Note: This story was dynamically reformatted for online reading convenience.
 
   06 - Meeting the Family  
---------------------------------------------------- *Kate's Version*

   The service was boring as always, I knew mum wanted me to go to
communion classes, but I couldn't see the point, finally the hymns had
finished and we could escape from the confines of the building, but the
vicar was there at the front saying goodbye to his flock,

   "Hello Kate," he said to me, "I understand that you'll be taking the
classes this Thursday, I'll be happy to see you there." I turned to mum who
was just smiling away nodding.

   I pulled on her arm as we were down the path, "Mum!  What did he mean?"

   She just smiled, "Well we thought it would be good for you to get
confirmed, I've got the ideal dress already sorted out."

   I wailed, "Oh mum!  How could you?  I don't want to go!  I've got soccer
practice on Thursday anyway."

   She shook her head, "Now Kate, the classes are after school, you're have
plenty of time to play before they start, now you'll enjoy it, and it's all
arranged anyway, so you'll have to go."

   I walked away from her, I was annoyed!  People are always doing 'the
right thing' for me without asking me!  Why couldn't they just let me do
what I want?  Life wasn't fair at all!

   It was during this blue funk that I noticed where I was walking; I was
by the Harding Plot I looked at the unkempt grave and its misleading
headstone.

   "Cassandra and Darcy were just like me, nobody asked them either!" I
spoke into the air, not caring if anyone heard me, but then I heard a
voice.

   "Darcy should have known better, and he dragged Cassandra down with him,
they had become little better than beasts, their punishment was well
deserved." I turned round and saw a man standing just by the path.  He was
dressed in 'Sunday Best' - a dark suit, a black tie and he was wearing a
hat, his face was full and he sported sideburns half way down the sides of
his face, the hair was greying, but his eyes were staring, as if boring
into my brain.

   I went to run, but he put a hand out, "Please, listen to me, I'm not
going to hurt you, just to talk, Please Kate, for the sake of our shared
family please listen."

   This made me stop, why 'our shared family'?  And who was this man?  His
face was slightly familiar, but I didn't know him.

   "Who are you?" I asked him, but deep down I thought I knew who he was.
He bowed to me, "Josiah Harding, at your service."

   I just stared at him, "You are . . .  " I looked at the grave where he
was standing, and then I stood in front of him and yelled, "You killed your
own children, just because they loved each other!"

   He shook his head, "Not because they loved each other, it was because
they fornicated, and committed the sin of incest, I couldn't allow them to
continue this, and I knew if we split them up they would just find another
way to continue their unholy union.  And I couldn't allow them to do that"

   He sounded so calm and straightforward as if discussing murder was the
normal thing to do on a Sunday morning, it was so frustrating, he looked at
me.

   "I want you to have nothing more to do with my house; I don't want you
to even think about entering it again, otherwise I will be forced to deal
with you!" He made himself look taller and looked down on me, I just
smiled.

   "And what do you think you're going to do?" I said, "You have no
substance here!" and to prove it I walked towards him, he just stood there
as I approached, a sneer on his face, which started to crumble as I got
nearer.

   "Stay back girl, I warn you" Josiah said, holding his hand out - I
ignored it and continued.  Just as I was up to him he vanished, "Damn you
child, have you no manners..." his voice wavered and went quiet.

   "No Josiah," I said, "I think you are the one who is dammed, I hope you
stay there forever, for what you did to your children, it was bad enough to
kill them, but then to do that to their bodies was worse!" It was at this
point I resolved to do whatever I could for both Cassandra and Darcy.

   ------------------------------------------------------------------  
*Billy's Story*

   I had just finished kissing Cassandra when she seemed to shrink in on
herself, she appeared to be dragged back into the house, there was a
wistful smile on her lips as she went, I think she was happy, I decided to
talk to Kate in the morning and try to convince her to help Cassandra and
Darcy.  I stood in the garden waiting to wake up.

   I noticed a man approaching me, he looked quite old, but was about sixty
I suppose, he was tall and had whiskers down the side of his face, which
looked quite angry.

   "Oh foolish boy, you have tasted the serpent of Eden's apple and are
doomed!" he said, "How could you allow yourself to be tainted by that
Jezebel?"

