by Amy Cross
He turns to head back inside.
“Did you know Mary Madison?” I ask.
He stops, but he waits a moment before turning back to me.
“I know that a girl called Mary Madison lived in my house before,” I continue, “and I know she disappeared.”
“Did your parents tell you that?”
I shake my head.
“Someone else did, huh?”
I nod.
“What else did they tell you?”
“That something bad happened to Mary Madison's parents.”
He pauses for a moment, before limping back toward me. “You really should ask your Mummy or Daddy about it. They probably know best how much to let you know, 'cause not all of it's appropriate for a little girl. How old are you, anyway? Seven? Eight?”
“They won't tell me anything,” I reply, “especially not now that Mum's always...” I catch myself just in time, figuring that I probably shouldn't say anything bad.
“Always what?”
“She's been poorly before,” I tell him.
“That's a shame. What kind of poorly?”
“It's okay, she just has to take pills or she gets sad.”
“Huh.” He pauses. “It's not getting worse again is it, now you've moved here?”
“No,” I reply. “Well... kind of. Maybe.”
I can tell he's worried now.
“Do you know what happened to Mary Madison when she disappeared?” I ask.
He shakes his head. “No-one knows.”
“Was she the same age as me?”
“More or less.”
“So... one day she was here, and one day she was gone?”
“I really don't think you need to know about this.”
“And there's nothing in the house, is there?” I continue. “Mum and Dad says there isn't, but I say there is.” I wait for him to reply, but he seems a little more worried now. “I say it's paying most attention to Mum,” I add. “I thought it was more interested in me, and it was at first, but now I think it's her.”
He opens his mouth to reply, but something seems to be holding him back.
“If you don't know what happened to Mary Madison,” I continue, “do you know what happened to her parents? This girl at school told me they... She told me something bad happened to them.”
“How old are you again?” he asks.
“Eight,” I tell him. “And a half.”
“That's too young to know about things like this.”
“Tell me.” I wait, but he doesn't say anything. “Mum says I have a lot of imagination, so I'll probably just imagine something even worse if you don't tell me. Mary Madison's parents are dead, aren't they?” I turn and look back toward the house. “Did they die inside? Did they die when Mary Madison went missing?”
“No-one really knows exactly what happened,” he replies, “but I used to see Mary around sometimes, and she talked to me about things.”
I turn back to him. “Like we are now? Over the fence?”
“Sometimes.” He pauses. “Yeah, sometimes just like this.”
“Didn't anyone ever look for her after she went missing?”
“Oh, a lot of people looked for her,” he replies. “Whole armies of people, police and locals, looked everywhere they could think. They even had a helicopter and sniffer dogs. It was in the news for quite a while.”
“Didn't they find her?”
“No. They never did.”
“And have they stopped looking now?”
“It's been so long,” he replies, “and they ran out of places she might be.”
I pause for a moment, scared of the next question but feeling like I have to ask it. “Did she ever tell you that she thought there was something hiding in the house?”
“She said a lot of things.”
“But was she scared of something in the house?”
“She was scared of...” He pauses. “Have you seen something in the house, Cally?”
I shake my head.
He smiles, as if he's relieved. “Then I'm sure it's fine.”
“Did she see something in the house?” I ask. “Did she tell you she'd seen it?”
“That was a bad time,” he says, “but your Mummy and Daddy are making the house nice, and I think you're going to have a lovely time in there.”
Hearing the back door, I turn and see that Dad is coming out with some trash. He waves as he heads around to the side of the house.
“Don't go thinking or worrying about people who lived there before you,” Joseph says, forcing a smile. “That's all in the past. It's a very nice house and you're very lucky to live there. What happened to little Mary Madison and her parents was horrible, but it has nothing to do with you and your folks.”
***
“Where's Mum?” I ask a short while later, standing in the doorway that leads to the kitchen.
“Oh, she's just having a nap,” Dad replies, smiling as he turns to me. “Don't worry, she's fine. Why don't you come and help me make lunch for us all?”
Above, the ceiling creaks slightly. Mum and Dad's bedroom is directly over the kitchen.
Chapter Seven
“You have such beautiful hair,” Mum says later that evening, as she gets me ready for bed. Running a brush through my hair, she smiles. “Like a little princess.”
Staring at her, I can't help but notice that something's different about her eyes, as if there are dark shadows under them, almost like rings. She looks more tired than anyone else I've ever seen, but at least she's not rubbing the back of her neck anymore.
“I'm so glad you're sleeping better,” she continues. “Are you looking forward to school tomorrow?”
“Are you sleeping better?” I ask, turning to her.
“Me?” She smiles, but it's a sad smile, the kind people smile when they want other people to think everything's okay. “Of course, sweetie. You don't need to worry about me.”
As she continues to brush my hair, I can't help noticing that there are small red scratches on her arms.
