Ghost town, p.10
Ghost Town, page 10
“I’m sorry,” Leif said, not sure how else to respond. Rose’s face crumpled, and she hid it in her hands as she began to sob.
“Is everything okay?” Blair’s voice made Leif’s heart sink as she came out the front door. She looked between Rose and Leif and Rachel, her expression falling.
“No,” she said, before anyone could say a word. “No. It’s not. It can’t be.”
“I’m so sorry, Blair,” Leif said. “We found his body.”
Blair stared at Leif, her expression stony. “Where?” she said, “Where is he?”
“Behind the manor,” Leif told her.
“Take me to him,” Blair said. Her voice was flat, and brooked no argument. Still…
“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Rachel said.
Blair didn’t even glance at her. She just stared at Leif and said again, “Take me to him.”
“Okay,” Leif agreed.
Rachel placed a hand on Leif’s shoulder. “Leif, I can’t go back there. And I don’t think you should either.”
“I’ll be okay, Rach,” Leif said. She remembered, just barely, that feeling of needing to see it for herself. The frustration at hearing her brother was gone, but not being able to see him. The feeling like he would be back any minute from the store or from basketball practice. The waiting for the funeral to finally, finally, see for herself that he really was gone.
Rachel looked like she wanted to argue, but she just nodded instead.
“Thanks,” Leif said, then turned to Blair. “Come on.”
They walked in silence, and Leif’s heart ached the entire way. She could imagine how Blair was feeling right now, and it made her sick to think of her heart breaking like that. This whole mess made her sick. It didn’t feel real. But there was no denying it was. Especially when they finally reached Abe’s body.
“No,” Blair said. Her voice cracked around the word. “Please, no. Abe.”
Blair lost her composure, wailing in sorrow like the grief had been punched out of her. Leif rushed forward as Blair dropped down to her knees. “I know,” she said softly, as Blair buried her face in her hands and wept. “I know. I’m so sorry. I’m so sorry, Blair.”
Leif half expected Blair to throw her off when she wrapped her arm around her. Instead, Blair melted into the embrace, pressing her wet face against Leif’s shoulder as she sobbed.
“We should have left,” Blair said against her shirt. “We shouldn’t have stayed here. This is my fault. He wanted to leave. We should have left.”
“Hey,” Leif said, her voice soft. “Hey, this isn’t your fault, Blair. Abe wanted to be here too. You didn’t kill him. Whatever this is, none of it is your fault.”
Blair wept until her voice was raspy from wailing. Leif’s shirt had a growing wet spot, but she couldn’t bring herself to care about that at the moment.
Blair sniffed loudly, and finally lifted her head. “I have to inspect him.”
“Blair, that’s going to be really fucking traumatic for you.”
Blair nodded. “But look at him. He has blood under his nails. And around his mouth,” Blair said. “I think he fought back. Whoever did this, they didn’t kill him the way they killed Jessica and Ivan. If it was even the same person. I don’t know why they would do this, but I have to figure it out.”
Leif felt like her skin was too tight. The signs of struggle were disturbing and painted a painful picture of how Abe must have fought for his life. Leif stood with her hand on Blair’s shoulder as she knelt to look at Abe’s body.
“Whoever did this, I think Abe must have taken a few chunks out of them,” Blair said. “I just don’t understand why he’s so close to the house.”
“The killer could be anywhere,” Leif said. “The whole town is abandoned. Whoever is doing this could be hiding out in literally any of the empty buildings in town. And how much have any of us really explored the manor?”
The hairs on the back of Leif’s neck stood on end, prickling, and sending a shiver through her. It was true. Whoever was killing them off could be watching them right now out of any of the dark windows of the Hastings Manor.
She wondered if Jessica and Ivan had been holed up somewhere in the library as they’d been investigating. She doubted it, since both her team and Blair’s had searched the place, but they hadn’t known that they were looking for missing persons. What if they’d missed a room where the siblings had been tied up? It didn’t bear thinking about. Worse, what if Jessica and Ivan had been locked up somewhere in the old manor?
