In the Library by Kim Iverson

Author:Kim Iverson
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: holiday horror, novelette, christmas horror, ghost stories, ghost
Publisher: Kimberly Sue Iverson
Published: 2019-12-19T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Four

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?” Carl stood facing her, the warmth no longer in his voice.

Opal raised her hands. “What do you mean? Where I’ve always been.”

Carl thumped the book closed and frowned. “No, you haven’t. You didn’t come last time. Why?”

Fear froze her insides. “What? Yes, I did. I came last time like always. We had our time.”

Carl hadn’t begun to read again and caused her to widen her eyes. Was he not going to? She went to motion to the book when he grated, “Opal, the last time I spoke to you, you didn’t even answer my question.”

She stomped over to him, easing a hand over the book. “Carl,” the time was ticking away, “why are you not reading?”

“Tell me why you didn’t come,” he demanded, his voice stern, leaving no room for argument.

She stared into his eyes, trying to get him to see she was not lying. “I did. The last time I was here was when I was trying to find the book.”

At last he sighed and sat down. He opened the book and began to read from Moby Dick, just as she felt the first inklings of pain on her toes. Smelled the stench of skin burning. The pain dispersed and she breathed out. “Last year, you didn’t show. I was here, you weren’t.”

Opal’s eyes took in the room with a new fear. She’d never considered that one. When she turned back to him, he saw the pain in her face. “I swear . . . I didn’t know. I didn’t hear the clock.” Her fingers drifted to her lips. The clock. The breath puffed out between her fingers, “it’s getting old.”

It needed to be serviced. Jingle jingle whispered behind her at the door. He knows it. Without the servicing, the clock would die. Part of the spell was that the tick tocking drew her in. Had it already quit? No. No, that couldn’t be it. She heard it this time. Maybe last time it struggled. Carl wouldn’t have known. He knew nothing about this. He didn’t remember.

Carl said from behind her, “Of course it is. It’s always been old.”

“No,” she whispered. “No, it’s . . .” she couldn’t bring herself to say it. To tell him the truth. To tell him, he heard what he wanted to hear. Not the reality. Maybe the grime and cobwebs had grown inside the cabinet. Maybe they were too thick, too rusted over. She swallowed the fear down and plodded barefoot past her husband’s chair, sliding her hand over his arm.

At the doors to the room, she stopped. Listened. On the other side, she could almost hear the deep hiss in, the slow pffff out. Carefully she lay her palm against the door, her pulse racing. She was sure he was dead, but was he alive? Another? Her mind whirled, scattered.

“I tried to find the book for you,” Carl’s voice caused her to twitch away from the door. “You never answered why you thought it wouldn’t be here, but I guess you’re right.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.