by Ron Ripley
Jenny stared at him for a minute, and then she said in a sharp tone, “I thought you said you could get us out when we came in?”
“I can,” Leo said, smiling. “It will be difficult, though. It seems as though the fog has been both thickened and lengthened. We may have quite a trip ahead of ourselves.”
“But we can still get out?” Shane asked.
“Of course,” Leo smiled.
“How long?” Jacob asked.
“That is difficult to say,” Leo said, frowning. “Possibly several days.”
“Days?” Jenny asked, trying to keep the anger out of her voice.
“Yes,” Leo said, oblivious to her tone. “In fact, I suspect we may have to deal with additional ghosts as we make our way towards the exit. I fear they will be rather intent on stopping us.”
“Yeah,” Jacob said, “you’ve got that right, kid.”
“Ghosts in the fog?” Brian asked.
Jenny nodded. “I met one; a little girl named Ruth.”
“She’s okay,” Jacob said. “I’ve spoken to Ruth a bit over the years. But there are others. They’re not as pleasant or as helpful as Ruth. Far from it.”
Jenny looked at the men. Brian and Jacob were worn and tired. Shane adjusted his knuckle-dusters.
They’re waiting for me, Jenny realized in surprise. They’re waiting for me to make a decision.
She straightened up slightly. “Okay. Leo, lead the way. We need to leave as quickly as we can.”
“Yes, Jennifer Roy,” Leo said, “you are absolutely correct.”
Leo led the way, and Jenny stayed close to her husband.
She wasn’t going to lose him again.
Chapter 46: Searching for His Prey
The world in which Josephus Wahlen lived was a strange one. Even after more than a century within its confines, he still didn’t know all of the curious physical laws. He knew, for instance, about Brian Roy. Rumors of a man who could see the dead, a rare occurrence, rippled through the shadow world.
Josephus’ curiosity had been piqued, and he had wished to meet Brian.
And how fortuitous he had been when Brian had become the caretaker of Wood’s Cemetery.
Yet Josephus’ prey was in danger of slipping away.
Josephus wished to fight the man. To challenge someone who had wreaked such havoc upon the spirits. Josephus had not had any worthy entertainment in decades.
Brian could not be allowed to get away.
Nor would Josephus ignore the insult Jenny had made by shooting him.
He bristled at the memory and turned his attention back to the crypt. The dead from the crypt had gathered around him.
All of them.
He could feel their fear as it pulsed off of them.
Josephus smiled, and they all moved back as far as they could. Each and every man, woman, and child feared him.
“You will go into the fog,” Josephus said.
The ghosts glanced at one another, uncomfortably. Going out was dangerous. Some of them had become trapped there, gone mad, their pained shrieks audible at times when the fog was thick. The crypt was neither joyful nor free of fear, but it was better, far better than the alternative.
“You will hunt down the living in there,” Josephus continued. “For each one you bring to me alive, I shall ignore you for a century.”
Many of them had felt Josephus’ wrath. Being ignored by Josephus was as close to heaven as the dead in the crypt could hope.
Josephus smiled at their excitement. Then he let the smile fall away.
“Find them,” Josephus said, his voice hard and cold. “Find them, or you will all suffer.”
He turned, faced the door and threw his will against it.
The locks shattered and the door sprang back. Beyond the world was gray.
The dead raced past him to begin their hunt.
Josephus’ smile returned as he thought of how he would torture Jenny and her husband.
Chapter 47: Brian Gets Wet
Brian was tired. Physically exhausted, his muscles aching and his head pounding. But he powered through it all. He had to.
They walked at a slow pace. They traveled through the water, solid ground being rare and hard to find. He could smell the stink of swamp mud with every step, and he wondered how long it would be before they found a way out.
When they came to a small patch of ground, which rose up a little above the waterline, Leo gestured for them to gather upon it.
“What is it, Leo?” Brian asked, wincing as he dropped down to sit.
“Something has changed,” Leo said. “Do you feel it?”
