The Caretaker - Part 5

"It was goddamn otherworldly, Evelyn. I could feel everything." I explained through weak breaths, amazed at what I had just experienced.
"Yeah, yeah. Shut up, okay? I don't want you passing out on me." Evelyn responded as she escorted me to the top of the stairs. As we descended, I looked over to her.
"But I've never felt anything like that before. I actually saw what happened. It was like I went back in time."
"And your point is? Even with that information, where do we go from here? We still don't know exactly what we have to do to fix this place. For all we know, what you just did could have made it worse."
"How could I have made it any worse? I was almost killed last night!"

"Yeah?" she looked down at me, a knowing glimmer in her eyes. "So was I." Okay, that hurt. I think she realized it too. "Alright, that was too harsh." I felt her hand gently stroking my back, "I'm sorry. But I mean, we're both caught up in this mess. We need to think of something and take care of this soon. I don't want to risk sleeping anywhere around here, and I don't think you do either." I nodded. It was then that I had realized it was taking us an unusually long time to get down the stairs.

I took my eyes off of Evelyn and looked down to find that not only was the floor of the main hall absent and opening up into a wide, black chasm, but the stairs cut off right at its edge. The hall itself was warped and elongated. We found, as we stopped to take in this extraordinary development, that the stairs had already brought us a good deal into the dark pit. The front door, as well as all the other entryways, were high above us and scattered about from one another illogically.

"What...the fuck." Was all I could mutter before I felt a massive force crash into us from behind, propelling Evelyn and I forward into the chasm. The moment I began falling, I felt the same dread and chill as I felt during that nighttime assault. Just brushing over that pit felt as though a blizzard were threatening to engulf me. I saw Evelyn latch onto the hall's wall with her arachnid legs, but I was unable to grasp at anything to save myself. I continued to fall, and in that moment, as I saw Evelyn's form and the light of the hall spiraling away, I felt as though my life were forfeit. I closed my eyes.

Another crash; this time from above. Something caught me in its arms and abruptly halted my fall. It was warm. I opened my eyes to find that Evelyn was embracing me. Her arms were clinging to me, one around my neck and the other at my back. Her pedipalps were locked behind me and effectively seizing me as tightly against her as possible. Suddenly comprehending that she had saved my life, I wrapped my arms around her and held on desperately. We were hanging by a thread, one of hers in fact. We dangled against the wall for a moment. I felt something wet pressed against my torso. Feeling around, I brought my hand up to my eyes and found that it was stained in red. One of her wounds had reopened.

"That was close," she said after catching her breath. "I almost lost ya."
"Just please get me somewhere solid. I hate heights." I responded, voice slightly muffled against her bosom.
"No problem, just hold on tight." she said as she got a grip of the wall again, beginning to scurry back up.
"You don't have to tell me twice."

Up we went, cautiously; wary of anything that could go wrong again. We were halfway to what I believe was the front door when I suddenly got the terrible feeling as though we were being watched. Not just being watched, but being marked; glared at. It was like a stare that seemed to burn a hole through you. Daring to look, I stole a glance behind us and saw...something. Hovering over the stairs on which we just were was something vaguely humanoid. Draped in pure shadow, as if to give its incomprehensible form some kind of shape, it was difficult to make out in the dim light. Nothing about its structure seemed consistent. It swayed and morphed this way and that in a manner that could almost be described as abstract. Only one thing remained persistent: the gleaming red eyes that shone like two blazing fires.

"Evelyn! Faster!" was the first thing that came to mind.

"Huh?" she turned behind her and saw the thing as well, at which point it suddenly gave an ear-shattering screech. I could hardly call it a screech, how inhuman it was. It opening something resembling a mouth to do so and suddenly flashed a brilliant white as bright as lightning. A noise dull, yet equally loud, sounded out in accompaniment and shook the entire manor. It sounded like thunder.

