Chapter 7: A Treacherous Crossing
Alyssa scarcely dared to breathe as she crept back down the stairs. The small sitting room was as quiet as before, but she kept glancing over her shoulder as she moved past the shadowy part of the room and started down the next flight of stairs.
She felt better once she was back in the hallway again, where there were no dark corners for anyone to hide in. Her view of the door that led back into the auditorium was bright and clear, and she quickened her pace as she went to open it.
She suddenly paused, her hand outstretched. Had she closed it earlier? She couldn't remember. She was pretty sure she hadn't, but she hadn't really been paying attention, either. Maybe even when she was facing great peril she was still unconsciously being tidy, thanks to the manners drilled into her by her mother and teachers.
She was still trying to build up the courage to open the door when someone else did it for her, with enough force to crack the paint off the walls.
The edge of the door caught Alyssa's outstretched hand, making her jerk back with a shriek of pain and fear. She stumbled and fell back on her rear, and her monstrous pursuer laughed jovially as he twirled his hammer above his head. "Surprise!"
Something surged through Alyssa's core, but this time it wasn't fear. It was something hot and fierce, and she quite surprised to realize it was anger. She was angry at this being for getting so much pleasure from the suffering of others, and she yanked the bottle from her belt without hesitation.
Still sitting on the cool floor, she whipped the water at his head and scrambled to her feet as the droplets hit their mark. The inhuman creature recoiled with a pain-filled holler, clutching his face with his empty hand. Alyssa shoved him as hard as she could before hurtling through the door, slamming it behind her. Anything to slow him down...
Legs pumping, Alyssa made a beeline for the darkness. Her own eyes weren't adjusted yet and she nearly tripped over a row of seats, but the memory of him searching for her unsuccessfully in the darkened shop was fresh in her mind. Feeling her way along the row, she moved to the far end of the auditorium, where she crouched low behind one of the seats.
Lowering her head to the floor, she could see the side door between the chair legs. She knew she must have really been running, because her wildly beating heart managed another handful of thumps before the door crashed open. Her pursuer growled as he jumped through the opening and crouched low, snuffling the air like he had before. Alyssa drew in her gasping breath and held it, but she remained where she was.
What she wanted was to flee clear into the night, but that wouldn't get her anywhere. Something she needed was hidden here, and she wasn't going to leave until she found it. Her brief moment of anger was gone, however, and the familiar icy sense of fear was starting to creep over her again.
Alyssa hunkered lower and continued to watch as the murderer slunk up and down the rows of seats, grunting and muttering to himself under his breath. Alyssa expected him to yell out her name again, but he didn't.
He was getting awfully close to her hiding place, though, and her body tensed up as the urge to run grabbed hold of her. She forced the urge down, trying to keep her animalistic instincts for survival at bay as she slunk along the floor, keeping out of sight as she moved to another row of seats.
When she reached a spot that was about halfway between the stage and the exit behind her, she held still again and waited. She couldn't see him anymore, but she could hear him as he lumbered around in the darkness. He wasn't saying anything, but his movements alone sounded angry. She almost expected him to start smashing things.
The room suddenly went silent. With her hand over her mouth to keep back the sound of her breath, Alyssa risked a peek over the arm of the chair she was hiding behind. For a moment she saw nothing, but then the hulking figure suddenly vaulted up onto the stage. She quickly recoiled back into the shadows.
His back to her, the hammer-wielding maniac checked beneath the piano before moving to the back. As he peeked behind the curtain, Alyssa tensed again, realizing this was her chance.
It was risky, but if she ran hard enough, maybe she could reach the side door before he saw her. She wasn't sure what else lay inside the vast music hall, but she hoped she would at least find a better place to hide.
And then something happened she didn't expect. The killer grunted loudly, a sound of defeat, and disappeared. Alyssa stared, stunned, but couldn't deny what she had just seen. The strange being had up and vanished in a swirl of purple light.
Alyssa waited a little more, but then realized she needed to make the most of the time she had and stood from her hiding place. She expected the massive being to jump out at her as she crossed the room, but all was still as she returned to the space behind the curtain. Careful not to disturb the unfortunate soul still lying on the floor, Alyssa hurried to the back and pulled the lever.
Once the catwalk was securely in place again she hurried back to the stage. As she neared the steps she received a fright that almost caused her to trip and take a tumble off the side of the stage; May decided to start playing again.
After casting a saddened glance in the ghost-girl's direction, Alyssa hurried on and returned to the hallway. Since it was still too dark to explore the catwalk, she headed to the left side this time.
There was another set of double doors at the end, and Alyssa pushed the right-hand one open before cautiously peering into the next room.
The room was square-shaped, with more roped-off doors on one side and a winding set of stairs straight ahead of her. Everything seemed empty and quiet, so Alyssa stepped through the doorway and headed for the stairs.
