by Cege Smith
David was quiet for a long time. “I’m a calm, rational person. This kind of thing belongs in movies, books, or fairy tales. But I’m going to take a leap of faith because I don’t' think you are crazy. You said that the dreams were coming more frequently and becoming more vivid. You say that Linda and Randall are different and that they seem to be focused on you for some reason. You say that Jake had some kind of insight into all of this and that is why he died. I don’t know what it means, Ellie, but we’ll figure it out together.”
Ellie sighed in relief. “Thank you, David. It means a lot that you don’t think I’m a total loon.”
“I don’t think I could ever think that,” he replied.
Ellie wanted to be close to him; to touch him. It would make her feel like maybe there was a chance that this nightmare would end and everything would go back to normal.
“David?” she asked. “How far away are you?”
Her hands reached out and explored the darkness. She heard David’s voice again and started to crawl slowly toward it.
“I don’t know, but it can’t be more than a few feet. Follow my voice,” he said.
Ellie heard the clank of the chains and knew that he was reaching for her too. She shuffled forward a few more inches and then didn’t have any further slack on her end. Her fingers reached out blindly, and then suddenly she felt fingers reaching back to her.
“David,” she said in relief.
“Are you close, Ellie?” he said. His voice was still several feet away from her.
At that moment, Ellie realized the hands grasping at her weren’t David’s and she opened her mouth to scream.
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
David tried to jump to his feet as he heard Ellie’s sharp intake of breath but the chain caught him up short and he slammed back to the floor, shaking.
“Ellie, what is it? Are you okay?” he yelled. He was greeted with silence.
At that moment, a door opened and light streamed into the dark closet. Linda stood in the doorway. She smiled brightly.
“David! We are so happy that you are here,” she purred.
Now that David could see, he frantically peered around him. He was in a long closet. Ellie’s guess had been correct, and he wondered how she knew. He had to admit that the idea that she was something akin to psychic was a bit unsettling to him. But he didn’t see Ellie anywhere.
“Where’s Ellie?” he demanded. “She was just here. What have you done with her?”
Linda frowned as she looked past David and saw the empty chains lying on the floor. “Ellie isn’t the priority right now,” Linda said after a short pause. “But you, Doctor dear, need to come with me.”
“I want to know where Ellie is,” he said. “I’m not going anywhere with you until you tell me.”
Linda threw back her head and laughed. Then her face stilled and her gaze drove a dart of fear into David’s soul. Her face had changed, and it was much more menacing.
“You are just precious that you think you have any choice in the matter, Doctor, but we don’t have time for this. You are coming with me,” Linda said.
She moved forward into the closet and grabbed the metal between the cuffs that held him. Instinct told him to take a step back, but he wasn’t going to give her the satisfaction of seeing that she had scared him at all. David knew a thing or two about intimidation. At her touch, the cuffs fell away. David was dumbfounded.
He rubbed his wrists from where the cuffs had bit into his skin. “Who are you?” he said.
Linda did not respond. Instead, she took hold of his wrist, and the grip felt like a vise of steel. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. Which do you prefer?” she asked. The sweetness had returned to her tone, but David knew it was nothing but velvet covering ice.
“I just want to know where Ellie is,” he pleaded. “I don’t want any trouble.”
“You’ll see Ellie again in due time. You have other matters to attend to right now,” she replied. She pulled on his wrist and he was jerked forward.
“I’m coming,” he said.
“Good. That’s good,” Linda said.
David needed time to gather his thoughts and try to figure out what had happened to Ellie, but for the moment he knew he had to play their game. He nodded and followed Linda across the hall. As he entered the room, he saw why he had been summoned.
Jenny was writhing in pain on the bed. Randall stood to the side with a syringe, getting ready to inject something into her arm.
“What are you doing?” David demanded.
He strode to the bed and gently examined Jenny. His heart dropped into his stomach. “The baby is in the breech position. We need to get her to a hospital.”
The hair rose on the back of David’s neck as he felt cold hands on the back of his shirt.
“There isn’t going to be an ambulance, a hospital, or anything of that kind,” Linda whispered in his ear, her words sending chills up David’s spine. “You are going to deliver this baby for us and you’d better make sure it lives if you ever want to see Ellie again.”
Ellie understood now that she and Emma were somehow connected. She remembered the pawing cold hands from the darkness which had brought back vivid memories of Jake’s premonition of her death. It was a relief of sorts to hear Emma’s comforting murmurs in her ear. At least, until the lights seemed to come on announcing that she had arrived at her destination.
As her vision returned, she saw that a few feet in front of her, Emma was strapped to a long stone table that reminded Ellie of an altar. The woman was able to draw her head up just enough to look at the heavy cloth bounds that were drawn through metal eye hooks at each corner of the table securing her arms and legs. The room was thick with shadows and the air felt chill. Ellie looked around. She thought they were in a basement. They were alone.
Ellie could see Emma’s anxiety level rise dramatically as the woman looked over to her right to the other side of the table. Ellie heard cooing, and moved so that she could see around Emma. Henry Jr. sat in a bassinet on the floor in the middle of a symbol that Ellie could only assume was demonic.
