Before Creation peopled earth,
Its eye shall roll through chaos back;
And where the farthest heaven had birth,
The spirit trace its rising track.
And where the future mars or makes,
Its glance dilate o’er all to be,
While sun is quench’d or system breaks,
Fix’d in its own eternity.
When Coldness Wraps This Suffering Clay, Paragraph three.
Lord Byron, 1815
~
The doctors had managed to stabilize my mother that night, but after everything I’d seen, I couldn’t quite muster relief. David came in and helped me back to the limo after that. I held my face in my hands on the way, staring at the floor.
I tried to understand it all. I had answers, like I wanted, but what did they mean? What was all of this? Why was this strangeness happening to me? I glanced at the paper in my hand. The name, Myles West, and a phone number. I had the house keys too.
It was too late at night to think about any of this anyway. As I left the limo to go up to the hotel, I heard a window roll down.
“When would you like to head home?” Grant said.
“What do you mean?” I said, distracted.
“To your family mansion. When do you want to go there as your mother has asked?”
David gave Grant an odd look.
“Whenever you’re ready for it, of course. Please take your time.” David said.
“Ask me tomorrow, but maybe we’ll just go then.” I said.
Grant nodded, smiled, and rolled up the window.
When I got back to the hotel room, I nearly fell into bed with May and Carol. I slept a little, but the rings under my eyes were definitely deeper in the morning.
We got up relatively early so as to not miss breakfast. May was beaming with excitement to try the pancake machine, so I didn’t try to tell anyone what had happened last night. I at least wanted May to have one more normal thing before I tried to tell the two of them about, well, whatever the hell that was.
“Look, Megan! It really does make pancakes on its own.” May said. She gripped the counter and watched the conveyor belt with awe. It really was a nifty little machine.
“That’s cool, May. They’ll probably be hot so be careful.”
The three of us had our breakfasts in the luxurious dining room. We definitely stood out. Not only because May was still in her purple pajamas, but because of my own shambling appearance, which I can only imagine was zombie-like.
I’m not even kidding here. There were other children having breakfast who were in tuxedos. For breakfast at a hotel. Besides the annoying stares we got though, the food was incredible. It helped take my mind off of it all at least for a while.
The pancake machine was one of the few non-chef prepared foods. Otherwise you simply asked what you wanted from a menu and they cooked it up, breakfast related or not.
We went back up to the room later. That was when I sat the two of them down.
“So, I had to go visit my mom last night. Around three or four.”
May nodded.
“Oh?” Carol said.
“I didn’t wake you because apparently she just wanted to see me. I figured it was about the paperwork. David came by our room to pick me up. That’s how May ended up in our bed.”
“I woke up.” May said.
“Our mother wants us to watch her house while she’s in the hospital. She gave me the keys. We should probably go there today.”
“Right, I remember. Is that all though? By the look on your face I was worried that something bad had happened,” Carol put a hand on May’s shoulder. “How do you feel about going to your old house, May?”
“I don’t know. I guess it’s okay if you two will be there.” May said, but she looked worried. I nodded.
“Okay, then I guess they’ll just hold this hotel room for us, but for now we’re going to stay at mom’s.” I said.
“Was there anything else that happened?” May asked.
I tried to gear up and tell them about the weird things I had seen, but had I really seen them? What did I have? An odd smile from a nurse? People wearing the color red? I sighed. Top it all off with the fact I wasn’t sleeping and it made perfect sense.
Almost.
The paper in my pocket with Myles’ number weighed heavily, and so did my mother’s words.
“She did have a convulsive episode, but the doctors helped her and she’s okay. What else were you thinking of?” I said to May.
“I’m glad she’s okay. I don’t know what else. I had another dream while you were gone. One about a man in a red suit. He told me that I was special and that I could help him.” May said.
“Well that’s an odd dream,” Carol paused and eyed me. “Are you all right, Megan?”
“Yes, I’m just– Well, mother was acting a little odd last night. I’m sorry that you had another nightmare, May.” I said.
Again? May had seen the same stranger I’d been seeing? Before, I could write all of this off as stress, but this made me feel uneasy.
“You’ve seen him, haven’t you? The man in the red suit?” My mother had said.
“It was almost a nightmare,” May continued. “There was that scary hallway like my dream on the plane, but the suited man said that he could stop it. He just needs my help.”
“The ‘suited man’?” I said.
“Yeah, that’s what I call him.”
We stayed quiet for a time.
“Megan, can I tell you something else? About last night?” May said. I nodded. “When Mister Davie came over, he had a shadow on him. It looked almost like another person.” May said.
