Rose and the monster, p.2
Rose and the Monster, page 2
As I rolled down my pant legs, I heard someone behind me, but I didn’t turn around. “I’m glad you came back, I think I’ll just get to the next town. Thank you for inviting me in, though.” I thought if Amy had the phone in her hand, I would make the call then leave. If not, I was walking. As I stood up and turned to face the noise, I was surprised to see that there was nothing there. “Amy?”
“Who are you?” I heard the voice, but I couldn’t see who was talking.
I froze. It was bright enough in the entry that I should be able to see who it was that had spoken. It was a man’s voice, and he sounded close, but there was no one there besides me. He didn’t sound mad at all, but definitely like he was addressing someone who shouldn’t be here. My knees began shaking again as I tried to stay calm.
“Sorry, I don’t mean to intrude. This is really starting to freak me out, so I’m going to go.” I tried opening the front door to make my escape, but it seemed to be locked. I began to panic and pulled harder. The doors wouldn’t budge.
His voice grew slightly more agitated, “Who are you?”
I couldn’t remember a time in my life when I was as frightened as I was right then. “I already told Amy who I was, and I don’t see a phone anywhere. Now, please open this door.” I tried to hide that I was petrified, and my voice only wobbled a little.
I wasn’t sure if I was more terrified of being trapped in here or of not being able to see who was speaking. It was silent as I waited for a response or movement or something. I was still alive at least. I told myself to shut up. Finding some good in this would have to come later. Right now, I needed to focus. The door was still locked, and I was getting nowhere.
I tried again. “I’m Rose Phipher. My car broke down, and I need a phone. A girl named Amy brought me in the house, so I thought it was ok, but I need to leave now.” I had hoped to be firm so I wouldn’t appear weak to whoever this was, but my voice still shook. I put my back against the door and waited. It was their move, and I wanted to be able to see as soon as they made it. I gripped the flashlight, but honestly I’m not sure if I could use it as a weapon if I needed to. I’d never had the chance to see if I was the fighting type, and at that moment, I felt that I was not.
“Amy?” The man’s voice didn’t sound like it believed me.
It irritated me that repeating her name was their response to everything that I had just said, but I didn’t know what choice I had except to defend myself. I mean, it was their house. “She brought me up the drive and let me in. I didn’t know it would be an issue. I thought she was getting me a phone.” I still saw no one.
I wished I had stayed on the porch instead of following her in. She would have come back, I wouldn’t be stuck, and the world would have been better. So much for being proud of how rational and unemotional I was.
“Don’t be frightened, ma’am, but we do not have a phone.” He seemed confused.
Whether it was my knees or my voice shaking, somehow he knew I was scared. They didn’t have a phone? It sounded rather improbable, but I was not planning on staying even if they did have one at this point. I was trying to see who the voice belonged to. I should have been staring right at him, but no one was there. I needed the door opened. I needed help. He was attempting to console my nerves, but that wasn’t going to happen until I saw some faces opening the door.
“Ok.” I took a deep breath. “Why is the door locked? Why can’t I see you?” I could hear the panic in my voice rising. Maybe it was a speaker system coming from somewhere else in the house. They didn’t know me either, so maybe they were keeping their distance. That was a nice thought. Maybe it was just a speaker.
“We do not wish to frighten you.” He was definitely trying to console me now.
I had to smile a little because it was too late not to frighten me. I was terrified. It had to be a speaker. “Then open the door.” I tried to be as polite as I could while making the request/order, but it still sounded harsher than I had intended. I took a step forward. “I don’t mean to be rude, and you have a lovely home, but this is scaring me. I just want to go.”
Amazingly, the coatrack, which was about fifteen feet across the room and against the wall, began to move. I saw it, but there was no scream or sound that would come out of my open mouth. It’s arms were two of the racks, which usually faced up to hold coats, that had bent down. It walked quite smoothly on its wooden supports that made up the base. It had no face or mouth, but as it began to move, I heard it begin talking again.
