The Curse of the Old Woods

by Elizabeth Andre

  “How long are we going to keep going on this trail?” Jason asked as he glanced at his very quiet EDI.

  Sometimes, he could be really impatient. Julie was surprised he had stuck with ghost hunting this long. “This long” meant six months. Jason had a habit of getting enthusiastic about new hobbies and then dropping them as soon as he got bored or they proved to be too difficult in some way, although Julie made it clear that ghost hunting was not a hobby for her. It was business, and she was on a job. She suspected the fact that he was doing this with her might have factored into his uncharacteristic determination to stick with it for more than a month or two. He knew she would kneecap him hard if he left her in the lurch.

  “Not much longer,” Julie said. “And if we keep going along this trail, we should meet up with Steve and Penny.”

  “Cool. Penny’s cute,” Jason said, sounding pleased and a little smug about seeing Penny again.

  “I’m pretty sure she’s not into dudes, Jase.”

  He deflated with those words. “Damn it. It seems that every other girl I’m interested in is a lesbian!”

  Julie laughed softly. “If you hang out with me, what do you expect?”

  She heard a sudden rustle to her left. She stopped. It sounded like footsteps but only one set.

  “Steve? Penny?” she whispered.

  “Neither,” a soft male voice said.

  Her flashlight revealed a man who looked to be in his thirties and was wearing a forest service jacket walking up to her.

  “You must be Mike,” she said.

  “I am. And you’re one of the many ghost hunters to pass through here,” he said, looking her up and down in a way that was unsettling, although he wasn’t lascivious. He seemed curious.

  “This does seem to be the place to do that sort of thing.” She tried to keep her voice light. She didn’t want to waste too much time. She wanted to find Katie. Just as she was about to excuse them and keep going, Jason spoke up.

  “Hey, you’re the forest ranger guy Maya was telling us about,” he said.

  “You have the advantage of me. Your names are…?”

  “Oh, I’m Jason, and this is my sister Julie.”

  Julie so wished he had kept quiet. They might have to have another discussion about letting her do the talking.

  Mike smiled. “Brother and sister. That’s fun.”

  Julie returned his smile with the kind of smile that unnerved her mother when she was a sullen teenager.

  “It’s a new family business, Mike. If Julie really makes a go of it, she’ll make me a partner,” Jason said.

  As impatient as she was to get away from Mike, Julie couldn’t let this bit of fabulist nonsense pass.

  “The business is going, but I never said anything about bringing you in on a permanent basis,” she snapped.

  Jason looked chagrined. Then, Steve’s voice came through on the walkie-talkie.

  “Julie! Are you there?”

  “Yeah, Steve. What’s up? You got something?”

  “Yeah. Penny and I picked up very strong readings by the old well. Maya and Mrs. Forcier are on their way. Get over here quick! Out.”

  Jason took out his phone and brought up the trail map he’d been using. He pointed at a spot on the map.

  “That’s the old well he’s talking about.”

  “Looks like we gotta take the long way around to get there. Shit. Okay, well, we better start hoofing it right now,” Julie said.

  “I know a shortcut,” Mike said.

  Julie had almost forgotten about him. “I expect you would. Is this short cut something you’d be willing to share with us?”

  “I thought you’d never ask.” Mike motioned for them to follow and walked into a thicket of trees.

  Julie and Jason stayed close behind. Julie’s night vision binoculars came with a strap, so they could be attached to her head. She attempted to get them secured while trying to brush aside branches that hung low from the trees. She gave up after several seconds and just hoped she’d make it without tripping over a rock or branch or stumbling in a pothole or divot. Their flashlights were good. Night vision goggles were generally better. Mike’s shortcut took them over a creek that was neither very deep nor very wet, fortunately, although it was slick with pebbles and mud. They walked through it and into another thicket. Just as Julie was thinking they might have been better off going the long way round, Mike led them into a clearing and disappeared as fast as he had appeared.

  “Um, bye, thanks,” said Jason as Julie looked for other members of the team.

