She dropped into the River and was shocked to see the two undisturbed graves suddenly come to life, roiling in a mass of shiny black creatures that twisted and turned; it reminded her of a ball of worms.
A soft moaning came from behind, and she turned to see two men, slouched against the opposite wall of the chamber. One looked tired, his head lying on the floor. The other saw her and stood.
Are you here to reunite me? he asked, his arms stretching out for her. Like Marc?
She could see through him to the rocky surface of the wall beyond. What happened to Marc? she asked, ignoring his question.
She came, the man replied, and cleared away the bugs. He got back inside, and they left.
Eliza turned back to the graves on the ground. She looked more closely at the swirling black surface; it was composed of thousands and thousands of tiny creatures, scouring over each other.
Your body is in there? she asked, pointing to the grave.
Mine is in that one, he replied, pointing to the other mound. The other is Angel’s.
That’s Angel? Robert asked, pointing to the man who was lying on the ground.
Yes, the man answered. He’s been separated so long, I don’t think he’s going to last much longer.
I’m Eliza, she said. And you are?
Lee VanLanen, he replied. Angel is my cousin.
VanLanen, Eliza repeated. Did you live in Waverly? The house by the hall?
I do live there, he replied. Well, did. It’s been a long time.
How long? Eliza asked.
Not sure, he replied. A few years, maybe?
Marc was here with you? Granger asked. Tell us what happened to Marc.
His body was there. Lee pointed to the disturbed grave. A woman came to get him. She cleared away the bugs. He reunited, and they left. Can you reunite me?
How would we do that? Eliza asked.
Make the bugs go away, like she did, Lee replied, pointing to his mound. I can’t get back into it with them crawling all over it. I’ve tried, but it’s impossible.
Can you leave the cave? Robert asked.
No, Lee replied. Whenever I try, I become weak and pass out. I wake up here, next to my body. If you could just make the bugs go away, like she did, I could get back inside and leave this place. Please.
I don’t know how she did that, Eliza replied.
You have bodies, right? Lee asked. Just scrape them off, using your hands. I can’t with mine.
Granger knelt next to one of the mounds. He reached out, trying to scrape some of the black bugs from it, but his hand passed through them as though they were air.
No, with your body, Lee said. Try with that.
We don’t see the bugs that way, Eliza replied. They just look like graves. There’s no bugs, just dirt mounds.
The man’s face scrunched into a mass of wrinkles. She was sure he was about to cry.
I don’t know how the woman got him out, Eliza said. We’re trying to figure out how she did it. If we do, we’ll come back and release you.
Not release me, he said. Reunite me. I want to get back inside my body. It’s alive under there. The bugs keep it going. I’m still in there. I can feel the bugs crawling over me, over my skin.
They’re keeping your body alive, Eliza said, thinking aloud, but they’re also stopping you from re-entering it.
Yes, Lee replied. If you’ll just remove them, I’ll be able to get back inside. Please!
How did you wind up here? Robert asked. How did Marc and Angel wind up here?
The superintendent, Lee replied. He wanted my sister to do something for him. She wouldn’t, and when I tried to protect her, I wound up here.
Superintendent? Eliza asked.
Yes, at the hall, Lee replied. He said she had to do something terrible, and she refused. When she told me, I went to confront him about it. I’ve been here ever since. Angel was already here, and a while later, Marc showed up.
Thank you for talking with us, Eliza said. If we can figure out a way to get you out, we will.
Eliza dropped from the flow. She could hear Lee protesting as she left. Robert and Granger dropped out moments later, and the three of them looked at each other in the small cave.
“Is he separated the way we’re separated when we drop?” Eliza asked.
“I think it’s exactly the same,” Robert answered. “Except he may not understand it or control it the way we do.”
“Rachel said Marc was gifted,” Eliza replied, “at least a little bit. Do you think that’s why he was able to go, and Lee can’t?”
“Maybe,” Granger answered. “But it seems it took Rachel coming here for him to be able to reunite.”
