Spookshow, page 11
part #1 of Ghost Zero Series
We rolled upright and pulled up low enough that I could see the individual leaves in the trees below. I looked up to see the glowing, green Cyclops staring after us as we climbed away from it.
“Holy Mother! That damned thing almost killed us,” Herschel yelled.
I blinked at the dead man.
“Yeah, right. Look, bring us back around at it. I want to try to get a shot at Pluto inside that thing’s chest.”
“Like hell, I will,” Herschel answered. “You may have a death wish, but I sure don’t!”
I threw up my fist and pointed the ring at him.
“Turn the damned plane and do what I say!” I screamed.
“Alright, then,” he replied and the plane started a long turn. I immediately felt bad for using the ring on him like that, but I didn’t figure I had time to argue with a dead man about risking his life.
Herschel kept the plane higher this time, slicing from side to side as we flew toward the glowing Cyclops. My stomach was still twirling from the recent spin, and the rapid dodging motion flopped it into my throat. I was suddenly glad I hadn’t had anything to eat in a while…it might have gone everywhere. The black pit that passed for the eye of the giant ghost was fixed on us as we started our pass and spewed forth another mini-tornado, but Herschel slid the lumbering biplane sideways in the air and it missed us entirely. With a clatter, I rolled the machine gun around, pointed it at where the thing’s chest was and pressed the trigger. The gun kicked and jumped, threatening to leap free of the ring that held it to the plane, but I was ready for it, and quickly heaved up on the handles to point the spray of ghostly bullets where I wanted them to go.
The glowing ghost recoiled, holding up a boney arm in an attempt to deflect the shots that chopped explosions of yellow smoke out of it. It crouched down, and I kept up the fire, when suddenly the Cyclops uncoiled, leaping up from the ground and slashing out at us with a huge, skeletal hand.
It hit. I screamed, completely surprised that we were in range of a jump like that, but I guess it was hard to gauge distance from above. The bomber jerked and there was a splintering, crashing sound as the world spun into a blur and the cockpit dropped out from underneath me. I grabbed hard at the machine gun ring and screamed again as my legs fell through the air and smashed against the outside of the tail. A lightning storm of pain shot up my injured leg, and I wasn’t sure where I was.
The familiar sensation of ice running down my spine snapped me awake. When my eyes opened, the night was as bright as twilight, and my arms were pulling me back up into the cockpit.
“Easy, Edmund,” Charles’ hollow voice came from my lips. For once, I was grateful. I didn’t know how much more I had left.
“Together, we will finish this fight.”
When I had pulled myself back into the cockpit, I noticed that my ring hand was nearly immobile, clamped to the frame of the bomber like it had been frozen there. I saw frost coating my glove and rising up the sleeve of my pea coat.
“What the..?” I thought, wondering at the cause, but I noticed it soon enough. A thick trail of white smoke was spewing from the bomber’s engine, which was running so rough that it felt as if it was going to shake the wings off. I looked forward and saw that the top-left wing was missing a large section, wires whipping through the space where it had been. We were also losing altitude.
“Ah’m gonna have to put her down!” Herschel yelled, too busy with the controls to even look back. “If I don’t pick somewhere soon, she’s gonna go down on her own!”
Chapter 20: The Enemy of My Enemy
I tried to turn my head and get my bearings, and after some resistance, I managed to pull it off. Charles was apparently willing to let me have some control over “our” body, which felt pretty good. I spotted the river below and farther along, a large cattle field that surrounded the old town cemetery. I suppose Charles was thinking we needed the closest place to put down because he turned my skull-like face around to Herschel and yelled.
“There, pilot!” Pallentine pointed at the field, “There is your landing strip!”
Herschel didn’t look back but nodded sharply. “It ain’t like ah got a hell’uva lot of choice, anyhow!” The plane coughed and started a sharp dive.
It was a really sharp dive. My stomach flew up into my mouth, though I wasn’t thrown out of the plane thanks to my borrowed strength. The wind screamed by and the hulking plane pulled itself out of plowing straight into the ground at the last second, the canvas-covered wood creaking like an old porch rocker.
