They sprang forward.
One moved swiftly after the car, weaving quickly between the trees. Briars ripped into his skin. The pain it caused, he ignored and reveled in it instead. At least he was feeling something now.
The second one followed at a slower pace. He was more cautious. White puffs of air floated out from his breath.
The one in the lead ran faster, tearing through the thicket, closing the distance between himself and the car at an unnatural speed. His agile body maneuvered around trees and vines, eating up the ground, barely making a sound. He caught up in moments, running just alongside the rumbling vehicle, his body hidden from view. Blood raced through his veins as he poised for attack…instead he caught sight of his reflection in the glass. A sharp pain speared into his chest. He stopped abruptly, ending his pursuit. His hands shook, holding onto the sides of his head to stop the flow of memories from invading his mind.
He leaned forward, shaking violently… feeling too mush suddenly. It had been too long—he did not recognize himself any longer.
A harsh laugh tore from his throat. It was bittersweet.
9-ONSET
“You know…” I took another step up the crumbling stairs that were disintegrating from time and neglect. “Briarcliff Manor is way creepier up close than it is far away.”
“Tell me about it.” Moriah stepped up to the door. “Eww, gross.”
“What?” I shrank back. “Gross is right.” A large blackened gargoyle head was mounted to the massive front door. The mouth was open and revealed a set of nasty sharp teeth. It looked like it was waiting to be fed and whoever walked inside the door, was just that—the meal.
Moriah pulled a bottle out of her bag. “Here, take this.”
“What’s this?” I took the bottle.
“Liquid courage,” Moriah said. “It’s a gift from M&M.”
“Who’s M&M?”
“Ah duh, Evie…Barnaby, the Master Mixer,” Moriah said and gave me a look like I was slow on the uptake.
“Geez, Moriah.” I rolled my eyes. “Excuse me.” Bitch. “M&M is a freaking candy, not a person. Ditch the & next time.”
“Ahh…No.”
“Whatever.” I flicked the condensation off the side of the bottle and untwisted the cap.
“You better wait to drink that though.” Moriah gave me one of her staple eye rolls.
“Why?” The bottle was halfway to my mouth.
“Cuz it will probably make you pass out before this thing even gets started.” Moriah pulled keys out of her bag and turned towards the door.
“Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence there.”
“Well, what’d you expect?” Moriah said. “The last time you drank with me, I had to hold your hair out of the toilet while you puked all night…remember?”
Of course, I remembered but I didn’t need to hear about it again. “Fine, I’ll wait.” I put the cap back on the bottle. Unlike me, ‘the lightweight,’ Moriah could drink a lot. I always reasoned that it must be from her giant boobs. Maybe they were like a camel’s hump, storing all the alcohol she drank until she needed it. “So…” I kicked a pebble back and forth. “What’s my big surprise?”
“Ohmigod, Evie,” she said sounding irritated and exasperated all at once. “It’s a surprise.”
“Can you give me a little hint?” I wheedled.
“No. I can’t.”
“Whatever.” I crossed my arms and acted like I didn’t care even though curiosity was getting the better of me.
“Listen,” Moriah said as she gave me a pointed look. “Don’t be mad, I just don’t want to ruin the surprise.”
“Oh come on…tell me, pleeeze…”
“Not gonna happen,” she said. “You’ll love it though. I promise.”
“Right…whatever,” I said. The wind shook the trees and a scratchy sound came from my left. I flinched and looked over my shoulder. It was just a leaf. “This place sure is creepy.”
Moriah spun around and laughed maniacally.
I jumped. “God you’re such a bitch.” My heart was beating a mile a minute.
Moriah laughed harder. “Sorry.” She bumped her shoulder against mine, trying to lighten the mood. “I was just playing.” She lifted her arm. “Come on, admit it. This place is awesome for a party, right?”
“Not seeing it.”
