Native Vengeance

By: Julie Achterhoff
September 29, 2008

Chapter 1

Meg struggled with the map as she drove down the highway that would take her to a place she’d never been before. Her new friend Claire had told her it was beautiful, and as the car curved through the thickening trees she gauged Claire’s description had been correct. She was almost there after three long hours of the sun burning down on her left arm. Now the trees’ shadows were giving her some relief, but the shady parts now looked almost invisible with her sunglasses on. However, with them off she’d turn out of a curve and be blinded. Which would it be? Sunglasses on or sunglasses off? It was impossible flicking them up and down with the light. Meg sighed and threw them on the seat next to her purse. She’d just have to use her hand to shade her eyes when the sun broke through the trees.

Thoughts of her new friend’s e-mails floated through her mind. They’d been writing for only a few weeks, but Meg felt a kinship there that she hadn’t found in the city. Claire was funny, didn’t care for gossip, and had similar likes and dislikes. She’d become as close as a sister in this short amount of time, and the thought of visiting for a few days felt almost like a relief, especially after the hectic week she had just put in at work. It wasn’t easy putting the many voices out of her head of the people who came to see her for counseling. Some had minor problems that would probably clear themselves up in six weeks or so, while others had more long-term psychiatric disorders that they would probably suffer from the rest of their lives. Then there were the in-between ones that she couldn’t always put in a box. These people may or may not benefit from therapy at all. They were the ones she sometimes worried the most of all for; the ones that kept her awake at night.

But she didn’t want to think about work-related matters right now. She was off on a road trip to see if Claire was as great in person as she was in her e-mails and on the phone. There would be a small country town with quaint little shops to browse through, and horses to ride, and some well-earned rest and relaxation. God knew she needed it. How long had it been since she’d even been out of Albuquerque? Too long, that’s for sure. Meg pulled her dark blonde hair off the back of her neck where sweat trickled down. Time for the A/C. She looked down and flipped the switch on high and closed up the window. Ahhh. Nice. Even though it was still early spring it was starting to pick up some heat.

Meg crooked her head trying to keep an eye on the road and take a quick glance at the map. Looked like she was almost there. A creeping sense of nervousness filled her veins. She’d hoped she’d beaten her own demons from childhood, but they still lurked in the corners of her mind like sulking black beasts. They were mostly an irritation now after all the therapy she’d been through herself with other therapists, but once in a while they’d come on like dragons, threatening her with something unnameably horrific. Her last big anxiety attack had been nearly a year ago when she’d broken it off with Ben. But that wasn’t a good thing to think about right now. Meg pulled out her lip gloss and applied it without looking into the mirror. She pushed away any remaining dread, and began to see signs of the town ahead.

It looked like Ocho Rios barely had enough people in it to be called a real town. There were only around 300 people who called it home. That’s probably why Claire had reached out over the internet to find a friend. What was Meg’s excuse? Sure she had plenty of acquaintenances, and probably a few women who thought she was their friend, but not really anyone she could call friend herself, not the kind you could call in the middle of the night. She knew the truth, she was a loner. No big deal. Plenty of others out there like her. If it just didn’t get so damned lonely sometimes. But that’s why she was here in this tiny neck of the woods. She was making headway towards being a more whole human being, right?

Time to pull over and look at the instructions to Claire’s house. Meg drew the little Subaru to a stop next to a shady tree and put the car in “PARK.” It was almost 3 o’clock. Once she committed the directions to memory she was off again. She had been going to turn off the A/C and open the window again, but as she made the next turn up a dirt road she changed her mind as the clouds of dust enveloped the car. The road switched back again and again as she climbed higher up. There were a few old bent mailboxes here and there leading to houses-- who knew where? Now there was thick forest with tangled undergrowth all around her. She turned on the headlights. At the second mile according to her odometer she looked for a mailbox on the right that had “Parker” written on it, and there it was. Meg turned onto the gravelly driveway, which opened up onto a beautiful Ranch-style house with a barn in the distance and horses bending over, chewing on the half-dead grass. There was the obligatory old truck parked in a lean-to next to the house. Meg had to smile. No one in their right mind lived in the sticks if they didn’t have an old truck. Just like Texas. Even the ever popular SUV couldn’t get rid of them completely.

Meg stepped from the car and walked up to the unpainted wooden front door. The whole house was done in natural stained wood of some kind. She stood there for a minute nervously staring at the door knocker. Suddenly the door burst open and a bustling woman came out smiling and hugged Meg around the neck.

“You’ve come! Thank god you made it!” she bellowed as Meg adjusted and hugged her back. She started to pull away, signifying that the hug was at an end. But Claire held on tight and rubbed her hand up and down Meg’s back.

“I knew you’d come,” she said.

Meg didn’t know quite what to say to such an uncommonly warm greeting.

“Yes, I did,” she sputtered.

Claire ended the hug but kept Meg close, locking her arm in hers.

“Well, you just come right on in dear. I’m so glad to see you!”

“Me too, Claire. How are you?”

“I’m just fine now lemme tell you.” She pulled Meg deeper into the living room where a man sat smoking a pipe in a rocking chair. He didn’t get up.

“Jonathan, look who’s here,” cried Claire.

“Hello, my name’s Meg. Nice to meet you,” Meg said nervously. It was always so easy meeting new patients, or clients as she liked to call them. But when it came to ordinary people she’d never met it was a whole different thing, and this guy sure wasn’t making it any easier. “Hi there,” he said, not offering his hand. “Claire’s been excited about you comin’ all day.” “It was a lovely drive up here. You have a gorgeous house,” Meg said.

“How are you Meg? Are you hungry? I made some scones, and we can have some coffee or tea.” Claire, arms still gripping Meg’s walked her into the kitchen and asked her to sit down.

“I should get my bag,” she said.

“Oh no. Don’t worry about that. I’ll have Jonathan get it for you.”

“No, I’d be happy to just go grab it myself. No problem.” Meg said

She headed for the door a bit gladly to have a moment to herself. Geez, she’d have to get a hold of herself! What was wrong with her? Claire was just as sweet as she could be. Walking out to her car she scolded herself for being so disagreeable. On the other hand, she realized that meeting her in person was very different from meeting her in a chat room on the web. Meg also realized with disdain that Claire Parker gave her a kind of uncomfortable feeling.

Swinging her bag over her shoulder, Meg grabbed her purse off the front seat and went to hit the locks, then smiled to herself. You didn’t need to lock your doors around here in the country, did you? She resolved to be the perfect guest and get through this weekend without acting like a timid creature. She couldn’t quite shake the feeling that Claire was just a bit too glad to see her while Jonathan was cold as icicles.

Claire was waiting in the doorway watching her.

“I got it,” called Meg. “Now how about some coffee and scones? That sounds delicious,” she said in her sweetest voice. She wanted to be as warm to Claire as she had been to her. No matter what, Meg had really liked her online and decided nothing would stop her from treating her like a good friend should.





Chapter 2

Meg and Claire sat at the little table in the kitchen, each with a cup of coffee and a warm scone drizzled with butter in her hands. Jonathan had gone out to feed the horses, and the two women were chatting about Meg’s career.

“I don’t think I could ever work outside the home,” Claire was saying. It would be too hard for me to do that and take care of my Jonathan and this whole place.”

“Doesn’t Jonathan do anything? I mean besides taking care of the ranch,” Meg asked.

“Oh he does what he can, but he has a bad back and had to retire early from the post office just recently.”

“That’s too bad. Didn’t you tell me you had a degree in English, though? Maybe you could do some kind of work from home.”

“I suppose so,” Claire looked down at her plate of crumbs. I think it would just be too hard.” Meg thought she saw a flicker of something flash across Claire’s face. Anger?

“ Well there’s nothing wrong with being a stay-at-home-mom that’s for sure. Where are your kids anyway? Some after school sports or something?”

“I had them go straight to the town hall from school. That’s the way I always do it.”

She stopped herself as if she’d said too much.

“I mean... there’s this party tonight. The whole town is coming out for it. Kind of a silly thing we do once a year. It’s a historical re-enactment. About 200 years ago there was a big storm that hit here. I mean the people back then thought they would perish for sure. A lot of them did. Just about everyone came to the town hall because there was nowhere else to go. We’re not used to storms like that around here ya know.” Was that nervous laughter she was hearing?

“So everyone what, goes to the town hall and just sits around waiting?” Meg asked

“No, well, we have a buffet dinner and wear old clothes and talk about the good old days mostly. It’s pretty much just a social event now.” Then she got up from the table and ran out of the room excitedly. When she returned she had an old-fashioned dress and held it out to Meg.

“I think this should fit you. It was my sister’s before she left last year. I hope you like it.”

Meg held out her hand and touched the fabric. Then she took it as Claire handed it to her.

“You want me to wear this tonight?” she exclaimed.

“I was hoping you would. Everyone will be dressed like this. You’ll feel left out if you don’t.”

“It’s beautiful,” she said. She felt the soft calico between her fingers. It was like brand new. How could she refuse? She’d feel pretty silly being the odd man out if she didn’t wear what everyone else was wearing, so she gave in gracefully.

“Okay. Why not?” she agreed.

“Why not try it on now? I was just going to get ready myself.” said Claire. “I’ll show you where you can change.” And she was up like a shot guiding Meg to the guest room.

