Mrs. Clark crawled on her hands and knees quickly to the wooden table leg she had thrown in the corner at the beginning of her cleansing. Her husband would be on her again in a few seconds. As soon as her fingers wrapped around it she jumped to her feet and swung.
CRACK
The edge of the makeshift weapon hit Mr. Clark right along the skull. She didn’t need luck. The universe was on her side. As blood splashed out she marveled at how easy it was to watch the brain seep out while the body was still moving along. She should have aimed for the neck when she attacked him in the bed.
We all make mistakes.
He attempted to come at her again but his legs buckled underneath him. Words left his mouth but she couldn’t be bothered to listen to them. It was time to put Peter down. Nothing from this man’s loins would be allowed to walk the earth any longer.
The idiot child hadn’t even left the room. Skulking behind the couch and praying.
“God is going to help you son,” she began walking over to him. “I promise.”
Her leg gave out underneath her. Glancing down her body she realized that her husband hadn’t been completely useless after all. The ax had hit its mark more than once.
She couldn’t recall the actual blows taking place. Blood was running from her side and her thigh looked like the butcher had begun getting it ready for sale.
“Momma and Pa are hurt Peter.” Mrs. Clark continued to pull herself to him. “You need to go get the doctor.”
~~~~~
“Climb out the window,” Mr. Clark tried to direct his son. He was no longer sure if the words coming out of his mouth actually sounded as they should. His vision was missing in his left eye and every time he tried to move pain washed through him.
He watched in horror as Peter began to head towards the front door. His wife had positioned herself right in the middle of the path and he knew she had enough fight still in her to be dangerous even as the pool of blood around her grew larger and larger.
Blackness clouded the outskirts of his remaining vision as he saw her hand grab Peter’s pant leg and the boy fell to the ground. She was on him like a dog on a bone. His mouth didn’t work any longer and the last thing he saw was her hands wrap around their son’s throat.
Chapter One A New Home
Sara was almost as excited as the children when they pulled up the driveway at 1230 Deer Park Ln. The house was a beautiful white brick and it glistened in the sun. The windows were already opened and the house was airing out at Sara's request to the realtor.
She sighed as she thought about how much Kurt would have loved this house. It was definitely the one they had always talked about raising their children in.
The life insurance from his death had barely been enough to cover all the costs associated with the accident. Between the hospital bills and the burial she had sold their expensive downtown condo and moved into the country. The price of the house was simply fantastic.
"Mom can we pick our rooms?" asked James and John in unison. The twins had an uncanny ability of speaking together.
"Help your sister pick hers as well," said Sara. If she said no to one boy she would be saying no to both of them. Last thing she wanted to deal with was having them in a bad mood this early.
Sara climbed out of the car as the boys and their younger sister started running up the walkway. She wanted to get in a few deep breaths before starting the hassle of unpacking and getting everyone settled into their rooms.
Summer had just started so with no school there would be plenty of time for everything to get organized without her wanting to pull her hair out.
Birds singing in the trees brought her attention to the large oak tree out front. It was fantastic and would be a great place to read in the mornings. She would need to make sure to pick up a little table and lounging chair to go under there. The children might even be willing to read a book or two outside if everything stayed this serene.
"Mom," squealed Janet as she waved out a window on the second story. Sara waved back at her seven year old, marveling at how big that girl had gotten already.
"I want this room!" And Janet vanished from site.
She walked inside as the heat from the day caused sweat to already bead on her forehead and back of her neck. It was time to cool off a bit.
Footsteps caused the floor to shake as the kids ran back and forth over their new domain. She was happy they were happy. The movers had done a great job of setting up the downstairs furniture.
She had had them place the children’s stuff wherever it would fit until the room situation upstairs had been settled. Fortunately, there was a room for each of them and the master for herself.
Downstairs was simple with a dining room, living room, kitchen, and a library which could be converted into a den. Lots of living space and a play area so the kids wouldn't have to spend so much time upstairs.
Sara would have to make sure that they all spent adequate time outside considering the size of the yard and the fairly mild summer that was supposed to be coming their way.
There was some furniture left behind by the previous occupants and Sara had loved the fact that they came with the property. Antiques were so hard to come by at an affordable price so to get items practically for free without having to hunt them down was fantastic.
Plus, if she ever did need the extra money she could always find a few pieces to sell here and there. After the accident she knew it was best to be prepared even if it wasn't always the most pleasant thought.
Looking into the hallway mirror just a few feet inside the front door, Sara thought she saw something move from the corner of her eye. A flash of color maybe?
"Janet, honey, are you down here?"
A quiet creak had her ears pricked up as the front door slammed shut with a rush. Sara's heart jumped into her throat as she turned towards the front of the house.
Teenage footsteps thundered down the stairs and seconds later, James and John stood in the living room, panting. Their sandy blonde hair was plastered to their tanned foreheads, and their identical blue eyes were gleaming with fun and mischief. Janet came down slower. She always became a little timid around loud noises.
"Everything okay mom?" James asked staring at her.
