Weeping Walls

by Gerri Hill

  “Come on,” he yelled, wrapping an arm around her waist.

  Her head was spinning, and she was afraid she was going to pass out. She held tight to Ice, squeezing her eyes shut as the pressure in her head magnified.

  Just when she thought they’d made it, Ice was flung away from her, down the stairs, landing in a heap against the far wall.

  “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

  The grip around her neck disappeared, and CJ fell like a ragdoll. She sucked in deep breaths, her chest heaving. The roar down the stairwell was as loud as a jet engine during takeoff. She tried to cover her ears, but the sound penetrated. She got to her feet, glancing back at Ice. He shook his head from side to side as if to clear it. Instead of going to him, she took another step up, looking for movement, looking for Edith.

  “GET OUT!”

  A blast of hot air took her legs from her, and she fell, face first, on the stairs. The force knocked the gun from her hand, and she snatched it back up, seconds before she was picked up and thrown down the stairs. She landed against Ice’s solid chest, and he steadied her, holding her tight.

  “What the fuck is happening?” he yelled, trying to be heard above the roar.

  It suddenly became clear. Yes, Edith was the key. He needed Edith to do his dirty work. If he could kill them, he would have already done so. She grabbed Ice’s arm and tugged him into the bedroom…the safe room. As soon as the door closed behind them, the roar in the hallway ceased.

  They looked at each other, breathing hard. The shadows in the room were chased back by the glow of their flashlights.

  “This is a safe room,” she said.

  Ice raised his eyebrows questioningly.

  “Because she told me it was. I know now what she meant when she said Edith was the key.”

  “What the hell are you talking about?”

  “Just listen to me,” she said impatiently. “He can’t touch us. Not that way. Not in a way to kill us,” she said. “He can toy with us. He can try to scare the hell out of us. He—”

  “Yeah, that’s working so far,” Ice said. “Because I about shit in my pants.”

  “He needs Edith to do his bidding. He knew we would go to her place. He sent her there to wait.”

  “How the hell do you know that?”

  “Because Paige said she was possessed. I’ve seen Edith Krause. No way she goes all ninja Spiderman on them. She’s a frumpy, overweight, middle-aged woman,” she said.

  Ice shook his head. “Something had a hold of us. Some dude yelling to get out of his house. Something picked me up and threw me down the stairs. Something picked you up and tossed you down the stairs.”

  “Yes. Something had a grip around my throat,” she said, touching it. “But I’m still here, breathing,” she said. “He needs Edith.” As they stared at each other, it finally occurred to her that Ice was hearing the same things she was. Her eyes widened. “You heard everything,” she said. “Not just me. But you heard it too.”

  Ice nodded. “Yeah, I heard the son of a bitch.”

  CJ grinned broadly. “Oh, thank you,” she said. “I was so tired of being the only one.”

  “Glad you find it funny. And here we are, hiding in a safe room,” he said. “If we wait a little longer, Brady’s guys might show up.”

  “Yeah. And how do we explain everything to them?”

  He stared at her, dumbfounded. “That’s what you’re concerned with?” He paced across the room. “Jesus Christ, CJ, there’s a goddamn ghost or something out there,” he said loudly, pointing to the door. “He’s flinging us around like dolls and you’re worried about explaining it? Hell, explain it to me,” he said, pointing at his chest.

  “Okay, calm down,” she said, holding up her hands. “Just calm down.”

  “I will not calm down,” he snapped. “I want to get the hell out of here.”

  “Yeah? Well our suspect…our murder suspect…is up there. You want to just leave her be? Maybe give her a pardon or something?”

  He rubbed his bald head with his hands, back and forth, finally letting out a deep breath. “You’re right. We’re fucking FBI agents.” He walked to the window where dark clouds seemed to be so close, they could almost touch them. “What the fuck is happening, CJ?” He pointed out the window. “It’s like we’re in a goddamn horror movie.”

  She walked over to him and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as both of them looked out into the ever-darkening woods. She sighed heavily and he did the same.

  “Come on. Let’s go get her.”

