Voices

Not very far from the end of childhood a handful of boys stand as close as they dare to the edge of the quarry cliff, looking down into the pit of dark water maybe sixty feet below.

“Don't get too near the edge, lads,” says Charley Kirk. “The Denham ghosts will grab you, the ghosts of all the kids who've drowned in there will come tugging at your clothes and and pull you over.” He crosses himself like a good catholic. “That pit is bottomless, and your soul will be down there with ;

'em. You'll be one of the voices that people hear whispering in Denham Hills Quarry at night.”

Charley is off on one. His imagination tends to run away with him, and he probably believes what he is saying is the gospel truth.

“There's only one kid who has ever been down in that pit and lived to tell the tale,” Charley goes on. “That kid was Twinny Snape. Twinny dived off the top here right where I'm standing and went down into that black water like a missile. And when Twinny came up his face was as white as your Mum's washing. He said he'd seen things down there that would scare the shit out of you. I know what I'm talking about 'cause I was with him when it all happened.”

“Yeah, you and Davy Crocket,“ says Terry.

“Are you calling me a liar?” says Charley. “Are any of you lot calling me a liar?” his face has clouded over with anger and you can all but hear the thunder rolling around the quarry. He can be a funny bugger at times. It's rumoured that his Dad knocks him and his Mum around a bit when he gets back from the pub at night. Perhaps that's got something to do with it.

“Nah, course not,” says Den putting on a serious expression. “Anyway, let's go get our bikes and clear off. We can do some train spotting down at the Hospital Inn Crossings. We can freewheel down Seelee and see who can get the furthest without pedalling. I bet I can beat the lot of you easy.”

Very soon the kids are gone from the quarry. For a time everything is quiet and still, and then the whispering begins.