CHAPTER 2

A month before the big move, I found myself standing on those strange steps for the first time. The dark house looming up over me, rough angled windows staring down at me like massive glass eyes, the red door waiting like some crimson maw. It's easy to see faces in the fronts of old houses, though most of the time they end up looking a bit goofy. The gnarled tree branches scrapped along the front of the house, looking even more like the house was some giant creature scratching at its enormous brick and wood face.

Mom and Dad had dragged us, practically kicking and screaming in Josh's case, up to Dark Falls for the first time, to see the new house they were purchasing for us to live in. The drive up was long, but it was the first time it really sank in that the move was truly happening. It wasn't just a topic brought up every night at dinner. It was real. I had to leave my home in Pine Valley.

I remember the look on my parents faces as they let us out of the van, pointing at the house they were soon to buy. My father's eyes were twinkling with the potential of so many projects. My mom couldn't stop talking about the small little town and how close everything was. And neither of them would shut up about how much of a deal the house was. I thought they had both lost it. Who would want this run down old house in a tiny ass village where they only had one school. That's right. One school. Kindergarten to high school, all under one roof. It was like we were moving to the past.

"Don't you just love it?" a voice startled me, but what really made me jump was the cold hand on my shoulder. I turned to see a man in a weird old hat that kept his face in shadow, even on the gloomy afternoon. He looked like he was maybe fifteen or twenty years older than my parents. He grinned at me awkwardly, a single gold tooth standing out under a thin mustache.

"Huh?" was all I managed, slipping out from under his touch as I turned to look at the stranger.

"Hi there," he put the same hand out, offering it to me in greeting. "I'm Compton Dawes."

As if that introduction meant anything to me.

"I'm your parents realtor. The one selling this house," he clarified.

"Oh, I see. My parents are around back, having a look at the yard." Just as I said that, they both emerged from the side of the house.

"Mr. Dawes, thank you for coming to show us the house again," my father said as he approached.

"It is my pleasure Mr. Benson. How was the drive?"

"Feels shorter with every trip, the scenery sure is lovely on the way up though."

"Isn't it just," the man peered over at me, I could see his pale blue eyes like tiny pricks of light under the shadow of his large hat. "And these must be your children."

"That is Amanda, and this is Joshua," mother motioned to my brother who was just behind her with PD close by on his leash. The dog bit and snapped at the lead as Josh tried to walk with him. That dog never did like being tied up in any way.

"I don't want to move here," Josh mumbled.

"Oh you haven't even given Dark Falls a chance yet. I am sure you will make all kinds of new friends and go on all kinds of adventures with PD around the neighborhood. This place will be lots of fun." My mother was laying it on thick this time, trying so hard to polish shit.

"I already gave it a chance," he continued stubbornly. "This house is ugly and gross and I hate it."

"You haven't even gone inside yet, Josh," my father added.

"Yes," Mr. Dawes said excitedly. "Let's go in, I have the keys right here!"

The man moved toward the house and I could smell the pungent odor of some medicated cream on him. My parents followed closely behind, motioning for us to join them. Josh just dug his feet in.

"Nuh-uh," he shook his head, "I'm staying outside."

"Josh." My mother's face looked serious, but quickly morphed back to the sweet phase of a caring mother just wanting her little baby to do her this one favor. "Don't you want to come see the house? Pick out your own room?"

"No, I want to stay out here."

He looked around the neighborhood, getting a sense of his surroundings as if wanting to look at anything other than the house. I could understand why. The house was unsettling to look at. Staring at it for too long almost made me feel unwell. It seemed like something out of some other time. Dark bricks and black chipping paint. The breeze made one of the shudders move and smack against the brick. I looked up into the windows of the second storey, and I swore I saw something move just behind the yellowing glass. My eyes shot back to the front door, where both my parents and Mr. Dawes were waiting patiently. I was probably just seeing things. A reflection on the window, or a trick of the dim light through the tree branches gently swaying in the breeze.

