It didn’t take long for the drug to take effect. Kaely tried to fight it off, but it was impossible. The air around her became alive, a moving thing full of vibrating colors. She stared at Richard, but his face had become twisted, frightening. He looked just like the theater mask of tragedy, but his features shifted and danced in a macabre ballet. Every few seconds, she could see him peering at her through the empty holes in the mask, but suddenly everything changed. She found herself staring into the eyes of her father.
She’d clamped her lips together, determined Richard wouldn’t break her, but the sound of sobbing surrounded her. Was it coming from her? She couldn’t tell.
The tragedy mask came nearer, within a few inches of her face. “Now we’re going back, Jessie. You’re in the dream again. You’re running down a dark hallway. Something is coming after you.”
“It’s in the walls,” a child’s voice said. “There’s a monster in the wall.”
Kaely wanted to reach up and pinch her lips together. No matter how hard she tried to keep them closed, the voice seeped out. She couldn’t control it.
“We have to find out what’s behind the wall,” the man behind the mask said.
“Why?” Kaely asked. “Don’t let the monster out. Please, please.”
Someone shouted her name as if she’d done something wrong. It was her father’s voice. He’d yelled at her when she . . . when she what? She tried to pull up the memory, but she couldn’t. Then she heard someone whisper. She looked away from the mask and peered into the shadows. Someone else was calling her. Not as Jessie. Her new name. Who was it?
“Who are you?” she asked. “Can you help me?”
I will never leave you. Never forsake you.
Kaely felt something slowly seeping through her, as if someone had poured warm honey on the top of her head. But this warmth had something else in it. Peace. Extreme peace. She let it wash over her entire body.
“Jessie, what’s in the wall?” Richard’s voice hissed.
She couldn’t see him anymore. Where Richard had been sitting, there was a void. A dark void, but no person. Just a feeling of evil. A voice in the darkness. She turned back toward the shadows from which the peaceful voice had come.
It’s okay. I want you to see. Don’t be afraid.
Kaely took a deep breath and put herself back in the hallway. She realized for the first time she was inside her childhood house. She walked to the end of the hallway and stopped. There was nothing there. What was she supposed to see? Suddenly, a light began to shine from the wall. It highlighted the edges of the green wainscoting on the bottom half of the wall. Kaely reached for it and found a loose spot near the top. She pulled at it, and a hidden door swung open.
“It’s a secret place,” she whispered. Her voice echoed and bounced around the room. The colors and patterns intensified. Everything wiggled and shifted with the colors. They made an odd sound. Like a buzzing but not really unpleasant. She could hear words. Lyrics. The colors made music, but not any kind of music she’d ever heard before.
“Go inside. Everything will be okay.” The voice came from somewhere. It sounded far away.
Kaely pulled the door open and scooted past it. The space on the other side wasn’t very large. Just big enough for Kaely and all the things stuffed inside. She started to look at them, but bile rose in her throat, and she felt like she was going to be sick. Panic raced up from her stomach and seized her around the throat. “Help me,” she choked out. Dust flew around her, but it wasn’t regular dust. It sparkled and pulsed. In some other context it might have been pretty, but it was clear this wasn’t a pretty place. This was a bad place. An evil place. There were pictures. Bad pictures. Knives. Scarves covered with something dark. Was it blood? The entire space began to fill with blood, and Kaely was afraid she was going to drown. She started to scream. Then something grabbed her from behind and yanked her violently. Her head scraped against the side of the wall and a nail pierced the skin on her face. She could feel warm blood running down her chin and her neck, onto her clothes.
She found herself lying in the hallway. She looked up to see her father standing over her, his face distorted by something she couldn’t comprehend.
“You will forget what you just saw, do you understand?” he said. “You’ll never bring it up. Never.” His face moved just inches from hers. “Do you hear me, Jessie Lynn? You will forget this or else . . .”
Fear overtook her as blood continued to pour down her face. “Yes, Daddy. I understand,” she said through her blood and her tears.
“What did you see?” the voice from the void asked.
Kaely shook her head. “I can’t say. Daddy told me to never tell anyone.”
“But he’s gone now,” the voice said.
She blinked several times, trying to see who was talking. Richard’s face became clear. “There were bad things there,” she said, her voice trembling. “Bad things. Daddy said to forget them.” She sobbed. “My face is bleeding. I need help.”
“See, you knew the truth,” Richard hissed. “All this time. All those women dead, and it’s your fault. You killed them.” He leaned so close to her that their noses were almost touching. “You killed Bella, and you need to take your own life. It’s only fair. You have to pay the price for all the pain you caused.” He held up a gun. “It’s the only way to bring justice. There’s no other choice, Jessie. Do you understand?”
Kaely nodded. “I understand.”
“I’m going to untie you now. Then I want you to pay the price for your sins.”
“I’m sorry, Richard. I’m so sorry. I’ll make it right, I promise.”
Richard’s smile made her feel better, but before he could untie her, the darkness surrounded her, and Kaely passed out.