The October Country

                                    THE  OCTOBER COUNTRY.                                                                          IN MY YOUTH I TRAVELED FAR AND WIDE ,SEARCHING OUT  THE UNEXPLAINED,THE UNKNOWN,AND THE UNKNOWABLE. IN HINDSIGHT MY QUEST  MAY HAVE BEEN IN VAIN, FOR DESPITE ALL THAT I HAVE WITNESSED  I STILL FIND MYSELF NO CLOSER TO UNDERSTANDING THE GREATER TRUTH.                                                                                                               ================================================================                                                                                                                                                                                             WEARILY I SAT UPON THE GRAYING TRUNK OF THE MASSIVE OAK FALLEN BY SOME LONG FORGOTTEN STORM. THE CLIMB HAD BEEN LONG AND STEEP AND THE REST WAS WELCOME INDEED. AT LAST I PULLED MY BATTERED OLD BRIAR PIPE FROM MY JACKET POCKET,AND AFTER FILLING AND LIGHTING IT ,I SETTLED  BACK TO WATCH THE LAST RAYS OF SUNLIGHT HIGHLIGHT THE BRILLIANT REDS AND ORANGES OF THE AUTUMN FOLIAGE, MY THOUGHTS TURNED TO THE REASON FOR THIS ADVENTURE AND TO WHAT MIGHT AWAIT  ME IF MY QUEST WAS SUCCESSFUL. BY ALL RIGHTS THIS NARRATIVE SHOULD HAVE BEGUN WITH  MY ARRIVAL IN THE VILLAGE OF ZALESKI  MY INTENT HAD BEEN TO MAIL A LETTER AT THE POST OFFICE, PURCHASE SOME PIPE TOBACCO AT THE GENERAL STORE  ,AND BE ON MY WAY.  HOWEVER  FATE SOMETIMES INTERVENES,AND AN IDLE REMARK CAUGHT MY ATTENTION AND LED ME TO BEGIN WHAT BECAME A MOST UNUSUAL SIDE TRIP. I HAD FINISHED MY ERRANDS AND WAS RETURNING TO MY VEHICLE WHEN I  CHANCED TO OVERHEAR A RATHER HEATED CONVERSATION BETWEEN TWO MEN SITTING ON THE STEPS OF THE GENERAL STORE.  NOW I DON’T CARE HOW MANY DOGGONE DEER  ARE UP THERE I AINT A GOING AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT DANA END OF STORY. WELL JR. I SURE NEVER FIGURED ANYTHING  WOULD SCARE YOU, ESPECIALLY IF HUNTING WAS INVOLVED. I’M NOT SCARED OF THINGS YOU CAN SEE BUT THINGS YOU HEAR AND CAN’T SEE ARE BEST LEFT ALONE REPLIED THE SHORTER OF THE TWO ,JR. I ASSUMED.  MY SENSES  ARE ATTUNED TO MATTERS OF THE PARANORMAL SO NATURALLY I STEPPED CLOSER TO GATHER MORE INFORMATION. I NODDED TO BOTH MEN AND BEGAN TO FILL MY PIPE ,AND AFTER STRIKING A MATCH APPLIED THE FLAME SO AS TO EVENLY LIGHT THE TOBACCO IN THE CHARRED BOWL. SAY DID I HEAR YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT DEER I  ASK, SO AS TO BEGIN WHAT I HOPED TO BE AN ENLIGHTENING CONVERSATION .YEAH  I GUESS YOU DID ANSWERED THE TALLER MAN WHO I FIGURED TO BE DANA. I’M NEW TO THIS AREA, AND I  SURE COULD USE SOME ADVICE I BEGAN,THERE’S NOT AS MANY AROUND HERE AS THERE  USED TO BE SAID THE SHORTER ONE .MOSTLY DOES I AINT SEEN A REAL GOOD BUCK IN A  LONG TIME.  