The Curious Incidents at Grand Show Place Cinema

Chapter 5

Several days later, Edward came into the theatre early to meet with the subcontractor about the hole in the parking lot.

The subcontractor arrived on time and pulled his truck up next to the hole.

"Good morning. My name is Ron." The subcontractor stuck his hand out.

"Good morning Ron. I am Edward. Thanks for coming over on such short notice," Edward said as he held his nose with his left hand and shook Ron's hand.

"No problem. Man, what a stench! It is an H2S odor. I have a detector in the truck. I will get it." Ron was holding his nose now.

"5 parts per million Hydrogen Sulfide is what the reading says, so that explains the smell. Five ppm is not dangerous, but it could be a concern if it rises above ten ppm, so it would not have to raise much." Ron declared.

"What could be causing it?" Edward queried.

"It is possible it could be an abandoned oil well. We are in oil country, so it would not surprise me, but nothing that big was drilled back in the day. Not around here anyway. If it is an oil well, it could be anywhere from 800 to 2000 feet deep, but the curious thing is I don't see any casing." Ron explained.

"Maybe the theatre could put a well here and make some money from this," Edward joked.

"You might not be wrong, but in the meantime, we will have to put a cap on here that will allow monitoring. The cost will be somewhere between 25 and 50 grand. Sorry for the bad news." Ron winced as he delivered the news.

Edward returned to the office just as Candace was arriving, and he gave her the information about the hole repair.

"Well, that completely wipes out the contingency, no pun intended. What do we do now?" Candace wondered.

"Frankly, the bugs blew the contingency fund. I hate to ask Mom and Dad for help." Edward remarked.

"Me too. I have enough savings to cover this, but then I will be tapped out." Candace responded.

"Are you sure? Didn't you have a six-week trip planned for next summer?" Edward submitted.

"Yes, but I am sure we will have this sorted out by then." Candace offered.

A rumble went through the building again.

The exit door in Theatre 5 was vibrating again as they walked in. Edward went down to the exit door and noticed the one-eyed rag doll sitting on the bottom step. Edward turned and looked at Candace. They both looked confused.

"Did you put this here to mess with me? I saw this in the projection room a while ago too."
Edward chided.

"I swear I didn't put it there. Maybe the staff was messing with us," Candace responded.

Edward bent down, picked up the doll, and then stepped up on the first step to reach for the door. As he stepped up, it felt like a descent. The second step went down further; the third step was the same. He turned to look at Candace, and she was gone. All he could see was dirt. It was like the inside of a cave. The door now looked like it was 15 or 20 feet above. There was an eerie red glow all around. He decided to step down, but the door was even further out of reach, and twice the distance away, and the red light was now more intense, and it was getting hot. He was beginning to sweat and could smell sulfur. His conversation about H2S being poisonous began to weigh on his mind. He wondered if he was in an extension of the hole in the parking lot.

"Edward! Where are you?" Edward could hear Candace calling him loud and clear.

"I am still in front of the door. It sounds like you are just below my feet," Edward yelled, trying to remain calm.

"You just disappeared. Your voice seems to be coming from the ceiling vent," Candace answered.

Edward tried shuffling to the side of the step. The little cave began to spin, and the next thing he knew, he was standing in a rocky passageway with a hooded person standing about two arms lengths in front of him. The figure did not feel threatening to Edward, but his heart was racing, and sweat poured off his face because it was getting even hotter.

"Who are you?" Edward asked the figure.

"I am your 13th great-grandmother, Mary Wardale," she said as she removed her hood.

Mary did not look more than 30 years old and was the spitting image of Candace, only shorter.

Edward was sure that he was dreaming now.

"You are not dreaming. You and your sister are in grave danger," Mary told him.

"How did you know that I was thinking that I was dreaming? That is what happens in dreams." Edward replied.

Mary laughed. "You are so much like my husband, your 13th great-grandfather, so logical, my dear boy. Do you not know a spirit when you see one?"

"I can't say I see spirits every day, so I have nothing to compare with. What is this place? Where are we?" Edward queried.

"This place is a portal that connects my world to yours. My world is long past, and my earthly body is long gone, but the spirit remains with unfinished business. Your sister must return to England to undo the curse she has attracted to her."

"I don't understand. Why would someone curse us?" Edward shook his head.

"Fetherstane mistook your sister for me and placed a curse on her for my sins," Mary explained.

"Do you mean the Featherstone woman? How is that possible?" Edward asked.

"There are many portals that trap spirits. Your sister must find the one she opened in England and reason with the spirit of Fetherstane to release the curse. The doll that you hold belonged to my daughter." Mary reached out to Edward.

Edward stepped forward and gave the doll to Mary. Edward spun around rapidly several times and fell to the ground below the stairs in front of the exit door.

"Edward! Are you okay?" Candace reached her hand out to help him up.

"I am very dizzy. Let me sit here for a minute. You won't believe what I have to tell you."

"You don't have to tell me. I heard it all from the ceiling vent." Candace pointed.

"You heard it all?" Edward got up off the floor.

"You were talking to our 13th Great Grandmother, is what I heard," Candace revealed.

"I guess you know then that you will be going back to England." Edward pointed out.

"How can I afford that with the theatre the way it is now?" Candace shook her head.

"We can't afford any more disasters, so you have to get the curse removed somehow," Edward assured her.

"Maybe with some luck, I can get a seat sale and use the hostels again," Candace offered.

"Let's check it out. We have no time to waste," Edward walked toward the entrance door.

"Where is the rag doll you had?" Candace inquired.

"I gave it to Mary. I think it was somehow connected to the portal, and when I gave her the doll, it broke the connection, which is why I was transported back here." Edward replied.

"I never want to see that thing again," Candace told Edward.

"Me neither," Edward responded.