Things That Creep

His home-printed business card read 'Jack Dawn, landscaping and gardener' and for the small community, business was hardly thriving. Jack had a few clients around the town that called him in weekly to do minor jobs. Jack often thought some of them did it out of kindness, just so he could have some work. Jack's wife was a teacher but she retired from teaching at the local high-school when their son was born. Now she stayed at home tutoring the six year old child and acting as a house wife. Things weren't easy for the lower-middle class family. But they managed and they were happy, that's what really mattered.

It was an inexpensive, perfect life for the thirty-something couple and their child. Five times a week Jack would get into his dark green van and navigate a few streets to his clients house and he would give their house a once over. Starting from the back yard and moving to the front the would go over every detail with a fine tooth comb. He would spend the entire day on one house, sometimes he'd get two in if he worked hard and fast on two smaller houses. When the work was done he'd knock on the door and say:
"All done out here. I'll mail you the invoice and see you next week." Then he'd tip his hat and head to his van. The client would reply:
"Good on you. Thanks Jack and say hi to Samantha for me." Then Jack would raise his hand and give a wave behind him, shouting back.
"Will do!" And then he got into his tired old van and drive home (or to the next job).

When he got home he'd be greeted by his son with a big hug and his wife would be standing at the door smiling. She'd kiss him and tell him:
"Dinner is just about ready. You boys go wash your hands and we'll eat." Jack and the boy would race to the bathroom to wash their hands. It had become ritual after all this time and no longer did one of them have to lay down the challenge. When they had washed up they'd race each other to the dinner table. Samuel, the child, would laugh gleefully and move as fast as his short legs would take him. Jack would follow closely behind, laughing as if he were an over sized child. Each evening Jack would let his son win and when they sat down he'd say with a grin:
"I'll beat you tomorrow!" and with a toothy grin, Samuel would just shake his head. All the while Samantha watched with pride. There was just enough money for food each night and the assortment of other things they needed. They bought their clothes from the salvation army store and there were a handful of second hand stores close by. It wasn't much for the young family of three, but it was all they could ever need. Samuel was a bright and happy child and Samantha was a considerate woman who put the rest of her family first. As long as they were happy and healthy then she was fine with life. Jack was happy and living his dream - his hobby had become his job and he had a loving and happy family. He couldn't of asked for more and he never did.

For Jack, Samantha and Samuel Dawn, life in their small white house with a garden fine garden worth boasting - was perfect.

One night over dinner, the conversation fell quiet.
"A new family has moved into town." Jack said.
"Oh? I hadn't seen any for sale signs. Where did they move to?" Samantha asked with curiosity. It was rare for anyone to move in or out of the small rural town. They weren't too far from the city, far enough to have the quietness of the country but close enough to commute when in need of a shop not in the town.
"The old Saxon house. Near the grave yard." Jack replied, scooping another heap of spaghetti into his mouth. Samuel wasn't listening. He was busy prodding at his food and twirling it around his fork. With each bite it seemed that more sauce would slop on his shirt and on his face than would make it into his mouth.
"Really? That place has been empty for nearly a year now. I didn't think anyone was going to move into it."
"Well when old Henry died there was some fuss over who inherited the house. He had three sons, you know?"
"Yeah."
"Well they all wanted it. But it said in the will that his wife was to get it. Well she died six months before Henry and he never changed it. The sons all claimed ownership to it and legally questioned the will. But turns out there was a clause stating that is anyone questioned the will then the house, the grounds and everything in it would be put up for sale and the profits divided among his sons equally."
"So none of them got it and it's just been sitting there all this time?"
"Yep. They were asking a lot for it and no one around here could afford it. Heck, hardly anyone around here can afford anything."
"You think it's some rich retiree?" Samantha asked as she finished the last of her spaghetti.
"Retiree or not, they'd have to be rich to get a place like that."

