Apparition (30 page)

“How fast can you get home? I’m here alone with Ethan. Joyce’s gone out somewhere and she’s not picking up her cellphone either. Ethan’s lost it.”

I try to catch my breath. “Lost what? What do you mean?”

“He’s out of control. Listen, I’ve been doing the stairs for exercise. Just now, when I got to the top of the landing, I smelled something burning and peeked inside his bedroom. He was lighting matches and flicking them onto his bed. He’s written stuff on his wall, too. I asked him what the hell he was doing and grabbed the matches off him, but he was all excited and happy. He said he’s got to go meet someone. Someone special, he said.”

“We can get there in about thirty minutes. But listen, has Ethan been back in the barn lately? Do you know?”

“No, no. Only that one time, when you guys were there. Before Christmas.”

“He shouldn’t leave the house. You know what I mean, right? Is he still in his room?”

“Yes, I left him in there to make this call.”

“Can you wedge a chair under the doorknob? Or do something to keep him inside until we get there? Do whatever you can to stop him from leaving. We’re on our way.”

“You’d better hurry. He’s acting totally psycho.”

“What did he write on his wall?” I feel I have to ask, but I know what he’s going to say.

“It looks like letters. Nothing that makes any sense. Just D-O-T.”

K
ip speeds along back roads while I dial Morris’s home number on my cellphone, but there’s no answer. I leave a message asking him to call me at once. “It’s urgent!” I say. I turn to Kip. “He doesn’t have a cellphone, does he?”

“Sorry, no,” says Kip, eyes on the road.

“Any idea where he’d be?”

“Not really. The library, maybe, or a coffee shop. Or visiting someone. He could be anywhere.”

I check my watch. “The library is closed by now.”

We drive in a tense silence. I feel like I’ve been jerked back into a nightmare from a beautiful dream. I’m shivering, so I struggle with my zipper, closing my jacket, trying to think. How could this have happened to Ethan? “I don’t get it. This doesn’t make any sense. It doesn’t fit the pattern.”

Kip says grimly, “He must have a crush on some girl. Someone who dumped him, or somehow broke his heart.”

I shake my head. “He’s not interested in girls—or anyone else, for
that matter.” I think about Ethan all by himself, playing video games, watching TV. “What are we going to do?” Think, think. “Okay, what does this ghost want more than anything else?”

Kip heaves a sigh. “For Dot to finally show up at the barn?”

“Exactly.”

He shoots a quick glance at me. “So what would happen if she did?”

“I don’t know,” I say. “Maybe she could convince him they weren’t really meant for each other. Maybe she could tell him to get over it. Drop dead already.” I look across at him, trying to read his thoughts. “What are you suggesting?” We’re turning onto 12th Line.

“I don’t know. Where’s Joyce, do you think?”

“At the stables, probably.” Then it occurs to me. “South on Highway 6. I mean, Williamsford would be on her way home.”

He turns into our driveway. We race up the steps to the front porch just as Jack opens the door. He looks bad, like he’s been in a fight. He’s hopping on one leg, using his crutches. He’s only wearing one brace, and he has a wet cloth wrapped around one hand. I can smell something awful, something burnt.

“Jeez, Jack, what happened to you?”

“Ethan pushed me down the stairs. I’m all right, except I think my finger’s broken.” He holds up his right index finger; it’s blue and swollen. “And one of my braces is broken. But I was lucky.”

“He pushed you down the stairs! Are you kidding?” I’m running down the hall, frantically looking into the living room and the kitchen, up the stairs. “Where is he?”

“He’s gone. He wanted to leave his room, and I guess the chair I wedged under his doorknob wasn’t strong enough. I could hear banging and I was halfway up the stairs when he busted out. I tried to stop him but he pushed by me, knocked me down. I don’t know how but his bed was on fire.”

“What?”

I run up the stairs with Kip close behind me. We stand at the entrance to Ethan’s bedroom and look at the large letters in black marker on his closet door. They’ve been written with a strange, careful hand. Not Ethan’s. There’s a huge, burnt-out hole in the middle of his mattress. I can see the metal coils inside.

I suddenly remember that Matthew said Jimmy wasn’t in the barn. That was almost a month ago. We run back down the stairs and I shout to Jack, who’s standing in the hallway, “Did you hear from Joyce?”

“No, not yet. I haven’t tried again. I didn’t have a chance.”

