George found Nick next to the old fountain in the garden after everyone from the wake had drifted away.
‘Remember when we used to splash in the water round this,’ George said. ‘It belongs to you now, along with all this,’ George gestured to the large gardens and the manor house behind them.
Nick patted the odd, square shaped fountain. George leaned on the other side of it. One of the squares he rested on depressed into the side of the concrete. There was a click. The entire fountain and the base they stood on started moving to the side, with a slow grinding noise. A brick stairway leading into the ground was revealed.
George looked at Nick. ‘After you big brother.’
They edged down the uneven stairs. They reached the bottom. A solitary light bulb hung from the ceiling in a small dark room. George found a switch in the wall next to him. The light bulb flickered on.
In the centre of the room was a metal chair, with restraints for wrists, ankles and a head brace. Thick electrical cables led from the chair to a lever on the wall. On a table there was a row of metal instruments – scalpels, pliers, secateurs, and discarded syringes. Everything was covered in a layer of thick dust.
Nick looked at George. ‘Remember Dad said Aunt Phylidia did something important for the government during the war.’
George nodded.
Written as part of Sunday Photo Fiction. Write a story of around 200 words based on the photo prompt given (above). For more details visit HERE.
For more stories based on this prompt, have a look HERE.
That was unexpected. I guess some family secrets come out sooner or later. I love the way neither seemed surprised.
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Perhaps there was something about their Aunt that suggested a dark past… Literally the buried family secret.
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Could well have been. Unless they did similar things.
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Wow …this made me shudder. Very well written. That aunt sounds very macabre and sadistic.
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Thanks Chris. I get the feeling she was a dear old relative, loved by all, who were unaware of her dark past!
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not an history but beautiful piece of art
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Many thanks.
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Intriguing little story. I think if I had discovered that I would have freaked out!
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Many thanks. Me too.
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That was so well done. Thanks for sharing.
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Many thanks.
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Looks like Aunt Phylidia was a real piece of work. Nice ending.
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Many thanks.
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I rather like how you kind of leave this hanging.
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Thanks, I’m not even sure where I would take it next. Maybe best to leave it to the reader.
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Well, to me it not only left the biz of the aunt hanging but all sorts really. You gave the reader a lot in this piece to mull over and take away from it what they wanted to.
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Whoa, that was super unexpected. Part of me wants to know exactly what Aunt Phylidia used that room for…and part of me thinks some secrets are better left that way.
Such a creative take on the prompt, Iain.
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Thanks Jade. Glad you liked it, it’s tricky when you have no idea what the prompt is a picture of!
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Well…I didn’t see that coming, but I guess George and Nick did!
They might as well have had no reaction at all 😐
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It’s difficult in the word count to get all emotions in, have to leave a little for the imagination of the reader to fill in. Thanks for reading.
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Oh my, very scary. A chilling image.
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Reblogged this on Kate McClelland.
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Thanks for the reblog Kate 🙂
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I was not expecting that! Aunt Phylidia must have been a scary lady! Great story. 🙂
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Many thanks 🙂
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Great job, Iain. I love how you summed it up with Nick’s statement and allowed the reader to draw their own conclusions. Very well done!
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Wow, that would be a scary thing to find. Even all those years later. To think about one’s Aunt torturing traitors, it’s both hideous and awful, but at the same time, she did something that was important to the war effort. Good thing they never made that Aunt mad. Great write Ian.
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Interesting, most reaction to this has been horror at Aunt, but you’re the first to wonder if maybe what she did was a necessary evil. I’d need to write Aunt’s story to see if people’s perceptions could be swayed! Thanks for reading 🙂
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Hmm that’s a paradox I think a necessary evil. But you know sometimes maybe?
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Absolutely love this, Iain, laughed aloud.
As for the title, I can still hear Uncle Albert after all these years.
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Thank you! Definitely intended with a bit of dark over-the-top humour, but you’re the first to pick up on it. Glad it appealed to you.
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Wow what a family secret. So was his aunt one of the his guys?
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Either she was or she just housed the torture chamber and knew about what happened there. 🙂
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Very true it could have gone either way. Stil it’s a grisly find
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Maybe it’s best we don’t know everything about our relatives. Interesting and unexpected intrigue, Iain. Good writing. 🙂 — Suzanne
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Thanks Suzanne, I agree, maybe best if they hadn’t discovered Aunt’s secret 🙂
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