Backwards Into Hell

Part One: The Lodge

Jake's Diary 

Monday 25th October

We gathered our thoughts as we left the police station. David had found a map of Barra in one of the offices—a properly drawn one—and took charge again, this time leading us around the coastline until we reached the port.

Despite being certain the boats wouldn't be running, my stomach churned as we approached the wide metal gates that protected the complex. A big chain and padlock were strung across them, and menacing barbed wire skirted the top.

'I guess that's that then,' I said. 'We can't climb over.' The wire fence extended fifty metres in either direction before tailing off toward the seafront. It looked like Alcatraz. The gate was too high, and unless any of us were Olympic gymnasts, we weren't getting in that way.

'Hang on.' Lily walked further, and I spotted what she was up to.

There was a waste bin a metre or so in front of the wire, and opposite it, inside the compound, was a building with a low, flat roof that hovered a few inches above the barbed wire.

'If someone could get on top of the bin, they could jump it.'

'I don't know,' I said. 'It's dodgy.'

David brushed past me. 'Let me try,' he grouched.

Lily and I weren't about to stop him as he dragged the waste bin closer to the fence and, a little clumsily, jumped onto the lid.

'Careful!' Lily called as he wobbled on the thin plastic.

David ignored her, gearing himself up to jump as I felt Lily come close to me again. This wasn't going to go well. If David died like this, would it still count?

I won't have killed him, but he'd be dead, wouldn't he?

In the split second before David leapt, something glinted in the sun. The Old Man leaned against the main gate with a smug grin and gave me a coy wave before pointing to the shining metal in the grass next to him and popping into thin air.

'Wait!' I shouted. 'There's something here.'

I dashed over and strained to pick it up. It was a metal key with chunky jaws—possibly for the padlock on the front.

Lily looked over my shoulder.

'Is it for the gate?'

'Worth a try.'

To this day, I'm not sure why the Old Man decided to intervene—perhaps he didn't want to rob me of my chance to kill David.

'What's going on?' David yelled from the top of the bin.

'We found a key! Might be for the gate.'

Begrudgingly, David hopped down, and we gathered in front of the lock. I was quietly disappointed I hadn't gotten to watch him make a fool of himself, although there would be plenty of time for that later.

The key slid into the lock and turned through the mechanism so smoothly it could've been butter. Then, working together, we pulled the chains away and ventured in.

The sea's edge was just a hundred metres away. It was dotted with small white ferries just begging to be used. Across the compound were clusters of low, brown buildings that pushed up against the fence and I assumed they were for employees, passengers, or old boat parts.

'Now what?' I asked as we looked over the grounds.

David cleared his throat. 'Lily, you check the buildings, and Jake and I will look for a boat.'