Midnight Rising

First two chapters from book 2 of the Midnight Series.

CHAPTER 1

Detective Grimm sat in his car as he finished his smoke and watched the crew go in and out of the house like swarming ants. He held his notes in his lap and ran a shaking hand through his brown wavy hair. He didn’t know what to think about this new case but apparently, it was going to be hard to stomach. This had been the sixth death this year and they were not sure how many people were even involved. It was a mess that he didn’t want anything to do with but with only two other staff working under him he had little choice. Officer Deb Murphy had taken a vacation and Sergeant Brian Decker had just had a baby, so Gri pulling double duty. He chewed a couple of chalky antacids and put out the butt in the overflowing ashtray. They were at the trailer park and Copper imagined this might be another gang-related killing. Drugs and gangs were a problem out here in the park. The chief kept saying he wanted more manpower to cover that area but never did anything about it and M.O.D. (The Mothers of Disdain) didn’t do anything but howl and bitch about the way they were treated when they actually got off their asses and marched. Both sides wanted action yet neither side was willing to get their hands dirty and Grimm was disgusted by it all. Meanwhile, he worked insane hours just to keep up with the uptick in deaths that were suddenly happening. They hadn’t had so much action since Daniel had taken out all the kids at the farm and blamed it on Vampires. The funny thing was that when he let his last girlfriend, who happened to work for the coroner downtown, see some of the photos he’d begun to wonder what had really happened. She pointed out several punctures on the bodies, saying they looked like bites and that the lack of blood made no sense to her either. There should have been much more blood. Of course, when he brought this up to the chief Grimm had been laughed out of the office. The case had been closed and the press release painted Daniel as a demented killer and anyone who said otherwise was insane and looking for fame. Finishing his cold coffee, Grimm got out of the car, looked around at the lighted street with its run-down trailers, each with a rusted fence. Most were littered with broken toys and garbage. He didn’t want to be here, didn’t want to see what the old lady in a torn moomoo was screaming about, although she had gone back inside with one of the others. Steeling himself, he rushed up the walk to the little landing and went in. The first thing that had hit him was the smell. It was a rich rank metal smell and he almost turned around and left. “About time you showed up.” Rolli chuckled as he met Grimm at the door. It reminded him of the farm but a much smaller space. “What do we have? How many?” “Not sure yet. Still looking for pieces.” “Pieces? As in more than one victim?” “Looks like it but it’s a mess. I haven’t seen anything like this since the farm.” “Copycat? Or tweaker?” Grimm moved further into the room, stepped around the corner to stare at the blood-soaked living room. He almost stepped on an arm and did lose it to Rolli’s enjoyment. Wiping his mouth he went down a blood-covered hallway, noting that each room had at least two bodies or what looked like bodies. It really was a mess and suddenly he was happy to not be the person to have to clean it up. In the last room, he noted a word scrawled on the wall in blood. RISE UP. Grimm turned and went back to Rolli. He was more than ready to go outside and get some air but Rolli was looking at him expectantly and Cooper lifted his shoulders into a shrug. He had no idea what the words meant. “They sure had one hell of a party,” Rolli grinned. Grimm would canvas the area, talk to the neighbors. Rubbing at his temples he took a quick look in the kitchen and then headed toward the tiny bathroom. He had thought he had seen something in there when he passed the first time around. The room looked almost pristine with the exception of weird writing all over the walls. He then made the mistake of looking in the tub and his stomach clenched. There was a slip of a girl in the bathtub, her skin was blue and she had needles in her arms, legs, and face. She was holding a book and there was something black sticking out of her mouth. Feathers? “What the hell?” He bent down for a better look at the book, recognized it as The Book of The Dead and realized there was a necklace marking the pages. He swore softly as he studied the necklace. It’d been a gift he’d given someone he had once dated. He’d thought that Mia would be the one but she broke things off before they could even really get to know each other. The girl in the tub was not Mia, he was glad to realize. Nor was it Jessie, who was about to turn eighteen and was her roommate. He tried to remember where he’d seen the book before, but couldn’t place it. Of course, he could always ask Kate down at the pagan bookstore. He bet she’d know more about it than anyone. Straightening up he turned and was spooked by another word scrawled on the mirror in blood. AWAKEN. Now, what the hell did that mean? Grimm rubbed his arms as he left the room. Rolli could do the follow-up stuff in his sleep. He needed air. He hurried outside, the warm spring sun blinding. He put on his shades, glanced at the sky. He was happy that winter was over but spring led to summer and he hated the heat. He returned to his car, picked up his notepad and began to write. It was going to be very long day for Detective Grimm and he couldn’t shake the feeling that things were about to get very interesting around town. And very deadly.

