Allen jerked forward, as if someone behind him had given him a hard shove. He stumbled down the first few steps as Danny dove to grab at him and missed. With horror, Danny watched Allen somersault down. He let out a single shriek before slamming into the floor at the bottom of the stairs... and then was still.
“No!” Danny raced down the stairs and knelt next to his friend. Allen’s eyes were open but his head was almost turned completely around facing backwards. The trickle of blood flowing out his nostril was the only movement in the boy’s face. Oh my God! It couldn’t be.
Allen was DEAD!
Footsteps thudded hard on the floor above him. Danny’s head spun to look back up the stairs. Someone was up there. And they were coming his way.
He jumped up and raced across the hall to the front door. The door knob turned but it wouldn’t open. The footsteps were now on the stairs! He yanked on the door, pulling with all his might but it wouldn’t budge.
He pounded the door with his fists. “HELP! Help me, Frank!” It was coming and he had to get out of there, fast!
At the thud behind him, he spun to see. There was a swirling black mass, like smoke hovering just above Allen’s body. His heart raced so fast, he couldn’t breathe! What the hell was that thing? The air around him became cold...so cold he could see his breath clouding in front of his face. It passed over Allen’s still figure and was oozing down the hall towards him. Oh my God, it was going to get him!
Abandoning the front door, he raced down the hall to the kitchen back door. Once more he yanked at it but it remained shut solid. All the while, the thuds of footsteps sounded from the hallway! If that thing...whatever the hell it was, touched him, he’d be a goner. He didn’t know how he knew that, but he just knew it was true!
Danny raced back into the parlour and grabbed the rocking chair next to the window. He hurled it at the glass. The chair shattered, with one of the curved bottom flying off and landing with a bang on the floor. It had bounced OFF the glass when it should have gone through it! Oh shit! What the hell was happening?
“Danny? Are you all right?” Frank, on the outside of the front door, pounded his fists on it. “Why won’t this open!”
Danny could hardly breathe when he raced out of the room. The black cloud began to fade and move back over Allen and then slowly go up the stairs. He crouched and slowly crept back up the hallway, watching the stairs in case that THING came back. He touched the doorknob and pulled his hand back quickly. It was cold as ice. Above him, there was a soft murmur, like people whispering.
From the top of the stairs he heard the footsteps again. But now there was a LOT of them. The black mass again turned onto the landing. It was bigger this time, filling the stairwell as it oozed downward once more.
Terror froze him as he watched its relentless progress.
At the crash of breaking glass, he startled, then raced through the archway to the parlour. A rusty metal milk can lay amid a heap of glass and splintered wood. Frank’s eyes were rimmed with white gaping in at him through the hole he’d created.
“What’s happening in there? The door’s stuck and you’re screaming! What’s going on? Where’s Allen?” Frank was looking past Danny’s shoulder.
Danny’s feet crunched the shards of glass and then he gripped the sides of the window frame cutting his hands on the shards still left in the frame. “Danny, where’s Allen?” His jet black eyes bored into Danny’s. He clutched Danny’s arms and yanked him through the opening, tumbling him to the ground. Leaning in, he yelled. “Allen! Come on!”
Danny got to his feet, wiping his bloody hands on his pants. “He was thrown down the stairs! He’s dead!”
“He what? Who threw him, Danny? You?” Frank’s eyes widened in fear.
“No! Not me!” Danny pointed through the window opening. “THAT!”
Frank turned to see the black roiling mass begin to ooze into the parlour and froze in place. “Ubba, nuggha...”
Danny yanked on his arm. “Frank! We’ve got to get out of here! Hurry before it gets us!”
Like a pair of commandos in a war movie they threw themselves over the porch railing, landing on their feet. But Frank’s foot landed on a heavy rock, twisting and snapping his ankle with a loud crack. He shrieked in pain.
Danny saw Frank sprawled on the ground, his foot twisted to the side.
“I broke it!” Frank gripped his ankle with both hands, his face screwed up tight.
“C’mon Frank! We gotta go!” Danny stepped back and tugged on Frank’s arm to help him up.
