by Joy Elbel
“We still haven’t checked the top level. Maybe what we’re looking for is up there.” Zach started up the curved staircase and I followed closely behind him.
Just as Zach flicked on the flashlight to take a look inside, we heard a scream. It was Rachel’s scream. Zach handed me the flashlight. “Stay right here. Don’t move.” He flew down the steps to where she stood.
I was worried about Rachel, but I had to see what was inside. I knew there had to be something important in there. I shot the beam of light between the bars and into the mausoleum. It looked different than the bottom level. It wasn’t empty.
The first things I noticed were the stained glass windows along the back wall. They were miniature versions of the window in the front hall at Rosewood. They were round and only about a foot high but each had an intricately designed rose blossom shining brightly within its confines. It was the Baker family mausoleum. Two adult sized crypts sat in the center of the room, each with its lid bolted into place. To the left, two more stone encasings sat. One was sealed shut while the other gaped open—empty as the day it was made. To the right sat a rocking chair.
Something about the rocking chair fascinated me. I remembered the story The Cougar told us the day we moved in. Charlotte Baker died giving birth to Scarlet. Was the chair made for her to rock her child to sleep in? If so, she never had the chance to use it. Instead, it sat empty in her crypt. I was possessed with an idea.
“I want to go in there.” I said aloud.
And I got a response. The sound of a woman’s voice echoed through the mausoleum. “No!”
I recoiled in horror. Fear overtook me and my eyes welled with tears of pure fright as I stumbled back away from the door. But I was closer to the steps than I realized and as my foot searched for the landing, it instead met with nothing. The flashlight dropped from my hand as I lurched backwards and fell into the nothingness.
27. Unexpected Allies
Time moved slowly as I fell. Weightless. Endless. I lifted my eyes to the sky as a crow flew over me so close that I could feel the air flowing beneath its beating wings. It was the same bird that led me to the mausoleum—I was sure of that. Did it lead me there to die? Oh God, Was I really going to die? Somehow I never thought it would be like this. I always thought my life would flash before my eyes. Instead, I thought of one thing. I thought of how Zach would feel when he found my broken body sprawled on the staircase. My last wish was that my death wouldn’t ruin his life the way Lee’s death almost ruined mine. I closed my eyes and waited for the impact that was inevitable.
But that moment never came. Strong arms wrapped around me, catching me in midair as Zach scooped me up and carried me down the steps to safety. I latched on to him, my arms wrapped tightly around his neck. I was this close to death once before, but that time I was unconscious and remembered nothing. This time I felt every second of it. I shook uncontrollably as he laid me down on the mossy ground. He knelt beside me, holding me. It was only then that I realized he was shaking too, almost as badly as I was.
“Ruby, you could have died!” he cried, as he held me tightly to his chest.
Rachel dropped to her knees beside us. “Oh my God, what happened?”
“She fell backwards down the steps. I only got to her just in time.” His voice wavered as he spoke. “Another second and I would have been too late.” He tightened his grip on me, entwining us so closely that I could feel our hearts beating in one frenzied rhythm.
“Did you hear it too? Is that how you found me in time?” I asked with my voice barely above a whisper.
“Hear what?” he murmured softly. The warmth of his breath tickled my ear and I never felt more alive than I did at that moment. Or as in love.
He released his grip enough to allow me to face him. “There was a voice. In the mausoleum. I got scared and backed away. I guess I backed up too far. The next thing I knew, I was falling.”
“A voice? What did it say?”
“I was looking in the door and I wanted to go in. I said it out loud and then I heard a woman’s voice echoing through the mausoleum. She said ‘no’ and I…I just panicked.” I swallowed hard. “I thought I was going to die.”
“If it hadn’t been for that crow, you probably would have.”
“What?” The crow? What could that bird have possibly done to save me?
“Rachel screamed because she got stung by a bee. I was helping her when this crow swooped down out of nowhere and nearly hit me in the head. I watched it circle back around the mausoleum and that’s when I saw you start to fall.”
The crow hadn’t led me there to die after all. Sudden strange thought. Was it possible? No, it couldn’t be. Could it? Could that crow be Lee? If there was one person in this world who would return from the other side in the form of a crow, it would be him.
“Are you sure you heard a voice in there? Maybe it was the crow you heard?”
I didn’t know anything anymore. At the time I was certain that I heard a voice, but now I wasn’t so sure. “All I’m sure of is that you saved my life.” We both knew that was exactly what he did, but it wasn’t until I said the words that it started to feel real.
“Oh, Ruby! I don’t think I could live without you.” He held my face in his hands and looked straight into my eyes.
I never knew such a moment of pure honesty, pure emotion. I had to kiss him—I had to kiss him now.
He leaned forward until we were touching. He nuzzled his nose against mine and tilted his head. This was it. Our first real kiss. It felt like I waited a thousand years for this. His lips brushed lightly against mine. I closed my eyes and….
“STOP!” Rachel yelled it from the top of her lungs. “You can’t! Remember what Rita said!”
Her voice cut straight through me. I knew she was right. But maybe just one kiss wouldn’t hurt…one hot, explosive kiss.
