The Clockwork House

by Wendy Saunders

  ‘Mom!’ Kelley’s eyes widened.

  ‘Sorry sorry…’ she backed toward the door, ‘I’ll just…’ she pointed toward the door, before smiling impishly and disappearing.

  Kelley turned back toward Ava who was trying not to smile.

  ‘She does that on purpose,’ he sighed.

  ‘What?’

  ‘Mom and Dad have had this contest going since Killian and I were kids, over who can embarrass us the most. They think we don’t know about it.’

  ‘Really?’

  ‘It’s really quite elaborate,’ he nodded, ‘it resets every year on their anniversary. Each year they up their game.’

  ‘What’s the prize?’

  ‘Winner gets to choose where they go for their anniversary date.’

  ‘That’s nice.’

  ‘Uh uh,’ he shook his head, ‘that in itself is another game. Each year they both choose somewhere they know the other one would hate.’

  ‘Seriously?’ she replied in fascination.

  ‘Yeah. One year, Dad made Mom get all dressed up real fancy and I mean dinner at the Ritz fancy, took her over to the mainland in a private water taxi, had a limo waiting and then took her to Chucky Cheese for their anniversary meal.’

  ‘Oh no,’ Ava laughed.

  ‘Yeah and the following year, Mom won so she made Dad take burlesque lessons with her. He had the long satin gloves and the feather boa and everything. He thinks we don’t know about that,’ he leaned in closer and whispered, ‘but there’s photographic evidence. We’re having it blown up and printed on his birthday cake when he turns sixty.’

  ‘No!’ she laughed in horrified fascination, ‘how do you know about all this?’

  ‘One year, Killian and I found their score sheet.’

  ‘They actually have a score sheet?’ she dissolved into helpless laughter as he watched her with a smile.

  ‘Anyway, enough about my parents,’ Kelley shook his head. ‘Where were we?’

  ‘Defining the level of our relationship,’ she replied, her eyes glittering with amusement.

  ‘Right, so,’ he began to tick items off his fingers, ‘practically living together, having sex… hmmm I should probably take you on a date,’ he mused. ‘Anyway, it’s a bit 7th grade but do you need me to like, ask you formally?’

  She watched as he plucked a flower from a nearby arrangement, smoothed down his hair nervously like he was about to ask her to prom and dropped on one knee, blowing out a mock breath, ‘so here goes. Ava… wait, do you have a middle name?’

  ‘Uh uh,’ she shook her head, ‘not telling.’

  ‘Oh, come on.’

  ‘Nope,’ she smiled.

  ‘How bad can it be?’

  ‘I’m the daughter of a hippy,’ she reminded him.

  ‘Come on,’ he coaxed, ‘I mean you are my fake fiancée; don’t you think that’s the type of information a fake fiancé would have?’

  She shook her head.

  ‘Okay I’ll make a deal, you tell me yours I’ll tell you mine and as a bonus, for blackmail purposes, I’ll even throw in Killian’s. Trust me, they’re pretty embarrassing. I think it was another one of my parents’ competitions to see who could come up with the worst middle names in the universe.’

  ‘I’ve got to hear this,’ she laughed.

  ‘You first,’ he dared.

  ‘Okay fine,’ she rolled her eyes, ‘Summer Rain.’

  ‘What?’ he smiled.

  ‘Ava Summer Rain Cortez.’

  ‘That’s not so bad, seriously mine is way worse,’ he told her confidently.

  ‘What is it?’ she asked eagerly.

  ‘Oreo.’

  ‘No way.’

  He nodded, ‘and Killian is Snickerdoodle.’

  ‘Now I know you’re making this up,’ she laughed.

  ‘Am I?’ he grinned, ‘anyway, we’re getting off topic.’ He cleared his throat and comically smoothed down his hair once again, as he lifted the flower for her. ‘Ava Summer Rain Cortez, wanna be my girlfriend?’

  ‘You’re such an idiot,’ she grinned.

  ‘Is that a yes?’

  She rolled her eyes, ‘yes.’

  He laughed and leaned in to kiss her just as her stomach growled loudly.

  ‘Hungry?’

  ‘Wow that was loud,’ her cheeks flushed.

  ‘Want me to get you a Jell-O cup?’

