Her own eyes opened. What little life was left in her would soon be gone, but she was still conscious. Her eyes swam in her head before falling on Robert's face. Then they narrowed with a look of hatred. She wiggled her arm out of the restraints and extended a long and bony finger toward his face.
"A curse," the woman said. "A curse on all of you!"
The medics looked down at her, stunned.
Then the woman shrieked and twisted violently on the board. And before any of them could decide what to do, the woman turned to ash before their very eyes.
The paramedics dropped the backboard in fear, and the dust of the woman sifted through the air.
As Robert stared down at the woman's remains, a terror gripped his heart. He shifted his gaze out to the town below as a cold and brooding wind picked up.
Night Flight
Three years later, Robert passed the peas.
"Thanks," his daughter Carmen said, grabbing the bowl and spooning a heaping pile onto her plate. She extended it out to her brother Tommy, but he just shook his head with a sour look on his face.
The family ate in silence for a long time before Robert broke it. "So what are you kids going to do tonight when I'm at work?" he asked.
Carmen and Tommy looked at each other, shrugging.
"I don't know, maybe watch a movie or something?" Carmen suggested. "As long as he doesn't act like a little brat, that is." She rustled his hair and he shrunk away from her. He always hated it when his big sister did that. But she was only joking; her brother was one of the most well-adjusted and best kids around.
"You better keep him in line," Robert said with a chuckle. "You're the big woman of the family now." He added the second part in good spirits, but as soon as he'd said it, his face fell. All of theirs did. He looked down at the wedding band on his finger and fiddled with it. It felt heavier these days, like a shackle. He didn't know exactly why he still wore it... maybe just to give the kids a semblance of normalcy, or maybe to remind them that they were still the same family they were when their mom was still around. But he missed her terribly, so he tried to chew the tension away in his jaw with the roast beef in his mouth.
"Dad..." Tommy said rather timidly, "...can you, um... take me trick-or-treating this year?" He regarded his dad with wide and fearful eyes, like he was afraid of what he was going to say.
Robert swallowed the mashed potatoes in his mouth, then wiped his lips. "We'll see," he said. He saw his son's face fall in disappointment, and he hated that look. "You know how busy I am. Things are quiet right now, so I'll try my best, but you know how the job is."
Tommy sullenly nodded.
"Hey, it's not so bad," he added, trying to lighten the mood. "If I can't make it, your sister can always take you."
"She always takes me," he complained. "She's taken me every year since Mom..." His face turned away.
Robert's heart strained. He hated seeing his children like this. It was always his wife that was the grand matriarch of the family, the nurturer who took care of all the odds and ends while he worked hard to provide a good life for all of them. But after she passed away three and a half years ago, all of the burdens of life fell on him. And sometimes it was difficult to shoulder.
Carmen took up the slack as much as she could. Losing her mother had been terrible, but she pulled through it as best as she could for her little brother's sake. She was ten years his senior and just a year into college now, and she did everything she could to help out her family and put a smile on their faces.
She nudged her brother in the shoulder. "Cheer up, I'm not so bad, am I?"
Tommy just turned and stuck his tongue out at her.
"Hey!" Carmen cried. She flicked him on the arm, and Tommy retaliated by loading up a pea on his spoon and launching it at her.
A minor food fight ensued, but Robert held a hand up and quashed it quickly. "Okay, okay, you two."
They all settled down and finished up their dinner. At a quarter to seven when he was ready for his shift, Robert said goodbye to his kids.
"Make sure he doesn't get into trouble," he said to Carmen in confidence.
"I will," she replied, standing next to him by the door. "I love you, Daddy." She stretched up on her toes and kissed him on the cheek.
He reached out and wrapped his large hand around hers and squeezed. "Love you too, Sweetpea." And with a smile, he opened the door and left for his shift.
Carmen watched the darkness swallow him as he headed for his cruiser. She shut the door and thought about taking Tommy trick-or-treating.
Everything had quickly gone back to normal after the horrific incident three years prior. The townspeople had been so ashamed by what they'd done that nobody talked about it at all anymore. Robert never figured out exactly who set the fire, but at this point it didn't matter. What happened was, and forever would be, a dark stain on their small town.
Carmen remembered it vividly from an outside view. She and her brother only got secondhand details from their father when he wasn't busy, and taking Tommy trick-or-treating that year was like walking through a ghost town. Half the town was too upset to even put out candy or take their own kids trick-or-treating, and the other half had stormed up the hill, demanding justice from the woman they mistakenly thought kidnapped David. The last two years had been normal, but each time, the frightening thought of her brother going missing or being kidnapped filled her thoughts.
She walked to the end of the hall and gently pushed open her brother's door. It seemed like the room was empty at first, and her heart lurched.
"Tommy?"
"...What?"
"Where are you?" she asked, searching around the room. Then she noticed the sheets on his bed were strewn haphazardly across it, with one side seemingly extending out into the air. She walked around the bed and saw that he had made himself a little cubby under the blanket in the narrow gap between his bed and the wall.
Tommy was lying on his stomach in the makeshift cubbyhole, reading an old Hardy Boys book by flashlight.
