Sarah Butland's Blog, page 14
May 28, 2018
Walking With a Wizard
Max felt he had no other choice. When Flo reached out to help him stand he was mesmerized and did as he was guided. The touch itself left him entranced and happier than he had been in a long time.
When he blinked he couldn’t believe his eyes as the house around him transformed into what it used to be. A gorgeous home filled with love, light and laughter and while he should have hoped this effected everyone and helped his family get out safe, his mind was occupied. He instead was enjoying the life of a child, racing through the house after a little girl his age. He heard himself call out “Flower” and noticed the girl turned to smile at him before running further.
It was the first time in fifteen years Max played and felt the true essence of joy. He remembered who he was before all of the responsibilities, all of the obligations and exhaustion from parenting before being a person. He was whole.
Racing through the rooms, around the adults he overheard bartering and being truly happy, he came to an abrupt halt.
Max saw his family through a mirror. Wandering the darkened hallways, struggling to balance on rotted out wood as they approached a door. He panicked, convinced they were leaving him for their own safety but it wasn’t what he wanted. It wasn’t the end he needed at all.
Bending down to his knees he prayed. For the first time in 10 years he spoke to the universe and asked for a solution and he cried. He cried until he had no energy left to kneel and then he collapsed, no longer hearing the whispers or laughter. It was silent.
Opening his eyes again he was surrounded by his family and strangers and he smiled. It was weak but it was there and evident in his eyes. He was saved.
Stay tuned tomorrow for.. X’s.
May 27, 2018
Vertiginous
Max was doing his best. With life, with his marriage and his family and now, getting out of this godforsaken trap but he was losing the battle. He knew no one respected him for leaving but he left because he loved Judy and the kids, the kids just didn’t get that. Whatever Judy was going through, he had to support her from afar – her rules.
And now this. Cole, the kid he just met but heard so much about, was giving instructions while he stumbled behind. His head ached, he couldn’t whine or bring attention to it, he just had to keep going.
Taking small step after tiny stumble he reached where Cole was standing and decided he had to get his family safe. Lifting them up to where they could get to the main floor safely was taxing whereas otherwise he should have been able to lift them easily. Once done he made the huge mistake of looking up to them and tried to tell them he’d be fine, he’d find another way out. When nothing came out Cole took over and told them his idea.
Then it hit him. Everything he was trying to do, all that he did and the fear of everything while looking up did him in. The awful vertiginous feeling overcoming everything else and he collapsed. Unable to open his eyes or voice the terrible way he felt Max crumbled, landing on the apple he laid down earlier and squishing it.
It was the smell of it that took him back to reality. Max tried to focus on that, on the feeling of the squishy mush under his back but all he could smell was perfume and feel fear.
Cole was no where to be seen, in his place was a young woman who looked familiar but he couldn’t place.
“What is happening? Who are you?”
“Forgive me for all of this. I’ve been so lonely and love to play games. My name is Flo, short for Flower, this is my house and I should be asking you why you’re here but I won’t, I’m just so happy you came to visit.” Max noticed she was glowing and, though much younger, seemed to be the person Lucas was sitting with in the garden.
“I need to find my family,” Max demanded.
“I’ll help you if you help me,” she taunted in response. “But you need to help me first.”
Stay tuned for tomorrow’s post.. Walking With a Wizard
May 26, 2018
Unconscious
Cole hit the tree, and then the ground, hard at the same time the family inside fell through the cracks, hitting their heads hard, too.
Flo was now their only hope as they were all fighting for consciousness. Flower, finally feeling like she had friends, was determined to keep them well even if they were all afraid of her. Picking five apples from her tree she ran to each intruder, shook them and put the apple in their hand and ran off again.
Lucas came to first, his scents of smell just a bit stronger than the rest and the apple was so deliciously tempting. He tried shaking Helen awake first, then his mother and was delighted when his mother opened her eyes. He knelt beside her, taking a bite of his apple and pointed for her to do the same.
“No! Don’t eat that! It must be from that dreadful garden.”
“But Mommy, it’s so good and fresh.”
“Lucas, when do apples grow?” Helen started to make sense of where she was and heard her mother ask the oddest of questions, making sense only when she saw the apple in her hand.
Lucas replied, “Summertime of course!”
“And what season is it now?”
