One post at a time

[Occupant]

Let's write a story where everyone contributes one brief entry per turn.

I'll start us off...

Jack hadn't been home since he road out of town twelve years ago on his motorcycle.

[Birdie]

Driving down the road he got the feeling that he should have been home yesterday.

[Occupant]

He couldn't get rid of the nagging feeling that something was terribly wrong as he sped back to the town he never thought he'd return to.

[Birdie]

As he approached the familiar landmarks, memories from his childhood began to emerge, and he could picture his mother pushing his little brother, Jules, in the swing in the back yard.

[Occupant]

He knew he was close to the road leading to the church where his Grandfather, Pastor Burrows, Baptised his Mom as well as Jules and himself.

[Endo]

Jack remembered the time, as a child, he had gone into the church after service was over and saw his Grandfather leaning over the strange book on the pulpit and uttering words he couldn't understand.

[Occupant]

A dark mist started to swirl before his Grandfather gradually taking on the shape of a very tall man with wings, but when Jack gasped, it vanished.

[Birdie]

He never mentioned this to anyone, and thought he must have imagined it.

[Endo]

Returning as an adult now, Jack thought maybe he had imagined it all as a child. But, driving back to the town, he could feel it...almost hear it, calling to him. He was a part of this town, for better or worse, and he had to find out why.

[Occupant]

Jack's brother, along with several other boys, had vanished years ago without a trace. The sheriff's department eventually gave up the search for missing persons and labeled the case suspected homicide.

[Birdie]

Jack believed that his mother's grief is what had put her in her grave 12 years before.

[Endo]

He knew of the rumors that surrounded his family, of course he did. Even as a child he understood the hushed tones and the sideways glances he and his family got were because the other townsfolk shunned them.
As an adult, he realized it was more than just avoidance, the people were scared of them.

Almost as if the town knew his family, or at least certain people in it, had some sort of special, or supernatural power. Remembering his Grandfather in the church on that long ago Sunday made him think it was the latter. He had to find out more.

[Occupant]

The evening after his Mom's burial, his Dad washed down a handful of his wife's pain killers with a bottle of Jim Beam. He was found dead in his recliner clutching a photo of his wife and Jules happily opening presents by the Christmas tree.

[Birdie]

As all these memories flooded back, Jack rode toward the old church. Maybe, he thought, I'll find a clue that will end the emptiness I have felt for so many years. He walked up to the old wooden doors and touched the iron hinges as if in a dream. Slowly pulling the door open, he stepped into the smoky darkness.

[Occupant]

"You're late, they've already started 'round back" said a young man in a choir robe. "Excuse me?" Jack replied. "You're here for the exhumation in the churchyard right?" the man replied.

[Birdie]

Jack was quite taken aback by this unexpected development, and it took him a minute to collect himself. When he could find his voice he exclaimed, "What are you talking about??"

[Occupant]

"A hiker found a cluster of human bones in the woods. The sheriff suspects some could belong to the boys that went missing back in the 90's, but here's the odd thing, not a single family member remains of any of those kids in order to get samples of DNA to see if they are the kids they were looking for." the man replied.

[Birdie]

Jack's mind began to spin as he tried to take this in. Could one of these remains be his brother Jules? Could his mysterious disappearance at last be resolved? "So...," Jack began to stutter, "a-are you going to exhume my m-mother and f-father?" Jack didn't know if he could handle the idea.

[Occupant]

"You've got kin in that churchyard - who are they?" the young man inquired, his demeanor completely changing to a look of shock. "Jack and Mary Adams, my Mom was Pastor Burrows daughter, I'm Jack junior." he replied extending his hand. "No...no that's not possible, their son Jack died in a motorcycle crash years ago, who are you, really?" he said backing away from Jack.

[Birdie]

"Who told you that?" Jack scoffed. "As you can see, I am alive and quite well, thank you, and that is my motorcycle parked outside. Check it out."

[Occupant]

"Don't tell me, tell Sheriff Wolf and the Coroner, they just exhumed Jack Adams Junior's remains this morning." the man replied.

[Birdie]

"Well, they're mistaken, and somebody better get to the bottom of this and find out who the dead guy is," Jack said. "How could this happen?" Jack thought to himself.

[Occupant]

Jack felt conflicted. Part of him wanted to go out back and get to the bottom of this horrible mix-up, and part of him wanted to get back on his bike and put several hundred miles between him and this cursed town.

[Birdie]

But he knew he couldn't just run away again. He had to find out the truth. What had happened to his little brother and the other boys? And who was this person they thought was him? He would go into town in the morning and talk to the sheriff and the coroner. If there was an autopsy, maybe it held a clue.

[Occupant]

"Do me a favor, I'm really not up to seeing my family, you know.... like that. Would you tell the sheriff an Adams relative would like to speak with him. I'll stop by his office tomorrow." Jack said as the young man walked him out onto the sidewalk. "I will. Where are you staying?" He inquired. "I'll be camping out, got my bedroll and tent with me." Jack replied pointing to his saddlebags.