Forsaken Repose: The Restless Dead (3 page)

Ian holds up a hand. “Let me explain. Derick was, back in
his living days, always a quiet kid. He was incredibly shy and he
used to hide out in the crawlspace underneath his family's house. If
the legends are true, he even earned the nickname 'Crawlspace' due to
this habit. Anyway, at some point, he hid underneath the house and
was bitten by a venomous snake. He attempted to crawl out from under
the house, but his clothes got snagged on a loose board, and the
snake bit him several more times before he managed to extricate
himself. By the time he got out, he was so dazed and sickened from
being bitten that he could only manage to stumble halfway onto his
porch before falling over. His parents probably would have rushed him
to receive medical treatment, except that his parents and siblings
had all gone to church – something it is rumored that Derick
hated – hence the reason he hid underneath the house. Anyway,
by the time his family returned, Derick had succumbed to his wounds.
What's worse, crows had begun to feast on him.”

“The crows,” Jenna mutters, thinking back to the
events at her new house. “All those crows.”

“Derick's family couldn't bear to live in the house after
what happened, so they moved,” Ian explains. “The thing
is, Derick was still with them. At first, the family thought Derick
wanted to hurt them, but it turns out he only wanted to protect his
family and help them prosper.” A dark grimace grinds across
Ian's face. “It didn't take long before the family found out
that Derick could make their enemies 'disappear.' That family, the
Klein family, banded together and formed a business. Their rivals met
gruesome ends. The family began to acquire other businesses. Rivals
and those who resisted wound up dead. The family grew in wealth and
political power. They were a terror to the town. It wasn't long
before the family decided to find a place where the whole clan could
permanently set up shop.”

“The house,” Jenna mutters. “
My
house.”

Ian nods. “It's rumored the foundation of the house was set
along with a ring that Derick used to wear around his neck.”
Ian shrugs. “I think the ring was a gift from his grandfather
or something. Either way, the ring was too big for his finger, so
Derick wore it on a chain around his neck. When Derick died, his
parents carried it around until setting it along with the foundation
of their new house.”

“For the longest time,” Ian continues, “everything
ran smoothly at the new house. Things changed somewhere in the
nineteen-sixties, when four black guys showed up in town and -”

“Is it really important to point out that the guys were
black?” Jenna snaps.

With a look of confusion etched on his face, Ian responds, “Yes.
This was the Sixties and the people in the town,” Ian pauses
and waves a hand around the area, “
this
town, were
pretty conservative. They still are. Do you recall seeing anything
other than white people ever since you arrived here? I know you came
down here to register your son for school before you moved in. Do you
recall seeing anything other than white people then?”

“Uh...no,” Jenna replies, casting her eyes downward.

“This town has never been a haven for diversity,” Ian
continues. “Back in the Sixties, it was even less accommodating
to anyone who wasn't white. When four black guys showed up, claiming
that they had eliminated all the members of the Klein family -”

“Wait,” Jenna says, holding up a hand. “How many
members of the Klein family were there back then?”

“About fifty,” Ian answers.

“And these
four
guys killed them all,” Jenna
inquires, “even though they had the help of Derick?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

Ian slowly shakes his head. “I'm not sure. It's said that
one of the four guys looked pretty normal. Nothing special about him
at all. One of the four had a dog with him – a Dalmatian, if
I'm not mistaken. The last two guys were each carrying a sword
strapped to their back, and they -”

“A sword?” Jenna interrupts, arching an eyebrow at
Ian.

“Yeah,” Ian laughs. “That's what I heard. I'm
not sure of the names of the first two, but the name of one of the
sword-wielding guys was Joe, while the other was called Louis. From
what I'm told, Joe seemed to be the leader, while Louis might have
been his younger brother, or maybe just his younger friend.”
Ian shrugs. “Either way, Joe told the townsfolk that they'd
killed everyone in the woods and in the main house. Joe urged the
people to head up there and destroy the main house –
everything,
including the foundation. He assured them that
would end all their woes with the Klein family. Destroying the house
would be a big job, but if the entire town was in on it, Joe figured
it wouldn't take very long. After that, the four guys piled into a
van and raced away.”

