The Haunting at Morgan's Rock

by M. L. Bullock

  “Alex loves me! He wouldn’t leave me, not by choice. His life is with me. She doesn’t get a second chance to be his wife—I’m his wife!”

  And with that, Megan collapsed on the stairs and sobbed. I didn’t know what to do. Should I drag her out of here or keep on walking and pray that I could protect her somewhat better than I protected her husband?

  “Please, Megan. I have to keep walking; this salt has to be spread. You can help me. See? This is black salt. We are going to throw it everywhere. It takes away Dan’s strength. It will take some work, but it will help us. We’ll get Alex back, I promise. Come on, there’s a good girl. On your feet. Be careful, though. It wouldn’t pay to get wobbly on these stairs. Let’s go, right, toss to the left and to the right. Here’s a bag for you. Don’t worry; I have plenty more in my pockets.”

  Megan sniffed at tears that threatened to fall and did as I told her. See, Madu, it’s always better for the living to have a task to do. Tell Freya I am coming. Can you do that? Without him seeing you?

  He agreed and then disappeared. Finally, we were in the Great Room together, but we weren’t alone.

  A man stood at the end of the hallway.

  I knew I was looking at Dan Petit.

  Chapter Eighteen—Alex

  “I didn’t think you would come. It took you long enough, Alexander Royce Gareth Wagner. Imagine how embarrassing that would have been, me standing here waiting and you never coming.” Julie’s bright smile and easy laugh disarmed me. Julie? This wasn’t right. No way was this right.

  “Never. I would never want that. But when did you get here? How…I mean…I’m not sure what I mean.” You are dead—I know you are dead. I know it for sure because I buried you, but I want this to be real. I want it so badly. Please let this be real!

  “You’re a fine sight, Alexander. Is this a new suit?” She brushed her hand over my lapel. I wore a black jacket with thin gray pinstripes; it was really too big and not one that I recognized. Where had this come from? I hadn’t been wearing a suit when I arrived here today. That’s right. I’d been gone but came back. Why was my memory so fuzzy? It was so hard to remember even the smallest detail. Except Julie. I remembered everything about her. Her laugh, the way she danced like a happy sprite. She bounced more than danced, actually. Julie loved to go on picnics but hated ants. I mean she was deathly afraid of them. Yes, this is weird—I can recall those things but not what I ate for breakfast. It was as if a great void were between me and the present.

  The only things that mattered now were the things in my past. All my regrets, broken dreams. Julie. And Zachary.

  “The party is about to begin.” She moved away from me as if she were a teenage girl afraid that her father would come bust us standing too closely together. Who was she afraid of?

  Clack, clack, clack.

  Suddenly, Julie’s small hand was in mine and she was trembling. Her lips parted, and her heavily lined eyes were focused on the Great Room. A hush had fallen over the celebration. Funny. I hadn’t noticed that everyone was wearing black and white before. How odd. And it wasn’t just that they were dressed in black and white—it’s that they were black and white. Like they had all stepped out of an old movie. Was that it? Had I fallen asleep watching a movie? They all seemed so empty of life. Just paper dolls, two-dimensional. All poised and watching. Watching terrible things unfold. But what things? I couldn’t say, but I knew I would be a part of them if we stayed. We couldn’t stay here. Morgan’s Rock wasn’t safe. That’s right. I was here with someone…

  My brain ached, and a wave of nausea struck me. I gagged but didn’t let go of her hand. We had to go—we had to leave now.

  “Julie, we have to…”

  Clack, clack, clack.

  “Alexander, do you remember our first date?”

  She clutched my hand tighter; her touch renewed that old familiar pain. That horrible sense of loss—the god-awful grief. No, I couldn’t remember our first date at all, but I was too ashamed to tell her so. Too happy to see her again after all this time. I guess I never really stopped loving her. Wasn’t that all that mattered? But I should remember these things. I should remember the details. Like why I was here. Oh, yeah. That, I needed to remember.

  “Think, Alexander. Remember the first time. Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten all about it. What about Zachary? Have you forgotten him too? How could you? He loves you so much.”

