Gone Fishing by D L Kaiser

Just an FYI..if you haven't purchased the e-book yet on Amazon, I am having a "countdown" sale of $1.99 on Friday the 27th of June, and then the countdown begins back to the original price of the e-book to $4.99. :) Enjoy the latest free story!

Gone Fishing

by D. L. Kaiser

         A plethora of Dame Rockets bloom in Spring among the thick forest bed where there is a trail that is barely tread by humans.  A branch crackles as a woman passes through the bunch of leaves.  The ghost grows curious and follows.

         The mountainside was growing steeper but she trudged on.  No one would know about this trip.  They would never guess!  Her pack cut deep into her shoulders and she shifted it, momentarily causing her to stumble over an unseen rock.  She sat on an old stump overgrown with moss.  Her head turned swiftly to the right as she heard something nearby.  The tree line for the mountain on her right was in view.  Below that the dense forest hid whatever creature made the thudding noise. 

         An hour later Kayla arrived at a small ivy covered shed  and stepped forward through the open rotting door.  The bedroll and a small camp stove were dusty from disuse since the previous trip here.  She smiled at her own cleverness at the recent discovery of this abandoned area.   She rested.

         Kayla awoke when the door to the shed slammed shut. Shafts of light splayed in stripes across the floor.  She followed one of them that led to her pack.  There was a small trowel inside that would make a good weapon.  Her breath was jagged with fear as she stood.  Two unseen hands threw Kayla against the wall.  For a moment she swore that there was a ghostly form of a man floating above her.  Blackness closed in as she fainted.

         Three hours had gone by.  Kayla struggled to sit up with a headache worse than any she had ever experienced.  Then she remembered what had happened.  She grabbed her pack and carefully withdrew the trowel and a flashlight.  After slinging the pack over one shoulder, she carefully opened the door.  It was now very dark.  Her heart beat a loud rhythm in her ears.  Sudden rustling a few feet away prompted her legs into action.  She ran with gazelle like strides, her long legs reaching as far as possible down the hillside allowing her some much needed speed.  Her footfalls became more assured.

         Her neck was grabbed from behind and she was lifted up into the air.

         “So what are you hiding?”

         Kayla tried to scream, but no sound would emit from her cut-off vocal chords.  Her eyes penetrated through the darkness to discern that an invisible entity held her.  The fear burst through with energy in the next moment.  She slashed the air with the trowel. 

         The ghost dropped her hard.  She gasped for air, gripping her trowel and backpack, ready to flee.  She was on one knee when the ghost kicked dirt into her face.

         “Better tell me now.” 

         She heard the low grumble  of threat in his voice, and spit dirt out of her mouth.

         “Who are you?  What do you want?”

         “I ask the questions here.  You had better answer them if you want to live!”

         She fled.  His laugh echoed down the hillside.

         When she was halfway across a stream, a large branch waved in front of her, shoved her hard enough that she landed hard onto her backside into the water.

         “Now WHAT are you hiding?  I can tell you were up to something.  No one comes out here.”

         Anger exploded in Kayla’s brain. 

         “Who the hell are you?  Why should I answer any of your questions you invisible effing asshole!”

         Her pack was pulled unceremoniously off her back and flung to the side of the creek. She stared as it was unzipped and flipped over spilling all of the contents.

         “Hey! Cut it out!”

         One small item floated in the air towards her but it was impossible to make out in the dark.  Then, the ghost dipped it in the stream.  It continued to get closer until her mouth formed an “O” in surprise. 

         “Soap?”

         “For smart potty mouths like yours!”

         She screamed as her shirt collar was yanked from behind and she hung in the air as the soap was forced all over her lips and face.  She struggled until finally giving in to hanging loosely and sobbing.

         The ghost set her down beside the backpack.  Splashes of water came at her to wash off the soap. 

         “Now, are you ready to talk?”

         “I took some jewelry off of the people in the retirement home that I work for.  Some of them were dead and had no relatives, so no one cares anyway!”

         She fidgeted as the silence grew in length.  Maybe she shouldn’t have told the truth.

