13 Nights of Horror: The Disappearance of Rose Hillard (5 page)

“Fine,” Deborah said, folding her arms across her chest as she took a seat on a chair in the corner. “I can wait all afternoon while you and your goons finish this wild goose chase. Rest assured, though, that I
will
find out what you’re looking for, and I
will
find out what you’re hiding. I’ve met men like you before, Sheriff. You think you’ve got some god-given right to keep everyone safe and hide the truth, but that’s not going to happen here. The truth about that girl is going to come out, no matter how horrific it might be. You can’t protect the people of this town forever.”

Five years ago

“So,” Ricky said eventually, after they’d been sitting in his car for almost ten minutes, watching the dark house, “are you
sure
you want to go home tonight? It’s just that you seem kinda reluctant.”

“I’m fine,” Rose replied with a faint, forced smile as she kept her eyes on the front door. She opened her mouth again, as if she was about to say something else, but no sound came out.

“Are you…” He paused. “Are you scared of something?”

She turned to him.

“You know you can tell me, right?”

She nodded.

“I mean,” he continued, “there’s this look you get in your eyes sometimes, Rose, like this real… I don’t know, but it’s like sadness and dread and fear.”

“Do I have it now?”

“You’ve got it all the time. Even when you seem happy, even when it seems like you’re having a real good time, you’ve got these eyes… They’re really beautiful, I mean they’re gorgeous, but every time I ever see you I can tell that there’s something in the back of your mind, something dark that you maybe don’t want to think about.”

She smiled again, with a hint of tears in her eyes.

“You’re beautiful,” he added finally. “You’re the most beautiful girl I’ve ever seen in my life. I just wish I could find a way to take that sliver of sadness out of you. You deserve to be happy, you know that? I wish I could protect you.”

“I don’t need that,” she replied. “Do you have any idea how much damage is caused in the world by people trying to protect other people? I’m not a child.”

“Yeah, but -”

“You really notice things about people, huh?” she continued, interrupting him. “That’s cool. Not a lot of people do that. They just go through life without really spotting the little things. Or if they notice, they just ask if there’s a problem and they believe you if you tell them there isn’t. My mother’s like that. Sometimes I think she must never even really look at me at all, ‘cause otherwise she’d…”

Her voice trailed off.

“It’s kinda hard to miss it with you,” he replied, glancing at the house. “What’s in there that scares you so much? Did something bad happen to you?”

“It’s nothing,” she told him. “Everyone has crap to deal with, right?”

“Yeah, but -”

Before he could finish, she leaned closer and kissed him on the lips. Although she kept her mouth closed, she held her face against his for a few seconds before pulling back and biting her bottom lip, and a faint shiver seemed to pass through her body.

“Okay,” Ricky said after a moment, “that was… unexpected.”

“It was my first kiss,” she told him. “Or at least, my first proper kiss. The first one I really wanted.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked.

“The woods scare me,” she continued, looking past him and staring at the forest that bordered the road opposite her family’s house. “Ever since I was a little girl, for as long as I can remember, I’ve looked out my bedroom window and wondered what might be living in there. I never see anything, but I always think I will when I take a look. When I was five or six, I crept out of the house one night and made myself go out there, just to face my fears. Somehow I’d managed to convince myself that it was safe, that everything was just in my head, but I got about five paces before I had to go running back home and…”

Her voice trailed off, before suddenly she opened the door and climbed out of the car.

“Thanks for a lovely night,” she said, pushing the door shut and leaning down to look back at him. “It was good to remind myself that there are people like you in the world.”

“We can do it again,” he replied. “How about tomorrow night?”

She shook her head.

“Got to go and see all your other boyfriends, huh?” he asked with a nervous smile.

“Something like that,” she told him, “and anyway, who said you were my boyfriend?”

“Oh yeah, sure… Sorry. Just a slip of the tongue.”

