The window was still open and she could hear both the boys yelling at each other about something or another.
“Hey guys, where is your sister?” She hollered out the window.
“She went inside as soon as you called for her earlier mom.” James didn’t even look up as he spoke.
“Not in the mood for jokes mister, did you watch her come inside?” Both boys looked up at her like she was nuts. Then they simply nodded.
“Thank you. Oh and I put some sandwiches in the fridge for lunch.”
Oh boy, sometimes I don’t think I would have had three if I had known I would be with them on my own.
She regretted the thought as soon as it crossed her mind. She loved her kids. None of this was their fault. After taking a few minutes to get some clothes on, Sara went on a hunt for her giggling littlest one.
As soon as she stepped out of the room she heard the faint sound of laughing. Looks like they were playing an impromptu game of hide and seek.
“Janet, I am going to find you,” Sara couldn’t help but laugh as she went headed to first room down the hall. She didn’t think she would actually find anyone in the boys’ rooms but it was worth glancing into them. Each door was wide open and that simply isn’t what someone playing hide and seek does.
Moving on down the hall she headed towards Janet’s room. The door was also wide open. It looked exactly as it had when Sara walked past it earlier after the kids had gone outside.
The giggling came again but much fainter. It sounded like it was coming from downstairs.
She deserves more credit than I was giving her.
Sara headed down the stairs making sure that each step was as loud as possible so that Janet could hear her coming.
“I know where you are,” she smiled.
As soon as she hit the landing the giggling didn’t sound right. What she had thought was laughter sounded much closer to sobbing. As she listened closer she was a hundred percent sure it was crying and it was Janet.
“Janet! Baby! Where are you?” Sara frantically began running from room to room. There was no sign of her in the living room or the kitchen.
Running down the hallway she could hear a faint knocking in between the sobs.
“Baby say my name. Call out to me so I can find you,” Sara had no idea why her girl was sitting somewhere and crying without coming to find her.
“Please God don’t let her be hurt,” she ran back down the hallway and stopped again at the little library room. The door hinge had made a sound and she could swear there was a strong tapping noise that just came out of the room.
A small scuffling noise from behind made Sara jump. She put her hand on her chest and gasped as a small door opened with a creak. There was a small cupboard by the stairs, just big enough for a small child.
“Janet,” Sara said disapprovingly. “What were you doing in there?”
Janet bit her lip. The girl was filthy, her face was streaked with grime and sweat.
“It’s my new place,” she said proudly. “John and James have a secret place, why can’t I have one, too?”
Sara let out an awkward laugh of relief. "Are you okay sweetie? I heard crying, did you hurt yourself?"
"No, I'm not a crybaby." Janet huffed with indignation but looked as though she had something else she wanted to say.
"Janet."
"I just want my own hiding place!"
Sara softened. "Okay, honey, just wash up. Lunch is ready, aren’t you hungry?”
Janet nodded solemnly before darting into the downstairs half-bathroom and turning on the sink.
With a sigh, Sara walked into the kitchen. The nightmare must have really gotten to her. Between her husband's accusations and the feelings of helplessness she was beginning to hear things.
"Did you find Janet?" James questioned as he sat down at the table already stuffing a tuna sandwich into his mouth.
"Yes she was just exploring the house but I would like you boys to keep a better eye on her in the future please."
"But mom she came inside why should we have to watch her here?" John was pulling up a chair next to his brother.
"Please just do as I ask." Just as she was about to sit down and eat, there was a knock on the door.
What now. Sara thought as she walked into the foyer and opened the door with a smile plastered on her face.
A young woman stood on the porch, smiling.
“Hi,” she said. “I’m Paige – you must be my new neighbor!”
“Oh, yes,” Sara said, glancing backward into the kitchen. To her relief, her children were eating quietly.
“Well, I can see you’re probably busy,” Paige said sweetly, gesturing to Sara’s apron. “But I just wanted to introduce myself – I’d love to have tea, or lunch together sometime.”
Sara smiled – genuinely, this time. “Thank you,” she said. “That would be lovely.”
As Sara said goodbye to Paige and shut the door, she felt optimistic for the first time since Kurt’s death. This move really was the best choice for us, she thought. It’ll be nice to finally have a friend again.
Chapter Three Dolly
“Moooom,” John whined. “Can’t we go out biking? Please?”
“Yeah,” James echoed. He put his hands together in front of his chest, like he was about to pray. “I missed my bike so much, and the movers just left!”
"Boys there is still so much to do around the house." Sara glanced in their direction. "Have you even finished unpacking your rooms yet?"
"Oh come on. The boxes aren't going anywhere. We promise to get to it when we come back." John looked over at James. "Right bro."
"Right." Both boys nodding like a novelty bobble head.
Sara nodded.
“Okay,” she said. “But I expect to see some progress on those rooms later this evening and you boys are going to have help me get the little things in order around the rest of the house. Your sister is too young."
John and James grinned. “Excellent,” they said in unison before darting outside.
"And next time you are taking your sister with you so she can see the neighborhood as well." Sara closed the front door behind them.
“Janet,” Sara called. “How do you feel about helping Mommy bake a cake?”
