Croonford
Girls Detective Case 8: Dreams come true
Author's
note: This story was inspired by the X-Files Season 7 Episode 10 'Sein und
Zeit' and Episode 11 'Closure' but not a copycat of either.
Remember
there's no COVID-19 here.
Thompson’s
residence
March 2021
Early morning
"Dream...Dream...Dream,"
Jenn heard the lyrics of 'All I Have to Do Is Dream' by the Everly Brothers,
one of her mother's favourite band in her head. Just as she was about to hum
the full verse, her mind suddenly switched to a dark room. She immediately
heard cries of distress, definitely from girls. It's just a dream or light
nightmare, she tried to inform herself. Still, the dream stayed in her head and
the cries continued. Jenn opened then blinked her eyes. She headed to wash her
face and mumbled out loud it was just a weird dream. Just as she headed back
under her duvet, she heard the same cries again before there was quiet.
Croonford
School
The next morning before the start of class
"Wow, it's
been months since our last case," Chelle commented to Lin as they entered
the school gates.
"For sure,
but life takes priority," her classmate and fellow detective Lin replied
as she ensured her hair was tied and pinned to school regulations.
"Yup, but
have you any further success with tracing that WhatsApp message from that Cat
girl?"
"None. I'm
a good scientist but not one able to easily to crack such messages and I'm not
sure it's something I'll pass on to DI Nikki yet," Lin answered.
"It's another mystery."
"Speaking
of mystery, I had a dream, well a weird dream, nearly a nightmare. It was the
early morning when suddenly my mind turned black and I heard the sound of young
girls crying. I couldn't easily shake the dream off but it was so realistic.
After splashing water on my face, I thought I would have a better sleep but
then heard the cries in my head for a few minutes again," Chelle told her.
"It's
probably just another dream after all you've gone through," Lin assured
her.
"Did you
just mention a dream with girls crying in distress?" Jenn ran up to the
duo, her hands holding her school skirt, less the furious wind blow it up. As
Chelle summarised her dream again, Jenn exclaimed that she had the same dream.
"My
friends dreaming the same dream," Lin rubbed her chin. "Could
be..." Before she could complete her sentence, the bell rang and the girls
moved to their respective classes.
During break
time, Jenn ignored her half a baguette and chicken and scanned the web browser
on her phone for any missing or kidnapped girls. No hits. She tried searching
for 'missing young boys', 'kidnapped young boys' then replaced 'boys' with
'children'. Still no...
"Searching
for info related to the dream?" Chelle interrupted carrying a tuna and
mayonnaise on a flat bread. "I also found nothing searching on all news
sites."
"One part
of me say forget it, the other part says something is up," Jenn answered
with a half gloomy face.
"I don't
know about two friends having the same dream, but I know what I'll dream
of," Lin replied, stating her science-related wishes. Lin was eating a
bowl of instant noodles, not like the typical British pot noodles. She was
grateful the school had taken her suggestions to bring in proper international
food and snacks.
"My dream
would be to have a rich boyfriend then husband who would buy me sexy clothes,
maybe lingerie," Heather, Chelle and Lin's classmate remarked. She was
getting prettier and sluttier in her level mates’ view.
"Dream
on," Lin replied and the students finished up their food then headed to
their next classes. Jenn's was further away and had to walk through an open-air
corridor. Jenn was so engrossed with searching news on her phone when the wind
blew. She luckily caught her skirt before it blew up.
"Ooh, the
wind would have exposed your cute knickers with diamonds all over," a
voice called. Jenn spun around and saw a familiar face.
"You!
Haven't you learnt you lesson, or do you want to face detention or suspension?"
The bully from the Jon-Beatles gang sneered at her before he scuttled away,
singing off tune Madonna's 'Hanky Panky', changing the word 'candy' to the
American term 'panties'. Jenn held her skirt against her 60 denier tights and
groaned, wondering why this school wouldn't let girls wear trousers during the
cold months.
Jenn and Chelle
both spent their free time searching for news again but nothing like what they
dreamt of appeared. Their separate searches continued after school, after they
finished their homework. Still nothing appeared.