“No! You go!” Tears filled Frank’s eyes and he rocked back and forth still holding his ankle. “I can’t.” He was scrabbling on his butt as best he could away from the house.
“I’m not leaving without you! C’mon!” Danny tightened his grip on Frank’s arm, and pulled, lifting him upright. Frank was bigger than him and he grunted with the strain, but he finally managed to pull him upright. “C’mon! Like a three legged race!”
Together the two boys managed to hobble across the yard. They were almost at the gate. Not much farther.
Behind them, an earth shattering scream broke the stillness, sending new waves of fear through their very bones. They staggered and slipped though the opening of the gate and Danny picked up his bike. Frank managed to ride on the seat while Danny stood, his legs working like an Olympic sprinter on the pedals. Clouds of dust rose after them as he pedalled the bike down the dirt road away from Hanson farm.
Chapter 2
Present Day
Emma set her suitcase on the lower bunk and flipped the lid open. Inside were all the clothes and make-up she would need for her month’s stay on the farm. She turned to her younger sister, watching her cram clothes into the bottom two drawers of the antique dresser.
“Don’t shove your dress in there. Hang it up. You know you’ve got to have something nice for church.” Emma shook her head and began sorting through her own case, lifting a stack of folded T shirts in her hands. She walked over to the dresser and tugged the top drawer open to set them inside. The antique wood whispered softly when she closed it and a waft of camphor drifted into her nose.
Julia stood up, her big blue eyes meeting Emma’s scowl in the mirror topping the dresser. “I don’t see why we have to go to church. Mom and Dad never do, except at Christmas.” Her shoulders slumped and she sighed.
Emma nudged her younger sister with her hand and her voice dropped to a whisper. “Shh! Nana and Grandpa will hear you!”
Julia pouted. “I don’t care—”
Emma sighed. “Don’t be such a brat, Julia. You’re 10, not five.”
Julia crossed her arms and stared at her big sister defiantly. “Oh what a big shot! Just because you start high school next year doesn’t make you the boss of everything,” she hissed.
“C’mon, Julia! It’s Nana and Grandpa I’m talking about!” She kept her voice low. “Just because we aren’t religious doesn’t mean it’s not important to them. You’ve got to show some respect, Julia.”
Julia’s chin rose high and her eyes flashed when she spun to face Emma. “I don’t care! What does it matter? Think they’ll send us packing? We can only hope!”
Emma could only stare silently at her sister. It was true that neither one of them had wanted to come to the farm. A month during the summer was a long time when they both could have been enjoying their friends at home, and involved with the sports they loved.
But Nana and Grandpa had been so happy when they arrived. She looked down at the floor. “Just be quiet about that stuff, okay? Remember, it’s their last summer on the island. We won’t ever have to do this again.”
At the chirp of her cell phone, Emma reached in her backpack. It was her best friend, Ginny, sending a text.
I miss you already! Kyle is having a pool party for his birthday next weekend. Everyone is going, even Melissa! I’ll keep an eye on her for you in case she flirts with him—the skank!
Emma’s stomach sunk even lower and she flopp
ed down on the bed. The thought of Kyle and Melissa together was too much. She’d had a crush on Kyle since like forever and now that she was out of town—especially at his birthday!—Melissa would hit on him. Well as much as a fourteen year old could be accused of hitting on anyone. This was going to be a long month.
“Emma! Julia! Come down! I see your Aunt’s car pulling into the driveway! Your cousins are here!” Nana’s voice drifted up the stairwell and through the open door of the big bedroom.
She couldn’t help the long huffed sigh and roll of her eyes. Great. She hadn’t seen Grace or Lily since the summer before and that was still too often. They...well actually Grace was always lording it over them that she lived in New York City! She’d heard that too many times.
Julia pranced across the floor, with an exaggerated sway of her hips and fluffing her curls with a limp hand, she batted her eyes and turned to face Emma. “I had breakfast at Tiffany’s today and then went shopping at Bloomies!” She sniffed and turned her small nose high in the air. “Where on earth did you get that top you’re wearing—Wal-Mart? Target? Hmph! Some deep discount place no doubt!” She clucked her tongue and then burst out laughing.
