The Valley of Flowers Page 3

  It was going to be a long night.

  She’d reset her alarm clock an hour early to prepare the things she needed for the coming weekend; and that’s when Elly’s thoughts returned once again to the phone call with Tina’s mum and the deception she had been so cleverly forced to ally with. Not only did Tina trap her into an unwanted intrigue with Dickson and his friend, but now she was a silent collaborator in the deception of Tina’s parents too, believing their only daughter was going on a camping trip with Dickson’s parents, accompanied by Elly as an added protection mechanism.

  In a naive bid to satisfy and relieve themselves of their parental obligations, and if Tina did have the suspected ulterior motives, Elly was supposed to play warden, averting their daughter’s desire to get herself into trouble. But in the process, they had knowingly and selfishly transferred their burden and responsibility to Elly to keep Tina from doing anything stupid, absolving themselves of any blame if anything went wrong, instead of just saying no to their determined and infatuated daughter and risking being seen as proper parents and not just their daughter’s buddies.

  The growing pressure on Elly seemed insurmountable.

  An involuntary shiver shook the mattress and blankets as she reacted to the growing apprehension of being in close company with Dickson and the horror she was sure awaited her of Dickson’s unknown friend.

  She searched the circumstances, trying to focus on any form of positive in the weekend’s encounter and to her surprise, she did find something. At least the long hours until her dad came home wouldn’t be spent alone in the huge deserted house, isolated from other friendly human contact. But the nagging guilt of deceiving Tina’s parents kept eating at her; and the thought of Dickson’s greasy features close to her turned her stomach, making her feel dirty.

  A loud bump from the ceiling just above her head unnerved her and sent a wave of fear-laden pins and needles prickling through her body. She held her breath, listening to the house, waiting for further confirmation she may be in trouble and someone was trying to break in.

  After many long moments anxiously testing the silence, she let go of her breath and when no other threatening sounds could be heard, she relaxed again, hoping it was just the house settling into sleep and trying to get comfortable after a long day in the hot sun.

  Elly worked up the nerve to move from her position cemented in her bed and craned her neck towards the door, checking to see the lock was still how she’d left it and the door was firmly closed against any intruder. Satisfied, she drew in another shaky breath and silently let it out in a effort to calm her nerves, hoping she could finally convince herself to relax enough to sleep.

  In the distance, the sounds of dogs barking drifted in and out of the silence and then a car glided to a furtive stop against the kerb, lights extinguished in the hope of deflecting late-night prying eyes and avoiding detection. From the driver seat, a man dressed in blackout fatigues pressed against the darkness and blended invisible into the gloomy quiet surrounds.

  Stealthy, like a big cat, he stole across the street into the safety of nearby bushes and momentarily cased the outside of the suburban house, driven on by the intoxicating smell of fear and mischief firmly on his mind. With steps as light as air, he drifted like a leaf to the backyard fence and with a determined, fluid movement he vaulted over the tall divider and landed softly, leaving the blanket of night undisturbed. Once again listening to the quiet, his probing, dark eyes reflected the starlight while he searched the exterior for an easy entry point.

  Close to the back door, a large window gave a commanding view of the house interior and with a heavy cloth drawn from a pocket, he pressed against the glass until it bowed past the point of no return and yielded with a muffled crack. Then with a practiced hand, the subservient glass succumbed to the master felon’s touch and allowed the intruder unabashed access to the refugees inside, betraying those it was supposed to protect.

  Into the kitchen the intruder crept, all the while the pungent odour of unwashed flesh preceded his journey and unwittingly announced his presence... the only evidence he could not disguise.

  Making his way down the passage, he stopped outside the closed bedroom door and turned the handle, but was met with a resistance that kept him from the object of his search. He twisted the handle again with a greater force and this time, the lock melted under his superior strength, finally allowing him the prize he sought. The door creaked open, giving him the first glimpse of the sleeping form. She would soon be in his grasp and nobody could stop him now.

