by Alexie Aaron
Whit walked in and put his arms around her. They made slow tender love and fell asleep in each other’s arms.
Three o’clock in the morning Mia sat straight up in bed. She remembered. Shelley! Was this Bill’s Shelley? The ring on her hand was a diamond, but was it yellow? She walked over and dug into her pack and came up with a pen. She wrote SHELLEY in capital letters on the inside of her arm to remind her. This done, she slid in next to Whit and fell back asleep.
~
Murphy didn’t sleep. There was no need. Warren Zevon’s quote I’ll sleep when I’m dead meant nothing to him. The dead don’t sleep. Rest in peace, well, maybe Murphy lounged around a bit, but sleep? Nah, nope, nada. He used the nighttime to look over his property when he was home. He would roam as far as his tether would allow. He watched the living, not in envy, but out of curiosity.
Things were supposed to get easier for mankind the more automation came into play. But he saw instead how people used their machines and fancy phones not to make their life easier, but to work longer hours. They had no peace. Nor did they have time to rest.
He came across other ghosts from time to time. None of them he wanted to spend time with. Not many ghosts had attachments, or regard, for each other. Sure the Hoffman twins did, but they had always been in each other’s heads. Mia did a good thing by those boys. She sent them on with their granny.
Mia wasn’t the only reason Murphy was here in this strange part of Illinois. He wanted to be a part of something. There was always a chance he wouldn’t be able to stay earthbound. But while he could, he would enjoy his afterlife. He liked Ted, thought he was a smart feller. Burt was good to Mia, helped her straighten out her head. Beth was a fair weather friend to her, but everyone had to have those types in their lives. Mike, he didn’t like much, nor did he hate him. But he did like to sneak up behind him and make him jump. He would still have Mike’s back as he was part of the team. They were a unit. They helped the living and the dead. They were PEEPs.
Chapter Thirty-eight
Mia held tight to Whit as he moved the 1960 rebuilt Panhead Harley behind Doc. Whit, dressed in Homely’s jacket, felt at ease on the old police bike. Mia, on the other hand, wasn’t too sure she liked having nothing between her and the pavement but borrowed leather pants and a jean jacket with very little underneath. Doc’s missus had access to the community theater’s store of costumes. Two seasons back, they had performed Grease. Mia had the small pack containing the cast-iron axe head strapped to her back under her jacket. Whit had secured it tightly. The straps pulled back the thin tee shirt emphasizing Mia’s bust in the tatty black bra. Doc, Whit and Mia’s job was to distract the crowd of bikers. Bring them all to the front of the building.
Doc and Whit wore a gizmo Ted had created but had yet to patent. They had a camera lens inserted in one of the eyepieces of the driving goggles they wore. The effect was the same as looking through the viewer of a camera. They would have the clear sight of one eye mixed with the altered one. This messed with both men’s equilibrium for a while. They had practiced riding with the goggles on last night after the meeting for a few hours and were able to get used to the dizzying effects of the layered view in front of them. They would have a hell of headache, but hopefully they would not need the goggles for long.
Mia’s comment upon seeing them with the goggles on was, “Resistance is futile.” Ted burst out laughing at the Star Trek reference. Murphy just looked at the pair and shook his head in confusion.
Doc signaled he was making the turn in. Mia saw Roger lean with the man as they made the turn.
Beth stood atop the scaffolding the State Police put up, filming the scene. She didn’t mind being left out of the fray. It was going to be rough, and a researcher’s skills did little to protect her from the unseen enemies. She panned the area with the big camera. The fire and paramedic vehicles stood ready behind the iron girders that lay across the road to the east. The big salt trucks were idling, ready to deploy if needed. In both outlying areas, she counted over a dozen police vehicles. Ted did another voice check. She, like the other PEEPs members, wore the tiny Bluetooth receiver transmitter. Ted had also tied it into the police band they were using for this operation.
