-25-

Maggie

The world is blurry. I blink, letting in the shadows and the moonlight. For one moment I feel the peace that one feels on waking – a moment where the horrors of the world are unknown to me. And then – with a searing throb in my ankle - it all comes flooding back.

The sins, the death, the Incident.

I blink again clearing my vision. The ground feels unnaturally warm – my cheek is embedded in the sticky earth. I push myself up to my knees, my hands sinking in the hot mud. And my skin turns cold.

Something is dragging Ginny's corpse purposefully across the orchard. His skin is a dark grey, he wears no clothes, he looks at me as he passes, his eyes red, and he smiles. Ginny's dead eyes look at me vacantly as she is dragged to her grave. Her bony fingers are splayed out, creating scratch marks in the ground.

"It is almost time, darling," say my parents in unison, their head and shoulders visible above their holes in the earth, "Come along now, darling. Time to go to your grave."

The demon like creature throws Ginny into her grave underneath the sloth tree. There is a squelch in the earth as it jumps down after her. The sound of crunching bones and the ripping of flesh fills the night sky.

Vomit forces its way up my throat.

It's eating her.

And the ground begins to rumble. There is a sudden suctioning sound as the graves of Mr and Mrs Williamson seem to be vacuumed into the earth – leaving nothing behind but two gaping holes. I hear a rustling from inside June's grave.

"Come on, darling," says mother and father. "It will be your turn soon."

They both turn their heads towards the tree at the end of the orchard – the tree branded anger.

"You brought this on yourself, darling, you know that don't you?"

I look at them both, tears in my eyes. And I nod.

I killed Jessica Masters in anger. That grave is for me.

I deserve this.

As soon as the thought comes into my head, the hot root binding me to the earth releases my foot.

"There's a good girl," says father, his skin sallow - his eyes red rimmed.

I stand, my feet sinking into the mud.

The ground rumbles again and I hear a slurping noise coming from June's grave.

I deserve this.

I start to move towards the tree. Suddenly father's eyes widen and he lets out an inhuman scream as he is pulled down into the earth.

"FATHER," I screech.

"There, there, darling," says mother. "You will be with him again soon."

She watches me, her eyes bright, as I approach the final grave.

"Good girl," she says. "Not long now."

Then suddenly, with a violent suction, she is pulled down too.

Tears roll down my cheeks. Terror fills me. My body is cold.

An inhuman hand suddenly appears at the edge of the empty hole. Then a man like figure seems to unfold out of it.

It has come for me.

I am going to die.

I am going to die a horrible death.

I feel frozen as very slowly it pulls itself up to its full height. With slow, rigid movements it starts to walk towards me.

And then suddenly its grey form is lit up by a bright light. I turn my head and see a truck racing into the orchard. It comes to a halt right beside me and the passenger door flies open.

"Get in," shouts a voice.

The groundskeeper.

Without a second thought I hurl myself into the truck and slam the door. The groundskeeper reverses away from the demon and races back out of the orchard. He speeds onwards until Faustus Manor is left far behind.

"You're safe, for now," he says.

Safe? My family are dead. I killed a girl. I saw something that came out of Hell.

My throat is tight. Tears roll down my face. My heart thumps against my ribcage. I struggle for breath.

"Th...th...thank you."

The groundskeeper looks at me, his eyes filled with pity.

"You shouldn't thank me," he says. "It is not your family that I work for."

---