Meadowview Acres (29 page)

“She’s fine.” He looked at his daughter who was listening intently. “I’ll tell her and we’ll be right over. We’ll see you soon, Honey. Call me back if you hear anything else.” He ended the call and looked at Bug. She knew something was wrong. Her eyes were big and worried.

“What happened?” She asked in a small voice.

“Bug, Honey.” Mark said as he took her tiny hands into his big ones. “There’s been a fire at the high school. A teacher has been hurt.”

She interrupted him then. “The science teacher, Mr. Just.” She said it matter-of-factly, like she had been expecting to hear that news.

“Yes, but someone else was hurt.” He paused, not knowing how to break it to her.

“Eli? Hunter? Who is it, Daddy?”

Bug hadn’t called him Daddy in years. “Honey, it’s Shasta. She was hurt in the fire, and she’s in critical condition at the hospital.”

Bug’s mouth opened as she took in a little gasp of air. “Shas? What was she doing there? It was just supposed to be Hunter and Eli!”

“I don’t know, Honey, but let’s get to the hospital and see what we can find out.” He nodded toward the book on the couch beside her. “Throw that in your bag. We’re still going to need it.” He put his arm around her as they left the Research Room. On the way down, they stopped on the second floor so he could tell his assistant to get a crew over to the high school as soon as possible. They needed to get all the information from the firefighters at the scene.

The hospital was crowded. Bill and Valerie Port had arrived and were standing with Ann. Eli and Hunter were there speaking with Deputy Clay. The boys were covered with soot and looked shaken. Sheriff Buchanon was talking to one of the paramedics. Darren was there, too. He was standing off to the side and looking down one of the hospital corridors. Mark guessed that that must be the direction they had taken Shasta.

Ann saw them arrive and came running over to Bug. She gathered the girl in her arms and held her tightly. “Bug, Shasta will be okay. The doctor said that she’s regained consciousness and they’re looking her over now. She’ll be alright, Honey.”

Bug didn’t feel like crying. She just felt tired. There had been so many emotions rolling around in her lately. She wasn’t used to dealing with so many at once. She hugged her mother back and sighed.

Mark made his way over to the sheriff. He was just finishing his discussion with the paramedic who was walking away.

“Sheriff, I tried calling you earlier today. I have something incredibly important to talk to you about,” Mark began.

“Hey, Mark. I’m sure you can understand I’m in the middle of this investigation right now. Can we talk later? Tomorrow, maybe? I may be tied up here a while.” The sheriff was looking past Mr. Hamilton at the boys with the deputy.

“No, it can’t wait. As a matter of fact, the information I have is directly related to what’s going on here.” He followed his gaze. “And if you’re thinking that those boys have something to do with it, you’re right. But it isn’t their fault. It’s simply a series of events that started innocently enough. It’s going to take some doing for us to stop it, though.”

By the time he finished speaking Mark had Sheriff Buchanon’s attention. He was looking at Mark with a quizzical expression. “I’m listening.” He motioned to a stand of chairs along the hallway. The men walked over and sat down.

Eli’s head was pounding as he answered the deputy’s questions. Yes, they were with Mr. Just when the fire broke out. No, it was not intentional. Yes, they were working in the lab. No, the fire was not due to any negligence on the teacher’s part.

The guilt weighing down both boys now was enormous. Mr. Just had been pronounced dead when they had arrived at the hospital ER. When they heard the news, Hunter had looked at Eli with a mixture of shock and grief. Eli’s head had exploded with pain. He wasn’t sure how he was going to survive this nightmare. It just kept getting worse, and now Shasta was hurt.

Eli looked over at Darren who was guarding the hallway down which they had taken Shasta. He had saved their lives. If it hadn’t been for Darren, he and Hunter would be dead now as well. Eli didn’t remember anything from the time that the lab table had ignited until he woke up on the grass outside of the school with an oxygen mask over his face. Hunter had filled him in. He had been so overcome with the smoke that he had lost his way in the room. He had found Eli but didn’t know how to exit the classroom. Thankfully, Darren had shown up then.

The deputy finished with his questions and walked over to speak with Darren. Hunter turned to Eli and said, “Man, Shasta has to make it. I don’t think I can handle one more person dying because of us. I feel so bad about Mr. Just. I can’t imagine losing Shasta, too.”

“I know. I’m freaking out, too. This is way too overwhelming. It’s time to go to the sheriff, Hunter. We can’t handle the situation ourselves anymore.” Eli had tears in his eyes.

“You’re right. We’ve tried everything we can. We need help.”

Hunter looked over at the sheriff. He was talking to Bug’s dad, but staring at him and Eli. Hunter felt uneasy and looked away. “I think he might know already,” he said to Eli.

Eli followed his glance and saw the two men talking, the sheriff looking right at them. His guilt overwhelmed him. Eli walked over to another section of chairs and slumped into one. Just then, Lara Andrews and Gina and Hank Massey came rushing into the emergency room. They scanned it quickly then made a beeline for their sons.