  He moved closer until he was right over the top of her and bent to touch her face with faltering, shaking fingers and turbulent desires. His pungent body scent drifted in and filled the tiny space with a choking nausea and stole the purity from the room, replacing it instead with a trembling putrid gag while a knee depressed the mattress close to her, intent on finishing the mission he had embarked on.

  Instead, the action shook her awake with a bone chilling... s-c-r-e-a-m!

  Elly kicked at her blankets in a desperate bid to throw off her attacker, while her terrified scream echoed throughout the bedroom and down the corridor. In a confused panic, she sat bolt upright in horror, searching for the beast and ready to defend or at least plead for herself in any way she could.

  The abrupt scene change bewildered her mind and her heart pounded as if it was going to jump from her chest, all the while preparing for a rapid and frenzied escape.

  The pandemonium began to subside, realising the room was empty and undisturbed, her faithful bedside light still on duty and the door closed and locked as she had left it.

  But the pungent smell lingered in her memory and tortured her conscious mind, a smell she knew all too well and it made her tremble.

  Danny Dickson’s unwashed body scent!

  Elly nervously peered around the room, checking off each indicator and trying to understand whether she’d had unwanted company or if she’d been visited by an overactive imagination, coerced and orchestrated by the unprotected night time fears.

  As her heavy heartbeat subsided into a more subdued rhythm, it was soon obvious and confirmed by her clock she’d drifted off to sleep while the intensity of the day’s dramas had spilled over and invaded her sleep.

  Feeling as if she had been violated by the dream of Danny Dickson, the depth of Tina’s selfish betrayal took on a new intensity. Elly wanted to back out of her forced decision to collude with Tina, spending a full weekend in Dickson’s company, but every angle of escape was fraught with treachery, trapping her into a situation she was dreading.

  *~*~*~*

  Chapter 5

  “Dramble, please stop pacing; you are making me nervous! I shouldn’t be here with you anyway; I should be back at my post. You know what the punishment is for deserting a designated station; and the stakes get even higher if something happens while I am absent!”

  Dramble stopped in mid stride and turned to face his friend. “It’s your fault I am in this mess anyway, Puncher! If you had been doing your part properly, none of this would have happened!”

  “How do you work that out?!” Puncher complained.

  “Never mind, I have greater worries than arguing with you at the moment. We need to work something out before this whole situation unravels nastily.”

  “We... Dramble?!” Puncher’s small face stared back at his friend with an eyebrow cocked unceremoniously.

  “Yes, we! You and me. It may even require direct intervention.”

  “D..direct intervention...! Are you mad, Dramble...?! The handbook emphatically prohibits such a tactic and we are supposed to report this type of event to our superiors!”

  Dramble sighed loudly, his head and shoulders slumped forward in defeat. “I know, Puncher, but I just can’t,” the small voice was low and straining with emotion. “If I report this, they will reassign me. I just can’t let that happen.”

  With a troubled demeanour, Puncher moved closer to his friend and lifted hi
s head with a finger and gazed into Dramble’s teary eyes. “You haven’t...?” Puncher whispered hoarsely, concerned that his friend had committed the worst trial the handbook listed. “Oh... Dramble! How could you let this happen?!”

  Dramble pulled away from Puncher’s stare and tried to hide his feelings. “I didn’t do it deliberately; and I know it’s wrong!”

  Puncher sighed; he had heard of this type of thing happening before but had never experienced it and now his best friend was firmly entangled in its tentacles. He couldn’t bear to see the hurt and worry in Dramble’s forlorn features.

  “I can’t believe I am even contemplating this, but seeing though it’s my fault!” Puncher glanced across at Dramble with a nervous smile, watching his reaction to his speech. “We had better get started then. What do you plan to do?”

  *~*~*~*

  Elly awoke with a start and peered around the surrounds, staring through gritty eyes at the sunlit room. The alarm had broken into her disturbed sleep and it took all of her resolve not to strike the mute button, silencing the herald of doom and returning back to sleep.

