Ghost town, p.8
Ghost Town, page 8
She wondered briefly if it might be some sort of gas. That would explain why Jessica’s body was free of injury. But Tannincorp had done testing. The air was supposedly safe.
The hike back was made in grim silence. Blair felt hollow and shell shocked. Jessica was dead. It didn’t seem real. It couldn’t be real.
“Hey!” Rachel called out, walking up to them as they approached the manor. “Get any good footage, Leif?” She stopped when she caught sight of their faces. “What’s wrong?”
“It’s Jessica,” Leif said grimly.
“Oh, God, what happened? Is she okay?” Rachel asked.
“We found her body,” Leif said. “Out in the woods.”
Rachel looked at her like she was expecting a just kidding! Gotcha! from Leif. When that didn’t happen, she looked at the rest of their grave faces with wide eyes.
“No!” she said. “That can’t—what happened to her?”
“We don’t know,” Blair said. “There was no sign of injury. I don’t even think any of her bones were broken, which rules out a fall.”
“Let’s gather everyone,” Abe said. “Does anyone know where Ivan is? We should tell him privately.”
“Ivan went with her yesterday,” Rachel said. “He hasn’t come back either.”
Blair had a terrible feeling in her stomach. Surely they wouldn’t have separated, would they? Would Ivan have hurt his sister? That didn’t seem possible, but she supposed stranger things had happened.
“Okay. Let’s fill everyone in, and then we can get into groups and search for Ivan,” Abe said. He looked as scared as Blair felt, but he was a steadying presence. It felt like he was in charge. Like no matter what, he’d keep them all safe.
They found Rhonda, Shae, and Tammy the same way they’d left them, snuggled happily on the couch.
It felt so surreal to see their smiles.
“Hey, you’re back early. You didn’t like the trail?” Rhonda asked. It was Shae who seemed to notice the group’s demeanor first, and she frowned as her eyes darted between them all.
“Wait, what’s wrong?” Tammy asked, catching on. “Are you okay?”
“Not really,” Leif said. Her voice was wobbly, like she might cry. Blair felt for her. She felt like she might cry at any moment.
“We found Jessica in the woods,” Abe said.
“Is she injured?” Rhonda asked, sitting up straight.
“She’s passed away,” Abe told her grimly. “Something happened, but we don’t know what.”
“Oh my God,” Rhonda said.
Shae stared at them all wide-eyed as though she couldn’t believe what they were telling her.
“No,” Tammy said. “She can’t be.”
“I know, it’s hard to believe,” Abe said. “If anyone has any information on when they last saw her, that would be helpful.”
“Last saw who?” Gen asked as she walked into the room.
“Jessica,” Blair said. But she couldn’t bring herself to finish.
“Did something happen to her?” Gen asked. She looked so worried, and Blair’s heart felt like it was breaking all over again.
“We found her body in the woods,” Leif took over for Blair. “She’s dead.”
“Oh my God. What happened?”
“We don’t know,” Abe said. “We need to gather everyone and find out who saw her last and when. And we need to find Ivan.”
“I’ll search the house,” Rhonda volunteered. She stood from the couch and headed out into the hallway. Tammy and Shae both looked lost sitting on the couch without her.
“At least my friend Hafsah is a worrywart,” Blair said, trying not to let her voice wobble. “She’ll probably call the police to come check on us since we haven’t checked in.” Maybe the reassurance that someone out there would be looking for them would help with morale.
“I’m sure she will,” Gen said. “She always thinks the worst will happen.”
“This time it did,” Abe said.
“It’s so weird. So awful,” Gen said. “I mean, when I read about historical atrocities it’s terrible enough, but to see an actual body? I feel so bad that you all had to experience that. History is bloody, I wish real life wasn’t.”
“Me too,” Blair said.
Abe was silent, a look of deep contemplation on his face.
She was so lovely, Shae signed, I can’t believe this.