Darren was having a tough time with the deputy’s questions. He was about to come unglued. His worry over Shasta’s condition was making him crazy. She had regained consciousness, but she was still in pretty bad shape.

He finished quickly with Deputy Clay. Mainly, he needed to confirm everything that the deputy had already learned from Eli and Hunter. Darren was angry, but he wasn’t sure why or at whom. He wasn’t angry at Eli and Hunter. He understood that the guys were just trying to take care of the problem and it had gotten out of hand. From listening to Hunter, it sounded like the initial flame had come from the rock itself. So who was he mad at?

It wasn’t Shasta. He was sure that she had gone into the school looking for him. He would have done the same. He wondered if he was mad at himself, but didn’t think that was it either.

Darren saw the doctor walking back up the hallway and stood up straight. The Port’s made their way over to hear the news of Shasta’s condition.

“Well,” the doctor began, “she’s awake and responding. We still have her on oxygen, of course, she continues to be short of breath. Her airways and lungs are irritated because of the chemicals in the smoke. I’ve found no burns on her body, which is lucky, considering where she was found. Her skin is tender, however, which is common in people who have suffered smoke inhalation. She’ll be a little red for a while, but that will subside. I saw no damage of either cornea from the heat.”

“Is she going to be alright?” Val Port asked the doctor. Her voice was shaking. Her husband put a protective arm around her while Ann held her hand.

“Our main concerns at the moment,” he continued, “are her mental state. She’s very confused which is also a normal side effect. Her breathing is also a problem. She’s still having some bronchospasms and her nasal passages are swollen. The soot that has infiltrated will work its way out, but it will be a few days. She’s nauseous at the moment, but that will subside, as well. I’d like to keep her here a couple of days and run some tests, but I’m expecting her to make a full recovery.”

“Oh, thank God!” Ann Hamilton said as she hugged her friend.

“When can we see her?” The question came from Darren who had been listening quietly.

“Yes! Can we see her soon?” Val repeated the question.

“Let’s give her some time to steady her breathing. She needs to concentrate on that right now instead of talking. I’ll come get you when I think she’s up for visitors.” With that, the doctor nodded at the four concerned faces and strode back down the hallway.

Bill Port laid a big hand on Darren’s shoulder. He knew how much the two kids cared about one another. The boy had just lost his father, and, now Shasta had been seriously injured. Bill couldn’t imagine the pain that Darren was in.

“Why don’t you go in to see her when the doc comes back? I think you’d do her a world of good. Val and I can wait a while,” he said to Darren.

Darren nodded and thanked him.

Sheriff Buchanon, Bill Port and Mark Hamilton stood on the front lawn of the Hamilton’s home Tuesday afternoon. They were watching friends and neighbors arrive for the scheduled meeting. Sheriff Buchanon had contacted all of the families that had been involved with the situation. As a result, most of the neighborhood of Meadowview Acres was filing into the Hamilton’s house.

The story Mark had told him was admittedly farfetched, but after their discussion at the hospital, Mark had taken the sheriff back to the offices of the Hallston Daily Journal and shown him the trail of information. He had started with the articles from August of nineteen sixty-eight and ended with the professor’s death. The thing that got Don Buchanon was the book – the one that Professor Monroe had given to Shasta. After reading the chapter on the Varuupian curse and listening to Mark compare the deaths from nineteen sixty-eight to the deaths happening in Hallston, it was hard to argue.

Mark Hamilton, being a newspaper man, was all about informing the public. This time the sheriff concurred. That was the purpose for the meeting. All of the people were going there for answers, but hopefully to find a solution as well. The men were skeptical about how the story was going to be received. Mark had to make them believe that the curse was real. Bug had come up with two alternatives to get rid of the rock and she was right. One was very risky and the other may not work. Sheriff Buchanon had listened as Bug laid out both plans. When she was finished, Don thought what a brilliant girl she was. He also thought, “We’re screwed”.

Everyone was accounted for and taking their seats as Sheriff Buchanon and Mark walked to the front of the makeshift assembly. Ann had moved all of the living room furniture to the walls of the room and set up as many chairs as she could find. Mark watched as the sheriff called everyone to attention.

“Everyone,” he began. The room quieted as they heard the sheriff beginning to speak. “I’d like to thank you all for coming today. I know you’re all wondering what we’d like to talk to you about, and I’ll get to that in a moment. First, let me thank the Hamilton family for allowing us to gather in their home. This is an important conversation and it will be much more comfortable here than in a room down at the station. So thank you Mark, Ann.” He paused then, letting them be recognized.

“Now, our community has been having a tough time lately, and it hasn’t been easy on any of us. We’ve lost some good people very suddenly. A lot of us are grieving.” He glanced at Agnes and Lara, and then over at the Reynolds family. “Most of us were thinking what a bad coincidence that all of this was. That’s what it seemed to be, just a really bad chain of events. But recently, Mr. Hamilton here brought me some information. This information changes everything. I’m going to let him tell you all about it.” Sheriff Buchanon motioned for Mark to address the group.