The Shadow Grows Stronger
Tony grabbed the gallon of milk out of the cooler and a loaf of bread off the shelf then hurried toward the checkout counter. An elderly man stepped in front of him. He had no choice but to slow down or knock the old guy out of the way. He almost groaned out loud when the man hefted a bag full of change he could barely lift onto the counter and began to count out coins.
“Hi, Mr. Johnson.” Holly Fredrick, the girl behind the counter, directed her greeting to the older man.
“Hello, Holly. How are you today?”
“I’m good.”
The gentleman’s hands shook and with each slow movement, Tony had the urge to rip the bag out of the old geezer’s grasp and count the money for him.
Tony remembered Holly from high school. Why didn’t she grab the bag and deal with it so he could get out of there? After several minutes waiting and half-a-dozen people lined up behind him, the transaction was finally completed.
Tony stepped to the counter. “Wow, Holly, why didn’t you just count it yourself?” He dropped a twenty on the counter and waited for his change.
“Because he’s a nice man and it would have been disrespectful.” She handed him back his change and then grinned. “Thank you and please come again.”
Feeling like he had been chastised, he mumbled, “Yeah, sure.”
He rushed out the door and there was the old man, just now getting into a beat up, rust-bucket of a car. For an instant, he felt guilty. The guy had probably worked his entire life and still ended up alone and broke. Either that, or he was a miserly millionaire.
He smiled at his own joke, trying to shake his dark thoughts. He blamed his attitude and foul mood on his mother. If she spent a little more time at home instead of Ray Watts’s house, she wouldn’t have had to call him and send him out this late to buy milk and bread for breakfast in the morning. He supposed it was just a matter of time before the two of them made their arrangement permanent.
He backed the Malibu out of the parking space and pulled up next to the street. He hadn’t given much thought to the blue Grand Am as it sailed past—there were dozens of them in town—but then he got a glimpse of long blonde hair. He did a double take. Was that Emily? Where was she going? Home? But if she were headed home, she should have turned before passing the gas station.
Would she be going to see Stephanie?
The thought came out of nowhere. Emily had threatened the kid and Steph was afraid of her. He turned in the same direction just to ease his mind. He didn’t really believe Em would hurt the girl. But if anything were to happen to either of them, he would never forgive himself.
He wasn’t surprised to see the two girls talking when he turned onto Cedar Street. He stopped half a block from the house where he hoped they wouldn’t be able to see the Malibu, then exited the car and stood in the shadows under some big trees. It gave him a clear view.
He was too far away to hear everything they said, but could occasionally catch a few words. Emily appeared to be doing most of the talking and was trying to get Steph to agree to something. He heard Devon’s name and his own a few times, but wasn’t sure of the specifics being discussed. He thought Emily said Blaine’s name, but nothing more.
The younger girl had her arms crossed and kept shaking her head. Her chin was raised slightly and Tony had the feeling she was trying to look tough. She didn’t appear to be afraid. That was good.
He watched for several more minutes. They were getting along fine and he began feeling more and more like a stalker. Then Stephanie suddenly put her hands over her face. He couldn’t be sure from this distance, but he thought she was crying.
Then Stephanie screamed, “Just leave me alone! I haven’t done anything to you.”
Emily reached out, but he wasn’t sure if it was a comforting gesture or a threatening one. He heard her say, “I can if you let me.” She lowered her voice and the only words he caught after that was “Don’t be a fool.”
The other girl’s hands moved away from her face and then she smiled—well, sort of. That smirk almost jolted Tony off his feet. If he hadn’t seen it himself, he wouldn’t have believed Stephanie could look so…evil. He blinked and the kid’s face was back to normal. But he had seen it, just like Emily had described. Or was it Emily’s power of suggestion? Could she do that?
His attention pivoted back to the girls. They were still talking, but Tony had seen and heard enough. Emily was here offering to help Steph fight whatever demons, real or imagined, were plaguing her. But, she could have seen me watching and be putting on an act to make me think…the thought seemed to come from nowhere. No, Emily wasn’t like that. She was kind and sweet and honest. Yet, he had watched her fool a psychopath into believing she was weak and helpless, an act which had led to Nelson’s downfall. It was possible she was playing it up for his benefit, after all. The more he thought about it, the more convinced he became that she knew he was watching.
* * * *
She’d failed. She had tried her hardest to persuade the girl to trust her, but Stephanie was just too afraid of the “Shadow.” Stephanie called the “Shadow” he—which answered at least one of Emily’s questions—but still wouldn’t tell Emily his name.
Emily had tried to challenge him to reveal himself, but he kept his “Shadow-like” appearance. That told Emily he either feared her in some way, or wouldn’t be as menacing if she discerned his true identity.
She hadn’t been surprised either to find that Blaine, the girl’s older brother, was also part of the conspiracy. She could see him clearly now. Emily guessed it was because there was no point in hiding himself any longer. She had suspected him from the very beginning. He was, at the very least, helping the “Shadow” control his sister, and maybe Tony and Devon as well, but he wouldn’t talk to her.
Why would he help something so evil? Tony had mentioned how Blaine resented his little sister and called her a spoiled brat. Was his resentment so strong that he wanted to punish her and that’s why he hadn’t gone into the light?
Emily had seen the brother and sister rebel against the “Shadow’s” control, yet they seemed too frightened to try and free themselves completely, even with her offer of help. She also witnessed the entity use his powers to cause mental and physical pain when they tried to communicate with her, but she couldn’t help thinking there must be something else keeping the pair trapped, or surely they would fight harder.
