Bitesize 1.4

Tomorrow will be one of those days where real life intrudes so there won't be an update then.

Bitesize 1.4

It was a little past eight a.m. when Ed pulled into the yard at Dapple Farm. Gary was already up and about and gave him a wave as he headed off into the fields. Ed waved back and parked the car. He checked his watch and set the alarm to wake him up twelve hours later. If there's one thing Ed could do well it was catch up on sleep. He adjusted the backrest on the driver's seat. He'd bought this car for one very good reason and that was that the seat went fully horizontal. He stretched himself out and was asleep five minutes later.

Ed didn't dream often, but today was one of those rare occasions. It was seven years ago but he remembered it clear as day and found himself right back in Leeds again, staggering home from a gig. The band had played a double encore that night and Ed had not only drunk his fill but had also missed his bus home. And so he found himself walking the streets, a yawn escaping him, lost in his thoughts. It was as he passed an alleyway that he noticed something unusual. Two men scuffling in the second hand light from the street. The smaller of the men delivered what looked like a brutal punch to the larger man's gut and as he slumped to the floor it took Ed a few seconds to realise it hadn't been a punch. The guy had been stabbed. but that wasn't the unusual part, at least not completely. What happened next had made Ed question his sanity. The attacker walked toward the wall and simply disappeared from view. At first Ed thought he'd entered the building through a door or had stepped in to an alcove but as he cautiously approached the alleyway he could see that the wall was featureless. No doors, no alcoves, no windows. The victim was motionless and Ed checked for his pulse but found none. Whoever the attacker was he'd wanted this man dead and he'd succeeded. Without thinking, Ed found himself drawing his mobile phone and calling the police. He left an anonymous message, telling them where to come and hung up. There was nothing he could do and the last thing he wanted was to be questioned about this. He'd gone straight home after that, wondering about what he'd seen the whole way. it was as if the guy had walked right into the wall...

He awoke to the sound of his alarm going off and he silenced it. Funny how quick time goes when you're asleep. He stretched out his arms and sat up, wiggling his back. Nothing like a long sleep after a long day but he still had a wait ahead of him. He saw Gary open the door to the farmhouse and head his way and he opened the door.
"S'up Gary?"
"Missus has made you some food. Figured you'd be hungry. I told her you were from wildlife protection."
Ed laughed.
"Yeah sure, why not? I'm certainly hungry. Not much for me to do until it gets dark."
"What are you gonna do? If you see it?"
"Don't worry about it Gary. The less you know about it, the better. Just make sure you stay in the house tonight and chances are, by tomorrow morning I'll be gone."
Gary said nothing more, merely nodded and Ed swung himself out of the car, slammed the door shut and followed him into the house.

Mrs Broughton had served up a full roast dinner and by the time Ed left the farmhouse an hour later he was stuffed. Darkness was beginning to creep in and Ed grabbed his rucksack from the car and put it on then trekked out into the field where he'd seen the footprint. He had a good look around in the fading light. The creature had run off due west and Ed looked that way. The fields were huge and off in the distance, probably ten minutes walk away was a pylon. Ed figured it would provide him a decent vantage point and headed over that way. His estimation was accurate and ten minutes later he stood next to the pylon. He rubbed his palms on his trousers to dry them and then grabbed hold of the metal frame and climbed. He didn't go far up, just high enough to give him a good view of his surroundings, fifteen feet, maybe twenty. He wasn't overly fond of heights. once up there he sat on one of the beams and reached backwards into his rucksack. He pulled out the goggles and slipped them on. It was still light enough to see but it would be dark pretty soon. He also fished out the gun and loaded the clip into it and held it in one hand, gripping the pylon's frame with the other. Now all he had to do was wait...