by Donna Cain
“Hunter,” Sheriff Buchanon said. “Put a few buckets of that dirt over the slab. We’ll help with the shovels.”
Feeling better than he had in over a week, Hunter started on the last job of the day. He felt his stomach start to unclench. The bile in his throat was receding. He scooped up load after load of the discarded dirt and poured it atop the concrete grave of the beast. With each scoop, he felt stronger.
Sheriff Buchanon’s headache was subsiding, but the lights in his vision were still sparkling. They weren’t as bad, but they would take a while to go away completely, if they ever did. He noticed that Deputy Clay’s nosebleed had stopped as well. He said a silent prayer of thanks and looked around for Eli. He spotted him over by the bumper of the dump truck and went to the boy.
“Good job today, Eli. I know this has been really hard on you,” he said. The boy looked like hell, but he guessed they all did. “How about we get out of here? Since Hunter has to take the bulldozer out, why don’t you drive the Blazer?”
Eli was staring off into the distance. “I don’t think that’s going to be possible, Sheriff.”
“What’s the matter, Son. Are you still feeling pretty sick?” He asked, concerned about Eli’s head.
“No,” Eli answered. “My head feels fine. It’s just that…I can’t see anything, Sheriff. I think I’ve gone blind.”
CHAPTER 37
Meadowview Acres
Clara had eased off of the gas a little on the way back out of the woods. She noticed that the farther away they got from the dig, the better Darren seemed to feel.
At first she was afraid. To see Darren, this guy who was so strong and intimidating, be so out of it was unsettling. She was nervous that something could happen to him on the way back. Her nerves calmed a little when he started to come around.
“Wha…what’s happening?” He asked as the fog lifted from his brain. He was surprised to see that he was in Clara Stagg’s car. He had no memory of her at all.
“Good morning,” she said, glad to see him awake. “You’ve been out cold for a while. Sheriff Buchanon asked me to take you away from the site. I guess the rock was starting to affect you.”
Little pieces of memory were starting to come together. Darren remembered the awful feeling of falling into the pit. He thought that was just a dream, but then he remembered more. His hands and arms didn’t work. They wouldn’t move. He brought his hands up to his face to check. Wiggling his fingers, he remembered more. They had put him in the back of the Blazer. Hunter was asking him questions about the controls in the Cat.
“Did Hunter finish digging the pit?” he asked.
“They were just finishing up when we left. I’m not sure what was left to do, but the sheriff said that it wouldn’t be long.” Clara eased back on the gas a little more. They were almost to the gravel road. It would be a much rougher ride.
Darren was still confused. “Why were you there? How did you get there?”
Clara wondered how much she should tell Darren. She didn’t want to stress him out about Shasta, so she said, “Well, we were all at the Port’s waiting this thing out, and Shasta got a little nervous. Then your mom got nervous. I just decided that we should come out and check on things.” She saw his brow furrow with worry. “It’s fine, though. Shasta was feeling better when we left, and your mom is with Mr. Port and Mr. Hamilton at the entrance to the woods. I told her I’d bring information back as soon as I could.”
“Nice work, Stagg,” Darren said as he closed his eyes and laid his head back on the seat. He was still exhausted.
Clara smiled to herself feeling proud. “Yeah, nice work, Stagg,” she thought.
Sheriff Buchanon looked at the boy. His eyes were focused on some far off point in the distance. He was praying that it wasn’t happening – that Eli wasn’t blind.
He grabbed Eli by the shoulders and stared into his face. “Eli, can you see anything? Anything at all? A shadow, a blur?”
Eli was calm when he answered. “No, nothing.”
Hunter had finished scattering the pile of dirt over the concrete slab when he noticed the sheriff grab Eli by the shoulders. He cut the engine of the Cat and hopped out. By the time he was behind the sheriff, Deputy Clay had arrived as well.
Sheriff Buchanon gave each of them a sorrowful look. Hunter thought he saw tears in the big man’s eyes.
