“I don’t think so,” Aunt Breanne said.
“I can’t be sure,” I volunteered. “Weeder said he could talk to animals. After Weeder died, Jared passed on, so I haven’t been able to confirm it.” I glanced at Aunt Breanne, who looked stunned.
“Of course,” Grandpa said. “We may all be in danger now. If all of us are killed, their secret’s back in the dark.”
“If secrecy’s what they want,” Uncle Mark answered, “mass killing in both families won’t help. And we can hedge that bet. When we get home, we can each contact whoever we want there tomorrow. Let’s say a dozen from each family. Try and pick families without kids living at home if possible.”
“Good idea,” Varick agreed. “We should get started before it gets even later.”
“Wait,” I protested. “I spent my whole life with no one knowing my secret. It’s hard enough adjusting to the fact that everyone here knows, not to mention Hunter. Now you want me to talk to people I don’t know?”
Varick came over and took my hand. “Sweetheart, I know this is difficult, and you have been very brave, but it’s necessary. I can assure you that this will not become a topic of conversation at the supper table. Whoever we tell will keep your secret. You need not worry about returning to school and having either McKnights or Blackburns being aware. All right then.”
I didn’t like it, but what could I do? Varick kissed my cheek, which made Grandpa grind his teeth.
“Okay,” Uncle Mark said. “Everyone take precautions tonight. Breanne, you should go with Varick and Payne. Between the three of you, Hunter, and the staff, you should be safe. You can hang bells on everyone’s doors tonight as well. Loud ones that will wake you if someone tries to get into your room. Suggest that to everyone. If someone has an alarm system, use it.”
“Fair enough,” Varick said. “It appears that we’re about to make history. McKnights and Blackburns working together. It should be interesting.”
* * * *
We went to the lodge the next day. Personally, I think it was a big waste of time. No one had any real ideas. Before long, the McKnights started hinting that maybe the Blackburns were all still behind this, a ploy to bring their guard down and learn their secrets. It wasn’t long before the Blackburns pointed out that since I was being targeted, the reverse was more likely.
Thankfully, both Varick and Grandpa stood their ground. In the end, both sides agreed to keep their eyes open. A temporary truce was called. Both families would try and watch over me. Great.
Zack and Simon, who had spent the time we were at the lodge with friends, were doing their best not to ask questions, but they knew something was up. Simon kept throwing hints to his father that whatever was going on, he could help figure it out. I was tempted to let him, partially out of fear and desperation, but also because Simon was pretty sharp. This seemed right up his alley, but it was pretty clear Uncle Mark didn’t want them involved, and I didn’t blame him.
Zack simply didn’t leave my side. He followed me wherever I went. I tripped over him when I came out of the bathroom. He made me a snack. He even sat at my side while I watched TV and let me have the remote. I could have put on anything and he wouldn’t have cared. I found a Three Stooges movie, and we laughed our butts off together.
The doorbell rang. Under strict orders from Zack, I stayed on the couch while he answered it. Uncle Mark came out from his office just in time to see Aunt Breanne entering with a bag of groceries.
“Sorry to intrude,” she said. “But with everything going on, I wanted to help. I figured you would be so busy with…” Aunt Breanne looked down at Zack. “Things that you might not be thinking about food. So, I brought some stuff. I’d love to cook for your family, Mark.”
Uncle Mark took the grocery bag and kissed Aunt Breanne on the cheek. “That sounds wonderful. Thank you.”
“I’ve got another two bags in the car,” Aunt Breanne said. “Let me get them, and I’ll get to work.”
“Don’t worry about it,” Uncle Mark told her and took her keys. He then tossed them toward the door, which was opening again. Payne walked in and caught them. “Your aunt has two bags of groceries in the car,” he explained to Payne. “Go fetch ‘em for her. And try not to wreck the car doing it.”
Payne shook his head at the joke, then turned around to go get the bags. He stepped aside just long enough for Hunter to walk in.
“Hey Bristol,” Hunter said. “I wanted to see how you were doing. I brought Payne, as you can see.”
