3 Ghosts of Our Fathers

by Michael Richan

  He flicked the lighter a few more times. Roy was afraid the boys would cave and go out to him, but they didn’t. The garage was silent except for the sound of Frank’s lighter clicking away the seconds. Then it stopped.

  “Fine, have it your way.” He walked into the garage.

  David raised the pistol, pointing it at Frank’s chest. Now, Roy thought. Pull the trigger now!

  David pulled the trigger, but no shot came out. The gun only clicked.

  Frank heard the click and turned to look in the direction of the sound. He saw the barrel of the gun and the face behind it.

  “You!” he said, marching towards David at full speed.

  David was stunned that the gun hadn’t worked. He pulled the trigger again. This time Frank had reached him and had his hand below the barrel. As David pulled, Frank raised his hand, bringing the barrel of the gun upwards. The bullet left the gun and grazed Frank’s scalp. Blood began to run down his face.

  Frank paused for a moment, but once he realized he wasn’t dead, he went into a frenzy. He easily wrestled the gun from David’s hands as David tried to pull off another shot. Once he had the gun, he ran at David, pinning him against the wall of the garage. With his left hand he held David’s chest against the wall, and with his right he held the gun. Then he brought the handle of the gun down against David’s face, pistol-whipping him. Frank’s face was dripping blood from the wound on his head, and the blood was running down onto his chest. He raised the gun again and brought it down on David. David let out a scream, which faltered and sputtered as blood from his own wounds gagged his throat.

  David raised his feet and kicked at Frank as hard as he could. It was enough to knock Frank back a few inches, which was just enough to relieve the pressure on David from Frank’s left hand, and David slid down the wall of the garage to the floor. Frank took a step back to catch his breath and wipe the blood from his eyes. David took the opportunity to try and crawl away, but Frank brought his foot down on David’s hand. Roy could hear the bones of David’s hand break.

  Do something! Roy thought. But he couldn’t do anything, couldn’t touch anything or make anything happen. He was helpless.

  Garth flew out from his hiding place, pounding on Frank from behind. He had little effect. Frank turned and grabbed Garth by the shirt and threw him against the garage wall. Garth hit the wall and fell to the floor, stunned. David continued to crawl away, favoring his unbroken hand. Frank kicked him in the stomach, raising his body off the ground by two feet. David fell to the floor in a heap, the wind literally kicked out of him, unable to move.

  Frank moved back into position over David, raising his foot over David’s back.

  He’ll break his back, Roy thought. Please, god, someone do something.

  Suddenly the room was brightly lit, as though hundreds of lights had turned on all at once. Everyone in the room was still, frozen in place. Except for Sean.

  Roy saw the extended hand from the junk pile with Sean next to it. Sean stood, the only one able to move. He walked over to the wall of the garage where tools and implements were hanging. He removed a pitchfork and walked over to Frank. Frank was frozen in place. Sean positioned the tines of the pitchfork at Frank’s back. Suddenly the brightness of the room vanished and the garage was returned to its normal light. Frank continued to raise his leg, ready to bring it down on David’s back.

  Sean pushed the pitchfork into Frank. He pushed until the tines emerged from the other side. Then he pulled the pitchfork out and shoved it in again. Roy felt the demon next to him begin to materialize.

  Frank turned. Sean let go of the pitchfork. As Frank turned, the pitchfork swung around behind him. Frank snarled down at Sean, his face so completely covered with blood that it was impossible to see his features. He lunged at Sean, sliding off the tines of the pitchfork; behind Frank, Garth had grabbed hold of the pitchfork’s handle. Frank fell on top of Sean, the blood of his wound dripping down onto Sean’s head and face. Frank leaned back and brought his arm up to swing at Sean. Sean turned his head away from the impending blow and waited for it to hit. But it never came.

  He turned back to look at Frank on top of him. Garth had run the pitchfork through his neck from behind. Frank was trying to breathe but was only sputtering instead, bubbles of blood forming on his mouth as he tried to exhale. He fell off Sean to the side, his hands reaching for the tines of the pitchfork, but unable to remove them. Sean got to his feet and went to Garth, who was still holding the handle of the pitchfork. Garth shoved the handle at Frank again for good measure. They heard Frank gasping and knew he was done for. They both went to David to see if he was OK.

  Roy felt the demon leave his side and swiftly move over to Frank. Roy entered the flow. He saw the demon lower its large head next to Frank’s, eyeing the final moments of Frank’s life as he struggled to breathe and the blood poured out of his wounds. The demon looked like an animal waiting for the opportune moment to strike its prey. That moment came within seconds, and the demon opened its mouth. Roy saw the exact second when Frank heaved his last sigh and the demon sucked his soul away.

  Roy exited the flow and walked out from behind the junk pile and over to David. The boys seemed too shocked to question why he was there. He checked on David and saw that he was breathing. Aside from some nasty cuts to his face and his broken hand, he was OK.

  “Boys,” Roy said, “run across the street and tell Davy’s mother what happened. You boys killed Frank in self-defense, remember that. Sean and David’s wounds should prove that. And make sure he gets his pocket knife back from under Frank’s bed.”

