“Let’s head for the cemetery,” Hunter said.
“Marilyn told me the sheriff removed the ladders once they finished their investigation. He didn’t want kids to go down there. How are we going to get to her?” asked Kellie.
“Easy,” Hunter said. “We’ll look for rope in the garage, you repel down to the tunnel, fight Elias with your power, and save Marilyn.” He grinned at Kellie.
“Right, that sounds like a plan. I have never repelled down anything. Are you crazy?” Kellie began to walk back up the stairs.
“Okay, so we’ll lower you down. You’ll be fine,” Hunter said, and Taylor hit him in the arm.
Mid-way up the stairs Kellie turned and said, “We’ll have to go through the mausoleum. I don’t know how to get into the tunnel from the monument on the other end.”
Taylor yelled, “No, you can’t. You’ll die. I can’t lose you.”
“I’ll be fine. Hey, I think I found a way out.” Kellie pushed a lever she noticed, and the wall in the library slid open. “Let’s go.”
#####
Marilyn’s eyes tried to focus, but she was in total darkness. Twenty feet underground left her little hope for light until a bright flash hit her eyes. The smell of sulfur was followed by more light. She realized Elias had lit one of the lanterns. He turned and looked at her.
“You are lucky young woman that the authorities left this lantern or you wouldn’t be able to see me. I can see well in the dark, but I want you to see what is going to happen. I was down here when those fools confiscated all my jars and tins. They brought lanterns as bright as the sun, and when they tore the ladder apart and pulled the wood out, they forgot this lantern. Aren’t you lucky? If I started a fire down here for light, you might die too quickly from the smoke.”
“Die, why do I have to die? I never did anything to you. I didn’t know you existed,” Marilyn scanned the room for anything that might help her.
“Your ancestors did and they killed me. They beat me, wanted to set me on fire for witchcraft, but settled on hanging me only because I tried to save my cousin,” Elias said as he pulled jars and tins from the air and placed them on the small table.
“I read about that, but didn’t you hurt the townspeople with your potions?” Marilyn’s voice was shaky.
“I tried to find a cure. I was close. It wasn’t my fault those stupid Shuland brothers brought me weak specimens to work with.”
“Specimens? They were human beings,” Marilyn’s voice was getting weaker.
“They were poor folk nobodies from the town and surrounding farms. It didn’t matter if they lived or died. They were like you, someone to use in my experiments. I have had years to think of what went wrong and I have found the answer. Today you will be my proof,” he said as he turned to look at Marilyn with a syringe in his hand.
“No, wait. I’m a bestselling author. I was going to write about this incident. If you let me live, I can add all the good things you did to try and help your cousin.” Marilyn’s mind raced trying to find words to save her life.
Elias laughed. “If I let you live, you would tell lies the way the others did. No, you must pay.”
Chapter Twenty-one
Hunter walked out of the garage holding a large bundle of nylon braided rope. “Shuland must have brought this here. It’s fairly new and strong. It’ll hold you Kellie, don’t worry.”
Kellie looked back and forth from Hunter’s face to the rope he held wondering what she had gotten herself into and how she was going to get into the tunnel in one piece.
Taylor scrunched her eyebrows. “Are you sure that’s going to hold her?”
“Without a doubt. Let’s go before Elias hurts Marilyn.”
Twenty minutes later they climbed out of Kellie’s SUV and headed up the hill toward the Carnfelder mausoleum.
“I still don’t like this,” Taylor insisted.
Kellie was silent.
Hunter pointed out a strong tree near the mausoleum that would hold Kellie’s weight when he tied the rope to it, and he and Taylor would lower her.
Taylor stood with her hand on one hip and said, “Hunter O’Neil if you drop my best friend I’m going to kill you.”
“Yes, dear,” he smiled at her while tying the rope to the tree.
He looped the rope around a second tree and tied the other end to Kellie’s waist. “When you start to descend, hold onto the rope with both hands. It’ll take some stress off your waist. You’ll have to go in alone. Taylor and I will stay out here and keep the rope taut around the tree until you are ready to descend. We’ll let out a little rope at a time, and lower you until you reach the bottom. I promise I won’t let go.”