I barely heard the words, “Sometimes if you jimmy the handle just right, the silly thing opens right up.” It had started toward me, and I couldn’t take it.
I ran into the room where the fireplace had been and closed the door behind me. In an attempt to keep the now animated coatrack at bay, I pressed my back against the door. I needed to calm down. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe normally. I had to stay calm. This had to be a dream, or a trick, or the cold, or something. That’s all. As I opened my eyes back up, the sight in the sitting room was now more appalling than the simple coatrack in the foyer.
Everything in the room had moved, and certain pieces of furniture had pressed themselves against the back wall. There was a poker from the fireplace that was levitating right in front of the group and pointing at me. This time my voice touched sound, and I screamed as I let the panic take hold.
The clock I thought I had seen move earlier took a few steps away from the group toward me. “Shhhh. You’ll wake him.”
His voice was deeper than the coatrack’s, but it barely registered. Seeing the clock come toward me was all that I could take and darkness began to surround me as I felt myself falling to the floor.
CHAPTER TWO
I was trying to wake up, but when my eyes finally opened, I felt lost. The bed was amazingly soft, and the room surrounding me was nicer than any hotel I had stayed in. A fire was blazing in the fireplace across from the four-poster bed where I lay. The windows that stood to my left were as tall as the ceiling, and the furniture ranged from chairs to a matching dresser and chest of drawers. Everything was a carefully matched light blue and cream color. It was absolutely beautiful.
A part of me wondered if I had made it to the resort and had dreamt last night’s debacle. The fear of the night before crept up on me slowly. When I found that I was no longer in the clothes I had been wearing, I began to feel faint again. No bra, no panties, only a very soft, simple nightgown that reached my mid-thigh. I frantically looked around the room for my clothes, but they were nowhere to be seen.
“What the crap is going on?” This would have been the most amazing day of my life if this was something I had planned, but the fact that I had no idea where I was made it less than appealing. I was still alive, and that was good, but I didn’t see my phone. There was no way to call for help, and while I was not stuck in the bed per say, I felt trapped.
I had no idea what time it was, which made me uncomfortable not knowing how long I had slept. For all I knew, they could have drugged me. It could have been days since what I thought was last night. Again, I scanned the room, but this time I found what I was searching for. There was a little clock on the table beside me, and it didn’t surprise me that it wasn’t a cheap digital one. It actually matched the room quite perfectly. It was silver and there were three little balls spinning at the bottom, which connected to the face of the clock. The face was intricately designed with silver, and what I guessed was pearl. The numbers were roman numerals, and it made me have to think about what time it actually was.
Time. I shivered. That clock downstairs completely creeped me out, but the coatrack was not much better. I glanced back at the clock next to me, but it wasn’t moving. I wracked my brain but could not remember what other furniture had moved behind the clock in the sitting room. But really nothing made sense. How could they have moved? How could any of it be alive? They didn’t have faces, but they were still talking. I felt completely helpless. What was going on?
I began to get out of bed when I saw a breakfast tray sitting on the side table on the other side of the bed from the clock. I pulled it onto the bed beside me and observed the prettiest setup of an omelet, orange juice, and muffin; complete with a small cup of fresh flowers. It was absolutely perfect.
“If this wasn’t so nutty, I would really enjoy this.” I was muttering, but I grew suspicious of the other furniture in my room. I had no idea who was listening. Any chair or picture could be spying on me without me knowing it. I checked the clock again, but it seemed to be stationary.
Maybe it was like a resort type of thing, and talking furniture was their novelty. That would make sense with the breakfast. Beside the cup of flowers there was an envelope that had my name on it. As I picked it up, I found that I was a little nervous to open it. My first thought was that it was a bill for the room and breakfast. I hadn’t agreed to pay anything. So if this was the bill, breakfast at least was going back on the nightstand.
