***
“It felt like I was falling forever,” Rachel said. Her eyes were still shut tight, picturing the memories. She sounded as though she was in some kind of trance. “When I finally hit the ground, my mind was blank. The fall sprained my ankle, but thankfully the bones were still intact. Behind me I could hear the beams of the house falling. To me it sounded as if it was screaming, but that was more likely my imagination. It was over. Justin was dead. Somehow, I’d survived.”
She took a deep breath as she finished. The engine of the Prius hummed through the car. She could feel it was moving along at a speed, but she didn’t open her eyes. Something in her had changed. It was as if the shackles of her past had been taken off of her. She hadn’t felt this way since before that night.
“So, you left Justin in there to die?” David asked.
The heat in the car was making Rachel feel drowsy. “After what he had done, I wasn’t about to save him.”
“Don’t you think it was up to the law to decide what happened to him? Do you not feel guilty?”
The locket around her neck suddenly burned, it felt heavy.
“I didn’t want to be there. I didn’t ask him to murder my friends. I didn’t ask him to try and kill me.”
David said nothing. They sat in silence. Then Rachel heard a familiar sound. Gravel crunching beneath the tyres, as the car ground to a halt. Terror gripped her like a rope around her throat.
Her eyes opened.
She wanted to scream, but nothing would come.
There was the house in front of the car, its white washed wooden panels, standing out clear in the black sky. The black lifeless windows looking out over the countryside. It was exactly the same as she remembered it in her dreams.
“Don’t be frightened, Rachel,” David said, reaching out towards her.
“Why have you brought me here?” She growled. “You sick bastard.”
She swung the car door open and jumped out.
“Rachel, come back.” He followed her out of the car. “It’s not-“
The sentence was cut short. She wasn’t there. He spun around, searching for her. But she was nowhere to be seen.
“Rachel, please come back. We can talk. You need to confront your fears. This’ll be good for-“
He never finished the sentence. His body was out cold before he hit the floor. A puddle of blood was beginning to form on the gravel drive way.
Rachel stood over him, a sharp stone in her hand. Spittle hung from one corner of her mouth. Her eyes were wild. Blackbirds were beginning to gather on the roof of the porch. Lightening flashed.
“Rachel’s not here right now. Can I take a message?”
Chapter Twenty-One
“Rachel,” David said, his face smeared with his own blood. “If you just let me go, we can work this out.”
“Nope. I can't do that, sugar pie. If I let you go, you’ll runaway and we don't want that.”
He couldn't believe this was happening to him. Only a short while ago he was having a pleasant meal with a kind, but troubled young girl. It had been stupid to agree to this. When he met her, he had sensed that she may be deeply disturbed, but he hadn't seen her as a textbook schizophrenic. A part of him still wasn't convinced she was. There was something not right.
“You can't keep me locked up, Rachel. You know that.”
“This is my land, I can do what the fuck I like.”
Her land? David thought. Surely she didn't think that she owned this house.
“This is my house now. My father owns the place. Mr Langrishe.”
She lunged at him with the knife, placing it firmly against his throat. Her tongue whipped back and forth along her bottom lip. Her eyes were wild. “How dare you speak to me in that manner? I made this place what it is. No one is going to take it away from me. All these loved up teenagers come strolling in here thinking they can turn it into a house of ill repute. Well I showed them what love is. Love is coming home and seeing your wife dead, her body hanging from the ceiling like a piñata at a child’s party. She was my world. Then she was gone. We were meant to be together forever. Me and my sugar pie. We’ll damn you. Damn every one of you.”
She pulled the knife away. A thin trickle of blood ran down beneath David’s shirt collar. His mind raced. Three years ago when this happened, the official reports claimed Rachel had insisted Justin went insane all of a sudden, spouting similar statements. He had also used the term ‘sugar pie it claimed’. Now it seemed as though Rachel was experiencing the same demented thoughts. It was impossible for two people to have the same psychosis. Wasn't it? Never in all his life had he heard of two separate events taking the same, twisted turns.
He watched her, as she sat down on the edge of the table. The knife turned in her hand. She didn't once take her eyes off of it.
Being a professional psychologist, the supernatural had always been something to sneer at. Pure hokum. But now, David wondered if it was all true. There was certainly something amiss. Something that wasn't psychological. It was in her eyes, her manner, her speech. It was everything about her. She had changed almost completely since the beginning of the evening. But how, he wondered. Had she been possessed? With his current predicament, he realised it may be fatal to rule out any possibility.
The room had started to grow cold, despite the fire, which was beginning to die. The old house seemed to be settling for the long night ahead. The torrential rain lashed against the windows, the tapping, rising and falling with the wind. Without moving his head, he looked around the kitchen. There were only two ways out; through a window, or the door. With his wrists and ankles bound to the chair, there was no escape. For a split second, he could have sworn there was somebody standing outside the window. He blinked. There was nothing there. Nobody knew they were up here. The smell of burnt flesh drifted up to his nostrils, as pain seared across his chest. Tears mingled with the blood on his cheeks. He silently prayed to God that it would be over soon. That the end would be quick.
