Spirits In the Trees

by Morgan Hannah MacDonald

  While removing the tee-shirt, she caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror out of the corner of her eye. Abruptly she made an about-face and stared at her reflection. Her right cheek bore the purplish print of a hand, her left eye was almost swollen shut. “My, God, I look like a monster!” she gasped.

  She stood frozen in time as if hypnotized by the stranger staring back at her. A tear slipped down her cheek, she wiped it away, then turned back around. As she lifted her foot up over the side of the tub, she noticed a black and blue ring around her ankle. She checked the other, she had a matching set of anklet-shaped bruises.

  With clenched teeth, she eased her way down into the tub carefully favoring her sore ribs while immersing herself up to her chin. She laid her head back, closed her eyes, and let the warm liquid work its magic on her ravaged body.

  Time passed while she thought of nothing but how good the water felt. Then her mind wondered back to the present. She would pack up all her belongings and check into the Moose Head lodge for the remainder of her stay on Isabelle Island.

  The house had been relatively safe during the daylight hours. She would rather just leave and never come back, but she couldn’t do that to her grandmother or her aunt. How the hell was she going to sell this house?

  There were ghoulish people who would actually buy a house because it was reportedly haunted, but she was certain those people were few and far between. She decided she would worry about that later when it came time to put it on the market. The last thought lingered as she closed her eyes.

  A crisp breeze tickled her face. Maddy’s eyes flew open and stared toward the door.

  Closed.

  “No!”

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  Maddy jumped up. Invisible hands pushed down on her shoulders and she landed on her rear with a giant splash. She didn’t wait to find out what would happen next, she scrambled to get out of the water.

  Not fast enough.

  Large hands gripped her bruised ankles. “Let me go!” She clutched the sides of the tub.

  One swift yank and her wet hands slipped. She opened her mouth to scream, but got a mouthful of water instead. Her arms flailed about while searching blindly for the sides of the tub. Once she had found them, she pulled herself up and gasped for air. Success was short lived. Just as quickly she was plunged back down under the water. Now on her back, her legs held straight up in the air, it was impossible to sit up from this position.

  Maddy struggled against her unseen assailant. Kicking and punching, but never striking anything solid. She didn’t know how long she could keep this up. He was toying with her. He would release her ankles just long enough for her to catch a breath, then back under the water she went.

  Exhausted, she found her will to fight dissipate. What was the point? In her weakened state, she thought about her daughter and her husband. Death would actually be a blessing. She could be with them once again. No more fear. No more pain. She stopped fighting and relaxed. Now at peace with her decision.

  Gazing up from the bottom of the bathtub the image of her daughter, Emma Rose, came into view. Maddy smiled and closed her eyes.

  * * *

  By the time Doug arrived back at the station it was early evening and he hit the showers. Back at his locker, he grabbed the towel from his waist, ran it over his head a couple times, then tossed it into a nearby hamper.

  He threw on a pair of pants before he snatched up his cell phone. If he didn’t get hold of Maddy this time, he’d call every damn person on the island. Within the hour he should have a report. Most of the guys were downstairs, so he found himself a quiet corner.

  As he dialed the number, he prayed she would answer and put him out of his misery. After ten rings he hung up and called Lanny’s house, Angie answered.

  “Hey Ang, have you talked to Maddy today?”

  “No, and I’m getting worried. Thank God you called. I’ve tried getting her on the phone, but she doesn’t answer. I’d drive over, but I can’t.”

  “Why can’t you?”

  “I hurt my right hand and I can’t use the gear shift.” Angie sounded irritated, like he’d just asked a stupid question.

  “What’d you do, break it?”

  “No. Look, it’s a long story, forget about it for now.” She huffed. “You’ve got to get her out of that house, Doug, it’s dangerous!”

  “Whoa, what do you mean, what’s dangerous? Has she been hurt?” Typical Angie. “What did you do, Ang, tell me!”