“Brought Payne?” I asked.
“Yeah,” Hunter confirmed. “Grandpa gave me the keys to the Hummer. The thing is huge, sturdy, and tough, even if it is a gas guzzler. Grandpa figured between that, and the fact Payne was only allowed in the passenger side, maybe he’d get this one back in one piece.” She patted Payne’s cheek as he went by.
Before long, Uncle Mark was in his study with both Grandpa and Payne. I managed to get Zack to go read his book about dragons while Simon worked on his homework. I went into the kitchen with Hunter and Aunt Breanne. She had us chopping vegetables while she worked at the stove mixing up a sauce from scratch that smelled like heaven in a pot.
“Does anyone else have a problem with this?” I asked. “Why are the three women in the house working on dinner, while the big, brave men are sitting in there, discussing strategy? That just doesn’t seem right to me.”
“I have to admit,” Hunter said as she minced garlic, “I’m a little annoyed. Bristol and I were both attacked. Why aren’t we in there?”
“Girls,” Aunt Breanne admonished. “Someone has to cook. Better us than them.”
“Why?” I asked. “My uncle’s a pretty decent cook. Better than I am. I say we drag their butts out here, slap aprons on them, get a good laugh, and we go huddle up.”
“Sit,” Aunt Breanne ordered, as I tried to get up. “I’m sure your uncle can cook just fine. I know Payne can. But they are men, and we are women.” She finished with a nod before setting to work on some mushrooms.
“So?” I said. “What in the world is that supposed to mean? They’re men so they get to be in there, beating on their chests and scratching themselves while we women stay out here and just cook?”
I rose again, then stopped in midmotion when Aunt Breanne glared at me. Slowly, I sat back down. Man, she was good at that.
“They’re men,” Aunt Breanne repeated. “Which means they have to do what they’re doing to feel like they’re protecting us. Right now, they’d be useless out here. Your uncle had no idea I was coming, yet he never even thought about food, had he? I doubt the laundry has been done, or anything else he might do on a regular day without having to be reminded, but this isn’t a regular day. Right now, that,” she pointed to the office with a mushroom, “is all they can handle.”
“We can handle it, too,” I insisted.
“Of course we can,” Aunt Breanne agreed as she moved back to the pot and stirred it with a giant, wooden spoon. “We’re women. We can do everything men can do. But we,” she indicated the three of us with a circular motion of her spoon, “can multitask. You want to talk strategy? Let’s talk. Just chop these mushroom stems into teeny tiny bits for me while you do.”
And so it went. We chopped, we talked, we threw out ideas, we stirred pots, and Aunt Breanne showed me how to make lasagna. Hunter and Aunt Breanne asked me questions, and I answered as best I could while we stuffed mushrooms. We tossed out ideas, played Devil’s advocate, and made some observations while we threw together a salad.
By the time we had the table set, I felt more in control.
We called everyone for dinner. Because Zack and Simon were there, there was no discussion of exploding cars or possessed cows. Instead, we talked about Simon’s science project, listened to Zack tell us about his first game in tag football, each of us cheering when he described his winning touchdown.
By the end of the meal, Aunt Breanne had managed to persuade Payne, Simon, and Zack to do the dishes without letting them rea
lize they were being persuaded. Of course she did this with the promise of cake for desert, but hey, whatever works. Meanwhile she, Hunter, and I talked to Grandpa and Uncle Mark about what we had discussed. It sounded like we had, for the most part, covered the same ground. The women just did it in less time and while making dinner. But there were a few things they’d thought of that we hadn’t. I seemed to have an ability to see and hear this other world where ghosts and these shadow creatures dwelled. Was there anyone in either family that might be able to cross over or interact physically? And if so, would they be willing to come forward? We, on the other hand, had thought of a few things as well.
“You made the observation that even though these things are disembodied spirits,” Hunter stated, “there must still be a reason, a motive, for wanting Bristol dead. We think it may be to avoid exposing them. But why are they here? How long have they been here? Want do they want?”
