Spirits 04-Spirits of Seacliff Manor

by Morgan Hannah MacDonald

  Alyssa nodded. She did. Some of the fuzziness had abated.

  “Good. Now tell me about this dream.”

  Alyssa shook her head and turned away. She didn’t want to go there. Too scary.

  *

  Courtney was freaking out. She’d never seen her sister like this. She was always the one in control. She wished Brandon was there to help her, even Bailey would be a relief, but she was all alone. It would be hours before anyone arrived. Maybe she should try a different approach.

  She put her hands on Alyssa’s cheeks and jerked her face back toward her. “You must,” she said sternly.

  Alyssa blinked a couple of times and opened her mouth.

  Courtney waited.

  “When it started I was at a concert,” Alyssa began.

  “Okay.”

  “I asked a girl to smoke a joint.”

  Courtney laughed before she caught herself. “You’ve never smoked pot in your life.”

  “I wasn’t going to smoke it, just make her do it.”

  “Why?”

  “Because He told me to.”

  Courtney got a sudden chill. “Who?”

  “The voice in my head.”

  “Do you know who the voice belonged to?”

  Alyssa shook her head. “He’s evil.”

  “Okaaaay.” This was getting creepy.

  “The girl said her name was Jenny and I told her my name was Vera.”

  Courtney stared at Alyssa. “Why would you do that?”

  “Because Vera was in there with me.”

  “What do you mean? She was in the dream?” That’s when Courtney realized this was no ordinary dream.

  “More like I was in Vera.”

  Courtney wished Alyssa would make sense. “You were in her body, her head, what?”

  “Yes.”

  “Which one?” Courtney asked.

  “Both.”

  Courtney was seriously spooked. Not just by the dream, but Alyssa’s behavior. She acted like she was still in a dreamlike state. Her voice was monotone as she relayed events.

  “Go on,” Courtney prompted.

  “After a couple of puffs of the marijuana cigarette, she couldn’t stand, so I guided her toward my car. I stuffed her in and brought her home.”

  That statement made Courtney nervous. “When you say you stuffed her in the car, do you mean the trunk?”

  She laughed. “The trunk’s not big enough in a VW Bug. I maneuvered her into the front seat. By then she was practically dead weight, so it was more like stuffing her in the car. That’s the best way to describe it.”

  VW Bug? “Alyssa, what year is it?”

  “1967.”

  Alyssa wasn’t even born yet. The hairs on the back of Courtney’s neck stood up. “Who’s playing at this concert?”

  “The Doors, but they aren’t up yet. Right now it’s just some filler band.”

  “Where are The Doors playing? What’s the name of the venue?”

  “Balboa Stadium right here in San Diego.”

  Goosebumps popped up on Courtney’s arms as chills raced through her body. This was not a dream or a nightmare. This was a vision. She’d bet her ass on it.

  “So you brought her back to the house. Then what?”

  “I had to drag her out of the car and into the yard.” Alyssa swallowed hard. “There was a deep hole in the ground, and an axe.” Her body began to shake.

  An axe! Courtney did not like where this was going.

  “I told him no.” Alyssa’s words tumbled out of her mouth. “I refused to do it. He just kept saying over and over again, ‘Kill her. Kill her. Kill her.’ I screamed, No! But before I knew it, he had a grip on my hands. I tried to resist. I watched in horror as I picked up the handle and…”

  Alyssa covered her face and sobbed. Courtney wrapped her arms around her sister. “Oh, my, God, Lyssa. How horrible.” She held her sister for some time until the tears abated. By then her body was as limp as a noodle. Courtney led her up the stairs and into bed.

  Courtney stroked the top of Alyssa’s head. “Just rest now. You’ll feel better after a long nap.”

  Alyssa nodded and closed her eyes.

  Courtney went straight to Brandon’s office and turned on his computer. There was only one way to know if her sister had a vision. To prove it really happened.

  She typed into the browser: The Doors, Balboa Stadium, 1967, and hit Enter. “Shit.” There it was in black and red. July 8, 1967, The Doors played with Marsha & The Esquires and The Lyrics. “This is sooooo not good.”

