Below The Dark

Prologue

The denizens of the little town had a name for the building: Miller House. Although the tall apartment complex that had recently been erected was officially named ‘Sunrise Towers’, the people of Wyke still saw the land as the Millers’; the family that used to live there before moving to a big city. But now the gargantuan mansion that the rich family lived in was demolished, and a new building had risen in its place.

And soon other families arrived in the town, taking up residence in Miller House. The people of the town didn’t like it at first; they saw the invasion of their town with poison eyes. But when the building committee started hiring people as electricians and plumbers and repairmen, some of the initial hostility was erased.

It was not that the Millers were much loved here. The family was rich beyond measure, and maybe that was something that separated them from the common folk of Wyke. They were arrogant, they were snobbish, and they had been tangled in a number of controversies which the people of Wyke deemed evil. When they had moved out, nobody had wasted a breath trying to act sad to see them leave.

Nobody knows when misfortune struck Sunrise Towers like an evil eye. Nobody knows what happened that night a plumber was called into the building to fix a pipe leakage.

All they know is that from day, Sunrise Towers began to see as much hatred as the Millers had.

Ray Beck was woken from his sleep in the middle of the night by a call on the landline telephone. He muttered curses under his breath angrily; he had had to swallow a sleeping pill to cure his insomnia, and he hated it whenever someone disturbed his sleep. But now he was awake, and he answered the call irritably. On the other end was a security guard from Sunrise Towers. Ray needed to come in and fix a pipe leakage.

Ray refused at first. He was weary and sleepy, and he yearned to climb back into bed. But he knew that sleep wouldn’t come easily, now that he was awake. He told the guard he would be there in ten minutes.

His wife groggily asked him who it was. He told her to go back to sleep as he slipped on a shirt over his vest, and grabbed the bag of plumbing gadgets. When he went out into the night, it was cold, and he wished he had brought a sweater along. But he knew the work would take only half an hour, perhaps, and he would be under his blankets in no time.

He was wrong.

Tucking his hands under his elbows, he walked down the street to the very end of the town, where the building stood. The guard admitted him, and told him that there was a leaking pipe somewhere below the building, and because of that, many kitchen taps had stopped working. Ray angrily asked what it was about that damned leaking pipe that couldn’t wait till the morning, but he knew it wasn’t the guard’s fault. The president of the committee was a frightening woman, and they both knew there was no use angering her.

He shuffled down the narrow path to the back of the building. A bird flew over his head, and he looked up. The moon was hidden by some dark grey clouds. It was dark and eerily quiet here. He walked down the sloping path to the basement. In the darkness, it was like walking into a cave. He slipped once on the moss, but straightened up again.

A solitary light-bulb blinked inside the basement. It was a dirty place. There were not many cars here, but garbage disposal men were known to dump random things in here. He walked past a broken cabinet and a shattered mirror. His eye fell on the mirror once, and he saw his face in it. Day old stubble, unkempt hair and eyes with dark circles stared back at him. He sighed. His health wasn’t doing well for a few days, and he sorely wished he was back in bed. A rodent scurried past him, startling him for a second, and he cursed loudly. His voice echoed through the basement.

He lit his torch when he reached the far corner. Here was a covered well. He wished he was doing this job in the morning, but there was nothing he could do now. He lifted the heavy lid and rolled it away, and looked down at the abyss below. A spiral staircase went down deep into the lower basement. He took a deep breath and lowered himself into the well.

Ray’s arthritis screamed at him as he slowly descended the stairs, torch in hand. He had made this descent a few times before, but tonight something was sending a chill up his spine. The lower basement was pitch dark. There was no light here, not even a crevice to let in some moonlight. His feet found the bottom, and his shoes got drenched in water. He knew that the floor of the lower basement was always covered by a layer of water. He rolled up the bottom of his pants as he looked around with his torch. It was even colder here, and he shivered.

The thick pipe that was leaking hung near one of the foundation pillars. He splashed through the black water towards it. He pointed his torch at the pipe, and saw a crack in the plastic. Groaning, he fumbled in his bag with the free hand.

And then he heard something behind him. Maybe at the back of his mind he was expecting this, as he wheeled around instantly. There was nothing. No one. Just the wall. Don’t play tricks with me, he thought, as he turned back to his work. The pipe needed replacing, but not tonight. He would patch up the crack and come back tomorrow with a replacement. He was about to take out the roll of tape from his bag when he heard something – someone ­– splash through the water near him.

His heart started racing as he once again pointed his torch ahead. He could feel the thumping in his throat. He was certain now that there was someone here. Or was it just a cat? But what would a cat do in this water? Slowly, he called, “Anyone there?”

There was no reply. He looked up at the pipe. A drop of water fell on his face, and he wiped it away. He had to go back now. The pipe could go to hell. He stuffed the tape back into the bag as he turned, but he slipped in the water and fell. He cried out, and his torch dropped from his hands. It landed on a brick, and the light fell on the foundation pillar.

There was a shadow. Standing. Ray started shaking again, this time in fear. He opened his mouth to shout out, but no words came out. The shadow moved, and a dark figure appeared. Slender, and completely black. It was a person. Maybe a woman. Her hair covered her face; but he could see two eyes glowing in the darkness, like a cat’s. Ray’s eyes, widened in horror, travelled to her hands. Her fingers were long and spidery. Too long.

And then she lunged.