Black Sun by Clifford Beck - HTML preview

Chapter 60

Walking around to the street, Ryan and Abby agreed that with a body in the pool, they would not be staying in this house. They would have to look elsewhere and with other houses nearby, it didn’t take long to find one that had also been abandoned. Putting themselves as far from the pool as possible, they chose a house that stood at the end of the block. It was a stately three-story Victorian with a tower rising up from the second story corner. It gave the impression of a castle in some far off place, surrounded by a perpetual night possessing all manner of horrible, well-kept secrets and things no one should ever see. At first sight, Abby’s creative mind kicked in.

“It’s beautiful,” she said. “And terrifying at the same time.” A grin of morbid enthusiasm came to her face. Upon seeing her expression, Ryan knew they would be staying in that house and he would not have a choice.

“We’re staying here,” Abby said.

Ryan let out a deep sigh of resignation. “I know,” he replied.

As they walked towards the front door, Abby examined the house's façade. She marveled at its architecture and artistic perfection. So distracted was she by its beauty that she failed to see the brightening light of the morning sun. Seeing the glimmer of admiration in her eyes, Ryan took her hand and led her to the front door.

“We don’t have a lot of time,” he said. “We have to get some sleep so we can get out of here tonight.”

Abby stopped him just as he was reaching for the doorknob. “Wait,” she said. “Why can’t we stay here for a couple of days?” Ryan understood her desire to stay but there were more pressing matters he had to consider first.

“Abby,” he replied. “We don’t have a lot of food left, and I’m hoping that there’s enough food here that hasn’t gone bad. Now, can we go inside?”

Without waiting for a reply, Ryan quietly opened the door. He could see that it had been well-kept, as its hinges moved without a sound—most likely due to the application of oil.

Stepping into the house, both Ryan and Abby were startled by its interior. The previous owners—now likely deceased—seemed to have gone out of their way to furnish it as a period home with Victorian-styled chairs, footrests, and other accoutrements. The inside of the house was as much a work of art as its outside. Infatuated with such authentic décor, Abby was in heaven and, once again, argued for staying.

“Abby,” Ryan said. “We can’t. We have to keep going. I need to get to Johnstown. I have to find out if my family is still alive. Besides, Johnstown is pretty old and there are a few Victorian houses there too.”

Abby knew he was right. There were too many people in the area, and the last thing she wanted was to deal with more people—those who had forfeited their humanity only to become wild animals, killing for fun. Unfortunately, Abby’s family was in Ticonderoga— far out of reach. She tried not to think about it but hoped that the town’s isolation had protected them, preventing the high number of deaths that were common in more populated areas. There was no way for her to reach them without walking past the Adirondacks, and no way to call them. So, she chose to distract herself with the task of survival and the coming responsibilities of motherhood.

Exploring the house, they quickly determined that it was, in fact, abandoned and free of the sight of death. Searching the kitchen, Ryan and Abby managed to find enough food to take with them. Everything else was spoiled or moldy. Having met their circumstances with disappointment, they explored the rest of the house and decided to spend the night in a third floor bedroom. It was spacious and pristine. The bed was beyond comfortable and lying down, Ryan and Abby quickly fell into a deep sleep. What the house wasn’t was air-conditioned and with the sun rising high into the early afternoon sky, the heat of the day beat against the side of the house, burning its way through the windows. But this had no effect on their sleeping minds, as their dreams took flight, unencumbered by the reality they would soon return to.