Maddie Ann s Playground

by Mackenzie Drew

  “Woman, I'll clean your clock in a minute,” Steve grinned. He peeked out from behind the Old Creek Daily Times and stuck his tongue out, crossing his eyes at her.

  “You want to fool around, don’t you,” she asked, smiling.

  “Oh, honey, you know how hot I am for you,” he breathed, faking instant passion. Giving a whoop, he rose from the table and started chasing her around the room and up the stairs. “I’m gonna get you, hot mama,” he yelled, charging like a bull.

  “Come on, ya big stud, come and get me.”

  She shrieked like a hyena and jumped on the bed as she cross-armed her tee-shirt off her head. Racing into the room buck-naked, he tackled her on the bed, tugging at the zipper of her jeans. He'd just gotten them off and had started licking his way up her leg, when the phone rang.

  “Dang it, don’t answer it. Let the answering machine get it.”

  “It might be Jennifer.” Cindy rolled over and picked up the phone. “Hello?”

  Silence.

  “HELLOOOO,” she shouted. She heard heavy breathing but no one spoke. “WHO IS THIS?”

  Cindy went to hang up the phone when she heard a gravelly voice say, “You better keep a close eye on Jennifer. You never know what might happen to your sweet precious prize.”

  Her brain went berserk. Her mouth gaped open and her eyes widened. Cindy tossed the receiver across the room, rose in panic and threw on her clothes.

  “What the hell is going on?” Steve asked, rushing toward her.

  “I’ve got to go find Jennifer,” she said, panic-stricken.

  “Who was on the phone?”

  As she ran around the room looking for her shoes, Steve yelled. “God, you're annoying. Answer me.”

  “He's going to get her, I know it. We have to bring her home,” she cried hysterically.

  “You’re not making any sense, Cindy. Who’s after her?” he demanded to know.

  “Some bad man on the phone!” she wailed.

  “What bad man? Tell me what he said! Calm down and talk slowly so I can understand you,” he pressed.

  “There was a voice on the phone. He said we’d better watch Jennifer because we never know what could happen to her. There, now are you happy?” she said furiously.

  “The Watsons,” he whispered. “What did he sound like?”

  Cindy’s temper mounted. “It wasn’t normal. It sounded like a man, but eerier sounding and scratchy,” she moaned. “I'm not losing her again. Now get out of my way, I’m going to get our daughter.” Shoving Steve aside, she darted down the stairs and out to the garage.

  Cindy drove like a maniac to the mall. She decided Jennifer could never go out by herself again. She wanted her home, so she could protect her. Jennifer would be crushed to hear the news, but Cindy would rather see her mad than dead. Pulling into the mall parking lot, as luck would have it, she spotted Jennifer coming out of the ice-cream parlor. Circling around to the parking space next to her, Cindy barreled in beside her and rolled down her window.

  “What’s going on, Mom,” she asked.

  “You’re going home, and I’ll explain it to you in the car,” she said opening the passenger side door for her.

  “No, tell me now. I’m not finished shopping.”

  Angry, Cindy shoved the car in park, got out, and forced Jennifer in the front seat. “Let’s go,” she demanded.

  Jennifer slung her bags in the backseat, and slammed the door. “Why did you do this mother? I’m fine,” she yelled. “I was having fun.”

  Cindy took her daughter by the hand and said, “Someone is after you, Jennifer. I received a phone call a bit ago, and a horrible voice told me not to take my eyes off you. He said you never know what could happen to you. That's it, but I got so scared, Honey.”

  Jennifer sat back against her seat, shaken and trembling. “I knew it was about to start again. I knew once I started to put this behind me, Maddie Ann was not going to rest until she had me in her clutches.” She tried to choke back her terror, but it was useless. The warm tears streamed down her frightened face. “I can’t take another confrontation. Maybe it’s best to give myself to the black souls to stop the pain and anguish.”

