by S. A. Hunter
“Mary?” Gran asked.
Gran and Nina hovered in the doorway, looking unsure and worried. Mary couldn’t let go of the knife yet. She didn’t feel ready to move. She wanted to be absolutely certain the Shadowman was gone.
There was the sound of wobbly footsteps from the dining room that quickly turned into hurried steps. Rachel and Kyle rushed into the room.
“Don’t come any closer,” Mary ordered.
“Mary, are you all right?” Kyle asked.
She nodded.
“I get the feeling we missed the best part,” Rachel said.
Mary gave her a rueful grin. “There really wasn’t much to see.”
Dr. Trudeau and Vicky appeared behind them. “Is anyone hurt?” he asked.
They all looked at each other and shook their heads.
“What are you doing to my floor?” Vicky cried.
She began to come closer, but Kyle looped an arm around her waist and pulled her back. “Mary said to stay back.”
“And we’re listening to her now? How do you know she isn’t still possessed?”
“Because she is still possessed. But I’m much better company than that monster thing.”
Her friends stared at her. She wished Marvin hadn’t spoken to them, especially with her mouth. “Uh, Mary, who’s that?” Rachel asked.
“That’s Marvin. And he can go now,” Mary said.
“I don’t know, girlie. There’s a few things I wouldn’t mind doing, even if it is in your body. Could take Nina dancing or share a banana split.”
“Marvin Beadley, you leave Mary right this instant,” Nina said.
“Aw, come on, beautiful. Neil’s lactose intolerant. I know you haven’t had a banana split since I passed.”
Nina was having none of it. She glared at Mary, though Mary knew it was Marvin that Nina was glaring at, and turned her back to them. Nina said something to Gran, gave her a hug, and then marched out of the house with coffee mug held high.
“Nina, where you going?” Marvin called.
The sound of a car engine starting was his only answer.
“I was only half-joking,” he grumbled.
Marvin’s departure was like a cool breeze that blew out of her. Mary’s shoulders slumped in relief. She’d been afraid she’d have to fight Marvin to get him out or at least yell at him a lot. She appreciated Nina taking such decisive action to get him gone.
“Mary?” Rachel asked.
“He’s gone,” she said.
“So you wanna stand up now?” she asked.
Mary stared into her shadow. It looked like an ordinary shadow again, but she’d been fooled before by the Shadowman. She didn’t want to take any chances that it had survived. The black ectoplasm was gone, but she still didn’t trust her eyes and the dim light.
“Can you get the flashlights? I don’t want to remove the knife until I’m sure it’s gone.”
Rachel and Vicky went back into the living room to retrieve the flashlights. Mary looked at Kyle. He’d been pretty quiet. She wondered if he’d want to keep dating her after this. He was a great guy, but even great guys had their limits. Her eyes wandered down to his arms where she could see the nail scratches she’d given him. As if sensing her gaze, Kyle covered the nail scratches. Mary let her eyes drop away.
Dr. Trudeau came over to her but was careful to not overlap his shadow with hers. “How do you feel, Mary?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “Like myself.”
“The Shadowman appears to be gone.”
“It appeared to be gone last time.”
Gran came closer with shuffling steps. Mary winced when she looked into her face. She looked worn out, like she’d been through the wringer. “Gran, do you want to sit down?”
She shook her head and just stared at her. Mary began to wonder if she was being too paranoid. She wanted to stand up and comfort Gran. Hug her at least. “That was really quick thinking to run out of the house before the Shadowman lit the Hand of Glory.”
Gran pulled her cardigan tighter.“I should’ve warned the others, but I didn’t think. I just ran.”
“There wasn’t time,” Mary said to console her.
“I’m glad you did it,” Kyle said. Mary gave him a grateful look, but his eyes wouldn’t meet hers. Mary’s eyes dropped back to the floor. Maybe she had finally asked too much of him.
Rachel and Vicky came back into the room holdings several flashlights. They handed them out. Everyone gathered behind her and turned the flashlights on. Under their combined light, Mary scrutinized her shadow. She didn’t see any wavering edges. No red eyes flashed out at her.
“We should check each other,” Rachel said.