I stepped forward, determined to be more brave then my chicken shit brother. I steeled my nerves. It wasn't because I was scare of some dumb house that I didn't want to move to Dark Falls. It was because I didn't want to leave my friends in Pine Valley. Part of me wanted to find fault in the house just so my parents wouldn't buy and perhaps even just delay our move. But I knew better than that. There had been enough discussions and arguments at home to know this was happening whether we picked this house or not.

I joined my parents just as Mr. Dawes finished asking, "how long have you lived in your current home?"

My dad paused as if to think for a moment. "About fourteen years, I think."

"The kids have lived in Pine Valley their whole lives," my mother added. "And it's the only house Josh has ever had."

My dad chuckled, "Mandy probably doesn't remember our first house in Pine Valley. Now there was a fixer-upper!"

He was right. I didn't remember the first house we lived in before moving to Holly Avenue. The vague images of gray-blue carpet and bright wood paneling hung around the back of my mind, but those could have just as likely come from old baby photos than any real childhood memory.

"It can be hard to leave all that behind." Mr. Dawes stated. My mother and father stepped through the open front door and the old man leaned in closer to me, blocking my path. "You know, Amanda," God it felt weird hearing strangers call me by name. "I have lived in Dark Falls all my life. All the way back to my father's great-grandfather, who was here when the town was founded. Maybe one day you and your children will be as much a part of Dark Falls as the Dawes have always been."

A shiver ran up my spine with the way he casually mentioned me having children. Was this creep hitting on me? Or was the town really doing a number on my head? I turned sideways and awkwardly slipped past him and into the entryway of the old house. Mr. Dawes gave another look back at Josh, but his mind was made up and he stayed outside with the dog. He wasn't going to give up that easily, even though we had both promised to keep an open mind about this move. Josh often took a lot of convincing to change his mind about something.

I tried to be logical about it. I knew we weren't doing well financially. If Mom and Dad were able to get a good price on the old house, the money saved on this place could go a long way to helping me go to college. It would be a pain to have to move for one year of high school, but I was starting to think beyond graduation. Where should I go to school? What do I want to do with my life? Would one year in some boring-ass town in a rickety old house really be so bad if I was going to be moving away to college next summer anyway? Josh still had another seven years to look forward to. He had a much higher stake in this move than I really did.

Mr. Dawes followed us into the hallway and it suddenly felt a lot narrower than necessary. I could smell that disgusting balm on him again, it seemed to mingle with his sweat, the mixture somehow worse than the sum of its parts. "Let's go into the living room, I think you will be surprised by how spacious it is, Amanda."

I don't know if it was just because he had already given this tour to my parents on previous visits, but the added attention in my direction made me very uneasy. I was very tempted to just take off and explore the house on my own, but looking at it from the inside, it was no more comforting than the view outside. This place had creepy written all over it. I don't know how any previous owners didn't decorate the entire house with taxidermy animals and photos of medical oddities, because that was just about the only decor I could picture fitting into the stranger empty building.

Despite the creep guiding us through each room, there was some charm to the house. Perhaps it was just the infectious excitement of my parents who I think were willing to overlook a laundry list of crimes for the price this house was going for. There were more rooms than I thought the house would have, with far too many closets. A much needed improvement from our current house's lack of closets, forcing me to still use the old pink dresser I have had since I was five. The room my mother had picked out for me had its own bathroom! Okay perhaps that sold it for me. No more sharing a bathroom with Josh and Dad every morning, trying desperately to get ready. The cute bay window with an old-fashion window seat were nice additions to the room, but I am telling you. As much as I didn't want to move. I would kill for my own fucking bathroom.

After that, I wanted to find something on the tour that would at least pique Josh's interests. Maybe I knew nothing about being an eleven year old boy, I would have thought Josh would have been all over this house, with its countless hiding places. But I guess he wasn't the seven year old hide-and-seek addict I often still thought of him as.

