Thud.
Curiosity just overcame her. The sound was not frightening in any way. At least that's what she told herself. Besides, the house was well lit on the outside, and with the moonlight she should be able to see anyone or anything coming out.
The grass was cool to her feet. And damp. But the night was still warm. With her head still pounding to the rhythm of her heart and the flashlight held at shoulder level she cautiously walked towards the willow. It was huge and majestic. Not scary at all. In fact, it felt like the tree was a protector. Sure, it had long, droopy branches, but the branches seemed to want to hug you, not hurt you.
As she drew closer she heard another thud. More like a thud and a rustling sound. She wondered if a bag of leaves was loose?
As comforting as the tree appeared, she didn't get too close. She stood about 10 feet away from the trunk and slowly walked around. Nothing.
Katie looked back at the house. In the darkness you couldn't see its blemishes, and with the moonlight and the lights it looked brand-new.
All of the windows had a yellow-orange glow to them. Her imagination took her back to the turn of the century, when houses would be lit by candlelight or lanterns. The upstairs was lit brighter than downstairs. Mel's room--the guest room--was glowing brighter than all the rest.
Katie was shaken from her daydream by the sound of a loud scream. A scream of absolute terror. Katie's body tightened up and she raised the flashlight above her head as her heart pounded. She was absolutely frozen. Her feet seemed stuck to the grass. Another scream. She looked towards Mel's room and saw a shadow flicker past the window.
Mmmmmm. Mmmmmmmm! Katie tried to scream Mel's name out but she could not. The lights of the house seemed to dim as Mel's room got brighter. Katie's chest felt like it was going to explode her heart was pounding so quickly. She was gritting her teeth but not a word could come out. She tried to move her legs--to run--not away, but to the house. She could not. She was paralyzed in utter fear.
MMMMMMmmmmm. Katie still couldn't speak, but she felt a surge of adrenaline run through her body. She leaned forward to race towards the house but someone grabbed her left arm at the wrist to hold her back. It was cold and it hurt.
Katie turned quickly to her left with her flashlight swinging through the air, intending to hit whomever--or whatever--was holding her back from saving her friend's life. From right to left the flashlight swung, cutting only through the air. She turned the flashlight downwards to see what was holding her left wrist.
From out of the ground a branch or a root had attached itself to her wrist. The root was alive, and like an octopus's tentacles it continued to wrap itself around her wrist and started moving up towards her elbow.
Katie was filled with a blend of horror and anger. She didn't stop to wonder how this was happening. She only cared about her friend in the house. With all her might she raised the flashlight up and smashed it down on the branch or root. At the moment of impact the willow tree seemed to shudder and she heard the sound of the leaves. The same sound that she had heard from the house.
Viciously she struck and struck the branch. The more she hit it the more rustling she heard, but she quickly discovered it was futile: It was growing thicker and grabbing her left arm harder, and it was moving up quickly to her shoulder. It was as if every single strike--every single effort--held her back more. She twisted towards the house.
"Mel!" Katie screamed. Her eyes were bulging.
"No. No, no, no!" she heard screamed from within the house.
Mel's light suddenly went off. Another scream. This time different. This was a scream of pain. Anguish.
The lights in the house suddenly shut off as though being killed by a master switch.
Katie had never felt this level of fear in her whole life. Her heart was pounding a mile a minute. The screams stopped. Mel didn't answer. Was she okay? Was she still alive?
One thing was for sure. Her arm was becoming extremely sore and whatever the hell this was that was holding her back needed to be killed really fast.
Katie turned back towards the tree and the branch protruding from the ground with its tentacles all wrapped around her left arm. Whatever this was, Katie's only thought was that it had picked the wrong day to screw with her.
Again Katie took the flashlight and started smashing the branch. She smashed it over and over again, turning her focus and energy towards a one-inch spot. It seemed to be working, as the bark chipped off and she could smell the fresh green vine as she continued to whack it.
