The Sighting - Part Four

By Cayce B. Shelton

"Gee, Dan, I don't know," said Bob, picking at the grass close at hand. "I've thought on it a lot and I just think she's just picking on us."

"Yeah, I think so, too, Dan," Joe stated, his high-toned voice revealing the insincerity of his statement.

Dan started preaching. "Well, I have thought on it a lot, too," he said, his eyes reflecting the sunlight bouncing off the board in his hands. "I think there's a purpose in her appearance. We got to find what that purpose is." Dan raised the board up off of his lap and pushed it toward the other two boys.

Dan pointed to the letters he had painted on the board with shoe polish. "You see, I put the alphabet on this board, and I intend to talk to that ghost with it," he said, emphatically.

Bob made a face as he looked up at him. "Just how are you gonna get a ghost to talk? We all know she can't talk, Dan. You said that yourself. Do you think she's gonna answer you with them bells you said you heard?"

Joe giggled and then quickly clapped his hand over his mouth as Bob and Dan frowned at him. Dan let the board drop to his lap and hung his head to stare at it.

Dan did not look at either of his friends as he spoke softly, "I know you'll probably think I'm crazy, maybe more than you do all the time, anyhow. I just gotta find out why she shows up whenever we go there. And why only at the creek? Why don't she show up anywhere else? I'm gonna try, anyhow. Will you guys help me?" Dan looked up at last to see his friends looking at him intently.

"Well, what are you going to do with that board?" Joe asked, twisting to sit up Indian style. His question generated quickness in Dan that had not been there before.

"I'm gonna show it to her and ask her to point to the letters to spell her name," Dan said quickly, pointing to the letters to spell Joe's name.

Bob frowned as he asked, "And what are you going to do when you find out her name? What then? You know her name, so what. What then?"

"I'm gonna ask why she shows up, is what." Dan's face was lit up with delight. Bob and Joe looked at each other and shook their heads.

"I think he's gone off the deep end again," Bob said to Joe.

"Yeah, you got that right, friend. It does appear like the poor old thing has gone and joined that there ghost. What I think is we ought to take him down there and throw him in the water. Maybe that'll wake him up."

Joe was getting to his feet as he finished talking, his eyes on Dan. Dan's face got red as he listened to his friends, but Joe's threat galvanized the skinny boy into action.

"I'll make you think "throw him in the water," you half wit." Dan was screaming as he swung the board at Joe, already moving fast.

As Dan chased Joe, Bob rolled to his feet and followed. Dan did not hear the laughter behind him when Bob realized Joe was leading Dan to the creek. Halfway across the field Dan stopped and threw the board at Joe. Bob did not stop running when he grabbed Dan under his arm and carried the skinny friend, kicking and screaming. Joe picked up the board and was whacking Dan on the butt as he and Bob ran toward the creek.

They threw Dan, screaming, into the creek. There was not enough water to make a splash, but there was enough to cover Dan in mud.

Dan waved his arms around and threatened his friends, "Damn you guys, one of these days I'm gonna kill both of you. I swear I am. I'm gonna find me something, like a hangman's noose or something and catch you asleep and then I'm gonna get you. I shore am. Just you wait and see."

Bob and Joe were rolling in the leaves laughing so hard Bob almost choked by the time Dan ran out of words. Dan's features changed from anger to amusement. He brushed at his wet pants and began to giggle. The clearing rang with boyhood laughter and ringing bells. One by one each boy's face turned from delight to fear as he recognized the sound.

As the friends looked around the clearing they saw a golden mist fill the space around them. The chiming bells were the only sounds they heard although each of them called out to the others.

When the mist condensed into four clouds evenly spaced around the clearing, the boys looked at each other and the clouds. Joe closed his eyes and lay still on the leaf-covered ground. He still had the board in his hand.

Bob and Dan looked at each other. Neither boy made a move nor a sound as the four golden clouds moved about the clearing. After a few minutes one of the clouds stopped in front of Dan. Dan held his breath as the form of the girl ghost came into view.

As the form seemed to solidify a few feet from Dan, he felt faint and gasped for breath. He heard Bob although the bells seemed to drown all of the normal sounds of the clearing.

Bob said, simply and not loud, "Board."

Dan looked at Joe lying on the ground. Leaning over Dan picked up the board. He looked first at Bob and then at the ghost and spoke with a tremble in his voice.

"I got this here board with letters on it." Dan turned the board so that the ghost could see the letters. "Do you know the alphabet?" he asked. Dan heard Bob's exclamation as they saw the girl's head nod up and down.

Dan recited his prepared speech, "I'm going to point to a letter. When I point to a letter in your name I want you to nod your head. Do you understand?"

