Stairs in the Woods: No Stairway to Heaven


This is the story about three brothers who inherited a small oil field from their father after he had passed. Their names were Edward, Jake and Charlie Rose. The boys didn’t really have a lot in the way of responsibility. Checking the pumpjack and storage tank on their one oil drill was the extent of their chores. However it did need to be done every day in order to ensure they had a steady income. These boys seemed to be cursed to never grow up. They would much rather spend their time fishing, hunting for gold, living up to the song by Charlie Daniels about how they enjoy getting high in the morning and drunk in the afternoon and if you don’t like the way they’re living, you can just leave those long-haired country boys alone! Having the ranch paid for back when their daddy owned it, and now enjoying the income from the oil well, these three long-haired country boys were in their minds in the driver’s seat since nobody could make them have to get up off their butts and do some honest work! Even hunger was no longer a threat to make them have to go out and get a real job and that was about the best news possible! Of course if the oil ever stopped coming in then they would have a problem because they certainly were not saving any of the income currently coming in. The boys didn’t worry too much about it. Stress kills don’t you know? Really the only thing the boys had to do was to keep an eye on their storage tank for the pumpjack. They would have good days and bad days in terms of what they produced. If they had a really good day it could come close to filling the storage tank especially if there was anything in there from days previous. So once a day at least one of the boys had to make the trip down to the pumpjack and see if the storage tank needed to be emptied. There was a safety valve which would prevent the pumpjack from bringing up more crude than the storage tank could hold but when that pumpjack was not in motion the boys were not making money. Their combined lack of enthusiasm for all things involving work had taught them the hard way that if they wanted to not have to work, and still have money for things like booze, rolling papers and bacon, that they must do the least thing possible but on a daily basis, which is to make the trip down to the pumpjack and see if it needs emptied? Often times the boys would split up their one meager task that had to be done on a daily basis. They would work out a schedule and the one who had their turn to go check would get around to the matter at some point in the day. So it was nothing when the one who was in charge of checking the storage tank, would disappear for sometimes the whole day. It might have been the tank wasn’t getting full at a fast pace so there was no reason to report back. It might have been the one who checked had judged there was no reason to contact the truck to empty the tank that day, but that the next day it would be ready. The point being that if for instance like on the day of this story, if the one who went to check on the storage tank did not return in a timely fashion; well nobody was going to jump to any conclusions that the missing brother had been kidnapped, seduced or even the more likely of scenarios that they had fell asleep or gotten drunk which resulted in their getting lost which was the conclusion of why they never came back to join the other brothers. So what happened to the brother that came up missing? Well as it happened the one who ended up missing was Edward. The smarter one of the three brothers, many would claim. He was also the smallest of the three brothers, at least now they were grown. Edward was the oldest, so for quite a while he enjoyed being their leader not just because he was the oldest but also because he was the biggest which translated also into the strongest. Eventually the time came when Edward had to make peace with the fact that he was no longer able to rule using the “right by might” method. Suddenly he needed to take a much more intellectual approach to things. The day Edward came up missing was his day to go check on the storage tank at the pumpjack. The weather was a bleak unambitious effort which gave the impression that perhaps God had lost all his crayons and was having to create that particular day using only his charcoal pencil. Everything was a shade of gray. When he arrived at the pumpjack there was a strange thing he had never seen there before. It was a staircase. A staircase that went up into the very low-hanging clouds which had arrived under the cover of the previous twenty-four hours of overcast skies. It was like a bank of clouds which were about one story above the ground. There was a fog that drifted down from the thicker fog bank. He noticed the cloudbank, or fogbank, had a purple tint to it, where at first he had thought it was a shade of gray. Edward glanced around in all directions. He didn’t see anything which even resembled a threat. He took a few more steps toward the bottom of the stairs. Now he could see they were very fancy. There were all sorts of interesting carvings into what must have been some sort of exotic wood of which he had no knowledge, meaning the wood likely came from outside the states. Then he noticed how perfectly stained the wood was; and it clearly was kept free of the dirt and grime which is easily transferred from the ground around the storage tank and pumpjack. Then something caught his eye which was the sort of thing he had been searching for all his life! He couldn’t believe it! As he stepped closer his mind began to race. Do you suppose it was from the civil war? Did bandits leave it there? Could it be possible it will turn out to be fresh-minted from some long forgotten ancient coin mint for maybe the Mayas? Or the Aztecs? He tried to focus his vision to see what was imprinted on the very shiny, quite possibly … gold coins he had spied. They were just sitting there on that fourth step. Right about two steps below where the fog started to get a little thicker. Edward was no fool. And to his credit, as much as yes he would love to find riches, especially gold, he also had been around long enough to know you don’t get a free lunch in this world. Once again he looked around the landscape. This time he really tried to look at every possible spot someone could maybe be hiding and watching. The couple of spots which maybe could have hid someone were checked and there was nobody. He was alone with those gold coins which looked brand new-minted. The closer he was getting to them he could tell by their imperfect round shapes that these coins had been made by hand. They looked brand new but they had been made by hand by someone from a time long ago. He tried to recall what Spanish gold doubloons from the days of the early explorers in the new world, were selling for the last time he had looked? It was certain to be an attractive number. Especially if the coins did prove to have been hand made and that they stretched much further back than the doubloons. Caesar perhaps? He wasn’t entirely sure he would recognize Caesar if he saw him on a coin but he figured if the dude had some type of plant decorating his head that it was a good bet that it was meant to look-like and be Caesar. How was he the lucky one to find these coins after having been lost to time for who knows how many years? He stepped closer, going up a step to where his viewing angle of the coins was a much better position. Yes the coins looked to be at least as old as the Roman Empire. The thick cloudbank hovering above the out-of-place banister had a slight purple tint and the promise of available evil for any less-than-honorable opportunities which arose. It was a circumstance which welcomed the fog drifting down the stairs like a horde of easily startled ghosts. Their wispy fingers sent encouragement to pick up the shiny gold coins which nobody was there to claim. Nobody but him. Then he was close enough to see he had been right. These coins must have dated back to the days of the Roman Empire or perhaps even further! There were four of them. They were all of similar size, slightly bigger than a quarter and a little less thick. Then he saw something even more fantastic! A pile of those same coins twice the size of the first four! There were eight of those beautiful little gold babies just waiting for him to clang-clang into his pocket. But wait! They were two more steps up the flight. The fog, or cloud bank, whatever you wanted to term it, became considerably thicker up there. We just talked about how Edward was neither greedy nor stupid. To get the coins he had picked up in his hands was a great prize to have found. After all, previous