The Return

Rebecca Tomlin sat on her bed, reading her book, her mind racing. Tomorrow, July 15, was her birthday, and she couldn’t wait. Sweet sixteen, which meant her own car! She could only wonder which brand her parents had picked out for her.

”It doesn’t matter,” she thought to herself. “I trust they’ll pick out the best one.”

“Bec!” a woman’s voice shouted; it was Andrea, Rebecca’s mother.

“Yeah, mom?” Rebecca shouted back, lowering her book.

“You better get to sleep,” said Andrea’s voice. “We’ve got a big day planned, and I want to make sure you’re well rested.”

Rebecca set her book down on the bedside table and hurried to her parents’ room, where Andrea and her father, Todd, were climbing into bed. She waited until they were both under the covers and then sat down on the edge of the bed, looking up at them. Andrea was slim, her blonde hair currently tied into a ponytail, and her brown eyes looked as lively as ever. Todd was a muscular man, with thick, brown hair and goatee.

“What are we doing tomorrow?” Rebecca asked for the hundredth time. “Can’t you tell me?”

“We can,” said Todd, smiling, “but that would ruin the surprise.”

“Can you at least tell me if I’m getting a car?” asked Rebecca. Andrea simply shrugged, but Rebecca could’ve sworn she saw her father wink. Smiling, she got back up, hugged them, and hurried back to bed. She was asleep within thirty minutes.

Rebecca awoke the next morning and looked at her clock. Nearly eight o’clock on the dot, perfect! She leapt up and hurried toward the breakfast table, where both her parents were already gathered and dressed for the day. The table was set with all of Rebecca’s favorites: blueberry waffles with syrup, scrambled eggs with chopped peppers, and turkey bacon.

“Aw, thanks, guys!” said Rebecca, hugging them.

“You’re welcome, angel,” said Todd as Rebecca poured herself a cup of coffee. “Take a seat, and let’s eat. Maybe while we do, we’ll tell you what we’ve got planned.”

Rebecca gave a squeal of delight and quickly filled her plate with a little bit of everything. Everything was delicious, and, for a few moments, the only sound was the clink of silverware.

“Alright,” said Rebecca, tired of the building anticipation. “Time to spill. What are we doing today?”

“We’re going,” said Todd, and he paused to add to the drama of the big reveal, “to Fall River Canyon!”

Rebecca gave a loud squeal of delight. Fall River Canyon was a forest nearly two hours from the Tomlin’s house. Although beautiful, the place was more of a hole-in-the-wall place and consequently was never very crowded. It was a good place for hiking, camping, boating, and fishing.

“Really?” said Rebecca. “We haven’t been there in forever!”

“Exactly,” said Andrea, “which is why we figured it’d be a good place to spend your birthday. Now, go get dressed, and we’ll go. We’ve already packed the truck.”

Twenty minutes later, the Tomlin family was loaded into Todd’s truck and was on their way. They finally reached it and found a parking spot.

“Can we do the hike to Beaver Falls?” said Rebecca.

“It’s your day,” said Todd, distributing the walking sticks. “Lead the way! Look at that, a poet, and I didn’t even know it!”

“At least you know to show it,” said Rebecca, playfully punching her father’s arm. She led the way towards the trail head, and they set off together: Rebecca leading the way, Andrea in the middle, and Todd brought up the rear.

As they hiked, sweat began to roll down their faces and the backs of their necks. Though they drank, it did little to relieve them of the heat, and shade was sparse.

“Keep going!” said Rebecca after nearly an hour and a half. “We’re nearly there!”

“I propose,” said Todd between breaths, “that we break at the Falls for lunch.”

“That works for me!” said Andrea, raising her hand in voting. No more than twenty minutes later, they reached the Falls. It was an enormous waterfall, and they could see nearly dozen trees that had been clearly downed by beavers.

“I think I see a spot out of the sun!” said Rebecca, and she summoned her energy to run towards the spot. Andrea and Todd ambled behind her, took off their backpacks, and sat down next to their daughter. Andrea unveiled sandwiches as the lunch and passed them out.

They ate in silence, each trying to regain their breath. As they did, they couldn’t help but notice storm clouds were starting to roll in, casting shadow down upon them.

“We should probably finish up and head back towards the truck,” said Andrea. “That storm wasn’t on the radar.”

Todd and Rebecca both nodded and hurried to eat the rest of their sandwiches. They then picked their backpacks up and set back off down the trail. After half an hour, the rain began, and, due to the sudden appearance of the rain, they hadn’t brought any rain gear.

“There’s a cave over there!” said Rebecca, pointing towards it, nearly twenty feet off the trail. “Maybe we can go in there, wait it out, and get going once it’s over!”

Todd and Andrea nodded, and they made their way into the cave. As soon as they had crossed the threshold, the rain seemed to fall harder, and the wind blew harder.

