The Traveler (The Great Rift Book 2) Read online

  Outside, in the distance, Jarrod screamed for her.

  "AAAMMYYYY! Where are you? Help me, please God HEEEELP!"

  "Jarrod," she whispered. Her voice failed her. She stumbled around in the near-pitch blackness, trying to locate the door she'd used to enter the cellar. There was nothing but the cold stone of the house's foundation. Jarrod's screams ebbed and flowed on the wind.

  "There's something here," Jarrod screeched. "What is that? What is THAAAAAA..."

  His voice was silenced mid-scream, becoming a wet, growling gurgle.

  Amy was alone. Her friends had been picked off one by one, dying in the cold, damp darkness.

  She slumped against the wall and slid to the floor as the camera tumbled from her hand. The light flickered, growing fainter with each strobe. The thudding footfalls overhead slowed and stopped. Amy recited The Lord's Prayer in a trembling, breathy voice as the heavy, wooden supports groaned and creaked around her.

  "Hush, hush little bug," a deep voice sang from the shadows. "Save your breath. You're God isn't here."

  "What do you want?" Amy cried, before breaking into a fit of uncontrolled sobbing.

  "Only what's mine, little bug, and I intend on having just that."

  At the edge of the camera's light, something stepped forward, shuffling through the dust on feet the color of moldy cheese. Hooked claws gouged divots in the cracked concrete as it approached the camera.

  "Do you have any last requests?" it asked.

  "Pleeease," Amy begged, "just let me go home."

  "Request denied."

  The thing leaped forward, knocking the camera out of the way and sending it spinning into the corner. The light died.

  Amy let out a long, earth-shattering scream as the monster roared in delight. The wet, meaty sound of torn flesh and snapping bone continued long after Amy's cries were silenced.

  The thing grunted, satisfied, as heavy footsteps neared the camera.

  "It's almost time," it grumbled. "The veil weakens and the sound of death resonates through the universe."

  There was a final, loud crunch as the picture went black.

  ***

  Dexter Maitland's chubby face reappeared on screen, looking like he'd just awoken from a wet dream.

  "The video you have just seen has not been altered in any way by myself or my crew. There was some trepidation when it came to airing this footage, as the four unlucky people in the video have been missing since their encounter in the Pennsylvania backwoods. Skeptics will undoubtedly find holes in the story, but we here at Forgotten Places have no doubt that something sinister is taking place in the woods outside Elmview, a town already plagued with its share of tall tales.

  "It's up to you to decide what happened at the house on Two-Penny Lane, but we think the footage speaks for itself. So, if you find yourself curiously tip-toeing around an abandoned building hoping to find fame and fortune on social media, don't say you haven't been warned. Sometimes, the things that go bump in the night are all too real.

  "That's all the time we have this week, but please join us next time as things go wrong in a haunted hotel in the snowy mountains of Vermont. For myself and everyone else at Forgotten Places, thanks for watching."

  The credits started a slow roll as photos of the missing explorers appeared on screen to the sound of cheesy keyboard music. Geoff stretched, groaned, and swallowed a mouthful of warm beer.

  "There's so much wrong with this video, I don't even know where to begin," he said.

  "Okay, let's have it," Stacy sighed. "I know you're dying to piss all over it, so let's get it out of the way."

  "Okay, if this footage is real, which it is absolutely not, why was Maitland so calm? If he believed it was real, he'd be sitting on a toilet for the entire hour so he didn't shit himself on television. I mean, it's one of the better segments I've seen on this show, but it's obviously a complete fake. Not to mention, some anonymous guy finds all the SD cards tucked nicely inside a backpack when we saw the footage end in the basement of that house. Was the big, bad scary monster accommodating enough to take it out and put it where someone could find it? Give me a break."

  Stacy grudgingly nodded. It did seem a bit ridiculous that people were supposed to believe they'd just witnessed a massacre, while the host was commentating it like a baseball game. Still, she couldn't let it go.

  "And if these kids went missing, why did the idiot who found the SD cards send them to Dexter fucking Maitland and not to the local police?"

  "You have to admit, it was still creepy."

  "Sure it was," Geoff said. "Creepy like watching any other found footage movie in the last twenty years. It's all about immersing the viewer in a first-hand experience to make them feel part of it. I'd be willing to bet in a few months we see this same footage in a movie preview."