“Hang-“
I don’t know if there was more to Herschel’s yelled warning or not because we were suddenly slamming up and down on the field, tall thistle and milk weed shooting by and getting decapitated by the rattling wings. I could see the row of trees ahead flying toward us like a wall, and even though they seemed far off, we just kept rolling along, not slowing down.
“Pilot!”
Herschel didn’t respond except to lean to the right as the plane wheeled in the same direction, then turned back, the bottom-left wing cutting a trench into the ground before it whipped us almost completely around. The nose of the plane dipped down, tearing the propeller into splinters as it smacked into the ground…
…and we stopped.
I felt the icy pull of power flowing down my arm and into the plane cease as Charles ended the connection to the plane. The dust around us cleared a bit, and I could see the young ghost-pilot turn the good side of his face toward us.
“Hell, that weren’t too bad, was it?” He smiled. I might have tried to return the smile, but the dust had cleared enough for me to see the greenish, towering Cyclops bearing down on us, its arms outstretched, the winds scouring the ground around it and throwing it into the air like a wall of earth. The wings of the wrecked plane vibrated as it drew near.
My arms whipped the heavy machine gun around on its ring, bringing it to bear and filling it with a cold rush of ghostly power. I could see that Charles was aiming at the giant ghost’s chest, bearing down on where we knew Pluto Gerry to be riding. I didn’t know if the machine gun would do any good, but there wasn’t time to run, so we stood there as the thing plowed toward us.
“Ha, hah, ha!” Charles bellowed above the wind. “Come and die, Pluto Gerry! The voices of the dead cry out for vengeance!”
The wind around the giant ghost was threatening to lift the plane free of the ground as the Cyclops towered above us. I could see Pluto through the ribs of the thing, and as it bent a huge, skeletal hand down toward us, my hands found the machine gun trigger…
…And the huge ghost jerked back, bellowing out a scream like a train whistle! Red lightning flared from the thing’s limbs and arced to the ground, bits and pieces of the spidery shroud melting off like wax.
“What?!”
My eyes followed the flickering lightning to its source, a tall, metal rod that rose nearly fifteen feet from the top of an old delivery truck nearby. The truck shone and flashed in the night like an evil sun. I had seen that kind of light before.
“Emil Zorbra.” Charles whispered.
Emil Zorbra.
I could see him near the truck, his white lab coat and goggles flashing orange as it reflected the lightning. He was smiling from ear to ear, his black hair flying in the wind that the giant ghost was kicking up.
“More amplitude!” He yelled. “The disruption is working!”
I’m not sure what he meant, but the giant skeleton was definitely feeling the effect of the attack. As I watched, its right arm dissolved into smoke as the red power curved up it like a giant snake. I might have heard Pluto scream, but I couldn’t be sure over the noise of the crackling current and wind.
The Cyclops staggered to one knee, the tornado winds around it dying down. I did hear Pluto that time, screaming something incoherent in his rage as the monstrous ghost pushed itself up and took strained steps toward Emil Zorbra and his truck.
Zorbra wasn’t smiling now. He fiddled with some kind of controls in his hand as he stared, astonished as the ghost closed the gap.
“He’s not going to be able to destroy it!” I thought, willing Pallentine to hear me. “We need to do something or it will kill them!”
“I have no love for Emil Zorbra,” Pallentine growled, “But I will not lose this opportunity to stop Gerry. I doubt even our machine gun will be adequate, however.”
What more can we do? Even with Pallentine’s borrowed strength, I felt drained. The red lightning crackled, and a generator in the truck whined to a high pitch as the giant pushed nearer to the truck, bending down its remaining, bony hand.
My heart hammered down in my cold chest as I looked around, desperate for something…
…and behind us, at the row of trees stood a line of ghosts.
The old town cemetery! There were a hundred graves there….and apparently a dozen or so ghosts!
“Mr. Pallentine! Those ghosts!”
My shoulders jerked upright as Charles caught my meaning.
“Yes. Yes! Good boy, Edmund!”