Sergeant Malloy was calling the shots. His superiors wanted this thing to just go away. The fewer officers in the know, the less chance this was going to attract the major news carriers. The local newspaper reporter was in Cleveland visiting family, so they didn’t have to worry about him. Malloy adjusted his weight carefully. He stood next to Beth and waited for the civilian bikers to make their move.
“Okay, people, look sharp. Our bait has arrived.”
Doc drove into the lot and kept a safe distance from the blurred figures. His instructions were to circle the building as fast as was safe, calling attention to himself and the other motorcycle. They needed to draw both gangs forward away from the back of the bar and also to make enough noise to cover the approaching helicopter.
Mia hugged Whit tight as they followed Doc’s lead. Whit, who hadn’t ridden since the service, was a bit rusty. He lagged a little behind as he didn’t want to spill the bike and leave them at the mercy of the crazies on the ground. They had the element of surprise working for them. Soon a crowd appeared and moved its way around to the front of the building to see what the hell was with these suicidal bikers.
Beth scanned the lot. “They’re clear of the back,” she said to Malloy.
“Bring in the copter,” Malloy ordered.
Doc and Whit ran the bikes back and forth. Mia noticed that the crowd of men and women were entertained by the spectacle of the twits on the big bikes. Mia noted where the big berserker was and pointed him out to Whit. They were to stay away from him. He was less impressed.
Fast Eddie made the roof first and stabilized the heavy jackhammer as it was lowered. Burt was lowered, wincing, as the harness cut into his groin. Mike actually smiled and waved in Beth’s direction as he exited the helicopter. Once he hit the roof, he scrambled over and dropped to the ground. He and Burt laid a thick salt half circle connecting with the building. Fast Eddie was already at work taking out as much of the foundation as possible. There was a thud behind them as the rolls of rubber sheeting were dropped from the hovering craft. Burt and Mike carried the materials into the building. Again a salt line was laid to protect them from whatever was inside and intent on doing them harm.
“We are in, and Eddie is at work,” Burt reported.
Beth saw the crowd start to move forward towards Doc and Whit. “Crowd is advancing.”
“Bring in the crop duster,” Malloy radioed.
Circling the area, Ginger Hammond was at the ready with the strangest cargo in her tanks she had yet to deploy in her thirty years crop dusting. She had watched earlier as several brown-robed men from the shrine blessed water as it was being pumped into her spray tanks. Malloy had instructed her to get as low as possible and spray the old parking lot with the water in those tanks.
Ginger noticed two motorcyclists running their bikes back and forth. As she neared, one bike moved out of the lot while the other skirted the edge of the pavement and headed for the back of the building. She brought her plane to within thirty feet of the ground and opened her tanks. She laid a thick coverage of holy water, saturating the parking lot.
Beth watched as the crowd of spectral bikers withered and diminished as the water hit them. It wouldn’t hold them for long, but it would drain their energy enough to keep them docile. All except for one. “Goat man on his feet,” she told Malloy.
Ted relayed the info to Burt, and he had expelled a bucket of sweat before Whit arrived with Mia. Whit dropped the bike and picked her up and ran for the door, jumping the salt line and narrowly avoiding a collision with Fast Eddie’s jackhammer. He slid into the bar room. Mike frantically reapplied the salt to protect Eddie who was making amazing progress.
Mia took off her jacket and handed the pack to Mike. “I’m not sure what Murphy can do or not do considering
the salt and dolomite dust. If all else fails, toss this outside the ring,” she instructed.
Mia and Whit stood in the room. Whit shook his head as he couldn’t believe what the goggles were showing him. He closed his lensed eye, and he saw an empty space with a mass of damaged, broken wood and brass blocking the door. He opened his eye and waited for his brain to adjust and saw a gleaming bar tended by an old man. Two women dressed like prostitutes sat at the end of the bar. He turned around and saw a pool game going on between a large behemoth and a drooling toothless troll of a man. Two other men were lying beaten and bloody in the corner.
Mia put a hand on his arm and said quietly, “Not all you see is active. Not like outside. Be wary of the big man at the table and the two on the floor. They’re caught up in an endless fight. But they will turn on you.”
