(9) House on the Hill or The Haunting of Hill House or House on Haunted Hill or Silent Hill

(9) House on the Hill or The Haunting of Hill House or House on Haunted Hill or Silent Hill

The sun had fully risen and together with the snow it was blindingly bright outside of the temple. When Riley met Saint outside, he pointed out two men on the roof of a nearby building. She squinted and then recognition dawned on her face. Two guys from the stable who in turn noticed the group seeing them. They pointed towards the house to indicate that they were going to keep watch.

Together the group clambered their way across the courtyard with varying levels of attempted and achieved stealth. A short hike up the winding stones that served as a path up the hill to the house that normally sat there.

There was a marked increase in sneakiness as they got closer. But other than being generally out of place the house hadn’t done anything to indicate any malevolence. Frankly, it hadn’t done anything. It just sat there, being a house. Not the right house, but still just a house.

And then they were standing at the edge of the front porch. Ash, being the bravest, or most reckless, struck first. He started out testing with his foot. Nothing happened. They looked at each other, heartened for a moment. As a huddled group they made their way onto the porch.

The tests began again at the front door. This time it was Saint who went for it slowly opening the door. They looked in from outside and still nothing happened. Ash went in slowly, and nodded his approval back to the group. Everyone got inside and they looked around to find a perfectly normal living room.

Matching couch and loveseat with a bright floral print. A side table, a fireplace. It was very clean. The house that normally sat on this hill was abandoned. It was too far from the town for anybody to really want. Either way, finding the clean furniture there was a little out of place, but also not technically impossible.

Ash started opening the doors to other rooms of which the living room had too many, nearly shoulder to shoulder. A perfectly plain kitchen. Beside it a stairwell going down, and then another going up.

Lou commented, excruciatingly hopeful. “So, it’s not a magical house monster?”

Saint’s scoffed, but didn’t say more. He had busied himself poking around the bookshelves in a little nook by the dining room.

Riley looked around eyes wide as she noticed Bliss wasn’t there. For lack of a better plan, she took an exceptionally strong interest in her shoes, paired with looking out the window as often as she could without drawing too much attention.

At the same time, Saint walked over to the group as he declared, “Yeah, it’s not a normal house.”

Ash was contrary although there didn’t seem to be any aggression behind it. “I don’t know, man. Seems pretty normal to me.”

Saint did not take it so lightly. “Yeah well, what do you know? This is not the same house that is normally here. Doesn’t this seem like exactly what the poem was talking about?”

He directed the last question mostly to Riley but Lou and Ash reacted similarly at the same time. “What poem?”

Saint continued to look at Riley expectantly but she was stuck opening her mouth and closing it again. Saint made a frustrated noise and brushed the other two off.

“There was a warning poem from Amphibrach. Their town had been attacked by something and I assume it was this house.”

Ash tried again, “Look. I want to believe that I get to fight a house as much as anyone. But unless you want me to have a go at the couch cushions, I don’t know what I am supposed to fight here.”

“It’s not my job to educate the peasants. Riley, will you say something here. This was your dumb idea.”

Riley’s words stumbled out. “Bliss isn’t here.”

Saint was not impressed. “You didn’t think she was actually going to come in here, did you? She said so.”

“No, she was behind me on the porch.”

“And now she is somewhere else doing whatever Bliss does. Can we focus on the problem here?”

Ash was clearly annoyed, “And what is that problem exactly?”

Lou added, “I have to agree with Ash. I have lived here my whole life and this house seems normal enough to me.”

Saint looked to Riley, exasperation on his face and his hands outstretched.

Riley rolled her eyes. “I knew the lady who lived here before she died and this isn’t her house. And the poem made it seem like it was something really big. This house would fit the description.”

“What else did this poem say?”

Riley shrugged. “Not much. It didn’t even say it was a house. Just a lot of destruction and a warning to hide.”

Lou made a kind of guttural sound that may not have even been a conscious choice to make. Duty was starting to look far away but he couldn’t say he wasn’t warned.

Ash conceded. “Ok. I am willing to admit this isn’t the same house. Then why hasn’t this big scary monster destroyed our town yet?”

Riley shrugged. There was a moment before she added, “So we just go back to the temple and say just kidding. It isn’t the same house but there is no danger we promise?”

Lou asked, “So what do we do?”

Saint’s thoughts choked themselves trying to escape his mouth. “I should be in the archives right now finding that answer.”

Lou and Ash looked at Riley. There was a moment before she answered.

“Go then. I don’t know why you thought you had to save me.”

“Don’t know! All I do I save you from your own recklessness.”

“No, you protect Carter. There’s a difference.”

Saint took a step towards Riley with finger pointed, “You are the most selfish person in the world. You have all the freedom some one of our station could ask for and you…”

Riley was already yelling back, “I’m not selfish I am looking out for myself since no one else cares!”

Ash took in the calamity. “Everybody stop!”

Saint turned his anger on Ash, with a face that plainly said how dare Ash speak to him that way. He dared because Ash had Saint by a foot, and quite a lot of muscle. Reality squared up the equation and Saint shut his mouth. He chose instead to quietly seethe.

Ash continued. “Even though this is probably a dumb idea we need to split up and see for sure if we can find any more information. Maybe we will find Bliss somewhere. I will look upstairs.”

Riley had been arms crossed, stood deliberately faced away from Saint since Ash had shut down the arguing. She agreed without hesitation, “I’ll come with you.”

Saint stared at Riley, double barreled with dark eyes. The fire to argue clearly still roaring. Ash cleared his throat redirecting Saint’s ire back to himself.

Riley took the opening and headed to the door with the stairs going up that she saw earlier when Ash was checking things out.

Ash followed but leaned in to say to Saint on the way by. “I think she’s done arguing with you, buddy.” Complete with an undeniably condescending pat on the shoulder.

Saint held his tongue even if it was taking more visible effort with every second. He started to breathe again when Ash and Riley were gone.

In a flash Saint reached down, snatched up a pillow from the couch and ripped it open letting the down fly all around.

He took a deep breath as the gray and brown feathers floated gently onto the ground and them. Lou had watched most all of this with his mouth open.

With an unsettling calm Saint told Lou. “Fuck it. Let’s check the basement.”