Emily and her two brothers got home and noticed the kombi parked in front of the house.
'What's dad doing home so early?' Emily asked.
'Probably got fired,' Patrick joked.
'As if ever,' Andrew mumbled.
'Just a joke man,' Patrick said. 'Seems like your head is still spinning from earlier.'
Patrick merely got a glance from Andrew.
They entered the house. Craig and Sarah were sitting on the couch watching TV. They seemed relaxed, but Emily could sense a little tension on her dad's face. Almost like something he wanted to share with them. She thought back about the affair her dad had which had almost torn their family apart. There had been the same unspoken tension in the house back then. She had sometimes heard her parents shouting behind their closed bedroom door. It could not have been the same situation again otherwise they would not even share the room, let alone the same couch. Yet there was something on her dad's face that was troubling.
'You're home early,' Andrew said. 'Patrick said you got fired today.'
Craig chuckled and got up from the couch. 'There was something I had to take care of today so I've taken the day off.'
'So why didn't we see the kombi this morning?' Andrew asked.
'Had to go pick up a work colleague who was in need of help,' Craig said regarding them. He noticed the confusion on their faces. They were not stupid kids. There was something wrong, and they sensed it. 'Guys, I need to talk to you about something.'
Patrick placed his school bag on the ground. 'Everything all right dad?' he asked with a frown. His eyes bounced from Craig to Sarah and back to Craig again. His heart sank when he thought about the news that was about to follow. His parents have been trying hard to patch things up between them, but there were times Patrick thought that their marriage was not going to survive after all. He was certain that the final straw had been drawn and that his parents are filing for divorce.
'Everything is fine, son,' Craig said knowing it was not really the case. 'There are some things I want you guys to be on the lookout for. There are certain dangers here I was unaware of until now. A series of strange things happened to us since we moved here.' He was not exactly sure where to start. He wondered if it was a wise decision to tell them everything.
'I know strange things happened, but that's okay,' Andrew said. 'You've got other things to worry about dad. We can take care of ourselves.'
'I know you can and that's not what this is about. What I'm talking about is the bad influence around here. Perhaps I should start from the beginning. There was the man we saw on the R27 when we arrived here. His case simply vanished from existence. Nobody knows anything about him, not even the police. Then there was the man on the dirt road who shot himself shortly thereafter. I found a strange thing in the attic shortly after we moved in. I did not want to tell you guys about it. It has to do with black magic and voodoo. I threw it away. There are more,' Craig paused. He realised he must have sounded like a real paranoid lunatic, but he wanted them to be serene. These things were happening for a reason he did not fully grasp yet.
'But what does this have to do with us?' Emily asked and looked at Sarah questioningly. She felt a little relieved when she realised that the tension on her dad's face earlier had nothing to do with their marriage.
'Honey, your dad and I had a lengthy discussion today, and it is in your best interest to listen to everything that happened around here. We are concerned about your safety. It was hard for me to believe what your dad told me this morning, but it is a reality we cannot avoid.'
Craig regarded the confused expressions on his children's faces. He told them what had happened to Ferris in more detail than was necessary. He made sure to place emphasis on the young boys who were responsible for Ferris's condition.
'Yak,' Emily said pulling her face in disgust.
'Yes. That's not all. The cuts on his hand started as something small. They got so bad that I could see his bones and some of the cuts are right through his hand. It started attacking his arm. Believe me, you don't want to smell this bad affair, it's vulgar. Ferris is being eaten alive, and it is not the end of it. I expect it will spread even further.'
'Why didn't he go see a doctor?' Andrew asked.
'He did son. The doctor could not do anything for him. He was given antibiotics, but that was useless. Ferris even tried various disinfectants which also failed. It is getting worse every day.'
'You mentioned boys?' Emily asked. She looked at Patrick.
Patrick knew where the conversation was heading to. He knew God had sent her to be his sister for a reason and working on his nerves from time to time was one of them.
'Yes. Ferris said he had never seen them before. Why do you ask?'
'Well, maybe finish your story first,' Emily said.
