Stay Out of the Room

Bryan Renolds crawled down the cold subdivision street of Royal Falls, and for the umpteenth time; cursed the cold climate of the state of Washington.

But in retrospect he had no right to be complaining. If it wasn't for his friend, Jerry, letting him live with him while he worked in the mill, he would more than likely be doing the dead man's float in some lake in California.

But then again, at least he'd die warm. This cold felt likely to do him in before he got to Jerry's.

Bryan made another turn and continued down the subdivision maze.

How can one place be so bleak…thought Bryan, looking around at the houses.

Something defiantly seemed off about this place. It was only about two years old according to what Bryan had read about it.

It seemed like it would be like your typical, northern, U.S.A Christmas town.

But now looking at it, Bryan noticed everything seemed rather…dull. Like something was zapping the color right out of the town.

The whole place; from the outskirts where he first entered the town limits, to the town center, to the back neighborhoods, looked like the tint was being sucked away.

In Bryan's mind, the place was decaying.

But again, Bryan had no room to complain. He had paid what he needed to that pimp Randall and gotten the hell out of dodge with his skin still intact.

And now he had a chance to maybe get started again. A few months in this frozen wasteland and then he'd move somewhere warmer.

Maybe Hawaii….

"JESUS!" screamed Bryan slamming on his brakes.

A sandy blond haired kid had slid down his drive way right into the path of Bryan's Mustang.

The tires screeched and luckily found some grip on the ice covered streets. The old Mustang spluttered to a stop, inches from the boy.

"Damnit Jeffrey, what the hell are you doing!?" yelled a portly lady bustling down to the sandy haired boy.

The kid was still looking blankly at the hood of Bryan's Mustang, the fact that he had almost been turned into a pancake probably just starting to catch up to him.

"What did I tell you about just riding your bike out into the street!?" screeched the larger woman. She almost took a spill on the curb but managed to catch herself on the Mustang.

She glanced at Bryan, who realized he was still tensed up, his foot still trying to push the brakes through the floorboard.

"What were you thinking Jeffrey?" screeched the woman.

"It wasn't my fault," whined Jeffrey. "Greg pushed me!"

Bryan noticed the identical sandy haired boy standing at the threshold of the garage.

"NUH-UH!" denied Greg.

"I don't give a hoot, now get your little butts back inside," growled the mother.

Jeffrey and Greg obeyed immediately.

"Terribly sorry about that," said the woman, leaning over her belly to look through Bryan's passenger window. "Turn around for two seconds and look what happens…"

"N-no problem," wheezed Bryan, looking at how white his knuckles were.

The mom glanced at Bryan's back seat and noticed the suitcases and boxes in the back.

"Moving in somewhere?" she barked.

"Yeah…" muttered Bryan, stiffly peeling his fingers of his steering wheel . "Took a temporary job at the wood mill."

"Well nice meeting you. I'm Malinda." She offered him a pudgy hand.

Bryan took it and looked the woman over.

Red curly hair, sharp blue eyes, and the size of one of those manatees people in California wanted to save.

However, there was an unhealthy tinge to her skin. Like she was decaying like the town…except still moving around.

Probably because the sun never shines here…thought Bryan. He chuckled to himself.

"Bryan," he said introducing himself.

"How long you been in town?" she asked nonchalantly, but Bryan noticed her blue eyes go steely and scan his car again.

"Got in about two hours ago," said Bryan slowly, wondering if maybe his underwear had fallen out of his suitcase or if this lady just didn't like strangers. "I'm staying with a friend. Jerry Springer."

"Oh you're staying with Jerry," said Malinda, brightening a bit.

"Yes ma'am,"

"Well I think I should warn you though," said Malinda, her face seeming to almost go grayer. "I don't want to scare you off… But there's been some strange stuff going on around here lately."

"Strange stuff?" asked Bryan, raising an eyebrow.

Maybe it didn't snow yesterday…he thought. He chuckled to himself again.

"Yes," said Malinda briskly. "About a week and a half ago a boy went missing. So did a cop. Then, same week mind you, another boy goes missing. And his brother gets a little…touched in the head. Then, few days latter, another ones gone! Its not good, Mr. Bryan, no good at all."

"Well thank you very much," Bryan said, smiling politely. "I'll make sure to look after myself. In the meantime I don't suppose you could get me here could you?"

After Malinda had pointed the way for Bryan they said their good-byes and Bryan drove off.

"Hey, Bryan!" shouted Jerry.

Bryan hustled up the driveway, smiling at seeing his old college friend.

