SUMMER OF EVIL Read online

  “I’m not sure if the evil killed him or anyone else, but I have to find out what is out there. I can do this alone. You have been through enough. Go home and tell Hunter what I’m going to do. He can come back with you if he wants.” She began to walk toward the woods.

  Taylor caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Stop. Wait. I’m coming with you. I’m not going home and leave you here. We’re stronger together remember? If we need Hunter, we can call.”

  Kellie stopped and threw her arms around Taylor. “I wouldn’t know what to do without you. We’re going to be fine. My mom said we would have babies together. We have to live to do that. For the first time, I’m not afraid of the evil in these woods.”

  Taylor laughed. “You sound so positive; I’m not scared.” She linked her arm in Kellie’s, and they walked toward the woods.

  #####

  Hunter paced back and forth in his living room glancing out the window looking for Taylor’s car. He mumbled, “It has been nearly two hours, where in the world is she?” Penny barked and ran around him.

  He bent over and patted her head. “I know girl, you’re wondering why I’m stressed.” Hunter pulled his phone out and dialed Taylor’s cell. It went straight to voicemail.

  “Damn,” he said. Penny barked.

  “Okay, girl. We’ll run around the back yard for a while. She has to be home soon.” Penny followed him outside and ran after the ball until Hunter’s arm was tired.

  #####

  At the edge of the woods Taylor asked, “Where do we start. I don’t see a path.” Her eyes searched up and down the edge for as far as she could see.

  Kellie closed her eyes for a moment and said, “Down here. I think there’s a path.”

  “I don’t see any path,” she said looking at Kellie out of the corner of her eye. “Are you sure?”

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  “Uh Huh,” Taylor replied. She threw her hands up and followed Kellie along the edge of the woods.

  “Here,” Kellie said.

  Taylor stared at the small path, then at Kellie, and back at the path. “How in the world…?”

  “I don’t know; I just did.”

  “It’s good enough for me,” Taylor answered. “You go first.”

  #####

  Hunter tried Taylor’s cell again, and it still went to voice mail. Kellie’s phone did the same. He sat in his recliner and bounced his hands up and down on the arms. The faster his hands flew up and down, the louder Penny barked.

  He tried Mike’s cell and got Mike’s voice mail. He tossed his phone on the sofa. He mumbled, “Be reasonable, Hunter. The girls are most likely out of range, and it is Sunday. Mike needs a life, too. He’s probably out with Rita.”

  He leaned back and Penny nudged his hand with her nose. He patted her head, and she dropped at his feet and fell asleep.

  “I wish I could do that.”

  He stood, walked to the window, picked up his phone and tried all three numbers again. Dropping his shoulders, he said, “Maybe some food will help.”

  He opened the fridge, and all of Taylor’s healthy food turned off his appetite. He spied a foot long pepperoni meant for pizza and grabbed it. He found a loaf of French bread in the cabinet and sliced off several inches. He dropped both on a plate and carried it back to the living room. He bit a chunk of pepperoni and chewed. Taylor would be angry if she saw him, but he shook his head and bit off another piece.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Kellie smiled at Taylor and stepped onto the path. Taylor looked over both shoulders before following Kellie.

  “Where are you going?” Taylor whispered.

  “Don’t whisper. I doubt there is anyone here to listen. I’m following the path.” She pushed a branch out of her way and continued walking.

  “What about the spirits, they’ll hear us.” Taylor’s voice quivered.

  Kellie turned around. “You’re scared. I hear it in your voice. Let’s go home, I’ll come another day.”

  “No way.” Taylor planted her feet firmly on the path. “Where you go, I go. Well, most places.” She twisted her face and smiled.

  Kellie laughed. “Okay, but if there are spirits, they’ll hear us even if we whisper.”

  “Comforting,” Taylor mumbled. Twigs beneath her feet cracked as she followed Kellie again.

  Kellie stopped and turned completely around her face twisted in confusion.

  “What’s up?” Taylor looked around her eyes scanning from the treetops to the ground.

  “I feel something.” Kellie held out her hands and rubbed her thumbs and index fingers together.

