The Red String of Fate Read online

  “That won’t be necessary,” Landon said. “After all, you’re still a high school student. You need time to study and socialize. Maybe go on a few dates.” Landon chose his words deliberately.

  Sylvie smiled, a little coy. “I know,” she said, “but I can fit those things in too.”

  “I’ll keep it in mind,” Landon said.

  Sylvie excused herself and stepped out of his office.

  The agency wasn’t large, but that was just the way Landon liked it. His office was big enough to hold a small conference in, but was mostly used with clients when privacy was an issue. Which, in his business, it often was. Even though they knew Sylvie would be informed of all the details in the case, it made them feel better when there was a pane of glass and a door separating them when they explained their situations. The lobby where Sylvie had her desk, on the other hand, was more spacious and stocked with plenty of snacks, drinks, and sofas to sit on. In the open air environment, Landon enjoyed doing a lot of his work there when he wasn’t people-watching or with clients.

  As things stood today, however, Landon could afford to relax a little. Sylvie was much more on top of the paperwork than he imagined, and there had been a slow spell in cases recently. It was Sunday, after all, so he deserved a break. At least, he hoped that would be the case until he saw the door fling open.

  A woman in her early twenties and only a few years younger than Landon strode in, bleeding confidence from every pore. Her hair was beach-blonde and styled to perfection. The sunglasses on the top of her head seemed to contradict the snug fall-faire outfit she wore, and her makeup wasn’t as gaudy as Landon would have expected it to be, given her demeanor. On the other hand, her strings were exactly what he would have expected. Many of them were taut, indicating the influence she exerted over the person on the other end. Her heeled boots clacked as she hardly gave Sylvie a greeting, heading straight for Landon’s office instead.

  “Hey, cuz,” she said as she opened the door.

  “Lyndzi,” Landon said, a hint of annoyance in his voice, “to what do I owe the pleasure?”

  Lyndzi rolled her eyes. “No need to be so formal. Listen,” she said, “I need you to do me a favor.”

  Landon growled ever so slightly. “And why can’t you do it yourself?”

  “I haven’t even told you what it is yet,” Lyndzi said, “though since you asked, it’s because I’m scheduled to interview a certain CEO of a non-profit like, now.”

  “Then shouldn’t you be going? I’d hate to hold you up.”

  “Come on, you don’t look busy. Besides, you owe me for publishing that periodical on your agency. You got a ton of business thanks to me!”

  Landon interlocked his fingers and took a breath. “You can’t keep holding that against me forever, Lyndzi. But I’ll hear your request.”

  “Oh, cummon. This is like, the third time. But whatever. I need you to pick up some equipment for me.”

  Landon stared at her blankly. “That’s it?”

  “Hey, listen, that stuff is expensive. You know that. Filming and photography is like, 80% of what you do!”

  “I don’t have to listen to this,” Landon said, standing up.

  Lyndzi dropped her tone. “Hold up. I’m not finished.”

  Landon folded his arms.

  “The equipment in question is supposed to be with a girl who didn’t come back with the group yesterday when they went to a secluded cabin over the weekend.”

  Landon’s eyes narrowed. “What are you suggesting?”

  Lyndzi shrugged, but she continued to look serious. “Nothing. They said she was hoping to get some last-minute footage, but I could really use that equipment back.”

  Landon regarded her darkly. “Is this another one of your ‘hunches’?”

  Lyndzi stood up and waved over her shoulder, a scrap of paper filed between her fingers. “Who knows? Text me when you get back, I’ll leave the directions with Sylvie.”

  “Say ‘hi’ to your mother for me.”

  Landon watched as Lyndzi left his office and cheerfully regarded Sylvie while setting the paper on her desk. Sylvie was used to Lyndzi’s behavior by now, so Landon knew she wasn’t offended by her abrupt entrance from earlier. Not that Sylvie would be offended anyway. After a brief exchange, Lyndzi strutted out of the agency.

