Pennies for the Ferryman - 01

by Jim Bernheimer

  It was bad enough that he’d stolen my body, but did he have to insult me as well? He’s just trying to beat down my resistance and make me give up. I wasn’t a loser!

  Don finished cleaning me up. I grinned at myself in the mirror. “Close but not close enough, loser. I’m not going anywhere and you can’t make me. Now how about we take ourselves a little ride up to Baltimore? There’s a family reunion waiting to happen and you’re the guest of honor!”

  We” walked into my bedroom to change. “If we get there soon enough, I might even let you hit that little hottie Cassie is driving around now before we get to the main event. What do ya say Mikey? One last meal for the condemned man?”

  Funny, I didn’t really feel all that hungry at the moment.

  Episode 11: A Judicious Use of Force

  There’s that old saying about how you need to walk a mile in someone else’s shoes. Well, it blows chunks when the “someone else” happens to be me and the shoes were attached to my now-possessed body.

  Good old Don Hodges, I’d fought side-by-side with him in Iraq. I was the last person he ever saw alive. Now, he was an invader in my body, turning me into nothing more than an annoying, impotent passenger while he took my flesh and bones out for a ride.

  Skinwalkers, I was quickly developing a deep hatred for them. They weren’t particularly powerful in a straight up fight. I’d peg them at about the risk level of Jenny’s departed mother. This lack of power was offset by the critical detail that they could possess a human body and then act in the real world. They inhabited the weak minded or easily manipulated. I’m not certain what that said about me. To my credit, Don cheated and tricked me. The end result was all that counted I guess, as no one was awarding points for style.

  “Mike, you’re such a schmuck. Don’t you own any decent clothes?” Don asked with my voice rummaging through the contents of my closet. “I didn’t realize ‘Salvation Army’ was a fashion statement.”

  It made me wonder if I sounded that harsh to everyone when I am engaging in my usual insightful commentary. Don evidently wanted to look good for the Skinwalker he’d been married to for several years – Cassandra Von Eckel.

  Walt Disney was right. It is a small world! Maybe his ghost is somewhere out there with a story to tell. I didn’t know about Walt, but I knew if I didn’t figure a way out of this mess soon, my story wasn’t going to have a very happy ending.

  The angry ghost of Edgar Allan Poe’s brother was waiting in Baltimore to break in this body – previous occupant optional. Normally, I’d give myself pretty good chances, but Don just consumed a whole shipment of ‘spook juice’ so he could ambush and bind me with his anchor. I couldn’t seem to get any traction at all against him. I might as well have been a damn Chihuahua nipping at his ankles – or were they still my ankles? Either way, it sucked.

  “Mike? I’m home. They were overstaffed and I got the night off,” I heard Mom at the doorway.

  I wanted to scream for her to get out of here. Don was willing to screw an old war buddy over and I didn’t want to think about what he might do to my mother. It made me look forward to all those times Elsbeth was going to say “I told you so” to me. Hopefully, I’d get to hear it at least one time.

  Don looked at the pipe wrench for a heart-stopping minute and whispered to me, “See Mikey, that’s the lure of ‘walking. If I want to, I can do anything with no consequences. I could go out there, crack her skull wide open, and whistle while I do it. It’s a beautiful thing when all the rules no longer apply.”

  His hand started to reach for the wrench and I fought with renewed vigor. I’d like to think it was my resistance, but it was probably just common sense that stopped him. “Well, I suppose I shouldn’t turn this body over with a criminal rap.” He squeezed my cheeks together with my left hand. “Don’t you worry, Mikey. I’m gonna take good care of you for the next few hours.”

  “We” walked out into the hallway and saw my mom sitting on the couch with a take home salad. “Mike? What happened? You’ve got a big bruise on your face.”

  Don made me shrug, “Tripped and fell out in the garage.”

  “Well, other than that, you look nice tonight. Is Candace coming up?” she asked pleasantly. “I guess you don’t need the pizza on the counter.”

  “You know something? If I never eat another god dammed piece of pizza in my life, I’ll die a happy man,” Don-speaking-through-my-body said.

