The Cryptid Files (8 page)

On 13 October 1971, Police Sergeant George Mackenzie and Inspector Henry Henderson were with a group who watched two humps moving in the loch at about 10
to
15 mph. They guessed that the creature was about 30
to
40 feet long. ‘It was obvious that the two objects were part of one large animate object,' Inspector Henderson is said to have reported.

It was dark by the time Alan pulled the car into the driveway at Heather Cottage. He turned off the engine and sat quietly with his hands resting on the steering wheel. Without looking at Lee, his hand sought hers.

‘Thank you. That was one of the nicest days I have had in a long time.'

Lee started to reply but Alan, lost in his own thoughts, continued determinedly.

‘Lee, you've been so good to us all, so understanding. It's difficult …' Alan stumbled over his words. ‘It can be a little difficult, I know … with Vanessa …'

‘Of course, it's unbelievably difficult for her, Alan.' Lee sounded more brisk than she intended. ‘I remember all too well what it's like when your parents die.'

Alan looked at her startled.

‘God, Lee, I know you do. I'm sorry, I didn't mean …'

Lee opened the car door and stood out. She waited until Alan got out and he looked at her across the roof. To his relief, she smiled at him.

‘I'm not upset, Alan. It's all a long time ago for me. I'm just saying I understand Vanessa more than you or she thinks.'

Alan squeezed her hand in his as they walked up to the cottage door. The windows on either side of the front door were lit up and the cottage looked so welcoming.

‘I love it here, Lee. I feel as if everything will come right eventually.' Alan looked out at the loch and said absently, ‘Too late to go out in the boat now.'

‘We'll go out early tomorrow instead,' Lee agreed.

‘Our second last day,' Alan added, and Lee could hear the tinge of sadness in his voice.

‘It's even better here in early summer. We'll come back then.'

Alan smiled back at her fondly. ‘It's a gift, you know.' And when Lee looked at him in puzzlement, he added, ‘ To always say the right thing, I mean.'

They could hear the sound of the television on in the sitting room. There was a fire already lit and the cat had taken up a most comfortable position on Ronan's knee. A sci-fi programme was on and Maggie was busy with her knitting in the corner of the sofa.

‘Hi, guys, good fishing?' Alan asked.

‘Oh, Dad, it was fantastic. I caught one this size.' Ronan used his hands exuberantly to show the size and in doing so banged the cat, who rose disdainfully and jumped heavily to the floor.

‘Maggie says it's a trout.'

Alan looked around.

‘Where's Vanessa? Did she fish with you?'

There was silence, the boys once again engrossed in the TV programme.

‘Oh, she did, Alan, but the boys said she got tired of it and she went up to her room earlier in the afternoon.' It was Maggie who answered him.

‘I'll go up and see her. Are we having fish for supper then?' He laughed. ‘I'll cook tonight, Maggie. It's your night off.'

Alan took the stairs two at a time. He was thinking hard about his excuse for being late and the plan for the loch trip tomorrow morning.

He knocked on Vanessa's bedroom door but there was no answer. He paused before knocking again. Perhaps she was asleep. He turned to go down the stairs, and then hesitated with his hand on the banisters. It was half past five. It was late enough if she had slept in the afternoon. Time she got up. He turned back and knocked again, louder this time, but there was still no response. Slowly, he pushed open the door and walked into the bedroom.

On 2 February 1959, AA patrolman Mr Hamish Mackintosh saw something out of this world – ‘as if a dinosaur had reared up out of the loch' . He saw a broad, humped body, greyish in colour, with a thin neck and head, as tall as 8 feet above the water, moving towards the shore. He was joined by a local from a nearby house and they watched it together for about five minutes. Mr Mackintosh is believed to have said that he would never go out on Loch Ness in a small boat again.

Alan tried not to look too concerned when he returned to the sitting room. There was a heated debate going on between Luke and Lee about the
X-Files.
Alan waited for a break in the intense discussion but it progressed rapidly to the existence of Area 51 and the possibility of alien abduction.

‘Well, that might account for your sister's absence, I suppose,' Alan interrupted.

Luke looked at his father with a mildly puzzled face.

‘She's not in her room,' he explained.

The boys looked blankly at him.

‘She's probably taken her sketchpad out to the garden,' Maggie offered.

‘It's dark out there. Why would she do that?' Ronan said, direct as ever.

‘Good point.'

‘I'll just pop outside and have a look.' Alan moved quickly down the hall into the kitchen and yanked open the back door. Nothing stirred, the air was suspiciously still. Lee joined him without a word and the two of them walked into the garden and down to the water's edge.

‘Vanessa!' Alan called. And when he got no answer he raised his voice. ‘Vanessa! Are you there? It's dinner time.'

Nothing.