  “Listen, you’ve just got to trust me on this one. Get her out of that house immediately! Do not pass go, do not collect $200.00. Like I said, I’d do it myself, but I can’t. I tried to get Lanny to help, but he’s being a dickhead like usual. It’s up to you, Doug. Now, go!” Angie slammed the phone in his ear.

  As he listened to the dial tone he wondered what he was supposed to do? He couldn’t just leave, he was on duty. He walked back to his bunk and sat down. Resting his head in his hands, he reviewed his conversation with Angie.

  She always was a bit overly dramatic. He had dated her in high school for all of about five minutes. Even as a randy seventeen year-old, he couldn’t keep up with her.

  She’d show up at all hours of the night, climb up the trellis outside his bedroom and let herself in the window. She about gave him a heart attack the first time. She always wanted sex. His parents slept in the next room and she wasn’t exactly what anyone would call the quiet type.

  So he would follow her into the woods where they would make love, then sit up all night talking about their futures. The excitement eventually waned. He wasn’t up to those midnight rendezvous every night. He was turning into a walking zombie. His grades slipped and his parents were concerned he was on drugs or something.

  Angie wouldn’t take no for an answer, she had quite the hot temper so he had to end it. She didn’t talk to him for the rest of their Junior year, make that the rest of high school, period.

  Doug didn’t know what to do. Yes, Angie was easily excitable, but there was something in her tone, or maybe his own anxiety gnawing at him. Either way, he had to figure out a way to get to Maddy.

  * * *

  Maddy opened her eyes, she wasn’t dead. Instead she was lying on her bed staring at the ceiling, naked. Her robe lay haphazardly across her stomach as if someone had tossed it. Instantly she jumped up, she was getting out of there. It was obvious this thing wanted her dead. If she waited any longer it would accomplish just that. She didn’t take the time to dress, just wrapped herself in the robe and ran!

  She’d made it to the front door without incident, but of course the damn knob wouldn’t turn. She raced to the back with the same result.

  “You can’t keep me here, you bastard. I’m going to get out whether you like it or not!” Her voice echoed back at her.

  A loud deep moan rumbled throughout the house in answer. The sound deafening. She clapped her hands over her ears. Terror crept up her like steam in a kettle. Her heart thundered in her chest like a bass drum. Now she had pissed him off. She’d already seen what he was capable of. She had to get out. Now!

  Maddy sped toward the living room and grabbed the first thing she could get her hands on, the nearest end table. She hoisted it as high as she could and shoved it through the front window. It shattered into a thousand pieces.

  Without bothering to clear the way, she began to climb over the ledge and cut her calf on a shard of protruding glass. Without warning, her head snapped back. Someone had grabbed a fistful or her hair and yanked hard. She screamed as she toppled backward and slammed unmercifully onto the floor with a loud smack! The fall pushed the air from of her lungs.

  Before she could even think about scrambling away, she felt that same tug on her hair again. Her robe-clad body slid easily across the hardwood floor toward the base of the stairs.

  Maddy kicked and screamed while trying to grab onto things as she passed by; the sofa, a chair, the banister, finally she held onto the roots of her hair before they were pulled
out of her head. Bump, bump, bump went the back of her head against each hard step.

  “I told you that you could never leave me, Madeline. That I would see you dead first.” The deep voice growled.

  She tried to turn her head to catch a glimpse of her antagonist, it was useless, he was too strong. When she reached the top of the stairs, she was mildly relieved until she found herself being dragged toward the front of the house.

  Painfully her head dropped onto the floor in the master bedroom with a clunk. Stunned, she lay there a moment before she felt the unseen hands again lifting her into the air. She landed on the bed like a sack of potatoes.

  Before she knew what was happening, both her arms were thrust above her head, pinned hard. Her robe flew open, then it felt like a knee being thrust between her legs. It slammed against her groin. “Umph!” She grunted. A wave of nausea hit her and she swallowed down the bile lest she choke.

