The Box Set of Hauntings and Horrors

by Jeff DeGordick

  "Come on," Dawson said, taking her by the shoulders and pulling her toward the van. They all piled in and Billy let out a deep breath as he backed the van onto the dusty road and threw it into Drive. He drove out of there as quickly as possible. Bridgette stared out the window at Boomer and he stared at her.

  Cards

  Night fell over the mansion, and with it, a heavy rain. They wandered through the estate aimlessly, trying to find something to occupy their time. The novelty of the mansion wore off quickly, especially when darkness fell. Suddenly the house's grandeur seemed muted and almost sinister in the shade. A crack of thunder rumbled somewhere in the sky and rolled through the halls of the museum from the open loggia.

  Bridgette was walking down the hallway, glancing over her shoulder at some strange shadow behind her. Her skin prickled with the ominous storm. Something bumped into her and she and Karen immediately jumped and yelped.

  "Oh jeez! Bridgette, it's you!" Karen put a hand to her heart and keeled over, letting out a long breath. "You just about gave me a heart attack."

  "I was about to say the same thing," Bridgette replied. "Where are the others?"

  "I don't know, but I ran into Dawson. He asked me if I'd seen you. He's worried sick."

  Bridgette rolled her eyes. "I only stepped away for a second."

  Karen put a hand on her shoulder. "I know, honey, but you know how guys can get. I'm thinking it might be better if we all hang around the same place tonight anyway."

  "Not a bad idea," Bridgette agreed.

  The others weren't far, mostly hanging around the first few rooms of the mansion. Trevor was standing on the balcony, watching the torrential downpour fall on the bay. He seemed mesmerized by it, taking several seconds to notice someone was even talking to him when Karen tried to get his attention. "Hmm?" he muttered, turning his head.

  "We found a deck of cards," she said. "We're all gonna play something in the dining room. You should come."

  "Yeah, okay."

  Bridgette flicked the light switch on and the dining room came to life. A long pecan wood table sat in the middle of the room and gave it a peculiar flair. A gorgeous chandelier hung over the table and cast the room in warm tones. The floor was all hardwood and well-maintained. Dark mahogany wall panels butted against each other and closed in the room. And a grandfather clock sat to the side, diligently keeping time. But despite the warmth and richness of the room at first glance, it carried a cold demeanor that each of them felt but kept to him or herself.

  They all sat down, three on one side, three on the other. The huge table dwarfed them to the point that they looked like toddlers sitting at the grownup table.

  Karen took out the cards and slowly shuffled them. No one said a word. The storm outside and the claustrophobic feel of the dining room unsettled Billy to the point that he shivered and stood up suddenly. There was a fireplace at one end of the room and Billy suggested to the others that he could light it. They were grateful for the idea, each one of them feeling uncomfortable and welcoming a bit of warmth and noise that wasn't the storm or the maddening clock.

  Billy opened the grate then searched around for firewood. There was a small panel in the wall next to the mantel that pulled open, and inside he found a stack of chopped wood. He started to put a few logs in place when he noticed something sitting in the soot.

  "What's the problem?" Trevor called over his shoulder. "Hurry it up, would you?"

  "Hold on," Billy said. Something green was visible beneath the layer of dark ash. He reached in and took the small, round object. He brushed the soot off with his thumb and a dull emerald appeared.

  "What are you holding?" Karen inquired.

  Billy stood up and turned to the others, brushing the rest of the soot off the casing surrounding the jewel. "It looks like some kind of medallion or... maybe an amulet. This looks like real gold, but it's all warped like it was melted or something." He glanced back at the fireplace. "I think someone tried to burn this."

  "Gold?" Karen said. "Let me see!"

  Billy gave it to her and she grasped it with both hands.

  "Holy smokes! That's an emerald!" she cried. She handed it off to Dawson across the table from her. "Isn't it?"

  Dawson viewed it with a critical eye. He still wasn't convinced of this whole expedition of Trevor's and the idea that there could actually be any sort of treasure hidden around this place. But Billy had really found something. "It's gold," he confirmed, handing it off to Bridgette.

