Brighter, a supernatural thriller

by V. J. Chambers

  The two chatted a little longer and then hung up. Heather sat on her bed, thinking. Rick came back in from his shower.

  "Hey," he said, "you're awake."

  "What did you say about that Mason guy you used to know?"

  Rick was confused. "Good morning to you too."

  "Didn't you say something like he turned into a completely different person or something?"

  "Yeah. He changed. Were you just on the phone with Ramona?"

  Heather laughed. "That obvious, huh?"

  Rick laughed. "Is she okay?"

  "That Garrett dude she was dating is a real fucking dick. He really screwed her head up." Heather paused. "In fact," she said, just deciding it as she said it, "I'm going to go talk to him. I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind."

  "Baby, be careful. That guy is a rapist. I don't want you alone with him."

  "I'm going to where he works," said Heather. "I'll be in a public place."

  * * *

  Ramona considered calling in to work, but she realized that she wouldn't do anything at home except obsess and drive herself insane. So she showered, got dressed, and went downstairs to The Holy Grind. Owen wasn't working. That was strange. He always worked the early shift on weekdays. Instead, the owner of The Holy Grind was there. His name was Griff. Ramona didn't like him. He was kind of rude and arrogant. He always talked a mile a minute, as if he were perpetually hyped up on caffeine. However, she really hadn't been in the mood to deal with Owen, either, considering he'd killed her boyfriend, so she guessed it was really a blessing in disguise.

  "Hi Griff," she said. "Where's Owen?"

  Griff smiled tightly. "Don't know. Didn't call in. Won't answer his phone. Don't think he's got a job here anymore."

  Griff was like that too. He had pretty high standards. If you didn't measure up to them, he fired you. That was that. Ramona had sworn to herself never to work for him. "That sucks," Ramona said. "I'm sorry."

  "What can I get for you?"

  "Icy Chalice," she said and waited while he made her drink. She had to pay for it, because the only people who worked at The Grind who made her free drinks were her friends. Paying also sucked.

  Work dragged by. She watched the clock. It seemed like every hour took a week to get through. When it was finally lunchtime, Ramona knew what she was going to do. She took off down Main Street, past the railroad tracks, until she got to Kay Street. There weren't any houses on Kay Street, just trailers. For some reason, real estate on the other side of the tracks was cheaper than right in town. Ramona wasn't really sure why. Certainly the neighborhood here was a little more run down. A little trashier. She walked past broken-down cars parked in the yards of houses, past naked children clad in filthy diapers tiptoeing amongst used beer cans. This was West Virginia, all right.

  She was headed to Mason's house. A few months ago, he'd moved off the river. Said it was because he wanted to be closer to town. He'd rented a trailer on Kay Street. Supposedly the rent was cheap. She wasn't even sure if Mason would be home. He still took classes at the college. He had been for at least six years now. But Mason never took a very full schedule. And his classes usually didn't start until one or two in the afternoon. He was probably home. And if there was anyone she could talk to about what had happened, it was Mason.

  Of course, he'd been a total ass to her the night before. Still, she had nowhere else to turn. Heather thought she was a head case. Garrett was gone. That only left Mason. And even if he was one of them, she knew that Mason was concerned for her. He didn't want anything to happen to her. He kept talking about protecting her. So she was pretty sure that she would be safe with him.

  He didn't answer his door right away when she knocked. Ramona waited and then knocked again. If he didn't answer this time, she'd go back home, eat a sandwich, and go back to work. But Mason opened the door. He was wearing a pair of threadbare plaid pajama pants and no shirt. Ramona had never seen Mason without a shirt. He looked good without one. He was very nicely put together. Ramona tried not to stare at his bare chest.

  "I need to talk to you," she said.

  "Go away," said Mason.

  "You have to tell me what happened to Garrett."

  "What do you mean?"

  "I think you know what I mean."

  Mason just shook his head. "I've already said anything I need to say to you."

  "Can I come in?" Ramona asked.

  "I'm not dressed," said Mason.

  "I don't care," said Ramona. Then she blushed.