“I think we’d hear someone in the house,” Blair said. She was still inspecting Abe, but she hadn’t touched him. Leif didn’t blame her.
“Right.” Leif tried hard not to think about the way her door had hung open her second night. She tried not to focus on the thick trees that surrounded the manor. The darkness between them.
“I don’t think we should stay out here much longer,” Leif said, after giving Blair a little bit of time.
Blair nodded, but didn’t stand. “I just…I don’t want to leave him here,” she said, her voice breaking. “Abe.”
Leif felt tears prick her own eyes. She wished they could do something. Bury him, or bring him with them. God, she wished more than anything that he was still alive. But he was already attracting flies. Which, now that she thought about it was odd, considering the other bodies had been untouched by insects and animals. Either way, they couldn’t keep a corpse in the house.
Leif took her sweater off and tucked it over Abe’s body. It couldn’t keep him warm anymore, but it was the thought that counted.
“Thank you,” Blair said, her voice cracking.
They walked back around the front in silence.
It was only once they neared the porch that Leif spoke. “I’m going to gather everyone. Do you want to rest, or do you want to be there?”
“I want to be there,” Blair said.
Leif’s heart hurt for Blair. She couldn’t imagine something like this happening to Johnny or Rachel. And it could. They could be the next victims. She would just have to make sure to keep them safe. And now that Abe was gone, well, she’d have to keep Blair safe too.
* * *
Blair was thankful for Leif’s presence. She was thankful that Leif had taken her to see Abe when she’d asked. That she’d walked back to the Hastings Manor with her and had stood by her side as they’d reported what they’d found to the rest of the group.
Gen was horrified. She and Abe had spent the whole ride to Masonville getting to know each other. “This isn’t fair,” she said, wiping tears from her eyes. “He was such a nice man. I don’t understand why this could have happened.”
Blair agreed. She felt like she was one blow away from shattering. Like if she thought about Abe she might crumble into pieces and blow away on the wind.
“It’s got to be something supernatural, right?” Johnny said. “I mean, come on. This is like something straight out of a horror movie.”
“I don’t know,” Blair said. Her throat felt raw and she knew her eyes must be puffy and red. “This is serious. People are dead. Abe is—” She stopped and closed her eyes against the tears that threatened. She needed to be strong, for Abe. He deserved justice, and she was going to get it for him.
She felt a warm arm wrap around her shoulder, and she knew before she even opened her eyes that it was Leif. If Abe had been there, he would have been giving her a knowing look. The lack of his presence ached so much it left her breathless.
She leaned against Leif, letting herself receive comfort. And when she opened her eyes, she was met with Leif’s concerned expression, her big green eyes trained on Blair’s face.
“Johnny, this is obviously some sort of serial killer or something,” Rachel said. “We can’t keep ghost hunting when there are real people dying.”
“What about the fact that the bugs and the animals won’t touch the bodies?” Johnny asked. “That’s got to be something paranormal.”
“Or something chemical,” Blair put in. “I don’t know. I believe in the paranormal, but this is beyond anything I’ve ever researched.”
“Besides, Abe’s body was different,” Leif put in. “There were flies.”
“I guess what it comes down to is that we’re stuck here,” Leif said. “Rhonda and Shae and Tammy may or may not have gotten out of here, but Abe tried too, and…” Leif squeezed Blair tighter. “Well, I don’t think leaving is an option anymore.”
“God, I really hope Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae got out,” Rachel said.
“Me too,” Blair said. “I think that if they hadn’t, we would have…found them by now,” she added.
“This feels like some sort of sick reality TV show,” Gen said. “This can’t be real.”
“I know,” Blair said. She moved to hold Gen, but Gen shook her off.