WELL I REMARKED DOES ARE BETTER EATING ANYWAY AND I REALLY DON’T HAVE THE TIME TO BE TO PICKY ,SO I GUESS I’D TAKE WHATEVER I COULD FIND.YOU HERE  TO HUNT ARE YOU ASK THE TALL MAN? NOT EXACTLY I REPLIED I’M  JUST PASSING THROUGH AND I HAVE A DAY OR TWO TO SPARE, SO IF I COULD GET AN IDEA OF WHERE TO GO I MIGHT TRY MY LUCK. HAVE YOU GOT SOMEPLACE TO STAY ASK THE SHORT MAN? I USUALLY JUST  CAMP IN MY VAN I HAVE IT PRETTY WELL FIXED UP SO I GET ALONG ALRIGHT AND I HAVE WHAT I NEED RIGHT THERE,SELF CONTAINED I GUESS YOU CALL IT. YOU’RE OUT OF LUCK THE FOREST RANGER’S DON’T LET ANYONE CAMP ALONG THE ROAD ANY MORE,AND THEY KEEP A PRETTY CLOSE WATCH AROUND HERE,ITS TWO HUNDRED AND FIFTY DOLLAR FINE IF YOU GET CAUGHT AND AINT NO DEER WORTH THAT MUCH THE SHORTER MAN REPLIED. THERE’S  A CAMPGROUND UP THE ROAD ABOUT 5 MILES,BUT YOU’RE WELCOME TO PARK YOUR VAN IN MY YARD IF YOU WANT, I LIVE ABOUT A BLOCK DOWN THE STREET IN THAT WHITE HOUSE ON THE RIGHT HE STUCK OUT HIS HAND AND INTRODUCED HIMSELF AS DANA WILT AND THE OTHER MAN AS JR.COLEMAN AND INDICATED THAT THEY BOTH HAD LIVED IN THE AREA ALL THEIR LIVES.  GOOD TO MEET YOU BOTH I SAID MY NAME’S JOHN CHAMBERS AND AS I SAID BEFORE I’M JUST PASSING THROUGH. ARE YOU A SALESMAN MR CHAMBERS ASK DANA? NO I’M A DR. I REPLIED. A MEDICAL DOCTOR? ASK JR. NOT EXACTLY I’M AN ANTHROPOLOGIST I TOLD HIM .I WORK FOR THE EASTERN CENTER FOR PARANORMAL RESEARCH.  YOU MEAN LIKE GHOSTS AND STUFF? DANA QUESTIONED.SOMETIMES, I SAID MORE OFTEN THAN NOT THOUGH THERE’S AN ANSWER THAT HAS NOTHING AT ALL TO DO WITH GHOSTS OR ANYTHING LIKE  THAT.YOU GET PAID TO CHASE GHOSTS ? NOT VERY  WELL,BUT I GET PAID TO INVESTIGATE UNUSUAL EVENTS WHICH AS I SAY MOST OF THE TIME DON’T INVOLVE ANYTHING MORE THAN SQUIRRELS IN THE ATTIC OR RATS IN THE WALLS,BUT ONCE IN A WHILE THERE IS A CASE THAT FALLS UNDER PARANORMAL ACTIVITY,AND MY EMPLOYERS FEEL THAT JUSTIFY'S PAYING MY SALARY .TELL ME DR.CHAMBERS HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A REAL GHOST? PLEASE  CALL ME JOHN, AND YES I HAVE SEEN A GHOST, IN FACT OVER THE YEARS I’VE SEEN QUITE A FEW. WHAT’S A GHOST LOOK LIKE ASK JR. OH MOST OF THEM ARE KIND OF LIKE MIST WITH          A HUMAN SHAPE IT’S RARE TO SEE ONE THAT’S SOLID,I’VE ONLY SEEN A COUPLE OVER THE YEARS. CAN YOU SEE THEIR FACES ASK DANA? NOT ENOUGH TO RECOGNIZE ANYONE, I TOLD HIM. I FIGURED NOW THAT THE CONVERSATION WAS HEADED IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION