The House of Wood

by Anthony Price

  “David, please forgive me. I understand now that you're only trying to help me.”

  “That’s okay. I should’ve been more honest with you from the start.”

  He gave her a warm smile that melted away any reservations she still had about him. There wasn't anybody in the world, that she could remember, who could wipe away all her doubts with a simple smile. She returned it.

  “You’re very cute when you smile.”

  “You’re not so bad yourself. That is, when you're being honest with me.”

  They both chuckled. It changed the atmosphere around them. The air didn't feel so oppressive and tense any more. There was a sparkle in his eye. She couldn't resist him anymore. A sudden impulse overcame her senses. She lent forward towards him. Her heart fluttered like the beating wings of a butterfly. She felt like she could do anything.

  As they kissed for the first time, it felt as though the whole world had come to a standstill around them. She could hear people from a nearby table tutting at their display of affection, as her tongue felt the dry softness of his mouth. It had been a long time since she had acted on a whim. She could feel the gentle pressure of him kissing her back. Nothing else mattered to her except this one moment. For the second time in her life, a kiss had changed everything. It felt so familiar and yet so different. She could trust him with anything. She knew that now.

  After a few seconds they parted, adjusting themselves, realising that people had been watching.

  “Well, I wasn't expecting that.”

  She felt nervous. “Is that a good or bad thing?”

  “From where I'm sitting, it's a good thing,” David replied.

  For the next fifteen minutes, the two of them sat idly talking about everything except the subject that Rachel knew would come around again. She was trying as hard as she could to avoid it, but it hung between them like a foul stench.

  “David, about my problem, I -”

  “Please, don't feel like you have to continue. We can just enjoy the meal and talk about other things if you want.”

  She thought about it for a moment. “Is that what you think we should do?”

  “It’s not about what I want, or think. It's you that has to relive the memories. The pain, the feelings, all of it. Memories can be harder than living it the first time. But remember, we’re here for your benefit. As hard as it is to face your fears, if you tackle them head-on, it can be a very rewarding experience. Talking can set you free.”

  “Is that what you did?” she asked. “I mean, when your ex passed away.”

  “Yes.”

  As they finished off their main course, she thought about whether she could continue or not. Last time she tried any kind of therapy, it ended up a disaster and she never went back. David seemed so certain that it would help her. She believed his words. One of the hardest parts was over, talking about the kiss with Justin. Sometimes, she could still taste him. Smell him. Feel his cold breath on her neck. He was the reason no one ever got close to her. Now here she was again, allowing someone to get close. Despite the terror from that night, it came down to one factor; she was afraid of getting her heart broken again. That had affected her more than anything.

  If she continued her tale, there was no guarantee that she would be able to finish it. The worst was yet to come. The man opposite her may have read up on her case, but he had no idea of the horrors that she was about to tell him. She took a deep breath.

  “The rain pelted at me,” she started.

  David crossed his hands in his lap, focusing all his attention on her. “Go on.”

  “I ran headlong in to the woods, the heavy drops slapping against the leaves as they lashed down from the sky. With the trees and the dense black clouds that had slid overhead, I could barely see a hand in front of my face, let alone anything else…”

  Chapter Seventeen

  Every now and then a crack of moonlight peeked through the clouds. I used whatever light there was as best as I could to navigate a route around the hidden obstacles; trees, roots all waiting like macabre ghouls to delay my escape. I tried to block out the image of my dead friends, concentrating on getting away, moving faster than I ever had in my life. The terror propelled me forwards. I felt my lungs could burst at any minute. Running all night wasn’t an option.

  An unseen branch made me trip. I stumbled several feet, before crashing with a dull thud into a mammoth tree trunk. I screamed, bouncing off and landing in a heap on the floor. The pain in my shoulder was overwhelming.

  I dragged myself through the mud and settled between the gaps of a knarled old trunk. Cradling my arm, I sucked some much needed air in to my lungs. Every breath I took, a stabbing pain shot down my arm; I was pretty sure my shoulder was dislocated.

