“Lost”
From hazy circumstances which I could not immediately fathom I
found myself driving on a deserted country road late one night searching
for an illusive address in an secluded area I had never visited before.
Earlier I had called my blind date to confirm the vague directions to her
house but somehow I managed to misunderstand some critical aspect of them
and was hopelessly lost. There’s nothing quite like the sinking feeling
of nervousness we all feel when we are completely alone in such a desolate,
secluded place while wandering aimlessly with nothing familiar in sight.
I cursed myself out loud for not paying closer attention but it really
was moot to dwell on “spilt milk” at that point. I continued to drive on
into the darkness for what seemed like forever hoping my intended destination
would present itself. The bleak rays of my headlights were swallowed almost
completely in the coal blackness of the night and none of the surroundings
matched the directions I had. I had traveled several miles without passing
even a single car on the narrow road and I decided to put my pointless
pride aside and stop at the next house I came to for correct bearings.
Just when it seemed I would never pass another dwelling in the countryside,
a large menacing mansion appeared on a hill in the distance. When I drew
nearer I was struck by its immense size and Gothic architecture.
I pulled my car off the road and walked up a cobblestone path
to the front porch. High overhead the distant moon crept out of the billowy
clouds for the first time but it was still as dark as midnight. Perched
on an adjacent hill loomed an eerie stone cathedral with stained glass
windows and a traditional crucifixion scene in the panes facing the mansion.
I was perplexed at how I could possibly have overlooked the enormous, and
seemingly out of place monstrosity so visible from my perspective. My initial
explanation was that anyone would have been distracted by the dark mansion
I was approaching steadily. As I walked up the path to the front porch
I had the distinctive feeling of being watched by piercing, spectral eyes.
This unnerving, yet preposterous notion was compounded a hundredfold by
the fact that the watchful eyes came from the stained glass Jesus icon
in the window! Naturally I scowled at myself for allowing my imagination
to run away with me so vividly. Once atop the hill I stood before the house
and could see it much clearer than from down below. Up on the porch it
had a large multi-paned picture window next to a massive oak front door
and pillars every 15 feet or so. Stretched between two of them was a long
banner proclaiming “Happy Halloween”. I thought this anachronism more than
jut a little bit odd considering it was the middle of June.
As far as I could ascertain, the house was vacant because there
were no lights on and I began to wonder if my creepy walk through the darkness
up to the lifeless house was a waste of time. The reasoning occurred to
me that if it really was vacant then I wouldn’t be disturbing anyone so
I decided to try anyway since I had made such extraneous preliminary efforts.
After a long moment of internal struggle I summoned the inner strength
to knock on the front door. The instant my fist made contact with the solid
oak panel all the windows were flooded with bright lights and the night
air rang with the unmistakable sounds of chamber music! The instantaneous
arrival of stimuli where there had been none only seconds before really
caught me off guard. relaxing slightly, I realized the house was probably
wired with theft detection devices which I probably triggered with my unsolicited
rapping on their door. It’s amazing how quickly I created a convenient
explanation for the bizarre occurrence but there was no possible logic
for what I saw next through the picture window. Dozens of people were wearing
old costumes and waltzing in ballroom fashion as if I was seeing through
a window into the past. I couldn’t believe what I was witnessing! Only
seconds before the room had been dark and the house completely silent.
Because of the drapes shadowy cloak I could only make out silhouettes and
faint, faceless features regardless of what angle I looked into the window.
My need to see their faces was an all consuming compulsion which I couldn’t
explain. Suddenly I was seized with fear and dread. Just as the lights
and music had came on instantly, they went off in the middle of the dance.
I swallowed hard and felt the adrenaline course through my veins. Again
I sensed leering eyes burning holes in my back. As I whirled around to
discover who the unseen voyeur was, the Jesus figure in the stained glass
window had changed from a pious holy figure into a sinister grotesque ghoul!
I rubbed my eyes in disbelief as the figure began to laugh at me in a high
pitched shriek! Terror consumed me completely.
