The Haunting of Pitmon House (25 page)

My own disease has progressed to the point where time is now
short for me, too. If you are able to decipher this and have heard my story, I
hope you are able to locate and inter Sydney’s bones. I promised her I would
not bury her, but that doesn’t mean she can’t be buried after I’m gone, and I
think that would be the best thing for her. I hope to involve others, too,
before I go, so that Tena and Dominic can be dissuaded from lying about me after
I’m gone.

I believe that in the last few weeks, Tena and Dominic have
learned of my plans. If I go before they do, they may discover this memory
cord. Tena will surely be upset; she’s smart enough to know it will indict her.
Dominic doesn’t understand the gift and may not comprehend the significance of
the permanence of my efforts, but Tena will absolutely know that the cord can’t
be destroyed, and with her deteriorating state, will be hard pressed to
suppress it. It would be wonderful if what Tena and Dominic have done is made
known to the trustees; they might see fit to exclude the children of that line
of the family from ever using Pitmon House in the future.

The thing I hope most is that Tena and Dominic don’t get to Sydney
first. I shudder to think how those two depraved souls might desecrate her.

The end of the cord slipped through the cogs and gears of
Edgar’s device and arrived at his fingertips.

“Whoa,” Robert said.

“What was she?” Eliza asked. “Sydney?”

“Some type of shifter, I guess,” Robert replied.

“If she was able to make herself appear a specific way to
Jonah,” Edgar replied, “that’s not necessarily a shifter. She might have been
many different things.” Once the end of the cord processed through his machine
he took the end and attached it to the spindle Eliza was holding, and then
began to wind it back up. “I think it’s likely the longer he was around her,
the more her ability to look a certain way was reinforced upon his mind. You
said the skull was deformed?”

“It’s definitely not human,” Robert replied. “It’s in a box
in the other room. I’ll get it.” He rose from the sofa.

“So I presume Tena and Dominic hid her bones along with this
memory cord in the attic?” Eliza asked, trying to piece it together.

“If Tena was gifted,” Edgar replied, “she would have
recognized Jonah’s memory cord for what it was — a virtually indestructible
item. She may not have had the skill or resources to get rid of it. As Jonah
indicated, if it was discovered, it could have implicated both her and Dominic.
So, I think you’re right — they decided to just hide everything, and protect it
with a legend shelf.”

“And the bones?” Eliza asked.

“They must have obtained them somehow, after Jonah passed,”
Edgar replied. “When they constructed the hiding place, perhaps they thought
hiding the bones inside would help seal everything away. The bones were
potential corroboration of Jonah’s story.”

Robert returned with the box and set it on the table next to
Edgar’s device. He opened the lid and jumped back.

“What?” Eliza asked, concerned.

“There’s…things in there,” Robert said.

They stood and joined Robert, looking down into the box.
Surrounding the skull were a half-dozen small creatures. Their bodies were
furry, like rats, but their heads were slick and scaly, like reptiles. As they
watched, one materialized in the mouth of the skull and crawled out, joining
the others, rummaging in the corners.

“Are those what bit me?” Eliza wondered, trying to see if the
creatures had teeth. They scurried around the bottom of the box.

“Well, that explains a lot,” Edgar said. “If this skull is
producing those things, I guarantee you that isn’t the only thing it’s
producing.”

“Producing?” Eliza asked. “What do you mean?”

“I mean infection!” Edgar replied. “The broken legend shelf might
not have been to blame for what happened to the music machines. It might be
this skull. It could be diseased, and if it is, it’s probably infecting
everything around it. Do you have a match?”

“A match?” Robert asked. “Like, light-a-fire match?”

“Yes, or a lighter? Something with a flame?”

Robert walked to the kitchen and returned with a safety
match. Edgar scraped it against his fingernail and it popped to life. Once the
sulfur burned off and the wooden stick of the match was solidly burning, he
lowered the match carefully into the box, placing it next to the open jaw of
the skull.

Eliza felt a chill go up her spine as the match was
extinguished. The skull was exhaling.

One of the creatures jumped at Edgar’s hand as he removed it
from the box, missing it entirely and landing back inside the container.

“What does that mean?” Robert asked.

