by Apryl Baker
“Philip, I’m sorry to hear about your brother.” Gramps shoves off his chair at the island and wanders into the living room. “He was a good kid.”
“Yes, sir, thank you.” Philip’s voice is hollow and hoarse. His green eyes are red and somewhat puffy. He’s cried himself out, I think. I can’t even imagine what condition I’d be in if we’d lost my sister to her kidnapper.
“You wanted my help?” I ask after we sit there for several minutes and he doesn’t say anything.
He blinks, like my softly spoken words startled him, and maybe they did. He’s walking around cloaked in a pain so deep its unimaginable.
“They say you can talk to the dead.”
“Sometimes.”
He nods. “I…they’re saying my brother died to an animal attack, but that’s not true. I saw his body. He wasn’t mauled.”
“You saw him?” Gramps asks, appalled.
“Mom…she…she couldn’t…there was no one but me to identify him.”
Gramps scoots Cecily over and sits beside the boy. He takes Philip’s hand, and I feel this gentle power roll off Gramps. It’s a sense of peace and soothing grace. “That took a lot of courage, son. Your father would be proud of you.”
Tears pool in Philip’s eyes, and his shoulders heave. Gramps pulls the boy to him and holds him while he cries. Eli hunches in on himself, but I won’t let him withdraw from me. I climb in his lap and force him to acknowledge me. He’s not going to regress to the boy who still talked like his family was alive and on vacation somewhere.
Cecily looks lost, unsure of what to do. I nod toward the kitchen, and she gets up to bring Philip a bottle of water. He takes it from her with a grateful, if watery, smile.
“I heard them talking about you at school.” Philip turns his attention back to me. “They said you can see and talk to the dead. My brother didn’t die from an animal attack. There was one wound on his body, and it wasn’t from claws. It was a bite, like someone, a human someone, sank their teeth into him.”
“And what is it you want me to do?”
“Find out what really happened. Talk to him. Shane can tell you.”
I feel so bad for this guy, but I’m not sure how much help I’ll be.
“What I do, it isn’t an exact science. I can’t just call out to your brother and he’ll come and talk to me. I’m not psychic…”
“A medium,” Gramps interrupts me. “A medium can go into a trancelike state and speak to a specific spirit.”
“Okay, medium, then. I’m not that. I’m a reaper. I collect the souls of the dead and help them pass over to the other side. And I’m like a baby reaper. I barely understand what I can do. I mean, I’ve gone and tried to find ghosts, but I’ve had no success. They usually come to me.”
“But can’t you try? No one is looking for who really killed my brother. It’s getting written off as another animal attack. Everyone who lives in this town knows The Reaping Season has come to bear on Jacob’s Fork. My brother is not going to get written off and become a victim of a monster that should have been dealt with a hundred years ago.”
“The Reaping Season?”
Philip closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “I know we’re not supposed to talk about this with outsiders, but it’s my brother they’re trying to sweep under the rug. I don’t care. I’ll tell you everything I know. My Aunt Eulah is a counsel elder and the historian. I can get her to talk to you if you help me.”
I’m still not sure what he wants me to do. Even if I go out in the woods and find Shane’s ghost, what good will it do? If they’re determined to write it off like they have every other unexplained death, what can I do to make them do anything differently?
“Tell us about The Reaping Season,” Gramps says, redirecting the conversation. We’d just been talking about the council elders.
“It started the same year the town was created. People go missing during a two-week period that’s always been referred to as The Reaping Season. The missing are recorded and honored in the council.”
“Why?” I’m curious now.
“I don’t know. Aunt Eulah could tell you. I’ll talk to her, make her talk to you. I won’t let this go on. I won’t let more people die and get forgotten. I won’t let my brother be forgotten.”
A knock interrupts whatever Gramps was about to say, and Cecily gets up to answer it. We’re all shocked to see Ethan McReynolds, the sheriff, walk in. He blinks when he sees Philip sitting beside Gramps.
