A DARK SECRET

“L et’s get to work,” Eric said, standing up from the dining-room table and stretching. He studied the sky beyond the windows. “At least it won’t be too hot today with the sun behind those clouds.”

Cari took a last bite of blueberry muffin, then followed them to the back of the room. She bent down to open the tool chest on the floor beside the scaffolding Martin and Eric had rigged up. “Come on, guys,” she said. “Who’s going to get up there first?” She raised her eyes to their unfinished work. They had managed to remove the paint from one ten-foot section of ceiling molding. But there were still two large sections to be done on that one side.

“There’s only room for two on the scaffold,” Eric said. “Why don’t Craig and I start, and then you and Jan can take over when our arms get tired. Or one of you can use the ladder.”

Cari nodded her agreement. She helped Eric lift the heavy electrical sander up to the scaffold floor. Their hands touched. He gazed into her eyes. She thought for a brief second that he was going to kiss her. She knew they were both thinking of their walk along the beach the past night. Thinking of their kiss.

Eric’s face reddened and he backed away, turning to Craig. “Okay, man, let’s get to work.” He climbed up onto the scaffold and helped Craig up after him.

“This thing is kinda wobbly,” Craig said, glancing down at Cari.

“No, it isn’t. You’re kinda wobbly!” Eric said. He hoisted up the sander and began to raise it to the molding. “Hey, it’s broken.”

“It isn’t plugged in,” Craig said, staring at the plug, which was lying beside the outlet on the floor.

“Hi, guys.” Jan came up behind Cari, a worried look on her face.

“Did you reach your aunt?”

“No. No answer,” Jan told her, making a face. “It rang and rang, but no one picked up. I just don’t understand it.”

“Is Simon going to Provincetown to see what the story is?”

Jan shrugged. “I don’t know. I searched for him when I got off the phone, but couldn’t find him.” She said something else, but Cari couldn’t hear it. Eric had started up the sander, and its deafening whine as it whirred against the molding drowned out Jan’s words.

Both Jan and Cari took a step back. Paint dust filled the air. Cari reached into the tool chest for two protective masks. She started to hold one out to Jan when Craig screamed.

“Whoa! Look out!”

Startled, she raised her head in time to see the scaffold sway, first to the right, then to the left.

Then, as both boys screamed, it collapsed with a loud cracking sound.

It all happened so fast, Cari wasn’t sure it was really falling. Eric, his mouth open in shock, held tightly onto the loud, whirring sander. Craig, screaming at the top of his lungs, grabbed at the wall as if trying to hold himself up.

The scaffolding and the two boys hit the floor with a loud crash.

Eric toppled onto his back, the sander leaping from his hand. It bounced once, then stopped at Cari’s feet.

Craig somehow managed to stay on his feet. “Oh, wow!” He was obviously stunned though. He had pulled off a section of the flowered wallpaper as he fell.

“Are you okay?” Cari and Jan both screamed.

The boys slowly nodded. “Yeah. Fine, I guess,” Eric said, getting to his feet, testing his right shoulder.

“Yeah. I’m okay too. But look at this,” Craig said, the wallpaper still gripped tightly in his hand.

Where the wallpaper had been stood a wooden door.

“Somebody wallpapered right over a door!” Craig exclaimed, finally dropping the wallpaper.

“I guess that big picture covered it up. Weird,” Eric muttered, still working his shoulder muscles. He moved up to the door and pulled away more of the wallpaper.

“Why would anyone do that?” Cari asked, stepping closer.

“Get away from it,” Jan said, surprising everyone with the urgency of her words. “It had to be covered for a reason. A good reason.”

“Give us a break, Jan,” Eric said, rolling his eyes.

“Don’t touch the door. I’m warning you,” Jan said, very pale and frightened. “It’s evil. I can feel it.”

Eric laughed. Craig laughed too, but uncertainly. He took a step back.

Cari put a hand on Jan’s shoulder. “If Jan feels so strongly about it, maybe we should just forget about the door,” she told the boys.

“Yeah, maybe,” Craig agreed.

But Eric ignored them all. He began tearing away the remaining wallpaper. In a few seconds the entire door was exposed. The wood was smooth and shiny, almost new looking, probably because it hadn’t been exposed to the air.

“Let’s see what’s behind Door Number One!” Eric exclaimed.

There was no doorknob. Just a small hole where a knob had once been attached. Turning to grin back at Cari, Eric reached his fingers into the hole and pulled.

“No—don’t!” Jan warned.

Eric ignored her.

The door pulled open easily.

“Eric—please!” Jan wailed.

“There’s some kind of passageway back there,” Eric said, poking his head into the open doorway.

“Huh? Passageway?”

The other three stepped forward to peer into the dark tunnel.

And with a hideous ear-shattering screech, something leaped out of the darkness at them.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20