another part of me is daring myself to do it. Like a devil and an angel, on my shoulders.’
‘What’s downstairs?’
‘Rooms. Lots of rooms. All the windows are boarded, with wood and metal bars across them. The front and back doors can only be opened from outside. I tried getting out, but it’s no use. I found some hard bread, though, in a filthy cupboard in the kitchen. Rats had been feeding on it, but it was delicious.’
Dorothy made a puke face. ‘You ate filthy bread touched by rats?’
‘You think you wouldn’t? Just wait until you get pains in your stomach from the hunger. You’ll wish you had a slice, even a crust, anything to stop the pain and cramps.’
‘I don’t care how hungry I was, I’d never eat it.’
‘You said that about the bucket…’ Tara put her arm back out through the gap, securing the bolt in its rightful place.
A wobbly smile of relief appeared on Dorothy’s face, seeing the closed door.
‘Why do I feel safer now that it’s closed, Tara?’
‘Fear. You’re filled with it. You’ve got to overcome it, face it. That’s how I survived in Blackmore.’
‘Blackmore? You keep saying that. What is it?’
‘The orphanage I was in, until I escaped. They used to scare the girls in there, with talk of the devil taking them away if they didn’t do what they were told. There was an old tower in the centre of the yard. It was black with age, like something out of a horror story. Pastor Kilkee always told us, that’s where Satan comes at night, watching. If we didn’t do things for him, Satan would take us away with him, to Hell.’
Dorothy shuddered involuntarily. ‘Don’t talk about…you know, “S”. I don’t like hearing his name.’
‘Satan? Ha! Know what I did when they told me Satan was in that big dark tower?’
‘I don’t want to know.’
‘One night, I sneaked right over there in the pitch dark, a black candle and a deck of cards in my hands. I lit the candle, and spread all the cards out in front of me. It started raining, thunder and lightning, the entire fucking show. Then I called Satan up from–’
Dorothy placed her hands tight against her ears, trying to block the sound of Tara’s words from her head, hobbling back to the mattress.
‘Please, Tara, stop talking about–’
‘–Hell, told him to take me away.’
‘Stop it!’
‘Next thing I knew, footsteps started coming up the stairs. Really weird footsteps, like a goat would make. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Then I saw him – yellow eyes, fangs, tail, face all hairy…’
‘Stoppppppppp it!’
‘It was Bonzo.’
Dorothy slowly took her hands away from her ears. ‘What…?’
‘Bonzo. The cook’s shaggy dog.’
‘Dog…?’
‘That’s right. Not Satan, but a stupid dog. Next thing I know, Bonzo’s licking my face and wagging his tail, like I’m this big dog biscuit. That was when I knew, there’s no such thing as Satan. That was when I knew, I had the power to overcome my fear. That was when the staff began to fear me , especially Pastor Kilkee…’
Chapter Thirteen
As a dog returns to its own vomit…
Proverbs 26:11
K arl’s car rolled to a slow halt outside the Naughton home. He looked out the side window, disbelieving the scene before his eyes.
‘What the hell…?’
The street resembled a war zone. A large gap conspicuously glared at him from across the street, where the house and the grocery shop had recently been. Windows in other houses were boarded up with wooden shields.
As Karl emerged from the car, Tommy Naughton came out of the house, greeting him with an outstretched hand.
‘Thank you for coming, Karl.’
‘Not a problem, Tommy.’
‘My goodness, that’s some car you’re driving,’ Tommy said, staring at Karl’s most cherished possession. ‘Is that a Ford Cortina GT?’
‘You have the eye, Tommy.’
‘They don’t make them like that any more. A classic.’
‘You’ll never believe where I got it,’ Karl said,
‘What’s downstairs?’
‘Rooms. Lots of rooms. All the windows are boarded, with wood and metal bars across them. The front and back doors can only be opened from outside. I tried getting out, but it’s no use. I found some hard bread, though, in a filthy cupboard in the kitchen. Rats had been feeding on it, but it was delicious.’
Dorothy made a puke face. ‘You ate filthy bread touched by rats?’
‘You think you wouldn’t? Just wait until you get pains in your stomach from the hunger. You’ll wish you had a slice, even a crust, anything to stop the pain and cramps.’
‘I don’t care how hungry I was, I’d never eat it.’
‘You said that about the bucket…’ Tara put her arm back out through the gap, securing the bolt in its rightful place.
A wobbly smile of relief appeared on Dorothy’s face, seeing the closed door.
‘Why do I feel safer now that it’s closed, Tara?’
‘Fear. You’re filled with it. You’ve got to overcome it, face it. That’s how I survived in Blackmore.’
‘Blackmore? You keep saying that. What is it?’
‘The orphanage I was in, until I escaped. They used to scare the girls in there, with talk of the devil taking them away if they didn’t do what they were told. There was an old tower in the centre of the yard. It was black with age, like something out of a horror story. Pastor Kilkee always told us, that’s where Satan comes at night, watching. If we didn’t do things for him, Satan would take us away with him, to Hell.’
Dorothy shuddered involuntarily. ‘Don’t talk about…you know, “S”. I don’t like hearing his name.’
‘Satan? Ha! Know what I did when they told me Satan was in that big dark tower?’
‘I don’t want to know.’
‘One night, I sneaked right over there in the pitch dark, a black candle and a deck of cards in my hands. I lit the candle, and spread all the cards out in front of me. It started raining, thunder and lightning, the entire fucking show. Then I called Satan up from–’
Dorothy placed her hands tight against her ears, trying to block the sound of Tara’s words from her head, hobbling back to the mattress.
‘Please, Tara, stop talking about–’
‘–Hell, told him to take me away.’
‘Stop it!’
‘Next thing I knew, footsteps started coming up the stairs. Really weird footsteps, like a goat would make. The footsteps were getting closer and closer. Then I saw him – yellow eyes, fangs, tail, face all hairy…’
‘Stoppppppppp it!’
‘It was Bonzo.’
Dorothy slowly took her hands away from her ears. ‘What…?’
‘Bonzo. The cook’s shaggy dog.’
‘Dog…?’
‘That’s right. Not Satan, but a stupid dog. Next thing I know, Bonzo’s licking my face and wagging his tail, like I’m this big dog biscuit. That was when I knew, there’s no such thing as Satan. That was when I knew, I had the power to overcome my fear. That was when the staff began to fear me , especially Pastor Kilkee…’
Chapter Thirteen
As a dog returns to its own vomit…
Proverbs 26:11
K arl’s car rolled to a slow halt outside the Naughton home. He looked out the side window, disbelieving the scene before his eyes.
‘What the hell…?’
The street resembled a war zone. A large gap conspicuously glared at him from across the street, where the house and the grocery shop had recently been. Windows in other houses were boarded up with wooden shields.
As Karl emerged from the car, Tommy Naughton came out of the house, greeting him with an outstretched hand.
‘Thank you for coming, Karl.’
‘Not a problem, Tommy.’
‘My goodness, that’s some car you’re driving,’ Tommy said, staring at Karl’s most cherished possession. ‘Is that a Ford Cortina GT?’
‘You have the eye, Tommy.’
‘They don’t make them like that any more. A classic.’
‘You’ll never believe where I got it,’ Karl said,
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