by Nat Faul <pruesdoux@charmedmail.com>
DISCLAIMER: (September 2001) This is not posted for any profit but to share creative ideas with other Charmed fans on this and other websites. The characters of Prue, Piper, and Phoebe Halliwell and Leo Wyatt are the property of Warner Brothers Television. Arkham, Dunwich, and Aylesbury and all other elements of the Cthulhu Mythos are creations of HP Lovecraft and the property of Arkham House. Other characters were created by this author. Any similarities to real persons living or dead are purely coincidental. Lyrics of It’s Up To You composed by the Tuesdays for their debut album, released by Arista, 1998. The following account is fiction. Its sole purpose is to entertain. Being conceived during the second season of the Charmed series, this series of stories is not parallel with those of the current season. (So Phoebe doesn’t meet Cole, Piper and Phoebe don’t have new powers, Piper and Leo aren’t married yet, and Prue still lives.)
RATED G: Suitable for all ages
*****
They say that the sun never shines in Dunwich. But that morning, Derek sat on his back porch, admiring the sunbeams running down the mist among the trees. He slowly sipped his coffee while breathing in the cool crisp air. Having been raised in the country, he loves having breakfast on the back porch, where he can watch the forest denizens stirring to life with the new day and listen to the morning breeze rustle the leaves. At times, birds and squirrels come to the porch, looking for a handout, and usually get it.
After breakfast, Derek put on his Australian hat and took off into the woods. Each morning that he’s on his property here, he likes to take a different path. As a natural-born explorer (which made him the successful treasure hunter he is), he likes to see where every path leads and what’s on the other side of every hill. The sunshine and cool air made him feel wide awake.
The path he chose had not been trodden in ages. It was so overgrown with shrubs and low tree branches, it hardly looked like a path at all. But the experienced explorer pushed through. While pushing one branch out of the way, he heard a loud crack. Curious, he went towards where the sound came from and found a large break in the tree. Examining it, he found it had broken not very long ago since it had not healed completely. Someone had propped the broken tree back together by a series of dead wood, which Derek had accidentally knocked over. In the crack, he noticed a few white objects, which appeared out of place in a tree. He pulled the crack open further to find bones. He pulled at a branch and broke away a side of the tree and found that the tree had been sealed to hide a human skeleton.
Derek pulled a magnifying glass from his shoulderbag and examined it. To his investigator’s eye, he could tell that the person hadn’t been dead for long; probably 20 to 30 years. He stood there with a twisted lip and tapping his magnifying glass on his chin. He had heard the legends of vengeful spirits on this property and wondered if this was a recent victim. From his shoulderbag he pulled out two strips of cloth; red and yellow. Stretching up on tiptoes, he tied them to the highest limb he could reach, as a marker. He will bring the authorities back here later.
Meanwhile, he wanted to continue his exploration. To guard the bones from wild animals, he pushed the broken tree back together and propped it back up. He pushed along through the branches and shrubbery until he came to a clearing. Although the area was wide open, the branches of the high trees formed a canopy, which kept out the sunlight. In the center of the clearing stood a circle of 13 stone pillars. This was so typical in many parts of Dunwich. Derek recognized it as a place of worship of the Great Old Ones. But is this one long abandoned or just very secretly kept? Derek went to check the altar stone in the center. If there’s new blood on it, it’s still in use. But he suddenly stopped, due to a feeling that he was not alone. He paused then quickly whirled around. There stood a young-looking woman, dressed in 18th century clothes, resembling a pilgrim seen in the history books. Her mouth was stretched wide in a maniacal grin and her eyes burned with malevolence. And if that weren’t enough, her feet didn’t touch the ground. She was floating in mid-air.
*****
Prue pulled the SUV up the Miskatonic Valley, driving past scattered farms with overgrown fields and decaying houses. Phoebe sat beside her, seriously studying a hand-drawn map with written directions. Piper sat behind them, sunk down in her seat, trying not to look at anything. She hid under a sun hat and behind sunglasses and tried to distract herself with a fashion magazine. But she couldn’t help taking side glances at this "creepy" country. On the porch of one house, a man, just as decrepit as his abode, gave a leering stare as they went by. Just one second of this sight was too much for Piper. She quickly turned away. "Ew!"
Prue asked, "What is it?"
"The people here are really creepy!"
"Why do you say that?"
"One shriveled up old man just looked at us like his next dinner!"
Prue and Phoebe burst out laughing. Prue said, "You sure have a vivid imagination!"
"It wasn’t my imagination! I really saw it! You heard about the reputation of this place before we got here! You know why all signs pointing to Dunwich were taken down!"
"I know! I’m not too thrilled about this either! We’re going to a place called ‘Wiccengraf’, which means ‘witches grave’. Not all that welcoming to us."
"And it’s called that because three sisters, who were witches, were hanged there. I don’t have to tell you how I feel about those similarities."
Phoebe reproved, "Look! None of you had to come with me! This is my problem! I was willing to do this myself!"
"Let you come to this kind of place alone? And after Derek disappeared? After many other people have disappeared? What kind of sisters would we be?"
Prue cut in, "All right! Let’s not fight in the car! I don’t want this trip to be any worse than it already is!"
Around one bend, high mountains came into sight. There is something unnatural and eerie about them. They look hand carved and stand tall, bare, and cloaked in a sickly mist. Wooden bridges creaked and swayed beneath the vehicle, as they crossed deep dark abysses. The road dipped through a swamp, which evoked an instinctive revulsion. On getting closer to the mountains, the forest hemmed in, swallowing up the sky. The dense dark woods seemed to give the illusion of occasional inhuman faces staring at them as they went by. Phoebe took all this in with wide-eyed wonder. Piper frequently closed her eyes and covered her face. Prue just tried her best to concentrate on the road ahead.
The village center of Dunwich soon came into sight, at the foot of a vertical round mountain; one that looks sculpted by human hands. It reminded the sisters of an old European village they usually see in vampire movies. To them, every structure resembles a traditional Swiss chalet. To reach it, they had to pass through an old covered bridge. Phoebe looked up at the rafters, half expecting to see harpies or some other winged demons perched above. Piper kept her eyes closed. They finally reached the village center. The whole atmosphere resembled a dark and musty attic. They stayed on the main road through the village. When they reached the last houses, the road branched out into several different directions. Prue stopped the car.
"All right. Which way now?"
Phoebe looked at the map. "I don’t know. The map indicates a right turn from here, but as you can see, there are several different roads. And there are no street signs to tell which one is Aylesbury Lane."
"As much as I hate to say this, we’re going to have to ask someone for directions."
"Oh come on! Just because the people here decide to stay away from the rest of the world, that doesn’t make them evil monsters! David said that if we needed any help, to go to the general store and ask Mr Whateley. So, let’s look for the general store."
Prue back up until they saw a large wooden structure, with a sign reading "GENERAL STORE" in old styled and faded lettering. Phoebe got out of the car and headed that way.
"Wait!" called Piper. "You’re going in there alone?"
"Why not? I’m just going in to ask for directions."
"The last time you went into a strange store, you were strangled."
Phoebe laughed and walked off shaking her head. It was funny to her how overprotective her sisters could be at times. But Piper got out of the car and followed her. Inside looked like the general store scene she would see in western movies and television programs. On the shelves were products, some familiar in many supermarkets across the land, some unfamiliar; probably from the cottage industries in the area. To the back, a middle-aged man sat behind an antique cash register, reading a newspaper. When Phoebe stepped up to the cashier’s counter, he put down the paper and greeted her with a smile. Piper wandered around the front of the store, pretending to look as some of the products on the shelf, as she kept an eye on Phoebe.
"Good afternoon, young lady. What brings ya to our neck o’ the woods?"
"I’m here visiting a friend and I’m not too sure about the directions I was given. I’m looking for Aylesbury Lane but there are no street signs here."
His smile dropped. "Now what on earth ya wanna go there fer?"
"I’m visiting a friend -- Derek McPhillips. Maybe you heard of him."
"Oh yeah! McPhillips. Funny feller."
"Why funny?"
"Well, for one thing, he’s always wearin’ that funny hat."
"That’s an Australian hat. Millions of people in Australia wear that. And many others around the world also like it."
