by Rick Kueber
“Yeah, I'm playing grounds keeper today, but I brought two shovels in case one breaks, or if I can't get it done by myself... I might have to recruit one of you.”
“So, things are starting to really green up around here. You plan on weed wackin' the woods?” Katie asked inquisitively.
“Something like that, kiddo...You'll see.” My reply left her wondering exactly what I was planning to do. The short commute was flying by, and soon we crossed the bridge and were parked at the side of the road. The eerie farm felt strangely different in the early morning light. The appearance was far less ominous and foreboding, and now, with all that we experienced and all that we knew, it had lost some of its mystery. That Sherlock guy had nothing on us.
“So who is that guy in the woods?” Theo asked casually.
“Where?” I replied. “Never mind.” Theo smirked. “There is a guy wandering out here in the woods, but I don’t think you can see him.”
“Elijah?” Katie asked.
“That’s my guess.” Said Theo as the van slowly crept to a stop. I opened up the back of the van and retrieved the trimmer. I turned it head up, and checked the neoprene blades. All was in order. I turned it back upright and headed towards the woods. I set the choke, turned on the gas, and gave it a few quick pulls. As usual, it started up with a loud high pitched growl. I aimed the blades towards the path we had taken before, and began to slowly swing from side to side, clearing a wide path one step at a time. Once I was past the thick underbrush near the edge of the woods, the path was cleared much more easily and speedily.
After I had broken through the worst of the thicket, Jenn, Katie and Theo passed me quickly and made their way through the rest of the woods and brush to the Helmach house ahead. I continued to clear the path and left them to clearing and cleansing house.
The three of them sat on the front porch and Theo spoke. “Have there been any encounters with Elijah, or Kathrine?”
The girls looked at each other as they shook their heads no, and Katie returned the question. “We pretty well told you everything. I mean, other than Ash and the Shadow, we haven't experienced any other ghosts.”
“I asked for two reasons. First, as much as Ashley did not want to forgive her father, that has to happen...and the best way for that to happen is for them to have a spiritual face to face confrontation. The second reason I asked is because I see someone standing by the tree over there, and I am hoping it’s Elijah… it feels like it is.” Theo pointed directly to the tree where the decimated remains laid, buried beneath the vines and leaves of the underbrush.
“That's where Rick found Elijah.” Jenn said. “Then I need to get Ashley out here now and bring the two of them together.” Theo stood up and motioned as if he were calling someone over from the wooded front yard saying “It is time.”, but the girls saw nothing. With trancelike movements, he turned and opened the front door. He stood there for a moment with his eyes closed, breathing deeply. “Ashley. We know you are here. It is time to face your father. It is time to find the goodness in your soul and forgive him.”
Jenn turned to Katie and whispered, “Do you smell smoke?” Katie nodded, wide eyed and nervous. Theo opened his eyes to see Ashley lying face down on the front room floor, her ankle shackled to the fireplace, and her lifeless body surrounded in flames. The scene that had probably played out hundreds of times, was beginning again. The crumpled body of the child began to stir and sob. Getting to her feet she began to scream, “Daddy! Help me Daddy!” The child stomped her feet from the pain as her skin began to turn pink from the heat. “DADDY PLEASE!” she screamed so loudly her voice cracked and she began to choke.
“Did you hear that?” Katie said. It almost sounded like a voice from inside the house.
“I think so, but I could not make out anything but a girl's voice, probably Ashley's.” said Jenn. “Did you hear that Theo?” Katie asked. Though he still stood there statuesque in the doorway, Theo was somewhere else, some other plane of existence.
Where Theo was, so was Ash. He watched as if he were a ghost himself, unable to physically interact with her and Elijah, unable to help. He observed and with his mental connection to them, he coaxed their emotions. It was like watching a foggy dream within a dream. The edges of his vision were blurred and white, and the scene before him appeared almost in a stuttered slow motion, with sounds and voices that were slightly muted and echo-y.
