by Glenn Rolfe
November knew it was up to her. It was all on her to confront Gabriel and his activities.
First, she had to make sure he didn’t get to Rocky.
She hoped she wasn’t too late.
* * *
Dressed in a long-sleeved dress shirt, khaki pants, and comfortable loafers, an ensemble he’d purchased just this morning for this specific assignment, Gabriel followed the boy, watching him from behind cheap sunglasses and a dark grey fedora. It had been a long time since he’d willingly subjected himself to the sickening effects of daylight. He didn’t know how his sister did it on a near-daily basis. Her desire to be like them never ceased to disturb him. And now she’d put him in this position. He thought she’d learned from last summer’s experience. Well, this time, he would not spare her the truth. He would give her every grisly detail of what he was going to do to the boy.
He’d seen them an hour ago. All the tears and sentimental bullshit. They had no idea what they were doing. What did they think awaited them? Some sort of romantic future? What could they possibly think would come of their brief abomination of a relationship? His sister was far more to blame for the despicable situation, and it was her penance that Gabriel made his concern. Unfortunately for the boy, her hard lesson was going to be one of pain and death for him. November had to learn, and she had to learn now. Their safety and their family’s future depended on it. He’d made a mistake not presenting her with the truth last year, but he’d learned much about many things in the past twelve months. Where he’d been lenient and careful, he now would rule with a ruthless authority that would have zero chance of being misunderstood.
The boy was hiding away in the bedroom where Gabriel had watched him last night. Music poured out through his open window, and although it was slight, Gabriel detected the hitch and sobs of heartbreak. He smiled. The hurt the boy felt now was merely the first wave of what was coming his way. It was also the least vile of the things that lay ahead.
It wasn’t long before the beige car pulled into the driveway. The boy’s sister. Gabriel leered as she made her way from the car to the front door. Before reaching the door, she glanced over her shoulder.
He stepped out of his hiding place behind the neighbour’s fence and waved. He watched her shrink away and disappear into the false safety of her home.
* * *
“Hey,” Julie said, peeking her head into Rocky’s room.
He wiped the tears away and turned down the volume to his radio.
“Sorry,” she said. “Can I come in for a second?”
“Sure.”
He sat up and reached for the soda on his nightstand.
She crossed his room to the window facing the street and peered out.
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“Not sure, really. I just saw a guy across the road that kind of creeped me out.”
Rocky straightened and hurried off the bed to join her side at the window. “What’d he look like?”
“He was wearing a hat and sunglasses. Black shirt and dress pants, but the strange thing was that it looked like he came out from behind the Mills’s fence. Like he was being a weirdo over there. I don’t know, it gave me real Michael Myers vibes.”
“Did he have long dark hair? Tall?”
“I don’t know. I guess he could have been tall. I didn’t see his hair.”
Rocky scanned the sidewalks, front yards and trees. He studied the fence by the Mills’s yard but didn’t notice anything out of the ordinary.
“Well, he’s gone now,” Rocky said, stepping back. “Are you sure it wasn’t Mr. Mills?”
“He didn’t look like Mr. Mills. He looked younger. And he waved at me.”
“Sounds like Mr. Mills.”
“Well, it wasn’t. I would have known if it was Mr. Mills. This was no one I’d ever seen before.”
After a brief minute to sit with her thoughts, Julie said, “What if it was the killer?”
He watched the hysterics begin to rev up in her. She was dancing on her heels, fidgeting with her hair.
“Hey,” he said, reassuringly, placing a hand to her arm. “It wasn’t him.”
“How do you know? How can you be sure?”
“The psycho only strikes at night. Every one of the people that have gone missing has disappeared after dark, right? Why would he risk being seen or caught in the daytime?”
The line was meant to alleviate his own fears as much as hers.
“I don’t know. I guess, but what if….” She contemplated for a second. “What if he finds his, his, his targets in the day and he follows them?”
It was completely possible, though he wouldn’t say so out loud.
“I don’t think he works that way. I think it’s more about opportunity….” He rubbed his chin, thinking on it. “He’s on the prowl and finds the right person at the right time in the right place.”
He thought suddenly of November’s brother.
He’ll kill you.
“You’re probably right, but I don’t like it,” Julie said. “Derek and Kailin have both disappeared after being here. What if he’s staying at one of the hotels or inns on our street?”
Now that was highly probable. East Grand was full of places for travellers. There must have been at least twenty hotels, motels, and sleazy little inns running up and down the road. It was totally the perfect place for a serial killer, especially a seasonal one.
“That’s what these sick guys do,” Julie continued. “They find someone and learn their patterns. When they go to work, when they come home. Who they go with.”
“How do you know all that?”
It did make him think of the scene in The Town that Dreaded Sundown when the girl in the red car gets followed home by the Phantom Killer.
“It’s what they do in the movies. Where do you think the writers get that stuff from?” she said.
“Well,” he said, peeking out the window again, “what do you think we should do about it?”
“Call the police.”
