Nightmare Valley Read online

  Nightmare Valley

  Nightmare Series Book 2

  Written by David Longhorn

  Edited by Emma Salam

  Copyright © 2018 by ScareStreet.com

  All rights reserved.

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  Table of Contents

  Prologue: England, Autumn 1914

  Chapter 1: Mind Games

  Chapter 2: Tricks of the Trade

  Chapter 3: The Valley of Fear

  Chapter 4: Creatures of Light and Darkness

  Chapter 5: Dead Man's Diary

  Chapter 6: Beauty, Beast

  Chapter 7: Sex and Violence

  Chapter 8: Creature of the Night

  Chapter 9: Worse Things than Us

  Chapter 10: Victims and Survivors

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  Prologue: England, Autumn 1914

  “It will all be over by Christmas, mark my words,” said the barman of the Black Swan as he finished pouring a pint of dark beer. “There you go sir, a nice pint of Burton's Best Ale to wet your whistle.”

  “Ta very much, and your good health,” replied Bewick, raising the glass. “I wish I had your confidence about this war, though. Seems to me the Kaiser, the Tsar, the French, Turks, and all the rest of 'em have been spoiling for a fight for years. Now they've got one. This time they get to settle all their old scores. And we're being dragged into the sorry mess! Very disturbing.”

  Bewick took a mouthful of ale, wiped the froth from around his mouth with the sleeve of his well-worn coat.

  “Yes,” the barman said, nodding sagely, “but the way I see it, all these countries can't afford a long war, can they? What with trade being held up and all. No, all them daft kings and emperors will have their bit of fun and then it'll be back to the conference table, drawing more lines on maps. Our brave boys will be back in time to celebrate the New Year. You wait and see.”

  Bewick was not inclined to argue the point. As a commercial traveler, it was second nature for him to get along with strangers. He had come to the small town of Machen in the hope that, because it was an out of the way place, he would find fresh customers. So far, however, his efforts to interest local ladies in his hosiery and related products had failed miserably.

  “Not much money about, I take it?” Bewick said, wiping beer froth from around his mouth.

  “Don't quite get your meaning, sir?” the barman replied, with a tilt of the head.

  “I must have called on two dozen houses today,” Bewick explained. “Not a nibble. Not one person interested in my products.”

  He nodded at the samples case he had placed on the bar earlier.

  “Oh, that,” the barman said. “It's not so much lack of money as people are–”

  Then the man stopped talking and glanced over Bewick's shoulder. The salesman knew better than to turn around. But he did glance at the huge mirror behind the bar and saw a group of locals, huddled around a corner table. They were apparently not listening to the conversation. But Bewick had the distinct feeling they were noting every word.

  “People are what?” he asked. “Not very trusting of outsiders? I get that a lot in these little places, off the beaten track.”

  “Yes sir, that's right,” the barman said, in a very clear voice. “Bit wary of strangers, that's all! Don't get many visitors here in Machen.”

  Rather than press the point, Bewick drank the rest of his pint in silence. After finishing, he went upstairs to his cramped little attic room. It was the only accommodation in town and its general air of neglect proved the barman's point.

  Strangers not welcome round here, Bewick thought. Bloody yokels. Well, I'll just cross it off the list and move on down the valley tomorrow.

  Bewick stood looking out of the dirty window over the little town. Machen lay on the river Wye, a meandering watercourse crossed by an ancient stone bridge. To the west, the sun was sinking towards the hills on the Welsh border. Bewick frowned, looking more intently at a small wood land that lay above the town. He saw movement under the trees. But it was hard to tell from over a mile away whether the pale shapes were people or animals.

  Deer, probably, he thought. Or sheep? But sheep don't go into forests. Do they?

  Shrugging off the trivial mystery, he sat down on the bed to check his railway timetable. Then he lit the small oil lamp and started to write some letters. Bewick had lost all track of time when there was a stealthy knock at the door.

  “Yes?”

  The barman was standing outside holding a glass tumbler full of amber liquid.

  “I thought you might like a hot toddy, sir,” the man explained. “The nights are getting chillier, now, and it might help you sleep.”

  The salesman smiled, began to reach out, then hesitated.

  “Oh, it's on the house, sir,” the barman added.

  “Well, that's very kind of you,” Bewick replied, taking the warm tumbler. “Most considerate.”

  “Don't want you going away thinking all us country folk as inhospitable,” the barman said, with a grin that looked a little forced.

  Maybe he wants a big tip, thought Bewick. Oh well, he's going to be disappointed. But it's a nice gesture, I suppose.

  Bewick sat down on the bed again and took a mouthful of the toddy, then nearly choked. It was very strong, definitely more whiskey than water. Bewick, a beer-drinker by inclination, only managed to consume a third of the glass before feeling distinctly woozy. He took off his boots and lay down, still fully clothed, and was soon out like a light.

  When he woke up it was just after nine, according to his watch. The oil lamp was still burning, and he decided to change into his pajamas. As he got up, he glanced out of the window again, and stopped. Something was not quite right. His mind was still far from clear, thanks to the whiskey, but he forced himself to focus.

