The Haunting of Bloodmoon House

by Jeff DeGordick

  Some Kind of White Knight

  A silver sedan rolled down the lonely country road, its red taillights the only gleam or hint of life along the dark stretch.

  Simon rolled down the window and leaned his arm in the open space. The cold breeze whipped by like it was the dead of winter in a narrow gully, and he knew that things were picking up around the house; after all the experience he had in this line of work, he could feel it.

  He pulled the car to a crawl until he spotted the break in the trees ahead. He rolled to a stop next to it and put the car into park. He reached into his coat and pulled out a pack of smokes from the inside pocket, fishing one out and sticking it between his lips. He reached into another pocket and produced a lighter, flicking the spark wheel and holding the flame to the end of just another nail in his long-overdue coffin. He inhaled and the smoke climbed into his lungs, swirling around like a fine brandy. He leaned his head back against the headrest and exhaled the luminous smoke, watching as it twirled and puffed against the dim backdrop of the dashboard.

  He turned his head and looked up at the blood moon hanging in the sky, then he glanced at his watch and grunted. He couldn't see the house behind all the trees, but he knew it was up there. The hairs stood up on the back of his neck. Whatever spirits were in that house were waking up, and he feared it wouldn't be long before something bad happened.

  Simon reached for the glove compartment and opened it. He rooted around inside, then pulled out something in a paper bag. He unscrewed a cap and brought the bag up to his mouth, imbibing on the strong liquid. He swallowed and grimaced at the stinging taste, then he screwed the cap back on and returned it to the glove box, pressing it shut. He looked at the cigarette in his hand for a moment, wanting badly to finish it. The shakes swam through his body, and the voices echoed in his head, telling him to do it. But after stealing another glance at the red moon hanging in the sky, he looked back at the cigarette then shook his head and tossed it out the window.

  He put the car into drive, holding his foot steady on the brake. Simon pulled the crucifix around his neck up to his lips and gently kissed it. He performed a Hail Mary under his breath, then he lurched the car forward and turned it onto the start of the long and winding driveway leading up to the house, hoping to God that it wasn't too late.

  Birthday Wish

  Her footsteps echoed in the narrow staircase and darkness clung to everything. There was no light to illuminate the hidden area, and Jess used her arms to feel her way around the pitch-black space. Feeling was just beginning to return to them after being strung up for so long, and pins and needles viciously dug into them. She didn't know whether to cry out in pain or to laugh.

  Her numb and fuzzy fingers slipped along the walls to her sides and reached out in front of her as she carefully crept up each stair.

  Then her hand fell on a barrier in front of her, blocking her from going any farther. But she couldn't tell if it was a wall or a door. She patted her hands all around it, but she couldn't find a doorknob. The last step of the staircase under her feet groaned as she shifted her weight around, looking for a way to get out of this hellhole. Then a sick thought dawned on her that maybe she would never find her way out of whatever dark pit she was chained in; maybe that was the final joke her uncle would play on her.

  But then her fingers found something in the top corner of the wall. It felt like some kind of latch, and when her fingers pulled it down, she heard a soft click.

  Jess pushed the wall, and it swung open. Candlelight flickered in the space beyond, and when her eyes adjusted, she realized that she was in the dining room. The huge walnut table with its hand-carved chairs stretched in front of her. She tepidly stepped out into the room and turned around to see that the grandfather clock that had once been shored up against the wall near the foyer was swung to the side, revealing the secret passageway she'd come up. Coldness clasped her throat. They had been staying in this house for the whole day, and they didn't even know this secret passage was right underneath them. Was her uncle lurking there the whole time?

  Hurried footsteps rang out from the floor above her, and then they began to descend the stairs into the foyer.

  Jess knew it was only a matter of seconds before she was found out, and she quickly swung the grandfather clock back into place. She fled to the only cover she could find: behind the dining room table. Just as she slipped out of view, Roy bounded down the rest of the stairs and stood in the middle of the foyer, searching left and right.