  Chapter Thirty-Eight

  The hallway was completely dark, and they flashed their lights around the walls and floor. It was quiet. CJ looked to the ceiling, hoping to hear Edith overhead, but there was no sound.

  “Jesus, what the hell is that?” Ice whispered. His light shone against the wall near the base of the stairs, then slowly moved higher.

  CJ went closer, staring in disbelief. “It’s…it’s blood.”

  “Whose?”

  “I’m guessing it’s not recent.” It seemed to be growing as she watched, the dark stain crawling along the wall up to the third floor.

  “What do you mean? It looks fresh. It’s still wet.”

  “Lizzie said Wicker killed his two remaining children and his wife with an ax. She said the walls were covered with blood. I imagine this is where it happened.”

  “Oh, man,” Ice murmured.

  She pulled her eyes away from a droplet of blood as it ran down the wall beside her. “Ignore it. It’s not real,” she said as she edged past it, taking one step at a time. Her light flashed up the stairs, but she saw no movement.

  Then, as before, a thunderous roar came rolling down the stairs, engulfing them. As she was doing with the blood on the wall, CJ tried to ignore the sound. She pushed through it, going higher, six steps, now seven. She nearly dropped her flashlight when an invisible iron fist pushed against her face, slamming her into the blood-soaked wall. She felt the wet stickiness against her cheek, belying her assertion that it wasn’t real.

  “Edith?” she yelled. “Edith Krause?” She doubted Edith could hear her; the roar was so loud, her words were lost as soon as they left her mouth.

  She pushed away from the wall, wiping at the blood on her face. She glanced back at Ice, who stood frozen in place, his eyes wide.

  “Come on,” she yelled.

  His light was shaking as he came closer, but he never took his eyes off the stairs above them. He was just one step below her when he was literally picked up and flung down the stairs, landing on his back. His light and gun both went scattering when he fell.

  “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

  “Ice?” Goddamn. She retraced her steps, bending over to check on him. He was struggling to catch his breath, and she helped him sit up. “You okay?”

  “GET OUT!”

  “Are you seriously asking me that question?”

  Despite it all, she gave a quick laugh. “Yeah, what was I thinking?” She moved to pick up his light and gun, handing them to him. The roar suddenly stopped, leaving complete silence in its wake. “Can you get up?” Her words seemed loud in the now quiet house.

  “What the fuck are we doing, CJ? We can’t see a goddamn thing. We can’t even get up to the third floor.”

  “So what do you want to do? Wait for the goddamn sheriff’s deputies to show up? Then what? Have them try to get up here?”

  “I don’t know.”

  She stood up straight, facing the stairs. “Edith?” she yelled. “You’re under arrest!” She looked at Ice and grinned. “That always works, right?”

  “Yeah, right.”

  She waited and was actually surprised to hear footsteps overhead once again. It sounded as if Edith was pacing, back and forth above them.

  “If he wants Edith to kill us, why won’t he let us get up there?” she asked.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I think he gets his power by the killings,” she said. �
�It started with Spencer. Then the Wickers. Then the Underwoods. After that, nothing. Not until Edith brought the boys here and killed them. And then killed Herbert.”

  “This isn’t some goddamn movie, CJ.”

  “Don’t you think I know that? Hell, I lived through the Hoganville nightmare. Nothing would surprise me anymore,” she said.

  “Okay. Okay. So he gets his power by killing. What’s your point?”

  “I don’t know what my point is,” she said. “Unless he’s afraid of us.”

  “Why would he be afraid of us?”

  “Because Edith is the key. If something happens to Edith, he’s lost his power.”

  He stared at her and shook his head. “Are you just making this shit up or do you really believe it?”

  “Just play along with me, baldy.” She held out her hand and pulled him to his feet. “Come on.”

  She stood at the bottom step, staring up. She took two deep breaths, then raced up the stairs, not stopping until she’d reached the landing on the third floor. Hot air surrounded her, and she felt pressure against her chest, much like that day in the café in Hoganville. She shook it off, telling herself it wasn’t real.

  “Ice?”

  He headed up the stairs, slower than she did. He made it to the sixth step before he was pushed against the wall.

