Stony Valley

A nightmare becomes reality.

 

 

 

STONY VALLEY

 

The children of the fourth year in the local primary school in Rushendene took home with them a note from their teacher, Tara Wilkins, informing the parents that there was to be an outing to Stony Valley at the end of the month. Each child was requested to take a packed lunch and ten pounds to pay towards the coach that was to take them there, and warm clothes were to be worn.

 Three classes were involved in the excursion, which meant three teachers were needed to maintain order and discipline. The excursion to Stony Valley was a yearly do, which the school had kept up for many years. The general idea behind the excursion was twofold: the children visited what was considered an ancient untouched part of the country, and the teachers had a day out of the classroom. The parents never complained about this event, as it was thought to be cultural. It was also a way for the parents to get out of taking their children themselves.

In all honesty, no one was really interested in visiting Stony Valley.

Tara, Bobby, and Jack, the teachers responsible for keeping an eye on the children, were in the pub having a drink the weekend before the day out. “Do you think all the children will sign on for the day?” Tara asked her companions.

Bobby, who was married, said, “Oo. I hope not. They’re regular little terrors when away from home. In my opinion the fewer children who go on the excursion the better. What do you think, Jack?” he asked the third member of the group.

Jack, who was older and wiser than the other two, simply nodded, and said, “Whatever will be will be.”           

 

Tara flicked back her silky blonde hair and thought about whether she should wash it or not, after all they were going to spend the best part of the next day out in the open air. Bobby was thinking about his wife, she wouldn’t like it if they returned home very late from the outing. Jack would rather have done anything else, other than accompany forty-five small children to Stony Valley, but just like Tara and Bobby he had no choice. He hoped the three classes would behave themselves.

 

The morning of the school visit to Stony Valley saw a group of mothers taking their offspring to school. Outside there was a very large coach which would be their mode of transport for the day. Tara, Bobby, and Jack were standing beside the coach and each held a clipboard with their respective class names on it. As the children went up to the coach their teacher would tick off their names.

Three little girls arrived together, they were Vicki, Molly, and Selma, and were in Tara’s class. Tara said, “Hello, girls, find a seat each and put your rucksacks and jackets on the rack above the seats.

Vicki, always after a compliment, asked Tara, “Do you like my new jacket, Miss? It’s lovely and warm.”

Tara, who was busy trying not to miss out ticking off a child’s name, said, “Yes, Vicki, you look lovely and cosy.”

Vicki’s friends, not to be left out if a compliment was available, both asked, “Do you like my jacket, too?”

“You three all look very pretty and warm. Now, if you don’t mind, I have to tick off the names of the rest of the class.”

The lovely trio all full of self importance walked along the narrow space between the rows of seats. They found two seats and one in front of them and put their rucksacks on the rack above their heads. They kept their jackets on, as the door was open to receive the rest of the group. They were soon chatting to other girls from their class. The coach was getting full, and when it was as if not many more were to arrive, three mothers came with one son each. The boys’ names were Mark, Chris, and Brian. They were the boys that Bobby would have wanted to stay at home. Wherever they went, they caused trouble. The three together were awful, so it was understandable that when the opportunity arose to have a day without them, the mothers jumped at it. The little terrors’ mothers were looking forward to a relaxed and quiet day till the evening.

 

The coach pulled away and began its journey. The driver sat behind the steering wheel, secure in the knowledge that there were three teachers aboard. It didn’t take long for the terrible trio to show their true blood. They were sworn enemies of Vicki, Molly and Selma. They shouted insults at them during the school break, now, away from their mothers and watchful eyes, they let rip.

“Hey, Vicki, why are you wearing your sister’s clothes? We’re going to get dirty at Stony Valley,” Brian shouted at Vicki.

Vicki, who was fed up with Brian’s stupid remarks, sat still and said nothing. Then she felt something pulling at her hair. She screamed, and Tara rushed down to where the girls were sitting and grabbed Brian’s hand as he was pulling Vicki’s hair.

