Mountain Lumberjack

by Sienna Chance

  “Anybody know where the other grey glove went?” I asked them.

  Eddie raised his eyebrows.

  “No,” he said, taking a bite out of an apple. “Are they yours?”

  “They are mine. I can’t find the other one. I was wondering who had them last.”

  Eddie shrugged. I looked around at the rest of the men, noticing they all had strange looks on their faces as if they’d been talking about something just before I’d walked up.

  “What’s going on?” I asked. They looked at me quietly, exchanging glances with each other.

  “We can’t find Jerry,” Harold said.

  “You can’t find Jerry,” I repeated dumbly. “What do you mean, you can’t find him?”

  Nobody answered. I stared around at them impatiently, turning my eyes to Eddie.

  “Tell me what’s going on,” I commanded.

  He took a deep breath. “We all showed up here this morning like normal, ‘bout an hour ago. Jerry was with us. Then he just—he just disappeared.”

  I closed my eyes, pinching the bridge of my nose.

  “You’re going to have to explain this to me a little better,” I said to them. “You’re telling me Jerry just vanished into thin air.”

  “Well, no,” admitted Eddie. “He went for a leak or something. But he never came back. We went looking for him, but—”

  “But what?” I asked impatiently when he didn’t continue.

  “We heard noises in the trees. Like footsteps. Only none of us could see who it was. We called for Jerry for about an hour until just before you showed up.”

  “Why did nobody call me?” I asked them. They stared at me again, a blank look that was starting to grate on my nerves.

  “We tried to call you. Phone service is bad out here, you know that.”

  “Well, get up,” I said to them, lifting my arms.

  “What?” Eddie asked.

  “We’re going to look for Jerry. I can’t search the woods by myself.”

  “We can’t—”

  “We are going to look for Jerry,” I said firmly. “And I don’t want to hear shit about a curse. He’s new—he was probably just out there fucking around and got lost. We’ll find him.”

  The men grumbled, standing up. I shoved the gloves back into my pocket, cursing as we made our way through the trees. It was getting dark outside, though it was only late morning—the clouds were covering the sun, threatening to dump inches of snow on our heads at any moment. I shivered in the cold wind, looking around at the men before we entered the forest.

  “I want you guys to pair up. I’ll go by myself. Spread out as much as you can but keep within shouting distance. If it starts to snow—”

  “If it starts to snow, we’re heading back, boss,” Eddie said. The other men nodded in agreement.

  “Of course,” I said, sighing as I waved them off. I started through the trees, looking around as I walked.

  “Jerry,” I called out, my voice ringing out through the trees. “Get the fuck over here, kid.”

  There was no answer. I heard the sound of Eddie shouting, but nothing close to me. I kept my eyes on the ground as I moved, looking for footprints, but I saw nothing. I pulled out my flashlight when I got further into the dense trees, watching my breath as it puffed in front of my face. My whole body was tense and my skin like it was crawling, like somebody was touching me or scanning me with their eyes. I froze, looking around, aiming the flashlight through the dimness. I found myself holding my breath, afraid for a reason I didn’t understand. It made me angry, and I gritted my teeth as I yelled out for Jerry again.

  I started walking again when there was no answer. I couldn’t hear the other men anymore and wondered how far out I’d gone, how long it would take to turn around and go back to the worksite. A fine snow had started to fall but all I could think about was Jerry, wondering what would happen to him if I left him out here. I shook my head, continuing to walk through the snow, knowing the men must have turned back. I called out for Jerry again, listening to the silence around me, growing increasingly frustrated the more time passed.

  I was walking quickly when my foot caught on a root and I tripped, stumbling forward, nearly falling on my face. I landed on my hands and noticed when I was close to the ground the faint impression of boot prints in the dirty snow. I stood up, leaning forward and following the almost indistinguishable footsteps through a path in the snow that seemed nonsensical.

  I noticed the red immediately. It was scarlet, blazing in the snow, burning through it in a puddle on the ground. I held my breath as I walked toward it. It was big—at least four feet across, a puddle that was almost like a circle. I looked around, listening for any noise, but couldn’t hear anything above my own breathing.

  “Jerry?” I called out again and noticed my voice was shaking. I didn’t see Jerry anywhere, nor any other blood. There was no sign that anything had been out here except for the stain, which was almost obscene in such a stark contrast with the snow.

  I heard a branch break behind me but I didn’t stop to see if it was Jerry. I didn’t even consider looking. I took off through the trees toward the worksite, running as quickly as I could through the trees. Even as I started to lose my breath, I pushed forward, pumping my legs until my lungs were burning with effort as I made my way back up to the truck. There were no men at the worksite, and for a moment the thought occurred to me that perhaps none of them had made it back. Maybe all my men were lost to the woods, to the curse of this area and the retreat.

  I took a deep breath, taking a long drink of water before I made my way back to the shed. The lights were on at the retreat and I could see the shapes of people in the windows. I was glad to see that some were in the lounge, others in the dining room, hopefully enjoying the rest of their time as guests. I went inside and up to my office, picking up the phone to dial 911. It was the last thing I wanted to do at this point, but my only option, and I only hoped that things wouldn’t turn out for the worse.

