"A house is a place of shelter." "It's the body we put on over our bodies." "As our bodies grow old, so do our houses." "As our bodies may sicken, so do our houses sicken." "And what of madness?" "If mad people live within, doesn 't this creep into the rooms and walls and corridors?" "The very boards?" "Don 't we sometimes sense that madness reaching out to us?" "Isn 't that a large part of what we mean when we say a place is unquiet, festered up with spirits?" "We say haunted but we mean the house has gone insane." "Somebody help me!" "I'm lost!" "Somebody help me!" "Oh, for chrissake." "Somebody help me!" "Where the hell did I come from?" "Your mommy was right." "I'm a tramp." "Somebody help me!" "Help me!" "Where is everyone?" "What's going on?" "I think Vic's dead, I'm not sure." "What's going on?" "He says Vic is dead." "Ridiculous!" "How can he be dead?" "Joyce, get real." "I think Vic is dead." "Thank God!" "You." "You don't understand, my mother's here." "Or the house is imitating her." "At first I thought so, but now... ." "And I got lost." "I've seen things you wouldn't believe!" "Not now, Emery!" "We shouldn't be here!" "A bubble's forming, a kind of psychic bubble." "Why would your mother be here?" "She worries about me." "I do too." "About all of us." "I saw Pam." "I think she's dead." "Where's Annie?" "I don't" "It's stuck again." "It's not just stuck!" "Of course it isn't." "This is ridiculous!" "Emery, come here." "Is that your mother's car?" "Yeah, Mommy's little scootabout." "What?" "Mommy's little scootabout." "Mommy's little scootabout." "That's what she calls it." "We scoot about for ice cream, to the movies" " Stop looking at me." "Mama's little scootabout is blocking another car." "Is anyone in it?" "I can't tell." "I'll check the kitchen door." "I'll go with you." "Not now, Dee." "Annie, are you out there?" "Steve, come look at this." "It's coming to life, isn't it?" "I think he's somewhere right outside there." "I didn't exactly see." "Oh, my God." "God, no!" "Open in the name of Jesus!" "Open in the name of God!" "Where's Pam?" "Emery said she's dead." "She was in Ellen Rimbauer's room." "She said bad things to me." "I'm not sure, but people like that are usually dead." "It will kill us all if we're not careful." "We were wrong to come." "That is a cowardly and mistaken thing to say." "Vic's dead, Pam's probably dead, and we can't get out." "You need a reality check, lady." "Joyce" "Leave me alone!" "Annie, where are you?" "Annie, are you--?" "Oh, God!" "Annie, don't move!" "We've already established that doesn't work!" "You were saying?" "See?" "Just stuck, no big deal." "Mom, where are you?" "Is she okay?" "I don't know." "Get a lemon in the kitchen." "If there's no lemon, bring vinegar." "Hurry!" "What about the windows?" "You were pounding on them with your fists." "You don't think that the glass was stuck too?" "You be careful now." "Mom?" "Mama!" "Who's there?" "Oh, I shouldn't be doing this." "I shouldn't be doing this." "I shouldn't be doing this." "I shouldn't be doing this." "Screw it, I'm not doing this." "If there's someone there, stop fooling around!" "Who's there?" "If you need help, I'll help you!" "But if you only want to play games... ." "You stay away from me!" "Professor!" "Wait!" "Professor, wait!" "Stay away!" "Professor?" "Look at me." "Please, look at me." "You're no good to anyone, bub." "I've got an idea." "Why don't you go hang yourself?" "You could do it in the parlor." "Just like Posey, a ring around the rosy..." "... andnotby thehair of your chinny chin chin." "Help me!" "Stay away!" "Is she awake?" "No, but her breathing's regular." "Get Joyce." "Can't I stay?" "Get Joyce!" "She's a lot closer to a doctor than either of us." "Go!" "I saw Vic." "You can't have, Vic is" "I know." "Vic was just another Rose Red mind-movie like Pam and Deanna." "I also saw Miller, and he was real." "Professor Miller?" "None other." "But the dean wouldn't recognize him." "He's out there running around like a madman!" "You're