OLD MAN MALONE RETURNS Page 17

  “You’re a shadow of an evil old man. You don’t frighten me,” said Drew. Hunter held onto his coat sleeve to stop Drew from attacking the old man.

  Kellie slowed her walk when she heard a soft whisper. “Your love for Drew is more powerful than his evil. He is busy boasting. Walk up behind the old man and push his back. Your love will travel through him, make him helpless, and he will disappear. He will recover his strength, but not before you have time to get home and be safe.” A warm breeze blew past her, and Kellie knew it had been her mother’s voice. She hurried to find Drew.

  The old man laughed. “How would you like to die? I could knock you out, and you could freeze to death. I could set you on fire. It would warm the area. It is a bit chilly out here. Maybe I could stop your heart or burst a blood vessel in your brain. The possibilities are deliciously endless.”

  Hunter and Drew saw Kellie approach. Her finger was over her mouth, signaling them not to let on she was there. She crept closer to the old man. His boasting continued and Drew kept his attention while Kellie made her way toward his back.

  “I don’t care,” said Drew. “Take your pick. You don’t scare me. You never have.”

  The old man raised his arm as Kellie reached his back and shoved him. His screech filled the air. He spun to look at her. His black eyes glowed with hatred. He disappeared in a cloud of black dust in front of her.

  Drew reached for Kellie, pulled her to him and held her tight. Hunter reminded them they better get home. It was snowing heavily and getting colder. Taylor would be near hysterics wondering where they were. He was worried she would try and find them.

  They found their way to the river and as they followed it back to the path leading to the house. Kellie explained what happened to her, at least the part she remembered. She had no memory of leaving the house. Her first recollection of being outside was after she had made the snow angel, and realized she was lost.

  “The old man said it wasn’t my time to die. I think he lured me out there in order to get the two of you to follow me. If he could kill you both at once, things would be easier for him. Also, he could make it look like an accident, and then no one would believe Taylor or me until it was too late.” Kellie fought tears as they neared the house.

  Taylor saw them approaching the house. She ran out without her coat to meet them. Hurrying in where Mrs. Decker had prepared hot cocoa and a warm breakfast, they explained their ordeal as they ate.

  ########

  Once Drew and Hunter warmed and Kellie had settled her nerves, they dressed for work. Drew was apprehensive about leaving Kellie alone, but she reminded them that she had promised to pick Cole and Andrea up from the hospital. Until then she would stay close to Austern, and not be alone.

  The figure in black shuddered in pain as he lay in his dark space trying to recover from the attack of love he felt through Kellie in the woods. His strength was gone. All he could do is lay and plot his next move. He would kill one of them next. He was tired of failing.

  ########

  Everyone had left for work when Kellie received a call from Cole. Andrea would be released soon. Kellie said she’d leave right away. Mrs. Decker had baked some of her biscuits for Cole and Andrea, placed a pretty napkin in a basket along with the biscuits, and nestled in a jar of homemade strawberry preserves. Kellie hugged her for her generosity.

  While Kellie waited for Andrea and Cole to come down from the third floor, she called Claudia. “Maybe she’ll know what the old man’s up to,” she mumbled while waiting for Claudia to answer.

  “Hello.”

  “You didn’t know it was me this time?”

  “Yes, but I didn’t want you to think I was showing off.” Claudia laughed.

  “He nearly killed Andrea last night. He lured me out into the woods this morning. I could have frozen to death. He wanted to kill Hunter and Drew. I thought that jar of seeds or whatever they were was supposed to help and lessen his power.”

  “Cole arrived in time to save her, did he not?”

  “Well, yes but…”

  “Your mother helped you save Drew and Hunter. Your touch weakened the figure in black through love. You are all safe, correct?”

  “Umm, yes, we are.”

  “His power has been lessened or Andrea would be dead. He’s not as fast or as strong as he was or he would have been in her bathroom before Cole left their building. I sense that he’s not as aware of your comings and goings as he was before. It must have taken most of his available strength to lure you out of the house this morning. What little strength he had left he was planning to use on Hunter and Drew. He needs time to recuperate his strength. Has anyone been in the room since you placed the jar?”

