3 Ghosts of Our Fathers (16 page)

“It’s hard to believe, but
continue, please.”

“OK, so the River was one thing.
Roy’s abilities and his book were another.”

“Grandpa Roy wrote a book?”

“It’s a book he’s added to, but it
came from his father, and his father, and so on. Several generations.”

“What’s in it?”

“A history of all the weird shit
they’ve dealt with over the years. You wouldn’t believe it.”

Now Jason looked interested, and a
little stunned.

“Weird shit? Like what?”

“You name it. Ghosts, evil
spirits, demons, creatures, the whole lot.”

“Grandpa Roy wrote this?”

“Some of it, yes.”

“And he’s writing about his
experiences?”

“Yes.”

“And the purpose of the book, he’s
going to give it to you?”

“Yes, someday I expect.”

“Then you’ll start writing in it?”

“Yes, I guess I will.”

“And does that mean that someday
it comes to me?”

“I don’t know. I suppose that’s up
to you, and to me.”

The server arrived with their
food, and passed out extra napkins and condiments. “Anything else I can get
you?” she asked.

“Nope, looks good,” Jason said.

“She’s cute,” Steven said as their
server walked away.

Jason gave him a pathetic glance
and went about eating his French fries.

“I see you still eat the French
fries first,” Steven said.

“The best part.”

“So, anyway, after Roy helped me
with my house problem, he and I went down to Oregon and helped some friends of
his. They own a bed and breakfast outside of Medford, but it’s far bigger than
any B&B you’ve ever been to. Built in 1850. And full of ghosts. That’s
where I met Eliza.”

“Oh,” Jason said around bites of
food. “I like her.”

“Yes, everybody likes her.”

“And Daniel? How did you meet
him?”

“He’s a friend…was a friend of
Eliza’s. When you and I were attacked in our sleep last week, I called Eliza
for help because your grandpa was out boating with a friend of his. She
referred me to Daniel. He was an expert in everything time related. It was
Daniel who helped me figure out about Frank and how to eliminate him.”

“And who exactly is Frank?” Jason
asked.

Steven backtracked and filled
Jason in on the recent events that had lead up to Daniel’s death.

“So you saw something come out of
his head, at the lake?” Jason asked.

“I entered the flow. I suspected
something was happening that we couldn’t see. Things had been so strange, his
odd obsession with water since he was revived. As he was walking to the water,
he kept saying he couldn’t control himself. At first I thought it was Sean, but
when he kneeled down and bent over, it felt like something else was happening,
so I jumped into the River. The stalk coming out of his head was unlike
anything I’ve ever seen.”

“A stroma,” Jason said. “It’s
called a stroma.”

“What’s that?”

“I learned it in Biology class.
They come out of insects and animals after they’ve been used by parasites.
They’re called ‘zombie parasites’ because they control the body of the host,
usually getting it to do something so they can reproduce. I’ve seen pictures of
huge stalks coming out of ant’s heads, really gross. And many of them drive
their host to water, since they need water to reproduce.”

“Christ, it appears I’m getting
something for my money,” Steven said. “This was all from a biology class?”

“In high school, Dad. I’m not
taking any life sciences in college.”

“Still, that’s impressive. I’ve
never heard of zombie parasites before.”

“Here, hold on.” Jason removed his
phone and began typing in a browser. Soon he turned the phone to Steven,
showing him the pictures. Steven saw the ant and an impossibly long stalk
shooting out of its head.

“It was kind of like that,” Steven
said. “It came up out of him, bent at one point at about a ninety degree angle
towards the water, and had a bulb on the end where the seeds came out.”

“Yup, zombie parasite.”

“I’m guessing the centipedes laid
eggs in him?” Steven asked.

“I’m guessing that too,” Jason
said, taking the phone back. “These parasites have weird life cycles. And who
knows since yours were invisible.
Invisible
. Do you know how weird it
feels to say that word with a straight face?”

“I felt the same way when I was
first learning all this,” Steven said. “I’m still a little shocked at some of
the things I run into. I shouldn’t be, but I am. I’ve been a skeptic my whole
life, it’s hard to get rid of.”

“Well, I was never a skeptic,”
Jason said. “I wanted to read that UFO book. I ate it up.”

“See, even now I discount the
idea. Ghosts, yes. UFOs, no. I know, it makes no sense.”

“So were you going to tell me
about this?” Jason said, finishing his burger. Steven hadn’t even started his
yet.

“Eventually,” Steven said. “I
thought I’d wait until you were at least out of college and settled. Roy didn’t
introduce it to me until now, and look at me, I’m in my fifties. He wasn’t in
any rush so I figured I didn’t need to be with you.”