to seeing the second pile of coins, he would have nearly given a little toe or maybe even a little finger, to have discovered such a treasure. Now it seemed like he would be out and out stupid to walk away from this with just the four coins. Two more steps and he would have twelve gold coins! Twelve, a dozen!, It sounds much better than four. Four! If he shared with his two brothers that meant he wouldn’t even have enough coins so he could keep one as a souvenir. On the other hand if he got twelve well that split up nicely when divided by three. He sat there in the beginning of that fog for quite some time. Torn between doing what he knew for certain would result in his safety and in taking just two more steps up that flight of stairs to grab those dozen gold coins. Edward once again surveyed the area looking for any signs of life. He was definitely alone! Edward began to laugh at himself. What a fool he was being. He boldly stepped up the next two steps and gathered up the eight so now he had a dozen golden coins. Then he quickly turned to go back down the stairs but discovered no matter how many stairs he went down, he could not escape the thick fog that surrounded him nor find the way off the staircase. Edward began to panic but he made himself get control. Panic would result in nothing good. Suddenly he noticed there was another stack of gold coins two more steps up the stairs. He could see them closely enough now to count them. There were eighteen! Eighteen gold coins. Then he realized he didn’t want them! All he wanted was to go home! The stairs could even have the coins he had already gathered if they would just let him go! Edward stood on those stairs not climbing toward the next pile of gold coins. So far every time he had climbed those stairs it had resulted in things getting worse for him. He had a nagging intuition that he should not try to get those next gold coins. Edward stood there for what seemed like hours. Finally he sat down on the stairs and began to cry. All the while he was staring at that pile of eighteen gold coins. They meant nothing to him! Big deal! What if he did climb those next two steps? What if he did gather those eighteen gold coins? If he looked up another two steps would he see a pile of gold coins that numbered forty-five? To what gain would it be if he had a million of those gold coins if he could not get out of where he was at? Then he heard a voice. It spoke in English but not a current form. If Edward had to guess he would have said the man was from the era of free love. When everyone was told to “Tune out and turn on!” Or something to that effect. The voice said, “Hey man! Are you going to climb the stairs and claim your reward? Or are you too busy being the perfect little processed version of the proper American citizen?” The place where Edward was at seemed to be darker than he first had thought. He fished into his pocket and produced a book of matches which had only three matches left in them. He felt the book and was hesitant to light one of the matches because he didn’t know if he might need them later. Instead of lighting a match, he replied, “Who are you? What is this place? Why can’t I seem to find a way out?” And finally he asked, “Are those your gold coins I found littering the stairs?” At first the man tried everything to talk Edward into just climbing those next two steps. He promised all the gold coins waiting up there, plus the ones that Edward had already gathered. They were all his as soon as he climbed the next two steps and claimed his gold coins! Edward was not so easily sold however. Eventually the decision was made to light one of the matches and see what this man looked like that was promising if he just climbed those next two steps he would be able to get the gold, and then be able to leave this place for good. Edward lit the match and was shocked to see that there was a rock wall separating them but that there was a small window which the man had been speaking to him through. The lit match exposed the face of a man who looked like he had been scratched by claws without mercy. The parts of the man’s face which could be seen were a bloody, scar-embedded mess that made a busy map of any downtown city look like a blank page in comparison. “What happened to you?” The man answered his question with one of his own. “You don’t hear the screams?” Then as if a switch had been flipped suddenly Edward could hear many screams coming from up top of the stairs. Whatever was up there was torturing, possibly killing someone. Maybe more than one. In fact it was likely there were a multiple number of people screaming. The match blew out. Two matches remaining. It wasn’t a problem. He had no desire to light up another match so his eyes could go a second round with gazing at a face which looked like it was the love child of PTSD and toture. Edward was certain he couldn’t avoid remembering the face of who was on the other side of that rock wall if his life depended on it. To go with all those scars and fresh scratches on his face was the fact the man had almost no hair left on his head. There were strands of hair that looked like it had been fairly long at one time. Now the top of the man’s skull looked like a swollen, pink bald head that had the appearance that the hair which had once existed on top of the head had been pulled out by the roots. Most likely handfuls at a time. What kind of place was this? Edward had been terrified before; now he was doing all he could to keep his shit together. As his mind is doing its best to take everything in and deal with the craziness of it all, that voice from the man is continuing to talk. He won’t shut up! “Climb the next two steps! It is the only way for either of us to move forward. Don’t you want to be rich? Don’t you want to leave this place? You cannot do either until you climb the next two steps! We are both stuck in limbo as long as you refuse to move up the stairs!” Edward wasn’t buying however. This went on for what could have been a few hours or a few days or a few weeks. He couldn’t tell. Time seemed stuck. Incapable of taking them into the future or allowing an escape into the past. The level of desperation which filled his heart was nearly enough to drown a person. Here he was stuck in some sort of hellish prison where there are numerous people heard screaming from being most likely tortured. His only course of action was to do what the man said on the other side of the rock wall who had his own agenda. Edward did not think it likely anything that man said should be trusted as to his benefit. True the guy had not proven to have ill intent toward him. Still why hadn’t the man spoke up as soon as he had arrived. Instead the man didn’t say anything for a very long time. It was like he was waiting for Edward to take the next obvious step. Even after he had broke down and been crying the man made no effort to make himself known. His inaction should have been a clear signal that he was lost as to what to do next? Yet the man continued to say nothing. Why? What would you expect someone to do if they were in his shoes? If they had been drawn in by greed then it would stand to reason the person would have continued to gather the gold coins. So the man was waiting and watching for Edward to climb the next two stairs and get those coins waiting up there. Plus he was facing a circumstance where going back the way he had come was not an option. That only left the choice of going up the stairs. Climbing up toward where all the screams were originating. To a place where he would have been completely unaware of the screaming. Remember he couldn’t hear the screams until the man made him aware of them. So that translates to the man on the other side of the rock wall as being someone who should not be trusted. In fact if push came to shove Edward figured he would probably be more likely to survive if he did the opposite thing of what that man advised. Finally the man said, “Okay dude! Okay! Its cool man! We’re cool. Tell me what you want?” Edward replied, “Simple. I want you to be honest with me about what is going on here! If you lie to me one more time I will let us both stay stuck here until we either die of starvation or some other equally horrible cause of death! Perhaps I will start screaming and see if the thing up at the top of the stairs is interested in following the sound of my voice to where we are located.” The man replied quickly but with a stutter, “No, no! Please no! Don’t do that. You don’t even want to think about it because it might use your thought waves to track your location. Trust me especially down here in these tight spaces you do not want it finding you here!” “Be straight with me then! So