Mr. Joshua P. Dunlap was ready for his shave. On a normal day, he would have used his electric razor to clear all the stubble from his face and neck and then he would use a trimmer to edge around the neat mustache and goatee for which he was well known. He was the owner of Dunlap Ford, one of the largest car dealers in a three county area, and had been the face seen in Dunlap Ford’s television commercials for over 30 years.
But it wasn’t a normal day. Mr. Dunlap was dead. According to the coroner, it was a heart attack. Now, rather than lying comfortably in his own bed, he was lying on a cold table under bright florescent lights covered only with a sheet. The cold didn’t matter to him, though.
The cold didn’t matter to Thomas Cross either. It was his job to prepare Mr. Dunlap for his viewing the next morning. He had already washed the man’s silver hair and cut his nails. It was time to give him his last shave. He lathered up the shaving cream in a cup and applied it liberally to Mr. Dunlap’s face and neck. He then used a straight razor to give him a close and clean shave. Most preparers would use a safety razor, but Thomas felt the old-fashioned straight razor was somehow more dignified and gave a cleaner shave.
Even though Thomas was just an employee of Gibson Brothers Funeral Home, Thomas always thought of the people he prepared as his clients. And, Thomas always tried to make his clients look good for their funerals. It was the last time that anyone would ever see them again so he felt that they should look their best.
The brothers Gibson felt that the services that Thomas provided were just an expense that they were obligated to include and they complained about having to pay Thomas each and every payday. Thomas didn’t let it bother him. He knew that his services were important for the family and, in some way he couldn’t quite articulate, he thought it was important to the dearly departed as well.
His phone chimed. It was 6 pm. He wouldn’t normally be at the funeral home that late in the evening, but Mrs. Dunlap had moved his funeral up a couple of days because she had a hard time living in such a big old mansion without the husband she loved so much. She wanted to go away for a while and go through the grieving process at their vacation home in the Bahamas. It was short notice and Thomas knew Mr. Dunlap needed to be ready.
He quickly finished shaving the man and was working on detailing his black mustache and salt and pepper goatee when he heard a slight creaking noise. He paused for a moment; the trimmer poised over Mr. Dunlap’s ample nose. He listened for any more noises. There weren’t any.
Thomas’ station was located in the far corner of the basement below the Funeral Home. There was a swinging door at the bottom of the stairway that led to the upper floor and normally, it would open and swing shut with nothing except a slight whooshing sound. Thomas was used to it creaking like that every once in a while.
He finished Mr. Dunlap’s facial hair. Then, he cleaned up the shaving equipment and grabbed the suit that Mrs. Dunlap had provided for Mr. Dunlap to wear into eternity. Thomas laid out the clothes and started dressing the man when he heard another creaking sound. This time, it wasn’t the door. He recovered Mr. Dunlap with the sheet and turned toward the stairway.
The basement was filled with caskets. The Gibson Brothers used the basement as their showroom. The most expensive caskets were closest to the stairway and they got less expensive the farther away from the stairs they were. The caskets closest to Thomas’ work area were the discounted and bargain basement ones.
All the caskets were as they had been, except for the Crown Royal casket next to the stairway. It was the most expensive casket that the Gibson Brothers had ever carried. It was made of the finest elegant mahogany highlighted with a hand rubbed high gloss finish. Every inch of metal hardware was plated with pure 24 carat gold. And the interior was top of the line champagne velvet. It was the elder Gibson’s goal to either sell it or be buried in it, if it should come to that.
But the lid of the Crown Royal was open. It hadn’t been open a few minutes earlier. The younger Gibson wanted them to remain closed to prevent dust from settling on the linings. Now, it was open. As Thomas watched, the lid began to slowly close again.
He made his way through the line of caskets and placed his hand on the handle of the Crown Royal. After preparing himself, he quickly opened the lid and grabbed the body laying inside by the shirt and hauled him out.
“I told you not to play around in the caskets.” Thomas told his brother.
Daniel Cross laughed as he was hauled out and unceremoniously dumped on the floor. He may have been fifteen, but the sandy haired boy often acted far younger.