That night in
bed, Jenn lay back down with her eyes wide open. Please dream, don't appear
again; give me a good night's sleep. As Jenn pulled up her duvet, her mind
turned black again. No please, not again but Jenn heard cries, this time
distinct muffled cries, muffled most definitely from a gag. Jenn got out of bed
again but the cries continued, this distantly. Even after a through washing of
her face and brushing her teeth, the cries remained. She returned to bed and talked
out loud, pleading for the voices to cease and they did after half an hour.
Before the
start of school, Chelle rushed up to Jenn and they both exclaimed they had the
same dream, well maybe partly a nightmare, again. "So, do we have a
case?" Jenn asked.
"We have a
case, but it's probably the weirdest one so far," Chelle answered.
"Maybe you
two are getting the Big Friendly Giant dreams," Harriet or Hattie, another
of Chelle's classmates remarked, overhearing their conversation.
Jenn paused,
then answered. "Haha, well the BFG blew happy dreams into children's
minds, not what we dreamt of."
The detective
trio meet again during their break time but Lin, the scientist couldn't provide
any scientific reason. "Let's meet at our usual place this Friday to
further discuss," she suggested.
Girl
Detectives’ meeting place
Friday afternoon
"...Alright
Nikki, sorry for the trouble...yes, ok, you have a good weekend as well
bye." Chelle hung up her phone. "Nope, DI Nikki Heath says there's no
missing or kidnapped children across the last few weeks," Chelle informed
her friends. They improved their meeting place, unofficially known as the HQ.
There was added furniture, a better working heater and hot water boiler and
with some help from their 'landlord' Mr Morden, plus Lin's expertise, they
managed to tap into Morden's Wi-Fi connection, promising to log out to save
bills. This was all possible after the girls cleaned up his yard and part of
his house.
"That's
still not a start," Jenn said, bending her jeans-covered right leg over
her left knee. She as usual was the only Wi-Fi one in jeans; Chelle was in a
dark blue jumper, jeans skirt and black 40 denier tights. Lin was in her
scientist coat but that cover a shorter pleated skirt, a slightly thinner
jumper and sequenced purple 40 denier tights. Jenn was amazing how the
Malaysian-Hongkonger could work in her lab in such attire.
"Lin?
Lin?" Both called and the tallest girl finally came over. "Well, I'm
the scientist but I did some quick non-scientific 'research'. It is possibly,
but rarely, for two people to have the same dream together. This happens if they
are well, attached," Chelle and Jenn looked each other and laughed.
"Or if you are emotionally close," she added and showed them several
links on her phone.
"This one
says 'Very little scientific study has been dedicated to "mutual
dreaming," for several reasons'," Chelle pointed.
"But
scrolling down, it says 'our brains are essentially out on recess at night...
they have the opportunity to make loose connections, to sort through the more
difficult emotions we may be experiencing. It's an explanation as to why we
have anxiety dreams and nightmares', Jenn added.
"That
doesn't explain our similar dream," both girls chimed together.
"This link
may be better, "Lin brought up a new tab on her phone. "This section
states, 'the way in which the two people typically discover that they shared a
dream is that one person begins sharing the dream without knowing that the
other person had the same one until the other person jumps in and finishes it,'
"Lin read out loud. However, reading the whole article, both Chelle and
Jenn noted there was no conclusive reason for shared dreams.
"Really
dead end," Chelle shook her head.
"Well for
now. Maybe you two should install this in your bed rooms," Lin handed over
two devices that looked like microchips. "They detect the range of gases
in the surroundings," She explained.
"You think
someone is pumping gases into our bedrooms?!" Chelle exclaimed.
"Don't
know but could be. Anyway, I want to test them out before I show it at the
science club meeting," Lin remarked. The girls had nothing further so
again split up.
As Chelle
walked back, she suddenly remembered something and called Jenn to follow her
back to her home. Curious, the shorter girl followed and Chelle logged into her
Skype account.
"Hi Aunt
Marie, how's things going? How's Stacey?" Chelle asked as Jenn saw a
black-hair woman with an ample cleavage covered with a black dress. "This
is my friend Jennifer." Turning to Jenn, she explained her aunt was a
trained psychic
"Psychic?!"
Jenn exclaimed as Chelle explained what happened so far.
"Ah, no
wonder you called. What you hear are the voices of 'walk-ins'," Marie
answered with both teenagers raising their eyebrows. "These are souls from
bodies transported from bodies by a spiritual intervention to a better place
due to trauma."
