CHAPTER SIXTEEN
3:14
March 12th, 2012
Stephen led them through Widowsfield, down side streets and alleys, through yards and a park. It was a small town, quaint but with everything a family would need to live happy. There was a grocery store, now blackened within as if it had suffered a fire; a plumber’s shop, with windows still intact but a sign that dangled from a single rusted loop; a flower store, with weeds around the foundation and vines creeping up the façade; and they saw a fire station, with a fire truck still parked in the garage as if no one was interested in salvaging any equipment at all from the town. If all humans were to disappear from the planet, Widowsfield is what the world would look like a decade later.
“This makes no sense,” said Paul as he held Alma’s hand. “Why would they just leave everything here? You can’t tell me there isn’t a fire station around here somewhere that could’ve used that truck.”
“No, this isn’t how it was when I came back the first time,” said Alma. “The buildings were boarded up then. It wasn’t like this.” They spoke in hushed tones, afraid to alert anyone to their presence.
“It’s almost like they tried to get the town going again at some point,” said Jacker. He’d been eavesdropping and snuck up behind them with Aubrey to talk about what they were seeing.
Stephen cut around the side of the fire station and motioned for them to follow. He had two bags strapped to his back, filled with equipment that he’d gathered from the van. Paul and Jacker were similarly loaded, but the girls were only asked to carry the clothes and a few light bags.
“Does he know where he’s going?” asked Alma about Stephen.
“Yeah,” said Jacker. “He’s been studying maps of Widowsfield. He talked about it in the van on the way here. I think he wants to check out Main Street first, and then head out to the elementary school that your cabin was near.”
“He’s going to get us busted,” said Aubrey.
“Do you remember it always looking like this?” asked Alma. “When you came here with your friends the last time, were all the buildings boarded up or were they like this?”
“Like this,” said Aubrey. “I think the company that bought the land did it.”
“That’s fucked up,” said Paul. “This place gives me the creeps.”
“Welcome to the club,” said Alma.
Stephen led them behind the station and then stopped and retreated a few steps as he waited for the others to catch up. “This is Main Street,” he said when they gathered around him.
“You sure this is a good idea?” asked Rachel.
“No,” said Stephen, although he had a giddy demeanor that unsettled Alma. “Jacker, can you give me the green bag? There’s a camera in there. I want to get some shots of Main Street.”
“Why?” asked Alma. “What’s so important about this spot?”
“Well, the rumor is that the emergency services in the area had a new computer system installed that recorded all of the conversations that happened in their station here. That’s the station over there.” He pointed across the street to a plain, brick building. A bank shared a parking lot with the emergency services building, and there was a digital clock on the sign near the road, but it didn’t display any numbers now.
“So, what?” asked Paul. “Are you planning on breaking in there or something?”
Stephen looked confused by the question. “No, of course not. I just want to get some shots of it for the story. The central command was outside of town, that’s how people found out about the tapes.”
“What tapes?” asked Jacker.
“The recordings of the calls that came into the center. Aren’t you guys paying attention? They recorded everyone’s 911 calls, and apparently they had some fucked up stuff on them.”
“How do you know?” asked Paul. “Did you hear them?”
“No, the tapes all mysteriously disappeared,” said Stephen as if he didn’t believe the tapes vanished at all, but were acquired as part of a conspiracy to hide the truth. “Just like everyone in town.”
“I hate this place,” said Rachel. She crossed her arms as if she were cold even in the midday sun.
“Come on,” said Stephen. “Don’t wuss out on me now.” He got his Canon digital video camera and started to get it ready to record. It wasn’t the type of camera you’d see a tourist use, and was like a miniature version of something you might see on a movie set. It had a handle on the top that Alma assumed was to help it act as a steady cam and Stephen quickly got the machine up and running. Alma had forgotten that this used to be his profession, before he took on the mantle of a ghost hunter.
“Shit,” said Stephen after a few minutes of filming.
“What is it?” asked Rachel.
Stephen closed up his camera and pointed back toward the fire station. “Go, go, go.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Rachel as they all rushed away from Main Street.
“Security truck coming this way,” said Stephen.
They ran around the back of the used book store that they were beside and listened as the truck passed. It moved fast, and Alma saw the alley brighten with yellow, flashing light as the truck drove by.
“Okay,” said Rachel. “We need to get somewhere safe. It’s bad enough that we’re here, but now we’re sitting out here in the open, just waiting to get caught.”
“I think you’re right,” said Jacker. “That truck was booking, man. They’re looking for someone.”
“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Stephen. “We don’t know what’s going on.”
“Damn it, Stephen,” said Rachel. “We’re going to the cabin now. Alma, can you lead us there?”
“I think so,” said Alma. “If you can get me to the elementary school, I think I can get us to the cabin. I remember the kids walking home from school. We watched them from the cabin.”
“All right,” said Stephen. “It’s not far from here.”
