The Cabin

Chapter 28

Melanie sat quietly on her bed, picking absently at the gauze wrapped around her forearm as she thought over the events that had occurred that morning. She was terrified. All of her efforts to avoid sleepwalking had turned out to be useless. She had been so convinced that if she kept herself from sleeping, she would prevent herself from doing things she wasn't in control of. That was no longer true. She hadn't been sleepwalking that morning, nor had she been sleepwalking when she had wandered away from rehearsals. She was fighting a losing battle to maintain control of herself even when she was awake.

She considered herself lucky that her friends still believed the sleepwalking was to blame for her odd behaviour. She wondered how long she had left before they realized that wasn't the case. They would figure it out eventually.

"I'm actually going mad."

She needed to get out of her head and focus on something. She pushed herself off the mattress and changed into shorts and a baggy t-shirt, then quietly walked upstairs and crept to the gym, not wanting anyone to see her.

Geri was adamant Melanie see someone to figure out what was going on with her. The other girls would be on her case soon too.

She just needed to prove to everyone that she was fine. She was in control. She would prove herself to everyone. She had to.

She entered the gym and closed the door behind her as quietly as she could. She turned toward the equipment and froze as she caught sight of herself in the mirror.

"You look nothing like a pop star."

"They all fit the part. What's wrong with you?"

Melanie looked closely at her reflection, becoming overwhelmed as every flaw became magnified until they were all she could focus on. She quickly looked away, forcing herself to get on the treadmill in an attempt to clear her mind. She listened to the sound of her feet pounding on the conveyor, counting each step until she reached eight, then starting again as a way to focus her mind. She didn't dare turn on the sound system. She didn't want anyone knowing where she was.

She needn't worry though. The boys felt it best to give her some time alone, knowing the other girls would deal with her eventually. Emma wasn't sure what to do, and was hoping Geri would come up with a solution. Geri's attention, however, had been drawn away from Melanie. She was completely consumed by the face of the man she had seen at the window. She knew that face. She had been looking at that face for weeks. She had immediately run upstairs to her bedroom and rummaged through the stack of papers she had been researching.

The man in the window looked exactly like Doctor Sauer. He had looked a bit haggard and unkempt, but it was definitely him.

But how? Doctor Sauer had died decades ago.

She thought back to Lady Violet's warning about the Ouija board.

"Do not use that there!"

Had she and Mel somehow brought him back? They hadn't gotten far into their session with the board, but they had definitely contacted someone. But the letters hadn't spelled out Doctor Sauer's name. Hadn't it just been random letters? It hadn't spelled anything, from what she could remember. They hadn't really been able to finish the word.

Had they opened a door and just left it open for anyone to come in? Maybe Doctor Sauer had come later. Maybe that's what Melanie and Emma had seen in the basement. She had to admit, seeing him at the window had definitely frightened her.

But Emma had claimed to have seen Melanie in the basement. Could the thing they let out take the form of whoever it wanted? And something had locked Melanie in the cold room. Maybe it was dangerous.