by Rick Kueber
“That is a beautiful pendant you wear.” She smiled. “This...” Taylor reached up, finding the moonstone pendant hanging on a thin silver chain around her neck. “But this was yours and how did...”
“Because it was a gift that meant so much to you... and here, your gifts will always return to you.” She explainedas she retrieved the exact necklace from her neck. The families joined together, and Paul and Jacob took Taylor's hands and together they strolled into their peaceful eternity.
Chapter 16 A Cleansing by Fire
On a stormy afternoon, a few weeks after returning home, the team had met for coffee and to discuss our futures. It seemed that our lives were headed in separate directions. The investigations and experiences we had been through had changed us. The scars of our encounters had left us unable to return to the people we had once been, but the truth was that we all had been left with an empty feeling inside and desired nothing more than to be the people we used to know. It was a sad meeting, and though no one really said 'I'm leaving the team' we could feel the detachment in our hearts. Our conversations were a bit heavy and lacking. Just when I thought I could not take the oppressive sadness that engulfed us, my phone rang.
“Hey Hilary. What's up?” I wondered if her haunting nightmares had returned.
“Hey...” I could hear a deep sorrow in her voice. “You aren't going to believe this.” “What? Is everything okay?” I turned the speaker phone on and laid my phone on the table between us. “I'm with the team and you're on speaker.” I informed her.
“Hell no, everything is not okay. It’s storming like hell here right now.” She was distressed, but I could tell it was more than just a bad storm that had her upset.
“It’s storming here too.” Jenn chimed in. “Are you okay? Is there a tornado warning or anything?” Katie asked.
“Hey girls...” Hilary acknowledged them. “No, it’s not that... It's the Infirmary. Pull up our Facebook page and you'll see.” I looked back and forth at my team for help. I could only imagine what could be going on. There had been rumors of it being sold and even worse, being condemned.
“Hang on...” Theo pulled out his oversized phone and opened up the app. “Okay... here's the page... um... what am I looking... Holy... is this for real?” we all looked over to see the concrete, stone and brick structure billowing flames through the rooftop and from every window.
“I'm afraid so.” Hilary's voice quivered and I could sense that she had been crying. “They are claiming it was a massive lightning strike that started the fire, but it doesn't make any sense. It’s been raining almost every day since you left and there isn't that much that would really burn, ya know?”
“Do you think the spirits of the Infirmary are still there Theo?” I asked. “It's all clouded to me. I don't feel like they are there anymore, but it doesn't feel definite.” He answered, and I could tell the confusion of it added to his desire to distance himself from the team, at least for a while.
“Do you all think you could come back up and do a blessing on the whole property?” Hilary asked.
“One more for old time's sake?” I asked my friends, and all agreed to try to make it happen.
“Good... because I found something that you might want to know.” Hilary began. “I know where Taylor's son is buried...” “I think I might know where the boy was buried too... maybe.” I added, thinking back to the dream my team and I had shared. We chatted a bit longer but soon we found that we all had to go for one reason or another. My friends and I remained in touch over the next month as we tried to decide on a date to revisit the Infirmary. We were deep into Spring when the day of our return arrived. My friends had arrived late on Friday night and I asked Theo if I could put a few things in the trunk of his car; he quickly agreed and popped the trunk open. I opened the trunk of my car and transferred a few items quickly. Jenn joined me and placed a large bag into the trunk also. We had stayed up talking until the early morning hours. At just after 2 am we loaded into Theo's car and began the long journey back to the Infirmary. A few rest stops, one stop for fuel and nearly seven hours later we found ourselves crossing the Mad River in the early morning hours.
“Look!” Katie shouted, pointing out the passenger side window.
“How cool is that?” Jenn said, slumping over awkwardly to look out of Katie's window.
“The eagle has a friend. Do you see it?” Theo noticed. I looked out of my window and saw the bald eagle perched high in the top of a long dead tree, and only one branch over was a huge white owl. “This has to be a good omen, right?”
“It definitely is.” Theo agreed as we left the bridge, the owl and eagle, and the Mad River behind us. It had been far too long since I had seen this many smiles at once and our morale had felt this positive. We stopped in Bangs at a small diner for a bite of breakfast, where we met up with Hilary. After filling our bellies and paying the tab, we caravanned over to the Infirmary. This visit felt cheerier than any in the past, until we were within sight of the hollowed remains of a once grand landmark. We parked at the farthest corner of the lot and congregated around the trunk of Theo's Subaru. Opening the trunk lid, Theo extracted a large cardboard box and a backpack.
“Whatcha got there?” Hilary asked inquisitively. “This...” Theo tapped the side of the box with his foot. “... is about three gallons of holy water.”
“And that...” Jenn held up the pack Theo had handed her. “... is every herb in the continental U.S., more or less.”
“Really?” I asked with smirk.
“Okay... well it's everything we could get our hands on, and more than I've ever seen in any one place.” Jenn confessed. “Where do we begin?” Katie asked.
“I have an idea.” I said hesitantly to the group.
“Let's hear it.” Hilary coaxed the idea out of me.
