Now the couple were completely restored once again and standing in the posed position of the portrait, staring harmless out at him. He breathed a sigh of relief. It had all been some sort of software related gag. Then incredibly, the eyes of Charles Livingston began to focus then stare insanely at Armstrong as it started to move its lips then unbelievably spoke. “Hello, Mr. Armstrong…do you know who I am; who we are?”
The lawyer was beyond the ability to speak or move and as a result, he could only stare in horror at the sinister specter addressing him from within the monitor. His mouth hung slack-jawed as he was certain he had either completely lost his mind or was well on his way to doing so.
Then the image spoke again, “Yes…I can tell you know exactly who we are…and I suppose you are wondering both…what we are doing here…and what fate we might…have in store for you… Is that not correct?” The lawyer stared silently, realizing he was paralyzed and incapable of even the slightest movement as a steady stream of drool dripped down from his slack lips. Then the thing spoke again.
“Marie and I have come here via this mechanical box of yours to thank you personally…for the outstanding work you have done on our behalf…that is to say the role you have played in getting our descendants to agree to…come and live with us in our home.”
The lawyer’s tension began to relax ever so slightly, and for the first time, he hoped that perhaps he might somehow be favored by the specters and that no harm might come to him. After seeing what he had just seen, the lawyer was certain the two beings had the capability of doing real harm to him if they so chose to. They were obviously the 'others' Washburn had alluded to. Then the repugnant face from within the computer screen spoke again. “… oh yes…and in addition to offering you our eternal thanks and gratitude...we also came here to kill you.”
Before the lawyer had a chance to react, Livingston's two translucent hands shot out from the screen, one on each side, pulling the surface of the screen along with them as if it had been transformed into some type of elastic rubber-like material. Perhaps it served as a barrier to keep the things in Armstrong’s world from causing harm to the undead creatures. The hands quickly reached across the space on the lawyer's desk and then effortlessly passed through him and sunk deep into the center of the lawyer's chest leaving behind a silvery red puff of vapor in their wake.
Armstrong had but a moment to notice this when suddenly he felt a sharp pain in the center of his chest as his left arm became numb and he broke out in an icy cold sweat. He sensed an incredible pressure building in the center of his chest as if an elephant was straddling him, crushing him. He was unable to breath, and Armstrong looked down wide-eyed at the arms jutting from his upper body with the rubber-like monitor screen trailing behind them. Soon the image faded from his vision, and he was consumed in a vale of blackness.
His lifeless body slumped backward in a heap on his chair stone cold dead. His head slouched backward and off to the side as his slack-jawed mouth, and his tongue lolled out of the side resembling the head of a recently killed deer. The ghostly arms slowly retreated backward into the monitor.
Then, displayed on the screen, three people could be seen walking away in the distance; a man in a turn of the century finely tailored but worn suit, using a walking stick on one side, and a woman dressed in a white wedding gown yellowed with age on the other.
Between the couple, walking with his head down as if cowed and beaten was a heavy-set man dressed in a rumpled business suit. Then the man in the center turned, and Armstrong got one final look out at his earthly remains lying dead in his leather desk chair before he took in place with the others for eternity.
Chapter 18
The following Wednesday morning Jason walked slowly from the back of the luxurious house, past the in-ground swimming pool and out into the vast expanse of the property, heading toward the large barn off in the distance. He was in no hurry to deal with the task awaiting him; a responsibility he had been both anticipating and dreading since his discovery of the family plot the previous Saturday. The very idea of a cemetery on their land, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant enveloped him in discontentment. The property had been perfect. No, it had been more than perfect; it had been absolutely amazing. And Jason had determined he would be damned if he was going to let anything as distasteful as one hundred-year old insect riddled rotting corpses ruin the joy he had seen on his lovely wife's face. No, he certainly would not. Instead, he would deal with the problem as he had planned and would take care of it by the end of the day.
Just before he walked out the back door of the main house, Jason gave final instructions to a crew of workers, regarding the installation of a security system. Jason was a natural planner and in his role as senior engineer, he was often called upon to manage multiple complex projects, so juggling the few duties on his list for the day would likely not prove to be a challenge.
However, keeping all of the activities a secret from Stephanie might have been the hardest thing he ever had to do. And this was not just because it might be a challenge not having her find out, but because the very idea of deceiving her went against everything he believed in. In fact, she was unaware he was even at the property. She thought he was at the Ashton manufacturing facility at an important meeting concerning his promotion. It was not that Jason minded her knowing about the security system as they had both agreed it was something they wanted to have put in, but he didn't want her anywhere near the property until he took care of the unsavory problem festering beneath the earth at the back edge of their land. It simply worked out that this day, he could kill two birds with one stone so to speak.
Jason had located a security company in the southern Schuylkill County city of Yuengsville via the Internet on the Saturday evening they had arrived home, after meeting with the Ashton attorney. Jason had sent the company an email through their website, and was surprised when the owner of the company called him personally Sunday afternoon. Jason was happy they had been prompt in returning his call. Luckily, Stephanie had not been home at the time so he could make his plans without her knowledge.
