“Leave them alone!” she yelled.
Gripping the bat tightly, Paul walked out of the bedroom and down the hall to Jack’s room. He turned the knob but it was locked. He pushed and pushed trying to force it open, but it was no use—the door was stuck. Putting his ear against the door, he listened for any sound. He heard nothing.
The door to Emily’s room creaked open. Paul took his ear away from the door and took a step towards Emily’s room. “Em, is that you?” he called. He heard a sound like whispers and giggling coming from Emily’s room. “Emily? Lily?” he said as he walked into Emily’s room. He tried again to turn on the light but the switch only clicked. He looked around the room, pointing with the bat as he turned. Except for the steady thrum of rain outside, it was quiet.
Buttercream was lying on top of the dresser. Paul approached him and asked, “Where did everybody go?” Buttercream stood up as a flash of lightning lit up the room. The cat looked at Paul and started growling.
“What’s wrong with you?” said Paul.
Buttercream hissed loudly at him and hit the floor before running out of the room. The door slammed shut and Paul ran to it, pulling with all his strength. “What the hell is going on here!” he yelled, putting everything he had into opening the door. “Open the damn door!” he shouted.
He heard the floorboards creak behind him. He stopped pulling at the handle and looked up at the back of the door. The room seemed to get colder, and in an instant he could see his breath. He swallowed hard as the creaking of the floorboards behind him made his heart race. He gripped the bat in his right hand and spun around. There was no one. The room was silent.
Without warning the pictures flew off the shelves towards Paul. To stop the glass and frames from hitting his eyes, he put his elbow up in front of his face. The force was so powerful the frames smashed against him, cracking into pieces as they fell to the floor. Dropping the bat, he stepped back against the large wooden armoire.
Everything stopped for a moment. Lowering his elbow, slowly he opened his eyes.
The closet door opened as if caught by a wind. He saw what looked like a black shadow of a man standing in the closet. As the man smiled, Paul could see his white teeth, and the deep laugh started again, echoing through his body. The hair on Paul’s arms stood on end.
“Who are you and what the hell do you want?” he shouted, taking a step forward.
The bat flew up from the ground, hitting Paul in the back and sending him crashing to the floor.
As he looked up, a harsh whisper came from the closet: “All of them.”
The heavy armoire jolted forward and fell on top of him. He struggled to open his eyes but the blow to his head caused him to drift away. There was a deep gash in his leg from the glass. A trickle of blood crept slowly across the floorboards and underneath the door into the hallway.
Downstairs, Lily was trying to find a way out of the garage. She looked around frantically as the lights went out. She stopped, frozen with fear. The lights flickered before coming on and dimly pulsing. She looked back to the door. The light above the doorway shone brightly and pulsed brighter and brighter until it exploded with a loud “pop.” The glass shattered and fell to the floor.
Lily screamed, holding her hands over her ears. Paralyzed with fear, she couldn’t move.
A man appeared in the doorway of the dark kitchen. In the shadows she could barely see him until he smiled, exposing gleaming white teeth. Every inch of the man’s face was covered by dark red blood. He tilted his head, looking at her. Then a pop and flash erupted next to her. Bang! The grill lit and fire poured from the sides, blowing the cover off and sending it to the ground.
Summoning every ounce of strength, Lily ran to hide behind the car while the flames exploded, roaring angrily at her. She looked back to the door but the man was gone. “Mommy!” she cried—and suddenly the flaming grill started rolling towards her.
She crawled under the car, and holding her monkey tightly, she shut her eyes. “Make it stop! Make it stop! Make it stop!” she said, crying and shaking. The horn in the car started beeping and Lily started to scream. “Make it stop!” she shouted as loud as she could.
Upstairs in the bathroom, Sam heard the car horn. She started pulling at the door handle. “Paul!” she cried, yanking at the door frantically. “Thomas! Help them—help them please!”
The door gave way, sending her across the room onto the floor. She got up and ran out of the bathroom.
