hell?’
Stepping closer, he looked to see if a lock had been flipped. There wasn’t even a mechanism. Wrapping his fist around the handle, he braced his other hand against the wall. He might be fresh from a workout, but he should still have enough strength to open a stinking door. With a sound close to a growl, he gave another yank.
This time the top corner bowed inward, but the bottom remained lodged. Something had the door jammed.
Ax felt his breaths go short and his chest tighten unbearably. The air wasn’t going past his throat and it felt like it was bulging. He yanked on the door again. Shoved it and pulled. It was like a bank vault.
The walls pressed in on him. He looked over the door, his thoughts pinging about as he tried to force his brain to work. Looking around, he realised he was in an interior room. No windows. No other route for escape.
The snake slithered. He jimmied the door and yanked it harder.
Nothing worked.
He was locked in. Trapped in the tiny space. Those demons he remembered were out and about, taunting him. He slapped the light switches, turning on the string of bulbs over the vanity, and switched the fan on high. The dampness in the air was making it hard to breathe. The moisture coated his vocal cords and clung to his exposed skin.
‘Hey!’ he yelled, banging his fist against the door. ‘Somebody!’
The big old house was silent.
Not wanting to, he turned off the fan so he could hear. The loss of the whirring noise left a gaping hole. He heard nothing. No water dripping, no gym equipment running, no footsteps, no voices in return.
He set up a staccato rhythm that had the door bouncing on its hinges. It set up a racket, but the door was immovable.
‘Can anyone hear me?’
He heard a noise now, but it was his heart pounding in his ears and his head. He was confined again. He slammed both fists against the heavy oak door, making contact all the way down his forearms to his elbows.
His control was crumbling.
And then the snake was loose.
‘Help! Get me out of here. Anyone. Hey. Let me out!’
Chapter Four
Elena hurried through the door to the kitchen of the main house and shook herself to get rid of the rain. It was pouring outside. The walk up the hill didn’t look that long, but she’d gotten drenched in the time it had taken for her to run the distance. She dropped her backpack onto the floor and tugged off her jacket. She hung it on the metal coat rack beside the door and tried not to shiver when a droplet of water ran down the back of her neck.
‘Hello?’ she called. A stack of freshly washed kitchen towels was on the granite counter. She grabbed the top one and brushed it over her damp skin. ‘Is anyone here?’
She knew that Marta and Leonard were out running errands, because they’d asked her for a list of things she needed. The only other person’s location she wasn’t sure about was
his
. She hadn’t seen any lights on in the main house from her view down by the lake. There’d been no movement or any other signs of life. It was hard to believe he’d be out wandering around in this kind of weather, but she already knew he didn’t like being cooped up.
Maybe he was sleeping or off in some distant room. The place had enough of them. She slipped off her shoes and left them on the throw rug by the door so she wouldn’t track mud.
‘It’s Elena,’ she called. She didn’t want to raise her voice too much. She just needed to buzz down to the first-floor library, but she didn’t want to stumble across anyone unexpectedly. That had already happened with a certain person too many times, and she didn’t want it to happen here, in his home.
Even if he had given her permission to be here.
Blotting her wet hair, she padded over to peek through the kitchen doorway. ‘I’m just here to borrow a book,’ she called lightly.
The looming stillness of the house gave her visions of a black hole just waiting to suck her up. She waited another moment, and then yet
Stepping closer, he looked to see if a lock had been flipped. There wasn’t even a mechanism. Wrapping his fist around the handle, he braced his other hand against the wall. He might be fresh from a workout, but he should still have enough strength to open a stinking door. With a sound close to a growl, he gave another yank.
This time the top corner bowed inward, but the bottom remained lodged. Something had the door jammed.
Ax felt his breaths go short and his chest tighten unbearably. The air wasn’t going past his throat and it felt like it was bulging. He yanked on the door again. Shoved it and pulled. It was like a bank vault.
The walls pressed in on him. He looked over the door, his thoughts pinging about as he tried to force his brain to work. Looking around, he realised he was in an interior room. No windows. No other route for escape.
The snake slithered. He jimmied the door and yanked it harder.
Nothing worked.
He was locked in. Trapped in the tiny space. Those demons he remembered were out and about, taunting him. He slapped the light switches, turning on the string of bulbs over the vanity, and switched the fan on high. The dampness in the air was making it hard to breathe. The moisture coated his vocal cords and clung to his exposed skin.
‘Hey!’ he yelled, banging his fist against the door. ‘Somebody!’
The big old house was silent.
Not wanting to, he turned off the fan so he could hear. The loss of the whirring noise left a gaping hole. He heard nothing. No water dripping, no gym equipment running, no footsteps, no voices in return.
He set up a staccato rhythm that had the door bouncing on its hinges. It set up a racket, but the door was immovable.
‘Can anyone hear me?’
He heard a noise now, but it was his heart pounding in his ears and his head. He was confined again. He slammed both fists against the heavy oak door, making contact all the way down his forearms to his elbows.
His control was crumbling.
And then the snake was loose.
‘Help! Get me out of here. Anyone. Hey. Let me out!’
Chapter Four
Elena hurried through the door to the kitchen of the main house and shook herself to get rid of the rain. It was pouring outside. The walk up the hill didn’t look that long, but she’d gotten drenched in the time it had taken for her to run the distance. She dropped her backpack onto the floor and tugged off her jacket. She hung it on the metal coat rack beside the door and tried not to shiver when a droplet of water ran down the back of her neck.
‘Hello?’ she called. A stack of freshly washed kitchen towels was on the granite counter. She grabbed the top one and brushed it over her damp skin. ‘Is anyone here?’
She knew that Marta and Leonard were out running errands, because they’d asked her for a list of things she needed. The only other person’s location she wasn’t sure about was
his
. She hadn’t seen any lights on in the main house from her view down by the lake. There’d been no movement or any other signs of life. It was hard to believe he’d be out wandering around in this kind of weather, but she already knew he didn’t like being cooped up.
Maybe he was sleeping or off in some distant room. The place had enough of them. She slipped off her shoes and left them on the throw rug by the door so she wouldn’t track mud.
‘It’s Elena,’ she called. She didn’t want to raise her voice too much. She just needed to buzz down to the first-floor library, but she didn’t want to stumble across anyone unexpectedly. That had already happened with a certain person too many times, and she didn’t want it to happen here, in his home.
Even if he had given her permission to be here.
Blotting her wet hair, she padded over to peek through the kitchen doorway. ‘I’m just here to borrow a book,’ she called lightly.
The looming stillness of the house gave her visions of a black hole just waiting to suck her up. She waited another moment, and then yet
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