Illusions
By Sattrega

It was a strange sort of night, one that had an almost sinister feel to it. An icy breeze blew through the trees as the ground began to slowly freeze over. The temperature having now dropped below zero.

The two boys should have been at home tucked up in their warm, comfortable beds, enjoying the dreams that came with their sleep - but they were not. Instead they were making their way up the fairly steep hill towards the lonely, eerie castle that stood statuesque at the top.

The large, fortified building was now a poor image of its past, glorious state. The huge blocks of stone having corroded away, the structure slowly decaying over the centuries.

“Hurry up or we’ll miss the ghost,” yelled Alex to his brother who was lagging behind.
“Slow down,” replied Nathan. “You’re going too fast.”

The two boys were very close. Everything they did was together, the majority of the time getting into some sort of trouble.

The reason behind their late night escapade was based on an old school rumour. It had been said that at midnight on the first Monday of every month the ghost of a medieval knight would wander around the battlements of the castle.
The two boys, having always been interested in the supernatural could not let a chance like this to slip away, especially as they had also been dared by some friends. It was a chance to see a real ghost, well, so they hoped.

The time was now approaching the midnight hour.

“Come on Nathan…get a move on,” shouted Alex again as he stopped and turned towards his brother.
“I’m coming,” panted the younger sibling. Finally he reached the side of the other boy.
“I bet you’re just scared to go into the castle with me?” mocked Alex.
“Bull! It’s just that the old place looks real spooky at night, especially in the moonlight.”
Alex smiled to himself and glanced up at the imposing building. “S’pose it does a bit,” he murmured. “C’mon.”

The two boys carried on with their ascent. It wasn’t long before they eventually reached the large entrance gates.
Alex edged up to one of the doors and pushed it. “Its open,” he whispered. He pushed it a little more, then peered in. “Its very dark. We didn’t think to bring a torch.”
Nathan looked over his brother’s shoulder. “I’m not so sure about this anymore Alex. Let’s go home.”
“Don’t be stupid, we’ve come this far, we may as well get it over with. Come on.”

Alex stepped in through the door and entered the castle, a hesitant Nathan soon followed.
“Look, there’s the staircase.” Alex pointed to the stone steps over to one side. “We’ll have to go up them to reach the battlements.”
The younger boy acknowledged with a nod of his head.
“Lets go then.”

They both made their way cautiously over to the base of the steps.
An abrupt noise from behind startled Nathan. “What the hell was that?” he yelled, a sense of real fear now enveloping him.
Alex searched their surroundings. “Its only a rat stupid. The castle is full of them. Don’t worry.”
Those words did nothing to comfort the younger sibling.

They continued up the stairs, Nathan glancing around with every step, just to make sure that there was nothing else lurking about in the shadows. An hour ago he was wild in anticipation with the possibility of seeing a real ghost. Now he was not so sure at all. Now, he was scared…..scared of what they actually might end up discovering!

A few moments later they reached the top. Both boys surveyed the area but neither could see anything remotely interesting.
Alex looked at his watch. It had just passed midnight. “Damn, we’re late. We’ve probably missed it. This is all your fault.” He turned to stare at his brother.
Nathan shrugged. “Most likely there was nothing to see anyway.”
“If you had hurried up when I told you to then we would have been here on time.” The older boy was fuming as he made his way over to the far edge of the battlements. He sighed. “We may as well go home.”

Nathan was all for that and he immediately turned to head back down the steps. He reeled back in horror as the figure ascended from the top of the stairs.
“It…..it…..it’s the g…g….ghost,” he shrieked as he ran towards his brother.

Alex turned around and saw the shape slowly approach them.
Its entire body was a dark grey colour, even its head. It had no noticeable features where its face was supposed to be, not even any eyes.

Nathan grabbed hold of Alex’s arm. “Do something. It’s coming right for us!”
The figure reached out one of its hands towards the siblings. “What the hell are you two doing up here?” it yelled.

The boys scrambled backwards and turned to run but were blocked by the wall running along the edge. There was hardly a touch but nonetheless their touch was more than enough. The wall started to crumble and the battlements began to give way.

“Watch out,” shouted the figure, but it was too late. The whole side disintegrated under the boy’s weight.

The brothers grabbed each other as they fell from the battlements. Their screams could do nothing to prevent them from reaching their deaths eighty feet below.

The figure approached the edge with great care. It pulled back the visor and saw the two boys lying in a crumpled heap with blocks of stone and debris partially covering their battered bodies.

“Those pour souls,” murmured the onlooker. “I was only going to warn them how unsafe the castle is.”

Albert Jones was certainly no ghost. He was the local vermin exterminator who had been sent to cure the old castle of its rodent infestation.

He walked back to the top of the stone stairs, still in a slight state of shock. “I’ve got to inform the authorities,” he mumbled as he took the first step down.

It wasn’t too long before the Police and Ambulance services arrived at the scene, but they were none too impressed when they did.

“I don’t understand it Officer,” said a startled Jones standing at the bottom of the castle along with a Police Constable and his superior. “They must have landed at this spot. I saw them…there’s no way that they survived that fall.”

“So where are the bodies then Mister Jones?” asked the Sergeant, a tad annoyed. “We don’t like hoaxes, especially in the early hours.”
“Hang on Sir,” the Constable interrupted. “Did you say that this rubble fell down along with the lads?” he asked as he turned towards the exterminator.
“Yes that’s right,” answered Jones. “Why?”
“Well Sir…I’ve no doubt that these blocks of stone came from the battlements above, but certainly not recently. They’re all covered in moss and lichen. They must have been here for months.”

A bewildered expression spread across the old mans face. “But that just doesn’t make any sense. I quite clearly saw both boys fall from up there.” He pointed towards the top of the castle. “I even heard them call each other by their names.”
“So what were their names then Sir?” asked the Constable.
Jones thought to himself for a moment. “It was Alex and Nathan.”
“What…what did you just say?!” The Sergeant seemed slightly alarmed.
“Jones repeated himself. “Alex and Nathan…I’m sure of it.”

The senior officer turned to look at his junior. Both had puzzled expressions. “Coincidence?”
“Perhaps too much of one Sarge.”
“What’s going on?” asked Jones.
“You’d better tell the gentleman what happened Sir,” said the Constable.
“Tell me what?” Jones was becoming impatient.

The Sergeant looked at him. “Just over four months ago, two local brothers fell to their deaths from those same battlements. When we heard your call tonight we just assumed that yet another tragic accident had occurred.”
He paused and took a deep breath. “What I’m getting at here Sir…what I mean to say is…that those two boys…well…their names were Alex and Nathan Atkins…”

The end of the story? Not quite! For every night the two boys who should have been at home tucked up safely in their beds still make their way up the hill towards the dark, lonely castle at the top…..as they will continue to do so for the rest of eternity!