"You mean
the voices we hear or dream of, are children killed or dying?" Chelle
queried.
"Possibly,
or they would be almost witnessing death happening." Chelle further asked
how they would know what the girls or children would look like or where the
darkened room would be.
"Ah that's
the cinch. I have to head over, be close to you two when you are experiencing
the dream."
Jenn motioned
to Chelle and the latter thanked her aunt and said they'll follow up. "I
hope this doesn't sound insulting, but is she really your aunt or some crazy
magician?"
"Yes,
she's my aunt on my mother's side but disown much by my parents and my wider
family. Yes, she does sound crazy but she is a psychic and has helped various
police forces across the UK and even Europe to find missing people or solve
unexplained events."
"Oh,"
was Jenn's first reply. "Can I think more about it? Have a good
weekend." As Jenn turned the corner to the road leading towards her home,
she heard one of the voices she heard in her dream. This lasted seconds, next
came a cold chill surrounding her although the air was still. When that ended,
Jenn saw the figure '11' formed from the leaves in front of her before suddenly
the wind blew it away.
95? Jenn
wondered as she stared again at the pile of leaves, shook her head then headed
back home. After completing her leftover homework, she wondered what the too
numbers would be. Googling that number would produce nearly millions of
results. Jenn continued to ponder over the number and whether it was just a
figment of her imagination. 11, 11...Suddenly she noticed the year on her
phone's calendar app. 2011, would 11 mean 2011. She googled 'missing children,
2011'. She didn't get a hit and changed it to girls. She didn't find girls but
there was a news report of a father locked up in a Category C prison for
possible murder of his missing daughter the same year. The new article was
locked and only could be library accessed. Jen bluffed her parents that she
needed to find books for school and headed to the town library.
"You'll
need more than a school or regular subscription to view this dated news
article," the librarian told her. Jenn didn't have enough money for a
premium subscription so pleaded for access and finally was allowed a temporary
access card. Jenn got to see the newspaper article on microfilm. She read the
article, knew she couldn't print out or copy the microfilm, but secretly took
pictures when the librarian wasn't looking.
That night,
both Chelle and Jenn left the special microchip Lin invented by their bedsides.
This time the dream did not materialise but both hear the muffled cries for a
short while in the early hours of the morning. On Sunday, they girls
congregated again at their HQ.
"Hmm, no
clear sign of any unusual gases," Lin announced the finds from the
microchip-like devices. "Unless you count the traces of pollution."
"Haha,"
Chelle laughed. Jenn half-laughed then recounted what occurred yesterday.
The other two
girls listened with intense interested. "Leaves turning into a
number?!" Chelle exclaimed.
"And the
number 11 lead to this news article?" Lin continued. The trio viewed the
article.
"Hmm,
seems like the daughter disappeared the year he was convicted of her
murder," Lin read.
"But the
case was very flimsy. No murder weapon found. No reason to kill his only
child," Jenn pointed out the next paragraph of the blurry photo she took.
"2011,
that would make the daughter ten years old," Chelle noted. "Sounds
about the right age for the cries we two have been hearing."
"But
that's just one girl," Jenn argued. "We've been hearing many gagged
cries. And where do we go - how do we interview this imprisoned man?"
It was another
roadblock. Chelle and Jenn agreed to keep the gas-detecting devices in their
bedroom. The girls were busied across the week with their school work and
individual club activities- Chelle with her writing and media club, Lin with
her science club and Jenn with her debating club.
Next Friday
afternoon
Chelle was back
chatting with her psychic Aunt, updating her aunt on the events. Both she and Jenn
continued to experience the same dream. "I really think I should head
over," her aunt remarked. "No, I'm not planning to stay at your
place. There's a Bed and Breakfast, B&B, almost opposite your house,
right?" Her aunt outlined her plans.
That night,
Chelle agreed to stay calm and stay in bed whatever she experienced in her
dream. Across the street in a small B&B, her aunt was standing, facing
Chelle's home, eyes closed. Hours passed, and the dream materialised again,
with the muffled cries more distinct than ever. The dream lasted for at least
three hours, the cries repeating themselves then suddenly faded away.
