Back to Salem

by Alex Marcoux

  “I love you,” Rebecca said.

  John and Daniel left the cabin and Rebecca became lost in her thoughts. She didn’t understand why she had returned to 1692. Why am I here? What do I need to learn? She thought of her life as Rebecca and wondered what impact that life had on Taylor. The lyrics from “Daniel’s Heart,” came to mind.

  Just because you didn’t understand me

  doesn’t excuse the inference.

  We’re all the same on the inside,

  can’t you see beyond our difference?

  But instead, you choose intolerance,

  bigotry and hate.

  Eventually, you try,

  judge, and eradicate.

  Just because you didn’t understand me

  doesn’t justify the pain.

  We’re all the same on the inside,

  I tell you, we’re all the same.

  Taylor knew her song “Daniel’s Heart” was about respecting individual differences. But she hadn’t a clue its genesis was because she had been persecuted as a witch. She still had no idea why she had returned.

  Rebecca fell into a deep sleep and was later awakened by a knocking sound. She opened her eyes and looked around the cabin, confirming she was still in the seventeen century. Judging by the light of the room, it must have been close to sunset. She sat up too fast and her world blurred. “Daniel?” she called out. There was another knock on the door, and it opened.

  When her eyes adjusted from the lightheadedness, she saw Jacob Bradbury standing quietly next to the door, staring at her.

  Rebecca felt a lump in her throat. She didn’t quite understand why, and then she remembered that this was Travis. “Jacob, what are you doing here?” She stood.

  “How are you, Rebecca?”

  Rebecca nodded. “I’m well. Are you alone?”

  “Yes.”

  There was an uncomfortable pause. “Why are you here?” Rebecca asked.

  Jacob ignored her question. “I’m glad to see you’re safe.”

  “Jacob, I can’t help but wonder—why did you help us? I mean…you have so much to lose if you’re discovered.”

  Jacob ignored the question. “I need to see your husband. It’s important.”

  “He’s outside. I’m surprised you didn’t see him.” As Rebecca said it, pictures flashed through her head of Daniel and John at the waterfront. Daniel seemed tense. While Rebecca may have been accustomed to fleeting visions, Taylor wasn’t. That was strange. “Maybe he’s down by the water,” was the only thing that came out of her mouth.

  “I’ll wait. If you don’t mind.”

  “May I ask what is so important that you rode out all this way to see him?”

  Jacob hesitated then he shrugged his shoulders. “There was an anonymous letter written that implicated Daniel in witchcraft.”

  “The letter that disappeared the morning of Daniel’s hearing…I didn’t realize it was anonymous.”

  “I have the letter.” He pulled it from his pocket. “I wanted to give it to him.”

  “Just burn it!”

  “There’s something about it that is bothersome.”

  “What is it?”

  “One of the reasons the letter carried so much weight on the case against Daniel is that it was written on special stationery.”

  Taylor wondered if it was a coincidence that stationary played a key role in the police’s case against Jessie. “What do you mean by special stationery?” She asked.

  “It was written on stationery used by Governor Phips’s office only.”

  “Really?”

  “So the belief among the judges was that the accusation was coming from someone within the Governor’s office.”

  “Which is why it was regarded so highly.”

  “Yes.”

  “May I have the letter please?”

  Jacob hesitated.

  “I won’t destroy it. I won’t even read it.” She held out her hand. “I just need to feel it.”

  Jacob placed the letter in Rebecca’s tiny hand. She covered it with her other hand and closed her eyes. In her mind’s eye pictures flashed to life. She saw the back of a man sitting at a desk. Rebecca glimpsed his well-manicured hand as he wrote the letter. He methodically dipped the ink at the end of each line. After he signed the letter anonymously, his fingers twisted the ends of his mustache. That is when she knew who it was. It was John Price, Daniel’s best friend. Intently, Rebecca gazed deeply into his eyes, and saw what she had been missing all along. It’s Mark. Mark is the soul of John Price.

  “Oh my God!” She blurted out, “It’s John. John Price wrote the letter,” Rebecca said in disbelief.

