Soul Search: A Zackie Story

by Reyna Favis

  While Cam crafted the e-mail, I contacted Joel and explained our plan, asking him if he could get the landowner’s permission to train on the field. Joel was uneasy about letting people near the house, but I convinced him that we’d stay in the field and not venture anywhere near the house. Since there was a full-stop on the remodeling work and time was slipping away, he grudgingly agreed to reach out to the landowner for permission.

  # # #

  On the day of the training, Lucas and his crew showed up to film the spectacle. Lucas marched over to us, looking tired and irritated. “She threw me out, would you believe it?”

  Cam’s eyes widened with surprise. “Hannah’s feeling well enough for an argument?”

  Stunned for a moment, Lucas stopped in his tracks. “Huh, I guess she is.” He grinned broadly, happy to talk about Hannah. “We had a great day yesterday. She even got out of bed for a few minutes and we wheeled her to the lounge, so she could get a change of scenery.”

  Maybe he was right and the treatment would save her. I was absolutely sincere when I told him that this was great news. No one should have to die just so I can get what I want. To distract myself from Lucas, I walked over to join the searchers and we surveyed the field. I sensed nothing ominous, but just to be sure, I glanced over to Parmelia and made eye contact. She shook her head and I felt reassured that the field was clear.

  To figure out how to work the grid, we threw a quarter down in the field. Since we didn’t know what we were looking for, if the searchers were calibrated on something the size of a quarter, we stood a good chance of finding the object. A number of searchers formed a close circle around the quarter and then each stepped back until the searcher just lost sight of the quarter. On average, the eagle-eyed searchers could still see the quarter at ten feet in the grass, so the sweep width was set to this value. Cam asked that the teams perform an evidence search with overlapping sweep widths that would extend from a road on the one side about fifteen hundred feet to a copse of woods on the other side.

  The searchers assembled themselves at the base line and waited until the training officer for the day called out the instructions for the grid. After a short pause, I heard, “20-guide right-15!” Twenty searchers separated themselves by fifteen feet and looked to the road on the right to give them a bearing to follow. Next, the training officer called out, “Searchers ready?” The line called back that they were ready and the training officer responded with “Step off!” The people in the line walked forward, swinging their heads to and fro to check for any objects in their lanes. The searcher in the lane furthest from the road placed flags as she progressed over the field to mark her leftmost boundary. When the searchers reached the road at the top of the field, the training officer called a halt. The line then reformed in the same order with the same spacing past the flags that they would now use to guide them. They would repeat this process until the area of the field Cam and I had isolated as high probability had been searched.

  While the searchers made progress on their task, Cam and I took the cousins to the man in the pit, out of sight from the searchers. Zackie stayed at the edge of the field, looking like a herding dog keeping watch over the humans. Part of the film crew also stayed with the searches so they could capture the find if it was made. Lucas, meanwhile, took a camera and a few of his people to record what happened at the pit. He looked a little disappointed, since all he could see was a subtle dip on the side of the road. To the four sibyls, a pit with a broken body at the bottom was clearly visible.

  John Castner moaned and begged us to protect his wife and child, that they were in grave danger. We did not engage him, since we did not want to draw the Entity out. We stood ready to go through the motions of freeing him if Parmelia sensed the presence of the Entity nearby. That should sufficiently piss it off to come to us and leave the searchers in peace. In our estimation, the man in the pit would refuse to move on, but the Entity, jealously guarding its captives, would need to be sure of its hold over the spirit in the pit. At least, that was the theory.

  From the field, someone yelled out, “Hold the line!” Someone had found something and this told the searchers to hold their ground until it could be determined if the found object was relevant.

  As Cam held his broken arm steady and jogged towards the field to claim the object, I turned to query Parmelia. She was making a gagging noise. Covering her mouth with her hand, she gasped out some words. “Coming to the field.” Bodean leaped down into the pit and began helping John Castner to rise.

