The house on Pinewood Drive has been vacant for years now. Local legend tells of an unexplained death and the strange occurrences that started on the property soon afterwards. Andra Morris is new to the town of Inglewood. As a self proclaimed medi...
Cameron turned into the drive pulling up as close to the house as the overgrown foliage would allow. Andra could feel his eyes on her. He was worried about her having another spell like the one a few nights ago no doubt. She wanted to reassure him but knew it wouldn't do any good. The truth was she felt calmer than she had in a long time. Finally having answers and being able to confront someone (even if that someone was her mother) about Savannah had taken a weight off of her she hadn't realized she was carrying. They came to a stop and Cameron shut off the ignition. The silence that settled around them was unnerving.
Andra threw the passenger door open and stepped out of the Jeep picking her way through the tall weeds toward the house. Blades of tall grass brushed her denim-clad hips as she moved further into the yard. Putting out a tentative hand she let the massive waist-high dandelion heads brush against her palm.
The moment was surreal for her. She had visited this place only in her nightmares and now she was here. Staring up at the house she had the unsettling feeling that it was a living breathing being. The broken windows felt like eyes leering at her from the upper floors. She shivered slightly as the feeling of being watched pressed down upon her.
Behind her, she could hear the crunching of gravel as Cameron approached. It didn't matter. He wasn't here. Not really. The only people that existed in this place today were Andra and Savannah. She could feel Savannah inside and Andra knew she was waiting. Anticipating their meeting. Lifting her eyes to the upper windows Andra could almost visualize Savannah standing there looking back at her.
Above her, it was growing darker by the minute as thick black clouds moved rapidly across the darkening sky. Andra could see flashes of lightning as the first rumbles of thunder rolled angrily out of the heavens and echoed through the trees around them. It brought with it a strong breeze that blew strands of her hair loose from the bun she had so meticulously fixed only an hour earlier. Out on the road, an approaching motor grew closer. It turned into the drive behind her even as the first drops of rain began to fall landing on the dusty toes of her black combat boots.
She started toward the house pushing through the weeds to the dilapidated porch. Behind her, she could hear Cameron calling out to people whose voices she did not recognize. Doors were slamming and someone shouting something about the equipment getting soaked but Andra was no longer paying attention. Her focus was solely on the house and the thing that waited for her inside. Gingerly she climbed the steps and walked across the porch dried leaves crunching under her boots as she did so.
Standing in front of the door she thought she heard Cameron call to her but like the last time she was there, it just seemed unimportant. She put her hand out and the tips of her fingers brushed the knob. It was ice cold under her touch. Before she could turn the knob the door swung inward of its own accord. Without hesitation, she stepped inside letting the door slam shut behind her.
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Andra was still staring up at the house as if in a trance when the van with the equipment they needed arrived. Cameron tried to keep an eye on her as the three teenagers climbed out and began moving cameras and audio equipment. As the first drops of rain began to fall he saw her headed toward the house itself and as she climbed the stairs he called after her. If she noticed she didn't acknowledge him. He called again but still, she didn't turn.
Feeling a twinge of panic Cameron started after her. He watched in horror as she put her hand out and the door swung open. He couldn't tell from this vantage point but it seemed to him that the door swung inward on its own. It was as if the house was welcoming her. Still calling her name Cameron began to run. He was at the bottom of the stairs when Andra stepped through the door and it slammed shut behind her.
He barreled up the stairs grabbing the doorknob and pushing but the door refused to open. He slammed his shoulder into the door to no avail. Pounding on the door he called her name once more but there was only silence from the other side.
The rain was beginning to fall in earnest now and the three teenagers were scrambling frantically to get their equipment moved onto the porch before it became completely soaked. Cameron paid them no mind as he continued to try to force the door open in vain. Changing tactics he moved to one of the broken windows to the right of the front door. He finished knocking out the remainder of the jagged glass and then slipped through the opening.
He found himself standing in a small office. There were large mahogany bookcases set into the walls around the room. He thought at one time they must have been beautiful but now they just stood empty the once dark wood warped and dusty from years of neglect. A large mahogany desk in the center of the room and a couch against the far wall were the only other furnishings. Cameron remembered Melanie saying that Gloria had a home office and assumed this must be it.
Off to his left was a door that lead out to the rest of the house. As he turned the handle he felt a moment of panic worried that this door to would refuse him but it swung inward without so much as a squeak. As he stepped into the entryway he saw Andra. She was standing at the bottom of the stairs looking up. He said her name but she never turned only continued with whatever weird trance she seemed to be in.
He moved in front of her and saw that her eyes were rolled back to the whites. Putting his hands on her shoulders he could feel her body trembling under his touch as if she were electrified. He shook her and screamed her name but there was no response. From the top of the landing, the door to Savannah's room burst open. Light poured out illuminating the darkness of the stairs. As the thunder changed from rumbles to angry growls Andra's legs began to give way.
Cameron grabbed her and held her up as her eyes began to focus once more. She looked around and then up at Cameron unsure of herself. "What happened?" She said groggily. "I don't know he answered. "You tell me. I came in here and you were just staring up at the top of the stairs with your eyes rolled up. I had to climb through the window to get in. The front door wouldn't even open."
She turned toward the door on shaky legs and then turned back toward Cameron. "She's here," Andra said quietly. "She's waiting. She's not done telling her story yet. I can feel her."
"She's everywhere."
Andra nodded her head in agreement.
At that moment the front door flew open and the three soaking teenagers stumbled into the house. Both Andra and Cameron jumped at the sudden noise. They had forgotten they were here.
"A boy with straight blonde hair that fell to his shoulders gave Cameron a goofy grin. "Did the creepy stuff start without us? We don't even have the camera's out yet."
"It's starting to look that way, Owen," Cameron answered in a tired voice. "I think we have an active night ahead of us. Just go ahead and set up as we talked about. We're going to need audio and video in every room on the first and second floors. I'm aware we have limited resources I'm not even going to try to manage that. You guys are the experts here so I'll trust you on whatever you think works."
The boy Cameron had called Owen turned to the girl and boy with him and began to speak quickly pointing to different areas of the house as he did so. Cameron couldn't make out all of it but he was obviously directing them. After a second they nodded in understanding and the three started off in different directions. Cameron turned back to Andra.
"An your nose is bleeding," he said indicating the small trickle of red fluid that had stopped just above her lip.
"Seriously." She said in alarm dabbing at it with the sleeve of the green and black flannel shirt she wore.
"An, are you going to be ok?" he asked a note of concern in his voice.
"None of us are going to be ok until this is finished. Let's just get this show on the road." She strode past him into the living room.
Cameron stood for a moment watching her go and then surveying the entryway. It just seemed like an old dilapidated house but looks were deceiving. It looked like that but it felt like so much more.
"Cameron, are you coming?"
"Yeah on my way An."
He looked for a second longer and then with a little shiver followed after her.
