The Ruins

“'It stands, a cankerous blot on the horizon; a syphilitic.and... phallic silhouette waiting for us to enter it’s rotting ruins… and like the condemned awaiting the journey to limbo I know I’m damned…'

"Don’t you think you’re laying it on a bit too thick, Dominic?” Serena harangued.

“Fuck off, Serena - it’s my last chance to make an impression.” Dominic snapped back. He always acted superior; yet he was squat and balding with square glasses that made his already rotund and flustered face more porcine.

“Oh, you’ve made an impression alright… as a complete and total fraud. You’ve ruined whatever reputation we had as serious paranormal researchers. So you're the one that can fuck off, Dominic.”

“Guys, you do know this is still being filmed?” Ian interjected, ever the diplomat, shifting his weight again; the ladder he was trying to carry more uncomfortable with every step.

“Don’t stop… Don’t stop! This is great, if nothing else it’ll help boost the ratings on YouTube!” , Chris, urged them to continue, tightening the focus on Serena who just nodded, trying to push back the nagging headache that had been getting worse the closer they walked towards Racton Ruins.

“Look, I’m getting a really bad feeling about this place.” she said, hoping that, for once, someone would listen to her. “I think we should just call it a day. Treat it as the disaster we know it to be and walk away.”

“You can walk away if you want, and good riddance!” Dominic sneered. “Then the show will be mine.. And I’m not sure you could live with that.” Dammit, he was right. Serena sighed and motioned to continue towards the tortured ruin.

Ghostings wasn’t much, but it used to be a fun Youtube channel and seemed to have a certain degree of credibility, travelling around Sussex looking at haunted places. The only thing that made it stand out from the rest of the shows was initially Dominic’s uncanny psychic abilities. When first interviewed for the position Serena loathed him at first sight but he staggered her with how much insight he had; things that only her closest friends knew. But he had actually asked Serena's friends about her, without telling them the real reasons why!

The first program was at Arundel and Dominic made contact straight away with verifiable people who had crossed over, with period detail that was second to none! It was so good that it could have appeared on a Wikipedia page… and that’s exactly where it did come from. Serena was too trusting; too much wanting to believe and Ian had warned her about this for sometime. What made it worse: Dominic was getting his friends to participate as stooges; messaging the show asking for specific information that he was only too willing to provide.

Ian, as the programme co-host, had his own stake in the show but wanted it to be genuine not a farce and he set Dominic up beautifully. He amended the details on the wiki-page that he knew DOminic would look at. That night the crew just sat and waited as the stooges messaged in and Dominic worked his ‘magic’. No one confronted him on air, but afterwards all laid into him. Serena had to be physically restrained by Chris. Dominic didn’t even try to deny it just smugly shrugged his piggy shoulders. He wanted one more show -it was the springboard to something else he had his eyes on -he was going to leave anyway but needed to end on a high note.

Serena would have decked him there but Dominic pulled his trump card: either he was allowed to do this last show or he exposed himself as a fraud thereby destroying whatever credibility they had. Serena couldn't let that happen so she begrudgingly acquiesced. Dominic was now determined to make this as uncomfortable as possible and deliberately chose Racton Ruins because of its notoriety. “Are we going to start this or not?” Dominic said snootily. There was going to be another murder here before too long, Serena thought. Chis made the 3-2-1 gesture and Dominic started hisnasal delivery as everyone walked up the pot-holed, muddy track towards the folly.

“Known more for its arcane significance and profane historical activities than its architectural prowess, Racton Ruins has stood here for over 200 years and who knows how many more it might stand? In a departure from our normal mediumistic nocturnal activities; for this, our last foray into Ghostings history, we are going to spend the night in the ruins of the notorious…”

Just then the night sky was gutted by the eerie sight of blue flashing lights from an approaching police car. Serena nodded to

Ian, who quickly moved the step-ladder into the ditch whilst the rest walked down to greet them.

“What.. the fuck..do they want?” Dominic swore; he had been in mid-swing and was arrogant enough to believe that no one should interrupt him, especially when he was monologuing.

