The Paranormal Thanksgiving

 

Chapter One

Craig Livingston had wanted to take his family on a special Thanksgiving experience for a long time, something authentic! Although he loved the food and enjoyed cooking with his wife Judith, still he wanted a piece of actual American history included, and with a little investigating, found a cabin rental in Miles Standish State Forest. The owner had cautioned Craig that the only thing he had that had not been reserved already was remote compared to the other cabins and a bit off the main track, but was in good condition. Craig gladly accepted it. The place had a stove and oven so it would be perfect for cooking the traditional meal. A day’s drive there so they left the previous morning. Judith had packed everything to cook with. It all seemed like their plans would come together.

On the way into the forest there in Massachusetts rain began to fall and the black asphalt road had gotten slick. Up ahead the family was appalled at the sight of a car wreck with a paramedic vehicle and Fire fighters there who had apparently just pulled someone out of the wreckage, and it didn’t look good. A gurney sat next to the ambulance not yet loaded in and a sheet covered the body. The flashing lights bled through the wet windshield and as Craig drove slowly by as local police directed traffic, he saw what looked like a hand lifting and reaching out from beneath the sheet, it was bloody! Craig’s mind kept replaying that horrid image over and over again as he gasped. Judith grasped his arm.

“What’s wrong, Honey?”

Craig blinked and replied, “Oh, nothing. I was just thinking to myself.”

“That was terrible back there. What a thing to happen on a holiday,” Judith whispered, trying not to frighten their two kids, Jenny and Devlin.

By the time they got in, it was twilight. The temperature had dropped and was now brisk and they could see each other’s breaths in the chilled air. The cabin was old, but seemed to be in good repair. The trees formed a canopy over the lot. They’d been there a long time, maybe as long ago as the American Revolution. You’d never know in these parts of the country. As they unloaded the SUV, the thawed turkey, all the vegetables, yeast rolls, cranberry jelly, and luggage Craig noticed something odd. “Stay here!” He told the kids

In a luminous patch of the road on the edge of the property, Craig spotted a weird sight. A ring of wild turkeys all walking in a circle around what appeared to be a dead black cat! He squinted, not believing his eyes. He was further alarmed when all the sudden, the birds emitted a chilling, high pitched, shriek, not a gobble like he would have expected! Craig shook his head in disbelief. Then he heard someone behind him! It was Judith! “What the hell is going on here? What is that?”

“That,” Craig muttered, “It’s way too damn weird for me!”

“I don’t like this,” Judith replied.

“Let’s just get situated in the cabin, and get the kids ready for bed after they eat.” Craig muttered as he stared at the strange spectacle. “Come on!” He urged his wife.

Chapter Two

The day had become a strange one, and Craig wondered if all this wasn’t a harbinger of more things to come. Judith busied herself in the kitchen while he cracked open a bottle of, quite ironically, Wild Turkey, whiskey. He reached for a glass and dug into the icemaker before pouring the liquor over the ice cubes. “Want a drink?” He asked his wife.

“Not now!” She replied irritably. “I have things to do.”

Craig sat his drink down and went to check on his kids. “Make sure there’s enough blankets for you two. Looks like it’s going to get cold tonight. Then we’ll see what’s on the TV.”

Craig wondered if his wife’s mood change hadn’t been from the bizarre sight of the turkeys circling the dead cat, and strolled back into the kitchen to sip his drink and offer help. There was a patio out back beyond the French double doors and further back a dense grove of trees. Suddenly things seemed gloomy! He felt a shiver run up his spine! Wasn’t this supposed to be Thanksgiving, he thought. First the car wreck and now this animal charade!

“Can I help?” Craig asked as he sipped his drink again.

“You can make the kids dinner. I brought along stuff to make sandwiches and soup with. I’ll just need you to help me get the turkey in the oven after I get it prepared,” Judith answered as she blew her hair out of her face while rinsing off the thawed bird. “Set the oven at 325,” she said as she worked.