  My brain couldn’t focus, as my body was racked with trembles. Not from the damp night air, but from the fear. I had no idea what to do. My instincts screamed at me to run. But I couldn’t. My arm throbbed every time I moved the slightest inch. Then there was him. Justin was out there somewhere, hiding, hunting me like an animal through the trees. I could feel him; see his face in my mind’s eye. That face, twisted and satanic, was carved behind my eye lids. He had been enjoying it. I had seen it in his eyes. What’d happened to him? I wondered, tears finally forming. Had he been possessed? If so, by who, or what? He had been so sweet and gentle. Surely a person couldn’t act that way if deep inside them they’re psychotic. Could they? The night was supposed to have been so special. A dream. Instead, it had turned in to a nightmare. One I didn’t know how to wake up from.

  I let the tears fall, the last of my courage evaporating from my battered body. The reek of decay from the rotten leaves filled my nostrils, as I huddled alone beneath the branches. With my chin tucked between my knees, I rocked back and forth. It was the smell of death. As long as I live, I’ll never forget that stench. The place is riddled with it.

  I don’t know how long the sobs lasted. I didn’t dare cry too hard in case he crept up on me. My ears listened for the slightest sound of him being near; a broken twig, breathing, that maniacal laughter. Anything. But there was nothing. Maybe he had given up? I prayed to God that he had.

  Wiping my eyes, I tried to stand. My shoulder exploded in to excruciating pain, as I moved. Vomit bubbled up my throat. Like molten lava, it erupted from my mouth, choking me at the same time. I let it come. In a way it was like a cleansing of my soul. My shoulder still hurt, but my thoughts seemed more coherent. It was as if the pain had focussed my mind, cleared away the fog of terror smothering it. I knew I had to do something.

  Slowly I crept deeper in to the woods, my eyes and ears alert to any approaching danger. It was silent. Not a thing moved. It was as if the woods were watching; waiting for something to happen. It felt oppressive. Suffocating. I could feel my pulse quickening, my head becoming fuzzy. I stopped to compose myself again.

  A sudden sound to my left caused me to jerk my head around. There was nothing. I stood rooted to the spot. My eyes wide.

  Then again behind me.

  Nothing.

  “Who’s there?”

  No answer.

  “Come out, you sick bastard,” I spat, my body shaking. “I’m not afraid of you.”

  Still there was no answer. Was it the fear, I wondered, making me hear things? I didn’t know, but I also knew it was dangerous to stay in one spot for too long.

  I moved deeper in to the woods with no plan and no idea which direction I was heading. I had this idea that if I kept moving forward, I would stumble across a farm, a town, something that would mean I was safe. But deep down, I knew it was an impossible task in the scarce moonlight under the trees. Still I moved forward.

  It didn’t take me long to reach a small clearing. A rusted iron fence ringed the edges. It was no larger than two body widths. I took a sharp gasp, as the clouds parted, illuminating the sight.

  It was a graveyard. Four headstones stared back at me, ravaged by time. The two furthest away dwarfed the two smaller grave
stones closest to the entrance. The weather and plant life had eaten in to the granite, but still they stood. Reminders of the dead. My curiosity had got the better of me, long before I realised I had walked through the gap where the iron gate would have once stood.

  I don’t know what possessed me to go in there. I guess it was because it was a strange sight, four simple graves sitting in the middle of dense woodland. It was surreal.

  My feet drifted forward, towards the nearest grave. My hand trembled, as I rested it on the headstone.

  Here layeth Lilly McCain. Beloved daughter of Hiram and Rose McCain. Now and forever an angel.

  My eyes followed the curves of the words carved in to the stone before moving to the next one.

  Here layeth Jacob McCain. Beloved son of Hiram and Rose McCain.

  Now and forever an angel.