Mia walked over, past the pool table and headed for the small bar. Whit followed. Burt was behind both of them. They worked quickly, and soon the trapdoor was opened and Mia descended the steps.
“Watch it, they’re slippery,” she warned. Below, as her eyes adjusted to the darkness, she saw faint outlines of despondent people. They sat in tables, leaned against the walls and looked wanly at her. There was a three foot wide channel cut into the floor through which water flowed unencumbered.
Burt turned on his lantern and the place lit up. “Tell me what you see.”
Mia described the denizens of the cellar of the speakeasy. “The water is keeping them from moving too fast. I think as it passes over this foundation, the dolomite must be counteracting the energy they would normally draw from the rushing water.”
“There must be fifteen or so,” Whit said as he looked around. “There’s a door.”
“We will find more behind the door, and a pool of water,” Mia informed them. She ran her hand over her arm where the inked-smudged name reminded Mia what she had to do. “I need to get behind that door.”
“The spirits are trapped there,” Burt reminded her. “They can’t come through here. Maybe one day they will open up the rock slide, and then they will be able to move on.”
“I know, but I need to do something. I’ll explain later.”
They heard a rumble above them. Mike was screaming. Burt and Whit headed up the steps. Mia moved amongst the spirits. “Soon you will be able to leave. To pass on. You need to start moving up those stairs. Do not fear the big man, he can’t hurt you.” She voiced these instructions over and over as she moved towards the door. She pushed on the rotted wood, and it gave a little. Mia kicked at the wood, and it fell away from the jamb. She slid through the opening and headed for the pool.
Mike watched in horror as Whit’s abandoned bike started up and began to move back and forth, sliding. Each time it slid and moved away, it kicked sand and dirt over the salt line. Fast Eddie with his back to the disturbance was not prepared for the strong arms that jerked him away from his task. Mike ran forward and tossed the pack out towards Eddie and picked up the jackhammer and continued to move mortar and rock away from the door.
Eddie twisted around and grabbed at whatever had a hold of him. He came up with nothing. He pulled out a switchblade he had the monks bless and stabbed at the air around him. The grip lessened, and Eddie fell to the ground.
Whit made the door in time to see Eddie fall and the goat man over him. He had his hands raised together, ready to bring down a death punch on the quivering man beneath him.
A roar of sound came out of the dry cornfield behind the combatants, and Whit saw Murphy charge forward, and with a sweeping motion drove his axe into the side of the goat man. Whit ran forward and dragged Eddie back into the building where Burt took him off his hands.
Whit looked around and didn’t see Mia. He looked at Mike and saw he was nearing completion. He tossed his goggles to Burt and motioned he was going below.
Burt put on the goggles and winced as his brain screamed at the additional information. Eddie was recovering in the safety of the ring of salt Burt quickly applied. Mike kept looking over his shoulder. Burt looked outside and saw Murphy facing off with the recovering goat man.
Mia looked for Shelley, and she found her. The woman was curious, but didn’t recognize Mia in her corporal form. Mia knelt by the pool and reached her hand into the icy spring-fed water. The pool was deep, and Shelley’s bones were too deep in the pool for her to reach them from the safety of the side. Mia took off her shoes and slid into the pool. She put her face in the water and dove towards the twinkling gem.
Murphy raised his axe and circled the biker. Murphy was out of his element and knew he was outmatched. The biker lunged at him, and Murphy swung, missing his opponent.
Mike tossed the jackhammer aside and ran into the bar. He and Burt dragged the rubber sheeting and placed it over the broken threshold. Burt screamed, “Murphy!” and the farmer moved swiftly towards the door. Burt swiped the salt line and Murphy hovered briefly and moved over the mat and into the bar. Burt poured more salt and watched as the charging goat man bounced off the barrier.
The biker’s frustration added to his anger, and the evil power grew. He walked over and picked up the discarded bike and smashed it into the ground. It exploded.
