The Clockwork House

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘Framed photographs, paintings, candlesticks, ornaments, and I found a carriage clock yesterday. China, silverware, just general stuff you’d find in a house of this size, only most of it dates back to the late 19th century and I kinda feel like I have a responsibility to save as much of it as I can. Even if it doesn’t end up back in the house, I could always donate it to a museum or something.’

  ‘Sounds fascinating,’ Kelley leaned in closer his eyes afire with curiosity. ‘So it’s like treasure hunting?’

  ‘Something like that.’

  ‘Cool,’ he grinned, ‘okay I’m in.’

  ‘Your storage shed should be arriving tomorrow so I’ll pull a couple of the guys to assemble it for you,’ Killian told her as he finished the last of his burrito and wiped his mouth on a paper napkin, tossing it on the plate. ‘Then you can start storing stuff from the house in there.’

  ‘Thanks,’ she grinned before turning to Kelley. ‘Everyone’s pretty much done. Give me a little time to clean up and I’ll show you the house.’

  ‘Sure,’ he nodded.

  ‘I can’t believe you actually let her talk you into going into the house,’ Killian shook his head. ‘That place terrified you as a kid, you had nightmares about it for years.’

  A fact Kelley was well aware of, but if she kept smiling at him like that, with that little whisper of a dimple in her left cheek, he was pretty sure he’d probably follow her into Freddie Kruger’s boiler room and not bat an eyelid.

  ‘I hope you boys are behaving yourselves,’ Gus wandered over.

  ‘Well Kelley’s wearing clothes, so I consider that progress,’ Killian smirked.

  Kelley threw him a withering look.

  ‘If that girl keeps cooking like this, I’m going to have to take the old belt down a notch,’ he patted his full stomach comfortably.

  ‘Hey Dad,’ Kelley glanced up at him as he rested against the back of his chair, ‘can you stop in on Uncle Dusty later. He’s approaching a major freak out. He was talking about cancelling his surgery.’

  ‘Oh, that Dustin,’ Gus shook his head, ‘he never did like the doctor’s office, even when we were kids. He’s even worse with hospitals, that’s why it’s taken him so long to get his knee looked at.’

  ‘Yeah well, he’s a nightmare. I get that he’s worried but he’s driving me insane. It’s not like I don’t have anything better to do than run his bar for him. Don’t get me wrong I’m happy to help, but the constant criticism is getting a bit much.’

  ‘I’ll talk to him,’ Gus nodded. ‘Anyway, I’d better head back; I’ll see you later.’

  ‘Bye Dad,’ Killian mumbled, watching as their father set his hat back on his head and strolled back to his squad car, whistling casually. ‘I’d better get back to work too.’

  Kelley watched as his brother stood up and rummaged around in the pocket of his jeans before stuffing some bills into the can.

  Unfolding himself from the chair he did the same, noticing just how much money she had in the can. He let out a low whistle.

  ‘It’s a nice little business you’ve got going for yourself here,’ Kelley remarked.

  ‘Oh, it’s not a business,’ Ava shook her head as she continued to scrub the large pans clean, ‘I just like to cook. The boys are just paying for the groceries.’

  ‘Ava do you have any idea how much you’ve made?’ he asked curiously.

  She shrugged her shoulders.

  ‘I don’t know,’ she rinsed off the pans and utensils and set them to dry in the sun. ‘I just shoved the can in the RV with the other ones. I haven’t counted any of them yet.’

  He’d never met anyone before who was so supremely unconcerned about money.

  ‘Have you thought about doing this as a business?’

  ‘What? Cooking?’ she frowned. ‘It’s not really worth it. Once the building work’s finished, I won’t have anyone left to feed.’

  ‘I wouldn’t be so sure about that,’ Kelley smiled, ‘but I meant have you thought about setting up your own little place in town?’

  ‘Like a restaurant?’

  ‘Why not?’ he shrugged.

  Ava laughed as she untied her apron and hung it over the table.

  ‘Honestly I wouldn’t know where to start. I like to cook, that’s the beginning, middle and end of my skill set.’

  He watched as she snagged a couple of hard hats and placed one on his head.

  ‘Come on, I wanna show you the haunted house,’ she grinned.

  ‘That’s not funny.’

