She raced after her sister, through the kitchen and to the front door. Outside, at the end of the walkway, the truck sat idling, the headlights slicing the blackness of the night. Grandpa stood next to the tailgate, helping Grace up into the truck bed. He held up his hand when Julia approached. “Wait. Emma’s next.” He gestured to the front of the truck bed. “You two up there, right behind the cab.” Turning to Julia, he said, “You have to ride in the very back of the truck.” His face softened. “I’m sorry, darlin’, but it has to be that way. I wish it weren’t, but it’s bad enough business without endangering the others.”
Emma climbed up into the truck and sat next to Grace. It was hard watching Julia roll into the back and cower at the edge. The tailgate clanged shut like the banging of a prison cell door.
Julia looked up and her eyes locked with Emma’s. “I never told you how much I love you. Never said how proud I am to have you for a sister. If this doesn’t work out, I thought you should know.”
“Oh God...” Grace turned and looked away while it was all Emma could do not to scramble back to Julia and take her in her arms.
“Same goes for me, Jules. But in a little while all of this will be over. I’ll be back to being the bossy older sister who grates your last nerve. You’ll be the pain, you usually are.” She swallowed the lump in her throat. “We’ll get through this, okay?”
Julia nodded and the truck started down the road to the Hanson house. In the darkness that claimed them on the lonely road, Emma silently gave way to her tears.
Would they really get through this? Would anything ever be the same again?
Chapter 16
The truck lurched to a halt at the iron gate, and its headlights illuminated the flagstone walkway leading to the house. Emma’s breath stuck in her chest seeing the eerie light in the second floor window. This was it. They were here and there was no turning back. But that light was evidence that they wouldn’t be alone. The house and whatever was in it, was waiting for them.
The thud of Grandpa’s driver side door broke the stillness. He unhooked the tailgate and stepped back for Julia to get out.
Frank appeared on the other side of the truck. “I’ll lead the way.” His gaze took them all in and then settled on Julia. “No matter what happens, you stay focused on me. Follow me closely and don’t stop. Got that?”
Julia nodded and she slipped off the truck, stepping closer to him. “But you don’t know where Lily found it. How will you find the spot?” She was once more on the verge of tears, her shoulders low and sloped.
“I know where it was! I saw it on the dresser in the first bedroom when I was in there.” Emma slid over the iron floor and lowered her feet to the ground. Her chin rose and she stared into his eyes. “I’m going with her. You can’t stop me.”
“Me too!” Grace hopped off the truck and clasped Emma’s hand in her own, giving it a quick squeeze. She turned to their grandfather. “I think you should stay at the door, to guard it and keep it open, Grandpa. We don’t want to be in there any longer than we have to be and we need to be able to get out.”
“She’s got a point, Dan.” Frank didn’t give Grandpa a chance to argue; he turned and walked over to the gate. He shoved it open a foot or so, and then slipped through.
Emma couldn’t help staring up at the glowing window as she followed behind Julia. It was the room where that horrid doll was...the room that had started all this when Grace saw it. Like the eye of the house, it watched their every move while luring them in.
Julia stumbled and cried out, catching herself before she landed on the dewy ground. Immediately, Frank swung the flashlight around, shining the light at her bare feet. “You all right?”
“No!” She adjusted the shoulder of her nightgown. “Do I look all right? Thanks to this...” holding the hairbrush high in the air, “...this stupid brush...I’m walking into a haunted house in the middle of the night! What’s more...that stupid light up there isn’t supposed to be on!” She shook her head and took a step forward. “Am I all right? Yeah. Next question, please.” She threw her arms in the air. “I want to kick that ghost in the face!”
Emma couldn’t help smiling. This was more like the feisty sister she knew and loved. If they were to get through this, she’d need a healthy dose of spunk. “Why don’t you tell us how you really feel, Julia?” It was a line that their father used, teasing Julia when she was on a rant.
