Twelve, just in that one room, Winn thought. Maybe that was his favorite spot to hang them, not the master bedroom upstairs.
He walked down the hallway. When he reached the landing to the stairs, he decided to complete the lower level before going upstairs. He walked to the hallway that led to the outer door, checking the rooms. With each door he opened, he readied the launcher, aiming it directly in front of him, ready to drop the coal. Each room was the same — hold breath, open door, sigh in relief. On to the next.
When he reached the end of the hallway, he opened the exterior door — there was the cinderblock, strapped to the wood of the kitchen floor. Another chill. He closed the door.
He returned to the staircase and began to ascend, taking each as slowly and quietly as he could. He was beginning to feel that he was moving silently; he’d gained some control over how to lower his weight on his foot with each step, and he was minimizing the creaks and groans the old house wanted to emit.
When he reached the top, he looked to the right and saw the broken out windows that looked over the back yard, remembering Lorenzo’s story. He imagined walking to them and seeing Henry and Emma, tending roses or pruning trees. He went to the first of the rooms and continued his search. He found one or two hanging bodies in each, and piles of debris, but no David or Creepsis.
When he reached the master bedroom, he found another dozen corpses suspended from the ceiling. One of you is Abraham, he thought. He looked them over, trying to decide which one seemed the oldest. It was impossible to tell — they were all dusty, wrinkled and mummified, only kept together by the clothes they were still wearing.
They could come alive at any second, he thought, deciding that the master bedroom and the parlor were the least advantageous places to be. He walked back into the hallway. No one, he thought, and found himself walking to the broken out windows he’d observed earlier. He looked down into the yard.
None of the bodies I’ve seen looked freshly killed. David is still in here, hiding somewhere. And so is the Creepsis. I’ve checked every room…
As he looked out the window, he saw a pile of boards lying there, thrown together haphazardly as someone had removed them from the house years ago. There was a long metal pole sticking out from the pile. He wondered for a second what the pole might be.
Then he turned, walking back to one of the rooms. He opened the door. A similar pile of boards lay in the corner, haphazardly thrown, but completely obscuring whatever might be in the corner.
David? he whispered.
Winn? he heard back.
Winn walked to the pile, quietly lifting the boards away from David.
Nice hiding, Winn whispered. Fooled me.
There’s not a lot of places to hide in here, David said, helping to lift the boards away without making any noise.
Didn’t you see me come in? Winn asked.
That door has opened and closed four or five times since I started hiding, David replied. I assumed it was the Creepsis.
Did you see it?
The first time, yes. I was peering through the cracks in the boards. It must not have a sense of smell.
I didn’t see it in any of the other rooms, Winn replied.
Did you try the closet under the stairs? David asked. I think that’s where it stays.
Of course, Winn thought. Where I found Jacob’s body — where it puts things that are important.
I initially ran there to hide when I was first pulled in, David said. But the longer I stayed in there, the creepier it got, and I began to get the feeling it’s where it preferred to hide. So I decided to find another place. I’m glad I did before you collapsed the houses. Where’s Deem?
I’ll tell you later, Winn whispered. He showed David the launcher. This should take it out, compliments of Lyman. Whatever you do, when you see me aiming at it, stay the hell out of the way, alright?
OK, David replied.
We gotta move quietly, Winn said.
Believe me, I know, David replied.
Winn turned and motioned for David to follow him as they left the room and made their way to the stairwell. They descended silently. As the door to the closet came into view, Winn kept himself turned, facing it as he took the final steps to the bottom.
How are we going to do this? David whispered.
Stay behind me, Winn said. I’ll open the door and we’ll see if it’s inside. Then I’ll shoot it if it is.
I can get the door, David said, moving around Winn to position himself.
No! Winn whispered. Don’t! Stay behind me. I can’t take any chances with this thing.
David shrugged. Alright, he whispered back.
