The Stairway to Never
by
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She was standing in front of the couch, staring up the truncated stairway. He walked over to see what she was looking at.
When he walked up to her, she said, “What do you make of that?” she pointed at the ceiling over the stairway.
He looked to where she was pointing and saw that the area of the ceiling directly over the stairs was shimmering. Just then, lightning flashed through the windows, and a deafening clap of thunder shook the mansion.
Claire grabbed his arm. “What’s happening? What is that?”
At first, he wasn’t sure what to tell her. Finally, he said, “It’s storming outside and lightning is probably striking the house. It looked something like Elmo’s Fire.”
“But how could it happen on a ceiling in a house? Doesn’t that happen on metal wings? The ceiling is wood and plaster.”
He shrugged. “I didn’t say it was Elmo’s Fire. It could be something else like it.” He shrugged again. “How should I know?”
“Well, I don’t like it.”
He stepped up a step to get a closer look. The shimmering didn’t look particularly dangerous. The shimmering was uniform and looked like it conformed exactly to the dimensions of the stairs. It just looked like the ceiling had turned into an area of sparkling, blue water. He went back down and got a flashlight.
Claire stood watching him, with her arms folded across her chest. “What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Just look at it and try to figure out what it is. It’s probably going to go away any second. Why don’t you get a picture of it?”
She walked into the dining room and got her camera bag. When she got back to the stairs, Peter was sitting near the top, studying the ceiling with the beam of light. She decided to use the Polaroid. She stepped up on the first step and took a picture without the flash. Then she took one with the flash.
While she was taking pictures, peter began probing the ceiling with the end of the flashlight. He expected to feel resistance but, to his surprise, he found that the handle of the light went easily up into the shimmering light. Then he expected to find that the flashlight had been damaged in some way when he pulled it out. But, again, he was surprised when the handle came down unscathed. He sat for a moment, trying to figure out what to do next.
Claire had stopped taking pictures and stood watching him as he experimented with the wavering ceiling. She was both curious and afraid. The house had a history of violence, and the stairway had been built by a madman. Was this a manifestation of a divine power? God? Or the devil? Without realizing it, she took three steps up so she could get a clearer view of what Peter was doing. She had her flashlight and was shining it on the spot where he was inserting the handle of the flashlight, again. The beam didn’t reflect back but seemed to be absorbed up into the ceiling.
Peter moved the flashlight up and down several times, and the result was the same each time. He couldn’t detect any damage to the handle. Nor was it any warmer or cooler for the exposure.
He looked down at Claire. “What do you think?”
She moved up another step. “I don’t know. Do you suppose the ceiling is radioactive or something? Maybe radiation is doing something to the plaster and wood.”
“Well, if it’s atomic radiation, we’re in a lot of trouble. But I don’t think that’s it. I’m going to try something else.” He went to the kitchen and took a package of sliced ham out of the ice box. Then he went back up the stairs and probed the ceiling with the meat. There was no indication that the meat had been damaged in any way. He took the ham back to the ice box and got a bottle of water. When he got in place, he sloshed some of the water upward. The water went into the ceiling and fell back down as if he had just tossed it into the air.
Claire dodged as the water splashed at her feet. Gaining her balance, she said, “It just went up and down like nothing was there.”
He was quiet for a moment then turned to her. “Go upstairs and see if the handle of the flashlight pokes through the floor.”
She hurried down the steps and headed toward the main stairway. He waited a moment then lifted the flashlight into the ceiling again.”
He yelled, “Is it showing?”
She yelled back, “No! I don’t see anything coming through!”
When she answered, he had turned in that direction and inadvertently put his hand up into the ceiling. When he looked back and saw part of his hand missing, he jerked it back. There had been no sensation, but his heart was suddenly thumping in his chest and he was breathing like he had just run a mile. Fearing the worst, he inspected his fingers with the flashlight. He flexed them. There didn’t seem to be any damage to the skin. He was still opening and closing his hand when Claire returned.
