Lunch at Martha's

Chapter 5

"Silly me. Where am I leaving my manners again? I sincerely apologise for bringing you all here and now you're going to be stuck in this house for tonight. I'm very sorry", continued Martha quite distressed.

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault and you couldn't have known", said Lary.

"You can't control the weather Martha and besides this is going to be a great experience. I've never slept in a mansion before", said Jane agreeing with her husband.

"Thank you dear", Martha replied with a very wide smile.

Ben began to shuffle in his seat obviously unsettled by the idea of spending a night in Martha's mansion. "Uh-um what time is it Alex?". Asked Ben in a bid to say something as everyone was now staring at him, his uneasiness quite visible.

"Six past four", replied Alex,"Why do you ask?"

"Whoa! Time surely flies, but why is it soo dark? It feels as though its midnight", replied Ben fidgeting with his hands. "Is there anyway you could drive us back to the hotel or call someone to get us?"

"It's raining cats and dogs outside and the road is not good. I doubt that any car can go through now".

Martha raised her eyebrow and looked at Ben with a questioning look. "You look so pale. Are you feeling well?"

"Yeah im good. I have a phobia of sleeping in other people's homes", replied Ben.

"Yes. It does happen sometimes. Some people do not like changes in environment. It takes away their sense of security. I coud make some tea for you before you go to sleep, if you would like. It helps to calm down the nerves".

"Thanks Martha but I'll have to decline. By the time I go to sleep I'd have calmed down naturally", replied Ben. He didn't want to be left alone with her. He heard a sick feeling in his stomach. The one that you get when your gut is telling you that something wrong is about to occur.

"Alright. If you say so, but if you need anything urgently, please tell me", said Martha with concern in her eyes.

Ben simply nodded his head in agreement, too shaken to say anything.

"I think we're done now", said Scarlet trying to relieve the tension coming from Ben." My stomach is very full. I don't think that I will eat anything in the next two weeks. You really outdid yourself today Martha".

"True", agreed Alex, "the meal was delicious. Thank you".

Martha began to blush again. "Stop it already. It was my pleasure. Really".

Martha began clearing the bowls and plates. She had told Scarlet and Jane not to bother themselves by helping her but they still insisted on doing so.

Upon entering the kitchen, they were a bit taken aback by its appearance. All the rooms they had entered had been nice to look at, dusty but still very nice. The kitchen that they had just walked into looked nothing like the other rooms but more like a dungeon. There wasn't any ceiling and it was all concrete from top to bottom although it was very spacious. Every appliance from the stove to the fridge was very much outdated. The furniture was made from chipped wood that looked as if it had been taken from the dump. Jane noticed that there were no electrical lights in the kitchen meaning Martha had to use a flashlight or candle if she wanted to get into the kitchen at night. Jane also noticed that near the cupboards at the corner of the kitchen, were some stone like steps going down somewhere she couldn't see because it was too dark. This sent shivers down her spine and she felt as if her body was getting colder for no reason. She began to believe Ben for a second but then she immediately shook of the feeling and headed to the sink with Scarlet. Martha was a weird and eccentric person and she probably designed the kitchen to look like that for some crazy reason.

"Oh girls, you didn't have to", said Martha as she brought some more plates from the dining room," I could have always washed the dishes tomorrow in the morning".

"For the last time, it's no problem Martha. Jane and I can handle it. You must be exhausted from all the cooking and hosting. Why don't you go and relax with the boys", replied Scarlet.

"Consider this as us thanking you for the meal", added Jane.

Martha then smiled dearly at both of them. "In that case, I'll go and prepare the rooms for tonight.

As soon as Martha left, Jane and Scarlet began their task. Jane would wash the dishes and Scarlet would rinse and dry them. The curtains on the window below the sink had been opened but they couldn't see a thing outside because of the darkness. As they were chattering together, Scarlet suddenly grew quite and froze whilst looking through the window.

"What is it Scar?"asked Jane as she looked through the window. Her expression changed from curious to fright in a matter of seconds. "What is that?" She said in a very shaky voice.

Outside the window there appeared to be a very bright white light. There were no signs of any human being and the light was just there. After some moments the light began to move towards them getting brighter and brighter by the second and then from no where it blacked out like it had never been there. Scarlet immediately closed the curtains and backed away from the sink.

"Oh my! What was that?"

"There must be a pretty good explanation for all of this. Maybe it's a caretaker or something", replied Jane trying to rationalise the situation.

"Ouch! Aw...ah!", Exclaimed Scarlet as she touched her forehead and slowly fell to the floor.

Jane abruptly ran to her and caught her in time before she collapsed on the hard floor. She frantically shook Scarlet who now appeared to have fainted. "Whats wrong? You okay?"

Then suddenly Scarlet sat upright with a distant look in her eyes. Her pupils had dilated and she didn't appear to be herself.

"It's not safe. Their all here and she is coming for you. It's time", said Scarlet in a rough voice that wasn't hers at all. Then as soon as it had begun, she went back to normal and faced Jane. "What happened?" She asked.

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