In the heat of the moment Katie marveled at her ability to channel fear into desperation. Her friend was in trouble, and whatever this was would be eliminated in short order.
A strange thing occurred. As she brought down the flashlight she seemed to strike a nerve in the branch. A massive whack and the branch seemed to pull back, yanking her to the ground. She landed face down, the left side of her face pounding the ground. It stunned her for a second and hurt like hell.
The flashlight, still glowing, lay about three feet away from her, shining on her face. Her head hurt, her arm hurt, and a bright light beamed in her eyes. She felt like she was about to pass out. Sheer terror enveloped her.
She slammed her right hand down and lifted up her head, only to discover she was staring at her wall.
Her head was pounding, her heart was beating faster than it ever had before, and her left arm was folded under her body on the bed.
Katie flipped over and sat upright in bed. Her left arm was absolutely numb with pins and needles from being 'asleep.'
A nightmare. She got up, rushed to the window and looked out. Silence. No funny sounds. Nothing but a pounding headache, silence, and the sound of someone sleeping next door. Snoring. Mel.
Katie ran her right hand over her left arm a number of times to try to get the blood back. It had seemed so real. She looked down the hallway, lit only by a nightlight. The stairs were faintly lit, just barely, by the nightlight from the kitchen.
"I gotta cut back on the drinking," Katie said to herself.
Katie looked back at the willow tree. There it stood in the moonlight. It was large and looming. She glared at it for hurting her. I'll cut your ass down. I'll fix you, she thought.
She continued to stare at it. It didn't seem particularly threatened by her mental taunt. Most inanimate objects don't fret over such things, after all.
Katie took off her pants and bra and bounced back into bed. It took her a while, but she eventually fell asleep.
Chapter 5
"Oh my God!"
Katie jumped to her feet, grabbed her jeans and tugged them on as quickly as possible. It was eight in the morning and the sound from the diesel trucks woke her up. The boys were back to continue work on the outside. They were already stepping out of the trucks and her pants weren't even halfway up.
She waddled down the hallway to the guest room only to see Mel still lying in virtually the same position, face down on the bed naked except for panties from the waist down. Her curtains were wide open. Right where the boys were to be working. Katie ran into her room, reached down and slapped her on her right butt cheek. Whack.
Simultaneously as Mel jumped startled to her feet, Katie ran to the curtains and swished them shut.
"What the hell? What the... Oh my God, my head hurts," Mel said. She was half awake, stumbling for words.
"The boys are here. I didn't want them staring at your big ass," Katie said. She giggled.
"Dear God. That's disgusting," Mel said, looking down. She pulled her shirt down to cover her cotton briefs.
Katie giggled as she skirted out the door, leaving Mel to get dressed. She hustled downstairs and into the kitchen.
Katie stopped dead in her tracks.
All the papers, everything that had been on the kitchen table, was now scattered all over the floor. A number of things from the kitchen countertop were also on the floor, including tea packages, flyers and mail. It looked like someone had ransacked the kitchen. A bur
glar?
Katie jumped towards the top drawer at the far left of the kitchen counter, where she kept her flashlight to use for protection. She yanked open the drawer and discovered it was missing.
She felt her chest tighten with fear. Was an intruder still in the house? She jumped to the side door: It was locked. Kitchen windows, locked. She cautiously walked into the great room and everything seemed in order.
There was a knock on the front door. She scurried over and opened it quickly, knowing that there would be a worker there. The door was locked.
"Hello, miss. Good morning to you. Is it all right if we get working on the house now?" the young man asked.
"Yes... Yes, sure. Thanks for coming," she said.
The young man gave her a quizzical look. "Did you forget we were coming, miss?" He smiled.
Katie let out a fake laugh. "Yes, yes I did. Thanks for coming," she said. She smiled awkwardly as she caught the man drop his eyes quickly to her boobs before dragging them back to her face as she closed the door.
“Nice!” Mel said.
Katie swung around, startled. She hadn't heard Mel come down the stairs.
