Chapter76 Drastic Measures

He snaps his fingers in front of her face while calling, "Cindy…Kiddo…you there?" Cindy's momentarily startled from being jostled from her trance-like state, and jumps back; then, realizes it's only her uncle. "I'm sorry, Uncle Mike; were you here long?" "Not that long. So what's up, Kiddo; what's on your mind?" She answers very unconvincingly, "Nothing much, Uncle Mike." Her uncle gives her that ‘I'm onto you' look. "Nothing much, huh? So, I was sitting here for about five minutes; and, you didn't even realize it because you were thinking of nothing much? Come on, Kiddo; spill it." Cindy looks at her uncle and smiles. "Okay; you win. I never could fool you; could I, Uncle Mike?" He smiles back at her; shaking his head. Cindy stops smiling and turns to look up at the night sky. "It's Davey; Uncle Mike." "What about Davey?" "I'm not sure; but, I get this feeling he's responsible for…" Cindy becomes quiet. "Responsible for what, Kiddo?" She takes a deep breath, then, looks back at her uncle. "Those families…the ones in the lake…I honestly believe that it was him behind it, Uncle Mike." "You don't really believe that Davey could be responsible for something like that; do you?" "Yes, I do." "For God's sake, he was just four, Cindy; practically still a baby. How could he even possibly conceive doing something like that? I don't know, Kiddo." Cindy stands, crossing her arms in front of her chest as she walks to the other side of the porch. She leans against the railing…exhaling out of frustration…and, tries to explain her position to her doubting uncle. "You still don't get it yet, Uncle Mike. You; Sheriff Faulkner; Beth and Martin…when you hear what these ‘kids' are doing, you have a hard time accepting it because your mind set is focusing on their ages when they were alive. We're not talking about living children here, Uncle Mike; their ages are insignificant now. Charles; Chelsea; Tommy; Mary; and, now Davey…are no longer living young children; they're spirits…tormented souls that were traumatized while alive…and, all experiencing horrific deaths. Their deaths, Uncle Mike, were violent and rage filled. That's what they died knowing; and, that's what they're feeling while trapped here in limbo between the living and the afterlife. As far as Davey's concerned, we don't even know what he was like while alive. Uncle Mike, as undeniably cruel and wrong as his parents were for what they did to that poor child; there was still something about him that made his parents feel compelled to chain him up in the attic. Davey's sister, Mary…even though it was in self-defense…had it in her to pummel a serial killer to death with a shovel. And; let's not forget about Chelsea, Charles and Tommy. We're still not sure which one it was; but, one of them killed one of their siblings by smashing a hammer repeatedly to their head. They were all capable of violent acts while they were alive, Uncle Mike; and, now that they're dead, it's becoming easier for them to do." Deputy Hopkins gets up and walks over to his niece. He leans against the railing next to her, putting his thumbs behind his gun belt while sucking on his teeth. "Alright, Kiddo; I think I understand now what you're saying. So, let's say Davey's responsible for all those families out in Miller's Lake; then, why?" She hesitates before answering. "I don't know, Uncle Mike." He looks at her face and sees she's evidently worried and frightened about something. "But, you have an idea…don't you; Kiddo?" She nods. "Well?" She takes in another deep breath and exhales; looking around before nervously speaking in a low voice, "I don't think Anna's the first, Uncle Mike." "What do you mean, Kiddo?" "Did you see the files on those families, Uncle Mike?" "Yeah. And?" "Uncle Mike; every family had at least one daughter around Anna's age." "Go on." "Uncle Mike, I think Davey's been trying to re-create that night before. I think he believes that if he could somehow change it to where he's found; he'd somehow magically be alive again. But; it doesn't work like that, Uncle Mike." "Okay; but, what about the lake?" "Don't you see, Uncle Mike? No matter how many times he tries to re-create that night, he won't become alive again…he doesn't understand that. I think he got so mad that he wasn't brought back, that he killed and buried those families under the lake; because he thought they failed him." "Christ, Cindy! Then, that means…" "If we don't stop him, Uncle Mike…when realizes he's not going to become alive…Davey's going to kill and bury them under that lake like the others." "So, what do we do? I mean; what can we do?" "Nothing; I don't think we can stop him." Cindy's silent as she walks over to the other end of the porch, wrapping her arm around the corner post while slightly leaning over the rail, and looking up into the night sky; then, changes the subject