Chapter 19
So I am not sure what happened, but chapter 19, the last chapter of the story, disappeared a day after I posted it. So once again, here it is, hopefully to stay this time!
Marco's great aunt paused for a millisecond and then proceeded calmly, ignoring the menacing cloud beginning to take shape. Twisting and writhing, Alice began to take on human form, dark tendrils snaking out like arms. It was eerily reminiscent of her earlier appearances and Roy snorted as he realized his fear was morphing into anger. He fought back an urge to laugh, not wanting to interrupt Mrs. Torres. The woman now had her arms raised, palms facing the ceiling. Her stance reminded him of a tent evangelist but the sounds emitting from her were most assuredly not, unless she was speaking in tongues. He highly doubted that for Maria Torres was not beseeching the heavens for help – she was calling out the evil spirit in the room to banish it to hell.
Eyes squinting to keep track of the growing, murky apparition, the paramedic loosened his steely but comforting hold on his partner's wrist and gave the tensed shoulder a reassuring pat before picking up his flashlight from the floor. He hefted the heavy cylinder in his hand before catching himself – no earthly weapons were going to work against this creature. Roy turned the light on but kept the beam directed at the floor.
He felt the table tilt slightly downwards as Johnny used it to leverage himself to his feet, his whole demeanor indicating his intention to confront Alice. Across from them Captain Stanley must have thought the same as he shot to his feet and thrust a long arm across the table. Gage flinched as the hand brushed across his shoulder and Roy didn't blame him; the air felt so strange he would have thought spiders were to blame for that touch.
"Wait!" Cap cautioned in a low voice as he moved around the table and stood inches behind his two men. "We mustn't break Mrs. Torre's concentration. Your spirit thing must materialize fully before it can be, uh, cast out for good."
Roy's mouth dropped open as he processed the mild warning. What? How did Stanley know what Maria was doing and what needed to happen to achieve the end result? It all sounded like mumbo jumbo to him but it seemed to be working…was it possible their captain had some sort of firsthand experience in this supernatural stuff? Or maybe he was just an avid reader?
A light shuffle of feet next to him; Johnny was either wondering about Stanley's knowledge also or was about to pounce on the blob taking human shape before them. Roy clapped a hand on his upper arm and felt the immense suppressed energy vibrating through the younger man's body, a slingshot straining to be released. He clenched his teeth and held tighter because even with the impressive racket the formidable Mrs. Torres was making, the boiling seething mass of evil was indistinctly human shaped and sized now.
Ignoring the woman who had summoned it, the impossible creature of darkness bubbled and slid towards Gage, seemingly taunting them with its lazy approach. Apprehension pulled at the pit of Roy's stomach as he lost his grip on his friend; his clutching fingers were easily flung off as Johnny took a manic leap toward the still moving thing.
"No!" He shouted as a hundred and sixty five pounds of Gage collided with Alice and then disappeared into the living, breathing whirl of ectoplasm.
My God, how is that possible? His mind screamed as for about thirty seconds there was no sign of his friend. How does that thing have any kind of substance? It's like a blob of grey, human shaped Jell-O just devoured my best friend!
With a yell, Roy surged forward, brandishing the maybe not so useless flashlight over his head. To his right he could hear Marco and Chet adding their voices to the din as they closed in, hard soled shoes pounding on the concrete floor. Roy only made it two large jumps before his rapid forward progress was abruptly halted by a pair of long arms encircling his torso. He fought for a second before common sense overrode his impulsive action. Well, to be honest, that plus the welcome sight of John appearing before him in a crouched position.
