by Lora Palmer
Kara arched an eyebrow, but all traces of her earlier mischief were gone. "Stuck. Whatever you say. Anyway, we need to go, right now," she said, grabbing my hand. "Kevin saw something at the cemetery, and the flashing lights in the forest have already started!"
Outside, we raced across the church grounds, heading for the cemetery. A full, pale moon illuminated our path as we ran, our hearts pounding at the thought of what awaited us there.
"Kevin, what happened, man?" David asked. They stood together by the cemetery gate. "You look like you’ve seen a ghost. Take a deep breath and try explaining it to me again."
Extricating myself from Kara’s grip, I hurried over to Kevin, searching his face. My eyes widened as I sensed that my brother was right. "You have seen ghosts tonight, haven’t you?"
Kevin dragged a hand through his sandy blond hair. His words tumbled out of him in an agitated rush as he paced in front of us. "Yeah, a huge crowd of them — right inside the graveyard. I tried calling Jenny to warn her, but she didn’t answer the phone. They’d disappeared by the time I got out here. The Kroftons said Jenny left about ten minutes ago after they got home from the theater, but no one’s seen her since."
"She might have gone to check out the scene and figured she’d find us there," David replied, frowning.
"Right from babysitting?" I asked. "She was supposed to meet up with us first."
I knew what my brother was thinking. David didn’t believe in ghosts, but anything that had his friend this freaked out was something to take seriously. My heart clenched as I remembered the attack and the grave I’d seen in the mirror. What if it had already happened — to Jenny?
Kara slung an arm around Kevin. "It’ll be okay, Kev. We’ll find Jenny and help those ghosts move on before they do any damage. Do you think they wanted to hurt somebody?"
The light in her eyes said it all. She saw this as an exciting opportunity to help the spirits haunting the neighborhood. Until tonight, we’d only heard stories of ghosts and aliens, but now it had turned real. This was nothing to get all spine-tingly thrilled about, as far as I was concerned. This was life and death.
"Pretty much. They sounded angry, impatient, like they wanted to tear this town apart." Kevin flashed Kara a tight grimace, then sped off toward the strange, strobing lights in the forest.
Of course, I couldn’t blame him for running headlong toward whatever threat waited there — I wanted to make sure Jenny was safe, too. When I started to follow, a wave of pure terror hit me so strongly that my legs could no longer support my weight. It was a shrieking, soul-chilling plea for help. It filled me, blacking out the world around me. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe. Then, just as suddenly, it was gone.
"Jenny!" I cried out, sinking to my knees. Lightheaded and consumed with anguish, I choked back a sob.
"What is it?" Kara asked, her blue eyes filled with concern. She rushed over to help me stand.
"I...I think it’s too late. Something’s happened to her!" Where this knowledge came from, I had no idea. Jenny’s presence was just…gone, but I wasn’t going to give up. "Let’s go. We have to at least try to stop whatever’s happening."
The rest of the group froze, staring at me in stunned silence. I could only pray that my feeling about Jenny was wrong, that we would find her safe.
A quick search of the cemetery — around every tree, headstone, and bench in view of the fence — yielded nothing out of the ordinary but an empty grave, a grave like the one from my mirror-vision.
"They’re gone now," I said, staring at the deserted cemetery in confusion. Had my feeling about Jenny just been a trick of my imagination, fueled by the vision and that horror movie? Had the strangers from the mirror hidden somewhere in the woods?
"They were here," Kevin insisted. "I know I saw them!"
"We know," Kara assured him, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Let’s go check out the forest. They must have gone there."
"I can’t believe this is happening," I lamented.
Kara shook her head. "It’s like a nightmare."
"Yeah, but we'll find her. We’ll find her."
"Not you, Leah. You have a way of finding trouble, and there’s already been enough trouble tonight. I want you to wait for us at home," David said. It wasn’t a request — it was an order. Blocking my path, he drew himself up to his full height, his eyes boring into mine.
He reminded me so much of Dad in that moment, stern-faced and intense, but it would be the worst possible thing to say right now. We needed to find Jenny, not get into a pointless argument.
