Sarah Butland's Blog, page 15
May 15, 2018
Missing Again
Helen was dumbfounded at seeing the empty room knowing they couldn’t have walked past her. Searching for another way out was useless too, the only other exit was up and there was no way they could do that.
Wandering around as she waited for Cole to return, Helen tried to make sense of the night and simply couldn’t.
Meanwhile her parents were bickering over which way to go and if they should stay together or go their separate ways -while searching for their kids and beyond that.
Charlie was staying outside, arguing that someone should remain on the steps for when the emergency team arrived or if anyone came back out. She was most frightened for Cole who really had no reason to be in there but knew his guilt was what drove him. It seemed so strange to Charlie that anyone would leave a young boy in an abandoned house.
The crowd was thinning, with no one knowing the disaster unfolding before them most were just talking about how weird it was so many got so close to the house and were just standing there. Most agreed to meet again 10 years later if the house was still standing.
Lucas, inside and getting cold now, wasn’t sure if he should scream or continue to sleep. Sleep won over.
Helen still wandered and soon wondered what was keeping Cole and where her parents ended up.
Too many people were missing again it was hard to know who was looking for who.
Stay tuned for Night Has Fallen
May 14, 2018
Lonely Life
Helen thought she lived a lonely life and maybe she did but it was nothing compared to Flo’s. While she was waiting for her parents to find her, Helen and Flo knew Flo had no one coming for her.
Lucas stirred and looked at his sister, reminding Helen that she even had her little brother. Well, would once Flo let him go. Helen wasn’t sure she should ask for Flo to let him go right now as they seemed so comfortable together and she hated the idea of taking yet another person away.
They all sat, in silence, except for the creaking of approaching footsteps above them. Lucas and Helen began to scream out but it was hard to be loud and not scare Flo. Torn about what to do, Helen decided to trust the old lady and ventured to the doorway leading to a hall not far from where Flo and the boy sat. “How far are the stairs?” Helen asked.
“Just straight down that hallway, you’ll see them but they aren’t much anymore. And don’t trust the railing.”
The only thing Helen did trust was the floor beneath her as she realized it was ground. Although once a finished basement in its day there was no longer flooring, if there was anything before. She realized each room actually held a garden to some extent. This house no longer offered the luxury of a home but was housing tools for survival. Looking back at her brother one last time Helen crept further down the hallway until she reached the bottom of what must have been a structural wonder. In different circumstances she would have joked that they could still be considered a structural wonder but she just wanted out.
Returning to her parents would certainly bring a different kind of lonely life but she couldn’t possibly stay in the house of horrors even if they did take a fondness to Flo. How would she tell Lucas or rather how would her parents tell him. And how would they tell their parents about Flo.
As Helen ascended the stairs a light came on at the top and she saw Cole. “Please, go get a rope. There’s no way even if I could make it up these that the others could.”
“Helen? What are you doing? Who are the others?”
“You’ll never believe it but someone has been living here all this time. She’s with my brother know but he’s hurt and she’s, well, ancient. Where are my parents? We need some strong people, I don’t know how else to get up there.”
“Hang on, I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Helen’s sigh of relief was cut short when he left and she heard more floor boards collapse beneath his weight. She realized there was no safe way for a few people to throw a rope down and haul them up.
Carefully maneuvering back down the few steps she got up, Helen returned to the room she was sure she just left but they were gone. Flo and Lucas were missing.
Join me tomorrow for… Missing Again
May 12, 2018
Knowledge Bred Kindness
Lucas’s mind drifted and eyes threatened to close as the lady told her story but Helen’s attention was rapt. Figuring she had to wait for her parents to find her anyway she determined it was safest to keep the ladies attention on her story and not be distracted with the little boy on her lap.
“‘I’ll start at the very beginning so it makes the most sense…
My parents named me Flower though I much prefer “Flo”. They built this house, long before the Walmart and Sobeys set up shop. They ran the market, growing and selling everything they cool. Kale was their biggest grower but that fad didn’t start yet so carrots, potatoes and pansies were their most popular. They never sold for money though as they didn’t need that, they bartered for services – a repairman, maintenance on their well, a babysitter on the rare occasion they needed to go out of town for supplies.
