The Truth About Kadenburg

by T. E. Ridener

  “Hell no, I don’t,” Lorcan stated between clenched teeth. He was becoming agitated very quickly. He was beginning to wonder why he hadn’t disemboweled this man yet. It would be justified for what they’d done to Liam.

  The man sighed as he lifted his hand to run his palm down the length of his face. He chewed his inner cheek for a second before he spoke again.

  “My name is Dimitri Fridolf,” he extended his hand once more as his eyes stayed on Lorcan’s. “Liam was my mate.”

  Everything that Lorcan thought he knew up until that very moment suddenly vanished as the color drained from his face. Everything his father had taught him in the ways of the ursithrope became null and void as his eyes bore into the hazel hues of the man standing before him. Some things became confusing while others became clear, and Lorcan’s entire world turned upside down.

  Three

  “Thanks for giving me a chance,” Presley said as she eased the tray of syrup dispensers onto the counter and then turned to look at Nana Hettie.

  “I’m only doing this for your uncle, Presley. He’s a good man and he’s done a lot of things for me. I owe him this favor,” she stared at Presley wearily before she pointed a finger in her direction. “But you better dot your i’s and cross your t’s because I don’t hesitate on firing lazy people.”

  Presley chewed at her lip for a second before she picked up an empty dispenser to clean. “Yes, Ma’am,” she nodded. Sheesh. Nana Hettie always seemed to be nice to everyone except for Presley, and she just didn’t understand why that was. Presley hadn’t done anything to her as far as she knew. Then again, she hadn’t really been the poster child for teenagers in Kadenburg.

  Presley didn’t like to think about how stupid and reckless her behavior was back then. She had gone through a terrible phase of wild hormones and the need to rebel against society. Maybe she’d done a few things that tarnished her name, but it wasn’t like she murdered anybody!

  The first two hours on the job of being a waitress at Nana Hettie’s diner passed fairly quickly. The breakfast crowd filed in for their usual meals-as if they expected Presley to read their minds-and then they were gone, leaving behind an hour’s worth of messes for her to clean up.

  It’s money, she reminded herself. The sooner you save up, the sooner you can get out of here. She could do this. It wasn’t so bad. She’d done factory work before and that had been bad. She really admired the people who could do such a repetitive task all day, every day. Waitressing was definitely the luxury job to have in Kadenburg. It was the only motivation she needed. The rest of her five hour shift passed in nearly the blink of an eye and then she was heading out the door.

  She didn’t want to head straight back to her Uncle Arnold’s just yet. The evening was young as far as she was concerned and even though the town rolled up its streets by 8pm on any given day of the week, Presley was determined to find somewhere to pass the time.

  One drink wouldn’t hurt, she thought as she pulled into the parking lot of Jimbo’s. Jimbo’s was the only bar in Kadenburg and Presley wasn’t a stranger to the smoky atmosphere of drunken men. As soon as she was legal, she made it a weekend ritual to take up fort in the small building, shooting pool with men who thought they could play, and listening to the country classics such as Hank Sr. and Johnny Cash. Sometimes, it was the only thing a girl could find to do when she lived in a hick town.

  This is a bad idea, the more reasonable voice echoed in her mind. Don’t rely on old habits.

  Presley rolled her eyes, ignoring her own voice of reason, as she killed the engine and got out of her car, making sure the doors were locked before she walked towards the entrance. The bright green neon sign overhead flickered. The ‘J’ was dark-someone needed to fix that. It was only going to be one drink. That’s all she needed, a little something to help her relax for the evening. She deserved it after slaving away in the diner anyway, didn’t she? That was the argument she was going to go with. One drink wouldn’t hurt anything.

  Once she was inside and seated at the bar, Presley gazed around to see if there was anyone she recognized. Kadenburg was an extremely small town, but there were still travelers who passed through and made the bar their home during their stay. She couldn’t imagine why anyone would actually want to stay there, even for a short amount of time. Aside from the old drive-in theater, there was nothing else to serve as entertainment for the locals; let alone people travelling.

