A Town of Evil by Gabby The night is dark, cold. The bright moon is the only light shone over the small town of Trinity, S.C. The year is 1989. The sky is now getting darker. The wind is picking up, making a noise that sounds like a wolf's cry. All light shone from the moon disappears when clouds cover it. Loud voices can be heard from a small house set in a wooded area apart from other houses. Anne and Jim Clark were average people, with problems just like everyone else. They owned a small drugstore in town, but were in danger of losing it because they were behind on payments. They did have a hot scoop, though, that could get them off the hook. There were some doubts, though. "What would you like me to do with this information?" Anne said, "It might not be correct anyway." "Not correct!" Jim laughed , "Of course it is. He was the around the hospital the night that woman jumped out the window. Also, he's always around the Temple house. And do you notice that whenever someone pushes the wrong button with him, something happens to that person." Anne shrugged. "Yes , I know, but..." " But nothing. I finally have Buck right where I want him. I just feel sorry for Caleb." Jim walked to a chair and sat down. "All those debts Lucas has over me will be over. I will get him back." Suddenly a third voice is heard. The two look to see Lucas Buck standing in front of them. " Get me back, friend. Oh, now, now. If you're trying to get beneath my badge, why didn't you just come to me?" Jim nervously looked at his wife. "Buck, how did you get in here?" "Never mind," Lucas said, "Mmmm... Caleb Temple, you say. Handsome little devil, ain't he!?" Lucas flashed a big grin. Jim looked him right in the eyes, worked up all his courage, and said, "I know your little secret, Buck. I'm gonna go straight to the papers unless you erase those payments." Lucas looked from Jim to Anne, and said, "Come on. Why don't we sit and talk this all over." A little eye peeks out from the closet. Outside the sky is turning a deep purple. It is now 1997. The day is warm, sunny. People are strolling down the streets, laughing and joking. Now we come upon a large, white house. Caleb Temple, along with his cousin Gail Emory, and an elderly man named Peter who lived in the boarding house, are sitting on the porch talking. "So, Peter, how is your son doing?" Gail asked, "I haven't seen him for awhile." Peter took a sip of his coffee. " Well, actually, Idon't know myself. He hasn't called me lately." Caleb was finishing some homework for school. "Don't you have a number where you can call him?" "I've tryed to call him," Peter sighed, " But he never answers the phone. And I don't have a car, so I can't drive there. Ohh.." "Peter, are you okay?" Gail asked, alarmed. Peter took a deep breath before answering. "Yes, yes, my dear. Just sometimes I have a tightness in my stomach. I'm okay. Really." "Peter, if you need a ride I can give you one," Gail said. "No, I don't want to trouble you," Peter said, taking another sip of coffee. Gail stood up. "It's really no trouble at all. I'll pick you up tomorrow at 10. But right now , I have to drive Caleb to school. So get your things together, Caleb." Caleb got up, and both he and Gail walked to the car, calling byes to Peter. Peter watched the car drive off, and then began to stand. Suddenly... " How's life treating you, Peter?" Lucas said from behind. Peter spun around, and moaned in pain. "Lucas, please don't do that." "Whoops. I forgot about your little 'problem'. I just came to have a little chat with you," Lucas said. Peter sat back down with a sigh. " If it's about the money I owe you, I don't have it yet." " Well," said Lucas, " The way I see it, if you hadn't been paying your son all that money, you wouldn't be in this mess." "But he's my son, and he was going through a bit of a rough time," Peter said. "Okay," said Lucas, "When you see him tomorrow, ask him for the money." Peter stampered. "But Lucas, I ...." Interrupting, Lucas said, "Either you get the money from him, or you'll really have something to moan about." Lucas walks past Peter, who closes his eyes in a silent prayer. Caleb was dropped off at school. He met his friend Boone by the benchs outside of school. " Hey, Caleb," Boone said, "Did ya finish the Math homework?" " Yeah, just finished it this morning." The first bell rang, and the boys headed to their classroom. They sat down and got ready for class to start. Lucas Buck came in with a girl Caleb had never seen before. Yet he felt he somehow knew her. Lucas went and spoke to Miss Coombs. She smiled down at the girl and then turned to the class. " Quiet down, children," she said in her soft voice, "We have a new student with us. Her name is Sandy Clark. Now let us all make her feel welcome. I have a seat ready for you right over there." The girl nods. " I"ll be here to pick you up after school, okay?" The girl nods at Lucas and sits in her chair. The day goes by quickly. It is now 3:00. Sandy heads out to the front of the school. Caleb sees her. He wanted to go and talk to her but he was very nervous. He saw Lucas pull up in the car. He got out and called Caleb over. "Hey, son, want a ride?" "No thanks. I'd rather walk," Caleb said. "Are you sure? I have to drive Sandy over to the boarding house. That's where she will be staying for a while." He looked at Sandy, who was staring off into space. " Okay, I'll go with you," Caleb decided. He