  The car came to a screeching halt in the driveway. Cindy and Jennifer got out, slamming the doors. They hurried to the porch and bumped into Steve who ushered them inside and closed the door behind them. His face was pasty white. Immediately, he bolted the lock, and pushed his family into the living room.

  “What is going on, Steve?”

  He sat with his mouth open wide and barely uttered a word.

  “Honey, what is, it?” Cindy repeated.

  “I answered the phone… and…there was an evil laugh and then they said Jennifer belonged to them and they want what’s theirs.” He swallowed hard.

  Jennifer slumped down in the couch and hugged the nearest pillow. Instant chills ascended her spine. She sensed Maddie Ann’s presence and knew it wouldn’t be long before she came after her. Maybe tonight. She seen the fear coursing through her parents and wanted to explain it to them, but would they understand? She couldn’t leave them without knowing the truth. Not this time.

  “I’m taking Jennifer to Milwaukee to stay with my sister. I’m going to call her right now,” Cindy said. She reached for the phone, but Jennifer grabbed the receiver out of her hand.

  “Wait…there's something I need to tell the both of you. I haven’t told you the whole story, and I think it’s time I do.” She thought about what she wanted to tell them, but the confusion in her mind immobilized her lips.

  “We’re listening,” Steve said.

  “Yes, Sweetheart, tell us,” Cindy added.

  Jennifer tossed the rust colored throw pillow down on the couch and rose on her unsteady legs. Tears streamed from her eyes and she went down on her knees facing her parents. “I know everything that happened to me and where I was the night I went missing. I regained my memory not too long ago, and that’s when all these strange incidents started happening,” she explained, sniveling.

  “We know where you were; you were lost in the cemetery. We didn’t think you knew about it yet,” Steve said.

  “Please, daddy, let me finish,” she interrupted.

  He nodded, and then sat back against the sofa cushions.

  “There’s an evil child named Maddie Ann, who died in 1885. Well, she's now an evil demon who rules the cemetery. Being a little girl when she died, she calls it her 'playground'. She was responsible for the horrible acts done to Kari, Lisa, Liz, and Tina. She killed them, brutally killed them in cold blood. I didn’t mean to murder Lisa with my bare hands, but Maddie Ann made me do it. Claire and I survived, but I watched Claire’s life end and Tina's dagger in her belly….”

  The Cravens sat in terror as Jennifer’s story unfolded. They both had serious doubts about the truth of her tale, yet it made horrific sense. “God, please tell me it isn’t true! Jennifer, honey, please tell me you didn’t murder an innocent soul?” she wailed. Cindy scooted away from Steve and slumped over the arm of the couch sobbing. “Lisa was your friend.”

  “I thought she was Maddie Ann, Mother. It wasn't my fault. The evil child tricked me—she made me believe it was her lying on the cracked ground while I ripped at her flesh with my teeth, stomped on her back and bashed her head into the dirt. I didn’t know…I’m so sorry.” Trembling and exhausted, her stomach threatened to erupt. “I’m cursed, mommy. She let me go because I guess I passed her tests, but only to torture me for the rest of my life. When I remembered everything, she told me in my dreams she would come after me. That's why I ran away from the hospital. I wanted to kill Maddie Ann and end this.”

  “Jennifer, you can’t be serious? I mean, it’s like a horrible fairy tale and I’m not sure I can believe this nonsense.”

  “Mother, please listen to me. I want you to know in case you or dad wake one morning and I’m gone. She'll have won. And I won't have Claire to help me this time around.”

  Her dad’s brows furrowed
. Jennifer saw his anger by the dark glower shadowing his face. Discouraged, she continued talking.

  “Oh, and I was with Claire the night I called you. She's with the angels now, and for all I know she is one herself. She healed me. Believe me or not, I don't care. It's the truth. Claire’s an angel.”

  Jennifer scooted back against the sofa, pulled herself upward, and faded back into the cushions. She placed her face into her hands and sulked.

  Cindy reached down and took something from her purse. “I want you to wear it,” she said, holding out a silver chain with a cross hanging from it. “Don’t ever take it off. This was my grandmother’s Irish good luck charm, and I know it will protect you,” she whispered.

