Afraid

by Jo Gibson

  “Okay. Let’s hit the road.” Rondelle’s father smiled and gave her a hug. There were hugs and kisses all around, along with last-minute instructions for Rondelle, and then they drove away.

  Rondelle sat down on the front porch swing and waited five minutes, just to be sure. Then she went inside and locked the door. She was free! And now she could do anything she wanted!

  She wandered around the house for a few minutes, exploring her options. But there wasn’t really anything that Rondelle wanted to do. The house seemed strange with everyone gone. She’d never noticed the way the floorboards creaked, or how the furnace boomed when the heat kicked in. It wasn’t exactly frightening. After all, it was morning and the sun was shining brightly. But it was strange to be in the silent house all alone.

  Rondelle checked the front door again, to make sure it was locked, and then she climbed the steps to her room. She hadn’t bothered to make her bed and the rumpled blankets looked very inviting. Perhaps she’d stretch out for a minute and close her eyes. She hadn’t had much sleep last night.

  What if Craig called and she was asleep? Rondelle frowned slightly, but her phone was right next to her bed and she was sure she’d wake up if it rang. She’d just catch a quick nap so she’d have plenty of energy to be the life of the party tonight.

  It was two-thirty in the afternoon when Rondelle woke up, and Craig hadn’t called. He’d probably gone out to the lake to make last minute preparations, and he’d call when he got back to town.

  Rondelle smiled in anticipation. The Ellisons’ cabin was a perfect place to hold a party. There was a huge stone fireplace and a massive family room that was great for dancing. Rondelle could hardly wait. Craig’s party was always the biggest event of the year—everyone in school was always invited.

  But what if her parents found out she’d gone without asking permission? She knew she was taking a chance, but she really didn’t think they’d call the house to check on her. Even if they did, she could always make up some kind of excuse.

  As the minutes ticked by and the phone didn’t ring, Rondelle decided to start getting ready. She had a slinky red dress that she’d bought last year on sale and she’d never worn it before.

  Rondelle slipped on the dress and glanced in the mirror. She looked great! The dress clung to her like a second skin and Craig was bound to be impressed. This might be her first date with him, but Rondelle was sure it wouldn’t be her last. She’d take her red leather shoulder bag, it would match the dress perfectly, but which pair of shoes should she wear?

  Rondelle tried on every pair of shoes in her closet, but nothing looked right with the red dress. She even raided her mother’s closet, but she didn’t find anything she could use. That was when she remembered the red shoes. Could she get away with wearing them? They weren’t really that unusual, and she could always say that she’d bought them at the mall.

  The afternoon sun was beginning to dim as Rondelle raced up the stairs to the attic. Since there were only two high narrow vents at either side of the attic to let in air and light, it was already quite dark. Rondelle shivered as she stepped carefully across the loose boards. She’d never been afraid of the attic before, but today she felt uneasy.

  “There’s absolutely nothing up here to hurt you.” Rondelle spoke out loud. And then she gave an embarrassed laugh because she’d been talking to herself. Perhaps she’d done it because she was all alone. Their neighbor, a widower in his eighties, talked to himself all the time. When she walked by his house and his windows were open, Rondelle could hear him carrying on imaginary conversations with the pictures he’d hung on the walls.

  As she stepped further into the attic, Rondelle shivered. The wind whistled through the vents, and since the attic wasn’t heated, it was cold! As she stood in front of the wardrobe, Rondelle could almost understand why Janie was so afraid. Its claw feet looked real in the dim light, and the carvings of leaves and branches on the doors seemed to reach out to try to grab her!

  “It’s just my imagination.” Rondelle spoke out loud again. She reached inside, and then she almost screamed as her fingers brushed a spiderweb. Just what she needed! Now she’d have to take another shower before Craig came to pick her up!

  The red shoes were right where she’d left them, tucked in the very back of the wardrobe. Rondelle unwrapped them and sat down on an old steamer trunk to try them on. They were very comfortable, almost as if they’d been made especially for her, and she stood up and twirled, careful not to bump into any of the old furniture. The red shoes were perfect! She could dance in them all night.

