He said, “Really? It rained pretty heavily last night and that might have washed most of it away.”
Whitney inspected her fingernails and hair and wasn’t pleased to realize he was probably right.
“What kind of sick pleasure are you getting out of doing this to me?” She got up and started to move down the street.
The man said, “The best kind of pleasure. Like I said, I finally have Johnny Law in the palm of my hands and I’m sorry, but I’m feeling quite vindictive. You have fun putting men like me behind bars. I’m working just as hard as you are. Who are these Gods that decide what is right and wrong? Just because I don’t make my money in the accepted manner of everyone else, that makes me evil.”
“It’s not a hard system. There are certain things you can and can’t do.”
He said, “My point is, why? Why can’t I take something from someone who really doesn’t need it? And you are hardly in any position to be lecturing me.”
“Alright, I played your stupid little game. Now give me my husband back.” She stopped at an intersection as a honking cab sped down the street.
The man laughed. “Oh no, we are just getting started. Watching you stumble around that church, covered in bull’s blood and eating raw lamb testicles was too good for only a one-time performance. I have many more plans to terrorize you and we haven’t even started with the ghosts yet.”
She fought off the urge to throw up. “So what am I supposed to do, hang around this island while you make me do things for your sick, sadistic pleasure?”
The man said, “Pretty much, except for one thing. You are going to come back to Adoxia before I terrorize you some more. You tell the authorities about this, he’s dead. This better stay quiet or you’ll never see your pretty boy again. Go to the house you rented in the Capitol and wait for our next date. I do hope you wear something pretty.”
2
Whitney pulled into her driveway and wanted to run over the man waiting in front of her house.
She jumped out of the car and started yelling. “How could you let this happen? You were supposed to be protecting us. You let someone kidnap him?”
Darominius stood up and held his arms out to hug Whitney. She thrashed at his chest with her fists and screamed incomprehensible words at him. Darominius took the abuse and waited for Whitney to tire out. Breathing heavy, she finally gave up and the shifter gently wrapped one arm around her and patted her back.
She buried her tear-soaked face into his solid chest covered by a white smiley face T-Shirt. “Why didn’t you stop this from happening?”
Darominius ran his golden fingers through her hair. “We can’t stop something if we don’t know about it.”
“That’s bogus. You said that you can see great things in my future. The ghosts, they said the same.”
The dragon shifter said, “Setbacks are a part of life. If we focus on how to rescue Trent instead of figuring out who to blame, I think that would be best.”
He’s right. It doesn’t matter whose fault it is anyway. I need to focus and get my man back.
“Alright then, what do you suggest we do?” Whitney stepped back and wiped her flushed face.
Whitney and Darominius went inside and she started to immediately miss Trent as she caught a whiff of his cologne when entering the bedroom. “Are you going to answer my question?”
Darominius ducked to get under the door frame to get into the kitchen. “Yes, well, there aren’t many responses that would contain the truth and serve to make you feel better. There are times when a helper like me can be rendered helpless. In the past, I’ve known when to help you, but this caught us all unawares. I can help you in this venture, but it will be limited. That is, unless the ghosts and I can figure out more information than we already have.”
The phone rang. Whitney initially pulled out her private phone before reaching into her other pocket for the kidnapper’s phone.
She answered. “Hello.”
“Pack your bags. I’ve figured out the perfect way to torture you. I’ve made a game out of you trying to rescue your husband. It will give me great pleasure and enough time to take care of the crimes I need to commit. Now, I know you say you like ghosts. Anyway, we’ll see how much you really like ghosts. You’re going to Dankstone.” The deep voice of the kidnapper sounded like he had drunk too many cups of coffee again.
“I’m not scared. I want to talk to my husband before I do anything ridiculous.” She grabbed a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed one to her friend.
The man said, “He can’t really talk right now. He’s still playing in dream land. You’ll understand much more about that soon. That is, if you pass the first few tests.”