Kellie rolled her eyes but hugged Hunter. “I trust you.”
Taylor was biting her lip so hard she drew blood.
Kellie told her, “I’ll be fine. I’m in good hands. We have all been through worse. Let’s do this.” She walked into the mausoleum and popped the crypt door open. Peeking down she could see a glimmer of light. She climbed up onto the edge of the crypt opening and gave Hunter a thumbs up to begin lowering her.
#####
Elias spun at the sounds above him. “I think we have company. It will be fun. Now I have two lovely specimens.” He laid the syringe on the table and disappeared in a wisp of dark gray smoke.
Marilyn mustered all her strength and yelled, “Whoever is coming down. Be careful, Elias has disappeared. He’s coming for you.”
Kellie had felt the evil of Elias’ presence before she heard Marilyn. She let go of the rope hanging on with only her left hand. She spun her right hand around her, and white light encompassed her body.
Elias voice shattered the quiet. “What have you done? I will get you no matter what power you possess.” Kellie’s skin crawled, but she knew she was safe.
Kellie’s bright light warned the Shuland’s spirits that they might be in trouble, and they retreated to a far corner of the cemetery. It also alerted Marilyn’s grandpa who appeared before her a moment later.
“Grandpa?” Marilyn couldn’t believe her eyes.
“I’m here, child. No worries now.” His smile calmed Marilyn. A minute later she saw Kellie drop down from the crypt shaft.
“Kellie, how did you know where to find me?” Marilyn tried not to cry.
“Katrina May told me Elias comes here and Claudia told me you were no longer in the house. This option made sense.” She rushed to Marilyn’s side to check on her when she noticed a man standing at the tunnel entrance.
Her eyes widened, and Marilyn said, “Can you see him? That’s my grandpa.”
Kellie smiled at the friendly face. “Hi, Mr. Price. Do you know where Elias Carnfelder is now? He was in the shaft with me but disappeared.”
Grandpa spoke, “The same white light that protected you and summoned me scared him off. You’ll be able to find him.”
They heard Hunter call down from the crypt opening. “Are you all right? Can we pull one of you back up?”
“No need,” Grandpa said as he put his arm around Marilyn’s waist and Kellie watched them float up the shaft.
As Hunter’s jaw dropped when he saw Marilyn floating, he grabbed her arm to help her out. Grandpa returned to Kellie’s side and said, “Your turn.”
In a few moments, both young women were safe inside the mausoleum explaining how Marilyn’s grandpa had helped them.
Taylor was hugging both young women and Hunter stood shaking his head.
He said, “I’m glad we have Marilyn safe and sound, but we still need to find Elias and the Shulands. What now?”
“Please find them soon. Elias was going to kill me with a potion he concocted,” Marilyn said reaching for Hunter’s arm. “If we don’t stop him, he’ll kill all of us.”
Kellie’s cell rang.
“Hi, yes, I understand. Thanks.”
“Claudia right?” Taylor asked.
“Yes, and she said Elias won’t go back to the house. His spirit is hiding in the cemetery a
long with the Shuland brothers. Claudia said my white light can locate them.”
“How?” Marilyn asked.
“I’m not quite sure. I use it for protection or fighting. Maybe if I put up a wall, it will warn which way the danger is, and we follow.”
“That’s as good as any other plan for catching a ghost. Let’s go before it gets dark.” Hunter said.
#####
Kellie walked out of the mausoleum into the cemetery proper. Holding her hands out in front of her, a white mist formed. She looked at Taylor and shrugged, “I had no idea I could do this. Let’s walk and see where it takes us.”
Kellie felt the mist move on its own, and she followed. Taylor, Marilyn, and Hunter followed her through the cemetery.
Taylor whispered, “Do you know where we are going?”
“No,” replied Kellie as they neared the Shuland monument.
Marilyn stopped her. “Kellie, do you realize where we are, that’s the monument and tunnel exit.”