Julia turned, gazing into Emma’s eyes. She nodded briskly and once more began to follow Frank. The boards of the step creaked in protest when Frank stepped up. He swung the light around for Julia to follow.
Emma took a step up, staying close to Julia. Every muscle in her body was tight and trembling. She stared ahead when Frank pushed the gaping door open further, the flashlight intruding into the dank darkness of the house. The stair railing and bottom step became visible and she shuddered, closing her eyes for a moment.
“Jesus, this is so creepy in here.” Grace’s words were barely above a whisper behind Emma.
“Don’t take the Lord’s name in vain, Grace. You may need His help to get through this.” Grandpa stood like a sentry, his feet straddling the open doorway. “Just hurry and get this over with, okay? I’ll be saying prayers down here.”
Frank lowered the beam of the flashlight to light the steps and started up. When Emma followed, she folded her arms across her chest, rubbing her upper arms softly at the damp chill. Her gaze flitted through the inky air. It felt like there was someone or something watching them as they walked up the stairs.
A low creak broke the stillness...followed by a whispering shuffle...like footsteps! Emma froze. Julia gasped and turned, her hand reaching out to her sister.
“No!” Frank’s head jerked around and their eyes met. When Julia pulled back, he turned and peered above to the top step.
“We come in peace.” His voice echoed through the stairwell while his free hand clutched the amulet he wore around his neck. “We only want to return what belongs here.”
The footsteps stopped but the air became even colder. If there were more light, she’d be able to see her breath in front of her face. There was no explanation for the sudden chill, anymore than there was for the footsteps that had sounded.
Frank’s foot on the next stair creaked long and ominously. Emma took a deep breath. They were really going to do this. There was no turning back even though she wished that she was anywhere but there. Please God, if you’re up there, help us! She took the next step and then the next, all the while chanting a prayer for God’s help like a mantra in her mind.
Frank stood on the landing now, turning his light down to Julia’s feet. It was working! They were almost there. It was so quiet that she could hear the others’ breathing.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
The doors in all the bedrooms opened and slammed shut so hard that the house shook! Emma felt her heart hammer against her ribs. The noise was ear splitting while the house shook so hard, she scrabbled at the banister to stay on her feet. The light from the far bedroom pulsed with the door opening and shutting so fast. Frank and Julia were dark shadows while the air around them glowed in fast spurts.
The old man lurched to the side, shouldering the door of the first bedroom open and holding it. “Quick! Put it back!”
Julia turned and her eyes were wide and terrified peering at Emma. “I...I...can’t....
“Yes you can! Do it quick before we’re all killed!” Grace shouted and pushed forward to stand next to Emma.
Julia’s eyes filled with tears and she started to slump down. Emma’s teeth clenched. This was so unfair! She leapt forward and snatched the hairbrush from her sister without a second thought and darted into the room.
The vein in Frank’s forehead was a dark line, every muscle in his body straining to keep the door from slamming shut. He had dropped the flashlight in order to grasp the door. It cast a faint beam across the floor.
As she looked around the room for the dresser she became aware of
the cold numbness in her hand holding the brush. It was like a piece of ice, sending a cold ache up her arm. Oh my God! Julia had withstood all of that without a sound!
Seeing the dresser in the gloom, she stepped forward. There was a faint outline in the dust and she set it down in the exact place where it had lain for decades.
It was when she turned to leave that she saw the doll propped up on the bed. Its eyes blinked and then fell shut while it slumped over on the rumpled covers. Immediately silence descended in the house. All the doors that had been slamming shut stopped.
Emma watched the small plastic toy and felt her stomach roil. Just the sight of it there, laying on the bed made her skin crawl. It was the true evil in the house. Somehow, it was responsible for all of it. All the tragedy.
“Let’s get out of here.” Frank’s voice broke into her thoughts and she jerked turning around. He reached for her and gripped her arm leading the way to the stairs.
She jerked back and stared up at him. “But that doll...We’ve got to destroy it. I just know it’s evil...that it is somehow causing all this.”