  “What? I don’t feel any different.”

  “The air seems to feel cold and damp. It is more of a sensation than an actual feel. My body is aware of it, but my hands don’t feel damp. It’s odd.” Kellie walked around and touched tree branches and plants.

  “What are you doing?” Taylor asked as she kicked at the leaves covering the path.

  “It rained yesterday. The leaves near the ground are still damp. The leaves on top are dry from the breeze, but I sense the dampness. It must be spirit related.” She placed her hands on a tree and turned around to face Taylor.

  Taylor’s eyes were wide open. “You feel something cold and damp that I don’t, and you think it’s a spirit. Is it evil? Can you sense that?”

  “I don’t sense an actual spirit, but a spirit has walked here. I don’t feel evil. I feel immense sadness and loss.”

  Taylor wrapped her arms around her chest and asked, “Could it be Victor or Adelaide? They were both sad.”

  “No,” Kellie shook her head and took two steps on the path. “They are in the light and this is not a residual feeling. Whatever I feel is still here. It has been here for a while.”

  She spun and looked at Taylor, “Maybe it’s the old evil supposedly residing in these woods.”

  “Old evil is bad evil,” Taylor stammered. “What else do you feel besides bugs?” She swatted at mosquitoes that flew around her head.

  “I don’t feel it is bad. The spirit isn’t evil. It is sad and lost. It’s also strong; it might be two spirits.” Kellie continued to walk.

  “Wait for me, and what do we do if it is two spirits?” Taylor called.

  “Help them both. They can’t be here when the children arrive. We have to convince them to leave.” Kellie walked and felt the air and leaves every few feet.

  “We, you said ‘we.’ What am I supposed to do?” Taylor’s voice was quiet, and she felt cold despite the sun that shone between the trees. It was a warm summer day. She shouldn’t feel cold.

  “Kellie, I feel cold.”

  “I feel it now, too. I need you to help me be strong. If there are two, then I will need all the strength to deal with them.”

  Taylor asked, “You said they weren’t evil only sad and lost.”

  Kellie stopped and looked at Taylor. “Yes, they are, but even sad and lost spirits may not want to leave. They’re here for a reason. Love, revenge, confusion, or refusing to accept they’re dead are all reasons spirits stay behind. It doesn’t make them evil.”

  “Luther said there was evil in the woods.”

  “He was the evil. He never wanted anyone to know that, and he lied. I don’t believe there were ever any ‘blood sacrifices.’ They were an excuse for Luther to kill and blame Adelaide. He killed Clarice to keep her away from the letters we found.”

  Tears filled Taylor’s eyes. “Poor Clarice. That would have been us if you hadn’t fought Luther.”

  Kellie stopped, turned, and hugged Taylor. “Yes, it was a terrible loss. He killed her to save his name, but in the end the truth will be known. I’m going to turn the letters over to Marilyn’s friend on the paper and have him write a story.”

  “Great idea. What now? Should we keep on walking? I know this area is only a few acres in size, but it’s all wooded, and we could get lost.” Taylor smiled and turned in the direction they came. “Let’s go back.” She started to walk away fro
m Kellie.

  “Not quite yet, please. We won’t get lost as long as we stick to the path. I know there is something here I’m supposed to find.”

  Taylor’s shoulders slumped, and she turned around, “Okay.”

  After walking for ten minutes, Kellie stopped. She pointed in front of her. “I think I see a clearing.”

  A few minutes later they arrived at the clearing. In the center was a pond. Sunlight glistened off the water and cattails and wild flowers bloomed around the edge.

  “It’s pretty here,” Taylor exclaimed. “I never knew this was here.”

  “Me either, growing up I heard this place was haunted. I wouldn’t come here.” Kellie took in her surroundings. Grass and weeds grew in harmony nearly knee deep. Clumps of wild flowers grew close to the woods and in haphazard spots amid the weeds. Purple, pink, yellow, and green encircled them.

  Taylor said, “This looks like a fairyland. It doesn’t appear as if anyone has been here in years.”