It dawned on him then how confusing the last few hours were. Not only were the days going by so quickly but he hadn’t really slept and he didn’t remember when he was last in school. As confused as he was, he continued eating the apple. Helen finally reached him and slapped it from his hand. “Mom said not to eat that. It was probably from Flo and we know not to accept gifts from strangers!”
“But she’s not a stranger to me,” Lucas whined and realized how much like a baby he sounded. His head hurt and he just wanted to go back to sleep. “When’s Daddy waking up?”
Helen and Judy were getting nervous Max hadn’t yet stirred, even with all of the commotion. They would never be able to carry him. If he didn’t wake up then they really did need Cole.
Helen recognized then where there were – at the bottom of the stairs to the other door outside. She made the decision to stumble up them and look for Cole, deciding that somehow Flo got to them anywhere despite the locked door.
Cole was just crawling to the door at the same moment, energized slightly when he saw it open. Helen gasped at the large bump on his head but hurried him in. When they reached her family her father was coming to and they silently grasped each others hands and Judy led the way to the old stairs Helen couldn’t embark before.
Putting Lucas on his shoulders, Max was able to get the boy high enough to reach a stair that held and then offered to lift Helen to do the same. Cole helped with both Helen and Judy and then realized there was no way either man could lift the other.
“Well isn’t this a turn of events,” Cole winked at Helen. You guys get out of here, we’re going to go out back and around again and somehow we’ll meet you in the front.”
“DAD!” Helen yelled as Max fell to the ground. Cole turned to catch him but stopped.
Stop in tomorrow to read Vertiginous
May 25, 2018
Trust
If Helen knew Cole had trust issues she would have protested more. It was her father who suggested securing the door behind them, her mother who doubted his methods and her brother who was just in a hurry to get out of that awful abandoned house. Helen was even more smitten with Cole due to his act of bravery with distracting Flo so they could get free, it seemed ridiculous her father would want to trap him out there with her.
“There’s another way in and if Flo follows us she’d try that door. It’s likely she’d run after the bigger group, especially since we have Lucas so we have to take all precautions we can. We really don’t know what’s facing us in this house.”
Judy nodded, understanding where he was coming from. Helen still argued, “We can’t leave him out there! That’s ridiculous. No man left behind, oh right -you don’t live like that anymore. It’s easy for you to leave the ones you’re supposed to love, it would be nothing to leave someone you barely know. Need I remind you that he saved Lucas. If it wasn’t for him we wouldn’t be as safe as we are. You’re ridiculous!”
As Helen was saying that Max proceeded to find items to block the door, seeming to ignore her yet every reminder of him leaving the ones he did love stung. It wasn’t his choice to leave, that’s what the kids didn’t know. Judy asked him to leave, to give her space and time to reevaluate her own purpose in life. Judy wanted to be the martyr so said nothing.
“Helen, there’s a lot more to every story than you know.” That’s when Cole started banging on the door, screaming for us to let him in. Max wouldn’t be swayed and the banging didn’t last long. Cole was at risk staying in one place, so were the family. “Let’s move,” Max said, grabbing Lucas’s hand. “Kids in the middle, parents at the ends,” he instructed and led the way.
Meanwhile, Cole was looking for another entry when the door wouldn’t open. He hoped that Helen and her family were ok but needed to focus on his own safety. Flo was unbelievably quick for her age and was gaining on him. He had no choice but to turn left and hope he’d be able to find his way out of that beautiful yet terrifying garden.
As he ran, Cole looked for another door into the house that terrified him even more than the garden. In his haste and distracted running he slammed right into an apple tree and fell.
Stay tuned for…Unconscious
May 24, 2018
Sacrifice
Judy jumped first, landing in a soft pile of sod and Max came tumbling after, landing hard on the ground. They both stood slowly, looking back up to the roof they jumped from and remember their younger days of risky behavior. Neither could believe the paradise they entered and both were suddenly very exhausted and confused about their purpose.
Cole was confused as well. Still half walking half jogging around the house he only saw what he saw before and never did quite make it where he was headed.
Helen, startled by her parents who made a sudden entrance, ran towards them with the last bit of energy she had. “Mom, Dad, are you ok?”
“Helen! Thank goodness we found you at least. Where did Lucas and Cole run off, too?” Judy suddenly realized why they were there and what they should be doing. “Last I saw he was running this way but then he’d turn and come back. He had Lucas.”
