The Friendly Fort (Chapter Seven)

Hello All:

"This is a very, special week at The Literary World of Tom Raimbault; for this is Halloween week! And like we do every year, new stories written just for the holiday are featured throughout the week. This year we roll out some brand-new Mapleview material in the form of a mini novella titled The Friendly Fort. Be sure to visit each day for a new chapter. The Friendly Fort will be featured from Sunday through Saturday. If this is your first time checking out the blog this week, be sure to read the previous chapters of The Friendly Fort.

VIEW PRELUDE AND CHAPTER ONE
VIEW CHAPTER TWO
VIEW CHAPTER THREE
VIEW CHAPTER FOUR
VIEW CHAPTER FIVE
VIEW CHAPTER SIX

***

Costumes purchased and ready for the kids...

Check!

Halloween decorations set up outside...

Check!

Halloween candy in a bowl to hand out to trick-or-treaters...

Check!

Spooky movies to watch later tonight...

Check!

Table set up with place settings in anticipation of a visit from your deceased relatives...

How many of you have done this?

If you are new to Halloween, or have always celebrated the mainstream-commercialized version of this holiday, then setting up a table for your deceased relatives might sound like a strange thing to do. But that, my friends, is one of the true purposes of Halloween. You see; this time of year makes possible for the veil that separates this world from the other to be ultra thin. This, in theory, allows those who reside in the after-life to make a cameo appearance here in the physical world. For many centuries, people have done such practices as setting up a table for deceased relatives, lighting a candle in the front room window to call the dead home, or burying fruit in the ground along with prayers to the deceased to help strengthen the journey to Heaven.

Now about these visits from your deceased relatives: Some claim that they return in living flesh for some warm conversation and lively partying, even to dine with the living. Others simply believe that a strong presence of various visits from souls of the dearly-departed can be felt in these next few days. Whichever you believe, it wouldn't be a bad idea to embrace traditional practices, and set up a table for the deceased. Light candles, set out glasses and pour drinks from this table throughout the evening to enjoy with them.

***

Today we present the final chapter of our Mapleview mini-novella, The Friendly Fort.

Happy Halloween!

The Friendly Fort (Chapter Seven)

At this point in time, Spencer just about abandoned his original purpose for coming to Mapleview. He received a voice mail the following morning—a Saturday—from one of the co-investors from Winds of Change Energy, reminding him to send his weekly progress report.

"Weekly progress???" Spencer snapped upon hearing the voice mail. "Yeah, I've scouted this whole area and have found some great places for wind turbines. But we need money to buy off all the property owners, not to mention right of eminent domain." As far as Spencer was concerned, his original work was done in Mapleview. It was now a waiting game, perfect to allow himself to become absorbed in the mystery of the cemetery.

And so Spencer trekked through the nearby forest with Ouija board in hand to the place that the boys from last night called, the Friendly Fort. The dog was no longer hanging from a tree near the wide brook, and the grounds almost seemed to thank Spencer for taking care of the unsightly display. And unlike last night, the old barn now stood a short distance away from the cemetery.

"So that's the ghost barn!" announced Spencer. "And what makes me so privileged to see it on a regular basis?" He sat down on the ground near the area of Reverend Jensen's grave, and removed the Ouija board from its purple, velour cover. The plachette was unboxed and set at the center of the board. With it resting on Spencer's lap, he glided the plachette from side to side.

"Lydia?" Spencer called out. "Are you there? I want to know more about this ghost barn. You said it's your barn, but those kids from last night tell a different story."

Almost, immediately, Spencer felt the Ouija board eye phenomenon. Theoretically, an external spirit was now viewing Spencer's reality through his own eyes.

The plachette spelled out the phrase, "Thank you..."

"For burying the dog?" asked Spencer.

Rather than circle the "Yes" portion of the board, the plachette actually spelled out, "Yeah..."

"Okay, so I did my job!" reminded Spencer. "You are welcome. Now could you please tell me more about this place? What's going on with the barn?"

The plachette spelled out, "You are here..."

"Come on!" complained Spencer. "Quit playing that game! Yes, I am here!"

