5. The First Trial

Chapter 5

The First Trial

K nock. Knock. Knock.

The sound repeated over and over. A relentless onslaught of the ears. The sound of someone or something trying to escape from one of the mismatched houses. The knocks drowned out the sound of the tormented wails emanating from the various ghouls shambling around. The black carriage and the Rider stood guard at the end of the walkway.

Hugo studied the various street paths and houses surrounding the purple Folk Victorian imitation of his home. Countless houses and paths. A maze set before him, and he had no idea if he was at the center or on the edge. The sky was a swirling gray of eternal dusk. He paced back and forth on the gray, octagon shaped porch, with his arms folded and a stern gaze.

Time had lost all meaning. It could have been an hour, a day, or a year. He lost track of it all. The only thing he could track was the constant knocking.

Knock. Knock. Knock.

"What's the noise?" Hugo asked.

"You will have to be a little more specific," Thaddeus responded.

The howls of the ghastly ghouls wailed throughout the landscape like the sound of a death rattle.

"The knocks. What are the knocks?"

"Ah." Thaddeus stood up from leaning on the porch railing. "A good question. They started shortly after you arrived. I do not know yet. My guess is someone has been driven to the point of madness and is trying to escape. Funny. I would have thought the transformation process would take hold first."

Hugo stopped. "You keep mentioning transition and transformation. To what? Will I become like them?"

Thaddeus shrugged. "Depends."

"Depends on what ?" Hugo shouted.

"I told you. How strong-willed you are." Thaddeus touched his hands to his chest, his fingertips holding them aloft. "I am here to help you. I am rooting for you. I want to see you succeed."

"And if I don't?" Hugo pointed to the shambling ghouls. "Do I end up like them?"

Thaddeus adjusted his tricorn hat and didn't answer.

"Do I? Do I end up like them?" Hugo's eyebrows furled, and anger filled his face.

Thaddeus focused on the purple house. "You know, when I was alive, only the wealthy lived in a house this big. Consider yourself lucky."

Hugo took two steps, pounding his feet onto the porch. He snarled, displaying his elongated vampire fangs. "Answer my question."

Thaddeus glared at Hugo, unfazed by his display of force. He moved closer to Hugo. His imposing, burly figure towered over Hugo. The two stood inches from each other, neither backing down.

A rush of anxiety and aggression surged through Hugo. His chest would be pounding if he had a pumping heart. Odd. Even though he was dead, his soul still held the rush of living.

Is this what they're trying to remove from me . . . ? The last sensation of living?

Hugo clenched his fists, ready to strike.

Take him. Take him now.

"Spin around," Thaddeus commanded.

"What?" Hugo replied, never flinching. "I'm not spinning around. You back away."

"Let me show you something. Spin around."

"No. I'm not spinning."

Thaddeus clutched Hugo's left shoulder and pulled, contorting Hugo's body. He stuck two fingers into Hugo's back, in the hole where he was impaled with the wooden stake. "Do you see this? No, of course you cannot see this. Imagine it or glance at the smaller hole in your chest."

"What are you doing to me?"

"There is a hole in your back. I take it whatever made this hole killed you." Thaddeus let go of Hugo's shoulder.

Hugo stumbled before regaining his composure. "Don't ever stick your hand into me again."

"Or what? You will kill me twice? The hole in your back means you are dead, and when you are dead, you have two options here. First option is to end up like them." Thaddeus pointed to the shambling ghouls. "The second option is to end up like me. They are not great options, but they are the ones we have. I am here to make sure you end up like me. You got it?"

The anger washed away from Hugo's face. His jaw drooped and head swirled. Thoughts raced through his mind. Thoughts of never seeing Alice's face again. Never holding Max. Ending up like those . . . creatures . He relaxed his fists as they trembled from the fear taking hold.

"What do you mean ‘end up like you?' "

"A survivor," Thaddeus said. He pointed to the carriage. "You are special to her. She assigned me to you specifically because I am good at what I do, so I figured maybe we can help each other."

Thaddeus smacked Hugo on the shoulder with his meaty hand. Hugo's knees nearly buckled under the weight of the blow, caught off by the gesture. Hugo brushed it aside and caught himself. He rubbed his shoulder where the sting of Thaddeus' smack still echoed throughout his body.

Thaddeus continued, "She is conjuring up something. Something big. So, I figured I have two options. I do a good job, and she rewards me . . . or I have another survivor who can help me escape."