She shined her light on his hand. “What are you doing?”
He was beginning to calm down. His hand felt all right. “I wasn’t paying attention, and I put my hand in there.”
“Peter! Are you all right?”
He shrugged. “I don’t know. I guess so. I didn’t feel a thing.”
Lightning flashed through the windows and thunder shook the mansion. They could hear sheets of rain rasping against the windows and front door. Although it was only four o’clock, the windows were black pits when the lightning wasn’t turning them into flashing beacons
.“Well, come down from there. I’ve had enough excitement for one day.”
He looked up at the ceiling. “Wait a minute.” He reached up and put his hand back into the ceiling. It disappeared down to his wrist. He pulled it back out. His heart was beating almost normally and his breathing had returned to normal. He studied his hand, again, and still didn’t see or feel anything wrong.
“What are you doing?” Claire had seen his hand disappear into the shimmering ceiling. Then come back out. He didn’t show any signs of pain. She didn’t know what to make of it. “Be careful.”
After a moment’s hesitation, he reached up into the ceiling and moved his hand around to find out if he could feel anything. All he could feel was air. There was no change in temperature.
Claire had put her hands to her mouth and had quit breathing. The sight of Peter’s arm, cut off near his elbow, was the weirdest thing she had ever witnessed. She kept looking at his face, waiting for signs that he was in pain. But his face remained expressionless, except for his look of determined concentration.
Peter brought his arm back down and stared at the ceiling. The whole thing is ridiculous. Except it’s happening. What would make a ceiling open up like that? And what could possibly be up there? There has to be something…doesn’t there?
When Claire realized what he was going to do, she yelled, “No!”
But he had gotten up and put his head into the ceiling.
She started up the stairs. The sight of him cut off at his shoulders brought a scream to her throat. But before she could push it through, he came back down. She stopped mid-scream and stared at him. He was still in one piece. And, to her irritation, was grinning at her.
He held his hand out. “Come on up. You’ve got to see this.”
“What on earth…?” She hesitated, then started up.
He laughed as he took her hand. “Not ‘what on earth?’ What on un-earth? It’s the most bizarre thing I’ve ever seen.”
She held back. “Are you sure it’s safe?”
He cocked his head .“I’m still in one piece, aren’t I? Come on.”
She relented and stepped up next to him, stooping as she got close to the ceiling. Then, holding hands, they rose as one.
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About the Book
Josef Barrington becomes a wealthy man because he takes heed of the voice in the night. When he obeys the command to build a special stairway in his mansion, he thinks the stairway is another step toward his destiny. However, it soon becomes apparent that the stairway has become the device of his destruction.
On a trip to Cleveland, Ohio, Peter White is flying his airplane over East Ridgeville when he spots an old, ill-kept mansion. When he makes inquiries about the property, he learns that it’s known as the Barrington Haunted Castle. Thinking he might purchase the property, he takes his girlfriend, Claire Whitley, to East Ridgeville to see the Realtor. There, they hear that Josef Barrington had killed his wife and three children almost a hundred years ago and was duly hanged.
Peter and Claire go out to inspect the mansion and discover a strange stairway in the living room. Although they think of the stairs as the whim of a crazy, old man, they are forced to change their minds one stormy night when the stairway becomes a gateway to the bizarre.
They soon realize that Josef Barrington did not kill his family. The stairway and what lay beyond were instrumental in their disappearance. And Peter and Claire are about to meet the same fate.
About the Author
Mr. Lawrence received a bachelor of art degree with honors in 1986. Although his major was English/Creative Writing, he did not begin his writing career until much later. However, during his college years, he did develop the premises for many of his novels, including: “The Stairway to Never,” “Field Mouse: The Fooder,” “Field Mouse: The Price of Innocence,” (The sequel.) “Wanda and the Mutts,” “The Oppositron,” “No More Tomorrows,” “The Seeding,” and “The Angry Spirit of Never Moore.”