“Sure,” she said as she followed Claire down the hallway. She glanced up on the wall where there hung several family pictures. But they must have been ancestors because they were all dressed in the style of the 1700s. She’d ask Claire more about them later. Now she had to put on this silly dress. Well, at least she wouldn’t be the only one.

While she was changing she heard Claire telling her husband it was time to change.

“Come on Jonathan, all your things are laid out on the bed for you.”

“All right Claire, I’ll be there in a minute, just as soon as I finish with my pipe.”

Meg would be glad when she wouldn’t have to smell his tobacco smoke. The dress was beautiful, with puffy sleeves and a low neckline. It had a million tiny buttons up the front, which took her a considerable amount of time to hook up. There was a full length mirror in the corner and she stood there actually admiring the way it made her look. It clung to her waste and went all the way down to her toes with its full skirt. It must have taken yards of material to make and she had no doubt it was made by hand, each and every stitch. She tried to tie it nicely in the back, but she couldn’t really see, even with the mirror. Maybe Claire could help her with it. She laid down on the bed. Just for a minute, she thought. Being around Claire made her feel as if her energy was being sucked right out of her. She did some deep breathing to clear her mind and relax her body. Much better.

Meg thought she could hear something that sounded like soft weeping noises coming from the other bedroom where Claire and Jonathan had gone to get dressed. She strained to hear what they were talking about. She couldn’t help it. Something about Claire leaving. Apparently their marriage was over. Funny, Claire hadn’t said a word about this in her e-mails. How sad. It didn’t seem like the best time to have friends over. The strangest thing was how very happy Claire seemed. Was she just covering up? People often did that even when their lives were falling apart. It was called denial. But why hadn’t she said anything in her correspondence with Meg? She wondered if they’d tried therapy, but dismissed the idea. Not in this small town so far away from everything. She doubted they had a therapist in town. Meg decided that if the chance came up she would offer her services to them. It’s the least she could do considering Claire was the only friend she had. Although after this experience maybe she wasn’t who she thought she was after all. She knew she was taking a chance with the internet. She knew people who told her friends didn’t turn out the same when you met them in person. However she also knew a really lovely couple who had met online and were very happy with each other. You just never know, she thought.

Anyway, it was time to get off the bed and join the Parkers once again. Meg wondered if there were any shoes to go with the beautiful dress. Her tennies didn’t seem appropriate. She got off the bed and opened the door, peeking out to see if the couple were back out of their room yet. They were sitting on the couch together in the living room.

Meg was shocked at what she saw. Jonathan was quite a sight in his old-time uniform. Kind of scary looking, Meg thought.

“I’m ready,” said Meg.

“Oh! You look wonderful Meg,” cried Claire. “You look absolutely perfect.”

“Thank you Claire,” said Meg. “You two certainly make an excellent pair. Are you a collector of Civil War mementos Jonathan? she asked.

“You might say that miss. I do have a lot of memorabilia from a long time ago stacked up in the attic.”

“He sure does Meg. How do you like your dress?”

“Oh, it’s beautiful, thanks. It was a bit hard buttoning all these buttons. Thank goodness they invented zippers, right?” she laughed.

“Wait until you see the shoes that go with it. You actually need a special button hook for them. Here, I’ll help you with it,” she said

Claire walked to the front closet and pulled out a pair of old-fashioned women’s boots. They looked brand new. Meg sat in a chair while Claire brought them over and helped her put them on. She buttoned them up like a pro. They fit perfectly. Now her look was complete. Meg tied her tie in the back for her. They all looked like they had just stepped out of the 1700s.

“Boy, if only my daughter could see me now,” Meg said. “I should give her a call.”

“You can’t,” said Claire. “All the lines are down.”

“That’s alright, I’ll use my cell.”

“Can’t do that either. We don’t get any reception out here. Sorry I didn’t mention that.”

“Well, I hope she doesn’t get worried about me. I told her I’d call her when I got here to tell her I made it OK.”

“I’m sure she’ll be fine. Maybe they’ll get the lines fixed sometime this weekend. Things happen pretty slowly around here as you can probably imagine.” said Claire.

Jonathan sat red-faced on the couch still with the rifle in his lap. He looked forlorn. Meg wondered what it could be that was splitting the couple up after 23 years of marriage, but this wasn’t the time to bring it up. She’d wait until the two women were alone and broach the subject.

“I’ll just go get the scones for the buffet and we can leave,” said Claire, leaving Meg with Jonathan. She tried to think of some small talk, but nothing came out. She wasn’t good at chit chat. Claire brought in a big basket with a towel over it. Meg put on her coat as did the others and they headed out the door.

“I’ll take my own car, okay?” Meg said

“Why don’t you just ride with us? It’ll be easier this way. There are going to be plenty of cars in town and not a whole lot of parking,” said Claire.

Feeling uneasy about being trapped at this strange social gathering, Meg climbed in the old truck next to Claire. Jonathan laid his rifle on its rest in the back.

“Is that thing loaded?" Meg asked jokingly.

Without a smile Jonathan said, “You’re damn right it’s loaded,” and started up the vehicle. Meg closed her eyes and prayed this day would be over soon. If she’d known what was to come she might not have been in quite such a hurry.


– – –


The town hall was a very old style building left over from the town’s beginnings. It looked decrepit and unkempt. People dressed in old-fashioned garb just like them were swarming out front and in the streets. Meg noticed there wasn’t a single traffic light. What you saw was what you got. She thought she could never live in a town this small. What ever could there be to do in one’s spare time but count clouds as they lazily passed overhead? It was warm enough so that she decided to leave her jacket in the truck. She felt eyes on her from every direction as she stepped down. She supposed these people didn’t get a lot of visitors.

Immediately, a plump woman with ample bosom showing waved to Claire and called out her name as she bustled over to them.

“So this is your visitor?” she turned to Meg and introduced herself as Lucy Ryan. “What a nice find, Claire,” she said as she pumped Meg’s hand. “I tried so hard to find someone this time, but at the last minute they cancelled on me.” She looked desolate. How odd. Lucy took Claire a ways away where they couldn’t be heard by Meg. But she caught their whispered conversation.

“I really thought I had her. I think I must have sounded a bit desperate, but that’s what I am! I can’t help it Claire. You know how it is.” Lucy was almost in tears. “I can’t do this again. Please God, not one more time,” she blubbered.

“It’s alright, dear, you’ll get someone next year and we can find a nice place in the city. It will be great. It’s Jonathan I’m worried about. What will he do without me, poor thing. He doesn’t even try to find anyone to take his place. He’ll be doing this forever I’m afraid. Have strength Lucy.”

They walked back over to where they left Meg and Jonathan. Jonathan was retrieving his gun. All the men seemed to have guns. And they were all dressed in full Army uniforms that, although ancient, looked amazingly well-kept. Meg guessed that since they only did this once a year there was very little wear and tear on the period clothing. The rifles and guns were new looking too. She wondered if they were all loaded. They could be dangerous.

As they walked towards the old building, many more friends and neighbors came to greet the Parkers and their guest. Meg sensed almost a quality of envy in their voices as they spoke. She began to feel like the celebrity of the party. These people definitely didn’t get many guests here. There was one other person who had come here to visit at the same time as meg had. His name was Josh and he seemed as bewildered by all the attention as Meg felt. She wondered if she could get him alone at some point and compare notes. The feeling that this wasn’t any ordinary gathering started plaguing her more and more. She knew that something was going on that she nor Josh knew about. But that was crazy. Nobody was out to get her, so there was no need to form some kind of conspiracy theory. And that’s the turn her mind had started to take. She was sure it was just the anxiety. She’d take one of her xanax when she went inside and found a drink. Hopefully they were serving alcoholic beverages. She hated to mix her pills with liquor, but her anxiety was mounting too fast and she didn’t want to have a panic attack. Just the thought caused her more trepidation.

Just before she entered the hall the wind started picking up from the South. She looked at the sky to see dark thunder heads in the distance. That’s strange, she thought. The weather was predicted to be clear all weekend.



Chapter 3

The aroma of wonderful smelling foods met her inside the main lobby. She could see a table set up with many different dishes others had brought. Meg followed Claire to the buffet where she laid down her basket of scones and removed the towel, surrounding the basket with it.

“I make these every year,” Claire said proudly. “Everyone loves my scones”.

“They are delicious,” Meg said. She noticed that there wasn’t the regular crowd around the food as at most potlucks she’d been to. In fact, not a single person she could see had a plate in their hands. She thought maybe they were waiting to say a blessing over the food, so she didn’t get anything yet. She did want that drink, though.

She saw some pitchers that looked like they contained fresh lemonade and poured herself a cup. She discreetly took one of her pills from her purse and swallowed it down. Maybe now she could quiet the tremors that threatened to start her heart to racing. The lemonade was delicious. She looked around for something harder.

“ Hey Claire, do you suppose this if fresh squeezed? she asked.

“I’m sure it is. The Walkers always bring it. Can you imagine how many lemons they must have to squeeze to make this much lemonade. My goodness!”

A small boy came up to Meg and pulled on her skirt. “Lady, who are you here for?” he asked. This puzzled Meg. Claire bent down to the boy and whispered something in his ear, and he ran off.

“That was a funny thing to ask. What do you think he meant by that?” Meg asked Claire.

“Oh that’s Tommy Smithers. He’s always coming up with strange ideas. Never mind him. Help yourself if you’d like something to eat dear.”