“The bones are still alive in some manner,” Edgar replied.
“Not alive like you and me, but able to do things. That’s probably why Sydney
asked Jonah not to bury her. It’s almost certain that this is the cause of the
infection.”

“So Kendall’s music machines sat just feet from this skull,”
Eliza said, “before he sold them to Alex Jordan and they made their way to The
House on the Rock. Proximity to this skull infected them…with what?”

“With what indeed!” Edgar replied. “We don’t even know what
this creature was! That’s something we could study, but I imagine it might take
some time; your goal is to save your brother, which is what we need to focus on.
You now have the source of his infection. You should be able to pursue a
solution and restore him.”

“How?” Eliza asked.

“We need a counter agent tuned to work against exactly what
this skull is emanating,” Robert said.

“Precisely,” Edgar replied. “Do you have analysis equipment?”

“My father has quite a bit in the garage,” Robert replied.

“Explain it to me,” Eliza said. “What has to happen?”

“I’ll have to wrap it tightly in special cloth,” Robert
replied, “that will absorb its effects.”

“Let it absorb for a couple of hours, at least,” Edgar added.
“And make sure it’s wrapped very tightly. Soak it in efemol.”

“After that,” Robert continued, “I’ll dissolve the cloth and
run it through a spectrometer. We should be able to design a counter agent from
that.”

“A counter agent?” Eliza asked.

“Something we can give Shane,” Robert said, “that will negate
the infection.”

“If there are other objects at House on the Rock infected by
this skull,” Edgar said, “you could also use the counter agent on them to
protect people from further infection. Once you save your brother, of course.”

Eliza felt the weight of a thousand tons suddenly lift from
her shoulders, and she leaned back in the couch. She looked at Robert. “You
know how to do all that?”

“I do,” Robert said. “Give me a couple of hours.” He picked
up the box and folded the top closed, then carried it out of the room.

“Thank you,” Eliza said to Edgar. “Not only for the
translation, but for helping us figure out what it meant.”

“Very interesting case,” Edgar said. “I’ve not seen anything
quite like it. Are you going to accommodate Jonah’s wishes and inter the bones?”

“We’ll have to do something with them,” Eliza said. “I
suppose we could bury them.”

“Robert will do it correctly,” Edgar replied. “Granger will
see to that.”

“Correctly?” Eliza asked.

“Bury the bones in a wooden box that has been soaked in the
counter agent,” Edgar replied. “That’ll restrict its influence to the box it’s
contained in.”

“What about destroying it?” Eliza asked.

“Well, it might be difficult to do, but there are probably
ways to go about it. There are some negatives to that approach; you can’t study
it any further if you destroy it, of course. Destroying it might just wind up
breaking it into smaller pieces, any of which could be problematic, compounding
the danger. Then there’s the issue of desecrating the bones, which is what
Jonah was concerned about. Containing it is much easier, once you have the
correct counter agent.”

“Could there have been a reason for him requesting burial of
them?” Eliza asked. “Aside from the fact that he loved her?”

“We may never know,” Edgar said. “I’ve stayed a little longer
than I anticipated. I need to get back.”

She walked him to the door. “Thank you again,” she said. “If
there’s anything I can ever do for you, please don’t hesitate to ask.”

“I just might someday,” Edgar replied.

“I’ll get Robert and let him know you’re leaving,” she said.

“No, that’s OK,” Edgar replied. “Let him work. You need your
solution as soon as you can get it. Please tell him goodbye for me.”

“Sure,” Eliza said.

She closed the door behind Edgar as he left, wondering what
had occurred between Edgar and Granger in the past, making a mental note to ask
Robert about it down the road.

●

“Please tell me we don’t have to inject anything,” Eliza
said, standing on one side of Shane’s bed, while Robert stood on the other.
Shane looked weak and thin, with dark bags under his eyes. His lips twitched a
little; she thought she could see him clenching his teeth.

Robert removed a small metal canister from his jacket; it was
an old film container. “No,” he said. “No injection. I soaked a cotton ball
with the solution. We just need him to inhale it. This might take a while.
We’ll need to keep an eye out for anyone coming.”

