“Jason! I think I’ve found something, come hurry!”
He hurries out of the room to find Kate staring up at the false ceiling.
“What is it? What have you found?” He asks.
Kate points up to the ceiling.
“Yes the ceiling is false, I know that,” said Jason.
“Turn off the lights,” said Kate, still pointing up at the ceiling.
Jason turns off the lights and looks up in amazement as he sees the whole ceiling lit up like the night sky, revealing all its stars just like you would see in a planetarium.
“My god!” said Jason, “what is it?”
He went next to Kate, who is also awestruck at what they are seeing.
“This is amazing,” she said.
Kate moves over to the door and turns the lights on again.
“You can’t see anything in the light, only when it’s dark,” she said.
Jason noticed two large reflector lights on the walls, but no lights hanging from the ceiling.
“It’s phosphor, just like the luminous face of a watch. The more light it absorbs, the more it brightens up,” said Jason.
Kate, again turns the lights off, and the whole ceiling comes to life.
“We’re looking at the night sky, right? But what does it mean? Why create all of this?” Asked Jason.
Twenty minutes has passed, and Jackie is still waiting for them in the car as the Rottweiler prowls around the large garden. She tries calling Sally again but gives up after a few minutes. She prays her friend is alright and is still alive.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
The boat was nearing its destination as Tony kept it at full throttle, gliding over the calm sea with ease. Sally recognized her cell phone ring tone. She saw Tony take one look at who was calling, then he threw the phone into the sea when he saw Jackie’s name flashing on the display. Everyone had their eyes on her phone as it slowly sank into the dark depths. Sally sees an opportunity to get up and charge at Tony, who has only one hand on the boats steering wheel. She rams herself at him, causing the vessel to turn suddenly, catching everyone off balance. Travis topples over onto Rosie knocking her overboard. She screams in panic as she hits the water, but manages to brace the impact and is seen waving her arms out for help. The two girls at the back managed to grab hold onto the boats rails. Travis gets to his feet just in time to see Sally about to jump into the sea with her hands still bound together. He knew she would sink to the bottom like a rock. He reaches out, grabbing her from her jeans pocket, pulling her back down onto the deck of the boat. She struggles to break free from his grip.
Travis shouts out at her, “are you crazy? You could have drowned.”
He held onto her until she calmed down.
“I would rather die by my own hands, then die by a scumbag like you!” Said Sally furiously.
Tony slowed the boat down, and then he took Sally by her hair.
“You will pay for this! Your time will soon come,” he said.
He pulled her into the front seat next to him.
“Tie her hands to the rail, and help Rosie back into the boat.”
Travis helps Rosie back in. Her face is a mess with makeup streaking down her eyes. She also lost her glasses but could make out Sally sitting in the front seat with a wide grin on her face.
“You bitch! What are you smiling at? Just you wait until I get my hands on you,” she said as she tried to pounce on Sally like a wild cat after its prey.
Travis managed to stop her in the nick of time.
“Whoa..! There Rosie, you’ll get your turn once we’re back on land,” said Travis.
At the rear of the boat, Krissy and Debbie kept amazingly calm.
Sally turned to Travis, asking, “what’s wrong with those two weirdos?”
He looked back at the two girls, then back at Sally. “Too much weed I guess.”
Tony made sure they were all seated before he pushed the throttle forward, continuing their journey. The wind was slowly picking up causing the sea to swell. The boat hurdled over the waves landing back down with a thud. One thing Tony did not calculate was the weather. He knew the gravitational pull of the moon would be much stronger and would have a bigger effect on the tides, but he forgot to check the weather report. He had no idea what he was heading into.
Over at Tony’s house things were not going anywhere, and Jackie was growing impatient waiting in the car. She got out and dialed Jason’s cell phone number.
It rang for a few seconds.
“Yes Jackie! Are you alright?” Came Jason’s voice.
“I’m okay, how about you guys? Have you found anything yet?”
Jason looked up at the ceiling.
“I believe we have, but we can’t figure out what it is, or what it means!”
Jackie looked puzzled.
“I don’t understand!” She said.
“Well, you have to be here to see what I mean. We found something printed on the ceiling, but Kate and I can’t figure it out. It seems to be some kind of map or chart of the night sky,” said Jason.
Jackie bit down on her lip.
“I’m coming in to take a look,” she said.
Jason quickly dismissed the idea.
“Forget it Jackie! You’re injured, and what about that damn dog outside? You can’t outrun it. That thing will tear you to pieces in no time.”
Jackie swore to herself.
“We can distract it away from the window somehow.”
On the other end of her cell phone, she could hear Kate talking to Jason.
“Do you think she can understand what this is?” She said to Jason.
Jackie answered before Jason could respond.
“Tell Kate if it’s a map or chart of some sort, then I have a chance of figuring it out. My father owns a yacht, and he frequently taught me how to navigate and read charts,” said Jackie.
Jason and Kate both agreed with Jackie’s decision. Time was running out, and they had to act fast. Jason thought of a way how to distract the animal away from the window, and trap it inside the house. If they left it outside, then they will all be stuck inside with that beast tracking their every move from the outside.
“Mr. Mallock are you there?” Said Jackie, still waiting for an answer.
“Yes, I’m still here. Listen, I’m going into the house and out through the front door. I will try and lure the dog inside the house. I need you to close the front door as soon as it is inside.”
Jackie thought for a few seconds. She put pressure on her ankle, which hurt under her weight, but was bearable to run on over a short distance. The only thing that worried Jackie was if the animal picked up her scent, and turned on her. She surely won’t be able to outrun it with her injured ankle, but she knew it was a risk she had to take.
“Okay, I’ll do it!” She said.
Jason removed the wood paneling exposing the glass window. Next he started banging his fist on the glass to get the dog’s attention. After a few knocks, the animal was swiftly back, snarling and barking like a mad dog with rabies.
“You are an ugly mutt aren’t you?” Said Jason as he backed away from the glass.
Kate gave him a hug before he ran upstairs.
“Stay here and try to keep it at the window,” he said.
As Jason moved slowly through the dark house, he could see every detail of furniture and item without the risk of turning on the lights. Jason wanted to make sure the dog stayed at the basement window. The house was quiet and had a cold, eerie feeling that Jason hated about these dark old houses. The furniture was old-fashioned and made the place even darker, reminding him of a mortuary. Down in the basement Kate kept her distance looking straight into the animal’s eyes, she could almost read its mind as it stared back at her. An animal like this had only thing on its mind, it had an instinct to kill.