by Alexie Aaron
The group looked to Burt for guidance. It only took a short moment for him to order his thoughts. “Audrey, please call Orion. See if he can get Ted into the Dark Vault. Mike, let’s keep the crew in this house to a minimum. Call your mother, and see if we can use the maid’s quarters over the garage. It’s too dangerous to sleep here. Cid, I need you and Jake to scour the web for information. Mia, if they need to go into the Dark Web, I want you backing them up.”
“Yes, sir,” Mia said.
“Murphy, it became obvious to all of us, while you were gone, that we have come to depend on you. Thank you for coming back. Keep us in the loop on things that you see and theories you may have. You’re still our security chief, and we are depending on you to keep us safe.” Burt took a moment and looked at his team. “I’m so proud of what we’ve accomplished so far. We were asked to come in here and investigate a haunted house. Right away, we got slammed with a very dangerous, active haunt. The remains of some of the lost have been found, and we have the coroner’s office scheduled for next week to come and look at the bones. Mike dropped off the head this afternoon. They will go ahead and date the find before they see the rest.”
“I’m sure glad you didn’t get pulled over with that head in a the file box sitting on the seat next to you,” Mia said.
“I have to admit that I didn’t think about it before now,” Mike said. “Good thing they were busy with stranded drivers.”
“Speaking of stranded, how bad is it?” Burt asked.
“Main arteries are clear, but a lot more snow is expected,” Mia reported.
“Let’s get the basement filmed and get out of here. Leave the house for a while. Get rested,” Burt said.
“Excellent idea,” Cid agreed.
Burt was readying the large camera while Audrey helped Mia pull on her hoodie over the double scabbard holding both the sword and the shotgun.
“Burt, does Mia look too lumpy?” Audrey asked.
Burt looked through the viewer. “What if she wears an oversized hoodie with a PEEPs logo on the back?” he suggested. “Right now she looks like an irritated Muppet.”
Mia broke out laughing. Audrey handed her the larger zippered hoodie, and Mia let the jacket stay open. “How’s this?” she asked Burt.
“Much better.”
Mia practiced pulling both weapons out, and once she could do this with no problem, she seemed to relax.
Ted walked up and asked Mia to hold still. He braided her long hair and then clipped three butterfly clips in her braid. He then placed three clips in Audrey’s hair too.
The women smiled looking at each other’s clips.
“Thank you, Teddy Bear. I take it these have other uses beyond decoration,” Mia guessed.
“Yes. Each has a definite purpose. This green one measures temperature. The red one measures oxygen and finally the purple one is a tiny camera. This allows Jake to watch your back.”
“Do the guys have them?” Audrey asked.
“They have these,” Ted said, opening his hand. They looked like simple silver-colored bars. “Mike has one on the collar of his shirt,” he pointed out.
“Why the sudden ramping up of devices?” Burt asked as Ted pinned the three bars on him.
“This house presents a lot of problems. Cameras are constantly drained of power, and frankly, the house moves a bit. It seems to change two to three feet in area depending on what floor you’re on. Because of this, the fixed cameras are unreliable,” he explained.
Audrey and Mia would giggle later over the butterflies. Ted’s knowledge of what females like was from his experiences with his sisters. Right now, they appreciated that Ted was trying to please the women of the group.
Mia walked over to her husband and hugged him. She looked up into his eyes and told him, “You make me brave. Ted, your love surrounds me. I am the most fortunate of women.”
Ted’s eyes glistened for a moment. “Thank you, Minnie Mouse. I know I may overdo it a bit, but I don’t want to lose you. This house took you from me once; I can’t let it happen again.”
Audrey watched the Martins and sighed.
Mike, who stood beside her waiting on Mia, put his hand on her shoulder said, “We can have that. We just have to keep looking.”
Audrey turned and studied the investigator a moment. “So you no longer want to take Mia from Ted?”