"Really? Well, he’s also been buyin’ up a lot o’ property ‘round here an’ there’s no way o’ makin’ money on that."
"He’s a treasure hunter, so he buys them for what’s inside them; like furniture, paintings, books, ...."
"We warned him about pokin’ ‘round in them books! No good comes from them!"
"He’s been handling them very well."
"Not well enough. Haven’t ya heard? He’s disappeared! Just like many others out there."
"Yes, I’ve heard. That’s why I’m here -- to look for him."
"I hate to tell you this, but once they disappear, none o’ them are ever found alive again. You really don’t know what happens in Dunwich."
"I do. My sisters and I have heard all about this place. And believe me, we are ready for whatever is out there."
"I must admire your courage. But many brave souls have gone forth an’ never come back."
"We have come through many similar situations all right. Now, how do I find Aylesbury Lane?"
"Go north to the end o’ town and take the second from the right."
"Thank you, Mr Whateley." He gave her a strange look. Phoebe explained, "I was told your name before coming here. A man in Arkham, who works for Derek, told me to ask you if I need anything."
"Well, ... Yes. ... Sure ... uh ... Anytime you need anything. Good luck, Miss...."
"Halliwell -- Phoebe Halliwell."
"Halliwell? ... Halliwell. ... I’ve heard that name before."
"My ancestors came from Salem."
"So did mine."
"I know. The Whateleys, Bishops, Wards, and others came out here. But the Warrens and Halliwells spread around." She walked out, leaving him to think hard over family history.
Prue pulled the SUV up Aylesbury Lane. Branches, high up on the trees, closed over the road, darkening their path. Prue had to turn on the headlights. They passed houses and cabins, which appeared colonial in design and age. Most were dark and empty.
Prue asked, "How far now?"
Phoebe looked at the map. "Not far at all. You’ll know it by its sign. It says ‘Wiccengraf Estate’ in plain, big letters."
"It’s an ‘estate’?" Piper wondered. "I just don’t picture an ‘estate’ out in a place like this."
"This use to be a thriving community in its day. Many had done very well out here. But, as in many places, its day had passed. It will soon be a ghost town, like so many in the West."
"With real ghosts, from what I hear."
Prue wondered, "Why is Derek buying up so much property, and even setting up a house for himself, in a place that will soon be a ghost town?"
Phoebe explained, "He says it’s a place where he can get away from it all. And he knows many others who would like to get away from it all. So he’s renovating property to rent or sell to others who would appreciate a simple place, that’s unknown and out-of-the-way. He’ll prevent this area from becoming completely deserted."
Soon they spotted the sign they had sought. Behind it stands a large two-storied house with a gabled roof, much like other structures they’ve seen in the area. They pulled into the driveway and into a courtyard in front of the house and parked right next to a blue battered pickup.
Phoebe concluded, "That must be Derek’s pickup for Massachusetts."
Prue asked, "He has a different pickup for everywhere he goes?"
"He can afford to. He probably has one for each state and each country outside the States."
"So wherever he goes, he can show everybody he’s a redneck."
"He’s not a redneck! ... Just a bumpkin."
The courtyard provides an opening among the trees, so light can get in. A low white wall borders the space on two sides; opposite of the house and opposite of the road. It shores up the slope of the surrounding forest. When they got out of the car, they found to their shock that the wall is composed of human skulls. They stood in silent wonder, wondering how Derek could have built this or tolerate it to remain. Phoebe walked over to it.
Piper sang out a warning, "Phoebe!"
But she kept going. She stooped down and tapped one of the skulls then burst out laughing. She turned and called back to her sisters, "It’s not real! It’s ceramic!"
"You sure?"
"I know the difference between bones and bone china."
Prue and Piper joined her and ran their fingers over the wall. They too recognized the feel of unglazed ceramic.
Piper asked, "Is this another product of his sick sense of humor?"
Prue guessed, "It sure looks like it."
"Uh ... Guys? ... Is that real?"
Prue and Phoebe noticed Piper, a bit agitated, looking up into the forest. Looking in the same direction, they spotted three figures up in the air, among the high branches of the trees. They looked like women in 17th century dress and with hands joined in a circle for a strange dance. Each in turn would twist and turn without releasing the hands of her partners.
Piper wondered, "The three sisters? ... The three witches?"
Prue ventured, "Probably. ... Uh ... Let’s go inside."
They tore themselves away from the apparition and went to the front porch of the house. As Phoebe was about to put the key into the lock, they heard footsteps coming around the corner of the house. She stopped and waited in anticipation. "Derek?"
They waited as the steps grew closer. In the forest, beside the house, appeared a figure of a little girl, about seven or eight years old. She was dressed in what seemed to be a nightgown of a very old style. Her skin was blue and shribbled. Her body was twisted and gnarled. Her face had no expression but just looked straight ahead wide-eyed. She walked on through the forest, beside the courtyard, with wide, slow steps. Tree branches and shrubs, in her way, passed through her. The sisters stared in horror at this grizzly sight.
Phoebe nervously fumbled with the key and finally got the door opened. The sisters all rushed in and threw themselves onto two couches, facing each other in front of a large stone fireplace. They trembled and panted and their hearts pounded. They rested awhile until they began to recover from their recent experience.
Prue commented, "Well, we were warned that Dunwich is one of the most haunted places on earth, and that Aylesbury Lane is the most haunted area of Dunwich, and Wiccengraf is the most haunted property on Aylesbury Lane."
The others didn’t bother to say anything. They began taking stock of their surroundings. To the right of the fireplace is a staircase leading upstairs. To the left opens up into the dining room. The entire wall between the two is made up of the same large grey stones as the fireplace. Above the mantle of the fireplace, hangs a huge blue shield. On it is a depiction of a wild boar’s head, facing left, over two crossed battle-axes. Over the shield is a banner, reading "MacPHILLIPS" in large medieval letters. On the bare wooden floor, between the two couched, lies an oval carpet with embroidery of vines and flowers in a rustic American style.
Phoebe went into the dining room. Several chairs were set around a long table. Against the walls were display cases of very old dishes. A few very old portraits decked the walls as well. The ceiling curved upward in the center to make room for two chandeliers. On the table, she found a sheet of paper and read it.
"Hey! Listen to this!" She went back to the livingroom and started reading to them, "Welcome, members of the American Psychic Society. You are always welcome to stay at my estate, in my absence, providing you follow a few rules. One -- Stay out of the basement. No one is to enter without my presence. Two -- Stay in at night. Keep the doors and windows closed and curtains drawn always. Do not even look out of the windows. Three -- Do not go anywhere near the lost village. Four -- Do your best to conserve water and electricity. Five -- Organic garbage can be thrown outside for the animals. All other waste is to be carried out with you. Six -- The housekeeper comes by once a week to clean up. Your co-operation is appreciated. Seven -- Stay out of the attic. Eight -- Make sure the place is locked up when you leave."
Prue propounded, "All right. That causes a lot of questions and answers none. What’s in the basement? What’s outside at night that we’re not even suppose to see? What and where is this ‘lost village’? Who is this housekeeper and what day of the week does she come by? And what’s in the attic?"
Piper wondered, "And why bother locking up? Who would bother breaking in much less even come here? But the real question is do we want to know?"
Phoebe theorized, "The answers may tell us what happened to Derek."
Looking around, Prue noticed a door underneath the staircase. She opened it and looked in. "This looks like the library." She went on in and her sisters followed.
To the right, a picture window takes up most of the wall, letting light into the room. The walls ahead and to the left are all shelves, from floor to ceiling, all filled with books. In the center of the room is a 18th century styled desk and chair, complete with inkwell and feathered pens. When they stepped into the room, they could see, on the wall beside the door, a large portrait. It’s of a man in a full Scottish regalia (kilt, sash, sporran, and all), sitting at a desk in a library. He leans his head on his hand with a serene, ponderous expression.
Phoebe went to the desk and rummaged through a pile of papers. One page caught her interest and she shared it with her sisters. "Look! A map of the property. Here’s the house and here’s the Lost Village."
Piper snapped, "We are not going there!"
"You don’t have to! I’ll go myself! You can stay where it’s safe!"
Prue stepped between them. "All right! No fighting! And no one is going anywhere alone!"