“I got the feeling from Rachel that she was a lot stronger than him,” Eliza said. “Do you think her gift was what made her able to release him?”
Robert knelt by the grave that had held Marc. It was torn up. “I’m not sure if he came out, or she dug him out.” He reached over to the mound that held Lee, and he scraped at the surface of the dirt, removing a handful.
The mound lurched.
He scraped again, removing another handful, and began to scrape more and more. Something under the dirt moved, pressing upward, and Eliza gasped when a hand emerged through the dirt, stretching, reaching.
Robert grabbed the hand and pulled. Chunks of dirt fell away as the body of Lee VanLanen rose from the mound, white and naked. All hair was gone from his body, and he looked thin and emaciated as he struggled from his knees to his feet. Robert released Lee’s hand, and it went to his face, rubbing at the dirt that was caked around his eyes. His mouth opened and he sucked in a huge lungful of air.
Eliza felt a chill go down her spine; it looked as though a corpse was coming to life. Corpse? she thought. He was never really dead, just…separated.
Lee expelled clouds of dust and dirt, slowly resuming a normal breathing pattern. Robert helped Lee remove the remaining soil from his body. Eliza could see patches of discoloration as it fell off, vividly contrasting against the white skin.
“Lee?” Granger asked, grabbing the man’s shoulders and turning him to look directly at him. “Is that you, Lee?”
“It’s me,” the man croaked. Clods of dirt were still inside the man’s mouth, and he spat to try and dislodge them.
“Come on, we’ll get you out of here,” Robert said, but Lee stopped them.
“Angel,” he muttered, his eyes not seeming to focus. “Angel.”
“Of course,” Granger replied. “Robert?”
Robert knelt by the remaining mound and repeated the steps he’d used on Lee’s grave, removing handfuls of dirt until it became apparent that something was alive under the earth. He dug faster and located an arm. It was weak and barely moving. He reached for it, pulling, dragging the body from the grave.
To Eliza, it didn’t appear as if Angel was able to assist much with his exhumation; he didn’t have any of the energy that Lee had displayed. Robert was doing all the work.
One he was free, Lee knelt next to Angel’s body and tried to brush dirt from the man’s face. Eliza dropped to her knees too, assisting Lee, trying to free Angel from the remaining soil that stuck to his body. She noticed that some parts had begun to decay.
“Angel!” Lee called hoarsely, trying to revive the man. Angel’s eyes opened momentarily, moving slowly, looking up. Then they glassed over.
“Angel?” Lee asked. “We’re free. We’re finally free!”
Granger reached to Angel’s neck, feeling for a pulse. After a minute, he pulled his hand back.
“He’s free,” Granger replied. “But he’s not with us.”
“The act of reuniting might have been too much,” Robert said. “I’m sure it was traumatic on his body. It looks like he wasn’t as well preserved as you, Lee.”
Lee laid down next to Angel, looking exhausted.
“Let’s get you out of here,” Eliza said to Lee.
“I’ll rebury him,” Robert said, beginning to dig at the grave
.
“No,” Lee croaked weakly. “Not here. Anywhere but here.”
Robert stood up. “I understand.”
Eliza and Granger helped Lee to his feet, and they escorted him from the cave. Robert followed, carrying Angel’s body. They emerged into sunlight, and Lee held his hand to his face to shield his eyes.
“I’ll have to bury Angel somewhere,” Robert said.
“You can bury him at my place,” Lee said. “I’ve got a few plots on my land.”
“You can’t bury people on private property in Wisconsin anymore,” Eliza said. “We’ll have to take him to the police and deal with that, or bury him here, in the woods.”
“We’ll get all wrapped up with the cops if we do the former,” Granger replied. “And they’ll be all over Lee here, too.”
“No cops!” Lee said. “I hate the law.”
“Then we bury him here,” Eliza said.
“Since when can’t you bury a loved one on your own land?” Lee asked.
