“I want to get some more of those jars to see if what’s in there’s deformed, too.”
“Butch, can I tell you something without you laughing?”
“Of course.” They walked into the bathroom, trying to delay going to their last class as long as possible.
“I had a strange dream last night about the hay field.”
“What’d you see?” His attention was piqued now, because he knew Willie’s dreams sometimes came true.
“Some little kids out playing; dancing around in a circle and singing that rhyme Ring Around the Rosy. You know the one the girls used to sing when we was younger?”
“You mean the one about ashes ashes we all fall down; then they would all drop to the ground and Mrs. Akins would start yelling at them about getting their clothes dirty? That one?”
“Yeah, that one. It was creepy.”
“You probably just dreamed about it because we were in the hay field and found something that looked strange.”
“Maybe.” Willie raised his voice as Butch went into one of the stalls. “But it was something else that happened in the dream that scared the shit outta me.”
Butch flushed the toilet then walked out of the stall to the sink. “What happened that was scary?” He washed his hands and cranked out a paper towel.
“I gotta look at what the kids looked like. Their legs were deformed and their arms ended in stumps instead of hands.”
“Are you serious?” Butch’s brown eyes rounded in amazement. “And now we just heard Simmons telling someone on the phone that the thing inside the jar was a deformed fetus?”
“I know.” Willie quickly looked around to make sure they were still alone. “It’s almost like he knew I had a dream about deformed kids.”
“What else was in the dream?”
“I think the kids were ghosts because they all disappeared when I tried to get a better look at them.”
“Now that’s scary.” They walked out of the bathroom and down the hall. “Wouldn’t it be eerie if the rest of those jars are filled with deformed babies?” Butch said before walking into their last class of the day.
The teacher barely glanced up as they walked up to the front of the class to give him the passes.
“Take a test paper and get started. Do as much as you can before the bell rings.”
Willie dropped the backpack beside his desk and unzipped the side pocket to take out a pencil. Maybe the test would take his mind off the house and jars. He scanned the test paper and within moments knew he was on his way to another top grade. When the last box had been darkened, he quickly wrote his name at the top of the page, and then pushed it to the side of his desk.
Without warning, a folded piece of paper flew through the air and landed squarely in the middle of his desk. He read the note then looked up to see Butch giving him the thumbs up.
When the last bell sounded for the day, the two boys were the first ones out the door.
“We’ll stop by the office and I’ll call Mom to let her know I’ll be ridin’ the bus home with you. They’re plannin’ on goin’ to J.R. and Ronda’s house tonight anyway. She and Mom are goin’ to a baby shower together and dad will be visiting with J.R. and Uncle Bill.”
“This is workin’ out perfectly. Everybody was plannin’ on bein’ together tonight anyway.”
“Yeah, except Mom and Donna are goin to celebrate the coming of a healthy baby, and we’re goin’ to check out what could be a bunch of deformed babies.”
***
It had begun to rain as they walked down the country road, trying not to think about what they could be letting themselves in for.
Willie voiced their fears. “We’re takin’ a chance goin’ in this house. We can get arrested if we get caught.”
“We won’t get caught. We’re too sneaky for that.”
They walked into the hay fort to formulate their plan.
“Okay, here’s what we can do.” Willie dropped down on one of the damp bales, quickly stood back up. “We’ll knock on the door and if no one comes to see who’s there, we’ll try the door. If it’s unlocked we’ll go in and have a look around.”
Too nervous to sit, Butch climbed up on the packed hay to get a better view of the house. “Yeah, and if we hear someone drive up we’ll run out the back door.”
“I think as soon as we get in the house we should check and make sure the back door’s unlocked in case we do need to get out fast.”
“That’ll work. But what if someone is there? What are we gonna say when they want to know why we’re there?”
“I’ll act like I hurt my foot and we need to use their phone to call my dad to come pick us up.”
“Oh man!” Willie laughed. “We got this so figured out.”
“Are you ready to go put our plan into action?”
“Hell yes I’m ready. I been waitin’ for this all day.”
Neither one could contain their excitement as their young legs broke into a run.
“If all goes well, after we check out the house, we’ll run inside the bus and grab some more of those jars,” Butch called out to him.
“I sure hope they ain’t filled with dead babies.”
Their steps slowed as they neared the house.
“Do you notice anything strange?”
“Like what?” Willie was starting to feel uneasy.
“There ain’t any birds. With all the trees around, you’d think the place would be full of birds.”
“I don’t know. Maybe they’re off eating worms someplace.”
“I’ve heard if a place is evil, birds won’t come around it.”
“Damn it, Butch. Would you stop talking about creepy stuff?”
“I ain’t lyin’.” He stopped walking to look around. “Maybe what you saw in your dream was real. Maybe this house really is haunted.”
“There’s no such thing as ghosts. I just said they were probably ghosts because they disappeared. That’s what they do in movies.” Willie grabbed his arm pulling him forward. “Now come on. We’ve come this far. We don’t want to chicken out now.”
