The Limited

It's been quite some time since I've felt the sun on my skin here in Mudrow, basking in the gentle warmth of it's rays. It's also been the same amount of time since I've felt these beautiful winds grace my neck and shoulders like a massage from Aeolus. Paired with the sun's embrace, this brought me joy and peace, albeit briefly. 

As I stand on this cliff hearing the sounds of the waves splashing against the foot of it and the terns on the beach below belting out slurred melodic burrs like they're part of an avian chorus, I become beset with intense nostalgia. 

I feel compelled to jump, but I can't as I am currently engaged in an intense struggle for my memories. 

I'm struggling, very hard, to remember the chain of events that pulled me away from home in the first place. Once I can get that all squared away, I'll feel better. 

≠ 

The last time I stood under the silver, misty skies of Mudrow, it was my thirteenth birthday. 

I was riding bikes with my best friends, Anna and Dalton, down the narrow strip of land that leads to Galecki Beach. We would race here all the time, and the day of my birthday was no different. This race would always start at our homes– which were next door to each other in the neighborhood of Seahawk Cove– ending at the start of the alabaster sand below us. 

Now that I think about it, my birthday was different than the other times due to one detail: I had been gifted with a new bike. 

This bike was a six-speed Huffy Falcon, cherry red in color and sporting twenty-inch tires. I was so excited and could not wait to test it out! As soon as my father brought it out of the garage, I hopped on. It was the best moment of my life, one that I'd carry with me forever. 

I just wasn't aware how long forever would be.

Anna and Dalton were already outside, so I didn't have to call and wake them. They were just as excited as I was and eager to put my Falcon in flight. With all of us on our bikes now, we told our parents we'll see them later and dashed away from our respective residences. 

As with most kids, we were always told not to go too far from home. And here in Mudrow particularly, everybody had been warned to avoid the old cottage on Wardlow Farm. Actually, we were cautioned to steer clear of the farm altogether. 

The Wardlows had gone missing about three years prior. They were a small family of three who mostly kept to themselves. Mr. and Mrs. Wardlow's daughter, Francine, was around our age but her parents never let her associate with us or any other kids. She was home-schooled and, as such, spent most of her time there. When the Wardlows disappeared, it shook Mudrow to its core. All of our parents started fearing for safety. 

After years of no upkeep, the cottage became decrepit. Because of this though, it was of express interest to the curious and foolhardy. Admonishing those who would dare embark upon the property had taken priority. I reason that it's because whenever dusk came, you could hear noises travelling from the farm with the howling winds like a flock of bellowing disembodied wails. There were times, however, that one could also hear these frightening noises during the day. 

The more I think on my last day here, the more comes back to me. 

Out of all the days we could've done this, Anna and Dalton chose my birthday to suggest riding up to the farm. I, of course, was vehemently opposed. 

"Guys, I really don't think we should do this." I cautioned the two. 

"Awww, is Jamarion feeling a bit chicken?" Anna teased, folding her arms into wings and prancing around. "Bawk! Bawk-a-bawk bawk bawk BAWK!" 

Dalton broke in with a taunt of his own, "Yeah, he is. We're changing your name to Jamarihorn Leghorn!" He leaned against his bike, laughing and wheezing, but was the only one amused by his joke. 

"That was corny, Dalton. You always ruin everything. So extra," Anna chided as she rolled her hazel eyes and flipped her platinum-blonde hair. 

"Eh, whatever. You wouldn't know a good joke if it punctured your tires." 

Anna countered, "On the contrary, my humorless friend. Jokes are based upon subtlety at the start with the loud pop of the punchline during the conclusion." 

"You call dancing around like a chicken, subtle? Because, if so, that was very far from it." he sneered. 

"Up yours, you uncultured swine!" Anna groaned. "I don't know why Jamarion is even friends with you."

"And I don't know why he's friends with you, you fat snob!" Dalton raged.

"Hey, you take that back!" Anna said, fuming feverishly. 

Dalton's green eyes blazed with fury. "Make me, Burger-Butt!" 

As they rushed at each other, I jumped between them and grabbed the collars of their shirts in my hands. 

"Will you two cut it out!" I loosened my grip and shoved them back. "Today is my birthday, or have you two forgotten that already?" 

"No, we haven't," Dalton replied, still seething. "But Little Miss Smarty here needs to apologize." 

With her hands clenched into fists and her shoulders taut, Anna screamed, "Apologize?! Why should I apologize to you?! You're the one who just called me fat!" 

"And you called me ‘uncultured swine’! Don't act like you didn't start the insulting first!" Dalton shouted back, every fiber of his body rippling with anger. 

"Ugh! Whatever, Dalton! I hate you!" Anna stomped off towards the cottage, but not before grabbing my hand to drag me along with her. "Let's go, Jamarion. You can't be a chicken today, you're thirteen. It's time to grow up." 

I swallowed hard and my eyes glazed over with fear. "I- I- I'm still not too sure about this, Anna. This place is eerie and not to mention, dangerous. We shouldn't go inside." 

"You know Jamarion, you frustrate me sometimes." —Anna folds her arms and turns her nose up— "Whether you come or not though, I'm going in. We can't fear this place forever." 

