CHAPTER FIVE

 

Greg arrived bright and early with his crew of ten men. Some older and some younger. It looked as though it was a family business. One guy looked like he was not more than eighteen.

They got right to work, each taking a section of the property, drilling and banging things for hours. Mariah decided to wander around the grounds for a while to give them space to work. It was around three in the afternoon when she stepped back into view of the house, just in time to see the final push as the entire house shifted, and then it was straight. The foundation was level, or as level as it was going to get for now anyway. Next, it just needed to be repaired.

She headed back towards the house with a new bounce in her step. This house was going to be amazing when it was finished; “Take that Liza,” she said to herself.

Mariah walked around the perimeter of the house with Greg and they talked about the steps that were going to be taken to repair the foundation. As she suspected, it looked like they built the house over a big hole. The original foundation was brick and wood, which did not at all surprise her seeing that the entire driveway was brick, as well. Greg estimated it would be about two weeks to complete the foundation assuming they didn’t run into any huge issues. Mariah expected issues. The house is mammoth, ancient, and practically decrepit. They would run into problems, it was just a matter of when, where, what and how many.

After the men left for the day, Mariah settled back into wandering around the house. On the third floor, there were two bedrooms. Past the stairs was a room that housed a telescope that pointed directly out the window toward the back of the house. She found it disheartening because from what she could tell, you can’t see the sky from that room, it’s all trees, huge trees that tower well over the house.

Touching the telescope gently Mariah pointed it as high as it could go and then stuck her eye right up to the lens. There was nothing, just trees. Why would someone want to look at trees through a telescope? Mariah moved the telescope as low as she could, and then positioned her eye back to the lens. She could see part of the pond she had discovered the other day and some of the tiny huts. Interesting, she thought. Boring, but interesting.

There was one other thing in the room with the telescope, a big wooden cabinet with marvelous engravings all over it. There was a weird symbol, a rather large O, with a strike through it. On each end of the strike, there was a tiny o. Mariah thought it could be the initial for Oakley, maybe the family crest. If so, that’s a shitty crest, she thought. She dusted it off with her bare hands and pulled the cabinet doors open. Only it didn’t open.

She pulled and shook the doors as hard as she could. There was no keyhole, so it shouldn’t be locked. She poked around the outside, thinking maybe there was a button or something that you push to open it. She reached under the bottom hoping to find a latch of some kind but found nothing. Feeling behind the cabinet as far as she could reach, continuing to look for a latch, Mariah suddenly felt it, a sharp searing pain in her hand. She yanked her hand back from the cabinet, cradling it in her arms like a crying baby, she assessed the situation. All she could see through the swelling was two small puncture marks. A spider, she thought. She was bit by what looks like an enormous spider. From the way it was burning she could tell it was venomous. Reaching into her back pocket and pulling out her cell phone Mariah did what any normal person would do; called her mom.

After telling her mother what happened and being chastised for two full minutes before being told to hang up and call 911, she hopped online to google spider bites. Then feeling certain she was going to die, Mariah called 911.

She explained what happened to the lady on the phone, and the operator told her not to mess with the bite. She asked Mariah to see if she could find the culprit and if possible, catch it. Mariah explained that the cabinet was far too heavy for her to move, so instead the operator sent her to sit on the front porch to wait for the ambulance to arrive. By the time she had gotten down the stairs, and grabbed her purse with her keys, she had begun to feel sick and light-headed. Mariah sat and waited as the ambulance sirens grew closer.

The Paramedics were nice. One lady worked on her hand while a young man went upstairs to hunt down the vicious spider that tried to kill her. Mariah knew she was being dramatic, but she had never felt anything like that in her life. The woman paramedic joked with her and tried to keep her spirits up as another set some gauze on Mariah’s hand. She was pretty, her name was Olivia. She had big blue eyes, with pale skin almost devoid of color, and long beautiful blonde hair that ran down her back. Mariah knew she probably shouldn’t, but she was tempted to ask for her phone number.

The other paramedic, that Mariah had since learned was named Austin, returned about ten minutes later with a small specimen jar and the evil spider that had bitten her.

“Brown recluse,” he said loudly so his partners could hear.

“Ewww,” one of them yelled back. Then she turned to Mariah and informed her of the nasty night she was in for.

