Blackwood: A Rural Nightmare by A. G. Macdonald

Author:A. G. Macdonald [Macdonald, A. G.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-11T00:00:00+00:00

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Kelly muttered.

She stared at the lime-green A3 poster for Cinnamon Dipstick's live debut. The crumpled paper reeked of pretension: an overexposed shot of Knoxlee's pierced brow with grungy nineties text. Still, the shoddy poster promised way more than Knoxlee could deliver.

A swift smack across the back of Kelly's head interrupted her thoughts. She gripped her throbbing skull, grimacing.

"I don't want to be here any more than you do," Kelly's mother griped through her smile. "But your father and I agreed the best way to bury the hatchet with these kids and their families is for you to make a public amends."

"Like an alcoholic," Kelly snickered.

Her mother slapped her on the shoulder then, without missing a beat, adjusted her flowy dress, checking her lipstick in the mirror like nothing had happened.

"You joke, but it's not too far from the truth," her mother said, wiping the corner of her mouth. "You need to show people genuine remorse, before they give up on you entirely."

Kelly folded her arms and said nothing.

Her mother scoffed with an eye roll. "Just don't start any more bullshit. Can you do that?"

Kelly grunted, reminding herself there were more important things.

The sticky taped poster shimmered under the buzzing fluorescent light at the entrance of The Exchange, which barely cast enough light to make it beyond. Kelly glanced over her shoulder at the inky grey beyond the verandah. The packed car park felt abandoned except for a few kids chuckling by an old tree at the far end. Their greasy faces hinted through the orange glow of the cigarettes.

Kelly's father cleared his throat. "Alright. Let's go in and find everyone."

Her father's face betrayed his voice. He was a million miles from their conversation. Anxiety pulsated from his body, each wave forcing more heat into Kelly's face.

Her father was clearly cycling through every detail in his mind — planning out every possible attack strategy their enemies had. It was a feeling Kelly knew all too well.

She had scoured the SD card, and had found some pretty weird shit. But she hadn't been able to escape her mother's clutches long enough to talk to her father about what she found. But even if she could get a moment alone with her father, no bombshells would help them. If Malcolm or any of his nightmare goons wanted to come after them, huddled together in the pub, what would they do to stop him?

They assumed they were safe because the pub was packed, but Kelly had witnessed the lengths that monster would go to get what he wanted.

She had seen him lying over Jason in Blackwood, thrusting his hips against Jason's inner thighs. Jason's screams rang in Kelly's head until she was back in Blackwood, cuts and bruises searing her body again.

Kelly turned to her mother, who smiled and waved to people inside through the glass door. She was desperate to discover Kelly's secrets. All Kelly wanted was to return to the blissful ignorance her mother could never appreciate.

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