Holly and Fiona walked along Forest Street, both witches bundled up in their coats and scarves.
They were headed towards the centre of Dunloe, where the winter carnival was in full swing. They could hear the dull pulsing of music drifting over from the oval, and the bustling of people congregating around market stalls that’d been tucked away in all the little alleys and lanes branching off from the strip of shops and services. Main Street was also the highway, so the council couldn’t shut it off, but the side streets were fair game.
As the two witches neared the carnival, the residential streets thickened with parked cars.
“So, the goop was just in ground?” Holly asked.
“Once Patrick dug deep enough, it just began pooling,” Fiona replied. “Then parrots began falling out of the sky.”
Holly shivered, wondering if going to a street party was the best use of their time. But she hadn’t seen hide nor hair of Greyson since he’d left the cottage almost a week ago.
“The corruption is still deep enough that it’s not an immediate threat,” Fiona went on, “but it won’t be long before it seeps into the water table, then to wildlife, then to…” she trailed off, her expression grim.
Holly understood what she meant. First was the plants, then the wildlife who depended on the local ecosystem to survive, then came everyone else who lived in the immediate area. The entire population of Dunloe was in terrible danger.
“Did Patrick find the edge?”
Fiona nodded. “Ed Holland’s farm is three kilometres as the crow flies from the centre of the diggings on the opposite side of town. That’s where we assume the heart of the anomaly is. If it’s radiating out in a circle, then it reaches across most of Dunloe to approximately the train tracks.”
“So it runs underneath the pub, Main Street, all the schools, all those houses…”
“Hence the commencement of shitting bricks.”
“I wouldn’t panic just yet,” Holly murmured as they saw a family with a stroller on the footpath ahead. “We’ve still got options.”
“You mean, Greyson ‘Alien’ Musgrave?” Fiona snorted. “He’s probably left town by now.”
“Jin said he hasn’t checked out of the motel yet…and there hasn’t been a new episode of his podcast. All his other socials are silent, too.”
“Are you sure he hasn’t drowned himself?”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, he’s around.” Fiona didn’t look convinced, but Holly smiled and nodded towards the first market stalls that appeared in the distance. “Let’s forget about all of it today and just have some fun. Recharge our batteries. There’s been so much doom and gloom that we all just need a little distraction.”
Fiona looked uneasy. “I don’t know…”
“C’mon. The shadow is still in the diggings, and thanks to a certain detective, they’ve been closed off anyway due to ‘flooding.’ The barrier spell hasn’t triggered again, and I doubt the corruption will rise fifteen metres in a couple of hours. We’ve got a minute, yeah?”
“Speaking of Jin, where is he?”
“He’s going to meet us after his shift.” Holly smiled wickedly. “What about Patrick?”
The witch’s cheeks flared despite the cold. “It’s not like that. We’ve been spending a lot of time together working on this goop business, that’s all.”
She picked up on her friend’s uneasiness and waited a moment. When Fiona made it clear she wasn’t going to say anything else, she asked, “How have you been? I mean, after all the stuff with Hazel.”
“She possessed me for an entire month,” Fiona murmured. “That’s more than enough time to explode my entire life. Now the anomaly… That’s pretty much how I am.”
Holly frowned. “Your job?”
“They fired me when I stopped turning up. Dunloe’s a small town, and in small towns people talk. No one’s interested in hiring an irresponsible outsider. Then rent was overdue and my savings…”
“Oh, no.” And Samantha had left her all her assets without even a sideways glance at Fiona.
She shrugged. “It’s fine.”
“No, it’s not fine. Hazel totally screwed you.”
“Once we figure out all this anomaly stuff, then things’ll get better. I’ll find some other work.”
“I wanted to talk to you about that,” Holly admitted. “But things got crazy with the shadow, Greyson, and all…”
Fiona lowered her gaze. “Patrick’s helping me with that, too.”
“I want to help you too, but not just for now. For the long-term.”
“Holly, that’s great and everything,” she said as they crossed the train tracks, “but right now, I’m not sure how many tomorrows we’ve got.”
Holly grimaced as they caught up with the family ahead of them.
“How about we just worry about right now?” the witch added. “It’s like you said. We all need a breather. Maybe thinking about something else will trigger the answers we need.”
“Yeah,” she said. “I reckon you’re right.”
The first stall was selling an assortment of succulents in pretty painted pots. They stopped to look, then moved on to the next, which was piled with jars of rich honey that was produced in the nearby town of Maldon. Other stalls were selling everything from candles, goat milk soap, handmade jewellery, and apple cider.
