Harper's Ruin

September 28^th, 1982

The world wouldn’t have blinked if Tommy hadn’t broken his leg...

They’d been out fuckin’ around in the woods near their neighborhood, he and his friends, pretending to be shipwrecked pirates exploring the dangerous island. His friend, Harper, who was the Pirate Queen (mostly because she came up with the game and partly because she was kinda mean when she needed to be) had agreed to let him and Marcus climb a nearby tree to scout the area. Marcus had successfully argued that the Pirate Queen would order her minions to do such lowly work. Though he’d been thwarted in his plan to be the solo climber when Amber, the only other girl in the group, had pointed out that the others would feel bad if he got hurt and a friend could have stopped that from happening.

There was a bit of a scuffle between Tommy and Jorge about who was stronger and the better climber. Harper broke up the impending real fight with her observation from gym the previous week. She had noticed that Tommy had gotten to the top of the rope slightly faster, Jorge grumbled but conceded.

“Alright, Me Hearties, get thee to the top o’ that tree and tell me what thee see’s.” From her smirk the rest could tell the horrible rhyming had been intentional. The groans and lobbing of old pine cones at her just made Harper laugh. Soon the two boys, both decent climbers, were up in the tree pretending to look out and scout the way ahead.

Marcus noticed storm clouds on the horizon “Hey, looks like it’s going to rain.” he yelled down, the others nodded and they got on with the game, appreciating the warning that the Adults would be yelling for them to come home soon. Tommy nudged him “Ya’ see that?” Marcus squinted down in the direction Tommy was pointing at. There was a small cliff not to far off, one they played at often.

It looked like one of the trees on top had fallen recently. Both scrambled down like mad little monkeys to report this find to their Most Fearsome Cap’n.

After a bit of squabbling the group agreed they probably had enough time to check out the downed tree and scarper back to their homes. The tree had fallen because the fissure it had straddled for a few decades had finally been eroded to the point it could no longer provide support. For the children this supplied a new feature to terrain that had almost become boringly familiar.

Everyone agreed that Tommy got the honor of going first as he had been the one to spot the downed tree. Had the cliff been taller and steeper the tree would have been harder to climb and The Intrepid Pirates of Freedonia, Louisiana would have given the tree a cursory examination then been home before the storm hit. As it was, with a bit of effort they were able to make it to the tree’s roots in time for the clouds to start pitter-pattering them with warning drops.

All looked down in the fissure trying to see if there was treasure or some frightening monster. Harper did have a small flashlight in her backpack but it barely made a dent in the gloom. Though even a fully sunny day might not have helped. The group lamented, yet again, their lack of a couple of good ropes.

As they were leaving Tommy caught a glimmer from the corner of his eye down in the hole. Harper was the only one still up at the top with him preparing to start down when she heard Tommy’s “Huh, what’s thaAAAAaa…” accompanied by a shomp-crak of him falling along with some debris. The tree shook lightly then settled back down. Harper peered down, she could barely make out Tommy’s sneaker. Looking back over her shoulder she saw Amber’s wide, scared eyes staring at her through the edge of the tree roots.

“Tommy’s hurt, go get someone to call for an ambulance, bring back some rope.” Amber blinked owlishly at her “GO NOW!” Amber turned scrambling down to the others, the three taking off.

She heard faint moans and crying from Tommy “Hey, Tommy hang in there. I sent the others for help. It won’t be long.” There was a brief pause “Harper? ‘m scared. Think I broke m’ leg.” Taking a deep breath to sound calmer than she was “Yeah, it’s me. I’m gonna stay with you until help comes. ‘kay?” She heard a faint grumbling and “so cold” from him. She’d read some of her Mom’s first-aid manual and thought he might be going into shock. “Crap” she mumbled to herself.

Looking around she noticed that part of the roots were dangling down the side of the fissure and with Tommy’s unfortunate fall she could now see that part of what had held up the tree was now sloping rubble down inside to where he lay. Unhappily the rain that was picking up would make Tommy’s condition worse. She snugged the straps of her backpack tighter and started climbing down.

There were a couple of heart leaping moments but she managed to make it down safely. Clicking on her flashlight she made her way over to Tommy. He looked pale and was shivering. She went through both of their packs assessing what they had. There was an old rain poncho, the sweatshirt she’d snagged from her Mom, a couple of Bic lighters and the multi-tool her brother snuck/gave her last Christmas.

After covering Tommy with the poncho and using the sweatshirt as a pillow for him she started searching to see if any of the branches were dry enough for a fire. There was an old birds nest near the base of the debris pile and a few sticks were dry enough. She got a small fire started and finally heard someone yelling down to ask if they were alright.