  Mason hesitated for a second, then opened the door wider and stepped aside. Ramona walked in. Mason's trailer was pretty sparse. He had a couch in his living room. No TV. There were several bookshelves groaning under the weight of the books that had been haphazardly stacked on them. But there was nothing else on the white walls. Mason shut the door after her. He motioned for her to sit on the couch, and then he ducked into the kitchen for a second. He returned with a straight back chair. They sat down facing each other.

  "I meant what I said last night," said Mason. "You need to forget about all of this. It's not safe. I would think that would be clear."

  "You mean they might do to me what they did to Garrett?"

  Mason sighed heavily. "I don’t mean anything. But if I were you, I would be very careful about who I was alone with, if you know what I mean."

  Ramona nodded. He was telling her that they wouldn't hurt her in a public place. He was telling her that she had to be alone with one of the river hippies for anything to happen. "Is there..." she trailed off. "Is there any way to get him back?"

  "Who?"

  "Garrett."

  "Garrett's not gone," said Mason. "I'll wager he's in the library right now, shelving books."

  "He is gone."

  "The way that Garrett seems now is the way he'll seem for as long as he's still in town," said Mason.

  Ramona nodded. "So he's dead. Where's the body, Mason? What did they do with him?"

  "He's not dead," said Mason. "Go to the library. You can see for yourself."

  "Mason—"

  "Let it go, Ramona. Garrett was bad news, anyway. He only would have hurt you in the end. And I don't want to talk to you about this anymore. Is that clear? Just go away and put all of this out of your head."

  As she walked back from Mason's house, Ramona felt miserable. Could it be true? Could all of this really just be part of Garrett's elaborate plan to have sex with her? Had he convinced her of something crazy? Was she crazy? Were Blair and Owen and Dawn and Cecelia monsters, or were they just a bunch of vindictive twenty-somethings? The whole time she'd talked to Garrett, there had been a voice in the back of her head, telling her that what they were talking about was nuts. Telling her that she didn't really believe any of it. Not really. But now... Garrett was different. He was. It really was all true. She was living in a town full of monsters. Ramona shook her head, and for the second time that day, she started to sob.

  * * *

  Heather didn't have nearly as much trouble finding a parking space in Elston this time as she had when she'd come before to get the book. Actually, the book was due back at the library, so she told herself that she wasn't coming to Elston to see if Garrett was different, but instead to return the book. And anyway, she knew Garrett wouldn't be different. What she was going to do was talk to him about what a mess he'd turned her best friend into. He was a total jackass. That had been her impression of him before when he wouldn't help her in the library. So, she was sure she wouldn't have much problem letting him have it.

  She briefly considered whether it was her place to interfere in Ramona's business. After all, she would have hated it if Ramona had gone to talk to one of her exes. But she decided that Ramona was too far gone for it to really matter. Garrett had shattered her best friend and left Heather to pick up the pieces. It wasn't right, and he needed to know that.

  Amazingly, there was a parking space right beside the library. Right there. Heather might have missed it too, if it hadn't been for th
e fact that a large black bird nearly flew into her windshield. She'd braked, trying to miss the bird, and followed its flight to watch it settle on an empty parking space right next to the library. Heather didn't even look for spaces that close to her destination. She'd thought they were an impossibility in Elston. She parked.

  When she walked into the library, Garrett was sitting behind the desk. He looked up as the door opened. "Hi there," he said. "Can I help you with anything?"

  Well, that was weird. Last time, she'd practically had to beg for his assistance. Now, he was being really polite and helpful. Besides, didn't he recognize her? Wouldn't he greet an acquaintance differently than a regular library patron?

  "Um, I just came to return a book," she said.

  "Great," said Garrett, getting up and crossing the library to the front door. "I'll just take it for you if you want. Then you can be on your way."

  "Thanks," said Heather, holding out the book. Garrett was now face to face with her. He put his hand on the book, but she didn't let go. Instead, she stared deep into his eyes, trying to remember if the expression on his face was similar to the expression she'd seen on it before.