  Julie first saw Steve and Penny who were roaming around what she assumed was the old well. Then she saw Maya and Mrs. Forcier standing nearby. They gave a quick wave, but their focus was elsewhere. Steve’s EDI was blinking and flashing. Jason’s started making noises, too. The well itself didn’t look like it had been used as intended for years. The stone wall that surrounded the wellhead was crumbling. It looked like there had once been a roof over the well, but the cross bar to which a bucket would have been secured was nowhere to be seen. The crank that would have been used to lower the bucket to the water was still there but was covered with so much rust that it was probably unusable. As Julie got closer to Maya and Mrs. Forcier, she noticed they weren’t looking at the well but at a spot to the side and just past the well. That must be where Katie is manifesting, Julie thought.

  “I’ve brought her, Katie, your sister. She’s here,” Maya said. Her voice was soothing.

  “These readings are amazing! I think she’s coming,” Steve said. The EDI lit up even more.

  Penny, who had been circling the well with her video camera, shouted, “She’s here!”

  Julie saw her. She started to smell something floral. This was not the smell of the woods that surrounded them. It was more like a woman’s perfume. She heard Mrs. Forcier gasp.

  “This whole area is hot,” Jason said. “I’ve never seen readings like this before, Julie.”

  Much like a few nights before, a yellow shimmering light harkened Katie’s arrival. This time Julie was close enough to see the shiny grains flowing up and down the streams of light. Then it vanished, and Katie was there, her face clearer than the last time. This ghost had shoulders and arms, too. Her body faded away near her waist, and she floated in the dark.

  “Is it true?” Katie asked. “Is Evie here?” Her voice held years of loneliness.

  “I’m here, Katie darling. Can you see me?” Mrs. Forcier took a couple of steps toward the apparition. She wore jeans today, albeit perfectly pressed. The lines of her pink polo were equally crisp.

  Still directing her attention to Maya, Katie asked again, “Is Evie here?”

  “Katie, I’m here.” Mrs. Forcier moved closer to the apparition, and Maya followed her. She put her hand on Mrs. Forcier’s shoulder.

  “I promised you we’d bring your sister, Katie, and here she is.” Maya paused. “Katie?”

  Katie’s head vibrated. She looked frightened and angry, and she couldn’t seem to see Mrs. Forcier.

  “You’re lying!” she yelled. Her ghostly voice, full of loneliness and loss, pierced Julie’s heart. “I told you she wouldn’t come. She’s always been afraid.”

  “But she’s here, Katie! Right here!” Maya said.

  Julie suspected that she knew what was going on but needed to ask some questions to be sure. She stepped up next to Maya. “Katie. Look at me. I’m Julie. I’m here to help you, too. Can you tell me what day it is?”

  The apparition faded out briefly but then came back. “It’s June 30th,” was the plaintive reply. The actual date was June 16th. Now, Julie needed to confirm what year Katie thought it was.

  “June 30th?” Mrs. Forcier said. Her look of joy at seeing her sister had turned to dismay.

  “And tell me, Katie. Who is the president of the United States?” Julie asked.

  “It’s Dwight D. Eisenhower, of course,” Katie said, sounding impatient.

  “Eisenhower?” Mrs. Forcier blurted out
. “Katie, Eisenhower hasn’t been president since 1960. He’s dead.”

  Katie turned to Maya. “Who is this? Why is she saying those things?” Her image again shook violently. “I’ve waited so long, but nothing is right.”

  Mrs. Forcier had tears rolling down her face. “Why doesn’t she know me?” Her voice was just louder than a whisper.

  Julie took the older woman’s hand. “She doesn’t know you as you are now. She only knows you as you were the last time she saw you.”

  “Which was on June 30th, 1957,” Maya said. “She feels like she’s been here a long time, but time hasn’t really passed for her. You aren’t the little girl she remembers.”

  Steve yelled out, “We’re losing her, guys. The readings are getting weaker.”

  “Please stay for a little bit longer, Katie,” Maya said. “Stay and tell us what happened to you that day.”