there is something scary, even murderous; waiting at the top of the stairs.” “If only it were that easy. I would have long ago ended my suffering. I will be speaking all the truth now. This is going to be hard to believe.” “Okay, yeah! Sure. Just tell me what the hell is going on?” “You have entered a doorway. A doorway to hell if you ask me. The only way out is if you can find a replacement. The gold you picked up off the stairs. It will be replaced if it has not been already. That is part of the trap. It is a trap designed to capture those whom value riches over happiness. The happy person likely won’t even come close enough to see the gold coins. However those that do come to the stairs have the option to take the minor treasure which they find, and four gold coins is no small potatoes. Some, those whom are courageous, but not driven simply by greed, may choose to climb the stairs far enough to attain the dozen gold coins. A person can still escape the monster at that point because the stairs merge. You can skip going to the top of the stairs and come over here and wait with me. But … and I probably shouldn’t tell you this but I said I would be honest and I am being honest. When you attempt to cross over to join me it will unlatch the doorway allowing me to get out.” “So I have went too far to be able to just keep the four gold coins and walk away. Now since I have taken the dozen gold coins, I cannot escape this world until someone else comes along and climbs the stairs. When they pass the point I am refusing to budge, they will spring the escape door so whoever is there to escape, will be able. Is that about right?” “You got it brother. So you can see it is to your advantage to be over here, next in line to get out. You’ve already dodged the bullet by not ever going to the top of the stairs. Most people do not know better. They walk right into an ambush. The monster takes long enough to let the new arrival know there is a hint of a chance for escape. It does this all with its mind. It shows the layout of the area so you know where the stairs are for escaping.” Edward asked, “It cannot see us down here?” “I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant it cannot see down into the thick fog so it has to come down here to find out. So far it has proven too eager to make its prisoners suffer. In other words it is too busy up there handing out suffering to be able to get down here to do it. So no, there is nothing written in stone it won’t come down here. That’s why I said not to be thinking about it. It might pick up on your thoughts.” Edward thought for a while. Then he said, “We are in a tough spot. It isn’t that I want to keep you here. It is just that I don’t know if I can trust you. How do I know there isn’t a chance I can get out of here by waiting for someone to come along and follow the bait. When they get to where I can see them from here, I will tell them not to come any further. Then I can go back to where they are at, and since from their position they can still get out, then it stands to reason I will be able to get out too.” The man did not reply for a while. The two parties sat on the stairs, in the darkness, each on their respective side of the rock wall. The screams coming from the top of the stairs never fell away, never seemed to take a break. Through the screams the man continued to speak. “You will only be cheating yourself. If you choose to wait for someone to fall for the bait; your plan will not work. When the new arrival is also trapped in that small area with you, I will talk them into climbing the stairs to the next level of gold coins. That will free me. Then you will still be stuck waiting for yet another arrival before you will be able to escape. Choosing to work with me now would move you into the spot I currently hold. That would mean the next arrival who falls for the bait would be your ticket out of this place. It is a no-brainer!” Edward wasn’t so sure. “Let me think on this a while more.” “Remember time has no meaning on this side. You won’t know how much time you have wasted over here until you get back to over there. We may already be too late. On that side of the stairs it might have seen a thousand years passed.” “Or none at all?” The man replied, “Touché. Think it through, toss it against the wall and see if it sticks. I’ll be right here brother.” Edward asked, “How do you know all this?” “It makes the rules known. I think it adds to the demon’s fun to tell you how you can get out because the chances are going to be seldom seen. I also think it enjoys seeing people sell out their own kind in order to save themselves.” Edward replied, “It cannot find people who are down here? Doesn’t it know there is somebody waiting to escape?” The man replied, “Sure. But it isn’t a pleasurable wait. Sending someone down here to where they are so close yet so far; seeing their hope teased while the person waiting is doing so knowing they are selling out the next person, but you are so very desperate to escape this place you are willing to turn your back on what you know is right. In fact I suspect many who escape, if any have ever escaped, do so by whatever means possible.” Edward replied, “Okay. I have an idea which will benefit us both but requires some trust. Mostly on my part. Or so I think. Curious; what year was it when you came here? … I guess first, I should ask your name? Mine is Edward. Edward Rose.” “Dawn. Dawn Hoffman. It is 1971. Or was. Who can tell what is going on in terms of time around this place.” Edward said, “I have a theory on all this. If this place is some sort of time-effected location then it is as likely that when you are able to escape that it will put you back out at the time when you came in. Then I suspect one of two things will happen. Either you will be back in your time and you will not be able to see the stairs, or you will be escaping into my time, and hopefully the stairs will still be there. I suppose there is one other possibility where you escape back into 1971 and the stairs are still visible. If that is the case then you should see if the bait has been replaced. If or when it is, you should follow the bait path until you have re-entered the place and then of course upon your re-entry it would then free me. I will like yourself, be escaping with the gold coins I have kept. Then I will cross over and wait for you to take the bait again. We will continue doing this back and forth until we have enough riches we never have to worry about money again.” Dawn replied, “That’s great! But first you never replied what year it was you entered? and second at some point one of us still gets left trapped in here. Why should I trust you to save me after I save you? At some point one of us is going to lose.” “I disagree. We do things like this. When you escape you see what happens. If the stairs disappear then you go to the telegraph office and send a telegraph to be delivered on the date, and year, I provide; to me at the address I will have you memorize. Odds are if the stairs are no longer visible it is because you were dumped back into your time, and then the stairs left to go back to the current time, my time which by the way is 1994. If I get a telegraph telling me to be sure to take my brothers with me on the day I disappeared, and that I should be the one to get the gold coins they will find at the bottom of the stairs they will discover at the pumpjack. That after I disappear into the stairs that one of them should follow. I will include instructions so we can take turns falling for “the bait” and we will just continue to take turns carrying out the gold coins which are available without seeing the monster: each time we switch places. We will have included in the instructions for us to bring several other teams of men who can take our place once we have taken as much gold as we need to live happy forever.” “Won’t that be unfair to the last man who falls for “the bait”? Edward smiled and said, “Not at all. That is the true beauty of this idea. As long as men are greedy, there will never be an end to the line of people wanting to fall for “the bait”. As long as men are smart and do not try to get more than first two sets of gold coins which can be taken while allowing an escape without meeting the monster, it is an unending supply of wealth. Or at least it is a stream of wealth which will not run out of volunteers to sign up for, until the gold runs out. It certainly won’t end because the men who seek riches will ever run out. I will admit if the gold coins ever run out or the stairs decide to disappear as easily as they appeared, then whoever is inside will likely be trapped. We will make the risks known. They will not prevent