After Jason had spoken with the security company owner, he had arranged to meet a team of their technicians at the Ashton house first thing Wednesday morning. Jason had agreed that at this late stage in the remodeling process, when almost all the work had been completed, the best and least invasive solution would be to install a wireless system.
As he walked back through the grass, which was moist with morning dew, he thought not only about the unpleasant task awaiting him in the tiny ancient cemetery, but he also thought back on the many events, which had transpired since he and Stephanie had taken possession of the property only five days earlier. So much had changed in their lives, practically overnight. And although coming to grips with everything was quite stressful at times, they had still managed to find time to take in some local sights and have fun with the kids that Saturday as well.
The children loved the steam locomotive ride, which the tour guide referred to as the 'Lokie'. The train took its passengers about a mile out around a mountain where they got an amazing scenic panoramic view of the town of Ashton and its surrounding area. Jason was also surprised at how much the kids enjoyed the Pennsylvania Coal Museum. He was afraid they might become bored, as they always tended to be with most museums. But they seemed to be genuinely fascinated by the various displays of coal mine photography as well as the displays of various tools of the mining trade, dating back over one hundred years.
Then Jason recalled how unusual their tour of the Miner's Tunnel coal mine attraction had been, and how he had been truly amazed at seeing the inside of a real coal mine. The tour had been both extremely interesting and unfortunately at one point quite discomforting if not terrifying for Jason. He thought about how he enjoyed studying the rough-hewn timbers, which held up the low ceilings of the main gangway as the mine-car tracks sloped steeply downward into blackness, leading over a mile into the very bowels of the earth. Eve
ryone enjoyed riding in the special mine cars that took the tourists safely to the bottom of the mine. Since they arrived at the mine close to closing time, there were not many people on their tour, which allowed him many occasions to ask questions. Jason was naturally inquisitive so asking questions was typical of him. His tour guide was extremely knowledgeable of the mining industry and his authentic coal region accented speech made his comments even more interesting.
Jason was surprised when he found they were all permitted to leave the mine cars when they reached the bottom of the tunnel and they were actually permitted to walk around inside the mine. Bright electric lights illuminated the area allowing for detailed examination of the various tunnels. The walls and the ground seemed to be covered with a film of moisture from water seeping through soil, which surrounded them. Coal glittered like black diamonds where the water slid along its surface sparkling in the lights. Each of the tourists had been given jackets to wear on the tour and when Jason felt how cold and damp it was so far below the earth, he was grateful for the extra layer of warmth. He looked at Jeremy and Cindy and had to suppress a chuckle as their skinny little legs stuck out below their coats, which were much too large for them.
The kids especially enjoyed the last part of the tour, when while traveling by mine car about halfway up the slope, the guide stopped the cars to give the tourists a demonstration of just how dark it could be inside a mine when there were no lights. Unfortunately, for Jason, that part of the tour turned unexpectedly into a very bad experience, one which he had not anticipated and one he would likely never forget.
Jason had been in what he considered very dark places before, and wrongly assumed that one dark place was the same as another. But he had never imagined darkness as inky black as what he experienced that day in the mine. With the flick of a switch mounted on a heavy wooden timber the group was plunged instantly into a state of darkness, the likes of which Jason had never imagined; the complete absence of all light.
The tour guide explained through the blackness, in his thick coal region accent, "Dis is wat dey mean wen day say 'pitch daarrk'. Wen ya can't ev'n see yer hend in fronta yer face." Jason was astonished by just how dark it was that far below the earth, and suddenly he was surprised to find himself thinking about the small graveyard he had found on their property.
Why he thought of it at this time he didn't understand, but he couldn't prevent an image from forming inside his mind, as clearly as if he were watching it take place right before his eyes. He imagined himself being one of the decaying bodies of the young boys confined inside of their rotting wooden coffins far below the surface of his land, unable to speak, unable to move, yet somehow completely aware. He had a realization that the darkness he was experiencing in the mine was likely the same level darkness present in the grave, and he began to feel as if he had been buried alive. His pulse began to quicken, as did his breathing, which started to come in short, uncomfortable gasps. And then his heart began to race as he broke out in a cold sweat. He could feel an uncontrollable claustrophobic sensation engulf him from head to toe and feared if he had to stay in the blackness of the mine much longer, his heart would explode inside his chest.
Just then, he felt something small and cold crawl insect-link across the top of his hand and Jason was certain a rat had made its way onto the car and was just seconds away from biting him with its disease-ridden teeth. He knew rats often could be found in dark, damp places such as mines. Then he heard a tiny voice whisper, "Hold my hand, Daddy. I'm scared." With relief and feeling a bit foolish, Jason realized what he had felt was Cindy tiny hand. She needed him, which meant he had no time for his own ridiculous imaginings. He held her hand gently in his and felt his own irrational fears began to quickly fade away.
