Ghost Program

by Marion Desaulniers

  Looking out the window, I saw wisps of fog pass through the yard. “I’m a little hungry.”

  “I took the rest of that sandwich back to the kitchen. I could run down there again, though.”

  “Look,” I said as I gazed into the backyard.

  “I know. Tony’s been patrolling it for the last half hour.”

  “How long have I been asleep?”

  “Four hours, Sam.”

  “Four hours?!”

  “You must’ve been tired.”

  “He’s talking to Gregg, now. Oh, they’re together. Gregg hasn’t been up to my room, has he?”

  “Not at all.”

  I watched Gregg and Tony converse outside the window, in a corner of the yard, past the fountain. “Well, they sure get along well.”

  “I’ll be right back. Maybe your mom has dinner cooked or something.” Brent gave my hand a squeeze and left the room.

  I saw something unusual in the opposite corner of the yard. Glowing strangely as if it were a beacon, there stood a low set of stone steps leading up into a brightly lit cave, its entrance unguarded and welcoming, looking as natural in its setting as if it had always been there, but I was sure it hadn’t. Both Gregg and Tony ignored it, and I wasn’t sure they saw it at all, both of them seeming more interested in each other than the shining portal.

  I shrugged and turned on the television that Brent had fixed, and sure enough it had about a hundred channels on it. I flipped through stations, not finding anything really interesting, then settled on a haunted house documentary which wasn’t great entertainment, but it’d do. I heard Brent’s footsteps on the stairs. He brought in a platter with tin foil on it.

  “The pizza man had just arrived as I got downstairs. Your mom wrapped this up for us.” He placed the plate on my bed. There were fancy slices of pizza on it, embellished with pineapple pieces, hamburger, and black olives.

  “Wow!” I said. “I knew I was getting dinner, but this is great.”

  “I could bring up something to drink.”

  “Do you see that? Over there in the corner of the yard?”

  Brent looked out the window. “What is it?”

  “You can see it?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I don’t know. Some sort of cave...or maybe a portal to another world.”

  “Geesh,” he said. “I’ve got an idea. I’ll go back downstairs to get something for us to drink and then maybe I’ll try to go in it... see where it goes.”

  “Brent, no! What if you go inside it and don’t come back?”

  “Don’t be silly.”

  “I’m not. We don’t know what that is or what it’s for. You shouldn’t go messing with it.”

  “Wanna come?”

  “No, it hurts too much to walk.”

  “Where does it hurt?” He sat close to me on the bed.

  “Everywhere. Brent, no...”

  Brent lifted my shirt and examined my ribs. He touched a finger gently along the dark splotches of skin.

  “Stop,” I said.

  “I wanta see it.” He ran his hand down my side as I squirmed.

  “You’re hurting me. Go get our drinks.”

  “Okay,” he said. “Have some pizza, and I’ll bring you a cold beverage in just one minute.”

  He left the room again. I was already annoyed with him, so what I saw next next made me irate. As I ate my pizza, I watched the yard through my bedroom window, and there was Brent, walking through the backyard, a hand held up in friendly greeting at Tony and Gregg, who talked quietly to each other in a corner by the stone fence as Brent headed towards the lit cave steps. I banged on the glass with my fist.

  “Brent! No!” I said. He was a foot from the steps of the lit entrance, and then he was on the other side of it. “Huh?” I whispered. I figured that he couldn’t get in, then laughed as I watched him attempt to ascend the steps a second time only to fall on his knees. The cave, for whatever reason, would not allow him entrance.

  Shrugging his shoulders, he got up and walked back in the house. A minute later, he was in my room, holding two Cokes.

  “Jesus, Brent! You tried to go in it?!” I yelled.

  “Please Sam, calm down. I just wanted to know what it was.” In spite of his red cheeks, he took a few steps towards me, watching my face all the while, maybe a little afraid of my anger.

  “Oh! What if it had sucked you inside, and you didn’t come back? What would I have told your parents? What would I have done?”

