hill. It was a humanoid figure, just standing there, not moving towards him. All it was raise its arm towards Jack, gesturing for him to come towards it.

It was now Jack’s turn to scream. He ran, he ran down the street. A few lights came on from some of the buildings that flanked him. And Jack only stopped when one of the doors opened.

“What’s going on out here?” It was the woman who ran the hostel, the one whose business that he had been sick in when he had first arrived. Mary Craig pulling on a coat over her clothes as she rushed out. “Was it you who screamed, boy.”

Jack shook his head, looking back towards the entrance to the jitty where he’d seen the thing. But it was empty, nothing was there, and nothing looked out the ordinary. Still, he just shook his head one more time at the innkeeper, before running back towards his uncle’s house. Determined to put as much distance between where that thing had been, and himself.

He didn’t stop until he reached his Uncle’s house, and outside was the main reason he’d come to a halt. A police car sat directly in front of the house.

Jack’s veins turned to ice at the sight. Gavin knew who’d broken into his car, and had already got the Police to come and arrest him.

Acting now on nothing but pure instinct, Jack threw himself into the nearest clump of bushes, and hoped that his heart rate, which matched back up to the levels he’d experienced back at on Main Street, would not give him away.

It stayed high as well when the Copper, looking flustered even in this dim light, hurried back to his car, and drove off.

Jack stayed hidden in the bushes for a good few minutes, thinking that the Cop was simply lying in wait for him.

His arms, pressing against the hard frost covered ground, were now starting to hurt. It was this, and the fact that he was now starting to wonder if he’d freeze to death out here, that caused Jack to leave his hiding place, and head quickly back to the house.

“Maybe he’ll forget about us by then.” That was his Mum’s voice. Jack as quietly as possible, closed the door, hoping that he’d be able to sneak back up to his room without being caught. “Alright fine, I don’t know. I’m just living day to day right now.”

Jack snuck passed the door and was halfway up the stairs, when he heard his name being called.

“Jack?”

He turned around to see his Uncle at the bottom of the stairs.

“Hey Uncle Luke.” Jack replied, trying to sound calm and cool.

Movement came from the living room, followed quickly by his Mum hurrying out.

In all his twelve year, Jack didn’t think he’d ever seen his Mum this angry. Not even when she’d stopped his Dad beating Will when he’d lost his paper round.

“In.” Alicia snarled, pointing to the living room, her eyes were almost popping, and Jack didn’t even have to look at his uncle to know that he’d get any support there.

Sighing, he headed back down the stairs, followed by his Mum and Uncle.

The living room looked like a bomb had hit it. A large collection of pillows were strewn all over the place. The carpet looked like it had been trodden on by people who’d just arrived from a muddy farm field.

That wasn’t what Jack noticed though. It was the small clock in the corner of the room.

Eleven-fifteen.

He groaned, knowing what this was about.

“Sit.”

Jack did so, sitting down on the sofa and waiting for the explosion to occur.

“So, what time did I give you to be back here for Jackson?” Alicia demanded as she paced up and down in front of him.

“Ten.” Jack mumbled.

“Speak up!” Alicia growled.

“Ten.” Jack said more clearly.

“Ten. Yes.” Alicia said and more worryingly, stopped pacing. “Jackson. Please look at the clock and tell me what time it is.”

Jack didn’t need to look, he’d noted it when he’d first entered the room.

“Quarter past eleven.” Jack said clearly, not wanting to annoy his Mum further.

“Where have you been?” Alicia asked. “Why did I buy you a phone if you’re not going to use it to tell me that you’re running late?”

“Mum. I’m sorry. But-” that but was not the best thing to say in hindsight.

“No buts. I trusted you Jackson. And this is how you repay my trust. Especially with-” it was his Mum’s turn to stop mid-sentence this time.

“Especially with what?” Jack asked. He suspected what. But he wanted to hear it from his Mum.

“Never mind.” Alicia said, trying to regain her control of the blocking.

“No Mum.” Jack argued back, hardly daring to believe his daring to do so. “What’s here that’s so bad.” He knew what. Or at least guessed what his Mum was getting at. But there was that other thing. The thing he’d seen. The thing that had come to his window.