Jenny walked over to the bedroom window in the room she would be sharing with her little brother and gazed out into the night. There wasn’t much to see in the darkness outside of the dimly lit edge of the property where a solitary street lamp flickered. The stars were barely beginning to show themselves from the blackness of the emerging evening. A strange silence had fallen over the whole family. For this being Thanksgiving, it seemed quite a different atmosphere. Little did the family realize what a solemn air of apprehension had come over them. Jenny shivered and pulled the mini-blinds back down which now only showed a pale light from the lamp post and the moonlight that had slowly began to show itself. Two old twin beds across the room from each other, squeaky, but comfortable enough, she thought as she sat on hers and watched her brother looking through, the dresser drawer.

Devlin broke out his coloring book and some Crayola’s to do some drawing, “I’m gonna draw a Thanks giving scene,” He announced.

“Just great,” Jenny rolled her eyes and thought about what her friends would be doing. Kate was out of town visiting her grandparents, and Laurie would be having her cousins visit from out of state, so she felt like she wasn’t missing out on much.

Just then as she sat on her bed lost in thought she glanced at the window, and saw the silhouette of a human figure backlit in the dim light. The outline was that of an Indian! It seemed, and in one hand it appeared there was a hatchet! She screamed! “Daddy!” The silhouette tore off into the darkness! She could hear the footfalls as whoever it was retreated into the darkness!

Craig bolted into the room, “What!”

“There was someone outside my window just now!” Jenny whimpered.

“Ha-ha!” Devin giggled “You screamed just like a big chicken,” the little brother giggled.

“Shut up, you little brat!” Jenny shot back.

“Can it! The two of you!” Craig said as he glared outside at the clueless night.

“Daddy, it looked like whoever it was had a small axe in one hand.”

“How do you know?” Craig frowned.

“That’s what it looked like to me,” Jenny stammered.

“Damn it!” Craig heard himself utter and went outside to check the darkness which yielded no clue! He’d forgotten to bring a flashlight! Just great, he thought and no hand gun or any other form of self-defense either. “Smooth move,” he thought to himself, “Dumbass!”

“Mom,” Jenny spoke in a worried tone, “There was someone outside my window.”

“Where’s your father?”

“He went outside to check.”

“Jesus! It’s one thing after another today!” Judith complained.

“I’m calling the manager!” Craig said, rubbing his arms from the night’s chill.

Craig dialed up his cell phone, “Yeah, this is Cabin 12. I’ve had an intruder on my property and you need to get animal control out here there’s a dead animal in the street!”

“This is the answering service, Sir. The manager is gone for the day. The local police and the county animal control will have to be called. Would you like me to have them contact you?”

“Yeah! Damn it!”

Craig, now agitated, clicked off his cell phone. “Why can’t this be just a normal holiday?” Craig hissed.

“Why don’t we try and get our minds off this right now, “Judith suggested. “Kids, go see what’s on TV while your father fixes dinner. Is the door locked?” She turned toward Craig.

“Yeah, I locked it.” He made himself a second drink.

“That enough!” Judith scowled, “You don’t want booze on your breath if you have to talk to the police!”

“Two damn drinks won’t hurt anything,” Craig muttered as he fixed tuna sandwiches and chicken noodle soup for everyone.

There was a knock at the door, “Police Department!”

“Good!” Craig responded as he strolled to the door.

Twp policeman stood at the door, one with his gloves off and a note pad in his hand. They nodded to Craig who gestured them into the cabin. “What exactly happened tonight and when did it take place?”

“My daughter here is the one who saw it.”

“Can you tell us what you saw, Mam?”

“It was about an hour ago, I guess,” Jenny said. “I just saw this dark outline of a person standing outside my window. I didn’t know who it was outside of that, but there’s one thing. It looked like a Native American with a head dress and….,” she paused. “A hatchet in one hand!”

Both officers glanced at each other silently as if they knew something that Craig and his daughter didn’t. Craig caught that momentary expression too.

“Anything else?”

“No, just that whoever it was ran off when I screamed.”

