Blood Games

CHAPTER EIGHT

‘I may’ve puked,’ Vivian said, ‘but…’

'May’ve?' Helen interrupted.

‘At least I didn’t step in a toilet.’

‘Of Yeller Foot,’ Finley said from the hood of the car, and grinned into her drink.

‘Viv was bombed when she blew her supper,’ Cora pointed out. ‘What’s your excuse?’

‘It was dark,’ Helen said.

‘And we were scared out of our wits,’ Abilene said. ‘I nearly fell in, myself.’

‘It was the smell that made me lose it,’ Vivian said.

‘You shouldn’t have been sniffing my shoe,’ Helen told her.

‘Yeah, well…’ Vivian chuckled softly and took a sip of her drink.

‘That was a hell of a night,’ Cora said.

‘We were a wild ’n crazy bunch.’

‘What do you mean were, Hickok? Pass the bottle, huh?’

Abilene picked up the bottle of margarita mixture and wandered around, filling all the glasses. Only a bit remained. She chugged it, then returned the empty bottle to the box.

‘Let’s knock it off after this round,’ Cora said. ‘We’ve still gotta explore the second floor. Don’t want to be falling down any stairs.’,

‘Have to stay sharp,’ Finley said, ‘in case we run into an ax-murderer.’

Helen took a gulp. ‘Besides, this stuff is murdering my diet.’

‘Ah, live it up,’ Finley told her.

‘Yeah,’ Abilene said. ‘What Frank doesn’t know won’t hurt him.’

‘He’ll know if I come back a blimp. He wasn’t exactly overjoyed about me coming here in the first place.’

Finley laughed. ‘What, was he afraid we’d corrupt you?’

‘He thinks the whole thing’s crazy. He knows you’re all crazy.’

‘Harris wanted to come along,’ Abilene said.

‘Should’ve let him,’ Finley said. ‘We could use a guy around, here.’

‘Sorry, I don’t share.’

‘Spoilsport.’

‘He couldn’t get away from his job, anyway.’

‘God,’ Cora said, ‘let’s not even think about letting guys come along. I mean, the whole idea’s to get away and get wild.’

‘We’d have to behave,’ Helen said, and downed the rest of her drink.

‘We’d have to wear clothes,’ Cora added.

‘Not necessarily,’ Finley said.

‘And they’d end up trying to run the whole show,’ Vivian said. ‘They’d be telling us what to do from the get-go. Who needs it?’

Cora nodded, scowling. ‘That’s for damn sure. And I don’t know about Frank and Harris, but I know for sure Tony gets the hots for Viv every time he lays eyes on her.’

‘No accounting for taste,’ Finley said.

‘If he was here, he’d be tripping all over himself staring at Miss Gorgeous.’

‘It’s you he married,’ Abilene reminded her.

‘Yeah, but look who he danced with at the reception.’

‘You had a broken foot,’ Vivian said.

‘That’s beside the point. Anyway, I just think it’d ruin everything if we let the guys come along on these things. Next thing you know, we’d be dragging along a herd of ankle-biters.’

‘Anybody knocked up yet?’ Finley asked.

‘God forbid,’ Cora said.

‘Not yet,’ Helen said.

‘Me neither,’ said Abilene.

Vivian shook her head.

‘Well, that’s something, anyway. We’ve gotta do this every year. No matter what. Just us. No husbands or loveiboys, no kids. They stay home.’

‘We oughta take a pledge,’ Finley said.

‘We don’t need no steekin’ pledges,’ Abilene said. ‘We should just be glad we’re all here right now, and not worry about the future.’

‘We’ve gotta worry about the future,’ Cora said. ‘Because you wanta know why? Because it’s adventures like these that’ll keep us from turning into a bunch of old ladies.’

‘Speak for yourself,’ Abilene said.

‘I mean it. You’ve gotta do something a little nuts every once in a while. Get away from the job and paying bills and going to the grocery store and doing dishes and spending your nights in front of the boob-tube. You know? That stuff wears you down. Pretty soon, you forget what it’s like to have fun.’

‘I have plenty of fun.’

‘Not like this, Hickok.’

