Scribner Horror Bundle: Four Horror Novels by Joshua Scribner (75 page)

So with the anxiety welling up, he
said, “Sonnie, I want to tell you what’s happening.”

He felt her hand move up on his arm
and then felt her fingernails slip slightly into his
skin.

“I told you that things have changed
since I wrote that letter, and I meant it. They have. You know how
I’ve always been a little . . .”

“Tense.”

“Yeah. Tense. Well, that all went away
recently. But it was about that time that other things began to
happen. It’s kind of like that tension was covering up
something.”

“Covering up what?”

“I’m not sure just yet. But I talked
to my shrink and she said something that made sense. It’s like the
tension left, and now what was under it is coming out.”

“What is it?”

“Well, I think I may be kind of
psychotic, you know, crazy.”

“What do you mean?”

The anxiety had still not gone away,
but Jacob continued to talk through it. “I’m having these strange
visions. I think they’re hallucinations.”

“Is that what happened last night, on
the way home?”

“Yeah.”

Sonnie sat up straight in her seat,
releasing his arm. “You said you thought you killed Shane
Tantenmore and his friend.”

“Yeah, them, and a couple of others
too.”

“Who?”

“Well, let’s see. There was Stan Wayne
and some kid he was with.”

“You mean Jeff Limerod.”

“Yeah. That was his name.”

The outskirts of Nescata now
surrounded them.

“Where am I taking you?”

“Just take me to the bar.”

Jacob turned left on Main
Street.

“So what are these hallucinations
like?”

“Well, I see them as they were when
they died.”

“And then you think you killed
them?”

“Yeah. Like with Shane, it was the
Candor record. It’s like something about me connects them to their
death.”

“Wow!”

“I know. It’s weird.”

Jacob pulled in front of the downtown
buildings.

“So what are you going to
do?”

“I’m not sure yet. I guess I’m hoping
this will run its course and be over.”

“And if not?”

“Well, if not, I’ll have to look into
seeing someone about it. You know, they have medications to control
this sort of thing.”

Sonnie nodded slowly. “So you know
they’re not real then? These things didn’t really happen like
that?”

Jacob was not sure how to answer that,
but he did anyway. “Well, yeah, I guess.”

Sonnie frowned at him. “You never were
a good liar.”

Jacob noticed that he was sweating.“I
was looking through some old newspapers earlier. My dad saves them
in the back of the house.”

“What were you looking
for?”

“I was looking for something to prove
to myself that none of this is real. It’s something my shrink told
me to do. I thought I could find it in the obituaries. And I found
. . .”

“Go ahead. What was it?”

“Well, what I found made sense. Shane
died in a fire out on the Northwest Expressway. And there was an
older man with him. The old guy’s name escapes me. Stan Wayne died
out near my parents’ house, and Jeff Limerod was with
him.”

“So? What does all that have to do
with anything?”

“Don’t you see? I was away when all
this happened. All I knew was that a bunch of people died, and that
some of them I knew.”

“Okay.”

“Well, in the visions, I saw things I
don’t think I could have known before.”

“Like how the older guy called Shane
the dealer.”

“Exactly. And Jeff Limerod. I didn’t
know him. Yet somehow, he was in my vision.”

Sonnie looked deep in thought, and she
looked distraught. Jacob wasn’t sure if it was seeing her like this
or the anxiety of letting her in on it all that finally got
him.

“But you know, Sonnie, I’ve taken a
few psychology classes, and I have a few friends that are studying
to be shrinks. And from what I understand, a psychotic person’s
fantasies usually do make sense.”

“Yeah. You probably heard those things
before and just don’t remember.”

“I think you’re probably
right.”

Jacob looked at her. She looked like
she might believe his lie. And, more importantly, the anxiety was
slipping away.

“And you had absolutely no connections
with some of the other people who died, like Tommy Carmichael and
Larry Confad.”

“That’s true too.”

This felt very right to Jacob. It felt
phony, but it felt right.

“And Jacob?”

“Yeah.”

“You can’t control the
bees.”

“What?”

“Todd Blacklund, your
friend.”

“I don’t get what you’re saying. The
obituary said he died in his hotel room of unknown
causes.”

“Well yeah. But a few days later an
article came out. His autopsy said that he died of an allergic
reaction. They think it was a bee sting.”

“Really?”

“Yes. And you really can’t control the
bees.”

Jacob laughed. “I guess
not.”

With that, she was across the car with
her arms around his shoulders. He slipped his hand under her shirt
and caressed the small of her back.

“Come in tonight.”

“You mean into the bar?”

“Yeah, but wait until two. I’ll have
it closed up by then.”

Jacob smiled. “I’ll be
here.”

She kissed him. “You better, if you
know what’s good for you.”

She kissed him again and then got out.
He watched her walk away and then he backed onto the
road.

Driving
down Main Street, he inhaled deeply so he could savor the scent of
her that was now on his clothing. He smiled with enthusiasm and
thought,
two o’clock.

He considered how he would make the
time pass faster. He thought maybe he would sleep. Maybe he would
drive into the bigger Perryton and find something to do. At the end
of Main Street, he braked at the stop sign and then saw something
that made this all cease to matter.

There was no built up anticipation
this time. Nor was there a blur to serve as a transition. There was
only the motorcycle that passed in front of him.