Brian and the others looked around. He and Jenny shook their heads.
“It feels colder, doesn’t it,” Shane said as he nodded.
Leo nodded. “Yes, Shane Ryan, you are absolutely correct. It does feel colder, although it is not by much. We must assume, then, that the dead have found their way into the fog.”
“How many dead?” Jenny asked, putting two fresh rounds into the shotgun.
“I am not certain,” Leo said.
“Can you guess?” she asked.
Leo closed his eyes, concentrated and then he opened them and smiled. “Yes.”
Brian sighed. “How many, Leo?”
“Three to four hundred dead,” Leo said, nodding. “At least three hundred. It is why the temperature has changed.”
“Three to four hundred,” Brian murmured.
“Yes, at least,” Leo said, nodding. “I will go and investigate. Please stay here until I return.”
Before anyone could stop him, Leo left.
The four of them sat and looked at one another.
“He’s dead,” Jacob said.
“Yeah,” Brian said.
“Was he that queer before dying?” Jacob asked. Both Shane and Jenny looked at him, shock on their faces. “What?”
Brian quickly explained about Jacob, and the shocked looks fell away. Jacob turned to him and said, “What did I say?”
“The word ‘queer,’ ” Brian said. “It’s derogatory slang for a homosexual.”
“Oh,” Jacob said, nodding. “Okay, then. Well, no, I was just wondering if he was strange.”
“Yes,” Jenny said, resting the shotgun on her lap. “Oh yes.”
“Good guy, though,” Shane said. “Really came through for us before.”
Brian nodded his agreement. “Guy’s a lot stronger than he looks.”
“Not doubting it,” Jacob said. He pulled at his beard and looked around nervously.
“You okay?” Brian asked him.
“Don’t know,” Jacob said. “Feels strange out here. Different. Usually, when I look behind me, the door is back there. It’s not anymore. If we get separated, I’ll be lost.”
“We’ll wait here for Leo,” Jenny said. “He’ll be able to lead us out.”
“I hope like hell you’re right,” Jacob said. He cracked his knuckles.
Brian didn’t like the idea of being trapped in the fog either.
And if there are a few hundred more dead out here, Brian thought with a sigh, then they’re probably coming for us.
“You okay, babe?” Jenny asked.
Brian smiled at her. “Yeah, I’m good. Just worried.”
She nodded. “Me too.”
“You were pretty fantastic,” he added after a moment.
Jenny grinned. “Felt good to pull the trigger.”
“I bet,” Brian said.
“Josephus,” Jacob said, shaking his head. “Terrible creature. Can’t imagine what he was like when he was alive.”
“I don’t even want to think about that,” Shane said. He fished out his cigarettes and lit one.
Jacob’s eyes lit up. “Hey, can I get one of those?”
Shane nodded, shook out a second one and passed it and the lighter over.
Jacob’s hands trembled as he put the cigarette in his mouth and managed to light it. He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, let out a racking cough a
s he exhaled and grinned. He passed the lighter back, saying, “Thanks. Been a long time since I had a whole cigarette.”
“Terrible,” Shane said sympathetically.
Leo appeared from the fog. He looked concerned.
“Leo,” Jenny said. “What’s going on?
“Unfortunately, there are nearly four hundred ghosts here,” Leo said. “And they are actively looking for you. All of you in general, and in particular they are searching for you, Jenny.”
Jenny paled slightly. “Me?”
Leo nodded. “Oh yes. It seems you angered Josephus when you shot him.”
“He deserved it,” Jacob said around the cigarette, slapping at some ashes which landed in his beard.
“Undeniably,” Leo agreed. “However, he is rather intent on revenge.”
“What do you suggest?” Shane asked.
“We should avoid being caught,” Leo replied.
“Can we get out?” Brian asked.
Everyone looked at Leo.
“Of course,” Leo said.
“Alive?” Jenny asked.
“We have an excellent chance of getting out of here alive,” Leo said.