‘Yeah,’ Helen said. ‘When was the last time you were really scared?’

‘About half an hour ago.’

‘See?’

‘I don’t think you have to be scared to have fun.’

‘It’s the freedom,’ Vivian said. ‘That’s the important thing. When we’re off like this, we can do whatever we want. We don’t have to watch ourselves, worry about what anyone might think of us. We’ve been through so much together. We can really be ourselves.’

‘You babes sure get talky when you’re looped,’ Finley said.

‘I’m not looped,’ Vivian said.

‘She’s not looped,’ Helen agreed. ‘She hasn’t puked yet.’

Cora stood on the bumper of the car, and jumped down. She plucked her clinging T-shirt away from her rump. ‘Come on, let’s stop gabbing and explore the rest of the lodge.’

Finley picked up her camera. She hopped to the ground.

Abilene drained her glass. She set it inside the box, then stepped to the hood of the car. While the others rid themselves of their glasses, she slipped into her blouse. It was dry except for a moist area in the center of its back where Cora’s rump had been.

It cut off the pleasant feel of the breeze, making her uncomfortably warm, but she couldn’t see herself entering the lodge without wearing it. She even buttoned it shut, as if the blouse would offer her some protection against the creepiness of the place.

Cora came around from the rear of the car with a flashlight.

‘Should we all get ’em?’ Helen asked.

‘Ah, one’s plenty. Gotta conserve our batteries.’ She strode toward the lodge. Halfway up the porch stairs, she stopped and bent down to tie a shoelace. Her T-shirt slid up, baring her buttocks.

‘Are you really going in like that?’ Abilene asked.

‘Sure. Why not?’

‘Don’t you feel… kind of vulnerable?’

‘Just cool and free.’

‘She’ll be sorry,’ Finley said, ‘when a mouse runs up her leg.’

‘Don’t knock it till you’ve tried it.’ She finished tying the lace, picked up her flashlight, and climbed the rest of the stairs.

Helen went after her, Abilene and Vivian following side by side, Finley taking up the rear.

Inside, the lodge seemed a little darker than before. And hotter. There was a sweet, dry aroma of decaying wood that Abilene hadn’t noticed earlier. Maybe she noticed it now because of the margaritas; whenever she was a little juiced, her awareness of odors seemed to grow. A very nice side-effect if she happened to be somewhere that smelled good. Not so great, now. The odor was not unpleasant, in itself. But just as a strong scent of flowers sometimes reminded Abilene of funerals, the rotting wood smell sank her mood under sensations of deterioration and ruin.

That’s probably the booze, too, she thought.

If she didn’t watch herself, it could make her depressed.

And nervous.

Along with feeling gloomy because of the ancient, sad odor, she found herself more nervous than ever about being inside the lodge.

Like the others, she stopped in the foyer. She looked around, half expecting to glimpse the kid — or someone else — lurking in the lobby or hallway or parlor.

Or gazing down at them from the second floor balcony. The balcony, bordered by a wooden railing, extended from the top of the stairs to the far side of the lodge. She thought she might see a face between its balusters, but she didn’t.

She saw nobody.

Cora walked to the foot of the stairway and started climbing. The others followed.

‘That kid might’ve come back while we were out front,’ Vivian whispered.

'Anybody here?' Finley shouted up the stairs.

‘Stop it!’

Helen giggled.

At the top of the stairs, they turned to the right and wandered along the narrow balcony. Abilene walked close to its railing. The top rail was constructed of split logs, stripped of bark and varnished. It was dirty, so she kept her hands off it as she gazed over the side, down at the support beams and registration desk and lobby and lounge, the fireplace at the far end.

There wasn’t much to see on the walled side of the balcony. Just three doors numbered 20, 22 and 24. Cora tried their knobs. All the doors were locked.

‘You’d think somebody would’ve busted into these rooms by now,’ she said, frowning at the last door.

"Tis passing strange,’ Abilene said.

‘Maybe Vermonters aren’t vandals,’ Vivian suggested.

‘They sure did a job on those totem poles down by the road,’ Abilene said. ‘Could be, though, that not many people know this lodge is up here.’