I JUST AS WELL BRING UP THE MATTER THAT HAD CAUGHT MY ATTENTION IN THE FIRST PLACE, I  DIDN’T INTEND TO EAVESDROP, BUT I HEARD YOU FELLOWS TALKING AS I CAME BY AND IT  SOUNDED LIKE SOMETHING I MIGHT BE INTERESTED IN, I BEGAN BUT JR. CUT ME OFF WITH A  CURT, THAT AINT NO PLACE TO FOOL WITH DR. CHAMBERS. PLEASE JUST CALL ME JOHN I SAID.THEN TRIED AGAIN TO GET TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER.WHAT'S WRONG WITH THIS PLACE I ASK JR. WELL JOHN I DON’T QUITE KNOW HOW TO SAY IT BUT THINGS JUST AINT NORMAL UP THERE. HOW DO YOU MEAN? I ASK, OH I DON’T KNOW. FUNNY NOISES. ANIMALS NOT ACTING  RIGHT, EVEN THE LIGHT  LOOKS DIFFERENT UP THERE, ITS BEEN THAT WAY FOR AS LONG AS I  CAN REMEMBER, AND LONGER EVEN, I REMEMBER MY GRANDPA TELLING  ABOUT IT WHEN I  WAS A KID. HE KIND OF SETTLED BACK AND UNWOUND AS IF HE WASN’T USED TO MAKING  SUCH A LONG SPEECH, BUT DANA PROMPTED JR. TO GO ON . COME ON AND TELL HIM ABOUT  THAT PHANTOM DEER JR. THERE’S NOT MUCH TO TELL REALLY JUST THAT I WENT UP THERE THE OTHER EVENING WITH MY BOW, I FIGURED THAT PLACE AINT HUNTED SO A BIG BUCK JUST MIGHT BE STAYING UP THERE TO KEEP HIMSELF OUT OF SOMEBODY’S FREEZER, WELL IT WAS GETTING TOWARD DARK BUT THERE WAS STILL ENOUGH LIGHT TO SEE TO SHOOT. I HEARD  A  NOISE IN THE LEAVES THAT SOUNDED LIKE A DEER HEADING TOWARD ME , I BROUGHT UP MY BOW AND DREW BACK,  BUT I SWEAR TO YOU THAT NOISE CAME NOT MORE THAN 10 FEET FROM ME BUT THERE WASN’T A DARNED THING THERE AT LEAST NOTHING I COULD SEE! I GOT UP AND WALKED BACK TO MY TRUCK KIND OF FAST LIKE AND I DON’T PLAN TO EVER GO ANY          PLACE NEAR THERE AGAIN!  AFTER MUCH COAXING, AND WITH MY SINCERE ASSURANCE THAT          I WOULD BE VERY CAREFUL, I  OBTAINED DIRECTIONS TO THE STRANGE AND HAUNTED SPOT. AS I HAVE PREVIOUSLY STATED THE CLIMB WAS LONG AND STEEP SO AFTER I REACHED MY  DESTINATION AND SETTLED IN TO AWAIT WHAT I HOPED TO BE AN EVENTFUL EVENING I MUST CONFESS MY SENSES WERE SOMEWHAT DULLED BY MY EXERTIONS AND FOR A TIME MY MIND WANDERED,BUT GRADUALLY I NOTICED THAT THE SHADOWS HAD DEEPENED AND DUSK WAS UPON ME.THE AREA HAD STRUCK ME AS BEING UNUSUALLY QUIET,THAT IS THERE WERE NONE OF THE NORMAL SOUNDS OF THE FOREST SUCH AS BIRDS AND SQUIRRELS BUT NOW I BECAME AWARE OF A SOMEWHAT DISTANT RUSTLING OF LEAVES AS IF SOMETHING WAS WALKING IN MY DIRECTION,AS I LISTENED CLOSER TO MY SURPRISE I REALIZED THE SOUNDS CAME FROM BELOW ME AND SEEMED TO BE FOLLOWING THE PATH THAT I HAD RECENTLY TROD. I WAITED, MY SENSES ON FULL ALERT, FINALLY THROUGH THE GLOOM A FIGURE BECAME VISIBLE AND I           RECOGNIZED  JR. WHEN HE PULLED EVEN WITH ME ,HE