Emma giggled and then a full blown laugh burst from her chest. “You know, it’s scary how well you do that! Don’t let Grace catch you! She’d have a hissy fit!” She rose and then nodded to the open door. “C’mon. We’d better get this over with.” Pausing for a moment, she gazed into her kid sister’s eyes. “It’s funny, isn’t it? Aunt Cynthia is so nice. How did she ever have a snotty kid like Grace?”
Julia nodded and her smile fell. “Poor Lily doesn’t stand a chance. Ever. No wonder she’s so shy. She wouldn’t say boo even if she was drowning.”
“Yeah. If it was just Lily this month, I think I could stand it. But Grace...” Emma’s lips pursed like she just sucked on a lemon and she left the room. Her feet clumped slowly down the wooden stairs and she walked down the short hallway to the kitchen, Julia on her tail.
Aunt Cynthia, with a wide smile on her lips, and her blue eyes crinkling in the outer corners, rushed forward and folded her arms over Emma, drawing her into a warm hug. “Emma! My, how you’ve grown! You’re a regular little lady now.” She held Emma at arm’s length and her eyes wandered from her toes to her dark hair pulled back in a high pony tail. “Good Lord, you look sixteen! I can’t believe you’re only turning fourteen! Your father will have his hands full if you get any prettier!”
She turned her attention to Julia and it was then that Emma spied Grace just coming through the doorway. Just the top of a perfectly plucked eyebrow arched above the dark sunglasses. Her auburn hair was combed back, exposing a high porcelain forehead and a faint flush under highlighted cheekbones. She managed a small smile before sliding her glasses down her thin nose. “Hi Emma. It looks like we’re spending some time together this summer, huh?”
“Hi Grace. Yeah. We’re even sharing a bedroom, all of us. It’ll be pretty cozy, all right.” Emma could feel her stomach grow tight at the prospect of a month with her stuck up cousin. Not even a break at night to call home and whine at her parents for insisting she and Julia endure this. Spending time with her grandparents would be great, but Grace?
Nana had her arm around Lily and she stepped forward with the slight girl tucked into her. “Hasn’t Lily grown, Emma? She’s almost as tall as you are and she’s only 11!”
Lily flashed a shy smile at Emma and then looked down at her feet. Her strawberry blonde hair hung loose around her thin face and she slouched forward, the neck of the yellow blouse askew revealing sharp collar bones. She looked like she’d like to fade into the background rather than be thrust forward to greet her cousins. If Grace was the hothouse flower, Lily was the shrinking violet.
Emma smiled and her hand rose to tuck some stray locks from Lily’s cheek. “Hi Lily!” She glanced up into her Nana’s sky-blue eyes and then back to Lily. “Yeah. It’s hard to believe you’re only a year older than Julia.” Seeing Lily’s face flush pink, she added, “Too bad for you and her. Age has its privilege. You guys get stuck on the top bunks.”
Nana shook her head and snorted. “I could have set you up in separate rooms but...” She smiled. “This way, you’ll get to know each other better. I remember as a young girl, sleep-over’s and giggling into the wee hours. It’ll be fun for you!”
Grandpa’s calloused hand rested on Nana’s shoulder and he leaned in to kiss her wrinkled cheek. “They’ll be fine! These girls don’t see one another nearly enough and to think we’ve got them for a month!”
Nana turned her head and her eyes glistened, patting his hand with her own. “Our last summer before it’s gone. It’s hard to believe that the land will be filled with condos!”
Aunt Cynthia relinquished her arms from Julia and leaned back against the countertop, her manicured hands spread wide as she leaned forward, looking at her parents. “I can’t believe it either. Are you sure, you’re making the right decision? The farm’s been in the family for generations, Dad.” Her eyebrows rose high and she shook her head. “I have a hard time picturing you retired, let alone living in the city—even one so small as Kingston.”
Grandpa snorted. “It’s not New York...” His gaze flashed to Emma, “...or even Ottawa, but it’s the right size for us!”
