The Haunting of Ironwood

by Jeff DeGordick

  Bedtime

  Katie put her hand on the steel door, but she couldn't feel the vibration of the hum on the metal. It must be coming from somewhere in the room, then. But what was producing the sound or what else was inside, she had no idea.

  Regardless, the door took her completely by surprise and unnerved her. Earl had been one giant mystery since the moment she met him, and now things were becoming increasingly frightening.

  It's just a week, she thought.

  And a few days, her mind added.

  As she backed away from the door, her cell phone buzzed in her pocket. She took it out and saw that she had a message from Josh.

  She grumbled. "What now?"

  She brought up the text and it said: Hey, just thinking about u. What are u up to?

  Katie's blood boiled. She immediately deleted the message then thrust the phone back in her pocket.

  "You stupid, ungrateful..." she seethed.

  With the burnt-out fuse replaced, she had no more business in the basement. She took sight of the bottom of the stairs sitting just in the edge of the shadows then pulled the cord for the light above her, turning it off. She stumbled through the dark to the stairs. She would clean up the spilled boxes later.

  The TV played in the living room, the reception nice and clean. As soon as she closed the basement door behind her, she let out a long and unexpected yawn.

  "I think I need to go to bed," she said to herself.

  She turned off the TV then headed upstairs. There were some bedrooms on the third floor as well, but she decided the second would be good enough. That was where the bathroom was where Earl had laid out all the toiletries for her, too. When she returned to the bathroom to find a toothbrush and some toothpaste, she paused.

  She gazed at the toiletries left out on the vanity for her and was struck by just how meticulously they had been placed. Three different styles of toothbrushes sat next to each other, still in their packaging. But they were perfectly lined up. When Katie looked closer, she decided they weren't even off by a millimeter. Different boxes of toothpaste sat on the other side of the sink, lined up just the same way. The soaps and tissues were laid out just as carefully. If someone had planned to provide toiletries for a house-sitter, they might be kind enough to lay out a few things as an afterthought, but this was something else. The light glowed over the sink and illuminated the bathroom and spilled out into the hallway, but the rest of the hall was dark, as was the house. The wind had quieted outside and now all she heard was silence. It was enough to make her skin crawl, and even her reflection in the mirror put her on edge, making her deliriously think for a moment that her visage would morph into some kind of demented monster or maybe one of those creepy girls from a Japanese horror movie.

  Katie reached out and messed up all the toiletries with her hand, knocking them about and turning them askew. And suddenly she felt much better. The heaviness of the air seemed to lift and the darkness didn't seem quite so black.

  "Just a week," she told herself. "Just a week." She looked down at the now more pleasant toiletries. "Okay, this one, and... maybe this one." She snatched up a toothbrush and a tube of toothpaste, taking them out of their packaging and discarding all the remnants in a garbage neatly sitting next to the toilet. She turned the tap and the water came out cold and clear; she half expected it to come out a gurgling, rusty brown. She brushed her teeth and spit into the sink, and everything seemed okay. She let her hair down from her ponytail and slipped the scrunchie into her pocket.

  After using the toilet, she turned the bathroom light off and flipped one on in the hallway. "Now, just got to find a bedroom."

  She walked to the end of the hall as the floor groaned in the dead silence. The hallway light didn't do much to help the feeling that she was walking in scurrilous darkness. Framed photographs of the mysterious blonde woman lined the hallway, her repetitive sets of eyes watching Katie as she went. She remembered wandering into one bedroom earlier in the day that seemed to be lined from top to bottom with photos of her. She tried the room across from it at the end of the hallway near the back of the house. Poking her head in the door, she saw a comfortable-looking bed pressed up against the wall with the sheets made, a nightstand on each side of it, a bookshelf in the far corner next to a window that let in a pleasant amount of moonlight, and a large round throw rug in the middle of the spacious room. Best of all, she only saw one picture of the young woman sitting on one of the nightstands.

