Chapter 1
The overcast sky was foreshadowing the mood of the upcoming days. Steve Jenkins stopped the car near the big iron gate of the house. He looked out the right window, past his wife, and saw the small town of Bellhurst. It was just as gloomy as the house and the weather.
And just as annoying as Emily, thought Steve. He then lit a cigarette. She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, sighed, then got out of the car. The kids were eager to go into the house. It’s been a long time since they were here. Both Jenny and Carl were restless. The long road from the city was more than enough for them. They wanted to move, run, and jump around just like any other child. Jenny was twelve, Carl only ten.
With slow and lazy moves, Steve got out of the car. The cigarette was dangling in his mouth while his mind was elsewhere. Jenny and Carl ran to the gate, their mother followed them. The man slammed the door, then unloaded their luggage.
‘It’s been a long time since we’ve been here,’ said Carl.
‘Yes, it’s been five years since grandma died,’ replied Jenny.
‘Mommy, why didn’t we come here since then?’ Carl asked.
‘Dad was busy,’ Emily replied in a sad tone, ‘but now we are here. We’ll make this house a better place.’
In his younger years, Steve used to be a pretty powerful man, but the countless hours of sitting at a desk weakened him. Even the unpacking made his chest heave. The constant smoking wasn’t helping either.
Emily took out her keys and unlocked the gate. She looked at the house and saw the deplorable condition it was in. Some windows were broken, the plaster on the outside walls fell off in many places. The capricious weather heavily damaged the woodwork. Paint was peeling off of almost anything which once had any on it.
The yard was heavily overgrown with grass, bushes, wild grapery, elder trees, quince, and who knows what else. They almost couldn’t see the footpath which was going from the gate to the porch.
‘I need some help over here!’ shouted Steve while taking out a crate of tools from the trunk.
Emily rushed back to him. Her small, slim figure slid across the autumn grass with ease. She looked at her husband, but he evaded her gaze, and proceeded with the unpacking. His face was tired. She saw he was not really in the mood for work. Not this kind of work, anyway.
Steve handed her a bag, then took one himself. They carried their bags to the gate. Steve put his down, then checked his pocket for the cigarettes. After feeling the pack, his hand moved to the burning cigarette in his mouth. He dragged from it, then blew the smoke into the chilly afternoon air.
‘Looks like a hell of a work...’ he said.
‘Yes, I know,’ Emily replied, ‘but it’s time we fix it. And other things as well...’
She took his hand into hers, but the man only nodded. The kids were already in the yard, walking through the tall grass. Jenny looked back at her parents. Her beautiful brown eyes showed concern.
They went onto the porch, and Emily opened the front door. The smell of dust and old furniture hit their nose. Fortunately, it looked like thieves did not target the place. Cobwebs and dust covered almost everything. The signs of rats and mice were everywhere. Their droppings covered the floor, the tables, and other pieces of furniture. Some were tangled between the webs.
In one corner of the front hall, the small skeleton of a mouse was lying. Jenny drew back when she saw it.
The furniture was in its original place, but it was dirty. Small things have been knocked down from their initial place. There was a small cabinet on the wall, near the sink. It had its doors open. The plates, which were once inside, now were lying scattered across the kitchen floor, in pieces.
‘We have to clean the kitchen, and at least one bedroom before dark,’ said Emily.
‘Yeah, I guess,’ replied Steve, ‘tomorrow we’ll have plenty of time to clean up the rest. Don’t forget the bathroom, we have to wash ourselves before bed.’
‘Mommy, can we go out in the yard?’ asked Carl with enthusiasm.
‘No, not yet. Can’t you see what’s out there?’
‘It’s a jungle,’ he replied.
‘No, it’s not a jungle, but it sure looks like one. Stay inside, who knows what creepy things hide in the grass?’
Carl’s shoulders dropped. He looked out the window with sad eyes. Jenny didn’t say a word, she kept checking out the house. Her enthusiasm was quickly fading.
‘Don’t worry, buddy,’ said Steve, ‘tomorrow we’ll go out into that jungle, and we are going to tear it down. What do you say?’
‘All right,’ the boy replied, and the sparks in his eyes lit up again.
He then ran to his father and hugged him. Emily watched with delight as Steve picked Carl up and carried him all the way to the window. The two of them then made quick plans on how to attack the overgrown yard in the following days.
‘Looks like the cleaning of the house will be our job,’ she said to Jenny, who just returned from her quick tour through the house.
‘This house is disgusting,’ Jenny replied, ‘there are spiders everywhere.’
‘Don’t worry, dear! We will clear everything. The spiders too.’
‘Can’t wait to get rid of them,’ she said, then shuddered.
They brought in their tools, then began the work on the kitchen. It was important to make it habitable before nightfall. The living room had to be cleared as well, so they could sleep somewhere. But the living room was for later.
The house still had running water and electricity despite its abandonment. Until not so long ago, a man from town came by the house from time to time to check on it, but couldn’t do any serious maintenance work.
The four of them were making excellent progress. When Steve saw the basement door, he stopped. He fumbled for a cigarette, then lit one. Emily came to him and hugged her husband from behind.
‘What’s wrong, honey?’
‘That looks nasty,’ Steve said while pointing to the trapdoor.
It was partly eaten by termites, and it was covered in a thick layer of spider silk. There were also holes in it where the boards cracked and fell into the basement.
‘Yes, it is, but we’ll leave that for later. Then we’ll clear it together.’
‘Do you have any idea what’s down there?’
‘I don’t have the slightest idea. I haven’t been down there since I was a child. Mother was keeping a lot of stuff in the basement, but I don’t know exactly what.’
‘Maybe there is a monster down there,’ said Carl jokingly, ‘and it’s coming for Jenny.’
‘Shut up,’ the girl replied, ‘it’s more likely it will come for you.’
‘Yeah? Why is that?’
‘Because you’re smaller. Eeeeaaaasy prey!’ she said, then laughed.
‘Knock it off,’ Emily scolded them, then let go of Steve. ‘Come on, we have work to do!’
At about 10:00 p.m. they cleared out the kitchen, the living room, and some part of the bathroom. They devoured their dinner, washed themselves a little, then prepared to go to sleep.
They had to sleep on the ground tonight, all in the living room. There was no time to clean up all the rooms in one afternoon. The children were already asleep, but Steve and Emily were still awake. Steve was lying on his side, Emily was embracing him from behind.
‘Are you still mad at me?’ she whispered.
‘I don’t know,’ Steve whispered back.
‘It’s over, I promise that. I told him I don’t want to see him again.’
‘Yeah, I know...’
‘We have to make this work... We have to make things right,’ she said, then hugged him more tightly.
That being said, they drifted into an uneasy sleep. The night was chilly, and the darkness was waking up, watching.
