by B. Groves
She didn’t like how dark it was near these vending machines, but she was so thirsty, that she would ignore the dark side of the building, get her water, and rush back to her room.
Lacey spotted another machine on the other side of the Pepsi machine.
She trudged through the snow and realized it was an ice machine. She searched around to make sure no one was watching her and cleaned off the snow and tried to lift the lid.
The lid came right up but with a loud creak that made Lacey cringe.
She couldn’t see inside since the light from the soda machine was so dim.
Frowning, she reached her hand down into the ice machine to see if there was any ice.
She didn’t feel the ice, but something else.
Her hand touched something clumpy, soft, and sticky.
Lacey pulled her hand back in shock and let the lid fall into place with a big thud.
She stepped back into the snow not knowing what she touched inside that ice machine.
Her breath became shallow, and her heart pounded when she felt a sticky substance clinging to her skin.
Her eyes widened in shock when she lifted her hand and held it against the dim fluorescent light of the soda machine.
The dark, sticky substance was unmistakable.
Lacey staggered backward and almost fell back into the snow from the shock of what was on her hand.
Fear overtook the shock as Lacey thought about what she’d touched inside that ice machine.
She kept swallowing as her mind raced from what could have been a dead animal all the way to a dead human.
Her heart pounded against her ribcage as she tried to get her mind back on track and figure out what she should do.
First, she needed to get out of this dark area.
As she turned to move, she heard something move to her right.
Lacey’s throat closed. She wanted to scream, but couldn’t because of what she saw in front of her.
A man stood at the end of the building holding something in his hand. The moonlight shadowed his face, but he looked over six feet tall.
Were his eyes glowing? Lacey’s vision had blurred from fear, so she couldn’t tell, but she would swear later that the man’s eyes glowed in the darkness.
The man took a step—no—he stomped closer to her.
His arm raised up and Lacey caught the outline of an ax in his hand.
Chapter 7
The man mumbled something but Lacey’s survival instincts took over and she never heard what he said.
A yelp escaped her throat as she turned to run. She didn’t know where to run to and she didn’t care. All her brain kept screaming at her was to run from this person who appeared out of the darkness.
Lacey turned and slipped in the snow. She caught herself and took off in a run around the corner trying to figure out where to go to escape that huge man.
The people!
She would knock on the doors.
Lacey hurried around the corner and placed her hand inside her pocket.
Shit! She hadn’t brought her cell phone with her.
Lacey stopped in front of the door and saw the heads through the window. She heard muffled footsteps behind her.
She turned to see the man still shadowed in the darkness watching her from the corner of the building.
Tears burned Lacey’s eyes.
She pounded on the door and screamed, “Help! Help me! There’s a man out here ready to attack me!”
Lacey banged on the window but the figures didn’t move an inch from their seats.
What is wrong with these people?
Lacey went back to the door and continued to bang on it for help. She reached for the knob as the big man stayed by the corner of the building. He moved two feet, and his face came into the light.
He looked more amused than menacing at her actions.
Lacey cried out right when the knob turned and she opened the door.
Lacey stepped inside the room, gasping for air.
“Help me, please! Some man out there is after me,” Lacey said trying to catch her breath.
It only took seconds before Lacey realized the horrifying truth about the occupants of the room.
She took two more steps forward as their faces cleared from her frightened, blurry vision.
One mannequin lounged on the bed staring at the TV. It’s wig falling off the back of its head.
The other sat in the chair staring at her with an arm leaning against the table.
Lacey stood there with her mouth gaping open. She couldn’t cry, she couldn’t scream. Her mind raced from the moment she stepped foot onto this property.
The car of her neighbors looked old and broken down, the guest book hadn’t been signed in months.
Her neighbors hadn’t moved from their spots since she’d checked in. They had to be mannequins too.
The tears ran down her face. She was trapped in this room. What would that man do to her?
Gasping for air, Lacey turned around to search for a weapon.
As she tried to catch her breath, she thought of her husband, her children. If she would die tonight, she would want them to know she didn’t go down without a fight.
Lacey turned to gaze at the doorway. No one stood there. Maybe she still had a chance.
No, Lacey. Focus on getting the hell out of here.
