Autumn Falls

by A. R. Kingston

  Giggling, Charlotte gave Cyrus a wink and jogged around to the front of the station. She was curious who this celebrity guest was, or what Victoria wanted with her, not expecting to see the man who was drawing the crowd. Her feet screeched to a halt and her heart leaped into her throat. Suddenly she wanted to turn back and run away, as far away from him as possible. Men and women alike surrounded him, all vying for his attention while he signed whatever they happen to shove at him, including a few bare chests. She didn't know what he was doing there, she didn't care to find out, she just wanted him to leave without catching a glimpse of her. Turning her head back to the parking lot, she thought about slinking away when Chuck called her name, making her freeze, and she cursed him under her breath.

  "Ah, there you are, Miss. Briggs," Victoria turned to her with a frown that etched harsh lines on her otherwise delicate face. "As you can see, we have a special guest here. You might be aware of who Mr. Campbell is. Apparently, everyone here knows who he is. Anyhow, he says wants to poke around the station and learn our spooky history for a new book he's writing. And as you can imagine, I need some help..." she glared at the crowd with an ice-cold gaze, "containing him."

  "Cherry berry?" Zack turned upon hearing her name and a broad grin spread across his face, lighting up the surrounding space. "Is that really you?"

  "Hey, Zack." Charlotte pressed her lips together and gave him an awkward wave. "Long time no see."

  "Ah," Victoria let out a sigh, "so you two are familiar with each other then?"

  "We uh, well, we used to date in high school. It’s ancient history now though."

  "Well, even better. Guess that means you won't mind giving him a tour then."

  "What, me?" Charlotte gasped and shook her head. "Why?"

  "For one, I doubt any more calls will come in. Plus, I figured you'd be the least celebrity crazy person here, but now that I know you are familiar with Mr. Campbell, I know I can trust you to not be distracted by his fame, and boyish good looks. I'll leave the two of you to it, while I go contain my staff. And Miss Briggs, "Violet hissed, "I don't think I need to stress this to you; I want his visit to be brief. He has interrupted me enough already."

  "Yes, ma'am. I'll be as quick as possible."

  Huffing, Victoria gathered the first responders and ushered everyone inside, leaving Charlotte alone with Zack. Silence fell between them, and she looked up to study him. She hated seeing him so perfectly unchanged—his muscles were huge, his hair styled, his clothing neatly pressed, and his chin as clean-shaven as always—he looked even better than he did in high school. Familiar, long-forgotten emotions stirred in Charlotte, and she hated herself for it. It's been ten years since they parted, she thought she moved on, but apparently, her heart thought otherwise.

  "Hey Cherry, I can't believe I found you here." Zack approached her with his infections smile. "You look amazing. Why, you haven't changed one bit."

  "Thanks." She rubbed her arm, being all too self-conscious of the small pouch she retained from having a baby, the one that made her resemble a burst biscuit can with her medic pants on. "You look great too."

  "So, what are you doing here? Last time I checked, you moved to Seattle with some douchebag."

  "I could ask you the same thing. Autumn Falls is the last place on earth I'd expect to run into you."

  "Right? It's actually the darnedest thing." He put his hands in the pockets of his black cargo pants and smirked. "Truth be told, I got a strange phone call the other day telling me that if I want an original ghost story for my next book, this is the place to go. I was told the island had a colorful history of witches, demons, and ghouls alike. I couldn't resist. How about you?"

  "Well, I split up from the guy I was dating, since he turned out to be rotter to the core. I was a bit down on my luck for a bit when I got a strange call offering me a job here. After a year of living in shady no-tell-motels, I couldn't resist either."

  "So, you work as a paramedic now? I thought you wanted to be a doctor. Whatever happened to that idea?"

  "What can I say," she shrugged, "shit happens. You know how it goes. After all, you wanted to be a journalist, and now you write books about ghosts and little green men from outer space."