Dan gasped when the ghost nodded her head. Dan pointed to the 'A' and watched the ghost nod her head. Dan glanced at Bob who was looking at the ghost. When Dan pointed to the 'B' the ghost nodded her head and again when Dan pointed to the 'C'. Dan dropped the board to his lap and looked at Bob.

Bob spoke softly, watching the ghost, "I don't think she understands what you want."

Dan had tears in his eyes as he spoke, "I thought it would work. Why don't it work? Am I doing it wrong? Oh, God, what am I gonna do?"

"Don't cry, Dan. Let's look at this," Bob said. He used his hand to scrape the leaves away to make a bare spot between him and Dan. "Look, I'll make a bunch of boxes in a row. You tell her you want to spell her name. Then I'll point to a box and you point to the letters. Maybe she can do that."

Dan nodded.

"Say, uh, miss, we're gonna try to get you to spell your name here in these little boxes. When I point to a letter and it fits in the box Bob is pointing at you nod your head. OK?" Dan was pointing at the row of boxes as he spoke.

Bob and Dan grinned at each other when the ghost nodded her head. A loud flurry of bell ringing took the smiles away.

Dan began to point at the letters on the board as Bob held his finger on the first box. When Dan's finger hit the 'C', the ghost nodded her head. Dan exclaimed, "The first letter is a 'C'." He watched Bob draw a 'C' in the first box. As Bob put his finger in the second box, Dan put his finger on the 'A' again.

As the ghost nodded her head Dan looked at Bob. Bob shrugged his shoulders and made the 'A' in the second box. As he put his finger in the third box Dan pointed to the 'A' again. The ghost did not nod her head. Dan continued pointing to the letters on the board and looking at the ghost.

When he touched the 'T' the ghost nodded her head and he heard Bob's soft, "Damn."

As Bob held his finger on the fourth box, Dan started pointing at the letters again. Realizing the process was going to take longer than he thought, Dan only glanced at the ghost between letters. The time it took to reach the 'H' and then the 'Y' for the fifth letter was shorter than the time spent reaching the 'T'. When the ghost nodded her head at the 'Y' Bob hollered.

"Cathy, her name is Cathy." Bob flung himself past Dan to land on Joe. Joe gave a cry and fought to get away from Bob.

"What in hell are you doing, fat ass?" Joe cried as he pushed on Bob.

"Her name is Cathy, Joe. Her name is Cathy." Bob was elated at the knowledge and wanted to share it with their friend.

"Cathy?" Joe asked looking at Bob and then at the ghost. When he turned to look at Dan, the skinny boy grinned and spoke softly.

"See there, I ain't as dumb as you thought," he said.

Joe did not grin back at Dan until he had spoken to Bob. "Now did I ever say he was dumb? I know I said he was crazy, but I don't think I ever said he was dumb." Then Joe turned to Dan.

"He never said you was dumb, Dan," said Bob. Then he giggled.

Joe snickered at Bob's giggle and ducked his head as Dan threw a handful of leaves at him. As the little shower of color drifted towards Joe, the clearing rang with the laughter of three good friends and the tinkle of many bells.

After they ran out of laughter, the boys sat and looked at the ghost. For a few minutes no one said anything. Dan began in a monotone voice, looking steadily at the ghost, "We know your name is Cathy. We know you show up here with us and nowhere else. We know you are here because you want something from us. I know you are not here 'cause I am going to die. Are you here because Bob or Joe is going to die?"

Three pairs of eyes stared intently at the ghost. Bob sighed loudly when the girl shook her head. Joe did not make any sound.

Dan began droning again. "Then we know you are not here because any of us are going to die. We heard that ghosts sometimes appear in a place where they are trapped. Are you trapped in this place?"

At Dan's question, the clearing was filled with a sound like chalk raking across a blackboard. The boys slapped their hands to their ears as the sound increased in volume. The three other clouds of golden light moved around the clearing very fast. The cloud surrounding the girl form thickened to hide her and bounced around the clearing also. The boys held their hands over their ears and tried to follow the movement of the golden clouds.

Suddenly, the screeching sound ceased and the four golden clouds disappeared. The boys let their hands fall as they looked around the clearing. The hot Texas summer sun quickly heated the area.

"What in hell happened?" Joe cried out, getting to his feet.

"I guess you hit a nerve, boy," Bob said to Dan as he got up.

"I guess I did, at that," Dan said. "I wonder if they will come back?"

"They? What do mean, they," Joe asked incredulously.

"There were four clouds, that's what he means," Bob stated, his arm snaking out to bump Joe's shoulder. Joe took the blow easily without retaliating.

"I think there are four ghosts here, Joe," Dan said.

"Jesus, now we got four ghosts?" Joe cried out. "Why, we can't even handle one ghost, much less four." He spun around as he spoke, his arms reaching out.

