by Sean Platt
“Open the door, Scott.”
“Why?”
“Because I can’t talk with this door between us.” He heard Holly sigh. “Open it, now.”
Scott stared at the door, hating the thing that was pretending to be his wife. She, or It, was doing a good job, even down to Holly’s impatient exhale.
“I don’t think you are what you say you are.”
“What?”
“Come on, I know what you’re doing. You’re one of them, pretending to be Holly so I’ll open the door and you can kill me — just like that thing that was pretending to be Hazel.”
“It’s me, Scott, I swear.” Her voice sounded both annoyed and frightened.
He wondered if it could really be her. If so, how did she get here?
Well, how did Hazel and Hudson get here? The aliens tricked them. Maybe they tricked Holly, too?
Or maybe they’re trying to trick me.
“Stand back.”
Scott waited until he heard her stand back, then backed up, lifted his leg, and kicked the door above the knob.
It crashed open, almost as if made of paper.
And there she was, standing before him, wearing a long blue shirt over jeans. Her hair was a mess, her eyes had dark circles beneath them, her cheeks were sallow, and she wore no makeup. She looked as though she’d been spit out by Hell.
Her eyes were wide, tears welling from them.
She started to come toward him, arms wide open.
He backed away, raising his sword.
She stopped, confusion furrowing her brow.
“It’s me, baby.”
Scott swallowed as they stood face to face.
If the aliens are trying to trick me, wouldn’t they use the best version of my wife to do so? Would they really think it through this far and make her look like she’s been awake for months?
“How do I know it’s you?”
She wiped tears from her cheeks and sniffled. “Please, Scott, can’t you just tell?”
“They can change their shapes. Like the one downstairs pretending to be our daughter.”
“I know they can change shapes.”
“Yeah, is that how they got you over? They tricked you?”
“No, it was Savannah. She begged me to come through.”
Scott nodded. “Is that so?”
“Please. It’s me, Scott. I’ve missed you so much. Missed the kids so much. Missed us so much.”
“You still didn’t tell me why you left.”
“I didn’t leave you. I was trapped here!”
“You didn’t tell me you were coming here. Hell, you never even told me you had a Great-Uncle Alastair!”
“No, you’re right. I didn’t want to tell you.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want this life for our kids.”
“What life? Guarding the Threshold? You knew about it?”
“No, I didn’t know about it until six months ago. But I knew about Alastair’s weird rules. And how he brought in that lady to—”
She trailed off.
“To what?”
“To try and make me use my gifts.”
“What gifts?” he asked, heart racing, wondering if this could truly be his wife.
He thought of Alastair’s warning again.
They can look like anyone.
How could he know if it was her or one of them?
“I have gifts. I can move stuff with my mind. Can see things that others can’t.”
“Like Hazel?”
“I was afraid she had them, too. Afraid Alastair would want to exploit her. Like he did with me.”
“What did he do to you?”
“Always trying to get me to do more and more, and saying that it was very important, but never telling me why.”
“So, what happened?”
“I saw things that scared me. I didn’t ever want to come back. Then, about a month ago, this lawyer reached out to me saying that Alastair was really sick. He asked if I could come out for a weekend, and requested that I bring the children. He said there was good money in it for me. I thought maybe we could use it, that maybe it could help you get back on your feet. But I said hell no to bringing anyone else — that I would only come alone.”
Scott swallowed. It was hard to hear her say that she did this to help solve their problems. Though she didn’t say it, it was his fault that she said yes to coming.
“Why didn’t you tell me?”
“I told you, I don’t want that man anywhere near my children. I figured I’d take care of this, and we’d never have to deal with him again. And, of course, we’d have money to help us.”
Scott stared at Holly, every fiber of his being knowing that this was his wife. It had to be. He wanted to drop the sword and to take her into his arms, but he couldn’t get past the doubt.
Nor could he get past the anger and resentment he’d felt for the past six months in thinking that she’d left him. As stupid as it was, he couldn’t let go, even hearing her say that she didn’t mean to leave him, he couldn’t accept it. Scott wasn’t sure if his refusal to get over the anger was because he couldn’t be sure this wasn’t some alien playing with his fears and emotions, or if it was something else, something he couldn’t quite put a finger on — like when he knew he was wrong for blowing up at his kids, but he’d been unable to truly get past the rage.
Holly’s tears fell faster.
“You really thought I left you and the children?”
“I didn’t know what to think,” he said, his voice cracking. “I thought you might be dead. I had a private investigator looking for you, and they found your car, but not you.”
“I don’t know what happened with my car. I drove it here. Alastair’s people must’ve done something with it. I don’t know.”
Scott finally said what he’d been struggling to say. “I thought maybe you left because of … Karla. And that you were punishing me. And, if I’m being honest, I couldn’t blame you.”