of conversation, "It sure is a beautiful night out tonight; isn't it, Uncle Mike?" The deputy's a bit confused with the sudden change of topic; but, follows up just the same…mostly out of curiosity to see where Cindy's taking it. "Sure is; I suppose." "It's so beautiful; all those stars out tonight. God it's beautiful out here. You don't really get a good view of the stars out in the city; I don't know why. Maybe it's all the pollution in the air; or, maybe they're faded out by all the lights. I don't know; it's different out here in the country. You really can appreciate the beauty of nature out here." The deputy walks over to Cindy, bending over slightly to rest his arms on the railing, while looking up at the stars with his niece. He waits for her to continue; which she does. "Uncle Mike; tell me something." "What, Kiddo?" "You've been a cop for about twenty years now; right?" "Something like that." "It's kind of a dangerous job; isn't it?" He laughs. "In Beaver Ridge; you've got to be kidding. Up until recently; we haven't seen much of nothing around here." "But, it's still a risky job. I mean; anything could happen?" "I suppose. Where are we going with this, Kiddo?" "I don't know; I was just wondering." There's a brief pause; then, Cindy starts again. "Are you afraid of dying, Uncle Mike?" The deputy sucks on his teeth as he takes a moment to think. "Honestly, Kiddo; up until this whole thing started with these ghosts and all, I haven't really thought much about death. I don't know; I guess sooner or later we're all going to die…it's just a matter of how we die. I don't think the idea of dying scares me…for now, anyway…I think it's more about how I die that would concern me. But; why this sudden discussion about dying, Kiddo? What's going on?" "Just wondering; that's all, Uncle Mike. So, I guess you've accepted the fact that you could be killed doing your job?" "Cindy, what's going on?" "Nothing. I was just…" The deputy interrupts, "Wondering. Yeah; you said that one already. Let's hear it; what's really on your mind?" Cindy becomes quiet; then, picks up the conversation, changing the topic again. "Do you ever wonder why I was born, Uncle Mike?" "What? Cindy; what are you talking about now? What do you mean have I ever wondered why you were born?" "I mean; why is it my sisters died, and I survived? Why did I live?" "Because that was the way He intended it to be. I don't know why. Only God knows why. But, you lived, Kiddo; and, I'm glad you did. You're a very special person with a special gift. That's probably why He had you survive; so, you can help others…like Beth, Martin and Anna." "That's what I kind of figured, Uncle Mike." She pauses, looks up at the stars once again, then continues, "I made Beth a promise, Uncle Mike." "Okay?" "I want you to make me the same promise that I made Beth." "Which would be?" "I promised Beth that I'd do whatever it takes to get Anna back to her. I promised her that on my life, Uncle Mike. Now, I need for you to promise me that you'll do whatever it takes for me to keep my promise to Beth." "Sure, Kiddo; I guess." Cindy turns to her uncle…grabbing his shirt sleeves by the shoulder area and turning him to face her…and yells, "No! No guesses! Promise me! Promise me, Uncle Mike! I need for you to promise me that!" "Alright; calm down, Kiddo! I promise!" "Swear!" "I swear; I'll do whatever it takes to help you get Anna back" Cindy looks at her uncle for a moment, then, releases the grip on his shirt sleeves; returning to looking at the stars. "Okay." The baffled deputy's worrying about what he just committed himself to; and, asks his niece, "So; what exactly needs to be done to get Anna back, Kiddo?" "Davey needs to be stopped, Uncle Mike." "Alright, I'm a little lost here now; I thought you said we couldn't stop Davey?" "We can't, Uncle Mike; but, Chelsea can." "Chelsea?" "Yeah." "I thought Chelsea was gone?" "No; she's still around somewhere…looking for Tommy." "But, Tommy isn't here though; right?" "No; but, Chelsea thinks he is." "What makes you think she's still around, Kiddo?" "Because, I think Chelsea's the one who caused Delores' car crash; and, what happened at the lake the other day." "Huh?" "Chelsea needs Beth's help in finding Tommy. She's doing what she has to do to make sure Beth doesn't believe Mary's lies; which means she'd have to expose her family's…and the town's…conspiracy behind her death." "Okay, I'm sort of following you with the crash; but, what about the lake? If Davey buried those bodies out there; why did she uncover those bodies?" "I don't think she was specifically trying to uncover all those bodies; they just happened to be down there. I think she was just trying to uncover one…Mary Howell's." "Why; what makes you think she was the one?" "I'm not sure why yet; but, there's still the connection with the real Mary Howell and the Steinman's