CHAPTER 6: A Simple Explanation?

"The first occupants of your house were an elderly couple." Herbert continued as Ed listened intently. "They passed away of natural causes just a week apart from each other. Then the next occupants were a family of four…one boy, one girl."

Ed nodded. "And…what happened to them?"

"What happened to them was…" He took a long sip of his Coke. "…the kids grew up, moved away, and eventually the parents followed. They're all still alive, I checked."

Ed blinked in surprise. "…and then what?"

"And then you guys came along."

"So you mean to tell me that NOTHING bad happened in my house?!"

Herbert ran his fingers through his hair. "You know, most people would be happy to hear this news."

"Herb, we're back to square one here!"

"Not necessarily, it just means that whatever went wrong in your house happened very recently."

"Well how recently? We just moved into the freakin' place a month ago, how could something happen betwe-"

"Wait, wait, back up." Herbert put his hand up. "I just thought of something. You found these reels after everything was unpacked."

"Yeah."

"So these…death videos…could have come from your old house?"

"They might've…I wasn't the one who packed them all, the girls did. I just arranged them once they made it here."

Herbert sighed. "This information could have been helpful a little earlier, Ed…"

"Hey, I didn't start seeing this shit until I moved, I just thought it had something to do with the house!"

"All right, all right, look…" Herbert pushed a legal pad to Ed. "Write down all the information about the house you lived in before. Everything. The dates you lived there, the dates you moved out, the guy you bought the house from…"

Ed nodded as he hurriedly scribbled out his old house's details. "You'll probably know more about that house than I do after this!"

"You never researched it?"

"I got it pretty cheap about a year ago…I never questioned why it sold for so little. A house is a house, that's what I told the realtor."

Herbert bit his lip. "This is ringing all kinds of alarm bells here. If what's going on has something to do with that house, you may have put yourself in really hot water. Ed, you may be days away from something really bad."

"All right, all right, I get that I screwed up. But this can all be fixed, right?"

"We'll see about that." Herbert looked over the address on the legal pad. "Well, it won't be too hard to get information, your old house is just across the state. I'm going to stay here until I get information, Ed. I will call you when I learn something, so stay alert."

Ed's drive back home was uneventful. He parked his BMW, seeing Stacy get off her bike, taking her sparkly purple bike helmet off. She wore a light pink shirt and overalls. "Hi daddy! How did work go?"

"It went well…" He got out of his car and waved. "How was school?"

"I was the only one who got a perfect score on the division test!"

"Sounds like you're a natural at it!" Ed hugged her. "I'm so proud of you, Stacy. You've made me very happy…and believe me, I needed something to be happy about!" He made his way inside and saw Marnie in the kitchen, dressed in a white shirt decorated with a blue and purple paisley pattern.

"Marnie…"

Marnie turned around and looked at Ed, noticing the look of nervousness on his face. "What?"

"I'm so sorry about last night…about this whole week…I don't know what's been wrong with me lately. I've been so out of it lately."

"That's an understatement." Marnie nodded. "Well, I'm glad you apologized. Are you feeling any better now?"

"Not really…"

"Well, it's the weekend now, you'll have some time to unwind and take your mind off your troubles."

Ed nodded. "That would be nice."

Back at Cameron-Muller, Herbert pored over the notes. He had called the real estate company who had sold Ed his house the year before, and they had told him they would have to find the specific agent who sold it. Herbert tapped his finger on the desk; what was taking them so long, it had been a half-hour…

"Hey there!"

Herbert looked up to see Antoin in a purple polo, Cameron-Muller mug in hand. "Working late, Herb?"

"Um, yeah Antoin! Not much longer though! I just want to make sure I do a good job."

"Try not to worry yourself too much, now! We need you on your best, Herb. We can't afford to lose you!"

Antoin walked away, leaving Herbert staring at the telephone. He expected the call back any moment now…

RIIIIIING!

There it was. Herbert hurriedly picked up the phone. "Cameron-Muller, this is Herbert Stelson speaking!"

"Hey Herbert!" A Hispanic-accented voice answered. "It's Doug Ortega. I'm returning your call about the house."

Herbert nodded; the call he had been waiting for. "Yes. So did anything strange happen there?"

"Actually, yeah! I remember it took years to sell the house…I finally found a buyer late last year. It had a pretty big stigma attached to it…I wanted to tell the guy about what happened, but he said he didn't care. 'A house was a house', that's the exact words he told me."