"Don't say a fucking word to them, Dominic." Ian hissed. "I don't want you mouthing off to them; I'm not sure whether we're even allowed to be here..."

"Brilliant -I wish you'd told me that before!" Chris replied, lowering his camera. "I don't want to get in trouble with the law."

"Yeah, you're still getting over the last set of charges, aren't you?" Dominic mocked.

"Fuck off." Chris snapped back. Chris was usually laid back , she didn't let anything get to her.. but no one liked Dominic. Two police officers got out of the patrol car and seemed faintly surprised to have a small camera crew facing them.

"Is that thing off?" The driving officer asked. Serena nodded. "So what brings you lot out on a chilly night? Not the most glamorous of places to set a student film."

"Flattery will get you everywhere, Officer." Serena replied and smiled. ""My name's Serena; this is Chris, Ian and Dominic. We're filming our last ever episode of Ghostings -it's a paranormal research thing... y'know.."

"Kinda like Ghost Watch." The driver nodded and smiled. Dominic was about to say something but Ian trod on his foot hard .

"No, it's alright Pete -I've actually heard of them." The other officer replied. "My wife loves all that kind of stuff... They're legit."

"I don't suppose I have to ask what you're doing at Racton then... you're braver than me!" Officer Pete said.

"Is it ok for us to be here, Officer?" Ian asked.

"I don't see why not..." Officer Pete replied. "I personally wouldn't as it's a well-known place for druggies..."

"It'd suit them down to the ground then," Dominic quipped.

"Shut the fuck up, Dominic." Chris snapped back without thinking, and then blushed. "Sorry.... sorry..."

"That's alright... I probably would've said the same to him." The other officer replied, good-naturedly and all relaxed off a bit. "We've got enough time to just check the place over with them, haven't we Pete?"

"You'll do anything to appear on tele, won't you Steve?" Pete quipped as he turned the flashing lights off before locking the car doors behind him. "I don't see any reason why not. It's better to be safe than sorry -they can be right little thugs...."

Everyone walked back up to the ruins and Serena found herself talking to Officer Pete whilst Ian and Chris did their best to keep Dominic as far as away from the officers as they could. Pete gave some fascinating information about the bizarre happenings he'd either been witness to or heard of: odd sounds and strange bangings from the vicinity. The strangest one was the ghostly tractor, ploughing the fields at dead of night."

The one that had me personally spooked was one misty night and I was on my own, still a rookie and I'd landed this and Kingley Vale to patrol. I'd seen some activity up ahead so went to investigate. I couldn't see for nothing but heard lots of rustling.... It was then that I heard a very loud cough and I've never jumped so high in my life."

"What was it?" Serena asked.

"It was a sheep!" Steve interrupted, already laughing. He must've heard that tale a hundred times and it still had the capacity to make him laugh.

"Yup.. it was a bloody sheep." Pete replied.

"I didn't even know sheep could cough." Serena laughed.

"Nor did I... but when I looked into the next field that's exactly what I saw... and one even looked at me with a guilty expression on his face." They laughed even harder as they made it to the ruin itself. Nothing had prepared Serena for just how dark and ominous it really was. Dominic had actually described it best; a cankerous sore on the horizon, but up close it was so overwhelming, as if it was towering over you, ready to fall at a moments notice. The central turret stood easily four stories high with two smaller appendages... like concrete testicles to complete his earlier observation. Dominic could be so accurate and quick to assess things that it made his betrayal even more hurtful.

The inside of the building was hollow. It was incredibly dangerous to even try to get up to the upper floors, but for some reason that was exactly where Dominic wanted to venture. Serena knew there was no way the police officers were going to let them even try, so it was deliberately kept from them.

The group walked around the ruins, each one carrying the requisite torches and a spare, just in case. Everyone had watched their share of horror films and had no desire to be caught in this particular location without a light! As Serena followed Officer Pete noticed him constantly brushing at the back of his neck for some reason.

"Are you blowing on my neck at all?" He asked.

"And risk being arrested for indecency?" She quipped.

