by Trinity Crow
"Vibrant,” she corrected me hurriedly and then avoiding my eyes, she turned and opened the nearest door. Daylight spilled inside, distracting me from her odd behavior. From my seat on the settee, I could glimpse a carved wooden bed covered in a bright quilt.
“Oh, let's try those boards next,” I said eagerly.
Nikki moved deeper into the room, taking her hammer with her. As I leaped up to follow, my knee hit the edge of the bench, knocking the seat loose. The padded board lifted easily in my hand as I tried to straighten it. In the light from the newly opened window, I saw the hidden compartment below. A leather bound book sat inside, and unthinkingly, I reached for it.
"Abby?" Nikki called. "Are you coming?"
"Yes," I answered her too quickly as my heart beat faster. "Um…just getting my hammer.”
I put the seat back down carefully, not sure why I wanted to keep it a secret, only knowing it was mine to keep.
***
The morning passed quickly, but the physical exertion of removing boards from thirteen windows had paled beside the amazement of discovery. Each corner of the house held one big room , each with three windows. The stairwell and landing lay between the first pair, and on the opposite side, there was a windowless room holding only a fireplace. The very strangeness of the floor plan made the place seem maze-like and foreign. Adding to this labyrinth-like feel was the uneven ceiling heights. The small rooms on opposite sides of the stairwell had pitched ceilings while the others were flat.
That first room had set my hopes high. The single bedroom was a bright, cheery place filled with life and personality. Before we let in the light, I had planned to offer it to Nikki. But once seen, I wanted it immediately. I could almost feel the joy and happiness inside of its four walls.
So I hurried her from the room, declaring I was excited to get all the windows open. Truthfully, I wanted the discovery of what lay in the room, the dresser drawers and closet, to myself.
It was my house, I thought defensively at Nikki's strange look. I could pick whatever room I wanted.
Compared to mine, the other rooms were plain, almost grim. Next door to me was a sort of sitting area with a sofa and tables. There was none of the brightness of the bedroom. The fabrics were dull and staid. Unlike the fanciful carved holders downstairs, these candlesticks were merely functional, polished wood, lacking any decoration whatsoever. The windows in this room had been fitted with locks, but Nikki and I noted curiously that the small bolt to latch them had been broken off.
In the far wall, another door led to a small, empty room with a fireplace. The large hearth took up most of the exterior wall, making the small space windowless. The light from the sitting room reached only far enough to reveal the shadowy outline of yet another door. I clicked on the flashlight once more.
“Ready?" Nikki said with a grin.
I nodded and she turned the handle and swung it open wide.
A bedroom. An ugly bedroom. Here were more of the strange, muted colors, the fabrics chosen to be serviceable rather than bring delight.
“It's like two people lived here,” Nikki said in amazement. “One who was bright and creative and loved color and art and one who believed form follows function. . .or else they were Puritan.”
She laughed, but it wasn't a cheerful sound. The dull room seemed to absorb the sound and muffle it. I repressed a shiver. It looked like a New Eden room, stripped of life and color. Designed to keep the occupant compliant and repressed.
"Let's get the windows," I said, feeling slightly sick by the comparison."Maybe that will help.”
It didn't.
The boards seemed to resist our efforts, and on one of the windows, we were forced to leave two boards, reaching past them to open the shutters. I surveyed the room exposed by the light. It held only an iron bed, a table and chair, a small trunk that turned out to be empty. There was a single candle.
It was not a bedroom. It was a cell.
“This is awful," I said as I looked at the painfully stark room. “You can't sleep in here. We can drag the bed into that sitting room and then put the sofa and stuff in here. I will share my bedding or we can buy some. There's plenty of stuff downstairs we can bring up to decorate your room.”
There was no question now, I quietly gloated, that the first bedroom room should be mine. It was my house. And she was just staying here. No one could expect the mistress of the house to give up her room for a guest. Part of me felt ashamed, but the gleeful part of me was louder.