The following
morning, over brunch at nearby cafe, Chelle immediately asked what her aunt
discovered. "There was light," Aunt Marie answered, "then
darkness."
"That's so
vague. Oh, hey Jenn," her friend sat down and ordered her dish. "So,
this is your magical aunt," Jenn remarked. Marie ignored the girl and
handed her niece a pen and paper. "Write down what you last remembered
last night," she told Chelle.
"But I
just said it was the dream," Chelle protested but her Aunt was persistent
and told Jenn to say nothing. Chelle closed her eyes and held the pen over the
paper.
Within a
minute, a word 'BARKDALE' appeared on the paper.
"Did
I...?!" Michelle exclaimed, not believe she wrote that word. Jenn checked
up the name on her phone's browser. "Lots of abandoned house, leads to HM
Barksdale Prison, where than father, Mr. Burton was incarcerated. "We
should head there," Marie added.
"Wait,
wait, 'we'? You sure you aren't going to lead us to some fairy tale land?"
Jenn asked.
"I sense
your scepticism, but you saw what your friend wrote. Psychics aren't
magicians," she stressed on the last line. "Michelle?"
"I'll...follow
once we're done with food," She answered as Jenn was still eating her
poached egg and mushroom salad. "Catch you at the train station."
"You
really sure she's not leading you on some wild goose chase?" Jenn asked after
shoving more salad in her mouth.
"It can
sound crazy, but this is progress. I mean how do you follow once explain the
sudden cold and the number 11 which brought you, no us, to this point,"
Chelle argued back.
"I'll...I'll
look more into Mr. Burton's case," Jenn decided that was easier to
rationalise. She wasn't purely grounded in science like Lin, but definitely not
wanting hocus-pocus stuff.
Barksdale
West of Croonford
"This is
the area I wrote down?!" Michelle exclaimed, examining the dilapidated area.
"One of
these abandoned houses used to belong to Mr. Burton and his daughter," her
aunt replied, eyes closed.
"Which
one?"
"I can't
tell," came the reply.
"We came
all the hocus way here and 'you can't tell?'" Chelle was beginning to
think Jenn was correct.
"Walk this
way, " her aunt suggested. Soon enough the distinctive image of a prison
came into view.
"Must be
easy for them to transport him from home to court and prison," Chelle
tried to joke. "But how do I enter? I'm not related to this Burton guy,"
she protested.
"Leave
that to me. Go find a pub or cafe and I'll bring back news," her aunt
informed her.
Jenn' home
The same time
"Mr Arthur
Morden was watching TV then decided to check on his daughter. He was shocked
that his daughter was missing from bed, checked around the house and the
neighbourhood. He immediately called the police but his testimonies were varied
and was placed under arrest. A search of the wider area found no evidence of
his daughter, Rebecca. Morden was nevertheless charged for
manslaughter..." the news report from YouTube read out loud.
That doesn't
help me, Jenn thought and did more searching. She found an old website
describing Arthur Morden's success in improving infrastructure in buildings in
various towns and cities across the UK. He even set up a charity just before he
was charged in court to aid lower-income children to enter university. Not
exactly one who would murder children like his own daughter, she thought.
Back at a pub called
The Duelling Arms, Marie told Chelle roughly what she learnt. "I bluffed
that I was representing him," She started then told her niece the same
info learnt from YouTube and the old website, then mentioned he keeps seeing a
bright figure of Rebecca often in his jail cell. "She whispers something
he can't make out, then disappears," she concluded.
"That's a
walk-in?" Chelle asked.
"Yes,
but..." Just then Chelle's phone beeped. "Got to head back before mum
started worrying where I am and grounds me. Thanks so far Aunt." Chelle
was lucky and was able to please her mum with finished homework and a
sparkling-clean room.
With chores
finished, she initiated a three-way Skype call with Lin and Jenn.
"Yeah,
that's exactly what learnt from my Googling," Jenn remarked. Chelle next
told then how her aunt bluffed her way into the prison and talk to Arthur
Burton. The two other teen detectives listened until Chelle mentioned the part
of the apparition of the young daughter.
"Really,
your aunt heard that from him or she making the story up?" This came from
Lin.
"Well,
despite how it sounds, I trust what she says," Chelle defended her
relative.