“Okay,” Janet said. She stepped into the foyer, clutching a doll in her hand. “Look, I found this upstairs.”
Sara narrowed her eyes, inspecting the doll. It was a thing of china and cloth, meant for display. But Sara could tell the doll had been thoroughly loved. The face was chipped and scratched, and the doll’s dress was torn and stained.
“That’s nice, sweetie,” Sara said. “Maybe we can make Dolly a new dress sometime, that one looks a bit…old.”
Janet beamed.
“I’m going to play with Dolly in the living room,” she announced in an oddly formal voice for a seven-year-old.
“Sounds good,” Sara replied. She set Janet up on the area rug with a small bowl of animal crackers and a plastic cup of juice before going into the kitchen and getting the ingredients out for a layer cake.
Sara turned on the small kitchen television and flipped through the channels before settling on a talk show. She hummed to herself as she sifted the flour and cracked eggs into a bowl.
Baking was something that had always relaxed Sara. She let her mind wander as she mixed and beat the batter. For a few moments, she forgot all about Janet, John, and James.
She thought about Kurt – how much she’d loved him, and the cold brutality of having to wake up every day and realize that he was really gone.
The nightmare from a few nights prior was still haunting Sara.
Was it really my fault? Sara wondered as she poured the batter into a greased pan. Was there something I could have done? If I’d acted differently, would Kurt be here with me, right now?
Sara frowned.
Suddenly, the loud sound of a child giggling broke her concentration. Well at least someone is enjoying herself.
Sara smiled again as she thought about how well Janet seemed to be adjusting considering the circumstances.
She focused back on the talk show that was currently on. Something about the war on drugs and it was not all that interesting - though maybe her kids just haven't reached that age yet.
"You shouldn't say that. It won't happen." Janet's voice floated into the kitchen. "Hehehe, I know the Dolly looks so silly doing that."
The frown came right back to Sara's face. Putting her talk show on mute and cocking an ear towards the living room, she listened for the conversation that seemed to be going on. Sure enough, Janet was talking and laughing.
“Honey?” Sara asked, wiping her hands on her apron and walking into the living room. “Was that you?”
“Shhh, Momma can hear you,” Janet whispered just as Sara walked into the living room. When she saw her mother, Janet smiled.
She was standing next to an open window and Sara was a hundred percent sure that window was closed when she had started baking. She also couldn't recall a time when Janet had referred to her as "momma."
"Honey, did you open up this window?" Sara glanced between her daughter and the window wondering how she would have even reached the twisting locks at the top of the pane.
"Kind of," Janet gave a furtive glance back outside before looking down at her feet.
“Who were you talking to?” Sara asked. “Did you make a friend?” She peered at the window leading to the back yard. It was sliding shut as she as watched and the glass was fogged with condensation from the humid summer air. Apparently the window had not been open too long.
Janet blinked. “I don’t know,” she said. Her brow furrowed as she thought of what to say next. “She said she had to go but that she might be back later after she was done."
A chill ran down Sara’s back.
"Done with what?"
"I don't know mommy," Janet wouldn't meet her mother's eyes and that was not common for her. Sara felt as if she was trying to hide something.
What if someone was trying to sneak into the house? And using her daughter as bait no less!
“Who was it, honey?” She asked, trying to keep her voice calm and patient. Inside, though, she was shaking. Sure, Sara didn’t have many valuables…but she was a petite woman, and Janet was a child! It wouldn’t be hard to overpower either of them.
“I told you, Mommy, I don’t know,” Janet said. “Am I in trouble?”
“No, honey,” Sara said. “I just want to know who you were talking to, that’s all.”
“I don’t know,” Janet said stubbornly. “But I’ve seen her before. She’s really nice, Mommy.”
Another chill ran down Sara’s spine. They had only been here a few days and she had never seen anyone outside.
“Was it Paige?” She asked hesitantly. “You remember her, right? The nice neighbor lady who brought over a casserole?”
“No,” Janet said, shaking her head. “It wasn’t her.” She giggled. "That is your old lady friend!"
"You remember our talk about strangers, right?" The little girl just nodded.
Sara stood in the room and just glanced around for a few minutes.
“Okay,” she said slowly. "Let's try to keep the window closed for now okay? I am running the air conditioner and I don't want to spend money cooling the yard." She pursed her lips as she walked back into the kitchen and slid the cake into the oven.
I’m getting paranoid, Sara thought as she set the egg timer for thirty-five minutes.
"I really don't want you playing with my new dolly. She wasn't yours." Janet's voice continued on in a new conversation. "What do you think Dolly?"
Sara tried to tune her out and turned up the television a little louder.
Janet’s a little girl – she must’ve just made an imaginary friend. It can’t be easy on her…James and John are so much older, and without Kurt around, I’m sure she just needs someone to talk to.
Still, even after thinking of a rational explanation, Sara couldn’t deny the fact that she felt incredibly unsettled.
Chapter Four Lily
Sara shivered as the cold rain pelted her body. She wrapped her arms around her body and hugged herself tightly, blinking away the droplets from her eyelashes. The road was dark, muddy, and full of potholes, but she kept walking.
