by Jill Sanders
“Yeah.” Her eyes zeroed in on the shorter hallway. “I…” She felt her stomach roll.
She moved slowly to the opening of the circular hallway. Instantly, a flood of blinding flashes temporary blinded her. Falling to her knees, she felt an onslaught of emotions hit her, causing her to hunch over and lose the contents of her stomach.
She felt Michael holding her, rubbing her back and pulling her long ponytail aside.
“Mike,” she cried out as another wave of lights blinded her. This time, she knew she was in trouble, since her eyes had been closed tight. “I…”
She felt herself being picked up and quickly carried up the stairs they had just climbed. The pain in her head lessened the higher they went.
“There’s something there,” she said when he reached the top and set her back down in the soft grass. She lay down, her eyes closed to the brightness of the sunlight.
The warmth of its rays felt so wonderful, she imagined spending an hour there, just getting warm again.
“Something as in…” His voice was close to her and she could hear him trying to get his breath back under control after racing up three flights of stairs, carrying her.
She shook her head, not wanting to open her eyes again yet. “Something I’ve never experienced before.” She felt a shiver race through her.
“Will you be okay?”
“Yes,” she said hesitantly, opening her eyes. “You don’t plan on…” She stopped when he turned back towards the door.
“I left my pack down there.” He turned to her again and she could see the worry in his eyes. “I don’t want to leave you, but I would like a chance to do a little exploring.”
She sat up, tucking her knees to her chest. “I’ll be fine.” She pulled out a bottle of water from her own pack and drank until she felt a little steadier. “Go.” She closed her eyes. “See what you can.” She reached out and took his hand before he could move away. “Be careful. There’s something down there.”
“Alive?” His eyes moved to the door again.
“No…yes.” She shook her head. “I don’t know. Something else.”
“Right.” He nodded, then leaned down and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Be right back.”
She watched him disappear and then leaned back down on the ground. She stared at the clouds going by as she counted the seconds he was gone and tried to separate all the images she’d seen.
***
Mike stopped and picked up his pack, then stood at the mouth of the hallway for almost an entire minute before he took his next step.
Nothing. Not even a shiver up his spine. He took another, then another until he was at the end of the very long hallway. It too split off into two different directions. He decided to take the shorter route first, which led into a smaller room with six bunk beds and a small desk area, probably used to house the employees. He turned around and went down the longer hallway.
Once again, it split off and he found himself in a large room that appeared to be a common room with a small kitchen area off to one side. Most of the furniture had been removed, except for an old sofa and desk.
As with the rest of the place, the walls were covered in spray paint. The smell of the place was almost overpowering. Dust, animal feces, dirt, and rust.
Still, nothing out of the ordinary. He moved back to the main hallway and met two large metal doors with the year 1993 and several initials painted on them.
As with the rest of the rooms, he pulled out his phone and snapped a few pictures. He pushed the door opens slightly, and the smell and sound of dripping water hit him.
The room opened to a large, three- story area. Yellow metal scaffolding hung all over the place. Here, there was no paint. He snapped a few pictures, then walked closer to the edge and glanced over. The area easily went down three more stories. At the bottom, the entire floor was covered in dark water. He saw a set of circular stairs in the corner and snapped some more pictures before heading down them.
The next floor had what he assumed were old computer racks. They were massive empty metal shells. The ceiling and walls were covered in cables. It must have been some sort of command center. After taking a few more pictures, he headed down one more level.
When his feet hit water, he stopped. There should be five more steps. Which meant he was going to get wetter than he’d first thought. Setting his bag down on a dry stair, he removed his jacket and set it on top of the bag. Then he stepped into the cold water and shivered.
This floor was shaped as the floor above. He walked a few yards down the hallway until it opened up into the silo area. He could see the sunlight coming through the slight slit in the metal doors.
He thought about calling out to Xtina, then remembered she was probably still back at the other entrance. He looked around for a switch or a way to open the hydraulic doors, but didn’t see anything. It was probably better to keep them shut, anyway. He didn’t want any other animals to fall in like Rose had.
He stopped at the railing and glanced up. He was standing on the floor of the silo now, where he had found Rose. It was currently covered in water, probably from the rain he’d heard as they had slept.
Taking his phone out, he snapped a few pictures, then tucked it back into his pocket.
He looked up again and frowned. The metal ladder he’d used last night was still there. Everything else was the same, except the water.
Since he couldn’t go any further, he returned to the stairs and found his way back up to the exit. When he opened the door, Xtina rushed over to him and wrapped her arms around him.
“I was so worried about you,” she said into his chest.
“It’s okay.” He chuckled. “Nothing weird happened.”
She nodded. “Okay, good.” She glanced at her watch. “It’s going to be dark soon. And Jess is supposed to come by.” She hugged him again. “You can fill us both in then.”
He nodded. “I’d like a shower beforehand.” He nodded down to his wet feet.
She took his hand. “Was it spooky?” He felt a shiver run through her.
“No, the only spooky part was when you had your…”
“Fit?” she supplied, causing him to worry even more.
