Paranormal After Dark

by Rebecca Hamilton

Logan looked at Ethan. A feral cry rose in his throat, and he raised the bat.

  Where was Smith? She could barely hold the gun.

  "Shoot him!" Ethan shouted again.

  The bat came crashing down on Ethan, and Claire gasped at the ferocity of it. She steadied the gun.

  Ethan raised his arm to defend himself from another blow, but Logan was too fast. The bat smashed Ethan's arm. The sound of his bone snapping hurt her ears. Ethan cried out, but when Logan raised the bat again, he yelled, "Now, Claire! He's changing!"

  She put her finger over the trigger. Her best friend was in her line of sight. Memories of their childhood flashed like a movie reel. Logan teaching her to ride a bike. Logan diving into the canal to save her when she was only nine. Logan eating lunch with her on the first day of junior high. Logan comforting her at her father's trial.

  As the bat swung down, Claire knew what she had to do. She closed her eyes and pressed the trigger. The gunshot rocked the frame of the house, and she stumbled backward.

  Logan's body twisted around from the shock of the blast. It took him a second to realize what had happened, but when he did, his eyes met hers. "What have you done?"

  The bat fell to the floor, and he dropped to his knees. Blood seeped through his yellow t-shirt on his right shoulder and ran down the length of his arm.

  Ethan was slow to get up, but he made it to her and drew her attention away from Logan. "Let's get out of here,” he said and gently pushed on her back to guide her from the house.

  She tucked the gun back into her pants and did as he asked.

  As soon as they were in the pouring rain, he said, "We have to get as far away from here as possible. I can't fight Gage, even if he's injured."

  But Claire wasn't listening. She was moving toward Smith’s patrol car. Through the rain she could see his dark figure hunched over in the driver’s seat. Why wasn’t he moving? Her steps felt slow, like wading through deep water.

  She rounded the front of the car. The driver’s side window was smashed in. Glass, like miniature diamonds, were sprinkled across his slumped-over back. As she drew closer, she saw more glass, but they didn’t look like diamonds anymore. They were rubies, crushed into the back of his open skull.

  The drops of rain suddenly felt like ice picks piercing her skin. Her legs gave out, and she would've fallen if it hadn't been for Ethan who caught her. He spun her around to face him. "I know this is all happening fast, but we have to run. Please! I can't carry you."

  She looked down. His arm was bent funny. Broken. Like Smith’s head. It was all too much.

  Just then a sound erupted from the house. "

  Claire!" Logan roared.

  Fight, Claire.

  The emotion behind his cry jerked her into action. She took Ethan's good hand and ran. "Let's go to the police station," she yelled over the sound of thunder.

  "No! That's where he'll expect us to go," he said, gasping for breath. "Let's go to the cliffs. We can hide there."

  For how long? she wondered, but kept silent.

  They sprinted into the forest, up and over logs, between brush, and ignoring tree limbs that snagged at their arms and legs. Just keep moving. She focused on her footing through the rough, wet terrain. Her lungs burned and her muscles felt like they were going to explode.

  Finally, they burst from the forest and ran toward the beach. The sand sucked at her feet, threatening to slow her down. She pushed harder, trying to keep up with Ethan.

  "Ethan!" she called, breathless and shaking, whether from exhaustion or the fact that she'd just shot her best friend or seen the only man she considered to be her father dead, she couldn't be sure.

  Ethan continued to pull her, but glanced back over his shoulder. A cold light, like fire on ice, flashed in his eyes. He was excited, not scared. How could he be excited?

  And then she knew the truth.

  She let go of his hand and slowed, almost fell.

  Ethan stopped. "What are you doing? We're almost there." He motioned down the beach.

  Claire followed his gaze. The cliffs weren't far away. But instead of walking toward them, she went toward the ocean, her legs weak and unsteady. At one point she stumbled, but righted herself again. Rain poured from above, soaking every part of her, but she wasn’t cold. Tears of the angels, her mother had once said.

  "What are you doing?" Ethan shouted over the downpour. "We have to hurry!"