‘And those who do might be afraid of the place,’ Helen said. ‘If they live in the area, they know what happened here. They probably stay away, think it’s haunted or something.’

‘Get real,’ Cora told her.

‘Well, it’s possible.'

‘Sure didn’t stop our friendly Peeping Tom,’ Vivian said.

‘If this place was in California,’ Finley said, ‘it’d be a shambles. Every door’d be broken open. There’d be bums living here.’

Cora tried the knob again.

‘Why don’t you go out and fetch your trusty credit card?’ Finley said.

Helen giggled.

‘There isn’t even a transom for you to climb through,’ Abilene said.

Cora gave her a smirk. ‘We could always kick it open.’

‘Might piss off the ghosts,’ Finley said.

Vivian shook her head. ‘We’re not here to damage the place.’

‘Let’s keep looking around,’ Abilene said. ‘I’d be real surprised if all the guest rooms are locked. Some of them are bound to be open.’

‘Might as well find out.’

They returned to the top of the stairway. From there, a corridor led straight to the rear of the building. Its only light came from the windowed door at the far end. Except for the small area brightened by daylight, the length of the corridor was hidden in darkness.

Cora switched on her flashlight.

Abilene watched its beam slide along the floor, the walls. The hardwood floor looked clear. The walls seemed to have no doorways. But the light reached far enough to reveal openings on both sides of the corridor, about halfway down.

They started forward.

The floor creaked under their footsteps.

‘Is this spooky enough for you?’ Vivian asked.

‘Neat,’ Helen whispered.

‘Hot,’ Abilene said. The trapped, stuffy air wrapped her like an old blanket. She felt sweat popping from her skin, trickling down her face and neck, sliding between her breasts and down between her buttocks. It made her blouse cling. It made her panties stick to her rump. And it smelled heavy with the same sweetness of ancient wood that had bothered her in the lobby. There, the odor had been subtle. Here, it clogged her nostrils. She felt as if she were breathing mummy dust. ‘Can’t wait to get out of here,’ she muttered.

‘We’re having fun,’ Finley reminded her.

They halted at the intersection of the corridors. To the right and left, hallways led into total darkness.

Cora’s flashlight probed to the left. She followed its beam, and the others went after her.

They came to closed doors on each side of the hallway. Numbers 26 and 27. Cora tried the knobs, then went on, leading everyone deeper into the suffocating heat. They came to rooms 28 and 29. Neither door was open. Both were locked. The hallway beyond those doors stopped at a wall.

‘We’ll try the other way,’ Cora said.

They turned around, walked back to the center corridor, and crossed it into another tunnel of darkness.

This one’ll go on forever, Abilene thought.

This one ran parallel to the balcony, and had to be a third again as long as the hallway they’d just explored.

She was tempted to drop back and wait at the juncture where at least there was light at the end and the air was slightly better. But she didn’t want to be alone. And she wanted to be with the others in case they should happen to find something.

So she stayed with them.

She was sticky and dripping. Her clothes felt glued to her skin. She decided that Cora had been smart, after all, to come in wearing nothing but a T-shirt.

When they stopped at the first pair of doors, she lifted the front of her blouse and mopped her face.

The door on the right was numbered 20. Just as she had expected, it was a rear door to the first room on the balcony.

Cora found it locked. The door on the left, 21, also failed to open. She muttered, ‘Shit.’

‘Is anybody else dying?’ Abilene asked.

‘Pussy,’ Finley said.

‘Getting a lot of good footage?’

‘Bite me.’

‘I don’t think we’re gonna find any of these unlocked,’ Cora said, walking on. She stopped at the next set of doors, 22 and 23. She rattled their knobs.

‘Try knocking,’ Finley suggested.

‘Don’t,’ Vivian whispered.

Chuckling, Cora rapped on the door of room 23.

A low, husky voice said, ‘Who is it?’ The voice came from Finley.

‘Very cute,’ Vivian said. ‘You gals are a riot.’

Then from behind the door came a quick scratchy scurrying sound that sent cold prickles up Abilene’s spine.

Silence.

