by Susan Lowry
Sarah found a space in the parking lot near the reception area and they rushed after Travis past the hotel's adjoining dining room and down the steps of a rocky slope to the lake.
“How do you like those boats?” Kate exclaimed, trying to keep up with the boy as he ran down to the main dock. From there they wandered onto a small foot-bridge that traversed a trickling stream over to the side entrance of a low building with a flat roof.
“It’s a gift shop,” said Sarah, her eyes against the window. “I see pool noodles and all kinds of things for playing in the water.”
“I’m looking forward to a swim,” Kate said, as she gazed across the pristine waters to the reflections along the far shore.
Attached to the gift shop, a small store was stocked with food, books, magazines and diapers; enough to meet most of their needs for a while. Further along was a rectangular building with large windows and a surrounding deck.
Travis dashed inside and over to the pool table with Sarah behind him. Kate strolled across the old pine floors and worn carpet to the piano. While Travis and Sarah hit a ping-pong ball back and forth near the stone fireplace, Kate gazed at the sunset over the lake, her fingers moving slowly across the piano keys.
Not far from the dock she could see a body, a man on his side beneath a tree. Of course they were well-aware there were corpses, judging from the cars in the parking lot.
She stopped playing. “It’s going to be dark soon, Sarah,” she said. “We should get back to the RV for some dinner. We can explore the rest in the morning.”
“Well, I am starving,” Sarah said, laying the paddle down on the table. “How about you Travis? Are you hungry sweetie?” But he headed out the far door and raced over to a swing.
“Look at this,” Kate remarked, gazing at the small playground. Sarah pushed Travis on the swing a few times, but before he was barely moving he jumped off, ran up the steps to a tubed slide and disappeared into an attached treehouse covered with a shingled roof.
Kate sighed and gazed at Sarah. “I like it here. It’s a good place to have the baby and start a future.”
As Travis descended the slide they both ambled closer to the lake; the sun was low and the water, a kaleidoscope of contrasting colours, lapped gently against the rocks giving Kate a feeling of peace. She filled her lungs with the fragrant air.
“It certainly has potential,” Sarah sighed. “I’ll give it that. But we’ve got a grizzly job ahead of us, if we want to stay here, I’m afraid.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Proof of Life
(August 1st, Year One, PA)
At some point while Kate slept during that first night at Moonstone the wind picked up and from her bunk in the RV she heard the welcome sign near the hotel flapping and creaking on its hinges. Something metallic rolled across the pavement, and finally came to a crashing halt. She heard Travis and Sarah toss restlessly.
At around 2:00 am, Kate stared out a moonless sky, realizing her mind had been working overtime thinking about Jack. She ran her fingers over her stomach but couldn’t detect anything growing in there yet. She was thankful to have Sarah to help with the baby.
If only their mother had known Sarah had survived — that her little girl had been raised by a crazy woman. Kate wondered what that had really done to her sister; so far it was still hard to tell. She would never take her eyes off her child or Travis — she was already a mother, she realized.
Such a sweet boy. She could hear him breathing. He’d been through so much and would need a lot of nurturing; but he couldn’t possibly overcome such horrors, not completely. They would certainly do their best for him, he deserved at least that.
Eventually she dozed off again, waking when Travis cried out in his sleep. Sarah muttered something just after that. Kate rolled over and then onto her back and she heard Snowy cleaning his feathers — he must have been having a bad night too.
At approximately 5:00 am the three of them sat up all at once. They'd somehow connected telepathically in their sleep and someone, who was utterly confused, had joined them. Travis was trying to convince her she was not having a hallucination and every time she tried to respond he sent her encouraging affirmations. Kate and Sarah did the same.
Three people want you to join them… three people will teach you how to find your way to them.
Kate was focusing on the woman when her gaze caught a faint light moving in the sky from the window above her bunk. It was travelling past the stars and seemed to be descending.
“Look,” she cried, “out my window, quickly!”
“It’s a plane!” blurted Sarah who was beside Kate on the bunk now.
Travis pushed his face up to the screen. Then he bolted for the door. “Travis wait! Be careful in the dark,” Kate cried.
They ran after him in bare feet across the grass, rushing towards the lake where everything was glowing with starlight and the budding dawn.
The object twinkled brighter as it headed directly over the lake, two lights visible and then three. It swung around to the left in a wide curve and Kate could have sworn she saw the wings tip before it changed direction. High above the trees it gradually flew off, fading into the distance.
“You see Kate, we aren’t alone — that’s proof of it, right there,” whispered Sarah in awe.
Travis was still gaping at the sky. It was the first time Kate had seen him smile like that.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
The Burial Grounds
(August 3rd, Year One, PA)
“Why are you bothering me,” Kate mumbled irritably, sweeping the dead leaves piled high from last winter off the recreation center’s surrounding deck.
“What did you say hon?”
Kate turned to discover Sarah walking towards her.
“Oh, you scared me,” Kate tittered. “Uh… where’s Travis?”
“Caught you talking to yourself again,” Sarah said, her eyes softening sympathetically.
Kate peered at her for a second, and then continued to sweep.
