Black Water Tales: The Secret Keepers (28 page)

“Hell of a thing to almost forget,” Barron grumbled. Regina squeezed his hand tightly.

“Could you try for one night, not to be such a douche?” Natalie asked.

“How about I try not to be one and you try not to need one?” he shot back.

“All right, c’mon. Let’s just get this over with!” Regina interrupted.

“Everyone close your eyes,” Nikki said with a calm that brought their eyelids sliding down.

Regina closed her eyes, remembering the last time she and the girls sat in a circle this way, in the garden, and the powerful tears began to overflow the ducts of her eyes almost instantaneously. Natalie’s palm was warm and soft in Regina’s hand.

Nikki called upon the soul of their lost friend in a melodious voice that sung to the spirit world. Regina did her part by letting her mind float far away to a place and time that belonged only to Lola, Nikki, Natalie, and herself.

It was one of the first beautiful days of spring and all of the windows of the DeFrank home were open to let in the romantic breezes. The girls had shown up to the home for their usual lesson. Glen DeFrank answered the door and his face was twisted in an agitated scowl that Regina was starting to believe was not just an expression, but becoming the regular map of his features. The girls trudged silently into the piano room. In keeping with the usual routine each girl was on high alert for any unusual sounds in the house, they prayed to hear the shuffling of one of the housekeepers, called in on an off day for a special project, the part-time nanny or anyone who was not a part of the normal landscape of the DeFrank home, but on this day the house was ominously silent as it was most Tuesday evenings, especially since his parents had died.

Glen first pointed to Lola who then climbed upon the dark wooden piano bench, as was always the job of the first girl picked. Everyone’s breath stopped as his eyes crawled over each of the other girls, like a hairy multi bug-eyed spider, deciding to whom his
finger would fall upon for the second duty. His breath was harsh and too labored for such a young man. The hair that had once been waves of silk was now greasy and knotted. He was beginning to look old many years before his time. All of the girls were as still as statues in the fear that even the smallest movement may entice the monster to choose them. Natalie’s lip began to quiver as she felt his eyes settling on her, his pointed finger followed. She stood like a prisoner being chosen to face the death squad and walked down the hall toward the study. None of the girls said a word as he turned and limped along behind Natalie. Lola flinched when Glen snapped his fingers, sharply, signaling her to play. She had been lost in a daze when her eyes fell into the inconsolable orbs that Natalie used to look back on them before disappearing completely around the corner.

Nikki and Regina waited for Lola to play and she did. Her classical piece began slow and steady. The beats of Regina’s heart followed the music obediently into the steady rhythm that composed the middle of the song. Lola focused on her fingers hitting the keys as if she were trying to decipher a puzzle as she played, with every keystroke her mind unlocked yet another complex piece.

With the climax of the composition approaching, the beats began to come faster and the three girls could hear the gusts of heavy breaths that began swimming out of the study and finding their unchaste ears. Lola tamed the keys mercilessly as the style of musical selection called for it and as it served the second purpose of deafening them to the sounds of the study that had become all too familiar.

Regina’s mouth was drying out and her stomach was flipping rapidly, she looked to Nikki who had lie back against the couch and was staring aimlessly up at the ceiling and Regina knew that Nikki had gone somewhere far away. Regina was frightened; she could sense something nearing.

Regina closed her eyes no longer able to separate the pounding of the piano keys from the raucous moans emanating from the room off the hall. The music from the piano was dynamically intense yet controlled and precise and the beats were coming so
swiftly now that Regina thought her head would explode and she just wished for the beautiful song to be over. Regina’s eyes sprang open at the harsh sound that suddenly pricked needles in every pore of her body. Nikki had been snapped back to this place and vomited violently onto the floor. Lola was still captivated in the robust performance of the classical rendition, but it was now accompanied by her shrill scream.