***
A few minutes later, brushing my teeth in the bathroom, I see that there's a little more blood in the sink. Mum probably tried to wash it away, but some always gets left in the gap between the porcelain and the metal.
***
Lying in bed in the dark, I stare up at the ceiling.
Outside, on the landing, there's another creak, near my door. A moment later there's another, further away, along toward the door to Mum and Dad's room.
***
She's screaming.
Sitting up in bed, I realize it's Mum's voice and she sounds terrified. I jump out and rush to the door, pulling it open just as she rushes past, followed by Dad.
“What's wrong?” I ask.
Not answering, Dad hurries down the stairs after her. I follow, terrified and with my heart pounding in my chest. Just as I get to the top of the stairs, however, I get a sudden sense that I'm being watched. Freezing for a moment, I let out a gasp as I realize that something is definitely staring at the back of my head. Telling myself that I have to be brave, I turn and look back along the landing, and I see that the door to Mum and Dad's bedroom is wide open. Inside, the room is pitch black, but I'm certain that something is staring out at me. For a moment, I consider going to take a look, but a fraction of a second later I swear I see the faintest hint of movement in the darkness. Turning, I run down the stairs.
I'm brave, but I'm not that brave.
“What is it?” I shout, running into the dark living room and finding them on the sofa, with Mum sobbing and Dad hugging her tight.
“It's nothing,” he tells me. “Cally, could you turn on some lights?”
Racing to the coffee table in the corner, I turn on the lamp, before running to the door and reaching up to turn on the overhead light. Turning, I see that Mum is leaning forward now, with her head in her hands, and she seems to be sobbing.
“It's okay,” Dad whispers, leaning closer to her. “It was
just another dream.”
“It wasn't a dream,” she blurts out, “it was real!”
“No, honey...” He glances at me for a moment, before leaning closer to her and lowering his voice, although I still hear what he says next: “You'll scare Cally. Maybe I shouldn't go on this business trip tomorrow. I don't want to leave you alone.”
“We'll be fine,” she replies.
“Julie -”
“We'll be fine,” she says again. “I'm not an invalid! I can look after our daughter for twenty-four hours, okay?”
“What happened?” I ask, taking a step forward.
“Go back to your room,” Dad tells me. “Everything's okay, I'll come and tuck you back in.”
“No,” Mum says, looking over at me with terrified, dark eyes. “Don't go upstairs, Cally!”
“Julie,” Dad says firmly, “please, don't upset her!”
“But it -” She turns to him for a moment, as if she can't believe what's happening. “It was right there! Didn't you see it?”
“See what?” he asks.
“It was on top of me,” she continues. “It was lying right on top of me, or sitting on me, and it was...” She pauses, as if she's horrified by the thought. “It was on our bed with us, how can you not have seen it? I woke up and it was right there!”
“You were still dreaming,” he tells her. “Please, Julie, let's not do this in front of Cally.”
“You don't believe me,” she sobs, putting her head in her hands. “You think I'm sick again.”
“I think this isn't the time to be talking about creatures on the bed,” he replies. “Just wait here while I take Cally back up, okay? Please, we have to keep from upsetting her.” He waits for a reply, before getting to his feet and coming over to join me in the doorway. “Mummy's okay,” he says, reaching down and taking my hand, before steering me back out into the hallway and over to the stairs. “She just hasn't been sleeping very well for a while, and that can really upset a person.”
“What did she see?” I ask.
“Nothing. It was just a dream. You know how scary dreams can be, don't you? They can almost seem real, but they're not real. Not ever.”
“But -”
“Don't be scared. Be brave. You're my brave little girl, okay?”
I stare at him, before nodding.
“So you'll be okay in bed by yourself?” he asks.
I nod again. “I'm brave.”
A few minutes later, once he's settled me into bed and headed back out of the room, I listen to the sound of him going downstairs, and then I get up and head out to the landing. The door to their room is still open, and the inside is still dark, and I still feel as if something's in there, waiting for them to go back in so it can get to Mum again. I don't know why it's targeting her or what it wants from her, but it clearly chose her after we moved in, instead of me. The problem is, if Mum and Dad don't know it's here, they can't do anything about it.
So I have to be brave. For them.
Making sure to stay extra quiet, I sneak along the landing. The door to Mum and Dad's bedroom is wide open, but even when I get closer, I can't see anything inside except darkness and the faint outline of the window.
I can hear voices downstairs, as Mum and Dad continue to talk, which is good. It sounds like they're too busy to come up right now.
Putting a hand on the door-frame, I step forward, convinced that at any moment I'll spot something moving in the room. My heart is beating faster than I thought it ever could, and I desperately want to run back to my room and hide in bed. After all, this thing seems to have lost interest in me and prefers to focus on Mum, but I'm the only one who can actually do anything about it. For her sake, I have to face whatever's happening.
“You're my brave little girl, okay?” That's what Dad said a moment ago.
“Hello?” I whisper, leaning into the room.
Silence.