“What are you doing here?” Thomas asked.
“The carnival, remember?” Daniel said as he got back up on his feet.
“Is that tonight?”
“Yeah. We talked about it yesterday. Are you ready to go?” Daniel opened the lid of a casket that had a white interior.
“I can’t yet.” Thomas said as he pulled his brother’s hand off the casket lid and closed it again. He looked back at Mr. Dunlap laying under the sheet. He had to be ready in the morning. “You ride with Sara. I’ll meet you there after a while.”
Daniel watched his brother go back to work. The dark-haired boy was Daniel’s opposite in many ways. The worst, to Daniel, was that he never wanted to have fun. He seemed like an old man rather than a nineteen year old.
Daniel left his brother to finish Mr. Dunlap’s preparations and went outside to his sister’s car.
The Salenski Carnival came to Wakina, Minnesota for three days every May. And for two nights, the fairgrounds were packed with teenagers, families and carnies.
Thomas found Daniel eating cheese curds by the First Lutheran Church food booth. Sara was talking on her phone nearby. She still had her baseball jersey on from that afternoon’s game. The seventeen-year-old had earned a place as pitcher on the boys baseball team for their High School, the Wakina Lions.
“Who’s she talking to?” Thomas asked.
“Mom. She probably doesn’t want us to stay out too late.” Daniel said.
Mary Cross was always worried about her three kids. She had raised the kids by herself after their dad died ten years earlier. She didn’t have any other family to help out since she was an only child and her parents died years ago. So, she worried a lot.
Sara snapped her phone shut. She turned to go sit down at the picnic table with her brothers and ran into a tall man wearing gray overalls.
“I’m sorry. I guess I wasn’t looking.” She said. She looked up at his face. She was startled because, his face seemed odd. It didn’t quite seem real, like some sort of a mask, yet it didn’t seem like a mask at all.
“Be careful.” He told her and walked away into the crowd. Before she could say anything more, he was gone.
“Weird.” She said. She noticed Thomas. “Now that you finally got here, we can have some fun.”
For the next hour, they rode on one ride after another. They rode on a roller coaster that all three of them thought was pretty lame. The went through the haunted house which was not only lame but also barely working. They flipped over and over on the Zipper and even took their frustrations out on each other on the bumper cars.
They were swinging back and forth on the Pirate Ship when Sara noticed him. The man in gray overalls was standing by a electrical shack watching the Pirate Ship ride. She pointed him out to her brothers.
“There’s that man I ran into by that little building. It’s like he’s watching us.” The boys saw him standing there.
“He probably works for the carnival. He’s probably just watching the ride. Not us.” Thomas told her.
A large group of kids walked by in front of him. It was a birthday party judging by the number of balloons the kids were carrying. She lost sight of him behind the balloons and kids for a moment and when the kids moved on, he was gone.
When they got off the ride, she looked for him again, but he was nowhere to be seen.
“Let’s go play some games.” Daniel said and headed for the midway.
“Hey, kid. Show your girlfriend what a wimp you are.” A voice on a loudspeaker said. The three of them glanced around. Across the walkway was a dunking booth. A sad clown wearing an old fashioned checkered swimsuit sat on a board over a tank of water.
“Yeah you. Show her what a wimp you are.” He called to Thomas. “I bet you can’t dunk me.” He motioned at the target next to the tank. The sign above it said “Dunk the Clown.” A carny in front of the booth held out three baseballs.
“She’s my sister.” Thomas called back to him.
“I didn’t know that was legal here.” The clown said and let out a loud, obnoxious laugh.
“Two dollars for three tries.” The carny told them. “Knock him down and you get a prize.” There were clown dolls hanging all around the booth.
“Not much variety.” Daniel said to him but the man just ignored him.
“Make a decision. Don’t let your mind wander. It’s too little to be left out alone.” The clown’s laugh blasted out again.
Thomas paid the man and took the three baseballs. Daniel grabbed his arm.
“Let Sara do it.” He told Thomas quietly. “She’s the all star. And besides, then he’ll be dunked by a girl.” They all smiled as Thomas handed Sara the first ball.