  Sean and Garth backed away from David and Roy, then ran out of the garage.

  “Are we done here?” the demon asked, still standing next to Frank’s dead body.

  “One more thing,” Roy said, and walked over to the junk pile. “Thank you, Sam. I owe you one.”

  Chapter Sixteen

  Roy found himself back in an empty house. No Steven, no Eliza waiting for him to return. At first he was pissed they weren’t there, upset they’d leave him while he was occupied with such an important task. Then he realized they hadn’t left him; they’d simply never been there to begin with.

  He went to the phone and called Steven.

  “Hello, how are you feeling?” Roy asked.

  “Fine, and you?”

  “Fine, fine. Any trouble sleeping last night?”

  “No, no trouble there. The ghosts have been gone for months, Dad.”

  “Heard from Jason lately?”

  “As a matter of fact, I have,” Steven said. “He and I are getting together for a dinner this weekend. Why don’t you join us?”

  “Sure, no problem, sounds like fun. So…everything’s fine?”

  “As far as I know. Why? Is something wrong?”

  “No, nothing,” Roy said. “Sounds like everything’s good. Talk to you later.”

  “Goodbye, Dad.”

  Roy hung up the phone. Next he tried Eliza.

  “Hello, Eliza? It’s Roy.”

  “Well, Roy!” she said. “How good to hear your voice, it’s been so long. How have you been? All busy practicing being handsome, I expect.”

  Eliza, Roy thought. So easy to like.

  “Well, I guess it has been a while,” he said. “How long has it been, exactly, since we saw each other last?”

  “Three months?” Eliza said. “Something like that, at Pete and Sarah’s. When are you gonna come down for a visit and bring that son of yours?”

  “Soon, Eliza, soon,” Roy said. “Hey, I need a favor. I’m wondering if you would point me in the right direction with something.”

  “Sure, what is it?”

  “Well, I’m in need of some advice from someone who knows a lot about time, time-related things, that type of stuff.”

  “I’ve got just the person,” Eliza said. “His name is Daniel and he lives in Spokane. He’s a friend of mine. Knows more about time than anyone I know.”

  “Perfect,” Roy
said, “would you mind referring me to him? I’d like to talk to him about something I’ve discovered, see if he has any insight on it.”

  “Sure, why don’t I give him a call right now, and then you call him in half an hour?”

  “Sounds good, what’s his number?”

  Roy jotted down the number Eliza gave him, thanked her and assured her he’d plan a visit soon, and hung up. Then he waited forty-five minutes for good measure and called Daniel to invite him over to Seattle. He had somewhere he wanted to take him.

  -

  “I can’t say I’m comfortable with this,” Daniel said as Roy led him down the dark hallway of the church. “It’s bad enough breaking and entering, but a church? This seems wrong.”

  “Trust me,” Roy said, “you’ll think you’ve hit the lottery when I show you what’s down here.”

  Roy led him to the door with the padlock. Roy removed a pair of bolt cutters from his bag and clipped the padlock off.

  “I hope you’re right,” Daniel said. “We could get into a lot of trouble for this.”

  “No, not really,” Roy said. “We’re not going to take anything, and even if we get caught, I know the owner.”

  They twisted their way through the basement of the church, Roy shining his flashlight ahead of them. They stopped at a pile of boxes near the back of the basement. Roy pointed his flashlight at the corner of the room, casting enough ambient light to illuminate the boxes.

  “This is what you wanted to show me? What we broke in here for?” Daniel asked.

  “Wait,” Roy said. “Just wait. Sam?”

  Roy stared at the gaps between the boxes where light didn’t penetrate. “Sam? Are you in there? It’s me, Roy. Do you remember me?”

  A pale face appeared in one of the gaps. Daniel gasped when he saw it. He gasped again when he saw the face change age, from a young man to a toddler.

  “Yes,” the boy said. “I remember. The garage. Sean and Garth.”

  “I brought you something,” Roy said. “Do you remember these?”

  Roy opened his hand, holding the wooden matchbox and the envelope of powder.

  “Yes,” the boy said. “I remember. I gave those to Davy.”

  “I thought you should have them back,” Roy said, “since Davy never used them. They were yours. And I wanted to thank you for what you did back then. You saved my father’s life.”

  “Davy was your father,” the boy said, changing from a toddler to a six year old. “I remember. He let you get old.”

  “Sam, there’s someone I’d like you to meet,” Roy said, backing up and extending his arm to Daniel. “His name is Daniel. He knows a lot about time.”

  “Hello, Daniel,” the boy said. “Pleased to meet you.”

  “Hello, Sam,” Daniel said.

  “Sam wants to be younger,” Roy said. “It’s all he wants, more than anything else. He’s found a way to become younger for a few seconds at a time, but it doesn’t last.”

  “Why do you want to be younger?” Daniel asked Sam.

  “So my mother will love me,” the boy said. “She wants a baby, not a boy. Can you help me?”

  “You’ve found a way to become younger already, I see,” Daniel said.

  “Yes,” Sam said. “Martha’s friends helped me. Look.”

