The sun was setting, blazing yellow and red on the horizon. Its light was spilling over the trees, painting the sky beautifully. Lucy glanced up at it and smiled.
Looks like fire, she thought quietly. Fire in the sky. Burning. Burning us all.
She sighed, and reached behind her for the third Barbie. This one was marked in red marker, and both of its arms were missing. The face was burnt, the plastic melted and mottled into an unrecognizable monster. She liked this one the best. Lucy had even stuck a tack through its head, and was shocked to find out there was nothing inside. It was a hollowed-out human.
Lucy glanced up from the ground and across their yard. There was a small fence by the edge, bordering their rented property from the sidewalk. It was painted white, but in the fading eve it appeared a shade of red.
“Who are you?” Lucy asked. “I’ve never seen you before.”
There was a man standing at the fence, turned towards her. His hair was long, and obscured his face with its shadow. His expression was calm, but frightening. With a light jacket on and jeans, he dressed like anybody else.
“Go inside,” he commanded her.
“Why?” she retorted. “You’re not my daddy.”
“There are dangerous things out here. Monsters come out before the dark, these days..”
She folded her arms. “But my Barbie’s aren’t allowed inside. Daddy won’t like them. I need to stay with them.”
“I told you to go inside,” he growled. “Do what I said, or you’ll regret it.”
The man left and began to walk down the sidewalk, away from her and the house. Lucy threw the Barbies into the bush beside their front porch and went inside, deciding not to tell her parents. The man had seemed oddly familiar, and she recognized his voice. But dinner was on the table, and she was hungry.
The monsters would have to wait.
Chapter 7
Invitation
The ticking of his brain was far worse than anything he had known. Daniel lay awake in bed, envying his wife who slept calmly beside him. Insomnia had him in an iron grip, ticking away the moments of his life and his night.
Thoughts whirled in his brain, so many fears. Some were rational, others not so much, but in the darkness they all seemed real. Daniel could hear footsteps from the hall, or so he thought, and that scratching sound could be someone at their front door. The creak and moan of wood could be the door opening, his daughter going to her doom. All the reports, all the facts, all the uncertainty overwhelmed him.
The case wasn’t closed. The case had never been. But there was nobody to talk to about it. His wife didn’t understand. The surviving kids from 20 years ago couldn’t be bothered, if he even knew where to look for them. It was better to leave them in whatever peace they had found. Everyone Daniel knew and cared about from twenty years ago had vanished from this town, from the earth it seemed. There was nobody left except for him.
Every time someone said the year, every time he remembered it was summertime, there was a sinking feeling. Because in 1995, it had happened. In 1975, it had happened. And now, in 2015, it was bound to happen again.
When his mind was on the lady, it wouldn’t let him sleep. He was thinking of so many questions. If the pattern was broken, would she be weaker or stronger? What if they captured her, could she ever die? How long was it until the next kid was taken? Who would it be?
“Daddy.”
Daniel snapped his neck around to see Lucy standing by his bed, holding a teddy bear. He breathed a sigh of relief and clutched his heart.
“You scared me.”
“Daddy,” she repeated.
“Yeah?”
“I can’t sleep.”
He nodded. “Me either.”
“Is she watching you too?”
His heart froze. “What, baby?”
“The lady outside. Is she watching you too?”
He shook his head, starting to shake. “No, no, no. You’re just dreaming, Lucy. Just dreaming. Come on. Do you wanna sleep in here tonight?”
She grabbed his hand. “Can you sleep with me, Daddy?”
“I can lay down with you for a bit, at least.” He threw back the covers. His wife didn’t stir. “Do you want me to read you a book first?”
“No, Daddy. Let’s just lay down.” She gave him a tight hug, only coming up to his waist. “I love you.”
“I love you too, Lucy.”
She led him down the hallway to her room, just a few steps away in the dark hall but it felt like an eternity. They went in, Lucy hopped onto the bed, and Daniel stood still for a moment, surveying. His eyes darted around in every corner, every shadow. But there was nothing.
“Are you okay?” Lucy asked.
“Yes, yes. Just tired.” Daniel plopped onto the bed beside her and sighed. “I don’t think I’ll sleep well in here, either.”
“I’ll try to sleep for both of us, then.” Lucy laid her head on his chest and hugged him. “Can you hold me, please?”
“Of course.”
They were both still for a while, until Daniel felt her breathing shift and she rolled over onto her back. When he was certain she was asleep, he got out of bed and went to lock the window, keeping his eyes down so that he wouldn’t see anything if there was anything to be seen.
He fastened it shut.
Knock, knock.
The sound was from in front of him, somebody knocking on the window, staring into his daughter’s room, pressed against the glass.
Daniel turned around slowly.
She was there, and for the first time they were face-to-face. She was old, very old, and very wrinkled. Her skin was pale and diseased, her face covered with all sorts of sores. Her hair was white and falling out, her teeth rotted and sickly. But her eyes were bright as she grinned and raised a hand to wave.
