3 Ghosts of Our Fathers

by Michael Richan

  “Before you get on your high horse,” Steven said, “that was done to benefit you.”

  “Yeah, well, watching Daniel die at the edge of the lake didn’t seem like much of a benefit.”

  “You’ll never get a free beer out of me that way,” Steven said, returning to his menu.

  The server showed up and they both placed an order.

  “Sorry,” Jason said after the server left. “I didn’t mean to get off on the wrong foot. I’m just a little shaken by that whole thing. And the blow up between you and Grandpa Roy.”

  “That’s all been patched up,” Steven lied. “We mutually apologized and we’ve moved on.”

  “It’s not like you and Grandpa Roy were ever close, anyway,” Jason said.

  “That’s true. But things have changed in the past few months. We’re closer now than we’ve ever been.”

  “Something changed?”

  The server arrived with their drinks. Steven paused until the server had left.

  “Yes,” Steven said. “It changed. I had an incident at my house. Several months ago. Roy helped me resolve it.”

  “What kind of incident?”

  “Well, how about we just call it an ‘unusual incident’ and leave it at that?”

  “Dad,” Jason said, “I don’t think I really want to have this conversation if you’re only going to be half-open with me. I’m not some little kid that needs protecting.”

  “If you’d seen the things I’ve seen in the past little while,” Steven said, “you might disagree.”

  “Let me be the judge.”

  Steven took a long sip of his iced tea and leaned back into the cushions of the booth. He looked at Jason, who was staring back at him, almost a challenge. Do I protect him? he thought. Is leaving him in the dark the best way to protect him? Or does that put him at greater risk?

  “When I moved into the house,” Steven said, “I began seeing things at night. I’d be woken up in the middle of the night by knockings in the house. Then I’d see things, horrible things. I thought I was going crazy. I thought I had a brain tumor. Roy stepped in. He told me that I was fine, but the house was haunted. So we went about getting rid of the ghosts. It’s a long story. But over the course of it I found out a lot of things about myself and your grandpa.”

  “Ghosts and haunted houses don’t sound like you,” Jason said, adding a couple of sugar packets to his iced tea. “You’re the most rational person I know. Remember when I brought home that book on UFOs? I thought you were going to go bonkers.”

  “Trust me, I tried every rational explanation. Then I ran into some facts that changed my mind.”

  “Such as?”

  “The River, for one.”

  “Ah, you mentioned that the other night.”

  “Have you ever gone in it?” Steven asked.

  “Gone in it? I don’t understand.”

  “Jumped into it. Let yourself drift mentally until you fall into it. That’s what it feels like for me.”

  “No, I don’t even know what you’re talking about. Seriously, Dad, if you could hear yourself.”

  “I understand how it sounds. I’ll stop if you’re finding this too hard to believe.”

  “It’s hard to believe, but continue, please.”

  “OK, so the River was one thing. Roy’s abilities and his book were another.”

  “Grandpa Roy wrote a book?”

  “It’s a book he’s added to, but it came from his father, and his father, and so on. Several generations.”

  “What’s in it?”

  “A history of all the weird shit they’ve dealt with over the years. You wouldn’t believe it.”

  Now Jason looked interested, and a little stunned.

  “Weird shit? Like what?”

  “You name it. Ghosts, evil spirits, demons, creatures, the whole lot.”

  “Grandpa Roy wrote this?”

  “Some of it, yes.”

  “And he’s writing about his experiences?”

  “Yes.”

  “And the purpose of the book, he’s going to give it to you?”

  “Yes, someday I expect.”

  “Then you’ll start writing in it?”

  “Yes, I guess I will.”

  “And does that mean that someday it comes to me?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose that’s up to you, and to me.”

  The server arrived with their food, and passed out extra napkins and condiments. “Anything else I can get you?” she asked.

  “Nope, looks good,” Jason said.

  “She’s cute,” Steven said as their server walked away.

  Jason gave him a pathetic glance and went about eating his French fries.

