I Don't Think We're Alone Now
October 21
“You know, as far as plans go,” Mart muttered, “this one is either totally brilliant or completely insane. I haven’t decided which.”
“I did put it out there for other suggestions,” Dan reminded him. “No one offered any.”
“Right.”
Mart clicked a few files to open a graphic clipart image of a flower bouquet. He dragged it over to his document and placed it in the top right corner. A few more adjustments, and he shrugged. “I think it’s as done as it’s gonna get. One faked invoice for weekly flowers to be placed on Caitlyn Summerfield’s grave, courtesy of her deeply mourning boyfriend.”
“Great. Print it out and we’ll move on to phase two.”
Mart glanced up at the clock over the computer lab’s white board. “We need to hurry. Trixie’s supposed to be meeting us in about five minutes at the van.”
“Let’s just hope between this and the staged photos we’re about to take, it’ll be enough to convince Mr. Lehman’s dead ex-girlfriend it’s time to move on.”
Trixie was already at the van by the time they arrived in the student parking lot, talking to two students neither Dan nor Mart recognized. As they neared, it became apparent that the discussion was not a particularly friendly one. When they noticed the boys approaching, one of the girls made a final quick remark before they both hurried away.
“Who was that?” Mart asked, frowning. “And what did they want?”
For a moment, Trixie didn’t answer.
“Freckles?” Dan prompted, regarding her expectantly. “You all right?”
She huffed out a breath and forced a smile, knowing it looked as tired as she felt. “They were just some girls from one of my classes. I guess they’re trying to cause trouble.”
Dan’s frown deepened. “Huh? Why?”
“Because they invited you and me to Blake Keene’s Halloween party. You know, the one Jerry Vanderhoef’s been going on about? Anyway, they were implying we would be smart to ditch the Bob-Whites and hang out with the ‘cool kids’ instead. There’s no way Jerry and his crowd really want us there. This has got to be some attempt to mess with the Bob-Whites, but I’m not sure why they’d want to or care. They were very specific. Just us. Not you, Mart, and not Honey. And I’m assuming not Brian and Jim, obviously, but they didn’t mention them at all.”
“Fantastic,” Mart grumbled. “Because along with everything else going on, dealing with stupid popularity games is high on my list of priorities. Some people really do need to grow up. We don’t have time for this nonsense.”
Trixie shrugged at that. She glanced at Dan with a somewhat apologetic expression. “I kinda spoke for both of us, but I told them it’s officially called the Bob-White Halloween Bash because while it’s held at Di’s house every year, all the Bob-Whites are considered hosts and there was no question where we were spending our Halloween night.”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle hug. “Absolutely the right answer, Freckles. And you were probably much more polite about it than I woulda been.”
“Thanks. So… I guess we’ll keep an eye on Jerry and Blake and their followers, but as Mart pointed out, we’ve got other things to worry about. I got a text from Professor Lee and he said he could meet us at the cemetery by 4:00. We need to get moving or we’re gonna be late.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So you simply want me to stand here, like this?”
“Yeah,” Dan confirmed. “Keep your collar up, your hands in your pockets and your head down, Professor. We’re gonna take some pictures from back by the road. Your role this afternoon is Grieving Boyfriend. The idea is we’re gonna show Caitlyn the photos on my phone and the fake flowers order and tell her that there was no way to confirm whether he cheated on her or not, but it seems really unlikely, seeing as how he’s still so torn up over her death. Hopefully? That’ll be enough.”
It didn’t take very long to get the pictures they wanted. Dan shot them from a great enough distance that it was only possible to tell a man was standing before a gravesite, but little else. It occurred to him that the entire plan could fall apart if Caitlyn had been cremated or buried in some elaborate mausoleum like the one at the top of the tallest hill in the cemetery, but he was counting on the chances of a regular plot being the most likely one. And there was always the possibility she didn’t even know herself where she was buried, so he had that in his favor, as well.
“All right. This’ll be good,” he said as he rapidly scrolled through the photos. “Thanks, Professor. Uh, we’re gonna go hold a brief session of office hours and then we’ll meet you on campus. Is everything set up there?”