  She ignored him, but she couldn't talk if she had wanted to. Her chest heaved as she tried to keep herself from hyperventilating, and it was hard to see through the tears clouding her vision. She stopped moving only when the sea's foam wrapped around her ankles.

  "Where are you going, Claire?" Ethan said, a tone much lower than his normal voice.

  Claire continued to ignore him. She scanned the dark horizon, searching for a ray of light. Something she could hold on to. Smith had said one would be there if she searched hard enough.

  "Why do you always have to be so difficult?" Ethan asked.

  And then she saw it. The white sails of a sailboat braving the waters of an impossible storm.

  Claire removed the gun from the back of her pants, turned around, and pointed it at Ethan's chest. He didn't look surprised.

  "How long have you been wearing that mask?" she asked.

  Ethan smiled, but it wasn't his smile. Not really. It was Gage’s, full of cruelty and all things that suck life from the world.

  "You won't shoot me," he said.

  She asked again, louder this time. "How long have you been wearing that mask?"

  "For awhile. Poor Albert."

  "Albert?"

  "Ethan's first name. Nerdy, isn't it? No wonder he never told anyone." Ethan's face twitched, then tightened for just a moment, but in that fraction of a second, Claire saw Gage.

  "Where's Ethan?" The gun shook in her hands.

  "He's here,” he tapped on his forehead. “Trapped in a cage. Helpless. I can hear him screaming now. Man, is he pissed." He moved toward her.

  "Can he hear me?"

  "If I let him. He sees and hears only what I want him to." Gage reached into his pocket with his good arm and pulled out a syringe. "You missed your dose. You—”

  He doubled over and cried out in pain. "Get back!" he shouted. "This doesn't concern you!"

  Confused, she stepped back.

  Ethan looked up at her, but with Gage’s eyes. His face transformed again for a fraction of a second. "Your boyfriend thinks he can control me," Gage said.

  And in that moment, his eyes changed back. Not cruel, but soft and full of love. "Shoot me, Claire. Please," Ethan begged. But just as quickly the love was replaced by hate.

  Gage, who was still wearing Ethan’s face, straightened and rolled his shoulders back. With a shake of his arm, the broken bone snapped back into place and seemed to heal itself. "No reason keeping up pretenses. Now be a good girl and stop moving."

  His hair began to darken and when he walked his legs shifted unnaturally, as if the bones in his body were shifting, turning him into something new and dangerous. He was only a few feet away. Claire had maybe seconds until he entirely transformed.

  "You'll thank me later," Gage said. "I promise. I'm about to give you a better life."

  She smiled. An honest, genuine smile.

  "I already have a good life,” she said and pulled the trigger. The gun fired and drilled a bullet into his Gage’s chest, knocking him off his feet. He fell onto his back and into shallow water.

  Claire dropped the gun and sank to her knees. Now she felt the cold. It seemed to seep into her skin freezing every part of her.

  "Claire?" The voice was soft. Kind.

  "Ethan?" She crawled over to him and lifted his head onto her lap to keep the water and blood from washing onto his face. So much blood. It poured from his body, but just as fast, the rain washed it away. She pressed her hand to the gaping wound.

  "Thank you," he whispered.

  She shook her head, hot tears burning her co
ld cheek. Ethan’s eyes closed and she shook him. "No, Ethan. Please. You can fight this. Please!”

  She shook his body, pounded on his chest. Anything to get him to open his eyes again. “Come on, Ethan. Wake up!”

  But his eyes remained closed. Claire frantically searched for a pulse on his neck. When she found none, her head dropped. “This wasn't supposed to happen. Not with you.”

  The rain drowned her words, took her tears, and together with the blood, the sea carried them away. “You taught me to love again,” she whispered.

  Claire allowed herself one minute. One minute to grieve. One minute to say goodbye. That’s all she dared take knowing that Logan was back at her house still hurt. But those sixty seconds were the most painful of her whole life.

  When the time passed, she gently laid Ethan's head down, water wrapping him in a cold embrace. She stood up and faced the sea. The sailboat was still there. Still fighting.