Craig looked at her expectantly for a moment and said, 'Well, I took him to a spiritual healer this morning, hoping he could help Ferris, but I was wrong. The healer told him that there was great evil running through his veins. This healer is a great believer in God. You should have seen this man.' Craig shook his head. 'He was blind with milky eyes. He went into seizures at times. There was this presence of peace in his house, a presence of holiness. He said the evil in Ferris's hand was far too great for him to cure. He mentioned a grave of evil around here somewhere. I have no idea what he was talking about, but I did not like it a single bit.'
'A grave?' Emily asked. She thought about her dreams where the Vikings had dug a grave before they were slaughtered. She wondered if that could be the grave the spiritual healer was referring to, but then again, they were slain by something far more sinister than the Vikings could ever be.
'Yes. He also mentioned something about a certain bloodline from the North. Apparently, it is the only thing able to banish this evil. He lost me there, but he said I was a descendant of this bloodline,' Craig paused. 'The Teacher saw something in our family that has the power to stop this evil. I'm not sure who he was referring to, but I left it there. He told me a bunch of other things, but yeah, that's the gist of it.'
'Cool. So we're like heroes or something,' Patrick said astonished.
'I wouldn't quite put it like that Pat,' Craig said. 'This thing sounds more like a curse than anything else.'
'What else did he say about the grave?' Andrew asked. 'Is there anything specific to this grave?'
'Not much except that it's not far apparently,' Craig sighed. 'I want to tell you about our neighbour, Brian. You should go and introduce yourselves some time. He is a fantastic man, very faithful. He told me stories about Saldanha that raised the hair on the back of my neck. He can see demons. He noticed an increase in them during the last few months. Brian was living on a farm when he was still a boy. The farm was around here somewhere. He had seen these things back then. He found slaughtered animals on the fence poles of the farm. They removed them whenever they were spotted, but the farm was too big so there were some they overlooked. Soon their cattle started dying. Brian said he saw these demons moving in and out of the animals depriving them of their lives, feeding on them. They soon lost almost all their animals and matters went bad from there onwards. The thing I found in the attic was similar. It was a rat that had been nailed to a wooden plank. Attached to the plank was a small bag with more stuff in it. Some form of voodoo, which brings me to my next point. The people who used to live in this house were in some bad stuff. Amongst them were two brothers that went to jail for murder. They were involved in Satanism so I suppose the thing from the attic might belong to them.'
'I don't know dad,' Andrew said. 'This sounds - '
'Like rubbish, I know,' Craig interrupted, 'but strange things are happening around here which I don't have a logical explanation for.'
'I wasn't going to say it was rubbish,' Andrew confirmed. 'Just a little farfetched.'
'I know it sounds a little crazy son,' Craig continued. 'Now, Mom told me that there was an arrogant guy looking for work the other day. After mom closed the door, he just stood around checking out the house. I mean, look at that thing you guys found on the beach. Who would have made such a thing and why go through all the trouble? What happened to that teacher who went missing from your school? Things are not what they seem here in town. I suppose all I want to say is that you guys should be on the lookout for these strange things happening around you. I don't want you to get involved with any of these weird people. They can easily mislead any of you to do wrong things or even to worship the devil.'
'Come on dad, we're not like that. Not even close,' Emily said.
'I know my angel. I'm not saying you are. I just want you to be alert and know there are people out there that will try to get you to do things you don't necessarily want to do. Keep your eyes open and all will be okay. I also want you guys to tell me when things seem out of the ordinary. We can stop bad things from happening before they get out of hand. I asked a security company to install an alarm system so that mom can be safe during the day. I know I sound paranoid but rather safe than sorry.'
'Jeez, that was more than a mouthful,' Patrick said.
There was a moment of silence. Craig knew he had said a lot and it would take some time to sink in. He noticed Emily looking at each of her brothers and remembered that there was something she wanted to tell him. 'Em, you wanted to say something earlier. What was it? You guys can talk to me anytime you want. We love you guys very much,' Craig said sincerely.
'Actually, there is,' Emily said looking at Patrick. 'Somehow my brothers think they are invincible, but they actually have some stories to tell you.'
Patrick and Andrew looked at each other for a moment. They both had the same expression of complete surprise and confusion.