  The only thing she knew about the victim was her first name. In the search engine she typed; Jenny, July 8, 1967, Balboa Stadium. Nothing came up. She tried Jenny, July 1967, Missing, San Diego. “Bingo.” San Diego Tribune, Woman Goes Missing From Doors Concert.

  Courtney clicked on the link and an article came up; it was dated July 11, 1967. She skipped all the bullshit at the top and jumped down to where she noticed the girl’s name.

  Jenny Tolliver hitchhiked her way to San Diego from Haight-Ashbury to meet a group of friends for The Doors concert at the Balboa Stadium on Friday, July 7th, where she went missing. Close friend Cindy Hall was the last one to speak with her.

  “She left during the warm-up act to use the bathroom and never returned. She missed The Doors completely.”

  All five friends searched the stadium until they were the only people left. Then they went back to the house they shared in Pacific Beach, thinking she would turn up there. But when she hadn’t shown up by nightfall the following day they went to the police to file a missing persons report.

  “The pig who took our statement was a jerk. He said she was probably strung out on LSD and would show up eventually. Jenny wasn’t like that, she might smoke a little grass now and then, but that’s all. Besides, she would never have missed The Doors. She’s in love with Jim Morrison,” Cindy stated emphatically.

  Courtney sat back in her chair stunned. How could this be?

  Alyssa wasn’t psychic. She decided to call Brandon. She ran up to her room and grabbed her phone off the side of the bed. After dialing his number, it went straight to voicemail.

  “Brandon, you need to come home. There’s something really hinky going on here.” After ending the call she remained on her bed, thinking, but she couldn’t come up with any ideas of how to help her sister. She checked the time on her phone and realized it was coming up on eight o’clock. The workmen would be there soon, she should put on some clothes.

  Courtney was brushing her teeth when the phone rang. It was Brandon. Her greeting was muffled. She spit out the toothpaste and wiped her mouth.

  “What’s up, Courtney?”

  “Brandon, you need to come home. There’s some really weird shit going on here and I can’t deal with it by myself.” Courtney took a deep breath.

  “Whoa, slow down. Tell me what’s going on.”

  “I’ve been attacked twice by ghosts and Alyssa is having nightmare visions. Brandon, I don’t know what to do. I need you!”

  There was a big sigh on the other end of the phone.

  “Courtney.” His voice was stern. “Let me talk to Alyssa.”

  “She’s asleep. She needed the rest after her hideous ordeal.”

  “Ordeal? What happened?”

  “I told you. She had a nightmare vision where she killed someone!”

  “Dammit, Courtney, you’re not making any sense. Are you on something?” Brandon accused.

  “No! There’s something seriously wrong with this house, Brandon. You need to come home and deal with it.”

  “I only have a few more stops in LA County. Just give me a couple more days then I’ll be home.”

  “But—”

  “Listen, Court, have Lyssa call me when she gets up.”

  The line went dead.

  “Dammit!” She hit the bathroom counter with the palm of her hand.

  TWELVE

  “Hello?”

  Vera stuck her head out of her bedroom
door.

  “Hello!”

  There’s a woman inside the house!

  Vera ran down the hall until she could see over the banister to the foyer below. There was a bleached blonde with that teased up kind of hair called a flip, blue eyeshadow and frosted white lips standing directly under the dome. She wore a baby blue mini dress with white go-go boots.

  She turned in a circle, her neck craned. “Is anyone here?”

  The shout bounced off the walls.

  Shh, you’ll wake IT up.

  Vera bounded down the stairs. “What are you doing here?”

  The woman jumped and turned. “Oh. Hi. I’m Sissy, your new Avon lady. I’ve brought you one of our catalogs and a sample of our most popular cologne, Here’s My Heart.”

  “Do you always make a habit of walking into people’s homes uninvited?”

  “Heavens, no.” Her hand flew up to her chest. “I knocked and someone opened the door.” Sissy pointed to the door that still stood open.

  “I don’t know how that’s possible since I’m the only one here.” Irritated, Vera walked right up to her in an effort to usher her out.

  Kill her. “Shh.”

  “I didn’t say anything,” Sissy said.