  "It's heavy, too!" Bridgette cried. She tilted the amulet and saw that its tarnished surface still had a bit of sparkle in it. "But why would someone try to burn this?" she asked.

  Billy shrugged, taking a seat between Karen and Trevor. "Beats me."

  Bridgette passed the find to Janet, but Trevor leaned over the table and snatched it away from her. Janet shrunk back in her seat.

  "This is gold," Trevor said, weighing it in his hand. "Holy shit, this is actually worth something! I'm pawning this bad boy as soon as we get back."

  Billy held out his hand. "Give it back," he said.

  Trevor ignored him and turned the object over in his fingers.

  "Hey, give it back, Trevor!" Billy demanded.

  "Get your own," he replied coolly.

  "That's bullshit!"

  Bridgette reached out for it, but Trevor shoved her arm away.

  "Hey!" Dawson barked, rising from his seat. "Is there going to be a problem here?"

  Trevor sized him up, but decided to back down. "Fine, take this ugly thing. There's gonna be plenty more where that came from." He tossed it across the table and it banged and skittered along the surface, scraping some of the old wood. Karen picked it up and handed it back to Billy, who put it in his pocket.

  Tension held over the room as Billy returned to lighting the fire and everyone sat silently and listened to the rain.

  "What are we playing?" Bridgette asked quietly, finally breaking the silence. They muttered amongst themselves and finally settled on poker. The deck made its rounds as the game went on, and when it was Janet's turn to deal, a sweeping gust of wind rolled through the halls, carrying a loud wail behind it. The six of them shivered despite the crackling fire.

  They got through the hand, Billy taking in the pot of small change they'd collectively placed on the table as the stakes, then it was Trevor's turn to deal. He shuffled the deck and began sliding cards across the table. "It's a little too nasty out there to go out on the water tonight," he said. "Tomorrow morning I'll take a little jaunt out on the bay and see what we're looking at, then we can come back at night."

  "Do you really think there's something out there?" Bridgette asked.

  "After that little trinket we found, I'd say it's a sure bet."

  Billy reached into his pocket and wrapped his hand around the treasure. He still couldn't shake the puzzling thought of why someone had tried to destroy it in the fireplace.

  "In any case, anyone who wants to come with me is—"

  A door closed somewhere out in the hall.

  All six of them looked up suddenly.

  "What was that?" Janet asked.

  Trevor licked his lips. He held his gaze on the open doorway for a moment, then he went back to the cards. "Just the wind," he said.

  Dawson put in his change for big blind, then they all looked at the cards, some of them a little more uneasily than others.

  A strong gust of wind came in through the open balcony and rushed down the hallway again, but the banging door they heard before was absent. And then, once the wind died down, the hinges of the door groaned as it slowly opened.

  "Okay, what was that?!" Karen cried.

  Dawson stood up. Bridgette clutched his arm, but he softly brushed it off and walked to the hallway.

  "What do you see?" she asked.

  Dawson paused, looking in both directions down the long corridor. Burgundy curtains flanking either side of the windows overlooking the bay fluttered in the breeze. But there was nothing odd he
could see from where he was. Without another word, he disappeared from the doorway. The rest of them waited at the table with bated breath. Bridgette called his name after a while, but he didn't answer. She started to get up, but Billy grabbed her arm, silently urging her to wait. They listened, but when the wind waned, all they heard was the soft ticking of the clock. Bridgette held her breath for so long she thought she would pass out. She couldn't take it anymore.

  "Dawson?" she called out again. She hurried over to the doorway just as Dawson burst back into the room. He caught her and held her steady.

  "Baby, you scared me!" Bridgette cried. "Didn't you hear me calling your name?"

  "No," he said. "Sorry, babe. It was just the door to a room around the corner. The latch is busted. Must have been moving around in the wind."

  With that mystery solved, they all settled at the table again and tried to carry on with their game. As they got a few hands in, they began to let their guard down a little, trying to make small talk with each other.