“Since a long time ago,” Eliza replied. “What year do you think it is, anyway?”
“I don’t remember the year,” Lee replied.
“Who’s the president of the United States?” Granger asked Lee.
“That’s easy,” Lee replied. “Hoover. And he’s doing a terrible job.”
●
They drove Lee back to the old VanLanen homestead. Lee marveled at the interior of the car the entire way. When they reached the house, he stepped out and sighed.
“It’s been longer than I thought,” he said, eyeing the sagging front porch. The house was partially covered in bushes that hadn’t been trimmed back in decades. Robert had found an extra jacket in the trunk, and Lee had it wrapped around his waist. Dirt was still caked to his body; small clods fell off as he walked toward the house.
“You can’t stay here,” Eliza said. “It’ll probably fall in on you.”
“I want to stay,” Lee mumbled, walking onto the porch. “It’s my home. My family is here.”
“No one is here,” Eliza replied. “They’re all long gone. Most of the town is abandoned.”
Lee pushed open the rotten door and walked into the house. They followed, stepping carefully.
“It’s not habitable,” Robert said, looking around the room.
“Of course it is,” Lee replied. “Just needs some fixing up.”
“There’s no power, no running water,” Eliza said. “There aren’t even fixtures anymore.”
“I can get a shower down at the store, they have one in back you can use for five cents.”
“There’s no one at the store anymore,” Eliza replied. “And no shower; it’s empty. Everyone’s gone, Lee. Only two of the houses in town even have people in them anymore.”
“Which ones?”
“There are renters in the Erdmann place, and then there’s the Hockers, east of here.”
“Old man Erdmann will let me use his shower,” Lee said.
“It’s rented to other people now,” Eliza replied.
“Your best bet is to let us take you to a motel,” Granger said.
Lee looked horrified. “I don’t have money for a hotel,” he said. “I’ve spent years dreaming of being back in my home. This is where I want to stay.”
Eliza watched as he turned, examining the decaying walls and the rotten floor. She could see a tear forming in his eye as he came to terms with the state of things; it mixed with the dirt on his face and formed a muddy streak.
“Are you hungry?” Robert asked.
Lee turned to him. “Now that you mention it, yes, I am. Very.”
“Let’s get you into Ripon,” Robert said. “We’ll put you up in a motel there, and get you something to eat. We need to get you some clothes, too. You can get cleaned up and have a decent night’s sleep.”
“And then you’ll bring me back here?” Lee asked.
“If you want.”
Lee took another look around the room. “Well, it does seem a little drafty in here. And I am starving.”
They led Lee from the house and back to the car, then Robert made the drive to Ripon to find Lee a place to stay.
Chapter Eight
Eliza knocked on the door and waited. After some rumbling inside, the door finally opened.
It was Pam. She looked surprised to see Eliza, Robert, and Granger standing on her porch. “Hello?”
“Do you remember me?” Eliza asked. “From last night? With Rachel?”
Pam squinted. “You’re the one she brought in during ‘Wheel’,” Pam said.
“That’s me,” Eliza replied. “Have you seen Rachel?”
“Not since last night,” Pam replied. “I thought she was with you. Did you lose her?” Pam smiled.
“In a manner of speaking,” Eliza replied.
“Come on in,” Pam said, backing her large frame from the door and allowing them access. Another woman was standing in the doorway to the living room. “You remember Vicky.”
“Hello,” Eliza nodded. Vicky eyed her back.
“They’re looking for Rachel,” Pam said to Vicky. “You seen her?”
“Not in a while,” Vicky replied.
“LELA!” Pam screamed up the stairs. Eliza jumped.
“What?” a teen’s voice screamed back from a room on the second floor.
“You seen Rachel?”
“Nope!”
Pam turned to her, shrugging her large shoulders. “I guess not.”
“She didn’t come back after we left last night?” Eliza asked.