  “Fight it,” she yelled at him. She looked into the dark hallway of the third floor. “Edith? Edie Krause? Come on, goddamn it. Show yourself.” She glanced back at Ice, who was still pressed against the wall. His flashlight fell from his hand, and she watched as it bounced slowly down the stairs, one step at a time, coming to a rest against the wall on the second floor. She took a step down, intending to go to his aid, then stopped. She heard a rustling down the hallway, and she whipped around, shining her light into the shadows. Nothing.

  Her heart was pounding loudly and sweat beaded up on her face. She took quick, shallow breaths, trying to see into the darkness, looking for any movement. Even then, she still wasn’t prepared when Edith Krause leapt toward her from seemingly out of nowhere. She ducked, dropping to her knees as Edith swung the ax, embedding it in the wall above her.

  CJ scrambled back to her feet, only to be slammed against the wall by an unseen force. Her eyes widened as Edith swung again. Everything slowed to a crawl as she was held in place, unable to move. She tried to raise her hands, but they were locked to her sides, her light and gun ripped from her fingers. She opened her mouth, trying to speak, but her throat closed completely.

  The sound of a gunshot pierced the silence. Edith staggered in mid-swing, her fixed gaze going from CJ to Ice. She stopped, hissing as an angry animal would when she glared at Ice. In the dim light, all CJ could see were red, glowing eyes as Edith turned to Ice, the ax held high over her head. When Edith charged Ice, the force holding CJ disappeared, and she dropped to the floor. She scrambled to find her gun, wincing as Ice fired again.

  Edith kept going, oblivious to the gunshots, brandishing the ax as it swung back and forth over her head. She let out a scream, something primal—loud and hideous, and it echoed up and down the stairwell.

  “Drop the goddamn ax,” Ice yelled, pointing his gun at her. Edith ignored his warning as she stumbled down the stairs toward him.

  “GET OUT OF MY HOUSE!”

  The loud, thunderous roar that had subsided picked up again, filling the staircase. CJ’s hand was shaking as she watched the scene unfold in the small beam of her flashlight. Ice looked like he was prepared to fire again when his legs were knocked from him and he fell to the stairs, rolling down to the landing again. Edith charged and took a swing at him and CJ fired her weapon, hitting Edith in the back. Ice rolled out of the way only seconds before the ax hit. Lying on his back, he fired again, twice. The blows only served to stagger her. She picked the ax up again, taking aim at him as he scooted away from her.

  CJ ran down the stairs, grabbing the ax from behind as Edith attempted to swing. She pulled hard on it only to have it slip from her hands. Edith spun around, quick as a cat, pushing CJ against the wall. She opened her mouth and growled, and CJ was hit with a repugnant smell, so foul and putrid that she nearly vomited. Edith’s eyes glowed red, and yes, she was indeed possessed by something evil. Blood dripped from her wounds, yet she showed no signs of weakness as her hand tightened around CJ’s neck.

  CJ raised her knee, hitting Edith in the groin. Edith hissed again, and CJ brought her hand between them, pressing her gun against Edith’s chest. Their eyes locked together, and CJ saw nothing but pure evil. She fired twice in quick succession, and Edith finally loosened her grip, her eyes rolling back in her head as blood spewed from her heart. In what may have been a last attempt, the ax was raised, taking aim at CJ’s head. CJ braced herself against the wall and, with as much force as she could muster, she kicked Edith in the stomach, sending her flying backward, the ax falling from her hands and bouncing down with a thud.

  Again, everything seemed to slow as Edith hit the railing of the stairs, teetering precariously against it until her weight forced her over. CJ watched helplessly as Edith tumbled out of sight, falling over the edge. It seemed like an eternity before she heard the unmistakable sound of her body hitting the floor down below them. She went to the railing, shining her light down, seeing Edith’s crumpled body lying on the first floor.

  A loud, ferocious scream engulfed the stairwell. So intense was the sound that CJ covered her ears as she staggered back down to Ice. He too winced at the sound, his eyes wide with panic.

