Banked

“Step right up, step right up! Are you looking for a property? We’ve got a lovely barn for sale at a very cheap price! Get a massive space that you can use and decorate as much as you would like! Grab a flyer and give us a call to register your interest. Thank you very much!”

The property manager must have gone crazy. We’re currently in front of the mall hoping to get customers to be interested in buying a property. I have been meaning to sell my late uncle’s old run down barn but didn’t have much time. I decided to contact a real estate agency so they could organise things for me, but it seems like they are overhyping potential buyers.

He set his megaphone down and said, “How did I do? I did a pretty good job, huh?”

My eyebrow shot up as he widely smiled at his empty basket that was once full with advertisement flyers.

“Hey Joe, don’t you think you’re painting a very pretty image of the barn to the brains of our customers?” I said.

“It’s called advertising, dear. You’re not gonna attract a lot of buyers if you say ‘Come buy this old stinky barn! It comes with free bugs and flies!’

He rolled his eyes.

“It doesn’t work that way Lila”, he shrugged.

“Okay, but if I don’t sell this—“

“Oh relax dear, you’ll get a buyer trust me! So always be alert. Anyway I gotta run.” He looked around for a second and set his eyes on his target.

“Howard! Pack everything up and return to the office!—

I’ll see ya later dear!” Joe told me as he headed towards his car.

I looked at Howard who’s now frantically packing up the pop-up stall. I offered a sympathetic smile but he was too busy to notice. I walked towards my car and went home.

The next morning I woke up when my door bell continuously rang. With one squinting eye, I checked the time. But as soon as I saw it, my eyes were immediately filled with rage. I stomped my way to the door and looked through the peephole. I was startled by the number of people waiting for me to open the door. There’s a family standing on the left side of the porch, but something looks a bit off. The dad is wearing a suit with his belly bulging through his shirt. Standing next to the dad is the mom, wearing a rich purple sateen blazer with matching bell-bottom trousers. She had two little girls clinging to each of her leg. I looked at the right side of my porch and saw a young couple who couldn’t seem to get enough of each other. Their arms linked together while looking expectantly to the door. In the middle, there’s an old man holding a staff. Who are these people? Do they not know what time it is?

I debated whether to open the door or not. It’s a Sunday morning. I bet half of this neighbourhood are still asleep. Even the sun is barely awake.

“Hi, can I help you?” I said as I opened the door.

“Good morning! We’re the Golbys and we’re here to buy your barn!” the parents said in a simultaneous manner.

“We’re here to buy the barn too! I’m Marina and this is my partner, Brent”, said the young couple.

“Me too! My sheep needs a place to stay”, said the man. He must be a shepherd.

“O-okay? Look, I appreciate you guys coming over. But do you realise what time it is?” I somehow managed to suppress my rage.

“Oh yes, it’s 7.23 AM to be exact. I’m Mark by the way. The property manager told us that we can have a look at the barn around this time. We tried to call you earlier too but we didn’t get any response, so here we are”, the bulging dad stated.

I could not believe that this is happening. Joe better be prepared, he’s going to get an earful.

“Alright, the barn is just down the road. We can just walk there.” I grabbed my keys and locked the door.

I walked in front of the buyers to avoid seeing the faces of disappointment when they see the barn. But as we got there, I heard voices of admiration which confused me.

“It is quite spacious and has lots of potential. The roof needs fixing and some of the side walls have storm damage. Other than that, it’s a great place”, I said as they walk inside the barn.

It didn’t take a minute when the young couple said, “We’ll buy it!”

“Uh, no. Us Golbys will get this barn”, the purple mum scoffed at the young couple.

“We can pay the deposit today”, Marina said.

The Golbys started laughing. “We can pay for the whole thing in cash”

The young couple looked defeated.

“What about my sheep? They really need a shelter as rainy season is coming up. I may need to pay the fees in instalments but my sheep…”, the shepherd said.

“Who cares about your sheep? Find another barn, this is ours”, Mr. Golby said looking irritated.

“Excuse me Mr. Golby, if you can afford to pay in cash then maybe you need to look for another place”, said Brent.

I could feel the tension heightened. I never expected this kind of eagerness to buy this barn. Too eager, I thought. I got preoccupied by my thoughts and too sleep deprived that none of their continuous banter have registered in my brain.

“Enough!” Marina shouted.

“We’ll never reach a middle point. So I have a suggestion…

Everyone focused their attention on her, even me.

“Why don’t we play for it? Win the game, you get to seal the deal for the barn?”, she said.

Silence.

“What game do we play?” the shepherd said.

All eyes then fell on me. I straightened my back. There’s something in the air that sent shiver down my spine.