  Garrett tugged gently on the book, but she didn't let go. "Do I know you?" he asked.

  "We've met," said Heather.

  "You're Ramona's best friend," he said. "Heather."

  "Yeah," said Heather.

  "What's Ramona been telling you these days?" Garrett said.

  What did he mean? "If you're going to deny that you've been a real asshole to her, then save it. Your reputation precedes you."

  Garrett snorted. "Believe me, I know. I'm going to have to work so hard to live all this down."

  That was kind of a strange response, wasn't it? Almost as if Garrett weren't actually responsible for his own reputation?

  "Look, I just think Ramona and I need some time," said Garrett. "I wasn't entirely honest with her. You're right. I was a real asshole." He sighed. "I just don't think that continuing a relationship that's been built on lies and manipulation is a very healthy thing to do."

  Well, that made sense, but... "So, you just woke up this morning and thought it was time to change your evil ways?" Heather was pleased that sounded as nasty as she'd meant it.

  "Wow," said Garrett. "I bet it does seem like that to her. No, I've been feeling really guilty about it for a long time. But I care about Ramona, and I just didn't know how to tell her or break it to her. What exactly has she been saying to you?"

  Why did he keep harping on that? "She told me you encouraged her to think some sort of strange things, and that then you admitted you made it all up."

  "What kind of strange things?" asked Garrett. "For example, she didn't mention, I don't know, body snatchers or anything?"

  Was it important what Ramona had told her? "You know what you said to her," said Heather.

  "Yes," said Garrett. "But do you know what I said to her?"

  "Why is that important?" Heather suddenly had a strong impulse to back away from Garrett. She tried to take a step back, but they were both still holding the book she was returning. She let go of it.

  Garrett hadn't been expecting that, and the book dropped. Heather jumped. Garrett laughed. "Sorry about that," he said. He leaned down to pick up the book. "You don't believe in that kind of thing, do you? Monsters? Body snatchers?" He read the cover of the book to himself as he straightened. "Do you?" He looked in her eyes.

  "Uh..." Heather took another step back. Garrett was really starting to freak her out. It was probably because of all the things that Ramona had said to her. It was enough to make anyone feel like she was trapped in a horror movie. And besides, the Elston library was creepy. "I don't know what she said to me. It was...crazy talk. You shouldn't have messed with her like that."

  Garrett nodded, still staring at the book Heather had brought back. "Yeah," he said. "You tell your best friend to stay away from me from now on. Far away." He looked back up at her, and he was grinning a wide grin. But to Heather, the grin didn't look friendly. It looked demented. She nearly tripped over her feet in her hurry to get out of the library.

  * * *

  When Ramona got back to work that afternoon, Maxine called her into her office. Ramona was definitely not in the mood to deal with Maxine at this particular juncture in her life. She felt like the world was falling apart, and what was more, everyone else on earth thought she was insane. Work was the most inconsequential thing to her at that moment. She was only there because she couldn't figure out what to do.

  Ramona plopped down heavily in the chair opposite Maxine's desk.

  "Are you okay?" asked Maxine. Real concern was in her eyes.

  "I'm having a terrible day," said Ramona. "My boyfriend woke me up at 7:30 this morning to break up with me." That wasn't really why her day was terrible, but it would have to do. It was true as far as it went anyway.

  Maxine groaned. "Men," she said, shaking her head. "I'm so sorry, Ramona."

  Ramona nodded.

  "Listen, I mean this as a friend. The best thing to do when things like this happen is to distract yourself. So, what I'm going to talk to you about is going to help both you and Elston College." Maxine smiled.

  Ramona felt like rolling her eyes, but didn't. That really wouldn't have gone over well.

  "I haven't seen anything on that brochure you're doing research on," said Maxine.

  "You pulled me off the brochure to work on going through applications."

  "Well, I need you to get back on the brochure."

  Inwardly, Ramona moaned. She did not want to do anymore research on the brochure. "I don't know if it's a good angle. Seriously, Elston is the most unhistorical historical town of all time. Nothing ever happened here. During the Civil War, there were no battles fought here. The only thing going on was that there was a hospital in the public library. It's like this place is a black hole."