  “As soon as I get close to the steps, it disappears.” He sat next to me on the bed and clasped his hand in mine, still looking uncomfortable as he stared down at the Cokes in his lap.

  “It disappears?” I began to relax.

  “I can only see it when I’m standing away from it.”

  “What’s inside?”

  “I don’t know. As soon as I get close, the light kind of makes it blurry, and then it vanishes as I try to take the first step.”

  “Huh. Maybe it doesn’t like you.” I took a Coke from his extended hand. Brent seemed relieved that I had accepted his carbonated peace offering. Maybe he expected some other kind of behavior from me, something crazy, something abusive? I didn’t know.

  He let go of me, then opened his Coke and took a sip. “It’s weird.”

  The door behind Brent suddenly opened, and he jumped a little in surprise. It was just mom.

  “Do you think you’re up to taking that math test tomorrow?” she asked. “I spoke to your instructor. It would effectively end your math class for you if you could.”

  “It’s gonna suck having to walk around campus.”

  “He said that he’d be willing to bring it to the house and just wait on you.”

  “Well...god, that’s weird.”

  “I know, but he has to watch you take it.”

  “He’s coming to my room?”

  “I’m afraid so, and I’ll only agree to it if it’s okay by you. He feels bad over what happened. The whole college does. I mean, you were hurt by one of their instructors. I’m sure this is just their way of apology.”

  “Or not getting sued,” I mumbled.

  “Do you want me to tell him to come, then?” mom asked.

  “I guess so.” If I finished math, I’d only need to turn in my last programming lab, and I’d be done with community college.

  “That’s good. It saves some effort, you know. He said he’d be by the house around three.”

  “Yeah,” I said then watched her leave my room.

  “How long you got left in school?” Brent asked.

  “If I finish my lab tonight, I could be done after my exam tomorrow.”

  “And I can come pick you up? We could leave for Seattle?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’d probably be at the house by seven.”

  “Tomorrow evening?”

  “Yep.”

  “We don’t have to stop by your parents house, do we?”

  “No, we can go straight up to my apartment.”

  “Wow. I’m finally going to the big city.”

  “You sure I’m not pressuring you too much? I don’t want you to feel like you need to come with me. I know how you said you like being alone...”

  “Wasn’t so much that I liked it... I want to go to Seattle. You don’t know how much. It’s just that...this is new to me. Having a close relationship is not something I’ve done in the past.”

  “It’s not so bad. I won’t care where you go or badger you if you come home late. Won’t tell you what to wear. Or not to wear. Won’t criticize you or make you clean up after me. Or tell you stupid things, like I like the rain.”

  “Nobody likes the rain,” I said.

  “I won’t boss you around, tell you that you’ve been naughty.” He smirked.

  “That’s a shame,” I said.

  Brent looked at me, then laughed.

  Then I laughed. We were both laughing.

  “The pills again are talking,” I said. “Try the piz
za. I already ate mine. It’s actually good.”

  “Yeah,” said Brent, taking his piece and chewing thoughtfully on it. He paused, then said “You’re right.”

  “It tastes good?”

  “Uh-huh.”

  “Ever wonder what I taste like?”

  “Sam. Uh, you’re acting....like wow...” His eyes darted to my face as I giggled.

  “I snuck some wine when you were gone.” I grinned.

  “Well, that explains it. As for your question, well...yes, and....you’re mom is downstairs. So it’s not a subject I’d prefer to dwell on.”

  “I know.”

  My cell phone rang. Strangely, it was a number that I wasn’t familiar with.

  “Hello?” I answered.

  “Sam. This is Karen, the psychic...”

  “I know. I remember you from earlier today,” I laughed a little.

  “I spent all day working on your...problem. I’ve also talked a bit with Veronica. Now, for the most interesting revelation. I’ve found a Mrs. St. Croix. Until a few months ago, she still owned a property in Seaside, but didn’t live in it. Apparently, she’s spent the last twenty-odd years in a very expensive, private psychiatric facility. One month ago, she died. And here’s the real scoop. I was able to speak to the doctor who cared for her. She was committed to this facility after trying to break into the O’Toole mansion while claiming to everyone that her name was Claire. Whether she had a nervous breakdown and her confusion over her identity had psychological roots or she was indeed possessed by the spirit of O’Toole’s dead wife, I’m not sure. But something serious happened to her after her dealings with the Dark Lord. I think this is good news for you. I don’t think he takes the women that call for him.”