  ‘I haven’t eaten anything solid in four days. I think it’s gonna take more than Jell-O.’

  ‘Your wish is my command,’ he replied. ‘Can’t have my girlfriend slash fake fiancée going hungry. I’ll go find a nurse to remove the IV bag and find you some proper food. I’ll be right back.’

  He dropped a kiss on the top of her head as he stood and headed for the door.

  She looked down at the flower in her hand and found herself smiling foolishly.

  After a while a nurse appeared and unhooked her from everything, clearing away the monitors and leaving her alone once again. While Kelley was off finding her food, she decided it would probably be a good idea to freshen up.

  Pushing the bedding off her legs she swung them over the side and gingerly slid to the cool floor. Her head spun slightly but she was upright. Taking a few hesitant steps, she lurched, a bit like a drunk, but managed to make it to the opposite wall and open the door into the bathroom. She flipped on the light, listening to the hard patter of rain against the window in the room behind her as she leaned against the sink and turned the faucet on. Scooping up a handful of water she splashed her face and glanced up at her reflection in the mirror.

  A sudden flash of images had her swaying and gripping the edge of the sink with white knuckles. A face in front of her at the top of the stairs and a tight grip on her skull. Ava closed her eyes and shook her head, taking a deep breath and waiting for the flood of images to stop.

  She had been at the top of the stairs and she had fallen, so why had she not sustained any injuries? It didn’t make any sense. In the moments before she’d fallen, she’d seen a face. The face of a dead woman.

  Rubbing her face in confusion she ran her hands through her hair, stopping suddenly when her fingers felt small rough patches on her scalp. Turning her head and leaning in closer to the mirror she parted her hair and saw what looked like small oval marks on her skin, in fact they looked like electrical burns.

  Slowly she ran her fingers through her hair once more. This time she stopped every time she encountered a rough mark and placed one of her fingers on top of it. By the time she’d finished, her fingers of each hand were splayed out across her skull, five marks each side of her head and she realized they weren’t burns, they were finger marks.

  22

  Ava stared out across the choppy gray water, as the ferry rocked more than usual under her feet, although the hard driving rain had eased up to a fine mist. It had taken a while to convince them to release her from hospital but considering there was no actual medical reason to keep her there, she’d signed herself out.

  She couldn’t explain it, there was a strange uneasiness in her belly. She needed to be back on the island. It was more than just a desire to go home, it was almost a driving compulsion. There was something she needed to do but she wasn’t sure what.

  ‘Hey,’ Kelley’s warm voice rumbled in her ear as he wrapped his arms around her waist and leaned his chin on her shoulder, while they both stared out across the water. ‘You just got out of the hospital; you probably shouldn’t be standing out in the rain.’

  ‘It’s not raining that hard,’ she wrapped her arms over his at her waist and leaned her head against him.

  ‘You’ve been really quiet since yesterday,’ he said quietly. ‘What’s wrong?’

  ‘Just thinking,’ she replied. ‘Kelley…’

  ‘Yeah.’

  ‘Do you know where Julia Mays lives?’ she asked.

  ‘Are you kidding? She’s the town crazy lady, everyone knows where she lives. Kids dare each other to go knock on her door at Hal
loween… why?’ he asked suspiciously.

  Ava sighed and turned in his arms so her back was pressed against the railing and she was looking up at him.

  ‘Because I want to go see her.’

  ‘Ava she’s crazy,’ he frowned, ‘and I don’t mean that in a cute, she has too many cats and yells at the neighborhood kids, kinda way. She’s legit crazy. No one can understand half of what she babbles.’

  ‘Kelley,’ she shook her head, ‘I don’t know how to explain it.’

  ‘Try.’

  ‘The night Julia broke into the house with her friends I think she saw something and…’ she broke off and took a deep breath. ‘I think I saw it too.’

  ‘What?’ he whispered in confusion.

  ‘When I was at the house, I’d climbed the stairs to the second balcony and as I was standing there, I saw a little boy.’

  ‘A little boy?’ Kelley repeated slowly. ‘Where did he come from?’

  ‘I think he’s been there all along,’ she replied.

  ‘You mean he’s….’ he almost couldn’t bring himself to say it.