'What are you talking about Emily,' Patrick said looking away from Andrew's dumbstruck face.
'You know exactly what I mean,' Emily said.
'If you're talking about those idiots at school, think again. I'll take care of them and I'll take care of myself thank you very much,' Patrick said with his cheeks turning red slightly.
'What's the story with these idiots?' Craig asked. 'How old are they? Who are they?'
'It's nothing dad,' Patrick sighed.
'It doesn't seem that way to me,' Emily said.
'So why don't you tell the story,' Patrick frowned, 'since you think it's such a big deal.'
'Okay, then I will.' Emily paused for a moment. 'There's this group of about six guys at school. They are bad. Somehow they found a liking in Patrick. They pick on him all the time. It actually started on the first day of school already. They watched us as we walked across the school grounds.'
'Is that true Pat?' Craig asked.
'As I said, it's nothing. It will blow over soon.'
'Well, it sounds serious to me,' Craig said.
'Sorry Pat, but dad is right,' Andrew added, 'in my opinion, those guys are quite disturbed.'
'Well then mister blackouts, what about you then? You gonna tell dad about that?' Patrick snapped.
'Blackouts, wait, guys, no more secrets okay,' Craig said. 'Patrick let us finish your story first, I mean, everything.'
'These kids are into a cult or something,' Andrew said. 'Probably Satanists. They told me on the first day of school that Patrick should watch his attitude. Since then, they started picking on him.'
'Did you do anything to have offended them, Pat?' Craig asked.
'Nothing, they're just some dumbasses looking for attention I suppose.'
'They picked a fight with Patrick the other day and they spat on him as well,' Andrew said.
'You are worse than sis, Andrew.' Patrick said. Andrew could see the anger on Patrick's face.
'Don't forget about the pentagram they drew on his schoolbag,' Emily added.
'Yeah okay Delmar,' Patrick snapped. 'Maybe you should tell dad about your new boyfriend then.'
'Boyfriend?' Sarah asked surprised.
'He's just a friend mom.' Emily blushed.
'Tell me about these guys at school,' Craig pressed on looking at Patrick.
'We saw them yesterday. They were here staring at the house from outside. There was someone else with them in the car. We had never seen this guy before. He looked like the local newspaper with all the tattoos all over his body,' Patrick said.
'What were they doing here?' Craig frowned. He looked at Andrew who seemed to be more willing to give answers than Patrick.
'Don't know. We just heard a car idling outside so we looked through the window and there they were, just staring at the house. After a while, they drove off again. They were not in school yesterday so they probably bunked to get loaded somewhere else. They should have been finished with school already, but I suppose they're too stupid to pass,' Andrew said.
Craig shook his head, 'and you've done nothing to them to have started this?'
'Nope.' Patrick shook his head.
'Is that the whole story?' Craig asked.
'Yes,' Patrick said looking at Emily. 'Unless the boss here has something else that she wants me to talk about.' Emily rolled her eyes.
'I think I need to have a chat with that headmaster of yours,' Craig said. 'What does he have to say for himself to allow these things to happen on the school grounds? He doesn't deserve to be the school's headmaster if you asked me.' His face turned red and Andrew could tell that his dad was getting worked up. He could even hear it in his voice.
'According to Delmar and Bernard, the teachers are all scared of these kids,' Andrew said. 'Everyone knows they are into bad stuff, but no one wants to confront them. They are too scared that something might happen to them.'
Craig shook his head, 'Then maybe I should beat some sense into them starting with the headmaster.'
'Don't be ridiculous honey,' Sarah said. 'You know that will just aggravate the situation. Those asses will know what you have done and pick on our children even more. You can't just go around beating people. You'll get into trouble for rubbish like that.'
'I wouldn't really beat them up my love, but I need to have a talk with that useless headmaster though.'
'That's better,' Sarah said. 'Just do it discretely.'
'I'll handle it professionally, don't worry. Andrew, what is the story with your blackouts?'
'I don't know,' Andrew scratched his head. 'It happened yesterday for the first time. I heard someone calling my name on my way home from the bus stop. I looked around, but there was no one there. I heard it again and again. The voice was in my head somehow. It went over to screams until my head ached pretty badly.'