Why’d she have to keep calling her “dear?” And why was nobody else eating? Come on, kid, she told herself, just wait for the nice little xanax to work its wonders and everything will be fine. But would it be? She wondered.

A small group of people had gathered around them now and were talking about crops and other such interesting subjects. There was some political talk about the mayoral election coming up. Everyone agreed that Mayor Johnson had been doing a fine job for years and probably wouldn’t even have an opponent this time around. Meg’s mind started to drift as the sedative took hold. She started to feel dreamy. Now they were talking about retirement and whether they would stay in town or go to Florida or someplace nice. One couple said they wanted to retire together, but they weren’t sure they could work it out. They might have to do it one at a time. Meg wondered why, but didn’t make a remark. She just stood, seemingly attentive, as she let her mind wander. She started thinking about her ex, Ben and how she would have liked to retire with him someday.

But that day would never come now. He was gone from her life and she doubted she could ever trust another man with her beaten up heart. She remembered the day she got off work early because a client had cancelled on her. She stopped on the way home for Chinese take-out to be reheated later for their dinner. When she got home she’d found him and another man lying together naked on the couch. She dropped the bags of food on the floor and stood there without the words to speak. Ben jumped up as his “friend” drew a towel around himself. He said they’d simply been sunning themselves around the pool until it got so hot they had to come in. But she wasn’t stupid. Male friends don’t just hang around naked together, no matter how many beers they’ve had. At least not unless there’s a whole helluva lot more going on than suntanning and swimming. Ben had taken her by the shoulders and tried so hard to make her believe this was innocent. She wanted to believe him, and almost forced herself to, but her bullshit detector was sounding an alarm she couldn’t ignore. Not only was he cheating on her, but he was doing it with another man! Meg had pulled out of his grasp and went back to her car. She drove all the way to her mother’s house on the outskirts of Albuquerque with tears blinding her so that she didn’t know how she made it there alive.

Her mother had never liked Ben in the first place, but now she couldn’t say enough bad things about him. It was all too much and Meg was sent into a serious panic attack that lasted for days. She stayed in her old bedroom the whole time, not even coming out to eat or bathe, feeling terrified. Finally she made an appointment with her analyst who helped her get a grip. She helped her realize that Meg couldn’t change who Ben was, that if he was bisexual then that’s a part of who he was integrally. Nothing could change that. And that was reason enough to make the split-up half bearable. The panicky feelings abated, but they were always going to be there like a background chorus in her life. Her analyst was the only one who made her feel there was any hope to end the anxiety altogether one day. And somehow Meg believed her.

Coming out of her reverie, Meg heard someone new in the group speaking about our current situation in Iraq. It was Josh, the other guest. He was telling the group how the government was making soldiers pay for equipment lost in the field, like helmets and guns when they were being blown to smithereens. They were also being made to pay back salaries if they were taken off duty because of injuries if they hadn’t finished their contracted amount of time of duty. Meg was appalled. She looked around to see agreeing emotions in those around her. She found none. In fact nobody said a word. Josh was also looking around at the blank faces that seemed neither taken aback nor in agreement with the government’s actions. There was only quiet. Josh had been going to say something, but stopped himself. He wasn’t sure what these people were thinking one way or another. Neither did Meg. Josh decided to wander wordlessly over to have a bite to eat. She went over to join him.

“That was weird,” Meg said in a loud whisper. She smiled as he looked up at her.

“I know. I felt like I just told everybody I had a warm glass of goat blood every night before bed or something,” he replied. They both snickered.

“Everyone’s weird here anyway,” said Josh. “I don’t know why I came. The guy who invited me said there’d be some nice ladies here, but I don’t see any,” he said. “Oops, I just stuck my foot in my mouth, didn’t I? I mean, present company excepted of course.” He gave a nervous laugh.

“That’s okay. But I know what you mean. Ever since I got here I have felt so out of place.....and time,” said Meg.

“Yeah. I just met this guy online and he was practically desperate that I come here for this stupid party or whatever it is. Nobody’s even having a good time. Look at all the food that’s going to waste,” he said as he piled his plate high.

“Wait a minute. Did you say you met him online?” Meg asked.

“Yeah. Just a few weeks ago in some chat room,” he said. “Why?”

“Because that’s how I got here too. An online connection,” she said. “What a coincidence.”

“Do you know if anyone else is here from out of town?” asked Josh.

Meg asked sarcastically, “Do you see anyone else eating from the buffet?”

“You don’t think there’s something up with the food, do you?” He asked, lowering his voice and looking around.”

“God only knows, but something is giving me goose bumps,” she said. Josh put his plate of food down on the table. He was becoming spooked. He had a sense he wouldn’t be allowed to leave this hall. But he had a terrible urge to give it a try.

“Stay here a minute. I’ll be back in a minute,” he said, and walked towards the guy he’d come in with. Going over the events of the afternoon since she’d arrived at Claire’s, Meg went over in her mind the contents of the e-mails she’d received from Claire over the past weeks. Was there any desperation for her to come this particular weekend or was it her imagination? She couldn’t be certain of it. Josh was coming back her way.

“Just like I thought. They insist I stay even though I told them I was feeling sick. I didn’t push it, but I’m afraid to find out what would happen if I did.” Josh told her.

Meg really did feel ill now. She decided to try it with Claire. “Hold on. My turn.” She walked over to where Claire was sitting with some other women. They were discussing their quilting circle that met on Wednesdays and whether they should move it to Thursdays so they could have an extra prayer meeting on those nights. Meg waited for a break.

She told Claire, “I’m not feeling very well Claire. Do you think you could give me a ride home please?”

She couldn’t be sure but she thought she saw a flash of panic flicker over Claire’s face. Meg ought to be familiar enough with that emotion to know it when she saw it.

“Oh dear, the party’s just starting. Let me make you a cup of peppermint tea and see how you feel alright? That should make you feel much better.” Meg declined the tea and told her she’d probably be fine after all. She went to join Josh again at the big table.

“I just got the same spiel, Josh,” she said. “I think something is definitely going on here, and I think this is not a good place for us to be, harmless as these people seem. I don’t know what’s going on, but something smells rotten. I just don’t know how rotten.


Chapter 4


The big hall was filling fast. There must have been almost 200 people here by now and the buffet table was absolutely overflowing with food. Meg and Josh could hear the wind picking up velocity each time the doors opened. There was a storm brewing. Meg was beginning to feel claustrophobic. She felt the need to get out of there.

“I’m going to step outside for a bit Josh. You’re welcome to join me if you like.”

“Ya don’t have to ask me twice,” he said and they headed for the doors.

Just as they were pushing them open Claire appeared at Meg’s side and said, “Where are you two off to?” She pushed her way in between them and the doors. There was a tone in her voice Meg didn’t like. Not one bit.

Nonchalantly as she could, Meg said, “We were just going outside for some fresh air and to watch the storm come in.”

“You don’t want to do that now honey,” said Claire. “I’m afraid I’ve been a terrible hostess. I should have included you more in our little group.”

“Oh, no,” said Meg. “That’s fine. I’m having a great time. This is Josh. He’s visiting too and we’ve been just chatting away between ourselves, haven’t we Josh?” she looked at him, smiling.

“Oh yeah. Meg and I have found lots to talk about. We’re having a fine time,” he said.

Claire appraised the two of them and said, “Okay, but don’t go far. These storms can come on quite suddenly this time of year. We might even get snow.”

Meg thought back to the weather forecast she’d heard earlier calling for clear skies.

“Definitely not. We’ll be right outside the doors,” she said.

Claire smiled brightly. “Well then, don’t be long. I have more friends I can’t wait for you to meet.”

Meg smiled back at her and Claire stepped aside to let them pass. “See you in a minute,” she said as she watched them leave. Meg had a feeling that a minute outside was all they were going to get before someone came for them with some excuse. Again she pushed open the doors against the strong wind. They walked down the front steps.

The wind had indeed gotten stronger than when they had arrived an hour ago. Thin needles from the surrounding pines were covering the ground now. The sky was getting darker, and not just because the sun was setting. It was beyond gray. Meg’s dress swirled around her legs, threatening to blow up over her head so she held it close against her. The temperature had also dropped a good ten degrees since she’d last been out here. Luckily she had plenty of material from the dress and petticoat underneath to keep her from shivering. Josh was also dressed to the hilt with his uniform jacket on. She realized he was the only man there without a weapon of some kind to go with his uniform.

“Brisk out here,” he said.

“Yeah, and getting brisker by the moment,” she said. He pulled his hat down on his head and crossed his arms for warmth. The wind was gusting even more as if to force them back inside. Meg could hear shutters banging somewhere down the street. The strong scent of wood smoke came to her nostrils. Probably from the great fireplace in the hall. It had been blazing away when they left. She could also see a few tendrils of smoke rising from some of the residences nearby. Although she was getting too cold to stay much longer she felt a lot better here outside. Apparently so did Josh. Neither were in a hurry to return.

Not ten minutes had passed when someone came out to gather them back into the fold. This time it was Jonathan.

“You two are gonna catch pneumonia if you stay out in this much longer. Better come back inside I’d say.” He waited with one of the big doors standing open to receive them. Resignedly they climbed the steps and went inside the building. When they did there was a noticeable hush in the big room. Virtually every head was turned their way. Meg looked toward Josh. He noticed it too.

“It is getting really bad out there. We were just about to come back in,” said Josh. He squeezed past Jonathan and Meg followed close behind. They found a relatively private corner where they could talk.