"What's your big plan for escaping?" Hugo asked.

"I do not know yet," Thaddeus replied. "But right now, survival is the game. It does not matter which option you pick. Join her or survive long enough to help me. Either way, I win. I figured whatever makes you special could help me escape."

In a thousand-yard stare, Hugo focused on the black carriage. "Who is she?"

Thaddeus leaned against the porch railing. "Madeline Sinclair."

"Madeline Sinclair?" Hugo asked. "The founder of my town?"

"She is a banshee," Thaddeus said. "She commands this army of the dead."

"How did she get here?" Hugo asked. "Why is she doing this?"

"Questions for another time," Thaddeus replied as he moved to the front door and entered the home. "We cannot delay any longer. We have work to do. Follow me."

Hugo stood there, focusing on the black carriage with the headless driver. He turned back to the shambling ghouls. They wandered aimlessly throughout the landscape. The three knocks drowned out their crying wails.

"Are you coming?" Thaddeus asked.

Hugo gave one more glance to the carriage before entering the house and shutting the door. He stood in the entryway. His mind was blank and yet flooded with images of his past life. He peered up the stairs, hoping and praying Alice would come tumbling down. Or he would wake up from a bad dream. Yes. This was all a bad dream. He would wake up holding Alice in their bed once again.

"You might want to come in here for this," Thaddeus added.

Hugo lowered his head and shuffled into the living room. The blank TV above the fireplace. The flameless candles below. Their gnarled, waxy fingers reaching down to the hardwood below. This place was familiar, yet it was slightly off. It held the appearance of his home, but it was a prison. An eternal prison he couldn't escape.

Thaddeus sat in Alice's high-backed winged chair. The very chair Alice sat in when they spent their first Halloween evening together. His hands firmly grasped the end of the armrest. His feet kicked up onto the coffee table. His tricorn hat tilted up. A smirk on his face.

"Get out of the chair." Hugo stood firm, his arm outstretched and finger pointed at Thaddeus. "That chair does not belong to you."

"Oh, but this is the best seat in the house for what's about to happen."

Hugo puffed out his chest. He never lowered his finger as he narrowed his eyes. "What's about to happen?"

"Your trial, Mr. Dodds. Your first trial. I am going to sit here and enjoy the show. It always provides me with insights into those suffering from grief. I learn so much about who the person really is. We all fail our first one. Well, except for me. We will see if you can do better than everyone else." Thaddeus gave a wink.

"What if I pass this trial?" Hugo asked.

Thaddeus scowled at Hugo. "Then she will send both of us to oblivion." He lifted a boot from the table and stomped twice on the floor.

The front door opened. "Hugo," a familiar woman's voice said.

Hugo stumbled backward. It wasn't Alice's voice. No. This was a voice he hadn't heard in a long time. Not the raspy voice in the hospital room. Not the weakened voice he consoled every night. No. The bubbly voice he fell in love with. No longer a memory. It was her voice. Elizabeth's voice.

"Hugo!" Elizabeth's voice echoed in a slight panic.

"What is this?" Hugo asked Thaddeus, taking steps back in the living room.

"This is the worst day of your life, Hugo Dodds," Thaddeus responded. "And I am going to enjoy learning every bit about it."

Elizabeth emerged into the living room. Her hazel eyes were bright and her auburn hair as full as he remembered. She stood before him like a ghostly image of a memory long thought gone.

Hugo's arms trembled. A sensation of anxiety coursed through his body. He held his breath. He was staring at a ghost.

"Elizabeth, please . . ." His voice cracked as he couldn't complete the sentence. "Please. Please tell me you're not here too."

"Hugo," Elizabeth's voice raised in panic. "I can't get ahold of my parents." She clutched a phone in her hand. She dialed the number again and held it up to her ear. She paced around in a circle.

This was all too familiar. A memory flooded back to Hugo.

"They're not answering," she said.

"What is this?" Hugo asked Thaddeus.

Thaddeus sat in the chair. A maddening grin appeared on his face. He didn't respond.

Elizabeth focused on Hugo. Her eyes watered. Lips quivered. The phone shook in her hand. "Hugo, my parents aren't answering the phone. I've been trying all night."

Hugo's shoulders dropped. This wasn't happening now. It was the ghostly image of a memory from years ago. The first night Elizabeth's world came crashing down.

"Hugo, what should we do?" Elizabeth asked. "I'm going to go over and check on them."