By the time they’d made it to Main Street, the stream of people was thickening. Good for tourism and local businesses, but bad for supernatural corruption.
Holly paused on the corner and looked up and down the street. The Union Reef Arms had been covered in fairy lights, the soft blue glow bright in the gloom of the wintery afternoon. Themed banners hung from streetlights and shop fronts were decorated with hand-cut snowflakes and silver and blue tinsel.
A shiver tingled down her spine and her Legacy bubbled in her gut. It was just a little pop and fizz, but enough that it made her turn…but nothing was amiss.
“Hey,” Fiona said, nudging her with her elbow. “You okay?”
“Did you feel that?”
She nodded. “Yeah, but I was hoping it was just my paranoia.”
Holly rubbed the heel of her hand over her stomach. “I feel like I’m bloating.”
“That’s your witchy sense tingling,” Fiona told her. “It might be nothing, but better keep our eyes peeled, just in case.”
She sighed and edged out of the way as a pair of kids ran past, brandishing blue and white balloon swords and swirly potato snacks on sticks. Seemed like the younger generation was coming for them already.
“Ah, Miss Burke!”
Holly stifled a groan as she looked up to see the mayor, Ian MacIntosh, striding towards them. Fiona shot her a look, but it was too late to melt into the crowd.
“Are you girls enjoying yourselves?” the mayor asked, grinning from ear to ear.
“We just got here, but it seems like a good turnout,” Holly replied.
“It’s a perfect day! And thanks to your generous contribution, we were able to secure the carousel and a live band for this evening.”
“That’s great.”
“On behalf of the Dunloe Council and community, I’d like to formally thank you for helping us put this outstanding event together.”
“I’m glad everyone’s enjoying themselves…” she trailed off, the uneasy feeling bubbling in her stomach again. This time, she glimpsed a now familiar humanoid. Greyson Musgrave was crossing the road.
“Say, are you girls vegetarian?” MacIntosh rambled on. “Let me shout you a sausage in bread. The Lions Club is raising money for the primary school. They want to build a new accessible playground.”
“Oh, thank you for the offer, but we’re on our way to meet Jin,” she blurted. “He’s expecting us, and we’re already a little late.”
“Ah, Detective Xu,” he declared reverently. “He’s such a good man. We’d be lost without him.”
“I’m sure he’ll be glad to hear it,” Holly told him. “Maybe we’ll see you later.”
“Have a great time, Miss Burke.” He stared blankly at Fiona.
“Miss O’Riley, if you please,” she said a little too sarcastically.
“Ah, yes. Of course,” MacIntosh bumbled. “Please, go enjoy yourselves…”
As they walked off, Fiona laughed. “Didn’t you say Jin compelled him?”
Holly pursed her lips in disapproval. “Yeah. He did.”
* * *
The first thing Greyson did when he’d returned to his motel the night of his adventure in the diggings was check his trail camera.
As it turned out, the exorbitant price of the ScoutCam 2 4G had already paid for itself with one capture alone.
He’d watched the video over and over, running the file through all the various editing and analysis programs he could. They all came back with the same results—the footage wasn’t tampered with.
Remembering the video as he walked towards the centre of Dunloe, he still couldn’t believe what he had captured on film. But why didn’t he remember any of it?
A black mass had rushed at him from out of frame, completely enveloping his body. After that, it looked as if he’d seized…then a bright flash of light pushed the mass away and he’d fallen to his knees.
But that wasn’t the most interesting thing about the footage.
Holly Burke appeared in the frame, shouting at someone he assumed was Detective Xu from the story they’d spun him…and what she did next, totally blew his mind.
She lifted her hands and they began to glow. Then, like a solar flare erupting on the surface of the sun, she flung a bolt of energy in the direction the black mass had fled.
The video ended after that, likely cut short by some sort of electromagnetic pulse emitted by whatever Holly Burke had done, but it was more than enough. It was a bloody smoking gun, for crying out loud. Definitive proof that there were things out there that defied trivial human belief, that powered people walked among them in secret.
He’d lined up all the evidence to post on every available social media platform and forum…but something stopped him from hitting send on any of it.
He felt different. How, he couldn’t say. The answer seemed far away, and no matter how fast he ran towards it, the distance kept stretching and the world kept distorting. He no longer knew what to believe or who to trust. Darkness, and the video, were his only friends.
Finally, Greyson knew he had to rejoin society before he turned into one of those tinfoil hat crazies. The winter carnival seemed like the distraction he needed.
So, he walked, though he didn’t really see anything.