  “I don’t need any Avon. You have to leave.” Vera was extremely agitated. The lady had better get the hell out while she could.

  Kill her. Kill her. Kill her!

  “Shut. Up,” Vera said angrily under her breath.

  “Well.” Sissy started to back up. “I guess I caught you in the middle of fixing supper.”

  “What?”

  Sissy pointed to Vera’s right hand. She followed her gaze and noticed for the first time that she was carrying a large knife.

  Kill. Her.

  “No!” Vera’s shout shocked them both.

  “Right.” Sissy’s back hit the wall all the while she kept her eyes glued on Vera. “I’m sorry to have disturbed you. I’ll just…” She pointed toward the door as she sidestepped her way down the wall until she got to the foyer.

  Vera’s hand raised above her head. “Stop. Don’t!”

  Sissy halted in her tracks, her eyes wide in alarm.

  “Not you. Run!” Vera yelled.

  Sissy raced toward the exit, Vera was right behind her, the knife poised at the ready.

  “Alyssa?”

  The knife sunk into Sissy’s back, a high shriek echoed throughout the room.

  “Alyssa!”

  Vera’s arm raised high above her head. “NO!”

  “Alyssa!”

  Alyssa blinked a couple of times. Courtney had her by the shoulders and was shaking her.

  “What’s going on?” Alyssa asked.

  “That’s what I’d like to know. What are you doing?” Courtney asked.

  Alyssa looked at her hand drawn into a fist. “I…ah.” She glanced back at her sister. “I have no idea.”

  “Were you having a dream?”

  Alyssa stared at her hand again, the knife was gone. “I guess so.”

  Courtney’s hands slipped down to Alyssa’s arms. “What was it about?”

  “I was attacking the Avon lady.”

  Courtney barked a laugh. “And what did she do to deserve it?”

  “She came into the house uninvited.”

  “Yeah.” Courtney released her hold and began leading Alyssa away from the door. “I hate it when that happens.”

  They ended up in the kitchen where Courtney pulled out a stool for Alyssa. She sat and noticed purple and black marks on Courtney’s throat. “What happened to you?” She pointed to her own neck.

  “Pretty isn’t it?” Courtney got down two glasses and filled them with ice.”

  “That’s not what I would call it.”

  Courtney poured lemonade and gave a glass to Alyssa before she took a sip of her own and sat down next to her.

  Then Courtney proceeded to tell the most outrageous story Alyssa had ever heard involving a ghost that had tried to kill her.

  “Jesus, Court. Are you sure you weren’t having a nightmare?”

  “Right, one in which I strangled myself. Seriously?”

  “Well that makes more sense than an unseen assailant trying to squeeze the life out of you.”

  “Says the woman who walks in her sleep and has visions of herself killing people,” Courtney said sarcastically.

  “I wouldn’t call it a vision, more like a nightmare.”

  “Wrong. I did a little research while you were upstairs napping. There actually was a girl named Jenny who disappeared from a Doors concert in July of 1967. Her body was never found.”

  Alyssa shook her head slowly. “That can’t be true.”

  “Well, it is. And I would bet money that if I looked up this Avon lady of yours the story would be the same. Face it, Lyssa. There’s something very strange in a supernatural kind of way going on here.”

  “I don’t know…”

  Courtney cocked her head. “Seriously?”

  “I’m too tired to think straight.” Alyssa slid off the stool. “I’m going back to bed.”

  “How can you sleep with all this hammering going on?”

  Alyssa shrugged. “I guess I’m just used to it.” She shuffled out of the kitchen. Courtney came up behind her and grabbed her arm, guiding her up the stairs. After Alyssa curled up in bed, she pulled the covers up.

  *

  Courtney gazed down at her sister, who could barely keep her eyes open. “Do you need anything?”

  “Could you get me some water?” Alyssa asked.

  “Of course.” Courtney ran downstairs and fixed a glass of ice water, but by the time she returned, Alyssa was fast asleep.

  Alyssa slept for two days straight. No matter what Courtney did, she couldn’t get her to wake up. She’d open her eyes, look at her, then shut them again.

