The House of Wood (2 page)

“Well I think you're stupid.
What if it gets more serious next time? Or he tries it on with
someone else who isn't as strong as you?”

“I don't know. I guess we’ll
just have to hope it doesn't. Now can we change the subject,
please?”

Her friend said nothing, as the
two of them went to find a quiet corner in the library café. It
wasn’t hard to find; the entire place was virtually empty, which
was a surprise, considering the mid-terms were fast
approaching.

The two of them had been
friends since the first day of college three years ago. At that
time they had been in separate rooms, but were in a lot of the same
classes together. They had seemed to gel and were inseparable
now.

She listened, as Becky chatted
away about nothing in particular, and Rachel nodded and disagreed
in the right places. It’s funny how two people that are completely
different can get along so well, she thought. Becky was a talker
and a people person, but Rachel liked that about her. It reminded
her of a friend she once had back home. Becky was her best friend
and she’d be lost without her. If it wasn’t for her, Rachel
realised, she probably never would have made it this far. In all
honesty, it was amazing she had made it to college at all.

“So are you coming tonight or
not?”

The question snapped Rachel
back to the present. She had been thinking about home, but couldn’t
remember why. It wasn’t something she did often.

“Are you okay, Rachy-Bear? You
look pale.”

“Yeah, sorry I just switched
off for a minute. What were you saying?”

“You’ve been doing that a lot
lately. I wish you would go to the doctors about it.” She sipped at
her coffee. “Anyway, I was just saying that Ritchie and the guys
over at Sigma Nu are having a party tonight. It’s going to be wild.
Do you want to come?”

“No I don’t think so,” Rachel
replied.

“Why not? You always lock
yourself away in that dorm room of ours.”

“I had a wild night out once
before. It didn’t go too well.”

Becky took Rachel’s hand in her
own. “You’ve got to stop living in the past. It’s not healthy for
you to keep dwelling on that. I know you went through a lot, but
we’ve only got one year of college left and you
have
to start enjoying it, or you’ll regret it for the
rest of your life.”

Rachel sat for a moment. Part
of her wanted to go, but she couldn’t bring herself to say yes.

“No, I think I’ll stay at home.
I’ve got way too much work to get done, before these damn exams
start.”

“It won’t be the same without
you.”

“Sorry.”

The two of them sat in the café
for another forty-five minutes talking about mundane things. Clouds
had begun to gather outside, casting a gloomy shroud over the city.
Rachel’s body was there, but her mind was elsewhere. She didn’t
know why, but something wasn’t right. She put it down to the stress
of being harassed by her professor and the approaching test which
could seal her fate.

She stared out of the window.
Something wasn’t right.

***

Day had long crept in to night
over the campus. It was empty, like a hollow shell. The excitement
was elsewhere. On campus it was just dark, the students either
hidden away in their rooms studying, or out spewing their guts up
after too much alcohol. The night seemed heavy and oppressive; a
black veil over what had been a bright autumnal day.

Rachel sat in the room,
studying hard for her exam. Her eyes poured over the textbooks and
notes that she had made, seeing, but not understanding. To her they
may as well have been hieroglyphs from an ancient land. She kept
looking at the Hello Kitty clock hanging on the far wall. It was
one o’ clock in the morning. Late. But not too late for a student
party, she guessed. Although Becky usually rang if she was going to
be out past midnight. Where was she?

She closed the textbook with a
dull thud and sat up on the bed. All day long she had felt
something. Something wrong. She just couldn’t put her finger on
it.

Sliding off the bed, she made
her way over to the window and looked out at the night. She hated
the dark. Everything about it was alien to her. Remorseless and
unforgiving. It hadn’t always been that way. The same as she hadn’t
always avoided contact with people, or stopped them from getting
too close to her. She wasn’t even sure if she would be able to
forget her past. It had played on her mind relentlessly for the
last week or so, dragging her back to the horror. She had woken up
several times, drenched in icy cold sweat, screaming out a single
name. Justin. Why it was happening to her now, she had no idea. All
she knew, was she would never go back to Willows Peak.