The man in gray overalls stood across the midway watching the three siblings. He looked down at his hand and checked the amulet he held in it. It was a smoky crystal set in a gold circle attached to thin gold chain.
“She must be the man of the house.” The clown said as Sara stepped up to pitch.
She went into her pitching routine, wound up and threw a hard, fast ball. It caught the edge of the target, but the target didn’t move. The ball hit the backdrop of the booth with a resounding thwack.
“You couldn’t hit the ground without gravity.” The clown joked.
Sara was frustrated that she had missed. She tried to shake it off and motioned for Thomas to give her another ball. Thomas handed Sara the second ball. Again, Sara started her routine.
The smoky crystal held by the man in gray overalls started to glow a little. He smiled slightly. Maybe they were the ones after all, he thought.
Sara wound up and threw the ball at the target. There was a metallic whine as the ball again caught the edge of the target. But the target didn’t move and the clown stayed where he was.
“Do you want me to throw that for you?” The clown laughed uproariously.
Sara kicked the front of the booth. Thomas could see that she was angry. He handed the third ball to her. She tried to snatch it from him, but she accidentally dropped it. It bounced against the front of the booth and rolled up against Thomas’ feet.
“A girl throws better than you.” The clown’s laughter echoed across the midway.
The man in gray overalls closed his hand around the brightly glowing crystal and put it away in his pocket.
Thomas picked up the ball. He tossed it in the air. He looked at Sara and she nodded, motioning for him to give her the ball. He tossed it in the air again and looked at the clown. He was still laughing. Finally, he tossed the ball to Sara.
In one smooth motion, Sara grabbed the ball out of the air and threw it as hard as she could at the target.
“A Swing and a, “ The clown started to say. A loud clang rang out in the night air. The clown dropped into the tank and disappeared into the water.
“You got dunked by a girl.” Sara called to the clown who was trying to climb up out of the tank. He looked like a wet dog. She turned to the carny and waited to get her prize.
The carny just stared at the target. The target arm was bent back from the impact and the ball was embedded in the target’s face plate. It was definitely broken and there was going to be a lot of work to put the dunking booth back into working order.
“Excuse me? Can I get my prize?” Sara asked him.
“Go away, kid.” The carny said and turned away from her.
“Hey, I dunked the clown so I should get a prize.” She said.
The carny turned back. “You’ll be lucky we don’t call the cops and have you pay for the damage you did.” He went to examine the target.
“But, I dunked him.” Sara insisted. Thomas and Daniel took her by the arms and led her away. She called back to the carny several times before giving in to her brothers.
“How about we go on the Ferris Wheel?” Thomas suggested.
“I should have gotten a prize.” Sara insisted.
“Let it go, Sara. Let’s go on the Ferris Wheel, Ok?” Daniel asked.
The brothers guided her into the line for the ride. In a few minutes, they were seated on one of the sixteen gondolas. Sara was seated between her brothers.
“Now this is relaxing. Cool night air. We can see all the lights.” Daniel said, glancing at Sara.
Sara sat with her arms folded. She knew her brothers wanted her to calm down. She sat staring out onto the midway. Then, she saw him again. The man in gray overalls was standing next to a ticket booth watching them going up and around on the Ferris Wheel.
“Look. There he is again. By the ticket booth.” Sara said pointing to him. As the gondola dropped closer to the ground, the ticket booth where he was standing disappeared behind the Octopus.
“I don’t see him.” Thomas said.
“I don’t either. Are you sure it was the same guy?” Daniel asked.
“Just wait. When we go back up, you’ll see him right over there.”
The gondola started rising again and the ticket booth came back into view. The man was gone.
“He was there just a minute ago.” She said.
The brothers looked at each other and shrugged. The gondola went around several more times and then slowed to a stop. They were let out after three other gondolas were emptied.
“Hey, this is boring. Let’s do some faster rides.” Thomas suggested.
Daniel stumbled into the fence around the Tilt-A-Whirl. It was the third spinning ride in a row and he was starting to get a little queasy. Thomas roughly guided him through the gate and back out onto the midway.