“So what happened?” Jenna asks.

“Despite that everyone in the town was suspicious, if not
outright terrified of the Klein's and whatever it was they did in the
woods,” Ian replies, “the townsfolk were not going to be
told what to do by black people. As far as the townspeople were
concerned, the black guys were the villains who rolled into town and
slaughtered a bunch of white people. Rather than level the house,
they let it stand. The main house didn't remain vacant for long. It
wasn't long before someone showed up in town to buy that house.”

Jenna's mind works furiously to put the pieces into place. “The
man who bought the house was a relative of the Klein's.”

“Right,” Ian agrees, nodding. “All Derick needed
to do from there was to rebuild his family.”

“What happened to the guys who killed the Kleins?”
Jenna asks.

Ian shrugs. “I can't say. They seemed to drop off the map.
The local police called the state police and told them what happened.
An APB was released, but turned up nothing.” Again, Ian shrugs.
“I honestly don't know how they got away or where they went.
Strangely, according to my research, the whole thing disappeared from
the news completely about two days later.”

Jenna is silent for a moment. “Did the guy who bought the
house ever manage to rebuild the family?”

“In a way,” Ian answers. “He allowed Derick to
possess his body so that Derick could seduce and impregnate women who
would give birth to new members of the family.”

Jenna leans across the table and whispers to Ian. “That
thing inside the house can possess people?”

Ian's eyes lock onto Jenna's. “That's what it does. It has
managed, over the decades, to impregnate a large number of women. It
won't be long before the family is back together.”

“How?” Jenna inquires. “The guy who bought the
house back in the Sixties must be pretty old by now.”

“Derick possesses the body of all his male heirs,” Ian
tells her.

Jenna shoots straight up in her seat. “But you said that
you're Derick's son. That must mean that -”

“...One of the people who Derick possessed is my father,”
Ian finishes.

“No,” Jenna says, turning her head and waving a hand
though the air. “This is all too much. There is no way you'd be
able to remain sane if all that were true.”

Ian nods toward the playground where Bryce rushes around happily.
“Despite all the crazy stuff you're saying you saw, Bryce seems
to be doing okay.” Ian looks directly at Jenna. “You seem
fine too.”

Jenna looks over her shoulder out the window at Bryce. Turning
slowly to face Ian, she whispers, “You didn't come to save me.
You came to save Bryce.”

Ian props his elbow on the table and rubs the bridge of his nose
between his index finger and thumb. “When Derick has control
over me, my body shifts and takes on his appearance. He looks a bit
older – roughly the same age as the woman he's pursuing –
but he still looks like
him
instead of
me
.”

Her voice barely audible, Jenna asks, “What?”

“When a woman is impregnated by someone who is possessed by
Derick, part of Derick is passed on to the child,” Ian
explains. “The part of Derick that is passed on makes the child
immune to the trauma of witnessing supernatural events. That's why
Bryce hasn't been rendered catatonic by what he's seen.” Ian
looks up at Jenna. “That's why
you
haven't been rendered
catatonic by what
you've
seen. I'm sure you were taken by
surprise at first, but you seem to have recovered nicely – and
rapidly.”

Her throat nearly closed from shock, Jenna manages to push out,
“You're Bryce's father, aren't you?”

Ian inhales deeply, then exhales sharply. “I don't have any
control over Derick when he's in possession of my body. All those
'business trips' he told you he had to go on were times when he
released control of my body.” Ian shakes his head. “I
can't say why, but Derick can't control a body indefinitely. He's
certainly grown stronger, though. Each child a woman bears for him
seems to increase his strength. Soon he'll have enough women and
children under his control that he can rebuild the family.” Ian
shakes his head. “I don't know what he's planning, but I
imagine it's not good. I don't have any proof, but I think he wants
revenge on the townsfolk who never found and punished the people who
killed his family.”

“Wait,” Jenna says, raising a hand to scratch her
head. “You've already said that you're related to Derick. You
implied that I am, as well.” Jenna's eyes meet Ian's. “That
means you and I are related, right?”