  She turned around and walked away from the man she loved. The man she had killed.

  Chapter 43

  CLAIRE’S HAND FELT cold over Logan's warm one. She still hadn't warmed up even though it had been four days.

  Logan moaned and his eyes tightened. He still hurt a lot even though he'd never admit it. At least when he was sleeping he grimaced less. This was pain she had caused.

  Kate stuck her head into the hospital room. "How long are you going to wait?" she whispered.

  "Until he's awake," Claire said. She was glad Kate had come with her. She hadn't been ready to say goodbye to her last night.

  "I’m going to get some breakfast,” Kate said. “You want anything?"

  "Maybe something I can eat in the car."

  Kate nodded once and took her head back.

  Logan moaned again and tried to turn over, but his bandaged shoulder stopped him. He grumbled and fought at the sheets.

  She let go of his hand. "Logan?"

  He relaxed and opened his eyes. "How long have you been here?"

  "A little while."

  "I thought you were coming later for my big release party?"

  "How are you feeling?" she asked.

  "Better."

  "Liar."

  Logan attempted to sit up. He managed not to cry out, but the pain was evident in his face. "See? I'm fine."

  "Not really."

  "You can stop feeling guilty, Claire. It wasn't your fault. If I hadn't gone in there, guns a-blazing you probably wouldn't have shot me. It’s just that, when I saw Smith, I lost it."

  Her chest tightened and she tugged at a strap from the backpack sitting on the floor next to her.

  "Look at me," he said. "You didn't know. He fooled us all."

  "Uh-huh." She twisted the black strap around her fingers.

  "What's with the bag?"

  She looked down. "I'm leaving."

  Logan was quiet, then, "For how long?"

  "I don’t know. Maybe until second semester. I'm going to stay with my aunt in Portland."

  He turned and looked out the window. "How was the funeral?"

  Claire leaned back. Smith’s funeral was yesterday. She had sat next to his wife. They both cried. “It was good. For a funeral.”

  “I’m going to miss him,” he said.

  She took his hand. “Me, too.”

  “So Johnson’s going to take care of everything?”

  Claire nodded, remembering what happened after she had shot Ethan. She’d raced back to the house and called an ambulance for Logan, who was unconscious on the floor. Then she called Officer Johnson and attempted to explain what had happened. He was one of the few who knew what was going on. It took her four tries, but finally she managed to say it all. The tears came when she mentioned Smith.

  Tom, who was a Lieutenant under Smith and the senior most officer, handled everything. According to the reports, Ethan had been secretly stalking Claire for some time. He was the one who had caused Claire’s car accident, and who had killed Smith and shot Logan (Logan easily backed up the story). After Ethan had supposedly shot Logan back in the house, Claire managed to get away from him by running into the woods and to the ocean where they fought. They’d wrestled and the gun went off.

  "Have they found his body yet?" Logan asked.

  She shook her head. By the time Johnson and the other officers had gone out to look for Ethan, his body was gone. The tide had gone out and carried his body to sea. Claire liked this thought. The sea was a beautiful, peaceful place. Just what Ethan needed.

  "And what about Bodian?" he asked.

  "Have you seen the news this morning?”

  Logan’s eyes flashed to the blank TV in the corner. “Not yet. What happened?”

  “They announced they were shutting down their research division due to a lack of funds. Several people were let go.”

  His face brightened. “That’s great! We won, Claire.”

  “Won?” She frowned. “We didn’t win anything.”

  “But Bodian’s gone. And Gage, too. They must’ve realized his trail would lead back to them somehow.”

  “I don’t think so, but it doesn’t matter. I have everything I need." Claire patted the bag. Logan was the only one who knew that she had broken into Smith's office the night before to steal his files on Bodian.

  Logan ran his hand over the bandage on his shoulder. "I wish you'd let me help."

  "I'm sure I'll need your help soon."

  "So you're coming back?"

  Claire stood up. "Eventually. The world needs to know what Bodian did."

  She leaned over and gave him a long, gentle hug. "I'll call you.”

