Jamie's Day

Unseen

Jamie and Sherry used to come here for service every Sunday, mostly under protest it has to be said, but they had stopped attending when their father took up a new job which took him further away from home. Jamie and Sherry knew this wasn't the real reason they had stopped going, something else had happened, something more serious, it had annoyed his their father so much that he had just walked away from it all. Their parents had never actually told Jamie and Sherry the truth as to why they had stopped going, they just concocted this work excuse and stopped going altogether. Not that it bothered Jamie and Sherry, quite the opposite, but they didn't show it, instead they decided to respond to one lie by fostering their own, that they were sad but understanding. Their truth in fact was that they had hated going in the first place. It was a lie they had all lived out of some twisted moral concience festered by a morally corrupt social and cultural system and so it had come to a head one, with their normally eccentric but placid dad, tearing a new one out of someone, the vicar they had supposed eves dropping on their parents conversations and that was it. no more halleluja's, forgive me's or Amens. It all stopped.

Now they had gained a whole Sunday together or all to themselves and could do whatever they wanted to do on the sleepiest day of the week. This had quickly included Sherry going out with her friends and Jamie playing with his toys and watching more TV. Still, it creeped him out. Maybe more so now since they had stopped going and all the grass and weeds had overgrown. The equally if not worse, overgrown Cemetary, certainly didn't help matters either.

Suitably refreshed and slightly scared Jamie and Charlie moved on again. Just at the end of the road, tucked away in the corner was a narrow footpath, slightly overgrown with brambles, nettles and other weeds, providing a deepening shadow that cast itself all along the path, giving it a gloomy and creepy atmosphere all of its own. Again, Charlie took up the lead almost fearlessly and headed down the path taking Jamie with him, Jamie having little choice in the matter. They exited the thorny, overgrown footpath and came out upon an opening to a wide expanse of woodland. This had a gloomy and dark history, fostering many a local legend. The wide area of the woods reach added to its sinister reputation. Legends and folk tales abound about strange noises, inexplicable sounds, creatures of terrifying appearance and size, of ghostly encounters, even tales of ufo's. Jamie definitely didn't like the idea of going in there, but something urged him on. Kept pulling him onwards into the large treescape. To enter secluded spaces of the deep undergrowth.

There was a purpose to this, there was a hidden reason to it. He didn't know what it was but it seemed like something wanted him to be there. Slowly Jamie became aware of the soothing sound of silence only kept from becoming oppressive by a gentle breeze rustling through the trees, making the leaves perform a delicate dance upon the branches, causing a ripple to travel through like a mexican wave. It was then that Jamie realised that Charlie had disappeared off and he hadn't known anything about it. Suddenly alert to this worrying situation, Jamie began to panic, not knowing what to do or which way to go, there seemed a thousand or more directions he could go and still be none the wiaser for finding Charlie. Knowing now that he had let his guard down and Charlie had seized upon the opportunity, Jamie spun around on the spot, making a note of the way they had entered and choosing a direction of travel, he set off in search of Charlie.

Jamie called out in regular, long wided bursts. His voice carried further and further the deeper in to the woods he trod. But with every step he took, the darker the it seemed to become, the foliage overhead got thicker and thicker and began to dominate the skies above him. It got thicker and darker until it left just simple beams or streaks of light scattered around, penetrating the tiny gaps in the trees branches and the autumn leaves, like natural spotlights searching for some hidden fugative of the wilderness.

The eeriness was becoming more than just uncomfortable now. Jamie couldn't quite explain the feeling, he only knew that he was now very reticent to stay here any longer. One more minute may be one minute too long already he sensed. Jamie just wanted to find Charlie again and go home and wake up once more. But he knew that it wasn't going to be as easy as that any more. He had to uncover a clue, something to help explain these these wild visions and their reason for happening in the first place. Something, a or may be, 'the', secret to these vivid dreams.