There was no answer.
“Nikki?” I turned around to see what was up.
The hair on the back of neck rose at the sight of Nikki standing unnaturally still . . . even before I saw what she was staring at. When I turned to look, my own body froze as well.
The last door stood black and massive, brooding in its casing against the far wall. Ugly metal locks ran down the side of the door from ceiling to floor, and across the frame, a rough iron bar was braced in two stout brackets.
Fear hit me like the swing of a hammer. A terrifying memory of another room with locks, of the forced confinement beat at my mind.
Hands touching me, pulling down. Men pulling at my clothes, ordering me to obey the will of the Lord. And when I would not, the room. . .the sound of locks slamming home. The unending darkness…
"Abby?" Nikki's voice was slightly impatient as if she had called me more than once.
'Yes," I said automatically. "I'm just. . .thinking."
Nikki shot me a dubious look, but her attention was quickly pulled back to the locked door and the thick, almost ominous, aura that seeped from the dark wood. She threw the beam of her flashlight across the door. The portal gave off a sullen air, as if the light somehow offended it. The wood swallowed the light absolutely, refusing to reflect back a soft glow.
To me, it seemed the darkness was not merely from the unhappy purpose it had served but the very wood itself. The matte, black timber was unlike anything I had yet seen in the house. Heavier and more roughly grained than the bright pine that made up the doors and trim through out the house, this wood seemed to have been transported from some primeval forest, hewn in one thick slab from a tree too massive to contemplate.
I shivered uncontrollably as a constricted feeling crept over me, making it hard to pull in air.
What were the locks for? What lay beyond? And whoever or whatever had been in there, had they been left trapped inside when the house was abandoned?
“Let's move the furniture,” I said, without thinking. "And board up the door that leads to the fireplace room.”
My mouth turned dry from panic and my hands shook unceasingly.
Nikki turned to stare at me. "You. . . You don't want to open it?"
I started to shake my head and stopped. If I didn't, I would never feel safe here. I would always wonder what horror lay beyond those locks. And if someone had been left in there- the very idea made my legs tremble- did they not deserve to finally be free? To be found and buried? The thought of finding a corpse, the skull dried and grinning, made cold sweat break out across my body and my heart beat painfully fast. Slowly, I backed away, hearing again the eerie clatter of jawbones under the cold light of the moon.
Chapter 12
Even as I retreated, Nikki moved closer, her footsteps loud in the silence. She bent over, peering intently at the locks. I wanted to call out to her at the sight of her head so close. My heart beat pulsed frantically in my throat.
If that door should open. . .the crack widen. . .the darkness spill out. . .
“I don't think there's anything in there,” she said, making me jump.
"How could you know that?” I said sharply, my voice betraying my nerves.
Nikki knocked her fingers against the wood. The sound was dull and muted, swallowed rather than echoing throughout the room. The thick hewn timber had hardened with time until resembled iron and was would be near as unbreakable. There was at lengthy silence, both of us unnerved, and then she shone the light on
the locks.
“Look, these are all undone. If you were going to lock something in, once you had the bar up, wouldn't you snap all the locks just to be sure?”
“Not if you were in a hurry,” I said stubbornly, pressing my back against the wall. “Not if you were afraid and running away.”
Nikki turned to look at me, her face right with curiousity. I shivered uncontrollably when the door fell back into shadow. Even now, it could be opening. . .a pale hand reaching out towards Nikki standing there so unsuspecting.
Stop, I ordered myself, forcing back the wretched images. There is no hand, no corpse. . .no victim left to die alone.
“But there are no other signs of haste," Nikki said patiently. "No food left out. No clothes or personal things strewn about. And someone took the time to board up all the windows.”
"But they hurried," I corrected her swiftly. The idea came to ne in a flash and I knew I was right. “That's why it was done so badly, nails half in and bent. They were hurrying to get out of here.”