“Come on, seriously, take another look.” Moriah swept her arm in the air to encompass the crumbling façade of Briarcliff Manor. “What is there not to love? This place is huge and tomorrow it will be filled with hotties, booze and wicked good bands. It will be totally cool.” She reached out and wrapped her arm over my shoulder.
“When you say it like that, I guess it could be cool.” I looked back at the ugly gargoyle knocker. “If you’re a freaking monster,” I muttered.
“What was that?” Moriah turned around.
“Nothing.” I smashed a leaf under my shoe.
Moriah sighed. “Don’t look so down. It will be great, maybe even…epic.” She pushed her hair over her shoulder.
“Okay, fine.” I wasn’t too sure about this whole epic thing. I took a deep breath, and twisted my ring around my finger, feeling nervous. “You know, last night, after you left, I heard something really weird.”
“So that’s what’s wrong with you,” Moriah said sounding relieved. She turned back around and looked at me. “Well…” She gave me an expectant look. “What did you hear?”
“I don’t know,” I told her. “It kind of sounded like someone was screaming.”
“Like a person?”
“Well, yeah,” I said. “What else would scream?”
“Animals…maybe…” Moriah shrugged.
“Yeah, I guess it could have been an animal.” I hadn’t thought about that. “It sounded like a person though.”
Moriah gave me one of her staple eye rolls that said I was acting crazy. “You sure it wasn’t the movie we were watching?”
“Oh, right.” I hadn’t thought about that. I forgot we were watching a movie. That made complete sense, although it didn’t sound like it was coming from inside. It sounded like it was coming from something outside, like maybe it had come from here. “I saw something weird too.”
“Oh-kay,” Moriah said slowly. “What?” She dropped her hand from the door and turned back around towards me.
“I could have sworn the lights were on up here.”
“Were they?”
“Well…I’m not sure.” I tugged my jacket closed.
“How can you not be sure?” Moriah asked.
“Well…” I swallowed hard. “I ran inside but when I peeked back out the door, the lights were out.”
“Evie…” Moriah gave me a sympathetic look. “Maybe you were seeing things.”
“I don’t just see things, you know,” I snapped, instantly irritated. “I’m not a freak.”
“Hey, I didn’t call you a freak,” Moriah snapped back. “I just said that maybe you imagined it.”
I puffed out my cheeks and blew out a slow stream of air. Maybe Moriah was right. Maybe all the creepy movies I watched, and the candy I ate had made me imagine stuff. I always had gross dreams if I ate too much chocolate, so maybe…. “This place sure is creepy,” I said again, as if saying it would somehow make it less true. Large grayish colored urns sat on the edges of the stairs with dead flowers and weeds spilling over the sides that trailed down to the disintegrating stairs. “How is everyone going to know where to go?”
“It’s kind of hard to miss,” Moriah said with a smart tone.
“I know that.” I rolled my eyes again. “I meant the ones that are coming who don’t live here.”
Moriah shrugged like it was no big deal. “I presume they will get directions.” She whirled around. “Hey, maybe they will fly in on brooms or come creeping out of the woods when it gets dark,” she added in an ominous voice and then added a gruesome laugh for effect.
“Stop it, Moriah!” I shivered. It was getting cooler by the
second. Taking my bag off my shoulder, I leaned back against one of the circular columns. The wrought-iron lantern above rattled eerily in the wind.
The door creaked loudly as Moriah pushed it open and walked through. “Come on.”
Following behind, I stopped partway through the door. “Eww, it stinks in here.” I lifted my shirt and covered my nose. The mustiness still seeped in as I walked further into the gloomy foyer of Briarcliff Manor.
“Tell me about it,” Moriah agreed.
The ceiling was at least twenty feet in the air and had a giant crystal chandelier suspended in the center of a painted dome at the top that had what looked like clouds and cherubs floating across the expanse.
“How do you turn the lights on?” The only light to see by was a slightly diffused glow from the sun slanting through the arched windows above the door.
“I don’t know,” Moriah snipped. “Hey, why don’t you ask whoever turned them on last night?”
“Moriah!”