   From the way he was stalking up to me I started to feel afraid, but then
I realised that here anything could happen, like a pool of mud in the man's
path, I concentrated and was happy to see him start to sink into the muddy
water, so I pictured a deep hole, about four feet deep, he walked straight
into it, his shoulders and head being above the level of the water.

   "What do you think you are doing?" The man demanded, "This is my
property, you have no right to interfere in it!"

   I just looked at him, "Your property!" I said, "I thought this was
Harding House, how can it be your property!" I told him.

   He struggled out of the pit and started to walk towards me again, "I am
Josiah Harding, this house and lands belong to me!  Now why did you let
that misbegotten daughter of mine seduce you?"

   He didn't look as I had pictured him, but I didn't like the way he was
reacting, so I thought of another location for us - the graveyard, and as
if by magic I was by his grave, I looked around, I didn't really want to
see a ghost - Well I know that Cassandra and Darcy were ghosts - but they
were, different, I suppose.  I was more frightened of the classic white
sheet version.

   "Don't worry son," the voice came from everywhere, "We're not going to
bother you, that Josiah needs sorting out, he's too big for his boots with
his holier than thou attitude.  You keep at him!"

   Then the man, Josiah, appeared, "Why are you in this place?" He
thundered.

   I grabbed my courage in both hands, "Because this is where you belong,
this is your grave, and you should stay in it."

   He face redden in rage, "How dare you judge me boy.  Do you know who I
am?"

   I nodded, "Yes, I also know what you are, MURDERER!  You killed your own
children because of your twisted sense of justice, you didn't have the
right to do that to them."

   "NO RIGHT!  I HAD EVERY RIGHT!" He was shouting now.  "I HAD TO STOP
THEM FROM EVER DOING THAT AGAIN!  IT WAS AN ABOMINATION AGAINST GOD!"

   I shouted back, "WHO TOLD YOU THAT YOU COULD ASSUME WHAT GOD WOULD WANT?
You decided that you could just kill them!"

   He went down onto his knees.  "But it's in the Bible, its wrong for
brother and sister to lie together, and the punishment is death"

   Somehow the answer was in my mind, "But, the country's laws take
precedence over the laws in the Bible, don't they?"

   He snorted, "What and have the good name of the family dragged through
the courts, be held up to ridicule, no!  Never!" I was starting to feel a
tugging,

   I had to end this, "Josiah Harding, return to your grave with your wife,
you have forsaken your children, this cold grave is your reward!" The
graveyard around me started to fade, but I could faintly hear his voice
once more.

   "Back to my lonely grave, why have I been banished to this alone!" and
then I woke up, with the words still echoing in my head.

    Then I was awake and sweating in my bed.

   I had seen HIM, their father, and he didn't seem to be upset by what
he'd done, he was more concerned about his family name!  As if that meant
more than his own family lives.  I went downstairs to where mum had
prepared breakfast, but I was too engrossed in my thoughts to take any
notice of what I was eating.

   During the rest of the morning I had chores to do which included
cleaning my room, I considered the matter, Parents can be so unfair to
their children I though and then laughed - at least mine wouldn't kill me
if my room was untidy.

   I had a quick lunch and went out on my bike, I wasn't really thinking of
anything in particular but was so wrapped up in my thoughts that I didn't
notice that I was outside the house once more, I then notice that Kate's
bike was also laying on the ground, its rear wheel still spinning, so she
had only just arrived.

   I dashed around to the side window, just in time to see it closing; I
lifted it up and heard a squeal from inside.

   "It's only me!" I hissed to her, "Hold on, I'm coming in as well!" I
climbed into the now familiar room; the light obligingly came on for us.

   "Thanks Darcy!" Said Kate and then she turned to me, "Billy!  What on
earth are you doing here?" She asked, so I told her of my adventures after
she left me, her reaction surprised me, "You too!" she said, and then
recounted her meeting with Josiah, she looked at me and then asked, "But
why would he try to stop us?" I shrugged, "It seems that he thought more
about his family reputation then his own children." I said

   Then Darcy's voice spoke up, "Yes, well remember in our time the family
name was the entry to many top places, if you had a poor or dishonourable
name then you could be ostracised by your neighbours, family honour was
everything."

