Bitterroot Crossing

by Tess Oliver

  The air surrounding him was warmer than usual. There was no acrid odor either, just the faint smell of tobacco. He was impossibly handsome with his thick black hair and dark blue eyes. His hand reached forward and took hold of mine. It was not as icy cold as usual.

  “Zedekiah, what happened up here earlier? Axel was in a terrible state. It looked as if he’d--”

  “--been ripped in half?” Suddenly the temperature of his fingers dropped back to their usual icy state. He let go of my hand. “I did it.” He went back to the fence and continued his smoke. After a long moment of silence he spoke again. “He and Butcher were trying to keep me away from the town hall. I had no idea what was going on at first, then Axel, who always had the loosest tongue this side of the Mississippi, let it slip. They intended on hurting you badly.”

  I pulled my coat tighter around me. “But why me?”

  “Because I care for you. They’ll do anything to anger me.”

  “Your own gang?”

  He laughed but it was not a humorous laugh. “They are not my gang. They turned on me before they were sent to the scaffolds. Told Bridger they’d give him all the evidence he needed to hang me if they could avoid the noose. Bunch of fools. Bridger accepted their offer but sent them to their deaths anyway. Somewhere along the way, they’d convinced themselves that I was the reason they were hung and never given a proper burial.”

  “So all this time, the loyal Crush Gang has been at war with their leader?’

  “Yep. But now they seem determined to drive the citizens out of this place.”

  “But how can we stop them?”

  “We?” He stood in front of me suddenly. “Not you, Jessie. You keep your distance from them. In fact, I want you to stay inside your grandma’s house until things have calmed down.”

  “Oh really? And who are you to give me orders?”

  “Do you want to relive last night? There might be a time when neither Nick nor I are near enough to help you. Stay inside.”

  “I will, but I can take care of myself just fine. I don’t need you, and I certainly don’t need Nick. Besides, he hates me.”

  He smiled. “That’s a mighty strange dose of hate then. That kid’s been taking all kinds of beatings from the gang, and I know most of it has to do with you.”

  The back door flew open. “Jessie, get inside here now,” Nana yelled. “Haven’t you ghosts caused enough trouble already?”

  Zedekiah tipped the brim of his hat at her.

  I ran to the steps then stopped and twisted back around. “Wait, Zedekiah. You never said how to get rid of the gang? What can we do to stop them?”

  “Graves. We need a proper burial.”

  Chapter 27

  I yanked on my coat and my hat to keep my head warm. Mom grabbed my arm as I pulled the flashlights out from under the kitchen sink. “Please don’t go, Nick. Let the sheriff and the other men look for Baxter.” She bit her bottom lip with worry as she made sure my coat was zipped. She knew nothing was going to stop me from helping the search team.

  Dad and a few brave others including Mr. Mitchell, Berta, and the town’s two police dogs were standing around the squad car looking at a map. Berta eyes were puffy, and for once, I felt bad for her. I gave her a hug.

  “Now, Mitchell, you said you last saw Baxter as people were fleeing the town hall meeting.”

  “He was standing near the car,” Mr. Mitchell sobbed into a handkerchief, wiped his nose then continued. “One minute he was there, then I turned to talk to a neighbor. When I turned back, he was gone. Like he just disappeared.” His shoulders shook in silent sobs and Berta put her arm around her father.

  “We’ll find him, Mitchell. Don’t you worry,” Sheriff Fielding said with very little conviction in his voice. He laid the map on the hood of his car and divided the town into different sections. He assigned Dad and me to the westernmost end of town.

  “There’s nothing there but a label factory and the city dump,” I said. “What about the mountain?”

  “What about it?” Fielding asked. “We’ll get up there after we do a thorough search of the town.”

  “Nick, we were just on the mountain. We didn’t see any sign of Baxter,” Dad said.

  “We weren’t looking for any signs. There was some really creepy stuff happening up there, remember?”