  Black and white cutouts began to clap and cheer. But not for me. They clapped and whistled for the approaching visitor. Yes, indeed. A visitor was here. Someone important, coming up on the elevator.

  Clack, clack.

  “Julie…I haven’t forgotten you or Zachary. I never did.” The weird suit felt hot and heavy, like a damn shroud. Was it wool? I was allergic to wool. The air thickened, and over Julie’s shoulder I could see a heavy fog rolling in off the ocean. The sight of it reminded me of a horror movie that I particularly hated. One that haunted my childhood. I never liked watching horror movies, but my mother loved them and dragged me to the drive-in movies on summer weekends when I was a boy. Yeah, I hated those flicks. Giant spiders preying on unsuspecting campers. Zombies tugging themselves out of the dirt and mud in forgotten cemeteries. Why would I think of those memories now? Because I felt like I was in a horror movie of my own. I should be happy—ecstatic that I was standing here with my Julie—but I didn’t feel happy at all. Loss was what I felt, a deep and abiding loss. And the growing awareness that devilish things were afoot.

  Oh yes, the devil. That’s a good description of him. He’s coming!

  The memory came to me in a flash, just like the lightning that popped too dangerously close to the ocean.

  “Neil Fagan’s Christmas party. That’s where I met you. You wore a twinkling necklace—it had a star pendant with some kind of battery in it. We kissed that night under the mistletoe. You made me swear not to tell anyone. It was so sweet.”

  My senses reeled as I recalled with perfect clarity Julie’s strawberry-flavored kiss. Just a few weeks later, I met her parents. They had liked me in the beginning.

  A few weeks after that, I met Zachary. When I met him, I wasn’t sure he even knew I was there. He’d been fascinated with the magnetic blocks he arranged into square after square. The following Christmas, Julie and I took him to see Santa. That had been my idea; I wanted so much for Zach to enjoy Christmas, wanted him to know he was loved. Wanted to connect with him before I popped the question to Julie.

  Zach hated the whole go-see-Santa experience, and we had to abandon the plan before we even got in line for a picture with the shabby mall Santa. Zachary screamed so loudly that we headed for the Whirly Q instead. The people at the restaurant knew us well. We were there at least once a week. They’d been giving out balloons to drive-through customers in celebration of the holidays, red, white and green ones.

  But Julie had come prepared. She’d been planning on taking this trip and had stashed a few yellow balloons in her purse. The store manager smiled when Julie asked her to give Zach the yellow balloon instead. After all, they were familiar with his moods. We bought him a cup of plain vanilla ice cream, just one scoop, and he had a new treasure. A yellow balloon that he would surely lose. As he’d lost all the balloons before this one. I remember thinking he must like letting them go. He must really like it because he always…

  Yes, let them go.

  Who was that? I knew that voice, trusted it. But for the life of me, I couldn’t remember it. Never mind. I was here with Julie. That’s what mattered. But we had to go, before he came. She’d asked me something…oh yes, our first date. But I was thinking beyond that. Thinking of Zachary.

  That night at the drive-through, I knew I loved Julie. Not that there had been any doubt before, but this was a kind of love I didn’t expect. Julie’s kindness made a lasting impression on me. For real and forever. No matter what challenges Zachary presented, no matter how tough things got for her, she never gave up. Never. She loved him, and so did I.

>   But then I sent them away.

  Clack. Clack. Slam.

  “Remember what I told you that night? After the kiss? Remember?”

  I wracked my brain, but nothing came to me. Nothing popped out. A sensation that I could only describe as a sickening combination of sadness and desperation grew within me. What strange thing was happening here? Time, whatever time I had with Julie, waned. This shouldn’t be; she wouldn’t be here much longer. Whatever was in that elevator would come for her. Oh yes! The elevator! Dan!

  Let them go, Alex!

  I began to sob. What had she told me? What? I needed to remember. I had to. Everything depended on it! I felt just like a child again, like a kid afraid of the giant spiders and the zombies and the things that went bump in the darkest corners of my bedroom. A breeze caught Julie’s scarf; I’d barely noticed the sheer white fabric before. She was so deathly pale. So very, very pale and still. But she was dead. The scarf slipped off her neck, lifted up and fluttered about her and then went sailing into the blackness beyond. But it wasn’t the only thing flying about. A yellow balloon ascended and hovered near us. Was Zachary here too?