"No.. silly question. It just felt as if there was someone right there.... I suppose it could have been cobwebs." Serena smiled but also felt the hairs on her arms stand up. She was very aware of situation bias and wish fulfillment in those kind of situations.

"Where did you park your car, anyway?" He asked.

"Just down the road, near the church." Ian replied.

"That's alright. There's less chance of it being nicked or vandalized there. Had you parked it nearer here than anything could've happened!" Serena blanched; she hadn't thought of that! The last thing any of them wanted was to be stranded there..

"Well... it all seems ok." Said Officer Pete. "I'm not sure I'd want to do this but I can't actually stop you. Look.. I'll pop round intermittently to see if you're ok; or at least keep an eye out for your car. Here's my mobile number -I don't normally give this out, but I have a bad feeling about this. Please ring me when you leave, just for my own peace of mind... I reckon I can trust you not to keep ringing me for anything else..." He handed Serena his business card The officers nodded and wished everyone well before walking back to their patrol car.

"Oh.. be careful where you walk and what you pick up." Officer Steve said before he got too far away. "This place is a druggies paradise, there'll be broken bottles and discarded needles... and who knows what else you're going to find."

They got into the patrol car and reversed back the way they'd come, illuminating the ruins one last time with their headlamps; this time making it look like an unholy maw ready to swallow everyone up.

Using the torches to create a safe path into one of the ante-rooms, Dominic, Chris and Serena set up a temporary base and recorded the first bit of feed whilst Ian went to fetch the ladder.

"The origins of the this tower are shrouded in mystery," Dominic said when given the cue from Chris. No one wanted to move too much in this space as it was far more perilous than they had at first thought.

Once into the ante-room and through the main chamber there was a nasty surprise: a huge, gaping hole where there should have been a floor. It must have been a cellar of some kind as there was a seven foot drop; the floor littered with sweet wrappings of all things, but there were things glistening and glinting. Using the telephoto lens they realised that the Officer Steve had been correct -not only were there lots of broken and damaged syringes but also rusty razor-blades, some of them actually wrapped in the sweet wrappers. It was fortuitous everyone was taking it slow, had they rushed and fallen....

"And although Lord Hallifax built this as a banqueting hall and statement piece back in the late 1700's it's been the sight of much worse activities, including a brief stint as a brothel in the mid 1800's. Something that our floor manager would know something about." Dominic stated.

"You fucker." Serena shouted, advancing on him. Blackmail or no blackmail she wanted to rip his neck off his podgy shoulders right now.

The crash came out of nowhere and made them all jump.

"Fuck! Where the fuck are you guys, anyway?" Ian snapped loudly. He dragged the ladder with him, making more noise.

"Why don't you just let everyone know we're here, eh?" Dominic hissed. "We're supposed to be doing this on the QT. The last thing we need is a group of drugged up psychopaths stumbling on us here!"

"Yeah -about that... As I walked up here with the ladder (and cheers, by the way, for someone giving us a hand!) I saw a group of people standing at the roadside." Ian said nervously. "I've no idea who they were and didn't really want to stop and find out."

"They're probably no one in particular." Dominic replied, albeit flustered. He checked at his watch uncomfortably, which made Serena nervous. Why was he getting fidgety? Serena suddenly realised just how vulnerable and stupid they all were. She looked around for something she could use as a weapon and remembered a part of a tree branch that must have fallen in a recent storm; it would make a decent club.

"Somewhere you'd rather be?" Dominic asked sarcastically as she went to find it.

"Trying to be sensible; just do what you do best and ignore me." Serena motioned for Chris to start the camera again and Dominic continued his monologue whilst Ian set up the ladder. It was incredibly tricky to maneuver the ladder into the right place. They wanted access to the upper floor, Dominic said that's where he'd get the best 'readings', not to mention the best views of the Weald... No one knew what he was on about but thought it was worth a shot. There was a lot of graffiti sprayed around though no one had paid much attention to it -it was going to be part of the investigation once we'd set up camp on the first floor.

