The Haunting of Gabriel Ashe

by Poblocki, Dan

  Right, thought Gabe. Like that’ll do any good.

  LATER, INGRID INVITED THE GROUP to cheer her on during the after-school intramural field hockey game. Gabe figured it would be a good distraction. So when the last bell rang, he called his mom, then headed out to the athletic fields with Mazzy, Malcolm, and Felicia. By four o’clock, Ingrid’s team, the red jerseys, had trounced the yellows. Gabe had shouted so loudly after she’d scored two goals in a row that his throat felt raw. Ingrid promised everyone hot chocolate if they walked her home through the woods by the fields. The route was much shorter than taking the winding roads around the middle school.

  This late in the year, the sun had begun to set almost as soon as the school day ended. Now, over an hour later, the sky had turned that familiar pale indigo that came just before the arrival of stars. The air lacked the warmth that only a month earlier would have been provided by a late afternoon glow.

  In the woods, surrounded by bluish shadows, the constantly falling leaves were transporting, dreamlike. Even as Ingrid gabbed about the game, leading the group through a narrow culvert and up a small slope, for a moment, Gabe was right back in Howler’s Notch.

  He remembered his promise to ask them to stop calling Seth Stalker. But Gabe knew better than anyone that once a nickname was released into a group of eighth graders, it was impossible to retrieve. They’d simply laugh if he tried. Besides, who could say that Seth would uphold his end of the bargain?

  Suddenly, Ingrid fell forward. It happened so fast, she didn’t have time to gasp before she hit the ground. Felicia bent to help. The rest of them instinctively stepped back.

  Ingrid winced, then sat up and clutched her foot, groaning. Felicia grabbed at something lying near Ingrid’s sneaker. “What the…” She held it up. “Fishing wire.”

  The ground began to shake. From up the hill came the sound of branches snapping, of leaves being flattened. Several large rocks tumbled swiftly down the steep gully, heading right for them. “Move!” Gabe shouted.

  Mazzy noticed the avalanche and dashed up the edge of the rut as the boulders crashed through the spot where she’d been standing. Felicia wrestled with Ingrid’s T-shirt and managed to pull her out of the path just in time. Malcolm and Gabe leapt onto the small crest of ground beside them, watching as the boulders slowed and eventually stopped where the ground leveled out several feet away.

  “What the heck?” said Malcolm, gasping for breath.

  The sound of blood pounded at Gabe’s eardrums with a deafening, almost tribal beat. He glanced up and down the trail where only moments earlier they had been gathered. The broken piece of fishing line glinted slightly where it now lay. “It was a trap,” he said.

  “A trap?” said Mazzy. “Someone planned this?”

  “Someone,” echoed Felicia. “You really have no idea who it was?”

  No one spoke the answer aloud, though a name glinted clearly in each of their eyes. During lunch that day, they would have looked angry. Now, they seemed frightened.

  “How could he have planned it?” Mazzy asked. “We didn’t decide to come this way until after the game ended.”

  Ingrid struggled to stand. She placed some weight on her injured foot and flinched. “He’s a total Stalker,” she spat out. “He probably knows I walk home this way every now and again. He could have rigged up this trip wire days ago, knowing I’d eventually come by.”

  “That’s sick,” said Malcolm. “He could have killed someone.”

  Gabe cleared his throat, worried that this was getting a little too heated. “I talked to him today,” he admitted. The group stared at him, curious. “He said he didn’t do any of it. Not the Milton masquerade. Not the theft. Also…” Oh, just say it. “He asked me to tell you all to stop calling him Stalker.”

  “Fat chance now!” Felicia shouted, looking around the darkening forest as if Seth might be watching. Her voice echoed through the trees.

  “The point is,” Gabe continued, delicately, “Seth insists that he had nothing to do with what happened over the weekend.”

  “Yeah,” said Malcolm, nodding at the rocks sitting at the bottom of the slope. “But this is a different story.”

  “Ever since I moved to Slade,” said Gabe, “strange things have been happening. Especially up near my house.”

  “Like what?” asked Mazzy.

