Page 36 of Eldritch

Letisha lifted one eyebrow. “You like him.”

“He’s good-looking. Seems nice and honest.”

So what’s not to like? You don’t trust yourself after Taggert, right?”

“Nope.”

Letisha shrugged. “Anyway, I think we should clean up the kitchen already. What do you think? Are we calling the cops again?”

“I don’t think it makes sense at this point.”

“I understand. And you know what I worry about the most at this point?”

“What?”

“That Clarice is going to tell us to fuck off. I mean...I probably would if I were her. After all the weird shit going down.” Letisha looked around. She rubbed her arms. “God, I don’t know how you stand out here.”

“What? Why not?”

Letisha’s gaze snagged on the trees. “This forest is...weird. Creepy.”

Sybil also scanned the surrounding forest. Right now, it seemed as normal as a forest could be. A soft breeze rustled the pines and birds made cheerful sounds.

“I think we might live in a dream,” Letisha said.

Sybil frowned. “What?”

“It occurred to me a few moments ago that what’s happening...what happened the minute we stepped foot on this property...” Letisha looked into the woods again, her expression pensive. “Uncle Jinx would’ve said we stepped onto the Stairway To Heaven.” She snorted. “Of course, he misunderstood the lyrics to that song. But he would’ve meant we’re trippin’. That’s the word he would’ve used. Trippin’.”

A little puzzled, Sybil said, “We aren’t imagining it.”

“No, but it feels like we should be. It would be more comforting maybe if we were.”

Sybil started pacing again. “Through the looking glass.”

“Exactly.”

Sybil rubbed the back of her neck. “Well, if you’re crazy, then I am, too.”

Letisha laughed. “Come on, girl. Let’s get inside before something else happens.”

Right on cue, as if they’d written a screenplay for a movie, the terrace door opened.

Pauline stood there looking perturbed. “You won’t believe what happened.”

“What?” Letisha asked.

“Back in the kitchen,” Pauline said.

Wordlessly, they followed her back into the kitchen and entered it.

Sybil stared at the kitchen table. “What is it?”

Letisha pinned Maria and Pauline with a questioning look.

“Those chairs are under the table,” Maria said, her eyes as wide as saucers.

“So?” Letisha’s face screwed up in confusion. “You said you were going to clean up.”

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