Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller(10)
“Just getting into town?” He asked sleepily.
“Yes. I need a room, but I’m not sure for how long yet. Can I just pay daily?”
“Yes that’s fine. Just fill this out and I’ll need a credit card. We have cable and breakfast is coffee and donuts in the morning.”
“Sounds perfect.”
“Enjoy your stay.” He muttered before resuming his nap.
Sarah grabbed her bags from the truck and dragged them, and herself, up the exterior staircase to the door of her room. They still use keys, how cute. She opened the door, stumbled inside and sat down on the bed, all the while taking in her surroundings. It was like any other motel room. Shabby carpet, questionable bed, a nightstand that surely had a New Testament Bible inside, and the lone, odd-framed print on the wall. She stared at the painting as she leaned back on the bed. It was of a large field full of yellow flowers, and what seemed to be a tiny, but colorfully striped circus tent on a hill in the background. The tent was barely visible though. She strained her eyes for a closer examination, but she was exhausted, and soon her eyes closed, and she was dreaming.
12:36am
Sarah opened her eyes and found herself in a long, dark room, with a low ceiling. Her eyes slowly adjusted, revealing what the damp, musty stench in her nostrils had already told her. She was in an old, decaying cellar. Sarah knew immediately that she was not alone. There was an old, but faceless woman there in the cellar with her. The woman had long, black hair that fell below her waist. She was standing with her back to Sarah, slowly placing glass canning jars on a wooden shelf. Sarah tried to move. She had the strongest desire to run, but she had no power over her legs. She was paralyzed! She was frozen! Her mind screamed at her to move. Sarah looked down and saw that her bare feet were stuck in the cellar floor in some kind of deep concrete mud. The surrounding foundation was cracked and broken and the floor was missing in places, letting the cool dirt rise up from below. Something moved in the corner of her eye. Sarah strained, but couldn’t move her head. Her eyes flicked to the left and caught a glimpse of a tall, dark figure step back into the grey shadows. She held her breath. The figure was no longer visible in the corner of the room, but Sarah could still feel its eyes on her. The feeling was driving her insane, and then a loud crash jolted Sarah’s attention back to the woman, who had just knocked one of the glass jars from the shelf. As the glass jar shattered on the broken cellar floor, Sarah could see that it was filled with bright colorful marbles. The fleeing marbles scattered their colors everywhere across the unlit room. Six marbles rolled all the way to Sarah and stopped in front of her bare muddy feet. Sarah screamed…
1:06am
Sarah awoke still trying to scream, but silently gasping for air instead. She sat up in bed and listened. The distant echo of her out-of-body scream lingered for another moment in her ears. Sweat streaked her forehead and her breathing was heavy. She looked around the strange motel room, taking in deep breaths and wiping the damp palms of her hands repeatedly on the stiff bedding. She stopped suddenly and reached deep into her pocket. When her shaking hand reappeared, it held her small pill bottle. Just holding it made her feel better. She twisted off the childproof cap and dropped two little pills in her hand. She was just about to pop them when her routine was interrupted by the sound of laughing and loud music coming from outside. Sarah slowly got up from the bed and pulled the curtains back from the window. There were a number of people crossing the parking lot and walking towards a little bar across the street. A bright neon sign in the window proclaimed BEER, BURGERS and LIVE MUSIC! Sarah heard her stomach growl as she read it.
She grabbed her purse and headed out the door. There were still some new patrons parking in the motel parking lot and crossing the street together. After spending the last 14 plus hours by herself, it felt good to be amongst the living again. Sarah followed the small group into the bar and smiled. There was a small band set up in the far corner next to the dartboard, playing some country song that she didn’t recognize. The walls were decorated with empty Jack Daniels bottles and old Nebraska license plates. It was what seemed to her, the typical small town bar, where everyone knew each other, and then the thought hit her-she was the new face in town. Nobody knows me. Her smile faded, and uneasiness set in.
Sarah attempted to shake off the feeling as she walked up to the bar. She was greeted with a quick nod by the old bartender. He was noticeably short, maybe 5 feet tall on a good day, had a salt and pepper beard and what looked to be a dirty polishing rag draped over his shoulder.
“What’ll it be?” He asked in a low voice.
“Vodka soda please?” Sarah replied as she sat down on the barstool. It wobbled to the left and back again. Damn it, she thought.Then her stomach growled, and reminded her she was starving.
“Can I see a menu too, please?”
“Sorry, just shut off the grill at 1 A.M.”
“Oh, ok. No problem. Just the vodka then.”
“You new in town?” The bartender asked, as he scooped the ice and dumped it into a short glass.
“Just got here an hour ago.” Sarah smiled and at the same time immediately regretted it.
“Real new. What brings you to Homewood?” He asked as he handed her the drink.
Sarah pushed the straw to the side and took a long swig before speaking.
“My aunt passed away recently, and it seems as though I have inherited her house.”