The Bad Place [SEC2014]

Chapter 1

The unassuming little town of Godfrey, home to some one hundred and twenty seven residents, is and always had been an oddity to those who knew of it. With its remote isolated location, some twenty miles from its nearest neighbouring town of Hemington and its rather awkward one road connecting it to the rest of civilisation, it often made the visitors who ventured there wonder why anyone on Earth would want to live in such a place.

Its layout is that of a grid system, as if designed by an American Town Planner. The dwellings, all terraces of differing sizes are built of a drab grey brick with equally cold grey slate rooves. In its centre, the small two storey town hall and its four shops, adjacent to its main entrance, services all the needs of its residents, all reflecting that same depressing grey brick and slate. Only the church set behind the town hall offers a glimmer of individuality, with its very typically English church shape, its main tower looming high above the rooftops of the two storey buildings that surround it, stands out as noticeably different.

Built in the late 60's by Sir Alistair McPhereson who invested a small fortune into creating the town to caringly support his own workforce at the Godfrey Mining Company, whose business was ran from a series of small corrugated one storey buildings off to the north east from its town centre. The mine was new, its workers had all been personally selected by Alistair from his other mining operations that stretched across the north of England and Wales, who were lured there by irresistible financial packages being offered to them in return for their commitment, hard labour and discretion; all signed in writing and agreed in a contract upon their arrival when they were handed the keys to their new homes.

His selection of people to work at the mine and live in Godfrey certainly wasn't based upon any ability or proven track record taken from the places where they originally moved from. The only correlation that people could draw from as to why they had been selected, was they worked at an existing McPhereson operation and they were all loners.

No one outrightly asked any questions about what exactly they were mining for, as this was not only a sackable offence but the risk of incurring a rather large financial bill, directly from Alistair for 'endangering operations ' was drummed into the new residents regularly. most people didn't actually care what the McPhereson foundation did, or what resources they were there to dig for, for them, life was good. All they knew was to just keep digging, under the watchful instruction from Alistair himself.

In 1972 the mine closed, the workers were secretly relocated onto new operations around the Country into ' more successful ' mines that spewed out wealth inducing minerals and coal. Buses and coaches with blacked out windows carried the people off to their new destinations. In 1982 reports of new constructions being made in earnest at the Godfrey mine, on a brand new industry sparked speculation in Hemington about what exactly was being built there. No one managed to find out. Unemployment at hemington was already at a rate where one in five people would have jumped at the chance to gain a wage at Godfrey, but no one ever came to their town to recruit for its new workforce.

Alistair was a hero though, a good kind chap, so people said. Who could possibly disagree with that considering he had, out of his own pocket, paid for a brand new electricity generating station to be built on the edge of their town, giving all its residents an uninterrupted, heavily subsidised supply of energy pumped into every home. The plant was small and drew its power, not from the much expected coal but from an underground river, shown up in the 70's by Alistair ' s personal geological survey team.

This was of course Alistair's way, so they assumed, of thanking them for not asking too many questions about the new operation at Godfrey and not voicing any opposition or complaint at the twenty three or so cement and materials trucks that thunderously trundled through their town on a daily basis for several years, some three weeks after the electricity plantn started pumping energy into every Hemington home. With no power lines directing any energy to Godfrey, they assumed a much smaller plant must have been built up there.

In 1989 the trucks just stopped, the private road heading into Godfrey was fenced off snd Alistair McPhereson disappeared in all but just a name. Another failed venture was often spoken of, scoffed at by the locals who couldn't quite understand how or why such a great business man like Alistair could of tried to start up two new business ventures there only for both to end up in apparent failure.

Yet their electricity supply remained, at the vastly discounted price when compared to what the average person in the rest of the UK were paying. Every three months, like clockwork, the heavily fenced off power station was visited by and maintained by Alistair' s Company. Always at night, by three deep grey vans bearing the McPhereson gold triangular logo, all slipping in and out of the secured compound without so much as a glimose of the people inside who had entered in the secretive manner expected from anything to do with that Company.

In 1993 the road was reopened and a slow trickle of vehicles began to once again to head off upto Godfrey. Most were cars, carrying what people assumed were the new workers, all travelling alone, like as before.