The officers turned toward Craig, “We’re going to search the area on foot, and if we find nothing, we will make extra patrols in the area throughout the night If anything happens call us, we’ll be close by and response time won’t be longer than 10 minutes.”

Craig replied, “You know something you’re not telling us, right?”

“Oh, by the way, I’m Officer Bradley, and this is Officer Tridwell.” He handed Craig a card.

“Can I speak with you just for a minute outside?” Craig asked.

“Sure,” Officer Bradley nodded.

Once they were on the front porch, Craig asked, “What is it you know that I don’t?”

Officer Bradley sighed and glanced at Tridwell, “Over the years there have been some silly rumors and wife’s tales about a Native American serial killer, but that’s all based upon a case that was solved years ago and that criminal was executed by the state. There have been a few apparitions reported by witnesses but you pretty much have that in a lot of places nowadays. So, we take that with a grain of salt.”

“Oh, really like those damn turkeys out there circling a dead black cat?” That’s Satanic if you ask me!” As Craig jabbed a finger in the direction of the dead cat.

“Now, I will admit that we have some witches in Salem that have seemed to have made these freakish things happen but out here? I hear Native Americans think that stuff like that happens on cursed ground, like unholy ground.”

“Well!” Craig hissed. “Just fucking great! I brought my family here for a special Thanksgiving, and now this?”

“Look,” Officer Tridwell broke in. “You can still have your Thanksgiving. Everything will be cool. We will be in the general area all night. No worries. Just keep your doors and windows secured. Alright?”

“I’m sorry officers. I’m just a little disappointed that’s all.”

“We will get animal control out over that dead cat by morning. They’re gone for the day, promise.”

“Okay!” Craig allowed and the officers disappeared around the corner of the cabin to check the woods.

Chapter Three

As the Livingston family sat down for a dinner of sandwiches and soup, they could see the flashlight beams of the officers scanning the wooded area behind the cabin. This was one hell of way to spend Thanksgiving, thought Craig as he munched on whole wheat toast and tune salad. The hot soup did help warm everyone’s spirits and temporarily help them forget about the uncomfortable situation though.

After cleaning up after dinner and getting the turkey seasoned, oiled, and loaded into the Dutch oven, Craig slid it into the oven to slow cook overnight. Craig and Judith moved a twin bed into their master bedroom for the kids to sleep in with them since Jenny would not sleep near a window that some intruder had stood on the other side of earlier. So, the family settled down into an uneasy sleep. It seemed a cold and impersonal nightfall closed in all around them as they eventually feel into unconsciousness.

It must have been around 4 AM when Craig awoke to a faint tapping noise on the front door. Oh, that should be the police checking upon on us, he thought, as he rolled out of bed to the smell of cooking turkey and, what he thought would be the reassuring presence of the two officers which he could have done without. “Officers is that you?” No answer. “Officer Bradley?” Only an eerie silence.

A surge of adrenaline hit Craig as he realized that didn’t come from the police! Now there was a tapping sound coming from the window of the room Jenny and Devlin were supposed to be sleeping in! Craig reached into the drawer and pulled out the biggest kitchen knife he could find and raced to the window; teeth gritted in anger now. Some yahoo was playing games, and now he was going to pay for terrorizing Craig’s family! His entire Thanksgiving for his family had practically been ruined This asshole was going to pay! When he drew open the blinds there was no one there! Craig went to the front door and quietly listened. With the knife raised in his hand, he unlocked the door and slowly slid it open. Nothing, had this all been in his imagination? Was he dreaming or what? Then Craig spotted the police cruiser, lights flashing but silently sitting there. Craig thinking the police had been tapping walked toward the squad car.

He relaxed now, thinking he’d simply jumped to conclusions when he saw something odd. One officer’s head and arm were hanging out of the driver side door. He approached, “is that you Officer Bradley?” He pulled at the door, and the officer’s body covered in blood, fell from his seat and spilled out onto the street! Craig gasped in disbelief! He went to other side of the car and there was Tridwell laying in the street alongside the police vehicle, a deep gash in the side of his head. He was dead too. There was a revolver in his hand. who could have overcome two armed officers like this?