"Let me go, too." Sidestepping, I moved out of David’s reach. Instantly, I regretted saying it that way, like I was asking my brother for permission or something. I crossed my arms and blew out an exasperated sigh. "Listen — I need to do something to help. I’m not just going to sit here twiddling my thumbs and worrying myself sick while I wait for you to get back."
"Sorry, you’re not coming. I can’t search for Jenny and protect you, too." David’s expression softened until he almost looked apologetic, but his chin still held a stubborn tilt that let me know he wasn’t about to change his mind.
Lifting my chin in defiance, I fixed David with a glare. It had no visible effect on him, but at least it would let him know I wasn’t backing down, either. He was only acting so superior and fatherly because the others were watching. Well, I could play that game, too.
"We’re wasting time arguing. Jenny’s the one in danger. I think that’s a little more important right now."
David turned away from me without another word, as though he expected me to head home like he wanted. Forget that! No matter what, I wouldn’t leave him and our friends alone to face whatever happened out there.
Kara gave him a pointed look, a silent directive to let me go with them. Flashing her a grateful smile, I followed them and closed the cemetery gate behind me.
A faint breeze stirred, caressing my skin like unseen, ghostly hands. Its touch sent a shiver racing down my spine. High above the treetops, the moon, obscured by clouds, barely gave its light. Mingled with the sweet fragrance of tropical flowers was an acrid, burnt scent, a scent that intensified as I and the others left the cemetery. The world seemed eerie, still. Only the muffled sounds of our footsteps broke the silence.
"Leah, go back!" David wheeled around to face me and pushed me toward our house.
"No!" I refused to budge, refused to be controlled. "Not until we find Jenny." Shoving past him, I raced to catch up with the others. Behind me, David sighed and muttered something too soft for me to understand.
Woods enclosed us like a curtain, leaving us in darkness. A stillness fell over everything here, too. No crickets chirped; no birdsong carried through the cool night air, and even the crunching of leaves and twigs underfoot seemed quieter than it should be. In the distance, from somewhere deeper in the forest, a shimmery, iridescent glow lit up the area. Whoever had taken Jenny might be lurking just ahead, might be hurting her. The thought propelled me forward.
Before I could take off at a run, David grabbed my arm and shook his head, pointing at Kevin. Kevin was moving silently along the path toward the fading lights. Following suit, David tread with careful footsteps. With great effort, I forced myself to move at what seemed like a dawdling pace when I wanted to race as fast as my legs could carry me. An eternity seemed to pass.
"Over here," Kevin called, his voice tight and pained. He knelt down by a tree, and when I caught up with him, I could see someone lying motionless in his arms, dark hair splayed around the unconscious form.
"Jenny!" I choked out, falling to my knees. Fearing the worst, I couldn’t stop my hand from trembling as I reached out to touch one slim, tan limb. If Jenny’s small body were lifeless, empty now, it would destroy everyone in this neighborhood. I shook my best friend by the shoulder, felt for a pulse, and squeezed Jenny’s hand, all the while chanting Jenny’s name like a prayer. The pulse was weak, but Jenny’s heart still beat. Her veins still flowed with life. F
inally, her pulse and breathing steadied. A quick scan to check for injuries showed nothing immediate until I lifted her head and my fingers found a sticky lump. “Guys, she’s hurt! Her head —“
Jenny’s eyes fluttered open, and she groaned and put a shaky hand to the back of her head as she sat up. Her gaze flitted from me, to David, to Kevin, with no sign of recognition in her eyes. "What happened?"
A half-sob, half-laugh burst from my throat. Oh, thank goodness. Thank goodness. We stopped my mirror-vision from coming true.
"We don’t know," David said. "But let’s get you home." With strong, sure movements, he knelt and slung an arm around Jenny, and together he and Kevin helped her stand.
Chapter 4
When we reached Jenny’s house, a police car waited in her driveway, its red and blue lights flashing. Kevin guided Jenny up to the door. I watched her, silent and fidgeting with my hands, as she hesitated to open it.