  “Where did he go?” Lucas was panning the camera around, unable to locate Bodean. The other crew members were doing the same. To their perception, Bodean had suddenly disappeared.

  I felt my adrenalin pumping and I began channeling this energy into my hands. I screamed at Lucas to back up, to stay clear. Whirling and throwing my senses outward to try to find the Entity, I called to Parmelia. “Where?”

  “Coming here! It’s coming here!” She dropped to her knees and put her arms protectively around her head.

  Bodean called from the pit. “Ready!” Just as he said this, I found myself knocked clear of the edge of the pit and sprawled on my face in the dirt.

  Struggling to my feet, I yelled to Bodean. “Do you have it? Is it secure?”

  “Got it, but it’s…it’s enveloping me!”

  Standing at the edge of the pit, I raised my hands, but then hesitated. If I slammed it, would I hurt Bodean? When I heard him struggling for breath, the decision was made for me. I let loose. The darkness surrounding his body recoiled and he gasped in a breath, but bent double under the force of the blow. I had to give him credit. Through suffocation and being hammered by the energy I hurled at the Entity, Bodean did not let go. The dark mass writhed and curled, trying to escape him. Failing to free itself through contortion, it went back to suffocating him. I sent another jolt to make it free him and I heard Bodean suck in another breath, but his color was bad and he was bleeding from his ears now. Standing was difficult for him and he swayed unsteadily on his feet. Before the Entity threw another wave of darkness over him, he managed to yell to me. “Nuke it again! I can take it.”

  Parmelia crawled over to me and grabbed my leg. “Don’t! Don’t do it! He won’t survive the next one.”

  “Bodean, you have to let it go!” I was pleading with him to save his own life. “I’ll nail it when it tries to run. Just let it go!”

  The Entity lifted and seemed to solidify as Bodean crumpled to the ground. I battered it again and again as it tried to lift from the pit. Things were starting to go gray around the edges of my vision. Blood gushed from my nose and soaked my shirt, but I kept trying. When I dropped to one knee, firing only weakly, the Entity hobbled passed me. It was weakened, but it was on the move. “Shit!”

  Parmelia cupped her hands around her mouth and hollered as loud as she could, her body straining with the effort. “Cam! Zackie! It’s coming your way.” She then turned to the pit and extended her hand to Bodean to pull him up.

  I got to my feet, but my limbs weren’t working right. I tried to run to help Cam and fell hard. I could hear Bodean struggling up from the pit and Parmelia grunting as she pulled with all her strength. John Castner was wailing from the depths and I could do nothing for him. I looked up in time to see Zackie running uncertainly back and forth between Cam and the portal. She was bawling, clearly tortured by indecision. Cam finally told her to go and with his agreement freeing her, she leaped into the portal and was gone. There goes our last hope, I thought. Either the sky was growing dark or my eyes were failing again. I heard Cam in my mind say that it should leave or he would destroy it. And then I passed out.

  # # #

  Parmelia and Cam were hovering over me when I came to. Bodean was sitting next to me on the ground, drinking coconut water and swearing. Parmelia handed me my own bottle and told me to drink. I drank. And then I drank a whole lot more. I finished that bottle and chugged a second one before my thirst was slaked. Still, I needed to start a
third bottle before I was able to ask questions.

  “What happened? Why are we still alive?”

  Cam looked critically at me. “Oh good. So you’re not brain damaged.”

  “I also have no physical disabilities.” To prove it, I flipped him the bird. I was still very weak and it cost me to do that, but the look on his face made it worth it. “Now, tell me what happened.”

  Bodean looked at me and uttered one final profanity. “Cluster fuck. That’s what happened.” His words were slurred and he looked like he was having trouble focusing his eyes.

  Cam sat down heavily on the ground and looked old to me for the only time since I’ve known him. “What he means is that there was a confluence of events that resulted in catastrophic failure of our carefully made plans.” Ticking off each incident on his fingers, Cam enumerated the series of events that led us to our current situation. “I was removed from the scene by the discovery of the artifact in the field, thus destroying implementation of plan B when plan A failed. Plan B needed both of us to work and I abandoned you.” I was about to contradict him when he shushed me and continued. “Plan C failed when Zackie departed. She really had no choice in the matter. Hannah was dying.”

