Uncovered Project: I'm Your Boogeyman: Part Four

There's more of this than I thought, so I'll continue posting this until it's done along with the regularly scheduled content you all expect. I hope you enjoyed this week of old things I had written. Not just to see where I came from, but how everyone can improve even if you can't see it.

Chapter Five: Subliminal Messages

The first package that arrived contained several highly wanted prizes. The first to be removed was a brand new coffee pot, in hot pink, with Cecy’s name written on it. There was also a bag of assorted coffees and creamers. Cecy was none to pleased with the color of the thing, but she was so excited to finally have coffee she rushed off into the kitchen to prepare a pot.

The next thing removed was a CD player, also hot pink, and a box labeled CDs that bore Adam’s name upon both. Inside the box he found several albums from his collection along with several brand new ones. There was also a box the size of a shoe box filled with batteries that was for everyone to share.

There was a package for Lana that had the Chanel logo printed on it. Lana was so excited she squealed and bounced as William handed her the package. She kissed it and squeezed it to her chest then waited as William handed her manicure and pedicure kit, in hot pink. 

At this point Cecy came out of the kitchen and retrieved a box of hot pink coffee mugs from a corner of the giant box, buried underneath a snow hill of packing peanuts.  She scoffed and rolled her eyes. “Who the hell did the shopping for all this stuff? A college Barbie?”

“Just be glad we have anything at all.” William replied as he opened up his personal DVD player. (Yes, it was hot pink too.)

“I didn’t even knew coffee pots came in assorted colors.” Adam replied, cracking open a new CD.

“Anything in there for Zeke?” Cecy asked, rummaging through the remianets. She pulled out a box with Stuart’s name stamped on it. She giggled.

“Should we dare open the dead’s mail?” She laughed.

“Sure.” William helped Cecy by ripping on the masking tape and then they pulled out another DVD player and a stack of movies along with two books.

“He liked Jack Lemmon.” Cecy retorted, honestly surprised. She smoothed her hands over the books. Leather and old. The kind Cecy herself preferred. She loved the way old books smelled. So did Stuart, before yesterday. 

Adam was watching her. Despite the excitement of being the recipients of a Santa like visit, Adam had been fascinated of Cecy since her nearly heroic like actions of the previous day. He wondered if Zeke knew how lucky he was. He thought about how precisely Cecy slashed Stuart’s throat open. It was the most beautiful throat Adam had seen. And he had thought he had mastered that. 

But at the same time her cursed Cecy and her superiority. She had reawakened in him what he thought he had laid to sleep years ago. The beast was stirring and Adam was fearing for the next closest thing. He feared for Lana, because as things were looking, she was always the one right at his elbow. An unfortunate place to be around Adam Graves.

“Here’s this.” William said, holding up a red plastic box.

Cecy rolled her eyes. “A first aid box. Great.” She sat the DVD player aside and took it in her hands. “It’s a pretty good one at least.” She stood up. “I’ll go put this in the kitchen under the sink.”

“I guess they are listening.” William muttered as he sat the box full of packing peanuts aside. He removed the finale package inside, the one with Zeke’s name on it. He looked it over, wondering what Zeke could of possibly asked for.

“I’ll go take this to him.” William huffed as he got to his feet.

Lana furrowed her brow as she watched him. “Why are you all waiting hand and foot on that freak?”

William turned and scoffed. “Well let me drop everything and bow to the queen.” He laughed. “Listen, do you really wanna give those fuck-ups who did this to us to get their jollies?”

Lana frowned. “No…of course I don’t.” She replied, tousling her hair.

“Especially since your ex is a suspect?” William replied with a grin before he turned back around.

Lana’s lip curled. “I never should of told you anything.”

Adam looked up, removing the headphones from over his ears. Luckily for him, he caught that entire conversation. He had yet placed a disc into the CD player. 

Cecy walked back out of the kitchen and plucked up the DVD player and the DVDs that were supposed to belong to the now deceased Stuart.

“Hey, did Lana ever tell you anything about that phone call she got?” Adam asked.

Cecy shrugged. “No. Why you ask?”

“She told William it was her ex.” Adam said with a hushed voice.

