Chapter 1
Darkness pulls at my consciousness. I’m surrounded by cold. I didn’t know where I am. A chill fills my soul and terror enters my heart. Something is wrong! I don't belong here. I need to leave!
I know this place and I can't be here! It isn't safe for me…
I look down at my body with fear shooting straight through my heart. I’m wearing my pretty white dress my Mommy made for me. It is covered in flowy lace down to my ankles. I’m not wearing any shoes and my little feet are frozen. Goosebumps run up and down my body.
I’m a little girl.
Please, not again!
I look around to a familiar dark hallway with endless doors. They seem to push through forever. I can smell the musty wood, but it still shines and is slippery under my feet. I can hear the walls talking to me in a way only an old house can. It’s telling me to run.
It ALWAYS tells me to run!
I turn around, already knowing what I will find. I can feel the hot tears start to splash on my chubby cheeks, but I can’t stop them. I can never stop them!
Why am I here? I don't like this place! I have to get out. NOW!
A tall shadow slowly creeps across the wood planks from behind me.
My heart picks up its pace. I already know what is coming for me…
“I’m coming for you, Rachael. You can’t hide from me…” he taunts. “I’m going to get you this time!” he chuckles darkly.
I don't have to turn around to see his dark eyes. They are burned into my memory… Even as I pray for it to be scrubbed clean.
My little heart starts to explode in my chest. I am already getting dizzy because my lungs can't keep up with the air I need. I can feel the sweat trickling down my back.
He’s found me again! PLEASE NOT AGAIN! I’ve got to get away!
I turn on my heels, digging my feet into the slippery wood floor and start running, and running… Just like I do every single time!
My cold little feet slam against the polished wooden floor, but I trip on my feet and fall on my hands and knees. I can feel my skin stinging and I rip a hole in my pretty dress.
My hands and feet start to drip blood from the small cuts. The blood makes the floor even more slippery than before… And now I am trailing bloody footprints on Grandma's floor! She is gonna be mad!
I choke on a sob that is crushing my chest. My heart pounds so hard it hurts. I look over my shoulder and trip on my feet again! This is not happening…
I can't let him catch me! I don't like all his secrets!
I claw my way up and take off again. I look over my shoulder and see his shadow hand reaching out, gliding across the floor. He is catching up! He is so close, I can smell his sweat and the cigarettes on his breath.
Bile rises in my throat. I’m going to be sick. Sweat pours into my eyes, distorting the hallway. Everything under me tilts. I feel so dizzy, I can't keep upright on my feet. I lean against the wall for support. The house moans from all around me. It can feel me. But it can’t help me.
It NEVER helps me! All it can do is moan and mourn for me.
The hallway of endless doors stretches out before me. Distorted and sad. It is empty and lonely down here, except for the one person in the world who scares me the most… And I would give anything for him not to be here!
Darkness seeps out of the open doorways. The sadness wants me, but I won't let it take me this time. It’s trying to get me and pull me into the dark rooms.
NO! I don’t like the dark! Bad things happen in the dark!
He does bad things in the dark! It hurts me… He tells me they are secrets, and he will kill me if I tell his secrets! But no one will listen to me anyway…
The floorboards creak and tremble under my little slippery feet. I feel a cold chill coming from behind me. I wish it was just the wind, but I know better.
The tingle of darkness slides up my sweaty spine. I’m panting so hard my lungs hurt. I always hurt…
Please, can someone make it stop? Anybody… make him stop!
Everytime I play hide and seek with him, he always finds me! I can’t let him catch me this time! I just can't…
I grab a rusty handle pull open an old battered door. The frame is rough and slightly askew. This door is different from the rest. It’s skinnier and darker.
It’s the door to the cellar. It’s cold and dark down there! I’m scared of the cellar, but maybe he won’t find me if I hide in here.
Carefully I walk down the old, narrow wooden stairs. Grandpa made these stairs and they are not quite level. They are steep, and I’m scared I am going to fall. The wood creaks under my tiny feet.
I freeze in terror at the loud noise. There is a banging of an old washing machine. I don’t like it down here. I want my Mommy! Why can I never find her when I need her the most?
I turn around and hear the door slam behind me.
I’m trapped!
It’s dark and I’m all alone down here! I need to see, but I'm still stuck on the stairs.
I hug the wall as I make it down the steep stairs, hoping I don't trip and land on my face. The cement is hard, and my hands and knees already hurt!
