Part 24 (1/2)

”d.a.m.n,” Deem said. ”Steven and Roy really could be at risk.”

”Well, you warned Roy. He's a smart old man. He'll be on the lookout.”

”I like Roy,” Deem said. ”He was fun to be around.”

”Me too. We should go see them sometime. They did invite us up.”

”I'd be willing to go when this is all over.”

”Do you know this mining shack Aggie was describing?”

”I think so. Her directions were screwy, but if it's the one I think it is, we'll see the wash in about ten minutes.”

Deem directed Winn off-road once they reached the sandy wash, and Winn drove around boulders in the dry streambed. They climbed slightly, and Deem had Winn stop the Jeep when she noticed the hill that led to the mine.

”That's it,” she said. ”Let's take water. I'm not taking any lights. I don't see any reason to go into the mine here. We only need to contact Evan in the shack.”

”Well, I'm bringing a flashlight just in case,” Winn said.

They trekked up the side of the hill. As they crested it, Deem saw the outcropping of bushes that had grown over the mine entrance and the small white sign placed there by authorities to warn people away.

”Around this way,” she said, circling past the mine entrance and further up the hill. ”Shafts used to lead from the shack into the mine, but they were sealed over years ago.”

They rounded the hill and the shack came into view.

”Can't believe it's still standing,” Winn said. ”It looks like it's one storm away from collapsing.”

Bushes had grown up around the shack, but the door to it was still accessible. Deem walked up to it and pushed it open. It creaked as it swung back. She bent down and looked at the door's hinges.

”These are new,” she said. ”He made sure he could trap his brother in here before he brought him up.”

”And there's a new gate lock on the door itself,” Winn said, walking past Deem and into the building.

”Careful,” Deem said. ”Hornets.”

Winn turned on his flashlight and pointed up to the ceiling of the shack. ”Look!” he said to Deem, who walked over to join him. They could see several hornets buzzing around the nest.

Deem scanned the rest of the shack. There was no way out, no windows or back doors. Only the one door they'd come in.

”So he must have died right here, on the floor,” Deem said, looking down.

”Then John dragged him outside to bury him,” Winn said. ”Where do you want to try to contact him? In here, or outside?”

”Outside,” Deem said. ”The hornets make me nervous.”

They walked out of the shack, and Deem looked for an area of open ground where they could sit. She located a spot behind the shack.

”You'll watch over me?” Deem asked Winn.

”I will,” Winn said. ”Go ahead and start. I'll make sure you're safe.”

Deem sat cross-legged on the dirt, the warmth of the earth radiating up through her jeans and into her skin. She closed her eyes, and let herself fall into the River. Then she focused on the shack, on the inside floor where she imagined Evan had died. She kept the focus until she felt the trance form around her and become solid. Once the trance was complete, she felt free to walk around.

Evan! she called. Evan Braithwaite!

She listened, hoping she'd hear a call back. Nothing came.

Within her trance, she stood and walked to the shack. The door was shut, the gate lock thrown. She could hear a loud buzzing sound inside, and screams.

She pa.s.sed through the door of the shack, and saw Evan on the floor. He was twisting back and forth, rolling on the floorboards of the shack, attempting to squash the dozens of insects that were on him. His face was already grotesquely swollen. He was struggling for air.

Evan! she called.

If Evan heard her, he didn't respond. He kept rolling back and forth on the floor, screaming. She watched as he struggled to breathe and his body began to shake, anaphylactic shock setting in. Eventually the shaking stopped, and he lay still on his stomach, face down. The hornets disappeared.

He won't come in for another half hour, Evan said. He waits until he's sure the hornets have calmed down and returned to the nest.

Who? Deem asked, already knowing the answer.

John, my brother, Evan said meekly into the floor below him. Somehow the door locked. He was too far away to hear me. He forgot I was in here.

Evan began to cry, still facing down.

Deem hadn't had much experience with normal ghosts. She was used to the kind that transformed and chased her. Evan was different. He was playing out a pattern, as Awan had said. He doesn't realize his brother killed him, Deem thought. He thinks it was an accident.

When he comes in, Deem asked Evan, after a half hour, what does he do?

He buries me, Evan said, outside.

Why doesn't he take you back into town? So you can have a proper burial, with a funeral?

Evan didn't respond.

Normally that's what people would do, especially a brother, Deem said.

Evan began crying again. It hurts so bad, he said. I can't breathe. I need my EpiPen. He rolled over to face Deem. His skin was blue and covered in hives. She tried not to respond to the horror of it, but she wasn't sure Evan could even see her the flesh around his eyes had nearly swollen them shut.

Can you take me to where you're buried? Deem asked.

It's outside, Evan said. He rose from the floor and drifted through the walls of the shack. Deem followed him. There was Winn, watching over her body. She pa.s.sed by him and followed Evan as he made his way through brush. He stopped at a barely perceptible mound.

Here, he said, staring down.

Why did he bury you here? Deem asked.

I don't know. I was dead, I suppose. Evan's breathing consisted of loud wheezes at he tried to pull air in and out through his swollen throat.

But he should have taken your body back to town. Had a funeral, so your wife would know where you are. Your wife thinks you've gone missing, just like the rest of your family and friends. Your brother John knows you're not missing, doesn't he? He buried you out here in the middle of nowhere so they wouldn't find you.