Ghost Shadows (19 page)

He pointed across the street to a particularly gruesome looking structure, whose name was still displayed proudly in the carved granite slab suspended over the gaping mouth-like front opening, reading Martinson Fashions.

“My grandfather told me
that
way back in the early 1930s this factory was a real money
maker
,
” Cameron explained
.
“He said old man Martinson died a multi-millionaire and none of his kids or grandkids had to work a day of their lives.”
 

Cameron continued, “This place was such a big deal, it had its own subway stop in the basement, so workers from all over the city could work here. The subway service stopped coming to this neighborhood back in the 1980s when the line shut down, but the platform is probably still there, somewhere under the building.”

“And now look at it
,
” Crystal said sadly. “It is a rundown wreck of a building. That is so sad.”
 

“It's not sad, Crystal
,
” Chase explained. “It is just business. The strong survive and
the
weak
. . .
well the weak end up looking like that building over there.”
 

Jen spoke up, “So are you guys sure you checked this place out good enough? I mean, I don't want us running into a bunch of dopers or perverts or God know what in there.”

“Yeah
,
” Chase said
.
“Me and Cam scoped it out
a couple
times during the day and it
's totally
empty and pretty safe as long as you stay on the main path and don't go off on your own and end up falling down an elevator shaft or some shit like that.”
 

“Chase! Your language!” Crystal shouted again.

“For Christ's sake, Crystal.” Jen hollered back. “Stop worrying so much about your frickin' aura.
”
 

“Jen! Language!” Crystal admonished
,
shaking her head while Jen just threw her hands up in the air, and the boys simply rolled their eyes, smiling understandably.
 

Cameron announced, “O
K
everybody, it's now or never. Let's take this show on the road.” With that, he opened the driver's door while Chase simultaneously opened the passenger door and got out on the abandoned street. Chase opened the sliding side door so the girls could get out as well. Crystal seemed to be repulsed and terrified every time she had to make contact with any part of the van, as if the beanbag chair was
a
raft in the middle of the ocean, surrounded by sharks.
 

 Within a few moments the quartet of friends found themselves standing in front of what was, at one time, two enormous glass doors leading to the wrecked lobby of Martinson Fashions. The doors were completely gone, not even the metal framework or hinges remained. The doorway was charred black from one of the many fires
that
had been set throughout the years in this part of the city.
 

As they were about to enter the building Jen asked, “Does anyone have anything with them we can use to defend ourselves, like a flashlight or a gun or something?”

“Where the hell would I get a gun?” Cameron asked. Crystal gave him a disapproving look but he ignored her. “I do have a flashlight, though.” He raised his Maglight flashlight to show the group.

“Me too!” Chase said showing his Maglight
,
which was a slightly larger model then Cameron's. “Hey look
,
Cam, mine is bigger than yours
,
” Chase said as they both laughed.
 

“Oh my God!” Jen said shaking her head, “Flashlight envy!” Then she and Crystal chuckled conspiratorially.  Jen explained, “Look. I just want to make sure if some doper or pervert or ax murder is hiding somewhere in there, we have some way to get out in one piece.”

“Oh yeah
,
” Chase continued, “I also have a pocket knife in case we need it.”
 

“Wow!" Crystal interjected sarcastically, "We have a regular arsenal on our hands don't we?”

“Look
,
” Cameron said, “There is nothing to worry about. No one is in there and there hasn't been anyone in there for years. The place is completely empty. There's nothing to worry about. Plus we all have our cell phones and we can call 911 anytime if we need to.”
 

“I don't think the cops will come down to this part of town
,
” Chase said putting his mouth in gear before his brain
,
as was typical.
 

“Good one
,
Chase!” Cameron admonished, “You are really doing a lot to help the cause.”
 

Nevertheless, within a few minutes the four high school seniors were walking cautiously along a rubble strewn path inside the blackened lobby toward the back of the building.

“Watch out to your left
,
” Cameron warned. “That is the empty elevator shaft I mentioned. You don't want to fall down there.”
 

When they reached the back of the building they saw a doorway with a broken wooden door hanging suspended by one hinge. Stenciled on the front of the door, faded and charred was the word “Stairs
.
”
 

"These are probably the stairs that lead down to the basement
,
" Cameron said. "How cool would that be to see the old subway platform
?
We could take some pictures with our cell phones as proof we were here."
 

"Yeah
,
" Jen said sarcastically, "
a
nd we could email them to all of our friends." She knew as well as the other three, there were no other friends. These four misfits and their missing friend Stacey were a unique group unto themselves. They often joked about their being different than everyone else and their lack of popularity at school. It never bothered them very much, until they thought about what might happen after graduation, when they each went their separate ways to start their own lives. They all swore to keep in contact but knew their close bond of friendship would eventually end and their lives would go on.
 

Cameron took a cautious step onto the top landing, shining his Maglight down the steep descending stairs. At first he jumped slightly, startled when he thought he saw something ducking back into the darkness just beyond the reach of his beam.

"Cam? Are you alrigh
t
? You flinched
,
" Crystal said.
 

