The House on Hayden Pond

by Jessica Monks

  They were interrupted by Paul putting his head into their doorway. “Hey, girls have you seen a little black box downstairs in the garage?”

  “No,” said Emily looking at Lily.

  “No, daddy, I didn’t see a box,” said Lily.

  “Oh, ok, girls. Please let me know if you see it. Go ahead and get ready for bed. I’m going to put a movie on for you in here so mom and I can have some quiet time.”

  Paul walked past Emily’s room, and as he did he heard a load “thud.” It sounded like something had fallen. Opening the door, he looked around. A picture had fallen off the wall. He picked it up and hung it back on its nail. There were some feathers still scattered on the floor near the dresser. Taking the small trash can, Paul picked up the feathers. He noticed the bottom drawer to her dresser was open. The drawer was full of feathers. Pulling a handful out, he saw the familiar black box. He opened it, revealing the locket he had purchased for Sam. The locket had scratches dug into its silver case. He opened the locket and was shocked to see the pictures had been scribbled on with black marker, and black dots had been drawn on their eyes. All, that is, except for Emily’s image, which was clean. Paul shut the locket and thought for a moment. How could she do such a thing? Emily was not one to act out or do anything this hateful. Paul decided it best to handle it himself. Sam was under enough pressure and this would just be another thing to eat at her.

  “Emily?” said Paul loudly.

  “Yeah, daddy, I’m coming,” said Emily. She walked down the hall and entered the room to see her father looking angry.

  “Emily, do you have something you need to tell me?” he said.

  Emily stuttered and searched for something to say. Had he found out about her plan?

  “Don’t bother lying—I found the box in your drawer,” said her father.

  Emily was so confused she didn’t know what to say.

  “Your mother is going through a rough time,” continued Paul. “She needs us to be strong and supportive. This was supposed to be a gift for her and you ruined it.”

  “But daddy—!” exclaimed Emily.

  “Emily, I don’t want to hear it. You have done a very bad thing. This was very hurtful to me and mommy.”

  “I’m so sorry, daddy,” cried Emily, knowing that telling the truth would only make him madder. He would never believe her anyway.

  Paul stood in silence, thinking for a moment how to best punish Emily. “I’ll have it repaired,” he said, “but you’ll need to help me with chores until I feel your debt has been paid off.” Then Paul hugged Emily. “Everybody makes mistakes,” he said. “I just hope you learned your lesson. Let’s just keep it between us.”

  Emily nodded and returned to Lily’s room.

  “What’s wrong?” asked Lily.

  “He did it again!” said Emily, angrily clenching her fists. “He ruined mommy’s gift and I’m going to burn him for it!”

  Downstairs, Paul approached Sam while, deep in thought, she was washing some dishes. He put his hands on her shoulders and she jumped away from him. “Oh,” she laughed, “You scared me.”

  “You’re awful jumpy,” said Paul, massaging her shoulders as she turned around. “Is something wrong? You’ve been so distant the past couple of days, like the world is against you.”

  “I’ve had a lot on my mind and nothing seems to make sense anymore,” she said, hugging Paul tightly and wishing she could tell him more. She knew he would probably think she was crazy. It would all be over soon enough. She had to be strong to get her family through the next couple of days. She went over and over the plan in her head. Henry would set fire to the house and leave. Nobody would notice for a while, and soon it would be done. Sam thought about all the memories in her things she would leave behind. At least she would have her family safe.

  Paul kissed her on the forehead. “It will get better I promise,” he said. He left the kitchen and went up the stairs. Listening intently, Sam waited to hear the bedroom door open. Then she went over to the pantry and pulled a plastic bin off the top shelf. She opened the top and looked for a file labeled “House.” She pulled out the file and looked through the insurance documents. Upon seeing the words “Coverage of all material possessions up to $100,000.00,” she breathed a sigh of relief. They would be well covered, and Ray had his own insurance, so nobody would be at a total loss. She put the documents back and placed them on the shelves.

  But what if Henry were just a crazy old man? What if Sam were to hurt her family for nothing? She wanted proof. She wanted to know if the story was real.

