The Haunting Within (22 page)

68

The sun sat high and proud in the sky like a guiding light for the world. In the back garden Lisa wondered between the flowers, stepping on the cracked quaint stepping stones. She had finished with her crying. That wasn’t going to get her anywhere so what was the point? Her mum hadn’t wanted to know. She hadn’t comforted her like she normally would. She had been cold and distant and cruel. Lisa tried to understand what she was going through, she really did, but she just couldn’t. Even if she was grieving why did she need to be so callous towards her and Aiden? She hoped once they left and got home she would get back to normal again. She could hope, right?

From the window Aiden saw his sister strolling through the garden. Was it his imagination or did she look defeated somehow? He followed her path through the garden, deliberately making some noise as he approached so he didn’t scare any more than she already had been in the last couple of days. She looked so fragile.

“You okay sis?” he asked as he rested his arm gently on her frail shoulder.

Sighing Lisa replied “Yeah I’m okay Aid, just tired.” Her sad smile spoke a thousand words.

“We’ll be home soon eh and I’ll buy you some choccie from the shop” he added hoping to cheer her up a little.

“Yeah that would be nice” came her deflated response.

For want of having nothing else to say he said “Hey, mum said she found a film reel in some hidden room or something.”

  Lisa snapped her head round to him “She found it?” She asked wide eyed.

“What, do you know what she means? I thought maybe she was just talking a load of rubbish again.”

“No, I watched it too Aid. It was so sad.”

Sighing deeply Aiden said “For god’s sake, not you too. He did it all himself Lis. It wasn’t the house that made him do anything, it was all him.”

“What?” Lisa looked confused.

“The film. Mum told me he was apologising, saying the house made him behave the way he did. And she believes him. Tried to get me to believe him too. Yeah right. Guess you think the same has she does though.”

“What? No, that’s not the film I saw.” Lisa frowned.

“So there’s more than one reel then” he stated rather than asked.

“No, there’s just one. Unless she got it from somewhere else. Did she tell you where she got it from?”

“Yeah. Under the floor apparently. Some spooky shit that. I mean, why hide something under the floor? Is it true or is she talking crap again?” Aiden loved his mum with all of his heart but he was getting sick and tired now of her stories and her strange behaviour. The hidden room tale seemed too unbelievable to be true, so he was shocked when Lisa confirmed it.

“Yeah that’s where I found it. It was under the floor too. The floorboards moved so I had a look and found it. But Aiden, there was only one film reel and it didn’t have him on it apologising. I don’t know where she got that from. This is weird and I don’t like it at all.”

To quell their curiosity Lisa took Aiden to the hidden room and she prized up the floorboards again to show him what she found. She had been right; there was definitely only one film reel there. Just to be sure they searched the floor, feeling all the boards to see if there was another hiding place but there wasn’t. For the second time Lisa watched the film, standing behind where Aiden sat on the only chair in the room. And for the second time she cried over the home movie.

“Why would she say she saw something completely different?” puzzled Aiden still sitting in the chair. The silence that had followed the film had been complete. Lisa had shown him the entry written by their grandfather about their uncle dying. He just didn’t know what to make of any of it. “She told me he was talking too. There was no sound on that so where did she get that from?” Looking behind him at his sister he looked far older than his years. Worry was etched on his face.

“There’s something wrong with her Aid. I think the sooner we get her out of here the better.”

“But how’re we gonna do that when she’s refusing to go? We can’t drag her out!”

“I don’t know” said Lisa with a tired sigh “I guess we just wait until she’s ready to leave.
”
             

“But what if she’s never ready? Then what?”

“I don’t know Aiden! But we have to at least try and give her time!” Lisa’s eyes filled up but she refused to cry anymore. Sniffing loudly she put her shoulders back and said “We’ll get through this. We always do.” And with that she left the room.

Rounding the stairs Lisa saw her mum at the bottom with her neck craned upwards looking directly at her. “What have you two been doing up there? Talking about me some more? Laughing about how crazy I am? I’m not crazy and I will prove it to you. Just you wait.” Lisa watched in despair as Debbie stormed off towards the kitchen.

