Upstairs

Edith pounded her fists against the doors. “You’re kidding me.”

The door wouldn’t budge. There was no window or peephole to see through to the other side. They were locked out of the room.

She huffed. “The smell’s coming from that room. Surely there’s something important behind there.”

He slammed his wood roller against the door, releasing his disappointment. The attempt was as ridiculous as it was fruitless. “Maybe the locks are automated. I don’t see a keyhole anywhere. This place is secure.”

She shrugged her shoulders. “So what do we do now?”

“Upstairs,” he decided. “It’s the next best option. We could still find a way out. Perhaps there’s a window without bars. It’d be a jump. I’m guessing it’s a two-story drop. You could turn an ankle or break a leg. The risks aren’t worse than staying here. We’re in agreement, I’m sure.”

Edith nodded. Her mouth was slightly open, on the verge of words. She wanted a better plan. Craig considered it lucky Dr. Krone or Rachael hadn’t located them. There wasn’t a bend of a wooden beam or even the house settling. He hated the deep silence, being so quiet he could hear his ears ring. Edith wore a disgruntled face. The place loomed around them like a prison ward.

“The machine turned our best memories into nightmares,” he began to speak for the sake of talking. He aimed to inject some morale back into them. “It reiterated the fact my dad was a huge asshole to my mom. He cheated on her on a regular basis. Perhaps there’s a disease for chronic libido. My dad would be the poster child. I didn’t really bond with him either. The closest he ever got was when I joined the Boy Scouts. Two weeks into attending meetings, we went on a weekend campout. My dad ended up punching out the scout master. I guess the man made an off-the-cuff remark about how he slept around on my mom, and he bloodied his nose. No charges were pressed, but my days as a Boy Scout were over.”

Edith narrowed her eyes and busted out laughing. “Your dad sounds like the assholes I’ve dated. Over-macho, their fists ready to pummel anybody, and dicks ready for discharge.”

She leaned into his shoulder and muffled her amusement. “Let me put it like this, I’ve punched a lot of men in the private area in my time. I know it hurts, so damn it, I take advantage. I guess God figured men were assholes, and they needed an off switch.”

He laughed so hard it hurt. “Are we sure we want back out there? I’m unemployed. I’ll have to look for a job. Jesus, I’ve been a snowplow man, I’ve worked performing oil changes at a Jiffy Lube, I’ve been a fucking janitor mopping up kids’ puke with kitty litter and a dustpan, and I was most recently a garbage man. I was fired for singing on the job—literally. My coworkers didn’t like the song “Born in the USA”. I guess being drunk and missing half the garbage on my routes had nothing to do with it. I puked on my boss’s desk when he fired me. That bastard won’t forget Craig Horsy.”

She gave him a high-five. “Good for you. But you’re a lightweight. I worked in a coalmine when I was sixteen. I put up with old men looking at my ass and shaping my tits through my uniform. And I was actually a security guard for a time, guarding storage units for overstocked retail stores. I broke into one of the compartments, stealing cigarettes and beer—oh, and a television and boom box. Of course, I was fired. Oh, I’ve cleaned the floors of a hospital. I sanitized patient rooms and washed dirty linens. That was a shitty job.” Her face was solemn, and her eyes glazed over with the warning of tears. “But I’d do anything for those three girls. They’re everything. I could wade knee-deep in shit for eight dollars an hour, and it wouldn’t matter.”

“I’m changing a few things when I escape this place,” he said, pouring his heart out to her. “I seriously have to have a chat with my mom. I have to know if she cheated on Dad—and if so, good for her. She deserves happiness. And Alice…”

“Who’s Alice?”

“She’s an old friend. The machine put her in the mix. I’ll put it this way, I left her at a time when she needed me the most. There are so many things I wanted to say to her, but it’s been years. I didn’t have the guts to apologize to her, but now…”

“You don’t have to tell me. We’ve both experienced enough heartache.” She stepped forward, continuing to search the mansion for an escape. “Let’s go upstairs, like you said. We’ll find something, and if not, we’ll watch our asses and figure out a better plan.”

He led the two-person expedition. The trek was easier now that the corridor was lit. Craig peered behind them again into the basement, checking for anything that could come out at them. The double doors were still shut. The barriers contained secrets, but for now, it was best to move on. The authorities could dismantle the property and the machine. He wanted nothing to do with it now that he was free of the damned machine.

Edith extended the knife, ready to plunge into a throat. He clutched the rolling pin. His stance was absent of the promise of violence. A blunt object had little sway over the unknown, especially in Dr. Krone’s mansion.

They walked up the stairs, the rubber mat absorbing the impact of their steps. Upstairs, the kitchen and the living area was still unoccupied. He kept his eyes on the upstairs staircase. Each stair was draped in darkness. The lights were off upstairs. He sighed, frustrated he would be walking down a blind alley.

“This is it,” he said. “Are you okay with this?”

“We have to do it, but I don’t have to like it.”

“That’s the spirit.”

She was eager to complete the staircase, and he lagged behind, having to double his strides to keep up. He didn’t want to be alone in this place. The darkness hid Edith, but her general outline was visible.

The upstairs area was set up as a large square. The window on the end of the hall revealed it was nighttime. He also noticed the steel bars over the window.

“Fucked again,” Edith spat. “We can’t catch a break.”

That left them one choice. “We have to hunt the two of them down before they find us.”

“Are we the only two victims in this mansion? Maybe there are more of us here. Why would there only be two of us here?”

He reached for the nearest door, curious by what she said. “Then let’s open these doors and find out.”

The nearest door was unlocked. Opening it, he stared into a black box. He traced the wall with his hand for the switch. Once it flickered on, he recognized the room.