I grab the phone and dial her cell. No answer. I leave a message. “Joyce, call me as soon as you get this. Ethan’s in danger!” I hang up and dial Morris’s home number, getting his machine again. “Morris, when you get this message, please head to the barn right away. We need help. It looks like Ethan has ‘gone Jimmy’ on us—my younger brother, Ethan. He’s left the house and he’s … he’s got to be headed for the barn. That’s where we’ll be. Please come.
Please!
”

As I hang up, I realize that Kip has the car. So how could Morris even get to the barn? I turn to Kip. “We have to go.”

Just then, the phone goes. I answer on the first ring. It’s Joyce.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Where are you, Joyce?”

“I’m at the stables. What’s wrong with Ethan?” She sounds furious. I take a deep breath and lock eyes with Kip to keep myself steady.

“Joyce, I need you to go to the seniors’ residence in Williamsford and find Mrs. Ross. Mrs. Dorothy Ross. She calls herself Dee. You remember who she is? I need you to tell her that Jimmy has Ethan. Can you tell her that? Just say, ‘Jimmy has Ethan in the barn.’ And tell her who Ethan is. You have to trust me on this. It’s life or death.” I’ve been talking too fast for her to say anything, but now she jumps in.

“Amelia, you’re not making sense. What the hell is going on?”

Did she not hear anything I said?

“Ethan is headed to the Telfords’ barn. He’s acting just like Jack did the night he fell. The night he fell
on purpose
. You knew that, right? It wasn’t an accident—it was attempted suicide. Mrs. Ross knows what’s going on. Ethan is in terrible danger right now. I’m asking you to trust me, please!”

“What …?”

“Please, Joyce! We’ll be at the Telfords’ barn. Just bring her there as fast as you can.”

I hang up, then grab Kip by both arms. I’m terrified. We hold on to each other tightly, just for a second.

“Let’s go,” he says.

“I’m coming too.” Jack hops to the door on his crutches. He beats us out and moves down the porch steps as fast as he can, swinging his braceless leg along.

“Fine,” says Kip, “but you have to stay out of the barn. He got hold of you once and he can probably do it again. You’ll stay at the car and wait for help.”

The tires spray gravel as we race down the driveway in reverse and screech as we accelerate to full speed, racing south on 12th Line, Kip’s little Mexican skeleton flying. As soon as we pull into the Telford driveway, we see footprints in the snow, leading along the side of the house to the big barn door. I feel cold with fear. I don’t want to face this.

The car comes to a hard stop and Kip and I jump out. I turn to Jack in the back seat. “Stay here, Jack. Please. We’re going to get Ethan out of there.”

We run along Ethan’s tracks toward the barn. Taking one last, desperate look at each other, we peek in. Ethan is deep inside, pacing
back and forth across the centre of the floor. We brace ourselves and step in. He doesn’t look up.

“Ethan?” I call to him like nothing’s wrong. “Ethan, come out of here. Ethan?” He doesn’t seem to hear me. I try a little louder. “Ethan?”

He’s ignoring me. We take another step closer. He looks agitated but nothing more—thank goodness. It’s like he’s waiting for something and he’s impatient. He’s waiting for Dot.

We creep a little closer.

“Ethan, it’s Amelia. Amelia and Kip. Jack’s outside.”

No response.

“Why don’t you come out and see Jack? He thinks he broke his finger when you pushed him down the stairs. Maybe you should talk to him about that. He’s pretty pissed off.”

Ethan’s still pacing, ignoring us. I look at Kip and whisper that I’m going to get nearer, and maybe he should stay behind me. He seems unsure. His eyes are on Ethan.

“Ethan?” I edge closer.

No response. I feel stuck, watching him pace like he’s in his own little world. If this keeps up, at some point we’ll need to jump him. Tackle him to the ground. Tie him up and drag him out. If only Jack could help. But even if Kip and I can handle Ethan ourselves, then what? Where do we go from here? To Emergency? To an exorcist?

Something moves off to my right. I turn quickly to look. It’s Paul Telford, watching from a corner. He looks anxious. Great—even the ghosts are afraid. I look around some more. “Matthew?” On the left side, inside an open stall, I see a shadow sitting in the dark. When I look hard at him, the figure slowly stands up. From the shape of the cap on his head, I can tell that it’s Willy. He’s watching us too. Now my eyes dart between Ethan, still pacing, and the rafters above. I scan
the dark corners of the barn. I feel that cool, cobwebby sensation again. I spin around. Kip, standing about fifteen feet behind me, gives a start.

“It’s okay,” I whisper, gesturing with one hand. I turn back slowly. This will be difficult.