“I’m not scared of your tests either.” She extended her bottle toward Darominius and motioned for him to open it for her.
The voice said, “So I’ve heard. I will be the judge and jury on that. I leave the executioner part for someone else to enjoy. Even the biggest ghost hunters in all of Adoxia have been driven out of Dankstone.” He giggled, almost snorting. “I’ve been there several times and the ghosts of the witches seem to like me. We’ll see how long you can last.”
“I think I’ll be just fine.” She took a big swig of the water and wiped her mouth with the gray short sleeve covering her upper arm.
The voice said, “You can go home and get two of your friends or family to join you on this adventure. Their lives will be in the same danger as you and that includes the tall guy with jaundice that you’ve been hanging around with. Just a warning. He looks like a real weirdo. Get two people and then set your GPS to Dankstone. If there even is a setting on the map for that place.” He let out another sniffling giggle.
“I still don’t know why you are doing this?” She sat down on the couch and Darominius plopped down next to her.
The voice spoke slower and his sharp words carried a malicious tone. “Have you ever had your father slap you across the face? How about beating your mother to a pulp? You don’t have to answer because I know the honorable Robert Powers would never do such a thing.”
Her blood immediately boiled. “Alright listen, you leave my family out of this, you scum bag. How low can you sink?”
The man said, “I’ve tried to clearly establish that nothing is off the table with me. I’ll tell you more of my story if you are worthy. I’ve got a feeling this guy I’m looking at is going to die soon because of you and then I’m going to lose that phone number forever.”
“You’ve got some severe problems.” She kicked her feet up on the black coffee table.
The man laughed. “I’ve got three mansions in Adoxia alone. I have more money that I know what to do with. I walk free with little worry of getting caught for my crimes. You, on the other hand, are at my mercy. A slave to my words. A stringed puppet, waiting to be plucked. Who has the severe problems in that scenario, dearie? Get to Dankstone soon or the next call is going to come from the morgue.”
The man hung up and Whitney did the same. She put the phone back in her pocket and headed for her room to pack.
Darominius said, “Jaundice? Let me get my hands on this guy. So what is this person demanding now?”
“He wants me to go to some town in the northeast now. He said I can take two people with me, and you, if you want to come.” She didn’t want to say the name of the haunted town.
The golden dragon shifter said, “I normally wouldn’t join any human for an extended period of time.”
“You owe me, buster, you were supposed to be looking out for me.” She pulled a duffle bag out of the closet.
Darominius cocked his head to the side and grinned. His smile was extremely awkward and appeared more like a confused, goofy look. “I was just about to say that. In fact, I can drive if you would like. This could allow your mind to tend to other matters. I like driving vehicles too.”
Whitney stuffed another pair of jeans into the dark green bag and tried to unsuccessfully zip it up. She kneeled on the clothes poking out of the ope
ning. She jumped up and down a few times and it worked like a charm as she easily pulled the zipper closed. Whitney reached into her pocket and grabbed her buzzing phone.
She swiped and tapped her phone and stared at the screen. “Wow. That was fast. Bo and Tara both agreed to come if it wouldn’t take that long. I really hope this won’t take long. I don’t know how much of this stuff I can handle. I’ll text them to both go to Bo’s and we can pick them up there and go to that town.”
They arrived at Bo’s house and Whitney introduced Bo and Tara to Darominius. Her two friends put some overnight bags in the trunk before jumping in the backseat. The quaternion got on the road and headed northeast. A sense of security washed over her having her friends by her side.
Bo asked, “So where do you have to go? And what exactly is going on?”
“Don’t freak out, either of you. Trent’s been kidnapped.” Whitney closed her eyes.
Bo gasped. “Are you effing serious?”
Tara silently tried to pick up her jaw.
She turned around and stuck her head in between both seats. “Yes, unfortunately. Some sicko kidnapped him on our honeymoon and now we have to go to Dankstone to get him back.”