  When she didn’t see anyone she recognized among the small crowd of faces, Presley turned her attention back to the bartender who gave her a big grin.

  “Presley Goult, back in town to raise some hell?” He asked with a chuckle. He placed a cold beer bottle in front of her before he moved back to the small sink to wash some glasses.

  “Who, me?” Presley laughed as she lifted the bottle for a drink. “Would I do that, Jim?”

  The older male turned his head to gaze at her over his shoulder, shaking his head slowly as he chuckled. “You’ve still got a mighty prestigious reputation around here, young lady. One that nobody else will ever live up to.”

  Presley took a large sip of her beer, letting it slide down her throat and pool in her stomach as she winced from his words. She’d never meant to be as bad as people made her out to be.

  Rearrange the drive-in advertisement sign to imply the mayor prefers beef over taco and everybody thinks you’re a criminal, she rolled her eyes before she tilted her head back to chug over half the bottle she had planned on nursing. Forget it. I’m getting drunk.

  It wasn’t her wisest decision-and she had a whole list of “stupid things Presley shouldn’t do, but does anyway” stored in the furthest corner of her mind. After three more beers, she knew she’d crossed the line. She hadn’t had a single drop in nearly two years. She had been doing so well.

  “Time to close up,” Jim stated as he turned off the lights that kept the back part of the building visible. “You need me to give you a lift home, Presley?”

  Presley slowly lifted her gaze to the blurry image before herself as she laughed lightly. “Nah,” she started. She tossed her hand into the air, wiggling her fingers. “I think I’ll be okay.”

  “Presley,” Jim said more sternly. “You’re three sheets to the wind, kiddo. You can’t drive home in that shape.”

  “I’ve done it before,” she slurred, frowning.

  “Well, you’re not going to do it under my watch. I’m taking you home.”

  Presley couldn’t put up much of an argument as Jim rounded the bar and wrapped an arm around her waist. For an old man, he sure was strong. He guided her out the front door and then made sure the door locked before he led her to his jeep. Much like Uncle Arnold’s, it was a clunker. Apparently no one in Kadenburg ever believed in updating their vehicles.

  “There you go,” Jim said as he eased her down into the passenger seat. He leaned over her with the seat belt, securing her in place before he shut the door and made his way to the driver’s side.

  Presley was giggling at nothing in particular as she gazed out the window towards the woods. It was awfully dark. Sometimes she wondered what it would be like to go out there this late at night; something her Uncle Arnold had warned her never, ever to do. A mountain lion had been spotted several times within the past thirty years or so.

  A mountain lion, Presley thought with a frown. That’s what killed Liam. Her uncle Arnold had told her about it on the way home after running into Lorcan only days before. She still couldn’t believe it. She couldn’t imagine the pain his family was going through. Even if Mrs. Bamey didn’t like her, she didn’t like the thought of the woman losing her son.

  Her mind wandered over a variety of topics as Jim drove down the dark road that would eventually lead to her home. She only lived about five miles out from the main part of town anyway. Kadenburg, in general, was only ten miles in radius. Sure, there were smaller towns in existence, but there were much bigger ones, too. She missed Jacksonville.

  You do not miss Jacksonv
ille, her mind screamed as she frowned. That idiot lives in Jacksonville, and so do all of those bad memories.

  She didn’t want to be reminded. She didn’t want to think about that last agonizing week in the Sunshine State. No, she was stuck in the Volunteer State once again and god, she didn’t want to die there.

  “So, are you adjusting to being back home?” Jim asked as he eased around one of the many curves on Jessen Bend Road. Jessen Bend Road was the main road that took everyone from one end of Kadenburg to the other. For a brief moment, Presley wished she was taking it straight back to the interstate.

  Don’t be stupid, her mind warned. She sighed, shifting restlessly in her seat as she turned her head to look at him. “I guess so. Not much has changed around here.”

  Jim chuckled again as he eased off the gas pedal, slowing down a little as they came to a crossing famous for psychotic deer who had a death wish. Too many cars had been totaled because of the deer that came running out of the woods and right into the windshield of passing cars.