They went back to the field beside the fire station and Stephen led them past a small pond and through a children’s park. He pointed up the hill to a building in the distance. “That’s it.”
“Are there people in there?” asked Aubrey.
Stephen squinted to try and see what the blonde bartender was apparently able to discern. He took his camera back out and used the zoom feature on it to get a better look.
“Fuck me,” said Stephen. “She’s right.”
Everyone knelt lower in fear of being seen.
“What should we do?” asked Rachel.
Stephen continued to study the people in the school. “They’re not moving. I can’t see them real well; they’re just shadows in the windows, but Aubrey’s right. There’re definitely people in there.”
“And they’re not moving?” asked Alma.
“No,” said Stephen.
Alma looked at the camera’s screen and saw the silhouettes that Aubrey had spotted. “That can’t be people. They’re just standing there.”
“Well, let’s not take a chance,” said Rachel. “Let’s go around the school and try to make it through the woods back there.” She pointed to the wooded area that sat beside a soccer field. There was another building that looked like a school as well on the other side of the field.
They followed Stephen to the woods where they took a short break. Rachel took her shoes off and complained about not being told there would be hiking involved in this trip. Paul was silent, and barely spoke even as Alma wrapped her arms around his waist. She was thankful for the chance to stop walking for a bit. The cut on her foot was still bothering her from two nights ago. Jacker and Aubrey were investigating the area together while Stephen toyed with his camera.
“Holy shit,” said Stephen. He was sitting on a stump with his camera in his lap. “Guys, guys, you need to see this.”
“What’s up?”
He flipped the viewer on the camera shut and looked up at Rachel, Alma, and Paul with wide, excited eyes. “You’re not going to believe
this shit. I can’t even believe it myself. This is nuts.”
“What?” asked Rachel.
“You guys ever hear of orbs before?”
“Yes,” said Rachel.
“I know you’ve heard of them,” said Stephen. “I was asking them.” He pointed at Alma and Paul.
“No,” said Paul.
“Orbs are something that appear on camera when ghosts are around,” said Stephen. “They’re little balls of light that zip around that some people think are actually entities.”
“And sane people think they’re just little bits of dust that the camera is picking up,” said Rachel, ever the skeptic.
“Oh yeah,” said Stephen as he opened his camera back up. “Look at this and tell me what you think.”
They crowded around him to look at the viewfinder. At first, Alma thought there was a reflection on the screen, but then she saw the mass of light shifting, revealing thousands of tiny globes of light spinning in circles.
“Holy shit,” said Paul as he backed away. “I’m starting to hate this fucking place, man.”
“Wow,” said Rachel as she leaned in closer. “You swear to God you didn’t mess with this somehow? This is real?”
“I didn’t do shit,” said Stephen. “I swear! You guys were with me. This is the first time I’ve looked at it.” He started to take the camera away to look at it himself, but Alma stopped him.
“Look in the background,” she said and pointed at the screen.
“What?” asked Paul as he returned to see what Alma had pointed out.
“There’s a man back there, by the building you were filming. And there’s a time on the clock in front of that bank. I know there weren’t any numbers displayed on there when you were filming.”
“Where?” asked Stephen. “I don’t see anything. All I see are these balls of light.”
“Rewind the tape,” said Alma. “There’s a moment where the lights disperse a little and you can see through them to the building. There, there, stop,” she said as Stephen rewound the recording. He played it in slow motion until Alma said, “Stop!”
A dark shape stood beside the bank’s sign, a shade instead of a man, but clear enough to distinguish a head, body, and long, thin arms. The brick sign in front of the bank had a time on it that blended with the lights.
The time was 3:14.
Rachel yelped when she saw him and backed away with her hands over her mouth. “I want to go home.” Her voice trembled. “Stephen, I want to go home. I don’t want to stay here.”
“Are you insane?” asked Stephen. He was overjoyed by the discovery of the spirit he’d recorded. “This is the greatest fucking thing that’s ever happened to us.” He couldn’t stop smiling, even as Rachel was near tears. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m leaving now.”
“You’re going to get us killed,” said Rachel. “We’re getting into evil shit here, Stephen. Don’t drag us into this.”
He looked bewildered at his wife and then at Paul and Alma. “Are you nuts? This is one of the biggest discoveries ever.”
“Yeah, and it’s a discovery that some people are really serious about keeping secret,” said Rachel. “Stephen, we need to get out of here. That’s not normal. What you just showed us isn’t fucking natural.”
“God damn it, Rachel, I know that. That’s the whole damn reason we’re here. You’re not going to back out of this now. No way.”
“Maybe she’s right,” said Paul. “This is more than we bargained for, man. I don’t know what it is you caught on tape, but it was staring right at us. What the hell was that, man?”
“I’m not leaving,” said Alma. Her bravado shocked even herself, but she’d never been more certain of anything in her life. “I can’t go, Paul. I understand if you want to run, but I’m not running anymore. Something happened here that ruined my life, and I’m going to find out what it was.”