‘Vanessa, it's time to come in.' A touch of panic now lifted the edges of his voice, but there was still no answer.

‘She's probably just gone for a walk with Daisy. I didn't see her in the house either.'

‘Of course, that's probably it.' There was relief in Alan's voice, but he added crossly, ‘I'll kill her if she's wandered off without saying anything to Maggie or the boys. She knows she's not allowed. It's not as if she even knows the area.'

As they turned back up to the house, they met Maggie coming through the kitchen door.

‘Perhaps Vanessa took Daisy for another walk, Maggie?' Lee took Maggie's hand in hers and they stood facing each other for a second before she answered.

‘No. James arrived this morning and took the dog back home, thank God. The daft mutt.'

The silence that followed was awkward, nobody wanting to admit out loud that Vanessa was actually missing at this stage.

‘OK, let's go back in to the boys and we'll find out who saw her last.' Maggie took charge. ‘We'd better just check every room in the house first in case she's fallen asleep reading or sketching. Then, we'll get torches and do the garden properly.'

Nobody mentioned Loch Ness.

The waters of Loch Ness are darkened by peat particles so that nothing can be seen below 20 or 30 feet. It explains why photography and diving in the loch is so difficult. Sonar equipment has detected large, solid, living objects, bigger than fish or seals, but this technique cannot make out detail, so a creature like Nessie could stay well hidden in the depths.

Vanessa felt the algae in her hands. Was it algae or wet moss? She couldn't decide. It looked like algae but felt more like moss in her hands – spongy, with no smell at all. When Vanessa put it in her mouth it felt curiously natural to her. The taste was unsurprising – bland, almost grass-like. But when she took the moulded ball out of her mouth to examine it before swallowing it she was amazed at the intensity of the glow. It was as if chewing it had released energy.

You'll need more.

Vanessa started and swallowed hard. The voice in her head was by far the most disturbing feature of all in this dream. Everything else, although odd, was surprisingly comforting, and she felt no fear.

You'll need to eat more to explore the waters.

She felt compelled to obey, using her nails to scrape another handful off the cave wall and chewing dutifully.

More.

This was getting ridiculous. How could she stop it? Vanessa willed herself not to, but her hand reached out to scrape more moss.

It was some time before she began to notice the changes in herself. Normally a light golden brown, the skin on her hands began to look increasingly pale and sickly. She watched mesmerised as her arms slowly took on a greenish colour and then began to glow. Rolling up her trouser legs, she discovered that her feet and legs were turning green too.

Now take a swim and see the difference.

Slowly she stood up and looked below her into the water. She could see down near the edges with the glow from the moss, but farther out it was dull and murky. Why couldn't she be dreaming about turquoise-blue Mediterranean waters? She dived in, breaking the surface of the water with only the slightest ripple.

The water felt cool and refreshing as she expected, but something else surprised her. It also felt soft and velvety, almost as if it were caressing her. She raised her hand out of the water and let it drip through her fingers, trying to understand the feeling of healing and comfort it gave her. When she put her hand back into the water, the glow from her skin was intense and she could see right down below her into the depths. There were no fish or plants, nothing at all to see.

She took a deep breath and went under, swimming down hard. About 10 feet below the surface she could see a series of caves but she didn't feel like exploring them. Deeper again she thought she saw something move, so she swam towards it, but it was gone by the time she reached the spot.

She looked back up to the surface; it seemed a long way off. How had she managed to hold her breath so long? She was a good swimmer, but thirty seconds was about her best breath hold. Luke was much better. Luke. The name sang in her head, reverberating. It felt so familiar and yet she couldn't attach an image to the name.

When she got to the surface again, Vanessa climbed out. She felt tired and hungry now. Something had disturbed her equilibrium, some memory she couldn't place. She scraped some more moss off the walls and put this fresh supply in her sock, which began to glow comically. She giggled at the sight of it, feeling happier again. She sat now on her fleece and examined her green limbs in awe. Her trousers should have been dripping wet – she'd just climbed out of the water – but they felt dry and comfortable, and her fleece, too, was soft and warm. Presumably this dream would end some time soon. But not too soon, she hoped.

Mr P. Macnab, county councillor and bank manager in Ayrshire, photographed Nessie near Urquhart Castle. The picture was published in the
Weekly Scotsman
in October 1958. Far from seeking publicity, he said, ‘through diffidence and fear of ridicule, I have kept it to myself until now'.

Luke and Ronan!

The names popped out of nowhere into her head and she sat up suddenly, grazing her elbow of a rock. Of course, her brothers. How could she have forgotten her brothers? She focused hard and managed to see them on a bank with fishing rods, but beyond that one image she couldn't picture them, no matter how hard she tried.