Harper yelled out what she’d figured out with Tommy. She was told to sit tight. There was a weird shimmer from behind her, like sunlight on water. Looking back she couldn’t see anything. Tommy had been mumbling and barely conscious since she got down there. His eyes flew open staring straight at her he said in a stern voice “Cavete! Tenebris lucet, puella.”* sighing he fell unconscious.

Checking Tommy she could see he was still breathing. It sounded like the adults outside were still discussing what to do. Harper got up turning back to were she thought the shimmer had come from. Panning the flashlight along the back wall she saw that there was an opening a little bigger than her. Taking a nearby branch she lit the end with the fire. Bringing it to the hole she thrust the end through.

It took a few moments for her to process what she was seeing. There was a chamber several feet deeper than the 15 foot cliffs. A sunken tiered floor below a mezzanine with ornate railing. In the middle of the floor stood what looked like a baptismal font. Harper stepped in looking around. Near the opening was the rusted head of an old pick-axe the handle long since rotted away. At a guess someone had bashed their way out, possibly using dynamite or tnt to bury the exit once free?.

She made her way around the top tier over to the stone steps of the mezzanine. A dais with a broken lectern was situated to overhang the floor below in the back corner were skeletal remains the tattered clothing reminding Harper of old 1920s adventurers. A cracked leather satchel drew her over. The leather flap was resistant to being opened but she discovered a tear in the top seam allowing her to pull out a journal wrapped in an old cloth. The jacket pocket held an old wallet, and mala prayer beads with a small jade pendent. She placed the journal and wallet in her backpack wrapping the prayer beads around her wrist.

She went over to the dais looking over the railing. The baptismal font was below her. It looked like there was still liquid in the basin a weird glow coming from the bottom. The light started to ripple the source of the shimmer becoming apparent. It was hypnotizing but gave her the feeling of something greasy skimming on the surface of her brain. A slimy tongue that tasted and found her unsuitable. Leaving her feeling violated. Revulsion pushed her back from the edge.

“Harper, what the heck? We told you to stay put! Didn’t you hear us yelling!?” Her fathers voice breaking the silence of the chamber like a thunderclap causing her to squeak and flinch. He looked around actually taking in the room now that his worry for her had abated somewhat. “Sorry, Dad.” The basins glow brightened and started sending out tendril of sparkling, shimmery light... and the world blinked

*Beware! The darkness shines, girl.

September 1^st, 2022

Harper Harlequin Davidson sat staring off into the middle distance. The low creaking of the desk chair keeping time as she rocked back and forth to the memories of that fateful day. Afterwards, she could never quite remember the details. The memories turned into a disjointed film by an obscure impressionist who’d imbibed a bit too much absinthe and opium. She and Tommy had never fully recovered. Their friendship dissolving in the face of her parents divorce and his family moving to Alaska. She’d heard years later that his Dad had been incarcerated for beating his Mom to death and attempting to murder him and his younger sister. Their Mom’s family had been given custody and they were moved to Montana.

She absently smoothed her hand over the beads on her right wrist. There's been a few times over the years where she’d had to restring them. She had patiently restored the leather on the satchel, journal and wallet. Thankfully her brother, Mitch, had stopped her from ruining them with water, giving her a scrub brush plus containers of natural leather conditioner and mink oil he used on his boots, jacket and motorcycle seat.

Her Mom had kept the station wagon, house and primary custody of her and her brother. The house had been sold a year later to pay the mounting bills and they had moved closer to Grandma and Grandpa Rochambeau in New Brunswick, Canada.

Mitch had gone onto University a year later. Her Mom moved on five years after that. New Husband, New Family... same old Harper. She’d been seventeen at the time. Getting into fights at school, staying out all night partying. Blessedly she’d managed to survive.

At 18 Harper had gotten out. Traveling with the wrong sort, and the right sort. It took a lot of hard work and soul searching to get mostly alright with herself. At 51 Harper knowing she was still a work in progress had gotten back in to therapy.

Which is why she was thinking of that day. She’d told her therapist what had happened, including the freaky shit in the cavern, in her last session. She could have, of course, couched it in terms of her game that she worked on in her spare time. But that would be a cop out and Harper knew she’d never really get better if she didn’t talk about this for real and confront her nightmares.

Her therapist had suggested that she’d covered the real trauma and at some point should consider going to the source and finding out what really happened that day. Harper stopped rocking, deciding to rip the band-aid off and go and visit the old’ homestead on the anniversary. Probably not what her therapist intended but Harper never could stand being afraid of anything for very long; and this confrontation was long overdue.

September 28^th, 2022

Taking Sabine Valley Island Road off of Butler Point towards the Sabine Valley Island Bridge the memories hit Harper almost taking her breath away. A hazy golden afternoon that seemed to dim the further away her Mom’s station wagon got from the island wrapped around her minds eyes threatening the tears that never spilled back then.

