On The Moors

Chapter Three

David hadn't even had a chance to react to the scream when there was a crash as the seat he had just vacated flew forwards, Kathryn and Amy piling out of the car.

'What was that?' she demanded as David scanned the moors with the torch.

'I don't know,' David said quietly as he shone the torch in the direction that the scream had come from. 'I thought I saw someone out here.'

'Edward?' Amy screamed, moving round the car before either of them could stop her. Before David or Kathryn could go after her there was another scream.

'Amy!' he tried to shout after her as she took off in the direction of the scream. 'Wait in the car.'

It only took a couple seconds to realise that Kathryn had ignored him when he heard her splashing through the puddles as she tried to catch up with him.

With the light from the torch wobbling side to side as David and Kathryn jogged on to the moor they caught brief glimpses of Amy ahead of them. All of a sudden there was a scream and a squawk as she disappeared from view.

'Amy?' they both shouted as David shone his torch around, trying to see where she had gone.

'I'm okay,' Amy's voice called out of the darkness.

Changing course slightly, the two of them hurried across the uneven terrain as quickly as they could. When they finally caught sight of her again she was sitting on the floor, her hands holding her right ankle. Perplexed momentarily, David cast the light around, spotting a narrow chunk of rock that was sticking about a foot out of the ground covered in moss.

'What happened?' Kathryn asked as she crouched down next to Amy.

'I tripped on a rock,' she said bitterly as she rolled up her torn trouser leg to reveal a nasty gash on her shin. In seconds the heavy rain had diluted the blood that was running down her leg.

'Are you alright?'

'I think so,' she muttered as Kathryn helped her up.

'Are you sure it was a rock? I can't see anything apart from this one and it wasn't in your path,' David asked as he looked around at the ground. When he couldn't find anything he looked up at Amy who was leaning against Kathryn.

'I don't know,' she replied. 'It all happened so quickly. All I know is that it was solid.'

'The only thing around here is this,' David said, pointing the light in the direction of the rock.

'Is that something written on it?' Kathryn asked, pointing at a shape that had been carved in to the stone.

Crouching down beside it, David ran a hand across it, brushing at the soaked moss on the rock. Kathryn was right, there was something carved in to the stone. 'Lavern Danner?' he said slowly.

'Wait, is that a gravestone?' Kathryn asked as she looked at it over his shoulder.

Pushing more of the moss away, David examined the stone. Beneath the name that had been carved in to the rock were two numbers. 'If it is then he's been dead since 1796.'

'I didn't know there was anyone buried out on the moors,' Amy said as she tried placing her foot on the ground gingerly.

'I wouldn't know, you're the one who was looking into everything the other day,' Kathryn said as she watched Amy stand uncomfortably.

'Are you alright to walk?' David asked, shining the light on Amy's leg for a better look. He could just about make out the cut through the rip in her trouser leg.

'I think so,' she replied, taking a couple of steps to see.

'Kathryn, can you help her back to the car?' David asked. 'I'll find Edward, hopefully he's managed to get some signal.'