  The apparition faded away completely.

  Mrs. Forcier shouted and reached forward, “Katie, come back!”

  For a few minutes, Julie heard nothing, not even the sounds of the woods, but she didn’t want to leave just yet. She believed Katie would come back. She was probably as curious about them as they were about her.

  Mrs. Forcier kept mumbling and scanning the area, “She’s gone. Where has she gone?”

  “How can we get Katie to understand that Mrs. Forcier is her sister, just all grown up?” Penny asked as she turned off her camera.

  “Might not be easy getting a ghost to understand something like that,” Steve said. “Time just stopped for her a long time ago.”

  Maya was patting Mrs. Forcier on the back. Mrs. Forcier was sniffling and peering around in the darkness, perhaps hoping she could will Katie to come back to her.

  “Maybe Mrs. Forcier can talk about something familiar to Katie, something that only she and Katie would know,” Maya said to the group.

  “Good idea,” said Julie. “Think, Mrs. Forcier. There must be something you can say to make Katie believe that you’re her sister.” Julie moved in front of her to try to get her to focus, but the older woman kept staring past her, looking into the woods. Katie hadn’t been able to recognize Mrs. Forcier, and now it seemed like Mrs. Forcier wasn’t recognizing the people around her.

  Mrs. Forcier moved away from Julie and Maya. She started walking toward the well and then turned and started walking toward a thicket of trees. The others followed her.

  “I don’t think she’s gone, Mrs. Forcier,” Maya said. “I think she’s waiting for a reason to believe you.”

  “There’s still some activity here.” Jason showed Julie his EDI readings. He swatted at gnats that were buzzing around.

  “Sure is. It’s either Katie or something else,” Steve said. His EDI was equally active.

  Mrs. Forcier gave him a sharp look. “What do you mean something else?”

  “You’ve heard the stories about these woods being haunted,” Penny said. “There’s always the possibility of other ghosts.”

  “It’s Katie. She’s here.” All of the elegant composure that Mrs. Forcier had presented over the last few days was gone. She kept walking toward the thicket.

  “Okay, you believe in her,” Julie said. “You need to say something that will make her believe in you, know that you’re really her sister.”

  Mrs. Forcier met Julie’s eyes. There was a wildness in them. She walked over to a spot midway between the edge of the clearing and the old well.

  So softly that Julie couldn’t quite hear it at first, the older woman began to sing. It was an upbeat song that Julie didn’t recognize.

  “I know that song,” Maya whispered. She was standing close to Julie now. “My grandpa had a little jazz group. I listened to them practice and this was one of the songs they had in their set. It’s called How High the Moon. She’s singing an uptempo version of it.”

  Mrs. Forcier had a good voice that carried the melody, although it cracked a little here and there when a tear rolled down her cheek. When she got to the end of the song, she started singing it again.

  “She’s back,” Jason said, the lights on his EDI getting brighter and flashing more quickly.

  Penny shouted and pointed at a shimmering light. “There!”

  This time, there was something different about the light. It was brighter and illuminated a larger area. It moved until it settled on Mrs. Forcier, training itself on her like it was a spotlight. Mrs. Forcier stared into the light and kept singing. Slowly, Katie’s facial features appeared. Then more details came into focus—hair, shoulders, arms, torso. Katie still didn’t have legs, but she moved as if she were walking. Mrs. Forcier stopped singing when Katie’s ghost paused in front of her.

  “I taught Evie that song,” Katie said, her voice calm and measured. “It was Mother’s favorite song. We sang it to Mother on her birthday last year.”

  “Yes, Katie. I remember. Mother enjoyed it even if I didn’t hit all the notes.”

  “I think you have a pretty voice,” said Katie. She was no longer shimmering, but she wasn’t solid either. “It sounds like Evie.”

  The sisters stood almost nose to nose. The woods were completely quiet. Even the usual soft breeze of a summer night was silent.

  “I am Evie. Katie, please. I’m Evie all grown up. I’ve been looking for you for so long.” Now Mrs. Forcier sounded like she was at the edge of all-consuming despair, and Katie started to fade once more.