The tour ended back at the front entryway, and by the end I was a little more excited about the possibilities of this house. "Well," Mr. Dawes said glancing at his watch, "I think I have shown you everything."

"Wait, I want to take one more look at my room." My voice sounded more excited than I really wanted to let on.

"Hurry, dear," my mom said, but you could hear the grin on her face. She called after me as I raced up the stairs, taking them two at a time, "I'm sure Mr. Dawes has other appointments."

I reached the second-floor landing and hurried down the narrow hallway that lead to my new room. The house sucked, but there was certainly potential in this room. It was huge compared to my old room. I walked through the space, pointing out in my mind where I would put my bed, my desk, my small bookcase. Would I now have room to get a bigger bookcase? Maybe two, one could take up the space left by the absent dresser once I filled the spacious closet. I turned back to the door, thinking about which posters I would hang on which wall when I saw him.

Standing in the darkened hallway was young boy. Was it Josh? He seemed about that age, but I couldn't make out his features in the poor lighting. "Hey, Josh!" I called out. The figure turned and ran down the hallway. His clothes seemed strange and it looked as if his coat, a few sizes too big, was soaking wet, the long dangling sleeves dripping as he ran. Why was Josh drenched?

As the kid moved into the light at the top of the stairs, I realized he wasn't Josh. While everyone in my family sported dark, nearly black hair, this child was distinctly blond.

"Hey!" I called as I took off after him. But when I reached the stairs, the boy was nowhere to be seen. There wasn't even drops of water on the floor of the hallway. The doors were closed, and the house was silent. "Jesus, keep it together, Amanda," I said aloud.

Was I seeing things?

Mom called from the bottom of the stairs and I shook my head as if breaking a trance. I took one last look around before I slowly made my way back down the stairs. Mr. Dawes stood with my mother at the bottom of the steps, both of them looking up at me, my mother with a bit of impatience and Mr. Dawes with that shit-eating grin.

"Sorry, Mom," I said simply. "I-I thought I saw something."

"Probably just shadows," she replied. "This place is so dark, but we will brighten it up with some new lights."

Rounding the bottom of the staircase, I saw my dad was there too, leaning against the front door. "Why don't you go outside and check on your brother," he fidgeted, tucking in his shirt again. "Your mom and I have some things to still discuss with Mr. Dawes before we head back home."

I merely nodded, my mind still swimming with the image of that blond boy in the hall. Stepping out the front door and down the step, I called out, "Hey, Josh!"

There was no answer. Not even the typical bark from PD any time someone raised their voice. Stepping out onto the lawn, my heart suddenly sank when I saw PD's collar and leash lying on the brown grass.

Josh and PD were gone.

I called for Josh and then the dog. There was no sight or sound of them. Nothing save the leash still clasped to the loop of thick blue canvas of PD's collar. Had he slipped out? Did PD escape and Josh took off after him?

I ran down the gravel driveway, looking inside the car, my eyes darting back and forth down the street. The road winded down the hill toward town, a few houses sporadically dotting the way. The neighborhood seemed rather bare and spread out, each lot filled with more of a the gnarled trees.

I glanced back towards the house to see my parents and Mr. Dawes stepping outside, a concerned look on their faces, no doubt due to my shouting. "I can't find Josh or PD!" I yelled up to them from the street.

"Maybe they went around back," Dad shouted back, motioning back towards the side gate.

I headed back up the drive, careful not to slip on the loose stones as I jogged up towards the house. It was warmer by the street, but as soon as I made it halfway up the drive, I instantly felt cooler, like a cold rain cloud suddenly left me in shadow.

"Goddammit, Josh," I muttered. Why did I feel so scared. Josh had wandered off before. Why was this time any different. I stared up at the house again. The tall trees seemed to reach out over the home, shielding the building from as much light as they could. I ran past the overgrown flowerbed to the side of the front porch leading to the side gate. The old wooden fence was in desperate need of repair, or better yet replacement, as the gray boards were split and leaning at odd angles. The gate stuck and took a firm tug to free it from the slanted post it was wedged into.