Cecy pursed her lips. “And?” She urged.

“Clancy. Said his name was Clancy. Also said that Lana thought he was in on…” He motioned around the room and looked back into Cecy’s eyes. “This.”

Cecy sat down on the loveseat. “Could be Clancy Gates.” She put her fingers to the tip of her chin. “He certainly has enough money to do something this elaborate.”

“Elaborate?” Adam laughed.

Cecy stood up, rolling her eyes. “Whatever. And you shouldn’t be so damn nosy.” She swiped her finger against the side and tip of her nose. “Curiosity killed the cat.” She said with her Cheshire like smile and left the room.

Cecy went into Zeke’s room and placed the DVD player on his side table.

“What is that?” Zeke mumbled.

“It’s a DVD player. I’m gonna hook it up for you.” She said, unraveling the cord.

Zeke rolled his head over and creased his brow. “Wh-why is it pink?”

Cecy’s eyes got wide and she shrugged. “Do you like Jack Lemmon?”

“I have no idea who that is.” Zeke swallowed. “My family didn’t allow things like movies or music in the house.”

Cecy sniffed and plugged in the player. “No wonder you’re weird.” She opened up a DVD and popped the case inside. “Here, watch this. Maybe it’ll help you get back to sleep.” She then placed the other package by his hand on the bed. “This is for you. I’ll let you open it.” She said with a quiet voice as the DVD started up.

Zeke watched as Cecy got back up to move towards the door. “Thanks.”

Cecy turned and looked at him, no emotion what-so-ever on her face or in her eyes. “You’re very welcome.” She answered and swept out of sight.

Cecy went back into her room, leaving the door open behind her. She sat down on the edge of her bed and lifted up her special keepsake. The slice of mirror. She held it up into the light, examining the specks and freckles of dried blood she had missed after cleaning it the previous night. She then looked at the scabbed over cut on her palm and went to scarp off the blood from the knife.

Suddenly, her door slammed shut and she heard the click of the lock.

Cecy leapt up from her bed and went to yell at whoever slammed it.

“Hush now.” A voice beckoned from behind her. “We don’t want to alert the others to our private little meeting do we?”

Cecy turned and eyed the TV screen down with an icy ferocity. “Who?”

The woman on the screen smiled brightly and folded her hands across the top of the table. “Consider me your guardian angel.”

“My buyer, you mean.”

The woman rolled her eyes playfully and laughed. “I want to be your friend, Cecy. Trust me.”

Cecy sat her blade aside. “Who are you then?”

“Emma.” She said with a knowing smile. “Emma Trust.”

Cecy’s brows knitted together in a high, terrified and shocked arc. “Emma?” She mouthed and took a tentative step forward. “No…” She whispered.

Emma sat in her own private corner, away from the others as she had her private conversation with Cecy. No one knew she had set it up. A way to talk to whoever she wanted to privately. The only one who knew of this was Edgar, and he didn’t care. He knew was Emma was up to and it didn’t bother him. 

Emma watched as Cecy’s face went from anger and melted into a sheer look of unuttered grievances and ghosts. It was a face Emma had seen many times before. Most of the time in a mirror. It didn’t surprise her Cecy had this face now. It did surprise her that Cecy actually remembered.

“Don’t be like that.” Emma sighed.

“Why…why that name?” Cecy seethed. “You’re not my sister.”

Emma smiled gently. “Is that where it came from?” 

Cecy’s eyes twitched and grew wider. “You’re…you’re not funny, missy!” She turned towards the door then back to the TV screen. “Now just who the hell are you?”

“I told you.” Emma replied coolly.

“I said I was sorry!” Cecy roared then pulled herself back.

Emma waved her hand, her fingers barely coming out of the shadows she hid her face in. “Go on. No one can hear you but me.”

Cecy‘s  eyes brimmed. “I did like you told me to!” She continued. “So why the fuck did you put me here?”

“For your own sake.” Emma whispered. “I’m trying to save you.”

Cecy whipped back towards the door and tried to pull it open. But it was like it was sealed shut.