  "I guess you're right." Zack laughed and looked around. He reached up and rubbed the back of his head with his hand like he always did when he was nervous, and cleared his throat. "So, uh... you seeing anyone?"

  "Nope. Been single ever since I left Bret."

  "Does this mean you want to grab dinner after you show me around?"

  "How about I show you around first, and we'll talk later."

  "Playing hard to get, are you? Fine, I can wait. Give me a tour of your station, and I will see if I can sweep you off your feet again."

  Charlotte rolled her eyes; she didn't care to tell him there was no need to sweep her off her feet because she still pined for him even after all those years. She wanted him to leave, but she was stuck with him until she did her job, so she led him inside the building and showed him around. He kept asking her questions about hauntings, and she wanted desperately to tell him about the pigman from earlier, but she didn't dare reveal herself to be crazy, especially not to him. Instead, she shrugged off his questions and told him she knew nothing until they got to the picture of the four medics.

  She relayed the story of how two of the men died in a freak accident twenty-five years ago, and how she and her co-workers all saw the echo of the ambulance speeding down the street. Zack seemed fascinated by this and asked her to show him where it was, so he could check it out. Guiding him outside, Charlotte motioned to the intersection where it passed, hoping it would be enough to get him away from her. Much to her dismay though, he wrote down where to go and stood in place, looking down at her with his soft blue-gray eyes, and that darn smile that she just wanted to slap off his face.

  "So." He rocked on his heels with his hands in his pockets. "How about that dinner? We can do Italian; it was always your favorite."

  "How about a rain check? I have other plans tonight, and this is all last minute."

  "Promise?"

  "Yeah. Sure. We'll grab dinner and catch up soon."

  "I'll hold you to that Cherry, you know me."

  "I know, now go hunt your ghosts, or demons, or aliens, or whatever else you think you'll find here. I need to go home, so I can change out of this uniform, it reeks of death."

  "All right. I'll see you around. And," he smirked at her, "I look forward to our date."

  Leaning against the brick of the building, Charlotte waved to Zack and watched him walk across the street, and climb inside a forest green Range Rover. He always did like to show off, she thought, now he had the means to do so. She thought that seeing him leave would provide her with some relief, but instead, it left an empty void inside her, and a lump formed in her throat. Thinking this was the last she'd see him, she swallowed down her sadness, and went to the parking lot where Cyrus was waiting to take her back home, to the one person in her life who she could always count on, Kevin.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”—Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

  T he ride in the Jeep was awkward. Charles and Iris kept staring at her with eager eyes, and Charlotte knew they had questions they were dying to ask her, ones they dared not ask with Cyrus in the car with them. Not wishing to discuss Zack at any point in the evening, she asked the old man to drop her off at the local burger joint. It was only half-a-mile downhill from the hotel, and she figured she could walk after picking up dinner for her and Kevin. Cyrus was more than happy to accommodate, and having grabbed their meals, she started up towards the hotel, noting the six crows hopping along behind her.

  Arriving at the side door, she glanced back, frowning as her six feathery companions sat a suitable distance away from her, watching in silence. Grumbling under her breath, she went inside and headed for her room, thankful for the lack of activity from the other side,
and for her co-workers not ambushing her in the hallway. Walking inside her room, Charlotte spotted Kevin sitting on the bed, playing with his iPad, and looking glum. Hearing the door shut, the boy looked up from the screen and waved at her as she lifted the bags of burgers and fries to signal dinner time. Placing the iPad down, he hopped off the bed and ran for the table as she sat their bags down and pulled out a couple of sodas from the mini-fridge by the television. Sitting down to eat, she handed Kevin his food before she looked over at him and forced a smile.

  "So, how was your day?"

  "Boring, like last time." The boy groaned. "I just sat around and did more busy work at school, while the teacher read her book. At lunch, I ate the food I got from here at my desk in silence with everyone else. Then I came home and played with my iPad until you got home. What about you? Anything exciting happened?"

