ALMAS MALDITA
(Cursed Soul)
By JoLayne and Margie

Part Three of Five

Act 2, SCENE TWO
HALLWAY

Helm motioned for Tessa to follow him into the hallway. Tessa stayed close by once again. The passage was totally dark. Carefully walking, he passed several slightly opened doors. The floors creaked from the weight of their footsteps. They slowly walked the length of the corridor then Helm stopped to look around. He tried to adjust his eyes, but was having a hard time. Helm kept walking and then realized that Tessa was not immediately behind him. He walked back and grabbed her by the arm.

"AAAHHHH! Dios Mio!" Tessa yelled, pulling away from him and stomping her foot. "Do not do that. I am already afraid as it is. Where are we going?"

A reflection from another lightening strike momentarily afforded Helm to see the frightened, wide-eyed look on her face, as her hand was on her chest. Helm gently took her hand and started to walk further around the hallway. "I find this place very fascinating. It appears to have so much history. The Arnezes' seemed like they were a very aristocratic family."

The sound of another crash and boom struck. Tessa grabbed Helm's arm and he tenderly covered her hand with his own to give her reassurance. She was squeezing his arm so tight that he felt her fingernails digging through his wet coat onto the skin. The pain made him realize that he wasn't dreaming this whole situation.

Suddenly, a faint warm glow began to emit from a room who's door was ajar behind them. Helm and Tessa made their way to the light as a beacon signaling their way. As they got closer, the light from the room slowly got brighter. They stopped a few feet from the door. Helm explained, "It has got to be a... a reflection of the lightening on one of the windows." He was quite pleased that he was trying to stay so calm in the face of this extraordinary phenomena.

"Ah huh," Tessa responded, not sounding too convinced.

They stood silently, listening to the only sound emanating around them, the pelting rain and roaring thunder from outside. Tessa's gaze was transfixed on the door. She broke their silence, "But the lightening is gone and now the light is brighter. You are the scientist, explain that."

"Well... I can, after I investigate it."

Tessa quickly said, "Go ahead. I will wait here."

"Chicken," he called her as he looked over his shoulder and saw her slowly being swallowed up by the darkness of the hall. He got scared at that moment and returned to her. After she nudged him back to the lighted room, he said, "All right, all right. I am going. I am sure it is nothing. It has to be a trick of some sort."

