HeLP sAve Us hElp uS HeLp
The letters create a tapestry in front of us. Hundreds of desperate pleas stained with blood. The fear in this room expands, converging into a tangible entity. I see things, snippets of moments. I’m not sure if it’s my imagination or if I’ve unlocked some portal into the past. A man stands in the doorway. A girl crouches in the corner. Fingernails on concrete. Screams in the night.
I look away, trying to regroup, but a picture in the middle of the wall brings me back to reality. It’s a crude drawing of a child’s face with an X covering her mouth. Where was Mrs. Green through all of this? Where were the police?
“Do you think we’re the first?” I ask.
“The first what?” Jackson is numb beside me.
“To find this place. Since the murders. That’s what they said in the newspapers. That they never found where he did it.”
“Who else could have known?” he replies.
“She wanted us to find it.”
Jackson turns to me. “Mrs. Green?”
“No. Tammy.”
“What the hell is a Tammy?”
“The girl. That I saw. That Elliot and I were following.”
Jackson lets out a groan. “We really doing this again?”
“I know it sounds nuts. But…ever since I’ve been off my meds.”
Jackson rolls his eyes. “Come on, Ange. It’s all in your head.”
“It’s not. I’ve been seeing stuff.”
“I have to say, I’m disappointed. I thought you were stronger than this.”
“Jackson, I’m not making this up!”
“She’s not,” Elliot says. He shifts under the weight of his damaged ankle. Jackson glares at Elliot. “The EMF meter was going off the charts. And it wasn’t rigged. There’s something here with us. And Angela saw it even before the meter picked up.”
“The meter doesn’t work. You were screwing with that thing the whole way here.”
“I saw that girl, Jackson,” I say. “And the other ones. Before Mrs. Green even showed me the photos.”
Jackson waves his hand dismissively. “Probably saw them online. When you looked this place up. Just tricked yourself into thinking that.”
“She led us right here. Tammy. She led us right to that spot in the floor,” I reply. “It’s not a coincidence that we ended up down here.”
“Yeah. Thanks, Tammy. Bitch,” Elliot says.
Jackson turns, placing a hand on the ladder. “Fine. Think whatever the hell you want.”
“Where are you going?” I ask.
“I’m making sure Beth got a hold of someone.”
“You’re leaving Elliot down here?”
“You’ll be here.”
“But you’re stronger than I am.”
“So?”
“But what if we have to move Elliot?”
“He’s not going anywhere,” Jackson says. “Unless you think we’re going to be attacked by some ghosts?”
“But say something happens? He’s a sitting duck down here.”
“A sitting duck for what?” Jackson asks.