The backyard was bigger than I expected looking at the front of the house. It stretched out behind the old structure, gently sloping down a hill and ending in more of the decrepit wooden fencing. Just like the front, the yard was dotted with patches of tall weeds and browning grass. A stone birdbath had toppled onto its side, the basin long dry and stained a rusty red-brown. Beyond it, I could see what appeared to be a detached garage and shed, built out of the same dark brick of the house.

"Josh?" I called out. Neither he nor the dog were in the backyard or further down the back hill, as far as I could see. I looked for footprints in the patchy grass, or signs that he had run through the yard. A gate at the very back of the yard was firmly shut and looked as if it hadn't been opened in a very long time, the simple latch corroded with dark rust.

"Anything?" my mother called to from the side of the house.

"No sign of him," I yelled back, cupping my hands to my mouth as I slowly made my way back up the hill, I felt out of breath, my chest tight, more out of worry than physical exertion.

"Did you check the car?" she sounded more angry than worried.

"Of course I did. First thing." I stopped, scanning the yard once more. "Josh wouldn't just take off in a weird town, would he?"

My mother just shot me a look that said far more than just "what do you think?"

We both returned to the front, shaking our heads at the questioning glances from Dad and Mr. Dawes.

"Where the hell could he have gotten off to?" my mother asked no one in particular.

"Maybe he made a friend and wandered off?" Mr Dawes replied unhelpfully from the front porch.

"When he doesn't get his way, Josh can be a bit of a handful," my father explained.

"Maybe he wants you to think he's run away from home," I suggested. "He's done it before."

Again I got that look from my mother and I knew to not offer any more suggestions.

"Perhaps he just went exploring and got a little turned around," Mr. Dawes supplied. He stepped from the front step, pocketing the keys, he pulled his dark broad brimmed hat from a back pocket and tugged it firmly onto his head. "Why don't we take the cars and just have a look through the neighborhood."

"That's a good idea," stated my father with a slight nod of his head.

Mr. Dawes passed by me as he move towards his car. I felt that same chill again and I could smell him, as if a breath of cold air followed him out of the house.

"Would you like to ride with me, Amanda?" he said with a that same old grin.

I tried to smile politely, saying, "no thank you," as I held back the bile and the equally acidic words I was really thinking.

I climbed into mom's sedan, she at the wheel, and my father squeezed into the passenger seat. Mr. Dawes crawled into his own car alone. Pulling out of the drive, we headed down the street in silence, each of us scanning the neighborhood for any sign of Josh or PD. Each house we passed seemed as old as the one we had just looked at, but most were in a bit better repair, each brightly painted with tidy, trimmed lawns.

I didn't see another person out. A few cars were parked in driveways and curbside, but no one seemed to be about. A small town like this, perhaps there wasn't much to do, or everyone was huddled in some overstuffed church for some day-long sermon. But it was certainly quiet. Nothing moved save the massive trees in each yard that stretched over roofs and arched over the road, ensuring there was ample shade if the sun ever came out in Dark Falls.

Maybe that's why they call it Dark Falls, I thought.

"Where is he?" Dad muttered to himself as he stared intently out of the windshield.

"I will kill him," my mother cursed. "I really will."

The phrase seemed less and less threatening the more I heard her say it over the years. We circled the block twice before heading down the next set of streets.

"There is the school," my father pointed out. I followed his finger to a large redbrick building that looked like a dictionary illustration of a school. It was archaic, with white columns on each side of its wide entrance. An American flag hung limply on the flagpole next to aged block letters on the side of the building proclaiming that it was in fact a "school". Or should I say a "schol" as one of the vowels was mysteriously absent. My eyes searched the fenced-in playground beside the school as we drove past, but it too was empty. Not a person in sight, least of all, Josh.

"Could Josh have walked this far?" my mother wondered.

"Josh doesn't walk," Dad replied, rolling his eyes. "He runs."

