The Removal Men

         Sarah shivered as she looked around the room. It looked barren with the packing cases strewn across the floor. Pictures no longer adorned the walls, just patches of bright white where the sunlight hadn't been able to sour the paint as it had the rest of the walls. With a sigh she heaved her weary body off the crate that she had been sitting on. "That's it, last box packed. The removal men will be here in about ten minutes."

Jeff smiled at her. "So how do you really feel to be leaving?" he asked, gently massaging her aching shoulders.
"Well, you know, kind of sad and happy both at the same time" she replied distracted by the electric sensations his hands caused, as they now kneaded her buttocks.

"Just once more for old times sake?" he breathed in her ear.

         Exactly twelve minutes later, Sarah extracted herself from amongst a tangle of clothes. Hastily re-buttoning her jeans, she answered the door. Parked at the curb was a large Removal van, with foot high red lettering which read Steiner's Removal.
"Mr Steiner, please come in." Sarah ushered the tall well-built man with short dark hair, and his shorter sandy haired colleague into the living room. Jeff shook hands with both men, hoping they thought that his rather dishevelled appearance was the result of packing.

"Everything's packed up, it's just a case of you putting it into the van and then depositing the boxes in the right rooms at the new house." Sarah said, indicating the neatly printed labels attached to each box.

Mr Steiner smiled "That's no problem Ma'am. We'll meet you at the new house in about two hours time."

         Sarah inhaled sharply as they rounded the bend in the road. The new house always took her breath away. It loomed up out of its surroundings, its three stories dominating her vision with their gothic splendour. Yeah, sure it needed some work done on it, but a building as steeped in history as this one, how could she resist it. Well, she couldn't, that was the point. The fact that it was said to be haunted just served to make it even more desirable to an aspiring horror writer like Sarah.

         A foul musty smell assaulted their nostrils as Jeff opened the door. "Yuck, it smells like something's died in here" he announced in a muffled voice as he tried to breathe through the sleeve of his shirt. Sarah entered the hallway looking for the source of the stench. She recoiled in disgust as she caught sight of the dead rat; its putrid intestines a writhing mass of maggots. Some housewarming present, she thought as she headed back to the car. It was a good job they'd forgotten to pack the shovel and hastily thrown it into the back of the car at the last minute. She didn't think she could stomach picking the rat up by hand.

Sarah slid the shovel under the rat, the metal blade scraping on the flagstone floor. Descending the front steps she flung it as far as she could towards the bottom of the garden. The carcass gave off droplets of decaying matter as it travelled through the air. Turning, she laughed at the look of horror on Jeff's face. "Come on, let's open some windows and let some air in" she smiled as she ran past him back into the house.

         Whilst Jeff busied himself opening the windows downstairs, Sarah took the stairs to the first floor. It was cold up here and the floor was thick with dust, so much so that she could see her footprints materialize in front of her as she progressed along the landing. Something moved in the corner startling her and causing her to stop - Spiders, lots of them too. She watched in fascination as they scuttled to and fro on their great hairy legs. Looking upwards she saw the cobwebs and watched a fly caught in the sticky fronds give up its struggle for life, as the largest spider that she had yet seen, advanced on it fangs bared ready to feast on its still warm blood. In the emptiness of the first floor corridor, Sarah could quite easily believe that the house was haunted. She certainly wasn't going to be short of Ideas for a novel living here.

         As she opened the last window on the second floor, she saw the Removal van rounding the corner of the road. Shouting down to Jeff, she took the stairs two at a time, arriving at the front door just as the double bang of car doors told her that the truck had arrived. Opening the door she was confronted by a rather harried looking Mr Steiner. " We had a little trouble Ma'am. I'm very sorry, but I think we just ran over your neighbour's cat." Sarah glanced at the truck and, noticing the blood-spattered grill, she blanched. They hadn't even met their new neighbours yet, and now the prospect of that first meeting didn't seem particularly inviting.

"Erm..... What have you done with the body?" she asked. 

"It's in the back of the van with the packing cases, Ma'am"

" I don't suppose you would bury it for me, would you" she asked, retrieving the shovel from behind the door. Mr Steiner handed the shovel to his sandy haired partner.

" And, where abouts exactly would you like us to bury it?" he asked.

"Oh, I don't know down the end of the garden under the trees or something." Sarah said, thinking that their new garden was rapidly becoming a graveyard.

         As his colleague trudged down the garden shovel in hand Mr Steiner started to unload the truck whilst Sarah and Jeff directed him which box was to go where. Half an hour later as the light began to seep from the sky Sarah suggested she make tea. Jeff and Mr Steiner headed upstairs with another box as Sarah set to looking for the kettle. Thank goodness we labelled everything she thought as she found the kettle and some mugs in the first packing case she opened.

