Look

It’s no good, I thought. I’m finally finished.

The drafty, dust-laden boards of the ancient hardwood floor creaked and groaned beneath my panicked footfalls. Dust plumes erupted as I sped hastily down the long abandoned hallways of the Jasper House, that mansion of immense presence and malignity, who’s dour visage loomed heavy over the Carolina countryside. Cracked, weather-beaten shutters, decayed doorframes, and porticos of crumbled plaster forebode any from entering that dreadful residence. Like deathly illness, all avoided the place and, were it not for Sall’s desperate letter the day before, I would have happily continued to do so.

“You must look.” Her letter had said. “You must look, before I am gone.”

I continued my sprint, rounding a darkened corner before crashing into a heavy ornamental table, sending what must have been a blue vase shattering against the floor. Dust erupted. Shards whirled and danced, a thousand ballerinas twinkling in the light of a sour moon. As the din ceased, I was immenently aware of the distant thumping and scuttling which lay ever behind me, that soulless abomination which, upon my arrival, beset me with its horrifying visage.

The dust caked sweat clung to my forehead as I pushed myself up off the floor. Thump. Creak. The sounds were closer now, clearer. I took a breath, readied myself, then resumed my headlong dash down the seemingly infinite hallway. I wanted to call out, to let Sall know that I was here, but the thought of being found by the eldritch denizen which now hunted me ceased any desire to make myself heard. Alas, I rounded yet another corner, and found myself squarely at a dead end. Directly in front of me, stood a door, darkly stained, and as dusty as anything else in this abysmal mansion. I tried the handle frantically, but to my dismay, it was heavily bolted from the other side. There was no window to my right, simply the pealing plaster of lost centuries, and the heavily sunken cobwebs clinging beneath fixtures of sullied silver.

To the left lay a railing, which upon inspection, looked out and down upon the regal grand hall of the Jasper House. My heart sank as I glanced out at the five stories of nothingness leading down to the faintly visible tiled floor below. This is it. My legs were quaking as my knees began to lose strength, my stomach twisting itself into knots of nausea. My hands, slick with grime and sweat, gripped the railing with an insane desperation. The creaking and thumping had grown louder yet, as the thing continued it’s pursuit. I could only just hear the ceramic shards scatter again as it slithered down the hallway, out of sight, towards the bend where I had cornered myself.

I have to jump, I thought. The movements around the bend quickened, and I realized that I had but seconds to take the chance. I pulled myself up to the railing. Every muscle in my body trembled violently. My stomach was sick with fear. I readied myself for the leap, as the thing nearly reached the corner. I closed my eyes, offered but the faintest prayer in my mind, and made the motion to jump.

It was in that desperate moment, that it happened. The door, which had not yielded but a moment earlier, swung open with an astounding bang behind me. I hadn’t the chance to turn around, when something like a hand grabbed hard against the back of my jacket, pulling me backwards off the rail and into the hallway I was attempting to vacate. Frantically, my rescuer grabbed me with both arms, dragging me backwards through the door. No sooner had I crossed the threshold than my unholy adversary rounded the corner.

The wild, monstrous, mantis-like claws were first visible, each the size of a man and armed with the heavy spines often used for catching prey. The clacking appendages, six in total, sank deep into the plaster walls, pulling the rest of it’s uncanny bulk around the bend. What I saw in that moment, I can barely describe, save that it resembled some cursed form of gorgon, with the heavily sinewed torso of a man, and the lower part being that of a serpent. I stared wildly away from the heaping, dust coated coils and at the clawing insect appendages. In a moment of abject terror, I saw the thing turn towards me. It’s face, though certainly human shaped, was indistinguishable in the inky blackness of the darkened hallway, and offered no discernible detail save for the two small blue pinpricks of light that I assumed were eyes.

So maddening was the sight, that I screamed aloud, thrashing wildly with my feet as I was dragged backward. My foot connected with the door, slamming it closed and blocking out the hellish abaration. With a swift rush, my rescuer had leapt to the door, thrusting the bolt into place, just as the thick body crashed against it. Three more heavy crashes reverberated the doorframe, then a deathly silence filled the space about us.

