Her Keepers

By Laura Camby McCaskill

Tess is starting over with the help of a strange woman who may or may not be a Good Samaritan. Tess was raised in an orphanage. She doesnt know much about her family, and she doesnt really care. Angela showed upseven months pregnantand said, Im going to take care of you. So Tess left the orphanage, but she didnt plan on ending up in a creepy, old house with this woman she doesnt know and doesnt trust.

Then, the dreams begindreams that make Tess think shes been to this creepy house before and that make her think Angela isnt the stranger she appears to be. What is the link between them, and why did Angela suddenly show up and take her away from life as an orphan? Soon, the dreams escalate, and Tess ?nds herself in serious danger. Its almost as though the house is out to get her.

To put a stop to the horror, Tess must take a closer look at her past. Who was her family, and where did they go? Could the house have once belonged to them? As secrets are revealed, Tess doesnt like what she sees; worse, she might not be the only one in danger. Its never a good idea to awaken the ghosts of the pastespecially when those ghosts may not have Tesss best interests in mind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Jan 31, 2012
• ISBN: 9781462071340

Laura Camby McCaskill

Laura Camby McCaskill is the author of the paranormal thriller, Her Keepers. She currently works as a nationally certified pharmacy technician and lives in North Carolina with her husband, Adam. Laura loves animals, nature, and music, and thinks traveling the world would be life changing and exciting.

Book preview

Chapter One

They had just made it. Tess had wondered whether they would. It was dusk by the time they reached the old, run-down house. The leaves had fallen, and the weather was cold. The house looked as if it had just reached its hundredth birthday. Some of the shutters had fallen off, and some hung by a thread. The wood siding looked as if it had fought its last battle with the rain. The front porch seemed as if it could cave in at any moment. Leaves were everywhere on the ground, and the trees just seemed dead. Everything about this house seemed dead.

The car stopped at the front steps as the steam from the engine shot up into the air. Neither of the girls spoke. Angela just sighed and jerked the car door open. She pulled herself out of the car, which was hard for a woman who was seven months pregnant. Tess sat in the car and watched as Angela fiddled with the keys, trying to find the right one for the door. Tess knew she could probably break it down herself if Angela couldn’t find the key or at least find a window to climb in. Finally, Angela opened the door and went inside. Tess stepped out of the car just as a cold gust of wind blew by. She shivered. The cold made a tingling sensation race up her spine. It would be dark soon. She hoped the place had lights.

Inside, Tess stopped at the main entrance of the house, which opened up into a big living room. On the far wall, a fireplace protruded out, one filled with dust and ash. Sheets were on the furniture, and rugs were rolled up and shoved to the far side of the room. The house wasn’t fit for Tess to sleep in, let alone a pregnant woman. Tess heard a noise in the room to her right. It was Angela slamming cabinets in the kitchen, searching for something. To the left of her, a long wooden stair case reached up to the second floor. The lights suddenly flicked on. Tess looked toward the kitchen and saw Angela shut the door to the fuse box. She had a weird feeling about this house.

It should be fine to live in after we get everything settled, Angela said, looking toward the living room.

Tess could tell that Angela was very tired. Tess took another look around the room. The house was very old, with wooden floors and flowery wallpaper that decorated the entire living room. An ancient-looking light fixture hung from the ceiling. Tess wondered what the place had looked like when someone had actually lived in the house. It was hard for her to imagine knickknacks and such around the place. Tess sighed.

I’ll go find some wood for the fire.

There’s some in the back shed, Angela told her.

Tess thought that odd. How would Angela know where the wood was stored, considering she had never been here before? Someone must have told her.

Tess shut the door behind her and headed toward the shed in the back. The front porch steps squeaked as she stepped off them. The porch didn’t seem like it could hold the weight of the leaves and twigs that covered it, let alone her own weight.

Regardless of whether this was Angela’s second visit here or not, this was only Tess’s first. This was not the most exciting thing. Tess wasn’t one to get excited about much. She had learned the hard way never to get too excited about something or wish for things that just wouldn’t happen. There wasn’t much to be happy or excited about anyway. Being raised in an orphanage did that to you. As for Angela, Tess didn’t know her story. Just that one day she had appeared out of nowhere and said she would take care of her. Tess knew she should have asked her about certain things, but then again, Tess really didn’t care. If the state wasn’t worried about it, why should she be?

