“Victor Leppla was my grandfather,” Miranda explained. “He died when I was still a little girl, so my memories of him are cloudy. My father was Kristian’s little brother, Mikko.”
“Oh, my God.” Zach was in shock. He gathered himself and said, “How did Victor die?”
“Supposedly, it was a heart attack.”
“You don’t think that’s true?”
“I’m not sure. He never had any health problems as far as I know. It has always seemed weird to me that he would have died that way. There’s something fishy about that story, if you ask me.” Miranda scooted away from Zach. Her fingers tapped her right knee incessantly. “My parents tried to hide the family secret from me for a long time. But I heard all the rumors anyway. They just wouldn’t confirm any of them.
“We moved away from this area to live in Missouri. But when I got older something called me back to these woods. I needed to know the truth about my grandpa. So, when Pine Ridge opened, I became the head cook and I’ve been here ever since.”
“How did you find out the truth about your grandpa if your parents never told you?”
Miranda’s fingers stopped tapping. She stared deeply into Zach’s anxious eyes. “Because he told me.”
A shiver traveled up Zach’s spine. “What do you mean, ‘he told you’? I thought he was dead.”
“He was dead … He is dead. But that didn’t stop him from coming to me. He told me everything. Zach, he wanted a partner. Someone to help him carry out his curse. Someone from the living world.”
“What did you do?”
“Nothing, Zach. I wouldn’t join him. And now … now he won’t leave me alone. Those things you talked about: the truck, the glowing, the smell. I know all about them because I see them too. More than you know.”
Zach leaned back on the bench. He gave a heavy sigh. “Miranda?”
Miranda was silent.
“What does this have to do with me? Why do I keep seeing these things? What does he want with me?”
Miranda shook her head slowly. “That one you’ll have to find out for yourself, Zach.”
The campfire crowd was making their way up the path toward Zach and Miranda.
Miranda stood up, patted Zach on his left shoulder and before walking back to the cafeteria, said, “You find the answer, Zach. You find out.”
Zach crawled into the top bunk with no intention of falling asleep. His mind was racing. Logan was below him, engrossed in a book. He had a reading light attached to the pages, which he never left home without. There was no talking to Logan when he was reading. Michael and Tristan had already closed their eyes.
It was 10:00 P.M. Time for lights out. Zach could hear Mr. Loeb and Mr. Foster whispering outside their door. Zach would not be sleeping anytime soon. “Logan,” Zach whispered, peering over the edge of the bunk.
“What?” Logan responded, not taking his eyes off the book.
“Will you go into my bag and toss me my phone?”
“What are you gonna do with that right now?”
“Don’t worry about it. Just give it to me, will you?”
“You’d better not get caught with it. You’ll get it taken away. Or, who knows? You might get sent home.”
There was only one rule about having cell phones at Pine Ridge: You Don’t Have Them. Under no circumstances were any students to be using their phones on this trip. For the most part, people had complied, but Zach was about to break yet another rule.
Logan handed Zach his iPhone.
Miranda’s story seemed real enough. Why would she make something up like that? But like she said, Zach had to find out for himself. Were Victor Leppla and Fredrik Sutinen real people? Was Victor Leppla really a witch? And what did it have to do with him? He hoped to find out through the magic of Google.
The screen on his phone glowed as he opened Safari and typed in the two rivals’ names. When the “hits” appeared he studied the key words: “logging,” “Finland,” “Business,” “Mayor.” Everything he saw confirmed Miranda’s story.
He scrolled down toward the bottom of the page. The words, “fire” and “feud” appeared. But just as he was going to click on the link, a knock came at the door. He hastily tucked his phone under his sleeping bag and closed his eyes. He heard Logan doing the same with his book. Mr. Loeb poked his head into the room, saw that everyone was sleeping, and quietly closed the door behind him.
Zach turned on his phone again, peering at it under his sleeping bag. He clicked on the link and read. It described the history of Finland, Minnesota in detail. It looked credible enough to Zach. It even had black and white pictures of log cabins and old cars. It was history.
But one thing was missing, it made no mention of Victor Leppla being a witch or cursing the Sutinen family.
Zach made a new Google search for “Victor Leppla witch”. He finished typing the words in the search box and hit “enter.”
Blackness.
The screen had disappeared as if the battery had suddenly died. He had charged his phone before the trip and this was the first time he had used it. There was no way the battery could be dead.
He tried to turn the phone on again, but with no luck.
Zach put the phone down and plugged his nose. The stench had returned. The same odor that had assaulted his senses when he stepped off the bus. Gasoline. Burnt rubber. It was nauseating. He leaned over the top of his bunk to check with Logan, but he was already fast asleep. Michael and Tristan snored rhythmically across the room.