Craig crouched down and grabbed the service revolver from the dead officer’s hand. Everything became a blur now, the red and blue flashing lights, the surrounding, impenetrable darkness, his family in the cabin alone! Jesus! He needed to get back to them! Maybe he was lured out of the cabin by whoever murdered the cops! Shit! Craig ran through the darkness and fell over a tree root or something! Then he heard it, feet pounding the ground and coming right at him! He crouched, straining his eyes to see! He cocked back the trigger of the revolver and felt for the safety. It was already off! Time slowed down despite the immediate threat! The adrenaline pumping though him changed the hostile world around him.

There it was a person or someone and above them was a hatchet raised and ready to strike! Craig squeezed the trigger! The muzzle flash illuminated what appeared to be an Indian just as one would imagine from the old west in buckskins, war paint on his angry face, and a head band of feathers, eyes like fire, teeth white and bared! He squeezed the trigger again and again! The hatchet had narrowly missed his head and swept right passed his temple! Craig, still pointing gun, his hand now trembling, at the motionless body that would have killed him just seconds ago. Craig staggered back to the cabin, hoping his family was safe. He would have to get to his cell phone and call 9-11.

He walked to the bedroom, all was still and calm, they were all safe and untouched. Judith hadn’t even awoken from the gunshots. Craig took his cell phone from the dresser and sat in the kitchen to make a very grim call. How do you report that the policemen who had pledged to protect you are dead? Damn! This was maddening! The contrasting stillness in the cabin compared to the life and death struggle outside minutes ago was almost as uncanny. As he made the call Judith staggered from the bedroom, eyes barely opened, wondering what was going on.

Chapter Four

Hours later, Craig sat in a sound insulated interrogation room at the police station. He was agitated. He’d already endured one interview by some Supervisor Hennessy. He’d been waiting for either another police staffer to release him or to be questioned again, and his temper was getting the best of him. All he’d done was defend himself after trying to give his family a special Thanksgiving to remember, oh were they going to remember this one, for all the wrong reasons! He bowed his head tiredly and rubbed his face. Then the door opened and another plain clothed officer entered the room.

He was short and stalky with jet black hair, and a steady pair of eyes that told Craig this man was no slouch. “Good morning, I know your tired, and I’ve reviewed the report by yourself and by the officers who arrived and witnessed the crime scene,” he said this as he reached for Craig’s hand to shake. “We’ve also reviewed the dashcam as well as the body cams of the two deceased officers and everything you told us is corroborated by the footage.”

“Okay,” Craig tiredly replied, “So when do I get out’ve here?”

“In a few minutes. By the way, I’m lieutenant Back Feather.”

“Oh, really? You’re joking right?” Craig said in disbelief.

“No, not at all. I’m a Native American from a local tribe in the area.”

“Sorry,” Craig apologized. “There’s something I want to know? How the hell do two police officers, well-armed, on duty, and on alert from my call, end up overwhelmed by a single person with a hatchet?”

The detective shut off the tape recorder and used a remote to shut off the overhead camera of the interrogation room. Craig raised an eyebrow.

“Two tired officers on a second consecutive shift who were approached by something that they thought was much different than what attacked them,” Black Feather replied.

Craig frowned, “What do you mean? What the hell is on the cam footage?”

Black Feather let out a long sigh, “I can’t officially tell you, but off the record, what you shot was a shape shifter, something this department doesn’t want to admit to, and won’t!”

“So, this murderer approached the officers appearing to be something else?” Craig scowled tiredly.

“Yes, that’s how it got in so close and took both men by surprise,” Black Feather grimaced.

“Okay, okay!” Craig muttered, “So this shit goes on, and you guys pretend there’s nothing happening and cover this shit up?”

“This has been going on a long time. My people have a much closer relationship with the spirit world than you white folks do. For more than 600 years since the first Europeans set foot in our world, on our soil, they have been completely unaware of what we connect with and what we respect. Few citizens here would understand or accept what you and I have experienced and know about, so to the police, it’s simply a matter of preventing panic and chaos.” The Lieutenant glared at Craig.

