The Haunting at Grays Harbor (The River Book 8) (4 page)

Steven helped Roy pull the large tree branch back over the
road behind them. Since they had been coming and going on the small road to the
back of the Unser estate, they were a little worried about people noticing the
path and exploring it. In the interest of keeping people out, they’d added a
second gate to the path and Roy had cut down a large branch that was just the
right size for the two of them to handle. By dragging it across the path, it
made it look less navigable.

Once they were back in the car, Steven drove the rest of the
way to the large metal doors that sealed the entrance to the old prohibition
tunnel. Roy got out of the car and opened them, allowing Steven to drive
through, then closed and locked them behind the car.

Inside the tunnel, Steven drove slowly, but not so slow that
the car’s exhaust would become an issue. On a recent visit he and Roy had
patrolled the tunnel, sweeping rocks to the side so that the drive could be as
smooth and quick as possible.

When they reached the end of the tunnel, Steven turned the
car off and they pulled their bags from the trunk. Then they walked up the
short set of wooden steps and opened the metal door that led to the staircase
they would use to descend to Eximere.

It was a walk they were used to. Going to Eximere was always
more enjoyable than leaving – all the steps going back up were a real workout.

Once they emerged into the large cave that held the grounds
and the house, Steven stopped for a moment to admire the view. The house in the
distance was always breathtaking, and the landscaping surrounding the house was
magnificent, particularly at night, when the overhead light was off and the
lights in the yard came on. It was always manicured and perfectly maintained.
Steven never got tired of the sight, and was grateful that the house and its
yards always took care of themselves.

“What was that?” Roy asked, startled. He stopped, placing his
bag on the ground.

“What?” Steven asked.

“You didn’t hear that?”

“Hear what?”

“Shh…”

They paused.

“Rumbling, in the distance,” Roy whispered.

“I don’t hear…”

Then Steven heard it, and felt it. The ground was shaking.

“Earthquake?” Steven asked.

“We need to make it into that house,” Roy said. “Find a doorway
to stand under.”

“Or back into the stairwell,” Steven suggested. “At least
we’d be on the way out if things start to collapse.”

The rumbling began to subside and the tremors under their
feet came to a stop.

“Whew!” Roy said. “That was a nice moment of panic!”

Steven resumed his walk to the house, following the path that
led from the stairwell to the front porch of the house. “Hadn’t thought about
how to handle an earthquake in here,” he said. “Under all this rock, we’d
probably be squashed flat.”

“There could be something in the design of it that might
protect it, like a bubble,” Roy said.

As if on cue, the lights in the yard flickered, leaving them
for a moment in total darkness. It remained black for only a second, and when
it came back on, it seemed at less intensity than before.

“What the fuck?” Roy asked Steven.

“Should we stay?” Steven asked. “I’m not sure I like the idea
of hanging out with all of this going on.”

Roy walked into the house and up the stairs. Steven followed,
and they went into their respective bedrooms, dropping their bags. Then they
met up at the landing. Just as they reached each other, the lights went out
again.

“Let’s put flashlights on the list for the next time we
come,” Steven said, fumbling in the dark. “Can you see anything?”

“Not a thing,” Roy replied. “I hate being in the dark like
this.”

The light slowly returned, as though someone somewhere was
turning on a dimmer. The brightness increased until it exceeded normal, and
Steven found himself holding up his hand to shield his eyes.

“Maybe sunglasses, too!” Roy said, squinting.

The light dropped in intensity once again and settled around
normal.

“Originally I thought I’d get here and go straight to bed,
but I’d like to make a quick inspection before I turn in,” Steven said. “This
is making me nervous.”

“Agreed,” Roy said. They walked down the stairs together.

“I’ll take the kitchen side, you take the library side,”
Steven said.

Roy dashed away, checking the rooms he’d been assigned.
Steven walked into the hallway that led to the object room. He poked his head
into it, looking for anything unusual. Everything seemed in its place; the
earthquake hadn’t caused anything to hit the floor.

He continued on down the hall until he reached the kitchen.
Things looked normal. He could faintly hear Roy yelling for him, so he turned
and ran back down the hallway and into the breezeway of the house. Roy was
emerging from the other side.

“Come here, you have to see this!” Roy said, waving for
Steven to follow him. They walked back down the west hallway, past the library
and into the large drawing room that made up the entire west end of the house.
Steven’s jaw dropped.

The western wall of the room was gone, exposing the outside
yard. It was as though it had been neatly sliced off. Steven could see the
trees and bushes that extended throughout that area of the grounds, all the way
to the cave wall.

“What’s happening?” Steven asked Roy. “Why’s this happening?”

“I don’t know,” Roy said. “I think we should check on the
projects downstairs.”

They walked together to the bookcase in the library and
opened the passageway to the staircase that led to the basement. When they
reached the bottom they walked through the experiment tables, looking them
over, searching for any sign of something out of place. Everything seemed
normal, exactly as it had appeared the last time they’d been in the basement.

Steven approached the legend shelf, the object Eliza used to
re-route the marchers when they’d first discovered Eximere. He could tell right
away something was wrong.

“Dad!” Steven called. “Come here!”

The black slate of the legend shelf normally contained blue
lines that defined different areas of the property and the house. The lines
were pulsing and changing color, alternating between blue and red.

“Something’s up,” Roy said. “Almost looks like an alarm has
been tripped, doesn’t it? The red and all.”

“You think someone else is down here?” Steven asked, concerned.
“An intruder?”

