Echoes (Whisper Trilogy Book 2) (28 page)

“I thought you didn’t love me anymore…” she said, a fresh wave of tears further streaking her makeup.

“No matter what, I’ll always love you. Despite what you think, I don’t regret a thing. Buying the house, going through what I had to… I’d do it all again. Let’s get through tonight, and then go home.”

“Yes,” she said, wiping her eyes. “I haven’t agreed with anything more than I do right now.”

He gently touched her cheeks and kissed her in a way which he hadn’t since before the fire. In that one instant, the distance and alienation between them was shattered. She wanted the moment to last forever, but no sooner had it started than Steve pulled away. He picked up his hat and tucked his remaining hair under it, pulling the peak down low over his burns.

“Come on – it’s time,” he said.

She nodded and followed him out of the room and down to the lobby.

CHAPTER 17

Heavy shadows swallowed Dane’s team as they left the bright lights of the hotel behind. Despite their agreement, leaving Melody was the hardest thing Steve had ever done. It went against his every natural instinct. As always, her strength had been a revelation, which in turn gave him the strength to leave her at the hotel. The rain still fell in a constant slow drizzle as the remains of the day faded. They had reached the bridge, Steve keeping pace with Dane, the others a little way behind and all followed by the Sean with his camera.

“So you used to live here?” Dane said as they started to cross to the other side.

“Yeah, for a little while.”

“Must be tough to come back.”

“Yeah, well you can thank your brother for that.” Steve grunted.

“He can be a prick sometimes, but he’s just ambitious. Try not to take it seriously.”

They reached the other side in tandem. Dane started up the well-worn trail ahead whilst at the same time Steve veered off to the left.

“Where are you going?” Dane said.

“It’s this way if you’re heading to the clearing.” Steve said, his breath fogging in the cold.

“The trail’s here, dead ahead. It’s around a half mile to the location.”

“That trail wasn’t there when we lived here. Must have been walked in by curious people after the fire,” Steve said, realizing just how unfit he was as he gasped for breath.

“What’s that way?” Dane said, noticing the vague trail by the edge of the river where Steve was standing.

“Just a different route. This was the original pathway. It leads past the dead tree and into the clearing.”

“Tree?” Dane said while the others stood around waiting for a decision to be made.

“Yeah, the Gogoku sacrifice tree.” Steve said.

“We looked for it, but couldn’t find it.” Dane replied, eyes bright.

“You wouldn’t have done, not that way,” he said, nodding to the trail. “You would have cut straight past it.”

“That makes sense. The reports said it was just off the main trail. We assumed it was this one. No wonder we haven’t been able to find it.”

Steve nodded, thrusting his hands into his pockets.

“Can you show me where it is? It would be good to shoot some stuff there later on if we can,” Dane asked.

Steve hesitated. He remembered the night Melody had broken down and had told him what had happened to her at the tree, the way she’d been a passenger in her own body climbing the gnarled branches. She’d told him how close it had been, how his sacrifice and burning down the house would have all been for nothing if it had been just seconds later. He had refused to go back there while the investigation was in full swing, or to tell the authorities where to find it. As much as he was unwilling see it again, he remembered his words to Melody before they’d left and knew he had to if he was ever really going to move on. The tree, just like the house and the clearing, was just another piece of the puzzle, another thing he wanted to overcome for both his sanity and his piece of mind.

“Mr. Samson?” Dane repeated, glancing at Sean to make sure he was capturing it all on film.

“Yeah, I’ll show you where it is,” Steve said.

“Fantastic. The rest of you, go on towards the clearing on the regular trail. The camera crew will be along shortly to set up the establishing shots there. Sean, you come with us and get this on film. We’ll meet the rest of you up there. You just follow the path straight to—”

“Yeah yeah, we know. We’ve been there before,” Scott said, leading Carrie and Cody into the woods.

II

Back at the hotel, Melody was watching Fred busying himself setting up the first shot they’d record. She had never realized just how tedious TV work was and, judging by the looks of Bruce and Emma, they were as bored as she was. She glanced at Henry, who was sitting in a lobby chair, nose buried in what looked like the latest James Patterson novel. They had been polite to each other since she’d gone back to the lobby, although to say it had been frosty would be an understatement. She’d made the decision to avoid him as much as possible, not only because she didn’t trust herself not to start another argument, but also because even looking at him repulsed her. Her thoughts turned to Isaac, and she realized just how much she was missing him. Even though, like any child, he could be a handful at times, as she sat there alone and separated from Steve, she was desperate to hear her son’s voice.

“Are you alright?” Emma said from the chair beside Melody.

“I’m fine, just missing my little boy.”

“I’m sorry about my friend earlier, he had no right to say those things. He says it was all a joke.”

“It’s okay, I overreacted anyway. Nerves getting to me I think. It’s being back here at this place. It’s hard to keep calm.”

“I get that,” Emma said, glancing at Melody, and saw, despite her efforts to hide them, cracks had started to form. The pressure was beginning to get to her and for some reason, Emma felt compelled to help.

“Hey, we’ll be fine,” she said, giving Melody’s hand a gentle squeeze. “I’m starting to wish I hadn’t come here to be honest,” she added, thinking about Alex and his warning.

“It’s easy to get drawn in. I remember when I first saw this place. I fell in love with it. I think that’s partly how it works. It makes you love it so much you won’t leave, even when things go bad.”

“The house is gone, it doesn’t exist anymore. Surely that can’t apply here in the hotel.”

“I still feel it,” Melody whispered. “Everyone is relaxed right now because nothing’s happened. Whatever it is, it’s here. I can feel it just like it’s always been.”

