by Ron Ripley
Moon and starlight filled the air and Kathryn skipped on her way through the grass to the forest. Somewhere in the woods, Denise and the boy waited, and soon they would all be able to play together.
Jonathan Bonus Scene Chapter 14: Awakened, July 11th, 1976
Juliet hadn’t slept well after Denise vanished. And hardly at all since Grace had killed Bart and then herself.
Something woke her up, although she wasn’t quite certain what, but as soon as she opened her eyes, her stomach rumbled. She hadn’t been eating well either. Juliet rolled onto her side, tried to ignore the complaints her belly made, and then threw the covers off.
She needed to eat. There was no way around it.
Juliet glanced over at Jonathan. He was asleep, if fitfully.
She eased herself out of bed, careful not to disturb him. Her footsteps were quiet on the hallway’s runner, and quieter still on the stairs, which tended to creak.
Juliet didn’t relax her vigilance until she was in the kitchen. She took some crackers out of the pantry, brought them to the sink, and took down a tall glass from the cabinet. When she went to get some water from the tap, a hint of movement caught her eye.
She looked out the double window over the sink and bit back a scream.
At the edge of the tree line, Juliet saw the small, thin frame of Kathryn slip into the woods.
Juliet slammed the glass down, ignorant of the crash it made as the bottom shattered. Panic took control, and Juliet raced after her daughter.
Jonathan Bonus Scene Chapter 15: A Painful Reality, July 11th, 1976
When Jonathan woke up, he felt disorientated. He sat up and saw Juliet wasn’t in bed.
Jonathan slipped out of bed and checked the bathroom.
It was empty. As was Kathryn’s bedroom.
His heart pounded against his chest as he hurried down the stairs.
The kitchen was empty, a broken glass in the sink.
And Jonathan knew where his wife and daughter had gone.
He didn’t pause to find a flashlight or to go and retrieve his pistol. Instead, he left the house. He leaped down the stairs, landing with bare feet in the cold grass.
***
The man named Jonathan pitched forward. He landed in a stretched-out, face down position.
David put his blackjack away, the small, lead-filled rubber club fitting neatly into his coat pocket. He looked down at the man and watched Jonathan’s back rise and fall. The man was still alive, which was more than could be said for either his wife or daughter.
Soon enough, David suspected, whatever ghost lived in the forest would add the Engberg women to its collection.
David turned around, left Jonathan on the ground and went inside. He found the family’s phone hanging on the wall by the refrigerator. David picked the yellow receiver up, dialed the number for the main office and waited.
It took almost twenty rings before someone answered the phone. While the voice was tired, it was professional.
“Who is this?” the man in Boston asked.
“David,” he replied. “Investigating the disappearance in Amherst, New Hampshire.”
“Status?” the man asked.
“A possible,” David answered. “Definitely a feeling about this one. I’d like to stay and work it a little longer.”
“I’m afraid not,” the man replied. “Something has come up. We need you elsewhere.”
“What?” David asked, angry. “Who’s going to write this up? I think we have something big here.”
“I’ll take care of the notes,” the man stated.
“Sir,” David began, but the man cut him off.
“David,” the man snapped. “I have something of greater responsibility for you. Do you understand?”
David repressed an insubordinate groan and said, “Yes, sir.”
“Good,” the man said. “You are packed, I trust.”
“Yes.”
“Good, you are to meet Harlan at Borgin Keep in Vermont,” the man stated.
David stiffened. “You want me to go to Borgin Keep?”
“You’re not being eliminated,” the man said. “Quite the opposite, you’re being promoted. We think your particular talents would be much better employed at a permanent facility rather than in scouting potential locations. I need you to meet with a man named Harlan. He’ll explain everything.”
“But what about this,” David protested. “There’s something here.”
“And I will look into it,” the man barked. “Am I understood, David?”
Clenching his teeth, David answered, “Perfectly, sir.”