“Maybe,” Nikki said slowly. "But they took the time to brick up the bottom windows.”
I rubbed my arms. When had it gotten so cold? I was standing in warm sunshine, though striped by the boards that had stubbornly refused to come loose. I saw now they lay like bars across the window. My stomach clenched and I forced myself to take a deep breath.
“They bricked it up from the outside," I said slowly. "Where they felt safe. . .standing outside in the sun.”
Nikki took another step towards me and I felt my fear ratchet up another level. Behind her in the darkness, the door was surely opening and he could be walking. . .
"Abby? ABBY!”
Nikki was standing in front of me, shaking me.
"Are you okay? You kind of zoned out on me.” The worry in her voice shook the cobwebs from my mind. "Let's go down stairs. Let's take a break.”
"No," I said suddenly. "No. Let's do it now. Let's just get it over with."
"Are you sure?" she asked.
I hesitated. Was that finally some reluctance in her voice? We could just walk away. We could. . .
"No," I said slowly, "I'm not, but if I don't do it now, I won't. I'll brick it up and I'll never feel safe here."
“Okay, okay,” Nikki said. "But we could wait for Adam and Cassie. . ."
"No,” I said again, too quickly, too intensely, and I winced at my own mania. “I told you I don't want to be dependent. We can handle this. Right?" My voice came out more pleading than asking.
“Sure,” Nikki said, and without giving me any more time to think, she walked over, lifted the bar free and swung the door open.
“Let's go!” Her voice held a purposeful cheer that fooled no one. She stepped up to the yawning black void and shone the light ahead of her. My intestines clenched as the blackness swallowed her.
“It's empty,” she reported back, the slight tension in her voice betraying her nerves. I stood frozen, not ready to believe there was no danger.
"We just need to get these boards off,” Nikki said matter-of-factly. She set the flashlight at her feet and used the heavy bar as a door stop, leaning it at an angle to brace the door open.
“Just don't trip,” she warned me. “Abby? Come on. Grab your hammer and let's go. Five minutes and we'll have one window open.”
I found myself walking towards her, walking into that room. My eyes scanned the shadowy corners,and I heaved a sigh of relief as nothing crawled out of the black depths to greet me. No dessicated corpse or leering specter of death. Just a silent, empty room whose air seemed too thick to be natural.
We tackled the first window, not talking, just a near frantic determination to pull the boards down and find the light that lay beyond. The silence was broken only by grunts of effort. Finally, the first board clattered to the floor. Jerkily, I raised my hammer again and then gasped as the flashlight flickered and went out.
“Easy there,” Nikki said. “We'll just go get the candles. No worries.”
“Wait,” I whispered, laying a hand on her arm. “Did you hear that?"
We stood in the dark, eyes bulging to see through the inky blackness, ears straining and…there! It came again. . .the soft shuffle of a footstep.
“I don't hear anything,” Nikki told me, her voice patient.
As she spoke, there was a loud clang as the metal bar hit the floor and then came the bang of the door slamming shut. I clapped hand over my mouth to bite back the scream building in me, but as I heard the sound of the bolts slamming the locks shut one by one, the scream leapt out into the darkness and took me with it.
Not again! The terrified thought seared its way across my mind as I slid to the floor. Please, not again.
I crawled until I reached the wall and pressed a hand to my mouth.
This time I really would go mad, I thought. Slowly I began to rock back and forth, willing this to be just another nightmare.
"HEY!” Nikki shouted. “We know you're out there.” Her feet echoed on the wooden floor as she sprinted towards the door.
“Hey!” she yelled again. “Hey, you son-of-a-bitch! Open this door right now!”
Her furious cursing shocked me. I pressed against the wall, shivering.
“Our friends are on the way right now, you asshole, and I am calling the cops!” She paused, and in the silence, we both heard the unmistakable sound of footsteps running rapidly down the hall. Nikki rattled the door handle and then I heard her run across the room. Silence and then the footsteps began, a clopping sound.
