The Voices of Hartford Manor

Chapter 7. Initiation

Midnight. The clock on Katherine's night stand, was the only thing making a sound. The ticking echoed throughout the room as she slept. It was the last few days of August. The house sat calmly as the minutes went by. But not everything was asleep.

The creaking started from the first floor. It was subtle enough that no one heard it. The sounds of footsteps slowly ascended the stairs. 'Thud thud thud.' The footsteps heavy in their wake got closer to Katherine's room.

The old floor boards creaked beneath the sounds. The steps finally stopped right outside her door.

Her doorknob jiggled.

Katherine shifted in her bed, not knowing what was happening. The doorknob moved once more. It began to turn.

With the sound of a click her door slowly creaked open. It only opened half way, but it was enough to let something in.

The footsteps moved around the bed, as Katherine still laid unaware that she was no longer alone in her room. From the bottom of the stairs another pair of footsteps could be heard. These steps were lighter and quicker than the previous ones.

They quickly made their way into the room. The softer steps rushed towards the heavier ones. Katherine began to stir as the sudden clatter on the wood surface started to disturb her sleep, but soon she was fast asleep as the night went on.

The heavier steps moved over to the side of the bed where Katherine slept closer to. Katherine who was having a pleasant dream about being back in New York with all the things she loved was interrupted by the same black figure as before.

Suddenly she was back at that forest. The hand once again approaching her face. Panic set in as she tried to scream but no sound could come out. Her throat was a knot. Her heart threatened to jump out of her chest, as the rapid heartbeats filled her ears.

The hand was placed on her face. It was Frigid.

Her face froze instantly. Stinging pain ran around her head as it felt like her very veins were being frozen. The pain felt real. Katherine thought this was really her end.

The figure gripped her face harder, forcing Katherine to shut her eyes in agony. The figure raised Katherine from the ground with its grip. Her feet dangled as she was now forcefully in the air. Her neck feeling the intense tension of being suspended in the air, could not support her weight any longer.

As it risked snapping, Katherine was woken from the nightmare once again by the sound of her bed room door being slammed shut. She catapulted up from her slumber as her eyes desperately looked around the room. The curtains at her window were pulled to the side as the moon bathed the bedroom with its light.

Her heart racing faster than what her brain could handle; she trembled on her bed. It was dead silent. Looking to her side she inspected the door, which to her confusion was closed.

Thinking the sound might have been another of her snow globes, she vaulted out of her bed towards her bookshelf. To her relief they were all there. With a sigh of content, she turned to walk back to her bed only to stop short at the foot of it.

Her door was open. Katherine couldn't believe it, with a gulp she moved anxiously towards it. Perhaps her parents heard the loud noise and came in to check on her. In the dim room, she approached the door. Before her door she scrutinized it for any evidence of her parents. It didn't look like they were there, or did it seem like they were up.

Flustered by the turns of events, she closed her door. Wasn't this supposed to have been fixed? Katherine thought as she stared at her door, her eyes now adjusted to the dark room. It was a brand-new door, the only thing that was kept from the old one was the doorknob.