  Jess peeked around the table and watched him turn into the living room before disappearing into the hallway extending to the back of the house. She looked around, the front door seeming very inviting in that moment, but she knew she had to find Tyler. He was in here somewhere, and he might have been hurt or worse. She tried to keep her thoughts positive and her mind sharp.

  Where would he be? she asked herself. Her eyes fell on the stairs leading to the second floor, then the front door, then the kitchen which led to the hallway going past the office and library.

  Before she could make a decision, her uncle's footsteps roared up again and she knew he was coming back into the living room. Jess acted on instinct and fled to the kitchen, throwing a glance over her shoulder to make sure he didn't spot her. She slipped through the kitchen and went into the hallway. Seeing a flash of movement through the ballroom, she crept faster, taking the next doorway and slipping into the office.

  Jess hunkered down just inside the doorframe and turned around, sticking her head into the hallway. She had become disoriented and couldn't tell where her uncle went, and she kept an eye on both ends of the hallway.

  A cold chill fell over her. It pricked her skin like icy nails, and the hairs on her body stood on end.

  A clammy hand wrapped around her mouth. She tried to scream, but the hand muffled her cries, and then it dragged her into the shadows.

  Jess kicked and squirmed.

  "Jess! Jess, it's me!"

  The hand let go and she spun around, seeing Tyler in the dim candlelight coming from the hallway.

  "Tyler!" she cried in a whisper. "You're okay!" She wrapped her arms around his neck and squeezed him for dear life. He wrapped his arms around her too, but more gently. She pushed herself back to arm's length and appraised him, searching for bullet wounds. "Are you hurt? I heard a gunshot."

  Tyler shook his head. "I tried to shoot someone, but I missed," he said. "There's a guy in the house. I think he has a gun, too."

  "I know," Jess replied. "That's my uncle."

  Tyler was aghast. "Your uncle? I thought he was dead!"

  "So did I," she said.

  Now it was his turn to inspect her. "Did he hurt you? What did he do to you?"

  Jess waved him off. "I'm fine. He had me chained up in a basement hidden under the house. But..."

  "But?"

  "...he said he was going to sacrifice me during the blood moon. That's why he brought us here in the first place."

  Tyler looked confused and he was about to ask her something else, but she stopped him.

  "We don't have time to talk about it now," she said. "Where's Ashley?"

  "She's in the woods looking for you."

  "We have to get out of here," Jess said. "We need to sneak past my uncle and get Ashley. Then we'll run all the way back to town in the pouring rain if we have to."

  Tyler nodded slowly, then he looked at the floor and a melancholic tone came over his face. "What about Buddy?" he asked.

  Jess began to tear up. "I... think my uncle might have done something to him..." Wetness rolled down her cheeks.

  Tyler pulled her in close and hugged her, and she cried on his shoulder. She sniffled, but then she pulled herself back up, knowing that she had to keep her wits about her or none of them would make it out of there.

  The grandfather clock in the dining room chimed, and suddenly they both realized that it was midnight.

  "Hey, it's midnight..." Tyler said with a smile.

  Jess looked u
p at him. "So?"

  "It's your birthday."

  She scoffed. "I really don't think we should be celebrating my birthday right now."

  "No, I'm serious," he said. "It's important. So happy birthday, Jess." They shared a kind look, and Tyler glanced down like he'd suddenly forgot something. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a long silver chain with something in the middle of it. When Jess looked down at it, her heart melted a little.

  "Your friendship bracelet," he said. "I found it out in the woods."

  "I didn't even know I lost it," she said, looking down at the empty spot on her wrist. "That's so sweet of you."

  Tyler raised her arm, then he wrapped the bracelet around her wrist. The link on the end of the chain had snapped off, but the latch mechanism still worked, and he fastened it around her. Jess held it up in the dim light and admired it. "Thank you," she said, staring at him with her big hazel eyes.