“I hope you’re right. I sure don’t want to see any. `Specially in this house.”
They were there now, so before he could turn and run, Butch reached out, knocking two sharp raps on the heavy oak door. He waited a few moments before knocking again.
“I don’t think anyone’s here, Willie,” he said, grinning as he turned the knob, pushed on the door.
The door opened onto a large front room. Without hesitation, they walked inside and looked around.
“This is creepy,” Butch whispered. “Why would they have sheets thrown over the furniture?”
“I don’t think anyone lives here anymore.”
“In that case why’d they leave the front door unlocked? Someone could come in here and steal all their stuff.”
Beautiful paintings done in oil and surrounded by thick, wooden frames lined the ivory-painted walls. Willie picked up a delicate, Japanese statue, its fine detail calling attention to its worth then carefully set it back down on a well-crafted end table.
“Look at this fireplace!” Butch ran his hands over white marble with gold trim. “This must have cost a fortune to make.”
“Whoever lives here must have a lot of money.” Willie walked over to pull a sheet from a chair. “Check out this cool lookin’ chair.” He sat down, his body sinking into the soft cushion.
“This whole place is cool lookin’. Come on, we better go check out the back door, `case we gotta fly outta here fast.”
As they moved into the vast kitchen Willie was surprised to see Butch walk over to a large refrigerator to pull open the door.
“What are you doin’? We can’t be checkin’ out people’s food.”
Butch glanced back over his shoulder. “Why not? No one lives here, remember?”
“Oh shit!” Willie backed up a few steps. “This fridge is filled with food. Someone is livin’ here, Butch!”
Butch leane
d in grabbing two cokes off the shelf. “They won’t miss a couple of sodas.”
“That’s not the point. If all this food’s in here that means this house ain’t vacant.”
“They’re not home now so that means we’re free to check it out.”
His stomach twisting, he turned the knob on the back door; made sure the door was unlocked; then followed behind Butch, glancing all around, listening for any sound that would warn them of a presence in the house.
Standing at the bottom of a wide staircase, Butch nodded upward. “Might as well take advantage of the house bein’ empty to check out what’s up there.”
“I don’t like this house. I feel like we’re bein’ watched.” His slim body gave an involuntary shiver.
“I don’t see anyone. And neither do you.” He walked up the steps, sliding his hand over the gleaming wood of the banister, knowing Willie would follow.
When they got to the landing they saw that all the doors had been removed leaving the area open.
They both stopped when they entered the long room across from the staircase.
“Look at all the baby cribs and bassinets. Guess not all the babies died or they wouldn’t need all this.”
Willie looked at him then away, wishing his stomach would settle down. “Sure are a lot of toys in here.” Willie moved a rocking horse back and forth. For some reason he felt overwhelming sadness in the room. He turned away before Butch could see him swipe a hand beneath his eyes.
“This is eerie. All the furniture’s covered up with sheets even though the fridge’s filled to the brim with food. Now we come in here and find a room filled with baby beds and toys and there ain’t any kids. I don’t understand this. No one’s here.”
“They just ain’t here at the moment, Butch. Someone still lives here.”
“Yeah, I think you’re right.” His eyes moved to a closet, noting the rows of shutters across the door and he closed his mind against thinking someone could be standing inside. “Guess we better get goin’ before whoever’s still here comes back.”
They walked out into the hall and started to go back downstairs when a room off to the left caught Willie’s attention. He walked over to stand in the doorway.
“What’s in there?”
“I don’t know.”
“All that’s in there’s an old roll-top desk.” He turned away. “Let’s go.”
“Don’t you notice anything strange about the desk?” Willie whispered.
“Quit whisperin’ like that. You’re startin’ to creep me out.”
“Butch, take a look at the floor and tell me what you see.”
“I don’t see nothin’, just a dusty floor.”
“Yeah, a dusty floor.” He pointed across the room. “Now, look at the desk. Do you see how shiny it is?”
“So?”
“So, someone had to have come in here. Why ain’t there any footprints leadin’ over to that desk, Butch? For it to be that shiny someone had to polish it, yet there ain’t any prints in the dust.”
“You’re right.” Butch backed up a few steps. “Something ain’t right with this house, Willie.”
Without warning a loud bang sounded, making both boys jump. Within moments another one followed only louder this time. It was as though the house had suddenly come alive.
“Oh fuck! Let’s get the hell outta here!”
Within moments they were racing down the staircase hoping they didn’t meet anyone who would try and stop them as they ran out the front door.
When they were far enough away that they felt safe, they stopped.
“What the hell do you think made those loud bangs? It was so loud it hurt my ears,” Butch said.
“I don’t know. It was almost like it was comin’ from inside the walls.” Willie bent over trying to catch his breath.
Butch flung the unopened coke through the air, then grabbed the one Willie had dropped in front of him.
“What the hell did you throw the cokes away for?”
“We ain’t drinkin’ nothin’ that came from a ghost house!”
