The Haunting of Wakefield: Part Three (special preview)

“There are two sides to every tale, child,” Dr. Hidgens warns as the wailing fades. “Some monsters are born and some are made.”

“You’re not saying So-” I stop myself when I see the flame flicker again. “You’re not saying she did all this?”

“Not by her own hand,” Dr. Hidgens replies. He then nods his head forward. “We shouldn’t hesitate too long. We need to keep moving.” He walks ahead as I trail behind.

“She was troubled from the moment she was born,” Dr. Hidgens tells me. “A beautiful and perfect child, I remember marveling at how lovely she was when she was born. Matched her mother, honored her father. She was a miracle child, to say the least.”

“But how did you know she was troubled?” I ask. “You can’t tell that from a baby.”

“She was born with teeth, a full set,” Dr. Hidgens whispers. “And she loved to use them. She had to be fitted for a muzzle.”

“That’s horrible!” I balk.

“Did you not see Ms. Hasch’s fingers?” Dr. Hidgens asks. “She was missing one on each hand.”

My mouth drops open. “I wasn’t-” I stop myself and look towards Dr. Hidgens’ back. “That can’t mean she was bad from birth.”

“Why do you wish to find excuses for her?” Dr. Hidgens asks.

I quickly counter. “Why do you wish to absolve Magnus?”

“I don’t,” Dr. Hidgens replies. “Nor do I make excuses for myself. Of anyone trapped here, you might be the only innocent.” The hallway ends with a big red door. “All of us create our own monsters, child,” he says as he pushes on the door. “But your monster created you.”

The door opens to a blinding light that spills out into the hall. Dr. Hidgens grabs my hand, pulling me inside with him. I step on something and trip over. With a sickening oomph, I hit the ground and land wrong on my leg.

Dr. Hidgens picks up what I stepped on and, as my eyes adjust, I see we are sitting in a small office filled with books. Dr. Hidgens helps me up and sits me down behind the desk. He then sets a bottle down. 

“Let me see that leg,” he says as he kneels down.

“What did I step on?” I pick up the bottle, which is amber glass. The label is a bit faded but upon it, I read ‘iron, strycnine, and arsenic.’ I gasp in fear and instantly drop the bottle. 

“There are many reasons a child can die,” Dr. Hidgens says as his cold hand inspects my leg. “Accidents, disease, cruelty,” he sighs heavily. “I could never understand why the Wakeman family couldn’t keep a child.” He looks up at me. “You said it was Magnus, but what if I told you it was her?”

“What?” I whisper.

“Magnus found out about it. I had discovered the reason Emelia kept having so many miscarriages was because of her poor diet. Once I got her on something able to support a fetus, that’s when she had Sophia. After that, the little ones dropped like flies.” He sets my leg down. “I thought it was all my fault,” he says with a mournful voice.

“What?” My voice chokes off.

“I was a young man, new and fresh from school. I had been assigned here and Emelia was my first patient. I thought I had saved her, but-” He stops himself and shakes his head. “Magnus was there to help me through my doubt. He took the bottle from me, he assured me I was a good doctor.”

“Wouldn’t it have been his own guilt then?” I murmur. “I mean, the reason he helped you at all.”

“It was,” Dr. Hidgens says with a nod.