Sand Trap (Haunted Series)

by Alexie Aaron

  “Best bet is to go in through the window,” he suggested quietly.

  Mia and Beth nodded and followed him outside. As they walked around the building, Mia kicked at the debris the wind had driven against it. Litter still happened on the roads regardless of the signs, schooling, and fines from local law enforcement. She saw that quite a lot of the rotting paper was fast food bags and wrappers. As they moved to the side of the building, the dominant trash was beer bottles, a sign that the youth of this rural stretch of road used the parking lot as a meeting place.

  “Burt? Did you find any sign that the populace used the empty building for partying?”

  “Surprisingly, no. Of course the owners could have cleaned up before we got here, but there wasn’t any graffiti or mess that would be associated with drunk kids.”

  “He’s talking about piss on the walls,” Beth explained with disgust. “We’ve been to a few places where urine was the odor of the day.”

  “Gross.” Mia wrinkled her nose. They turned the corner, and Burt stopped to place some discarded milk crates against the wall under the high window. He stepped up to test them with his weight before he nodded that it was alright to ascend to Mia and Beth.

  “Thank you,” Mia said as she accepted his hand and climbed the impromptu stairs to the window.

  She jumped down into the bar, surprised by the heavy atmosphere that had already started to accumulate. She touched her earpiece and signaled Ted, “Picking up some vibes, guys, over.”

  The earpiece crackled, but Ted’s voice came back to her clearly, “We’re picking you up fine, Mia. Do you see anything? Over.”

  Mia waited until Beth had climbed in before moving away from the window. “I’m not picking up anything at the moment, but for a watering hole, this place is oppressive. I feel confined, trapped and there is despair radiating from the floor, over.”

  “You can see despair?” Mike asked and added, “Over.”

  “Hard to explain. I see a fog. A mist, maybe, would be a better visual. It creeps along the floor. It stays away from the outside walls as if repelled. If I hug the wall the feeling goes away, over.”

  “Noted and entered in the log, over,” Ted said professionally.

  Mia frowned. She thought in the past he would have at least added dude or dudette. Ted was maturing. This made Mia sad somehow.

  Mia watched as Burt pulled himself through the window. He was hurting, but his stubbornness was canceling the common sense that should have told him to sit this investigation out. He pulled out a MiniCam Ted affectionately called LuLu and began filming, slowly pivoting in order to take in the room in as smooth a motion as possible. The three of them formed up and walked slowly into the room with Mia in the lead. She scanned the floor and noticed that the fog moved outward from the direction of the space indicated as the dining room. She pointed this out to the others. She kept silent as she needed to be able to use all her senses, especially her hearing. Burt and Beth were pros and took this into consideration and kept their talking to a minimum.

  They turned the corner and entered the old dining room. It was filled with pool tables pushed together at one end. Their heavy slate tops making them horrendous to move.

  Turning away from the green felt sea, Mia saw that the dining room had a smaller bar taking up much of the inside wall. The fog seemed thicker here and moved out from the floor behind the bar. “I think I may have found a way to the basement. There may be a trapdoor under this linoleum.”

  Burt and Beth moved to either side of her. They didn’t see anything, but then again Mia had a gift that neither of them shared.

  She saw a rectangle with sides that the mist moved up and out of, before dispersing along the green linoleum floor. Mia reached into her cargo pants and pulled out a box cutter. She slid the blade into position and locked it. Using the mist outline as a guide she cut through the flooring, finding a groove of emptiness as she cut. It took her a few minutes to navigate the tool around the space. She stopped when she came to metal. A hinge perhaps? She started back at the beginning of her cuts and moved in the opposite direction until she hit metal again. At this point the fog reversed itself and moved quickly into the cutting. It ran into the space like water did upon finding a drain.

  She stood up and spoke quietly to Burt and Beth, “I think there’s energy building. Do you want me to proceed?”

  “Positive or negative?” Beth questioned rubbing her arms.

  “Ah, both.”

  Burt stifled a laugh.