  There was an old oval mirror against the wall, and Rondelle checked her reflection. Her image was wavy and covered with cobwebs, but she could see that the red shoes matched her dress.

  “Great!” Rondelle clapped her hands in delight But just as she’d turned to head for the door, she heard a sound like gunshot.

  “What was that?!” Rondelle whirled around and frowned as she realized what had happened. The old oval mirror had cracked in half, from the top to the very bottom. Could it have been the change in temperature? It had been warm and sunny today, but now that night was falling, it was turning very cold.

  Rondelle shrugged. It didn’t really matter. The mirror was so old, the silver was peeling away from the glass, and the wooden stand was broken. If her mother decided to use it downstairs, she’d have to get it repaired anyway. But there was something strange about the mirror, something that drew Rondelle closer to peer directly into its depths.

  On the right side of the crack, her image was beautiful, just the way it had been before. But on the left, where the silver was starting to peel away, she looked like something out of a nightmare.

  “Nooooo!” Rondelle’s voice was a terrified whisper as she stared at her gruesome reflection. Her left leg looked broken, as if someone had chopped it with an axe. The bone actually seemed to be sticking up through her pale, gray-colored skin. Her left arm was wrenched from its socket, hanging uselessly at her side, and the fingers on her left hand looked like claws with long yellow fingernails curling in to scratch at her palms.

  Rondelle blinked, trying to banish the awful sight. But when she looked in the mirror again, nothing had changed. On the left side of the mirror, her dress was tattered, with bits of soil clinging to its folds. She looked as if she’d been exhumed from a grave!

  Rondelle swallowed hard and tried not to panic. The light was dim. She was imagining things. But she screamed a scream of pure unadulterated terror as she caught sight of her face!

  In the left side of the mirror, her flesh hung loosely from her skull and bits of shiny white bone were visible. Her eye was gone and a hollow socket was in its place. On the left side, her lips were swollen and purple, grinning around broken and jagged teeth.

  As Rondelle stood there, paralyzed with terror, a cold gust of wind blew through the attic. It smelled of decay, a sickeningly sweet, putrid odor that made Rondelle gag and start to cough. She wrenched her eyes away from the awful sight, and forced her feet to move. One step. Two steps. And then she was running to the attic door, tripping and stumbling in her haste to escape the awful apparition she’d seen.

  She was only a few steps from the door when there was another burst of wind. It was cold and bitter, and it whipped Rondelle’s hair into her eyes. She staggered to a stop, blinded by the stinging pain. Then came a loud bang that made Rondelle jump in fear, and the attic door flew shut.

  Rondelle raced for the door. She had to get out of there! Her hands were shaking as she grabbed the knob and twisted hard. But as Rondelle pulled on the knob, desperately trying to escape, it came off in her hand!

  Frantically, Rondelle tried to reattach it. She knew how. The doorknob in her bedroom was the same type, and it came off every month or so. But in her haste to get out of the attic, Rondelle pushed the knob back in place much too hard.

  There was a hollow thump from the other side of the door, and Rondelle cried out in dismay. The outside knob had falle
n to the floor of the landing and the latch wouldn’t work unless both knobs were in place. She was trapped in the attic, with no way out!

  She hammered at the door and screamed for her parents. They had to come and rescue her! She pounded until her knuckles were battered and bleeding, and then she remembered. Her parents and Janie were gone.

  Rondelle sank to the cold, wooden floor, whimpering in terror. The last light of day was fading fast, and she was trapped in the attic. There was no way out, and not one single person knew where she was!

  Six

  “Yes, Steve. I’d love to go with you.” Donna hung up the phone. Her first date in Jefferson City! And it was with Steve! He’d just called to invite her to Craig Ellison’s party.

  Steve had apologized for not asking her sooner. He’d been planning to help his father fix up their guest room and they’d planned to paint it tonight. But his mother had decided that she preferred wallpaper, and the pattern she wanted wouldn’t be in until next week.

