participate.”
Roy turned to leave, and Steven
and Daniel followed suit. They walked back through the dark chapel, and as they
left through the main doors, they heard Judith say, “thanks again.”
The door closed behind them. Roy turned
to Steven and Daniel. “We’ll jimmy the back door. There’s no alarm system.”
-
They waited until it was dark.
They chose a door that wasn’t facing the street and was partially hidden by a
tree and shrubs, intended only as an emergency exit. It led to a short hallway
behind the dais. Steven used a flashlight to navigate to the end of the hall
where there was a door secured with a padlock.
“Great, now what?” Daniel said.
Roy placed the crowbar behind the hinge
holding the lock and pried the hinge out of the door. It left holes where the
screws had been.
“They’re going to know who broke
in,” Steven said. “It’ll be obvious, we were just here asking about the
basement.”
Roy produced a bottle of wood
glue. “We’re going to glue it back in place. She’s too scared of here to come
check anything before the pastor returns. By the time he gets back, this glue
will have set it back in place.”
Steven seemed skeptical but the deed
was already done. Roy turned the handle and the door opened to a wooden
staircase that descended into darkness.
“Here we go, boys,” Roy said.
Steven shone the flashlight down the steps and started down.
It was obvious the basement hadn’t
seen visitors in a while. Cobwebs were plentiful. It was half finished with
wooden floorboards and walls. Steven found a pull cord to turn on a bare bulb
overhead. The room was thick with dust.
“Let’s try to not stir up any more
of this dust than we have to,” Steven said, shining the flashlight into the
rooms beyond.
“Any idea where the boy is?”
Daniel asked.
“No, I just know he’s down here,”
Roy said.
They moved from area to area. Most
were filled with banker’s boxes, presumably filled with documents. There were
old wooden filing cabinets in some sections. One area had large boxes filled
with Christmas decorations. Eventually they worked their way back to the
furthest corner, where several boxes had been stacked haphazardly. They looked
very old and fragile, as though lifting them up might cause them to dissolve.
It looked as though no one had touched them in many years.
“Here,” Roy said, pointing to the
boxes.
Steven shined his flashlight on
the boxes. They were stacked in a way that created gaps between them. Some of
the gaps were small, others were larger, several inches wide. It looked dark
inside the gaps.
“Do we wait?” Daniel said.
“No,” Roy replied. “I’m going to
go into a trance. Let me see if I can get him to manifest.”
“You usually sit for this,” Steven
said, looking around for a chair but finding none.
“I’ll just stand this time,” Roy
said, removing his blindfold from his pocket. He handed it to Steven, who
wrapped it around Roy’s head. “Keep an eye on me,” Roy said.
Steven stepped back from Roy and
turned off the flashlight. There was very little light in the basement and he
couldn’t see Roy at all. He decided to turn the flashlight back on but keep it
concealed in his pocket; that created just enough light so he could watch Roy.
While Roy was in a trance it was Steven’s job to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.
The creepiness of the basement
began to seep into Steven as he stood next to Roy, waiting for Roy to make
contact with the boy. The ceiling was low, almost to his head, and it felt
claustrophobic. The half-finished wooden walls allowed images from other areas,
and it felt as though he was being watched from between the wooden planks. He
understood why Judith didn’t want to come down here.
After several minutes Roy began to
breathe more deeply. Steven glanced at Daniel, and saw that he was in the River.
He felt a little jealous, like he’d been left with the boring job no one wanted
to do. Still,
Roy turned to leave, and Steven
and Daniel followed suit. They walked back through the dark chapel, and as they
left through the main doors, they heard Judith say, “thanks again.”
The door closed behind them. Roy turned
to Steven and Daniel. “We’ll jimmy the back door. There’s no alarm system.”
-
They waited until it was dark.
They chose a door that wasn’t facing the street and was partially hidden by a
tree and shrubs, intended only as an emergency exit. It led to a short hallway
behind the dais. Steven used a flashlight to navigate to the end of the hall
where there was a door secured with a padlock.
“Great, now what?” Daniel said.
Roy placed the crowbar behind the hinge
holding the lock and pried the hinge out of the door. It left holes where the
screws had been.
“They’re going to know who broke
in,” Steven said. “It’ll be obvious, we were just here asking about the
basement.”
Roy produced a bottle of wood
glue. “We’re going to glue it back in place. She’s too scared of here to come
check anything before the pastor returns. By the time he gets back, this glue
will have set it back in place.”
Steven seemed skeptical but the deed
was already done. Roy turned the handle and the door opened to a wooden
staircase that descended into darkness.
“Here we go, boys,” Roy said.
Steven shone the flashlight down the steps and started down.
It was obvious the basement hadn’t
seen visitors in a while. Cobwebs were plentiful. It was half finished with
wooden floorboards and walls. Steven found a pull cord to turn on a bare bulb
overhead. The room was thick with dust.
“Let’s try to not stir up any more
of this dust than we have to,” Steven said, shining the flashlight into the
rooms beyond.
“Any idea where the boy is?”
Daniel asked.
“No, I just know he’s down here,”
Roy said.
They moved from area to area. Most
were filled with banker’s boxes, presumably filled with documents. There were
old wooden filing cabinets in some sections. One area had large boxes filled
with Christmas decorations. Eventually they worked their way back to the
furthest corner, where several boxes had been stacked haphazardly. They looked
very old and fragile, as though lifting them up might cause them to dissolve.
It looked as though no one had touched them in many years.
“Here,” Roy said, pointing to the
boxes.
Steven shined his flashlight on
the boxes. They were stacked in a way that created gaps between them. Some of
the gaps were small, others were larger, several inches wide. It looked dark
inside the gaps.
“Do we wait?” Daniel said.
“No,” Roy replied. “I’m going to
go into a trance. Let me see if I can get him to manifest.”
“You usually sit for this,” Steven
said, looking around for a chair but finding none.
“I’ll just stand this time,” Roy
said, removing his blindfold from his pocket. He handed it to Steven, who
wrapped it around Roy’s head. “Keep an eye on me,” Roy said.
Steven stepped back from Roy and
turned off the flashlight. There was very little light in the basement and he
couldn’t see Roy at all. He decided to turn the flashlight back on but keep it
concealed in his pocket; that created just enough light so he could watch Roy.
While Roy was in a trance it was Steven’s job to make sure he didn’t hurt himself.
The creepiness of the basement
began to seep into Steven as he stood next to Roy, waiting for Roy to make
contact with the boy. The ceiling was low, almost to his head, and it felt
claustrophobic. The half-finished wooden walls allowed images from other areas,
and it felt as though he was being watched from between the wooden planks. He
understood why Judith didn’t want to come down here.
After several minutes Roy began to
breathe more deeply. Steven glanced at Daniel, and saw that he was in the River.
He felt a little jealous, like he’d been left with the boring job no one wanted
to do. Still,
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