  Mia giggled nervously and admitted, “I don’t really know, Beth. I’m going to try to pull off the lino and see if we can find a way to open this hatch. I can tell there are hinges but…”

  Burt was already on his knees using his fingers to pull back a section of the old, padded, pasted substance. Mia added her strength, and they were able to move three feet of green flooring to reveal an access trap below.

  Beth pointed out part of a recessed metal ring through the adhesive paper that had adhered to the trapdoor over time.

  Mia cut around the ring and used the other end of the knife to pry it away from the base.

  Burt straddled the opening and heaved upwards, moving backwards as the hatch sprung loose from its decade of inactivity.

  The smell that came with it wasn’t unexpected, but it wasn’t something to dab behind one’s ears. Mold, damp, rot, and something yet to be determined, greeted the investigators. There was also the unforeseen sound of water.

  “I’m hearing moving water,” Mia reported.

  “Energy source for the ghosties,” Ted commented and added, “Over.”

  “Could be, but do we have any info on an underground stream or river flowing under this building?” she questioned the team.

  Beth, the researcher of the team, shook her head, and Ted replied with, “Negative, nada, nope, over.”

  Burt tied a line on the MiniCam. “Ted, I’m going to drop LuLu over the edge and guide her down with her light on. We are looking for a way down, steps, ladder, whatever, and a description of what we are up against, over.”

  “Ready, over,” Ted said as he scooted over and made room for Mike to sit next to him. Two sets of eyes were better than one as the mini rotated this way and that as it was lowered into the darkness.

  The light only penetrated a few feet into the pitch black of the underground structure. Its flash reflected briefly on stone before it was swallowed by darkness again.

  “Hold. Move the cam to your right,” instructed Ted. “Picking up rock, either a wall or perhaps a stair, over.”

  “Copy that.” Burt moved the mini as far as he could towards the hinged end of the open trap and lowered it a foot. It teetered but landed on something.

  “We’re picking up stone, over.”

  Burt picked it up and moved it away from the hinge a few inches and lowered it two feet before it landed on something solid.

  “We see stone and closer stone.”

  “Houston, I think we have staircase,” Burt said smiling at the girls. He rolled his eyes and added the forgotten, “Over.”

  They repeated the process until they had determined that they had chiseled stone steps that descended to a hard packed earth floor.

  “Beth,” Burt said. “Do you want to go first?”

  There was no answer. Burt stood up and looked around. “Mia, where’s Beth?”

  Mia moved out of her crouched position under the bar and stood up. “She was just behind me, I could hear her breathing. Beth,” she called.

  “Ted, do you have eyes on Beth, over?” Burt asked.

  “No. I’ll ring her cell phone, over.”

  Mia and Burt moved around the dining room, checking underneath the pool tables. They were startled by Beth’s phone going off. The sound was coming from the main room. Mia ran heedlessly into the room and saw nothing. Burt joined her. The phone continued to ring, and its sound echoed throughout the room. Mia felt a drop of moisture hit the top of her head. She rubbed at it with her hand before
a bad feeling came over her. She brought her hand down to her face and saw it was blood. Looking up, she could not believe her eyes.

  Beth was tied to the main rafter. Her hands were bound above her head. Her ankles secured separately. She was hung there like a hog ready for the fire. Her head hung to the side, and the blood Mia experienced came from Beth’s nose.

  “Mayday, mayday, Beth’s in trouble. Ladders, EMTs whatever the fuck you can get here!” Mia barked. “Murphy, for cripes sake, where the hell are you?” Mia was starting to freak out when she felt Burt’s hand on her shoulder.

  “Calm down, I’m here.”

  “She’s not moving. We’ve got to get to her.” Mia sniffed, tears flowing down her face. “I could OOB up there, but I can’t touch her in a bilocated form.”

  “Do you think if I lifted you up you could balance on my shoulders? Between the two of us maybe we could reach her?”

  Mia nodded, turned around and lifted her arms. Burt picked her up and put her on his shoulders. She situated her legs and got slowly to her feet using his head to stabilize. Trusting Burt to catch her, she straightened her back and stood up, waving her arms to keep her balance. Burt raised his arms and wrapped his hands around her legs. He moved to center them under Beth.

