The Rattler (Rattler Trilogy Book 1) (14 page)

1

The
girls stretched, languidly, and opened their eyes. “What time is it? God I
ache.” muttered Zoe, standing up and looking around her. “Shit! I remember
now,” cried Vana. She looked up the stairs into the darkness.
“The lads!”
The girls raced up the stairs towards the attic.
They tried the door, but it was still firmly shut tight. “We’re alright. Are
you OK?” asked Zoe. No response. “We’ll be back,” shouted Vana, “we just need
to figure out how to open the door.”

“Vana,
we need to finish what Ellwood started first,” said Zoe, positively. “We need
to break the curse. It was so strange,” she continued, “Ellwood told me what
had happened to the painting. He had hidden it...”

“Under the bed.
I know,” replied Vana. “Were
we dreaming? How could that happen? The same dream?”

“It’s
just another thing we can’t explain. Now, we need to find it,” said Zoe.

2

The
girls went down the stairs and into Zoe’s bedroom. All felt calm and peaceful.
They walked around the room, listening for creaking floorboards. “Here – by the
bed!” said Zoe, suddenly full of energy. “These seem to be loose.” Zoe was on
her hands and knees and was just about to lift the boards when Vana stopped
her.

“Wait.”

“What?”

“Before
we lift the boards, we need to know what will happen if the package is there and
it comes into the light.”

“OK,”
replied Zoe, “get the journal. It’s on the dressing table.” Vana carefully
opened the old book, and started to look for the traveller’s instructions.
“Right.
Got it,” she said. She carefully opened up the
fragile piece of paper and quickly read the contents. She frowned.

“What?”
said Zoe,
impatiently.

“We
can’t look at it. We’ve got to keep the thing wrapped up, and take it outside
to burn under the stars.”

“And
that’s it?
The end of the curse?”

“So
it says.
Simple, huh?”

“Let’s
not count our chickens.” Zoe removed the floorboards and there was the package,
wrapped in a rag, just as Ellwood had left it. She took a deep breath and
gently lifted it from its home for the past hundred years. “It’s so dusty,”
said Zoe, blowing away the dark powder.

“SPIDER!”

“Really, Vana?
After what’s just happened,
you’re still scared of this little fella?”

“Well,
yeah.”

3

As
the girls walked down the stairs Vana said, “Hang on. I just want to go into the
kitchen. We need to get something to help it burn. Have you got any olive oil?”

“Good
idea. There’s a bottle in the cupboard. We could use sugar as well. Oh, and can
you get the mop bucket and some matches?”

Vana
put the oil and sugar into a bowl and stirred the mixture vigorously. As they
walked out into the cold, dark night, the moon shone brightly and illuminated
the garden where the trees were swaying gently. The girls felt very nervous,
and wondered if they were doing the right thing.

“Where
do you want to do this, Zoe?”

“Right
here on the patio will be fine.”

“Are
you sure you want to burn it?”

“Let’s
get it over and done with. We need to get back to the lads.” Vana put the iron
bucket in the middle of the patio flags and Zoe placed the painting into it.
The oil and sugar mix was poured over the rags. Vana looked at Zoe, who was now
visibly shaking. “What does it say we have to do?” whispered Zoe. “Once it’s
burning, we just have to say that
we commend this curse to smoke
.”

“And
you’re sure that’s it?”

“Yep.
Let’s burn the bitch!”

Zoe
struck a match, dropped it into the bucket, and the rags started to burn. Vana
quickly took out her phone and began to film the fire. As the portrait became
more visible, the girls could again see the likeness of the little boy to
James. Once the fire took hold of the painting, the girls started to chant
We
commend this curse to smoke
over and over
again until there was nothing more than ash left in the bucket. The acrid smell
of smoke filled the air. “Vana, do you think it’s worked?” asked a timid Zoe.

“Well,
there’s only one way to find out,” answered her friend, “come on.”

The
girls went back indoors, making sure that the fire was well and truly out, and
locked the door behind them. The atmosphere felt very calm and peaceful. They
ran up the stairs, shouting to the lads as they went. There was still no
response from within the attic. Vana grabbed at the doorknob and pushed the
door. It opened easily. The lads were still in the same place as before,
rocking backwards and forwards. “Matthew!” screamed Vana, “are you alright?”

Matthew
gazed up at her, child-like. “What the fuckin’ hell happened?” he slurred.
Steven appeared to be stoned. “That was seriously good shit! Got any more?”

“Don’t
you guys remember anything?” asked Vana. “What? I didn’t miss out on sex, did
I?” replied Matthew dozily. “Are you being serious?” replied Vana, as she sat
on the floor next to her boyfriend. “Are you both OK?” asked Zoe. The lads were
like zombies.

