Judith Read online

  Judith

  ‘Try it!’ they whispered. ‘It won't kill you.’

  Judith felt a knot of panic twist around in her stomach, ‘Well, maybe…’

  ‘Do it tonight or I’ll post all over Insta about you being a pathetic, little pussy. We don't go around with losers,’ the girl with long blonde hair announced. Her hazel eyes, lined with what appeared to be spindly black spider legs sticking out in various directions, fluttered up and down Judith’s blue checked school uniform.

  ‘I have five thousand followers on Insta, which means…’ she leant in closer, her face inches from Judith’s, ‘I’m a social influencer. I am important and you are well … just not,’ Anabelle smirked.

  The rest of the school bus, which had been listening intently to the loud conversation, burst into laughter.

  Then in a private whisper she added, ‘Also, if you don’t, Ashley might post that video she accidentally took of you getting changed after hockey.’

  Judith's worried brown eyes flicked across to her friend, Madison, who had stopped thumbing her iPhone and mouthed an affirmative. Judith groaned inwardly and nodded.

  The school bus lunged forward. The driver slammed on the brakes as they skidded passed an imposing red brick Georgian mansion. Everyone on the bus, halted a second later, and the shaken passengers erupted into cheers.

  The doors swished noisily open.

  ‘You can come on in. If you want too,’ Judith announced, as she scurried down the steps and turned to face her tormentors.

  Ever since her dad had been head-hunted and joined the Reflection Computer Corporation, Judith’s life had been ruined. Her mother had been thrilled with the hefty hike in salary and equally quick rise in social status. Generic clothing labels had been exchanged for designer brands and her mother now only saw a darker vision of the world through Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses.

  Judith had swapped her local school and less well-dressed friends for the noisy monied elite of private education. On the first day of her new school, Judith knew she would never fit in. Her straight black hair was too thick to be styled in the messy waves of the truly fashionable. She had tried plaiting her hair overnight once. In the morning, she had unplaited the promised waves only to find her hair haloed around her head, sticking out rigidly in all directions.

  It had been her first day at Ashdurton Girl’s College and the girls had had terrible problems choosing whether to bully her because of her hair or her name. Both were equally unfashionable.

  Judith had been named after her great-great-grandmother.

  The former Judith Ginzberg was an indomitable young woman who stared out at her from a black and white photo on the mantelpiece, amid a large collection of dead relatives. The name might have been trending in nineteenth century Russia, but definitely not in present-day rural Devon. Even though most of her family had escaped the Tsarist purges and scattered across Europe over two hundred years ago, Judith still felt like an unwelcome intruder.

  By the end of her first lonely week at Ashdurton College, she had found sanctuary in the empty tables of the equally socially unacceptable books, which sat untouched in her school library. The librarian and her books willingly opened its doors to her. She spent every minute of every break poring over hardbacked tomes absorbing their words, gaining the knowledge of writers from ages past. While cocooned in the silent depths of the school library, a little Yiddish leather book had appeared on her table. Judith recognised some of the words, but for the most part had translated the Bukh fun di Toyt or the ‘Book of the Dead,’ via the dubious translations of Google. The Bukh fun di Toyt had shown Judith a tantalising glimpse of the hidden world of the Yiddish shtimung. Unfortunately, even the linguistic tentacles of Google failed to comprehend the majority of the text.

  Judith had borrowed the book and it lay abandoned in her ‘to be read’ pile, tottering next to her bed until such time as she could examine the book thoroughly.

  ‘Do it tonight and we’ll do a live feed from your bedroom,’ Anabelle grinned as she followed Judith down from the bus. She flashed a perfect white smile as she turned to whisper something to the willowy girl dressed in a blue checked school skirt, whose hem had been trimmed to just below the gusset of her navy blue tights. Judith counted eight loud pings from the gold iPhone gripped by her free hand as her screen lit up with a stream of notifications.

  ‘Let's go and do it now,’ Ashley declared as she let go of the toggle dangling from the bus roof and marched down the steps.

  The hairs on Judith’s arms bristled and she felt a shiver run down her back. A warning of impending social disaster. The girls remaining on the bus stared down at her through the murky windows, watching. Judith kept her face neutral. Make no expression. Have no reaction and they will leave me alone, she thought grimly.