<><><> <><> <>
The morning sun rose, and Mary entered the living room, finding her husband on the couch, with his hands folded and his head bent. He was staring at the television, nothing but a static screen, and didn’t say a word to her when she asked if he was okay. Mary laid a blanket on his shoulders, like she’d seen in police shows, and then got Lucy ready for the day.
Cassie took her little sister out, so Emma was the only child left in the house, asleep in her crib. It was just Mary and Daniel in the living room now.
“This can’t be happening to us…” Daniel shook, clutching his wife's hand with both of his. “Please tell me this isn’t real.”
“Daniel…”
“I shouldn’t have brought us here,” he muttered. “I shouldn’t. We should just go. We never should have come.But we can’t leave now.”
“We can still leave!” Mary said. “We… can just run.”
“There is no escaping her. We shouldn’t have come at all. Now we have to stay.” He lowered his head farther. “It’s all my fault, Mary.”
“No, no, stop it. It’s not your fault. We’ll get through it as a family and-”
“You don’t know what it’s like,” he snapped. “When she’s right in your face, and you know that she’s going to take your family, take your life, and that we can’t do anything about it.”
“She’s not taking anybody!” Mary leaned closer to him, shaking him gently. “Listen, Daniel. We are okay. We don’t have to panic, just take it slow. If that’ll help you. In a couple days, we’ll be gone. And then we can forget all about this, maybe see somebody-”
“I’m not going to counseling!” he shouted, jumping up from the couch. “This isn’t just some figment of my imagination!”
“I didn’t say that, Daniel. Please, sit down-”
“No! I’m going for a walk. Text me if you need anything.” He snatched his phone from the table in the kitchen as Mary chased after him.
“Please, come on, I’m sorry! Just stay here, please. Daniel, I’m-”
“Mary.” He turned around and faced her seriously. “We’re in danger. Make the decision while I’m gone. We can leave or we can stay. Y
ou choose if you wanna listen to me or not. You’ll see what happens. I love you. I love our family. I don’t wanna lose it all. You all.”
With that, he stepped out of the house and pulled the door shut behind him, hearing her sobs chase him out. When he got to the sidewalk, he turned towards the old police station out of habit. There was no place to go, so he just went.
A mile away from his house, he found an alleyway and turned into it. Pulling out his phone, he dialed a number and got it wrong. He scratched his head, thought hard, dialed again. No good. He scratched a little deeper, thought a little harder, and finally got the digits right.
“Who is this?” the familiar voice croaked, still groggy from the early hour. Daniel remembered California was three hours behind them. All the same, his friend should have been awake.
“It’s Daniel,” he said. “From twenty years ago.”
“Holy…”
“Yeah. I know. You remember the case in Hardy and Marcy?” Daniel glanced around the alley, empty of course, and lowered his voice. “Kidnapped kids, old woman in the forest, burnt cornfield, all that?”
“Umm.. rings a bell,” the voice on the other end said. “But… Daniel, didn’t some of those kids die? And aren’t you married? And-”
“We can catch up in a couple days. But I need you here and now. Just drop everything. Please. It’s a matter of life and death to me.”
“And where are you exactly?” There was a deep sigh through the phone.
“Marcy. With my family.”
“Why the heck would you go back there?” the man muttered angrily. “That’s… How are you that stupid? You know what year it is! I remember the pattern you told me about, and I’ve been thinking about it this entire year. I know you have too! And you went back?”
“I’ll tell you all about it when you’re here,” Daniel said. “But right now I need you here.”
“Daniel-”
“You don’t know the whole story. You don’t understand what it is. So let me tell you. Come back. Just one more time. I need you here. I’ll pay for everything. The plane, the hotel room, just come. I need to tell somebody.”
“You know what you’re asking of me?” the man asked. “What you want me to do? What this means?”
“Are you coming or not?”
There was a muttering spew of curses and then finally the voice said, “Yeah, I am.”
“Thank you, Stephen.”
As soon as Daniel hung up the phone, he felt relieved. But then his phone dinged and he saw the text message from his daughter, then another from his wife. He took off sprinting towards the rental house.
She was back.
Chapter 8
One
It was chaos when Daniel got back to his house, sweating and shaking.
Cassie was on the front porch crying, desperately sobbing into Mary’s shoulder and clutching at her mom’s shirt. Lucy stood beside them, her eyes on the ground like an ashamed child, as if it was somehow her fault. There was a neighbor sitting on the porch that he didn’t recognize. The young man was holding Emma, glancing at Cassie helplessly.
Four or five police officers were clustered around Cassie, each trying to ask a question, and another car had just pulled up, lights flashing.
Daniel ran to the officers and grabbed one’s shoulder. He tried to barge his way through, pushing them. “Get back!” he said. “Give her space! She’s my daughter, go-”
“Back, sir!” one gruff man barked, forcing Daniel to the side.
Cassie glanced up and saw her dad. She howled again and pressed against her mom’s soaked shirt.
“This is my daughter,” Daniel said more forcefully to the officers, “and I’m gonna stay right where I am. You’re welcome to stay. But only if you back up.”
The officers glanced at each other. Most of them took a step back, but the one who’d snapped at Daniel before opened his mouth to say something.
