faceinterface » Ancestral Vengeance
aihashe Seil on her daily commute stopped off at the newsagent on the corner of her road.
“Hello Tai, earlier than normal today?” The shopkeeper’s strong accented voice cut through the traffic and her thoughts. Tai jumped slightly when she caught a shadow in her peripheral vision. Coming back to her senses, she looked at the shop keeper and smiled. Although what he said was a statement, the inflection in his tone insinuated an unsaid question, as small talk to break the silence.
“Yes, I am expecting a package for the archives this morning. An ancient document has been unearthed near Stonehenge and it needs analysing. It should be delivered soon at 8am to the CSAD archives and I want to be there to receive it personally.” She looked directly at the shop keeper, a dear old man, ever since she was little the same shop keeper served her. To her mind, he had not aged; she remembered the grey balding hair from 20 years ago. Although his movements had slowed slightly and the crinkles had increased, he was still as spritely as ever. “I’ll have one of these please.” Tai placed a can on the counter, a fizzy drink with high caffeine content. “I had to get up earlier today, 6am can you believe”.
“I’m working at 5:30 every morning, talk about having a lie in” the shop keeper laughed as he gave Tai her change. Tai, well aware of this, could not suppress her giggle; she considered how lazy in comparison she sounded. As the mutual laughter died down, they parted in good humour and for the last time.
“I shall probably see you on Monday, bye bye” As Tai walked away, she opened her can. Her thoughts did not consider the shadow of a man which was directly in the light where shadows should not be. When she left the shop, her bag felt heavier then she thought. Shrugging, she continued on unaware that today will bring permanent change.
Tai glanced at her watch and picked up her pace. With barely constrained excitement, she reminisced of her mother commenting how “Curiosity killed the cat!” as advice regarding her insatiable curiosity.
“I am looking forward to this” Tai smiled as she fantasised about a potential ground breaking discovery that would shake the world. She was half right; this discovery will certainly shake up her world. As she replayed yesterday’s phone conversation with the curator, in her mind, she pondered everything she could dreg up from the depths of her memory regarding Stonehenge and the ancient Celtic culture, their history and their stories.
“A document has been discovered in a grave, buried in a small copse of trees about a mile eastward of Stonehenge. It was discovered purely by accident. One of the local druids was searching for the correct tree to get a wand suited for their use, as is the want of the new age and spiritual culture that is emerging. The person was drawn to the area and was digging a hole in order to leave a thank you gift, when ... CLANG...” Tai was regularly spooked by the curator and his fondness for sudden emphasis. “...a brass scroll case inscribed with runes was discovered. Apparently it was the elder Futhark, so we thought it best sent to you for further study, considering your specialist expertise.”
The wind had picked up, sending chills slithering up her spine, was she being watched? She extravagantly wrapped her winter coat tighter around herself. This action allowed her to quickly study her surroundings, looking for something, anything, conspicuous.
“What was that?” Tai’s breath misted in the frosty morning air, “A shade...” With heart racing she studied the dark alleyway between two tall buildings. Nothing. She was alone.
“It must be the colder days playing on my mind”. Tai shook her head, the golden rays of the rising dawn sunlight reflected from her eyes. She continued down the abandoned street towards the train station, unaware that she was not alone. A fleeting shadow, a patch of darkness traced her steps.
he courier sped up on the A34. Having left Amesbury at 6:30am he was glad to be on the last stretch to Oxford, it was an urgent delivery that came in at the end of his shift. Up to Abingdon, Greg had felt strange, as if he was travelling with a passenger. Each time he looked to the side mirrors, a glimpse of shadow could be seen out of the corner of his eye, but whenever he looked properly, he could not see anything different. All in all it gave him a rather eerie feeling. After Greg passed Abingdon, the shadow never appeared again, but strangely Greg did notice that a weight seemed to press down on his shoulders. Greg could not think of a reason why so he shrugged it off as exhaustion after a long night shift. As Greg reached Oxford outskirts he relaxed, maybe a little too much. Greg generally did not eat on his shift, it varied so much he could not have regular mealtimes so usually he waited until his stomach told him to eat. Greg drove past a fast food restaurant and considered getting a double bacon and sausage muffin. The steering wheel suddenly seized up and was seemingly pulled down so the van drifted to the left, Greg wrestled with the wheel until an audible click was heard before he could regain control.