Winn approached the door slowly. It wasn’t shut completely; he could see that the handle mechanism didn’t work anymore, the way it had when he’d explored the space and found Jacob’s body inside. Now the handle looked like it was barely hanging in place, and the door stood ajar a half inch. He wondered if the Creepsis was just inside it, staring out at them.
He readied the coal, positioning it over the tube, and used his foot to pry the door the rest of the way open. Just like before, there wasn’t enough light in the stairwell to illuminate inside. I can’t shoot this thing until I’m sure it’s there, he thought. I’ve only got one shot, and this one has to work.
He positioned himself just outside the door, straining his eyes to see inside but not able to pierce the shadows. He knew Jacob’s body was still there, but it was too dark to make out.
If the Creepsis is in there, he’s cornered. I can fire this thing, and he’s done. But I have to be sure. Can’t shoot it into an empty closet.
Bingham? Winn called.
Silence.
You used to be Bingham, remember? Willard Bingham. Murderer. Serial killer. I know you’re there. Come out! Come out and face me, you sick fuck!
Then he saw the eyes. Two eyes that somehow managed to catch and reflect the slim light from outside the closet.
Winn raised the launcher and dropped the coal.
Then he heard his name called, behind him. It was faint and in the distance. It wasn’t David calling, it was someone else, a voice he’d heard before. Lorenzo’s voice, he realized, just as he grasped that the eyes in the closet were too high off the ground to be the Creepsis. Those are Jacob’s eyes, he thought. The Creepsis isn’t in here.
He wheeled around, David now right in front of him, and the Creepsis ten feet from David’s back, scuttling down the hallway toward them. It reared up on its hind legs, exposing its underbelly once again, and Winn knew it would leap through the air any second and land on them.
The launcher was rumbling in his hands, building the same way it had just before he shot Deem. David was still in its path.
He placed the launcher in his left hand, trying to steady it, and with his right he grabbed David, pulling him down and to his side just as the tube expelled the red netting. It hurled through the air.
Too high! he thought. You overshot it! It’s going to hit the ceiling!
But the Creepsis leapt at that same moment, just as the netting arced up, bringing itself into its trajectory. When the lower edge of the netting hit the legs of the creature, it quickly swirled around the rest of the monstrosity and began to collapse. Within seconds it shrunk in size until it was no larger than a basketball. Then it kept shrinking, and, just as it had taken Deem, it took the Creepsis. There was nothing left.
Winn stood looking at the thin air in front of him, now empty of the monster. It’s gone, he thought. Gone to wherever Deem is.
David was picking himself up from the floor, turning to see the Creepsis. There was nothing to see.
Try to drop out, Winn said to him. See if you can drop out of the River now. If you can, I’ll see you back in Leeds.
Winn watched as David disappeared, rapidly fading from view. He let out a heavy sigh and left the flow himself, finding he was back in the living room, still seated on the floor.
He picked himself up and looked around t
he empty mansion. Then he walked to his Jeep and pulled out two gallon cans of gasoline. He walked through the first level, dousing the rotted wood, making sure to pour liberal amounts over the three doors: the front, the hallway, and the kitchen. He left one can half full, sitting right next to the kitchen door. Then he stepped out of the kitchen and walked back to his truck, replacing the other can.
As he pulled the spool of fuse from the Jeep, he remembered Carma saying, “Of course you can have some, if you intend to use it judiciously!” It made him smile.
He tied one end of the fuse around the handle of the gas can, ensuring that its end went down into the container. Then he ran it outside. He made a quick estimate of the fuse’s length, then cut it, and pulled his lighter from his pocket. He popped it open, and began to lower the flame to the fuse, when he stopped himself.
Instead, he pulled out a cigarette. He lit it up with the lighter, and took a long, deep draw. As he expelled the smoke into the last moments before dawn, he felt a huge burden lift from his shoulders, although the pit in his stomach still remained. He lowered the lighter to the end of the fuse, and watched as it began a slow burn toward the kitchen.