  “Look, Nick,” the sheriff sounded impatient, “I’m the professional, so we’ll stick to my plan. Besides, they never stay on the mountain. They always come to town to cause trouble.” He looked around at the small bunch of apprehensive volunteers. “Search the area I have assigned you.” He pulled out his phone. “Everyone put in my number.” We all complied. Dad had not charged his phone in months but mine was ready. “Do not approach the ghosts by yourself. Call me and I will alert the others. Again, do not approach them by yourself.”

  I was feeling way past anxious. We were losing valuable time with the sheriff’s baloney.

  I raced to the backyard and grabbed my bike. The headlight was broken but I knew my way well enough without it.

  “Nick, you’re not riding that in the dark,” Dad said.

  I pulled up next to him and revved it a few times to choke the cold out of it and to show him I was serious. “Get on, Dad.”

  He hesitated only for a second then hopped on. It was sluggish with both of us on board, but it gave us a chance to shine our flashlights down some dark alleys and into dark corners. Aside from a dog pulling trash out of a can and an owl perched on a street light, the streets were empty.

  There were no lights on in the label factory and the blue barrels of glue that normally stood in the yard were gone. The owner must have decided to roll the rest of his barrels inside, out of the reach of ghosts. Dad and I got off the bike and walked to the chain link fence surrounding the factory.

  We shined our flashlights into the darkness. “Baxter!” I yelled out a couple of times but there was no response. I was not surprised. I knew we were wasting our time on this side of town. What really bugged me was that we were letting valuable time slip by giving those dead jerks time to hurt Baxter or worse. I could only imagine how scared he would be right now.

  So much of this was my fault. I should have just let Jessie alone from the start. She obviously had no real feelings for me. And that thought twisted my stomach into a painful knot. I was totally crazy about the girl.

  A clanging sound startled Dad and me. We pointed our flashlights in the direction of the noise. A raccoon scurried out from behind the trash bin carrying a piece of foil in its mouth.

  We relaxed our shoulders. “They aren’t going to be out here, Dad. I always have a weird feeling when these guys are near. It’s like I’ve developed some kind of ghost radar or something.” Coincidentally, the cold air sent a sharp pain through my bruised ribs and I rubbed my side. “These guys have been harassing me all week. Ever since I started hanging out with Jessie.”

  “That sure is a pretty little girl, that Jessie. I guess it’s easy to see why her great-great-grandma caused such a stir in town.”

  “Jessie’s causing a pretty big stir herself.” I switched off the flashlight and returned to my bike.

  Dad stood for a moment staring into the empty factory yard. He looked deep in thought and sorrow washed over his face.

  “Dad?”

  He shook his head and stared down at the ground. “I’ve been an awful heel. I don’t know how your mom can ever forgive me. Or you and Bobby for that matter. It’s just, without a job, I’ve felt so incredibly useless.”

  “Mom loves you. We all do. And you’ll get a job again. You’ll see.”

  He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and I swallowed back the lump in my throat. I’d never seen my dad cry. Ever.

  “Come on, Dad. Let’s check out the dump. And I can tell you this, if they’ve laid one hand on Baxter, I’m going to tear those fucking ghosts to shreds.” I fired up my bike. Dad climbed on back, and we sped off toward the dump.

  There were lots of plac
es to hide at the dump but aside from the two guard dogs that nearly gave us both a heart attack when we approached the fence, the place was quiet.

  We stared down at the dogs who barked ferociously at us from behind the fence for a good five minutes before getting bored and leaving.

  “What do you suppose they’re here to protect? The garbage?” Dad asked.

  “Does seem stupid to have guard dogs at a dump. But, like they say, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure.” A breeze carried a rancid odor across the vast piles of junk. “This place smells so bad, it would be hard to smell swamp ghouls even if they were floating around in there. But they’re not.”

  We shined our flashlights through the fence for a few minutes. The only movement we saw were the rats who had no doubt thought they‘d died and gone to heaven when they found this place.

  “Let’s go, Dad. We’re wasting our time here. Let’s hope the others have had some luck. I know Baxter really well, and if they haven’t found him yet, he’s going to be close to a major breakdown.”

  About half of the search crew hovered around the sheriff’s car with thermoses of hot coffee. No one had had any luck. Then Mr. Mitchell ran up. “The dogs are on to something,” he said between gasps of air. “Fielding just phoned me. They’re at the park.”