  “Can’t reach the main beam. Walk me over there to that angle support,” she instructed.

  He did, and Mia found she could just reach the support beam. Mia lifted her small body onto the beam. She navigated the join and got onto the main beam. Mia carefully crawled over to Beth. Mia reached down and felt her neck and found a pulse.

  “She’s alive, over,” Mia reported. “Her hands are bound with cable. Hell, the monsters used our own cable. How the hell?” Mia asked no one in particula as she examined Beth’s restraints. “She didn’t make a sound. I would have screamed my head off.” Mia tenderly moved her hands along the unconscious Beth’s head. “She’s got a bump on the back of her head the size of a plum.”

  “Ted, what’s the ETA on the EMTs, over?” Burt asked and added, “Where the hell is Mike?”

  “Mike will be with you in two. He’s bringing the med kit. EMTs on way, over.”

  “Wait for them and direct them…” Burt made a strangled gurgle.

  Mia looked down at him and saw a big burly man with his arm around Burt’s neck. “Burt’s in trouble, over.” Mia touched the side of Beth’s face and said, “Hang in there,” before she launched herself off the beam and on to the thing that was wrapped around Burt, cutting off his air supply.

  She reasoned, if it could touch them, she sure as hell could touch it. Her feet connected with the head of the attacker, and it let go of Burt. He fell gasping for air.

  “Get out of here. You can’t see it,” Mia said as she jumped to her feet and grabbed for her ever present saltshaker. “Find some iron!” she called as she launched a stream of salt at the stunned ghost. It recoiled. “Okay, I have found a weakness. Salt, over.” Mia quickly positioned herself under Beth and drew a ring with some of the remaining salt. If Beth fell then Mia could at least break her fall.

  Burt scrambled to the window, and Mike met him with an iron crowbar from Mia’s stash in her truck. Burt grabbed the bar, held it up like a Louisville slugger and ventured in. “Direct me, bebe.”

  Mia jolted at the pet name but regained her composure. “It’s three feet in front of you. Two feet. Swing!”

  Burt swung and felt air, then pudding, then air as he connected and brought the bar through the ghost.

  Mia saw the ghost waver, stunned by the assault. “Seems to have slowed him down. Hit him again. Same spot.”

  Burt swung again, this time less air and more pudding. “It’s getting denser, Mia.”

  Mia saw the ghost solidify, and as it did the features became so clear that Mia could see the unbrushed teeth of the leather and blue jean clad man. He snarled before launching himself at Burt.

  “Watch out in front of you!”

  Burt threw himself to the side, and the ghost flew past him, colliding with the stone of the outside wall. The man slumped down. Mia felt the weight of indecision but opted to leave her circle of safety. She ran over to the stunned ghost and drew a line with what was left of the salt, connecting him with the wall.

  “What are you doing,” asked Burt.

  “This is just a theory, but I think this will trap this booger to the wall. For some reason they can’t move across, through, over or under the walls of this building. I think that is why Murphy hasn’t shown himself.” She ran over to the window and confirmed that her agitated friend was unable to touch the building in order to climb in. “I wonder if he was tossed in?”

  Burt laughed in spite of the dire situation the three of them were in. The image of Ted or Mike tossing the axe wielding farmer through the window was too hilarious to stifle. “Once you got him in, I doubt you could get him out,” he warned her. “I think we’re on our own, Mia.”

  Mike ran up, carrying two giant boxes of kosher salt and a sleeping bag. He tossed the boxes to Mia and climbed in. “I thought,” he started to explain, “that we could salt a pathway to and under Beth. Mia, you climb up there and cut the cables. He handed wire cutters to her. Burt and I will be under her holding this bag, opened of course, between us.”