“We will! Hurry!” He grabbed her arm again and half carried her down the stairs. There was no way he was letting go of her. Her hand was numb, the one that had held the hairbrush and she held it close to her chest.
Downstairs, Julia, with Grace’s arm over her shoulder walked by their grandfather as he stood in the doorway.
“Thank God, you’re all right!” Grandpa reached out to her and took her in his arms, steering her onto the small front step. He kissed her forehead and then turned to Julia and Grace. “You girls go back to the truck! Frank and I will finish this.”
“Wait!” Frank stepped forward and handed her something in his palm. “Take this. Hold it tight in your hand. It’ll help.”
Emma looked down at the small stone and the loop of leather draped through a hole in the dead centre. She closed her fingers over it, pressing it into her palm. At first it was just a slight tingle and then it began to get warmer. She looked up at him. “Thanks.”
“Now go. Get over to the truck and stay there.” Frank turned to her grandpa and the look on his face was grim. “We know what we have to do.”
Grandpa ran his hand through his hair. “We should have done it years ago, Frank.”
“Ayuh... well, better late than never...” Frank’s face split in the first smile Emma had ever seen, “Kemosabi!” The two men chuckled.
Emma’s gaze flickered between each of the men before she turned and walked after her sister and cousin. She felt like she was in a dream, a very bad dream. But the ache in her hand was real.
She slipped through the gate and joined Julia, pulling her into her arms and stroking her hair. “We’re safe. It’s over now.”
“Not quite.” Grace’s cheekbones were highlighted with streaks of gold and her eyes shone as she stared at the Hanson house.
Emma turned and saw the licks of flame, rising from the front door and the broken front window. The two men were dark silhouettes moving in the orange light.
“Thank God. No one will ever go in there again. And that evil doll will be destroyed.” Emma smiled and pulled her sister tighter into her body.
Chapter 17
With all that had gone on, they were back home less than an hour after leaving. They left Hanson House to burn on its own; Grandpa didn’t want to hang around to answer any questions from the firemen or police.
Upon entering, the first thing that Emma noticed was the quiet. Everything was as it should be—no doors banging, no table crashing against the floor or things flying through the air. She’d never appreciated how good normal could be.
Nana got up from the kitchen table where she’d been sitting next to Lily. There were tears in her eyes when she rushed over and folded the three girls into her arms. “Thank God!”
Emma felt like she’d run a marathon race. Every muscle in her body was heavy and warm. Even her hand had returned to normal, although she still clutched the stone amulet tightly. Hopefully, Frank wouldn’t ask for it back. There was a sense of power and calm that holding it brought—obviously why he always wore it. Her head tilted to the side. Maybe that was why her aunt wore hers.
Grace slipped out of her Nana’s arms and went over to the table to sit next to Lily. “Are you okay now?” She put her arm over the thin child’s shoulders and hugged her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “You had me worried!” When she drew back, tears glistened in her eyes.
“Come in! Have some hot chocolate. I’d say have some tea but I think you’d rather have chocolate. It fixes everything.” Nana led Emma and Julia over to the table. She turned and her hand rested on Grandpa’s arm. “Thank God. It’s finally over now, isn’t it?”
He nodded and then pulled out the chair at the head of the table to take a seat. “Frank? Stay and have some tea...or maybe a shot of whiskey might be more in order.”
Frank smiled. “I’ll take you up on the whiskey, but I’ve got something to do first. I’ll be right back.”
Emma stared wide eyed and smiling at the older man walking across the floor to go out the back door. He’d got them through this. Just like he’d helped her grandfather so many years ago. And his smile had been nice. It was the first time she’d actually seen it.
“What was it like over there?” Lily hunched over the cup of hot chocolate that she’d been drinking, peering closely at Emma and Grace.
“It was a real walk in the park! What did you think it’d be like? No thanks to you!” Julia scowled and then looked down at her hand, holding her wrist, and flexing her fingers. Her face softened when she looked over at Lily. The poor kid was close to tears.
