Unhallowed Ground

by Kristen Gupton

When he returned to the house, Ryan and Dani had come back downstairs.

  “Where in the hell did you go?” Ryan asked, his hair wet from the shower.

  Kelly lifted the large bag in his hands, the bottles within clinking against one another. “Got something to distract me from my thoughts.”

  Dani was in a robe and she came over, standing on her toes to peek into the bag. “Anything good?”

  “Just whatever was cheap,” Kelly admitted, setting the bag on the coffee table. “I’ll share, though, since I did take the car without asking.”

  Ryan didn’t mind, and he turned toward the kitchen. “I’ll get some glasses.”

  Kelly landed on the couch and pulled out the three bottles he’d bought, lining them up. Dani sat on the floor on the opposite side of the coffee table, looking up at him. “It was rude of us to run up there like that. I’m sorry.”

  He shrugged as Ryan came back over, setting three glasses down on the table before sitting next to Dani.

  “Look, you guys have to take the chances you get, I reckon. Not like I can join you,” Kelly said with a laugh. “I got whiskey and sour mix for me and Ryan, and a bottle of this fruity crap you like, Dani.”

  Ryan glanced toward the front door. “You locked it when you came in, right?”

  Kelly quirked a brow as he twisted the lid from the bottle of Boone’s Hill he’d gotten Dani. “Yeah, I did. Weird out there. Half of the street lights are out.”

  Ryan shook his head. “Probably just messed up from the storm last night. First blizzard of the year always screws stuff up.”

  “Probably,” Kelly replied, filling Dani’s glass before preparing something for himself and Ryan. “Spooky out there, though. Starting to snow again a little, too.”

  “Well, we’re all in for the night, so let it come down,” Dani said, picking up her glass. “Grandma made it to Mrs. Suhr’s house, so we’re set.”

  While they sat and talked for a time, it wasn’t much longer before Dani and Ryan retreated upstairs for the night. Kelly did his best to get to sleep as well, but his mind wasn’t going to make it easy.

  Kelly’s back wasn’t appreciating the fold-out couch either, not that he’d expected it to be particularly comfortable. There were noises again from upstairs, Ryan and Dani back at it. He growled in his frustration and reached over, groping for his phone.

  2:23 a.m.

  He let out a sigh and sat up, awake. Though he’d drank enough to put him out a few hours before, it had worn off, leaving his stomach feeling hollow. Kelly tossed off the blanket and got up, shuffling into the kitchen.

  After getting himself a bowl of cereal, he stood before the kitchen sink. He shoveled spoonfuls of Cocoa Loopers into his mouth, absently staring at the curtain shrouded window before him. The absence of any light behind it told him the street lights were still out. It sounded still outside, no blizzard blowing.

  While he wanted to pull the curtain aside to see if the earlier snow had decided to amount to anything, he couldn’t bring himself to do it. The memory of the night before wasn’t going to allow it.

  The quiet was broken by a crash outside, the house shaking around him. Kelly nearly dropped his half-empty bowl and spun toward the front door. Light poured into the living room he’d recently abandoned.

  With his hands shaking, he put the bowl down on the sink and cautiously walked forward. There was a shrill squealing outside that continued for a few moments after the crash, but once that ceased, it went silent again. Not long after, he heard Ryan and Dani hastily breaking up from their activities and scrambling to get dressed.

  With his heart pounding in his temples, Kelly walked from the kitchen and back into the living room. He could hear his friends running down the stairs behind him, the light still flooding in through the shades over the windows.

  “What in the hell was that?” Ryan asked, hitting the ground floor and jogging over toward Kelly.

  While he was relieved to have Ryan with him, it did little to calm his nerves. “Dunno. I was getting a bite to eat and...”

  Ryan turned toward the windows, seeing the light that had Kelly transfixed. “Are those headlights?”

  Dani soon joined them. “Go! Go see what’s going on!”

  Kelly knew he didn’t want to open the door, but while his friends were cloaked in bathrobes, he’d been sleeping in his clothes. He looked back at the others before going forward and unlocking the door. Kelly steeled his nerves and yanked it open, the bright light immediately forcing him to shield his eyes with his arm.