“Yes. I have a space reserved we can use. Tell your friend to be in room 109 in the arts and humanities building by 6:45.” He glanced over to where Trixie stood carrying on a conversation that, from his perspective, seemed to be with a tree. “Does she need help?” he asked, his tone indicating a mild concern.
“Nah,” Mart said with a brief but amused grin. “She’s got this one. It’s a woman fretting about the awful manners of kids these days.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Before you ask,” Mart announced as they took their seats. “We don’t know if our ruse worked or not. Dan’s crazy kindergarten teacher no-showed on us.”
“Interesting,” Professor Lee said thoughtfully. “One wonders what this might portend and about the possible implications…”
“Dickens,” Trixie whispered in an aside to him, attempting, but not quite succeeding to hold back an impish grin.
He blinked owlishly behind his glasses for a moment, then flashed her a self-deprecating smile. “Right,” he murmured before raising his voice to address the entire group. “So, I’ve, uh, done some more research, especially into the phenomena of ghosts appearing to, er… non-magical folks.”
Honey visibly shuddered. “I have no problem admitting I’m glad I wasn’t there when Sarah showed herself,” she told them. “I’m having a hard enough time with all this anyway. I can’t begin to tell you what it’s like to spend most of your waking hours wondering if you’re really alone. I’ll see something out of the corner of my eye and then when I really look, there’s nothing there and I don’t know any more if I’m just imagining things, or what. The creep factor is major, just not knowing if I’m really alone at any time, or if my family is when we’re eating dinner, or when we have class and cheerleader practice... is someone there, watching us?”
“I’m sorry, Honey,” Trixie said seriously. “I’m hoping as we learn more, that it'll include what to do to make ghost-free zones or something.”
“Yes, well, as much as I’ve been able to learn, I haven’t quite stumbled across anything like that, I’m afraid,” the professor told them with a sympathetic glance in Honey’s direction. “I think for tonight it would be best to focus on what our friend here has come to share with us.” The professor nodded to Lester Mundy as an indication that they were ready for him to speak.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” he said quietly as he looked around the table. “I appreciate that you were willing to come to a neutral location.”
Professor Lee cleared his throat and nodded. “This classroom is not scheduled for use for the remainder of the day, except the reservation I put on it. Be aware though, that it is possible, however unlikely, that someone could walk in at any moment. Students have been known to seek out quiet spaces such as this from time-to-time as a place to study without distractions or interruptions.”
“In other words, watch the door and watch your words?” Dan asked.
“Something like that, yes.” The professor sent him a fleeting smile. “I do believe, though, that it’s safe enough for us to talk.”
Trixie looked over at Lester. “We’re listening,” she said somewhat stiffly.
“How much do you actually know already? I thought you’d deliberately broken the pact at first, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Considering we have no idea what you mean by ‘broken the pact,’ you can probably work off the assumption that we don’t know much,” Mart told him. “Why don’t you start there? What pact?”
Lester blew out a breath and slouched back in his chair. “Right. Okay. But in order to understand the pact, let’s go through a quick history lesson first. Sleepyside was founded by several families. The Mundys. The Beldens. The Macys – “
“Macy?” Dan cut in. “As in Philip Macy?”
“Yeah. Though most of his family has moved away. Philip and his mother are the only ones left here. Along with those three, we also had a few others. Some of their decedents are still here. Many more aren’t. Principal Stratton’s family can be traced all the way back to the Smiths, another of the founders. Anyway, the point is, the Beldens had a big secret.”
Trixie straightened, frowning, but she remained silent as Dan gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“No one knows where your family came from,” Lester continued. “Some people believe Joseph Belden, uh… the first one, not Sarah’s father. He was named after the original Joseph, his grandfather… Some people think the first Joseph assumed the name when he brought his wife and young children to settle your farm, and that he was someone else entirely before that. There doesn’t seem to be any record of him anywhere before the time he registered for the land that became the Belden farmstead. Anyway, what Joseph didn’t tell the other families, and I admit with probable good reason, is that his wife was a very powerful witch who could, among other things, summon the dead.