"Jerry, how's it going brother?"

Jerry laughed heartily and wrapped Bryan in a tight hug.

Jerry was a tall, wiry man. His dark brown hair was slicked back and his glasses rested easy on his face. He at least seemed to not be decaying with the rest of the town.

"It's going man, I'm glad you made it in one piece," said Jerry letting go of Bryan. "And you picked a good time to show up…"

"Going somewhere?" asked Bryan, looking at the small mountain of suitcases in the trunk of his SUV.

"Just got an emergency call from work, they need me in Montana tomorrow," sighed Jerry. "It's a pain in the ass but, I'd rather keep this job, know what I mean?"

"No problem man, I can hold down the fort until you get back," said Bryan.

"Thanks man. It's only for three days, so I figured you'd hold up alright. Let me just give you the lowdown on what you need to know."

"I'll be in the car dad," called a dull voice from behind them.

"Alright sport, we'll be off in a bit," called back Jerry. "My son Matt," he explained. "He's been….off for a while now. Some really unlucky stuff happening… I thought maybe he should get away for a while."

"Awe, poor kid," said Bryan, not at all put out that he would be alone. He didn't really like kids anyway…

"So, spare keys right here," said Jerry, putting the small key on the kitchen counter. "Fridge and pantry are stocked, you should be good there… Oh this is Winters." He softly pet the fluffy white cat that had joined them on the table.

Winters meowed, staring at Bryan with yellow eyes.

"What's up Winters," muttered Bryan.

Winters scampered away.

"If you could just feed him and water him if you think about it that would be helpful," Jerry said.

"Not a problem Jerry," Bryan said. "Thanks for letting me crash here."

"My pleasure Bryan," said Jerry. "I'll be seeing you around."

"So long," called Bryan, giving a half wave.

"Oh one more thing buddy," said Jerry, turning at the doorway. "The back bedroom. Down the hallway, last door on your right. Stay out of there alright? The door handle broke but don't go in there. It's...just stay out of there, alright?"

Jerry's face had gone white and he seemed genuinely terrified.

"Alright. Sure thing bud," said Bryan, eyebrow raised in confusion.

"Thanks Bryan. See you around," called Jerry. Then he was gone.

Bryan shook chuckled and shook his head. Just like having his own place.

Bryan explored the house a little bit, seeing the basement, large dining room, and bedrooms.

In the back hallway there was a door without a handle, just like Jerry said.

"Wonder what's in here…," muttered Bryan to himself. He was tempted to just push the door open to at least see what was in it.

Then the cat jumped down in front of the door and looked at Bryan with his bright yellow eyes.

They seemed to say, don't do it you idiot or I'm gonna tell on you.

"Dumb cat," muttered Bryan. He left the door alone.

He yawned widely and decided he would pack it in for the night.

It had been a long day.

When Bryan snapped out of bed he was first trying to figure out where he was.

When he finally had that established he tried to remember what the hell had just woken him up.

At first he thought it was maybe the cat looking up at him and his spot on the couch.

Then he heard the sound again.

BANG

"What the hell…?" Bryan got up sluggishly and stumbled his way down the hallway.

Had it come from down here…?

Bryan heard nothing as he stood there, listening hard for a follow up of the noise.

"Huh…," grunted Bryan, going back to his couch.

Probably just a car back-firing, he thought dully.

He noticed the clock read five a.m.

Bryan cursed dully. It was time for the first day of work.

By the end of the day, Bryan decided he really hated wood mills.

Depending on what job you were doing, you were blistering hot or freezing your ass off. There was the constant danger that you would be crushed or lose a digit to the saws. And the work was just so damn boring.

"Why did I move here again?" he asked the empty house.

Winters meowed on the counter.

"Thank you, Winters," muttered Bryan. "Now get off the damn counter, I'm starving."

Bryan spent the rest of the night snacking, watching TV, and smoking on the couch. It was a good night in his books.

However, right before bed, Bryan heard something again; just like this morning.

BANG

Bryan's head snapped around, unable to discern if the noise had come from the TV, outside, or inside the house.

"What the hell is that?" he fumed, thumping back down the hallway. One again he only heard continuing silence.

"Must be going nuts…," grumbled Bryan, and he headed off to sleep.

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Bryan jumped off the couch and bounded down the hallway.

"Alright, what the hell…!?"

Bryan threw open the front door and looked outside.

There were no cars and Bryan didn't see anyone that looked like they were causing trouble.

Grumbling curses Bryan looked at the clock.