“No,” Daniel stopped him. “I was a detective here 20 years ago. I know more about this town than you ever will. So you’re gonna listen to me.”
When the man stepped away with the others, Daniel turned and knelt by his daughter, rubbing her arm comfortingly. He patted her forearm gently and looked up at his wife, who wore a devastated expression.
“Where’s Tyler?” he asked, clenching his teeth. He already knew.
Mary just shook her head as Cassie sobbed.
“What happened?”
Mary shook her head again. “She didn’t say.”
“Is… was um... there any sign of him?”
“No sign, sir,” said a policeman from behind. Daniel turned around and saw the 20-year-old holding up his notepad. “No signs of a struggle in the forest, no nothing. It’s like he wasn’t even there.”
Cassie mumbled something. They all turned to her.
“What is it?” Daniel asked, leaning in towards her.
“It was her,” Cassie repeated. “It was her. She came, she said ‘hi’ to Lucy, and then she took him. It was her. She took him.”
There was silence around them. Daniel felt his heart thud to the bottom of his stomach, and he exchanged dead looks with Mary. The young policeman stepped up beside him and addressed Cassie.
“Did you see her face? The… She?”
Daniel shivered with deja vu.
“No, I didn’t. All I saw was her hair. Long, white. She moved slowly. And…”
“How did she overpower him, ma’am?” the officer asked.
Cassie shook her head and jumped to her feet. She started crying again and raced inside the house. They heard her sobs as the door slammed closed.
“Well…” The officer looked around at everybody. “What… what now?”
“Look what you’ve done,” Mary snapped at him, before following her daughter inside. She huffed, stepped in, and let the door swing shut with a crack.
Lucy shrugged and turned to the neighbor, who was still holding Emma. She took her baby sister and exchanged a familiar glance with the thirty-something man. Then she strolled inside quietly, not making a sound. The man left, as Daniel and the police stood in silence. Eventually, everybody filtered away to different areas so that only Daniel and the young man remained.
“So… you were a policeman?”
Daniel shook his head and sat down on the steps. “Detective.”
“Musta seen some pretty crazy stuff around here, huh?” The young man chuckled. “Like… I’ve just been here a few weeks and there’s already this.”
“I didn’t see anything,” Daniel muttered. “Just one weird case.”
“What was it about?”
“Same as this.”
“Who got kidnapped?” the policeman asked eagerly.
“Doesn’t matter. You won’t have heard of them. And in 20 years, people won’t have heard of you. So if that’s what you’re in Marcy for, leave. You won’t be remembered.” He stood up and walked away towards the house. “Nice day. See you around.”
“Wait, wait!” The officer snapped to his feet. “Mister!”
Daniel turned around in front of the door. “What?”
“If you ever… need anything, my name is-”
“No, don’t,” Daniel interrupted. “Don’t tell me your name. Don’t tell me your age. Don’t offer yourself to me. Do nothing. Because if you get involved with me, you get involved with her.”
“Her?”
“Just stay away. Do your job and nothing more.”
<><><> <><> <>
“She was at the park with Tyler!” Daniel argued loudly, sitting on the dark porch outside with his wife. The town was gravely quiet around him, as the time ticked past 10.
Mary bounced Emma on her knee, listening to her cooing sounds. “Daniel… I know. I know that, and I know that’s disobeying us, but do you really wanna bring that up right now?”
“Of course not! But I don’t want our daughter to-”
“To what?” Mary snapped. “To love? To have a boyfriend? She’s gonna and sh
ould do those things! I know you didn’t want him on this trip, but it’s made her happy, where otherwise she’d be at our throats. Don’t you see that?”
“I just… We shouldn’t have come here.”
“Don’t even start!” Mary yelled, covering Emma’s ears. “Do not go down that road again, Daniel. I’m so done with that. This was a freak thing and soon they’ll find him again. And it’ll be fine.”
Daniel stared out into the night, not saying a word. He felt something else in the air, something close and sinister. He was thankful there were no streetlights near the back yard of their rental home. There was another house just thirty yards away, but that was more than enough distance for her to hide.
“Daniel?”
“Yeah?”
Mary stood up, holding Emma. “I’m going inside. Come in whenever you want, but sleep on the couch. I don’t wanna deal with you right now.”
“You don’t understand, Mary. I’m going to see an old friend tomorrow. He understands. But you don’t.”
“I understand plenty,” Mary said coldly. “Plenty. I know my husband’s going crazy because of some bad memories, he’s leaving me alone again tomorrow, and that coming here was the worst thing possible for our family.”
“It was,” he said, “but not for the reasons you think. We may not have… It’s just… Mary, there are some things I want to say right now, but I’m not going to. We just need to try and… just keep it together.”
Mary glared at him and then stormed off into the house with a crying Emma.
“She doesn’t understand,” Daniel said into the darkness. “But I do. And you won’t get them this time. I’ll do anything I can to stop you. Everything. I understand you.”
There was a sick laugh to his right, and from the corner of his eye he saw her standing against their porch. Nothing but a shadow, yet he remembered her features clearly.
She Watches Page 5