I raised up from my bed and turned off the droning alarm clock
to silence the repetitive, annoying electronic screeching it was emitting
. I had only been dreaming! A smile of relief crept over my face but I
never completely recovered until morning. Shortly thereafter it was all
but forgotten, until...
“Re-run
Again I found myself back on that dark and unfamiliar road feeling
the same unsettling thoughts. Although I had no way to completely ascertain
that I was dreaming, this excursion wasn’t quite as unpleasant because
I had a vague recollection of my previous experience. I didn’t know if
things would turn out the same or if it was reality I was experiencing
this time. As I rounded each curve of the narrow road the scenery seemed
to fall in place from my hazy memories of the previous night. Just as I
began to think I was in for an exact replay of the first encounter I noticed
a tree where there had been none before. The gnarled oak was quite unusual
because it was so close to the road and one of its limbs stretched across
the lane like an old man extending his arm. If two cars had met there at
the intersection they would have not been able to get by each other.
Not heeding these apparent dark omens, I proceeded toward the
menacing house on the hill as if I had nothing to be afraid of. I knew
what I was in for yet I felt powerless to alter my destiny. I was consumed
with the sensation of being a spectator who had no control over what was
happening so I eventually relented to accept what fate determined for me
and just “enjoy the ride” while watching for other differences from the
last journey. When I rounded what I knew would be the final curve, the
house came into view and was just as eerie, sinister and vacant looking
as before. The same holiday banner was stretched between the pillars and
framed the dark picture window perfectly from my perspective. On the adjoining
hill the church’s normally benign crucifixion depiction faced me dauntingly
. The only thing I noticed different this time around was that the house
was definitely a little closer to the road than before. With my thoughts
distracted and eyes transfixed on the object of my unknown quest, I mindlessly
made my way up the path to the house and tripped over a puppet laying across
the walkway!
As I righted myself back up to my feet I was startled to see
the clown puppet set up and turn to face me with an annoyed look on its
nefarious face! As if seeing an animated puppet wasn’t enough to make my
heart feel as if it would exit through my throat at any second, it began
to laugh in a diabolical manner and pointed to the house with a spindly
finger. “Go on up, they’re expecting you!”; It said through its mechanical
‘mouthpiece’. Sensing my obvious fear and reluctance from the bizarre encounter
I was witnessing, it added “There is nothing to be afraid of, go on in!”.
Still in a state of disbelief, I gave the puppet a wide berth and noticed
the house was once again closer than it had been.
Finally I reminded myself that it was probably only a dream and
I had a certain responsibility to go along with things to see what was
in the house awaiting me. I knew that if I didn’t go along with this dream
destiny I would always wonder what was on the other side of the oak door.
The truth of the matter was that if it was all a dream my path was probably
unalterable anyway. I reasoned that the big mystery behind the door was
probably just something silly and all my anxiety was for nothing. Remembering
the puppet’s reassurance that ‘there was nothing to be afraid of’ did little
to comfort me however when I considered its dubious source. I distinctly
felt the night chill on my exposed skin as I ascended the porch steps.
Hoping for some sign of life, I peered into the cold darkness of the picture
window and strained my eyes to read the address on the front door. Without
the moon’s reflective light it was impossible.
Suddenly something grabbed my pants leg! I whirled around not
knowing what to expect and had mixed feelings when I found out. The puppet
was pulling on my pants in efforts to get my attention. On one hand I was
relieved that it was nothing new yet on the other hand I was taken aback
by its now glowing red pupils! At that instant all the lights and music
came on and the porch was again bathed in shadowy light which contrasted
bleakly with the clown’s sinister eyes. “Go on in; you don’t have to knock!”
While keeping an eye on my overly helpful ‘friend’, I glanced in the window
and noted that once again the inhabitants were dancing in ballroom fashion.
The doorknob was startlingly cold in my hand as I turned it hesitantly.
As I was about to push open the door I caught the reflective glare of the
clown behind me in the window and it was smiling like ‘the spider that
just caught the fly’. I realized it was all a trap but by that time it
was too late. The puppet was forcing me to the door with unbelievable power.
I resisted with all my might but it was useless against its supernatural
strength.
