Bonnie's Story


The wheelers was a large public house sat neatly on the outskirts of Acton. It was old and primarily built of timber, it had a fully functioning carriage repair shop to the rear, hence its name. It was such a significant well known establishment that Henry immediately recognised, lying in a bank near the road, the remains of the cart that Thomas had smashed to pieces back in Hammersmith.


Henry took a shine to the interior the moment they passed the threshold. The walls and bar area were adorned with mechanical instruments and carriage parts easily dating back to thirteenth century, possibly further Henry thought. There was a small alcove to the rear next to the fireplace that burned only small embers for the time of day; merely for decorative purposes than for warmth.


Above the alcove sat a neat little wooden sign, 'The Wagon,' which brought a smile to Henry's lips, and underneath the sign on one of the two wooden benches sat Bertrix Alvers nursing a gin and tonic.


Polly approached first, leaving Henry to admire the construction of various crafts. He rubbed his hand along the shaft of a piece of sixteenth century cart, even smiling at the splinter he received from the rough edges. He pulled a pair of small pliers out from deep within his pockets to remove the tiny shard of wood.


"Is your colleague joining us?" Was the first thing Bonnie said after her initial greeting with Polly.


Polly glared at Henry before answering Bonnie, "Henry takes his work very seriously but he has an enthusiasm for engineering and riding in carriages. He will be over presently."


"Gin?" Bonnie offered, revealing a bottle she kept by her side.


"No, thank you. Henry will be bringing wine," Polly replied sweetly. She had decided she no longer liked gin since the day in the factory and when she accidentally killed Bill. Not many people could call killing someone by throwing a bomb in their face an accident, but that's what Polly called it.


As if waiting for a sign Henry headed to the bar and came over to sit with Polly, carrying a bottle of red wine and three glasses, although Bonnie rejected the offer immediately.


"I suppose I better start with the tale," Bonnie spoke calmly. Henry guessed the gin was helping with that.


"Go on," replied Polly.


Bonnie poured another glass of gin, this time with no tonic. "The Bonham's have always been proud and proper folk; never ones to prough in another's business. Mr Bonham, and his wife, would have been skeptics to anything slightly abnormal; they didn't even believe the great smog in the sky until they read about it in a paper. Then came along Miss Estella; brother to George, and elder sister to Peter and Penny."


The gin was consumed and another was poured before Bonnie continued, "Estella was a wonderful child; well mannered, well versed, brilliantly educated. However, growing up she had the most extraordinary talent we thought. She had quite an imagination and always sought adventure, her and George were close and were often found playing pirates, witches, Robin Hood and what have ya' in the woods near the family home. One day when she was nine, we found her playing in the woods alone, or we thought she was alone. George was away at his uncles learning about India, leaving Estella to muse herself as her games did not entertain with the younger children. She was sat behind a tree conversing in an almost adult manner with someone we could not see. There were unmistakably two voices but when we approached she was sat alone with no where in sight where another could have hid. It's like she was in fact talking to a ghost."


"Was this the first incident?" Henry asked while sipping on his wine.


"It was the first time we started to take notice. She had always been having little conversations with herself throughout her childhood. George thought it strange but we accepted it as part of growing up. She said she had a friend named Shade; an imaginary friend we reckoned."


"Shade?" Polly asked curiously, "An interesting choice for an imaginary friend."


"We thought so too," replied Bonnie, "She would spend a lot of time alone when George wasn't around. She would have tea parties and picnics, always talkative and speaking of grand adventures across Africa and the Americas. No one really questioned how a six year old knew the states of north America. Estella liked to point out that Shade had explored every corner of the world meeting all kinds of people."


"When did you start believing she was telling the truth about Shade?" Polly asked curiously.


"By the time she was eleven we had started to witness strange occurrences. Items moving or going missing, Estella became argumentative and would sooner laugh than cry when faced with her father's belt."


Henry began taking notes, "Tell us, when did things start going bad?"


"At thirteen it was becoming evident she was being haunted or possessed by a demon. She would often be seen sleepwalking, wandering the halls after hours; only she wasn't walking... She was floating, a clear half-foot of the ground, and she seemed to bear two shadows wherever she went. There would be periods where she was not haunted by this thing; the air would lift like a fog and all was well within the household, Miss Estella would become herself again. Eventually though it always returns, the shade I mean. Like a howl in the wind, you could feel it in the air and you could see it in the darkness, the shadow of a man always stood over her like she was property to him. This extra shadow lingered and stalked Estella, then would disappear for a day or two before returning."


Polly gasped while Henry muttered, "Fascinating."


Bonnie continued, "Her playful screams became painful shrieks and bruising began appearing on her arms and legs as things turned even more sinister. He was beginning to hurt the Bonham's eldest daughter and we could do nothing about it.We begged her to let us call for a priest and help rid her of this Shade but she would refuse. Even George could not convince her to leave the spirit; eventually cutting ties with her and upon turning sixteen he moved to his uncle's house full time. The family still hears from him, bless his heart, he even sends me letters and perfume for Christmas."


"Maybe you slow down," Polly spoke up as she watched Bonnie constantly sip at gin.


"Nonsense, I'm fine, Miss Alexander," Bonnie replied stiilffly. "Things really turned bad on her sixteenth birthday. The day started well; I brought her tea in bed, the family played games and we had a wonderful dinner. But that evening she came over all lightheaded and had a sudden desire to return to her room alone; we all went to check on her an hour later and were horrified to see her looking so... Trapped."


"How so?" Henry asked.