Onward Jamie walked, all the while calling out for Charlie. Further and further, deeper and deeper he found himself becoming, walking ever onwards until, he suddenly became aware, alert even, that the little light he'd made use of up until now had now also vanished. Jamie stopped and stood on the spot. trying desperately to garner some sort of bearing on his position and where he may end up coming out from this strange, strange place. The wind rustled and whistled through the tree-tops, yet not against him, not even a slight breeze brushed his cheeks or ruffled his hair to announce itself as actually there, as a real atmospheric phenomenon. Even so, Jamie began to feel cold, cold enough to start shivering. He wrapped his arms around himself and began shuffling his feet in the undergrowth, wary as to what he may disturb but determined to try and do something to warm up.

Just then a sound startled Jamie and he spun around in the direction of the noise. It had sounded like a twig breaking, snapping as though under foot of someone walking through with intent, or disregard. The noise came again. This time it was from behind him. Again Jamie spun on the spot, but again he waited, again he could see nothing coming. Jamie Called out to Charlie, hoping that he had found his way back to him. Hoping deperately that it was Charlie and nobody, no-thing else.

But this was a maze of a place and he began to realise that if anything Charlie was more likely going to be able to to find his way out and first than he was to find he way to Jamie. Jamie began to realise that the odds of him finding his own escape from this wooded prison were remote at best, damn right impossible being most likely.

Jamie called once more, the desperation was clear in his voice. But still there was no response. No bark, yap, growl, pant or any other tell-tale sign of Charlie's presence and yet again he failed to appear. Then another snap of a twig, followed by the sound of a branch breaking, others whisping as something brushed past them.  "Hello?" Jamie called out, instantly regretting his decision to announce his presence here in this dreaded place. But he had done it, he had carry on with it now. "Is....is somebody there?" Jamie hesitantly asked. But no answer was forthcoming. He called again, but again, nothing. Jamie looked around. Nothing but tall, thick trunked trees of indeterminate height and age and the horrible spongey moss beneath his feet.

All of a sudden, out of the gloom came what sounded like a heavy pant and a sigh. For a moments ecstacy Jamie's heart lifted to the clouds as he thought Charlie had found him again and come to rescue him from this horrible place. But just as quickly as it had risen, it dropped like a lead weight to the pit of huis stomach as he realised it was far too deep to be charlie. Besides which, dogs couldn't sigh. Jamie heard it level with his ears, so it couldn't be an animal on the ground and tree dwellers were far a few between, except birds and they would sigh like a giant. Yes that was it, it was at least as tall as him, probably bigger, much bigger, which meant that if it was an animal, it was enormous, gigantic even, a real giant.

Jamie scanned the area nervously, he now felt decidedly uneasy about all of this now, no not uneasy, terrified. Yes, definitely terrified. He still couldn't see a thing around him. still he scanned desperately, spinning around and around as he watched.

Then again came that sound. That breathy sigh, this time followed by the breaking of dead twigs underfoot, the rustling of leaves again but the rustle of the leaves this time came thick and powerful as flocks of birds leapt up and took off, up and away from the trees in their haste to get away from this myserious character. Jamie kept looking around , the urgency increasing all the time. Suddenly, the sounds, this "thing", was behind him somewhere. He didn't know where this thing was exactly but it was definitely behind him and it was close, And that was far too close already. Jamie wasn't about to find out just how far exactly it was behind him, or more importantly, what the hell this thing was.

All Jamie knew was that he had to get out of the place. he began to run, unclear at all as to which direction he was heading let alone which way he was supposed to go. He looked frantically around for a way out. Picking what seemed like the clearest path he could see, Jamie headed down it as fast as he could. Jamie ran down the path, jumping over fallen logs and oustretched tree roots. Charlie would have to meet back at the house, it wouldn't be the first or last time he would eventually get home to find Charlie there waitinjg for for him or the first time that after running off, finding his way back to Jamie or one of the others.

Jamie ran, skipped, jumped and leapt, but still he could hear this awful, terrible thing following him. Each check Jamie could swear that it had gotten closer, this thing was persuing him and it was getting closer and closer.