got in the car. Everyone was silent until they pulled up to the boarding house. " You're going to like it here, Sandy, " Lucas said, "Miss Holt is a very nice person, right Caleb?" "Uh-huh," said Caleb quietly. Sandy yanked open the door. " Thanks," she said. Caleb thought he heard hate in her tone, but he wasn't sure. He quickly got out to follow her. Calling thanks to Lucas, he caughtup with her. Lucas watched Caleb, then drove off laughing. " Hi. I'm Caleb. We're in the same class. I live here too." Caleb knew he was babbling, but he didn't know what to say. Sandy looked at him strangly, and went to open the door. Caleb noticed for the first time the scars on her wrists. Something starnge was going on with her. Caleb didn't talk to Sandy again until after dinner. He went to her room. Pausing outside her room, he thought of an excuse for coming. Finally, he decided to ask about the homework. He knocked on the door. He tried again when no one answered. When still no one answered, he tried the door. It was unlocked. Looking around to see if anyone was watching him, he slipped in the room. Caleb slowly closed the door as he entered. He only saw two boxs on the floor by the bed. He cautiously opened the first one. It only held her clothes. He moved on to the second box. On the top of the pile was an old newspaper. It was dated 1989. the headline read: TWO DEAD IN UNSOLVED CRIME. Caleb read on. TODAY THE BODIES OF ANNE AND JIM CLARK WERE FOUND IN THERE HOME BY SHERRIFF LUCAS BUCK. THEY WERE BOTH SHOT IN THE HEART. THEIR FOUR YEAR OLD DAUGHTER WAS FOUND HIDDEN IN THE CLOSET, ASLEEP. AUTHORITIES SAY SHE IS THE ONLY WITNESS, BUT SHE HAS NOT SPOKEN ABOUT THE CRIME SINCE SHE WAS FOUND. THERE ARE NO SUSPECTS AT THIS TIME. IF ANYONE HAS ANY MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS, PLEASE CALL THE SHERRIFF'S OFFICE. Caleb lifted his head, stunned. He couldn't believe it. Then he saw the door open. Sandy stood in the doorway. " Uh..Uh," Caleb stuttered, " I'm sorry. I just came in here to get the homework." "Oh, really," she said, "And Igave you all this time to find what you were looking for. I see you found it." She was looking at the newspaper. " Are you the daughter? what happened?" Caleb handed her the newspaper. She looked at it sadly. "I'm the daughter. My parents were arguing that night about something, I can't remember what. Whenever they argued, I would always hide in the closet." "Then someone came in. I can't remember who. The next thing I knew, my parents were dead. The police asked me questions, but I couldn't answer them. I was sent to live with my aunt in Chicago." Caleb listened intently. "Why'd you come back?" " My aunt just got married. She's friends with Miss Holt, so she called here to ask if I could stay for about a month. She's going to Las Vegas for her honeymoon." "Oh," Caleb said , looking at Sandy's wrists. She noticed this. " I guess I wanted to die. After my parents died, people whispered when they saw me. Even in Chicago. My aunt has a big month. She doesn't like me. So last year I decided I'd be better off dead. My aunt found me, though. She will never let me forget that she saved me, either. The reason I'm telling you all this is because I trust you." "My parents are dead, too. They killed themselves. My sister's dead too." Sandy felt that the things he was saying was untrue, but she decided not to press it. " I better go. Dr. Matt wanted me to watch something on T.V." He heads to the door, and Sandy says " I thought you wanted the homework." The next morning at 10:00 A.M. Gail showed up to pick up Peter. They drove to a tiny home a couple miles away. They went up to the dor and Knocked three times. No one answered. "Maybe he went out of town," said Gail. "My son doesn't have enough money to go out of town," Peter said, sounding worried. He pushed on the door. It swung open with a creak. They walked in. "Ryan?" Peter called. The door to the bedroom was half open. Peter peeked in. What he saw made him double over in pain. " Peter!" cried Gail. She looked past him to the room. A cry escaped her lips. Ryan Banks was hanging from the ceiling by a tight rope. His neck was hanging at a strange angle, and his eyes bulged. Gail looked for something he could have jumped from, but saw nothing. She knelt down to Peter, who was laying on his back, wheezing loudly. " Peter? Are you okay?" She grabbed his arms and dragged him all the way to the car, and managed to put him in the car. " I have to get you to the hospital. Peter?" "Buck," he said in a low and raspy voice. Then he passed out. Matt Crower looked down at Peter, then said to Gail, " And how did this happen?" " Well, Peter hadn't seen his son for awhile, so I offered to drive him there. But when we got there,his son was dead. He hung himself ,I think. Is Peter going to be okay?" Peter had been hooked up to an oxygen tank. "Oh, sure. He just went into shock. As long as he gets some oxygen, he should be fine." Matt went to the door. "Come on. Let's leave him alone." They left the room quietly. Peter slept on. Lucas looked down at him. "You know what a burdon your son was, old man. Cheating ME out of money. And also cheating you. I can't let you tell anyone that you know that Ryan didn't kill himself." Lucas went over to the tank case. "Hmm. What is this cord?" He yanked it so it disconnected from the tank. Peter's oxygen level went down. As Peter struggled for breath, Lucas