  My brain whirled. It was the graves of the two McCain children. The other two must have been the parents. I couldn’t believe it. Sadness overwhelmed me. They had died at the hands of a madman. Did their spirits still remain? I wondered. It wasn’t until then that I realised the evil that infested the building looming in the distance. It had permeated the very ground, waiting for its next victim. I was determined it wouldn’t be me.

  I turned to leave. Staring straight at me was a blackbird, sitting on the fence.

  My eyes followed it, as it unfurled its wings and hopped on to an overhanging branch. It sat there, its black eyes looking down on me. I narrowed my gaze, bewildered by the sight. I felt like I was drifting through a dream. I didn’t know what was real and what wasn’t. I couldn’t take my eyes away from it. All the pain and terror I had felt was gone, lost in the past. I felt like I was sinking. Was this what it felt like to be hypnotized? I mused. I could’ve easily lost myself in those black, void like eyes.

  As I stood there, a faint humming began to grow louder in the distance.

  My eyes still fixed on the bird.

  Louder.

  I couldn't move.

  Something was getting closer.

  It cawed, flapped its wings, pushing itself into the air.

  The road!

  I ran as fast as I could in the direction of the car coming along the old track at the bottom of the hill. I was saved.

  ***

  I don't know what propelled me forward down the hill. Twigs scratched at my face as I ran. Several times, I lost my footing, slipping through the mix of dead leaves and mud. My legs were getting heavier, caked with slime from each time that I fell over. The pain in my shoulder was almost unbearable. But it didn't matter. I was saved. Why hadn't I thought of the road sooner?

  As I stumbled to the bottom of the hill, the rain had turned the road into a river. It was torrential now. The drops were hitting the tarmac so hard, it gave the illusion that the rain was going up rather than coming down. I could hear the car coming around the bend. It would be here in a second, I hoped.

  I never even considered how I would stop it. The lights appeared around the corner, coming straight at me. It was moving fast. I didn't stop to think, as I ran into the middle of the road, waving my arms around like a crazy fan at a rock concert. It didn't seem to stop. I waved harder. They were getting closer. I shut my eyes, wrapping my arms around me for protection. This is it. After everything that had happened, I was going to be mowed down by a car.

  The screeching filled my ears, as the tires screamed the car around me, trying as hard as they could to gain a firm grip of the slippery surface beneath them. I held my breath, waiting for the impact. It never came.

  As I opened my eyes, I saw the car was actually a small truck. The driver door open.

  “What in the blazes do ya think you're doin’?” the old man shouted at me. “Ya could’ve got yaself killed.”

  I ran straight to him. The tension built up inside of me behind the dam I had erected, finally released the pressure, as I flung myself at him. Sobs shook my body.

  “Hey now, miss. What’s wrong? What ya doing out here this late at night anyhows?”

  “The house…My friends…Dead…He…Justin.” The words wouldn’t form sentences. I couldn’t think straight. Apparently it happens a lot in stressful situations. All I could do was cry into his chest.

  “Now, now miss, calm down.” The old guy’s grizzled hands took me firmly by the shoulders. I winced as he pressed too hard on my dislocated joint. He looked straight into my face. He was full of concern. “I think we best get ya in the truck before ya catch your death o’ cold.”

  I allowed him to lead me back to his truck. He opened the passenger door, sat me in the seat and then closed me inside. The rain tapped a drum beat on the roof. It was coming down so hard, I couldn't see anything out of the windows. We may as well have been underwater. I could feel my eyelids becoming heavy. The heat in the compartment mixed with the sound on the roof was enough to send anyone to sleep. I wanted to let it take me.

  The driver’s door flew open.

  “I’m goin’ to get ya to a hospital,” the old man said. “We ain't far from town. Why, you're lucky my wife forgot the dog food, or you’d be-“

  The words stopped. I looked at my saviour. He just stood there, his eyes gradually growing wider. He went to say something. All that came out of his mouth, was a bubbling, frothy torrent of blood. I stared, my mind too tired to understand what was going on.

