“We located the stairs in the drawings we got from the lawyers,” Robert said. “At the end of the long hall on the second story, there’s a narrow staircase that goes up.”
“Great,” Eliza replied with sarcasm. “We have to go down that fucking hall.”
“We’ll be dosed up on the old woman’s protection,” Robert said. “We’ll be fine.”
“There’s more than just Tena and Dominic haunting that place,” Eliza replied. “That thing I saw walking up the stairs. It’s somewhere in there, too. Who knows what we might run into.”
“You want to do it, right?” Robert asked. “You didn’t spend two days with that woman just to back out, did you?”
“No, I’m going to do it,” she said, looking down at her hands, remembering what Aceveda said about fear. “I have to.”
“You don’t,” Robert replied. “We can stop this anytime.”
“And what about Shane?” she asked.
Robert didn’t reply.
“Everything has lined up for this to happen,” she said. “I’d feel like a loser if I didn’t see it through.”
They came to a red light and Robert slowed the car. He turned to her. “Whatever you want. You’re calling the shots. I know it can seem like my father barrels forward a million miles an hour, but I’ll stop it all with a single word from you.”
She looked at him, and knew there was something more in his words than just concern and courtesy. For a moment she was tempted to jump into his thoughts, but she resisted, feeling it would be an invasion, and part of her didn’t want to know if he really felt a different way than his words were portraying.
“Thank you,” she said. “But I’m going forward.”
He smiled. The light turned green, and they continued west.
●
“Damn, these things are heavy!” Granger said as they walked from the iron gate to the front door of Pitmon House. It was noon, but the spring sky was overcast and everything looked pale.
“Why’d you bring two?” Robert asked.
“I thought we’d get through that wall faster,” Granger said. “I didn’t realize how tired I’d get of carrying them.”
“Leave one down here,” Robert said. “One sledgehammer is enough.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Granger said, opening the front door and letting them inside. Once he’d closed it, he placed one of the sledgehammers on the floor near the door.
“There, that’s better,” he said, lifting the other to his shoulder.
“I’ll carry it if you want,” Robert offered.
“I’m not so old I can’t carry a tool,” Granger replied.
“But you’re old enough to bitch about how heavy they are,” Robert replied.
Eliza walked to the staircase. In her hand was the umbrella. Granger and Robert had asked her about it, but she’d rebuffed their questions, and they quickly realized she wouldn’t be discussing why she needed it.
“Come on, you two,” she said, walking up the stairs. When they reached the landing, she stopped and passed around the flask that Aceveda have given to her.
“She said this was tailored?” Granger asked, sniffing at it.
“Yes,” Eliza replied. “It’s supposed to help with the pressure.”
“God, it tastes awful!” he said, passing the flask to his son. Once they’d all swallowed it, they continued around the landing and to the base of the next set of stairs that led to the second floor, and ascended.
Light from the hazy day filtered in through large windows, casting patches of light onto the carpet that ran the length of the hallway. They passed Agnes’ room. Eliza felt her senses go on high alert as they walked into uncharted territory, the place where Nick had lost his life years ago.
You can lose your life anywhere in this house, Eliza thought. Rachel was attacked downstairs, Granger on the landing. We’ll be attacked in the attic, if we make it there. No place is safe. Maybe that was Nick’s mistake.
When they were halfway down the hall, Robert said, “There — on the left, the last door.”
Eliza turned to glance behind them as they approach the door. The hallway looked long, stretching back to the stairs, and she felt panic rise, knowing they were now very deep into the house. It was a much farther trek to reach the landing and the front door than from Agnes’ room.
Robert reached for the door handle and pulled it open. Beyond was a short hallway, and at its end, narrow wooden stairs ascended.
“After you,” he said, allowing Eliza to enter. There was no window or light, so she turned on her flashlight and took one step at a time. Robert and Granger were right behind her.
The stairs turned to the right and continued up, making one more bend before turning to the left and rising into the attic. She stepped from the last stair onto the bare floorboard and looked around, surprised that they’d made it this far without encountering resistance. They were at the far end of the attic; she recognized some of the piles of furniture farther down, and after they made their way around several stacks of boxes, the brick wall came into view.
“It’s so obvious, once you know,” she said, looking at it.
“Yeah, definitely constructed after the house was finished,” Granger said. He placed his hand against the bricks. “I don’t feel anything. Whatever was in that woman’s juice, it’s completely removed the pressure.”
“Me too,” Robert agreed. “I hope it doesn’t wear off quickly. I’d hate to have the pressure return, being this close to it.”
“Here,” Eliza said, removing the flask. She took a final swallow, and passed it to Granger. “You guys keep this. Keep dosed up.”
“How do you want to play this?” Granger asked. “Our physical bodies where?”
Eliza walked around the eight foot wall, choosing a side that buttressed against the wall of the attic, feeling it was less out in the open than the other sides. “I’m going to start working here,” she said, kneeling down. “My body will be right here with me, although I’ll be in the River. I need you to keep Tena and Dominic busy. They’re gonna show up as soon as I start, I just know it.”