said with mock surprise, "Oh, is THAT what it does. Whoops!" Matt heard the machine noises. He rushed in with a nurse. He tried to revive Peter, but it was too late. Peter was dead. The nurse saw the disconnected cord. " Look, Dr. Crower. The cord." Matt looked at the cord with puzzlement. " How could that have happened? It couldn't have pulled out itself and no one could have gotten in here." A week passed. Funeral services were held for Peter and his son. Caleb went to these services. He was so sad. One by one people he knew were dying. Yet he knew Peter was old, and he was ill. His son had committed suicide because he had problems. So Caleb knew that these deaths could not be in any way related to him. Caleb and Sandy were becoming good friends. They spent alot of time together. To Caleb, Sandy reminded him of Merlyn. He really liked her. Sandy was in her room. It was 9:30 P.M. She was sitting on her bed brushing her hair. All of a sudden a white glow appeared before her. Sandy jumped up, afraid. The glow dispersed, and there stood Merlyn. "Who are you?" Sandy stared at Merlyn. "I don't expect you to remember me. You were too young. My name is Merlyn. I am Caleb's sister." "Caleb's sister?" Mandy said, shocked. "But you're supposed to be dead." "I came to show you what really happened the night your parents died." The images played in Sandy's head. "It was Lucas who shot them," Merlyn said, "He didn't want the truth to come out." Sandy had tears in her eyes. "Did I know Caleb when I was little?" "Yes, you two used to play together in the park. He doesn't remember." Merlyn looked tenderly at Sandy. "Lucas is an evil man." Sandy looked up. "He killed you, too. Your whole family." Merlyn nodded. "Caleb knows this. At times he doesn't want to believe it. Heis of Lucas's blood." Sandy stood up and went to the door. Before she left she turned to Merlyn. "Thank you," she said, and ran out. As she went for the front door, Miss Holt stopped her. "Where are you going. It's late." Sandy pulled away, and ran out the door and down the street. "Sandy," Miss Holt shouted after her. Sandy ran all the way to the sherriff's office. Pulling the door open, she stepped in. Ben, Lucas's deputy, looked up. "Hi, Sandy, what's up?" "Is Lucas here?" She went to the counter. "Yeah, he's in his office. Is something wrong?" Without answering, she went to the door and barged in. Ben didn't bother to stop her. Lucas sat up in his chair as Sandy walked in and slammed the door shut. "Hello, darlin," Lucas drawled. "Shut up," Sandy snapped, "It was you. You killed my parents." Lucas looked surprised. "What are you talking about?" "My memory came back. My parents were arguing about YOUR SON Caleb. You came in and shot them. YOU SHOT THEM! I am going to call my aunt at her hotel in Vegas and have some cops come down to arrest you." "Do you think you can do that?" Sandy had her hand on the door, ready to leave. She turned to face Lucas. "I was there, Lucas. I'm a witness. Of course they will believe me. Oh, yeah. Don't even think of trying anything funny to me. I've got a bat in my room and I'm not afraid to use it." She left the office. Lucas wacthed her go. " What a shame. She's so young." Then he began to laugh. Sandy let herself in the door. She tiptoed up to her room. She thought she was home free until she opened the door. Caleb was sitting on her bed. "What are you doing in here?" Sandy asked. Caleb was surprised by her tone. "What's wrong? Where did you go?" Sandy walked to the window. "None of youf business. Can you please leave. I want to be alone." Caleb didn't understand. "Fine," he said, "Goodnight!" He walked out. Sandy ran to the door and locked it. She made sure all the windows were locked, and she shut the blinds. She laid down on her bed, bat in hand. She lay in the dark, waiting. Hours pass. Sandy has fallen asleep. She is stretched out on the bed, the bat held limbly in her hand. A sliver of light from a rip in the blinds focuses on Sandy's scars on her wrists. Suddenly the scars open up and blood begins to pour from the cuts. Sandy never wakes up. The bat hits the ground with a thump. Caleb is in an uneasy sleep. He is awakened by the sound of his name being called. He rubs his eyes. "Sandy, is that you?" Sandy seems to be glowing. It fades when Caleb turns on the light. "Hi, Caleb. I just came to say goodbye." "Goodbye? Are you going back to Chicago?" Caleb squinted, his eyes not yet adjusted to the light. Sandy shook her head, and held up her wrists. They were bleeding. "You killed youself!? You're a ghost!?" "I died tonight. I haven't been found yet. But I didn't kill myself. They started bleeding by themselves." Both Sandy and Caleb knew who caused the bleeding scars. Caleb held back tears. "Why does everyone around me die? I'm so sorry." Sandy took Caleb's hand. "Don't think this is your fault. It's not. Anyway, I have to go. I'll never forget you Caleb. You are my best friend. I hope you don't forget me." She reached over and gave him a hug. Slowly she began to fade in his arms. The last thing he sees is her smile, so much like Merlyn's. He wipes a tear away. From downstairs, Miss Holt lets out a scream. She had Matt with her. She had had him knock in Sandy's door. Miss Holt's room was right below Sandy's, and blood had begun to drip from the ceiling in Miss Holt's room. "Noo ooo!!!" Miss Holt's cry is the only thing to be heard throughout the silent house.