Tony came out about ten a.m. Johnny was asleep, still in his sitting position outside the shed. Betty was asleep inside.
“Johnny,” Tony shook him.
“Huh?” Johnny opened his eyes.
“I got out here as quick as I could. Had to eat breakfast and pretend like nothing’s going on. My dad left for work. Mom finally left the house to get groceries. We don’t have a lot of time.”
“Okay.” Johnny got up.
“Let’s wake her up. Call the others.”
“What are we going to do with her?” Johnny inquired.
“I don’t know,” Tony admitted. “We have nowhere to move her to, and tomorrow we start school again. We won’t be able to watch over her.”
“Shit,” Johnny said, “That’s right!”
“Let’s take her into the house for now, call the others, and we’ll drive somewhere.”
Upon opening the shed door they saw the other dilemma of their situation. A ray of sunlight streamed in through the open door, and they no longer had to worry about waking her up. Betty woke up
screaming. Where the light hit her forearm it instantly began to hiss
and sizzle, tiny tendrils of smoke rising from her skin.
“Oh no!” Tony slammed the door shut. “She was fine in the sunlight yesterday.”
“Yeah,” Johnny said, “That was before…” He trailed off, not finishing the sentence. She’d drunk blood before, but not from a live human. She was a full vampire now.
“Betty,” Tony said, “Can you wrap the blankets all around you? Don’t leave any of your skin exposed. Not even your eyes or face. We’re going to try and open the door again. We have to get you out of there.”
“Okay,” Betty said, worried. She did as she was told.
Tony opened the door again carefully. Betty was covered from head to toe. “Okay, now quick, we’re going to run into the house. Johnny, you hold one arm, I’ll hold the other. We’re going to have to guide her in.”
Johnny nodded. “All right, let’s do it.”
The only windowless room in the house was the laundry room. They put her in there until they could figure out what to do next.
Tony called Jeremy on the phone. “Are your parents home?”
“No,” Jeremy said. “I think they’ll be gone until dinner. My sister’s with them.”
“Good, we’re driving over there with Betty. Call the others.”
“Okay, is she…?”
“Yes, she’s fine, but she’s not reacting well to daylight…”
“Oh.”
“…so do you have a room without a window??”
Jeremy thought about it. “Yes, Becky’s old nursery. There are no windows there.”
“Good, we’ve got to figure something out. We can’t stay here,” Tony said. My mom will be home in an hour or two.”
“Okay.”
“Just try and get a hold of the others. We’ll all meet up at your place and see where we go from there.”
“Will do,” Jeremy said. He paused. “There’s not much hope, is there, for her?”
Tony shook his head, although Jeremy couldn’t see him. “No, I don’t think there is.”
5
The nursery was decorated as it had always been: pink wallpaper with little blue flowered vines, and cheery brown teddy bears. A wooden see-saw style crib stood in the center, painted white with clear plastic stickies of red hearts and baby blue rattles adorning its side. There was a simple, white two drawer combination dresser/changing table in the far left corner, and a large chest labeled TOYS in the far right corner. Inside it still contained a plethora of plush animals, rattles, and other baby friendly items.
Betty was understandably scared. Once inside she could finally remove her covering blankets. They all stared at the burn mark on her right forearm. It was only a first degree burn, a brown patch where some of her skin had peeled away, but she was absent-mindedly scratching at it.
“Oh,” Staci said, “Don’t do that honey. It’ll only irritate it.” She looked at Jeremy. “Do you have any gauze bandages? Itch cream?”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said. “I’ll go get them.”
Betty sat on the floor against the wall, between the changing table and toy chest, knees up, hugging herself, and she began to rock back and forth.
“What are we going to do with her?” Myron whispered. No one had the answer. They would learn, sadly, that that decision had already been made for them.
Jeremy returned with the bandages and cream. They let Staci put them on, since Betty appeared to trust her the most. Though only sixteen Staci had a soothing, nurturing way about her when dealing with children, that Betty responded to. She even managed to coax a smile out of her, although God knew she didn’t have much to smile
about.
“All right,” Staci said, “All better.” She meant Betty’s arm, but quickly noted that was a poor choice of words. Thankfully Tony broke the awkward silence.
“Are you guys hungry?” Tony said, “I mean, I ate breakfast, but if you want I can drive somewhere and bring us back something.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy said, “I am a little.” The rest were in agreement.
“Betty?” Tony asked, “Are you hungry…?” He paused, quickly adding, “For food?”
She shook her head. Tony nodded.
“There’s a McDonald’s nearby; everyone okay with that?” Mumbles of assent. “I think we can still get breakfast.” Back then McDonald’s still served breakfast until eleven.
He asked everyone what they wanted, and was off. They ate at the kitchen table; leaving the door to the nursery open a crack, so they could hear Betty should she ask for something, or at least hear the creak of the door should she try to escape; or as Johnny poorly put it, “Vamp out.” But Betty didn’t so much as make a peep, which was even more disquieting.
“We have to figure out what to do with her, where to take her before your parents get home,” Tony said.
“I know,” Jeremy agreed.