“What’s happening?” Hunter asked. Moving forward to Eli, he said, “What’s wrong, Buddy. What’s going on?”
Eli, still looking far off into the distance said, “Hunter, remember what happened to Professor Monroe? Well, it looks like I’ve been cursed the same way.”
Hunter felt a blow to his stomach. The effects of the curse on him had been steadily wearing off. He just assumed that Eli would be feeling better, too. They all had.
“Eli, are you sure? Maybe it’s just a temporary thing. Let’s get out of here, and it might get better.” Hunter was grasping at anything to give his friend hope, but he knew as well as Eli did that there was none.
“I think I’ve known all along,” Eli told them. “The headache never went away, even when I wasn’t near the rock. And every morning when I woke up it seemed like it took longer and longer to clear my head. This morning was the worst. I think I’ve been waiting for this all day.”
“It’s time for us to leave. We need to get you out of here, Eli,” said Sheriff Buchanon. “We’ve done what we came to do. Now let’s get you to the hospital.”
There was no arguing with the big man. No one wanted to anyway. They were all emotionally drained and physically fatigued.
“Michael, you’re driving the dump truck,” he continued. “Hunter, you’re on the Cat. Eli and I will take the Blazer.”
He took the boy’s hand and guided him to the passenger side of the SUV.
Bug had been watching Shasta for about half an hour. She seemed a lot better. Shasta wasn’t aware of it, but the whole room had been using her as a barometer since Clara and Agnes had left. As weird as it seemed, the girl’s emotional attachment to Darren was the only link they had to their missing loved ones. Considering the strangeness of the last two weeks, maybe it wasn’t so weird after all.
“They’re finished, aren’t they?” Bug asked her.
Shasta’s head popped up as if she had just woken from a dream.
“I think so,” she said. “I just feel really calm.”
“Oh, thank God,” said Margy, and she started to cry. The fear she had been holding inside finally escaped.
Val and Ann looked at each other and smiled thinly. Lara and Gina hugged each other tightly. All they wanted was to hear something, anything, that would give them hope.
The phone rang and Val, pushing the talk button as she did, scooped it off the table. “Hello?”
“Honey, it’s me,” said Bill. “Clara and Darren just made it back. He’s had some sort of reaction, but it seems to be wearing off. Mark’s taking him and Agnes to Community right now.”
“Hold on,” she told him urgently. To the room she said, “Clara and Darren are back. Mark’s taking Agnes and Darren to Community. He’s okay, but needs to be checked.”
She punched the speaker button on the phone and back to Bill she said, “What about the others?”
His voice came through the speaker so everyone could hear. “Clara said that Don told her they’re finishing up, and it shouldn’t be much longer. She said it didn’t look like anyone else was having a problem except that Don was a little wobbly.”
The sighs in the room were audible to him over the speaker.
“It looks like this might be over,” he finished. “I’ll call back when the rest of them come through. I’m going to wait here with Clara.”
“Thank you, Honey,” Val said. “We’ve been dying for news.”
She hung up and looked around the room. The women all had expressions of shock. They were worn out from worry, but they all seemed relieved – all except Bug. Clearly distressed, she was still looking out the window.
“What’s wrong, Bug honey,” Val asked. “It sounds like everything’s alright now.”
Bug turned from the window and said, “I’ll just feel better when we see all of them for ourselves.”
“I know what you mean,” said Shasta. “Mom, will you take me to the hospital? I want to see Darren.”
The scene at the hospital was organized chaos. Everyone had split off into small groups. Sheriff Buchanon told the medical team that the group had been part of a training exercise. That accounted easily enough for Darren’s exhaustion and Hunter’s dehydration.
The sheriff’s headache had subsided as they made their way out of the woods. The flashing lights disappeared. Deputy Clay’s nose bleed was gone, as well as his light-headedness. That left Eli.
Dr. Hill had told Lara that the blindness was most likely a delayed result of his experience in the fire. She said that it was “ocular trauma”. Only the residents of Meadowview Acres knew the real cause. Lara was upset, but eased somewhat by Eli’s mood. He was remarkably calm about the whole thing.