Lacey had forgotten she had her car keys but cursed when she realized that she’d left her phone and her bag inside her room.
She didn’t care. She had to get out of there because her instincts were screaming at her to run as far away from this place as she could. That bad things have happened here and she would be next if she didn’t jump in her car right now and drive off.
She tried to plan as she inched closer to her car. She would drive back to the rest stop and find a phone there. She would call the police and hope that the older couple stayed there.
Lacey felt tears well in her eyes as her car got closer. Only a few more steps and she’d be free. She would see Scott and her children again. She would not let that crazy man get her.
Lacey stopped in her tracks and drew in a shaky breath.
How did she not see him standing there?
The tall, thin man with the ax stood at her driver’s side door. He held the ax in both hands.
The light shined down on his bald head, his eyes were glowing white despite the darkness.
How did he get to her car faster than her?
Without another thought, Lacey ran through the door into the bitter cold air. She looked to her left. The man disappeared.
She turned her head both ways, looking for him, but no form came out of the darkness.
Lacey needed to get out of here. Now!
Lacey slipped and slid in the snow, but she kept on her feet as she hobbled towards her car.
She rushed by the office door and thought about going in but didn’t want to take a chance with the weird man who’d been stalking her. He might have been waiting for her right inside the office and who knew what he might have done to the clerk unless she was partners with him and they killed their guests.
The man lifted himself off the side of the car. Lacey watched in horror as the man’s lips turned into a sneer.
“Guests,” he said whispered. “We love guests.”
Lacey frantically looked around for any means of escape. She didn’t want to go into that office because she didn’t know her way around and he would capture her.
Lacey’s eyes turned to her left. She could run down the road, but he’d catch her.
If she ran into the desert, she’d die from exposure.
She had to figure out something. She looked for a weapon. Nothing.
Then her eyes settled on the barn across the property.
The seconds were ticking away as the big man moved closer to Lacey. She didn’t have a choice, she had to run.
Either she would find some kind of weapon to defend herself in that barn, or it would be the last pla
ce she ever saw while she was still alive.
Chapter 8
Gathering all her strength and her willpower, Lacey shot off in the direction of the barn. She didn’t dare look behind her. She didn’t know if the big man was following her. He may have been tall, but he was thin and might catch her before she reached it.
Her heavy breathing and her small screams were the only things she heard as she ran as fast as the snow and her legs would take her.
Her breath came out in heavy puffs as she reached the doors. A floodlight turned on above her, making Lacey squint.
She realized she ran right to the double doors of the barn.
A loud male laugh echoed over the property, making Lacey almost faint from fear.
“You can’t run far,” the voice said.
With her heart pounding against her ribcage, Lacey pulled the old wooden handle and much to her relief or her horror, the door opened right up with a loud creak.
Lacey cried out as the big man came closer and lifted his ax.
Lacey turned and ran through the door and shoved it closed to slow down the big man and give her some time to find a weapon.
The barn had one light shining down onto the hay scattered around the ground.
Shadows crept out of the corners, making it tough for her to identify something she could use against the huge man.
Lacey ran to the middle of the barn. The lower level looked empty. No weapons, nothing to help her.
Tears streamed down her face as the door opened. She tried to find another door to run out of, but there was nothing but darkness.
She whimpered as she heard a laugh behind her.
Lacey clenched her fists and looked up praying to God that her death would be swift.
Sam and Bella’s face ran through her mind, and she hoped they would grow up to be successful adults without their mom.
Scott would take good care of them, she thought, trying to find some comfort. He always had been and always would be a wonderful father.
“Scott,” Lacey whispered when she pictured their wedding day in her mind.
Lacey opened her eyes and gasped.
She forgot about the big man moving in as her stomach lurched from the scene above her.
Lacey fell to her knees as the bile choked her.
She tried to take a deep breath, but every time she filled up her lungs, nausea would come in waves.
Hanging from the rafters of the small barn were five bodies.
Lacey only saw their feet, but it was enough to know it sealed her fate with theirs.
Soon, she would join those people hanging above her.
The big man roared as he realized what Lacey was gawking at.
“Guests,” he said.
Lacey looked down and discovered the hay and the wood floor wet and sticky with blood.
“Oh my God,” she whispered.