"This might hold the answer on what happened to Derek! I don’t want to give him up without doing everything possible!"
"All right. But we’ve got to calculate the risks. You’re no help to him if you wind up in the same predicament. Let’s keep looking around for other possibilities."
The shelves were lined with old books on history, mythology, and magic. The sisters recognized the Necronomicon. They found other titles just as unsettling; such as The Cult of Ghouls and The Book of the Unspeakable. They also found notebooks, full of translations of various works, in Derek’s handwriting. They all had to do with ancient mysteries and occult powers. One is a scrapbook, filled with newspaper clippings on disappearances in the area. They go as far back as the 1880s. This only heightened the mystery of what Derek is. He had openly denied being a warlock or witch and tests have backed him up. If he were a whitelighter, Leo would have recognized him upon first meeting him. And if he were a demon, why hadn’t he killed them by now? But if he’s just an ordinary man, from where does he get such knowledge and abilities?
Finding nothing more in the library, they went back to the diningroom then the kitchen. Looking through cabinets and drawers, they found only the usual things one would find in a kitchen; canned food, plates, silverware, coffee, flour, beans, etc. They also found the basement door. Across the middle is painted a horizontal black bar, with diagonal yellow stripes all across it. Above it, painted in red, are the words "OFF LIMITS WITHOUT OWNER’S SUPERVISION". When Phoebe touched the doorknob, a vision burst into her head. She saw herself and her sisters, in 17th century dress, hanging from the gallows. She jumped back in shock.
Piper asked, "What is it?"
"I saw them -- the three witches -- being hanged! They looked like us!"
"Oh, that’s a comforting sign!"
Prue asked, "Are you sure this is their past ... or our future?"
"I don’t plan on dressing like a Pilgrim anytime soon. Do you?"
"So what has this door to do with the hanging of three witches?"
"The answer is down there." Phoebe tried the door but it was locked. "If we can get in there. Can you use your powers to open the lock?"
"The question is do I want to?"
"Look! None of you have to do anything! I’m willing to do all this myself! I’m going to find out what happened to Derek if I have to tear everything open with a crowbar!"
"All right." Prue went to the door and concentrated on the lock. Soon the mechanisms began clicking. She turned the doorknob and the door opened. Phoebe stepped forward but Prue held her back. "Wait! I’ll go first. You don’t have to do everything by yourself. We all want to know what happened to Derek."
In the darkness, Prue fumbled for a light switch but found none. But footlights flickered on along the steps leading down. Prue began the descent with Phoebe close behind, then Piper. Everything was painted black. All they could see were the steps under their feet and the banister. On reaching the landing, there was no other light and they couldn’t find any lightswitch. As the others looked around, wondering what to do next, Prue slowly moved forward into the darkness. In about ten paces, she stepped on a board, which triggered a light through a pair of windows. Before her was a wall with two large picture windows. Through the windows, she could see bare earth, where an excavated pit exposes three skeletons. The three sisters stood at a window, staring in shock at this abhorrent scene.
Phoebe theorized, "So this is where they were buried."
Piper wondered, "But who ... dug them up?"
"I would think Derek did. He’s the archeologist."
"But how did he know where to dig?"
"I don’t know. But the answer might be here. Maybe because he disturbed their grave, their spirits arose to take vengeance on him."
"But disappearances been happening long before Derek ever came here -- long before he was even born."
"Let’s keep looking. There must be something more down here."
Phoebe and Piper moved away from the grave scene and moved about in the darkness. They didn’t notice that Prue’s eyes were transfixed to the skeletons. As she stared, she could see faces and clothing overlaying the bones. The faces moved side to side and the mouths spoke, although she heard no voices.
When they returned, Piper reported, "Found nothing much; just crated furniture and pottery; none of them old or mysterious."
"Well, let’s move onto the rest of the house."
"All right, Prue. We can get out here now. ... Prue? ... Is something wrong?"
Suddenly Prue jolted. Her back arched so that she faced the ceiling. Then she began choking. Piper and Phoebe grabbed ahold of her and quickly dragged her upstairs.
*****
"I was being hanged," she explained over a cup of hot tea in the kitchen. "I could feel the rope around my neck. I saw you two hanging with me. We were all in Pilgrims’ clothes."
Piper shook her head and sarcastically growled, "This is getting better all the time."
Phoebe speculated, "The spirits of the witches may be trying to tell us something and they’re using our image so we can identify with them. Maybe they’re just trying to tell us their side of the story."
"What’s to tell? They were hanged. Their spirits arise for revenge. That’s it."
"I can’t help feeling that this could have something to do with Derek’s disappearance."
"Maybe they took revenge on him for disturbing their grave."
"But where is he then? If they killed him, they would have left his body out in the open, as a warning to others."
"Maybe they don’t want to warn anybody. Maybe they want to lure in more victims."
Phoebe thought it over and shook her head. "No. I can’t help feeling that’s not it. He’s alive somewhere and these spirits may know where. ... Well, now we try the attic."
"No way!"
"Fine! You stay here while I tear the door open with some tools."
"No need to," said Prue. "It’s bad enough breaking all his rules without tearing up his house. At least, by using my powers, he won’t notice where we’ve broken in."
Prue and Phoebe went on upstairs to the attic. Piper went to the livingroom and looked around in the bureau drawers and magazine racks. Soon she noticed an apparition in the center of the room. It was the young woman in 18th century dress and the insane grin. She was floating above the two couches. Piper stared with uncertainty for awhile until her horrifying expression was too much to bear. She ran up the stairs after he sisters.
"Wait for me!"
She caught up with them at the attic door. Prue was looking all over the door trying to determine how to unlock it. "What changed your mind?"
"The ghost in the livingroom."
"What?! A ghost inside the house?"
"Complete with pilgrims clothes, floating in mid air, and smiling like a demon moving in for the kill. How are you doing with the door?"
"It has a different kind of lock. There could be some kind of bolt on the inside but I can’t feel where it is. And there’s no keyhole on the outside, so I can’t see how anyone, even someone with a key, could open this."
Piper looked it over. Indeed there was no lock or door handle of any recognizable kind. There was just a flat piece of wood in the doorway. "It may not even be a door. It could just be boarded up."
"From the inside? It would be on this side of the doorway if it were boarded up."
"Sure. Why not? Nail it up on the inside, then climb out the window, and climb down a ladder from the roof."
Suddenly Phoebe spurted, "Shhhhh! Quiet! Do you hear that?"
They listened at the door. Soon all heard the creaking of wood and some kind of movement.
"There’s somebody in there!" said Piper. She began pounding on the door. "Hello? Who’s in there? Derek? Is that you?"
They listened as the creaking increased and drew closer to the door. They heard shuffling sounds moving along the other side of the door and loud sniffing around the edges.
"Animals?" Prue wondered. "He’s keeping animals in there?"
"How could he? How could he keep anything cooped up in a dark attic and left unfed for a week?"
Phoebe expounded, "Many animals are nocturnal and can’t stand light. And there are many species, which can go without food for long periods of time. And Derek could have set up an automatic feeder in there. I hear nothing in there that sounds desperate."
"Right." Prue agreed. "If they were hungry or cooped up, they’d be very restless."
Phoebe leaned against the door for a closer listen. On touching the door, a vision flashed into her head. She saw the house, at night, surround by round flat vehicles, floating in the air and shining lights on the house and the grounds around it.
Piper asked, "What did you see now?"
Phoebe at first balked. She couldn’t believe it herself. "I saw flying saucers! I swear! There were really flying saucers all around this house!"
"Okay! This is too much! We’ve got weird ghosts all around the house! We’ve got a weird ghost inside the house! We’ve got skeletons in the basement! We’ve got beasts unknown in the attic! First you see us being hanged! Now you see flying saucers! I’ll tell you what my new theory is! Derek has some kind of power, by which he can make us see and hear things! He’s probably out somewhere laughing at us right this minute!"
"No! He wouldn’t do that! I know he’s very serious about me. And he knows I’m very serious about him. He wouldn’t do that to me at a time like this. ... Besides, he knows I’ll kick his butt if he does."
Giving up on the attic door, they went back downstairs. On their way, Phoebe walked around in the hallway of the second floor, looking into the rooms. "Want to choose your bedroom?"