“How old was Grandpa Roy when his
father told him?”

“Twelve, fourteen, something like
that.”

“Why do you think he waited so
long to tell you?”

“We were never close. Your grandma
made me and Uncle Bernie go to church frequently. She saw it as a way to keep
us safe from Roy’s abilities. She helped create a gulf between me and Roy. One
I regret.”

“Maybe he felt you were too
skeptical, too. Like you wouldn’t believe it if he told you.”

“Yes, that was probably part of
it. Even when he did tell me I didn’t believe it. It took a while. Seeing
ghosts in my house sped the process along.” Steven smiled.

“So what happens next?” Jason
asked. “You going to train me?”

“You’d want that?”

“Sure, why not. Seems like it’s a
birthright or something. Wouldn’t want to let the family down.”

“I guess you could benefit from
Roy. I’m still learning from him. No reason you couldn’t jump in and learn too.
But I worry about you. That’s the main reason I didn’t want to tell you about
this. It’s been dangerous, as you saw. Roy and I have come across some very
dangerous and evil people and creatures.”

“Ooo, sounds like a scary horror
movie!”

Steven sighed. Jason was taking it
cavalierly, which was exactly what he’d been afraid of. It would take an
experience or two before he’d take it seriously. It was too late now; no
putting the toothpaste back in the tube.

“Before we can do anything with
Roy,” Steven said. “We need him to come back safely. He’s put his life on the
line with this. If he fails, he won’t come back.”

“When will you know?” Jason said,
sipping the last of his iced tea.

“I don’t know how long it will
take. Maybe a day or two. Maybe longer. We just have to wait and see.”

“You’ll let me know? When he’s
back?”

“I will,” Steven said, lying. If
Roy was successful, he knew it was a promise he’d never have to fulfill.

Roy had been concealed behind the
junk pile in the garage for over an hour, waiting for the boys to enter the garage
with Frank. As he waited, he attempted to communicate with Sam. It had been
difficult.

Sam was distrustful of anyone
Roy’s age. Roy tried to explain the wooden matchbox and powder would work but
only for a while, and that many others would be hurt later on when Frank broke
free of the cage. He told Sam that he’d convinced David to play it another way
instead of using the items, and that they’d be in the garage soon. He told Sam
that David intended to kill Frank when they got to the garage, to protect Sean
and Garth.

Sam had not been very
communicative. Roy didn’t know if he approved of the plan or if he was ignoring
him all along since he didn’t acknowledge much of what Roy was saying. Roy had
begged him to help David if he could, once they arrived in the garage. Sam
didn’t say he would.

After a while the conversation
stopped. Roy told Sam he’d wait for the boys to arrive by hiding behind the
pile. Sam didn’t say anything in return.

The garage was silent. The musty
smell of cut grass mixed with the smell of burnt wood and creosote. It was a
smell Roy remembered from similar buildings in his youth. He always associated
that smell with spiders.

David appeared in the doorway of
the garage. He looked around, waiting for his eyes to adjust.

“Davy,” Roy called. “Back here.”

David walked inside the garage and
tentatively towards Roy’s voice. Once he made his way around the junk pile, he
saw Roy crouched down near the floor. He also sensed the presence that was with
Roy, listening.

Roy saw David’s reaction, his
fear. David was more susceptible to the flow than he realized. The demon was
scaring him off.

“I… I don’t know if I should do
this, mister,” David said, backing away a little.

“You’re scaring the boy, it’ll
ruin the plan!” Roy told the demon.

“I’ve been waiting a long time,
much longer than usual,” the demon said, his voice rumbling in the lowest
registers they could hear. “I want my payment.”

“Your payment comes after Davy
shoots Frank,” Roy said. “Not before. We talked about this.”

“It looks like your father is
having a change of heart,” the demon said. “If he fails, I’ll take you so
quickly you won’t realize it happened.”

“What is he?” David asked, taking
another step back. “He’s not human.”

“No,” Roy said. “He isn’t. He
brought me here so I could help you solve this.”

“He called me your father,” David
said. “Those weren’t visions, were they?”

“You’re right, they weren’t
visions. That’s what actually happens in the future.”

“And I am your father?”

“Yes,” Roy said, “you are. You are
my father. You named me Roy.”

David looked like he wanted to bolt
from the room, but he didn’t move.

“If I don’t do this, what happens,
in the future?”

“Frank comes back after several
years, attacking me, my son, and his son.”

“I’m a grandfather, and a
great-grandfather?”

“Yes, and they’re all grateful to
you for what you did, what you pass on from your father, all of it. But we
won’t be around if you don’t do this.”

“And him?” David asked, pointing
at the demon.