NODDED AND SAID I GOT TO THINKING ABOUT YOU BEING UP HERE,I KIND OF FEEL LIKE IT’S MY FAULT.THAT YOU GOT MIXED UP IN THIS SO I GUESS WHATEVER IS UP HERE WILL HAVE TWO OF US TO DEALWITH, I’LL STAY IF IT’S OK WITH YOU. I’D BE GLAD FOR THE COMPANY I TOLD HIM ,HAVE A SEAT AND REST A LITTLE  THAT HILL IS A PRETTY ROUGH CLIMB, YEAH HE SAID BUT IT’S A WHOLE LOT EASIER GOING  BACK DOWN ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE A LITTLE SCARED,WITH THAT HE TOOK A SEAT ON THE  TREE TRUNK AND OUR VIGIL THUS BEGAN. AS EARLIER STATED THERE WERE NONE OF THE NORMAL FOREST SOUNDS TO BE HEARD,SO WE REACTED WITH A START WHEN AN OWL CALL  SOUNDED FROM A TREE ABOUT THIRTY FEET AWAY,THEN JUST AS THE OWL’S CALL FADED IN THE DISTANCE,ANOTHER NOISE BECAME AUDIBLE. THE SOUND OF SOMETHING MAKING IT’S WAY DOWN THE RIDGE TOWARD THE TWO OF US.THE PROGRESS WAS SLOW BUT STEADY AND WE BOTH TENSED IN ANTICIPATION OF OUR COMING ENCOUNTER.REACHING IN MY JACKET    POCKET I GRASPED MY SMALL BUT POWERFUL FLASHLIGHT AND PULLED IT FREE, MY FINGER  FOUND THE SWITCH AND WITH A CLICK BRIGHT LIGHT FLOODED THE AREA, ILLUMINATING THE TREES,VINES,ROCKS AND THE FAINT TRACES OF AN OLD TRAIL BUT OF THE SOURCE OF THE SOUND NOTHING WAS VISIBLE,JR.WHISPERED SEE JOHN IT’S LIKE I TOLD YOU, NOT A DOGGONE THING. NO SOONER HAD HE UTTERED THIS OBERSERVATION THAN DID SILENCE  DESCEND UPON THE SCENE .SECONDS TICKED BY,THEN MINUTES AND STILL WE HEARD NOT A SOUND. FINALLY I BROKE THE EERIE SPELL, JR.UNLESS I MISS MY GUESS WE’LL HEAR THAT SAME THING OVER AND OVER AGAIN ALL NIGHT LONG,BUT WE’LL NEVER SEE ANYTHING,IT’S CALLED A RESIDUAL HAUNTING,AS FAR AS I KNOW NOBODY HAS EVER BEEN HURT BY A HAUNTING LIKE THIS ,HECK IT’S NOT EVEN AWARE OF OUR BEING HERE.OF COURSE THIS IS THE REASON THERE’S NO ANIMAL ACTIVITY AROUND HERE,THEY CAN SENSE THE PARANORMAL AND AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE,I FIGURE YOU COULD SIT UP HERE FROM NOW TILL THE END OF DEER SEASON AND NEVER SEE ANYTHING AND I MEAN SEE ANYTHING, BUT YOU MIGHT GET AN EARFUL EVERY NOW AND THEN. WE LINGERED A WHILE ,AT LEAST LONG ENOUGH TO HEAR A  REPEAT OF THE PERFORMANCE WITH THE SAME RESULT, NOTHING VISIBLE. FINALLY WE GOT TO OUR FEET AND STARTED TO RETRACE OUR STEPS BACK DOWN THE RIDGE TOWARD OUR VEHICLES.WHEN AT LAST WE REACHED OUR GOAL JR. STOPPED AND REACHED OUT TO SHAKE MY HAND THANKS FOR GOING UP THERE AND FINDING OUT WHAT WAS GOING ON IT MAKES ME FEEL BETTER TO KNOW THAT I AINT CRAZY OR GOING BLIND,BUT SINCE YOU SAY THERE AINT NO USE HUNTING UP THERE I DON’T FIGURE THERE’S ANY REASON FOR ME TO EVER GO BACK    WELL UNLESS DANA MAYBE WANTS TO TRY HIS LUCK.