"Yes sir little man, no problems," Sara said. "Just a cross breeze from the open windows slamming the door. Going to have to tell the house to be a little quieter."
She swung Janet into her arms and began to walk upstairs.
"Well come on then," Sara laughed, "show me your rooms."
With a rush of talking her three joys began telling her all about the rooms upstairs and why they should each get the one they wanted.
James and John led the way up the curved staircase to a large landing, with five open doors. There were a few pieces of antique furniture scattered around and Sara peered carefully at a scrolled desk in the corner of the landing. That might be worth something, she thought as she ran a hand over the dark walnut surface. It felt as smooth as glass, but Sara’s hand was left with a yellow coating of dust. Frowning, she wiped it on her thigh.
Sara and her children carefully explored the upstairs of the house. There were four bedrooms, including the massive corner cupola room with an en suite bathroom. The boys were both eyeing the master with blatant enthusiasm.
“Well I hope no one planned on taking the corner room because that is obviously perfect for me." Sara said, raising an eyebrow at her twin sons. Their faces dropped as they eyed the other rooms that were now up for grabs.
Sara laughed as she walked into to the two that she had already thought would be perfect for the boys.
“But why don’t you take these?” She pushed open a door, showing a bedroom that shared a closet with the adjacent empty room. “You can use the closet as a secret passage,” she added, hoping to persuade her children.
“Awesome!” James said loudly. “I want this part!”
“I want that part,” John added, pushing past his brother and running th
rough the closet. “This is so cool!”
"Come look at my room mommy," Janet tugged at Sara's shirt before skipping off down the hall to the room with the window that overlooked the front lawn. She had already vanished inside before Sara even had a chance to take a step.
"I'll be there in just a second hun, I am just going to check that everything is out the car." Sara began to head back down the stairs as the kids got settled.
SLAM!
Sara gasped and jumped in surprise. She whirled around and saw that the door to Janet’s bedroom had slammed shut.
“Mommy!” Janet shrieked fearfully from the other side of the door.
Sara rushed to the door and pushed it open, frowning when it didn't budge.
"Honey is there a lock on that side?" Sara calmly asked so as not to frighten her daughter any more. She could see the handle twisting as Janet attempted to pull on the door.
"I can't get it open." Janet's voice sounded like it was filling with tears.
"Back up a bit Janet, mommy has it." Sara grabbed the handle and dug her knee into the edge of the frame and shoved. It felt as if a hand placed itself on her shoulder and shoved with her as the door opened up. It caused goose bumps to appear on both arms but she was instantly relieved to see Janet standing in the room unharmed.
“What happened?” her youngest pouted.
“I don’t know, honey,” she said, turning around. She sighed with relief at what she saw. “James!” Sara yelled. “Come here right now!” That at least explains the push on her shoulder and of course the boys would already be playing pranks on their sister.
James and John appeared – it was never possible to summon just one twin – looking perplexed.
“What did we do, Mom?”
“You know very well what you did,” Sara continued. “Apologize for scaring your sister.”
“Sorry, Janet,” John said, not looking at his younger sister.
“Yeah, sorry, Janet,” James echoed. “We didn’t mean to scare you.”
Sara turned to Janet and smiled.
“Are you okay, honey?”
Janet nodded.
“Yes, Mommy. I’m fine.”
“Hey, Mom,” John said, perking up. “Look what we found in the closet.”
“He means our new cave,” James added.
John pulled a ragged baseball mitt from behind his back with a set of what seemed to be handmade baseball cards. Sara took it, frowning and wiping dust off the aged leather.
She sneezed briefly, then opened the little card book and flipped through the pages. The ancient-looking pages were covered with handwritten names and numbers.
“It’s so cool,” John said. “Can we keep it, Mom?”
Sara frowned. “Okay,” she said. “Just be careful. It might be valuable.” Well to someone.
“Awesome,” John hissed, taking the items back from his mother and scurrying into his room. Sara followed behind, looking at the various pieces of dusty furniture around the room. She spotted a beautiful mirror, framed in wood and inlaid with bits of marble and glass.
“This is beautiful,” Sara said, stepping closer. She wiped off the glass and stared at her expression for a moment. “I think I’ll take it for my room.”
John rolled his eyes.
“You should,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “Those are some creepy stains. What are they, blood?”
“John, don’t be silly, you’ll scare Janet,” Sara said. She narrowed her eyes and peered at the wood. Sure enough, the blonde wood was streaked with dark spots and splashes.
“I think it’s just the way the wood was treated,” she said, running her hand over the smoothly carved surface. “Whatever it is, it adds to the beauty of the mirror.”
“You’re weird,” John said, sticking his tongue out at his mother.
Sara ignored him. She gently took the mirror from the wall and carried it into her room.
“There,” she said, hanging the mirror on a nail embedded in the wall. “Now this place is really starting to feel like home.”
She and the children had scoured each room to ensure that every window was shut before the sun went down. The crickets outside were evident enough that it would be bug galore if any of the windows were up when darkness came and the only lights were coming from the rooms inside. She enjoyed being outside but could do without the creepy crawlies in bed with her.