  Courtney needed advice from a doctor. Bailey told her to leave her alone, she must need the rest. Brandon had yet to return her calls, so she riffled through Alyssa’s purse and found her insurance card. She called the number and learned that neither Alyssa nor Brandon had selected a primary care physician yet. Fed up, she called an ambulance.

  *

  Bess was in the tower again. She made that climb several times a day, searching for her husband’s ship. Although her heart was broken, she tried in earnest to hide it from the children. They asked daily when their papa would be home. She simply answered soon. In truth, he should have returned weeks ago.

  A sharp pain abruptly woke Alyssa. “Ow!”

  “Well, hello.” A woman in scrubs smiled down at her as she drained her of all her blood. Alyssa watched as vial after vial were filled and set aside.

  “Where am I?”

  “You’re at Scripps Memorial Hospital. Your sister’s been worried about you.”

  “What’s wrong with me?”

  “That’s what we’re going to find out.” The nurse pulled the needle out of Alyssa’s arm and taped a cotton ball over the wound. “Let me get the doctor.” She disappeared through a curtain.

  A moment later a doctor with a shock of white curly hair appeared at her side. “Hello, Mrs. Barnett, it’s nice to meet you. I’m Dr. Goodman. How are you feeling?”

  “Tired.”

  “Do you have any aches or pains?”

  “No.”

  “Any other symptoms you can tell me about?”

  Alyssa thought about it. “No, not that I know of.”

  “You’re awake!” Courtney burst through the curtain and around the bed to her side. “I just ran to the bathroom.” She grabbed her hand.

  “We’re going to run a few tests and see why you’re sleeping so much. Sit tight. We should have an answer soon.” Dr. Goodman left her alone with her sister.

  Alyssa focused on Courtney. “What’s going on? Why am I here?”

  “Oh, Lyssa, I’ve been seriously freaked out. You’ve been sleeping for days and I couldn’t wake you.”

  “Where’s Brandon?”

  �
��He was in Lancaster. I guess that’s like really far away, plus he said there could be traffic. He’ll be here as soon as he can. Tell me how are you feeling?”

  Alyssa shrugged. “I’m just tired.”

  Hours later the curtain opened and Alyssa saw Brandon walk through. Suddenly she perked up. He walked up and kissed her.

  “Oh, babe, I’m so sorry I wasn’t here.” He pulled up a chair and grabbed her hand in both of his.

  “It’s okay. I understand.” Alyssa couldn’t quit smiling. It felt like months since she had seen her husband.

  Brandon brushed her hair away from her face. “This job is just a nightmare. The guy I replaced hasn’t done a damn thing for a long time. He’s actually been phoning it in.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Instead of physically visiting the sales offices, he’d call the managers, ask them their numbers and then make out his reports. The numbers have been off for a long time. It’s a total mess. I’ve been in Lancaster for days now. I need to fire the manager and find a new one. A few sales reps need to be replaced as well.”

  “I know this job has been tough on you. I’m fine. Really.”

  He kissed her hand.

  “You’re not fine,” Courtney snapped.

  “Court’s right. Sleeping day and night is not good, honey. We need to find the cause.”

  “But right now I feel great. Really.” Alyssa had to admit she hadn’t felt this good in weeks. Just being able to see Brandon, to touch him, it made all the difference.

  The curtain opened and the doctor walked in with a clipboard. “Okay, Mrs. Barnett, I have a couple of questions. Are you a vegetarian?”

  “Hell no, carnivore all the way,” Courtney announced.

  Annoyed by her sister’s outburst, Alyssa glared at her before answering, “What she said.”

  “What about your menstrual cycles, are they particularly heavy?”

  “No. They’ve just been normal.” Alyssa couldn’t figure out what he was getting at.

  “Are you on any blood thinners?”

  “No. Why?”

  “It seems you’re anemic. We’ll give you an IV iron infusion for now and then discharge you, but I’d like you to see your regular physician in a week for some follow up bloodwork. In the meantime, I want you to eat iron-rich foods. The nurse will bring you a list. And take only Tylenol for pain, stay away from Advil and Aleve, both can thin the blood.”