  ‘It kinda is,’ she grabbed his hand and towed him toward the house.

  ‘Where’s Bailey anyway,’ he glanced around. ‘I would’ve expected to be mauled to death by now.’

  ‘She’s in the RV,’ Ava shook her head and sighed. ‘She’s not very happy about it but a construction site is not really a good place to let her roam free.’

  ‘Uh huh,’ Kelley murmured as he stopped at the top of the stone steps and stared up at the building.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she whispered, ‘I won’t let anything happen to you.’

  ‘Hey, I’m working with decades of childhood fears here,’ he cast a dry look in her direction before sucking in a deep breath. ‘Okay I can do this.’

  ‘Sure you can,’ she replied softly without a hint of teasing as her hand tightened reassuringly in his.

  ‘Okay,’ he exhaled loudly, and lifting his foot he stepped over the threshold into the foyer. ‘Whoa, did you feel that?’ he murmured.

  ‘What?’ she looked up at him curiously.

  ‘Nothing, I guess,’ he frowned. ‘It just seemed… never mind, it’s probably that overactive imagination of mine.’

  ‘It feels like low pressure, like the air before a storm, somehow heavier,’ she told him softly.

  ‘Yeah,’ he replied as he stared at her thoughtfully, ‘that’s it exactly.’

  ‘Strange,’ she muttered, ‘no one else seems to be able to feel it.’

  ‘Guess that means we’ve both got overactive imaginations,’ he smiled down at her.

  ‘Come on, I’ll show you around.’

  She kept his hand in hers as she steered him through the lower rooms, past the parlor which had been converted into a school room, an old billiards room, the music room with a damaged piano, through the scullery and servants’ quarters, until they reached another door.

  ‘What’s in there?’ he asked curiously.

  ‘I don’t know if I should show you,’ she winced, ‘being an English teacher and a lover of books and all that.’

  Even more curious now, he stepped through the doorway down into what looked like a library, except all the glass fronted cabinets stood empty with their doors flung open, and the floor was littered with the corpses of damaged books.

  ‘Damn,’ he whispered.

  ‘Yeah,’ Ava stepped further into the room, wandering past the half empty bookcases to where an old, heavy desk stood not quite in the center of the room.

  She stood and stared out into the room, an unreadable expression marring her features.

  ‘What?’ Kelley asked as he followed her into the room.

  ‘Nothing,’ she shook her head.

  ‘Tell me,’ he stopped in front of her.

  ‘It’s just,’ she sighed, ‘I keep trying to see it.’

  ‘See what?’

  ‘The house,’ she frowned, trying to find the words to explain. ‘Drew keeps asking me what I want to do with it, what my vision is of how it should look and no matter how hard I try I just can’t see it.’

  ‘That’s not a bad thing Ava,’ he replied. ‘You don’t have to have all the answers.’

  ‘You wanna know something stupid?’

  ‘Sure,’ he smiled, ‘I love stupid.’

  That earned a small smile, followed by a wistful sigh.

  ‘My whole life, all I’ve ever wanted was a home.’

  He wasn’t sure what he was expecting her to say but that quiet, heartfelt admission tore at his heart. He�
��d had a home, filled with love and surrounded by a big, noisy, interfering family, which apparently, he’d taken for granted.

  ‘A home?’

  ‘Serenity loved to move around a lot,’ she shook her head. ‘The wanderlust she called it. It was always a new place, a new town, a new city, a new commune, new faces. Nothing ever stayed the same. I’d make friends and then she’d just uproot me again. Sometimes I almost hated her for it. In the end I just stopped making friends, it hurt too much when I had to leave.’

  ‘I’m sorry,’ he frowned, ‘that sounds like a lonely way to grow up.’

  ‘It wasn’t all bad,’ Ava shrugged. ‘Serenity loved me, in her own way, but I would lie on the ground on whatever sleeping pallet I could find, sometimes if I was lucky I got an actual bed, and I would dream of a home of my own, one that I never had to leave.’

  ‘That’s understandable,’ he murmured.

  ‘But do you know what I’ve just realized?’

  ‘What?’