  ‘He’s a spirit. I think he’s the one Hank saw; I think he was trying to warn him. He’s been giving his baseball to Bailey to play with and he’s been leaving me bunches of wildflowers and seashells. At first, I didn’t understand but I think they were gifts. He’s not trying to hurt us, it’s almost like he wanted to be friends.’

  Kelley stared down at her, his expression unreadable as his eyes narrowed.

  ‘So, you’re telling me that the ghost of Lynch House is in fact not a homicidal school mistress, but Casper the friendly ghost?’

  ‘No,’ her mouth curved slightly. ‘I’m saying there’s more than one spirit in that house.’

  ‘But you don’t believe in ghosts.’

  ‘I didn’t,’ she shook her head, ‘then I saw him, and he smiled at me. Then in the next second he looked… I don’t know… scared. He disappeared and when I turned, I saw her.’

  ‘Who?’ Kelley asked suspiciously.

  ‘Luella Lynch,’ she replied reluctantly. It sounded so crazy when she said it out loud, but she didn’t have anyone else to talk to about this and if she couldn’t trust Kelley, she couldn’t trust anyone. ‘Look, I know it sounds crazy and you probably think I hallucinated the whole thing, but…’

  ‘Hey, hey,’ he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close, cupping her jaw with his hand. ‘I don’t think you’re crazy. It’s kinda hard to explain, but I’ve always been terrified of that house. It was a ghost story from my childhood that I carried through to adulthood. But I exist in that weird space most people do, where I’m not quite sure it’s real, but I’m scared of the thought of it being real. Does that make sense?’

  ‘Weirdly, yes,’ she admitted.

  ‘I don’t know if I believe it or if I’m just scared of the idea of ghosts in general, but I do know that if you need to speak with Julia then that’s what we’ll do. We’ll figure this out.’

  They both looked up at the cliff as the boom of the waves hitting the base reached their ears. The house stood tall and gloomy in the stinging rain as it picked up pace once more.

  ‘Something is going on in that house Kelley,’ she muttered, ‘and I need to find out what it is.’

  He was as good as his word as they drove off the ferry and through the town. Heading toward the other end of the island where Ava had not yet been, they passed the orchards and saw the lighthouse in the distance as they turned toward a small single-story property with a neatly manicured garden and a white picket fence, that stood apart, isolated. The rain was coming down harder as they climbed out of the car, pulled up their hoods and jogged toward the porch.

  As Ava lifted a hand to knock Kelley slipped his hand into the other and squeezed reassuringly. After a moment the door opened a crack and the older woman, she’d seen rush into the diner the other day, appeared. Her eyes wide and suspicious.

  ‘Mrs Mays?’ Ava said softly.

  ‘I told you we don’t want no trouble,’ she went to close the door abruptly, but Ava reached out to stop her.

  ‘Please Mrs Mays, we’re not here to cause trouble,’ Ava told her as the woman continued to stare at her. ‘Please?’ The woman relaxed her white-knuckle grip on the door, and it slid open a little wider.

  ‘What do you want?’

  ‘I’d like to speak with Julia,’ Ava replied honestly.

  ‘She’s sick,’ the woman moved to shut the door again.

  ‘Mrs Mays please,’ Ava held onto the door, ‘please,’ she whispered. ‘There’s something in that house, and I think you know that. I’ve seen it too. I need to speak with Julia, I need her help.’

  ‘I’m sorry for you, I am,’ the older woman replied tiredly, ‘but Julia can’t help you. She can’t even help herself. My daughter went into that house fifteen years ago, but what came out wasn’t my Julia. I lost my daughter that night.’

  She stood there for several long moments just staring at Ava before sighing slowly and opening the door.

  ‘I suppose you’d better come in.’

  ‘Thank you,’ Ava heaved out the breath she wasn’t aware she’d been holding.

  They stepped through the doorway and stood dripping in the hall.

  ‘Julia’s in her room,’ she nodded, ‘second on the left.’

  ‘Maybe I should speak with her alone,’ Ava turned to Kelley. ‘She’s already familiar with me and it might be less stressful for her.’

  ‘Are you sure?’ he replied worriedly.

  ‘She won’t hurt her,’ Mrs Mays told him flatly. ‘My daughter’s crazy but she’s not violent.’