  This can’t be happening! Suddenly she remembered that movie with Barbara Hershey, The Entity. Now she realized it probably was a true story. And to think she and her friends had laughed. A woman being raped by a ghost, ridiculous. This was a harsh way to be proved wrong.

  * * *

  Doug’s disquiet had turned into full blown panic. He jumped off the bunk and ran to his locker to retrieve his keys. He found the captain and explained he had a family emergency. He was out the door and in his truck before the captain could respond.

  Like a mad man he drove to the ferry, only to have to wait once he got there. His mind was reeling, Maddy was in danger. He just knew it. At this point he didn’t care if he was being irrational or not, he had to see her. Now!

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Doug’s truck screeched to a halt in the driveway. Motor running, he leapt from the cab and sprinted toward the Heller house. An end table lay on the porch surrounded by glass, the front window obliterated.

  His deepest fears confirmed.

  The front door stood ajar, he leaned in, “Maddy?” his voice tentative. He cautiously stepped inside and looked around. The living room furniture was carelessly strewn throughout the place. He had to scoot a chair aside to get past the threshold.

  “Maddy, are you here?” He shoved the couch out of the way. The house was silent, but for his calls. He searched the downstairs, including the backyard. Now he was back where he started, at the base of the stairs.

  He looked up the stairwell to the second level, then back down; his eyes rested on a brown puddle at his feet. He bent down, dipped a finger in the liquid, tested the consistency, then smelled it. The coppery odor unmistakable.

  Blood.

  Heart stopped, mouth dry, “Maddy!” His yell echoed throughout the house. Pumped with adrenaline, he gripped the banister with white knuckles as he raced up the stairs two-by-two barely aware of the bloodstained path on the way.

  He burst through her bedroom door scanning the room, closet and bathroom, before heading down the hall. “Dammit, Maddy, answer me!”

  He admonished himself for not leaving work sooner. If only he’d been here. If only…he threw open the door to the master bedroom and abruptly came to a halt. A figure lay frighteningly still on the bed. He crept into the room, as if loathe to disturb the sleeping person. As he neared the prone naked body he gasped.

  He’d found her.

  Black. Blue. Purple. Bruises covered her entire body, her face swollen beyond recognition. “Jesus, Maddy,” he whispered. “Dammit, this can’t be happening.” He dropped to his knees next to the bed, tears flooded his eyes. He placed his fingers on her carotid artery. “Thank, God.” He felt a pulse.

  He swallowed. “Babe, can you hear me?” He stroked her hair as he spoke softly in her ear. “Come on, honey, open your beautiful eyes for me, okay?” He choked out. “Move a finger, a toe, anything at all.”

  “What kind of sick fuck could do this?” he said through clenched teeth. “I’ll kill him,” his voice deep, gravely. “I will find the bastard and kill him with my bare hands!” He wanted to hit something.

  Instead he swatted the tears from his face, dumped his emotions, and went into work mode. Before moving her, he checked her body for broken bones. He noticed blood, but not the source. Gently he rolled her on her side, blood clotted on the back of her head, her hair was matted with it. He grabbed the blanket off the floor, wrapped her up. Hoisting her into his arms, he left the house.

  He tore out of the drive in a cloud of dust, heading to the other side of the island. He made it to the hospital in record time, his truck screeching to a halt in front.

  He jumped out and rushed through the double doors yelling, “I’ve got an emergency here, grab a gurney!” With that he raced back out to the truck to retrieve Maddy.

  By the time he turned with her in his arms, a man was behind him ready to take the patient. He laid her down gently, then followed alongside the gurney until he came head to head with the doctor.

  “What happened to this woman?” he asked Doug.

  “I’m not certain. I found her unconscious like this. There’s been head trauma; she’ll need a CT scan. I also noticed blood on the sheets, could be a rape. She also has a giant gash on her leg. I briefly checked her body for broken bones; she has a bad bruise on her left side. Probably a broken rib or two, she’ll need x-rays. I haven’t touched her face.”

  “Are you in the medical profession?”

  “Fireman, paramedic training.”

  “I see. Are you a relative?”