Mel was comically popping her eyeballs out, staring at Katie's breasts. "Nice headlights! Giving the guy an incentive for the day, are you?"
"Shut up," Katie said. She folded her arms across her boobs and headed to the kitchen.
"What the hell happened here?" Mel said.
"That's what I'd like to know. How much did we have to drink last night?"
"Four bottles, and a fifth one uncorked... Looks untouched," Mel said, looking at one of the bottles. "That was a rough one. I don't remember going to bed."
"Well, you left me on the couch downstairs. Thanks a lot," Katie said. She was teasing, of course.
"Oh yeah? I woke up in a strange bed without any pants and no man beside me. I think I got the worst end of the deal," Mel said. Both ladies laughed.
Katie confessed, "I thought someone might have broken into the house." She gave a weak laugh. "I guess one of us must have knocked the stuff off--"
"Maybe it's the rats?"
"Don't think so. No poop in the kitchen, or markings. Doubt it."
"Ghosts!" Mel held out her hands. "Whooooooohhhhhh..."
Both women giggled and Mel announced she was going to brush her teeth and get into some work clothes. Katie got out some cereal boxes, milk, bowls and spoons. And coffee. Can't ever start a day without coffee.
"Hey, check this out--"
"Jeepers! Did you go to ninja training school or something?" Katie said. Clearly, she had the jitters.
"Sorry. Seriously, check this out." Mel held out her hand with something shiny in it. It was a heart-shaped locket, silver with ornate detail. The locket was almost black with tarnish.
Katie took it in her hand and turned it over. It had two initials inscribed on it: A.B.
"B would be from Blackstone, I would think. I wonder who the A was for?"
"That's not the weird part. You won't believe where I found it," Mel said. She waved her hand for Katie to follow her as she burst up the stairs.
Katie was right behind her and they both entered Mel's guestroom together.
"Look on the floor over there. Look at the scratches on the old wallpaper just above the baseboard," Mel said.
"Okay. I don't see anything."
"Look along the bottom edge of the baseboard. Just run your eye from left to right and tell me what you see," Mel said.
"Okay. I see floor, baseboard, wall..." Katie's voice drifted off and she squinted. She saw something dark, like a pencil or pen shoved underneath the baseboard between it and the floor. Actually, it looked more like it was jammed under there.
"You see?" Mel said.
Katie said nothing. She walked towards the baseboard and dropped down to her hands and knees to take a better look. "What is it?"
"You'll figure it out. If I can figure it out you will."
"Weird, it looks like a...hinge."
"Look at the scratches and where they are... Use your imagination, girl!"
Katie had no idea what she was doing, but she instinctively put her fingers on the top edge of the baseboard where the scratches were. She gave the baseboard an ever-so-gentle tug but nothing happened.
"I'll save you time. I did exactly the same thing. Pull harder!"
Katie dug her fingers in a little deeper and pulled towards herself. The baseboard dropped down with a snap and Katie jumped backwards a bit. The baseboard had opened up to reveal a hidden hole in the wall. The hole was rectangular and dark as the night. Katie was a bit jittery about this and slid back some.
"It was right there."
"You actually reached in there?"
"More like snatched it out of there. We should get a flashlight and check it out. I wonder why someone would have a secret spot like that?"
"I have a big-ass flashlight downstairs in the kitchen... Actually... I don't know where it is."
"You only have one flashlight?"
"Actually I do have another, but it's in a box somewhere. But the guys that are here, if they've got one we could borrow it."
The women both headed downstairs and exited through the back door in the kitchen. Before Katie could say anything Mel eyeballed the young guy on a ladder closest to the kitchen window. "We lost our flashlight. Do you have one, and if so can we borrow it?"
The young man stopped scraping the paint and turned towards the two ladies. His very first expression seemed to be one of annoyance, but that changed when he saw two women standing below him. His demeanor quickly changed. Covered completely in dust and paint, he tried to be as gentlemanly as possible.
