Chapter Text
Prologue.
Henry stood still and silent, unable to process the events that had just occurred. He could feel the sensation of warm blood against his skin, covering his face like a mask. But he wasn’t yet ready to accept the reality of what he had just done.
The strange smell reminded him of the weekly visits to the butchers with his mother. How he longed to hold her hand. She would never let him though, instead she would discretely push his fingers away & whisper to him to keep his head held high. So he couldn’t help but stare into the hollow eyes of the lifeless hanging carcasses that surrounded him.
He suddenly shock himself back into the present where he was alone with another pair of helpless hollow eyes. His mother wasn’t here now, he could look away if he wished. However for some reason his body willed him to focus on the face of the man half hunched against the hard rock.
The dirt and sand filled air burnt his lungs and he was now aware of the sound of his own heartbeat, so loud and constant, almost overbearing. The dark edges of the mind shaft scared him; black holes that lead to unknown seemingly endless tunnels. He had been so excited and really anticipating the mystery that they held within them but now he had no desire to move any further.
The only thing he could focus on was the man in front of him. The dark brown hair stuck to this full face, that was illuminated by the lantern Henry didn’t even remember placing on the floor. As he looked at the man’s white lab coat, sandy brown in places because of the desert floor. He tried not to take any notice of the deep red blood, clashing with the pale blue of the man’s shirt collar. It continued to pulse out of his head wounds and run down his neck before dropping to the spot below him.
At that moment Henry became all to aware of the weight in his right hand and instinctively he unclenched his fist. The wet rock fell to the ground with a light thud as it made contact with the soft ground. It hadn’t sounded like that when it connected with the man’s skull. He didn’t want to remember but suddenly a voice filled his head.
‘How did you find me?!’ He echoed sounding scared and desperate. Henry recalled the instant panic of being caught somewhere he didn’t belong.
He tried to read the man’s badge that was clipped to his shirt pocket but it meant nothing to him. How much trouble was he going to be in? Was this a policeman. No. The lab coat and wholly, patterned green jumper suggested not. Along with the blue trousers and brown smart lace up shoes. He looked more like a doctor. But what was a doctor doing in a mineshaft in the middle of the desert?
Henry didn’t have much time to think about it. The man was shouting again.
‘What are you doing here?! Who are you?!’
‘My name is Henry sir, Henry Creel.’ He vaguely remembered answering.
The rest of what happened was mostly a blur in his memory. There had been a gun. It was still there beside the now motionless man. A scientist! Henry thought. He must be a scientist. A scientist who had tried to shot him. Luckily it had just skimmed the skin of his hand. But it still stung.
He’d have been killed if he hadn’t reacted. It was self defense, survival instinct, not his fault. So why was he still so scared? So upset? The tears burnt as they mixed with the blood and sand on his face. The sand felt like glass against the graze on his hand and he noticed for the first time the red stains on his sleeve.
What a mess. His mum would kill him. She had only recently bought his new scout uniform. She had been so pleased when she persuaded him to join after months of isolation in his room. ‘9 year olds shouldn’t keep spiders for company.’ She had proclaimed. She thought he had wanted to make human friends finally. It wasn’t that, it wasn’t the other kids. He wanted to learn how to survive and survive he had done so.
The uniform was a bonus. It made him feel like a real adventurer. Okay maybe not the hat that looked like a green folded paper boat on his head with a little red trim. It clashed with his neat blonde hair but the rest was smart enough. Matching army green trousers and a shirt that had 2 front pockets. 2! And they buttoned up. Of course he proudly displayed his badges on the front, well the one yellow circle for now but that was okay. His favourite thing though was the read neckerchief secured round his neck with a gold decretive pin.his mum had even gotten him a spy glass to go with it. It was the kind of uniform he had always dreamed of.
This was his first big adventure and look what had happened. No new discoveries, no treasure, just a dead scientist and his silver suitcase. The man had clung to it desperately in life but in death his grip had loosened on the heavy metal case.
Henry could take it now if he wanted to. It must be quite important if the man has been so protective of it, something very special, definitely some kind of treasure. Another tear ran down Henry’s face as he looked back up at the face of the scientist. He quickly wiped it alway though and this time he didn’t make a sound as the pain shot through his hand.
He was a brave adventurer and he was going to take his treasure. As soon as he thought this the atmosphere changed. He felt a tingle at the back of his neck. A new fear was unlocked. It felt as if someone was with him. He took a look around still not moving. Of course there was no one there. After taking a deep breath he bent down and reached towards the case.
‘HENRY DON’T DO THIS!’ a voice suddenly shouted. His eyes snapped up to the dead mans face as he staggered backward. Obviously the dead man was still dead and his mouth still incapable of moving. There had been no miraculous resurrection.
‘Henry please!’ The voice was softer this time and he realised it was feminine. He looked at the ladder to the surface in the darkness expecting to see the silhouette of his mum, almost prepared to run to her but there was no one there.
He turned on the spot, kicking up sand as he did so. A figure stepped out of the darkness into the warm glow of the lantern. It was a girl, younger than him even. She was beautiful, soft brown locks in pig tails resting on her shoulders. She had mustard yellow cape on over a blue dress. The dress matched her kind eyes. She was so close he could see the moisture on her full lips, the creases above her cheeks. But she was looking right through him, as if speaking to the empty space.
‘Who are you?’ He almost whispered, voice cracking slightly because of the dryness in his throat. Her eyes went straight to him and a look of shock crossed her face.
‘You can hear me?’ She questioned stepping even closer. She reached out as if she was going to touch him and he noticed a small stream of blood drop from her nose. But there was something even more alarming.
‘Where did you get that?!’ He demanded then felt instant guilt as she jumped away from him. She was still looking behind him every now and then eyes wide. Then she noticed what he was looking at and followed his eyes to her neck. Where a red neckerchief hung, held together by a gold decretive pin – identical to the one his mum had hand crafted for him.
Before she could answer a hole appeared in the cave, right there behind the girl as if someone had carved a window in the rock. Or maybe like a mirror with blurred edges accept it wasn’t reflecting what was in the room. He could just make out more figures and he could hear something coming from the other side. It was like a soft woman’s voice singing.
‘Secrets stolen from deep inside, deep inside… and the drum beats out of time.’
‘HOLLY!’ Another voice yelled and before he could even register what was happening she pulled the case from the dead body took one last look at him and the empty space then disappeared through the mirror.
‘WAIT!’ He yelled rushing forward and swiping his hands across the wall as if he could make something reappear. But it was all gone. He hit the wall with his fist in frustration. Then turned around and leant his back against the rock sliding to the ground. He closed his eyes and willed himself to pull himself together.
When he opened his eyes they drifted to the empty spot the girl had been staring at and he felt a feeling of foreboding like never before. The lantern suddenly smashed and he was plunged into darkness. His body began to to shake and he could of sworn he felt a warm breath in front of his face. He started to sob again and held his eyes closed tight waiting for the inevitable but it never came. After a few minutes he pulled himself up and scrabbled for the ladder. Once he reached the surface he ran as fast as he could. Leaving the scientist back in the cave along with his treasured spy class.