“Whatever you want to call it.” He took her hand up to his lips. “You okay?”
She nodded as they made their way back across the field. They walked in silence until they reached her yard and both noticed the car in the driveway.
“Who do you suppose that is?” Michael asked.
She turned to him and sighed. “I would think that it’s your brother.”
He felt his stomach roll and his hand tightened on Xtina’s.
“I had hoped not to have to deal with this so soon. I haven’t even talked to my folks yet.”
“Easy. I’m sure he has as many questions and hurt feelings about all this as you do.” She pushed closer and kissed him. “Try to think of this from his point of view. You’ve done some research, so maybe he’s done his own and you two can compare notes.” She stepped back and took his hand, then started pulling him towards the house.
He felt conflicted, but knew she was probably right. After all, how long could he avoid the man? They lived in the same small town. Hell, the guy was probably going to be chief of police soon.
When they reached the front of her house, Jacob got out of the car and started walking towards them.
“Hey.” His eyes focused on Xtina’s instead of Mike’s.
“Hi.” She smiled at him, causing a split second of jealousy to surface, but Mike quickly squashed it.
“I hope it’s okay that I stopped by.” His eyes moved over to Mike’s, then back towards Xtina’s.
“Sure,” she started to say. Mike watched her rub the side of her head as he felt his stomach growl.
“Why don’t we head inside. I’m starved,” he interrupted. He took her hand and started walking towards the door.
“Don’t you lock your house?” Jacob said when they pushed the
door open. They were met with barks and the sound of dog paws rushing towards them.
“Rose, it’s just us,” Xtina called out, then smiled when the dog came rushing around the corner and happily greeted them. Xtina turned to Jacob. “I had a new security system installed yesterday.” She winked as she bent down to pat the dog, then laughed when Rose licked her face.
“Yes, still…” Jacob glanced around quickly. “I’m sorry about your folks.”
“Thank you.” She stood up and wrapped her arms around herself.
“I’ll get a fire going.” Mike set his pack down and moved over to start building the fire.
“Would you like something to drink?” Xtina asked Jacob.
“No, I’m fine.” Mike noticed that Jacob continued to walk around the room, like he was taking stock of it, much as he had done that first night.
“Well, I’m going to go grab some water.” Her eyes met Mike’s and he knew that she was leaving the pair alone so they could talk.
“Actually,” Jacob broke in, “I was hoping to talk to you.”
“You will.” Her smile didn’t show behind her eyes. “First, I’d like some aspirin. I’ve been fighting a headache.” She turned and quickly left the room. Rose trailed behind her.
“So, you and her…” Jacob broke in after Mike had the fire going.
He didn’t respond, just continued to look at… his brother. He shook that thought off. It was too early to jump to conclusions. Even though he trusted what Xtina said… he was a facts kind of man.
“Listen.” Jacob finally sat down across from him, his elbows propped up on his knees, much like Mike was doing. “I know this is weird, and to be honest, I’m not sure I believe what she says either.” He nodded towards the kitchen door. “But, you have to admit, there’s a slight possibility that you and I are brothers.
Mike sighed and rested back in the chair. “Yeah.” He thought about all the research he’d done, and all the research he still wanted to do. “She hasn’t been wrong once. Not since I’ve met her.”
“You moved into town almost a year ago, right?” Jacob asked.
“Yeah.”
“If it’s okay, I’d like to ask you a few other questions.” He pulled out a small notepad from his back jean pocket.
This time it was his turn to rub at his temple and he desperately wished for a beer. Looking across the room, he noticed the same determined look on Jacob’s face that he saw when he looked in his own mirror every day.
“Shoot,” he said after a moment.
Chapter Fifteen
Xtina wasted as much time in the kitchen as she could. She put together a pot of spaghetti and made a shopping list. She even spent some time looking in the laundry room for old socks she could tie up as toys for Rose and played fetch with her in the back yard until dinner was ready.
When she finally walked into the living room to let the two men know it was time to eat, they were both laughing and looked a lot more relaxed around one another. Earlier, they had looked like two roosters stuck in the same hen house.
“Dinner’s ready,” she said, handing Michael a cold beer. She took a sip from the one she’d been nursing for a while.
“Thanks,” he said as Jacob stood up. His eyes moved over the two of them as she sat on the edge of the chair’s armrest.
“Why don’t you stay?” she suggested out of the blue. “I’ve made enough food.”
“No. I should—” He started to say.
“Stay,” Mike broke in. “Unless you have somewhere else to be?”
She watched his eyes and knew the second he made up his mind to stay.
“Good, how about a beer and some spaghetti?” she asked, jumping up from her spot next to Mike.
They moved into the kitchen. She’d set the table and the warmth from the old stove had made the room cozy. It smelled of warm bread and Italian spices.
She set the pan of spaghetti on the table and placed the French bread she’d warmed in the oven in the middle.
“Do you want to tell me about what you found at the silo?” she finally asked after everyone’s plates were full of food.
Mike’s eyes moved over to hers and she could see the warning behind them.
