The Haunting Of Keller Estates

Chapter 18

Chapter 18

Juliette

Then

Floating, she was floating. Her body felt weightless. Was she dreaming? It did not feel like a dream. It felt real. Her body felt languid and light. She wanted to open her eyes and see the peaceful surroundings around her, but she could not. It was as if rocks weighed down her eyelids, and as hard as she might try, she simply could not lift them even an inch to peer out of them.

Where am I? She thought to herself as she continued to dream.

Juliette then felt herself descending. The cloud of bliss was vanishing, and the surface beneath her became cold and hard. Juliette was unsure of where she was now in the dream. The atmosphere changed and smelled dank and musty. Juliette moved her hand but just barely. It felt weighty, too. She felt as if she was coming out of paralysis. She moaned, and her hand touched a cold, humid surface. It was a floor. She was lying down on the floor. She tried to open her eyes again but failed in the attempt.

Where was she? It did not feel like a dream now. Juliette moved her legs slowly and felt strength and awareness returning to her limbs.

"Juliette?"She turned her head in the direction of the voice. It sounded like Jackson. The voice was muffled, disembodied, but it was Jackson. Juliette strained to speak, but her mouth felt like cotton. She ran her hands over the surface beneath her and felt the wet floor beneath her hands. Where was she? "Juliette? Wake up, princess." Jackson said slowly. Juliette moaned and felt her cheek pressed hard against the floor. She raised her head a fraction and struggled to open her eyes. Juliette finally managed to open them and saw a room with walls through slit eyes. It was a small room, and as her eyes opened even more, she saw a door in front of her. It was closed with only a small set of bars in the middle. Juliette gasped as it dawned on her that she was no longer in the cozy bedroom. She was in a... She did not know what she was in. Juliette sat up straighter and realized that she was naked. She ran her hands over her bare legs and chest. Why was Juliette nude in the room? She ran her hands through her hair, and her eyes widened. Her hair was short and jagged above her ears. Someone had cut it. The pieces were irregular and uneven. Juliette cried out into the darkness. There were no windows in the room. There was nothing.

"Jackson!" she screamed, and suddenly, out of the darkness came a glow.

"Hello, my beautiful wife." Jackson crooned. "Did you sleep well?" Juliette stood up slowly, feeling the blood returning to her limbs, and her voice was full of questions.

"What is going on, Jackson? Why am I in this room?" she asked desperately. She was cold, naked, and afraid. She put her hands on the bars and tried to make out her husband's figure, but she saw the strange orange circular glow looming in front of her.

"Shall I tell you a story, my sweet Juliette?" Jackson asked in a sinister tone that made Juliette shiver even more. Juliette wrapped her arms around her to ward off the cold and said nothing. "When I was a boy... I was eight then. I woke up to the sounds of my mother screaming bloody murder, and I hopped out of my bed to see what was wrong, right?" he drawled. "Well... it was much to my surprise that she was screaming because my father had her by the hair and was pulling her out of the bedroom," he explained softly. Juliette did not know where Jackson was going with his story, but he needed to let her out. Jackson continued in a singsong, chirpy voice. "So, I followed them, and my father dragged her down the steps with the servants watching and pulled her down the hallway toward the kitchen." Jackson stopped, and Juliette smelled the strong smell of tobacco, making her want to vomit as it wafted through the bars of the cage and into Juliette's face. She coughed and sputtered. "Oh, sorry about that, darlin'. I was enjoying my Cuban cigar and forgot it might offend you." Juliette remained silent. "Let's see," Jackson asked as if in a fog. "Oh yes! My story!" he yelled out. "So, I watched my father open a door in the kitchen, and they descended into the bowels of the house. I had no idea it even existed!" he finished and laughed. Juliette cringed in horror. Why was he telling this story of abuse about his mother? "I crept down the stairs behind them and heard Mother scream and beg him to please not lock her in there." Jackson stopped, and Juliette could feel him looking at her through the bars. "Father had cast her into a room. The room that you are in now. I would not call it a room. It is too tiny for that, don't you think?" he asked in a conversational tone. Juliette nodded her head, but she was not sure why. Jackson continued to speak. "So anyway. I heard a lock turn in the door, and Father stood there and listened to her plead to be let out of the chamber. We will call this your chamber, Juliette." Juliette felt weakness return to her body, and she cried aloud.