For Always

by Janae Mitchell

  I didn't expect him to say that, so I just looked at him. I didn't want him to leave me alone. I wanted him to be my friend, if that was even possible at this point. "I don't want you to leave me alone, just like I wouldn't want Beth to leave me alone. Y'all are my friends, and I would miss you if you weren't in my life."

  He thought about that for a minute before he asked, "So, you don't want me to leave you alone?"

  "If leaving me alone means never speaking to me again, then no. I want us to still be friends."

  He just smiled and started to walk me towards the parking lot again. As we got to the car, he kissed the back fingers and slowly let go of my hand. He waved at Grandmama, turned, and walked away.

  I stood there before getting in the car, confused as to what just went down.

  "So, what was that all about? Didn't ya break up with him?" Grandmama asked as I got in the car.

  "I thought I did. But I don't think Jace is on the same page."

  "What happened?"

  "To be quite honest, I'm not sure. I told him about Beau and that I couldn't have two boyfriends. Then he said he was gonna fight for me and that he wasn't giving up on us. So I don't know."

  Grandmama smiled and said, "I thought that might happen."

  "Then why in the world didn't you fill me in? I thought he'd be mad, storm off, and never speak to me again, get me fired, turn his family against me, and that would be the end of it. But nooo…"

  "Well, maybe it'll all work out somehow. But for tonight, let's worry 'bout findin' some local spooks to yack it up with."

  We pulled into a spot by the cemetery, which was surprisingly empty. The only spirit I saw was the old lady who was still sitting on the same bench. "They're all gone. I only see one."

  "That's strange. Wonder where they went?"

  "I don't know. Shall we go talk to the one that's still here? She's sitting on that bench. We can ask her where everyone is."

  "Since we're here, we might as well."

  It was a little unnerving to be in a cemetery at night, so I walked close to Grandmama, who acted like she was just out taking an evening stroll. As we got close to the woman, she looked up at us. I thought she'd be surprised to see us see here, but she just looked back down toward one of the graves. She was an older lady, probably in her eighties, with white hair that was loosely stacked on top of her head. She was very thin and had on a black dress. "They're gone," she said, startling me.

  "Who's gone?"

  "The others." For some reason I thought she'd have a scary, witch-like voice, but it sounded rather pleasant; gentle and feminine.

  "Where did they go?"

  "I don't know where it's at."

  "Someone took them somewhere?"

  She just nodded.

  "Are they coming back? I told that woman last night that I'd come back and help her."

  "You can't help her now."

  "Why not?"

  She looked back up at me, which gave me the chills. Her eyes were a very light grey color and looked slightly glazed over. "Because they are in Darkness."

  I looked at Grandmama, then back at this old lady, who was staring at the grave again. Maybe she wasn't just dead, but crazy, too. "Darkness?"

  She just nodded.

  I turned toward Grandmama and asked her if she had ever heard of it.

  "I'm not sure." I could tell she was thinking. "See if she knows anything about it."

  I really didn't want to talk to her anymore because she gave me the creeps. "Um, ma'am? I hate to bother you again, but what is Darkness?"

  "It's bad."

  "Are the others coming back?"

  She just shook her head.

  "Why didn't you go with them?"

  She looked at me again, which I wished she would stop doing. "Because I'm not a fool."

  I told Grandmama everything that she had said, which wasn't much.

  Grandmama leaned over and told me to ask her where the Darkness was, but before I could tell her she had already said she didn't know, the old lady said, "If you can find Hell, you can find Darkness."

  I looked at Grandmama with wide eyes and said, "I think we need to go."

  But instead of taking my advice, she stepped closer to the bench and asked, "Who took them?"

  She looked at Grandmama and quickly grabbed her hand, which made us both jump. The lady didn't say anything, but held on to her hand for a few seconds, staring at her intently. When she let go, Grandmama turned and looked at me with a startled look on her face, which frightened me even more than I already was. She rubbed her hands together as if she was trying to wash the woman's touch off. "Takers."

  "Takers? What's that?"

  She shook her head shrugged her shoulders. "Let's get in the car," she said uneasily, which wasn't like her.

