The Empire Read online

  “Feel better?” Darcy said rather annoyed.

  “Much.” she said winking at Darcy. She turned her attention to Will, who sat there a moment looking back and forth between the two of them.

  “Huh. So these things, are we talking about the planning committee?” He asked, working through what he had just heard.

  “Yes,” Darcy said quickly before Ali could say any more.

  “And you think tonight is connected to that?” Will asked, still processing.

  “Yes. The other side isn’t happy about the possible changes in Shoreton.”

  “So, you think tonight is connected to dead people, not aliens?”

  “Yep,” Ali said waiting for the big reaction.

  “Huh. Okay. So what do we need to do?” Will asked looking at Darcy.

  “Wait a minute. That’s it?! We tell you that she sees and talks to dead people and all you have to say is ‘huh’ and ‘okay’?!”

  “Yep.”

  “Damn that’s anticlimactic!” Ali said getting up and going towards the vodka and orange juice. “Who wants another?” Darcy and Will both held up their glasses.

  “I’m an open minded guy. My uncle Pete used to tell weird stories about when he was growing up. I always thought he was a little cuckoo, but after tonight, it doesn’t sound so crazy. So if it is ‘them’, why do you think they went on this sensory rampage tonight?”

  “Maybe they’re trying to get our attention. After the fire at the cannery Ali and I met with her Aunt Ruth and the woman, Temperance who was running Founding Society meeting I walked in on at the Empire.”

  “That’s why you asked me about the Founding Society.”

  “Yep. Temperance is afraid that some of the strange accidents that have been happening around town lately have been caused by the other side.”

  “They can do that?”

  “Apparently.”

  Ali came back to the table with fresh drinks. “Some of the ‘others’ are angry that Shoreton may be changing. That we’ll erase everything they built. That they’ll be forgotten.”

  “Do you think they were responsible for the fire?” Will asked

  “No, but we think they may be angry about it.” Ali replied.

  “Yeah, we’ve been trying to get in touch with Temperance and Ruth all day.”

  “So you think your mom wants you to do something about it?” Will asked.

  “I guess. And Temperance wants to figure out a way that both sides can work together on a solution. I hope tonight doesn’t mean we’re beyond that.”

  “But, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but why you? I mean you don’t even live here anymore. Are you the only person in this town that can see and talk to dead people?”

  “I have no idea. And, I’m pretty sure I’m not. The kid with the jolt, he said something cryptic about leaving ‘them’ alone. Now that I know what I know, he must have been talking about the ‘others’.

  “Why do you call them ‘others’ and not ghosts or spirits?”

  “Because they don’t look like what I think of as ghosts. They look solid, just like everyone else.”

  “Interesting.”

  “I don’t know how I got in the middle of this. Maybe I’m just one piece of it. We haven’t gotten that far in figuring it out… Ali and I both think though, that it’s somehow connected to the founding families.”

  “So what’s next?” Will asked.

  “We don’t know. We’ve been in a holding pattern waiting for Temperance.” Ali replied.

  “We’re also hoping we find out what caused the fire soon. Maybe that will calm things down.” Darcy said.

  “Or make them worse, if it turns out it was on purpose.” Ali added.

  “Well, I want to help, if I can.” Will stated.

  “Well, we’re going down to the Empire in the morning to see if maybe the ‘others’ are meeting again.”

  “I’ll come with you.” Will replied.

  “Why not? Safety in numbers.” Ali answered.

  “You don’t honestly think we’re in danger, do you?” Darcy asked.

  “I don’t know. If they can make things happen over here, and they’re really angry, better safe than sorry.” Ali suggested.

  “Okay, then we all go.” Darcy said.

  Wednesday

  CHAPTER Twenty-one

  Both Darcy and Will were saying their goodbyes when everything stopped, all at once. Lights, sirens, alarms, everything stopped at exactly three a.m. Just like that, it was over.

  The three stood listening, waiting for something to happen.

  “I guess that’s it,” Darcy finally said.

  “Ahhh… silence is golden.” Ali said taking a deep breath.

  “So we’ll meet at the cafe at?” Darcy asked. “It’s up to you two, I don’t have to work.”

  “Let’s make it 9. I think everybody in town will be getting a late start tomorrow.” Ali suggested.

  “Sounds like a plan.” Will agreed.

  “I’ll give you and Millie a ride home.” Darcy offered. She drove up Central and turned onto Main. The streets had pretty much already cleared. There were a couple of police cruisers parked with their lights on just to have a presence, but that was it. They entered the rotary by the ferry terminal and headed back down Park St. to Harbour, left, and then right where it ended on Main St. heading back towards Mussel Ridge and Harper St.

  “So, I guess I’ll see you in a few hours.” Will said as they pulled up in front of his house.

  “Yeah. Get some rest.”

  Will looked like he had something more to say, but after a moment decided against it. He opened the door. “Thanks for the ride.” He said as he got out.

  “No problem.” Darcy reached back to pet Millie before Will got her out of the car. “Good night Millie.”

  The drive back to Mussel Ridge was peaceful. All the houses were dark, as they should be and everything felt back to normal. When she got home, Hank was just heading to bed.

