Three Mile Drove, Chapter Twenty Five (standard:horror, 1934 words) [26/29] show all parts
Author: Brian Cross	Added: Mar 02 2008	Views/Reads: 2888/2031	Part vote: 0.00 (0 votes)
The truth behind the happenings in Three Mile Drove is revealed as Darren and Claire face their fate. Continuing the serialisation of my story.

Click here to read the first 75 lines of the story

Darren switched his shocked gaze to where the old man now directed his
torch, the child stood between them, her head low. ‘I saw the 
resemblance, I just thought...' 

‘Her father was Sam Regan, yes that's right Darren, the uncle whose
bungalow you inherited,' she allowed him a bitter smile while inside 
her stomach wrenched. She watched Darren's face distort with horror, 
‘He raped me one day when I went to the place on an errand for my 
parents. They were related you see, this whole damned road is cursed 
with that affliction.' She switched her gaze to Shaun Tomblin, the 
hatred in his eyes seemed to throw more light than the torch, ‘Shaun 
wanted the girl for his own, he wanted her to grow up with this hideous 
bunch so that in time she would introduce fresh blood into them, help 
erase what generations of incest had created. You see the results 
before you.' She swung her arm at the assortment of misfits and Darren 
felt his temper reaching breaking point, easily overcoming any 
remaining sense of fear he held. He wanted to rush at the old man, rip 
the gun from his hand and settle the account for Claire, finish both 
Tomblin senior and his son off there and then, but he had a feeling 
Tomblin knew how to use the gun and didn't doubt that he would do so. 

He felt Claire's restraining arm against his waist, she'd sensed his
urge to rush Tomblin, ‘Wait,' she said softly. 

‘Where do you think this is going to get you?' Darren's temper got the
better of him, and he made a move towards the old man, his hand on the 
weight in his pocket. But Claire's grip was on him and her strength 
surprised him, he felt her nails digging into his skin. 

‘Wait,' she whispered. Thunder cracked overhead and she sighed, waiting
for it to die away. ‘Like I say, I was just a young girl on an errand, 
taking medicine to my ailing uncle. Just a naïve twelve year old 
thinking she was being kind. Only he wasn't ailing at all, and when I 
was getting his medicine out of my bag he pulled me across the bed and 
raped me.' 

She paused, her voice had lost some of its clarity; he felt a tremble
now in the grip she had on him. ‘Later I found I was pregnant by him, I 
was frightened of telling my parents, frightened of telling anybody but 
in the end I had to. After that I was sent away to a convent near 
London, and my parents looked after Julia. One day I got a letter from 
my dad saying my mother was ill. When I got home I found my mum was 
dead, and my dad lay dying.' 

In the torchlight Darren saw Claire's face contort with bitterness, when
he might have expected tears. She seemed to exude a ferocity like a cat 
about to pounce, the stance that a few minutes ago was directed at him. 


‘I knew he'd taken her, my dad kept a diary. He kept it up in the attic
of their house. You knew, didn't you Shaun, you tried looking 
everywhere but you never found it. It wasn't in his cases, it was right 
beneath them. Loose floorboards in an old attic. But you wouldn't have 
thought of that, would you, you thick bastard. I've got it now, safely 
in a vault. 

It tells of all the sordid deeds here, of the kidnap, of these poor
pathetic creatures that you've hidden from the outside world, it tells 
of how my parents were too frightened of this family to speak out, and 
that they feared for their lives. They were right about that, weren't 
they. They were poisoned, by you. Murdering bastard.' She glanced at 
Darren, angry and hurt, ‘So you see that's why I'm sure he set fire to 
the house. Things were getting just a little too hot, weren't they 
Shaun?' 

‘That's enough,' Shaun glowered at both Claire and his father, ‘untie me
and deal with them now, she's had her say.' 

‘So she has son,' the old man's hand tightened on the trigger as he
raised the gun, ‘so she has.' 

Claire took another step forward as Tomblin straightened his arm,
levelling the gun at her. Darren braced himself, free of her 
restraining arm now and ready to spring should she tackle him. 

‘You don't think you're getting away with shooting us, do you Jacob? The
police are on their way, they'll be here at any minute.' Claire, trying 
to keep her voice cool, swallowed heavily, now she had let the cat out 
of the bag, perhaps handed the old man the initiative. A derisory smile 
crossed his wrinkled face. 

‘The police, Claire? I doubt it. Not for a long time,' his smile widened
as her brow creased. ‘I came across them on the drove, they were closer 
to the place than they thought until I directed them down to old Sam's 
bungalow. Yeah the place does have some uses apart from attracting 
unwelcome strangers. Don't you worry yourself my girl, they won't find 
this place in a month of Sundays.' 

Claire felt she had swallowed a pill every bit as lethal as the bullets
loaded inside Jacob's gun. Darren saw her head drop, he saw old Jacob 
Tomblin savour his moment of triumph, he saw her daughter, filthy but 
still pretty, standing tearfully behind her. 

And then his restraint broke. 

His eyes travelled downward to the straw littering the barn floor, old
Tomblin had the gun, he had the torch but right now its beam was 
directed solely at Claire. Through the shadows he saw his chance and in 
the split second he had to react Darren bent low scooping the dust 
filled hay in the palm of his hand and letting it fly across the few 
feet that separated him from the old man. 

Tomblin felt the dust more than he did the straw, it bit with sudden
ferocity deep into his eyes. He let out a yell of anguish as his son's 
voice barked in fury. Shaun had seen what had happened but the old fool 
hadn't untied him, there was nothing he could do and now both gun and 
torch lowered Darren leapt in front of Claire wrenching the weapon from 
his grasp. 

A renewed cacophony of screams rang through the air as Joseph lurched
forward egged on by his family of freaks. Joseph remembered the blow 
he'd taken and it filled him with frenzy. Darren was his target and 
Claire saw that, she leapt on his back with all the impact she could 
muster, embedding her feet in his sides, but hunched though it might 
have been his spine took her weight without a shudder and he seemed 
oblivious to her presence. 

Darren lashed an arm across the ugly face but the twisted mouth simply
smiled, he felt the gun he'd taken from Tomblin ripped from his hand 
and saw it flung backwards to where the old man retrieved it. 

‘Joseph untie!' 

The deformed teenager gave an uncertain glance, until the old man, his
gun firmly back in his hand inclined his head quickly towards his son. 
‘Untie him, let him witness what follows without restraint,' he 
muttered, his eyes fiercely upon the bound man, ‘though he hardly 
deserves it.' 


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