  But Karen hadn't fully settled down and her breath was rattling loudly in and out of her large frame.

  "You okay, sis?" Billy asked, noticing this.

  She snapped out of her daze. "Sorry. This place is giving me the creeps, is all. My imagination got away from me, and I was just thinking about, you know... those people here that Janet read about."

  "They were killed by some loon. A long time ago," Trevor said, trying to put any fears or objections to rest before they got started.

  "That's not what the website said!" Karen replied, pointing a finger toward him. "The police never found out who did it! They never closed the case."

  "And that was what? Like a hundred years ago or something?" Trevor said. "How do you even know it happened? It's probably some website making up mumbo jumbo. I didn't see any plaques around here talking about it."

  "They wouldn't, would they?" she said. "That's exactly what you'd expect them to do if it happened. Just sweep it under the rug."

  "I think you need to calm down, sis," Billy said. He rested a comforting hand on her arm.

  "I'm sorry," she replied. "It's just with the darkness outside and the rain and wind, and the... banging doors! I swear, if one more thing acts up in here, I'm going to lose it."

  The grandfather clock chimed loudly, announcing that it was eleven. All of them jumped in their seats, Karen nearly falling over in her chair.

  "Okay, that's enough cards for me!" she said, putting her hand down and marching away from the table.

  They all had to take a deep breath to regain their composure, Karen especially, and when they were calm they agreed to head to the bedrooms upstairs and try to get some sleep. Karen was reluctant, but going out in the rain didn't seem to appeal to her either.

  They grabbed their purses and luggage from a small room off the entrance hall where they'd stowed them when they arrived, then Trevor led them toward the bedrooms as they clumped tightly behind him. He had a hard time navigating the estate in the night, his mental map of the place getting dim, but eventually they found their way to the living room and the staircase Will had pointed out earlier. They ascended the stairs and took a right, finding four bedrooms in a hallway.

  "Looks like a few of us will have to bunk together," Trevor said.

  "Bridgette stays with me, obviously," Dawson said, wrapping his arm around her.

  "Me and Karen can take one," Billy said. Karen normally might have had a snarky comment to make, but she was too tired and frightened of this place to do so.

  "Good," Trevor said. "Then I can take one and Janet can take the other one. Unless she wants to bunk with me tonight." He flashed a sleazy grin.

  "I'd rather sleep outside," Janet said, folding her arms and turning away from him.

  They all said their goodnights and hurried into their respective bedrooms. Bridgette and Dawson took one of the two closest to the living room, right next to Billy and Karen's room. Bridgette put down her purse and Dawson started to unpack the small piece of luggage he'd brought. They both went into the attached bathroom and freshened up, then Bridgette walked back into the bedroom as Dawson brushed his teeth at the sink.

  Janet stood just inside the door, nervously folding her hands together.

  "Jan, what's wrong?"

  "Um... do you guys mind if I sleep here with you tonight? I can take the rug over there, I don't mind."

  Dawson walked out of the bathroom. "What's going on?"

  Bridgette filled him in and asked him if he would mind taking the extra bedroom next to Trevor for tonight while she and Janet took this one.

  "I don't know," Dawson said. "I don't like leaving Bridgette alone in a place like this."

  "I know," Janet said. "It's just that that room is freaking me out by myself. All I can hear is the rain pounding on the window."

  Bridgette gave Dawson a pleading look that he'd seen a million times, and he softened.

  "Okay, but I'm going to leave my door open," he said. "Just so I can hear if anything happens in the night."

  "We'll be fine," Bridgette said, then she kissed him goodnight and they went their separate ways. She shut the door, and like Dawson promised, he kept his open a crack. Bridgette and Janet slipped into a queen-sized bed that almost looked too elegant to mess up. They said goodnight to each other and Bridgette flicked the lamp off next to her. Janet was grateful for their hospitality and she pressed her eyes shut, trying to fall asleep as quickly as possible.

  But the rain battered the roof above them and the wind howled through the empty halls of the mansion, creating horrible sounds. And all night long, that door creaked open and shut. Even after the rain and wind had stopped for an hour.