"We'll find him," I tried to assure them.

We turned a corner onto another tree shaded block. A weathered street sign proclaimed it to be "Cemetery Drive", and sure enough, it didn't lie. A large cemetery appeared ahead, granite headstones jutted up like white teeth along the hill surrounded my more sprawling trees. This town certainly didn't lack for old gnarled trees that look like they were drawn with a thin brush during a seizure, branches twisting and flicking out in every direction. A few shrubs filled in the empty spaces between the graves, showing the hallowed grounds age, as it was far from the well tended clean lawns of a currently used graveyard.

As we drove past, I stared into the twisting labyrinth of tombstones, and realized it was one of the brightest spots I had seen in Dark Falls. It was like a beam of pure sunlight struggled its way through the blanket of grey clouds and managed to actually shine there. The only ray of sunshine in the whole town was on a bunch of corpses.

That's when I saw something moving amongst the headstones. Was it that blond boy again? My mind suddenly panicked. No, it was Josh!

"There he is!" I shouted from the backseat, pointing at the graveyard.

My mother pulled over and we all piled out. "Oh thank God," she said.

"What is he doing all the way out here?" my father added.

I stepped away from the car, onto the grass of the hill and called to him. He didn't seem to react to my shouts, he was too preoccupied with running. Why was he running? It was like he was ducking and dodging between the graves. Like he was running from something!

As I ran down the hill towards him, I stopped to see what would be chasing my little brother through a cemetery.

I breathed a sigh of relief when I saw that he wasn't running from something. He was running after something. A white blur moved between the headstones ahead of Josh. Of course, it was PD. The dog finally stopped running in the middle of the graveyard, giving Josh the opportunity to scoop him up. My brother then noticed me shouting his name, and turned toward us.

Josh got quite a tongue lashing from both of my parents as they shoved him and the dog into the sedan. Their lecture didn't end, but was merely put on pause as we pulled up to the office of Mr. Dawes after following him back into the town center. Josh was full of excuses, of course.

"PD got free of his collar!" he exclaimed. "He ran off down the road and I had to catch him! I didn't know he was going to run so far!"

But my parents weren't hearing any of it. Mr. Dawes stepped up to the car, my mother silencing Josh with the wave of her hand as he rolled down the window.

"Can you get back to the highway alright from here?" the old man asked.

"Yes, I believe so," my mother replied calmly. "And thank you again for helping us look for Josh."

"It's no problem, ma'am," Mr. Dawes leaned in toward the open window to get a better look at the boy in the back seat. "It's easy to get turned around here."

He reached into a leather portfolio case at his side and pulled out a folder of papers. My mother graciously accepted them, passing them over to her husband. "Oh yes, I almost forgot. Thank you. We will look these over and get back to you within the week."

"That would be just fine." He patted the car door as he leaned back. "Have a safe drive now."

Mr. Dawes stepped up onto the sidewalk, standing next to the glass front of his realtor offices, the painted glass proclaiming, "Dark Falls Realty, Offices of Compton Dawes." My father rolled down the window on his side, pointing out the sign.

"Compton Dawes. Now that is an interesting name." My father the writer, no doubt the wheels were turning in his head, recording the name to use in some later project. "Family name?"

Mr. Dawes shook his head gently. "Nope. I'm the only one as far as I know. No idea where it comes from, always figured maybe my parents didn't know how to spell Charlie." That grin again.

My father still laughed at his terrible joke as we pulled away from the curb.

Josh's lecture seemed to continue right where it left off. As we pulled out of the town, swinging once more by the old house one last time before we headed toward the highway. I looked out the window at the dark house, shaded by those sinister trees. And for just a moment I thought I saw the boy again in the window. The big bay window of my new room. I blinked and he was gone. It had been a long day and I was probably just seeing things. My parents slowly quieted down as Dark Falls fell away behind us and the excitement of the day caught up with everyone in the backseat as soon Josh and PD were fast asleep, and I wasn't long behind them.