For the most part they ate in silence. One could almost hear the gears turning in their brains. The nursery was on the ground floor, and they periodically took turns, one by one, checking up on her. They all merely peeked in, and found her sitting in the same position. Around one they moved to the living room and turned on the TV, low so they could still hear anything else. Jeremy, Tony, and Myron were on the couch, Johnny and Staci on the loveseats at opposite ends.
At one point around three Staci checked in on her and found Betty sitting with her legs crossed, playing with several of the toys: a large white, plush pony and a teddy bear that was half her size; and she was pretending that they were talking to each other, making voices for them. Staci thought that was a healthy thing.
She inched in the crack in the doorway. “Still not hungry sweetie?” Staci didn’t know if vampires ate food. She supposed not. Betty shook her head, briefly smiling up at her, and turning back to her play. Betty was no longer asking about her parents. Staci supposed that was a blessing, but at the same time found that disconcerting. Nevertheless, Staci turned and left.
“Just let us know if you need anything,” she said on her way out. Betty nodded almost imperceptibly. She was focused on her new toys.
6
“I’m worried about her,” Staci said.
“We all are,” Tony responded.
“No, I mean, she’s too calm, after everything that’s just happened.”
“She is trying to adjust, to deal with it,” Myron said. “It is perfectly normal.”
“Are you picking that up?” Jeremy asked.
“No. I am picking up very little. She is just a kid. She does not know how to deal with it. Most adults do not. Playing and doing normal kid things is good for her right now. She will grieve when she can.”
“You sound like a shrink,” Johnny said.
“You’d be good at that,” Staci said, “With your ability.”
Myron shook his head. “I think that would be incre
dibly overwhelming.”
Jeremy picked up the remote and absentmindedly flipped through the channels.
“What time is it?” Tony said.
Jeremy looked over his shoulder toward the kitchen and the wall clock. “A little after three-thirty.”
“We still have to decide where we’re going to take her,” Johnny said. “We can’t keep her here.”
“I know,” Jeremy said. “For now she’s safe.”
“I mean, what would you tell your parents?” Johnny continued, “Oh, by the way Mom and Dad, we’ve got a little vampire in the nursery. Hope you don’t mind, she needed a place to stay.”
Both Jeremy and Staci gave him the evil eye.
“I’m just saying.”
7
The boredom and the indecision, and the lack of anything decent on TV gave way to a round of nodding off. It was approximately 5:05 p.m. when the rumble of a car pulling into the driveway woke them.
“Oh crap!” Jeremy said, “My parents! They’re home early!” He turned off the TV. “Quick, everyone upstairs, my room!”
“What about…?” Tony said.
“I got it,” Jeremy said. He went into the nursery. “Betty, my parents are here. Can you keep real quiet until we figure out how to get you out of here?”
“’Kay,” Betty said, continuing to play, this time with some large round rubbery squish toys with rubbery quills which she bounced and stretched to capacity.
“I’m going to shut the door okay?” She didn’t respond. Jeremy shut it and left, running upstairs after the others.
“Jeremy?” Roberta called. “We’re home!”
“Yeah Mom, I’m upstairs!” They were in his room sitting on the bed.
“What if she comes up?” Tony asked.
“I’m counting on it,” Jeremy said. “Becky will probably come up. Her room’s next to mine. Anything to distract them.” He turned on the stereo.
His mother came up. “Oh hello,” she said, “I didn’t realize you had company.”
“It’s okay Mom, we were just hanging out. We were all gonna
leave soon.”
Roberta nodded. “Just be back in time for dinner.”
“7:30?” Jeremy asked.
“That’s fine.”
“I can heat it up if I’m later.”
His mother frowned. “Remember you go back to school tomorrow.”
“School night, right.” He sighed.
“Just make sure to say hello to your sister and father before you go.” She nodded to his group of friends. “Goodnight.”
“Good night ma’am,” Tony said, since he already knew her, the others echoing him. She went downstairs.
“Wow,” Johnny said, “Those are some fine acting skills boy.”
“I wasn’t acting,” Jeremy said. “Just… leaving stuff out.”
“We’ve got to find a way to sneak her out of here before they find her,” Tony said.
They were unaware that it was already starting to get dark outside, since Jeremy’s window shades and blinds were drawn, and didn’t realize they were already in danger. There was a knock at the door downstairs they all heard.
8
Roberta Daniels answered the door, Martin standing directly behind her. They didn’t have a peephole, and for the most part were trusting (this was a quiet neighborhood). They didn’t ask who was at the door. She simply opened it. Rebecca, their daughter was several feet away, watching.
“Hello,” Roberta said, “How can I help you?”
There were two men and a woman standing there, superbly dressed in business suits and ties, and evening gown. They were rather tall and pale looking but that could have just been the waning daylight. One of the men and the woman both looked Italian, the man with dark, heavily slicked back hair, the woman with long, loose black
hair, both with striking features. The other man, however, was clearly
American, and if not for the suit might like rather hillbillyish.
“We were hoping perhaps you could help us,” Lucio said. “Our car broke down about a block away, and we saw your lights were on. We’re on our way to a function, and were hoping perhaps we could use your phone.”