I remember some sitters were so fun and enjoyed being there though a lot of them were disappointed when their payment was a recipe, its ingredients and an offer to help learn to make it.
Things went on like that for years, so long I tried to convince them I was old enough to take care of myself when they last left. They were supposed to just be a few hours but thought they might get delayed and need to spend the night so they wanted someone here.”
Lucas yawned and Flo paused to look at him. When she looked up again Helen was sure she saw tears on her cheeks but it was too dark to be sure. The hitch in her voice confirmed it when she started again.
“The sitter they bartered for was new and it was June, he was in grade 12 so graduating in a few days and needed the money to help him move out. He seemed nice enough, even had a back pack filled with activities for me and then he sent me to my room to do them. Not long after his arrival did I hear a knock and the party was happening.
I later figured out that he was using this as an excuse to host a party for his grad class, and beyond by the sounds of it, and charged an entry fee. The music was so loud I couldn’t sleep so I heard when the last person left and only then did I leave my room.
The place, my house, was a complete disaster and everyone was gone, even the sitter. I was mortified and had no idea how a person could do such a thing, especially to someone else’s house – with a kid in it!
I was going to start cleaning up but when I saw the holes in walls and the stains on our carpets exhaustion took over and I went to bed. I thought I would wake up when my parents returned and would be able to help them clean and explain everything but they never returned. Or, if they did, they left after seeing the condition of their house.
I was truly alone and too scared to leave to look for my parents or help as I thought if they did come back and didn’t find me then I’d be in more trouble. That was 60 years ago and they never came back.”
Helen gasped, realizing she was holding her breath through the latter part of the story. Wiping tears from her own cheeks she approached Flo and gave her a hug. Lucas stirred, thankfully sleeping through the hardest parts of the story, and Helen apologized. “I can’t believe after all this time no one knew you were here! I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through and I promise to help fix your house, find your parents and get you back on your feet again.”
But Flo wasn’t finished with her heartbreaking tale and all that wouldn’t matter now…
Stay tuned for Lonely Life
May 11, 2018
Judgement Journey
Lucas knew he wasn’t supposed to judge a book by the cover but the lady’s eyes were so kind and they saw him. That was enough for him to comfortably sleep and the last thought was that he’d be staying in place this way, making it easier for others to find him.
He awoke suddenly at the sound of a crash and through blurry vision saw his sister crumpled on the floor before him. At first Lucas wasn’t sure what to do but he was still upset with her for leaving and then ignoring him so he stayed. His ankle was aching too much for him to want to leave the comfort of the ladies lap anyway.
When Helen came to she screamed up at the ceiling, trying to warn her parents and let them know where she was. Then she saw the lady and, finally, Lucas.
“Get away from him!” Helen screamed as she tried to make her way to her brother. While Helen’s body was strong and wasn’t hurt in the fall. the journey to her brother was long as it was filled with judgement and nerves. How could this woman gain Lucas’s trust so quickly, she wondered. Lucas was usually very shy, especially around older woman yet here he was curled up in her lap content as a kitten.
“Lucas, come here. How did you get down here?”
“I fell, like you. I was trying to get Cole’s attention and everyone was just ignoring me.. except for her.” Lucas realized he didn’t even know her name but that it didn’t really matter. She was his friend now, for life.
“She’s a stranger, Lucas. A woman living in a house that is falling apart and appears abandoned. Who knows how crazy she is?! We need to get out of here!”
“Don’t judge me.” The lady sounded offended and had full rights to be. “You don’t even know who I am, or what my story is.”
“I know you have my brother and didn’t even try to get him back to his parents. You live in a decrepit house, stay in the dark and haven’t even told me your name.”
“You haven’t asked and seemed to have already made up your mind about me. The boy is hurt and tired and needed a moment before battling the stairs. You haven’t told me your name either or why in the world you came into my house without bothering to knock.”
Helen knew she was right and realized she was judging the woman and her journey without any basis to judge her on. And then she asked for her name and her story….
