2015
"Edward kept me safe when the other ghosts came inside the house," Taylor says, smiling a little when she remembers the way his eyes had softened. They were dark brown like her daddy's and stood out against the white pallor of his skin. "Aunt Shel, Lee, and me were stuck in the basement and that's where he found us."
"What happened before that, Taylor," Sidney asks with his Hollywood Smile. It looks as fake as the rest of him and his assistant seems like the only person on his crew that doesn't suck. Diana is nice and pretty, and she likes to sneak cookies inside the interview room during the breaks.
"The nurses threatened to kill me during the full moon. The skinny one said she was gonna hang me up by my ankles and cut me."
"What," Nico asks, eyes wide as he stares down at her. Taylor just shrugs off his response, trying not to focus too much on how scared she had been.
"I was yanked out of bed by my hair and then I started to run away from them. That's when I met Lee and Aunt Shelby downstairs, they looked even more scared than I did. You see, there were weird noises coming from the basement and Lee likes to investigate things; she's even braver than Velma."
2014
Taylor doesn't look away from her Playdough when she hears everyone coming into the house, focusing on making a hat for one of her Polly Pockets. "Taylor," Matt prompts when they come into the living room," say hi to Lee."
"Hi, Lee," Taylor mumbles distractedly. Lee is Uncle Matt's sister and she'll be staying around until Daddy gets here, but that doesn't mean Taylor is happy about it. Lee always snaps at Shel and gives her dirty looks when she isn't looking, which usually leads to Taylor getting in trouble for saying rude things. "Aunt Shel, can you help me with this?"
"Sure thing," Shelby smiles, coming to kneel in front of the coffee table. "What do you need?"
"I can't make a flower for the hat."
"Let's see here…." Shel takes an itty-bitty amount of pink Playdough and one of the plastic knives that came with the set, carefully cutting until she has a perfect circle. "And now comes the fun part. You make it completely flat and cut a few lines just like this." Taylor leans in close to see how her aunt is doing it, watching as she uses the tip of the knife to make the edges of the flower petals round. "And voila!"
"Thanks, Aunt Shel."
"You're very welcome, Tay." Taylor picks the new flower up, careful not to squish it as she lays it down on the little hat, using part of a toothpick to pin it in place. "That's really cute."
"Daddy taught me how to do it before I left. He said everyone should have a nice hat even dollies."
"Your daddy was right." Taylor smiles as she gently sets the hat on the blonde doll's head, an almost perfect fit, though it's a little large on her. "What's this one's name?"
"Tabitha." Taylor doesn't notice the way Shelby's smile dims or the way her shoulders tense up, the older blonde not liking the name in the slightest.
"W-where'd you come up with that name?"
"I heard Mommy saying it last Halloween and I liked it. It's a pretty name, huh?"
"Yes, of course it is." And the subject is dropped, but now Taylor can feel how stiff her aunt is next to her.
"Are you okay, Aunt Shel?"
"I'm fine. Um, I'm gonna go find Matt and see if he's staying for supper." Taylor nods, watching as her aunt takes the stairs two at a time like she can't wait to get away. Taylor doesn't see what the big deal is, it's not like they know anyone with that name anyway. Shrugging, she grabs another doll and props her up against the empty box her Playdough came in, using some string and a marker to measure her head.
That's how she spends the next hour, making hats while Lee and Matt talk about their mom and Shel flips through one of her cookbooks. She doesn't have very many and half of them were from the boxes that Daddy has sent over the last week, but she likes looking at Mommy's handwriting and so does Taylor at nighttime.
By the time Matt says his goodbyes and leaves, Shelby is already in the kitchen preparing dinner while Taylor stays in the living room with the TV on. Aunt Shel says TV rots your brain, so Taylor doesn't get to watch it that much and she's taking advantage of the fact she has a broken arm and can't play much.
"Don't you have something better to watch," Lee complains. "Like Batman?"
