Inside Evil

Chapter 5 - Part 1

*Inside Evil and its sequels are available on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords and iBooks*.

It was a freezing night in Mornington. With only a light breeze, the first of the snow flakes started to settle on the icy streets, drifting lightly through the illuminations of the streetlights to the ground below. Roberta trudged her way down an unfamiliar street, pushing her cold bitten hands deep into her pockets after she'd pulled the strings of her hood closer. What was this place? She'd never been here before, yet her feet trudged onwards as if she knew exactly where she was going. The street was completely deserted, and Roberta realised that she didn't even know what time it was. In fact, she suddenly had the growing feeling that she seemed completely misplaced in this strange street. Had she wandered off the main thoroughfare absentmindedly? She stopped and listened for the buzz of the town, the sounds of people so as to place herself...there wasn't any. No cars, no music, no voices, there was just eerie silence. It was this that worried Roberta most, and she thought about retracing her steps. However, she wasn't entirely sure where she'd come from in the first place.

Walking down what looked to be a narrow residential street, Roberta looked into the windows of the town's houses and was once again surprised to see that there were no lights on in any of the homes. The only light was that of the streetlights, and as she past under the beam of one, she took a moment to look up and see the gently floating snowflakes as they descended from the heavens above down to the isolated, deserted and lonely place where she was standing. The cold was starting to crawl into her shoes and nip at her toes, and she looked round to see if there were any signs of life at all. Way down, almost at the end of the street she now saw it, a single window of light. It was curious that a sole light should shine out in the formidable dark and even stranger, Roberta thought, of the building that it emanated from. Amongst the street of Mornington flats, about three stories high and flat faced, the American brick styled building at the end of the street seemed most odd. She imagined it to be a vision more often seen in Brooklyn than a residential street in a remote town of England.

Digging her hands deep into her pockets she quickened her pace and started for the light. She didn't intend on going in, in fact, she didn't know where she was going, but to know that she wasn't the only person around on this isolated night gave her a little comfort. As the light came ever closer, Roberta looked up and saw a lady, the sash window pushed upwards so that the thin frame of the woman could lean out. Her hair was grey and pulled away from a face which showed decades of life. In her hand she held a small, yellow watering can which sprinkled liquid amongst the colourful roses in her window box. Roberta smiled to herself. It was the depths of winter, they were almost certainly plastic roses, and here they were, being watered. In fact, on second thoughts, it seemed rather sad that on a cold night such as this, an elderly woman had little else to do than tend her garden.

As Roberta approached, the woman looked up, smiled and waved across to her.

"Roberta dear, I was wondering how long it would be."

Roberta stopped and looked up with surprise.

"How..?" Roberta started.

"No time for that dear, no time at all," the lady replied, her initial soft and welcoming voice quickly turning to one of grave importance. "We haven't got long, listen to me my dear, dear girl."

Roberta had no words to reply and was feeling strangely calm about the situation, as if it were every other day that a stranger called her name from a window covered in plastic roses. She was aware that, in addition to the elderly woman's voice, there was now a whispering from the side streets around her. It had been faint at first, but over the matter of only a few seconds, it started to increase.

"You're in grave danger. I cannot say why, I am not permitted, but Roberta...listen. You must find me, keep your head clear, keep your mind focussed and find me."

"But why?!" Roberta asked, confused. "I have found you, I don't understand."

"There isn't time dear, there isn't time," the old lady said quickly, her soft voice holding firm. "I can't hold them...," but she was cut off by the sound of the ever increasing whispers.

With a worried look in her eyes, she glanced towards the side streets and withdrew into her home, pulling the window shut and drawing the curtains behind her.

"Wait!! WAIT!" Roberta shouted out as the whispers became a low, drawling laughter. Laughter which echoed around her and seemed to seep into her skin.

"I don't understand," she shouted up to the window in frustration as the laughter grew to deafening levels. Her heart pounded, her eyes darted but the drawling laughter continued with increasing menace until just one word was said before it drifted away.

"Roberta".

The next moment, Roberta's eyes flicked open and she was thrust back into the normality of her living room. The ginger tom curled by her side, leapt away from her as she sat upright, the dream still swirling in her head.

"Hey, hey, it was just a bad dream." Sam was crouched in front of her, one hand on her knee. He put a hand to her face. It was cold to the touch, and Roberta suddenly felt as if her entire body was burning. A fever making waves through her tired and stiff muscles.

"Sam...I....what time is it?"

"Just after midnight. I got in about half an hour ago but you were completely out on the couch. I thought I'd just do some reading, I didn't like to wake you."

"No, no," Roberta said, glad that she wasn't alone. "Of course. I'm fine, honestly."

"Didn't sound like it Roo. You were practically screaming at the end, I was about to wake you when you woke yourself."

"I'm fine," Roberta repeated, half listening to Sam and half trying to hold onto the dream which, whilst so vivid at first, was quickly fading away. "I just....it was so....," but it was no use, all she could remember was snow and roses, little else.

"Cuppa solves everything," Sam said with a smile. Heleant over and kissed the top of Roberta's head before disappearing into thekitchen. Roberta heard the tap turn, and the click as Sam plugged in thekettle. She sighed before grabbing the ginger tom who had now returned and waspurring at her feet. "Come here." She nestled her head into the feline, whosepurrs grew louder as a result.

*I will be posting one or two scenes a week as the story builds. However, if you can't wait that long, Inside Evil is available on Amazon, Kobo, B&N, Smashwords and iBooks.

If you want to know more, visit geoffreywakeling.com, sign up to my newsletter, visit my Facebook or Tweet me. Thanks for reading, I appreciate your support.*