Chapter73 Davey's Room

As they enter what's probably the darkest area of the house, the four-year-old moves about as if he's on some sort of radar guidance system; while Anna keeps bumping into unseen objects lying around in the dark up there. Davey turns on the lantern hanging by his sleeping area. Anna's shocked, and deeply saddened, at the sight she's now viewing. There's a thick steel chain with a collar on the end attached to one of the attic trestles. This was the collar the Howells strapped around Davey's little neck to keep him tethered to the support beam. His ‘mattress' is a pile of tattered, urine stained and smelling, bedding balled together on floor. He eats and drinks from an old, rusted army tin mess kit; which lies beside his ‘mattress'. Davey has his Teddy Bear…an old, raggedy, one-eyed, with stuffing falling out of several rips in the worn cloth, keepsake… tucked into his ‘bed'. The stench is overwhelming from the smell of urine and feces permeating the air; since Davey had no choice but to relieve himself within his confined space. And, when you're not smelling the odor of his excrements; there's a musty, moldy smell about in the air. An occasional bat flies by. Davey shows Anna the bite marks he received from some of those bats he inadvertently disturbed while sharing the attic. And, sometimes he didn't even disturb them…for time to time, he'd get bit during a feeding frenzy; when they'd wildly chase whatever insects were flying around. Then, he shows Anna his most treasured possession; an old, brittle-paged nursery rhyme book. Davey remembers how Mary would sneak up there nights and read to him from that book; lulling him into a good night's sleep. That he truly misses. He hands the book to Anna and asks her to read to him. As Anna reads; Davey lies down on his soiled bedding, lovingly squeezing his ailing Teddy, and closes his eyes. Davey slowly drifts off; and, Anna stops reading when she's sure he's falling into a somber sleep. Anna's thinking about how her parents sometime read to her in bed until she falls asleep. Just like Davey, she misses that, too. Cindy's awoken from her sleep, in a cold sweat, calling out, "Anna?!" Cindy can sense Anna's presence…and her sadness…for the first time since she vanished; and, she starts walking through the house trying to hone in it. As she walks past the attic door, Cindy feels a chill travel through her body. She takes a deep breath and slowly opens the door just enough to poke her head in and look up the darkened staircase. Cindy cautiously reaches in with her hand and starts to feel around on the wall for a light switch. When Cindy turns on the light, she takes in another breath, walks through the doorway and up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, Cindy surveys the attic. With the exception of a dozen or so boxes the Lazinskis have stored up there, the attic's bare. There's a musty smell in the air; with plenty of dust and cobwebs. Boards now cover the holes in the attic walls and roof; where bats use to be able to enter and set up their new dwelling in the house. A small section of the chain which bound Davey is still hanging from the trestle in the center of the attic. Cindy slowly moves through the attic, trying to pick up on Anna's presence. As she walks about the vast, empty floor; the floorboards are creaking with each of her steps. When she gets close to the area where Davey use to lay, Cindy trips on a loose floorboard and falls head first into a support beam; knocking herself unconscious. Cindy comes to about twenty minutes later. Her head's naturally throbbing; and, her vision's temporarily blurred. While shaking it off, Cindy notices two small feet standing next to her. She looks up, shakes her head from side to side and lets out an exasperated huff. "Mary." "Cindy." She devilishly smirks, "Have a headache; do we?" Cindy finishes rubbing her sore head. "Not yet; but, something's telling me I'm about to." "So; what brings you up to the attic, Cindy?" "No reason in particular; I figured the attic would be a lot safer than the barn." Mary maliciously taps the recently formed bump on Cindy's head, which causes Cindy to wince back in a little pain; and, with that same devilish smile, Mary replies, "I'm sorry; does that hurt? Evidently the attic isn't that safe of a place either, Cindy." "Cute, Mary. Anyway; who are you?" "You just called me Mary, Cindy; now you're asking me who I am? I think you may have bumped your head a little harder than you thought. Perhaps you should seek some medical help." "Are you Mary Howell?" "Yes, Cindy; I'm Mary Howell." "Okay. And, what happened to you?" "What do you mean what happened to me? I was killed?" "Where? How?" "Oh, I see; a detail person are we, Cindy?" "Something like that." "Fine; I was hacked to pieces by some psycho killer in the barn, Cindy." "You mean…Charles." Mary becomes sarcastic. "Charles? I thought your name was Cindy…Who are you?" "Cute again, Mary. I meant the killer. You know Charles Steinman was the killer, Mary." "You just called me Mary again. Very good, Cindy; you're learning." "Thanks; but, there's one small problem, Mary." "What's that, Cindy?" "If you were hacked to pieces that night out in the barn; then, how is it we found your skeleton fully intact out in Miller's Lake?" Mary's silent, as the smirk that was once on her face transforms into a scowl. She's giving Cindy a harsh, cold piercing stare. Mary has yet to answer Cindy's question. "Well; Mary?" Mary finally responds, "I don't know what you're talking about, Cindy. I was killed out in the barn. Charles chopped me apart." "No. I don't know exactly what happened, yet; but, Mary Howell wasn't hacked to pieces by the killer. She may have been killed out in the barn and brought out to the lake; but, her body was in one piece. So; I'll ask you again…who the hell are you? And, where's Anna?" "I'm Mary Howell you stupid bitch! And, don't worry about where Anna is; because you're never going to see her again!" She disappears in front of Cindy's eyes. Cindy's sitting on the floor…her knees bent and drawn into her chest; with her chin resting on them…worrying about her recent altercation with Mary. Cindy's hoping she hasn't pushed Mary too far; causing Anna to have to suffer from any repercussions because of her confronting Mary the way she did. While sitting there, Cindy notices the end of a floorboard sticking up; and, figures that must have been what caused her to trip and fall. Upon closer inspection, Cindy notices a small section that isn't secured in place and lifts up the board; putting it off to the side. Cindy looks down into the floor and discovers a book lying in the small space between the attic floor and third floor ceiling. She removes the book from its hiding place and wipes off the thick layer of dust covering it. It's a nursery rhyme anthology book. When Cindy opens the cover of the old book, several of its brittle pages fall out. As she replaces the pages, Cindy notices an inscription written on the inside front book jacket. It reads… ‘To our dear grandson Davey, Hope you enjoy your very first book! Love Grandma and Grandpa Howell'.