  Even after her strange nightmare had faded, the unmistakable body odour lingered in her subconsciousness, unsettling the seventeen year old even more and making her dread the coming few days.

  She made a move to throw off the blankets and stood, but as she did her head felt light and dizzy. Pausing for a few moments for the giddiness to pass, she pressed her eyes closed and then open again, steadying herself against the bed frame with a shaky hand and waited for the room to stop spinning. Soon the room came into focus, but a thudding pain stretched itself across her mind followed closely on its heels by a sudden bilious urge, causing her to fight to regain control of her body and stuff the desire to retch back down into her stomach.

  Cautiously, she unlocked her bedroom door and peered nervously into the passageway, but all seemed in order. She decided to check the back window to confirm the nightmare was just her imagination gone wild. Elly peered around the passage wall and studied the back door and the window from a safe place out of view.

  The door seemed solid against the outside and the window stood undisturbed, still keeping the fleeting fears of the night at bay. Satisfied, she sighed in relief and made her way to the shower, attempting to wash away the tremors of the night and basking in the soothing luxury of steaming hot water.

  Feeling more optimistic after her shower, she dressed for the day and prepared for the weekend, gently folding clothes into her backpack that would be appropriate for two nights in the bush.

  In a late night email, Tina excitedly assured Elly the boys had taken care of the sleeping arrangements and food, but it hadn’t even crossed her mind this statement alone should have rung alarm bells.

  All Elly had to supply was herself and her clothes for the weekend.

  Finally, and with a sense of foreboding, Elly stood at the threshold of the big empty house, backpack slung over her shoulder and paused for a moment, peering around at the vacant entry hall and wondered what the next few days would bring. She couldn’t shake the awful memories of the past few weeks and as she closed the front door, the secrets of her shattered life were silenced and entombed in the big house’s walls. The finality of the lock as it thunked closed, steeled the house against intruders and sealed inside her broken family life.

  Somehow, she felt relieved to leave the sadness locked away and try to make the best of her new situation.

  *~*~*~*

  At the final bell for the day, Elly and Tina made their way into the girls’ change rooms and quickly exchanged their school uniforms for neat jeans and blouses. Danny Dickson stood leaning against the change room wall, peering out into the busy car park and waiting for the signs of his friend’s car to come into view. It didn’t take long for a familiar rumbling noise to enter the massive congestion of vehicles and students gridlocking the car park. The rumbling exhaust was familiar to Dickson and although he couldn’t see his friend yet, he certainly could hear him.

  As the girls exited the change rooms, Dickson’s attention quickly diverted from searching for his friend while an unmistakable leer ran up and down the figures walking towards him.

  Elly felt uncomfortable as she met his eyes, knowing the leer had been directed at her instead of Tina.

  Tina had seen the unchaste stare too and a jealous frown settled over her features, firing Elly a warning glare across her bow and diverting Dickson’s leer back to her with an envious tug on his arm. Tina and Dickson disappeared into a quiet huddle close by, leaving Elly standing alone, watching the couple arguing while Tina animatedly read him the riot act.

  Then from out of the crowded car park, a small sedan pulled up in front of Elly, its exhaust chugging like a demented fly with a megaphone. Elly stared at the occupant through dirty windows, hoping this wasn’t Dickson’s friend, but as Dickson broke away from Tina in mid threat and excitedly dragged his friend from the driver seat, her worst fears became reality.

  An overweight, short stubby boy stood before Elly; his thick glasses accentuated his bloodshot eyes and greasy black hair sat like a bird’s nest over his shoulders. The shirt he was wearing was stained with food and the buttons were all undone, displaying an off-white coloured singlet hugging the mountainous form of his belly.

  “Elly. This is Zig!” Dickson gushed, full of excitement.

  Elly gagged as a swirling cloud of body odour caught up with his features and she tried not to be rude and show the disdain on her face. She held out her hand to greet the boy and after he shook it, she discreetly backed away.

  From her position some distance off, Elly heard Dickson excitedly proclaim to Zig, “Told you she was a babe!”

