The House on Hayden Pond

by Jessica Monks

  ”Of course,” said Sam. She would much rather take a ride then listen to Ray complain for the next few hours. A family friend of many years, Henry was Jon Bolton’s best friend and like a father to Ray. Sam had met him a few times at family gatherings and funerals. Sam started to make up a plate and covered it while Debbie picked up dishes to clear the table.

  “Thanks for going,” said Debbie to Sam. “Henry lives about fifteen minutes down the main street at a place called Rose Hill Park. You can’t miss it. There’s a big red and gold sign out front. Just ask the front desk and they will point you in the right direction,” she said as she carried the dishes into the kitchen.

  “Em,” said Sam as she picked up the plate of food and made her way to the door, “You help Debbie with the dishes, and Lily you watch Jack.” Kingston followed her out of concern of being left behind. “All right, come on,” said Sam, smiling at her excited companion. Sam went outside and opened the back door of the car for Kingston. He jumped in excitedly. She got into the car with the plate of food and shut the door. She paused, taking a deep breath of relief. Maybe it was good thing to have a little time alone with her thoughts.

  All the way to the assisted living facility where Henry lived, her mind raced with everything that had happened at the house. She kept thinking about what Ellen had said to her. Something just didn’t feel right. She felt uneasy in her own home and the lack of sleep wasn’t helping.

  Pulling into the half-circle driveway at Rose Hill Park, she parked out front and cracked all four windows for Kingston. Stepping up out of the car, she took a good look at the place. It seemed like a very nice residence. Being a nurse at one time herself, she could appreciate the apparent cleanliness of the facility. The grounds were kept tidy and the abundance of nice flowers made the place very welcoming. She entered and found the front desk, where a nurse was sitting answering the phones.

  “Hello can I help you?” said the nurse, who seemed very sweet.

  “Yes, I am looking for Henry Parker’s room,” said Sam.

  “Certainly. Mr. Parker is in apartment twenty-three. Here we call them apartments, not rooms. Go down the hall, take the elevator to the second floor, go left, and it’s the fourth apartment on the left.”

  Sam smiled in recognition. “Thank you,” she said as she started her way down the hall. Sam marveled at the nice stone floors. She missed being a nurse and all the smiling faces. She made her way to apartment twenty-three and knocked on the door.

  “Coming… coming,” she heard as the door slowly opened. “Ahhh, hello, how are you?” said Henry. Sam got the feeling that Henry wasn’t sure who she was.

  “Hi, Henry. It’s Sam Bolton, Paul’s wife.”

  “Ahhh yes, yes, of course. Come in come in,” said Henry giving her a hug as if trying to make it seem like he had recognized her. “How are you my dear?”

  “I’m doing... good,” replied Sam. She was always a bad liar.

  “Hmmm. Well, come in. Stay a little while. I don’t get many visitors anymore,” said Henry, removing her coat. Henry had been a psychiatrist for fifty years and he knew distress when he heard it. “My dear, sometimes it helps getting an outside opinion on things. I may be old but I’m still a good listener. There’s not much I haven’t heard and the good thing about telling and old person is they soon forget.”

  Sam laughed and smiled at him. “I’m sure that’s not true. You seem as sharp as ever.”

  “What seems to be the trouble these days?” asked Henry gently.

  “We just moved into a nice house and we were looking forward to a chance to start fresh. But it seems like everything is falling apart. My oldest daughter almost lost her arm, my son could have been burned, my youngest girl almost hurt in a car accident, and Paul, he fell from the roof, and if it wasn’t for that rope… God knows what could have happened. Even our poor dog almost died.”

  “I see,” said Henry, looking at Sam above his glasses. “That’s a terrible run of bad luck. But I also notice something very fortunate about these events. You say, ‘almost’ and ‘could have,’ which means didn’t. You might want to look at the more positive side. You must have angels on your side, or you would have told me a very different story, my dear.”