  “No one human anyway,” Kellie answered.

  “It can’t be spirits. They like dark, cold, ugly places. It’s too lovely here.” She smiled and picked a few wildflowers.

  “Bad spirits wouldn’t be here, but good spirits enjoy beauty. I know they are here. It is what I felt in the woods. I felt cold, and spirits always bring cold and the dampness was the pond. I think the pond plays a large part in whatever is happening.” Kellie began to walk around the pond. Taylor could see her lips moving.

  “What are you doing?” Taylor watched her and slipped her hands into her pockets.

  “Speaking to the spirits I know are here. I can’t help them if they don't talk to me.”

  Taylor dropped her head and mumbled, “Spirits, more spirits. I wonder if we will ever stop seeing spirits.”

  She picked a few more flowers and called across the pond, “Where are the spirits.”

  “Right here,” a duo of voices answered her.

  Her scream brought Kellie running.

  “What is it?” Kellie called out as she ran.

  “Didn’t you hear them?” Taylor spun around looking. “I heard them, but I don’t see anyone.”

  “Them?” Kellie looked around. “I don’t see or hear anything.”

  “We’re over here.”

  Kellie spun and came face to face with two young boys.

  “Who are you?” Kellie could see through them, and Taylor’s panicked look let her know they also appeared to her.

  The taller of the two spoke. “My name is Alvin and this here is my brother Jack.”

  “It’s nice to meet you. Why are you still here? I don’t want to frighten you, but you do know you’re dead.” Kellie took a step closer to them.

  “I know, but Jack is a little confused. I’m twelve, and he is only ten.”

  “Maybe I can help you. Please tell me what happened to you.” She smiled hoping they would feel more secure.

  “We can’t. We need to stay hidden. If Luther comes back, he’ll be angry.” They began to fade.

  “No wait,” Kellie said. “Luther is gone. He’s never coming back.”

  Jack shook his head back and forth quickly. “No, no, he always comes, he’s mean.”

  “He can’t hurt you. I sent him away forever.” Kellie smiled again and took another step closer to the boys. “Please let me help you, but I need to know why you are here.”

  Jack peeked out from behind Alvin and asked, “Is he gone, truly gone.”

  “Yes, he will never come back. Come and tell me what happened.”

  Taylor’s knees were getting weak and allergies or not, she dropped to the ground and sat watching Kellie speak with the boy’s spirits.

  Alvin waved his hand, and an area appeared in front of Kellie without any weeds. The grass seemed to be cut, and the ground was dry. Kellie sat and motioned for Taylor to join her. The boys sat but hovered just above the grasses.

  Alvin spoke. “It was winter and we lived in a small house near the woods. My mother cleaned and cooked for the monks at the monastery. My father farmed the land.”

  What were your parent’s names?” Kellie asked.

  “Horace and Eugenia.”

  “Did you know Luther and Adelaide?”

  Jack spoke up. “Adelaide lived in a little house. We never saw Luther until he died in the woods.”

  “You didn’t live in the little house,” Kellie asked.

  Both boys shook their heads.

  “Tell me, I’ll listen.”

  Alvin said, “My father was very strict. One day when he didn’t think I worked hard enough, he told me I had to sleep on the porch. He threw me out the back door and locked it. I was so cold, and I thought it might be warmer in the woods where the winds didn’t blow as hard.”

  Jack picked up the story. “When mother and father went to sleep, I took a blanket from Alvin’s bed and brought it outside. I wanted him to stay warm, but I saw him go into the woods. I followed him, and when I was far enough away from the house, I called out his name.”

  “I heard him,” Alvin said. “I stopped and Jack ran up to me. By then I was lost, so we walked a bit further and found the pond. Someone had built a little shelter near a tree. We huddled there under the blanket until morning. It was cold, but we had survived.”

  “It was my fault,” said Jack. “I was hungry. I didn’t think about needing a fire, but I thought I could catch a fish. There was a little ice on the pond, and I walked on it. It broke, and I fell into the water. It was so cold I couldn’t move, and I could barely breathe. Alvin heard me.”