“They’re
acting a bit weird,” whispered Vana to Zoe.

“What
do you mean?”

“Well,
they think they’ve been on drugs all night!” said Vana, rolling her eyes.

“That’s
probably a good thing, I guess!”

“Let’s
get some coffee into them.”

“Yeah,
probably best if they don’t sleep just yet.”

The
girls helped the lads up off the floor and they slowly made their way down to
the kitchen where Zoe made coffee. “Is it too late for a donner kebab?” asked
Steven, “I’m starving.”

The
girls smiled. It appeared that the lads’ nightmare memories of the night had
somehow been erased – so much for ghost-busting!

4

Sometime
later, Zoe and Steven walked to the local 24-hour McDonalds (in the hope that
the fresh air would clear Steven’s head) and brought back a takeaway – Big Mac
meals for the hungry lads and a Happy Meal for the girls. Matthew was dipping
his French Fries into a tub of barbeque sauce. “Babe, this is so amazing!
You’ve gotta try some,” he said to Vana. “Get a grip, Matthew! It’s barbeque
sauce. You’ve had it a thousand times before!”

“It
just, well, tastes so good,” he continued, smiling at Vana. He leant over to
her and gently touched her face. “You know what I’m doing tonight?” Vana
started to get annoyed with him. “Can you not just shut up and finish eating? I
thought you were...” He interrupted her. “But we are still having sex later,
aren’t we?” Vana glared at him. She got up. “Zoe, could we just have a word, in
private?” Matthew interrupted again. “I never really thought about a threesome.
Would Zoe really be up for that?”

Vana
glowered at him. “Matthew. Just shut up. And no-one is having sex tonight,
alright?”

5

The
girls went out into the kitchen; Zoe filled the kettle, and Vana sat down at
the table, her head in her hands. “What are we going to do with them, Zoe?”

“I
don’t know – but I feel as if we’ve missed out on this special drug!” replied
Zoe, at last starting to relax.

“Come
on. Stop messing about. I need support and ideas.”

“They’ve
got the munchies,
that’s
all. Once they have finished
eating and got some coffee in them, they’ll be fine.” Zoe made a pot of black
coffee, and placed the mugs onto a tray. “Anyway, I can’t think of anything
else.” Vana rubbed her tired eyes. “I’m so shattered. I’ve got brain-ache – and
my mind is blank!”

Neither
girl mentioned it, but both felt that the house was at peace at last. As they
walked back into the lounge, they were somewhat surprised to see two half-naked
guys draped suggestively on the sofa. “You haven’t got a rubber, have you?”
asked Matthew cheekily. He was not going to take
no
for an answer...

1

The
next morning found everyone fast asleep in the lounge; Vana and Matthew
snuggled up on the sofa, whilst Zoe and Steven were less comfortable on the
floor.

Zoe
awoke. She rubbed her tired eyes and tried to massage away her aches and pains.
She looked at her three friends still sleeping peacefully, then silently got up
and crept out of the room. As she walked up the stairs she felt that a huge
weight had been lifted from her shoulders, and she no longer had the horrid
feeling that she was being watched.

She
went into the bathroom, smiling to herself as she remembered how it had taken
numerous cups of strong, black coffee before the lads started to behave
anything like normal. She undressed, turned on the shower and had a pee whilst
the water was heating up. She did not notice the message appearing on the
shower screen –
I’m watching you
.

As
Zoe rinsed the lather from her hair, she opened her eyes and saw the message.
Her heart sank like a stone.

“Hello?
Vana?”

The
girl quickly finished in the shower and furiously scrubbed away the message.
Wrapped in towels she rushed into the bedroom. “I miss you guys,” she muttered,
staring at a family picture on the dresser. She grabbed some jeans and a hoodie
and dried her hair.

As
she walked down the stairs the telephone started to ring and Zoe ran down the
final few steps to answer it.

“Hello?”

“You
sound as tired as I feel, dear,” said Mary, who was sitting on the balcony at the
hotel. “Mum! It’s so good to hear your voice again. How’s the weather? Are you
all having a good time?” The tone in Zoe’s voice gave Mary cause for concern
and she said, anxiously, “Why, has something happened? Are you alright?”

“No,
everything’s fine. It’s just a bit quiet without you all here,
that’s
all.”

“Is
Vana not staying over?”

“Yes, but I’m the only one
who’s up – we had a bit of an all-nighter last night.”

“Say
no more,” said Mary, feeling relieved. “Are you eating properly?”

“Yes.
I’m fine. What time is it over there?”