  The park was only several blocks away. We all raced on foot toward it. We could hear the dogs barking wildly before we reached it. I beat everyone else there. Sheriff Fielding was standing beneath the giant cypress tree, the same tree Baxter had climbed the last time the ghosts hassled him. Fielding was shining his light through the tree branches, squinting at something above.

  I walked up next to him and peered up. A tiny piece of cloth was stuck on the branch above our heads. It had been from Baxter’s shirt. It was what the dogs smelled.

  The others reached us.

  “We found something, Mitchell. Looks like a piece of Baxter’s shirt. They’ve been here.”

  “Sheriff, I hate to burst a bubble here, but that piece of shirt has been up there for a week.”

  Fielding scowled at me. “And how would you know that?” Now suspicion filled his expression. “Unless you had something to do with all this, Crush.”

  Dad stepped forward. “Don’t go accusing my son of something just because you can’t find the boy.”

  I stepped between them. “The gang chased Baxter up this tree the other night.” I looked at Mr. Mitchell. “Remember the night he was late coming home with his skateboard?”

  Mr. Mitchell nodded but was still too upset to speak.

  “I found Baxter in this tree. The ghosts were teasing him. I got him down and sent him home.” Now I looked at Dad. “That’s when I found out that the fire extinguisher could break apart their particles. At least, temporarily.”

  “Well, it’s still a clue as far as I’m concerned,” Sheriff Fielding said.

  “Fine, then,” I said, “you keep looking around in the park.” I walked away.

  “Nick, where are you going?” Dad called.

  “I’m going to find Baxter,” I yelled into the air without looking back.

  Chapter 28

  I’d finally fallen into a deep sleep only to be woken by Jasper growling at something outside my window. I squinted at the dog through the darkness. He growled again. “Jasper, quiet. Come back to bed.” Something scraped across the pane sending Anna under the covers and Jasper under the bed. “Some watchdog you are.” I threw off my covers, walked to the window, and pulled back the curtain.

  Two yellowish eyes met mine in the glass. A scream lodged in my throat as I dropped the curtain and stumbled backward, tripping over the end of my bed and landing on the floor. My body shook from head to toe. The horrid fog had returned, and I was more than certain that the terrifying pair of eyes staring back at me belonged to Crow.

  I jumped up and pulled my sweater on over my pajamas. I had no idea what was going on outside, but if there was trouble, I didn’t want to be caught in flimsy, sheep print pajamas. I ran into the hall and was just about to wake Nana when she came out of her room with an her antique pistol waving in the air as if she was off to battle. Her eyes were wide with fear, and she had pulled on a coat and boots.

  I grabbed the arm that was waving the pistol. “Nana, what are you doing?”

  “They’re out there, that gang of no-good demons are out in the yard.”

  Gently, I lifted the pistol from her fingers and put it back on her dresser. “They’re already dead, Nana. Your pistol won’t be much use. Besides, they can’t come inside remember?” I motioned for her to follow me to the living room. We each peeked through a side of the heavy drapes covering the front window. Aside from the fog, which had taken on an eerie green tint in the faint moonlight, the yard looked empty. Then something scraped and thumped across the roof. It sounded horrible as if someone was dragging a limp body over the shingles.

  “What could that be?” Nana asked, her voice cracking in fear.

  Then something flew past the window where I stood. It looked very much like a body. I gasped and shut the curtains. “What was it, Jessie?”

  “I don’t know. I was too scared to look.” I took a deep breath, steadied my hands, and lifted the curtain. My heart raced. It looked very much like a human form lying in the dirt. I peered at it for a moment then sunk back with relief. “It’s only Paul McCartney.”

  Nana grabbed the top of her robe and her eyes nearly popped from her head.

  “The scarecrow, Nana, not the rock star.”

  “Oh, of course.” She dropped her hands and her shoulders relaxed, but a loud clanging sound brought them up again. I looked out. Axel and Crow were throwing the hood of our old tractor back and forth like a pair of kids playing toss. Apparently Axel had pulled his ghastly halves back together.

