The Forgotten Few

They deserve to be looked for. They deserve to be cared about. They deserve to be more than forgotten news in a town that doesn’t care.

Welcome to another corner of Sketches & Storytelling – The Story Sketchbook – a space where I share short bursts of fiction straight from my creative sketchbook. These stories are quick reads, but each one is a snapshot of a bigger world, a character in motion, or a moment that matters.

This one’s a little eerie, a little reflective, and like most things here, it started with a question I couldn’t shake.

Hope you enjoy the read.

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The Forgotten Few: Police Struggle to Investigate Missing Homeless as ‘Dose’ Crisis Grips Thameshire County

With the 10th homeless person reported missing this year, there’s still no sign of a formal police investigation. The Chief of Thameshire County Police is adamant that they are doing—

That newspaper from three weeks ago lay forgotten for most, faded from memory like the Chief’s empty assurances, a distant echo.

Fear – a common companion now for Theo Marshall, homeless shelter volunteer turned solo investigator.

If the police won’t be looking for them, I will. Someone’s got to find out what’s going on…

They deserve to be looked for. They deserve to be cared about. They deserve to be more than forgotten news in a town that doesn’t care.

Turning that mantra over in his mind, Theo pulls himself through a hole in the wall of the abandoned abattoir. 

*** 

As his eyes adjust to the dim interior, dread sets in and freezes Theo’s blood – imagining himself as one of the ill-destined animals once dragged inside this long-forgotten death camp.

Hooks. Hooks everywhere.

Deep breath. Count to five. 

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath that fills his mouth with the taste of mould, musk, and murder.

One… Two… Three… Four… Five.

Opening his eyes, he moves across the room and pushes through a set of hanging plastic strips into a dark room with no windows.

This place gets worse and worse…

His torch illuminates cracked tile floors, workbenches, and ancient machinery that wouldn’t look out of place in a medieval torture chamber. Making his way across the room, something catches Theo’s eye. 

Sitting atop one of the workbenches is a scrap of burnt material and a leaflet he knows well.

It’s the soup kitchen flyer! I made this! 

This doesn’t bode well…

As he picks up the burnt scrap, a zip falls out of it and hits the floor, breaking the tense silence and making him feel sick.

Was this a… sleeping bag?

As Theo bends to pick up the zip from the floor, he feels a cold draught from the bottom of the wall. Wasting no time, he pulls the workbench away and pushes on the wall. 

It moves…

A doorway opens into a dark corridor with a set of rotting wooden steps leading down into who-knows-where.

 ***

At the bottom of the worn steps is a cramped antechamber, walls aligned with tattered cloaks and a small wooden door.

What is this place? 

Entering the space, he’s hit by the signature ‘old church’ scent – rotting ageing wood and damp ancient stone with a subtle hint of incense burned years before, left clinging onto the pews in fear of being dragged away from hallowed ground and tormented by the fresh air of ‘the world outside’.

The chamber yawns open before him –  a stark contrast to the cramped confines of the previous one.

In the centre of the room, there’s a large stone altar nestled in a basin carved directly into the surrounding stone. The far wall has a long stone workbench stretched along it. 

The light of Theo’s torch highlights a chilling array of knives and heavy cleavers, each glinting with a cold, predatory gleam.

There’s also a large unlit fire pit. Suspended above it from a rusted iron chain hangs a large cauldron – its dented and carbon-blackened surface hinting at unspeakable horrors. 

Finally, Theo’s gaze settles on a familiar symbol, carved in stone – a single sheaf of wheat, flanked by two notched cutlasses pointing upwards. 

Wait… That’s… It’s part of the county coat of arms… 

The Thameshire County Council crest…