She looked around, surprised to find herself in the same place. What on earth was this all about? She had never had to find a way out of a dream before. Normally, she just woke up. She looked at her watch, forgetting that it was broken. Five o'clock. Why was that time significant? What had she done to break her watch? She waited for an image, but nothing came. She would find her own way out, even if her mind wasn't willing to help. She jumped to her feet.

The rocks felt almost warm to her touch this time. Her hands and feet were still glowing but very faintly now; she must have been asleep for some time. She gathered more moss into her sock and tucked it into her belt. She knew that she would have to eat some more of it if she wanted to find a way out in the water. Besides she was beginning to like the feel of it on her tongue. First, she would climb up to some of the higher caves and see if there was a tunnel which would lead up to the top. Lead up to the top? Vanessa was puzzled by the thought. What was at the top?

She began to climb quickly. Although her feet were bare, she was sure-footed. She loved climbing. She stopped, picturing herself scaling a large tree. Her lime tree. Of course, in her garden. The images stopped as abruptly as they started.

The teasing memory made her all the more determined, and she climbed up higher past two caves. She didn't stop at either, as she could see the back of them, and there were no tunnels leading anywhere. She paused and looked over to the left at another opening. For some reason, it looked more interesting, even though it was still above her eye level and she couldn't see the back of it. Was she right in thinking that it wasn't as dark up there? Maybe it was the light from an opening. The climb up and across would be more difficult. There were fewer footholds and bigger rocks jutting out and in the way.

She lost her footing just for a moment, scraping her knee on the rock. It didn't hurt at all, but she could see the tear in her jeans and the blood oozing. Do you bleed in your dreams? she wondered. Should she look for a way out through the water instead? She longed to throw herself of the ledge into the water below where she knew she would feel secure and comfortable. Why was the water so appealing?

Water heals
.

Perhaps, she thought as the words reverberated in her head. But heals what?

She climbed onto the ledge with some difficulty and sat on her knees looking around. How disappointing! There was no way out after all, just another cave. Well, not quite just another cave. This one was different, because the bottoms of the walls were lined with the glowing moss. Nearly all the other moss she'd seen or eaten had been at water level or just below it. None of the neighbouring caves was glowing. Strange, that. What made this one different? There was something more to it than just the moss. She could feel something close to her.

Vanessa shuffled along the ground towards the back of the cave, and it was at the very back that she saw a pile of rocks in the shape of a pyramid. The roof of the cave was higher there and she could stand up. The construction had been carefully made, each rock balanced one on top of the other. Who could have built it? As she removed a large one for a closer look, she heard a loud, prolonged cry. Startled, she dropped the rock and froze. It was sadness itself. But not a human cry, more like an animal.

Stop. Leave in peace, please, please …

Vanessa wrung her hands; she needed to look inside and yet she knew she shouldn't be doing this. Just like the pictures in the cupboard, she thought, as the image of herself surrounded by paintings of the Loch Ness Monster sprang into her head. Nessie? What had she to do with this? She put her hand on another rock and waited for another warning cry, but nothing came, so she lifted another off the top and tried to peer inside. It was too dark. She would need a torch – but a glowing sock would do. Even dangling her sock over the opening, she could see nothing at first. Then her eye caught a glint of metal. Should she touch it? She waited for an image or a voice to guide her, but nothing came.

Carefully, so that she didn't disturb the stone pyramid, she put her hand inside. Her fingers touched something hard and she pulled her hand out again. Feeling less brave, she sat for a little while. She had to see what it was. Again she plunged her hand in and tried to peer in at the same time. Her fingers closed around what felt like a little chain and she lifted her hand out slowly.

At the end of the chain that dangled between her fingers was a locket. A tiny silver locket, old and badly tarnished. She fingered it gently and then opened it. Inside was a black and white photograph. It was clearly a woman, maybe in her thirties, but her features were hard to make out as part of the picture had lifted. Her hair was smooth and cut to her shoulders and Vanessa could see that she was very beautiful indeed. There was something about her face that made Vanessa feel sad. She sat down and leaned back against the wall to think.

Who was she and how had her picture got here, under a pile of rocks? Questions with no answers; more confusion. It was exhausting trying to sort it out. She needed to swim; she needed to be in the water to cool her brain.

Vanessa closed the locket and cleaned it as best she could on her jeans and then put it around her neck. Luckily, the chain was long enough to go over her head, as the clasp was rusted and couldn't be opened. Her dad would oil it for her. Dad. In her mind, she saw him for a second in the front seat of a car. She could see the back of his neck and the flecks of grey through his hair. He was driving; he was driving to … But her mind, playing tricks again, shut down. Tears pricked at the corner of her eyes in frustration. Why couldn't she remember? Why wouldn't this dream let her go?

Vanessa stood at the edge, cupping the locket tightly in her palm, and then, without even looking, she jumped out high into the air before plunging deep into the water below.