"GHOULS NIGHT OUT"

HALLOWEEN 2007 HARDY BOYS FAN FICTION CONTEST ENTRY

TEARS ON STONE

by

Author B

The Story

The Chapters

INTRO

THE STORY

Lightning split the sky, making the landscape as bright as day for a heartbeat, then plunging it back into darkness. Thunder crashed, grumbling around the old farmhouse. The lights overhead flickered once, twice and then slowly faded, plunging everyone into darkness.

“I’ll get candles,” said Vanessa Bender. Her footsteps echoed on the wooden floor as she moved out of the room. Everyone heard a soft thunk and a mumbled exclamation. A moment later, Vanessa called out, “I’m fine. Ran into the door.”

“How’s that for an original excuse,” muttered Tony, his tone of voice teasing.

An orange pinprick of light came into the room and resolved itself into a candle. Vanessa set it on the coffee table. “Mom usually has dozens but that’s all I could find in the dark.”

The group of close friends silently watched the candle flicker as lightning flashed again, and thunder growled. For a second, they all saw someone at the living room window.

Callie Shaw let out a squeal but before it could turn into a full-fledged scream, she felt her boyfriend grab her arm. Frank Hardy nudged her gently. “It’s Joe. Relax.”

Frank got to his feet, using the dim light of the candle to make it to the window. “Joe?”

Joe Hardy seemed focused on something outside, despite the darkness. Finally, he blinked and slowly turned to Frank. “Yeah?”

“You okay?”

“Fine.” Joe returned his gaze to outside.

Frank swallowed hard. They’d tried to be different this year. After everything that had happened last year. The yacht blowing up, Joe thinking he’d lost first Vanessa, and then his mother....

Frank glanced over his shoulder where the candlelight glittered faintly in Callie’s blond hair. He remembered how he’d felt, thinking Callie was dead. He shuddered. “Joe, are you sure?”

“I’m fine, Frank.” Joe gestured to the storm outside. “Perfect weather for Halloween, right?”

“I say perfect weather for telling ghost stories,” announced Tony, sounding cheerful. “The lights are out, the wind’s howling. Definitely the perfect night.”

Frank turned around and spared one last glance for his brother, unsure of what to do or say. He took a step toward the group gathered around the coffee table. “Not the guy with a hook for a hand again, that is so lame.”

Frank stopped in sudden horror and turned to his brother. He remembered Joe saying something like that before their world went crashing down last October. “Joe...”

But his brother was gone.

A second later, they all heard the door slam shut.

Vanessa scrambled to her feet. “Frank, the storm’s horrible out there. Where’s he going?”

“I’m going after him.” Frank headed for the door and turned the knob to pull open the door but it wouldn’t budge. He yanked harder but the door stayed stubbornly shut. “Vanessa—”

She picked up the candle and hurried over to him. She jiggled the doorknob and a moment later, the door swung open. “Sometimes it gets stuck. Mom’s been meaning to change the hardware but she’s been so busy...”

Frank grabbed an umbrella from the stash by the door. “Tony, can you give Callie a ride home if I’m not back soon?”

“Yeah, sure.” Tony’s voice sounded puzzled. “Don’t worry, Frank, I’ll get her home safe and sound.”

Frank moved to step out onto the porch when he realized it: the van was gone.  Somehow that didn’t ease his worry much. He came back into the house. “I need to borrow a car. Joe took the van.”

Vanessa dashed into the nearby kitchen and came back a few moments later, her car keys in her hand. “Here.”

Frank nodded. “Thanks.” He hurried out, opening the umbrella on the run. He ran to Vanessa’s car and got in, struggling to close the umbrella without getting soaked. After he finally managed it, he started the engine and pulled out of the driveway. When he finally reached the road back to town, he realized he had no idea where to look for Joe.

*****

The windshield wipers made an annoying clunk-swish as he drove back to town. The rain seemed to be growing heavier as he steered along the road. “If I had any sense, I wouldn’t be out in this stuff,” muttered Joe, as he gripped the steering wheel with both hands.

But he didn’t turn back. Memories crowded in on him...that fateful trip to the mall that day...what had happened one year ago....

Joe shuddered as he passed the city limit sign. Last year had freaked him out big time. Especially finding his mother in the attic, a knife in her chest. Thank goodness it had been just a scene, like a frozen image from a horror movie. The actress who’d posed as his mother hadn’t known the real deal or she would have backed out.

Joe found himself  driving aimlessly, despite the heavy rain. He couldn’t go back to Vanessa’s. Not yet anyway. But he knew instinctively that to keep driving around in the worsening storm could end up being dangerous.

Finally, he pulled off the road and shut off the engine. He’d wait out the rain here and when the storm blew over, he’d just head home. Absently, he patted the pockets of his damp jacket, thinking he’d call Frank to let him know he was okay but the pockets came up with assorted change, a grocery store receipt, two paperclips and a gum wrapper. Joe sighed. He must have left the cell phone at Vanessa’s.