“She became known in the village as a kind of healer, often prescribing various herbal concoctions for ailments and injuries, but then one day Horace Mundy’s oldest son contracted some kind of illness. The records I’ve found don’t give enough details to even guess what it might have been, but apparently he went to Clara Belden and begged for help. Our family legend is that Clara refused outright. I don’t honestly know if it’s true or not, but I’m guessing there was more to the story, whatever happened. Anyway, the son died. Horace blamed Clara and vowed revenge. Less than a year later, the Belden’s youngest daughter died under mysterious circumstances and, also according to Mundy legend, we weren’t involved, but Clara cursed our family anyway because of it. She summoned an evil spirit to haunt us, no matter where we went in the world or what we did.
“The Beldens and Mundys became mortal enemies. There are stories of curses, fights, even murder. In some generations, the Beldens show little to no magical abilities. But sometimes? A frighteningly powerful new witch is born to the family. It happened with Sarah. And…” he paused as his eyes tracked to Trixie, “… I think it’s happened again.”
“Now, hang on!” Mart exploded.
“Wait a minute,” Dan said at the same time.
“I believe-“ Professor Lee began, but he stopped himself as Trixie held up her hand.
“Let him finish,” she said evenly. “Please.”
“Thank you. The Beldens have a history of witchcraft by birth. In the Mundy family, it’s only by practice and it’s only mild things such as protective spells that may or may not have much effect. Mostly, we’ve always been concerned with warding off additional evil spirits.”
“Additional?” Mart frowned at him disbelievingly. “Are you saying whatever spirit it was that Clara supposedly summoned is still with you?”
Lester shook his head. “No. Sarah banished that spirit when she was still a teenager. It was all very Romeo and Juliet for awhile there. Sarah and one of my ancestors, John Mundy, wanted to marry. As a token of her sincerity, Sarah rid our family of the spirit and every other curse ever cast on us. Something happened, though. I don’t know what and my family doesn’t have any explanations. All we know is the marriage did not take place and Sarah wound up the wife of a newcomer to the area, Luke Sligo. Things got very bad between our families again. New curses. New vows for revenge. And it culminated in the night the mob went crazy and killed her. The man behind that mob? His name was Tom Downey, but his mother was a Mundy.”
“Your family murdered her,” Mart said darkly.
“We were at least partly responsible,” Lester agreed without argument or rancor. “After that? Well, our histories are tied together with various stories all of the same nature. For Mundys, it became tradition that all children born to the family line were taught certain charms and protection spells. Any time one of us moves to a new home, there’s a purification ritual. We carry small pouches with talismans and herbal mixes. Stuff like that. Essentially, you can consider us practicing Wiccans. Which all brings me to the pact.”
“Yeah. What’s the pact?” Mart asked, his expression still sour.
“It was formed between my great-great-uncle and your grandfather, when he was just a few years older than we are now. Something happened. Try as I have for almost all of my life, I’ve never been able to find out what it was. No one will tell me, not even my Aunt Cecily, and she’s usually the one willing to give me the most information. I just know it was really bad. Really bad. Whatever it was, the Mundys and Beldens agreed to a truce. We would go our separate ways, but your grandfather swore that the Beldens were out of the cursing and ghost summoning business for good. If you really didn’t know about any of this? I guess maybe it’s possible your granddad thought he could ensure that the pact lasted by suppressing your family history and never telling you who you really are.” He stopped and studied both Mart and Trixie intently. “I don’t know what you’ve been up to. I know there’s been a big uptick in spirit activity and that it’s growing and getting worse. I’ve been out to Lisgard House and I know you’ve found some of Sarah’s writings. At first I thought you were trying to curse us again, though I couldn’t understand why, except that maybe it had something to do with Mangan-“
“What?” Dan scowled heavily. “Why the hell would I want to curse you?”
“I thought because of Ruth. But… uh… I guess not.” Lester glanced at Trixie as he spoke. “You’re obviously interested in someone else. So, now you tell me. What happened? How did you get into this… this mess? And if it’s not about breaking the pact, what are you trying to accomplish?”
Mart took a deep breath before responding. “You’ve been open and honest with us, so it’s only fair that we do the same. The first thing you need to know is that prior to October 1st? We knew nothing about any of this. As to what happened? Hope you’re comfortable, because it’s a long story we have to tell you.”