“I saw them, too. I just don’t get it. Maybe he was trying to get our attention. Oh! here they come now.”
Cole saw the family gathered by the apple tree and picked up his pace. Lucas finally stirred and Cole let him down, holding his hand as they shuffled exhaustively towards the group who was running towards them.
“Mommy! Daddy!” Lucas hated that he said the childish form instead of just mom and dad but at that point he had too many other things on his mind. The sudden brightness was once again blinded, no one having any idea what time it was.
“I was so brave, I even got Charlie to take a picture, and then you all disappeared, and I wasn’t brave anymore. I was very very scared. I’m brave now again with you here.”
Everyone looked at each other, thankful at least one of the party felt a little brave.
Cole broke the silence, “How do we get out of here? I didn’t want to go through that house again but I keep ending up where I started. Should we split up and sacrifice not being together to try to save time?”
“Absolutely not,” everyone said at once in some manner.
“I hoped you’d say that,” Cole and Lucas replied.
“Let’s sit down and think for a minute, regroup and determine what we’ve all tried so far.” Max tried to be the leader but was failing. No one sat down even though all had legs barely holding them up.
Judy was the born leader, “We’ll need to go through the house,” she declared after understanding Cole’s predicament. “Straight through it going to be the most direct. We’ll just have to hold each other’s hands and keep looking around us.”
Cole lost all colour in his face when he knew that was the best plan and saw Flo coming up behind Helen. Sacrificing his own safety and sanity, he told the others to go ahead, he’d be right behind them but needed to lead Flo away. The family grabbed each other’s hands without much hesitation and went back towards the house while Cole ran the other way.
Flo, startled by their actions, hesitated long enough for Cole to run around the tree and back towards the house before she could take a few steps. Reaching the same door the family just went through easily he found it locked.
Stay tuned for Trust
May 23, 2018
Racing Around The Radius
Cole picked up his pace but was physically and mentally exhausted from nights misadventures. With Lucas sound asleep on his back it was impossible to go at a steady pace, too. The only thing keeping him moving was knowing Flo seemed to be picking up her pace behind him.
And then he had to stop.
Looking ahead to where he expected to see the front lawn Cole saw the same field he just left. The same side of the house he escaped from was right in front of him, the glass from the broken window shining with moonlight. Deciding he must have gotten turned around he debated turning back and outmaneuvering the old lady but he determined that would be a waste of time and energy, that he should just keep going.
Helen, still running the radius of the basement, felt calmer knowing that at least Lucas was with Cole. She just couldn’t figure out how to get to them and then she saw it.
At the side of an old bookshelf there was a sliver of light. With all her strength she pushed it aside enough so squeeze through a second set of stairs that seemed protected from the age of the rest of the house. She embarked them with as much speed as her body would allow and reached an outside door. Falling through it she shielded her eyes from the drastic change in light. Not believing she was in the basement all night Helen became disoriented and sat down under an apple tree, grabbing one from a low hanging branch and taking a bite.
Judy and Max were still trying to remember who the older boy was and why he was piggy backing their son. And why he was pacing the backyard but not trying to escape. They realized while they stood watching and wandering about him they, too, were not escaping so snapped out of their confusion.
“We must go back downstairs,” Max said, stating the obvious.
“Of course but how, the stairs barely held me coming up.”
“Let’s race around the radius and find another way. I’ll go this way and you go that way, we’ll meet in the middle and figure things out,” Max offered.
“That’s the way you want to go through life, isn’t it? Separate and hopefully find each other again? What if we don’t? What if you fall through the flooring and get hurt – then what good are we? No, we are going together.”
“That’s your problem – you always think too much but let’s go. We’ll do it your way and hopefully can do it quickly.”
They turned left out of the kids room and found a bathroom and a master bedroom before coming across a laundry shoot. “I’ll fit through there, do you think it’s safe enough?”
“What about me, then? I thought you didn’t want to split up?”
Judy rolled her eyes and kept moving, annoyed that Max couldn’t lay off the beer to keep in shape. Five years ago he paid more attention to things and cared enough to be able to fit through, too. And then she saw it- a rooftop low enough and looking stable enough to hold them both. Max shrugged, not coming up with a better idea, and they both climbed out onto the rooftop and stared at the garden below.