“A shadow?” Carol said.
“Something scary. I didn’t like it, I’ve seen it hovering around Grant–”
A knock on the door interrupted her. I glanced at May, then walked over to look.
“I’m sorry May. Hold on, it’s David and Grant.” I said. I let them inside, and May looked even more nervous.
“Hello, Magdalene, Maybel,” Grant said. “Your mother wishes you to consider David and myself under your employ for the time being. As you will be temporary guardians of her estate, I will assist you in what ways I can. If you have any questions or wish to begin processing the paperwork, please call on me.”
“We also thought that we should give you this.” David said. He was glancing at Grant the same way May was. David held out a credit card and I took it.
“This is one of the cards tied to a spending account made for you a while back. Before everything. Your mother never touched it, so I don’t think there’s any reason you shouldn’t have it while you’re here at the very least.” David said.
“As my first order to you two then, we’ll be using cellphones. No more snail mail.” I said.
Grant smiled in a way I didn’t like. David’s friendly smile balanced it out.
“Fair enough. We’ll leave you to it then,” David turned to go, but paused. “Oh, and please take your time to be comfortable. You should know that there are lots of things to do here to take your mind off of it all. There’s some catalogs in the lobby, and there’s a great pool here.” David winked, and the two left the hotel room.
“A credit card? How much do you think is on it?” Carol said.
“No clue.”
“My head spins a little at that.” Carol said.
“You should read the will. She wants to leave me everything if she dies. Her accounts, the house, all of it. I haven’t read the whole thing yet, so there’s probably a signature signing my soul to the devil, but still.”
Carol plopped down onto the couch. “What in the hell would we do with all of that?” She mused.
“Probably donate most of it. No one needs that much.”
“And buy me a million kid’s meals. It’ll be damn fine.” May said.
Carol looked at me, I at her, and we started laughing. May had an innocent little smile.
“Wasn’t me.” Carol said.
“You just had a kid’s meal yesterday.” I pleaded.
“Yeah, but Mr. Robot is getting lonely. He needs a buddy.” May said.
“We have a potentially bottomless credit card and May still wants to get a kid’s meal.” Carol said with laughter. May narrowed her eyes.
“What is it about the kid’s meal anyway? Is it the toy?” I said.
“It’s the vibe.” May said simply.
“The vibe huh?” I chuckled.
“Yeah, like how when you go swimming and it’s fun. Vibe.”
“I know what a vibe is, I’m not that old,” I said.
May shrugged. Carol and I looked at each other.
“Oh, what were you trying to say before, May? When Grant and David came in?”
May’s smile fell and she wrung her hands.
“Um, do we have to go to mom’s house right away?” She said.
“Not necessarily. What did you have in mind?” I said. May perked back up.
“Swimming, swimming! I’ve seen the pool Mister Davie talked about. It has a playground and everything.” May said.
I looked at Carol. She shrugged.
“Could be nice.” She said.
“Did you bring a swimsuit?” I asked May. She looked at me like I was stupid.
“You always bring a swimsuit to a hotel.”
“Right, my bad,” I chuckled. “Go get ready then.”
“Yay!” May cried and ran into her room.
I plopped down next to Carol. She ran a hand along my back as I held my face.
“Just what the hell are we going to do?” I said.
“I don’t know. I guess we just watch the house for a while? We’re going to have to call into work though.” Carol said.
“They can do without us. We’ve never taken days off.”
“I wasn’t expecting a vacation, but this will be niiiiice.” Carol stretched out and put an arm around me. I laid on her shoulder.
“Megan, you had an odd look when May talked about a guy in a suit. Is everything all right?”
“If I told you, I’d sound crazy.” I said.
“Oh I’m sure we’ve heard worse at work.” Carol said with a chuckle.
“Not this time.”
She studied me. Her tone became more serious.
“Megan, are you okay?”
“I think so. I think I just need some time to process it all. I’ve seen a lot of odd things lately, but I haven’t really been sleeping.” I said.
Carol was clearly worried, but nodded. “Okay. Tell me when you’ve got it all in a row. If we need to go to the hospital, we will.”
May peeked out of her room.
“What are you two doing? Stop being lazy-lovey and get ready to swim!”
“All right, all right,” Carol said, grunting as she got up. “Let’s check out this fancy-ass pool huh?”
We got ready and went downstairs. I hadn’t brought a swimsuit though, as that possibility had been the last thing on my mind. It was all right. I didn’t really feel like swimming anyway. May was only slightly saddened by this, but Carol had brought one.
