Chapter 36 Annabelle
Annabelle
I’m in a movie theater but no one else is here.
It’s dark, and I look around, wondering why I’m in this big space, all alone.
The screen comes alive and a strange voice echoes throughout the room.
WELCOME TO YOUR LIFE. Fun house laughter gets louder and louder, and my heart starts to race.
I need to get out of here. I stand, but my feet are stuck to the floor.
No matter how hard I try, I can’t lift my legs.
Then a wind blows, and I’m knocked back in my seat.
I gasp as I look up at the screen again and it’s James’s medical office.
The camera zooms in on the house turned office from the outside, the white building with red shutters even though they are blue in real life.
Then it zeros in on a clock. Seven a.m. I watch as the cleaning crew finishes vacuuming.
A woman turns around and yells to another.
“Do you smell that? Like rotten eggs.” The other woman simply shakes her head.
They finish and leave. The camera zooms in on the clock. It’s noon now.
One of the nurses goes to the kitchen and pulls out a cake from the refrigerator.
I watch as she puts candles on it, pulls out paper plates and napkins, all the while humming a tune I don’t recognize.
She goes into the hallway and calls everyone.
“Cake Time.” She stops by the receptionist’s desk but Daisy, the woman who has been there for years, isn’t there.
A young woman I’ve never seen before sits at her desk.
“We always celebrate birthdays here. Daisy has a lighter in her top drawer. Can you hand it to me?”
The woman does and remains seated.
The nurse laughs. “You can come too. Just because you’re a temp doesn’t mean you have to miss out.” A few minutes later, the entire staff is assembled in the kitchen. James is the last to arrive. The nurse hands a hat to James’s partner. “You’re the birthday boy. You know the rules.”
He rolls his eyes and puts the cardboard hat on. Everyone laughs. She pulls the lighter from her pocket and flicks it. A loud boom! Fire engulfs the room. Black smoke everywhere. Windows shatter, debris flies, everyone is screaming.
I can’t catch my breath. It’s so horrible. And then the screen goes blank. Next. A news story. A gas leak in a local medical office caused by a crack in the gas line. No survivors.
I scream, tears running down my face. Nooooooooo.
Annabelle was startled awake by her own screams. Her hand went to her wet cheek and she wiped the tears.
“What’s wrong?” The massage therapist jumped back, panic in her voice. Annabelle must have fallen asleep during her massage. She had taken the day off from work because she’d been so drained lately. “I’m so sorry! I guess I fell asleep and had a nightmare. I need to go!”
“You still have twenty min—”
Annabelle sat up. “I know. I forgot something.”
“Okay. I’ll let you get dressed.” She withdrew from the room.
Annabelle jumped from the table, threw the robe on, then ran to the locker room.
She had to warn James. She looked up at the clock.
Shit. It was eleven-thirty. She called his cellphone but it went right to voicemail.
Dressed, she bolted outside, calling behind her, “Add a twenty percent tip on my card.”
James’s office was a good fifteen minutes away with no traffic. She had to get there before noon. She called the main number.
“Neurology Associates.”
“Daisy?”
“No, I’m temping for her today. Can I help you?”
“Yes, this is Doctor Reynolds’s wife. I need to speak with him urgently.”
“Um, he’s with a patient. Can I have him—”
“No, get him now. It’s an emergency. Interrupt him.”
“Hold please.”
Annabelle groaned as the hold music came on. Her eyes darted to the clock on the dash. Eleven-forty. She had twenty minutes. She honked her horn at the person in front of her doing twenty miles an hour. “Come on. I’m going to miss the light!”
The light changed and she floored it, narrowly avoiding a collision.
Horns blared and her heart hammered in her chest as she changed lanes again, doing well over the speed limit.
“Dammit.” Why was she still on hold? A click then a dial tone.
What the… she’d been disconnected. She called again and it went straight to a hold message.
The minutes were flying by. It was eleven forty-five now.
She cursed again and disconnected the call.
Then called again. “Neurology Associates.”
“You cut me off. Get my husband on the phone, now!”
“I’m sorry. Please hold.”
More music. This was ridiculous. It was 11:49 now. She disconnected again then dialed 911.
“I need to report a gas leak. Please hurry!”
She pulled up to the office building right at noon and ran inside. The office closed for lunch from twelve to one so no one was in the waiting room. She ran to the kitchen. Everyone was standing around ready to light the cake just like in her dream.
“Stop!” Annabelle yelled, watching in horror as the nurse pulled the lighter from her pocket.
“Annabelle, what are you doing?” James cried.
“Everyone has to get out now! It’s not safe.”
James looked horrified. “Please excuse us.” He put his arm around her and tried to lead her out of the room.
“No, you don’t understand, there’s a gas—”
She heard the click of the lighter before she could finish. And then nothing. No boom. No explosion. Everyone was staring at her now.
“I’m sorry. I don’t—”
James shook his head. “Sorry, everyone. I’ll be back.”
They began singing “Happy Birthday,” and then the shrill wail of a siren made them stop.
Next came the sound of heavy footsteps running in the building. The firefighters had arrived.
James looked at her in horror. “Oh my God, Annabelle. What did you do?”