all dice #2

alien/coffin/spiderweb/spider/briefcase/car/smiley sun/table setting/speech balloon/banana

So I went up the stairs like I was in a dream.  I felt that same disconnection from reality that dreams have.  I put my feet right on the glowing prints, because it seemed like what I was supposed to do.  There was practically no sound either, like everything was muffled.  The walls were covered in spiderwebs and little shiny-eyed spiders stared at me as I passed.  I could have sworn they were laughing at me, but that was a little to far for this particular waking dream.  I walked slowly down the hall to the bedroom at the far end.  The door was slightly open.  It was the only room that I couldn't see into, even though there still weren't any lights on anywhere.  I pushed the door open all the way and in a flash I saw what I needed to do.

The next thing I knew I was standing on the street in front of the house and Janelle was screeching up the curb.  I had my phone clutched in my hand.  I got into the car, moving the little monster to the dashboard and Janelle roared off, without even telling me to put on my seat belt.  She was pissed, for sure.  So much so that we didn't even go home, we went to get super omelettes at Norbert's Nook, famous for its breakfasts throughout the county.  It was Janelle's big comfort food.  Sausage, mushrooms and hot sauce.  Way too much for me.  I waited until it was on the table in front of her before explaining what had happened in the house.  I was expecting her to interrupt and tell me I was full of shit many, many times, but she stayed quiet through the whole story.  When I finished she took a big bite of omelette and stared at me while she chewed and I waited.  Finally she swallowed and said, "You think I'm going to yell at you, but I'm not.  Weird shit went down at home last night and it actually doesn't surprise me that weird shit happened to you."

"What?  What happened at home?"

"First, I think Nick's dead."

"WHAT?  You think?  And you still have the car?"

Janelle sighed and looked out the window, blinking in the brilliant early morning sun.  "I went to give him the keys last night when you were taking such a damn long time, and I assumed you would either get a ride for yourself or call in the morning.  No answer.  I looked in the window and everything was all messed up inside.  Door's locked and no windows open, so I don't think there was a break-in."

"But why do you think he's dead just because of a mess?"

"They told me.  The voices."

Well, shit.

"I mean, I know they're not completely reliable, they make mistakes and they lie.  But it would make sense as a warning.  We got the car from him, after all."

"But it wasn't just that."

Janelle sighed again, now looking down at her plate, picking at the remains of her omelette.

"There was a lot of noise from downstairs all night too.  Lots of squeaks and growls.  Dragging things."

"But from the basement?  The hell was down there?"

"It sounded like it should have been the basement, but I went down there with the bat, with mace and with the talisman, and there was nothing actually there.  There were still noises, but like a TV in another room when I was actually in the basement.  Not from ... below."

"Wait, you got out the talisman?  I thought you always thought it was a bunch of crap."

"Well, what do you want, I was scared and ready to try anything.  I mean, not scared to enough to just leave the house.  But I felt like I needed something less, I don't know, worldly."

I was starting to feel like things were coming together.  If anyone was afraid, it wasn't us this time.  I had never been in Nick's house, there's no reason to think he was dead just because of some mess.  Maybe he was just, like, messy.  And the noises that didn't belong anywhere?  Just a sorry attempt to freak us out.  Janelle, anyway, I was probably known to be away from the house.  But there wasn't anything really threatening that could be done, the noises didn't even stay in the basement.  I was feeling more and more sure that we could do this.  I needed to get a little bit of information.

"We should go to the library.  I don't want to go home and give any clues about what we need to find.  You have your laptop, or mine?"

"I have mine in the car.  Lemme finish this up."

Janelle started shoveling the last quarter omelette into her mouth.  It was reassuring to see her invigorated.  In a matter of minutes we were out the door and on our way.  The library had wireless so we didn't even have to go in, we could just sit on the picnic tables around the back and do our search.  Except that then it started to rain.

We were blocks away, under a sunny morning sky, almost cartoony.  I half expected to hear the birds singing Disney songs.  But then clouds rolled in, again, like in a cartoon, and somebody turned on the shower.  Rain poured down in curtains and the car started to slide.  All over the road, worse than in winter.  Winter has ice, this we could feel was slime, thick, sticky, slippery, the kind of stuff they use in kids' game shows to gross everyone out.  Now this was scary.  We started to go sideways, turn around on the road, by some miracle there were no other cars and we slid, unimpeded, right up to the library steps.  The back of the car scrunched against the concrete and stopped, just like that.  Janelle and I looked at each other and grabbed for the laptop case.  She got it first.  I let go.  "Sorry, it is your laptop."  She nodded and tore out of the car and up the steps to the door.  I followed, trying to keep my phone dry so I could call a tow truck.

The security guard and one of the librarians were at the door, watching the rain in awe, and only nodded to us as we dashed inside.  The just-opened building was still empty and we had our choice of study rooms, so naturally we went all the way to the end.  Janelle pulled the laptop out of the case and opened it up.  I cracked my fingers and said, "Time to find some medicine."