Chapter Text
Halloween season approached the town of Custer Grove, with it came all the decorations, all the nonsensical demons being hung up on every door in every household of the small town. All except on the home of John F. Walker, and not because of any religious belief that those things attracted actual demons, but because he had the infortune of actually seeing them, almost every day of the year.
It had started when he was 5 years old, his grandmother was taking care of him for the afternoon, she decided to take him walking so he could get exercise, and she could get some sunlight. The thing with small towns is that the way they’re distributed can make no sense, for Custer Grove, it was the fact that the only playground was right next to the cemetery, quite cheerful.
John had been playing alone with a soccer ball as it seemed no other children were around, that’s when something had caught his eye, near the entrance of the cemetery, a girl, around his age, wearing a long white dress was staring at him. He knew better than to follow a stranger anywhere, but something about her had him hypnotized, curious as to who she was and what she was doing alone.
She said his name, that should’ve been a warning sign that something was wrong, but without looking back, John ran after her, listening to her call his name as a guide through all those tombstones, he was determined to find her. Unfortunately for him, he did, just not as he had expected. By the edge of the cemetery there was a tree, and hanging from it was a young girl, no longer wearing a white dress, but instead, pink overalls and white sneakers, her hair was in ponytails, a rope surrounded her neck. You found me a voice said.
John’s screams echoed through the field, his grandma began calling for him, other people also heard, and they began surrounding the area wondering what the commotion was all about. They found John curled up in a ball, hugging his knees, he was shaking violently, the people then noticed the young girl and a mixture of screams and concerned voices filled the air.
When the police interrogated John, he told them exactly what he saw, of course no one believed him as it made no sense, the sheriff just assumed he was in shock and making up stories. John wished it were his imagination, but it had just been the beginning.\
Over the next years, he would occasionally see them, people dress in white, appearing anywhere where someone had died, when he hit puberty, it got worse, he then started seeing those shadow figures, and he finally understood that they appeared any time tragedy was about to happen.
The first time he saw one, Mike Hannigan had been run over by Mr. Johnson’s truck, he was going on his typical afternoon bike ride but had not counted on his next-door Neighbour drunk driving. His head rolled for at least half a block.
Some weeks later, during homecoming, a pair of shadow creatures were wandering through the football field, at halftime, the goal post broke down, at least ten people hurt, two dead.
John had learned to ignore them, what else was he supposed to do? He had been in therapy for a while, to the extent of having to take medication, under the diagnosis of schizophrenia, but nothing worked, so he took the decision to just pretend he no longer saw them, this way his parents wouldn't worry, or worse, decide to put him in some mental facility.
He only ever told his best friend, Lemar, after an afternoon of drinking in his basement, John had just gotten off that damn medication and he was relived, but he felt somewhat vulnerable and decided to tell his best friend, hoping he’d understand.
“So, you see these things before people die?” Lemar asked, his tone a mixture of sympathy and disbelief.
“It was on the back of Mike Hannigan’s bike, before that old man ran him over.” Joh responded.
“Ok, and have you ever tried stopping them from doing what they’re doing?”
“What? No! How am I even supposed to guess who they’re there for? With Mike it was one thing but when the helicopter crashed, I just saw it staring in the middle of the cornfield, how was I supposed to guess what happened next?”
“Listen, brother, I know you're exasperated, but could it be that you’re imagining this stuff?”
“Lemar, I’ve been seeing them my whole life, it’s not just shadow people, at first it was the people that were already dead, it started when I saw that little girl in the cemetery all those years ago.”
“Man, I want to believe you, but could it be that it was such a horrible experience, for a child to see that you may have created this as a way to cope?”
John didn’t respond anything immediately, he knows Lemar isn't trying to be an asshole or invalidate his feelings, he’s concerned like everyone else. “You may be right man, I just... I get scared sometimes you know?” There was truth in that, what would happen the day he saw one roaming around his home, letting him know someone from his family was going to...
Lemar pulls him into a hug, “You don’t have to be scared man, I’m always here, you know that right?”
John nodded in agreement, he hugged Lemar back, he felt protected, and he knew Lemar would always have his back.
John was an only child, Lemar and his family moved in when he was around six, ever since then they were inseparable, he was his big brother, no one could say otherwise. That only made the accident a thousand time worse.
It was about a week after senior graduation; they had agreed to go to the river and fish some trout for dinner like they would do on the weekends, only this time it was in celebration of them finally finishing school.
John had decided to use his bike instead of taking his dad’s truck, he knew Lemar would take his own, and he’d give him a ride, so it made no sense taking both. Lemar caught up to John just as he was headed down the dirt road towards the river.
“Hey, I’m gonna take some groceries my mom asked me to pick up, and then I’ll meet you there, deal?” Lemar asked.