This was all the convincing Evelyn needed, as she hurriedly began to close the distance between us and the front door. Dousing its light and scream, the being slowly began to approach us. It struggled, as though weighed down by something. Thankfully, we reached the door before it was even half-way to us.

"Damn!" Evelyn exclaimed, rattling the handle of the door. It was somehow sealed shut. It wouldn't budge. Another loud blast of thunder rang out outside. I was about to speak when the door beside us flew open, giving way to a torrent of scorching fire. In reaction, Evelyn presses us as close to the wall as possible. Still the flames licked us both, though she took the worst of it. As the flames receded, I heard her grunt in pain and her grip begin to falter. I felt us begin to fall back toward the pitch black pit below. In desperation; in wavering hope, I reached out for the newly opened doorway. I felt gravity work against me, struggling fiercely against my efforts. I held Evelyn close in one arm and lunged forth. I felt the bottom of the doorway fall within my grasp. I felt our descent suddenly cease. I held on.

I've heard stories of folks gaining superhuman strength in times of great desperation of emotional stress. I was hardly a particularly beefy guy, but in that very moment, I felt as though I could lift my uncle's old beat up truck. Hoisting with all the vigor and might I could muster, I struggled onto my knees in the lounge, pulling up Evelyn behind me. Just then, I saw the fireplace alit, barely containing the unbridled inferno within. It flashed, giving me a second of warning to heave Evelyn and I off to the side before it sprung forward like before in an attempt to eat us up in its blaze. The room was falling apart in the fire and threatened to take us with it. Another roar of thunder sounded outside, accompanied by a flash of lightning that shone through the windows. The windows...I eyed the glass panes and then turned to Evelyn, who was half-lidded and weakly leaning against me.

"Evelyn, Evelyn. Come on, you there?" I asked, swatting at her. I saw her eyes blink a few times before she shook her head awake.
"Y-Yeah, I'm here, Nate. What happened?"
It was then I saw the dark form hovering within the doorway, staring the two of us down no more than five feet from it.

"No time! Through the window! Come on!" I shouted, standing and taking her up with me. I don't think she saw what I saw, but she saw the fear in my eyes and comprehended. We both rushed at the window. I didn't think. I put my elbow through it and, with Evelyn's hand in mind, put my foot up on the sill and threw myself out of the manor.

I expected to feel a wall of rain and cold the moment I stepped out into the night, but I did not. There was no rain and no thunder. It was incredibly dark with nothing but the full moon granting any form of illumination. I turned to see Evelyn standing beside me, though visibly shaken up. I looked back at the manor to find that not only was the window unbroken, but there was no fire. We could see no trace of the horrid experience we just endured, save for one: two piercing red eyes glaring as us with unrestrained hatred. It was not enough to say it was off-putting; it was disturbing. I looked back at Evelyn, and she met my gaze. I finally got a good look at her burns and my heart sank. Her back was terribly branded and her once long, beautiful hair had been burned off up to her shoulders. I took her hand in mine and started to saunter to the back of the manor. At all time, I felt those glowing crimson eyes upon us. I cared not anymore. I was ending this. I noted my torn up elbow, but did not comprehend the pain. I noted the dull ache that flooded over my body, but did not comprehend the pain. I was ending this.

Taking the hand shovel from the shriveled, desolate, untended garden beside the manor, I went to the back yard of the building and turned, making sure I was where I needed to be. I let Evelyn sit where she wanted; so long as she was safe. Wearily, I fell to my knees and started digging. I had barely any light and only scarcely knew what I was looking for, even less what I was going to do when I found it. Still, I dug. The earth resisted, my body screamed at me, my mind was on the verge of snapping completely; I was in no position to push myself any further. Still, I did. I don't know how long I went on in this task. It became a trance; I fell into the motion of it. Deeper and deeper I dug until I finally hit something. Continuing until I completely uncovered it, I was less-than-shocked to find a skull staring up at me.