  “That’s what I feared. I keep stationery like this in my temporary office in Salem Town. While I was in the dungeon today, I recalled that your lawyer works in the office next to my own. I needed to tell Daniel before you left.”

  The images of John and Daniel abruptly rattled Rebecca’s world. She grabbed Jacob’s arm to steady herself.

  “What’s wrong?” Jacob asked.

  “They’re together. I can see them.”

  “John is here?”

  “Yes. They’re at the waterfront.” Fear overwhelmed her. “Something is wrong.” She could see that John had something in his arms. Then she realized what it was. “Oh my God, John has a musket.”

  Both Jacob and Rebecca bolted for the door. Once outside, Jacob ran to his horse and removed a musket while Rebecca ran to the back toward the water. Jacob quickly caught up with her. A late afternoon shower had started, making the ground slippery. They ran down the embankment, which had a modest grade and led them toward the water. Jacob, being familiar with the terrain, passed Rebecca and maneuvered effectively between the trees and down the hill. It was just before sundown, and the trees cast eerie shadows in the woods.

  They must have been about forty feet from the water when Jacob stopped behind a tree. He pulled Rebecca next to him and placed a finger on his lips. “Shh,” he whispered.

  Rebecca’s heart was beating so hard it hurt in her throat. They strained their ears and could hear muffled voices in the distance. Jacob rested the heavy weapon on the ground and inspected it, assuring that the musket was properly loaded. Then he picked it up, took Rebecca’s hand, and the two inched their way through the trees until Daniel and John were in their sight. They got as close as twenty feet from them and still remained camouflaged by the dense trees.

  The men stood by the water’s edge. Daniel was about seven feet from John with a musket pointed at his chest.

  “Sorry it has to be this way, friend,” John said. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. You were supposed to be hanged.”

  Daniel stared at John. His voice was calm. “What do you mean?”

  “I knew you would protect Rebecca and take the blame. I just didn’t expect she would be so stubborn and turn herself in.”

  “Did you…you did. You’re the one that sent that letter claiming I was a wizard?”

  John laughed.

  “Why? We’ve known each other all our lives. Why John?”

  “I want her.”

  “You want who? Rebecca?”

  “Of course.”

  “What makes you think she’ll have you?”

  “She will. When she learns you’ve abruptly run off, who else will take care of her and flee the area with her? Now you would save me much trouble if you can walk with me to find a gravesite.”

  “I will not.” But as Daniel said it, he saw something move in his peripheral vision. His focus was taken off the barrel of John’s musket for just a second, but long enough to see Rebecca.

  Daniel’s heart started beating wildly, fearing Rebecca was in danger. He never saw Jacob advancing to get a better shot at John. The sound of breaking twigs from beneath Jacob’s boots alerted John.

  “Who’s out there?” John yelled.

  He turned the musket in Rebecca’s direction and Daniel lunged for its barrel and pushed John into the lake’s shallow wa
ter. Daniel was all over John, obstructing Jacob’s shot. As they struggled for control with the musket between them, Daniel searched his best friend’s eyes. How could he be fighting with this man he had loved most of his life? He hoped John would come to his senses but as they gazed upon each other Daniel saw something he had never seen in his friend before and it startled him; it was evil. The gun sounded.

  Daniel felt his chest tear open and fell backwards into the shallow water.

  Almost simultaneously, Jacob took the shot at John and pierced him in the heart. He toppled into the water face down.

  “Oh God!” Rebecca screamed, and she ran into the ankle-deep water to reach Daniel.

  Blood soiled his clothing. She opened his shirt, revealing a close proximity gunshot wound to his chest. She knew he wouldn’t make it and cradled him in her arms, gently rocking him in the shallow water as it rained; the tears of the gods.

  Daniel opened his eyes meeting Jacob’s as he knelt beside him. “Take care of her,” Daniel whispered.

  “I will,” Jacob promised. Then he dragged John’s body from the water, confirming he was dead.

