Excerpt: Where the Orchids Die

Mercy had finally given up on trying to find her medication and laid down on her bed staring at the ceiling. Elaina was fast asleep and Reika was settled comfortably at her feet. Mercy had heard the comment of not to turn the lights off but got out of bed and did so anyway knowing she would not be able to sleep with the lights on and Elaina would not know unless she woke up in the middle of the night.

The room became silent and dark and as Mercy was just about to return to her bed she heard the sound of small bells ringing which broke the silence. She stepped out of the doorway and into the hallway and saw nothing that could possibly make the sound; however the sound didn’t die or soften, it only progressively grew louder. She sighed and began to walk down the hall to see what was making the noise. The moonlight illuminated parts of the hall where windows allowed it to shine through.
The sound of the bells had died down. Mercy had turned a corner where there were no windows to allow the moonlight to shine in. The sound of the bells was completely gone and nothing but silence filled the hall. Tired and unaware her surroundings she turned around to make her way back to her room.

As she began to head back to her room the sound of the bells started up again. She looked around frustrated wanting to know what was making such an annoying sound. Trying to ignore the bells, Mercy began to walk slowly down the hallway. As she did so the sound of the bells completely died once more. She heard the sound of footsteps behind her, she turned to see if there was anyone there, but all she saw was Reika wandering around. The small cat ran past Mercy and down the hall towards the room but paused in the middle of the hall looking intently up at something. The clouds covered the moon and the room became completely pitch black. Unable to see much in the dark Mercy could only make out a rough silhouette of the cat.

“Reika, weren’t you just in the room sleeping with Elaina?” Mercy whispered trying not to make too much noise. As she slowly made her way towards the cat to pick her up not wanting to stumble in the dark and bring her back to the room, Mercy bumped into something, that something being the person, a little girl. Startled, Mercy stepped back and tried to focus on the child.
The clouds that had covered the moonlight retreated and Mercy was able to vaguely see the girl. She was dressed in traditional clothing and her long hair had bells adorning it. The sound of the bells had come from her. The two stared at each other for a moment and Mercy finally spoke getting closer to the child and kneeling down. The little girl couldn’t have been more than eight years old. Her sweet childish face held a small smile as Mercy knelt down.

“Are you related to Alice? I don’t remember her mentioning having a sibling or someone else staying here,” Mercy asked and the little girl giggled. She grabbed Mercy’s arm and pulled her off down another hallway. The little girl stopped at a door and looked at Mercy who said nothing. Alice had told both her and Elaina that it was a two bedroom and one bath house. The rest of the house was open, but Mercy couldn’t figure out where this door led. The little girl looked at Mercy for a moment and pulled out a small bottle. It was her sleeping pills.

“So you were the one who took them,” she tried to take the bottle from the child but the little girl ran off and left Mercy by the door. She sighed and decided to see where the door did lead to. She opened it to see a flight of stairs going down to what seemed to be a basement. An uneasy feeling came upon her but she shrugged and closed the door. As she turned around and began to make her way through the dark and now silent house she felt someone shove her from behind and not in any position to catch herself, she fell to the floor and hit her head.