  What the hell was he doing? Mom looked like I’d slapped her.

  I’d hoped he was done, but he just kept right on, “You know, all this time, I wondered why Dad up and left. Nowadays, I just wonder why he didn’t take me too!”

  Don continued and part of me wished he would have just used the pipe wrench; it would have been quicker. I’d say the next five minutes were the worst of my life, but I was just a helpless, hapless spectator. By the time Don grabbed the keys to my Saturn and announced he was leaving for good, Mom was a blubbering mass of sorrow, the likes of which I’d never seen. For the first time ever, she looked like the world had finally gotten the best of her.

  Walking out the door, he whispered to me. “See how much fun you can have? Isn’t it great? Time to quit sponging off your mommy, Mike, and go make your way in this world like a man! Clean breaks – that’s what I’m talking about.”

  My car was out at the curb. Mom’s repaired Hyundai was in the driveway. I recalled the smile on her face when she got her car back, and didn’t have to use mine anymore. That memory alone reminded me that, if I got the chance, Don was going to pay.

  Leaving the house, walking towards the street, I felt the anti-ghost barrier more than I’d ever felt it before. It must’ve been Don’s unwelcome presence. Walking around the car, Don went still for a second and then quickly looked behind him. Colonel Vincent rose out of the pavement.

  “Mr. Ross,” he said in a dead ringer for Vincent Price.

  Don reached for the phantom sword at my side. “What the hell are you doing here?”

  “Forgive the intrusion, but I was hoping you’d given more thought to our conversation.” I was familiar enough with Vincent to realize he was suspicious.

  Even in my buried state, I could feel Don’s panic. “Look, I don’t have the time to talk about this now! I’ve got to go.”

  “It will only take a moment of your time. I was hoping to speak further concerning the problems we discussed this afternoon,” Vincent said smoothly.

  I could feel Don rummaging around in my skull trying to dredge up anything useful. I sensed his frustration when he came up empty. “Look, screw you and screw your boss. I don’t care about your problems! As far as I’m concerned we have a truce. That’s what we agreed right?”

  Vincent stepped back and drew his sword. A grim look settled on his pale face. “I’m not speaking to Mr. Ross right now, am I? Get out of him Skinwalker.”

  Don drew my sword. Fortunately for Vincent, Don wasn’t very skilled with a saber. I knew he preferred a knife or a katana. The pommel guard seemed to throw him off slightly. Phantom steel met phantom steel as our weapons clanged. Don was trying to move Vincent towards the barrier, using his size and speed. Vincent fought back using superior technique and was clearly no slouch, but he was fighting defensively and I knew why; Taney gave orders not to engage me!

  Don mistook the ground Vincent was giving and aggressively pressed forward. Vincent was wary of the nearby barrier. It was dark out. I was glad, because this scene would have looked really stupid to an onlooker, dueling ninjas meet air guitar I guess. For my part I tried to use this as an opportunity to evict Don or at least distract him enough so that Vincent could take advantage of any opening.

  Strong blows forced the Civil War officer off balance and Don snapped a low kick, catching Vincent’s left knee. That sent the ghost sprawling to the ground.

  Don stalked forward to finish Vincent off and I was wondering why Strong didn’t just fade away when the answer hit me – literally. Something crashed into me, hard. Vince
nt’s scout was here as well. The guy was a little shorter than I was and looked maybe all of sixteen or seventeen, but he was a mass of flailing limbs that Don couldn’t contain. I could feel the blows as we struggled. Don pushed the Private and thrust the sword into the kid.

  Vincent, on the other hand, had no problem using a weapon with a pommel guard. He smashed it right into my face, which quite honestly wasn’t doing all that hot. I found myself in the rather unique position of rooting for the guys kicking my ass.

  The wounded kid jumped right back in and didn’t give Don a chance to recover. He grabbed the dog tags and yanked. The chain snapped and the vice grip on my body slacked. My limbs started shaking as Don now had to deal with me and I was pissed. Vincent helped the wounded kid to his feet and picked up the dog tags. He skewered one of them on the point of his blade and Don shot out of me like a rocket, rebounded off the barrier, and landed in a heap on the ground before me.