  There was a way safe to find out.

  Sam went into the dining room. Opening the drawer in the antique chest, she pulled out the old checkers set. After putting it on the dining room table, she arranged the checkers on the board, as if ready to play a game, with the black pieces on her side and the red ones on the opposite side. She sat for a few moments studying the board. Waiting for a sign but the room was quiet. She sighed with disappointment.

  “Sam?” called Paul from upstairs.

  Going to the bottom of the stairs, she looked up to see if her husband was coming down. “I’ll be up in a few minutes,” she called in response.

  “Ok, no problem,” replied Paul. “I’m going to get the kids ready for bed.”

  Sam turned back to the board—and what she saw made the hair on the back of her neck stand up. The checkers had been rearranged. Now they stood in one single tall stack in the center of the board. Every other chip was black and every other chip was red.

  She placed her hand over her mouth as a tear trickled down her cheek. This was what she wanted and needed—a sign from Thomas that everything Henry had told her and everything she felt was real. Slowly, quietly, Sam entered the room. “Thomas?” she whispered. “Thomas, I know you’re here, and I know you’ve been helping us. I just want to say thank you.” Sam looked around the room. “It will all be over soon. I’m taking them somewhere safe.”

  The floor around the table creaked, and then the bottom drawer built into wall slowly opened. Sam was afraid at first, but then quietly walked over to it. In the drawer was an old envelope. The paper was yellowish in color. She picked it up and opened it. Inside was a ring with the design of a gold and silver lion. It was beautiful and brilliant, and it made her feel good that he wanted her to have it. She put it on her finger and shut the drawer. “Thank you, it’s beautiful,” she whispered. “It must have made you so happy.” Stepping backwards out of the room, she looked around before turning off the light. “Keep them safe,” whispered Sam, thinking about her babies. She turned around and made her way upstairs. She felt safer having the ring. It made her feel protected for the first time in weeks.

  Sam went into the bedroom to see Paul and smiled at him. “Everybody’s in bed,” said Paul. From outside the house came a rumble of thunder. “Sounds like a storm is coming,” she said. “I don’t mind; we could use the rain.”

  “I think you should go take a shower,” said Paul.

  Paul followed closely behind her, wrapping his arms around and kissing her neck. He had no intentions of letting her shower alone. She smiled and turned to him. He placed his warm hands around her hips and took off her shirt as they walked into the bathroom. She tossed it onto the floor and he picked her up and shut the door with his foot. He placed her down on the counter and locked the door, making sure they would not be interrupted by the kids. Sam laughed as Paul walked back to her confidently. Paul would be in much better spirits about tomorrow’s events if she blocked everything out of her mind and took some time to focus on him. He smiled at her. “You have to be the most beautiful thing I have ever seen,” he kissed her chest and she smiled and bit her bottom lip. He knew just what to say to her and it made her feel so good. After having three kids and being together for ten years, knowing he was there for her made her want him even more.

  Downstairs, from the living room Kingston heard the noise of heavy footsteps coming slowly up from the basement. As he went t
o investigate, the basement door slowly creaked open. Kingston approached the kitchen and started growling and snarling. Turning back, he started making his way back to the stairs, but he couldn’t move. Something was pulling him back into the kitchen. He fought, but the collar tightened and his nails scraped along the floor. A drawer opened in the kitchen and a small extension cord came out. It slid across the floor closer and closer to him. As he struggled and whined, the cord flew up and wrapped itself around his muzzle. He couldn’t growl or bark to alert his family. He whined, trying to bark. He pulled and shook his head, trying to break free. The force pulled him to the door to the outside, which flew open. He was dragged through the door and outside into the rain. He made every effort to run back inside but it wouldn’t let go. The door shut and he whimpered. Outside he ran back and forth but he couldn’t bark.

  Lightning struck close the house. Through the mud, blood started to bubble up from beneath the ground. As Kingston sniffed at the ground, a string of veins popped up, wrapping around his collar. He tried pulling away, but more and more sprang from the ground around him, tying him down. He could no longer move. He was surrounded by a web of veins that held him prisoner.