  “So I’m just going to lose my mind or become possessed.”

  “That is a possibility, yes. How strong do you feel? Do you think that you’ll be able to hold on to reality, even if...supernatural forces threaten to take your thoughts?”

  “It’s not my mind I’m worried about. I’m afraid that I’m going to die.”

  “Well, as I told you, the chances of that are rapidly decreasing. I don’t believe the Dark Lord to be a killer of innocent women. As for the demon, he is weaker than any more virtuous spirit.”

  “But He could kill me.”

  “Well, you’re a mortal. It does happen. But it probably won’t. Not with Tony protecting you.”

  “I’ve also got Gregg.”

  “Gregg?”

  “He’s dead. He lives in my bedroom.”

  “Yes...well...” She didn’t know what to say to that. “I believe that after the incident with Mrs. St. Croix, the former owners of the O’Toole mansion put it up for sale, and Veronica’s mother bought the place. They were apparently convinced that the mansion was haunted.”

  “I figured as much. What did Tony want with his girlfriend?”

  “I’m not sure you’d want to know. But let me just put it this way....The dead make very cold lovers.”

  “My god, he wanted to...”

  “Don’t say it. But yes.”

  “And she agreed?”

  “It must have been just awful for her. Even if she was close to him in life.”

  “He’s in my yard, now. Tony is here.”

  “Yes, now I’ve warned him about having some discretion, and that is usually no problem, but...if your parents were to notice him, then you may have to come clean about the whole thing. I’m sorry; I know that’s not the easiest way...”

  “If it comes down to it, I’ll tell them what he’s doing here. I’ll tell everything.”

  Brent watched me as I talked.

  “This is good for him, too,” said Karen. “He was excited about coming to work for you. It gives him purpose. You know, he was a detective in real life.”

  “Does he know he’s dead?” I asked.

  “He’s aware, yes.”

  “Gregg doesn’t.”

  “Sometimes they just won’t admit as much to themselves; it’s too painful. There are those who are so attached to this world that they don’t want to lose it. Earth was such a happy place for them, then they die and don’t want to leave. Most people, however, realize that it is a place of both intense happiness and intermittent struggle and sorrow. I don’t believe it is a good place for eternal rest; it is not the right place for spirits. It is better for them to go somewhere else, Sam.”

  “He must have had a good life, then, a loving family.”

  “That is very likely. I hope that I have done at least something to assuage your fear. Try not to worry. Remember that the more evil the demon, the less potent is his power. It is only the good that you should truly fear. Does this help you?”

  “Yeah.” For some reason, I didn’t tell her about the glowing cave in my yard. I felt strangely protective of this information, that it should remain a secret that only Brent and I were privy to. It wasn’t that I didn’t trust Karen, but I didn’t want her to know every detail of my life either. “Thanks, Karen. I’m trying to get my classes wrapped up so I can leave for Seattle.”

  “Seattle?”

  “I’m transferring to UW.”

  “Oh, that’s right. You’re a student.”

  “Nothing’s going to follow me up there, right?”

  “Goodness, I hope not. I wouldn’t guess so. It’s more likely that your demon is tied somehow to Seaside, especially if he lived here when he was alive.”

  “Wait. That thing was once a person?”

  “Sure. Not a good person, but he was somebody human once. Most spirits begin that way, anyhow.”

  “Oh wow.” It was hard to imagine creepy guy waiting tables or teaching algebra or whatever he had done in real life.

  “You’re welcome to come visit anytime you’d like. I’d serve you tea or fruit salad --I’m a vegetarian, you know. Whatever you think you’d like, I could cook for you, though. But I figure you’re needing your rest.”

  “I’ll probably feel better next week,” I said. “Maybe I’ll stop by.”