“Deal, don't take too long, and steal some of your dad’s beer, and one of your brother's magazines, you know which one.” John teased, simulating he was rubbing his chest.
“Asshole”
Lemar headed into the town, John was about to start going down the dirt road when he saw it, one of those shadow creatures, it was in the back of Lemar’s truck, John’s heart skipped a beat. One of his biggest fears was coming true.
“No, no, Lemar! Lemar stop!” John screamed at the top if his lungs, but it was useless, Lemar was already far away.
John hurried over to him, peddling as fast as his feet would allow, but Lemar was going at a faster speed, trying to get home quickly to leave the things his mother asked him to get.
“Lemar, stop!” John yelled again.
Lemar started slowing down at a crossroad, for a second it seemed like he had heard John’s screams, that’s when a semitruck impacted him, his truck flew through the air, landing upside down.
“No!” John screamed.
Hid mind became blurry, he was so scared, in a matter of seconds Lemar had died...
Dad?
Suddenly John came to, he was in his truck.
“Are you okay, dad?”
John looked to his left, Dylan, his son, was standing at the door, he looked concerned. John remembered where he was, at Olivia’s house, he had Dylan for the weekend.
“Hey bud, how was your week at school?” John tried acting normal.
Dylan gave him a concerned look before responding and getting in the truck. “Great, we started decorating the classroom for Halloween, Ms. Evans showed us how to make paper bats and ghosts.”
“Great, wait here, I’m gonna say hi to your mom.” Dylan nodded and took his Gameboy out of his backpack while John got out of the truck and heading inside.
Olivia and John were high school sweethearts, they had known each other since they were about 10 years old, John always imagined a life with her and their children. But somewhere between the death of Lemar and the birth of their son, things just went south. The constant fighting, not speaking to each other from time to time, they tried couples’ therapy, they really wanted to make it work. But it just didn't in the end.
They still had love for each other, just no longer in a romantic way, at least not Olivia, she never resented John, she was the kindest soul ever. She made sure John was always aware of how Dylan was doing when it was her week, if she had cooked anything John loved she’d make sure to pack some up for him and leave it at the mechanic shop when she went off to work. She was truly the best, that made John feel worse about losing her, but he knew there was no point in trying to fix things, not anymore.
“Hi John, how are you?” She asked as she reached for a hug.
“Hey Liv, I’m good, just a busy day at work. How about you? How are things at the hospital?”
“They’ve been better. We had an injured patient yesterday, seems to have been a bear or something, poor kid can't even remember what happened.”
“What? We haven’t had a bear attack in decades.” John responded surprised.
“It seems he was camping out in the forest, far off west, the sheriff is thinking about taking some precautions just in case. So be careful, I know how you like going fishing to the river by yourself.”
“It’s not always, just sometimes when I... you know, miss Lemar.” They both stayed silent the warm afternoon breeze in their hair.
“I’m sorry John, I know you miss him a lot.”
“Yeah, but don't worry, I’m fine. I’ll bring back Dylan next week, and I will make sure he eats his vegetables.” With that he heads to his truck. “Ok bud, we are going to have a great weekend, you’ll see.”
“Dad, I know you don't like Halloween, but I was thinking, maybe we could decorate, we don't have to put up anything scary, but I could make some bats and ghosts like the ones I made in school.” Dylan said.
“I’ll think about it.”
Dylan didn't say anything else; he knows that meant no.
On the other side of town, people were waiting by the church doors, the new priest would be arriving any minute, he had been sent out from the congregation after the previous pastor passed away.
He arrived at 16:00, in a 1967 chevy impala, he was rather young, hair slicked back, good physique, and a very friendly face.
“Father Reynolds, welcome to Custer Grove” One of the women said.
“It is my pleasure to be here, in the presence of all of you, I can sense you are a very welcoming town. Thank you.” He replied smiling.
The townsfolk all gathered into the church so he could deliver a short sermon, as a thank you for the warm welcome they had given him. There were mentions of a small feast in the town hall in honor of his arrival, they know the journey must have been long and tiring, so they wanted to make sure he felt welcomed.
“If you don’t mind, I would like to first freshen up, the trip here was rather tiresome.” He says to one of the men in charge. The man signals for the boys to take him.
“Please, let us escort you to your room.” One of the altar boys said.
He followed through the church, two suitcases in hand.
“Do you need help with those, father?” One of the altar boys asked.
“How kind you are my child, but don't worry I can carry them myself.”
They entered the room where the priests would stay, it was a simple room with a bed, a desk, a small closet and some hanging portraits. The altar boys left him alone and he closed the door.
He lifted one of his suitcases on to the bed, opening it to reveal an arsenal of weapons, knives, machetes, brass knuckles and two revolvers.
“May God have mercy on us all.”