Piper said, "I want a bedroom far away from here. I wasn’t planning on spending a night here, but just look around, find Derek, then get out."
Prue informed, "But we got here kind of late and the sun will set pretty soon. And it looks like finding Derek is going to take some time. So we have to bed down here. Let’s see what he has in the kitchen that we can put together for dinner."
"I’m not sleeping alone in this house! I’ll share a room with one or all of you!"
*****
After dinner, they settled into the library for further research. As sunset approached, Piper went around to see that all doors and windows were locked and curtains drawn, according to the rules. Prue looked through the ancient books, to see what more she could find on Dunwich. Phoebe went over the newspaper articles on disappearances in the area. Piper researched the history and habits of ghosts.
At one point Phoebe announced, "I found two articles which mention UFOs being seen around the time of a disappearance. So those flying saucers I saw were real."
Prue added, "Many, who did very serious and extensive research into this area, say that this was an ancient battleground between Good and Evil long before man. They infer to the war between the Elder Gods and the Great Old Ones, mentioned in the Necronomicon. Although none mention Dunwich by name, they all say that, in places like these, the imprisoned Old Ones reach out to men’s minds. So in places like these, the practice of dark magic is very prevalent."
"Do they mention anything about UFOs?"
"No. But the Necronomicon concludes that the Elder Gods ‘went back to the stars from whence they came’."
"No mention that they come back once in awhile to check up on things?"
"No. None of the researchers even hint about anything like that. There’s a finality about their departure."
Piper put in her two cents. "There are a thousand things ghosts can do to the living but, with the clues we have so far, I can’t match any to Derek’s situation. And in all of Derek’s notes, he doesn’t write down any theories or opinions. All he does is translate or copy other works."
Prue noted, "He’s keeping what he knows a secret. That’s why I could never trust him. He keeps too many secrets."
Phoebe argued, "So do we! If we tell him we’re witches, I’m sure he’ll tell us all his secrets!"
"We can’t take that chance! We agreed that we won’t tell him what we are until we find out what he is!"
Piper stepped in. "All right! That aside, what do we have so far? You had a vision of UFOs and find that some disappearances were coincidental with UFOs. You find that Dunwich is an ancient battleground and a place of dark magic. I find that Derek keeps secret what he thinks about all the information he’s gathered. So what have we learned from all this?"
Phoebe threw down the scrapbook on the desk and sighed with frustration. "Nothing!"
"Exactly!" She likewise threw down the notebook and sighed. "How can we even begin to look for him when he leaves no clues as to where he was going or what he was getting into? Nothing we’ve seen so far gives any clue! What can we do next?"
"We look outside the house. We look at the Lost Village."
"Not right away," said Prue. "Try checking the grounds just outside the house. See what you can pick up from the grounds just outside the house. Maybe you can see in which direction he took off. Try checking his pickup."
Accepting that, they agreed to retire for the night.
In the livingroom, Phoebe went to the window. "I can hear something out there."
When she reached for the curtain, Piper cried out, "No, Phoebe! Don’t ...!" But too late.
Phoebe pulled back the curtain, then screamed loudly and fell to the floor. Her sisters rushed to her. She was in shock, gasping and muttering, "Death! ... Death! ... Dying! ... All dying! ..."
Prue wondered, "What did she see?"
When she also reached for the curtain, Piper grabbed ahold of her. "No, Prue! Not you, too!"
"But I’ve got to ..."
"No, You don’t! The same thing will happen to you and I’ll be alone taking care of both of you, not knowing exactly how to do that!"
"All right! First thing, keep her warm."
They wrapped Phoebe in a blanket and placed her on a couch. Prue pulled out her cell phone.
"Now call a doctor."
"You’re calling a doctor to come over here? What if he runs into what Phoebe just saw?"
"Uh ... Maybe the locals know how to handle a situation like this. I’ll explain what happened and warn him something dangerous is around the house." She dialed 911 and listened for awhile. "I’m not getting anything. Not even a dial tone."
"There are no cellular towers in this area. Your phone can’t work without them."
"Right. Is there phone in this house?"
They looked around and found an old style wall telephone in the kitchen. Prue tried it but also got silence.
"Is this a real phone or just decoration?"
"It has a cord, plugged into a phone jack. So it has to be real."
"Then the line is dead."
"Now what do we do?"
"We just keep Phoebe warm and let her sleep. Maybe she’ll recover in the morning."
"Maybe?! Maybe?! I want something more than a ‘maybe’!"
She rushed out to the livingroom. Prue ran after her. "Where are you going?"
"I’m making a run for the car." She picked up her coat and the car keys.
"You can’t! Phoebe couldn’t even take looking at it! What’s going to happen when you run right into it?"
"Phoebe needs help! I can’t just give up on her!"
She threw open the door and was met by a tall man in 17th century clothing. He had a thin white beard on his chin and a sword in hand. He swiftly ran the sword through Piper. She doubled over and fell to the floor. Prue used her powers to send him flying out into the night and shut the door. She rushed to Piper to tend to her injury, but found no wound.
"Piper. You’re not wounded. You’re not even bleeding."
"But I feel it! It hurts!"
"Well, since he’s a ghost, he got you with a ghost sword. You’ll live. Come on." She helped Piper to her feet and over to the other couch. "We both know that Phoebe is a very strong person. She’s been through many scraps in her life. So she’ll make it through this. Let’s just get her to bed."
They set Phoebe in the middle of a large bed then got in on both sides of her. Much to Piper’s trepidation, Prue turned out the light. They laid there trying to get some sleep.
Piper observed, "I can hear something outside; probably what Phoebe heard."
"Don’t let curiosity get the better of you."
"I’m not. It’s just that it’s going to keep us up all night. What good is our investigation without a good night’s sleep? ... Oh! Oh! Prue! Help me!"
Prue looked across Phoebe, where Piper lay facing her. Behind her was an old woman in a very old styled dress, angrily poking Piper in the back. Prue concentrated her power on her and sent her flying back. She passed through the wall and out of the house.
"It’s all right. She’s gone."
"Thanks. Let’s keep watch on each other’s back."
"Let’s get some sleep."
"How? We got ghost poking us in the back. We’ve got ghosts making noise outside. ..."
"Ow!!!"
"What is it? What happened?"
"Phoebe kicked me in her sleep."
"I wonder how Derek manages to sleep with her."
"He’s got to have hard legs."
Then they heard the creaking of wood from the attic above.
"Oh great!" Piper grumbled. "That’s all we need! Now insomnia is guaranteed!"
"Just try, Piper! I’ve been doing most of the driving all day from Arkham, so I’m exhausted! So don’t keep awake with your bitching!"
"If we find Derek alive, I’ll kill him."
*****
Since the heavy curtains block out light, it’s hard to tell when it’s morning. Piper sat up in the gloom, groaning and rubbing her head. Prue stirred and awoke. "How did you sleep?"
"Terrible! I had these weird, creepy dreams, but I was paralyzed and couldn’t even scream. I’ll bet you had a better night of it."
"Oh yes. I had a very restful sleep. I’m invigorated for a new day."
"Ooooo! I hate you! What time is it?"
Prue looked at her watch. "A little after nine."
"So much for an early start. How’s Phoebe?"
"Still breathing." She gently shook her. "Pheebs? Time to get up, Honey."
Phoebe stirred, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes. She looked around curiously. "What happened?"
"That’s what we’d like to know," Piper demanded. "You looked out the window, which you were not suppose to do, then went into shock."
Prue and Piper helped Phoebe sit up and held her. She thought it over and groaned. "Oh my God! Now I remember. It was terrible."
"What was it?" Prue asked. "Go easy. If it’s too hard for you, we can wait."
"Ghosts were surrounding the house ... dressed like Pilgrims ... looking like rotting corpses standing up."
Piper wondered, "That was enough to send you into shock?"
"No. ... There was something else. ... Not what I saw, ... but what I felt. I felt terror and dying. ... I think I was experiencing what the witches went through over two hundred years ago."
"How do you feel now?"
Phoebe took stock of herself; her mind, her emotions, her body. "I’m all right. I can make it through another day."
"Good. Let’s start off with coffee," said Prue. "Lot’s of coffee."