Tess stood at the shed door, which was locked with a huge padlock. There was no key to be found, and they needed wood now. Next to the shed, she found an ax she could knock the lock off with some force. Tess raised the ax over her head. Suddenly, the wind picked up, and the most horrible sound echoed through the air. At first, she thought it was Angela screaming. She spun around her trembling hands grasped the ax tighter. After a second, she realized it was the wind blowing through the old house. Tess’s whole body shook as she rested against the shed.

Great, Tess thought. That’s going to keep us up all night.

Tess broke the lock off and opened the door. She couldn’t see much, but she did find some firewood. A few minutes later, she arrived in the house with an armful. Angela had already moved all the sheets off the furniture and swept some of the ashes out of the fireplace. She did way too much work for a pregnant woman, Tess thought. But she knew Angela wasn’t going to stop. Angela was hardheaded and just about as happy with life as Tess was. She remembered the first time she had met Angela. She came to the orphanage a few months ago. Tess remembered just staring at Angela as the social worker explained the situation to Tess. Tess, this is Ms. Angela Morrow. You’re going to go live with her now. Your legal guardian left custody of you to Mrs. Morrow when they died.

Tess couldn’t believe it, and yet, yes, she could. First of all, Tess never knew she had had a family. That was why she was in an orphanage. Tess didn’t even know her last name or if Tess was her real first name. She didn’t know the legal guardian who had passed years earlier. Then a strange woman showed up to take her away. Not that she cared. The only question Tess had at this point was why now? If she had a family, why didn’t she know about them? Turned out the paperwork from the lawyer’s office had been mixed up and then lost. And Tess was lost along with it. Her legal guardian had died over ten years ago. That’s nice. And Angela was supposed to take over then. But with no paperwork, how could she? Tess didn’t think Angela had fought that hard to find her anyway. She had never had a keeper before, someone to watch over her. Why should things change now? After that, they lived in Angela’s apartment, where Tess slept on the couch. She could hear Angela cry at night and sometimes scream as if she were having a nightmare, probably because of the guy who had knocked her up and then left. But they never talked about it. When asked questions about the will, Angela would always say she didn’t know. That was a lie. Tess never questioned her. Angela didn’t want to talk about it, and Tess really didn’t want to know anyway. Deep down, it bothered Tess to think about her own attitude toward the whole situation, but at this point—live or die—it didn’t matter anymore. Apparently, no one wanted her, and by now, she didn’t want them either.

Then one day, Angela got a letter of eviction. Angela was broke and couldn’t afford to live there anymore or anywhere for that matter. They packed up all their things, ready to live on the streets. But the very next day, Angela got a call from the lawyer’s office. Another part of the will had been found. It seemed Tess had a house too. This was it. And the big shocker, it was only thirty miles away from the orphanage. Awesome, Tess thought. So close and yet so far!

The rules were that Angela would live with Tess in the house until she turned eighteen. Then Angela had to move out and find her own place. By then, Tess should have finished school and found a job to support herself. Tess was fourteen. She had a while to worry about that.

Tess threw the wood into the fireplace and watched as Angela stoked the fire, hopefully the house would warm up soon. Angela handed Tess a broom.

We have about an hour of light left. Sweep the living room for me so we don’t breathe in this dust while we sleep. Might as well get started on cleaning this place today, Angela said.

What about upstairs? Tess asked.

Don’t go up there, Angela snapped.

Tess cocked an eyebrow. Angela sighed.

We’ll deal with it tomorrow.

They finished cleaning right after the sun went down. The floor was swept, and everything in the living room had been dusted. The fire was going strong, and it had warmed up inside. Tess made another trip out to the shed for another load of wood. That way, the fire would burn all night. Angela locked the door and turned the lights out. There was nothing left to do but sleep. They were both too tired to eat. Angela lay on the couch covered with the blankets they had brought. The rest of their stuff could wait in the car until tomorrow. The house was way off the main road, so hopefully, no one would steal their stuff. Tess climbed up into a chair and wrapped herself in a blanket. She knew she wouldn’t sleep tonight, but she would try this for now. It wasn’t long before Angela was out cold.

