The Haunted Traveler December 2017 Edition

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50 It’s poison, the witch said. Ben knocked the canteen out of the bear-man’s hand. “Don’t do that.” The bear-man was visibly angry. He went after the canteen that fell next to Ben. Ben picked up a rock and hit the bear-man in the head. The bear-man slumped onto the ground, moaning. Ben got up and started running up the hill, yelling, “futner brinlatt, futner brinlatt.” An hour later Ben reached the cabin, wheezing and stumbling. He ran inside and shut the cabin door. On the catwalk on the opposite side, he saw the father. “Ben, are you all right? Where have you been?” He pointed at the hole in the roof. “What happened here?” The witch told Ben not to talk, but Ben didn’t feel right about not talking to the father. “Kelvaf borkart.” “What?” “Kelvaf borkart.” “I can’t understand you, son.” Maybe the witch was right. Talking only made things worse. The father gave Ben some water to drink; the witch told him not to, but he didn’t want to disobey the father. After while the district ranger who gave him the radio and the Forest Service shirt six weeks ago came and talked to the father. They were screaming at each other, but finally the district ranger told another man with a gun to handcuff Ben and put him on a horse. The witch told Ben not to fight but not to speak to anyone, not even the father. At the resort, they put Ben in a car and drove him to Idanha. They put him in the jail, but the next day the father posted bail and took him home. November 1, 1963 “I sent him up there so he could get his head back on straight,” the father said. “Jesus, the kid was junior class president, varsity baseball, the girls were crawling all over him. Look at him now.” The mother looked where the father pointed, at Ben. She sighed. She wrung her hands. She shook her head. Ben had seen it all before, before now, which was all the time, but even before they sent him up to Olallie Butte to spend the summer as a fire spotter. “He’s going to be a high school dropout, for chrissake,” the father said. “The University of Oregon was scouting him last spring. He could’ve gotten in on a baseball scholarship. Christ, Oregon State would have likely given him an academic scholarship.” “The doctor says it’s probably just a phase. Give him some time,” the mother said. “He hasn’t got time. If he flunks out of senior year, they’ll draft him for Vietnam,” the father said. “Can you imagine what will happen to him in basic training?” Ben listened to the father and mother. They were sitting on the other side of the coffee table, but they sounded far away. Behind him the TV was on, more reports from Vietnam, their president had been overthrown in a coup and executed by his
51 own soldiers. Ben turned to the left to see what the witch had to say about him getting drafted. After the father left for work and the mother was taking her morning shower, Ben took the mother’s car and drove up to the state library in Salem. He took along the family telephone book to show the librarian. He left the mother’s car in the parking lot of a liquor store a block from the state library; the keys were in the ignition, the driver’s side window rolled down. Nobody could understand what he was saying any more, so Ben decided to pretend to be a deaf mute who could read lips. He spent the whole day looking through the bookcase of telephone directories for the name the witch had given him, Louina. He had to find Louina. “Sir,” the librarian said to Ben. He pretended not to hear. She tapped him on the shoulder again. Ben jumped as though stung by a scorpion. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I didn’t mean to frighten you. We’re closing, you have to leave now.” Ben ignored the librarian and kept looking through the telephone directories. “Sir, before you leave, you have to pick up all of these directories and put them back on their shelves.” Ben pretended not to understand. He wasn’t even halfway through and he didn’t have time to be reshelving the telephone books. The librarian left, clicking her heels on the marble floor. In a few minutes she was back with a piece of paper. She waved the note at Ben: Please pick up all the telephone books and put them back on the shelves. We are closing in fifteen minutes. Ben grabbed the piece of paper and ripped it in half and then in half again, and again. He handed the paper back to the librarian. She snorted, turned and left. Ben kept looking, he knew he didn’t have much time. He didn’t know if he was looking for a last or first name. He scanned the Ls first and then started thumbing through the book. After seven hours, he had eye strain and a tremendous headache, but every time he rested, the witch’s voice reappeared in his head: Louina. Twenty minutes later, the librarian reappeared with two sheriff ’s deputies. “Sir,” the taller deputy said. ”You have to put these phone directories back and leave the library.” “I’ll put them back,” the librarian said. “Just get him to leave so we can close.” “Come with us, sir,” the shorter deputy said. He grabbed Ben left arm, but Ben resisted. “Sir, if you don’t leave, we are going to have to arrest you. Do you understand?” “I think he might be a deaf mute,” the librarian said. “I wrote him a note, but he just tore it up.” “Jim, grab his other arm. We’ll take him outside and talk to him there.” Ben fought the deputies, screaming, “Sarbene garfed Louina.” “Do you understand his language,” the taller deputy said to the librarian. “I’ve never heard anything like it. He doesn’t look like an Indian.”