  Sounds of giggling and whispering followed her as Judith walked to her front door.

  She held her breath as the key turned in the lock. It was met with no shrieks of welcome. Judith breathed a sigh of relief. Her mother must be out at one of the local ‘ladies who lunch’ sessions. It always surprised her, how her mother could fit into any group and would become the life of the party with her heavy gold bracelets jangling luxuriously as the ice cubes clinked in her cocktail glass.

  ‘We need to do this properly. I looked it up on Wiki and we need a black candle and complete darkness,’ Anabelle said, marching straight into the sparkling white living room. ‘Just draw the curtains and try and make yourself look a bit attractive. I want this to go viral.’

  Anabelle looked around the room, dragging the white-washed oak coffee table against the wall and drawing the curtains. Narrow hazel eyes scanned the room for good camera angles. Ashley headed upstairs. Her shoes thudding noisily against the white wood.

  ‘Please take your shoes off!’ Judith yelled, following Ashley to the foot of the stairs.

  Madison closed the front door and shook her head, ‘You shouldn’t have invited them. They are just gonna cause trouble.’

  A loud creak came from the living room. Judith and Madison looked at each other in horror, then rushed into the room to find Anabelle peering intently into the antique wooden drink’s cabinet.

  The ceiling groaned as she heard Ashley’s shoes trip across her parent’s bedroom, while Anabelle helped herself to a large crystal tumbler and grabbed the gold-labelled bottle of Ararat Dvin brandy.

  ‘Please don't touch anything,’ Judith begged, taking the bottle of brandy from Anabelle and slamming the walnut cabinet shut.

  Anabelle laughed. ‘Well aren't you just as boring as you look. Why let us in if you don't want us to have a bit of fun?’ she grabbed an eight-branched silver candlestick from the mantelpiece. ‘This looks a bit creepy. It’ll make a great prop for the summoning.’

  ‘Leave the candlestick alone,’ Judith hissed.

  Anabelle looked at her in surprise and raised one crayoned, brown eyebrow, ‘What’s it to you? It’s just an ugly piece of cheap junk,’ she smirked.

  ‘It’s a Sabbath candlestick, my great-great uncle smuggled it out of Nazi Germany. He risked his life for that piece of junk.’ She grabbed the candlestick from Anabelle and placed it delicately back in the centre of the mantelpiece.

  Anabelle glared at Judith, fished her phone from her leather shoulder bag and started typing. A wide smile spreading across her elfin face.

  Heavy footsteps thudded down the stairs. The leaves of the ever-growing Swiss cheese plant fluttered. Something metal banged against the living room wall. Both girls turned in the direction of the noise. A large, silver inverted hand, each finger adorned with gemstones, with an eye set in the centre of its palm, began to turn slowly, on its silver chain.

  ‘Is it meant to do that?’ Madison asked, crossing herself and then kissing the crucifix which d
angled from her neck.

  ‘Err… no. It’s one of Mother’s hamsa’s, it protects the house from the evil spirits. She’s got one in every room, except the bathroom. You’re on your own in there!’

  ‘Hmm…’ Madison replied, ‘I think it’s a sign. We shouldn’t be trying to summon her. It’s too dangerous. Father Ignatius says trying to talk to ghosts is a form of devil worship and we’ll all burn in hell.’

  Judith lunged forward as the black and white photograph of her great-grandfather, Rabbi Schonfeld, standing in front of the New Synagogue with members of his congregation staring anxiously into the camera, fell from the shelf of the imposing oak bookcase which stood next to the stairs.

  ‘Hey! Have you got rats or something?’ Ashley demanded as she jumped the last few steps of the stairs and bounced into the living room. ‘There's a weird noise coming from your bedroom wall. Like something’s scratching to get out.’

  Judith flushed scarlet. Anabelle smirked triumphantly in her direction.

  ‘Let's hope it’s rats!’ she giggled as she grabbed Ashley’s arm and they ran upstairs.

  ‘I don’t have rats!’ Judith yelled.

