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  James looked at Tamara, and they reluctantly nodded their heads.

  “Great, it would be nice to have some new people at these things. You know a small town with the same people all the time can get really boring. New faces and new things to talk about…” Sammy was obviously enjoying the company of new faces.

  “Oh hey, you know, if you’re in town all day, you’re welcome for lunch back here, but not on the house, I gotta make some money, right?” Sammy walked back to the counter, but before he got there he turned back. “Oh yeah, and while you’re here you should look at our sights. The church is really nice, we don’t use it, but it’s nice to look around…and then there’s the waterfall just outside of town, which has a really nice pool that some folk go swimming in…especially this time of year.”

  Sammy returned to the counter to serve coffee to the other customer, while the young couple looked out the window. There was nothing sinister, just people going about their business—the same people James saw the night before in the parade looked completely average now. The events of the night before could only be imagined in the deepest and darkest recesses of the mind, but today, a warm sun-filled day with no clouds, it all seemed a stretch of the imagination too far.

  3. Exploring the town

  After a short and restful nap, James and Tamara left their hotel room to explore the sights as Sammy suggested. Having secured a second night’s stay at the Elder Inn, the young couple took their time in the room, starting with a long bath, all in an effort to turn a new leaf for the day. Upon leaving their room, the young newlyweds were startled by a man stumbling out of his room nextdoor: Steve, a burly man with a barrel chest, ginger hair, beard and green piercing eyes.

  His attempt at external presentation was done well, but from the stench of alcohol emitting from his mouth it was obvious that internally he was still a mess. He grumbled and stumbled past the couple. He held onto the bannisters like a mountaineer negotiating a threatening climb as he struggled down the staircase. Tamara smiled at James; with one more mystery confirmed their stay in town seemed like a happy compromise.

  Walking down the main street with the church on the southernmost part of the road, they walked past the entire town centre, passing shops of various nature. This was a small town, there were no department stores or supermarkets, and the isolation had kept the people appreciative of what they had and they were content with what they had, over the advances of neighbouring towns.

  The sun was shining down strongly, but the awnings of the shops gave some relief as a cool breeze from the south seemed stronger in the shaded area and more noticeable. The young couple arrived at the steps of the church and were taken by the enormity of it, which wasn’t evident before. Peering up at the structure, the size and height of it had magnified and looked ominous. The building “untouched for a hundred years” had managed to survive the pressures of age and environment and the wood panels although weathered on the surface were strong and solid beneath. The doors were open and dark shadows of statues could be seen from the entrance, which only served to entice the curiosity of the couple.

  They climbed the steps onto the landing and immediately fell into a deep feeling of vertigo. The ground was flat but it felt as if they were walking on a warped floor with acute angles, which propelled their bodies into an unbalanced state. The angles seemed to change underfoot. They were absolutely bewildered when they looked down and saw only the flat ground, but lifting their heads they felt like they had boarded a boat in rough ocean waves, being swayed from side to side.

  James griped Tamara’s hand and was planning to jump back onto the street, when from behind a hand landed on his shoulder forcing them to take a step back, and everything settled down again.

  “Are you folks okay? You seem like you were about to faint.”

  Tamara looked around to face an elderly man with a ragged shirt and dirty trousers. “Yes, everything is fine…now…not sure what was going on for a second there,” she responded gratefully.

  “Oh, its okay, you folk just stumbled onto our Gateway Stone.” He ushered the two into the church, both still shaken up by the Gateway Stone.

  The old man took some time to elaborate on what they had just experienced.

  “Yeah, that out there is what local folk call the Gateway Stone. Not sure if you know the history of this place, but one of the reasons they settled here a hundred years ago was because they thought the stone underneath that entrance to the church held special powers and was some kind of portal to another realm. No one can explain it, but when you stand on it, you feel like you’re about to fall off the side of a ship.”

  James and Tamara sat down on the bench for moment to compose themselves as the old man told them about the stone. But once they regained their senses they couldn’t help noticing the contents of the church instead. The old man’s voice disappeared into silence as the vulgar shapes of statues came into focus.

  The old man noticed their shift in focus. “Oh, don’t let it get to you folks, these old statues are just statues,” he said reassuringly.

  But Tamara looked up at the old man with a horrid gaze. “What kind of church is this? What are these statues?” she questioned.

  The old man looked around at the five statues that stood in a circle in the middle of the church. He took a moment before explaining the best he could.

  “I’m not the best person to ask, but they all represent an ancient god of an element: Fire, Water, Air, Earth and Spirit. They built these when they built the church. Mr Green, the head of the group that settled here, said that he’d seen these figures in his mind and communicated with them. They built the statues in honour of their protection of this town. I wouldn’t read too much into it…just a bit of history, no one here believes this stuff anymore…but it’s our history I guess.”

  Grotesque as the statues were, there was a fascination with something so unworldly and uncommon. A need for closer inspection was needed to witness the passion and madness that was required to carve out these life-size statues of malevolent features and shapes.