The stationary was very simple white, but the paper felt expensive.
“I’m in a freaking castle, everything’s expensive.” I tried not to tear it as I opened the envelope, but as I started to read, I had to sit back.
“Dear Ms. Rose,
We are very glad that you are here, and that you are safe. You are our honored guest and are invited to stay as long as you need. We understand that our physical appearance is not something that you are accustomed to, and we understand that it can be unsettling at first. As you will be seeing us again during your stay, we do ask that you please not scream as a few of the staff are displeased at their transformation. Thank you for your accommodation in this area.
Sincerely,
Mr. Jenkens, butler
(The Clock)”
I nearly dropped the tray. It was real. There was no dream to be had, or at least that’s what they wanted me to think.
My head swam with questions. How are the people furniture? How had my car fared the night? How far was the nearest town? Where the heck was I? Nothing I was asking myself was going to be answered until I spoke to someone. But speaking to them? The furniture? I wanted to go to the window and scream in the hope that someone would hear me, but I knew that was futile thinking. It had taken me thirty minutes to get up the drive; there was no way someone could hear me. Besides, it would probably make my hosts angry.
The only human I had seen was Amy, and I wasn’t even sure of that now. Maybe she was something else. I hadn’t seen her face, so it was possible. While the breakfast looked beautiful, I couldn’t stomach any of it. At any second the chairs or even the bed could start moving and talking to me.
I swung my feet to the floor and briefly enjoyed the thickness of the rug beside my bed. It could almost be a second bed because of how soft and fluffy it was. It matched the room quite perfectly. Everything was soft here. Soft and blue. That was somewhat comforting for some reason. That’s probably why they gave me this room, so I would be comfortable. I shook my head. It would take more than a soft bed, fancy clock, and matching furniture set to make me relax.
When I attempted to stand up, I quickly found that I had made a mistake as my right ankle gave out on me. I, in turn, ended up getting a very good look at the rug that I had grown so fond of. As I moved to examine the culprit of my demise, there was a knock at my door. I’m not sure if I was more scared that someone was trying to get in or shocked to see that I had a black and blue, swollen, grapefruit for an ankle.
As I sat there on the floor pushing on the puffiness of the skin around the joint, I heard that whoever had knocked had let themselves in.
“Goodness, you must have done that last night when you fainted.” The voice was female, and I guessed it to be older. It sounded nice, but I was afraid to turn around.
I sat there debating on what I should do but could think of nothing.
“Does it hurt, Miss Rose?”
I guessed that whoever this new person was had spoken to the coatrack that I had seen last night, or maybe she had been in the sitting room too. I tried again to remember who else was behind the clock. It had all happened so fast, and now I was in crunch time. My brain was mush.
“It hurts a little.” I tried to pick myself up so I would not appear weak in front of whatever it was that stood behind me, but there was nothing for it. My foot would not support my weight without extreme pain.
“The way it’s not holding; I wonder if it’s broken.” I could tell that she was close now, and the thought of not being able to get away was extremely frightening.
“I’m fine, really.” I glanced back, and to my surprise the figure behind me was not at all like I had imagined. It was a spoon on a teacart. The spoon stood upright on the cart like an invisible string held it up.
The cart rolled closer to me, and the spoon bent slightly as though it was examining my ankle. “I’ll get some ice for you. Do you need help getting back into bed?” The spoon righted itself. It was looking at me now, I guessed.
I figured, by its movements, that the spoon was what I heard talking and not the cart, but that was crazy. She was a freaking spoon, and they don’t talk. The voice was being kind, and I did not want to be rude, but this whole ordeal was confusing to me. I had wanted help last night, and I ended up here. Asking for help now seemed pointless.
“If you don’t mind me asking.” My voice shook as I attempted to speak. “Who are you?”