"Johnny!" He whispered, throat constricting with both relief and fear. His head shot left and right as he became conscious of the sudden eerie silence that had descended upon the basement room and robbed it of all sound and movement. It was if time had stopped for all but him. He could hear Hank's breathing next to his ear, he of the octopus tentacles, and with a slower sweep of his head could see the frozen positions of everyone. Johnny still in front of him in his defensive position looking upwards at Alice, the black garbed Weeble (what was his name again?) standing beyond the gelatinous blob that had unexpectedly lost all color, become weirdly transparent, and was swaying over Gage in a rhythmic back and forth motion similar to that of a pendulum….Mrs. Torres to the right of Mr. Lacey (that's his name!) with her arm outstretched and finger pointing at the ghoul…..Marco and Chet almost in front of her in runners' stances…and Mike, Mike seated calmly at the other table with a sly grin adorning his face.
DeSoto gulped, blinked, and the moment was broken. For Stoker had risen from his chair and was pointing what looked like a giant water rifle at Alice, while the two linemen were whipping high powered Ray- O- Vac lights up and flashing them straight at her. Mr. Lacey had the twin to Mike's water gun in his hand also and at a piercing "now!" command from Maria, both guns fired.
Jumping sideways to avoid whatever was spewing from the barrels, Roy looked on incredulously as water splatted against the malevolent apparition. At first it appeared to have no effect, but then the mass began to shake and a fiendish yowl escaped from somewhere in the vicinity of its head. The wail continued as it began to move, oozing its way towards Roy and Captain Stanley and steamrolling over Gage, who did a crab like scuttle sideways and disappeared under their table.
"Go Roy, go, we need to draw it to the other end," the captain growled in his direction; Roy could see Maria gesturing frantically towards the back wall. Mr. Lacey and Mike had met and were advancing side by side, pumping their squirt rifles and forcing Alice towards them.
"Oh boy, we're the bait, just like Scooby-Doo and Shaggy!" Roy groaned and pushed aside a chair as he obediently tripped backwards. He was complaining but if it helped Gage, he would do whatever it took.
"I think that damn thing is coming after me!" Hank huffed in amazement as he veered away from Roy and Alice slid single-mindedly after him. "Was her husband tall, thin, and dark haired? I'm seeing what appears to be a common thread here!"
"No clue!" He panted in reply, available oxygen in short supply. It was inconceivable but it was like the spirit was sucking all the air from the room to make her stronger.
They were closing in on the back of the room and Roy wished he knew what the plan was, or that there had even been a plan. Out of the corner of his eye he caught a glimpse of Maria Torres flying down the other side towards them and hoped she could enlighten them before the still shrieking Alice smothered Stanley. Their captain seemed to be right as the apparently revenge seeking monster had forgotten all about Johnny and was now totally fixated on Hank.
Mrs. Torres disappeared between the racks of wine bottles and a moment later Roy caught sight of John's dark head following her, thanks to the bright illumination still being provided by his two crewmates. He veered left and trotted down the same narrow aisle his partner had taken, making sure Stanley saw him. It was obvious by now that there was some sort of trap set up somewhere within the maze of racks and they were supposed to lead the howling specter to it.
The tall wooden racks rippled as DeSoto inadvertently brushed against them. Dust coated his hand as he shot it up to steady the ancient framework. He turned another corner and saw his friend and Maria standing straight ahead where the passage opened up into a large square. Johnny was looking up at the ceiling and even from ten feet away Roy could see the puzzled expressions they were both wearing. He quickly joined them and flicked his light towards the source of their bewilderment.
Above their heads was a trapdoor firmly closed with three large bronze, barrel bolt latches. What appeared to be causing the confusion were the three drips emanating from the door edges – not the clear drips but the slow red one that looked suspiciously like blood.
The heretofore unflappable Mrs. Torres raised her fingers to her lips. "Oh my…." She uttered before pointing a shaky finger towards the deep rack against the wall and pantomiming a pulling motion.
"Hurry dears, pull it towards us," she whispered, voice gaining strength as she spoke. "We have only seconds."
Both men jumped forward and yanked on the rack. It swung forward easily; attached to the fake front of bottles was a sturdy, narrow flight of steps. Johnny bounded up the wood risers and quickly pulled back two of the well-oiled, heavy bolts but hesitated with his hand on the third.