  Katie pushed past the door and saw a closet across from the bed. She shut the door behind her and felt oddly comfortable in the room.

  "Good enough," she said, letting out another yawn. Katie walked to the window and stared out at the expense of trees at the side of the property. The room was warmer than the ground floor, and much warmer than the basement, so she slid the window up to let in a breeze. Then she felt the heavy pull of tiredness clutching at her and she wheeled around to the bed. She undressed to her underwear and slipped beneath the covers.

  Lying on her side, she closed her eyes. She tried to fall asleep, but something gnawed at her.

  She leaned over and grabbed her cell phone from the pocket of her capris that she dumped on the floor and pulled up Josh's contact. She stared at it, wondering if she should text him back. Her thumb hovered over the virtual keyboard for a long time. But she put the phone on the bedside table instead, facedown.

  Her eyes fell on the framed picture of the woman looking at her and she turned the frame around.

  "Much better," she said sleepily.

  And then she got comfortable under the covers, clutching a handful of them up to her neck and letting herself ease into sleep.

  The wind picked up outside and gently rolled against the side of the house. And so gentle as to almost be imperceptible, Katie swore she heard a whisper.

  Bad Omen

  Sunlight spilled into her bedroom in the morning. Every bad and unsettling thing that seemed to happen to her in the night washed away in the morning light. As her eyelids fluttered opened, she tossed and turned under the covers, then she lifted her arms above her head and stretched. She actually slept quite well, all things considered, something that normally didn't happen in a stranger's home.

  Katie twisted onto her side and looked out the window.

  A pair of eyes were looking back at her.

  Katie clutched at the covers with an iron grip, her heart nearly leaving her body for a moment. She settled down when she saw it was only that same black cat that had been skulking around the front of the property, but only a little.

  The cat meowed, sitting on the windowsill inside the room.

  "Why did I leave that stupid window open last night?" Katie muttered. She flapped a hand at the cat from the bed. "Shoo! Shoo!"

  The cat didn't budge. He watched her carefully before meowing again.

  "Not a chance, buster. Aren't you guys supposed to be bad luck or something?" When the cat still didn't move, she rolled her eyes and got out of bed. She cautiously approached him and flapped her arms. She saw that he wore a collar, but there was no tag on it. "Come on, buddy... How the heck did you even get up here?" She looked out the window and saw the dozen-foot descent to the ground below.

  Meow

  "No, come on, seriously," she said, trying to push him away. The cat rubbed his face on her and began to purr.

  "That's not what I meant," Katie said. She gave him another little nudge and the cat turned and slinked to the outside of the windowsill between the iron bars. "Good, now stay right there..." She grabbed the window and slid it shut. "The kitchen's closed today," she added.

  The cat watched her through the window.

  Katie gave him one last curious glance before putting her clothes on. Then she grabbed her cell phone from the nightstand.

  One new text from her ex-boyfriend, her phone told her.

  Babe I don't know if uv gone to bed or not but I just been thinking bout u. I think maybe I made a mistake.

  Katie rolled he
r eyes so hard they almost flew out of their sockets. She stuffed the phone in her pocket, not letting her anger get to her, She turned for the door, throwing the cat one last glance before heading downstairs.

  She looked out the window in the kitchen at the empty driveway and wondered if the cat was still sitting up on the window or if he had climbed down and disappeared in the weeds.

  The cupboards flew open and Katie knocked around some boxes, looking for some cereal to eat for breakfast. Shredded wheat, plain Cheerios, All-Bran, Raisin Bran. Bleh. Honey Nut Cheerios, Apple Jacks, Frosted Flakes. Maybe. She got to the end of the row of boxes and pulled the last two out of the cupboard's shadows. Lucky Charms and Count Chocula. Impressive.

  She had tried to be in adult mode lately with the job search and the whole paying bills thing, but her mouth nearly started watering when she saw the last two cereals.