Serena volunteered to climb up the ladder first with Chris holding it. Every step was fraught with danger and carrying the club made it harder -nothing looked structurally sound. There were also stories about bricks being hurled around by ghostly forces. No one was looking forward to that sort of thing happening though it did present an alibi if someone got fed up with Dominic.

It took Serena quite a few minutes to get up to the first floor and a lot of noise and grunting, much to Dominics chagrin. Ian then climbed up, slowly and looked nervous with every rung. Serena had never been so scared in her life. Chris stayed below with the camera so she could use 'dramatic' angles and uplighting to make it all more dramatic. Dominic seemed reticent to start the climb and kept looking to the road for some reason.

Serena was too busy checking out her immediate environment. This was the infamous first floor which used to be the site of a brothel at one stage, but it was less like a a pleasure palace and more like a death trap; a rim three foot thick that ran round most of the interior of the central structure.It disappeared to nothing when it met the two silos and there was barely enough room for the four of them. Serena glanced down and shone the torch on the black pit below. She saw it glisten back; it wasn't just sweet-papers and razor blades but a fair amount of broken glass. A pit from hell surely; they had to be so careful because if anyone fell in there they wouldn't be getting back up again.

Chris finally urged Dominic up the ladder and he was almost to the top when Ian hissed; "There's two or three people coming up the bloody path towards us, and from they sound drunk and lairy."

"For all we know they could be the druggies that the police told us about.. fuck." Serena whispered. She looked down at Chris and said, "You'd best hide. You've got the camera. We'll never get down in time and if anything bad happens you can sneak off to get the cops back."

Chris nodded and quietly snuck into the hedgerow behind the folly. She was careful to move in a way to keep everything in her eye-line.

The group walked up closer and actually stood at the base of the folly. Whatever feelings Serena had that this was a coincidence were quickly dashed as one of them shone a torch directly at them.

"There they are.. just like he said." One of them said; a young bloke, but it was impossible to see what they all looked like. Dominic, who had still yet to make it to the top, clearly stated in a dramatic fashion:

"It's ok. I'll handle this." and started down the ladder, much to the amusement of the other two. Form the derisory laughs it was possible to discern that there were two other blokes and a woman.

"Where are you going, fatso?" chided the woman. The other bloke stood on the base of the ladder and shook it. Dominic blanched and froze.

"C'mon; that's not nice... That's not what we decided." He remonstrated.

"No idea what you're on about, Tubs." Snapped the first bloke. "You're on our property and you're all going to pay."

"I can't pay you.. I've got no money!" Dominic pleaded, suddenly realising just how wrong this had become.

"You'll have to pay a fine... " Said the second man and nodded at the one on the base of the ladder.

"FOUR!" Shouted the lad.

"You mean timber!" Snapped the woman who then giggled in delight as the guy shook the ladder harder. It was obvious that she was getting bored; crippled by an tiny attention span, she stood other side of the ladder and gave it an almighty push. Dominic never had a chance remonstrate; his infamous poison tongue useless; his eyes just widened in horror he slammed to the ground with a sickening thud,. Serena saw where he landed and tried not to think of the rag doll body now crushed by the ladder.

"Bastards!" She shouted and managed to pick up a loose chunk of rock at her feet, part of the walls no doubt. She threw it at the lad holding the ladder as hard as she could, and it hit him squarely on the shoulder making him cry out.

"You're for it now, bitch. You better learn to fly." The ladder was propped up against the wall again and the youth climbed it, furious at the indignation of being attacked. He pulled out a knife from his pocket when he was sure that Serena could see the full extent of what was going to happen next,. He barely made it to the top and had just raised his head up when Serena swung the tree branch she had been clutching so hard her fingers had gone white and numb. The blow was lucky; it caught him directly underneath his chin; crushing his larynx. He flew off the ladder and ended up sprawled in the pit of glass and razors, the knife falling from his hands onto the rim in front of her. The two youths below screamed out insults and scrabbled around them to find things to throw. Unfortunately there was plenty of ammunition around: rocks and broken glass were at Ian and Serena.