When he came to a stop, he seemed to freeze. Bob and Dan looked at him and then in the direction he was staring.

"Shit," cried Bob as he saw the four girls across the clearing.

"Give me strength," cried Dan as he stepped toward the visions.

"You ain't gonna get close are you?" Bob asked, a tremble in his voice.

"Man, I gotta get close. I gotta talk to them. I know they want something." Dan kept walking as he spoke. Then an idea hit him, "Say, I bet we can find out a lot from them."

Bob was not so interested and replied, "I don't think we want to know a lot about them, Dan. Some things are best left alone. Come on, let's get out of here."

"I'm staying," said Dan as he turned to walk toward the spot he had dropped the board. Bob and Joe stopped as Dan picked up the board and turned toward the four female forms. "I'm going to find out who they are."

"Let's stay, too," Bob said toward Joe. "It's a good ways to dark and maybe we can learn something."

Joe replied, emphasizing his words with a wave of his hand, "I don't need to learn nothin'. I don't like seeing ghosts, and I know damn well I ain't gonna like talking to no spook." Joe turned again and took two steps away.

Suddenly, ringing bells filled the clearing. Joe froze in mid step. Bob cried out and dropped to his knees. "Oh, shit. I don't like this."

The boys watched as leaves were swept away to reveal a large bare spot of ground. The four forms were moving slowly toward the boys.

"Ok. We got the picture. Let's not get nasty." Dan spoke without fear in his voice. Joe made a grunting sound as he fell to the ground.

"OK, I'll stay, damn it," Joe said angrily as he got to his feet. Bob was still shaking as Joe got close to him.

"What in hell are you shaking for, fatty?" Joe asked as he dropped to his knees beside Bob. Bob just looked at him, with his mouth open and tears in his eyes.

"I don't know, man. I guess it's on account I'm hungry, huh," Bob retorted. He took a deep breath and held it while he watched Joe laugh at him.

"Always thinking of food, ain't you?" Joe stated as he turned to look at Dan.

Watching his friends, Dan had not noticed that the ghost girls had passed by the boys. The boys now saw the girls very close to them. Each girl appeared to be standing on the opposite side of the creek. The boys saw from their size and facial features that all four were about the same age.

Dan suddenly realized what was strange about them. "I bet they're from different periods of time. What I mean is, they're all dressed too different to be from one time. Shit, I don't know what I mean, except that their dresses are too different."

"Yeah, I see what you mean," Bob said.

Joe stared at the figures with interest he had not shown before. "That means they didn't know each other, either," Joe said.

Dan spoke, "Well, we gotta find out more."

Bob broke in, "And just what are we gonna do with that information if we find out?"

Dan said what had been on his mind all day. "We're gonna to find out why they are stuck in this place."

His words shocked his friends. "Shit, Dan, if we find out why they are stuck here we might get stuck here, too," said Joe.

Bob joined in, "What would we do if we did find out why they're here?"

Dan stepped toward his friends and chopped the air with his hand. "Don't you see?" he asked. "If we can find out who they are and why they are here, we might be able to help them get away." Dan had hope on his face.

Joe's voice lifted as he retorted, "And just what in hell do you think we can do to help some ghost? We ain't got no money and we ain't got no smarts, at least when it comes to helping a ghost. Hell, look at how scared we are, anyhow."

"I ain't scared," said Dan.

"Well, I damn sure am, to tell the truth," said Bob. "But, I'll tell you something else. If we find out who these girls are, I bet we can find out from the police why they are here. Or at least when they disappeared."

"How do you know the police can help?" Joe asked, his voice cracking.

"Wait, guys, let's ask them something. Bob, you and Joe make some boxes and get ready to fill them up," Dan ordered, moving toward the bare spot near Bob.

Bob and Joe quickly made a series of boxes in the dirt. Dan motioned the girls to come closer. Joe moved to put Dan between him and the girls as they came to stop nearby. The four girls grinned broadly as Bob called out from the ground, "I'm ready." He gasped at the nearness of the girl forms.

Looking at the ghosts, Dan spoke. "I'm going to point to each of you to find out your first and last name. We have to hurry 'cause we can't stay after dark."

Dan pointed to Cathy and asked, "What is your last name?"

As Dan speedily pointed to the letters and Bob pointed to the boxes, Joe made the mark of the letters when Cathy nodded her head. Without stopping to read the words, the boys raced through the procedure until they had the first and last names of the four girls.

Dan read each name out loud. When the full name was read, one of the ghosts vanished. As Dan read 'Cathy Boyd' the clearing became dark. The boys could hear the crickets and frogs hunting in the night.

"Damn, let's get out of here, guys," Bob cried as he raced for the tunnel.

Dan and Joe followed Bob by the dim light of the moon. The boys did not speak as they exited the clearing and raced away home.