  ‘That in all the time I had this dream of having a home, I never once pictured what it would look like,’ she replied in confusion. ‘Now I’m faced with the very real possibility of actually having a home and I still can’t picture it. I’m beginning to think there’s something wrong with me. That maybe I am just a nomad like my mom.’

  ‘There’s nothing wrong with you Ava,’ he took her arms gently, so she was facing him and tilted her chin up until their eyes met. ‘Have you ever thought that maybe it wasn’t the house you were dreaming of, but the sense of belonging.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ she frowned.

  ‘Ava, a home is more than just bricks and mortar, its more than picking out window treatments and fancy furniture. It’s the people around you, who love you. People you know you can count on to be there for you, a place in the community. I watched you out there, and it was more than you just cooking for a few people, it was you making a connection, making a place for yourself.

  It’s all right there in front of you if you really want it, if you’re brave enough to step up and take it. So, you don’t know what color you want to paint the walls, okay. So, you don’t even know where you want to put said walls, big deal. What matters is deciding whether or not you belong here on the island with us.’

  ‘Kelley,’ she murmured.

  ‘Of course,’ he grinned, ‘selfishly I want you to stay just so I can have another chance at getting you naked, this time hopefully without a wet dog and an ocean between us.’

  She laughed and a little of the heaviness on her shoulders lifted. She opened her mouth to speak when she suddenly heard a loud cracking sound.

  ‘What was that?’ she asked worriedly.

  The sound came again, alarmingly close.

  They both looked down at the floor between their feet, where a large jagged crack suddenly appeared in the parquet flooring. She barely had time to look up, her eyes widening in shock as they locked on to Kelley’s, when the floor suddenly splintered and gave way, and the next thing they knew they were both falling.

  In that one terrifying moment of freefall, surrounded by darkness, she felt Kelley’s arms wrap around her protectively and then they hit the ground.

  Somehow, he’d managed to cushion her fall, although it had still knocked the wind out of her. She rolled off him, coughing through the dust and debris which had been thrown up into the air with their combined impact.

  ‘Kelley?’ she croaked as she groped for him in the darkness, ‘Kelley, are you okay?’ She coughed again.

  For one terrifying moment in the blackness and silence, her heart almost stopped, fearing the worst, until he groaned and rolled over.

  ‘Kelley,’ she breathed in relief as he moved.

  ‘What the hell?’ he looked up at the gaping hole above them. ‘WATCH OUT!’ he suddenly yelled, grabbing her in the darkness and rolling her underneath him as he shielded her from more splintered wood, old books and debris that showered down on them.

  There was a loud, ominous, grinding sound and the heavy old desk toppled into the hole, wedging its massive bulk in the opening, suspended precariously above them. They both looked up in horror as it slid another inch closer to them, dislodging a fresh shower of splinters and dirt.

  ‘AVA MOVE!’ Kelley grabbed her roughly and dragged her across the floor as he scrambled back, cocooning her with his body. The desk crashed through the floor and smashed to the ground, narrowly missing them by inches and throwing up a fresh cloud of sharp splinters and choking dust.

  ‘AVA! KELLEY!’ Killian’s voice shouted desperately through the wide gap. ‘GET SOME ROPE AND FLASHLIGHTS, I CAN’T SEE A THING!’ he yelled loudly to his crew. ‘AVA! KELLEY! CAN YOU HEAR ME?’

  Kelley shifted as the dust subsided, reaching for Ava in the darkness.

  ‘Ava?’ he whispered urgently, ‘are you okay? Are you hurt?’

  ‘I’m okay,’ she wheezed, ‘a little banged up but I’m alright.’

  He blew out a deep breath. Unable to see her, he reached out for her and cupped her face to assure himself she really was okay, pressing his forehead to hers in relief.

  Killian’s frantic voice came again through the ragged hole above them.

  ‘We’re okay,’ Kelley called up, as he helped Ava stand on shaky legs.

  ‘Jesus Christ Kelley,’ Killian’s voice was filled with relief. ‘I’m gonna kill you for shaving the next ten years off my life.’

  ‘Yeah?’

  Ava could hear the grin in Kelley’s voice.

  ‘Come down here and say that.’

  ‘Don’t tempt me,’ he replied irritably.

  ‘Ava?’ Killian called, ‘are you okay?’

  ‘Yeah,’ she replied, ‘Kelley broke my fall.’