A moment later, a petite, curly-haired brunette answered the door. She had dressed for bed in a casual pajama set and light robe, but still appeared alert and awake. Worry lines creased her forehead and tightened the skin around her eyes, and she clutched a mug of herbal tea. Its familiar citrus scent, the scent I associated with the Taylor home, stung my nose.
“Jenny?” Katherine Taylor scanned the small group, her hands shaking until her gaze rested on her daughter. "Oh, sweetheart, you’re all right! Where have you been?"
I leaned against the porch railing for support, shaky and lightheaded. My heart seemed to drop all the way from my chest down into my toes — whether from relief at Jenny’s narrow escape or from dread of things to come, I couldn’t say. We’d been lucky tonight — Jenny could have ended up with so much worse than a head injury. I exchanged glances with the others.
"What is it?" Katherine asked, worry lines deepening as her brows furrowed. Her hands shook harder, almost sloshing the tea out of her mug. "Here, come inside and tell me."
Kevin blanched, but spoke up when no one else did. "Jenny went into the forest tonight, Mrs. Taylor. We don’t know why, but we found her unconscious out there."
Whatever reaction Mrs. Taylor had to this bombshell, I didn’t hear it. The last to enter the house, I gave a backwards glance toward the cemetery. There, just outside the shadow of the nearby woods, stood a cloaked figure. He held one arm outstretched, as though supporting some invisible weight. When he spotted me, he froze and stared. Just before the man pulled up his hood with his free hand and retreated into the woods, I glimpsed a familiar face in the moonlight.
A face I had seen earlier in my vision.
"Leah, honey, come in," Mrs. Taylor said.
I vaguely heard Mrs. Taylor's voice. My gaze still lingered on the spot where the man vanished into the woods. Maybe he hadn’t been there at all. Maybe I was just imagining things. I shook my head and turned back to face the sprawling brick Colonial. No. I’d definitely seen him, but now he’d disappeared, and it was too late to find out what he knew, if anything, about Jenny’s misadventure tonight.
Kara pulled on my arm, prompting me to move out of the doorway and into the house. I blinked in the sudden brightness of the crystal chandelier. When my eyes adjusted, the foyer with its narrow table topped by a red vase of roses and walls adorned with Mrs. Taylor’s artwork, came into focus. Snippets of conversation drifted out from the living room just to my left. Everyone else had already gone in. Before the door closed, I glanced back again. This time, there was no sign at all that the man had been there.
"Jenny, Oh, my heavens — you’re as pale as a ghost! What happened to you out there?" Mrs. Taylor cried out, rushing forward to check her daughter for injuries before throwing her arms around Jenny. At first, Jenny stiffened but then allowed the hug.
"I don’t know," Jenny murmured, her words slurred. "My head hurts." She stepped back and put a hand to her head again, wincing. A hiss of pain escaped her lips. When she dropped her hand, it came away red with fresh blood. She glanced at it, eyes wide and curious, then around the room and at the people as if everything were new to her.
Mrs. Taylor gasped at the sight of her daughter’s bloodstained hand. Shaking, she probed the head wound with deft fingers before steering Jenny to the powder room in the hallway toward the kitchen. I heard the medicine cabinet door open, followed by the sounds of running water and Mrs. Taylor rummaging through the cabinet. When they returned, Jenny held a bandage to her head, and her hands were clean.
Kara leaned in to whisper to me as we entered the living room, "You okay? We’ll find out what happened to Jen, I promise." She tried hard to sound convincing.
"Did you see him? That man by the woods?"
"No. Who was it?"
"The guy from my vision. He was here!" Sinking down onto a hard, high-backed chair, I gripped the sides until my knuckles turned white. This night kept getting stranger, more dangerous. Maybe none of this was real. Maybe I was dreaming, safe at home while the horror movie filtered into my sleeping mind. I wished.
"Vision?" She quirked an eyebrow at me.
I shook my head, still not ready to explain. "Never mind."
"Do you think he was one of the ghosts? I mean, he'd have to be if he lived back in the 1800's, right?" Kara settled herself on the sofa beside me, reaching out and covering one of my hands with hers.
