The Grey Ghost

by Nicholas Cara

  Joe looked at her and whispered, “I’m sorry…”

  Kate, seeing the turmoil in Joe’s face, walked up to him and kneeled down to eye level. “Joe what are you sorry about? What were you doing here?” she asked in a quiet yet stern voice.

  Almost not being able to look her straight in the face, a cascade of emotions, some he didn’t even know he holding in suddenly came over Joe and he cried out in both pain and anger.

  “I’m sorry I couldn’t save him! I couldn’t stop them! I’m a fraud! All I am is a shell of the guy everyone here used to know and I failed you! You needed me and I failed you! And your dad…everybody…” Joe’s rage wasn’t at Kate, it was at himself, at the large dark form that had taken Kate’s father away from her and in a single kick had ended any hope of Joe’s happiness.

  “Joe, it wasn’t you fault. There wasn’t anything you could do,” Kate said to him trying to get through to Joe. But he wouldn’t hear it. This was a broken dam of emotion Joe had boarded up since his injury and once opened there was no turning back the months of self-loathing Joe held for himself.

  “No, if I was faster we would’ve gotten back here sooner! If I was stronger I could’ve caught them, I could’ve saved him! If I wasn’t useless in this blasted chair” Joe bellowed in fury, slamming his fist into his arm rest over and over again in rage, until something happened that neither of them suspected . . . his fist went straight through the arm rest. At first Joe thought he might’ve broken it in his anger, but then he noticed his arm hadn’t broken through the rest but had passed cleanly through as if it wasn’t there.

  In shock Joe looked up at Kate to see an amazed look on her face as she had noticed the action too.

  “Joe…” Kate started to say in a bewildered voice until she screamed his name again and reached out for him, “Joe!”

  Joe felt as if he suddenly was moving quickly away from Kate not backward, but falling downward. Before Joe knew what was going on, he completely passed through the bottom of his chair and then the wooden floor of the main room, crashing into the fruit cellar below. Joe sat on the cold, damp floor of the fruit cellar rubbing his back where he had landed and looked up at the ceiling he had just fallen through. He expected to see a large, gaping hole or crack that would have explained his sudden drop, but there was none. There was no physical way he could’ve made the trip down to the cellar through perfectly solid floor boards and beams. Joe heard Kate, who was still upstairs, calling out for him in a panic.

  “I’m down here!” Joe called out brushing aside a few of the boxes that lay scattered around him from his impact. He heard the footfalls and assumed Kate had heard him and was now rushing through the house to the stairs. Near him a few jars of canned fruit had smashed on the ground and started leaking syrup all over his hands. Instinctively, Joe jumped up to stop the syrup from getting on his suit and heard a cry of alarm coming from behind him. Looking over, Joe saw Kate staring in shock at him from the bottom of the stairs.

  “Joe…Joe how did you do that?…Oh my…Joe, your LEG!” Kate stuttered in amazement.

  Not understanding at first, Joe looked at her until he noticed she was standing up and Joe was looking down at her! Joe slowly, almost fearfully, looked down and found that he was standing up completely on his own power, with the aid of two fully formed legs! He had so instinctively jumped up to avoid the spilled syrup it had not even dawned on him he shouldn’t have been able to do that. There he stood for a few moments testing his now perfect balance on an appendage that simply wasn’t there a minute ago. Looking at a stupefied Kate, the only thought that came to his mind was the saying his mother had repeated over and over to him since his return. At a time when he couldn’t fall any lower, against all odds, somehow, someway…

  “I found my footing again…” Joe whispered.

  PART TWO: A HERO STANDS

  CHAPTER NINE

  The rain outside of 22 Ridgefield Drive only had intensified in strength after Kate dragged Joe inside. Pelting the neighborhood with such force, it seemed the elements themselves were punishing the street for the violence that had been allowed to happen. Small rivers of water flowed on each side of the drive nearly overflowing the drainage system of the small street, rushing away as if the friendly neighborhood was itself attempting to wash the blood from its now stained hands. The combination of such rain and bellowing wind created a blanket of the elements for anyone who dared look outside. This veil is what masked the approach of the dark blue Dodge as it slowed in front of the house. A loud squeal of brakes badly in need of repair was quickly dampened by the sounds of the billowing wind as the car stopped.

