by Amy Cross
"I do," I reply, staring straight ahead. It's strange, but my mind feels so much clearer right now, as if a kind of fog has lifted. I can't help thinking that it's because Holly's here, and I feel as if Holly takes me more seriously. To Elizabeth, I've always been something of a joke, and over the years I've kind of eased willingly into that role. "It's because you're scared," I continue. "You're scared of us."
He laughs.
"I'm serious. You're scared of what might happen now there are three of us down here. You know that the power is stronger with three. Deny it if you want, but I know." I wait for a response, and then finally I turn and see the look of concern on his face. After all this time, I feel as if I've finally managed to get through to him. "Told you so," I add with a smile.
"I think you should listen to Elizabeth," he says. "I think you should concentrate on -"
"On not getting out of here?" I ask, interrupting him. "On settling down and waiting for a miracle? Why should we do that when we have the power?"
"There's no power," he replies firmly.
"There is," I say. "It's in the air between us. When there were just two of us, it was like a string, but now there are three so there are more strings and they form a triangle. That's what you're scared of, isn't it?" I stare at him, and I can see from the look in his eyes that I'm right. "It's going to happen," I continue. "We're going to work it out, and you can't stop us." I look up at the ceiling. "He can't stop us, either. Does he even know, or is he as stupid as I think he is?"
"He's not stupid," the thin-faced man says. "Whatever else you believe, don't make the mistake of thinking that he's a fool. You know nothing about him."
"What's his name?" I add.
"You know better than to ask," he replies.
"A name would make things easier," I continue. "If we knew his name, we could use it against him."
"You're getting carried away, Natalie," he says. "If you keep on with this line of reasoning, you're only going to be disappointed in the end. There's no power. It's all in your mind."
"Just like you're all in my mind?" I ask. "Except you're not, are you? You're part of this place. You're part of the house, and if you're worried, that means the house is worried." I pause for a moment. "That's all you are, isn't it? You're an echo. He's not, though, is he?"
"Natalie -"
"I'm starting to understand a little better," I continue. "Every so often, I get a little more of it worked out. I'm always so confused during the day, but at night I understand things much better."
"You really don't," he replies. "You're just losing your mind."
I shake my head.
"You don't understand what you're talking about. It's amusing to watch you try, though. It's like watching an ant try to understand an elephant. You can look up and wonder, but you have no idea what's really happening. You don't know how it works. None of you do, and you never will. Your minds simply can't comprehend the secrets of this place. That's fine, though. You can learn the hard way. I promise you something, Natalie. The next time you see me, one of you will die."
I turn to him.
"It won't be for a while. In fact, I might go away for quite some time. But the very next time you lay eyes on me, one of you will be killed."
Looking over at the corner, I see that Holly is starting to stir. She sits up and looks over at me, and after a moment I realize that the thin-faced man has left.
"Hey," Holly says, seeming a little nervous. "You okay?"
I nod.
"What about Elizabeth?"
"Sleeping," I reply, getting up and walking over to Holly. "We need to talk."
"I think -"
"First, you have to listen," I continue, kneeling next to her. "I know you think I'm screwy in the head, and you probably think I'm weird, and you're right. But I've been here longer than you, and I've noticed things. Things that even Elizabeth hasn't noticed, or maybe she just doesn't want to admit them. Whatever. They're real, though. The power down here is real."
She stares at me, and I can see that she's already writing off everything I say. She thinks I'm being weird, but I know I can prove her wrong.
"The window," I continue. "You know what we did to the window. I can't talk to Elizabeth about it, but you know. If we work together, we can do things. Things we can't do alone. We're much stronger when we're together. I've been waiting for a third person to come down here, and now you're here. Three's the number we need. We can be so strong if we just stick together." I pause for a moment, trying to straighten out the mess in my head. God, can't you help me? If I can't sort it out in my own mind, how can I make her realize what I mean? "There are three of us now," I continue. "One. Two. Three. Three of us. That's the key. That's what we needed all along. He doesn't know that, though. It never occurred to him that adding a third girl might change things so much."