“Really?” she replied, suddenly seeming disappointed. “Is that all it was? A mistake? You
don’t
want to be my boyfriend?”

“No! I mean…” He paused. “I don’t know, do you think it was… I mean, uh…”

He swallowed hard.

“You’re cute when you’re confused,” she told him. “Cute as pie.”

With a smile, she turned and walked across the dark road, heading for the house. Ricky watched her as she made her way up the steps and into the front door, and finally he took a cigarette from his coat pocket and lit it. As he enjoyed a long, slow drag, he watched as a light blinked on at the rear of the house, and a few seconds later a car eased out of the driveway and turned right, heading off along the road.

Above, the stars still seemed brighter than ever.

***

“Seeing as it’s your last time and all,” Michael said as he slammed the car door shut, “I figured it’s only fair that we make the most of it. So instead of one hour, you’re going to do four.”

“That wasn’t the deal,” Rose replied, following him away from the car and toward the large barn at the rear of the Everham brothers’ farm. “We agreed one more time, just a standard session. It’s always been one hour.”

“We didn’t go into specifics like that,” he told her, “and you know it. Besides, we were always talking about doing a longer performance some day, remember? You even said it yourself, you were up for the idea, so this is just gonna be you following through on your promise.” He stopped by the metal door at the side of the barn. “You have to keep your promises, Rose, ‘cause you’re only ever as good as your word. Haven’t I taught you anything?”

“You’ve taught me lots of things,” she said darkly.

“That’s my girl,” he added, patting her on the shoulder before knocking three times on the door. “Trust Daddy. Always. Anyway, you like the rough stuff.”

From inside, there was the sound of movement, followed by a series of clunking sounds as the locks were turned. Finally the door swung open and Scott Everham came into view, immediately muttering something unintelligible beneath his thick bushy beard as he stepped aside to let them enter.

“A pleasure, as always,” Michael told him, ushering Rose through the door.

Inside the barn, everything had been cleared away to leave a large, high-ceilinged space with a dusty concrete floor. A series of arc lights had been set up in the center, forming a kind of ring, while there was a rough-looking old bed shoved to one side along with a set of chairs and a bare wooden table. Cables snaked their way everywhere, running from the wall and connecting various monitors, cameras and assorted recording devices, while Scott’s brother Luke Everham was sitting at a makeshift desk, typing something into a laptop.

“Almost ready,” Luke said as he glanced over at Michael. “I got your email, man, but it was a bit late to source some of the things you wanted. Turns out an old-fashioned cattle prod isn’t easy to get hold of. Electric ones are no problem, but the one you specified -”

“As long as you got at least some of the things,” Michael replied, stopping at the desk and looking down at the laptop for a moment. “I don’t want to plan tonight too much. Let’s just start with a framework and keep the cameras rolling no matter what else happens, make sure it’s fresh and spontaneous, you know?” He turned to Rose, who was hanging back by one of the cameras with a cautious look in her eyes. “Go with the flow, baby. That’s the most important thing. Let’s not hold back. Let’s really follow our instincts and see where they lead us.”

“If we’re really doing four hours tonight,” Luke continued, “the usual tapes won’t be enough for continuous shooting.” He reached into a drawer and pulled out a disc. “I’m going to record everything onto one of these. This way, there won’t be any breaks for tape-changing.”

“Don’t screw anything up,” Michael told him. “I want every second captured. Believe me, we’re all going to want to watch this over and over again when it’s done. It’s going to be an epic.”

“Relax. When have I ever made a mistake? I’ve been your tech guy for long enough, haven’t I?” He looked at Rose for a moment. “Although I prefer it when I get a bit more involved. I figure with a four-hour show, you’re gonna need a bit of cover. You know, to make sure you don’t get too tired.”