Everything stopped all at once as silence fell over the dark house. As Sam was about to run down the stairs she heard a very familiar giggle coming from Jack’s room. ”Jack?” she said, walking towards the door. Suddenly she slipped on the hardwood floor, sending her backwards down to the ground. Sitting up, she saw a strange dark liquid all over her back, arms, and legs. Running her fingers through the liquid it was thick and sticky. She opened her fingers spreading them apart. She breathed in deeply and swallowed. It was blood—a lot of blood—and she was covered in it.
Chapter Thirteen
A Living Nightmare
Panicked, Sam slipped around, trying to get her footing. Seeing the blood was coming from Emily’s room, she turned the knob and opened it a crack. The door stopped—something was blocking it and she couldn’t see inside. “Emily?” she said, placing her face against the gap in the door. She blinked once and an eye appeared in the crack. She jumped back against the wall. The eye was no ordinary eye—it was covered in veins with coagulated blood covering the surface.
With her back against the wall, Sam slid on the floor past the room and ran into Jack’s room. She shut the door and locked it behind her. A flash of lightning blazed close to the house, followed by the crack of thunder. As Sam stood against the door, she could hear her own heart beating loudly and her tears flowed freely. She looked at the crib and walked over to it, praying her baby would be asleep. Breathing heavier and heavier she reached out to wrap her hand around the bottom of the comforter. She pulled the covers off, taking her time to pray he would be there. The glowing bear lit up brightly in the center of the bed and started to sing its nursery rhymes.
Her baby was gone.
“No!” Sam cried, pulling everything from the crib and throwing it on the floor. She started taking steps back toward the door. She was scared to leave the room but nothing was going to stop her from helping her children. All she wanted was her family out of that horrible house. “Why are you doing this?” she cried. Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm herself. Nodding her head, she readied herself. She turned the handle and rushed out of the room towards the stairs. Another flash of lightning filled the house with light, revealing a black shadow of a man at the end of the hall.
Sam screamed but the shadow disappeared. She heard the laugh of her baby boy coming from dining room downstairs. She looked down the see a single checker roll out from the dining room to the bottom of the stairs. It came to a stop on its side. Sam started down the stairs. She was about halfway when, hearing a loud noise behind her, she stopped. She stood quietly, looking down at the bottom of the stairs. After applying a small amount of pressure to the next step, she stopped when she heard a loud creak of the stair only steps behind her.
She dared not turn around.
Another step sounded behind her. Sam started shaking as tears ran down her cheeks. Bump bump… bump bump… the heartbeat of her fear echoed through the silence. She breathed in but it sounded like a gasp resonating in her chest. She felt a cold breath on the back of her neck followed by a wheezing noise that became louder and louder. The menacing sound sent a shock through her body. Her mind resounded with thoughts. Should I run, should I turn around, should I just stay still? Feeling another cold breath against her neck she shut her eyes tightly for a second, then opening them she jumped down, skipping a step and running for her life into the dining room. She spun around, throwing a chair behind her. Trying to locate her pursuer, she looked around—but nobody had followed her into the room. “Stop with your games!” she shouted. “
Give me back my babies!”
The front door creaked open. She could see the pouring rain outside. This was her chance to leave the house, but she knew she wouldn’t. “Stop toying with me—I’m not leaving without them!” she screamed.
The door slammed shut. She could hear a disturbing laugh coming from upstairs. The ghastly sound made her shudder. She had enough of this. Walking over to the bottom of the stairs she looked up. “Come on! Here I am! Take me instead!” she screamed, egging it on.
As if in reply, violent force shoved her backwards, throwing her hard into the wall. As she fell to the floor she struggled to move but lost consciousness.