“Wanting me dead isn’t the big picture,” I added. “They want me dead because I interfere with whatever the big picture is. So the question is…”
“What’s the big picture?” Uncle Mark finished. “We were hoping we eliminated the danger to Bristol because she’s already exposed their existence, but we still don’t know their purpose. Until we know that, we have to assume she’ll be a target.”
“It’s nice to feel so special,” I said.
“The other thing we talked about,” Aunt Breanne said, “was food.”
“Yes, we know,” Grandpa responded and patted his belly. “And it was really good food.”
“Thanks,” Aunt Breanne answered. “But that’s not what I meant. These things have to eat, right? What do they live on? Some sort of energy, maybe? I don’t know, but if we could figure it out…”
“We might be able to cut off the supply,” Uncle Mark said.
There was some more back and forth for a while, but nothing new was said. When Payne was done, Hunter and I filled him in on what he missed. After everyone was up to speed on the latest theories involving homicidal shadow creatures, we all sat down for coffee and cake.
Afterward, Uncle Mark was still at the table lingering over coffee with Aunt Breanne. Grandpa had long ago meandered into the living room and turned on a game. Zack grabbed his book and disappeared while Simon asked if Hunter wanted to see his science project. I cleaned up a bit in the kitchen with help from Payne. When we were done, I asked Payne if he wanted to take a walk.
Uncle Mark seemed ready to put the kibosh on that until Aunt Breanne intervened.
“Oh Mark, let them go,” she said. “She’s had a rough couple of days. She could use a few minutes to feel like a normal girl.”
Uncle Mark sighed. “I don’t even want to know what that means. Just stay close so I’ll know if something happens.”
Before he could change his mind, I pulled Payne out through the backdoor and started to walk to the back of the yard. On the way, we passed Zack, lying in a hammock, reading his book.
“Are you two going to go kiss?” he asked.
“Zack,” I yelled.
“I just wanna know so I can close my eyes,” Zack answered.
I pulled Payne further to the back.
Payne asked, “Are we going to kiss?”
“Shut it,” I ordered.
When we were all the way in the back, I stopped. Zack was far enough that he wouldn’t hear us. I had put this off for long enough. I didn’t want any interruptions.
“Payne, we need to talk,” I said.
“This doesn’t sound good.”
“This isn’t easy,” I said. “But, I mean, it’s the only thing that makes sense. It never made sense, this one vision. Not until I understood about the possession. I kept pushing the dream aside because it’s less than pleasant, but I don’t think I can ignore it anymore”
“Okay,” Payne said. “So tell me.”
“I didn’t know what it meant,” I continued. “I just knew what I didn’t want it to mean. But now I think I do know what it will mean. I’m telling you, so it means I trust you. I didn’t tell you at first because I didn’t trust you, because I didn’t know you. But then when I got to know you, I did trust you. Then I didn’t tell you because I knew it couldn’t be what I once thought it was. But now, knowing what we know, I know what it probably does mean. So, I have to tell you because, really, it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Bristol,” Payne said. “That hurt worse than the explosion. Just tell me. No more of whatever the hell that was.”
“Okay, okay,” I said. “Payne, you know how I have these dreams, right? Dreams that are more than just dreams? Well, there’s been this one dream that I’ve had. It’s pretty bad, but I think I need to tell you.”
“So tell me,” Payne urged. “It’s all right, Bristol. It’s all going to be okay. You can tell me anything.”
“I know. It’s just that I know you’re not going to like this dream. And I’ve never told anyone about this. Well, except Jay a few weeks ago.”
“Jay?” Payne said. “Why would you tell him? From what you’ve told me about this Jay, he sounds like if he’d lived he would have been a monster.”
“Not planning on defending me?” I heard Jay say from behind me. I spun around, and there he was. He still looked angry enough to kill.
Of all the times for Jay to decide to pop in and talk to me, he picked now? I needed to tell Payne about how he might murder me. This was really inconvenient.
“Jay,” I said, wanting to make sure Payne understood. “What are you doing here?”
