As usual, intriguing storyline, and fabulous, atmospheric pictures! The logistics of getting two different contollable characters in the same place in order to get those shots simply boggles the mind!! I suspect it's rather like a magic trick that looks impossible - unless you know the secret... Keep up the excellent work!!!
That is one scary looking bad guy! The nasty clothes would be enough to spook me without even seeing the face.
Yes, I survived to tell this tale but I got a little worried about it for a while as I tried to find a way out of that room. The crazy man hadn’t bothered to tie me down so I spent some time prying around the edges of the door with my bare fingers, then with the buckle of my belt. No good. The door was too thick and solid. There were no windows, either, and it was black as pitch because he’d taken the lantern with him. I managed to find the switch on the floor that he’d hit with his foot to electrify the chair, so I kicked it loose and pulled the wires out. There’d be no more of that nonsense. My nerves were still twitching. Meanwhile, as I learned later, things were happening back at home. But it was slow. Kate didn’t realize I was gone at first, not until daylight when I didn’t show up for breakfast. I don’t skip breakfast. That was all the clue she needed. The fact that I had missed going to bed was not new since I sometimes work all night in the shop. But miss breakfast? Never. She called Joe. They figured out pretty quick that I must have gone back to the big house next to the cemetery. A cell phone? Not me. I never carry one so they couldn’t call me. And if I hadn’t returned and hadn’t gotten in touch with them then something had gone very wrong. They worked their way through all the possibilities. Kate started by calling a friend who was still on the force and asked him if I’d been picked up and was being held for some reason. He said he’d check around but it didn’t seem likely since I’d have called her from any police station. He also reassured her that the police hadn’t been called about any dead bodies. Hospitals? There’s only one and the nurses insisted that the night had been quiet--no unconscious and unidentified people had been brought in. So at last Joe called the real estate agent whose name he’d seen on the For Sale sign. Sarsour Real Estate. He told the man who answered the phone that he wanted to buy the house next door to the cemetery. And he wanted to look it over right now. “Sure,” said the hoarse voice. “Go on over to the house. I’ll leave it unlocked.”
Thanks. It'll be a little slow for a week or so. The painters haven't finished in my RL house and my daughter is due for a visit, arriving Thursday night, staying for a few days. I have every intention of keeping this story going, though, so no worries!
The crazy man may have known the young Joe, the rash and impulsive kid who did things like run away from responsibility. He didnt know the grown man that was Joe now, the cautious man who had no intention of going to that house alone. No police, though. Kate was emphatic. Flashing lights and uniforms? Errols a dead man if we do that. Ill call my friend Jerzy. Hes a retired police detective who looks as benign as Santa Claus, which hes definitely not. How about Ironsides? That robot is useless. And crazy But strong. He can knock holes in most walls. Well take him along. They argued about Ironsides for a few minutes. Joe won. Then Kate called her friend Jerzy who was more than happy to escape retirement and help her out. By 10 am they had all piled into Jerzys car and were on their way.
I didnt know it was 10 am. I had no idea what time it was because Id left my watch at home on the bathroom sink again. As I leaned against the wall to one side of the locked door I worried about stupid stuff like that. Getting forgetful. Getting caught in obvious traps. Getting old. And all I could do was wait it out, exercising my fists, rubbing at scarred knuckles.
Under the morning sun the old house did not look ominous, just broken-down. The windows were filthy and the porch railing suffered from dry rot. The front door may once have been elegant but now its stained glass was grimy and cracked. It was also wide open. They hesitated at the foot of the steps. “Where is Errol’s truck?“ said Joe. It was not anywhere on the street. Everyone looked at the garage. Ironsides trotted over, pulled aside a rotten plank and peered inside. Then he turned toward the others, jerked a metal thumb at the garage and nodded. Kate chewed on her lip, not sure how to feel about it, relieved at the proof I'd been here or even more worried then she was before. The old boards of the steps and porch groaned under foot. Inside was just as dingy. Joe and Ironsides went upstairs while Kate and Jerzy looked around the main floor and then went down to the basement. Neither Kate nor Jerzy had a gun but Jerzy carried his old nightstick. In his hands it was almost as lethal. The basement was deep and shadowy but completely bare. Dusty rock walls, a dirt floor, an old wooden chair, a small plank table, nothing else. Jerzy’s practiced eye scanned the rock and dirt looking for evidence that something might have been buried there recently. Fortunately he did not find anything, because if he had…well, I get itchy all over just thinking about it. In the meantime, Joe and Ironsides had finished searching the top floor and moved to the middle floor. Ironsides walked over to the window in the hall and looked out over the back yard. It was a big window, big enough for a man-sized robot to go through. Not on purpose, because there was a long fall to the first floor porch. But if pushed from behind he was heavy enough to fall through and crash-land about 15 feet down. I give myself credit for the quality of his construction because he was hardly damaged by the fall. He joints were loosened. He had a dent or two. Who pushed him? He didn’t know. It had happened too fast. He wobbled into the house buzzing and screeching like a table-saw cutting into a knotty board. “Where’s Joe?” Kate yelled over the racket. “Pushed? You were pushed? Joe, too? Is he hurt? Where is he?” She didn’t wait for an answer. She ran outside, yelling for Joe. Jerzy told Ironsides to stay with Kate, then ran upstairs.