  Despite the cold outside, the unmistakable smell of coolant and burnt rubber hit his nose. He squinted and stepped onto the porch, realizing he was staring into the brights of Madgie’s old Cadillac, and it was in the middle of the front yard where it absolutely didn’t belong.

  “Shit!” Kelly gave no mind to his bare feet and ran down the front stairs and into the snow covering the yard.

  The massive vintage ship Madgie drove was resting against the trunk of the old cottonwood dominating the front yard. The passenger fender was crushed in from the impact, the car having slid sideways off the road and over the curb.

  He got to the driver’s side door and saw Madgie inside. She was sitting with her hands clutched to her chest, her eyes wild and blankly staring forward.

  Kelly tried the handle but the door was locked. “Madgie! Unlock the door!”

  She made no move to acknowledge his presence, her massive chest heaving with her breaths.

  He pounded on the glass, trying to get her out of her shocked daze, terrified she was having a heart attack. “Madgie! Unlock the fucking door!”

  Her head finally turned, and she looked up at him, several seconds passing before recognition hit her. She reached over with trembling hand, pulling up the door lock button.

  “Dani! Call 911!” Kelly yelled back as Ryan and Dani appeared on the porch while he yanked at the car door.

  The impact had bent the old car’s frame, and the door protested his attempt to open it. With his adrenaline pumping, however, on the seventh tug he gave, the door finally let go with a shriek, nearly sending him onto his ass in the snow.

  He moved back in, placing his hand on Madgie’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

  She gave a shake of her head and tried to get up, but she was halted, her seatbelt drawn tight across her chest.

  Not being a small guy himself, Kelly did his best to wedge himself around Madgie to reach the belt release since she didn’t seem capable of doing so. When he got it undone, he held her in place for a moment longer. “Don’t move if you’re hurt, Madgie.”

  “I’m okay,” she whispered, her body shaking. “I’m okay.”

  Kelly turned to see Dani and Ryan approaching, the girl with her phone to her ear as she hastily gave her address to the emergency operator.

  Madgie shoved Kelly back with one of her meaty arms and swung her legs out of the car, struggling to get up.

  Ryan quickly moved in to help Kelly stabilize the unsteady woman, slowly leading her away from the wrecked car and toward the porch.

  Dani got off the phone and shoved it into her robe pocket, walking alongside the trio. “What in the hell happened, Grandma? Are you okay?”

  Madgie gave a noncommittal grunt as she let the boys lead her toward the house. “Get my purse from the car, Dani.”

  She turned and did as asked, then yanked the keys from the ignition and flipped off the lights. She ran to catch up with them as they moved into the house.

  “Are they sending the ambulance?” Kelly asked as he helped Ryan ease the old woman down into her recliner.

  “No, they say it’s already been dispatched elsewhere! It can’t get here for God knows how long. They straight up said if it was bad, we better drive her there ourselves!” Dani shook her head, kneeling beside her grandma’s chair. “What happened?”

  “The ambulance...it’s at Grace’s house by now,” Madgie whispered, her hands curling around the arms of her chair. There was a stream
of blood coming from her left temple.

  “Grace’s house?” Kelly asked, another wave of panic crashing in. “Why?!”

  “Lock the door, Kelly,” Madgie whispered. “No one leaves this house...”

  “Like hell!” Kelly straightened up and looked at Ryan.

  Ryan was already returning his look. “Go! Take my car. We have Dani’s if we need it!”

  Kelly didn’t hesitate before getting his shoes on, grabbing his coat, and running out the door again. He nearly tripped in the snow as he scrambled to get to Ryan’s car. Madgie’s tire tracks passed within inches of the smaller vehicle, and it was a miracle she’d not totaled it when she’d jumped the curb into the yard.

  Kelly fumbled with the keys, struggling to get his shaking hand lined up with the ignition. Once he managed to do so, he fired up the cold engine and threw the car into drive, fishtailing in the snow as he floored the accelerator and pulled away from the curb.