“You control the doors.” Cecy breathed, catching her herself and pulling herself back to emotionless cool. She turned slightly so all Emma could see was her profile. “If they learn you’re doing this with me, you’ll be cut off.”

“That’s a risk.” Emma murmured. “But they aren’t going to get in our way anymore.”

The twitch in Cecy’s eyes repeated itself like a needle skipping on a record. At first, she didn’t notice it. It was just a part of the song. But the more it skipped and repeated itself with a sputtering stutter, she began to get annoyed. The annoyance built and built.

So, once Emma disappeared off the screen and the door clicked open, Cecy went out into the hallway. Shoving passed a faceless figure walking in front of her in the hallway in through an open door. 

Lana yelped as she hit the floor inside Zeke’s room. She looked up from the carpet and saw an object underneath his bed that caught her attention. Without thinking she reached out and grabbed it. Thankful she was that Zeke was sound asleep in bed, she quickly escaped and darted back to her room. Away from the enraged Cecy. Away from the old, red, rotary phone in the pantry. Away from peering, questioning eyes. 

Little did Lana know she and Cecy shared secret messages from Those Who Watched. Two named were placed to the shadows. One face amongst the two names. Cecy had no face for Emma, at least, she hoped she didn’t.

Lana stopped short of her room and looked at the bottle in her hands, now only realizing she had taken it. 

“Iodine?” She murmured and furrowed her brow. The bottle was old. Maybe even older than her, which gave her a little tingle of joy. But despite it’s outdated label, it looked almost new and preserved. She shook the bottle and saw through the cola colored glass the liquid slosh and churn up a froth inside. Iodine.

Wasn’t that stuff poisonous? She couldn’t help thinking. You never see this stuff anywhere anymore. She carefully cracked open the cap and looked inside. As she pulled out the dropper, though she stared amazed. Inside the cap was a bronze key. 

The smell of coffee strong. It was so thick it was almost like syrup running through the air. Although, it was a welcome replacement to the one they had discovered not but a day and a half ago. It at least calmed Cecy down, who recently received a lightening bolt to her nervous system. Ghosts from the past were resurrecting . Now the hot pink made sense.

Things were unraveling and quickly. The slow, solitary years Cecy pictured living in the little shack with the cremator in the basement was turning into a few months. A few weeks. A few days. A few hours. Freedom was just a hop, skip, and a jump away. It was all that easy.

“No.” Cecy shook her head as she muttered to herself. “No. That’s just the panic talking. That isn’t you.” She chugged her coffee then slammed the mug down. “Now lets just take a moment to breathe here.” She laid her hands out flat on the top of the table and looked at digit. 

There wasn’t much that Cecy couldn’t remember. Her memory was near photographic. This was something she had been thankful for during her years of shadow play. But there was always one thing Cecy could never really recall, or, bring into her mind’s eye like the old fashioned kitchen set, accented with hot pink coffeepot and mugs, that she stared hard at now. 

Where it all began. That first kill. The man. The sister. 

The only thing that came to Cecy was the music coming from Adam’s headphones as he came into the kitchen. His head bobbed up and down and side to side. He didn’t even notice her until it was too late.

Cecy jumped up and he thudded into her. She grabbed his hand as he recoiled. The headphones fell from his head and plopped down onto his shoulders. They stared awkwardly at each other for a moment. Barely breathing, barely thinking.

Cecy recoiled her hand and nodded. “Sorry.” She muttered.

“My fault…” Adam turned off his CD player and studied Cecy for the millionth time.

He noticed something. She was off. And he was asking himself if he dared speak to her and question why.

“Is something wrong?”

Cecy looked up at him. She was stunned. People had asked her that before, back when she had to pretend she was a normal girl. But here? Everything was wrong. She knew that she was the very epitome of wrong. So why would he ask?

“No.” Cecy mulled. She took a cautious side step. “Yes.” She gasped, retracting her first response which was to pretend and run away from the danger. “Yes.” She felt that heavy pit in her stomach that grounded her from going to far and kept her anchored to the comfortable the rest of the world was used to. 

“I think I’m going crazy.” She then realized how ridiculous that little phrase was and she let got a low moan. “Oh lord, I am crazy.”

