Originally published July 24, 2017
“It looks so lifelike and realistic.”
“Yeah, and creepy as fuck. I keep thinking it’s going to turn towards me.”
“Don’t say things like that. Now I’m creeped out.”
“Sorry, Brad. In fairness, you’re the one who pointed out the thing.”
“Fair enough,” he shrugged, then winced at the careless movement. I turned back to the mannequin.
“It really is creepy,” I said. “I mean, I get those newer ones in stores that display clothes, but this? They painted eyes on it. Hair too.”
“I think it may have some rosy cheeks too, but it’s hard to tell in this light” Brad replied.
“How lovely.”
“Maybe it wasn’t just a mannequin. Maybe someone crazy lived here and they treated it like their friend…or their luvaah.”
“Maybe we should stop talking about the mannequin,” I said, rolling my eyes.
“Sure thing. Wanna talk about how long it’ll take this floor to finishing rotting out from beneath us? How about a rousing discussion regarding the cardboard boxes? I know, we can guess how many spiders are lurking in the corners of this pit of a room!”
“Relax, Brad. Janie and the others will be here soon. We just need to wait.”
“What if they don’t though? What if they got caught already? Where does that leave us?” Brad’s face crumpled like paper.
“They didn’t get caught. Janie’s careful. She’s probably taking a little longer to get here to make sure no one follows. We’ll be out of this shithole in no time.” Brad didn’t look convinced.
“Hey, maybe we can freak out Kumail with the mannequin when they get here,” I said, trying to cheer Brad up. “We could push it closer to the door, make it lunge at him when he comes in. Or you could do one of your voices while I move it.” The corner of Brad’s mouth quirked up.
“Oh, Kumail, you’re finally here! I’ve been waiting soooo looong. Give me a kiss,” Brad cooed in a comically high pitch, complete with puckered lips. We looked across the room at each other and started laughing.
“Ha ha ha ha—ah!” I cried, clenching my side.
“How’re your ribs?” Brad asked.
“Cracked, or worse. I’m guessing worse. How’s your ankle?”
“Sprained, or worse. I’m guessing.”
“Guessing worse?”
“There’s no need to be negative,” Brad said. I snorted.
“We really did it this time,” I sighed.
“Yeah,” Brad responded.
“Janie will be here soon.”
“Mhm…”
“She will. She has to be. We don’t have a watch, so we can’t be sure that she’s really all that late. It might just feel like that because this place sucks and we’re in pain.”
“Whatever you say, Flora.”
We were both quiet for a while. I looked past the mannequin and out the broken windows at the dark night sky.
“She’s not coming. No one is,” I whispered, but Brad heard me.
“I think something bad happened to them,” he admitted. “They wouldn’t just leave us here. Remember when I got lost in those tunnels when we were kids? Janie had to come after me. There were bugs and mold and all sorts of strange noises. I couldn’t see a damn thing. It was the scariest place I’d ever been. I started crying, and Janie heard me. She was more afraid of those tunnels than I was. They were like her own personal hell, filled with everything she hated. But she still went in. For me.”
“Yeah, and Kumail might scare easily, but he’s a true friend. He’d never leave us behind if he had a choice.”
“Yeah,” Brad agreed.
“Heh.”
“What?”
“Nothing. I just thought ‘Maybe they got sick of saving your sorry butts and left you.’”
“And that’s funny?” Brad looked at me like I was crazy.
“No, but I was sort of relieved when I thought that. Maybe they did just abandon us. That means they’re probably alright. They could be in some cheap motel, binging on junk from the vending machine down the hall. I never thought the idea of being betrayed by my friends could be a happy one.”
“Heh, that is kinda funny,” Brad replied. I heard movement outside the house, and motioned for Brad to fall silent. I could see lights waving through the air—flashlights.
“Find anything yet?” A gruff voice asked.
“Not yet, sir, but the dogs traced the scent here,” another replied.
“They must be inside the house. You men, set up a perimeter around the house just in case. The rest of you, follow me. Guns at the ready.”
“Fuck,” Brad exhaled. “What are we gonna do?”
“There’s not a lot we can do,” I whispered, defeat and acceptance sinking into my bones. “We can sit here and let them capture us, or we could make sure we’re gone when they get up here.”
“But we’re surrounded, and I can’t walk,” Brad replied.
“I didn’t say anything about leaving the room,” I said, my eyes falling to the pistol on Brad’s belt.”
“Oh,” he said. He pulled the pistol from his belt.
“Uh, I—I’ve only got one bullet left. Here,” he leaned forward with the gun in his hand, almost hanging over the abyss.
“No, you use it. If you try to give it to me, then you might drop it, and then we’ll both be screwed. I’ll find another way. Maybe I can beat myself to death with the mannequin.”
“Are you sure?”
I met his gaze and replied, “Yeah, I’m sure. See you on the other side.”
“Yeah, see you,” he said. Brad leaned back against the wall, shut his eyes, and—
—BANG!
“What was that?” a voice called from the lower floor.
“Quick, upstairs,” the gruff voice from earlier shouted. “We have them now!”
“Not if I can help it,” I murmured as I pushed myself up the wall, ribs groaning in protest. I hobbled over to the hole in the floor. It looked like it went all the way to the basement.
“Guess I lied, Brad. I am leaving this room. And you were right; this place really is a pit. Here’s hoping it’s a deep one.” As the door to the room burst open behind me, I let myself fall into the blackness.