“Tell you what,” Granger said. “We’ll go around the corner of the wall here, and start sledgehammering. That’ll keep them focused on us, and hopefully they won’t even realize you’re here.”
“Alright,” Eliza said. “I’ll let you know when I get through.”
She lifted the umbrella, aware that Granger and Robert were watching her. “You’ll have to turn away, at least,” she said.
“Oh, right,” Granger replied. “Come on, son. Let’s start banging on this wall.”
They walked around the corner, and Eliza heard the sledgehammer striking the bricks. She felt nothing from their repeated blows; the legend shelf inside was doing its job, repelling the force of the hammer.
She dropped into the River and raised the long metal lockpick, pressing its tip against the brick and watching as the stone melted around it, allowing a couple of inches to sink in.
The clang of the sledgehammer continued while she worked, and she forced herself to ignore it. Robert and Granger were now talking, too, but she didn’t allow herself to listen to what they were saying; she focused on the resistance she felt along the pole, responding by tipping the rod slightly in the opposite direction, slowly working it deeper and deeper into the brick.
I’d be surprised if it’s more than a foot thick, Aceveda had said. The legend shelf is doing most of the work to keep people out, not the bricks.
Granger and Robert were yelling now; something was with them, and the repeated hammering of the sledgehammer had stopped. She felt a massive plume of fire spread past the edge of the wall where she was working, its heat warming a side of her body, startling her.
Dominic has arrived, she thought; his red eyes entered her mind, distracting her.
Focus! All that matters is the next pin; all that matters is the next milling. Resistance on the upper left; she countered by lowering the handle
slightly to the lower right until it slipped another quarter inch. More resistance mid-rod, on the right. She moved it laterally to the left, not letting the tip dip. Another quarter inch.
In her peripheral vision she saw a body fall to her right, just past the edge of the wall. She wanted to turn and look, to see who it was. The body slid out of sight.
Have I made a mistake? she thought briefly, then pushed the idea immediately from her mind, knowing it could collapse the entire enterprise if she entertained it for more than a second. There was resistance on the rod at multiple points, and she gently moved it in a slow spiral, as Aceveda had taught her, probing, looking for the next weak spot that would allow the pick to sink farther into the wall. It wasn’t coming. It was as though she’d hit a solid surface inside, with no place to penetrate.
Another giant plume of flame raced by, this time reaching around the corner of the wall. She wondered if any of it had touched her body as she continued to spiral the rod slowly, looking for the next groove she could use.
She had the sense of something coming around the corner; someone walking. I’m being watched now, she thought. Maybe Tena and Dominic won, maybe their attacks worked. Maybe Granger and Robert are down. Maybe…
Her arm began to give out. The rod was heavy, and holding it by the handle for a long time made unused muscles in her forearms ache. She doubled her effort to maintain control, and continued the spiral.
The flame roared again, coming from her right, and this time it passed in front of her eyes, obscuring her vision of the rod just as it slipped forward, its tip having found a hole. Suddenly the entire pole moved forward in her hand, almost pulling her forward, and she realized she had done it; she had penetrated the barrier. It slipped farther, and she allowed her arm to follow it, moving through the flames and to the brick surface, where instead of meeting the rough resistance of the stone, her fingers passed through it and into the wall.
She knew she was leaving her body outside the wall, but she didn’t dare reverse course. She’d cracked the wall, and she wasn’t going to let whatever hole she’d managed to open swallow shut. She was going to see what was inside.
Her face passed through and emerged. She found herself in a small dark room with no light, unable to see anything.
I have to let them know I made it in! she thought, moving through the room to an adjacent wall where she figured Robert and Granger had been working on the other side. She slid her upper body out, allowing her head to see what was going on.
Another giant plume of flame raced toward her. Granger and Robert were still standing; the flames engulfed them, but didn’t take. She could see Dominic behind them, raising his blowtorch for another attack.
I’m in! she said, wondering if either Robert or Granger would notice, their attention on Dominic. I’ve cracked it!
Robert was in the River, and turned to her. Then this wall is toast! he said, smiling. He dropped from the flow and raised the sledgehammer. Behind him, Eliza could see Dominic’s red eyes. He’d seen her; he knew she’d penetrated the wall.
Eliza pulled her head back inside. It was pitch black; remaining in the River was of no use now that she’d broken the barrier; she returned to her body and ran to join the others. As she turned the corner, joining Granger and Robert, the floorboards shook as the first of Robert’s swings against the wall struck with consequence and began to devastate the brick. He swung repeatedly.
Granger yelled in pain. Eliza turned, and saw that Dominic was behind him, some kind of knife in hand. He’d abandoned his ineffective blowtorch and was slashing at Granger’s back.
Another swing of the sledgehammer caused several brick to fly away, opening a small hole. Eliza rushed to Granger’s side, not sure how to help. Dominic turned to her, raising the blade. She saw it glowing; a faint blue dagger that he brought down again into Granger’s back. The man sunk to his knees in agony. She felt helpless, not knowing how to help or save him.
A final swing and bricks began to collapse like toy blocks, spilling out onto the floor, dust rising in the air. The hole was now big enough to crawl through; light from a nearby dormer streaked inside. Robert raised the sledgehammer again, knocking out another huge section of brick.