   I watched as his form shimmered into view, and then spoke, "But does
that mean you have to turn into a murderer to preserve the family's name?"

   He shook his head, not answering, Kate took my hand and started dragging
me out of the room, I looked back to see Darcy sinking forlornly into the
floor.

   "There's something you need to see, and then I have to ask you a
favour." She said cryptically, we arrived in the kitchen and Kate went to a
brick wall, she started to feel around the wall as if trying to find
something?  I didn't know what.

   "There's got to be a lever somewhere around here." She was muttering.

   "What do you mean?" I asked her puzzled, "A lever for what?"

   She turned to me with an exasperated expression on her face, "The lever
for this doorway, how else are we going to get down there." I looked at her
as if she was slightly mad, doorway?  Down where?  She could see I didn't
understand, so she patiently explained.

   "Last night Darcy brought me into this room, we walked through this
wall," I opened my mouth to speak, but she carried on, "There was a metal
stairway leading down to a locked door, I don't know how to open this door
to get to the stairs."

   Then I felt hands on my chest beneath my clothes, "Hello Cassandra." I
said, I felt her breath on my ear as she spoke,

   "Hello Billy, this is a surprise, I didn't expect you here until next
weekend." She said.

   "Cassandra?" Kate said, "You wouldn't mind just looking over here and
seeing where the switch is, please?"

   I felt her hands removing themselves from me, and then Cassandra
materialised before us, "Certainly Kate," she said, "I thought this room
was slightly different, but cook always kept us out of the kitchen," saying
this she walked to the wall, and then pushed her head into the brickwork as
if there was nothing there!

   "Interesting," She said, "There are metal bolts behind here, but the
access appears to be a button, which is." She removed her head from the
bricks and pointed to a unobtrusive brick by the stove, "Here!" she
concluded.

   Kate quickly pushed the brick, which gave a 'click' and the wall before
us opened.  Disclosing a dark space behind, Kate reached into her backpack
and pulled out a torch, "I knew I'd be needing this again." She said and
entered the space.

   I quickly looked around the kitchen and spotted two candles which I
picked up, there were some matches, with them (not the safety kind) which I
also picked up, and then quickly followed Kate into this new room.

   As she had described, the only item in this room was a stairway leading
down into the gloomy  depths, I went up behind Kate, she looked back at me
and held out her hand, I could see she was shaking, and so I took it her
grip was hard and tight, she was scared, but didn't want to show it.

   We started down the steps, the ironwork groaning with our weight, I
suppose that after all this time without people using it, the stairs
had got slightly rusty, and at times I felt that each step might be our
last.  Finally we arrived at the bottom and, as Kate had said, there was a
large door in front of us, at the side of the door was a key on a hook,
Kate reached for it.

   "LEAVE THAT ALONE!" A  voice came booming out from nowhere, Kate looked
around, Josiah Harding appeared, he looked angry and seemed to be twice his
height, I turned to face him.

   "Why?" I asked him, "If you've nothing to fear why should we stop?"

   His face, already darkened, tried to look stern, "This is their
punishment, and you do not have the right to interfere with that!"

   Kate then spoke up, "And how long was their punishment supposed to last?
They've been trapped there for over a hundred years, is that fair?"

   His voice was softer now, "A hundred, two hundred what does it matter,
they went against the lords teaching, they should suffer for that, you must
see I'm right!"

   Kate shook her head, "No!" she said, "I don't.  You're saying that you
are the instrument of the lord's wrath, that's preposterous!  If you were -
then why are you still down here?  Why haven't you moved on?"

   He seemed to quail under her questioning, his size had shrunk to normal
height, and he wasn't nearly so overwhelming in this guise, "I - I decided
that I should watch over them, ensure that they never again were. . ."

   "Liar!" said Kate, but this time her voice was different, I turned to
look at her, her eyes were wide open but she wasn't seeing anything,
"Josiah Harding, you broke the commandments when you killed your offspring,
because they weren't completely dead when you mummified them their spirits
were trapped, it is their spirits that have kept you here, neither in one
world or the next, doomed forever to remain, until they are freed, this was
the curse you engineered for yourself without knowing." And then her voice
faltered and she started to collapse, I quickly grabbed hold of her,
supporting her.

