The Other Side Of The Tunnel

Shirley had been staring out of the car window for so long that the trees had started to look like they were moving with her. One after another, they disappeared behind the car, replaced by another identical row of trees. Green. Dark green. Brown trunks. Then another stretch of road. She checked her phone. 12%. She sighed. “You're going to kill your battery before we even get there,” her mother said. Shirley didn't look up. “I know.” “You've been on that phone since we left.” “I haven't.” Valerie glanced at her from the driver's seat. “You're holding it right now.” Shirley looked down. The screen was on. She quickly locked it. “I was checking the time.” “There's a clock right there.” “I know.” From the back seat came a quiet laugh. Shirley turned. Preston was lying across the back seat with his hoodie pulled halfway over his face. “What?” He grinned. “Nothing.” “You're laughing.” “I can laugh.” “Why?” “Because you're arguing with Mom over a phone.” “I wasn't arguing.” “You were.” Shirley turned around again. “Shut up, Preston.” “Both of you,” Jason said. His voice came from the driver's seat. It wasn't loud, but it was enough. The car went quiet. For a few minutes. Then Preston spoke again. “Dad.” Jason sighed. “What?” “How much longer?” “About two hours.” Preston groaned. “You said that an hour ago.” “Because an hour ago it was two hours.” “That doesn't make sense.” “It makes perfect sense.” “No, it doesn't.” Shirley smiled despite herself. Her father caught it in the rearview mirror. “There. See?” “What?” “You smiled.” “I didn't.” “You did.” “No.” Jason laughed. “That's the first time I've seen that face all morning.” Shirley rolled her eyes and looked back outside. The road stretched endlessly ahead of them. They were going to Ohio. The trip had been Jason's idea. He had spent almost two months planning it, constantly talking about how they needed a break from everything. Work. School. The same house. The same routine. “A proper family trip,” he'd called it. Shirley had thought it sounded nice when he first mentioned it. Then she found out Preston was coming. That had ruined everything. Preston was fifteen, which meant he was old enough to be annoying on purpose but still young enough to find it hilarious. He had spent most of the journey asking how much longer they had, complaining about the food, and sending Shirley videos whenever he noticed she wasn't looking. She had threatened to throw his phone out of the window twice. Her mother had threatened to throw both of them out of the car. Neither threat had been carried out. The scenery outside changed slowly. The road became narrower. The trees grew thicker. There were fewer houses now. Shirley lowered her phone. “Dad?” “Yeah?” “Are we still going to the town?” “Yeah.” “What's it called again?” “Millhaven.” She frowned. “I've never heard of it.” “Most people haven't.” “Then why are we going there?” Jason smiled. “Because that's the point.” Valerie glanced at him. “You've been saying that all week.” “Because it's true.” Shirley looked at her mother. “You've been there before?” “No.” “Dad has?” “No.” Shirley looked toward the front. “Then how do you know there's anything to do?” Jason shrugged. “I did research.” Preston lifted his head. “You watched YouTube videos.” “I did more than that.” “You watched YouTube videos.” Jason laughed. “Maybe.” Shirley shook her head. “Great.” A few minutes later, they passed a faded sign. WELCOME TO MILLHAVEN Someone had painted over part of the sign, and the remaining letters were barely visible. Shirley leaned forward. “That's it?” Jason nodded. “That's it.” The town appeared almost immediately. It was small. Smaller than Shirley had imagined. There were old brick buildings along the main street, most of them painted in dull colors. A grocery store. A pharmacy. A diner. A gas station. A church stood at the end of the street. Its bell tower was tall and narrow, but there was no bell inside. Shirley noticed that immediately. “Why doesn't that church have a bell?” Jason glanced at it. “Maybe it broke.” “That's weird.” “You think everything is weird.” “I don't.” Preston sat up. “You do.” Shirley turned around. “You're weird.” “Thank you.” “That wasn't a compliment.” “I know.” Valerie laughed. “Okay, enough.” Jason turned onto a quieter road. The houses became farther apart. Eventually, they reached a long driveway surrounded by trees. At the end stood the house. Shirley stared at it. “Oh.” Jason smiled. “Good oh or bad oh?” “Bad.” Preston leaned forward between the seats. “It's actually kind of cool.” “It looks like someone died here.” Valerie turned around. “Shirley.” “What? It does.” The house was beautiful in a strange way. Two stories. Dark wooden shutters. A wide porch. Tall windows. The paint was slightly faded, but the structure itself was well maintained. There were no neighboring houses in sight. Only trees. And somewhere beyond them, Shirley could hear running