"Yeah
,
" Cameron replied. "It was nothing. This place just gives me the creeps."
 

"Me too
,
" Jen said.
 

"Me three
,
" Crystal said.
 

Chase looked surprised at them and said
,
"Well, isn't that what it's supposed to do? It's Halloween weekend and we are in probably the spookiest building in the city. Duh! We are supposed to be getting the creeps!"
 

"Yeah. Well it is working
,
" Cameron replied.
 

They started their slow
descent
down the long stairway with Cameron still in the lead, being extremely vigilant to assure he had not really seen anything, other than perhaps a rat or one of the other many possible small, harmless animals
that
tended to live in abandoned buildings.
 

When they got to the bottom of the stairway they noticed it took a sharp left turn before continuing down another long flight of stairs.

"Holy shit!" Chase exclaimed. "How far down does this go?"

"Chase!" Crystal admonished. "Do you kiss your mother with that filthy mouth?"

He looked at her slyly and said, "I most certainly do and I would be happy to do the same for you sometime, sweet cheeks, but with much more enthusiasm."

"In your dreams
,
" Crystal replied. "In your dreams."
 

As the group reached the bottom of the stairway, it again took another sharp left and led to another long set of stairs leading downward.

"What the hell?" Crystal exclaimed. The three friends looked at her with astonishment as she corrected herself. "I mean heck. I meant what the heck."

"Jesus
,
Crystal!" Jen said. "If you meant to say hell then say hell. Your stupid aura will be just as tarnished if you meant one thing and say some stupid substitute instead."
 

Crystal replied, "I know
. . .
it's just—"
 

"Wait a minute!" Chase interrupted
.
"What was that noise?"
 

"What noise?" Cameron asked. "I didn't hear anything."

Jen replied angrily, "Stop it
,
Chase! Stop being a douche bag. It's spooky enough down here without you trying to scare us. O
K
?"
 

"Honest
,
Jen
,
" Chase explained. "I'm not being a dick or anything. I really thought I heard something. But now maybe I'm not so sure."
 

"Look
,
" Cameron said
,
"
w
e are two floors underground in an empty building. There are bound to be rats or mice or things like that running around down here. And you know how everything echoes in a stairway like this. Just relax, everything is
OK
.”
 

Soon they reached the bottom of the third flight of stairs and saw another opening
that
led to almost total blackness, except for a slight bit of ambient lighting apparently coming from moonlight filtering in from some of the many holes in the high ceiling of the structure. The eerie light gave the area a dark gray
,
ominous appearance as surrounding features were hidden in black shadows. As they stepped out through the doorway, Cameron noticed the door to
this passageway was still intact and appeared functional as it hung open. It was an old thick heavy metal thing, perhaps iron,
that
looked like it may have been installed for security purposes. They assumed it hadn't done much good as it now hung completely open.
 

Cameron continued to take the lead, followed by Jen, then Crystal, while Chase stayed in back. The boys had agreed to this arrangement before picking up the girls, figuring if they kept the girls in
sight
, between them, there was less chance of the
m
accidentally getting hurt.
 

As they walked several feet, they all noticed a number of things. First they heard their footfalls echoing on the concrete floor as if indicating they had entered a very large room or chamber. They also noticed the vile stench of decomposition, as if something had died as was rotting nearby.

“Oh my God! What stinks? Where the hell are we?” Jen asked, feeling as if she would vomit.

“I think we are in the basement on the subway platform
,
” Cameron said. The group continued to walk steadily forward as Cameron led the way with his flashlight scanning the area.
 

Chase likewise was surveying the concrete platform, which appeared vast and empty. Suddenly his light reflected off of something just beyond the expanse of concrete to his right
.
 
 No one else was looking in that direction. He raised his beam slightly to try to get a better look. To his surprise he saw a pile of tattered remnants of old filthy clothing.
 

Then he was horrified
to
discover directly next to the pile of rags a mountain of what looked like bones—human bones. Rib cages, skulls
,
and the like were all piled chaotically, perhaps ten feet high. Rats crawled among the bones and Chase noticed one of the creatures in particular, poking his wiggling snout from the empty eye socket of one of the broken skulls. Chase wanted to cry out but his voice caught in his throat as his stomach retched in disgust.
 

Before he could regain his composure and warn the others of what he had just seen, he felt a searing pain for just a
moment
as a sharp hooked and barbed
arrowhead entered through the back of his neck and passed right through him creating a massive tear in the front of his throat, severing his carotid artery on exit. The last thing he saw before his eyes went black under the shroud of death was his three friends silhouetted in Cameron's flashlight walking slowly away, oblivious to his fate.
 

Someone had fastened a rope crudely to the back end of the arrow. Within a second, an unseen force from somewhere back in the darkness yanked quickly on the line, pulling Chase's corpse backward into the blackness. The three friends heard Chase's flashlight fall with a clang to the concrete floor and they quickly turned around as one to see what had happened. They saw nothing but blackness behind them and Chase's flashlight slowly rolling about in a circular motion, its beam randomly scouring the darkness.