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Fallen Stones

Page 25

by Thomas M. Malafarina


  She replied smiling with understanding, "Yeah. I know. You're probably right. But I still would like to have the paint and stuff ready. Just in case."

  "No problem," Jason said. "We can do all of that Thursday. Right now I have to think about getting everything ready for my visit to the Ashton plant on Wednesday."

  Then Stephanie asked, "I don't suppose there is any way Sammy and I could come up with you on Wednesday morning is there?"

  Jason knew at some point Stephanie was going to ask to come along and as such, he already had his reply prepared.

  "No," Jason answered, perhaps a bit too quickly. Then he tried to backpedal by explaining. "You know I would love to take you both with me, but I have to be at the plant early, which means I will be out the door before any of you even wake up. Plus, you have to get the two older kids off to school and someone has to be here when they come home. I'm sorry, honey, but it’s just not possible. I have to take this trip alone." Jason could see by the trusting look in her eyes she was buying whatever trumped-up story he was selling, and that fact alone made him feel even guiltier about the deception. But he kept reminding himself it was something that had to be done for the happiness and welfare of his family.

  She asked, "Won't it drive you crazy to be so close to the house on Wednesday but not be able to stop by?"

  Jason said, "No. Not really. I will have so much to do to get ready not only for the job transfer but also learning about my new responsibilities in Ashton that by the end of the day, my brain will be so fried the house will be the last thing on my mind."

  Stephanie was always amazed at the way Jason could compartmentalize his life and his responsibilities. He had a natural tendency to categorize everything, put it into its own appropriate mental box and deal with it when required. She supposed that was how he was able to handle multiple projects and responsibilities so effectively. Stephanie found it mind-boggling how he could be in Ashton on business, just a few miles from their new and incredible house, yet he would have no interest in stopping by whatsoever, because this was not part of his plan for the day. Likewise, when he and the family went up to the house for the weekend, she knew he wouldn’t even think about his new job or would never consider going anywhere near the Ashton plant, no matter how excited he might be about his new promotion.

  It was as if Jason's brain was equipped with some sort of bank of switches he could turn on and off at will. Stephanie however, was the exact opposite. There was no way she could have dealt with being so close to the property and not have at least done a quick drive-by and maybe stop to take a few pictures with her cell phone. But not Jason; it was simply not his way. Then she suddenly got an idea.

  Stephanie suggested, "Well why don't you stay overnight at the house Wednesday night and head back first thing Thursday morning? You are off from work anyway." Although she was sure, the inflexible Jason would probably not be interested in staying because it was not part of his current itinerary, she suggested it nonetheless.

  "That might be a good idea," Jason said with very little enthusiasm, "But no. I don't think I will. I want my first night in the house to be with all of you. That will make it much more special." The fact of the matter was, Jason was certain after dealing with his unpleasant graveyard task at the house, the last thing he would want to do was be alone in the unfamiliar environment. He felt a cold chill race down his spine and did his best to ignore it. He didn't believe in ghosts or spirits and was not worried about the owners of the graves seeking vengeance against him for disturbing their rest, but the idea of his desecrating a gravesite then staying alone in the house on the same night just seemed a bit too creepy, even for him.

  To Stephanie, Jason's was behaving as she predicted he would. She admired the way he smoothed over his refusal by suggesting it would be better if he spent the first night in the house with her and the kids. But she knew how his mind worked and his rejection of her idea was born more of his inflexibility rather than any desire to create a special family moment. She felt like saying, "Sometimes Jason, you can be so stubborn about things," but instead she chose to respond to his comment by saying, "Sometimes you are so sweet." And the she kissed him. She understood, on occasion, not being completely honest could be a good thing. However, had she known about Jason's true plans for that Wednesday, she likely would have thought much differently.