Helm walked towards the door to study the cause and effect. Someone or something was making these events happen and he needed to find the answers or find a way out of the hacienda before it was too late.

~~~~~

Act 2, SCENE THREE
DRAWING ROOM

Helm opened the door wide and Tessa heard him yell out loud from a sudden fright. "AAHHH!" Tessa hollered in response, jumping back and landing into a comfortable cushioned chair in the hallway.

Helm bent over laughing. After watching in amusement. He stopped chuckling and responded, "It is nothing. It is just a fire roaring in the fireplace."

"You bastard! Why do you keep doing that to me?"

"I was just teasing with you. We need to lighten up. Come with me. It is warm in there."

Tessa got up from the chair and hesitantly walked over towards Helm at the door to the room. He let her peer inside. She asked inquisitively, "Why is the fireplace thriving? Who started it?"

"Maybe they knew we were coming."

"Who knew?"

"Ah, that is the question, is it not?" He leaned into the room and looked it over. "There is no one in here."

Feeling the chill of the evening and still drenched in their wet clothes, Helm walked inside followed by Tessa. Approaching the fireplace, he saw some logs burning and figured they would certainly have plenty of heat and light for hours. The warmth felt good. They looked around the room and saw that the furnishings weren't covered in dust or cobwebs. It was hard to believe that the house had been empty for almost two decades. Everything seemed to be intact. Noting the types of furniture, knee high tables expertly arranged near settees and velvet love seats, Helm concluded, "I believe we are in the drawing room."

"Do you think someone is living here? Maybe a vagrant seeking shelter?" Tessa speculated.

Helm shrugged as he squatted near the fire to rub his hands. "I do not know, but I am almost positive that we will find out. It seems that someone is trying to help us figure out what is going on. So far, we have only seen the kitchen. I do not know about you but I have not seen any ‘ghosts', Señorita Alvarado. There is a thunderstorm going on and only our vivid imaginations are running wild inside an old hacienda that has held tales of spooks for years." Helm ran a hand through his wet curling hair, gently helping it to dry it out and motioned for her to come closer to the fire.

She walked guardedly to Helm looking around at the items in the room and joined him in front of the warm fire. When she was close enough, he tugged her arm and Tessa sat down on her knees at the hearth. Helm grasped her hands and felt her cold skin. He began to rub his hands over hers, holding them near the fire. "Does this feel better?"

"Yes," she had to admit.

"You are soaked to the bone," Helm said as he got up to stand.

Tessa saw him get up and followed his movement until her gaze focused on a painting that hung over the fireplace. The frame pictured a young, regal looking woman. Tessa saw that she had delicate features, wore fancy clothing, and had dark hair swept up in a elegant hairstyle that portrayed an image of aristocracy. Tessa thought it must have been in vogue around the time the Arnezes' had arrived in Alta California. Or maybe she had the portrait done back in Spain and brought it over. Helm followed Tessa gaze and watched the portrait silently before mentioning, "Doña Benita Arnez, I presume."

Helm watched Tessa stare up at the portrait. Maria Teresa Alvarado was a beautiful woman. The sorrow she displayed for the Dona was quite touching. So much so, that Helm didn't want to disturb her. Her took in the decor of the room. The drawing room had a few chairs, a tall cabinet standing near one of the walls and a three-legged stand with a small table nearby holding a painter's palette and several old brushes. Helm wondered if Don Julio had liked to paint as a hobby since most of the walls had been adorned with portraits of various scenes resembling Spain or Santa Elena.

Browsing some more, he came upon a pile of clothing seating neatly folded on one of the chairs in the corner of the room. Tessa was still seated by the fire trying to warm up. He picked up the first piece of clothing and noticed it was a woman's dress. Another piece was a pair of men's pants along with a shirt. He held the shirt up to his torso and was amazed that it seemed the right size. The length of the shirt's sleeves seemed long enough.

Tessa turned around and asked, "Where did you find those? How did they get here? Are those the Arnezes' clothes?"

"I am not at all sure, but if they fit, they will come in handy." Helm tossed the dress to Tessa. "This looks your size. Why don't you change into that dress? We can hang our clothes off the mantle. They will be nice and dry in no time." Before she could protest, he said, "Modesty be damned. I am a doctor and I do not want you to die of pneumonia. I will give you privacy to change."

"As I was going to say, Doctor," Tessa said with a smile. "That sounds like a fine idea."

He nodded and smiled. "Good. I will be right outside the doorway in case your receive any unexpected visitors, you know, ghosts."

"If they do, I will make sure to tell them where you are," she said, laughing nervously.

Helm tried not to show his anxiety when he walked nervously back into the dark hallway. As he undressed, he thought about the silverware from the kitchen. He decided that it had all had to have been their imagination. Funny angles of old houses did make one's imagination prosper. He recalled one time he stayed in an aunt's drafty attic bedroom when he was a child. He had been certain that when he had gone to bed that night, he saw a horrible beast huddled in the corner waiting to strike. Terrified to sleep, but exhausted from keeping vigil, in the morning, little Robert Helm discovered that it was only the wingback chair that had been placed in the right position. The moonlight had exaggerated its outline against the wall.

Helm heard his name called. "Doctor Helm?" The senorita's voice didn't sound agitated in the least, so he quickly put on his pants and walked back into the room shirtless.

Tessa was half undressed and asked, "How handy are you at untying corsets?"

His laughter was smooth. "I have unhooked a few. Do you need help?"

"If you do not mind," she said as she turned away from him. She held the top of her soaked gown in front of her chest and turned her back to him. Helm noticed that she was facing the portrait of the Doña as she waited. Besides her long, wet hair, Helm could see the silky skin of her shoulders and well toned upper arms. Her chemisette was soaked through, as if forming another thin layer of skin. He could imagine that her pantaloons offered the same effect.

