Chapter 14 - An Estate of Reflections

Her chest rising and falling gently, Charlotte is a picture of peace, head still nestled on the pillow. Her hair is falling across her face, exposing a thin gold necklace around her neck, complete with a scratched oval locket. Ida admires the charming accessory for a few seconds, perhaps silently wishing she need not disturb her.

“Charlotte, dear, can you wake up? We need to go.” She whispers softly, her hand on the small girl’s shoulder as she stirs.

“Hrmm… Yes, Mummy.” Charlotte murmurs back, her eyes flickering open. Ida’s eyes close to mask her reaction, standing quickly and facing away, collecting the items on the desk into a small pile busily.

“Remember to be quiet please, Charlotte.” 

“Yes, Miss Ida.” Charlotte responds shyly as she sits up, rubbing her eyes, and stretching out her legs.

“We are going to leave here and find my brother. But to do that we will be running a lot and I may need to carry you.” She pauses, turning to make eye contact. “I need you to promise me that no matter what you see or hear, you will stay quiet and hold on to me at all times. Can you do that?”

Moisture gathering in the corners of her eyes, Charlotte nods.

“It’s alright to be scared, I am scared. But I’m not going to let anything happen to you, not so long as you do what I say.” Ida pulls her into a brief hug as the tears begin overflowing. “I’m sorry. Let’s get you someplace safe. Do you like books?”

“Yes, Miss Ida.” Charlotte sniffles.

“We are going to get you to a lovely little bookstore that the person I borrowed this dress from owns. Does that sound nice?”

Another nod, this time with the tiniest curling of the lip starting. The concept of a quaint bookstore clearly appealing over the nightmare she is currently stuck in.

“Let’s go.” Ida takes Charlotte's hand, the other holding the small bundle of paper and journal she has wrapped in a length of leather string.

The desk is already moved just enough to fit the two of them through, Ida slips past to open the door. The hall outside humming softly from the lamps that line the wall, both sides clear of the people who had been following. 

“There has to be another way out.” She murmurs, stepping beyond the boundary, Charlotte in tow. 

They follow the hall to the right, away from where they had come from and deeper into the Estate. 

Many doors pass, labelled with varied names that hail from a multitude of different backgrounds and ethnicities, as they walk through halls lined with offices and untended laboratories that show no evidence of the people that belong in them. Most of the design in the Estate seems identical, well-worn hardwood floors with dark blue runners, complimenting the light beige walls and navy panelling.

Eventually, they end up at a set of doors that separate like a crossroads, each one labelled with a distinct title, the western door now behind them.

‘North - Observatory’

‘East - Controlled Containment’

‘South - Maintenance’

‘West - Containment Research’

The southern door stands out, with the slightest amount of scuffing around the outside edge and some splintering along the frame. No clear decision on her face, Ida steps toward it, her arm outstretched to push it just enough to see inside. It opens into another long hall, this one completely void of light, barring that which now streams in, the reason for this being blatantly obvious as Ida slowly closes it again. The three stationary silhouettes facing the walls in there are stood on the broken glass from lamp bulbs, resulting in the lights having burnt out.

Placing her back against the wall, palm against her chest and holding back hyperventilation, Ida regains her composure before moving decidedly north. Well-lit, this direction leads up to a set of stairs that ascend out of sight. As they begin to approach the bottom step, Ida halts, her ears pricking as she listens. Muffled conversation is coming from the landing above.

Charlotte close behind her, Ida takes one step at a time, seemingly waiting for the conversation to stop at the drop of a hat.

“...behaviour seems docile with no external stimulus, having hoarded everything reflective already.” 

“Have we discovered what caused it yet?” Two different voices, the first masculine with a tinge of an accent, the other feminine with a crackle of age.

Their conversation continues, discussing the causes of the ‘outbreak’, as Irene crests the landing, peeking over the top step to see a closed door on the left wall. The door itself is of a different design to others so far, this one with a frosted glass window taking up the upper half and a sign across it reading ‘Observation’. Ida leans forward, getting a better view, as the stair beneath her gives out an audible creak.

“Is it one of them?” The woman asks, her voice tinged with panic or fear.

“It can’t be, all of the rooms around the main hall are locked down.”

A look of confusion flits across Ida’s face, quickly replaced with anger as something clicks. She climbs the next step confidently, grasping the door handle and pushing it open, determination roaring in her eyes. It’s a small room, with a candle lit on a side table, the only other furniture being a long bench facing the window that takes up the majority of the far wall. Two figures, one a head taller than the other, turn to face her in surprise. The man, with closely cropped black hair and dressed in a fine suit, holds his arm out in front of the woman to his side protectively.

“You knew this was going to happen? You locked us in!” Ida throws the accusation at them venomously.

“What? No we… How did you get out?” The man stammers, his voice trailing off.

“Monsters! There are families in there!”