  I slid into my body, a blast of sensations and pain before I started striking the ghost before me, inflicting righteous payback for his betrayal. Vincent stepped forward with the second dog tag and Hodges went still.

  “Wait! Don’t!” Don pleaded.

  “What shall I do with him, Mr. Ross?”

  “Mike…” Don whined.

  Time stood still for a surreal moment. I saw the wounded Private and the vapors leaking out of where my sword was stuck in him, Don’s face begging me for mercy, and Strong Vincent waiting for my decision. Crossing a nameless bastard was one thing. This guy had been a friend…before he sold me down the river.

  “So long, Don. See you on the other side.” There wasn’t a hint of regret in my voice. Vincent skewered the second dog tag on his blade. Don thrashed and I could feel him try to get back into me, but that wasn’t going to happen – not now. He struggled with me right up until he began dissolving. I probably looked like some guy dry heaving on the side of the road. For the second and final time, I watched Don Hodges’s eyes grow wide with fear and finality.

  This time Don didn’t utter any last words for me to wonder about. Instead, I told him, “When I catch up to Cassandra, I’ll finish her too!”

  Seconds later, he was gone. I staggered to my feet, really feeling all the punishment sustained by my poor body. Turning to Vincent I asked, “How’s your man?”

  “Private Griffin is not long for this existence. When we pull out the sword…”

  “Sir, I’m scared…”

  I owed this kid something. “Griffin is it? What’s keeping you in this life?”

  The Private looked at me, face contorted in pain kneeling with only Vincent’s arm holding him up. “I joined up to beat back the rebs. My pa said I wasn’t gonna be no hero and I was just going to get killed. I swore, I’d prove him wrong. Gettysburg…Gettysburg was my first battle. Pa was right. I only fired my rifle once.”

  For a second, I searched for an answer and found one. “Griffin, you just helped save me right? You know what I am, don’t you? I’m a Ferryman. Every spirit I help cross after this will owe part of it to you, kid. Every bad guy I put down, you get a little credit for it too. If that’s not being a hero, I don’t know what is.”

  The kid looked at me, “You mean it, sir?”

  “Yeah, I do. It might have taken almost a hundred and fifty years, but you proved your pa wrong. If he’s there waiting for you on the other side, make sure to tell him that.”

  The vapors stopped and the Private glowed stronger. He saluted both of us and faded away. I reached down and picked up the sword.

  “I apologize to you Mr. Ross.”

  “For what?” I was a bit choked up, clearly from my injuries, not anything else, mind you.

  He offered his hand to help me up. I accepted despite the minor stinging pain. Hell, it distracted me from all the pain elsewhere. “I once said you knew nothing of honor. I was wrong.”

  “Yeah, whatever. C’mon, I’ll escort you’ll across the barrier. We’ll talk inside.” That was right before I remembered all the things Don said to my mom just minutes earlier.

  Her eyes bored into me. “It wasn’t me, Mom. There was a ghost possessing me.”

  “After what you just said, you waltz back in and feed me this bullshit. You’ve got a lot of nerve!” She bellowed.

  She must be pissed. The fresh blood and bruises didn’t even register on her.

  “Colonel Vincent, do something impressive and convince her while I go clean up.”

  Glancing over my shoulder, I saw the pen on the table lift up and begin writing on the paper in front of Mom while her mouth hung open in disbelief.

  “Mike? How are you doing this?”

  “I’m not. I’m going to go take a shower. Ask him everything you ever wanted to know about being a ghost.”

  I started to head back towards my bathroom, but stopped and went back to the telephone. For a minute, I tried to compose an official sounding statement to the effect that Don Hodges met an unfortunate end after failing to possess a Ferryman. However, my normally biting sarcasm was as pummeled as the rest of my body, so I figured to hell with it and picked up the receiver. Hitting redial, I opted to let Cassandra have the first words.

  “Don? What the hell? Why haven’t you left yet? You’d better get your ass up here now!” Cassandra’s voice was shrill and nagging.