“Philip, what are you doing here?”
“I’m doing your job.” The boy jumps up, righteous anger burning away the grief. “My brother did not die of an animal attack, and you know it.”
“Philip…”
“No!” He stalks toward the sheriff, so angry he can barely suppress his need to strike out and hurt the man. Hopefully. “My mom already told me you classified his death as an animal attack. So, tell me, Sheriff, what animal completely drains a body of blood from a bite mark? Huh? You can’t.”
“My hands are tied, Philip.”
“Tied! What happened to finding out what really happened? You and I both know it’s the start of The Reaping Season. How many more of our townspeople are you going to let be laid claim to by a monster? What happens if it’s one of your wolves, Sheriff, and not just a human? What then? Will you classify it as an animal attack?”
“Easy, son.” Gramps puts himself between Philip and Ethan. “Even if the sheriff doesn’t look into this, I will. You have my word.”
“Marco, don’t go getting yourself involved in things you know nothing about.” There’s a clear warning there, but Gramps will ignore it.
“Eli, can you take Philip home? I think he needs to be with his mother and little sister, don’t you?”
“Yes, sir.” Eli gently lifts me off his lap and sets me aside. “Don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone,” he whispers.
Not sure why he whispered. Ethan is a wolf shifter. His hearing is better than most other Supernatural creatures.
“Now, to what do we owe the pleasure, Sheriff?” Gramps asks once Eli and Philip are gone.
“I was hoping to speak with Ella.”
“Why?” I sit up a little straighter. “You’ve already solved your case. It was an animal attack. What do you need to speak to me for?”
Ethan sighs heavily. “I was hoping you might be able to speak with Shane…”
“For what purpose?” I am not going to make this easy for him.
“To…” He puts his hands behind his head and stares up at the ceiling. “This isn’t easy for me, Ella. I have to preserve our history here.”
“But?” I prompt.
“But this needs to stop. I remember the last time this happened. I was a kid. One of my own did die. I swore when Miguel was lost to the Reaping, I’d put a stop to it. But I can’t do it alone. I have to find a way to stop it without the elders finding out. If they do, they’ll stop me cold.”
“Why, though?” I ask. “What’s so important that missing people are ignored, and when the townspeople die, they look the other way?”
“I don’t know, and that’s what really disturbs me. I only know that when the reaping begins, we don’t do anything. I’ve spoken with the elders in the past, and they won’t reveal anything to me. It’s a closely guarded secret.”
“This is starting to really scare me.” Cecily pulls her legs up and wraps her arms around them. “Is there anything we can do to protect ourselves?”
“Don’t go outside after dusk. When the sky starts to darken, no matter what you’re doing, get inside.”
“What about Friday football?”
“We have no home games scheduled for the next two weeks. I already checked that.”
“So, you want us to help you figure out what kind of monster it is so you can stop it?”
“Yes, Ella, that’s exactly what I’m asking. I know it’s a lot, considering you’re being watched, but I have nowhere else to turn.”
“I can try,
but if Shane’s already moved on, then there’s nothing else I can do.”
“But not today,” Gramps interjects. “It’s close to nightfall already, and I don’t want my kids outside after dark.”
“Saturday morning. That way you’ll have plenty of time and might be able to pick up on something.”
“I think you, like everyone else, is confusing what I can do. I see lost souls, souls that I convince to move on. They come to me when they’re ready, not the other way around. Almost every time I try to coax one to me, it never happens.”
“I’m at a loss, Ella. I’ll take even a chance at help to stop the deaths of innocent people.”
I care so much, but I don’t know if I can do anything. They are putting so much on me, and I barely know what I’m doing here. I’ve also been told to stick to my job, not to go out and try to find trouble. Selena was explicit about it. Yes, I told her off, but I don’t want to alienate her either. She’s my teacher and all that stands between me and who knows what kind of trouble being a living reaper can bring to me.