“As long as that thing dies in the process, I’ll be okay,” Mariah sputtered as her eyes started to water and she began to dry heave. “I think I’m going to be sick,” she winced.

Olivia’s partner, Alice, handed her a small bag and strapped her onto the gurney. As they were pulling away from the house Mariah’s stomach exploded into the bag, one dreadful heave after the other. Looking up from the bag and back at her house as it faded from view, she saw just for a moment what she thought was a light on in the attic window, and someone standing there. She was sure she must be hallucinating now. The venom must be incredibly toxic, she thought.

Her mom arrived at the hospital thirty minutes after Mariah was checked into a room. The anti-venom and a low dose morphine drip were already administered. Zofran helped kick her nausea and a big bag of saline hung from her opposite arm. Her hand was swollen to about the size of a grapefruit and looked like a demon was possessing it. Her mom took one look at her and acted as if she was going to die. Mariah knew after talking to the doctor that she wasn’t, but good luck telling her mother that.

Her mother was beautiful, the kind of beautiful you see in old movies. Not too much makeup. Her hair was straight and fine, and a nice shade of light brown. Her dad always said her blue eyes looked like the ocean and if you look into them for too long you could just swim away into her thoughts. In other words, mom reads like an open book. All her emotions play out on her face like a bad silent film. So, when Mariah told her she was fine, her mother insisted she should sell her house and move back into their family home.

Mariah rolled her eyes. She loves the woman, but no way was she giving up her little chunk of history just because she was stupid enough to stick her hand behind a dark, dusty cabinet in a house that hasn’t been lived in for over 24 years. Mariah assured her mother that she was fine, and would no doubt be going home tomorrow healthy and ready to take on another day of exploration and renovation.

Thinking about exploring reminded her, Greg and his team would be at the house early to work again. She pulled out her cell and texted him that she was in the hospital but should be back by morning. If she was not there when he arrived, the side door was unlocked. They are mainly working outside and would have little need of her anyway, she thought.

Mariah was anxious to get back and see the basement. She had completely forgotten to check after Greg left today. She had intended to go down and see how the leveling was affecting the walls and the ceiling. That would have to be added to the list of things to do tomorrow. That, and hiring an exterminator. That recluse had friends; she was sure of it.

After the doctor convinced her mother that all was fine and Mariah would, in fact, be able to leave after the IV was gone and the anti-venom kicked in fully, Mariah was able to bribe her into going and getting coffee. She was exhausted and caffeine sounded amazing. As her mother was walking out, Olivia walked into the room. Mariah was shocked to see her again, but happy none-the-less.

“How’s the hand?” Olivia said, sauntering in.

“You just came to check on my hand? You came all the way back here just for that?” Mariah muttered in disbelief.

“Well, I was bringing in another patient and thought I could check on you to see if you still have a hand. I figure if you don’t, then I could lend you one sometime when you’re working on that massive house of yours.” Olivia laughed at her own corny joke. Medical professionals have a morbid sense of humor, Mariah thought, remembering a similar joke the doctor had made earlier.

“That would be nice. I’m always there and could definitely use an extra set of hands,” Mariah replied. She pulled out her cell to text Olivia her phone number. Olivia, however, didn’t own a cell phone. They, instead, set up a day and time to meet up so Mariah could show her the house. She made sure Olivia was aware that the house was ancient and that people around town seemed to be afraid of it. Olivia assured her that she was fine. She told Mariah that she had once lived in a house similar to Oakley.

Mariah took in the information and settled back into the pillow to rest. Olivia left shortly after, and then her mom came back with coffee and a huge smile on her face.

“I love you, my ladybug,” she told Mariah as she handed her the coffee. Her mom has always called her ladybug; the red curly hair might have something to do with that.

“I love you too momma,” Mariah whispered, sipping the coffee slowly, feeling the caffeine wash over her like a warm blanket in winter. Her arm was so cold from the IV, she hadn’t even realized she was shivering.

Mariah hated hospitals, cold and full of sick or dying people. If anywhere had the potential to be haunted, it would be a hospital. Yet no one talks about hospitals, and no one avoids them. What makes a silly old house so much different? People can be real wimps about things they don’t know, or care to learn about, Mariah surmised.