men from risking it to get the gold. Especially once they see what we have walked away holding” Dawn said, “Well since I am the first one out I am willing to do this. But you will have to trust me that I will hold up my end of things because I’m not going to go through this again. When I get out I am out. If you and your brothers want to try and get rich off the monster that’s your business. All I want is out. And when I get out, I will stay out. You can count on me to get your brothers, whether I am spit out in my time or in your time. Just tell me where to find them. If it spits me out in your time, then I will bring your brothers back here. If I am spit out in my time I will send the telegraph. You have my word. I wouldn’t leave my worst enemy in this place.” Edward replied, “Wait a minute! What happens if you send the telegraph to me and for some reason I am not there to get it because I am stuck in here? Better send two: one to my brother Jake, and the other to me. That way I am certain to get the message to someone who will be sure to start the endless parade of people wanting to cash in on the free gold.” Dawn said, “I will gather some people if the stairs stay here.” “That would be awesome. I think it is my best chance at getting out of here without having to wait for someone to accidentally fall for the bait.” Dawn replied, “Agreed brother!” They spent time having Dawn memorize exactly what Edward wanted said in the telegraphs which included the pitch they should tell others because Edward figured he might not want to go back through. In case that happened he would have to be happy with the gold coins he was going to get out with; which would be enough. His brother would also be walking away from the deal with a handful of gold coins. Dawn reminded Edward he already had all the gold coins he could carry. Remember, he had climbed to meet the monster. It wasn’t for anything concerning gold coins that he was going to hold up his end of the bargain. It was because Edward was granting his freedom. He would return the favor. When it all started Dawn had no idea it was possible to miss out on meeting the monster. He did as the rules were explained to him after meeting it and he never bothered to think it through that the person entering could avoid the monster while getting out with the gold coins as long as they were not greedy. Edwards lack of greed had saved him. Further was that if there was ever a human being you would want to save, it would be one that was not so greedy. Dawn wondered if anybody had ever settled for taking just the four gold coins? They would have been able to walk away clean. In any case it was time. Edward and he had went over everything that needed to be done to cover the bases as perfectly as possible. They both understood that there was every chance that Edward would end up no better off than Dawn had been, with the exception of at least Edward would never have to meet the monster. If anything worked to their favor, well Edward’s anyway, then he would have found a way to beat the system. It was a risk. He could have chosen to play it the other way, stayed where he was at and tried to back his way out the next time somebody else fell for the bait. Edward chose the other way. Dawn came out of the stairs and looked around and saw they were not there any longer. He had his gold coins and he came to find out he had in fact been returned to his own time. As far as people knew he had not been gone though he sure got some strange looks because of the shape he was in. After getting himself cleaned up Dawn did as he had promised and went and placed the telegraph to both Edward and to Jake in the year of 1994. He did it immediately just in case there was a chance that it would happen in a time sequence different than if for instance, he had just held onto the message and delivered it himself when 1994 came around. He was in his late twenties, he would with any luck, still be alive when 1994 came around. When the year came around Dawn knew the address of where Edward lived, so he departed with time to spare to see what would happen on that day. Dawn watched as Edward and both his brothers left their house and walked down to the pumpjack and storage tank. Dawn had been down there since the night previous, and there was no sight of the stairs. Then suddenly, they were there! It hadn’t been there a few seconds earlier but suddenly Dawn could see the stairs. A misty, rainy type morning that was very dismal and gray. The air was so heavy with moisture you could nearly feel it enter the lungs like when you’re inside the showers of the high school gym right after everyone has finished showering. Dawn was looking at the pumpjack and storage tank one second and the next there were the stairs. They climbed upwards toward nothing, disappearing in the cover of the clouds which sent down fingers of fog that embraced the stairs in a less-than-welcoming appearance. Dawn was still taking it all in when he suddenly realized he had company. It was Edward and he had both his brothers. They stood looking confused at the stairs and then they re-read the telegram they received. A few minutes later several other men arrived at the pumpjack. Edward had by then gone up the stairs and disappeared into the fog that enveloped the top of the stairs. A few minutes later his brother Jake entered the stairs and walked up them until he had disappeared. Suddenly Edward was visible. He had gold coins in his hands which he showed the group of men who had arrived. Next man to go through was Charlie. As he disappeared Jake became visible and he also, had a handful of gold coins. Then Charlie was coming out as another man went in. Charlie also showed everyone his gold coins. A couple more men made it through the stairs and then they came out with gold coins of their own as more men went in to take their place. It seemed to be going very well for a while. The brothers stayed to watch since it was on their property but none of them chose to re-enter the stairs though may of the other men went more than once. Edward had explained he didn’t know for sure why? But he thought they were far better off keeping what they had and not trying to get more. It was then that the stairs suddenly disappeared. The gloomy, gray overcast of clouds suddenly began to evaporate or blow away and the day was a bright sunny one that had the promise of a new beginning. There was of course a big stink as to what happened to the men who were inside the stairs. As it turned out it was only one. He had come with some other men who all were recruited from a bar by one of the brothers. There was nobody who claimed the lost man as family. Really the biggest problem anybody had with the entire circumstance was the men who were next in line behind the one who came up missing. They were unhappy they missed out on the gold coins which the brothers had walked away holding. However they were feeling like they dodged a very serious bullet that they did not end up being the one who disappeared. Dawn did not bother to introduce himself to Edward and his brothers. The story was far too much to believe unless you had lived it; and because of the telegram Edward never had to live the horror of being trapped in there. Something that someone was not going to be able to say the same because they had proven too greedy. Which was something that Edward nor his brothers could offer an explanation. The best they could offer was that if the men followed the instructions exactly as they were told then there was nothing to worry about. The telegram had said the only way to get in trouble was if you were so greedy that you ignored the warning not to try for the next pile of gold coins after reaching the level which was safe to still avoid the monster. Dawn as he walked away had a good idea what had happened in the stairs. He figured the last man to enter had ignored the warning not to go too far up the stairs. That they could go back around as many times as they desired to get more gold coins. Just do not try to get them all at once. Dawn figured the man had ignored the warning and when he met the monster, the trap was considered to have been successful therefore the stairs once again became invisible. Dawn walked back to his car and left the area not saying anything to anybody. What would be the point? Edward would never know how his lack of greed, or intelligence to not continue up those stairs, had been the reason he did not end up like the man who disappeared on that day. It was a tale which was unbelievable unless you had been there and thanks to Edward’s brilliant plan nobody else had to endure the experience, except those who were too greedy for their own good.