The mist was hovering over the monument. “I think we’re supposed to look here or wait. Your grandpa was drawn to the light, perhaps the other spirits will, too. I’m going to try and connect with Andrew,” Kellie said.
Kellie stood still, and her thoughts turned to Andrew. She called out to him with her mind and he answered. He was afraid.
“Don’t be afraid, I’ll keep you safe and help you. I promise,” Kellie whispered.
A few moments passed, and Andrew appeared before her. “I’m here, but Elias will know I left and will look for me.”
A bright light appeared near the tree behind Andrew.
“Andrew, I want you to turn and run into the white light. You will be safe from Elias there and your parents are waiting.”
“They are?”
“Yes, go now. Run fast.”
Andrew ran toward the light, and it became brighter as he disappeared into it. A screech filled the cemetery and Kellie said, “I think Elias is angry.”
Her phone rang, and Claudia confirmed Andrew had made it safely into the light, but the anger Elias felt had increased. “Please be careful, Kellie. He is a nasty spirit. Try to get the Shuland brothers first. It will lessen his power.”
Kellie glanced at her friends and said, “I’m going to try something I have never done. I’m going to try and pull the spirits of the Shuland brothers here and then remove them.”
Her friends backed up closer to the trees not knowing what to expect. Kellie closed her eyes again and concentrated on the Shuland brothers. When she heard Taylor gasp, she opened her eyes to see two strange men standing in front of her along with Marilyn’s grandpa.
“Here they are. Send ‘em off now,” Grandpa nodded.
Kellie spun her right hand in a circle, and light wrapped both brothers tightly and pulled them down into the ground. Their screams could be heard for several seconds after they disappeared.
“You did it; they’re where they belong,” Grandpa said. “Now, we get Elias Carnfelder. He’s never going to hurt my granddaughter again.”
#####
“How do we find him?” Kellie asked. “He has a way to hide from us.”
Grandpa said, “He was able to hide behind Andrew’s innocence. Andrew is gone. Elias has no way to hide. I’ll look for him.”
When grandpa left, Kellie looked at her friends and said, “Since we can’t find Elias, Andrew has gone into the light, and the Shulands are wherever they were meant to be, let’s try and help the souls under the bridge.”
Marilyn asked, “Katrina May said they were trapped there because of the unhallowed ground, and we don’t have time to find a priest.”
Hunter explained, “I did a little research on the internet, and we can ask God to bless the ground. We can also ask Him to take the souls home that belong there. Later, the town can have the ground blessed again with a proper memorial to remember the abandoned souls.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Taylor said. “Let’s go see what we can do. It looks as if a storm is coming.”
Kellie glanced up at the darkening sky and said, “Nightfall isn’t far behind. At least the bridge is close.”
#####
A light mist covered the area by the time the friends reached the bridge.
Marilyn said, “I still don’t want to go down there.”
“You can wait up here on the road, but if the storm gets worse you should seek cover under the bridge with us,” Kellie said. “None of the spirits there want to hurt you, but Elias might show up again. I hate for you to be alone.”
“Okay,” Marilyn said. “I’ll come with you, but I’m still afraid.”
Taylor took her hand, and they followed Kellie and Hunter under the bridge.
“You weren’t joking about this place,” Hunter said. “Someone was in a hurry to bury the bodies, but still cared enough to leave the tombstones. It’s very odd.”
“I think the people were frightened and broken hearted and did what they could. I can’t imagine the horror they faced thinking their family members were possessed,” Kellie said as she walked among the empty tombstones.
She felt a small hand slip into hers and looking down saw Katrina May’s smiling face.
“You came back,” the little girl said. “We were all worried you wouldn’t come back.”
“I promised and I brought my friends. We need to get you safe before Elias finds us.”
Katrina May began to sob and threw her arms around Kellie. “Please don’t let him come back here. He hurt all of us.”
“He can’t hurt you now. I can protect you. Please let the others know that.”
Katrina May disappeared, and Kellie looked at Marilyn and said, “I hope she believed me and comes back.”
