Mezzanine

| 49 |

"Shit," Damien hissed under his breath. "You've got to be fucking kidding me."

What the hell was that? Carter thought.

"It sounded like a transformer blowing," I replied to his thought before I could stop myself.

"I can't see a thing," Lola said. "Hold on." Her phone screen lit up, casting her face in a ghostly blue glow. She flipped on the flashlight, and I squinted as the bright white light caught me in the eyes.

"Sorry," she said as she directed it to the floor instead. "Crap. I've only got about five percent battery left."

Carter took out his phone and checked it. "Same here. Mine's almost dead."

"Save your batteries," Damien said. "I'll see if I can find a flashlight."

The three of us followed him into the kitchen. Lola shined her light as he dug through draws of assorted kitchen utensils, hammers, and about a dozen Allen wrenches of every size imaginable. He pulled out a small flashlight that looked about as old as the house, shaking it a few times as he tried to turn it on, but it didn't even flicker.

"Piece of crap," he muttered under his breath as he tossed it back in the draw.

Finally, he pulled a lighter out of his pocket and lit a candle sitting on the counter by the stove. "Sorry," he said. "This is all I've got."

A creaking sound echoed upstairs. Lola crossed her arms in front of herself, rubbing them as she looked around as the candle cast flickering shadows across the ceiling.

"Just the house settling," Damien said. "It does that when it storms sometimes."

Damien headed back into the living room with the candle, Carter following closely behind. I paused, waiting for Lola as she stood in the kitchen.

"Everything okay?" I asked.

"Yeah," she whispered, shaking her head. "I just..."

"What?" I asked. I inched closer to her and reached toward her face, brushing some of her damp hair out of her eyes. I let my hand trail down her cheek. "You seem...I don't know. On edge."

"This place just gives me the creeps I guess," she said. "I can't stop thinking about that painting your brother made. And I can't stop thinking about the factory. Like it wants me to..." She stalled out for a second as a deep rumble of thunder echoed through the night.

"Everytime I close my eyes," she finally continued, "I just see..."

"See what?" I asked. She shuddered under my touch as I moved my hand down her arm. I paused when I reached her hand and took it in mine. Her fingers were ice cold.

"Lola, you're freezing." I put her hand between both of mine, trying to warm it. Her fingers felt like ice cubes.

"I'm fine." She shook her head. "I'm just a bit freaked out I think." She pulled her hand away from mine. "Let's...let's just go back into the room with Carter and your brother."

I watched her for a second, trying to get her to meet my eyes, but she didn't. Instead, she headed into the living room, clicking off the light on her phone as she went and leaving me alone in the dark.

I swallowed the pain growing in me. All I wanted to do was pull her closer, but it seemed like she wanted to push me away. Why? Something about her seemed off. She'd mentioned Damien's painting and the factory... Was it affecting her somehow? Messing with her?

I wasn't sure. All I knew was that we needed to figure out what was going on, and quickly.

I joined the others in the living room, taking a seat next to my brother on the floor while Lola and Carter looked down from the sofa. The candle glowed at the center of the coffee table between us. Its small yellow flame was enough to see each other's faces, but not much else.