The DVD

I finally got up the nerve to play it. Honestly I was expecting something like The Ring video tape: lots of symbolic yet incoherent images and disturbing sounds followed by a phone call that foreshadows my untimely death. None of that happened. Instead of disturbing figures there was just a grainy, constantly moving snowy texture. I could barely make out two figures sitting at a table. The following is what I could transcribe from the DVD:

Dr. Gordon South: This is Doctor Gordon South of Highwind Mental Institution. With me is one Miss Sophia Evelyn Blanchard, age twenty-nine. The subject arrived here on July seventh of this year, 1994.  Okay, Miss Blanchard, we are starting now. Miss Blanchard?

Sophia Blanchard: I…I have no idea what happened. It just…happened, Doctor. That's all I know, I promise.

GS: I know, I know…but tell me, what happened on June 27, 1994?

SB: (silence)

GS: Sophia?

SB: Robbie and I were taking the boys down to our cabin. It was summer vacation, and it was a family tradition. When we were in college we used go there and just…do anything and everything.

GS: Robert Hensher was your husband, correct?

SB: No…no, we never got married. We didn’t need a piece of paper of a big, fancy party to prove that we were in love. We just decided that it was for the best. Save up the money for something else, like a house.

GS: Uh huh. And who were your boys?

SB: James and Nolan. James was seven and Nolan was four. They were the best little boys anyone could ask for. Not always well-behaved but…(she chuckles).

GS: And when were they born?

SB: James was born 1987 and Nolan was born 1990.

 

GS: And, for the record, please tell me how you and Mr. Hensher met.

SB: Me and Robbie…we were together for a long, long time. We met in middle school and could not be separated. Barely after graduating college I found out that I was pregnant with James. He was actually really happy about it. A part of me worried that he would up and leave.

GS: But he didn’t.

SB: No. No, he didn’t. He was thrilled. He comforted me and told me that he wanted this, wanted me and the baby. I was so happy I cried.

GS: Well, he is one of a kind; I can’t think of any man who would be excited about an unplanned pregnancy, if you don’t mind me saying.

SB: You aren’t the first to say that, Doctor.

GS: Anyway, continue on to what happened on that day, Miss Blanchard. On the day of the incident, how long had you already stayed?

SB: We were getting closer to the end. The boys didn’t want to leave, neither did Robbie or I, but we had to. A bunch of odd things had happened before that, though…I remember the smell of something dirty and burning. I can’t even describe it properly. I checked the stoves, checked the heater, checked everything in the house. It was all fine. But...

GS: But?

SB: Nobody could smell it but me. I asked James if he smelled anything strange but he didn't. I thought I was going crazy.

GS: How long was it before it happened? Before the cabin--

SB: Stop. Please...Doctor, please stop.

GS: Miss Blanchard, we need for you to tell us, in your own words, what happened that day. I understand that it was traumatic for you and that you still have issues stemming from it, but please just, tell me. Tell us.

(For a while there is nothing but the sound of the static becoming almost deafening. For a split second I thought I saw words in the grainy images, but they didn't make anything I could read.)

SB: No. Not today, I'm sorry. Not today.

GS (sighing): Alright. Next time we'll talk further. The nurse will take you back to your room.

(A woman walked in and gently took Sophia by the shoulder and led her out of the sterile room. The DVD ends there. I'm going to keep it somewhere safe in case I need it later. Sophia Blanchard...who is she and what happened to her?)

Unlocking Part 2

I stared dumbfounded, the pieces of the DVD still in my shaking hand. I wondered if I should run, but where could I go? Just turn and bolt and hope for the best? I swallowed heavily and began to slowly step backwards.

The woman with the fish scale veil scoffed haughtily, "Just look at her. She's filthy."

I was suddenly brought to my knees, as if someone had kicked my legs out from under me and. I looked up and saw that they were now mere inches in front of me and my heart could have stopped from fear. Their scent...it was not in the least unpleasant, but it was so heady and rich my nose began to burn. I couldn't describe to you how elegant their dresses or how detailed their masks--they were beautiful in an unnerving, terrifying way.

In all of three of their right hands they clutched large, plain jugs. Simultaneously they all tipped them sideways, directly above me, and I was drenched in a seemingly unending downpour of water.

I blinked and they were gone. The trees, the dirt, the sky above me, too, all melted away and was replaced with a dark basement. I was soaked to the bone, so confused and frightened I thought I was going to

As I found my footing, I turned around to see a set of stairs and an opened basement door. One final time I looked around at what was once a vast forest and--

I saw it.

Standing there, in the corner, head cocked to the side slightly. Its piercing, eyeless gaze cut through me like nothing ever has and ever will again. I did not scream.

I ran. I ran and it followed. I felt it upon my spine and in the wind that blew my hair. I threw open the door and raced out of the house in a mindless panic.

This proved to be foolish. I made it about five steps before I slipped...and when I hit the ground I was in the grove of trees near my house.

My shoes were now gone, only the socks remained. Nothing else was missing, for which I was thankful for. But in what could only be described as bizarre, the three pieces of the DVD fused into a single, immaculate disk.

I walked out of the grove in a daze, still wet, still shaken, but I had gotten what I needed to get. I suppose. My poor mother wondered what happened and I made up a story about falling into a pool. The shoes I was honest about: someone stole them right off of my own feet. I threw my clothes off in the bathroom and took a long hot shower. My car was most likely still near the house and I would have had to go back and get it. Eventually I did, and I was proud of myself for not fainting when I saw a face in one of the top floor windows. Since then I've been reluctant to go places, even with my girls.

The DVD sits on my desk and I wonder when I'm going to find the courage to play it.