“If anyone needs a hug or a friendly ear, I’m here,” Abe said. “I’m no therapist, but I’m a great listener and an even better hugger.”
Tammy stood up from the couch and opened her arms. “I’ll take you up on that,” she said. Shae joined them in their hug, and Blair figured why not? She wrapped her arms around them as much as she could in a four-person huddle. It was fortifying, having that human connection.
Blair felt warmth beside her as someone moved in to join the hug. But instead of Gen, whom she had expected, it was Leif. Blair had thought that she’d want to be as far away from her as physically possible, but there she was with one arm around Blair and one arm around Abe. Maybe what had happened in the woods had changed how Leif saw her?
Before she could overanalyze it, the hug was over.
“I can’t find Ivan anywhere,” Rhonda said as she returned to the room. She took in the sight of everyone standing and looked at them all quizzically. “Did I miss something?”
“Just a hug,” Abe said. “The offer for one is always open.”
Rhonda smiled and crossed the room to take Abe in her arms in a tight hug that made him huff out a breath. “You’re a sweetheart, Abe,” she said as she let him go.
“Thank you,” he said. “So are you.”
“So, no Ivan?”
“No,” she said.
“We’ll find him,” Leif said, sounding sure enough that Blair believed her. “God, he’s going to be devastated.”
She was right. But Blair had a strange feeling about the whole thing. With Jessica dead and Ivan missing, the trip to Masonville was feeling almost cursed, though Blair didn’t believe in curses.
Still, she found herself wishing Ivan would appear, and not praying exactly, she didn’t pray anymore, but hoping that he was okay.
He had to be.
* * *
Morning bled slowly and painfully into afternoon, and Leif couldn’t stop picturing Jessica’s face. The paleness of her flesh and those veins like galaxies bursting just under her skin. She needed to clear her head.
Leif found Rachel in the kitchen picking sadly at some grapes. “Wanna get out of here for a bit?” Leif asked.
“So badly,” Rachel agreed.
They decided on a hike to clear their minds. Finding a dead woman was really taking a toll on them both.
When they reached the fork in the path they paused.
“Which path did you find her on?” Rachel asked. Her brow was furrowed and she looked like she might cry.
“The left,” Leif said.
“We should take the right, right?” Rachel asked.
Leif felt torn. On the one hand she didn’t want to see Jessica lying lifeless on the ground. But on the other hand…what if something or someone had taken her body away?
“I want to make sure she’s still there,” Leif said. “And maybe we will find Ivan. If he found her, he might be mourning near her.”
“Fuck,” Rachel replied. “Fuck. Okay. Let’s go.”
The path wasn’t well kept. The town had been abandoned long enough that tree roots and thick brush obscured some of the hiking trails. But it felt good to push through the branches. It felt like Leif was doing something, even though there was nothing to be done about Jessica. Poor Jessica. God, it was so horrible.
Jessica had started decomposing, sort of. The summer heat was obviously getting to her, but her body was strangely untouched by any wildlife. There were still no flies. No bite marks or tears in her flesh from any other hungry animals in the forest. And Leif was no expert, but she was pretty sure Jessica should have looked less well preserved than she did.
She couldn’t look at her for long. Couldn’t bear it.
“God,” Rachel said. She wasn’t looking at Jessica. Leif didn’t blame her. “This is so fucked up. Can we just keep going?”
“Sure,” Leif said, giving Jessica one last look. It was so strange that no animals had come for her. But Leif was thankful for that. She didn’t think she could handle seeing her mangled.
They walked on, and the trees that had once been guardians felt like something else. They felt like pressure. Like eyes watching her and Rachel’s every step. The spaces between them were dark, earthen maws, and Leif, who had always enjoyed hiking before, started to feel like she never wanted to see a tree again.
Leif had to believe that Ivan was okay. She had to believe that they’d find him, maybe curled up at the base of a tree crying over his sister. Maybe he’d found her body and gotten lost in his grief? It could have happened.