Tara asked, “Did you just say what I think you said?”
Whitney faced the road again and stretched out the seatbelt that had become too tight. “What? Don’t freak out. It’s not really that big of a deal.”
Bo said, “Nobody has ever tried to live there in over three hundred years. Some paranormal hunters have gotten jacked up going in there. Did you see that show, Black Light Investigators? Branches break off of trees and just start beating people on their own.”
Whitney’s shoulder hit the passenger door after a sharp turn. Darominius’ driving was a little out of control. Whitney spoke softly, “If either of you want to stay back, we can stop now. Just say the word.”
Bo told her, “I liked you a whole lot better when you were boring. Look, the hair on my arm is already starting to stand up, but I’m in if it helps you.”
Tara agreed, “Me too. I might scream like a little girl most of the time, but I’ll be screaming right next to you, girl.”
“Thank you. I knew I could count on you two.” She breathed a sigh of relief. Nobody in their right mind would want to willingly go into Dankstone so it showed her friends’ dedication.
Darominius said, “Can I ask a question?”
“Of course.” Whitney pulled a pack of orange toasted crackers with peanut butter in the middle. She hadn’t eaten much since Trent’s disappearance.
The shifter responded, “I’m somewhat embarrassed because I pride myself on being knowledgeable. What is Dankstone?”
Tara leaned her head into the opening of the seats. “Over three hundred years ago, a group of supposed witches, that was just a group of powerful women, set up shop there and started producing goods and services. They also started up a private bank that became more powerful than most of the national banks.”
Darominius stared into the rearview mirror and said, “You have nice eyes.”
Whitney screamed, “Look out for that car.”
The dragon shifter jerked the wheel at the last moment and got back into the right lane. A green streak flashed on the left side of Whitney’s vision. A honking horn blared and faded away as they sped away in the opposite direction.
Whitney’s heart thumped from the near accident and she found herself applying a death grip to the ‘oh shit’ handle bar above her right shoulder. She tried to relax her tense body, but Darominius’ driving made her keep pressing an imaginary brake pedal that never slowed the car down.
Tara continued the story as if nothing happened. “So anyway, thank you, you have really nice eyes too. To keep a long story short, the young country became scared that these women would become too powerful and turn on Adoxia. They rounded up all the women, who were more than likely guilty of nothing but success and trumped up the charge of witchcraft. They say that before they hanged the last so-called witch, she cast a spell on the land and now it’s haunted with ghosts.”
“Don’t scare the guy now. It’s not going to be that bad.” Whitney picked her pack of crackers off the seat and broke on in half. She ate the entire pack and drank some Mountain Dew. A pulsating sensation in her stomach followed from not eating very much in the past few days.
Whitney browsed the internet on her iPad looking for more stories about this place. She searched for the most recent information on Dankstone and an older newspaper article came up that she had never seen. She tapped the screen to open it up.
The Bottom Tree Press
Havatsun, Pagano
The Experiment is Over
Wayne Exwell
June 6, 1974
“Cursed be this land.” E.M.
As a twenty-four-wheel flatbed truck containing two bulldozers pulls away for the last time, so too goes the dream of tax free property and subsequent riches.
Before ground had been broken, the expected building cost for the plan was $179,000.
Estimated Revenue Over First 10 Years: $3.15 Million Dollars
Sounds like a no-brainer, right?
Not this time.
The ghosts of Dankstone have chased everyone away again. Yes, again.
The Blarlind Brothers Company knew the risk involved. Edward and Merril could have visited Dankstone or talked to the people in the surrounding towns like Havatsun. They could have read one of the many stories written, or watched some of the television shows and movies.
The people of Havatsun collectively gave the Blarlind Brothers six months, so this reporter gives the company credit for lasting slightly beyond one year. The first housing project amazingly went up in five months and paying tenants crashed through the doors a mere month after that.