"There's something on this door and I'm not sure if I can catch and hold whatever it is," he said, his face expressionless as he looked down at Roy. His partner instantly responded by springing to the side of the stairs and nodding. Bracing himself, John released the final lock. The door swung open and the moaning form of the medium half fell out, head first. Grunting with exertion, Gage stopped her downward slide, stepped downwards, and let her weight slide through his arms as Roy caught her. Holding her legs, Johnny walked carefully but quickly to the floor and set her feet down, looking over his shoulder as he did so.
"Here they come," he warned. "Take her back there, Roy, out of sight."
"No," Mrs. Butler cried trying to pull free from DeSoto. "Alice, Alice, I must talk to Alice!"
"That's one thing you shouldn't be doing," Roy muttered into her ear as he lifted her and disappeared into the darkness to the side of the stairs.
Johnny, feeling his heartbeat in his ears as his adrenaline soared, turned to Mrs. Torres and lifted his hands questioningly. She pointed up the stairs.
"Go to the top; your captain will throw you something. You must call the evil to the bottom of the stairs and throw the object down upon it. Use your imagination as to what you will say…" She melted into the shadows and a muted light flashed through the racks, illuminating the aisle. Shaking his head, he flew up the stairs with a thousand questions tumbling through his mind, the main one being how this little charade was going to banish the spirit. And what was Stanley going to throw him – a stick of dynamite?
The person in question barreled around the corner and loped down the aisle, pulling something out of his shirt pocket as he approached. He tossed it up to his paramedic.
"Good luck Gage," he said as he went by. He glanced back and added cryptically, "That's the cause of all this mess!"
Gage stared at the object in his hand and raised his eyebrows; he quickly ascended the remaining steps and crawled into whatever room it was. It was too dark to see and unfortunately he had dropped his light somewhere. Not that he had time to check out his surroundings for Alice had slid into view and was hesitantly coiling her ways towards his position, thankfully quiet now and appearing to have shrunk in size.
Realizing she had lost sight of her quarry, he leaned farther through the hole. Someone off to the side shone their light on him and he blinked at the brightness, feeling like a sacrificial lamb. "Hey, over here, uh…Alice, I've got something for you!"
The now shapeless grey blob shifted and swayed intimidatingly at the sound of his voice. It lost its lassitude, thrust out handless arms from its center and increased its speed until it was below John. Uttering an earsplitting cry, the thing began to grow taller.
"Uh oh," Johnny gulped. He raised the item above his head, using his other hand for balance against the edge and hoping he wouldn't fall from his kneeling position. He had already been inside that nasty thing and wasn't about to repeat the process even though nothing had really happened to him. "Take this back to the bowels of hell Alice, and don't bother us for evermore!"
Using all his strength, he flung the plastic piece into the center of its growling mass. As it pierced the ectoplasm and inexplicably disappeared, Alice gurgled and let out a bellow of rage. John drew back in alarm as the creature expanded and the grey smoke once again became evident as it swirled from it in all directions. The area grew so hazy that the paramedic could no longer see the strong lights still being wielded by Chet and Marco, who were hanging back with Mike and Mr. Lacey about fifteen feet at the head of the aisle.
Coughing, Johnny leaned forward to see better, knowing that it could well be a foolhardy move if Alice yanked him out of his perch. For a brief moment he was unable to see, or feel, anything at all, but then the air began to clear slowly. His mouth dropped open in astonishment at what he saw…
For the evil substance had dwindled to a chair sized lump of what appeared to be stone. As he stared at it in disbelief, the spirit of Alice Baylor popped and snapped and disappeared in an anticlimactic burst of ash, showering everything within a four foot radius with fine powder. Silence reigned for several minutes and then it was shattered by Mrs. Butler's panicked shrieks as DeSoto apparently released her.