“Sorry, I just…I don’t want to be touched right now,” she said. Blair understood, but she’d have been lying if she’d said the rejection didn’t sting a little. The warmth of Leif against her side was even more comforting now.
“Whoever is doing this is leaving the bodies along the path in the woods, and right outside of the manor. Why would they do that?” Leif said.
“To mock us? To scare us, maybe,” Johnny said. “This is the work of some sick fuck who wants to watch us suffer.”
“Do you think whoever it is could be watching us?” Rachel asked.
“They must be. That’s how they were able to pick the others off,” he said. “They saw RTS leave. They didn’t want to let it happen again, so they followed Jessica and Ivan. And then they took Abe.”
“No one is watching us,” Gen said. “We’d see them, wouldn’t we?”
“Unless it is paranormal,” Johnny said. “Unless it’s some sort of sick entity that’s feeding on us.”
Blair frowned. That would have to be an incredibly strong entity, if it existed. She was about to say as much when Leif cut in.
“Stop, Johnny,” she said. “Don’t freak everyone out even more.”
“I think I need to go lie down,” Gen said. “Blair, do you want to come to my room?”
Blair thought about it for a moment, but the thought of trying to be strong for someone right now made her stomach turn. “No,” she said. “I think I’ll spend some time in the parlor for a while.”
Gen nodded and walked off. Blair felt a little bit sad that Gen hadn’t hugged her, or at least tried to comfort her. But people grieved in different ways. Maybe asking if she was coming to her room had been Gen’s way of offering comfort.
“You mind if I stay on the couch for a while?” Blair asked the group.
“Of course, take your time,” Leif said. “We’re here if you need us.”
Blair sat on the couch, watching as everyone filtered out of the room, until it was only her and Leif left.
“Hey, if you need anything just let me know, okay?” Leif said. “I’m here for you.”
“Thanks,” Blair said. She watched Leif leave, and finally let herself cry. The ache in her chest felt insurmountable. She could barely breathe. She missed Abe so much it hurt.
When she’d cried to the point that no more tears would come, she made herself get up. Better to cry in bed than out here where anyone could walk back in and see her.
She made her way up the staircase with legs that felt like lead. She was so tired. So empty. It felt like it might take a million years to get to her bedroom. She walked the hallway like a zombie. It seemed so long now, her room so far away.
“He wants you,” a voice said. Blair frowned. It was coming from Rose’s room, which was right ahead of her. But though it was Rose, she sounded strange. More guttural than usual.
“Come, come, he waits for you,” Rose said.
Blair made her way toward the door cautiously. Who was Rose talking to? Blair peered around the corner of the doorframe. Rose was sitting alone in the plush armchair that was in the corner of her room, her head hung low. She looked like she was sleeping.
“The other wants only darkness,” Rose said. It made Blair jump. She really did seem to be asleep. Was she dreaming, and talking in her sleep?
“Rose?” Blair said. She hoped to gently wake her.
“It is coming.”
Then Rose’s head snapped up. Her eyes were wide open, but showing the whites.
“It is coming,” she said, louder than before.
Blair’s heart felt like it was beating out of her chest. She couldn’t move, stuck still watching as Rose’s head lolled back. Then Rose jerked, her head coming forward as she seemed to wake up.
“Oh. Oh, dear, was I snoring?” she said, before noticing Blair frozen in her doorway. “Hello, Blair, I’m so sorry. I must have drifted off. Are you all right? Did you need me?”
Blair shook her head no. “Just passing by,” she squeaked out.
“If you want to talk, I’m always here for you,” Rose said. She sounded so caring now, a sharp contrast to her ominous rasp earlier. “I know that grief can feel so isolating. Do you want to sit with me?”
Blair shook her head. “Thank you, Rose,” she said, unshed tears burning behind her eyes and nose. “I think I need to be alone right now.”
“Of course,” Rose said. She looked at Blair with such compassion that it made Blair’s heart ache. “I’m here if you need me.”
