Chapter 10

The night in the motel room had been horrendous. All three had huddled in the cramped space of one small motel bed, wearing what they had worn when escaping the house, leaving the other bed vacant. None of them had wanted to be alone. Hadn’t dared to be alone. Kimberly had sobbed and whimpered and trembled, smothered in Sam and Ashley’s arms and bodies the times she hadn’t slept. Which were too often. It had taken forever for her to fall asleep, only to awake screaming from a nightmare. Then the cycle began again. Ashley and Sam had slept even less.

The sun was coming up and Sam and Ashley stared into one another’s bloodshot eyes. Kimberly was curled up between them, once again asleep. Sam looked down at her disheveled blonde hair masking her innocent, young face marred only by the red sleep lines on her cheek. He looked back at his wife before slithering off the bed with as little movement as possible. Then he wagged his fingers at Ashley, motioning for her join him. She followed his lead. Now out of the bed, both stared down at their daughter to make sure they hadn’t awoken her. She was breathing softly. At any other time they would have thought peacefully, but who knew what was going through her traumatized mind.

Sam nodded to the other bed. The two sat side by side on the far end of the bed with their backs to Kimberly, but they kept glancing over their shoulders to check on her while they spoke in soft whispers.

“What happened yesterday?” Ashley whispered.

Sam held his palms up and shrugged. “I’m a doctor, a man of science. I don’t believe in ghosts and haunted houses.”

“Then how can you explain what happened?”

“I can’t.”

“Then the house is haunted,” Ashley whispered. “That’s why we got it so cheap.”

“Let’s say there is, um, something in the house.”

“Something? Maybe there isn’t anything in the house. Maybe it is the house.”

“How can a non-living thing—?”

Ashley slapped a hand over Sam’s mouth as she leaned into him, almost nose to nose. “I don’t know. But I know what I saw with the jewelry box and chair. Unless it’s someone’s idea of a practical joke, the house did do those things. Today is Halloween. Could it be someone’s sick joke?”

Sam shook his head as he hung it.

“What do we do now?” Ashley asked.

Sam looked up. “Burn the house down and collect the insurance.”

Aghast, Ashley said, “We can’t do that!”

Her voice was a little louder, so both turned to see if she had awoken Kimberly. She hadn’t.

“I know we can’t,” Sam whispered. “I’m just so frustrated. I don’t know what to do.”

“Can we hire an exorcist?”

“Is there even such a thing?”

“The Catholic church has them.”

“We’re not Catholic.”

“I guess it wouldn’t work anyway. They’re for people possessed, not a house possessed.”

“That gets back to burning the house down,” Sam said, filled with despair.

“Mommy! Mommy!” Kimberly shouted.

Ashley rolled to the other side of the bed, bounced off, and rushed to her daughter. She hugged her to her body.

“I’m here, Kimmy. You’re safe.”

“Where’s Raggedy Ann?”

Ashley thought a moment. “We must have forgotten her. She’s back in the house in your bed.”

“I want Raggedy Ann.”

“We’ll get her later.”

“Now! I want her now! I want Raggedy Ann! I want Raggedy Ann!”

Kimberly broke free of Ashley and dropped onto her back, kicking her feet and pounding her heels on the mattress, shouting over and over again, “I want Raggedy Ann!”

Ashley got kicked a few times but finally captured her daughter’s flailing limbs and held her tight. “Okay, I’ll get her.”

“Ashley,” Sam shouted, “it’s in the house!”

“I know. I’ll sneak in and get it.”

“You’re not going there.”

“I am.”

Sam studied his wife and recognized the determination on her face. “Then I’m going with you.”

“What about Kimmy?”

Sam walked to Kimmy’s bed and sat on the edge. She had calmed down.

“It’s time to get ready for school,” Sam said.

“Don’t wanna go.”

“Why not?”

“My tummy hurts.”

“You’re hungry. Want to go to the motel restaurant and get those pancakes you like? With a lot of maple syrup and strawberries?”

The nine-year-old’s eyes lit up. “Yeah. Can I have bacon too?”

Sam glanced at Ashley. She nodded.