The Raggedy Man

Extracts from the Personal Diary of Dr Elisa Jamieson MD

Saturday January 7^th

It would appear that my introduction into MI13 also gives me full membership of the Royal Society of Antiquities this was not mentioned at the time anyway I was here for a reason and that being is that every time I meet with Lionel Woodthorpe strange things happen. I am here mainly to have a word with him about this and see whether he will be able to shed some light onto the recent occurrences.

Once again the meeting is long and tedious and there is a woman I have never seen before at the society giving a talk on Romano-British history. While the subject may have been interesting to some I found the speech unerringly dull as it was far too much like a lecture for my liking. The lady was called Dr Belinda Durham and when she had finished I met her in the social event afterwards and found her to be very pleasant to talk to but requires more variety in her talks.

Most of the meetings are like this it seems however there was to be a pleasant change as there was another new speaker a Dr Roland Treadle who many said should have been given a professorship but his radical views regarding ley-lines had held him back. Treadle seemed to be both a learned scholar and an excellent speaker. Dr Treadle appeared to be in his early 50’s and was both highly deductive and likeable unusually for one of these meetings he had the ability to entertain. His only drawback however was that he was a fellow of Oxford (Yuck! why couldn’t he attend a proper university).

His talk was mainly covering the ley-lines in the south with special attention on the lines around Avebury Windmill. The highlight being that the ley-lines pass through the windmill and to the east of Silbury Hill and onto Stonehenge. Dr Treadle goes on further to explain that Silbury Hill is not on the ley-line though others in the room appeared to be convinced that it should be. Surprisingly he then stated that despite this Silbury Hill appeared to have some significance in his studies, as it appears that he is convinced that the hill is man-made but why someone would wish to build a hill is beyond my understanding. I note from the slides showing the hill there appears to a resemblance to Gallows Hill and there was a recent report of a break in at the hill site and a hole had been knocked into the side of the hill showing it to be hollow and akin to a large barrow. I asked about the strange resemblance between Gallows Hill and Silbury Hill and it seemed to stop him in his tracks for a moment and he looked decidedly shifty then he markedly avoided the subject of the two hills all together. He then goes on to explain that Silbury Hill is the largest man-made structure in the area has but it has been built so that it is hidden by the landscape from a number of directions.

At the end of his talk he seeks me out and after a pleasant discussion asks to exchange details with me and he sates that my question would require more detailed investigation before he could offer me a definitive answer.

Saturday January 9^th (very late evening)

A few days after the meeting I receive a phone call form MI13. The phone is ringing as I arrive home and it is my contact from MI13. It appears that following the break in at Silbury Hill an MI13 operative has been dispatched to investigate. However, the agent has missed the check in time and they wish me to travel down there and investigate they would normally send someone else but state that they were presently a little understaffed. They also stated that I would be given leave of absence from my job to allow me to assist in this endeavour.

Saturday January 10^th (very early morning)

As I was preparing to set out I received a phone call from Lionel Woodthorpe stating that he had received an unusual text from Dr Treadle and when I checked my messages I found that I to had received that self same message. The message read 'It’s coming for me the thing from Silbury Hill can’t escape unless it can’t swim'. Lionel informs me that Roland is usually very sound and he advises me that I should perhaps take some protection. I could only hope that it wasn’t another of those winged horrors I had seen at Gallows Hill, as bullets did not appear to faze that thing in the slightest I decide to take the gun MI13 had supplied I suppose more as a crutch than anything else.