  “Let’s get to the safe room,” she yelled against the sound.

  But before they could move, the scream lessened, turning into a deep wail. The air around them turned scorching hot, and she felt pressure build, pulling at her clothes, her hair. She fell to the floor beside Ice, tugging him closer.

  As if there was a giant vacuum above the house, the air was sucked from the room, threatening to take them with it. They held tight to each other. CJ swore she could actually see the air as it raced past them, streaming up the stairs to the third floor.

  There was a flash of light and then a deafening boom; they heard the windows on the third floor shatter. The explosion was loud enough to shake the house. CJ buried her face against Ice as plaster from the ceiling fell around them.

  And then, as if it had never happened at all, silence filled the house. She glanced past Ice to the window. The beam of sunlight grew brighter as the dark clouds that had surrounded the house faded, leaving clear, blue skies in their wake.

  She stood, holding out a hand to Ice. He took it, letting himself be pulled up. He reached out and touched her face.

  “Blood,” he said.

  She held up her hands, both stained with Edith’s blood. “Hell of a day’s work.”

  “I hope we never ever have to do shit like this again,” he said. Then he blew out his breath and smiled. “Damn, CJ. That was some ride, wasn’t it?” He raised his hand to high-five her. “Ghostbusters.”

  She laughed and slapped his hand. “Oh, now he thinks it was all fun and games.”

  He laughed too and they reached for the other, taking the time for a quick hug.

  “Thanks for having my back,” she said.

  “I think I should thank you. She was about to chop me in half.”

  She looked up the stairs to the third floor, seeing sunlight streaming in. The house was just a house again. If not for all the blood that was splattered on the stairs, there was no evidence that a fight just took place.

  “I’m going to check it out,” she said.

  He took his phone out. “Got a signal again.”

  “Yeah, imagine that,” she said.

  “I’ll get Brady over here.”

  She nodded, then walked up the steps, taking care to avoid the blood. She stepped over the ax and headed up. She was no longer afraid. Whatever had been plaguing this house now seemed to be gone. She pushed open a door, looking into one of the bedrooms. The room was furnished with only a bed, nothing else. B
oth windows were blown out and a pleasant breeze rustled the curtains. CJ stared for a moment as they swayed back and forth. She walked out and opened another room. This room was fully furnished. Judging by the mess in the bed, this is where they found Herbert Krause. The windows in this room were also blown out. She went inside, going to one of the windows and looking outside. She smiled as a ray of sunshine touched her skin. Then she heard something that had been missing. Birds. She nodded as she watched a male cardinal fly into one of the dead trees that stood close to the house. Soon another joined him.

  “Yeah. Everything’s okay now,” she said as she turned to go.

  She heard Ice talking on the phone, and she paused on the second floor, her glance going to the safe room. She pushed the door open, again smiling as sunlight filled the room, so different than earlier when she and Ice had taken refuge there.

  “You still here?” she asked.

  She waited, listening, but heard nothing. She was oddly disappointed.

  “Oh, well,” she murmured. She took one last look around then shrugged and headed out, closing the door behind her.

  It was darker down on the first floor, the boarded-up windows preventing the sun from streaming inside. Her gaze landed on Edith’s crumpled body, but she turned away from it quickly, going out to the porch where Ice was waiting. She raised her eyebrows.

  “Yeah, Brady’s on his way. I called Howley too. Paige had already called him, so I guess she’s doing better.” Ice smiled. “Oh, and Howley said Billy’s jaw wasn’t broken, but he lost two teeth. I was hoping they’d have to wire his mouth shut.”

  CJ laughed. “What? Did you and Billy have too much togetherness on this case?”

  He nodded. “Yeah. I’ll stick with my current partner, thanks.”

  She clapped his shoulder. “You got it.”

  “So listen, if you want to head over to the hospital, you can. I’ll wait here for Brady,” he offered.

  “You’d stay here by yourself? What the hell’s wrong with you?”

  “I’m guessing there’s not a damn thing in this house anymore. Not after all that,” he said, pointing to the scattering of broken glass on the ground. “How in the hell are we going to put all of this in our report?”