“I know you're here,” I continue, taking a step forward. “My... My name's Cally. I'm from the other room, along the landing, I think you've seen me.”
Silence.
I step further into the room.
The floorboard creaks under my left foot.
“I just came to tell you that we don't want to hurt you,” I continue, looking around at the darkness. “This is our house now and we just want to live in it normally. I wanted to move out, but it's not my choice. I don't know if you're friendly or not, but if you are, maybe you could just... I don't know, let the house be ours now?”
I wait for a response.
Silence.
Taking another step forward, I realize I can just about hear my parents still talking in the room below.
My foot causes the floorboards to creak again.
“You're hurting Mum,” I say finally. “I'm sure you're not doing it on purpose, but you are. She can't sleep when you're around, so if you could just leave her alone -”
Suddenly I hear a faint bump on the other side of the room. It was so quiet, I can almost convince myself that it didn't actually happen.
Almost.
A moment later I hear it again, but this time it seems slightly closer, and also a little higher.
I take a step back.
“Don't be scared,” I whisper, trying to keep myself brave.
I wait.
Silence.
“I think you can hear me,” I say finally, “and I think you know what I'm saying. Mum is really nice, she doesn't deserve to get hurt like this, so you should leave her alone. You...” I pause, wondering whether I dare ask the next question. “You don't want to hurt her, do you?”
Staring ahead at the darkness, I wait for another bump.
Nothing.
“If she -”
Suddenly I hear a loud scraping sound. It only lasts half a second, maybe a whole second at most, but it sounds like something on the floor, against the wood, over in the farthest part of the room. I instinctively take another step back, while still staring straight ahead into the blackness of the room. There's definitely something in here, and I'm starting to think that it might not be friendly, or it might not be able to understand me. After all, why else wouldn't it reply to me? If the -
Suddenly I hear the scraping sound again, much closer this time.
“Cally?”
Suddenly the light is switched on. Startled, I take a step back. Staring straight ahead, I realize the thing – whatever it is – was standing right in front of me just a second ago, so close it must have been almost touching me.
“Cally,” Dad says, stepping up behind me and putting a hand on my shoulder, “what are you doing in here?”
Turning to look up at him, I see that Mum is just behind him, with teary red eyes.
“I thought I heard something,” I tell them, before looking back across the room. With the light on, it doesn't seem so scary, but whatever was in here, I don't see how it could have left.
“Cally -”
“There are scratches on the floor!” I point out, seeing a couple of thick lines that have been made in the floorboards.
“They were there before,” Dad replies.
“Were they?” Mum asks.
“Of course they were,” he continues. “I mean... They must have been.”
“I think you should both sleep in my room tonight,” I say, turning to Dad. “So you're safe.”
“That's very sweet of you,” he replies, shepherding me out of their bedroom, “but you don't need to worry. I've talked to Mum and she feels much better now, and I can keep her safe.”
“It's true,” she adds, smiling at me. “I just had a bad dream, that's all. It's so easy to get startled by them when they seem so real, but Daddy helped me see that it was in my head.”
“You didn't have a dream,” I tell her. “It was here!”
She shakes her head.
“Come on,” Dad says, leading me along the landing.
“No!” I shout, slipping past him and then past Mum, before trying to push her out of th
eir room. “I won't let you stay in here!”
“Cally,” she says, refusing to budge, “you're being silly.”
“I'm not!” I shout, still trying to push her out. “It wasn't a dream! It's in here!”
“Come on,” Dad says, picking me up and carrying me out.
“This is my fault,” I hear Mum whisper. “I set her off again.”
“It's no-one's fault,” Dad continues, carrying me along the landing. “We just have a daughter with a very active imagination.”
“Mummy, don't go into there!” I shout, but it's too late.
She goes into their room, and Dad carries me into mine before setting me down on the bed.
“Listen to me,” he says firmly, holding my arm to keep me from running back out, “you have to stop this right now, do you understand? Mummy needs you to not make a fuss.”
“It's in there!” I hiss. “You have to believe me!”
“There's nothing in there,” he continues, “and you have to believe me. Would we really buy a house that might have something nasty living in it?”
“It's the same thing that made Mary Madison disappear,” I tell him.
“What?”
“I know about her,” I continue. “I also know about her parents!”
“How did you -” He pauses. “It was that old man, wasn't it? I saw you talking to the neighbor earlier.”
“He told me everything,” I reply. “He told me how Mary Madison -”
“Whatever happened to Mary Madison,” he says firmly, interrupting me, “it was not caused by this house or by anything that's living here now. I know that might be hard for you to understand, but you just have to accept that it's true. The situation with the Madisons all happened a long time ago in the past, and we own the house now, and nothing bad is going to happen here.”
“Mary knew about the creature!” I tell him.
He shakes his head.
“It's going to hurt Mummy!” I continue. “It's going to hurt you too, just like it hurt Mary Madison's parents!”