'And your nose was bleeding too,' Emily added. 'Tell dad about your amnesia.'
'Amnesia?' Andrew frowned.
'Yes, you couldn't remember what happened,' Emily said.
Andrew shook his head. He could not believe Emily's nerve. She sounded worse than his mom, Sarah on a bad day. 'Well at least my nose didn't bleed today, but yes there was a bit of a blackout. I could not recall where I had been most of the day.'
'You hear voices in your head and you have amnesia? Jesus Christ, Andrew, when were you going to tell us about it?' Craig asked. His face was flaring. He knew he probably overreacted, but he needed to know everything about his family, now more than ever. The situation seemed worse than he expected.
'Blackouts, not amnesia,' Andrew defended. 'It only started yesterday dad. I would have told you if it continued.' Andrew looked at Emily who did not know when to keep her mouth shut. Little bitch. He thought.
Craig stared at the floor. He had to get his anger under control if he wanted his children to open up to him. He looked up at Andrew and asked, 'what does this voice sound like?'
'Like an old man with emphysema,' Andrew said.
'And he only calls your name?' Craig frowned still feeling a little mad.
'Yes. He called my name again today, but it was a little different, more urgent. He also asked me to come to him.'
'You've never heard this before?' Craig shook his head.
'No. Never.'
'You see guys, there are strange things happening around here,' Craig said. 'That's why I want you to tell me everything, even if you think it might be stupid. In my opinion, we can't discard anything.' He looked at Patrick for a moment before looking at Andrew again.
'We will dad, but as I said, it only started yesterday,' Andrew said.
'Who is this Delmar?' Sarah asked.
'He's just a friend mom,' Emily said feeling a little uneasy.
'Keep it that way. You are way too young to be worried about boyfriends,' Sarah said.
'He's not my boyfriend,' Emily flushed.
'Well, I hope he is a decent character. We don't want any Satan worshippers around here,' Craig said.
'No dad, Delmar is cool,' Patrick interjected. 'Oh yeah, I almost forgot, Emily's having strange dreams lately. Maybe you need to tell dad about those.' Patrick looked at Andrew and noticed a smile forming on his face. He obviously shared the same level of joy as Patrick. He knew Emily will think twice next time when spilling the beans. Revenge was sweet after all.
'Those are just dreams,' Emily said.
'Not if you keep dreaming about the same place every time,' Patrick said. 'Also, the things you dream about. Gosh, and you think Andy's blackouts are bad.'
'Don't be stupid, I only had three of them.'
'What are your dreams about?' Craig asked.
'About Vikings,' Emily said. 'They were killed by a group wearing the mark of the beast. I dreamt that Patrick was standing at the Viking's grave one night. A light was shining from his chest. There were demon-like things in my dream who wanted to attack him, but he radiated the light eventually destroying them all.'
'I told you she's looney,' Patrick said spinning his index finger around his temple.
'Really?' Craig ignored Patrick's remark almost absent-mindedly. He thought about what The Teacher had said about his children. Could Patrick be the pure blood, the powerful weapon that could banish evil? What did this mean? Why would Emily dream these things? 'And you dream about the same place every time?'
'Yes. My dreams take me to the hill we went to the other day. The one with that old ruin.'
'Wow,' Craig said. 'This almost sounds crazy, but I know it's not. And please, from now onwards, no more secrets okay?' Craig looked at each one of his children for a short moment to emphasise the importance of the matters at hand. He hoped that he did not come down too hard on them, but then again, it was for their own safety. They all nodded. Craig knew there were some secrets that he could never share with his family especially the secret about his perverse fantasies about Pamela. How he would like to pound the living daylights out of her sexy body despite his own good-looking wife. How he would squeeze her firm breasts while penetrating her from behind. He would love to see the look on her face while she was looking at him over her shoulder. How he would love to pull her black hair and hear her grunt from pleasure. He knew she would want that, but how would he initiate the situation and keep it a secret at the same time? Oh God, what was happening to him? Why was he thinking about her again?