"Sure, ladies. Let me grab one from my truck."
Mel and Katie looked at each other. Katie knew exactly what Mel was thinking: Here's a hot guy doing her bidding.
"Did he say he wanted to grab me and f--"
"You are worse than a guy. Sex, sex, sex. That's all you think about," Katie said. She winked at Mel. "He does have a nice ass."
Both ladies laughed. The young man hurried back with an extra-large yellow flashlight. It was well worn, beaten and abused.
"We'll bring it right back. Thanks very much," Mel said. Her voice had dropped slightly, in a slightly seductive way.
As the ladies hurried back into the house, Katie said, "You are such a tease! The poor boy won't be able to sleep tonight."
"Well, there's room in my bed," Mel said. She giggled.
"Not in my holy house, you filthy wench."
The women laughed like schoolgirls as they headed into Mel's room. They both dropped to the floor, turning on the flashlight and directing it so they could peek in the hole.
The secret hiding space was about a foot wide and two feet deep. It was about three inches high. A spot big enough to hide documents, important papers, or jewelry.
Sure enough, there was something in the far back.
"Grab it," said Katie.
"YOU grab it."
They both laughed. The girls looked at each other, neither one having the guts to do it.
"What if it's a rat?" said Mel.
"It would probably stink to high heaven."
Katie leaned down and looked again. "I'm going for it."
Mel moved back in anticipation of something jumping out. "If it gets you, I can be a witness and not a victim," she said, teasing.
"Stop it. I'm scared enough."
"But I got the necklace. Your turn," said Mel.
Katie positioned herself so she could slide her right arm in quickly, grab whatever it was, and then pull it out fast. She looked at Mel for encouragement.
"For God's sake, just do it!"
Katie thrust her hand in and snatched the thing out quickly, dropping it right by the opening. She jumped up and danced around. "Jeez, that gave me the heebie-jeebies!"
"What is it?" Mel asked.
Lying on the floor was an old weathered leather file holder. It was wrapped with a red string and extre
mely dusty. It had an old musty smell.
Katie untied the bow and opened it. The papers inside were yellowed, and the writing appeared to be ink from an elegant fountain pen.
"It's a ledger," said Mel. "Clearly a secret one."
Katie peered into the opening with the flashlight. It was now empty.
Mel was carefully turning the old pages. They were brittle at the edges. Some of the writing had faded, but shadows remained if held correctly to the light.
“Wow. Look at this,” Mel said. She was squinting. There are last names and streets… and… checkmarks -“
“Let me see!” Katie said, nudging up to Mel.
“Look! It says whiskey,” Mel said. She laughed out loud. “These folks were bootleggers! At least, that’s what it looks like.”
Both ladies stared at each other with wide eyes and grins.
"Wonder if there are any other secret spots?" Mel said.
Both women jumped to their feet and hurried into the master bedroom. Instinctively they split in two directions, Katie taking one side and Mel taking the other. There was no such trap or hidden spot to be found.
They headed to the second bedroom. It had not been touched in any way, shape or form since Katie had purchased it. The floor in the room was covered in dust. But that didn't stop them. They checked the floorboards but found nothing.
"God, this room smells like...death," Mel said in a low voice. Her nose was wrinkled in disgust.
"Hey, that's what you are here for, to help me bring this back to life!"
They stepped out into the hallway. Mel started to head up the stairs to the attic, but Katie stopped her. "Rats," she said.
Mel shuddered. "I hate rats...why don't you get a team of exterminators to nuke them?"
"I've already got Big John--"
"And you never told me? Some friend YOU are!" Mel said indignantly. She was only half-joking. Rats scared the life out of her. "I'm starving, what's for breakfast?"
The two women headed back to the kitchen. Katie had already eaten, so Mel poured a bowl of corn flakes and headed to the library. She plopped onto a very comfortable Queen Anne chair and started eating. Katie followed behind with a fresh coffee.
Sight Unseen Complete Series Box Set Page 3
