The Haunting of Wakefield: Finale (special preview)

“What do I do?” I whisper to Magnus. “She won’t let me go, how will I ever escape?” I lift my head from the dusty floor. “I don’t want to be trapped here forever.”

“Sophia will get what she wants,” Magnus replies. “And I fear I cannot tell her no, even still. The only way out is through the front door.”

“I was just outside on the roof,” I argue. “I saw everything, there is no way out of Wakefield as long as she has her way!”

“The roof is not the front door,” Magnus replies.

I slouch back. “Oh,” I whisper.

“She’ll change the house, twist the hallways, all to keep you trapped inside. But you have to remember, the door is always there.” Magnus turns his head as the attic door opens. A cold breeze whips through and I blink tears from my eyes.

“Tell me,” I whisper. “Before I go...Do you know who my father was?” I look back up at Magnus as he takes hold of my hands.

“The man who raised you,” he answers me. “That’s all you need to know.” He leads me over to the door then holds up my cut hand. “May I ask a favor of you, once you escape?”

I nod slowly. “I suppose.”

“Burn it all.” He places a candle in my hands. “Set fire to all of it. The factory, the house, the town itself. I beg of you, turn it all to ash.”

I squeeze the candle in my hand and a small flame flickers to life. 

“End it, for all of us.” Magnus pleads.

I look down the hallway, seeing the world of blue stretch to infinity. I can hear the babies on the roof, giggling and clamoring around, scraping across the ancient tiles as they try to find me. As I take a step forward, I hear the burbling gurgle of a baby.

“Mama! Mama!” The voice comes from the nursery. A giant baby head peaks out of the room. The massive cranium is dented and puckered in certain laces. The left eye socket is empty and cracked, and dark blue veins cover it. It looks at me, blinking with plastic eyelids.

Clack. Clack.

I keep walking, staring at it as the eyelids blink.

Clack. Clack.

I lift the candle, running it along the edges of the curling wallpaper.

“Mama! Mama!” The giant baby screams and lunges at me. It pushes me over the railing of the stairs and I fall down, down, down. Above me, I hear the baby screaming. It reaches out, falling after me with flames licking at its sides. Hot wax splatters on my face and I hit the bottom of the stairs. I roll down to the cold floor where I see bare feet standing before me.

“I told you, you would come down to me,” Sophia cries. I hold onto my side as I try to stand up. Wax begins raining down from above, enough to start covering my skin and hair. It is heavy on me and I feel myself begin to slow down.