Zach quickly climbed down the ladder of his bed. He rifled through his overnight bag and found the jeans he had worn before he went to bed. He stuck his hand in the right pocket and snatched Chris’s stone. With it firmly in one fist, he climbed back up to the top bunk, crawled into his sleeping bag, and lay on his back, staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, the gem firmly against his heart.
Eventually the stench faded away, leaving Zach in peace.
Zach barely slept. His grip on Chris’s rock stayed firm throughout the night, but every creak of a door opening, every brush of the leaves woke him. His mind raced. His heart pounded.
Through the window dawn beckoned beyond the dense forest, waking the crisp Minnesota morning. Zach groggily climbed down the ladder of his bunk.
Logan still slept soundly.
“Logan,” Zach whispered, trying to wake him. “Hey, Logan,” he called again. Logan turned on his side, pulling the covers tighter over his body. Zach gave up trying to rouse him from his sleep.
He set the stone down carefully next to his bag, slid off his pajamas, and put on a pair of jeans and his Minnesota Timberwolves hoodie. He jammed his Twins hat on to his bare head and, hoping Logan would wake up, sat on the end of Logan’s bed to put on his socks and tennis shoes. It was unsuccessful. Logan was still asleep, drooling profusely on his pillow.
Logan was sound asleep, but Michael and Tristan’s beds were empty, both of their sleeping bags rolled up tidily. They must have gotten up early to check out more nature stuff, Zach thought.
Zach bent over and grabbed the stone from the floor. Then he stuffed it into his front pocket and walked to the lobby.
He was alone. Everyone else in the building was sleeping, including Mr. Loeb, Mr. Foster, and Mr. Preston. Zach pushed open the door and stepped outside into the chilly morning air. He scanned the area for life. Two Pine Ridge employees were walking towards the cafeteria across from the dorm. Was it Miranda? Zach looked more closely. The two workers were taller than Miranda and didn’t hunch over as they walked. “We have Kitchen Patrol tonight,” Zach remembered out loud. “I bet Miranda will be there.”
Zach stood on the sidewalk, which led to the campfire pit. Along the path were four benches. Two on each side of the path. This was where he and Miranda had spoken the night before. He found the same bench and sat down.
There was no sign of Michael and Tristan.
Zach breathed in the fresh, cool air, and watched the bright sun rising in the distance above the green forest. No foul odor this morning. No strange figures in the woods. If a ghost haunted Pine Ridge, it was not evident then. For just a brief moment, Zach forgot about Victor Leppla, forgot about his mom’s threat to send him to his dad’s, and he even forgot about Chris … just for a brief moment.
He sat in peace for fifteen minutes when the cabin door opened. Mr. Foster stepped outside, put his hands on his hips, and took a deep breath, soaking in the clean, brisk air. “You’re up awfully early,” he called to Zach.
“Yeah, I couldn’t sleep last night.”
Mr. Foster sauntered over to the bench and sat down next to him, staring at the forested hills. “Is something bothering you? Is that why you couldn’t sleep?”
Zach was silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts. “There’s a bunch of stuff I guess.”
“What kind of stuff?” he asked, probing.
“My mom told me that if I didn’t behave on this trip and get my grades up when we get back, I’d have to go live with my dad.”
“Where does your dad live?”
“Two Harbors. We passed it on the way up here.”
“Yeah, I know where it is. It’s a nice town,” said Mr. Foster. “So, I’m guessing moving to Two Harbors is not your first choice?”
“No, not at all. I mean, I love my dad, but after Chris disappeared, he just took off. He’s kept in touch, but after my parents’ divorce, he felt this sudden need to move up here. Something about being closer to the crime scene. He got a teaching job at a college in Duluth. I don’t understand it and I don’t want to move.”
Mr. Foster nodded, his eyes squinting a bit, showing their concern. He paused for a moment. “Zach, you’re a really smart kid. You’re more than capable of getting those grades up. With everything you’ve been through, I completely understand why your academics have taken a back seat. Losing your brother, your parents getting divorced. That would be tough on anyone, especially a fourteen-year-old boy.”
Zach put his head down, staring at the ground.
“But you still have choices to make. You have choices to make on the rest of this trip. You have choices to make when you return home. I can’t decide what will happen with your situation. Whether you move to your dad’s is a decision your parents will need to make, but I do know you have the opportunity to make smart choices from here on out. You can’t change what has already happened. That stunt you pulled at the ropes course … I’m not sure what you were thinking, but it’s over. You need to focus only on what’s ahead of you. And as far as I’m concerned, you have a very bright future. So, remember that, okay?”