  With the bags loaded into the small trunk, Dickson had to lean on the lid for it to close properly. Elly stood next to the car expecting to occupy the back seat with Tina, but Tina shook her head and pointed Elly to the front seat. The two girls locked eyes for a moment, an unspoken battle raging with raised eyebrows, frowns and disapproving glares until Tina tilted her head onto the side and nodded defiantly towards the front seat.

  Dickson and Tina climbed into the back seat and slammed the door shut, ending the mime and leaving Elly with no other option but to comply with Tina’s demands. The front door swung open from inside under Zig’s excited guidance, while Elly couldn’t help a glare of disdain at the floor covered in empty pizza boxes and beer cans. She took a big breath and lowered her elegant frame into the car and pulled the door closed then wrapped the fraying seat belt about her, aware that Zig was watching every move she made.

  Elly, gasping for fresh air, tried to wind down the complaining window, but the window stubbornly refused to comply and Zig had to wrestle with the obstinate glass from the sidewalk for fifteen minutes before they finally set off. Elly cautiously smiled her appreciation, more from survival then honour.

  The small megaphoned fly blurted and burped its way through the crowded city streets, keeping Zig busy and finally burst onto the open country roads.

  “Where are we going, Zig?” Tina’s voice drifted over the back seat, breaking the uneasy silence in the front of the vehicle.

  “Bally Bally,” Zig shouted back.

  “Where?!” Tina exploded.

  “It’s about five hours from the city out in the middle of nowhere. Nothing there but a deserted campsite on a remote hill.”

  “Mmm, that sounds idyllic!” Tina turned back to Dickson and cuddled uncomfortably into his arms, restrained by the length of the seat belts.

  After a few hours, Zig turned down a dirt road and sped up, fishtailing and showing off to an unimpressed Elly. She grasped at the seat belt in fear, wanting to tell the boy to slow down but feared another unwelcome, disapproving glare from Tina.

  Soon, sickening slurping noises could be heard coming from the back seat as Tina and Dickson mixed their saliva, making Elly feel sick. She caught a glimpse of Zig watching them in the rear vision mirror and her stomach churned even mo
re, hoping he wasn’t getting any ideas.

  She jumped as Zig reached for her seat belt and unbuckled it, grasping at her arm and trying to draw her closer. She desperately shook her head, fighting off his advances and pushing his hand away from her.

  The car unexpectedly lurched on the gravel road and sideswiped a large tree, sending a shudder through the tiny vehicle while the rear tyres mounted a gravel berm and threw the car fishtailing uncontrollably down the gravel track until–in slow motion–the vehicle flipped and crashed, barrel-rolling into the thick native bush and spilling clouds of red dust into the cloudless blue sky.

  An excited and horrified voice screamed across the cacophony of breaking glass and bending metal.

  “NOW, DRAMBLE...! NOW!“

  *~*~*~*

  Chapter 6

  Dramble stooped worriedly over Elly’s prostrated and unconscious figure, hoping he had acted at exactly the right time to save her life. If he had messed up the timing, Elly may still perish and he would be banished from his world forever, for nothing.

  It wasn’t until Puncher’s shocked features appeared, surveying the unfamiliar scene in horror, did the gravity of what Dramble had done finally sink in. His eyes diverted from Elly momentarily and concentrated on Puncher’s uncontrolled babbling, mindlessly foaming at the mouth about the path, the signs fading and having to get back before he too was trapped and separated indefinitely from his designated post.

  Dramble’s stomach knotted tighter in concern and a frustrated tear threatened to spill down his dimpled cheek. Maybe his stubborn desire to protect Elly from her fate may have set some irreversible chain reaction in place that could have devastating effects on the delicate balance of the known world.

  “What have I done?” Dramble whispered desperately, peering down at the beautiful blonde girl’s unmoving outline, then kneeling beside her in a guarded pose and without thinking, repositioned her velvet locks from obscuring her pretty face with a gentle stroke of his finger.