"Wait, I've got to go back and redo the tape." I said even though it was the last thing I wanted to do.
"No, it's fine. Look," He said and pointed. "There's where it got cut off. You'll still be able to find it."
On the other side of the room, I could see where the tape had ripped. There was nothing that it could have caught on. I let him pull me up the stairs.
Chapter Six
Once we were back upstairs, Pierce showed me where Vivian kept a stash of candles and a few flashlights. "She didn't use the second floor much there at the end, but I'd put some up there too."
"You didn't show me where the stairs to the sub-basement were." I said.
"I didn't see any reason to. I can take you down there another time if you'd like. Right now, I have to get going. I've got a dinner appointment."
"Pierce, am I safe here?" The question slipped out before I'd had time to think about it.
"Sure, you are. I admit that it's kind of a spooky old house, but it's cool too. Give it a chance."
We said our goodbyes, and Johnathan Pierce Sabre left me alone in my new home. The kitchen was the room I was most familiar with, other than the basement, so that's where I went.
The box of kava tea bags I'd purchased at the store sat out on the counter, and I decided that was a good way to calm my nerves. At my apartment, I'd always left a kettle on the stove, but in my new home, it wasn't going to be that easy.
The cabinet to the right of the stove held coffee mugs, so at least that part had been easy. I looked in almost all of the cabinets both above and below the counter, and came up empty. The last place for me to check was the small cabinet above the range hood.
Yep, that's where the kettle was, and of course, I couldn't reach it. The candles and flashlights had been on a shelf in the laundry room, and I thought I remembered seeing a stepladder in there as well.
I made my way down the hall and was pleased to find that I'd been correct. When I came back into the kitchen with the ladder, the cabinet door I'd opened to get the coffee mug, and closed when I left the kitchen, was open again.
I dropped the stepladder and the bang it made against the kitchen floor made me jump out of my skin. The pounding of my heart against the wall of my chest turned to thunder that I could hear in my ears. I felt the room tilt, and I reached out to grab the counter for support.
"I left it open." I said out loud. "Man, I really need to chill."
I picked up the stepladder and retrieved the kettle. While the water heated, I walked around the ground floor of the house and turned on every light I could find. I didn't know how I would pay the electric bill, but I rationalized that I'd only leave them on one night. I was sure that I was just spooked from my introduction to the house, including the dungeon of a basement. Perhaps if I'd been shown the music room or the parlor first, I'd have had different feelings about my new home.
The front of the house was the more formal part, but in the back, there was a den and family room. I took my tea to the family room and found the television remote. I flipped it on just in time to remember that there was probably no cable.
I was delighted to find that there was cable and on a chance, I flipped to the premium move channels. Score. HBO and Showtime. The cable must have been for the nurses who worked her twenty-four seven, and nobody had thought to disconnect it. I'd need to call soon and get it changed over to my name or disconnect the service, but for that night, I was set.
After my tea, I felt warm and cozy. There was a knitted throw over the back of the sofa, and I wrapped it around myself as I settled in to watch some extreme weather movie that had completely flopped. I was still interested.
It was eight, and I was feeling a bit drowsy. I hadn't had anything to eat since an early lunch, but the kava tea had a way of numbing the stomach. I probably wouldn't need anything until breakfast. I was too sleepy and comfortable to even consider cooking anyway.
The next thing I knew, sunlight had ninjaed its way through a curtain into my eyes. My neck was stiff from being bent over the side of the sofa all night. I'd drooled in my hair, and the doorbell ringing is what had woken me up.
I looked at the clock and it was seven in the morning. "Who the fuck could that be?" I asked as I put my drool-soaked hair into a messy bun.
Chapter Seven
I'd made it halfway down the hall to the front door when I realized I had no pants on. I must have gotten hot at night and taken off my jeans in my sleep. It wasn't unusual for me to do that. I rarely slept in a bedroom, and I often undressed myself while fully asleep.
I could see that there was someone on the porch. "I'll be right there." I called out and went back for my pants. Whether they could hear me or not through the heavy wood door, I didn't know.
On my way back to the door, I grabbed a Diet Coke from the avocado monster. My morning breath had to be atrocious, and I figured that would have to do since I had no time to brush my teeth. I drank about half the can on the way to the door, and at least I got that sticky gross morning feeling out of my mouth before I had to open the door.
The first thing that struck me was how many extraordinarily good-looking men seemed to show up whenever I was somewhere that had to do with Vivian. I began to wonder if she had a stable of handsome, younger men somewhere.
This guy was hot, but in a completely different way than Pierce. He was broad shouldered and blond with honey-colored eyes. His wavy, surfer-dude hair was pulled back into a ponytail, and the gray t-shirt he wore left not a single muscle to the imagination. I straight up choked on my most recent swig of Diet Coke when I saw him.
"Are you all right, ma'am?" He asked in a voice that still had a trace of Southern drawl.
"I'm fine. I'm sorry. I just..." I trailed off because I was suddenly unsure of what I was. Gross. That was one thing. I knew I looked like road kill in my slept-in clothes and messy hair, but at least the parts that were matted with spit were hidden. There was that.
