After Dark

Five

"I'm sorry. I got lost." I made my way to the doorway and attempted to move past him but he stepped to the side to block the gap. His shoulders were so broad that he filled the entire door frame, casting a large black shadow on the floor.

"Are you ok? You look like you've been crying." He tilted his head to the side.

"I'm fine. I just need to get going now."

"Something has happened. I can tell."

I paused for a moment, completely devoid of any words. The tears suddenly began to fall uncontrollably and a wave of nausea bubbled in my stomach again.

"I have to get outside." I forced my way past him and to my surprise he let me exit without any protest. I threw up right next to the hut. I'd barely made it outside in time. My throat had been scorched by the stomach acid and my abdomen felt like it had been hit with a concrete slab. I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand.

"Here," the man said from behind me. "Take this."

I turned around to see him holding out a bottle of water. I instinctively reached out to take it and then suddenly thought better of taking a drink from somebody I didn't know. I guess my expression must have shown my apprehension, because he twisted the lid until I heard the familiar snap of the plastic seal being broken.

"It's brand new; never been opened. Until just this second obviously."

I took it from him and drank three large gulps. The cool water soothed my throat. He seemed kind, even though he was a little strange too.

"Thank you," I said. "Much appreciated."

"Now, are you going to tell me what's really going on?"

I hesitated for a moment, unsure whether I'd be able to get the words out without being sick again.

"There was a girl at the top of the Ferris wheel. Sh- sh-," my body started to shake as the image of her falling to the ground replayed in my mind. "She fell."

"She what?"

"A girl fell from the Ferris wheel."

"Is she ok?"

I shook my head. "I don't think so."

He looked behind him in the direction of the pathway I'd just run along. "We need to go and check. Can you show me exactly where she landed? You don't have to go to the exact spot but just point me in the right direction."

I shook my head. "I'm not going back there."

"Please," he said. "If I'm honest I don't want to be on my own when I find her."

I looked at him for a moment. This large guy with his unkempt beard, broad frame and tattoos poking out from underneath his shirt collar looked frightened. The man I had felt slightly intimidated by in the hut didn't seem to be the same man that was standing before me now.

"Ok," I nodded. "I'll come with you. But after that I'm going home and I am never setting foot in this place again."

"That's fine," he said. "Lead the way."

It took every ounce of strength I had to walk back along that path. My legs threatened to buckle underneath me as I forced them to take each step. The path seemed to take a lot less time then when I had been running along it, which I knew was impossible. I guess I was just desperate not to see that great big white wheel of death come into view. When it did, I stopped in my tracks. Josie began to whimper and tucked her tail tightly underneath her, a sure sign that she didn't want to be back here either.

"She should be right about there."I pointed at a pink bush that sat just in front of where her body would have landed.

The man gulped before slowly walking in the direction of the pink bush. I turned my back to him. I didn't need to watch him come across her body. I was sure I would hear him when he made the discovery.

"Behind the pink bush you say?" he called from behind me.

"Yes," I replied.

"She's not down here. I'm going to check the other side."

I heard the sticks cracking underneath his boots as he walked round to the other side of the ferris wheel. It seemed very unlikely that her body would have ended up there. Unless she hadn't died instantly when she'd reached the ground. I heaved at the thought of her pulling her broken body along the floor. Had she been calling for help or screaming in pain whilst I'd been running in the opposite direction. What if I'd been braver and gone over to see if she was ok? What if she was in an ambulance right now rather than crumpled somewhere at the bottom of a ferris wheel in the middle of the woods? What if-

"She's not here." I could hear the man getting closer behind me. I turned around to face him. He seemed relieved. Whatever horrific scene he'd been expecting to confront had amassed into nothing. I however was not relieved, I was frozen in utter shock.

"What do you mean she's not there?"

"There's no girl at the bottom of the Ferris wheel."

"That's impossible. I saw her fall."

"Well the ground hasn't been disturbed one bit. There's absolutely nothing to suggest anything has landed on the ground at all. Unless she got up and raked the dirt back afterwards." He chuckled at that. My blood grew cold in my veins and my heart felt like it had dropped to my stomach. He hadn't moved the body himself had he? I would've heard him moving her if that was the case wouldn't I? It was at that moment the memory of the yellow flash hit me again. This man had been watching my house.

"Are you definitely sure you saw a girl fall? There's no way it was a trick of the light or something?"

I simply stared back at him, completely unable to form any words. This man had been lurking amongst the trees watching our home. How could I have been so stupid to think that he was trustworthy. I should never have stopped running the first time. Here I was standing in the forest with a man I didn't know, who claimed that there was no dead girl lying there in the dust. I knew what I had seen, so the question remained. Was he lying? And if so, why would he lie?

I was suddenly very aware of how isolated this place was. If something happened to me, nobody would know to search here. I'd told my dad that I was going into town to find a bakery. They'd never find me.

"I've got to go." I said, not waiting for a reply. I started walking quickly at first and then once I'd put a bit of distance between us, I began to sprint.

"Hey," he called. "Are you sure you saw a girl fall?"

My heart was pounding in my chest as I ran back along the pathway. Josie was slightly ahead of me and in that moment I was grateful for her pulling on the leash.

"Hey!" he yelled this time and I glanced over my shoulder to see that he was jogging now. "If this was a prank it was a pretty sick one."

My lungs were screaming as I tried to catch my breath. His large, muscular frame seemed to be a hindrance when it came to running. As long as I didn't slow down, he wouldn't catch up with me.

"A prank like this is despicable, do you hear me? Especially in a place like this. You should be ashamed of yourself young lady. Do you hear me Esme? You should be ashamed." His bellows echoed through the trees, sending shivers up my spine. I had run far enough now that I could no longer see him behind me. That didn't put me at ease though, I could still feel his presence even if I couldn't see him.

My heart was pounding and my whole chest felt like it was being crushed but there was no way that I would pause for breath. I wouldn't stop running until I was back in my house with the front door locked and bolted.

He'd just said my name and I knew for sure I hadn't told him.