Then he got into his truck and drove out of town. I’ve got ten minutes to be somewhere else, he thought. Maybe I can make the interstate by then.
He knew the residents of Paragonah would be awoken by the sound of the community fire alarm, and several men would haul themselves out of bed and race to the fire station. He imagined them wiping the sleep from their eyes as they drove past the cemetery and to the old mansion, contemplating if it was a fire worth fighting or not.
It was, after all, a derelict building with a nefarious past.
Come on guys, Winn silently encouraged the firefighters. Just let it burn.
Chapter Eighteen
As he pulled into Carma’s driveway, Winn could see David and Carma already standing outside the house, awaiting his arrival.
Carma ran to Winn’s window before he could open his door.
“Glad to see you back and alive!” Carma said. “I was worried.”
“How is Deem?” Winn asked.
“No change,” Carma replied. “Her body is still in the cave with Lyman.”
David was standing behind Carma.
“And you?” Winn asked David.
Carma stepped aside. “He’s better! Woke up about an hour ago. Been anxious to see you.”
Winn opened his arms and gave David a big hug.
“Thank you!” David said as Winn lifted him off the ground, swinging him in a circle. “I owe you my life!”
He sat David back down. “You’re welcome,” Winn replied.
“Did you burn it down?” Carma asked.
“Didn’t see it go up,” Winn replied. “As long as that fuse worked, it should be gone.”
“Can we go back up there later today?” David asked. “I’d like to see the remains — just to be sure it’s destroyed.”
“No problem,” Winn replied. “I’d love to see that too. Just let me get a few hours of sleep.”
They all walked together into the house. Carma offered to make food, and David took her up on the offer. Winn said he’d try to eat a few bites. They sat around the table.
“Carma told me what happened,” David said, scooping some eggs. “What I don’t understand is how you knew Lyman would see you when you brought Deem back. I thought he only appeared during the moon’s zenith.”
“Well, the truth is, he can appear at any time,” Carma replied. “But when he appears during the zenith of the moon, it doesn’t cost him. He’s cheap. So we try to limit visits to then. He’ll be paying for last night for quite a while.”
“What does it cost him to appear other times?” Winn asked.
“That,” Carma replied, “is something I’m not allowed to share.”
“Of course,” Winn said. “I think I knew the answer to that question before I asked it.”
“What are we going to do about Deem?” David asked. “We have to save her.”
A brief look of panic washed over Carma’s face, then she pushed herself away from the table and stood. “Might as well get this over with…” she muttered as she turned and walked into another room.
Winn exchanged a confused glance with David, but before they could speak, Carma was back in the room, holding a knife. For a brief second Winn thought she might have gone mad, and might raise the knife to kill them both, like a crazed Piper Laurie. Instead, she passed the knife to Winn, handle first.
“Normally I wouldn’t require this of people I know and love like you both,” Carma replied, “but Lyman insists.”
Once Winn had the blade in his hands, he recognized it as a knife used for elemental oaths.
“How do you want me to word it?” Winn asked.
Carma waved her hand dismissively. “Oh, just something or other about not divulging anything related to Lyman and what I’m about to tell you.”
Winn placed the blade on his palm. He drew it quickly across his flesh, and he heard David gasp. With blood dripping from the palm, he raised it to Carma. “I swear an elemental oath that I will never reveal anything about Lyman to anyone, including whatever you’re about to tell me.” He lowered his hand and passed the knife to David.
David stared at the blade’s handle, not moving to take it. His mouth was still full of eggs he hadn’t finished swallowing.
“What the fuck is this?” he mumbled around the food.
“It’s an elemental oath,” Winn said. “You’re giving Carma and Lyman permission to kill you if you ever break it.”
David looked up at Winn, then back at Carma.
“Like I said,” Carma replied, “I wouldn’t require it, but Lyman insisted. What I’ve got to tell you is extremely sensitive. He wanted to impress that upon you.”
