XII

“Are you sure you don’t mind staying another night?” Brock asked Destiny.

“It’s too late to drive back,” Destiny replied with a shrug. “But I would prefer staying in a motel.”

“It’s just one more night, Dee. You were okay last night.”

“I know, but this funeral home is beyond creepy. Plus I noticed two more dead bodies arrived today.”

“Now Dee, I know you don’t believe in ghosts,” Brock soothed as Destiny stifled a giggle as she thought of her and Charley’s plan to spook the guys. “Any corpse here has no disembodied spirit. It’s just a soulless body. Remember what Bentley’s tombstone says: The shell is here, but the nut is gone.”

“Oh, I’ll be fine,” she said with a stoic smile. “But you really shouldn’t be referring to the corpses here as a shell but the nut’s gone.”

“Point taken,” Brock replied with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean any disrespect. I was just saying.”

Destiny and Brock were walking hand in hand toward their room. They were about to enter when she stopped them and pointed down the dimly lit hall. At the end there was a door that led to the attic. It was open. A female form in a long dirty white gown emerged from a room and quickly disappeared onto the attic stairwell like a phantom. She had long dirty blonde hair flowing behind her.

“Did you see that?” Destiny exclaimed, fighting hard not to giggle. Then she tugged on Brock’s arm and headed toward the staircase. “Come on, Brock.”

“Dee, wait,” he said pulling her back and stifling his own chuckle. “What are you doing?”

“I want to find out who or what that was,” she said.

“What?” he frowned. “A minute ago you were afraid to go to our bedroom. Now you want to explore the attic?”

“I guess I’m getting used to the place,” she shrugged. “I mean, think about it. Have you ever heard of somebody being killed by a ghost?”

“Are you saying you actually do believe in ghosts?”

“Of course not,” she chuckled uneasily. “But obviously something strange is going on and I want to get to the bottom of it.”

“Hey guys,” Charley said as she approached the opposite direction from the attic.

A chill ran up Brock’s spine as his head swiveled from Charley to the attic door.

“Hey,” Destiny replied.

“You left your phone in the kitchen, Dee, and I think you just got a call,” Charley said.

“Oh, thank you,” Destiny said as she took her phone and looked at the missed call. “It’s Aunt Belle. I better see why she called.”

Destiny hit send on her phone and walked into their room. Charley turned to leave, but Brock grabbed her arm.

“Say Charley,” he said quietly. “Are there any women here besides you and Dee?”

“No,” she replied shaking her head.

“Are you sure?” he asked as the hair on the back of his neck prickled.

“Sure, I’m sure,” she frowned. “Why?”

“Dee and I saw a womanly figure with long blonde hair almost seem to float from that last room into the attic. I thought it was you wearing a wig. You know, the little prank we were playing on Dee.”

“It wasn’t me,” Charley said, shaking her head.

“Who was it?”

“I don’t know,” Charley replied as she shook her head nonchalantly. “But I’ve seen her numerous times myself. She seems harmless.”

“What is it?”

“A ghost, I suppose,” she replied with a shrug.

“Get out!”

“Okay,” she shrugged again and turned to leave.

“Wait,” he said grabbing her arm. “What do you mean a ghost? There’s no such thing as ghosts.”

“I don’t know,” she said. “All I know is I’ve seen the apparition of a female form from time to time ever since we’ve lived here. But she’s quiet, leaves us alone and, like I said, she seems to be harmless.”

“Get out!”

“Okay,” she replied and turned to leave.

“Wait,” he said grabbing her arm again. “What does Six think about it? How come he never mentioned it to me?”

“He’s never seen her,” she said. “He doesn’t seem to believe me, so I stopped telling him about her. I’m waiting for him to see her one day for himself, but she doesn’t seem to want to reveal herself to him.”

A buzzer sounded from the oven downstairs.

“I have to get a pie out of the oven, dear,” she said touching his arm. “Don’t worry, though, she won’t hurt you.”