It had me against the door frame when a faint voice from the
other side of the door said; “Don’t let him force you inside, no one ever
leaves here!”. Hearing the disembodied warning, the malicious clown tried
even harder to get me inside. The puppet’s face and grip on my arms changed
into that of my mother! I had forgotten that I had been dreaming again.
“My Story”
When reality crept into my mind and the harshness of the dream had
faded into the shadows, I related the first and second night’s dreams to
my mother. As she sat and listened to my story with interest I tried to
relate to her all the similarities and differences between the two night’s
excursions. She explained that what I had experienced was a rare phenomena
called “serial dreams” and that they were thought to be caused by several
unusual factors which when combined form a complex and occasionally reoccurring
drama. Not really being able to connect myself with any of the conditions
she mentioned, I passed it off as all being somewhat fascinating but nothing
to be concerned with. As the sun went down and gave way to the all consuming
cloak of darkness I began to wonder if my evolving serial would continue
and if it did; where it would lead to. I wasn’t even sure I wanted to know
but I doubted it would happen three nights in a row anyway. I went to bed
an “optimistic skeptic”.
My curiosity was soon quenched as I found myself back on the
deserted country road again. This time I KNEW I was dreaming so I made
a more capricious effort to survey the scenery in detail since it was of
little importance how well I drove. I passed the old oak tree which was
just as it was before except the limb stretching over the road was even
lower than before. A truck would never had been able to drive under it
and I held my breath as I cleared by inches. At the bottom of the hill
in front of the house there was a cemetery which had not been there before,
surrounded by a wrought iron fence. Also new was a sizable stone monolith
at the entrance with a sign reading “Abandon hope, all ye who enter here.”
at the front of the cemetery.
Needless to say I was shaken by the old cryptic motto but I continued
on through the cemetery anyway. I would have rather walked five miles around
than to have to weave my way around the headstones but it was the only
passage leading to the hillside path up to the house. As I walked among
the markers it became apparent that every one of the graves had been opened.
I had no idea why they had been disturbed and I wasn’t going to stick around
to find out. Judging from all the headstones I knew I was in a Civil War
cemetery since the death dates were between 1861 and 1865. The now familiar
house and church were in plain view after I had surpassed the obstruction
of the graveyard. For the first time I studied the house as a whole and
marveled at its ominous enormity. It looked to have been built in the early
1800’s and was in the gothic Victorian style. Behind the door there were
almost certainly spiral staircases and secret passageways; perfect for
a nightmare!
My admirative concentration was broken by a thunderous cacophony
behind me which seemed to make the ground shake. The stone monolith at
the entrance to the cemetery had toppled to the ground and cracked in several
places. I shuddered involuntarily when I thought just how close I was to
being under it when it came crashing down. Its ruins now completely blocked
any retreat I might have felt inspired to take; as if to say “No turning
back.” After a short hesitation I marched on undeterred from my dream quest
and was relieved to see no sign of the clown puppet. I did however sense
the “eyes of Jesus” followed me up the path from the stained glass window.
This time there was more moonlight concentrated on the porch
and I could read the address on the door. In gothic lettering it read:
“666 SEDAH”. In the perpetual haze of the realm of dreams it meant nothing
to me and I nervously turned the door handle and entered. Inside I found
myself in a large hallway which connected to the ballroom at the end on
the left side. The entrance hall was furnished with typical furniture which
one would expect to be there such as an antique couch and chairs, a hat
and coat rack, and a grandfather clock at the very end of the hall beside
the doorway to the ballroom. I studied it further and realized the ancient
timepiece had a very unusual characteristic; its hands were moving backwards!
My heart beat wildly when I stood at the entrance to the ballroom. Not
daring to enter any further inside, I waited impatiently for the macabre
dance to end. My eyes were transfixed to the same “performance” as before
only from a different vantage point than the window. Just as my earlier
view of their facial features had been obstructed by the curtain in the
window, my change in perspective was no better because the bright lights
inside created a partially blinding glare in my direction. With the final
note of the waltz I knew the dance was over and they would soon turn to
grant their attention to their uninvited “guest”. My strange compulsion
to view their features was about to be quenched! All of then were turning
around to face me in unison when the grandfather clock began to chime.