Sarah picked up another broom and pushed some leaves toward Kate’s pile. “He went straight to his room after breakfast again. Makes as if he’s reading,” she sighed, with a look of concern.
“Poor baby,” Kate said. “Pretending these bodies aren’t here isn’t fooling anyone. We’ve got to do something about them Sarah — no more excuses.”
They had found exactly two-dozen deceased residents, most of whom had ended up in the lobby of the hotel, likely on extended Christmas vacations — away from the boy’s sight, fortunately. A few were beneath the artificial tree where they’d either crawled, dropped, or possibly laid themselves down waiting to die. There were only so many couches and chairs, and it was as good a spot as any. Obviously panic stricken, they’d felt safety in numbers and congregated in the most convenient place, the terror and agony frozen on their faces.
The staff were still in uniform among the guests — two maids, a waiter, three waitresses, a chef, and two cooks. A man in a white shirt lay half on a winged-back chair; the head and arms had fallen onto the horribly stained ornate rug, which along with the contaminated furniture, would have to go. The sooner the better.
A few corpses were scattered about the grounds too — like the one beneath the tree noticeable from the recreation-room deck where Kate and Sarah were sweeping leaves. Travis had seen it the evening they’d arrived — the one and only time he’d managed to ignore it, staying indoors the entire next day.
“I guess we start with him,” Kate said. “Bring the pick-up as far as you can and we’ll drag him over to it. Don’t forget the gloves — oh, and some scarves for our faces, hon.”
Except for the couple on the second story, the guest rooms were empty. It would have helped if the elevators had been functional, but they’d have to carry the bodies down the stairs. Fortunately there was a good supply of green garbage bags in the kitchen.
Yesterday had been a day of cleaning, organizing, and making their new home comfortabl
e. It was unanimous that the cottage directly east of the hotel was the nicest. As soon as Travis was fed, and had settled into his room with his books, Kate had scouted the resort with Sarah — going through every dwelling thoroughly, all the way down to the last cabin at the western tip by the bay.
Poor Travis had not ventured outside since that first night. He knew exactly what they meant when they said they were cleaning up the grounds. Kate had started to be a little more specific but he’d covered his ears and peered into the pages of his book. Once they had taken care of the bodies she hoped he’d feel better.
While waiting for Sarah to return with the pick-up, Kate swept the last pile of leaves down the steps and then behind the building off into the woods, finally leaning against the broom and gazing into the trees.
She suddenly stiffened — a particular someone was trying to make contact again — almost the way Travis had done at first, then Sarah, and more recently, the woman they were teaching and encouraging to try to locate them.
But there was a familiar darkness to this individual, and Kate strongly suspected it was Jack. He’d been trying to get her attention for the last two days and now she was feeling violated by his presence.
“Go away!” she said abruptly, as if she were shooing away a horsefly. Then shuddering, she closed herself off to him the way she had done before and turned toward the lake, which was sparkling under the August sky.
It was wonderful here. She looked down at her flat tummy and ran her palm over it. A little person was growing in there — completely dependent on her for everything. Her mother had been the most beautiful woman — Kate remembered the smell of her perfume and the sound of her laughter. She longed for her at times; there had been nobody as perfect — until Sarah had vanished. She’d blamed Kate for that.
Oh, her mother had never actually said such a thing but Kate felt the guilt in her very core. Her father had done everything in his power to convince her otherwise, insisting she was loved by both of them. Yet, after Sarah disappeared, only his love had felt authentic.
She could still remember the sick feeling when Sarah jumped through the car door, certain there was going to be trouble. Sarah had ignored her warnings and Kate, who had followed her to make sure she was safe, had become distracted by the bubble-gum machine.
But, how could a mother blame a three-year-old for something like that? She was the adult who was supposed to protect them. How could she?
Suddenly, as Kate gazed out across the water, a memory surfaced and her breath caught in her throat. She saw her mom sitting beside her on her bed, after Sarah’s memorial service. Kate had been crying, and then her mom had sobbed, “I’m so sorry, can you ever forgive me?”
And then, anger had welled up inside Kate and she had screamed how much she hated her mother at the top of her lungs, declaring she was not her little girl anymore. She only wanted daddy from then on.
Now Kate was beginning to sob. How could she have done such a thing? She had never forgiven her. Never even spoken to her again. And then, her beautiful mother had died. Kate had been so cruel. It was her own fault that they’d drifted apart. At the sound of Sarah returning, she quickly wiped her eyes.
They dragged the man’s body out to the parking lot, carried each corpse out of the hotel, and piled them into the truck-bed; then driving around the resort to retrieve the five others, they cleared the last one from the path near the cabin by the bay, hoping nothing had been missed.
As they passed the back of their cottage with the heap of bodies, Kate prayed Travis would not look out of his bedroom window. They headed up the road towards the highway, not stopping until they’d passed the last of the elms that bordered the road.
“This is going to be a major undertaking,” Sarah muttered, as they dragged the first body from the truck into the ditch. They planned to come back and bury them as soon as possible.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
One Talking Bird
(October 13th, Year One, PA)
It was a warm fall morning and they’d decided to make breakfast outside.
