Chapter 11

Mark was so furious in the morning, that he decided not to go to work. After all… If she didn’t have to go why did he have to go?

Instead he went out and had a cup of coffee, then walked around the hardware store. No he didn’t stay home… He didn’t hang out with his family, even though that’s what he wanted to do. Because he didn’t want her to know that he was that angry. It might be confusing to some, but to him he was making perfect sense. She didn’t have to work he didn’t work.

After he wandered along through the lumber aisle for a while, he decided he would go and talk to the dollhouse guy again. He had been waiting until it was a respectable time to stop by. This time he didn’t call first, and maybe that was poor idea. He drove up to the giant perfect house, again he felt out of place with his ratty old truck grumbling from every direction. His brakes let out a particularly loud cry of complaint, just to make him feel like an idiot. He almost turned around and drove back home to talk to Kelly and to apologize for their fight. He knew that she didn’t like cleaning hotel rooms, it was disgusting. She did deserve a break she’d been working so hard.… It’s just that he had been working hard too. And his job sucked too.

But then he thought about his father destroying his favorite toy. Beth and Coralina had it just as bad, that dumb little table wouldn’t even click shut without the table leaf in place. That was his fault, and his responsibility to fix it. He was not going to let them down. So he got out of the truck, to talk to the crazy man, and knocked on the door. Mr. Vladimir opened the door not two minutes later. “Hello.”

“Hello, this table leaf didn’t fit. Remember? We traded them a few days ago. This time I brought the broken one, so we can get the right one.” Mark said, nervously.

Mr. Vladimir frowned, “okay.” And he gestured a both walked down the hallway to the large room that had stored all the parts in. He pulled out two thin long boxes again. Mark handed him the perfect brand-new table leaf, and he carefully filed it back into place. “Let me see the broken one.”

“Here.” Said Mark, “it split in half, I barely even touched it.”

The man took the splintering piece of table and looked at it. The room seemed to grow instantly cold or, as his eyes grew wide with surprise, and a lingering hint of uncomfortable fear. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Said Mr. Vladimir. “Where did you get this dollhouse?”

“The thrift store.” Said Mark. He was almost embarrassed to utter those words loud, because he didn’t want Mr. Vladimir to realize just how desperate his times were. He couldn’t imagine that Mr. Vladimir had ever been inside a thrift store. Ever.

Mr. Vladimir froze with fear as he stared at the table leaf in his hand. He slowly closed both boxes of table leaves and slid them back into place. And then he turned and went into the back. His movements were stiff, like a man experiencing great shock. Then he came back with the box that was about as large as a shoebox. He carefully opened it. There was a bad energy in the room that had not been there before.”Have you been sleepwalking? Did the nightmares already start?”

“Sleepwalking? How did you know I was sleepwalking?” Said Mark, totally surprised.

Mr. Vladimir didn’t say anything further but opened a shoebox. Inside were exact replica pieces of Mark’s dollhouse. The same tiny little figurines made out of wood, a few pieces for the stairs, and even tiny books. He quietly sorted through the pieces with a grim look on his face. Not a few minutes later he handed Mark a table leaf that perfectly match the splintered one in his hand. “I’ll have to keep this broken ones I can make another.” He was hoarse when he said it. “I’ll have to make another.” He muttered to himself, and made the sign of the cross.

Then Mr. Vladimir closed the shoebox. And he turned and he put it back on the tall shelf in the back. When he came back he was holding a folded piece of paper. “You have it. The cursed dollhouse. And I’m sure you don’t want to hear anything more, but… This paper will explain how long it will take before you kill everyone. I’m afraid I can’t let you stand in my home any longer, lest it happen here. Never come back.” And with a coldness, Mr. Vladimir walked Mark out and locked the door behind him.

Mark was completely baffled, holding the table leaf in one hand and a folded piece of paper the other. He got into his truck at the table leaf in his coat jacket. And then he slowly unfolded the note.

At the top it said the Seven Stages of Able’s Curse.

Night walk

Bone snap

Blood cry

Fury

Elation

Fear

The slaughter