"Rugrats is better," Taylor replies, munching on some cucumber slices," and Reptar could totally step on Batman." Lee scoffs and walks off to the kitchen, Shel beginning to yell a second later. Taylor rolls her eyes, snuggling down further on the couch and watching as Tommy and the other babies run away from the big dinosaur.
You know how in bad dreams when you see something scary, you can't scream? It's like it's stuck in your throat and all that comes out is a hoarse sound? That's how Taylor is feeling as she stares up at the two women in her room, taking in the nurses' uniforms they have on and the sharpened knives in their hands. They're smiling but look more like the witch in the gingerbread house than nice people.
"Aunt Shel," Taylor whimpers, clutching her teddy bear fearfully. "Lee?" Tears sting her eyes and her throat feels tight, like her fear is attempting to strangle her. She just wants to get up and run out of the room, but she can't move, she's afraid the women will get her if she leaves the safety of her bed.
Isn't that how it always went? Wasn't there always some hidden monster under the bed just waiting to grab the ankles of little kids and pull them down into their lair?
"What's her name start with," the chubby one asks, head tilted to the side.
"T," the other states with a frown. "T for termite. She's completely useless for us."
"I've never killed a little kid before. Do you think it's different than adults and old people?" The chubby one's smile widens, her teeth too white and too sharp in the darkness. They're only illuminated by Taylor's nightlight, the pinks and purples not doing much to help Taylor see them better. "I'll bet she squeals like a little piglet."
"Maybe we'll find out soon." The skinny one bends down and grabs a handful of Taylor's hair, wrenching her off the bed and to the floor with a shout. "As soon as the moon is full," she snarls," I'm going to string you up by your ankles, cut you open, and see what falls out."
That's enough to break the spell, Taylor sprinting down the stairs and screaming for her aunt. Lee snatching her up without warning only makes her scream louder, but a warm hand cups her cheek and she recognizes the scent of vanilla lotion her aunt is fond of using.
"Are you okay," Lee demands in a whisper. "What happened?" Taylor wants to tell the truth, wants to tell them that they should all get out of the house, but the tears are coming too fast and her sobs won't stop.
"Here, let me have her." Shelby takes Taylor from Lee and holds her tightly, though it isn't easy since Taylor isn't a toddler anymore. She's a big girl and she's certainly getting heavy.
"Stay up here while I go check out those noises."
"Not happening."
"Look, the baby is obviously upset and I doubt following after an intruder is goin' to calm her down any."
"And if one of them is up here? What, you think I'm strong enough to actually hold them off? I may do a lot of Yoga, but I've got the bravery of Scooby-Doo and the fighting experience to match." Lee gives her an unamused expression but says nothing more as they start for the door that leads to the basement. Now that Taylor is beginning to calm down, she can hear the sound of a man laughing, the noises growing louder when Lee opens the door. "Where's your gun?"
"Where it's supposed to be when there's a kid in the house, locked in a drawer upstairs." Lee is the first one to start down the stone steps, one hand holding tightly to the railing in case one of the steps is slick.
"Shouldn't we go and get it?"
"Do me a favor and shut the hole under your nose." Taylor is set on her feet once they reach the basement, the six year old hiding behind her aunt as Lee pulls a heavy-looking wrench out of an old tool chest. The room is mostly dark as they continue forward, only one overhead light, little more than a lamp, working; it casts an eerie glow in the large room, throwing most things into deep shadow. Edward would like it a lot down here.
"It's coming from the TV," Taylor whispers loudly, pointing one little finger at the big black box across the room. It isn't flat like she's used to and it's chunky, but it's working just fine and hooked up to what her daddy called a camcorder. The video playing on the screen is of someone running with the camcorder pointed at the ground, a man talking over it like in nature documentaries.