  I quickly looked around as we walked back toward the car, but the only person I saw besides us was the old lady, who still sat on the bench staring at one of the graves. I felt safer once we got inside and locked the doors, but didn't understand why I was suddenly on edge in the first place. I looked at Grandmama and just sighed and shook my head. "This evening has so not gone as planned."

  Chapter 20

  DECEIT

  Beau

  I hated the thought of Malyn hangin' out with that sap. But the fact that she's gonna be spendin' most of her time breakin' his heart made me feel a tad bit better. I just wish I could've went with her.

  I decided to occupy my mind and do some work 'round the yard that I didn't think Nellie needed to be doin'. Not that she wasn't capable; it's just man's work. I thought I'd clear out some overgrown brush next to the driveway before I tried to use her mower. The one Pa had was scary enough, but at least when ya stopped pushin' it, it stopped cuttin'. These just keep goin' and seemed like they could chop ya up if ya ain't careful.

  I cleared out what needed to be cleared and got the grass cut, which was a whole lot easier with Nellie's intimidatin' mower. I never would’ve thought I’d ever be sittin’ down while I mowed. By the time I pulled it back into the shed and locked it up, it was dark. At least they should be gettin' back here soon. It was funny to hear myself say that. I used to always wanna be here by myself—until Malyn…and even Nellie, for that matter. I couldn't imagine bein' here without either one of 'em now.

  I was tired and thought I'd take a break from this body, so I turned the pump off. When I did, it felt like a weight was taken off me; almost like I could fly. I laid my new clothes on the table and hurried down to the river to get my normal clothes before Malyn got home. As I turned to head back toward the house, I felt like somebody was watchin' me, but didn't see nobody until I got closer to the house. There was somebody standin' on the porch. It startled me a little, since I hadn't heard anyone pull up, so I didn't move. When they stepped off the porch, I could see that it was a woman, but since the street light was shinin' on me, and not her, I couldn't tell who it was until she stepped into the light with me.

  My mouth fell open and I froze where I stood. It ain't possible. "Ma?" She smiled at me and reached out her hand when she got close, which I instinctively took. "How…?"

  She just continued to smile without sayin' a word and started to walk toward the river, pullin' me along. A thousand thoughts hit me at once. "What are ya doin' here? How? I never…" I was still so stunned that I didn't know what to say, so I just stopped and looked at her. She just stood there, which was odd. She hadn't seen me in over a hundred years, so I thought she'd have a lot to say. But she just smiled up at me and started to walk toward the river again, so I did, too.

  "I've missed you." I could feel tears swell up in my eyes, but tried not to blink so they would dry up. We were gettin' closer to the river as I waited on her to say somethin', but she didn't. I stopped walkin' again, and when she noticed, she stopped and looked at me. "Can't ya talk?" She just kept on smilin' and shook her head. "Ya can't talk to me?" When she shook her head again, I asked, "Why?"

  She motioned for me to follow her, but I wa
s hesitant. Somethin' just didn't feel right. When she noticed I wasn't comin', her smile faded. She got a more stern look on her face and motioned for me again, but I didn't move, just stood there lookin' at her.

  "Ma? Why can't ya talk to me? I'm not goin' anywhere 'til ya tell me what's goin' on." I would never have disrespected Ma like this, but I had a feelin' this wasn't her. "I mean, after all this time ya act like I'm just some distant kin folk ya ain't seen in a while. No hug, no ‘I’ve missed you, too’, no nothin’. What's wrong with ya?"

  She glared at me with a look of hatred that I'd never seen her give anyone, even mean old Mrs. Murphy, who was always rude and tried to shoo my little brothers and sisters outta her way like they were critters. Ma wasn't capable of lookin' at us like that. So if this ain't Ma, then…

  “Who are you?" The fact that someone could be so cruel that they'd trick me like this boiled my blood. "WHO ARE YOU?"

