Gardens Grave- Chapters 1 And 2

• Mia Grundy
• Short Story
• 2014

Gardens Grave- Mia Grundy

Prologue
What was she supposed to do when she couldn’t change her horrid past, present and short and deadly future? Trapped in her very own garden where she lay next to her sisters remains who had died the exact same way. Her black, dead-straight hair streaking below for metres whilst getting caught on the brown, blood-stained rope that was wrapped around her thin, pale body from head to toe. Barely alive she couldn’t wait for her death that awaited her. The beauty of the man she once called a friend was now a dangerous, death seeking devil. The fisherman’s smile which shone in a dark room became evil. She was now a half. He wanted revenge so he made her drain away painfully and slowly with the hourglass that she placed in the mid of her table every night clenched in her hands. Screaming on the inside for the sin hurt too much to produce sound she felt the sin, mistakes and regret of her life sink through her mind and heart. She could only hope and pray for him not to come back and sing that little lullaby that she had once relied on for eternal life. The hourglass was witchcraft and gave her more and more time which she had wished for until now. Now time would only sting her and give her pain. Blood drew off her, red as a rose which now covered her whole body. Until the sand of the hourglass hit bottom, she would suffer. ‘Wishes and promises can’t be taken back, feel the thorns of sin prick through your skin as you suffer from the knife gliding on your insides.’
Chapter 1-The River Bank~
“Pass me one of those small, silver fish won’t you, so I can shoot it on the line”, said John.
“Right away, this back has got a damn load of fish, best one in the country I reckon”, replied Tyler.
He lightly passed the box of bait. The hook and bait were hooked on tightly as John gracefully sent his line far into the river bank just across from the house.
“I don’t believe in greed, let the fish swim peacefully in their schools for one more day. After I hook up this one and put it in the bag we’ll head home. It feels like a beauty of a last fish anyway”, John smiled.
“Sweet, we should be heading to the tents anyway. The sunset looks absolutely spontaneous tonight”, Tyler replied.
With their truckload of fish the boys of the country drove west which leaded straight to the camps.
“Damn, in the city there weren’t all those bloody pesty flies”, Tyler snuffed.
“Boy you crazy? Enjoy the widespread of these magical bugs and creatures, have a beer”, John insisted.
They passed the isolated fields of the outback which lead a few kilometres long until they saw something unusual for this dry, deserted place.
A three story house of bluestone stood in front of their eyes. For them in the city it was normal to see shops and houses passing for miles but not here, in the outback. Psht, this is weird. It kind of creped me out I mean house was alone.
The house stood tall with its grey bricks, tinted windows and clean garden which had graves surrounding it in a kind of circle. It had the olden day effect but its condition seemed as if it was only 3 years old. With its roof slightly bent, the boys were astonished.
“C’mon mate, let’s take a look”, Tyler said suspicious.
John just chuckled and turned the engine on again.
“ I am dead-straight serious!” Repeated Tyler.
“There is no hell of a chance that I am going inside someone’s house, especially that one! I mean it looks like a graveyard or a devils home or-or something!!” John raised his voice.
“Pfft, wimp”, Tyler teased.
“C’mon mate, it’ll be fun”.
John looked seriously at Tyler.
“You can choose your own path from here, take the fish and get out of my ute to the ‘Grey House’ or….. come with me and we can share the nice cooked fish over the fire at our camp. Which one.. ‘hun’?” John asked firmly.
“Fine, I’ll take the fish, cya”, Tyler replied.
John glared in anger.
“I’m joking, I’m joking, I’m not going there. Not without you anyway!” Tyler said trying to keep an exaggerated amount of laughter in.
“Okay but promise me you won’t like… uh leave me”, John said.
“Uh yeah, that sounds weird mate but promise”, Tyler said quickly.
The boys could have never imagined that what had been a lifetime of beer, jokes and most importantly friendship would be turned into dirt. A ‘friggin’ pile of dirt.
So yeah, after a night after cooking the fish, drinking V.B and getting drunk out of their brains concluding in some pretty weird stories, the boys woke up uh hung-over. But that didn’t stop them from getting up and adventuring the country. But during the utterly stupid, gruesome and hilarious stories, Tyler just couldn’t stop thinking about that dull, grey house in the fields of the isolated country. Of course being drunk as hell, Tyler had no chance of getting his ass into the ute and driving ‘correctly’. At least, that was reality. But Tyler was arrogant. So Tyler thinking he was the ‘All Mighty ‘Hulk’, he stood up and walked away from John who was peacefully sitting in a campers chair near the campfire.
John gazed up.
