by Polen, Teri
I struck the match, the smell of sulfur permeating the night air. The flame wavered a bit in the soft breeze and I took a deep breath, the gravity of the situation weighing heavily upon me, before tossing the match into Sarah’s shallow grave. The blaze caught immediately and the three of us watched as the fire danced in the darkness, throwing a medley of shapes on the surrounding trees.
Maybe it was my imagination or just wishful thinking, but I thought I heard an agonizing scream in the distance, and my head shot in that direction. Finn turned in slow circles, probing the shadows for a threat, readying himself. “You heard it too?”
In the seconds it took Finn to ask that question, the scream grew in intensity as it echoed throughout the nighttime air. It was a cry full of deep anguish and pain and if it had come from someone other than Sarah, I’d be sympathetic.
“She’s coming!” I yelled. Before I could say anything else, something slammed into my back, hard enough to knock me forward several steps and close enough to the fire that the smell of singed eyebrows filled my nostrils. If Finn hadn’t grabbed the back of my shirt, I’d probably have roasted right along with Sarah.
Her howl of pain had stopped when she hit me, but Jacob was squealing like a banshee, nearly as loudly as Sarah had been. He sounded hysterical and when I turned in his direction, I saw why.
Sarah was floating six feet above the ground directly in front of Jacob, her flashing eyes filled with hate. She resembled Medusa, as ropes of hair danced around her head like snakes. “What’s wrong with me?” she hissed. “I’m being ripped apart!”
Jacob had stopped screaming, but was now catatonic, his mouth hanging open and a string of drool dripping past his chin. He swayed back and forth as his hands clawed at his cheeks. Either he’d forgotten about the protection amulet he was wearing or doubted it would work, but either way, he was terrified out of his mind.
“We’re releasing you from this realm, sending your soul on to whatever waits for you,” I replied, backing away from her. I knew the amulet worked, but separating myself from a raging spirit bent on death and destruction and possibly on a one-way trip to hell seemed like common sense. With a sideways glance to her grave, I noticed there wasn’t much left to burn.
A high-pitched keening noise began in the back of Jacob’s throat and Finn’s hand cracked across his face in an attempt to force him back to reality. “Jacob, get hold of yourself! She can’t touch you while you’re wearing the amulet!” Jacob’s head snapped to the right as Finn’s hand connected with his cheek and he seemed more lucid after that.
“You!” Sarah screeched. “After what you did to me, it should be you burning in that grave, Jacob Headley! I was coming for you tonight and what happened to Liam and Nathan was child’s play compared to what was planned for you.” Jacob had returned from the edge of insanity, but he hunched over and wrapped his arms around himself in an attempt to make himself smaller and his body quivered violently.
Sarah jerked forcefully from side to side and her head tilted back as a scream erupted from deep inside her and I could see the outline of the trees through her fading form. It was working, I thought, ready to collapse at the relief that coursed through me. Mona had been right. Burning Sarah’s body, something her spirit was attached to, would cause her to cross over and leave this world.
Sarah was almost imperceptible now, only her facial features still definable and her eyes fiery coals. “I promise you’ll never be safe, Jacob!” A fierce wind tore through the canopy of trees, spraying dirt and nearly knocking us off our feet, and then – Sarah was gone. The fire had burned itself out, with only faint tendrils of smoke swirling into the air and disappearing, just as Sarah had.
All the material from Sarah’s clothing had burned away, along with any remaining skin, but some solid chunks remained, which I assumed were bits of bone and teeth. It was disheartening to think when all was said and done, those remnants were all that remained of a person. I mean, I’m sure Sarah’s parents were left with good memories of her, but she was basically a loner and not very sociable, and had no close friends or siblings. She’d been a good student and maybe some teachers would think of her every now and then, but Sarah hadn’t really been here long enough to make an impact, to see where life would have taken her.
“Are we done?” Jacob growled. For someone who probably needed to change his pants judging by his reaction to Sarah, he’d recovered quickly.
“Yeah, I guess we are. Mona didn’t mention anything else that needed to be done. Finn and I can throw some dirt over the embers to make sure they’re out.”
Jacob snatched up the shovel and other things he’d been carrying, then turned to both of us, stabbing his finger at us as he spoke. “This stays between us. Not a word to anyone, you got that? If I even think you’ve told anyone, I’ll deny everything and come after both of you.”
“Yeah, because hurting us wouldn’t make you look guilty. You know what needs to be done, Jacob, so why don’t you just grow a set and do it,” Finn said, moving a step closer in Jacob’s direction.
“Just back off, Finn. I already told you I’m not ruining my life over some stupid girl that couldn’t take a joke, so get out of my way.”
Finn looked to me, silently asking if we should handle this right now, but I shook my head very slightly. “Let’s just get out of here before someone comes and we have to answer some impossible questions. We’ll deal with everything later.”
