Black Rainbow

by Scott Savino

  “I’m sorry,” he said as tears fell.

  “You don’t have to be,” Zac said as he paired the cheddar cheese with the apple pie in a single bite.

  “Why not?”

  Zac chewed, his delight in the competing flavors evident on his face. “Because we’re still together. Isn’t that what this move was about, anyway?”

  The waitress returned and Zac was quite certain if he called her by his grandmother’s name she would respond to it.

  “How was everything,” she asked, hands on her hips.

  “Perfect. Just what I needed,” Zac said.

  Josh sucked in a breath. “Ma’am, where do we go now?”

  She smiled at him and reached across the table to brush a hand over the fine hairs of his cheek.

  “Sugar, you just go home.”

  The Yaw

  CHLOE SPENCER

  A BITING CHILL BLUSTERED THROUGH the streets of Maysburg as autumn descended on the sleepy town. Willa Chester shoved her hands in the pockets of her tan bomber jacket, making her way toward the high school where her friends Daru and Francine waited by the front steps. Daru waved as soon as she saw Willa, a look of excitement on her face. She must have heard something about the recent disappearances. Daru always had an ear out for juicy gossip.

  “Did you hear they found an arm,” Daru shout-whispered, pulling Willa close to her.

  “An arm? Wait, whose arm?”

  “Rumor is it belongs to an adult male,” Francine said. “Someone found it behind the Full Moon diner this morning. It was all chewed up. Really gnarly looking.”

  “That pretty much rules out vampires, right?” Daru asked.

  “No,” Willa said, shaking her head. “If the sun wasn’t up, we can’t discount vampire involvement.”

  Daru groaned. “How lame. I was thinking this would be more exciting than a messy vampire. Why can’t it ever be something cool, like a carnivorous centaur?”

  Willa smiled, her eyes twinkling with amusement. “I don’t think those exist.”

  Francine yawned, stretching her arms above her head. “If it’s not a carnivorous centaur then I’m headed to class. Gotta sneak in a nap before homeroom.” She winked and waved as she headed inside.

  Willa and Daru bid her goodbye, waiting till she disappeared into the bustling crowd before turning back to each other. Daru bit her lip nervously.

  “So, last Friday … did you want to talk about what happened?”

  Willa removed her baseball cap and ran a hand through her chestnut-brown curls. “Do I want to talk about it, or do we need to talk about it?”

  “Hey. I gave you space. Please don’t be evasive,” Daru said, her baritone voice firm and unwavering. “You were the one who kissed me, Willa.”

  “I don’t—look, can we talk about this after school?” Willa winced.

  “Actually, I can’t,” Daru said, her tone clipped and angry. “It’s Wednesday. I have soccer practice.”

  “I’m sorry, I just …” Willa wasn’t sure what she wanted to say, but Daru had run out of patience.

  She folded her arms across her chest and stuck out her chin. “Fine. You talk to me when you want to, I guess.”She turned and walked into the school without saying goodbye.

  After that, the day rolled by in a forgettable haze. Before she knew it, Willa was outside again in the autumn cold, walking herself back home and still brooding over her fight with Daru. Until a poster caught her eye.

  It was one of many in Maysburg, each a plea for help. Each had gone unanswered.

  The poster’s weathered edges fluttered in the brisk autumn wind. The grainy black-and-white photo of a little girl with her arms wrapped around a Golden Retriever grinned out at Willa.

  Missing: Judith Buckley, age twelve

  Height: Five foot, two inches

  Hair: Blonde

  Eyes: Blue

  Last seen August 5th walking home from Cups n’ Scoops on SE 12th Avenue.

  If you have information, please contact Maysburg Police.

  Stapled beside it on the telephone pole was another. This one more recent:

  Charlie Goodburger, nineteen.

  He hadn’t been seen for a week.

  “Unfortunate, isn’t it,” Mrs. Hanzel said, shaking her head as she came up on Willa’s vigil. Mrs. Hanzel lived down the road from Willa in a dilapidated rambler local historians speculated had once belonged to a witch.

  Willa nodded in response and pulled her baseball cap down over her ears as the wind picked up. She hadn’t known either of the missing people before they’d disappeared, but since twelve people had vanished over the past six months, she’d gotten to know their names and faces quite well. Their stories were broadcast over radio and television almost daily.

  “Don’t forget, Mayor Martinez is putting a curfew over the town until this gets resolved,” Mrs. Hanzel said, giving Willa’s arm an affectionate squeeze before bustling away.