But I can’t do nothing either. Philip is hurting so much, and he’s human. If he tries to do something, who knows what might happen? I mean, I’m basically human, too, but if the sheriff is there, maybe we stand a chance of not getting hurt.
“I’ll do what I can, but I can’t promise anything, Sheriff McReynolds.”
“Thank you, Ella.”
“I think you girls should be getting home.” Gramps looks at his watch. “I want you home before dark. Do not, under any circumstances, go outside once night falls. Understand?”
“Yes, sir,” Cecily and I say together. We grin despite the seriousness of the situation. Growing up as the daughter of a soldier, we learned to say “yes, sir” and “yes, ma’am” to everyone. It’s a habit we’ll probably never break. Not that’s it’s a not a good habit to have. Just saying.
We pick up our things and head out. It’s been a strange day.
Chapter Eight
Ella
By the time we get home, dinner’s almost ready. Granted, we both ate a few hours ago at Gramps’, but whatever Mom is cooking smells delicious. I think I can find some room.
“What’s that smell?” Cecily follows her nose to the kitchen.
“It’s cabbage rolls.” Mom is just pulling them out of the oven. “Della gave me the recipe.”
“Haven’t we tried these before?” I lean down and sniff the newly revealed casserole dish.
“We’ve tried a version of them at a restaurant in Germany, where they originated. This recipe is more local.”
“What is that smell?” Eli’s voice booms through the house. What is he doing here?
“Eli!” Mom’s face lights up. She loves my best friend and says she considers him one of her own. Doesn’t hurt that he protects me from everything, including my own father.
“Hey, hey, Mrs. B!” He swoops in and gives Mom a peck on the cheek. “What’s cookin’?”
“Cabbage rolls.” Mom swats at him with a towel when he tries to steal a bread roll out of the basket.
“Gramps loves these.” Eli reaches up into the cabinet and grabs plates, handing them to Cecily and then going into the silverware drawer. He’s comfortable enough at our house that he doesn’t mind helping to set the table.
“I’ll make him a plate to send home with you, then.”
“Well, I was hoping to spend the night.”
Mom’s brow furrows. Eli stays over sometimes, but there’s usually a reason, and she knows that. “Of course you can. I keep the spare room ready for whenever you want to spend the night.”
“Did you get Philip dropped off okay?”
“Yeah, I tried to talk to him, but he’s inconsolable right now.”
“Philip?” Mom asks.
“His brother was killed last night.” Eli starts setting out silverware and napkins. “I took him home.”
“That poor family.” Mom clucks and motions for me to help her put the food on the table. We’re sitting down at the kitchen table and not the formal dining room.
“Eli, honey, can you go knock on Henry’s office door and fetch a chair out of the dining room, please?”
My mother is the spitting image of Cecily. They could be sisters instead of mother and daughter. She’s got her hair pulled up into a ponytail today, and she’s wearing her favorite yoga pants and an old t-shirt of Dad’s. It swallows her up, but she told me once she likes to wear his shirts because they smell like him. It’s cute.
Dad comes in, closely followed by Eli. He looks tired today. He and I are at odds, but I still worry about him. He’s my dad, and I love him. I may not like what he does, and I may have lost respect for him because of it, but I don’t wish him harm.
“Smells good.” He sits down, and I grab the milk out of the fridge before joining the family.
“Thanks, honey. So, kids, how was your first day of school?” Mom starts passing food around.
“It was interesting.”
“Interesting good or interesting bad?” Mom presses Cecily.
“It was fine, Mom. No panic attacks for me, but Ella had one.”
I glare at her. I wasn’t planning on telling them that. They have enough to worry about with her.
“Ella?” Dad looks at me, concerned. “What happened?”
“It was fine. Eli was there and got me through it.”
“She had to go through the front doors and pass by where she got run over last year.” Eli makes no bones about it. “The school has given her permission to park in the back lot until she feels she can handle going through the front.”
