Free The Minnesota Candidate by Nicholas Antinozzi Page B

her small flashlight, which proved to be
woefully inadequate for the job. Still, Doris continued winding her
way up the twisting staircase. She knew that if she stopped, even
for a second, she would lose her resolve and return to her pathetic
little bedroom.
    Thoughts crept from out the shadows and into her
head. Maybe Shari wasn’t locking everyone out of the big house;
what if she was keeping something terrible locked up inside? Doris
tried to empty her mind of this thought, but it clung there like a
sandbur. She could feel her heart pounding as she gasped for air.
She was almost out of gas and she had to force herself to keep
going. Round and round, climbing in what seemed to be a
never-ending spiral of total blackness. Doris fought the urge to
scream.
    And then she reached a landing at the top of the
stairs and Doris let out a little yip of excitement. The yip echoed
down the stairwell. Exhausted, Doris plopped herself down onto the
top stair to rest. She sat there for a long time, catching her
breath, waiting for her heart to come back into a normal rhythm.
She was both sweating and chilled to the bone, something she was
only now aware of. As she caught her breath, Doris panned her
flashlight up and down the planked wall at the top of the stairs.
The wood was dark and oily, stout; a formidable barrier between
herself and the Promised Land. Doris searched for another chain or
lever, but there didn’t seem to be one. What she did see was a
light switch and she nearly cheered at the sight of it. She forced
herself to her feet and she made her way to the switch. She flipped
it up and there was a brief splash of yellow light, but the bulb
made a popping sound and the light was gone. “Shit, shit, shit,”
grumbled Doris. “Why does this crap always happen to me?”
    Her words echoed down and around the spiral
staircase. Still cursing under her breath, Doris continued looking
for a chain or a lever. Her sense of claustrophobia grew with each
passing second. She pushed against the wall, but it seemed as solid
as stone. She could feel herself breaking out into a cold sweat.
Doris began to panic and she began flailing the flashlight back and
forth.
    With sweat pouring out of her pores and her arm
swinging like a pendulum, Doris lost her grip on her precious
flashlight. “No!” she cried, watching in horror as the light
careened off the brick wall and bounced down to the stairwell.
There was a crunching sound and then there was nothing but
blackness. Terrified, Doris blindly leaned over to search for her
flashlight, but she lost her balance and she began tumbling down
the staircase. Down and around she fell, and then her head crashed
against the stone and Doris saw sparks in the darkness, just before
everything went black.

    Excited to begin their day, Tom and Shari were
up and showered and out of the house by 6:00 the following morning.
Tom quickly scribbled his mother a note, telling her that they
would be gone all day and to call him if she needed anything. They
took separate vehicles, as Shari needed to stop by her office and
Tom was headed to the bakery. Shari promised to meet Tom at the
construction site and in return, Tom promised to save her a
cinnamon roll. They then kissed and went their separate ways.
    The sun was rising in a flawless blue sky as a
slight breeze blew in from the west. From what Tom could gather on
the radio, they could expect more of the same weather for the rest
of the week. The working conditions were perfect and all things
considered, Tom couldn’t have been happier. Shari and his mother
seemed to have ironed out their differences and Sam was getting the
chance he desperately needed. Tom stopped at his mother’s bakery,
Sarah Jane’s, and he ordered five large boxes of doughnuts and
pastries. The smells of fresh baked goodies made his stomach growl
as he waited for his order to be filled.
    Tom arrived at his mother’s new house at 6:45,
but found that he had to park nearly two blocks away.