As I arrived at Avebury I was surprised to see Dr Belinda Durham but she explained that she had also received the same text message and that she had come to see if her friend was okay. It was decide that we should work together as two sets of eyes are better than one. We searched the town but could find no sign of Dr Treadle. Finally we found his car in the car park near Silbury Hill. The car park was positioned in a place were the Hill was visible yet it was just the other side of the Kennet. We noted that the hill itself was fenced off and that the Hill was under the protection of English Heritage. While we had found Dr Treadle’s car there was no sign of the man himself. I thought that maybe he had fallen and was therefore somewhere close by so I tried to ring his phone in hope that we would hear the ringing. In this I was successful however it only rang for a short time then cut out before we could properly ascertain the phones locale. We were fortunate though as a Mr St John Cartwright-Fiennes heard the ringing phone and was able to point us in the right direction. Strange coincidences abound as Cartwright-Fiennes and I had met previously at Society meetings and I was aware that he had a mobile abode somewhere around here with his companion, a strange woman known as 'Jules'. Cartwright-Fiennes was another of these people obsessed with ley-lines and he too had known Dr Treadle. We searched the area on both sides of the Kennet but were unable to find much apart from something that my companions found on the far bank they assumed at the time them to be scraps of paper. I was later to correct them in this assumption with the fact that as they were small pieces of human skin.

Later that day, as we were searching around we happened upon a Mrs Barbara Smythe and her family. This was opportune as we had noticed that her name was on the notices around Silbury Hill she appeared to have something to do with the security of the Silbury Hill site. She stated that she had come to Avebury initially to meet with Dr Treadle as he wished permission to investigate the Hill. She also stated that her daughter had found some strange drawings scratched into the underside of the bridge near where we had discovered the scraps of flesh. We ascertained that one of the symbols related to Silbury Hill but the others were a mystery they appeared to be several five pointed stars and one irregularly shaped blob.

Sunday January 11^th

The next day we decide to check out were we had seen his car and there appeared to be no evidence as to his fate. We found that Dr Treadle had been staying locally but had not been seen since the previous day. We were able to convince the hotel that we were his colleagues and they allowed us to see the inside of Dr Treadle’s room. There were papers everywhere, quite a few downloaded from the internet regarding strange occurrences, mostly animal mutilations but one item stood out as it did not seem to fit with the other items in the room. A poem ‘The Raggedy Man’ by James Whitcomb Riley. We collected the papers and left hope of making some sense of what he had left us.

We met St John in the pub to discuss our findings before touring the local places in which Dr Treadle was interested, including West Kennet long barrow. In woods near the Beckhampton long barrow, we encounter Tim Gorman, who is setting traps in his search for local big cats, who have been killing the local livestock.

As it began to go dark we decided to abandon the search for the day but as we were heading back I was accosted by a local tramp a large man many of the children named Hagrid. He warned me that something had come out of the Hill and to be careful. As we climbed into the car to make our way back to the hotel I noticed Belinda Durham appeared to freeze claiming she had glimpsed something in the rear view mirror a something that she described as a degenerate humanoid but whatever it was it had quickly vanished into the surrounding undergrowth was it perhaps another of those creatures we had seen on Gallows Hill thus linking the two sites even more. We did not wish to pursue this lead at this time and decided to check it out first thing the in the morning.

Belinda then received an unusual phone call that appeared to be a weird collection of buzzes and whistles as if it were someone attempting to pass a kidney stone.

Saturday January 12^th

The next day dawned and after breakfast I decided to take a jog down to the car park on the way two local fellows stopped to offer me a lift. At first I thought they were just being gentlemanly but I was to discover that they had ulterior motives as they attempted to make a move on me. I was able to avoid this unpleasantness as I had remembered to bring the gun with me it was unloaded but they were not to know this (it is amazing what a reaction the weapon engendered whether loaded or no). Anyway the others were not to be seen when I arrived at the car park I began to search were Belinda stated that she had seen the creature the night before but despite the fact that the ground was wet I could find no tracks mind you I have to admit that tracking is not really in my remit. All I succeeded in doing was getting my clothes muddy.

When the others joined me they informed me that they had contacted a tracker a Tim Gordon who it was said was a Big Cats fanatic. He knowing what to look for was able to track something. As we moved carefully following Gorman we came upon a young man researching animal movements in the area. He stated that he had set up several motion sensitive cameras I the woods and we were able to convince him to allow us to see the films.

This was to be a major stroke of good fortune as when we were watching the films we were able to spot a tall figure moving in front of one of the hidden cameras. A figure in excess of six feet wearing a long coat and a floppy hat it appeared to be Dr Treadle. However he appeared to be a little taller than I recall. After ascertaining were in the forest the pictures had been taken we once again requested Mr Gorman’s assistance. Mr Gorman was to find the footprints easily once we had a clue were to look. But he was to state that the tracks left by Dr Treadle were not only totally free of boot tread but also appeared to have been made by a person weighing in at least 250lbs a weight far in excess of Dr Treadle’s weight.