CHAPTER 2

A gentle rain tapped against the darkened glass as lightning streaked across the dim sky, brightening Lilly’s window. Releasing a heavy sigh, she fell back onto her bed looking up at the star-covered ceiling. She tried to pinpoint when she had begun to feel different and couldn’t. Had it been spring or summer? Definitely at the start of the new school year. It was a feeling she’d always had and never knew what to do with. Life for her had always seemed hard. An emotional kid she had never fit in, like a square peg trying to fit into a round hole. Going from grade school into Junior high had been horrible for her. The other kids couldn’t wait to sign up for sports and other group activities while Lilly found a little bit of solace in the art club where she met Abby and Rain. Three outsiders looking in, they bonded immediately. They were all judged for their taste in music, clothes, hair, and sexuality, although Lilly had no idea what she was but why did it matter? Couldn’t she just be herself? She was almost sixteen, too young to really to understand what love even was and what if her crush was a dead boy? Then what? Thank god she had friends that understood her. Sure, there had been other crushes, guys who didn’t care who they hurt. Who would lead you on and then drain you dry? He had made it easy for her to hate him when he hit on Abby, saying the exact same things to Abby that he had just said to Lilly an hour before. No, she was happy with her books and movies and the idea of love instead of the real thing. “This sucks.” Sitting up she tossed a pink pillow at Abby who was laying on the floor looking at her phone. “I wanted to go ghost hunting.” “Me too. We need to do an overnighter in the park soon.” “I wish. You know how crazy my parents are.” “So tell them you're staying over at my house.” “When have they ever let me sleep at someone else house?” “True.” Abby reached under the bed and pulled out the Ouija board they had gotten from the Silver Stake and Broomsticks. They had been going to the pagan bookstore ever since they found out it was still open and they could take a bus ride around the lake. It’d taken a lot longer to get their parents to allow them to go alone, and their purchase had also taken all of their combined allowances as well. Real boards weren’t cheap. Will had warned her with a chuckle that the board was cursed, making sure that Kate was well out of earshot. He sent a hard look as he bagged it up and made sure to tuck a few coupons into the bag as well. They came in so much he began to tease them about hiring them to work there and he probably would have if Kate was not against it. He loved to tell them stories about Matty and let them take as much candy from the dish on the counter as they wanted. If they timed it right they could catch the morning bus, spend the day in Disdain and then catch the late bus home, being back before dinner. Outside the wind picked up, driving sheets of rain and windblown branches against the dark glass. The lights flickered and Abby quickly got up onto the bed. She laid the board between them placing her fingertips gently onto the planchette. The house around them was silent except for the ticking clock in the hallway. They smiled at each other, Lilly putting her own fingertips on the planchette. They had used the board a few times with nothing interesting happening. This time the planchette began to move right away. Their eyes grew wide as it slid around for a moment until it came to rest on the hello symbol without them asking any questions. “Holly shit.” Lilly giggled. “Well…I guess we don’t have to ask who’s here,” Abby said softly. All here, the board spelled out. “Who’s all here? “ Lilly frowned slightly, glanced over her shoulder. Dead kids. Zakk. “What do you want? “ Abby looked up as the lights flickered. Come home. Lilly wasn’t sure if it was Zakk or one of the others. They’d made contact with Zakk before but had never really given them a direct message. Mostly, he said he was hungry. Lilly got excited and almost took her hands off the planchette. “Is Daniel with you?” She held her breath. No. "Why?" Lilly felt her heart drop. Outside. There was a loud bang against the window, followed by another and another. The girls screamed as the lights went out. They didn't wait for the goodbye and tossed the board onto the floor. Holding each other they sat in silence on the bed. Lilly heard her father go down wooden stairs. He was muttering and she assumed going for the flashlights. She giggled at the thought of him in the bathroom when the lights went out. They jumped off the bed and went out into the hallway where they were met by Lilly's mother. "You can go back to bed girls." “We heard banging!" Lilly clutched Abby's hand as they followed Lilly's mother down the dark steps. Her dad emerged from the dark kitchen with a big flashlight and they all made their way to the