"I'm sorry to come by so early. I probably should have waited." He said self-consciously.
"No, it's cool. I just wasn't expecting anyone today. How can I help you?" I asked and tried to lean sort of seductively on the doorframe which actually resulted in me stumbling all the way out the door and almost falling on him.
"I'm Brian." He said and extended his hand to me. He smiled sweetly and politely ignored the fact that I'd just fallen out the door. "I'm sorry for your loss, ma'am."
"Thank you." I said. "I'm about to make coffee. Do you want to come in?"
"Oh, I'd love to, ma'am."
"I'm Violet." I said when he called me ma'am again.
"I'd love to, Violet, but I've got to be at work in a half hour. I should be off at around three thirty this afternoon, and I was wondering if you wanted me to come by and clean up the yard a little bit. I used to do that for Vivian from time to time, and it looks like it could use it again."
I didn't have the money to hire a landscaper, but I wanted Brian to come back. If I had to dip into the tax money, so be it. I had ten years to put it back, right?
"Sure. That would be great. I was wondering what I was going to do about this."
"Well, you'll probably want to hire someone regular. I can't take care of this place all by myself, but I'd like to help out. I can at least keep the front looking somewhat clean and it'll keep the city ordinance guys off your back." He said with a smile. "You might want to stay out of the back until you're prepared."
"Why?"
"Oh, wow. Yeah. The backyard has been neglected for a long time. Vivian hasn't had a regular gardener for at least a couple of years. It's scary back there."
"Well, if you can help me with the front, that's the best I can ask for right now." I said and extended a hand to him. "I appreciate it."
"No problem, ma'am." Brian said and blushed. "I mean Violet."
Chapter Eight
Of course, the first thing I wanted to do was go out to the back yard and see what Brian was talking about. But, my stomach rum
bled loudly, and I really needed a shower before he came back. I decided to wait on the shower until after I'd explored the jungle behind the house, but food was paramount.
My stomach growled again and it was a deep, painful feeling. I cursed myself for being lazy the night before.
"Nothing to do but make something to eat." I said to no one but the house.
I put two pieces of rye bread in the toaster and got eggs and butter out of the avocado monster. The frying pans were in a drawer under the stove, so I took out the smallest one and put it on the burner.
Ten minutes later I had a plate of fried eggs and toast. I took my breakfast, and a new can of Diet Coke, into the den and booted up the computer. I'd expected to find something ancient, but Vivian's computer wasn't half bad. Since the cable was still hooked up, there was also internet.
There weren't any games on it, but at least I could watch YouTube. Oh, and I could work too. I'd dropped my laptop in a puddle two towns back. Fortunately, all of my client files were saved to the cloud. Otherwise, I'd be in a mess.
"I'll finish stuff tomorrow." I said to myself. "I need a day to take all of this in."
It was bullshit. I knew it, but I still rationalized taking a day off to do nothing but wait for Brian to come back. While I ate my eggs and toast, I listened to one of my favorite narrators read creepy stories while they played some random Japanese horror game. I'm not sure why I did this. I didn't even really listen to the stories. It was just something about the voice that made me feel calm. I'm sure that if I'd actually listened to the content, it probably would have freaked me out.
The video I was on had around five stories, and in between the third and fourth was when I heard it. Although, perfect timing aside, I most likely would have heard the noise anyway. It was more of a crash than a noise.
Something above me had made a loud thud on the floor. It almost sounded like someone had either fallen down or jumped off of a piece of furniture.
Now, I could ignore creaking floorboards because old houses settle. I could ignore tapping sounds because older pipes can do that. I had a lot of experience by that time of living in old places that made constant sounds. I was beyond being afraid of stuff like that thanks to being poor. But a loud thump, that was something else.
I stood up and took a step in the direction of the den's door, and I just about peed my pants when I heard something above me drag across the floor in the same direction. Whatever it was, it was following me. But, that had to be impossible. I'd let my imagination run away with me.
Chapter Nine
I took another step and heard the thing above me move too. I hadn't gone upstairs last night, and Pierce hadn't taken me up there either. I racked my brain trying to remember what room was above the den.
It was impossible for me to pull any sort of memory of the second floor of the house into my mind while I was frightened. I knew that I needed to check out what was going on, but that felt like a stupid move.
If there was an intruder upstairs, I needed to get out of the house and call the police. I didn't want to do that, though. If the police came and ran my name, they'd see that I had a past hospitalization for hallucinations. It had been when I was a teenager and was caused by a bad reaction to antibiotics used to treat MRSA, but it still made people look at me sideways when they found out.
"It's impossible for them to know. You were a kid." I said out loud. "You have the right to call the police so you don't get murdered even if you did have hallucinations in the past."
Another loud thump.
By that time, I was shaking. I took a tentative step forward and heard the drag above me. What was I going to do? I needed to get out, but I had this sickening feeling that whatever or whoever it was would be waiting for me by the door.