“Distantly,” Ian agrees. “Derick seems to know
just how far apart is far enough to avoid inbreeding.”

“Let's stop him,” Jenna says, sliding out of the booth
and rising to her feet.

Taken completely by surprise, Ian asks, “What?”

“You and I can destroy the house,” Jenna says,
grinning down at Ian. “That would eliminate Derick, right?”

“Uh...” Ian stammers, “...yeah, that's right. I
just didn't expect you to -”

“...Want to save my son?” Jenna's grin shifts to a
warm smile. “Want to save
our
son?”

Ian slowly shakes his head. “You don't know what you're up
against.” Pulling his phone from his pocket, Ian waves it in
the air a little. “I stay in contact with all the other members
of the family, trying to figure out what they're next move might be.
Let me be clear: They hate me. The only reason I inherited the house
is because I'm the only child who grew up to be a lawyer, so managing
the house fell to me by default. Nobody in the family trusts me
anymore, which is why it was demanded that the house be turned over
to you. I'm pretty sure they suspect that I'm not only interested in
leaving the 'family,' but that I'd like to destroy it once and for
all. They'll kill me for that.” Ian inhales deeply. “They'll
kill you, too.”

“Not if we take down the house first,” Jenna says,
smiling broadly. “I have a co-worker whose husband does a lot
of construction work. We could have him bring in some heavy equipment
to help level the house.”

Ian returns his phone to his pocket. “I don't know. Derick
won't stand still while the house is destroyed.”

“No matter what plan we settle on, this thing is going to be
risky,” Jenna says. Extending a hand toward Ian, she adds, “The
sooner we move, the less time Derick will have to come up with a way
to stop us.”

Taking Jenna's hand, Ian slides out of the booth. “Okay.
What do we do first?”

“Go back to the house,” Jenna says, turning and
walking toward the playground. “I have the number I need to
call written in my address book. We'll get the number, leave the
house and make the call. Once everything is scheduled and the big day
arrives, we'll go back to the house and do what we can to stop Derick
from interfering with the demolition.”

Jenna leads Bryce from the playground and into Ian's car. Polite
and friendly conversation is made on the ride back to the house, and
Jenna can't help but notice the small smile that appears on Ian's
face whenever he looks at Bryce.

Pulling into the driveway, Jenna finds that both the police car
and the moving van are gone. As Ian rolls along, stopping directly in
front of the house, Jenna can find nothing of the two slain officers
– no blood, clothes or even bones remain.

Jenna turns in her seat to look at Bryce. “I need to run
into the house for a minute. You'll be okay out here, alright?”

Bryce casts his gaze up as he looks out his window into the night
sky. He then turns to face his mother. He nods once, but the way he's
biting his lower lip indicates he's not so sure.

“Do you want me to go with you?” Ian asks.

A moment of silence passes before Jenna forces a smile, wrinkles
her nose and shakes her head. “No. I'm fine.”

Unfastening his seat belt, Ian tells her, “I'm going with
you.”

Jenna lets loose a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

Ian turns to face Bryce and says, “Your mom and I are only
going to be gone for a minute. Do you want to listen to the radio
while we're gone?”

Bryce shakes his head, bites his lip a bit harder and stares out
the window. Ian and Jenna exchange concerned glances before stepping
out of the car.

Jenna shuts the door, looks at Ian and props her elbows on the
roof of the car. “Can you put a number in your phone for me?
Just in case things in here don't go well, I want you to be able to
call -”

“Nothing is going to go wrong,” Ian says reassuringly.
“We're still related to Derick, after all. He's not going to
kill us unless his back is against the wall.”

A slight smile forms on Jenna's lips. “Still, I'd feel
better.”

Ian nods and pulls his phone from his pocket. Looking up, he asks,
“Okay, what's the...Jenna?”

Ian looks left and right, but can't find Jenna anywhere. The night
is too dark to see into the woods, but the loud squawking accompanied
by the flapping of wings coming from the trees signals that dozens –
perhaps hundreds – of avian bodies are preparing to emerge.