September
My fingers traced my soccer ball, and I listened to the hum of the bush plane as we flew above the Alaskan frontier. I didn’t know why I brought my ball with me. I doubted I’d get to play any time soon. A sigh of irritation escaped my lips. No matter where we went, I played soccer—whether for the schools or through the community centers in the towns we stayed in. It was my favorite sport, and I’d made All-State in three different places over the years.
I glanced at Keetah asleep in his kennel. At least he was with me. Was it sad I counted on my dog that much? I fingered the four-leaf clover necklace Brady sent to me from Ireland. He said it’d bring good luck. I definitely needed it this week. The thought of starting a new school already had my stomach tied in knots.
My eyelids fluttered shut and pressed my head against the cold glass, not wanting to stare at the pillow-like clouds any longer. At least Matt came along. He prepared for our arrival back in August by getting our household goods, vehicles, food and everything else sent up to Point Hope by barge. He even went to our new house and unpacked most of our belongings to save us the trouble. He then flew back to Fairbanks to meet up with my dad and me.
We spent two weeks in Fairbanks sightseeing and getting last minute details in order. I even managed to get a shopping spree out of it.
I shifted in my seat and my pant leg lifted to reveal the new tattoo on my ankle. I caught Dad staring at it then he glared first at Matt, then back at me again. He’d freaked when he found out Matt had brought me to get a tat. We both got small Bigfoot prints as a reminder of our wild summer spent hunting the mythical creature in California.
“You’re not still mad about the tattoo are you, Dad?”
“Yes, I am, you didn’t ask permission!” he snapped.
“Well you don’t ask my permission about a lot of things,” I said in a hushed voice. “Like moving to Alaska.”
“We’ve been over this, Ima. Besides, this is a good opportunity for you. I want you to be happy,” he said.
“I was happy, Dad. And this tattoo is to mark everything that happened over the summer—Matt and I thought it’d be cool to document the footprints we found.”
“I’ll get over the tattoo but it won’t happen again.”
“Be glad we didn’t investigate giant dragons.” I teased.
Matt chuckled from the seat in front of me. “I am sorry, Lou—I was just trying to cheer Ima up.”
“There are other ways to cheer a person than permanently branding them,” Dad grumbled.
“Yeah, like dates and dances and…”
Dad cut me off.“I changed my mind. The tattoos were a great idea.”
Matt smirked and gave me a wink. If I wanted to make Dad uncomfortable, all I had to do was mention boys or dating. He didn’t like the fact I’ve grown up and discovered the opposite sex.
“Here we are, Mr. Berry,” our pilot said. I peered down at the runway. The small peninsula jutted into the sea.
The plane bounced and tilted as we eased down, and I gripped the seat in front of me. What if we didn’t stop in time? I envisioned the plane missing the runway and plunging into the cold depths.
“You can let go of my seat now.” Matt pried my fingers from his headrest then motioned for me to look out the cabin window again. We were safe.
“Sorry.” I gave a faint smile.
When the plane rolled to a stop, I fought to get my seatbelt off and put my soccer ball under my arm. Dad handed me two duffel bags and my coat.
“See, no snow yet,” Dad said. “And here you thought we’d arrive to a blizzard.”
“Thank God for small miracles,” I muttered.
We made our way off the plane and into the crisp, Alaskan wind. I tried to pull my coat tighter about my body, but my bags caught my sleeves and it was all I could do to keep it from falling off.
Keetah ran by me with his tongue hanging from his mouth. He sniffed the air then glanced at me.
“I know you like it.” Even my dog was a traitor.
With a sigh, I knew I was stuck here until Dad decided otherwise. This might mean a month or a year; it depended on whether or not we found what we were looking for.
“Okay Mr. Berry, I’ll be back to get you and Matt in two days. We’ll have your plane ready in Kotzebue so you can start your runs,” our pilot said.
“Sounds great. Thanks for your help.” Dad shook his hand then we walked over to where our truck was parked.
After we piled our things into the vehicle, I climbed in between Dad and Matt. Keetah took his usual spot in the back. The sky loomed overhead; its slate gray color matched my drab mood. Gravel covered the ground and there were no trees in sight.