Eli was sitting up in the hospital bed when Hunter went in to talk to him. Lara was in the hallway with Dr. Hill, so the boys were alone.
“Hey, Dude,” Hunter said as he walked in. “Guess who?” Hunter immediately wished that he hadn’t said that, but he saw Eli smile.
“Hmmm…let’s see,” said Eli. “It kinda sounds like my Grandma Andrews. Hi Granny, nice of you to visit.”
Hunter was caught a little off guard by Eli’s joking attitude. He didn’t quite know what to say.
“Um, sorry, I didn’t really think before I said that,” he told Eli.
“It’s fine, Hunter,” Eli responded truthfully. “I’m alright with this. I really am. It’s like I said at the site; I’ve been expecting it for a while, so it’s not that big of a surprise to me.” Eli thought for a moment and then added, “I think I’ve been expecting to die this whole time, Hunter. I really have. I’m almost thankful that this is all that’s happened.”
Hunter sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t get it, Eli. Why? I didn’t have any lasting effects, neither did anyone else. So why would you?”
“It’s just the way the curse works. It affects different people in different ways. Professor Monroe and I were the ones who took the rock from its resting place both times. Maybe that had something to do with it. I don’t know. This is my first time being cursed.” He giggled again.
“It’s really weird how cool you are with this,” Hunter told him. “Maybe it touched your brain and made you weirder than you already were.” Hunter was starting to get on board with lightening up the situation. He guessed that Eli was right. After what that curse had done to the others, they were lucky.
“So what are we going to do when you get out of here?” he asked Eli.
“I guess you’re going to have to Shazaam me some kind of titanium walking stick with motion detectors and secret compartments.” Eli thought of something else then. “Unless you’ll be too busy with your new girlfriend,” he added.
Eli couldn’t see Hunter blush. He said, “I won’t be too busy with Clara. She’s cool, you’ll see.”
“What do you mean, “I’ll see”?” Eli tried to look offended but he couldn’t help laugh when he heard silence from Hunter.
Finally, Hunter caught on and joined Eli’s laughter with his own.
Bug was sitting on Shasta’s lap in Darren’s hospital room. He had checked out fine, but the doctors wanted him to have some fluids before he left.
“I think all of us are super lucky,” Bug was saying. “I didn’t tell everyone all of the things I read about in Curses of Ancient Tribes. Some of those things are brutal. Well, I guess this one was super brutal, too.” She thought of pretty little Heather, with her hair styled all wrong, laying in her casket at Peaceful Hearts.
“We were lucky, Bug,” said Shasta looking at Darren. “Even though we all lost special people, we still have our loved ones with us.”
Darren winked at her from the hospital bed. “I can think of one more thing that would help me recover,” he said.
Shasta smiled, “What’s that?”
“An extra-large deep dish with everything from Hot Slice! Let’s get one on the way home tonight,” he said. He had just noticed that he was starving.
“That sounds amazing,” Shasta agreed. “Want to come with us, Bug?”
“Nope, I’m way behind on my reading and there’s a documentary on tonight about how toxins and chemicals released into the atmosphere will ultimately destroy our race.” She had been waiting for weeks to see that one. Luckily, she was free tonight. Knowledge is Power.
“Alright, then,” said Shasta. “Tomorrow we’re going for ice cream with Clara, right?”
“You bet! I need a double scoop after all of this,” she said.
“It’s a date,” said Shasta.
Bug got up from her lap and went to Darren. She gave the man of steel a big hug and said, “Thanks for getting rid of that thing.” Then she left the room.
As she walked down the hallway to the waiting room where her parents were, she thought of Eli. It had been surprising to everyone when Sheriff Buchanon had broken the news about his blindness. But it hadn’t been surprising to Bug.