  “Don’t stay too long,” Katie suddenly said. “If you do, you won’t ever leave.”

  Mrs. Forcier began audibly sobbing. Steve and Jason said the readings were weakening. And then Katie was gone.

  “She can’t be gone,” Mrs. Forcier whispered. “She can’t.”

  Steve moved carefully around the perimeter of the clearing. The grass was green and lush. It was soft under their feet. “The readings I’m getting now are faint, but there’s something else. I can’t get a handle on it.”

  Jason started taking readings, too. “What do you think Katie meant?” he said as Julie paced behind him as he, too, made his way around the clearing.

  “Maybe there’s something keeping her here, besides just wanting to see her sister,” said Maya. “Maybe there’s something that hasn’t let her leave since that night in 1957.”

  Steve kept mumbling about readings. “This is low level stuff,” he said. “But I haven’t had readings like this before.”

  “Is it Katie? She’s not gone?” Mrs. Forcier planted herself in front of Steve to stop his progress around the clearing. He was so focused on his EDI that he nearly walked into her and almost dropped his device. The moonlight shone on his bald head. Mrs. Forcier was not a tall woman, but there was something about her stature that made Steve seem small.

  “It’s hard to tell. I don’t know. Unless Katie or some other ghost makes themselves known to us, I won’t know who it is for sure.”

  Mrs. Forcier started singing that song again, trying to draw her back. The group waited and listened for a few minutes until Maya put her hand on her arm. Sound seemed to be returning to this part of the woods. The soft breeze had restarted and was rustling the trees. Julie thought she heard a frog.

  “I think we should leave now,” Maya said gently.

  “But what if she comes back and we’re not here?” Mrs. Forcier said.

  “She’s gone for the moment. We’ll come back and find her again. I promise,” said Maya.

  Mrs. Forcier stood still, seemingly uncertain of what to do. Maya started tugging on her arm and managed to get her moving. Julie walked directly behind them with Steve, Penny, and Jason bringing up the rear. Julie could hear them talking in low voices about the readings that Steve and Jason had been getting and the possibility that there was something else out there. Penny was also still trying to puzzle out what Katie meant when she talked about never being able to leave. It took about fifteen minutes for them to get back to where they had started. Mrs. Forcier had fallen silent. Maya kept hold of her arm.

  Julie too
k out her phone. It was just after midnight, and there were a couple of texts from Gabi. Julie yawned. For the first time in the seven months since they’d broken up, she felt no urge to see her. In fact, she was irritated by Gabi’s texts, which were the same flirty, suggestive messages that normally were enough to lure Julie back to her ex’s bed.

  “We’ll take Mrs. Forcier home,” Maya said to Julie.

  Steve held open the passenger side door of his battered old Land Rover for the older woman. The sobbing had stopped. She looked dazed. Jason helped Penny stow equipment in the back of Steve’s car. He looked like he was trying to flirt.

  Oh yeah, he is. He knows she’s a lesbian, but he’s going to flirt anyway, thought Julie. For a moment she wanted to protest Mrs. Forcier being taken home by Maya’s team. They had driven her to the woods, and Julie wanted to keep whatever competitive edge she had left. Then the feeling passed along with the bad taste Gabi’s text had momentarily left her with. She was in this with Maya, whether she wanted to be or not. Her relationship with Gabi was over, and the pain was lessening, in part because of Maya’s beautiful presence, in part just because time had passed.

  “Okay. Sounds good.” Julie said, putting her phone away. “You get her home safe.”

  “Bad news?” Maya looked concerned and curious.

  “No. Why do you say that?”

  “You just had this sour look on your face when you looked up from your phone.”

  “Oh, no, a reminder came up on my phone reminding me to do something that I forgot about,” said Julie, breaking into a weak smile. It was a lame explanation, but at least it was plausible. Julie was too tired to tell Maya about her unsettled social life. Besides, they were on a job together. There was no need to complicate an already complicated professional relationship.