"Flatten yourself!" Serena hissed to Ian and they become almost impossible to hit. Just then, there was a vibration that came from Serena's phone; someone was trying to contact her. She assumed there was no reception, but being higher up on the first floor obviously made a difference. She carefully got it out of her pocket and saw that it was w Whatsapp message from Chris. Of course, she was still out in the styx; the two yobs didn't know about her. Serena messaged Chris and told her what to do.

Thirty seconds later there was a lot of noise coming from the bushes on the outskirts of the folly. Dominic's bombastic voice reverberated around and Ian looked at Serena aghast. Serena shook her head and whispered that Ian should ready himself. Sure enough the bloke and bitch below went to investigate the noise leaving the other chap to 'stand guard'. Chris had managed to sneak behind the remaining youth and smashed him over the head with a rock. At the same time Serena and Ian took off their belts, thrown them to Chris, who tied them together with her own. She fashioned a loop around the bottom of the step ladder and then trailed it to a hiding place round the inside edge of the folley, making sure she was safely out of sight. She'd hidden the camera in the undergrowth and set it on playback; hoping it was enough to distract the couple.

When they came back Serena and Ian mocked them; telling them that there were surrounded. The guy, really pissed off now with the way the evening had progressed, started up the ladder. Seeing her opportunity Chris pulled on the belts forcing the ladder to fall on top of the man. Chris couldn't believe her luck, the plan had worked. She was so enamored that she ran to try and secure the ladder again and get Ian and Serena down. She never saw the girls blade as it entered her throat; just felt the sickly tug as it severed her windpipe and artery.

Serena screamed in rage and shock. Ian shouted pointless defamatory remarks which only angered the girl more. She looked around for something to throw. This time she picked up two rocks; throwing both one after the other in rapid succession. Ian managed to duck the first but didn't see the second and Serena could only watch the momentary shock as it hit him on the temple hard, making him step back. He never stood a chance and couldn't even scream before the sickening thud. That meant Serena was the only one left against the one enraged girl who had managed to kill her only friends.

It seemed to take ages for the girl to prop the ladder against the wall again, but not the same wall where Serena was standing but the one adjacent. The girl had obviously weighed up her options. Serena knew that the girl could easily make the jump from one ledge to the other and it was probably best to let the bitch come to her. The girl started her climb up but before she reached the top she threw something at Serena's legs, making her lose her balance. For a split second Serena thought it was all over; to fall at this stage would have been ridiculous and her friends would have died in vain. With an intense effort she managed to catch herself and fell hard on to her knees to stop herself from toppling over. The pain was intense and it took everything she had not to cry out. Serena then realised that it was important to lull the girl into a false sense of security; there was a manic intensity in her eyes. She was taking risks now; every step precarious but she just didn't seem to care.

The girl was close to jumping the gap now and Serena could see the bloodied knife in her hands. Serena just watched in desperation as the girl made the jump effortlessly. There was so little room for them to manouever, but there was no way that Serena was going to lose now, She was going to avenge her friends.

The girl just ran at her, slashing the knife in wild arcs; Serena barely managed to avoid. But the searing pain came seconds later; the girl had managed to rip into her breasts and was now trying to push her over. There was no time to think, just react. For the first time in her life Serena was pleased for the dancing she'd done as a child; she still remembered some of the footwork and managed to pivot out the way of the second thrust. At the same time she twisted her body to avoid the knife, but was still too slow to miss it all. It plunged into the top of her arm but Serena used that to her advantage and thrust her own, into the girls stomach and twisted it. She didn't stop there; she just stabbed; stabbed hard and stabbed fast. No time to think about the morality; her only friends had been murdered, and Dominic.

Serena never noticed the girl fall of the ledge.. she was too busy stabbing the air where the girl used to be. Eventually the reality of what had happened dawned on her and she knew it was over... Safe.. but trapped. The ladder, for all the good it did, might as well have been on the moon. Too badly injured to try and make the jump across and too high up to try and drop down. She had become the latest witness to the Racton sacrifices.