  13

  Lilian

  I was sitting on the couch when the light caught my eye—the flashing blue and red of two cop cars outside. My heart stopped as I watched the cars park, lights still flashing, and a cop get out of each one. Even from the top floor, I recognized the gleam of Officer Johnson’s eye in the light, somehow malicious even though he wasn’t looking at me. It didn’t matter whether he saw me or not—he was here for me, and there was going to be no running from him this time. I would have to tell him the truth, no matter what that meant.

  I stood up, straightening my dress as I watched the officers enter the retreat. I took a deep breath and decided not to wait for them to come up, to back me into a corner. I would go to them instead. I slipped into my shoes, putting on the big fur jacket, wishing I had something more practical to go to the station in. As it was, I looked like a black widow—a wealthy woman who had killed her husband and was proudly turning herself in.

  I left the apartment and made my way to the elevator, pushing the button while I waited. It took me a moment to remember that the main elevator was out of service after the fire—earlier, we had taken the service elevator up and down. I went to the service elevator, a massive structure that hadn’t been updated along with the elevator used for the public. It made me slightly nervous as it creaked upward, the door opening for me slowly so I could climb on. It shut in front of me and I suddenly felt trapped, the air around me thick and stale. This elevator was bigger than the other one but much older, and it moved slowly downward without keeping track of which floor I was on. The ride to the first floor seemed to go on forever. I held my breath until the door opened and was surprised to see I was in a dark hallway, lit only by a string of emergency lights on either side of the floors. I stuck my head out of the elevator and looked down the hall to see that it was empty, the whole place dark and silent.

  “Hello?” I said, my voice sounding weak and quiet even in the silence. I leaned back and pushed the button for the first floor, stepping
back to wait for the doors to close. They didn’t, but stayed open. I pushed the button again, then again, but the door didn’t budge. My heart was pounding as I looked out into the hallway again. I didn’t know which way the staircase was. I cursed, looking around, desperately pushing the button one last time, though I knew it would do no good.

  I stepped off the elevator and out into the dark hallway, making my way in the direction of the floor lights. I walked quickly, nearly running down the hall before I heard a door slamming behind me. I jumped, letting out a cry of surprise as I swiveled around to look for the source of the noise. I saw nothing, no movement, no light. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself as I turned around and started hurrying back down the hallway, searching each side of the hall for an exit sign to a staircase. I heard a door again, but this time I didn’t look back, instead darting into one of the rooms beside me, closing the door quietly. I held my breath as I heard the footsteps approach the door, stopping outside of it. I’d never been so afraid before, not even when I’d been tackled in the woods. I waited, straining to listen for somebody on the other side. After a moment, I heard the footsteps again. I listened until I thought they were away, then braced myself to go out into the hall again. All I had to do was find the staircase and I’d be free to go up to the first floor.

  I opened the door and peered outside, looking around. I was relieved when I saw nothing and started down the hallway again. My eyes caught sight of a dim red light glowing at the end of the hall, a dirty exit sign that was so covered in dust it was almost impossible to read. I hurried toward it, was almost to it when I heard a noise behind me. I turned my head to see a man standing just a few feet away—pale and thin, the top of his head covered with blood. He stared at me with dull, blank eyes, and I let out a scream as I backed away from him and dashed up the stairs, taking them two at a time. I continued to run when I got onto the first floor, bursting through the doorway, running through the lobby toward the flashing light of the cop cars.

  “Lily,” came a voice behind me, and I found myself caught up in a pair of strong arms. I struggled away, fighting against the body that held me until he let me go and I stumbled forward, trying to catch my breath.

  “Lily, what’s wrong?” Logan asked, kneeling beside me on the ground. “What happened, baby?”

  “The—the basement,” I said, staring at his face.

  There were people surrounding me, standing in a circle around me. Two cops, including Johnson, as well as a few guests. I didn’t care that they were all staring at me. “There’s—there’s someone in the basement.”

  “The basement is closed off, Lily,” Logan said, his brow furrowed. “Nobody can go down there, I—”

  “There was somebody down there, Logan,” I said. “He was—there was something wrong with him.”

  “Are you sure you were in the basement?”

  “Yes, I’m sure. I ran from him up the stairs.”

  “What did he look like?” Logan asked.

  “He looked like—” I cut myself off, swallowing. My throat felt dry and I was filled with fear, a fear like I had never felt before. “He looked like a ghost.”

  Logan stared at me. I heard the cops exchange words with each other and the one who wasn’t Johnson knelt down beside me.

  “Was it a man you saw downstairs? A young man?”

  “I think so,” I said. “Who was he?”

  The woman exchanged a glance with Logan, then stood up.

  “Have you checked the entire building for the kid?” she asked.

  “I didn’t think to check the basement,” said Logan. “But there’s really no access there—all the staircases are closed off.”

  “So how did she get down there?”

  “The service elevator brought me down there. I couldn’t find the stairs at first. I came up over there,” I said, pointing to a doorway that I’d never even noticed before.