“Good. Now leave the house, get out of Amherst, and don’t look back,” the man ordered. “I will have another investigator on the way within the hour.”
Before David could respond, the man ended the call.
David swore, slammed the phone down into its cradle, and stormed out of the house. Jonathan Engberg still lay on his stomach. A dark trickle could be seen from the edge of the man’s scalp. David considered whether or not he should put the man out of his misery, and then shook the idea away.
The next investigator would make that decision.
From the forest came the sound of a woman screaming, followed by that of a girl, and David wondered if they had found Denise’s body, or if the entity in the woods had found them.
He shrugged, turned away, and left.
Behind him, Jonathan Engberg stirred, the deaths of his wife and daughter dragging him out of unconsciousness.
* * *
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Ghost Stories (Short Story Collection)
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Polly’s Haven (Short Story)
This is Gonna Hurt (Short Story)
Scare Street Multi-Author Collaboration
Horror Stories (Short Story Collection)
Terror in the Shadows (Short Story Collection)
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Ron Ripley (Ghost Stories)
Moving In Series ***Best-Seller***
Moving In Series Box Set Books 1 - 6
Moving In (Book 1)
The Dunewalkers (Book 2)
Middlebury Sanitarium (Book 3)
The First Church (Book 4)
The Paupers' Crypt (Book 5)
The Academy (Book 6)
Berkley Street Series ***Best-Seller***
Berkley Street (Book 1)
The Lighthouse (Book 2)
The Town of Griswold (Book 3)
Sanford Hospital (Book 4)
Kurkow Prison (Book 5)
Lake Nutaq (Book 6)
Slater Mill (Book 7)
Borgin Keep (Book 8)
Amherst Burial Ground (Book 9)
Haunted Collection Series ***Best-Seller***
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Walter’s Rifle (Book 2)
Blood in the Mirror (Book 3)
Hank’s Radio (Book 4)
The Burning Girl (Book 5)
Knife in the Dark (Book 6)
Last Breath (Book 7)
Standalone
Sherman’s Library Trilogy
The Boylan House Trilogy ***Best-Seller***
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Listen To Me Speak Trilogy
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Ghost Mirror Series
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The Gatekeeper (Book 2)
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Slaughter Series ***Best-Seller***
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Shadow’s Embrace (Book 2)
Copper’s Keeper (Book 3)
The Sin Series
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Purgatory (Book 3)
The Carnival Series
Blood Carousel (Book 1)
Witching Hour Series
Witching Hour (Book 1)
David Longhorn (Supernatural Suspense & Sci-Fi Horror)
The Sentinels Series
Sentinels (Book 1)
The Haunter (Book 2)
The Smog (Book 3)
Dark Isle Series
Dark Isle (Book 1)
White Tower (Book 2)
Red Chapel (Book 3)
Ouroboros Series
The Sign of Ouroboros (Book 1)
Fortress of Ghosts (Book 2)
Day of The Serpent (Book 3)
Curse of Weyrmouth Series
Curse of Weyrmouth (Book 1)
Blood of Angels (Book 2)
Hellstorm (Book 3)
Nightmare Series ***Best-Seller***
Nightmare Abbey (Book 1)
Nightmare Valley (Book 2)
Nightmare Revelation (Book 3)
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Haunted Waterways (Book 2)
Demon's Tide (Book 3)
Banshee Series ***Best-Seller***
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Shattered Dreams (Book 3)
Black Eyed Children Series
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The Third Knock (Book 3)
Demonic Games Series
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Buried (Book 2)
Captive (Book 3)
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See you in the shadows,
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Table of Contents
Book 1: Berkley Street
Book 2: The Lighthouse
Book 3: The Town of Griswold
Book 4: Sanford Hospital
Book 5: Kurkow Prison
Book 6: Lake Nutaq
Book 7: Slater Mill
Book 8: Borgin Keep
Book 9: Amherst Burial Ground
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