“Oh I don’t know…” Roberta began. The man who spoke to her and the woman appeared “all right,” although the woman was overtly sensual the way her eyes wandered over her, smoky dark slitted eyes lined with brown earthy eye shadow. The American, however, appeared (she didn’t know what) too… jittery.
“It won’t be but a minute,” Arianna said. Lucio and Arianna gazed at her intently. She found she couldn’t look away, as if she were drawn to them, drawn into their eyes. Behind her Martin appeared nearly catatonic.
“I suppose that will be all right,” Roberta said. “Come on in.”
“Thank you,” Lucio said, as the three of them stepped across the threshold, clearly inviting all of them in.
Little Becky Daniels looked on nervously. “Mom, Dad?”
Arianna crossed over to her, looking into her eyes. “It’s okay child, have a seat.”
9
“Can you hear anything?” Tony asked.
“No, nothing,” Jeremy said, “A lot of talking. Just mumbles; must be one of their friends.”
10
Rebecca sat on the couch.
“Sit, sit,” they urged her parents. “It’s all right. This will be over quickly.”
“We should kill them,” Spangler whispered.
“Shut your trap,” Lucio spat. “There are others upstairs, I can smell them. We don’t want to draw attention.” While speaking this in a low voice, the command was still clear. He was in charge. The family sat straight up on the couch, eyes glazed, in a trance.
The vampires moved toward the nursery.
11
“Something’s wrong,” Staci said.
“How can you know that?” Johnny said.
“I just do.”
12
Lucio opened the door. “Hello little one.”
Betty looked up from her play, eyes opening wide. She opened her mouth to scream. Lucio moved so quickly he was a blur. His hand went over her mouth. “Ah ah ah, we can’t have that now, can we? Disturbing the peace?” He lifted her from her sitting position, hand still clamped on her mouth.
An idea occurred to him. “Oh, this is too perfect. Arianna, can you hold her please?”
She did as she was bid, placing her hand over Betty’s mouth.
Lucio pulled a memo pad and pen from his suit coat pocket, quickly jotting something down. He smiled at his craftiness, ripped the sheet off the pad, and laid it down on the pillow in the crib.
13
“Something’s going on,” Staci said. As if to confirm this they heard a bump downstairs, and what may have been a struggle. If it was, it wasn’t much of one.
“Let’s go!” Jeremy said. They ran.
When they reached the bottom of the steps, they found
Jeremy’s parents and sister sitting on the couch, staring out at nothing. The front door was open wide.
“Mom? Dad? Becky?” Jeremy said. No response.
He ran to the open door. There was nothing, no one outside. They ran to the nursery.
“Oh no,” Staci said. “She’s gone.”
“Escaped?” Tony said.
“I don’t think so,” Johnny said. He saw the note in the crib. “Look.” He picked it up, and showed them. They all read it at once:
COME AND GET HER, OR WE’LL COME AND GET YOU
14
“Should we go after her?” Tony asked.
“We don’t know where they took her,” Jeremy replied. They left the nursery and headed toward the front door.
His parents and sister were shaking their heads as they entered the living room, leaving their trance state. His mother’s voice stopped him.
“Jeremy? Are you and your friends headed out now?” She looked and sounded bewildered.
“No mom, they’re going home. We decided not
to go out after all.”
“Ah,” Roberta said. “Whatever happened to the two gentlemen and lady who were just here?”
“I don’t… who?” Jeremy said. Perhaps he was waiting for a description, but he got a vivid mental picture of them at the moment they’d hypnotized his mother.
“They came in to use the phone,” she said. “They must have just left. Didn’t even bother to say thank you. How rude.”
Rebecca looked most disturbed of all. She didn’t even remember sitting down, and got up, looking at the couch with disgust. Martin looked at his wife with wonderment.
“Well, have a good night boys… and lady,” Roberta said.
“Good night ma’am,” they responded.
Jeremy whispered, “I’ll see you in school tomorrow,” and shut the door behind them. “Hi Becky, Dad,” Jeremy said, remembering he was supposed to tell them hello, even though he was no longer leaving.
“Hi,” Becky said, uncertain.
“Son,” Martin acknowledged. He was still in a daze.
It would be a few minutes for them to shake off the encounter, but Jeremy was already headed up to his room. By the time they called him down to dinner, they were their normal selves again.
15
“I can’t stop thinking about her,” Staci said, as they left from a rather uneventful day at school.
“There’s nothing we can do about it now,” Jeremy said. “If she hadn’t completely become one of them before, she probably is now. She killed her parents, drank their blood, and now she’s with them.”
They walked toward the convenience store in search of the local newspaper, to see if any new developments had surfaced. They didn’t make it far before they noticed a man watching them from a distance, walking alongside them, following their movements.
16
He wasn’t particularly odd except for the fact that he was following them, and wasn’t being too covert about it either. He was tall, wore a brown trench coat, what Myron thought of as a “duster”-something perhaps worn in old cowboy movies, boots, and had short brown hair, run through with black roots and slightly spiked at the front. He appeared to be in his forties.
The Pit in the Woods: A Mercy Falls Mythos Page 30