May skipped through the finely decorated hallways all the way there. Most people we passed were wearing dress clothes or were otherwise fancied up. Needless to say, we were out of place. Adorable as May was though, the usher let her push the elevator buttons. That’s right. This place has elevator ushers.
We passed the lobby and dining areas to enter the pool. ‘Pool’ is an understatement. It was the largest fucking pool I’d ever seen, probably bigger than some hotels in itself. It was split into two major sections. A smaller half was clearly for kids, the other for ‘lazy-lovey’ adults. One end actually had a section going outside.
Even the playgrounds and other equipment were colored gold and black, accented by a stone fountain of a dolphin spurting water. This was as rich as a dark chocolate cake, and made me just as sick to my stomach too. My soul would have departed if I’d known how much it cost a night here.
I was surprised with how many people were here in the morning. It was mostly older folks spending time in the hot tubs. There were quite a few other screaming children though, one of them being the kid I’d seen in a tuxedo during breakfast. It seemed that a little water-based fun made impolite fools of us all.
May pulled from our hands and was off in moments. Carol looked at me, then her, and I waved her on.
“I’ll be the towel gal.” I said.
“You’re the best, babe.” Carol tossed me her pink towel and May’s purple one.
Once May saw that Carol was after her, she screeched in delight. They both jumped into the lazy river before anyone could tell them not to run.
“Can’t tell us rich people what to do anyway.” I muttered and wandered off to find a seat.
It was nice to sit with my arms back. I did my best to enjoy it.
I watched May and Carol. They were having so much fun. I’ve always been so happy at how well May and Carol got along. With such an age difference between May and I, it was almost like we had our own daughter. If we were pseudo parents though, I couldn’t help but feel that Carol was better at it than me.
I watched the other guests silently ‘enjoying’ the pool. They seemed envious of May’s laughter.
“Looks like all these folks are jealous. Fun isn’t something that rich people often have.” The voice behind me made me pause. It almost had that bonafide cowboy twang I had only heard in movies.
I looked to the side to see the man walking to my chair. He was tall with brown hair slicked back, maybe in his late forties. He wore a black button up, and I’d be damned if those weren’t actual cowboy boots on his feet. He watched Carol and May with a smile, then looked down to me.
“Hi…” I said warily.
He laughed.
“Sorry for approaching you. I was just wondering if you–”
“That’s my wife.” I interrupted, pointing to Carol.
That seemed to stun him. It took him a moment to respond.
“That’s not what I– damn it, sorry, forgot my coffee this morning. I’m all amiss if I don’t have it. I’ll get to the point. Are you Magdalene Audlin? I’m Lenny Catheway.” He said and held out his hand.
“Hi, did you need something?”
“My morning coffee for sure,” He chuckled to himself, but in seeing my straight face, he turned it into a cough.
“Well, I’ve been looking for Margaret Audlin. I think she could be, well, in danger to put it lightly. She used to frequent this hotel and the front desk said that the Audlins’ were in attendance. You look kind of familiar so I thought I’d check.”
Had news of my mother’s condition already gotten around? The front desk actually told him about us?
“Are you the press or something? Looking for a scoop?” I said.
“No, I’m sorry if I’ve caused offense. Really, I’m only concerned about a potential danger. Margaret has something dangerous in her possession.”
“Dangerous? Like what?”
“If you’re not Miss Audlin, I’d rather not give details.”
“Shame. Hope you find her.” I said.
“I, sure. Uh thanks I think.”
Seeming embarrassed, the man walked away. He appeared worried. Worried, and scared. That more than anything made me wonder just who he could be. Why was he looking for us?
Carol, holding May’s hand, reached me as soon as the guy left. She didn’t even have to ask, just put a hand on my back.
“Just a vulture sniffing after my mother. Front desk apparently told him we were here.” I said.
“God, really? That was quick. I guess word gets around.”
I glanced back at the man as he left the pool area. “Well, you two should get back in the pool. I’m going to have a word with the front desk. Be back in a few.”
Carol gave me a last smile before the two headed off again. I waited sufficiently long before leaving the pool. When I did, I went out into the carpeted hall. I probably smelled like chlorine as I went up to the front desk.
“Ah, Miss Audlin. How can I help you?” The teller said.
“Hi. Some guy just approached me saying that the front desk told him we’re staying here? Gives a new meaning to the job ‘teller’, don’t you think?” I said, a little frustrated. The teller swallowed.
“I am not aware of any staff members giving out your information. Please allow me to investigate the matter, and I will be sure that it doesn’t happen again.”
“Thank you.” I strode off back to the pool, feeling silly.