I reach my hand up blindly, groping the darkness and finally find the string for the single lightbulb and pull hard.
With a click, the light comes on, swinging back and forth, casting eerie shadows along the walls. But the light is comforting and my heart rate starts to come back to normal.
I look around at the boxes and all the shelves where Grandma keeps her canned foods. There are lots of places to hide down here, but none look safe. Everything looks in danger of falling over on top of me.
The walls are covered in something that looks kind of like yellow popcorn. It is hard and crunchy under my fingertips. Grandpa calls it foam…
It smells like dust down here. There are spider webs hanging from the ceiling and across the shelves of Grandma's canned peaches. There are scary sounds everywhere. I can hear a rattling noise behind one of the shelves. The atmosphere is heavy and humid, making it hard to breathe. I don’t like it.
I cry, but I have to be quiet. I can’t let him hear me.
I tiptoe behind one of the shelves.
I hear a scratching noise coming from inside the walls around me. It causes a shiver to run up my back. I try to tuck myself deeper in the shadows so they won't see me.
My breath catches. I try not to squirm, but…
Big black spiders materialize from the dark shadows. The spiders are surrounding me. I’m scared of spiders!
NO!
The door crashes open at the top of the stairs, causing the lightbulb to sway again. The shadows once again get distorted and elongated.
He’s found me again!
There is another way out, but he will see me. But I can't sit here and wait for him to reach me. I need to be brave and take the chance!
I scramble up the cement stairs that lead to the trap door in the living room and push through. The pretty rug that covers it up, tumbles to a pile at my feet.
No one else is home… Where is everybody? Why can't they see me when I need help?!
“I’m coming for you…” echoes through the house. The sound bounces off the walls chasing me out of the empty room.
I ran to the master suite. I don't like this room. I am not supposed to be in here. It belongs to Grandpa and Grandma. There is a bathroom in one corner, but if I go there I will be trapped!
There is a big picture window with distorted glass. I can see the sun shining through it, making happy sparkles everywhere it touches. The window turns the tiny colorful glass into a mournful face and stares down at me.
“Run!” The window says.
I want to run, but I don't know where else to go! I have to hide instead…
I hide behind the big bed and look up.
There is an old tapestry of four black horses. They are going off to war. I can hear their hooves pounding on the ground. They whinny at me. Their eyes are rubies that have been woven into the pretty fabric. They look right at me and flash dangerously in warning. These horses have always scared me! They look like they are going to leap right out of the picture…
“He’s coming!” They whisper as they gallop off to battle.
A shadow crosses in front of the picture window.
He’s here!
I scream! I am scared he will hurt me again in Grandma's room…
“Run!” the house moans.
And I listen.
I dash through the door and end up in the great room. I'm not sure how I got here and did not end up in the kitchen…
But I slide across the ground to the two steps that lead to the lower floor.
Everyone is there, sitting in front of the big TV. People are on couches and chairs, and some of the kid sit on the hard wooden steps.
“HELP!” I yell.
Everyone ignores me and they all continue watching the television. Grandpa has an old black and white movie with cowboys on. A man is aiming his gun at another man with a white hat on.
All my aunts, uncles, cousins, brothers and parents are engrossed in the ancient movie. I hate those movies! They bore me to death! But right now, I need help.
I run to Mommy.
“Help me!” I beg her, pulling on her sleeve.
But Mommy’s eyes are fixed on the TV.
I look behind me and his shadow is coming around the corner.
I am not allowed to tell Mommy why I need her help. He will hurt me if she finds out. I can't tell Mommy… I need to leave!
I run to the back door, and pull. But it's stuck. I can see the backyard and the swing through the doors window. I can see storm clouds coming in, and the wind is picking up…
My breath catches in my throat. I have to get out of here!
I pull harder and the door slams open with the screen door and I run.
The treehouse! I can hide there!
The wind hits me and my white dress, which now has blood stains on it, and big holes in my bodice and skirt, whips around trapping my legs.
The treehouse is high in the branches and I’m scared of heights… But I can be brave! There is nowhere else to hide outside! The garden has raspberries and they are scratchy…
Cautiously I pull myself up on the wood plank ladder and try not to look down. I’ve got to go faster or he is going to see me.
I pull myself up through the hole in the floor and lean against the hard rough trunk of the tree. It is solid and strong! It will protect me.
I sigh in relief.