“Silo?” Jacob asked.
“I had hoped to keep our little adventure of breaking and entering on government property off the table while there was law enforcement sitting at it,” Mike said, taking another sip of his beer.
“The one on the property next to the Miller place?” Jacob asked.
Xtina chuckled. “Does everyone in town know about the place other than us?”
“How is it that you were raised here and didn’t know about it? I mean, it’s what… two miles from your house?”
Mike shifted when she nudged him under the table.
“I wasn’t allowed out much.” Her eyes moved to her plate and she felt Mike’s hand wrap around hers.
“Her parents were… very protective,” Mike supplied. Xtina tried to hold in a snort.
“Kids have been sneaking into that place since the seventies,” Jacob said as he finished his plate of food. “My dad had to install new locks back in the day after all the trouble.”
“Trouble?” she asked.
Jacob didn’t have a chance to answer because Rose jumped up and started barking happily as she ran circles around the kitchen table.
“Hello?” Jessie called out as she opened the front door.
“Back here,” Xtina replied.
Rose rushed towards the door to greet Jessie, who stooped down and gave the dog a treat from the box of treats she held in her hands.
A wave of power hit Xtina and suddenly so many things were clear.
“I brought you a few other things for her.” Jessie stood, smiling. The smile fell away when she noticed Jacob sitting at the table. He was leaning back in the chair and taking a swallow of his beer.
“What is he doing here?” Jessie frowned.
“He’s having dinner.” Xtina stood, then took the box of treats from her friend, along with a small box of dog toys. She whispered, “Be nice.”
“Actually, I was just…” Jacob started to say, but then Xtina turned to him and glared until he sat back down without another word.
The room was silent as she cleared the food and empty plates away. Then she turned to Jessie. “Sit. We need to talk.”
She looked around the room. She couldn’t explain it, but suddenly, there was more energy in the room than she’d ever felt in her entire life.
When she sat down at the table, she took Mike’s hand in her own and reached for Jessie’s. To her friend’s credit, she didn’t hesitate and took her hand in her own.
She nodded towards the empty hands until everyone completed the circle. When the last hands were connected, a jolt rushed through her entire system and she felt a bolt of lightning spread behind her eyes. She must have cried out in pain, because suddenly Mike was there, holding her. “NO!” she cried out. “Don’t break the circle.”
“What the hell?” she heard from Jacob.
She’d been flooded with so many images she had to find out more. “Please.” She kept her eyes closed as she held out her hand once more.
The room was silent as Mike sat down again and took her hand. She felt his hesitation, but then his fingers wrapped around hers.
This time she braced for it. Her eyes opened upon the connection and before them stood the woman, floating softly above her kitchen table. In broad daylight.
***
Mike watched in horror as all the color drained from Xtina’s face. Her eyes grew bigger, greener, and became unfocused.
He was pretty sure they were the only ones seeing the figure until his eyes moved around to Jacob’s and Jessie’s faces. They too were pale faced and wide-eyed.
“You can see her?” he asked softly.
Both of them nodded in unison.
“The time is near,” Xtina said. Everyone’s eyes moved to her. “Time to make things right. Time fo
r the payment you promised.”
“What payment?” he asked after a moment of silence as the air around them crackled.
But Xtina was not responding. Her eyes focused on the image before them. Suddenly, the figure pulsed and blinked until it was gone.
“Two more are needed,” she whispered. He watched in horror as she slumped over.
He caught her before she hit her head. “Take her upstairs,” Jessie said, rushing to her side. “She’ll need water.” She moved over to the sink and followed him upstairs.
When he set her gently on her bed, Jessie set the items down on the nightstand.
“Wow, I like what you’ve done up here.” She glanced around.
“Is she going to be okay?” Jacob asked from the doorway.
“She’ll be fine.” Jess turned towards him, her eyes narrowing slightly. “You can wait downstairs.”
Mike turned to her. “We should all let her rest.” He felt her steady heartbeat under his fingers as he ran his hand gently over her wrist.
“She’ll sleep for a while.” Jess rested a hand on his shoulder.
They left the room, and Mike shut the door behind them quietly.
“She’ll be okay.” Jess touched his arm again. He watched Jacob’s eyebrows shoot up at the tenderness Jess showed him.
Without saying a word, he moved back down the stairs.
“Now, will someone please tell me what the hell just happened?” Jacob said at the base of the stairs.
For the next half hour, he explained what had taken place since he’d moved here. He filled them both in on what he’d found in the silo, then Jess pulled out the yearbook and showed him the photo of her parents and Xtina’s. He was shocked to see his own parents in the mix a few pages later.
“They must have all been friends,” Jessie said, smiling. “I guess that explains a lot.”
“Yeah? Like why we all just saw a ghost floating in the kitchen?” Jacob broke in, taking another sip of his new beer.
“It’s not a ghost.” He chuckled when he said it, then walked to the fridge and got himself another beer. The cold liquid hit his dry throat.
“Then what the hell do you call that?” Jacob motioned to the table.