  “It’s changed a little bit,” Jim offered. “I mean, shoot, we’ve got ourselves one of those fancy coffee places now.”

  A fancy coffee place? Presley was fairly sure that Mrs. Hodge’s House of Coffee couldn’t count as a ‘fancy’ coffee place. She ran it on the corner of Bluxom Street, right in the very spot where a poorly advertised comic book store had once tried to rise to stardom. No one was interested in comic books anyway, which was a shame.

  “I saw that,” she commented with a small grin as she moved her attention back to the trees as they passed by in a blur. Everything was blurry at the moment. She wasn’t even sure how she was holding a coherent conversation if she was going to be honest with herself.

  “Let’s listen to some music, huh?” Jim asked as he leaned over to turn the small knob on the stereo. It was such an old jeep. The stereo had a cassette player for cripes sake.

  Presley closed her eyes, allowing familiar country crooner to coax her into a sudden sleep. She rested her forehead against the cool glass of the window as Jim’s voice became distant in her mind.

  The sudden shout of surprise from Jim and then the screeching of tires had Presley’s head snapping up in an instant as she turned to see the look of fear on the man’s face.

  “Hold on!” Jim cried as he slammed his foot on the brake and jerked the wheel to the right, hard.

  Presley had no idea what was going on. Her body was overwhelmed by panic and fear as the front of the jeep broke through the guardrail on the side of the road, sending the jeep down the bumpy mountain side at fifty miles an hour.

  Presley squeezed her eyes shut as she silently prayed. This couldn’t be happening. She wasn’t even sure how long she’d been asleep and there was a good chance they hadn’t passed by Jessen River yet.

  Oh god, don’t let that fear become a reality, she pleaded as she gripped the dashboard until her knuckles turned white.

  “Hold on,” Jim repeated as he pumped the brake again. “Shoot. I think the brakes are gone.”

  “What?” Presley squeaked as she turned her head to look at him again with widened eyes. This wasn’t happening! She hadn’t really meant it when she said she’d die in this town. She wanted to take the statement back before it was too late.

  “Oh shit..Hold on, Presley!”

  Presley turned to gaze through the windshield again as she saw the clearing ahead, and most importantly what was just past it. The River.

  “Oh god no,” Presley whispered as she shut her eyes tightly.

  Her life suddenly flashed in front of her like a vivid film. She felt like she was in an empty movie theater with her life on the screen. All she could see was her Uncle Arnold and his smiling face. When he taught her to tie her shoes; when he taught her to ride a bike; her first day of school. She could see Lorcan sitting the third row back on the bus and Liam right behind him. They were both grinning at her as she made her way past them to sit in the fifth row.

  Lorcan turned in his seat to peer back at her, his smile only growing bigger. “Hi. I’m Lorcan. What’s your name?”

  But just as quickly as she heard herself saying hi back to him, the images fast forwarded to junior high. Her first real dance with Curtis Woodley. Man, she’d had such a crush on him. Westlife’s “Swear It Again” echoed in her mind as she stood by the punch bowl and waited for his return while he was in the bathroom. Lorcan appeared then, dressed in a nice blue dress shirt and a black tie as he smiled and offered his hand to her. “Want to dance with me?” He asked.

  She was flung forward again, this time to only two months back. She was in the bathroom of her apartment that she shared with Tim and she was smiling so wide it made her face hurt. She could remember that. She was holding something in her hands as she picked up the phone to call her boyfriend.

  “It’s positive!” she shouted with joy.

  Then she was thrown into the darkest part of her memory, sitting on a hospital bed with her arms hugged tight around herself as the doctor patted her shoulder gently. “I’m sorry,” he said. “There’s nothing I can do to stop it.”

  Presley wanted to get as far away from that memory as she could. She could feel herself clawing at the images, needing them to disappear from her mind as pain surged through her wrist. She cried out as she heard glass breaking and simultaneously she could see the images of her life ripping apart. There was nothing left but darkness.

  “Presley, open your eyes.”