  Now it was Tyler's heart that melted a little and he suddenly became sheepish.

  "What is it?" she asked.

  He looked at her. "I know you liked the present I got you, but there was something else I really wanted to give you for your birthday," he said.

  "What's that?"

  Their gazes locked. That same old nervousness rose up in Tyler, and shyness kept him from doing what he really wanted to do. But now that he put himself on the spot, he wasn't going to shrink away again. He licked his lips and took a deep breath. Then he slowly leaned into her.

  Jess closed her eyes and waited, then she felt Tyler's lips press against hers. A flash of electric warmth spread through her body, and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered joyfully. Despite all the chaos around them, in this moment, Jess was ecstatic.

  Roy howled in the distance.

  Jess and Tyler snapped their heads toward the open doorway.

  "I think that came from downstairs," Jess said. "Now's our chance!"

  They shot up to their feet and ran out of the office. Tyler led the way, holding Jess by the hand, and the two of them ran through the kitchen to the dining room. The grandfather clock was swung open, and Jess knew that Roy had not only found out that she was gone, but that she had stolen his book as well.

  They ran for the front door in the foyer, and it suddenly creaked open. Ashley walked into the house, soaking wet.

  The three of them stopped and stared at each other like deer in the headlights, sharing an unintended moment of silence before any of them could gather their thoughts.

  "Jess!" Ashley said. "I heard Tyler shoot something. Is everyone okay?"

  "We're fine!" Jess cried. "We have to get out of here right now!"

  Ashley, looking like a drowned rat, understood, and she turned and headed for the open door to run back into the rain.

  Before she reached it, the door slammed shut.

  The three of them skidded to a stop on the slicked hardwood. Ashley jiggled the handle, but it wouldn't budge.

  Tyler looked at the open window in the dining room that he'd smashed earlier, and the drapes hanging to either side of it fluttered on their own and slid shut. He ran over to it and tugged on the fabric, but it was as if it was fused together, sealing them in.

  Jess saw a wisp of blue light out of the corner of her eye and she turned her head just in time to see a disembodied and ethereal arm floating in the air. Her mouth hung open, and before she could say anything, the hand curled into a claw and scratched Tyler's neck, drawing blood.

  Tyler fell to the floor in surprise, looking up at the incorporeal arm as it swirled out of existence and a low, insidious laugh filled the air.

  And from the secret chamber beyond the clock, Roy's heavy footfalls methodically walked up the steps as each candle that they'd lit and placed around the house was snuffed out one by one, leaving them in total darkness.

  Marco Polo

  Panic dwelled over the three of them. The spiritual activity in the house had been ramping up with the dull casting of the blood moon in the night sky, and as if that weren't bad enough, now they had an even more dangerous and immediate threat to worry about.

  They stood frozen in place at first, listening to the languid strides of Jess's uncle, like he took delight in tormenting them.

  "Where's the flashlight?" Tyler whispered to Ashley.

  She paused. "I... I dropped it."

  "You dropped it!" he cried. "How could you drop it?!"

  "I'm sorry!"

  "Guys!" Jess interjected.

  They fell silent, and the footsteps crept up the last few stairs until they came into the dining room.

  A heaviness fell over the area like a lead blanket. It was palpable and real. The silence seemed to go on forever as the three of them waited and the footfalls stopped. A sense of anticipation rose in each of their chests, and the gears in their minds spun frantically, trying to figure out what to do, where to flee, where to hide. They each came up with a dozen different plans, but none of them spoke a single word in the silence, knowing that doing so would shatter the stillness of the moment and leave them at Roy's mercy. He was left in the darkness too, but he knew the house intimately; they didn't.

  Then a series of floorboards groaned in quick succession, straight for them.

  They scattered, but Jess's legs locked up on her and she was left standing there in the confusion. She finally set into motion, but it was too late. Her uncle Roy bowled into her and knocked her down. Her body slid across the dusty hardwood floor, taking the wind out of her.

