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I'LL PROTECT YOU
By Donald H Sullivan
It all started when my Grandpa McGee won the lottery. He won a cool fifty million dollars, and that was after taxes. He was working as a house painter and was in his late fifties at the time. On a whim, he bought a couple of lottery tickets at the convenience store where he buys gas, but like many lottery winners, he now regrets buying those tickets.
Shortly after winning, Grandpa came down from Jacksonville to Ocala to visit with us. Me and my sister, Tracey, always looked forward to seeing Grandpa. He was a short, but stocky man, ruddy faced with a thick head of graying hair, and a broom mustache under a hooked nose. He always brought us goodies and presents when he came.
Dad's Brother, Uncle Bert, who lives near St. Augustine, came to our house at Grandpa's request. Uncle Bert, like Dad, was a younger Grandpa, hooked nose, mustache and all. Dad was two years older than Uncle Bert, but many thought they were twins. Lately though, Dad was sporting a goatee, which set him apart. We teased him and said he looked like Colonel Sanders, but he just laughed.
Grandpa presented both sons with generous checks, the reason he had called them together. After a big lunch of chicken and dumplings, we all went into the living room for iced tea and coffee.
Dad shut off the TV as was his custom whenever we had company. "I suppose you've got a few bucks left after giving me and Bert all that money," said Dad, "so have you got any plans on what you're gonna do with the rest of your loot?"
Grandpa laughed. "Yeah, I still got a coupla bucks, Jerry," he replied. "Do you remember how I've always joked that if I won the lottery I'd buy up lots of beach front property and have those ugly stilt houses demolished?"
Uncle Bert almost spit out his coffee. "Pop, If I know you, that's just what you're going to do."
"Matter of fact, my lawyer's already done it. I now own about a quarter mile of beach front with 18 stilt houses sitting on it. Some of the owners wasn't too keen on selling, but I made offers they couldn't turn down." He chuckled. "One of them was almost ready to give his property away, though. He already had his property up for sale. After I bought it, he said he was glad, because he couldn't live there.
"I asked him why, and he claimed the place was haunted by an evil ghost. Some old man died in the house, and said in his will that he loved the place and wanted to be buried there. Well, they ended up burying him in a cemetery, but it seems his angry ghost stays there and refuses to allow anyone else to stay there."
My sister, Tracey, who is two years younger than me, giggled. "Wow! A real haunted house."
"Yeah," I said, "and Grandpa owns it. Grandpa, can you take us to see it?"
"I'd sure like to, Eddie, but I'm kinda busy these days. If I get a chance later, I'll take you and Tracey up there before the place is demolished. That is if your mom and dad don't mind."
"Where's the property located?" Dad asked.
"North of St. Augustine, between Vilano Beach and South Ponte Vedra. It's across Highway A1A and a little north of your house, Bert."
Uncle Bert laughed and nudged Dad. "Jeez, Jerry, remember how I used to be afraid of ghosts when I was as a kid? Now I've got one just across the road from me."
Dad looked at me. "Eddie, when Bert was around twelve, about your age, he wouldn't even go into a dark room by himself."
"Bet you're not afraid now," I said.
"Right. I outgrew it years ago. As a matter of fact, I'd like to take you and Tracey to see the house. That is if your mom and dad will let you stay a couple of days at my place."
Tracey's eyes widened and she ran to mom. "Oh Mom, can we? Can we please, Mom?"
Mom, who had just come into the room, let her ample figure down into her favorite easy chair. She leaned back, pursed her lips, and her big violet eyes stared at the ceiling. "Well...your dad and I will have to think on it."
I knew then that we had a good chance. I could tell by Mom's expression and tone of voice that she was likely to approve.
Tracey and I had stayed a couple of days with Uncle Bert twice before and enjoyed it. His wife died young and they never had a child. He loved children and spoiled us while we were there, taking us to movies, carnivals, and lots of fun places. Mom and Dad never worried, because they knew that Dad's brother was a solid, dependable man.
Uncle Bert winked at her. "Suzy, if it's the evil ghost you're thinking about, don't worry. Ol' Uncle Bert will protect them from the wicked old man."
Mom's eyes wrinkled as she laughed, filling the room with her high pitched cackles. "I don't doubt you will, Bert."
"Hon, it's all right with me," said Dad. "The kids will enjoy a few days away from the house."
Uncle Bert arranged to get a few days off from his job and picked us up two days later.
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We arrived at Uncle's house A little after noon. We weren't hungry since we'd stopped at a McDonald's on the way. Uncle Bert's place was a frame house in a sparsely populated neighborhood, in an area surrounded by palmettos and dotted with sea oaks and cabbage palms.
We'd no sooner pulled into the driveway than Tracey started begging to go see the haunted house. Uncle promised he'd take us as soon as we rested up and had Pepsis.
###
Uncle drove across A1A and went down an access ramp onto the beach. He left the car at the ramp and we walked up the beach about two hundred yards to get to the house. Uncle Bert looked at the stilt houses dotting the beach off to our left.
"That's what your grandpa hates," he said. "He's convinced that after those houses are demolished and removed, the dunes will come back and the beach will regain its natural beauty. It's only a small part of the beach, but it helps."