  “I guess I was focusing so much on the bad I didn’t realize how lucky we have been. It’s all happened in such a short period of time. Almost more than I can handle.”

  “I think it’s much easier to dwell on the bad then count one’s blessings,” said Henry. “By looking at the bright side of every conflict, you can obtain a great sense of happiness.”

  “Maybe you’re right. Maybe I just have been looking at everything in a negative way.”

  “Living life with positivity is living a life worth living.”

  “Thank you for listening,” said Sam. “It’s been difficult to say the least. I really haven’t slept since the move. I appreciate it, I really do.”

  “No problem, my dear. It’s nice having someone who will listen to an old man. Do you have a long ride home? I don’t want to keep you too long.”

  “No, actually, not at all; we moved very close. It’s only about a fifteen-minute drive from here. We live in a house Jon Bolton used to own.”

  In an instant, Henry’s face changed from kindness to concern. “What house Jon used to own?”

  “It’s a white house over on Hayden Pond.”

  Henry ‘s expression grew dark and his eyes narrowed. “Oh, I see,” he said.

  “See what?”

  He shook his head and his mouth turned down. Then, taking a deep breath, he fixed his gaze directly on Sam. “I fear for you and the safety of your family.”

  “What do you mean?” said Sam, leaning forward in her chair. She reached over to hold Henry’s hand. “Tell me,” she said with curiosity and fear.

  “I thought I would be able to take this to my grave. It’s my fault—I didn’t do what needed to be done, but the years passed so quickly. I had all but forgotten about that house.” He stood up and walked over to the closet. He opened it and took a box from the top shelf. He turned back to Sam, bringing the box with him. Sitting down again, he carefully wiped the dust off the box. “Sometimes you can forget the past, but it has a way of catching up with you,” he said, opening the box and taking out a stack of pictures. He flipped one over so Sam could see. “By the way, Ray knows nothing of this, and I would prefer to keep it that way,” he said, peering over his glasses.

  “I understand,” said Sam. She was willing to do almost anything to know the truth.

  “About thirty years ago,” began Henry, “Ray’s brother, Thomas, a deputy sheriff, was out on an investigation with Brian, his best friend and patrol partner.”

  “Yes, I know,” said Sam. “He was killed instantly in a car crash. I’ve heard the story from Ray.”

  “That’s what we told Ray and his mother,” said Henry with sadness in his voice. “It was easier than the truth about what had happened that night.” He took a deep breath and handed Sam the picture. It showed four men standing together with their arms around each other. She recognized Jon and Henry but not the other two. Henry leaned over and said, “This is Thomas and Brian the day they became deputies. We were so proud of them that day. They had been on the force only a year before they were sent to that house on Hayden Pond. I had received a call from Jon to bring my prized bloodhound, Sebastian, to the neighbor’s house,” said Henry.

  “Mrs. Stuart?”

  Henry raised his eyebrows. “Yes. The Stuarts have lived there for many years. Jon seemed unusually panicked the night he called me. Little Molly Stuart had gone missing and he needed my help to find her. Jon sent Thomas and Brian to alert all the neighbors. When Thomas didn’t check in with the station, Jon headed up to see what was going on. He found Brian with an open wound on his neck, dying in the driveway. When he entered the house he discovered his own son, Thomas, hanging by the neck from the banister. He was too late to help them. Then he heard a scream coming from the basem
ent. He went down there and found the homeowner, a man by the name of Roman Hollick, sitting on the wall of the old well. He was holding Molly Stuart. He killed her in front of Jon. Cut her throat and threw her into the well. Jon was filled with so much rage he opened fire, killing Roman and sending him down into that well. After a full investigation it was found that Hollick had kidnapped and murdered at least eighteen woman and children in that house. He tortured them before cutting them all up in some sort of sadistic ritual. He disposed of their bodies in that well. Later we found photo albums of the victims and a book filled with demonic rituals. We were able to identify all the victims because he took their fingerprints in their own blood and added them to this book. I had the opportunity to examine it. Apparently, in his twisted mind he was trying to use the souls of his victims to leave the door open to the other side. They were to be his steppingstones for all eternity. Of course, at the time I thought the whole thing was hogwash. After we pumped out the well we could only find bits and pieces, nothing to identify a person. We never found the remains of Roman or Molly. The well was built on boulders that led to deep caverns. After a few weeks we stopped looking.”

