Page 91 of Eldritch

Sybil’s stomach dropped. “What?”

“Maria, tell her.” Letisha’s gaze held a resignation that discomfited Sybil.

Maria returned Letisha’s gaze with a stubborn one of her own. “She’s going to think I’m insane.”

Letisha rolled her eyes upward for a moment. “No, she won’t.”

Sybil locked eyes with Letisha, afraid of what she might hear in the next few moments. A weight seemed to settle on her shoulders.

Maria sank back against the cushions, her gaze haunted. “I’ve been dreaming....well, okay, I’ve had the dream twice since we got here. I’ve been dreaming that I’m in the cellar and it’s dark. I need my cell phone flashlight. I go in there, and I’m scared. There’s this weird noise down there. Sort of like a humming or a hissing. Like a snake. I go to that weird box in the very back and I try to open it, but I can’t.”

Maria rubbed her arms, stark fear within them. She glanced over at Pauline, and Sybil noted that even Pauline didn’t appear skeptical of the younger woman’s story.

“I hear this chanting in my head,” Maria said. “A summons. Like I’m trying to pray in this weird language I’ve never heard before. I...” She broke from her trance-like stare. “I reach for that box. The one in the corner?”

Of course, Sybil knew. How could she not? Hearing this woman’s tale, made a creeping dread rise inside Sybil.

“Yes. The one with the octopus on it? Or whatever it’s supposed to be?” Sybil asked.

Maria rubbed her arms again. “That one. I try to open the box, and I’m so scared. It...I pulled myself away from the box. I hurry out of the place. I...” She looked over at Letisha, her eyes wide and maybe pleading.

Sybil’s concern rose as she looked back and forth between the two of them. “And?”

Letisha said. “Pauline and I realized the front door was standing wide open with snow blowing inside. I freaked because I thought maybe Taggert had broken in here.”

“I grabbed a fireplace poker,” Pauline said. “And we stepped outside with Letisha’s flashlight. We found Maria standing outside, almost to the east corner of the house. She wasn’t wearing a coat, boots, you name it.”

Maria put her hands out, almost a pleading gesture. “Letisha grabbed my shoulder and shook me awake.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’ve never walked in my sleep.”

Pauline crossed her arms and threw a look of exasperation at Maria. “She could have gone deeper into the forest and frozen to death. We wouldn’t have known she was in trouble until too late.”

Before Sybil could react Leticia said, “There’s more.”

Maria stood and paced. “The doorbell rang an hour ago, and Taggert was there again.”

A chill ran over Sybil’s entire body, and anger chased not far behind. “Shit.”

“I didn’t answer the door. I used the peephole.” Maria’s fearful gaze locked with Sybil’s. “We tried to call you, but our cells weren’t working. It makes little sense. We don’t all have the same providers and there is that one tower that is less than five miles away from here. Someone’s cell phone should’ve worked. It’s like this place…like this place has us hostage and doesn’t want us to communicate.”

Sybil opened her shoulder bag and grabbed her phone. She checked it. “No phone calls or texts.”

“Try sending me a text now,” Letisha said as she snagged her phone out of her jeans pocket.

Sybil’s heart picked up the pace as she tried to send the text. “It says won’t deliver.”

“Shut up.” Letisha groaned. “This is creeping me out.”

“I’ll text Doug.” Sybil gave that a try. “It still won’t go through.”

Letisha said, “We checked the security system right after Taggert showed up. It shows him driving up and then getting out of the car and coming to the front door. We didn’t answer, and he drove away.”

“Let’s check again.” Sybil pulled up the system on her phone. “No sign of him anywhere now.”

“That’s a relief. But not much.” Letisha rubbed her temples.

Maria put her hands to her cheeks for a moment, strong worry etched on her expression. “I think we should just leave here. Go anywhere. Get out until...” She stopped., staring at Sybil and Letisha with an open mouth.

“And go where?” Pauline asked. “I mean, are we going to throw away a cleaning contract because of some nightmares?”

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