  Gabe blinked. Would they think he was nuts if he told them more? Or would they simply blame Seth again? He thought of the silhouette by the woods, the feeling that it was watching him. There was something weird in the woods, and none of them would understand until they’d seen it for themselves. Then Gabe remembered how, on Saturday night, Mazzy had stood by the window in Elyse’s library, staring out into the darkness. She’d said something about—

  “Darkness playing tricks,” Gabe said. Mazzy flicked her wide eyes toward him. She understood what he meant.

  “Someone’s playing tricks,” said Felicia, slinging Ingrid’s arm over her own shoulder. “But I’m pretty sure it’s not ‘Darkness.’ Come on. Let’s get out of here.”

  As Felicia stepped back onto the path, bypassing the broken fishing line, Gabe felt a tingle up his spine. “Watch your step,” he said, his voice cracking as he followed the group up the hill.

  SETH HOPPER DIDN’T SHOW UP at the bus stop the next morning, and Gabe didn’t encounter him at school the entire day. When classes ended, Seth never came to his locker. Things went on this way for the rest of the week. Either Seth was out sick or he was playing hooky. His absence left Gabe feeling ill himself. Since Monday, when he and his friends had come upon the elaborate trap in the woods, Gabe had wanted to see if Seth would show a hint of remorse. At least none of them had encountered any more trip wires.

  Gabe concentrated on other things. A few times, in the evening, he chatted with Mazzy about silly stuff like movies or YouTube videos. Once, over the phone, they listened to the college radio station coming out of Boston, rating each song, then comparing notes. It was almost enough to make him forget everything else.

  Stories had begun to spread around the school about a tall, broad-shouldered man who was following kids on their routes home. Some had seen him watching from the shadows of the woods near the school grounds. Others claimed he’d been walking about a block behind them, ducking out of sight when they’d turn. The tales had become so common that several parents complained to the board of education, as well as to the police, that the school needed to hire more safety officers immediately.

  At lunch, Gabe discussed these incidents with his friends, who, of course, wondered if Seth Hopper was behind all of it.

  “What doesn’t make sense is how large they say the man is,” Ingrid said. “Seth isn’t nearly as big.”

  “What about Milton?” Malcolm suggested. “Gabe’s dad’s puppet is still missing, right? If Seth’s the one who stole him, maybe he’s trying to freak everyone out by wearing it around town.”

  “What an idiot,” said Felicia, tearing into her sandwich. She slowly chewed and swallowed. “I swear, if I ever see that kid again, I’m gonna seriously give him one.”

  “One what?” Ingrid asked.

  Felicia chuckled. “I haven’t decided. Whatever it is, he’s not going to like it.” That sweet girl Gabe had met at the beginning of the year was gone. He kept silent. Didn’t all of this seem like too much trouble for one boy to cause on his own? he wondered. If so, did he have help? And from whom?

  Later, in science class, Mr. Hamill was handing out copies of a pop quiz when someone at the back of the classroom screamed.

  The students turned at once to find Melanie Gilder rise and back slowly away from her desk, which sat beside Vincent Price’s old terrarium. Since the rat’s escape, Mr. Hamill had cleaned it out, emptying the wood shavings that had filled the bottom, leaving the terrarium as barren as a new mausoleum. Now, however, something lay inside it.

  “Melanie,” said Mr. Hamill, not realizing what she’d seen, “I know these quizzes can sometimes be fright
ening, but I assure you, there is no reason to run.”

  “Uh-uh,” the girl mumbled, pointing at the case. She didn’t need to say anything more. Clearly visible through the glass, a pile of bones, bleached white, lay scattered on the terrarium’s mirrored floor. A small skull had been boiled clean. Its empty eye sockets stared blindly at the class. Vincent Price had returned, though not of his own volition, and not in the form the class had last seen him.

  Everyone burst into chatter, and once more, Mr. Hamill raised his voice. “Take your seats! Please!” This time he sounded as shaken as everyone else.

  Gabe felt the room tilt and clutched at his desk to keep himself from tipping over and landing on the floor. He caught snippets of talk, mostly one-word questions—How? Who? When? Why?—and felt shame that he was the only one who had a clue. This was the Hunter’s method. He stole away someone you cared about. And when he was done, he returned only what remained. Bones.