"Ok, ok,
just leave the gas-detecting devices in your rooms and I'll think of something
else," Lin, the I-believe-in-science girl shook her head.
Chelle and Jenn
continued to experience the dream and the gagged cries of distress. On Tuesday
night, Marie Winters woke up startled as if lightning struck her.
In Croonford,
Lin was about to think of science club topics and new gadgets for the tam when
her mind turned cloudy and suddenly saw the darkened room her fellow detectives
saw. She heard the same muffled cries, then a voice and a fiery light. As with
Chelle and Jenn, she got up to wash her face but the cries resumed the suddenly
subsided away.
"Oh my
gosh, you also experience the same dream!" Jenn exclaimed the next day
before the start of school. Lin pointed out the differences in what she dreamt
and Jenn called Chelle for her views.
"Chelle?
Chelle?" Only On the third call did Michelle Summers answers. "Oh, I
heard all. My aunt says we all should meet at Barksdale, is this afternoon
fine?"
Lin, the
sceptic, still nodded. Jenn, now wavering to believe the mystic themes, nodded
but on condition that it was a quick trip, less her parents especially her dad,
fume their anger. Immediately after school, the three of them boarded a train
bound for Barksdale. Marie was already there and wordlessly beckoned the detectives
a block and half towards a really broken-down house. Marie was in slacks so
could easily climb over the vine-covered wooden fence. The teens, still in
their school uniforms, found it much harder, and Jenn nearly ripped her skirt
and laddered her tights.
"This
way," Marie finally spoke. They passed through a broken archway and she
led them into a small equally living room. "We need to hold each other's
hands," Marie instructed. "I need to summon they're - the walk-ins -
presence. Be very quiet and still; that's how it works best. There will be a
chill and your ears may pop but that would indicate their presence. Oh, and
close your eyes; they will be close to you and ready."
"How?"
Lin asked.
"Ssh,"
Came the answer. The girls slowly grasped each other hands and Chelle held her
aunt's. Two minutes passed, then there a bright yet eerie glow all
around. Young girls, around the ages of six to around ten, in night clothes
appeared. Some of them were definitely from the 1990s, others were from more
recent eras. Suddenly one figure held out her hand to Jenn's free hand. Jenn
unconsciously follows the girl or was it a woman, her other hand no longer
holding Chelle's and Chelle's hand remained bent in the air.
The light
suddenly vanished. "What...? Jenn?" Chelle noticed her friend's
disappearance.
"In
here," her voice called and the group headed into what definitely was a
bedroom.
"A figure
- from whatever that was..."
"A
séance," Marie finally explained.
"A girl or
woman, brought me here and look," Jenn held up what definite was diary.
Girl
Detectives’ meeting place
Later that Afternoon
After telling
their parents they were completing their schoolwork in the local library –
they
technically did complete theirs in their HQ, they opened the diary to read.
Life as a
single daughter can fun but boring at times, and the bore comes when dad has to
work late. I want a disappearance new life, with new clothes, more than just
money I'm given. I want a new life. The internet as a new place to find this
life but there are too many results. There is this nice man I met several days
ago, he promises items dad can't give me, but he'll only give them if I meet
him nearby. Ok, ok, I'll meet him one day.
There were many
more ages but they repeated the story. "She met a man online and disappeared,"
Lin noted. "That's so cliché. There's so much area around that house to
start. Where..." Just then Chelle phone beeped twice. "Rats, Louisa's
calling an impromptu media club meeting," Chelle groaned. Lin also noted that
she had to think of themes for science club. The meeting was adjourned and Jenn
still re-read the impromptu child's diary then closed up the HQ and headed back
home. She coincidentally received WhatsApp messages from her parents -- her
mother was out with her friends and her father was working late. 'Don't stay
out too late,' Was the message from the latter. Typical him, she thought as she
changed out of her hated school uniform into comfortable jumper and jeans.
Staring at her
laptop for half a minute, Jenn decided to head back to Barksdale before it was
too dark. She arrived back at the house once occupied by Burton and his
daughter and was about to re-enter the place when she remembered what was
written in the diary. Where should I begin?
Suddenly the
air around her turned rapidly cold then the light turned very bright. A young
girl in a dress that could definitely brought from comfortable branded
retailers like Marks and Spencer. The girl reached out and held Jenn's hand.