  “I told you to get those fixed, you imbecile!” barked Doctor Rosán from the Dodge’s back seat.

  “I’m sorry b-b-b-Boss, we’ve been b-b-busy…” Wiggy stammered from the front driver’s seat as he put the car in park.

  “Count your silly blessings that this storm is so loud; I doubt any of the local yokels heard that,” Rosán hissed taking note that since Wiggy had returned from his and Vega’s first trip to this house, Wiggy’s stammer had considerably become more pronounced.

  “Could the little weasel not have the stomach for this? Is he starting to crack?”

  Putting such thoughts aside for the time being, Rosán returned his present irritation back to the driver.

  “The shear outrage that I have to come here myself to finish the job you miscreants started; to return with only papers and packing materials, what were you thinking?” Rosán muttered.

  “B-b-but B-b-boss how were we to know that a copper would show up at the front door? We were lucky to get away with our skin, and you know we b-b-brought you that b-b-box,” Wiggy sniveled.

  “Lucky? A one legged man and a girl scared you away! Yes you did bring me a box, an old wax covered box that was EMPTY! If only you and Mr. Vega had the presence of mind to force Stone to tell you about the box’s contents before sending him to his now half-sized grave. Then, my little twit, I would not have to be here to search the house again,” Rosán huffed indignantly.

  Rosán had purposely left Vega behind for this excursion, even though the only right thing the two henchmen had done was not be identified by either Stone’s daughter or her buffoon rolling boyfriend. The size of the perpetrator, especially the large creature that is Mr. Vega, had been plastered all over the papers. It seems that was the only defining detail of note that Miss Stone’s wheelchair bound friend had remembered before being kicked off the front porch, a front porch that seems to still be in splinters Rosán noted to himself as he looked at the mess. Rosán saw no need to bring the large man back to this neighborhood and risk exposing himself even more.

  “Stone must’ve kept a journal or something that listed what artifacts he found during the expedition, some clue into what the old fool found inside that box,” Rosán mused to himself

  “I can’t take the credit for the findings of an expedition if I don’t have the findings of the blasted expedition!”

  Wiggy kept quiet as the Doctor went on. The memory of how happy the Doctor was when he saw the box, and then the explosion of fury he unleashed on them when he found out that it was empty was still raw in his brain.

  “He was like a little spoiled brat who had opened his birthday present to find that is was empty. I couldn’t believe Vega just stood there and took the Doc’s yellings, which probably was for the best…for the Doc I mean, I seen Vega done worse for less,” Wiggy thought back. “Man I wish I had a smoke…where I’d leave those?”

  As both Rosán and Wiggy started to exit the car into the rain they were greeted with a large crash resonating from the house.

  A light flickered on in the main window of the house. Then another in the Parlor room behind it and then another as if someone was turning the lights on racing through the house. All along, the duo could hear a woman’s voice calling out for something.

  “Cheese it Doc, you said this joint would be empty this time!” Wiggy cried out jumping back into the ca
r.

  Slamming the passenger door shut, Rosán smacked his soaked jacket.

  “Well it was supposed to be. I overheard at the funeral that his daughter was staying with her boyfriend’s family for the time being. Confound that annoying woman!” Rosán said, smacking the car’s front counsel.

  “Do you think we should stick around? Maybe she’ll leave soon or you know I don’t need Mr. Vega to take care of some silly dame,” Wiggy said pulling out his switchblade.

  “Put that away, you’ll probably poke yourself like you did last time,” Rosán chastised. “No my esteemed minded friend we will not sit here and wait for someone to notice us hoping that Miss Stone decides to leave her home in the middle of a monsoon at night! Make haste you fool and get us away from here!”