“Alma.” Paul was going to try and reason with her, but Alma stopped him before he could get started.
“No, Paul. No. I’m not leaving. Not now.”
“You two are insane,” said Rachel. “You can go by yourselves. I’m done. How stupid would I have to be to stay here overnight after seeing that.” She pointed at the camera. “Screw that.”
“What’s wrong?” asked Jacker as he returned with Aubrey.
The young girl’s lipstick was smudged and Jacker was rubbing his lips clean.
“Stephen just caught a ghost on camera,” said Paul.
“No shit?” asked Jacker. “Let me check it out.”
“Hold on,” said Stephen. He pointed out towards the fire station that they had been near moments earlier. “I just saw the security truck headed that way.”
Alma looked back to see if she could see the truck. “I don’t see it.”
Stephen packed up his camera quickly. “I saw it headed over there, and there was more than one. This is our chance to head out to the cabin. Come on.”
Alma was certain he was lying to try and get Rachel to go to the cabin.
“I told you,” said Rachel. “I’m not going.”
“Don’t be stupid, babe,” said Stephen. “This is our chance to get to the cabin where it’s safe.”
“It’s not safe here! It’s not safe anywhere in this fucking town,” said Rachel. She was as terrified as she was angry.
“So what?” asked Stephen. “Are you just going to go walk right up to the security here?”
“I didn’t see any trucks back there,” said Rachel.
“Trust me,” said Stephen. “I saw them. Now let’s get to the cabin and if you’re still set on going home we can figure it out there. Let’s at least get out of the open.”
“You’re going to get us killed,” said Rachel as she let Stephen lead her away.
Widowsfield
March 14th, 1996
Nancy staggered back inside of the Widowsfield County Emergency Services building. The fog had swept in too fast to be natural, and the crackling electricity zinged across the metal handle of the door.
“What the fuck is going on?” Nancy fell against the wall as she stared out the building’s door. There were dogs barking, and the clock on the bank’s sign seemed brighter than it should’ve been. As the fog rolled into the parking lot, the time continued to blaze through it, the light penetrating even the thick white cloud.
3:14
“It’s different now,” said Claire. The old woman stood up from her chair and took off her headset. “Nancy, get away from the door.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Get away from the door!”
Claire reached out and took Nancy’s arm to pull her back. The two women stared at the entrance for a minute, but nothing happened.
“What’s the matter up there?” asked Darryl from his seat in the middle of the room.
“Shut up, Darryl,” said Claire.
Nancy smirked, satisfied to hear the sweet old woman be nasty to Darryl.
“Nancy, this is all different,” said Claire as she looked down at her seat. She rubbed her thigh and then her head.
“I think there was an explosion or something outside.”
“Would you two get back on your damn phones,” said Darryl. “The lines are lighting up. I need some help here.”
Nancy glanced at her station and saw that every line was lit up red. “Oh shit, Claire. We need to get on the phones.”
“No,” said Claire. “Don’t do it.” The portly old woman grabbed Nancy’s arm to prevent her from getting to her desk.
“Claire, what’s the matter?”
“Do you hear that?”
“The dogs barking?” Nancy could hear dogs reacting to the strange fog outside, barking from far off.
“No,” said Claire. “Not the children. Can you hear the chattering teeth?”
“You’re starting to scare me,” said Nancy.
“I think there’s someone else in my head,” said Claire. “Darling, I know that sounds cra
zy, but it’s true.”
“Maybe you need to sit down,” said Nancy.
“No, absolutely not.” Claire seemed suddenly frightened of her chair.
Nancy tried to get out of Claire’s grip, but the old woman held fast. “I need to get some of these calls.”
“Quiet,” said Claire. “Don’t move. He’s here.”
“Who?” asked Nancy.
“The one the children call The Skeleton Man. If he remembers us, he’ll lead the children here. He’s right outside.”
“Claire, I don’t know what’s gotten into you, but there’s…” Nancy looked outside where she had just been, confident that there was no one there hiding in the fog. She was wrong.
Standing outside the front door, seeming to hide from someone across the street, was a tall, dark figure. The fog shrouded him, but he was pressed against the glass, affording Nancy a view of his skeletal frame. He had long arms draped in a suit coat, and blood was dripping from the bone tips of his fingers. His face was a mask of sunken skin, pulled taut against a skull to reveal chattering teeth beneath. There were strips of wet flesh slapped against his skull and one of them slid down the side of his head. He had a hole where his nose once was, and his eye sockets were wide and black. Within the sockets sat two lidless eyes, smaller than the skull they dwelled in, bobbing in the blackness as they stared across the street.
Then he looked at Nancy.
The sound of his chattering teeth seemed to explode in her mind. She cried out and clasped her ears just as every pane of glass in the building exploded. The fog rushed in as The Skeleton Man turned his focus back on his victims. The children came to punish them, running on their bloodied paws and snapping their jaws. The adults would pay for what The Skeleton Man remembered.