  Truth be told, Jason knew he would likely be able to handle most if not all of his promotion and transfer paperwork over the corporate Intranet and there would be no business-related reason for him to travel to Ashton on Wednesday. He suspected he might have to do so at some point in time but what he had to do at this stage in the process didn't require a personal visit. The memory of their discussion faded as Jason's tractor passed the spa building.

  Jason looked over at the hexagonal shaped building recalling the strange feeling he had experienced the previous Saturday. He would have sworn someone had been watching him although he knew it was not possible. He experienced so many strange unexplainable feelings that day, so he had pushed the sensation aside. Yet, now as his tractor passed the odd structure, the hair on the back of his neck began to tingle. He pressed down on the gas pedal, eager to get to his business.

  As he bounded along the meadow, getting closer to the site of the graves, Jason recalled his previous two days of work. On Monday, as planned, Jason went to work and told Walter he would accept the promotion. Walt then instructed the personnel department to immediately begin processing the paperwork, including the application for relocation expenses. Jason figured he might as well take advantage of the cash regardless of the windfall Stephanie had received. Since he understood he would have to continue working anyway, he might as well accept all the benefits he could get. Walt offered to have the Ashton personnel department put him in touch with some local realtors the company often used. But Jason explained it wouldn't be necessary.

  He briefly told Walt how Stephanie had been willed a house in the Ashton area, and they would be moving into that property as soon as possible. He deliberately neglected to mention the size or the opulence of the property and decided instead to let Walt make his own assumptions. Walter lived in the far western side of Lancaster County, almost into York County and although they had been friends, he doubted once the man retired he would ever see Walt again, especially with them moving so far north. He decided the less said about their inheritance the better.

  "What a great coincidence," Walt said. "Stephanie gets a house in Ashton, right when you need it. That's amazing." Then Walt said, "But you're still going to need a realtor to sell your current house, won't you?" Then he quipped, "Or did someone with a bag of cash walk in off the street and offer to buy your house sight unseen?"

  "No such luck," Jason said. "We'll need to find a realtor and put the place on the market. But I plan to use a local Reading area realtor for that business, and I can contact them on my own.”

  Then Walt reminded him, "Well, just be sure to keep copies of your closing costs and moving expenses because your new promotion entitles you to a refund for most of those types of expenditures."

  Jason agreed to do so then reminded Walt of something he had said on the previous Friday. "Walt. Last Friday you told me if I took the job in Ashton I could take off this Wednesday through Friday to get some of my personal stuff straightened out for the move. Does that offer still stand?"

  "By all means," Walter agreed. "As I said. If you can just cover for me while the folks from Ashton are here today and tomorrow, that won't be a problem."

  Jason said, "Thanks, Walt. I appreciate that. By the way, who is coming down from Ashton today anyway?"

  "Well..." Walt replied thinking, "as far as I know...the man you are replacing, Jim Dodson, as well as two of his engineers...who, now that I think about it, I suppose will very shortly be your engineers. One guy by the name of Brian Josephs and another named Ken Jackson. Do you know either of those guys?"

  Jason felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach. For the
first time he realized the two engineers who would be arriving shortly were going to be his subordinates within a matter of a few weeks. He had met all of the Ashton engineers at one time or another. He had gone out for drinks and pizza with most of them at some point in time, but that was as their equals, now things would be very different. It would be very strange to meet them again knowing he was going to be their boss and especially since he was told they had no knowledge of his upcoming promotional offer especially if they didn't know about it, which he assumed was the case.

  Jason knew, Brian Josephs to be a good, hard-working technical non-political type of manufacturing engineer, concerned only with doing the best job possible. Jason suspected no matter whom his boss might be Brian would always do a good job. He was the sort of man one simply gave minimal instructions, pointed in the right direction then let him loose to solve the problem.