  Tamara was first to approach the goat-looking creature at the head of the circle, representing Spirit. Its life-like hair was disturbing, but not as much as its eyes, which seemed to follow Tamara as she walked towards it, much like a Subirachs creation. The hair on the body and legs seemed like real goat hair to the touch, fresh and new as if living veins and organs were operating underneath. She also noticed a small slit on the left chest of the statue, as if something had been put inside via that hole and then been closed up to keep it in.

  James on the other hand walked past the Fire element and towards the Water god: a serpentine creature with the slinky body of a snake and detailed scales in a series of diamond patterns on its back. But there were some discrepancies; firstly, the gills that bore resemblance to those of an eel, and a face so repugnant that it defied description. A mixture of snake and human features in a manner that could only be imagined by an opium-induced madman.

  As James floated closer, the statue became all too real. The forked tongue slightly protruded the human-like mouth and lips with sharp jagged teeth, seemingly glistening with saliva. He was drawn closer and closer yet, curiosity taking over. He stretched out his hand, attempting to touch the tongue and prove to himself it wasn’t real. But a deep part of his consciousness was warning him, almost holding him back from touching it, the way a mouse feels when it’s retrieving cheese from a trap.

  A few sweat pebbles formed on his forehead the closer he got and those snake-like eyes locked in with his—under the serpent’s charm he was drawn closer.

  “Let’s go, this place is giving me the creeps,” Tamara said as she walked past James and startled him out of his trance-like state.

  He composed himself and they left the church and the old man. Outside the church they headed further south, out of the town and towards the waterfall and natural pool. They found the trail quite easily, through some bush, a natural path made from years of townsfol
k walking to and from the pool. They heard the sound of the waterfall in the distance behind some dense bushland.

  They got to a clearing and beyond the rocks there was a small drop and they could see the waterfall, a small one, but pleasing to the eye as much of natural beauty is. Their eyes followed the flow of the fall down from the cliff to the pool below, where the red-haired woman was bathing. As James watched, she turned towards him, gazing into his eyes with her naked body on show. The sun glistened off her bosom, but there was another body in the water that attracted his attention. After a few moments, the long slender body peeked out of the water, and wrapped around the woman.

  The large python-like snake caressed her body as it worked its way past her torso and over her breasts and shoulders; finally she raised her arms and lifted part of the serpent above her head. The serpent’s head turned towards her face, not menacing, but more of a moment that lovers would share.

  “You having a good look?” Tamara snapped at James.

  “What?” He quickly shifted his attention to Tamara. “No…wait, did you see…?” He looked back at the pool, but this time the red-haired woman was by herself in the water with her back to the couple.

  James was perplexed and confused and considered for a moment about disclosing to Tamara the vivid image he had just witnessed, but dismissed it as vulgar imagination of an overworked and exhausted mind.

  4. Celebrations continue

  At 9 pm, after much deliberation and debate, both James and Tamara left their room to attend the night’s celebrations. Reaching the lobby of the Elder Inn, they saw the fifty-odd people from the previous night’s parade in attendance, all dressed in white cotton robes. Sammy was the first to greet them, ushering them in with a drink in hand.

  “Word to the wise, if you don’t want to get drunk too quickly, don’t have any of the red punch.” Meanwhile, he took a sip of his glass filled to the brim with red punch.

  The couple walked to the drinks table and assessed the two large bowls of punch, a yellow one and a red one. They followed Sammy’s advice and poured two glasses of the yellow punch. James was first to have a taste of the drink.

  “It’s fruit, hardly any alcohol, it’s all right,” he reassuringly advised Tamara.

  After she investigated the other guests’ glasses filled with red punch, she felt more comfortable to take her first sip too.

  After an hour or so had passed, and a few refreshing glasses of the fruit punch, James and Tamara had split up and were mingling with different people at the party. Tamara with Sammy and his wife, whilst James was with three men he didn’t know, but all of whom were intoxicated beyond comprehension. James could all but nod and laugh on cue to fit in.

  Just then the red-haired woman walked past his line of sight, between him and Tamara. To James she seemed to move in slow motion, with her straight hair flowing slightly and her white robe trailing behind, pressed up against her torso, revealing her slender body clearly. They exchanged a long intoxicated look, where she smiled, and for a moment James recalled that in the morning she did not look this young and attractive. Something about the way the lights were illuminating her skin and the flow of the white robe seemed to awaken something primal within. As she passed, Tamara disappeared from his view, as did Sammy and his wife. He didn’t seem to mind, however, as if a comforting voice inside was confirming that she was okay.

  As James took another sip of his drink, the whole room and everyone in it slowed to half speed. The volume dropped to where his own breathing and pulse were louder, and everyone’s voice blurred into a general oscillating hum. He noticed that where people were once standing, they were now laid out on the floor with robes being removed, revealing naked bodies beneath. What ensued was a wicked and terrible display of human impulses being explored with complete recklessness.