  "Not really. Just transported a dead guy to the morgue and went back to the station house until it was time to leave."

  "Sounds so exciting," Kevin rolled his eyes and bit into his burger. "Do we have to keep living here?"

  "Yes, of course. Where else are we supposed to go?"

  "Grandma's house, she'd love to have us back. You can find a job in Boston. Or we could move to Florida, or Georgia, or Louisiana. Surely any place is better than here."

  "Look," Charlotte looked up from her food with a sigh, "I know this place is not ideal, I actually don't like it much either. But let's give it at least a year before we decide to turn tail and run. I'd like to settle down at some point in my life."

  "Are we looking to settle down or die of boredom? Because I think I can bet on which one will happen first."

  "Very funny, young man. You know I'd like to find a good father figure for you, buy a house, and a large dog, and live a normal life. I want your life to be stable, and not this living on the run business we have gotten used to."

  "Yeah, okay. Like you'd actually find a man here. They are all either too old, too young, or are brain-dead zombies. Plus, what's wrong with my real father anyway? Why can't you call my dad up and see if you guys can work things out?"

  "Kev, we've been over this a million times. Your father, your real father, well... he's just not someone you can meet. And, as much as I would love to have things work out between us, I don't think they ever will. That ship has sailed a long time ago."

  "How would you know, you're not even willing to give it a try? I mean, you still won't even tell me his name. I think I have the right to know who he is, don't you?"

  Charlotte looked over at her son who had tears forming in his eyes, and guilt ate away at her. He was right, he had a right to know, and so did Zack, and she could easily tell them both now that he was in the same place, but she couldn't bring herself to do it. Fear kept its grip on her. She was terrified of how Zack would react, he would probably hate her, and Kevin would be so excited for his idol be his father, but he would most likely get his heart broken when his dream turned out to be nothing like he expected. No, she thought, now is definitely not the right time to be honest. One day she would be ready to tell Kevin the truth, but tonight was not the night for honesty.

  "Perhaps one day." She looked up at him with a sad face. "One day I'll be ready to tell you. I promise. But for now, how about we watch a movie or something to get your mind off things?"

  "Can we watch Zack Campbell's new show instead? It's called Scare Share."

  "That guy has a new show? What's this one about? Chasing UFOs?"

  "No mom. He takes people to spend the night in famous haunted locations and films them. It's fantastic, and today they are going to Leap Castle in Ireland. I really want to watch it."

  "Oh fine... I guess it won't hurt. Go put it on."

  Sitting down with Kevin, she watched the man she talked to earlier appear on her television screen. He was as dynamic in the show as he was in real life and nostalgia washed over her again. No matter how much she hated to admit it, she still missed him, and now he was everywhere, including the one place she didn't want him to be, on the same small island with her. She wondered how long she could avoid him for. Surely, he would not stay on the island long. But then again, she could be wrong. Mulling over her thoughts, she watched one entire episode of his show and part of another before she realized Kevin had fallen asleep in her lap. Tucking the boy in bed, she sat back on the couch and continued to watch Zack on the television until she too passed out on the sofa.

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “Night was a very different matter. It was dense, thicker than the very walls, and it was empty, so black, so immense that within it you could brush against appalling things and feel roaming and prowling around a strange, mysterious horror.”—Guy de Maupassant, The Complete Short Stories of Guy de Maupassant

  W aking up coughing, Charlotte strained to see through the thick clouds of black smoke. She knew she was no longer in her room; she was in the other world. Heat pricked her skin, and she rolled over, realizing she was lying on the grass outside the hotel. Looking up, she saw an unfamiliar structure burning beside her in a world leached of all colors. This must be the great hotel fire, she thought, I am witnessing another event in the past.

  Getting up to her feet, she waved her hand in front of her face and stumbled into the smoke-filled street where people were rushing around with buckets to keep back the scalding flames. She noticed their faces. They were still human faces, but they warped and melted like the guy in The Scream painting, and their skin seemed to be dissolving away from them like wax from a candle.