"Natalie -"
"It's a kind of energy in the air," I say, determined to make her understand. "It's all around us. Sometimes I can see it, but I can always feel it. It's part of the house, but we can use it. We can do things that normal people can't. Do you understand me now?" I pause for a moment. It's hard explaining the whole thing, especially since there are certain words I'm trying to avoid. I know she'd think I'm crazy if I start referring to things being supernatural, or if I refer to us as witches. The truth, though, is that I can feel all these things around us, and within us. It's real and it's going to work, if only I can get the others to help me.
"It's okay," Holly says, smiling at me. "Just calm down."
"I'm not crazy!" I insist, starting to feel frustrated. Elizabeth has always written me off as an idiot, and now it feels as if Holly is starting to do the same thing. I swear, if they'd just take me seriously for a moment, I could show them. "You saw what happened with the iron bars," I continue. "You saw it, and that was just a little test. We didn't really go for it. If we practice and plan properly, we can do way more."
"Natalie, you really need to calm down," she says, as if she's talking to a child. "Maybe Elizabeth was right. If you get over-excited."
"Watch," I say, getting up and walking over to the middle of the room. There's an old, broken light bulb hanging down from the ceiling. It's been years since it worked, but I know I can do this. I have to show Holly that I'm not a fool.
"Natalie -"
"Watch!" I hiss, staring at the bulb. Without help from Holly or Elizabeth, this is probably the only way I can demonstrate the power. I keep my eyes focused on the bulb, and slowly I become aware of the power flowing around the glass. I try to imagine the power putting pressure on the bulb's surface, and I visualize the whole thing suddenly breaking apart. With the power becoming stronger, I feel a powerful force start to rise through my body, sending tremors across my chest, and gradually I feel the vibrations start to move beyond my body, spreading out across the room until finally I hear the bulb start to rattle and a faint glow starts to build.
"Natalie -" Holly starts to say.
At that moment, the bulb shatters, sending slivers of glass flying across the room.
"What the fuck?" Holly shouts, running over to look at the remains of the bulb. She turns to me. "How did you do that?"
"What are you two up to now?" Elizabeth asks wearily, getting up from her blanket in the far corner.
"That was amazing!" Holly continues, staring at me with unconcealed joy. "How did you do it?"
"I used the power," I reply, unable to stifle a smile that spreads across my lips. I feel proud of myself, not only for destroying the bulb but also for showing, finally, that I was right.
"What nonsense are you on about?" Elizabeth asks as she comes over to join us. "Where did all this glass come from? I hope you don't think I'm going to clean it all up."
"She destroyed the bulb," Holly says. "She just stared at it, and it exploded."
"Impossible," Elizabeth replies.
"I saw it!" Holly continues, before turning to me. "Tell her, Natalie. Tell her what you did."
"It's true," I sa
y with a smile.
"Not this again," Elizabeth sighs. "You really must -"
"It's true," I say again.
"I swear to God," Holly adds, "she really did it. Natalie, you need to do it again. Elizabeth needs to see it."
"I can't right now," I reply. "I need to rest." The truth is, I'm exhausted every time I use the power; it's as if, when it passes through my body, the power makes every atom vibrate. Right now, I just want to sleep, although I'm pretty sure that won't be possible once Elizabeth and Holly get started on their latest argument. Sometimes I wish I could make them shut up, if only for a few hours.
"You won't give it a rest, will you?" Elizabeth continues, starting to pick up the pieces of glass. "I don't know why I even bother trying to help either of you. Whatever I say, you just go against it. It's as if you think I'm some kind of idiot. Well, I promise you one thing, I'm not the idiot in this room. That's for damn sure."
Turning, I walk over to the corner where I sleep.
"Don't walk away from me!" Elizabeth shouts after me. "I know what you were going to do to me in the night, and I know the kind of games you like to play! You're a dangerous girl, Natalie. You need to know your place."
