Red Rain

73

Mark felt a tingle of fear run down his back. Overhead, a seagull screamed as if reacting to Lea’s words. A burst of wind off the bay ruffled Lea’s hair.

He held onto the sleeve of her sweater. “Lea, you’re not making any sense. We need to get you home. The stress-”

“No. It’s true, Mark. I. . didn’t want to tell you, darling. I suspected it all along. Didn’t you notice how different I was when I returned from the island? I suspected it. I fought it. I fought it every day. I hoped against hope. But I knew. I knew. And then Martha emailed me. .”

“Lea, you’re not dead. You’re standing here with me. You’re just very distraught, and we need to find you help. I know several good doctors-”

Another seagull cry rang in Mark’s ears. He glanced up and saw two fat gulls circling them low overhead.

“I didn’t want to leave you. I didn’t want to leave Ira and Elena.” Tears glistened in her dark eyes and rolled down her cheeks.

“You don’t have to leave. I’ll take care of you.”

“No.” Her voice turned sharp. “No. You can’t. I have proof, Mark. I have proof right here. I know you don’t want to see it, honey. Telling you this. . doing this to you. . it’s like I’m dying again.”

“Stop saying that!” He didn’t mean to sound frantic. How had she become so delusional? Did she see something unspeakable on the island? Is that why her mind has snapped?

Lea fumbled with her small black leather bag. Some makeup tubes and a mirror fell out. The mirror shattered on the asphalt.

Seven years bad luck, Mark thought. But he immediately scolded himself for having such a superficial thought when his wife was in such distress.

She pulled out some folded-up papers and uncreased them with trembling hands. She made no attempt to wipe away the tears that glistened on her face.

“Here. Oh, here. I’m so sorry. Martha sent these. I’m so sorry, Mark.” She pushed the papers at him. Photographs, he saw.

“This is proof?”

She nodded.

He raised the first photo to his face. Black-and-white, very grainy. His eyes focused on a scene of destruction. Fallen houses. Debris everywhere. And then his eyes settled on the two blond boys standing forlornly in the foreground.

“The twins?” He gazed over the photo at her. “Samuel and Daniel? Taken after the hurricane?”

“Oh, Mark.” A long sigh escaped her throat. “Yes. The twins. Taken after the hurricane. . but a different storm, Mark. A different storm. The hurricane of 1935.”

The papers nearly flew from his hand. “Lea, please. You’re not making sense.”

“The second photo, too. I am making sense.” She struggled to pull out the second sheet for him. “Martha is a photo researcher. I told you that. She found these photos from 1935. Then she emailed me, Mark. Yesterday. She emailed me all the details. She found the truth, Mark. You won’t like it, sweetheart. It’s all so sad and horrible. You won’t like it but you have to hear it now.”

Mark took the photo and gazed at the twins standing bare-chested in the midst of the rubble. “I don’t believe it,” he said softly, “but let’s say it’s true. What does it mean, Lea? Tell me.”

She nodded, tangles of hair, wet from tears, falling down the sides of her face. “There’s a ritual on Le Chat Noir. It’s called Revenir. It means return. It’s performed by a priest.” She stopped and pushed his hand away. “Don’t look at me like that. I’m not crazy, Mark. I wish I was crazy but I’m not. Just let me finish.”

He took a step back, the photos fluttering in his hand. “Okay. Sorry.”

“The priest who performs the Revenir rite can bring back the dead. It sounds insane but I saw it. I saw it done. I didn’t believe it when I was there. But it’s true. He brings back the dead, Mark. And in that hurricane of 1935, the priest brought back the twins. The twins died in the hurricane, and the priest brought them back. But-”

He grasped her shoulders gently. “Take a breath. I’m listening. I won’t interrupt you. But you’re forgetting to breathe.”

She swallowed. Her chin trembled. More tears glistened in her eyes. “The priest brought the boys back, but he did it all wrong. There were so many deaths to deal with. He messed it up, Mark. He. . he waited too long. The boys were dead too long. And when they came back, they had all of death’s evil in them. They looked the same. They seemed the same. They were alive again, but they were alive with evil.”

What am I going to do? I’ve got to get her to a hospital. I know some doctors who can treat this. I can make some calls.

“The twins came back to life with evil powers, Mark. Hypnotic powers and powers to kill. The priest brought them back from the world of the dead. But he made mistakes. He told Martha he made mistakes. The boys have been the same age since 1935. Martha says they lived by themselves all these years, waiting. . waiting for someone to take them off the island so they could work their evil. And I. . I was the one. I brought them both here. I brought them into our family, our lives, and, and. . I’m the only one who can take them back.”

“Lea, stop. Please. Please stop. Let’s not talk about it anymore. How about that waffle cone? Would that make you feel better?”

Anything to make her stop talking this insane nonsense. Why didn’t I see that she was having a breakdown? How could I not have seen?

“No. It’s too late for ice cream now, honey. Look at the third photo. Martha sent a third photo. I knew what it would show. I mean, I had a strong feeling. But there it is. There’s my proof, Mark. I. . I didn’t want to show it to you. I don’t want to leave. But I don’t have a choice.”

“You’re not leaving. You’re not going anywhere. Stop saying that. I love you. The kids love you. They need you. We won’t let you go anywhere.”

She pushed the papers. “Just look.”

The third photo was in color. It showed a strange-looking man in a red robe. He had a large blue tattoo on the top of his bald head. He had one long-fingered hand raised. . raised over Lea. Yes. He was leaning over Lea, who sat in a chair with her eyes closed, head tilted back.

Mark raised his eyes to her. “What does this prove?”

“I died in Martha Swann’s house. Part of the roof came down in the hurricane. It landed on me, and I died. Martha and James-they knew where to find the priest. They risked their lives out in the storm. They brought him and he performed the Revenir rite on me. I came back, Mark. He brought me back. But I wasn’t the same. Much as I tried, I wasn’t the same. I’ve been obsessed. . obsessed with death. I. . don’t really feel as if I belong here.”

Her shoulders trembled. A sob racked her entire body. “If only I hadn’t brought the twins home, maybe we could have gotten along for a while. Maybe I could have pretended. But. . I ruined our lives. If only. .” Her voice trailed off and she grabbed him and pulled his arms around her and pressed her tear-drenched face against his chest.

He held her tight. The photos fluttered across the pier. He wanted to wrap her up and keep her safe. He knew she could be okay again. Of course she could. The island hurricane had been a terrible trauma. So much horror-it could affect anyone, especially someone as sensitive as Lea.

Her head pressed against him, he saw the twins over her shoulder. He saw them walk past the old colonial windmill near the street and come toward them, down the center of the pier.

Lea turned, as if sensing they were approaching.

The boys strode rapidly side by side, past the Dock House, past the rows of parked cars on both sides, their eyes straight ahead on Mark and Lea. Mark felt Lea shudder.

As the twins drew close, he called to them. “How did you get here? What are you doing here?”

Daniel’s answer came back in his high little-boy’s voice. “We came to hurt you.”