There was another rush of wind and the light and girl was no longer present.
Jenn now found herself in an open field.
What on earth?
She immediately wondered what transpired and where she was. I better find my
way back before I can't and my parents get worried. As Jenn stepped forward,
her right foot caught something metallic, definitely not stone. Out of
curiosity, Jenn bent down and brushed aside the grass and mud. It definite was
some metal hatch, secured with a rather new lock. Lock, how to... Jenn
extracted the laser pen Lin invented three cases back and after several
minutes, the lock broke.
Before she
lifted the hatch, Jenn sent a WhatsApp message to her friends updating them of
her possible whereabouts and findings.
The hatch led
to a very narrow tube but there were ladder rungs. It was really pitch
black, so she switched on the pen torchlight Lin made. Thank goodness this
torchlight could be adjusted to maximum brightness, Jenn thought. There was
another tube and as she made her way to end, she found herself in a large room
with three separate doors on one side. Two of the doors needed keys to unlock
them, while the third had padlocks. Jenn tried the laser pen against the
padlocks and although it took much longer that the lock for the hatch, the
padlocks came free, and she pull the various bars.
Inside was an
equally dark room and Jenn immediately smelt the distinct odour of urine. She
also her distinct muffled cries and realised this was the room she witnessed in
the dreams the past few weeks! Swinging her mini torchlight around, she
discovered the source of the cries - three young girls' wrists were secured by
rope around bars across the wall, arms stretched out. Their ankles were
likewise bound and each girl was tightly cleave gagged. Jenn immediately darted
towards the nearest girl.
She quickly
undid the thick cloth around her jaw and the girl continued sobbing.
"Sssh,
Sssh, it's alright," Jenn softly consoled her as she tried to work on the
ropes binding her wrists.
"Are...you
the police? Firewoman?" The young girl asked.
"Uh no,
but I'll get you out." That was easier said than done; the knots around
her wrists were too tight. Jenn decided to try the laser pen but when she
reached into her pockets the girl cried out loud.
"Well,
who's this nosey lass here?" A larger light shone on both Jenn's and the
girl.
"Trying to
be a heroine eh? Well, let's get you comfortable with these children."
Jenn could only think that her friends received her messages where she was as
the figure grabbed her.
As text or
WhatsApp messages go, they may fail or delay before received by the receiver.
As such, Chelle and Lin only received Jenn's message late. The minute Chelle
received it, she asked to be excused from her club meeting. Lin was still
doubtful but agreed they had to head back to Barksdale.
In the hidden
underground room, Jenn was now similarly bound and gagged opposite the girl she
was trying to untie, who was now re-gagged. "That will hold you," The
thug - definitely a thug to Jenn - stated as he turned and undid one of the
other girl's wrists bonds. "Levmm hemr almone!" Jenn screamed but
received a slap on her cheek. "Quiet!" Was the only command as
the thug carried the muffled crying girl over his shoulder and left the room.
Jenn immediately tried to undo her rope bounds but they were just too strong.
After several pushes of her tongue and her jaw, she managed to dislodge the
cleave gag. Quickly, she instructed the other girls how to dislodge their gags
and the girl opposite her managed to do so after several attempts.
They both
introduced themselves and the girl, Millie, remarked, "That's Anna, she
hasn't said much since we were brought here," Jenn heard the muffled cries
from the other end. She again instructed Anna how to dislodge her cleave gag
but there were only muffled cries. Millie said that was how Anna has been then
launched into how she got here. As she told her story, Jenn realised it matched
what she learnt from Rebecca's diary. Jenn was about to ask Millie about
Rebecca until the door slammed open again. "Who gave you permission to
speak?" The thug growled. Jenn heard Millie cry out but the cries were
muffled and she assumed the girl's gag was
replaced.
Jenn shouted
but felt her wrist tighten and almost cut and quickly deduced he secured her
more with zip ties. The same came with her ankles -- he replaced the ropes with
those strong cable ties. That was by far the end and he yanked off one of her
shoes and socks. That sock was immediately jammed into Jenn's mouth and with ripping
sounds, it was secured with tape.