“The bad stuff?” Emma whispered, her eyes wide and frightened.

Melody nodded. “It’s everywhere.”

She broke down, tears streaming down her cheeks. Fred glanced over his shoulder mid-conversation with Bruce, and even Henry was watching. Melody would have bet everything he was wearing his usual smug smile behind his book.

“How about we go outside and get some fresh air?” Emma suggested, nodding towards the entrance.

Melody didn’t fight it, and allowed herself to be guided outside. The rain had stopped, although the wind was still cold enough to make them pull their jackets closed as they walked away from the hotel, heading down the access road. Neither spoke for a while, Emma content to let Melody cry out her frustrations in peace.

“I half wish we could just keep walking,” Emma said eventually, nodding down the road.

“I know what you mean. It’s hard to stay strong.”

“Can I ask you a question?” Emma said as they strolled down the road.

“Go on.”

“Why did you come back here? I mean if it were me, nothing could get me back here. I don’t see what you have to prove.”

“It’s complicated. I can’t really go into it right now.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to pry.”

“No, it’s okay. I imagine people are thinking we’re insane to come back here. The odd thing is, as much as the idea of returning here scared me, I don’t feel too bad now I’m actually here. It’s like the idea of returning was worse than actually doing it. In a way, it’s almost as if we’d never left.”

“I can understand. I have a friend in town who was begging me not to come out here. It’s funny because, out of all of us, he was the one who I would have banked on to be most into this.”

“Maybe he’s the smart one and we’re all insane,” Melody said, managing a smile.

“Maybe. I was almost sick with worry when we first arrived, now I’m okay with it. There’s an atmosphere, you can’t deny it. I don’t get any other kind of weird feeling here though. Do you sense anything specific?”

As far as trying to obtain information went, it was a clumsy attempt. However Melody knew there was no malicious intent, and Emma was guilty of nothing apart from being curious.

“I know there’s a lot of speculation about the things that happened here. I know some people believe it, others don’t. I read in the papers after the fire we were accused of starting it deliberately as an insurance scam.”

“Yeah, I read about it,” Emma said, careful not to add any of the other things she’d read at the time.

“Truth is we didn’t have insurance. It was one of those things we’d never gotten around to setting up. When the house went up in flames, so did everything we owned.”

They walked on in silence for a while, the atmosphere less oppressive the further from the hotel they ventured.

“I knew him, you know.” Emma said quietly.

“Who?”

“Donovan.”

Just hearing mention of the name brought back horrifying images of his leering face and the feeling of utter helplessness as he chased her through the woods. Outwardly she didn’t react, and after pausing for moment, Emma went on.

“He fooled everyone. Even here in town. Nobody knew what he was.”

“Some people are good at wearing masks,” Melody said, her breath fogging in the chilly air.

“God, you’re so strong.”

“What do you mean?” Melody said.

“I mean coping with all this. I just don’t know how you do it.”

“I never used to be like this. Back before the fire, I was carefree. Some might even say I was a little gullible. I believed that everything in the world had the potential to be good. Now, I know there are places where darkness thrives. It’s made me tougher. It’s also made me more cynical. Sometimes I look at myself in the mirror and search for any trace of the Melody of old. I’d like to think she’s still in there, buried deep inside where she’s protected from the world by what I’ve become now.”

“I had no idea this had affected you so much.”

“It is what it is,” she said with a shrug.

The wind picked up, spitting rain in their faces.

“Shall we head back, it’s cold out here?” Melody said.

“Yeah, I suppose we ought to show our faces.”

They turned and headed back the way they’d come, enjoying the solitude. The hotel loomed out of the gloom, and the heavy atmosphere surrounding it enveloped them like a blanket.

“Hey, check it out,” Emma said.

Melody had been staring at her feet, making sure she didn’t fall in the near total darkness. She looked at the hotel and her stomach did a little nervous roll.

The lights were out.

When they’d left, the building was a glowing beacon of artificial light. Now, only the soft glow of the lobby up-lighters awaited them.

“Why are the lights out?”

“I don’t know,” Melody mumbled, looking through the glass doors at the deserted lobby beyond. Fred’s equipment was abandoned on the floor. She craned her neck to see into the shadows to no avail. The entire lobby looked deserted.

“I think we should get the hell out of here,” Emma said, half-turning to leave.

“No,” Melody replied, her voice crisp and sharp in the silence. “I won’t run from this anymore.”

“Maybe they’re just making the lighting more moody for the TV cameras?” Emma said, not quite believing it herself.

“No… I don’t think so,” Melody stated, peering through the door again. Things were trying to enter her mind, twisted things which used to live only in her nightmares were now attempting to present themselves into the real world. Usually, it was at this stage she would break down or go around their apartment, switching on every light and banishing the shadows.

Not today.

She said to herself, pushing those nightmarish things aside. Taking a deep breath, and without hesitation, she opened the door and went inside the hotel. Emma followed, deciding she would rather be with Melody than outside by herself. They walked into the gloom, letting the door close behind them.

III

Cody was leading the group through the trees, the ground underfoot becoming increasingly slick and difficult as rain continued to fall. They each wore head torches to help them see the way, yet even they struggled to penetrate the gloom.

“This isn’t as glamorous as I’d expected it to be,” Scott mumbled.

“What did you expect?” Carrie said, breathing hard as they delved deeper into the trees.

“I don’t know, just not this.”

“At least it’ll look real on TV.”

“True.”

They walked on without speaking for a few minutes, concentrating on navigating the way ahead.

“So,” Scott said between breaths. “What’s the score with you and Emma?”