She stared at him, shaking her head, tears still flowing.
“I would never do that. I’m with you because I love you. Because I know that despite the hard times we’ve been through, that you love me and the kids, too. I know that because of how hard you try to change the things you don’t like about yourself. That you trusted me enough to go to therapy. And … that you came through the Threshold to find your family.”
He wanted to hold her, hug her, never let her go.
But there was that small part of Scott that was afraid the moment he dropped the sword, she’d reveal herself as one of the big, ugly, blue-blood spurting aliens.
Holly started toward him again, arms open wide.
Their eyes locked, both of them crying.
They can look like anyone! Don’t trust it!
His heart raced as she closed in.
The only way to survive in this world is to never be vulnerable. To be stronger than your enemy. The minute you show a vulnerability is the minute they’ll kick you.
He tightened his grip on the sword, readying it.
She wrapped his arms around him.
And Scott finally let go.
* * * *
ALASTAIR
Alastair opened his eyes, shaking.
He blinked, absorbing his surroundings, still on the wrong side of the Threshold, standing beneath a harsh purple sky surrounded by Umlai.
His mind was in pieces. Alastair wanted the world to feel like a lie, but it didn’t. He felt foolish for believing an obviously false and soured reality, but couldn’t ignore a churning gut that said this time it was true.
His alien brother had spent a life on the far side of the Threshold, where Savannah’s soul had lived for decades, still clinging to who she was that day like a living, breathing ghost.
Son of Mulkailot looked at Alastair sadly. “It is truth, and now you have seen it through our father’s eyes.”
An odd whistle bit the wind then sat in the air like a haunting.
“Please, Brother, open the Threshold. We merely wish to go home with our fallen brothers and sisters, whose bodies wait to be buried at home. Earth is wretched, yours to do with as you wish. We want no part, but must set foot to sour soil to bring our spirits home where they belong.”
Before Alastair could respond, Shurui said, “I reject this offer! He is not to be trusted. We must kill the Galloways. It isn’t enough to bring our spirits home. We must avenge them.”
She stepped toward Alastair, blade in hand.
Son of Mulkailot planted a large hand on her shoulder.
“No, that is not what our father would want.”
Shurui’s thin lips curled back into a snarl. She opened her mouth, but Alastair cut her off.
“I can’t make up for the things I’ve done. I can’t make up for the sins of the man who called himself my father. I’m sorry, to all of you. I will open the Threshold. Better yet, I will stay here, if you’ll have me, until our blood no longer flows in the fountain.”
Shurui looked like she wanted to say more, to demand vengeance.
Son of Mulkailot nodded. “Thank you, brother.”
He extended his hand and Alastair shook it.
Alastair asked, “Can the children return home?”
Son of Mulkailot met his eyes.
Shurui blurted, “We can’t trust him!”
Son of Mulkailot kept staring. Alastair waited to feel the alien slithering through his mind again to see his intentions.
But the alien didn’t invade his mind.
Son of Mulkailot said, “He’s speaking truth. We’ll let them return, provided he stay here until the Threshold opens for us all.”
“Thank you, I’ve got no problem staying here,” Alastair said, turning to see his daughter standing beside Hazel and Hudson.
The children looked nervous.
Alastair went to them. “It’s going to be okay. Your father is waiting back at the Threshold.”
“What about our mother?” Hazel cried. “Is she really here?”
Suddenly, movement to their right.
Alastair turned to see Scott and Holly walking, hand-in-hand toward them.
Alastair smiled.
Hazel, seeing the smile, spun around and screamed, “Mommy!”
She ran, leaping the final few feet, right into her mother’s arms.
Hudson looked at Alastair as if unsure of his eyes.
“Is it … really her?”
Savannah looked at him and nodded.
Hudson’s lip trembled, but his feet had grown roots.
Alastair gave the boy a gentle push. “Go ahead.”
Hudson walked over, slowly, shoulders slumped.
Then Holly, still holding Hazel, took him into her arms, and pulled Scott into the hug.
Alastair turned to Savannah, who was crying tears of joy.
He reached out to take her hand. “I’m sorry, honey. Can you forgive me?”
She wrapped her arms around him, hugging her father tight. “I forgave you decades ago.”
He cried as he held her, unleashing decades of tears.
* * * *
SCOTT
Two nights.
That was how long it had taken for the fountain to dry and the Threshold’s barrier to fall.
Alastair, Son of Mulkailot, and Shurui came through the Threshold together at midnight on the second night. Alastair showed them around the house, then led them to the portal in the woods a hundred yards from the manor.
