(18+) Someone in the dark

Ch. 20: Closer

*

Wish I could see you, but I can't. She said it would only make things worse. But we already knew that.

I freed the girl yesterday. And her dog. I freed them with their love for each other, just like you said. The house couldn't hold them anymore. Maybe that's the key? Love? But how much love do we need to conquer evil?

Thank you for saving me. It's tightening its grip, but I'm hanging in there. Because of you.

Arielle

*

I folded the little note and hid it inside the napkin while looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was watching. No one visible, at least. Then I placed the flower on top of it and walked upstairs and put the food tray in its usual spot outside Michael's door. But on my way back to the kitchen, I met Mrs. Lee in the hall. And she did not look happy.

"You need to mind your own business, Ms. Thomas," she said with a voice as high-pitched and scalding as ever.

"What do you mean?" I asked hesitantly and was thinking about the note. Did she see it? Or worse, did she take it to make sure Michael didn't get it?

"You know perfectly well what I mean! I told you to never feed the dog. Yet you did! And now see what you've done. You've..."

She fumbled with her words for just a fraction of a second, and I immediately grabbed the chance to defend myself.

"But I helped them! They needed help to find each other. So I did."

"How dare you to interrupt me while I'm speaking?" she spat and reminded me more of a hissing snake than a person. But when was she ever a person? At least she didn't have a heart. She couldn't have, because then she'd understand why I did it. "You are making things so much worse for yourself, you stupid girl."

She stared at me, and it looked like she was holding something back. But knowing all the mean things she already had said, I wasn't going to ask. And the way she emphasized every single word when she continued in a low, threatening tone made me shudder.

"Stick to the rules and obey our boss's demands."

Our boss. Not Michael. It was the house. That was what she didn't dare say straight out. And the massive blow to my head that followed was like an iron fist that made my knees buckle. I groaned and clenched my eyes shut while I rubbed my temples, even though I hated to look weak in front of Mrs. Lee. However, she was gone when I opened my eyes two seconds after.

I had my doubts she was the one performing what I could only describe as voodoo powers. This was the house warming up. This wasn't the end. It was the beginning. This was how it started, only now I didn't know how it was to be scared anymore. I was beyond that every breathing minute I was there. It was an everlasting torture and being scared the normal way was a walk in the park. If only I could control my own death... But I couldn't, unless I did something drastic. I only knew it was going to happen soon, and that it was going to be bad. Really bad.

I stumbled across the hall on wobbly legs because of the terrible migraine and leaned against the wall. For once, I was actually glad the gray mist in the room made the room feel darker, even in the middle of the day, because my eyes stung, and my head pounded when I tried to look around. It was then I saw the mirror.

"Your reflection indicates how far you've come."

That what Carl said, and an intense need to see how bad it was, forced my eyes open. And the sight was terrifying. Two dead eyes stared back at me in the mirror. I was almost invisible. There weren't any words to describe how much I had deteriorated in just a few hours. Yesterday morning I felt like myself again. Revived and fresh from spending the night with Michael. And lord knows how badly I wanted to be with him right now! I needed him so desperately. His touch. His face. His lines. His love.

This house feeds on the energy of the living, and it seemed like it preferred young, beautiful people, probably because of the natural urge to explore the world. But it seemed like the love between people, or people and animals like in Susie's case, was making it weaker instead of stronger.

"Oh, God! I think I know how we can fight it!" I exclaimed to myself, what I thought was a little squeal sounded like a thin squeak.

I glanced into the mirror once more. I looked more dead than alive, but it still wasn't as bad as Leo's reflection. Where was Leo, anyway?

Mrs. Lee didn't give me any chores today, and I was relieved beyond belief. I wouldn't be able to do them, anyway. I could barely walk upright, and I struggled hard to clean up after breakfast. And making lunch a while later was even harder.

I sat outside in the sun all day. It was almost like I was waiting for it to melt the coldness that spread in my body together with the gray. But of course it didn't. In fact, I wasn't feeling any heat from the sun at all. I knew it was a pretty warm day, and I knew my skin should be hot and glowing. But it was cold and pale, with a visible web of black veins underneath. Black. I didn't want to roll up my sleeves to see how far up it went, because I had a feeling that when the lines reached up my heart, I would probably be dead.

I wanted to cry but wasn't able to. I wanted to commit suicide, but I wasn't able to do that either. And that was solely because I knew I would be stuck here like Susie if I did. I didn't want to be stuck in the house. But where did all the missing people end up? I knew they were dead, but they weren't inside the house. Did they get a final closure? I doubted it. But there were fifty-seven of them. Where did they go? Did they vanish inside the walls of the house? I still had so many questions, and still no answers.

I heard it louder now. The constant whispering sounded like a distant cloud of grasshoppers that were closing in. The words were still inaudible, but there was no doubt. They were calling for me.