Within a week the largest house in the town was bustling with life. An old woman had moved in along with a team of servants. For the next week there were daily visitors dropping in with cakes and an assortment of other foods to welcome the old woman. Each curious as to the mysterious new resident of the small rural town. For a such a small place this was news to everyone. Samantha had not planned to go visit the woman though.
"I haven't got the time." She explained. "I have to keep the house running and keep Samuel in his studies."
"But if you went and made a good first impression, then accidentally left my business card there I might get some work. That place's gardens needs a lot of work after all this time." Jack pleaded.
"I don't care about that. We don't need any more money. We're fine as we are and I don't have the time." Samantha argued stubbornly. Samuel was in his room colouring in a colouring book as his parents argued in the kitchen. It was rare for the two to ever argue about anything and those that passed stared in surprise. As if they had past by a train wreck, they kept moving and kept staring until their necks could no longer turn that far. Despite how tame the argument was and that their voices were only slightly raised, it drew attention like a clown on the streets.
"We're not fine. I know we don't need a lot of money but Mrs. Lander's son has moved in with her. She said he'll be doing her gardening now and I wont be needed. I don't have many clients and we've only just been managing with what I have. Getting work with this new woman will be good for us."
"Alright." Samantha finally said. "I'll go over with Samuel this Friday and meet her. Happy?" Jack smiled and kissed her cheek.
"You're an Angel, Sam" He said with a smile. Samantha returned it weakly before saying:
"Go and get Samuel, it's time for dinner." Jack complied and went to get their son.

That following Friday, Samantha and Samuel went to visit the new resident of the town. They spent maybe an hour or more there. Samantha mentioned in passing that her husband was a gardener and graciously praised his work. The old woman replied by informing Samantha of the skill of her own gardener and Samantha at once realised that she had no reason to be there. As soon as she could leave, she excused herself and made for home. That night she informed Jack that the old woman had many servants, a gardener included. Following this some financial problems occurred in the Dawn house hold. Meals became smaller and Jack worked later. Samuel was too young to understand the problems and drifted through life as if nothing had changed. However Jack and Samantha felt the sting.

Over the next month or so Jack watched the large house with a curious eye. It wasn't long before the old woman was even old news and no one cared anymore about who she was or why she was there. No one saw her come out of her house and all her chores were done by servants. Over the months that drifted by quietly, Jack watched the house and it's gardens. The woman had a large fence built around the back yard, high enough to block anyone's view. The fresh timber planks that were nailed together looked out of place in the vintage town. While everything looked as it had decades ago when the town was first built, this fence looked distinctly new and fresh. The pale brown clashed with the black brickwork that made up the walls of the house. Most curious though was the string of gardeners that worked the front yard.

Jack passed by innocently each day to see if he could spy the work the gardener was doing. With each day he bitterly thought that the garden was dull and bland. He knew that he could do better and that the house was deserving of his skills. But this was all beneath Jack's curiosity at the new gardeners that kept coming to the house. It seemed that every week there was a new gardener working in the house. Each one worked with more eagerness than the last. Jack hated each and everyone of them. Each thief that stole what should rightfully be his - a chance to make the house truly brilliant. It haunted his mind and plagued his dreams. Jack's jealousy consumed the otherwise sane man's mind.

Then at last the chance came. One hot October day, when the spring sun bathed the little town in golden rays. Not long after Samuel celebrated his seventh birthday and while he was busy playing with the toy airplane he got from his parents. Samantha was washing breakfast's dishes and Jack was working on their front yard. Listening to the delighted sounds of his son only a few metres away. A young, strong man came up the path. He opened the rickety gate that hung from rusty hinges on the Dawn's short brick fence. The bulking gentlemen removed his bowler cap and cleared his throat. Jack immediately put down his clippers and turned to greet the new comer.
"Sir, are you Jack Dawn?"
"That's me." Jack said, wiping the sweat from his brow. He removed the gloved from his right hand and put it out to the visitor. He simply ignored it and gave it a brief look as if it were something vulgar.
"I come on behalf of Ms Sanders. The owner of the-"
"The Saxon house. Yes, I know of her and the house."
"Well, Ms Sanders' gardener recently left. He found it too far to commute from the city to here so often. She heard that you did fine work and would like to hire you. Are you interested?"
"Yes. Yes of course!" Jack answered with enthusiasm. Samuel was watching his father and the stranger and smiled with his father.
"Very good. Ms Sanders expects you tomorrow morning. She is willing to pay whatever you charge." The man returned his hat to his head and left. Making his way down the path and to his shiny black car. Jack ran inside to tell Samantha who gave a shout of excitement when she heard the news. Neither of them could deny a need for more money any longer. Samantha jumped into Jacks arms and held him close. Samuel, hearing the cry, ran inside with a grin. He wasn't sure why everyone was happy but he wanted to join in the fun. Samuel was welcomed into the pair's embrace and that night they ate a dinner larger than they had enjoyed in a long time.