  “I see you still eat the French fries first,” Steven said.

  “The best part.”

  “So, anyway, after Roy helped me with my house problem, he and I went down to Oregon and helped some friends of his. They own a bed and breakfast outside of Medford, but it’s far bigger than any B&B you’ve ever been to. Built in 1850. And full of ghosts. That’s where I met Eliza.”

  “Oh,” Jason said around bites of food. “I like her.”

  “Yes, everybody likes her.”

  “And Daniel? How did you meet him?”

  “He’s a friend…was a friend of Eliza’s. When you and I were attacked in our sleep last week, I called Eliza for help because your grandpa was out boating with a friend of his. She referred me to Daniel. He was an expert in everything time related. It was Daniel who helped me figure out about Frank and how to eliminate him.”

  “And who exactly is Frank?” Jason asked.

  Steven backtracked and filled Jason in on the recent events that had lead up to Daniel’s death.

  “So you saw something come out of his head, at the lake?” Jason asked.

  “I entered the flow. I suspected something was happening that we couldn’t see. Things had been so strange, his odd obsession with water since he was revived. As he was walking to the water, he kept saying he couldn’t control himself. At first I thought it was Sean, but when he kneeled down and bent over, it felt like something else was happening, so I jumped into the River. The stalk coming out of his head was unlike anything I’ve ever seen.”

  “A stroma,” Jason said. “It’s called a stroma.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I learned it in Biology class. They come out of insects and animals after they’ve been used by parasites. They’re called ‘zombie parasites’ because they control the body of the host, usually getting it to do something so they can reproduce. I’ve seen pictures of huge stalks coming out of ant’s heads, really gross. And many of them drive their host to water, since they need water to reproduce.”

  “Christ, it appears I’m getting something for my money,” Steven said. “This was all from a biology class?”

  “In high school, Dad. I’m not taking any life sciences in college.”

  “Still, that’s impressive. I’ve never heard of zombie parasites before.”

  “Here, hold on.” Jason removed his phone and began typing in a browser. Soon he turned the phone to Steven, showing him the pictures. Steven saw the ant and an impossibly long stalk shooting out of its head.

  “It was kind of like that,” Steven said. “It came up out of him, bent at one point at about a ninety degree angle towards the water, and had a bulb on the end where the seeds came out.”

  “Yup, zombie parasite.”

  “I’m guessing the centipedes laid eggs in him?” Steven asked.

  “I’m guessing that too,” Jason said, taking the phone back. “These parasites have weird life cycles. And who knows since yours were invisible. Invisible. Do you know how weird it feels to say that word with a straight face?”

  “I felt the same way when I was first learning all this,” Steven said. “I’m still a little shocked at some of the things I run into. I shouldn’t be, but I am. I’ve been a skeptic my whole life, it’s hard to get rid of.”

 
“Well, I was never a skeptic,” Jason said. “I wanted to read that UFO book. I ate it up.”

  “See, even now I discount the idea. Ghosts, yes. UFOs, no. I know, it makes no sense.”

  “So were you going to tell me about this?” Jason said, finishing his burger. Steven hadn’t even started his yet.

  “Eventually,” Steven said. “I thought I’d wait until you were at least out of college and settled. Roy didn’t introduce it to me until now, and look at me, I’m in my fifties. He wasn’t in any rush so I figured I didn’t need to be with you.”

  “How old was Grandpa Roy when his father told him?”

  “Twelve, fourteen, something like that.”

  “Why do you think he waited so long to tell you?”

  “We were never close. Your grandma made me and Uncle Bernie go to church frequently. She saw it as a way to keep us safe from Roy’s abilities. She helped create a gulf between me and Roy. One I regret.”

  “Maybe he felt you were too skeptical, too. Like you wouldn’t believe it if he told you.”

  “Yes, that was probably part of it. Even when he did tell me I didn’t believe it. It took a while. Seeing ghosts in my house sped the process along.” Steven smiled.

