Inside Evil

Chapter 16 - Part III

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

Roberta and Sam dragged their weary bodies through the door and dropped down onto the couch. Both realised that they'd left their foray into the woods a little late and unsurprisingly, in the fading light of the last day, they had found absolutely nothing. The pair had headed in the direction that Roberta believed she'd taken on her previous woodland meander, but there was no indication that they were heading in the right direction. They'd even decided to separate briefly, trying to keep each other in their peripheral vision as they moved forward and tried to discover any areas of clearings. At one point Sam's voice had been filled with excitement as he saw the trees thin ahead, but the pair simply saw that it was due to a ditch which was running through the forest, deep muddy footprints on the bank having been filled with water. Within only an hour or so the grey winter light had started to disappear and they'd had to turn for home. Sam had been resistant to this idea but Roberta, having travelled the woods by night once before, was keen to escape the lurking figures that could easily terrify.

Faithful sat on Roberta's lap licking his feet, oblivious to the reason for their afternoon wander. After all the clawing and mewing at the door, he had simply fallen asleep in Roberta's coat, the odd rustle indicating to her that he was still alive and well. Roberta wasn't quite sure what she'd expected from the tiny kitten but, as he was a gift from Mrs Peacock, she'd hoped for some miraculous discovery.

Roberta had managed to stay focused on the task in hand all afternoon though, and for that she was thankful. Her mind had kept clear whilst under the canopy of roaring trees and though she wouldn't admit it to Sam, she was starting to resolve herself to the fact that she was going to die. She was going to end up like Vanessa and all the others. This journey had chosen her, not she it, and both her mental and physical energy was starting to drain away. Perhaps it would be better if she just gave in to it all. At least it would be over for her then. The sun had set and this was quite likely to be her last night, and Roberta had no clue as to how she'd find the clearings now. However, Roberta wasn't about to lie on the couch and wait for midnight to strike and death to come; there was one thing she must do.

"Stick the kettle on Roo," Sam said as he got to his feet, "We can use that silver thermos you have. I'll go upstairs and get the flashlights."

"We're not going back Sam," Roberta said, amazed at his perseverance.

"What? Yes we bloody well are Roo. If you think I'm going to sit here all night waiting for this Ammokra thing to come and kill you, you've got another think coming." He pushed the sleeves of his jumper up and opened his eyes with a stern look. "Now, get off your arse and make the tea. I'll grab my rucksack and then we're off."

It was useless to try and argue with him and so Roberta pushed herself tiredly to her feet as she clutched Faithful in her hands.

"Wasn't so hard was it?" Sam smiled as he put his arms around her briefly. "We're going to beat this Roo. Make the tea."

Roberta listened to Sam as he went up the stairs and started to collect the various equipment needed for their evening excursion. She stowed Faithful into her coat pocket, knowing that he'd only make a noise if she left him behind again, and crept to the front door. She placed one hand on the letterbox which always flapped when the door was opened and gingerly turned the lock as quietly as she possibly could. Once she was over the threshold, Roberta took as much care at closing the door as she had at opening it. She looked up and saw the light on where Sam was currently dashing around to gather his things. He couldn't come on this final journey, and Roberta had decided long ago that once the end came she needed to be alone. She couldn't risk allowing the curse to spread to Sam as it had done from Vanessa to her. She couldn't let the one person in her life who had shown himself to be a true friend, to go through what she'd experienced in the past few days. If she was to die, then she was to die alone, out in the woods where her body would lie and rot and disintegrate before anyone ever found her.

The street around her was cold, and Roberta pulled her scarf closer. In the corner of her eye she saw that the detective was back, slouched low in his car seat so as to try and avoid detection. He'd been there almost every day over the past few weeks, out of sight or so he thought.

Roberta glanced one final time at the illuminated bedroom window and turned on her heel towards Ridgewood forest.

*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.

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