“GOT YOU!” Nikki screamed and she began pounding on the wall, deep, booming sounds. There was a cry, a man's voice and then a series of thuds and then everything went quiet.
“Ha! Scared the shit out of him,” Nikki said with vicious satisfaction. “This wall is right next to the stairwell. Sounded like he fell down the stairs. I hope he broke his neck.” Her sigh gusted through the air. “Well, we aren't getting out that door,” she said bluntly. “Those locks were made to be unbreakable.”
Her words were blades slicing through the thin thread of sanity holding me there. I was floating in darkness, unable to see a way out. It was too much, the pain and memories too close. I let go before they consumed me.
***
“Hush, little baby, don't say a word.
Mama's gonna buy you a mockingbird.
If that mockingbird don't sing,
Mama's gonna buy you a diamond ring. . .”
Someone was singing. Into the darkness that had claimed me, her voice came and wrapped around me, pulling me forward until I felt arms holding me tight. I tensed.
Who was touching me? Why were they touching me?
I needed to get away.
A hand stroked sweaty hair off my brow. “Open your eyes, Abby. It's okay. You're safe. Open your eyes.”
I was afraid. So afraid to open my eyes. There was no air. My lungs could not get any air.
“You are home in your house, Abby,” the voice said. “The windows are open. The sun is shining on you. Come back, Abby. You're safe now.”
The voice made promises I wasn't sure I could trust. My mother had promised to keep me safe. I lay still, afraid to believe the voice, resisting the call to wake up.
Slowly, something crept over me, like a blanket made of care. It was spun of comfort and safety and as it settled over me, my muscles relaxed. The fear drained away and I could breathe. I sucked in a great lungful of air and it was sweet with sunshine and early morning heat. Grasses warming outside in the sun's heat scented the oxygen that rushed into my chest,
“You're okay now, Abby. I promise. You're just fine.”
My eyes opened slowly and squinted against the light.
“Hey, there,” Nikki said, smiling down at me. “Take it easy. You had a panic attack. But we're okay. I called Cassie and Adam and they are on their way to come get us.
“They are?” My voice came out as a croak.
“Yep. And I got the windows open while you were resting. Can you si
t up to look out?”
I nodded, still squinting. I wanted to look out with all my heart. I wanted to see the world. I wanted my back to this room and the locked door that held me captive. I scooted forward and then pulled myself up to kneel at the window. From here, I could see the same view as in the bright, cheery bedroom. A room that seemed a world away. I stared at the rutted drive curving away from the house, willing Adam's little, gray car to appear.
We sat there for some time and with each passing moment, I grew calmer.
“Nikki?” I said finally, wishing I had some water.
“Uh-huh?”
“Thank you.”
“Sure. You'd do the same for me.” Her voice was uncomplicated and I knew she believed that I would. A deep rush of gratitude for this girl washed over me.
“Nikki?” I said again. “Could we not go out the window onto the roof and through the other room?”
“I know I could,” Nikki said cautiously. “But I don't know if you're steady enough yet.”
“I am,” I said quickly, earnestly. “I really am.”
“The roof outside is flat,” she told me slowly, “but then we have to step over a two foot gap to that little pitch over the porch, and then flat again to the first bedroom.”
“I can do it. I can.” I pulled myself to my feet, anxious to show her how well I was.
“Okay, I believe you,” Nikki said. “Steady there.” She looked at me. “Can you tie your skirt up so you don't trip?”
I nodded and then pulled the back edge between my legs and tucked it deep into my waist band. A smile flitted across Nikki's face.
"You look like MC Hammer.”
“Who?” I asked, confused.
“Never mind,” she said, biting her lip in amusement. “Let's go over this. We'll go out onto this roof and take a minute before we go to the porch roof. You can go first out this window but stay against the wall. Then, I will go first over the pitch so I can help you.”
I nodded eagerly to show I understood. Anything to escape this room. “All right. I can do it.”