“Are you going to kill me, Hiram? It is Hiram I'm speaking to, isn't it?”
Rachel's face looks puzzled. “Oh no, my love. And yes I'm going to gut you like a fish. How can we be together if I don't?”
If not Hiram, David thought, then who? “Tell me something, do you remember my brother?”
There was silence for a moment. It was as if the words had hit a chord in her.
“His name was Justin,” David added.
“So many kids come through here. He could’ve been any one of the dirty pigs.”
“Who are you?”
Rachel sneered. “Haven’t you worked it out yet?” She stood up, her arms stretching outwards. “Don’t you see? I'm all of them. Every damn one. I'm the windows, doors, every brick and floorboard. I'm the house of wood.”
David shook his head. “N-N-No, that's not possible. How can that be?”
“Hiram was stupid to build here. He wasn't the first. I've been here longer than people realise. Oh yes, I sent him mad. It wasn't hard. Booze is the perfect thing to send a man crazy. Crazy enough to kill his own family.”
“It’s not possible. Houses aren't alive. How is it possible? How can you possess people?”
“Aren’t we a curious little one? Curiosity killed the cat, you know. It's what got those brats up there killed.” Rachel strolled over to the kitchen window. “If enough bad is committed in one place, it leaves a mark. Like cancer, it eats through the very soul of a place. A clever boy like you must know that.”
“You’re evil.”
Again, Rachel flew at him. This time the chair bowled over backwards with the two of them. David's head smashed down hard on the wooden floor. Bright sparks covered his vision. She was so close, he could smell her on top of him.
“You fucking son of a bitch,” she spat in to his face. Thunder roared outside. “How dare you judge me? You don't know what it’s like. Time and time again they come, but still they don't leave me alone. So, I thought I would have some fun. Jacob th
ought his father had killed his mother. When he saw her dead body lying on the bed, he thought Hiram could’ve done that. He was a sentimental sap. Jacob went for him like a wild beast. The knife was in Hiram's hand. It just came up before he realised. The blood. The blood was everywhere. I enjoyed toying with them. Their souls are still here. I’ve collected so many more since then. The more people fear me, the stronger I get. And now…”
There was a glint in the eyes. Her lips were drawn back into a snarl, spittle dripped down onto David’s forehead.
“You’re going to be our newest member.”
A piercing scream filled the night air, integrating with the sound of thunder. The deadly blade made a sucking sound, as it was extracted from between his ribs. David could've sworn there was someone else in the room, as the edges of his vision closed in on him.
***
“But Pa, I know there's something going on up there. You've got to believe me.” Nathan was practically screaming the words. He was beginning to wish that he hadn't drunk anything tonight. His eyes kept blurring in and out of focus. “Just give me a handful of guys to go and check it out.”
“I can’t do that, Nate. Not on a hunch.” Sheriff Ross sat back in his brown, wood and leather office chair. He brought his hands together under his chin. He looked bored, as though he would rather be anywhere else than in his office late at night. “I’m sorry. I can't do it.”
Nathan was pacing around the room. He slammed his fist down hard on the desk. “You have to do something. Rachel could be in danger.”
“The James girl? Trouble seems to follow her like a lost puppy wherever she goes.” The sheriff leant forward. “But that don't change a thing. If you wanna go charging out there like some lunatic at this hour, then that's your business.”
“But Pa, you know what happened last time. I came to you and you did nothing until it was too late. Can’t you see, it’s happening again.”
“Sorry Nathan, but I think you should leave. Now.”
“But -“
“Nathan!”
“Fine.”
It was useless to argue. He spun around to leave, the white fluorescent light blinding him as he turned.
“Nate, if I were you I’d stay away. You’ve wasted enough damn time, pining after her. Trust me son, no woman is worth it.”
Nathan stopped, his head low. “I’ve got to help her.”
“But why? She’ll never look at you the way you want her to. You’re a dreamer wasting your time. Just like your mother.”
Fury filled Nathan’s eyes, as he turned on his father, grabbing him by the collar and hoisting him off his seat.
“Don’t you dare talk about Ma. Not ever.”
“Calm down, son. I never meant anything by it.”
Sheriff Ross slumped back in his chair, as his son dropped him and turned to leave. He adjusted his shirt.
“One more thing, deputy.” He opened his draw. “I’m going to need your badge and gun.”
“What? You can't -“
“Now I know what you are going to say, Nate. But I’ve turned too many a blind eye for you. You're drinking’s out of hand. I can't have a drunk deputy on my team. It's just the way it is, son.”
Nathan couldn't believe it. His fist’s clenched and unclenched by his side. He wanted to punch the old son of a bitch in the mouth. How dare he call me a drunk? Nathan fumed. Not when he knew damn well there was a bottle of whiskey almost empty in the other draw.
He reluctantly un-strapped his gun and took off his badge, slamming down on the table. “Fuck you.” He went to walk out the door.
“And the keys to the squad car. You can’t be driving in your condition.”
Nathan threw the keys at his father before turning to open the door. He stopped halfway through. “For your sake I hope she's okay.”