“Just don’t barf on me.” He told Daniel.
“I’ve had enough of the rides for a while, let’s do something else.” Daniel told them. “Hey, how about getting our fortunes told?” He pointed at the colorful trailer ahead of them.
The trailer had a banner across the top that announced Madame Zella, Psychic and Cosmic Sooth Sayer. A number of symbols were scattered across the face of the trailer including a deck of cards, a hand and a crystal ball. A sign on a post near the door said that Madame Zella would look into your future for only $5.00 per 15 minute session.
“There no line. Want to go in?” Thomas asked.
“That’s all just bull.” Sara said and started walking toward the Himalaya.
“I’d like to see my future.” Daniel said.
“If you want to waste your money, go ahead.” Sara said and sat down on a bench nearby.
“Come on, Sara. Let’s all go in together.” Daniel said. Thomas nodded in agreement.
“As long as I don’t have to pay for it.” Sara said and followed them into the trailer.
Inside, they were greeted by Paula, Madame Zella’s assistant. She took the money and led them through a curtained doorway into what appeared to be an old Victorian parlor. A large round table was in the center of the room with an ornate stain glass hanging light shining down on it.
Around the table were several high-backed wooden chairs with plush cushions and a larger chair that would be more at home in a throne room than a parlor. The larger chair was swiveled to face away from the table and the room’s entrance. Paula motioned for them to sit in the wooden chairs and then left the room.
On the table in front of them were a deck of cards fanned out, a bell and something the size of a small basketball under a cloth near the larger chair. The rest of the room was dark.
They waited for several minutes for the psychic to come in. Sara looked at her watch. Thomas and Daniel looked at each other. Daniel shrugged.
“Madame Zella has the power to see into the future and know what your fortune will be.” A woman’s voice said. “What is it that you want Madame Zella to find out for you?” The voice had an exaggerated accent like one from some Eastern European country. The larger chair swiveled around and Madame Zella was revealed.
“We want to know our sister’s future.” Daniel said pointing at Sara.
“What?” Sara looked at her brothers.
“Yes. Tell us what the future has in store for her.” Thomas said, laughing.
“Very well. And how do you want me to divine the future? Should I read your palm? The Tarot cards? Or, should I consult my crystal ball?”
The three teenagers were amazed that she was able to say all that with a straight face.
Sara didn’t believe in any of it. But, she picked the crystal ball simply because she wanted to see what the it looked like.
“Very well.” Madame Zella said. She pulled the covered ball toward herself and centered it in front of her. Then, she slipped the cover off and draped it over the arm of her chair. A dim glow could be seen in the center of the ball. Otherwise, the ball looked like a plain glass ball about 10” in diameter.
“Spirits of the Netherworld.” Madame Zella commanded as she started to wave her hands around the ball. “I call on you to communicate to me the future of this young girl.”
Daniel began to giggle. Thomas kicked him under the table. Daniel tried to kick Thomas back.
“A window into the future is opening.” Madame Zella said. She peered closely at the crystal ball. The glow in the center began to get brighter. The three siblings leaned closer to try to see something, anything, inside the ball.
“There is an important competition in your future, Miss Cross. It is Miss Cross, isn’t it?” She said. Sara nodded and rolled her eyes at her brothers. She pointed to her name on the back of her jersey.
“I see a field. A baseball…” Madame Zella suddenly stopped. Her eyes grew wide as she looked into the glowing ball which started to glow even brighter. The three teenagers couldn’t see anything in the ball, it had become too bright for them.
“No. That’s not a field. It’s a, a cemetery.” The woman, speaking without an accent, seemed entranced with the vision that she was having. “There are many people around a small building. A mausoleum, I think. You’re inside. You aren’t dead though, no, you are very much alive.”
”You say something to crowd and then go back inside. They come towards the door and… Oh..” She suddenly stops and looks at the ball in horror. “Oh, my god!” She screamed and shielded her face with her arms.
She turned her face from the crystal ball and quickly grabbed at the cloth hanging from the arm of the chair. She tossed it over the ball and once the ball was completely covered, she buried her head in her arms on the table and started to cry.