The painters are not finished but they're not here today. My daughter is downstairs visiting with a cousin who came by to see her. I thought I'd leave the young ones to catch up on family news while I posted here. Yup, Kate is determined to save Errol from himself. He's is own worst enemy. Another cute avatar, Michelle!
Ooh, so exciting. And great pictures as well. Mirelly said Jack would benefit from a brick to the head. Maybe he and Errol should start a club for thick-headed men. Can't wait to see Mr. Crazy get his butt whupped. I wouldn't mess with Kate if I were him.
I heard the crash of breaking glass and knew that someone was in the house. I picked up the chair, yanked it free of the bits of wire still attached to it and threw it against the wall. I picked it up again and pounded it against the door. The door hung solid but it made a big noise, like a drum. Jerzy had paused at the top of the stairs and heard the banging. He didnt know whether it was me, Joe or an army of villains but with nightstick raised and swinging he charged down the hall, through a door, into a side hall. No sign of Joe. No sign of anyone. Just another door, a big one, shaking on its hinges as I hit it from the other side. Hey! he yelled, then yelled again but I was making too much noise to hear him. Looking around the hall he saw a big iron key hanging on a nail. He grabbed the key. Stop pounding! he shouted, struggling to get the key into the keyhole while the door rattled and shed 100-year-old dust on his head. He finally managed to get the heavy key in place and turn it in the rusty lock, and stepped back just in time as the door swung violently open. The heavy chair in my hands hit a door that suddenly disappeared. It carried me into the light and against the wall on the other side of the hall. We, meaning me and the chair, bounced off the wall and landed in a heap on the floor. Jerzy helped me to my feet. You must be Errol, he said. Weve lost Joe. Lets go. Blinded by dust and light I couldnt see my rescuer, but I nodded. Lead the way. I think I hear a fight.
We followed the sounds which Jerzy hadnt heard until the racket Id been making had stopped. Men fighting, shoes scraping across the floor, grunts of pain, bodies hitting walls. We met Kate and Ironsides on the way. Kate grabbed me, kissed me and whispered, First we find Joe, then you and I talk! OK, yes, she was mad at me. The fight wasnt far away and we should have been there a few seconds sooner. The room we ran into had a wall of mirrors. Oh no, I thought, theyre back. I almost expected to see Iven there with us. But it was only Joe and the crazy man, locked in a struggle that had been going on for several minutes. Before Jerzy and I could grab them to pull them apart Joe heaved the crazy man backwards, against the mirrors. They didnt break, they swallowed him whole. He was gone. Jerzy hung back in surprise and I stopped because I thought it was over. Joe straightened up, glanced at us with a small smile of regret, then leaped through the mirrors himself, disappearing. Without thinking I started to follow him but a strong grip on my elbow swung me around into Kates arms. Oh, no you dont, buster, she said. Not while I live and breathe. Kate, I started to protest. No! But Ania, I tried again. will cry. If he loves her hell find a way back. If she loves him, shell wait. Meanwhile, Jerzy and Ironsides studied the amazing mirrors. Then Ironsides stepped through and was gone. A moment later the mirrors shimmered and faded like smoke. Jerzy stood back, scratching his head. He looked at me and Kate, What the h*** was that?
That's some pretty good piccery, Lynet! I love the one Ironsides going out the window ... (I still haven't quite figured out how you did that ... kudos to you, gal! )
Thanks. All I'll say about the pictures is that any tricks come with the game. No cut and paste. Other than that my lips is sealed. :shhh: But I saw a couple in 123's latest Legacy Chapter that had me scratching my head. She's pretty good at mystery pictures, too.
Yeah I haven't really been too creative with the pics I take for my story. I guess I could branch out, but oh well. Nice story so far! Wonder what'll happen to Joe and Ironsides in the other side of the mirror...
As for Joe and Ironsides, I can't wait until they get back and tell us all about it. p.s. Chee-Z, your story, like SBW's, provides enough colorful imagery with words alone. You're plenty creative. Pictures are nice to put faces to the names. I do so many pictures because I have so much fun playing with the camera and figuring out how to get my rather limited little actors to do something outside their normal programming, like flying or swimming in the ocean.