  “Stay safe, Mrs. Hanzel,” Willa said, waving goodbye.

  The people of Maysburg were unusually friendly—at least in Willa’s experience—but that friendliness came with some quirks. For instance, nothing was too weird in that town. The whole place was steeped in the paranormal. When asked about the disappearances, some people claimed the victims had all run off to join a cult, possibly living in the woods. Others suggested they’d been abducted by aliens and were now drifting far beyond the stars. One answer made just as much sense as the next in Maysburg. Such odd occurrences were common there, as they were everywhere Willa and her family had lived.

  Willa’s parents were paranormal investigators. They’d moved to Maysburg specifically to investigate the disappearances.

  Willa pulled her attention back from the poster and continued on her way. The trek home took her about half an hour, up into the distant hills of Maysburg, if she didn’t get distracted along the way. Their house was a two story Tudor sitting at the edge of the woods, and the driveway was empty when she got home which meant her parents weren’t there yet, as per usual. As Willa walked into her kitchen, she heard the familiar scrabbling of claws on the hardwood floors, and she crouched down to welcome her pit bull, Buster, into her arms.

  “Hey boy! Ready for your walkies? Walkies? Walkies?”Each time she said the word, Buster bounced up and down excitedly.

  She removed her backpack, grabbed his leash, and checked the time. Just a quick hike through the woods. I’ll be back before the six thirty curfew. For safety, she packed her hunting knife, along with a silver cross and a clove of garlic—just in case.

  Behind their house, a series of hiking trails and animal tracks twisted through the dense forest surrounding the town.

  Under the canopy of the trees she could feel her anxiety washing away. She listened to the breeze, the gentle chirping of the swallows, and the distant sound of rushing water.

  Willa decided to take her usual route, which would bring her to a meadow. Buster knew every step of the way, following eagerly by her side, but when they reached the clearing Buster refused to move. He sat down and whined in distress. Willa looked, but could see nothing wrong with the yards of pillowy grassland.

  “Come on boy,” Willa murmured, pulling him into the meadow with her.

  Buster’s shoulders stiffened as they crept into the grass. He was barely moving.

  Willa stopped, feeling suddenly vulnerable. She closed her eyes and tried to take a few deep, steadying breaths. When she opened her eyes again, she found the late afternoon had turned to darkest night. A hush had fallen over the meadow and a moss green moon loomed overhead.

  Then Buster barked and howled uncontrollably.

  Willa scrambled for her phone, turning on the flashlight before reaching for her knife. In her other hand, she tightened her hold on Buster’s leash. Then she noticed a light source coming from further up the hill. A small log cabin with silver smoke rising from its chimney. Orange lights flickered in front of the windows.

  The cabin had not been there before.
>
  Willa dialed her mother immediately and put her on speaker.

  “Willa! Hi, honey. How was your day?”

  “Mom,” Willa whispered. “I need help. I took Buster on a walk, and it’s night all of a sudden.”

  “Sweetheart, its only four thirty. The sun is still out. What do you mean ‘it’s night’?”

  “I mean something’s wrong. There’s a cabin in the meadow and a green moon. I know I’m not making sense, but please come get me.”

  “Stay put. We’re on our way.”

  As Willa ended the call, she realized a weight was missing from her right hand. Buster’s leash was gone. His barking had stopped, as well. Trembling, she looked back toward the cabin. The smoke had stopped rising, but the lights were still on.

  Suddenly, she heard the leaves rustling frantically behind her, as if someone were running up the path. She crouched low, slinking up the hill and around the backside of the cabin to hide behind a pile of chopped wood.

  As she peeked around the wood pile, she saw nothing but an empty field in the eerie moonlight. When she glanced up toward the open window above her, she could just make out someone standing inside. Her hand tightened its clammy grip on the knife as the figure silently moved away. She took advantage of the moment, twisting her head to get a look inside the cabin.

  Her stomach churned at what she saw.

  The walls were splattered with brown and black patches that looked like they were probably dried blood. A couple of baby cribs were pushed against one wall, the bars rusted and falling out. Several piles of identical wooden chairs cluttered the floor. Some were stacked up, one on top of the other. Two were laying sideways across the table. One appeared to be glued upside down to the ceiling.

  Willa gripped the grass, panic swelling in her chest. Her hands felt sticky. As she looked down, she realized the ground had been soaked with dark, glistening blood.