#

The world around him has not changed.
The fields are still freshly plowed. The summer sun still beats
down on them. Jacob follows the motorcycle at a
distance.

When it passed earlier, there were two
people on that motorcycle. One was a blond-haired woman with her
arms wrapped tight around the driver. The driver was another ghost.
This one is Todd Blacklund.

Jacob isn't worried when the
motorcycle speeds up and leaves him behind. He thinks he knows
where it’s going. Todd grew up not far from him. He would have to
pass Jacob’s old house to get to his own. And there is no other
reason Jacob can think of to explain why Todd is heading out that
way.

By the time Jacob makes it to the dirt
road, the motorcycle is out of sight. But the remnant dust, still
hanging in the air, tells him that he was right. Todd has been
there. Jacob makes the turn and hits the gas hard. A glimpse in his
rearview mirror and he notices that his car is not kicking up dirt.
After seeing this, Jacob realizes that his car is not making a
sound either. But it does react to his movements, which is
enough.

On past his parents’ home, he
continues down the road. He doesn’t notice the motorcycle parked
off to the side, until he is already beside it. He drives past it
and then stops. He backs up to where the bike sits.

Jacob remembers coming to this place
many times. It was the midway point between their houses, where
they used to meet before fishing. The top of the hill used to be
covered with tall grass and weeds. Todd had taught him how to
identify which of the weeds were poison ivy. And he had taught him
to always look before he stepped, so as not to land on a bull
snake.

But now, instead of grass and weeds,
there are pieces of plastic milk cartons, papers and other trash
smashed into the ground.

Jacob walks through the door of his
car. Then it is gone.

Welcome back to the realm
of disappearing cars.

Jacob starts toward the hill, and then
he hears something off to the side. He thinks that he knows what it
is, but he moves closer to be sure. Over where the trashed ground
ends, there is a wire fence. On the other side of that fence are
trees. Jacob walks through the fence and into the trees until he
finds what he hears.

There are dozens of them, and they’re
swarming around a hole in a rather large tree.

The bees.

Jacob goes through the fence and runs
down the side of the hill. There, he finds the blond-haired woman
sitting. She is watching Todd who is straddled over the creek, one
foot on an old washing machine, the other on a rock. Todd is
wearing rubber wading pants, and he is taking pictures with the
camera strapped to his neck. He snaps several pictures before he
takes the camera off.

“Here. Hold this.” He throws the
camera to the woman.

“You’re not going in
there?”

“Of course I am. You didn’t think I
put on these rubber pants just to turn you on, did you?”

“Oh no. Not just for that. That was
just the main reason.”

Todd laughs as he shakes his head. He
smiles the same broad smile that Jacob always thought exacerbated
his already nerdy looks. From the inside of the pants, Todd pulls
out a small glass flask. He gets into the water and removes his
shirt. His long white skin stands out against the murky black
water. He throws his shirt.

“Hold that too.”

The woman whistles. “I wish I had a
dollar.”

Todd flexes a scrawny upper body and
both the woman and Jacob laugh. Todd dips the flask into the water
and then bends his knees.

“Yuck. Couldn’t you have just done
that from the shore?”

“Nope. The best stuff is going to be
right here in the middle.”

“But you’re getting that mucky stuff
all over you.”

“So I’ll take a shower when we get to
Mom’s. Besides, some things are worth it, my dear.”

The woman smiles at him, proudly. She
doesn’t say a word.

Todd comes back up with the sample. He
corks the flask. “That’ll do.”

She claps her hands. “Way to go Dr.
Blacklund.”

Todd
looks over the contents of the flask. “Yeah. I’ll analyze this and
develop those pictures. Then I’ll write up a nice article for
the
Daily Oklahoman
.”

“And public outcry will be so huge,
the government will put a stop to this.”

Todd laughs, still looking into the
flask. “Well, I doubt that. But I have to try anyway.”

Again, the woman smiles. She gets to
her feet. “It’s romantic really. Small town boy becoming big time
biochemist. Then he returns home to try to save a creek from his
childhood.”

“Hm. Romantic. There’s an added
bonus.”

“Added bonus!”

Todd walks out of the water and up in
front of her. “Yes, my sweet. As much as I worship you, this one
was not done to be romantic. This one was done for an old
friend.”

She smiles at him again. Jacob likes
her.

You should have had her
Todd. And she should have had you.

The woman removes her shirt, revealing
her bare breasts. Todd stares at her much like he had been staring
at the flask. She steps into him. “There. Now I have the mucky
stuff on me.”

Jacob turns away. But he doesn’t do it
just because he feels like a voyeur. And he doesn’t do it just
because he understands why Todd is down there and can’t handle it.
Jacob does feel these things, but they are not what make him turn
away. He turns away because he hears someone whistling up
above.

He leaves them by the creek. He walks
slowly up the hill, not because he wants to, but because he feels
he has to. It’s all a part of the vision, and thus, a part of what
he has to see. At the top of the hill, he follows the sound to the
trees. He stands on one side of the wire fence and stares through.
He sees nothing at first, but still hears the whistling. The tune
is slow and has an antiquated quality. It grows quieter, but just
for a moment. Then it grows louder and louder. But there is no
sound of footsteps in the grass, nor the sound of tree branches
shifting.

He appears suddenly, walking right
through the branches without disturbing them, just as Jacob had
done earlier. “Hello Jacob,” the man in white says as he comes
through the fence.