Mia reached for the extended boney hand and closed hers around the ring. Mia jammed it in between her skin and her tight leather pants. She turned to rise to the surface when large rocks fell into the pool. They trapped her legs and pushed the air from her lungs.
She struggled, pulling at her trapped limbs. She pushed at the rocks until her strength left her. She didn’t feel the cold water anymore. Her lungs burned, and she was losing consciousness.
Whit burst through the room as the explosion rocked the cave. He saw the wall of rock at the end of the pool shift, and a few big rocks fell backward into the pool. He searched for Mia and saw her shoes at the edge of the water. He dove in and found her trapped and limp. He kicked at the rocks and pulled hard at her shoulders at the same time. The boulders gave, and he shot upward with Mia. He got her head above water and kept it there as he hauled her limp body to the edge. He stopped and felt for a pulse. There was a faint one. Then it was stronger.
Mia coughed and spit out water. She opened her eyes and stared into Whit’s face. “I must be in heaven.”
“Nope. Hang on,” Whit instructed as he kept one hand on Mia as he lifted himself one-armed out of the pool. He pulled her out and held her against his chest. “Hell of a time to go swimming.”
“Couldn’t resist, the water looked so inviting.” Mia looked over his shoulder and pointed, “Look.”
Whit turned his head and saw a small opening in the rock fall.
Mia looked at the lingerers and shouted, “What the fuck are you waiting for? Go get your piece of heaven!”
The spirits of the long-trapped moved by Mia on their way to the hole in the wall. They floated upward and out the opening. Only one stood a moment and stared at her.
“Shelley,” Mia said, patting the ring that was cutting into her skin. “You’re coming with me.”
Shelley sighed and disappeared.
“Whit! Mia!” Burt shouted from the hatch. “A little help here!”
Whit got up and retrieved Mia’s shoes. She jammed them on her feet, not bothering to tie them. They moved quickly out of the cave and into the cellar of the speakeasy.
Whit assisted the flagging woman up the stairs.
Burt barely took in that the both of them were sopping wet, as he was tangling with the large biker. Murphy was threatening the two bloodied men on the floor. He was trying to herd them towards the door when Burt was grabbed and tossed. He crawled to the hatch and shouted for help.
“Is the door open?” Mia asked.
“Yes,” Mike shouted.
“Break the salt lines,” Mia ordered.
“But that monster will get in.”
“Trust me,” Mia said.
Mike broke the lines and ran and stood with Eddie in the salt ring.
Mia moved between Burt and the big bi
ker. “It’s time to let them go. Let all of them go,” she said. “Time to get them off your turf,” she said pointing to the two men.
The bruiser considered the situation for a moment. He nodded.
“Murph, show our guests the door,” Mia insisted.
Murphy tapped the floor to get the weakened biker’s attention. He nodded towards the door and offered one of them his outstretched hand. The biker grabbed it and raised himself to a standing position. He let go of Murphy and helped his partner up. They limped towards the door.
“Incoming,” Burt warned as he saw the goat man rush through the opening. He stared down the resident goon before he grabbed his brothers and helped them out of the door.
Mia described what had happened to Mike, Eddie, and Whit. “Now we have a few more souls to move on before it’s Miller time,” Mia said. She moved to the open hatch and called. “Time to go, people! This wet leather’s giving me a rash.” Mia stepped aside and counted the spirits as they moved past her.
“Do you think you could be more dignified?” Burt chided.
“I’m getting my period, and I’m in no mood for your shit,” Mia said, pointing her finger at him. She turned around and spied Mike and Eddie standing in the salt circle. “I suggest you get your ass in gear, Mike, and help out.”
Mike caught on quickly that Mia was in a hell of a bad mood. He stepped over the line and began pulling down the bar that was obstructing the entrance to the foyer and the clock room.
“Careful, I understand there’s something in there that likes boys,” Mia cautioned.
Whit stared at the love of his life with a little bit of admiration and a lot of fear. “Note to self. Mia suffers PMS.”