“Lola,” Regina spoke, barely audible over the rumbling music and the high-pitched continuous shriek. Lola took no notice of Regina’s voice; her mouth was wide, releasing a haunt that had been submerged far down inside of her for years now. Her eyes, glowing moons, far away and empty of life disappeared under their lids, but she played on, her screams never ceasing. Something powerful was coming out of Lola and Regina wanted to lift her feet from the floor, pull them close to her and bury herself as far back against the couch as possible to get away from it.

There was a clattering of feet in the hall as Glen came bursting into the room. He stood astounded at the doorway, nervously buckling his belt. His eyes impaled Regina as if she was somehow responsible for the ghastly phenomenon that was unfolding in the room. She was helpless. Natalie came straggling into the piano room after him her face stained with the tears of suffering.

Glen grabbed Lola by the waist, yanking her from the noisy instrumental alarm and she became savage, throwing her arms and legs with such force that he could not control her. She screamed, growled, grunted even barked. The feral child slipped through his now graceless and unsure grasp. Lola kicked him hard in the shin. A bone damaging crackle sent chills up Regina’s spine. Glen’s knees buckled and he hit the floor hard. Before the complete shift of earthly reality could fully register on his face, she struck out at him, slashing his face, leaving four deep scratches in his cheek. Red blood began to emerge from the fresh wounds and he was now completely defenseless in front of the girl who still subdued him with her hellish screams. Her arm was still outstretched in front of her, poised like a claw only inches from his face with his flesh embedded under her fingernails. The girls found a place
behind Lola as her feet backed toward the front doors. Natalie turned the crystal door knob, pushed the heavy doors and they all stepped out into the golden light of evening where Lola finally ceased her cry just as suddenly as it had begun as if the shine of the bright burning sun had broken the spell. Glen never moved from his position on the floor, terrified of the girl who stood no more than five feet tall. Lola looked him in his eyes as she pulled the door closed and left him alone inside of the darkened walls.

Once the girls heard the click of the door, they all turned and began to run as fast as any of them had ever run before. They ran until they reached the gate of the DeFrank estate and once they walked out they all knew that none of them would ever return and Glen DeFrank knew it also.

“L
ola, if you can hear us please…come to us.” Nikki said. Regina opened her eyes to her living room and saw that everyone in the circle still had their eyes closed tightly as Nikki called to the spirit world again. Regina wondered what memories of Lola each of them was rekindling in these moments of meditation.

“Come to us,” Nikki chanted.

Howling winds beat the walls, Natalie recoiled as a soft rumbling ran through the house. Another choral gasp erupted from the group as the lights blinked and the house went black.

“The heat.” Regina said as she took her hand from Natalie’s and pointed toward the ceiling were the old damaged heating unit lumbered to life several times during the day and night.

“The wind must have knocked out the lights,” Barron said.

“I guess that’s that,” Nikki said to the group who appeared disappointed.

“You little girls didn’t really think that Lola was going to come knocking on the door did you?” Barron teased.

Natalie formed her lips to speak, but they all froze when someone beat her to it, all of their eyes were drawn up to the ceiling simultaneously. Low whispers infected the halls and rooms on the second floor.

“What is that?” Nikki whispered. Barron wanted to make a joke, but even he had no explanation for the whispers that rained down on them. No one could articulate the exact words that were being spoken, but someone or something was up there.

“What the hell is that?” Nikki asked again looking to Barron for comfort.

“I don’t know!” Barron was becoming aggravated at the insinuation that he should have the answers to everything.

He got up from the circle and went to the bottom of the stairs; Regina was quick on his heels. She stood behind him at the foot of the stairs as they listened.

“Children” Regina said. Still, she could not make out their words but she could hear now that the soft voices where those of children. Barron hauled into the kitchen and grabbed the butcher knife that Natalie left on the counter. He returned to the foot of the stairs where all of the girls now waited.

Barron began up the stairs; the girls huddled closely at his back. Cautiously, they made their way to the top of the stairs. Everyone’s breath was heavy with exhaustion from the night.

“If I should die before I wake I pray the Lord my soul to take.”
The children finished the prayer before beginning again.
“Now I lay me …”

“They’re praying?” Nikki spoke. Barron pointed the knife toward Regina’s room, identifying the place from which the prayers were coming. Her bedroom door was ajar and the moonlight streamed out and onto the hallway floor. The four inched toward the opening.