Jay was leaning on the back fence. The way he stood was relaxed, but his eyes held that same murderous glint that he had in the dream where he chased down that poor girl.
I approached him. Payne stayed right by my side.
“Darling,” Jay said. “There used to be a time where you loved when I dropped in. You adored me. And feared him.”
“Things change,” I answered. “You haven’t answered my question.”
Jay ignored me, turning his attention to Payne. “What is he staring at? Is he trying to intimidate me?”
I looked over and saw Payne was staring right at Jay. Jay took a step to the left and laughed when Payne kept staring at the same location.
“Payne may not be able to see you,” I said. “But if you were alive, he’d kick your butt. You should be glad you’re just a ghost.”
“Just a ghost?” Jay asked. “Darling, I always thought I was more than that for you. I was your favorite. You were able to tell me anything, remember?”
“I remember,” I answered.
“Darling,” Jay said, “I know I’ve been unpleasant recently. I apologize for my crassness. I was just so concerned that you were allowing yourself to be injured by this child.” Jay sneered toward Payne. “Certainly you can find it in your heart to forgive me. I want what’s best for you.”
“I doubt that, Jay,” I replied. “I saw you. I had a dream, and I saw you.”
“Saw me? How do you mean?” Jay’s eyes narrowed.
“I saw you in my dream when that girl, whoever she was, decided to break up with you. I saw how you reacted. You began to chase her.”
“Did you?” Jay said. “I know that I might have over reacted. If only she would have listened to me…”
“She listened to you far longer that I would have,” I said.
“Let’s not dwell on that,” Jay said.
“What’s he saying?” Payne asked.
“He wants to change the subject,” I answered.
“Figures,” Payne snorted. “Punk can’t handle the fact that when he was alive and had a girl, she was able to see him for the slime he was. He comes off real slick, but he was nothing more than a wife-beater in the making.”
“Payne,” I said, worried he was pushing Jay too far. Payne didn’t seem to care.
“What about it, Jay?” Payne asked, although in the wrong direction. I took his elbow and repositioned him. “Thank you,” Payne said. “It sounds to me that you just do
n’t know how to treat a girl. Makes me wonder how many other girls you put your hands on.”
“Shut up,” Jay yelled. “Shut up!”
“Who showed up that night and stopped you?” Payne asked. “Your brother? Did he kick your butt? I know I would have.”
“Shut your damn mouth,” Jay yelled, clearly losing control. “Why won’t he shut the hell up?”
“Because,” I said so both of them could hear me. “Payne can’t hear you shouting at him to shut up. Payne, maybe enough is enough?
“I don’t think so,” Payne continued. “So, Jay, what would you have done if you managed to get that girl alone? Dragged her back to your car, kicking and screaming? Explained the error of her ways, using your fists?”
“Does he really want to know?” Jay asked. “Because I eventually dealt with all of them. Just like I’m going to deal with you, Bristol. If you don’t get the hell out of this town, I will kill everyone you care about. I will make you pay for betraying me.”
“What are you going to do? What can you do? You’re dead. There’s nothing you can do but move on. It’s time to move on. I can forgive you, but you need to move on.”
“You think I’m helpless?” Jay asked. “I haven’t been helpless so far, have I?”
“Jay, what are you saying?” I asked.
He slowly moved back from us. “I guess we’ll just have to see. Tell your little boyfriend here I will make sure he suffers the worst.”
“Jay,” I called, but it was too late. He was gone.
“Well,” Payne said, “I take it he’s gone. Do you think he moved on?”
I shook my head. “No, I don’t think so. He threatened me. He threatened my family.”
“Don’t worry about him,” Payne said with a wave of his hand. “What can he do? He’s a ghost. You said they can’t do anything, right?”
I nodded. “I’ve never known one who can. He threatened you, too.”
“Oh, now I’m worried,” Payne grumbled.
“What if it wasn’t an empty threat? What if he can do something? Payne…”
“Have you known any ghosts to try and hurt you?” Payne asked.
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