“Boy, I don’t quite know what to think. I know this sounds weird, but I almost feel like a prisoner here,” said Josh. “I don’t think I wanna be here anymore to tell you the truth Meg.”

“I don’t think it’s weird at all. I would just as soon get the hell out of this place and drive home tonight.”

They huddled in the corner wondering what to do when Claire came walking over to them. “I know you two are getting along fine, but Meg, why don’t you come over and meet some more people? I just know you’ll like them and you should get to know the people around here better so you’ll want to come visit us more.” Not waiting for an answer Claire grasped her hand and pulled her through the crowd. Meg gave Josh a beseeching look. He gave her one back that said he didn’t know what to do about it. Claire made several more introductions. Meg noticed how wimpy the women’s handshakes were. She got the feeling that she had actually gone back in time a couple hundred years the way these people acted.

That’s what she had been trying to put her finger on. The people of this town really did seem like they were from another age. The women all segregated from the men, the things they were talking about. Maybe she could ask some questions and find out more. It was too coincidental that this event was because of a storm when another storm that wasn’t supposed to be on the agenda was making an appearance. She was getting the feeling that these people were straight out of a book of fiction. She picked out a younger woman not far from her to interrogate, and walked over to where she was sitting.

“You’re Mary, right?” she asked.

“That’s right, ma’am,” she said, straightening. She had a plate with one of Claire’s scones on it. So some people were starting to take advantage of the food. Meg had no appetite at any rate.

“And you’re from Albuquerque, right?" Asked Mary. "I’ve never been that far.”

“Yes I am. It’s a great place, but very unlike your small little town here. How long have you lived here, Mary?”

“All my life,” she said.

“Really? Wow. Have you ever been anywhere else interesting?” Meg pried.

“No. I guess this is just my home. I don’t really care to go anywhere else.”

“Never?”

“No, I don’t think so. Everything I need or want is right here,” Mary said cheerily.

“Don’t you ever wonder what it’s like outside this small town? Not that there’s anything wrong with it. I’m just curious is all. I think this is a beautiful place and I’m enjoying my visit,” Meg said as she bit her tongue.

“Well, sometimes I would like to see what other places are like.” She was starting to look uncomfortable. “But my family wouldn’t like to see me go. We’re very close and if any of us left it would be a problem,” she said.

“Really?” Meg said. “Why would it be a problem Mary? People your age usually like to go off and try out their wings in the world. Aren’t you interested in meeting new people and trying new things?”

”I am, but... I don’t know.” She was becoming more and more ill at ease. “Can we not talk about this anymore please? I don’t mean any disrespect, but this is where I have to stay. I can’t just leave here.” She looked as if she were close to tears.

“It’s okay Mary. We don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want to. I’m sorry if I said anything wrong.”

“No. It’s fine. I’m fine. Nothing’s wrong. I just like it here. This is my home. This is where I’ll stay for the rest of my life.” Her eyes filled. She stood up and excused herself, heading for the ladies’ room. Meg watched her go. Wow. What the hell? Thought Meg. This is getting curiouser and curiouser.

Looking around the room for Josh, Meg saw him talking to an elderly man with a cane and a corncob pipe. As she tried to catch his eye, Claire came up beside her. “How are you feeling Meg?” she asked. “I see you’ve been mingling. Mary is such a sweet girl, isn’t she?”

“Yes, she’s great. We had a nice conversation. I was surprised to hear she’s never been out of Ocho Rios.”

“Oh that’s actually not so peculiar. There are lots of people who have made this their home and have no desire to go anywhere else. I think it’s the water,” she said jokingly. Meg smiled. Claire seemed relaxed about the whole thing. But it seemed pretty bizarre to Meg that so many people would want this kind of lifestyle permanently, especially the younger ones. She knew that most small towns are too boring and don’t have enough jobs for their young people who can’t wait to get out on their own. This was out of the ordinary. No doubt about it. Claire asked Meg if she’d like to join her to get something to eat, so they walked over together, arm in arm.

It looked like people were really starting to chow down, so Meg took a plate and placed a couple of small items on it. She didn’t want to get shaky from low blood sugar and she hadn’t eaten in a while. She also got herself a cup of coffee with cream and sugar. Claire got a modest amount of food and they dug in. It sure tasted good. Nothing like home cooking. Meg had gotten into the habit of just having a salad and maybe a potato or other vegetable for dinner now that her daughter was on her own. She hated cooking for one. It just seemed like a waste and she wasn’t a fussy eater or a gourmet anyway. Once in a while she’d go out and have something nice, but food wasn’t a big deal to her. She never even ate breakfast. Just coffee in the morning, or maybe chai.

“What are you doing eating the food?” Startled, Meg turned to see Josh.

“Shhh! Claire’s right here. Besides, I think the food’s fine. Everyone else is eating it now.”

“Still...” he said. “Wait’ll I tell you what I just heard.”

“Hello...... Josh was it?” said Claire.

“Yes. Hi. How are you?"

“I’m fine, thank you. Help yourself to some food. It’s all delicious,” said Claire.

“Thanks, but no. I’m not hungry,” he said.

“Alright, but you’re missing out,” she said. Leaving them alone, Claire walked back to her seat. Josh took Meg’s hand and walked her to their private corner.

“I was talking to this old guy. He’s like 92 years old and you’ll never guess what,” he said.

“Let me guess. He’s never left the borders of this town in his entire life.”

“How did you...?” he started to say.

“Because I heard the same thing from a young woman over there,”Meg motioned towards where Mary was now sitting again.

“Okay, so what does that mean?” he asked. “What’s going on here, if anything?”

“Well, for one thing we are both visiting on the same day as they hold this “celebration” as they call it, in honor of this horrific storm. We’re also wearing clothes from an era gone by long ago. People are barely touching their food and frankly don’t seem to be in all that celebratory of a mood. It feels almost as if everyone is waiting for something to happen. I’ve overheard a couple of things I can’t yet make sense of. Then we have the fact that nobody wants you or I to leave. And on top of all that there’s a storm coming that shouldn’t even be happening according to the weather forecast I heard before I came here. And now we find out that it’s possible that none of these people has ever been outside the town limits. Put it all together and what have we got?” Meg finished.

“ I don’t know, but it’s not nothing. It’s something. And I’m getting out of here right now. Do NOT pass ‘GO,’ do NOT collect two hundred dollars!”

“Wait a minute. Calm down. We have to think this through. If we’re right about this they are not going to just let us leave and things could get ugly. There are more guns in this room than there were at the Alamo. And neither of us has a weapon of any kind if it came down to it. We have to stay rational and not freak out. Are you listening to me Josh?” He had a trapped animal look on his face as he scanned the room. Meg took his face in her hands and looked him in the eyes.

“Yes,” he said, looking into her eyes, “What you’re saying makes sense. Maybe we can sneak out.”

“Possibly. But I have a feeling that they’re watching us more closely than we know. We’d need a diversion. Something to get everyone’s attention.” Josh looked hard at his hands. Moments passed..

“Think damnit!” he said under his breath. “Fire.” he said. “How about fire?”

“Maybe,” said Meg. “Do you have a lighter or matches on you?”

“No.”

“Neither do I,” she said. ”What about the old man you were talking to? He had a pipe. He must have something to light it with.”

“Probably, but how could I get it from him? I already told him I didn’t smoke.”

“But maybe you have a friend who does,” she said, smiling. “That would give us another excuse to get outside too. I could say I’m going out for a smoke and you’re keeping me company. Then we can be alone and conjure up a plan.”

“Perfect,” he said, and headed off to seek the old man.


Chapter 5


Meg felt a shiver convulse her body. She felt closed in- imprisoned somehow. The wind was really gusting out there now. She could here it and almost feel it shaking the old building. Terror tried to make its way into her heart. But this was a more than familiar feeling to her by now. It had begun after her mother’s passing ten years ago. They said it was unfinished business because her mother had been a cold fish of a woman, with more love for her many suitors and husbands than for her children. And Meg was one of the lucky kids that were reared by her. Carolyn had abandoned her first two girls to her first husband so she would be free to travel with the next one whom she had been seeing while she was still married to her first. This man had been Meg and her two brothers’ father, William. He was a nasty drunk and beat Meg for such things as not finishing all of her dinner. This of course caused a lifelong struggle with her weight. These days she determinedly did not finish everything on her plate, but always left at least a little something for old Dad to roll over in his grave over.

She looked down at the plate of food left untouched and felt nausea rising in her belly. Tossing it in the nearest trash can, she spotted Josh walking over to her.

“Okay, got it,” he said, “let’s take these babies outside and see what trouble we can cause.”

There was a big strapping young man in front of the doors. “Excuse us. We’re going out to smoke,” said Meg, trying to push past him.

“Sorry. Nobody’s going anywhere tonight, ma’am. The storm’s too bad out there. We’re gonna set up the emergency cots later tonight so everyone will be safe,” he said as if he’d prepared the speech himself.

Meg smiled at him and said, “Please. I’m going into nicotine withdrawal as we speak. Just one little cigarette? I promise we’ll be right outside the door and come right back in when I’m done.”

“I guess that’d be okay. But I’ll keep my eye on you.”

“No problem. We’ll be back in a flash,” and they pushed through the door.

A strong cold wind sprinkled with tiny dots of snow greeted their retreat. There was a light covering of it over the pine needles, but still more of them were being blown off the trees. They walked down the steps.