  BEFORE LONG THE ENTIRE SCHOOL was buzzing with speculation about what had really happened to the science room rat.

  One faction of kids guessed that a twisted student was sick of Mr. Hamill’s frequent quizzes and, in revenge, had boiled Vincent Price alive. Others surmised that Mr. Hamill himself was guilty, that he’d snapped and that one of his students would be next! A few more were convinced that the science teacher was simply teaching them a lesson about the nature of life and death, that in a couple days, he’d reveal that the bones were fake and then return the real rat to the terrarium, alive and well.

  Gabe ignored the gossip. It was only a matter of time before Seth Hopper’s name came up in connection with the strange episode. If he didn’t find his group of friends, or Felicia at least, before the end of the day, he knew they’d demonize Seth even more. Deep down, Gabe still wished to protect Seth from all that.

  Before the last period, he asked Malcolm and Mazzy to tell Felicia and Ingrid to meet him in the library as soon as possible after school. Gabe was the first one there, and he planted himself at a quiet table in the back of the room. Each of his friends arrived wearing curious expressions, but he insisted on waiting until they’d all shown up. And when Mazzy, who arrived last, sat down, he began. “This is really difficult to talk about.” No one said a word, just listened. “Some things have happened over the past few months—things that have to do with Seth Hopper.” His mouth was dry, and the sound of his lips smacking made him blush. “Ingrid, a while ago, you mentioned that your sister, Becca, heard Seth’s brother, David, talking about this game he’d created.”

  “Yeah,” said Ingrid, wrinkling her brow, “the one with the Warrior?”

  “The Hunter,” said Gabe. “His name is the Hunter. You all know that when I moved to Slade, Seth was the first person I met. We’re neighbors. Well, he invited me to play a game with him too—David’s game.”

  Felicia flinched. “You went along with it?”

  Gabe felt his face flush even hotter. “I didn’t realize that Seth and David used to play it together. I thought the two of us were making everything up as we went along. Our characters. The world itself. But Seth had been leading the way. It was easy for him because his brother had already invented most of it. Including the big bad villain that Ingrid’s sister mentioned.”

  “The Hunter,” Ingrid said.

  Mazzy leaned forward. “What is the Hunter?”

  “A deformed monster,” said Gabe. “He carries a blade and a bow and arrows to, well, hunt. Only the things he hunts are humans.”

  “Gross,” said Ingrid.

  “It was a weird game,” said Gabe, trying to sound nonchalant. “But I didn’t know anyone else in town. And Seth kept inviting me over. It took me a while to realize that he was obsessed in a way.”

  “With the game,” Malcolm said, “or with you?”

  Gabe ignored him. He breathed deeply. “What happened today in my science class, with the rat bones…According to David Hopper’s mythology, it’s a sign that the Hunter was there.”

  “I don’t understand,” said Felicia.

  “In the fantasy world of the game, our characters fought to stop the Hunter from taking village children from their beds. If he succeeded, after he finished his meal, he’d return the bones to the family. To taunt them.”

  Each one of them sat agape as Gabe’s words sunk in.

  “Everything that’s been going on…” said Mazzy.

  Gabe nodded, finding it easier to speak now. “It’s not just the rat. It’s what happened at my house last weekend. It’s the trap we discovered in the woods on Monday. It’s the dark figure kids say they’ve seen watching them from the shadows when walking home from school.”

  “I’m confused,” said Felicia. “Are you saying you know for sure that Seth is responsible for all of it?”

  Gabe shook his head. “I can’t see how he could be.”

  “Then what are you saying?”

  “Well…there’s more.” This was the worst of it. Gabe felt his heart beating faster. “After Seth tossed that carton of chocolate milk at you, I told him we couldn’t play the game anymore. He flipped out. He told me ‘The Hunter will come for you…and your friends.’”

  Felicia stood up, knocking her chair backward. It fell to the floor with a resounding thump. “He threatened us and you didn’t think it was necessary to say anything?”

  “I-I didn’t want to freak anyone out,” Gabe said.

  “Yeah, well, good job with that.” Felicia’s eyes glinted with anger. “Ingrid nearly broke her ankle this week because of him.”

  Because of you, Gabe, he heard.