I could almost see their faces when I woke up!
Words couldn’t describe the frustration and resentment I felt
after coming so close to unlocking the mystery of my dreams in the latest
episode, only to be ended by such a “rude awakening”. I was in for an even
greater disappointment when the serial failed to continue. The mystery
of “My Dream House” faded away nearly as fast as it had came into my life
when my dreamweaver failed to finish spinning the sinister saga; until...
“October 31st”
On all Hallows Eve I was on the way to a Halloween party at an
acquaintance’s house. I had known him less than a year and had never been
to his home since he lived in a neighboring city. The invitation had came
a few weeks earlier along with directions to the festivities. I had never
been that far out in the “boonies” but I felt a strange deja vu sensation
with each passing curve, as if I was actually familiar with the lonely
countryside. The notion that I knew the deserted road because of a few
distant nightmares I had months earlier was so absurd that I was unable
to place its familiarity for several moments. I was too distracted by concentrating
on following the directions to the party. When it dawned on me what was
happening, my denial attempted to refute the obvious. When it became impossible
to deny the bizarre truth any longer there was nothing that could keep
me from the mysterious “house on the hill”. Every aspect of the countryside
was just as it had been before in the final night’s dream all those months
before. I narrowly averted a disastrous collision with the old oak which
had fallen over and was completely blocking both sides of the road. I wasn’t
about to let that keep me from my “destiny” so I went around it in my four
wheel drive ATV through the ditch. As I rounded what I knew would be the
last curve, the object of my quest came into view.
As if in a surreal daze, I left my car and walked toward the
cemetery while feeling the eerie sensation of the hairs on my neck standing
on end from my supernatural experience. The monolith was cracked but standing
and its placard was covered with dried mud. It wasn’t necessary for me
to remove its covering to know what it said. Everything was identical to
my dreams but I knew I wouldn’t be waking to reality; I was living it!
Fear struck me when I realized I was “walking the tightrope” of the unknown
without the “net” of benign fantasy to allow me to escape the sandman.
The church was there but to my surprise the door and windows were boarded
up. The house had not changed a bit but for once the “Happy Halloween”
banner stretched across the pillars made perfect sense. Wondering what
I could possibly say to the owners of the house to explain my bizarre compulsion
to examine their home, I walked up the porch and peered into the lifeless
window. All was dark and quiet inside and I started to think the house
was vacant. An overwhelming disappointment filled my mind at the thought
that all my questions might go unanswered. Before I could check to see
if the door was locked, it swung opened and all the lights and music came
on. Taking that as my cue for the unknown hand of fate.... I stepped inside
with trembling knees and veins full of adrenaline.
“The Confrontation”
Once inside, the door slammed shut like the spring of a sinister
mouse trap. I didn’t need to check the door knob to verify it would not
let me back out. There in the hallway was the grandfather clock which I
had came to know so vividly from my dreams. Instead of the hands turning
backwards as they had in my last dream; they were both stopped dead at
midnight. It wasn’t necessary for me to look at my own watch to ascertain
that both timepieces were in agreement. The clown puppet was sitting in
one of the parlor chairs with its body bent over and face down. I
didn’t need to lift its head to know it possessed a ghoulish grin. I approached
the entrance of the ballroom with numbing dread since the previously cryptic
address on the outside door was finally clear to me. I knew the answer
to my perilous destiny was at the end of the hall. At the entrance to the
ballroom I watched the last few steps of their macabre dance. Again I was
reminded that regardless of how much I might wish for some sort of interruption
from this nightmare, there was no hope of a reprieve since I was wide awake.
Directly behind me in the hallway, the grandfather clock began to chime
and the dance ended. I didn’t have to gaze upon their facial features to
know what they looked like any longer but I forced myself to look anyway,
hoping my worst fears were wrong... dead wrong!