It was just then that an icy breeze blew from the front woods, past Jenn and Katie, giving them a chill. Theo watched as the coldness of Elijah's spirit passed him in the doorway.
Elijah rushed into the flames grabbing Ashley up. The horror, and painful reality, struck him. He could not just rush her from the burning room. She was shackled and chained to the kettle iron. Elijah placed Ashley back on the hardwood floor and grabbed the heavy black chain in both hands. The burning metal links branded his hands, and as he pulled his hands slid down the chain, leaving behind his seared flesh.
Elijah had knelt across the ring of fire and his clothes were now burning. The hair quickly burned from his legs and the putrid smell of burning flesh soon filled the air as his skin blistered and burned. Gritting his teeth, Elijah wrapped the chains around his arms and clenched it tightly in his hands. The heat of the chain caused the cotton fabric of his shirt to burst into flames. Elijah screamed. The wordless sound erupted from deep within him as his smoldering, leather boot pushed hard against the stone fireplace, ripping the kettle iron from the wall. Elijah fell backwards into the fire and the flames licked at his ears and neck. They scorched and burned the hair from his head. He swiftly rolled over, without trying to extinguish himself, he scooped up his limp lifeless daughter and rushed her from the burning room, dragging the chain and iron behind them.
Theo watched as the two rushed past him, and the warm wind blew from the front door, once again blowing past the girls.
“Whew...hot flash!” Jennifer jested. Theo's blank expression faded to a smile as he watched the shackle, chain, and iron disappear, and the burned pair become whole again. Ashley's lifeless body stirred, she looked up to her father and wrapped her arms around his neck. When the two reached the more dense woods, they slowly faded from Theo's vision.
A few moments later Theo sat back down with the girls and opened his carry bag. He extracted two small boxes and handed one to each of the girls.
“Mmmmm... you smell that? It's like flowers, maybe lilac... is that the sage I am smelling?” Katie asked. “No, the sage does smell good, but I don't think that's what you smell.” Theo thought that what they were smelling, or experiencing, was a manifestation of a coming peace, and that made Theo feel beyond successful already.
“Take these. There are three new white candles in each box. When I'm ready, I will have you each light one and then I will have you light my sage with both of them. That is when we will open the door and begin in the front room and work our way through the house. How are the rooms laid out, again?”
Jenn started out explaining to him, “When we first go in, off to the right is a dining room, behind that is a short hallway. On the right side is Ashley's room, and on the left is a closet, I guess. We didn't open it. And at the end of the hall is the master bedroom.”
Katie took over then. “Yes, but we will walk into the front room where the fireplace is, and straight behind that is the kitchen, and the back door is straight back. It's kind of a shotgun on this half... if that makes sense.”
“It makes perfect sense...Katie sense.” Theo smiled back at her. “Is there anything else?” “Ummmmm.... oh, I guess there is that big burn hole in the front room floor that goes into that tiny cellar space we told you about.” said Jenn.
“Right. Once we have finished on the right side of the home, we will move on to the front room, kitchen and then back to the front room again. After the second clearing, I will give one of you the sage and I will go outside and come into the cellar. Then you will place one of the lit candles there in the room and hand me down the sag
e and a candle from up there, and then come join me with two more lit candles.”
Jenn and Katie gave each other serious looks and then nodded saying “I think we got it.” “The white candle light will drive out the darkness and any evil or negative energies. The white sage smoke will shift the energies, have a calming effect on us and spiritual energies, and purify the spaces we smudge. We need to open every cabinet door and every drawer, anywhere a shadow could be, we have to let in the light.”
The lighthearted and cheery Theo had become a serious professional at work with a task and a goal. Years of experience, and accredited Spiritual education had given him the tools he needed to help us. This was not something that could be handled lightly, or simply, like we had done with our 'rice distraction' technique.