“That’s impossible. I have never met a woman who was so unaffected by the power she holds. All she wants to do is cuddle with a geek, play blocks with her son, and save a few lost souls along the way. Audrey, she has grown so much since I first met her. If you would have seen us together then, you would be shocked that she now considers me one of her family.”
“I think, Mike, that you’re the one who has changed. You’re letting her and us see the sensitive leader within you. Whoever you end up with will be a very lucky lady indeed.”
“How are things going with you and grandpa bird?”
“He is an exciting, smart, clumsy, loving man who won’t ever commit to a human woman again. He’s told me that to live and see the love of your life age and die is heartbreaking. Orion and I are just living in the here and now. Soon, he or I will move on, but until then, I’m enjoying his company.”
“That’s sad and wonderful at the same time. I fear our Mia, if rumors are true, will outlive us.”
“Do you think fate would be so cruel?” Audrey asked Mike.
“Fate is a bitch,” the investigator said. He looked over at Burt. “Let’s get the show on the road before I lose my nerve.”
Mia disengaged herself from Ted. She sought out Murphy with her mind. He appeared before her. “Time to check out the basement. Would you like to take the lead?”
“Yes. You follow Burt until we have to communicate, then I want you beside me.”
“Yes, sir.”
Murphy smiled. Mia had gained some good habits working with Sariel. She no longer seemed to chafe at authority, but he had no doubt, if she thought the person in charge was going to get them killed, the old Mia would emerge and take over. That he had come to expect. It’s what gave him the confidence to lead.
The entrance to the basement was tucked under the main staircase. The set of double doors bespoke of the wide stairwell. This was unusual in houses of this age. Usually, tight, straight, rickety, wood stairs were the only way to access the cellar level. Instead, the mansion’s steps were stone and brick. Murphy tried to sink below the risers but found that the stairs were solid with a layer of poured lead under the tread.
“Lead,” he said to the team.
“Lead conducts electricity,” Ted announced to the group through their earcoms. “It’s a poor conductor, silver and copper are better, but beware, the stairs could fry you if there is a burst of electricity.”
“Thank you, Mr. Science,” Mike said irritated. “Is there another way out?”
“There is an old coal chute. It’s under two feet of snow at the moment, but Cid and I could get you out that way,” he assured them.
“Cool beans,” Mia said, trying to lighten the oppressive mood. “I used to slide down the coal chute in my childhood home much to Ralph’s disgust. Bernard said that I was the lump of coal he always imagined receiving in his Christmas stocking.”
Burt took a moment to stop and glance over at Mia. She was opening up about her youth to PEEPs. He, and he assumed Ted, had been privy to a small amount of remembrances, but they were given under duress. Mia actually seemed to enjoy sharing her life with them. What had changed? Was it having her own family? Losing the demon gene? Whatever it was, it was going to take some time adjusting to the new, happier Mia Cooper Martin.
The basement was a large open area with several alcoves. One had seen use as a wine cellar, another a storage space for broken furniture.
Mia picked up a chair with the caning busted out. “Why don’t they toss this stuff or donate it? Why collect junk?”
“I don’t see Ma having a garage sale in this neighborhood,” Mik
e said. “But on the other hand, she does know how to make money.”
The newish furnace and air handler were centralized in the open space. The old oil furnace was still standing near a large rust-spotted tank. Mia tapped on the tank and stopped when the hollow sound stopped. “It’s half full. Mike, this is dangerous. Make sure your mother has this pumped out and the tank taken to a scrapyard.”
“I’m getting the feeling that I’m filming This Old House instead of a PEEPs investigation,” Burt commented. “I can’t use any of the stuff I’ve shot.”
Mia and Mike looked at each other and drew out their monitoring devices and pretended taking shots at the other. Mike carried Mia over to a pile of junk and tossed her in. “Just taking out the white trash,” he said, clapping the dust off his hands.
Murphy couldn’t resist a smile. Try as they might, Mia and Mike would always revert to children at some point during an investigation. Mia lassoed Mike with an old garden hose and hefted him off his feet. He hung from the rafters by his back belt loop.