"Miss Estella," Bonnie said with a lump in her throat. "It was obvious she was being held down against her will; a shadowy figure loomed over her as she lay pinned against the mattress. I do not believe any real harm came to her that night but the spirit, Shade became more possessive of Estella from that point. At times when the family made plans she would suddenly be frozen on the spot, a shadowy hand latched onto her wrist. There were moments of arguments being heard and when she next appeared, deep bruises were seen on her cheeks and arms."


Polly took the bottle from Bonnie, she decided such a story required a shot of gin. Henry looked up from his notebook when she had finished speaking, his eyes urging her to continue, so she did.


"That brings us to where we are today. Miss Estella is now nineteen and I believe in so much danger from this thing, it may eventually kill her if she ever found the strength to attempt to cast it out. Shade is now in control of every aspect of her existence and is quite literally draining the life from her soul."


"We would love to help," Henry spoke defiantly.


"We would?" Questioned Polly before replying with a more confident, "We would."


Henry continued, "You have to get us into that house, Bonnie, please."


"I don't know that I can... Mr Bonham is very shrewd about who he allows near the house, and if you can get past his stubbornness you are still faced with the Shade who won't let poor Estella be. Where can you succeed where others have failed?"


"Stopping ghosts is a speciality of ours, if Shade has nothing to fear it's because he has not met me," Henry spoke proudly.


Polly coughed, a signal for Henry to stop talking, "We have the tools to send this spirit, no matter how strong it is, back to the world beyond," she spoke with a business-like tone.


For the first time, Henry was not feeling quite so confident given his rod's ineffectiveness against Thomas but he was pleased to see Bonnie did take Polly's word for it. He knew there were still adjustments he could make to improve the strength and power of his weapon, he just needed his lab finished and the materials. He made a mental note to check on the work force building his lab in the morning.


"Doctor?" Bonnie questioned his long silence.


Henry quickly smiled back, "Mrs Alvers, we swear to utilise every tool and gadget at our disposal to free Miss Estella of this terrible spirit. We just need you to help us get on Mr Bonham's side and into the house."


Bonnie nodded and sat silent for several seconds in deep thought. After a few more seconds she spoke, "The Bonham's will be visiting the fair in Ealing tomorrow evening, there will be your chance to speak to Mr Bonham and if you desire, observe Estella."


"I haven't been to a fair since I was a little girl," replied Polly.


"Great, we shall be in attendance," beamed Henry. "We will make ourselves known to the family. Will you be attending, Bonnie?"


Bonnie fell silent once more; a darkness fell over her and her expression became blank as she stared inadvertently down at her empty glass.


"Mrs Alvers?" Henry asked.


"Bonnie?" Polly spoke with an edge of nervousness.


Finally, Bonnie looked towards Polly and grinned. The pupils in her eyes dilated to an extent of covering the entire sclera. Her head cocked to the side as she examined Henry's assistant before speaking, "Bonnie will suffer deeply for her betrayal."


"Excuse me?" Replied Polly; it took her a while longer than Henry to realise Bonnie's possession.


"You should not have come here, I warned you to stay away," Bonnie's voice hissed.


"Are we talking to you, Shade?" Henry said coolly.


The spirit snapped Bonnie's head towards Henry, "No mortal speaks to Shade. Only Shade speaks, mere men listen."


"Insulting bugger you are," Polly said arrogantly but followed it with a nervous gulp.


"Quiet moor, or you'll join the Geoff we have sealed in a tiny cage; room enough for two," Shade cackled.


"Father," Polly whispered.


"Shade, we do not respond to threats. Nothing you can say or do will deter us from ridding the Bonham's of your cursed wretchedness," responded Henry, he was poised and ready to be on the offensive just as Shade was.


"Henry..." Shade scolded. "You are in above your head here, Doctor. Do not cross swords with me, it would be an unfortunate fate for you and your assistant."


"How about you leave Bonnie's body and show me what you really can do," Henry challenged.


"Heed my warning, Doctor. You cannot save the girl; there are endings far worse than death awaiting you ghost therapists."


"You mean to threaten us with the same fate you bestowed upon Cyrus Krick?"


"His death was necessary, we cannot have loose ends distracting the grand plan."


Henry frowned, "If you're not going to face me now, I will find you."


"And lose me like you did Luca?" Shade grinned broadly as the reaction he wanted was evident on Henry's face.


Henry's jaw dropped and his eyes twitched as a hundred thoughts and questions came to him all at once, "What do you know about Luca?" He demanded.


His question was met with a menacing cackle and then silence. Bonnie began repulsing and broke into a horrid coughing rage. Polly rushed to the bar to get a glass of water for the woman, which she sipped gladly when her cough subsided, "Wh-what h-happened?"


"Nothing you need worry about, Mrs Alvers. Tell me, do you have somewhere to stay tonight? I imagine you're not planning a return to Ealing? And I'm concerned about your safety." Henry eyed the near empty bottle of gin.


"Don't worry about me, Doctor. I am not afraid of that demon, I can take care of myself," Bonnie stood up to leave. "Take care, Henry, Polly. Until the fair, my friends," Bonnie left the table and made her way out of the pub.


Polly also stood up, "I'm guessing tomorrow is going to prove to be a difficult and eventful day. We must get some rest ourselves."


"You are certainly right. I am not sure I am looking forward to it myself, but we must do what we do best," Henry stretched and joined Polly. He admired the structures on the wall one last time before they both left The Wheelers. Both fully aware that life was about to get very challenging indeed.


***