Trapped in a Very Old Mansion!
I’
Amy left for a party at her new friend, Nancy's house.
When she pulled up to park, her car made a strange sound that worried her a little. She decided to ask Nancy’s boyfriend, a mechanic, to take a look at it before she left.
Once inside, she started to look for her friend, but when her eyes met a cute young man standing on the opposite side of the room they stopped and began staring.
Tall, but not to tall... 5’10”, maybe, with brown hair that matched hers, muscular (must be a football player... not a plus) and intense brown eyes that were staring back at her.
When he began to walk towards her, she panic.
It had only been a year since her parents moved her to Kansas City and her disaster date with Josh which still hurt because she really had a huge crush on him.
She should have told him that she was a vegetarian or at least asked him what he had planned for the evening... “Oh, Yes” she did tell him she didn’t like surprises. She guessed that wasn’t enough or maybe he just didn’t understand. The least he could have done though was to tell her what type of clothing to wear, but she was afraid to say anything... she didn’t want him to change his mind.
“Hi, my name is Greg,” a voice said interrupting her really bad memory.
When she didn’t respond, he continue, “And you are?”
“Amy, my name is Amy,” she reluctantly replied, then began looking for Nancy again hoping he would get the hint.
He didn’t!
Instead he began listing all the things he thought she should know about him like he was filling out a resume for “Possible new boyfriend”.
When he finished, he waited for her to do the same.
She didn’t!
Instead she went over in her mind, “He was not into sports, he loves to cook, but doesn’t eat meat. His favorite movie is a “mushy stuff” one that was her all time favorite and he liked to plan out everything before he goes somewhere... he didn’t like surprise... he was perfect.
“Wait, what about, “Opposites attract?”
“No, they don’t, at least not always.
Amy stopped looking for Nancy.
“Dido!” was all she said.
His contagious smile began to melt away her fears... he was not at all like Josh.
When Nancy walked up to say, “Hi”, Amy was so interested in Greg she barely heard anything her friend said, so she was glad when Nancy left to rejoin her party.
The rest of the evening, Greg and Amy talked, danced, and had a great time together.
All to soon the party was over. They were the last to leave, but not before exchanging phone numbers.
When Amy got into her car, she had forgotten about the strange noise it had made earlier which sounded great now, so she started to drive home.
In a hurry to get there for Greg’s, “Making sure she got home safely phone call!” Amy decided to take a short cut through an older part of town that used to be a very rich neighborhood... many years ago.
They were actual mansions, not just track houses.
She was still several miles from home, when her car started to make that strange noise... just before the engine quit.
Picking up her phone, she began to dial, but there was no reception. She decided to walk around until she got some bars and could make her call.
As Amy kept her eyes on the phone, she didn’t realize how far she had gone.
When she finally looked around, her car was no where in sight and she wasn’t sure which direction she had walked... she was lost.
The street was dark and so were most of the mansions.
When she looked around, nothing was familiar. That’s when she noticed the house on the corner was lit up with a lot of lights. They made her feel safe and she needed help, so she walked up to the gate.
It wasn’t locked.
Once at the front door, she knocked.
No one answered.
She knocked again.
Still, no answer.
Desperately in need of help, she knock a third time... a lot louder.
The door began to open, slowly. As it did, lights came on, so she went inside.
After taking a few steps... Bam!
The door slammed shut startling her.
She turned around and raced towards the door.
There was a frame, a door with a window made of opaque glass... but no handle.
She banged on it hoping to wake someone, but no one came. Next she got a chair and tried to break the glass window in the door... shatter proof, of course.
Then she decided to go upstairs and see if she could get... when she caught her shoe on some loose carpet and began to fall.
Repeatedly, she tried to grab the railing, continuing to fall every time until she reached the floor below.
There was a bump on her head that made her feel disoriented.
She got up and made her way to what she thought was a powder room. When she opened the door, it went into the kitchen.
“Well as least there was water,” she thought as she made her way to the sink.
After taking a paper towel, wetting it and pressing it against the bump, she heard someone come up behind her.
Turning quickly around, “Hi, my name is Penelope, what’s yours?”
There standing in front of her was a young girl about twelve years old, dressed in an outfit from the early nineteen hundreds... but it was only labor day and no where near Halloween.
Did I mention Amy didn’t like surprises! Maybe after her many attempts to find her way out... she might not mind them so much.
* * * * *
Meanwhile, when Greg didn’t get an answer when he called Amy, he began to worry. He may not have know her for very long, but he was sure she would have answered if she could.