“Well Travis,” Kate said, wiping the grill with the one brand of vegetable oil they’d been able to find that hadn’t gone rancid yet, “you were trying to tell me something the other day, weren’t you?”
He peered up at her curiously, as she dropped three small circles of batter from her spoon onto the grill in a triangle, then made an upward arc beneath them for a mouth.
“Is this how your mom did it?” She poured more batter on top of the face she’d made, forming a medium-sized pancake.”
Travis nodded.
“I think our telepathy sessions are really coming along. I would never have imagined that you could communicate such a thing. Learning a skill really isn’t all that hard when you love it, is it sweetie? Sarah and I have been working so intensely on it, but it hasn’t felt like work at all. And you, my boy, are an excellent teacher. Okay, want to do the next one? Careful you don’t burn yourself.”
While Travis quite creatively formed a face out of batter, Kate decided to see if he would understand something more complicated than she’d tried before. She sent him a message to go inside and set the table. He smiled, handed her the spoon and trudged across the deck into the cottage.
She was thinking how truly amazing this was when Sarah arrived with a second box of books from the car. Yesterday, they’d made a trip into Hunters Falls for the sole purpose of acquiring educational materials for Travis. To the delight of all of them, both the bookstore and the library were completely free of corpses.
“These are the ones he can put on his bedroom shelf,” Sarah mumbled, using the box to hold open the screen door.
“I've got some homework for you Travis — reading to do in the evenings before it gets dark,” Sarah said, as she lifted the second box and was about to go inside.
Kate flipped the third pancake and glanced over to find Snowy hovering in the doorway. He had flown from Travis' shoulder. She watched as he escaped outside and began to fly around in circles, chirping excitedly. Travis rushed after him, but the Snowy flew higher, searching for a place to land in the trees.
“Oh no,” cried Sarah, “I forgot you had him out of the cage. Sorry Travis.”
“Snowy!!!” Travis screamed.
Kate gazed at him.
“Come back here Snowy!” Travis yelled, as Snowy looked down on them from a high-up branch, tweeting enthusiastically.
Sarah’s jaw dropped and she glanced at Kate.
“It's okay,” Kate smiled. “I'm sure he’ll come down when he's hungry.”
The three of them stared up at him for a while.
“Guess he likes it up there,” Kate said. “I don’t know about you guys, but, I’m getting a sore neck. We might as well eat. We can sit outside and enjoy this weather. He’s got a birds-eye view of us Travis,” she chuckled.
Travis huffed, and went back into the cottage, returning with the placemats and cutlery he'd already put on the kitchen table. Sarah held out a plate for Kate to load up with the pancakes. She gave Sarah a look and headed over to the picnic table with them.
Travis was securing the napkins beneath the cutlery. She put her arm on his shoulder and peered into his eyes. “Do you realize what you did a minute ago?”
He grinned shyly.
“You talked. You even yelled! We both heard you,” she beamed. Sarah came over and they gave him hugs.
“Well don’t stop talking now sweetie,” Sarah laughed. “I’m so proud of you!”
“Can you say something else?” Kate coaxed gently.
Travis gazed up at the tree. “Snowy, get down here!” he yelled with startling volume.
Kate and Sarah looked at each other and giggled.
While eating their lunch Snowy landed in the centre of the picnic table and soon began to strut from plate to plate, finally biting into Travis' pancake. He shook his head, sending a large, syrupy crumb from his beak onto Travis’ chin.
Wiping it off, Tr
avis muttered, “Stupid bird.” Then he licked his finger.
“What?” He blinked at Kate and Sarah.
They both burst into such loud laughter that Snowy took off again, ascending high into the branches.
After eating, Travis sat out with a book under the shade of the umbrella, waiting for him to come down, while Kate and Sarah began their research on midwifery up on the veranda. It must have been an hour later that Snowy fluttered down to the boy’s shoulder. “Finally hungry are we?” Travis said, heading into the cottage.
Later that day, Kate was busy at the kitchen counter preparing dinner. “Kate?” Travis said, so unexpectedly from behind her that she jumped.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were there,” she laughed, not letting on that Jack was bothering her again, trying to contact her each time she let her guard down. She quickly shut him out, but his persistence was getting on her nerves.
“Sorry,” I just wanted to tell you something.
“Well what sweetie?” she said, sitting down at the table.
He sat down too and peered at her with his bright eyes which were such a deep brown they were almost black. “I’m going to be eight soon.”
“You are?” He had a way of touching her heart and she felt her lips form a smile.
“On Halloween. Do… do you think we could have a party?”
“You know what — Sarah and I were planning to get one of those gas ovens. The portable kind. And what better reason to make a trip into town. We’ll have a cake. And candles.”
Travis grinned. “And Halloween candy?”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Space Pilot
(April 3rd, Year Two, PA)
As Kate waddled into the bathroom, she could hear laughter emanating from the lake and realized she’d slept in even later than usual. Her body was demanding an incredible amount of rest. Examining her ballooning abdomen in the mirror, she rotated to the side, quite certain the baby had dropped.