The House That Wants Project

Chapter 8

THTW 2023 Chapter 8
         Brad came up from downstairs with a rag wrapped around one hand that was full of blood. He was white as a sheet and shaking.
         "What the hell happened?" asked Tim.
         "The drill, it just, it came alive almost and it attacked me." He looked at Darrel. "It wasn't even plugged in."
         "I'll take Tim and Brad to the hospital," said Mitch.
         Kristin headed downstairs. Darrel followed.
         The plug to the drill was nowhere near the outlet. There was blood all over the drill and floor.
         "What the hell happened down here?" asked Darrel.
         Kristin closed her eyes and saw the whole scene as if it were happening now. Brad was moving things out of the way to get to where he wanted to work. The drill turned on and flew, aiming for Brad's head. He got his hand up just in time, but the drill bored into his left hand. The drill dropped to the floor.
         Kristin opened her eyes. Darrel and Kristin both heard maniacal laughter.
         "It's getting more dangerous around here," said Kristin. "I need to do something soon." Kristin sprinkled some of the powder from her purse over the drill. When nothing happened, she sighed heavily.
         Back upstairs, Kristin made an announcement. "I'm going to do a cleansing of the house." She turned to Marissa. "I know you don't believe in such things, but this is the only thing that I can think of that will protect your family."
         "I don't know what to believe. I just want someone to help us."
         "It would help if I knew more about what I was dealing with. I'm hoping Mitch can find out the history of the manor. I'll let him do some digging."
         "We should just stay out of the basement," said Darrel. "and we work in pairs."
         "We are done with the bathroom," said Dean. "We still have to replace the wall but we checked as much of the pipes as we could. We can't say where the blood came from."
         "I just got done with some preliminary measurements for the fire escape," said Tyrel. "Can't do anything more until we get the torches and welders going."
         "Let's check out the upstairs, do some cleaning, and maybe get started on the work up there," said Darrel.
         Kristen smiled. "Why don't we take a break from here? I need to get things from the Cannover House and there is a playset in the backyard for the little ones. I'm going to need some help going through the stuff there and I'm sure there is more things that you can use."
         "You've already given us so much."
         "It's not me doing it. My Aunt collected things."
         Nancy smiled coyly. "We really need some pots and pans and other kitchen supplies; unless we are going to keep ordering out every night."
         Kristin rolled her eyes. "Child you have no idea."
         They took the station wagon to Cannover House with the trailer.

         James and Bethany squealed like only children can when they saw the playset in the backyard. Iris followed them out and sat on the bench, taking a book out of her bag.
         Kristin took the women into the kitchen. Marissa went to the door and watched the children playing in the yard.
         "It feels good to know they are safe. I fret when they are outside at the manor. There's so much that needs to be cleaned up, not to mention the cliff."
         "We can fence in an area for them to play in," said Nancy.
         "I'm sure the boys would love to design a playset for them."
         "You make everything sound so easy, Kristin," said Marissa.
         "It is easy. It's one large community around here. Get used to it."
         "I don't know if I ever will."
         The three women spent the rest of the afternoon going through and separating out kitchen supplies, including some food things that Kristin knew she wouldn't use. They took a break and had tea and biscuits, laughing about what proper ladies they were. Kristin took them through the rest of the house looking at furniture and other odds and ends. There was no sense in taking large items to the manor until the bedrooms were done so Kristin just wrote notes that she stuck to the pieces they would like. Nancy picked out an armoire to use for her and Brad's clothes. They put end tables Marissa picked out for a reception area in the trailer. There were dressers stored in a back bedroom that would work for the children's rooms. They loaded the trailer down with odds and ends and drove back to the manor.
         Iris and Nancy carried the two little ones who had fallen asleep on the ride back. Darrel came out to see how things went.
         "Mitch brought Tim and Brad back about a half hour ago. They put Brad on some pain killers and heavy antibiotics so he is laying down."
         "We had a productive day."
         Darrel glanced at the trailer. "So, I see. Are you going to keep anything at Cannover House?"
         "There's still some stuff at the house with notes on them to come here when the bedrooms are ready. I was discussing with Marissa about the children playing out here."
         "There's a lot of junk they could get hurt on. I hadn't really thought about it."
         "We talked about building a play area. Something fenced in with a playset."
         "I'll get Shaun and Dean right on that."
         "Where's Mitch at?"
         "with Tyrel on the side of the house." ____________________________________________________________