  "So, it didn't scare you at all?"

  "No, it didn't scare me at all."

  "Then you have no problem going out there next weekend and finding out for ourselves?"

  "What? Go there? For what purpose? We'd look like tourists after everyone sees this stupid show, not to mention it seems like a lot of work just to see some abandoned shit hole in the middle of the woods."

  "It sounds like you are scared after all," Stacy prodded.

  "I'm not scared, it's just a stupid idea."

  "Stupid or not, we're going. Dig the tent out of storage and prepare for a road trip."

  "My God, you're serious. This is the shittiest idea you've ever had."

  "Maybe it is, and maybe it isn't. Make some calls, talk to your friends, see if anyone wants to come along. The more the merrier."

  Geoff sighed and downed the rest of his beer, grimacing at the room-temperature brew. "Fine. I know if I don't say yes you're just going to buzz around in my ear like a mosquito. I'll call Dink and Romeo, but you know Beth and Trina are going to tag along, too."

  "That's fine." Stacy never got along with Trina, but if putting up with her obnoxious laugh for a few hours meant she'd get her way, she'd take one for the team. "Maybe Roger and Lisa would want to come too."

  "Well, why the hell don't we put out an open call? Make a real party of it."

  "Don't be a jerk. We never go out, never do anything. You can at least let me have this."

  "Fine," Geoff grumbled, "but when nothing happens and you come home with poison ivy on your ass, please remember that I was the one who objected. I'm not taking the blame for another one of your half-baked ideas."

  "Half-baked? Says the guy on his third joint of the night." She winked at him playfully and his irritation evaporated.

  "Okay, it's your show, but don't say I didn't warn you."

  Stacy stood, kissed him on the cheek and slowly walked toward the bedroom, pulling the back of her nightgown up over her bare ass. Geoff watched, smirked, and stood from the table, leaving the joint in the small, wooden goody box. Tonight, there was something else to do besides getting high as a kite.

  He followed her into the bedroom and closed the door behind.

  Chapter 2

  Geoff pulled his RAV4 off the highway and parked in the small lot next to the Sunoco station. Stacy hopped out, complaining about having to pee ever since leaving the apartment a half hour earlier.

  "Why didn't you go before we left?" Geoff shouted after her.

  "Didn't have to go then," she replied as she ran inside to get the bathroom key.

  In the back seat, Carl 'Dink' Wilton and his girlfriend Beth Cannata talked quietly to one another. They'd agreed to join the road trip even before Geoff had explained to them where they were going. They'd seen the previous week's episode of Forgotten Places, and as soon as Geoff had mentioned Two-Penny Lane, Dink shouted a hearty 'hell yeah' into his ear. Seems Stacy wasn't the only one ready to eat a hearty helping of Grade 'A' American Bullshit and wash it down with a cold glass of Stupid.

  Beth was even more excited, constantly showing everyone unseen footage from the Forgotten Places website. She squealed, covered her eyes, an
d held the phone out to Dink who watched silently.

  "Woah! What the hell is that?" he asked.

  "It looks like a goat," Beth replied. "A dead goat."

  "It's a good bit of makeup," Geoff said, lighting a cigarette. "Maitland has got you guys foaming at the mouth for puppets and thrift-store gags."

  "Don't be a bummer," Beth whined.

  "I'm not being anything, I'm just calling it like I see it."

  Beth waved him off and went back to her cell phone to look for other so-called evidence.

  Nicholas Romeo and Trina Barnes pulled in behind Geoff's Toyota a few minutes later, along with Roger and Lisa Dade in the back seat, whose marriage license was still damp with wet ink.

  "Romeo's here," Dink announced.

  "Yeah, so is Trina," Beth said as she mimed putting a gun in her mouth.

  Trina was somewhat of an outcast among them. She was loud, generally vulgar, and thought of herself as some sort of 'seer.' She often explained her visions in the most condescending way possible, making everyone feel like they were on the outside of some private joke. They also felt she was completely full of shit, crazy, or a sprinkling of both.

  No one wanted her to come along, but Geoff knew Romeo wouldn't agree to join them if his on-again, off-again girlfriend didn't come along for the ride. Geoff didn't much care; he knew she was a fraud. He only spoke to her out of respect for Romeo, secretly hoping that every time they broke up it would be their last. No such luck.

