Wake Up

by Brooke De Lira

  I shook my head, quickening my pace. “Not him, no. I saw one of them. It was in the bookstore. Don’t look, but it’s following us.

  Of course he looked. “Holy…”

  “I’m hoping if we get far enough away, it’ll give up.”

  “What? Is that all you got?”

  “I told you. I don’t know any more about these creatures than you do.”

  “Oh Lord, oh Lord. We are so going to die. That thing is going to suck our souls out like soda from a straw, and then we’ll be dead.”

  “You’re getting hysterical again. Just chill, okay? We’re not going to die. Those things will never get to us.”

  “Never say never, Mads.”

  “You just said it twice. And please don’t call me that.”

  He kept checking the road behind us, continuing to whisper, “Oh Lord, oh Lord,” under his breath. While his attention was behind, I scanned the rest of Main Street.

  Most of the shops were closed for the season, leaving Shy Harbor’s touristic haven a ghost town. The darkening storm clouds of the late afternoon cast a shadow over the whole region. The only lights came from Connie’s Cafe all the way down by the boardwalk.

  “It’s gone!” Luke whimpered.

  I twisted my neck to glance behind us. Sure enough, the creature had vanished. Whether it was really gone or just hiding itself to ambush us, I didn’t care to know. I just wanted to get out of there. From Luke’s quickened steps, I knew he was thinking the same thing.

  The light of the cafe windows grew brighter until we reached the front entrance. An overfed calico cat darted away from the Welcome rug as we approached. We both jumped at the animal’s sudden movement, the rumble of thunder masking our gasps of surprise. We shared an amused glance. I guess we were both a bit jittery.

  We stepped in quickly and closed the door behind us. While Luke started searching for an open table, I pressed my nose against the diamond-shaped door glass, searching for a flash of white.

  A cold hand touched my shoulder.

  I swung around, breath caught in my lungs. But it wasn’t a ghoulish, black-eyed creature whose hand I slapped away. It was a teenage girl with thick-rimmed hipster glasses, a purple choker, and brunette hair tied up in a messy bun. It was Kath.

  She covered her mouth and giggled, her eyes all amusement. “Oh my God, Madelyn. I didn’t mean to scare you. Seems like the cats aren’t the only ones the storm has on edge.”

  This was weird. She was my best friend, but I’d never seen her in my dreams before. Once the shock subsided, I smiled, opening my arms for her eager embrace. “Wow, it’s been so long. How are you?”

  “Oh, you know, same old me. Still painting, still dreaming of making it big and getting the hell out of Shy Harbor.” She winked. “We have a lot of catching up to do. Come on, let’s go sit down.”

  I resisted her tug on my sleeve. “Actually, Kath, I’m here with someone.” I nodded toward the booth where Luke sat on the edge of the seat, eyes fixated on the window. “But you’re welcome to join us.”

  She glanced back and forth between me and Luke before settling on me with a sly smile and a raised eyebrow. “Hmm, I see how it is. Looks like you hooked yourself a good one.”

  “It’s not like that.” Heat rose to my face. I was thankful she was already walking toward the booth and didn’t see me blushing.

  I caught up to introduce the two of them as I slid in beside Luke.

  Kath took a seat across from us, immediately fixing me in her gaze. “So, Madelyn, how long have you been back? Where are Alice and your parents? You should have called me the moment you got here. Oh, but I dropped my phone off the sailboat and ended up getting a new number. Oh, speaking of sailing, I redid the artwork on my family’s boat, and they loved it! I also did a mural on the side of the grocery store. Did you see it? Well, you might not have if you haven’t been that way. You and Luke have probably just been enjoying the sight of each other. How long have you known each other? I’m sure it hasn’t been long. Well, I remember….”

  And on she went, giving not so much as a split second for Luke or me to utter a syllable.

  Okay. We all have a friend like Kath, I’m sure. That friend whose favorite hobby is talking, despite what they might say otherwise. Don’t get me wrong, I love her to death. She’s been one of my best friends for years. But once she revs up that vocal motor, you could replace me with a pinecone and she wouldn’t know the difference.