  Her eyes darted left and right like a guilty child trying to sneak a cookie from the jar, then she pulled out both boxes and filled a bowl with them. She added milk from the fridge and watched it rise and consume the dry wheat shapes and pasty marshmallows.

  She sat at the dining room table eating her sugary treat and reminiscing about her childhood. She ate slowly, savoring it. When the cereal was gone, she tipped the bowl to her lips and drank the now chocolate milk.

  Her cell phone beeped and she took it out of her pocket to see that the battery was low.

  Damn, she thought. I didn't even bring my charger with me.

  Then that was settled: she would need to go back to her apartment for a few things after all, and maybe run a few errands in town while she was at it. Earl told her he expected her not to leave the house at all, but she knew it wouldn't be a big deal. Besides, he was out of town and wouldn't know anyway.

  Katie tried to remember where she left the key to the house he'd given her, but she drew a total blank. Then she realized he never gave her one at all; he really expected her to stay cooped up like some prisoner. That meant she wouldn't be able to lock the house while she was gone.

  She felt uneasy about the decision but decided she would only be away for a short while. Katie threw her unwashed hair back in a ponytail and off she went.

  Tail

  She stopped at her apartment first, making the long trek across town on foot. Putting everything into a plastic grocery bag, she packed a few outfits, some more personal toiletries, and her phone charger. When she finished and was coming out her apartment door, she spotted her landlord rounding the corner at the other end of the long hallway. She tried to turn her head away, but it was already too late.

  "Hey, you there! Stop!"

  Katie pretended she didn't hear him and slipped past another corner, heading for the stairwell. But before she knew it he was right on her heels as she opened the stairwell door.

  "Where's my money?" he shouted. "The money! You pay rent or I kick you out!"

  "I don't have it yet," she muttered. She tried to turn away from him, but he grabbed the back of her collar. "Hey!" she cried.

  "I kick you out! Understand? You're two months late!"

  "I'll get your money soon," she said. "I just got a job. It will come in soon." But her shoulders slumped and she already felt herself wilting under the pressure.

  "You walk dangerous line, young lady!" the landlord said. "You're going to be out on the street!"

  He let go of her and Katie hurried down the stairs, feeling the sting of tears in her eyes. She was a full-blown mess by the time she got to the ground floor and fled the building into the peaceful summer day.

  She walked down the street for a long time with the grocery bag looped over her arm and her arms folded tightly over her chest. Her face looked like a strawberry slowly fading back to its original color. Tangled emotions roiled in her chest, all fighting for supremacy. During the whole walk she didn't know whether to punch a lamppost or fall to her knees and break down into tears. She was never good at confrontations; never quite learned how to stand up for herself. She was always too agreeable, too subservient, too afraid, too... needy. There was that word again. She hated the sound of it as it bounced around her head. It was a vile, despicable thing, but now that it was on her mind again, she felt her heart ache. All she could think about was Josh and if she had made a mistake by not replying to his texts.

  She crossed the street to a café and ordered a small tea with the change she scrounged from her sock drawer. She sat out on the covered patio that looked out on the street and sipped on her tea as she watched the cars go by. Her phone buzzed and before she could have any kind of rational or conscious reaction to the sound, her heart immediately swelled. She saw the message was from Josh and she hurried to find out what it said.

  Ive been thinking... Meet me at Hartigans at 11 tonite. I really miss u babe.

  Katie's hands shook and she had to set the phone down and sip her tea to calm herself. Once again she didn't reply, but it made her think. When he had broken up with her again she promised herself she would never come crawling back. But after a couple days, the situation seemed somehow different. Hartigan's was a local bar that they'd been to many times. In fact, it was where they went on their first date. She knew that wasn't an accident.

  Her attention turned to a car drifting by on the road, and then her eyes fell on a blue Volvo parked on the other side of the street. Her brow scrunched. She didn't know why, but for some reason the car seemed familiar to her. She tried to see inside, but the windows were tinted and she couldn't tell if there was anyone there or not. Nor could she remember where she had seen a car like that recently.