Emily started to turn the car into the street, when she looked into her rearview mirror and suddenly remembered her passengers. They weren’t inside the vehicle. She stepped on the brake. For a minute, she thought they may have left, but then she saw them come out from beside a house down the road. She made a u-turn and headed back in their direction.
Dana waved. Emily started to slow down, and when she looked in the mirror to make certain no one was behind her, the two ghosts were in the backseat.
“What were you two doing by that house? You weren’t playing tricks, were you?”
“Oh, no.” Dana leaned forward. “We heard someone crying and wanted to make sure he didn’t need help.”
Emily’s eyes opened wide. Maybe Dana’s memories of that night in the woods were beginning to return without her being aware of it. This could be the best opportunity to help the girl remember. “So was it another ghost?”
The girl shook her head. “No, it was a little boy.”
“Why was he crying?”
Dana shrugged her shoulders. “He was upset because he had to go to bed early, but Max and I stayed with him until he fell asleep.”
“Really? Could the boy see you guys?”
“Oh, sure. Lots of really little kids see ghosts, but no one ever believes them. You are the first grownup I’ve met who could.”
“I guess most kids outgrow it. Why were you worried about the boy?”
Dana shrugged and flopped back against the seat. “I don’t know. I just was.” Max placed his head on the ghost girl’s lap as she rubbed behind his ears.
Emily took a deep breath. “Do you think you might have been crying when you were lost in the woods?”
Dana seemed to think about it before answering. “Yes, I was crying. I was afraid, too, I think.”
They were a half block from Emily’s house, and she waited until parking in the driveway before asking the next question. She twisted around to look at the dog and the girl. “What were you afraid of?”
Bile welled up in Emily’s throat as she watched the innocent girl contemplate the question. She felt like a traitor. She didn’t want to be the one to catalyze the details of that terrible night, but it was the only way to help Dana and to bring some kind of closure for her parents. Emily didn’t have a choice.
Dana’s eyes widened with pure terror. Her body began to shake. “Two men,” she said softly. “I met them in the woods. I saw their campfire and they said they would take me home in the morning, but they didn’t.”
“Is that why the little boy’s crying made you afraid for him?”
Dana buried her face in Max’s ghostly fur. “Those men hurt me.”
Emily took a deep breath to steady her voice. “If we help the police find the old buildings in the woods, they will have the evidence to make sure those men will never hurt anyone ever again.”
The child looked up, tears silently slipped down her pale cheeks. Her head moved from side to side. “I-I can’t. I can’t go back there. I’m sorry.” Dana disappeared.
Max looked up and whined. “Go with her Max. She needs you. Keep her safe.” She didn’t know why, but more and more she was starting to feel that evil was everywhere, and the unsuspecting and naïve were in just as much danger in the ghostly world as in the human one.
* * * *
The next morning Emily woke expecting to find the girl and dog in her room, but they hadn’t returned. She wasn’t really worried about them—Max wouldn’t let anything happen—but Emily felt responsible for making the child run away. Maybe she had pushed her too early, and now she might never help the police find the old barn.
Emily showered and dressed for school. Going downstairs, she could hear her mother and father talking and decided now would be a good time to tell her parents about the apartment.
When she entered the kitchen, her father had already eaten and was kissing her mother goodbye before heading off to work. The kiss wasn’t the usual “peck on the cheek kind of kiss” her father usually gave her mother.
Emily rolled her eyes. “You two are acting like newlyweds.” She laughed. “Could you cut it out long enough for me to tell you something?”
Her mother giggled and turned around. “My doctor’s appointment is this afternoon. We were discussing it.”
Emily’s eyebrows rose. “Really?”
Her mother’s cheeks turned a healthy pink and she suddenly looked like a young girl. “So what did you want to tell us?”
Emily opened the cupboard door and took out a box of cereal and a bowl. “Kaylee found us a place over on Madison, in the Winston Apartment complex. She has the first and last months’ rent and I have enough saved for the down payment. We’ll be moving in as soon as we sign the lease.”
Her mother’s smile faded and her eyes filled with tears. “So soon? I thought you’d want to live here until my time gets closer.”
Her father cleared his throat and looked a little misty-eyed as well. He put his arms around his wife and daughter. “Our baby girl has grown up, Nora. I guess we had better get used to it.”
Emily hadn’t meant to upset them. Tears burned in her own eyes. “Don’t worry, you’re going to see me so often, you’ll not even remember I don’t live here.” She tried to smile, but the tears slipped down her cheeks.
They did one of those group hug things that had always embarrassed her, but today the closeness felt good. She was about to embark on an uncertain future and she was grateful for the comfort.
Taking a deep breath, her mother asked, “When do we get to see the apartment?”
“We pick up the keys and sign the contract tonight, so any time after that,” Emily said. “Oh, that reminds me, I probably won’t be home for dinner tonight.”
Her father squeezed her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “Remember your promise to your mother now.”
“I will, Dad, don’t worry. You’ll see plenty of me.”
“Well.” He grinned. “Since I can’t convince you to become a tax accountant like your old man and join me in the business, I better leave for work, now. My first appointment is already nervous enough, since this is his first tax audit.”
Emily couldn’t stop herself from smiling. She and Dad had been having this same discussion for as long as she could remember. “Sorry, you know how I feel about numbers.”
He grinned and turned to her mother. “I’ll see you this afternoon at two.”
After he’d gone, her mother sat at the table while Emily finished breakfast. They talked about her and Kaylee’s plans for the apartment.
Then out of the blue, her mother grasped her hand. “Emily, I have to ask you, have you seen any ghosts lately?”