  He seethed in the darkness as she lay on the floor, wheezing for breath. Jess flipped over onto her stomach and scurried to her knees, trying to get away from him.

  Ashley and Tyler could be heard in the darkness nearby, scrambling away to get some cover and some distance between them and the predator in the dark.

  There was only dim light coming in the house through the murky windows. None of them had a flashlight, nor a phone anymore. All they had to rely on were their instincts.

  "Jessica..." Roy's voice boomed. "Where are you?" The floorboards creaked in the dining room, and chairs scraped across the floor.

  A loud crash filled the front of the house, and Jess knew that her uncle had overturned a dining chair, trying to find her. Another chair scratched across the floor, then another loud bang echoed as the chair was thrown against some distant wall, followed closely by a splintering noise.

  "Jessica..." he bellowed again. "Give me back the book!" There was nervousness in his voice, and this could be confirmed by the way he frantically stomped around in the darkness, looking for her. "Give it back and I'll end you quick! I might even let your friends go..."

  Jess tried to harden herself against his threats as she crawled across the foyer toward the living room. She still heard him looking for her in the dining room, and she moved slowly, trying to make as little noise across the old floorboards as possible. Her transgress was quiet, and she was certain that she couldn't be heard above the sounds of his own movements.

  "Jessica!" Roy cried, and now his voice turned to something almost like fear. "I don't have time for this! The window will close soon!" Tremendous crashes reverberated from the dining room as chairs were viciously flung around.

  Jess used the opportunity to get up and move quickly into the living room. She feared for her friends' safety, but she felt like they had gotten away. She wanted to whisper in the darkness for them, but she didn't dare give up her position.

  She looked around, trying to decide what to do. Her first thought was of escape, but she didn't think the spirits in the house would allow that. Still, if the opportunity presented itself, she wasn't sure she should deny it. But then again, she couldn't just leave her friends behind.

  Jess's mind stopped suddenly, realizing there was a pervading silence that fell over the entire house that she hadn't noticed just a moment ago. She froze, not even drawing any breath into her lungs as she acknowledged it.

  Roy couldn't be heard anymore, and the silence lasted for so long that Jess wasn't even
sure he was still in the dining room.

  Then a series of rapid gunshots rang out in the house, creating quick flashes of soft orange light in the dark. They illuminated Roy's cloaked figure standing in between the dining room and the foyer as he opened fire in Jess's direction.

  Jess scrambled and dove over the sofa in the living room, taking cover behind it. The bullets whizzed by in a narrow field near her, kicking up dust, shooting puffs of stuffing from the sofa, and cracking off chunks of marble from the fireplace.

  Roy's revolver clicked empty, and he muttered under his breath as he reloaded it.

  Jess clutched onto the front of the sofa, keeping her head down and breathing rapidly. Her heart felt like it was about to burst, and as she heard her uncle finish reloading and saunter toward the living room, she glanced around desperately, trying to figure out what to do. There was no use trying to slip past him or go out a window, for she wouldn't have enough time. The only other option was the hallway that she knew was next to her, but in the pale light she saw that it was a little ways away from her, and it would take a focused run to get there.

  The floorboards groaned in their age, as if they too were condemning her for having come in this house.

  Roy breathed heavily in the darkness. He closed in on her, ever so slowly. She knew that the revolver was trained on the couch, and as soon as he saw her, there would be nothing she could do.

  Her heart splitting, her mind racing, her eyes fell upon the coffee table next to her, and she saw the ceramic urn sitting on it. She remembered Tyler irritating Ashley about it earlier, and as morbid as the idea was, she grabbed it.

  Jess silently pulled off the lid, setting it down on the sofa. With the urn tucked under her arm, she slipped her hand in and came out with a fistful of ashes.

  Revulsion coursed up her arm, and she felt like she was going to be sick by what she was doing. But in that moment her fear and adrenaline overpowered her good sense.