  Sam covered her mouth as tears began to run down her cheeks. “That’s awful! After all that, why on earth would he want that horrible house?”

  “Jon never wanted to go back to the house on Hayden Pond. He never wanted anyone to go back to that house, ever again. He promised Mrs. Stuart nobody would ever be allowed to live there. He was a proud sort of man. It shamed him that he didn’t know a monster was hiding in his own town. So he purchased the house. He planned to burn it down.”

  “Why didn’t he?”

  “After watching so many people close to him die, something changed in him. After losing Thomas he started drinking. He started drinking every day. One day we were sitting in the car—this was about five days before he died—and he told me something. Something that chilled me to the bone. He told me one night after he had a few drinks he went to the station and filled some gas canisters with fuel. He drove up to that house and planned on burning it to the ground. But after he got out of the car he looked up at the window into the second floor. He said he saw Thomas behind the glass. He then went into the house, and Thomas was there, and they communicated. Jon said he couldn’t burn down the house knowing Thomas was there. After that night he went back a few times, and said he and his son would play checkers together. I was not sure if it was the sadness or the drinking that caused his delusions, but I listened nonetheless. He said that he couldn’t go up there anymore because there was something else in that house. Not Thomas; it was something else, and it wanted him dead. He made me promise if something happened to him that I would burn down the house.” Henry paused to wipe away a tear from his eye. “I thought he was in a bad place, so I agreed to do it. After Jon died, I was angry at him. Angry at what he had turned into. So I concentrated my efforts on raising a rather ambitious young Raymond. He needed a father and hadn’t had one since Thomas died.” Henry looked at Sam with a half-smile. He then took her hands and gazed seriously into her eyes. “Take your children. Get out of that house. Thomas may be there watching out for his family, but there’s something else living in that house. Something evil Roman created. So much death happening in one place is no place for the living.”

  Sam glanced at the photo. She put her finger on it. “This—I know this. This ring, I have dreamt about it,” she said, pointing to the large ring on Thomas’s finger.

  “Oh, that was a gift from Jon to Thomas when he graduated. Thomas loved lions. They were his favorite animal, so Jon had the ring made to represent the bravery and strength needed for the job with the sheriff’s department.”

  Sam started to cry. “I knew something was wrong with that house. Paul is going to be so upset if I ask him to move. I’m not even sure he’s going to listen. What if he thinks I’m crazy?”

  “Then we do what must be done,” replied Henry. “What was promised so many years ago. We burn it down.”

  “Isn’t there any other way?”

  “We don’t have time to wait. The longer you’re in that house, the worse it will get. There’s no other way. Get your family out of there. I’ll come to the house tomorrow morning while you’re gone and I’ll burn it down. I’m sure Raymond has an insurance policy on it. Things can be replaced. Loved ones are priceless.”

  “How would you even get to the house?” said Sam, trying to reach out for reality.

  “Don’t worry about that, my dear. I may be old but I’m still resourceful. I have my ways. I won’t let you down. I’ll make it right I promise,” he said, holding Sam’s shoulders.

  “We have to, don’t we?” said Sam, with tears welling up.

  Henry looked into her eyes and slowly shook his head yes.

  “All right, we’ll do it,” said Sam reluctantly. “We have to. Those are my babies.”

  There didn’t seem to be any other way. As for Paul, she didn’t think he’d understand because he didn’t believe in such things. Sam put on her coat and walked to the door.

  “We’ll set it right, I promise,” said Henry, watching Sam go down the hallway.

  She turned back and nodded once. Taking a deep breath, she entered the elevator. After the door closed she held her forehead. “I must be nuts,” she said to herself, thinking about the plan.

