who had just walked into the dining room.
“ Yeah, I’m done.
Thanks.”
She rushed down the stairs, ran into her
room and closed and locked the door. Then she went down into the
sub-basement, through the lab, and into the enormous bathroom.
She pushed and pulled on the mirror. No
movement whatsoever. Then she remembered seeing a screwdriver in
the lab. She raced back out into the lab, found it, and took it
into the bathroom and began to pry on the frame of the mirror. It
didn’t budge.
Carnie was about to start kicking the mirror
when she had a thought. She opened the cabinet doors under the
sink. All she saw was a few rolls of toilet paper. She ran her
fingers across the underside of the cabinet and felt something. A
button. She pushed it and heard a click. Was she imagining things,
or did the mirror move? She ran to it, and found it ajar. When she
opened the mirror door she felt for the light switch and clicked it
on.
There were four hospital beds on one wall.
And there were various other medical devices in the room. It was a
hospital ward. But why would anyone hide a lab and four hospital
beds in their basement—unless it was used for something evil? She
was getting turned on by thoughts of a demented scientist
torturing his victims to their last agonizing breath.
There was a hallway that led to two smaller
rooms. One of the rooms had a couple of cabinets that could be used
to store medicine. They were empty.
There was another door off the main room.
She opened it and saw nothing but a hallway that seemed to stretch
on forever. Carnie couldn’t imagine what the passageway led to,
but she would soon find out.
She practically ran through the winding
wooden corridor. For the moment, she even forgot her fear of
spiders and snakes. By the time she reached the other end and saw
the stairs, she was gasping. She began to wonder if there was
enough oxygen in the underground air to keep her alive.
Once at the top of the stairs, she struggled
to open the door. She finally got it open and stepped into a small
room with a dirt floor and rusty garden tools hung on the wall. A
small snake in the corner made her anxious to get back above
ground. Then she saw the door directly across from where she was
standing. She unlocked and turned the knob. Then she pulled. She
pulled with all her might. She was getting tired of these stubborn
doors.
She grabbed an old shovel from the wall and
began to pry. After working the shovel in at several spots around
the door, it finally broke free.
She had never been happier to see daylight.
There was an old tractor and a new riding lawn mower. And a black
1956 Buick. She was in a barn. She walked to the sunlight, looked
out the window and saw the back of the house. Then she remembered
seeing the barn in the back yard while sitting on the patio.
It felt good to breathe fresh air again.
**********
It was 7:00 PM—finally.
Greg was ready to jump in his car and head for Marshall. He could
get there in fifteen minutes. And even though he was tired, he knew
he would be re-energized the moment he saw Cynthia. And
he’d need some extra energy since it would be a late night of packing
Beverly’s things.
His last student on Monday nights was Nancie
Jo Gristel. Even at the age of 81, she was one of his best music
students. Mostly because she listened to everything Greg said and
tried to do it. She truly loved playing the piano—unlike many of
his younger students, whose parents were forcing them to take music
lessons.
“ Looks like our time is up,
Nancie Jo.”
“ Oh, it just goes by so
fast.”
“ Well, you’re making good
progress.”
“ I’m sorry I had to drop
out for while.”
“ That’s okay. I
understand.”
“ I thought I was going to
have to give up my music. But the doctor put me on a new
medicine.”
Greg didn’t know why Nancie Jo had been out
for several weeks. And he wasn’t going to ask her about her health
issues. But he was curious.
She said, “It’s for my
“ Yeah, I’m done.
Thanks.”
She rushed down the stairs, ran into her
room and closed and locked the door. Then she went down into the
sub-basement, through the lab, and into the enormous bathroom.
She pushed and pulled on the mirror. No
movement whatsoever. Then she remembered seeing a screwdriver in
the lab. She raced back out into the lab, found it, and took it
into the bathroom and began to pry on the frame of the mirror. It
didn’t budge.
Carnie was about to start kicking the mirror
when she had a thought. She opened the cabinet doors under the
sink. All she saw was a few rolls of toilet paper. She ran her
fingers across the underside of the cabinet and felt something. A
button. She pushed it and heard a click. Was she imagining things,
or did the mirror move? She ran to it, and found it ajar. When she
opened the mirror door she felt for the light switch and clicked it
on.
There were four hospital beds on one wall.
And there were various other medical devices in the room. It was a
hospital ward. But why would anyone hide a lab and four hospital
beds in their basement—unless it was used for something evil? She
was getting turned on by thoughts of a demented scientist
torturing his victims to their last agonizing breath.
There was a hallway that led to two smaller
rooms. One of the rooms had a couple of cabinets that could be used
to store medicine. They were empty.
There was another door off the main room.
She opened it and saw nothing but a hallway that seemed to stretch
on forever. Carnie couldn’t imagine what the passageway led to,
but she would soon find out.
She practically ran through the winding
wooden corridor. For the moment, she even forgot her fear of
spiders and snakes. By the time she reached the other end and saw
the stairs, she was gasping. She began to wonder if there was
enough oxygen in the underground air to keep her alive.
Once at the top of the stairs, she struggled
to open the door. She finally got it open and stepped into a small
room with a dirt floor and rusty garden tools hung on the wall. A
small snake in the corner made her anxious to get back above
ground. Then she saw the door directly across from where she was
standing. She unlocked and turned the knob. Then she pulled. She
pulled with all her might. She was getting tired of these stubborn
doors.
She grabbed an old shovel from the wall and
began to pry. After working the shovel in at several spots around
the door, it finally broke free.
She had never been happier to see daylight.
There was an old tractor and a new riding lawn mower. And a black
1956 Buick. She was in a barn. She walked to the sunlight, looked
out the window and saw the back of the house. Then she remembered
seeing the barn in the back yard while sitting on the patio.
It felt good to breathe fresh air again.
**********
It was 7:00 PM—finally.
Greg was ready to jump in his car and head for Marshall. He could
get there in fifteen minutes. And even though he was tired, he knew
he would be re-energized the moment he saw Cynthia. And
he’d need some extra energy since it would be a late night of packing
Beverly’s things.
His last student on Monday nights was Nancie
Jo Gristel. Even at the age of 81, she was one of his best music
students. Mostly because she listened to everything Greg said and
tried to do it. She truly loved playing the piano—unlike many of
his younger students, whose parents were forcing them to take music
lessons.
“ Looks like our time is up,
Nancie Jo.”
“ Oh, it just goes by so
fast.”
“ Well, you’re making good
progress.”
“ I’m sorry I had to drop
out for while.”
“ That’s okay. I
understand.”
“ I thought I was going to
have to give up my music. But the doctor put me on a new
medicine.”
Greg didn’t know why Nancie Jo had been out
for several weeks. And he wasn’t going to ask her about her health
issues. But he was curious.
She said, “It’s for my
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