Burt put the camera down and caught Mia by the jacket, lifted her over his shoulder and deposited her on the steps for a time out. “Mia Cooper Martin, I now understand why Ralph has to touch up his gray hair. You’re sending me four times a year to Colorific to touch up mine. Sit there and think about what you’ve done.”
“Yes, sir,” she said, feigning contriteness.
“A little help here?” Mike asked as he hung there trying not to laugh.
Murphy lowered him. Mike walked over and sat down next to Mia. They bumped fists.
“Burt, there’s nothing down here,” Mike said. “My gut is settled. Mia, are you picking anything up?”
“Just wondering if this is the original foundation. I get the feeling that everything here was installed after 1890 with the exception of the staircase.” She got up and took out a knife and dug around at the base of the last step. “This tile is installed over wood not concrete. There is another level under here. Murphy, can you?”
He dropped through the floor and found himself in a subbasement. It was roughly four feet high at each edge. The center arched to six feet in height. The ceiling acted as a support for the basement above them. He quickly scouted out an entrance and moved upwards behind the empty wine racks. “There’s another low cellar under this one,” he said, approaching the team. “There is a blocked-off access hatch under the wine racks.”
Mia got to her feet and then sat back down. “Burt, may I leave the step?”
He laughed. “Cooper, you’re a piece of work. Go ahead,” he said, lifting the camera back on his shoulder. He followed Mia and Mike as they moved the racks and dusted off the metal hatch. Mike moved to open it, but Mia grabbed his hand.
“Stop. Look, it’s sealed, and there’s an inscription.” Mia motioned for Burt to focus on the inscription. “Ted, we’re going to need a translation before we go any further.”
“Give us time. May I suggest you guys head to the third floor? The shadow men have arrived and are just waiting there. I think they sense Murphy’s in the house.”
Mia looked over at Burt. He lowered the camera. “Mike?”
Mia looked back at Mike and he nodded. “Let’s get to the third floor,” he said and started up the steps.
Murphy placed his hand on Mia’s arm. He waited until Burt and Mike were out of hearing range. Mia clicked off her com. “Mia, I sense that there is a portal at the end of the third floor hallway. We need to decide right now if we are going to enter it. The shadow men are just the gatekeepers. They have been trying to show us the way into Thornrose.”
“Murph, are we prepared?” Mia asked.
“You have the knowledge Roumain gave you. I feel stronger than I ever have before. We need to see what we’ll be sealing in Thornrose forever before we do so.”
Mia smiled. “I sense them too. The lost ones. Not the monsters but the ones the monsters took.”
“When did you start to sense them?”
“When I touched the hatch. It’s our way out. I don’t know how I know, but, Murph, something inside is telling me that’s where we need to be in order to escape Thornrose.”
“Underneath is just a large brick room with an arched ceiling.”
“Keep that image in your mind. I just need to stop and pick something up, just in case we can’t get to the exit.”
Murphy nodded. The two moved quickly up the stairs.
Mia touched her com as she climbed the stairs. “Ted, I need a backpack filled with water and food. Over.”
“Are you sure you want to do this, pumpkin? Over.”
“I need to repair what I did. Impulsive Mia has to do what she can. Over.”
“You will come back to me,” Ted said.
“Yes, I will. If I get into a jam, I have an ace up my sleeve, plus a few archangels loitering about. Over.”
Mia walked into the butler’s pantry and closed the door after her. She ignored Cid and moved to her husband, turned his chair, and kissed him. “I will always come back to you. I wouldn’t risk what we have found if I wasn’t sure.”
“Audrey got a hold of Orion. He’s on his way over. I will have to present my case to the gargoyles before Orion will take me into the vault himself. He says it’s extremely rare that a human is allowed in either of the vaults unless they are specimens. I don’t like the word specimen.”