  Upstairs, Emily slowly opened the door to Lily’s bedroom. Lily followed close behind, regretting that she had agreed to such a dangerous plan. They slowly crept down the hall, making sure with every step the boards beneath their feet remained silent. They could hear the shower running and knew this would be a perfect time to sneak downstairs. Emily started down the stairs and Lily followed quietly.

  Down in the kitchen, Emily saw the open cellar door and shut it. She then made her way across the kitchen, opening the garage door. “Ok, Lily,” Emily whispered as they went out into the garage. Emily pulled the barbeque grill out from in between the shelves. The old grill’s rusty wheels made a horrible screeching noise. Pulling the nylon cover off was difficult. The fibers stuck to the top handle, making the grill’s metal cover fly off, crashing to the ground. They both stood silently, listening for their parents.

  “Be more careful—you’re going to get us in trouble,” said Lily.

  “Ok, ok, I’m sorry,” said Emily.

  On the shelf near the work bench were two square metal cans, which she studied. “I don’t know which one it is,” she whispered to Lily.

  “Just get them both,” said Lily. Emily poured a little bit from one can over the charcoal. It looked like some sort of oil. Then she poured some of the other liquid on. This one seemed to be lighter fluid. “That should do it,”said Emily, looking at Lily very seriously. “You know what to do.” Emily took the box of matches off the shelf and placed them on the workbench near the grill. She took one out.

  “Ready?” said Emily, looking at Lily.

  “Ready,” replied Lily, trying to convince herself she was brave enough for her terrifying task.

  Chapter Twelve

  Hell of a Storm

  Emily pulled out the red cooler and Lily sat down. Emily went back into the kitchen, leaving the garage door open. At the doorway Emily turned back to Lily and paused for a moment; then she nodded, showing Lily how brave she needed to be.

  Lily nodded back and took a deep breath. Emily then quietly opened the pantry door and went in, before slowly closing the door and leaving a crack so she could see.

  In the garage Lily took another deep breath and whispered to herself, “You can do this.” Lily looked up across into the kitchen. “I’m not afraid of you,” she whispered, then waited a moment listening. Hugging her stuffed monkey Moogli tightly she spoke louder. “I’m not afraid of you,” her words getting louder the longer she spoke. “I know you’re here and I’m not afraid. I put you in that bag. I tossed you off that bridge and I would do it again. If you think you’re so tough, then come get me.” She clenched her monkey tightly. She was scared, but she knew Emily was close and wouldn’t let anything bad happen to her. She sat there quietly and listened. The light from the garage barley shown in the dark kitchen.

  Hearing a faint sound, she sat up. It was the creaking of old wood, and it sounded like it was coming from the basement.

  The steps sounded small, but each could be heard, starting at the bottom of the basement stairs and ascending to the top. In her hiding place, Emily was trying to be brave but she couldn’t help breathing heavily. She covered her mouth to hide her location.

  Slowly, and with a creaking sound, the basement door opened.

  The scarecrow stood in the doorway, not moving, just still as a stone. Frightened, Lily started to cry. The door to the pantry flung open—but Emily did not open it. She stepped back from the door and looked at the scarecrow. Something threw her from the pantry onto the kitchen floor. She looked up at Lily, sitting on the cooler, paralyzed with fear. Emily looked around but she couldn’t see the scarecrow anywhere. Looking back at Lily, she tried to get to her feet, but something grabbed her ankle and began pulling her towards the basement.

  “Lily!” she cried out for her sister as she fell hard to the ground. She looked back to see what was pulling her but nothing was there. Slowly, then faster and faster, something pulled her towards the basement and the dark stairs.

  Lily found the courage to run towards the kitchen door as it slammed shut in her face. She looked through the window to see her sister reaching towards her on the first step before the basement door closed. Then she was gone!

  “Emily!” Lily cried, pulling at the door handle, but it was locked. “Emily!” Lily cried again as tears ran down her face. What had they done? The perfect plan had fallen apart and now her sister was gone.

