Chapter 13: Extra Baggage

I sneak out of bed. Ok... I'm just putting her in. I look at the electronic alarm clock. Eleven thirty-five exactly. I reach over the sheets. I grab the silk robe left out for me. So soft... I coach myself as I put it on,

"Ok... you can do this..."

I tip-toe out the door which I had left open. This opportunity will be the only one I get. I accomplish the first task: get out without waking anyone. The whole house was dead silent. Mother is sleeping on the couch, Pip didn't want her in any room until he had drunk-proofed it. I skate across the floor silently, quickly. I can already hear mother's snoring. I sigh in relief. She is asleep. I approach soundlessly and whisper in mother's ear as I shake her,

"Free booze, mother!"

Her eyes immediately snap open. Groggy as she was, mother was never to pass up a chance for free anything. She sits up and yawns, stretching her arms wide.

"...Where?"

I motion her to silence with a finger to my lips. She nods and rises as quietly as she can. She has a hangover. I can tell her head aching from the expressions on her face. Mother trots up to my side.

"Where?"

I point toward the foyer. She gets a gleam in her eyes. Perfect. We sneak across the floor toward the tapestry. Mother pokes my back.

"What is it?"

"You aren't lying are you?"

She's acting so... civilized. At least for a person looking for free booze.

"No, I'm not lying."

We reach the tapestry and I pull it aside as I had seen previously. My heart starts to race. Betrayal. That's what this is. But she deserves it! God dammit! I open the door behind it and motion mother forward. She points into the tunnel,

"Here?"

"Yes."

I crawl in first. Mother follows me. She closes the door behind herself. Perfect. Roaring. What's roaring? It sounds like those lions on that animal channel or something like that. A chill runs from the back of my neck down my spine. I don't feel good. Then I hear the sound of a cat meowing piteously. Then a loud crunch. My stomach does a back flip. I resist the urge to turn and run to the bathroom and continue forward. Mother is still following. I see the door. I crawl faster. When I touch the door I can feel the cold steel of the door almost, like, flow through my entire body. It gives me the shivers.

"Where is it?"

Mother's starting to get demanding.

"... In here."

"Well, open it up!"

I nod. I can see my hands shake as I unchain the door. I put the first heavy chain aside. The noises from inside the room cease. I freeze. My blood runs cold.

"Hurry up!"

My gaze turns to mother. Right. I forgot for a moment. I undo the second chain faster. I set that aside as well. I hear a dragging noise within the room. It's coming closer to the door. I undo a chain lock as quietly as I can. There's a rumbling from inside the room.

"Come on!"

I unlatch the second chain lock. One dead bolt. Two deadbolts. Three deadbolts. Four. Five. One more. No sounds are coming from the room. My hair stands on end. I grab mother's arm and pull her closer to the door.

"What are you doing?"

"You have to jump in the room right away; otherwise you won't get the drinks free."

"Okay."

I put myself on the other side of the door, preparing to use it as a shield, god forbid the monster in there comes out. In one moment, I open lock and door and push mother in. I slam the door shut and lock three of the deadbolts. I hear mother in the room.

"Oh! It's you! Where'd you-!"

I shudder as her words are cut off. Crack. I choke and put my hands on the ground, trying to balance myself. I vomit. Oh my god! I wipe my mouth and lock the rest of the bolts. I can't even lift the other chains. They weren't this heavy before! I drop them and scramble out of the tunnel, desperate for something to settle my stomach. I shut the door and swing the tapestry back over the door and run to my room, one hand cupped over my mouth. I sat poised over the toilet the whole night.