Just as the three of them stood up to help her, Paula came into the room and rushed over to Madame Zella.
“What’s wrong Zella?” She asked. Zella waved her off and continued to cry. Paula turned on the teenagers. “What did you do to her?”
“We didn’t do anything.” Daniel said.
“No more today, Paula.” Zella said between sobs. “No more.”
“What did you see?” Sara demanded.
“Out. All of you.” Paula yelled at them. “We’re closed.”
Zella tried to say something.
“What is it, Zella?” Paula leaned closer.
“Give them their money back.” Zella said and then laid her head back down on the table.
“Here’s your money.” Paula said and pulled a wad of cash from her pocket. She gave them a five dollar bill. “Now out with you.”
“What did you see?” Sara repeated.
“She saw nothing. Just go.” Paula herded them out the doorway and then down the front steps of the trailer. She slammed the door shut. A sign hung on the outside that said, “Madame Zella is consulting the spirit world. Please come back later.”
“Why wouldn’t she tell us what she saw?” Sara asked her brothers.
“I don’t know.” Thomas said.
“She’s supposed to, isn’t she?” Daniel asked no one in particular.
“It’s almost midnight. Let’s just go home.” Thomas said.
Sara was quiet all the way to the parking lot. Daniel did stop on the way out and buy a caramel apple dipped in peanuts, but Thomas and Sara said they weren’t hungry. When they got to their cars, Thomas broke the silence.
“Daniel will ride with you, Sara.”
“I’m fine.” Sara told him. She got into her car and started it.
Daniel was going to ride home with his brother. But, when he saw Thomas nod to Sara’s car, he reluctantly hurried over to it.
“Wait up, Sara. I’m going with you.” He said and got in. Thomas followed them home in his car.
“I’m sorry you had a bad night.” Daniel said after several minutes of silence.
“I’m Ok.” Sara said and sighed. She looked over at the partially eaten apple. “Can I have a little?”
“Have all you want.” Daniel said handing her what was left. He had eaten most of the bottom half with the peanuts, but there was a good portion of the top left.
“Thanks.” She said and took a bite. Nothing more was said until they got home.
The house was dark when the three of them got home. Although it was late and their mother was probably in bed sleeping, she usually left the front light on for them. That night, it was off.
Thomas unlocked the door and switch on the front hall light. It flashed on but immediately went off again. He flicked the switch several more times. But, the hallway stayed dark.
“It must have tripped the breaker.” Thomas said. He went into the living room, the dining room and finally into the kitchen, trying lights as he went, but they all remained off.
“Maybe the power is off.” Daniel suggested.
“I’ll check the breakers.” Thomas said and headed for the basement stairs.
“I need something to drink.” Daniel said. He opened the refrigerator and rummaged through the darkness inside. “Everything is still cold.”
“I’m going to bed.” Sara said and headed upstairs to her room. The light on the stairs didn’t work either. She tried the upstairs hallway light and, like all the others, it remained off.
She noticed that there was a soft glow coming from her mother’s bedroom. She went to see if she was still up. She wondered why she had light in her room when the power seemed to be out everywhere else in the house.
“Mom?” She said softly as she neared the doorway.
Just as she passed her bedroom, someone grabbed her from behind. A gloved hand clamped over her mouth, his arm trapping hers against her body. Her other wrist was pulled up behind her back. She was held immobile against the person. She tried to struggle.
“Do you want to live?” The man whispered into her ear. She nodded. “Then be quiet.” He told her.
She thought about how she could get away. But she needed to warn her mother and brothers. She looked in her mother’s room. It was then that she noticed that the glow wasn’t an electric light. It was moving. A candle, She thought?
When it moved where she could see it, she took in a breath to scream. The man felt her stiffen.
“Don’t make a sound.” He whispered. She barely heard it.
The thing was roughly the size of a small man, maybe five feet tall. Although it was shaped like a person, it seemed to be made up entirely of flames. Sara had the impression that it was looking for something even though it had no facial features that she could see.
Sara’s mind tried to comprehend what she was seeing. Then she remembered her mother was in the room with it. She began to struggle and call out to her. The man holding her pulled her tighter.