“You know, as far as plans go,” Mart muttered, “this one is either totally brilliant or completely insane. I haven’t decided which.”
“I did put it out there for other suggestions,” Dan reminded him. “No one offered any.”
“Right.”
Mart clicked a few files to open a graphic clipart image of a flower bouquet. He dragged it over to his document and placed it in the top right corner. A few more adjustments, and he shrugged. “I think it’s as done as it’s gonna get. One faked invoice for weekly flowers to be placed on Caitlyn Summerfield’s grave, courtesy of her deeply mourning boyfriend.”
“Great. Print it out and we’ll move on to phase two.”
Mart glanced up at the clock over the computer lab’s white board. “We need to hurry. Trixie’s supposed to be meeting us in about five minutes at the van.”
“Let’s just hope between this and the staged photos we’re about to take, it’ll be enough to convince Mr. Lehman’s dead ex-girlfriend it’s time to move on.”
Trixie was already at the van by the time they arrived in the student parking lot, talking to two students neither Dan nor Mart recognized. As they neared, it became apparent that the discussion was not a particularly friendly one. When they noticed the boys approaching, one of the girls made a final quick remark before they both hurried away.
“Who was that?” Mart asked, frowning. “And what did they want?”
For a moment, Trixie didn’t answer.
“Freckles?” Dan prompted, regarding her expectantly. “You all right?”
She huffed out a breath and forced a smile, knowing it looked as tired as she felt. “They were just some girls from one of my classes. I guess they’re trying to cause trouble.”
Dan’s frown deepened. “Huh? Why?”
“Because they invited you and me to Blake Keene’s Halloween party. You know, the one Jerry Vanderhoef’s been going on about? Anyway, they were implying we would be smart to ditch the Bob-Whites and hang out with the ‘cool kids’ instead. There’s no way Jerry and his crowd really want us there. This has got to be some attempt to mess with the Bob-Whites, but I’m not sure why they’d want to or care. They were very specific. Just us. Not you, Mart, and not Honey. And I’m assuming not Brian and Jim, obviously, but they didn’t mention them at all.”
“Fantastic,” Mart grumbled. “Because along with everything else going on, dealing with stupid popularity games is high on my list of priorities. Some people really do need to grow up. We don’t have time for this nonsense.”
Trixie shrugged at that. She glanced at Dan with a somewhat apologetic expression. “I kinda spoke for both of us, but I told them it’s officially called the Bob-White Halloween Bash because while it’s held at Di’s house every year, all the Bob-Whites are considered hosts and there was no question where we were spending our Halloween night.”
He slipped an arm around her shoulders and gave her a gentle hug. “Absolutely the right answer, Freckles. And you were probably much more polite about it than I woulda been.”
“Thanks. So… I guess we’ll keep an eye on Jerry and Blake and their followers, but as Mart pointed out, we’ve got other things to worry about. I got a text from Professor Lee and he said he could meet us at the cemetery by 4:00. We need to get moving or we’re gonna be late.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“So you simply want me to stand here, like this?”
“Yeah,” Dan confirmed. “Keep your collar up, your hands in your pockets and your head down, Professor. We’re gonna take some pictures from back by the road. Your role this afternoon is Grieving Boyfriend. The idea is we’re gonna show Caitlyn the photos on my phone and the fake flowers order and tell her that there was no way to confirm whether he cheated on her or not, but it seems really unlikely, seeing as how he’s still so torn up over her death. Hopefully? That’ll be enough.”
It didn’t take very long to get the pictures they wanted. Dan shot them from a great enough distance that it was only possible to tell a man was standing before a gravesite, but little else. It occurred to him that the entire plan could fall apart if Caitlyn had been cremated or buried in some elaborate mausoleum like the one at the top of the tallest hill in the cemetery, but he was counting on the chances of a regular plot being the most likely one. And there was always the possibility she didn’t even know herself where she was buried, so he had that in his favor, as well.
“All right. This’ll be good,” he said as he rapidly scrolled through the photos. “Thanks, Professor. Uh, we’re gonna go hold a brief session of office hours and then we’ll meet you on campus. Is everything set up there?”