“I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to get outta here. We can think about getting the jars some other time.”
The sky was now dark, lit only by the occasional flash of lightning followed by disproportionately loud claps of thunder. It had also started to rain.
“I’m with you.” Butch shivered against the rain pouring over them. “I feel like being home with familiar things around me.”
“Let’s go to your house and I’ll call my dad to come get me. I’ve had enough adventure for now.”
“Me too,” Butch said, not caring there was fear in his voice. He glanced back at the house. He didn’t know why he did. He wanted nothing more than to leave, to forget about this terrible place, but something seemed to be forcing him to look back. And he saw something in the window. He couldn’t make it out at first, but with another flash of lightning…“Willie, oh my God, look!”
Butch heard his intake of breath as they stood looking at the face of a woman pressed against the window and staring out at them.
Chapter Three
She stood at the window, her rheumy eyes glaring out at the two boys standing in the rain and staring up at her. Their faces filled with all the fear she wanted for them. She could still smell their scent lingering in the house.
When she felt sure she was quite alone in the big house, she yanked open the slatted closet door.
“You will pay for what you have done this day,” she promised into the silence.
She walked quickly through the closet and into a hallway that led all the way to the outside of the house. She continued walking then stopped, her confused mind trying to gather a reason why she would want to go there. The boys standing in the rain had seen her face. They had heard the loud gong that had filled them with fear and hastened their steps out of the house. They would not be coming back any time soon. So there was no reason for her to hide herself in the secret room.
So many times the secret room had served its purpose: allowing one to peer through the slatted closet door and watch those in the long and bed-filled room without their knowledge. Watch them as they moved from bed to bed checking to see what effect the earlier surgery had had on the small body lying before them.
The one who watched most from the hidden room refused to be discouraged. His determination to cure paralysis gave him hope.
Horrible screams of pain did not move him in the least, nor did the looks of pain and sorrow etched upon the caregivers’ faces.
And while she had still been able to feel compassion like a normal woman, she had been one of them.
***
“Butch,” his sister called out, rattling the bathroom door, “are you going to stay in there the rest of the night? I got a date, and I need to get in the shower!”
“Yeah, hold on, I’ll be out in a few minutes.” He pulled the shower door open enough to call out.
“You better not have used up all the hot water, either.”
He closed the door without answering, needing to get back to allowing the hot spray of the water to chase away his chills.
After a few more moments, he reluctantly turned off the shower, only to feel the chills crawl over his body like a cold hand.
“Damn it, Butch, get out of the bathroom!”
He pulled on his bathrobe and was moving toward the door when he found himself being surrounded by total darkness. The scream started low in his belly; gaining power as it raced out of his throat.
Light flickered back into the room, but it was already too late. He banged his fists against the bathroom door, screaming in terror. Someone called his name, but he couldn’t seem to stop screaming.
“Butch! Butch, open the door! What in the hell’s goin’ on in there?” his dad yelled, beating on the door and rattling the knob.
Butch pulled open the door and raced by the people standing in the hallway.
“Butch, don’t lock that door!”
&
nbsp; He flung himself on the bed, trying to quell the overpowering feelings of dread.
“What the hell is goin’ on with you?”
“I don’t feel good. I must be comin’ down with somethin’.” He wanted to be brave and throw off the feelings of dread, but he didn’t want to be alone. Not really.
“Butch, look at me.” His dad turned him over so he could see his face. “Are you on drugs?”
“No, I’m not on drugs.” Pain gripped his heart to know his own father would think such a thing about him.
“If you are, you better tell me now instead of letting me find out about it later.”
“How come you always think the worst of me? You sound like J.R.”
“I’m your dad.” He pushed Butch’s legs further back out of his way so he could sit down. “This is what dads do.”
“I’m not on drugs.” He moved over closer to the man sitting on the side of his bed. “I guess when the lights went off in the bathroom it spooked me.”
Bill squeezed his arm. “I guess we all get spooked every now and then. But the lights were only off for a few minutes. With this storm I’m not really surprised.” He stood up. “You need to get dressed. Dinner’s almost ready.”
Butch lay on the bed trying to figure out what was going on. Ever since he had come home, he had felt like his skin was crawling. He kept seeing the face in the window peering out at them. He couldn’t seem to get the image out of his mind. He knew that whoever that was had been in the house all the time. Watching. Waiting.
He jumped as someone knocked on his door. “What?”
“Butch, Willie’s on the phone for you.” His sister called out.
“Okay, I’m coming.” He swung his legs off the bed to get to his feet. When he walked out into the hall he could see the receiver lying beside the phone.
“Hello.”
“Hey,” Willie said on the other line. “I thought I’d call and see if you’re okay.”
“Yeah, I guess so. How about you?”
“I’m still scared.” He didn’t bother to hide the tension in his voice.
“Me too. I can’t seem to get rid of the chills. Every time I think about that face at the window, knowing it was in the house with us, I feel like something’s crawling on me.”
The Hay Fort Page 2