"My pleasure," Helm said as he walked towards her while she stood in front of the fire. Tessa grabbed her hair and pulled it over her shoulder. Helm quite adeptly unfastened her corset and gently pulled it from around her waist.

Caught by surprise by his adeptness, Tessa dropped the wet gown. As she stood before him for an instant, Helm took the opportunity to gaze at her figure. Nice and curvy. He could remember the birthmark on the small of her back in the shape of a half moon. Before he could bend to his instincts of wanting to see more of her, she had hurriedly grabbed her gown and used it once again as a shield. She looked flustered at him over her shoulder, but said in a smooth tone, "Nice work."

"Thank you." He paused to look her over again. Although she was wet from the rain, and her long hair was slicked back, in the glow of the firelight, Helm thought she looked smolderingly beautiful. Her eyes were expressive. He didn't know if the look was from the fact that she was half undressed with him or if her eyes had trouble adjusting to the dim light. It was hard to tell just how that woman felt and she wasn't quick with explanations. "Anything else?"

"Not right now, thank you," Tessa quickly said.

He stepped back to say, "I will be right outside."

Act 2, SCENE FOUR
HALLWAY

Helm put on the man's shirt and finished dressing in the hallway. As he buttoned it, he noticed how nicely the cotton felt and realized both pieces of clothing were, in fact, a perfect fit. The sound of a grandfather clock ticking nearby caught his attention. A clock stood guard in the hallway. He walked towards it, barely able to see the clock's face from the lack of lighting, but heard it ticking. Then the time did become apparent from another flash of lightening. Helm fumbled through his wet pants that he had left on a chair to get his watch to compare the time. He saw the time on his watch was exactly the same time indicated on the grandfather clock's face. Ten minutes to seven. The clock had kept perfect time.

Helm tried to remember what Tessa had said about how long the house had been vacant. He found it fascinating that time had not completely stopped in the old hacienda. Turning his attention back to the dilemma they were in, he walked back towards the drawing room door left ajar and glimpsed in. He saw Tessa concentrating on getting into the dry dress. Instead of knocking to get her attention, he punched it open and yelled, "Boo!"

He got a flash of Tessa, startled. From the unexpected shock she dropped the dress in front of her. He stood in the doorway laughing to himself and quickly turned away.

"Not again! Would you stop? Do you think we're playing a game? How old are you, anyway?" Tessa picked up her dress to cover herself.

He looked into the room again to see Tessa holding the dress in front of her as she stalked towards him. He was just going to apologize, but she slammed the door shut in his face. He stood there feeling the effect of the air as it drifted passed him from the impact. Giving her some time,

Act 2, SCENE FIVE
DRAWING ROOM

Helm waited a few minutes for her to put on the dress before he walked in again. "I am sorry. I know our nerves are on edge."

He walked over to the fireplace and started hanging his clothes on the mantle using various knickknacks to hold them up. Tessa did the same with her gown and underclothes, then set her corset on the hearth. Just then, the sound of the grandfather clock emitted a quartet of chimes, followed by several heavy booms. The clock's seven bongs were loud and pronounced and had reverberated throughout the hacienda. It was so loud that they had to cover her ears to stifle some of the noise. After the last bong, they enjoyed a sudden and eerie silence. Then Tessa broke it to whisper, "Doctor Helm. It is said that the Arnezes' died at seven o'clock."

"You know that for a fact?"

"I believe so," she whispered again. She took a deep breath before saying in a clearer voice, "It is said from past history that one evening their servants were preparing the table while the Arnezes were upstairs dressing for dinner." Tessa sighed sadly and continued, "The servants heard the Arnezes' screams and ran up to their bedroom to find their dead bodies."

"How did they die?"

"No one really knows. That is mostly why people are so scared of this place. No one saw what happened to them. The servants heard screams, ran up the stairs to check on them, and Julio and Benita Arnez were laying on their bed, dead. There was no sign of struggle, there were no wounds on the bodies. Some say that they might have poisoned themselves, but they had everything to live for. Indians say the land itself is full of lost spirits searching for their eternal rest. The Arnezes' were found holding each other's hands, just laying in bed, dead. I also heard stories about the looks on their faces. They looked as if they had died of fright. It is hard to say what actually happened."

"And this happened how long ago?"

"Around twenty years ago," Tessa said, then she gasped. "Madre Dios! They died the last night of October."

Helm didn't take comfort in the fact that it was now the last night of October.

Act 2, SCENE SIX
HALLWAY

Helm walked to the grandfather clock and stared at its silhouette. When the lightening illuminated it for instants at a time, the clock took on a demonic tone. Helm shook his head and knew it must have been his imagination running wild. He smiled confidently at Tessa, who had joined him. A candle that had been sitting on a side table that they hadn't noticed illuminated. It filled the hallway with more light than one candle could ever do. Helm had to admit that the strange occurrence unnerved them.

Tessa's eyes never left the clock as she slowly extended her arm up and pointed to the wall near the clock. Remaining speechless, her finger targeted an object forming. Helm followed her indication and saw the shape taking form. A spot, near the clock, high on the wall, grew and started to slowly turn darker. He was going to walk closer to it so he could get a better look, but felt Tessa grab his arm. He stayed put. The spot slowly took over the entire wall, and a dark liquid, blood, started to flow down, as if the hacienda was in tears. The flow of blood dissipated into streams and then the streams turned into little ribbons. The unbelievable effect spelled out a set of letters forming another message in its wake, "ESCARABAJOJUGO".