  “What a night, huh?” She commented. “Any problems?”

  “Nope. Got the breakfast and lunch prep done though.”

  “Oh good. Maybe you can sleep an extra hour.”

  “Gonna try.”

  Darcy was curious if he’d heard anything. “So do we know what caused it?”

  “Nope. Murray stopped in, said everyone was stumped. They did a sweep of pretty much all the buildings lining Main St. and the ferry terminal. Didn’t find a thing.”

  “Well as I was leaving Ali’s everything stopped. All at once.”

  “That’s it I guess. Strange. Good night sweetheart.”

  “Night Dad.”

  Darcy was too keyed up to go to sleep just then. She sat down on the couch and turned on the TV

  “Darcy. Darcy. Wake up!”

  Darcy woke up realizing that she must’ve fallen asleep on the couch. Sitting beside her was her mother. “Mom! How are you here?”

  “Listen, we don’t have a lot of time.”

  “I know. Seems we never do. Tell me what I’m supposed to do. I met Temperance Bishop. I know the other side is angry.”

  “Make the living remember where they came from. Bring the Founding families together. Find a compromise.”

  “Darcy?”

  “Yes, remember and compromise.”

  “Darcy?” She realized that it was her dad’s voice she was hearing. She opened her eyes to see her dad leaning over her on the couch.

  “Dad, hi.”

  “I’m heading to work.”

  “Okay I’ll see you in a little while.”

  Compromise. How were they going to get the two sides together? Was that even possible? That was a question for Temperance and Ruth. They’d have to figure out who to contact from each of the founding families. Ali might have some idea, or Ruth. She knew that Eddie needed to be involved, since he was active on the committee, but she wondered if Barrett, Sr. should be involved too? Eddie might not like it, but she was pretty sure that it wasn’t E
ddie, or even his dad who had the final say in Barrett business. She would represent the Adams, and perhaps her dad since he was the most senior Adams still in town. Ali, she guessed, would represent the Bishops, unless she had another name, and Will for the Martins. That left the Lowes and the Levasques.

  Even though it was early, Darcy texted Eddie. With all the buildings that the Barrett’s owned in the downtown area, she thought it was odd that they didn’t see him last night on Main St. There was no going back to sleep now, her mind was fully awake. She headed upstairs to shower and change.

  She took the loop through the little village center when she left. Mussel Ridge was almost as old as Shoreton. There were about 1200 year round residents which almost doubled in the summer when all the seaside “cottages” were rented out. They had their own elementary school, a library that was open once a week, post office, general store, and fishing community. It was kind of comforting to her that nothing much had changed in the village since she was a kid.

  Darcy still had not heard from Eddie when they walked over to the Empire. When they walked into the lobby, Darcy could hear the voices.

  “They’re here.”

  “So weird that I don’t hear a thing.” Will commented.

  “Wait here a minute. I want to let them know you’re with me.” Darcy walked up to the theater door and opened it. It was a much smaller gathering this time. The stage was lit, but no one was up there. They were all milling around the front of the theater. She didn’t see Temperance, so she walked in a couple steps.

  “Excuse me. Sorry to interrupt.” The talking stopped and all eyes turned to her. “Hello, Is Mrs. Bishop here?”

  “I’m here Miss Adams. Come down here, please.” Temperance said separating herself from the crowd and moving towards the aisle.

  “I brought Alison Bishop with me, and Will Martin. I hope that’s okay.”

  “It is alright if he is of the founding Martin family.”

  “He is.”

  “Very well.”

  Darcy walked back and opened up the door, ushering Ali and Will in, then headed down the aisle to meet Temperance. Ali and Will walked about half way down and then sat down.

  “I don’t see a thing,” Will whispered.

  “Me either,” they watched as Darcy walked down and as far as they could tell, started having a conversation with Temperance, though it looked like she was talking to thin air.

  “Where is everyone?” Darcy asked Temperance. She noticed a few familiar faces. The old guy from the diner was there and smiled at her.

  “I’m afraid things have gotten a lot worse.”

  “Were you—I mean was your side responsible for last night?” Darcy asked.

  “Yes. And I am thankful that it didn’t go any further.”

  “What happened?”

  “We’ve splintered and communication between the two factions has ceased.”

  “May I ask why?”

  “The fire. We believe it was intentionally started.”

  “We don’t know that for sure. We’re still waiting for the investigation.”

  “Miss Adams, none of that matters now. They won’t be convinced otherwise.”

  “So these people are all that you have on your side?”

  “No. Not necessarily. There are many here that refuse to take sides or get involved, which is as it should be in my opinion, but I cannot allow our legacy to be discarded or mistreated by your side either, if I can help it.”

  “What can we do?”

  “I’m not sure anything can be done now. Unless you can convince your side not to destroy our history.”

  “I don’t believe anyone wants to destroy anything!” Darcy said emphatically. Both Ali and Will stood up immediately and walked down the aisle.

  “Everything okay down here?” Ali asked.

  “Yes, sorry. I’m talking with Temperance. There’s hardly anyone here. She says their side has split and broken off communication.”

