OK so I have mentioned before on this blog that I am a writer and with this in mind I thought I would share a little bit of my work. This is not taken from one of my books nor is it a finished piece, it is a draft of a first chapter, a draft which if ever used will most likely go through a process of rewrites and corrections. With that in mind here it is and I hope you enjoy it.
The
Light in the Darkness
Chapter
one
The coastal town of Lands’ end was thought to be a somewhat
plain place as far as everyone seemed to know nothing much had ever happened in
its long history. Yet for its beauty it has often attracted many holiday
makers. It was certainly true that the area was filled with natural beauty,
jagged rocks and perfect crystal blue water. Sticking out of these waters was
an impressive structure a lighthouse which now stands abandoned, yet still
remains strangely magnificent. It had been damaged and rebuilt several times,
but yet there it remained standing in one form or another, always there always
shinning out in to the sea, at least it did until the day it was finally turned
off, until the day the light went out for the last time and the horn sounded
its final cry into the night sky. Yet despite this there have always been
rumours quietly mumbled in the darkest corners of local drinking
establishments, rumours that this impressive tower was once the centre of a
dark tale. The kind that would bring a shiver to ones spine.
The light had been turned off for the last time with not so
much as a sigh or a whimper, nobody seemed to care. At the time the area had
enjoyed almost full employment, times were prosperous and the joy seemed to be
almost endless. Yet here in the now things are very different, so as the 20th
anniversary of the day it was turned off drew closer people were told that it’s
a cause for celebration a reason to embrace not only its history but the
history of the area in general. Most people were more than happy to accept any
invitation to raise a glass in hard times but yet alongside its intended
purpose of spreading some much needed joy the announcement of celebrations also
seemed to cause a rebirth of the old stories, the tales of incidents of paranormal
activity began to be talked about again, only now the stories were not stuck in
the darkness coming out of the mouths of drunks, they were being talked about
by everyone in the light of day.
The tales told of a time long ago when the light which was
supposed to be used to help keep wary travellers away from the rocks was
instead perverted by five men, they were called the founders of the town. They
used the lighthouses light to deliberately mislead ships, to cause them to
collide against the rocks, to sink them in the hope of plundering there goods. These
dark legends told of how the profits garnered from this twisted enterprise was
used to expand the area, not only did it line the men’s pockets, it allowed
them to live comfortably, to have families, to raise children, and this seed of
evil was what the town grew out of.
Just a short drive from this point the rain was rhythmically
bouncing of the roofs of the houses, some people would think this was a horrid
sound, it would signify a sense of captivity. It would mean that they were stuck inside held
prisoner by the weather with no idea when it might stop, of when they would
once again be free to step outside. Not everyone see’s rain in the same way
though, to one particular young lady it was rather soothing. Jasmin had grown
up in a large house with a big family, she was the youngest, and in fact she
had later learned that really in some ways she wasn't supposed to have even
exited. The doctors had told her mother that she would be unable to have
another child but then three years latter against all of the odds her mother
had fell pregnant. The birth had been a complex one and it had made her mother
rather ill, hearing about this latter Jasmin would feel a sense of guilt but
this wasn't the way her mother talked about it, her mother always refer to her
as her special little miracle even when she wasn't so little anymore.
Her family might have been large but they certainly were
not poor, in fact if she was asked she would have to admit that she had been
rather lucky for she had come from a somewhat well-off family. There had never
been anything she had been left wanting for, her mother and father had done
their very best to make sure she had everything she needed but she knew that
all good things must come to an end for she would need to make her own way in
the world. It was with this in mind that she had applied to a university with a
small campus in Cornwall an area which although wasn't the furthest point away
from her family was far enough away for her to be a total stranger, for no one
to know who she was or how she had been raised, this was a chance for her to
see who she really was when she was away from everyone and everything she had
ever known. In a way it seemed like she had only just left home and yet here
she was having just finished her 2nd year of university. She had more or less
only just turned twenty four as well although she had largely ignored this fact
choosing instead to focus on here studies. It had been a hard few months her
recently studying for her exams and staying up late in order to write the best
essays she could possible write but it had turned out well, she had managed to
achieve excellent grades on all of her essays and she felt confident that her
exam results would come back with similarly impressive scores. All she knew now
was that she had six weeks to calm down to put the past year behind her and to
get ready for her final and most important year.