  ‘Good to know that hard head of his is good for something,’ he grumbled. ‘Hold on we’ll get you out of there.’

  ‘Kelley,’ Ava called to him softly, as she ran her hand along the wall and felt smooth wood and ridges. ‘This is wood paneling; I think we’re in another room.’

  ‘Killian!’ Kelley shouted up, ‘drop down a couple of flashlights so we can see where we are.’

  ‘Okay,’ came the reply, ‘heads up.’

  Ava watched as Killian switched on each of the flashlights and dropped them down the hole, one by one. Kelley caught them easily and handed one to her as he scanned their surroundings.

  They weren’t in a room but a corridor, with a faded red runner along the wooden floor, dark wood paneling along the walls and candle sconces mounted at intervals to the end, where there was a closed door.

  ‘I knew it,’ Kelley shook his head. ‘I told you there were hidden rooms and passages beneath the house.’

  ‘Yeah, yeah,’ Ava frowned, ‘let’s just hope you’re not right about anything else. I’d hate to open that door and come face to face with the ghost of Luella Lynch.’

  ‘Don’t even joke about it,’ Kelley’s eyes widened a fraction.

  They both stared at the door highlighted by the twin beams of their flashlights.

  ‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Kelley muttered.

  ‘Pretty sure I am,’ she replied reluctantly.

  His heart was pounding in his chest like a bass drum and he could feel the powerful wave of adrenalin surging through his veins. He was scared but it was rapidly being elbowed roughly aside by a sense of curiosity, so strong it almost tugged him off his feet. He’d never been able to resist a mystery and here he was being presented with the mother of them all.

  ‘WHAT’S GOING ON DOWN THERE?’ Killian yelled.

  ‘Hold on Killian,’ Kelley replied, glancing at Ava who gave the barest nod of her head. ‘We’re just going to take a look.’

  ‘I don’t think that’s a good idea,’ Killian shouted back. ‘We’ve got ropes; we’re going to pull you back up.’

  ‘In just a minute,’ Kelley argued. ‘We’re down here now and it looks stable enough. We’re just going to take a quick look.’

  ‘Great,’
Killian muttered irritably. ‘First you can’t get him in the house, now you can’t get him out.’

  Kelley climbed over the ruins of the desk which was blocking the corridor and reached out to help Ava over the debris. They walked slowly down the corridor until they were standing in front of the heavy mahogany door.

  ‘You sure about this?’ Ava asked.

  ‘We’re just going to take a look,’ Kelley muttered. ‘No harm ever came from just taking a look.’

  ‘Great, maybe they can inscribe that on our gravestones… ‘Kelley said we were just going to take a look…’’

  She heard him chuckle lightly.

  ‘Ready?’ he asked.

  ‘As I’ll ever be,’ she breathed, ‘but just so you know, you’re paying for my therapy when this is all over.’

  He laughed again as he reached for the brass doorknob. The stillness of the corridor seemed to amplify the clicking as the lock turned and slowly, like something out of a Bela Lugosi movie, the door creaked open with a disturbingly loud high-pitched whine.

  There was nothing but darkness beyond. Kelley felt Ava’s hand sneak into his and at that point he wasn’t entirely sure if she was comforting him or he was comforting her. They shuffled tentatively forward and caught a glimpse of metal in the beam of the flashlights. It took a few moments to realize that it was an elaborate, metal framed staircase spiraling down into the darkness below.

  Kelley glanced across to Ava.

  ‘Should we?’ he asked, not sure whether he wanted to hear a yes or no.

  ‘I wonder what’s down there,’ she muttered as she stared into the black well of twisting metal.

  ‘There’s only one way to find out.’

  She lifted her flashlight so she could see his face.

  ‘I will if you will,’ he challenged.

  ‘Guess we’re going down then,’ she sucked in a fortifying breath. ‘After you.’

  ‘Somehow I knew you were going to say that,’ he muttered as he let go of her hand and stepped onto the stairs, testing to see if they were still strong enough to bear weight. ‘They’re sturdy,’ he told her quietly. ‘Locked away down here they weren’t exposed to any corrosive elements, so we should be okay.’

  ‘Okay then,’ she replied grasping onto the handrail, ‘I’m right behind you.’