  She stumbled down the sidewalk, away from the section of the hotel that was on fire, and made her way slowly down the hill as people passed through her. Stopping at the end of the gates, she looked about, searching for him, the creature who brought her there. The darkness was blinding, and she could barely see in front of her. She was beginning to lose all hope when she finally caught a glimpse of shadows moving in the tree line. It was him; it had to be, and she ran forward until she spotted a hem of the black robe sliding along the ground, barely lit by the light of the ashen moon.

  "You." She screamed as she sprinted after him. "You brought me here, didn't you?"

  The figure stopped moving and turned around, its empty eyes glaring over at her, still weeping blood from their wounds. The snout twitched and arched back as the creature inhaled the smoke. He said nothing to her, he simply approached, belted out a groan, and nodded his head. For the first time since seeing him, Charlotte was not afraid of him, instead, curiosity to know why it kept trying to communicate with her overcame her, and permeated her thoughts.

  "What do you want from me? Why do you keep stalking me?"

  Silently, the pigman raised his hand and pointed up to a small hill where the old hospital stood. There, go there. She couldn't explain what she heard. The creature's lips did not move, but his voice clearly resonated in her head, the voice of a young man. It must be able to communicate telepathically when it wanted to, she thought, and the pigman nodded its head as if he could hear her.

  "The old hospital?" She glanced back over her shoulder to where it stood lurking in the distance. "You want me to go to the hospital, right?"

  Once again, the figure grunted and gave her a slight nod with his hand still pointing to the place Victoria warned her not to go.

  "But why? What's there? What do you want me to find?"

  Go there. Find answers. Or die.

  The pigman's mouth did not move, but she heard his message in her head, and wondered if he meant it as a warning, or a threat. There was still so much she wanted to ask him, but she would not get the chance. Silently, he walked over to her and put his hand over her eyes. Sleep now.

  The command took hold instantaneously, causing her to fall asleep and flop over into his arms. When she awoke again, she found herself still on the couch. Across from her, the television hissed with snowy static and the alarm clock on her nightstand blinked out three in the morning. Shaking the dread from the message she received in her dream, Char
lotte crawled into her bed and fell asleep, pondering what she should do next.

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  “Which is the true nightmare, the horrific dream that you have in your sleep or the dissatisfied reality that awaits you when you awake?”—Justin Alcala

  T he following morning, Charlotte was sitting behind the wheel of the ambulance, staring at the seven crows sitting perched on the park bench. Beside her, Chuck was sipping his coffee, gazing at her. She knew what was on his mind. He and Iris would not stop scrutinizing her with the same curiosity-filled eyes since they learned Zack was her high school sweetheart. Not that she blamed them for wanting to know, she would be curious too if the tabled were turned, she just wished he would come out and ask her instead of staring at her as if the answers he wanted would simply fall out of her head. Heaving out a frustrated sigh, she turned to regard her partner, who quickly averted her gaze.

  "Okay. You've been gawking at me since last night. What is it you want to ask?"

  "I... well, I wanted to..." Chuck fumbled around with his cup and side-glanced at her, "I was just wondering if we were ever going to talk about the elephant in the room?"

  "Like?"

  "Uh," he finally looked up to meet her eyes, "like the fact that Zack Campbell, the Zack Campbell, is your baby daddy. I mean, he is like the paranormal expert of our time."

  "Expert?" Charlotte snorted. "I would hardly call him an expert. He wrote some popular books about other people's accounts of ghostly and alien encounters. That makes him lucky, but not an expert."

  "Still, he's famous. And the dude has got to be loaded from hitting the New York Times Best Seller list four times in a row. Not to mention he has three shows out now."

  "Why are you so shocked? I told you he was kind of rich and famous now."

  "Yeah, but I was thinking he was a singer for some local hair band that hangs around in bars and has a few groupies."