  Ken Jackson, however, would be a different situation entirely. He was the senior manufacturing engineer and was likely the one who Jim Dodson had been grooming to take his place. He wouldn’t be happy to learn Jason had taken a job, which he believed to be rightfully his. As Jason recalled, in addition to being good at his job, Ken was also a very political sort of animal. He was a local boy, born and raised in Schuylkill County with many local friends in the area. He knew how the system at Ashton worked and how to get what he needed. If any of the Ashton engineers were to end up being a problem for him, it would likely be Ken.

  Jason hoped once his promotion was announced, Ken might become angry enough to leave the company and seek employment elsewhere. But Jason also understood the economic conditions in the country, not to mention in the job-starved area in and around Schuylkill County. He would likely end up stuck with Ken and would have to find a way to deal with him. Jason decided if possible, since Walter was leading the tour, he would keep a low profile and try to avoid any interaction with the group for the present. It was all so strange and uncomfortable for him. He managed to keep himself busy and was able to avoid the group on Monday.

  But on Tuesday, Jason was required to sit in on a meeting with Walt and the Ashton group to discuss various technical aspects of the many pieces of equipment on their list for transfer. It was a bit awkward for Jason as well as the other engineers, but they all did their best to focus on the job at hand and Jason avoided eye contact as much as possible. Jason did notice Jim Dodson look at him several times in an appraising fashion. He assumed Jim was aware by now of Jason's acceptance of the job and that Dodson might comparing Jason to his own choice for his replacement, wondering if Jason measured up to his expectations.

  Jason left that image drift from his mind as the tractor pulled alongside the copse of tall grass and weeds where he had discovered the burial sites of the two young boys while visiting the property the previous Saturday. He positioned the tractor so the cart was directly in front of the thicket and the tractor itself was blocking any view of the area from the house. He was quite certain none of the workers could see him from any of the windows due to the position of the barn and the spa buildings, but he wanted to be sure if anyone decided to walk out to speak to him he could have his activities hidden from their approach. He had instructed them to call him on his cell if they needed to speak to him, but in his experience most people often tended do whatever they wanted, no matter what instructions they might have been given.

  With great trepidation, Jason stepped from the tractor onto the grass then up over the tall grass and into the family graveyard.

  Chapter 20

  As Jason's feet touch ground on the burial site, he felt a strange sensation, the likes of which he hadn't experienced the first time he entered the same area on the previous Saturday. Although his experience that day wasn't quite clear in his memory, Jason recalled how it had been surreal and possibly disturbing for him. A similar feeling was now overtaking him. Yet it was different, unlike anything he had ever encountered before. His entire body felt as if it were straining to move against some sort of current or force, which seemed to turn the very air around him into a gelatinous substance.

  Jason forced his head to look downward, not wanting to trip and fall during what had suddenly become a painstakingly slow progression, fearing that doing so might cause him to hover helplessly in the liquid atmosphere not being able to regain his footing. As he looked down, he saw the remains of the dead fawn, now all but completely gone, save for the blanched bones and a few random tufts of hair. He was uncertain why everything around him seemed so strange and surreal, but the rational part of his mind chalked it up to a combination of discomfort at the ghoulish task awaiting him and perhaps an active imagination, which he realized was apparently working overtime.

  He was certain if he could just keep moving forward for another moment or so, everything would be fine, the strange almost hypnotic spell would pass and he would return to normal. However, for the moment, he was certain something was definitely wrong. Then, as if to accentuate that very fact, the temperature on the bright sunny morning seemed to have dropped over thirty degrees and the light faded all around him to a dull gray, sending icy chills throughout his body. He noticed a foul stench; deep, woodsy and feral, like that of a wild animal. There was also another underlying smell, perhaps that of decomposition. He felt as if this were not simply the result of the rotting carcass of the fawn, but was something else, something much worse; something coming up from deep within the very soil of this strange place. The feeling caused him to sense a terror deep down in the pit of his stomach.

  Then as he had hoped, after a few seconds and a few more challenging steps forward, he was able to once again move normally as the light returned and the temperature rose around him to where it should have been on such a lovely spring morning. Likewise, the rancid stench had disappeared almost completely.