  “No.”

  “You should check to see if it has been moved. If he tried and spilled the contents, it has weakened him even more. I have another idea of a mixture used centuries ago in the old country. It was meant to ward off evil. If I can find all the ingredients, I will bring some to you. You can each carry a bit with you each day and sprinkle the rest into the room. If it works the way I hope, he will become angrier and try to enact his revenge without thinking. When he is in that state of wild confusion, you’ll have the best chance to defeat him.”

  “Defeat him how?”

  “I’m working on that. You should hang up, Andrea and Cole are coming.” Kellie looked up and saw Cole pushing Andrea in a wheel chair.

  How does Claudia know everything? Kellie wondered looking at her phone.

  “Hi, you look better this morning,” Kellie smiled.

  “I feel wonderful, thanks.” Andrea’s eyes sparkled when she looked at Cole. “He’s my hero, you know.”

  “Yes, I know. Stay right here, I’ll get the car.”

  Andrea was settled in the back seat of the SUV with Cole, and Kellie drove them home. She went to their apartment with them, and gave them the biscuits. While Cole fussed over Andrea and gave her biscuits with the preserves, Kellie rinsed the black remaining soot down the drain, quickly cleaned the tub, and tossed the clothes on the floor into the hamper. No one would know anything amiss had happened there the night before. Andrea needed peace now without overt reminders of what happened to her.

  Kellie whispered, “I hope you hear me, old man. You lose. We have love. Something you know nothing about.”

  The figure in black groaned. He needed to kill them quickly. Kellie had to die. He was tired of her.

  Kellie hugged Andrea and teasingly told Cole to take good care of her and headed home.

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kellie spent most of her day trying to read ahead for spring semester classes, but her mind kept roaming back to the old man, Andrea’s attack, and the events in the woods. Were any of them safe?

  Try as she might, she couldn’t get into her reading. She put on her coat and walked out the kitchen door to the graveyard. She no longer wished to go through the south wing to save time or stay warm. Austern watched her closely. He promised Drew to watch over her while he was at work. She walked up to the corner of the graveyard, but stayed outside. It was snowing, and she didn’t want to slip on flowers covered with snow.

  “Mother, I know I don’t need to walk out here to talk to you, but I feel closer to you here. I need your help. He tried to kill my friend last night. He tried to kill Drew and Hunter this morning, but you know that. You were there with me. I know you’re aware of everything, but I needed to talk to you. What do I do? I’m afraid I could be next regardless of what he said.”

  A warm feeling enveloped her as if a warmed blanket had been placed around her shoulders. She felt calm, safe, and loved.

  “I know it’s you, Mother, and I know he can’t hurt me when I’m with you. Your love for me is too strong. Please stay close to all of us, and let me know what to do to fight him. I love you.”

  The wind picked up whistling through the trees. Kellie hurried toward the house. The TV meteorologist had forecast blizzard conditions for late that afternoon and into the even
ing.

  “Mrs. Decker, it’s getting nasty outside. If a blizzard is on the way, I think you should go home now. We can prepare our own dinner.” She turned to face Austern, “Please tell Sara and Lynn to leave now, too. It’ll be too dangerous later.”

  He nodded and hurried to the kitchen.

  With most of the staff gone, the house was quiet. Kellie turned on some music. She felt safe knowing her mother’s love surrounded her keeping the old man away.

  A little after noon, a snow covered Taylor arrived home. She shook the snow from her hair and off her coat.

  “Hi, they closed the office at noon. It’s getting nasty out there.” She rubbed her arms to get warm.

  Taylor continued, “I hope the guys arrive home soon. I tried to call Hunter, but he’s in a meeting. I hope it’s about closing for the day. They certainly aren’t going to have clients come out in this weather.” She looked out the window at the falling snow.