  “Hello, Rachel,” Justin said, pulling the dead body out of the way. A bloodied knife dripped onto the fabric of the driver’s seat. “You’ve been a very naughty girl. I'm going to have to punish you.”

  I screamed.

  As I scrambled for the door, he thrust at my face with a knife. A burning sting slashed its way along my cheek, as the tip broke through the surface. I didn't stop to take any notice.

  The door flew open and I bolted for the woods. The entire time he was laughing.

  “Come on, Rachel. We're just having fun. You can run all you like. I know this place better than anyone and there's nowhere you can hide.”

  The words echoed in my ears, as I ran headlong back into the dark.

  ***

  I knew he was following me, his relentless cackle filtering through the sound of the rain hitting the foliage. I wanted it to end. Nothing in my life had ever seemed so endless. It was as if I was in a place where time moved backwards, rather than forwards. My body wanted to give in. But I couldn't. How could I let him take me now, knowing what he had done. People had to know the truth.

  All I could think about was the dead. First Tim, then Chelsea. And now that poor old man. His face, as he realised he was dying, kept popping into my vision. It had to end.

  Before I realised it, the trees overhead had cleared. I had run so fast, I hadn’t realised what direction, or for how long I had been running. The silent house sat in front of me. I had come full circle back up the hill. It was as if it had drawn me to it. The dark windows seemed even more menacing than they had when I first arrived. It felt as though they were laughing at me, mocking me for my stupidity. There was no escaping this place. Better to face the inevitable.

  A loud ringing filled the night air. Something in my pocket vibrated.

  In all the terror, I had totally forgotten about my cell phone. There it was ringing, as if nothing else had happened. I don't know whether it was fear, but the normalcy of it made me chuckle.

  I reached into my pocket and pulled it out. It was Nathan.

  I pressed the answer button. “Oh my God, I…”

  The words trailed off, and the phone dropped to the floor.

  “Hello,” the young girl said, the bright red stain on her dress more visible this close up. “It doesn’t hurt.”

  “W-w-what doesn’t hurt?”

  Lilly slowly raised her hand, pointing behind me.

  The last thing I could remember, was the butt of the knife slamming down on my head.

  “Sweet dreams, sugar pie.”

  I hit the floor. Then nothing.

  Chapter Eighteen

  “There
has to be more to it than that,” David said, eating his last morsel of food. “What happened after that?”

  “Please, don't make me do any more. I can't remember much else.”

  “We've already had this conversation. It's better for you to finish.”

  Rachel just sat there. It was beginning to feel like a tug of war with him. Why wouldn't he just take no for an answer? It wasn't as if it was life, or death. Not anymore. It was in the past and best left there. The clock on the wall said it was almost eleven o'clock. She needed a breather.

  “I’ve just got to go to the ladies room.”

  “Okay. I'll be right here when you get back.”

  She didn't know whether to be comforted, or afraid by his words. There was something in them. Did she detect a hint of threat? Ignoring it, she made her way to the bathroom.

  The bright fluorescent lights dazzled her, as they twinkled off the perfectly white tiles lining the walls. She sighed as she bent over the sink and looked at herself in the mirror.

  Things were becoming far too complicated with David wanting to know every little detail about memories from a night that had long ago been forgotten. She didn’t want to relive it. Once was more than enough. But he was relentless. There was no way she was going to be able to go back to the table and not finish her story. She knew he was only trying to help her, but there was something else. Every now and again there would be something familiar about him; a look, a gesture, words. Something that made her feel as though she had seen it all before. But it was impossible. They had never met before the other day.

  She sighed again, splashing water over her face. She pushed the thoughts to the rear of her mind. It was best to get back, have dessert and finish her story. Once it was finished she could forget it for good. It would finally be over. Then maybe she could pursue other things with him.

  As she let the bathroom door close behind her, she hoped Nathan and Becky were having a better time than she was.

  ***

  Much to Nathan’s surprise, he and Becky were having a great time. The loud clash of the pool balls filled the air each time a shot was taken. It was the fifth game he had lost in a row.