  Chapter 21

  INTERRUPTIONS

  Malyn

  As soon as we got in the car, Grandmama called Max. She asked if he had ever heard of a place called Darkness or things called Takers, and told him how the dead people were gone and about the old lady. And of course, being the walking book of knowledge on anything weird, he had. I listened to her side of the conversation half the way home, trying to make sense out of it, when my phone rang. My heart sank when I saw who it was, but I thought I might as well answer it and get it over with.

  "Hey, Beth, what's up?"

  "Did you really break up with Jace?"

  "Yeah. Well, I tried to, anyway."

  "Why? What happened?" She didn't sound mad, which was a relief.

  "It's complicated. I'll explain when I see you again." Then I had a thought. "I am gonna see you again, right?"

  "Why wouldn't you see me again?"

  "I thought you might be mad."

  "Why lord, no. A little surprised, but not mad. I couldn't care less who Jace dates. It is nice when I like the girl, though. But when I don't, I just try to run her off, which usually works. Who wants to deal with a crazy sister?"

  I just laughed. "That makes me feel better. You're the only friend I've got here, so I'd hate to lose you."

  "You're stuck with me, girl. But it's gonna be weird when we're all together, especially when he gets another girlfriend."

  "I hope not." The thought of Jace having another girlfriend turned my stomach. Then I heard Grandmama tell Max bye. "Hey, can I call you back?"

  "Sure. Holler at me later."

  "Ok, bye." Then I turned toward Grandmama. "So, what did he say?"

  "Ya don't wanna know."

  "Why? Is it that bad?"

  "Well, after what that lady in the cemetery shared with me, I had a bad feelin'. Max just confirmed it."

  I just looked at her, not really knowing what to say. "Should we worry?"

  "No, we're alive."

  "Beau?"

  She just looked at me with a concerned look. "We're gonna have to learn more. We can Google it when we get home, see if it pulls up anything. Max is gonna do some research, too. Ya know this sorta thing's right up his alley."

  I barely heard anything she just said. All I kept thinking about was Beau. I didn't know what was going on, but whatever it was, it involved him. I was anxious to talk to him, reassure myself he was okay, so I was glad we were finally home. I was surprised to see all the lights out. Usually he turned them on for us. Then panic set in. "Beau."

  I took off into the house with Grandmama right behind me. "Malyn, be careful. We don't know what may be here."

  This made me slow down, especially when I opened the door to a very dark house. "Where is he?" I whispered to Grandmama as I started turning lights on. "Should I yell for him?"

  "BEAU? ARE YOU HERE?" Grandmama shouted.

  "Guess that's a yes," I said sarcastically after she about busted my eardrums. He wasn't in the house, so I went out back, where I saw his clothes laying on the table. "BEAU?" Nothing. "Oh, no," I whispered, thinking the worst.

  "Now Malyn, I'm sure he's here somewhere."

  "Then why ain't he answering? If he was here, he wouldn't just ignore us." Then I saw something coming up the yard and grabbed Grandmama's arm, pulling her close to my side. "Can you see that?"

  "No," she whispered back. "What do ya see?"

  I tried to make out the shape in the dark, but as it got closer I could tell it was a person. I was hoping it was Beau, but after tonight, I wasn't sure, so I stayed put, holding tight to Grandmama's arm. "Should we run?"

  "I hope not, since we ain't."

  "What're y'all doin?" When I heard his voice my heart almost exploded. I ran toward him and almost jumped into his arms, but stopped myself. I'm glad I didn't try or I'd have probably broken something when I landed on the ground.

  "Beau! Oh my gosh! I'm so glad you're okay!" I just stood there yelling my relief and happiness at him, which was awkward without the hug. "And why is your hair so shaggy again?" In just a few hours, it had grown back out so that it hung in his eyes again.

  He reached up and pushed it back out of his face. "Yeah, I'm okay. What's goin' on? How did ya know what happened?" He looked tired, even though I knew he couldn't be.

  "Mercy, Malyn," Grandmama said when she finally caught up to me, holding her chest. "I almost started to dive and grab your feet when ya took off. I thought they were takin' ya."

  "She thought who was takin' ya?" he asked, confused.

