by Abigail Boyd
Children's voices filled my ears, and I cringed, looking around for the source. They were all talking at once, and I couldn't separate the words. Pushing in, trying to tell me, trying to —
"What's wrong?" Theo whispered. As quickly as they had come, the voices stopped, along with the funny metal taste. My mouth was suddenly parched.
"Nothing," I whispered back, not wanting either her or Henry to see me afraid. I pulled a water bottle I'd stuck in my purse out and took a swig, swallowing hard. "I think all the fog is making me nauseous, that's all."
Piles of broken furniture sat in the corner. A discarded playpen remained in the center of the room. I ran my hand along the splintered wooden rail. A china baby doll with a smashed face lay inside, covered by a moth-eaten blanket. I realized that a subconscious part of me was waiting for Jenna to pop out from behind a corner, and tell me it was all a joke.
The next room was wider. A wall of cages stood on the one side, reaching to the ceiling. A disembodied voice spoke to us suddenly. "When the orphans became too difficult to deal with, they were kept in these cages," the voice warbled. It sounded like it was being put through a distorter. "And when there were too many of them, The Master left them here and forgot about them, leaving them to their doom."
"Where's that voice coming from?" I heard Alex ask. His voice shook like he was as scared as Theo.
"It's not the dark ages," I said. "There are such things as speakers." I realized that's where the children's voices must have come from, too, but I kept that to myself just in case. A scuffling noise started up from behind us.
"Oh, boy," Henry breathed, and we all turned around to see what he was referring to. Two guys with sheets draped over them were running full speed in our direction, their arms outstretched. Loud growls emitted from their throats.
We ran as they chased us towards the red EXIT sign. I propelled myself forward as fast as I could go; I knew they wouldn't hurt us, but my adrenaline still screamed in response to the spooky atmosphere. The boys veered off to the left at the last minute, leaving us alone.
"Thank god," Theo moaned, stumbling out into the night. "I need a valium." I wondered for a moment if she was going to throw up. The boys followed her out.
"Always having to take care of the women," Alex joked to Henry as he rolled his eyes. We all knew Alex had been just as afraid as anyone. I was about to follow Henry out.
"Ariel..."
Confused, I turned to my right. I had definitely heard my name.
"Ariel..."
My heart was thumping so hard I worried I would have to grab it with my hands and push it back into my chest. Whatever haunted me followed me there. That was the plan, but I didn't know if I could control it. As I started to creep down the hall, which was barren except for a stack of crates at the end, everything began to get fuzzy. Blood rushed into my temples. I was going to pass out. Pinpricks of black filled my eyes like wasps.
A child is standing in front of me. Its back is against the wall. Hair chopped around the ears, face dirty with grime. I can't tell if it's a boy or a girl; at that young age where unless they wear pink or blue it's hard to tell.
I walk slowly toward them, compelled. Nerves jump beneath my skin, warning me of a danger I ignore.
Is it another trick? No. This is definitely a child. And then it runs to me. Grabs my arms, shrieking in my face. Rancid breath stings my eyes. No longer a face, it is a screaming hole.
Chapter 14
I staggered out of the orphanage, disoriented. Something had just happened, but my thoughts were on lockdown. I couldn't quite grasp exactly what had occurred, or how long the span of time was that I had suddenly lost.
"Thanks for joining us," Alex said smugly, stubbing out his cigarette on the side of the house.
"Fire hazard," Theo muttered, rolling her eyes. She was busy fixing her bun, bobby pins in her teeth.
"Are you okay?" Henry asked, touching my arm. He pulled his fingers away and rubbed them together. Soot covered them. I looked down at my forearms: ash marks, almost in the shape of fingerprints, stood out on my pale skin. I brushed them away. Old houses could be so dusty.
"Do you want to go home?" I asked Theo, who was looking much better. The night was dark and full of voices. Our fellow haunted house survivors were still milling around, talking about how scared they had been inside the orphanage. Stars filled the sky, clearly visible since we were farther out near the country.