Come back tomorrow for Sacrifice
Quiet Quest
Sorry I’ve been slacking on these posts. I was going steadily until I took a mini vacation and then got a new phone so couldn’t sign in easily (long story). So here we go and I will post a couple a day to ensure I catch up.
Quiet Quest
Lucas felt goosebumps when he stepped into the garden. He was starting to get suspicious and the suddenly bright warm scene and it didn’t help that, once his eyes adjusted, he saw he was being watched.
“Mom!” Lucas yelled excitedly towards the house. “I gotta go,” he turned to Flo to explain. “They have been looking for me all along.” His face showed pure elation even though some time before he wondered if they even remembered he existed. When he saw his father’s face next he froze.
“Dad?”
“Yes, your father is here too but I don’t think they are looking for you, Lucas. Remember your sister trespassed, too. They must be looking for her.”
Lucas thought about this and doubted his new friend but not for long. He realized that only his sister’s crush was in the house with him and surmised Helen was primarily just following him when she came across Lucas. She promised she’d be back with help but then never did come back. After hearing her talk to Cole he wondered if they were just hiding out somewhere, forgetting about him.
Lucas nestled against Flo again, his brain hurting from all the thoughts and panicking going through his body. He longed for his bed, surprised in some ways that he was so tired when it was bright enough for lunch.
The new friends started to doze off again until they jumped from a loud crash and the sound of glass breaking.
Lucas clung tighter to his friend as he noticed the sky darken with the noise. Opening his eyes he noticed Cole standing before him, reaching for his arm and Lucas really wasn’t sure what to do. Refusing to let himself be grabbed he told Cole to go away.
“Listen, your family is waiting for you inside. They are all so scared and want you home. You know better than to talk to strangers.”
Lucas was shocked, “This is Flo, she’s not a stranger. I know her name. She’s been keeping me company and making sure I don’t get lost.”
“We need to get out of here.”
Flo piped up then, telling Cole he should leave well enough alone and leave. After several minutes of back and forth Cole and Lucas noticed the pauses between Flo’s replies were longer as she was drifting off. If Lucas stayed there he would be too but when he saw the look on Helen’s face looking out the basement window off and on he decided it best to go with Cole. “Ok, I’ll go with you. I want my mom,” Lucas said quietly.
“Ok, come on. It’ll be a quiet quest but we’re not going through that house again. Let’s go around.” Lucas was dragging his feet so Cole worried walking would take so long. “Hey bud, how about a piggy back ride?”
“Awesome!” Lucas replied, his father not offering them anymore. Lucas climbed against Cole’s back and they started off again, turning the corner just as Flo woke up. Glancing back Cole quickened his pace but then stopped dead in his tracks.
Continue with Race Around the Radius later today…
May 18, 2018
Paradise
Under any other circumstances this view would have been paradise. A young boy playing with a grandmother in a garden filled with blossoms and vegetables in light so golden it was impossible. Apple trees giving shade to plants and the playful couple who needed a break from the sun. The world was perfect on the other side of window pane yet it made Judy shiver.
The scene, no matter how heavenly it should have been, was horrifying. Everything about it was wrong. The sun couldn’t have been shining, it was – Judy checked her watch – 10:39 PM. Her boy shouldn’t have been awake and both of his grandmothers lived on the other side of the country. And there was no way a garden so beautiful could exist there- behind a house abandoned for decades.
The scene did bring back memories for Max thought. A few years Judy’s elder, he grew up on the other side of the street and vaguely remembered his parents telling him of a garden thriving nearby. Something about bartering for the most delicious of strawberries and apples and the sweetest of honeys from their own hives. They would talk about the mystery of the young family with a single child – Max couldn’t remember if it was a boy or girl and committed to trying to remember to ask his older brother.
It was like Max and Judy were looking into the past, sucked in by a time warp where everything was perfect and inviting. Shaking themselves out of the moment they realized how wrong their idleness was. “Dear goodness, Max, we’ve been doing nothing for 22 minutes,” Judy exclaimed after glancing at her watch again.
Max kept staring though, amazed by the scene that could have easily been from a children’s book describing the Garden of Eden. It was hard to tear himself away yet he knew his concern should be on finding his actual son and bringing him home safely. This certainly wasn’t the date night he had in mind when Judy called him.
Judy broke the moment and turned to see the horror of reality. The house, in shambles, was so very depressing especially since she didn’t know how she would get out of it with her family intact.