Stay tuned for the next part “Kindness”
May 10, 2018
Intruder
Lucas heard his family entering the house and, in his excitement, let go of the floor board. Hands slippery from sweat and weak from effort were useless in breaking his fall and he cried out in pain. Somehow it was darker now for him, he didn’t that that could be possible so he cried out again.
The voices seemed liked they were right above Lucas as he tried to stand but failed. His right ankle was screaming louder than his voice could but he had to move. Ignoring his pain and subconscious urging him to stay, something about it being easier to be found if he stayed, he started walking in circles, expanding the size with each turn and holding his hands in front so as not to walk into a wall. Eventually Lucas found a light switch and a door. Doubtful but hopeful he tried the light switch and was surprised it worked.
“Who is there?”
Lucas screamed again, jumping a very awkward jump, part in surprise part in pain. “Hello?” What a dumb thing to say, he thought, but what else was there for him to do?
“Who are you?” The voice was aged, crackly like it hasn’t been used in years and eerily close.
“Helen? Mom? Dad?” Lucas crossed his fingers, never so eager to see or hear that it was a family member.
“Who are they? I am not your mother. What are you doing in my house?”
Her house?! Lucas was told it was abandoned, the whole community said it was abandoned yet someone must have paid for the lights. Lucas knew someone had to pay the power bill as he hear his mother complain about the costs every month, not to mention growling at him every time he forgot a light on.
“I’m sorry, I…”
“You’re sorry? Did your mother teach you to barge into someone’s home and just say sorry?”
“No, I… I was told no one lived here. I was here for the tradition, it was my first time and I came in with Cole when no one answered me.” Lucas was rambling, he knew it yet was too excited to finally be heard to stop. “I wouldn’t have come in, he did it first and I was hoping someone would notice me and just take me home. I have school tomorrow and it’s way past my bed time. I need to go home.”
Her face appeared to him then, emerging from the corner of the room and, though filled with wrinkles, her eyes appeared kind and there was a slight smile on her lips. She looks like Gramma, Lucas thought.
“Come here, young one. Don’t be scared.” She held out her arms and, desperate for comfort, Lucas ran to them. She sat down and he curled up on her very uncomfortably bony lap and promptly fell asleep.
Stay tuned for Judgement Journey
May 9, 2018
Hanging Onto Hope
Lucas made mistakes. He didn’t like to admit them but his sister pointed them out constantly.
“Why can’t you colour inside the lines?”
“No, two plus two is not twenty two.”
“Look at the mess you’ve made!”
He often wished he was as perfect as she thought she was but he was young, no one could expect a five year old to be perfect when even his parents couldn’t be perfect. His dad moved out when he was four, saying it was for work while Helen tried to blame him. Lucas was smarter than that and knew that his parents weren’t getting along because his mother wasn’t working and continued to spend his dad’s money. Lucas wanted to move with him but everyone said he needed his mother more.
When his mother and father approached the step together Lucas was confused. More confused when Helen told him he was missing as he was standing right in front of them. That’s why he followed Cole in the abandoned house. He hoped that if he did go missing his family would actually notice his return.
Walking behind Cole, Lucas wondered why the boy didn’t pay attention to him either. Cole seemed more concerned with reaching a window than he was with Lucas asking for help. When Cole brought a lighter out of his pocket and looked for something Lucas panicked and pleaded for him not to catch anything on fire.
Before he could reach for Cole’s arm, oblivious now to the rotting floor boards, Lucas’ left leg fell through and his right soon followed. Grabbing what he could of the next floor board Lucas screamed while Cole carried on setting a fire to another piece of wood as if nothing happened.
Lucas watched Cole closely as he set the wood on wire so he caught sight of his startled face, appearing to recognize the trouble the young boy was in but still seeming to do nothing.
While Lucas’ hands got more sweaty and began losing grip Cole jumped out of the house through the nearest window.
Lucas was alone, hanging onto a sliver of hope that Cole was in a hurry to get help. He just didn’t understand why he wouldn’t have stayed with him or reached out his own hand to help him up.
As his hands became more sweaty less hope was felt and Lucas began to wonder what would happen if… or when… he fell and then he did.
See Intruder to read what happens next!