Rachel’s foot caught on a root, and she went tumbling down onto her hands and knees.
“Shit!” Leif said. “Rach, you gotta watch where you’re stepping. Are you okay?”
Rachel pushed up onto her knees, looking at her scraped-up hands. “I think I’m okay. I just—”
Rachel went silent. Leif felt a shiver work its way through her. “Just what? Rachel?”
“Oh, God,” Rachel said, her voice shaking harder than any of the forest leaves. “Oh my God. I think that’s a hand…”
Leif followed Rachel’s pointing finger, and saw him, nestled under a tree just like she’d thought.
Ivan.
He was lying just to the side of the path, one hand stretched out onto the packed soil as though in entreaty.
Rachel stood, wiping the blood on her hands onto her jeans.
“Is it him?” Rachel asked, turning away.
“It’s Ivan,” Leif confirmed to Rachel. “Fuck.”
Icy fear clawed its way into her chest. This was real. Two people were dead. How the hell was this possible? Suddenly it felt like the fresh forest air was choking her. Like her lungs wouldn’t work the way they should.
Rachel’s hand on her arm snapped her out of her thoughts. “Hey, Leif, just breathe. I know it’s horrible, I know, but just breathe.”
Leif tried. She tried to steady her breathing, but it felt like the woods were closing in around her. Like Ivan’s body was reaching out to her for help that she couldn’t give.
“We have to go,” Leif said. Every shadow in the woods now felt impossibly dark. Behind every tree lurked a threat.
Logically, Leif knew that they couldn’t jump to conclusions on what had killed Jessica and Ivan. But it felt like something or someone had killed them maliciously. It felt like everything was crumbling around her.
“Okay,” Rachel said. “Let’s go. Come on, let’s go.”
The walk back felt endless, but that was good. It gave Leif time to collect herself. And to help Rachel, who was sniffling and had started to shake. Leif held her close to her body as they walked back to the manor.
They made a beeline to the tent that Abe, Blair, and Gen were staying in. It still felt too close to the woods. A breeze blew through the leaves, but instead of feeling refreshed, Leif felt like the woods were breathing down her neck.
“We found Ivan,” she said as soon as Abe opened the tent flap. She couldn’t stand looking at his smiling face. She needed to rip the Band-Aid off before he greeted her with kindness. She couldn’t handle gentleness or happiness after seeing a corpse. “He’s…his body. It’s in the woods.”
Her voice broke, and the tears that she’d hoped were dried up started to fall again as Abe’s expression fell into one of grim acceptance. Not the full crumple she’d half expected, which was a relief. Something inside her settled just slightly.
“I’m so sorry, Leif. I hate to ask this of you, but can you show me where you found him?” Abe asked.
Leif nodded.
“Blair, can you let everyone know that we found Ivan?”
“Of course,” Blair’s voice said, close to the front of the tent. She’d heard, then. That was one less person Leif had to break the news to.
She and Abe went back alone to find Ivan’s body.
“Poor guy,” Abe said as they approached. “And poor Jessica. I have no idea what happened to them, but I think we should all probably get out of here.”
Leif nodded. She kept her eyes glued to Ivan. It was so weird to see a body that wasn’t breathing. She kept having to remind herself that he wasn’t going to move. That he’d never stand up again, never say hello, never do anything. He was gone.
She looked away.
“At the very least someone is going to have to drive out and contact the police,” Abe said, before tearing his eyes away from Ivan’s body and looking at Leif. “Hey, you need a hug?”
“Yes, please,” she said, leaning into his arms and pressing her face against his shoulder. “God. What are we supposed to do?”
“It’s going to be all right, Leif. I’m going to get you and everyone else out of this town as soon as possible, okay?” Abe promised. “I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Leif believed him.
“Thank you,” she said, as the hug ended. “Should we head back?”