Adam cracked a sensitive and cautious smile. His attempt worked. “Do you want to talk?”

“I guess…” Cecy muttered, her eyes darting around the room like a scared bird. She finally sat back down at the table and reached for the coffee pot. “Yes. I really need to talk. That’s what I need.”

He was in. Adam took the seat beside her and allowed Cecy to pour him a mug of coffee. He was in and yet his fear didn’t subside. He wanted to be with Cecy, a kindred spirit and soul mate, but he knew that it was she who was waking up the monster inside him. If he had any hopes of surviving Cecy, she might not.

“I can’t remember most of my childhood.” Cecy started. “Which is strange, because I can remember everything.” 

“Well then…” Adam sputtered excitedly. “What do you remember?”

Cecy put her thumb at the corner of her mouth and hummed. “I guess my grandparents funeral. I was ten.”

Adam thought on this for a moment. She probably killed them, he thought. No. Why would she be at their funeral if she had killed them. And she was only ten. Someone that young couldn’t of possibly killed two adults. Elderly or otherwise.

“I was separated.” Cecy mumbled under her breath.

Adam looked up expectantly. “Hmm?”

“I was separated from her.” 

Later, Adam would think that this was Cecy’s way of saying she had been split apart from the girl she was then to the killer she was now. He didn’t question her about it. So how could he of ever figured out the truth?

c

Inside her room, Lana was experimenting with her newfound key. First, she tried to lock on her door. It worked. She tried the lock on her wardrobe. It worked there too. She went to the bathroom and tried the door there. Once again, she was amazed to see it worked. She held it up in front of her and grinned.

A skeleton key, she thought. 

“And its mine.” Lana whispered to herself as she stole away back to her room. She then pursed her lips. “But there must be of more use to you than doors.” She cooed to the key once she was behind a locked door. She looked around her room suspiciously and hummed thoughtfully.

“Are there other things here you are meant to open?” She thought of the doorknob in the Alice in Wonderland and Through the Looking Glass books Savannah seemed to love so much.

Oh how wonderful it had been to hear Savannah the other night. But Clancy had been listening in so Lana couldn’t tell her anything, and vice versa. 

She jumped at the sound of someone knocking on the door. But as she sat there quietly she realized someone was knocking on Zeke’s door. She eased back and sighed, pushing her hair from her eyes.

Lana knew she could lock and unlock her door. So that obviously meant she could lock and unlock the other doors. That meant she could lock everyone in their rooms while they were asleep and let them starve to death!

No. That plan wasn’t any good. William never slept in his room. And Cecy had him wrapped around her finger. 

“Cecy,” Lana spat hatefully. 

Cecy could control men a way Lana only dreamed she could. Sure Cecy was attractive in a charming sort of pixie way. But Lana was the blonde bombshell every man wanted. And yet here she couldn’t even get Adam, the Lady Killer, to look twice at her. All of them were fixated on Cecy! Cecy! Cecy! Even Stuart, the poor dead man, stared strangely at her. 

Lana figured that Stuart’s death would change everyone’s perspective of her. The girl was obviously more than happy to kill at command. Viciously even, as if she thought of it as rough sex! How disgusting. A woman should kill elegantly. Like a lady.

Cecy was no lady, Lana thought as she twisted the key in her hand.

There was another knock on the door. Lana sat upright and held her breath, tucking the key into her bra and cupped her hand there.

“Lana, dinner is ready.” Adam said from the other side.

Lana smiled even though she knew Adam couldn’t see her and answered him in a giggly, breathy, girly voice. “Be there in a minuet.”

No one really ate dinner together. They would all just get their plates and leave to go eat in their rooms where no one would notice their habits. Like the way Cecy ate her peas one at a time, or, how Adam only ate the center of his biscuits. Lana liked to cut the fat off the meat, set it aside, then cut everything into tiny pieces so that she could count how many bites she took and seem ladylike.

As Lana went out into the hallway she could hear the clink of plates and the rattling of silverware. Ever since Cecy had received her precious coffee maker, the house always, constantly, smelled like coffee. Now, mixed with the scent of a chicken dinner, it smelled bitter and soupy. 