  I immediately sat up and looked for Lucas. My head started spinning and I thought for a moment that I would vomit up all the coconut water. Cam forced my head between my knees and told me to breathe before he continued. “Lucas was called to the hospital a few minutes ago. I’m quite sure he didn’t make it in time, so she got her wish. I do think Zackie was with her, so we can at least be grateful for that.”

  I sat up again, but more slowly. “But Lucas said she was doing well, that they had a really good day together yesterday.”

  Cam shrugged. “I think she willed herself well enough for long enough to give him one last good memory and then sent him packing when she knew death was imminent.” He sighed deeply. “Anyway, the thing that saved our hides was the object. I threatened to destroy it and the Entity backed off. It’s quite fragile, so it would have been easy to do.”

  I lay down again and felt immediately better. “What was the object and how did you know the threat would work?”

  “It’s a cross, but it’s badly corroded from being in the ground for so long. As to how I knew the threat would work, I didn’t. I took a chance.”

  I looked at him from under my lashes. “You seem to do that a lot and somehow, it works.”

  Cam lifted a shoulder non-committally. “You and Bodean had also weakened it. I don’t think it could have won another fight.”

  Smiling faintly, I intoned the sacred words. “Yeah, you should see the other guy.” I was feeling really tired, but there was one last thing I worried about. “What about the searchers? How are we going to explain this to them?”

  Cam lifted the corner of his mouth in a partial grin. “They never saw anything that went on at the pit. The only thing they noticed was Zackie running around and the sky growing dark. A dog running amuck is nothing interesting to them. They see it all the time when a high drive dog needs to burn some energy. As for the sky, they thought it might be an eclipse or some other celestial event.”

  “Oh, okay. That’s good then.” My eyes shut and I fell into a peaceful sleep for a few blessed minutes. Eventually, Parmelia patted my arm and told me it was time for us to go. I got up with her help, while Cam worked on getting Bodean off the ground. Somehow, we managed to get to Cam’s truck and my car. The walking wounded claimed the shotgun seats and Parmelia and Cam drove the vehicles to his house. Bodean made it to the couch and passed out. I thought this was such an excellent idea that I went to Parmelia’s futon and crashed. I awoke several hours later to find myself precariously balanced on the edge of the mattress. Zackie had joined me at some point and was slowly and insistently forcing me from the bed as she spread out to claim it. I ceded the sleeping space and went to drink some more coconut water.

  # # #

  Cam called Lucas as the sun began to set. He was alone with his grief and still numb with shock, but Lucas being Lucas, he had already organized the funeral and made the calls to family and friends. Cam brought him to the house to feed him and offer what comfort we could. Lucas wasn’t ready to talk and just ate mechanically, Parmelia piling more food on his plate when his attention was elsewhere. He had lost some weight over the grueling months of balancing hospital visits with a 24/7 work schedule. Lucas’ phone buzzed even now and he just took it out and stared at it blankly, letting it ring. I gently removed the phone from his hand and turned it off, leaving it face down on the table. Cam replaced the device with a tumbler of scotch and then handed out more to the rest of us.

  Raising his glass, Cam made a quiet toast. “To Hannah.” We all took a drink in her memory and then Lucas tilted his head back and determinedly drained his glass. Shrugging, Cam refilled it and let him drink. We made quiet conversation as Lucas drowned his sorrows. Eventually, I went to our vehicles and pulled out sleeping bags and sleeping pads from our SAR supplies and brought them into the house for Lucas and me to use that night. Cam nodded his approval, since Lucas was becoming increasingly inebriated and I could not be trusted to stay awake behind the wheel.