  “Okay. I’ve got a client just walked in the door, so we’ll have to chat later.”

  “Bye,” I said and clicked the phone off.

  I looked at Brent. “It was Karen.”

  “Oh. Karen. I’d sort of thought as much, but I didn’t know. So what’d she say?”

  “She doesn’t think that the Dark Lord intends to kidnap me and take me to his realm.” I retold Brent the story that Whittington had told to me, of Mrs. St. Croix and of her summoning the Dark Lord, only to vanish later. “So they found her. Inside a psychiatric facility. The summoning had made her mad, but she hadn’t disappeared after all.”

  Brent looked a little worried. “You’re not going to go crazy, are you?”

  “I’m not sure. If I do, you’ll have to straighten me out.”

  “And how will I do that?” His eyes looked over my face, then my damaged body, and he sighed.

  “In movies, they slap the woman and somehow that snaps her out of it.”

  “You want me to slap you?”

  “Not really. I got enough of that from Mr. Breame.”

  “I know we grew up here and all, but Sam, in all truth, this town gives me the creeps. There’s always something weird happening. Haven’t you noticed that? Remember when our eighth grade algebra teacher started screaming one day during class, then threw herself out the window?”

  “Yes, but that wasn’t my teacher; you were two years ahead of me in school. I was in sixth grade that year. I remember they had to scrape her off the sidewalk; the fall left her lookin’ like a bloody pancake. That was the year Wang pulled his pants off and ran through the school with the principal chasing right behind him. Took forever to catch him, too.”

  “The same year some guy set fire to the JC-Penney’s because his favorite shorts weren’t on sale.”

  “My god, you’re right. This whole town is crazy.”

  “Remember when the cheerleaders showed up to our football game with no pa
nties on and drunk?”

  “Yeah. Maybe that’s why our team never lost.”

  “It’s never going to change, is it?”

  “I don’t think so. It’s always been that way.”

  “Wow. Just think. Everyone moves here to get out of the big, bad city.”

  “Out of the fire and into the frying pan.”

  “I remember home ec; that crazy bitch teacher told us that fingernail clippers weren’t for clipping fingernails. She said they were for cutting skin.”

  “That makes no sense.”

  “She was crazy, after all.”

  “I know. That was Mrs. Schuber. She was my teacher, too. I got detention from her for failing to loop my cursive g’s and y’s. Like it matters whether they’re looped or not.”

  “Like I said, crazy bitch.”

  “There was something else that happened to me when I was a kid. Here in Seaside, living with my folks. I didn’t tell you because, well it was so long ago, and I’d almost forgot myself. In fact, now it seems like a distant dream. I never told you; I never told anyone really. Because they wouldn’t have believed me. At the far edge of our property where my parents live, there is a little sauna, not attached to the house, just sitting far at the end of the yard, pretty much where the grass ends and the trees begin. My parents never used it, and there it sat unused, empty. My friends always asked if we could use it as you know, a hangout, a playhouse, but I’d never let ‘em. And there was a reason for that. When my parents, when they first bought the house, I was curious about that little shack. So I wandered over to it and opened the door, and there was a woman in it. Young, beautiful, naked...I guess she was using the sauna. And she grinned at me, beckoning me to come in. I almost did, but something stopped me. I knew she didn’t belong there, that she wasn’t real, wasn’t alive. You’re gonna ask how I knew that, how I knew she wasn’t alive, and I can’t tell you. It was just a real strong feeling I had, that something wasn’t right, wasn’t natural. Several times I went back to that sauna, and I looked inside, and there she was, just like always, naked and sweating, motioning for me to come in. Five times I looked in that place, and she was there every time, like she never left the sauna, never went anywhere. And I knew that she was something I wasn’t supposed to see, and I never went back in there again. Hell, I probably haven’t visited the place in ten years. As I got older, I rationalized what I’d seen when I was younger. Thought that maybe I’d just imagined it, or something like that. But the reason I never opened that door again... I was afraid. There was someone living in that sauna, and she wasn’t human.”