Knowing that I couldn't let her go alone, I relented and followed her up the cobblestone walkway. 

Realizing we were halfway to the cottage's door, Dalton zoomed through the dewy grass to catch up with us. 

"Jamarion! Burger-Butt! Wait for me!" 

We stood at the front door waiting on Dalton to get there. He finally made it, panting heavily and on the verge of collapsing. 

"You guys... weren't... supposed to leave... without me. Next time..." he stopped short to catch his breath. 

"If there is a next time." I muttered. 

"What was that?" Anna asked, raising her brow. 

"Nothing," I replied. "Don't worry about it." 

"Whatever. Anyway, I hope you two are ready. There's no turning back now." Anna said excitedly. 

If only she had known just how true those words would become. 

≠ 

Anna gripped the heavy silver knob on the weathered door. 

It had a weird design, shaped like the head of a lion, but with a demonic face. The keyhole rested between two jeweled green eyes. Maybe it was my eyes, but they seemed to glow once the knob had been turned. Also, I could've sworn I heard a low roar, but Anna said it was probably just the air inside escaping. 

We crossed the threshold into the dark and dusty house. It was much larger than it appeared on the outside. Very peculiar. 

Inside the air was heavily malodorous. Breathing it in felt suffocating, but it seemed to clear up the further we traveled. 

At this point, I remember how uneasy I felt inside Wardlow Cottage. Its old floorboards creaked and groaned as we walked across them. When we peered into the kitchen, we saw over a dozen cobwebs with spiders in them, poised and patiently in wait. Their eyes had the same eerie glow as the doorknob. 

Continuing down the hall, rats and roaches scurried away in varying directions, disturbed by the vibrations from our footsteps. A few of the roaches blitzed up the walls like a dozen brown torpedoes with antennae and legs. Speaking of the walls, they were covered in blue wallpaper that was faded and peeling. Visible underneath those peeled layers were cracks as wide as a ballpoint pen. 

Everything about this place just gave me the heebie jeebies, but Anna was in a state of awe and excitement. She grabbed my hand again and pointed at a painting at the end of the hall. 

"Hey, Jamarion, do you think that's a picture of Old Man Wardlow?" 

I shrugged and replied, "I'm not really sure." 

"Well dang, you're no help." she said as she bopped me on the head, giggling and twirling her hair all innocent-like. 

I don't know what she expected me to say. I honestly never got a good look at the man, though I had seen Mrs. Wardlow and Francine quite often. They always stopped by the general store my grandparents ran. Of course, they were never very talkative. 

Mrs. Wardlow only said what she needed to say, which is what she came in the store for. Francine always stayed as quiet as a church mouse. Practically mute. Mr. Wardlow never came inside. Ever. He always stayed in his old Ford pick-up, a bit slumped in the seat with his straw hat over his face. I never knew if he was sleep or just pretending to be. 

The more I think about The Wardlows, the more I realize in hindsight how strange they were. Especially Mr. Wardlow. Being in this cottage just puts it all in perspective too. 

Our parents told us time and time again to stay away from this property. I wish we had listened. 

≠ 

We walked into one of the bedrooms, which looked like it might've been Francine's. 

"Man, it's really dark in here." went Dalton, his voice shuddering nervously. 

"I'll see if I can find a flashlight," I said, hoping to calm him down. "I'll be right back."

"Awww, is the little baby afraid of the dark?" Anna asked in a snarky tone. "Want momma to hold you? Hahahaha!" 

"Leave me alone, Anna!" Dalton screamed. "You always wanna act so tough and pick on me. I'm not having it anymore!" 

"Oh? Is that right? Well have this!" Anna flipped Dalton the bird. 

I saw this as I came back to the room. I was just in time too, as they were about to go at it again. 

Dalton proceeded to shove Anna, but I intercepted and pushed him back, placing myself between the two like I did earlier. 

"Alright you two – ENOUGH! We didn't come here to fight! Jesus... this is shaping up to be the worst thirteenth birthday ever." 

In my frustration with them, I kicked the wall and put a gigantic hole in it, causing the house to go haywire. In a rush, a fierce wind exited, howling as it raced around the entire room, lifting and launching anything that wasn't tied down in our direction.

"Oh my god, Jamarion! What in the world did you do?!" Anna yelled over the bombastic howling. 

"I wasn't trying to!" I exclaimed. "I was just angry! You guys were fighting again, ruining my mood, so I acted out! Sorry!" 

"You don't go around kicking walls, buddy!" Dalton chimed in. 

"Stuff it, Dalton! It was a accident!" 

"Accident or not, you've upset the house!" went Anna. 

"Guess we should've listened to our parents and stayed away, eh!" Dalton quipped as he ducked behind a sofa to shield himself from the flying objects and debris. 

We gotta get out of here, I thought to myself, but as soon as I thought that, the fury taking place subsided. 

"Phew! That's a relief," sighed Dalton. "Don't kick ANY more walls please, Jamarion." 

"Yeah, keep your big feet to yourself." Anna added. 

"Hardy har har, both of you can kick rocks." I retorted. 