Theo also had two eager and attentive assistants and they began the house clearing by using the candles to light every darkened corner and crevasse, while Theo held the smoldering sage in a large half shell and wafted the smoke in every direction with a large eagle feather. He spoke a continual prayer, and his pitch, tone and volume raised and lowered. It almost seemed as if he were chanting an ancient song of high priests from some time and place that only existed in epic stories of mystical fiction and fantasy, as they went room to room. I have seen this done in other, less volatile situations, but this would have been an impressive ritual to behold as they worked their way through every inch of the home.
Theo explained that the sage smudging and candle ritual needed to happen in a clockwise manner, starting in the master bedroom, then Ashley's room, the closet, the dining room and so on. After the bedrooms were finished, Theo motioned to the closet and Katie reached her open hand to the door knob.
The door opened with a pop and a creak and was off kilter a bit, dragging tightly across the floor with a vibrating, low rumble. The closet was larger inside than it appeared from the hall. There was room to walk into it, and the left and right sides were lined with shelves that still held many of the linens of the previous occupants. While trying to light every darkened corner, Katie climbed up the shelves, one foot on each side of the closet. Upon reaching her pinnacle of height, she called out. “Hey! Look up here!”
Theo and Jennifer expected it to just be a 'look at me!' joke, but when they looked up to Katie, they saw what she was pointing at. In the ceiling was a small wood framed opening, a trap door to the attic of the home.
“See if you can open it.” said Theo, “We need to go up there too. If we aren't thorough, it could all be in vain.” Katie pushed lightly and slid the trap door off to one side. The air rushed down from the space and filled their noses with a musty, dank smell. She climbed to the top of the shelves and pulled herself the last few feet into the attic. Jenn followed behind and handed up her candle temporarily until she had completed the climb. Theo was the last and displayed a tremendous amount of skill and balance climbing the entire way holding the sage filled shell in one hand and the feather in the other.
There was a difference in the atmosphere upstairs during the white candle ceremony and the air itself felt heavy and difficult to breath. One corner of the attic in particular seemed darker than the rest. The candle light did not seem to be penetrating the blackness there. When Katie approached it on hand and knees holding her candle up, the dark shadow flew past her with a screeching sound, and such force that it nearly blew her flame out.
“Oh WOW!” Theo called out. “Did you see that?” “I saw it, and I heard it!” Jenn responded.
“That could have been the darkness that Ashley was talking about.” Katie discerned. “That e.v.p. you caught Jenn... you know the one where she said, 'please, don't go in there', I think she should have warned us about up here too!”
“Yeah, but this was nothing compared to why we were warned about the cellar... and who knows, maybe this shadow is the same one that surrounded Ash in the cellar when she gave us the horrifying glimpse into her past.” Jenn said with no more emotion or excitement than she did when she had been opening the dresser drawers to let the light in.
“I think I am starting to understand how intense what you all went through was... and how real. Sometimes paranormal experiences are like my dream last night, more mental, and less physical. I'm guessing your stories weren't based on emotions and interpretations. I, personally, was pretty impressed with our banshee. The ghostly beast wrapped in a shroud of darkness, as it was, and when it spread its shadowy wings, I'll admit I was pretty terrified. It would have scared away a lot of the sensitives I know. Usually, I'm the only one who actually 'sees' these kind of things, but you saw it too, and that is a testimony to the strength of this entity, and its will to cause fear.”
“You ain't seen nothin' Theo, but, ya know, all I saw was a shadow move between us.” Jenn said as they completed their work in the attic.
“It was an impressive shadow, but that's all I saw too.” Katie commented. “I guess that's part of my abilities that I have honed. I tend to see things more as they are than the typical person would. You two should come to my classes. I can feel the potential in your energies.”
“Really?” Katie questioned, knowing Jenn had always been more sensitive than the rest of the current team, and was surprised to hear Theo suggest that she had potential too.
