by Rena Marin
Dead Oaks Terrors Series
Book Four
A Candy Shop Novella
Rena Marin
Skylar McKinzie
Prologue
Twenty Years Ago
The cool October breeze sent a chill down Mary Donovan’s arms as she walked down the street leading toward home. The night, cold as it was, had been magical. The hard work and hours of practice she’d put in had paid off, leaving her this year’s Candy Corn Queen of The Dead Oaks Fall Festival. She could hardly believe her luck. The other contestants were all beautiful, poised, and even more popular than she was. None of them could claim to have wanted it more though.
“Congrats, Mary!”
Looking over, she saw Mrs. Grayson on the porch of her two-story colonial, watching as her dog, the yapping terror the entire town despised, did his business. With a bright smile and wave, she thanked the older lady as she wrapped her arms around herself tighter and started moving a bit more briskly toward home. Midnight in Dead Oaks wasn’t something she wanted to mess with. No, her hometown had a reputation, and it was one she didn’t take lightly.
Finally, she reached the front porch of her home and sighed softly. Again, her dad wasn’t home. She wasn’t really surprised. She’d hoped he would make it to the festival for the crowning, but when she didn’t see his face in the crowd, she knew not to dwell on it. He would most likely be down at the local bar or out on the lake having a few beers with his buddies. Seemed that was all he ever did anymore. Since her mom had left him a few years back, Mary had noticed a big change in the man she once knew. Then, he was almost a stranger to her.
Making her way inside the house, Mary welcomed the warmth of the HVAC unit. She hadn’t wanted to walk home, but unlike the other girls in the pageant, she didn’t have a cute guy to drive her. Her cute guy didn’t know she was alive.
The ringing of the house phone made her jump slightly then chuckle at the insanity of being scared in her own home. Hurrying over, she wasn’t surprised when she heard her dad’s voice on the other end of the line.
“I heard about the Candy Corn crowning. I’m proud of you, girl.”
“Thanks, Dad.” Mary returned trying her best to ignore his slurred speech. “When are you coming home?”
“I’m wiping the floor with the guys. Once we finish this round of pool, I’ll be heading that way.”
“Alright, please be careful. You’ll call for a ride, right?”
“I always do,” he laughed softly. “Congrats, sweetheart. I’m really proud of you.”
“Be good, Dad,” she finished as she returned the phone to its cradle. Unable to hide the smile his words put on her face, she hurried upstairs to change.
The dress, although beautiful, was entirely too cold for October in Dead Oaks. It went with the others though. None of the girls wore long sleeves or anything. No, everything was spaghetti straps and skimpiness. She could handle the straps, the rest she had left to her friends.
Struggling to reach the zipper in the back, she stumbled into her desk, and felt the sharp corner pierce her thigh. “Crap,” she muttered as she reached down to see if she’d drawn blood. The last thing she needed to do was get blood on a dress she’d only worn once. Seeing the droplets already forming, she rushed to the bathroom to grab a bandage.
Once her wound was covered, Mary looked up at herself in the mirror. Unable to help herself, she smiled brightly at the crown sitting atop her head. She reached up, touching it again, like she’d been doing since it was placed there. Never in a million years had she expected to win. Like everyone else in Dead Oaks, she thought Rheanon Nichols would walk away with the crown and the title of Candy Corn Queen once again.
Rheanon was the town sweetheart. Everyone loved her. Lately though, something had seemed off with her. Whatever was going on had changed her. She had more of an attitude. She’d been getting into trouble, and if Mary was honest with herself, even she had noticed Rheanon growing a bit darker. Before, she loved talking about boys and what she was going to do when she went to college. That all changed. All she wanted to talk about were the darker things that have happened around Dead Oaks. She’d become obsessed with the murders, vanishings, and downright evil that’s plagued the town over the years. The change in her had driven most of her friends away, even Mary, her best friend for years.
“I don’t know how I won,” she whispered sadly to the reflection of herself in the mirror.
“You didn’t deserve it.”
Hearing a raspy voice speak from the darkness of the hallway, Mary jumped, grabbing the crown to keep it settled properly on her head. “Who’s there?”
Getting no answer, Mary looked around the bathroom in hopes of finding a weapon or something to help protect herself.. Finding nothing, she sighed heavily, knowing she had no choice but to venture out into the hallway or wait for whomever was out there to show themselves.
“What do you want?” she tried again. She hoped someone was playing a sick joke on the newly crowned queen.
“You!” The voice called out again as something moved slightly in the dark.
Before Mary could react, a hand snaked out from the darkness, snatching her by the throat. She tried to see the face of whomever or whatever was in the darkness. It was impossible. Instead, she struggled with the arm holding tight to her throat.
“Please, don’t hurt me,” she begged as she felt the grip tightening. How could something be so strong? she wondered, as she felt herself being dragged into the inky darkness that plagued her home.
***
Opening her eyes, Mary looked around bewildered. The last thing she remembered was being dragged down the stairs of her house by someone she couldn’t see. At one point, she hit her head on the banister and everything went dark.