lying." "No, he's not." "No, I'm not." "My mother's somewhere behind the house." "But I can't get there, not now." "All right, calm down." "Don't tell me that!" "You don't know what I've seen, so don't!" "I'll call 91 1 ." "I doubt it." "We all need to take a step back." "Take a deep breath." "Annie's had an accident." "She's unconscious." "Would you come?" "Where is she?" "It's working." "Who shall I call?" "The cops." "An ambulance." "No one!" "Not yet." "To hell with you, Joyce." "I'm getting out of here!" "Honey, are you okay?" "Can you hear me?" "Emery." "You're not there, you're dead." "Both of you are dead." "No, we're not." "We're not dead." "That's the beauty of it." "Life could be different for you here." "It could be better." "It would be nice, really nice." "I'll pass." "Rose Red is like the Roach Motel." "They check in, but they don't check out." "Not there!" "I'm hard up, girls, but not quite that hard up." "Annie, what is it?" "We seldom have company at Rose Red these days." "I insist you stay a little longer." "Look what it did to me." "We have to get out of here." "I'm afraid it's too late for that." "Here, Annie." "Annie, no." "Annie, be still and let her help you." "It's okay." "Sorry." "There you go." "You okay, honey?" "Think you can stand up?" "Let's try it." "There we go." "Great." "Yeah, it's okay." "Annie, look." "I know the song, and I know the feeling." "To be safe." "To be free to dream..." "... andtohaveall the time in the world to enjoy it." "Later on, I'll let you play with it all you want." "I promise." "Look at me, look at me." "If you ever want to play with that dollhouse, look at me right now." "Are you holding the doors and the windows closed?" "Don't give me that blank stare, you understand me perfectly well." "We understand each other." "Are you?" "It's what the house wants you to do..." "... andyoujustgorightondoingit." "Soon, I'll take that dollhouse down..." "... andyoucanplaywith it all you want." "In fact, we'll play with it together..." "... andwe'lltakeall the time we want." "Get off him!" "Get off him!" "Get off him!" "Hey, off him!" "It won't work." "So, Sherlock, got any ideas?" "No, you?" "No!" "This place has always wanted me." "I should've stayed away." "Why didn't you?" "Dee." "I have to look after her so she doesn't end up into the big nowhere." "Here they come again." "Get off of him!" "Get off him!" "Get off of him!" "I think the power went out 1 5 minutes ago." "I doubt it'll be on again tonight." "Don't you want to know about Bollinger or Mrs. Waterman or Miller?" "Aren't you curious at all?" "What about them?" "Any sign?" "No, none." "I think I knew that, actually." "So, what is there to be curious about?" "We're all in the billiard room." "We need to talk." "Pam is also missing, and if Emery says she's dead, we have to believe him." "About Vic, of course, there's no question." "Joyce, do you understand what I'm telling you?" "Of course." "But since there isn't anything I can do about any of these people..." "... I'llcontinuewithmyobservations." "I am a scientist, you know." "Or did you forget that?" "No." "No, I didn't forget that." "Miller did." "Running around like a madman." "I'd have liked to see that." "Thank God for battery packs." "Annie?" "Don't bother." "She can't understand you." "Can't even hear you, not in the sense that we understand hearing." "There you are." "Would you like to come with me?" "We could visit with Rachel and the others." "Do you hear me?" "You do, don 't you?" "Annie, come, please." "You sure you won't come with us?" "All right." "Let's go." "This is the last one." "It may be a little old, but sorry." "Beggars can't be choosers." "Thanks." "Do you have any nail polish in there?" "Nail polish?" "No, I don't use it." "Why?" "I could make her breathe it." "Or what about drain cleaner?" "Just a whiff and bingo, out like a light." "What are you talking about?" "Survival, darling." "Did I stutter?" "You're insane." "Those things could kill her." "Oh, yeah?" "Gee!" "Having a good time, professor?" "Enjoying