  “Remember, Alex. Please, remember,” she cried as her hand slid away from me. A kind of invisible wall went up between us, but I was bound to the spot. I couldn’t reach for her, help her or do anything but wait and think and watch. “Remember, Alex!”

  And for a moment, we weren’t on the freezing balcony anymore. There were no dead paper people hanging out nearby, no stomping feet coming toward me. It was Julie and me, our first date, that first night. That first kiss. Neil’s house had been so large that it was easy to get lost in, and Julie and I had done that. Coming back from the kitchen, I found the mistletoe hanging in a doorway and tricked her into standing beneath it with me. I never expected her to kiss me, not really, but I had hoped for it. That strawberry-flavored kiss. Like sweet wine. And then came the whisper in my ear. “I’m a keeper, Alexander.”

  “You told me you were a keeper. That’s what you said, and you were always that. You were a keeper, but I sent you away. I should never have let you go. I never wanted you to leave forever, Julie. I’m sorry I sent you away,” I sobbed as she watched me sadly, soberly. Her hair floated about her face now; the wind howled, and the fog was threatening to rise up and up. It would cover the balcony soon. “I should have gone with you. I should never have let you go alone. I am sorry, but we can go now. We can leave and never be apart again. Please, Julie. Let’s go. We’ll find Zachary and leave! I know he’s here!”

  The applause inside the house reached an unholy apex; it was practically thunderous now. Too loud, too frantic. We were running out of time.

  “Leaving so soon?” a deep voice boomed from the doorway. “I was beginning to think you weren’t going to come. But now it’s time to go.”

  “Go where?” I heard myself asking in a hoarse whisper. I wiped the tears from my face and waited for the horrible answer. I knew it would be horrible. What else could it be? This was Dan Petit, angry spirit and my tormentor.

  And I was at Morgan’s Rock.

  Julie couldn’t be here, not really. She was dead, and I had moved on. I was in love with Megan Pressfield. I’d married her. Julie was my past, Megan my present.

  Julie’s face was the picture of agony. As if she knew. She knew already that I had moved on without her. Yes, she knew it all. But she still had come.

  I’m a keeper, Alex.

  “To where the party is, my boy. Just down the hall. You can ride with me. You can ride with us all. You wouldn’t want to miss this party. I hear it’s going to be a killer. Come now, Julie dear. Your son is waiting for you, and don’t worry about Alex. He’s a real trouper. He’ll come, won’t you, Alex? There’s a good man. Come with me, and we’ll party until the sun comes up.”

  Partying with Dan Petit was the last thing I wanted to do, but I couldn’t leave Zachary and Julie behind, not even if I could manage to get back down those steps. There had to be a way, had to be. While I puzzled it out, I glanced at Julie. Her beautifully delicate features were etched with complete despair. She stared at me, her eyes full of tears, and her mouth moved. She was saying my name, asking for help, but what could I do?

  I felt as helpless as the day I walked into the cabin.

  I’m a keeper, Alex.

  Suddenly, Julie wasn’t there. She threw herself off the balcony without a sound or a scream. I heard her hit the ground; her body collided with the earth below and made a dull thud.

  “Julie!”

  And then I couldn’t see anything at all. The fog covered everything: me, the balcony and the sea of ghosts that continued to clap. The phantom applause didn’t sound like it would ever end. But it did.

  And I remembered that I wasn’t alone. Dan Petit waited for my answer.

  Chapter Nineteen—Alex

  “The longer you stall, the worse it will be, Alexander. She is gone, and that was her choice. This time was just like the first time.” Dan raised his hand, and the applause faded.

  “You don’t know what you’re talking about! Where is Zachary?” Dan was a ghost—a freaking ghost—but he was no wimpy shadow or optical illusion. I was looking at a real person with hair that was slicked back and carefully brushed with not a single hair out of place. I could see the creases in his knuckles, the twinkle in his eye. Oh, I recognized that madness. I’d seen it before, but that was a long time ago. I wanted to run, to leave Morgan’s Rock forever, but how? I didn’t even know how I’d gotten here.