front door. Lilly and Abby peered out the front windows but it was so dark, the whole street was out and rain was still coming down hard. Dad opened the door and stuck his head out. He went out with a mutter, was gone for a moment before he came in with a large owl in his hands. It wasn’t moving and Lilly's mother looked stricken. "Oh no. Poor thing!" She took the bird from him and hurried off into the depths of the dark house. "There's two more out there. A raven and a crow." Dad shook the rain from his hair. "You can't leave them outside." Lilly had tears in her eyes. She had gotten her love of birds from her mother and seeing the owl injured had made her feel horrible. "I am not going back out there. I thought the owl was okay so I brought him to your mom. The other two I can take care of in the morning.” Behind her, Abby sucked in a breath of air, her hand crushing Lilly's fingers. When Lilly looked over her shoulder at her she noted Abby was looking intently out the window. She turned and put her face to the glass, her eyes searching the yard. She spotted it right away. A dark figure stood under the maple tree, coat billowing, hair whipping. She squeaked and pulled back. Dad was gone with the flashlight. "Did you see him?" Lilly whispered. "He's still there," Abby whispered back. Sure enough, the dark figure was still standing against the tree facing the window and suddenly Lilly knew that going into the abandoned fun park had been a huge mistake. Maybe what crazy Joe said was true. Maybe vampires had killed the kids at the Haunted Farm. Shivering, Lilly pulled Abby away from the window and was scared to death as her mother came padding into the living-room. “He's going to be okay, sweetheart. No broken wings either.” “Mom, there’s a man outside.” Abby went back to the window and peered out. He was gone of course and Lilly's mom was wringing her hands. Dad came back into the room as the lights came back on and both girls were ushered off to bed. They tucked the board back under the bed and laid down. Neither of them wanted to sleep but Lilly was soon dreaming of her birthday and Funland. Lilly had stared down at the open box in front of her, it had been teasing her all day with its glossy paper and colored ribbons and had been the last gift she was allowed to open. She had been asking for a camera since before Christmas and when it had not come as a gift under the tree she had hoped they would get her one for her birthday. Tears came into her eyes as she pushed back the bright yellow paper and stared down into the box. All around her heads moved in closer and her mother seemed to be holding her breath. Lilly's fingers shook as she reached into the box and lifted the first book up for everyone to see. It was a large volume of fairy tales bound in rich green leather. Under it was another book bound in red. Lilly wanted to scream but couldn't. Her mother didn't seem to notice the look on her face or the way the book quickly went right back into its box. There were no other gifts to open. “Happy Birthday, honey.” Dad gave her a hug as mom cleared the table. “You can't be sixteen.” Grandma Jane patted her hand and smiled lovingly. “I hope you like the dolls. I found them at an estate sale.” The tears had come fast as Lilly got up from the table and ran to her room. Slamming the door shut she’d thrown herself down onto her Nightmare Before Christmas bedding and buried her face in her pillows. They didn't understand her, didn't even try to anymore and there was nothing she could do about it. She wasn't their little girl anymore. She was a woman and not the person they thought she should be. One only had to look around her room to see that the days of Strawberry Shortcake and Hello Kitty were gone, replaced by Nightmare Before Christmas and Monster High. Although she was getting too big for the Monster High dolls, she was reluctant to let them go. Her taste in books had moved on from Harry Potter to Twilight and just recently she had found a book on serial killers in the library. It was safely tucked under the bed. Boys who’d once grossed her out now seemed interesting and her circle of friends had begun to change. She hadn't noticed until she found herself at lunch one day with her best friends Rain and Abby. She began to hear the word weird whispered behind her back and it made her smile. There were less invites to birthday parties and special events and she was good with that. And with Abby and Rain in tow, she started to buy clothes from Hot Topic and colored her hair. No, her parents didn't understand her at all. Swiping at her tears she had sat up and reached for the dog-eared folder that held everything about her newest obsession. Opening it, the first thing she saw was the school picture of the boy with the long dark hair. His Midnight blue eyes seemed to look right through her. She felt a small tingle. Everything she had on Daniel