“Well, what if we start in the middle of the ruins and spiral outward to the outer edges of the property.” I made a spiraling motion with my finger pointed downward.
“That...” Theo paused with a smile. “...is a brilliant plan. Can everyone put a couple of these bottles in their pockets, or carry them?” Theo opened the flaps on the cardboard box, revealing a dozen twenty ounce bottles filled with blessed holy water and began passing them out. I fit one bottle into each of my jacket pockets, as did the rest of my friends. Hilary opened her shoulder bag and placed the two remaining bottles inside. When we had the holy water distributed and pocketed, Jenn dropped the backpack from her shoulder and unzipped it.
“Check these out.” She pulled out a foot long handmade smudge stick. “I made ten of these, so if everyone could take two we can carry them all with us. I'd like to keep two or three of these going all the time.”
“I think that's a good idea.” Theo began. “I would like to carry one and a bottle of holy water. Everyone else should take one or the other... two of you using smudging sticks... um, Katie and Hilary... and two more using holy water.”
He didn't have to call us out by name. Jenn and I knew he was speaking to us. He demonstrated how to flip back the top of the holy water bottles and with a twist tear them off, leaving the rest of the lid with three small holes like a salt shaker. By shaking it back and forth just right, the water would spritz forward perfectly. We walked up to the Infirmary with purpose and confidence. The structure was recognizable in that the exterior walls still stood, other than that, it seemed alien to us. In the mid-morning light of day the once incredibly majestic building was now a mere skeleton of its former glory days. Blackened and charred bricks plumed out and above the now empty windowpanes and doorways. The roof was completely non-existent as was the entire interior of the building. The fire was so intense that even the ornate metal stairs had folded in on themselves and collapsed like a stick of taffy in the summer heat.
It proved to be treacherous as we waded through invisible rubble, buried beneath nearly a foot of ash and cinders, but once inside we set a match to the three gigantic smudge sticks until they smoldered and poured thei
r pungent smoke into the air. As we spun our way through the building, spraying holy water into the hazy spaces around us, we prayed and asked for the building, and the property that surrounded it, to forget the sorrows of its past and for it to be cleansed of all pain and to release all negative energy that remained. Our noses and lungs were filled with the herbal smoke, and our skin and clothes smelled of white sage when we had finished with the interior and began circling the exterior. It was still a bit cool, but Theo had removed his shoes and socks when we were far enough away from the dangers of the Infirmary. He felt a connection with the earth, walking barefoot in the grass and dirt.
The sky above us was a glorious blue and the world was greening around the monotone devastation that was the Infirmary. The further we spiraled out, distancing ourselves from the smell of wet ashes, the lighter and more uplifted we felt. When we had finished with cleansing and blessing the main property, we found ourselves in the far corner of the parking area.
“One more place...” Hilary pointed away from the Infirmary, across the small road from where we stood. “There?” Katie asked, looking at a small grassy area, surrounded by a black wrought iron fence, no more than a quarter of an acre.
“Yes... that is one of the cemeteries and the only part of this place that is separated from the main property.” Hilary pointed out. “The first graves were marked by small metal plaques, but as the funds dwindled, they stopped using markers, and it was rumored that they even stopped using coffins. I think that is where the boy Jacob is buried, according to the time frame of Maddie's diary, but I can’t be sure where it is.”
“I think I know...” I said meekly. “Though I can’t be certain either.” My teammates knew exactly what I was referring to. With the last of our smudge sticks, now mere nubs, but still burning, and the last two bottles of holy water in hand, we crossed the road and entered the wrought iron gate. Without the aid of the snow, the graves were less obvious, but the dips in the earth gave away their locations. Without a word our group walked directly to the center and worked our way outwards until our final lap around the unmarked graveyard, along the edge of the iron fence and along the edge of a wooded area, brought us to a place from our dreams.
“This is it... this is the place.” I mumbled. “Huh?” Jenn could not make out my low ramblings.
“In my dreams... I stood there...” I pointed to the specific spots from my dream. “...and Ashley was here, holding a young boy's hand. I think this might be where Jacob... is.”
“That's right.” Katie said, and Theo and Jenn nodded in agreement. Theo handed his smudge stick to Katie and reached into his inner coat pocket and withdrew two small pouches. With the four of us surrounding the shallow divot that scarred the earth and marked the burial site, one to the north, south, east and west, Theo knelt in the center, beginning to pray.
“I am the East, the sunrise and element of Air.” Jenn said unprovoked wafting the smoke from the smudge stick. “I am the South, the mid-day sun, and the element of Fire.” I followed suit, and lit a white candle, holding it out to the center of Jacob's grave.
“I am the West, the setting sun, and the element of Water.” Though completely unrehearsed, Hilary did not miss a beat, as she doused the grave in front of her with copious amounts of holy water.
“I am the North, the moon and stars, and the element of Earth.” Katie knelt down at the head of the grave and dug her fingers into the grass and loose soil beneath, over turning it with ease.
“I am the center of all things, the eternal force of life and love, I am the fifth element of Spirit.” Theo reached into the bags and with sea salt in one hand and crumbles of fresh lavender in the other, he sprinkled them all about.