“If you think you’re going to mess this up for everyone, you’re very much mistaken. And that goes for you two as well,” Tara declared to Brian and his two friends.

The boys laughed, but for a long while kept silent. Bobby and Jack went and sat near them, to make sure there was no more silliness.

 

The coach travelled along a long curving road and at times it slowed up to let the traffic coming in the opposite direction pass by. The view through the windows was varied, at times there were large fir trees and then there would be only bushes. After a couple of hours, signs pointing to Stony Valley were to be seen. The majority of the children were asleep and their teachers had trouble keeping their eyes open, too. The road before them became a hill, and the coach slowly dragged itself up it to the top. Tara sat up and stared ahead of her. At the top of the hill the bus made a sound as if it were sighing, and then began the descent. It went faster and faster till it stopped at the bottom. Stony Valley was right there, where it had stopped. The children, heavy eyed but happy that they had at last got to the site of the excursion, got out wearing their thick jackets and clutching their rucksacks.

 

Stony Valley didn’t disappoint, it really was a Stony Valley. The area in itself was not so big, but what there was had a very strange appearance. From large rocks to stones almost as small as pebbles there was nothing else to be seen. There was no vegetation whatsoever. The valley was surrounded by grass, and beyond there were fir trees and other large trees. This was what made Stony Valley so strange, that there, for some reason, buried in past times, nature had decided not to take seeds from the trees and plant them among the stones. Stony Valley was a cemetery. Everything in it was dead, there was nothing living. No birds, no insects, no butterflies, bees, or wasps. There was no flowing water. Nothing moved. The atmosphere was unreal and eerie. The colour of the sky was of a shade a little lighter than the colour of the rocks and stones. No colour. No sound. No life. That was Stony Valley. The legend of a dinosaur that had once lived there captured the imaginations of many people, children and adults alike.

 

There was a picnic area with rustic wooden tables and benches. The teachers guided the children to the tables and they all sat down to eat their packed lunches.

“When lunch is over we’ll take a walk along the safer routes to see some even odder stones. We’re sure you’ll like them,” Jack informed the children, who were all still half asleep.

Mark asked Bobby, “Sir, is there anything else here besides stones. It looks rather boring.”

Bobby replied, “There’s a railway that goes inside a cave, but that’ll be for later on, if anyone wants to go on it.”

The three boys perked up and they put their heads together for an in-depth chat.

“There are fossils that can be taken home if anyone’s interested,” Bobby told the children.

 

Each teacher had the same number under his control, and so they walked away from the picnic spot and began to make their way across the stones. The large stones were not so difficult for the children to move over, and many of them sat down when the going got too strong for them. Those who had cameras with them took photos of themselves and their friends. For those less energetic, it was quite a feat to climb over what were more like boulders than stones. Vicki, Molly, and Selma were busy posing against the rocks for photos, and getting Tara to photograph the three of them together. The other girls were more or less similar to them in attitude, but there were some girls who were more adventurous, and went ahead with Bobby and Jack. Tara was quite happy staying with the girly girls, as they presented no problems for her.

The floor of the valley was not flat but uneven and it was necessary to be on ones guard against falling over. The sky was grey like the stones, the only colour was that of the trees some way off from the valley. Clambering over rocks and stones was heavy going and it took them all quite a while to feel as if they were getting anywhere at all. When they looked back at the picnic area they realised that their day out was not going to be as easy as they had previously thought.

All of a sudden there was a drop in the landscape, and part of it fell away from where they had been standing. Down below a small railway line could be seen. The three boys, who had been bored until then, jumped down onto the stones and ran towards the railway line.

Jack called out to them, “Wait for us to get to you. It’s prohibited for you to go on the train without us. We must stick together.”

Brian and his friends waved cheekily at the rest of the group, and made a dash for the train. The entrance to the railway was an archway, of which it was impossible to see what was inside, unless you were inside yourself. Tara, Bobby, and Jack helped the other children down to the railway.

