this is already the second story of disappearing girls I’ve heard. So is St. Bede’s, like, the Bermuda Triangle of boarding schools or what?”
That got an unexpected laugh from Alex Reese.
“They didn’t disappear,” Helen said snippily. “They died in a fire.”
“Either way,” Brody said, his voice suddenly low. “There’s something weird going on out in those woods. The Bermuda Triangle is a good way to describe it, actually.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“This area has a sort of reputation.”
“Oh, not this again.” Alex rolled his eyes.
“It’s true. It’s not like I’m into any of that crap, but my sister did a report on it when she was here. Trust me, there’s been some freaky stuff over the years.”
“Define
freaky
,” Chelsea said, leaning in.
Brody shrugged. “According to my sister, there are placesthat have something kind of strange about them. It’s something about the electromagnetic fields or vortices or something. And these places, these vortices, maybe they attract weird things, or maybe they generate them. Dude, I don’t know, but these places—like the Bermuda Triangle—there’s something wrong with them.”
“The Bermuda Triangle is a fairy tale,” Chelsea said dismissively. “Name me one other place.”
“Okay.” Brody shifted around in his seat. “There’s this place back east. The, um, the Bridgewater Triangle. And then in Arizona there’s the Sedona Triangle.”
“Don’t forget about the Fresno Quadrahedron,” Chelsea said, laughing.
“Stop being a jerk,” he said, and beyond the alcohol flush of his cheeks, I could see real color rising. He was genuinely upset. “I’m serious. You can look it up. There’s documented proof. These places, I’m telling you, it’s like the land is bad.”
“And St. Bede’s is one of those places?” Noel asked, her voice almost a whisper.
“No, but the little woods are.”
“What are the little woods?” I asked.
“Duh.
Those
are the little woods,” Pigeon said, pointing out the window. “What we’ve been talking about, like, all night.”
“So the part you guys just walked through, then. The place where you were hearing noises.”
“Yeah,” Brody said. “These woods are at the top of a triangle that stretches way out into the wilderness behind us. I’m telling you, there are things out there—weird things, bad things.”
“Like what?” Helen asked. “We haven’t seen anything.”
“It’s not like people see stuff all the time, but there have been problems with these woods since the first settlers—before that, even. My sister said the Miwok name for the area was the Woods Where Spirits Walk, and apparently they avoided it like the plague.”
“How helpful of us to take it from them, then,” Chelsea said, examining her black-polished nails.
“Seriously, though, over the years there have been all kinds of bad stuff,” he said, a slight tremor to his voice. “I don’t remember the figure, but the number of unexplained disappearances and murders in these woods is like ten times what it should be.”
“What do
you
think is going on, Brody?” Helen asked, her voice perfectly even.
“Hell if I know. Some people think the land is cursed.”
“I don’t believe in curses,” Helen said, but everyone else was focused on Brody, and I noticed that I could barely breathe.
“Well, I do,” he said. “And I’m telling you, whatever happened to those girls, whatever happened to Iris, I think there’s more to it than we can know. Whatever’s out there, it’s powerful. It’s dark.”
“Okay, dude,” Alex said, placing his hand over Brody’s glass. “I think I’m cutting you off. You’ve had enough.”
Brody slumped back in his chair, and after a moment of awkward silence, Freddy shifted the conversation to the upcoming spring play auditions. I tried to seem interested, but I was so shaken I decided I’d better excuse myself early.
Up in my guest room, I
That got an unexpected laugh from Alex Reese.
“They didn’t disappear,” Helen said snippily. “They died in a fire.”
“Either way,” Brody said, his voice suddenly low. “There’s something weird going on out in those woods. The Bermuda Triangle is a good way to describe it, actually.”
“What do you mean?” I asked.
“This area has a sort of reputation.”
“Oh, not this again.” Alex rolled his eyes.
“It’s true. It’s not like I’m into any of that crap, but my sister did a report on it when she was here. Trust me, there’s been some freaky stuff over the years.”
“Define
freaky
,” Chelsea said, leaning in.
Brody shrugged. “According to my sister, there are placesthat have something kind of strange about them. It’s something about the electromagnetic fields or vortices or something. And these places, these vortices, maybe they attract weird things, or maybe they generate them. Dude, I don’t know, but these places—like the Bermuda Triangle—there’s something wrong with them.”
“The Bermuda Triangle is a fairy tale,” Chelsea said dismissively. “Name me one other place.”
“Okay.” Brody shifted around in his seat. “There’s this place back east. The, um, the Bridgewater Triangle. And then in Arizona there’s the Sedona Triangle.”
“Don’t forget about the Fresno Quadrahedron,” Chelsea said, laughing.
“Stop being a jerk,” he said, and beyond the alcohol flush of his cheeks, I could see real color rising. He was genuinely upset. “I’m serious. You can look it up. There’s documented proof. These places, I’m telling you, it’s like the land is bad.”
“And St. Bede’s is one of those places?” Noel asked, her voice almost a whisper.
“No, but the little woods are.”
“What are the little woods?” I asked.
“Duh.
Those
are the little woods,” Pigeon said, pointing out the window. “What we’ve been talking about, like, all night.”
“So the part you guys just walked through, then. The place where you were hearing noises.”
“Yeah,” Brody said. “These woods are at the top of a triangle that stretches way out into the wilderness behind us. I’m telling you, there are things out there—weird things, bad things.”
“Like what?” Helen asked. “We haven’t seen anything.”
“It’s not like people see stuff all the time, but there have been problems with these woods since the first settlers—before that, even. My sister said the Miwok name for the area was the Woods Where Spirits Walk, and apparently they avoided it like the plague.”
“How helpful of us to take it from them, then,” Chelsea said, examining her black-polished nails.
“Seriously, though, over the years there have been all kinds of bad stuff,” he said, a slight tremor to his voice. “I don’t remember the figure, but the number of unexplained disappearances and murders in these woods is like ten times what it should be.”
“What do
you
think is going on, Brody?” Helen asked, her voice perfectly even.
“Hell if I know. Some people think the land is cursed.”
“I don’t believe in curses,” Helen said, but everyone else was focused on Brody, and I noticed that I could barely breathe.
“Well, I do,” he said. “And I’m telling you, whatever happened to those girls, whatever happened to Iris, I think there’s more to it than we can know. Whatever’s out there, it’s powerful. It’s dark.”
“Okay, dude,” Alex said, placing his hand over Brody’s glass. “I think I’m cutting you off. You’ve had enough.”
Brody slumped back in his chair, and after a moment of awkward silence, Freddy shifted the conversation to the upcoming spring play auditions. I tried to seem interested, but I was so shaken I decided I’d better excuse myself early.
Up in my guest room, I
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