  “So what happens next?” Jason asked. “You going to train me?”

  “You’d want that?”

  “Sure, why not. Seems like it’s a birthright or something. Wouldn’t want to let the family down.”

  “I guess you could benefit from Roy. I’m still learning from him. No reason you couldn’t jump in and learn too. But I worry about you. That’s the main reason I didn’t want to tell you about this. It’s been dangerous, as you saw. Roy and I have come across some very dangerous and evil people and creatures.”

  “Ooo, sounds like a scary horror movie!”

  Steven sighed. Jason was taking it cavalierly, which was exactly what he’d been afraid of. It would take an experience or two before he’d take it seriously. It was too late now; no putting the toothpaste back in the tube.

  “Before we can do anything with Roy,” Steven said. “We need him to come back safely. He’s put his life on the line with this. If he fails, he won’t come back.”

  “When will you know?” Jason said, sipping the last of his iced tea.

  “I don’t know how long it will take. Maybe a day or two. Maybe longer. We just have to wait and see.”

  “You’ll let me know? When he’s back?”

  “I will,” Steven said, lying. If Roy was successful, he knew it was a promise he’d never have to fulfill.

  Chapter Fifteen

  Roy had been concealed behind the junk pile in the garage for over an hour, waiting for the boys to enter the garage with Frank. As he waited, he attempted to communicate with Sam. It had been difficult.

  Sam was distrustful of anyone Roy’s age. Roy tried to explain the wooden matchbox and powder would work but only for a while, and that many others would be hurt later on when Frank broke free of the cage. He told Sam that he’d convinced David to play it another way instead of using the items, and that they’d be in the garage soon. He told Sam that David intended to kill Frank when they got to the garage, to protect Sean and Garth.

  Sam had not been very communicative. Roy didn’t know if he approved of the plan or if he was ignoring him all along since he didn’t acknowledge much of what Roy was saying. Roy had begged him to help David if he could, once they arrived in the garage. Sam didn’t say he would.

  After a while the conversation stopped. Roy told Sam he’d wait for the boys to arrive by hiding behind the pile. Sam didn’t say anything in return.

  The garage was silent. The musty smell of cut grass mixed with the smell of burnt wood and creosote. It was a smell Roy remembered from similar buildings in his youth. He always associated that smell with spiders.

  David appeared in the doorway of the garage. He looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

  “Davy,” Roy called. “Back here.”

  David walked inside the garage and tentatively towards Roy’s voice. Once he made his way around the junk pile, he saw Roy crouched down near the floor. He also sensed the presence that was with Roy, listening.

  Roy saw David’s reaction, his fear. David was more susceptible to the flow than he realized. The demon was scaring him off.

  “I… I don’t know if I should do this, mister,” David said, backing away a little.

  “You’re scaring the boy, it’ll ruin the plan!” Roy told the demon.

  “I’ve been waiting a long time, much longer than usual,” the demon said, his voice rumbling in the lowest registers they could hear. “I want my payment.”

  “Your payment comes after Davy shoots Frank,” Roy said. “Not before. We talked about this.”

  “It looks like your father is having a change of heart,” the demon said. “If he fails, I’ll take you so quickly you won’t realize it happened.”

  “What is he?” David asked, taking another step back. “He’s not human.”

  “No,” Roy said. “He isn’t. He brought me here so I could help you solve this.”

  “He called me your father,” David said. “Those weren’t visions, were they?”

  “You’re right, they weren’t visions. That’s what actually happens in the future.”

  “And I am your father?”

  “Yes,” Roy said, “you are. You are my father. You named me Roy.”

  David looked like he wanted to bolt from the room, but he didn’t move.

  “If I don’t do this, what happens, in the future?”

  “Frank comes back after several years, attacking me, my son, and his son.”

  “I’m a grandfather, and a great-grandfather?”

  “Yes, and they’re all grateful to you for what you did, what you pass on from your father, all of it. But we won’t be around if you don’t do this.”