The children continued to pray with steady pace and rhythm. Regina could feel her body beginning to perspire more and more with every step toward the unexplained. Using the blade of the knife to push the door open, Barron stepped courageously into the room.

Barron gasped and grabbed his chest at what he saw sitting on the bed.

“What is it?” Regina questioned deliriously stepping into the room preparing herself for whatever devilish sight awaited her.

“You guys and your damn Halloween séance crap got me all messed up! It’s a damn toy,” Barron barked at the girls.

Regina could now see the toy that lay on her bed, a little machine with two plastic children kneeling in front of a bible.

“Oh my God.” Regina said as she plopped down on the bed and turned the toy off. “My mother got this for me when I was little, it teaches you the prayer. She must have found it when she was going through the basement today,” Regina said, holding up the small toy to her friends.

Barron sank into the chair in front of Regina’s vanity. “It must have been set off by the wind or something.”

Nikki came and sat down on the bed next to her friend and took the toy into her hands. “This is just creepy.”

“I have never seen anything like that before in my life.” Natalie added.

“Actually it is not that creepy at all, I used to love this thing,” Regina explained.

“So what’s next on the schedule?” Barron asked. “Maybe we should go and say Bloody Mary in the bathroom mirror three times.”

Natalie released an exaggerated exhale.

“I don’t know about you guys, but I just need to sleep. Maybe we should just figure this out in the morning,” Natalie offered.

“No way, I’m not going home by myself,” Nikki countered.

“Everyone just stay here tonight, OK? And we will figure out what we need to do in the morning.” Regina saw that Barron appeared a little reluctant to oblige another superstitious request. “Barron, will you stay, please?” she asked.

“I guess I’m on the floor,” he said.

Regina pulled several thick blankets from the hall closet and everyone managed to find a comfortable spot somewhere in the living room. Regina pushed back in her father’s recliner and pulled her blanket up to her chin. Barron was already sound asleep on the pallet that Regina had made for him on the floor. Nikki and Natalie lay foot to head under a comforter on the couch, their eyes were closed. Natalie’s breath was long and steady. Nikki tossed trying to find the gateway to unconsciousness, which Regina found with abrupt unexpected pleasure.

Regina woke before morning came. She looked to the DVD player for the time, but it was blank and non-telling. She shifted her body in the recliner, but would not be comfortable until she used the bathroom. Everyone was still asleep and Barron was snoring. Her parents had probably returned home hours ago. With everyone here she even felt safe enough to retire to the comfort of her own bed instead of trying to find rest in this contraption of
a chair. Regina threw the blanket from herself and set the chair upright as quietly as possible. Rubbing her eyes she made sure to clear Barron’s broad body as she leapt over him and began making her way up the stairs. In the bathroom, she didn’t bother turning on the light, while she felt her way to the toilet, peed quickly and washed her hands.

The praying toy still lay on top of the bed as she stepped into her room. Her abdomen clinched at the sound of fumbling in the dark hallway behind her. She turned but it was hard to see in the heart of night.

“Mom? Dad?” she whispered. There was no response from her parents, but she became hypnotized at the sight of the hall closet door drifting open with a wicked creaking.

Regina wanted to call out again, but knew that it would be futile, she was just frightening herself.

A blast of air from somewhere must have nudged the door open
, Regina thought to herself, desperately trying to make the incident rational.

…
But from where, damn it, from where?

Regina steeled herself against the fantastic thoughts that gripped her. In the movies, these were the times when she always yelled out at the stupid woman for not screaming, for not calling out to someone, but being in the moment herself now, she realized how silly it felt. There were just no such things as ghosts. She walked confidently toward the open closet door, listening to every sight and sound of the night with every step. She took a moment after she got to the door and stood in the shadow of the darkness, then she grabbed the door knob and opened the door wide, hoping there was nothing, but still expecting…she held her breath …