“I’m sorry. I don’t know why I took it...the hairbrush. It was kind of like a voice in my head telling me to take it.” Lily looked down into the dark brown liquid, cupping her hands around the mug.
“Yeah right! We could have—”
“Julia! Stop. I think she’s telling the truth. There was something in that house that was really bad. Right from the start it spoke to her. Don’t blame Lily.” A flash of the doll, its eyes sliding shut and then it falling to the side flashed in Emma’s mind and she shuddered.
She turned to her grandfather. “The fire...will the fire department be able to stop it?” That was the last thing she wanted. The house was evil. How many people had to die or get hurt before it was destroyed?
Her grandfather’s eyebrows rose and he shrugged. “It was going pretty good when we left. All that dry wood. It’d be a miracle if they did. It’s mostly volunteers so who knows when they’d get there.” He sighed and looked up at Nana who was stirring milk into a saucepan on the stove. “It’s high time someone destroyed it.”
When the back door banged shut, Emma jerked in her seat, but calmed when she saw it was Frank. The night had been way too creepy for any sudden noises. She stifled a yawn. She was beat to a snot, but knew it would be hours before she’d be able to fall asleep.
Frank sat down at the table. He set three stone amulets in front of him. Each of them had a hole where a loop of leather threaded through, forming a necklace. “These are for you girls.” His eyes met Emma’s. “How’s your hand?”
“Better. I don’t know why but I think this helped.” She held the amulet up by its string.
“Good.” He picked up a small black one and handed it to Julia. “Take this. It’ll help.” He slid the other two across the table in front of Grace and Lily. “They’re not the prettiest things in the world but they’ll give you some protection against bad spirits. You encountered more than a few today.”
Lily picked hers up and looped it over her neck. She looked up at him and smiled. “It’s like the one Mom wears.”
“Where do you think she got it? Your mother paid a visit to the Hanson house when she was your age. She was lucky I spotted her heading that way and got her out of there.” Frank sat back when Grandpa put a glass of amber liquid in front of him. He looked up at Grandpa and grinned. “You never
knew that. I knew you’d have a conniption if you did. It was our secret, Cynthia and me.”
Grace slipped her necklace over her head and held the amulet up, examining it with her eyes. “It’s pretty, in a primitive sort of way.” She smiled at Frank. “Thank you. And thanks for everything you did today. I can’t imagine what would have happened if you didn’t check on us.” She shuddered.
Emma looked over at Grace. Was this the same girl who’d been so snotty about Frank when they’d got there? “So it really is the end of that house, isn’t it?” It was hard to believe how much they’d gone through and that they’d got out relatively unscathed.
Lily leaned forward peering at Grandpa. “Does this mean, we can stay?” Some colour had returned to her cheeks and her eyes were bright.
He smiled and set his glass of whiskey down on the table. “We’ll see how you are in the morning. Although you look fine now, we can’t be too careful. It was scary seeing you like that earlier.” I want to make sure you’re really okay.”
Nana rested her hand on Lily’s shoulder and looked down at her. “You were out cold for about fifteen minutes you know. You scared the life out of me. You’re sure you feel okay now?”
Lily looked up at her. “Just a little headache and I’m really tired. But other than that, I’m okay.”
Frank polished off the whiskey in one fell swoop and then sighed. “Well, that’s it for me. I’m off to bed.” He got to his feet slowly and looked at each of the girls in turn. “It was a foolish thing you did earlier today, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say, it’s no surprise. Your Grandpa and me did something like that when we were your age.” He turned to Grace. “As did your mother. But it’s over now.” He glanced out the kitchen window. “And it’ll never happen again.”
Grandpa stood up and he clasped Frank’s hand in both of his. “Take your time getting up in the morning. The chores will still be there at noon and the animals won’t starve.” He held Frank’s hand for an extra few seconds and looked in his eyes. “We owe you a lot, Frank. Thanks.”
The Ghosts of Hanson House: A Haunting In Kingston Novella (The Hauntings of Kingston Book 5) Page 11