somehow. Chelsea must've known Mary was down there. I don't know if she knew about the others…In fact; I seriously doubt she did." "How could she not know, Kiddo; they were all buried down there." "Think about it, Uncle Mike; when they found Mary's skeleton…the only skeleton by the way…what position was it found in?" "What do you mean; what position?" "I talked with the diver who found it; her bones were lying on the bottom… horizontal, Uncle Mike. The rest of the corpses where found buried vertically in the ground; feet first. Davey didn't bury Mary out there; she was killed and thrown into the lake…with her bones settling on the floor; buried under sediment as the years passed. Chelsea needed to prove that the ‘Mary' talking with Beth and Anna was an impostor; that the real Mary Howell was dead and buried at the bottom of Miller's Lake." "Okay; so, how do we get Chelsea to stop Davey?" "I'm going to have to talk with her again, Uncle Mike." Cindy becomes silent; and, the deputy gets a bad feeling in his gut about it. "Talk to Chelsea?" "Yeah." "How are you going to do that, Kiddo?" Cindy becomes silent again, and walks over to the porch steps; sitting down and wrapping her arms around her knees while resting her chin on them. She's wearing a very noticeable melancholic expression on her face. Her uncle sits down beside her; and, it dawns on him what his niece's tandem discussions were referring to. He interlaces his fingers and brings his hands up to his face; resting them on his quivering lips. Deputy Hopkins wishes he never made that damn promise to her. She starts to reveal to him what he's already figured out, "I don't think I can contact her, Uncle Mike; not while I'm…" She turns to her uncle…who now has tears running down his cheeks…and reaches out for his hands. "Uncle Mike…" He shakes his head. "Don't say it…don't tell me this, Cindy." "Uncle Mike…" "I don't want to hear this, Cindy!" "Uncle Mike, you promised." "No; you tricked me! It doesn't count! You didn't tell me…" "You promised, Uncle Mike…You swore." "No! Cindy, don't…" "Anything, Uncle Mike; anything needing to be done to get her back." "Not this! I had no idea! Damn it, Cindy!" "Uncle Mike…" "I can't do it!" "And; I can't talk to Chelsea…not while I'm still alive." "I can't…" "You have to; it's the only way. The only way we could stop this…to get Anna back." "I don't care about getting her back! Not if it means…you know." "Uncle Mike! You don't mean that." "Yes I…" "No. Listen to me, Uncle Mike; I love you…and, I know you love me. I'm sorry I have to have you do this; but, it's the only way. So many people died already over this. Anna's such a little girl; she's got her whole life ahead of her." "And, what about you, Kiddo? What about your life? You're only twenty-six; what about the rest of your life?" The deputy puts his hands behind his head and grabs his hair, as he looks down and starts shaking his head. Cindy reaches over, places her hand on her uncle's back and tells him, "Uncle Mike; you're right…I'm twenty-six…and, that's twenty-six years that I've lived on borrowed time. My sisters died…and I lived. I was given a gift to help people; and, I've done all I could with it. Now, a little girl and her family need our help. This is the only way I see that can help them. I've accepted it, Uncle Mike; I know in my heart this is what I'm supposed to do." The deputy faces his niece; with tears still running down his face. "If it's what your supposed to do…and; if you really accepted it like you say…why don't you do it your damn self?! Why do I have to do it?" "I can't take my own life, Uncle Mike…" "Then, you haven't really accepted it!" "I have; honest. I can't commit suicide Uncle Mike; that's viewed as an act of self-destruction…of rage. If I die that way, it defeats the whole purpose; I'd be condemned to a limbo state of torment. If someone who loves me were to kill…no… sacrifice me for a greater good…then, I'd be able to reach out to Chelsea and get her help. Anna's soul's depending on this, Uncle Mike…on us. Let's not let her down." "I don't know…I don't…I don' think I could…I…" "It's okay, Uncle Mike; trust me, when the time comes, you'll know. You'll do what needs to be done; I have faith in you." The deputy looks at his niece and lets out a short laugh. "Faith?" "Yeah, you'll see; when the time comes, you'll realize it's the only way." The deputy returns to looking down at the ground, shaking his head side to side while gripping onto his hair. Cindy stands up and starts to go back inside. She turns and tells her uncle… "After Vivian Steinman explains what happened between Chelsea, Charles and Tommy…and, we figure out what their issue is….then, we'll have to keep our promises that we made, Uncle Mike. It be okay; you'll see." Cindy enters the house; while Deputy Hopkins sits on the porch steps regretting that damn promise.