  Sam rapidly changed from a small infant to a ten year old, morphing through all ages in between.

  “But I can’t stay anything but ten for very long.”

  “You just need a stabilizer,” Daniel said. “If you use the stabilizer when you’re the age you want to be, it’ll stick.”

  “How do I get a stabilizer?” the boy asked.

  “I have several at home,” Daniel said. “I’ll give you one.”

  “Oh, would you? That would be so kind of you, I would be so grateful.”

  “Sure, I’ll bring it to you the next time I visit here.”

  “How soon will that be?”

  “Well, I do live a ways away. It takes me a day to drive home and another to drive back.”

  “Would it help if I gave you these?” the boy said, and the pale arm extended from the pile, holding two objects. Daniel took them from the open palm and the arm retreated back inside the pile.

  “Wow,” Daniel said. “These are magnificent! But you don’t have to give me these, I’ll bring you the stabilizer regardless.”

  “If you do, I’ll become a baby again, and my mother will take me away. I want you to have all of my collection. Martha’s friends gave me lots of things like those. You can have them all, because if I’m a baby, I won’t need them anymore.”

  Daniel turned to look at Roy.

  “Told you,” Roy said.

  “I’ll bring you back the stabilizer,” Daniel said. “Right away. And thank you, Sam.”

  “Oh, thank you, you don’t know how happy I am now. Please hurry back as soon as you can.”

  The boy’s face faded, and Roy grabbed Daniel by the shoulder.

  “Show me what he gave you,” Roy said. Daniel held the items up for Roy to see.

  “Good. When you get access to the rest of his stuff, do not – and I mean do not – open a carved box about yea big,” he held his hand up to illustrate the size. “And keep an eye on the rest of that stuff. That box is dangerous, and the other items might be too.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Daniel said. “But you can’t imagine what a find this is. I collect rare time objects, you know.”

  “Yes, I know,” Roy said.

  “This looks like it might be a chronosphere. I’ve never seen one before, in person.”

  “Come on, let’s get out of here.”

  -

  Roy drove Daniel back to his car so he could return to Spokane with his prizes. The drive from Marysville to Seattle would take an hour, and Roy realized it would be filled with Daniel’s enthusiastic thanks and observations about Sam and the items he might possess. Daniel knew a long list of rare time-related items, many of which he’d only read or heard about, and he imagined them all potentially being in Sam’s pile. He was like a kid who’d just been taken to Disneyland, and he wanted to go back.

  Roy listened to Daniel for a while, then began to tune out, nodding enough to keep Daniel thinking he was listening, but not really paying attention to what he was saying. He’d just returned from a timeline that was now gone, with Frank’s return and Daniel’s death obliterated. None of those things happened in the timeline he was now participating in, and he was a little unsure if everything he remembered from birth onward had actually happened in this new timeline. It appeared they had, but there should be tiny differences. Everyone still answered the same phone numbers, buildings were still in the same places, and relationships seemed the same. Steven still had a son named Jason.

  Now that Jason’s unfortunate exposure to the River was also gone, Roy felt Steven had a new chance to present things to Jason correctly, so he could understand the power and responsibility having “the gift” entailed. He’d waited way too long to present it to Steven, and he felt Steven needed to speak to Jason about it soon, to give him a chance to learn about it at a younger age.

  Steven had been right. Leaving things unresolved may have seemed like a good idea at the time, but his encounter with Frank reminded him that sometimes evil had to be stamped out completely, not left to return. If there was any hope of getting Steven to talk to Jason sooner rather than later, Roy would need to find a way to resolve these problems from the past.

  Problems from the past, Roy thought. You don’t often get a chance to go back and correct problems from the past. You usually have to live with the consequences of the present moment, which could be cruel and unforgiving. I was lucky. I got to correct this one, he thought. I need to correct others as soon as I can. He felt like a man who’d lived through a near-death experience and was being given a second chance to live his life differently.

  Daniel was still talking, and Roy would normally be annoyed, but he wasn’t. He was happy to hear Daniel’s voice,
pleased that the plan worked. The alternative would have been much worse for everyone, including himself. Daniel talking his ear off in his car meant they won, they pulled it off. And Roy now had an opportunity to set some things right.

  My time will come soon, Roy thought. It was always out there, the frustrating thoughts about what would happen when his time was up and he was forced to move on. He tried not to think about them, tried not to be scared by them, but the thoughts came with more regularity these days than they did in the past, now that Steven was aware of his gift and was using it. I need to accelerate things, he thought. Can’t waste time.

  Daniel was going on about something “on a molecular level.” Roy smiled and nodded, continuing to feign interest. Why not start now? he thought. The present moment is all I’ve got. Why not live it to the fullest?

  He stopped thinking about the future and returned to the discussion of time objects, time dilation, and spatial symmetry. Daniel was brilliant, and Roy was determined to learn something from him, to make this hour-long car ride count.

  After all, wasn’t that the point? To make the present moment count?

  He leaned back in the seat and listened.

  Michael Richan lives in Seattle, Washington.

  -

  Visit

  www.michaelrichan.com

  for more information about the books in The River series.

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