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Episode 71

Martin was the first by the stretch of a long leg to take the risk, while Joseph managed to get back on his feet just as Martin began a couple of stretching exercises before extracting and igniting the torch on his smart phone, shining it’s strong light around the room until he found the light switch and turned it on.  The ordeal the small group of five had undergone had deeply entrenched memories and horrors into their memory banks that would last a lifetime, but as light was returned to the room they were individually pleased that the damage to their mind was not about to be rekindled in any force whatsoever; The blackened areas where the witches had once stood – and the wall mounted abstract version of Rangor, were the only reminders of what had just happened.
   “We’ve done it.  It’s gone,” Martin called out playfully.  “We’ve beaten it.”  And, with his torch still in his hand, Martin began doing a little jig.  Seeing nothing was going to happen to him, Mary and Raji each removed the remnants of the frame from where it had still been in a position of false security over their respective bodies and got up and joined him on the make shift dance floor.  Joseph, however, gave his full attention to the remnants of their adversary.  Mary, her eyes swollen with tears of exhaustion and joy, stopped dancing and moved in closer to Joseph when she realised what he was doing and, holding him tight, whispered in his ear.  “Is this it, Joseph?  Is it all over?”
  Joseph wrapped his arms around her to give her comfort and replied softly, “Not quiet.”
  “Well, in that case, I think it is time that we got out of here,” A strangely familiar voice announced and Mary, Martin and Raji suddenly remembered the hooded witch and turned around in suspicion.
  “It is one of the witches.”  Raji exclaimed in horror as he reached for his gun.
  “My god,” Martin exclaimed, “I had forgotten about him.  What do we do with him?”
  Joseph laughed as he spoke, “Why, this is Mary’s friend.  Perhaps we should follow his advice?”
  “My friend?”  Mary repeated in surprise, “What are you talking about, Joseph?
  Joseph turned to face the cloaked figure.  “Thank you for coming, and thank you for your help.  I wasn’t sure that you would make it.  It was very much appreciated; however, I think that you will have to expose yourself before this lot go crazy.  Our friend, Raji here, may just be a little trigger happy at the moment.”
  The cloaked figure turned away from them and slowly, teasingly, pulled the hood off his head.   When he finished he turned back to face them, smiling at the look of amazement on their faces.
  “Harvey!” Mary exclaimed in surprise.  “What are you doing here?”
  “William indicated that you may need some help.  He gave me a white sheet and a hood and told me where to hide in the woods.  Once it began to grow dark I was to sneak in the backdoor of the farmhouse, which would be unlocked, and hide until the witches entered the room – then position myself near the light switch and turn it off as soon as Joseph gave a signal.  William was right when he said that they wouldn’t notice me, but I sure had no idea when the signal would be given.  William had told me to listen to Joseph’s whispers and play it by ear.  He said it wouldn’t be hard to follow events.  Well, that wasn’t quite what I thought in the beginning; I was getting worried when you didn’t seem to be going to arrive.  I must say, you cut it very fine.  Though, mind you, things were at their worst when the witches first came into the room, because all but one of them were lining themselves up so they were facing each other on either side of the carpet – with the exception of the one standing on the floor facing the middle of the carpet throwing some sort of powder into it.  It was very fortunate that he couldn’t see me, but I still had a problem with the others.  I didn’t think it would have been prudent to try to join the line, or even make an appearance in the room for that matter, because they would most likely notice the increase in their numbers, so I was a bit perplexed until I saw you all finally arrive and take your positions and thanked God that the witches and Rangor had began bickering.  It made it a bit easier for me to move around  without being noticed,
  I had looked for somewhere to hide the minute I had arrived in the room and noticed a closet just up from the hallway entrance.  There was nothing in it but a straw broom so I got inside and waited with the door slightly ajar until I saw all of you arrive.  Seeing as what was going on in the room by that stage everything just fell into place.. 
  “We had to wait that long.  If we arrived too early we were sure to be spotted.”  Joseph replied,  “And then,when we thought that we were safe, we ran into that guard. 
  “But what made you join in? Martin asked, “This whole thing could have turned rather nasty.” 
  “Let’s just say that I am a curious person by nature.  I know that you have some reservations about William, but over the past few years I have come to believe in his judgement and stories, because I have seen the results.  When he said that you were going to need some help in this matter and told me how to do it, I simply accepted his word and did what I could to help.”
  “Well your help is certainly appreciated,” Joseph reiterated, “and you are quite right.  We had better get out of here before someone decides to send the police out again.”
  “The Inspector is not going to appreciate more missing people.” Harvey grinned.  “He doesn’t really want to accept the existence of witches living here in the first place, and to explain this situation to him would end up with us all being locked up in Horsham.
  “What’s at Horsham?”  Mary asked innocently.
  “The local mental hospital.”  Harvey replied with a grin.
   “Oh. Then we definitely need to get out of here.  That’s the last place that I would like to spend a night or two in.”
  The small group began to leave when Joseph suddenly turned back.
  “Shan’t be a moment.”  He stated; a wry smile lit up his face as he began walking straight into the circle where he moved a few things out of the way and then picked up a long shiny, jewel-adorned knife while the others looked on in amazement.
  “Weren’t you taking a risk?”  Martin asked.  Joseph’s actions had made him uncertain whether he was talking to a hero or a madman in the circumstances.
  “The fire is out.”  Joseph reminded him, “The Punjaniti won’t be back here for a while.  He has lost this round.  He will retreat for a while and regroup his resources.  If Raji here goes ahead with his side of the deal then the Punjani may call him back, but I have a feeling that they know that they have lost control, not that ever really had it.  Rangor was only playing them.”
  “May I see it before you give it Raji?”  Mary requested and Joseph dutifully handed it to her. 
  “It’s so beautiful.” Mary sighed. “It’s such a shame that it is used for such terrible reasons.”
  Joseph agreed as Mary handed it back and he passed it on to Raji.
  “Now, let’s get out of here and plan our recovery of the statue.”  Joseph said with unexpected enthusiasm.
  “Do you know where that is too?” Martin asked in astonishment.
  “Not off the top of my head, but I have an idea on who might be able to help us find out who does.”