Chapter 2

“Poppycock!” Kevin snorted in derision at hearing the tale Jeannie was telling him.

They both worked second shift at the newspaper, and Jeannie’s car refused to start. Kevin offered to give her a ride home this foggy October night. Even he would admit his motives were not entirely altruistic. He and Jeannie had fooled around a few times, and he was hoping she might invite him up for a “drink”.

Now, though, she was telling him this crazy tale of how her friend Sue had gotten laid by a ghost in the old graveyard on the edge of town.

“Pure poppycock.”

“Hey, you didn’t hear Sue on the phone. She was terrified!”

“Look, there’s no such things as ghosts.”

“So wise guy, how do YOU explain it??”

“Well, obviously some pervert fooled her into having sex.” he said.

“Oh sure, perverts hang around graveyards all the time waiting to pick up girls!”

“Well, I guess he could have followed her in, ran around and been waiting or something.” he said, rather lamely.

“And the name? I guess that was a coincidence?”

“Nah, he probably read it off the tombstones, and gave it rather than his real name. I know if I hung around in a lot of graveyards I sure wouldn’t be giving my real name out.”

“OK then, what about the bells then? She heard the church bells ring.”

“So?”

“So? My Uncle Stew was on crew that pulled the bells down back in the 70’s when they condemned the building.” Jeannie retorted.

“Hun, your Uncle Stew drank a lot. He could have easily mixed up that church with a dozen others. Besides, sound really carries at night, she could easily have heard one of the downtown churches.”

“Humph.” Jeannie crossed her arms, and became sullen. Kevin could tell his chances for that “drink” were rapidly slipping away.

“OK, there’s one way to solve this.” Kevin broke hard, and took a sharp left at the next intersection.

“Hey! Where are you going?” his passenger inquired.

“Where else? To the old church.”

“Now? It’s the middle of the night!”

“What better time to find ghosts?” he grinned. “Besides the moon’s coming up, between that and my flashlight we’ll have plenty of light.” Jeannie gave him a nervous look, but sat silent. It took the couple about ten minutes to get to the church.

“Ready?” Kevin asked as he shut off the engine.

“I dunno. Looks pretty creepy.” Indeed, Jeannie was right. The low angle of the moon cast long, eerie shadows. A light breeze carried the sounds of creaking cemetery gates.

“Cluck cluck cluck.” Kevin ribbed. “Chicken?”

Jeannie steeled herself and gave him a dirty look. “‘C’mon buster.”

Kevin shined his flashlight on the steeple. The old cross and about 3 foot of the steeple had fallen off years ago, probably in some storm. “I can’t tell from here if the bells are there are not. Let’s go in, maybe we can find a way up.” Jeannie gulped hard, but followed.

The pair walked up the steps to the huge front doors of the old gothic church. Several faded pieces of paper were stapled to the door, reminding the visitor that this building had been abandoned and was condemned. A half torn “Keep Out” sign hung from it’s upper right corner on the door frame. Thick chains were wrapped around door handles, and several large boards were nailed across the entryway.

“Well, that’s it. Can’t get in, guess we’ll have to go.” Jeannie turned and started to head down the stairs.

“Not so fast toots. You’re not getting out of it that easy.” Kevin took her hand and guided her around the side of the old building. “There’s gotta be a side entrance, or a broken window.” Indeed, many of the old stain glass windows were broken, their lead frames giving a glimpse of what it’s former glory had been. At the rear of the building they found a small door, half off it’s hinges. Kevin wiggled it around and soon had it ajar. “C’mon.”

The pair went down a dark hallway. Kevin’s light shone around the dirty, musky interior. They passed a door that lead into an old kitchen, but kept moving forward. Creaky stairs led up to another door, that opened noisily. The couple stepped into the old sanctuary. “Wow.” was all Kevin could say.

Moonlight shone through the broken windows on the graveyard side. It cast weird shadows inside, but did a good job otherwise of illuminating the old building. Pews still filled the hall, but many were overturned and a few broken. Thick layers of dust and grime covered the old wood floors. On the alter the pulpit was missing, it’s outline visible on the floor. Behind it, badly faded murals covered the rear wall.

“This place is so cool!”

“Cool?” Jeannie asked in astonishment. “Creepy is more like it. I don’t like this place.”

“Hey, didn’t you ever see Scooby Doo as a kid? This is neat. Hey, look at that door towards the front. I think I see some stairs.” He drug her by the hand towards the front. “Yup, I’ll bet that leads to the bell loft.”

“Think it’s safe?”

Kevin tested the treads with his feet. “Seems solid enough. They really built these old buildings to last. I’m sure it’s OK, but we’ll go slow.”

As they ascended upward, they noticed a white goo covering the stairs. It became thicker the closer they got to the top. “Ewww, what is this stuff?” Jeannie asked. “It’s all icky and slimy.”

“Dunno, guess it’s just old paint or something.”

“Wait!”

“What?”

“What was that? I heard something.”

“Your imaginations working overtime Hun. I don’t hear anything. Keep going.” They soon reached the top landing. Moonlight streamed through broken boards, illuminating the last bit of stairs that led up to the trap door. “That must be the opening to the belfry. Here, hold the light.”

While Kevin took an old board and tried pushing open the trap door, Jeannie looked around nervously. She could swear she heard scratching noises, and felt as if a million eyes were upon her. The room became brighter, as Kevin pushed open the door. It fell over with a noisy crash. As it did so, hundreds of dark winged shapes suddenly engulfed the pair. Jeannie buried her face in Kevin’s chest, screaming in terror!

“Baby, baby, calm down. Pigeons. We just scared a bunch of pigeons.” He patted her soft form reassuringly, enjoying the close contact.

“Pigeons? Really?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Damn you!” she yelled, hitting him in the chest.

“What?”