As we tracked we finally caught a glimpse of Dr Treadle through the undergrowth. Strangely enough shortly after this Belinda received a phone call that appeared to have the voice of Dr Treadle stating thanks for our concern but we need not concern ourselves further in our search for Roland. Not surprisingly we do not believe this. However, the creature does appear to have mastered the ability to talk and sounds convincingly like the unfortunate Dr Treadle.

We began pursuit but I found that most of my companions appeared to be in rather poor shape even Mr Gorman was unable to keep up this came as a surprise I can tell you as I thought him to be a man of action. Anyway I was able to catch him my athletic background standing me in good stead but as I closed I realised that he was noticeably taller and appeared to be heavier than I recall.

I called his name but was surprised by the reaction I received. He turned to look at me but not in the normal sense his head remained facing away from me but both eyes turned to look at me appearing to not only leave the orbits but they also to be on the end of long ebony stalks. I took an involuntary step back and drew my pistol (note: this time I had loaded it.)

I flicked the safety off and fired (Wow the gun is really deafening when you do not have the ear protectors). While I am not the greatest shot I could have sworn that the bullet struck him in the head, which should have dropped him there and then. He did however not even flinch instead he struck out striking my right arm causing considerable bruising I thank the stars for my step back as the blow was a mere glancing one; a full blown blow may well have taken my entire arm off. This did cause me to release the grip upon my pistol causing it to fly off into the foliage discretion being the better part of valour caused me to retreat swiftly away.

One thing is clear whatever that thing is it is surely not Dr Treadle. This was to be confirmed during the following day when Dr Treadle’s headless and skinless body was to be discovered in the Kennet. I noted that were the creature had struck my arm my leather jacket had aged. The creature itself disappeared once again and judging from the direction of its trail Mr Gorman was able to inform us that it was heading in the direction of Beckhampton. The creature living in the unfortunate Dr Treadle’s skin appears to be some form of giant black amoeba that leaves a trail akin to a snail. The slime appears to be analeptic in other words it ages everything it comes in contact with.

Saturday January 13^th

After a night resting my arm we returned to were I last saw the Treadle creature in hope to find my firearm. We are fortunate to find it relatively quickly. We then decide that we need to find the creature. Fortunately we find it rather easy to follow with its heavy prints and slime trail so therefore Mr Gorman’s services are not required. We track the creature to Beckhampton and are able to ascertain that the creature has dug a hole and entered into the overgrown barrow in Beckhampton.

As we look into the hole the creature has left we notice that there appears to be something rolled up and pushed into the hole. We are able to pull the blockage out using my grabber stick and are later to find that the items were Dr Treadle’s clothes, skin and hollowed out skull. Even the eyes were missing. We also noted that the grass was blackened and dying near the hole.

We stand watch to ensure the creature does not escape while I summon the cavalry. We inform the locals that there is report of a rabid fox in the area as an excuse while we attempt to stop the creature. A special MI13 forces decide that explosives would be a bad idea but apply a flame thrower through the hole then collapse the hole itself I feel that it is very unlikely that we have destroyed the creature but hopefully it will be trapped for long enough for us to come up with a more lasting solution.

As I think about it I recall reading about a similar creature in the mysterious tome I was presented with the so-called Book of Eibon. The creature goes by the name of Shoggoth: A supposedly legendary creature, none are known to be on Earth to our knowledge. Not born of this Earth and are servants of the Elder Things. Description: a large black slime mould with numerous eyes that can form or reform seemingly at will. The creatures were used as workhorses to build whatever their master’s desire. The book states that a long time ago the Shoggoths rebelled and killed many of their previous masters. The creature is virtually indestructible we need to banish it to be finally rid of it.

Even more interesting was the description of the Elder Things: a long thin body with a five-pointed star at the top I wonder if these are what we saw under the bridge near the Kennet.