“The End:Part I (Predictable Ending)”
They all turned around in unison and began walking toward me with a shuffling, mechanical gate; confirming my darkest subconscious fears. Some were completely skeletal while others were rotting corpses in various stages of decay but they were all dead and I knew that without a doubt I would soon be joining them in the eternal dance of death.
Because the ending to Part 1 is so predictable
and for the sake of variety, I have written two alternate endings which
take the place of the last paragraph.
“The End: Part II (Logical Ending)”
They all turned around to face me but I was too stunned for the
familiar faces of my friends to register at first. All were wearing the
ornate ballroom uniforms and gowns I had witnessed through the window in
my dreams and from the hallway. The room echoed with their hysterical laughter
and it seemed like the walls was spinning uncontrollably so I had to sit
down before my knees buckled. I was guided to a couch pushed against the
wall in the ballroom until the dizzy spell wore off. After several moments
their laughter died down and my friend Steve grinned and said between chuckles;
“I guess you’re wondering why we all called you here?” That old expression
made the entire roomful of people burst into giggles and howls again. I
felt like the only one who didn’t get the joke because it was obviously
at my expense.
I had somewhat regained my composure and stated sarcastically;
“Yeah, I did have a few HUNDRED questions.. now that you mention it!”
“We shouldn’t be laughing at you but if you could have seen the
priceless expression on your own face you would understand.”; He explained.
“Understanding is something that I seem to be in short supply
of right now! I’m sure there was more than a slight hint of annoyance in
my voice from the ill-timed interruption in their explanation of what was
going on.
“Do you remember about 4 months ago when you and I had an argument
about the validity of hypnotism?”; Steve said. “You told me I was wasting
my time and money on the hypnotism course I was taking at the college.”
“Yes”; I admitted; while wondering what any of that had to do
with the house.
“Well”; he further explained, “You kept calling it ‘a load of
bunk’, so to prove its genuineness to you I arranged an exhibition in front
of just about everyone here.”
“If I remember correctly Steve, it was all a dismal failure for
you!” That brought another round of laughs from the crowd.
“That’s what we left you to believe! After you agreed to the
demonstration the next day, Darren, Bobby, and I drove here to Wayne’s
house since you have never visited him before while Darren filmed the scenery
with his video camera. Since he held the camera on my shoulder it seemed
like it was shot from the driver’s perspective. When we got to the house,
I walked up the path and filmed as I went along. The hand that you thought
was yours knocking on the door was really mine! Then Wayne threw on the
lights and unpaused the music. Everyone here was ‘an equal partner in the
crime’ that night. They were all waiting with their costumes on and began
to dance on que. I filmed what we wanted you to ‘see’ from the porch. Then
Wayne turned off the lights and paused the music again. The last thing
we did was focus the camera on the cardboard cut out of the ‘evil Jesus’
we had placed over the stained glass window while we played ‘eerie’ music
off camera.”
“The next day after I put you under; and you are one of the EASIEST
subjects I’ve ever hypnotized;” He teased. “I had you to watch the videotaped
footage while instilling in you hypnotic suggestions that you would dream
about what you were seeing and it would be happening to you. I also went
into detail about why you were supposed to be driving around the countryside.
When I brought you out of hypnosis you looked around as if nothing had
happened and then started to make fun of my ‘failed experiment’! We had
such a hard time keeping a ‘straight face’ while you were saying ‘I told
you so!’. I made the excuse that some people require more than one time
before they can be put under completely and that I wanted to try again
the next day. With that you agreed to ‘go through with the farce’ again.
Is any of this coming back to you?”
“Little bits and pieces”; I admitted. My head was swimming with
confusion at all the things I was learning and how it conflicted with what
I thought I “knew”. It was all I could do to just comprehend what they
were telling me.
“Once again we filmed the trip and added some new things to make
the dream more interesting to you.”; Steve continued with a grin.
“Like that big old oak tree?”; I asked. “How in the world did
you add that?”