  “I think they’re just here to annoy us, Nana. I don’t think they mean any harm.” My words were said to reassure her. She was trembling terribly and her face was snow white. Unfortunately, I knew they were here for more than just some ghostly pranks. They were up to something wicked. I just wasn’t sure what yet.

  The clanging outside had stopped. Everything fell into a horrid silence. The only sound we could hear was Nana’s mantle clock and our own rapid breathing.

  A bit of color came back into Nana’s cheeks. “Do you think they’ve gone?”

  “We can only hope,” I said just as a violent gust of wind hit the house making the entire place shake. Nana and I grabbed each other.

  Bursts of what felt like gale force winds pelted the house every few seconds. Clinging tightly to each other, we scooted away from the window in case it gave way.

  “This house has stood through some mighty fierce storms. I’m sure it can handle anything these phantoms have to dish out,” Nana said weakly.

  “I wish Zedekiah would come,” I said.

  “Zedekiah? Why he probably put them up to this.”

  “No, Nana, you’re wrong. He and the rest of the Crush Gang parted ways before they were hung. They hate him and he hates them.”

  “Is that so? Well, who would have guessed that?”

  Suddenly a long drawn out howl seemed to circle the house and find its way down our chimney. Some of the ashes puffed up as if an invisible foot had stepped in them. The sound repeated itself but this time it ended in a whisper. “Come out, little girl.”

  The sound came again and again with the same whispering tone at the end that made the hair stand up on my arms and neck. “Come out, little Jessie.”

  Nana held me tighter. Then the foulest sounding peals of laughter rolled across the yard. I had to nearly pry Nana off of me to take another look outside. “Nana, I’m safe inside here. I just want to see what they’re up to. Axel and Crow appeared to still be alone outside. The others, including Zedekiah, were nowhere in sight. They jumped around the field like two teenage boys pulling up the dry grass and forest litter. The entire time, their sickening laughter echoed off the side of the house.

  �
�What are they doing,” Nana asked standing back from the window.

  I dropped the curtain and shook my head. “Who knows? From what I can tell they are just picking grass.” Nana’s face looked smooth and pale as marble. I walked back over and picked up her hands. They were freezing. “We’ll be fine, Nana. Don’t worry.”

  “I’m not just worried for us, Jessie. This whole town is done for if they continue these wretched pranks.” Her voice got shaky and tears filled her eyes. “I’ve lived here my whole life. So have you, Jessie. I love this mountain.”

  “I know you do, and I know how we can send them away.”

  “You do?” She was shaking so hard I threw the heavy throw from the couch around her shoulders in the hope of comforting her with warmth. I rubbed her thin arms to soothe away the gooseflesh.

  “Zedekiah told me they need to be buried properly. That’s all they’ve ever wanted.”

  “But how can that be done?”

  “I’m not sure, but I hope Zedekiah can tell us.” Just then a burst of light and a loud explosion of heated air lit up the yard. I ran to the window. “They’ve made a giant ball of fire.

  Nana ran to the window now too. “It can’t penetrate the walls. The fire must come from inside like in the minister’s church.” They paraded around the yard with their massive ball of fire”. When I saw where they were headed I nearly lost my breath. The barn was wide open. Axel bent over and rolled the ball of flames inside and it instantly caught fire.

  “No! Mandy!” I raced to the door. Nana grabbed my arm but I yanked it free and ran as fast as my bare feet could carry me. I didn’t see either ghost. Smoke had already filled the entire barn. Mandy whinnied loudly and I felt my way to her stall. Flames licked at my face and hands. Hot smoke choked my throat and stung my eyes.

  In the dark, I found the latch to Mandy’s stall and opened it. The terrified horse galloped out, kicking and bucking in fright. The mare’s back hoof grazed my shoulder and I flew back into the straw bedding. That’s when icy fingers grabbed my wrist and pulled me up and out of the barn. The smoke made it impossible to see anything, but I hoped with all my heart that the fingers that had hold of me were Zedekiah’s. A dreadful feeling inside told me that it wasn’t him.