“What about E.V. Prick?” Jenn joked. “He has a gift that he denies...” Theo paused, still wafting the sage smoke. “He just doesn't want it. That's my take on it.”
I have always preferred the scientific approach. I suppose I was afraid that if my 'feelings' were wrong, I might end up doing more harm than good. I did have a gift though, I had the gift of this amazing threesome performing these ceremonious rituals, while I did something that required far less mental abilities. My task only required a strong back and perseverance.
I had cleared a path wide enough to drive down from the road all of the way to the house. When I had finished that, I moved to the cemetery area. I started out turning my trimmer on its side and used it like an edger to cut a rectangle into the ground, outlining the whole clearing, or family cemetery, since that is what it was about to become. I trimmed the dead weeds and the green under growth to almost flush with the earth. I used the blower to clean out the trimmings and leaves from the cemetery and when I had finished, it had a fairly neat and clean appearance. I used the trimmer once again to mark out two rectangles on either side of Kathrine's grave. I carried the trimmer and blower back to the van, got a cold drink of water and then drove the van up close to the house. It was time to start digging.
It was nearly eleven o'clock when the trio emerged from the cellar and began smudging a circumference around the home which included the far edge of the newly cleared cemetery. When they had finished, Theo and the girls joined me in the cemetery and performed a grave site blessing ceremony, which was very beautiful and brought a feeling of peace to us all.
As peaceful as I was, I was still waist deep in the first grave, and covered in sweat and dirt. They were impressed that the clearing looked as good as it did, and at the fact that I was able to drive the van up the 'driveway'. Katie said she had something to do, and pulled Jenn off to the side, whispering in her ear.
“You guys mind if we head into town and pick up the caskets and the head stones?” “No go right ahead. I'm gonna try to get Theo to help me finish up here.” The girls headed into town, Theo and I shoveled, and together our plan came to life.
CHAPTER 13 UNEXPECTED GUESTS
We had finished digging the graves and left our shovels stuck in the dirt piles, where we would need them again Sunday. Theo and I took a rest on the front step of the farm house, and awaited the girls' return. We were exhausted from all of the digging, and were beginning to worry about Jenn and Katie, when we heard the hum of tires on the road approaching us. Our hearts pounded and our worry grew when the van pulled in and up the newly unwooded driveway followed by a sheriff's car.
Jenn popped out of the driver's side and Katie from the passenger side. They began to stroll li
ghtly up to us on the porch as if they didn't even know they had been followed in by the sheriff. A uniformed officer stepped from the driver's side of the sheriff's car, and a man in khaki slacks and a bright yellow polo emerged from the other car door.
“Behind you, guys...” I said, pointing between the two girls.
“Yeah, we brought reinforcements.” Jenn said wittingly. “I sure hope you two haven't been breaking any laws while we were gone!” Katie chimed in. “No shallow graves we don't know about, right?”
“Shallow!?” Theo exclaimed, “I freakin' wish!” and then laughed.
It was just about then that the two men reached the four of us. The sheriff reached out his hand to me. “Sheriff Brian Daniels” was all he said and gave Theo and I a firm hand shake.
The other man held a black satchel in one hand, adjusted his glasses with the other and nodded to us. “Arthur Cunningham...um... County Coroner.” “Pleased to meet you gentlemen. I don't suppose I really need to ask why you are here, but... why are you here exactly?” I was hoping that what I said didn't come across as trying to be humorous, but it was exactly what I was thinking, and it just came out that way.
“We were first contacted by Ms. Collins,” Katie smiled, face downward, eyes looking up and slightly raised her hand in acknowledgment, “and later spoke with Dr. Covand, and her sister Sarah. We are just following a bit of our protocol. Don't worry, we aren't here to take over or anything, we just need to make sure that the alleged remains on this property are who they are claimed to be, and not missing persons, or even possibly murder victims.” the sheriff said removing his hat and rustling his hand through his short wavy hair.