As she waited for news while looking out the window of the Port’s house, she had been replaying everything in her mind. She began with the day she followed the boys into the woods, the feeling that she had sitting on the fallen tree. She remembered how Eli had looked that day. He was a different boy now, she realized. As she stared out the window, she tried to think what he reminded her of. She remembered how he looked when she and Shasta had gone to speak with him and Hunter about the rock. He looked different then, too. What was it?
She had realized, sitting in the Port’s living room waiting for news, that Eli’s face had become Preston Monroe’s, the lines around the eyes, the strange dullness of color. Every time she saw Eli, his eyes had become a little less blue. How could she not have noticed sooner?
When Bug got to the hospital and heard the news, she wasn’t surprised. That was his fate, just as it had been Preston Monroe’s. Eli would be different, though. Bug was determined to make sure Eli didn’t spend his life worrying about the curse. He wasn’t going to end up the way the professor had.
She passed a room on the way to the waiting area and overheard laughter from inside. It sounded like Hunter. She crept over and peeked in. Hunter was on the side of Eli’s bed, and they were both laughing. Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about him after all.
EPILOGUE
Clara was sitting in a pedicure chair at Curls for Gurls. She was waiting for Shasta. It was prom night and they had decided to get ready together. The two had become close again over the past six months. She couldn’t believe it had only been six months since the nightmare had been buried. To Clara, it seemed like last week.
Life had slowly returned to normal after the burial. Darren and Hunter had recovered completely. There had been no new instances of the curse affecting anyone. The gravel road and entrance to the woods had been cleverly disguised by Sheriff Buchanon. He’d had Darren use the Caterpillar to cover the gravel path with dirt, not all two miles of it, but enough so the road could no longer be seen from the highway. They had thrown out grass seed which had taken hold in no time. No one could tell there had ever been a path into the woods.
Lara Andrews was coming to terms with the loss of Heather. Eli was helping her a lot. He was doing really well and had attained almost Rock Star status at school. Most people were under the impression that he had been injured in the fire at Hallston High; only a few knew the real reason for his blindness. His positive attitude regarding his loss of sight was inspirational to everyone. He seemed to be a different guy in a lot of ways. He seemed lighter somehow.
Clara noticed Shasta’s truck pull into the parking lot and smiled as she watched Bug hop out. Clara was glad that Bug could make it. It was a special day, and she didn’t want
her little friend to be left out.
Coming in the door, the girls scanned the shop and found Clara waving them over.
“Hey,” Bug chirped happily, hopping into the pedicure chair beside Clara. “We’re a little late because Shasta had to finish her paperwork for college.”
“Yeah,” Shasta confirmed. “I’ve already filled out all of the initial paperwork for my scholarship, but this form is for the school newspaper, The Dixon Times.” She took the chair on the other side of Clara and plopped her feet into the warm water. “I’m actually on staff now.”
“I’m so excited for you, Shas,” Clara said. “I’m going to miss you so much, but I know Dixon University was your number one choice.”
Shasta’s eyes sparkled as she said, “I still can’t believe I actually got in. I really thought it was a long shot.”
Shasta was excited about her future. When she had received the letter outlining her scholarship award, she had almost fainted. Dixon University was a two hour drive south of Hallston. It was still close enough to come home for weekends and Darren’s games were going to be a top priority. He would be playing for State College in Chester since Agnes had decided to stay in Meadowview Acres.
Bug squirmed in her chair; the lady doing her toes was being ticklish. She had started getting pedicures regularly because Clara had told her it was “Necessary Beauty Maintenance”. Clara was teaching her a lot about girl stuff since she had decided on attending the Beauty School in Shale. Bug was sad about Shasta leaving, but she was glad Clara would still be around.
They chatted about their plans for the evening until their nails were polished and dry. They were getting ready at the Port’s house so Darren and Hunter would pick them up there. Then, they were all going to meet at Emily’s for group pictures. From there, the group would be hopping into a limo for the trip to Glovercroft for dinner.
Bug watched the girls getting ready and wondered if she would ever be asked to a prom. Maybe she wouldn’t even want to go. There might be a super good documentary on TV that night.