         “So, you have a plan?  What are you going to do with the money for pawning the jewelry?”

         “Go somewhere warm and live, get away from this stupid town.  Even if it’s just a shabby old trailer, it would sure beat this hell hole.”

         “Why don’t you straighten up and earn your nest egg the honest way?”

         “Are you for real?  I’m not spending any more time with these backwards, stupid, narrow-minded, boring people.”

         The ghost was again silent for another uncomfortable stretch of time.

         “I will help you then.”

         Kayla was suddenly confused at his abrupt change of heart. 

         “Why would you help me? And what do you get out of it, huh?”

         “I keep everyone out of these woods.  You are the first person I have let onto my land except for an old fishing buddy.”

         “Now why would you do that for me?”

         “I have my reasons.  Let’s say I am doing my last job.  A little payment of service.”

         “So you’ll keep my jewelry safe from being discovered?”

         “For a while.”

         That seemed to satisfy Kayla.

         During the six months that had passed, they developed a system where she would drop off the stolen articles and the ghost would then carry it up to be placed with the rest.

         One December night Kayla and her supervisor had a horrible argument. 

         “I quit!”  Kayla yelled into her face.

         “Get your things and leave!”

         Kayla marched to her locker and pulled out her backpack.  After a few more terse words back to her supervisor, she headed outside to her truck.  Tires spun gravel as she pulled out of the lot behind the retirement home.  Kayla’s supervisor misted the glass window with her sigh of relief as she watched Kayla drive away.

         She jammed her clothes into a couple of laundry bags along with her favorite make-up and her hair accessories. 

         The forest lit up with the headlights.  Kayla hit the horn briefly.  The passenger door opened and the hair on her arms stood up.  She never quite got accustomed to the ghost.

         “You are here earlier than usual.”

         “Change of plans.  I need all of the jewelry now.  It’s time for me to get out of this horrible town.  I’m tired of those crabby, smelly old people anyway.”

         “I’ll be back shortly. “

         Kayla drummed an uncoordinated rhythm on the steering wheel for five minutes until she became bored and stepped out and stomped with impatience.

         “Hey ghost man!  Hurry it up!”

         She clomped over to where the trail began.  She screamed in frustration at the sight before her.  Hanging on the branches were bracelets, necklaces, and earrings artfully arranged.  She stood for a moment and realized how many there were.

         “What the heck! HEY! What are you doing?”

         Kayla fought, kicked and screamed as the ghost assailed her once more.  Rope came up from the ground and wrapped around her body.  Next she was carried over the ghosts back and tied up next to all of the jewelry in the bough of a tree. 

         “They will find you and know you for what you really are.  I can finally retire after my last job.  If you don’t want me haunting you any longer, then pass on my message.”

         “What are you talking about?”  Kayla squirmed to no avail.

         “Deputy Carlos will know.”

         Kayla was still.  Did a ghost cop dupe her?  She groaned and watched helplessly as the ghost drove her truck down to the highway and parked it conspicuously beside the entrance to the forest road.

         Forty-eight hours later Deputy Carlos received a phone call from Deputy Rivers.

         “Deputy?  I have a strange message to pass on.”

         “Go ahead Deputy Rivers.”

         “Kayla Grubens, a criminal we apprehended on Sheriff Collins old farm, says to pass on a message.  This one’s a real nutcase.  She claims a ghost told her he did his last job before retirement.”

         Deputy Carlos was speechless.

         “Deputy, I know that this message makes no sense, but we can’t get this woman to shut up.  She’s keeping the other prisoners awake yelling at someone to stop following her and the only way she will shut up is to pass on this message.”

         Thank you Deputy Rivers.”

         Deputy Carlos collapsed into his chair.  Ten years ago his fishing buddy died. He remembered his words exactly the last day that he saw him alive. 

         “I retired too early son! I feel like owe this town at least one more job before I meet my maker.”

         Deputy Carlos stood at the graveside of Sheriff Collins. 

         “Congratulations on your last job well done.”

         He laid a hat on the grave that said “Gone Fishing.”

THE END