She ran through the dusty remains and turned in a tight frenzied circle, brown hair and arms waving in synchronization. "Where did she go? What have you done? I wanted to talk to her, communicate with the spirit world!"
It was Mike who stepped forward and led her away. Johnny borrowed Roy's flashlight and discovered that the steps led to a butlers' pantry. The mysterious clear drips came from two tipped five gallon water jugs; the red liquid was seeping from a giant plastic container that had split a seam. It tasted suspiciously like strawberry preserves, Johnny mused, as he abruptly sat down on a stool. He stayed there, head in his hands, until the silence around him brought his head back up.
Absolute silence…no thunder, no rain, and no wind….the storm had died. As he stood up the lights came on; he waited for Marco to securely fasten the trapdoor before he stumbled on weak legs into the kitchen. He found his way back to the front room where the séance had been held and one by one, with the exception of the medium and Mr. Lacey, everyone trickled in.
The weary group settled into chairs. Mrs. Butler had been given a sleeping pill and taken to her room, where she had finally succumbed to sleep.
"The poor woman," Maria said, shaking her head. "She heard Mr. Stanley and I discussing our plans and thought she could call the ghost to her before we summoned it. She didn't know that the trapdoor couldn't be lifted from the pantry and she wound herself into a tizzy trying to get it open. That's where the mess came from, Mr. Gage. I'm not sure what she planned on doing if she had achieved her plan."
"I think she would have got more then she bargained for," Roy said wryly, covering up a huge yawn with his hand. He looked up in interest as Maria's assistant entered the room bearing a tray loaded with a coffee urn, mugs, and a coffee cake.
Conversation ceased as everyone helped themselves to the hot beverage and the thinly drizzled sweet. Mr. Lacey made two more trips laden with milk and sugar, doughnuts, a large carafe of fresh orange juice, and the necessary plates, napkins, and glasses.
"What I want to know, Gage, is what you threw at that thing?" Chet queried, shoving a doughnut into his mouth.
Johnny snickered. "It was, believe it or not, a hairbrush."
"Say what, a hairbrush, you really can't be serious!" Kelly sputtered, nearly losing his doughnut.
"Yep, he's right; it was a hairbrush I took from my wife's Ford Edsel." Hank concurred with a nod. "Hopefully she won't miss it as I saw no sign of it afterwards."
Johnny frowned and lost his joviality. "I'm almost afraid to ask what the story is behind this because I know it's not going to be good."
Stanley and Maria looked at each other. He grabbed two chairs from the table and pulled them over, forming a circle near the fireplace. "Let's just tell this story once, all right? And right, Gage, it's not a pleasant one, at least for the Baylor family."
The men moved into earshot, taking up various positions. Johnny, occupying the same winged chair he had used the night before, fidgeted uneasily, wide awake and curiously unsettled. Shouldn't I be feeling relief right now, instead of this creeping dread? It looks like Alice is gone for good now….He shook his head and sipped the steaming hot beverage, welcoming the burn as it hit his throat.
"I have to confess to a bit of subterfuge beforehand," Mrs. Torres admitted, crossing her legs and folding her hands together. "After Marco called and just gave me the basic details, Mr. Lacey and I did some research. Captain Stanley also rang and supplied me with some pertinent information, such as names and dates. He was also able to track down Mr. Teal; the poor man was eager to assist in any way possible."
She hesitated, took a deep breath, and continued. "The Baylor family had a daughter, Melissa, just a bit over the age of three. Two years ago, almost to this date exactly, Alice was driving to meet with Frank at his place of employment. The child upended her mother's purse all over the front seat and Alice took her attention off her driving for just a second to grab for the bag. She lost control of the car. Their daughter remained in a coma for a week before succumbing to her head injury; Alice spent every day at the hospital combing her daughter's hair, what hadn't been shaved off or was under a bandage. Ironically, the hairbrush she used was the only thing she got her hand on before she crashed her vehicle."