"Hmm…I don’t know," I whispered back as I relaxed my grip on the chair. "But I don’t think so." My gaze strayed to the door. Any second now, the man might burst through the door and attack us with that strange, alien weapon of his. It didn’t happen. I was keenly aware of every second that ticked by on Mrs. Taylor's grandfather clock, and with every tick, tock, tick, knots of anxiety further twisted themselves in my stomach.
"The police are here to check out the disturbance at the cemetery, as you can see. I called them the second I got off the phone with Kevin." Mrs. Taylor sipped her tea, her hands still trembling. "I’ve never liked this night, the anniversary, what they say is out there. To think of my husband, or any of the dead buried there, like that —"
Kara leaned over and placed her hands around Mrs. Taylor’s, helping to steady the cup.
"Whatever’s out there, it almost did the same to Jenny!" Kevin paced the floor, back and forth, back and forth until I thought he’d wear a hole in the red floral rug. A sense of helplessness overwhelmed me, threatening to drown me. I had no idea what to say or do for Kevin, but I couldn’t take it anymore. Standing, I placed my hands on his shoulders to stop him. We held onto each other, silent except for the sounds of his ragged breathing. As I glanced up at the fireplace mantle, a sharp pang pierced my heart. Pictures of Jenny’s dad rested there like a tribute, still preserving his presence here. Jenny had almost joined him tonight.
The police chief, Mark Jacobs, cleared his throat to gain everyone’s attention. Tall and muscular, he surveyed the gathering with his keen grey eyes from his corner chair by the window. "Good evening, kids. I'm sorry this visit had to be under such difficult circumstances." His subordinates, two younger rookie cops, sat on the edge of their seats, hovering like sentries.
Finally! I could barely restrain myself from pacing. Restless and jittery, I itched to start the search for answers. After the dead ends and the waiting, I needed action.
"We took a look around the cemetery and found a hole the caretaker says he didn’t dig," Adams reported, leaning against the living room door frame. "There were no footprints leading into the forest, but we saw flashing lights coming from it. We want to search there next."
Mrs. Taylor nearly dropped her cup, but managed with Kara’s help to set it down on the coffee table with a clatter. "A hole?"
Kevin's eyes widened in understanding, and I picked up on the thought: Jenny’s injury might have come from falling into that hole! My gut twisted. That injury might not be an accident. There was the man from my vision, who could be responsible for this.
"No one was there, Ma’am." Police Chief Jacobs’s expression was sympathetic, his voice reassuring, but s
omething in his eyes gave the impression he wasn’t telling everything. "We'll go check out the forest. I want you all to stay here, and Officer Johnson will take your statements. Adams, you're with me." Adams snapped to attention and followed, while Johnson remained with us in the living room.
I snuck a glance at Jenny as we stood together in the center of the living room. A trace of crimson matted the hair at the back of her head. Blood also stained Jenny’s hand where it had touched the spot. I searched my jacket pockets for anything to stop the bleeding, but came up empty. At least Jenny’s eyes had cleared, and she seemed more composed, more herself now. Even so, something was off with her.
Johnson made a note on his legal pad, the scratch of pencil against paper soothing in its normality. "I have to tell you I’m grasping at straws here," he said. "As Adams said, we found no footprints out there that would suggest a crowd. We can’t begin to guess how that hole got dug so fast, because the caretaker had all his equipment locked up. No shovel could have gotten the job done in the time between his rounds and the time we discovered the hole. It seems a major stretch to call this a prank, but I have to ask anyway. Have you heard about any parties or raves going on tonight?"
Kevin and Kara exchanged a glance before shaking their heads. It was Kevin who answered for them. "No, not that we heard about. We usually do something every year for the neighborhood crowd, but it's going to be next weekend at the Wharf."
The Wharf was a beautiful two-story restaurant on the boardwalk with a view of the ocean, the best food in town, and fantastic smoothies. It also had an upstairs dance floor with a live band that played on Friday and Saturday nights. Would Jenny recover by then? She was still pretty out of it, and that bump to her head looked awful.
