Rottenhouse Read Online Free PDF Page B

until it became a scream and that scream went on and on and
Simon got closer and closer and the scream got louder and louder
until it became a yell and that yell grew fierce and guttural and
in the distance there was a flash of lightning and a huge rumble of
thunder…
     
    6
     
    In the valley another tree fell to the
lumberjacks axe and it hit the forest floor heavily.
    Simon awoke with a start; grabbing hold
of his throat and then the side of the bed sure that he was
floating toward some red coloured filth that was all that was left
of someone – a girl, a girl called Bobbie and his breathing was
fast and shallow and he was hot, sweaty and thirsty.
    He got up, unsteady at first, and
walked around to the end of the bed and into the small bathroom
holding onto whatever he could as he went. He flicked the light
switch on and leant on the sink as he tried to control himself.
Looking into the mirror he saw that he was pale, his eyes sunken
with deep dark rings beneath them. Licking his lips he turned on
the cold tap, waited a second or two and then cupped his hands
allowing the water to collect. When the cold liquid was brimming he
bent over and drank what he could, before refilling and drinking
again and again and again. On the final fill, instead of drinking
he splashed the water over his face and kept his hands there whilst
he straightened up.
    He felt better now. Relaxed. Whatever
that dream had been about was drifting away like a leaf caught in a
rivers current.
    Simon took his hands away and opened
his eyes.
    Behind him was a woman and her skin was
flayed, her eyes were gone and their black sockets reflected
nothing and her mouth was wide as if she wanted to scream but
without a throat no sound could come out.
    So Simon screamed for her.
     
    7
     
    In the valley another tree to fell the
lumberjacks axe and it hit the forest floor heavily.
    Simon awoke and sat bolt upright. ‘They
Leak!’
    His chest moved in and out rapidly. His
clothes were wet with sweat and tight around his body. It was as if
they were trying to strangle him. He looked over to see if Lucy was
there but she was gone; the bed sheets slightly ruffled, the pillow
crooked. Looking around the room lit by a fading twilight sun, he
saw that the bedroom door was open and the hallway light was on.
There were voices coming from downstairs.
    He eased himself back onto the soft
duvet and sighed heavily running his hands through his hair.
‘Fucking hell.’ It had been a long time since Simon had had a dream
– a nightmare – like that. In fact, he couldn’t remember the last
time he had had one. His breathing was becoming normal and he
licked his lips. Simon was struggling to remember the gist of the
dream, it was disappearing quickly – which he was thankful for –
but he knew that he had been at the garage and that the red gore
had been there.
    Someone was saying something. Somebody
was there
    From his pocket there came a soft
vibration and it startled him. Reaching down and fumbling he
removed his iPhone and opened his eyes so that he could see what
the alert was for. The background image was of Lucy – a princess in
her red dress – but her face was obscured by the green box and the
text that was inside. The message was from Kyle and it read:
     
    Give me a call. Know on holiday and
isn’t urgent but need to talk.
     
    He let go of the phone and let it fall
onto the duvet next to him. Right now, speaking to Kyle was the
last thing he wanted to do. What he really wanted was a beer, a few
of them to be precise. He took a quick shower, dried, and put on a
fresh pair of jeans and a clean shirt. Ready for the long haul he
took in a deep breath and headed back downstairs.

 
    The Peroni
Incident

    1
     
    Simon gathered himself together, left
the bedroom and headed downstairs. The upstairs hallway was
decorated in that same lost in time 70’ss style that matched
downstairs. It wasn’t awful and in the same situation that Mr
Rowling was in – alone and