Savannah had to stay behind. She could only exist in The Hold, though Son of Mulkailot said they might be able to create another portal once they got home, and then she’d be welcome to come to their realm, which they called Dahnna.
Alastair met the Dawsons in the kitchen where Jacquelyn and Mara had made them all fresh-baked brownies.
As he ate, Alastair told the Dawsons that Galloway Manor was still theirs to keep, and while the staff would stick around, he planned to spend his remaining days in The Hold with Savannah. Then, after his death, their afterlife would be shared.
Scott was surprised by how much he would miss the old man that never seemed to stop eating.
“Can we visit you?” Hudson asked, though Scott was pretty sure he wanted to visit Savannah more than her father. In the two days since they crossed over, the boy had been talking nonstop about her, how he’d found her diaries, and how he felt like he knew her. It was a bit weird, but probably the least weird thing the family had been through in the last half-year.
“Hell, I expect you all to visit. I’ll be offended if you don’t. Maybe you all can help me fix up the manor over there into something more livable.”
“So, what’s the deal with the Threshold now?” Hudson asked. “Can Hazel and I leave the property?”
“Yes, you can leave. And you will no longer have to guard the Threshold with blood magic. But you do need to keep it a secret, as well as the portal to Dahnna. Nobody can know about it — even girlfriends you really really like.”
Alastair winked at Dawson.
“Girlfriends?” Holly asked, eyebrows arched.
Hudson’s face turned red.
Hazel practically sang, “He’s going out with Iris.”
“Who’s Iris?” Holly asked with twinkling eyes.
Hudson shook his head. “Just a friend.”
Holly looked at Scott for confirmation.
Hudson looked at Scott, too, silently pleading that his father not rat him out.
Scott nodded. “Yeah, she’s just a friend.”
When Hudson looked away, Scott winked at Holly. He’d already told her about Iris last night after crossing back over. Holly thought it was cute and was glad that Hudson liked a real girl, given his obsession with a ghost.
Son of Mulkailot stepped into the kitchen with Shurui. He was carrying a big staff that made Scott think of that wizard in The Lord of the Rings. “We’re almost ready to go through the portal.”
“Do you want a brownie?” Hazel offered.
Shurui took one, brought it to her nose holes and inhaled, then made a weird face.
Hazel laughed. “Try it, you’ll like it.”
She lifted it to her mouth and nibbled.
She paused for a moment, and Scott wasn’t sure from her expression whether she liked it.
Then she shoved the entire thing in her mouth.
Hazel burst out laughing. “I guess you do like it!”
Everyone laughed, except the Umlai, who seemed confused.
Then they walked the aliens — thirty in total — out into the woods.
At first, Scott didn’t see any portal.
But then Son of Mulkailot lifted his staff and a circle opened in the world before them. Daylight lit the other side, with flowing multi-colored grass beneath a sky that looked as strange as the one inside The Hold.
“Dahnna,” Son of Mulkailot said, pointing.
Several Umlai were standing there, waiting.
“Who are they?” Scott asked.
“Our dead, who have been waiting for this day for a long time.”
The Umlai didn’t look like ghosts, but neither did Savannah. They looked as alive as any of the others he’d seen.
Son of Mulkailot approached Alastair and said, “Come, there’s someone I think you’ll want to meet.”
* * * *
ALASTAIR
Son of Mulkailot led Alastair to the portal where he saw Mulkailot, looking just as young as he’d looked in the vision Son of Mulkailot had shown him, standing with Shurui.
Alastair turned to his brother, “Is that—?”
Son of Mulkailot nodded.
“If I go through, will I be able to return?”
Son of Mulkailot nodded again.
Alastair stepped through the portal, into the other world.
As he approached this father he never knew, Alastair thought back to what Mulkailot had sacrificed for him and his mother — how he had offered his life to save them.
Alastair w
ondered if his father would recognize the old man his son had become.
The man Alastair had grown up with — the man he’d thought was his father — was never kind. He’d treated him like hell for much of his life, leaving Alastair to wonder why his father didn’t seem to love him as much as he’d loved the children from his second and third marriages.
A father’s love withheld is the kind of thing that destroys a child and defines a man forever.
He had tried not to let it define his relationship with Savannah. But Alastair was certain it had. It made him less of the father he needed to be. Maybe Savannah never would have perished if he’d been there for her more. Perhaps he could atone for his sins and still make a difference in her afterlife.
Alastair approached his father, nervously, still wondering if he could see through the old man to the son he’d sacrificed for. He also wondered if his father knew how he’d been twisted against the Umlai.
He felt a deep shame when approaching the man.
But his remorse melted as Alastair’s father stepped forward and met his eyes.
“Son!” Mulkailot cried, arms wide.
Alastair embraced him, and for the first time ever, felt a father’s love.
THE END
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