  “Drew only works until three, and he might have to stay if his appointments don’t cancel. In this weather, I’m sure they will. At least I hope they will.”

  The girls enjoyed the hot soup Mrs. Decker left for them before she went home. Austern was supervising the gardener in which walks to try and keep clear and which could wait for the storm to be over.

  After lunch, Kellie tried to read a bit more, and Taylor said she needed to organize some of the things they had hurriedly moved from the south wing into her old room upstairs. Kellie, tired of her college textbook, picked up a novel she was engaged in. Deep Connections by Rebecca Graf was a mystery as eerie as the one she was living, but she loved the story. If the evil was destroyed in the book, perhaps the evil in the house could be destroyed, too.

  ########

  While going through her things, Taylor realized she had left the pearl earrings her mom had given her before her wedding, in the small crystal box on her dresser. Taylor was in a good mood and hummed as she rushed down to the south wing to retrieve her earrings. Ignoring the possible danger, she felt safe with Kellie in the mansion. She found the earrings right where she had left them, and walked down the hall toward the entrance to the main house admiring the earrings. She didn’t want to leave them in the south wing while she and Hunter stayed in the main house.

  “Damn,” she mumbled when she dropped one and it rolled into the guest bedroom and under the bed. She walked into the room, set the crystal box on the bed, and looked under the bed. “Of course,” she said, “It would roll to the other side.” She walked around the bed next to the closet and knelt down to grab the elusive earring. When she stood, she looked up and saw the figure in black in the bedroom doorway. She tried to scream, but felt paralyzed in place. He grinned at her, the skin on his face peeling away. His eyes bright red brought back the terror she felt when she saw the cat.

  He walked around the bed in her direction. Frantically looking for a way out, she knew she was trapped. She walked backward away from the figure in black into the open closet. He followed quickly, and she moved backward again finding herself in the secret room. He stood in the doorway and smiled at her, his yellow, rotting teeth and gray, sagging skin repulsed her. She stepped back to find herself in a corner. Taylor was hoping to push the hanging clothing bag between them and escape, but he tore it down and tossed it across the room. There was nothing between them to help her.

  She squatted in the corner and placed her hands above her head.

  He laughed, “That won’t help you. You’re mine.”

  Taylor’s thoughts were a mix of prayer and pleadings that someone would help her. She saw his feet move closer. Terrified to look up, she knew she was going to die. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the small jar Claudia had brought over. It was half full of grains and seeds. In one last desperate measure, Taylor picked it up and tossed the mixture into the face of the figure in black. His screech could be heard reverberating throughout the entire mansion. The walls rattled, pictures fell, and a vase fell off a small table.

  He spun around, shaking his arms, stomping his legs, and rubbing his hair trying to remove what clung to him. Taylor made her escape out of the room, closet, bedroom, and down the hall. When she reached the double doors, she found her voice and screamed as loudly as she could. Running into the foyer hoping to find Kellie, she saw Hunter walk in from outside. Taylor threw her arms around him and sobbed uncontrollably.

  “What the hell happened?” Hunter asked frowning at Kellie as she shrugged.

  “I have no idea. She went upstairs to her room, and the next thing I knew she was in here screaming. Bring her in the parlor, and we’ll help her, if we can.”

  Taylor collapsed, and Hunter carried her to the parlor’s sofa.

  ########

  Taylor sobbed as Hunter rocked her back and forth. They would have to wait until she settled down to find out what she had been through. Kellie’s cell rang. It was Drew. “Okay, see you soon.” She looked at Hunter, “He’s leaving work now, his last appointment cancelled.”

  “Good, no one should be out in this weather.”

  Drew arrived home about twenty minutes later. Taylor had calmed enough to explain what happened in the south wing. The lights flickered. Taylor hid her face in Hunter’s chest. She wasn’t fond of any types of storm or the dark. Being attacked by the old man intensified her fear.

  Austern appeared in the doorway. “The local radio station is broadcasting a blizzard warning. Power is out in parts of town.”

  Drew asked, “I’ve seen generators out back.”