“Quiet.” He hissed in her ear. “Or it will find you.”
Sara stopped struggling as that realization sunk into her. Find her? That horrible thing, whatever it was, was looking for her?
It slowly made its way to the hallway. It didn’t walk like a human would, it moved along the floor like a flame would dance along a log in a fireplace. As it got closer, panic started to well up inside her. She began to struggle again.
“Stop.” The man commanded quietly.
The lights came on in the hallway. When it saw Sara, the flames suddenly grew in size until it filled the doorway and lapped against the ceiling.
The man shoved Sara down the hallway towards the stairs. She stumbled and fell towards the wall and landed on the floor. She immediately was up on her knees and looked back toward her mother’s door.
The man in gray overalls stood facing the flame monster. He had a bag in his hand and he poured what appeared to be a white powder into his other palm. As the flames billowed out toward him, he blew the powder into the air between them.
As the powder came into contact with the flames, she heard a shrill cry and the flames died down and backed away. She felt a blast of cold air blow down the hallway.
Though the flame creature had retreated, the flames on the ceiling continued to burn and they were spreading to the walls.
“Go. Now.” The man called back to her.
“My mom.” She yelled back. “She’s in there.”
“I’ll get her out.” The man yelled. “You must go.”
The man disappeared into her mother’s room. She heard the shrill cry again and another cold wind blew down the hall. Sara got up and ran to the doorway, shielding herself from the growing flames around it.
“What the hell?” Thomas said from the top of the stairs. He stood staring in disbelief at his sister standing under a canopy of fire at their mother’s bedroom door. Daniel stood below him trying to see around him.
“I’m getting mom.” She told them. “Call 911.”
She looked back in the room to see the man had the fire creature trapped against the bedroom window. Most of the room was in flames. Her mom was unconscious on the bed, the edges of the blanket was already burning. She ran to the bed and pulled the blanket off her.
The man blew another handful of powder at the creature. But the creature seem ready this time and leapt out of the way. It rushed at Sara. Sara raised her arms to ward off the flames. The heat enveloped her just briefly before she felt a freezing blast of cold and heard the scream again all around her. She fell to the floor, holding her hands over her ears.
Thomas and Daniel pulled her up off the floor. She looked around wildly. The fire creature was gone but the house was still on fire. The man in gray overalls had picked up her mother and was carrying her to the doorway.
“Out of the house.” He shouted at them.
Thomas and Daniel pulled Sara with them down the stairs and to the front door. The man carried their mother out into the night right behind them.
The man ran across the street and laid her on the boulevard. He checked her for injuries.
“They must have given her something that made her sleep. She doesn’t seem hurt otherwise. No injuries or smoke.” The man told them.
“What was that thing?” Sara demanded.
“It was a Djinn.” He said.
“A Djinn? Like a genie?” Daniel asked.
“Something like that. This was an evil creature. It meant to kill you.”
“You knew it was coming after us?” Thomas asked.
“I was told you were in danger. I didn’t know what it would be. I was sent to watch over you.”
“Who are you?” Sara asked.
“My name is Franklin.” the man said.
“Who sent you?” Thomas asked.
“My grandfather.” A woman’s voice answered. Their mother was sitting up looking at them.
“You never told us that we had any relatives that were still alive.” Thomas said.
“He and my mother decided that it was safer. We pretended he didn’t exist. He pretended that we didn’t exist. That way no one would know about you.”
“Why?” Daniel asked.
“Because he has enemies and he feared that they might try what they did tonight.” Their mother said. They all looked at the house. The flames were everywhere. A distant siren could be heard getting closer.
It was then that Sara noticed the man in gray overalls was gone.
“Where did he go?”
“It’s best that he not get involved.” Mary said.
“But he could be hurt. He should’ve waited for the ambulance.” Sara said. The fire truck, siren blaring and lights flashing, came around the corner and pulled up in front of the house. The firemen jumped off and went to work.
“He could have been killed.” Sara said watching the house being destroyed by the fire.
“No.” Mary said. “You can’t kill someone who’s already dead.”
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