  Landon sighed as he slumped back down into his chair. This complicated things. Lyndzi called it a “journalist’s intuition,” which Landon wasn’t so sure about, but it was undeniable that she had a knack for digging up things out of the ordinary. What bothered Landon was that the setup for this one was particularly messy since she obviously couldn’t go to the police, even if her mother was the Chief. This girl probably wasn’t considered a missing person yet, and Lyndzi didn’t like using her connection to the police anyway.

  Landon grabbed his coat off the back of his chair and stepped out of his office. Sylvie turned to him with a smile. “Heading out already?”

  “Something tells me it’s best not to wait.”

  “Well, this is Lyndzi we’re talking about.”

  “Precisely.”

  “I’ll start working on the Thompsons’ files while you’re gone. Let me know if there’s anything else you need!”

  Landon nodded and picked up the paper, putting the address into his phone. The ETA was around two hours by car, and looked like there could be some dirt roads. It was times like these that he wished he hadn’t spent so much money on a nice car, but it was one of the few things he had deliberately splurged on, and he rarely regretted the decision.

  Without further delay, he headed out.

  - 3 -

  “Geez, can’t you get any louder?”

  Vee settled down enough to take a look at who addressed her. What she saw surprised her. An ethereal-blue cat yawned in front of her, then stretched its limbs before perching in the air. A lot of things were running through Vee’s mind, but as soon as she found the words to speak, even she was surprised by what came out. “Why did you do that?”

  “Do what?”

  “Yawn. Stretch. Isn’t that a bit...unnecessary?”

  “...You are a strange one.”

  “Please, just humor me,” Vee said. “This hasn’t exactly been a good day for me.”

  The cat chuckled. “Old habits die hard, I guess. Not even death could take that away from me.”

  A weak smile crossed over Vee’s face.

  “Calmed down a bit?” The cat said.

  Vee nodded. She wasn’t sure exactly what to make of the ghostly cat, but its presence was enough to bring back just a bit of what Vee was when she was alive.

  “Good,” it said. “Too much of that can get really ugly for our kind.”

  “What do you mean?” Vee said.

  “Spirits who don’t pass on usually have some sort of unfinished business—and a lot of them go bad because of it.”

  “Go...bad?”

  “Yeah. They let their emotions get the better of them, and they turn into monsters. It’s not very pretty.”

  Vee shuddered a bit, but decided to move on. “So...people normally pass on? Like, to the afterlife?”

  The cat shrugged. “I guess. All I know is that most who die, and pretty much everyone who dies of natural causes, never really stick around. Most don’t even wake up before their essence disappears.”

  Vee scrunched her face. So she had some unfinished business. That made sense. She wanted to find her body. Find her killer. Find out why. Vee turned her attention back to the cat. “So then, why am I stuck here? If I have unfinished business, why can’t I finish it?”

  The cat looked down. “I’m afraid that’s the fate of many a soul. Most spirits are bound to the area they died in. It seems you are bound to this place alone.”

  Vee bit her lip. “So...what about you?”

  “I’m bound too,” the cat said, “though my territory extends into the forest a ways.”

  Vee couldn’t help but feel like that was a little unfair. What dec
ided how these boundaries were made? Why were there even boundaries in the first place? As much as it frustrated her, it did check out with what little Vee knew of the supernatural. It just boggled her mind that there was any truth to it. Never had she imagined that ghosts were real, or that she would become one. She decided to change the subject. “How come I can talk to you? You’re a cat. I’m a human.”

  “It seems that ghosts communicate with their thoughts more than their words. I’m not really certain of the details, but that’s what Ol’ Jones figures.”

  “Ol’ Jones?”

  “The man in the woods. He’s dead too. Been dead lots longer than you or me.”

  “How did you die? When did you die?”

  “You humans are such a pain,” the cat said, but continued anyway. “I’ve been dead for probably a century now. The lady of the house wasn’t too fond of me, so she drowned me in the sink and told her son that I ran away.”

  Vee was grateful she couldn’t feel nauseous, though she certainly felt disgust. “That’s horrible!” She said.