Demorte, Trez Wolff, and Zakk Morgan was in this file. Newspaper clippings and lots of pictures. She instantly felt better as she stared down at their pictures. The cool thing was that it all went down only a few miles from where she lived. It was actually within walking distance of her house. There was a soft tap at her door and her Nanna stuck her head in. “Honey, your friends are here. Do you want me to have them come back later?” “No, that's okay. I’ll be right out.” She quickly swiped the tears from her face and tucked the folder under the bed next to the books. Laughing at their timing, she hurried from the room and ran to the front door where Abby and Rain were sitting on the porch swing with a box between them. Lilly's face lit up as Abby jumped up to give her a hug. Rain held out the box to her and she quickly tore off the black paper. Inside was the camera she’d wanted. Delighted, she squealed and pulled them both in for a hug. “I hope that means you like it.” Rain laughed as he broke from their hug. He was a year older than the girls and quite shy when not around family and close friends. Abby was also sixteen and seemed to be friends with everyone. Both of them lived only a few blocks from Lilly, although Abby's mom was looking for a new job and that could possibly mean they would move out of Hakke. “Like it! I love it! Now we can go ghost hunting for real!” “And next weekend my sister’s going to Disdain and said we could go along!” Lilly's eyes widened at the news of being able to go to Disdain. Her parents never seemed to have a reason or wanted to go there. If she asked about it they would simply state that there were more options downtown. Not that she hated going into the city, but she really wanted to see the places that Daniel and Trez had been. The school, the bookstore and the beach. And thanks to her friends she would now be able to get pics to add to her collection. Maybe she’d even run into Mia or Jessie, not that she would be able to talk to either of them but still. “So?” Rain bounced from foot to foot. “Are we going to go for a walk or not?” The sun was pretty high in the sky giving them a few hours of daylight and perfect weather for late September. “I guess we could walk up the road. What about going to Funland?” Abby looked so excited that Lilly couldn't say no to them and stuck her head inside, calling out to everyone seated at the table. "I'm going for a walk.” “Be home by dark, honey.” “I will.” The three hurried off the porch and Lilly quickly put in some batteries and began to take random pics of the trees, the road, and her friends. They walked for half a mile before Abby took her smokes from her bag and lit up. She handed one to Rain and looked over at Lilly. Lilly shook her head and continued to take pics. They talked about their trip to Disdain and where they wanted to go. Few cars passed them on the road and before long they saw the first rusted sign for Funland. It had been an old amusement park in the fifties, that had operated through the seventies and then closed. If they continued up the road another ten miles they’d find the Haunted Farm sign. It was cool and shadowy as they made their way down the small dirt track towards the park. In the distance, you could see the Sunset motel and a coming soon sign. Lilly hated that they wanted to build on the park property and hoped that the deal didn't happen. Her father seemed to think that it would and had mentioned wanting to move if they began to build between Hakke and Disdain. “You guys! Look.” Rain stood next to an old ticket booth and kicked something with his foot. It looked like bones and when Lilly caught up to him she saw the head and teeth of a small animal. She took some pics and moved past him, caught up in the beauty of the late fall woods. She was drawn to the old roller coaster, overgrown with ivy as it rotted in place. She turned to snap a few pics of Abby and went to look at them but didn't see the rotted wood under her feet. It had given way with a sickening crack, plunging her down into darkness. She landed hard and twisted her ankle. The only light came from above her head and panic set in until she realized she could use the flash on her camera. Above her, she could hear Rain and Abby calling her name but they sounded so far off. Shaking, Lilly took a pic and realized she was in some kind of old tunnel that must have run under the park. Carefully, she stepped on her sore leg and was happy to realize it was okay. What was not okay was that fact that she was alone in the dark tunnel. “Help?” She called out in hopes that Abby and Rain would hear her and was greeted with only silence. Well, she would just have to choose and move in a direction and hope she was right. Feeling stupid, she dug her phone from her pocket and turned on the flashlight, scaring the crap out of herself when she saw a dark shape in front of her. It was nothing