Brian shook his head. “Okay, Leo. What do we need to do?”
“Follow me,” Leo said, and he turned away. They all scrambled off the small dry patch, splashed into the still water, and followed him as quickly as they could.
Faintly, Brian heard whispers. Once more, he and the others formed a single line, with Leo at the head and Shane at the back. Jacob smoked happily, flicking the butt off to the side when he finished it. Brian could see shapes in the fog, and he knew they were getting closer. They weren’t the curious abominations which had chased him and John through Wood’s Cemetery.
A huge hand lashed out of the fog and tried to grab Brian’s forearm. A face appeared. Gruesome, pox ridden. Sores around the mouth and nose, flesh hanging in strips from the man’s cheeks. Brian could see where teeth should have been, a swollen, wormlike tongue twisting in the ghost’s mouth.
Brian brought his right hand up and smashed the ghost in the face. The iron connected and the ghost vanished. Jenny pumped a round into the chamber of the shotgun.
“Hold your fire,” Shane said softly. “It’ll just bring the rest running.”
Brian glanced at Jenny and saw her loosen her finger on the trigger.
“Wait,” Leo said, and he vanished.
They stood still and listened.
Several high-pitched shrieks filled the air, and a flash rippled through the fog.
“What the hell?” Jacob asked, looking around.
Leo reappeared, his face paler than usual.
“Come,” Leo said with some effort. “We must continue.”
“Leo,” Brian said. “What happened?”
Leo gave him a small smile. “There were a dozen or so of them. I had to expend a great deal of energy to disperse them. They would have taken me otherwise.”
“You don’t want to be brought to Josephus,” Jacob said softly.
“No,” Leo said. “I most certainly do not.”
Once more, Leo led, and they followed.
Chapter 48: No Sympathy
Josephus, when he had been alive, had been quite adept at feigning sympathy. This was how he had been able to obtain a position as a pastor. How he had been able to convince young girls to trust him. Sympathy had been an effective tool to aid in his hunting.
Being dead, Josephus no longer had a need to pretend. He had undeniable power and control over the afterlife, which the residents of the cemetery and the crypt found themselves in.
He was a harsh and cruel god.
Failure was met with instant and brutal punishment.
With the challenge of the living in his domain, Josephus was even more brutal. When Guy Wetherbee appeared, all six foot six of his pox ridden flesh, Josephus had never hesitated. He had shredded the man’s spirit, littering the floor of the crypt with Guy’s remains. The man would serve as an abject lesson to any who returned without the prize Josephus demanded.
And they began to come back quickly.
First, nearly a dozen of them. Then in ones and twos. They were shocked, numbed and surprised at their defeat.
Josephus gave them no time to explain. He didn’t care. He wanted results, not reasons and certainly not excuses.
Fortunately for the crypt dwellers, none of them attempted to explain. It would have resulted in decades of torment. It was far better, they knew, to accept their punishment submissively. The quicker the punishment was done, the sooner they could hide and weather out this new storm of Josephus’.
Or so they thought.
As he finished shredding a pair of young twins, Josephus caught sight of Wetherbee. The poxy ghost staggered forward, and Josephus grabbed him.
“Back into the fog, wretch!” he yelled, and he hurled the man through the open door.
There would be no refuge from this storm.
Each cast back to the crypt would be sent once again after the living.
A flicker of motion caught Josephus’ eye and he turned in time to see Brian’s one-time traveling companion, John, stand up.
“Get out,” Josephus hissed. “Into the fog with you, and find them.”
John hesitated for a moment, and then he hurried past Josephus and out into the cemetery.
Josephus ached suddenly.
The effort it took to keep the fog in place was tremendous. He wouldn’t be able to continue doing it indefinitely. If Josephus were to withdraw the fog, any of the dead not in the crypt would be trapped in the marsh.
And it would also mean Brian and his hateful wife would have gotten away.
Away.
The thought enraged Josephus, and he waited impatiently for his wishes to be fulfilled.
