Page 26 of Waste
He frowned as Pandora walked through his roses towards their home. It was strange that he’d not seen her here as hetoiled away. Frankie noted that Pandora almost seemed lighter, as if she had good news.
As Pandora stopped and gazed at the castle, he watched. She appeared to be wrestling with something. Pandora’s shoulders squared in determination, and she marched forward.
Yup, that was definitely strange, Frankie decided as he returned to his roses. But Pandora had always remained a mystery, and that hadn’t changed. All women were creatures of the unknown. And you tackled them carefully indeed!
Shelley
She was back on her laptop, looking for more clues about ghouls. If these monster hunters were coming for her, she’d decided the ghoul needed to help her. Perhaps he might warn her what to be alert for? At the same time, Shelley was taking copious notes, and she’d created a file. If anyone questioned Shelley, she could claim she was going to write a book. It was a rather ingenious idea.
Shelley sighed as she looked in the mirror, staring back at herself. Charlie had removed the covering despite her arguments and even gone so far as to tease her about Bloody Mary. What would Charlie say if he knew Shelley believed the legend to be real?
It was an altogether frightening thought. Now she angled her laptop away so that if Mary Worth was spying, Mary couldn’t see what she was doing. It was very late, and Charlie had fallen asleep on the settee while watching a cop movie. Shelley got to her feet and limped into the kitchen. Well, as quietly as one could with a cast on their foot and a crutch banging on the ground. Even so, Charlie didn’t stir.
Shelley felt lopsided. Her right ankle was broken. If she’d snapped her right ulna and not her left, she’d have been scuppered. Luckily, she could use the crutch on her dominant side. Shelley popped the kettle on and stared out of the window. Her gaze was unfocused as her mind whirled until she caught a flash of white. Shelley stiffened and leaned forward. There was another glimpse of pale skin and red eyes.
Without a second thought, Shelley hobbled outside and sought out the ghoul.
“Why are you continuing your research?” the ghoul hissed.
“Show yourself,” Shelley demanded.
The ghoul appeared and glared at her. “You were warned and look at you.”
“Why do you care?” Shelley snapped.
The ghoul appeared surprised at her attitude and frowned. “I don’t.”
“Liar. From what I’ve read, ghouls are mindless creatures who feed on dead flesh; they don’t care about the living.”
“Rumours can often be founded on error,” the ghoul retorted.
“Why do you keep returning and warning me? Tell me, why did you save me?”
“Why, why, why!” the ghoul snapped. “Too many questions, human woman.”
“Then give me some answers.”
“You need to leave. The Hunters will come and question you. You’ve gained their attention. They have marked you,” the ghoul said.
“And I’m writing a book, which means I need to do research!” Shelley retorted.
The ghoul looked surprised, and Shelley grinned. “What?” he demanded.
“I’m writing a fictional book where ghouls are the baddies. Naturally, I’d study it,” Shelley replied. She was rather proud of herself as the ghoul slowly nodded.
“Clever girl. Be careful. Hunters are smarter than you imagine,” the ghoul warned and began fading back into the foliage.
“Why do you keep coming to warn me?” Shelley pressed. For some reason, she was desperate to keep the ghoul engaged.
“Because I’ve shed too much innocent blood and don’t want yours on my hands,” the ghoul replied, his eyes glowing briefly.
“You won’t hurt me!” Shelley jolted as the ghoul surged forward, and she was face-to-face with him. Up close, he was even more frightening, and his breath stank of rotten flesh.
“No?” he breathed in her face and gnashed his teeth.
“No,” she whispered confidently. She squashed her fear down deep.
“Fool,” the ghoul muttered, and Shelley didn’t know who he referred to. Himself or her.