  Upstairs Paul and Sam were in the shower he held her against the wall and her arms were wrapped around his neck. She thought for a moment she had heard a noise and paused listening. “Did you hear something?” she asked.

  Paul stopped kissing her and listened for a moment. “It’s probably just Kingston,” he said, continuing to kiss her. The shower curtain was mostly solid blue, except from the neck up it was made of a blue see-through mesh. Paul was facing the wall but Sam could see out into the bathroom. Sam closed her eyes pressing them tightly and lifting her chin. The hot water steamed the room and she breathed it in deeply. When she opened her eyes, standing outside the curtain with his face against the mesh was a man. His complexion was pale white. He stared straight at her.

  Sam’s body jolted, grabbing onto Paul tightly, almost falling. Paul grabbed her and as he pulled her back to her feet he spun around. “What?” He looked around the bathroom frantically, but not seeing anything he opened the curtain.

  “I saw someone,” said Sam, beginning to cry. “A strange man was in here,” she insisted.

  Paul stepped out of the shower and quickly put on his pajama pants. He walked over to the door. The door was unlocked and as he reached for the handle it started to open. He looked back at Sam. She was putting on pajama shorts and a t-shirt. He slowly opened the door and looked up and down the hallway. Stepping out of the bathroom, he carefully listened for the intruder.

  Paul looked back at Sam. As she took a step towards the door, suddenly it slammed shut.

  From inside the bathroom Sam screamed “No!” as she grabbed the handle and tried to pull it open.

  “Sam? Sam, open the door!” Paul yelled, pushing as hard as he could, but the door wouldn’t open.

  “The kids, Paul! Don’t worry about me, go get the kids!” shouted Sam.

  Paul threw his shoulder into the door but it didn’t budge. He looked down the hallway to see the door to Lily’s room creaking open.

  “Go, Paul!” he heard Sam shout from the bathroom.

  He slowly stepped toward Lily’s door, being careful not to make too much noise. Stopping at the doorway of the master bedroom, he looked over at his closet and then looked back at Lily’s door. Entering his and Sam’s bedroom, he went to his closet and opened the door. Against the wall leaned a baseball bat. He kept it in the bedroom for this very reason. He quietly grabbed the bat, not seeing the shadow of
the large man in the bedroom door behind him. It turned and walked away towards Lily’s room. Picking up the phone next to his bed, Paul tried to call the police but there was no dial tone. He pushed a couple of buttons but there was no sound, just static. “What the hell?” he said, placing the phone back down. He turned around quickly, thinking he had heard a noise but there was nothing there. Baseball bat in hand, he walked back to the door and looked up and down the hall. Slowly he walked to Lily’s room, listening for any movement. Placing the end of the bat on the door, he slowly pushed it open. Peering into the room, he saw nothing out of place. Reaching for the light switch, he clicked it on and off a few times but it didn’t work. He entered Lily’s room and whispered “Lily? Emily?”

  There was only silence. Outside, thunder boomed, echoing through the house before dying away. The sound of large rain drops on the roof and windows making it difficult to listen for the intruder.

  He knelt down to the floor and grasped the blanket Emily used. Pulling it back revealed nothing but a pillow.

  Slowly, quietly, he seized the bottom of the comforter of Lily’s bed and pulled the covers. To his astonishment, lying in Lily’s bed was the scarecrow. As lightning lit up the room, the scarecrow’s face seemed to have a devilish grin.

  Hearing footsteps, Paul turned back to the hall. “What the heck is going on here?” he said. The silence was broken by a man’s slow deep laughter that sent shivers running up his spine. It sounded like it was coming from Emily’s room.

  From behind him came a series of crashes. He spun back around to see all the pictures on Lily’s desk had been knocked to the floor. He looked back at the bed but the scarecrow was gone.

  Sam, still a prisoner in the bathroom, took Thomas’s ring off the counter where she had left it. Slipping it on, she closed her hand tightly. “Thomas, if you can hear me, please help my babies,” she said through her tears. She then went to the bathroom window and tried to open it, but it too was unmovable.