water. Jason parked. “Here we are.” Nobody moved. For several seconds, they simply sat in the car. Then Valerie opened her door. “Come on.” They got out. The air was colder than Shirley expected. She hugged herself. “It's freezing.” “It's not that cold,” Jason said. “You're wearing a jacket.” “So are you.” “Exactly.” Preston grabbed two bags from the trunk. “Where's my room?” “Upstairs,” Valerie said. “Which one?” “Pick one.” “Really?” Jason smiled. “Really.” Preston immediately ran inside. “Preston!” He stopped. “Don't run in the house.” “I wasn't running.” “You were.” “I was walking fast.” Jason shook his head. Shirley followed her parents inside. The house smelled old. Not unpleasant. Just old. Wood, dust, and something else. Something metallic. She couldn't place it. The hallway was long. There were photographs on the walls. Pictures of the town. The river. The church. The main street. Old people Shirley didn't recognize. She walked slowly, studying them. “Who owns this place?” she asked. “Some rental company,” Jason said. “People actually rent this?” Valerie laughed. “Apparently.” Shirley stopped at one photograph. It was larger than the others. It showed a tunnel. A huge stone tunnel disappearing into darkness. Water surrounded the entrance. She stared at it. “Dad.” Jason walked over. “What?” “What is that?” He looked at the photograph. “An old tunnel.” “I can see that.” He smiled. “Then why did you ask?” “Where is it?” “Probably somewhere around here.” “Can we go?” Valerie immediately answered. “No.” Shirley looked at her. “Why?” “Because we're not going into random tunnels.” Jason laughed. “I wasn't planning on taking you into a random tunnel.” Preston came back downstairs. “What tunnel?” Shirley pointed. He walked over. “Whoa.” He leaned closer. “That looks creepy.” “Exactly,” Shirley said. Preston grinned. “So we should definitely go.” “No.” Jason took the photograph off the wall. “Enough.” He turned it around. “Why?” “Because we're here for a vacation.” “Looking at a photograph isn't exactly ruining the vacation,” Shirley said. Jason placed it on a nearby table. “I know.” He looked at the family. “Let's unpack.” They did. By evening, the house felt slightly less strange. Valerie cooked dinner. Jason opened a bottle of water and sat at the kitchen table. Preston spent twenty minutes trying to connect his phone to the Wi-Fi. Shirley sat near the window. She watched the trees. The sound of the river was louder now. “What river is that?” she asked. Jason looked up. “Mill River.” “How far away?” “Not far.” “Can we see it?” “Tomorrow.” Shirley nodded. Outside, the sky had turned almost completely black. The trees were silhouettes. She thought she saw something between them. A person. She leaned forward. Nothing. She blinked. There. Between two trees. A tall dark shape. She stared. “Dad?” “Yeah?” “Is there someone outside?” Jason turned. “Where?” She pointed. “I thought I saw someone.” Jason got up. He walked toward the window. There was nothing there. “Probably a tree.” “It wasn't.” He smiled. “It's dark.” “I know what a tree looks like.” Preston looked up from his phone. “Maybe it's a ghost.” “Can you not?” “What?” “Everything doesn't have to be a ghost.” “I didn't say ghost.” “You were about to.” “I was going to say murderer.” Shirley stared at him. “That is somehow worse.” Preston laughed. Valerie shook her head. “Both of you, eat.” They did. Later that night, Shirley went upstairs. Her room was at the end of the hallway. It had a large window overlooking the trees. She unpacked her clothes and changed into pajamas. Then she checked her phone. No signal. She frowned. She had expected bad reception, but not nothing. She walked toward the window. Still nothing. She opened the curtains. The darkness outside seemed deeper than it had earlier. The trees were completely still. Then she heard it. A faint sound. Drip. She turned. Drip. She looked around. Nothing. Another drop. She stared at the ceiling. Maybe there was a leak. She walked toward the bathroom. The floor was dry. She checked the sink. Dry. The sound stopped. Shirley stood still. Then she heard something else. A whisper. Very faint. She couldn't make out the words. She stepped closer to the bedroom door. The whisper came again. This time, she heard her name. “Shirley.” She froze. Her heart jumped. “Mom?” Nothing. She opened the door. The hallway was dark. She stepped outside. “Mom?” No answer. She walked toward her parents' room. Then stopped. A floorboard creaked downstairs. Shirley looked toward the staircase. She could hear someone moving. Slowly. She whispered, “Dad?” No answer. She took one step down. Then another. The sound stopped. She waited. Nothing. She descended the stairs. The living room was empty. The kitchen was empty. She checked the front door. Locked. She frowned. Then she heard the whisper again. “Shirley.” This time it came from behind her. She spun around. Nobody. Her breathing became shallow. “Mom?” Silence.