  She shot Madison a furious glance and ran upstairs. Midway up the stairs she paused. A loud crash shattered the silence of the living room, she looked down, a knot of burning coal churned through her stomach. The photograph of her great-grandfather lay face down on the white-washed oak floor, amid shards of broken glass.

  Judith cursed under her breath. Her father would be furious. The memory of his grandfather, murdered while protecting his congregation, had been desecrated.

  Perhaps she could replace the glass before he came back from work, she thought. He would not be in until after midnight and her mother would probably be too drunk to notice the photo frame had no glass.

  Several terrified shrieks came from upstairs.

  Judith cursed and ran in their direction.

  Ashley and Anabelle stood on her double bed, holding each other. Their eyes wide in terror, panting under their breath.

  ‘You’ve got rats, big rats!’ Ashley shrieked.

  Judith paused in the doorway and listened. The sound of something sharp being scratched across her bedroom wall cut through the silence of the bedroom. It was a loud, deep scratching, clearly audible above the hyperventilating breaths of her school friends. Judith had little experience with rats, but the slow scratching sound did not seem rodentia in origin. She shivered. A wave of goosebumps broke out across her arms. Judith felt the presence of Madison behind her.

  ‘Don’t go in there,’ Madison whispered and grabbed her arm.

  ‘Are you scared? Are you going to kill the rat or what?’ Anabelle demanded, pointing the unblinking red eye of her iPhone at Judith.

  ‘Judith has rats!’ Ashley screamed off camera. A series of pings emanated from Anabelle’s phone.

  She must have it on a live-feed, Judith thought glaring at Anabelle. More pings came from the phone and Judith clinched her fists. She could guess what the comments were saying. Judith opened the double door to her white walk-in wardrobe and pulled out her new Wilson pro-tennis racket. It had been a surprise gift from her father last month. Unfortunately, she had given up tennis last term to concentrate on her Latin studies. The gift had been relegated to the back of her wardrobe along with the Callaway golf clubs and the sexy, backless, black mini-dress her mother had bought her for her sixteenth birthday.

  ‘Kill it, kill it!’ screamed the girls, as a loud scratching noise ripped across the room.

  Judith held her tennis racket in hand and turned around trying to locate the source of the sound. She found herself listening for the next deep scratch.

  After two minutes, Anabelle climbed off the double bed, her heels snagging on the white cotton duvet cover.

  ‘Well as the rat has gone, let’s do this and get out. I’ve got a date tonight y’know.’ She announced to no one in particular. She swished the curtains shut and placed the black pillar candle beneath the mirror on the ornate white dressing table which faced the window.

  ‘Now just look into the mirror and summon her,’ she demanded, checking her phone battery. ‘I’m only on twenty per cent so you’d better do it right first time.’

  Judith walked towards her mirror, touching the string of silk white roses which haloed around the frame. A shove on her shoulder sent her flying across the room. Ashley who had climbed off the bed and was holding Anabelle’s iPhone, quickly stepped to one side as Judith lunged face down into the duvet.

  ‘Hi! My gorgeous followers! Well, you join me here at Judith’s house. Today we are going to summon Bloody Mary, the evil demon in the mirror. Do you believe in her or not? Drop me a message in the comments below.’ Anabelle pointed towards the floor and flashed the camera ‘a five hundred pounds worth of dental work’ smile. She closed the feed and the smile fell instantly from her lips. She grabbed the phone from Ashley’s hand and checked the video, frowning intently as she zoomed in on her face, to check for imperfections.

  Judith sat on the edge of her bed. A pent up rage began to well from inside her, churning in her stomach as her pale face flushed red.

  ‘Get out of my room and my house!’ she screamed at Ashley and Anabelle.

  Anabelle raised the red-eyed, mechanical monster and pointed it at Judith. ‘And here is Judith, being weak and pathetic like normal.’

  ‘She’s so pathetic,’ Ashley chimed in, grinning from behind her friend. Anabelle whispered something in her ear and Ashley nodded. She grabbed Judith by the hair and pulled her over to the seat of the dressing table. Judith burst into tears and tried to push Ashley away.

  ‘Leave her alone,’ Madison yelled from the doorway.