  “And him?” David asked, pointing at the demon.

  “He was the only way I could come back here and talk to you. He will take Frank’s soul as payment for bringing me here, if you kill him. If you don’t, he’ll take me instead.”

  Roy felt he’d put every compelling reason on the table that he could. It was a mixture of truth and lies, all designed to get David to pull the trigger. Any more and he’d be pushing too hard, increasing the risk that David might back out. He stopped and looked at David with as desperate an expression as he could muster.

  “Is that true?” David asked the demon.

  “It is,” the demon answered. “I will be paid, one way or the other. And I won’t wait much longer.”

  David looked at Roy. From inside the house they could hear screaming, a mixture of the boys yelping and Frank’s loud, booming voice. They could hear things smashing. Then they heard the sound of the kitchen door opening and slamming shut, and the rapid fall of approaching footsteps.

  “They’re here,” Roy said. “Now it’s your choice, Davy. Frank, or me.”

  David removed the pistol from his back belt where he’d concealed it under his shirt.

  “Do you know how to use it?” Roy asked.

  “I think so,” he said.

  “Come hide here with me in the shadows. Once Frank comes in you can use it on him. He’ll be blind for the first few moments when he walks in as his eyes adjust to the darkness. That’s the time.”

  David joined Roy behind the junk pile, pistol in hand. It was large in his hand, and heavy. Roy saw the gun droop a bit as he held it.

  “Use both hands,” he whispered to David as Garth came running into the garage. He was crying and breathing hard.

  “Davy, you here?” Garth said, trying to catch his breath.

  “Yeah, I’m here,” David said.

  “Good. Sean is on his way. Frank is madder than a hornet’s nest.”

  Within a moment Sean came running into the garage. He had a black eye and blood was running from a cut on his cheek.

  “Did he see you come out here?” Garth asked.

&
nbsp; “Yes, he saw me,” Sean said. “Is Davy here?”

  “Yes, he’s here,” Garth said. “What do we do?”

  “I don’t know,” Sean said. “Davy, what do we do?”

  “Hide,” said David, emerging from the back of the junk pile, holding the pistol.

  Sean and Garth saw the gun and their eyes went wide. They both scrambled for hiding places.

  “You come back here, you little shitheads!” Frank bellowed from the house. “If I have to come out there and get you, you’ll be sorry!”

  Roy could hear Garth whimper. Sean and Garth were out of his line of sight, but he could see David, who had moved into position near the door. He held the gun at arm’s length, ready to fire as soon as Frank entered the building.

  “I’m gonna count to three,” Frank yelled. “You know what happens at three!”

  Roy wondered what exactly Frank had done to the boys in the past. From Garth’s story that Steven had relayed to him, it sounded pretty horrible. He didn’t regret what was about to happen.

  “One!” Frank hollered.

  The garage was silent.

  “Two!”

  Roy heard Garth whimper again. It made him regret ever having spanked Steven or Bernie as they grew up.

  What an asshole I am for not reconciling with Steven before coming here, Roy thought. I may never see him again. What a monumental prick I can be sometimes.

  “Three! Ready or not, here I come!”

  He could see a gulp go down David’s throat as he steeled himself for the confrontation. He could hear the demon next to him, panting, readying himself for the soul that was coming his way within moments. Sean and Garth were nowhere to be seen, tucked into spaces only they knew.

  Frank’s long shadow reached the doorway before he did.

  “You two shitheads need to learn some respect,” he said, just outside the doorway. “I’m gonna burn it into ya.” They could hear Frank flicking his lighter. “Just imagine, Garth − Sean with his hair on fire. All his hair burned off his head. Wouldn’t that look funny? I’ll bet you’ll shit your pants laughing at him.”

  He flicked the lighter more.

  “There’s no way out of this, boys. Come on out now. You come out now, I’ll only beat you until you’re black and blue. You make me come in there, I’m gonna beat you so hard you won’t know who you are. And then I’ll burn ya.”