Curse of the Werebottom

Chapter 4

As the residents of Diddlesbury were considering their invites, Larry screeched to a stop in front of Eddie's house and propped his bike up against the fence while he knocked on the door. Eddie answered and greeted his best friend in his usual manner. "What's up good bud?"

Eddie was, like Larry, slightly taller than average except he had jet black hair while Larry had blonde. Both boys were quite strong and fit due to them both being in the swimming and diving teams at school.

"Everything's up, my friend." Larry responded, "I am happy to report that something interesting has finally happened in this sleepy town. In fact – scratch that. Something amazing and brilliant has happened in this sleepy town, only you and I know about it and we've got the perfect opportunity to start a little investigation into the world of the unknown. Get your bike and I'll explain everything on the way." Eddie simply nodded, grabbed a jacket and called out to his mother that he was going out. She reminded him to be back for lunch and to make sure he and Larry only played where it was safe. Two minutes later the two boys were hurtling down the road and towards the campsite while Larry was explaining everything to Eddie. Eddie was as excited and puzzled about the whole suspected monster issue as Larry was. They both understood that if they were to solve this mystery, they would both be local heroes with fame, fortune and perhaps even a movie being made about their bravery!

Soon they were approaching the vast outline of Meanwhistle Manor, the very old castle-like building where the Sunnydays Campsite was situated within it's huge grounds and gardens. It was common knowledge that the local Lord of the Manor, Lord Meanwhistle, had spent the family fortune years ago and had been forced to open his beloved house to the general public to make ends meet. He had the brainwave to limit this intrusion to his garden through a camp site so that he would never, ever, ever have to actually speak to one of them. That would simply be intolerable!

Lenny and Eddie cycled through the site and both agreed that they could still smell the very faint odour of something terribly unpleasant. This was made even more noticeable, as the usual scent that could be enjoyed at the site was the very pleasant aroma of the many roses and flowers that grew in the plant nursery next door to the grounds. All they did was follow their noses and they soon came to a section of the site that was cordoned off by bright yellow hazard tape, placed there to prevent anyone from wandering onto the remains of the Pringle's tent.

All their belongings had been removed, leaving a torn and tattered canvas, pathetically pegged to the ground in a few remaining places. Eddie, the most reckless of the duo, ducked under the tape and began to search around. He was soon joined by Larry and after a couple of minutes it was apparent that there was nothing to be found.

"The monster had to get here and then it had to leave," Larry said, "Let's have a look around the area." The boys began to wander around, not quite knowing what they were searching for.

Both boys were fast losing heart and losing interest, Larry wondered if perhaps the police has already searched and taken all the clues away, and if they were just wasting their time. Eddie looked over at Larry who was still pacing and searching, hands in pockets and head bent low. Larry suddenly stopped and looked back at the tent and then off towards the Manor house. He broke into a wide grin and shouted to Eddie. "I've got it, It's no wonder the police missed it, it can't really be seen." Eddie ran over to where Larry was stood. "Look!" he said excitedly, "You see those four prongs in that bare area in the grass? They look like they mean absolutely nothing at all, probably worm holes or made by a child playing with a stick. Don't you agree?" Eddie looked at his friend like he had lost his mind.

"Now look at the bigger picture", Larry smiled. "Look for the pattern!" A couple of seconds passed and then Eddie smiled in understanding. He had seen it too! The four prong holes were repeated regularly throughout the bare patches in the grass at regular intervals every two or three metres. They led from the tent over the fields and in the general direction of Meanwhistle Manor.

"Monster tracks made by sharp monster claws" whispered Larry, "Now let's see where this big brute went to."