"It came back," the man behind the camcorder is panting, every sound seeming even louder as it echoes off the concrete walls around them. "I knew it was real!" The man is gasping and swinging his camera around wildly, zooming in on droplets of blood on dying grass and on the trees whenever he hears a noise. "It's close, I know it is." The camera is shaking again, blurring whatever comes on screen next, but then it evens out just enough for Taylor to see a man wearing a pig head.
"It's a monster," Taylor cries, turning and burying her face in her aunt's shirt. The Piggy Man lets out a loud shriek, like the ones they've all been hearing since their first night in the new house. It's loud and hurts Taylor's ears, and she's beginning to wonder if she will ever forget the noise. "Piggy Man's gonna get us!" Shelby wraps her arms around Taylor but stays quiet with her gaze focused on the dirty screen.
"Got you on camera," the man is saying, voice high. "You son of a bitch."
"What the hell was that thing," Shelby demands, voice tight with fear.
"I have no idea," Lee returns. The video ends, the sound of static not helping Taylor's nerves any. "Come on, let's get out of here." She turns and picks Taylor up, holding her on one hip while holding the wrench in her free hand. They barely get two feet away from the TV when the door slams shut with a bang, the light goes out, and the TV screen flickers off. The floorboards overhead are squeaking loudly, like an elephant is parading around the house.
"Someone's up there."
"Yeah, a lot of them goin' off that noise. Shit, get down."
"Why?"
"Someone just walked by that window." Lee nods towards the small, dust-covered window that leads outside, allowing only blurred reflections and not much else. "Taylor, honey, I want you to get under this table and make yourself real tiny, alright? Pretend you're a little mouse hiding from a kitty."
"Alright," she nods. She crawls past one of the wooden legs and curls up into a little ball, keeping her back to the others and the stairs. She tries her best to stay quiet, both hands pressed over her mouth as her aunt quietly begins to freak out. There's a couple of dull thuds and then a light illuminates their section of the room, low to the ground as it moves around. "What—?"
"It's okay, it's just our flashlight." Taylor nods and allows her gaze to wander around the room until she finds a pair of familiar shoes on the other side of the table. They're old and look girly, little two inch heels, and birdies painted along the soles of them. She shuffles closer to the feet, glancing past the stockings, breeches, and fancy tops until she can make out the ashen features of the ghost. Without any light on him, she can make out his high cheekbones and dark brown eyes as he kneels down in front of her.
"Easy, child," he tells her, reaching out to lay one gloved hand on top of her head. "Those blackguards won't be coming down here anytime soon. Rest and I will watch over you."
"You don't like me," she reminds him, voice too soft for the others to hear.
"I may have to make an exception before your time here is through." She gives him a small smile, glad to see what he looks like without the whole Jack Skellington illusion he has going on in daylight. "Sleep, and dream for me. There is a quote you should know while living here, written by a great man that aptly applies to my home. 'If we shadows have offended, think but this and all is mended, that you have but slumber'd here, while these visions did appear. And this weak and idle theme, no more yielding but a dream.'"
"I like that quote, it reminds me… Of the one…" She yawns and her eyes begin to close as he smooths down her hair. "My mommy said."
"Your mother had excellent taste, then." But Taylor doesn't hear him or anything else he says, sound asleep and safe in dreamland where the only thing she has to worry about is slaying dragons with her teddy bear fighting alongside her.
She doesn't stir as Lee picks her up and the woman is grateful that at least one of the blondes is quiet as they start back up the stairs. The door swings open easily and the house appears empty of intruders again, though what they left behind is disturbing on more levels than one. Little, straw dolls are suspended from the ceiling by rope, like Halloween decorations.
"Were we visited by the Children of the Corn or what," Lee demands irritably. She doesn't want to let on how much it scares her, especially because the webbing of string and dolls continues all the way up to the second floor's ceiling, where no one can reach even if they have help. It's impossible without a ladder and Lee certainly would've recognized that sound if there had been one used.
"How did they do all of this," Shelby asks from beside her.
