by Simon Archer
A middle-aged man walked up to the cabinets and started reaching to open one just as the door to it, and all the other cabinets began opening and closing on their own. The man hollered out and hopped backward. The rattling from the cabinets was loud and unexpected, and everyone in the room jumped with fright.
“Quick!” Lance yelled. “Escape is our only option!” He stood at the base of the ramp waving his arm in a huge circle as an attempt to herd the people back up onto the stage.
Vila was the first to the ramp. “We must have made them angry!” she called out, pausing just long enough to turn and make certain everybody heard her. The entire group was already on their way to following her.
“Quick! Before we’re trapped!” one woman yelled out, hustling onto the ramp. Similar remarks were heard until everybody was out of the basement. Lance was the last one up the ramp.
“This way!” he commanded as he moved around the group toward the side of the stage where he began leading them down the stairs. As soon as we were all at the bottom of the stairs, he stopped and turned to face us. “Take one final, fast look around! The spirits may never let us back in here again!”
Without giving anyone a chance to really look around, he took two steps forward and pushed open a small door. Without instruction, the guests ran out the door, many of them screaming. Vila, Andi, and I followed, and suddenly, we found ourselves outside again. Lance was the last one out. He pushed the door shut behind him and leaned against it, chest heaving as though his breathing was labored. It only took a moment for him to ‘calm’ himself, however. The man was certainly made for acting.
A full minute passed while group members clutched their chests and exclaimed their terror to each other. Although everybody had experienced the same thing, they felt the need to recount it to each other. The girls and I stood nearby, observing their reactions to the tour. A moment before I would have started to worry that perhaps the girls had made it a little too over-the-top, one woman stepped forward toward Lance and grabbed both his hands.
“That was, by far, the BEST tour I’ve ever been on!” she told him in a voice loud enough for all of us to hear it. Her statement received an instant response from the crowd. Everybody there started clapping and cheering and echoing her sentiment.
“Yes! I want to do it again!” an older man piped up.
“I want to bring my brother! He has to see this!” another group member shouted. Lance straightened up and stepped away from the door, a grateful smile on his face.
“I appreciate each and every one of you for joining me this evening. My assistant has a special gift for you as you return to your cars. You will find more information about this beautiful venture, about my plans to restore it to its former glory, and a registration sheet to send in, should you like your name to be added to a VIP list for free tickets to the first show produced after its renovation.”
The gratitude in Lance’s voice was genuine. I could also tell that he had not noticed the small camera crew filming from about ten feet away. As soon as the rest of the tourists finished saying their goodbyes and wandered off to return to their cars, I approached Lance and held out my hand. As he reached out to shake, I turned my head and whispered so that no one else would hear me.
“Turn slightly to your left, but keep your eyes on me while we chat for a moment,” I told him.
The man didn't question me at all, not even through the look in his eyes. He took hold of my hand, and the two of us turned so that the camera would have a clear view of me congratulating him on an amazing production. I made certain to reference his end goal, and he took the opportunity to showcase what his project would mean for not just himself, but the entire city. When we were done talking, he tipped his head to Vila and Andi, who were standing nearby, to acknowledge their part in getting me to the tour. Once the cameraman lowered his camera, Lance shook my hand again, this time out of gratitude.
“I can’t tell you how much your support means to the Luna Bell and to me,” he said. “Anytime you need seats filled at one of your functions, you be sure to count me in.”
“I appreciate that, Lance, and I guarantee the girls and I will be back for another tour. You’ve done something amazing here,” I complimented him.
“I have to ask, how is there a camera crew here?” he replied.
“Andi and Vila have never steered me wrong,” I started. “When I saw how excited they were and how genuine you were, I made a quick request before we started the tour.” Lance started nodding his head and smiling.
“Thank you again,” he told me. There was a look of relief and happiness in his eyes.
“Of course,” I said, turning to leave.
“Be sure to get your gift bag on the way out,” he reminded me as the girls, and I started down the alley toward the street. I waved back to acknowledge that I'd heard him, and the three of us returned to the car. As soon as we were all in, I started the engine and looked beside me to Andi.
“How much are we donating?” she asked me.
“Fifty-thousand and make sure the press knows about it. I want his tours booked out for months,” I answered without hesitation.
Both she and Vila started clapping and squirming in their seats.
“We just knew you’d love it!” Vila squealed happily.
“You were right, I did love it,” I replied calmly.
“Now, before you get upset with us for our tiny additions to the tour, we just want to say--”
“I have no need to be upset, you've created a big enough consequence all on your own,” I interrupted Andi gently.
“What’s that?” she asked curiously. They both had apparently felt as though they were in big trouble, which made me laugh to myself.
“You are going to have to be there for each and every tour,” I chuckled. “Otherwise, how will they all be as entertaining as this one was?”
The girls stopped clapping and looked at each other with mouths dropped open.
“I can’t believe you made us do that, Vila!” Andi hissed. In true Andi-Vila style, the bickering began.
As for me, I just smiled and enjoyed driving us home.