"Elizabeth, do you know where you are?" Hugo asked.

"We didn't want to go over. I knew we should've gone over," Elizabeth answered.

"Elizabeth . . . It's me, Hugo. Do you know where you are?" Hugo asked once more.

"We're at home, Hugo. We stayed home instead of going over," she responded.

Hugo snapped his focus to Thaddeus. "End this. End this right now," he commanded.

Thaddeus shrugged his shoulders and smiled. He remained silent.

"I'll call Mrs. Peterson," Elizabeth said, flipping through the contacts on her phone. "She can go over and check on them."

Hugo turned his attention back to Elizabeth. "Don't. Don't make the phone call." He moved closer to snatch the phone from her hands, but she pulled back and held the phone against her ear.

"Hello. Hello, Mrs. Peterson? This is Elizabeth. I'm trying to reach—" Her words trailed off. "No. No one called me. I've been trying to call them."

Her mouth dropped open. She went silent.

"Elizabeth, hang up the phone right now," Hugo pleaded. "Trust me."

He turned to Thaddeus. "Make her stop. Make her stop right now or so help me."

"What will you do?" Thaddeus asked as he leaned back in the chair. "I always love seeing how this plays out. It is fun seeing how people react to reliving their darkest moments. Consider it entertainment. Some do not even make it past their first trial. Are you strong enough to survive?"

Hugo rushed over to Elizabeth. He placed his hands on her shoulders and locked her hazel eyes with his icy blues. "Please hang up. Please."

"No," Elizabeth cried out. "No. No. Noooooo."

"Please hang up," Hugo shouted, tears forming in his eyes.

"Oh, Hugo," Elizabeth said as she buried her head into his chest. She dropped the phone. "My parents. They were?—"

Hugo wrapped his arms around her. He held her tight. He had not held her in such a long time; part of him didn't want to let her go. She smelled as he remembered, of jasmine and sandalwood. His head rested against hers.

He had spent many nights longing for this day once again, and under the most unusual and nightmarish circumstances, it was here. He wanted this to last for eternity, but deep down, he knew this was a fleeting moment, and what was about to happen was far worse.

"I know," Hugo said as he rubbed her back. "I know."

Tears flowed down Elizabeth's eyes. "They went for a walk," she said.

"Please. Please stop," Hugo said. "I already know. Please stop."

"A drunk driver sped through the neighborhood and hit them from behind. Mrs. Peterson said they were pronounced dead at the scene."

Hugo could no longer hold back his tears. The memory of the long past night—this night—played out before him like an agonizing nightmare. The tears. The pain. The helplessness as he held his wife. Despair. Elizabeth sobbed into his chest. All Hugo could do was comfort her. He buried his head into her shoulder, rubbing her back.

"It'll be okay. It's ok?—"

Hugo paused.

He pulled back, pushing her away. He kept his hands on her shoulders and at a distance.

"Hugo," she sobbed. "Why are you pushing me away?"

He locked on her eyes. This wasn't right. Something was off. Her parents weren't killed by a drunk driver. Her parents had her late in life. Her father passed away shortly after her first cancer diagnosis. He had a heart attack.

Her mother passed away shortly after Elizabeth beat cancer for the first time. It was ruled natural causes. Mrs. Peterson found her when going for their daily walk. It was true Mrs. Peterson called Elizabeth to inform her, but the rest was a lie. Hugo tilted his head and narrowed his eyes—a discerning glance.

Elizabeth sniffled and wiped away her tears. "Hugo, why aren't you consoling me?"

"You lied," Hugo said. "This isn't how it happened. You're not here. This isn't real."

Elizabeth's face snarled. Her eyes grew dark. A black, inky substance dripped down her face like tears. She let out a growl. "You'll turn, Hugo Dodds. They all turn."

She wiped her tears with her hands and smacked Hugo in the face. Her palms went over his eyes. They burned as a circle of pain was seared into his visage. Agony. Fear. Depression. Despair. All these emotions coursed through his body. His body crumpled, bringing him to his knees, as he released an agonizing scream. It echoed throughout the house.

"You almost passed," Thaddeus said as he rose from the chair. The thick, leathery soles of his boots echoed throughout the room as he towered over Hugo. "Everyone almost passes, but despair still gets them in the end."

Hugo hunched over on the hardwood floor and cried out in pain.

Thaddeus added, "Question is, are you strong enough to survive the other two?"