“That is the last time I think about food on the road” He quietly vowed to himself. Sadly, it was.
Greg soldiered on, eager to reach his destination to deliver the packet placed on the passenger seat to complete the job, find a cheap hotel and have a decent rest. He turned off the “A” road and entered the main town. He was overcome with dark thoughts as he unconsciously accelerated through the quiet and still residential streets.
“It seems darker than it should be?” uncharacteristically, he thought up a game of points, 10 points for a hitting a pedestrian, 20 points for a cyclist and 50 points for a motor cyclist. Greg laughed, a strange laugh he did not recognise.
“I must be going mad, working too hard!” Greg drove along Hythbridge Street, up ahead, there was a shapely figure, carrying a bag and drinking from a can. He slowed down, and watched her walk, admiring how her bum swayed from side to side. As if on cue, she glanced around so Greg winked at her and blew a kiss.
At that moment a weight was lifted off his shoulders. Everything looked lighter, a shadow flowed out of his cab, through the passenger door with a blood curdling screech and fused with the shadow of the lady he was watching. The sudden change startled Greg and his foot slipped and pressed the accelerator, he was forced back into his seat, his left hand was pulled down. The van sped into the pavement. The front wheels hit the curb. The van tipped and landed on its side. Its momentum continued and the van screeched, skidded and slid across the road. It crashed through some parked cars, and went windscreen first into a lamppost. The van came to rest after it was stopped by Greg’s chest and the back of the cab. The packet on the passenger seat shot forward, through the shattered windscreen and landed by the entrance to the Centre for the Study of Ancient Documents, where Tai worked.
ai hurried down the road not wishing to be late for the timed delivery; it was due in a few minutes. A crawling sensation crept over her, as if spiders covered her skin. Who was watching her? She finished her can of drink, and looked behind her. A van was speeding along, the name of the courier she expected clearly visible on the bodywork. Tai gazed directly into the eyes of a courier driver who was staring intensely at her. A shadowy shape rested on his shoulders. Disgusted she turned away again, her bag seemingly heavier. When the van hurtled past, the shadow was nowhere, it made the driver look like a different person. There was a visible transformation from lecherous pervert to terrified driver, when the van veered to the left towards the pavement. An ear-splitting scream broke the early morning quietness as Tai witnessed the most devastating crash she had ever seen. Car alarms sounded in a cacophony of sound which died as the van stopped moving. Deathly silence descended upon the area, disturbed only by the sound of an empty can clanging to the ground, dropped from a very still and very shocked Tai.
After what seemed like an eternity, sirens sounded. The area was swarmed with paramedics, police and fire fighters. Eventually she became aware of someone talking to her, a police officer wanted a witness statement. When all the action slowed, she walked to her workplace wanting nothing more than to sit down with a cup of coffee. There it was, by the main door, a packet addressed to her. She absent-mindedly picked it up, entered the building and progressed to the kitchen; she put the kettle on and made a cup of coffee. Visibly shaking, she sat down at the table, placing the packet next to her. In the dead silence, a slow rhythmic tapping sounded, like a death toll, announcing a new victim. In walked Professor Eldwyn with his trusty wooden cane that supported his slight frame.
“Hello Tai, you are looking shaken, what has happened?”
“There has been a fatal accident just outside; I have had to give a witness statement. It was the courier who delivered this packet, the scroll that was sent here from Stonehenge.”
The room darkened. Tai nervously cast her eyes around, looked out the window and noticed some emergency vehicles had left, flashing lights turned off. Black rainclouds had amassed to obscure the newly risen sun.
“That is terrible” The professor said. His detached tone made it sound like a mere inconvenience occurred and it grated on Tai’s teeth. The professor made himself a cup of tea with the freshly boiled water.
“Well take your time and come and find me when you have given this scroll a quick inspection.” With that, the Professor left the kitchen, striding purposefully and with a steaming hot mug, to his office, his cane tapped in the wooden corridor until it stopped dead.
A shadow flitted from the door and moved fast, it made Tai start in her chair. It disappeared when it got closer.