“Me either. Holy cow, you get to meet gargoyles! I’m so jelly,” Mia said sincerely.
Ted shook his head. “You have a Nephilim for an uncle and you’re jonesing to meet a gargoyle?”
“Hell yes! You have your superheroes, I have mine,” Mia insisted.
“K,” Ted said and hugged her close. “The pack is on the kitchen table.”
“Cool. Um, you know that certain item that I can’t touch that you’re holding for me?”
“Yes… Oh! You’re a smart lady.” He walked over, pulled out a file drawer and picked up a velvet bag. He looked inside before threading a chain through the tied ends and putting it around his wife’s neck. “If I’m not here when you get back, kiss Brian goodnight for me. I’ll get back as soon as I can. I understand there could be quite a wait.”
“Thank you for doing this, Ted,” Mia said. “I know we should just blow the place up, but I think we need time to find a way to extract the innocent souls before we do anything permanent.”
“We are of one mind. Now kiss me and get your ass upstairs before Mike insults the shadow men trio with his witty repartee.”
Mia stopped and hugged Cid. “For luck,” she explained as she left the room.
“She’s a remarkable woman, Ted.”
“I know. How are you coming on the translation?” he asked.
“It’s German,” Cid said.
“And…”
“It translates to: if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.”
“Friedrich Neitzsche,” Ted identified.
“The complete quote is: ‘He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss...’”
“Gazes also into you,” Ted finished. He tapped his com. “Mia, we have the translation of the warning on the hatch. Over.”
“Go ahead. Over,” she said.
When Ted had finished, he could hear Mia sigh. “I would be lying if I didn’t tell you that I’m fighting a chill right now. Who was the quote for? Was it for us or the Roustans? Over.”
“I’ve sent Curly down to the basement to watch the hatch,” Cid told them.
Mia finished her climb to the third floor. She walked down the hall and stopped shy of Burt and Mike. She looked at Murphy a moment and said, “Last chance to talk some sense into me,” she said.
“You are a brave woman who has survived death, transformation, and Cid’s stewed tomatoes. You have nothing to prove.”
“I am the most fortunate of women to have my husband, son, you, and PEEPs. This is more than enough to give me personal sati
sfaction, but I have also been given a gift. My gift is to save the lost souls and bring them to the light.”
“Then we are decided. We go in,” Murphy said.
“Mia, keep your com on. There is the outside chance that the signal may come through,” Ted said. “Hurry out, you may have to save me from becoming a specimen.”
Mia laughed. “You’re my specimen, remember that. I love you, Ted.”
Mia walked around Burt, her hand brushing his as she passed him.
Burt lifted the camera to his shoulder. He pondered a moment why Mia touched him. Was it affection or to ground her to reality? Either way, he had a bad feeling it would be some time before it happened again.
Mike stepped aside as Mia addressed the shadow men.
“I’ve brought Murphy.”
The leader of the shadows nodded and used his hand, motioning them to follow him.
Burt filmed them walking down the hall: first, the leader of the shadow men, Mia, Murphy, and then the last two shadow creatures.
Mike saw Mia follow the shadow man through the wall and the other two follow her.
They both heard Ted and Cid try to communicate with Mia, but she didn’t respond. Cid would continue to check in every five minutes, just in case there was an anomaly they could take advantage of. Until then, the PEEPs would wait.
Chapter Eighteen
Mia stood still, not daring to breathe. She held out a hand, and Murphy instinctively took it. They were standing in what could only be some demented artist’s charcoal sketch of an early Chicago neighborhood. Mia lifted her foot and felt the solid ground under her before she ventured to turn her head and look around.
She and Murphy were standing in the middle of a large avenue. To either side of them rose solid ebony buildings, their tall silhouettes disquieting against the dark charcoal sky. Trees and shrubs existed in a grayscale reality, with no hue lighter than fresh-poured cement. Their traveling companions had disappeared. Mia felt that the three had only one purpose and that was to escort the willing into the dimension that they now stood in.