  “Grandma's cross necklace. Oh, I promise I will never take it off,” Jennifer replied.

  A shimmering tear dripped to the floor beside her. Now was the time to reach deep inside and bring forth her faith, which had always gotten her through bad times since she could remember. Father Donovan tried to ruin it for her. But despite his efforts, it didn’t work on her. She loved the Lord, and she knew if anyone could save her, it would be Him guiding her through. The dark side grew near, and Jennifer knew she must fight back with all she had, even if it meant dying for what she believed in. She was ready and willing to go.

  “Mom, Dad, please don’t worry about me. I can take care of Maddie Ann. There is a way I can defeat her at her own game.”

  Steve slumped back against the love seat, shaking his head. It was as if he wanted to say something, but didn’t know how. Intuitively, Jennifer felt his uncomfortable vibe, and it wasn’t normal.

  Chapter Thirty-One

  A pinpoint of light peeked through the clouds, giving off enough luminous glow to wake Claire. She lay on the dampened ground covered in slimy mud, embedded in her hair and ear. Kari's cleansing had drained her of everything critical and she'd passed out from sheer exhaustion. When she opened her eyes, bare forked trees and mounds of cracked earth surrounded her. The beauty she had created no longer existed. The depraved tyrant Maddie Ann must have destroyed it all, thinking her dead. Damn her to hell, she vowed. Claire rolled over on her back and gazed at the malevolent sky. Like everything else in this pit of hell, it blended in well with the corrupted land.

  Claire managed to survive the battle with the demon, Kari. She wasn't sure how she did it, but she didn't want to jinx fate by psychoanalyzing it. As surely as she started to question her luck, it would backfire on her. Instead, she did herself a huge favor and tried to think positive. The next thing she had to do, find Kari. Claire had set her free, but where she sailed off to was a mystery.

  Thoughts of Maddie Ann crossed her mind. If she found Kari before Claire did, all her work would be in vain. She’d turn her back into a creature of the night, and then Claire would have to start all over again. She rose from the ground and went to find her. As she soared over the parched landscape, a voice called her from inside a stand of bony trees.

  “Claire, psssst, I'm over here,” Kari whispered.

  “Kari, where are you?” she called. Claire catapulted into the wooded area and found Kari hunkered down, smashing her body against the trunk of a large maple tree. “I was so afraid. I thought Maddie Ann got to you again.”

  “When I saw you lying in the mud, I thought I'd killed you. I'm so glad you're all right,” she whispered. Kari placed a transparent finger over her lips. “We have to be quiet. I think they're around here somewhere.”

  Claire knelt down next to her and they huddled together. “What do you want to do now? If we stay here, the black souls will find us,” she warned, keeping her voice barely above a whisper. Claire wasn't stupid. She knew how sneaky and brilliant those beasts were. If she didn't know better, she’d swear every one of them had eyes in the back of their heads and sonar for ears. They heard if a blasted pin dropped, for Heaven’s sake.

  “I’m not sure yet. That’s what I thought. Maybe if we stay in the woods, we'd have a better chance,” Kari explained.

  “What good would it do to hide in the woods? The trees are bare.”

  Kari eyed the land for cover, but there weren't enough leaves or bushes to hide. “So transform the land and make it well again.”

  Claire knew what Kari wanted. But with Maddie Ann and who knows how many other dark souls around, it would prove impossible in the daylight. “That’s a huge gamble and it would call too much attention to us. They’d catch us for sure. I can't fight them all at once,” Claire, told her.

  “Where are we supposed to go? If we stay out in the open, Maddie Ann will find us,” Kari pressed.

  “We have to find the portal. We can go into the light and be safe.”

  “But where is it? How do we find it? Let's go now.”

  “It's over the horizon. We can see it, but they can't. We'll be safer when the shadows can hide us. We'll go as soon as the sun goes down. Pray they don't spot us until then.”