This is the story about three brothers who inherited a small oil field from their father after he had passed. Their names were Edward, Jake and Charlie Rose. The boys didn’t really have a lot in the way of responsibility. Checking the pumpjack and storage tank on their one oil drill was the extent of their chores. However it did need to be done every day in order to ensure they had a steady income.
These boys seemed to be cursed to never grow up. They would much rather spend their time fishing, hunting for gold, living up to the song by Charlie Daniels about how they enjoy getting high in the morning and drunk in the afternoon and if you don’t like the way they’re living, you can just leave those long-haired country boys alone! Having the ranch paid for back when their daddy owned it, and now enjoying the income from the oil well, these three long-haired country boys were in their minds in the driver’s seat since nobody could make them have to get up off their butts and do some honest work!
Even hunger was no longer a threat to make them have to go out and get a real job and that was about the best news possible! Of course if the oil ever stopped coming in then they would have a problem because they certainly were not saving any of the income currently coming in.
The boys didn’t worry too much about it. Stress kills don’t you know? Really the only thing the boys had to do was to keep an eye on their storage tank for the pumpjack. They would have good days and bad days in terms of what they produced. If they had a really good day it could come close to filling the storage tank especially if there was anything in there from days previous. So once a day at least one of the boys had to make the trip down to the pumpjack and see if the storage tank needed to be emptied.
There was a safety valve which would prevent the pumpjack from bringing up more crude than the storage tank could hold but when that pumpjack was not in motion the boys were not making money. Their combined lack of enthusiasm for all things involving work had taught them the hard way that if they wanted to not have to work, and still have money for things like booze, rolling papers and bacon, that they must do the least thing possible but on a daily basis, which is to make the trip down to the pumpjack and see if it needs emptied?
Often times the boys would split up their one meager task that had to be done on a daily basis. They would work out a schedule and the one who had their turn to go check would get around to the matter at some point in the day. So it was nothing when the one who was in charge of checking the storage tank, would disappear for sometimes the whole day. It might have been the tank wasn’t getting full at a fast pace so there was no reason to report back. It might have been the one who checked had judged there was no reason to contact the truck to empty the tank that day, but that the next day it would be ready.
The point being that if for instance like on the day of this story, if the one who went to check on the storage tank did not return in a timely fashion; well nobody was going to jump to any conclusions that the missing brother had been kidnapped, seduced or even the more likely of scenarios that they had fell asleep or gotten drunk which resulted in their getting lost which was the conclusion of why they never came back to join the other brothers.
So what happened to the brother that came up missing? Well as it happened the one who ended up missing was Edward. The smarter one of the three brothers, many would claim. He was also the smallest of the three brothers, at least now they were grown. Edward was the oldest, so for quite a while he enjoyed being their leader not just because he was the oldest but also because he was the biggest which translated also into the strongest. Eventually the time came when Edward had to make peace with the fact that he was no longer able to rule using the “right by might” method. Suddenly he needed to take a much more intellectual approach to things.
The day Edward came up missing was his day to go check on the storage tank at the pumpjack. The weather was a bleak unambitious effort which gave the impression that perhaps God had lost all his crayons and was having to create that particular day using only his charcoal pencil. Everything was a shade of gray.
When he arrived at the pumpjack there was a strange thing he had never seen there before. It was a staircase. A staircase that went up into the very low-hanging clouds which had arrived under the cover of the previous twenty-four hours of overcast skies. It was like a bank of clouds which were about one story above the ground. There was a fog that drifted down from the thicker fog bank. He noticed the cloudbank, or fogbank, had a purple tint to it, where at first he had thought it was a shade of gray.
Edward glanced around in all directions. He didn’t see anything which even resembled a threat. He took a few more steps toward the bottom of the stairs. Now he could see they were very fancy. There were all sorts of interesting carvings into what must have been some sort of exotic wood of which he had no knowledge, meaning the wood likely came from outside the states. Then he noticed how perfectly stained the wood was; and it clearly was kept free of the dirt and grime which is easily transferred from the ground around the storage tank and pumpjack.
Then something caught his eye which was the sort of thing he had been searching for all his life! He couldn’t believe it! As he stepped closer his mind began to race. Do you suppose it was from the civil war? Did bandits leave it there? Could it be possible it will turn out to be fresh-minted from some long forgotten ancient coin mint for maybe the Mayas? Or the Aztecs? He tried to focus his vision to see what was imprinted on the very shiny, quite possibly … gold coins he had spied.
They were just sitting there on that fourth step. Right about two steps below where the fog started to get a little thicker. Edward was no fool. And to his credit, as much as yes he would love to find riches, especially gold, he also had been around long enough to know you don’t get a free lunch in this world. Once again he looked around the landscape. This time he really tried to look at every possible spot someone could maybe be hiding and watching. The couple of spots which maybe could have hid someone were checked and there was nobody. He was alone with those gold coins which looked brand new-minted. The closer he was getting to them he could tell by their imperfect round shapes that these coins had been made by hand. They looked brand new but they had been made by hand by someone from a time long ago. He tried to recall what Spanish gold doubloons from the days of the early explorers in the new world, were selling for the last time he had looked?
It was certain to be an attractive number. Especially if the coins did prove to have been hand made and that they stretched much further back than the doubloons. Caesar perhaps? He wasn’t entirely sure he would recognize Caesar if he saw him on a coin but he figured if the dude had some type of plant decorating his head that it was a good bet that it was meant to look-like and be Caesar.
How was he the lucky one to find these coins after having been lost to time for who knows how many years? He stepped closer, going up a step to where his viewing angle of the coins was a much better position. Yes the coins looked to be at least as old as the Roman Empire. The thick cloudbank hovering above the out-of-place banister had a slight purple tint and the promise of available evil for any less-than-honorable opportunities which arose. It was a circumstance which welcomed the fog drifting down the stairs like a horde of easily startled ghosts. Their wispy fingers sent encouragement to pick up the shiny gold coins which nobody was there to claim. Nobody but him.
Then he was close enough to see he had been right. These coins must have dated back to the days of the Roman Empire or perhaps even further! There were four of them. They were all of similar size, slightly bigger than a quarter and a little less thick. Then he saw something even more fantastic! A pile of those same coins twice the size of the first four! There were eight of those beautiful little gold babies just waiting for him to clang-clang into his pocket.
But wait! They were two more steps up the flight. The fog, or cloud bank, whatever you wanted to term it, became considerably thicker up there. We just talked about how Edward was neither greedy nor stupid. To get the coins he had picked up in his hands was a great prize to have found. After all, previous to seeing the second pile of coins, he would have nearly given a little toe or maybe even a little finger, to have discovered such a treasure. Now it seemed like he would be out and out stupid to walk away from this with just the four coins. Two more steps and he would have twelve gold coins! Twelve, a dozen!, It sounds much better than four. Four! If he shared with his two brothers that meant he wouldn’t even have enough coins so he could keep one as a souvenir. On the other hand if he got twelve well that split up nicely when divided by three.
