The Curse of 1977 (Book 2)

Seated next to Gloria, Jeremiah had no clue as to where they were headed, and truth be told, he really couldn't have cared less. Just feeling the warm breeze blast into his face from the open window was soothing enough for the man.

'Baracuda' from Heart was playing loud on the radio as Gloria kept a steady pace down the lonesome highway. Every now and then Jeremiah would glance over at her and wonder just what was on her mind. For the duration of their journey they spoke off and on about Isaac, her time at Ashlandview and the animal slayings in Cypress.

Jeremiah made sure to tread lightly when it came to their discussions. Just in the short time since he knew her face to face he automatically felt a connection to the woman, but she was still fragile. Within certain sentences he could hear Gloria's voice shake or hesitate. As a psychologist he knew when to go only so far, but as a human being, as Jeremiah Levin, he had his own breaking point.

Every so often, however, in the midst of their conversation Jeremiah would drift away. His eyes would find themselves sinking downwards towards Gloria's bare legs. Immediately his thoughts would race back to Julie who just so happened to have a doctor's appointment that particular morning. If it wasn't Julie or a pair of smooth legs then it was Isaac.

"Did they teach you that in your psychology class, too?" Gloria asked.

Instantly, Jeremiah shook himself back into the car and the conversation. "I'm sorry, what did you say again?"

Giggling, Gloria replied, "I said, did they teach you about modern childcare in your psychology class?"

Cracking a subtle grin, Jeremiah said, "Uh...I honestly don't recall."

"They did for me, before I dropped out that is. Maybe you should've listened more to your professor before assuming that your wife was just having sympathy pains."

Jeremiah only began to laugh out loud, "My wife knows exactly how to draw sympathy from me! She doesn't have to feign abdominal pain!"

Gloria sat quiet for a moment before she opened her mouth and said, "I wish I had the courage to go back to Cypress State again."

Looking over at her, Jeremiah asked, "What's stopping you?"

"I guess I don't want a whole bunch of people staring at me like I just escaped an asylum. I just don't feel like explaining myself to everyone."

"But people know what happened to you."

mean, they know I was kidnapped, but besides my sister, no one knows that I went to Ashlandview. I told my parents that

silent adoration. "Doctor Sanyupta once told me that keeping ourselves locked away from society is like keeping the book of knowledge buried in a tomb. Each human being is their own gift that we

Paul speak about him from

said, "Doctor Sanyupta was killed in a train derailment

her car into a long driveway and stopped short of a ranch-style home

"Where are we?"

straight ahead at the house, looking as if she were waiting for

"Gloria...are you okay?" Jeremiah touched Gloria's

quivering bottom lip,

It took a good while, but soon, he got it. He watched as the woman got out of the car and stood at the

cement while the grass all around them stood almost as tall as they did. There was a maple tree in the middle of the yard that was split down the

wall had been repaired, but by then, even its very foundation was beginning to see weakness as pieces of brick were shedding from one side to the other. Some of the windows, from the front to the back had been shattered. The only

staring off at the house. Rationality was tossed out the window. Jeremiah knew full well that Gloria had seen something absolutely jarring inside Cummins' old house. Whether it was a mythical character or the result of her rape, something had disrupted the woman's soul to the point where she had to actually revisit the scene of where it

pair of platform wedges and slowly began to walk towards the house. Jeremiah stood back and held his breath while a large semi-truck roared past behind him on the highway. Gloria kept advancing until her bare feet left the cement and touched the grass. She continued

"How big do you think it

and ventured towards Gloria. The moment he found himself standing

at first before she sighed, "That's the problem with people today, especially our tribe, we try and question everything. I'm sure your parents, just like mine, always tell you to look beyond what

Taking off his glasses, Jeremiah murmured,

stuck on the wall, Gloria said, "For the past two months, I've been having this dream of trucks. I honestly have no idea where they came from or why I'm having them to begin with. No more than I can figure out what I saw down

that what you saw was real." Jeremiah stated. "And I also believe that

turned her head to Jeremiah and

or not, I needed it, too. This is where Isaac was taken, and this is where he escaped from." Jeremiah soon began to wander about the grass. "Neither of

Walking behind Jeremiah, Gloria hastily queried, "So you believe in the existence of evil?

learned in our respective classes was bullshit as far as I'm concerned. The human psyche is far more complex than anything we could ever comprehend. How dare anyone try and reconfigure what our eyes take in. I mean, I've never seen a ghost, but countless people throughout the ages have experienced paranormal happenings. How wrong can they all be? You saw something inside this house, Gloria. Isaac was going through something before he died. There was and still is something gripping not only your life, but the city as well. And it's not going to stop before it takes me down with it." Jeremiah then reached down, picked