Page 67 of The Haunting of William Thorn

It was no surprise to find out that William’s phone had been smashed.

He found it on the floor in the kitchen, shattered into countless pieces.

The same could be said for Edward’s mobile.

The last option was Mike’s phone. William was just about to go back to the scene of the crime and find it, when Robert Thomas revealed himself.

A wisp of a figure moved in the corner of William’s eye. For a split second he wondered if it was someone else from Stonewell coming to bury Hanbury and its secrets for good.

Instead, the man of the manor waited, his outline shivering in the early light of dawn. He no longer looked like the horror William had seen before. This version of Robert looked like something straight out of the portrait, stepping free with the faint promise of colour and details.

“Hello,” William found himself saying, clutching the box of bones to his chest. “I found what you wanted me to find, didn’t I?”

Robert nodded. He swept his hand out, beckoning William to follow, and turned for the doors to the back garden. One second he was there, moving, the next his form spirited away on a beam of dawn light.

William moved without thought. His body was his, but also not. And so, he stepped free of Hanbury, leaving behind his responsibilities for the time being, thinking only of the task he had.

Reuniting the two men who were kept apart. Laying them both to rest, together.

For the second time in his life, William Thorn began to dig a grave with his bare hands. Teddy Jones was nowhere to be seen as William gouged the mud of his grave, just big enough for a box of bones to fit within. But that didn’t mean he didn’t sense him – watching… waiting.

The feeling didn’t disperse until dirt covered the lid of the box. William flattened it down, letting his tears soak into the soil, where the two souls were finally reunited.

Dirt caked under his nails and stained his palms brown, but he didn’t care. He almost expected to see them again, Robert with his sad eyes and bent neck, or Teddy with his familiar smile, and eyes full of hope. The same hope for a future that gleamed in Edward’s eyes.

Once the soil was pressed down, the gravesite righted, nothing seemed to happen. William didn’t think it he’d made a difference.

He pushed to standing, wishing he had something to etch the correct names into the gravestone to make it clear who dwelled in the earth beneath it.

Two sparrows fluttered out of a nearby bush, chirping to one another as they gave chase.

William tracked them, feeling an odd welling in his chest, like a breath he could finally let go of.

As they flew upwards, they disappeared into the foliage of trees.

There were two trees, both oak evident from their leaves.

And as the winds brushed through, the branches seemed to reach for each other, tangling limbs of wood.

William blinked through the tears, knowing deep down that this final act was the right one.

Turning back to the grave, he found Robert and Teddy tangled in an embrace. They smiled, Robert up at Teddy, whilst Teddy’s neck was bent down. Both men gazed at one another, connected in every sense of the word. And as William watched them, they turned and walked towards Hanbury, hand in hand.

William followed silently behind.

Neither spirit paid him attention. They moved through the ground floor, out towards the front door and beyond it.

William didn’t follow them, instead realising with a crack that he’d left Edward for god-knows how long.

He ran back up the stairs but paused at the precipice to the office and Robert’s bedroom.

The door to Robert’s had been closed until William stood before it. On old hinges, it swung open, inviting him inside. William’s body, as it had been downstairs when Robert revealed himself, no longer belonged to him.

His legs moved, feet swift but careful. Whatever was driving him, controlling him, brought him to stand at the window.

Outside, where the view gave a perfect look of the gatehouse, William saw the glow of candlelight.

The slip of almost-corporeal bodies entering just at the last moment.

The candle’s light was bright in even the morning, flickering on the gatehouse windowsill, sending William a clear and final signal.

He watched, hands clutched atop his heart, as the door to the gatehouse swung shut. No one was there to do it, but William got the sense that he knew exactly who was to blame.

Teddy and Robert, finally back in the little safe world they’d carved out together.

It wasn’t the sunny beach side of the coast. It wasn’t out and far away from Hanbury. But this, their final place to be, made sense.

The candlelight danced and then extinguished as if blown out. William’s eyes focused on his reflection, the sticky tears gleaming on his cheeks and the smile that lifted the corners of his mouth.

When he arrived at Hanbury, he didn’t know what his purpose would be. Now, he’d found it. And the other half was waiting for him in the study room, relying on him to call for someone to help. Of course, he had no phone. Yet.

William was just about to go and fetch Mike’s phone when more movement caught his attention.

It seemed the universe had already heard his plea, because the rumble of a car’s engine from outside answer it.

His first instinct was to panic. Was this more people from Stonewell, like Mike, who’d come to finish the job?

But as William leaned into the window, he recognised the familiar yellow taxi speeding up the driveway, kicking dust out behind its wheels.

It was Saturday – just as the taxi man had promised. And he’d returned just on time.

Before William ran downstairs to greet him, he poked his head into the study. To William’s relief, Edward had his eyes open, although the same couldn’t be said for Mike. “Help is on the way, dear.”

Edward blinked heavily. “Was that a Mrs Doubtfire quote?”

“Of course it is,” William said with a wink. “I knew you had taste.”

“I do.” Edward’s smiling eyes fluttered closed. “I like you after all. Did you do it?”

William nodded, lifting his hands to show him the mud covering them. Except, they were clean. Completely void of anything to even suggest he’d just dug up and grave. “I—”

“Thank you. Come back quickly so I can show you just how thankful I am.”

Forgotten were his cleaned hands. William felt like a schoolboy, all giddy and full of bubbles. He’d not been told by another person that they liked him – not in a long time. And after everything, he actually felt worthy of it. “Think you can hang on a little longer?”

“For you, always.”

What else could William say to that? What he wanted to do was plant another kiss on the man before him, right on the mouth, tongues and all. But he would save that for when the shit storm was over – and there was no doubt going to be one.

By the time William Thorn got to the front door, the taxi driver was already knocking on it, likely wondering why a pane of glass was cracked.

“It’s unlocked,” William called out as he rounded the stairs, bounding towards the door with an energy he’d not felt in a while. It suddenly occurred to him that he never asked his name – or perhaps he did and forgot. “You can come in!”

It barely crossed his mind about what the man would think when he saw the state of Hanbury.

The taxi-man knocked again, then called out. “Hello, William? Sorry, I’m a little early. Thought I’d beat the traffic…”

“It’s fine.” And William meant it. He was so relieved that a friendly face was at the door that he could’ve kissed him too.

Drawing on the handle, William yanked the door so hard it smacked into the wall, making the taxi man jump out of his skin.

“You’ve come at the right time. But don’t panic, something bad has happened, and I need your help with a little issue, I promise I’ll tip well–”

“What. The. Hell .” The taxi driver’s eyes bulged in their sockets.

“What?”

He leaned in as if peered through William. He shivered dramatically, shaking his arms out at his sides. “That was strange.”

William looked behind him, half expecting Teddy and Robert to be standing there. But there was nothing. Only the mess of the house, maybe that was what displeased the driver. “I know, not my greatest asset. But I really need your help–”

For the second time, the taxi driver interrupted him. “William, Hi, It’s me, Stephen… the taxi man you booked.”

Both men stepped towards each other, except Stephen didn’t stop. He continued walking… right through William.