Greyson crossed the street, barely looking at the market stalls. Ahead, the footy oval had been turned into a carnival with a carousel, a stage, and other sideshows. Clowns, fishing for those little yellow ducks, popping balloons, and lucky numbers.
His boot landed in a muddy puddle, the splash causing him to pause. Staring down at his reflection, he blinked as the tiny waves froze. They just stopped moving mid-ripple.
A shrill cry broke him out of his haze, and he looked around nervously as a family wandered past. Their kid was giving the performance of its life, kicking and screaming as the ultimate tantrum unfolded.
What was that black mass? He’d interviewed a lot of paranormal investigators who specialised in the other side, and they mostly referred to them as ‘shadow figures.’ Spirits who could manifest themselves as black masses, often humanoid in appearance, but sometimes as misshaped blobs.
He went on his way and stopped by the carousel. Watching the painted horses spin as music filled the air, his mind raced.
Was that thing trying to possess him? If so, was it a simple malevolent spirit, something darker, or something…demonic?
He ran his hand over his face, his anxiety rising. Was that why he didn’t post the video? Because Holly Burke had saved him from demonic possession?
They knew something was going on. Detective Xu, Holly Burke, the bartender from the Union Reef Arms, and that other woman, Fiona O’Riley. They hoped he wouldn’t remember and he’d stop asking questions, but was it in his best interests to leave things be and go home?
As he looked around the crowd of families by the carousel, he wondered if it was in their best interests. Innocent people just going about their day. And their kids, who were guilty of nothing besides screaming their heads off because they wanted to get their sticky hands on the brightly wrapped candy of consumerism.
Greyson’s expression fell as his gaze caught on a black human-shaped mass lingering amongst the crowd. He blinked, but it didn’t go away.
Turning, he froze as he saw another shadow looming behind a father carrying a toddler, brandishing a stick wound with bright pink fairy-floss, on his hip.
He tried not to make eye contact, though the thing appeared to notice him staring and began to move.
It oozed towards him, passing through the man and child, and inching across the grass like a creepy rolling mist.
Greyson lowered his gaze and threaded his way back through the carnival. His heart hammered, each thud sending a pulse of panic-stricken pain through his chest. Maybe he could lose them in the crowd of people who couldn’t seem to see them.
Their presence loomed behind him, sightless eyes burning into his back like shards of ice.
This shit was real. It wasn’t just a grainy black and white clip recorded on a trail camera anymore. This time, he saw them…and they saw him.
He ducked behind the trailers housing the sideshows and found himself amongst the parked cars and caravans belonging to the carnies.
The actual shadows were lengthening as the sun began to set, the light driven low by the winter cloud cover. Greyson turned, hoping he’d lost the black figures and found he was alone.
Heaving a sigh of relief, he decided to go back to the carnival, then into town, where the light would be the brightest.
How stupid, he thought with a shake of his head. A grown-arse man who’s afraid of the dark. Grow a pair, why don’t you.
An ominous clicking echoed behind him, breaking through the pulse of music and the chatter of the carnival.
Greyson looked up, his blood running cold as a large shadow figure loomed over him. Before he could move, the entity grabbed him around the throat and began merging with his body—exactly like it had in the video.
Greyson choked as the air stripped from his lungs, and he swung his fists at the creature. Unfortunately, his hands went straight through the thing.
A flash of warm light lit up the parked cars and the shadow recoiled, the clicking turning into a shrill screech as it fled into the darkness.
Greyson fell to his knees, gasping for breath as two figures appeared beside him. His eyes winded as Holly Burke placed her hand on his shoulder, her expression full of what appeared to be genuine concern.
“How the hell are they in town?” the other person asked. Fiona O’Riley.
“Whatever those things are, they’re not a product of the anomaly. They’re attracted to it,” Holly replied before returning her gaze to him. “Greyson? Hey, are you all right?”
“W-what… What was that thing?” he rasped. “What are you?”
“Well, at least he’s not running and screaming,” Fiona stated. “That’s a start.”
“We owe you some answers,” Holly told him. “But for now, we need to get out of here. Those things might come back for round two, and it’s not a showdown I want to have in a public place.”
“Do I have a choice?” Greyson rubbed his neck, the chill of the shadow figure’s hand still on him.
“Of course you do,” she said, frowning. “It’s like I already said. We’re good people. All we want to do is protect this town and everyone in it,” she attempted a smile, her gaze flicking towards the darkness, “including you.”
Even him? After everything he’d accused her of? Maybe she was just trying to help. She did blast that shadow figure off him not once, but twice.
Finally, Greyson nodded. “I hope you’ve got answers, because I’ve got a million questions.”