It was two o'clock in the morning.

"Son of a-…," grumbled Bryan.

He stumbled back to bed, but found he couldn't sleep the rest of the night.

The following day, was not a good one for Bryan.

The loss of sleep had messed with him all day, almost resulting in the loss of his hands multiple times, and causing enough stress that he smoked a whole carton of his Marlbolo's before he went home.

Unable to stay in the house because he wasn't sure if he would start hearing that banging sound again, Bryan walked around neighborhood lost in his own thoughts.

As he made his way back around to Jerry's house he saw the first teenager since he had gotten to Royal Falls.

Some kid in all black clothes was sitting alone on a park bench, across the street from Jerry's house.

For some reason Bryan felt compelled to sit with the lonely kid, so he walked over there.

"Mind if I sit?" he asked.

The kid shook his head, his eyes not bothering to stray from whatever he was looking at.

Bryan sat and took a closer look at the kid.

The kid himself was pale; his hair dark and nicely done. His clothes were somewhat of an oddity for teenagers.

His shirt was long sleeved and collared, with a design of a pair of black wings on the back. His pants were nice, as were his shoes.

Not your typical teen…thought Bryan dully.

"You live around here?" asked Bryan.

The kid simply nodded, still not looking at Bryan.

"What are you doing over here?"

This time the kid turned and looked at him.

Bryan was startled by the hardness in the kids mud colored eyes and started wondering why he was over here.

The kid never answered Bryan's question. Just looked at him.

"Well you know I gotta get going myself," said Bryan. "Take care kid."

When Bryan got to the front door he looked back at the bench. The kid was still there, and the kid was still looking at him.

"What the hell is wrong with this town?" muttered Bryan.

This time Bryan was not woken up by the customary bang.

Tonight what woke Bryan was the yowling of a cat.

"What the-," muttered Bryan. He once again lumbered down the hall.

He went to open the door where the cat was screaming from and found the door didn't have a door handle.

"Shit…," muttered Bryan. Deciding he would just get the cat and get out, he pushed open the door.

The room was dark and dominated by a giant bed in the middle of the room. The only other thing in the room was a dresser.

It was here that Winters seemed to be having problems.

Bryan fumbled around in the dark, and found the cat had somehow gotten its tale stuck in a drawer.

"Dumb cat," Bryan mumbled, releasing Winter's tail.

Winters scurried off, meowing in indignation.

Bryan sighed and rubbed his temples sleepily.

He sat down on the bed.

God this is soft…

He felt the darkness take over…

Bryan snapped awake from the dull buzz of his cell phone in his pocket.

Sunlight was streaming through the curtains, lighting up the bedroom in a wintry light.

Bryan had forgotten he had moved last night…

It happened to be Jerry calling him.

"Hey dude, what's up," Bryan answered the phone.

"Hey Bryan, how's the home front," asked Jerry.

"Not too bad," said Bryan. "This town's a little strange… And we had a little scare last night. But otherwise it's all good here."

"Scare?" asked Jerry.

"Yeah Winters was throwing a fit last night. Turns out he somehow managed to close his tail in one of your dresser drawers," Bryan explained, shaking off the sleep.

There was a pause on the other end of the line.

"You went in the room?" Jerry asked slowly.

"Yeah your cat was got stuck. And then I kind of just fell asleep in here, I was so tired. Sorry man," Bryan said, slapping himself in the face.

Stupid, should've gone back to the couch…he thought dully.

The other line seemed to have gone dead.

"You still there Jerry?" asked Bryan.

"Your still in the room?" asked Jerry stiffly.

"Yeah, like I said sorry man.."

"Shit…" breathed Jerry. "Oh, shit man you need to get out of there."

"Dude, what's up, it's just a room. There isn't even anything in here," Bryan said, annoyed.

"Bryan, just get the hell out of that room!" said Jerry heatedly. "Fast!!"

"Alright, alright, I'm going," muttered Bryan, swinging his legs over the bed.

As he stood up two hands came out from under the bed.

The hands looked decayed, but were massive and strong. When they squeezed a hold of Bryan, he felt a break in his bones.

"OH MY GOD!!!" he screamed, the pain immediate.

The pair of hands pulled and Bryan smashed face first into the carpet.

With one more tug Bryan was pulled under the bed, still screaming.

And then his screams were cut off.

"BRYAN!" screamed Jerry on the other line. "BRYAN ARE YOU THERE?! BYRAN!"

On the dresser Winters hissed at a pair of yellow eyes staring back at him from under the bed.