He sat there in the beginning of that fog for quite some time. Torn between doing what he knew for certain would result in his safety and in taking just two more steps up that flight of stairs to grab those dozen gold coins. Edward once again surveyed the area looking for any signs of life. He was definitely alone! Edward began to laugh at himself. What a fool he was being. He boldly stepped up the next two steps and gathered up the eight so now he had a dozen golden coins. Then he quickly turned to go back down the stairs but discovered no matter how many stairs he went down, he could not escape the thick fog that surrounded him nor find the way off the staircase.
Edward began to panic but he made himself get control. Panic would result in nothing good. Suddenly he noticed there was another stack of gold coins two more steps up the stairs. He could see them closely enough now to count them. There were eighteen! Eighteen gold coins.
Then he realized he didn’t want them! All he wanted was to go home! The stairs could even have the coins he had already gathered if they would just let him go! Edward stood on those stairs not climbing toward the next pile of gold coins. So far every time he had climbed those stairs it had resulted in things getting worse for him. He had a nagging intuition that he should not try to get those next gold coins.
Edward stood there for what seemed like hours. Finally he sat down on the stairs and began to cry. All the while he was staring at that pile of eighteen gold coins. They meant nothing to him! Big deal! What if he did climb those next two steps? What if he did gather those eighteen gold coins? If he looked up another two steps would he see a pile of gold coins that numbered forty-five? To what gain would it be if he had a million of those gold coins if he could not get out of where he was at?
Then he heard a voice. It spoke in English but not a current form. If Edward had to guess he would have said the man was from the era of free love. When everyone was told to “Tune out and turn on!” Or something to that effect. The voice said, “Hey man! Are you going to climb the stairs and claim your reward? Or are you too busy being the perfect little processed version of the proper American citizen?”
The place where Edward was at seemed to be darker than he first had thought. He fished into his pocket and produced a book of matches which had only three matches left in them. He felt the book and was hesitant to light one of the matches because he didn’t know if he might need them later. Instead of lighting a match, he replied, “Who are you? What is this place? Why can’t I seem to find a way out?” And finally he asked, “Are those your gold coins I found littering the stairs?”
At first the man tried everything to talk Edward into just climbing those next two steps. He promised all the gold coins waiting up there, plus the ones that Edward had already gathered. They were all his as soon as he climbed the next two steps and claimed his gold coins! Edward was not so easily sold however. Eventually the decision was made to light one of the matches and see what this man looked like that was promising if he just climbed those next two steps he would be able to get the gold, and then be able to leave this place for good.
Edward lit the match and was shocked to see that there was a rock wall separating them but that there was a small window which the man had been speaking to him through. The lit match exposed the face of a man who looked like he had been scratched by claws without mercy. The parts of the man’s face which could be seen were a bloody, scar-embedded mess that made a busy map of any downtown city look like a blank page in comparison. “What happened to you?”
The man answered his question with one of his own. “You don’t hear the screams?”
Then as if a switch had been flipped suddenly Edward could hear many screams coming from up top of the stairs. Whatever was up there was torturing, possibly killing someone. Maybe more than one. In fact it was likely there were a multiple number of people screaming. The match blew out.
Two matches remaining. It wasn’t a problem. He had no desire to light up another match so his eyes could go a second round with gazing at a face which looked like it was the love child of PTSD and toture. Edward was certain he couldn’t avoid remembering the face of who was on the other side of that rock wall if his life depended on it. To go with all those scars and fresh scratches on his face was the fact the man had almost no hair left on his head. There were strands of hair that looked like it had been fairly long at one time. Now the top of the man’s skull looked like a swollen, pink bald head that had the appearance that the hair which had once existed on top of the head had been pulled out by the roots. Most likely handfuls at a time.
What kind of place was this? Edward had been terrified before; now he was doing all he could to keep his shit together. As his mind is doing its best to take everything in and deal with the craziness of it all, that voice from the man is continuing to talk. He won’t shut up! “Climb the next two steps! It is the only way for either of us to move forward. Don’t you want to be rich? Don’t you want to leave this place? You cannot do either until you climb the next two steps! We are both stuck in limbo as long as you refuse to move up the stairs!”
Edward wasn’t buying however. This went on for what could have been a few hours or a few days or a few weeks. He couldn’t tell. Time seemed stuck. Incapable of taking them into the future or allowing an escape into the past. The level of desperation which filled his heart was nearly enough to drown a person. Here he was stuck in some sort of hellish prison where there are numerous people heard screaming from being most likely tortured. His only course of action was to do what the man said on the other side of the rock wall who had his own agenda. Edward did not think it likely anything that man said should be trusted as to his benefit.
True the guy had not proven to have ill intent toward him. Still why hadn’t the man spoke up as soon as he had arrived. Instead the man didn’t say anything for a very long time. It was like he was waiting for Edward to take the next obvious step. Even after he had broke down and been crying the man made no effort to make himself known.
His inaction should have been a clear signal that he was lost as to what to do next? Yet the man continued to say nothing. Why? What would you expect someone to do if they were in his shoes? If they had been drawn in by greed then it would stand to reason the person would have continued to gather the gold coins. So the man was waiting and watching for Edward to climb the next two stairs and get those coins waiting up there.
Plus he was facing a circumstance where going back the way he had come was not an option. That only left the choice of going up the stairs. Climbing up toward where all the screams were originating. To a place where he would have been completely unaware of the screaming. Remember he couldn’t hear the screams until the man made him aware of them.
So that translates to the man on the other side of the rock wall as being someone who should not be trusted. In fact if push came to shove Edward figured he would probably be more likely to survive if he did the opposite thing of what that man advised.
Finally the man said, “Okay dude! Okay! Its cool man! We’re cool. Tell me what you want?”
Edward replied, “Simple. I want you to be honest with me about what is going on here! If you lie to me one more time I will let us both stay stuck here until we either die of starvation or some other equally horrible cause of death! Perhaps I will start screaming and see if the thing up at the top of the stairs is interested in following the sound of my voice to where we are located.”
The man replied quickly but with a stutter, “No, no! Please no! Don’t do that. You don’t even want to think about it because it might use your thought waves to track your location. Trust me especially down here in these tight spaces you do not want it finding you here!”
“Be straight with me then! So there is something scary, even murderous; waiting at the top of the stairs.”