The following morning Jack turned up at the house bright and early. His dark green van spluttering it's way along and Jack in his matching green jump suit. He knocked on the door and the man who visited him yesterday answered.
"Very punctual sir. I'll show you to the back." The bowler capped man lead Jack through the grand house and out to the back. The house's lower floor was an entrance hall and then a sitting room at the other end. Two couches set on opposite sides of a coffee table. The entrance hall had two curved stair cases going up to a balcony and second floor. The back yard was a magnificent sight.

Jack's breath was stolen by amazement at seeing what had been fenced from view of the town. While the residents only saw the dull wooden fence, inside there was no fence but a wall of ivy that crept it's way along the fences and clung tightly to the wood. A beautiful collage of vines and leaves pinned naturally to the fence. Beneath his feet, Jack could feel the soft carpet of grass. Even through his sturdy work boots he could feel it was softer than his bed and he felt the urge to throw himself upon it. The garden hadn't a speck of brown but a rainbow of greens from the lightest to the darkest of shades. Each one vibrating lush brilliance from it's roots, up. But what truly held Jack's attention and the cause of his sudden gasps was what made the bulk of the garden. A forest of topiary taking all shapes and sizes. A heard of green badgers gathered around an enormous spiralling tree, like something from a fantasy. A giant rabbit stared down a great swan with wings stretched out. Closer was a miniature topiary maze with miniature topiary people lost in it's confines. All around him were hedges cut into brilliant figures both real and surreal. Jack even noted with amusement that there was a hedge cut to look like an upside down tree. Jack had only been taking in the awesome sight for a moment before he had fallen in love with the garden. He knew at once that he had been given a task that would not only use all his skill but push them further. The tiniest details had been clipped into this garden and it was now Jack's job to keep them there.

"Ms Sanders has her own collection of gardening tools. She insists these be used and no others. Any mistakes in the work and you will be fired. Ms Sanders inspects the garden every day and she never misses a thing." The servant explained. He spun on his heels then headed inside. Jack now understood why there had been so many gardeners come and go. It would be so easy to clip too much or too little in a garden like this. Should the lion lose a tooth or the people lost in the maze loose a head, it would all be over. Suddenly Jack did not feel so comfortable and a sinking feeling came over him. His gut told something would go wrong but his head told him that he could not afford it. The servant returned with a large box, like a suit case, filled with gardening tools. Jack immediately picked up the large sheers and took a step towards the closest figure - a dancing woman.
"Good luck, sir." Said the large servant, before turning and going inside. The sliding glass door closed with a click and Jack was left to his devices. Yet he hardly felt alone in this vibrant jungle of topiary creatures.

The first hour passed like a minute for Jack and the shadows shortened. His mind was focused on the task at hand and every so often he would feel a tingling on his neck. Thinking to find a bug he would slap the back of his neck only to find it had brushed against one of the plants. As the third hour passed Jack felt less like he was in a paradise of his passion but in a beautiful prison of garden art. He carefully snipped the plants with his giant scissors and he slowly realised the magnitude of his task. All the while he slapped the back of his neck to remove the pesky leaf or vine that brushed against him.
'I wish these plants would stop bumping me.' Jack thought then suddenly realised the error in his frustration. Plants didn't bump people, plants didn't move on their own. They needed the wind or another person to push them. But today there wasn't even a breeze and Jack would know if there was anyone with him. 'I wish I could stop bumping into these plants.' He corrected. Yes, that was better - there was no way he could blame the plants. Plants certainly couldn't reach out to you and strangle you. Jack knew it was impossible but he felt a chill down his spine as he thought it.

Slap! His hand struck his own skin again and he felt the leaves shift aside. Jack went back to trimming his second figure - rabbit. He moved in between it and the swan and began to clip at it's paws. More leaves brushed against him and he slapped them away. He turned around to see and found that there was nothing there. A giant green swan with an impressive wing span, no more than a metre away, but nothing close enough to touch him. Jack turned his head the other way but there was still nothing that could have touched him. Had it been happening so often he was just thinking he felt it now?
'No.' He assured himself. 'I did feel it. I felt my hand slap it.' So did the swan reached down with it's leafy wings and brush the hairs on his neck? 'No' He assured himself. 'That's impossible.' He went on staring at the swan and his hands returned to cutting. The blades cut away the loose deformities on the rabbit's paw. Jack heard them twigs and leave crunch as the sheers removed them. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. Snip.
"Huh?" Jack said dumbly. He turned from the swan and looked down at the paw. It looked different now. Jack was suddenly struck with the horror that he had messed up and cut too much. Jack studied it closely but it looked as it should, except it wasn't. When he compared it to the other paw he suddenly realised what it was. The limb he had been cutting was lower than the other. Not thinner but actually lower but before they had been level. Jack stumbled back and looked up at the rabbit's face. The creature's empty eyes gazed back with a cold and hollow stare. He slapped the back of his neck again. This time the gripping leaves didn't withdraw but instead took his hand into it. Jack felt the leaves and twigs of some plant pushing against his entire body. Jack leapt forward and spun around. Facing an angry looking swan that glared down at him threateningly. The tips of it's wings pointed at him, poised to strike. Or had they always been like that?
'They must have been.' Jack reasoned uncomfortably. With wobbling legs he retreated towards the door. Not to go inside but to swap tools. He had had enough of oversized animals for the day and wanted to address other matters in the garden. Simply put, he wanted something smaller.