Dad’s face softens. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t even think about how you might feel going back to school and facing that scene. I should have called the school and made arrangements for you to be able to park somewhere else.”
And this is the daddy I grew up with, the one who loved me and was my own superhero. I wish he still was that to me.
“I’m fine, Dad.” I duck my head and stare at my plate, my hair falling forward to hide my face. My way of shielding myself, I guess. I don’t want his concern. It’ll make me feel even guiltier for my growing hatred when it comes to Dad.
“There are some things we need to talk about.” Eli passes me a bowl with cabbage rolls in it. Mom’s dishing them up since the casserole dish is too heavy to pass around and it’s hot. “Normally, we wouldn’t say anything because of what you do, Major Banks, but Gramps agrees with me. This is something you need to know since the town ignores it.”
My eyes widen, and I turn to face Eli, shocked. Is he really going to tell my dad about The Reaping Season? I mean, it doesn’t matter if he talks about it here. Dad’s work is well aware that we all know what he does now, since his job was the reason for the hit and run. Since the sheriff had to tell me why the men did what they did, there was no hiding the truth from us anymore. Dad informed his supervisors he confirmed it with us so we’d be more prepared in the future if another member of the town came after us. They don’t know what Eli and his grandfather are, but since they live here, it stands to reason they know about the town’s residents. Or so Dad told the higher ups. Not sure they believed him, but there’s not much we can do. Dad did what he could to protect Eli and his grandfather. At least he did something.
“There was a death last night that the sheriff has declared an animal attack, but that’s not what it was.”
“The Roberts boy?” Dad leans closer. “We had our suspicions about that.”
“Gramps thinks it’s a vampire since the body was drained of blood. If there’s a rogue vampire in town, everyone needs to be on alert. Which means that going out after dark is a hard no. Vampires are deadly, and they can get into your head. Once they do that, there’s nothing you can do to save yourself. The locals are on alert, but for this, Gramps thinks you should be made aware as well.”
Dad nods and pulls out his phone, sending off a quick text. “What else can you tell me?”
“We don’
t know anything else.” Eli shrugs and shoves a forkful of food into his mouth.
There’s a lot more we know, but I guess that’s all he’s willing to share. Normally, I’d never tell my dad anything about another Supernatural, but if this thing is going to go on a two-week killing spree, it deserves to be brought down. If the town won’t do it, maybe Daddy and his team can.
My main issue with Dad’s work is that he takes innocents, people who just try to live their lives. This thing is not innocent. It’s feeding, killing off innocents. And if the thing is as scary as Eli says, then it needs to be dealt with. The only thing I really know about vampires is what I’ve read in books or seen on TV, which are both fiction.
“Eli, did movies and books get it right when it comes to vampires?” I honestly am curious, and I don’t think this is information that could hurt someone since there are no vampires in town.
“No, aside from going out after dark. Their skin has a chemical reaction to the sunlight, and they do start to smoke and burn, but they don’t burst into flames. It can hurt them, though, enough to take them down.”
“So, the whole crucifix, garlic, all that?”
“Urban legend. There is one way to keep them out of your head, and that’s dead man’s blood. Gramps is sourcing some for all of us now.”
“Wait, what?” Cecily finally looks up from eating.
“If you want to keep them out of your head, you have to neutralize their effects on you, and that’s accomplished by drinking dead man’s blood.”
“You want us to drink the nasty blood of a dead person?” Cecily bursts out, horrified.
Eli nods, his expression fierce. “If you want to stay safe, then yes, Cecily. Jordan and I will hold you down and force you to drink it if you won’t do of your own free will. It’s that important. We’re not going to let you get hurt again.”
She shudders, and I have a feeling they’re going to have to force it down her throat. I’m not too keen on the idea either.
“He’s right.” Dad frowns. “It’s the only effective measure we know about, too. Vampires get into your heads, girls. They play awful, cruel games while they feed. They take pleasure in your pain. All of you will drink this daily until we catch this thing.”