Jenn further
screamed through the sock gag as the thug produced a large pair of
industrial-like scissors and started cutting off her jeans. The hug yanked off
the pieces of her jeans and soon enough her white cotton full brief knickers
was exposed. She kicked her bound legs wildly, expecting him to snip off her
lower underwear. Instead, he cut away her jumper, then her long-sleeved shirt,
exposing her matching white bra. "This is what I do to nosey teens,"
she heard then the door slammed shut.
"Where is
she?" Chelle asked out loud as she and Lin stood in front of the Burton
house.
"Her last
message said the ghost..." Lin read out
"Walk-in,"
came the correction.
"Ok, the
walk-in, brought her to a field and she found a metal hatch," Lin
continued. "Lots of fields around here, lucky I brought along Eagle,"
She unwrapped the UAV which she used during the Redmond case.
Jenn was now
more helpless than she ever was before. Ropes and a cleave gag were one thing,
zip or cable ties and her dirty sock stuffed in her mouth sealed with tape was
another. What was worse was she was humiliated; her jeans were cut off and now
her legs felt the chill of the floor. There also goes all the gadgets I have:
the pen torchlight, the laser pen and worse, the ID device that the girls could
find me -- I sew it the waistline of my jeans. How can they find me now?
"Eagle
airborne, Moving around," Lin announced but inwardly thinking it would
take hours for them to scan the nearby fields. The minutes ticked by but there
was no sight of their friend. Suddenly, Chelle called, "West! Scan
west!" Lin raised her eyebrows but did so, hoping that the UAV she now
upgraded wouldn't run of battery. Suddenly, the camera spotted an object and
she zoomed on it.
"That's...that's
part of Jenn's favourite jeans!" Chelle exclaimed.
"And those
are the gadgets!" Lin pointed. "Call DI Nikki and the police! She's
definitely in trouble!"
Jenn kept
struggling against her bonds but the cable ties only cut into her wrists and ankles.
She focused on her gag, trying to use her tongue to push it out but failed to
after many attempts. Across the room, Millie was now frightened and did not
bother to try to dislodge her gag. Just as Jenn thought she had some success
with pushing out her sock, the door slammed open. "Your turn," The
thug call out and the shocked Anna gave no resistance as she was lifted up.
Both Jenn and Millie cried in protest through their gags but just as Jenn
assumed the moving thug was out, there was an explosion above. There was a
flurry of voices, and there was as shout "Police! Put the child back on
the floor! Police!" There was a sound of a sting and with lights shining,
Jenn saw the figure fall on the ground but another figure immediate manage to
catch Anna before she hit the ground.
"You're
alright now, you'll be fine," the familiar voice of DI Nikki Heath
consoled the sobbing girl. "Well don't just stand there!" She called
to the staring constables. "Get the other girls free and wrap that one
with a towel!"
Girl
Detectives’ meeting place
Saturday Morning
"With the
aid of the teen detectives from Croonford, the regional police managed to catch
a murderer before he burnt more young girls in an underground fire. Edward
Schonk lured young girls under the pretence of presenting expensive gifts and
slowly holding them captive. Each of the young intrepid teenagers were award
commendation prizes and..."
"Well, I
learnt my lesson. Never go adventuring alone by myself," Jenn remarked
still rubbing cream over her wrists which had small rope burns and cuts from
the bindings.
"Hey, you
did great and we all got £200 in rewards," Lin replied, muting the video
on her phone. "You're still lucky the police had acoustic detection and
thermal detection devices to find you and those poor kids."
"Amelia
Adams and Anna Grenwich," Jenn stated their names. "There were more
who sadly were killed along with Rebecca Burton. At least her father has now
has been released from prison."
"Yeah. But
still doesn't explain the dream we had. Or the leaves forming that number you
witnessed," Chelle added. "Or that woman and girl you witnessed from
the séance and various cold sightings."
"You
better send thanks to your aunt for her help," Jenn added. "This
sounds like a case from the X-Files?" The other girls nodded then Chelle
excused herself to answer the call of nature. When she returned, she spotted a
box outside their HQ.
Calling her
friends, they all looked then Lin told them to stand back.
Nice work
girls. But was it me? The Cat The
note popped out from the box.
The End.
Michelle,
Lin Ling and Jennifer will return in 'I'm only Sleeping.'
Return to the Contributions index