Just as he did this, a warm breeze swirled around us, and the surprising scent of lavender filled ocean air surrounded us. Our spirits felt lighter than they had since before we learned of the mysterious hauntings of the Infirmary. There was still a lack of closure and an unsettling feeling of separation in the pit of my stomach. As true as that statement was, I believed that our work was finished... successful or not, we had done everything in our power to confront the negative entity and offer our help. My team did our best to show the lost souls how to cross the bridge of light from our world of pain and regret to the after-world of peace and understanding. Theo may have had a clearer understanding than the rest of us, but even for him, there were times like this when we stood on the wrong side of the bridge to know if our efforts were a success or in absolute vain. Though the wind had become stronger as it encompassed us, the candle and the smudge stick remained lit the entire time until, feeling we were finished, we stood up to walk away.
“I have one more thing that I would like to do.” I was reluctant to tell anyone prior, for fear that it would cause too many other ideas and lead to indecision. “I don't think this will help anything, but I don't know what else to do. Hilary, can we get any water around here? Like a few gallons?”
“Probably. There is a country club just over the hill. Let me see if I can get some.” She said as we walked back to the parking lot. “I still have a nearly full bottle of holy water.” Theo added. “Perfect... I could use both.” I smiled.
Theo popped his trunk open and I grappled a large black trash bag and pulled it out, bear hugging it. It was evident to all that I struggled with the weight of it. I began to walk, bowlegged, back to the cemetery.
“You want some help with that?” Jenn asked after my first few graceless steps.
“I got this, but if somebody could grab those two metal bars, and that grocery bag, I would really appreciate it.” I grunted out loudly, in such a strain I was almost unable to look over my shoulder. Katie grabbed the grocery bag, Jenn snatched up the two black iron bars, and Theo closed the truck. My three puzzled friends quickly caught up to me half way across the road.
“You sure you don't need some help?” Theo asked. “Can you get the gate?” I knew it would be too difficult for two people to try to carry. Theo hurried ahead and with a heavy metallic clicking sound, unhooked the latch. He swung the gate open wide just in time for me to awkwardly stumble through it. I plopped the black plastic trash bag onto the ground. I exhaled forcefully, shook my arms feverishly at my sides and then began rubbing my biceps.
“That's about all I can do without a break.” I chuckled. “I offered to help.” Theo reiterated.
“I know, but once I had momentum, I didn't want to stop.” I appreciated his offer. “You can carry it the rest of the way.” “Where?” All three teammates chimed in together. “Over by the grave site that we did the blessing on.” I clued them in just as Hilary pulled back in to the lot. She jumped from the driver's side of the truck and, dropping the tailgate, pulled out a five gallon bucket. Her bowlegged waddle was even more prominent than mine as she struggled to carry the bucket in front of her with both hands on the bail. Jenn handed Katie the iron bars and rushed out to help Hilary with the bucket. With one of them on either side, Jenn's left hand and Hilary's right hand gripped the bail and carried it with ease the rest of the way to the grave side. Theo squatted down, wrapped his arms around the overstuffed pillow sized black bag and wobbled as he stood up.
“Holy crap.” Blurted from his mouth as his face began to redden. His steps were swift and purposeful. Theo reached his goal as quickly as he was able and sat the bag down with a thud.
“So, you want to tell us what this is all for?” Katie asked, having joined everyone in the corner of the cemetery where the wooded side met the roadside.
“I just thought it would be a nice gesture to leave a small memorial.” I began to explain each step as I performed it. I took the bag from Katie. I drew out a hammer and a small, green hand shovel, like one would use to plant flowers. I began digging a small circular hole about eighteen inches in diameter and six inches deep. I motioned to Jenn, who handed me one of the black iron pieces of re-bar which was shaped like the number “7”. I hammered the longer end into the ground at an angle inward. I took the
second one from her and drove it into the ground at an opposite angle so that they crossed in an “x” shape underground and the short legs of the re-bar ran nearly parallel to each other, about two inches above the dug-out ground.
“These iron re-bar are going to work as an anchor.” I said as I sat the hammer down and drug the heavy bag over next to me. Opening the trash bag, I shimmied it down around the large bag of concrete mix inside.
“Oooohhhhh...” Theo said slowly, understanding the weight of what he had carried.
“Can I ruin that bucket?” I asked Hilary, raising my eyebrows to give a cliché look of innocence.
“I suppose so. We have a bunch more of them at home.” She shrugged her shoulders with indifference. I gathered up several of the empty holy water bottles and filled them from the bucket, making sure Theo's bottle, still filled with holy water, didn't get mixed up with the others. I opened the bag of pebble filled concrete mix and began to pour it little by little into the remaining water in the bucket, mixing it together with the small hand shovel. When most of the mix was in the bucket, the cement became dry and crumbly looking. Looking to Theo, he handed me the bottle of holy water without a word being said. Adding about ¾ of it into the mix, I blended it together until it became soupy. I continued to add more mix, and then more of the regular water until I had a bucket that was half full of concrete with a very acceptable consistency. I poured as much of the mix into the hole as I could.