Things

Dale started to wheel me down a strange hallway. By strange, I mean the hallway was...tilting. Like, if one door were to be slammed, or one wrong bump into the wall, the whole thing would collapse. We passed doors with peeling off-white paint, dressed with "Do Not Disturb" signs and padlocks. One door in particular had too many locks to count, and the curious side of me wondered what was behind it. But I shook the thought from my already charred mind, and paid more attention to keeping my head against the uncomfortable barrel of the gun that pointed into my skull. I thought to myself, Belle, Nick...who else is left? Belle...Nick...Andy. I was hoping that my calculations were incorrect, but it was starting to seem like the sad, disgusting truth was taking it's toll on me. A staircase leading up stood in front of us, and i glued my head to the back of the chair. But this time, Dale moved my chair onto a make-shift wooden palette. He sat down in front of me on the stairs. I kept my eyes shut, holding the tears back. Who would want to stare their killer in the face?

"Roslyn...Roslyn. You remind me of my wife." I opened my eyes, only to find tears welling in his eyes. He reached behind him without looking and grabbed a picture from the cracking wall. He handed it to me. I was afraid to reach for it, for fear it was a cruel joke. "Take it."

I did as i was told. I looked at it in the dim light, trying to let my eyes focus. A young woman, long, dark brown hair, beautiful dark brown eyes, and a stunning smile. She was beautiful. I started to wonder why she brought so much pain into Dale's eyes. What, am i feeling sympathetic for this nasty fuck now?

"Lillith. Or Lily, whichever you prefer. She always hated her name, never wanted to be called Lily either, too similar to lilypads, she hated frogs. Their darned croakin' kept her awake at night as a youngin," he explained. Why is he telling me this? "She went missin' in the summer of '01, never said a cross word to anyone before she left to visit her mama that day. The 'thorities found her body in the woods near the river, well, bits 'n pieces of it, least. Never found the rest of her. Killer's still out there. There are things people do to gain notoriety, fame, fortune. Unspeakable things. But this here person, gained nothing. The only thing they gained was a ticket to hell, to burn and suffer."

He paused for another moment. A part of me actually felt bad for this guy. I couldn't imagine going through what he did. But why is this happening to me, to us?

"I'm sure yer wonderin' why all this is comin' about now. I've never met someone as equally strikin' as my wife, but that's not why you're here. I've never confided in anyone to tell my story, as they didn't find anythin' that traced her back to me. I saw it on the news. That's the day i rid myself of television, phone lines, and outsiders. Any outsiders that crossed my path, got the basement. That's where those people are goin' tomorrow evenin'", he pointed down the hall to the rooms we exited. I felt the need to vomit. All the images of what i had just seen flooded my mind. I weeped silently.

"Darlin', i can assure you have nothin' to worry about. You are in a house of God. Forget the House of Hell, forget what you just saw. Empty that pretty little head of yours and think of the savin' that has happened here tonight. But be careful...don't let that there magnum empty it for yah."

He stood up and walked to a dark corner. I could see him making a circling motion with his arms, and i started to move up rather smoothly. I was startled at first, but sighed in relief at the smoothness of my ride. I could smell something coming from the top of the stairs, footsteps and shuffling filling the tight area. It smelled delicious, as my stomach was now as empty as it's ever been. But i knew what lied ahead. I reached the top and heard Dale's heavy footsteps behind me. He wheeled me through double doors and through a brightly lit living room. It looked like any other living room, filled with the living. The smell filled the whole front of the house. He parked me in front of a mirror and disappeared into another room.

"Damn, mama, dinner's smellin' great! Our guest would be obliged to taste your cookin'", he stated. I heard her giggle and the faint sound of him kissing her cheek. He came back in and smiled at me. Only this time, there was meaning behind it. He looked warm, cheerful, and his eyes actually had a sparkle to them. Almost like he adored me, or like i was a lost friend that he hadn't seen in years. Or his wife. I closed my eyes as he gently kissed my forehead and began to slowly wheel me away.