Chapter 14
The news of Frank's discovery in the cemetery swept through town only hours after the article appeared in the newspaper. Some, having seen Frank downtown were not surprised, while others were terrified that someone who was clearly unstable was allowed to own a firearm in the first place and imagined Frank as a homicidal maniac, irreparably damaged by the trauma of war. His isolated life made him seem even more deranged. At least, according to the assessments of the paranoid.
That same night, Samantha and her mother were sitting in their living room. Although the television was on, Samantha was deeply involved in the book that had sparked her passion for paranormal investigation while her mother read the newspaper, as she did every evening. Upon glancing through the article regarding the report on Frank's activity in the cemetery, she folded the newspaper in half and handed it to Samantha. They had already spoken about the previous incident, but her mother felt that an additional dose of reality was needed, and seeing it in print had its desired impact.
“Holy shit!” Samantha said. “That was the guy with the rifle.”
Like the sheriff, her mother understood that Frank had saved the lives of both Henry and Samantha, and secretly, she was enormously grateful. But she still saw him as a threat and, again, warned her against returning to the cemetery. Henry also received the same reminder from his parents.
The next day, the two met at the bookstore. Henry was late in arriving but walking to the back of the store found Samantha talking to a girl of roughly his own age. She was shapely, and strikingly beautiful with long curly red hair flowing down her back. Approaching them, Henry quickly found himself at a loss for words. His presence broke the conversation as Samantha made the introductions. Her name was Melissa, and she had recently moved into Maine after her father accepted a position at Norway's high school, teaching space weather and solar dynamics. She was originally from Georgia, and her obvious accent caused Henry to break out into a mild sweat. She politely excused herself and left the store with Henry still admiring her curves. Turned back to Samantha, he noticed a teasing grin on her face.
“Nice, huh?” she said.
Henry was still caught up in a hormonal haze, his eyes having followed Melissa's every step as she disappeared into the flow of Main Street. Seeing that his mind was on other things, Samantha gave him a friendly nudge with the back of her hand.
“Hey,” she said. “You still here?”
Hearing her voice, Henry suddenly recovered his faculties enough to take part in the conversation.
“Oh, yeah, I'm here,” he replied. “So...she seems nice.”
Without hesitation, Samantha also offered commented.
“Yeah, and dude, she's totally into the paranormal. I guess there's a lot of haunted houses where she's from.”
Henry's head was still swimming, his face still flushed and hot, and Samantha was quick to notice.
“Cute, isn't she?” she said.
Henry unsuccessfully tried to regain his composure as Samantha gave him another teasing grin.
“Oh, yeah, I guess,” he replied.
“Are you shitting me?” Samantha asked.
Henry's response could not have been more transparent and Samantha couldn't resist taking a friendly jab.
“Dude, you had a boner for her as soon as you saw her.”
He was clearly embarrassed, and with a tone of urgency, asked Samantha to lower her voice.
“C'mon, let's get out of here.”
He quietly walked to the door and out onto Main Street with Samantha jogging up behind him.
“Henry!” she called. “C'mon, I'm sorry.”
He stopped at the corner, letting her catch up.
“Alright, whatever,” he replied.
Feeling the need to clear the air, she offered Henry the story of her recent visit to the Cumming's house and leading him over to a bench, described every detail of her experience, including the eerie glow in its tower and the almost human looking form within it. His interest peaked, Henry imagined everything she described, and asked if she was planning to return. Samantha expressed some reservations about making another visit to the old house, but Henry became insistent, telling her that should she decide to go back, he wanted to go too and that she should not do so alone.
“God, you sound just like my mom,” she said.
Henry was adamant on this point, displaying his concern for her safety.
“Well,” he said. “She's right, anything could happen in a place like that.”
“Yeah, I know,” she replied. “So, you want to go there and look around some time?”
Still highly interested, Henry answered quickly.
“Oh, fuck yeah”.
Suddenly, his mind became flooded with ideas on how to record and document their trip to the house. He suggested they use such things as a small digital recorder, a camera, and a camcorder. A year or two ago, Henry had an interest in videography and his parents gave him a camcorder for Christmas. Like other such devices of the day, it had an infrared setting, allowing it to record at night. The teens now had at their disposal, everything they needed for a proper investigation of the Cumming's house. The only thing they needed to do was to get organized. Henry also had the idea of posting pictures and videos on-line for others to assess. Now, both were excited and they would begin as soon as possible.