  "Her crotch must be lined with platinum," Geoff mumbled. Beth heard him and snorted laughter.

  Geoff cracked the window to let out a cloud of cigarette smoke and turned up the air-conditioning. It was already eighty degrees outside, and he had never been a fan of the heat. He already regretted agreeing to this damn trip and hoped someone had been smart enough to bring along bug spray.

  Stacy opened the door and hopped into the passenger seat, wiping her damp hands on the front of her shirt. "Didn't even have paper towels," she said with a frown. "I see Romeo and the Amazing Kreskin made it."

  Geoff chuckled as Beth looked at them blankly. "The Amazing who?"

  "Trina," Stacy said. "God, I hope she keeps out of my way. I don't want her ruining this entire thing."

  "You just have to ignore her," Dink said. "She's harmless. A pain in the ass, but harmless."

  "I'm glad she's not riding with us," Geoff said. "She's probably chewing their ears off with stories of the unexplained."

  "Well, isn't that why we're going on this little vacation?" Beth asked.

  "I'm going so you can all see that Maitland's show is nothing but smoke and mirrors," Geoff explained. "And vacation is a pretty strong word for what I expect to be an uncomfortable night sleeping on the ground and getting eaten alive by gnats."

  "Always the optimist," Stacy said.

  "Pragmatist," Geoff replied. "Let's get out of here, we still have another forty-five minutes on the road. Does anyone else have to take a piss before we leave because I'm not stopping again."

  He put the RAV into gear just as Trina walked by, raising one arm in a cheery wave.

  "Hurry up, pull out," Beth yelled. "Maybe they'll leave her here!"

  Everyone laughed as they pulled into traffic. As much as Geoff wanted to bitch and moan about the absurdity of this trip, he was in good spirits. It gave him a chance to spend time with Stacy and his friends away from town, away from the apartment, away from the worries of being unemployed and nearly broke.

  It was only for one night; if it made Stacy happy, it was worth it.

  Monsters or no monsters.

  ***

  "Did one of you fucking fart?" Trina screeched. "What are you people eating?"

  "Enchiladas and Swedish fish," Roger said. "I got snacky before we left."

  "It smells like an asshole's asshole," Trina said, burying her nose in the crook of her arm. "Open a fucking window before we all suffocate." Roger laughed, trying to regain control of himself but failing miserably. Lisa, his new bride, slapped him on the arm and feigned disgust.

  Romeo cracked the window, giggling. Trina wasn't lying; it was horrendous, enough to make his eyes water.

  "I'm glad I don't have to share a tent with you," Trina said.

  "Don't have a tent," Lisa said. "We brought sleeping bags. It's more romantic sleeping under the stars."

  "It's certainly safer in your case. You better start watching what you feed him. My God, I can fucking taste it," she shouted.

  "Yeah? How is it?" Roger joked.

  "You're a caveman," she retorted. "All men are cavemen. Eat, shit, fart, fuck. Not necessarily in that order."

  "Sometimes all at once," Romeo said, glancing over at Trina with a smirk.

  "I'm not talking to any of you for the rest of the trip."

  Roger leaned forward and held his hand between the seats where Romeo quickly smacked his open palm. Trina stared out the window, shaking her head and preparing a nasty comeback. Instead, she flipped them all the bird as they burst into a chorus of laughs and snorts.

  "So," Romeo interrupted, "how is married life?"

  "About the same as before, except now we have pretty matching rings and a bill of sale," Lisa said.

  Roger nodded. "That about sums it up. When you live together as long as we have, being married is just like any other day."

  "Sounds blissful," Trina mumbled.

  "We think so," Lisa spoke up. Roger looked at her and shook his head. He didn't want to have to step between them if things got heated. He'd seen Stacy and Trina throw hands more than once; he didn't want Lisa and Trina to have the same unfortunate experience.

  "Did you see this show Geoff is talking about?" Roger asked. "I meant to look it up online, but I honestly think most of that is nonsense."

  "So does he," Romeo replied, "but he's doing it for Stacy. The video was pretty creepy, I'll say that. If anything happens even remotely like what I saw in the video, I hope you guys can run, because I'm not hanging around."