  After twenty straight minutes of Kath’s voice, which took only a quick break to order a burger and fries, its owner took a bite of her food. I seized the rare opportunity. “Hey Kath, what do you know about Gerald, the bookstore owner?”

  She raised a puzzled eyebrow, shrugging as she gulped down her bite. “What’s to know? The guy wakes up on the wrong side of the bed every day of his life. Every time I go into the bookstore, he gives me this look like he wants to slap me across the face with a copy of the summer’s biggest romance novel. Other than that, though, he always keeps a great stock of art books and doesn’t kick me out when I browse and don’t buy anything. Why do you want to know, anyway?”

  I slathered one of my fries in ketchup and put on my best ‘just-wondering’ face. “I bought a book there today and thought he seemed off. I don’t know.”

  Kath’s eyes lit up. “Really? Which book? Let me see.”

  I paused mid-fry, suddenly struck by the realization that I’d left my purchase in the bookstore. “Um… I… left it at the house.”

  Kath brushed it off with a flick of her wrist. “Anyway, Gerald’s always been a little off. But he’s all right. He keeps his shop open every single day, never closes for anything, except for that one time he boarded up for two weeks straight and made me wait forever to get my copy of An Artist’s Mind. That was just plain…”

  Kath’s eyes widened, her face hiding something I couldn’t quite read. She cleared her throat and took a sip of her iced tea. Luke and I shared a curious side-glance.

  I leaned over the table. “When was that?”

  She kept her eyes on her plate. “He closed up the day after your brother’s accident.”

  The table went silent. Luke spoke up first. “Why would that be? Did he know Mads’ brother?”

  Kath shrugged. “Not as far as I know. It might have just been a coincidence. Then again, the whole town was pretty torn up after that. It could have just been a show of respect.”

  My heart pounded in my chest, but I kept my cool. Luke kept glancing at me, but I ignored him. “One more thing I was wondering, Kath. Do you know a Beverly?”

  She smiled, eager for a change of subject. “I’m pretty sure there’s only one Beverly in Shy Harbor. She’s the grounds-keeper at the cemetery.”

  I swallowed down the dry lump in my throat, nodding. I kept my hands under the table to hide their trembling.

  Maybe it was all a coincidence, or maybe Gerald wasn’t just meeting Beverly tonight to catch up on local gossip. Luke let out a barely audible sigh beside me.

  We finished our meal in relative silence, Kath still wearing a face of regret for bringing up Aiden. The check arrived, and we laid our change out on the table.

  I got up to hug Kath as we prepared to go our separate ways. As I wrapped my arms around her bony shoulders, she whispered into my ear. “I’m glad you’re back, Madelyn. I knew you’d be able to move on.”

  A flash of anger kicked up inside me. A crack of thunder rolled through the sky.

  “Me too.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  “Okay, you’re right. I agree it was a little odd that the man said he didn’t know your brother yet he still closed his shop after the accident. But damn, girl! Following a guy to the cemetery to spy on him just feels wrong.”

  I shook my head, hands gripping the driver’s wheel of the rusty pickup my parents had kept in the cabin’s garage for hauling the boat in and out of the water. The dream catcher hanging from the mirror swung wildly as we rolled to a stop in the dark woods. “
Stay in the car then, sissy-boy. I’ll handle this one on my own.”

  He shot me a glare. “Oh, shut up, Mads. We had a deal. I happen to be a man of my word.”

  I nudged the car door open, slipping my army jacket back on. “Fine then. But you’d better not give me away.”

  We quietly locked up the truck, stepping into the evergreen forest that surrounded Shy Harbor Cemetery. I was smart enough to use the back-roads and park a good distance from the perimeter, unlike dumb Luke, who wanted to follow Gerald straight up. I guess you can’t expect too much from the IQ of dream people.

  When the clearing dotted with headstones came into view, we found a space to crouch and wait. Near the edge of the clearing, a one-room cabin with an old-fashioned brick chimney watched over the field of graves. Rakes, trowels, and other grounds-keeping equipment rested against the vinyl siding, and a golf cart was parked not far away.