“W-what are these shadows?” She considered each sighting, overwhelming unease drowned her. Concentrating, she tried to relax and slowly released her tension, but it seemed something was weighing her down. “Must be my eyes playing tricks” she said trying to reassure herself, but a lingering doubt remained.
She opened the packet and removed a small, cylindrical, bronze case. Runes engraved upon the outside. Having studied ancient writings, Tai could translate some characters of the Elder Futhark rune writing system which was employed by ancient civilisations. Her notes revealed an ancient variation to her surname. Utterly intrigued, excitement replaced shock and doubt, Tai made her way to her office wishing to consult all of her research.
Tai walked down the corridor, up some stairs when a cleaner bumped into her. Was there a shadow underneath the bucket where light should have been? Tai stopped suddenly, and then shifted her attention to the cleaner. After some fumbling and hasty apologies, she continued on to her office. Looking back, she did not see the shadow again, but realised that the cleaner’s mop bucket balanced precariously on the top step. “That’s going to fall down the stairs” she mumbled to herself, as she uttered the words, the bucket did indeed fall over. It clanged down each step, the cleaner muttered a few choice oaths, Tai hastily entered her office to avoid getting roped into helping clean up.
Tai placed the bronze cylinder on her desk, when she sat down she heard something. A sound like a stick swiping through the air and another shadow flowed from the door towards her; Tai could not see anything that could have made that noise. She gazed at her own shadow; it looked more solid than it should. Her mind made out images of the people she had seen that day, their features distorted and in picturesque horror and abject terror. Tai shook her head, closed her eyes and looked again... normal shadow. It started raining outside, droplets of water knocking on the window. A crow cried and Tai jumped. She looked out of the window, the church bells rang across the graveyard, rolling towards her. Water splashes created a fine mist on the tombstones.
“Come on Tai, you are freaking yourself out here. What is wrong with you?”
Tai turned on the light and rechecked the writing on the scroll case, it read;
“Fear the name, Fear the shadow. I am Sheil, Fear shall grow”
Foreboding senses, trepidation and doom swept over Tai as she read the words out loud. Her voice echoed in the office, piercing shivers ran through her body. She continued reading the scroll;
“Fear the Name, Fear The Shadow. I am Sheil, Fear shall grow.
Mine deeds have been terrible and great. I have been cursed for eternal darkness and servitude to death. I am the underworld and am a guardian thereof. I am Fear and am changed since the black art. I am the hunted and the hunter. My heart has broke and shalt not be repaired. I shall be removed from this world, but I shall not be free.
I am the shadow and will survive to assist the Grim Reaper in collecting souls. My descendants shall harbour me. I shall awaken when this scroll has awakened. Each life shall grant me more power.”
Trembling, Tai dropped the scroll. The computer’s humming changed frequency.
“Has the shadow awakened?”
Spurred on as the nightmare unfolded, Tai studied her family tree; she had created it over the past few years and can trace her family lineage through various names back to the time of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle where her ancestors resided in Searobyrg. Her research illustrated that her name evolved from Sear, to Sarum, to Salis and now Seil. There it was... the name Sheil. Upon further investigation, she uncovered some folk stories used to scare children into behaving. An evil character was depicted, who dabbled in Necromancy and the black arts, named Sheil.
RRRIIINNGG
Tai jumped as the phone rang.
“Hello?” Tai inflected her tone to make a question.
“Hello poppet” was the reply
“Ah mother, how are you?” Tai reverently lowered the scroll on to her desk, head buzzing with the discovery; she was not concentrating on the conversation, but was glad to speak to someone.
“Have you heard about the shop keeper? He died from a heart attack this morning.”
“W-W-What, I spoke to him this morning before work.”
“It is terrible, can you come home early do you think? I have offered to help out with his funeral arrangements, as we have been close friends for so long.”
“Err; y-yes I suppose so. I need to do a couple of things before I leave though”.