  She shook her head and went back to her tea. When she finished it and left the café, she headed to the bank to cash a check for twenty dollars that she'd forgotten her grandmother gave to her for her last birthday. It wasn't much, but it was all she had right now.

  The bank was sweltering hot and smelly. Too many people in front and behind her, packed into the winding line like sardines. She wiped the sweat off her forehead and looked out the large plate glass windows covering the storefront.

  Some people walked by on the sidewalk. A line of three cars rolled by. Then a cyclist. And parked on the other side of the street was an old blue Volvo.

  Katie did a double-take and squinted. Could it be the same one? No, that was absurd, or a really strange coincidence. She tried to put the idea out of her mind that someone was following her as she continued waiting in line. But when she finally cashed her check and walked out of the bank and saw the Volvo still sitting there with its tinted windows, she couldn't pry the feeling away if she had a crowbar.

  As the day started to stretch into the evening, Katie headed back for the house. It may have been isolated and gloomy, but at least it was a place her landlord wouldn't be lurking around. And that was something.

  She walked up the long driveway and saw the house standing in the midst of all the trees. The black cat was nowhere in sight. She hopped up the porch and opened the front door, stepping inside and closing it behind her. She locked the deadbolt, and just as she turned and started to put down the plastic bag with her effects she'd brought, she saw the door to the basement standing wide open.

  Prying Eyes

  Katie froze. She'd left the house unlocked. She wasn't supposed to leave at all, and now someone had broken in. Maybe Earl was right to put all those bars over the windows; maybe he'd had a problem with break-ins before, ruffians trying to explore or pillage the creepy old house in the woods.

  Or maybe worse. What if someone was still here? What if they were armed? Should she call the police? She wasn't sure Earl would pay her if he found out.

  She was rooted to the spot, immobilized by her indecisiveness. But in her stillness, she had the ability to listen.

  There was a soft groan upstairs, like floorboards tensing. Then another sound like a window frame shifting. The gap between each occasional sound was filled with silence. It could have just been the noises of an old house, but what if the intruder had heard her come in
and was waiting and listening just like she was?

  Katie stepped forward at last. The sounds she made on the old floor made her cringe. The stuffy air of the house was suffocating. She stared down the long hallway ahead leading to the living room, keeping her peripheral trained for any movement from the kitchen or sitting room. Her eyes locked on the basement door and she thought of the darkness that lay beyond it.

  In the doorway to the kitchen, she turned in and looked for a knife to protect herself. But after scouring the counter she saw there was no knife block. She quietly rifled through drawers, keeping her back to the counter and watching the open doorways. But there was nothing sharp in them that could be used as a weapon; only spoons.

  Great, she thought. She took a wide berth into the dining room and then the living room, coming at the hallway from the other end. She paused again and listened. Silence.

  When she got to the basement door, she pulled it all the way open and gazed at the darkness down the stairs. But she couldn't find the nerve to investigate. She closed the door and went back to the entrance.

  She glanced in the sitting room and checked behind the furniture, but no one was there. She went up the stairs and carefully looked around the corners and all the rooms. By the time she got to the third floor, her anxiety started to alleviate, and when she saw that the entire house was empty, she returned to the basement door and stood at the top of the stairs. She flicked on the light switch that made one dim and lonely bulb at the bottom of the staircase shine.

  "Hello?" she called. "Is anyone down there?"

  She waited a moment but there was nothing. Just a gentle hum in the distance. She pulled out her phone to use the flashlight again to cover the darker parts of the basement. When she reached the bottom of the stairs and covered a full circle around her, she saw no one. She walked around the small partition of wall to the fuse box and pulled the cord to turn on the other light. She saw the chained door, still chained. She turned her phone's light to the last dark corner in the basement and found she really was entirely alone.