Stanley took over the story, his voice gruff with emotion. "Alice completely lost it after that, placing the blame on her husband because he had suggested they meet him for lunch. For some strange reason she also extended the blame to Mr. Teal – nobody is quite clear for the reason behind that except for the fact that he had dated Alice before meeting her sister, Dorothy. Or that he encouraged Dorothy to stay away from Alice."
"And then crazy Alice snapped, killed her husband, and then herself…"Chet offered up, putting down his empty plate and rubbing his stomach in contentment.
"That's pretty much it, and she was found clutching the hairbrush. I'm just thankful that Mr. Teal remembered that little detail otherwise I'm afraid it would have been much harder to get rid of her." Mrs. Torres said, nodding at Kelly as he thanked her for the breakfast.
"What was in the squirt guns?" Roy asked curiously
"Oh, it was rose water, my dear! Another little tidbit of information supplied to us by Mr. Teal; Alice hated the smell of the stuff and would actually break out in hives if she caught a whiff of it, all psychosomatic of course. Mr. Stoker was nice enough to bring the water guns; in fact he actually suggested that part of the plan."
DeSoto snorted under his breath – it was fairly obvious that except for John and him, everyone knew of the plan ahead of time. He supposed that John hadn't been told in case he was possessed and Alice learned of their intentions, but why hadn't they involved him then? He folded his arms against his chest, stewed for a moment, then promptly decided it wasn't worth his worry.
"Why exactly did she possess Johnny and not anyone else?" Chet queried. "Even old Frank didn't have the answer to that one…"
Their captain raised a hand. "Unless someone knows otherwise, my theory is that Gage resembled Alice's husband, and when she couldn't get at Mr. Teal, she chose the handiest and closest male she could find. I mean, she chased after me didn't she?"
"Probably because you had a hairbrush in your pocket, Cap; Johnny is just the weakest, most susceptible link…." Chet argued halfheartedly, shooting a grin and a wink towards his pigeon. Johnny grimaced but didn't argue.
"The whole thing is just unreal," Marco commented fervently. "If I hadn't seen it I wouldn't have believed it. And Tia Maria, what was that stuff you were chanting down there?"
The octogenarian smiled impishly. "Let's just say I've learned lot of fascinating and often useful things during my travels, shall we? Now, finish up and I shall check on the road. Hopefully in several hours it will be reopened."
The firemen did as they were told and relaxed somewhat, which unfortunately for Johnny included being teased more by Chet.
"Nevermore, evermore, where in the world did you come up with that?" He demanded, laughing. "Sounds like something out of one of my favorite horror movies!"
Johnny shrugged. "At the time it just sounded like something I should say."
"You did just fine, Mr. Gage. After all, it worked didn't it?"
"Yeah, Johnny, I guess Alice doesn't live here anymore, does she?" Chet quipped, pointing at him and exploding in laughter.
~eeeEEEeee~
Several months later…..
Roy strolled into the kitchen at the station searching for that first cup of coffee to wake him up. He finished buttoning up his shirt and then lifted the pot from the stove, wiggling it to check the contents. Satisfied, he purloined a cup from the drying rack and filled it. He added sugar and stirred it before turning around.
"Good morning fellas," he exclaimed but only after his first appreciative sip.
A chorus of greetings arose from the four men already seated at the table. DeSoto sat down next to his partner and mischievously rattled the newspaper Johnny had his face buried in.
"Did you do anything fun on your days off, John?" He asked.
"Sure did, lots of things in fact," Gage responded cheerily, crooked grin lighting up his face. He set the paper down and turned in his chair to face his friend.
Roy dropped his mug, splattering hot liquid over his skin, clothes, and the table as well as cracking the ceramic. For green eyes were looking back at him, pale green hypnotic eyes…
~Fini~
Happy Halloween!
A/N – thank you for reading, I hope you have enjoyed this spooky tale! Dianne, I have shamelessly stolen the Scooby Doo reference in your review – Thank you!