  “I heard Jack splashing in the water,” Alvin added. “I scooted out on the ice on my stomach to reach him. I grabbed his coat and pulled, but the ice broke, and I fell into the water with Jack.”

  Kellie sucked in a breath, “You both drown?”

  The boys nodded their heads.

  “We were afraid,” Alvin continued. “We could see ourselves in the water and we heard father call our names. He sounded angry. Then a bright light appeared and we thought it was a ghost, so we hid in the woods. We watched father find us and pull us out of the water. He dragged us back to the house. Mother wasn’t there. I think she was cooking for the monks. Father put our bodies in the parlor near the fireplace. He ran out of the house. We thought he was going to get mother, but he returned with an arm full of hay. He spread it over us and poured kerosene from the lamp on the hay. When he lit a match, the fire jumped up, and he ran out the back door.”

  Kellie could hear Taylor’s cry and see her wipe away tears.

  “We could see the house and the yard,” Jack said. “I waited for mother to come save us. When the fire was burning all through the parlor, father ran toward the monastery yelling there was a fire in the house.”

  Alvin said, “They did their best, but they couldn’t stop the fire. The house burned down. Mother was angry with father that he made me sleep outside. When he said I must have built a fire too large so I could get warm, she left in the buggy. She never came back. The fire was out and cooled two days later. Father found some of our bones and the monks buried us in their cemetery. Father left the next day. We didn’t know what to do and went back to the little shelter in the woods.”

  “I need to ask you a question and I need the truth.” Kellie looked directly at the two boys. “Please be honest.”

  “We will,” Jack said. “It’s a sin to lie.”

  “Kellie smiled, “You’re a good boy, Jack.”

  Jack smiled back and said, “Thank you.”

  Kellie took a deep breath. “I believe that you are honest boys since you believe lying is a sin, but I have to ask if you have ever scared or hurt people while you have been here.”

  Both boys’ faces appeared surprised. “No, people scare us, and we hide. We couldn’t hide from Luther. He could see us.”

  “What did Luther do?” Kellie asked.

  Alvin said, “He was very angry at Adelaide and was walking through the woods talking to himself. He didn’t see a broke
n limb and tripped. He never got up. I thought he was hurt, and Jack and I went to look. We saw a ghost of Luther get up and he saw us. He made us tell him how to hide and move things. He was always yelling and angry. He scared Jack.”

  Jack nodded and said, “He did bad things to some men that camped in the woods, and he hurt the monks. He told us if we left him alone; we wouldn’t be blamed or hurt. We stayed here in the woods.”

  Kellie looked at Taylor. “They’re innocents and don’t belong here.”

  She looked back to the boys. “Remember the white light that scared you?”

  They nodded.

  “I want to call it back and you can walk into it. It is warm, dry, and safe. I think you may find your mother or other people who loved you.”

  “It’s a good place,” Jack asked. “It’s not a bad ghost?”

  “No, it is a very safe place. Will you go?”

  Jack looked at Alvin and he said, “Yes. We don’t like it here.”

  Kellie stood and lifted her hands. The white light appeared next to a tree near the boys. “It’s time for you to leave and be happy. I have seen many people go into the light. It’s a good thing.”

  Jack grabbed Alvin’s arm and they walked together. Jack waved just before the light brightened, and they disappeared.

  Taylor wiped more tears. “Those boys were treated badly, and then frightened by Luther. He was the only evil in these woods. We can bring children out here now without fear of spirits. It’s getting dark. We should go home.”

  Kellie looked around and saw the sun setting over the trees. The sky was red and bright orange. Shadows of the trees began to fall across the pond.

  “I agree, we should go before it gets too late. Hunter will have Uncle Mike looking for us.” She laughed.

  “Don’t laugh,” Taylor said. “I can see him doing it.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Hunter paced between the living room and the kitchen with Penny following him. Each time he tried Taylor’s or Kellie’s cell and neither answered he became more frustrated.

  “Damn,” he mumbled when another call was unanswered. He reached back ready to throw his phone against the wall when it rang.