the idea of visiting your ex-boss in the local nut barn?" "It'll try to take us tonight." "One by one or all together." "Every time you talk, you say something unpleasant, so just be quiet." "And not just unpleasant, it's wicked." "I know you have had an accident and" "An accident?" "That's right, I had an accident." "Unpleasant Emery knows something about our reporter." "Bollinger, what?" "I don't think so." "You wouldn't want to hear it from me." "Every time I talk, something wickedy, wickedy comes out." "Tell them, Nick." "I'm tired of being wicked." "You do the dirty work." "Do you know something, or is he just talking?" "The mirror library, right?" "Yeah." "What about the mirror library?" "Kevin Bollinger is dead." "He brought Emery's mother here, then hung himself in the mirror library." "Not so much a suicide as being Rose Red's latest victim." "What about Mrs. Waterman?" "I can't see her or Professor Miller." "What about you?" "I don't know." "Which means they're probably still around." "They're somewhere in this place." "Let's talk now." "I've gotta check on the equipment." "Did you intentionally decide to sacrifice us..." "... orjustignorethe probability of our demise?" "I don't know what you mean." "Yes, you do." "Or part of you does." "Supposing you never get your proof." "Thought about that?" "Supposing the proof isn't here, what then?" "Say Rose Red is just a paranormal Energizer Bunny..." "... anditjustkeepsgrowing and growing and growing" "Stop it!" "You're crazy." "Can't you see that he's crazy?" "I'm not crazy, I'm a mind reader." "You know it and that's why I'm here." "Now sit down!" "Rose Red won't let you have what you want." "Nor anyone else." "Ellen Rimbauer made it to break hearts as hers was broken." "To hurt as she was hurt." "We must leave before it can" "What?" "Kill us?" "A real death would be merciful." "Because I doubt if even Vic is really dead..." "... andthat'stheworstofit ." "The very worst." "How do we get out?" "There are no secret tunnels." "Oh, wake up." "She's the one who's keeping us locked in." "Yeah, her!" "Little Miss Mental Illness of 2-0-0-1 ." "Stop it!" "Losing his fingers has affected his mind." "Don't hold it against him." "Oh, wake up, sweetheart." "Wake up, all of you!" "It locked us in when she was awake." "Then she passed out..." "... everythingopenedup again." "We could've gotten away then if we'd understood what was happening." "One of us did understand." "Joyce understood, didn't you, Joyce?" "And when the little bitch woke up again" "I can't" " My hand hurts too much." "You know as much as I do." "Tell them the rest." "Tell us he's insane, start with that." "But he's not." "Why bring psychics, telekinetics and automatic writers here, anyway?" "It was to recharge a cell that was never dead, merely dormant." "And we have all played our part, I think." "But Annie has been key." "But what Emery doesn't understand is that Steve has been key too." "Steve's about as psychic as a ham sandwich." "Please be quiet, Joyce." "Don't you tell me to shut up." "How dare you?" "He asked you to be quiet." "And do it, please!" "I want to hear this." "Everyone has some psychic capacity." "I've read your books and articles." "You used to know that..." "... beforeallthispsychicsuperstar infatuation stuff." "I know Miller isn't the only..." "... imagination-challengedidiot you've had to deal with." "But you've become blinded, misguided." "I have not become blinded." "Whatever Steve's psychic ability in the outside world, here in Rose Red..." "... it'samplifiedto thepowerof10 ." "Because he's blood, Ellen's blood." "You said so, you're the last of the Rimbauers." "I'm not holding the doors shut, or transforming the window glass." "No, of course you're not, Ellen's doing it through Annie..." "... butalsothroughyou ." "You know it, or at least sense it." "She's not doing anything through me!" "I don't sense that!" "Hello, Stevie." "Mommy?" "No, Stevie, look, please." "Would you like to help me build?" "I'll show you