Alicia looked lost for words. Her face was going an ever increasing red at any rate. Then it settled ever so slightly.

“Your Dad.” Alicia finally said, and let out a huge sigh of relief.

“What about him?” Jack asked. He knew, but was prepared to play dumb for the moment.

“He’s- He’s not- He’s not a good person Jackson.” Alicia sputtered out.

Jack tried to keep his face neutral, though he was glad that he was finally going to get the truth about his Dad, and the reason they’d run away from him.

“Mum-” Jack tried to interject. He was about to tell her that he knew that. That anyone with eyes knew that. But his Mum barrelled onwards.

“Please. Jackson. This isn’t easy for me.” Alicia cut across, holding her hand out. “Your Dad. Did stuff. To me and your brother. Stuff no-one should do.”

Jack sat through all of it. He already knew it, or suspected it to begin with.

“You understand Jackson. That even though we’ve left home. That we left your Auntie Joe’s. Your Dad is almost certainly going to be on his way, if he isn’t here already.”

“Yeah.” Jack said, he already guessed that as. In fact, he’d been pretty sure that he’d seen his Dad’s car on the school bus.

“I’m telling you this, not to scare you. But to put you on your guard.” Alicia said. “He might try to trick you into coming back with him. He might just decide to take you.” She sighed. “You are also grounded. A week: no going out; no phone; no switch. Once school is done, you come straight back home.”

“Okay.” Jack said, far too quickly, given the looks that his Mum and Uncle just exchanged.

Once Jack had left the room. Luke turned to Alicia.

“Have you ever known a kid to be so unbothered about being cooped up in his room for a week?” Luke asked.

Alicia hadn’t thought about that. “No.” The last time she’d grounded one of her boys, Will had not spoken to her for close to a month.

Before she could say anything more about this lack of fight from Jackson. Luke suddenly grabbed hold of his wrist, like someone had given it a powerful electric shock. His eyes began to visibly water, as he obviously tried to hold in the yell of pain.

“Luke. What the-” Alicia said, but Luke shot up, and rushed into the kitchen. Alicia could hear the sound of the tap running before she saw her brother holding his wrist and lower arm in what looked like boiling water.

“It’s-” Luke winced as he ran his lower arm up and down the boiling water. “It’s nothing. Ahhh.”

Water wasn’t the only thing running off her brother’s arm though, Alicia saw some strange black substance landing in the sink, staining the bowl before it hissed and was pushed down the drain.

“Jesus Luke. You need a hospital.” Alicia said, staring at Luke’s reddening arm.

“No.” Luke retorted as he finally withdrew his arm, though he left the tap running. “It’s nothing, Al. just drop it. If that’s even possible.”

“That ain’t normal, Luke.” Alicia said, not knowing how far she could push this matter.

“No shit.” Luke responded. “But whatever it is. It doesn’t like heat. Hopefully it stays dead.”

“Wait. How long has this been happening?” Alicia asked, picking up on the fact that this was not exactly new.

“Since I last went to the farm.” Luke replied.

“The farm. So, this is an animal disease?” Alicia asked. This was just getting better and better. She knew that her brother had a habit of not telling people when he was hurt; suffering in silence was a trademark of him when they were kids. But this could be serious, a new disease. And her brother’s stubbornness could lead to a potentially dangerous epidemic if the proper authorities were not notified of it.

“No idea.” Luke replied, examining his now red arm with interest. “All I know is that so far it ain’t contagious.”

“I still think you should do something about it.” Alicia said.

“Who says I’m doing nothing about it.” Luke retorted. “I’ve got the vet looking into what the hell these things are.”

“The vet?” Alicia said, she remembered that the vet had been an old, cranky man who developed what could only be described as a god complex when it came to the animals that were sent to his practice.

“Not that psycho.” Luke said as if he’d guessed what was on her mind. “The new vet. She’s got his crankiness, but not the rest of it. She’s agreed to send the bug that she collected from the farm off to be tested.” That had been an interesting conversation, and it had only happened when Dr Lewis had seen what one of the bugs had done to his arm.