“I think so,” Abe said, squeezing her shoulder. “Let’s go.”
When they got back, Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae were outside, gathered around their car. Blair, Johnny, and Genevieve stood off to the side, looking worried.
“You heading out?” Abe asked. “I’m guessing Blair told you what happened?”
Rhonda nodded.
“No way are we staying here,” Rhonda said. “We aren’t going to sit around and end up dead.”
Tammy and Shae were packing up their car, their expressions grave.
“I’m sorry,” Rhonda continued. “But safety comes first. I really think you should all leave too. We’re going to drive to the nearest town to find the police. You can come with us if you want. I think we’d all be safer sticking together.”
“That’s true,” Abe said. “How does everyone else feel about it?”
Blair was silent, looking worried. Leif felt torn. Should they stay? It wasn’t safe. But at the same time something in her wanted desperately to figure out what was going on.
“I think we should stay,” Johnny said. “When the police come, we’ll need to be here. We can’t leave. We’re witnesses.”
“Maybe we’ll stick around,” Leif agreed. “We have no idea what happened to Jessica and Ivan, but it’s definitely suspicious. If we go with you, they might ask us why we all left the scene.”
“She’s right. We should probably all stay here,” Gen said. “I don’t want to get in trouble with the law.”
“I don’t think we’d get in trouble, but I’m also hesitant to leave. I don’t really know what to do. I guess we could stay one more night?” Blair said.
“All right,” Abe said. “We’ll wait here until the police come. But then I think we should head home. I don’t feel good about being here anymore.”
“Yeah,” Blair agreed. “I mean Scooby-Doo rules say splitting up is a mistake, but I’m okay with staying one more night.”
“Horror rules say the Black girls should have died first,” Tammy said, gesturing to herself and her sister. “I’m glad we’re going off script here.”
“Let’s keep it that way,” Leif said. “I think this trip is over.”
It looked like their time in Masonville had nearly come to an end.
* * *
Blair’s stomach wouldn’t stop churning. Evening was approaching fast, and she couldn’t stop worrying about Rhonda, Tammy, and Shae.
The few of them that had stayed behind were all gathered together, sitting in the parlor in silence. There didn’t seem to be anything to say, now that two people were dead.
“I’m going to go grab some divining tools from my car,” Rose said, making everyone jump. “I’ll be right back.”
“Christ,” Johnny said as soon as Rose was out of the room. “She scared the shit out of me. What the hell is she trying to divine? The killer’s identity?”
“Johnny, we can’t be sure there’s a killer,” Rachel said.
“Okay, sure. They had some genetic disease that killed them both. Let’s go with that until another one of us croaks.”
Blair frowned and fidgeted with the hem of her dress. No one else was going to die. They couldn’t.
“Should we all just leave like RTS?” Rachel asked. “If you really think this wasn’t natural, maybe we should get out of here.”
“I think that might be an issue, dear,” Rose said from behind them. Her voice was shaking. When Blair turned to look at her, she almost didn’t recognize her. She looked older, more fragile. Terrified. “All of our tires are slashed.”
“What?” Blair said, her stomach dropping.
“Show me,” Abe said. Blair had never heard him sound like that before. So grave, and so scared. It made the hammering of her heart even louder in her ears as she followed them outside.
The tires on every vehicle had been slashed, as though someone had taken a machete to them.
“Jesus,” Leif whispered.
Blair felt unreal, like she wasn’t actually standing there staring at their only means of escape sabotaged. Like she wasn’t quite in her body.
“We’re trapped,” Rachel said. She sounded close to tears.
“No,” Johnny said quietly. “No. No fucking way. This can’t be happening.”
“Who would have done this,” Abe muttered to himself. “Why are they keeping us here?”
“I don’t know what to do,” Blair said helplessly. “What are we supposed to do?”
They all stood silent, unable to answer that question.
“We’re being hunted,” Johnny finally said. “We’re being trapped and hunted like animals.”