         Stepping to the sink to fill the kettle with water, she noticed that the Removal van had been moved to the back of the house and was now parked, doors open, outside the French windows, just along from the kitchen. From where she stood she could see a dark patch spread like an inkblot on the floor of the van. Realising it must be a pool of blood from the dead cat she looked away, her gaze alighting on the now dim figure bent low, digging at the end of the garden. Sighing she turned away and placing the kettle on top of the stove she tried to light the gas. As the fifth match flickered and then died she accepted the fact that the gas must be switched off.


         Taking a torch from the open packing case, she pushed open the door to the cellar. The ancient wooden stairs creaked eerily as she descended. When she reached the bottom step she looked around her eyes searching the gloom for the gas valve. Spotting the valve in the far corner she made her way across the cellar shivering, as gossamer like threads, of multiple cobwebs, clung to her face and hair. Heaving at the rusted valve, she finally heard a clunk as she shifted it open, and gas flowed freely into the pipes. Turning to leave the cellar she couldn't shake the feeling, that something was watching her, waiting.

         The bright electric light of the kitchen blinded her momentarily as she emerged from the cold darkness of the cellar. Laughing at her own fear, Sarah struck another match this time successfully and the gas ring blazed alight under the kettle. Hearing a thud from upstairs she guessed that Jeff and Mr Steiner had unloaded yet another packing case. Surely they must be nearly finished by now. While she waited for the kettle to boil Sarah began to unpack the already open case. Bending low to reach something at the bottom of the case she failed to hear the footsteps enter the kitchen. It was only as she felt his warm hands encircling her and cupping her breasts that she realised that Jeff had come downstairs.

"Not now honey." she giggled. "The Removal men are still here."

         Despite her protests Sarah was aware of her body responding to the gentle hands caressing her. Straightening her back she turned into Jeff's embrace. Only it wasn't Jeff. Staggering backwards in shock the back of her thighs came into contact with the wooden packing crate. Stumbling she flinched as Mr Steiner grabbed her elbow to steady her.

"What the............"

Only she never got to finish the sentence because Mr Steiner grabbed her around the neck stifling her with a dirty rag. As the acrid taste of fresh blood filled her mouth Sarah realised that it wasn't her blood that she was tasting but that of the blood-soaked rag that now filled her mouth. Her feet scrabbled to find purchase on the Flagstone floor as Mr Steiner dragged her backwards towards the hallway. 

Sarah tried to scream for Jeff but' gagging on the bloody rag in her mouth she realised it was useless. Deciding through her terror that her best bet was to cooperate and look for a chance to escape she forced herself to go limp as Mr Steiner dragged her into the living room. Through the French doors she could clearly see the removal van lit by the outside light and beyond that the darkened garden and fields that separated the house from the nearest neighbours.

Suddenly she was galvanized by the thought of the dead cat. Mr Steiner's colleague was out there now. Any minute he would return to the house and see what was happening. She began to struggle again, this time more ferociously, twisting and bucking in his grasp. Finally the heel of her shoe connected with Mr Steiner's shin and he let out an agonised yelp. His hand slipping slightly the cloth dislodged from her mouth and Sarah bit down. This time she tasted fresh blood as her teeth sank deep into the warm flesh on the back of his hand. Teeth scraping against bone she furiously tore at the flesh. Mr Steiner shifted his grip, winding his other hand deep into her hair yanking her back towards him. Her teeth ripped free of his flesh as she stumbled again. This time Mr Steiner used her momentum to push her to the floor. Dropping on top of her he pinned her against the oak flooring.

In the distance Sarah was aware of the muted thud of the front door closing. Hoping against hope, that the other removal man would hear the struggle, she screwed her eyes shut and redoubled her efforts. Aware of footsteps coming nearer she opened her eyes. Mr Steiner forced her arms against her sides, his left knee painfully forcing the air out of her chest.

Silhouetted against the doorway she saw the mud spattered shape of the second removal man. She pleaded with her eyes for his help. Hope welled up inside her as he advanced on Mr Steiner the still muddy shovel raised above his head. As the sharp metallic edge bit deep into her abdomen she realized it was over. Turning her face away from the leering grins of the two creatures above her, the shovel rained down blow after slicing blow on her body. As her vision blurred and she slid into unconsciousness, she caught site of the van parked outside, the large red letters rearranging themselves to form the words....Monsters are Evil

Two weeks later
         
Jennifer retrieved the card from her back pocket. Finally, they had got the go ahead from the solicitors to set a moving date. Peering closely at the business card she read the bold red lettering, Steiner's Removal, and carefully began to dial the number.

Word count 2003