Blair hurried down the hallway and into her room, shutting the door firmly behind her. Rose was just talking in her sleep. That was the logical explanation, and therefore the one that Blair would stick to. Never mind that her heart was still pounding out of her chest, she was just being silly. Rose was a kind woman. She hadn’t meant to scare her.
Still, as Blair climbed into bed, she couldn’t help but replay Rose’s words in her head like an echo.
He wants you.
He wants only darkness.
It is coming.
* * *
Leif had left the huddle feeling uneasy and dissatisfied with the whole situation. She hoped that Blair took her seriously when she’d told her that she was there for her. She liked Blair, despite their rocky start.
That being said, Leif was exhausted. She wanted to stay awake, to keep guard. She wanted to stay awake so that there was no chance of seeing Jessica tear her own face off again. But her eyes were closing on their own. It was about four p.m. and there was no way she was going to make it to the evening without a little snooze. Besides, it wasn’t like there was anything on the agenda for the rest of the day beyond trying to stay alive. It was time for a nap. She went to sleep feeling sick and overwhelmed.
Some naps are like a breath of fresh air. They restore the body, the mind, and the spirit. You wake from them feeling rested and ready to face the rest of the day head-on.
Other naps seem to serve just to dehydrate you. When you wake up you feel confused and grumpy, and like a million years and no time at all has passed at the same time. You’re somehow more tired than when you fell asleep, and you feel sort of sickly and too hot and just awful.
Leif had the second kind of nap.
She woke up with pain in her head and a terrible feeling of doom in her bones. It felt like something bad was about to happen. Again.
She scrubbed her hands over her face and sighed. This much stress wasn’t good for her. She felt sick and grumpy and briefly contemplated staying in bed all evening. But when she checked her watch it was only six p.m. She should get up. Make sure the others were all right. With great difficulty, she made herself stand.
Instead of heading toward the door—it hadn’t opened on its own ever since the other morning, which pretty much discredited her it’s the house shifting theory—she wandered over to the makeup table. She checked herself out in the mirror, but she just looked exhausted and a little bit gaunt. The dark circles under her eyes weren’t a great look either.
She opened the little drawer, hoping to find some old makeup, but it was empty. Damn.
Next, she made her way toward the dresser. Maybe she’d get lucky and find something to go through. She opened the top drawer and was delighted to find it full of clothing. Yes!
Bright colors and shoulder pads assaulted her senses. She lifted out each item with reverence, wrinkling her nose at the dust and smell of mothballs. Whoever had lived here in the eighties had sure loved clothes. There were suit jackets with matching pants, shirts, and maxi dresses that would honestly look cute on someone like Blair. She looked so cute in dresses.
Leif chuckled at herself. Seemed she was thinking about Blair a lot lately. Maybe seeing some of these dresses would help give Blair something else to think about for a while.
She moved to the next drawer down, hoping to find more treasures. The next drawer was full of file folders. That was a little bit of a weird place to keep folders, but hey, to each their own. She wondered what was in them. Leif flipped the stack over and froze.
On the front of the first folder was a neatly printed label. It read: Leif Henderson.
Leif’s chest felt tight as she reached out to grab the folder. Was this some sort of message that had been left for her by someone? Could it be from Tannincorp?
She opened the folder, and the feeling in her chest turned to one of horror. The first page had a picture of her, one that was clearly screen captured from one of her videos. Beneath the picture was information on her. Her age, her height, her hometown.
On the next page it read:
Leif Henderson is vivacious though only of average intelligence. She seems highly spirited and likely to fight back. Her involvement in the experiment should be left until the end, as she may cause trouble.
What. The. Fuck.
Leif’s eyes were drawn back to the drawer. There were more files in there. The next one was labeled Rachel Manalo.
She leafed quickly through the files in the drawer, feeling shaky and sick. Then she grabbed them all and dashed to the parlor where everyone tended to gather.