"The Ghost at Skeleton Rock..." Carmen read off the cover. "What's that, like your thirtieth Hardy Boys book?"
His eyes shifted up in thought. "No, only twenty-two." He turned his attention back to the book. "It's so cool! They found a clue in this ventriloquist's dummy, and now there's this tropical island they have to go to."
Carmen smiled. Her little brother loved adventure books, and in many ways he was still (and she hoped he always would be) curious and innocently mischievous. Even after their mother passed away, he kept his upbeat spirit, and that had helped her through a lot of hard times.
"I heard there's treasure buried at the school, you know," he said suddenly.
"At the school?"
"Yeah, buried in the playground."
"And who told you that?" Carmen asked, already feeling like she knew the answer.
"Brett did," Tommy replied. "Him, Randy and Shawn are going to go there tonight at eight. I want to go with them and find it!"
Carmen gave him a stern look. "You're not going anywhere, mister."
His face twisted into a mixture of shock and disappointment. He was a good kid, but he didn't take kindly to being told no. "Aw, come on, please? Dad doesn't have to know!"
"Do you know what dad will do to us—do to me—if he finds that you snuck out while he was gone? Tommy, he showed me the bullet."
Tommy didn't want to be deterred, but he knew he didn't have a leg to stand on.
Carmen turned around and sat on the floor, awkwardly leaning against the bed just under the sheet extending over them. "Besides, I don't want you hanging around Brett, anyway."
"I know you think he's a 'bad apple'," Tommy said.
"No, his two little lackeys are bad apples. He's a rotten apple."
"All bad apples are rotten apples," Tommy said.
"Whatever. You know what I mean. He's nothing but a troublemaker and a delinquent. Him and his sister, too."
"A delinq... what?" Tommy said.<
br />
"Never mind," Carmen replied. "Just enjoy your book." She turned to him and sternly put a finger in his face. "Remember, no sneaking out. A living family is a happy family."
Tommy set the book down. "Fine," he said sheepishly. "So, are you going to take me for a costume?"
"What do you mean?" Carmen asked.
"For Halloween," he said. "It's only in three days."
"Oh, right." She went through the calendar in her head and couldn't believe how fast time flew. "I'll take you to the store tomorrow and get you something. What do you want to go as?"
"Joe Hardy!" he cried.
"Hmm, so like a red sweater? That would be a pretty lame costume."
"You're lame!"
Carmen kicked at the bed sheet attached to the wall, pulling the tape away and making it fall on him.
"Hey!" he shouted, re-taping it to the wall.
Carmen turned and left the room, giggling. She went to the living room and plunked on the couch. She turned on the TV and mindlessly flipped through the channels for a while, tired after a long day of school. She ran through a list of things to do that night in her head and tried to prioritize them, but she soon realized that she didn't want to do a single thing. Finally, she admitted defeat and got up. She decided that she needed to take a shower, so she walked back to Tommy's room to let him know.
When she pushed the door open again, she didn't see him anywhere. "You're still reading?" she asked. She walked around his bed and bent down to look in the cubby, but he wasn't there. "Tommy?" She pressed herself down to her stomach and looked under the bed, then she stood up and looked in his closet, but he wasn't anywhere. She spun around, about to go down the hallway, when she felt a cold breeze wash over the back of her neck.
Her heart pounding, she turned around.
The window to his bedroom was wide open and his curtains fluttered in the night breeze.
Tommy was gone.
Gingerbread
Carmen blew hot air into her hands to warm them up as she rushed down the street. She only had enough time to hastily throw on a coat on her way out the door, and now the cold wind nipped at her cheeks, giving them a rosy hue.
She silently seethed under her breath, trying to decide how she was going to kill her little brother when she found him. At least she knew where he went.
The school was several blocks away from their house, and the only car they had at home was her father's police cruiser, so she was used to walking and taking the bus around town. It would take her a while to get there, and she tried to figure out what path Tommy would have taken to see if she could catch him on the way.
She didn't at all trust Brett or his ilk. They were in the same school grade as Tommy, and she didn't think that anyone could find a more reprobated bunch if they tried. She'd heard many first-hand stories about Brett from her father, though thankfully she never had much interaction with him herself. Robert told her of a time where he deliberately started a fire in the school's kitchen, and about another time when he had snuck into the vehicle pool in the back of the police station, trying to break into a cruiser, as well as a host of other incidents. Carmen didn't know what he had in mind for her brother, but she knew it certainly had nothing to do with "treasure".
Carmen reached the main street of the town heading into their tiny downtown area, if they could call it that. A few cars rolled by, and some people were still out walking along from store to store, though the crowds were dwindling at this hour.
She rounded the corner and cut onto Rosedale Avenue, and a funny feeling hit her. She stumbled, using the brick wall of the store next to her to prop herself up. Her head felt strange, like she was dizzy and about to pass out. She waited for the moment to pass, wondering if she hadn't had enough to eat or if something was disagreeing with her, but it didn't end. She squeezed her eyes shut and leaned fully against the wall, pressing her palms to her temples. The feeling was indescribable, almost like a worm digging through her brain.
