Spirit Mary

Chapter 2, Midnight

Crushed, tormented, controlled by my own sin

I.

Mary heard her heart beating amidst the choking silence.

Thirty minutes had passed after midnight. The children who roamed the town for trick-and-treat had long returned to their homes. Outside, there were only they. Mary took in the sounds of owls, lizards, and insects emanating from the trees bordering Bridgelyn Town. The ghastly moon peeked through passing clouds, smearing the streets with a glow no street light could ever match.

In the dark, the Uwile Ruins appeared even more menacing. The collapsed pillars and walls lied still with pockets of ash floating about, the shattered windows felt like probing eyes, and the spot where a door must've stood once called out to them, singing a song; luring them inside the monster's belly.

Among the three of them, only Wynona, who, with a tunic and a pair of fit trousers, dressed herself as a scarecrow, looked excited. "I don't know about you guys," she said, "but this is probably the most fun it can get this year."

"This feels like a scene in a book," Jacob commented. He, on the other hand, wore a full-body orange suit with a few vertical black lines in the hopes of looking like a pumpkin. "A horror book."

Wynona climbed up the steps to the porch and stopped on the landing. She turned to them with a frown. "Well? We don't have all night!"

Taking a deep breath, Jacob came up to her side, and Mary followed suit. The air grew thicker as they neared the entrance. Wynona vanished into the darkness for a while as she entered, then there was a click. A cone of light shot out from her flashlight.

Jacob and Mary's lights also burned to life as they passed through the ruins' entrance. The floorboards cried underneath their feet. A strong stench of dust and old furniture lingered. In the utter blackness, Mary couldn't scope the size of the place. She wished she brought a bigger flashlight.

"Wow," Wynona muttered, directing her light at the ceiling. "This place looked smaller from the outside."

"Yeah," Mary let out. From momentary streaks of light, she made out the foyer's layout. There appeared to be a large staircase at the center, leading to the upper floors. Behind it were two doorways, and there were two more to her immediate east and west. In a community riddled with cottages and bungalows, Mary couldn't imagine living in such a colossal bastion.

Jacob left his flashlight on a desk to examine something. "Take a look, Mary." He held it high.

Mary saw a frame with a portrait of an old man in it. He was old, stout, and well-dressed. "Is that Mr. Uwile?"

"I don't know." Jacob returned it and got another one. "Here's more."

The second one bore a woman of similar physique and age. "Mrs. Uwile," Mary said. "They sure dressed up like royalty."

"I've got something much cooler here," Wynona said. Mary and Jacob faced her to see her putting on a pair of dust-laden shades. "Sunglasses! Do you guys even know what this is?"

"Glasses for the blind?" Jacob tried. "No, wait, blind people don't need--"

"They keep bright light away." Wynona soughed. "Dad said you can stare right at the sun with them. You've never been to the city so I understand."

"But you've never been to a city either," Jacob retorted.

"In due time." Wynona snorted. "Anyway, we're not going anywhere unless we split."