Halfway House

What a dump!! The door opened with an aching sound as I grasped the antique door knob in my hand and slowly eased the door open. I couldn't believe I had gotten stuck with this job. The entrance opened up to a dimly lit entryway covered with thick dust and cobwebs that appeared to have been there for a hundred years. The house had been vacant for many years and was in great need of repair. The place was a great find for some rich bastard, but needed a tremendous amount of work. . I ended up being the sucker stuck with the work. My company sent me on this job, knowing I would be the only one willing to take it. The house was old and feeble and in need of major restoration. Somehow, the house still felt like it could be a home, even with the rotting eaves and stench of mildew. "Well, it is time to get to work restoring this house." I said to myself. I grabbed my tools to begin tearing at the walls.

Time quickly passes as the house echoes with the banging sounds of my hammer and the settling of the oak planked floors. I didn't realize how long I had been pounding and tearing at the lathe and plaster walls in the lobby until the large grandfather clock resounded in the foyer announcing that it was midnight. I was so wrapped u p in my work I hadn't noticed how much time had gone by. As I set my hammer down on the cracked wood flooring below the dust and debris swirled around the room in a whirlwind and the hammer flew up forcefully into the wall behind my head, sticking two inches deep into the thick plaster. A voice whispered in my ear "Welcome Home." I turned around to see if someone was standing behind me, but I was alone. The dust and debris quickly settled to the floor as if nothing had happened. I turned back to my workspace to see the hammer was lying by my feet. My heart raced as I questioned my sanity. Could I be hallucinating? I wouldn't let my mind play tricks on me. There was far too much work to do. Even though I had been pounding and destroying the walls for hours, I could not bring myself to call it a night. With every layer I exposed, the more excited I became dreaming of what this place could be and what it might have been. As I organized the debris into larges piles pushed to the corners of the room I heard footsteps in the hallway. I called out, "Is anyone there?" and heard no response. The footsteps continued down the hallway with a rhythmic thud and continued up the winding staircase to the rooms above. As I leaned around the framing of the doorway, I scanned the hallway and saw nothing. I stepped back into the lobby only to find the room was completely untouched as if I had never been there at all! There were no piles of debris, only dust and cobwebs. I must be losing my mind. I searched the room further and could not find my hammer or any tools. They had disappeared! I walked to the foyer to see if someone had come in the house without me knowing and maybe moved my things. As I passed the aged grandfather clock I looked to see what the time was, the hands were stuck at three a.m. The clock looked as if it hadn't worked in years. The chimes were corroded with grime and rust. As I bent over inspecting the clock, I heard faint laughter in the house. I quickly turned to see if someone was standing next to me. A little girl in a white dress ran down the hallway I had just come out of. I quickly chased after her as if this were a completely normal occurrence. "What did you do with my stuff?" I yelled, waiting for her to answer. She continued to run farther down the hall and then up the stairs, disappearing at the sixth step in a white vapor. My heart pounded in my chest. I couldn't believe what I had just seen. It had to be a ghost. Was I dreaming? Could I have fallen asleep? Now I had to decide whether or not to inspect the house or to get the hell out. My curiosity got the best of me, as it often did. I had to look further into this house to find out its mysteries.

As I walked up the stairs, each footfall sent chills up my spine. The hair on the back of my neck stood up and goose bumps ran down my arms. My hands tingled as I carefully made my way to the top of the stairs. The railing offered little support as it bowed slightly as I grasped it in my hand. My feet felt weighted as I finally reached the top step. Before me a hallway stretched beyond what I could see. Room after room lined the hallway. I couldn't begin to count them all. Each one was numbered with a tarnished silver plate. It was set up almost like a hotel. "What kind of place is this?" I asked myself. I had never seen anything like it before. "I guess the owner must be pretty eccentric". I recalled my boss saying. He will keep his plans confidential, and only would be delivering them on a monthly basis to my company. I just had the bones of the plans so far.

I made my way down the hall listening for any sound that might be coming from the rooms. The first room that caught my ear was marked Room # 113 and a small plate stated it was occupied. I heard a man's voice. He was mumbling something that I could not make it out. I leaned my head into the door, pressing my ear against its grainy wood waiting for him to speak again. The door flew open and I almost fell inside. The man stood up quickly from a single bed with neatly folded blankets and pressed pillow cases. He was dressed in a grey suit and tie, with a gentlemen's Derby hat. He was dressed almost like a door to door salesman. He seemed confused. A tattered suitcase lay across the bed. "Are you the new owner?" he asked. "Is it time to check out already?" he inquired. He grabbed his suitcase and pushed his way past me and hurriedly ran down the stairs. In a flash, he was gone. I shook my head as I stood even more confused than ever.

I shut the door to Room # 113. I continued to walk down the hallway. In the distance I could hear a couple yelling. They were arguing. As I got closer something struck the door and shattered from the inside. I knocked loudly on the door marked Room #166. "Is everyone okay in there?" The screaming continued, and then a gunshot echoed into the hall. I busted the door open only to find a stained floor that had once been pooling with blood. The room was marked vacant under the numbered plate. This was just too much to take in. My mind reeled as I sat in the hallway with my knees pulled into my chest. "What is this place?" I asked myself out loud. From the corner of my eye I could see the little girl in the white dress dancing in the hallway. She held a brown fuzzy teddy bear in her hands as she danced about. She seemed so carefree, and didn't seem to fit in this place. She saw me make eye contact and stopped dancing. She stood still holding her bear tightly to her body. Her eyes went vacant as she spoke. "Are you going to hurt me like my daddy did?" she asked. As she turned away her dress dripped with blood leaving a trail behind her. The wounds in her head were still fresh. She cried as she ran to her room and disappeared through the doorway marked Room# 224/ occupied.

I had had enough of my share of scares tonight. I didn't need to know the mysteries of this place. It was very obvious something was wrong with this house. I was going to get out of here before it was too late. A person's mind can only take so much! I ran down the long hallway as door after door passed behind me. I could hear voices as I ran past each one marked occupied. The long hallway stretched out in a blur as the sounds of crying and screaming became a blur. I wasn't going to look back. I was getting the hell out of this place. I heard doors opening behind me, deadbolts unlocking as I continued to run. Footsteps followed behind me. I'm not looking back! I told myself. No way in hell! I ran down the winding staircase as fast as my legs could carry me. I rushed down the hall into the foyer. I stood in the foyer in total shock. The place was completely restored to its original state. The foyer included a front desk, just like you would see in a lobby of a hotel. A teenage boy stood behind the counter in a freshly pressed velvet suit with copper buttons. "Can I help you sir?" "Are you checking in or out?" He asked. "You must have me confused with someone else". I replied. "I'm the contractor working on this house". I said in disbelief. The boy turned and grabbed some forms from under the counter and slid them over towards me. A large mirror stood behind him. I could see a crowd of people gathering behind me. They were all dead. Some had limbs missing, some were diseased, some seemed perfectly normal. "Sir, please sign your name here." "No. Someone needs to tell me what the hell is going on!" The little girl in the white dress tugged on my shirt. "Mister, you belong here with us." She said. "No! There has to be a mistake, I am restoring this house for the owner." I said abruptly. "Sir, it says your name right here, Jacob Willoughby. Date of Birth 8/16/1968. Check in date: 3/12/2006. Cause of Death: Heart attack and fell from scaffolding." I saw my own reflection go pale in the mirror. I became transparent as I stood with my mouth agape. "Welcome to the Halfway House." The bellhop said. "They all come here until it's time to check out." "If you'll just sign here, someone will show you to your room."