I’m safe!
“Come out, come out wherever you are…” he sings as he too pulls himself up on the ladder.
No, he can't come up here! I know what happens if he finds me in his treehouse…
The tree creaks and moans as it blows in the wind. The tiny wooden house starts to shake.
NO! Not again… Please don’t!
The treehouse breaks apart and I fall to the ground with a heavy thump. If my dress was not dirty before, it sure is now!
I scream in pain! I hurt everywhere. I whimper as I try to pull myself up. I have to get away from here.
I look up at the back apartment of the house. Up in the second story window there is a flash. I feel a strong pull to it. I need to get up there! Something wants me to go up there. It’s safe! I know it’s safe…
I look over my shoulder and the tree is disintegrating into a black mass before my eyes! I need to run!
“You can’t hide from me, Rachael!” The shout comes from behind me, but I don’t look.
I dash into the door that is calling me to safety. There is a small dining area with a tea set out. The dainty china looks strangely out of place here. It is white with pretty pink flowers painted on the outside. It’s all set up, just ready for someone to sit down to them.
The little kitchenette is covered in gray mold and the boards of the walls are peeling away from the house. A foul smell coming from the cupboards makes me want to vomit. The cupboard doors are all hanging off their hinges. Blood stains cover the little fridge. The black and white checkered linoleum floor is cracking and there are missing pieces. Creaks and groans fill my ears.
Upstairs! I need to get upstairs!
I round the corner of the gray room and look up the long steep staircase. I hold on to the railing as tightly as I can. I hate these stairs! I was pushed down these stairs once. They hurt me…
But the compulsion to climb them has my feet moving as fast as I can. I have to make it to the top. I have to know…
Suddenly the walls fall away and I am left holding on to a single bar for dear life, leading me up to the top of the stairs.
Then the staircase changes…
No! No! NO! I don’t like this part!
The house completely falls away beneath me. I am surrounded by open blackness with only the stairs under my feet.
Tears stream down my face. I try to wipe them away, but they keep coming. It makes it hard to see with everything all watery and blurred.
I look down and all I see is an unending, winding, rickety staircase leading into blackness. Many of the wooden steps have fallen away from decay and rot. All of the wood planks tilt one way or the other, trying to throw me off into the abyss.
I look up and see a free standing platform that I must reach at all costs. A bright light shines down on me. I feel warmth and something I can’t understand. But I know it’s safe…
“Come!” a strange voice commands.
I don't give much thought to where the voice came from or who they are. They acknowledged me and are going to keep me safe!
I push to my feet, trying to beat the shadow that is even now enveloping the stairs right behind me.
I push my little legs as fast as they can go. I jump over the missing stairs and keep going. I just hope the wobbly stairs can hold me and I don’t fall down in the dark!
Finally, after what seems like forever, I make it to the platform.
Two white hooded figures stand before a treasure chest. I can’t see their faces, but they glow brightly. I can see through them. They are ghosts. But they don’t scare me. They are here to help me.
“Come, little one,” one of them calls to me.
“What you seek is in here,” the other one points to the chest.
I try to move, but my feet get pulled into the floor.
I’m trapped!
I pull with all my might, but I can't seem to pry my feet out of the sinking floor! It is pulling me in like quicksand.
“Help me!” I cry.
“We cannot. You must open the chest!” they insist.
I want to! I just can't get to it!
I can feel the pull of the chest calling to me. My whole being is filled with the need to open the old box that is so close but so far out of reach! I need to know what is in there. I need to be safe!
My heart pounds in my chest. I’m almost there! Please! I need to make it just a bit further…
I try to crawl. My hands and knees are slow to respond, but I push! I claw my way around the gaping holes in the floor that try to block my access to the box.
Slowly, I inch my way to the chest. I can’t go any faster. But he is coming! I need to go faster! I push myself but feel like I’m moving through molasses.
My hands and knees are bleeding, and my nails are torn to shreds.
My breathing is ragged.
I’m tired!
I want to give up…
Suddenly darkness fills the space, just as I reach for the chest.
“I win!” taunts the deep voice whispering in my ear.
“NO!” I shout as I sit up in my bed.
Darkness surrounds me. My body is soaked in sweat. My sheets are twisted around my body. My pulse is racing in my ears. I’m disoriented as I look around my room.
I’m safe.
I sigh as I fall back on my pillow.
“Please,” I pray, “not again!”