  “That’s the thing though,” Gabe said, clutching at the bottom of his chair, forcing himself to go on. “Seth’s connected to it, but I don’t think he’s the one who’s responsible.”

  “Then who is?” Felicia slapped the table between them. “The Hunter?” she said, unconvinced. “Can’t you see he’s manipulating you? It’s what he does, Gabe.”

  Mazzy touched Felicia’s shoulder. “Maybe we should just listen.”

  Felicia sat down in a huff and crossed her arms.

  Gabe glanced at Mazzy, silently sending a message of appreciation. “Something strange is going on. Something bigger than us. Something bigger even than Seth. I can’t explain it. I just have this feeling. We’re targets, and we need to be careful. More careful than ever.”

  “Well, I have an idea,” said Malcolm. “We head over to his house, knock on his door, and when he answers, we kick his butt.” He paused, then added, “Carefully.”

  “I think the best thing we can do is ignore him,” Gabe answered. “Let’s not spread rumors. Or call him names. We need to just leave him alone.”

  MONDAY WAS THE START of Slade Middle School’s weeklong Halloween countdown. An event had been planned for every day, concluding with a haunted house maze in the high school gymnasium on Friday afternoon, Halloween. The kickoff was a bake sale supporting the town’s athletic programs.

  After the last bell, people gathered in the lobby. Folding tables displayed the donated goods. There were plates filled with cookies and several different kinds of cakes and pies, as well as sweet and savory breads. An enormous bowl containing what looked like a mixture of chocolate mousse, whipped cream, and ladyfinger wafers sat upon the middle table as a centerpiece. A jumbo wooden spoon pierced the dessert’s gooey heart. The aroma wafting through the halls was mesmerizing. Soon, students and parents swarmed the spread. Faculty volunteers passed money back and forth as the treats slowly disappeared into backpacks and canvas sacks and, of course, salivating mouths.

  Gabe had shown up early and purchased the largest chocolate chip cookie he could find, then stood back, picked at it, and waited for his friends to show up. That weekend, he’d taken an overnight trip into Boston with his grandfather to see the aquarium and the Museum of Science while his parents visited their old property. He didn’t have a chance to check in with anyone back in Slade, but they never reached out to him either. So things with Seth seemed to have f
inally quieted. Maybe the conversation between Gabe and his friends in the library on Friday had done the trick.

  Something in Gabe’s gut whined it wasn’t as simple as that.

  “Yo!” a voice shouted in his ear.

  Gabe nearly dropped the cookie. He turned to find Malcolm standing behind him, already doubled over with silent laughter. Gabe forced a laugh too.

  “Where are the girls?” Malcolm asked when he was able to breathe again.

  “Haven’t seen ’em.”

  “That’s odd. Felicia said she’d be here with her mom’s famous Death by Chocolate cake. She’s so proud.”

  Gabe pointed toward the eighth-grade hallway beyond the bake sale tables. Looking frazzled, Felicia clutched a plate carrying a massive Bundt cake, thick with black frosting. Mazzy and Ingrid followed a few steps behind her, purposely keeping their distance. Felicia placed the cake on the table, smoothed her hair, and then, as if by magic, transformed her face into one that exuded joy and serenity. Better for sales, Gabe figured.

  The other girls made their way to the middle of the lobby.

  “Something wrong?” Malcolm asked.

  Ingrid shook her head. “Oh, you know how she is. The frosting got messed up in the refrigerator in the teachers’ lounge. She had to make it perfect before the debut.”

  “It looks delicious anyway,” said Mazzy.

  “Should we show some support?” Gabe asked. “Before it’s all gone?”

  “We’ll never hear the end of it if we don’t,” said Malcolm, rolling his eyes.

  “Oh, the things we do for our friends,” said Mazzy. Gabe thought he heard a hint of sarcasm in her voice, but she simply smiled as if everything was as peachy as warm cobbler.

  Felicia was busy cutting thin slices of her chocolate Death. She looked like she was in heaven now—the frosting crisis forgotten. She glanced up and saw her friends approaching. She waved them forward and mouthed, Hurry!

  “I saw Seth in school today,” Mazzy whispered into Gabe’s ear.