“If she did, I didn’t hear her,” Pam replied, turning to waddle into the living room. “We turn in kinda early, though, so she might have come in after we were out. She sometimes spends the night in Marc’s room. Did you two discover anything new? She said she thought you could help her figure out what happened to Marc.”
Eliza almost blurted out a reply, but she caught Robert’s eye, and he was shaking his head. She paused. “No, nothing yet. But I’m hoping to keep examining things.”
“Well, you’re welcome to Marc’s room, just like Rachel,” Pam said. “Anything we’ve ever come across we’ve kept up there, so feel free to use it if it’ll help.”
“Thanks,” Eliza said, walking to the stairs.
Vicky watched as Robert and Granger followed Eliza, and the three ascended to the next floor. When they reached the top, Eliza led them to Marc’s room and closed the door behind them.
“Was Vicky that creepy last night?” Robert asked.
“They were all wrapped up watching TV,” Eliza said. “I didn’t really get to meet them.”
“Well, she sure didn’t like the looks of us,” Granger said.
“I wonder if she knows what’s up with Rachel,” Eliza said, walking to Marc’s desk and examining it. The picture she looked at the day before was still there; she reached for it and held it up for the others to see. “This is what tipped me off,” she said. “Rachel thought that he might be dead, but I could tell he was still alive.”
Robert took the frame from her and concentrated on it. “I don’t sense anything.”
“Neither did Rachel,” Eliza said. “One of the reasons she got me involved was because she suspected I could pick up on some of these things that others couldn’t.”
“And you felt the same kind of thing at the store?” Granger asked.
“Yes,” Eliza replied. “I was hoping maybe Rachel came back here after picking up Marc, but it seems she didn’t.”
“As far as they’re telling us,” Robert added, handing the picture back to Eliza.
She took it from him and glanced at it quickly, surprised to see a single image of Marc in the photograph under the glass. Of course, she thought. He’s reunited now.
“Lee looked pretty bad,” Granger said. “If Marc was in the same state, perhaps she wanted to make him more presentable before she brought him home.”
“Or they’ve run off together,” Robert said, pulling open drawers in Marc’s desk, looking insi
de. “Which is more likely, I wonder?”
“The latter, unfortunately,” Eliza replied. “I fell for her story hook, line, and sinker. I really feel dumb.”
“What’s this?” Robert asked, slipping a soft-bound book from the desk drawer. It was covered in thin, brown leather. He opened it and read. “Gloria Grignon.”
Eliza stood by his side, looking at the book. She slowly became angry. “Oh my god! That’s Gloria’s diary! Rachel told me it disappeared when Marc went missing. She lied to me about that, too, sitting right here in this room! Lied to my face!”
Robert was studying the pages, slowly turning them. “There are dates here, from the early sixties. 1961, ’62.”
“There must be something of value in it,” Granger said, “if Rachel didn’t want Eliza to know of it before she…” Granger paused.
“Betrayed me,” Eliza finished Granger’s thought. She remembered what the creature in the basement of the hall said to her: She was willing to do whatever she could to find Marc, including betraying you. Lying about the diary seemed like a small thing, in light of that. As the extent of Rachel’s lies became apparent, she began to feel irritated at having been duped. I should have known, she thought. I sensed that something was in this room that first night. It was a mistake to assume it was just the photograph.
“Aside from the dates, it’s not readable,” Robert said, still scanning. He stopped and handed it to Eliza.
She flipped the pages; it was in English, but none of the words made sense.
“Experiential writing,” Granger commented. “It won’t make sense unless you have some personal experience with it to provide context. There’s a chance that each of us might be able to pick up pieces of it. We should each read it and compare what we find.”
“Well, that won’t be here,” Robert said, returning to the desk to rifle through the remaining drawers. “We can give it a shot when we get back to Madison. Let’s see if there’s anything else in this room that might be useful.”
“I’d like to get started on that diary soon as we can,” Granger said. “We should finish up our business here in town. What’s next, Eliza?”
The Haunting of Waverly Hall Page 6