In the garage, Lily was still underneath the car, clinging to her monkey. Nothing had moved for a while and the garage was quiet. She inched her way to the side of the car and looked up at the kitchen door. The button to the garage door was a little too high, just out of reach. But if she moved the cooler, she could reach it. She wanted to go back into the kitchen and try to save Emily but everything inside her said to run. She took a deep breath. “All right, keep quiet, Moogli, we’ll go get help,” she said to her monkey. It made her feel better thinking she wasn’t totally alone. Tucking Moogli under her arm, she moved out from under the car carefully and quietly. She kept an eye on the grill, which burned with a low flame. Being careful not to make any noise, she put her hands on top of the cooler and pushed it. The garage was filling with black smoke from the burning oil, and she coughed, covering her mouth. The cooler touched the wall and she stopped. Stepping up on the cooler she reached for the button and pushed it.
Bang! The scarecrow jumped into the kitchen door window, sending Lily to the floor. With a scream, she picked up Moogli and ran to the garage door. Slowly, the door started to rise. Behind her she could hear the doorknob to the kitchen door jiggle back and forth, but she didn’t dare look back. The garage door suddenly stopped rising—but it had given her just enough space. Dropping to the floor, she squeezed underneath, into the cold soaking rain. She struggled to get to her feet but something grabbed her and pulled back down toward the garage. The garage door motor whined as if something were blocking it, and the strong grasp around her ankle gripped her more tightly. It flipped her over and kept pulling. She reached for the handle at the bottom of the door, holding on tight, screaming and kicking.
She heard the loud crash of the grill falling over and suddenly her ankle was free. Pushing against the door, she slid out. Looking back underneath, she could see the scarecrow. To her amazement, he was on fire and running back into the house.
“Run!” echoed a man’s voice from the garage, but she saw no one. The garage door shut with a loud bang, as if it someone had slammed it down. This jolted Lily into action and sent her running down the driveway. The stinging drops of cold rain did not faze her. Running into the woods, she was just happy to be alive. She reached the path, now full of muddy puddles. As lightning flashed, she ran faster. The muddy water splashed against her with every step.
Soon she came to the river. It was full and moving fast below the wooden bridge. She looked back down the path and shut her eyes for a moment. “You can do this,” she said to herself. Lily stepped onto the bridge. Slowly inching her way across, she reached the other side. She started to run again. It was raining so heavily the water had nowhere to go. Every step was work, and the puddles deepened as she ran along the old path. Reaching the Stuarts’ house, she banged on the door and yelled, “Help! Somebody help us!”
The house lights turned on. Ellen opened the door wearing her robe and pajamas. Lily hugged her tightly.
“What’s wrong, child?” said Ellen, kneeling down to her as Glenn appeared from the bedroom.
Lily grabbed Ellen’s arms and looked deep into her eyes. “He’s got them and he won’t let them go,” Lily whispered, knowing Ellen would understand.
Nodding in acknowledgment, Ellen hugged her. “It’s all right, you’re safe now.”
“You must be freezing,” said Glenn, taking a blanket off the couch and wrapping it around Lily. “It’s all right, I’m going the call the police,” he said turning to the table to pick up the phone. “Mom, can you grab another blanket?”
There was no response.
“Mom?” he said, turning around. But she was gone. He looked at Lily.
“She said to stay here,” said Lily, looking back at the open door.
“Oh no,” Glenn said, putting the phone down and walking over to the door. He looked around outside but could see nothing in the pouring rain. “Mom!” he yelled, but there was no answer. He ran back to the phone and called the police as a rumble of thunder shook the house.
“Sheffield Sheriff’s Department,” said the woman who answered the phone. “What’s your emergency?”
“Hello, we need the sheriff up here right away!” said Glenn. “Something is wrong. The little girl from next door came over. She seems real scared, and my mother just took off.”
“I understand, sir. Please stay calm. What is your location?”
“Hayden Pond Road. It’s the white house on top of the hill—number three.”
“Ok, sir,” said the dispatcher. “We’ll have someone to that location as soon as we can”
“What do you mean as soon as you can?” said Glenn.
“Sir, the storm has caused several accidents and there are wires down all around town. We only have three deputies. One of them will be with you as soon as possible.”