There was a stillness that enveloped Spencer, almost as-if time had completely stopped. Not even the wind blew. And the next word spelled out with the plachette was, "Here..." It was then that whatever nearby spirit—whether it be hyper dimensionally connected, or physically close—used a more telepathic means to relay the information to Spencer. It caused him to nearly toss the Ouija board and plachette onto the ground as he leapt up and frantically scouted the grounds of the cemetery. "Here...? Here...? I'm here...?" Spencer was very much beside himself. Never before had he felt so consumed—nearly possessed—by an unexplainable force. He cried—nearly sobbed, "What did they do to us??? I told you that we couldn't trust them!" In those moments of running about, Spencer finally realized that his own charred bones from over two hundred years ago lay tossed and buried at one of those long-forgotten graves. This realization certainly explained the horrible dreams of begging Lydia, his mother, to flee because "they" were coming.

Spencer knelt down on the ground and sobbed over the eerie-green Ouija board; partly out of confusion and fear, partly out of sadness. He needed to talk to someone at that moment. While kneeling before the Ouija board, he slid the plachette from side-to-side. "Who is this? Who am I speaking with? Mother, is that you?"

The plachette spelled out, "You..."

Such a mind-blowing concept; Spencer nearly stopped breathing while contemplating the meaning. Or maybe it was a simply a reminder to recompose himself. His mind might only have been playing tricks on him. Surely they didn't mean that Spencer was talking to himself from his previous life.

Spencer resumed gliding the plachette from side-to-side. It actually spelled out, "Spencer..." Apparently, someone was calling him.

"What?" answered Spencer.

The Plachette spelled out, "Come..."

"The barn?" asked Spencer. "You want me to go into the barn?"

The plachette circled the "Yes" area.

"But it's a ghost barn!" argued Spencer. "It's some sort of mirage. You think I actually want to go into that building? Then what?"

The plachette spelled out the phrase, "Any day now..." It was followed by the disturbing mental image of Lydia rubbing her womb with the wicked smile on her face.

Terrified, confused and emotionally distraught; Spencer quickly packed up his Ouija board and plachette, and left for the day.

***

It was the following Monday morning, almost ten o'clock, as a shiny, black Oldsmobile Aurora pulled into Spencer's driveway. It was Doctor Millheimer who promised to meet Spencer at his house for that week's session of therapy. Yes, Doctor Millheimer is an old-fashioned man of science who makes house calls in the region of Mapleview. He truly cares for his patients. And in Spencer's case, Doctor Millheimer would hike through the forest to accompany his patient on a final visit to the cemetery in hopes to bring closure.

Spencer stepped outside to greet Doctor Millheimer as he exited his vehicle. "Good morning!" he called out.

"Good morning Mr. Doiler!" returned Doctor Millheimer. "My, I have always enjoyed this area of Mapleview." He glanced over at Lydia's house. "And I can see that the for sale sign is still up, next door."

"Yes it is." affirmed Spencer. "And I haven't seen her since the last visit when I learned that she was pregnant." When finally close enough, Spencer showed gratitude for Doctor Millheimer's house call. "Listen, I want to thank you for coming out here and seeing the place."

"Oh, it's nothing." reassured Doctor Millheimer. "I mostly want to guide you through making closure with this place that you found... this... Friendly Fort as you call it. And as you can see, I was sure to wear my hiking boots." Doctor Millheimer pointed them out to Spencer.

"Nice!" exclaimed Spencer. "Do you ever go hunting?"

"Sometimes..." answered Doctor Millheimer.

Both men walked their way into the back and then cut through Lydia’s yard. They passed the half-acre clearing of trees and then followed the path into the forest. It didn't take long before Spencer and Doctor Millheimer met the stream that snaked its way through the forest.

"This is lovely out here!" exclaimed Doctor Millheimer. "You are fortunate to have such a nice environment to stay at. Who knows; maybe you'll decide to stay in Mapleview after your business venture is completed. How is that going, by the way?"

"Oh, we're just waiting to receive word of eminent domain along with funding.” answered Spencer. “There's not much more I can do at this point." For the remainder of the hike, Spencer discussed the details of his last visit to the cemetery which was Saturday.

Soon they reached the area where the stream opened up into a wide brook. Doctor Millheimer was in awe at the tremendous beauty; the depth of the water, the lily pads with flowers, and the moss-colored flagstone that surrounded the body of water that was stacked in such a way to look like a mini coliseum.

"Amazing!" exclaimed Doctor Millheimer. I'm no expert on fish, but this might make a nice place to go fishing. So peaceful and serene!"

"Yeah with the occasional sacrificing of animals by devil worshippers." added Spencer.

Doctor Millheimer chuckled. "Well perhaps you should adopt this area and take action to keep it clean. You only telephoned the forest preserve district, once. You should escalate these incidents and get the police to take action."

"Yeah, I suppose..." agreed Spencer.