Jacob narrowed his eyes at Finn and strutted by him, slamming his shoulder into Finn’s as he passed. Maybe deep down Jacob was more disturbed by tonight’s events than he admitted and was just putting on a good front. Maybe once he got to his car, he’d break down in tears over what he, Liam, and Nathan had done to Sarah. Or not. Maybe I was totally misreading him, but somehow I didn’t see repentance in his future.
“I think you’re wasting your breath trying to get Jacob to confess what happened, Finn. No matter what we say, he’ll never believe what he did was wrong. Let’s get all this stuff picked up and go home. I plan on sleeping like a normal person tonight instead of waking up every hour because I think Sarah’s watching me sleep or waiting to pull me under the bed again.”
. . . . .
After Finn and I put away the shovels and other equipment in the garage and he went home, I crept into the house. Mom and Maddie were already in bed and if Mom saw me in this condition, I was too exhausted to lie. I padded up the stairs, then down the hallway to my room, dreading the maelstrom that might be waiting for me. Although I knew I’d seen Sarah depart this world, somewhere deep down I believed it was too good to be true.
The door was closed, so I first put my ear to it and listened, just in case. Silence. Normally, I’d consider that a good sign, but it wouldn’t be the first time Sarah had been quiet, coiled and waiting to strike like a cobra.
My hands trembled and I took a deep, calming breath, then cautiously turned the knob and inched the door open. When it creaked loudly, I froze, my knees threatening to buckle, and wondered if the past few weeks spent with Sarah would have me on tranquilizers for the rest of my life.
But I was greeted with my normal, chaotic-looking bedroom. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. Just as I was about to step over the threshold, Eby came tearing down the hallway, leaped in front of me, landed on a magazine and skidded a few feet before recovering enough to jump onto the bed. I’d swear he did that stuff on purpose.
“What’s your problem, Eby?” I loud whispered. “Are you deliberately trying to send me into cardiac arrest?” Being a typical cat, Eby gave me an indignant look, lifted his leg, and proceeded to wash areas that turned my stomach.
Then it hit me. If Eby was in my room, then Sarah wasn’t – and I thought I might cry. Or dance around the room in celebration wearing only my underwe
ar. Maybe she really was gone. In my bathroom, I tossed my grimy, sweaty clothes into the hamper, scrubbed the smell of gasoline and burning corpse off my body, then stood under the water until it ran cold. After brushing my teeth, I collapsed into bed, already deeply asleep in the few seconds it took Eby to curl up beside me.
Chapter 32
The alarm on my phone woke me the next morning after seven hours of deep, uninterrupted sleep. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d felt this good - hopeful even. Like I’d been treading water with a cinderblock hanging around my neck and had finally been cut loose.
I’d forgotten what the life of a normal seventeen-year-old teenager looked like. I went to school, hung out with my friends in between classes, zoned out in chemistry, ate lunch with Lindsey and Finn, and went to soccer practice after school. It felt like coming home to the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies or sliding into the pair of holey jeans that fit just right, but Mom kept threatening to throw out.
My stress-free week continued and on the third day, getting out of the shower at home after soccer practice, I took off my protection amulet. I held it over the trash can, thinking what a relief it would be to get rid of something attached to such bad memories, but then a gut-wrenching thought stopped me.
If Sarah was able to take over my body and murder people, what’s to keep another spirit from showing up and threatening me? I mean, who knew what stories Sarah was spreading around wherever she’d wound up? Was there a network of evil spirits that shared information about their hauntings? Did they trade around victims for fun? It might sound like a ridiculous thought, but if someone had told me a few weeks ago what I was getting ready to experience, I would have passed them off as certifiably insane or at least off their meds. Maybe I was also a little paranoid.
Keeping the amulet wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Even if I never needed it again, it would be an interesting story to tell my grandkids someday. Or maybe I could sell it on ebay if I was ever short on cash. Knowing what I did now, there could be high demand for a good protection amulet. Opening the top drawer of my desk, I dropped the talisman in where it joined various pencils, hair bands, and loose coins.
. . . . .
Saturday morning dawned clear, with a light breeze and low humidity – a perfect day for a soccer game. I’d already missed four games due to my head injury, so I was anxious to get back on the field today. Finn had picked me up and we’d fallen into our usual pregame routine, getting there early so the two of us could have the field to ourselves for a while.
Thirty minutes later, other team members began straggling in, but instead of joining us on the field, they were huddled up talking animatedly, arms flying about and heads bobbing. If coach noticed they weren’t out here warming up, he’d start yelling and bench some of them for the game. Then I saw coach on the sidelines, waving Finn and me over.
“Alright gentleman, everyone have a seat and quiet down,” coach said, still trying to herd some guys to the benches.
“Judging by all the conversing going on instead of warming up, I’m guessing you’ve all heard about Jacob Headley. There are a lot of rumors going around right now, nothing is confirmed, but however it happened, it’s a tragedy and our thoughts and prayers are with his family. However, we need to put this aside right now because we have a game to focus on, so I want to see all of you out there on the field, not clustered up speculating on what happened to Jacob.”