As she came into the living room, Lana looked at everything wondering where they could be a lock in need of a key. Perhaps the parlor. She didn’t notice anything the last time she was in there, but she had been busy with a phone call. 

She stepped into the kitchen and looked at the door leading to the basement. Yes, she thought, the basement! I’m sure there must be something down there I’m meant to find.

She then looked over and noticed something very strange. Cecy and Adam were sitting at the table. Together.

“Oh,” Lana gasped, faking a laugh. “Since we do we eat at the table.”

Cecy remained blatantly silent, leering up at Lana as she ate.

“Just felt like it.” Adam answered with a shrug.

Lana joined them without an invite. “Well this is nice. I haven’t had a nice meal at the table in so long.”

Cecy rolled her eyes exasperatedly. The forced lilt in Lana’s voice would grate on anybody’s nerves.

“So, um,” Lana cleared her throat. “How is Zeke doing?” Forced small talk.

Cecy swallowed. “Full of holes. I think some wounds are infected.” She picked up her cup of coffee and drank. “Can’t you notice the smell of festering?”

Lana licked her lips and swallowed hard away the thought. “N-no.” She shuddered, poking at her food.

“Don’t talk about crap like that over dinner.” Adam huffed.

Cecy’s eye twitched and she sat her coffee aside. “Fine.” She huffed and met Lana’s stare. “Zeke is healing.” She replaced. 

“Well that’s good.” Lana clucked. 

“Like you care.” Cecy muttered under her breath.

Lana’s eyes narrowed. “Like you do?”

A sneer spread across Cecy’s face and she chuckled. “Good girl.” She looked back down at her food grinning.

That smile. There was something wrong with it.

“What about Stuart’s room?” Lana asked to escape. Cecy’s smile vanished and she looked back down at her food.

“Well, William and I did what we could,” Adam answered. “But…” His voice trailed off. “I don’t think we’ll ever really be able to clean it up.”

Lana‘s nose wrinkled. “So the smell?” 

Adam shrugged and poked at his food.

“I have to live next door to that.” Lana sneered distastefully.

“Then you try and clean it up.” Cecy retorted, stabbing her chicken harshly with her fork.

Lana swallowed. “You heard Adam, they can’t-”

“She can have my room.” William murmured from the living room. “I don’t ever plan on using it.”

Cecy cut her eyes at Lana, waiting for her expression to change. “That means we’d be neighbors.” She said in a shadowy voice. “Like sorority sisters.” She giggled.

Lana frowned. “Then you won’t mind helping me move.”

“It seriously bothers you that much?” Cecy arched her eyebrow inquisitively. “I can’t even smell it anymore.”

“Well I do!” Lana snapped. “I’m very sensitive.”

Cecy rolled her eyes again and sneered. “I am sooo sure.”

Adam set down his fork and wiped his mouth with a napkin. “I can help you move your things.”

Cecy was in the middle of the hallway on the right side. Lana had been in the middle on the left side. Now there was only one room occupied on the left side. That is if you don’t count the stench lingering in Stuart’s room as some sort of ghostly occupant.

William lived in the living room as a human alarm system. He could see anyone sneak from their room to another from his constant perch. Years of waiting for his prey had made him a very patient man. But all that waiting and watching made him think. And he thought darkly. So sitting in that chair waiting for shadows to race from their doors gave him ample time to plan what to do with those shadows. Giving away his room didn’t change anything. Having all the able ones on one side was actually so much better than before. He had a room close by to which he could deal with them quietly.

Lana looked at the door leading down to the basement. “What’s down there?” She asked, folding her hands under her chin.

“Why don’t you go down there and see for yourself?” Cecy quipped as she started putting dishes into the sink.

Lana rolled her eyes. “Maybe I will.”

Cecy cocked her head back and let out a single, sarcastic laugh. “I bet! Ms. Sensitive.”

Lana stood, pushed her chair aside, and headed for the door.

Cecy turned from the sink and watched. “No way.” She dried her hands on the front of her shirt.