  Gerald didn’t keep us waiting long. At 8:59, he drove into the clearing in an old clunker and parked alongside the cabin. Luke and I both held our breaths as he stepped out of the car, a bouquet of lilies and other autumn blooms in his hands.

  No, that wasn’t right. They couldn’t be real. I squinted my eyes, wishing to reality a zoom-in of the scene before me for a closer look. Seams on the stems and tattered petal edges gave it away. Silk flowers.

  “A bouquet? I guess we should have seen it coming,” Luke whispered. “No guy would meet a woman at her place at this time of night for anything else.”

  “Shut up and keep watching.”

  He knocked on the door. It opened. An older woman in flannel and a long ponytail stepped outside and walked into Gerald’s waiting embrace. They spoke for a few minutes, but the bouquet still hung in Gerald’s hand. The two didn’t strike me as two passion-stricken, lonely people meeting in the night. More like two broken halves who shared an affectionate but complicated history.

  Gerald held Beverly’s hand before turning to leave, not back to his car, but to the cemetery. I felt Luke leaning forward in anticipation beside me. Yes, he was walking toward it. The memorial headstone that Shy Harbor raised for Aiden despite his body being taken back to Madison, our home city.

  Gerald passed by Aiden’s honorary grave, stopped, and pulled out a single orange lily to lay on the headstone.

  My heart tremored inside of me, but I kept still. We watched in silence as Gerald continued toward another grave not far beyond Aiden’s. He knelt down and lay the bouquet on the headstone, stroking the face of it with a trembling hand.

  What did it all mean? Maybe nothing. Maybe everything. It was all so unclear. When I most needed answers, all my dream was throwing at me were more questions.

  “Was she there when we got here?” Luke pointed to a nearby grave. An old, gray-haired woman in white jeans and a white sweater draped herself over the headstone, shoulders shaking with silent sobs. A wave of prickling fear crept across my scalp.

  Gerald’s attention was drawn to the woman. Seemingly softened by her appearance, he got to his feet with some effort. He was walking toward her. No. Don’t do it, Gerald.

  “Mads, look!” I followed Luke’s finger to Beverly’s cabin, where two men were stepping in Gerald’s direction, one with a rake in his hand and the other with a shovel. All-white clothing. Black holes for eyes.

  “Damn it.” Luke lunged out of our hiding place, sprinting in Gerald’s direction. I followed on his footsteps, desperately searching my head for a magic plan that would keep us all alive.

  Unaware of our approach, Gerald reached the crying woman and touched a weathered hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head, slowly, until she met his eyes with her own empty skull holes. He gasped, but she grabbed his wrist, yanking his body down until their faces were inches apart.

  My steps slowed to a stop as I looked on, bewitched. The woman was now mouthing angry words into Gerald’s right ear, but not the faintest whisper left her mouth. Not even the raspy sound of hot breath leaving her throat. As she spoke without speaking, her other hand crept its way toward Gerald’s neck.

  Before I could think better of it, I used all my mind’s willpower to knock Gerald backwards, sending him flying to the ground with an audible thump.

  The wicked woman turned to me, her face twisted in rage.

  “Madelyn, they ain’t stopping!” I glanced around to see Luke, who stood in front of the two armed men, swinging an iron flower stand inches from their faces. They kept walking, unflinching, as Luke stumbled backward.

  “It’s no use!” I shouted. “We can’t fight them. We have to run. Get back to the truck and start it up!”

  I dug the keys from my pocket and threw them. Luke caught them, glancing between me and Gerald with a look of loss.

  “Trust me!”

  This time, he nodded. Dropping the flower stand, he sprinted back toward the woods where the truck waited.

  I couldn’t waste another second. My feet flew across the moonlit grass as the three white-clothed monsters closed in on Gerald. In desperation, I willed loose rocks toward their skulls. But I already knew what would happen. The stones simply passed through them as if they were made of air.

  Gerald still lay on the ground, eyes wide in shock. I reached him first, and his shock turned to puzzlement. “Madelyn Clarke?” Without a response, I grabbed under his arms and tried to pull him to his feet. He whimpered in pain, collapsing onto a limp ankle.

  I held his face, forcing him to look at me instead of the ghoulish creatures closing in. “Listen, Gerald. You have to come with me now.”