“That was a close one,” said Josh. “Maybe they’re not as worried as we thought about us leaving.”

Meg smiled at him. “Look at the window.” Josh looked at the window next to the doors and, sure enough, there was “Bubba” watching them as promised.

“Creepy,” he said. “So how far is it to your car Meg?”

“I’d say about three miles. How about yours?”

“I think about the same or maybe a bit less. They were talking my ear off on the way over here, so I wasn’t paying all that much attention.”

“Do you think you could find your way to it without any trouble though? She asked.

“Yeah, I’m pretty sure. There weren’t any turns except out of their driveway,” said Josh.

“Okay, once we have our distraction in place we’re going to assume we won’t be missed for at least ten minutes. Damn. That won’t be enough time. I don’t want to burn the whole place down.”

“You’re thinking of walking. How about if we borrow one of these cars and drive to mine. Or maybe just skip our cars altogether and just get out.”

“What about our stuff, our bags?” Meg said. She was thinking of her medication. She only had a few pills in her purse. “I guess I’m being stupid. You’re right. We better just go.”

“Now for the fire part of the plan. What do you think? Bathroom?” he asked

“Yes. But what can we use to fuel it? Paper towels will burn too quickly.”

“I hate to suggest this, but how about tearing off some of your dress down at the bottom. You can do it in one of the stalls. Start with paper towels, then get the material into it. It should make a lot of smoke,” he said.

“Okay, I’ll go in there and wait til it’s all clear and do it in the stall. Then I’ll close it back up to buy more time. Too bad you can’t wait out here and find us an appropriate vehicle.” They both looked up at Bubba in the window right where he was supposed to be. They smiled and waved. Meg wondered if he thought it strange she wasn’t smoking. It was very dark now. Her long dressed whipped around her legs and she tried to hold it down. It was getting damn cold.

“Here are the matches,” Josh pulled them out of his pocket. “I’ll be waiting by the door. As soon as everyone’s attention is diverted I’ll run out and find a car we can jack. Maybe someone left their keys. Hell, in this town probably everyone left their keys!” That way I’ll be ready when you’ve done your worst.” Josh held his jacket tighter around him.

“I’m ready then,” Meg said.

“Good luck lady. You’ve got guts,” he said, and gave her a fierce hug.

They climbed the steps and casually walked back in, exclaiming how cold it was out there and how glad they were to be back inside where it was warm. Meg headed for the ladies room. She thought about how long it would take for her to make her way back through the crowd to the front door. About two minutes. Hopefully nobody would get frantic about the smoke til she’d gotten past them all to the front again and out the doors.

There were several women in the bathroom when she got inside. Damn. Maybe this was going to be harder than it sounded. With all these people here there were almost always going to be some in here at a time. Some of them glared at her. She waited her turn for a stall with her head down, so as not to be engaged in talking to anyone. She searched in her purse for her nail clippers to do the needed ripping. Hopefully nobody would hear over the incessant chatter. A stall opened and she took her turn.

Deciding to make use of the toilet, Meg gathered her bountiful skirt in her hands and tucked the massive amount of material under her chin so she could pull down her underwear. This took several attempts. Having finished, she flushed and stood up. Starting with the fancy valance at the bottom, she started cutting and ripping at her dress. Could anybody hear it? Nobody said anything or stopped their conversations. She ripped right along the seam. Then she thought of her petticoat underneath. Now that would make a nice blaze, she thought. She finished with the dress and started to undo the many buttons so she could take it off and get to the petticoat. There seemed to be a clearing of women in the room. Only a few voices now. There were two women whispering in the end corner. She could hear only a word here and there of what they were saying.

“Damned Indians,” “....kill us all,” “We didn’t do anything to....” “We have to stop them.” Weeping. Comforting words. Meg closed her eyes to hear better. But that was it. Just more weeping. Then she was alone. It was now or never. She didn’t have time to figure out what they meant by all that. Still, the few words she heard monkeyed through her mind. She finished buttoning up the last of the buttons as quickly as she could. The petticoat and other cloth lay at her feet. She turned the knob and went to grab some paper towels. She saw there was a lock on the door. Hallelujah! She turned it and went to her task. Grabbing as much paper toweling as she could and being thankful it was the paper kind, she wadded it up in a pile on the stall floor. The doorknob jiggled. She got out the matches and set the paper afire. Another jiggle, more insistent this time. First she put the petticoat on top of the burning paper towels, then she laid the rest of the material from her dress on top of that. When she was sure she had a nice fire she closed the stall and ran for the door. Unlocking it she drew a calming breath and opened the door, and said, “I wouldn’t go in their just yet ladies. Somebody did something nasty in there." The others looked at each other and the door closed behind Meg. She looked neither left nor right, but made a beeline for the front of the building. She was halfway there when she heard a woman scream “Fire!” Everyone heard her and most rose from their seats, making it a whole lot more difficult to get through the mass of people. More shouts of “fire.” All attention was towards the back of the hall. Meg didn’t even turn around to see the smoke billowing from the ladies room. She had only one goal.


Chapter 6


Josh waited by the front doors. Unfortunately, so did their new friend “Bubba.” Josh decided to lose himself a little in the crowd to avert any suspicion that he might be trying to leave again. He would watch for Meg...... and smoke. A little boy of eight or so came up to him and asked, “Are you Josh?” Josh looked down at him uncertainly.

“That’s right, kid. What’s your name?”

“My name’s Cory. You’re gonna be staying with us now aren’t you?” he asked

“Not too long Cory. At least I hope not. Why do you say that?”

“My aunt Sue said you and that other lady are going to stay here and Mrs. Parker and Mr. Edwards are leaving. That happens sometimes. Are you scared of monsters?”

“Who me? No way. They’re just pretend, kid. Like in movies.”

“No they’re not,” said Cory, and he wandered out of sight.

Suddenly there was a scream and Josh looked towards the back. He could see a little smoke coming from the ladies room. Good. Meg did it. She’s as together as they get, he thought. Must be some kind of professional. Certainly not just a housewife type. He wondered if she was married. He hadn’t seen a ring, but hadn’t really thought about it til now. He looked at the front, but “Bubba” wasn’t at his post. Thank goodness. Walking casually toward the entrance, he looked around for Meg. If it came down to it he would go out by himself and find a car before she got there. They hadn’t planned in that much detail. Josh glanced backwards one more time and, not seeing her, opened the door into the frosty night. It was colder than any cold he’d ever felt in his life and the snow was coming down from a maddened sky in fits and swirls. The cars in the lot were covered by snow as was the ground. He didn’t see any snow chains on the tires of any of them, but tried for the next best thing: something with snow tires and 4-wheel drive. Most of them were well equipped, but it took him a few minutes to find the one he was looking for. It was a blue Subaru Outback. He opened the door. At least it wasn’t locked. No keys. He felt around the floorboards and lifted up the rug. Then he checked the cup holder. There they were. He grabbed them and looked up to see if Meg had gotten out. No Meg. He took a chance and started the car. He had to get the snow off the windows. He used his jacket sleeves to sweep off the snow in wide arcs as quickly as he could.

Meg felt as if she were the only salmon going downstream. She turned sideways, holding up her skirt and trying to keep hold of her purse. But there were whole clusters of gaping people to get around. This was taking too long. She should be out by now. As she had the end in sight, she couldn’t see Josh by the doors. He must have taken his chance and left. Please don’t leave without me, she thought. Finally she broke through the throng and opened the door into the night. God, it was absolutely frigid. A few others had come out just as far as the steps. She stood there and saw one single car running....Josh. Meg ran down the now slippery steps throwing caution to the wind. Her shoes weren’t meant for inclement weather, though, and she slipped, almost falling. Then she carefully picked her way through the snow to the little Subaru.

Josh was sitting in the driver’s seat.

“Where have you been, girl? I was starting to worry.”

“So was I,” Meg replied. She didn’t know if he would have left her or not. After all they’d just met and this was an emergency situation. She scuttled around to the passenger side and got in, pulling her full skirt with her. They locked their doors. Both looking towards the hall at the same time they saw a couple guys running down the steps in hot pursuit it seemed. Then, as the two drove away, the men slowed and resignedly watched them go.

“Oh my God!” said Josh, “I can’t believe we made it outta there!”

There were probably four inches of snow laid down before them. Easy enough to get through without a problem. It was the heavy snow coming from every angle that made it tough. But they could be getting followed, so Josh didn’t take his time as he might have under other circumstances.

“Brrr, I’m freezing. Crank up the heat would you?” said Meg. She took a look behind them, but saw no headlights. They weren’t being followed. Maybe they had just spooked themselves with a bunch of strange coincidences that in reality added up to nothing more. Josh took a left to get to the main road out of town.

“Do you think we’re out of our minds?” she asked, “Cuz I feel a little crazy now. They’re not even following us.”

“No, I don’t. There was this little kid in there who told me I should believe in monsters because they’re real. He said you and I were going to stay there and Edwards and Claire were going to be able to leave. What do you make of that?”

“ I don’t know. Kids can make up some wild stuff. Although a kid came up to me and said something similar. Interesting. It’s all behind us now. I’d rather face charges for stealing this car than whatever was going on back there, I’ll tell ya that much.”

They were almost to the road turning out of town now. Josh noticed with dread some headlights coming from behind them.

“Great! Here they come. But I’ll bet they can’t outdrive me. Not in this weather. I’m a pro.”