7
Dave
Waiting for those stupid ghost tours to be over was always the biggest downfall of going to the place I’d hid my artifacts. I had to sit in my car until the tourists left and then wait another half hour for that Lance guy to clear out. The spot in the basement of the Luna Bell was worth the irritation of waiting for, though. Nobody knew it was there, and it wasn’t on any building blueprints.
I took a swig out of the bottle of whiskey lying on the seat next to me and watched as cars began to pull away from the curb in front of the theater. It wouldn't be long until I could sneak around back and get in through a hidden stone door I had found six months ago.
I’d had a long night and got lost looking for my car. I eventually ended up in the alley behind the building. My bad luck at cards that evening had resulted in my being drunk. A small crack in the asphalt caused me to trip and fall against the wall of the building. When I got myself up to continue the search for my car, I saw that my weight hitting the stones had dislodged a strip of grout. When I looked closer, the grout line was slightly wider than those of the stones around it. It only took me a few minutes with a sharp rock I'd found nearby to knock out the rest of the grout.
When I pulled on the stone, an entire panel swung open. Behind it was a small, wooden door, only large enough to crawl through. I decided not to go through the door because I didn't have a light with me, and also, I figured there was no way it could lead two anywhere secret. After all, the building used to be a famous theater. So, I had gone home and passed out for the evening.
It wasn't until a week later that I first went through the tiny door. Initially, I went back to look for it, thinking that I had possibly imagined it in my drunken state. It took me an entire five minutes of searching before I found the false-stone panel that covered it. Even with the grout removed, the panel blende
d into the real stones almost flawlessly. I had to kick the wood door to get it to open that first time and was greeted with a face full of dirt when I did.
After the dust settled, I'd stuck my head in to see if the opening led to stairs or a ramp, perhaps. What I found was a steel ladder, anchored to stone, not unlike the ones found in sewer systems inside manholes. I crawled down the ladder and ended up standing in two inches of dirt that had settled over a concrete floor. I was in a hidden basement of the Luna Bell.
For the next three days, after nightfall, I went back and examined the room. I could not find any other entrance into or out of it. The lack of other footprints in the dirt told me I was the first one who'd been down there in who knows how long. Regardless of its obvious abandonment, I still did not feel safe that nobody would find it until I went to the county clerk’s office and pulled the blueprints for the building. The basement was not shown on them. It was then I decided to make it the hiding place for the magical artifacts I was acquiring.
I'd dismantled one of the wooden cabinets and created a false top for it so that I could hide my items inside. The more time that passed, the more confident I became that nobody was going into the room. I wasn't going to take chances, however. I found a tattered wooden milk box at a thrift store that looked like it could belong in the basement and took it down with me the first day I left my treasures behind.
Each time after that, when I arrived in the basement, I would push the dirt from the floor into the box with my foot. Then, before I left, I shook the dirt out of the box, back onto the floor, as I backed up toward the ladder. The process made it so that I never left any footprints behind. I'd stand on the ladder until the dirt settled, and I was satisfied that nobody would be able to tell that a soul had been in that room within the past decade or longer.
I kept the box across the alley, pushed up against a fence, and covered by some bushes that grew there. Each time I went into the alley and got the box to begin my climb into the basement, my pulse raced a little. Just the knowledge that I’d found somewhere the rest of the world didn’t seem to know about was thrilling, and I enjoyed the buzz I got from it. I was looking forward to feeling that same buzz as soon as this next group of tourists cleared out.
The anticipation of the excitement for entering the basement was stopped short when I saw Bennett Anders and those girls of his walk around the corner of the building with Lance. They were chatting as though they were old friends. I knew Lance wanted to restore the building, but he was just a small-time dreamer, and I was positive it would take him twenty years to raise enough money to do so. So, what was Bennett doing there?
The hairs on the back of my neck prickled up the way they seemed to always do before I hit a setback in my plan. I couldn't care less what Bennett was up to. It was simply the fact that he was in such close proximity to my deepest secrets that caused such a nervousness inside me.
I concentrated on slowing my heart rate by breathing deeply in and out as I watched Bennett say good night to Lance. Once he left, calmness began to flood over me again. Lance went back around the building, as was typical for him to do after a tour. I watched the street and the front of the building intently to be sure that Bennett did not return. I fully restored my composure by the time Lance appeared again. He got into his car and drove away, leaving the building empty once again. When his car disappeared out of sight down the street, I started my own vehicle and drove around to the back of the building. After parking close to the fence where I kept my milk box, I got out and went about getting into my hideout.
At the bottom of the stone ladder, I immediately began to kick dirt into the milk box. When it was full, I set it to the side and turned around. My heart nearly stopped, and the air in my lungs was forced out rapidly as my entire body tensed up in fear. I had been so focused on my ritual filling the milk box that, until that moment, I had not seen the footprints scattered everywhere across the basement floor. Not only had someone found my hiding place, but an entire group of people had been there.