~~~~~

Tessa had had enough. There had to be a way out of this damn house and she would find it if it was the last thing she ever did. Ignoring the thought that it could very well be the last thing she ever did motivated her more. That wasn't going to happen. Helm kept hold of her arm as he stared at the message. "What the bloody hell does that spell? It doesn't make sense. What does that mean?"

"I can live without finding out, Doctor Helm. I am leaving."

"Obviously this is another message. Maybe there are ghostly spirits in this house."

"Glad you finally chose to acknowledge it, Doctor."

"But what I mean is," Helm said, "that they must be trying to communicate."

"Who is?"

"Whoever spelled out those letters. It is possible that others who have set foot inside the hacienda have seen strange phenomenal consequences. Maybe instead of not waiting for anything else to happen or seeing any ghosts, they ran out of the hacienda. You are acting exactly the same way."

"I am not running. I am walking." Tessa exclaimed out again, but Helm kept hold of her. As soon as she said that, she remembered much of the same conversation she had with the doctor under different circumstances, only she was wearing the 'Queen of Swords' clothing at that time. She checked his reaction to her remark, and saw that his face was undisturbed by it. "If you let me go, I could walk faster, Doctor."

"Tessa," Helm easily said. "I think it is time you called me Robert."

With a faint smile, Tessa responded. "All right. Robert. Can you let go of me now?"

Helm released her, but adamantly said, "We should figure this out. Nothing has happened to us yet. This is a mystery and the sport of it is to solve it, right?" Helm pointed at the wall and questioned. "Is that a name or place or just a bunch of letters spelling gibberish?"

Tessa didn't want to display attitude under the circumstances, but her nerves were playing tricks on her. She didn't want to portray herself as being a scared child, but this was more than she had expected. Taking a deep breath she stared at the message in blood. She could get into the 'sport' of solving a mystery, as well as, the next person. She was already fighting the overt forces of evil in the county, why not figure out what made this house haunted? She studied the word before it completely disappeared and announced, "It is gibberish."

A light came to life from another room off the hallway, illuminating and shining brightly from the door slightly ajar. Neither, Helm or Tessa spoke or moved as they both stared at the door. Tessa cleared her throat and secretly whispered, "Do you think that is another trick of the light on the window panes, Doctor? Oh, I mean, Robert?"

"I have reached the point of believing there are unearthly presence here," Helm responded quietly, his eyes wide.

"Welcome to the party," Tessa said, waiting for Helm to investigate, but she could see from his reaction that he was trying to figure it out before taking action. They were experiencing so much since they entered the house. Tessa's body shook. She was too scared and could feel her knees actually knocking and her stomach doing flip flops.

Tessa silently called to her father to give her courage to see her through. If his spirit was encouraging her to fight Montoya and avenge his death, he could surely instill strength in her now. With a new determination, Tessa mustered up the courage as she did to dress in black and confront Montoya's army as she walked to the door of the lighted room. She told Helm, "I will find the source of this light, Doctor... Robert."

At the door, she peered in for effect, but had a quick thought. Tessa screamed at the top of her lungs. She enjoyed looking back at Helm to see him jump and rush to her. "What is it?"

Tessa smiled and told him, "Gotcha." Two can play this game. If looks could kill, Helm stare could have buried her six feet under.

Continued in Part Four