Spencer and Doctor Millheimer continued walking, and finally reached the cemetery. Much to Spencer's surprise, the old barn stood not-so-far away from the cemetery. "There it is! I can't believe it!" he exclaimed.

"What?" probed Doctor Millheimer. "The barn?"

"Yes, the ghost barn." affirmed Spencer.

"Well it doesn't look like a ghostly mirage to me." pointed Doctor Millheimer. "It looks very real. Why don't we go up to the barn so we can physically touch it?"

"But it wasn't here when the kids passed through on Friday night. Why are we seeing it, now?" challenged Spencer.

"Well perhaps the two boys that you saw were nothing more than a vision from behind the veil." offered Doctor Millheimer. "The barn’s disappearance might have also been only a vision. Perhaps it has always been there. Did you ever consider that?"

Spencer sighed, "I suppose it's as good as an explanation as any.” Then he continued; “Now usually I bring the Ouija board out here, but you told me not to bring it this time."

"Right!" affirmed Doctor. I think you have pulled plenty of information out of your subconscious. It's now time to take action. Let's go over to the barn."

Both men walked a short distance past the cemetery until reaching the barn. Doctor Millheimer knocked on one of the logs of the building. "See, one hundred percent real. Go ahead and touch the building for yourself."

Spencer did as directed. Sure enough it felt just like log. He even went so far as to knock on one of the windows which felt as expected, glass."

"Very good!" congratulated Doctor Millheimer. "Now the next step—assuming the door is unlocked—is to open and enter like Lydia keeps asking you to do."

Carefully, Spencer pulled open the main door which was nothing more than logs tied together and fastened by some sort of hinge. He turned to look towards Doctor Millheimer before entering.

Doctor Millheimer read his patient's expression. "No, this is a journey that you must take by yourself.” he said to Spencer. “Don't worry; I will be out here and will run in after you if you happen to get into trouble. Now go inside, and see what it is that Lydia wishes for you to find." He watched as Spencer hesitantly entered. The door was left partly opened which allowed Doctor Millheimer to observe his patient. Inside, Spencer walked about the barn to study the furniture and various pictures.

There was a noise in the nearby forest; perhaps a deer or some other animal that stepped on a large branch on the ground. Doctor Millheimer was concerned that maybe someone was coming; maybe the owner of the barn who wouldn't be happy to see someone trespassing. He only turned around for some several seconds to reassure himself that no one was there. Satisfied, he turned back towards the direction of the barn.

But what was this? The barn was gone!

"Mr. Doiler???" called out Doctor Millheimer. "Mr. Doiler, where are you?" He scurried about the ground where the barn once stood; desperately searching for the building, and desperately looking for some sign of Spencer. There was no evidence of the building ever sitting there—no remains of foundation or imprint on the ground. In fact, the area where Doctor Millheimer stood was now tall weeds that surrounded the long-forgotten cemetery.

"Mr. Doiler!" Doctor Millheimer continued to call out. He ran back towards the area where the forest met the cemetery. It was the very spot where he first saw the barn. But just as expected, the barn was no longer there.

The brook behind him softly babbled. A gentle breeze began to stir from all around as Doctor Millheimer struggled to make some sense out of what happened. "This is truly a strange place." he cried out loud. "I'm afraid I lack the ability to understand what happened. It's as-if something from behind the veil reached its hand into our world and took Mr. Doiler." Confused and unsure of what to do, Doctor Millheimer reluctantly left the cemetery. He trekked through the mysterious forest, and head back to his car. Oh he did knock on Spencer's door just to make sure that his patient wasn't actually home. The mind, after all, is capable of playing tricks on us; even psychiatrists who are experts on the mysteries of the human mind.

***

Later that night, Doctor Millheimer sat at a desk in his study with a glass of scotch whiskey while writing in his daily journal.

"…I still don't know whether or not to call the police. Who would believe me if I made such a report? The whole thing sounds too fantastic. They might think that I had something to do with his disappearance.

In going over some of the notes that were taken during Mr. Doiler's therapy sessions, I can't help but wonder if we both saw hints of a world outside of our lifetime. Perhaps we are all forming inside of some great womb and waiting to be birthed in that vast world that exists beyond the veil. Maybe that's what the veil is; the tissue that encases us as we grow inside of this womb. But so peculiar; in Spencer's case, his birthing appeared voluntary. They actually came for him and invited him to join them. Maybe they brought him back to some ancestral mother spirit from where he and many others like him originated."

The End!