“Hey,” Emma hissed.
Ellie turned to the woman on the table. Emma was looking directly at her.
“I’ve seen you before. Was that you, helping me earlier?”
Ellie nodded. This whole situation was surreal. “You brought me here,” Ellie said.
“Me?” Emma laughed wildly and Ellie could tell that the girl had reached her sanity threshold. “In case you can’t see, I’m tied to this thing right now. I didn’t bring you here.”
“But you did,” Ellie insisted. “Or at least your spirit...” And she stopped. Emma’s eyes had widened in shock as she processed what Ellie was telling her.
Emma started pulling on the bonds holding her arms fiercely. “I’m not dying here. I’m going to get the hell out of here with my baby. Well, HELP ME!” she yelled at Ellie.
Ellie automatically went to her side and tried to grab the buckle of the bond holding her left arm, but cried out in frustration when she saw her hand go right through it. “I can’t,” she said.
“Please,” Emma whimpered. “I can’t let anything happen to my baby.”
Ellie quickly crossed to the farthest wall of the basement hoping to find something hidden in the darkness that could help her. She felt a rush of chilly air fly up the back of her legs and she whirled around. The Bradfords had entered the room, and they weren’t alone. Not knowing if they would be able to see her, Ellie tried to fade as far back into the shadows as she could.
Joseph and Lillian moved to stand at the edge of the symbol staring down at the baby in front of them. And standing across from them, so that the three of them made a perfect triangle, was a figure dressed in a dark black robe.
It looked as if they were worshiping the baby, but the sharp knife in Lillian’s hand made Ellie doubt that. She sensed that the black robed figure in the room was far worse than the Bradfords. She needed to think clear
ly. She needed to help Emma find a way out.
Although she was still strapped to the table, Emma had not cried out when the three had appeared; she was, in fact, still struggling against her bonds. Ellie was in awe of Emma’s inner resolve. The woman wasn’t about to give up without a fight, even in her current state.
There was a rustling noise far off in the darkness. Emma called out, “Who’s there? What’s going on? Let me go!”
Then heavy footsteps brought another figure into Ellie’s line of vision and it crossed to the table. Ellie’s mind spun. It was Emma’s husband, Henry.
“Henry?” Emma cried. “Henry! Is that you?” Ellie could hear the relief in Emma’s voice.
The man stared down at Emma, his expression blank. He reached over and gently touched Emma’s hand.
“Henry,” Emma pleaded, “talk to me. What happened to you? I thought you were dead.”
“I love you.” Henry’s voice was devoid of emotion.
Emma began to cry, and Ellie could see that strong resolve draining away.
“Henry, I love you too,” Emma said. “What’s wrong with you? Let me up. Help me get free,” she said.
She bounced the hand underneath his to show him that she couldn’t move.
He looked at her hand, and there was a moment of surprise as if he was seeing it for the first time. “Of course,” he said.
Slowly he went around the table and undid the clasps that held her. As she sat up, she swung her legs to the side and slid into Henry’s arms. She clasped her arms around his neck and buried her head into his chest.
Ellie turned her head to watch the three in the circle. They hadn’t moved although all of them appeared to be watching what should have been a joyful reunion. Lillian had a small smile on her face, but Ellie didn't think it was a smile of happiness. There was something wrong with this picture.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” Emma was saying. “You have to help me, Henry. Our baby is here.” She looked up at him, but he wasn’t looking at her. He was staring over her shoulder at the three people on the other side.
Emma turned and followed his gaze. He was staring at Lillian, whose sly smile had grown into a wide grin.
“How are you feeling, dear Emma?” she said. “Isn’t this lovely? A family reunited.” She stepped forward like an animal on the prowl.
“Leave us alone,” Emma spit out, pushing her back against Henry. “Just give us our baby and leave us alone. I don’t know what you’ve gotten involved in but we don’t want any part of it. You are sick, Lillian. Sick. We’re leaving.”
“No, I’m afraid you’re not, Emma,” Lillian said. She continued stepping in Emma’s direction, and then casually went around the stone table, drawing her finger along the top. “I’m afraid you have a lot more to give that we need. That IT wants. We’ve barely gotten started.”
“What are you talking about?” Emma hissed.
“Henry?” Lillian didn’t answer her, instead looking at Henry.
Ellie watched Henry’s arms encircle Emma, and then he was lifting her back up on the table. She struggled against him. Ellie was helpless and she whimpered in frustration.
“What are you doing? Why, Henry, why?” Emma pleaded. There was no answer.
Lillian helped Henry hold down each arm and leg and soon Emma was bound again. She wept softly. The struggle had weakened her, and Ellie could see Emma was bleeding again.
Lillian leaned over her. “It will all be over soon, dear one,” she crooned “You and Henry were part of the bargain. We give a little, the two of you in this case, and we will get so much more. I almost wish you could be here to see it." Lillian threw her head back and laughed. “In the meantime, though, we need to get rid of unwelcome guests.”