  ‘Tell that to Ava, when she nearly broke her wrist,’ he frowned.

  ‘Sometimes she holds on too tight,’ her voice was sad and tired. ‘She only does it when she’s scared.’

  ‘Are you saying she was scared of me the other day in the diner?’ Ava asked,

  ‘She wasn’t scared of you,’ she shook her head, ‘she was scared for you.’

  ‘Why?’

  ‘Only she can tell you that,’ she shrugged, ‘but don’t go expecting a straight answer from her. You can wait in the living room,’ she turned to Kelley, ‘I’ll make some coffee.’

  Casting one last look at Kelley, Ava turned and headed toward the door Mrs Mays had indicated. She knocked quietly so as not to startle the disturbed woman on the other side. When there was no answer she slowly and carefully reached out and turned the handle.

  Julia was sitting on the floor with a box filled with plastic 2d shapes. She was arranging them on the floor in front of her until it resembled a geometric pattern. For a moment it looked familiar, but Ava couldn’t quite place where she’d seen it.

  ‘Hello Julia,’ Ava said softly.

  The woman paused, she didn’t make eye contact, but her gaze flickered in her direction, so Ava knew she was aware of her presence. She inched slowly into the room and sat down on the bed nearby.

  ‘That’s pretty,’ she told her softly, ‘what are you making?’

  ‘It’s a door,’ Julia whispered as she reached into the box and pulled out another piece, ‘it’s a door, it’s a door, it’s a door, it’s a door….’

  Ava watched as Julia chanted to herself in a hushed tone, while adding more shapes to the repeating pattern.

  ‘Julia,’ Ava said quietly, ‘I need your help. I’m sorry I wasn’t listening to what you were trying to tell me before but I’m listening now.’

  ‘The door is weak,’ Julia whispered, ‘it’s weak.’

  ‘Julia,’ Ava slid down from the bed to sit on the floor next to her. ‘I’ve been inside the house, I’ve seen things.’

  Julia placed a black shiny diamond shape down and slowly her eyes rose to Ava. They stared unnervingly at her as if they were reaching right down into her soul.

  ‘You’ve seen her,’ she whispered to Ava.

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘She won’t let them go,’ she muttered, ‘they’re screaming.�
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  ‘The children,’ Ava nodded. ‘I can hear them, they’re scared.’

  ‘She won’t let them go,’ Julia repeated agitatedly. ‘Born of a violent act, you have to send her back.’

  ‘I don’t know how,’ Ava replied.

  ‘Have to send her back, they can’t get out, can’t get out, the door is weak, they can’t get out.’

  ‘I don’t understand,’ Ava shook her head.

  Julia pushed herself up from the ground roughly and grabbed onto Ava, dragging her across the room as she stumbled to try and keep up.

  ‘Julia?’ Ava called to her.

  ‘You’ll see, I’ll show you and you’ll see,’ she muttered as she dragged Ava into the bathroom and rummaged through the cabinet.

  Ava watched in horror as Julia grabbed a set of buzz cutters and before she could stop her, she grabbed a handful of hair at her temple and sheared it off at the roots.

  ‘Julia stop!’ she tried to reach for them as huge clumps of hair fell into the sink and to the floor, but Julia shoved her back and shaved several more strips before turning back to Ava.

  ‘You have to send her back.’

  Ava gasped, a loud sharp intake of breath as she stared at the woman in front of her, clutching the buzz cutters tightly. Half of Julia’s hair was missing from the side of her head, save for a few uneven clumps and random patches, but what really demanded Ava’s attention was the five small oval shaped burns in her scalp, exactly the same size and shape as fingerprints.

  Ava’s own hand involuntarily lifted to her own hair.

  ‘I’m so sorry Julia,’ she whispered, ‘you didn’t deserve any of this.’

  Julia’s knees folded and she collapsed to the floor rocking and muttering.

  ‘They can’t get out, she won’t let them go, can’t get out…’

  Ava’s eyes filled with pity as she slowly dropped to her knees. Reaching out and placing her arms around the rocking woman, she stroked what was left of her hair, and soothed her.

  ‘It’s okay,’ she murmured quietly in her ear, ‘we’ll figure this out. I’m going to do whatever it takes to help you. It’s going to be okay I promise.’