A crack of thunder shook the area and lightening hit a large tree next to the road. Marilyn screamed and dropped to her knees. She began to mumble to herself, “It’s only thunder Marilyn. Take a deep breath. There’s nothing in the dark that can hurt you.” Her childhood fears returned, and she fought the panic.
Taylor knelt next to Marilyn and spoke to her. Slowly Marilyn’s breathing returned to normal, and she began to get to her feet when another bolt of lightning flashed near the trees. The bolt was bright red.
“That’s not normal,” screamed Marilyn. “It must be Elias; he’s going to kill me.” She dropped to her knees again and lay on the ground in a fetal position.
Lightening continued to flash red and white on both sides of the bridge. A torrent of rain began to cover the area.
“This isn’t normal. It never rains this way. We don’t have red lightening. It’s coming from hell where you sent the Shulands,” Marilyn screamed.
They heard Elias’ maniacal laughter coming through the rain.
Taylor stifling a scream knelt next to Marilyn again and tried to calm her while fighting her own fear.
Katrina May returned to Kellie’s side and said, “I spoke to the others. They will come.”
One by one Kellie saw a spirit appear next to each tombstone in the small cemetery. She looked at them and said, “I promise I will help you.”
While Marilyn and Taylor were speaking and Kellie was trying to communicate with the spirits, Hunter had been standing at the edge of the cemetery praying. He spoke up, “I’m not sure if it worked, but I prayed this cemetery would become hallowed ground.”
As he spoke, a white light appeared near the edge of the cemetery.
“I think you did it, Hunter. Look, the white light is here. Katrina May, you and your friends can go into the light and home now,” Kellie said.
Before Katrina May could speak Elias appeared at the edge of the cemetery. He couldn’t cross into the cemetery. Kellie was doing her best to protect the area with the power of her mind. Elias screeched, and the wind blew under the bridge. It smelled of rotting leaves, dead animals, and damp earth.
Marilyn was petrified and continued to lie in a tight ball near the wall of the bridge. Taylor remained at her side.
Kellie and H
unter did their best to remain standing against the wind. Kellie held up her hands, and the wind began to die down and stop. They could see leaves swirling in the wind outside the protection of the bridge, but under the bridge the wind was calm. The bridge kept the pouring rain at bay. Red and white lightening continued in the main cemetery and Elias’ screeches could be heard, but they were safe under the bridge.
One by one the spirits appeared near their tombstones again. Kellie asked Katrina May if they would be willing to give her their names. She promised her friend would tell their story and people would learn the truth.
Katrina May spoke to the other spirits, and they agreed.
Marilyn knew she needed to conquer her fear and help those poor souls. She sat and pulled out her notebook and pen. As each spirit told Katrina May their name, she in turn told Kellie, Kellie would repeat the name out loud, and Marilyn wrote them down. Every spirit also gave their age, and when they died and how they died.
Kellie promised them that she and Marilyn would make sure they were never forgotten. All of their names would be placed on their tombstones.
The white light appeared at the edge of the cemetery again.
“It’s time for you to leave,” Kellie said to Katrina May. “Elias cannot stop you this time.”
She walked Katrina May close to the light and watched her disappear into the light. She stepped back, and the friends watched thirty one spirits enter the light before it disappeared.
Elias’ scream sounded as painful as it did angry. He knew he was alone. They heard a gunshot and Kellie thought Elias wasn’t completely alone. Grandpa was after him.
#####
Taylor looked at the rain pouring down the side of the hill toward where they were sitting. It stopped at the edge of the cemetery and ran off in two directions away from them. She looked at Kellie and asked, “Are you keeping the rain from flooding the cemetery?”
“No, perhaps the spirits are still protecting us.”
Another crack of thunder shook them, and a bolt of red lightning hit the ground at the edge of the cemetery. It was close enough that they should have felt the heat, but they continued to feel the cool breeze from the rain. Red sparks shooting in every direction reminded Marilyn of a July 4th sparkler.
Abandoned Souls Page 19