"No!" Theo shook her head fervently. "I'm alright now. I just don't like it when things jump out at me. But I'll be fine for going back inside alone." The way she held her purse like a stuffed animal to her chest did not convince me.
"Are you sure?" I insisted.
"You'll be all right, Theo," Alex said, trying to put his arm around Theo's shoulders. She wriggled out and stepped away.
"Okay, the question is now, where can we hole up until everyone else is gone?" I asked.
"How about over there?" Henry asked, gesturing towards an ugly jackpine squatting on the side of the yard. Barely visible behind it was a little shack.
We sneaked over behind the tree while the others were heading to the front. The tiny cottage looked like it was out of a fairy tale illustration. Brown paint was peeling off of the wood in strips, and dirty white gingerbread trim ran around the windows.
One at a time, we went inside the shed. It smelled stale, like old standing water. I shut the door behind us tightly. Henry had brought two camping flashlights. He turned one on to and pointed it at the ceiling, cutting through the gloom and lighting up the room rather brightly.
"Do you think they'll be able to see that outside?" I asked.
"Shouldn't be able to," Henry said, looking around for possible flaws. "I think the only window is that one with the shutters. But those should protect any light from getting out."
"It's gross in her," Theo said, surveying the state of dirt and decrepitude. A metal bed held a mattress torn up by nesting mice. Boxes of supplies were piled in the corner. Alex and Theo looked through them, holding up glow sticks, old rolls of yellowing carnival tickets, corroded batteries.
"What exactly is it that we're doing?" Henry asked me. "I'm just curious. Are we really going through with this whole séance bit?"
I didn't know exactly how to explain it now that I was on the spot.
"We're going to hang out here until everyone clears off, and then we'll go inside to hopefully...call up some dead people."
"Just your typical Saturday," Theo said wryly.
"You didn't really strike me as the law breaking type," Alex said to me. "Hot."
Henry scowled at him. "As simple as that then?" he asked, looking back at me.
"As simple as that," I echoed. "As long as we don't get caught."
"Well then, let's not get caught," he reasoned.
A splintery wooden table and mismatched chairs sat in the opposite corner beneath a shelf. Henry started rooting around in the shelf, and found an old deck of casino cards. "Something to pass the time," he said, more to himself even though I was watching over his shoulder.
Alex moved one of the chairs over and started pulling at the braided rug beneath it.
"What are you doing?" I asked. Every movement he made irritated me more.
"This rug is all damp and moldy," he complained. "I don't want my shoes ruined, they're new." He tilted his foot so I could get a look at the sneakers in question. They looked like boy shoes to me. I rolled my eyes. He succeeded in pulling away the offending floor covering, revealing a small painted door underneath.
"Look what I found," Alex said, already kneeling down. "Where do you think this goes?"
"No idea," I said, kneeling beside him. The wooden door was a perfect square, only several feet across. I scratched off some of the dark, colorless paint with my fingernail. "But I'd love to know."
"Come help me with this," Alex instructed Henry.
"I didn't know I was your servant," Henry said, but he came over anyway. A thin loop was hooked
to the bottom. Both Alex and Henry took turns trying to pull up the door with it but it was either locked or stuck.
"If we had a crowbar," Henry suggested. "Otherwise I think it's hopeless."
"Oh well, not important," Alex said, losing interest instantly as he stood up and brushed off his khakis. "Where's the booze?"
"Nobody brought booze," Henry said, his voice strained. "We can play cards, though." He patted the deck he had counted out on the table. "Only the Queen of Hearts is missing, but we can just use the joker."
"Whoopee," Alex scoffed, flopping down into his chair.
Theo and I stood over by the window, keeping watch. We didn't have a great view, but I could see the majority of the cars parked on the lawn, as the headlights came on two by two and the drivers pulled away onto the road.
"Can I ask you a question?" Theo asked quietly. "You don't have to answer it if you don't want to."
