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She stood at the entrance of the hallway watching as he leaned into the little closet, hoping beyond hope that the sound wouldn’t scare him off. Ever sense It first came around all kinds of strange sounds would happen in the house, things would get moved or disappear only to show up again somewhere else. She never once saw someone else like her in the house, so she was at a complete loss as to what was happening.
He backed out of the closet and pulled the door shut behind him, looking a little confused. Ben began walking down the hall to the next door, it was just a few feet down on the left. With every step he took a small plume of dust came up out of the carpet and into the musty air. He said aloud “Well, with a good cleaning…” and grabbed the door handle to the next room.
He could still hear the scratching, much more obvious now, it was definitely coming from this room. Resting his hand on the door handle, he could feel the door moving every time he heard the scratching. He turned the handle and shoved the door inward hoping to hit whatever was behind it. The door swung open and hit the wall behind it with dull thud. The room was pitch black with only a little light from the hallway making its way to the first two steps leading down into what he assumed was the basement.
Ben listened carefully but didn’t hear anything scurry away from the door, or fall down the stairs. He reached in and ran his hand up and down the wall next to the door looking for the light switch. His hand brushed over the hard little switch and he flipped it up. Nothing happened. Instinctively he flipped the switch a few more times, because that always worked.
She stood at the end of the hall still as he swung the door to the basement open her hand shot up to cover her eyes. She expected It to come surging out of the basement and pin Ben to the floor. After she heard the switch flip a couple times she slowly lowered her hands to see what was happening. Ben fumbled around in his pocket looking for something, his pants so tight it was difficult to find anything.
He pulled out a small key chain, on it was two keys, a beer bottle opener, and a small flashlight. He clicked it on and aimed it down the stairs into the darkness. The beam cut through the dark but only a few feat in. He thought to himself “Its probably just a raccoon or something.” Taking a couple of steps down the stairs, the wood creaking beneath his feet, walked down just far enough to swing the door closed and look at the back. About two feet up from the bottom of the door there where dozens of little scratch marks. Something was definitely stuck down there, but he wasn’t going to go the rest of the way down to find it. He walked back up the stairs and swung the door closed behind him. The latch clicked as it closed.
She watched him as he explored the rest of the rooms, three bedrooms on the right and at the very end of the hall on the left a small bathroom with a vanity, a toilet, and a claw footed tub. She hoped with all of her power that he would decide that the house was to far gone or in to bad of shape and he would decide not to stay. She held her breath and watched as he walked back into the family room. She pressed herself against the wall in the hall as he walked by, she knew that he wouldn’t run into her or even notice her, but she hated the feeling of the living getting that close to her.
He stepped back into the family room and took one more long look at the huge fireplace. He smiled, nodded, and turned to walk back out the door. At that point she lost hope, she knew that this man would bring his family to this house and she would have to watch them go through the torture that It brought. A great sadness washed over her as she stood there at the window and watched the truck wind its way back down the gravel driveway.
So here she stood, watching these two perfect little girl play in the front yard of this cursed house. She felt that same thick sadness, but she was also very excited to play with these little girls.
Ben and his young wife each grabbed one of the girls by the hand and walked them toward the house. He was telling them all about the land and about how much fun they were going to have. He told them about the fish pond he would build for them in the front yard and about the dear he saw when he visited the first time. The family was so excited to be moving into their first real house, they didn’t feel the weight of the place bearing down on them.
She stepped back from the door to greet them properly, knowing that they wouldn’t see her, but knowing that the two little ones would sense her. Children have a funny way of knowing she is there, even though they cant see her.
Ben swung the door open and the family poured into the house like a herd of elk. First the two little girls, then their mother, Helen, and then Ben. The two little girls ran to the center of the room and looked around like they didn’t know where to go first. Ben and Helen stood in the doorway watching them and looking around. He kissed his wife and said “This is it honey, this is ours.” She smiled and looked up at him “I love you so much Ben.” He responded “I love you more.”
The two girls shot passed her and toward the living room. As they ran by the blond one slowed down and looked right at her. For a second she thought the little girl saw her. Then from the living room “Kristen, get in here and check this out!” yelled the brunet one. Kristen took one more look in her direction and shot off into the living room.
This was going to be so much fun she thought to herself. Maybe this time she could keep it from coming, maybe this time she could keep this family. Even as the thought went through her mind she knew it wasn’t true, she knew that eventually It would come and she would hide, and they would fall apart.
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