“Yes. I have a space reserved we can use. Tell your friend to be in room 109 in the arts and humanities building by 6:45.” He glanced over to where Trixie stood carrying on a conversation that, from his perspective, seemed to be with a tree. “Does she need help?” he asked, his tone indicating a mild concern.
“Nah,” Mart said with a brief but amused grin. “She’s got this one. It’s a woman fretting about the awful manners of kids these days.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Before you ask,” Mart announced as they took their seats. “We don’t know if our ruse worked or not. Dan’s crazy kindergarten teacher no-showed on us.”
“Interesting,” Professor Lee said thoughtfully. “One wonders what this might portend and about the possible implications…”
“Dickens,” Trixie whispered in an aside to him, attempting, but not quite succeeding to hold back an impish grin.
He blinked owlishly behind his glasses for a moment, then flashed her a self-deprecating smile. “Right,” he murmured before raising his voice to address the entire group. “So, I’ve, uh, done some more research, especially into the phenomena of ghosts appearing to, er… non-magical folks.”
Honey visibly shuddered. “I have no problem admitting I’m glad I wasn’t there when Sarah showed herself,” she told them. “I’m having a hard enough time with all this anyway. I can’t begin to tell you what it’s like to spend most of your waking hours wondering if you’re really alone. I’ll see something out of the corner of my eye and then when I really look, there’s nothing there and I don’t know any more if I’m just imagining things, or what. The creep factor is major, just not knowing if I’m really alone at any time, or if my family is when we’re eating dinner, or when we have class and cheerleader practice... is someone there, watching us?”
“I’m sorry, Honey,” Trixie said seriously. “I’m hoping as we learn more, that it'll include what to do to make ghost-free zones or something.”
“Yes, well, as much as I’ve been able to learn, I haven’t quite stumbled across anything like that, I’m afraid,” the professor told them with a sympathetic glance in Honey’s direction. “I think for tonight it would be best to focus on what our friend here has come to share with us.” The professor nodded to Lester Mundy as an indication that they were ready for him to speak.
“Thanks for meeting me here,” he said quietly as he looked around the table. “I appreciate that you were willing to come to a neutral location.”
Professor Lee cleared his throat and nodded. “This classroom is not scheduled for use for the remainder of the day, except the reservation I put on it. Be aware though, that it is possible, however unlikely, that someone could walk in at any moment. Students have been known to seek out quiet spaces such as this from time-to-time as a place to study without distractions or interruptions.”
“In other words, watch the door and watch your words?” Dan asked.
“Something like that, yes.” The professor sent him a fleeting smile. “I do believe, though, that it’s safe enough for us to talk.”
Trixie looked over at Lester. “We’re listening,” she said somewhat stiffly.
“How much do you actually know already? I thought you’d deliberately broken the pact at first, but now I’m not so sure.”
“Considering we have no idea what you mean by ‘broken the pact,’ you can probably work off the assumption that we don’t know much,” Mart told him. “Why don’t you start there? What pact?”
Lester blew out a breath and slouched back in his chair. “Right. Okay. But in order to understand the pact, let’s go through a quick history lesson first. Sleepyside was founded by several families. The Mundys. The Beldens. The Macys – “
“Macy?” Dan cut in. “As in Philip Macy?”
“Yeah. Though most of his family has moved away. Philip and his mother are the only ones left here. Along with those three, we also had a few others. Some of their decedents are still here. Many more aren’t. Principal Stratton’s family can be traced all the way back to the Smiths, another of the founders. Anyway, the point is, the Beldens had a big secret.”
Trixie straightened, frowning, but she remained silent as Dan gave her hand a reassuring squeeze.
“No one knows where your family came from,” Lester continued. “Some people believe Joseph Belden, uh… the first one, not Sarah’s father. He was named after the original Joseph, his grandfather… Some people think the first Joseph assumed the name when he brought his wife and young children to settle your farm, and that he was someone else entirely before that. There doesn’t seem to be any record of him anywhere before the time he registered for the land that became the Belden farmstead. Anyway, what Joseph didn’t tell the other families, and I admit with probable good reason, is that his wife was a very powerful witch who could, among other things, summon the dead.