  “I thought so too. But being dead isn’t so bad. For someone like me, it’s actually better in a lot of ways.”

  “Like what?”

  “Like the fact that I don’t have to deal with people like you,” it said.

  Vee pursed her lips. As insociable as this creature seemed to be, she really was grateful that it bothered to answer her questions.

  “Okay,” she said, “but 100 years is a pretty long time to be around and have unfinished business.”

  “It is,” the cat replied, “which is why some of us decide to give up on those things.”

  “Can you...do that?”

  “Sure,” the cat said, flying in a circle around Vee. “Not sure if you noticed, but death isn’t exactly the end. It’s not like we’re that different from when we were alive, we just can’t interact with the world the same way. Any semblance of purpose I had just didn’t matter as time went on, but this kind of life—if you can call it that—really isn’t so bad.”

  “Which is why you haven’t passed on,” Vee said.

  “Now you’re getting it.”

  Vee nodded slowly. “If you don’t like people that much, then why did you bother coming to talk to me?”

  The cat began observing the rum bottles on the ground. “Well, I am a cat. As much as I hate you lot, I still crave your attention every so often. And you were definitely showing signs of turning. Even I can concede that nobody deserves to go bad.”

  “Yeah,” Vee said, “that does sound pretty awful.”

  “You have a name, human?”

  “Everlee,” Vee said, “though everyone calls me Vee. What’s yours?”

  “That’s easy enough to remember,” the cat said, “my humans called me Cecil, so I consider that good enough. What are you going to do from here?”

  Vee looked at the window. “I want to find out who killed me.”

  “You mean you don’t know?” Cecil said. “I would have thought it was one of those other humans you came with.”

  Vee perked up at that. “Wait, you saw us? Did you see who killed me? Or where they took my body?”

  Cecil stopped looking at all the trash on the ground and regarded Vee. “Sure, I saw you. This is my house, after all. You were making such a ruckus that I didn’t exactly stick around, though, so no—I didn’t see who killed you or where your body went. I can tell you that that was two days ago, though.”

  Vee slumped down. “Oh.”

  “I’ll tell you what, though,” Cecil said, “You say you’re body’s not in the house? I’ll ask Ol’ Jim if he saw anything. We have a bit of crossover in area, but his goes out further than mine. Maybe he knows where your body is.”

  A broad smile crossed Vee’s face. She reached out to Cecil, and to her surprise, managed to catch him in a hug. Cecil struggled to break free, but even though Vee had no sensation of touch against his wispy fur, just the fact that she didn’t go through him was enough for her to hold the embrace. “Cecil, you’re the best!”

  “Let...go...” Cecil continued to wiggle, and towards the end he even unsheathed his claws to little avail.

  Vee eventually released him and watched as he effortlessly flew out the wall. The loneliness wasn’t exactly enjoyable, but knowing she was making progress was enough to keep her mind occupied from thoughts of going bad. Vee decided to practice flying to pass the time.

  - 4 -

  Landon leaned back as he set the classy black sports car into park. Through the windshield he could see the building. It looked old, but not in terrible disrepair. At least, the windows were intact and not boarded up. He wondered why it was abandoned, and who owned the property now. A lot of places like this cropped up after the housing market crashed, but it didn’t mean there wasn’t an owner. Of course, most places like these ended up being a hotbed for drug dealers and the like, so it was a wonder a couple of college kids were brave enough to even enter this place. Granted, from the sounds of it, these kids were probably involved in Lyndzi’s club, and if they were even half as crazy as her, they probably wouldn’t be phased. Unless, of course, it was their intention to make or get drugs all along. Either way, it could have gotten that little group in a lot of trouble, since they'd have been outright breaking the law or just trespassing. Which is technically what he was doing now. He hoped that wouldn't complicate things further.