“Welcome,” the man said, almost triumphantly.
Lacey turned and stared into glowing eyes. The big man standing in front of her almost didn’t look human. He was pale. Deathly pale. His eyes glowed in the darkness. Bits and pieces of hair clung to his head. His lips were dry and drawn into a tight smile and she couldn’t tell if he had any teeth left.
Lacey dug deep into herself for one last moment of strength. She took a step forward and yelled, “Fuck you!”
The man never flinched, he only sneered even deeper and lifted his ax.
Lacey closed her eyes and waited for the blow.
“Silas!”
Lacey opened her eyes as the female voice echoed through the barn.
The big man grunted and turned his head up in confusion.
Lacey did the same and looked up to see the clerk standing at the edge of the loft with her finger pointing down at the man.
“Silas, I marked her room,” the woman said.
Lacey had to look away again as the woman spoke. She glimpsed a face from one of the hanging bodies and a wave of nausea ran through her stomach.
The big man mumbled something and took a step back from Lacey.
He lowered the ax and seemed disappointed but didn’t try to attack Lacey again.
Lacey’s mouth hung open as the woman made her way down from the loft and stood at the bottom of the staircase.
“Go, Silas. Shoo. Get out of here and leave the woman alone,” she said. “We have another to put away.”
Lacey waited for the attack to happen but it never did.
The big man with the glowing eyes turned around and with heavy footsteps, he left the barn and walked into the darkness.
Lacey didn’t know what to do next. She thought about running into the night and trying to reach her car, but the woman could have easily shot her if she had a gun.
The woman’s mouthed turned down in disapproval.
“When I said a curfew was in place, I meant it,” she began.
She stepped closer and Lacey realized she was holding something in her hand. Lacey stepped back in fear but did not speak.
She looked down and realized the woman was holding a paintbrush dripping with white paint.
“My son…” the woman struggled for words. “He has problems. I can only stop him when I mark a room.”
The woman lifted the paintbrush. “Or someone.”
Before Lacey could react, the woman swiped the paint across Lacey’s chest.
Lacey reeled back in shock at what the woman had just done.
“You’re one of the safe ones,” the woman said looking up to the rafters then back towards Lacey. “Now go back to your room and don’t come out ‘til the morning.”
Lacey’s eyes shot between the woman and the paint drying on her jacket several times before the woman said, “Go before I change my mind. I won’t let him hurt women, but I will make exceptions.”
Lacey listened to the command. With shallow breaths, she backed out of the barn.
Once she hit the cold night air, Lacey turned and ran as fast as she could across the property and straight to her car.
To her relief, no one stood near the car and Lacey pressed the button to unlock it.
Whimpering she flung open the door and screamed when she dropped the keys on the ground.
She found them after a few seconds and hopped into her car, slamming the door shut, and starting the engine. She threw on her windshield wipers and her defroster at full blast and kept pulling the lever with the windshield washer fluid to clean off her windshield.
“Come on, come on, come on,” Lacey said, gripping the steering wheel to stop her shaking.
When one part of the windshield became clear, Lacey thanked a higher power and placed her car in reverse.
As she backed out, she could see two silhouettes standing at the barn door watching her but making no moves to block her exit.
Lacey turned the car around and skidded on the snow. As she did that, a thought occurred to her when she drove past the barn and reached the road to Foxworth House.
The silhouettes of Silas and his mother had disappeared. The barn appeared run down and dark.
Lacey checked her rearview mirror. The neon sign had gone dark along with the rest of the house. No lights or any signs of life were left at Foxworth House.
As Lacey wiped the tears from her eyes so she could see the road, she turned on the overhead light and realized the paint had disappeared from her jacket.
Lacey didn’t care because she drove like a mad woman through ice and snow to reach the older couple. To her relief, they were there. She was even more relieved when they tiredly opened the door and let her inside where she collapsed into the woman’s arms.
Chapter 9
4 months later
Lacey gripped Scott’s hand as they drove closer and closer to Foxworth House.
“You know, we didn’t have to do this,” Scott said gently squeezing her hand back.
Lacey closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. After that night and all she’d found out about Foxworth House, Lacey had to go back. She had to see f
or it for herself and she had to try to understand what happened to her that night.