  Chapter

  26

  Kelly saw the red and blue lights flashing near Grace’s house before he turned onto the street. The ambulance was in the driveway, and Deputy Bryant’s Expedition was there as well.

  He pulled the car to a stop on the opposite side of the street and jogged over.

  Deputy Bryant saw Kelly running, and he met him in the middle of the street. “Hold up, there.”

  Kelly shook his head, trying to see around Dennis. “What the fuck is going on here?”

  “Mrs. Suhr had some sort of mental break down,” he said, reaching out and putting his hand on Kelly’s shoulder, trying to get him to focus.

  “What do you mean?” Kelly asked, furrowing his brow and meeting the deputy’s gaze.

  “My grandma called us out here a little while ago in a panic,” Dennis replied. “I guess Mrs. Suhr...well, she freaked out and started trying to hurt herself with a kitchen knife. Tim managed to get a hold of her and stopped it from going too far.”

  “Jesus Christ! Is she okay? I want to see her!” Kelly’s eyes were wide, his hands feeling numb and not from the cold. Sweat quickly appeared on his face and skin despite the frigid air.

  Deputy Bryant took stock of Kelly’s condition and moved beside him, putting his arm around his shoulders as he led him closer to the house. “She didn’t give herself any life-threatening wounds, Kelly. She’s going to be okay. Tim is with her in the ambulance right now, and they’re about to head to the hospital.”

  Kelly’s mind swam. He felt a tingle in his hands and legs, and he realized he was breathing too fast.

  Dennis looked toward the front door. “The house was dark when I got here, and I had to find the stupid breaker box to get the lights on for the EMTs. Once I did, and all the blood was suddenly visible, my grandma freaked out and bolted.”

  “Yeah, that’s how I heard about it,” Kelly said, relaxing slightly. “She slid her car right into the tree in her front yard and wrecked it. We tried to call the ambulance, but they said it was dispatched. Then, Madgie told us it was here.”

  “The dispatcher sent out a call on the radio about it, but until this is dealt with here...” Dennis pulled his arm away from Kelly and moved back in front of him, frowning. “Is Grandma all right? I can take the Expedition over there and get her to the hospital.”

  “I think she’s okay. We got her into the house. Looked like she’d bumped her head a little,” he replied, his attention being drawn toward the windows of the ambulance. “Ryan and I got her inside. Whatever happened here really flipped her out, though.”

  “I should go check on her, just in case. I’m not going to lie,” Dennis said, tipping his head back toward the house. “It looks like a goddamned murder scene in there right now. Like I said, she didn’t do any serious damage to herself, but she’s a bleeder. Tim took a nasty cut to the hand trying to get the knife away from her, too.”

  “Well, if you’re going to take the both of them to the hospital, can I go lock up the house for them?” Kelly asked, watching as the ambulance began to back out of the driveway. He caught a glimpse of Tim and Grace both within, but they looked more or less all right.

  The deputy tensed his jaw a few times, debating on whether or not Kelly could handle seeing the inside of the house. “Yeah, that probably would be a real nice thing of you to do if you’re up for it. I’ll go with you. I honestly think it’s probably just an episode brought on by Mr. Suhr’s death. They’ve been married longer than most of us have been alive.”

  Kelly gave a slow nod, honestly preferring that Dennis go with him. “They have, yeah. I’ll make this quick.”

  They went up the walkway Kelly and Ryan had cleared earlier in the day and onto the porch. Nothing looked out of the ordinary until Kelly stepped in through the open front door.

  The living room was a mess. Lamps and assorted decorations that had been nicely placed around the living room were broken and scattered on the floor. There were drips and swaths of crimson on the furniture and floor where Tim and Grace had both bled.

  He didn’t go any further than the entryway, but he really didn’t want to. Kelly placed a hand over his stomach as it knotted. Though he wasn’t the type to faint over the sight of blood, knowing it had come out of Grace and Tim made him ill.

  Dennis patted Kelly on the back. “Like I said, it looks a lot worse than it really is. If Tim hadn’t been here to restrain her, God only knows what would have happened.”

  “Yeah,” Kelly replied, pulling his keys from his pocket. “I can’t imagine her doing something like this even with the news about William this morning.”