Brock glanced at the attic door with a frown. He marched down the hall and stuck his head into the stairwell. He flipped a switch and a dim yellow light barely illuminated the steep incline to the attic. He climbed the stairs and found another switch. Two bulbs with even less wattage than the one in the stairs popped to life.

He gazed around and saw nothing but boxes and old furniture. The blonde haired woman was nowhere to be seen. However, there were several shadowy nooks to hide in. He walked through the attic but still saw nothing. Where could she have gone? He simply didn’t believe in ghosts, but could something demonic being be messing with them? He put his hand on an old rocking chair and it squeaked as he rocked it a couple of times. He went back to their room. Destiny wasn’t there. He went downstairs in search of her.

“Hey Charley,” he said as he entered the kitchen and looked around. “Is Dee with you?”

She shook her head. “I haven’t seen Dee since I gave her back her phone upstairs.”

“Where could she be?” he mumbled as apprehension began to grow.

Suddenly, a blood curdling scream came from somewhere above them. Six, Seven and Brock almost collided as the three of them hurtled toward the stairs. A second scream sounded from somewhere up in the attic. Brock thought it sounded like Destiny. As Brock, Six, and Seven pounded up the stairs, it sounded like a loud, offbeat drumroll.

A chill ran up Brock’s spine when he saw Destiny sitting in the old rocking chair he had rocked only minutes ago. Her face was completely white, and her lips looked black. She was wrapped in a scarlet colored shawl. Brock slowly approached her with Six and Seven flanked behind him. She didn’t even seem aware of their presence. She just stared blankly, as is she had been drugged.

“Dee,” Brock said softly as his mind reeled with concern and confusion. She ignored him and continued to gaze in a trance.

“Destiny,” he tried again as he knelt and put a hand on her knee.

Ever so slowly her head turned toward him. It looked like she had some type of thick white makeup on her face and glossy black lipstick sloppily applied around her mouth. Brock was now beyond freaked out!

“Dee, what’s going on?” he asked as his hand eased toward her face.

She screamed as a three foot snake as big around as a baseball seemed to spring into the air from her stomach as she flung open her shawl. The three guys fell back, all of them shrieking with terror. Charley stumbled into the attic holding her stomach and dropping to one knee as she laughed uncontrollably. Destiny also clutched her gut as she fell out of the rocker and onto the floor laughing. The blonde haired apparition they saw earlier came out of the shadows. Only she wasn’t a ghost, she was a friend of Charley’s, and she too was laughing hysterically.

“So that was a prank?” Brock asked with a baffled expression as the three guys looked around, dazed.

“We got you guys so good,” Charley said as she wiped at her eyes.

“You traitor,” Six said with a smirk as he scowled at his wife.

Brock looked at Destiny, who was curled into a fetal position due to extreme laughter. He crawled toward her, pinned her, and attacked her ticklish spot.

“Brock, stop, don’t!” she half laughed and half whined as he continued to tickle her. “Brock, stop, please. Come on, be a good sport.”

He let her up. She wrapped her arms around his neck and started kissing his cheeks, or so he thought. She was actually smearing her black lipstick and white face paint onto his face.

“Dee, stop it,” he chuckled as he moved away from her giggling face.

The glossy black lipstick and the white face paint was smeared all over her lovely, happy face. Her silky blonde hair was tousled. She looked like Harley Quinn. Ironically, when Dirk was delirious in the hospital two years ago, he asked if Destiny and Brock were from the suicide squad. She being Harley Quinn with her uncanny resemblance to the actress Margot Robbie, and him being the Joker because of the curved scar from the left side of his mouth.

 Instead of looking sinister and diabolical, Destiny somehow pulled off adorable, albeit messy. She was so cute with her girlish giddiness at pulling off a major prank on the guys. There was no way Brock could be irritated at having the tables turned on Six and himself. He couldn’t resist his beautiful wife. He pulled her into himself and in seconds they were kissing passionately. They weren’t even mindful of an audience. Until the spectators spoke.

“You two need to get a room,” Seven Sallie said, causing Brock and Destiny to break their lip lock.

