What Lies Beneath

Chapter Four: The First Arrival

Karen made record time getting to the mysterious house. Having been currently living in Connecticut, she was only a couple of bus rides away. Sadly, there wasn't a bus that ran directly into the town, so she ended up taking a taxicab the rest of the way.

As she climbed out of the taxi, she stood in awe of the enormous residence. The entire town that surrounded this property and the house, that sat in the middle, were completely silent. If she wasn't still clutching the letter that she had received, she would have thought that she had imagined it. Though it would have been quite the imagination if she had.

The house looked almost deserted and yet still alive in some ways. There was a dim light emanating from one of the downstairs rooms.

The longer that she stared at what could only really be described as a mansion, she felt like she was being sucked in.

You know that feeling you get when you stare at something for a long time and you can eventually only see that thing? Everything else slowly fades into the background. That's what it was like to look at this house. From the moment she had laid her eyes on its looming existence she felt drawn to it, like she was drowning, and the house was the surface that she couldn't quite break through.

Still looking at the mansion sized house, she paid the taxi driver who had been patiently waiting and watching her as she watched the house.

"Are you sure this is where you want to go?" The man asked. Since he had picked up the young girl at the bus station, he had been nursing a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He had recognized the address from all the stories that he had heard growing up. A lot of strange things happened on this property and he wasn't about to leave a defenseless girl here by herself.

"I'll be okay, but thanks for the concern." Karen knew that this probably wasn't the best idea, but still she couldn't shake the feeling of the mysterious house calling out to her.

The taxi driver nodded and rolled up his window. If he was braver, he would have gotten out of his cab and walked her up to the door, but years of living in the town next to this one had taught him a very important lesson that he would never forget. Never ask for more trouble than you're willing to pay for.

As he drove away, he hesitantly glanced into his rear-view mirror for one last look at the young girl standing alone in front of the enormous house. 

Karen was slow to walk up to the front door. She was careful to take in every inch that surrounded the large home. After having spent so many years in the fosters system she had learned to always have an escape plan in case things suddenly went sideways. Though knowing what was waiting for her on the outside wouldn't really help her if she couldn't get there.

When she reached the front steps of the house she paused for a moment of reflection. There was still time to change her mind. Even though the taxi had left, that didn't mean that she couldn't find a different way back into town. She could always get a job and rent a cheap apartment.

Her mind raced through all the possible ways that she could get away from here and never look back. However, no matter how great each idea sounded, deep down she knew that she didn't stand a chance in the real world. She was a foster kid and on top of that she didn't have any job skills or any idea of how to even get a job or find a place to live. No, this was her best option. It was pointless to go through all of this again when she had already made up her mind the day before.

The old wooden stairs creaked as she carefully walked up them. She stopped at the sound of someone, or something, moving inside of the house. Perhaps revisiting old options wasn't such a bad idea after all. She stood frozen in place until she had convinced herself that she was just being silly. Of course, there was someone in the house. If there wasn't, then she wouldn't be there.