In the distance, I caught sight of an eerie graveyard. Bones surrounded it like a picket fence; some were as tall as I was, while others stood only knee high. Wooden crosses sat amongst the bones, pointing toward the sky like giant arrows. Chills swept up and down my body like a raging river.
“What in the world?” I said.
Matt’s gaze followed where I pointed. “That’s a whalebone graveyard. See those taller bones—those are whale jawbones and ribs. They mark the graves of Whaleboat Captains.”
The vision haunted me, and it became worse when I spotted some ancient, abandoned houses. I tore my focus away as we drove closer to town, which appeared desolate.
“I’ll give you guys the grand tour,” Matt said.
I took a deep breath. Point Hope was so small. I spotted a store, a place to get a fuel, along with a health clinic, which stood out with its bright green-blue color.
“Back there is the school.” Matt gestured down the road.
The tan building didn’t scream school to me, but rather seemed like a large pole barn.“This isn’t the high school is it?” I asked.
“K-12 is in the same building together,” Matt said.
I rubbed my head; this so wasn’t what I had in mind. Taking off my seatbelt, I climbed over the backseat and sat next to Keetah, burying my face in his fur. How would I survive in this town? There wasn’t any shopping centers, no movie theatres, no soccer fields. Not that I needed those things, but it’d be nice to have a place to go if I needed a distraction from the investigations.
“That’s the Kalgi Center. It’s Point Hope’s community center, where they have bingo, dances, and card games,” Matt said.
“Okay, Mr. Tour Guide.” With a snort, I went back to staring out the window.
Three teens came around the corner where we had pulled to a stop. A strange humming sounded in my ears. My arms and neck tingled. My whole body vibrated as an odd thread glittered in my vision. I blinked then rubbed my eyes. One of the guys raised his dark hooded gaze to meet mine. Yes. A whisper thronged in my mind. He stared after me for a moment before he nudged his friends to walk again. Something about him struck a chord with me. He looked away, and instead, I found his friend giving me a wide grin. A knowing look flashed in his eyes as he winked. Somehow, I got the feeling we’d meet again. He spun a basketball on a single finger then turned to follow his friends.
Man, I’ve really lost it. There was no way the whisperings were real. Maybe it was all the fresh Alaskan air messing with my mind. But deep down, I knew I’d heard them. Even now, my skin tingled with the memory.
Matt continued showing us around town, and I saw the large water tanks, which stood like stadiums, the only big structures I’d ever seen like it. We passed a hotel and a post office. That pretty much summed up Point Hope. It was one of those don’t-blink-or-you’ll-miss-it kind of places.
“Look over there?” Dad gestured to what appeared to be a skeleton of a boat propped up on stilts. “It’s an umiak. During whaling season the locals will stretch skin over the frame.”
I nodded with distaste, not wanting to hear anything more about the subject or the move here. Just because he was excited didn’t mean I needed to be too. Silence settled in, until we pulled up to our new house. The wooden siding was the color of buttercups, while the shutters looked more like dirty eggshells.
My nose scrunched, but I followed Dad and Matt inside. We walked into the furnished living room. But our red and tan couch didn’t seem to go with the yellow walls, and blue trim. I wandered around the house taking in the small windows, blue carpeting, and differing shades of yellow. It was as if the sun vomited all over the house. Grinding my teeth, I made a mental note to pick up more paint. If I had to live here then I wanted to modernize the interior. I trudged down the hall growing more subdued by the moment.
“This is it, Keetah,” I said.
Turning the handle to my room, I shoved the door open. To my surprise, my walls were blue. Familiar posters of hot guys and beach scenes hung above my bed. A computer sat on my desk and boxes of my clothes sat piled next to my closet.
“Do you like your room?” Matt said from behind me. “I nearly went blind staring at all those manly abs.” He gestured toward the posters.
“Yes!” I squealed, moving to give him a hug. “Thank you!”
Dad poked his head in and smiled. “Nobody painted my room.”
“What? You don’t like the creamy buttercup décor?”
He shook his head then he and Matt left me alone to unpack. Keetah hopped on my bed and watched me fold clothes. Once I got them taken care of, I worked on finding a place for my guitar and soccer trophies. After that was finished, I filled my bookshelves with months of reading material. Keetah cocked his head as I sang along with a blues CD.