***
The door of the house blasted open, just as David was about to pass out. The breath in his lungs froze, as the air turned icy cold. The pain in his side was excruciating. It felt as though his insides were going to fall out. He could feel the blood oozing out of him. His hands were crushed behind him, trapped beneath the back of the chair and the hard wooden floor.
Above him, Rachel stopped.
Something else was in the room. Watching them. Waiting.
A cawing filled the kitchen. Was death coming for him? David wondered. He turned his head to the side. He blinked his eyes, not believing what he was seeing. A blackbird sat perched on the dining table.
Rachel stood up and turned to the bird.
“Hello my little princess. Have you come to help?”
The flames in the fireplace burst into life, stretching outwards towards the furniture in the room. David thought he had died and gone to hell. The searing heat filled his lungs, as the air around him was sapped into the fire. He began to choke.
The feathers on the blackbird began to fall onto the floor, as it grew to an abnormal size. Its skull started to stretch; the black eyes growing bigger. He couldn’t make out what the bird was doing. He wanted to scream. Arms began to sprout out of the body and the talons on its feet turned into toes. Small tufts of black hair began to sprout from the white skull. David closed his eyes, then opened them.
A young girl was standing by the table. Her eyes blank. Her face expressionless.
“What are you doing?” the girl asked, looking down at David.
He couldn't move. Not just because he was tied to a chair, but because he was petrified. The soulless eyes looked through him. Into him. He vomited. His mind couldn't take much more before it would crack.
“I’m getting you a new friend, Lilly” Rachel replied, sneering. “Now you go out and play on your swing.”
“No.”
“Go on, I’ve got work to do, Princess.”
“I won't go,” Lilly screamed.
“Don’t you speak to me like that, you little shit.”
The flames in the fireplace flared again. The shutters on the windows had begun to slam and bang uncontrollably. Cutlery flew around the room like a swarm of wasps. Tables and chairs had begun to splinter, sending sharp needles flying through the air. The flames in the fireplace grew to an unnatural size, sucking the air from the room. The house was getting angry.
“I won’t let you hurt that girl anymore,” Lilly said.
“You were my favourite. But you're like the rest of them. Now I'm going to-“
Rachel's body was flung across the room before she had finished her sentence. She smashed into the cupboards, then slumped to the floor. Lilly was on top of her in an instant.
“You’ve been a naughty house.” Lilly smiled. “Now it's my turn to play.”
Her hand disappeared inside Rachel's chest. Piercing screams erupted from her, as the small girl rooted around inside.
David didn't know what to do. Time had stopped. Any moment now it had to be over. He kept repeating it over and over in his head. He couldn't take any more. The screams became louder and louder. He could hear them mix with the small girl’s laughter. Had his brother gone through the same horror? He wondered. No, deep down he knew his brother hadn't felt a thing. Justin had been the one possessed. But Rachel. His heart went out to her. She had been through this twice. If only there was something he could do.
Then it occurred to him.
The new gas pipes hadn’t been properly finished. The mains pipe ran straight through the living room.
The same room that was now in chaos.
***
“How the hell are we going to get there?” Becky asked, following close behind the deputy, as they walked across the almost empty parking lot. She yanked on his arm. “Nathan, will you just stop and tell me what's going on.”
He spun on his heels. “All I know is we've got to get to the house. I just know he was taking her there. Why else would they have driven past in that direction?”
“But why? Why would he want to take her up there? I don't understand.”
“He owns it. This was his plan
all along. To recreate what his brother did in the past. Don't you see? He's going to kill her.”
“His brother?” Her mouth slowly dropped. Her eyes widened in horror. “Oh my God.”
Nathan pretty much dragged her the rest of the way across the parking lot. He stopped beside a clapped out old Volvo.
“Is this your car?”
“Nope, it's the Sheriff's.”
Nathan bent his arm at a forty-five degree angle, turning the elbow in to a point. Becky yelped. The driver’s window smashed into a thousand tiny fragments.
“What the hell are you doing? We need to leave this to the police.”
“Fuck the police. They couldn't give a damn when it happened before and they’re not going to now.” He got in the car, his head disappearing under the dashboard.
Within seconds, the engine choked into life.
Becky stood there, tears forming in her eyes. “What if we're too late?”
Nathan quietly prayed to God that he wouldn't be too late. He had to get there.
“Sweet Jesus,” Becky said, her eyes growing wide with fear.
Tiny tendrils of grey smoke had begun to float into the air above the hilltop. A cloud of blackbirds circled.
It was coming from the house.
***
The heat from the house was intense. Rachel thought David had the heating up too high in the car. Her eyes flickered before opening. The full horror didn't hit her straight away. Her mind took a few seconds to register. She wasn't in the car. She was in hell.
The house raged all around her. Black smoke seeped into her lungs, as she tried to stand. Her legs were pinned beneath her. She moved her head slightly to get a better look. Lying on the other side of the kitchen was David. He wasn’t moving. Oh my God, she thought, please don't let him be dead. What had she done? One minute she had been in the car, finally reaching the end of her story. And then…Nothing. It was as if she had slipped into a void. Being possessed was like being stuck behind a sheet of Perspex; she could see everything going on, but couldn't stop it.
The House of Wood Page 17