Zach looked up from the ground, made eye contact with Mr. Foster, and then looked out at the trees again, nodding in agreement.
“Zach? Could you tell me about Chris? I’d love to hear about him,” said Mr. Foster.
Zach didn’t answer. Silent, he stared into the wilderness.
“Okay. Maybe some other time. Whenever you’re ready.” Mr. Foster patted Zach on the knee, stood up from the bench and walked up the sidewalk toward the dorm.
“He was kind of nerdy,” Zach called after Mr. Foster.
Mr. Foster stopped, turned around, and waited for Zach to continue.
“He was kind of nerdy, but he was also the nicest kid I’ve ever known.”
Mr. Foster came back and sat down next to Zach again.
“We were really different. He was always into the science and math stuff and I was the athlete. We still got along pretty well I guess. But, I could have treated him better. He would get picked on sometimes and I knew it, but I didn’t stick up for him like I should have.” Zach still didn’t make eye contact with Mr. Foster. Instead, he spoke to the trees, the breeze, and the crisp morning air. “I wish I could have been there for him when he went missing. I wish I could have stopped it.”
Mr. Foster put his hand on Zach’s shoulder. The two sat on the bench in silence for what felt like a lifetime.
The sun had made its way above the tips of the trees and students had started to amble out of the dorm, making their way to the cafeteria for breakfast.
“Thanks for sharing that with me, Zach,” said Mr. Foster as he stood and prepared to join the others en route.
Zach stood up from the bench and quickly scanned the group of students moving toward breakfast, looking for Michael and Tristan. “Hey, Mr. Foster!” he yelled.
“Yeah, Zach?”
“Have you seen Michael or Tristan around? They weren’t in their beds when I got up and I haven’t seen them since.”
“No, I haven’t, but I am sure they’re around. Let’s check at the cafeteria, okay?”
“Okay.” Zach stuffed his cold hands in his pockets and made his way toward the cafeteria. This time he wasn’t alone. Logan had joined him, walking in rhythm.
After breakfast the students gathered once again in front of the campfire pit. Zach examined the crowd, looking for Michael and Tristan. He hadn’t seen them at breakfast. Logan and Jenny stood next to him. “Hey, have you two seen Michael and Tristan? I haven’t seen them all morning,” Zach asked.
“I saw ‘em,” Jenny said.
“You did? Where?”
“Right there!” She smiled and pointed down the gravel trail. Michael and Tristan were jogging towards the group, breathing heavily.
“Where have you two been?” asked Mrs. Lomeier.
“We … are … really … sorry,” replied Michael, gasping for air between his words. “Tristan and I got up real early to do some exploring on our own and we kind of lost track of time. We’re real sorry, Mrs. Lomeier.”
“Well, okay, but we will have to discuss this later,” Mrs. Lomeier said. Her tone was less condescending than it had been with Zach.
As the groups were breaking up to go to their classes, Zach approached Michael and Tristan. “Where did you guys go? We had no idea where you were.”
Both boys looked shocked at Zach’s concern. “We just went down the big staircase and into the woods. We wanted to see some animals. It’s easier to do if you don’t have as many people around,” said Michael.
“Yeah, and I wanted to find some more rocks to keep,” added Tristan.
Zach pictured Chris searching for his “perfect rocks.”
“All right,” Zach said. “You should probably tell someone before you do something like that though.”
Michael and Tristan looked at each other curiously.
Zach found his way back to Logan and Jenny. Tanya had also joined them. He turned back to the two boys. “Oh, by the way, did you happen to see any pickup trucks down there?”
“What do you mean?” asked Tristan.
Michael just shook his head.
“Nothing. Never mind.”
The rest of the day was relatively uneventful. The students learned about birds, plants and teamwork. Speaking to Mr. Foster had made Zach feel a little better. Logan was the only person he had ever spoken to about Chris’s disappearance. He wasn’t sure what had compelled him to share with Mr. Foster, but it felt good.
Zach remembered what Mr. Foster had said about making choices. It was true. He couldn’t control anything in the past, but he could control how he approached the present. He hadn’t encountered any ghostly images or strange occurrences all day. There are no such things as ghosts, he thought to himself. Miranda must have been putting him on. He was going to enjoy the rest of the fieldtrip. He wasn’t going to get into any more trouble. He would deal with the situation with his mom when he got home. Those were the only choices he could make. He was sure of it.
By the end of the day, he was back to wrestling with Logan and joking about him and Jenny. He was even joking about kitchen patrol duty that night. “You better check your dinner tonight. Who knows what I might do to it,” Zach told Adam and Mitch.
The old Zach had returned.
At least for the moment.
But that evening, KP duty turned out to be no laughing matter for Zach. The haunting was only just beginning.