Chapter 2 10:32pm January 2015, Stevenston street, Godfrey. A rumbling noise coming from the basement below persisted. Ever so slight at first but there it was again, a definate rumble, then a cracking noise followed by a loud thunderous clap of what sounded like falling masonry, giving way, making the whole house shake violently. Pete jumped up off the settee and ran over to the basement doorway. Silence. The only sound now was the glugging from the contents of the bottle of beer he'd knocked off the table nestled beside the settee. He briefly glandced over at the final ebbing of its contents as it pooled on the woodern floor at the neck of the green bottle. Normally, Pete would have cursed at his clumsiness, it was his favourite beer after all, the last bottle of six he drank that night, but the noise and the shaking from below had overridden that. He snapped his head back towards the basement doorway and carefully listened for any further sound. Nothing. Sweat on his brow chilled his face, hands shaking he grasped hold of the brass handle and twisted it, gingerly pushing the door open, slightly ajar. The first thing that hit him was a puff of stale smelling dust, as it escaped out of the basement followed by a foul smelling stench that made him grimace. His first thought was that of sewerage and that the basement floor had collapsed, exposing a waste pipe running beneath his house .It was worse than sewerage though, a gag inducing mixture between raw sewerage and something else., rotten meat. That's what sprung into his mind anyway. He instinctively shut the door and stepped back, carefully listening for the faintest sound. Immediate thoughts of the living room floor collapsing beneath him, sending him tumbling into basement below made him instinctively try to lift his own weight from his feet before realising that all of his weight was still going to be there, no matter how much of his feet he tried to raise off the floor. Yet it didn't give way. Surely his neighbour Suzie who lived just on the other side of his living room wall should of been banging on his front door by now. He heard Suzie coughing some five minutes before. Tony, her new boyfriend who lived on the other side of town was in too. He'd heard his old Volvo pulling up outside about half an hour ago. That distinct raspy diesel engine was ucnmistakable, the car was going on twenty years old and its sounded like it, but it kept going, much to the amusement of Tony A horrifing thought popped into his head, Suzie and Tony could be lying in his basement, their floor might of collapsed plunging them into the darkness. Just as he turned towards the front door, a loud thud hit the basement door, making it bash heavily against its frame. Not a hard object but something soft and heavy. Ice chills prickled the skin on his neck, his heart beating faster again as he stepped forward and took hold of the door handle. A second thud at waist level amde him jump back with a shriek.. The handle began to slowly turn and the door swung open. Wisps of dust, less intense than before blew out into the room followed by that stench. Darkness in the form of a perfect rectangle emerged from the dissipating fog of dust as it dispursed into the room he stood in. Frozen to the spot, Pete who stood some five feet away from its entrance saw nothing but utter blackness. He tentatively stepped forward covering his nose with his hand against the onslaught of nauseating foul odour wafting out from deep below. "Hello?" Pete's voice cracked with fear, "Suzie?....Tony?.....Are you in there? .....Are you okay?" An unseen hand grabbed hold of of his ankle and violently yanked him into the basement stairwell. The floor and concrete steps striking with heavy blows against his body and head, he could feel the skin being scrapped off him as he was dragged further and further down deep into pitch blackness by a hand that kept squeezing him with utmost contempt. That was when he lost consciousness. A swirling haze of self awareness slowly began to wake up within pete's mind. He was alive. His first thoughts were of dread, just utter despair and a feeling of unthankfullness that he was actually waking up as he began to recall being dragged into the basement. He wasn't at an age where he still believed in monsters, but that was what he felt had just brought him to where he was now. He tried to open his eyes, he couldn't move. Sheer panick sent his heart into an impossibly loud, erratic rythmn, a chilling sweat broke out over his entire body as he tried to move once again. Nothing. He should of felt pain. He remembered his violent decent, but he now felt no residual discomfort, apart from the memories of what had happened that wasbniw teafing into his soul. He was paralysed, although not in any type of restraints that he could feel, his muscles just didn't seem to work. He lay on what seemed like a hard surface and was enveloped in complete blackness, he willed his eyes to open, to no avail. The sound of a door opeining to his immediate left annihilated his every thought. Tentative footsteps approached him and a weak smell of body odour filled his nostrils. A warm soft hand slowly caressed his forehead and he felt a hot breath on his ear. "Sshhh my love!" came a young womans voice, " Don't worry Pete, you'll be okaay" she exclaimed in a way that unsettled him even more. She was frightened and nervous, more so than him. He tried to spesk and move, willing his body to just do something, nothing. "if you're lucky.....when they come" she paused longer," Don't look at them in the eyes! TRY TO RUN PETE, ....if you're...lucky...I hope you are, my love." her voice raised and ebbed with utter fear and desperation. "I love you Pete, I always have....I've been watching you, since you came." she sounded desperate and much in need of love. " im sorry my love, this is all I can do.....just tell you to run, .....if you can" This wasn't happening, pete's mind raced with utter confusion and fear for his predicament.' Who was she? ' he thought, he didn't recognise her voice, she knew who he was, she knew his name for gods sake, 'what the hell is happening?' he thoguht. The door which she had entered opened once more, it was met with a very controlled yet audible sucking in of breath, from his female admirer. Whoever had just entered the room had total control over her; and him! That smell from the basement filled the room, making Pete think of that hand that grabbed his ankle, bringing him to the place where he now lay, totally helpless. A shuffling of feet grew closer to him, the smell grew in intensity with every footstep. He tried to move, the sheer terror he felt made him feel he was on the verge of insanity, or a heart attack. The figure stopped by his side. The stench was overwhelming, it was a strong smell of rotting meat and ammonia, not so noticeable before but here, with it standing beside him it, was clear whatever it was, it was in a clear state of some sort of decay. He was at the mercy of the stuff of nightmares. Three cold, what he assumed were fingers lightly touched his neck, pointing out the points of a pyramid, making his skin tingle as if a small electrical current had penetrated his being and slowly began to violate his body, itntravelled down into his spine. The cold fingers moved awa, leaving a slimey wet substance that dribbled down the base of his neck. His eyes began to open. A dull light emanating from behind him reflected offnangre

