Backwards Into Hell

Part Two: The LFG

Jake's Diary

Thursday 28th October

Before I recount what really happened that night of the twenty-eighth, allow me to tell you my original plan.

First, I would wait until two am, the time at which The Lodge would be quietest, before moving silently down the stairs to the kitchen. From there, it was simple. I'd steal some of the wire we'd used to tie up Darren and I'd hang Abe from the ceiling. That way, they'd suspect suicide.

There was still the matter of sneaking past Darren, but, given no one would believe him, I thought it was a risk worth taking.

Unfortunately, things never quite go to plan, do they?

I woke up to my alarm, silencing it and listening for noises in the hall. There weren't any. So I pulled a jumper over my striped pyjamas and crept to the stairs, stopping outside Lily's room to hear her breathing.

This is where the plan changed because as my toes curled in the cold, another door creaked open. It was a door that was two floors below and one that belonged to the wizened old man with a secret family.

I cursed under my breath but continued, passing Lottie and David's floor without incident and pausing halfway down the final flight of stairs.

The Old Man had gotten into my head. If this went wrong, if I didn't get rid of someone tonight, it would be over. But if they caught me? It would be over then, too.

I balled my hands into fists and continued moving. Before reaching the bottom, I ducked, pushing against the wall and squinting at the dark hallway. Except it was just that: too dark.

There was a shuffling, someone in slippers, near the end. If it was another guest, I would tell them I was after a glass of water, and if it was Abe, I would continue with my plan.

I waited. The shuffling didn't near and their mind buzzed with soft discontent. Instead, the noises moved away, getting closer and closer to the long, wide window that shone in the moonlight. I could make out their shadow now, tall and slightly plump. Abe.

A new idea formed in my mind.

If I was wrong though—if it was David—he'd overpower me without breaking a sweat. Regardless, I followed the noise, slinking along the hallway like a dark cloud.

The figure became clearer. In front of the window and hunched like the Notre-Dame was Abe. He stood in a dated nightgown and slippers, and gazed outside. What was he doing up?

A grin wormed onto my lips as I neared, my socks soundless on the wood. That was when the Old Man arrived. He leaned against the frame of the window and gave me a two-fingered salute as I became so close to Abe, it took all my control to avoid breathing down his neck.

The Old Man was in my head.

I'll give you a hand.

Before I had the chance to puzzle over what this meant, the window proceeded to explode.

The boom rattled and a freezing wind swept forward, buffeting me with ice as the glass burst from its frame, flying into the darkness outside. The noise was so great it must have woken half of The Lodge.

I had to be fast.

While Abe staggered, still recovering from the shock of having a window decide to explode in front of him, I rushed forward. My feet were no longer quiet. They stomped on the wood as I sprinted, and finally, finally, my hands could reach.

As blood pumped in my ears, both hands outstretched, Abe turned back to see his killer's face.

His eye's gaped as my hands struck the top of his shoulder, and that was that. With a strength I hadn't had ten seconds ago, I pushed him and Abe rocketed head-first through the window.

His legs caught against the sill, but a quick kick sorted that. I ran to the window and watched him drop like a limp rag into the blackness. A soft thump and crack came as he hit the grass.

It was a sound I'd never forget.

As I grasped the window frame tight and took back my breath, sounds stirred upstairs. Too loud. So I bolted. Back through the hallway and up the stairs as swiftly as my shaky legs would go, only pausing once—just once—to slip something under Abe's door. The Old Man's cackles ricocheted in my head as I turned the stairs and David's door crept open.

But all he saw was an empty corridor.

'Hello?' he called.

By some act of God, the stairs didn't creak as I found my room in the dark.

I got inside, slithered into bed, and rested my head on the pillow as my chest pounded and burst with elation. Abe was gone; The Old Man was satisfied; I was safe, for now; and, in the corner of my room, the red hourglass trickled, somewhat fuller than it had been.