  The little town of Machen was almost entirely dark. There were no streetlights, and only a few houses showed lights in their windows. The railway station and post office were long since closed and shuttered. Only the glow of the familiar blue lamp outside the tiny police station was visible. But outside the town, on the hillside below the woods, there was a sinuous line of flickering yellow lights.

  Lanterns, Bewick guessed. Dozens of lanterns. Looks like half the town is going up that hill. What the hell is going on?

  Bewick thought of a friend who worked as a junior reporter for a London newspaper. Whatever was happening in Machen might be of interest to the press, who often ran amusing little stories about rural folk and their bizarre customs. And that could mean a payment in cash. Bewick opened his door slowly. The Black Swan seemed quiet enough. He began to put on his boots then decided to carry them down, as he would make less noise that way.

  So, my host thought a tumbler full of cheap spirit would keep me quiet, he thought. Well, think again, my friend.

  Bewick felt a boyish excitement as he tiptoed down the steep staircase.

  ***

  Sir Reginald Pelham stood with his back to Branksholme Woods looking down over the valley. He was twenty-four years old and had returned to England from India three months earlier to take over his late father's lands. His wife and six-month-old son had come with him. As the chill night breeze blew up, Pelham wished he could be back home in front his own fire with his family.

  But appa
rently, he thought, I have to be here, because of some absurd medieval tradition. I wish this old fool would tell me what I have to do, and when it will be over.

  Beside him stood the Reverend Arthur Stainforth, vicar of the only church in Machen. The clergyman was in his sixties, slow and unsteady thanks to rheumatism, but vastly more confident than the landowner in his dealings with the valley folk.

  “You still have not explained this – what d'you call it? – this agreement to me,” grumbled Pelham to the priest. “I don't understand why all this is happening. My father mentioned no such tradition. And it seems preposterous, on the face of it.”

  Stainforth shook his head.

  “Your father,” said the priest, “had no knowledge of the Covenant. That is the proper term, used since ancient times. That is because it has not been invoked since the war with Napoleon. It worked then, it may still work now.”

  “All right, it's a Covenant,” snapped Pelham. “What does it involve? Because if they want me to raise wages or lower rents, I'll …”

  The squire hesitated as the priest hobbled a couple of paces forward and stared up into Pelham's face. The younger man raised a lantern and saw that Stainforth was trembling.

  Anger? No, fear, thought Pelham. The old boy's terrified.

  “You own all this land,” the priest said. “Therefore you are bound to keep the Covenant for all those who live in this part of the valley.”

  “And what does that entail?” demanded Pelham.

  “Your mere presence should be enough, Sir Reginald,” replied Stainforth. “But it's vital that, whatever happens, you allow the ritual to take place. Then the men will be protected.”

  Pelham felt frustration rising again. As an imperial army officer, he had been used to having his questions answered clearly and at once by British and native subordinates alike. And yet the priest had been a good friend of his father.

  “I would be obliged, your Reverend,” he began slowly, “if you would not treat me like a slow-witted child who–”

  Pelham broke off when he realized Stainforth was no longer paying him attention, but had turned to stare into the trees. Looking around, the younger man saw nothing at first. Then he noticed a barely perceptible shifting of shadows, a hint of gray shapes moving stealthily in the darkness.

  “Bloody poachers!” he exclaimed. “In my woods?”

  The priest blinked up at the young squire.

  “They are only your woods by day, Reginald,” he said. “Best not to look too closely. Those are not poachers.”

  Pelham snorted, and bent down to tinker with the lantern he had brought. By the time it was lit, the first of the townsfolk had arrived at the summit of the hill. Pelham looked in vain for a familiar face, then recognized the postmaster, the town constable, two of his gamekeepers, and the barman of the Black Swan. Then a more imposing figure appeared and stepped out in front of the others. It was a tall, thin-faced woman in a black gown and shawl. Pelham recalled his father pointing the woman out to him many years earlier.

  The wise woman, he called her, but I felt sure she was a witch. Father warned me never to cross her sort in my dealings.

  “Is that old Ma Wakefield?” Pelham hissed to the priest.

  “Aye, Sir Reginald,” the woman said, in a voice that carried across the clearing. “It is I. What of it?”

  “Is this a pagan affair, then?” Pelham asked Stainforth, deciding not to exchange words with the woman.

  “This is a matter for all of us,” the priest said in a quavering voice, again glancing behind him.

  “Aye, vicar, they be coming,” Ma Wakefield said. “We should be ready.”

  There were noises of agreement from the crowd, now about fifty in number. The townsfolk formed a semi-circle around the landowner and priest, but Pelham noted that none of them strayed into Branksholme Woods.

  “Sing the old verse,” said the woman in black. “They need to know we are ready.”

  On cue, the townsfolk began to sing, most hesitantly, but gradually gaining volume as Ma Wakefield bellowed out the song.

  'As before, it must be so

  Fair exchange and Covenant

  Good folk accept our gift and go

  Fair exchange and Covenant

  Let the men come home again

  From fields of blood or foaming main

  All will bear the lesser pain

  Of fair exchange and Covenant'

  The townsfolk fell silent. There was a shuffling of feet, some coughing, a few whispered asides.