My entire body was frozen, except for my eyes, which I used to scan the room. I looked over every inch as my heart pounded loud in my ears. I had to make sure nobody remained in the basement. A full five minutes passed before I calmed down enough to move. I needed to know how they got in. Careful to step in the existing footprints, I slowly explored the room, following them to the opposite side.
That is where I found the ramp leading from the basement to the stage above. I walked up the ramp just far enough to peer into the auditorium. The room was completely black and totally silent. I was certain no one was there but was uncomfortable in the knowledge that if there were somebody present, there’s no way I’d be able to see them.
I ran back down the ramp and skidded to a stop in front of the wooden cabinet, holding my treasures. I didn’t care about making new prints any longer. I reached to the top of the cabinet and looped my finger through the small hole I drilled in the false top. Panic made me pull so hard that the wooden panel went flying across the room. I frantically felt around in the small compartment, dreadfully certain that somebody had taken my artifacts. Tears were already flowing down my face from the frustration coursing through my veins when my hand touched a rope.
That first wave of relief was so intense I started crying even harder. I pulled the rope out and clutched it to my chest as though it was life itself. Then I returned to search for my other items. Good fortune had not let me down as it had so often before. All four items, the rope, the quipu, the blanket, and my precious spellbook, were still there. I clutched each of them as I pulled them out. When I had all four, I fell to my knees and sobbed.
It took ten minutes for me to pull myself together and return to my feet. When I did so, anger replaced my relief as the sense of having been violated swept over me. I walked back over to the ramp and stared at it. There was no way it had been there previously. I had searched the ceiling to be certain there were no drop-down ladders or staircases. It wasn’t possible that I had missed an entire ramp.
I clutched my blanket hard and stared at the ramp. In no time at all, the ramp began to glow.
“I knew it!” I yelled out loud. The ramp hadn’t already been there. It had been magically created. The only thing different about that night was that Bennett had attended the tour. I had no doubt he was associated with the magic somehow.
I snorted knowingly and spun around. I needed to get out of there as fast as possible to avoid being seen in the event that somebody returned. I was not going to test my good fortune further. My artifacts would have to remain with me until I found somewhere else to hide them. By the time I had crawled back up the stone ladder and out into the alley, however, I had changed my mind and decided to keep them with me permanently.
After all, it would not be long until I would no longer need to hide them. Most importantly, I had what I needed to perform the spell necessary for me to visit Bennett in person without fear of whatever magic he was involved with being able to detect my own.
8
My senses began to stir me out of sleep. I laid in bed and slowly recognized the feeling that my attention was being drawn to something. Then, the soft chimes of an instrumental version of a classic Irish tune became recognizable in my ears. The sound grew louder, and I realized it was the doorbell. Andi had programmed the bell to sound like one of her favorite childhood melodies. I had never woken up to the sound before but realized it was actually a pleasant way to be coaxed out of sleep.
As the bell grew to its full volume in my ears, I blinked open my eyes and stared at the ceiling for a moment. I sat myself up just as the sound dissipated. Only then did it occur to me that the doorbell most likely meant that a visitor was at my house. The realization spurred me into climbing out of bed and wandering into my closet. I was looking for a suitable pair of pants when Vila skipped into the room.
“Bennett! I'm so happy you are already up!” she chimed. “You have a very exciting visitor!” As she traded her legs for mis
t, she quickly floated into the closet with me. She flipped hangers full of clothes back and forth rapidly until she found a shirt she apparently wanted me to wear. “This will go perfectly with those pants.”
“Who is this exciting visitor?” I inquired while I got dressed.
“He's a movie maker!” she answered. Her voice had gone up an octave with her enthusiasm.
“Why would a movie maker be here?” I racked my brain, trying to remember if I had an appointment I had somehow forgotten about.
“I didn't ask him for too many details, but he is most certainly excited to meet you!” Vila explained as she swirled around me. I swatted at her trail of mist jokingly as it was a humorous hindrance to the completion of my task of getting dressed. I gestured to the other side of the room and laughed.
“If you want me to get these pants on, you'll have to swirl over there!” I informed her.
“Oh!” she replied, laughing at herself as she flitted to the other side of the room and swished her mist back and forth underneath her. Seeing her that excited rubbed off on me, and I quickened the pace with which I pulled my shirt over my head.
“So, what is this guy’s name?” I asked her as I pulled a sock on.
“You know what? I totally forgot to ask him! I heard the word ‘movie’ and became so happy that you are going to be famous, I rushed right up here to get you!” she replied as she clapped her hands.
“Did you leave him standing on the porch?” I joked.
Vila’s eyes got wide and moved back and forth as though she was trying to remember where she had left him. Then she took a deep breath and smiled.
“Oh, no. I did not leave him on the porch. I took him into the kitchen and had Andi make him some coffee while he waited,” she remembered.
I recognized a great opportunity to kid with her a little bit. I held my mouth straight and raised an eyebrow at her.
“So, you were so certain that I'd want to be famous, you just assumed I would be alright with being woken up to speak with this man I've never met?” I asked her. She wasn't fooled by my mock-seriousness.