Grace gave a short laugh and she stepped close to her mother. “I can’t picture you growing up here, Mom. It’s hard to reconcile with the way you are now—always so busy at the office.” She slipped the dark glasses up so that they crowned her head like a tiara. “Did you really feed the chickens and...” Her fingers curled, making quotation marks, “...slop the hogs?”
This time it was Grandpa who chuckled. “Did she tell you that? We never let her do farm work. We had Frank and another hired hand. Nope. We wanted her to get an education and make something of herself.” He pointed to Emma and Julia. “Your Dad too, y’know.” Turning back to Cynthia, he continued. “Neither you nor your brother ever looked back.” His smile was warm and proud when he gazed at his daughter. “Both of you have done well.”
“Will you stay and have supper with us, Cynthia? Why not spend the night and head out in the morning?” Nana smiled and walked over to her daughter. “We’d love to have you, you know.”
Cynthia slid her hand into her mother’s. “I can’t, Mom. I’m catching a flight back in a couple of hours.” She glanced at her watch. “If I catch the 3:30 ferry, I’ll just make it. But I’ll spend a few days at the end of the month when I come for the girls. We can catch up then. I just want to pop out to the yard and say hi to Frank before I take off.” She fingered an odd looking stone pendant hanging from a leather necklace and smiled going out the kitchen to the back door.
Nana looked over at Grandpa and smiled wistfully. “She still wears it, I see. That’s good.”
Grace sniffed and her chin rose high in the air, smiling sweetly at her Grandmother. “I don’t know why she does. The thing is hideous. She can certainly afford something nicer. But that ugly rock... it’s like a fixture with her.”
Grandpa nodded. “Aye. For sure she can afford to wear diamonds but she likes that amulet.” He exchanged a look with Nana before turning to face the girls. “It’s so good to have you all here. I want to hear all about the past year and how you did in school. After Grace and Lily get settled, we’ll have some cake and ice cream. It’ll give us a chance to catch up. We haven’t seen you since Christmas, after all.”
Emma watched her grandfather and her eyebrows knitted together. She’d seen that primitive looking necklace a few times but had never really given much thought to it. Grace led the way from the room, a suitcase on wheels trailing behind her. Emma hid the smile that twitched in the corners of her lips. If Grace disliked the necklace, that was all the more reason to admire it. Grace was such a snob.
It was puzzling though that Aunt Cynthia made a point to say hi to Frank. In all the times that she’d visited the farm the hired hand had hardly ever said a word to her or Julia. Wi
th his lumbering size and the perpetual scowl dragging his mouth down, his dark eyes alert and birdlike, he was kind of scary. He’d be the last person she’d make a point of chatting with if she were Aunt Cynthia.
“What kind of cake did you make Nana?” Julia’s chirpy voice broke the spell, bringing Emma back to the moment.
It was just the four of them there now as Lily had slinked off to bring her suitcase upstairs as well.
“Marble. Something for the chocolate fiends and the rest of us too.” Nana stepped over and gave Julia a one armed hug before opening the refrigerator and reaching for the cake.
Well, that was one good thing about the summer. Nana was a terrific cook and she loved to spoil them with goodies. Even so, after her aunt Cynthia left it would be the official start of the summer vacation on the farm— a whole month with Grace. Emma sighed. Actually, twenty-seven days and twenty hours, but who was counting?
Chapter 3
Emma sprawled lazily on her bed and watched Grace finish hanging up her clothes in the small closet. She still wore the dark glasses perched on her head, like some kind of movie star. As she passed the large window she paused and peered out across the fields covered with hay and wild flowers.
“Look at that house across the way.”
“What house?” Emma asked from the bed.
Grace glanced over to her cousin and shook her head. “That one, way over there.”
Emma got out of bed and stood next to her cousin.
“It sure looks decrepit No wonder Mom told us to stay away from it. It looks like it’s ready to fall over.” Her arms folded over her chest and she rubbed her hands over her bare skin. “It looks kind of creepy, actually. It’s weird but old houses, abandoned like that, always fascinate me. I wonder about the lives of the people who lived there. Why did they leave? How many families called it home?” She sighed.
The Ghosts of Hanson House: A Haunting In Kingston Novella (The Hauntings of Kingston Book 5) Page 2
