Chapter Seven. #2
“He should be locked up!” I yelled as Magic fought off Sunny and went straight back after the skull, whose own jaw had dropped.
“Yeah! Fucker! Never faced anyone like me!” Magic roared, and I stared in stunned belief as Magic started chasing the skull.
The skull floated backwards, as did the several other skulls now surrounding it.
Magic grabbed his baseball bat and whacked the nearest one as Sunny ran towards me carrying Magic’s backpack.
He dropped it at our feet as Bunny and I sat up.
“I’ve no idea what else that asshole has in this!” Sunny cried.
A roar came from Magic as he fought the skulls, and we shook our heads in disbelief.
“That crazy fuck!” Sunny yelled and stared between us. I knew he was torn about whom to save.
There was a crunch, and we looked as Magic played baseball with a skull. It flew into the wall and shattered.
“Nobody terrifies my girl!” Magic bellowed, and Bunny made an ‘aww’ noise beside me.
“Aww? Really? That man needs a straitjacket,” I hissed at her.
“He loves me,” Bunny said and smiled.
I shook my head. Hellfire MC and their friends were all clinically nuts. However, this was making for some hysterically funny footage. I held the heavy backpack in my arms as Magic smashed skulls and went after the main one. It was now producing a panicked noise, and I couldn’t blame it.
“Wanna frighten my friends, scare my girl? Think you’re a big skull about town because you’ve got red eyes. Dude, you haven’t met me! I eat skulls like you for breakfast!” Magic rampaged, and I shook my head.
The skull zipped to one side as Magic swung again, and then he was belted with debris from the floor. The skull was putting up a hell of a fight, but Magic had no intention of losing.
He dived for his rocket launcher, which all of us had forgotten to grab, and I watched horrified as he whipped out another rocket from the leg of his jeans. Magic aimed and fired.
The skull shrieked as the rocket blasted it into tiny pieces before blowing through the wall of the morgue. The rocket hit the ground and exploded. We stared at the hole as moonlight filtered in from outside.
Magic stood and wiped his hands calmly. A fire, backlighting him, burned merrily away.
“That took care of that!” he stated.
Over the radio came Pyro’s maniacal laughter and Callie’s shrieks.
“What the hell was that?” Detective Maines demanded, and Magic folded his arms and looked a little worried.
“Aw, shit!” he complained. “Forgot about him!”
Bunny began grinning before laughing. “You’re in trouble, boss!”
“It ain’t the first time, kid, but I saved our asses,” Magic replied, looking proud.
Sunny turned to me with sheer desperation and disbelief in his eyes. I was sure my expression matched his. Phil peered out from the camera and gazed at us.
“This will make this investigation the number one episode of all time,” he stated.
Magic cheered. “That’s me! TV star extraordinaire!”
Sunny yanked his phone from his pocket and jabbed in some numbers. “Chance!” he roared when someone answered. I was with Sunny, who the hell cared that it was the early hours of the morning? Chance had a lot to answer for!
Callie
“Please come immediately,” Maines said over his radio. Michelle and I swapped glances at the panic in his voice and left the tour bus at once. We hopped in an SUV as Phil drove in behind us. Connor and Freddie also scrambled in as I sped off towards the field where the cemetery was being excavated.
“Oh, shit!” Phil exclaimed as we got closer. I leapt out, my jaw dropping in shock. The police stood near us, huddled in a large group, and stared across the field that was being excavated.
“Have you seen anything like this before?” Maines demanded with panic in his voice. I shook my head silently.
“There are so many,” Bunny whispered, appearing. Her eyes were wide, like everyone else’s.
“What do we do?” Maines cried.
Michelle and I swapped glances, and holding hands, we moved forward. Phil lifted his camera to film us, and I turned and pushed it down.
“No. Not this,” I said, and he held my gaze before nodding. I ignored those within the police lines who had their phones out recording.
“Put them away!” Maines ordered. “Show respect.”
I didn’t pay attention as people lowered their cells and I kept moving forward with Michelle.
About ten paces away from everyone, we stopped and faced the multitude of ghosts standing there.
Men, women, children, and babies of all ages and ethnicities stood facing us in lines and groups.