“He was the only way I could come
back here and talk to you. He will take Frank’s soul as payment for bringing me
here, if you kill him. If you don’t, he’ll take me instead.”

Roy felt he’d put every compelling
reason on the table that he could. It was a mixture of truth and lies, all
designed to get David to pull the trigger. Any more and he’d be pushing too
hard, increasing the risk that David might back out. He stopped and looked at
David with as desperate an expression as he could muster.

“Is that true?” David asked the
demon.

“It is,” the demon answered. “I
will be paid, one way or the other. And I won’t wait much longer.”

David looked at Roy. From inside
the house they could hear screaming, a mixture of the boys yelping and Frank’s
loud, booming voice. They could hear things smashing. Then they heard the sound
of the kitchen door opening and slamming shut, and the rapid fall of
approaching footsteps.

“They’re here,” Roy said. “Now
it’s your choice, Davy. Frank, or me.”

David removed the pistol from his
back belt where he’d concealed it under his shirt.

“Do you know how to use it?” Roy
asked.

“I think so,” he said.

“Come hide here with me in the
shadows. Once Frank comes in you can use it on him. He’ll be blind for the first
few moments when he walks in as his eyes adjust to the darkness. That’s the
time.”

David joined Roy behind the junk
pile, pistol in hand. It was large in his hand, and heavy. Roy saw the gun
droop a bit as he held it.

“Use both hands,” he whispered to
David as Garth came running into the garage. He was crying and breathing hard.

“Davy, you here?” Garth said,
trying to catch his breath.

“Yeah, I’m here,” David said.

“Good. Sean is on his way. Frank
is madder than a hornet’s nest.”

Within a moment Sean came running
into the garage. He had a black eye and blood was running from a cut on his
cheek.

“Did he see you come out here?”
Garth asked.

“Yes, he saw me,” Sean said. “Is
Davy here?”

“Yes, he’s here,” Garth said.
“What do we do?”

“I don’t know,” Sean said. “Davy,
what do we do?”

“Hide,” said David, emerging from
the back of the junk pile, holding the pistol.

Sean and Garth saw the gun and
their eyes went wide. They both scrambled for hiding places.

“You come back here, you little
shitheads!” Frank bellowed from the house. “If I have to come out there and get
you, you’ll be sorry!”

Roy could hear Garth whimper. Sean
and Garth were out of his line of sight, but he could see David, who had moved
into position near the door. He held the gun at arm’s length, ready to fire as
soon as Frank entered the building.

“I’m gonna count to three,” Frank
yelled. “You know what happens at three!”

Roy wondered what exactly Frank
had done to the boys in the past. From Garth’s story that Steven had relayed to
him, it sounded pretty horrible. He didn’t regret what was about to happen.

“One!” Frank hollered.

The garage was silent.

“Two!”

Roy heard Garth whimper again. It
made him regret ever having spanked Steven or Bernie as they grew up.

What an asshole I am for not
reconciling with Steven before coming here,
Roy thought.
I may never see
him again. What a monumental prick I can be sometimes.

“Three! Ready or not, here I come!”

He could see a gulp go down
David’s throat as he steeled himself for the confrontation. He could hear the
demon next to him, panting, readying himself for the soul that was coming his
way within moments. Sean and Garth were nowhere to be seen, tucked into spaces
only they knew.

Frank’s long shadow reached the
doorway before he did.

“You two shitheads need to learn
some respect,” he said, just outside the doorway. “I’m gonna burn it into ya.”
They could hear Frank flicking his lighter. “Just imagine, Garth − Sean
with his hair on fire. All his hair burned off his head. Wouldn’t that look
funny? I’ll bet you’ll shit your pants laughing at him.”

He flicked the lighter more.

“There’s no way out of this, boys.
Come on out now. You come out now, I’ll only beat you until you’re black and
blue. You make me come in there, I’m gonna beat you so hard you won’t know who
you are. And then I’ll burn ya.”

He flicked the lighter a few more
times. Roy was afraid the boys would cave and go out to him, but they didn’t.
The garage was silent except for the sound of Frank’s lighter clicking away the
seconds. Then it stopped.

“Fine, have it your way.” He
walked into the garage.

David raised the pistol, pointing
it at Frank’s chest.
Now
, Roy thought.
Pull the trigger now!

David pulled the trigger, but no
shot came out. The gun only clicked.

Frank heard the click and turned
to look in the direction of the sound. He saw the barrel of the gun and the
face behind it.

“You!” he said, marching towards
David at full speed.

David was stunned that the gun
hadn’t worked. He pulled the trigger again. This time Frank had reached him and
had his hand below the barrel. As David pulled, Frank raised his hand, bringing
the barrel of the gun upwards. The bullet left the gun and grazed Frank’s
scalp. Blood began to run down his face.