My left hand flew out toward the pale figures, half hidden in the tall weeds and mist. My fist clenched, and I felt the cold power flow into the ring. The gem inside pulsed with a pale, green glow, and I could feel the ghosts nearby like cold sparks in the darkness.
“Spirits!” Charles’ hollow voice boomed from my throat. “I call you to my aid! Heed my call!” He whipped our head around in time to see the giant ghost grab the tall rod mounted to the truck roof, which exploded in a shower of sparks.
“ATTACK!”
They flew by us like meteors, pale and shimmering in the night. I saw the ghost of an old woman, a young man, a child. They rocketed over the field and swirled around the Cyclops like sparks of flame caught in a whirlwind. The giant, already reeling from the lightning, staggered and swung at the darting ghosts, bellowing in rage as they tore bits of him away like hungry fish.
I grabbed the machine gun, willing power into it as I swung it to bear and mashed the trigger, spewing a stream of blue, ghostly bullets into the thrashing giant.
It roared and staggered, dropping to one knee as the machine gun sliced through its other leg at the hip, cleaving it away. Its jaw stretched wide in an effort to belch a gust of wind at us, but I saw Herschel, who must have been carried along with my command, fly into its eye socket. It jerked back onto its hips and shuddered, the machine gun fire eating into the exposed ribcage, before falling completely over and dissolving into a dirty, green fog. The whole area where the ghost had been was suddenly hidden from view.
I was out of the cockpit and running over the field before I was aware I was moving, flying with supernatural grace and speed to cover the distance. I could feel Charles’ mind like an ice-covered stone inside me, thrilling for the blood of the man who had murdered him. His rage shocked me, and I tried to slow down, but it only caused Pallentine to stumble. In a moment, we were at the center of the fog, the now-still ghosts hovering about without purpose, watching us. Pluto Gerry was nowhere to be seen.
Then, I heard it. I crunch of grass, a snap of a twig, a shuffling foot, and I knew he was close. My hands pulled the LeMat pistols from their holsters and gripped them tightly as we walked forward.
“No.” I thought.
He appeared in the mist as we got closer. He was on his side, crawling in his white tuxedo through the wet, foxtail grass.
“Stop! I’m not a killer!”
Pluto turned when he saw my shape in the fog. He had a panicked fear in his eyes and blood oozed out of his chest from a number of wounds. My pistols lifted.
“NO!”
With a feeling like I’d torn a bandage off of my insides, taking bits of me with it, I cast Pallentine out. With him went what strength I had, and with a cry of surprise and pain I dropped to my knees in front of Pluto.
“I’m not a killer,” I panted.
I looked over at Pallentine, his usual reserve gone, his back arched in fury and his eyes shining like silver lights.
“What are you doing, boy? This is what we’ve struggled so hard for! You almost died; your mother did die to bring us to this point!” He swung his eyes toward Gerry, almost as if he could kill the man with a look. “This….animal…deserves death!”
I swung my heavy head to look at Pluto. He looked sunken and pale, his hands covered with his own blood. He spat into the grass and croaked a weak laugh.
“You damned little boy. You fool!” He shuddered with fury and looked up into my eyes. “I was so close to starting a new world, to ending war for this country!” He coughed, and I saw his eyes go wide as he struggled to catch his breath. When he looked up at me, his rage had turned to despair. “Now, war will go on and on. More young boys will die for old men in bitter, senseless battles.”
I finally found my voice. “You’re wrong, Pluto. America is a better place. People are more loving than you give them credit for. I can’t believe you – “my voice caught and I fought down the tears that flooded my eyes, “-You killed my m-mom for this bullshit.”
“I didn’t kill anyone, you stupid, ass!” Pluto raged with a sudden surge of strength. “Well, except for THAT fool!” He gestured toward Pallentine; then his eyes caught mine, feverish. “But I’ve seen what’s on the other side, you prick. You think death is the end? You think I can’t beat this?”
He clawed the grass with his bloody hands and pulled himself along the ground toward me.
“I’m going to find my way back here, boy. And when I do, I’m going to destroy you for this!” Bloody spittle flew from his lips. “I’ll kill everyone you know, EVERYONE you love, starting with that Micah bit-“
Ka-BOOM!