  He shook his head violently. I rolled my eyes. Sorry dude. No time to argue. Snatching his arms, I hoisted him onto my back and darted toward the woods at full speed. Thanks to my dream powers, his body felt weightless. I stole a glance back. The three creatures ran behind me. And they were gaining.

  I was almost at the edge of woods now. Steps followed hot on my feet. Headlights blared, the engine revving to a start. I made my way through the short patch of woods toward the truck, Gerald stiff with fear on my back. There it was.

  “Luke, go now!” Just as the tires started rolling, I stepped on the back bumper and hopped into the bed of the truck, sliding Gerald off my back into safety. The three white creatures ran in pursuit until we sped up. As we rumbled and roared down the back road, they stared after us until their shrinking forms were out of sight.

  I took a deep breath to calm myself. They could have killed Gerald, or maybe even me. But if they did, what would happen? Would I wake up? Would C and I just cease to exist? Did that mean I’d die in my bed with Alice sleeping clueless beside me? Or maybe, something even more sinister would happen, something I could never foresee.

  Gerald and I both kept our eyes on the road behind us, still and silent as we braced ourselves in the open bed of the pickup. A few minutes passed before his voice grumbled above the roar of the engine.

  “Angry spirits don’t wander the cemetery for no reason. They must have been after something.”

  I stared at him, puzzled, but he kept his eyes on the dark pine forest. “If you two kids hadn’t helped me, they might’ve taken me to the after. I thank you for that.”

  Before I could speak, he continued, “I suppose you’d come to pay respects to your brother.”

  I shook my head. “No. Actually, we were following you.”

  Now he met my eyes. “And what were you doing that for?”

  “I knew you weren’t telling me the whole truth at the bookstore. I could feel it.” I saw his jaw clench. “Please, Gerald. I’m just trying to retrace my brother’s steps up to the fall. I need to know.”

  His gaze softened. I took the chance to push. “My friend Kath said you closed the bookstore for two weeks. Why?”

  For a few heartbeats, he didn’t speak. I couldn’t read his expression. Pain? Anger? He let out a low sigh. “You ain’t the only one who lost someone like that, kid.”

  I leaned in closer.

  “It was ten years and five months ago that I lost my
boy. Hit by a drunk driver.” His voice began to tremble, eyes glistening. “He was just- just walkin’ back home from a church service with some friends, that beat-up old Bible of his in his hand. The driver passed out, right there on the wheel, empty bottles of booze rollin’ around on the floor of his car and everything. He veered onto the sidewalk and-”

  Tears rose to my eyes. Gerald was silent for a few moments before he cleared his throat. “I reckon Jacob and Aiden were around the same age when they went. Lord knows that driver took more than just my son. Took my joy for livin’, even my marriage.”

  I remembered the way Gerald had looked at Beverly, and my heart tightened.

  The corners of his mouth lifted in a forced smile. “I guess when your brother passed, it hit a little too close to home.”

  I nodded, wiping the tears from my face. “I get it.” After stealing a glance at Luke, who diligently watched the road, I hugged my knees and buried my face in them to gather myself.

  “Madelyn.”

  I lifted my head to look at him again.

  “You ain’t wrong. I wasn’t being entirely truthful with you back at the bookstore. Matter of fact, I did see your brother meet someone there.”

  A cold tremor rippled through my body. “You did?”

  He nodded, eyes fixed on mine. “Three or four times. A skinny white boy, ’round your brother’s age. Always dressed in button-downs, like he was going to church or somethin’. He had these black glasses and black hair that nearly covered his eyes right up. I never caught what those two kids were talking about, since they met up on the other side of the store, but I just assumed they were friends or somethin’.”

  I let my gaze fall to the truck bed, processing this new information.

  “But kid.”

  I glanced up again.

  “Be careful. When you start digging into the past, you can find more than you bargain for.”

  His ominous words echoed in my mind as we rode on in silence. When we reached the town, Gerald hobbled off, insisting on limping the rest of the way home. He tipped his trucker cap in my direction as I made my way to the passenger seat. While Luke drove toward the cabin, I recounted my conversation with Gerald.