“It couldn’t hurt, I guess,” he said. “Mom and Dad are gonna freak out.”
Julie went to the living room to make the call. Rocky went out on the front porch to get a better view. What if it had been November’s crazy, overprotective brother? Maybe he’d followed her to town this afternoon and caught them talking. Then he followed Rocky home.
Great, now the dude knows where I live.
He wished he had a way of touching base with November, getting her to find out. He’d much rather know that it was Gabriel and not someone worse.
Julie joined him on the porch.
“They said they’d send someone over,” she said.
“Hey, at least my birthday hasn’t been boring.”
“Oh, Rocky, I’m sorry you have to deal with this. We could still go out for a practice drive after the cops leave. If you want to.”
He did want to. He wished he knew where November was staying, so he could drive by. What had she said? She must have dropped a clue at some point.
“Thanks, sis. At least if we go out together, there’ll be two of us if Michael or Jason pops out of the trees.”
She punched him in the shoulder.
“Don’t tease me. You won’t be laughing if I’m right.”
She was right, of course.
The police took Julie’s statement, searched the area, and came up empty. They made their notes, told her and Rocky not to hesitate to call them again if the man came back around. They also offered to do a few additional passes at this end of the street for the next couple days.
Julie thanked them and told Rocky she felt a little better. He’d relaxed a bit, too, though he wasn’t keen on the idea of being home alone tomorrow.
“So where are we going?” she asked him.
They’d decided to go for the dri
ve rather than sit at home like a couple of paranoid androids for the rest of the afternoon.
They’d crossed over to West Grand Avenue, passing the Seaside Inn, when something November had said about the cottage her family rented hit him. A cemetery. She’d said it wasn’t far from the beach, and that they had a graveyard next door. That she walked it at night.
“November mentioned a graveyard by the place they were staying. The only one I can think of that’s close enough to the beach to walk to and from is the one out here. I can’t remember the name of it, but Axel and I messed around there last Halloween on a dumb dare from Dale Keene.”
He recalled the stupid challenge from Dale. Dale was a year ahead of them. A tough metalhead who would kick anyone’s ass who didn’t know who Iron Maiden or Motorhead were. He liked to tease Rocky and Axel for their love of bands like Foreigner and Journey. But last Halloween when Dale and Dale’s girlfriend Mary overheard them talking about how the dead could rise on Halloween because the veil was thinnest between the spirit world and our own, the headbanging couple decided to make them their holiday project. Dale and Mary dared Rocky and Axel to walk among the graves just before midnight. They’d have to walk from the road to the crumbling fence at the back of the cemetery and then back to the road without pussying out. Rocky instantly wanted to kick Axel in the shin for bringing that damn Samhain book from the library; instead, they agreed to take on the challenge. The graveyard was old and spooky as hell. No one had been buried there since something like the 1950s. That’s when they ran out of room and started burying their dead in either of the neighbouring towns, Scarborough or Saco. And that night, the fog was rolling in hard from the ocean just like in one of Axel’s favourite movies that he made Rocky watch at least once a month. Had it not been for Jamie Lee Curtis being in the flick, he’d have thrown a fit. But she was gorgeous, so he dealt with the ghost pirates, creepy music, and nightmares. He remembered thinking how if the veil theory was true, this was the night it would be proved. They made it to the back fence and were halfway back when Dale’s buddy, Craig Easley, jumped out of a tree near the centre of the graveyard dressed in a hockey mask and swinging a plastic machete. The prank scared the piss, literally, out of both Axel and Rocky. Their high-pitched shrieks would have challenged even Ms. Curtis’s best. The story was now engrained in the school’s Halloween lore. At least it was a short season.
As Rocky cruised with his sister down West Grand Avenue, the old cemetery came into view. Clear and sunbathed, not a hint of that All Hallow’s Eve touch. On the contrary, the tall weeds and fully bloomed sapling at the heart of it all were striking in their natural beauty. Rocky watched the grass sway with the slight breeze, a constant from the great Atlantic.
“Is that it?” Julie asked.
He saw a quaint cottage with grey siding, a tarred roof, and white shutters. The yard matched the wildness of the graveyard next door. No one had mowed in weeks, maybe months. The windows on this side were all covered in dark curtains.. A black Pontiac Grand Prix rested in the dirt driveway.
He’d found her.
Rocky accelerated, letting the home drift behind them.
“Don’t you want to stop and see if you’re right?” Julie asked.
“I don’t need to. She doesn’t want to see me anyway.”
Watching in the rearview mirror, Rocky saw a curtain fall.
He had his own plans.
“I just want to have fun tonight,” he said.
After turning around and driving back to town, followed by two more successful attempts at parallel parking and a stop at DQ for vanilla cones, they arrived home with fifteen minutes to spare before Mom came rolling in.
* * *
November slunk around outside Rocky’s house, ducking through the backyard just as Julie and Rocky drove into the driveway. She hadn’t seen Gabriel, but she had a feeling he’d already been and gone. She’d wished for visual confirmation but settled with what she felt in her gut to be true. He’d been here. And that wasn’t good.