"Think." I said to myself.
Another thump.
How could it be a person? A person couldn't hear what I was saying from upstairs. Perhaps in one of my old apartments, but this house was well-built and insulated. I tried to convince myself that it was coincidence. Maybe the thumps weren't in response to the things I was saying, but then what about the dragging?
I guess I took too long. The next thing I heard was the thumping and dragging alternating in quick succession. Then, it was on the stairs. Thump. Thump. Thump. It was in the hall.
The way I saw it, I had two choices. I could lock the den's door or go out the window. As I grabbed the frame I prayed that the window would open because I didn't have much time before whatever was out there would be in the room with me.
As I threw open the window, I heard what I could swear was a gentle knocking at the door. I didn't stick around to find out, though. I pushed through the window and fell on the ground between two overgrown bushes.
I was on my feet in seconds and ran away from the house through the overgrown grass of the back grounds. At least I had done one thing right. I looked down and my cell phone was clutched in my left hand.
Chapter Ten
Brian had been right about the back yard. It was going to cost me thousands of dollars to clean it up. If I hadn't been fleeing from an intruder, I would have taken more time to scope out the damage, but my main priority was calling the police.
History of delusions or not, I needed help. If those noises were not my imagination, then I needed the police to go inside and figure out who was in my house.
I called 911.
"911. What is your emergency?"
"I think there is someone in my house."
"Can you get out? Can you get somewhere safe?"
"I'm already outside. I went out through a window."
"Good. What is your address?"
"3913 Westshire Drive. It's the Stonebridge Manor."
I hear her clicking away at the keyboard.
"Okay, ma'am. I've got a patrol car en route. I need you to stay on the phone with me until they arrive. Can you do that?"
"Yes."
"What's your name?"
"I'm Violet Stonebridge - Martin."
"Okay, Violet. Where are you right now? Are you somewhere where the police will see you when they get to the house?"
"I'm in the back. I went out a back window."
"Is there a way that you can safely make it to the front? You'll be safer where people can see you."
Just then, I heard a rustling in the grass closer to the house.
"Oh, god."
"What is it, Violet?"
"I think someone might be out here with me. Or, it could just be the wind. I just moved in and the backyard is so overgrown. It's hard to see much in the shadow of the house."
"You need to get somewhere safe."
"Okay." I said and listened. I didn't hear the rustling again, but I was pretty sure I knew which direction it came from. "I'm going."
I made my way around the other side of the house. I was careful to ensure that I stayed farther than arm's length from the windows, and I couldn't bring myself to look at the house. I got this weird feeling that someone was watching me from every single window. At that point, I knew that I was just spooked because that was impossible.
"Violet, are you there?"
"I am. I'm standing on the front sidewalk."
"I know because I can see you."
I almost dropped the phone.
"What?"
"The officer just radioed in and said that he can see you. Can you see the patrol car, Violet?"
There was nothing, but I spun around. Sure enough, a couple of blocks away a police car appeared.
"I see them."
"Good. Stay on the phone with me, and let me talk to the officer when they arrive."
The car pulled up to the curb and a big, burly man, who looked like a linebacker in a police uniform, wedged himself out of his car. I instantly relaxed in his presence and handed him my phone.
When he was done talking to the dispatcher, he handed the phone back to me.
"Okay, Violet. Let's take a look inside."
Chapter Eleven
/>
I couldn't believe he was going into the house alone to look for an intruder, but I hadn't noticed that Officer Jareth wasn't alone in the car. His partner, Officer Connie Layton stepped out of the car seconds later.
"You wait outside. We'll clear the house." Officer Layton said. "Are you okay out here? Do you want me to call another car to wait with you?"
"This is a big place, Connie. Why don't you go ahead and call for backup? Sparks and Dewitt are in the area. Dewitt can help us clear this place and Sparks can wait with the girl." Officer Jareth said in a deep, gravelly voice.
Another car showed up a few minutes later and two more policemen got out. Dewitt was tall and lanky, and Officer Sparks looked as though he was on the verge of retirement.
He stood next to me and we chatted about the weather and Mexican food while the other officers cleared my house.
"House is clear." Jareth said when he came out. "There's no one in there, but you left the den window open when you went out, so it's possible someone got out that way."
"Either way, we've made sure that all the doors and windows are closed and locked up tight." Officer Layton continued. "You're safe to go back in."
"I can escort you back into the house if you'd like" Jareth said. "I know it's hard for people to walk back in alone after something like this happens."
"Sure." I responded.
"Thanks for helping out." Jareth said to Officers Sparks and Dewitt.
"I'll call it in." Officer Layton said as she walked to her side of the patrol car.
"Shall we?" Officer Jareth said.
Despite his intimidating size, he had kind eyes. A gentle giant, my mother would have called him.
"See, right as rain." Jareth said as we stood in the entryway.
It was bizarre because the house actually had a better feel to it. I don't know how to describe it other than to say that it was lighter and more inviting. I wasn't at all afraid.
Dark Ends: A Horror Collection Page 2