Meg hoped this wasn’t just false bravado. They couldn’t be caught. They just couldn’t.

Here was their turn. Josh started to flick on his turning signal, then laughed at himself. Silly to think...... What was that?....Quiet. The car died just before the turn. Josh tried to start it up again. And again. To no avail. It was dead.

“No No NO!” he screamed, and pounded the wheel. They were trapped. There was nowhere for them to go, and even if there was they wouldn’t get far in what they were wearing. They didn’t even have gloves. But which was worse: dying out in the snowstorm or staying here to be caught and brought back to whatever the devil was happening in this town?

Meg opened her door to get out.

“Meg don’t. It’s no use,” cried Josh through the roar of the storm.

“We’ve got to get out of here Josh. They’re coming for us. Come on!”

“Think this through Meg. We don’t have winter clothes on. We’ll freeze out there. We’ve got to face this thing head on, whatever it may be, whatever they’re going to try to do to us. We’ll have another chance.”

Meg waded through the drift on the side of the road away from the little car. Josh opened his door and went sloshing after her. The car behind them was getting closer.

“We can hide in the trees and then get to one of these houses and call for help,” she said.

“Meg, all the phones are dead. I found that out back at the Edwards’s house when I tried to call my mom. My cell wouldn’t work either,” said Josh.

Meg stopped and turned to him. Her eyes were dark as the deep sea with tiny snowflakes melting on her lashes. She said, “Mine didn’t either.”

After raiding her pill bottle for her anxiety medication, and boy could she use it now, they stood huddled together to face the car’s headlights bearing down on them slowly. Meg wished they would hurry and get it over with whatever it was. She didn’t see how they could make her and Josh stay there indeterminately, if at all. Maybe they would at least get some answers. The car finally reached them, but left the engine running. An old man got out of the driver side and “Bubba” got out on the other. They walked over to the freezing couple.

“Well we gotta give it to ya, at least ya tried,” said the old man. He introduced himself as Felix Underwood and even shook their hands. The other younger man was Tommy Fontaine.

“Hi you guys. I knew you’d try to make a run for it,” said Tommy. Neither of them seemed intimidating in any way.

“But ya see, ya can’t go nowhere,” said Felix, “Ya can’t hide. Ya can’t do anything to get away once the storm starts. That’s why we’re all here. We figure we might as well all be together when it comes. We been tryin’ to find a way out for over two hundred years. But the fact is the only way out is if you find a replacement. Only a handful of us has been successful. A bum might wander into this area this one day out of the whole year and then we figure out who he’ll be replacin’. Thank goodness for the internet. We have ways of communicating using that. We figure there’ll be all new people in this town within twenty years or so. Still, it’s a tricky process. We’re only in human forms this one day every year. The rest of the year we’re in spirit form. Some of us can’t leave cuz we got kids, which means we’d have to get replacements for more than one at a time. But we’ll figure it out someday. Right now you two might as well come with us where it’s warm and dry . It’ll be coming soon. Then you’ll see why we want to get away so bad.


Chapter 7


Meg and Josh huddled for warmth in the back seat. The car was nice and toasty after being outside. It was a blizzard out there. The snowflakes came down in torrents. The wipers could barely flash back and forth fast enough to keep up with the deluge. Meg felt numb. Josh felt as if he could fight them all just to get out of this place. What was going to happen? That was the big question. What could possibly keep he and Meg from ever leaving this town? And what was it exactly that kept the other townspeople here? Was there some invisible shield that didn’t permit passage? Their car had stalled just before they left the town boundary. These people better have some answers for them when they returned to the town hall. In the car nobody said anything.

When they stopped in the parking lot after almost wiping out into the side of a Toyota, Felix said, “Come on in folks. I’ll tell ya what you’re in for. I’m sorry it had to be this way.”

Josh put his arms around Meg as they climbed the steps to the hall, careful not to let her slip. She was courageous out there, wanting to do whatever it took to get away. Now she seemed in a faraway place where no one could reach her. All the energy had been blown out of her.

“I’m so sorry Meg,” said Claire. “Come sit right here.” And she held out a chair for her. Someone brought a blanket and placed it around Meg’s shoulders. She was looking at the ground. Josh took a seat next to her and Felix sat across from them. There were a couple more townspeople sitting with them, but most everyone else was milling around, seemingly anxious.

Felix began, “About two hundred years ago we had a little problem with the natives here. It seems they was traveling through and camped out down by the river. Two of our young ones went to missin’ and the town was in an uproar over it. Some of us, me included, started thinkin’ about them injuns down at the river, and what a coincidence it was our two boys was gone. So we gathered up a bunch of us men and went down there to see what was what. Well, we found the boys there and was sure the injuns had kidnaped them. We’d heard a lot of bad stories like that and we were scared. Looking back now we realize them injuns didn’t mean no harm. The boys had probably gotten lost in the woods and truth be told was saved by those people. But that not what was in our minds when we saw those two boys running around playin’ with them little injun kids. We were bloodthirsty is what we was.” Felix hung his head. It was mighty hard to go on with the next part of the story.

“Well, we had Tommy here take our two young’uns back home and we took out our rifles and shot down every man, woman, and child in that encampment. We slaughtered ‘em. There was so much blood.” Felix wiped his eyes and his voice was breaking up.

“We killed ‘em all. Every last one of ‘em cuz we thought they took our boys, when they’d really saved ‘em.” Felix broke down completely at this last part. He couldn’t bear to go on. The remorse he felt was more than evident. Meg looked up at him.

“Then what happened?” Meg said between her gritted teeth. This had something to do with vengeance on the town. She had heard strange stories through her years, but this was something else. What had these people done? She was horrified and angry. Now she and Josh were a part of this heinous matter.

Felix looked up with reddened eyes and tears rolling down the lines in his weathered face. "We thought it was over. But no. We had their blood on our hands. And we found out that they had power beyond the grave. The dead don’t always stay dead. That night a blizzard like no other before it came up. Back then we all just hunkered down in our homes and kept the wood stove burning to stay warm. But it was more like a hurricane. Right here in the middle of New Mexico! Seems the shaman of the tribe lived just long enough to summon up a Manitou. This creature caused a storm like none other we’d ever seen. It took roofs off o’ houses, sucked livestock into the air, and ended up sucking all us people up into some kinda vortex of hell. It showed us all the dead bodies of the tribe we’d killed off, even the dead little ones. Altogether there were eighty six of ‘em we wiped out that day. But each year on this day we all relive the whole nightmare over again. That Manitou ain’t never gonna let us forget what we done.”

The room had quieted considerably. Heads were bowed in remorse and pain. They were being made to pay a debt no other Indian killers had ever been made to pay. And now Josh and Meg were going to pay tonight.

“What about us,” Meg said. “Where do we come into this nightmare?”

“Well, we figured out a little flaw in this Manitou. It don’t know who’s who, it only knows how many. If an extra person shows up and one of us leaves right when it does its worst we can make a sort of exchange of sorts, ya see,” said Felix. “So Claire Parker and Sam Edwards will be waiting at the edge of town when it comes and they’ll be able to cross the barrier for about two minutes time. If they don’t make it then two others will be left behind. That’s why that car you took couldn’t go beyond the town line back there.”

Josh spoke up. “How are you people even alive is what I’d like to know.”

“We aren’t,” Claire said, “not really. Not in the same sense you or Meg are alive. We exist invisible to the world so that on this day we can suffer this punishment over and over again.”

“So you’re ghosts?” asked Josh incredulously.

Felix said, “In a manner of speakin’ I suppose we are what you’d call ghosts. This is a real life ghost town. If you’d come here yesterday you wouldn’t have seen anything or anybody. Just a gap in the trees.”

Meg stood up, letting the blanket fall from her shoulders. “How can you do this to us? She screamed. To Claire she seethed, “I thought we were friends!”

“I’m sorry dear, but I can’t take this anymore. I want to lead a normal life. I didn’t even have anything to do with those killings. I don’t know why every one of us, the women and children, is included when we had nothing to do with it.”

“You could have stopped them. You could have thought things through and made them be reasonable. They would have listened,” said Meg.

Claire laughed. “You’re forgetting this was two hundred years ago Meg. The women folk were completely submissive to the men. They were our leaders, our protectors. We could never have spoken against what they felt was the right thing to do. I regret it. Don’t get me wrong. I’ve learned my lesson oh so well. I wish to God things had been different. I think of that every day,” said Claire.

“Well you can’t carry this out now. You know that, don’t you? We won’t let you keep us here.”

“I’m sorry dear,” said Claire. “But we will carry on with our plans. Me and Sam are leaving and you and Josh will take our places tonight when it comes. There’s no way we can stop what’s already begun, even if we wanted to.”

As if to emphasize her terrible words the wind howled outside and shook the big hall. Meg was astonished. What were they going to do, tie them up? She was so angry about the situation, but it seemed like perfect karma what was happening to these people. Her own great grandmother had been a Cherokee and walked the Trail of Tears, losing everyone in her family on the way. When they arrived in Oklahoma she had met Meg’s Irish great grandfather who took her in. She was only 19 years old and they soon fell in love. It was a much cherished family story. This town deserved exactly what it got in her opinion. There was some pity in her heart, though, especially for the children. She looked around at a few of them chasing each other around the room. What had they had to endure all these years? Never growing up, never maturing into adults. What horrors had they had to endure?

“So you’re still going to keep us here and go through this hell?” said Josh.

