Nothing happened by the time he heard Caleb’s alarm beeping softly in his tent. Jeremy listened to him waking up, his sleeping back rustling against the side of the tent. The sound of the zipper was loud in contrast to the soft cicadas and other nighttime sounds. Caleb came over and sat beside him.
“I’m awake,” he announced.
“I don’t think there’s anything out there,” Jeremy told him.
Caleb squinted out at the trees. He’d brought his sleeping bag out of the tent and wrapped it around his shoulders to keep warm. “I didn’t think there would be. They said this lady nuts, right?”
“Well, they never said that exactly,” Jeremy rolled to his feet and cracked his back. “Anyway, goodnight again.”
Caleb waved, then rested his chin in the palm of his hand while he kept looking out into the woods. Jeremy unlaced his boots and climbed back into his tent. He had to spend a while adjusting himself back into a comfortable position on the hard ground. It was more difficult to fall asleep this time around than it had been when they first went to bed, but he managed because the next thing he knew, light peeked through the tent, and he could hear birds singing above him.
When he stepped out of the tent, Caleb still sat in the same spot. He looked over his shoulder, then grimaced and rubbed his neck. “Good morning.”
“Morning.” Jeremy stretched. “I guess nothing showed up last night?”
“Nope.” Celeb popped his lips, then unfurled from the sleeping bag and joined Jeremy in stretching out. They began to pack up their tents, which made enough of a commotion to wake Zanie, who joined them. Once everything was put away into their bags and they had munched on some of Jeremy’s granola bars, the sun had risen high enough to be visible through the limbs of the trees. Light streamed through the dewey mist hanging between the trees. Just like last night before it got dark, the woods looked completely ordinary and non-threatening.
“Do you think we should knock on her door and say bye?” Caleb looked toward the house.
“Well, yeah.” Zanie lifted her backpack over her shoulder. “We have to get our money, right?”
“We didn’t actually do anything, though.” Jeremy pointed out. “Except sleep here.”
“We kept watch, and nothing showed up, so now she knows she is safe. I think that’s worth something.” Zanie walked toward the side of the house, presumably to go around and knock on the front door. Jeremy and Caleb trailed after her.
Mrs. Jennings opened the door after only two knocks, almost like she’d watched them pack up and walk around the side of the house, so she’d been waiting by the door. She was already dressed, as well. Jeremy crossed his arms and sighed as Zanie explained that they’d kept watch all night and seen nothing.
“Well,” Mrs. Jennings seemed confused and a little put out that nothing had happened. “Would you like to come in for some coffee before you go?”
Jeremy expected Zanie to just ask for the money and say that they had to be on their way. But she wasn’t a mind reader, and Jeremy hadn’t really shared with her or Caleb how uncomfortable the thought of going into this house made him for some reason. So she said, “Sure,” and stepped over the threshold.
Caleb followed her, and Jeremy hesitated for only a moment before shrugging and stepping inside. The last time he went into some stranger’s house had been when he spent the night at Abel’s, and that had turned out just fine. It had even been beneficial later on, so maybe his paranoia was getting in his way. He shut the door behind himself.
They stood in an awkward semicircle around the table in the center of the kitchen. Atticus twined around their feet and sniffed at the table legs curiously. Mrs. Jennings hadn’t said anything about the cat following them inside, so either she hadn’t noticed her or did not care. Jeremy was a little surprised she didn’t have cats of her own because, strange creeping anxiety aside, this place was really serving cat lady vibes.
“I just don’t understand.” Mrs. Jennings shook her head as she pulled four mismatched mugs down from one of her cabinets. “Last night was the same as always, yet you did not see anything?”
“Did you see something?” Zanie asked.
“I did. The same as always. Eyes looking at me from between the trees and a heavy feeling of dread in my chest. Then I wake up and when I go to look out the window, the eyes are gone, but the feeling of dread remains. I just know it’s out there.”
“Wait, you're seeing this stuff in a dream?” Jeremy interrupted.
“Yes, but I just know it’s real.” Mrs. Jennings stuffed a flimsy paper filter into the coffee machine and then dumped a few scoops of ground into it. “I just cannot understand why I – or you – cannot see it because I can still feel it after I’ve woken up.”
Jeremy felt a chill crawl up his spine. Sure, nobody had seen anything out in the woods. But they were all assuming that things being, if it existed, was out between the trees because that is where Mrs. Jennings dreamed the eyes and told them it would be. The woods had seemed benign, but the house gave Jeremy the creeps all night long. Mrs. Jennings was convinced this thing would find its way into her house eventually, but what if it was already inside?
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Have you ever heard of sleep paralysis?” Caleb asked.
Mrs. Jennings finished pouring water into the receptacle, jammed the coffee pot into place, and pushed the brew button. Then she turned around and leaned back against the counter with her arms crossed. “Yes, but this has never happened before, and it started when magic suddenly appeared.”
“Some folks in town said you’ve been talking about this for a long time, though,” Caleb told her.
She sighed and nodded at the table. “Take a seat.”
There was a flurry of movement and sound as they dropped their bags, pulled out the chairs, and settled into them. The chairs were old and creaky, not falling apart yet, but probably in need of repair to stabilize them if they were going to last much longer. Mrs. Jennings folded her hands across the checkered vinyl tablecloth and sighed again.
“I had a difficult time when my husband died,” she explained. “I’d never been alone before, and my children live far away. I started having nightmares. Seeing things. But I went to a psychiatrist and worked through those difficult times. This feels different than that, anyhow.”