It was completely decomposed. No trace of its previous fleshy encasing remained. Pulling the skull from its earthy prison, I examined it. There was nothing I would have been able to find. It looked damaged in some areas, but for all I know that might have been natural. But still, I felt a connection to it. I felt immediately upon placing my hand upon it that this was what I was looking for. As I looked into its hollow sockets, I felt something rise up within me; a kind of hate. I looked into the eyeless pits of the skull and knew, thought it might not have been what I had to do, what I wanted to do.

Placing the skull on the ground, I stood. I stared down at the skull and, summoning the remaining strength I had, drove the heel of my boot directly onto the skull and shattered it. A flash of light erupted from the destroyed remain and blinded me momentarily. I heard something then, a dull sound that resembled thunder. I heard it come from the manor, though it seemed distant; miles away. I looked at the old building and saw a mass of shadow, like a black raincloud, break out and hover above in the sky. It spread out, blotting out the moon and sky, casting its influence over all I could see. Then, as quick as it came, it dissipated as if a great wind came along and swept it out of existence. Then, I collapsed.

The soft grass felt like heaven beneath me. I could barely see through my heavy lids, but I could comprehend Evelyn meandering over and falling beside me. I felt her hand weasel into mine. It was all the comfort that either of us needed. I stared up at the unveiled sky and saw more stars twinkling up there than I think I ever have in my entire life. It was the last thing I saw before my eyes shut and I fell asleep.



"Yeah. Yeah, Uncle I-...No, I'm fi-...Yes, she's fine too. I-...Okay. Yes, okay..." I found myself battling the hurried and panicked voice of my dear uncle on the other line. "Tomorrow? Yeah. Of course I'll be here, I don't have a car. Okay. See you." I hung up. I turned over to Evelyn, who sat by the fireplace in the lounge and was enjoying some tea, to explain the situation. The next morning we received another letter, this time with a proper return address, from uncle. In it, he asked if I had accepted his offer, if I was alive, and apologized some more. He also included the number he could be reached at. So naturally, I called to alleviate his worries and report our apparent success in un-haunting the manor. He was surprised to find that Evelyn was with me, but especially proud of our success. He would be returning tomorrow after reporting to the owners of the manor. I left out the particularly grisly details for now.

In any case, I suppose the manor was mine now. I sat in that same lounge chair beside Evelyn and leaned back. Evelyn was wrapped in a new set of bandages, during the application of which we had shared our apologies and commendations of one another's strength during the ordeal. Neither of us will be doing a whole lot of physical movement for a few days. The entire event was draining, both physically and emotionally. But I had a strange sense of accomplishment. Not only did I have a proper home now, but I...well, that was it. Whatever. What mattered in the end was that we were both still alive. We shared a look and a smile.

"So, Evelyn-" I began.
"Evey," she interrupted. "My friends call me Evey."
"Well, Evey. Shouldn't you call your family? I'm sure they're worried."
"Oh, I'll be fine." She shrugged. "They know I'll probably be a few days. I'll call them once I'm feeling better and I can go home."
"Whatever you say." I replied, putting the phone aside. There was silence for a moment.
"Well?" she suddenly asked.
"'Well,' what?"
"Isn't this the part where you ask if I'll come and visit every now and then, seeing as you'll be alone all the way up here?" She adopted the same sly smile as before. I'll admit that I missed it.
"Here, I was worried that would be too bold." I offered a grin in return.
"Please, we braved a supernatural entity together. That's hardly a bold question to ask after going through something like that together. In fact, it should be expected."
"Is that so? What else exactly falls into these 'expectations' of yours?"
"That depends on how bold you are."
I leaned forward, effectively fed up with her games. "Do you want to go out sometime?"
She turned to me and looked me in the eye, reaching out to gently stroke my cheek. "I'd love to."

I froze. I was uncertain of what to do or say; where to go from here. But for some reason, I felt like I had just fallen for a trap. I looked away and leaned back into my chair. It hit me just then that I was completely new to town. I had no idea where to take her. I sighed and reached over to retrieve my tea.

'I'll think of something.' I reassured myself.



The End