   Kate looked around in a daze, "Where did she go?" she asked me.

   I was puzzled again, "Who?" I said, but Kate didn't answer, then she
looked at Josiah again, his eyes were lowered as he contemplated the words
he had heard.

   "But I thought I was doing the right thing," he said, "I believed that I
could punish them and keep them as a perpetual reminder of what they did
wrong, could I have been so wrong myself?" he looked at us, turned and
vanished.

   Kate looked at me, "What happened?" She seemed genuinely mystified.  I
shook my head, "Don't ask me!  You seemed to know what to say to him, it
scared him away."

   Her face was white, "But, but I fainted when I saw him, I must have, I
can't remember anything until I found you holding me."

   I held onto her, "It's alright now, I'm with you." Then I remembered her
words as she was recovering, "Who was the woman you were talking about?"

   "Woman?  What woman?" she asked, I didn't push her, if she really
couldn't remember than I'd never find out.

   "Are you okay now?" I asked her, she nodded and was able to stand on her
own, she reached up and took the key down from the hook, she placed it into
the lock and started to turn it, but found that she couldn't

   "Billy" she said, "It won't turn, I think it's rusted inside." I put
both my hands onto the key and helped Kate to turn it.  With a loud 'clunk'
the key turned and the door then creaked open, I took a candle and lit it,
the light was feeble against the beam of the torch, but the second candle
helped out.  We entered the room.

   ------------------------------------------- *Kate's Version*

   I ran home after meeting Josiah, I still didn't know how I was so sure
that he couldn't touch me, but I was glad that I was right, I couldn't feel
Billy anymore.  I don't know if it was because it had worn off, or if the
shock of seeing Josiah had broken the link, anyway I was glad that he
couldn't 'hear' me anymore.  I went upstairs to my bedroom and changed out
of the clothes that I was forced to wear for church, and then joined the
family downstairs for lunch.

   Mum tried to talk about confirmation classes again, but I didn't want to
listen, I knew that whatever I wanted wouldn't be an issue, she had made up
her mind that 'her little girl' was going to be confirmed and that was
that!

   I dawdled through the lunch, although it was a nice roast, she's been
dropping hints that I'd soon have to learn how to cook(!), next thing is
going to be 'don't bite your nails' I just know it!  I couldn't stay in the
house after lunch, I had to leave, but I did have an idea about what to do.

   I picked up my backpack and started to put stuff in it, a hammer, a
torch - with some extra batteries (you never know when they might run out),
a copy of The Bible - well you never know.  Then I went downstairs to get
some snacks from the fridge, just in case I got peckish.  I left a note for
mum to read if I was too late in coming back, I've done this before, mum
says that she likes to know where I'm expected to be should she have to
come looking for me, not that I expected to be too late, I sealed the
letter up and stuck it on the fridge, so that she knew where it was.

   I went to the shed and got my bike out, I put the backpack on and then
started to cycle to the house, I didn't really know what I was going to do,
but I was certain that Josiah Harding wasn't going to stop me!

   When I arrived at the house I carelessly let my bike sprawl on the
drive, as I jumped off and ran for the window, I thought I heard the sound
of tyres on the gravel, but ignored it, I opened the window and went
inside, just as I was closing the window it was pulled open, making me
jump.

   "It's me." Said Billy's voice, "I'm coming in as well!" and he dropped
himself into the room, I wished that we had bit more light when the switch
went click.

   "Thanks Darcy." I said feeling his familiar presence around me.  I asked
Billy why he was there, he told me that he'd met up with Josiah in the
dream garden and how he defeated him there, I recounted my meeting in the
churchyard, but then I wondered if he was supposed to be so great and
powerful then why would he just try to talk us out of helping Darcy and
Cassandra?

   I asked Billy this question; he moved his shoulders and said, "He
thought more about the family reputation than his own children.  I felt a
movement to my right and saw Darcy rise up from the floor.

   "Well remember that in my day the family name gave you entry to many top
places, but if you had a poor or dishonourable name then you could be
ostracised by your neighbours.  It was everything!" I turned to look at
Darcy; he was very solemn and nodded his head.  If I was going to do this,
it had to be now!