  Claire sat back and watched Kari, amazed at how stunning she had become. She felt partly responsible for such beauty. Her grandmother stood right beside her the whole time. Kari's short, blonde-streaked hairdo looked every bit as stylish as it always had. She smiled when she noticed the girl still sported a caramel tan, but felt gratified to see her braces gone and her teeth perfect. Kari was thin and model-tall, and looked healthy, despite the fear on her face. Feeling humbled by the power of the angels, Claire swore she’d do it again to save her other imprisoned friends. Kari looked so wholesome and pure. She glowed as if God himself had kissed her.

  Claire needed to find the other girls one at a time. Being with Kari again made all the worries in the world disappear. The strength and resolve in her mind hardened. She wanted all six of them happy again, and to live on as free spirits, the way God intended for the afterlife. Maddie Ann’s restless soul left the earth with an angry heart. For over a hundred years, she had patrolled the cemetery with furious revenge, refusing to free herself from the darkness by going into the light. Taking so many innocent spirits was her way of getting retribution for her tragic death. Claire vowed to reverse the curse and send Maddie Ann where she belonged. By enticing her near the cleansing, redeeming light, she figured she might have a chance to guide her into it. Then God would decide her fate.

  Claire knew no matter how good she made Old Creek Cemetery appear, without permanently cleansing it, it would continue to hold evil in its heart. The poor tortured, innocent souls trapped within the cemetery for these many years would stay imprisoned. She had to set them free. She had to break Maddie Ann's spellbinding massacre.

  Suddenly, a deafening, thunderous roar came from the sky. Claire and Kari grabbed each other and toppled over sideways. They groaned, and then rose slowly, peering around the side of the tree to explore. A velvety red cloud hanging over their heads opened like an erupting volcano with harsh fire shooting out missiles toward the ground. The earth shook violently. The girls held on to the tree to avoid falling debris. Wherever the firebombs hit, a crackling fire ignited the dry leaves and they burst into a wall of flames. With no place else to hide, they took off running through the naked woods, seeking shelter.

  “Something bad is going to happen. I can feel it deep in my heart,” Kari cried.

  “Just keep going. If we stop now, they'll find us,” Claire shouted.

  With every step they took, the sky opened further and followed them no matter how fast they traveled. Ahead of the narrow path, they saw a hole in the side of a hill big enough to fit them. It reminded Claire of the rabbit’s hole from “Winnie the Pooh.” If they could make it there, they could hide.

  “Quick, Kari. Run to that cave in the hill. Hustle—run faster,” Claire shouted, pushing her harder. “Over there! Get in…just jump,” she wailed as she dived in the hole.

  Claire and Kari skittered into the cramped space and huddled together like frightened mice running from a cat.

  “I’m so scared, Claire,” Kari whimpered. The poor girl shivered as if she sat inside an igloo.

/>   Before she gave off their secret location from her screeching cries, Claire had to calm her down. “SHHH…be quiet or they’ll hear you.” She wiped the tears from Kari’s face. “I think we will be safe in here for awhile,” she said, “but you have to stay calm and above all, do not make a sound.” By stroking her hair, Claire soothed her panicked friend.

  As they cowered against the dirt wall, a loud horrifying cackle right above their hiding place alarmed Claire. Before she realized what happened, something—or someone—jerked Kari up by her hair and pulled her out of the hole. Claire rose to her knees, and watched as Kari climbed toward the bright red sky in the talons of a demon.

  “Help me, CLAIRRRRE!”

  NO! Claire had to get her back. She'd put her own soul in harm's way to get Kari free. If she didn’t stop the black souls this time, it might not be so easy to gain Kari’s purity a second time. As pointless self-recrimination cluttered her mind, she dusted her hands off, and squeezed herself out of the hole. Her hand slipped and she tumbled down the hill headfirst, smacking her face on the pebbled ground. A couple of moans escaped her lips, but Claire held tough. A few bumps and bruises would never slow her down. As she struggled to stand, a mighty force pinned her down on the bed of rocks and the evildoer forced her to listen to Kari’s squeals and cries.