Peripheral Vision: A Supernatural Thriller(36)
Startled by the knife, Nick grabbed it from Sarah’s hand and pulled her into his arms at the bottom of the stairs. “Oh my God, Sarah, what’s going on?!”
Sarah didn’t respond. She couldn’t. She just buried her face deep in his chest. She wanted to feel safe again.
“Are you okay?” Nick asked as his arms tightened around her.
Sarah fought for the words to come together for her. She took a deep breath and then let it all out. Once her mouth opened it was as if she couldn’t stop. She was hysterical and she hated it. “She’s here... they’re all here...they showed me… the tub was filled with blood. But it’s gone now... Just like in my dream. There was so much blood. I think I know what happened to the girls... Elizabeth, I think she was involved, Nick. She did something horrible to those girls.” Sarah whispered the last part, choking back muffled tears through Nick’s shirt.
Nick was stunned. He wrapped his arms even tighter around her, trying to soothe her. “Shhhhh… It’s alright, I’m here now. Nothing is going to happen to you. We’ll figure this all out together.”
●
Nick and Sarah were sitting in the living room on the sofa with the ugly orange and brown afghan draped over their laps. The fireplace was well stoked, Nick had made sure of that. The room was finally warming up, as the growing flames cast long shadows across the wallpaper around them. Nick had walked the whole upstairs of the old house twice over-just to be sure. He hadn’t found anything. Well, except for her pill bottle, that is. It made him wonder. He now had his arm around her, but Sarah was still shaking.
“Try and drink some water, Sarah,” Nick handed her the clear glass from the end table. “Do you feel any better?”
“I’m a little better. It was so cold before.” She took a long drink. “But I’m telling you, the girls were here Nick, all of them. They showed me the photograph… the family photo on the wall.”
“Sarah I believe you… but maybe… what if?” He stopped to clear his throat. “I think you were sleepwalking, Sarah. I didn’t see anything. I checked. No photo, no blood, and the record player is covered with dust-doesn’t look like it’s been used for ages. It’s just.. I’m sorry… maybe it wasn’t real.
“But it felt so real. No, Nick. I was awake... God, I feel like I’m losing it.” Sarah collapsed her face into her hands and sobbed.
“Sarah, we should leave…”
“No! I need to stay.” She looked up from her hands. Her eyes were red and puffy. “I need to show you what I found today. You promised you would help me.”
“Alright... Show me.”
Sarah lead Nick into the kitchen and began rummaging through drawers. “I know I saw another one” She said to herself. Nick just stood there, observing Sarah. Finally, she found what she was looking for. Another flashlight.
“I broke the other one.” She said. She led Nick to the door of the basement, flipped on the lone light and walked down the wood stairs, not hesitating, with no fear. But that was only because Nick was there to protect her. She made her way across the basement, past the old relics, and over to the staircase that lead down to the musty canning cellar. Nick helped Sarah push the desk away from the doorway and then followed her down the steps. Soon they were standing in the dark, in front of the odd little doorway in the cellar wall. Nick reached up and pulled the long string to the light bulb. It flickered above them, dimly lighting the open doorway and the small wooden door that no longer sat on the rusty hinges, but instead, laid askew on the dusty concrete floor next to their feet.
“Did you know about this?”
“I’ve seen it before,” Nick frowned, “but it was nailed shut.”
“Follow me.” Sarah flipped on the flashlight and crawled up through the narrow opening and into the tunnel. It felt strange to already be back in the tunnel, but with Nick she didn’t feel afraid. She traced the white light from her flashlight along the tunnel wall and the concrete ceiling above them. “This tunnel leads to the park, Nick. I walked all the way through this afternoon. I think this was how she got them back to the house unseen.”
Nick stopped dead in his tracks and looked at Sarah.
“Elizabeth. It was her.” Sarah said starkly. “The girls they showed me... in my dream, she had one of the missing women, the school teacher, in an old horse trough. I recognized her from the newspaper. She was dead, Nick, and Elizabeth was draining her blood... and then she, she drank it.” Sarah choked out the words and looked ill at the thought.
Nick was taken aback. “You have a gift, Sarah… and it’s getting stronger.”
“It’s not a gift... I’m cursed.”
“Amazing...”
“What?! What are you talking about?” Sarah looked deep into Nick’s eyes. Something was different. He looked nervous. “Wait, what are you not telling me?”
“It’s just, well this is happening faster than I expected.” Nick stopped for a moment, collecting his words, and bent down to pick up the kerosene lantern. He relit the wick as he spoke. “There is history here that you don’t know about. This river valley, this house, the Bayard Family... your family, Sarah.”
“I don’t understand.”
Nick gently took her by the hand. Their shadows loomed tall and narrow on the stark tunnel wall. He looked up from the lamp and spoke softly. “I’m sorry. I lied before when I said I didn’t know about this tunnel... I did, I do. There are a lot of things I haven’t exactly told you and I’m sorry. I just didn’t think you were ready to hear them yet. I wanted to protect you like I promised I would. But the way you “see” things, your gift...”