  “Friend.”

  “Well, friend, don’t go anywhere. I may have some more questions for you.” He turned around, “Nurse, get a rape kit. We’re going to need to take specimens before we clean her up. And somebody get the sheriff down here STAT!”

  A nurse entered the room with Maddy, a curtain was promptly drawn around them.

  Doug felt helpless, his job was done. He headed for the waiting room. Sat down, crossed his arms across his chest, stretched his long legs out in front of him and stared at the silent television on the wall. He didn’t like waiting on the sidelines.

  Thirty minutes later, Grady walked through the double doors. “Hey, Doug, what brings you here?”

  Doug jumped to his feet. Finally, someone who can get me some answers. “It’s Maddy. I found her beaten within an inch of her life, maybe raped even. I’m going crazy just sitting here, waiting.” His hands shook and he shoved them into his pockets before the Sheriff noticed.

  Grady patted him on the back. “I’m headed back there now. Let me see what I can find out.” Grady disappeared through the ER door as Doug wore a hole in the carpet. He couldn’t sit a moment longer.

  An hour later the doctor approached Doug.

  “She’s stable, but we will have to move her to St. Mary’s on the mainland. Life flight is on the way.”

  “Can I see her?”

  “She’s not conscious-.” The doctor stopped mid-sentence. “Well, I don’t see the harm.”

  Doug followed him back down the hall to her room. He pulled a chair next to the bed and reached out for her hand. He needed to touch her.

  Gently he held it and stroked her fingers. Her hand appeared small in his. She looked so frail, so helpless. Nothing like the sassy independent woman he had come to know. He wasn’t sure if it was love, but he choked up at the thought of losing her.

  He rested his head on the side of the bed. He must have dozed off, he awoke to a clanging behind him.

  “I’m sorry, sir, but you’ll have to move while we load her up,” came the voice of a young EMT.

  Doug stood and moved out of the way to give them the space they needed. He watched as they disappeared through a set of double doors at the end of the hall.

  Out in the parking lot, he heard the helicopter take off. He started his truck and did the same.

  * * *

  “Sir.” A nurse gently shook his arm.

  Doug awoke the next morning sprawled out across four waiting room chairs at St. Mary’s Memorial Hospital.

  He j
umped to his feet.

  “What is it? Is Maddy all right?” he asked in a shaky voice, not quite awake.

  “The doctor wants to see you.”

  He followed the woman to the nurse’s station where he found the doctor writing on a chart.

  “Good morning, my name is Dr. Stewart.” He extended his hand to Doug who shook it firmly. “Are you Maddy Anderson’s husband?”

  Doug was silent a split second before he answered, “Yes, is she going to be all right?” He hoped the lie wouldn’t come back to bite him in the ass.

  “She has several contusions, two cracked ribs and severe head trauma. No internal bleeding. There doesn’t seem to be any broken bones in the face. There is bruising consistent with rape in and around the vaginal area, but no sperm, or pubic hair. They scraped under her nails, but found no skin. So we won’t be able to get DNA or a blood type.

  “The perpetrator could have used a condom, or a foreign object. We’re going to have to do some more tests on the swelling of the brain. It’s too soon to tell if there will be any permanent brain damage. I’m sorry to have to tell you this, but your wife is in a coma.”

  Doug stared at the man, his eyes began to mist. “Can I see her?” he croaked through his constricted throat.

  “Not yet. Why don’t you go home and get some rest? You can see her tonight during regular visiting hours.

  “No, you don’t understand, I’ve got to see her!” Doug pleaded.

  “Look, I do understand this is a terrible shock for you, but they’re going to be taking her any minute now for a battery of more tests. If you leave your number with the nurse, she’ll call you if anything changes.”

  When Doug’s eyes focused, he realized he was standing in front of his truck. He reached into his pocket and fished for the keys. It took him several tries before he found the one that fit the lock. He slid behind the wheel, started the engine, and let it idle. He didn’t know what to do with himself. Then an idea came to mind.