'The Guardian of the Gateway'

Continuing my perusal of Last Stop Wellsbourne we come to another cracking title - one that recalls the great days of Weird Tales, when every other story concerned mysterious portals and fell deities. This one is set in a block of council flats and its environs, though, because Tom Johnstone is a great one for shaking up the old tropes and putting a modern, edgy spin on them. However, the guardian in question is a supernatural being, albeit one that seems inert at first.

'It crouches there, blood-red arms straight and taut, bright blue legs folded tight, as if ready to pounce like a panther. Its fists balance its body on the edge of the platform resting on white concrete pillars.'

It took me a while to figure out what it was. It is in fact a superhero toy* that's been buried at the now-infamous (if you're reading this running review) Wakeman Recreation Ground. The ancient, sacred site allegedly has the power to reanimate the dead. But what effect might it have on something that never lived? We find out, eventually.

This is another grim story of modern Britain, Wellsbourne standing in for pretty much any Leave-voting, left-behind town. It's a brutal tale of the quiet loner who is far more dangerous than any noisy troublemaker. It features a brutal murder (albeit witnessed at second hand via CCTV), and the strange vengeance of a fictional hero made real. Stories about inanimate objects coming alive are common, but this is a standout example.