“This is going to be our masterpiece,” Michael added, turning and walking over to Rose. With a warm smile, he put his hands on her shoulders and looked deep into her eyes. “We’ve been building up to this one, Rose. This is the one we’ll all look back on in years to come, the one we’ll be so very proud of. Not that the other videos are going to be forgotten, though. I’ll always enjoy watching them, even those first ones. Think about how many nights we’ve been here, how many times we’ve done this ever since you were…” He paused, as if the memories were almost overwhelming. “Do you remember the very first time I brought you here? Do you remember how small you were?”

“Yes,” she said darkly, “I do.”

“And do you remember how I had to show you what to do? It was all so new to you, but I held your hand and helped you, and I eased you in and eventually it really wasn’t that frightening. Remember that? Remember how careful Daddy was to make sure you understood?”

She nodded.

“And all the other times since then… We’ve had some fun, haven’t we?” There were tears in his eyes now, and finally he leaned closer and kissed the side of her face. “Are you sure this has to be the last time?” he whispered. “I can only protect you from the world if you’re close to me. Don’t you want to maybe leave open the possibility of -”

“You promised,” she said firmly.

“But we have so much fun.”

“You
promised
. Dad, you -”

“Don’t call me that.”

“What do you -”

“Call me the other thing. The thing you know I like.”

“No.”

“Do it. And say it like you mean it.”

“I…” She paused. “I don’t want to say it.”

“Oh, honey,” he whispered, holding her tighter, “you know how good it makes me feel. It sends a shiver right through me every time and it reminds me of when you were younger. Just say it one more time.”

“No.”

“Say it!”

“You promised this would be the last time,” she continued. “You have to stick to your word.”

“I guess,” he replied. “Your Mom’s pregnant now, so maybe I won’t need you so much longer. If you’re not going to give me what I want, I’ll have to find someone else, won’t I?”

“No,” she hissed. “I mean…
Daddy
. I love you, Daddy.”

“Okay,” he said with a smile. “We’ll play it by ear.” Taking a step back, he wiped away a tear. “For now we’ll just have to do a really good one and go out with a bang, huh? I guess there’s no point waiting any longer. Is the camera running?”

“Sure is,” Luke told him.

“No names. Remember that, it’s important. And is all the other equipment ready?”

“Of course.”

“Then let’s do this,” Michael continued, his voice trembling with emotion as he smiled at his daughter. “Pep-talk time. Let’s go out in style, people! Let’s really push closer to the edge than we’ve ever gone before. I know there are times when we sometimes hold back, but if this is the final time, we need to go out with a bang. Let’s unleash the fullest force of our imaginations and our desires. And… And above all, people, let’s all make sure we have fun! It’s showtime!”

***

Sitting in his car, parked a few hundred meters back along the road, Ricky watched the barn as bright, almost blinding light continued to leak out through a few small gaps in the roof. He’d been watching for almost two hours now, and he still had absolutely no idea what the hell Rose was doing in there, but as he lit another cigarette he couldn’t help wondering if it might be safe to go closer and take a look.

He knew she’d hate it if she felt he was trying to protect her, but still, he was worried.

Finally, opening the car door, he stepped out into the cold night.

As he got closer to the barn, he began to realize that he could hear voices from inside. He stopped at the point where the mud road turned off from the highway, and he listened for a moment to the muffled noises. Although he couldn’t make out any particular words, he could tell that there were several voices, some of them raised and excited, some of them sounding more urgent. Now that he was closer to the building, he could also see that the light leaking out through the cracks in the roof was strangely warm and tinted red, almost like the lights that he remembered using for a few short films he and some friends had made a few years earlier.

Putting his cigarette out on the gate post, he dropped the stub and made his way forward, approaching the barn cautiously. The last thing he wanted was to intrude or to disrupt whatever Rose was doing; he was just worried about her, and he wanted to make sure that she was okay. Assuming he could listen in for a few minutes and make sure nothing untoward was happening, he figured he could go back to his car and head home. Even as he made his way around the side of the barn, he kept telling himself that his darker fears were almost certainly unfounded.

After all, this was Vantage. Nothing truly bad every happened in Vantage.