“Oh God, you think it jumped to one of us?” Vicky asked. Mary sympathized. Vicky had been victimized by the Shadowman once before. It would be awful if it happened again. Mary pulled the knife out of the floor. It had left a deep gouge in the wood. Vicky would have to put a potted plant or rug over it to hide it.
“I think it’s gone, but it’s a good idea to check.”
She slowly got to her feet. Everyone went before the flashlight beams, and no one’s shadow showed any strange characteristics.
“What should we do now?” Vicky asked.
Mary looked down at the knife. She wasn’t afraid anymore. She had a weapon now that could defeat Shadowmen. Looking at the crude blade filled her heart with ease.
“Mary?” Gran asked.
She turned and smiled, really smiled.
Gran’s eyes softened and a smile touched her a face as well. Gran clapped her hands. “Well, I think it’s time we all got some sleep. Vicky’s coming home with us.”
“What?” Mary said. Why was she suddenly being punished? She’d defeated the Shadowman.
“I’m not leaving her here alone after all that has happened. She can sleep in my room.”
Gran’s face was resolved. Mary wasn’t going to talk her out of it, and she realized that Vicky hadn’t raised a single objection. She glanced at the cheerleader and found her with her head down and and her arms around herself. She didn’t look good. Mary decided not to protest further.
Dr. Trudeau said his farewells. They would go back to Mary’s house in Vicky’s car. Gran gave the psychologist a hug and thanked him profusely. Mary couldn’t be sure in the dim light, but she thought all the praise may have made him blush. He left with a promise to call in a day or two to check on them.
Vicky needed to grab a few things before leaving. Gran and Rachel followed her upstairs, leaving Kyle and Mary alone.
Once all the others were gone, Kyle was on her. He squeezed her so tight, she heard her back crack. His arms were pinning hers to her sides, but she didn’t mind.
“Are you really all right?” he whispered into her ear.
Feeling his breath on her skin made her shiver.
“Yeah, I am. I really am.” And she couldn’t help laughing. She wasn’t afraid. It’d been so long since she’d had nothing to fear. It made her giddy.
Kyle sighed and snuggled closer.
“How are you doing?” Mary asked. She still couldn’t move, but she didn’t mind.
“I’m kind of sleepy, but jittery.”
She nodded. “Yeah, me too.”
“So what could we possibly do next weekend to top this?” he asked.
Mary’s guffaw filled the house.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Mary was sitting in the living room, soaking in the quiet. That morning, they’d all slept late, but when they got up, there was plenty to do. Kyle had to change his tire. Mary had helped, but he’d done most of it. Vicky needed to buy a ton of light bulbs. Gran had given her what they had in their house, but she still needed to do some shopping. But Vicky didn’t mind that. Any excuse to shop was fine with her. Gran had left to drive Rachel home but was coming straight back. Mary was the only one there.
The phone started ringing beside her.
She looked down at it, and with a chill, realized her shadow had fallen
over the unit. She stared at it as it kept ringing. Stiffly, she shifted around until her shadow slid off the machine. The phone kept ringing. Relieved she picked up the phone. “Hello?” she said with a slight stutter. Dial tone was her only answer.
‘One missed call’ appeared on the display. She hit menu and went to the call log. The last number to call displayed. It was an unfamiliar number, but it was a number. Not the ominous ‘Number Unavailable’.
When she exited the menu, ‘1 New Voice Mail’ appeared. She dialed voice mail and put in the PIN. After navigating the menu prompts, she got the message to play, “Hi, this message is for Mary. This is Jake. I just wanted to say that the Shadow thing is gone. I don’t see it anymore. Oh, and tell your grandma that Mrs. Polk’s dog Tipsy is with a family on Maple Street. I’ll be in touch. Bye.”
The mysterious Jake! He’d finally called her! Mary quickly redialed the last number. She could kick herself for not picking up sooner. It was him! Her unknown savior. She had so many questions. The phone rang once then switched over to a recording, “We’re sorry. The number you have dialed is not in service. Please check the number and try again.”
She tried the number again and received the same message. She hung up the phone.
“Wait. He knows about Tipsy, too?” she wondered aloud.
Thank you for reading Broken Spirits! I hope you enjoyed it. I am working on another Scary Mary book, but I don’t know yet when it will be ready. Please check my blog for updates: http://www.sahunter.net