  Jason was suddenly reminded of an experience from his childhood. He had always been terrified of funeral parlors and the idea of dead bodies being laid out for display inside. One day, one of his friends whose uncle was a mortician called Jason and asked him to meet him at his uncle's funeral home, the plan being they would meet there then head to a local park to hang out. Jason was about nine or ten years old at the time.

  He recalled standing at the front door of the funeral home with his hand on the door, frightened beyond reason and unable to pull it open. It was as if some genetic primitive survival mechanism built into his brain would not permit him to pull the handle. After a few tense moments, when he finally gathered the courage to pull and the large wooden and leaded glass door slowly opened a few inches, his senses were accosted with the overpowering smell of funeral flowers.

  One would normally think such an aroma might be pleasant and calming, but not for young Jason Wright. The odor, which was actually a combination of many different types of flowers that had spent the day filling the funeral home with their various blended scents, seemed to Jason to be a vile and revolting stench, which when he opened the door hit him like a baseball bat to the face. This repulsive stink caused his young stomach to turn over with revulsion. Instead of the aroma of pleasing flowers, Jason's senses had been bombarded with the smells of rotting, decaying vegetation. His mind was filled with the image of an unrecognizable pile of putrid sludge, infested with worms and other crawling insects. To Jason, the rotting mass was representative of the same type of decomposition that would eventually overtake the current resident of the funeral parlor once he or she was put deep into the ground.

  At first the young boy felt as if he might pass out from the offensive wall of reek, then he thought he might vomit. Instead, he stood staring into the darkness of the interior of the funeral parlor while the invisible barrier of fumes surrounded his face and blocked his entry, terrifying him to the very core of his young soul.

  Jason had been certain if he tried to pass through that transparent wall of noxious vapors, the air might have felt thick and perhaps liquidy or gelatinous. Young Jason knew if he tried to enter the funeral parlor, the festering flora
l putrefaction would surround him like an invisible nest of living, deadly vines as it suffocating tendrils wrapped tightly about him in a final grip of death.

  He imagined long, thin, serpentine fingers of unseen stench, crawling up into his nostrils, their slimy essence stealing slowly into his skull and penetrating his brain, while still other crept downward into his throat, eventually cutting off his air supply before slithering further down into his stomach, where they would begin to devour him from the inside out.

  Overcome with terror, the young boy immediately turned and fled from the horrifying house of the dead, forgetting completely about his friend and not even caring if he ever saw him or the dreaded funeral parlor again. He recalled how when he had been running madly from the building he could have sworn he heard a voice inside his head calling him to come back and face his fate. But he refused to even turn around as he fled in terror.

  Jason suddenly found himself alert and surprised that he had not run from this latest strange sensation but had somehow been able to rise to the challenge and make it past the strange barrier, that is to say, if there actually had been such an obstruction. Now safely on the other side, he was unsure of what, if anything he had just encountered.

  He turned slowly and he looked behind him. It honestly felt to Jason as if he really had passed through some type of invisible barrier in which the air was thick and impossibly semi-solid and almost pliable. Now safely on the opposite side of the strange passage, Jason began to wonder if he would ever be able to return through it with the tombstones or if he might never again be able to penetrate the blockade. Suppose he had passed into some sort of alternative dimension? Suppose he was no longer in his own world?

  He had a momentary attack of anxiety, imagining himself trapped behind the barrier like an animal in a cage unable to get back to his world. And if he were trapped, would he ever be found? He wondered what someone on the opposite side of the transparent wall would see, if anything. Might they see him trapped on the other side or would they see nothing? He could see the tractor and trailer right where he had left them. He began to be overcome by panic. He questioned if he might spend the rest of his life, or perhaps eternity, in some strange alternate dimension where he would be able to look though the invisible wall and see his family living their lives on the other side but they would never be able to see or hear him.

 

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