“It was there the whole time but the first night the camera was
pointed the other direction when we approached it. Darren purposefully
left it out the first time so we could add to the serial sequence on the
later episodes. The next day we all gathered at the exhibition and I put
you under and showed you the next ‘dream’ you were going to have. When
I brought you out of the trance you immediately started letting me have
it about the whole thing being pseudoscience nonsense. In my best acting
performance ever I pretended to be embarrassed and muttered something about
wondering why it hadn’t worked that time! You looked at me with pity in
your eyes and said; ‘You poor sap! Haven’t you accepted the truth yet?
It’s all a bunch of bunk’. My explanation was that not enough time
had elapsed between the initial hypnotism session and the follow up. I
begged you to give me one last try. Do you remember that?” ; He asked.
“Yes”; I admitted sheepishly. “I told you that I was only doing
it one last time to prove to you once and for all, and when it failed I
expected you to admit to everyone that it was a hoax.” I looked around
the room and everyone was smiling at me.
“Yes, it seems to be coming back to you! I readily agreed and
hurried off to direct your third and final ‘dream’, Steve added.
By this time I was fascinated at all the intricate things they
had done to make their elaborate prank so successful. “How did you build
the graveyard, the monolith, the sign and the iron fence all in one night?”
“Do you remember that Darren and Bobby were not present at the
second hypnosis session? They started making the new stuff right away and
worked all through the night. Bobby’s dad had about 30 sacks of concrete
that had gotten wet and had hardened in their bags so they used them for
the headstones. They were perfect for gravemarkers! The rest dug grave
holes and made the sign. I personally built the monolith from styrofoam
sprayed with stucco and painted to look like granite. When we filmed the
last night’s ‘dream’, we lowered the old oak trees limb by cutting a notch
on the opposite side so it would sag down as if it were trying to prevent
you from going farther into danger. We also spread gravel all the way up
to its trunk to make it appear closer to the road. When the camera I was
carrying went past the monolith it was triggered to fall as if you
narrowly escaped being hit from it.”
“If it was just styrofoam then why did it make such a thunderous
sound when it hit?”; I inquired incredulously.
“Darren was standing by with a tape player cued to a loud crash
sound which he played when it was time. After that I filmed my (‘your’)
hand opening the door and stepping inside. Wayne had reversed the electromagnetic
field on the old grandfather clock’s motor where the hands spun counterclockwise
and I made sure you noticed by pointing the camera toward it for the final
dream sequence. Then I stood in the doorway and filmed the final moments
of the mock dance. When the grandfather clock went off, it was the signal
for you to wake from final dream.
On the final hypnosis session I could have made you get down
on all fours and bark like a dog while everyone watched but all I had you
to do was sign a written confession that you had been hypnotized.”
“I would have rather played fetch all day long than have went
through this!”; I said. “How did you know I would forget the bogus directions
to the party and follow my instincts to enter the house instead?”
“Are you kidding? I had you PROGRAMMED to come here! There isn’t
anything really stronger than a deep suggestion like I gave you. Plus,
natural curiosity helped too.”
I was relieved to finally understand the obscure meaning of this
4 month long saga. “I must admit;” I said to my friends before me “You
made a first class monkey out of me, and I take back everything I said
about hypnotism. You, Steve Staten are a master of the art and certainly
thought of everything! Answer me one thing though; how did you animate
the clown puppet to walk and talk like it did?”
“What puppet? There was no puppet in any of the film sequences.”;
Steve said.
The one in the second night’s dream!” I looked around the room
at my friends and saw a sincere look of confusion among them. “The one
in the hall sitting on the antique chair!”; I added nervously.
“What are you talking about?”; Several of them said in unison.
“Cut it out, the joke is over!”; I was annoyed by their refusal
to let ‘sleeping dogs lie’.
“Honestly, I don’t know anything about a clown puppet”; Steve
said seriously.
I looked at my friends and all I saw was a disturbed look on
their faces; as if their intricate prank on me had somehow made me delusional.
“This is easy enough to prove; just take a look for yourselves in the hall
on that old chair. It was there when I walked in!”
Steve and Darren went to see what I was talking about and when
they came back into the ballroom their expressions told me all I needed
to know. I didn’t need to check for myself to see that the sinister clown
puppet had gotten up and left!”