"Go fuck yourself," I mutter under my breath.
"What did you say?" she shouts.
"Nothing," I call back to her.
"You said something, " she continues. "I want to know what you called me."
Staring down at my blanket, I sigh. It's getting harder and harder to keep from letting rip at Elizabeth. Her mothering attitude used to feel strangely comforting, but now I feel like I'm being suffocated.
"Natalie," she shouts, "I want you to come back over her and explain yourself!"
"Leave her alone," Holly says.
"I will not!" Elizabeth shouts. "She had a knife in the night. She was creeping up behind me. She's lost her mind, and don't think I don't know who's to blame. She was fine until you arrived, Holly, and now she's becoming more and more difficult. If I didn't know better -"
"Shut up!" I shout at the top of my voice, turning to face her. At that moment, something flies through the air and hits Elizabeth's face, and she steps back. Seconds later, I see that there's a nasty-looking cut on one side of her face, and blood has already started pouring down her cheek.
"What the hell was that?" Holly asks, hurrying over to the corner where the object landed.
"What did you do to me?" Elizabeth shouts, putting a hand over her face and turning to the sink.
"It was a piece of glass," Holly continues, holding it up to show me. "It was on the floor. Holly, you -"
"I'm sorry!" I shout, hurrying over to Elizabeth as blood drips from her face. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to do that!"
"You little bitch!" she screams, pushing me away.
There's a banging sound from above. Looking up, I realize that he must have heard us arguing. The last thing we need right now is to attract his attention and have him come storming to the door.
"I don't think she meant it," Holly says, still holding the piece of glass. "I think... Whatever's going on here, we need to talk about it. We can't ignore it."
"Shut up!" Elizabeth shouts at her. "You don't have a clue what you're talking about!"
"Neither do you," I say darkly.
Elizabeth turns to me, and there's a clear look of shock on her face. I've never directly talked back to her like that before, so I guess she was completely unprepared for my outburst. Still, I've come this far, and the last thing I want to do is go back into my shell.
"We've pretended long enough," I say firmly. "I don't know why you're scared, Elizabeth, but you know the power's real. Now Holly's here, we can really start to use it properly."
"You're talking nonsense," Elizabeth replies, but she's clearly flustered. "Natalie, you're confused -"
"I'm not," I say. "You're just saying that because you're scared. I've been studying it. I've been watching how it works, and I think I've got it worked out now. There's this power. It's like the whole house is evil, but there's a tiny part of that evil that's available to us, and we can use it. I've already tried little things, but I'm not strong enough on my own. I knew we wouldn't be strong enough together, Elizabeth, but now Holly's here... Now there are three of us, I think we have a chance to make this work."
"Please," Elizabeth continues, "you have to stop talking like this."
"I think we should listen to her," Holly says. "I think she might be onto something."
Elizabeth stares at me. I can see genuine fear in her eyes. I know she's a good person, and I know she just wants to protect us all. Maybe her approach was the right one while there were just two of us down here, but with Holly here, things need to change. Things can change. In fact, I think we can turn this entire situation on its head.
"If you help me," I say slowly, "I'll show you how we can unlock the power. We can use it to escape, and then we can use it to change other things." I look up at the ceiling. For the first time in my life, I feel confident; I feel as if I'm in charge, as if I understand things properly. "He brought Holly here because he wanted to have a third girl for his collection. He thought we couldn't fight back, and now we're going to show him that he made a huge mistake."
Part Five:
The Weight of Bones
Prologue
"You're gonna have to walk to the bus stop by yourself," my mother says, as she tosses some bags of potato chips into a plastic container and pushes the lid down firmly. "You've got no fucking idea how much stress I'm under right now, I don't have time to fucking -" She pauses, looks over at me, and finally a tense smile crosses her lips. "Lizzie, you just... Have a good day at school, okay?"