  “Sorry Cassandra, Don won’t be going anywhere with my body. In fact, he won’t be going anywhere ever again.”

  There was a moment of muted surprise before the ghost I’d known as Sonya Hodges responded, “So, you destroyed him. I thought he was ready…I guess I underestimated you Mike. You’re going to pay, though; I’d invested several years of effort on Don.”

  “You want your payment, bitch? Come and get it. This is your one warning, Cassandra; I had no qualms putting Don down after what he did. I liked him; he was a friend. You, I never cared for. Don’t cross my path ever again, Skinwalker.” It was probably “tough” talk from a guy who’d spent the better part of the day getting his ass handed to him in one way or another, but I didn’t care.

  She laughed at me, but I sensed a hint of fear in her tone. “Mike, I could cross your path all day long and you’d never know it. I’ve seen a real Ferryman in action. The way I hear it, you’ve got a long way to go. Besides, it’s not me you have to worry about – William is very much aware of you.”

  “Maybe you should ask Don how far I have to go. As for your master, tell him to enjoy his prison. Baltimore isn’t in my travel plans anytime soon.”

  “Oh, he’s waited all these years. I’m sure he can wait a bit longer. Besides, William isn’t my master. Until Don told me, I wouldn’t have connected you with William. It was just too much of an opportunity to pass up. However, William still has many followers and allies. You can bet they’ll be coming for you. I’ll definitely show up to watch. Sweet dreams, darling.”

  I hung up the phone and looked at both my mom and Colonel Vincent. “She said Poe has other allies. I don’t suppose they’ll respect your the boundaries.”

  “Mike, who were you talking to?”

  “Another ghost. She was working with the one that was trying to kidnap me.”

  “Poe? Like the writer? Mike, this makes no sense. You called a ghost? On the phone?”

  “There’s a type of ghost that can possess the body of someone who’s still alive,” I explained. “This Cassandra I was talking to was Sonya Hodges, Don’s wife. The ghost that just did this to me was my former friend, Don. I’d love to tell you more and I will, but I really have to discuss this with Colonel Vincent, he’s the ghost operating the pen right now.”

  The Colonel answered, “No, they won’t respect boundaries and Justice Taney will make no effort to hinder them.”

  “What can you do?”

  He shook his head. “As long as he controls my focus, I can only offer my assistance and perhaps not even that. My men will not move against him.”

  I rubbed my aching head finding a new set of bruises. “So, Taney is an
obstacle and you’re certain that he won’t lift a finger?”

  Vincent drew himself upright still holding the pen and paper. “When I approached you, it was to see if I could convince you to assist me in retrieving my anchor from Taney’s clutches. I sought only my freedom. In order to assist you, though, I must instead lead a coup and replace the Lord Justice. I have a trump card to play if you need any further reason to act against Justice Taney.”

  “Go ahead, a guy who I trusted with my life just betrayed me, I’m guessing it can’t get much worse than that.”

  Colonel Vincent sighed, “From my perspective, it is. I will let you be the judge. Justice Taney assumes that because you have bested me on the field of battle that I loathe you. That is, of course, false. I am wary of what you could become, should you be slain, based on what I know of Poe and what I saw in Porter.”

  I was perhaps a little rude, “I’m sorry to be abrupt and I know this is leading somewhere, but my head is killing me. Could you pick up the pace a little?”

  “Very well, after learning your full name, Justice Taney made a discovery in his records and brought me into his confidence counting on the notion that I hated you.”

  “What did he tell you?” Something warned me that this was going to be unpleasant.

  “The Skinwalkers employed by Taney have other duties. They are active suppliers to the Body Market in Philadelphia.”

  “What does this has to do with me?”

  “It involved a particular transaction involving a fairly powerful body they acquired over a decade ago – a man named David Michael Ross, Senior.”

  My world stopped.

  How had I not seen it? Dad was part of the Poe bloodline as well! From what little I knew of Skinwalkers, their usual modus operandi was to sever all ties with the rightful owner’s family and skip town, taking whatever they could with them. It was a cold slap in the face and exactly how my father disappeared from my life.