“The End: Part III (Dark Ending)”
As they turned around to face me I saw the emptiness in their
eyes. They were worse than dead.. they were UNdead! A young woman with
a blank expression stepped forward and explained: “We were also drawn here,
but as I warned you earlier, there is no escape from this house. We’re
all prisoners here for eternity. Why didn’t you heed my warnings?”
“I didn’t take them seriously because they came in my dreams.”;
I justified defensively.
“Dreams were the only way I could warn you from this side of
the door.”; She answered.
“But who would have taken a dream omen seriously? Most people
think of them as interesting fantasies created in the unconscious mind
to entertain a person while they are away from reality.”; I added.
“In time you will come to realize that dream and reality are
actually one in the same.”; She suggested emotionlessly.
“I won’t be here long enough to realize anything; I’m getting
out of here!” That started an uproar of laughter from the previously catatonic
like undead.
“There is no way out of here! Don’t you think we would have found
it and returned to the peace of our graves if there was a way?”; Sneered
one of them. “Time stands still here and all the records of your existence
were instantly wiped away. The world won’t miss you because now you never
existed as far as they know!”
The woman interrupted; “Just as you don’t remember me, THEY won’t
remember you.”
As I tried to understand what she meant, one of the men told
me; “Eventually you will accept your place here with us and join us in
the eternal dance.”
As the implications of their words ‘hit home’, denial within
me searched desperately to disprove the frightening words they said. “My
parents will search for me!”; I defended.
“The parents that you had... will now have no knowledge of you
forever.”
“My car will be found at the bottom of the hill by police!”;
I countered quickly.
“What car, there is nothing at the bottom of the hill.” Sensing
my disbelief, the lifeless woman suggested: “Have a look for yourself.”
I ran over to gaze through the cold picture window for the first
time from the inside perspective looking out at the world of the living.
A swirl of fog blanketed the entire area where I had parked my car. My
last vestiges of hope faded along with the dissipating mist. To my horror,
the bottom of the hill was completely barren of my car or any trace of
my former existence. I began to beat the window violently.
“It’s no use, the windows and doorway are inpenetratable barriers
between our world and theirs.”; She said morosely. I turned defiantly and
ran toward the door at the end of the hallway but I bounced off an invisible
‘wall’ at the doorway. Colliding with the barrier had a very draining effect
on me and I relented to the defeat of my supernatural imprisonment; at
least for the moment. After allowing the unfathomable reality to sink in,
I slowly rose and walked over to the young woman who had tried sincerely
to prevent my internment in the mansion of phantoms. I asked her who she
was and why she had tried to help me while the others had been so indifferent
to my ensuing captivity.
“I am your sister.”; She announced much to my shock. Sensing
my reaction, she added“I WAS your sister before I came here. Now only I
can remember the family we were both once a part of. “ There was no time
for her paralyzing relevation to sink in before the lights and music were
extinguished in anticipation of future victims for the clown puppet. After
countless hours of feeling around in the dark for a way out of the ballroom
prison I accepted the somber truth that we were trapped forever with no
hope of escape.
On the outside, time continued to march on into the future. Just
how much time had passed beyond the oak door I had no way to gauge. An
eternity of silence was broken in the darkness by the puppet’s inhuman
voice. “We’re about to have a visitor.... Places everyone! Soon you will
have a partner to dance with.”; he announced to me personally. The instant
that the visitor knocked on the door I found myself in uniform and dancing
with lifeless air as if I was holding an invisible dance partner!
I heard the visitor say; “ I’m terribly sorry to interrupt your
party but something is wrong with my car. It just died at the bottom of
the hill and won’t start. May I use your telephone?” Then she walked over
to the window and peered into the glass to determine if anyone had heard
her. It was my girlfriend Susan! As I whirled around during my involuntary
waltz in an effort to get her attention I saw that the puppet’s eyes were
glowing red. He got up from the chair and walked toward the front door.
My invisible ‘partner’ was doing its best to guide me away from the hall
and front door. I tried with all my might to dance toward the hall entrance
but it was too powerful.
The puppet spoke in a soothing voice through the door; “Sure
you can use the phone, come on in.. it’s unlocked!”