We arrived at the haunted house. Tracey and I were a little disappointed, expecting a big gloomy place. It was just a stilt house much like the others along the beach.
We climbed a flight of wooden steps to reach a covered veranda surrounding the house. Uncle Bert tested the door and it opened. Tracey hesitated. "Is there really a ghost in there?"
Uncle Bert chuckled, but it wasn't a derisive laugh. "To tell you the truth, Tracey, there's no such thing as ghosts. But the fun of going into a haunted house is to get those chills and thrills thinking about the possibility of facing a real ghost, while at the same time knowing there's no such thing. It's kinda like seeing a scary movie."
"But suppose there is one inside?"
"Hey, I promised your mom I'd protect you from the ghost, and everybody knows that I always keep my promises. So let's go on in, have a look, and then we'll go back." He laughed. "Maybe we can see something scary on TV tonight."
Tracy giggled. "OK Uncle, I wasn't really afraid."
Uncle Bert entered and we followed. I saw Tracey shiver as we entered, and I'll admit to having a few goose bumps, too.
The house was divided into two rooms. A large picture window facing the ocean made the small front room look more spacious. The front room was a combined kitchen, living, and dining room. The smaller back room was a bedroom with an enclosed bathroom in one corner.
There was still some furniture in the house. A wicker basket filled with knick knacks rested on a small table. Uncle Bert reached into the basket to pick up one of the items, but suddenly yelped and drew his hand back. I saw a shiny black spider crawling across the table. I picked up an old magazine lying on the table and smashed it.
"Good Lord, that's a Black Widow and it bit me." Uncle Bert staggered to a couch and fell on it, gasping. "I'm allergic to insect and spider venom, and I'm having a reaction to the bite," he said. "Eddie, I want you to run back to the car and get the little red box from the trunk. It's my allergy kit. Bring the cell phone, too, in case we need to call 911. It's in the space between the front seats." He handed me the car keys.
Tracey, sobbing, ran to the couch and grasped Uncle's hand. "I'll watch Uncle while you're gone," she said.
I ran to the door, but was shocked when a figure appeared in the doorway to block my exit. I gasped and stepped back. It was an old man. He was tall and skinny, and his gaunt face was almost snow white. He looked at me with piercing black eyes.
As I was staring at him, he became a wispy fog and then vanished. I yelled and ran back into the room. "Uncle, it's the ghost!" I was shaking and barely able to speak.
"Eddie, you're seeing things," he said calmly. "Please just run and get the kit. Hurry, every second counts."
I knew that Uncle Bert needed the kit fast, so I turned and again ran to the door. This time something stopped me. It was as if an invisible net was stretched over the door. I bounced back and fell on the floor, and this time Uncle Bert was watching.
"It stopped me," I cried. It..."
"Eddie, you tripped and fell. I want you to hurry, but don't panic. Go carefully out the door and down the steps, then hurry."
"I'll go with him," Tracy said. She ran to the door, and the gaunt figure appeared in the doorway again. She screamed and ran back to Uncle Bert, who had also seen it this time. Once again, it vanished.
Uncle Bert struggled to sit up on the couch. "Whatever, whoever you are, leave us alone. We will leave you if you will let us." He struggled to stand up. "Eddie, Tracey, come here and help me."
He grasped our shoulders and managed to pull himself up. We made it to the door, but once again the ghostly thing appeared. Uncle's voice was weakening. "Please...let us go."
It spoke in a high pitched, wavering voice. "They want to destroy my house."
It vanished again, and when we tried to leave, the invisible net was there. Uncle was wobbly, and we managed to get him back to the sofa. I noticed that his face was swelling and he was wet with sweat.
"I think it means to keep us as hostages or something," He said.
Tracey started crying. Uncle pulled her to him and tried to console her. "It's gonna be all right, Tracey." He started coughing. His hands and face were turning a dark blue color.
I was scared, but I walked to the door and faced it. "Please let us go," I said. "My uncle might die." I felt myself being picked up, and I was hurled back into the room. Tracey started crying louder, and the apparition entered the room and stood before her. She screamed.
Uncle raised himself and sat up. He looked angry. "Leave the kids alone." But he collapsed back onto the couch. I saw that his arm was swollen, and his face was swelling larger. His breathing was coming in short gasps now.
The old man's spirit stayed in the room. It began a maniacal laughter as both Tracey and I rose into the air. She had stopped screaming and was whimpering now. "Please," I begged, "let us go."
Suddenly, out of nowhere, Uncle Bert appeared, now appearing strong and healthy. He faced the old man, who started retreating. "Go," said Uncle, "go where you belong."
Tracey and I were eased to the floor. Uncle kept advancing, and the old man retreated through the door with Uncle following.
As Uncle went through the door, he turned and smiled at us. "You're safe now. Go back to the house and call for help." With that, Uncle Bert became a misty apparition and then vanished. Tracey and I did not have to look. We both knew that Uncle Bert was dead. But he had kept his word. He protected us.
I took her hand and led her out the door. We were both sobbing as we set out for Uncle's house.
**THE END**
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