HAUNTING STURGEONS: Chapter Twenty-Four

 Previously in this blog serial...

(Click here to read Chapter Twenty-Three) 

Now the HAUNTING continues...

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    I am staring down the barrel of my father’s gun into the eyes of Benjamin Straker.  They are brown, but pale, as if time has faded the color.  He is older than I remember, maybe in his upper 30’s now, but still unmistakably him.  His expression is calm, like he doesn’t care that I hold his life in my hands.  Then again, he has been expecting me.  He had time to prepare for this moment because someone obviously told him I’ve been asking questions around town. 

    All the places I stopped and all the people who saw me in Sturgeons flash through my mind.  Sheriff Leslie Johns and any nosy resident as I drove through the streets.  The manager and other lonely guests of the Teeter-Totter Motel.  Valerie Danforth and her loyal customers at Gordon’s Bar.  Ms. Minch and the annoying staff of The Golden Dusk.  Simon Hollis and other watchful eyes in the library.  Christine Abernathy-Woodhouse and that rude clerk at VDV Pharmacy.  I can’t even consider Eddie, but there is his father.  Did Harold Newcastle betray me?

    “Who warned you I was coming?” I throw out the question, gripping the gun tighter. 

    “Nobody,” Straker quickly answers.  “I’ve been expecting a survivor to seek me out.  If not you, then someone else.”  He looks out over the town, rattling off a list of names.

    A survivor?  Is that who I am?  My family fell like a series of dominos set in motion ten years ago, so I guess he’s right.  I’m the last one standing.  A last survivor here to end this.  I take a step closer and fire the question, spit flying from my mouth. 

    “Why didn’t you stop it?” 

    “We didn’t know what was going on or who was responsible until it was too late.”  Straker lowers his head, giving it a slight shake.  “Even after, we didn’t really know anything.” 

    “Bullshit!” I shout.  “I read your stupid book!  You said a crazy guy in these woods unleashed a swarm of cybernetic bugs to destroy the town.” 

    He looks at me, surprise flickering across his face.  “That’s what Eugene Raymond Stickler claimed he was doing.  He called them his collection, but we never found out what they were exactly.” 

    I keep the gun aimed at Straker, his steady demeanor working my nerve, intensifying my anger.  “What the hell are you talking about?”

    “Clyde, Christine, Sam and I could see the destruction from up here, but we never got the chance to closely examine Stickler’s collection.  By the time we left this hill, a military convoy had cordoned off the town.”  He catches his breath, his expression turning solemn.  “We were taken into custody and interrogated.” 

    “Lies,” I growl, stepping even closer to him.  “Lies to cover your ass.  You let it happen.  You let my brother die and the rest of Sturgeons with him.” 

    Benjamin Straker locks eyes with me, the rebuilt town far below us.  “I did what I could, but it wasn’t enough.  Too many lives were destroyed because I failed.”  He takes a step closer to my father’s gun, standing less than six feet away.  “No matter how many times my husband says otherwise, I feel deep in my bones that it is my fault.  So, go ahead and pull the trigger, Jimmy.  I know Sam is sick and tired of being jolted awake by my night terrors over all that happened.  Shooting me will put us both out of our misery.” 

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The HAUNTING continues in…

Thank you for reading or listening to my half-blind words! 

Freak Out, 

JLH 

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I changed the profile pic and added a video to my Amazon Author Page…📼

viewAuthor.at/JohnLHarmon 

Guess I haven’t given up…

…yet.