She didn't hear a thing, but a sudden movement she caught a glimpse of behind the open door instinctively made her throw herself to her left as hard as she could. She fell to the floor and coiled herself against the wall, and the head of the giant hammer missed her legs by less than an inch. Chunks of marble crunched beneath her feet as Alyssa scrambled for the stairs, her attacker close at her heels.
"Get away from me!" she shrieked as she felt a gust against the back of her head that signaled the hammer was far too close this time.
"Just stop running, and I won't have to hurt you," the killer sneered.
That was the last thing she was going to do. As she neared the first landing, she reached down and pulled the bottle from her belt as she turned onto the next flight of stairs. Without stopping, she rotated her upper body just enough for her to fling a volley of water behind her.
The hulking being recoiled with pained yell, and Alyssa's feet pounded the checkered tile as she continued up the stairs. She reached a narrow landing that had another door at the end of it, and she flew through it and down the hall on the other side.
"Where are you?" the killer behind her bellowed.
Alyssa felt grim satisfaction at knowing that no matter how hard he tried to catch her, he was too bulky to catch up with her. If she could just find a place to hide before she was in his line of sight again...
Exactly what she was hoping for lay at the far end of the hallway, and with a fresh burst of speed Alyssa raced to the row of lockers lining the wall and yanked the closest one open. The narrow space inside was empty, giving her enough room to cram herself inside and close the thin door.
But once she was inside, she saw that it wasn't that great a place to hide after all. The door was flimsy, and there were three vent holes directly in front of her eyes. She hoped his vision was too poor to see her through the narrow slots, but she had her doubts.
On top of that, the door wouldn't stay shut. Alyssa felt ready to faint when it started to creak open—just as her hammer-carrying pursuer barreled through the door at the other end of the hall. Her fingers were like ice as she grappled for a way to hold it shut, but all she could find was the back of lock, which had a thin strip of metal that turned vertical when the door was unlocked and horizontal when it was locked. Alyssa clung to it with her fingertips as best she could as the one searching for her so relentlessly began stomping closer.
The locker door rattled a little as he drew near, and Alyssa was afraid it would pop right open. She wasn't sure what she would do if it did. She couldn't keep on shoving her way past him—he would snag her eventually.
"Damn it, where did you go now," the massive being grumbled, mostly to himself.
Alyssa ducked her head as best she could and held her breath again. She unconsciously shut her eyes, too, as she listened to the sounds of him moving around the hall. She heard him open another door, and his heavy footsteps gradually grew softer. When they faded away altogether, Alyssa sneaked a peek through the vents again.
There was a doorway to the left of her hiding place, and it seemed like the determined murderer had gone to investigate whatever was on the other side.
Her heart nearly stopped when he suddenly lumbered back into view, causing the wooden door to rattle violently on its hinges as his hammer smacked against it. The locker door rattled, too; Alyssa tightened her grip on the lock.
The hammer-wielder let out a frustrated grunt and was briefly surrounded with a circle of purple energy. When the colorful light faded, so did he.
Alyssa wondered just how he was doing that, but it explained how he was able to move around so quickly. As she crept back out of the locker, it dawned on her that she couldn't count on him staying in an area she left him behind in, or for him to follow the same path she had come from. He could easily pop up in front of her, even on the other side of locked doors, if he had some form of mystical travel at his disposal.
The thought left her feeling shaky, and she clutched her glass bottle tightly in her hands as she moved to the room connected to the hall. She passed through another seating area, one that looked down over a marble railing at the stage below. Alyssa cast a glance downward as she passed by; May was still perched on the bloodstained piano bench.
The sight made Alyssa strengthen her resolve, and she continued on with renewed determination. She came across another door that was roped off and decided to try out her manager's key, but it didn't fit. Moving on again, she passed through an unlocked door at the back of the rows of seats and mounted another set of stairs.
At the top was another hallway, with two sets of double doors on the left-hand side and another roped off door on the right. Alyssa tried the first set of double doors and discovered they were locked, and her key didn't work on them, either.
She had better luck with the next set of doors; one of them was already partway open. Alyssa looked carefully around before she dared step inside, but she didn't sense anyone nearby.
The room was was wide and long and appeared to be used for storage. There were instruments stacked everywhere, with everything from harps to drums to another grand piano. Behind the piano was another set of doors, and judging by the length of the room they were the same doors she had seen in the hall. Only with the piano and other instruments blocking her path, there was no way for her to reach them even if they weren't locked.
Moving carefully so not to knock anything over, Alyssa looked around the room for anything that might be useful. To her left was a clothes rack, with lovely gowns and other dress clothes that were probably used for performances.
As she was admiring them, a sound like a small pebble hitting the floor came from the back of the room. Frowning, Alyssa peered over the piano and saw what looked like a puff of white dust billowing from the wall.
An instant later the entire wall burst inward like it had exploded, and the grinning maniac came tearing into the room hammer first.
