Chapter 18: Ghost Town

Wellow Falls appeared to have died. Preston wasn't sure when it had happened, but the pulse, albeit the low pulse which once ran through the town felt like it was extinguished. As they walked through the center, there was an odd sound that hung in the air. Upon closer inspection, Preston realized it wasn't a sound at all, but on the contrary, the odd tone was actually the total lack of any type of movement or activity. Wellow Falls was silent. More silent and abandoned than the towns in the old Westerns, because those old ghost towns usually had dust balls blowing or doors rattling. Here, there was nothing. Even nature seemed to have been silenced. The chirping birds were no longer chirping and the breeze which usually rustled the trees around the perimeter of the center was still.

All of the stores on Main St. looked closed. They passed by, peering into the windows looking for any type of activity. Some of the shops had "Closed" signs hanging from the windows, others looked like the owners or shopkeepers had hastily abandoned their posts.

"What's going on?" Preston wondered aloud, as they peeked into Anabelle's Bagels. Bagels were strewn over the floor and the cash register hung open. Preston could see the face of George Washington and Abraham Lincoln looking up towards the ceiling. They walked a few stores down and Ryan pointed across the street towards DeMilo's drugs.

"Preston, the light is on, I think that store is open." Preston nodded and they headed over. Through force of habit, both looked for oncoming cars as they crossed the street. It was not necessary because there were no cars. As they approached the store, Preston motioned for Ryan to be quiet. He could see some kind of movement from inside and they cautiously crept to the edge of the door.

"It looks like Mr. DeMilo but I can't be sure."

"Be careful," she said squeezing his arm. He peeked around the corner of the door. There didn't seem to be anyone in the store. He slowly crept forward and a bell chimed as he walked across the foyer.

Perhaps it was the cocking of the gun barrel, or maybe just some sixth sense, but Preston ducked and pivoted to the left. As he turned, the shelf where he had been just an instant before exploded. He heard Ryan scream and threw himself against the floor.

"Die you fucking bastards! Come on, come on! I'll kill you, I'll kill all of you!" Mr. DeMilo yelled hysterically. He heard the gun being cocked again and tried to shimmy down the aisle. He could sense it searching and then finding its target.

"No Mr. DeMilo its me Ryan, do you remember me, the new girl Ryan!" Another shot exploded and tennis balls and burning magazines swirled into the air and bounced across the store. Preston dashed down the rest of the aisle on his knees and rested near the register. The rain of burnt merchandise continued for another minute before the store became quiet. Preston heard himself breathing and felt the beating of his heart.

Ryan, where was Ryan? He looked around and scrambled down the lane looking for her. He saw her standing in front of DeMilo, her hands in the air as he targeted her forehead. His aim was unsteady and thick beads of perspiration dripped slowly down the druggist's forehead.

"We're just as scared as you are. Please, put the gun down and talk to us." Preston saw her helplessness and he wanted to vault down the aisle and attack the man. The anger began to grow and he fought it down and slowly, under some semblance of control, walked over to join them.

"You didn't have to shoot at us," Preston said simply. He saw Preston and the gun was instantly pointed at the town bully.

"You!" DeMilo screamed, "I bet you're the one behind all of this."

"Behind what!" Preston screamed back. The accusation triggered another spasm of anger. He imagined himself leaping forward and ripping the gun out of the old grocer's hand. Oh how good it would feel to fire it and fire it, tearing up the store and seeing everything a burning mass of wreckage and ash. He could feel the stress from the past days events bubbling towards the surface, waiting to be unleashed. He felt the blood coursing through his hands and a fog began to cloud his brain, tangling his senses and throwing off his judgment. He fought it for Ryan. She was his talisman and with her in his mind he was able to push back the cloud and feel the blood slowly recede from his fingers and tows. His breathing returned to regularity and the pulsing throb of rage quieted. Control, he told himself, remain in control. De Milo continued his harangue.

"I knew it was all coming to this. With kids like you running around without any compunction or guilt. Society has lost its moral safety net, and now we're all going to have to pay for it. It's led to a total, a total breakdown of order and society. Young people have been out of control for years and now, look at what has happened. Everyone's left, can't you see the other stores. Everyone's left and I'm getting out before its to late," he said, his harangue turning into almost unintelligible babble at the end.

"What are you talking about?" Preston shouted. De Milo seemed to snap out of his trance and he glared at them.

"Where have you been!" DeMilo screamed. "Haven't you heard about what's been going on? Haven't you noticed that people are getting out of Wellow Falls as fast as they can? People are just disappearing and the phone lines are dead and the police station is empty." Ryan sensed his pain and touched his shoulder.

"What happened?" The words seemed to break the man's spell and he lowered the gun and mopped his forehead. He was panting and Preston could see his arms and shoulders quivering.

"No, no, I'm sorry, I don't want to hurt anyone but... Linda and the kids are gone. I went home last night after work and they were gone. The Vines, our neighbors next door, the same thing. Gone. I thought maybe they had just left for the movies or something but when they didn't come back I went to the police station. That's when I realized there was something strange going on. The police station looked like a fortress. The police were wearing body armor and looked like they were getting ready for an assault." His words trailed off and he looked around him. "There's something going on here, something horrible."

"Please, Mr. DeMilo finish, tell us what happened." Her voice soothed him and his eyes refocused.

"There were maybe twenty of us at the police station, reporting missing family members or friends. The stories were mostly the same and we talked for awhile. The police listened and then we heard that strange noises had been heard down at the quarry. Reports of machinery and explosions. The odd thing is that the quarry hasn't been in use for fifty years, since the end of the war. They were getting ready to find out what was going on. Most of the boys were scared as hell but Hilltop wouldn't call in help from other towns so that damn boys had to suite up and go in by themselves. They new there was something strange going on but Hilltop said it was a town matter and the town would handle it."

"Labor day weekend," Preston whispered, realizing why the Chief hadn't wanted to let the outside world know about the problems. Demilo continued.

"They set off in a convoy and then we waited. We had radio contact and then suddenly it was gone. They were gone. The last thing we heard was one of the boys talking about how he had seen a big bulldozer cross the road. Damn strange because the quarry hasn't been open for years. They never came back, just disappeared into whatever the hell is going on!" His voice began to rise again and he lunged forward and grabbed Ryan, pulling her towards his ample belly. He looked into her eyes.

"Get the hell out of here as fast as you can!" He pointed out towards the empty stores. "The rest have left and I'm following them." He put her down and then raised the gun. "I'm getting the hell out of here!" Preston looked at Ryan and motioned to the exit of the store. They both walked away from the babbling man and through the aisles littered with debris.

"He's snapped," Preston said when they were outside.

"Do you believe him?" Preston shrugged.

"After what I've seen over the last week, I would believe anything."

They walked in silence for awhile, observing and trying to grasp the awesome veil of silence which had descended upon Wellow Falls. Finally, Ryan broke the quiet as they were walking down Fay St. They were only about a mile from Preston's house.

"What did you mean when you whispered about Labor Day?"

"I think that's the reason the police didn't ask for outside help."

"Why?"

"Every Labor Day there's a big party at the Lake. It's the town's day to shine. The resort is very well known and its attracts vacationers, important vacationers from all over the world. The resort is actually more like a spa than anything else. The holiday generates a lot of revenue for the town and I'm sure the politicians would do almost anything to ensure that the holiday is not disturbed."

"Labor Day is tomorrow."

"Yes, I guess it is. Hopefully someone got the word out that Wellow Falls is closed for business."

"And if they didn't."

"Who knows, we're going to be far away from here by then."