He tried to move his arms and legs but they remained motionless. His head flopped uncontrollably to one side towards the being beside him. In silhouette he could see an oval shaped head observing him in utter consideration. "Phahhtoo estaa!" its voice hissed at Pete. If he could of merged into the assumed table that lay below him andnbe absorbed, locked away from whatbfaced him he wouldmof, but he couldn't. he felt totally exposed and now realising he was naked, helpless to what was standing over him. "PHAhhtoo essta!" it impatiently spat Pete's lips parted and his tongue became unstuck from the roof of his dry mouth. The cold wet hand grabbed hold of his face, covering his nose and mouth making him believe he was about to be suffocated, but his head was violently twisted to his right hand side and held, pointing his eyes in the direction of a young woman lying on a table parallel to his. "Phahhtoo essta! The voice came again. The young woman lay motionless and naked. Suzie! He tried to scream but could only manage a muffled gargle as the wet hand pressed hard against his mouth. His assailants hand lifted off from his face and slapped his cheek hard. Pete tried in vain to move his head to look at the being but he couldn't move. Footsteps from it moved from his side and behind his head, he ghen saw the darkened silhouette move slowly towards where Suzie lay. Terror filldd his core as the dim light highlighted the form that confronted and questioned his sanity, threatening to kill off the last remaining bit of it that somehow remained intact. What looked like human, wasn't entirely human. A male, his genitals swung and bounced with each footstep as it turned to face Pete at the far side of where Suzie lay. Naked, its skin glistened with a mucus like sunbstance that seemed to coat its engire body. Its eyes were dark, very dark and probing when they met with pete's forced gaze. It raised its hand and placed it on suzies neck, the same three fingers touching her skin as it did with his own. Suzie didn't move. "Phahhtoo esstahhh!" it almosf sounded like it was in ecstasy as its head jolted back and its body spasmed. The young girl who he still hadn't seen, wept silently and with utter fear. Three tendrils shot out from the beings abdomen and aimed directly for suzies stomach. Blackened claws at the end of each tendril chewed into ber skin, burrowing deep within her gorso. Suzie began to scream. bolts of blue electricity arced and flashed around the tendrils length and girth with every twist they took. They tore deep within her body, searching for something it wanted or needed with an intensity and frenzy of a ravenous predator devouring its still alive prey. The bei g arched its back, tbe tendrils broke off from its stomach andnthe being slumped to the floor behind the table where suzie lay. Suzie began to thrash around uncontrollably, her legs andnarms flailing afound at impossible speed and velocity, she then went limp, as if every last essence of life had been sucked out of her, or devoured. her head turned and her eyes opened to look at Pete. those same black eyes of the being, now stared back at him, a weak forced smile broke from her lips as she sat bolt upright and clumsily slid her legs off from the table. . Suzie opened her mouth, " Phahhtoo Essta, mesh halam!" that weak smile appeared yet again as it then pointed and beckoned towards the sobbing girl behind Pete. Tentative steps echoed the young girls sobs that were now becoming more uncontrollable, filled with fear and knowing of her fate to come. "Phahhtoo mesh haalamm Luuciie!", the old Suzie urged the ylu g girl over gowards her. Tne ykung girl obeyed. Now standing infront of Suzie, she young girl whose face he still couldn't see knelt down and raised her head to look ip at what was once his kindly neighbour. Suzie placed both hands on either side of her head, "Tahh munnda Lucciee!" and with a violeng twist, snapped the young girls head to one side and dropped her body to the floor. Pete started to cry uncontrollably. were tears able to fall down his face? He wasn't xure and didnt care. Suzie stepped over towards him, put out her hand and it embraced his own. He slowly began to slide off the table, being pulled into the arms of what was once Suzie. His head flopped and lolled like a rag doll before suzies other hand steadied it and brought his eyes to gaze into hers. "Don't look into their eyes, if you are lucky run!" he thought but he was helpless and not so lucky. Her eyes met his own, deep pools of utter darkness that searched and probed his soul. In that moment, he understood everything, he understood about that secret place, he understood how all those poor poor people who once called that place above him home and what happened to them. He understood why he was chosen and why he was there. Suzie smiled and carried pete away, back through the door in which they came.

Sorry about the wall of text, dam stupid tablets are a nightmare, and giving me so much grief, now it wont ket me put in paragraphs also won't let me edit re spelling errors and grammar, oh well.

a reply to: ProleUK

I like this!! Nicely Done!!S+F for You!! Syx.