After several attempts, his concern became more intense, so he got in his car and headed for her house.
When he got there, “Police!” he exclaimed.
Getting out of his car, he ran to see what was going on.
An officer blocked his path to the front door.
“What’s going on. What’s happened?” he demanded.
“Are you a family member?” he asked.
“No, I just met Amy tonight at a party.”
“I’m sorry, but I can’t let you come in.”
“Could you at least tell me what happened. Is Amy alright?” Greg asked nervously.
“All I know is their daughter didn’t make it home. Her car is missing and so is she.”
“Knowing he couldn’t do anything more here and wondering if she took the shortcut he had told her about, he raced back to his car.
It didn’t take him long to make it to the road where she should have gone.
Just when he thought she must have taken a wrong turn, he saw he car parked on the side of the street.
He immediately called the police, then went over to see if she was inside.
The car was empty, except for her purse.
The door was unlocked, so he got inside. Her keys were still in the ignition so he tried to start the car.
“Dead!”
He looked for her cell phone. Gone!
He tried to call her! No bars!
Before Greg could decide what direction she might have headed, the police arrived.
“Step out of the car!” a loud demand yelled over a megaphone.
With his hands up, he got out.
When they approached him, he told them the battery must be dead and there was no cell phone reception.
"She must have gone looking for help."
* * * * *
Amy yelled, Penelope yelled and they just stood there for a moment before...
“I need your help, Please!” she begged in a scared voice and headed out the kitchen, through the dining room and to a second set of stairs.
Amy followed her, but when she got to the stairs she stopped unable to continue. Clearly she was afraid of falling again.
“Hurry,” Penelope called out, “I need your help."
Taking a deep breath, Amy started up holding the rail really tight. Once safely at the top, she began to breathe again.
“This way,” Penelope motioned.
She led Amy down the hall to the last room on the left.
“Amazing,” she thought when she entered. It was like walking back in time.
All of the furniture was pearl colored with carefully carved gold inlays. The bed was (by Amy’s time) equal to a king size and had twist pillars on all four corners. The bedspread was obviously hand sewn.
There was a ceramic pitcher and bowl on the ornate dresser.
All Amy could do was shake her head in disbelief.
Had she somehow gone back in time?
To that question... she had no answer, but this child obviously needed her help and she couldn’t refuse to do whatever she could.
“What’s wrong?” Amy asked.
Instead of answering, Penelope started to search her room, taking all of her clothes and other possessions and tossing them on the floor. Soon the room was a mess.
“She’s not here! Where is she?”
The next thing Amy knew, Penelope was crying and hugging her. Amy would have gasped, but she knew it would no doubt scare the already frightened young girl more.
“How could a girl from the early 1900s be touching me... How could I be touching her back?”
“Where is she!” Penelope repeated in desperation.
“Where is who?” Amy asked.
“My best friend, Amy!”
“Amy?”
“Yes! she has been with me... forever!” she said and began to cry again.
After getting over the shock, Amy began to question her.
Though she was not into action films, (too much violence) a good mystery did intrigue her... at least she liked solving them and was fairly good at it... so let the interrogation begin.
“When was the last time you saw your friend?”
"Best friend,” Penelope corrected.
Amy repeated the question but added, “Best”.
“We were having our afternoon hot chocolate party (I don’t like tea) and my mother called me to help put away the food she brought home from the store. When I got back, Amy was gone!” she cried.
"Do you have any brother’s or sister’s?”
“No, just Amy! And Ruffy, of course.”
“Who is...”
“Our poodle,” she answered.
“Does “Ruffy” ever come into your room?”
She tilted her head as if to say that was a silly question.
“I see,” Amy surmised. “Does Ruffy get along with Amy?”
“Yes, No, Well sometimes he gets a little upset and...”
With that, Penelope started to race out of her room. Amy followed closely behind her when she heard her say, “That little... Oh no she didn’t... Not outside,” she muttered as she ran down the stairs, through the dining room and to the back door.
When she flung it opened there was Ruffy with Amy, Penelope’s doll clutched tightly between her teeth.
“Come back here you...” Penelope’s language got a little R rated for Amy to repeat. Then she realized the door to the outside was opened.
Just as she started towards it, she heard someone scream.
Turning around for a moment and then back, she watched as the door slowly started to closed. She raced towards it, but she was too late... Like before there was no handle and no way out .
Then she heard another scream!
This story will continue next week!