Prue and Piper helped her out of bed and downstairs to the kitchen. After breakfast, they followed her around the outside of the house, as she tried picking up visions. She started with the pickup parked out front. Receiving nothing from that, she proceeded into the forest, passing the wall of skulls. Prue followed, taking photographs of the surroundings with her digital camera. She hoped the camera would pick up something that the human eye can’t directly see.
At one point she noted, "He came this way, but not recently. It was some time ago." Moving on, she stepped on another path. "He was here but a long time ago." But at the pathway behind the back porch, she concluded, "This was the last place he walked! This points to the Lost Village! So we go this way."
"Wait!" Prue advised. "This could take some time. So let’s prepare for a long hike."
Back in the kitchen, they packed their backpacks with water bottles, lunch, and a first aid kit. Phoebe took Derek’s map of his property and a compass. They went down the trail, following Phoebe’s feelings of where Derek had recently been. In the overgrown areas, they could see branches of bushes and young trees bent aside or broken. After some time, they stopped at a strip of yellow tape in the way. All across it were the words, "POLICE CRIME SCENE -- DO NOT CROSS". Phoebe pulled the tape up and went under it. Her sisters followed. They came to the broken tree, which lay wide open.
Piper wondered, "What kind of crime was committed here? Arborcide?"
Phoebe went to the tree and touched it. She received a vision of Derek examining the skeleton in it with a magnifying glass. "Someone’s body was hidden in the tree! Derek found it! He probably told the police!"
Prue concluded, "Then the police would know where Derek is."
Piper corrected, "But there are no police in Dunwich. It must have been the county sheriff."
"Either way, someone has seen Derek recently."
Phoebe suggested, "Let’s contact them the first chance we get."
After Prue took a few photos of the area, they pushed on. They continued following the bent and broken vegetation Derek left behind. After some time they broke out into the clearing. Before them stood the circle of stones. Thirteen pillars, about six feet in height, formed a ring around another pillar, about four feet. They could guess what this was. Prue walked around it, taking pictures at various angles. Phoebe also walked around it, but looking outward for any sign of where Derek went next. Piper just stood watching them both, waiting for one of them to decide what to do next.
Suddenly, Prue heard Piper squeak, "Uh ... Prue!"
The alarm in her voice made Prue turn quickly. She saw Piper cautiously moving her way, while behind her, the grinning phantom hovered above the ground. Phoebe also moved to Prue, so that all three of them faced this mystery together.
Prue called out, "Who are you? ... What do you want?"
But the apparition remained silent, maintaining constant her psychotic leer. Prue felt she was being teased, so threw out her power sending the spirit flying away, out of sight.
Phoebe said, "We could have questioned her! Maybe she knows what happened to Derek!"
"I was questioning her! Didn’t you hear? She didn’t care to co-operate! Even if she knew anything about Derek, why would she tell us?"
Phoebe fumed with frustration and leaned on one of the pillars. Suddenly a vision burst into her head. She saw a child being held down on the middle stone, by figures in black robes, then the flash of a blade. She recoiled in horror and disgust. "They killed children here!"
Prue took her by the arm and led her away from the stones. "That’s the payment the Great Old Ones ask for."
She turned back and focused her powers on the stones, but none budged.
Piper asked, "What are you trying to do?"
"These stones must be destroyed! We’ve got to break them; smash them! We can’t let this be used ever again!"
"But we have nothing with which to smash stones. We’ll have to get tools from the house later. Let’s find Derek first and ask him what we can do. After all, this is on his property."
Prue reluctantly relented. "All right." She turned to Phoebe. "Where to next?"
"I’m not picking up anything on him around here." She looked over the map. "But there is a direct way to the Lost Village from here. On the way is another house. We’ll check that out too."
Following the map and compass, they pushed on. This time they had a clear trail and didn’t have to fight their way through. Although the forest didn’t appear much different than most they’ve seen, they felt surrounded by a presence. It pressed in all around, giving them a cold, tight feeling deep inside. They saw no one but felt the eyes of a malignant loathing on them at all times.
After some time, they reached another clearing, which led to a large three-storied manor. It was far larger than Derek’s house on the lane. But it hadn’t been kept up and was in a state of decay. One of the gabled windows, on the roof, had caved in. All the windows were broken. Any glass left was coated with a film of dirt. Any curtains left were tattered and discolored.
Drawing close, they noticed a sign posted out in front. Large letters, at the top, read, "NOTICE OF INTENTION OF USE". Underneath were listed all the legal county and state permits needed to legally renovate a building such as this. It concluded with, "Intention of Use: Wiccengraf Lodge, American Psychic Society".
Piper mused, "He’s turning this dump into a lodge for the APS? Good luck!"
Prue remarked, "This is the right place for those who really want a challenge."
Looking over the shabby ruin, Phoebe wondered, "Why hasn’t anyone boarded it up?"
Piper theorized, "No need to. No one in their right mind would bother coming out here."
Prue and Phoebe turned and gave her a dry look. Noticing this, she looked back at them curiously. "What!"
They carefully climbed the front porch, realizing that any of the boards could break under their feet. The front door was slightly open. They cautiously peered into the door and windows. The rooms were empty, except for some trash and debris scattered around.
Piper mentioned, "This is an awfully big place. It could take us more than one day to search all of it."
"We won’t have to," Phoebe explained. "I’ll just feel around for what visions I can pick up. If I find that he hasn’t been here recently, we can leave. If he has, I can just follow where the visions lead."
She put her hand on the door to push it open, when a vision burst into her head. She saw a middle-aged man, with white hair and in a 19th century housecoat, running out of the door. Stricken with terror, he ran out into the night and kept going down a path leading to the lane, while green lights pulsated in the door and windows.
Noticing her reaction, Piper asked, "What did you see?"
"The previous owner ... being driven out of the house."
"By whom? Or by what?"
"I don’t know."
"Could it still be in there?"
"Well, ... What I saw happened at night. Maybe it sleeps during the day."
"We can only hope."
They entered the reception hall, which was bare. The open door and broken windows provided enough light to look around. They moved with careful steps, wary of the brittle wood beneath their feet. Here they again spotted the smiling ghost. This time she stood on the floor by a window, where the contrasts between light and dark made her more transparent.
Phoebe called to her, "Where is Derek? ... What have you done with him?"
The apparition remained silent. Her insane grin never wavered. Phoebe angrily charged at her. "You’re going to tell me ...!" Suddenly her foot broke through the floor. "Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Prue and Piper rushed to her and helped her up.
Prue said, "As I’ve said, you can’t get her to co-operate. Are you all right?"
"I think so. Just a few splinters."
The main livingroom have fewer windows, so wasn’t as well lit. They were able to see the fireplace, the deteriorating wallpaper, and lighter square spaces where pictures use to hang. They were about to step over the threshold when they heard a strange sound. Suddenly a cacophony of clicking and knocking filled the room. It sounded like hundreds of tiny hammers pounding everywhere. Then they noticed the floor moving. Each individual board was jumping and writhing, clicking and bumping to its own rhythm. The sisters stood staring at this scene, trying to figure out what purpose any ghost would have for this. Then Piper threw out her hands and froze time in the room. While everything was still and quiet, they quickly tiptoed through the room.
Standing in a pitch-dark room, Piper impatiently snapped, "Haven’t you picked up any visions yet?"
"Yes!" Phoebe replied. "But none of Derek! All I’m getting are bits and piece of the distant past."
"Then it could be that Derek never came here!"
"He did! I’m sure of it! He would never leave new property untouched for long. He’s always hunting for treasure in old places."
They fumbled around in their backpacks and took out their flashlights. Looking around, they could see that they were now in the kitchen. The stove was woodturning and the sink fitted with an old fashion hand pump. An antique icebox hung open. Nowhere was any sign of electric circuitry or even gas lighting. A few fixtures on the wall were only suited for candles. Prue opened a door and shined her light in.
"This looks like the cellar."
Piper affirmed, "I’ve had enough of basements for awhile -- a long while!"
"Fine! You stay here and watch our backs."