  “People react to things in weird ways sometimes,” the deputy replied. “Anyway, let’s lock this up. I’d imagine you’ll head to the hospital, and I need to go over to check on Grandma to make sure she doesn’t need to go there, too.”

  Kelly nodded and reached out for the light switch by the door, casting the living room into darkness. There was still a light on in the kitchen, but he had no desire to see what that room looked like under the circumstances.

  They moved back out onto the porch, and Kelly locked the door. Dennis walked him back across the street to the car.

  “I know you’re worried, Kelly, but be careful going to the hospital, all right? It didn’t snow a whole lot tonight, but the roads are slick. The last thing we need is another call for the ambulance,” the deputy said, offering a sympathetic smile. “I know you’ve taken an emotional beating in the last twenty-four hours.”

  “I’ll be careful,” Kelly replied, forcing up a smile that didn’t travel to his eyes. “Ryan would kill me if I wrecked his car, anyway. If you do go to check on Madgie, can you have him give me a call to let me know how things are going over there?”

  “Will do, Kelly. If I can drag Grandma out, maybe I’ll see you at the hospital.” Dennis offered him one last pat on the shoulder before he turned and headed toward his Expedition.

  Kelly watched him walk away for a few seconds before getting back into the car. He’d left the keys in the ignition in his panic. He turned it on, leaning forward and resting his forehead against the wheel.

  He didn’t know if he wanted to cry or scream, and his arms momentarily felt too heavy to lift up to the wheel. Kelly thumped his forehead against the steering wheel a few times before straightening up and seeing Deputy Bryant’s vehicle moving off down the street.

  “Get your shit together, Kel,” he said to himself. “Just...get it together.”

  Chapter

  27

  The bright florescent lights in the town’s small, single-level hospital were harsh to Kelly’s burning eyes. He wasn’t allowed to see either Tim or Grace right away, and a nurse had ordered him to sit in the vacant waiting area.

  His phone rang not much later, and he answered. “Hello?”

  “Hey,” Ryan said, his voice rough. “So, Dennis was here to try and take Madgie to the hospital.”

  “And?”

  “She said she’d rather die at home if it came to it. There was no way in hell she
was going where Mrs. Suhr was,” he replied. “Whatever she saw tonight has her completely twigged. He said both Tim and Grace got taken in?”

  “It was pretty bad,” Kelly said. “Grace tried to kill herself with a kitchen knife, but Tim was able to stop her. House looked like a slasher movie set. Both of them ended up getting cut.”

  “Holy shit, are you serious?” Ryan asked. “Dennis was being a little dodgy with the details when he was here. I don’t think he wanted to say anything to set Madgie off further.”

  “Yeah, I don’t blame him there.” Kelly turned his eyes toward the clock on the wall. “Man, it’s already four-thirty in the morning. Please tell me your dad isn’t going to want us to do anything today.”

  “I doubt it,” Ryan said. “You’ve got a good enough alibi to get out of work if it comes to it. You at the hospital?”

  “Yeah, just waiting. They won’t let me see either of them, yet.” He wriggled to sink further into the chair. “I’ll let you know if anything changes. If you need the car back, I’ll run it over.”

  “You keep it for today. We’ve got Dani’s if needed. You can’t be walking all over town in this cold. I’m gonna try and get a little sleep in,” Ryan said, his last words trailing off into a yawn.

  “All right. Talk to you in a bit,” Kelly said before shoving his phone back into his pocket.

  Exhausted, Kelly did his best to wedge himself into the corner chair he’d dropped into, so he wouldn’t fall over if he fell asleep. Though his anxiety wanted to do its best to keep him awake, within minutes, he was out.

  “Kel?”

  He drew in a long breath and forced his eyes open, finding Tim looming over him. “Oh, hey...”

  Tim moved and dropped into the chair beside Kelly, his left arm and hand bandaged and in a sling. “If I’d known you were out here, I would have told them to bring you back.”

  “Naw, that’s okay,” he replied, reaching up to run his hands down his face. He squinted over at the clock on the wall, seeing it was now seven in the morning. “You had bigger things to worry about.”