Lana grabbed the doorknob and went down the stairs. Wanting so much to turn around and see the surprised look on Cecy’s face. But lo, it would be Lana who would be shocked. Cecy’s face smoothed over, her lips parted slightly, and she leaned back against the sink. Her hands slid forward down her front and dropped. She may not of shown much expression on her face except for the droop of her lidded eyes. But Cecy was so dangerously angry, Cecy herself was afraid of what she might do if she were pushed.

The further she descended down the stairs the hotter she became. It wasn’t much of a surprise that Hell came into Lana’s mind then. She came down onto the dirt floor and cocked her head side to side, examining the brick walls. The support beams in the ceiling. The giant, smoldering furnace in the corner.

“Satan I presume?” She murmured to herself as she approached it. “How is Stuart doing?” She continued talking to herself and the furnace. “And that poor little delivery boy?” She cooed in her sweetest voice.

She twirled around, the soft dirt pulling up between her toes and becoming slightly damp from perspiration. She stopped seeing the big metal box sitting underneath a pile of chopped wood. It looked like one of those extremely old refrigerators. She had seen one before in her grandmother’s basement. It had belonged to her great-grandparents back when they were first invented. Back when they were basically cabinets filled with ice.

Lana went to it, reaching into her bra to retrieve the key. Certainly enough, there was a lock on the front of the box. Lana smiled, giggling excitedly as she slid the key into the lock. The anticipation was nearly better than sex.

“Lets hope you’re not as disappointing as my husband.” Lana murmured as she turned the key and unhinged the lock. 

“Did you faint down there?” Cecy hollered down the stairs.

Lana was so startled she jumped, hit her head on a log jutting out from the top of the old fridge. And fell back, sprawling out before the furnace. 

“Hellooo?” Cecy scoffed exasperatedly.

Lana’s eyes fluttered and she looked up into the caged door of the furnace. The flames inside seemed to lurch out like hands towards her. And the furnace grinned at her hungrily.

You’re next, Satan hissed.

Cecy‘s face replaced the Devil‘s. “You okay?” She asked softly.

“Head…” Lana groaned. “Hit.”

Cecy looked up at the box and the jarred log that had so beaten Lana. “Oh.” She reached down and sat Lana up. “How many fingers am I holding up?” She rushed her hand at Lana’s face.

“I dunno.” Lana slurred, trying to smack Cecy away. “Three?”

Cecy hummed. “One, actually.” She dropped her hand. “Don’t close your eyes. Let me check your head.”

“What the fuck are you?” Lana growled. “A doctor?”

“I dropped out of medical school.” Cecy parted Lana’s platinum blonde hair and found the sweet spot. “There are some splinters in there.” She supported the back of Lana’s head. “Do you think you can stand?”

“Why won’t you leave me alone?” Lana started sobbing. “What did I ever do to you? You’re always picking on me!”

“I’ll take that as a no.” Cecy sighed. “Hold still for a second Scarlett while I holler for someone.”

“What’d you call me?” Lana whined and blubbered as Cecy stood at the bottom of the stairs.

Cecy shouted, “I need a Rhett Butler down here for a Scarlett O’Hara!” 

Lana wiped at her nose. “Oh no.” She cried.

Cecy turned back around. “What?”

Lana lifted her head towards Cecy, showing the smeared trails of blood coming from her nose. She then lifted her arm and showed off the back of her hand. “I wiped off all my lipstick.” She cried louder than before.

Cecy rolled her eyes. “You look pretty, honey.” She turned back up the stairs. “I really need someone down here!”

“I lost my key.” Lana sniveled, digging her fingernails into the dirt. She stared up teared and bloody nosed at the icebox. “But you got unlocked. Right?” She reached up and pulled on the door. “You did!”

“What’s wrong?”

“Lana hit her head and I need help carrying her upstairs.”

“What’d she hit her head on?”

“A log. Her nose is bleeding too. And there are some splinters in her crown. Good thing we got the first aid kit in.”

“I can’t understand you.”

“I don’t want to be understood. Is she heavy?”

“No.”

“Don’t let her fall asleep.”

Lana looked up at the support beams in the ceiling and continued crying. “My key.” She whined. “The box…”

“What’s she going on about?” Adam asked.

Cecy hummed. “I think she’s regressing. She’s been crying like a baby since I got down here.”