Charlotte tugs on Ida’s dress, causing her to break out from the rage as she checks on the girl. Her eyes are wide, lips trembling as she points at the large window behind the others. Ida turns back, seeing something shifting in the window, a fiery glow spreading from the hall beyond, just out of sight.

“Ma’am, we can discuss this in a moment, but first you’re going to need to tell me how you got out.” 

Ida’s face is scrunched up in a ball, her gaze distant as she mumbles under her breath.

“Burning Shards…” She whispers, barely audible, to herself. Realisation dawning, she snaps from her stupor. “Don’t look, Charlotte, face away.” 

The other woman, her long greying blonde hair falling nearly to the waist of her neat ankle-length olive dress, addresses Ida now with a voice laced in authority.

“Listen, dear. If you’ve broken out of that room we are going to need to have you tell us how and then quarantine you. This is for your own good, if this infection hasn’t-”

“Infection? You still think this is medical?” Ida interrupts, still half turned from them both. “You should’ve listened to William. This is on all of you.”

“Ma’am!” The man shouts after her as she pulls Charlotte back through the door.

“Leave her, we need to check the numbers of the hall again, so we can figure out how many may have followed her out.”

“But-” His voice cuts out, Ida pausing on the stairs for a moment to listen.

“Richard?” The woman's voice calls, before letting out a blood curdling scream, the sound of a struggle ensuing as Ida pulls Charlotte further away. Hands over her ears, and pushing a little faster, Ida and Charlotte reach the diverging paths again. 

“How has no-one at the Estate noticed? It's looking back at them, hunting them through the broken pieces. That’s why they nest, to make a network.” She turns to the ‘East’ door, still muttering.

It’s locked, the handle rattling in her grip. Barely wasting any time, she slams her shoulder into it, causing it to quake and crack.

“Charlotte, no matter what, don't look at anything that looks like a firelight. Keep your eyes on the floor. If you can’t look at the floor, you close your eyes. You understand me?” She slams into it again, wincing as it splinters open.

“Yes, Miss Ida.” Charlotte does as she’s told, looking down, following through the doorway.

Just a moment later, several impacts echo from behind them as the southern door shifts in its hinges. 

-

The main hall is silent, save for the occasional creaking as one of the many shifts in place. Thousands of tiny shards of glass litter the place, stripped from the lamps and anything else nearby that catches the light. From up high, something crashes through an unseen window, impacting the floor below with a wet crunch. A few seconds after, the many who stand here begin to shift toward it. A light emanates from where the figure is laid, like a growing beacon, glittering all throughout the surrounding area. It moves through the pieces, toward the far wall, blinking out in each that is left behind. Finally it fades, leaving the hall in darkness again.

-

Light-brown curly fur, all four limbs splayed out in an embracing position, both beady eyes black as night and a sewn-on frown. A teddy-bear, set on a tiny wooden stool, inside a well lit glass box that is inside another slightly larger glass box. Sat in the centre of a symmetrical square room with little to no decoration other than the navy panelling around the border. Ida and Charlotte are tucked just inside the doorway, Ida listening carefully at the closed door.

“I don’t think they followed us, I can’t hear anything.” Ida whispers comfortingly to Charlotte, before doing a quick scan of the room. Unexplainable goosebumps raise along the skin of her forearms, all the way up to her neck, as she regards the tiny bear. 

“I don’t like it, Miss Ida. It feels like it’s looking at me.” 

“Me neither. Let’s get out of here.”

The space outside may well have once been a ballroom. It has a tall, intricately decorated ceiling, a single large chandelier hanging centrally from above. Walls, although stripped of ornamentation, are painted a luxurious burgundy between the windows that stretch nearly floor to ceiling on the southerly side. It has been renovated strangely though, with what looks to be eight small simple and separate rooms having been constructed inside, a number of desks and chairs set up surrounding each of them. The whole place remains lit by the dim lamps around the outer edges, the centre being considerably darker as no natural light is coming in from the windows.

The chandelier tinkles as thunder rumbles through the Estate.

“What is this place?” Irene ponders, dragging Charlotte behind her.

She passes another chamber, this one with a small viewing window next to the door, revealing a table and two chairs. Each chair has a wooden, featureless mannequin facing one another, one of them with eyes having been painted on the face. Ida visibly shivers at the odd sight.

Something rattles from the opposite end, eliciting a quiet but audible yelp from Charlotte as Ida pulls her closer. Moving further from the noise, the two of them begin circuiting the northern wall, careful to keep their sight from anything casting a light their way. Ida flinches as the rattling begins again, although she bravely starts searching with her gaze for the source this time, noticing the handle of one of the chambers moving on its own. This door, however, has a large clear window in the centre, revealing a well lit empty room. The handle rattles in place again.

“Absolutely not.” 

Not sparing a second glance, she approaches an open door not far from them on the outer wall. It leads northward, back to the main hall, a brass sign sat just to the side of it suggesting as much.

“Looks like the only way out is through. You remember what I said? Eyes closed and hold on tight. I will need to carry you from here, I don’t want you to hurt your feet.”