  Despite the trees all around, the country air felt cooler than the city. Perhaps it was because it was crisper and cleaner out this way, though it was more likely due to the illusion of being surrounded by nature. Either way, Landon couldn't help but shiver as he approached the front door. There was a lockbox hanging there, though it appeared to have been pried open. It was hard to tell when that might’ve happened or who to blame, but it was none of his concern. There was no key, so he was left simply trying the knob. It turned, and Landon took a moment before pushing it open and stepping inside.

  A sudden gust of wind poured in from outside. Or so Landon thought. His body suddenly became cold and clammy, while shivers ran through his whole body. Before he could turn around to close the door, his eyes were attracted to a strange blue figure, quickly floating through his torso head-first.

  Landon froze in place, a cold sweat forming on his brow. The figure slowed to a stop a few feet in front of him, then quickly spun around. Landon half-expected to see the melted face of a banshee ready to scream at him, but instead saw the surprised look of a girl in her early twenties. And then it spoke.

  “A person?”

  The girl got a concerned expression and cautiously floated over. As Landon’s eyes instinctively followed her, she stopped.

  “No way,” she said.

  Landon had to consciously keep his breath steady in fear of hyperventilating. Even with his ability to see strings, he had never experienced anything like this before. After all, once people died, their strings disappeared. That was the end. There was nothing else. To see what appeared to be an actual ghost levitating through him was something that tempted to shatter what he assumed he knew about the world. After all, if ghosts were real, what else could be true about them? This one appeared to be docile, but for how long? Landon took a step back.

  “Wait!” The ghost said, “Can you actually see me?”

  Landon’s mouth felt dry despite the excess of saliva that was forming in it. He felt stuck. What would happen if he answered? What about if he didn’t answer? Neither option seemed optimal, but he had to make a decision quickly. He took a deep breath and attempted to keep his voice from wavering. “Who are you?”

  The ghost’s eyes got wide before a smile exploded across her face. “Vee,” she said, “Everlee Bern! Who are you?”

  Should he lie?

  “Landon,” he simply said.

  “Landon! Oh my gosh, Landon! Are you some kind of psychic? How can you see me? You’re not actually dead, right?”

  “I don’t...think so,” Landon said. “Listen, Vee. I don’t know w
hat’s going on, and I’ve never seen a...thing like you in my life.”

  Vee’s excitement didn’t fade. She shook her head. “Trust me,” she said, “I know how you feel. Hey, uh, what time is it? It’s...Sunday, right?”

  Landon nodded slowly, still just as befuddled as the moment he walked in. “It’s roughly 10am. Why? Do you like, eat people after midnight?”

  “Absolutely not! Look,” Vee said, floating closer. Landon brought up his hands in a boxing pose as if to defend himself from something that could fly right through him. He knew it probably wouldn’t save him from getting swallowed into Hell or whatever, but it seemed like enough to make Vee stop. She continued. “I know this all looks crazy. I still don’t get it myself. But I need your help.”

  Landon eyed her skeptically. “I don’t think instilling people with a sense of existential dread is exactly the best way to ask for their help.”

  “Wait, what do you mean?”

  “Oh, you know, the way you flew through me earlier? Did you think that was funny? Do ghosts get off on that kind of thing?”

  Vee’s face took on a shape of utter embarrassment as she buried it in her hands. “Oh, geez. I’m so sorry about that. See, I was...practicing flying since there was nothing else to do, and I didn’t see you come in until I was halfway through you. I’m so sorry. I promise it wasn’t intentional.”

  The whole situation still baffled him. He wasn’t sure if he was still in any sort of danger, but if this...girl...was lying, she was pretty good at it. Landon took a deep breath and calmed his mind. "Alright," he said, "what do you need help with?"

  Vee smiled coyly and began to explain. “Friday evening I came up here with a group of people to try and get some footage in this abandoned cabin. That night we got drunk, and the next thing I know, I've turned into a ghost."

  Something clicked. Landon narrowed his eyes. "That means..." he said under his breath, then louder, "Do you know a Lyndzi Jacobsen?"

  Vee nodded. "Yeah, she's the president of the club I'm in. Why? Do you know her?"