“I’m afraid so,” said Felix. “It’s our only hope of getting out of this terrible time loop.”

Josh turned to look at Meg. She stood there with her brown eyes blazing, looking around the room. He felt protective of her somehow in lieu of these events. How in the world were they going to get out of this mess? What the hell was a Manitou anyway?

“So tell us exactly what’s going to happen here,” said Josh. “What’s this monster thing gonna do to us?” He looked from one person to the next. No one offered to speak up. “Come on, tell us. We have a right to know.”

Tommy finally spoke. “It devours us. It’s like a giant hungry mouth with gargantuan teeth and it consumes us all. Then it keeps us in its belly until we’re ‘digested’ in a way. All the children are put to sleep through it all, but the adults, even the women, suffer something I can’t even describe in words.”

Meg sat down in her chair in shocked silence. How could this be? She’d never heard of anything like this in any of her readings on supernatural phenomena. There were many books on Native American legends and myths, as well as the occult on her bookshelves back home. The thought occurred to her that maybe this was some sort of mass hallucination. If these people actually were not of the living that would be a strong possibility. But what about the other exchanges of people they had apparently done over the years? How did that fit in? How could a living person be engaged by such a hallucination unless...? “Oh my God,” she said. Prickly fingers walked up and down her spine.

“What?” said Josh, putting his hand on hers.

She gave him a look as if to say ‘not now.’”

“I just can’t take this all in at once. Can I please use the restroom?” she asked.

Claire said, “Of course, dear.”

Meg walked with weakened knees to the back and splashed cold water on her face. She needed to think. How could one or two or any of these ghost people survive outside of this town if they were not technically alive? Wracking her brain, she took a handful of paper towels to dry her hands and face. She looked in the mirror. Her usual tan skin looked pale. There were darkened crescents under her eyes. She wanted to cry, for someone to rescue her, but she knew there was no help but from whatever she could pull out from inside herself. Thinking was all but impossible, and she started shaking worse than when she’d been outside in the frozen snow.

The one thing Meg knew she had going for her was her great inner knowing. It felt like her life was truly being guided at times when things looked their worst. Of course it had never been this bad, but she knew there was something inside her that would come up with something she knew she never would have thought of in her wildest imagination. This was what she had to cling to, this tiny bit of hope or faith or whatever it was. It was all she had.

As she walked back to the small group, she wondered how she could be alone with Josh. She decided just to ask. What did she have to lose?

Addressing Josh, she said, “Can I talk to you a minute?” To the others: “Is that okay?”

They looked at one another and, not coming up with a reason why not, acquiesced. Surprised and curious, Josh stood up and followed her into the corner they’d used earlier.

“What’s up?” he asked quietly. She could see sweat droplets forming on his forehead.

“First of all, we gotta figure a way out of this,” she said.

“Duh. Have you got a plan in mind?”

“Not yet, but we have to think of something Josh. I think they’re going to kill us first.”

“Why would they do that?”

“Because they aren’t exactly in the land of the living, and this thing– this Manitou, probably gets fooled into taking new people, and I don’t think it would be if they were still alive. Does that make sense to you?”

“Geez, I think you’re right,” he said.

“So we’re going to have to be ready whatever happens and play it by ear. They don’t know what we suspect, so we have something on our side. I think they’ll just play it cool until the time comes and then shoot us or something. They probably won’t want to do it in front of the kids. I think Sam and Claire will be waiting at the boundary line when it comes. That way they can run across when the big guy gets here and does its thing.”

“We don’t even know what time this is all gonna come down, do we? I guess when they disappear it’ll be a clue, but how much time will we have at that point?”

“Probably not much. Listen, I want you to get out of here if you can. You’re more dressed for the weather with that jacket and heavy boots.” She showed him her feet. “These aren’t getting me anywhere. I’m surprised I don’t have frostbite from just the little time I was out there.”

Josh said, “What are you talking about? I can’t go without you.” She put her fingers to his lips. “You have to do what you can to get out of here. Don’t worry about me. I’m still trying to think of something. I know I will. It’s just a matter of time.” Just how much time she had no idea. She looked for a clock. There was a big round one on the wall in front. It was eight-thirty. Maybe at nine, maybe ten, maybe even midnight. Meg had a feeling it would be sooner rather than later.

“I’ll carry you out of here if I have to. Don’t make me leave you. How could I live after doing that?” he asked sincerely. She looked at him patiently and smiled. He was handsome in a sort of desert rat kind of way, his blonde hair hanging below his ears, his face unshaven for a couple days at least. On top of that he was someone with a truly good heart. Not many of those left, that she had run into at any rate. She felt a heart connection between them. Too bad they had met under such unusual circumstances. But wasn’t that always the way? People thrown together in tough situations often formed bonds they otherwise would not have. And this definitely fell into the tough situation category.


Chapter 8

Meg and Josh sat back down in their seats, trying to look subdued. It wasn’t proving to be that difficult. Both their minds were racing, however, trying to keep hope and figure a way out. It didn’t look as if they were to be tied up. That was another bonus. Josh didn’t have much interest in the supernatural, but he did love his science-fiction books. They were mostly about outer space aliens, warfare, and futuristic premises. This situation didn’t seem to fit into anything he’d read about. But in those books there were plenty of heroism. He didn’t think of himself as being much of a hero, but he thought that he could try to be one for Meg.

She was beautiful with her long dark hair and chocolate-colored eyes. He had felt attracted to her when they had first met. But she was worlds above him. He was just an auto mechanic from Gallup. He’d asked Edwards about her and she was some sort of therapist from Albuquerque. Josh couldn’t stand big cities. Gallup was just fine for him, even though it swarmed with tourists. He knew the places tourists never went. He loved hiking and backpacking and swimming. He never needed to go to any gym, that’s for sure. He was strong and toned. He wondered if Meg noticed him at all. Probably not. She seemed older than him, but didn’t look it. But when he had touched her hand he had felt a jolt of tingling electricity up his whole arm. Things didn’t look so good, though, as far as them surviving this ordeal. What would happen to them? Would they both be ghost spirits like these people were? At least they would be together hopefully.

Meg’s thoughts were far more pragmatic. She started calculating things like how quickly she could take any of these people down. They had physical weight like humans do, so they could fall like them too. She had taken many self-defense classes like her mother told her to if she was going to live in the big city. She knew how to throw her weight around when push came to shove. She just hoped she had the guts to actually hurt someone when all her life she had only wanted to help and heal others. She wondered how far she could get in these shoes if she were to climb out the restroom window. It would be worth losing a couple toes, she thought morosely. The blanket might come in handy, too. But how far would she get snow-wise. It had been ankle deep an hour ago and it was coming down hard and thick. The drifts would be especially hard to manage.

Claire rose to her feet, looking at the clock. Saying nothing, she walked to where she had been sitting and gathered her things, putting on her coat. Sam Edwards was there waiting for her. They left together. It was quarter to nine. Meg looked at Josh. She saw him watching them leave. Then he turned to her. As the door opened, both flew open, blown by the wind. A huge snowdrift fell into the hall. Two men by the doors used their strength to push the doors closed, but there was too much snow in the way. The began kicking it outwards with their boots. Meg gathered the fallen blanket around her shoulders. The room was getting icy. The sky was black with white snow reflected by the inside lights. Several more people came over to help close the doors. Someone found a snow shovel and began madly shoveling out the angelic material. Josh and Meg were forgotten for the moment. Only Tommy was still sitting there watching the scene. Meg fought in her head. Should they make their escape now? She wished Tommy would leave so she could talk to Josh, but there was no time for talking.

Josh was thinking the same thing. Ten more minutes and some kind of crazy monster was coming to eat them– alive or dead, he didn’t know which.

Tommy spoke. “Maybe you two oughtta go now,” he said just barely audibly. “I think it might be your only chance.”

“Are you serious?” Meg gasped. Josh looked dumbly at him.

“Damn straight I am. There’s a back way out through the kitchen. Now go. And good luck. You don’t deserve this. We do.”

Josh came to and grabbed Meg’s hand. She grasped the blanket in the other hand and whispered a quick ‘Bless you’ as she followed closely behind Josh. They hurried unnoticed through the crowd watching the front, and back through the kitchen area behind the buffet. The back door was unlocked, but stuck from the cold. Josh gave it a great push with his shoulder and it flew open.

“What do we do now?” asked Meg as she tried to pull the blanket around her.

“We can’t make it on foot. We’ve got to get another car,” he said. The snow was hip deep by now, with drifts four feet high.

“It better have chains on it!”

They trudged around to the front. They had to time this perfectly. They couldn’t start up a car with the front doors still open. They came up to the corner of the front of the building. Light was still spilling out onto the snow. That meant the doors must still be open. As their eyes became accustomed to the dark they scanned the parking area. A few of the cars and trucks were on the edge, out of the light of the front doors. Josh picked out a high rising truck with four wheel drive, but apparently no chains. It would have to do.

“Let’s go hide behind one car at a time. That way we’ll be ready when they shut those doors. I wanna make it to that big Dodge truck about four cars down, okay? Asked Josh.

“Sounds good to me. Let’s do it.”