A car roared past and Sara jumped in surprise as the car whirled around a curve in the road with such speed that it briefly lifted off the ground.
The tires squealed and the brake lights filled the nighttime air with a cherry glow as the car slid off the road, flipping and rolling. The crunch of metal and steel and fiberglass was deafening – it was the loudest sound Sara had ever heard.
Suddenly, she knew something was very wrong. Sara’s heart began to thump rapidly inside of her chest and she screamed, running towards the scene of the accident. She was weeping before she even reached the car.
The cold, foggy air was filled with the scent of burning rubber and metal. Soon, flames began to flicker from the hood of the mangled car. Smoke plumes rose into the air, curling and spiraling over Sara.
“Oh my god,” Sara screamed. “Kurt!”
Sara was just close enough to see the figure of her husband inside. His body was mangled and bloody. One of his arms was snapped off at the elbow and blood was pouring over the windshield. Kurt hung upside down, suspended with his seatbelt, his limbs dangling from the driver’s seat like a ragdoll.
“Kurt!” Sara screamed in a shrill voice. “Kurt, wake up! We have to go!”
The flames licked higher and higher into the air – Sara could feel the skin on her face heating and burning. The smoke filled her nostrils, throat, and lungs. She coughed and choked, covering her eyes with the wet sleeve of her shirt and plunging forward towards the car.
Smoke was beginning to fill the inside of the car as well, and Kurt’s body was almost obscured from sight. The driver’s side door was mangled and crumpled, but Sara grabbed onto the handle and tried to yank it open.
The metal handle burned her hands and she howled in pain, leaping and stumbling backwards until she fell on her backside in the wet field. Water and mud soaked Sara’s jeans and she groaned, clutching her injured hand as she crawled unsteadily to her feet.
The car continued to burn. Flames licked high into the sky, filling Sara with a terrible sense of dread and panic.
“Kurt!” Sara screamed. “Kurt, please! Wake up, you have to get out of there!”
Balling her small hands into fists, Sara pounded on the glass windshield of the car, trying desperately to shatter the translucent material. But no matter how hard she attacked the car, the glass stayed intact.
“Kurt!” Sara screamed again, her throat aching as smoke rushed into her lungs. “Please, Kurt,” Sara begged. She began to sob, dropping to her knees and covering her eyes with both hands as the tears racked her body. Her heart was thumping with alarm as she crawled closer to the car, pounding weakly on the twisted metal with her fists.
“Sara…”
A ghostly voice made Sara jump and shriek with fright. She got to her feet and leaned close to the glass window, peering inside.
A man’s face appeared at the glass. His eyes were wide with pain and fright, and he snarled when he saw Sara.
“This is because of you,” the man hissed. “This is your fault." His hands reached through the glass and grabbed for her neck. She was unable to pull away as he began to strangle the life from her.
Sara screamed, thrashing against the pillows and blankets for a few seconds before her lids fluttered open. The room was dark – the only sound Sara could hear was the gentle circling of the ceiling fan overhead. She was soaked with sweat, and her sheets were sopping wet.
Sara took a deep breath.
“It was just a dream,” she said in a small voice, trying to comfort herself. She could see the full moon through the window, large and white overhead.
Sara shivered and climbed out of bed, grabbing her robe. She left her room and gen
tly padded down the hall for a glass of water. But as she passed Janet’s room, she gasped. Janet was sitting up in bed, quietly whispering and giggling.
"That girl should be sleeping." Sara muttered under her breath.
As she headed closer to her daughter she saw the shadow of another person in the room right next to the bed. Sara's heart jumped into her throat as she stared for a full minute trying to see if it was just a trick of her nightmare induced mind.
As she listened to her daughter's voice and stared at the shadowy image Sara began to believe she was simply starting to crack.
Then the shadow moved. It was definitely a person. Sara let out a primal yell, dashing across the hall and flicking on the light switch. Janet gasped at the sight of her mother.
“Mommy! What’s wrong?” Janet asked. Her face crumpled and she began to cry, wailing loudly in fright.
Sara’s heart was beating so fast she thought it would leap right out of her chest. Frantically, she looked at the wall where she had seen the moving shadow.
“I’m so sorry, honey,” Sara said, breathing hard. She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand. “I…I thought I saw something.”
“I was talking to my new friend,” Janet said in between sobs. “Her name is Lily and I said she could sleep with me.”
Sara took a deep breath and sighed.
“Okay,” she said, trying to collect herself. If she wasn't careful her mental cracks were going to start rubbing off on the kids.
“Why don’t I tuck you and Lily back into bed? It’s late, Janet. You should be getting to sleep.”
“Okay, Mommy,” Janet said. She lay down obediently and Sara came closer, making a show of tucking in Janet and “Lily.”
“Are you comfortable, sweetie?”
Janet nodded. She yawned, her tears drying on her cheeks.
“Yes, Mommy,” she said.
“Mommy is going to get a glass of water, and then go back to bed,” Sara said. “And please, Janet, try to get some sleep.”
“Don’t let Lily keep you up too late with your gossiping. Little girls need their sleep.” She added trying to lighten the mood.
Haunting and Scares Collection Page 25