   I reached out and grabbed Billy's hand, and dragged him to the kitchen,
I thought about the promise I made to myself, if only I could get Billy to
agree to this!  I told him that there was something I wanted him to see,
and then said that I needed a favour from him; I was too scared to tell him
what exactly the favour was going to be - what if he refused?

   But first I had to get that door open, if only I knew where the lever
was that opened it - why did I think of a lever?  It could be anything?

   So why am I so sure that a lever's involved?  I couldn't waste time
thinking about it, I let go of Billy's hand in the kitchen and went up to
the wall, I started to run my hand over the wall just to see if I could
feel any way of opening it.

   Billy started asking me what I was doing, I tried to explain about the
stairway behind the wall, but I didn't think he really understood, then I
heard him gasp, I turned to see his shirt moving, as if someone was rubbing
him, it only took a second to understand who it was,

   "Cassandra?" I said, for who else could it be, "You couldn't help me
please?"  I asked her, she came into view and I explained what I needed her
to do.

   "Certainly Kate, I thought this room was slightly different, but cook
always kept us out of the kitchen," Cassandra said, and then walked into
the wall, leaving her body outside of the wall as she looked, I could hear
her talking away.

   "Interesting!  There are metal bolts behind here, but the access appears
to be a button, which is." She removed her head from the bricks and pointed
to a unobtrusive brick by the stove, "Here!" she concluded.

   I reached up for the brick and pushed it - not a lever as I had thought
of one, I heard a clicking noise and the wall slid open, the stairway was
dark and foreboding, and I pulled out my torch, "I knew I'd need this
again." I told Billy and, turning on the torch walked onto the stairs.

   As I got to the stairs I was suddenly afraid, what if they fell, taking
me with them, they hadn't been used for some time, would my weight be too
much?  The feeling started to increase, and I gave into them, I did
something that I swore I'd never do.  I turned and reached out to Billy for
comfort.  I held onto his hand tightly, I don't know if it hurt him, but I
was glad he was with me.

   We started down the steps; I could hear the clanking each step as we
descended, the sound of metal the ironwork groaning with our weight, I had
pictures of the whole lot breaking and pitching us down to the ground
below, I was secretly glad that Billy still had hold of me.

   It was with great relief that we got to the foot of the stairs, I wanted
to hold onto Billy but didn't want to look like a stupid girl, I released
his hand and shone the torch onto the key, It was larger than I remembered,
but was still hanging on the hook, I reached for it.

   "LEAVE THAT ALONE!" I knew that voice!  I turned to see where it came
from - Josiah Harding appeared at the foot of the stairs his face dark with
anger, somehow he'd increased his height, all the better to belittle us I
supposed, well he wasn't going to succeed with me, but Billy beat me to the
punch.

   While he was talking to Josiah I thought.  No!  I felt someone, a woman
walk up behind me, I knew it wasn't Cassandra, and impression of age came
over me, "allow me to talk to him" she 'said' to me, and then everything
went black.

   --------

   I felt dizzy, where was I?  I could feel arms around me, Billy?  I said
something. . .  I couldn't remember what?  I finally was able to focus on
him.

   "What happened?" I asked him, he got a puzzled look on his face.

   He shook his head in amazement and then said "Don't ask me!  You just
seemed to know what to say to him, it scared him away."

   I couldn't understand this and told him so; I felt his arms encircling
me, making me feel safe.

   "It's alright now," He said, "I'm with you." Then he asked a strange
question, "Who was the woman you were talking about?"

   "What woman?" I asked him, surely I'd remember if someone else was with
us, but I didn't!

   He looked down on me and asked, "Are you okay now?" I nodded, I moved
out of his grasp and stood up I walked to the key and picked it up off the
hook, it was heavy.  I inserted it into the lock and tried to turn it.  But
couldn't!  It was annoying all this way and to fail because the blasted
door wouldn't open!  I turned to Billy and asked him to help me.

   His hands reached up and together we forced the key round, I heard the
noise of the lock opening, I pushed on the door and entered, to be followed
by Billy who was holding onto two candles.