And then in the next moment, it was gone.
Carmen stood upright and blinked her eyes a few times. She had never experienced anything like that before, and it frightened her. She momentarily forgot about her brother as she tried to figure out what happened to her, then she was struck by another feeling: anger.
She was confused. This feeling was completely familiar to her, but she couldn't figure out why on earth she was feeling it now. There was no reason she should have been angry about anything. She was upset with her brother, sure, but she was more frightened for his safety and the trouble he was getting in, than angry.
As she started to move down the street again, shrugging off the odd experience, she spotted the Wilsons in a parked car across the street. They were an older couple in their seventies, and as she peered at them through the window, it seemed like Mr. Wilson had a look of anguish on his face. His wife was twisted around in her seat, caring for him, and then he began to make gestures as if he was telling her that he was okay. A moment later, the car lurched forward and they rolled off out of view.
Carmen paused again, watching the car go.
The streets emptied out a bit, and all she heard was the soft hooting of an owl in a nearby tree. She spotted it sitting atop a high branch. The owl's head was cocked toward her and its wide eyes stared. Carmen glanced away as she walked, but then when she looked back, she saw that the owl was still gazing at her. Feeling frightened now, she watched its head track her movement with every step she took.
She swallowed hard and picked up the pace.
The school was quiet and the whole place was empty, except for one last late worker.
The four boys huddled behind a row of bushes at the perimeter of the property, watching as the front door of the school opened. Mr. Pabodie strode out, turning and locking the doors, before heading off to the last car in the parking lot.
"There he goes," Brett said, watching him.
"About time," Randy said excitedly. He bounced up and down on his knees a little from behind the bush, like he was ready to take off sprinting or he had to go to the bathroom.
Tommy crouched down next to them, feeling the cold bite of the wind on the back of his neck. He looked off toward the playground at the side of the schoolyard. They would have to wait for Mr. Pabodie to leave so he didn't spot them, but then it looked like they had the run of the place. "So it's buried under the slide?" he asked.
"Yeah, totally," Brett said slyly.
"And he's off," Randy announced, still bouncing.
The car backed up away from the parking stop, then it pulled forward and drove out of the lot onto Winegrass Road.
"Let's go!" Brett said. He tagged Randy and Shawn on the shoulder, then he cast a glance down at Tommy as he stood. "Well, you comin'?"
Tommy hesitated a moment, then he nodded his head. He really wanted to find the treasure that Brett told him was buried there, but something felt off about everything. Maybe it was the darkness or the cold, or the spookiness that saturated the couple weeks leading up to Halloween, but he was uncomfortable. Regardless, he got to his feet and followed the three kids.
They skirted along the edge of the parking lot to the playground, and Brett walked past the jungle gym to the row of swings at the back. There was a set of four, and three of them took a seat with Tommy lagging behind.
"I thought you said it was under the slide," Tommy said.
"Nah, I've got it right here," Brett replied coolly. He reached into his jacket and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. Randy's eyes lit up as he fidgeted on the swing, and Shawn just stared at Brett quietly.
"Where'd you get that?" Tommy choked out.
"My sister's boyfriend," Brett replied. He slid a cigarette halfway out the pack. "You ever try one?"
"N-no."
Brett held the pack out to him, and Tommy could quickly see the smile on his face fading the more he hesitated.
"Well? Take it! You want to hang out with us, don't you?"
Tommy didn't say anything, but he r
eached out and took the cigarette, holding it up in his fingers and feeling the texture and shape of the strange object. Brett passed the pack around to Randy and Shawn, who each took one.
"Who's got the lighter?" Brett asked.
"Right here." Shawn produced a BIC lighter.
Brett took it and flicked the wheel, holding the flame out to Tommy. There was a look of glee dancing across his face, and for a second, Tommy thought he saw the face of the devil himself flash across it.
He carefully slid the end of the cigarette between his lips and leaned his neck out for the lighter. He didn't really know what was going on, but he wanted to fit in.
A sharp pain tore at his ear, and Tommy yelled in agony. He was yanked off the swing and dragged up to his feet until he was stretched on his toes to accommodate the harsh tug.
The other boys' heads twisted around and saw Carmen holding her little brother by the ear, a nasty scowl on her face.
"Just what do you think you're doing?" she demanded of her brother.
He opened his mouth to speak and the cigarette tumbled to the ground. "I... I..."
Carmen gave him a yank and let him stumble away from the group, then she turned her attention to the three boys sitting on the swing set who looked like deer caught in the headlights. "And you three," she seethed. She turned her ire on Brett specifically, marching up to him and grabbing him by the ear, too.
"Hey!" he protested. He always tried to act cool and tough, but he didn't stand much of a chance in front of a nineteen-year-old, even if she was a girl.
"You guys are nine, for God's sake!" Carmen shouted. She ripped the pack out of his hand and threw it on the ground, stomping on it.
"Let go of him!" a voice shrieked from the darkness.
Carmen spun around and saw the miserable Stacy Stalworth, Brett's sister. When Brett saw her, he smirked, then he shoved himself away from Carmen and broke free of her grip.
The Witch of Halloween House Page 2