“Where am I?” she questioned herself as she struggled to get to her feet. It didn’t take her long to realize where she was. She was back in the auditorium where the Candy Corn crowning took place, the exact stage where she’d won. “Is anyone there?” she called out, hoping she wasn’t alone.
Hearing no answer, Mary wandered around the stage, trying her best not to fall in the darkness. It was obvious no one had bothered to do any clean up after the crowning. She could still feel the balloons as they bounced against her feet when she walked. Most likely, since the crowning marked the end of the festival, everyone would take a day or so off to rest after such a busy week.
The fear pounding inside her at how she was dragged away was growing with each step she took. It almost felt like someone’s eyes were on her. She wasn’t alone.
“I’m sorry for whatever I did to you,” she called out as she slapped away a piece of streamer hanging from the ceiling. “I don’t want any trouble. Please.”
Peering out into the auditorium, a slight movement caught her attention. Instinctively she wrapped her arms around herself just as the spotlight flashed on, blinding her with its massive glow. Feeling the streamer brush the back of her neck, she turned, finally annoyed with the rogue decoration. Her mouth fell open. It hadn’t been a streamer touching the back of her neck. No, it had been a rope, looming behind her as if waiting for her to notice it.
With lightning speed, a person dressed in all black raced toward her. Mary struggled, trying her best to pull herself free of the hands wrapped around her neck. It was of no use. They were too strong. Her fear intensified as she saw the rope being pulled toward her. No, this couldn’t be happening. Why would someone want to hurt her? She’d always tried to do the right thing and be a good person.
“Please, no,” she begged as her attacker wound the noose around her neck. Her cries of help became gurgles as the rope tightened, p
ulling her slowly off her feet.
As the air began to leave her body, Mary kicked her feet, hoping to stop what was happening to her. It didn’t help. The click of her high heel hitting the ground was the last sound she heard before laughter and applause filled the auditorium and the darkness engulfed her.
Chapter One
The chime above the door of Wicked Treasures chimed to announce a customer had slipped inside to avoid the cold rain outside. Throwing on her best smile, Chelsea Bishop hurried out from her desk in the back, ready to greet whomever may have decided to pay her little shop a visit. Oddly, she found no one there.
With a roll of her eyes, Chelsea made her way throughout the shop to make sure no one was hiding out, waiting to play a trick on her. When she found no one, she shook her head and looked up at the ceiling. “Alright, ghost, stop messing with me today. That’s the third time you’ve rang that bell for no reason. I’m bored too but this is getting old,” she called out to thin air.
Since buying the old shop, Chelsea had noticed strange things happened there. Normally, the goings on waited until she was alone. On occasion, her resident ghost made its presence known to Caleb Rollins, local deputy and Chelsea’s long-time friend. Other than that, Chelsea and her kitten, Smoky, were the only ones who got to experience the pranks.
Deciding there was no need in staying cooped up in the back, Chelsea brought her research out front to the counter. For the past few months, the only thing on her mind had been unraveling the town of Dead Oaks’ past. Unfortunately, that was easier said than done. The local paper didn’t mind reporting on the strange deaths, murders, and disappearances in Dead Oaks, but when it came to discovering real town records, she kept hitting a brick wall. It was almost as if the town itself was trying to keep her or anyone else who wanted to dig at bay.
Turning another page in the History of Dead Oaks book she was reading, Chelsea jotted down a few more notes, then felt the soft fur of her new companion, Smoky, rub against her leg. “You want to help me?” she asked as the kitten, which had grown quite a bit since Caleb rescued it, leaped into her lap without issue. “Are you still a kitten or should I be calling you kitty tween now?” Chelsea teased as she absently stroked the purring kitty as she read.
Annoyed with the lack of history in the book dedicated to just that, Chelsea slammed the volume shut, coughed lightly at the dust the action stirred, then got to her feet, forgetting about Smoky in her lap. “Sorry, sweetie,” she quickly apologized.
The chime above the door rang out again, making her jump this time. Turning, she was relieved to see it wasn’t a false alarm. No, Caleb was standing just inside the door, attempting to shake the rain off his jacket while holding two cups in his hands.
“This is really turning into a downpour. I guess Mother Nature is trying to make up for the lack of rain over the summer,” he mumbled as he wiped his boots one last time and started toward her. Chelsea couldn’t help but smile when he stopped halfway to bend down and greet Smoky who was quite thrilled to see him.
“It was just getting started when I got here this morning. It hasn’t let up all day,” Chelsea agreed as she stepped around the counter and took one of the cups from him so he could take the time to play with the cat craving his attention.
“Yeah, I just worked a little fender bender on the edge of town. Old Mrs. Hartsell didn’t stop quickly enough and plowed into the back of the Doc’s SUV. He was ticked. Told her that it was time for her to retire from the road. She slapped him in the shin with her cane. It was hilarious.”
Scooping Smoky up to take with him, Caleb ventured toward the counter and the extra seat Chelsea had for him there. He noticed the book almost immediately. The last thing he wanted to talk about was Dead Oaks and the horror surrounding the town, but he knew Chelsea’s mission. She wanted to know why their little town was so messed up. If he was being honest, he did too. Just not right that moment.