  “That’s not good.” Ali responded.

  “Is there anything we can do?” Will asked.

  “That’s what I’m asking, but Temperance thinks we’re beyond that.” Darcy thought of what her mother had said. Compromise.

  “Surely there must be some way that we can find a middle ground.” Darcy suggested.

  “I’m not sure how. Your side does not even acknowledge our existence.”

  “I do. We do.” She said motioning to include Ali and Will. “I know there are others out there that are aware of you as well.”

  “What’s going to happen if we can’t fix this?” Will asked.

  “Good question.” Ali agreed.

  “I don’t have an answer. There is a lot of mystical energy in Shoreton.” Temperance replied.

  “Do you mean like the stone at the Historical Society?” Darcy asked. Will looked at Ali for clarification but Ali shrugged, not sure.

  “Yes, in part.” Temperance seemed a little reluctant to explain further. “Last night’s manifestation was surprising. If they’ve learned to manipulate such a large area at once, they’ve managed to harness a lot of energy.”

  “How are they doing that?” Darcy asked.

  “A number of ways, I believe…”

  “What’s she saying?” Ali asked. It was frustrating hearing only one side of a conversation.

  “She said there’s a lot of paranormal—I guess that’s what you’d call it—energy in Shoreton which is what the other group used last night to put on the light and sound show.”

  “If they can do that on such a large scale, what else are they capable of?” Will asked.

  Darcy looked to Temperance for an answer.

  “That’s what concerns me.” Temperance answered. Darcy noted that she answered without really answering the bigger question. She was definitely hesitant about talking too much about the ‘other worldly’ element of all this.

  “She’s not sure.” Darcy relayed to Ali and Will.

  “Well, we can’t go on like this.” Ali stated.

  “Are they aware that no decisions have been made yet? The committee is just exploring options right now. We have time. Nothing’s been decided.” Will asked, talking to Darcy, but motioning towards where he thought Temperance and the others were.

  “They know that, but the fire ramped things up. They’re convinced that it was arson.” Darcy replied. “But Will’s right you know,” she said, speaking now to Temperance. “Nothing has been decided. Can’t we try to come to a compromise?

  “How?”

  “The stone!” Darcy said triumphantly. “I can bring Eddie, and Will too. They’re both on the committee. If we can get the other group on your side to meet with us, maybe we can find a solution both sides can agree on, then Eddie and Will can work on the committee to make that happen.”

  “What’s the stone?” Will whispered to Ali as Darcy was talking to Temperance.

  “That’s how I talked to Aunt Ruth. I could see and hear her.”

  “Really? That is so cool,” Will sounded intrigued by the idea.

  “Sounds like a good idea to me!” Ali piped in. “Of course Eddie might freak out.”

  “That might work…” Temperance agreed, but it was obvious she was struggling with the idea.

  “What does she say?” Ali asked.

  Darcy looked at Temperance who still appeared to be thinking about the option. “Is there a problem?”

  “No…”

  “Okay. Then what is it?”

  “We try and avoid communication between the sides.”

  “Well I think that ship has sailed.” Darcy responded.

  Ali cut in. “What ship?”

  “In this case I think you are right. I will try to get the other group to agree.”

  “Great! I’ll talk to Eddie. When should we meet?”

  “I’ll be in touch.”

  “So you can find me anywhere?”

  “As long as you are in Shoreton, yes.”

  “That’s kinda creepy.�
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  Temperance glared at her, as if she were insulted. “Miss Adams—” She took a deep breath, her demeanor calming, and continued. “I can understand how you might feel that way. It is not something I do lightly.”

  “Are there rules you follow over there or something?”

  “Yes, in a manner of speaking.” She explained, “As I said before, we try and avoid communication between the sides because we understand how hard it can be on the living. It is hard on us as well, especially when we are newly separated from our loved ones. It’s to everyone’s benefit if we exist separately.”

  Ali was impatient. “Ships, rules, creepy? What’s happening?!”

  Both Temperance and Darcy looked at Ali before continuing. “Fill in your companions. I’ll be in touch.” With that she walked back to her group who had been following along as well.

  “Let’s go. I’ll explain in a minute.” Darcy said heading back up the aisle with Ali and Will in tow. The first thing she did when she locked the Empire door was pull out her phone. “I’ve gotta call Eddie,” she said scrolling to his name in her contacts.

  “Wait! Hold on!” Ali said, but Darcy already had the phone to her ear listening to it ring. “Don’t you think we should figure out what your gonna say first? What did Tempe say?” Darcy held up her hand to quiet Ali.

  “Hey Eddie, this is Darcy. Just checking in. Give me a call please. As soon as you can. Thanks.” She hung up.

  “Okay, tell us! What’s going on?”

  “Temperance is going to talk to the other ‘others’ and try to set up a meeting. We need to get to Eddie and explain the situation.”

  “How do we explain that?” Ali asked.

  “Well, after last night, it might be easier.” Will said.

  “Plus some of the accidents that have been happening.” Darcy continued. “And if he freaks, he freaks. He’ll have to get over it. We have to settle this.”

  “So now what?” Will asked.