Prue and Phoebe descended the stairs, which creaked loudly under their feet. They moved slowly and clung tightly to the banister. The cellar was small with a few wooden crates and barrels. Prue examined the walls and floors, while Phoebe looked over the crates. They were unmarked and curiosity got the better of her. She pulled at the top of one crate but it was nailed shut. Looking around, she found a shovel, which she picked up and began prying the crate open. When Prue saw what she was doing, she was shocked.
"Phoebe! No!"
The partially opened crated hissed loudly and Phoebe jumped back. A cloud of mist arose from it, pulsating a green light. Prue and Phoebe backed away towards the stairs.
Phoebe remembered a pulsating green light in her vision at the front door. "Uh ... This is ... um ... not good!"
"Well, ... I suppose I could hold it back while you look a little longer."
"No need to. I had a vision of Derek. It’s very old -- probably several months."
"Then we can leave?"
"Yes!"
"Good!"
They both ran back upstairs.
Phoebe quickly told Piper, "We can go now!"
"Finally! But not through the room with the musical floor! Let’s go out the back!"
"All right!"
They ran to the other side of the kitchen but found the door barricaded with boards.
"Wonderful!" Piper boomed sarcastically. "The back door they board up but not the front."
Prue conjectured, "They must have wanted to keep something out very badly."
"Or something in."
Then they heard a low growl behind them. They turned and shined their lights on what appeared to be a cloud with tentacles, crawling on the floor towards them.
"A ghost dog," Piper guessed. "A pit bull from the sound of it."
It suddenly snaked up into the air and made a strike at them. Piper threw out a hand and froze it in mid-air. The sisters ran around it and out of the kitchen. When they reached the main livingroom, the floor again rattled violently. Piper threw out her power and stopped it. As they reached the front door, it slammed shut on its own then faded away, leaving a blank wall in its place. Then a man’s face appeared on that spot on the wall, glowing green and laughing.
"Great! A house with the same sick sense of humor as Derek’s! No wonder he loves this place!"
Prue raised a hand to signal her sisters to be quiet. Then she stepped forward to speak to the apparition. However, it faded away before she could reach it. Still there was no door.
Phoebe then feebly suggested, "Well, ... a window then?"
Prue walked towards a nearby window, when the broken shards began shifting in the pane. She threw out a hand in a sweeping gesture and the glass shattered and flew outwards. Then they heard the wood around the window shifting and knew the house was up to something else. So Piper again threw out her power to keep everything still. Prue carefully climbed out then waved her sisters on through. She helped Phoebe get out then Piper. Then they ran from the house, wanting so badly to get away from that place. At a comfortable distance they stopped to rest. Looking back they could see a green light pulsing from the windows and hear malicious laughter echoing through the rooms.
Prue put a hand on her head in wonderment. "That is going to be a lodge for psychics?"
Piper turned away growling, "They deserve each other!"
*****
It was late afternoon when they caught sight of the Lost Village. Through a clearing in the trees, they could see a circle of ruins. The ground was pocked by cellars and a well, all crudely constructed of the grey stone so abundant in the area. Few posts of deteriorating wood were scattered around. But no complete structure of any kind was seen.
Before continuing on, Prue warned Phoebe, "We’ve got to get back to the house before sunset, so make this fast. When we get there, you start searching everything quickly. Piper and I will keep watch for anything dangerous and use our powers to hold them off."
The trail wound down for another mile before reaching the site. On arriving, they were in for another shock. There were not the broken and scattered ruins they saw at a distance. This was a completely built and populated settlement. Colonial style huts stood in a circle, where people in 17th century clothing went about their daily business.
Phoebe grabbed her sisters by the sleeves. "Uh ... Guys, ... these are the ghosts I saw last night!"
Piper once again spewed her sarcasm. "We’re batting a thousand today! Can we get any better?"
"All right, Piper! Shut up!" Prue snapped. "Just freeze them! And Phoebe, start searching everything as quickly as possible, while we hold then off! If you get no vision or see any sign of him, move on! We have no time for any in-depth investigations!"
"Right!"
Piper threw out her hands and everything stopped. Phoebe ran to a hut, opened the door, and went in. She came back out in less than a minute and went on to the next. After just a few of these, the apparitions began moving again. They stopped and took notice of Prue and Piper standing there. Piper again threw out her power and froze them in place. But it wasn’t long until they started moving again. They began shouting to one another. Their voices sounded distant and indistinct. Piper again froze them in place.
"Hurry up, Phoebe! They’re becoming immune to my powers!"
"All right! Just three more houses!"
The spirits began moving again, gathering tools and weapons and forming a mob. Piper froze them one more time. Phoebe dashed out of the last house. "All right! He wasn’t here! Let’s go!"
When she reached her sisters, they all took off running back towards Derek’s house. The ghosts of the village broke through Piper’s power and pursued them. Through the treetops, the sisters could see the sky turning orange. Sunset was immanent. They knew it was a long way back and they couldn’t run continuously for that long. So they went through the forest in a zigzag route to confuse their pursuers. This gave them chances to stop and rest a minute or two at a time.
As they got closer to the house, the sky was darkening. The sun had set and dusk had set in. The sound of the rabble behind them was getting louder. They were gaining on them. Finally the house was in sight. Phoebe had the key ready as they approached the back door. At just a few feet from the house, the sisters ran into what felt like a thick pillow of air. They were stopped dead in their tracks. Then they felt something tighten around their necks. Next thing they knew they were hanging by the necks, suspended over a scaffold and wearing 17th century clothing. The people of the Lost Village stood around the scaffold, shouting, jeering, and waving their weapons at the sisters. It seemed ages that they struggled to breathe, before everything went black.
*****
Prue opened her eyes. She was face down in the dirt. Her throat felt soar but she was breathing. She raised her head up and looked side to side. Her sisters lay at both her sides, also face down. The ghost stood around them but did nothing. She shook her sisters.
"Phoebe! Piper! Wake up!"
They stirred and looked around. They noticed the ghost stood behind a white line, which went from the house, around the sisters, and back.
Piper wondered, "What is that stuff? Why won’t they cross it?"
Prue replied, "I don’t know. It’s getting too dark to make it out. Can you get up?"
The sisters struggled to their feet.
Phoebe rubbed her aching throat and moaned, "I’m sick of being strangled! I can’t wait to get back to normal demons who just throw fireballs!"
Then the back door opened and an elderly woman anxiously waved them in. Leaning on each other, the sisters entered the house and the woman locked the door behind them.
"I cudna kerry ye in, so I made a circle o’ salt tew holds em back."
Piper said, "Thank you, Mrs ...."
"Boyce -- Marion Boyce."
Prue asked, "Are you the housekeeper?"
"Ay. Thet I am. An who ar yew?"
"I’m Prue Halliwell. These are my sisters, Piper and Phoebe. We’re friends of Derek McPhillips. We came looking for him."
"Looks like ye bin tew the Lost Village es Derek sez not tew. No gud a-breakin his rules. Es yev seen, it nearly got ye kilt."
Phoebe explained, "We heard he had disappeared. We just had to be sure if he was there or not."
"Oh, thets jest gossip a-goin raound. I dunt think he’s disuppeared. He’s jest got a habit o’ takin off sumwhars whenivver he durn well pleases."
She went off into the kitchen and began cleaning up. The sisters curiously followed her.
Phoebe went on to ask, "Do you have any idea where he could have gone?"
"Cudev gon a-hikin off sumwhars an be a-campin aout in the wuds or in a taown close by. He wudna stay at the Lost Village."
Marion made tea for everyone and went on to cook dinner for them. As Prue and Piper sat at the table, Phoebe stood by her.
"Do you know anything about this house?"
"I knows all baout this haouse -- long afore Derek was ivven born."
"Whose skeletons are those in the basement?"
Prue and Piper were surprised that Phoebe would just come right out and ask such a thing. They knew that question would let her know they’ve been in the basement. But she never mentioned it.
"They wer Millicent, Margary, and Matilda Parker. The three witches thet wer hanged by the people o’ the Lost Village in 1695."
This sisters noted that each of the names begin with an "M", just as their own names begin with "P".
"Why was this house built over their grave?"
"Nobody knew they wer buried here. Thar wer no marker. When they built this haouse, over a hunnert years later, nobody had inny idee what was underneath. The site was chosen cause tis right on the rud, Aylesbury Lane, which was built durn the Revolution."