more than an old costume that someone had put over a skeleton. Laughing at herself, she moved past the figure and continued down the dark tunnel. It was spooky and exciting at the same time. She didn't feel alone, yet her light showed only a few boxes and a few more figures. She thought the pitch black darkness up ahead might be a little lighter and hurried her pace. It turned out to be a set of stairs that went up to a landing and a rusted ladder that led up to a grate. The sunlight had almost faded completely now and Lilly was more than ready to get out of the tunnel. Quickly climbing up, she pushed at the grate but it didn’t budge. Her heart sped up as she tried to force it open. She almost fell all the way down when someone pulled the grate from the other side. He was a short, hairy man with a big red nose and a wide smile. “How many times do I gotta tell all you kids to stay out of here!" Paulie helped her up, though he frowned as he squinted at her. “This isn't a good place for kids to be. It's not safe.” “I'm sorry.” And she was. She was also scared to death and never more happy to see Rain and Abby running towards them. “We just wanted to take pictures. I got a camera for my birthday.” “Trust me. Ain't nothing here to see. No ghosts, no vampires, no nothing. Just a bunch of rusting junk and a lot of poison ivy. Now, go home before your momma gets upset.” “Lilly!” Rain hugged her tight, his large eyes even wider as he looked at Paulie. “What happened? You scared the crap out of us.” “I fell into a tunnel and walked until I found this exit. I think I twisted my ankle.” “Really? What's down there?” Abby looked into the hole and turned white as a sheet. “Who's that?” She sounded scared as she stumbled back from the ladder. “Probably just a prop.” Paulie took Abby's arm and started walking. “Now, you kids go on home and don't come back here. It's not safe, you hear.” “It moved. Props don't move.” “It might’ve been a homeless guy. We get them now and again. Another good reason to stay out of here. You get lost in those tunnels and you won't always find your way back out.” Lilly glanced back over her shoulder and shivered. Had someone really been down there with her? Maybe she didn't want to know. She was definitely going to come back though. The man didn't spook her at all though she wondered who he was and why he looked so familiar. They walked back over the old, brightly colored bridge and into the grassy area along the road. She couldn't help herself. “How far is the Haunted Farm from here?” Paulie let go of Abby's arm and turned to speer Lilly with a hard look. “You don't want to go there either. Nothing to see up there. Just go home and play with your dolls and be thankful for what you have. I won't think twice about calling the cops next time I catch you trespassing.” Lilly wanted to press him but Rain was squeezing her hand so hard it hurt. She took his cue and dropped her head. “We're really sorry.” “Alright, now get.” Paulie waved his hands at them in a shooting motion. The kids turned and began walking towards Hakke and Lilly's house. They were no more than ten feet away when Lilly felt eyes on her once more. She turned around, expecting to so Paulie, but he was gone and the woods were eerily silent. That's when it hit her. She did know him. He’d been the security guard at the farm and now owned the Sunset Motel. Of course, he would know about the Haunted Farm, he had been there on the night it happened. “That guy was creepy.” Abby rubbed her arm where Paulie had held her. “That guy is the one from the Farm,” Rain said, his voice almost a whisper. “Paul something, he saved a bunch of kids.” “And he owns the motel right before you hit the city limits.” Lilly was excited now as they reached her street. She was going to go straight to her room and look him up in her files. “See you tomorrow?” Abby smiled and waved as she and Rain walked away. “Yeah, see you tomorrow!” Once inside, Lilly realized how hungry she was and headed for the leftover birthday cake. She wasn't going to get to sleep easily this night so why not enjoy dessert while digging into a little more research. If Paulie thought she was going to stay away from Funland, he was crazy. She couldn't wait to get back. Lilly laid in her bed listening to the rain on the roof, a million things running through her mind. Had Abby really seen someone inside the tunnels, and why had the board said Daniel was outside? What had been up with the birds? Her thoughts raced as she tossed and turned. Frustrated, she forced herself up and went to the bathroom. She knew she’d be going back to Funland sooner rather than later, and would perhaps try to get more answers from the board under the bed. Back in her room she quickly fell asleep, her dreams now filled with images of burning flesh, crashing boards, mud, and lightning. She heard soft laughter and followed the fluttering of wings.