Chapter 10: Nelli Part 2

We continue the rest of the tour until we come to the stairs.  'Upstairs, is Nelli's part of the house.  She has her own library, a playroom, a gaming room, an indoor pool, and anything else she needs up here.  You will notice that she doesn't ever come downstairs.  It's just best that way.  Now let's go meet her.  I do ask one thing.  Don't ever directly look into her eyes.  It tends to upset her.  She also might be quite sleepy because it is getting close to her bedtime." 'Ok.  Sure."  I give him this not so happy smile as I am not sure after all this that suddenly I want to meet her.  Something is quite off about all of this.  By now the hairs are pricking the back of my neck so hard that I could swear I was shocked with an electrical current. Suddenly I see a flash run down the stairs and to the front door.  I look at Mr. Stillson shockingly as he falls backwards and topples a couple steps downward.  'What the."  I stop in mid-sentence as I watch a very young girl run back up the stairs with a strange looking doll in her arms.  I carefully do not look into her eyes but make the mistake of acknowledging her before she takes my hand and tries to pull me up the staircase. I hear a loud boom come from behind me as I see Mr. Stillson yell out after he stomps his foot on the ground in protest.  'Nelli, back upstairs right now!" Startled, Nelli immediately runs up the stairs after releasing my hand and straight through the doors. 'I am so sorry about that!  I don't know what happened.  She is never allowed down here.  I am going to have to make sure her doors are locked before the guests arrive.  Once again, I am sorry.  I didn't want your first contact with her to be so shocking." 'Well, it did throw me for a loop." 'Just make yourself comfortable.  I am going to go make sure she is secured and that everything is taken care of before too long.  All I really need you for tonight is to stay upstairs with her while the guests are here and then after to make sure she is indeed asleep for the night.  We will take care of everything else tomorrow." I make my way back downstairs to find Ms. Stillson rushing back and forth with a very concerned look on her face.  She is screaming something about an item is missing and if she doesn't find it before the guests get there then there will be hell to pay.  I find a vacant couch and sit down out of the way, hoping Mr. Stillson will come back soon. When he doesn't, the hairs on the back of my neck stand erect.  My fingers start to fidget with the velvet upholstery next to me as I sit back and wait.  I find myself counting the red tiles on the floor underneath my feet and then I look up to see Mr. and Mrs. Stillson hurriedly go in the next room and start to raise their voices. I don't have to strain to listen in on the argument that they so passionately are amid.  Mrs. Stillson is screaming at Mr. Stillson and telling him that Nelli is ruining everything like she always does and why should she have to cancel the party.  His voice raises over hers and then suddenly grows quiet, then I hear a little girls giggle upstairs. Mr. Stillson runs out with a panicked look on his face and looks at the top of the staircase.  Mrs. Stillson comes back into the room, and you can tell that she has been crying, her makeup staining her perfectly pale complexion.  Outside, I hear the guests start to arrive and then one by one their cars leave again as the two gentlemen at the entrance gate tell them the party is off. I find myself wondering what could possibly be so bad to take such a drastic turn of events.  'Surely one little child couldn't affect all this could she?" I make sure I stay out of the way till everything cools down and then the Stillson's start fighting again as I sit there on the couch trying to figure out what exactly I should be doing.  So out of place here, I don't have a clue what I should be doing right now.  So, I just sit here for a while, then someone arrives.  I turn around to see an older gentleman who looks like a doctor walking towards me. 'Hello, my dear Ms. Dreasden.  I am Doctor John Hopkins, Nelli's psychiatrist.  I was told of the events tonight and not to alarm you, but if at any time the lights go out close your eyes and do not open them no matter what you hear.  Apparently Nelli is loose and not under control.  See Nelli has no soul.  She was born with the blackest eyes of any human being I have ever met.  If she sees the fear in your eyes, she will scratch them out before she kills you." I instantly panic and the room starts to spin.  I can feel the heat raise to my temples and the sweat starts to bead around my eyes and lips.  As I start to panic further, I hear a loud sound upstairs and then a giggle.  Suddenly, everything goes quiet and even the Stillson's stop fighting.  My heart starts to leap out of my chest as the room goes completely black.  I feel the psychiatrist's hand wrap around mine as he starts to lead me to the front gated doorway. 'Remember, don't open your eyes.  For God's sake, don't let her out."  I hear a gurgle next to me and then I feel a warm liquid spread down my hand and arm.  I feel it dripping onto my leg and then smell the sick acrid smell of fear and blood as it mixes in the pool on the floor by my feet.  The pit of my stomach drops out and my knees almost give away before I quickly think of something. I raise my voice sternly with all my bravado and yell out.  'Nelli!  Go to bed right now!  You have been very bad.  I don't want to see you downstairs ever again.  You have been told it's your bedtime and you're not listening!  Get to bed right now!" I listen quietly, praying silently that she listens so I can get out of this infernal death trap and find help.  Finding myself relieved for a moment, I hear her stomp up the stairs and hear the door close behind her.  I listen for her squeaky bed and then when I hear it I immediately bolt for the front gate. I stumble around a few steps and then my hands rest on the cold gate in front of me.  I pull and it instantly opens.  There is something coating the bars that smells remarkably like blood, but I don't think about that for the moment and slam the gate behind me.  I find the bar and jam it shut locking anyone else inside with the demon spawn.  Then only then, do I open my eyes and find a cigarette inside my purse. As I light it, I have a vision of a burning building and flick it inside the gated entrance.  The tapestry ignites instantaneously and the whole wall lights ablaze.  I turn as I see something out of the corner of my eye.  I look closer at the gate and to this day I wish I didn't see those eyes.  The eyes were deep dark spirals into an abyss that I have never seen before and hope I never see again. She starts to scream at the top of her lungs and hiss like a wild thing as her claws grasp onto the metal bars so hard, I swear that they were warping the metal.  I pull out my phone quickly and call 911.  By the time the ambulance and fire trucks got there, all that was left was the wrought iron bars of the gates.  I heard in the news the next day that when they combed through the wreckage, they found a little girl's body still grasping onto the metal bars for dear life. Further reports told of 30 some bodies found in the basement and of course the mother and father and several servants.  No one knows who all the bodies belonged to, but the police surmised that there must have been occult activity and ritual sacrifices.  I knew better. My husband wakes me up as I scream and claw at the covers surrounding me.  'Honey, are you alright?" 'Yes, yes.  I am now.  Just hold me.  It was just a bad dream." I lay back down and close my eyes as my husband's safe and secure arms surround me in a comforting cocoon.  All I know is I am sure glad I made it out of there those twelve years ago.  The only thing I wish I never did was open my eyes and see into hers.  That mistake I will pay dearly for the rest of my life.