Jasmin had contemplated taking a break over the summer in
fact in her mind she had always planned to spend the time doing some
travelling. When she had finished her
exams and began to pay attention to her bank account through it soon became
apparent that she simply could not afford to go travelling to strange new
places so this was simple out of the question. She did consider visiting her
parents after all this would not cost anything apart from the price of a train
ticket and it had its advantages. Jasmin knew that if she visited her parents
were she would be able to eat their food, watch there large television without
having to pay for the electricity and would not have to spend a single penny on
pretty much anything. At first this seemed like a great idea but then Jasmin
thought about it about being back at home. She would have to hear her parents
talk about how well her older sister Alisha was doing in her new job, how her
and her fiancé were doing so brilliantly. Then there would be the questions,
sure she could manage them asking her about her marks and if she had considered
what her options would be when she had finished her course but what she couldn't deal with were the personal questions. Why had she never brought a boy
home? Didn't she like boys? Was she perhaps a lesbian?
Going home and spending
time with her parents was not the perfect solution after all as it presented
its own problems. Jasmin always felt smothered by talk of her wonderful sister
who had already finished university, who already had a dependable trust worthy
boyfriend and a full savings account. Sure it would be nice to see her folks
but she wasn't sure if she could put up with spending the summer in her sisters
shadow once again. It was more than that though. She had grown up in what she
would describe as a large but warm family, a family filled with love but this
was no longer quiet the case. There was her brother Adam. He had grown up in
the same environment as her under the same rules and with all of the same
chances and yet he had squandered them. He had gotten some young girl pregnant
and had several problems with the law. Not only would her mother preach to her
about how wonderful her sister was, she would have to listen to her mother
curse and moan about her brother. She wasn't sure which was worse in all
honesty. It was hard to be told how much better her sister was doing but it was
also hard to hear her brother be talked about in such a negative way,
especially when her own thoughts and feelings on the matter were always so
confused. Yes he had made mistakes, yes he had used poor judgement yet she knew
that deep down inside he had a good heart. Their relationship had been so
different when they were younger he had been her big brother but he had been so
much more than this he had also been like a second father to her in some ways
and then she had also idolised him like a super hero. It was hard to focus on
who he was now and the things he had done when it clashed so much with the
childhood image of him that she had held deep in her heart for so long. Even
with the small amount of cash she had, she guessed if she stayed in the local
area or maybe took a bus or two there would be things she could see and
investigate, after all she might have been in the area awhile but how much time
had she really spent wandering? Most of her time had been spent in various
lecture halls and in either her flat or the library buried under a sea of
course literature. Maybe she would even go to the lighthouse celebration some
people had mentioned that was happening close by, after all one of the reasons
she had picked this area to attend university in was a longing to be close to
the sea. Still she had plenty of time to think about it there was a whole six
weeks’ worth of holiday and so she decided to sleep on it before making any
rash decisions.
As Jasmin was falling asleep the night was only just
beginning for Rochelle, while one girl was tasting toothpaste the other was
enjoying the feeling of sweet white wine trickling down her throat. A diet of
white wine while walking and dancing on 6 inch heels wasn't the brightest idea
that had come in to her head recently but then this moment in her life wasn't about being bright it was about letting go and cutting loose. Some people would
have seen her there dancing in the club drinking cheap wine and shaking her ass
in a mini skirt and thought that she was some dumb young slut, this couldn't be
further from the truth. Jasmin was a girl who was sure she was going places not
only was she tall with a beautiful olive complexion a model would kill for she
was also a university graduate, she knew she was going places she just wasn't sure
where yet.