  "Let's go inside. I'll turn the ball on so we can all hear each other." When we turned to go inside, Beau grabbed my hand, but only for a few seconds, which was long enough for me to squeeze it back. Then my hand slipped through his, leaving me making a fist, which I wanted to punch into a wall. I usually wasn't violent, but I hated feeling so unsure and frustrated about things.

  "Malyn!" Grandmama scolded, like I actually did hit the wall.

  "What?" I asked innocently as I opened the door to let them in. Beau, of course, waited on me to go in first.

  I put the ball on the kitchen table so we could all sit down around it. As soon as I turned it on, Beau grabbed me, holding me so tight that I could barely breathe, which surprised me, since Grandmama was looking at us. He held me so long that it almost started to get awkward, but I held him tightly back.

  "What happened, Beau?" Grandmama asked softly.

  He finally let me go and we sat down. He looked down at the table for a minute before he started to shake his head. "Someone came here tonight."

  "Who?" Grandmama asked.

  "I don't know. At first it looked like my ma. But when I realized it wasn't her, the thing changed."

  I didn't know what to say, so I let Grandmama continue to do all the talking. "Changed how?"

  "Into…pure evil."

  "They were here, too, then."

  He looked at her questioningly. "Who?"

  She proceeded to tell him what happened at the cemetery, and how all the dead people were gone.

  He nodded his head. "All I wanted to do was follow Ma, too. I can see why they'd wanna go."

  This didn't make sense to me. "Go? You think they went willingly with these things?"

  He nodded his head. "I almost did." He rubbed his face so hard that it made his eyes water. Or maybe they were watering before he rubbed his face. "She seemed so real."

  "So they must come to the spirits in the form of someone they love. But how would they know? And how do they…?" She just shook her head. "I need to call Max back." She got up to get her phone and took it into the sunroom.

  Beau had his arms propped on the table with his head resting in his hands. I reached over and rubbed his arm. "I'm sorry." I could tell he was upset.

  "It just looked so much like her."

  I could tell he was more upset that he saw what he thought was his mother than the fact that evil things had tried to take him away. "I know you miss her. I'm just glad you realized it wasn't her."

  "I almost didn't. But she wouldn't talk to me. And then she gave me the
meanest, most hateful look, and I knew then it wasn't her. She'd give us a look sometimes, but not one like that." I was surprised to see tears in his eyes. "Gosh, I wish it was her. I miss 'em so much, sometimes. You'd think those feelin's would somehow go away after all this time, but they ain't. Not yet, anyways."

  "And they won't. If someone took me away from you, or Grandmama, I'd miss you both forever."

  He reached out and touched my cheek as one of his tears finally fell. He let go of my face and wiped his tear away as Grandmama came back into the room. When she sat down, he finished telling us what happened. "So, when I realized it wasn't Ma, I yelled at it."

  "Ya did?" Grandmama seemed surprised. "Were ya runnin' in the other direction as ya yelled?" she chuckled. “I would've been.”

  Beau just smiled. "I demanded that they tell me who they were. But it just turned into this black mist-like thing and shot off toward the river. I went after it, but it vanished—right where I died."

  "Were ya like ya are now? Solid?" Grandmama asked.

  "No. I had just turned it off and had went down to the river to get my clothes."

  The thought of Beau's naked walk to the river made me blush because I felt my face starting to get hot.

  "Malyn," Grandmama scolded again.

  "What is it with you and your…your"—I waved my hands around at her—"lately?" I couldn't help but laugh, which made her laugh, too.

  Beau hadn't caught on, so he just looked at us like we were crazy and continued talking. "I wonder if I hadn't turned it off if they'd have still tried to get me? ‘Cause I was outside all evenin' and nothin' happened 'til then."

  "I don't know. But Max told me he's gonna do some research and get back with us tomorrow. He said you should lay low, maybe stay in the house with one of us 'til then."

  "Should I stay like this ya think? Maybe keep the ball or one of the pumps on by me?"

  Grandmama thought about it for a moment and said, "Probably wouldn't hurt, just 'til we talk to Max."

  "Wonder if I'll be able to sleep? I know I feel tired enough. But dang, I ain't slept in so long."