  “You are a bit thick, aren’t you? But at least you were smart enough to accept my offer. Two for two. However, as poor Julie is so unreliable and refuses to participate, I will accept one for one. The question is, which one? I have the boy and will be happy to give him up, but I can’t make up my mind which I want more—the woman or the child?”

  I clenched my fists and felt the sickness return. “You can’t have either of them. Or Zachary. They aren’t yours to possess, Dan Petit.”

  I didn’t remember seeing Dan light a cigarette, but he took a long drag off one. “Interesting choice of words. By the way, your rosebud of a wife has arrived just in time for our little ride. Maybe we should all go together. Keep it in the family. What do you think?” Dan raised his bony hand, and the invisible gathering roared their applause. I couldn’t see a soul. No paper people. No black and white cutouts.

  “You can’t have my wife—or my daughter. You bas–” Invisible fingers wrapped around my neck, and I instantly felt my windpipe and the soft tissue around it being squeezed. Was he going to kill me? Killed by a ghost…what a way to die.

  “Alex? Where are you?” Megan called as if she were just across the room.

  The fingers relaxed, and Dan smiled. He heard her too. “Ah, my prize is here. What a lovely rosebud of a prize. You didn’t really think I could let her go, did you? No, my good man. Not when she’s carrying the child that’s a part of Joanna. Joanna thought that she would leave me again, that she could just walk out on me after everything I have done for her. Like I never meant anything to her. If I can’t have her, I’ll take the child.” Dan cleared the distance between us in the space of a heartbeat. “Don’t be the fool that I was, Mr. Wagner. It’s time to go. Time to put things right—for you and for me.”

  Still struggling to breathe, I asked the million-dollar question. “How do you plan to do that? By killing me?”

  “You are soft in the head. I thought you were smarter than that. How you disappoint me, Alexander. No. Not by killing you. I did this for you. I just told you that, didn’t I? Women have secrets, Alexander. Joanna, Julie and also your rosebud here. They all have secrets. Secrets that they think we will never discover. But we aren’t fools, are we?”

  “No, not fools,” I gasped as I rubbed at my neck. “But what do Julie and Megan have to do with any of this?”

  And Dan laughed. He laughed as if I’d told the funniest joke in the world. I leaned against the cold balcony and waited for him to stop flic
kering in and out. He was wasting energy with his showmanship. Maybe that was the trick, to keep him laughing. I was grasping at straws here, but it was worth a shot. But how to do it? Clearly, he enjoyed laughing at me.

  “Alex! I hear you!” Megan’s voice broke through Dan’s raucous laughter, and then the illusion vanished like smoke being waved away from a fire. “Alex? Is that you? What are you doing out here? You had me worried sick!” Megan’s arms were around me, and I held on to her like she was a life preserver and I a drowning man.

  “Is it you, Megan? Please don’t be anyone else.” I studied her face. Could I tell if she were false? Would I know? I couldn’t possibly know, could I?

  “Alex? Sylvia and I have been looking for you. Let’s get out of here. Let’s go and never come back…” Megan’s beautiful smile vanished as she suddenly fell to the floor. Terror was written all over her face, and then she began sliding. One leg was up in the air, like an invisible monster had a hold of it and now dragged her to her death.

  The elevator! That’s where he was taking her!

  “Alex! Help me! Oh God! Help me!” Sylvia reached for her but then smashed against the wall in the hallway and slid to the ground. I did not see any blood, but the impact had to have hurt the medium.

  “Let her go! Megan!” I screamed.

  She was moving so fast now, still on her back, her hands over her head reaching back to me. Her ankle was turning red and purple; whatever force grabbed her clearly did not care if it broke a bone or two.

  And then Julie stepped in front of me—right out of the room beside me. I could still hear Megan and Sylvia. The older woman began crawling toward the elevator, and Megan screamed for me. I wanted to go, but here was Julie. She reached her hands out to me.