"You guys better be ready for bed," she called up as she ascended the stairs. Sara saw John running across the hall to his room. Hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to keep those boys apart.
As she walked down the hallway she peered into her youngest's room. Janet had tucked herself into bed and was peering at Sara from below the blankets. Sara tickled her toes as she sat down and gave her a kiss goodnight.
"Night lovely."
"Night mommy," came jumbled out with a yawn. Sara made sure her nightlight was plugged into the wall, turned off the overhead light and left the door slightly ajar.
Each of the boys were fast asleep in bed when Sara walked into their rooms. They must have worn themselves out today to already be sleeping. Thank goodness for small favors.
She tucked in their sheets around them and left each door ajar as she headed to her room. She was sticky and starting to itch from rearranging furniture and running around the house with the kids. Nothing sounded better than a hot shower.
As the water was falling on her head she took deep breaths of the steam and relaxed. The steam filled up the bathroom and without meaning to - thoughts of the fog that had rolled around their car that night.
Chapter Two Mischief Maker
“Sara,” Kurt groaned, his ruddy face streaked with blood that looked almost black in the dim light. “Saraaaaa….”
“Oh, Kurt,” Sara cried desperately. She tried opening the car door with trembling fingers, shaking nervously as she fumbled with the door. But no matter how hard Sara tugged and pulled, the door stayed locked and closed.
“Sara, help me,” Kurt moaned. His eyes rolled back in his head and he began to sputter and choke. Droplets of blood flew from his head and splashed the car windows, obscuring him from his wife’s sight.
“I’m trying!” Sara yelled, her voice rising to a hysterical fever pitch. “Oh, Kurt! I’m trying so hard!”
“Sara, I’m dying,” Kurt called hysterically. Sara could no longer see inside the car window but the sound of her husband’s anguished cries were breaking her heart.
“Kurt, just hang on,” Sara said loudly. “I’m trying to get you out, and I know the ambulance will be here soon!”
“You hurt the kids. How could you?” Kurt’s voice was a guttural groan, painful to Sara’s ears. Tears streamed down her face as her small fists beat against the thick layer of glass. Worst of all, the air around Sara was silent. There was no hint of sirens or the ambulance that Sara knew had to be coming soon.
“What's wrong with you?” Kurt's voice didn't sound quite right. The car melted away beneath her pounding fists and pools of blood flooded forward. “We are going to die and it’s your fault, Sara! It’s your fault!”
Sara had remnants of last night’s dreams floating through her head. The dreams of the wreck had gotten farther and farther in between but he had never accused her of hurting the children before. Moving had been a bigger stressor than she might have previously believed.
She glanced out the bedroom window and could see all the children playing outside in the yard. Thank goodness they didn't fight often or she would be hard pressed to get anything done. She had to get some work done today if anyone wanted to keep getting dinner.
Janet's head snapped up to the window and met Sara's gaze. Sara waved to her and decided she needed to shower first. That would help get her head into the game. Cracking the window open she made sure to leave the bathroom door slightly open in case there was any yelling.
She stepped along the tinged pink tile to the shower. The tile in here wasn't much better.
"I am really going to
need to update this at some point," Sara muttered to the bathroom.
The hot water felt fantastic against her skin and it was very reassuring that this was indeed the best way to start her work day. Since Kirk’s death she had been having a hard time getting herself going in the morning. If it wasn’t for the kids, Sara would probably spend her time wasting away in the comfort of the bed.
Each day was getting easier but she was almost ashamed to admit that showers may or may not occur as often as they should as she had been pulling herself together. Lathering the green supposedly rainforest smelling shampoo into her hair brought a new dose of life to her day.
It was amazing how effective the small things could be at times. Goosebumps suddenly appeared over her arms and the accompanying chill was anything but pleasant with parts of her body still being hit by the warm water.
Through the corner of her eye there was a shadow on the other side of the shower curtain.
“Is anything wrong? I would really like to shower in peace.” Sara pulled the shower curtain back annoyed that it was sticking in weird places to the shampoo along her hand and arm.
Whichever one of her munchkins had run into the bathroom had already ran out. She heard the sound of giggling coming from her bedroom. Janet that rascal.
The curtain fell back into place with some effort and Sara rinsed her head quickly of the suds. Obviously she had been in the shower too long if Janet had already come back inside.
There was a thud as something hit the floor in the bedroom.
“Honey, are you alright?” There was more giggling and Sara quickly grabbed a bathrobe and checked into the bedroom with water dripping onto the tile and the carpet.
The book on her bedside table was sitting on its side on the floor and there was no one in the room that she could see. It wasn’t like Janet to be quite this mischievous but it was a good sign that she was adjusting quickly to the new house.
Grabbing the towel from beside the door, Sara wrapped her head and went in search of the children. She didn’t want to settle into writing only to discover they were really up to no good.
Haunting and Scares Collection Page 24