I scooted so my back was against the bed as I stared at the spoon. It had no mouth, eyes, or even legs. It was just a large, metal kitchen spoon like you would use to stir a big pot. There was nothing inherently scary about it, except that it appeared to be alive.
“I’m Mrs. Jenkens, and I run the kitchen. I see you didn’t eat your breakfast yet.” She sounded slightly offended that I hadn’t.
I began trying to raise myself up using my arms and the bed. Anytime I put weight on my ankle, a searing pain ran through my leg.
Her name sounded familiar. “Mrs. Jenkens.” My butt thumped back on the ground at another failed attempt to stand. I never thought my arms were weak until now. “Are you Mr. Jenkens’ wife?” It was unnerving not knowing where she was looking. I mean; it was unnerving that she was a spoon, but what could I do?
She did not answer at first, but just watched as I struggled to get my butt up enough to sit on the bed. It was quite exhausting when you are trying not to use a leg.
“I offered to get you help, dear. Yes, he is my husband.” I couldn’t help but notice
how sad she sounded, but my ankle was hurting so badly from using it to raise myself up that I tried to move on.
Don’t think about it, I told myself. It will pass. “May I ask you a logistical question?” I was doing everything I could not to feel the pain and just focus on the spoon and her cart, but I still couldn’t get past how impossible all of this was.
“Yes?” She stood there looking at me.
“You don’t have mouths, but I hear you talking. You don’t have eyes, but you know what’s happening…What am I doing here?” I stared at her, but my question probably didn’t make a whole lot of sense. Maybe it was my ankle. Maybe it was being in a strange place unable to walk. Maybe it was the fact that I was talking to a spoon, but I kept wishing I would wake up.
The cart rolled forward, and the spoon hopped onto the bed. I thought of the letter and how rude I was last night if they were actually people. Even so, it was all I could do to not back away from the spoon that was now on my bed.
“My best guess is that it’s some sort of telepathic thing where you can hear me in your head. But as to why you’re here, you passed out.” She said it so matter-of-factly that her answer sounded logical.
My head felt thick as I tried to grasp the concept. “There’s no such thing as telepathic, though.”
Mrs. Jenkens laughed and hopped back onto her cart. “Dear, you’re talking to a spoon. I have a feeling we may surprise you with impossible things.” The cart rolled toward the door.
“So you don’t mind if I leave?” I was afraid to ask it, but if the only reason I was here was because I had blacked out, then I should be able to leave since I was awake.
“I wouldn’t recommend it with that ankle. I’ll be back with some ice in a bit to see if we can get the swelling down. Enjoy your breakfast.” And with that, she was gone.
I put my legs back under the covers. As much as I wanted to leave, I wasn’t going anywhere on my ankle right now. After talking to the spoon, I was not as much afraid as I was convinced that I must have had a car accident, and this was my dream. That had to be the answer. There was no way that this spoon could talk and be married to an also talking clock who were the butler and kitchen help in this house. It made me quite paranoid really. I looked around the room again, checking to see if anything had moved. It felt like everything was watching me.
It was a relief that she didn’t mind if I left. That part helped me to relax a little. But why would the door not open for me last night then? Maybe one of the other things in the house had locked it. For the sake of having some sense of sanity in a house with talking furniture, a part of me hoped the spoon, at least, was nice.
There was nothing to do while I sat there in bed waiting on the spoon to return, so I ate the omelet. As I took the first bite, I found that the food was delicious, and that I was very hungry. As I sat there eating, I laughed at myself. I would rather be with a talking spoon that I don’t know in a mansion with creepy moving furniture than go to my dad’s wedding. What did that say about me?
I tried to shake it off and dismounted the bed. The curtains were shut, and I wanted to see where I was. I needed to stay focused on what was happening here and not get distracted with all of that. I attempted not to put any weight on my ankle, so I began hopping on my left leg. My balance was terrible, and I ended up having to set my right foot down, instantly sending pain through me. Was this really worth it? I didn’t need to see outside that badly.