And the exact words Ed said to Herbert. "OK then…so what exactly was the stigma?"

"I won't beat around the bush here. There was a murder there."

Herbert's heart sank. "A…murder?"

"Yeah, it was really vicious too! This family of four…it happened-"

"Shortly after they moved in." Herbert cut in.

"Actually, yeah, yeah it did!"

"And was there a symbol painted at the crime scene?"

"Uh…yeah…wait, if you knew all this already, why did you call me?!"

"No time to explain, thanks Doug!" Herbert threw the receiver, then hurriedly tried to dial Ed's number…

Lucy was sitting on the kitchen chair, twirling the phone cord around her finger as she talked away. Today she wore an electric blue shirt and jeans. "Yeah, Luke dropped another beaker in science! Can you believe-"

"Talking to Allison again?" Stacy had snuck up behind her; Lucy was startled to hear her sister's voice.

"Hold on!" Lucy turned to her sister and nodded. "Uh-huh! She's going to come over tomorrow!"

"Tell her I want to meet her in the backyard."

"You hear that? All right!" Lucy turned to Stacy, a smile on her face. "You'll like Allison. She's super nice!"

Stacy smiled. "It's nice making new friends."

Herbert threw down the receiver. Busy. Dammit. Herbert bit his tongue; he HAD to get over there himself to warn Ed. Get him and his family the hell out of that house before any more hell came down on them. He ran out the door of his office to the stairs, nearly barreling into Antoin.

"Whoa, what's the rush, Herb?"

"Did Ed go straight home?"

"Far as I know…why?"

Herbert didn't answer, just ran down the stairs, practically jumping into his white VW Beetle. Herbert's hands shook as he turned the key and quickly backed out of his parking space. He floored the accelerator and drove out, going about 10 miles over the speed limit. Herbert's heart was pounding; he knew he was breaking all kinds of laws, and frankly he didn't care. If he wasted any more minutes, it could be too late. He swerved in and out of traffic, cutting off everyone on the road. Herbert could hear honking, screaming and cursing behind him, but he ignored them all. Herbert's eyes went upward to see a red light…he hadn't even noticed one was coming. He kept his foot on the gas, hoping maybe if he went fast enough he could get through it with no trouble.

HONK!

Herbert looked out the left to see a red Jeep Cherokee…and he was driving directly into its path. He barely had enough time to smash the brakes as the SUV closed in…

Ed looked at the kitchen phone; he had spent the past couple hours sitting next to it. Except for some drunk guy who tried to order a pizza, he got no calls whatsoever. Darkness was beginning to fall, and he could hear Wheel of Fortune just beginning. If Herbert had found something, it definitely wasn't significant. He left the kitchen and entered the living room. Marnie was sitting on the couch, holding a bottle of beer in one hand and a can of Pepsi in the other.

"Marnie…"

Marnie looked up from the TV to see Ed, noticing the look of nervousness on his face. "Ed, is everything OK?"

"Yeah…I was just expecting a call that never came."

"Think of it as a blessing! You needed a break anyway! Come on…" Marnie patted the couch cushion next to her. "Sit down with me and relax."

She kept telling him to relax…he wished he could. He sat down, still feeling a bit pensive. Marnie handed him the beer, and he readily took a swig. "This is your only one, OK Ed?"

"All right…only one."

The two of them sat in silence watching the show. As a commercial came on, Ed saw Lucy descend the stairs and come into the living room, glass of water in hand. She sat down quietly and sipped.

"Hey Lucy!" Ed tried to start some conversation. "I heard your friend was coming over!"

"Yep. She's gonna meet me in the backyard."

"That sounds like it'll be fun!" Marnie smiled. "Hey, maybe your father can grill us up some burgers!"

"Um…sure." It would certainly be a better barbecue than that 70's family had.

"Dad? Sorry I snuck downstairs last night." Lucy looked a little upset. "I shouldn't have done that, I know you've been having trouble sleeping lately…"

Ed smiled back. "It's OK, Lucy. Everything's fine now. There won't be any arguing or hard feelings…just a nice, quiet, relaxing night with my family."

"Awesome!" Lucy got up from the couch just as the show came back on. "Love you guys…be right back!"

The two sat, watching the contestants spin away. After a few turns Ed heard the front door open, and in walked Stacy. She sat next to Marnie, smiling. "It's a pretty night, isn't it?"