Lightning flashed, leaving him blinking in the sudden brightness and staring at a wrought-iron arched sign. He blinked again as it registered what the sign had said. Joe shuddered again, more violently, but it had nothing to do with the chilliness from the storm. He’d stopped in front of the cemetery.

*****

Frank sat there, staring at the road in front of him, knowing that everyone back at  Vanessa’s was probably wondering why he hadn’t left yet. The rain fell heavily and the wind was blowing hard. Lightning and thunder flashed and rumbled every few minutes. Frank sighed and decided to head home first. Maybe Joe just wanted to escape to his room, to forget all that had happened last year.

Frank made his way through the storm to the Hardy home. A dim glow came from the living room and the porch light was off. With the storm, the trick-or-treaters had finished early. As he drove past the house, he noticed with a sinking heart that the van wasn’t there.

He slowed at the stop sign where Elm and High Streets met and frowned. “Where are you, Joe?” he asked softly. He watched the windshield wipers sweep back and forth. “Where did you go?”

He thought about what had made Joe leave. Tony joking about ghost stories, him bringing up the guy with the hook for a hand, an old urban legend....Frank swallowed hard. Surely, Joe wouldn’t go to the cemetery. Not tonight.

Frank shivered and took a left. He had to check it out.

*****

Joe stared into the darkness for a long time, hearing the rain patter on the roof of the van, the clunk-swish of the windshield wipers, the faint idle of the van’s engine. In the distance, he thought he saw a light – a faint pinprick of pure white light, swinging slightly as if the wind had brushed by it.

He sat there, staring at the light, telling himself he wasn’t going to get out of the  van, he wasn’t going to trudge through that graveyard again, just to investigate while the rain soaked him. A moment later, his hand pulled the door handle and he got out.

Rain slicked his hair down flat, spilled over his face and into the collar of his jacket. It made his jeans feel heavy and his shoes soggy but he moved forward, stepping through the open gate of the cemetery. He could still see the light and it seemed to beckon him.

He walked along the muddy pathway, past simple stone grave markers and granite angels frozen out of time. The light never got closer, never moved farther away and finally it stopped and winked out. Joe swallowed hard as he saw the mausoleum loom over him.

He took a deep breath and reached out a cold bare hand for the iron gate. He pushed it open and walked to the metal door of the mausoleum. Something brushed his neck and he spun around, startled. But nothing was behind him.

He lifted a hand to massage his neck, debating on whether he should go inside. There would be nothing to see but metal plaques on the wall, listing family members’ births and deaths. He didn’t even have a flashlight to look, anyway. He just needed to go  home.

But  he pushed open the heavy door. He stepped into complete darkness, but he realized he remembered exactly where her marker was. He reached out and found what he was looking for. A simple metal rectangle that listed her name, her date of birth and the date of her death. He ran his fingers over the raised letters and numbers.

He felt his heart clench and his eyes filled with tears. Somehow this brought it all back; the pain, the hurt, made it so real once again. He swallowed hard and took a deep breath of ice-cold air, feeling it flood his lungs almost painfully. He shouldn’t have come here. Not tonight. Especially not tonight.

As memories crashed in on him like thunder, he spoke her name in a soft whisper. “Iola.”

Not all that much time had passed and he could see her so clearly. Her dark hair that hung softly to her shoulders and curled up, the twinkling violet eyes, the pixie face. He could see her in a soft glittery silver sweater and black jeans, smiling, welcoming him.

Joe felt his heart clench again. He made a sudden decision and veered for the door just as it slammed shut. Startled, Joe made his way to the door only to remember there was no handle on the inside.

It took a long moment for him to realize he was trapped. Trapped in a mausoleum. In her final resting place. Joe tried not to panic, feeling anger at himself that he’d not told anyone where he was going, not even his brother. Frank would never think to look for him here.

“Joseph...”

Joe jumped, spinning around so quickly he nearly fell. He wished for a flashlight and tried impossibly to scan the interior of the mausoleum. There was no one there, obviously. He took a deep breath to calm himself. At least no one alive.

“Do you love her...?”

The voice was a little stronger now, and oh-so-familiar. Joe shuddered and turned around again, knowing he’d see nothing. But then he saw the faintest silvery glow coming from the plaque that held her name. It was a soft glow around the edges, not enough to read inscriptions by but a lightening of the darkness.

“Iola?”

“Do you love her?” The soft glow spilled down the wall to coalesce into a feminine shape. He could barely make out wavy hair, a long dress or gown.

He thought about Vanessa...how they’d met, how he’d felt when the boat had exploded last year, and swallowed hard. He gave a jerky nod. “Yes. I love her.”

The feminine shape moved, shifted fluidly to give the impression of coming closer. “Does she love you?”