  Even though Donna had never met Steve’s mother, she immediately liked her for choosing a pattern that was backordered. Now Steve was free for the evening, and he’d asked her for a date!

  Donna sat on the edge of her bed for a moment, smiling in anticipation. Craig’s party was an annual October event. The Ellisons were rich, and their lake cabin was incredibly beautiful. Donna had heard that Craig’s mother always hired caterers to serve Hawaiian food on the beach, and everyone in the school was invited. She’d planned to go alone, but now that she had a date with Steve, it would be much more fun.

  Rondelle opened her eyes as the telephone rang. It was dark, and for one brief moment, she didn’t know where she was. Then she remembered, and icy panic washed over her in waves. She was locked in the attic! And she couldn’t get out!

  But where was the phone? There was a faint beam of light coming up through the rafters, and Rondelle crawled toward it on her hands and knees. The ringing sound got louder as she got closer to the light and when she put her eye to the crack, she saw the inside of her bedroom. The light was on. She must have forgotten to turn it off when she’d come up here. She had been complaining about the crack in her ceiling for several months now. Thank goodness her father hadn’t gotten around to fixing it!

  Looking through the crack soothed Rondelle. It was almost as if she were down there again, getting ready for her date.

  “Oh, no!” Rondelle groaned loudly. Craig had promised to call her, and he could be on the other end of the line right now, listening to the empty ringing. He’d think she wasn’t home and he wouldn’t come over until it was time for their date. But he would come over. Rondelle was sure of that. She’d told him that she might go shopping, and he’d agreed to pick her up at eight.

  But what would Craig do when she didn’t answer the door? Rondelle wasn’t sure. Somehow, she had to get his attention and let him know she was trapped up here.

  The vent. It faced the front of the house. The moment Rondelle thought of it, she felt much better. When Craig came up to the front door to ring the doorbell, she’d call out to him. He’d hear her, crawl through one of the windows, and come up to the attic to let her out. All she had to do was be patient and try not to panic. Craig would be here very soon and then she’d be free.

  The ceiling in her bedroom was low, and the phone was only a few feet below her. But those few feet might as well have been hundreds. There was no way Rondelle could reach through the crack to answer the phone.

  The answering machine kicked in on the fifth ring, and Rondelle held her breath as she listened to the outgoing message. This is Rondelle. I’m not here right now, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Then there was a beep, and she heard Craig’s voice.

  Rondelle? Where are you? It’s almost seven and I’ll be there in an hour. Maybe I’d better call Alice and see if you’re over there.

  Rondelle frowned. The last thing she wanted was for Craig to call Alice, especially since Alice was dying to date him, too. Would Alice be a true friend? Would she say that Rondelle wasn’t there and hang up? Or would Alice take advantage of the situation to flirt with Craig and try to get him interested in her?!

  There was a creaking sound from the far corner of the attic, and Rondelle’s eyes searched the shadows. A faint light was coming in through the slatted vent, and she could see huge, looming shapes in the darkness. Nothing was moving. There was no need to panic. Old houses always creaked and groaned at night. There was absolutely nothing up here to hurt her.

  The mirror! Rondelle almost screamed as she remembered the hideous reflection she’d seen. She started to panic, her heart pounding fearfully in her chest, but somehow she managed to calm herself. The reflection had been horrifying, but it had been a trick of the light and her own imagination. It wasn’t real, and things that weren’t real couldn’t possibly hurt her.

  The phone rang again and Rondelle turned back to the crack in the floor. Once again, the answering machine picked up on the fifth ring. This is Rondelle. I’m not here right now, but leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.

  Rondelle? It was Alice’s voice. Craig just called to see if you were here and I said you weren’t. I told him you were probably in the shower, and you didn’t hear the phone. Since my car’s not working right, he said he’d give me a ride to the party, if that’s okay with you.

  “That’s not okay and you know it!” Rondelle shouted the words, even though she knew Alice couldn’t hear her. Giving Alice a ride was worse than not okay, it was a complete disaster! If Alice went to the party with them, she’d want a ride home. And that meant Rondelle would have absolutely no time alone with Craig!