God, did I just sound like a rich asshole? I might as well have asked for a manager. I thought.
“Ah, Miss Audlin? There was someone else here to see you.” The teller called at my back.
I stopped and turned.
“Who would possibly–”
I paused. I frowned. There was no one at the desk. Hell, I stood alone in the whole hallway. Silent as a graveyard. I had walked far enough to be next to the dining hall, but there was no one there either. Everything was empty.
“Hello?”
No reply. My voice echoed.
Worry rising in my stomach, I walked to the pool. I pushed at the pool doors, but they wouldn’t open. The windows looking in were black.
“Hello? Carol? May?” I called.
That’s when I heard it. I could hear something, a song. No, it was that song. It was coming from behind me.
“No… no no.”
I turned away from the pool, but I was no longer in the hotel. The long hotel hallway was replaced by a more familiar one. Colorless rugs and worn wooden wash. Crumbling trim, odd paintings and withering plants. It had a sickening aura that I remembered all too well. I stared down to the other end to see the large black door with the golden moon plate in the center.
My breathing quickened as the door opened a crack. Long fingers reached around the edge of the door and pushed it further. An arm extended from the shadows. I could see two fingers turning the crank of the music box.
“What do you want from me?” I said, my voice shaking.
“You know what we want.” A new voice. Not like that thing from my nightmares, but human, normal.
Someone appeared ahead of me. Leaning against where the front desk had been was a gentleman in a red suit. His skin was pale and gray. His eyes were a sunken black. He smiled perfect teeth.
“Hello, Magdalene. I’m so glad that we could finally speak. I talked to your sister just the other night, and I was saddened to see you absent. You surprised me.”
I said nothing.
“Cat got your tongue? Very well. I will explain for you,” He appeared next to me, and gestured to the thing playing the music box. “Horrifying to you or not, I can assure you that that entity behind that door is just a living thing like you. These nightmares of yours? Just cause and effect of your mother’s foolish deeds. If you release it, allow it to live its life, you can free your mind of it all, and mourn your mother’s condition.”
In the room at the end of the hall, I saw bare glints of the eye-embossed wings shift their attention onto me.
“Release it?” I said.
“Yes, the right thing to do. Your nightmares will be gone from you and your sister. You will never be harmed again. Your mother might even recover. All you have to do is,” The man leaned close. “Choose.”
I stared at the thing inside that room. It had stopped turning the crank to watch us, but the song continued. The suited man’s eyes burned as he waited for my response.
“You’d leave us alone? Forever?” I said.
The suited man nodded. “Forever and forevermore.”
“How would I do it?” I said.
“There is no specific ritual. All you have to do is will it, focus your intent, and your will be done. Simple as a dark chocolate cake.”
I was tired. Not just literally, but in all senses. Tired of my mother, tired of the nightmares and of May being alone. Tired. That’s why I reached for the golden door handle. The door came closer to me, as if reaching for my touch in turn. The door was partly open, so I had to reach into the room, towards that thing. My arm faded to a dead gray as I did. The countless eyes on the monster’s wings blinked.
“Good. You will not regret your decision.”
A creaking limb reached for me.
That was when a purple butterfly drifted past my face. It glowed with a gentle light. My skin returned to its normal color as the butterfly landed on me, and I felt myself awaken. What was I doing? I was helping it? No, this was wrong.
A small hand reached forward, grasping mine, and slammed the door shut on that thing. The suited man’s grin cracked.
“Go to hell.” May said.
Countless purple butterflies fluttered from her and landed on the suited man. I heard a scream, or at least, that’s the best thing I can call it. It echoed from both the monster and the suited man. It was an inhuman shriek that seemed to shake the world until suddenly, it stopped.
I blinked.
I was back in the hotel hallway. Several people were staring at me. I was holding the handle to a supply closet. A janitor at their cart nearby watched curiously. May had a hold on my hand still, and she was breathing quickly as if she had run a mile. Her arm looked pale.
“Are you okay? Did the suited man get you?” May said.
I let go of the door handle.
“No, May. Sorry, I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. I won’t let them get you, like I said.” She said.
I felt my face flush as I glanced at the onlookers. Carol came up to us.
“May, there you are– Megan? Where have you been? You never came back from talking to the front desk. Have you been here the whole time?”
“I… I don’t know.” I said.
Carol glanced at everyone watching and led us away.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here,” Carol said. “Seems like we’re not too welcome here.”
“Maybe we should go to mom’s now.” May said.
I swallowed and nodded. “Let’s pack our things then. I think it’s time to go.”