  A hand landed on James’s shoulder and a whisper in his ear to follow him; he felt himself propelled and drawn out of the Elder Inn. He turned one last time before exiting and caught a glimpse of Tamara. She was nestled between Sammy and John, all three naked and engrossed in an act that James wished he had never laid eyes upon.

  James found himself walking towards the church. The night breeze was cooling his face, a refreshing breeze after the steamy warmth of the lobby at the inn. He walked up the stairs and on the Gateway Stone, which tonight did not affect him the way it did earlier in the day. The doors were open and he stepped in. It was dark and it took a moment for him to adjust his vision. But soon the moonlight beamed through the windows to light up the church. In the centre, surrounded by the statues, stood the red-haired woman. He felt an urge in his right hand lifting the glass of yellow drink to his lips. He drank the remainder of glass, and fell deeper into the induced stupor.

  He peered down at the empty glass and noticed his shadow on the floor, which he found strange as neither the statues nor the red-haired woman cast a shadow to be seen.

  He didn’t know if this was real or an illusion, but in the coma-induced state that he was in, the lines between the two were blurred and devoid. She peeled off her robe and it fell to the floor by her feet, revealing her white skin, willing him on to join her in the middle of the circle. He stumbled forward through no will of his own and walked towards her, knowing exactly what would happen, but he had no way of stopping himself.

  He found himself, moments later, naked with his body pressed against hers, on the floor looking up, and she mounted him. The ecstasy he felt was unlike anything he had ever felt before. After a few moments, more pressing matters caused his eyes to wonder around the room. The statues now looked more alive than ever; they threatened to move from their base seemingly leaning forward to take their first step. The room started to spin and the statues started to sway and gawk as the red-haired woman continued to pleasure his body and her own.

  His knowing mind wanted to scream at the horrors that it began to witness. The serpent statue swam off its base and floated in the air as if in the depths of the ocean, swimming and slithering overhead. It swam down towards them and started to wrap around the red-haired woman’s body. For a moment the two figures merged into one, her face replaced by the grotesque one of the serpent god.

  It was at this moment where any sane man would have reached his limits and the reality of what he knowingly witnessed became a sight too far, as such it did for James, and everything faded into darkness and silence. He could hear his heart beat and his lungs inhaling and exhaling deep breaths, but even those started to fade slowly as his mind and body extinguished, limp and motionless.

  5. The morning after

  The heat from the morning sun blazed through the window and the room illuminated revealing the loose dust in the air. James started to open his eyes, but the sunlight was blinding and he had to reach for the window to close the curtains to filter out the harsh brightness. He was slightly disorientated by the rude awakening, but he tried to clear his head. He turned to Tamara, who was under the covers but seemed to be awakening as she rustled under the sheets.

  James felt his heart skip multiple beats as the horror unfolded when he removed the sheet, revealing the goat spirit god lying next to Tamara. It had its mouth open and wrapped around her temple, biting, crushing and swallowing Tamara’s head. The bones were breaking and cracking, her face deforming with each movement of the goat’s jaws. Tamara was passed out, either dead or under a trance, but she did not move or struggle against the goat, and James could only watch for a few more moments before he screamed and scrambled off the bed.

  The heat from the morning sun blazed through the window and the room illuminated, revealing the loose dust in the air. James started to open his eyes, but the sunlight was blinding and he had to reach for the window to close the curtains to filter out the harsh brightness. He had sweat beads on his forehead after the fantastically terrible nightmare.

  He knew for sure the image of Tamara and the goat was indeed a dream. But what about the night before, his lust filled adventure with the red-haired woma
n and the serpent god coming to life? Was that dream, or reality?

  Something was not right; for a start Tamara was missing, and his room looked bare besides the clothes that had been draped over the chair. He couldn’t see his bags, or any of their belongings, and the town seemed very quiet this morning. He peered outside the window, the streets were empty, with no activity, and all of the shops were closed. Checking his watch, he was even more perplexed as it read three in the afternoon. With a head full of questions and an unexplained lack of concern about his missing wife Tamara, he prepared himself and left his room.

  Arriving downstairs he noticed Harold was not at the front desk, nor was there a trace of anyone being in the hotel. His car, however, was parked outside and the tyres were fine. He sat in the driver’s seat and turned the engine over—it started fine. He decided to drive back to the bridge, so he put the car in gear and proceeded to perform a three-point turn. As he drove very slowly he noticed that the shops were empty and didn’t have signs. They were deserted and some were even boarded up, but the church remained as he remembered it in the rear-view mirror. He drove past the shops and the few residential houses, but couldn’t see the bridge yet as the road descended down beyond view.

  He slowed his pace even more when the road beyond came into view and a shocking sight followed. He had reached lands’ end, a few metres ahead was a cliff and a violent ocean below. He stepped out of the car, and an overwhelming feeling of helplessness took over—he neither understood nor had any solutions for what he was witnessing. He followed the coastline on his left and noticed that it continued around, dipping down to reveal a deserted beach below. The coastline on his right ascended up to a higher mountain range not more than a few hundred metres away. There was no sign of any civilisation in either direction.