  "I'll be waiting."

  Before she left the room, she glanced back at him. He was staring out the window so she couldn't see his face. If only she had listened to him. But what would she have done differently?

  She thought about that question the whole way to the cafeteria where she found Kate.

  "How'd it go?" Kate asked.

  "Fine."

  Kate patted a seat next to her. "Me and Steph will take care of him.”

  "I'm counting on it." She sat next to her.

  "Did Steph come by and see you last night?"

  Claire leaned into the table, resting her chin on her hands. "Yeah. She brought me a road trip bag full of pop and candy."

  "That was nice of her."

  "Hey, Claire!" a voice called from across the cafeteria.

  She turned around. Standing in the doorway was Corey. He looked like he hadn't slept in days. His hair was messy and his clothes wrinkly.

  "One sec," she said to Kate and walked over to him. "What do you want?"

  He shifted his body weight from one leg to another and looked around the room as if deciding how much of a scene to make. Gratefully there were several others around.

  "I don't care what everyone's saying about Ethan,” he said, his voice low. “I know he wasn't a killer, and I know he wasn't stalking you. And for whatever reason, he loved you."

  Claire softened her voice. "Why are you here?"

  "You ruined his life," he said. "Do you know that? He had plans, big plans. I told him you were going to mess up his life, but he wouldn't listen."

  "I'm sorry. Really, I am." She reached out to touch him, but he jerked away.

  Corey’s lips pressed tight. He seemed like he was struggling to say something. Finally he looked at her and said, "About a week ago Ethan gave me something to give to you in case anything should happen to him. I told him he was crazy, but he made me promise."

  He removed a folded up envelope in his hand and waved it in her face. "Ethan knew something was going to happen to him. How? What did you do to him?"

  "I didn't do anything," she said, her eyes focused on the envelope.

  "One way or another, I'm going to find out. And then you're going to pay, do you understand?" He dropped the letter at her feet and walked away.

  Claire remained still for almost a minute before she finally bent over to pick up the envelope. When she did, she dropped in
to the nearest chair, smiled at Kate so she'd know everything was okay, then opened the letter. It read:

  Claire,

  If you're reading this then, thank you. It means you've done what I couldn't do—free me from Gage. I knew you would be strong enough to do it.

  You probably have a million questions, and I wish I could answer them all but I only have a short time before Gage finds out what I'm doing. He's hurt and needs to rest somewhere deep inside my mind. But I have to tell you what I've seen and heard.

  Bodian’s strong, stronger than you can imagine. They've unleashed others just as scary as Gage, but without the attitude. They take orders like perfect soldiers. Gage found them inside a big warehouse-like building about thirty minutes outside of Bandon. Bodian wanted him to find these guys to frighten him into submission. I don’t think it worked. He fought one of them and barely escaped with his life. Bodian could’ve killed him then if they had wanted, but they let him go.

  I believe they have big plans for him. And for you. They know Gage gave you some injections. I'm only telling you this, not to scare you, but to tell you that they're coming. They think you belong to them now. I wish I knew how to stop them, but I only have a name: Dr. Prescott. Lastly, there’s a cure, Claire. It’s the only thing that terrifies Gage. Find this cure. It may be your only protection from Bodian.

  I'm sorry I wasn't stronger. I'm sorry for everything. Remember to be strong. I love you, Claire.

  Ethan

  Claire read the letter three more times before she finally folded it up and put in her pocket.

  "Everything okay?" Kate asked when Claire returned to the table.

  "It will be." She picked up her bag and swung it over her shoulder. "Walk me out?"

  "Of course."

  "So what now?" Kate opened the front door of the hospital.

  "We move on," Claire said. The files in her bag felt heavier.

  "But what fun will that be if we can’t move on together?”

  "Actually," she said. "I just decided that I’m coming back. I’ll just take a couple of weeks to regroup."

  Kate stopped at Claire's car. "Serious? How come? I didn’t think you’d ever come back here."

  A raven flew overhead. "That was before." She slid behind the steering wheel. "I have unfinished business here."