She needed to confront him. If she couldn’t see Rocky anymore, then neither could he. There was no need to bother Rocky when it was her fault to begin with.
November was halfway home when Gabriel appeared at her side.
He looked…wrong. His skin was still pale, but now it clung tighter to his features. Behind his horrid smile, his teeth seemed to be somewhere between human teeth and monster fangs. They were a bit longer than they should be and each came to a point. This was not a good sign. Even his forehead hinted at the bumps that protruded when they changed. She was willing to bet that behind the shades, his eyes would hold another vampiric trait, or at least the glimpse of one.
“You can’t tell me to stay away from him and then go over there yourself,” she said, doing her best to sound confident.
He snatched her arm hard.
“You do not worry about what I do with my time. You just do as I say. We wouldn’t want any harm to befall your precious human.”
“Let go of me,” she said, trying to pull away.
“He found us.”
She’d seen it too. She’d been looking out the window when Rocky and Julie drove by, slowing slightly as they passed the cottage. She was sure he’d stop, but he didn’t.
“I know, but he doesn’t dare return,” she said. “Not after meeting you.” The words spat out like venom and she didn’t care.
Gabriel let go of her and gave another grin.
God, it was awful to look at.
“There’s something wrong with you,” she said.
“Whatever do you mean, little sister?”
“Have you seen yourself?”
“That’s my concern.”
“Not if you turn into a monster and ruin everything we have going.”
He lashed out, smacking her so hard her feet came off the ground. November crashed into the sandy gutter off the shoulder of the road. A truck approaching them slowed to a stop.
Her jaw hurt. She sat up and spat blood..
The truck pulled over and two guys climbed from the back, two more from the cab.
They looked like factory workers with their matching coveralls, hardened faces, and dirty hands.
“Is there a problem here?” asked the driver, a guy with stern eyes and salt-and-pepper hair cropped tightly over his ears.
“Please, leave us alone. Everything’s all right,” November said, getting to her feet and stepping between the men and her brother.
“This fella just hit you, ma’am,” said one of the tall guys, with a deep voice and greased-back hair.
“He’s my brother.”
“That ain’t no excuse where I come from,” the deep-voiced giant said.
“Please, guys, I’m fine, really.”
“You’ve got a bloody mouth,” the driver said.
“And what about you?” the tall man asked Gabriel. “You got anything to say?”
“Hell with it,” the driver said, “I’m gonna wipe that fucking grin right from his face.”
“No!” November cried.
Gabriel moved faster than anyone she’d ever seen. The driver’s throat splashed blood first. Before he could fall to his knees, the tall man came off the ground and crashed into the gutter, his entire face missing. The other two attempted to run, but Gabriel was on them before November could react. She didn’t even know what to do.
“Grab that one and place him in the back,” Gabriel ordered, one of the men limp in his arms.
November looked the other way and saw a vehicle coming.
“Do it now or we’ll have to explain this to the authorities.”
She could be disgusted with her brother later. First, she needed to help clean up his mess. She snatched up the driver and lugged him to the truck bed, where Gabriel had already placed the two runners. They were both staring into the void as she shoved
the driver on top of them.
Gabriel flung the body of the faceless tall man in last. She almost vomited then and there when he chucked the bloody flesh that had once been his face in next to the bodies.
“Get in,” he said, grabbing her arm and guiding her to the passenger-side door.
She climbed in while he shut the door and walked around the front end. She was in shock, totally thunderstruck by what she’d just witnessed. The callousness. The efficiency. He even waved at the two cars that passed as he climbed behind the wheel and started the truck.
She sat in silence as he drove them home and parked in the driveway.
She couldn’t move. But even in her shock, something stirred inside. A thirst. She’d never been so close to so much blood.
“We have much to discuss,” Gabriel said. “For now, you may run inside. Unless you want to help me take care of your heroes, that is.”
Her hand moved to the door lever, trembling as her fingers curled around it. The lure of blood was very strong. Much more so than she ever imagined.
“What’s the matter, sis? Hungry?”
No. She wouldn’t. She couldn’t. She’d never be like him. He had become a beast.
She opened the door, hurried around the truck and went inside.
She shut the door and heard the truck pull out and peel away.
She looked at the blood on her hands.
A series of quick thoughts raced to the front of her mind.
Gabriel wasn’t about to stop. Rocky wasn’t safe.
She went back outside and sought out a rabbit. When she found one, she sunk her fangs in and sucked it dry.
Gabriel had to get rid of the vehicle and dispose of the bodies. That should give her time to warn Rocky. She needed to come clean to him about everything. He had to know what he was up against.
Chapter Twenty-Five
“Thank you, Uncle Arthur. This is way too cool,” Rocky said. His dad and uncle stood on either side, Schlitz bottles in hand, and each one admiring the way Rocky looked at the Buick.