"Like you kicked the wall? No thank you. Might stir up another disruption." Anna jested, sticking her tongue out. 

Despite all the commotion we just experienced, she was eager to continue exploring the house. However, I objected and suggested that we leave immediately. 

"UGH! You're such a coward, Jamarion! Grow a pair! Why I do even like you?! UGH!" 

Ignoring her admittance of attraction, I retaliated. "Cut it with the insults. I'm not a coward, I just know when to leave well enough alone. This is DEFINITELY one of those times." 

"I agree with, Jamarion. This place is giving me the creeps." Dalton said, his heart drumming rapidly with fear. 

"You. Two. Are. PUSSIES!" Anna yelled and stormed off in a rush down the hall, disappearing in the darkness. 

"Wait! Anna come back!" 

≠ 

I ran after her, flashlight in hand, swinging it around from room to room. As I stated earlier, this cottage is bigger on the inside than it should be. It's like it exists in it's own universe, or rather—it's own dimension. 

Also, I could've sworn there were only three rooms down this hall, but maybe I just couldn't see properly. It was dark, after all. Entirely too dark. The same goes for outside. 

When we first went in, it was daytime. The sun was bright, but the clouds had it covered and made the sky overcast. Still, it was pretty luminous, enough to provide light on the inside of the cottage. However, once we closed that door, everything was pitch. Like nighttime in a blackout. 

I continued my search for Anna, swinging the flashlight in a frenzy as I called out. 

"Anna! Where are you?!" 

Dalton, as usual, was lagging behind but caught up with me and joined in the search. 

"Burger-Butt! Where do ye be?!" he called out, making light of the situation. 

"Will you cut the jokes, Dalton! We gotta find her—quick! She may be hurt!" 

"Jeez! I'm just trying to ease the tension. C'mon! Relax, guy." 

"This isn't a time for ‘South Park’ quotes, Dalton! Now quit it!" 

Right then, I heard Anna call out. 

"JAAAAAAMAAAAAARIOOOOON! HEEEELLLLLP MEEEEE!" she screamed, but her voice sounded disembodied and all over the place as it echoed. 

"Where are you, Anna?! Keep calling out to me!" 

"HEEEEELLLLLLP!" 

Her screams continued, but it was hard to follow her voice as it resounded in every direction, so I stopped. It seemed like it was coming from up above, but I also heard it from the right, left and underneath my feet. The only direction I didn't hear it coming from, was directly in front, which is where she must be. 

"Dalton... I think this house is playing tricks on us." 

"Chaaa, ya' think?" Dalton responded mockingly as he came up behind me. 

"I'm being serious!" I declared, trying to mask the fear in my voice. 

"Yeah, I know you are, but like I already said: we should've listened to our parents." 

"And if you two had listened to me from the very beginning, we wouldn't be in this mess." 

"You're right," Dalton said with a sigh. "but there's no use crying over it now. We're only kids, and deep inside you wanted to explore this place just as much as we did." 

"Yeah, maybe so," I replied. "Anyway, let's get going. There's a room at the end of the hall, Anna may be in there." 

≠ 

We finally reached the room after what seemed like an hour. I noticed the knob was just like the one on the front door, which made me apprehensive. I shrugged that feeling off though, turned it and walked in. 

Once inside, I immediately saw Anna floating in mid-air, enveloped by a thick black substance. When I shined the light on it, it squirmed, tightening it's grip on her. It flowed like a thick river of slime, gurgling and slurping constantly. 

"I guess we know what happened to The Wardlows now," Dalton said. 

"Yeah, I guess we do. But how do you propose we get Anna out?" I asked, desperate for suggestions. 

"Well, it doesn't seem to like the flashlight very much, so keep shining it and I'll find something to hit it with." 

"Sounds like a plan." I replied, hopeful.

Dalton searched the barely lit room, discovering a axe in the corner. The black slime lashed out in a vain attempt to prevent him grabbing it, but he was out of it's reach. 

"Well I'll be, it can't go very far," Dalton said. "It's very limited." 

"Yeah, it is. What are you gonna do with that axe though?" 

"What do you think I'm gonna do? I'm gonna chop it. I'm sure this'll hurt it." 

Suddenly, Anna screamed out. "DALTON! DON'T DO IT!" 

But he didn't listen, and with a huge swing of the axe Dalton struck The Limited (that's what I decided to call it), creating a huge explosion. 

Now, I finally remember it all. 

After the explosion, I awoke outside the cottage, surrounded by police. I learned that our parents had been searching for us for two years. As I was the only one accounted for with a story that sounded sketchy, they assumed I murdered my friends. 

Very far from the truth. 

Even though I couldn't be charged without proof, my parents couldn't live with the shame of me being labeled a murderer, so they sent me away and told me to never contact them ever. 

That was twenty years ago. 

Now I'm back, ready to prove I committed no crime. There must be a breach somewhere inside the Old Wardlow Cottage that'll take me back to that day so I can clear my name. If it shot me forward two years back then, it can take me back twenty-two. It just has to. I refuse to believe that they're gone. 

So... here I go... being foolish again. Funny how things come full circle, eh?