“How about we play a cat and mouse chase? Lila would be the cat and we are the mouse that she needs to ‘chase’. The last person to be found, wins the game.” Mrs. Golby suggested as she paced around the room.

The shepherd questioned her, “I’m only one person. I would be disadvantaged.”

“Either you’re in it to win it, or say bye bye to your shelter”, she said.

“Fine but let’s introduce a twist. There’s a maze near by… we’ll play the game there” the shepherd said.

*****

I am now standing by the entrance of the maze, waiting for the buyers to get ready. I don’t know why I agreed to this. Can I still blame it on the fact that I am not a morning person? I don’t know. The alarm rang, signalling that their 5 minutes head-start has ended. As part of the rules, no one was allowed to use smart devices. I put away my phone in the designated box which is sitting between the two sisters. All the other phones are also locked away.

I took a deep breath and said, “Okay, ready or not, here I come!”

I ran my hand along the tall hedges. The silence is quite unsettling as I walked deeper into the maze. It’s a good morning walk until I heard a loud screeching voice.

“What the hell was that?!”

I started running towards where the noise came from. My heart was palpitating and my lungs are struggling to breathe. As I turned into a corner, I found Brent lying on the ground with blood all over. I let out a scream and squirmed away. My hands and legs were trembling. I couldn’t get myself to check the body.

“I’m sorry, Brent.”

Tears are rapidly dripping. My eyes widened with shock when I heard another scream. I stood up too quickly that my vision was temporarily impaired. A bloody person met my eyes for a fraction of a second as they run pass.

Who was it?

I tried to follow the trail but got lost. Next thing I know I was kneeling next to the dead body of Mrs. Golby. She’s lying on her side, clothes soaked with blood.

“This is sick!” I screamed in frustration. I wiped my tears with my now blood-covered hands. I continued to search for the murderer.

I was breathing so heavily that my lungs could burst at any time. My head is spinning, I could barely walk straight. I jerked in defence when I felt a tap on my back.

“It’s okay, it’s okay… please you gotta help me.” Marina pleaded. Fear was plastered all over her face. Her hair was disarray, and the bottom of her dress is now covered in mud. I pulled her behind a corner hedge for safety.

“What happened?” I whispered.

Tears fell on her face.

“I- I- I don’t know… I got separated from my love. I heard screaming voices so I hid behind the bushes. T-then I saw Mrs. Golby lying on the ground w-with b-blood all over her.” She too was breathing heavily.

I put my arm around her in to offer some sort of comfort. I felt uneasy. Does she know about what happened to Brent?

We quickly deduced the possible perpetrator.

The shepherd.

Marina and I found a tree branch. We sharpened one end for protection. We quietly moved through the maze, looking for the man.

Shock painted our faces when we came across the shepherd’s body.

Also dead.

We looked at each other as we heard grunting noises nearby. Marina’s feet was glued to the ground. She crouched onto her knees, traumatised.

“Honey, look at me. Are you a good runner?

I quietly said. She slowly nodded her head.

“It’s just you and I. I need you to run out of here and call for help. I will distract the murderer. Go!” I took the tree branch and slowly moved.

Step.

Step.

Step.

“That’s for cheating on me! Oh! Are you having fun now? This one is for constantly underestimating my choices! It’s my life, my choices you idiot!……”

Shiver went down my spine. I covered my mouth with both of my hands to prevent myself from making any noise.

I saw Mrs. Golby on top of Mr. Golby stabbing him multiple times.

But how?

She looked up and our eyes met.

“Oh hi! I wasn’t dead earlier, I was just resting. There’s still one chick, right?”

She smiled.

I gathered all my remaining courage and ran towards her in attempt to tackle her down, but to no avail. She grabbed my hand and twisted it toward my back. I screamed in pain. She kicked me down to the ground and started running. I grabbed her foot which caused her to fall on her knees.

“Don’t you want to make a sell? Then let me go! I will win this game whichever way I could” she said as she crawled out of my grasp.

We struggled from each other’s grip for what it seemed to be like forever. I was now at a disadvantaged position as I lay on the ground. Mrs. Golby had her hands wrapped around my neck. I was slowly losing my consciousness.

I heard rushing footsteps.

“….she’s severely injured. She has multiple scratches and cuts…”

My eyes succumbed into total darkness.

4 months later…

I emptied the mailbox and read through my letters. People all over the country have been sending me comforting letters after what I’ve been through. The horrendous event was widely covered by the media which gained international attention. Marina and I are now sharing a house together as no one else would understand the extent of what we went through. We’re both diagnosed with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder, which we receive therapy and medication for.

“Hey, take a chill pill?” she said.

I smiled.

“Take a chill pill.”