I manage to steer them toward the barn and away from the house, hoping that we can hang out here long enough to forget about going to the mansion entirely. But any hope of that dissipates the moment we arrive—and spot the massive padlock stuck on the front doors.
I wonder if the boys told their father about my being inside the barn, if he’s the one who locked it up to keep me out … or if Rory did it himself.
“Ah, well,” Tom says, aiming a swift kick at the bottom of the door so that it rattles unpleasantly in the clearing, “nothing left to distract us now, Rina.”
I cringe at the nickname.
Before I can make another suggestion to veer them off the path, Jess, Tom, and Aimee all start running back up the hill toward the big house. The alcohol is definitely kicking in now because when Aimee nearly runs smack into a tree. When she does, Jess and Tom burst into a fit of laughter and make a game out of who will make it up the hill first without falling down again.
None of them is successful.
I stay a few steps behind them, close enough not to lose them but far enough not to get pressured into joining their stupid drunken game. It’s not that I’m a spoil-sport. I’ve had my fair share of fun.
It’s just …
I feel the press of greenery and rot in my nose, followed by that crisp spike of fast-approaching fall.
After all the warnings, all the signs, this seems like the kind of night that leads to manhunts looking for lost teens … only to find at least one of them face-down in a ditch.
Or eaten by wolves.
I force myself to clear the thought from my mind, but even as I do, I swear I hear the far-off echo of a howl. I stop in my tracks, trying to tune my ears to make out the sound. The harder I listen, however, the harder it is to hear.
When I search for the others, they’re barely visible up ahead.
For a second, I weigh the little bottle of vodka in my hand. Somewhere, far off, that lonely howl nudges into the back of my mind again.
Fuck it.
My shaking fingers twist the lid from the bottle before pouring the entire contents down my throat. It burns as it tears through my body, awakening my senses and dulling the fear. I take in a sharp gasp of air and hurry off after the rest of them before they disappear into the night entirely.
The forest is thick with trees and dusk is truly starting to set in by the time we reach the top of the hill. I can still hear the sound of wolves howling in the distance over the top of Jess and Aimee’s screeching laughter. If anything, it’s louder now … but the vodka has taken the bite from the sound.
No one else seems bothered by it, so why should I?
Tom is barely able to stand up straight without needing to catch his footing. None of us minds, since it gives us all a good excuse to pause and take in the sight before us.
I see now why it’s something of a local legend. Why visiting it is a rite of passage.
The mansion is even bigger than it looked from down below. Standing in front of it now is humbling to say the least. The house sprawls around us, dug into and springing out of the land as if it grew from it itself. Compared to it, we’re but smudges in the darkness.
“This is the biggest house I’ve ever seen!” Aimee says with her mouth hanging open.
It’s a big house, sure, but certainly not that big. Then again, that’s a thought coming from the most sober mind here.
“That means it’s going to be extra fun to explore!” Jess threads her arm with Aimee’s, and the two of them skip up to the front entryway of the mansion.
“I doubt we’ll be able to get inside,” I call from behind them, a hint of hopefulness sneaking into my voice.
But it’s for nothing.
“Hey, would you look at that,” Jess says smiling as she pulls the handle on the door. “It’s open.”
12
Sabrina
As surprised as I am that a mansion like this was left sitting unlocked, I’m even more shocked by what the house looks like when I step inside.