“Are you alright?” The figure looked down at me. Even against the murky shadow of the room, I could tell that it was none other than Sall. She stood aloft, an alabaster display of unbidden athleticism and prowess, her only signs of dishevelment being her frazzled auburn hair and thick rimmed glasses, which leaned ever so slightly to the left.

“S-Sall? Is that you?” My voice was hoarse, weak. Groggily, I sat up on my knees, studying her closer. “I thought…” but the words clogged in my mind, my lips unable to bring reality into my thoughts. “I thought…”

And before I could even finish, she came crashing down in front of me, and we embraced. I hugged her, perhaps tighter than I’d ever hugged another person. It was that type of embrace in which every joint locks, and every fiber of one’s being tenses with unrelenting strength, lest the person of one’s affection be torn away.

“Miles.” Her voice was soft, filling with a steady relief. “I’m so glad you’re okay. I’m so sorry I couldn’t meet you in time.” I could feel the warmth of her tears, running down the back of my shoulder. I pulled back just enough to look into her glistening eyes, wiping her cheek.

“It’s okay now,” I replied softly. “I’m just grateful you saved me.”

“I know. Me too.” She gave a tearful laugh. “I know you must have so many questions.”

“Yes. I mean, why? Why are we here in this awful place? What IS that thing? And what is this about you being gone?” I reached into my pocket and produced the letter that she had left me, only one eternal day ago. “I just…why?” And I could suddenly feel my own hot tears streaming down my face.

“I know, Miles. I’m so sorry.” And she took my hand in hers, the softness of her fingers wrapping around my own dirty palm. Her eyes looked at me lovingly, tenderly. “You needed to come here. You needed to look.”

“I needed to look?” My voice rose slightly in my incredulity. Why on earth would I ever want to look at anything in this god foresaken place!” At this moment, a slight scrape could be heard on the other side of the door, and my entire body flinched downward as I cowered away from the noise. “Please just make it go away. Just make it stop!”

“You’ve been like this for so long now.” Sall said in a gentle tone. “Cringing away. Hoping against hope that that which terrorizes you would vanish.” As she said this, I looked up into her face. Her eyes were full of compassion, tinged with a hint of sadness.

“What do you mean, a long time? We’ve only been here for the night.”

“True. But truer still is that that thing doesn’t dwell here. In fact, never once has it set foot here until you arrived late in this evening.”

At her words, my head began spinning. It couldn’t be possible. How could such a monstrous apparition appear on the exact same night that I did?

“What are you saying?” My voice was barely a whisper in the dust covered guest room. “If it’s not from here then where did it come from?”

“It’s from here.” At that moment she extended her arm, pointing directly at my forehead. “And it’s always been with you. Always on the fringes of your mind. Always haunting you. I know that ever since you were little, it’s crept around you, seemingly clear, yet in reality it is only a drifting fog. I have come here to tell you that you need only look upon it, and it’s grip on you will lessen.”

“Look on it? I have seen it! No man alive could stand up to that thing. It’s evil incarnate!” I was feeling frenzied, shaken. “It’s going to kill me!”

“It has little power to do anything to you.” Sall gave me another hug, then stood up and walked towards the door. “You’ve needed to look at this for so long now, and this place, this mansion which produces only that which we bring in, was the best place for it.”

Slowly, and to my unbridled horror, she reached for the door’s bolt, that only protection which separated me from certain death. I gave a start, but one kind look of her beautiful smile quelled my frantic spirit.

“Do you trust me Miles?”

“I just… I…”

“It’s time to look.”

“But…”

There was a sharp clunk, and as I looked on, she withdrew the bolt. At the very notion of my predicament my body grew weak and nauseaus, every muscle quivering like gelatin. Yet, even in the torrent of fear and panic, I stared, mouth agape, as the door slowly swung inward. At first, nothing save for the inky fog of night lingered beyond that splintered ancient frame. Then, as I stared into the murky darkness, I beheld it, and as I looked, I wept and wept.