Chapter 29 - It's the Small Things That Can Kill You! - The Eyes and Ears of the Dead are Everywhere

Chapter 29 – The Eyes and Ears of the Dead are Everywhere

Rico, Jerry, Fenton, Sal, and I had backed about as far away from the spectacle of the dead as we could without being forced back into the main building of Happy Meadows. The night air practically vibrated with the presence of spirits from one of our local graveyards. I had begun to ascend the stairway leading to the front door, when that very door opened. Joey and Clara stepped out.

“What on earth is going on out here?” Clara stared wide-eyed at periodic zaps of static that serpentined from one metal object in the parking lot to another. Static zapped some of the parked vehicles residents kept for transportation into towns. Ball lightning danced on the metal railings that bordered the property as well as the metal swinging sign that welcomed all to the site of solace and good fellowship.

“It’s kind of a long story.” I said under my breath.

“No, it’s not.” Rico blurted out. He was bleeding slightly from a scrape on his forehead, sustained in the scuffle he had with his uncle Jerry. “My stupid uncle Jerry got drunk tonight, performed a ritual to raise the dead and then lead the spirits across town while he was looking for me.” He shot a glare of annoyance at Jerry, who was still beating the parking lot dust off himself. “Got anything to add to that Jerry?” Rico looked at him as if he was a Quick Trip store manager about to fire an employee.

“Not really.” Jerry said sheepishly. “Except I thought you were in trouble. We argued before you left and I sensed you were having some difficulties across town. So, I did the ceremony and drove over to find you. The dead came with me because they are bound to me by the ritual. Come sunup they will have to return to their graves.”

At that moment an enormous sphere of ball lightning burst and, in doing so, illuminated the entire group of spirits that had followed Jerry across town. Clara gasped in amazement. The invisible dead spirits were framed brightly for a moment in sharp contrast to the surrounding darkness.

Joey yelled at Sal, who was closer to the spectacle. “I made out the ghost of James Cody but I also think that I saw Billy Touche in the crowd. Sal, did you spot him?”

“Yeah, that was Billy.” Sal replied. “This situation is out of control Joey. Any thoughts?”

“I have more questions than thoughts right now.” Joey answered. “We need to have a conference. Let’s move this inside.”

Another tightly compressed ball of static burst near Fenton.

“Forty-nine.” Fenton yelled. “There were only forty-two of them before! How can there be more of them?”

                                                             *      *      *

We slowly walked into the front door of Happy Meadows, frequently looking back over our shoulders. Upon requesting a meeting room, Carmen led us into the game room and television lounge off the lobby area.  Several residents were still up watching a rerun of the Carol Burnett Show. Others were watching the light show out in the parking lot, as if the large game room window was a second television set.

Joey cleared his throat. “Okay Mouseketeer’s, I have questions and then some news that may be alarming. Questions first. Once again, why are the spooks in the parking lot in the first place?”

We were standing around a ping pong table. There were five or six folding chairs located close to us.

Jerry plopped down in one of the chairs “I’m an ordained priest of a small Brazilian American community in town. I have certain psychic abilities and some influence over the dead. Tonight, I had a fight with my nephew Rico, got wasted, and performed a ceremony that allowed the dead to walk the earth. I sensed Rico was in trouble and came looking for him. He left a note saying that he was here at Happy Meadows. When I came over here, the dead were compelled to follow me.”

“You said that you were able to sense that your nephew was in trouble over here. You knew he was in harm’s way before you ever even read his note?” Joey looked intrigued.

“It’s true.” Rico volunteered. “Also, Jerry wouldn’t have even needed the note to find me. If he had that many dead spirits together, exchanging information, looking for a person, he wouldn’t need a bloodhound.  I left the note to mostly let him know that I was pissed at him.

I guess I should be touched that he is concerned about me. Growing up when I was a kid, it really sucked. I couldn’t get into trouble without my Uncle Jerry knowing about it. The dead lie a lot when they talk to other people, but Jerry can compel them to tell the truth…and there are a lot of graveyards around Kildeer. The eyes and ears of the dead are everywhere.”

“There are now fifty of them. Why are there more now?” Fenton said as he peered out the window next to Phyllis, who had gotten bored with Carol Burnett and was now also window peeping. Fenton was an enigma. He was able to accurately count the dead outside in a split second and yet frequently would overdraw his checking account. Go figure.

Jerry explained to the group. “That’s probably going to happen for the rest of the night. The dead are like refrigerator magnets after this ritual until dawn.”

“Huh?” I said. Once again, I felt like the weakest link in the chain.

Jerry saw the confusion on my face. “Maybe that isn’t the best analogy. What I meant was that they have a psychic affinity with each other. ‘Birds of a feather’, that sort of thing. The original forty or so that came across town are attracting other spirits. The newly dead are very strongly attracted because they are disoriented and those that have been assimilated into the world of the dead to provide a type of structure. That structure calms them.”

“How many dead are we expecting to have before sunup?” I asked.

“A ballpark guesstimate for around here?  A lot. As the night wears on, the ritual will even call to the ancient dead. Old native American spirits…ghosts of early settlers.” Jerry remarked. “A couple of thousand spirits before the sun rises. The static electricity will become intense at times.”

“Okay. Do you see those people over there, Mr. Gonzales?” Clara pointed to more residents pressing their noses to windows catching glimpses of the spirits outside. The situation you have created is potentially a social train wreck.”

“My head is starting to clear a bit now and I can see what you mean. I didn’t think this through.” Jerry put his hand over his face.

Joey spoke in a low tone. “What we don’t want here is a panic. But if one of those elderly residents sees their mother, father, brother, best friend, that they buried, and they recognize them, we could have trouble. You said they are bound to you. What does that mean?”

“If I move back to my house or anyplace else, they must follow. All of them do. Even the ones not buried locally…the newly dead.” Jerry replied.

“Why aren’t they just following us through the front door? Clara asked. “They seem to be keeping a respectful distance.

“Oh, because of this.” Jerry pulled a necklace of bones that dangled around his neck, obscured previously by his loose linen shirt.

“Damn Jerry, you found your mojo.” Rico held his nose.

“Yep, I looked everywhere. Then it turned up. It’s been in a vinegar bottle for about a year.” Jerry shook it, apparently oblivious to the odor. “Part of the ritual. It protects me and others around me. The dead keep their distance from it.   

At that moment Phyllis turned away from the window and shouted, “They aren’t supposed to be here!”

“We are working on it right now Phyllis.” Joey said in a smooth voice, turning up the charm.

“I have some disturbing news gang. My contacts in Reno tell me that there is one more of Bobby Moretti’s hired guns in town. No one on our side knows what this guy looks like. No one even knows his name. All I know is he is foreign and referred to only as ‘Cutter’.  His target is Frank and the big guy isn’t doing well. Frank probably knows him, but Frank is having trouble talking right now. We need to move him. He needs medical assistance. Do you know anyone in town that could check Frank out this late at night and keep their mouth closed for a price? I think he has had a stroke. That may be why he has been sleeping so much.”

“There’s a friend of ours that runs he comic bookstore downtown.” Rico suggested.

“But how are we going to get him over there? We could use my mom’s car, but people would recognize it and might report it if they saw a stranger riding with me. Also, the cops have the town under a curfew that starts at midnight.” Fenton said scratching his curly red mop of hair.

“Welcome to Kildeer. If the dead don’t rat you out, your neighbor surely will.” Clara snarked.

Joey ran his fingers through his hair. “Say, did I see one of you driving a hearse earlier tonight?” he said with a smile.