  "You can carry me on your back, lover," Trina said in a baby-ish sing-song voice. Just like that, her bitch-switch flipped, and she was back to her old self. Lisa rolled her eyes and sucked a hissing breath through her teeth.

  "Hey, it's warm, there's no rain in the forecast, and we have plenty of beer," Roger said. "Why not make the most of it?"

  "Right!" Trina replied cheerily. "It'll be like a field trip."

  I hate her, Lisa mouthed. Roger placed a hand on her thigh and patted it gently.

  "We're going to have quite the adventure," Trina said.

  I just hope I don't have to play referee, Roger thought.

  No one spoke for the next thirty miles, and that was just fine with Roger.

  The less they spoke, the less chance they had of getting on each other's nerves.

  Trina bobbed her head absently to the radio, unaware that Lisa was drilling daggers into the back of Trina's skull.

  When they found themselves on a barren stretch of road surrounded by tall trees, Roger assumed they were nearing their destination. They soon caught up to Geoff's SUV as he slowed down, looking for the entrance to Two-Penny Lane. They hadn't seen any other vehicles in ten minutes; there wasn't anyone coming or going.

  Lisa was uneasy, fidgeting in her seat and continuously looking out the window. Romeo braked suddenly, making them all look at the road ahead. Geoff's taillights flickered several times before becoming solid; his right blinker went on and flashed with a monotonous rhythm. Romeo guided them off the road and stopped as he watched Geoff get out of the RAV and point up at a crudely carved sign nailed to the nearest tree.

  "Let me see what's going on," Romeo said, getting out and closing the door behind him.

  "I guess we've made it," Geoff shouted. He extended his arms and framed the wooden sign like one of Barker's Beauties showing off a particularly shiny prize package.

  "That's it, huh? I thought the ride would be longer."

  "We made good time once all the traffic dried up. Can you be
lieve how quiet it is out here?"

  Romeo nodded his agreement. "Too quiet."

  "Oh, no, don't tell me that girlfriend of yours has been putting thoughts in your head."

  "Nothing like that. It's just really quiet. No birds, no cars, no kids playing. We're really out in the boonies, aren't we?"

  "Just the way the ladies like it," Geoff sighed. "I guess it might be fun. A night camping out with some brews and bud."

  Romeo punched him lightly in the shoulder and smiled. "Let's do it."

  "Hey guys," Trina screamed, "why don't you just whip out your dicks and make out?"

  Geoff and Romeo shared a knowing glance.

  "Okay, you first," Geoff said. "I get pee-shy."

  "You're a riot, you know that?" He looked back at his truck and waved. "Are we parking here, or are we going to risk the driveway?"

  "I'm going all the way. I'm not lugging a hundred pounds of camping gear with me."

  "Good point. Well, lead the way and we'll follow you."

  Just then, a piercing screech sounded in the forest beyond, making them both jump.

  "Uh oh," Romeo whispered. "We've been spotted."

  "Break out your clean underwear.

  Laughing, they returned to their vehicles and started the slow crawl over the rutted driveway. It was tight. Tree limbs scratched at the sides and roofs of both SUVs as they bounced down the washed-out path. Tires popped and crackled on loose patches of stone as they neared the end of the road. When the path widened and opened into a large grassy field, Geoff pulled to the side and parked twenty yards away. Romeo pulled in behind him and turned off the engine.

  "You guys ready?" Roger asked. "Let's see what all the fuss is about."

  Everyone exited the vehicles silently, walking single file to a patch of clear ground as if participating in a fire drill.

  It was there they received their first glimpse of the house at the end of Two-Penny Lane.

  ***

  "It looked scarier on TV," Stacy said as she worked the kinks out of her legs.

  "It's still pretty impressive," Lisa added.

  It may not have looked as scary, but it certainly looked much larger. Most of the windows were still intact and the weathered, gray clapboard siding was free of graffiti. A large wraparound porch was held up by giant wooden pillars that appeared ready to fall in the next stiff breeze. Portions of the roof sagged over the thick, wooden braces beneath. Two large stone chimneys - one on either side - pointed at the sky like accusing fingers. On the left wall was a massive stained-glass window, like something seen in a turn-of-the-century church; on the second floor was more colored glass; an arched window with a bright sunburst design.