“All unpacked?” Dad said when I went back into the living room.
I dropped onto the couch and tossed a throw pillow at Matt.
“Yeah, you need any help?”
“No—we’ve got the spare room set up with our equipment and a fold out bed for guests,” Dad said. “So if you want to have a look around town, feel free.”
Might as well head down to one of the beaches and kick around my soccer ball. My yard or what constituted as a yard was big enough for my soccer goal and that was about it.
“I think I’ll go down to the beach,” I said, heading back toward my room.
After I changed into pair of black and white warm up pants and a heavy gray sweatshirt, I pulled my blonde hair into a ponytail then grabbed my sweatband.
“You want some company?” Matt poked his head in my room. He eyed the soccer ball and cleats, a smile forming on his lips.
“Sure, you can kick some balls around with me.”
“Why don’t you two take the ATV,” Dad said when he came into the room.
“ATV?”
“Yeah, I had Matt pick one up for us. I don’t think the truck is going hack it all winter.”
“Wouldn’t a snowmobile work better?” I said. “Or maybe we can hook Keetah up to a sled and make him pull us around.”
Keetah raised his head then clamped down on my hand with his mouth. Slobber made my fingers slick and sticky. And the glower he gave me suggested he didn’t like the idea as much as I did.
“We’ve got a snowmobile too. It’s locked up in the shed with the ATV.” Dad tossed Matt a set of keys.
“I guess I won’t run out of modes of transportation.” I laughed.
Matt and I raced out the door to the forest green colored shed. Once inside, Matt started the quad then backed it out. He waved for me to hop on.
“Hang on tight,” he said. He shifted it into gear, and we drove off.
We sped past many of the same houses and businesses we saw on our way in. I buried my head against Matt’s back and closed my eyes. The wind stung my cheeks, and my ponytail whipped around like a cornered snake ready to strike. I shivered beneath the afternoon chill and scooted closer to Matt for body heat. Before long, we pulled onto a deserted beach. Gravel covered the shoreline making the surroundings even more somber.
Matt shut off the engine and followed me to a level spot on the beach. I double tied my cleats then began to warm up. I shot the soccer ball in Matt’s direction and he rushed to block it with his foot. We kicked the ball back and forth for a while then got down to business and played a real game. We dragged driftwood over to make goals and off we went. I exploded past Matt and dribbled down the beach. He soon caught up and attempted to steal the ball, but I stopped and he flew past.
With a triumphant grin, I shot the ball into the goal.
“One point for Team Ima,” I said.
“Lucky shot.” He quirked an eyebrow.
This time he got the ball first and sprinted toward his goal. I managed to catch up and steal the ball back. We played like this for about an hour then collapsed onto the cold ground for a break.
“You kicked my butt,” Matt said. He laid back propping his head up on his hands.
“Awe, don’t take it personal.” I laughed. “Girls are just better than boys.”
He chuckled. “Don’t get cocky, or I’ll make you walk home.”
I sighed and lay back next to him. My eyes closed and I listened to the waves lapping against the shore. Uneasiness settled over me and the hair on the back of my neck began to prickle. I bolted upright and saw Matt sit up too. We peered around the empty beach.
The waves sloshed a different rhythm now. They sounded like my heart beat. Bum-dum-dum-dum. I swallowed, listening to faint drum beats echoing in the air. My body quaked as I jumped up and rushed down the beach to look around.
I wanted to find a rational explanation, like someone playing a trick on us. But there was no way anyone could pull off something this elaborate. I mean, it wasn’t Hollywood.
“Okay, either I’m going crazy or I’m hearing drums,” I said.
Matt stood further away searching for whatever was responsible for the noises too. He held his hands up.
“I don’t see anything—this is fricken crazy.”
“Listen to the waves.” I moved to his side, in need of his security.
“Creepy, they’re moving in time with the drum.”
We stood still, neither one of us dared to move. Crunch. Footsteps sounded on the gravel, heading toward us. As the footfalls got closer, I saw the distinct impressions on the ground, one by one, as if someone marched right at us. The drumming vibrated the ground, growing louder with every second. Matt gripped my hand and pulled me away from it. We ran to the ATV and hopped on.
“Go!” I yelled.