“And where are you going?” He asks curiously.
“I’ll be baaaaaahhh-back, just going down to the loo on the other road”, Tyler said with his highly stuttered voice.
“Why don’t you just pee in a bush like you usually do?” John asked.
“Nah man that’s dirty!” Tyler yelled not realising how loud he was.
“Mm- okay”, John said.
Tyler walked across the road where the ute was parked. He was unseen by John for gum trees and bushes surrounded the whole park. Plus the sky was grey at that time which didn’t help. Out there these days it was as if the stars and the moon didn’t even exist. He looked from side to side, up and down and looked into the sky as the day was falling and the sunset would come soon. The place was abandoned and Tyler had practically got nowhere nor did he hardly know where he was going. He walked, he walked, he walked. He was slow, like a sloth. Oh yes, he was slow. At the speed he was going, it would take him another 2 hours to get close to the ‘Grey House’.
Chapter 2- Try Again
Well one thing was sure, John was worried sick. Legitimately, he threw up all that alcohol a few times and ran for the ute. It was morning.
But for Tyler, the sight of the boiling sun did not shine that morning. As the tiredness had got to him, Tyler had fallen completely and randomly.
“Tyler, Tyler, Tyler!” John screamed uncontrollably in desperation.
He stopped the ute for a second, got out of the car and kneeled down. Tears rushed down his sunburnt face making slight stinging pains on his face and neck. His heart beat raced quicker than it ever had before.
“Please, I pray, please I pray. I know I am not usually one for doing this kind of stuff but I need a sign. A sign of hope. Please, help, please help”, John screamed
It was hot and dusty, the sky wasn’t fully clear but John was getting tired of driving. He needed something to pump him up. Such as a walk. John got out of his van still directly looking North, East, South and West. He walked for kilometres until finally the road turned into a left and right lane near the river where the house was located.
The river was and so John, being decently smart turned that way. There were tracks and footprints were shown on the ground which lead John into having hope. But the footprints looked vague like someone had been running quickly or walking lightly. John had eagles eyes that looked everywhere.
“Just one bloody sign, just one”, John whispered into thin air.
He walked a bit more and there! In the distance, the house! Pieces of glass passed for a few meters and there was Tyler. Sitting in the shadows of the trees only meters away from the house. The sun shining directly on him. John kneeled down as he looked into Tylers face. He was relieved that he had found him but Tyler was unconscious. Breathing, but unconscious.
“Tyler! Oh my god!”
“Wake up!”
“Tyler!”
“Wake up!”
John’s call led to nothing. Tyler’s skin was cold as ice but even with the night sky coming out, it was humid. John shrugged in misery. He fell into another river of tears and looked at Tyler’s pale face. He put his index and middle finger down onto his wrist to feel whether Tyler’s pulse was strong. Although he was scared the results, John did it anyway.
The heart was beating hard but he did not know whether or not that was good or bad. Whether his heart was fine and beating happily or it was beating so fast that it could just instantaneously stop. He carefully swooped up Tyler and put him on his back. Walking another mile, he found his ute again. He opened the door and put Tyler in the back, resting his soft hair and head on a pillow. He drove slowly and carefully down to the campsite where he could treat Tyler. He could only hope that the beer was the only thing that knocked him out for the moment.
It was a lucky day at the campsite, 28oC on the dot! There were hardly any flies, the water was almost full in the lake and there were warm showers due in the afternoon. But Tyler still lay unconscious in the back, resting on the fluffy pillow. John flew a light blanket over him at mid-day for it was starting to get cooler. Although he was still asleep, Tyler’s face was starting to re-colour itself after a few hours. Not to mention he was no longer lying abnormally still, he was now tossing and turning a lot more like he usually would. The sunlight gleamed onto Tyler’s face at approximately 3pm as his eyes started to flutter. And finally they opened. John smiled in comfort. His smile was perfect; white teeth, small dimples surrounding his pink lips and his straight-aligned teeth all in a row. He touched the side of Tyler’s soft cheek.
“House”, Tyler mumbled as his eyes opened fully.
“What?” John asked.
“WHERE THE HELL DID THE HOUSE GO!?” Tyler gleamed and yelled in curiosity. He pushed John’s hand off him and glared deeply into his eyes.
“There is a monster in me, one that is desperate for that house. Let me go. LET ME GO. LET ME GO”, Tyler repeated various times until his hands started shaking in terror.
“Woah, Tyler please, what’s wrong?”
John gleamed at his eyes as Tyler sat up.
“So somehow I am back here, care to explain mate?!” Tyler yelled furiously.