Another two hours past and slowly Jack clipped at the tiny maze and it's victims. Then he moved close to the fencing and began cutting the badgers meeting around the spiral tree. Some on their hind legs and their noses in the lowest part. Others sniffing at the stump and two of them had their heads turned to each other, as if engaged in some conversation. Jack wondered what badgers would talk about and the prospect made him smile faintly. Jack was laying on his belly and had his arm reached out to snip at the finer details of a badger.

As Jack clipped slowly and steadily his suddenly felt a creeping on his leg. Curling around his skin and sliding up his pants leg. Jack spun himself around in fear in shock and looked in terror as a vine from the fence detached itself from the wood and crawled onto his skin. He pulled his leg back hard and more of the vine broke away from the wood. It did not break, however, and tightened it's grip. Jack tried to pull away and as he struggled he felt a sudden pain in his hand. He had left it by the badger he was clipping and now he saw blood dripping from a fresh wound on his knuckles and crimson droplets on around the leaves that would be the plant's mouth. Though the creature had not moved, it's empty eye socket watched him with a malevolent stare. Jack sat up and cut off the vine that held him. The creeping sensation on his leg stopped and the vine limply fell down around his ankles.

Terror overcame his mind and he bolted for the door. He tugged at the handles but the door would not open. Jack knocked fiercely on the glass and in a moments time the servant who brought him here approached the door. Jack felt relief for a minute, feeling that this man would open the door and save him. The servant just tipped his hat to Jack then closed the curtains across the door. Blood flooded from the punctures in his knuckles and Jack stared at the garden in front of him. It had truly come to life and now the first topiary figure he had sheered, the dancer, was twirling like a ballerina in a music box. Jack bolted across the yard for the fence opposite him. The badgers were now moving, the one that bit him watching him hungrily and the others all silently conversing.

As Jack reached the fence he leapt up and tried to clime over it. He gripped the top with both hands and tried to crawl over it. Vines wrapped thrice around his ankles and tugged him. Another vine followed his left arm and began pulling it. Under the strain of the living plants his arm fell loose and the injured hand could not hold him alone. Jack feel promptly to the ground and as he tried to turn and run he was held tight by the strangling ivy. Their leaves brushing against his hairs and their vines dug claws into his skin. He winced in pain and struggled to get free. Now more of the plants had come to life, the stretching lion was shaking it's main and opening it's wide jaws. A roar that never came out brought Jack to his knees.

Suddenly it was clear. Why the fence was built and why so many gardeners had come. The fence held these monsters in and kept any victims out. These living, breathing, hungry plants would not escape and all for a weekly sacrifice. The gardeners had never been fired and none of them ever quit. Jack saw it all clearly, the gardeners that came never left. Now he was the next victim. Beautiful monsters of different greens stepped with feet, toed by roots and closed in on the helpless Jack. His desire to work here had been his undoing. Without thought he took the suspicious job and even when his gut told him something would go bad - he stayed. Ruled by his passions, Jack had remained to be a sacrifice to these monsters. These hungry, beautiful works of art.

The sun was setting now and a little child, just turned seven, was sitting on his short brick fence waiting.
"When will dad get home?" He asked, turning to the woman that just joined him.
"Well he had a big job to do today. He might not be home until late tonight. Don't you want to come and have dinner?"
"No. I'll wait for dad, then I'll come in."
"Alright." The woman smiled and ruffled the boy's hair. "Don't get cold out here." She said, then turned and walked back into the small house.
"I wont." Samuel answered and turned his eyes down the road, waiting for the familiar sight of a spluttering old dark green van.