  ‘Do it now! Ashley hissed in Judith’s ear,’ Or we’ll post your little melt-down.’

  The scratching began again. This time it seemed to be from every corner of the bedroom as if something was clawing through the walls.

  Judith looked into the mirror, wiped the tears from her red-rimmed eyes, and lit the black candle. Its flame cast dancing grey shadows across the darkened bedroom. She took a deep breath and whispered, ‘Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary, Bloody Mary. I command you, to come to me for I will set you free.’

  Instantly, the scratching stopped.

  The candle died and the room was plunged into twilight.

  A loud crack broke the mirror in half. Razor sharp shards splintered across the room. One hit Anabelle on the right cheek. She stood still for a second as time slowed. The iPhone dropped from her hand and banged against the fluffy white carpet. Seconds later, a large drop of blood plopped onto the floor next to it. Time quickened back to the present. Anabelle put her hand to her face, ripped her palm on the jagged glass sticking out of the wet flesh and screamed. The blood oozed through her fingers, running down her white school blouse in raindrop runs of red.

  Ashley clasped her hand over her mouth, her blue eyes bulging in terror.

  ‘It’s Bloody Mary, she’s coming to get us!’ she screamed and pushed passed Judith as she headed to the doorway.

  Pieces of white paint fell, floating momentarily in the air, as slowly a deep, straight line was gouged into the bedroom wall. Anabelle collapsed onto the floor, moaning and holding her face. The gouge reached the doorway, hesitated for an instant and then slashed across Madison’s chest. She stood for a moment. Her mouth and eyes wide with surprise. Ashley screamed and fell to the floor, trying to squeeze into the gap between the blood-splattered bedside table and the bed. Anabelle crawled towards the doorway, her bloody hands making a red pattern across the pure white pile.

  Madison looked from Anabelle to Judith and then down at the line of red seeping down her blouse. She tried to speak, but Judith could hear nothing except the noise of her own heart beating. The heartbeat grew louder and louder until she was forced to cover her ears with her hands. Madison mouthed something and flew backwards like a ragdoll, tossed against the landing wall. A haze of blood emanated from the force as she sa
t propped up by the wall, her head hanging loosely over her body.

  Her drooping corpse haloed by a circle of tiny red droplets.

  Judith screamed and ran across the room to her friend, skirting around Anabelle and stopped inches from the pool of blood surrounding Madison.

  ‘Madison wake up! we have to leave now! You were right! We should never have summoned her!’

  Madison did not move.

  A dragging sound came from the hallway and Judith spun round to see Anabelle crawling through the doorway, a shard of glass sticking out from her bloodied face. Her smudged eyeliner forming deep black circles around bulging hazel eyes.

  ‘Madison is dead!’ Judith screamed, hugging herself as she willed her legs to move.

  Anabelle ignored Judith. She reached for the bannister railing and pulled herself up, her eyes fixed on the staircase.

  The house shook as a loud crash came from the bedroom.

  Ashley screamed. Her scream was cut off in mid-flow.

  Anabelle tried to run. Her legs seemed disjointed from her body. Suddenly, her body flew upwards and thudded into the ceiling. Trapped against the ceiling, Anabelle wriggled and screamed as she tried to break free.

  Judith ran to the bannister and tried to grab hold of her school friend, but their fingers could not touch. She watched helplessly as the unseen force dropped Anabelle down a few inches from the rose plaster moulding patterned ceiling. High-pitched, shrieking laughter echoed through the hall and Anabelle was smashed through the ceiling.

  Anabelle disappeared leaving only the grey outline of her body against the whiteness.

  A woman giggled.

  ‘Please don’t hurt us, Bloody Mary!’ Judith whispered.

  ‘Don’t leave me!’ Ashley screamed from the bedroom.

  Judith swore. She gripped the bannister. Her knuckles white against the black metal. Then she walked back into her bedroom. The dressing table had fallen over, front first onto the once white carpet. The walls were gouged with deep criss-crosses and her bedding shredded.

  ‘Help me!’ Ashley shouted.

  Judith walked around the blood stains and pulled Ashley’s outstretched arm. Ashley screamed in pain.