Caleb still did not seem sure. The room filled with the soothing aroma of nutty coffee as the machine burbled and filtered on the counter. Jeremy glanced around like he might see the answers written on the walls. Given what he could see, it wasn’t that far of a stretch. But the patterned wallpaper looked ordinary.
“Do you mind if we take a look around your house?” he asked.
“Oh, sure.” Mrs. Jennings gestured in a wide circle. “Be my guest.”
Jeremy very nearly wanted to tell her to be a little more suspicious of strangers, but their intentions weren’t bad, so it would probably come off as strange to bring it up. She insisted on making up their coffees for them before they looked around, so Jeremy and Caleb ended up holding steaming mugs in their hands as they climbed the steps to the second floor. Zanie stayed down in the kitchen to talk with Mrs. Jennings.
Upstairs was painfully ordinary. They poked their heads into the bedrooms and bathroom. Jeremy went into each bedroom and pulled open the closet to glance over the shadowy interior.
“What are you looking for?” Caleb sipped his coffee from out in the hallway.
“I have no clue,” Jeremy shut the closet and went out to join him. He put the hand not holding his coffee on the banister that stood at the edge of the opening overlooking the steps and frowned around. “I cannot put my finger on it, but there’s something about the house.”
“Okay.” Caleb bobbed his head. Just like he was used to Jeremy getting upset when a pizza they ordered had been cut with uneven slices, he was no stranger to Jeremy’s gut feelings. “Rule number one is to trust your gut, right?”
“Yeah.” Jeremy slid his hand along the banister as he climbed back down the steps.
Mrs. Jennings and Zanie had moved into the living room. Zanie stood up when they reached the bottom of the steps, but Mrs. Jennings remained seated in a recliner with Atticus curled up on her lap.
“Do you have an attic or a basement?” Jeremy asked.
“The attic is only accessible by a pull-down ladder in the hallway up there.” Mrs. Jennings pointed toward the kitchen, “The door to the basement is just through there on your left.”
This time, as Jeremy and Caleb went to find the basement door, Zanie tagged along. The door opened to a set of steps leading straight down. Jeremy flipped on the light switch. A bulb flared to life at the bottom of them and somewhere off in the basement, illuminating boxes, tubs, dusty furniture, and shelves with various knickknacks.
The steps creaked as he descended them, and the air felt considerably cooler when he reached the bottom. It was not a finished basement, but it had obviously been waterproofed to some degree since so much was stored down here. Off to one side stood a washer and dryer. Jeremy wandered around to look behind the steps, where another little room opened up to reveal the boiler.
“Oh my god,” Zanie gasped. “Guys, you need to see this.”
Jeremy glanced over his shoulder and saw that Zanie was in the opposite corner of the basement, a faint blue glow washing over her face. His gut reaction was no way, but when he joined her, there was no denying the fact that a swirling blue dungeon entrance hung in the air above the dusty corner.
“Um.” Caleb peered over their shoulders. “Is that a dungeon?”
“Yes,” Jeremy said.
“Well, that disproves the hypothesis that they pop up in wildernesses.” Caleb dropped back on his heels and glanced up at the ceiling. “Do you think whatever is scaring Mrs. Jennings is coming out of that?”
“That would mean it’s in the house with her,” Zanie whispered, eyes following Caleb’s up as though seeing through the ceiling to where Mrs. Jennings sat in her recliner. “How terrifying. Especially since she was so convinced it would find its way inside. But it is already inside.”
She shivered.
“Well,” Jeremy gestured at the dungeon portal, which had an orange overlay and not a single ring. “It’s a lower level than we are. So, we could probably go in and clear it, no problem.”
“But whatever is bothering Mrs. Jennings is already out,” Zanie said.
“Yes, but aren’t we out here trying to find dungeons anyway?” Jeremy pointed out. “The thing only seems to bother her at night, so we can clear this, then keep an eye out tonight.”
Zanie and Caleb both looked down at him, and all three stared at each other for a moment. Then Zanie’s face broke into a grin, and she broke into a grin. “We’re really going into a dungeon. Awesome.”
“One of us should probably stay behind, right?” Caleb asked. He was not smiling. “I mean, to keep an eye on Mrs. Jennings and stuff.”
Jeremy looked Caleb over and wondered for the first time if all his bemoaning and groaning over the past few days had not actually been because Jeremy went off with the squad of guardsmen by himself but because of the nature of the dungeon itself.
“Do you not want to go in?” Jeremy asked.
Caleb’s mouth twisted. “I’m not scared. It’s just unnerving. That it’s like a whole place that’s only connected back to this basement by like…that.” He gestured to the swirling ball of energy. “What even is that? I just like having my two feet on solid ground, that’s all.”
“You don’t like flying in airplanes, do you?” Zanie said.
“Never have and never will.” Caleb shook his head. Jeremy had known that about him but never realized exactly why. He supposed it made sense. Caleb had a nose for knowing exactly where he was all the time and navigated like a gps unit, but being in the air or in a bubble of space separate from this physical reality probably left him feeling untethered and anxious.
“Alright.” Jeremy clapped a hand on his shoulder and squeezed. “You’re right that it’s probably a good idea not to leave Mrs. Jennings alone. Or to leave our stuff alone with her.”
“You’re so paranoid.” Caleb chuckled, but Jeremy could tell by the expression on his face that he was relieved.