  “Is that it?” asked Pelham. “Do we just go home now after a good old sing-along?”

  “That is just the beginning of the ritual,” said the priest, taking the landowner gently by the arm. “Please, sir, step to one side.”

  Pelham allowed the old man to lead him to one end of the ragged semicircle. Everyone else seemed to be staring into the gloom of the forest. A branch broke with a loud crack, and the crowd seemed to flinch. After the rousing chorus, there was an eerie silence, a sense of expectation.

  “There's one!” shouted a young, male voice. The exclamation was followed by frantic shushing.

  Pelham peered into the darkness under the trees and saw faint gray shapes moving, as they had before. He was sure there were more than three, perhaps as many as half a dozen, but it was hard to tell. They were at the limits of vision. But something about the way the figures moved struck him as more bestial than human.

  Probably just a few locals in silly costumes, he told himself. God knows these people love dressing up for their festivals.

  “Bring the tribute,” said Ma Wakefield, taking up position on the edge of the woods.

  The crowd parted and in the lamplight, Pelham saw a petite young woman walking forward. As she got closer he noted that she was very young indeed – surely still in her teens. Beside her walked an older man, and Pelham recognized the village blacksmith. The man was a widower with an unmarried daughter. The young woman was crying, while the man murmured in her ear. His tone was comforting, cajoling. As they passed close by him, Pelham saw that the woman was carrying a baby, bundled in a tartan blanket. He had a sudden, sickening conviction that this was no quaint village custom.

  “Here, girl,” said Ma Wakefield, holding out her hands. “Give the little one to me.”

  No, thought Pelham. Whatever this is, I cannot permit it. It has a stink of evil about it.

  He started forward, but again the priest gripped his arm. When Pelham tried to shake off the old man, Stainforth clung to him with surprising tenacity.

  “The child was born out of wedlock,” said the priest. “They cannot afford to keep it. This is better.”

  “How can you sanction this, as a man of God?” demanded Pelham. “What did Christ have to say about cruelty to children?”

  “This is a place of older gods, Sir Reginald,” Ma Wakefield said. “Best face that and be prepared.”

  The wise woman had come up behind the two men and was holding the swaddled baby. She looked Pelham boldly in the face, showing none of the deference he was used to seeing from his tenants.

  “And this dear child will not be harmed,” she went on, in a gentler voice. “He will merely go away with the good folk to live with them in a better place than some English hovel. You should be grateful, because this will help you, too, Sir Reginald. Help you survive the storm that gathers over all the world.”

  Ma Wakefield's words elicited another murmur of approval from the assembly. Pelham looked around at the faces, illuminated by the yellow lamplight. He felt his outrage ebbing away, a sense of resignation replacing it. Resignation, and fear. He thought of his time in India, and the way he had seen the mood of crowds change when ancient rites were interrupted by the British authorities. He stifled a rebuke to Ma Wakefield and stood aside as the woman in black walked forward to the edge of Branksholme Woods. She knelt, and gently placed the baby at the foot of an ancient oak. Then she stood, raised her arms, and spoke in a loud, ringing voice.

&nbs
p; “Good folk, wise folk, the long-livers, the far-seers! Behold this infant, our gift to you, unblemished, pure of body and soul! In return, we ask that the Covenant be upheld.”

  Ma Wakefield retreated, rejoined the townsfolk.

  “What happens now?” hissed Pelham.

  “Watch!” said the priest, his voice barely audible.

  For the third time, pale shapes flitted among the ancient trees. Gradually they came nearer, darting from trunk to trunk, seemingly unwilling to linger in the light.

  “Douse all your lights!” ordered the wise woman. “They do not like to be seen!”

  Within seconds, the lanterns' butter-yellow radiance had dwindled to nothing. Pelham's eyes slowly adjusted to the night. A fine harvest moon had risen, casting a faint, colorless light over the scene. Pelham held his breath, knowing that the next act in the weird drama was about to begin. Sure enough, several pale figures emerged from behind the trees, and crept through the undergrowth towards where the baby lay. A querulous crying came from the small bundle.

  This is horrible, Pelham thought. I cannot allow this! A good man would stop this!

  Despite the urging of his conscience, he found himself unable to move, staring in fascination as the strange creatures bowed over the infant. The baby started to cry more loudly, and Pelham heard the mother sobbing quietly. Then one of the pallid creatures snatched up the pathetic bundle and bounded, with incredible speed, back into the woods. There was an audible sigh from the onlookers.

  “What are those things?” Pelham whispered to Stainforth. “Apes or devils or what?”

  The priest raised a finger to his lips.

  “They must be referred to as the good folk,” he replied. “Never call them anything else. They hate disrespect and are believed to hear everything said of them.”

  The rest of the strange creatures were staring at the priest and the landowner. At about ten yards' distance, Pelham could just make out small, pale eyes glinting in deep sockets. Their faces reminded him of the monkeys he had seen in Hindu temples, with low foreheads and long muzzles. One of the entities bounded forward a few paces and seemed to peer more closely at Pelham. Then it raised a long, spindly arm and pointed.