  As the Dodge pulled away from the curb and dared the horrific elements again, Rosán sat scowling as he tried to contemplate his next move. The failure of this night to retrieve what was inside that box had left a loose end in his plans, and the Doctor hated loose ends. However, as 22 Ridgefield Drive quickly disappeared from his sight, never could he have suspected that a simple loose end or in this case a loose thread was going to be more of a problem to him than he could ever imagine.

  “Joe, what’s going on?” Kate whispered covering her mouth in horror as she stared at him.

  Standing in her own basement, Kate suddenly felt as if she had somehow wandered into a hideous dream. Around her, walls and furniture that once were warm and pleasant reminders of her childhood now seemed dark and foreboding. Her whole world seemed to twist a little as she looked upon the lone figure standing in front of her.

  There, mirroring her look of confusion was a man draped in a gray blanket doing the simplest, yet most impossible thing. Joe Bevine, the man who had stolen her heart and given his leg for his country had been sitting upstairs drenched to the bone only minutes ago was now completely dry and standing upright on his own, on two now fully formed legs. The shock of this slammed into Kate with such an unexpected force that she found it hard to catch a single breath.

  “Kate…are you OK?” said the figure that was and yet couldn’t be her Joe, his face now full of concern.

  Reaching out toward the table sitting in the center of the room, Kate tried to steady herself as she felt her legs start to uncontrollably shake. As she did, she saw the figure take a clumsy step toward her and the table. Taking two more unsteady steps in her direction, the figure drifted awkwardly to the right where by all rights he should have bumped into the table. Yet, as she watched the fall expecting to steady herself from his impact with the edge, the rest of her world came crashing down around her when she witnessed the form pass right through the wooden table top!

  The room began spinning uncontrollably around Kate as she heard the figure cry out in alarm.

  “What! Wait…..Holy Smokes! Kate, are you seeing this? Kate…Kate!”

  Unable to focus any longer, Kate audibly heard her name before blackness started to envelope her vision as she collapsed to the floor. As she fell she saw two arms reach underneath her trying to catch her. However, the last feeling she remembered was the hard impact with the stone floor of the basement.

  CHAPTER TEN

  “What’s happening to me?” Joe yelled while looking at his hands.

  “I just walked right through that table! And when I tried to catch Kate she fell right through my arms like they weren’t even there!”

  Joe looked down to where Kate was on the floor. Twice he had tried to help her and twice he had ended reaching straight through her unconscious body. Yelling in aggravation, Joe frantically searched for some way to help his girlfriend. Joe kneeled down next to her and started calling her name trying to revive her. Since he couldn’t touch her it was the only thing he could do.

  “Kate…Kate, honey wake up…come on hon!”

  Joe continued for a few minutes before he started to get a slow response from her. He had started to worry if she might have hit her head since he wasn’t able to stop her fall. Slowly Kate started to open her eyes and focus on his face.

  “Hmmm…Joe what happened? Ouch…Oh my shoulder!” Kate said wincing in pain as she starting to push herself off the ground.

  “Easy there hon, you fainted. I tried to catch you but…” Joe started, reaching over to an empty mason jar and waving his hand straight through it. “That didn’t work out.”

  “Oh Joe, what’s happening? First you are standing again and then you’re walking through things. That just can’t happen, can it?” Kate asked, her eyes widening in wonder at the sight of Joe’s hand moving through the jar.

  Standing up Joe looked at Kate motioning for her to stand up. Try at he might there was no way for him to comfort her or even help her up from the damp floor. Slowly Kate pushed off the ground and though unsteady stood up and looked up at Joe, noticing that something was really different more so than obvious.

  “Wait a minute, you’re a lot taller now,” Kate said looking up at Joe’s face.

  Standing at 5’7 Kate had always been relatively shorter than Joe who had topped out at 5’10. However, the man standing in front of here had to stand well over 6 feet tall.

  Looking down at Kate Joe quickly replied. “No I’m not, you‘re just not used to me standing.”

  “No hon, you are much taller. This was never so far of a reach,” she said standing on her tip-toes to reach her lips to the height were his would be.