Nevertheless, he was extremely thankful when the lights returned and the tour concluded. Jason was certain the entire time from the moment the lights went out until they came back on again couldn't have been more than twenty or thirty seconds, but it felt like an eternity to him. "Eternity," he thought to himself and once again imagined the bodies buried in the ground on their property. Those decaying remains would be confined to earth for eternity. And once he destroyed their grave markers as he planned, there would be no more record of them having ever existed. They would spend time without end trapped beneath the cold damp ground, until they became one with the earth. "Ashes to ashes," Jason thought.
"Are you ok?" Stephanie asked as they exited the mine car into the fading afternoon light. "You look a little pale."
Jason replied, "Ah...um...yes. Sure, honey. I'm fine. It just got a bit weird down there when the lights went out. Cindy got a little scared, but she was ok when I held her hand."
"You're a good dad," Stephanie said, and meant it as she reached over and kissed Jason on the cheek. She could also tell something else was on his mind, but if he didn't want to discuss it at this time, she wasn't going to push the issue. Besides, with all that had happened to them in the past twenty-four hours he could be dwelling on any number of things. He was however, acting a bit strange as he seemed to have acted back at the house earlier when he was standing in the field looking down at the dead fawn.
But what truly bothered Jason, was the fact that he was not normally claustrophobic, nor was he prone to wild thoughts like those he had experienced in the mine. He had never experienced the strange out-of-body sensations like he had felt back in the family graveyard either. And he knew although he had done everything he could to hide his discomfort, he could tell Stephanie had seen he was troubled. Jason suspected his problem was caused by the blackness in the mine being so incredibly intense it didn't take very long for his senses to begin to feel like he too was buried alive. The rest of the images were likely a result of his involuntary panic.
Thinking about coal mines in general, he could not imagine how anyone trapped in a mine cave-in could possibly keep from going insane. He had read newspaper accounts of mine accidents and cave-ins where miners had perished after being essentially buried alive. He believed such a death must be one of the worst possible ways to die.
Jason returned to the present as he opened the door to the barn, switched on the light and entered. He saw the bright and shiny John Deer tractor right where they had left it Saturday. In addition to the backhoe attachment, Jason saw the trailer cart attachment. He hooked the trailer up to the tractor, assuming it would make the job of transporting the small headstones a bit easier. He also planned to hook up the backhoe attachment if necessary after he found a suitable location to dig the hole where he would bury the soon-to-be broken up grave markers.
If he couldn't figure out how to use it, he would simply have to dig a hole by hand. As a precaution, Jason found a shovel and a large sledgehammer near the back of the barn, which he placed in the trailer cart. He also found a canvas tarpaulin, which he felt would work well to prevent his cargo from scratching the paint on the bed of the trailer. He wanted to keep any evidence of his activities at a minimum. Jason started up the tractor and eased it slowly out of the barn.
Chapter 19
As he sat atop the tractor, acclimating himself with its operation Jason thought again, with no small degree of guilt about how he had deceived Stephanie by not telling her he was coming up to the property today. She believed he was at the Ashton plant working out the final details of his promotion and subsequent transfer. Jason thought back to the previous Sunday when he and Stephanie had made up their minds to relocate their family to Ashton and about how they had spent most of that day making plans for the following week.
In the meantime, he said they could start to get things ready for their move. There were certainly plenty to do. Jason figured they could spend the two days packing some of their lesser-needed items into boxes to get a head start on moving. They would also have to contact moving companies for estimates as well as get in touch with a realtor about selling their Berks County townhouse.
Stephanie suggested they buy paint and spend the weekend gutting and rep
ainting the master bedroom. She already had an idea of what her color scheme would be. "We can take out all that old junk and tear up the old, worn out carpeting," she suggested. "Then we can strip the walls and give the whole room a fresh coat of paint. We will worry about getting new flooring later but I think we could accomplish quite a bit in two days. I wish the kids were finished with school; if they were, we could head up Thursday and have four days to work. But they are not done until next Wednesday."
"There's no hurry," Jason said. "We still have to sell this place."
"I know. But I simply can't wait to see the house again." Stephanie replied. "I'm ready to move in tomorrow."
Then Jason asked, "If we are gutting and painting the master bedroom, where are we supposed to sleep Saturday night?"
"Well, there is no way I would sleep in that musty dark bedroom anyway. The answer is simple." Stephanie explained. "I'll share a bed with Cindy, and you can sleep with Jeremy."
"Ugh!" Jason replied. "Jeremy snores and kicks his feet in his sleep. That's why I haven't slept in the same bed with him since he was small."
Stephanie said, "Well if that doesn't work out there are plenty of sofas and large chairs around the place. You could always sleep in one of those."
"Well I guess you're right," Jason conceded. "Thursday morning after Sammy wakes up and is ready we can head into the home center and pick out what supplies we will need. But to be honest with you, I think you may be a bit ambitious with your plans for the weekend. We'll be lucky to get the bedroom cleaned out, let alone prepared and painted."
Fallen Stones Page 24