Mary
checked her watch.
“Coming up to 5.00 am.”
Morning was
Mary’s best time – she had been an early-bird since she was a teenager and had
to help her dad out on the farm.

“Mum!
You’re supposed to be resting and relaxing!”

“I
know, but it’s too hot to sleep anyway.” Mother and daughter happily continued
their conversation, and Mary told Zoe about the fun they had had the day before
at Walt Disney World when James had persuaded Aunt Sally to join him on the
roller coaster,
Space Mountain.
It had almost given her a heart attack!

Zoe
felt so much better after her conversation with Mary. Texts are fine, but they
are no match for proper chats! She placed the receiver back on the charger unit
and wandered into the kitchen, where she found Vana standing making coffee, her
back to the door. Zoe crept in and gently touched Vana on the arm.
“Bloody hell, Zoe!
What are you playing at? I nearly spray
painted my pants,” said Vana, as she turned towards her friend.

“Sorry,
hun,” chuckled Zoe.
“Just messing.
Nice try with the
shower message by the way.”

“Huh?
I’ve not been anywhere near the bathroom yet.” Zoe told Vana about the message.
“Are you sure?” replied Vana. “We both felt last night that things were
sorted.”

“Do
you think it’s the lads playing mind games?”

“It’ll
be my bloody boyfriend, I bet – I’ll have words with him later, don’t you
worry.” The girls looked at each other. Vana poured the coffee as her friend
sat at the kitchen table.

“What
now?” asked
Zoe.

“Do
you want breakfast?
Toast?
Cornflakes?”

“No
thanks. I didn’t just mean about breakfast. I mean about the painting.”

“Yeah,
I’ve been thinking about that,” responded Vana. “Do you know we could’ve set
fire to a million pounds last night?
Can’t get it out of my
head.”

“Don’t
say that, Vana, please!”

“Well,
I’m just saying. What if all that wasn’t real? We imagined it?”

“No way.
It was so deffo real.”

Vana
started to smile. “Don’t
worry,
I’m pulling your
Tampon. It all happened, and anyway it was probably only worth a few quid. We
value our sanity far more than that! Sure you don’t want any toast?”

“No
thanks, I’m fine,” replied Zoe. She took out her phone and started a text.

Hello
Barbara. Can I come up to see you sometime next week?

A
few seconds later the phone beeped. Zoe opened the message to read –

Hello
you! Not heard from you for a while. I’m in a conference meeting in London this
weekend. Do you want to meet up here?

What
time and where?
she
replied.

“Your
fingers are busy this morning” said Vana as she rejoined Zoe at the table after
scraping her burnt toast over the sink. “Yes, one of mum’s friends is in London
and she wants to meet up this afternoon.”

“Cool.
Do you still want me to stay over again tonight?”

“Hell, yeah!
This should only take an hour,
two at the most.”

“OK,
I’ll get the lads up and we’ll go out, get some supplies, and then meet you
back here. What time did you say you were meeting her?”

“Not
sure, she’s going to text me back.” Just as Zoe spoke, her phone beeped, and
she read Barbara’s message.

The
Savoy, 2 o’clock, if that’s OK with you?

Zoe
quickly replied.

“Right,
Vana, I’m meeting her at two, so I should be back here by 4.30 at the latest,
but take the spare keys, next to the phone, just in case I’m delayed.” Zoe
checked her watch. 12.45 pm. “Best get going. You OK to lock up, and say
bye
to Steven for me?”

“Yes,
sure, but shouldn’t you do that yourself? He’s going to think you’ve stood him
up.”

“Oh,
he’s not, is he?”

“Don’t
worry; I’ll sort it – just tell him you’ve been called away and will be back soon.”

“Thanks,
hun. I’ve got my phone.” Just then Matthew appeared in the kitchen, and
stumbled groggily over to Vana for a hug.
“Morning all.”

“Hi
there,” replied Zoe, smiling at the sight of the bed-headed young man, dressed in
his blue-striped boxers. “Is Steven up yet?”

Matthew
poured some cereal into a bowl.
“Nope, still snoring.
Pass me the milk, please, hun.”

“Has
he said anything to you about me?” asked Zoe, shyly.

“What, in that he might like
you?”

Zoe
blushed. “Well, yeah.”

“Not
really,” Matthew teased. “He’s kept the subject quiet.”

Disappointment
showed on Zoe’s face as she struggled to hide her emotions.

“Gotcha!”
laughed Matthew. “He’s into you in a big way.”

Zoe
smiled. “Tell him I’ll text him later; Vana can fill you in.”

On
her way to the front door she peeped in at Steven who was still asleep. She
smiled, feeling happier than she had for a while, then picked up her jacket and
bag and dashed out for the bus.