  The door to the cabin creaked open and Willa squeezed her eyes shut as she heard heavy footsteps running away.

  “Willa! Honey!”

  Her eyes snapped open and she was looking into her mother’s face. Gone was the cabin and the meadow. She was sitting on the trail in the middle of the woods, Buster solemnly laying at her side. Her dad stood over them, his hands on his hips.

  Her mother cupped her face, checking her over for injuries. “Honey, are you hurt? What happened?”

  “I don’t know. There was a cabin. In the meadow. There was blood, and chairs …”

  “Chairs?”

  “It—it was filled with chairs. And blood. And baby cribs?”

  Her parents exchanged a concerned look. Then Willa realized something was missing.

  “My knife! Oh no!” She twisted around, frantically searching the ground. “I must have left it in the meadow.”

  Her father held up his hand, halting her. “You’re not going back into that meadow until we investigate what happened.”

  “Well whatever it is, it’s not a vampire,” her mother said, helping Willa to her feet. “Let’s all walk back home together, okay?”

  “No,” her father said. “What if this thing gets away? We should just look around now.”

  “Let’s take Willa home first, Mark. We’ll drop her off and then come back.”

  “You’re going to leave me alone in the house?” Willa cried out, horrified.

  “Honey, we have to investigate. This is our job. You’ll be safe at home with Buster.”

  “Buster disappeared! He wasn’t in the meadow with me,” Willa said, her voice hoarse. “It was like entering a dream world. Nothing seemed real.”

  “Did you see anything?”

  “Kind of? I saw something. A person maybe? Whatever it was it looked human.”

  “It could be a Wendigo,” her father suggested.

  “Wendigos don’t do this, Mark. If it looked human, it probably is one. Maybe we just have a cannibal on our hands.”

  “But—but the visions. The cabin.”

  Her mother rubbed her shoulder. “I promise you, we will figure this out, hon. We’re going to take you home. Can you call your friends to come over?”

  Willa bit her lip. She wasn’t sure how Daru would respond, but she was the only person Willa wanted to see. She nodded reluctantly and followed her parents home.

  Once she finished practice, Daru came over. Freshly showered, her black hair glistened like obsidian glass. Willa’s parents, armed with their handguns and night vision cameras, left. Then it was just Willa and Daru and Buster, all sitting on the couch.

  Too anxious to sit for long, Daru walked over to the kitchen and placed the kettle on the stove to boil.

  “What are you making?”

  “Tea. You still got any Earl Grey?” Daru asked, digging through the cabinets.

  Willa scratched behind Buster’s ears. “Even better. Darjeeling.”

  “Nice.” Daru switched off the burner when the kettle screamed, and poured two mugs. “What did you see? In the meadow, I mean.”

  “I’m not sure. A cabin. Filled with chairs. And blood. So much blood. It was horrible.”

  “I can only imagine.”

  “It’s funny, though. I’ve been around paranormal investigating most of my life, but I’ve never been interested in it or even seen much of it, and now I’ve stumbled into some bizarre mystery my parents don’t even know how to solve.”

  Daru gave her the mug before sitting down next to her. “They’ll figure it out. What’s important now is that you stay safe.”

  Willa nodded and sipped from the mug. The Darjeeling soothed her agitated nerves.

  “You’re shaking,” Daru said, taking Willa’s tea away in order to hold her trembling hands.

  “All those people are definitely dead,” Willa whispered. Her voice thick with tears.

  “Yeah,” Daru said quietly. “Probably. I’m glad you made it out okay, though.”

  “I’m sorry I’ve been avoiding you. It’s not fair, and it’s selfish,” Willa sniffled. “I’ve liked you for a long time, but then I saw Jody post that picture on Insta, and I thought you two got back together.”

  Daru rolled her eyes. “That picture is so old and it was a repost. I know Jody wants me back, but I’m done with her fake-ass attitude.”

  Willa giggled through the tears. Daru grinned.

  “I would much rather spend my time with you,” Daru murmured, brushing her fingers down Willa’s cheek.

  They leaned in to kiss, taking comfort in each other as they closed their eyes. When they opened them again, the room was dark. Buster was gone. Willa looked out toward the window and saw the green moon hanging low in the sky, its deep craters glaring like sunken eyes.

  “What the hell is happening?” Daru reached for the lamp and tried to switch it on, but it wouldn’t work.

  “It followed me,” Willa whispered, turning on her phone’s flashlight. “This is what happened before.”