We were suspended between what we wanted to do and what we knew we should do. Our lips were still touching but we didn’t move, we didn’t breathe.
“Zachary Michael Mason! Stop this very instant!” Her voice was commanding and she sounded exactly like their mother.
We opened our eyes at the same moment. Rachel’s outburst was all he needed to find the strength not to kiss me. He sighed and backed away from me. “I’m sorry, Ruby. She’s right.”
“I know, Zach, but that doesn’t make it any easier.” I was still shaking, but it wasn’t from falling. It was from the anticipation of the kiss that never happened.
He got to his feet and helped me up. “It’ll be dark soon. We really should get back.”
As soon as I was on my feet, he reluctantly let go of my hand. He collected the flashlight from the top of the stairs and the three of us headed back down the path.
On the way to the house, I filled them in on what I saw in the mausoleum. They didn’t seem to think there was anything significant about it, but I felt differently. The more I thought about it, the more certain I was that I really did hear a voice in there.
“That mausoleum was really cool though,” Rachel said as she rubbed at the bee sting that was now red and swollen on her arm. “My friend Crimson would totally love it. She’s in a band and they’ve been looking for a place to film their first video. I think this would be the perfect spot for it. Do you think your dad would mind?”
“I don’t think he would care. But we should probably wait until this whole thing is over—I don’t want anyone else to get hurt.”
Rachel nodded her head. “Totally. She’s out of town with the band for a while anyway. They got a contract with some new indie label and they’re recording their first album right now. When she gets back, you have to meet her. I think you’ll really like her.”
“Any friend of yours is a friend of mine. As long as you don’t suddenly become Misty’s BFF, that is.”
Rachel giggled. “I don’t think Misty has any friends—no real ones anyway. I think all the girls in her coven only hang around with her out of fear. And because she’s
the richest girl in school.” She paused for a moment. “Make that the second richest,” she said giving me a sneaky smile.
I didn’t know what she meant at first but then it hit me. She was referring to me. I knew Dad and Shelly were loaded but I never really thought of it as my money. But of course someone like Misty would see it differently.
“Do you think she’s going to give me trouble, you know, once school starts?” I didn’t care about making friends. I had Zach, Rachel, and Boone and they were all the friends I needed. What I did care about though, was not making enemies—especially when I didn’t do anything to deserve them.
She was about to reply when Zach cut in. “Don’t worry about her. She’s nobody. After everything you’ve survived this summer, handling Misty will be easy.”
“I hope so. But don’t forget—summer’s not over yet. And we still have work to do.” And I didn’t want to waste the whole summer ghost hunting.
“Since we didn’t find anything in the mausoleum, I figure our next step is to hit the historical society. I still think the World War II connection holds the answer to what’s happening here.” Zach seemed convinced of that, but I wasn’t so sure.
It was near dark when we got back to the house. Rachel needed Zach to drop her off at Boone’s house and I figured he would probably just go home afterwards. I said I would see them in the morning, but Zach just looked at me.
“What, you’re just going to give up on me that easily?” He tried to sound serious, however he couldn’t keep a straight face.
“You know I wouldn’t! Did you make plans for us that I wasn’t aware of?” As far as I was concerned, he could map out the rest of my life for me and I wouldn’t complain.
“I sure did. Hop in.” He opened the door for me and we took off.
Once Rachel was happily in Boone’s arms, we drove to The Hideout to talk. We talked about everything and nothing in particular. Since I now knew his middle name, he insisted on knowing mine. I never liked the name Rose but Zach said it was beautiful and it fit me perfectly. We talked about school and books we’d read. It was a cloudy night so we couldn’t look at the stars but the sky was still beautiful though, as strokes of red painted the twilight canvas. But everything looked more spectacular because I almost wasn’t around to see it.
When we ran out of random topics, the conversation turned to the events at the mausoleum.
“I want to thank you for saving my life,” I said quietly.
“You’re welcome,” he whispered.
It was a horrible day and Zach was the only thing that would make me feel better. Ghost or no ghost, I slid over and put my head on his shoulder. Not another word passed between us—we simply sat there until he had just enough time to get me home before curfew.
We remained silent until we were almost to Rosewood. “You’ll get through this, Ruby, because I’ll always be there to catch you when you fall.”
“I know you will, Zach. I trust you with my life,” I said as I got out of the car and walked into another night of the unknown.
The dream was different this time. I was on the path in the woods but this time Zach was with me. I was wearing the dress I bought for the dinner and he was in a tux. We were walking hand in hand toward the mausoleum. There was a priest standing at the top of the steps waiting for us with Bible in hand. We were getting married and I was never happier. But something strange was happening. The closer we got to the mausoleum, the closer the trees pressed in around us. With every step, they melded together forming a narrower, gnarled tunnel. And then I was alone. The trees were indistinguishable now. Zach was gone and so was the stone building. Instead, I was sealed into a passageway that constricted as I walked. There was a shadowy figure at the far end, flitting back and forth and blocking out what little light there was. I tried to turn around—Zach was back there and I had to find him. But the only thing I found was a wall fashioned from contorted roots and limbs. It was as though the earth itself had swallowed him up. Then the tunnel walls pushed against me until I couldn’t breathe.