69

Slamming around in the kitchen Debbie was muttering under her breath. To say she was livid was an understatement. How dare they sit up there gossiping about her?! Oh she knew that’s what they were doing. She just didn’t know why. She had done nothing to warrant them talking about her. Nothing at all. All she wanted to do was get back to normal. She felt betrayed by them. Their constant accusations that she was going mad had started weighing heavily on her. As she filled a glass with water from the tap it sloshed over the sides and onto the floor. Debbie stood, transfixed by the clear fluid which intermittently dripped down the side of the glass. Why was the glass leaking? Pouring the water into the sink she chose another glass and filled that one but the same thing happened. What was going on? Pouring the water out yet again she held the glass up to the window to examine it but it started blurring in front of her eyes. Slamming it down onto the side in fright she watched as it became solid again, just a normal-looking empty glass. Yet as soon as she picked it up it blurred again. Almost crying now she hurled the shape-shifting object across the room where it shattered against the bare brick of the inglenook. He was toying with her. She could feel it. He was there all the time, whispering in her ear, never giving her a moment’s peace. Is that what he wanted, to drive her to the edge? Because she could feel it coming up fast and she was unable to stop it. It was like being pushed to the ledge on a cliff face and staring down into the abyss that waited below. She had nowhere to grasp onto to stop herself from going over…

Lisa rushed in, eyes wide with apprehension. She looked from Debbie who was sitting on the floor in the wet puddle where the water had leaked, to the pieces of smashed glass lying a few feet away.              “Mum, are you hurt?” Lisa asked as she rushed to her side.

Looking up Debbie replied “What am I doing on the floor? How did I get here?”

“I don’t know mum, let’s just get you up yeah.” Coaxing her gently Lisa pulled Debbie up from the floor and took her to the table to sit down.

“I just wanted a drink but he is making everything so difficult. He made the glasses leak and then they went all blurry and I… I… I don’t know…” Debbie’s mind detached herself from the moment and she sat staring into space. Lisa swept up the broken glass and dried the floor and then she re-filled the empty glass on the side which Debbie hadn’t broken and she took it to her mum.

“Here you go mum, have a drink.” Lisa persuaded and she placed the glass into Debbie’s hand. Immediately the water splashed out and ran down the sides and onto her trouser legs. She was shaking badly. Lisa had to take the glass from her and hold it up to her mouth herself like her mum had done to her when she was a baby. Debbie drank greedily and noisily and didn’t stop until it was all gone.

Half an hour later and Debbie still sat at the table staring blankly at nothing, but her mouth constantly moved as though she was speaking silently. A few times Lisa and Aiden had tried to talk to her but she appeared to not hear or see them. She was in her own little world where they had no idea what was happening there or how to get her back. Having decided to call for an ambulance Lisa went to the hall phone. Picking up the handset she heard no ringtone, only deathly silence. Pressing the button in the cradle frantically she shouted Aiden to her. Hearing the anxiousness in her voice he ran to her to find her putting the receiver down and picking it back up again.             

“Aiden, the phone won’t work! There’s nothing!” Aiden picked up the handset and tried himself. Kneeling down he located the wall socket and found no wire connected to it so he ran the wire through his hand until he came to the end where the connector should have been, but instead there were just loose wires sticking out of the end like it had been ripped out or the wall. Holding the end up to Lisa his eyes locked on her terrified expression.

“Mobile!” the both said at the same time and they dug in their pockets and brought their phones out.

“No signal!”

“Me neither” Lisa said starting to panic. “What happened to the phone?” Aiden just looked at her quizzically. “No! You don’t think…? She wouldn’t have, would she?”

“Well how else do you explain it?” he asked, secretly hoping his sister would indeed have another explanation. Instead she just shook her head and kept quiet.

In the kitchen they found that Debbie was no longer at the table. Feeling irritable and completely fed up of being given the run around they slumped into the chairs. They couldn’t be bothered to go searching for her again. They didn’t want to have the responsibilities thrust upon them yet again. They didn’t want to see her in a heart wrenching situation. The wanted to go home and that was it. Just to go home. Then they would be happy.

Debbie came out of the larder laden down with food. “There you are, I thought we would all have a nice meal.” She said smiling at them. “What’s wrong with you two mardy bums?” she asked playfully. They could not believe their ears. Did none of this matter to her? She may as well have not asked the question in the first place because she didn’t wait for an answer from them. Humming happily she started on dinner.