how." "Stevie, where are you?" "Go to her, but come back." "We have to go!" "Come back and help me build." "Help me build, Stevie." "Steve, what's wrong?" "A false memory, the house planted it." "Are you sure?" "No, I'm not." "For now, let's stick to the kid." "With her gone, if the doors are still locked, we'll deal with him." "No one is going to hurt this child." "Of course they're not." "And there's the rub." "We're in trouble, ladies and gentlemen." "Big trouble." "Want to play a game, Annie?" "You take 1 0 real deep breaths, squat down, blow on your thumbs." "You'll get all floaty, then you'll go to the North Pole with Santa Claus." "The rest of us, meanwhile" "Stop it!" "We'll scurry out of here like little mice." "It's not funny." "Neither is this!" "Tell you what, let's find some dry cleaning bags to wrap her up..." "... untilshepassesout , or pinch her nose shut." "And you?" "You're the utility infielder on this team." "Knock her out with your mind." "Five minutes would be enough for us to make like bees and buzz." "Hell, three." "I can see her thoughts, but it's the most peculiar thing" "They're high." "Yes." "High above me as if she were a princess in a tower." "She's waving, but there's no way to reach her." "At least not from me." "Annie, look at Nick." "What to do with you, little sister?" "The back of the head's the best place, above the nape of the neck." "Hit her hard, the lights go out, hit her harder... ." "Oh, you ugly man." "You ugly little troll!" "Don't say you've never thought of it." "Do us a favor, do yourself a favor." "Or do you want to spend the rest of your life wiping your sister's ass?" "Stop it!" "Where are you going, Cathy?" "I'm going to get a glass of iced tea." "I saw a nice big pitcher of it in the fridge." "You shouldn't go alone." "I'm not." "God goes with me, everywhere." "Get away!" "You killed my boy!" "You killed my Emery!" "I beg your pardon." "Would you mind awfully letting her go?" "I guess not." "Cathy, are you all right?" "I think so." "What about her?" "You really are a good Christian lady." "Well, is she all right?" "ls she even alive?" "Pulse is strong and steady." "You know who she is, of course." "Emery's mother?" "We'll have to tell him." "You don't want to?" ""Emers, your mother just popped out of the cellar." "Forget round the bend." "She's off the planet. "" "How does that sound, given the condition he's in?" "Sounds very bad." "What should we do with her?" "Annie, can you open the doors?" "Can you open the doors and let us out?" "Annie, look at me." "No, don't touch her!" "Don't touch her!" "It wasn't her." "I thought it was April Rimbauer." "I'm sorry." "Damn this house." "If only there were a way to reach the Annie inside." "Talk to her with your mind." "It's not high, it's not where she lives." "If only there were a way" "What are you thinking about?" "I'm not sure." "Nick and Cathy should've been back by now." "Why did she have to go off on her own anyway?" "That was extremely stupid." "This is wrong to me." "The woman is ill." "She's also dangerous to herself as well as to others." "Will those hold her?" "I think so." "Besides, Emery gave me the feeling her interests run more..." "... totheHomeShoppingNetwork than Amazing Escapes." "Drink up." "It will do you good." "Here's to damsels in distress." "And the knights who rescue them." "Coming in here alone was very stupid, but Emery so upset me." "Emery upsets everyone." "Look at her." "Well, I'm sorry, but it's true." "She's coming around." "Now we only have to worry about Miller." "Mrs. Waterman." "Have you seen Professor Miller?" "Joyce's department head." "You killed my boy!" "Mrs. Waterman, you've got it wrong." "Emery's fine." "Now, have a sip." "Liar!" "Limey jack-tar!" "Limey jack-tar?" "I've been called many things, but never that." "I'm afraid we'll have to leave you alone for a little while." "Only till you feel yourself again." "Cathy, come here." "We're doing that." "It's feeding off us." "You must feel it too." "Of course I do." "Oh, dear Jesus, please