Lillian turned her head and met Ellie’s eyes. Ellie let out a small scream as Linda plunged toward her. Lillian punched Ellie in the face, and then Ellie was returned to the darkness.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
Jenny’s labor was difficult, and she was in a great deal of pain. David was torn between trying to do something to ease her trauma while keeping things in check with the baby. Linda’s whispered threat lingered in his ear. He had three lives hanging in the balance.
Turning the baby had been his first priority; otherwise, he would have to attempt a Caesarean. Without proper tools and monitoring that was his absolute last resort. He forced himself to focus on the work at hand, and tune out the stares from the silent watchers.
Randall and Linda sat in chairs three feet from the bed, observing the scene as if sitting and watching a play unfold. David knew they whispered to one other several times, but he didn’t avert his attention from his patients. It was too critical.
It all happened fast once he managed to turn the baby. Jenny was fully dilated within moments, it seemed, and it only took a few pushes for her son to enter the world with a lusty cry. When he placed the baby in Jenny’s arms, she squeezed his hand for just a moment.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Then her full attention was on the baby in her arms. Her expression was one David had seen many times. It was the look a mother has only for her child; the one of instantaneous unconditional love. They both had forgotten about their observers.
David felt a cold hand on his arm, and he found himself looking into Linda’s eyes.
“Excellent work, Doctor,” she praised him.
David couldn’t have cared less what she thought; he only had one concern now. “I want to see Ellie,” he demanded.
“All in good time,” she said. She cocked her head toward Jenny. “We have some business to attend to first.”
“You have no business with this woman and her baby other than ensuring their safety,” David protested. “My business with you is done. As soon as I find Ellie, we are all leaving you two alone to your sick fantasies.”
“You have held up your end of the bargain, Doctor, in more ways than one.” Linda chuckled. “But the business at hand isn’t with you in any case.” She motioned toward Randall, who stepped closer to the other side of the bed, staring down at Jenny and her baby.
David tried to read the expression on Randall’s face. All of the color had drained out of the man’s face, and he looked ill. Then David saw Joe Klein emerge from the bathroom glaring at Randall.
“MINE!” Joe screamed as he rushed at Randall.
The scene unfolded in seconds, but David couldn’t believe his eyes. Randall turned and his face changed as Joe reached him. Then Randall’s jaws got wider and he latched onto Joe’s shoulder. Joe’s wild screams turned into painful hollers. Then his face went slack and Randall let him slip to the floor.
Randall turned with glowing eyes to Linda and his face returned to normal, except for the bright red blood that covered his mouth and chin. “That was sloppy, dearest.” His voice was heavy with sarcasm. “Very sloppy.”
Linda shrugged. “I forgot about him. No harm done. As if he was ever a threat anyway.”
“He knew too much,” Randall spat.
“Are you going to yell at me all day or are you going to heal yourself?” Linda asked in a bored tone.
Randall looked like he was going to say more, but then he looked at the bed. Jenny started to whimper and held her baby closer as Randall approached.
“You have to excuse Randall for his haste,” Linda said to David. “It draws so much more from him than me. I’ve never understood why.”
David shook his head. “What are you talking about? Are you both crazy?”
“Energy, Doctor. I’m talking about sustenance,” Linda said. She made it sound like she was talking to a child. “Everything needs to be fed in order to survive. Me, Randall, this lovely house. Everyone and everything.”
“I don’t know what your angle is, lady, but I’m taking Ellie, Jenny, and her baby out of here. Keep your twisted sickness to yourself,” David said as he moved toward the bed. Then he was flung against the far wall.
His head smacked hard against it, and lo
lled forward as he fell to the floor. He had missed the bureau by less than a foot.
As his vision cleared, he found Linda was right in front of his face. “Exactly who do you think you are talking to, Doctor?” Her voice got louder. “You of all people don’t have a choice in what happens here. You’d do well to remember that.”
Linda turned her head away and took a breath. Then she put her hand against David’s cheek. David felt strange, as though his jumbled thoughts were turned inside out. Linda smiled at him, and he smiled back.
“I’m sorry, David. I didn’t mean to be harsh. We have so much to show you. You and Ellie both. You will understand everything soon, I promise,” she said, brushing his hair out of his eye.
David nodded. He didn’t know why he had been so judgmental. He could see now that explanations were coming in due time. Linda was right.
Her face beamed and she looked radiant. “Good. I’m so glad we’ve reached an understanding. Now, David, Randall and I have to do something else before we can go see Ellie. Will you sit over there like a good boy and wait for us?”
“Of course,” he said.
Linda’s hand stayed on his chest as he pushed himself up the wall. Over Linda’s shoulder he could see Jenny staring at him. He couldn’t remember why she would look so frightened. Randall was on the bed and had pulled her into his lap. She had been gagged, but he didn’t see anything wrong with that. Randall cooed softly to the baby in her arms and stroked Jenny’s hair.
For some reason, this didn’t bother him either. He thought that perhaps it should, but it didn’t. Linda pushed against his chest and guided him to a chair that was propped in the corner facing the bed. Another gentle nudge and he was sitting down.