“OK, see you later dear”
“Bye Mother”
ai hung up the phone, shocked at the news. A mirthless laughter sounded by her ear. She screamed, and banged her legs on the table while scrambling to get up. A vision of the shopkeeper appeared briefly in her shadow. As fear began to bubble inside, she grabbed the scroll then ran out the office searching for the professor. An eerie echoing laughter followed her down the corridor. When she reached the stairs, they were still wet. She dared not look behind her, where she could hear footfalls following her. When she turned the half landing, lying at the bottom of the stairs was the cleaner’s body, twisted in an unnatural position.
Terror coursed through her body, as she screamed and sprinted to the professor’s office. The evil laughter got louder and the hallway lights flickered. Tai opened the professor’s door, whirled around and froze. The shadow behind her had taken the form of a man and had solidified. Transfixed and mesmerised by swirling shadow, she discerned the shop keeper’s face, which merged into the cleaner’s face, then the courier’s face appeared. She could not tear her gaze away from the evil shade that chased her down the corridor. Shiel had awoken and had already claimed three lives and is hunting for more. She edged backwards then tripped over, thankful of being released, she kicked the Professor’s door shut.
“Professor, Help, get the police and ambul...” She stopped mid sentence, she had turned back to where the professor was sitting and was greeted with an ashen faced, dead professor, his face twisted in terror. A smoking pipe and lighter on the desk, carelessly dropped.
Tai shrieked louder, the laughter became deeper and more powerful. The door handle shook as if someone was trying to get in. The professor’s unmistakeable, deep and arrogant voice drifted through the door.
“Come now my pretty, I won’t hurt you. You are my descendant. Let us join together, you can do anything you want, the scroll was not the only treasure I buried. Let’s be rich. Continue your research, I only want to be reborn through you so I can have a physical body to walk in again, we will be happy... You have no idea how lonely I am. I want to touch, to smell and to taste again”
Quivering with fear, she looked around the office for a means to escape. Finding nothing, tears rolled down her cheek. She gripped the scroll even tighter. The door handle stopped shaking and tendrils of shadow trickled through the edges of the door. As darkness slowly enveloped the room, she huddled under the desk rocking to and fro and waited for the end. Cursing the scroll she looked at it, then noticed, the last line, some runes were written in a different hand.
“Fire in the South destroys the shadow”
Tai decided that burning in the flames may be better than the unimaginable horror which has killed everyone else. She grabbed the lighter from the desk and lit it. A wisp of blackness quickly receded, it worked! In a hysterical fit she set alight the papers on the professor’s desk, picked them up and threw them towards the door. The flames quickly devoured the paper, but there was enough for a book to catch alight. Fire spread up the bookcase and licked the door. Howls of pain could be heard in a multitude of voices. Fire alarms sounded as the inferno built up, the shadow had been trapped in the room with Tai and shrieked in agony slowly shrinking. Fire engines were soon heard outside; smoke filled the room, the corridor and poured into the street. Tai lay low, coughing, choking on the smoke. Just before unconsciousness took her, she heard the shadow’s scream of pain, die away.
Tai woke up in hospital, still alive. She sat up quickly and was overwhelmed by her memories. She searched for a shadow but could see nothing. She burst into tears as her mother entered the room, tears of relief. Tai smiled and relaxed in her mother’s warm and comforting embrace.
“What happened?”
“Sweetie, you were found unconscious in the Professors office. Luckily you had survived the smoke, but it appears the professor did not. He did look at peace though, he must have fallen asleep and his pipe started the fire.”
Tai remembered the look of horror on the professor’s face. Perhaps the shadow was vanquished by the fire as the scroll promised, the victim’s soul having been released. Tai lay her head on her mother’s chest, closed her eyes and fell asleep. Her mother stroked her hair, like she used to after a nightmare when Tai was a child.
She did not dream of any shadows, but of a charming young man she met in a forest. Stonehenge could be seen on a hill, a few miles away. There were no roads, cars or airplanes, but lots of wild animals. He walked toward her, a smile on his handsome face. Tai’s heart pounded as the blood rushed to her head. He gazed, intently, longingly and lovingly into her eyes. Her knees felt weak and buckled under her weight when he embraced her, tenderly and lovingly. “I am Shiel and at your command”, His breath tickled her neck as he gently kissed her skin. Tai could not allow anything to happen, it could not work and it would break his heart, she did not have the strength to resist. He lowered her to the forest ground and inside her both entities became one as the image faded into darkness.