May 8, 2018
Gigantic Mistake
Lucas was trying to be brave but quickly discovered he was just plain stupid like his sister often said. He trusted Cole, even if Cole wouldn’t admit to seeing him following, and he was now inside the abandoned house, his families voices getting further away.
“Cole, where are you going?” Lucas was yelling but Cole didn’t even pause.
Cole felt the temperature plummet and shivered. The house was silent, with the exception of his own footsteps and the warm breeze blowing through the broken windows. As captain of his rugby team but only 5’4 and 125 pounds Cole thought the scariest thing he’d face was his opponent towering over him. Those matches were nothing compared to being in the empty house even with a crowd not far away but he wanted to face his fears. He felt he had nothing to lose and so much to gain, not to mention his best friend Kevin dared him.
All he had to do was get to a front window and wave then he could leave. It seemed easier to do from the outside as there were plenty of windows close to the front door but inside, the floors were rotten, the light was dim and the chill freaked him out the most. With each step Cole took the floor crumbled which made it even harder to figure out how to get back.
Remembering the lighter in his pocket he grabbed it and looked for something to use as a torch while his eyes were still adjusting. A piece of the floor would simply burst into flames but, he thought, maybe it would be enough to get his bearings or find something better. He bent down and ripped a piece of the wooden flooring from beside him and lit it.
Giant mistake.
All he could see was a young boy hanging on to a floor board while he dangled into what must be the basement and then the fire went out.
Panicked, Cole forgot all about the stupid dare but jumped through the nearest window to a cheering crowd. Kevin came over, made sure he was okay and then high-fived him, accepting that the dare was completed and was actually epic.
Cole, brushing himself off, went back to the front step where Helen and Charlie were still walking to an older couple. “Helen, what’s going on?”
“My brother… have you seen him?” Helen was oblivious to Cole being through the house and back, he hoped she would think he was brave but she had other things on her mind. She showed him the framed picture and his jaw dropped.
“He’s in the house and he’s in trouble.”
Next installment “Hanging Onto Hope”
May 7, 2018
Facing Fears
Missed Saturdays “E” post? Visit it today or start at the beginning.
Helen’s parents, Judy and Max, heard Helen enter the house and leave. They both got dressed in silence, dreading the conversation that would need to be had well before they were ready. Judy thought their kids would hate that they were working on things while Max was still oblivious and thought they’d welcome him back with open arms. Neither knew if they were good together or just lonely and used to what they had nor did they want to make the announcement until they were more confident.
Judy was the first to notice the missing picture and realized she had more to fear and had to face all of them that night. Grabbing her coat she told Max to take his own car and meet her at the abandoned house. She kept silent about her worries as she didn’t want them both to be driving sporadically, especially if she was over reacting.
It took them both a while to find Helen as they were looking for her in the crowd, not at the front of the house. They split up and met each other at the front of the crowd, noticing the entire group of people was staring at two young girls on the step.
Helen turned first, hearing the approaching steps but telling Charlie their conversation wasn’t over. Helen’s face drained of all colour when she saw her parents together and couldn’t believe how badly the night was going.
“Where’s Lucas?” Judy asked the question of her nightmares as Helen asked her own “What are you doing here?”
“You answer first. Why do you have that picture? Where’s your brother?”
Charlie tried answering but stopped when Cole walked up asking if we were going in or just going to stand around. No one knew what he was talking about as Charlie felt mortified Cole was so close to her, Helen cringed at seeing her parents together and Judy needed to know what happened to her baby.
Lucas, hidden to them all, faced his own fear of feeling invisible when he was standing right in front of what seemed like the entire town. When he saw Cole reach for the door handle and turn, Lucas followed him in while holding his breath.
See what happens tomorrow in Gigantic Mistake
May 5, 2018
Excitement
Go to the beginning of this story if you haven’t already.
(For May I am writing a fictional story each day based on the next letter of the alphabet and today’s letter is E!)
Returning to the scene of the… well.. of the crowd as hopefully no crime was committed, Helen went first to where she stood some 35 minutes before and looked for Charlie. Unfortunately the crowd shift dramatically since she had left and neither Charlie nor Lucas were in that area.