  Mia and Burt nodded, and Mia drew the passageway, cautioning the men to not smear the line. She then let Mike lift her onto Burt’s shoulders, landing feet first, and he kept a hand on her legs as she righted herself. Once again Mia lifted herself onto the support beam and worked her way over to Beth. She crossed over her arms carefully and sat between her bound arms and legs. Mia chose to cut her legs first to minimize the time Beth’s head would hang lower than her heart. She dangled by her tied hands for a few seconds. Mia waited until the men were set up with their impromptu quilted net before she cut her hands free.

  Beth fell from the rafters into the taut sleeping bag. Burt and Mike released a small amount of pressure and carried her between them over to the window. Ted was there waiting as he followed their progress via the Bluetooth communicator. Burt lowered Beth into the tech’s arms.

  “EMTs are five minutes out,” Ted said as he cradled Beth to him.

  Mike hopped out of the window, and Burt watched until the three of them disappeared around the corner. He then remembered Mia. He turned around and carefully made his way to under her. She sat smiling as she met his eyes.

  “What’s next, boss?” she asked swinging her legs.

  “Maybe get you down,” he suggested.

  “I think that is a great idea.” Mia momentary lay down on the beam on her stomach. As she clung to the roughhewed lumber, she swung her body around and lowered her legs first.

  Burt caught her legs, and she let go of the beam. He bore her weight, but the momentum of her fall brought him to his knees. She grabbed for his head, steadying her torso. Her feet now on solid ground, she disengaged herself saying, “Thanks Burt.”

  “Thanks for flying to my rescue earlier.”

  Mia looked down at Burt and offered him a hand up. “It’s what I do.”

  “Touching,” Ted’s voice cracked in their earpieces. “EMTs have pulled up as well as the staties, over.”

  “Copy that, I’m heading out now, over,” Burt said. He looked at Mia and asked, “Coming?”

  “As soon as I shut the trapdoor and have a chat with your dancing partner.” Mia nodded towards the wall.

  “Be careful and hurry,” Burt ordered before heading to the window.

  Mia stepped over the protective circle and ran over to the trap and closed it. She drew a ring of salt around it before leaving. Walking over to the ghost pinned against the wall, she stopped and eyed him. He rose from his crouched position and glared down at her.

  “I don’t know if you can communicate or not.” She pulled out a small digital voice recorder from her pocket and turned it on and set it on the floor just outside of the salt enclosure. “I don’t know if you can understand me. We’re not here to hurt you.” S
he looked at him, and he gave her a seething look. “Oh, I guess you’re not buying that are you.” Mia put a hand on the stone wall of the bar and said, “For some reason these walls are holding you in. Making you mad. You are one violent son of a bitch. I understand there are more of you here. Is this true?”

  The man nodded and growled.

  Mia tried not to let her aversion to his actions show. “Are they your friends?”

  The man smiled and put his hand up and tilted it back and forth.

  “Some are, some aren’t,” Mia interpreted. “Do you want to leave here, move on?”

  He crossed his arms.

  “Your turf? Is this your turf?”

  He nodded.

  “You want them to leave? The others?”

  He nodded again.

  “I’m listening. I don’t know how this is all going to be resolved, but give me some time.”

  He looked at her and nodded and lowered his arms. He pointed to the salt.

  “If I let you out, promise not to mess with me? I’ll leave right away.”

  He rolled his eyes and nodded again.

  Mia didn’t trust him, but she also knew the torment of being trapped. Dead or alive, violent or not, Mia wasn’t going to leave this entity vulnerable to the “others” all night. She bent down and retrieved the recorder and secured it. Mia took her foot and scraped away a section of salt before she ran like hell to the window.

  He caught her just before her hand hit the sill. He turned her around and raised her so she looked eye to eye with this monster. She knew better than to struggle, as this powerful entity could just as easily snap her into two if it chose. Mia chose instead to glare back at him and say, “You’ve made your point. Let me down.”

  He did as she asked. The biker stared at her once more before dissipating into thin air.

  Mia turned and fled, vaulting out the window onto the soft garbage-strewn ground. Murphy was there, and she let him rant, in his way, about the danger she put herself in. She brushed off her knees and shrugged, “You’re just jealous.”