Craig just tiredly shook his head, “And, this is what I get for trying to give my family a historic Thanksgiving experience.”

“Not your fault. You stumbled into something that you were not forewarned about, and for that I am sorry for your trouble.”

“So, what next?” Craig Livingston muttered.

“I’ve already had your release papers filled out and signed. I will walk you out to the front desk for the final processing.” Black Feather stood from his chair.

“I don’t have a car; you know so I can get back to my wife and kids.” Craig sighed.

“I took the liberty to call your wife and explained everything so your family wouldn’t be too worried. I’ll drive you back,” The police lieutenant replied.

While driving, Black Feather glanced at Craig, “You must have been one hell of a soldier in another life.”

“What makes you say that?”

“That was no accident, you and that evil spirit. It called you out. It was destiny that the two of you would meet. You two had to settle some unfinished business!” Black Feather grinned.” Did you have any kind of a vision or dream before all this happened?”

Craig scratched his head, “Now that you mention it. Seems like I did have a dream just before I was awakened by the tapping on the door and the scratching at the kid’s bedroom window. I was of an Indian warrior.”

Black Feather nodded, “It always happens that way.”

“Well, I’m glad it’s over.”

“There was something I didn’t mention.” Black Feather said thoughtfully as he made a right-hand turn.

“We didn’t find a body.”

“What the hell! I shot the son of bitch! I looked down at his body!” Craig stammered.

“That’s because you sent this evil spirit back to where he came from! Don’t worry about it,” Black feather replied nonchalantly

They came to a stop in front of cabin that the family should have had a good time at, and Black Feather turned to Craig. “Take my advice. I don’t know how many days your reservation was for, but I would leave within the next 24 hours if I were you.”

“Why?” Craig muttered.

“Because we have a real asshole as a district attorney who might so something stupid like try to charge you with the unauthorized use of a policeman’s firearm.”

“But it was in self-defense, for Christ sakes!” Craig snarled.

“I know that. You know that, but these asshole leftist appointed prosecutors don’t give a damn about justice! They release criminals and penalize law abiding citizens! It happens all the way up the east coast to New York City! You heard about the US Marine who disarmed and accidently killed a knife wielding mad man saving lives and what did the idiot district attorney do? He jailed the Good Samaritan! I don’t know what’s wrong with these assholes. That’s why I’m advising you. And if he does try, I will strongly protest it!”

Craig just shook his head, “I hear yuh man. The world has gone crazy.”

Black Feather stuck out a hand as Craig was getting out, “Thank you, Sir, and I’m sorry for the way your Thanksgiving worked out.”

“Well, at least my family’s still alive,” Craig nodded and smiled then Black Feather drove off.

Craig Livingston entered the front door of the cabin, haggard, and wanting some rest. His kids ran to him and hugged him. He held both of them.

“We were so worried, Daddy,” Jenny tearfully said.

Devlin held onto his father’s leg and looked up grinning, “That was a cool police car you drove up in Daddy.”

“Daddy,” Judith said sarcastically, “I have a plate of sliced turkey, mashed potatoes, dressing, and cranberry jelly. Want me to heat it up for you?”

“Thanks, but right now I think I’m going to take a nap. We’ll need to leave in 24 hours.”

“Why?” Judith snarled in frustration.

“Because the officer advised me to leave so there wouldn’t be any possible charges filed.”

“What!” Judith replied pointing a serving spoon at her husband. “You got us into this! Because of your wild goose chase, here we are with an aborted holiday that you might get charges for by the local cops?”

Craig felt a twinge of anger well up to give Judith a tongue lashing she deserved, but he thought better of it in front of the kids. Instead, he just glared at her and went to the bedroom to get some much-needed rest.

“Craig! I asked you a question. Did you want me to heat up a plate for you now?” Judith’s shrill voice was irritating.

Craig, threw himself onto the bed, not answering, and almost immediately fell asleep, seeking the only sanctuary he could find from the events of the last day.

 

THE END