I laughed lightly at the unexpectedness, assuming it to be about Henry. "Of course, what?"
"Could this whole new found séance interest have anything to do with..." she swallowed hard before continuing. "Your friend?"
She pushed her glasses up on either side with both palms. I assumed that meant a major attack of nerves. The next words ran together as if they were one. "I mean, if you don't want to talk about it, I won't pry. I was just curious."
"That's not prying," I said gently. "I'm really surprised you've never asked me about Jenna before." I looked back through the slits in the cracked shudders, trying to decide what to say.
"I'm sorry," she said, look apologetic. "I didn't..."
"No, no. You're fine. I had so many people walking on eggshells around me; it was nice to be treated like a person for once, and not just some pathetic loose end." I cleared my throat. "To answer your question...maybe. I don't think she's...dead." My voice cracked on the word. I shut my eyes.
When I opened them, I saw the boys peering up from their card game. Henry's brow was furrowed, and I knew he was trying to decipher my look. I attempted a weak smile for him. He and Alex looked down again, making themselves artificially busy.
"But something's here," I continued to Theo. "And I think it has to do with her, or why she disappeared. I keep imagining what could have happened that night. It's like a movie in my head but I have no idea what scenes are right."
When the last car pulled out of the gate, it was after 10 pm. I watched a women get out of the driver's side and shut the gate, then speed away like she felt happy to be rid of the place. I pulled out my phone to text Corinne about being at Theo's. The reception kept dropping to zero bars, and I walked around the tiny interior of the shed.
"Is anyone else having crappy service?" I asked, looking around at my cohorts. Alex whipped out his phone and held it in front of him like he was in a commercial.
"Uh, yeah. That sucks," he muttered, glaring at his phone like it was a personal sleight.
I finally sent the text through and hoped Corinne would find it acceptable. She could very well be passed out in front of the TV again, so I wasn't too worried. She didn't really have a drinking problem; it was more that she liked using up my parents' stuff.
We exited the shed the way we had come in and stood on the lawn, four awkward teenagers that had no idea what we were doing. The high, ancient birch trees growing around the fence made us practically invisible.
"Why does this feel like the lead in to a news story?" Henry asked, and adopted a broadcaster voice. "Four teenagers arrested today for abandoned house shenanigans. When asked for comment, they said, 'Ariel made us do it'." He grinned at me and I bumped his shoulder with mine, happy to have him next to me in the dark.
"We'll be careful," I assured him. "No shenanigans. Can you guys check the doors and see if any of them are open?"
The boys trudged off and disappeared around the side of the house. Meanwhile, Theo and I checked on the rows of windows in the back. The place had seen its fair share of hard partying, the evidence all over. Many of the panes had been broken in, and black garbage bags and grocery sacks had been taped to the frames inside.
"I've never done anything like this before," Theo whispered, sounding giddy. "Peering in windows, yes, but never actually going in the houses. This is really exciting."
"All that means is that we both need to get out more," I said, but I was smiling.
Graffiti in the shape of a devil's face stood out on the wall. Hell is closer than you think read the scrawl beneath. There was a big broken window at the back of the building, near the center, which had also been given the garbage bag treatment. The boys came back around, faces hidden in shadow.
"Everything's locked up tight," Henry reported.
"I think we can sneak in through here," I said, gesturing towards the window. With careful fingers, I pulled off the bag and the tape, exposing the hole into the house.
"Not exactly trying hard to keep out intruders, are they?" Henry asked.
"Well, maybe that means we're invited," I said. "Who wants to go first?"
"Me!" Theo chirped, all of her earlier fear replaced by eagerness. She scrambled up to the window, where Alex gave her a boost up. When she was inside, she stuck her upturned thumb out for confirmation. "Just be careful of the glass, you guys."
Alex proceeded in next, his rotund behind filling the window frame before he landed inside. He towered over the rest of us short people at over six feet, and he was built like a linebacker. We watched as the two of them walked further into the house.
