David breathed slowly as he recomposed himself. He lay on the floor beside the bed his wife died on. Bones and dust scattered the floor where he lay. He thought this to be the sickness of the mind that Alius had succumbed to. No way out. No way forward.
“The notes…” David remembered the instruction from Alius—the blue brick in the pantry dungeon. He scrambled out of his front door and ran to the manor house. For his own satisfaction, he looked up into the upstairs window and the light faded. It gave David a sense of power to extinguish a light with just his gaze.
The manor house was chilly and dim. He knew it wasn’t empty. Elizabeth stalked the halls silently, waiting to admonish or demonstrate her faux compassion. David wasn’t inclined to engage with her and went straight for the pantry door and almost ripped it from the hinges.
“David.”
David ignored the ghostly voice that called from the living room as he worked the back shelf away. It had been replaced perfectly by someone.
“David, I am speaking to you. Why do you go into the pantry?”
“None of your business.”
“This is my house, it’s my business.” She stood in the frame of the pantry with that soft smile painted over her ruby lips.
“I thought I was the captain, that makes it my house,” David grunted as he pulled the back cupboard and let it fall flat to reveal the dungeon entrance. He looked back at the calm Elizabeth.
“David, you’re acting strange.”
He pushed past her to fetch a lantern from the dining room table. “I’m acting normal.”
“You are beginning to remind me of Alius.”
David laughed, “Alius? I can see why he lost his mind.”
Elizabeth’s eyes flashed a fiery orange. “What did he tell you when you spoke to him in the woods?”
“I spoke to no one.” David adjusted the lamp and made his way into the pantry. He grabbed a bag of wheat grain and poured it out onto the floor of the pantry. Elizabeth watched with narrowed eyes.
“You taunt me now?”
“Why don’t you count them for me, Elizabeth?”
She glanced down at the wheat grain and back to David.
David smiled wide. “Go on, aren’t you dying to know how many seeds I poured out?”
Elizabeth shuddered and glided away from the pantry.
He closed his eyes and breathed deeply before descending into the darkness. The low lamp light made it difficult for David to discern the colours of the bricks, forcing him to take his time. He could hear scratching and thudding from above. Elizabeth was furious.
The dungeon walls were damp as he delved deeper towards the enclosed area where Elizabeth was kept. He held the lantern at face height and looked over the bricks. He could hear his heartbeat and the dripping of the old water running through the cracks. The blue brick was nowhere. He checked and checked before losing hope. Had Alius tricked him in some act of vengeance? David squatted to take a break, keeping his backside from the pooling water below. He inspected the floor where wheat grain floated.
David’s eyes brightened. He set the lantern on a flat stone above the shallow pool and rolled his sleeves. “He wasn’t protecting himself from Elizabeth…he was protecting the stone,” he whispered. The water was warm. He pulled and wiggled at the floor stones.
He slid a block out, set it aside, and retrieved a tin from the cavity. With shaky hands, he popped the tightly sealed lid off the tin. Inside was an old rolled-up bit of paper. “Hardly notes,” he said, unravelling the scrap.
The note read:
Confessions of David Potter -
I am a murderer.
I killed Angela to fill Daniel’s heart with venom for I knew his soul would yearn for vengeance.
I killed my wife. I smothered her.
I plotted with Elizabeth.
We drove Alius mad. I delivered to him books regarding vampires and mythical creatures. I pricked holes in the necks of my victims using cobbler tacks.
I framed Alius.
I gave Daniel a gun and counselled him on how Jarrod would survive the trial. I poisoned his mind with lies to drive him into a murderous lust. I hid him behind the curtain and instructed him.
I am the captain now. Elizabeth is mine. The manor is mine. The village is mine.
We came to this place through the walls, we return through the walls. With our veins emptied of blood. With our souls drained of love. We return to him.
David dropped the note into the water and fell back into the wall, shaking his head. “No, no, I did not, that confession is a lie!” His voice echoed through the tunnel. “The walls…”
“David!” A booming voice rattled down the tunnel and chased him till his back was pressed to the damp walls.
David fell silent. He didn’t recognise the voice chasing him.
A shadow loomed and a large brute of a man followed. He held his lantern before him to see who it might be. “Who goes there?”
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The man approached.
“Simon?”
The brutish man grabbed David’s ankles and dragged him through the puddle and out of the tunnel. He tried to struggle free but couldn’t loosen the iron grip. The man's stench was nauseating and washed over his senses in vomitous waves.
His head dropped and he let Simon drag him out of the tunnel. His head struck the steps leading up to the pantry and dazed him. “Ah!”
“There you are,” said Elizabeth. She was sitting on the couch, watching the sodden David as he was dragged before her.
David coughed and wretched.
“Leave, Simon.”
“Yes.”
“David, what were you doing down there?”
The reek lingered for a few minutes and left David unwilling to speak in case what came out was vomit instead of words. He clambered to his feet and breathed through his nose.
Elizabeth sat cross-legged, waiting patiently. She sipped her tea and placed it on the saucer. Her head was cocked quizzically. The kind smile she normally wore had faded and her mouth was flat. “Well?”
“I was looking for something.”
Elizabeth nodded, “did you find it?”