  The disembodied voice echoed in the darkness and Presley tried to search for the person it belonged to. It was the voice of a man. It was someone that she knew.

  “Presley, it won’t end like this. I need you to fight to open your eyes now.”

  Presley groaned softly as she tried to force her eyes open. Her eyelids felt as if they weighed a thousand pounds each. Everything hurt. Why did everything hurt?

  “Presley..”

  “I heard you,” Presley called out desperately. “I..I can’t.”

  “Yes, you can. Trust her.”

  “Trust who?” Presley struggled to open her eyes as she felt the searing pain surge through her arm and into her elbow. She sobbed from the dull throbbing as she heard the low, animalistic growl sounding out in the pitch black atmosphere she was surrounded by.

  Even though her eyes weren’t open, Presley could see the vision of the massive bear standing in front of her. She was beautiful, but terrifying. Her light brown fur shimmered with gold as she nodded her head up and down towards Presley.

  “I’m scared,” Presley confessed. “Please don’t hurt me..I’m already hurt.”

  “She won’t hurt you, Presley. She’s here to help you. Trust in her.”

  Trust in her? In a bear? Why? Presley was so confused, and frightened of what was happening. She felt the cold air licking at her ankles as she tried to open her eyes once more. “I’m so cold..”

  “I know, Pretzerella, but you’re going to get through this. Trust her.”

  Presley’s body began to tense up as the bear took a step towards her, large paws crushing against the moist earth that separated the bank from the river’s edge. Her heart was pounding in her ears as the bear sank down into the water and approached her.

  “No, please,” Presley pleaded. “I’m hurt. I can’t move! Get away!”

  “Pretzerella, listen to me!” The voice urged her. “It’s going to be okay. Trust me.”

  That voice was someone she knew, someone she could trust-she knew that. But only one person had ever called her Pretzerella and it couldn’t possibly be him. He was dead.

  Her eyes stayed on the bear as it continued getting closer. Closer, closer, until finally it was nose to nose with her. Its large head was five times the size of Presley’s, and there was something so gentle about her…green eyes?

  “You’re going to be okay now, Kiddo. You’re not alone anymore.”

  “..Liam?” she whispered, more than aware of how crazy she sounded in that moment. “Liam, come back!”

/>   But he was gone. She was left alone with the monstrous bear who stared at her now, making an almost human-like sound as she took another step closer.

  “No, no! Don’t hurt me!” Presley repeated as she moved her arms up to block her face. The bear continued forward and Presley suddenly felt such warmth. She no longer felt the cold that had claimed her body moments before. The pain in her wrist began to ease immediately as the bear’s small noises quieted and Presley’s eyes opened suddenly.

  She could hear the rushing of the water in the river, and she could feel it. She slowly lowered her gaze to see that the jeep was submerged in the river. God, it was coming true-her worst nightmare!

  “No, no, no,” she pleaded as she reached her good hand down to unbuckle the seat belt. She was amazed that it released her in the first try. That never happened in the movies. She fell forward against the dash, pressing both hands against it as she cried out in pain. It was too dark to see what had happened, but she suspected a sprain.

  “Jim?” She called out, looking towards the driver’s seat. He wasn’t there. Her heart sank as she glanced at the windshield and saw that it was busted, a hole big enough for a body to go through. “Oh, god no!”

  She tried the door handle, and that’s when Hollywood’s cliché circumstances finally came into play. It wouldn’t budge. With a grunt, Presley smacked her palm against the window before she let out a low breath. There was only one way she was going to get out.

  She wasn’t even sure how she managed to crawl through the broken windshield, but she soon found herself sliding down the hood and sinking into the ice cold water as she shrieked in surprise. Winter was arriving soon anyway-why wouldn’t it be cold?

  She fought the current to make her way towards the bank, her hands wading around in the water as she felt for-and God she hoped she didn’t feel it-Jim’s body.

  “Jim!” She cried. “Jim, are you okay? Can you hear me?” The chances were slim to none, she understood, but she had to try and find the man. “Jim!”