The Tragic Tale of Teddy Woven

Chapter 23

To my surprise he jogged down the hallway, intent on getting to the kitchen as fast as he could. I stood there dumbstruck, wondering about the blatant fear that had suddenly crossed his eyes when he looked at me. I could hear his feet shuffling across the floor, hard and fast with staggered movements. “Where is it?” echoed down the hallway. “Where did I put it?”

I took a step forward, before I recalled his stern warning to stay in front of the door. I crossed my arms with impatience, and looked around the empty hallway where only the old grandfather clock stood. The dim silhouette of the staircase could barely be perceived, mostly because that part of the hallway was shrouded in darkness. The crackling of wood struck the air, coming from the fireplace that Teddy had left on. I thought it would be wise to put it out, so I disobeyed his orders and made my way back to his study room. The room had become uncommonly dark now, the sun’s rays were faint upon the smooth hardwood floor. From the open window, I could see the deathly pale crescent moon. Blinding stars of silvery white besieged the once blue skies, determined to blot out the last of the sunlight with their own source of illumination. I stepped forward a little more, noticing the creaking to the floorboard that wasn’t there before. The curtains billowed from the tiny crack of the window, gusting forward in the greatest effort to touch the corner of the piano. The flames were bright as ever; almost enchanting-like. I stepped forward more, while clutching the corner of my dress.

“Sela!” I heard Teddy call out. His feet were pounding against the hardwood floor, determined to get to the front door. “I thought I told you to stay where you are.” He stopped in front of the entrance way of the study room with his hands resting over his hips. “Why can’t you listen-?”

“-I was going to put out the fire,” I cut in. “You can’t let it stay like this when you are driving me home.”

“Right!” he shouted out with a fling of his hand upwards. “Just do it quickly. There is a poker over there. Yes, that one! Use it to spread out the embers.” Teddy turned around suddenly and yelled over his shoulder, “I’m going upstairs!”

I took his advice and lifted up the bronze hued poker, feeling the full weight of it in the palm of my hand. I was too busy admiring the tip of it, taking in the round hilt with an image of a full moon pressed on top. My thumb ran over the detailed engraving that was etched into the hard material. The curtains flapped higher, smacking together in a stronger fashion than before. There was no wind to carry it that way, but there it was, whipping higher as if it could reach me from whence I stood. The moon beams steamed through the coal black fabric, radiating the very room into an eerie glow. The house began to creak all around me, like a low moan of wind on a stormy day. I swallowed hard and clutched the poker for the fireplace tighter in my hand, extending it upwards so I could grip it with my left hand as well. I could feel my senses become more alert, noticing the way the hairs at the back of my neck perked upwards. The fire blazed higher than before, wood collapsing heavily to strike up flickering flames. I stepped backwards, feeling my bare feet shuffling over the cold floor. There was something not right about this room- this house.

A sharp hiss ignited in the air, and then a loud shrill that could have only come from Luna. I ran down the hallway, watching her paws pad hard across the floor to get to me. I bent down quickly, wanting to touch her, but she bypassed my hand and fled into the music room. I followed Teddy’s cat, unaware of how uncommonly silent he was upstairs when all of these events had occured. The poker rested loosely over my hand as I stepped into the room, observing the way Luna was shoving the front of her head desperately through the small crack of the window. I ran over to the window and thrust it wide open, startled to see her leap off the tiny ledge to get outside. Her pale white form pounced over the lush green grass, and before I knew it she was gone. “Luna!” I called out in hysterics, not wanting her to depart from me. “Luna!”

The curtains of the window flapped higher all around me. They twisted and contorted, scrapping over the sides of my body like long deathly tendrils, until I thought it was best to step away from the window with my poker armed high over my head. Luna had the good sense to get away from this house that had suddenly become alive, and so should I.

I stepped further away from the window, noticing the fact that the flames were flickering higher and higher to a dangerous level. It was beyond my control now, so I sprinted out of the room and entered the hallway instead. “Teddy!” I cried out, while gripping onto the poker with a deathly grip.

I stepped down the hallway at an incredibly slow pace, searching the long, narrow hallway that was mysteriously quiet. I held my breath after a time, fearful of the ongoing silence. There was a faint crackling of fire behind me, a sound generating from the uncontrollable fireplace that desperately needed to be put out by the owner of this house. Steadily I walked forward with the poker raised higher above my head like a baseball bat. There was something in my spirit that warned me of incoming danger, and it was worse than I could have possibly ever imagined.

As I approached the staircase, I could hear hush murmurings coming from upstairs. I peered into the darkness, wondering if I should sneak upstairs to find out the truth of the matter. Teddy’s voice was filled with agitation, sharp and controlling-like that sounded almost unnatural to him. I could not make out his words however, and I knew once I went up a step it would creak loud enough for him to hear. I stood there patiently, trying to make out his sentences that continued to be lost to me. This text is property of Nô/velD/rama.Org.

“That’s not true!” Teddy shrilled out sharply. “And you know it.”

I took another step forward, finding my bare foot pressed against the first step of the staircase.

“I have kept my word,” Teddy pleaded with his voice fraught with pain. “All this time, and I’ll continue to do so.”

The person that he was speaking too was not responding, and if they did, I could barely make it out. The sound of Teddy pacing was loud upstairs, creaking the floorboard beneath him.

“No,” he growled out threateningly. “I will not let you do that again.”

I took a step backwards, feeling terrified that he should be even speaking to someone up there. How many times had Teddy assured me that he was the only one in the house? How many times had he lied to me right to my face? I stepped away from the staircase with a lowered head. I tasted defeat as I acknowledged his sordid act of betrayal. All this time, everything that he had ever said was just a lie.

The palm of my hand leaned against the wooden door frame that was connected to the hallway and the kitchen. The heavy poker for the fireplace was lowered downwards until it rested over the side of my frame. There was no room for escape for me, his house was miles from anywhere else. Besides, he had the car keys, so there was no way for me to steal his car and have a quick elusion. I looked over to the kitchen, wondering if I would need a weapon that was better than the iron rod. For once in my life I did not trust Teddy, and as his house became more vile and malevolent, I found my only option was to leave as soon as I could. I stepped into the kitchen, desperate to find a knife in any of his drawers. I pushed them open with a heavy slam, trying to decipher anything long and sharp in the shadows. It would have been smarter to turn on the light, but time was running short and pretty soon he would come downstairs again. My heart was pounding so fast it was hard to focus. The curtains in the kitchen began to whip as well, frightening me to an unstable level as my fingers quickly brushed aside the cutlery to find a knife large enough to do some damage.

“We are finished here,” echoed above me, seeping through the floor that was right above my head. “I won’t let you.”

I found a knife while slicing the tip of my finger in the process. My hand recoiled backwards, bringing it up to my mouth to suck it dry. The sound of Teddy’s footsteps became louder, moving over to another part of the house that was away from the kitchen. It was clear he was speaking to someone, and he was not happy with what they had just said.

My hand dove downwards to snatch at the bread knife, knowing it wasn’t the best weapon to choose, but I could use it anyways. The next plan of action was a line of escape, so I leaned over the kitchen countertop and tried to pry at the windows. They were sealed shut, and not even the buttons that I used

to unlatch them would prop it open. I lowered the knife down into the kitchen sink and tried multiple times to unlock the window, but to no avail. Trapped, I began to panic and grabbed a hold of the knife and poker with a defensive stance. It was just when the house fell into an eerie silence that I heard a ringing of a metal chain. My weapons were lowered as I turned my head to the right, realizing that sound could only come from one place - the chained up door to the cellar.