The Haunting of Ironwood by Jeff DeGordick

Author:Jeff DeGordick [DeGordick, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-04-05T22:00:00+00:00

In the Dark

"Elizabeth."

Katie froze.

Earl continued toward the door. "Elizabeth, come out here." There was nothing in his voice that sounded like a request.

Katie stood up in the darkness of the room and took a step back from the door. Then she briskly opened it and stepped out, jumping as if she didn't expect him to be there, or to be standing so close. "Oh! Sorry, I didn't know you were up here."

"What were you doing in there?" he asked sternly.

Katie looked at the darkened spare bedroom over her shoulder then shrugged. "I don't know. Bored, I guess." A sudden feeling swept through her and she didn't know if it was sadness or anger. Why should she have to explain what she was doing? He was keeping her prisoner; what the hell else should she be doing?

"I don't want you poking around, Elizabeth."

"My name is Katie," she said in a huff and began to storm past him.

Earl slammed his fist into the wall next to her face and cut her off. This shocked Katie so much that she shot an inch off the ground and stood there rigid like a board, her eyes wide. Earl bit his tongue for a moment and suddenly the tension seemed to dissipate so smoothly that it was almost like he hadn't been angry in the first place.

"I'm making dinner tonight," he said to her, almost whispering. His breath stank, his face only half a foot from hers. "It will be ready in an hour. I expect you to be down there, and I expect you to have an appetite. A dress will be laid out on your bed before then. Change into it, please." He eyed her for a moment, then he removed his fist from the wall and let her by.

Katie was so frozen in fear that she found it hard to move, but she slipped by and hurried downstairs.

At dinnertime, Katie found a lime-green dress laid out on her bed. It was an old summer dress, a hideous thing. Katie thought about ripping it apart, about crumpling it up and tossing it out the window... maybe trying to flush it down the toilet. But she knew that she would do none of those things.

She undressed and put the dress on. She cringed as the fabric went over her skin. It wasn't that the previous owner of the dress was so detestable to her, but that this entire situation was detestable; it felt like she was sliding on someone else's skin, and the thought of it alone made her gag. But she was downstairs at the dining room table at the precise time Earl had specified. She was quiet and kept to herself, starting in on her dinner immediately and without a word. She had no appetite at all, but she forced herself to eat. She was too afraid of what would happen if she didn't.

"Are you enjoying it, Elizabeth?" Earl asked from the seat across from her. He sat turned slightly on his

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