We found ourselves in on the quiet streets of Sunbury, only about a half-hour drive from home. And at about 20 minutes from Melbourne airport, the transportation centre of Victoria, you’d think there’d be more to the town than houses and one small shopping centre.
“Small place.” Marli said looking at the shabby scenery. “It’s the simple life out here.”
There was a strangeness to how familiar the town was. I’d only ever been there twice, and one of those two times I was too drunk to remember anything apart from the beating of street lights against the rear window. Mistaking them for police lights. It was apparent that I needed to lay off the whisky.
It was getting late and we decided to put the town in the rear view mirror before we broke midnight… Or dawn for that matter. It was off-putting watching the houses go from well lived to completely abandoned on the outskirts away from the ‘busy’ town centre.
And there it was; Deep Creek. I’d completely forgotten that it was along this road. My heart sank as we got closer and I started feeling sick again, like there was a game of tetherball going on in my stomach. Twisting and turning my undercooked dinner into knots. Marli had noticed it too and was glaring out the side mirror, probably in hopes of seeing another glimpse of what we saw the previous evening.
Nothing, no shadows, no drunken teens jumping out from the trees throwing rocks at the car as they fled into the night. But the feeling was still there, the scorching eyes watching my every movement. Waiting to strike.
“Did we really need to drive past here again?” She asked. “I’m getting chills just going past it.”
“I forgot it was on this road. Believe me, I don’t want to be here either.”
We kept our speed up and passed the dirt road without looking back. Back through the small town which remains nameless as far as I’m concerned; I never did bother reading the signs. It was just a stop between two destinations, nothing much to look at and smaller than its neighbouring towns.
But the road and I had somewhat of a history, it connected my house to Deep Creek, the airport lookout and an old, run down cemetery that hadn’t seen any form of love in quite a while.
The cemetery however was more than just a place for the dead to rest, I’d taken my ex there once after watching a horror movie in the cinemas. Thought it would be a good idea to take her somewhere where she needed to get close again. After all, isn’t that what we’re all after, someone to cuddle when things are looking grim?
But I may have bitten off more than I could chew when I went through the photos I took. So many strange artefacts, where to start… Well there was the cat sitting atop a grave stone, which was nowhere to be seen outside the confines of the photo. The face on the side of a somewhat shiny grave stone, with clearly definable facial features; nose, eyes, etc. And just the feeling alone was enough to deter an average, sane individual from returning. But I’m neither average, nor sane.
The turn off for the cemetery was approaching fast. I didn’t want to take it, but somehow I felt compelled to slow the car and turn the wheel. I had one line going through my mind:
‘Hold on now, your exit’s here, it’s waiting just for you.’
YOU ARE READING
Deep Creek
Fantastique"I had no idea where I wanted to be. In truth, I didn't want to be anywhere. In my mind, existence was optional... And at times, confusing. So I planned to do what I always did in this situation; I'd drive. No particular direction, just onto the nea...