  Daniel knew he was dying. There was no more pain, and he felt energy seeping from his body. He gazed into Rebecca’s eyes, “I love you,” he said weakly.

  Rebecca’s eyes closed, shedding her tears. “I love you too, Daniel.”

  “I’ll wait. . .”

  His last words were cut short and even though his eyes were fixed on Rebecca, she knew he was gone.

  The sun burst through a break in the clouds just above the mountaintop across from the lake. Daniel’s face lit up as the rain poured. Rebecca looked up at the sun setting behind the mountain. A brilliant rainbow had formed, stretching from the lake into the sky above the mountain. The vivid landscape would forever remain engraved in her mind.

  As she cradled Daniel’s body in her arms, the familiar words came to her over and over. “The cycle must end. The cycle must end.” Now she knew exactly what needed to end as other past-life memories flooded back to her. Each past-life memory showed her relationship with Daniel tragically ending at the hand of John. And then, she thought of Jessie.

  I need to end the cycle. As she thought it, she was back sitting under the moonlight in the desert with her treasured ankh in her hand.

  Chapter 31

  Jessie pressed the numbers on the satellite phone as she walked the dark beach. She was careful to avoid the large rocks in her path, along with the cactuses and shrubs. Each time she pressed 911, she hoped to make a connection. And each time she tried, she knew she was heading further downstream, toward Grapevine Rapid.

  The roar from the rapids grew and Jessie’s terrain became more challenging as the soft beach sand disappeared, leaving larger rocks to negotiate. Jessie pressed redial and listened to the phone over Grapevine, only to hear nothing, over and over until…there was a ring. But as soon as she heard it, it was gone.

  She tried it again. It rang, and then, “This is 911. What’s the nature of the emergency?”

  “Oh, thank God.” But Jessie knew their reception was bad. “I’m not sure how long this signal is going to last,” she shouted. “We need a helicopter evacuation immediately.”

  “Your location?”

  “We’re in the Grand Canyon around mile 81. We’re just upstream of Grapevine Rapid, on the south side. A man is having a heart attack.”

  Jessie heard static coming from the other end.

  “Can you hear me? We need help.”

  “…got it…name?”

  “I don’t know if you can hear me. I’m catching every couple of your words. We need an immediate air evacuation. We have a man down with what appears to be a heart attack. We’re in the Grand Canyon, in the inner gorge, just upstream of Grapevine Rapid. Can you hear me?”

  “Yes, we got that. What’s your name?”

  “This is Jessie Mercer,” Jessie said.

  “Will you be able to signal the helicopter?”

  “I think we have a flare gun.” But Jessie did not get a response after that. “Hello? Do you hear me? Hello?” Her connection was lost. At least she got through.

  Jessie turned back in the direction she had come from and quickened her pace. Preoccupied with thoughts of the evening, she stumbled over a rock on the riverbank and fell to her knees. “God. I’m so clumsy.” Jessie stood, leaned over to brush the sand from her knees. But when she straightened, a man stood directly in her path. Jessie’s heart beat wildly at the sight of the figure in front of her. Then she recognized Mark. “Mark. You scared the shit out of me,” she said.

  He offered no apology. “It is dangerous out here.” There was chill in his tone which surprised Jessie.

  “Yes. Let’s get back to the camp.”

  “Did you reach 911?”

  “I did.”

  “Good.”

  The canyon was different at night, somehow creepy, and with partly cloudy skies the moonlight was unreliable. As Jessie passed Mark, she felt him turn with her and follow close behind. Something was wrong though, she sensed it but she didn’t know what. Before she could do or say anything, he seized her throat from behind. His forearm and upper arm dragged her by the neck to the river. She tried to pull his arm from around her throat, but the more she resisted the harder he fastened his hold.

  The cold water crept to Jessie’s ankles, then knees and waist. The roar from the rushing rapids was getting louder. Jessie weakened with each passing moment. In desperation, she reached her pockets for anything that could help. Out came the satellite phone and into the river it splashed. Then she grabbed the crystal she uncovered at the quartz vein earlier that day. With all her might, she plunged the pointed rock into Mark’s forearm.