I nod. My mother's always like this. Why do things in a careful, ordered way when you can just wait until the last minute and then rush around? As she thrusts the plastic container into my hands, I can't help wishing I had the kind of mother who'd lovingly craft home-made sandwiches for me each morning, then wrap them up and place them in a paper bag along with some fruit and a drink. Do those mothers even exist these days?
"I might not be home when you finish school," she continues, grabbing my arm and leading me to the front door of our little apartment. "I've got to get the papers filed tonight, so I might..." She pauses again. "Actually, you know what? I might just sleep over at Eric and Karen's when I'm finished. Can you keep things ticking over here? I'll make it up to you tomorrow night, I promise. I'll take you out to dinner. Does that sound good?"
"Sure," I say, not wanting to upset her by letting her see that I'm disappointed.
"Okay. Be good at school and do all your homework tonight. Got it?"
I nod.
"And eat something healthy when you get home. Not just popcorn."
I nod again.
"Okay." She stares at me for a moment. "You'll be fine. You're fifteen years old. It's time you started acting your age, just a little. Can't be Mommy's little girl forever."
I shake my head.
She stares at me for a moment. "Why do you always look so sad, Elizabeth?" she asks eventually.
"I don't!" I reply.
"You really do," she says. "Honey, you always look like you're on the verge of tears. If you carry on walking around like that, it's no wonder people pick on you."
"No-one picks on me," I tell her for the thousandth time.
"Well, they'd better not," she continues, "or they'll have me to deal with. You understand that, right? No-one picks on my daughter!"
"I'm fifteen," I say. "I can take care of myself."
"If you say so," she replies, gently pushing me out the door. "Now go! The key'll be in the usual place! Let yourself in, look after the place, and don't do anything I wouldn't do. See you tomorrow, honey! And don't run all the way to the bus, okay? Remember, slow and steady wins the race."
"See you tomorrow," I mutter, heading along the driveway and onto the sidewalk. It's another baking hot day and I'd been hoping I might get a lift to the bus stop. As it is, I'm g
oing to have to walk for twenty minutes, which I guess isn't so bad. I definitely shouldn't complain. My life is pretty good, even if my mother is a whirlwind of mess and panic. She means well, and there's always food on the table. It's not her fault that I'd prefer a more old-fashioned mother, but I guess she's just not cut out for that kind of role. Sometimes I think there's something wrong with me. I should have been born fifty years earlier, and then I could have been raised in the fifties by a Mom who baked pies and waited patiently for me to come home from school each evening. And my father wouldn't have left.
As I keep walking, I spot a man up ahead, studying a large, unfolded map. At first he doesn't seem to notice that I'm getting closer, but finally he looks over at me and I see that he's got a very thin face. In fact, it's so thin, I can't help wondering if his brain is totally squashed inside.
"Can I help you?" I ask. I like being helpful. If everyone helped everyone else, the world would be a much happier place.
"I don't think so," he replies with a smile. His voice is gravelly and husky, and he sounds like my grandfather, who smoked far too many cigarettes and drank far too much whiskey. "You don't know where Beverly Drive is, do you?"
"Beverly Drive?" I pause for a moment. The name isn't familiar, so it can't be in this neighborhood. "I don't think so. Sorry."
"This is Bryce Avenue, right?" he continues.
"No," I tell him, "this is Brace Avenue. Bryce Avenue is on the other side of town."
"It is?" He turns the map around and stares at it for a moment. "That might explain a few things. I guess I should have brought my glasses this morning. So Brace and Bryce are on opposite sides, and that means Beverly Drive must be..." He pauses again. "You know what I like? Neat towns, where everything's in a grid and the streets are numbered. I'm a New York kind of guy. I'll never understand why people would build towns in weird, wavy lines. It just messes with my head. I either want to be in New York, where you can never get lost, or right out in the country where there's only one road and you know damn sure where it's going. You catch my drift?"
I smile politely. "I should be -" I start to say.