My heart cracked against my rib cage. My hands trembled. It was hard to hold onto Matt. He kicked the four-wheeler into gear, sending up a spray of rocks and sand.
I glanced back and watched the thick mist move in off the ocean, racing for the shore like troops storming a castle. As soon as we got back into town, Matt stopped alongside the dirt road then turned his head to look at me.
“Okay, what just happened?” We held one another’s gaze in an effort to regain our composure.
“I—I don’t know. I heard a battle drum, then the footsteps.” I shivered then wrapped my arms around myself in an effort to get warm.
“I thought I imagined it, well, until you jumped up. It felt like whatever was out there didn’t like us being there.”
“I didn’t feel threatened as much as uncomfortable—you know kind of like someone was sizing me up.” I chewed my bottom lip.
It was hard not to admit my fear. I knew enough from our paranormal investigations that strange things existed, but this one seemed to take a special interest in Matt and me. Most things we tracked ran from us, but this, whatever it was, didn’t seem scared. In fact, it was almost predatory in the way it advanced.
“I’m not sure I like the idea of your dad leaving you alone while he’s out making his runs,” Matt said. He ran an absent hand through his hair. “What if he gets snowed in some place and can’t get back for a few days?”
“If you’re trying to scare me, it’s working,” I said. “We can bless the house before Dad leaves, and set up some wards.” My voice cracked.
Would that keep things from getting in?
“I can stay if you need me too at least until your comfortable being alone,” Matt said.
He screamed protector, with the way he stood tall and stared down at me, his arms crossed at his chest.
“We can see what Dad thinks,” I said.
A part of me pleaded he’d let Matt stay with me, so I wouldn’t be alone in this small, remote village.
Matt drove us back to the house and the unease slipped away as we walked into the living room. Dad sat on the couch, a plate heaped with food propped in his lap. In the warm interior, what just happened didn’t seem quite so scary.
“Hey, you guys missed our welcome party. Some of the neighbors and townspeople stopped by to say hi, and brought enough food to feed an army,” he said.
“What is that?” I said.
“Caribou casserole—it’s pretty good.”
Our lack of response must’ve tipped him off that something was wrong, because he set his plate down and stood. He peered at the two of us over the top of his glasses.
“What’s going on?”
Matt and I hurried through an explanation and his mouth dropped wide open.
“It was strange Dad, and trust me both Matt and I looked around for a logical explanation.”
“I wonder…”
He muttered something about residual haunts before he sat back down on the couch.
“Lou?” Matt said.
“You guys go get a plate of food. We can talk about this once we’re done eating.”
I almost choked with shock. Dad never gave up a chance to talk about hauntings—so the casserole must be good. I found Keetah sitting next to the couch chewing on a bone; he glanced at me then went back to chomping his treat.
Matt and I piled our plates high then joined Dad in the living room.
“So were the people who stopped in nice?” I asked.
Dad gave a nod, chewing his food. “Yeah, there was one old lady who made her two grandkids and their friend come with her. She said they saw us driving through town earlier today.”
I didn’t hear the rest of what he said because I remembered the kids and the weirdness of the distant contact. Somehow, I didn’t think this was the end of the strange happenings. In fact, I was certain things were about to get much worse. It was as if the air around me vibrated with danger. I only got these feelings on big investigations, right before all hell broke loose.
“Ima.” Matt’s voice interrupted my thoughts.
“Um—yeah,” I said.
“Your Dad asked if you wanted me to stay on with you.”
I glanced up at Dad his brow furrowed with worry lines. “I think it’d be nice if he stayed—at least until I’m comfortable.”
“All right, Matt can have the guest room then. Are you sure you’re okay, honey?” Dad came over and knelt beside me.
My gaze shifted to the window and the darkening sky. It depended on what he meant by okay. Things were about to change and maybe not for the better. My gut knotted, my mind screaming for me to get out of here. I might be the daughter of a renowned paranormal investigator, but that didn’t mean I couldn’t get freaked out. Even I had my limits.
“Ima.” Dad reached out and pulled me into his arms. “Nothing will ever happen to you, I promise.”
I took a small comfort in his words but knew there were some things even he couldn’t protect me from, like my first day of school, which happened to be tomorrow. The thought freaked me out more than Bigfoot and ghostly drums combined.