Soon after, stories emerged about random power outages and items magically falling off shelves and tables. The complaints were quickly disputed by the Blarlind Brothers. They had rationalized that the power losses were due to drawing energy from the next town. The brothers never put out an official statement about the falling objects.
The company moved full steam ahead and finished two more housing projects. At this point, there were approximately 1,000 people living in Dankstone. The Blarlind Brothers planned to move further into Dankstone and build a school and start mapping out roads. Then, inexplicable activity started happening.
According to Robert Smithy, the foreman for the school construction, “Equipment would break down. Gas would disappear from tanks. Our lumber kept getting stolen and would end up in the Devil’s Waterway. I aint never seen nothing like it.”
He seemed to be one of the lucky ones. Tenant reports started to pile up, all with a common underlying factor. Everyone had been seeing angry female ghosts that were screaming at them to leave their land. The Blarlind Brothers dismissed this episode as paranoia. They themselves had never set foot in Dankstone.
Filed reports at the Havatsun Police Department indicate that the ghosts’ behavior became more aggressive. An exodus started and the lure of cheap housing couldn’t even draw in new tenants. Still, the Blarlind Brothers forged on.
Other police reports showed that around the one-year mark, the strange behavior became more personal.
Another Havatsun Police report quoted Mamie Blarlind, wife of Edward, as saying, “I would often hear him screaming in the bathroom, telling someone to ‘Shut the (expletive) up!”’
The report goes on to say that Mamie thought Edward was losing his mind. He had become more distant, constantly paranoid and barely talked to anyone. One day, Mamie went to his brother to plead with him to stop building in Dankstone.
Edward’s brother, Merril Blarlind, refused. Mamie returned home to find her husband had hanged himself from the chandelier in the foyer. Merril gave his kind condolences to Mamie and moved forward with the Dankstone Project, despite occupancy being down to around two to three hundred tenants.
Seven mysterious deaths within a fortnight
chased everyone away, except those desperate souls with nowhere to go. All the bodies ended up on the dock near the Devil’s Waterway. The local detectives and coroners went down to inspect the corpses and they said the water rose like a great wave and pulled the bodies in just before they could get to them.
They declared the official causes of death as assisted suicides, although the cases are still officially open.
As I watch the last truck with the Blarlind Brothers’ royal blue and white decal roll by, only the surrounding townspeople remain. No doubt thrill seekers and supernaturalists will be back, but the dream of turning Dankstone back into a bustling town lies dead today.
The Havatsun townspeople don’t trespass into the buildings to loot and steal valuables. They know better. The people look at the land line to enter Dankstone, turn around, and go home. They know if they stay out of Dankstone, they are safe.
Perhaps a day will come when people will inhabit Dankstone again. Perhaps the ghosts will cease to guard the land. Perhaps, but that sounds like more wishful thinking.
One fact has been re-established, and nobody knows it better than Merril Blarlind. That day is not today.
Final Estimated Cost (Not fully audited)-$113,000
Revenue Generated-$23,500
Expected Loss-$89,500
Verdict:
“Cursed be this land.” E.M.
Bibliography: Ellen McCarron quote from The Strongest Witch in All the Land (page 231), Official Havatsun Police Reports via Cardinal County Sheriff’s Department Records: Case Name, “Ghost-like activity in Dankstone”-Pages 2,4,7, Official Havatsun Police Reports via Cardinal County Sheriff’s Department Records: Case Name, “Suicide of Edward Blarlind”-Pages 1, 3, 8, 11.
Whitney read several other articles and didn’t realize how much time had passed. She looked up to see Darominius drifting into the other lane again.
“Hey buddy, watch the road.” She grabbed the side of the wheel with her left hand and pulled down.
The tires screeched and the long red Chevrolet swerved back into the correct lane. Darominius took control again. He said, “Trying to read this machine and drive at the same time isn’t as easy as I initially expected.”
The Whitney Powers Paranormal Adventure 3 Book Bundle Page 26