  # # #

  By morning, I was feeling more myself. Bodean had heavy bruising around his throat, but was otherwise returning to his normal vigor. Of all of us, Lucas was in the worst shape, sitting at the breakfast table in a terrible state of hangover, but uncomplaining. The three of us sat around the table, while Cam cooked breakfast in the kitchen. Parmelia was still sleeping, drained from her part in yesterday’s fiasco, so we kept our voices low.

  Not knowing what to do for Lucas, I got up to get him a bottle of coconut water. “Here, drink this. I don’t know if it will do you any good…”

  “Thanks.” His voice was rusty, but I was happy that he was talking. He needed a shave and his eyes were an appalling shade of bloodshot. I marveled that he was still incredibly attractive with a raging hangover and bed-head and my eyes lingered a bit too long. Resisting the urge to smooth his hair, I folded my hands on my lap and turned my head to look away, but ended up staring into the eyes of Bodean. He simply raised an eyebrow, but said nothing. I was saved from further embarrassment by the arrival of breakfast and Lucas’ rapid departure from the table.

  As we devoured the French toast, Cam reminded us that we still had a job to complete. “We may be damaged, but so is the Entity. We need to strike again soon and finish this.”

  Bodean swirled a piece of the eggy bread in syrup and drawled out his question. “So, we damn near kill ourselves getting that artifact yesterday. How’s it gonna help us to finish this?”

  “The object was a corroded silver cross. It was roughly of the size and shape that a nineteenth century clergyman could have owned. While the rest of you were comatose last night, I looked up some information on the Reverend Jacob Castner.”

  I struggled for a moment to recall our discussion about the Changewater murders. It seemed so long ago… “Wait, he was the one who officiated at the funerals and drove up the bloodlust for revenge, right?”

  “The very same.” Cam downed the last of his coffee and dabbed his lips with a napkin.

  Bodean put down his fork and folded his arms across his chest. “Again, how does this help us?”

  I brightened and leaned forward. “Can we just destroy the cross and this will rid us of the Entity?”

  Cam rolled his eyes at me. “Don’t you think I would have done that while we stood in the field if this were the case?”

  I expertly rolled my eyes right back at him. “Then why did it all stop when you threatened to destroy the cross?”

  “The spirit backed down not because its existence is linked with this object, but only because the cross is still sacred to it.” Cam paused and lifted a shoulder. “And maybe because it does not want to draw divine attention to itself. It has a lot to answer for.”

  Bodean sighed dramatically. “Focus people! Back to the point. What did y
ou learn and how can we use it to finish this business? I got a bunch of goats waiting for me at home and a herder who doesn’t know his ass from a hoof.”

  I cocked my head at him. “So, you really did have problems finding a goatherd?”

  Bodean glared at me. “What did I just say about focusing?” I ducked my head and turned back to Cam, who was drumming his fingers on the table.

  “As I was saying, we may now have the identity of the Entity. This may help because the Entity’s personal symbolism of appearing as a dark, unknowable mass strikes me as a deliberate attempt to hide his identity. Once he can no longer act in anonymity, we may be able to persuade him that the jig is up and he needs to move on.” Cam caught my dubious look. “Don’t look at me like that. This has worked before with spirits who were trying to hide their guilt for something they had done.”

  I shook my head, still not a believer. “Let me work through this. I need a rationale.” Rubbing my lip while I assembled the facts in my mind, I tried to apply some logic to the illogical to understand why things were in their current state. “Reverend Castner was a troublemaker and caused the deaths of two innocent men because of his rabble-rousing. In death, he held hostage all parties who were unjustly affected by the murders. And he didn’t want his identity to be known.” I scrunched my face and concentrated for a long moment. “He’s holding them hostage because they are witnesses to his misdeeds. There was never justice for the murder victims because of him. And the hanged men, well, that was kind of a homicide instigated by him. He does not want them to move on because he is afraid that he will finally be made accountable if they bear witness against him.” I looked hopefully at Cam and Bodean.

  Cam shrugged. “Could be. If you think hard enough, you might come up with something else that makes sense.”