Was it possible for a person to be alive when their heart stopped? My body was like a block of ice. I guess that’s what happened when your heart quit pumping blood.
“Cain?” Finn managed to choke out.
I stopped Riley, one of the players I’d seen whispering with the others earlier. “Riley, what happened to Jacob?”
“You guys didn’t hear? His parents found him this morning out by their pool. He was dead.”
“How do you know this?” Finn asked, grabbing Riley’s upper arm.
“Geez, Finn, lay off the arm,” Riley said, shaking him off. “I got the info from my friend, Matt. His dad’s a cop and Matt overheard him on the phone. I guess it was a pretty gruesome site, with a lot of blood, but he doesn’t know exactly how he died. Judging by his dad’s reaction, he said it was pretty nasty.”
Finn and I stared at each other in disbelief as Riley jogged onto the field, both of us knowing the truth about what had happened to Jacob, but neither wanting to accept it.
“She’s still here,” I mostly whispered. “She tricked us somehow.”
Finn nodded. “She’ll come for us next. She’s probably waiting at your house.”
Then a weight crashed into me as I realized what that meant. “Mom and Maddie.” Finn vaulted over two benches to grab his gym bag with the car keys inside, yelling to coach something about a family emergency, but I was already sprinting towards his car.
I nearly collided with Lindsey in the parking lot. “Cain, did you hear about Ja…”
“We did and we’re headed to my house – Mom and Maddie are alone,” I said breathlessly.
“I want to come with you.”
“No, please no, Lindsey,” I said, taking her hands in mine. “I couldn’t stand it if something happened to you….it would be my fault and I couldn’t live with that.”
“We’ve got to go, Cain!” Finn yelled.
She looked up at me, eyes glistening. “Be careful.”
“I promise,” I said, wrapping my arms around her, tucking her head under my chin and breathing her in before pulling away. “My cell phone – I left it in my gym b..,” but before I could finish the sentence, Finn tossed my bag to me, having picked it up beside his own before running to the car. We both dove through the doors the second they were unlocked, and Finn’s tires squealed in protest as he sped out of the parking place before I could close my door.
I frantically dialed Mom’s cell phone, begging her to answer, but kept getting her voice mail. Really? Of all the times to not answer her phone. I knew she habitually charged it every night. She’d always said that as a single parent with no other family around, especially the parent of a teenage boy who drove, she couldn’t afford to have a dead battery in case something bad happened.
And now something bad might have happened, or possibly be happening soon, and she wasn’t picking up. Or maybe she was being prevented from answering it. After the fifth try with no response, I left a message for her to take Maddie and get out of the house as soon as possible and then call me.
Finn weaved in and out of traffic, honking his horn at slow drivers who refused to move to the other lane. “How could she come back, Finn? We did everything Mona told us to do, so why didn’t it work!”
“Call her. Call Mona right now and tell her what happened. Maybe she knows something or can help us.”
My fingers fumbled through the contact list, cursing as I passed her name, then finally located it and hit dial, listening to the ringing on her end. Just when I was sure it would roll over to voice mail, she answered. “Cain?”
Hearing her voice filled me with confidence. If anyone could help us, it was Mona. “She’s back. Sarah is back and she killed Jacob and now she’s…”
“Cain, slow down. Lindsey said Sarah was gone, that you’d salted and burned her remains like we discussed.”
“We did. We did everything like you instructed and thought she was gone, because I haven’t seen her all week, but I guess she was just waiting it out, trying to fool us.” I sounded like a babbling idiot, but the words just spilled out. “Finn and I just found out the last of the three guys is dead. They found him this morning.”
“Is there any chance it could be a coincidence?”
My shoulder slammed against the door as Finn to
ok a corner on what might had been only two wheels. “I don’t see how it could be. We don’t have all the details, but from what we heard, it was pretty bloody and terrible.” Mona was silent and I worried I’d lost the connection or she’d abandoned us. “Mona? Are you there?” I asked frantically.
“I’m here, Cain, I was just thinking. Where are you now?”
“Finn and I are on the way to my house, if he doesn’t get us killed in traffic first. We’re afraid Sarah’s got my Mom and sister.” As I said the words, Finn dodged a car who pulled out in front of us.
“When you burned Sarah’s remains, was she there?”
“Yeah – she showed up when the fire began and threatened all of us, screamed like she was in pain, then disappeared.”
“Okay. I may know what happened. Either Sarah was never attached to her body in the grave, or she was able to bind herself to something else before being burned.”
“What? She could do that? You didn’t mention that before.” The lightness of the past few days of Sarah-free life faded with a whimper as Mona confirmed that Sarah could, in fact, still be here.
“It’s been known to happen, but the odds of it were so low, it never occurred to me it might be a possibility and for that, I’m so very sorry.”