get us out of here." "Steve couldn't hold us." "Not with me, you and Emery against him." "No, the problem is Annie." "Emery was right about that." "Could you... ?" "Could I hurt her?" "I have the power." "But no, of course I couldn't hurt her." "What is it?" "Do you want to buy a vowel or spin again?" "That's not funny." "Sorry." "What are you trying to say?" "Anything?" "No." "But it's so cold." "It's coming from in there." "Close the door, then." "We're going to leave you, but not for long." "You'll be perfectly safe." "Something's happened to her." "Rose Red has happened to her." "Let's join the others." "Wait." "I'm sorry we can't make you more comfortable." "But we'll be back to get you soon." "I promise, I promise." "She's fried." "That's also unkind." "But it's also true." "This is not the way we came." "You're telling me." "Thank you." "You're welcome." ""Seattle Livery, 1 924. "" "But it's brand-new." "You'd have thought she would have Rose Red eat..." "... atleastone halfway decent carpenter." "Of course, the real question is, how does it go?" "What?" "What is it?" "The reincarnation of Emery's mother." "Nick." "Sorry, Cathy." "The truth is, I'm rather scared." "Let's find the others." "We won't." "We'll never see them again." "Of course we are, I promise." "And I never break a promise." "Come on, Cathy." "Hey, where's Rimbauer and Frankenbabe's big sister?" "They went to look for Nick and Cathy, I imagine." "And then there were three little lndians sitting on a shelf." "I've gotta check the equipment." "It's quite delicate, you know." "Equipment which interfaces with the invisible world..." "... mustbequitedelicate." "Come with me, Annie?" "Leave her with me, why don't you?" "I'll take care of her." "Come on, Annie." "Wanna play with your dominoes?" "One little lndian." "Down to one little lndian, all by himself." "Joyce, wait for me!" "What are you doing here?" "Getting the... scared out of me, what else?" "For the rest of us, yes, but not for you." "My therapist said I was a compulsive quitter." "He said I keep starting things so I could stop them." "And what did you say?" "I stopped seeing him." "So, here I am." "Listen." "Nick?" "Run, Cathy!" "Run!" "Run!" "What about you?" "Oh, this is wrong!" "Jesus, give me strength!" "Nick?" "Nick?" "No!" "I'm not crazy." "I'm not crazy." "I'm not crazy." "I'm not crazy." "Help us." "We have to build." "Help us." "Help Rose Red." "Help us or die." "Oh, please." "Cathy." "Cathy." "Where am I?" "Sweet Jesus, help me!" "No!" "That can't be!" "Cathy." "Cathy." "Cathy." "Cathy." "No!" "Not now!" "John!" "I can explain." "She enticed me" "Still I entice you!" "You can explain it?" "Can you?" "Explain it to your whores in hell!" "Where does this one go to?" "Steve?" "It goes to the tower in the attic." "Come on." "Cathy, Nick!" "Where are you?" "Here!" "Live with us." "I'm here." "What is it?" "What do you see?" "I could hear her breathing." "And I can smell her." "Sometimes I see her with a doll, sometimes with a hammer." "Maybe she's really the same." "What are you talking about?" "It's no one." "Never mind." "Come on." "That's for scaring me years ago." "And for trying to make me take the hammer." "How could Ellen be alive?" "Where's she been?" "Where ordinary people can't see." "Her husband was no suicide." "She killed him." "A withered arm." "That wasn't Ellen." "Then who?" "April." "But that means" "That Ellen's somewhere still around here." "Yeah." "You just hush now." "Help!" "Help me!" "Help me!" "I'm telling you, it was April Rimbauer." "Where's your proof?" "We all saw it." "How many Indians left by midnight, do you think?" "Please don't expect me to believe..." "... your90-year-oldgreat-aunt is a vampire living in the tower." "As a scientist, I can't" "Don't be obtuse!" "The house is the vampire!" "I think you know that." "Obtuse?" "What a dreadfully big word for a college dropout, wouldn't you say?" "What a sharp tongue you have, Grandma." "Another country heard from." "Tell me" "Quiet." "I don't want to