I woke up frightened and gasping for air. It took me a few seconds to figure out what was going on, but I breathed a sigh of relief when I realized it was just a dream. Then I remembered that the dreams were somehow connected to the ghost and to the supernatural events that plagued me since moving to Charlotte’s Grove. With each incident, I felt myself pulled closer and closer to death. As I lay there with my anxiety level rising as I contemplated what would happen if Zach weren’t around to save me the next time, the most amazing thing happened. I was enveloped by warmth—warmth I only ever felt while in Zach’s arms. An unseen force embraced me with a feeling of serenity and the knowledge that everything would be okay. I settled against my pillow and let it lull me to sleep.
28. Timeout
Every day that week, we spent our mornings at the shelter and our evenings at the library. The historical society had very limited hours, so we would only be able to check it out on Saturday. Zach and I worked diligently every night, desperate to find answers. We spent so much time there that even Mrs. Tuttle fell under Zach’s spell. On Friday, there was a plate of homemade chocolate chip cookies waiting for us—or shall I say, for Zach. “Because a handsome young man like you needs to eat. You’re still growing, you know,” she said with a smile. He certainly appealed to women of all ages—and species—that was for sure.
For all of our hard work, though, we had nothing to show for it. Countless hours of research yielded nothing. I was discouraged and I couldn’t hide it. The fundraiser was only a week away and we were no closer to an answer. The nightmares were coming fast and furious, but each night I awoke in a panic, something was there to comfort me. After much thought, I made the decision to give up the search. I could handle the bad dreams now that I didn’t have to face them alone. Maybe salting the attic worked. Maybe the real nightmare was over. I made peace with my situation because it felt like the only option. Zach, however, wouldn’t hear a word of it.
“Ruby, we’re not giving up until we have a solid answer,” he said angrily.
He sounded…jealous. Was his anger less about my decision to give up and more about the comforting presence that stayed by my side at night? I thought it might actually be Lee this time and I was certain Zach thought the same thing. When I confronted him about it, he gave me an honest answer.
“I don’t care who it is. I just know who it isn’t. I should be the one who gets to hold you.” He had the same look on his face as he did the night he broke up with me.
“I want it to be you, too, Zach but I don’t know what else to do. At least I’m not being thrown around my room at night anymore.” My situation wasn’t perfect, but at least it was tolerable. “Maybe we should test out the theory.…” I slid my hand on top of his.
He shook it off. “No. I’m not testing any theories until this is over completely, not just half way. I can’t risk losing you. And besides, we still haven’t been to the historical society yet. You don’t know what we might find there.”
We grabbed our stuff and made our way to the door. It was Friday night and the town was alive with activity. Carloads of teenagers filled the streets, laughing and honking their horns at each other. The drive-in would be packed tonight, but we wouldn’t be there. Instead, we would be enjoying another movie night with Dad and Shelly. And I used the term enjoying loosely. It wasn’t horrible, but it wasn’t exactly how we wanted to spend our evenings. Zach was starting to feel the strain of our unconventional romance—I could see it on his face. I felt the need to apologize, but it only seemed to worsen his mood.
“Don’t say you’re sorry—it’s not your fault.” Traffic was backed up and he started to swear at the driver in front of us. It wasn’t like him to lose his temper so quickly and I told him so.
“You’re right! I know I’ve been a bit of a jerk today.” He released the iron grip he had on the steering wheel and I watched as every muscle in his arm relaxed. “I just want everything to be perfect for next we
ek, but I’m starting to lose hope.”
For once, I was the optimistic one. “Don’t worry. Everything will be—as long as we’re together.”
That did the trick. “I’m sorry, Ruby. You’re right. We’ll just have to make the best of what we have. Any night with you is better than the best night without you.”
He was definitely calmer but I could still tell that something was bothering him. We watched one movie with Dad and Shelly, but Zach declined to stay for a second. The historical society was only open from nine to noon in the morning, so we would have to get an early start. I went to bed with mixed feelings. Of course I hoped we would find something the next day, but I had a sinking feeling that we wouldn’t. The answer to my problem lay in the mausoleum, I just didn’t know where.
So we woke up early on Saturday morning and combed the historical society for any information on Rosewood. We searched for any record of women who stayed there during the war but found nothing. We were about to give up when Zach had an idea.
“Maybe we’re looking at it from the wrong angle. We should try looking for records of local soldiers who served in the war. If any of them died or were missing in action, then we can try to trace whether or not they had wives and children who may have stayed there.”
It seemed like a good plan. But it was a plan that yielded no results. When the doors closed at noon, we left frustrated. When Zach suggested that we get some advice from Rita, I agreed. Plus, it gave us an opportunity to give her that wretched spirit board that he’d been carrying around in his trunk since the day she told us to get it out of the house.
There were plenty of customers when we entered the candle shop but Rita spotted us the second we walked in and motioned us to the register.
“You’re not here to buy candles, are you?” she said sadly as we approached the counter.