  “That’s an old servant’s staircase,” Logan said. “It’s not used anymore. The door’s locked.”

  “It wasn’t locked,” I protested, but Logan only stared at me with an unsure expression on his face.

  “We’re going to search down there. You think your kid might be hiding? Playing some kind of prank?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “We’ll go look,” said the cop, pulling her partner over to speak with him separately.

  “What kid?” I asked Logan.

  “I’ll explain later,” he said. He helped me stand and I started to follow him as he led the cops toward the staircase. When he noticed that I was coming, he stopped me.

  “Go upstairs,” he said.

  “No,” I said. “I want—I need to see who it is.”

  “It’s nobody. There’s nobody down there,” he said.

  I raised my eyebrows. “You don’t believe me?” I asked him. “Do you think I’m lying?”

  “I think you’re scared and you’re worked up. There’s no such thing as ghosts, Lily. There’s no way that anybody could have gotten down there. That door is always locked, and you can only get to the service elevator from our suite.”

  “I saw someone, Logan,” I said firmly, glaring at him.

  “Mr. Mitchells—” the cop said.

  “Go back upstairs, Lilian,” Logan said to me in a stern voice. I felt anger wash over me as I stared at him, then turned around and left him as he went down the stairs with the officers.

  I took the stairs all the way up to the sixth floor, not willing to get on the service elevator. It was a long walk, but I felt filled with energy as I climbed the stairs, my body wired and nervous. People watched me as I made my way through the halls, passing me on the staircase with questioning looks, sometimes going so far as to avoid me entirely by pressing themselves against the opposite wall as if I had some sort of infectious disease. I didn’t care. I got up to the suite and locked the door, going into my bedroom to lock that one, too. If the cops wanted to talk to me, if this had anything to do with Michael, they could come find me. In the meantime, I was locking myself away until I was given the all-clear to get the hell out of this horrible retreat, where nothing but tragedy and mystery seemed to happen.

  It was a few hours later when I heard the front door to the suite open and I tensed, listening for who it might be. I was relieved when I heard Logan’s voice, though I wasn’t really interested in talking to him.

  “Lily,” he said from the other side of my door. “Are you in there?”

  “Yes,” I said. “I’m here.”

  “Come out and talk to me,” he said softly. “We need to talk.”

  “Did you find him?”

  There was a pause on the other side of the door.

  “There was nobody down there, Lily. And there was no way that somebody could have come up without us seeing them.”

  I stood up, throwing open the door to glare at him.

  “He was there,” I said. “I saw him. He was—he was standing right in front of me. There was blood on his face, I—”

  “There was blood on his face,” Logan said. “So you went down to the basement and you saw a bloody ghost, is that what you’re telling me?”

  I narrowed my eyes. “This isn’t a joke, Logan,” I said. “Somebody is trying to hurt me.”

  “Did he try to hurt you?”

  “No, not today, not in the basement,” I said. “The other day I was—I was on my way back from the worksite and somebody tackled me in the snow. They held my face down in the ground. I had to fight my way away.”

  Logan gave me a sharp look.

  “Lily,” he said. “Why didn’t you tell me that sooner?”

  “Would you have believed me?” I asked him. “You don’t believe me about the basement.”

  “I would have believed you,” he said. “Listen, there’s something weird going on here. I know that. But the basement—”

  “Logan, if you’re not going to listen to me, I just want to go to bed,” I said to him, beginning to close the door in his face
. He held it open, shaking his head.

  “Lilian,” he said. “Stop it.”

  “No,” I hissed at him. “I just want to get out of here. I just want to leave this fucking retreat and never see you or this place again.”

  “That’s what you want?”

  “Yes,” I said. “This place is cursed. I want to go home.”

  He nodded. “I see.”

  “Do you?”

  He stared at me for a moment before he shook his head. “Goodnight, Lily,” he said, then turned around and went to his room, shutting the door behind him. I stared after him, feeling a shiver run through my spine the moment I was alone again.

  14

  Logan

  I woke up to the sound of my door opening, opened my eyes to see Lily moving across the room to my bed. I looked up at her as she stood next to it, looking down at my face, heat and anger in her eyes.

  “Lilian,” I said. “What are you doing?”

  “I want my own room,” she said to me.

  “What?” I asked her, sitting up in bed.

  “I don’t want to stay in this suite anymore,” she said, biting her lip.

  “Oh,” I said. “Um, do we—do we have to do this now?”

  She stared at me for a moment without speaking. I reached for her in the dark, wrapping my arms around her waist, pulling her body onto mine on the bed. She molded against me, her body pressed along the length of mine, her face hovering above me.

  “Why are you so difficult?” I asked her, pushing her hair back from her face. “Why can’t you just let this happen?”

  “Nothing is happening,” she said, lowering her face to take my mouth in a soft kiss. “This is a vacation. A fling. After tonight—after tonight, I’m moving rooms.”

  “You’re moving rooms, and then what?”

  “And then I’m going to tell the cops what I know about Michael, and they’re going to let me leave,” she said.