“I don’t think it cares who is here,” Roy said. “I think this
is some kind of system alarm, warning us that something is wrong.”

“Hence the lights and the missing wall? I’m guessing this was
caused by the earthquake.”

“Could be. Something is out of balance with how things
normally run,” Roy said. “Do you see the yellow? Over there?” Roy pointed to
the side of the legend shelf.

Steven could barely make it out. He dropped into the River
and the yellow glowed brightly, marking an area on the western side of the
house and yard. He left the flow, feeling a familiar sting on the back of his
neck.

“It seems to mark where the wall was removed,” Steven said.

“And that whole side of the yard,” Roy added. “Whatever that yellow
thing is, I think it’s the problem.”

They left the legend shelf and quickly checked out the
remaining tables. Then they went into the small room where the three special
objects were sitting – including the one they assumed kept the place running.

“Looks normal,” Steven said. He walked up to the object in the
middle and touching the glass sphere that held two gold discs – silent and
unmoving. The object to its right sat still, the broken glass cubes undisturbed.
The third object, the one on the left of the sphere, was producing a light hum,
just as it always had.

“Things seem stable here,” Roy said.

“Do we dare go into the west yard?” Steven asked. “That seems
to be the hot spot. Any point in checking it out?”

“I think we have to try,” Roy said. “If something bad is
happening, we have to stop it if we can. Either that or we might have to
abandon the place; start hauling all those books and objects out of here.”

“Jason is buried here,” Steven said. “I’m not going to dig
him up. No way. I’m not moving him.”

“Or Thomas,” Roy added.

“Let’s go check it out,” Steven said, turning to go back
upstairs.

◊

They walked outside and around to the missing side of the
house. It looked odd to see it neatly sheared off, exposing the interior of the
walls, as though a giant blade had descended. Steven shuddered at the idea of
being in the room when the blade came down.

The walls themselves didn’t contain anything but empty space
– no studs or insulation or any kind of materials they’d expect to see inside a
wall. Suddenly the lights brightened, and instead of looking like nighttime, it
was more like the middle of the day. Steven held up his hand to shield his
eyes.

“This light thing is starting to drive me batty,” Roy said.

“What could do something like that, take off a wall so
cleanly?” Steven asked as he walked closer to it, looking straight inside the
drawing room. He was faintly aware that he’d walked into the area the legend
shelf had shown in yellow.

“I’m guessing the systems that run the place are screwed up
somehow,” Roy said, joining him as they stepped up into the drawing room from
the ground outside. “Either they fucked up on their own, or something from the
outside has fucked them up.”

“The earthquake must have caused it, somehow.”

“Probably. Things seemed to be pretty stable before that.”

Steven turned and stepped back into the yard, and felt a
coldness pierce through him. He hadn’t felt anything like it since they’d been
in the Unser Estate above, many months ago. It sunk into him and made him feel
isolated and alone – it expanded into his arms and legs, and then his fingers,
making him shiver. He clutched at his chest.

“Steven?” Roy asked. “What’s wrong?”

Steven saw movement in the yard, a lone figure drifting
beyond the bushes at the far end of the landscaped area. He recognized it even
from a distance. He turned and stepped back into the house, and ran out of the
drawing room and into the hallway.

Roy followed him, confused. “Steven?” he called.

Steven ran to the other side of the house, not stopping until
he reached the kitchen. He heard Roy coming right behind him, calling his name.

“Did you see her?” Steven asked as Roy rounded the corner
into the kitchen.

“Who?” Roy asked.

Steven grabbed at his chest, pressing his palm into it,
trying to alleviate the coldness. He winced.

“What is happening to you?” Roy asked, walking up to him and
placing a hand on his shoulder. “Are you having a heart attack?”

“Cold,” Steven replied. “Just like before. It’s her, I’m
telling you. I saw her out in the yard.”

“Who?”

“Anita,” Steven said, remembering the ghost of James Unser’s
mother, how she’d tortured him and terrorized the others when they first visited
the estate. “She was just beyond the bushes. You didn’t see her?”

“No, I didn’t,” Roy said. “I’m going to go back and check.
Are you alright if I leave you for a second?”

“How could she be back?” Steven wondered aloud as he dropped
to the kitchen floor, sitting with his back up against a wall. “We got rid of
her. Could the objects have brought her back?”

“Wait here,” Roy said, walking out of the room. He returned
to the library, looking into the drawing room from the hallway, scanning the
horizon for any sign of Anita – or any other movement. He didn’t see anything
in the yard, so he walked into the drawing room itself and up to the edge of
the floor. He scanned the trees and bushes that made up the west side of the
house, looking for Anita. Nothing.

He walked back into the hallway and to the breezeway, then
walked to the back yard, continuing his search. Everything appeared normal. He
walked to the banyan tree, past the graves. From here he could see the small pond
and the place where he, Steven, and Eliza had taken on Anita and defeated her. It
was silent.

He walked around the other side of the house and made his way
to the front, scanning the yard as he went. Eventually he found himself at the
large open archway that was the main entrance to Eximere. He went inside and
found Steven.

“Nothing out there,” Roy said. “Looked around the whole
place. No Anita.”

“I saw her!” Steven said, looking up at Roy. “I felt her!”

“I don’t know what to tell you,” Roy said. “If she was here,
she’s gone.”

Steven stood up and walked back into the drawing room, Roy
following him. He stood at the edge of the floor and looked out into the yard.