“Yes.”

“It’s been a long time since you’ve come here.”

Joe felt the cold seep more into his clothes, as if the stone walls were radiating the chill. He shivered from the wet clothes and the cold. It was so cold. “Iola...”

“Do you still love me?”

“Always. You were my first love.”

The glittery figure went still, as if his words had stopped her completely. Finally, so faintly, he might have imagined it, she whispered, “I will always love you. I wish...”

Joe automatically reached out his left hand, as if to touch her. “Iola...” He felt a coldness wrap around his hand and then the sensation was gone. “Iola...” He felt hot tears slide down his cold cheeks. They splashed silently onto the stone floor.

“Don’t cry...” The feminine shape seemed to dissolve into the darkness. “You’ve grieved so much all this time. There is no need to grieve any longer. There was a purpose for everything...”

Joe stiffened. “God, Iola, don’t forgive me. Don’t you dare. I was...I was a fool, playing with those damn keys, letting you go off alone. I was—“

A blast of icy air nearly knocked him off his feet. It swirled around the small structure and with a concussive force, the door shuddered and squeaked open. “It is the past. You have no need to resurrect the past. Let me rest in peace.”

The glow had faded completely now and Joe moved toward the door, unwilling to be trapped again. He stood in the doorway, unsure of what else to say. “Iola...”

“Joe?”

Startled, Joe spun around to see his brother standing there, soaked to the skin, his brown eyes worried. “Frank...how...” He shivered. “How did you know I was here?”

“I didn’t. You weren’t at home and after last year...I was afraid you’d be here...” Frank cleared his throat. “Joe, what are you doing here?”

Joe looked up at the mausoleum and let out a soft, almost sad sigh. “Saying goodbye.”

Frank pulled out a penlight and shone it inside. “Who were you talking to?” he asked, only to shake his head. “Never mind, it’s none of my business.” He watched the small circle of white light bounce around the interior of the mausoleum, off metal plaques, the concrete floor.

Frank took a step toward the door and aimed the light on the floor. “Joe? Did you see this?” Just inside the door was an odd-shaped spot that in the light, looked reddish in color. Frank looked at it for a moment, rubbed his eyes and looked again. “Joe. I think you should see this.”

Joe sighed and glanced in to see what Frank was talking about. Frank looked over at his brother. “Was that there before?”

Joe stared at it. He could see the faint outline of one of his muddy shoes. The odd-shaped spot was directly in front of the shoe print, where his tears had fallen. “I don’t think anyone would put a heart there.”

Frank edged past Joe and knelt down to get a better look. “It’s not paint. It’s actually sunk into the stone, like someone was trying to do a bas-relief or something.”

When Frank looked up at him, puzzled, Joe shook his head. “Not me. I can’t carve wood, much less stone.”

A faint breeze, feeling warm and smelling of roses swept past both brothers. They stared into the darkness of the mausoleum and then they left, pulling the door closed behind them.

Frank studied his brother for a long moment. “You okay?”

Joe nodded. “I am now.” He glanced over his shoulder and then turned to Frank. “I can hear Aunt Gertrude now.”

Frank looked down at his soaked clothes and heaved a sigh. “So can I.  I don’t think Vanessa will be too glad I’m driving her car. I’ll ruin the seats.”

Joe veered for the van, its engine still running. “I’m sorry  I ran out like that. I—”

“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t  have mentioned that old stupid ghost story. I didn’t mean to—”

“Frank, stop it. I’m shivering,  you’re shivering and the storm’s not letting up any time soon.” Joe blinked, and realized it had stopped raining. The clouds parted and a golden gibbous moon shone down on them. “Okay, I stand corrected.”

Frank pulled the sleeve of his jacket back and glanced at his watch. “It’s after midnight.”

Joe took a deep breath. “Halloween is over.” He pulled open the van’s driver side door. “Let’s bring Vanessa back her car and we’ll go home.”

Frank looked over at his brother and saw that he didn’t seem quite so haunted anymore. He nodded and walked to Vanessa’s car. “Sounds like a plan.”

With the storm gone, it was an easy fifteen-minute drive to Vanessa’s. The boys always kept at least one change of clothes in the van, so while Vanessa promised to dry their soaked clothes, the brothers changed into dry ones and headed home. By the time, they pulled into their driveway, their hair was even dry, thanks to Joe blasting the heater on high the whole way home.

Frank put his hand on the door handle but didn’t open the door. He glanced at Joe. “If you’d rather stop doing Halloween every year...”

Joe let out a snort. “Are you kidding? I hope it rains every year. It means there’s lots of candy left over.” He grinned and scrambled out of the van. “And Mom always buys the good stuff,” he added, heading for the door. “I call dibs on the Reese’s.”

Frank shook his head, finding he was smiling as well. Joe was back. 

The End

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