"Yeah, it's pretty nice out!" Marnie took another sip of her soda.

Stacy scooted over Marnie's lap, next to Ed. Ed put his arm around his daughter. "Ahh, this is just what I needed…" Ed turned to see Lucy was now in the recliner, slumped over. "Is Lucy all right?"

"She had to take a nap." Stacy looked at Ed lovingly. "I think you should get some rest too. Mom told me what's been happening to you!"

Ed looked down at his beer, and gave a small chuckle. "Maybe after the show's over. I really shouldn't have even drank this. I don't want to be seeing things again."

"Just stop at one, daddy!" Stacy smiled. "One is all you really need!"

"It was Stacy's idea to let you have just that one, Ed, so be thankful!" Marnie smiled at Ed as she drank the last of her Pepsi.

"Thank you, honey!" He gave the OK sign to his daughter. "I just need to remember that all this weird stuff is all in my head!"

"It's not in your head." Stacy interjected. "Yet."

Marnie looked at Stacy, confused. "Honey, what dooo yooooou meeee…" Her words suddenly started to slur, her head beginning to sway. Her grip on the soda can became weak, and it fell to the floor. She flopped backwards onto the couch, closing her eyes. As she did, Ed saw white foam trickle from the corner of her mouth. He looked down at the soda can Marnie dropped; he could see something green and glowing oozing out of it. He looked over at Lucy; white foam was beginning to ooze from her mouth too. Ed turned back at Stacy, whose smile had turned to a more somber expression.

"I saw the videos long before you did, daddy. It was nice seeing the old house one more time." Stacy kissed him on the cheek. "You're really starting to look awful. Maybe you need some fresh air."

Ed was taken aback by her comment. Before he could respond, he noticed his daughter's face beginning to blur. He looked down his beer bottle, seeing the same green glow on the bottom of it. His eyes darted over to the television, the spinning wheel becoming nothing but an unfocused rainbow, the sounds seeming so distant and muffled. He got up, only to crumple to the floor, unable to move. While the figures were blurry, Ed thought he saw the two ghostly boys walk into the living room before he lost consciousness.

Ed slowly opened his eyes, unsure of exactly how much time had passed. He noticed he was no longer in his living room; instead Ed was outside, in the backyard, staring up into the night sky. It was raining hard. He was still dazed, but aware enough to notice his legs had been tied together. He tried moving his arms…no good, his hands were tied behind his neck, his arms arranged in such a way that his elbows touched the top of his head. He tried to open his mouth, but it was taped shut. Ed slowly turned his head to the right; Marnie had been given the same treatment. He turned his head to the left to see Lucy, who too had been tied up. Bughuul was standing nearby, watching intently. Stacy was nowhere to be seen. He thought about struggling out of his bonds, but he was too groggy; it took a great deal of effort just to move his head. Ed wondered if he was going to lay there forever.

Then he heard a noise.

Ed slowly turned his head to the right again to see the source of this noise…his lawnmower, being pushed by someone. He had a feeling he knew who was pushing it, but the darkness prevented him from telling too many features. The figure held out a flashlight, illuminating the ground in front of the mower. As it approached, Ed realized the mower was headed right for Marnie's head. He tried to scream, to get her to move, but nothing came out. Marnie seemed frozen in place, and didn't even try to avoid the oncoming mower. Ed watched helplessly as the mower ran over her, noisily shredding her face into bits of blood and bone. The person pushing went back and forth, spraying the yard with bloody chunks of meat. Then the person backed up, seemingly to admire their handiwork. Everything from Marnie's breastbone on up was a hacked up mess, the lawn now covered in red. Most of Marnie's neck was gone, only the bloodied vertebrae remained. The skin on her face had been shredded way, leaving Marnie's skull exposed and one of her eyeballs sliced open.

The mower lurched forward, now heading straight for Ed. Try as he might, he simply could not find the energy to move. All Ed did was look up at the mower, and the person pushing it. Now that it was close enough he could finally see who it was.

It was Stacy, dressed in a raincoat, a blank expression on her face. She was holding the flashlight and mower with one hand as the other held the Super 8 camera. Ed looked at his daughter dejectedly; his worst fear had been confirmed. Unable to move, all Ed could do was stare as he heard the roar of the mower approach.

Then all Ed could see was silver.

Then red.

Then nothing.