  He screamed and released just enough pressure from Jessie’s trachea she gasped for air then thrust the crystal deeper into his arm. She pried herself free, but when Jessie turned the handle of a handgun bashed against her cheek and she fell backwards into the rushing water.

  In moments, the current took Jessie’s limp body into the raging rapids of Grapevine. Mark watched as she was swept into the uncontrollable white water. She quickly disappeared into the night.

  The current sucked Jessie under. It took all her strength to keep her head above water, but Grapevine’s force was too powerful; she was failing. Her chest hurt from the lack of air. She thought her lungs were about to explode when her body thrashed against a boulder. If the large rock had not been slanted, she would have been trapped underwater by the raging current and rock. But as it was, she surfaced with head barely above water she gasped and cried out in pain. Jessie clung to the boulder. Intense pain from her side suggested she had broken a rib and with violent water thrashing against her, she knew she couldn’t hold on much longer.

  The moonlight provided enough light for Jessie to see she was about twenty feet from the river’s edge. About twenty-five feet downstream the current changed from raging to running water. Jessie knew she couldn’t hold onto the boulder much longer, and with that thought, she was swept downstream.

  Jessie fought to keep her head above water. The current sucked her under and pulled her downstream. She knew the water’s rage would subside, but she didn’t know when. Her lungs felt like they were going to burst, and she didn’t think she could last any longer.

  That little voice from within tried to encourage her. “You can do it, Jessie. Don’t give up…just a little longer.”

  Jessie wasn’t so sure she could go on. In fact, in those split seconds, images of her life flashed in her head, from her youth to her most recent time with Taylor. A peace came upon her and she was ready to let everything go, except Taylor. She had just found her; could life be so cruel to take her away? She knew Taylor was still in danger and it was that thought that kept her from passing out in the water. All of a sudden the rage of the water weakened. Jessie found herself struggling to reach the surface. Her lungs hurt. She was so close to passing out. Just when she thought she could no longer go on, she surf
aced, gasping for air.

  She knew she still wasn’t out of danger of being swept to the next rapid. The current was swift, and it wouldn’t be long before hypothermia set in. With every ounce of strength, Jessie moved to the shore with one thing on her mind: Taylor. It was a slow and painful journey. The current continued to carry her downstream, past the rafts and then some. By the time she reached the shore, she was unable to move and lay motionless on the riverbank, her body beaten.

  She had to warn Taylor. With that thought, she sat. She hurt all over. The laceration on her arm was bleeding again and her cheek was torn open where Mark’s gun had struck her. As she stood, she felt a stabbing pain near one of her ribs. Then she heard footsteps coming from upstream, taking her mind off her pain. Mark was looking for her.

  Jessie turned and headed downstream. She had hiked this only hours earlier and knew she didn’t have far to go before she’d be forced to head up an inner canyon. But as she entered the inner canyon, the darkness swallowed her. The high canyon walls prevented the moon’s light from reaching the trail. Having hiked the trail earlier she didn’t see climbing in the dark as an option. She came back out of the canyon in time to see Mark heading her way. She quickly ducked back inside. Even though she was hurt, she had a huge advantage over Mark—she had just hiked the trail.

  Jessie quickly moved up the trail. With her arms in front of her, she groped forward, trying to recall the path from earlier that day. The first fifty feet were treacherous. It was a steep rocky trail, then the canyon widened, enabling some light to filter into the canyon.

  About halfway up the trail, Jessie thought she heard something. Quietly, she found a dark area along the canyon wall and listened. The noise repeated, and then she saw him. The figure moved into sight. As Jessie squatted behind a boulder, Mark moved to within fifteen feet of her then he stood still.

  Jessie was afraid that her breathing might draw attention to herself, so she held her breath. Her heart pounded wildly, and the throbbing from the injured rib made her position uncomfortable. To Jessie, it seemed that Mark stood there forever. Then, he turned and walked slowly down the trail. Jessie resisted the temptation to run. Just when Mark was out of sight, that little voice warned, “Jessie, stay put.”