Meanwhile, downstairs, Helen too found a window and brought over a bench so she could stretch to see out of the filthy glass. Peering through a spot she saw something she never thought possible. Lucas was laughing and talking to Flo as if it was 10 AM and she got him out of school for the day. Clear as day, Helen was watching sprouts become plants and Lucas’s arms become sun kissed.
Using her sleeve to wipe off more of the window Helen felt she was an intruder spying on a young couple in love. The bench broke, causing her to fall and bump her head on the hard ground, dazing her into the second level of her nightmare. “Where is Cole?!” was her last thought before falling asleep.
Cole found his way to the back of the house and was amazed at the scene before him. He was the only one who could safely get out through a window and into the garden so, after trying to open it, he wrapped his hand in his t-shirt and smashed through it. It wasn’t only the glass he shattered though…
Stay tuned for… Quiet Quest
May 17, 2018
Occupied
Everyone was occupied yet no one was really doing anything of value. As Helen’s parents made it up the stairs they remained quiet, hoping to hear the sound again but all was silent.
Helen was simply wandering in circles not finding any clues as to where her brother went with Flo, if they were even still together.
Charlie wasn’t comfortable with any part of the situation as she wasn’t sure she’d ever seen this man Frank before. He didn’t seem to be a typical fireman either but she knew practically anyone could volunteer, especially in this town when fires were so rare. She figured if nothing else he’d have more experience and was stronger than her so it couldn’t hurt to have him, especially as they crept through the decrepit house not seeing any of its occupants.
Cole was almost to a window but realized it was far from where he actually planned to go. Looking out he saw only a lawn filled with litter as the crowd was long gone. He thought about shouting for the others but was too scared to even try.
Helen’s parents made it to the top and were surprised to see a child’s room, much like their daughters was years ago. The only room in the house that looked lived in and cleaned, they felt a new sense of dread flow through their spine. “How is this even possible?” Judy whispered.
“We can’t jump to conclusions,” Max replied not realizing how many conclusions they already jumped to, including thinking the house was abandoned. “We have to keep looking.” Judy thought it was strange that if anyone did make it up the stairs they would leave the comfort of a room that looked so lived in.
“Wouldn’t Lucas stay here and sleep if he made it up the stairs?” Judy voiced what they were both thinking. She needed sound, something to keep her mind from panicking more. “Lucas?” she bellowed and heard an echo in response. She wandered to the room’s only window, startled by how clean it was and almost fainting at the sight she saw through it.
“Max – it’s Lucas!”
Stay tuned for Paradise
May 16, 2018
Night Has Fallen
Helen felt the outside temperature dropping, the house offering little to stop the wind, but her own temperature was beginning to soar. So mad that Lucas wouldn’t even have the sense to stay put when he knew of her efforts and expected return, angry that the lady was so convincing. Staying still was not what she was going to do, especially with Cole coming back with help any minute now.
But Cole was lost himself. Turning away from Helen he thought he knew the way back, he also thought that Helen’s parents were close behind him yet he was alone. All mixed up due to the deepening darkness Cole crept forward with his hands reaching all around him in effort to not bump into something.
Helen’s parents were making their way upstairs, slowly and carefully, wondering how it was even possible someone would have so quickly disappeared up the broken steps. They wouldn’t have thought to go up except that they heard a sound coming clearly from above them. They wondered where Cole would have possibly gone and thought Charlie would have gotten help by now.
Charlies’ phone wouldn’t work and when she approached the thinning crowd most people just shrugged and said they had to get home. It took her too long to find someone who admitted to being part of the volunteer fire fighter crew and was relieved when he told her he’d call for his team. Charlie had no reason not to believe him.
With the night quickly rolling in clouds and rain were brought with it and that brought a whole different level of worry for all parties. The roof of the abandoned house left much to be desired and Charlie wasn’t dressed for the chill or the rain as she planned to be home with her story written by now. Journalists, she knew, stayed to the very end and so she began pacing in front of the house, waiting for more help.
Frank didn’t know why he lied. Under pressure he did have a tendency to embellish the truth and he supposed he always wanted to volunteer to fight fires but in reality he was usually the one to start them. He had some buddies he could call but they’d likely be drunk by now so he pretended to be talking to someone on his phone every time Charlie glanced over. After a few minutes he approached her and said they were on their way but he’d get started and asked her to lead the way.
Stay tuned tomorrow for Occupied