She walked over to the front
door, checking the bolt and extra locks were shut tight. The soft
sounds of music filtered through the wall. The students in the next
room were probably at it again. Rachel had become accustomed to
their sexual habits, as they always played the same songs; a soft
rock ballad, or Barry White. In a way, it made her jealous. She
wanted to be able to feel the embrace of a man, the ecstasy of
making love. She had tried, but when it actually came to the
crunch, she closed up like a coffin. Never to be opened again.

As she made her way to the bed,
the shrill ringing of the telephone filled her ears. No doubt Becky
saying she wouldn’t be home tonight, Rachel thought. She bent over
and picked up the receiver. It was a man’s voice.

Behind her there was a bang at
the door.

“Hey, let me in.”

Rachel wandered over, her body
on autopilot, as she opened it.

Becky entered, a curious look
on her face, as if she was wondering the same thing as her friend.
Who the hell would be calling at this
hour?

Holding the telephone to her
ear, Rachel’s eyes fixed on her room-mate, widening with every
second.

“Okay, thank you,” she said,
placing the receiver back on the base.

Suddenly, her knees buckled
beneath her and she slumped to the floor, bile burning her mouth
and throat.

“Oh my God, Rachel, are you
okay?”

For a second she didn’t know
where she was. She couldn’t breathe. The room span. She felt Becky
pulling her up on to the bed.

“What’s wrong?”

Rachel took a deep breath to
try and calm herself.

“M-m-my parents,” she started.
Tears welled in her eyes. “T-they’re dead.”

Chapter
Two

“This place looks really
creepy, Rachy-Bear,” Becky said, glancing out of the passenger
window.

“Welcome to Willows Peak.”

The two friends, in a black
Ford Focus, sped down the old dirt track, twisting and turning
along the road. The dust cloud spewed from the Continental tyres
like a mushroom cloud, out of the back of the vehicle. The road was
ancient. It carved its way through the forest surrounding the
hillside like a scar on flesh. The trees stood tall next to the
track like age old sentries. Their limbs hung over the road like
frightening hands, as if they were waiting to snatch anything that
came within their grasp. Every now and then, a flock of blackbirds
would soar in to the sky, their dark silhouettes standing out from
the grey above. They rushed to get out of the tight confines of the
woodland, wanting to get away. It was as if they knew something the
unwary newcomers didn't.

Rachel fixed her eyes on the
twisted road stretching out in front of them. This was the last
place in the world she wanted to be. Not after what happened the
last time.

“Are you alright?” Becky asked.
“You’ve barely said two words all afternoon.”

“I’m fine.” Rachel wiped her
hand across her eyes. “Just tired, that’s all.”

“Okay, well do you want me to
take over driving for a while?”

“No, it’s alright. Besides, you
don’t know the way and we’re not far now.”

“Where are we anyway? All I can
see are the trees.”

“We’re in the woods just
outside,” Rachel answered, her gaze fixed to the road in front, but
seeing nothing in particular. “We’ll be there in about twenty
minutes.”

“Good, it’ll be nice to get out
and stretch. It seems to have taken forever to get here.”

Rachel didn’t answer. There was
nothing nice about this place, she thought, trying hard to suppress
her urge to swing the car around and get as far away as possible.
They would be going past the hill soon; she could feel it looming
in the distance. Her only small mercy was that she wouldn’t have to
see
it
standing there.

“You know, it’s okay to grieve
Rach,” Becky said, turning to her friend with a sympathetic smile.
“I’m here for you if you want to talk.”

“What? Oh yeah. Thanks, but I’m
okay.”

“They were your parents. You’re
allowed to be upset.”

“I know, but I’m fine.
Honestly, I am.”

“If it’s not that, what’s
wrong?”

What’s
wrong?
Everything is wrong, she thought, biting her bottom
lip. She didn’t want to talk, why couldn’t people understand
that?

“Nobody can criticise you for
being upset about losing loved ones.” Becky continued, putting her
hand on Rachel’s shoulder. “I’m worried about you Rachy-Bear.”

“Don’t be.”

“I’m your best friend. I don’t
know why you can’t talk to me.”

Silence.