“Excuse me,” Helen tried to get someone’s attention. She was finally able to stop an older gentleman to show him the picture. “Have you seen my brother? He was just here and get pushed into the crowd.”
The man looked at her strangely, wanting to ask if she always carried around a framed picture of her little brother but Helen was pushed away so wouldn’t hear him anyway. The mass of people, recently keeping their distance from the property assumed belonging to the abandoned house, forgot their fears and edged their way across the tall, dry grass. Step by step they were all hypnotized, first with the excitement of the rumour of a glowing window and now at the young girl taking pictures from the front step.
The man, Brian, was in attendance for the third time and couldn’t recall ever seeing such a fiasco at the other two rituals. In the past the group would gather, talk among themselves and leave after an hour or so when the temperature was too cold to be comfortable. Tonight he was already well into the second hour and wasn’t bothered by the chill. No one else seemed to be either.
As the crowd crept closer, Helen was pushed with the momentum and was surprised to see Charlie being the source of interest. She was pacing around in small circles seeming to look for something, or someone and Helen realized she could have been looking for a notebook or a person. Panicked she escaped the crowd and ran towards the house, not caring now if it was glowing or not.
“Charlie! Did you see my brother? He was right beside you when I… we got separated.”
“Lucas was right here just a second before. Look, I took a picture -he was so brave! I thought he’d want me to send you the proof but he must have run off.” Helen was impressed by the picture of her little bro but also thought she might kill him for being so stupid.
“Which way did he go?” Helen looked around, back at the approaching crowd and panicked again. Her brother was so small it would be easy for him to be trampled or missed and it would be all her fault!”
“I don’t know, I… it’s almost like he went into the house but I didn’t see the door open.” The crowd reached them then and drowned out any possibility of further conversation. They were asking Charlie so many questions, too many for her to possibly answer if she had the answers for them, which she didn’t.
The excitement of the night was just getting started.
Stay tuned for part 6… Facing Fears
May 4, 2018
Damage Done (Part 4)
If you want to start at the beginning of this challenge/ serial story please visit Abandoned!
Damage Done
Helen wasn’t sure what to do. Walking home without her brother seemed the worst of her options but going back to the crowd was intimidating and seemed useless without a picture of the boy she’d be looking for. The damage was done already, she now just needed to repair it and convinced herself going home to get a recent picture of Lucas was the best thing to do.
Fully convinced this was now the only option as she walked up the driveway she stopped, regretting it all when she saw her mother’s car. Having no other choice but to go in, Helen approached the steps and casually opened the door. Surprised her mother wasn’t passed out on the couch or in the kitchen prepare a late night lunch, Helen stood still for a moment listening and was dismayed to hear a voice she recognized but was out of place. Her father was here, after being gone for months, and it sounded like, well, like she didn’t want to interrupt or be heard herself.
Tiptoeing to the piano where a framed picture of Lucas stood, Helen grabbed it and sneaked back out the door suddenly realizing she should have simply snapped a picture of it with her phone. If they came out of the room and realized it was missing they would know something was wrong. There was no going back and yet she was going back, back to the abandoned house with a secret she didn’t know how to live with.
Meanwhile, Charlie was mortified. She should have never thought herself responsible enough to care for Lucas, especially when her first reaction was all about getting Cole’s attention. Now Lucas was gone and she was to blame. Actually, Helen was to blame for walking away from him in the first place but the damage was done and she did it.
Only she didn’t know how she screwed up as Charlie was looking after him and simply took a picture he begged her for. No, she couldn’t be at fault for any of this and yet that nagging feeling kept her in place, which was totally out of place standing on the steps staring back at the crowd as if preparing to make an announcement. And maybe that’s what she should do, make an announcement in effort of repairing the damage.
Lucas blamed himself for not following his sister. Somehow when the crowd disappeared all he wanted was his sister and realized the damage was done when he didn’t follow her home. He had nothing to prove to anyone so he should have never even asked to come or for that girl to take a picture of him. Now the big question was how he would be expected to repair the damage.
Stay tuned for Part 5: Excitement