Eliza reached for Shane’s hand. It was tense, as though his
muscles were contracted. She ran her hand up his arm and felt the same tension
there.

After double-checking that no staff was around, Robert
brought the canister to Shane’s nose and held it there for a couple of minutes.
Eliza couldn’t detect any smell from where she stood. Slowly, she felt Shane’s
hand close around hers.

“He’s tensing up,” Eliza whispered.

“He’s got to let it in,” Robert said. “Once enough of it gets
into his system, it’ll push out what was put there by the automaton. Be
patient.”

Robert kept the vial under Shane’s nose for several minutes
more. Eliza felt Shane’s hand continue to squeeze.

“It’s not working!” Eliza said. “He’s squeezing the hell out
of my hand!”

“He’s resisting it,” Robert said. “Or, more precisely, the
infection is resisting it. Shane will have to breathe in enough of it
eventually.”

“Can the infection stop him from breathing?” Eliza asked.
“Would it do that to protect itself?”

“I don’t believe so,” Robert said. “I think we just need to
be patient.” He looked up at her. “This will work. I know it will.”

She’d been reliant upon others to reach the solution they
were now administering, and many times it had left her feeling weak and
helpless. There was a strong Midwestern strain of self-reliance in her, and she
wished she knew exactly what Robert had created, rather than just relying on
him to create it. Even now, after all that she’d done to find something to save
her brother, she still felt anemic and it was driving her crazy.

Shane’s breathing began to change. His chest moved up and
down, increasing in speed as though he was beginning to hyperventilate.

“Robert?” Eliza asked, watching Shane inhale and exhale
rapidly.

“Be patient,” he said, holding the canister in place.

Suddenly Shane’s chest stopped moving altogether. A rasping
sound came from his mouth. He was gasping for air, choking.

“Robert!” Eliza cried. “Stop!”

Robert looked up at her and reluctantly removed the canister.
Shane stopped gasping, but his chest didn’t move.

She felt a slow relaxation in Shane’s hand and she began to
panic, worried that Shane was dying. She ran her hand up Shane’s arm. “All of
his muscles are completely relaxed now. Robert, I’m worried.”

They watched, hoping Shane would open his eyes. His fingers began
to move, twitching, shifting back and forth.

“What’s happening to him?” Eliza asked.

“I’m hoping it’s the counter agent, taking hold,” Robert
replied.

Eliza was afraid that Shane was having some kind of seizure,
and she considered calling for help. His fingers continued to dance in her
hand.

Then, finally, his chest took in a huge lungful of air, and
he began to breathe. His lips started to move; he was saying something,
faintly.

Robert leaned closer to Shane’s face, hoping to hear what was
coming from his lips.

“He’s saying ‘Gordon’,” Robert said. “‘Come on, Gordon.’ That
mean anything to you?”

“Gordon?” Eliza repeated.

Robert listened. “He’s saying, ‘jump Freeman’.”

Eliza rolled her eyes. “It’s that damn video game!” she said,
relieved. “Gordon Freeman is a character in that video game he plays! Look!”
She raised his wrist as high as the restraint would allow, letting Robert see
Shane’s moving fingers. “He’s playing the game in his head!”

“I think that’s a good sign,” Robert said, smiling at her.

She smiled back, lowering Shane’s hand, feeling a huge
relief. Robert’s solution had worked.

“How long before he’s back to normal, do you think?” Eliza
asked.

“Not sure exactly,” Robert replied. “But with the infection
out of him, I don’t think it will be long. The main thing to be concerned about
is all the rest of him; he’s been lying in bed a long time, and it doesn’t look
to me like he’s eaten much.”

“Any side effects from the counter agent?” Eliza asked. “Or
left over from the infection?”

“You’ll just have to keep an eye on him and see,” Robert
replied. “Hopefully not.”

Shane opened his eyes and looked at them. He opened his
mouth, stretching his jaw.

“Shane?” Eliza asked. “Shane? You’re in a hospital. Can you
hear me?”

“Of course I can hear you,” he said. A look of panic crossed
his face. “What happened to my arms? I can’t move them!”

“No, your arms are fine,” Eliza replied. “They’re
restrained.”