Alyssa was startled and frightened, but she was also annoyed; wasn't he ever going to give up?
"You're not getting away this time," the bulky killer snarled. He jumped on top of the piano, making it groan beneath his weight.
Alyssa tightened her grip on the glass bottle, but she withheld it for now as her eyes scanned her surroundings again. The instruments and boxes stacked next to the piano didn't look very sturdy, and she imagined if she knocked them over somehow...
Her gaze fell on a nearby violin case, and she quickly seized the handle and let it fly. The killer laughed as it sailed harmlessly over his head, but he let out a cry of shock a second later as the case struck the stack towering over his head, making it teeter and fall.
Alyssa had to back up as boxes, cases and instruments rolled everywhere, burying her attacker beneath an unpleasantly heavy pile. A cello tipped over and bumped against the rack of clothes, causing a jacket to slip off its hanger. It hit the floor with a metallic clunk.
Curious, and not afraid of being attacked at the moment, Alyssa bent and lifted the jacket. A shiny cigarette lighter slipped out of the pocket and landed on the floor with another clunk. Alyssa grabbed it with a sense of satisfaction; she had a way to light the lanterns now.
She returned to the ground floor in a hurry and made her way back to the catwalk. Moving quickly, she began lighting the darkened lanterns one by one. Once they were all lit, they cast a bright glow of candlelight that shone across the catwalk and the line of boards.
Alyssa checked the shelves first, but there wasn't anything there except nails, screws, and various bits of wire. Not ready to give up, she turned and inspected the rest of the catwalk, then looked out across the boards. She saw for the first time that they made a path to another section of catwalk, though she had a hard time believing that anyone could cross them safely.
But as she continued to look down their length, she realized that someone must have done it at least once; there was a bright red toolbox sitting on the far catwalk.
There, the voice inside her suddenly piped up.
With a look of disbelief on her face, Alyssa went over and poked the first board with her toe. The thin plank of wood shuttered a little.
"You've got to be kidding me."
The narrow board made a bridge from the catwalk to the first support beam, and another bridged that beam to the next one. There was a total of three boards, and not one of them looked safe to walk across.
You have to, the voice insisted.
The voice didn't speak to her with words exactly. It was more of a feeling, an instinct that had never spoken up before that now guided her actions firmly. Very firmly; Alyssa pictured herself walking safely out of the room, and she practically felt like there was a hand holding her in place.
"Don't be a coward. Poor May is dead, but you're still alive. You can't run away when you have the power to do something."
Several seconds ticked by before Alyssa realized that she had spoken these words out loud. As the looked down at the stage again, so far below, she remembered that helping May would also help herself. She was convinced that saving May was the only way to get back home.
Alyssa took several deep breaths to steady herself, but she still quivered with nerves as she stepped onto the first board. The narrowness of it forced her to put one foot in front of the other, and she felt like a tightrope walker as she put her arms out to steady herself.
The board wiggled and creaked, but it felt surprisingly firm and steady as she made her way across. It didn't feel like it was going to break, at least, but she knew it would probably tip if she moved too close to either side. As she neared the center, it occurred to her that this was just about the worst place to be when her pursuer caught up with her.
If that happened, she made up her mind to toss herself off the board to the stage below, just to keep him from having the satisfaction of capturing her and taking her to wherever it was he planned to take her. She might wind up a ghost on the bench next to May if she did, doomed to haunt the music hall forever. If she did, the first thing she would do would be to teach May a new song—a really annoying one. Something really grating that would chase away the sweaty lunatic but good.
The direction her thoughts were taking almost made Alyssa giggle; being up so high was making her silly. She quickly focused all her attention on her goal, keeping her eyes glued on the toolbox. She had almost reached the safety of the first support beam when the board suddenly wobbled sharply, making her teeter dangerously on one foot.
Alyssa's head swam and filled with a vision of her own death, but she managed to right herself again and practically hopped onto the safety of the support beam. She took a moment to steady herself again before continuing on.
She managed to make it across the second board without incident, but when she reached the third one, it shook so much she thought for sure that everything was over. But through sheer force of will and a lot of arm whirling, she stumbled through the final step and planted her feet on the safety of the metal catwalk. Her knees nearly buckled in relief.
Though she wanted to sit down and have a rest, she knew now wasn't the time, and she quickly opened the toolbox and began rummaging inside it. When her hand enclosed around one tool in particular, she knew she had found what she had been looking for.
After pocketing the tool, Alyssa turned and started the precarious return trip. Either because she had grown used to the height, or she was calmer now that she knew she was closer to saving May, the second walk across the boards wasn't as bad as the first, and she reached the other side about twice as quickly.
Her feet had barely touched the catwalk when a being built like a house came leaping through the open door with all the grace of a charging bull. A hammer bigger than her head pointed in her direction.
"Now," the grinning maniac hissed, "you have no where else to run."