‘What was it?’ Helen whispered.

‘Let’s get out of here,’ Vivian said.

‘Probably just a rat,’ Finley said.

‘Oh, shit.’

‘It sounded awfully big,’ Helen said.

‘I told you not to knock on the door.’

‘Good thing it is locked,’ Abilene said.

‘You know,’ Finley said, ‘rats are like nuns. They never travel alone.’

‘Probably some right here in the hallway.’

‘Ouch! What was that?’

‘Piranha,’ Cora muttered, sounding disgusted. ‘You two oughta take your show on the road. Come on, let’s check the rest of the doors.’

‘Watch your step,’ Finley suggested.

‘It sounded too big for a rat,’ Helen said, as if worried that they had missed her observation the first time around.

‘Drop it, huh?’ Cora stopped at the final pair of doors. She shone her flashlight on 24. But didn’t reach for the knob.

Finley did. The door didn’t open. Neither did 25.

‘We’re in luck,’ Abilene said. ‘Now, let’s go find some fresh air.’

They hurried back to the center corridor and walked to the light of the door. Cora snapped back a bolt. She twisted the knob and jerked the door. It creaked, crackled, and popped open with a squeal, fanning fresh air into the corridor.

‘Careful,’ Vivian warned.

Cora kept a foot on the threshold, held onto the jamb, and shoved her other foot against the floor of the balcony as if testing the safety of a frozen river. Satisfied that the floor was stable, she stepped out.

The others followed. Abilene stood motionless for a moment, relishing the soft breeze. She scanned the rear grounds. The entire area was now in shadow. Sunlight didn’t even brush the tops of the trees. She looked for the kid, but didn’t see him.

Then she went after Finley, who was sneaking along the balcony toward the window of room 23. The window was broken. ‘See what made that noise,’ Finley said. She leaned forward, peered into the room, then lurched back. ‘Oh my God! ’

‘What?’ Helen asked, looking as shocked as Finley.

‘It’s… too horrible!’

Abilene gazed through the window. Resting on its haunches near the center of the room, bushy tail curled in a question mark, sat a gray squirrel munching on a nut.

‘What is it?’ Helen asked.

Abilene shook her head. ‘Don’t look. It’s hideous!’

Cora kept her distance and watched them, arms folded across her chest, legs tight together, face pale.

Vivian glanced into the room. ‘Jesus!’ she blurted. ‘Thank God it didn’t get us!’

Cora and Helen looked at each other. Helen sighed. Cora smirked.

‘Yeah, right,’ she said. ‘Must be something monstrous like a kitten.’

‘Close but no cigar,’ Finley said.

Cora stepped up to the window, bent forward and peered in. ‘Oh, he’s darling. Look at those tiny feet. Isn’t he cute?’ Reaching up through the jagged opening, she released the window’s lock.

‘What are you doing?’ Vivian asked.

‘We want to explore a room, don’t we?’

‘Not that one,’ Abilene said. ‘The squirrel might be cute, but he probably isn’t above biting someone.’ As she spoke, she wandered farther along the balcony. The window of the next room was also broken. ‘We can try here.’

She looked through the shattered glass. The room was bare. She could see its decor. On both sides of the door were enclosures: a closet and a bathroom, she supposed.

‘Any visitors?’ Finley asked, coming up beside her.

‘Looks okay.’ She reached in and snapped the lock open. Then she shoved upward on a sash bar. The window didn’t budge, so she pounded it with the heels of her hands. It skidded up. When it was open all the way, she swung up a foot and used the sole of her shoe to sweep away the shards of glass littering the inside sill. They clinked and shattered on the floor. And crunched under her shoes when she climbed into the room.

‘Why don’t you check around before we come in?’ Cora said from the window.

‘Alone?’

‘Don’t be a woos,’ Finley called.

Abilene walked across the room. On her left was a sliding door. She rolled it open and found a shallow closet with a shelf and clothes bar. Nothing inside. Turning around, she stepped to the other door and opened it.

She saw a tile floor, a sink with a mirror above it, and nothing else but darkness.

‘You can come in now, ladies. No boogeyman, rats, or other surprises.’