They hunkered down as low as they could and almost crawled towards the first car. It was up to its wheel wells with drifted snow. They stopped between it and the lights. Meg’s feet were officially frozen. Her legs would be next. Even the full skirt was no match for the heavy snow. Her legs were encased in it. The next car was only a few feet away and they made it quickly behind that one. Two more cars and they were there, but someone could already have found them missing. What would Tommy say to anyone who asked? There was no more time to be bought. They made their way to the next car. They were closing the doors. The night was black again. They went as fast as they could to the truck and checked the locks. Unlocked. They climbed in the driver’s side and Meg scooted over to the passenger side.

Again they saw light coming from the front. They must have been found missing. Now they would be hunted down like rabbits. Keys. Where were the goddamn keys? They both searched frantically til Josh found them in the sun visor. He turned the key in the ignition and started it up. Meg was rubbing her legs roughly with the blanket to get the feeling back in them. Snow sprinkled down from her hair.

“Better buckle up. This might be rough,” said Josh. He put the truck into gear and slowly pulled out of the spot. He knew if he tried to go any faster and he’d get stuck. He drove straight for the road. As slowly as he was going the truck was still spinning and twisting like a spoiled child trying to release its mother’s grasp. Josh was making his own road. Luckily for them, Sam and Claire had preceded them and they followed in their tracks. This way they could go a bit faster.


Chapter 9

The truck dug into the frozen snow, but still they could only go about fifteen mph tops. At times the snow appeared to fly upwards from the ground rather than down from the sky. The wind pummeled the vehicle, causing it to sway from side to side as they went. Meg turned the heat up full blast onto her painful legs. She couldn’t feel her feet at all. As her legs warmed up they felt burning with pain.

Halfway to their destination they began to see headlights from behind them, and not just one pair, but several.

“They’re coming,” Meg said. “What should we do?”

“What can we do?” said Josh. “We’ll just see when we get there. We know we can’t cross the threshold until a certain time, which is,” he looked at his watch, “any minute now.”

“We have to cross it before Claire and Sam if we’re going to make it.”

“I know that.”

“Do you think we should try to drive through?” asked Meg. She couldn’t imagine getting out of the truck and back into the freezing snow with her feet in this condition. Looking behind the seat she found a pair of mens waders made for fishing. They were much too big for her, but she pulled them up to the front and began to put them on over her boots.

“We’re almost there,” said Josh, concentrating hard on his driving. He could see the car the others had taken ahead of them with its lights on as if waiting for a light to change so they could cross over. Not if I can help it, he thought.

Meg finished pulling the boots on. “There,” she said. “Now I’m ready.”

Josh took a quick glance to see what she was talking about and smiled.

“I think we should get out,” she said as they pulled up next to the turn, several feet away from the other car.

“Isn’t that too risky? They’re bound to get us if we’re out in the open.”

“Yes, but we also have agility on our side. We can cross as soon as possible. Faster than a car or truck,” she said. The cars behind them were slowly gaining on them, but were twisting and sliding worse than they had.

“I’m afraid if we get out we might just blow away, but okay. I think you’re right. Just wait for me to come around okay?”

“Okay,” said Meg. She hated to leave the warmth of the cab. Josh left the motor running. He trudged through heavy snow until he reached her door. As high off the ground as it was, it was difficult to get open over all the snow. Meg started to jump down into the snow when the door blew almost shut, crushing her leg. “Shit!” she screamed. Josh pulled hard on the door and held it while she gingerly climbed down.

“My leg. It hurts like hell. I don’t know if I can walk on it.”

“Here, just lean on me the best you can. Pull the blanket over both of us and we’ll stay close.”

They clung together like two lost Eskimos. Two very underdressed Eskimos. Meg’s hair was whipping her face fiercely. It stung her cheeks. Her nose hairs froze with her first intake of air outside the truck. She clung to Josh’s jacket with one hand and to the blanket with the other. They looked towards the cars. They were almost upon them. It looked like there were about six cars and trucks coming. The driver side door opened on the car that carried Claire and Sam. Claire got out of the car. Then Sam got out the other side.

“Well, whad’ya know,” said Sam. “You two don’t seem to get it. We’re not going back there.”

“Just stay back Edwards,” said Josh. “We don’t want any trouble. We just wanna go on with our own lives. We’re real sorry about this problem of yours, but keep us out of it.” He had to raise his voice to be heard over the wind. Meg fell down beside him and he tried to help her get back up. “I can’t Josh,” she said. “It hurts too much.”

“I’ll carry you then.” He reached down and started to lift her up, but floundered in the snow and fell himself. By then the other vehicles were surrounding them. Josh struggled to his feet and reached down once more. “Don’t,” she said. “You go ahead. I’ll be okay. I promise.” Tears trickled down her reddened face.

“No way. I’m not going without you Meg,” he said next to her ear. People were getting out of their cars.

The snow stopped. So did the wind. Suddenly it was eerily quiet. Josh and Meg looked around curiously. They could see fear in those other faces. They were all looking up into the clear sky. All Meg could see were the piercing stars. The car lights all died at once. Meg sat in the snow while Josh huddled next to her. “Go Josh. This is your only chance, don’t you see that?”

“I’m not leaving you here. I just can’t.”

“It’s coming,” someone said. They all looked up to see a form blacker than the night sky swooping down on them. Claire and Sam pushed on some invisible barrier. They looked like mimes. The swooping figure was impossibly huge. It swirled down upon them all. There was some screaming and crying out as the thing taunted them. Meg saw it’s jaw yawn open and closed. Its mouth was cavernous. It stopped at one couple at the edge of the cars and sucked them up into its enormous darkness. They turned black and looked like filament going up into that dark ugly place.

“Dammit Josh, please,” Meg begged him. But he stayed. The beast swallowed another man. There was a sickening sucking sound coming from it. Sam and Claire pounded their fists against the blockage. Meg’s tears froze on her face as she waited for her turn to be consumed. She wished Josh would go. He could push Sam away and get through easily. The beast swirled high into the sky and dove down fast upon two men, sucking them into it’s mouth. It started to come towards Meg and Josh, but veered away at the last second, taunting them.

Then the dragon-like creature snorted two others into its nose. They turned black and filmy, screaming as they went, and were gone. Meg tried to stand. Why wasn’t everyone trying to get away? She knew before she finished the thought. They had been living with this for an eternity. She forgave Sam and Claire for what they had done– this time, not for what they did to those innocents at the river. Nothing could make them pay for what they had done, especially Claire. Because she was a woman and didn’t participate in the actual massacre made no difference to Meg. Women had been letting men get away with murder, literally, for centuries. They enabled each and every one. Every man had a mother. Most men had wives. It was pathetic in Meg’s mind that women shouldn’t shoulder at least half the blame for atrocities like this.

Josh sat in the snow next to Meg, just holding her. “We’ll get through this together,” he said to her. She looked into his sea green eyes. What a beautiful man, she thought, and that gave her all the courage she needed. Let this monster do its worst. They would be together and that’s all that mattered anymore.

The creature did its swooping ballet in the air and came down on every one of them except the last four: Meg, Josh, Sam, and Claire. Then it began a horrifying keening noise as if it were in pain. It spun and twisted in the sky, blotting out the stars. Then it finally let out a loud shriek and headed for the town hall. Claire and Sam still couldn’t get through the imaginary wall.

The night was still again. Claire looked around. So did Sam. “What’s going on here?” he asked no one in particular. A human figure appeared out of the darkness into the moonlight. She was an ancient woman of Native heritage with a buffalo robe wrapped around her broad shoulders. She walked over to where Meg and Josh were sitting. She looked into Meg’s eyes.

“You are Indian, yes?”

“Y-y-yes,” answered Meg.

“You do not belong here,” said the elder woman. “You are a healer and blessed.

“No, neither does he,” she said pointing at Josh. The elder woman looked into his eyes.

“You are no murderer of people and little babies. Hmph!” She rolled her eyes up and began to chant in her native tongue, holding her hands up into the air. Her eyes opened and she walked over to where Claire and Sam stood. To Sam she spoke, “You slit my daughter’s baby’s throat as she watched. You were full of whisky and you tell yourself it wasn’t your fault. But your dreams always come and tell you the truth. My people are now in a glorious place where there is no whisky or death or division of peoples. But you still have a price to pay. Sam looked totally defeated and looked down.

The elder turned to Claire and said, “You let your man get liquored up. He had blood on his mind. He got one of our tomahawks and took pleasure in swinging it as he ran wildly through our peaceful camp. He never told you how many he killed. You never asked. We took in your children who were lost in the woods and this is how we are repaid for our good deeds? You also still have a price to pay. So it shall be.” The old woman began to moan and chant and walked away from the clearing.

Again the enormous beast came slithering through the frigid night sky. Meg shivered violently in Josh’s arms. He held her tighter. Neither of them looked as the Manitou sucked up its last two victims into its slithery mouth with a revolting sound. Then it turned as if in honor of the old one and sped high into the night sky where it came from.

“You must go quickly now before it changes its mind,” said the elder woman. “You never know with these creatures.”

Josh helped Meg to her feet and wrapped the blanket tightly around her.

“There are so many things I want to ask you,” Meg said to her.

“One day you and I will meet again.” The old woman walked off into the woods, disappearing even before she hit the shadows.

“I can’t believe it,” said Meg.

“Neither can I.” Josh helped her slowly into the cab of the truck and closed the door. He trudged over to the other side and noticed a light snowfall had begun. He got in and turned the key. It started right up. Warmth filled the cab almost at once. Maybe Meg wouldn’t lose any toes after all. Josh put the truck in drive and made the turn that would take them far away from Ocho Rios. And they would never return.