Angela was average height, with long brown hair that was almost always braided. She had blue eyes and a light tan to her skin. Under her eyes were dark circles, probably from all the stress in her life. She had lines around her mouth and eyes. Tess could tell she wasn’t aging gracefully.

Tess watched her for a while and then stared into the fire. The fire was warm and comfortable. She felt the warmth of it reach the cheeks of her face, and she relaxed. After a while, her eyes got heavy. She closed them for a moment to rest, but then she had to force them back open.

The fire suddenly went out. Tess stood up quickly, letting the blanket fall to the floor. The warmth of the fire slowly disappeared out of the room, and Tess could feel the little hairs on her arm and the back of her neck stand up as an eerie cold slowly seeped into the room. The house began to moan again—the same eerie sound she had heard outside. Angela didn’t move. She was lost in her dreams, and for the first time since Tess had known her, it seemed like a peaceful sleep. Tess found herself moving toward the stairs. She could remember Angela telling her not to go up them, but she couldn’t stop herself. Oddly enough, even though she couldn’t make herself stop, this didn’t bother her. Why? At the top of the stairs, she gazed down a long hallway that had three doors on the left and three doors on the right. At the other end of the hall was another door that was open. It looked like a bathroom. She could see a sink against the back wall. Everything seemed blurry. Am I that tired? Tess closed her eyes tightly to make the blurriness go away.

When Tess opened her eyes, she was shocked to find herself back in the chair downstairs. She had somehow rolled herself into a ball in the small chair, and it was freezing inside. She looked over at Angela, who was still asleep on the couch. The fire was out. Tess felt uneasy. She looked over at the alarm clock beside Angela. It was 3:30 in the morning. Tess threw another log onto the fire, and it rose up again quickly. She was glad, because she wasn’t sure how to start a fire. Her body welcomed the warmth again as she felt the little hairs on her arm and the back of her neck slowly fall back into place. Tess lay down on the floor, shocked that she wasn’t in pain from sleeping in that chair so long. What a weird dream.

‡‡

The sun was bright, and it slowly pulled Tess out of her deep sleep. She rose from the floor to find Angela gone. The blankets lay folded on the couch. Tess heard the clinking of dishes in the sink. Tess looked at the alarm clock, which said 10:15. The fire was still going, which was a good thing, because it had gotten cold outside. Tess walked into the kitchen. The floor was swept and mopped. The dishes Angela had brought were washed, and the trash can was packed full of things she had cleaned out of the cabinets. Other older-looking dishes were stacked up against it.

Why are you throwing dishes away?

They’re not mine. Who knows how long they have been here? I found a rat in the cabinet too. We’re gonna have to set those mousetraps out we brought. Are you hungry? Angela asked.

Yeah.

Go out to the car and bring in the box of food. I’ll fix us something, Angela told her.

What happens when the food runs out?

Then we go into town and get more, Angela said, putting the last of the dishes away.

How? Tess asked, The car broke down. We can’t walk that far.

Why don’t you let me worry about that? Angela snapped.

Tess walked out to the car. Angela wasn’t going to bend. From the looks of it, they had two days’ worth of food left. After they ate, Angela leaned back and rolled a loose strand of hair around her finger.

I guess we’d better get to the upstairs now, Angela said, You’ve only got a few more days of break before school starts again.

Tess followed Angela toward the stairs, suddenly remembering her dream. Tess stopped at the top stair and gazed down the long hallway. There was a bathroom at the end and three doors on either side. How could I have dreamed that? she thought. I’ve never been up here before! I must have been sleepwalking!

Let’s do the bathroom first, Angela said.

Angela walked down the hallway, looking straight ahead. She seemed upset. The bathroom was a mix of puke green and yellow colors. The tiles on the bathroom wall showed signs of years of neglect. The tub had mildew on the base and the corners, and the toilet was a sad sight in itself. Tess