“Please talk to -“

“It’s this damn place alright,”
Rachel snapped, causing Becky to jump in her seat. “I hate it.
Nothing good can come out of being back here, nothing.” She slammed
her hand down hard on the steering wheel, sobs tumbling from here
in frustrated bursts.

“Hey it’s alright, I’m here
with you. We’ll get the funeral out the way, then we’ll head back
to college.”

“It’s not that simple.”

The car swerved in and out of
the lane. It had picked up speed. Tears burned Rachel’s eyes.

“Slow down, Rach.”

“I haven’t even got my family
anymore.” The words fell from her. “I miss them so much. I didn’t
even get to say goodbye. I’ve got nothing left.”

“You’ve got me, just slow down
before we crash.”

The words seemed to sink in.
Within a few seconds, the car was back in the correct lane,
cruising along the deserted road.

“Thank you, I’m sorry.” Rachel
wiped her cheeks with the back of her hand. “It’s not easy for me
to come back here. I don’t have many good memories about this
place.”

“You want to talk about
them?”

“I’d rather not.”

Becky didn’t push the subject
any harder. For a time, the only sound in the car was the dull hum
of the engine and the occasional thud, as the tire hit a crevice in
the road. The sun was slowly dipping below the horizon. It would be
dark by the time they got to the bed and breakfast in town, Rachel
realised. She just hoped no one would recognise her, even though
she hadn’t changed much in the three years since she had left. The
scars were a constant reminder of that.

“Have the police said much
about the fire?” Becky asked.

Again with
the questions
. “No not really. They think it might have been
faulty wiring, but they’re still investigating.”

“But it happened weeks
ago.”

“Willows Peak is a small town.
Things move slowly here. Anyway, can we drop it?”

“Sure.”

Again there was silence. The
trees along the roadside were beginning to thin out and the road
had started to climb upwards. Rachel’s heart thundered in the
prison of her chest. Her breath came in rapid bursts. Thank God it
was gone, she thought, as the car broke out of the trees. She had
no idea if she could cope with seeing it right now. She took a deep
breath and closed her eyes. As the car reached the top of the hill,
she could feel her pulse slowing. Her eyes opened.

“No, no it can’t be.”

“What is it, Rach?” Becky
asked, her voice full of concern at the sudden outburst.

“It’s here, it can’t be, it’s
not possible.”

The words fell from Rachel’s
lips in an incoherent torrent, as the car started to swerve across
the road again.

“Whoa, calm down, or you’re
going to kill us.”

The car continued to thunder
along, the speedometer needle indicating an ever increasing speed.
They swerved in and out of the lane, the tires screeching as they
struggled to find purchase on the slippery tarmac. A horn blared
out.

“Jesus Christ,” Becky screamed,
bracing herself.

A pick-up was coming in the
opposite direction. But Rachel didn’t care. It didn’t matter
anymore. She’d rather die.

“Rach, get a grip!”

Her friends terrified voice
broke through, just as the truck skidded around in a cloud of
dust.

At the foot of the hill, Rachel
slammed on the brake and jumped out as it skidded to a halt. She
ran straight for the nearby bushes. After ten minutes of puking,
she heard Becky’s footsteps approaching.

“What the hell happened, Rach?
What’s wrong?”

“It shouldn’t be here,” Rachel
said, rocking back and forth on her heels. “It was all gone, how is
it back? It’s not possible.”

She felt Becky’s hands yank her
up right.

“Rachel, what’s back? What are
you talking about?

“I can’t, I can’t. It’s not
real.”

“You almost killed us back
there,” Becky shouted, shaking her friend by the shoulders. “I
think I deserve some answers”

“The house of wood, up there on
the hill.”

Rachel couldn’t fight back the
tears any longer. Her sob riddled body collapsed in to her friend’s
arms. Her mind racing with questions.

“It’ll be okay, I’m with you,”
Becky soothed, her own fear subsiding. “Let’s get to town. I’ll
drive this time. I’m sure I can find it from here.”

Rachel allowed herself to be
lead back to the car. She took one last look at the house before
ducking down in to the passenger seat. Its black lifeless eyes
starred back at her. Watching. Mocking.