HAUNTING STURGEONS: Chapter Twenty-Three

Previously in this blog serial...

(Click here to read Chapter Twenty-Two) 

Now the HAUNTING continues...

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    I am walking among the trees, hazy shafts of light slicing down between branches.  Bird calls echo from above as unseen animals scurry under foliage with my every step.  The noise conjures up childhood fears of ghosts and demons lurking in every shadow.  I have to remind myself that Stickler Woods is only haunted by what happened ten years ago, what happened in Sturgeons and to Tommy..

    I imagine my brother continuing to lead me through the woods, staying several feet ahead.  There are questions I wish I could ask him.  Questions that I have asked him many times over the years.  Where exactly did you die?  What was your last thought?  Why didn’t you and Tracy go somewhere else?  Any answers disappeared with Tommy in these woods, along with so much else. 

    Sunlight pours down as I step into a clearing.  A large dead spot stretches out before me.  No grass or trees, no signs of life at all.  Even the birds seem to be staying away.  The ground has been torn up and leveled, like something was removed or buried.  I can’t help but think of the end of Straker’s book.  The psychopath’s mansion exploded and burned as the town was destroyed.  If this is where the dilapidated structure once stood, then the lawman is near.

    I imagine Tommy standing among the trees at the other end of the clearing.  He seems to be waiting for me as I cross the desolate area, feeling exposed in the morning sun.  I don’t want to be seen until I’m ready, so I feel relief as I reach my brother.  Tommy’s expression is grave as he tilts his head and looks up to his right.  I follow his gaze and plainly see what I already know.  I am at the foot of Stickler Hill.  

    Turning back to face Tommy, I find him gone.  My brother has traveled with me these last couple of days, finally leading me here.  Now I need to see this through on my own, but he will remain in my memories.  Tommy laughing as we speed through the streets of Sturgeons.  Skipping stones and talking with him at Lake Pontoon.  Tommy patiently teaching me card games at the dining room table.  So many good times to remember and cherish on another day.

    I turn and begin to ascend Stickler Hill at a steady pace, painful memories fueling my momentum.  My father yanking me away from Eddie.  My parents telling me that Tommy is gone.  My mother gazing off at nothing in her room.  Blood everywhere as I find my father dead in his recliner.  I pause halfway up, the trees thinning around me, and I see him.  I see the lawman standing on top of the world.

    He looks like a statue watching over the rebuilt town, which pisses me off.  I continue my ascent, fury pushing me forward.  Where was he when my brother disappeared?  Where was he when the entire town went to hell?  I picture him striding past my family’s car.  A beige-clad lawman walking with confidence, but not stopping to help us, to help anyone.  He didn’t give a shit then, so why is he bothering with Sturgeons now? 

    As I reach the top, I see the beige of the lawman is long gone as he gazes down at the town.  He is partially turned away from me, dressed in black jeans and a dark blue flannel shirt hanging loose.  Standing twelve feet away from him, I focus on his short brown hair greying at the temple and raise my father’s gun.

    “Straker!” 

    He slowly faces me, speaking in an even tone, “I’ve been expecting you, Jimmy Schroder.”  

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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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