“Calm down,” Moriah sighed. “Geez, I was only kidding around.” Walking over to a closed door on the side of the room, she opened it up to look inside.
“You are so not funny.”
“Yeah, yeah, I hear ya.”
“Seriously, where do you think it is?”
Moriah closed the door again. “How do I know?”
“How don’t you know?” I was getting freaked so my voice came out harsher than I intended.
“Hey, I just got here, like you,” Moriah defended. “Why don’t you look for the light switch?”
“I am looking for the switch,” I said. “I can’t see crap in here.” I was reluctant to step out of the light. If I did I was afraid I would get attacked by some nasty monster. “Where do you think it would be?”
“Check behind the door,” Moriah said and slid open another door. This one looked more like a closet than a room.
Taking a breath, I stepped out of the light. The darkness seemed to engulf me, trying to swallow me alive. I jumped back into the light, chickening out. I had one foot out the door…just in case.
“I think I see the switch.” Moriah walked over beside the stairs and flicked the switch. Nothing happened. “It doesn’t work.” She turned towards me. “I guess the power isn’t on yet so you know what that means…”
“Yeah, yeah, more proof I imagined the lights coming on.” I felt very small and insignificant in this place. There was an old gilded, marble-topped table pushed up against the wall with an aged mirror hanging above it with the silvering almost gone. It made my reflection appear faded and distorted. For something to do, I grabbed hold of the door and swung it back and forth to get rid of the musty odor resonating in the room. Dead leaves kicked up and skittered across the floor.
“Hey, look at me!” Moriah called buoyantly from behind.
I turned around and my mouth dropped open. Moriah was sitting on the back of a life size statue of a gargoyle, bouncing up and down. “You’re crazy,” I laughed.
Moriah whooped loudly and swung her hand around in the air like she was riding a mechanical bull. She was only missing the cowboy hat and, well—the bull.
I pulled out my phone to take a picture. Holding it up, I centered the screen on Moriah. The statue shuddered. I lowered my phone and looked again. Again I saw a freaky ripple—shudder, under Moriah. It was faint…subtle and I might have missed it if I hadn’t been staring directly at it. But in that moment, I could swear the expression on the gargoyle changed. It looked suddenly irritated, which couldn’t be right. The light, what there was of it, must be playing tricks with my eyes. I would have blamed alcohol, but didn’t have any yet.
It happened again, the faint ripple-shudder and Moriah’s body pitched sideways. “Moriah!” I leapt forward and grabbed hold of her arm, barely yanking her back up before her head cracked open on the banister.
“Wow, trippy,” Moriah laughed and slid off the back of the statue. Leaning forward, she ran her hands over the stone, and then patted it like she would a horse. “Thanks for the ride,” she said and then pulled her shorty-shorts back down. “Come on Evie, the boys are here,” she said. “We’ve got work to do.” She weaved slightly and walked toward the open door, completely oblivious.
I stared at the statue, listening to cars pull up. I wasn’t real sure why I was even still standing here. A normal person would have already taken their ass straight out of the room and back to their car to get out of this place.
Instead, I waited and watched, thinking that maybe I had been imagining things, but somehow, deep down, I knew I hadn’t been.
10-PREPARATION
I carried another box up the stairs and dropped it on the tiled porch. What the hell? I didn’t sign on to be Kingston’s pack mule.
Winded, I took a break and sat down on one of the boxes. The guys who were supposed to be helping were too busy watching Moriah jump up and down. She was Kingston’s cheering squad as he sucked on the hose of a beer bong while Barnaby poured something into the funnel.
Once Kingston finished, Moriah clapped gleefully and jumped up and down again. Her huge boobs bounced like two giant water balloons under her t-shirt.
I rolled my eyes. No wonder the guys weren’t helping. Self-consciously, I looked down at my own shirt. It was purple and had a group of little wicked creatures lined up across the front. The words “A Cute Fear” scrawled underneath in red. Propping my chin in my hand, I looked at one of the ugly statues that I was eye level with now. “It looks like it’s you and me buddy.” I made a face, changing my mind.