“Don’t even ask,” Chels announced, noticing how Caleb stared at the book. “So far I’ve yet to find a book on Dead Oak’s history that goes back far enough to tell me anything. The ones I have found seem to skim over all the weird stuff. The paper tells us more than these things.”
“Go talk to them down at the Stalker. You do articles for them here and there. Surely they’d help you dig up some info.”
Chelsea shook her head. If there was one thing she knew, Stella Benson, the owner of The Dead Oaks Stalker would never let her have free access to the archives. Stella never minded a nice, long conversation over coffee, but she preferred everyone to hear her recollection of events above reading about them firsthand.
Caleb shrugged. He thought his idea was a good one whether Chels did or not. “Besides, with the festival started in a bit, you aren’t going to have time to do much research. All the festivities aren’t far from your doorstep. You’ll have people in and out of here constantly.”
“That’s why I wanted to do more research, Caleb. With them crowning a new Candy Corn Queen, I’m worried. You know what happened to Mary Donovan. Each time a new queen has been crowned since then, something strange has happened to her. How old were you when they did this last?”
“Ten or eleven,” he answered trying to avoid her look. He had been old enough to remember the last Candy Corn Queen. He couldn’t think of her name, but he could still see the image of her falling down the steps of the auditorium. When she landed at the bottom, everyone knew she was dead. The twist of her neck gave that away.
“She wasn’t the first one to die after Mary Donovan either. That’s why so many of the locals talk about the curse of the Candy Corn Queen. It’s insanity for the mayor to try and bring it back. The least they could have done is rename the stupid thing.”
“It’s tradition.”
“What?” she asked seeing Caleb’s head hanging down.
He took a deep breath and then looked at her. “I was just as upset as you are. When I got out of the hospital, I went straight to the sheriff who told me he couldn’t do anything about it, so I went to the mayor’s office. I made the same suggestion. Call it something new or reinvent it somehow. All they kept saying was it was a tradition in Dead Oaks, and the people needed something to bring them together. I tried, Chels. I did. I may not dwell on it, but I’ve been thinking the same thing you are. With everything I’ve seen, the idea of a curse isn’t farfetched. I don’t want anything else to happen in this town either.”
Reaching over and squeezing Caleb’s hand, Chels offered him a slight smile. “I know you don’t want anything to happen to anyone, Caleb. This town is lucky to have you. Half of these people would be locked in a loony bin somewhere if they told the sheriff or one of the other deputies some of the things that have happened to them. You’re like Dead Oaks’ own version of Mulder.”
“If that’s the case, then you’re Scully.”
“I’ll take it,” she laughed just as the bell chimed out announcing a customer.
Caleb turned quickly as both he and Chelsea waited to see who was hiding under the umbrella and raincoat. It took a minute, but finally Stella Benson, the one they’d just been talking about, shook her grey bun slightly to remove any excess water.
“Stella?” Chelsea announced as she got to her feet. “What brings you here?”
“Normally, I don’t visit the local shops,” the old woman started as she turned and placed her raincoat on the rack by the door. “I normally send my granddaughter, Carmen, out to do those types of things. This isn’t a shopping trip though.”
“Yeah, Carmen stops in here all the time,” Chelsea agreed, annoyed with the woman’s tone. “Is something wrong?”
“Yes, something is wrong. This wretched town is hosting another fall festival. Fine. Good. Bring all the people together to look at crafts and carve pumpkins. They should have left the Candy Corn Queen alone though.”
“We were just talking about the same thing,” Caleb added.
“Good. That means the three of us are on the same page.”
“Someone has to stop this crowning. Either that or put an end to the curse that plagues it.”
“We couldn’t agree more,” Caleb spoke slowly as he tried to pinpoint the woman’s mood. She seemed agitated and upset. “Why are you suddenly so worried about it?”
Stella wrung her hands as she paced back and forth near the counter. Even Smoky knew not to interrupt the woman while she tried to think of what to say. Finally, she took a deep breath and looked back toward the duo. “The two of you know this town has a darkness plaguing it. Everything that’s happened here in the past year or so has had the two of you in the middle of it. That’s why I came here. I don’t have all the answers you need. I don’t know what happened to this town all those years ago to make it such an evil place. I know it is though. The only reason I’ve stayed in this wretched place is to try and keep people aware of what’s happening around them without using supernatural terminology. If I talked of ghosts and creatures, they would have locked me up years ago. I don’t want to go the asylum on the outskirts of town. But now,” she started then stopped to compose herself. “Now, the evil has come too close to home.”
“What’s happened Stella?” Chels pressed as she went to the old woman to steady her.
“My Carmen has signed up to compete for Candy Corn Queen. If the curse is real, you two may be my only hope of saving her.”
Chapter Two
“Are you seriously telling me that none of you know about the past Candy Corn Queens?” Shelly Baker stared from one to the other of the three girls gathered around her. “Seriously? How long have the three of you lived here?”
“All of our lives,” Carmen Benson replied, popping a chip from the bowl in the center of her bed into her mouth, a huge grin on her face.
“I’ve only been here a year, and I know more about this little town than any of you.” Shelly huffed.