"I don't know, don't really want to know either. Go and call the cops while I tuck Taylor back into bed." As Lee moves to stand in front of the steps, she finds one of the strings barring the way, reaching from one railing to the other with a doll in the middle. "Or I guess I'll put her on the couch."
"You don't have to worry about covering her up, she just kicks them off." Lee nods, carrying the little girl into the living room and depositing her on the small loveseat. She isn't overly fond of the kid, too spoiled for her liking, but she is a mother above all else and she can't resist tucking a lock of blonde hair behind Taylor's ear to keep it off her face.
"At least you're able to sleep," she says quietly, sitting by Taylor's feet. Lee will probably be awake for the rest of the night, trying to figure out when and how the intruders had got inside without anyone noticing. They're obviously skilled at it since they were able to roll that damn wine bottle into her room without alerting anyone else.
But something must have scared the baby.
Perhaps they had a ladder outside and had come in through Taylor's bedroom window? It would explain how they'd snuck past Shelby downstairs and why the kid was so frightened when she came running downstairs. There were two groups if that was the case, one working upstairs and the second coming in through the front door to set up the camcorder and TV.
Lee's train of thought is cut off by sirens, the flashing lights and noise a comfort after sitting in dark silence for thirty minutes or more. It had felt like hours down in the dank basement, but her internal clock is usually right in the long run. She lets Shelby lead the cops inside, not wanting to leave Taylor alone for too long in case someone is still inside. A six year old would put up less of a fight and be the easiest target, so Lee stays right beside her.
"You must be Mrs. Harris," the head honcho says as he walks into the room. He's big and white enough to almost glow in the dark, looking less than pleased to have been called from his cushy office in the middle of the night. "Think you can come out here and give me your statement?"
"Think you can come in here and get it," Lee shoots back, nodding at the slumbering form next to her. The cop frowns and comes in, sitting himself down on the coffee table like it's his God-given right to plant his ass anywhere he feels like it.
"Alright, start at when you noticed somethin' was wrong."
"It was eleven-thirty, I think, I was sleeping upstairs in the guest room—"
"You don't live here?"
"No, I'm just staying out here while my brother is away on business. Like I was saying, I was sleeping upstairs when I heard this howling noise, like someone was standing right outside my window with a bullhorn and an angry pig. I got up to look out the window and somebody rolled a wine bottle into my room."
"Why would they do that?"
"Because they're some kind of prick, I don't know." She takes a deep breath to steady her temper before continuing. "I thought Shelby was pulling some kind of prank on me at the time and went downstairs to confront her, but the front door started opening in the middle of our argument."
"So you and Mrs. Miller were fighting?"
"For a grand total of two and a half minutes, yes. I heard the door open and went to see who was walkin' in, heard some noises in the basement, and was gonna go down to investigate when Taylor here came sprinting down the stairs."
"She tell you why?"
"She was too upset to do anything other than cry, but there were no sounds upstairs. The way I figure it, someone was probably up there and scared her shitless. Either way, she came running down the stairs and I handed her off to my sister-in-law to calm her down. After that, we all went down the stairs and found some sick homemade video of a crazy guy running through the woods."
"Do you still have it?"
"Yeah, you're welcome to go get it from the basement. After the video ended, the door slammed shut, lights went out, and TV turned itself off before a ruckus started up here. Sounded like there was a party goin' on, people just stomping all over and running around the house. We were stuck down there for at least thirty minutes before everything quieted down again. Those creepy dolls were waiting for us when we got back upstairs and that's when I told Shelby to call you guys." The cop grunts, scribbling something down in his little notepad before standing again.
"Well, looks to me like it's vandalism. I'll write up a report when I get back to the station." Lee scowls as he goes down into the basement and she's still looking sour when Shelby comes in a moment later.
"That guy was a complete asshole."
"You should've seen how he was when the hillbillies tried to drown me in the hot tub," she grumbles in response.
The quote Edward uses is Puck's monologue from A Midsummer Nights Dream by Shakespeare.