Frank paused for a moment, but once
he realized he wasn’t dead, he went into a frenzy. He easily wrestled the gun
from David’s hands as David tried to pull off another shot. Once he had the
gun, he ran at David, pinning him against the wall of the garage. With his left
hand he held David’s chest against the wall, and with his right he held the
gun. Then he brought the handle of the gun down against David’s face, pistol-whipping
him. Frank’s face was dripping blood from the wound on his head, and the blood
was running down onto his chest. He raised the gun again and brought it down on
David. David let out a scream, which faltered and sputtered as blood from his
own wounds gagged his throat.

David raised his feet and kicked
at Frank as hard as he could. It was enough to knock Frank back a few inches,
which was just enough to relieve the pressure on David from Frank’s left hand,
and David slid down the wall of the garage to the floor. Frank took a step back
to catch his breath and wipe the blood from his eyes. David took the
opportunity to try and crawl away, but Frank brought his foot down on David’s
hand. Roy could hear the bones of David’s hand break.

Do something!
Roy thought.
But he couldn’t do anything, couldn’t touch anything or make anything happen.
He was helpless.

Garth flew out from his hiding
place, pounding on Frank from behind. He had little effect. Frank turned and
grabbed Garth by the shirt and threw him against the garage wall. Garth hit the
wall and fell to the floor, stunned. David continued to crawl away, favoring
his unbroken hand. Frank kicked him in the stomach, raising his body off the
ground by two feet. David fell to the floor in a heap, the wind literally
kicked out of him, unable to move.

Frank moved back into position
over David, raising his foot over David’s back.

He’ll break his back,
Roy
thought.
Please, god, someone do something.

Suddenly the room was brightly
lit, as though hundreds of lights had turned on all at once. Everyone in the
room was still, frozen in place. Except for Sean.

Roy saw the extended hand from the
junk pile with Sean next to it. Sean stood, the only one able to move. He
walked over to the wall of the garage where tools and implements were hanging.
He removed a pitchfork and walked over to Frank. Frank was frozen in place.
Sean positioned the tines of the pitchfork at Frank’s back. Suddenly the
brightness of the room vanished and the garage was returned to its normal
light. Frank continued to raise his leg, ready to bring it down on David’s
back.

Sean pushed the pitchfork into
Frank. He pushed until the tines emerged from the other side. Then he pulled
the pitchfork out and shoved it in again. Roy felt the demon next to him begin
to materialize.

Frank turned. Sean let go of the
pitchfork. As Frank turned, the pitchfork swung around behind him. Frank
snarled down at Sean, his face so completely covered with blood that it was
impossible to see his features. He lunged at Sean, sliding off the tines of the
pitchfork; behind Frank, Garth had grabbed hold of the pitchfork’s handle.
Frank fell on top of Sean, the blood of his wound dripping down onto Sean’s
head and face. Frank leaned back and brought his arm up to swing at Sean. Sean
turned his head away from the impending blow and waited for it to hit. But it
never came.

He turned back to look at Frank on
top of him. Garth had run the pitchfork through his neck from behind. Frank was
trying to breathe but was only sputtering instead, bubbles of blood forming on
his mouth as he tried to exhale. He fell off Sean to the side, his hands
reaching for the tines of the pitchfork, but unable to remove them. Sean got to
his feet and went to Garth, who was still holding the handle of the pitchfork.
Garth shoved the handle at Frank again for good measure. They heard Frank
gasping and knew he was done for. They both went to David to see if he was OK.

Roy felt the demon leave his side
and swiftly move over to Frank. Roy entered the flow. He saw the demon lower its
large head next to Frank’s, eyeing the final moments of Frank’s life as he
struggled to breathe and the blood poured out of his wounds. The demon looked
like an animal waiting for the opportune moment to strike its prey. That moment
came within seconds, and the demon opened its mouth. Roy saw the exact second when
Frank heaved his last sigh and the demon sucked his soul away.

Roy exited the flow and walked out
from behind the junk pile and over to David. The boys seemed too shocked to
question why he was there. He checked on David and saw that he was breathing.
Aside from some nasty cuts to his face and his broken hand, he was OK.

“Boys,” Roy said, “run across the
street and tell Davy’s mother what happened. You boys killed Frank in
self-defense, remember that. Sean and David’s wounds should prove that. And
make sure he gets his pocket knife back from under Frank’s bed.”

Sean and Garth backed away from
David and Roy, then ran out of the garage.

“Are we done here?” the demon
asked, still standing next to Frank’s dead body.

“One more thing,” Roy said, and
walked over to the junk pile. “Thank you, Sam. I owe you one.”