   I looked on the wall for a light switch, but couldn't find one, I swung
the beam around the room, I could see a chair and table, I remembered what
Darcy had said about that table, and shivered, The beam continued round the
room, glistening off a dusty giant glass dome, I heard Billy gasp as he saw
the naked form tied to the post, trying to reach his beloved who was behind
yet another glass dome, spread out but restrained on a bed, what I noticed
was the number of dead rats in the first dome, it seemed that the glass had
cracked allowing the rats access into it, I focused the beam on Darcy.

   I quickly moved it away, the body had been partially eaten by the rats,
who then had died for some mysterious reason, I started to cry, Billy put
the candles down on the table and held me, Then I felt Darcy also standing
beside me.

   "Kate." He said, "Don't worry about it, that's just a shell now, I can't
feel anything, it's only when you're here that I have life, remember me as
I was, not as you see me there.!"

   I looked at him.  "But when you showed me this your body was whole and
unmarked!  You didn't prepare me for that!" I was sobbing with the feelings
that the sight had imposed on me.  Billy had walked away from me to the
other side of the room, which was partitioned off, as Darcy came closer.

   "Kate," He knelt down in front of me so that I could look into his eyes,
"Understand this, last night I was whole, you made me so, you are the
reason for my life after my death, and for that I thank you, you've proved
yourself a better person than my father, by standing up against him when he
tried to dissuade you from continuing.  It is you who has done this, please
look pass the outside of my body, and see the true me." He held out his
hand, "Come Kate, look again!"

   I raised the torch again, this time the glass was pristine, unblemished,
and the almost vibrant body of Darcy was there straining against his bonds
trying to reach his sister.  It was such a marvellous sight that the scream
from Billy almost didn't break the spell.

   -------------------------------------------

   *Billy's Story*.

   I left Kate and Darcy to talk, I could tell that she'd been shaken by
the scene in the glass, I remember reading about taxidermy once and that
they used chemicals which could kill, so any animals feeding off the flesh
would soon die, I didn't like the mutilation of the body but I wasn't going
to say anything to Kate about it, I decided to explore the rest of the
room, there was a wooden partition that separated the room into two, I
entered this area and looked around.

   There was a brass bed in the middle of the room, the covers were drawn
up over the pillows, in the flickering light of the candle the hump of the
covers was undefined, the room was decorated as a bedroom, I thought I
recognised it as the one that Cassandra had hidden away in as she played
the part of Kate, on Friday.

   I sat down on the bed, disturbing the cover, I noticed that there seemed
to be a duster or something on the pillows, I pulled the covers back and
placed the candle closer to the bed.

   A grinning skull was watching me, the remains of white hair spread out
over the pillows showed where the . . .  person?  Had been placed.  I just
stared at it for a moment, and then the movement of the bed disturbed the
setting, the skull moved forwards off the pillows and rolled towards me. 
That shook me out of my senses; I screamed in panic, nearly dropping the
candle and ran out of there and into the other side of the room.

   Kate was standing by the glass looking at the torso restrained there, my
arrival into her daydream seemed to surprise her, and then she took another
look before concentrating on me.

   "Billy," She said, "What's wrong?  Has Josiah returned again?" she
asked.

   I couldn't speak, I just shook my head and pointed towards the other
side of the room, and Kate grasped hold of the torch and stormed towards
the screen.  I noticed that Darcy started to follow her, but couldn't get
past the screen, he looked as Kate entered.

   Cassandra was beside me again, she looked at the glass display, "Oh
Darcy, to think that's what's become of our bodies." I reached for her and
managed to hold onto her, I didn't stop to wonder how, it just seemed
natural.  Darcy returned to us.

   "I can't go there," He said pointing towards the screen, "But I can tell
that there is no-body, no spirit there, if there had been its long since
moved on." In other words I had panicked over nothing.

   I left the two to discuss between them and went to follow Kate, She was
looking thoughtfully at the bed, she had pulled the covers off completely
to display a skeleton, minus skull, which was now by the side of the
`body', it was clothed in material which was mostly tattered rags, Kate
turned to me.

   "She couldn't have hurt you," Kate said smiling, "She hasn't been around
for years." I pointed back to where Cassandra and Darcy were waiting,

   "They've been here for some time, they've frightened me already!" I
said, and then I added, "Who do you think it was?"

   Kate looked serious for a moment, "I think that it's Elizabeth Harding,
Josiah's wife, but what she's doing here instead of safely in her own
grave, I don't know?"