“She became known in the village as a kind of healer, often prescribing various herbal concoctions for ailments and injuries, but then one day Horace Mundy’s oldest son contracted some kind of illness. The records I’ve found don’t give enough details to even guess what it might have been, but apparently he went to Clara Belden and begged for help. Our family legend is that Clara refused outright. I don’t honestly know if it’s true or not, but I’m guessing there was more to the story, whatever happened. Anyway, the son died. Horace blamed Clara and vowed revenge. Less than a year later, the Belden’s youngest daughter died under mysterious circumstances and, also according to Mundy legend, we weren’t involved, but Clara cursed our family anyway because of it. She summoned an evil spirit to haunt us, no matter where we went in the world or what we did.
“The Beldens and Mundys became mortal enemies. There are stories of curses, fights, even murder. In some generations, the Beldens show little to no magical abilities. But sometimes? A frighteningly powerful new witch is born to the family. It happened with Sarah. And…” he paused as his eyes tracked to Trixie, “… I think it’s happened again.”
“Now, hang on!” Mart exploded.
“Wait a minute,” Dan said at the same time.
“I believe-“ Professor Lee began, but he stopped himself as Trixie held up her hand.
“Let him finish,” she said evenly. “Please.”
“Thank you. The Beldens have a history of witchcraft by birth. In the Mundy family, it’s only by practice and it’s only mild things such as protective spells that may or may not have much effect. Mostly, we’ve always been concerned with warding off additional evil spirits.”
“Additional?” Mart frowned at him disbelievingly. “Are you saying whatever spirit it was that Clara supposedly summoned is still with you?”
Lester shook his head. “No. Sarah banished that spirit when she was still a teenager. It was all very Romeo and Juliet for awhile there. Sarah and one of my ancestors, John Mundy, wanted to marry. As a token of her sincerity, Sarah rid our family of the spirit and every other curse ever cast on us. Something happened, though. I don’t know what and my family doesn’t have any explanations. All we know is the marriage did not take place and Sarah wound up the wife of a newcomer to the area, Luke Sligo. Things got very bad between our families again. New curses. New vows for revenge. And it culminated in the night the mob went crazy and killed her. The man behind that mob? His name was Tom Downey, but his mother was a Mundy.”
“Your family murdered her,” Mart said darkly.
“We were at least partly responsible,” Lester agreed without argument or rancor. “After that? Well, our histories are tied together with various stories all of the same nature. For Mundys, it became tradition that all children born to the family line were taught certain charms and protection spells. Any time one of us moves to a new home, there’s a purification ritual. We carry small pouches with talismans and herbal mixes. Stuff like that. Essentially, you can consider us practicing Wiccans. Which all brings me to the pact.”
“Yeah. What’s the pact?” Mart asked, his expression still sour.
“It was formed between my great-great-uncle and your grandfather, when he was just a few years older than we are now. Something happened. Try as I have for almost all of my life, I’ve never been able to find out what it was. No one will tell me, not even my Aunt Cecily, and she’s usually the one willing to give me the most information. I just know it was really bad. Really bad. Whatever it was, the Mundys and Beldens agreed to a truce. We would go our separate ways, but your grandfather swore that the Beldens were out of the cursing and ghost summoning business for good. If you really didn’t know about any of this? I guess maybe it’s possible your granddad thought he could ensure that the pact lasted by suppressing your family history and never telling you who you really are.” He stopped and studied both Mart and Trixie intently. “I don’t know what you’ve been up to. I know there’s been a big uptick in spirit activity and that it’s growing and getting worse. I’ve been out to Lisgard House and I know you’ve found some of Sarah’s writings. At first I thought you were trying to curse us again, though I couldn’t understand why, except that maybe it had something to do with Mangan-“
“What?” Dan scowled heavily. “Why the hell would I want to curse you?”
“I thought because of Ruth. But… uh… I guess not.” Lester glanced at Trixie as he spoke. “You’re obviously interested in someone else. So, now you tell me. What happened? How did you get into this… this mess? And if it’s not about breaking the pact, what are you trying to accomplish?”
Mart took a deep breath before responding. “You’ve been open and honest with us, so it’s only fair that we do the same. The first thing you need to know is that prior to October 1st? We knew nothing about any of this. As to what happened? Hope you’re comfortable, because it’s a long story we have to tell you.”