They didn’t move or speak. There were hundreds, all waiting for something.
A lump caught in my throat. They were waiting for Michelle and me. I just knew it.
“Callie!” Sunny hissed from behind me.
I moved forward five more steps.
“Nobody here means you harm. We offer you respect and dignity and will not allow anyone to bring you grief or trouble. I know why you’re here; your murders and deaths were unreported and forgotten.
Not anymore. These men and women here will do their best to give you back your names and stories.
This won’t be swept under the carpet again, and you won’t be lost to lies, cover-ups, and rumours. The truth will come out,” I called.
“My name is Michelle. I’m a priest, and I can help you cross over to the light. God and eternal peace await you all,” Michelle announced, stepping forth.
In the air came a rustle of murmurs, and I guessed the ghosts were communicating. A woman walked forward, and Michelle and I watched as she crossed the vast field to stand near us. Michelle murmured a prayer and held her hands out.
“Sandra Watson,” the name floated in the wind, and Sandra placed her hands above Michelle’s before disappearing.
“Stephen Sugar,” an elderly man said before repeating Sandra’s actions.
“Baby boy, born to Kitty Dubois. Kitty Dubois,” a young teenager whispered, holding a baby. Tears formed in my eyes as she turned to Michelle, bowed her head, and disappeared.
“Someone get these names down,” Maines ordered quietly.
One by one, the watching ghosts came and offered their names before crossing over.
I swallowed with difficulty as a little boy appeared in front of me. He was tiny, about five years old, with tousled fair hair and a thin face. Huge brown eyes looked at me before he smiled.
“Mathew,” he said with a smile. Tears formed as I reached out my hands. With a faint touch, Mathew swivelled to Michelle.
“The boy from the children’s wing,” Connor murmured, sounding choked. Mathew flashed out, and I knew he’d found rest. I wiped tears from my eyes and turned as a nurse appeared. She wore an old-fashioned dress and hat, surrounded by youngsters.
“Catherine Rawlins,” she said, and I made a noise of surprise. She urged a young girl forward, “Joanne Connors. Justin Jackson.” A little boy followed, and I swallowed hard as I tried not to cry.
“You came back for them!” I cried, and Catherine nodded with a sad smile.
“My children,” Catherine replied, and one by one she named them as they crossed over.
“God will forgive you, Catherine; you cared enough to return to protect them. That’s true love,” I said as I wiped the tears streaming down my face.
Catherine waited until they all went across and then placed her hands in Michelle’s.
Rose, the ghost who’d shown us where the children were buried, appeared carrying a baby in her arms. She smiled at us before vanishing, kissing the baby with love and happiness.
One by one, the ghosts came and reclaimed their identities before fading out. Finally, there were none left bar two men.
“Watchers. Keep promises. Will leave when finished,” the Ovilus that Jack carried switched and spat words out.”
I frowned. “You’re going to stay and ensure every last grave is found?” I asked, looking for clarification.
“Yes.” The two men disappeared, and two names emerged to us. “Jonas Monroe. Seth Armstrong.”
Around us, silence fell. There was movement behind us, and my team surrounded me. Maines came to my side.
“Have you ever seen anything like this?” he murmured.
“No. And we probably never will again.”
“You didn’t film it,” Maines stated.
“No. Because tonight wasn’t entertainment or about proof. It was about giving respect and dignity back. It was about honouring their lives and acknowledging their murders and deaths. We gave them their names once more,” I replied as tears still tracked down my face.
“You’re a hell of a woman, Callie Dixon,” Maines muttered, and Sunny grunted from behind me.
“I’m just human, with some decency in me. I know what it’s like to be forgotten and ignored and considered unworthy of remembering. That won’t happen to these victims,” I promised.
“I believe you,” Maines said as his officers slowly moved forward, placed candles on the ground, and lit them.
I wondered where they got them from before I saw Freddie handing them out.
She must have planned a memorial, and this moment was perfect timing.
The forensic anthropologists and everyone else who’d been working here joined them.
The field was alight with candles of remembrance.
I knew that while The Asylum might continue to be haunted, a great many souls had found their justified rest and peace tonight. And for me, Callie Dixon, that’s what mattered the most.