I jumped as a thumb-sized hole appeared in Gerry’s forehead, the back of his skull dissolving into a gory spray. He fell forward, almost in my lap, and it was then I noticed that I was holding one of the smoking, LeMat pistols up, pointing it at where he had been.
Oh my God. I killed Pluto Gerry.
I’m not sure how long I sat in the tall weeds and swirling fog, listening to the tap, tap, tapping sound of Pluto’s blood drip onto the leaves. I wasn’t sure what to think. I tried to whisper a prayer to Mom, to tell her that I’d paid back the man who took her from me, but I couldn’t seem to attach the memory of her to this bloody act. I just felt ashamed.
“Edmund,” Pallentine started, “I know this must have been difficult for you, but you’re wasting your pity-“
“Shut up!” I spat. “Just….just leave me alone. You’ve done enough.” I reached up with an arm that felt like I’d been doing pushups for hours and wrenched the heavy ring from my finger. Instantly, Pallentine vanished from view. I knew he’d still be standing there, but I didn’t want to hear his voice right now.
I wanted to tell myself it was because of him, and because of Pluto, that my mom was dead….and I was a killer. But I knew that it had been me that pulled the trigger, that somewhere inside, I wanted Pluto dead as much as Pallentine. My eyes burned, and I squeezed them shut against the hot tears.
“Well, well. Perhaps Charles picked himself an able associate after all.”
I looked up to see Emil Zorbra standing nearby, holding a cloth to a bleeding cut on his cheek. He was looking down at Pluto’s body, but when his eyes met mine, I thought I saw a flash of sorrow for what he saw there.
“I’m…sorry, boy.” He said, more gently. “This was a hard lesson to learn, and you are dealing with hard people. I wish I could say it was going to get easier.” He brought his hand up, holding a bulky box covered with knobs and coils of wire. “Unfortunately, things are going to get more interesting around here. Whatever event happened to generate that giant ghost, it hasn’t stopped. This whole area is spiking high in the ectotheric spectrum.”
I blinked at him, too stunned to follow. He didn’t appear to notice.
“I’m not sure without running more tests, but I would hypothesize that something has fractured the membrane or “veil” between our plane and the spirit world. Yes, things are definitely going to be more interesting around here.”
He was grinning when he looked up at me, but I just blinked and looked down at Pluto’s corpse.
“Ah. Well.” He looked around, uncomfortably. “Look, I’m leaving before people start arriving. Can I…drop you off somewhere…?”
People. Yes, I needed to be going. I needed to get back to the safe house. To Micah.
“Yeah,” I nodded. “Yeah, I need to get to an airport not too far from town. I’ll show you where it is.”
I stood up and started walking.
Chapter 21: Beginnings
The sun on my face made me open my eyes.
I stretched and rubbed my face before finally sitting up on the large bed upstairs in the old Horton House. I’d had to find clean sheets, but after the funeral, the friends and neighbors came by to bring food, sympathy, and blankets. They didn’t understand why I was staying in an abandoned house, but they left me alone, figuring I’d work it out myself in a while. Small town folk are good for that.
What they didn’t like was that Micah was staying in the house with me. I’d had the Methodist preacher stop by to talk some sense into me, and when that didn’t work, a local store owner brought me some fruit and told me straight up to stop shaming myself and “that poor girl.”
They were probably right, too. I needed to find a place for me to be…a real place. I’d thought about Todd and joining the army, but that seemed like the dreams of some kid, a long time ago. Too much had changed. I’d seen Todd at the funeral, of course…everyone was there…but when he made an effort to talk about normal things, it just seemed weird.
Micah seemed to understand. I could talk to her.
I slipped on some pants that I’d left piled on the floor and walked barefoot over the wood floor and down the gracefully curving stair to the entry. I turned left and walked down the hall, where I could already smell bacon frying. I paused before I entered the kitchen, hearing the clink of plates and the clatter of pans, my heart suddenly thudding in my chest. Suddenly, I knew Mom was there, making me breakfast like she had every day. I’d walk in and see her turn to smile, wrinkles forming around her bright eyes.