“Matthew?” I keep my voice low. “Matthew?”

A dark shadow forms against the back wall and Matthew takes a step toward me. I can see his face. He’s worried too.

“Matthew? Can you help? It’s Ethan.” I’m pleading now. “You’ve got to help us.”

He opens his mouth slightly, like he’s not sure what to say. He takes another step toward me. Toward Ethan. His eyes move from me to Ethan and back to me. Then I see him tilt his head. He’s looking behind me, at Kip.

“Matthew! Can you help or what?”

He seems to heave a sigh. He takes another step closer, looking at Ethan, then stops as if unsure. Maybe he can’t help. I turn to Ethan again.

“Ethan?” Nothing. I have to try something else. “Jimmy?”

Ethan turns his head, shoots me an angry look. He stops pacing for the first time since we arrived.

“Get out!” It’s Jimmy talking.

That’s all he says, and then he turns away. He seems distracted and confused, like we broke his concentration. He stops pacing, and in the dim light I can see that his features are strained and distorted, like he’s going to cry. I back up slowly until I’m next to Kip.

“This isn’t good.”

“What’s happening?”

“I don’t know, but this is how I found Jack. I think this is the pattern. Like he’s realizing that Dot’s not going to show up. How long ago did I talk to Joyce?”

“I don’t know. Twenty minutes? Maybe more?”

“Best just to keep an eye on him until he looks like he’s going to do something stupid, then we’ll tackle him.”

Kip nods. “It’s not like he’s got a weapon.”

Ethan starts making sobbing sounds, like his heart is breaking. I have a strong desire to comfort him, my little brother, and I leave Kip’s side and walk toward him again. He’s just standing in the middle of the barn, head down, shoulders shaking with his sobs. I’m about three feet from him when his head jerks up violently to face me. I have a heart-stopping flashback to the boy hanging by his neck.

“Get out!” he growls. “
Get out!
”

It gives me such a fright that I almost start crying myself. “Please don’t hurt my brother. Please let him go.” His eyes are blazing with hatred. I have to pull myself together. I back up to Kip’s side again. He steps forward and grabs my arm, holding tightly.

“Look, it’s going to be okay,” he whispers. “We just need to kill some time. If I have to, I can take him.” He tugs at my arm reassuringly. “Don’t worry. I can handle it.”

Ethan’s sobs are getting louder. It’s horrible. I don’t know what to do but watch and wait. Then I remember Matthew, and try to find him again. All I can see are shadows—shadows of young men moving slowly in the darkest corners of the barn. I can make out Willy by his cap.

“Willy! Willy, you have to help us.”

He comes closer. He’s wringing his hands. He looks devastated.

“It was my fault,” he says. “It was my idea, not hers. I made her tell him. Tell him she’d meet him in the barn. I had to teach him a lesson. I was going off to war, and I just wanted him to leave my sister alone.”

Ethan is muttering between sobs now, but the words are impossible to make out. He sounds insane. He’s working himself up into
a rage. I feel like we’re waiting for an explosion. There’ll be no warning and nothing we can do.

“You met Jimmy in the barn. Your sister told us what you did.”

He’s shaking his head. Backing away again. “I didn’t mean for it to end that way,” I hear him say. “I didn’t mean for that to happen.”

“I know that, Willy. And Dorothy knows it too. You couldn’t have guessed what Jimmy would do. But you have a chance now to put things right.” I’m crying to him, pleading with him, but he’s disappearing. “Don’t go! Help us!”

I turn back to Ethan. “She’s coming, Jimmy.” Then I shout it out. God knows what effect that’ll have, but I’m feeling desperate. “
Dot is coming!
”

“Where? Where is she?”

Have I just made things worse? I hold on to Kip as Ethan’s rage escalates, his words echoing up through the rafters. And then he makes a move. He dives under the platform along the wall. Scrambling on hands and knees, he lunges for the pile of solvents I dumped from the crate last time we were here. He grabs a container of something and pulls off the cap, dousing himself in what smells like fuel, drenching his head, his clothes.

“You don’t want to do that!” Kip shouts, diving under the platform toward him.

I’m frozen. I can only watch as Kip tackles Ethan, knocking him backwards into the straw. They wrestle under the platform, which is too low for either one to stand up. Kip is larger and stronger, and he’s trying to drag Ethan back into the open barn. But Ethan is too wild and out of control; he’s viciously kicking and throwing punches that Kip tries to block. He doesn’t want to hurt Ethan, and they end up rolling in the damp straw until they’re both covered in fuel.