  Ancient History

  Bridgette opened her eyes in the morning. Her fingers went to her grandmother's necklace and played with it. At first she thought she had fallen asleep reading her romance novel and their going to a mansion and searching for lost treasure had all been a fanciful dream. But the room around her didn't look familiar at all, and she rolled over and found Janet in the bed next to her. Her eyes were open too, staring up at the ceiling.

  "Good morning," Bridgette said sleepily and yawned.

  "Morning," Janet said quietly, giving her half a look.

  "Are you okay?" Bridgette asked, noticing the redness in her eyes.

  "I hardly slept a wink last night," she replied. "I had this terrible nightmare that I was being chased through here by a shadow."

  Bridgette propped herself up on her elbow. "That's sounds horrible. I'm sure it's just the pains of settling into an unfamiliar place."

  "It's not that," Janet said. "There's just something off about this place. Don't you feel it?"

  Bridgette thought back to the plunging feeling she felt in her stomach when she walked through the front doors for the first time, but at the time she just figured she was in awe of being in an actual mansion. The eeriness that hung in the air in the dining room the night before came into her mind, and that banging door... "I don't know," she said. "Maybe we both just have to get used to it."

  "It doesn't help that we have to stay with Trevor the whole time," Janet said, brushing her long red hair out of her eyes.

  "I know you and him don't really see eye to eye, and he is, well, a bit of an ass, but he's the one with the boat and the only way we're going to see any treasure."

  "Do you really think there's anything out there?"

  "I don't know. But the thrill of the adventure is fun, don't you think? It beats being stuck in the apartment all the time."

  "That's true," Janet replied. "And I wouldn't be here if it was anyone other than you, Bridg. You're the glue that keeps all of us together, you know."

  "I can't help it," Bridgette said. "We're all getting older, and this is usually the age where friends start to drift apart. Maybe I try too hard to keep everyone together, but I feel like it will always be worth the effort. Dawson's been talking more and more about the future, and I don't know... maybe sometimes I just kind of
freak out about what that means."

  "Do you think he's going to propose soon?" Janet asked, a flood of excitement in her eyes.

  "I hope not," Bridgette admitted. "I just don't think I'm ready for that yet."

  "Well you better make sure you give him a clear sign one way or the other. You wouldn't want to break his heart if he decides to do it."

  As Bridgette pondered this, there was a knock on the door.

  "Are you girls decent?" Dawson asked from the other side.

  Bridgette bounced off the bed and opened the door. She wrapped her arms around her boyfriend's neck and planted a kiss on his lips. "Good morning, Pookie."

  Dawson shot a nervous glance over her shoulder. "Not in front of Janet, baby."

  Bridgette's smile widened. "What, you don't think she knows I call you Pookie?"

  "Aw, jeez." Dawson wiped a hand over his face. "At least tell me you didn't tell her what I call you."

  "I wouldn't dream of it," Bridgette said, pulling her chin back in playful indignation.

  He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Well anyway, I smell bacon cooking and my stomach's rumbling. Want to go?"

  "Sure, just let me get dressed," she said. Janet told them she'd be down in a few minutes, and when Bridgette changed out of her pajamas, she and Dawson headed for the kitchen downstairs.

  "Bye, Pookie!" Janet called after Dawson. His face went red. Janet glanced at Bridgette. "Bye, Bunnymuffin." She could hear a loud "Oh God" in the hallway, which made her chuckle.

  Bridgette and Dawson climbed down the stairs in the living room. She reached over and grabbed his hand. He glanced at her and smiled, giving her a squeeze.

  "How did you sleep, honey?" she asked.

  "Not bad," he admitted. "This place is a little drafty, though. It feels weird. I still don't know what we're doing here."

  "Having the adventure of a lifetime, remember?"

  "It sure is something," he said, glancing around at the opulence of the living room.

  When they reached the ground floor, they searched their memories, trying to figure out how to get back to the kitchen. When that failed, Dawson used his sense of smell to track down the bacon.