“Perhaps.”
She sipped her tea and nodded. “David, I fear for you.”
“Why is Simon in this house?”
“He’s here to protect me.”
“From what?”
Elizabeth blinked, “From you, David. You give me the chills.”
“You were begging me to captain the village, Elizabeth.”
“Begging? I do not beg. Simon is on board with our leadership, David. It’s time you were.”
David sat with his back to the wall, looking up at the elegant woman as she sipped her tea. “What is this place?”
“It’s our village, David. We live here. Everyone lives here and we love our simple lives.”
“How did we get here?”
Elizabeth chuckled. “Oh my, David. Are you forgetting? Do you not remember being pressed between my legs? Your mouth over my breasts? Your words of desire for a future with me by your side? Captain Potter.”
“I remember a regrettable night after too much wine. You spread yourself for me and begged.”
“I never beg, David.” She finished her tea and set the sauce down.
“I never agreed to any of this?”
“No?” Elizabeth smiled. “Do you know where Alius’ body is?”
“No, out in the woods it is assumed.”
Elizabeth shook her head. “Come with me.”
David hesitated as he watched Elizabeth glide out of the back door into the garden. Unable to resist the satiation of his curiosity, he followed her out.
Elizabeth led David to a mossy tombstone. “See.”
David knelt before it and rubbed away the dirt to read the inscription.
Here lies Captain Alius Van Der Haus.
25th October 1799 - 21st June 1835
Aged 36
Husband to Elizabeth Van Der Haus.
Captain to Village Gehanna.
Leader. Driven mad by duty.
Hanged for unspeakable sins.
Forgiveness and mercy be granted by the almighty.
“That’s thirteen years ago, Alius died two days ago, this isn’t his grave!”
Elizabeth shook her head, “David, you’re clearly unwell. You have been speaking of Alius and this trial all week.”
“So have you.” He pointed.
“No, David.”
“What is my name?”
“Elizabeth.”
“Elizabeth what?”
“Elizabeth Van Der Haus!” David struck Alius’ tombstone.
“My name is Elizabeth Potter.”
He shook his head, “No.”
“Yes, we have been married and much in love for twelve years.”
“Liar!” He pointed.
“Come.” Elizabeth led David to another tombstone. It read:
Here lies Esmeralda Potter.
10th June 1809 - 19th June 1835
Aged 26
Loving wife to David Potter
Soon to be mother of lost child, named Thomas.
Taken from us too soon, in a time of great sadness.
“No.” David curled up as he did at the foot of her bed. “I went to the house today. The cobblers house is–”
“The cobbler house is occupied by Gregory and his family. He has been the cobbler here for a long time. He was not happy with your break-ins. Fortunately, we were able to placate him. It wasn’t cheap.” Elizabeth crossed her arms. “I know what we did. Our affair weighs upon you still. Perhaps you feel guilt and it burns an old wound. You need to get through this, I cannot continue to clean up the mess you leave behind.”
David was left alone amongst the graves in the garden. He tried to replay every moment he had since the day his wife died. It was so real and close. He felt as if he could step into each memory and touch the world while they replayed.
He grasped clumps of dirt and squeezed it tightly until it pressed between his fingers. “I won’t let them do it to me,” he said to Esme’s grave. “They are trying to take me with them. I shan’t allow it.”
David pushed himself to his feet and lifted the shovel that leaned against the oak tree. He dug. He dug into the grave of Alius. His arms ached and his face dripped with sweat. Darkness had closed in and the rain fell hard. It made the mud heavy and difficult to shift.
After an hour of digging the tip of his spade struck the coffin. He cleared away as much mud to reveal the casket. It was rotten and packed with dirt. He tossed his spade out of the hole and took hold of the weakened wood to tear it up.
“Stop, David.”
David turned and looked up at the shadowy figure that loomed over him.
“Out of the grave, David.”
“Piss off, Terry.”
“No need to speak like that.”
The unmistakable sound of the flintlock jaw clicked.
“Are you going to shoot me, Terry?”
“If I have to.”
“Why?”
“You’re scaring Elizabeth. I don’t like that.”
“She’s my wife, I’ll scare her if I like.”
“You’re digging up the past, David. Nothing good can come of this.”
David laughed. “How long have you been working for Elizabeth?”
“Come back in, David. The rain is coming down hard, you’ll catch the death.”
David turned away from Terry and ripped the top of the coffin away. The bones of a man lay neatly.
Terry looked over and held up his lantern. “Satisfied, David? You dug up a corpse. Elizabeth will be furious with the mess.”
David rubbed his dirt-covered face, he was certain he would find an answer beneath the earth.
“Come on David, I’ll make you a cup of tea. Let’s get you warmed up.”
“An odd offering from a man threatening to shoot me a moment ago.”
“One needs to keep his wits about him around you, David. This isn’t the first time you’ve done this.”
“I have motivated a bullet have I?”
Terry chuckled, “Elizabeth would love for me to find a reason to end you, David. You’ve become a source of great sadness for her. She is frail with your sickness.”
“My heart breaks.” He climbed out of the hole with the help of Terry.
“Come on.”
David nodded and lifted the spade, clenching it tightly as he followed behind Terry.