Lisa and Aiden had left her to it while they sat out in the garden. They were both feeling resentful towards her and they didn’t want to be around her. The sun beamed down on them, warming their cool skin and making them pleasantly drowsy. They didn’t talk; they just sat listening to the sounds of nature. After a while it helped them to relax. They were in a predicament that they didn’t know a way out of. With no working phones there was no way they could call for help and although they could risk it and start walking it would mean leaving their mum alone in the house for however long it took and neither of them wanted to do that. The only way home for them was to wait until she was ready to leave. They just prayed it would be sooner rather than later.

70

The sun started to wane and the sky became darker and the wind became stronger. The insects and birds had retreated and all was quiet now except the sound of the wind rustling through the trees in the garden. Lisa and Aiden’s stomachs rumbled; in spite of themselves they found they were hungry. Pulling his phone out of his pocket Aiden shielded it from the first few drops of rain as he checked the time. It was five-thirty-two in the afternoon. They’d been outside for the best part of the day. Telling Lisa what the time was she was surprised. She had nodded off at some point, waking only when the raindrops had fallen on her closed eyelids, and now she worked the stiffness out of her neck.

“Hey, wasn’t mum doing dinner?” Aiden asked confused.

“Hmm” was Lisa’s worried response as she stood up quickly and made for the house. She didn’t know what to expect when she stepped inside. Images raced through her mind as fast as her heart raced in her chest. The kitchen was dark and cold and still. Ignoring their empty stomachs they slowly made their way deeper into the house. The obtrusive ticking of the grandfather clock in the hall echoed throughout the silent rooms. The wind gathered in strength and it wooshed down the chimneys and in around the window frames. The rain was gradually becoming faster, making the sporadic lonesome trails on the windows run together into tiny rivers of water which picked up speed as they raced downwards. From somewhere in the great house a floorboard creaked. Holding onto the sleeve of Aiden’s top Lisa jumped as the sound of distant thunder rumbled through the stonework. The rain came down heavier, lashing relentlessly against the outside of the house in a cacophony of noise. They walked through into the front room, flicking lights on everywhere as they passed, where the windows were under an incessant deluge from the rain. Lisa could see nothing outside except faint, blurred shapes. What the shapes were she didn’t know. They could have been trees, they could have been figures. So dense was the rain that she couldn’t even tell if they were still or moving. She hoped to God that they were still. She could feel the hairs on her arms and neck standing on end. Whether that was due to the oncoming storm or something entirely more evil she had no idea. She had the overwhelming urge to shut the curtains on the night. To block it out, like it was prying eyes looking in on them. But she dared not go near the windows for fear that whatever was out there would shatter them and grab her… Leading her out into the hall Aiden was listening intently for a sound which might tell him where his mum was. She could be anywhere and he knew it, but he didn’t want to go on a hunting expedition again looking for her. A door slammed somewhere on the ground floor and outside an animal screamed. Trying to stay in control for the sake of Lisa he shouted his mum and waited in silence for an answer but none came. They headed towards the stairs and had gone up the first few when lightening crackled overhead and all the lights went out, leaving them in almost total darkness. Breathing rapidly Aiden backed them away from the stairs.

“Aiden, I don’t like this” whispered Lisa gripping her brothers’ arm so tightly he winced.

Flexing his hand to try and get some blood circulating from where Lisa gripped him so tightly he whispered back “Let’s just go find some candles or something.” Why was he whispering? Who would hear him? He didn’t know and that was the exact reason he wanted to stay quiet.

As they approached the kitchen a door to their right creaked open slowly, like someone was behind it peeking out at them. It was the door to the courtroom and cellar. A blast of cold air pushed it all the way open and ruffled their hair as it swept through them. Picking up the pace they slammed the door shut and rushed into the kitchen, Lisa screaming as she saw the figure in front of the windows…

Aiden had spread himself in front of Lisa so he covered her slight frame. He stood in a protective stance, although he didn’t know what good that would do against supernatural forces. For a long while he stood stock still, bracing himself as he faced the black figure. The figure did nothing but he knew it was neither an inanimate object nor a figment of his imagination because he could see a dull glint in its eyes.

A loud groaning sound reverberated through the house and the lights flickered on and off before staying on, dull at first and growing brighter. The back-up generator had kicked in.

The first thing they saw flooded them with relief. The shadow near the windows was their mum. She looked vacant of any emotion but, thankfully, she seemed unharmed. Maybe she was just shocked by the power cut Aiden thought.

The second thing they saw was the huge kitchen knife she held in her shaking, outstretched hand.