There was a lot that Rochelle and Jasmin had in common, they both
came from well off families but unlike Jasmin Rochelle was a lonely child. She
had no brothers and no sisters, she was her Mum and Dad’s only child they
called her there special little princess. They were so happy when she had
gotten in to university and even more so when she had begun getting her marks
back. This wasn't the only thing that was different between them Rochelle had grown up in this area not only did she know every pub and club she knew every
road, ever lane and every back alley, these were her streets and so she never
felt any fear about travelling them at any time. She had plans upon plans for
what she would do if someone tried to corner her, she had a map in her head of
every twist every turn and every bolt hole in the area. She was a confident
young lady and it was this confidence which let her step out from the club,
that made her feel no hesitation at the prospect of walking from one night spot
to another.
Yet somewhere else somewhere not to far away there was a figure
stumbling in the night, surrounded by a fog in the darkness not a dull grey rolling
fog but instead a fire-lit, ash-dusted fog which moved flowing along with the
figure. A noise seems to come from this
fog at first it sounds like a man talking but no there were more layers to it
than that, it isn’t the sound of a man it is the sound of a dark choir moaning
and sighing in an almost rhythmic fashion, it is a symphony of pain and suffer,
a pain and suffering which has continued on beyond the grave. This thing could
smell the living, it could taste them in the air so as Rochelle left the club
it knew it. Somehow it could taste her sweet perfume even through its own smell
a smell which was as dark and disgusting as her perfume was sweet and light
enveloped it. It wanted her and yet it didn't quite know why it just knew that
she would take away the pain, she would make things better for a time at least.
It had to feed things were always much clearer when it began to feed.
Rochelle was simply walking now, as far as she was
concerned she was leaving one club and heading to the next. At first she didn't know she was being followed, the fog stayed far enough behind that in her
inebriated state she didn't pay any attention to it, in fact the first thing
she knew was that the temperature seemed to be rapidly dropping. It had felt
almost warm when she had first stepped out and now it seemed to be getting
colder by the second.
Suddenly she realised that she was being enveloped by some
kind of fog, at first she tried to reach out to find a wall or something she
could feel, something she could use as a guide but nothing seems to be near
her. Soon she has turned around and stumbled so much that she doesn't even know
which way she was originally facing. Then she begins to think that she can hear
a sound, she thinks she can hear a voice and the sound of footfalls on the
ground. Her heart beats faster and she starts to think that she should run, but
she can’t even tell which direction the sound is coming from, this is when she
realises that there are lights in the fog, lights which are all around her
circling her getting ever nearer. This is when she begins to try and make a run
for it, she starts to move quickly now her heels making a noise which sounds
almost like a horses gallop but as loud as the noise is the voice has now
become louder, not only this but it is now coming from multiple directions, it
is not one voice but a choir of voices she can’t make out what they are saying
but it scares her, she is so scared that she will freeze in place again so she
does the only thing she can think off and clamps her hands over her ears.
Rochelle trips and comes crashing to the floor, the pain is
unbearable she looks down at her ankle and realises that she won’t be able to
stand on it, but this soon proves to be unimportant because now the lights are
upon her. Soon she can see nothing but light, its hot and blinding and it seems
to be entering her body at first she is scared but then the voices which were
previously harsh seem to become soft and enticing ‘’Join us Rochelle, give in,
join us, join us.’’ The voices pleaded and pleaded and what at first seemed
scary suddenly seems somewhat pleasant. The light is replaced with images of some of
the most pleasant memories in her life she can simultaneously feel the joy and
emotion of the time she was five and she got her first bike alongside her first
kiss at fourteen alongside hundreds of other moments of joy and pleasure. For a
second she raises her hand up and she can see it is glowing almost as if it is
on fire, but there is no pain there it feels good in a way which is beyond
words almost as if it was being massaged tenderly, kissed from top to bottom simultaneously
at the same moment and bathed in a warm bath. Every nerve seems to be being
stroked and teased and pleased all at the same time the feeling spreads throughout
her entire body and then in a final flash of light she is gone and the fog
begins to retreat slowly dissipating, for now it is satisfied its hunger has
been fed and it can think straight again, but more than that it is able to
understand things it didn't before it has become somehow more.
Rochelle’s parents would never know what had become of her,
without a body to find they would never even know she was dead, sure they would
guess she was dead and yet hope that she was alive but they would never know.
Her life had ended in a wave of pure pleasure put the ripples of her passing
would create nothing but misery for those who had known and loved her.
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