“Nah, sorry, you’re way too ugly.” Standing up, I brushed off the back of my jean skirt and peeked around the corner of the door. The huge statue Moriah had ridden earlier sat beside the stairs. The wings jutted up from its back and extended at least six feet in the air. It was imposing, majestic, and damn frightening. The black eyes gazed sightlessly towards me. I shivered and rubbed my arms. “Well…at least you are better than your little buddy out here.”
Moriah jumped up the stairs and stopped. “Who’s better?” She peered inside the dim room and then pulled her head back out. “Were you talking to that statue?”
“No!” I lied.
“Yeah, well, if you say so.” Moriah gave me an odd look.
“So, what’s up?” I shoved my hands in my pockets.
“Um…” She darted her eyes to the side. “Can I snag your keys?”
“I guess.” I narrowed my eyes, noticing Moriah wasn’t looking directly at me. “Why?” I asked warily since she only did that crap when she was about to do something I wouldn’t like.
“Kingston is gonna take my car back to town and get his car,” Moriah explained.
“Why does he need my keys?” I asked suspiciously.
Moriah smiled sheepishly. “Ah, cuz, I kind of told Barnaby he could use your car to pick up some stuff he needed…we needed,” she corrected.
“What’s wrong with his car?”
“I don’t know, it’s broke or something.”
“He was just driving it the other day.”
“Ohmigod, Evie, would you stop giving me the third degree. Can he use it or not?”
“What is your problem?”
“I might ask you the same thing,” Moriah said.
“I don’t have one.”
Moriah hitched her brow up. “You sure about that?” she asked.
Why no. No I’m not.
Irritated, more with myself than her, I pulled my keys out. “Here, take them.”
Moriah grabbed the keys. “You won’t regret it. Promise.” She blew me a kiss and bounced happily back down the stairs.
I exhaled. “I hope you’re right,” I muttered and looked warily back at the statue. This time it looked like it was smiling. An eerie feeling crept over me and I had the distinct feeling it was watching me. I shook my head, feeling stupid. It was just a statue.
11-YEARNING
“Look at them,” Alistair said, obviously irritated.
“Who?”
Simon peered over his shoulder down towards the mansion.
“Them!” Anger spiked Alistair’s voice as he pointed down through the clearing in the trees.
“Ah, you’re talking about the humans.” Simon smiled and his dimples appeared.
“They need to leave.” It was a command, not a statement.
Simon cupped his hands and blew on them. Clouds roiled above. Electric currents lit up the sky. The winds were starting to change, the stars slowly aligning. Each phase of the moon brought them closer. A cool breeze lifted his blonde spiked hair and he shivered. “Damn, it’s cold up here.” He stuffed his hands back into his pockets and fingered the material. The stiff fabric on his body was hard to get used to. Alistair paced in front of him. He understood Alistair’s unease. He was anxious as well. “So what are we going to do?”
Alistair frowned and stopped pacing. “Nothing,” he said. “If they are still there when they show…” He lifted his broad shoulders in shrug.
“You can’t mean that?” Simon cut him a look of disbelief.
“Why can’t I?” Alistair snapped. “They aren’t even supposed to be down there.”
“How do you know that?” Simon looked back down at the crowd of people wishing he was down there with the humans instead of with Alistair.
“I just do,” Alistair said with finality.
Simon doubted he did, but didn’t want to make him any angrier by disagreeing with him.
Alistair began pacing once again like a caged animal, except he wasn’t caged now but he had been for far too long though.
Simon felt the need to move as well, but feeling had yet to return fully to his body.
One thing he knew for sure, if the humans were still down there when the others showed…
He shivered again and this time it had nothing to do with the chill in the air.
12-WAVER
The steady thrum of music echoed loudly through the foyer of Briarcliff Manor. The heavy bass vibrated everything in the general vicinity, as more vehicles were unloaded.
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