  There was another noise from the far end of the attic, and Rondelle whirled around again. Something was there! She was sure of it! But what?

  That was when she heard it, the sound of scurrying feet scraping against the rafters. Rats! And Rondelle was deathly afraid of rats!

  Fighting panic, Rondelle pressed her eye to the crack again. She concentrated on the safe haven of her bedroom, only a few feet below. So close, and yet so far. Could she somehow make the crack bigger? Big enough to jump through? Rondelle didn’t like the idea of falling all the way to the floor below, but it wasn’t as frightening as staying here, locked up in the attic with rats!

  Rondelle clawed at the crack until her hands were bleeding, but she only succeeded in widening it an inch or two. And then she heard the phone ring again.

  Rondelle? It’s Craig. Call me back when you get this message. Alice thought you were in the shower or something, but you must be out by now. What’s going on anyway? We’ve got a date, don’t we? I mean—are we still on for tonight, or what?

  Rondelle winced. Craig sounded angry, and she wished that she could call him to explain. If she’d thought to bring the remote phone with her, all her problems would be solved. But she’d only come up here to get the red shoes. She’d never expected to get locked in the attic.

  There was another rustling, scampering sound, and Rondelle convinced herself that it was only squirrels, running across the roof. This was a nice house, in a nice neighborhood, and her mother kept it very clean. They couldn’t possibly have rats.

  Time seemed to stand still in the darkness, but Rondelle knew the minutes were ticking by. And then the phone rang again.

  Rondelle? It’s Alice. Where are you? You just went out shopping or something, right? I mean, I know your parents wanted you to go with them, but you didn’t, did you?

  “No! I’m here!” Rondelle swallowed hard. But Alice was still speaking.

  Look, Rondelle—you really blew it if you went with your parents and you didn’t tell Craig. He thinks you stood him up, so he asked me to go to the party with him. If you don’t call me back in the next ten minutes, I’m going to say yes!

  “No! Craig’s my date!” Rondelle almost screamed the words. Both Craig and Alice thought she wasn’t home, but she was! And Craig wouldn’t come to pick her up if she didn�
��t call him back. Alice wouldn’t bother to come over to check. She’d always wanted to go out with Craig, and this was her golden opportunity!

  The seconds ticked by, and Rondelle tore frantically at the crack in the floor. She just had to get to the phone! And then it rang again, and she heard Craig’s voice.

  Rondelle. If you went with your parents and didn’t tell me, don’t bother to apologize. I wouldn’t ask you out again on a bet! I’m a fair guy so I’m going to drive by your house to check. If the lights are off, I’ll know you’re gone.

  Rondelle breathed a deep sigh of relief. The light was on in her bedroom. Craig would see it and come to the door. And then she could call out through the vent to explain that she was locked in the attic.

  But Rondelle’s relief was short-lived. The lamp in her bedroom flickered once and then it went off. The bulb had burned out. If Craig didn’t see any lights, he’d drive right by without stopping!

  Rondelle rushed toward the vent in the darkness. As she stared out through the slats, she gave a deep sigh of relief. The street was deserted, and she had some time. It would take Craig at least ten minutes to drive to her house.

  What could she do to let Craig know that she was locked in the attic? Rondelle knew she needed some sort of a signal. She planned to scream, but it was a cold night. If Craig’s windows were closed and his car stereo was on, he’d never hear her.

  She could wave a flag. The moment Rondelle thought of it, she felt her way back to the corner where her father stored his fishing poles. The tip of a pole would be thin enough to stick through the vent.

  Rondelle opened the wardrobe and pulled out the first piece of clothing she could find. It felt like one of her grandfather’s old silk shirts, and her fingers were shaking as she tore off one arm. She tied the end of the fishing line around it and poked it through the vent to dangle down, in front of the house. She’d jerk it up and down when Craig drove by and he’d be bound to see it—if the porch light was on.