“They have a room,” Charley replied with a giggle.

“They probably should go to it,” Six chuckled.

“Sorry,” Destiny said, feeling embarrassed at their display of affection.

“For what, frightening an innocent man?” Seven Sallie asked. “I wasn’t part of or didn’t even know about any pranks. But I do need a change of undergarment now.”

“Oh please,” Charley grinned at Seven with hands on her hips. “Like you wouldn’t have been in on scaring poor Dee if you had a chance.”

“You bet I would have,” Seven Sallie said matter of fact. “The point is, I wasn’t.”

“Man, I tell you what,” Six Sallie said, shaking his head and grinning. “That was borderline taking things too far.”

“I think they did take things too far,” Brock said mildly. “I mean, here I was concerned about my sweet wife’s welfare. She was sitting in that rocker looking like she had a mental breakdown or some such. Then when I kneel to check on her, she screams, right when a snake type creature springs out of her stomach. No question that was cruel. Now we’ll probably have nightmares.”

“I haven’t seen the old snake in a can trick since I was a kid,” Seven Sallie said.

“Imagine your face being inches from it when it exploded forth,” Brock said and then made his lower lip quiver, causing laughter to erupt from everyone. “I was frightened.”

“Well, what about me?” Destiny whined playfully. “You knew I was already uneasy about spending the night in a funeral home. A gothic funeral home no less. And then you try to lead me to believe it’s haunted.”

“Shoot, I just wanted to spook you a little,” Brock said, shrugging and jamming his hands into his pockets. “Plus, I was there to protect you.”

“Good thing none of us has a heart condition,” Six Sallie said.

“I think I do now,” Seven replied.

“Would a piece of warm cherry pie console you three fraidy cats?” Charley asked.

“Yes,” the three men sang in harmony.

A half hour later Destiny and Brock stood side by side at a bathroom mirror and removed white make up and back lipstick from their faces.

“Well, this trip went as well as could be expected,” Destiny said. “Don’t you think?”

“Other than having the daylights scared out of me, I suppose so.”

Destiny chuckled maliciously and Brock tickled her. “Stop it!”

He stopped. “Will you mind having Seven stay with us for a while?”

“No,” Destiny sighed. “But I’m going to mentally prepare for difficulties and trials of patience.”

“Good idea, and me too,” Brock added.

“Were you surprised he so readily agreed to come to Iowa?”

“Not really. His greatest danger from serious death threats is right here in the Twin Cities. So it only makes sense to lay low some where else if possible. Plus he said he can do his podcast from anywhere, and his producer and what not can do their job staying right here. Now what was a surprise is that he wants to go over the Bible with me.”

“I know, that surprised me too. It seems he especially wants to study about hell.”

“I don’t know that he wants to study,” Brock replied. “I think he wants to prove me wrong.”

“It’s still a good thing, don’t ya think?”

“It’s a step in the right direction. Especially if I’m actually supposed to be some sort of spiritual mentor to him. But I don’t feel qualified.”

“Maybe not, but the Holy Spirit is.”

“Yeah, as long as my human nature doesn’t get in the way,” Brock said and then sighed. “You were the one asking him about becoming an evangelist. You heard him say how he was some type of youth pastor and how he took classes on preaching the Bible. Regardless of having a change of heart or back sliding, or what ever you want to call it, the man does have a lot of experience and Biblical knowledge.”

“But you have the truth.”

“True.”

“I was disappointed he wouldn’t say what exactly his wife did, and what exactly the third and most humiliating strike was with her.”

“All three were adultery,” Brock replied. “That’s all we need to know. If we even need that. Beyond that is just gossip fodder.”

“No, I had no intention to gossip with anyone. I just want to understand a vital ingredient that makes him so complex. Makes him who he is.”

“I guess it all depends on how bad you want to know.”

“What do you mean?”

“If you want him to share his dirt with you. You have to share your dirt with him.”

Destiny winced and scrunched up her nose as if something smelled bad.

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