Chapter 49: Trying to Get Out
Shane kept pace with the others, his hand tired from the steady grip he was forced to keep on the knuckle-dusters.
The dead were attacking more often.
He had struck down three of them, and Brian another two. Jacob was unarmed, yet he was skillful enough to avoid the arms of the dead. Jenny had taken down four of them, and not with the shotgun. With the iron ring, on her right hand, she had beaten the ghosts down with powerful blows. The woman was definitely capable of handling herself.
Leo would occasionally dispatch some, then he would have them stop, and he would slip away. The curious light would flash, and the strange little man would return, looking worse than before. Whatever Leo was doing, Shane realized, it was taking a lot out of him.
We’re all tired, Shane thought. His legs were cold, and they ached. His boots felt as though they weighed a hundred pounds each and his pants seemed to have been cut from concrete. Occasionally, Shane’s stomach growled, but he ignored its rumbles as best he could.
We’ll be done soon, he told himself, unsure whether he was telling himself the truth or a pretty lie. Make some nice hot coffee, give it a good shot of brandy, and drink it down as quickly as you can. Shane smiled, picturing the steaming mug.
And then the image was shattered.
Dozens of ghosts swarmed out of the fog. Within a heartbeat, he found himself fighting for his life. He struck the dead repeatedly.
Brian was swinging wildly and Leo was battling five of the dead at once.
Jenny destroyed another with a vicious backhand, brought the shotgun up and had the weapon knocked from her grasp by a teenage girl.
Horrified, Shane watched the weapon spin away, and get snatched out of the air by Jacob.
Everyone, living and dead, paused to look at the ragged, thin man.
Jacob smiled at all of them. He brought the shotgun up to his shoulder with one smooth, fluid motion. After the first shot, while the red shell casing spun lazily through the air in a loose arc, the battle began anew.
But it was too late for the dead.
Shane turned his full attention to the ghosts who tried to drag him down. With his attention focuse
d on them, he couldn’t spare a glance to his friends, but he heard the shotgun. It roared again.
The dead were gone.
Shane looked at Jacob, who still had the weapon at his shoulder. The look on the man’s face was grim and hard. It was a killer’s face, the expression of a man who had fought long and dirty for his life, and had always come out on top. Jacob slowly lowered the weapon, then he handed it over to Jenny.
“Thanks,” she said.
Jacob nodded, pulled at his beard and smiled. “Well, guess we best be on our way.”
“Yes,” Leo said. “It would be wise. I am afraid the noise of the shotgun probably alerted the dead to our exact location. They, like us, have difficulty navigating the fog. But with the firing to act as a beacon, they will be here shortly.”
“Leo,” Brian said. “Are you alright?”
“No, Brian Roy,” Leo said tiredly. “I am not. If I must exert myself any more, I will be forced to retire for a short time in order to recuperate my strength.”
“How much is a short time?” Jenny asked.
Leo smiled nervously. “I am unsure, Jennifer Roy. It may only be a few hours. Or perhaps weeks.”
“Well,” Brian said, “let’s just make it out of here.”
“Alright,” Leo said. He turned to lead again, and Jenny reloaded the shotgun.
A shape came out of the fog towards them, approaching Leo. Shane tightened his grip on the knuckle-dusters even as Jenny chambered a round. Leo stiffened.
When the figure came close enough to be fully visible, Shane saw it was a woman, perhaps the same age as himself. Then he heard Jenny gasp, the weapon dropping slightly in her hands.
“Oh my God,” Brian said.
“No, Brian,” the woman said, smiling. “It’s just me, Sylvia.”
Chapter 50: The Return of an Old Friend
Jenny nearly dropped the shotgun into the marsh water, and she wanted to give Sylvia a hug. Neither action would have worked out well. They still needed the shotgun, and Jenny was fairly certain that she would go right through her.
Instead, she reached out, found Brian’s hand and squeezed it tightly.
Leo smiled, walked to Sylvia, and rested his head against her arm.