Once again I found myself covered in dust whilst sitting in the comic loft. I had sorted through the boxes and piles of comics all morning trying to ignore the clock. I was meeting David tonight. He had left a note by my window. Instead of sneaking away from my house, like last time I asked my uncle if I could go home early today. I had my moms car so I could park at the beach and make my way to the point with no one being the wiser.
As I sorted through comic after comic I moved a few boxes and found another huge box. It smelled like mildew and was covered in a huge burlap cloth. I gingerly pulled the burlap away from the box and tossed it to the side. Even with its covering the box had gotten quite dusty. Using my hand I wiped away some of the grey dust to show not a box but, a trunk. A hideously faded pink and yellow-flowered trunk.
Holy shit!
I thought. I felt a bubble of excitement in my chest. Finally something interesting. Knowing nothing about my parents past I was eager to uncover some family secrets!
Grandma Lucy's trunk!
It wasnt as heavy as it looked. I grabbed the front clasp and struggled for a moment to undo it. It was really rusted. Finally I heard the snap as the clasp gave. Before opening the lid I wiped my hands on my pants and with careful fingers I lifted the lid up.
I didn't know where to start. The whole trunk looked like it was filled with pictures. I picked up a few that littered the very top. Some of them were faded with age but, depicted Grandma Lucy when she was younger. It showed her standing and gesturing to the Hollywood sign. Another showed her sitting on the beach, looking out towards the horizon. She could only have been twenty in them. I straightened out the stack and picked up a few more. In these she was a little older and standing with a man. He looked like my Dad so I am assuming it was my grandfather. Once I made a decent sized stack of Polaroids I saw something peeking out from the photos. I reached in a lifted up two leather-bound photo albums. I sat crossed legged on the ground and lay the albums in my lap.
I opened the first album which seemed devoted to my Dad and Sam as babies. I smiled at the pictures. My Grandmother looked so young and happy in them. I couldn't believed how my Uncle dressed as a teenager! God, he looked like a fashion victim. The album went from their baby hood to early teens.
"Hey Anna?" came my uncles voice on the stairs. Crap! I didn't want him to see this until I had a chance to snoop.
"Uh yea?" I called trying to sound calm.
"You want some grub?" called Sam.
"No. I'm good" I said. I heard his foot falls as he made his way back to the front of the store. I sighed with relief. I took the second album and opened it. The pictures showed my parents and uncle sam. I turned the first few pages scanning through the photos. I flipped another page and was staring at a drawing of my Uncle Sam. Grandma Lucy had loved to paint and draw. Some of her drawings and paintings were geared more towards hippie sheek but, there was no denying she had talent. The next few drawing were of my mom, my dad, an Alaskan malamute with the name Nanook written in the corner and my great-grandfather. I shut the album and reached into the trunk once again.
I pulled up a few article clippings. They were morbid and I couldn't for the life of me, understand why Grandma Lucy had kept them. The headlines read "Santa Carla, Murder Capitol of the World?", "Teens go missing on beach, blood found at the disappearance site" and "Parents prayers answered when missing child returns home after several years."
I started organizing the photos, placing them into neat little stacks. As I pulled more and more pictures out I noticed something odd. The trunk was about two and a half feet tall on the outside but, when I found the bottom of it on the inside, my hand only went about a foot deep. I knocked on the bottom of the trunk and heard a hallow sound. I searched the in seam of the trunk and found a ribbon on each side of the lining. Gently I pulled on both ribbons and the false bottom released. I pulled it out of the box and set it aside wincing at the smell coming from the trunk. Is that garlic? ugh.
Okay, now I was confused by the contents. I saw more drawings but, didn't recognize the people. The first one was dated nineteen eighty-eight. Underneath that I found what liked like wooden spikes. I picked one up. It was sharp on one end and blunt on the other. I placed it back in the box. I found a small flask labeled "holy h2o", garlic cloves, a pair of old sunglasses, a red bandana and several bracelets.
I focused on the drawings. The first one was of a dog snarling and barking. I flipped to the next. It was of my Dad and Mom on a motorcycle. The next one was of a man with glasses and a square features. I flipped to the next and winced a little. It was a picture of the same guy with glasses but, his features were distorted. His brow was crinkled and his eyes were almost white. His mouth was pulled back in a terrifying sneer and sharp fangs protruded from it. The next photo was a group of three guys all with crazy hair and looking like twisted sister. Behind them stood, mom? My mother with her arm draped over a kid.
My caught in my throat as I flipped to the last drawing. There was no conceivable way that it could be possible.
"David?" I muttered not recognizing my voice. No. Its not possible! There was no mistaking him. The same blond hair, although he had it cut in a horrible eighties fashion in the drawing. Same cheek bones, same lips. My eyes searched the page not comprehending anything. The date was nineteen eighty-eight. Twenty years ago. Coincidence? How could it be. If this was drawn twenty years ago then that would put David in his early forties.
"Hey kid, we ordered you a sandwich just in...what's that?" came my Uncles voice. I turned to him in disbelief. He looked lost for words.
"Damn it Anna! I told you not to go through that shit!" he snapped. He made a move to snatch the drawings out of my hands.
"What the hell is this? Vampires? Why would grandma Lucy draw these?" I was practically shouting but, I didn't care. He tried to snatch the drawings again but, I moved them out of his reach before he could take them.
"Anna, give those to me, its none of your business" he said holding his hand out.
"No! Tell me or I'll just take it to my parents!" I knew it was an idle threat but, I wanted answers. My Uncle sighed holding his hands up.
"Calm down Anna, I can explain" he said.
"Oh really? Then explain to me how this person hasn't changed in twenty years!" I shouted holding up the drawing of David. My Uncles face blanched and I could see real fear in his eyes.
"Whoa, hold on a minute. Youve seen David?" he said.
"On more than one occasion! Hows that possible Sam? How do you know him?" I felt hot tears sting my eyes. Sam pulled his cell out of his pocket and dialed a number.
"Mike? Yea its me, look we need to sit down and talk" I waited patiently as I listened to my Uncle speak with my Dad. "Mike, its big. I'll explain fully when we get there ok? Bye" he swiped the phone's screen and placed it back in his pocket.
"Anna," he said consoling. "Come with me. I promise we will go back the house and me, your mom and your Dad will explain everything" he said. I shook my head not realizing I was doing it.
"I promise Anna" he said. I felt my shoulders slump.
"Fine," I muttered. I stomped my way down the stairs and to the front of the comic store.
"Guys, we need to close up early today," he said to Edgar and Allen. They nodded without asking questions and began the process of closing up shop. I walked out to my Uncles jeep and took a steadying breath.
I didn't know what was going to happen when we got home. I couldn't believe that the David I knew was the same one in the drawing. My mind just wouldn't let me believe it. Everything had gone topsy-turvy in a matter of ten minutes. My parents knew something and so did my Uncle. I would find out before the night was over and hopefully it would set my mind at ease. For the first time since I arrived to Santa Carla, I was afraid.