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Authors: Darcy Coates
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“Thank you. I don’t know if she’ll go for it—she probably wouldn’t want to move within the next few months at least—but maybe that might just work.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Mara couldn’t stifle her grin as she leaned against Neil’s shoulder. A hot glow had started in her chest. Unlike an apartment or small house, Blackwood had plenty of room for the three of them without any stepping on toes. Pam was a sweet, gentle woman, and Mara loved Neil more than anyone else in the world. She thought the three of them could be happy together.
She picked the carefully arranged pile of salad leaves off her plate and dropped them onto Neil’s. He groaned.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Footsteps in the Dark
When Mara pushed into the bathroom, toothbrush in one hand and flashlight in the other, she was confronted with a bizarre distortion of her face. The large mirror over the sink had been shattered; a tennis-ball-sized impact area marred its surface, and a spiderweb of fractures spread out from it, turning the surface into a freak-house installation. Mara saw two dozen copies of her own brown eyes blinking out of the panes and made a face at them.
The remainder of the bathroom showed its age. The porcelain bathtub had chips and cracks running down its side and would likely need to be replaced. The toilet’s lid was missing. A handful of the wall’s tiles had fallen loose and lay amongst the dust and dead insects that gathered in the room’s corners.
The water had been reconnected at the same time as the gas, but that didn’t mean it would actually come through the pipes. Twenty years was a long time for anything to sit dormant. Mara turned the sink’s tap and listened to the horrific grinding rumble that began below her feet and seemed to travel through the house. The tap shuddered, then deep-red water spewed from it.
Mara gasped and took a step back. She knew it was only rust, but the liquid was such a vivid colour that it was easy to imagine it as blood. She watched in fascination as the stream painted the sink scarlet before gradually lightening and eventually clearing. She let it run for a few minutes more before scooping up a handful to taste it.
The water was surprisingly cold. It tasted as though it was saturated with minerals, but it wasn’t an unpleasant flavour, so Mara propped her flashlight upright on the sink to illuminate the room, dunked her toothbrush under the water’s flow, and began brushing.
A sound echoed above her head. Mara turned the tap off and looked towards the ceiling. There was silence for a second, then the groaning noise repeated, moving towards the back of the bathroom. Feet straining aged wood. Neil must have gone to check the roof after all.
Mara turned the tap back on and resumed brushing. The footsteps continued through the attic until they’d almost faded from hearing and then returned, pacing above her head. A sprinkle of dust, disturbed from the ceiling, fell into the sink.
Motion in the spiderweb mirror made Mara jolt, and she swivelled to face the bathroom’s doorway. Neil stood in the opening. His face was pale and eyes wide. He spoke in a whisper. “Do you hear that?”
Mara turned the tap off again and dropped the toothbrush into the sink. She stared at the ceiling and listened to the footsteps reach the end of the house, turn, and resume pacing.
“Damn it.” Her mouth was dry. Half of her wanted to believe it was the wood flexing as the air cooled, but there was no mistaking the steady tempo of the creaks. There was a person in her attic.
Neil crept closer and felt for her hand in the dim light. His blue eyes, normally so bright and optimistic, were filled with fear as they followed the creaks.
Mara scowled and snatched her torch off the bench. “Stay here; I’ll check it out.”
“Are you insane?” he hissed, tightening his grip on her hand so that she couldn’t leave. “Haven’t you watched any horror movies? The moment we split up, we’re both
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.”
Mara couldn’t stifle her grin as she leaned against Neil’s shoulder. A hot glow had started in her chest. Unlike an apartment or small house, Blackwood had plenty of room for the three of them without any stepping on toes. Pam was a sweet, gentle woman, and Mara loved Neil more than anyone else in the world. She thought the three of them could be happy together.
She picked the carefully arranged pile of salad leaves off her plate and dropped them onto Neil’s. He groaned.
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Footsteps in the Dark
When Mara pushed into the bathroom, toothbrush in one hand and flashlight in the other, she was confronted with a bizarre distortion of her face. The large mirror over the sink had been shattered; a tennis-ball-sized impact area marred its surface, and a spiderweb of fractures spread out from it, turning the surface into a freak-house installation. Mara saw two dozen copies of her own brown eyes blinking out of the panes and made a face at them.
The remainder of the bathroom showed its age. The porcelain bathtub had chips and cracks running down its side and would likely need to be replaced. The toilet’s lid was missing. A handful of the wall’s tiles had fallen loose and lay amongst the dust and dead insects that gathered in the room’s corners.
The water had been reconnected at the same time as the gas, but that didn’t mean it would actually come through the pipes. Twenty years was a long time for anything to sit dormant. Mara turned the sink’s tap and listened to the horrific grinding rumble that began below her feet and seemed to travel through the house. The tap shuddered, then deep-red water spewed from it.
Mara gasped and took a step back. She knew it was only rust, but the liquid was such a vivid colour that it was easy to imagine it as blood. She watched in fascination as the stream painted the sink scarlet before gradually lightening and eventually clearing. She let it run for a few minutes more before scooping up a handful to taste it.
The water was surprisingly cold. It tasted as though it was saturated with minerals, but it wasn’t an unpleasant flavour, so Mara propped her flashlight upright on the sink to illuminate the room, dunked her toothbrush under the water’s flow, and began brushing.
A sound echoed above her head. Mara turned the tap off and looked towards the ceiling. There was silence for a second, then the groaning noise repeated, moving towards the back of the bathroom. Feet straining aged wood. Neil must have gone to check the roof after all.
Mara turned the tap back on and resumed brushing. The footsteps continued through the attic until they’d almost faded from hearing and then returned, pacing above her head. A sprinkle of dust, disturbed from the ceiling, fell into the sink.
Motion in the spiderweb mirror made Mara jolt, and she swivelled to face the bathroom’s doorway. Neil stood in the opening. His face was pale and eyes wide. He spoke in a whisper. “Do you hear that?”
Mara turned the tap off again and dropped the toothbrush into the sink. She stared at the ceiling and listened to the footsteps reach the end of the house, turn, and resume pacing.
“Damn it.” Her mouth was dry. Half of her wanted to believe it was the wood flexing as the air cooled, but there was no mistaking the steady tempo of the creaks. There was a person in her attic.
Neil crept closer and felt for her hand in the dim light. His blue eyes, normally so bright and optimistic, were filled with fear as they followed the creaks.
Mara scowled and snatched her torch off the bench. “Stay here; I’ll check it out.”
“Are you insane?” he hissed, tightening his grip on her hand so that she couldn’t leave. “Haven’t you watched any horror movies? The moment we split up, we’re both
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