“This isn’t what we had in mind,” said Andrea, looking at her daughter, a sympathetic look on her face.

“It’s alright,” said Rebecca. “These things happen. It’s no one’s fault.”

Andrea smiled and turned to her husband.

“It’s time,” she said. Confused, Rebecca looked at her parents, but she barely had time to react as her father stepped forward and placed a hand on each of her shoulders. Before she knew it, Rebecca found herself hoisted into the air as her father carried her deeper into the cave. As Todd walked, he didn’t seem to care that she wasn’t very high up: every few steps, Rebecca felt her legs bump against the cave wall or scrape against a rock.

With a grunt, he dropped her onto the hard floor, and she let out a moan of pain. She looked at her legs, which were lightly bleeding; her shorts were torn in several spots. For a moment, it was just Todd and Rebecca; there was no sign of Andrea. Awful thoughts began to race through Rebecca’s mind.

“What the hell is going on?”

“Is he going to kill me?”

“Is he going to rape me?”

There was movement behind Todd, and Andrea appeared, holding something in her hand. It took a moment for Andrea’s eyes to adjust to the darkness, but she could tell what it was. It was her father’s pistol. Rebecca began to cry.

“No, please!” she said, tears starting to roll down her face. “Please, don’t!”

Neither Andrea nor Todd made any indication they heard her. Andrea simply handed the gun to Todd.

“Alright,” he said, “now, I want you to face the wall.”

Rebecca, tears streaming down her face, did as she was told. Todd raised the pistol so that it was level with his daughter’s temple.

A clap of thunder hid any sound of the gunshot.

***

Rebecca Tomlin was reported missing the following day, and her body was found nearly a week later. Due to the placement of the gun, which was found in her hand, and the location of the entry wound, her death was ultimately ruled a suicide. Both Andrea and Todd both said that they gone to Big River Canyon with Rebecca for her birthday, but they were separated by the storm. Efforts to find her again had proved fruitless.

Unable to live in their house, considering they would be reminded of their daughter’s tragic fate, the Tomlins sold their home and moved to a new house six months after their daughter’s disappearance.

***

Fifteen years later, Todd and Andrea were in the living room, watching television. It was raining outside, but they were both curled up on the couch, under a blanket. As a clap of thunder subsided, the phone rang.

“I’ll get it,” said Todd, getting to his feet. He crossed over to the phone and picked up the receiver.

“Hello?” he said. “This is Todd Tomlin speaking.”

To his surprise, there was no response from the other end, just strange breathing, before the line disconnected.

“Who was that?” said Andrea as Todd took his spot on the couch again.

“No one,” said Todd. “It sounded like some stupid kids pulling a prank.”

Andrea shook her head.

“Hey, want to turn on a movie?” she said, and Todd nodded. He got back to his feet and began to look for one. Settling on an action one, he popped in the DVD and returned to the couch. Twenty minutes into the movie, the phone rang again.

“You got it last time; now it’s my turn,” said Andrea, getting to her feet. She picked up the phone and heard the same strange breathing. This time, however, it was followed by loud, maniacal laughter before the call ended.

“Damn kids,” said Andrea as she sat back down. “They called again. This time, there was this weird laughter, like a lunatic’s.”

Andrea shook her head again and returned her attention to watching the movie. It ended just less than two hours later, and they both got up and headed towards the bathroom to get ready for bed. The phone rang as they were brushing their teeth.

“Ignore it,” said Todd. “I guarantee it’s those damn kids again.”

The ringing stopped. As they listened, a voice began to speak from the answering machine.

“Todd, it’s your mother. I know it’s late, and you’re probably asleep, but I wanted to let you know that your father and I made it back from our cruise. We’ll try calling you again in the morning.”

“I’d better call her back,” said Todd, and he went to the phone and dialed. It rang, but when the other end picked up, it wasn’t the voice of his mother speaking to him.

“Daddy?” said the voice. “Is that you?”

Todd nearly dropped the phone in horror. The voice that was coming from the other end was that of Rebecca. He quickly collected himself and slammed the phone back into its holder. White faced, he returned to the bathroom, where he stood for a moment before profusely vomiting into the toilet.

“Oh my, God! Todd!” screeched Andrea, who rushed over to him. “What’s the matter? Who was that?”

It took several deep breaths before Todd could speak.

“Water…” he said. “I need…water.”

Andrea rushed to the sink and poured him a glass of water. He took the cup and drank, the cool liquid washing away the taste of the vomit.

“It was Rebecca,” he panted. “I don’t know how, but it was her voice on the phone.”

“What do you mean?” said Andrea. “How could it be her?”

Todd threw up his hands in frustration. Shaking her head, Andrea returned to her feet.

“It wasn’t her,” she said, her voice cold. “It can’t have been. We both saw…”

“I know what I saw,” snarled Todd, “and I know what I heard.”