“No Susan, don’t come in! It’s all a trap!”; I screamed as loud
as I could. The instant I made my protests the music got louder and drowned
out my warning. Every time I repeated myself it would get louder until
I saw it was useless. I heard the hinges creak and I knew that Susan would
soon be trapped inside forever!
“EndingA: ”
(Come back to this point here and read part B.)
At that moment I was paralyzed and unable to say anything more
to save her. The door slammed shut and I knew it was too late to rescue
her from what the rest of us were already condemned to. The music ended
and we turned around to face our new curious onlooker. She obviously didn’t
remember me and was too distracted and distressed by my fellow corpses
but that was to be expected. In time maybe she would remember me, just
as I hoped to remember my own sister. At least now I have an eternal dance
partner!
“Final Ending B: ”
With every ounce of my strength that I could muster; both physical
and mental, I forced my way toward the forbidden entrance to the hallway.
I frantically looked around the ballroom for my sister. In what seemed
like an eternity I finally spotted her only a few couples away. I forced
my invisible partner toward her and her phantom dancer. To my surprised
her partner grabbed mine and said; “Hurry, I can’t hold this back for long!”
We danced to the hallway entrance and braced ourselves for impact with
the barrier but it was down to permit the new victim inside. The door was
closing behind Susan and the hall seemed to be a mile long. We both knew
that if it closed behind her we would all be trapped inside forever. The
door was almost closed and we were still too far away. The puppet smiled
when it saw we would not make it but he didn’t count on the unexpected.
Susan was so surprised and frightened to see two ‘strangers’ running toward
her that she screamed and pushed the door back open, allowing the three
of us time to escape before the door closed again. I grabbed our captor
by the neck as I ran by.
Once outside and safely distanced from our former ‘prison’ I
announced that the first thing I was going to do was to take care of a
very BIG problem we all had. I looked back up the hill at the house and
saw the other captives starring out the window at us with a glimmer of
hope in their sullen eyes for the first time since I had known them. I
held up the puppet’s struggling body as a sign of triumph to them and then
twisted his head off. At that instant all signs of the house and the church
disappeared. Where they had been, only wildflowers and grass remained to
cover both the barren hills. With the puppet’s evil influence removed Susan
stopped her panicked retreat down the hill away from us. She turned around
and recognized my sister and I.
“What in the world were the two of you doing on that hill?”;
She wanted to know with a confused look on her face. Obviously she had
no recollection of previous events from only moments before.
“It’s a long story”; I offered evasively. “I’ll explain it to
you later.” That seemed to satisfy her for the moment. The three of us
walked down the path through the cemetery where I noticed that none of
the graves were disturbed. I knew that the captives of the evil house were
finally resting in peace.
When my sister and I made it home after dropping Susan off at
her house, it was as if nothing of the nightmare had ever happened. All
was just as it had been before we were lured to the house. My mother was
still up and reading a mystery novel when we walked in to the living room.
“How was the Halloween party?”; She inquired inquisitively.
“It was the worst party ever!”; The two of us mutually agreed.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”; She consoled. “Maybe you two can tell
me all about it TOMORROW .”; She hinted about the late hour. My sister
and I looked at each other with ‘if she only knew how long we’ve REALLY
been gone’ looks and then bade her goodnite. She smiled about us taking
her transparent hint and then gave her attention back to her engrossing
novel. I fell asleep the instant my head hit the pillow and slept for what
seemed a thousand years.
The next day our mother said; “Well, it’s nice to see the two
of you finally ‘rise from the dead’! By the way, a large package arrived
special delivery this morning addressed to you both. Were you expecting
anything?”
“NO!”; we both agreed simultaneously. We looked at the boxes
return address. In cryptic lettering it read; “Sedah Toy Company, 666 Sedah.”
Neither she nor I had to open the box to know it contained one VERY sinister
clown puppet.
“Hand me a pen, would you mom?”; She found one and gave it to
me.
“What are you going to write on it?”; She wanted to know with
interest.
“Return to sender”; My sister and I both grinned.
--
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