"Who dug them up?"
"Derek did. Jest a few years ago. Comes cross em by accident whilst renivvatin the basemunt. He kips it an arch’ological site, a-lettin perfessers an students o’ the Miskatonic University come an looks at em."
Then Piper brought up her question. "Do you think it’s possible their spirits could have taken revenge on Derek for disturbing their grave?"
"No. Their spirits hev moved on long time ago. B’sides, he dug em up baout faour years ago. Why wud they wait this long fer revenge?"
Then Prue put in a question she had wondered over for some time. "One thing I don’t understand. If Dunwich was founded by witches, why were these three hanged for witchcraft?"
"Cause they’s tew kinds o’ witches; thems o’ dark magic an thems o’ white magic. The Parkers wer thems o’ white magic. Thems o’ dark magic built Dunnich, cause they worships the Great Old Ones an the Gateway of Yog-Sotot is right here near taown."
Piper wondered, "Gateway of what?"
Prue muttered to her, "Yog-Shothoth -- one of the Great Old Ones."
"Oh."
Marion went on. "Thems o’ dark magic kips a-tryin tew open thet gate, tew let out the Great Old Ones. Thems o’ white magic kips a-stoppin em. That’s why my fam’ly ken nivver leave."
"Your family?" Phoebe asked.
"I am a discendunt o’ the Parker fam’ly."
The sisters were surprized. It was Phoebe who asked the question on all of their minds. "Then you’re a witch? A witch of white magic?"
"Ay. Jest es yew ar." (Another shock for the sisters.)
"How--how did you know that?"
"I was jest a-talkin tew Mr Whatley. He told me the Hall’wells ar at Wiccengraf. It was jest after a-talkin tew ye, he rumembered whar he heard o’ yer name. (It takes im awhile cause he’s a-gittin old.) He rumembers thet the Hall’wells are discendunts o’ Melinda Warren o’ Salem." (Shock! Shock!)
"How do you people know all that?"
"Cause the Parkers ar also discendud from Melinda Warren."
Now the sisters were absolutely stunned. It took awhile for Phoebe to move, to put her arms around Marion. "You’re a relative! Our relative!"
"Ay. Thet I am, Deary."
Prue and Piper got up to joyfully embrace her too. Piper cried out, "Oh my God! This is so wonderful to find family in such a place!"
Marion joined them at the table for dinner.
Prue noted, "So that’s how you would know that the spirits of the Parker Sisters moved on. You’ve been in touch with them."
"Ay. I speaks with em time tew time."
Piper asked, "But then, who’s doing all the haunting?"
"Thems o’ the Lost Village. After Millicent, Margary, an Matilda wer kilt, the rest o’ ur fam’ly put a curs on the village. The souls o’ thems ken nivver leave. Ther baound tew this land fer all eternity. An they jest kips on in their evil doin’s."
Phoebe explained, "But I’ve been getting visions of them, as if they were trying to share their experiences with me."
"Thet wud jest be ‘residue’, as Derek would say -- psychic residue."
"Speaking of which, how many members of the American Psychic Society come here at a time?"
"Some weeks the haouse is full up; some weeks is empty. Derek lets me knaow ahead o’ time when thar’s guests a-comin. He’s a-buildin some office fer em here. Bought a haouse in the village an he’s brung in all kinds o’ stuff. Gonna hev a li’l museum baout the supernat’ral goin’s-on here in Dunnich."
"Would that be the ‘Wiccengraf Lodge’ out near the Lost Village?"
"No. The lodge be fer guests a-stayin in Dunnich. More an more kips a-comin an is a-gittin too much fer this haouse. So Derek’s a-gittin the lodge riddy fer em."
Piper asked, "What was the Lost Village? Was it here before Dunwich or did break away? What’s the story with that?"
"The Lost Village wer part o’ Dunnich; one o’ three communities o’ one taown. They wer all cunnicted by a few miles o’ cleared trails. But the Parkers’ curs cut em off from the rest. An later, the community up north became Aylesbury."
"Which came first; Aylesbury or Aylesbury Lane?"
"Twer the lane thet wer first. The taown grew bigger than Dunnich, d’clared its ind’pindunce, an took the name o’ the lane."
Prue asked, "What was the original name of the Lost Village?"
"Twer jest part o’ Dunnich. After the curs, they jest llaowed the wuds tew take back the trails an fergot all baout it. When this rud then this haouse wer built, no one knew thet it wer near by, altho the spirits hev been a-takin their toll o’ victims all these years. Twer etty years ago thet it were faound. This haouse stud empty fer a hunnert years till Derek bought it. The lodge bin empty since the Cibb’l War."
"I noticed that most of the ghosts won’t come into the house but there are some that do."
"Thems o’ the Lost Village dunt come in here, cause this wer where the girls wer hanged. They nivver stepped up on the scaffold after the hangin. They jest burnt the whole thing daown an threw stones an earth on top."
"So they were buried in the same place they were hanged?"
"Ay. They wer. An them spirits that do come in ar thems thet lived in the haouse after twer built."
Phoebe propounded, "I would think that if those are your relatives in the basement, you’d want them to be properly buried. Did you ever bring this up with Derek?"
"Well, ... the Parker girls dunt mind it none. They hev no more use o’ their bones. But Derek brung it up hisself. He invited me an the fam’ly tew hev a cer’mony. So weez gotta wicca priestess from Arkham tew say the blessin’s. But Derek, bein a churchman, later got in a Congergationul minister from Aylesbury tew say a blessin oer the bones. So naow wer doubly shurr ther at peace."
This made Derek more admirable in Phoebe’s eyes. His human decency and consideration of others bound her heart to him all the more.
They went on talking late into the night. Discussing the history of the area and catching up on what the different branches of the family have been up to.
It was very late when Marion noticed the time. "Well, I gotta git home. Thars much tew dew tewmorra so I gotta gits tew bed naow."
"Why not bed down here tonight?" Prue offered. "The ghosts of the lost village surround this house at night."
"Thet dunt bother me none. Ye jest needs the right spell tew git em aways from here." She put on her coat and went to the front door. Holding up her arms she intoned, "Tsee ah-nah kahn-pah! Tsee kee-ah kahn-pah! Gah-loo bah-rah! Nahm-tar bah-rah! Ah-shahk bah-rah! Ghee-ghim bah-rah! Ah-lahl bah-rah! Teh-lahl bah-rah! Mahs-keem bah-rah! Oo-took bah-rah! Eed-pah bah-rah! Lah-lar-too bah-rah! Lahl-lahs-soo bah-rah! Ahh-hhah-roo bah-rah! Oo-roo-koo bah-rah! Kee-el-gah-lahl bah-rah! Lee-lee-too bah-rah! Oo-took hhool eh-deen nah tsoo! Ah-lah hhool eh-deen nah tsoo! Ghee-gheem hhool eh-deem nah tsoo! Moo-lah eh-deen nah tsoo! Deen-gheer hhool nah tsoo! Mahs-keem hhool eh-deen nah tsoo! Bah-rah! Eh-deen-nah-tsoo! Tsee ah-nah kahn-pah! Tsee kee-ah kahn-pah! Blessed be."
The sister echoed, "Blessed be!"
She opened the door and stepped out. The sisters followed her to her car to see her off. Outside was nothing to be seen but the courtyard and forest in the light from the windows. Nothing could be heard but the gentle songs of the crickets.
Piper told her, "Thank you for everything. We’re so excited to find a lost part of our family."
"My pleasure, Dear. Ye knaow? When yer great-great-great-great-grandmuther left fer San Francisco, we nivver heerd from her agin."
Phoebe vowed, "I’ll remedy that as soon as I get home. I’ll send you all we have on our family’s history. And I’ll keep in touch, writing you regularly."
"Thet’s so sweet o’ yew, Dear! An’ I’ll writ what I ken tew yew an git other members o’ the fam’ly tew writ whens I kint."
None of the sisters could recognize the make of her car but could tell it is very old. She started her engine, but before pulling out, Prue spoke up. "One more question! What is Derek keeping in the attic?"