talk to you!" "But I want to talk to you." "I'm curious." "How often do you dream of her dying?" "Tell the truth, shame the devil." "Stop talking like that!" "Why do you have to be so miserable?" "Because I am miserable, you over-Christianized idiot!" "Don't touch her!" "If he does, he'll regret it!" "So strong and brave, threatening the man with four missing fingers!" "What good is she anyway?" "Does she even know she's alive?" "I doubt it." "Cut it out." "Please!" "What can you do any worse than this house will do?" "I don't know." "Send you out of the room maybe." "How would that be?" "No, don't go out there alone!" "It's true enough!" "She's no good to herself, or to me, or to anyone." "All she can do is help the house kill us, and it wants to." "I'm not psychic, but I can feel that it wants to." "We're running out of time, aren't we?" "Yes." "We have to stay together." "You have to get through to Annie." "You're the only one who can." "I've tried." "I could on the outside." "Whatever's in here has closed her off." "Maybe you" "Help!" "No change in the temperature readout!" "No changes in any of them!" "Damn it!" "No!" "Emery!" "Unbelievable!" "It has to be you!" "No, l" "Yes." "I forbid this!" "It's dangerous, you have no idea!" "You can't interfere with my" "Leave it alone, Dee!" "They can't open themselves to this house!" "It'll kill them!" "We don't have any options." "Here." "Do you wanna try, Annie?" "Yes, Annie, go ahead and try." "No." "Let's do it together, shall we?" "That's good." "Stop, I'm warning you." "Go on, Annie." "Yes, go on." "Make her stop!" "You're gonna get us all killed!" "Keep going, Annie!" "Stop it!" "You're tearing it apart!" "Stop it!" "It stopped." "Joyce?" "No!" "Joyce, what are you--?" "Not there, not there, not there!" "Come on, Joyce." "It's time to go." "Go?" "No, I'm all right." "I have a thousand things to do." "Annie, come on." "It's open." "We have to leave." "Get out." "Take that traitor with you." "Joyce, please!" "Let's get out while we can!" "Listen to me!" "Get out!" "Steve!" "First, I want a morphine milk shake." "Emery." "Second thing I want" "Come here, Emmy!" "I want to see if your nails are clean!" "I want to look behind your ears!" "And what about down there?" "Come to Mama, Emmy!" "Have you been doing that nasty thing again?" "I hear you in your room!" "Mommy hears everything!" "Help me, for God's sake!" "Help me!" "Emery, for once in your miserable life, fight her!" "Not there, not there, not there!" "Not there!" "Come to Mommy, Emmy!" "Emers, no!" "I'll always be there for you!" "After all, I'm your mother!" "Not there!" "Not there!" "Stevie." "Great-grandboy." "Take it." "You wanted it then and you want it now." "Take it, or you'll want it forever." "You'll dream of it in your sleep." "Take it." "Help me." "Help us." "Help Rose Red!" "Help us build!" "Steve, no!" "Please don't take it!" "He has no choice." "He's one of us." "Stevie." "I do have a choice." "I don't want this." "Here, you take it." "Let's get out of here!" "No!" "No!" "Steve!" "You took my Emers." "Say cheese." "Stay away from me!" "He's gone." "No!" "Stay away from me!" "Joyce." "I'll show you the garden." "There's lots to investigate." "You're right." "I apologize." "There is another world." "It's quite wonderful." "And the best part is... ." "You'll never have to leave." "Stay back!" "Joyce, welcome home." "Bad." "Bad place." "Bad house." "Bad." "That's right, Annie." "Very bad." "Oh, dear God." "It's the stones again." "Make her stop!" "I can't." "And I don't want her to." "Come on." "God!" "I think it's over." "It'll never be over as long as the house stands." "Roses mean... ?" "Roses mean remember." "That's right." "Roses mean remember." "Monday." "Monday, it is." "A wrecking ball arrives promptly at 7." "I'll keep an eye on her." "Annie, who's that one for?" "I like your dress." "It's very pretty." "Can you still reach her with your mind?" "No, but I don't have to." "We communicate pretty well, don't we, Annie?" "ripped by thewildbunch22"