The opening in the wall caused Dominic to stop. He moved back, and from around a stack of boxes Tena appeared, floating in the air, her toes dragging on the floorboards.
“Eliza!” Robert called. “The legend shelf! Turn it off!”
She ran toward the hole created in the brick. Tena raced over the floor toward the opening too, a race to see who could get there first.
No way, Eliza thought. She’s not getting in there before me!
She launched herself through the air, diving into the open hole in the wall, hitting the floor on the other side. She felt a sharp cold pass over her body as Tena followed her and reached her back.
Robert swung again, knocking down more brick, enlarging the opening so that more light could enter the room.
Just as she got to her feet, she felt the icy-cold grip of Tena’s hand around her wrist, and the tip of a blade nicked the back of her shirt.
Dominic! she thought. He’s behind me with the knife!
Robert, watching from outside, dropped the sledgehammer and entered the room. “The legend shelf!” he yelled. “Turn it off!”
Eliza tried to wrestle Tena’s arm from her wrist and turned, searching. The legend shelf was big, and should have glowing lines. There was a small table with nothing on it, and in the corner was a long box that looked like a coffin.
She felt the tip of Dominic’s blade pierce the skin of her back, and she pulled away quickly, limiting the damage. Her left arm was being held in place by Tena; they were coordinating, working together. Tena was holding her so that Dominic could slice into her.
She pulled herself free, feeling the frozen fingers lose their grip on her wrist, and ran to the coffin in the corner. It was made of pine, and she lifted the lid easily.
Inside was a slab of stone, about three feet long, covered in a cloth. She ripped the cloth from the surface, and saw the glowing lines of the legend shelf. Unlike the one she’d seen at Aceveda’s, the lines were blinking and changing colors randomly. She reached down to the edge of the slab, feeling for the controls.
Something bit at her fingers. She pulled them away and looked at them — she was bleeding.
She turned. Robert had drawn the attention of Dominic, who was raising his blade to attack. Tena saw her at the coffin, and moved quickly through the air, her face sliding up next to Eliza’s. She could feel the cold breath of the ghost, chilling her face. Her breath was rancid, and her lips curled up to reveal rotted teeth.
This time Tena’s icy hand went around Eliza’s neck. Eliza immediately felt suffocated, unable to breathe.
“Turn it off!” Robert yelled. “Eliza!”
She turned back to the coffin, feeling Tena’s fingers sliding on her neck. She couldn’t see what had bit her when she reached under the edge of the legend shelf; there was no movement, no hint of anything animal.
If I don’t turn this thing off, she thought, Tena and Dominic will win. They’ll find our bodies up here eventually, like they found Nick.
She reached down, fear welling up in her. Few things scared her more than the idea of reaching into a space where something was waiting to bite.
It’s like her stick, she thought. I know it’s coming, and I know it’s going to hurt. I can’t let that stop me.
She reached down, her fingers finding several dials. She remembered the ones Aceveda had taught her. This one is an axis dial, she thought. Move higher.
Something pierced the skin of her fingers, the feeling of a razor slice into the tips of the skin, just below the fingernails. She winced, wanting to remove her hands, but continued feeling along the edge.
She was beginning to lose her eyesight; constriction from Tena’s hands around her throat had cut off oxygen, and she wanted desperately to abandon her search for the legend sh
elf’s controls, wanting instead to reach up and pull on Tena’s hands and allow herself to breathe.
She continued to the top edge of the shelf. The lines on the stone display blinked and shifted rapidly, indicative of some error or fault that had caused the shelf to malfunction. The feeling of something soft and furry crawled over her fingers, and she felt her entire body shudder in horror as she resisted pulling her hand back.
When she touched the rocker switch that she guessed would be the main switch, something sliced deeply into the pad of her index finger and wedged into the bone. She screamed, and pushed on the rocker, feeling it drive something even deeper into her finger.
Instantly she could breathe. She turned; Robert’s arms were covered in blood, reaching out into the air where the ghost of Dominic no longer appeared.
She raised her hands; the tips of her index and middle finger on her right hand were shredded, and blood was pouring down them, dripping from her palm.
Robert looked at her, and she could tell he intended to come to her, but she stopped him. “Where’s Granger?”
Robert turned and crawled out the hole in the wall. She followed, and they found Granger on the floor, bleeding from wounds in his back.
“Dad!” Robert yelled. He knelt next to his father.
“We’ve got to get him to a hospital,” Eliza said. “Those cuts look deep.”
Robert tried to pull his father up, but the big burly man was too much for him. “I’m not going to be able to carry him out.”
Eliza stepped to his side and reached for one of Granger’s arms, wrapping it around her neck. They both lifted, and Granger rose from the floor, hanging between them.
“Let’s get him as far downstairs as we can,” Eliza said, and they began to haul the man through the attic.
It took several minutes to move Granger down the stairs and out of the house, onto the front lawn.
“Do you want to call an ambulance?” Eliza asked.
“Yeah, but from what phone?” Robert asked. “It might be faster to drive him there, like we did with Rachel.”
The Haunting of Pitmon House Page 19