  “OK, well maybe…” Joe replied slightly blushing. “Are you OK now? Is your shoulder OK?”

  “Yeah I think so,” Kate replied rubbing it, not wanting to think of the bruise that more than likely was swelling up where she had struck it.

  “OK then, first things first, I need you to do something for me,” Joe said

  “What?”

  “Run upstairs and get me my pants.”

  At that Kate suddenly looked back at her boyfriend and took notice for the first time the lack of clothing he had except for the lone gray blanket. Quickly spinning around as her face flushed crimson, she said “I guess we are lucky that is such a big blanket,” she laughed, trying to hide her embarrassment as she bolted up the stairs to retrieve his clothing.

  Returning a few seconds later with his pants in tow Kate threw them at Joe and turned away as he quickly tried to squeeze into his trousers. Tearing the seams of the leg where his mother had sown his one pants leg closed, Joe slowly and very carefully put his ruined pants on. Looking down Joe noticed how tight the pants were on him now and also how high off the cuff was the one leg.

  “OK Kate you can turn around now,” Joe called out brushing the blanket off his shoulders.

  As Kate turned around Joe could see her eyes open a little wider and mouth the words “Wow.”

  “What?” Joe asked looking back at the dropped jawed look on Kate’s face.

  “Joe look at yourself, I mean you look…I mean…wow!” Kate stammered at a loss for words.

  Looking down at himself, Joe for the first time took stock of more of the changes his body had gone through. He had been so preoccupied with his leg returning he had not noticed that as Kate had pointed out, yes, he was taller than before but also much stronger. His chest was much broader and well defined. His arms were double the size they used to be, to a point that Joe could feel the bicep pushing against his forearm as he flexed it.

  “Will you look at that…” Joe said smiling to himself.

  “Wait a minute!” Kate called out pulling Joe away from admiring his new form. “How did you put your trousers on?”

  Joe simply starred back at her as if that was the silliest question he had ever heard until a few seconds later he understood.

  “How did I do that?” Joe questioned himself out loud. “You threw them at me and then turned around. I caught them and walked over here…” Joe said retracing his steps along the basement floor, so deep in thought that he did not notice simply walking through a small crate. “…and simply started putting them on, how did I do that? How
did I even catch them?”

  “But every time you’ve tried to touch anything you seem to pass right through it like a ghost,” Kate said trying to wrap her brain around what was happening. “Well at least we know that you’re not dead. I’ve never seen a ghost wear brown trousers before,” Kate chuckled trying to lighten the sullen mood as Joe stood puzzling over the problem.

  “Only well-tailored ghost would my dear,” Joe replied and without thinking reached out to playfully tap her on the nose. He had fully expecting his hand to go straight through her as before until the tip of his finger found purchase on the bridge of her nose. There it sat as Joe in his shock of the physical contact dared not move his finger from Kate’s nose.

  Initially wincing from the small strike, Kate’s eye’s slowly looked down at the finger lying on the bridge of her nose and her mouth opened in a gasp of surprise. If Joe’s mind wasn’t spinning uncontrollably trying to figure out how he was making contact with Kate, the image of Kate’s eye’s crossing as she looked at his finger would have made him laugh.

  “OK don’t move…” Joe said now feeling Kate stiffen under the pressure to not flinch. Slowly Joe moved his finger to the side of Kate’s nose and then without losing contact with her he moved his hand down her cheek until he stopped at her chin. Trying to place his other fingers and hand against her chin, Joe momentarily lost contact with Kate’s face and when he tried to place his palm against her cheek his whole hand passed straight through her face. Kate shrieked as she noticed this and jumped back away from Joe’s hand.

  “Bother…” Joe sighed out loud frustrated at this failure. Reaching out to Kate to try again, he caught himself as Kate put her hands up to stop him.

  “Honey, how about we try this more…say upstairs? It’s…freezing… down here,” Kate said rubbing her arms. Joe could see from the unease in her face that the temperature in the basement wasn’t the only thing sending a chill in her spine.