“Ok, please hurry,” said Glenn, hanging up the phone and turning to Lily. “It’s going to be all right. You just need to stay here. I’m going to go help your parents.”
“Don’t leave! Please don’t leave me,” said Lily, starting to sob.
Glenn leaned down and hugged her.
“It’s ok. Nobody is going to hurt you, I promise. You can stay in my room and lock the door. I’ll be right back. I just need to see if everyone’s all right.”
Although she was tired and scared, Lily nodded in agreement. Glenn took her hand and they walked to his bedroom. She sat on the bed and he went back to the door.
“I’ll be right back, I promise,” he said. “Keep the door locked and don’t let anybody in except me or your parents.”
“Ok,” said Lily.
Glenn shut the door, went into the hall closet, and put on his raincoat. Walking over to the door, he lifted the hood up over his head. Lightning cracked, lighting up the woods around the house. Shutting the door behind him, he locked it and hurried into the pouring rain.
Lily went over and locked the bedroom door. She got up on the bed and looked the room over. It was not much, but she felt was safe. “Don’t worry, Moogli he’s going to help” said Lily, hugging her monkey.
Glenn headed to the shed. Looking around at the wall rack, he took down an axe. He made sure the blade was sharp. He wasn’t walking into anything unprepared.
Ellen had reached the river. She looked down at the raging water under the log bridge. Taking off her soaking wet robe, she threw it to the ground—the weight was more than she could balance with. Slowly she crossed the bridge and then stepped off on the other side. After looking back down the path to make sure she was not followed, she sat on the muddy ground, placing her feet onto the end of the logs and her back against a big boulder. She pushed and pushed, shifting the logs of the bridge a few inches until the muddy banks could no longer support them. The logs crashed into the raging river.
Only then did she continue down the path.
In the house, Sam lay on the floor at the base of the staircase. In her mind, as the room spun around her she struggled to stand up at the base of the stairs. Everything around her was silent and confusing. She looked up to see hanging from a rope attached to the banister a body dressed in black and wearing a black hood over its head. She could hear the loud creaking of the wooden banister as it supported the swinging body. She backed into the dining room up against the table. Hearing a faint giggle, her attention focused on the kitchen. The cellar door was open. S
he ran to the basement door and looked down into the dark. At the bottom of the stairs, Jack’s bear lit brightly and began to sing a song. She could hear the giggles of her baby boy.
“Jack? Jack, it’s mommy! I’m coming,” said Sam as she headed down the dark staircase. At the bottom she picked up the bear. The basement lights flickered on and off. She walked forward, listening for her baby. The light in front of her turned on. Thomas stood on the edge of the well. Everything seemed blurry.
“It’s time,” he said as he fell back into the well.
She heard the sound of Jack crying. Sam ran towards the edge of the well and looked down, but something from behind grabbed her and pulled her back.
Suddenly she jolted awake. Her head was throbbing in pain. She was sore all over. There were bruises on her arms and legs. She blinked, trying to steady her vision. Sitting up next to the staircase, she realized that although what she had seen was a dream, she was still stuck in a very real nightmare. Glancing down at her hand, she noticed Thomas’s ring was gone. “No,” she cried, crawling around the floor, looking for it. In front of her, below the banister, blood started seeping up through the floorboards. She pushed herself back away from it. Getting up, she walked into the dining room and looked into the kitchen. “I’m coming,” she said, running into the kitchen. She looked at the basement door. As she reached for the handle, the door creaked open and she took a step back. She thought for a moment.
This was his plan all along. He wants me to go into the basement.
Hesitating, she heard the giggles of her baby boy. “Jack?” she said, moving forward down the stairs. Putting her back against the cold cement wall, step by step she entered the basement. A bolt of lightning lit up the stairwell just as the door slammed shut at the top of the stairs. It was now pitch black. A foul smell hit her nose, causing it to burn. The stench was unbearable and she had to gasp for air through her mouth.
“He cried out for you,” a whisper echoed through the basement.
The House on Hayden Pond Page 10