“They should never have been allowed to come on this trip. They always ruin everything. Now one of us will have to go and see what they are doing down there,” Bobby said complaining.

“Don’t worry as soon as we are all down there, I’ll go and see. After all, they are in my class,” Jack answered.

 

The trio entered what looked like the entrance to a cave but it was false. That was the commercial side of Stony Valley which was not over publicised, the authorities making an effort to keep to the authenticity of Stony Valley. There was no one around, or so it seemed, and the boys got on the funfair-type train, which started up straightaway automatically. There was no light, they were moving in complete darkness. Their faces could sense the rocky sides of the tunnel and at the same time the train ploughed deeper and deeper into the interior. The sound of trickling water could be heard and they felt its tiny spray on their faces. “I don’t like it in here, I want to get out,” Brian moaned.

Mark said, “I thought this was going to be fun, but it’s not much fun travelling in the dark.”

“We have to stay on the train. We can’t get out just as we wish. So be quiet,” Chris told them.

Brian and Mark didn’t want to admit that they were frightened. The train began to slow down as it drew near a sharp bend.

“Now’s our opportunity, let’s jump,” Mark said, and he, with Brian, jumped off the train.

 

Chris had been aware of his friends’ leaving him all alone, but he thought they were the losers. The train took him to scenes of what Stony Valley could have looked like millions of years ago with dinosaurs and other strange animals. Chris called out, “Brian, Mark, where are you? Please answer me.” He got no reply.

 

After seeing Stony Valley as it was once, the train pulled in at the station where Chris got off and told the man in charge of the railway about his two friends jumping off.

 

When Mark and Brian jumped off the train in the dark, they couldn’t have been more foolhardy. They fell on rocks and stones and as a result Brian broke an arm and hit his head, Mark had twisted a leg and broken it. When the railway man found them, they were both crying. Then another man from the railway joined them and helped carry the boys back to the entrance where they were presented to Jack and Bobby.

 

The boys were put onto the coach and had to hear, “Thank you very much. You two have managed single-handed to ruin the day out for everyone - even yourselves,” Jack told them.

Bobby rang the two mothers and told them they would be taking the boys to the hospital in Rushendene and that they should make their way there.

Mothers being mothers, of course, had an idea that their little darlings were victims and that the teachers were to blame for the incident.

Bobby spoke up when the irate mothers paused for breath.

“Your sons are always looking for trouble, and spoil all the trips out for the other children. Now the others haven’t been on the train ride and haven’t been able to visit the souvenir shop, as we had to come back earlier, thanks to the disobedient behaviour of your boys.”

 

Tara woke up feeling shattered after what she had just finished dreaming. She sat up in bed and looked round her to make sure she was still in her own bed. Tara was shaken. She had had nothing except misgivings, accompanied by a feeling of foreboding, ever since the note informing the parents of the pending visit had been sent out. She was dreading the excursion, as her nerves were already on edge for the duration. Bobby and Jack had suffered the same apprehension. None of the teachers liked taking children on excursions. They preferred the monotonous day to day routine of school life.

 

Tara’s psychological state led her to having nightmares every time an excursion was to take place, due to sheer anxiety about what could possibly go wrong.

Tara went to see the headmistress after the latest nightmare, and said, “I’m sorry, but I simply can’t go on the trip to Stony Valley. I’m even having nightmares about it.”

Mrs Briggs, the headmistress, said, “Don’t get upset, Bobby and Jack have given me the same explanation. I’ve sent out a letter to the parents informing them that the excursion has been cancelled.”

“What about the other excursions?” Tara asked.

“I’ve cancelled all of them. The older children don’t seem to be able to behave well when away from home either.”

Rushendene School became the first of the local schools to stop excursions. In time, none of the schools had excursions. Visits to Stony Valley and other places of interest were left to the parents during the school holidays.

 

What a sad story for decent kids!