  "It's the best angle we have. You need to make it work. Why don't you go to the library in town this afternoon?"

  "No," said Ramona.

  "No? They have an entire section of local history materials. If you can't find them, just ask the librarian."

  "My boyfriend—my ex-boyfriend— is the librarian."

  "Oh." Maxine tapped her forefinger against her lower lip, thinking. "I'm sorry. I know I'm asking you to do something awkward, but frankly, your English major background makes you the best person to do this research. I need it to be you."

  "I just don't think that a brochure about historical Elston is going to entice many high schoolers to come to this school."

  "Exactly. The type of high school students this school attracts is a problem," said Maxine. "I'm sure you're aware that we almost lost our accreditation four years ago?"

  Ramona nodded. Elston College had a huge number of Visual Arts majors—painters, sculptors, graphic designers. It was a really good school for art. The problem was that Elston was a liberal arts school, not an art school. The percentage of art majors to the rest of the school was so out of balance that Elston had nearly lost its accreditation.

  "We need to attract more...studious students." Maxine laughed a little. "More students in areas of study like History or English or Math. If we can show these students that they are coming to a place teeming with history and culture, they may see the school in a different light."

  So Ramona went to the library. It was only as she was opening the door that she remembered Mason's warning. She wasn't supposed to be alone with any of them. Garrett was one of them. She almost turned around right then. But Maxine was counting on her. And the library was a public place. Maybe she'd be safe there.

  Garrett was at his desk, reading. He put down his book when he saw her. "Listen, I'm not really ready to—"

  "I'm here for work," she said.

  Garrett started to get up.

  "Don't move," she said. "We can talk fine from here. Point me in the direction of the local history section."

  "Ramona, I know you're angry with me."
<
br />   "I'm not angry with you. I just want to find the books about local history and do my job."

  Garrett got to his feet. "I guess the way that I broke everything to you on the phone this morning was abrupt. I should have done it in person. I'm really sorry."

  "Abrupt," she said. "Yes, this has all been rather abrupt."

  He started to walk toward her.

  "Stop," she said. "Don't come any closer to me." She didn't know if they had to be close to do whatever they did to Garrett, but she was pretty sure they did. After all, Angelica's body had surfaced, so they'd had to kill her. And Garrett had said that he'd seen them kill Blair. Up close and personal. So as long as Garrett stayed away, she should be okay.

  "I'm sorry I hurt you," he said.

  "Are you really?" said Ramona. "How'd you do it? Did you strangle him? Did you beat him to death? What did you do with his body?"

  Garrett took a step closer. "I don't know what you're talking about."

  God. If she could only believe him, she could return to sanity. But... "I told you to stay back," said Ramona.

  "Ramona, that stuff I told you. I made it all up. You saw Angelica. That was it. None of that other stuff happened."

  "Sure," said Ramona. Really? Had he really made it up? It would be easier to believe that, but deep down, she knew it wasn't true. Deep down, she knew this wasn't Garrett. "Listen, I think I'm just gonna go look for the local history books on my own. The library's not that big. I bet I can find them." She started past him into the stacks.

  He grabbed her by the shoulder. She tried to shake him off, but his grip was too tight. Ramona started to panic.

  "Why are you afraid of me?" Garrett asked. His voice was the same deep, personal voice he used when they were in bed together. It was his vulnerable voice. "I wouldn't hurt you."

  "Then let go of me," said Ramona.

  "You know me. I wouldn't—"

  "I don't know you. I knew Garrett. Garrett's dead. Now let go of me." Garrett was dead. And she wasn't crazy. She didn't think she was anyway.

  Garrett dropped his arm. "I'm not dead. And I'm sorry I contributed to this delusion of yours. I never realized that you were taking it so seriously. It was just a game to me. I'm so, so sorry." He pointed to the back wall. "The local books are back there. Do yourself a favor, Ramona. Go talk to a therapist or something."