"Well, ... Derek kips some animals on his propurty fer others. Somes ar very valu’ble so somes thet got em ask Derek to kips em safe here fer awhile. (Es he sez, the one gud thing baout a haunted haouse is thet it kips away burg’lers.) Once he had zebras here. Other times he had ostriches, llamas, an some strange kinda bulls from some fer’n country. But the ones in the attic he sez is secrut. He wunt ivven tell me. Might be suthin very valu’ble so he kint lets nobody sees em."
"We were just wondering if they have enough food and water while he’s gone."
"Oh, I’m shurr they dew. The dear boy wud nivver go innywhar withaout makin shurr they’s keerd fer. He so loves the critters he wunt nivver treats em bad. B’sides, the owners ar a-comin back fer em in three more days. He told me tew lets em in if he’s aout. They knaows how to unlock the attic door."
Piper also propounded, "I was also wondering, could these animal have eaten him?"
"Oh no. He’d nivver bring in beasts thet dang’rous. He keers tew much fer the folks raound here to dew suthin like thet. Dunnich got its aown fill o’ monsters withaout a-bringin in more."
They said good night and watched as she drove off. After that, they still stood outside, enjoying the peaceful surroundings. After awhile, they slowly returned to the house. That night they slept very well.
*****
Next morning, as they sat to breakfast, they mulled over what to do next. With all possibilities exhausted and even less clues by which to go, they couldn’t think of anything. Prue and Piper could see the helplessness in Phoebe’s eyes. They tried to bolster her hopes.
Prue consoled, "Marion seems to know him very well and she’s not worried. She’s sure he went off somewhere without knowing anyone’s looking for him."
Piper added, "And she’s a witch like we are. She wouldn’t be so confident in baseless assumptions. She must have a way of knowing that he’s all right."
Phoebe remained silent. She was in pain deep inside. She listlessly lumbered from the kitchen to the livingroom and sat down on one of the couches. She so feared that she’ll never get the chance to tell Derek that she loves him, that she forgives him for whatever he’s done in the past, and that she wants him back with her forever.
Piper was at a loss as to what more to tell her but Prue kept trying. "Come on, Pheebs. Let’s call the sheriff and find out where he was when he contacted them about the body in the tree."
Suddenly the front door opened and Derek quickly came in and went marching up the stairs. Astounded, the three sister together shouted, "Derek?"
Halfway up the stairs, he stopped and looked at them in surprise. "What are you doing here?"
Phoebe boomed, "Derek! Where have you been?"
"Aylesbury. Why?"
"Without telling anyone?"
"Why should I? I come her to get away from all that. Here I get to be cut off from everybody."
"But we thought something had happened to you!"
"Why?"
"I tried calling and David said you disappeared!"
"He actually said I ‘disappeared’?"
"Well, he said that you haven’t been seen for a week!"
"Right! I come here so that no one can see me and I don’t have to seen anyone!"
Piper punched Phoebe in the shoulder. "Oooo! Phoebe! You got us all worked up over nothing!"
Prue came to her defense. "But, Derek, we’ve heard that people often disappear in this area. So when we heard that no one has seen you for a week, we suspected the worst."
"I keep telling Phoebe I can take care of myself, but she doesn’t want to believe me." Phoebe scowled and fumed at him. Wanting to head off any bad feelings, he offered, "Look! I’m sorry everyone jumped to the wrong conclusion. I’ll make it up to you. Whatever losses you’ve incurred, whatever expenses you had to pay to get here, I’ll cover. I’ll pay for your flight, other transportation, time lost on your jobs, ... whatever."
The sisters thought it over. Prue absolved, "Well, ... I’ve taken a lot of pictures, which my boss would find worth the time I was away from the office."
Piper also warranted, "We found a relative, we never knew existed."
Phoebe added, "And we caught up on a long-lost branch of the family."
"Really?" Derek wondered. "Who?"
"Your housekeeper. Mrs Boyce."
"Really! Who’d thunk it? How’d you find that out?"
"It’s a long story. But the point is that it really wasn’t a waste of time coming here and you don’t really owe us anything." She looked to her sisters and they agreed.
"Well, at least let me fly you home."
"You can fly?"
"I have my own plane. A twin engine commuter jet. Got it all done up real luxurious inside. Couches with hide-a-beds, plush carpeting, a color TV and stereo, a wet bar, video games. You’ll be flying in style."
Piper was impressed. "Wow! I’d love it! To finally travel in comfort! ... Wait a minute! You can fly, can you?"
"Yes. I have a pilot’s license and have been flying for six years now."
"I mean, can you fly better than you drive a motorcycle?"
"Yes, I can fly better than I drive a motorcycle!"
Derek stormed on upstairs while the sisters followed him, giggling among themselves.
Phoebe asked him, "What were you doing in Aylesbury?"
"Well, ... I went out hiking one day and found this road, hidden by overgrowth. By the looks of it, it had lain forgotten for well over a century. My archeological curiosity moved me to examine it carefully and follow it."
He went to a bedroom where much of his things were scattered around. He took off his hat and shoulderbag then began randomly stuffing clothes into a duffelbag.
"It led me straight to Aylesbury. The only way people get to Aylesbury now is by going all the way out to Aylesbury Pike then to Aylesbury, which is a long round about way. But this hidden road goes there directly."
He went to a closet and opened it. Inside stood the smiling ghost. The sisters were shocked and anticipated some ugly confrontation. But Derek simply reached through her and took out his dragonskin coat and Stetson. As he walked to a dressing chair, she arose from the closet and floating in circles around him. The sisters wondered if he could see her at all.
"As it turns out, there use to be a direct road between the two towns. However, after long disuse of the road, the memory of it gradually faded and the forest took it back."
He set his Stetson on the bureau and draped the coat over the back of the chair. As he sat down, the ghost knelt beside him with her elbows on his lap, looking into his face with that constant maniacal grin. Derek just continued packing.
"I stayed awhile in that town, talking with many of the people about reopening that road and renewing commerce between the two towns. But all of them remember why the road fell into disuse. Because of all the supernatural occurrences, which frequently plague Dunwich, Aylesbury wants no connection with it. They vehemently opposed any renewal of that road."
This sisters were hardly listening. They kept their eyes on that ghost, wondering what she has in mind, and if she does him any harm, how can they save him without revealing that they are witches.
"They even demanded that I tell no one of the hidden road; that I bring no one from Dunwich there by means of that road. I agreed. But I’ll still use it myself, whenever I want to hike to Aylesbury. I was kinda disappointed at first but ...."
He stopped in mid-sentence and turned to the ghost with a finger in her face. "Go away! ... Git! ... Shoo!"
She backed away, never losing that grin, and passed through the wall. The sisters were dumbfounded, wondering what power he has over her.
He went on. "But I figured that if I do get Dunwich connected with the outside world, then I’ll lose the very thing I come her for -- privacy, anonymity, just getting away from it all. And I have many prospective buyers and renters for the houses, I’ve accumulated here, who want the same thing. So in all, that would have been bad for business."
In her astonishment, Piper found her voice but not the words. She pointed to where the spirit had exited and stuttered, "Uh ... Derek, ... that ... that ... uh ... um ...."
"Oh, that’s ‘Mad Mary’; obnoxious but harmless."
"You know these ghosts by name?"
"Some of them. In many of the houses I’ve bought, I found many letters and journals, by which I’ve been able to piece together much of the lost history of this area. And many of the people in the past are mentioned by name and much detailed descriptions of them are given."
The sisters’ heads were spinning with all the more they’ve seen and heard happening around Derek. They’re even further from understanding what he is.
But Phoebe had a more pressing issue she needed to work out now. She turned to her sisters and asked, "Could you please let me talk with Derek alone?"
They understood and withdrew. Alone with him, she still found it hard to find the words. "Derek, ... I just want you to ... well, ... you know ...."
"You don’t have to say it. You comin’ all the way out here, ready to face danger for me, says it all. And I also want to ... you know. So as I take you home, I’ll be going back with you."
Relieved and elated, she threw her arms around him. She was so glad that they’ve reached the point where they can understand each other without words. They stood in each other arms, savoring this moment of joy.
If you ever change your mind
I’ll be waiting first in line.
Hang your toothbrush next to mine.
It’s up to you.
It’s up to you.
Hang your toothbrush next to mine.
It’s up to you.
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