  The drive back to Ray’s house seemed to go by quickly as Sam’s mind raced with questions and fears for her family. She pulled up in front of Ray’s house and sat in the car for a moment. She leaned over and kissed Kingston. “I don’t know what else to do. We can always stop him if we want to,” she said, looking at her dog. He kissed the side of her face, causing her to smile. She got out of the car and headed into the house.

  Everyone was in the living room watching a movie, while Jack played on the floor with Lily.

  “Mommy!” Emily and Lily exclaimed, running to give Sam a hug.

  “The pipe is all fixed, and we can go whenever you want,” said Paul.

  “Let’s finish the movie,” said Sam as she sat next to Paul. Every moment there was a moment spent away from the house on Hayden Pond. A moment where she could think clearly about everything Henry had told her.

  Paul would do anything to cheer me up, she thought. She could make a plan for the whole family, even Kingston. A nice drive to the beach would keep them out for the day. Yes, the beach would be nice. In the morning she’d let Buttercream outside. They could leave early and be gone for the whole day. The insurance policy would take care of them until they found a new house. They’d all be safe again.

  Chapter Eleven

  The Plan

  It was a quiet ride home. Sam was in deep thought while the girls whispered to each other in the back. Paul could sense something was wrong. He kept glancing at Sam. She seemed a million miles away.

  “What do you want to do tomorrow?” he asked.

  “Oh, I thought we might want to take the kids to the beach for my birthday,” replied Sam. “They haven’t been in a long time.”

  “Well what do you think girls?” said Paul.

  “Yeah that sounds like fun,” said Emily.

  “Can we get ice cream?” said Lily.

  “All right,” said Paul, smiling at his girls. He loved his children so much. He was happy that Sam had suggested the trip and that she seemed excited about it.

  As the car made its way up the long driveway, Sam stared at their house. The revealed truth made her uneasy. It seemed the house that she had fallen in love with was not a sheltering home for her and the family. It was, now the bane of her existence. The thought of having to spend another night there made her anxious.

  They left the car and piled into the house. The girls took Jack upstairs to their room. They needed to talk and knew their parents needed some time alone.

  The girls went into Lily’s room and shut the door. “Emily, what are we going to do?” asked Lily, hoping her sister had a plan.

  “All right, this is
the plan,” replied Emily. “We need to get him into the garage. Once he’s in the garage, we’ll shut the door so he can’t get back into the house. We need to grab him and put him on the grill, which I’ll fill with that stuff dad uses to light it. Then we light a match and hold the cover down until he’s gone,” said Emily, rather happy with her well thought-out plan.

  “That sounds terrible,” said Lily, shuddering at the thought of burning something up.

  “Lily, what else are we going to do? He’ll just keep coming back to hurt us or mom and dad. It’s our job to make sure we protect them.”

  Lily stood quietly for a moment. She couldn’t help thinking about her mother and father. “Ok….but how are we going to lure him into the garage?” she asked.

  “We’re going to need some bait,” said Emily, raising her eyebrows at her sister.

  “You’re not serious!” protested Lily. “You want him to come after me?”

  “I’ll be there, too. I would never let anything bad happen to you. We just need him to think you’re alone. Can you do it Lily? Can you do it for mom and dad?”

  Lily wanted nothing to do with the plan. She thought about how scary it would be just to see him again, but this feeling was balanced by how much she loved her parents.

  “What do I have to do?” said Lily, reluctantly.

  “Tonight, when everybody else is in bed, we’ll sneak downstairs,” said Emily, feeling good about planning their revenge. “You can sit in the garage, and if he thinks you’re alone he’ll come.”

  “That’s all I have to do—just sit in the garage?” said Lily.

  “That’s all you have to do.”

  “This better work or I’m telling mom and dad,” said Lily in her most threatening voice.

  “It will work—I know it will,” said Emily confidently. “You just have to trust me.”