Andrea rolled her eyes and returned to the bed. She didn’t speak again, falling asleep nearly ten minutes later. Todd, however, lay in bed, his mind racing. He knew what he’d heard, but how? He turned over, closed his eyes, and was soon asleep.

A loud BOOM of thunder woke Andrea from her sleep. She sat up as a flash of lightning lit up the room, bright enough that it was like she’d turned on the lights. Another clap of thunder sounded, this one was just as loud as the previous. Nervous, Andrea began to shake Todd.

“Honey,” she said. “I think we should go to the basement. I think we’d be safer there.”

Todd slowly opened his eyes, blinking as he did. He rubbed his eyes, rolled over, and looked up at Andrea.

“You’ll be fine,” he mumbled. “Go back to sleep.”

Upon closer examination of his wife’s face, Todd saw the nervousness clearly there. Rolling his eyes, he got up, grabbed their pillows, and led the way towards the basement. As they walked, another flash of lightning lit up the hall. At the end of the hall, Todd saw a figure standing in the doorway of the guest bedroom. He stopped dead in his tracks.

“What was that?” he said, pointing towards the doorway, but there was nothing there.

“What are you talking about now?” said Andrea, her annoyed tone returning.

“I saw something standing over there, by the guest bedroom,” said Todd. Andrea moved over to the doorway and peered inside.

“There’s no one there,” she said. “Now let’s go.”

Todd slowly nodded and followed his wife towards the basement. Andrea felt a set of hands close upon her shoulders. She shrieked, and the pillows dropped to the floor.

“What happened?” said Todd.

“You grabbed me by the shoulders,” said Andrea, annoyed at her husband’s ignorance. “It freaked me out!”

“I didn’t touch you,” said Todd, throwing his hands up in defense. Andrea shot her husband a disgusted look and led the way down the basement stairs. They reached the bottom and turned on the light. What they saw made them both scream.

Rebecca sat on the couch, looking at them through cold grey eyes. Her hair was matted, and the right half of it was covered in dried blood. Her skin was cold and gray, and some of the flesh was missing in various spots. Both the nails for her fingers and toes were yellow and cracked. She smelled awful, forcing Todd and Andrea to pull the fronts of the night shirts up over their noses.

“Hello, mommy,” she said. “Hello, daddy.”

She smiled as she spoke: her teeth, like her nails, were yellow and cracked. For a long while, none of them spoke as Todd and Andrea tried to comprehend what was going on. As the silence droned on, Rebecca’s smile began to falter, being replaced by a look of confusion and sorrow.

“Aren’t you happy to see me?” she said. Todd and Andrea still didn’t speak.

“No, I wouldn’t imagine you would be pleased to see me,” said Rebecca. “I was wrong. I’m sorry.”

She sighed and shook her head, sending muck and grime all the over the place.

“I wanted to see you,” she said. “I wanted to see both of you. We need to talk.”

She pointed at the other end of the couch.

“Have a seat,” she said, and both Andrea and Todd moved quickly to sit down, horror still frozen on their faces.

“I have a question for you,” said Rebecca, looking back and forth between her parents. “Why did you do this?”

Neither Todd nor Andrea could provide an answer; they could only stare, at a loss for words, at the decomposing…thing that had once been their daughter. Rebecca slowly nodded and got to her feet, tears starting to form at the corners of her eyes. In a flash of lightning, she was gone. The only thing that remained was the lingering stench of the decomposing process.

Todd and Andrea remained frozen in their seats, still trying to wrap their minds about what had just happened. At last, they looked at each other, and both of them burst into tears. Andrea flung her arms around her husband and began to cry into his shoulder, soaking his night shirt with her tears.

A sudden boom of thunder caused them to break apart. As the thunder subsided, a feeling of cold began to wash over Todd, as if the room’s temperature had just dropped twenty degrees; looking at his wife, he could tell she, too, began to feel the sudden cold. The cold began to intensify, and Todd couldn’t stop his teeth from chattering; he could see his breath. A voice began to speak. It was high and cold, as cold as the room.

“You killed me,” it said, echoing off the basement walls. “You killed me, and you can’t even give me an explanation as to why!”

There was another flash of lightning, and Rebecca had reappeared in the room, a chef’s knife clutched in one hand. She moved so fast that Todd and Andrea couldn’t register. The next moment, Andrea clutched her throat, and blood was spurting from a deep cut across it. She made an awful gurgling sound and fell forward onto the ground. Her right leg gave one small twitch, and she moved no more.

Todd stared down at his wife’s body, unable to move or speak. At last, he felt himself fall to the floor beside her and wrapped his arms around her, tears pouring down his face. A shadow loomed over him. He looked up and saw Rebecca standing over him, looking down at him, the chef’s knife dripping with Andrea’s blood.

Todd did not feel the knife cut his throat. Like his wife, he clutched at his own throat in a feeble attempt to stem the bleeding. The last thing he saw was Rebecca standing over him, a look of satisfaction on her rotting face.