Henry gestured for me to go next. "Ladies first, to be cliché."
"I appreciate your cliché. It makes you sound like a gentleman." I looked into the bleak hole. It's just a house. It can't hurt me, I thought.
I grasped the sides of the window, carefully avoiding the broken glass still stuck inside the frame. I pulled myself up, but lost my grip and fell, tumbling inside on my arm and the side of my head. I saw stars as my skull thwacked the hard floor. It happened so fast I was in shock.
So much for the not getting hurt theory.
Henry scrambled in beside me. My head was throbbing, but I was vaguely aware as he leaned over me, assessing the damage.
"I'm so sorry," he said, although it had been my fault. He gently grabbed my arm, inspecting it. "You ripped this up pretty good."
I sat up slowly and looked myself over, more aware of him touching me than I was of any pain. Bits of broken glass were lodged inside my flesh. Blood bloomed from the cuts.
"You're bleeding," he said softly, his brow knit.
"It doesn't hurt," I said in an equally soft tone. With his face so close, I had the sudden, desperate urge to kiss him.
"Blood doesn't bother you?" he asked skeptically, raising one full eyebrow.
I looked down at my arm, and picked out the shards of glass quickly with my fingers, wincing only a little. "Not really. I used to be the neighborhood tomboy. My tree climbing was unparalleled."
My arm didn't hurt much, but my head was killing me.
"You should go into medicine," he said humorously.
"Because of my tree climbing?" I asked, confused.
"Well that would be a useful skill, but I meant for your strong disposition," he explained.
"Don't I need to not suck at math to go into medicine?" I asked. Henry scoffed, shaking his head at me.
"We should just leave," he insisted. "You need to get that arm looked at. With all the dirt that's around this place, you could get a nasty infection."
"I'm all right," I insisted. "We're doing this."
I felt like I was finally going to get some answers, and I would be damned before someone stopped me. I pulled my purse strap up on my shoulder and stood, while he offered his arm for support.
"I'm fine," I insisted.
"All right, but don't say I didn't warn you when they have to chop your arm off," he grumbled, shoving his hands in his sweatshirt pockets.
I stood and walked away from him, wanting to put distance between us so the unrelenting ur
ge to kiss him would go away. It ached that I couldn't touch him. In my eagerness to get away, I was glad he couldn't see the fat drop of blood roll down my forehead and fall to the floor.
In the dark, I felt less self-conscious as I blotted my bleeding head. From what I could tell, it wasn't too bad, but the thin trickle didn't seem to be totally stopping, either. Henry turned on one of his flashlights. He offered me the other, but it was too hard to juggle everything in my hands.
"Your head is bleeding, too?" he asked. I had been trying to hide it by awkwardly holding the back of my hand to my forehead, imitating Scarlet O'Hara.
"A little," I said meekly.
"Ariel, come on," he said in exasperation. "You should really go to the hospital."
"I hate hospitals," I said, shivering. "No thank you."
"You will be the death of me, I swear," he muttered. "You drive me crazy sometimes."
His words stung me deeply.
"I didn't know I was so irritating," I said.
"That's not what I meant," he said, frowning.
"Let's keep going," I said flippantly.
The light bobbed through the rooms, illuminating now why our haunted house experience had been confined to specific parts of the orphanage. I had once seen pictures of Chernobyl, a city destroyed by a nuclear plant explosion. The inside of the building reminded me of that.
A lot of it was just as Mr. Warwick had described in class. Huge gaping holes in the floor looked like a giant had bashed his fist in. Stale air blew through the halls, carrying with it the bitter stink of mold and rotten wood. More than anything the house held sadness, like the feeling itself had absorbed into the flowery wallpaper. The children there must have had terribly unhappy lives.
The rooms were tiny, with short ceilings. In a way, it reminded me of a neglected dollhouse. I imagined Alex would have to duck through the doorways and wondered if he had during the session. Speaking of which, he jogged up to us, with Theo close behind.