“If only it were that easy. I would have long ago ended my suffering. I will be speaking all the truth now. This is going to be hard to believe.”
“Okay, yeah! Sure. Just tell me what the hell is going on?”
“You have entered a doorway. A doorway to hell if you ask me. The only way out is if you can find a replacement. The gold you picked up off the stairs. It will be replaced if it has not been already. That is part of the trap. It is a trap designed to capture those whom value riches over happiness. The happy person likely won’t even come close enough to see the gold coins. However those that do come to the stairs have the option to take the minor treasure which they find, and four gold coins is no small potatoes. Some, those whom are courageous, but not driven simply by greed, may choose to climb the stairs far enough to attain the dozen gold coins. A person can still escape the monster at that point because the stairs merge. You can skip going to the top of the stairs and come over here and wait with me. But … and I probably shouldn’t tell you this but I said I would be honest and I am being honest. When you attempt to cross over to join me it will unlatch the doorway allowing me to get out.”
“So I have went too far to be able to just keep the four gold coins and walk away. Now since I have taken the dozen gold coins, I cannot escape this world until someone else comes along and climbs the stairs. When they pass the point I am refusing to budge, they will spring the escape door so whoever is there to escape, will be able. Is that about right?”
“You got it brother. So you can see it is to your advantage to be over here, next in line to get out. You’ve already dodged the bullet by not ever going to the top of the stairs. Most people do not know better. They walk right into an ambush. The monster takes long enough to let the new arrival know there is a hint of a chance for escape. It does this all with its mind. It shows the layout of the area so you know where the stairs are for escaping.”
Edward asked, “It cannot see us down here?”
“I didn’t mean it that way. I just meant it cannot see down into the thick fog so it has to come down here to find out. So far it has proven too eager to make its prisoners suffer. In other words it is too busy up there handing out suffering to be able to get down here to do it. So no, there is nothing written in stone it won’t come down here. That’s why I said not to be thinking about it. It might pick up on your thoughts.”
Edward thought for a while. Then he said, “We are in a tough spot. It isn’t that I want to keep you here. It is just that I don’t know if I can trust you. How do I know there isn’t a chance I can get out of here by waiting for someone to come along and follow the bait. When they get to where I can see them from here, I will tell them not to come any further. Then I can go back to where they are at, and since from their position they can still get out, then it stands to reason I will be able to get out too.”
The man did not reply for a while. The two parties sat on the stairs, in the darkness, each on their respective side of the rock wall. The screams coming from the top of the stairs never fell away, never seemed to take a break. Through the screams the man continued to speak. “You will only be cheating yourself. If you choose to wait for someone to fall for the bait; your plan will not work. When the new arrival is also trapped in that small area with you, I will talk them into climbing the stairs to the next level of gold coins. That will free me. Then you will still be stuck waiting for yet another arrival before you will be able to escape. Choosing to work with me now would move you into the spot I currently hold. That would mean the next arrival who falls for the bait would be your ticket out of this place. It is a no-brainer!”
Edward wasn’t so sure. “Let me think on this a while more.”
“Remember time has no meaning on this side. You won’t know how much time you have wasted over here until you get back to over there. We may already be too late. On that side of the stairs it might have seen a thousand years passed.”
“Or none at all?”
The man replied, “Touché. Think it through, toss it against the wall and see if it sticks. I’ll be right here brother.”
Edward asked, “How do you know all this?”
“It makes the rules known. I think it adds to the demon’s fun to tell you how you can get out because the chances are going to be seldom seen. I also think it enjoys seeing people sell out their own kind in order to save themselves.”
Edward replied, “It cannot find people who are down here? Doesn’t it know there is somebody waiting to escape?”
The man replied, “Sure. But it isn’t a pleasurable wait. Sending someone down here to where they are so close yet so far; seeing their hope teased while the person waiting is doing so knowing they are selling out the next person, but you are so very desperate to escape this place you are willing to turn your back on what you know is right. In fact I suspect many who escape, if any have ever escaped, do so by whatever means possible.”
Edward replied, “Okay. I have an idea which will benefit us both but requires some trust. Mostly on my part. Or so I think. Curious; what year was it when you came here? … I guess first, I should ask your name? Mine is Edward. Edward Rose.”
“Dawn. Dawn Hoffman. It is 1971. Or was. Who can tell what is going on in terms of time around this place.”
Edward said, “I have a theory on all this. If this place is some sort of time-effected location then it is as likely that when you are able to escape that it will put you back out at the time when you came in. Then I suspect one of two things will happen. Either you will be back in your time and you will not be able to see the stairs, or you will be escaping into my time, and hopefully the stairs will still be there. I suppose there is one other possibility where you escape back into 1971 and the stairs are still visible. If that is the case then you should see if the bait has been replaced. If or when it is, you should follow the bait path until you have re-entered the place and then of course upon your re-entry it would then free me. I will like yourself, be escaping with the gold coins I have kept. Then I will cross over and wait for you to take the bait again. We will continue doing this back and forth until we have enough riches we never have to worry about money again.”
Dawn replied, “That’s great! But first you never replied what year it was you entered? and second at some point one of us still gets left trapped in here. Why should I trust you to save me after I save you? At some point one of us is going to lose.”
“I disagree. We do things like this. When you escape you see what happens. If the stairs disappear then you go to the telegraph office and send a telegraph to be delivered on the date, and year, I provide; to me at the address I will have you memorize. Odds are if the stairs are no longer visible it is because you were dumped back into your time, and then the stairs left to go back to the current time, my time which by the way is 1994. If I get a telegraph telling me to be sure to take my brothers with me on the day I disappeared, and that I should be the one to get the gold coins they will find at the bottom of the stairs they will discover at the pumpjack. That after I disappear into the stairs that one of them should follow. I will include instructions so we can take turns falling for “the bait” and we will just continue to take turns carrying out the gold coins which are available without seeing the monster: each time we switch places. We will have included in the instructions for us to bring several other teams of men who can take our place once we have taken as much gold as we need to live happy forever.”
“Won’t that be unfair to the last man who falls for “the bait”?