Drawing in a deep breath, Harper straightened squaring her shoulders and eased the rental car towards the turn in for her old neighborhood. Brief flashes from that sad, desperate time when everything was falling apart plagued her. Seeing the beginning of the path she sighed, parked and got out of the car. “Now is the time to screw your courage to the sticking place.” She whispered. Glancing around she noticed that most of the houses were boarded up, falling down and it was eerily quiet. A rustling in the underbrush caused Harper to squeak like a frightened mouse. When nothing, fiendish or otherwise, came running at her she chuckled weakly “Sorry, William old pal, my courage has seemed to flee.” This amused her enough to lose some of her apprehension. She grabbed her pack and the flashlight from the backseat.

Instead of the overgrown path she’d been expecting it looked as if someone had recently come and cut back the growth on either side of the trail. When Harper got to where the downed tree had been, the opening to the cave had been widened and the path partially paved a few feet out. Tiki torches lined either side giving off the scent of some dark, heavy incense.

From the mouth of the cave her therapist emerged “Oh, thank goodness. I was worried you’d ignore my suggestion.” Her Mother stepped up behind Harper and said “See, I told you there was nothing to worry about, Sarah Ann, my daughter’s only stubborn if you push her.” Harper thought she couldn’t possibly be more out of sorts until her Father stepped up on her other side “Yep, that’s my stubborn princess.”

“What. The. Fuck!?” Harper’s exclamation was met with amused glances and a snide “Language, Harper.” from her Mother. Turning towards her Mother to give her a whole heaping of foul “language” Harper felt a sharp sting in the side of her neck and her Father’s voice in mock apology “Sorry, Princess, we don’t really have time for your hysterics. After all you and that Tommy boy are the guests of honor and the party's starting soon.”

Harper started to swoon and her parents grabbed her. As they pulled her towards the cave Harper felt like she should protest. She couldn’t seem to raise the energy to do more than plod one foot in front of the other and sway slightly between her Mother and Father.

She must of spaced out as the next thing she was aware of was being tied to a stone pillar near the baptismal font. Tommy was across from her tied to his very own pillar. “Hey, Tommy, long time no see. How’ve ya been?” Harper drawled as if this were a chance meeting while out and about. Tommy huffed a mirthless laugh, playing along “Oh, ya know, been hangin’ around doing this and that. How’s your Momma an’ them doin’?” Harper gave a choked sob of laughter “They’re doin’ alright. Throwin’ us a welcome home party, in case you hadn’t heard.”

“Alright, you two smart-asses enough.” Harper’s Mother cut in. The two just looked at each other and started crackin’ up. At a signal from her Father the two were gagged. Two beefy fellows took a stance, one if front of each of them, long obsidian daggers poised to plunge up underneath their ribcage to their hearts.

Her Father stood at the restored lectern on the dais of the mezzanine. Chanting in a weird language, something harsh and full of too many vowels. At another signal from him the two fellows plunged their knives into Harper and Tommy killing them. The power pulsating from the corrupt baptismal font until everything faded to white before Harper’s eyes.

Harper found herself standing in a generic looking waiting room. Approaching the front desk Harper cleared her throat gaining the attention of the buxom brunette sitting there. “Hello, welcome to Afterlife Incorporeal, we will be helping you with all your afterli...Oh, it’s you. He’s gonna be pretty pissed seeing you back so soon, Harper. Have a seat.” The brunette, whose name plate read Sandra Shepard, waved towards the uncomfortable looking chairs. Picking up the phone receiver and turning slightly away in clear dismisal.

Now Harper was not only confused but pissed as well “So when a tall angry ginger came barreling down on her yelling about this being the fifth time she’d died untimely and why couldn’t she just do what she’d been sent back to do, Harper snapped “Excuse me! Who the hell are you? What do you mean ‘I’ve died five other times? and what the hell exactly should I be doing when I don’t remember ever meetin’ your sorry ass before!!!”

This seemed to calm the ginger haired guy down somewhat “My apologies, Harper. You’re right that was unfair of me to take my anger out on you. Hello, I’m Geoff Granger, your personal grim reaper. Please, if you will follow me back to my office I will explain what is going on.” He extended a hand to shake hers gesturing with the other to the hall he’d come rampaging down.

Geoff explained to Harper that she’d been chosen to stop this cult that had brought about the end of the universe she’d been in. As this was the sixth time of sending her back to an earlier point in her live she was allowed to keep her memories. Part of Geoff’s frustration was he’d argued that doing so the first time would save all of them a lot of pain and heartache. All he was told was that’s not the rules of how these things are written. The point she would go back to was finding the baptismal font.

She stepped through the door and into her younger self.