Page 3 and 4: The Haunted Traveler December2017 E
Page 5 and 6: Table of Contents Highland Fling Ma
Page 7: The Haunted Traveler A Roaming Anth
Page 10 and 11: 8
Page 12 and 13: 10
Page 14 and 15: 12 The Gas Station Jenna Heller “
Page 16 and 17: 14 “It just amazes me that we’r
Page 18 and 19: 16 At the top of the short staircas
Page 20 and 21: 18 up her face and then lowered it
Page 22 and 23: 20 There was a list of prohibited i
Page 24 and 25: 22 “The girls are here, too,” M
Page 26 and 27: 24 THE BONES Stephanie Bucklin “T
Page 28 and 29: 26 “Then?” “Survival.” The
Page 30 and 31: 28 “Lady Mordemag—” Darya sta
Page 32 and 33: 30 could hear Lady Mordemag’s oil
Page 34 and 35: 32 he had to curb his normal method
Page 36 and 37: 34 paused again, listening and wait
Page 38 and 39: 36 complete as it had at the top of
Page 40 and 41: 38 It Is the Ache that Dwells Withi
Page 42 and 43: 40 “Mary? Come on, please open th
Page 44 and 45: 42 Leah Oates A BOLT FROM THE BLUE
Page 46 and 47: 44 there people were always around
Page 48 and 49: 46 before the storm hits. Once you
Page 50 and 51: 48 “Car spell nargelette,” Ben
Page 54 and 55: 52 “Sir, if you don’t come peac
Page 56 and 57: 54 was all he had seen on the day
Page 58 and 59: 56 “So…Ax, is it?” Scott aske
Page 60 and 61: 58 you came all the way from out of
Page 62 and 63: 60 of thought; a bright flash, foll
Page 64 and 65: 62 It took a few minutes of brisk w
Page 66 and 67: 64 games.” James punched the wall
Page 68 and 69: 66 conjured of kicking it in the fa
Page 70 and 71: 68 mom, but she wouldn’t answer.
Page 72 and 73: 70 with a dull thump-thump-thump. J
Page 74 and 75: 72 Jim Zola The Blind Piano Player
Page 76 and 77: 74 Jim Zola
Page 78 and 79: 76 across their fur and between the
Page 80 and 81: 78 Cadie’s Missing Mike Oberly Th
Page 82 and 83: 80 “Rascal is as rascal is,” th
Page 84 and 85: 82 The Flood Anna Kaye-Rogers The r
Page 86 and 87: 84 the girls. “She’s your dog,
Page 88 and 89: 86 Rainy days are the worst. As she
Page 90 and 91: 88 Jubydream turtle: falls in love,
Page 92 and 93: 90 The Moon Alexandria Cope Margare
Page 94 and 95: 92 early. She packed her things in
Page 96 and 97: 94 some ninja turtle action. Noah s
Page 98 and 99: 96 That’s why even though she was
Page 100 and 101: 98 Belinda slipped off the wet coat
Page 102 and 103:
100 “I liked Pretty Pretty Prince
Page 104 and 105:
102 The black-eyed doll approached
Page 106 and 107:
104 STALKED ON A WINTER’S NIGHT B
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106 is, the playground is dangerous
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108 exposed and the floors were lin
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110 Jason and his fling heard the d
Page 114 and 115:
112 was divided into fifteen minute
Page 116 and 117:
114 Essentially, her home in Belle
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116 Samantha had inherited the chai
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118 For Death’s Amusement Rollin
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120 wore white gloves on its enormo
Page 124 and 125:
122 process of extracting another f
Page 126 and 127:
124 Running Amber Cook They were fo
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126 Witchery Kerry E.B. Black Tia i
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128 Scream Megan Whiting It was a s
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130 terrifying ease, then vanished
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132 Send that thought packing, too.
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134 Tyler switched on the radio. An
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136 veins. Then it stopped. She was
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138 “She showed up at that church
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140 Bear Trap Feivel Wolff He saw t
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142 “I made you dinner, did I not
Page 146 and 147:
144 the windshield. A bit longer an
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146 Now he could make out the tune.
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148 “Tell your momma! Tell her I
Page 152 and 153:
150 Black Swan On the Water Side Co
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152 They looked like Latinas, but I
Page 156 and 157:
154 BROTHERLY LOVE Diane Arrelle Na
Page 158 and 159:
156 Terror carrying her beyond hyst
Page 160 and 161:
158 wonder you’re imagining thing
Page 162 and 163:
160 Listening Neal Steichen Oh, Chr
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162 I drop the mostly empty glass o
Page 166 and 167:
164 Brenda, I swear to God, one of
Page 168 and 169:
166 Brbrbrbrbrbrbrbrbrrrr… Yup. M
Page 170 and 171:
168 or two of dust, out of the door
Page 172 and 173:
170 Biographies T. Thomas Abernathy
Page 174 and 175:
172 Brett Grinnell lives and works
Page 176 and 177:
174 Real Art Ways, Tomasulo Gallery
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