  “We have generators, but they only supply the freezers and refrigerators providing they are kept closed. We can also keep a light on in whatever room you prefer to spend the night. I suggest the parlor. It is smaller than the library and the fireplace is larger. The one in the master bedroom is not sufficient to heat the room, if the power is out.” The lights flickered as he spoke.

  He continued, “I would suggest you bring your sleeping bags and pillows into the parlor in case we do lose power. I will start a fire here and in the library. Grab whatever snacks you might want and bottled water. Even with candles, the kitchen is difficult to navigate in the dark. I am going to heat up some of Mrs. Decker’s soup and put it in several thermos bottles while we have power. We’ll be fine.” He disappeared into the kitchen to heat the soup.

  Drew said, “I’ll get the sleeping bags and whatever else we might need.”

  Hunter looked at Taylor. “If I help Drew, will you be alright here with Kellie?”

  She nodded.

  Kellie smiled, “I’ll keep her with me. C’mon, let’s get the water and some snacks while we have light.”

  Taylor quietly followed Kellie and placed bottled water in a cooler while Kellie gathered snacks. Kellie was worried about Taylor. She had never seen her quiet. Both girls carried the cooler and then went back for the snacks. Austern had popped into the kitchen to stir the soup after starting the fires in the parlor and library fireplaces.

  “I do think we’ll be set if we lose power. If not, we’ll have an entertaining camp out,” Austern smiled.

  “Absolutely no ghost stories,” Kellie said.

  “Absolutely.”

  Kellie’s comment brought a slight smile to Taylor’s face.

  Everyone was settled in the parlor with more supplies than they would need for a night without power when Austern reminded them that a winter storm can cause power outages for more than a day, possibly several.

  Taylor curled up in the corner of the sofa pulling her legs under her and wrapping her arms around her. Her voice barely above a whisper, “He was going to kill me.”

  “You don’t have to talk about it now, hon. You’re safe, and that’s what’s important,” Hunter said placing his hand on her leg.

  “None of us are safe.” Taylor had found her voice. “I thought I was safe. Kellie was here, but so was he. The old man got to me. I was stupid. I thought I’d be okay in the south wing for a minute. I don’t remember being worried or scared when I went
into the master bedroom to find the earring I dropped. It wasn’t until I saw him in front of me that I realized where I was and what was going on.”

  Kellie said, “I understand you’re terrified. You don’t have to talk about it.”

  “No, we all need to know his strength and weakness.” She continued to explain how she became trapped in the secret room and how she escaped.

  Kellie’s tears flowed freely, and Taylor began to cry again.

  Kellie’s cell rang.

  “Hello.”

  Claudia said, “The storm is going to keep me from receiving what you need to aid in your safety. For now, he is in pain and trapped from the power of your love for one another and the seeds and grain Taylor threw on him. He is unable to remove it all from his body and it covers the floor of his room. I will call you when I have what I need. Until then, stay together. At least two of you together at all times, even when you use the bath rooms.”

  “We will. Thank you for calling.” Kellie had learned not to ask Claudia how she knew about Taylor. She knew more than they did as it happened.

  After hearing what Claudia suggested, they decided not to leave the parlor unless they were all together. If they needed the bathroom, two would go in and the other two would wait outside the door. It was as close as they could be, and they didn’t want to take any chances even if the old man was out of commission for a while.

  They sat around and discussed their day at work. Everyone called their families to let them know they were safe and warm. Cole called and told them Andrea was doing better, and they went to his parent’s house in case the power went out. Their tiny apartment would get cold quickly. Everyone was content knowing their friends were safe.

  The figure in black shook and spun trying to get the grain and seeds out of his hair. He couldn’t touch them to remove them and they stuck to his hair. He moaned in pain. A storm would be perfect for revenge. It would be dark, but all he could do was lie in his room and groan. His anger burned inside him, but he was forced to ignore it. The pain blurred his thoughts and he was unable to plot his next move. He did know it would be soon and violent.