“Your hand!” David said after swallowing, staring at Winn’s palm. “No blood?”
“It heals as you make the oath,” Winn replied. “Just do and say what I did. As long as you can keep your word.”
David took the knife and Winn watched as he looked at it, turning it over in his hands. It had strange designs etched into the blade, and when David ran his thumb lightly over the sharp edge, he inadvertently drew blood.
“A thumb won’t do,” Carma said. “Across the palm.”
David lowered the blade to his hand and pulled it, wincing as it sliced into his skin. Then he raised his palm and repeated Winn’s words. When he lowered his hand, he marveled at how it had healed.
“Here, give me that,” Carma said impatiently. “I didn’t even want to bring it out. I was forced to.”
David handed the knife back to Carma and she disappeared again, returning within moments, empty handed.
She reached for the coffee pot and refilled her mug.
“Now that that unpleasantness is out of the way,” she started, “I’ll let you in on some of Lyman’s plans, and why Deem may not be around for a while.”
▪ ▪ ▪
Deem? she heard.
Is that you, Lorenzo? she thought.
It is, Lorenzo replied. How wonderful that I can still talk to you! And no mirror.
Oh, Lorenzo, I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear your voice! You’re not dead!
No, I’m still kicking.
I understand the house is burned down, she said. Winn torched it.
Yes, just after he killed Bingham, Lorenzo replied. I saw them kill him, through my kitchen door. At least, I think they killed him…he disappeared.
Bingham’s insane, Deem replied. A mad, raving lunatic. Half of them are, in here.
Where are you, exactly? Lorenzo asked.
I’m not supposed to say, Deem replied. I’m supposed to keep things top secret. But I suppose you’re not going to tell anyone anything, are you? Where are you, exactly?
Back in a house. Looks exactly the same to me as the one I was trapped in.
That makes sense, Deem said. If the Creepsis stung you, and it sent
you back twenty-four hours, it would have to send you to the house you were trapped in. That house didn’t exist anymore because of the collapse, so it had to be created to hold you.
I saw Bingham attack your friends, Lorenzo replied. I tried to warn them. They managed to dispense with Bingham somehow. Then I watched through the doorway as the house burned.
But your house is still intact? Deem asked.
Yes, still here. Same as always.
What’s outside your kitchen door now? The charred remains of the original house?
No, there’s nothing outside, Lorenzo answered. Just blackness. Same with the other two doors.
So your house is floating unattached to anything, just surrounded by darkness?
Yes, Lorenzo answered. But I can walk out into the dark. I just tried it. I’m standing in it now. And I heard you while I was out here, so I called to you. Maybe it’s the connection we made — it might transcend the mirror. Let me try an experiment. See if you can hear me as I walk back into the house.
Deem waited. After a minute Lorenzo returned.
Hear anything? he asked.
Nothing, she replied.
Interesting. I walked back into the kitchen and tried to talk to you. I guess it only works when I’m out here in the dark.
And it might be working because of where I am, she replied. Like you, I’m surrounded by darkness.
You never did tell me where you are, Deem.
It’s horrific. You hear screams, but you can’t see anything. It’s completely dark until you run into someone; a faint light emanates from everyone here, just enough to see them when they’re close. Walk five feet away, and they disappear into the darkness.
There are people there? Lorenzo asked. With you?
Lots of people. At first I was terrified of them. You can’t see them coming, and when you finally do see them, they’re horrible. I spent the first day just fighting them off; they thought I was food, or someone they could take advantage of. I would kick and punch until they disappeared into the darkness. I was shocked when I ran into Bingham. We fought for a while, until he realized he couldn’t do anything to me; then he slunk off. I’ve been thinking about him, and what happened in the house. Did you or Jacob ever discover why he was able to do what he did? Maybe Jacob’s father had some idea of why Bingham was so powerful?
The Blackham Mansion Haunting (The Downwinders Book 4) Page 19
