Travels Through An Imaginary Landscape

EPISODE TWO: THE SOUND OF SCREAMING

PART FOUR

          I sprinted until I thought my lungs would burst, slipping and sliding over the uneven ground, barely able to sense the outline of the passage ahead in the darkness. When the wails of the nuns behind had faded to a low murmur and I was quite sure I could run no further without having some sort of coronary attack, I pulled on Michael’s hand to slow him to a walk. It was as I was panting hard, labouring to get my breath back, that I realised that the air here seemed to be staler than ever. In the blind panic of the nun’s grotto I hadn’t even noticed that there had been more than one passageway out of the cavern. Continue reading →

EPISODE TWO: THE SOUND OF SCREAMING

PART FIVE

          Barely an hour later the three of us stood on the first floor landing of the castle, admiring our new creation. It was not perhaps the most elegant of models; the somewhat rickety frame was mostly composed of slats of wood that had been wrenched from the underside of one of the four poster beds and it rolled unevenly around on what had previously formed the base of a drinks trolley. But it looked just about sturdy enough to cope with the large lumps of meat we had hauled up in several sacks from the larder and that made it beautiful in my eyes. Fritz, though, was having concerns of an entirely different kind. Continue reading →

EPISODE ONE: EVERINGHAM & REDGRAVE (DECEASED)

PART ONE

          He leaned forward and for just a moment those blue eyes sparkled into life. “The landscape of the imagination,” he said. “Just say it exists. Really, actually exists. A real, physical world which has grown from the whole of human imagination over thousands of years. Every story ever told, every character ever created, every idea ever conceived. What if you could actually travel there and explore such a landscape? What would you say to that?”

          I stared deeply into my whisky and soda, trying to think of an appropriate response. “Err…” I replied… Continue reading →

EPISODE ONE: EVERINGHAM & REDGRAVE (DECEASED)

PART TWO

          So it was that I went to the pictures with CJ Sturridge. The cinema was largely empty, a fact which Sturridge noted with marked disapproval. “Where is everybody?” he muttered as we settled into prime seats in the middle of the third row. “Why does nobody appreciate well crafted entertainment anymore?”

          “Well I can tell you where most of the student population are right now,” I couldn’t help retorting. Sturridge merely sunk a little lower into his seat but I couldn’t help noticing that little private smile of his playing momentarily across his lips. Continue reading →

EPISODE ONE: EVERINGHAM & REDGRAVE (DECEASED)

PART THREE

          An hour or so later, erroneously thinking that my life couldn’t possibly get any stranger, I decided to go out for a bit of a walk to clear my head. It was a bright and pleasant, if somewhat breezy, afternoon and I figured that some vigorous exercise in the fresh air was just what was required to regain my focus for tackling the critical evaluation. However, in the end I managed about twenty minutes of aimless strolling before settling down on a bench on Clifton Green to read a book. I’m afraid it is rather a habit of mine to deal with anything contentious or stressful in my life by disappearing into literature for as long as I can in the hope that my problems will go away of their own accord in the meantime. On this occasion though I had barely managed a couple of pages before I was interrupted by the sound of hastily approaching footsteps. Continue reading →

EPISODE ONE: EVERINGHAM & REDGRAVE (DECEASED)

PART FOUR

          We followed the road up towards the school and soon came across a sign directing all visitors to report to reception. A little further along another sign indicated that we should find reception through a small entrance at the side of the school. Walking through the doorway as directed, we were confronted by a large alcove blocked off by an impressive mahogany reception desk. The desk was manned by a middle-aged woman with a severe hairstyle that seemed to sit rather oddly atop a very round, pink face and a fussy blouse. She immediately fixed us with a firm gaze that seemed to say that we had about sixty seconds to prove our credentials before she would have us run out of the building. “Can I help?” she asked in a voice that seemed to suggest the only possible answer would be in the negative. Continue reading →