Edward smiled and said, “Not at all. That is the true beauty of this idea. As long as men are greedy, there will never be an end to the line of people wanting to fall for “the bait”. As long as men are smart and do not try to get more than first two sets of gold coins which can be taken while allowing an escape without meeting the monster, it is an unending supply of wealth. Or at least it is a stream of wealth which will not run out of volunteers to sign up for, until the gold runs out. It certainly won’t end because the men who seek riches will ever run out. I will admit if the gold coins ever run out or the stairs decide to disappear as easily as they appeared, then whoever is inside will likely be trapped. We will make the risks known. They will not prevent men from risking it to get the gold. Especially once they see what we have walked away holding”
Dawn said, “Well since I am the first one out I am willing to do this. But you will have to trust me that I will hold up my end of things because I’m not going to go through this again. When I get out I am out. If you and your brothers want to try and get rich off the monster that’s your business. All I want is out. And when I get out, I will stay out. You can count on me to get your brothers, whether I am spit out in my time or in your time. Just tell me where to find them. If it spits me out in your time, then I will bring your brothers back here. If I am spit out in my time I will send the telegraph. You have my word. I wouldn’t leave my worst enemy in this place.”
Edward replied, “Wait a minute! What happens if you send the telegraph to me and for some reason I am not there to get it because I am stuck in here? Better send two: one to my brother Jake, and the other to me. That way I am certain to get the message to someone who will be sure to start the endless parade of people wanting to cash in on the free gold.”
Dawn said, “I will gather some people if the stairs stay here.”
“That would be awesome. I think it is my best chance at getting out of here without having to wait for someone to accidentally fall for the bait.”
Dawn replied, “Agreed brother!”
They spent time having Dawn memorize exactly what Edward wanted said in the telegraphs which included the pitch they should tell others because Edward figured he might not want to go back through. In case that happened he would have to be happy with the gold coins he was going to get out with; which would be enough. His brother would also be walking away from the deal with a handful of gold coins.
Dawn reminded Edward he already had all the gold coins he could carry. Remember, he had climbed to meet the monster. It wasn’t for anything concerning gold coins that he was going to hold up his end of the bargain. It was because Edward was granting his freedom. He would return the favor.
When it all started Dawn had no idea it was possible to miss out on meeting the monster. He did as the rules were explained to him after meeting it and he never bothered to think it through that the person entering could avoid the monster while getting out with the gold coins as long as they were not greedy. Edwards lack of greed had saved him. Further was that if there was ever a human being you would want to save, it would be one that was not so greedy. Dawn wondered if anybody had ever settled for taking just the four gold coins? They would have been able to walk away clean.
In any case it was time. Edward and he had went over everything that needed to be done to cover the bases as perfectly as possible. They both understood that there was every chance that Edward would end up no better off than Dawn had been, with the exception of at least Edward would never have to meet the monster. If anything worked to their favor, well Edward’s anyway, then he would have found a way to beat the system. It was a risk. He could have chosen to play it the other way, stayed where he was at and tried to back his way out the next time somebody else fell for the bait. Edward chose the other way.
Dawn came out of the stairs and looked around and saw they were not there any longer. He had his gold coins and he came to find out he had in fact been returned to his own time. As far as people knew he had not been gone though he sure got some strange looks because of the shape he was in.
After getting himself cleaned up Dawn did as he had promised and went and placed the telegraph to both Edward and to Jake in the year of 1994. He did it immediately just in case there was a chance that it would happen in a time sequence different than if for instance, he had just held onto the message and delivered it himself when 1994 came around. He was in his late twenties, he would with any luck, still be alive when 1994 came around.
When the year came around Dawn knew the address of where Edward lived, so he departed with time to spare to see what would happen on that day. Dawn watched as Edward and both his brothers left their house and walked down to the pumpjack and storage tank. Dawn had been down there since the night previous, and there was no sight of the stairs. Then suddenly, they were there! It hadn’t been there a few seconds earlier but suddenly Dawn could see the stairs.
A misty, rainy type morning that was very dismal and gray. The air was so heavy with moisture you could nearly feel it enter the lungs like when you’re inside the showers of the high school gym right after everyone has finished showering. Dawn was looking at the pumpjack and storage tank one second and the next there were the stairs. They climbed upwards toward nothing, disappearing in the cover of the clouds which sent down fingers of fog that embraced the stairs in a less-than-welcoming appearance. Dawn was still taking it all in when he suddenly realized he had company. It was Edward and he had both his brothers. They stood looking confused at the stairs and then they re-read the telegram they received.
A few minutes later several other men arrived at the pumpjack. Edward had by then gone up the stairs and disappeared into the fog that enveloped the top of the stairs. A few minutes later his brother Jake entered the stairs and walked up them until he had disappeared. Suddenly Edward was visible. He had gold coins in his hands which he showed the group of men who had arrived.
Next man to go through was Charlie. As he disappeared Jake became visible and he also, had a handful of gold coins. Then Charlie was coming out as another man went in. Charlie also showed everyone his gold coins.
A couple more men made it through the stairs and then they came out with gold coins of their own as more men went in to take their place. It seemed to be going very well for a while. The brothers stayed to watch since it was on their property but none of them chose to re-enter the stairs though may of the other men went more than once. Edward had explained he didn’t know for sure why? But he thought they were far better off keeping what they had and not trying to get more.
It was then that the stairs suddenly disappeared. The gloomy, gray overcast of clouds suddenly began to evaporate or blow away and the day was a bright sunny one that had the promise of a new beginning.
There was of course a big stink as to what happened to the men who were inside the stairs. As it turned out it was only one. He had come with some other men who all were recruited from a bar by one of the brothers. There was nobody who claimed the lost man as family. Really the biggest problem anybody had with the entire circumstance was the men who were next in line behind the one who came up missing. They were unhappy they missed out on the gold coins which the brothers had walked away holding. However they were feeling like they dodged a very serious bullet that they did not end up being the one who disappeared.
Dawn did not bother to introduce himself to Edward and his brothers. The story was far too much to believe unless you had lived it; and because of the telegram Edward never had to live the horror of being trapped in there. Something that someone was not going to be able to say the same because they had proven too greedy.
Which was something that Edward nor his brothers could offer an explanation. The best they could offer was that if the men followed the instructions exactly as they were told then there was nothing to worry about. The telegram had said the only way to get in trouble was if you were so greedy that you ignored the warning not to try for the next pile of gold coins after reaching the level which was safe to still avoid the monster.
Dawn as he walked away had a good idea what had happened in the stairs. He figured the last man to enter had ignored the warning not to go too far up the stairs. That they could go back around as many times as they desired to get more gold coins. Just do not try to get them all at once. Dawn figured the man had ignored the warning and when he met the monster, the trap was considered to have been successful therefore the stairs once again became invisible.
Dawn walked back to his car and left the area not saying anything to anybody. What would be the point? Edward would never know how his lack of greed, or intelligence to not continue up those stairs, had been the reason he did not end up like the man who disappeared on that day. It was a tale which was unbelievable unless you had been there and thanks to Edward’s brilliant plan nobody else had to endure the experience, except those who were too greedy for their own good.