Chapter Text
“Are we almost there?” The voice of Gage Cain rang out from the backseat.
Dan smiled into the rearview mirror, “Very soon, Gage. Just a few more minutes. Right sweetie?”
Megan Cain glanced at the paper map she was holding, then out the windshield, and back at the map. “If I’ve been reading this thing right, we’re only a few blocks away.”
“Well, I sure hope you have.” Dan looked back at Gage “I hope mommy hasn’t been taking us the wrong way these past six hours.” Meg swatted at Dan’s arm, making Gage laugh.
A few minutes later, Dan pulled the Station Wagon into a dirt driveway in front of a tall, yellow house. “Home sweet home.” Announced Meg, “Ready to look around?”
Gage bounced in his seat excitedly, Dan could barely undo his seatbelt with how much the kid was wiggling. “Easy there champ, you want to get out, don’t you?”
“Yeah!”
Dan lifted him out of the car and set him down on the grassy lawn. Gage had his mother’s blonde hair and blue eyes, but Dan could see a lot of his own personality in the kid. Gage would be three in a couple months, but he was smart for his age. He walked and talked very early on. Meg had commented that he was smart enough to become a doctor “just like his daddy.” Dan secretly hoped not.
“Honey, come help me get Rufus, he keeps moving around in his carrier!” Meg called from the back of the car.
“Go look around the yard Gage, just stay away from the road.”
Gage wandered toward a tire swing in a tree by the front window. Dan went around to the open trunk, taking the carrier from Meg. He grunted as Rufus immediately began to thrash around again. “It’s okay Rufus. No more car rides from now on. We’re all done.”
Rufus yowled in response. Meg frowned, “Think we can let him out of the crate and just carry him inside? He’s so sick of that dang thing.”
“I guess it couldn’t hurt.” Dan set the carrier back in the trunk and undid the latch. Immediately, the cat bolted. Dan shouted as Rufus sped past him and began to run toward the bushes beside the house. Meg and Dan took off after him, as Rufus bounded for freedom. Dan had just gotten to his knees in front of the bushes, about to grab the damn cat, when Meg suddenly shouted.
“Gage, no!”
Dan stopped his pursuit and whipped around to see Gage toddling toward the road, the roar of a truck filling the air. For a minute, his heart stopped. Then, he leaped into action. He sprinted toward the road, panic rushing through him. Then, Gage was scooped up away from the danger and placed gingerly into Meg’s arms.
“I believe your child was almost hit by a truck.”
Dan nodded, open mouthed and panting. He exhaled the adrenaline that had been coursing through his veins, and looked at the stranger who was standing, arms crossed, by the car. He was short, not even taller than Meg. He wore black pants, a white shirt, a black tie, thick glasses, and a deep scowl. His short brown hair had flecks of grey, and there was just a hint of stubble on his jaw.
“Thank you so much mister…”
“West. Herbert West.” He uncrossed his arms, walked past the shell-shocked Meg, and held out a hand to Dan. “And you are?”
“Uh, Dan. Doctor Daniel Cain.”
“A doctor. Well, isn’t that nice. Are you here to work at Miskatonic?”
“Yeah. Miskatonic University. I’ll be teaching.”
“What’s your specialty?”
“Pediatric emergency.”
“Hm.” Mr. West seemed disappointed in his answer. Despite rescuing Gage, it seemed he had no love for children.
“Well, uh, this is my wife Meg, and our son Gage.”
West turned to look at Gage, who was looking around – seemingly only slightly shaken – in his mother’s arms. “We’ve met.”
“So, where do you live?”
“I’m next door.” He gestured up the road to a dark, rundown house, with a porch overgrown by vines. “How old is your Gage?”
Maybe he didn’t mind kids after all. “Almost three. But he’s smart. Talks like he’s four.”
“So he’s past the crying stage?”
“Um. He’s still a kid. He’s bound to cry occasionally.”
“Well, maybe I ought to invest in some sound proofing for my lab.”
Dan glanced at Meg, who was frowning uncomfortably.
“Well, the moving truck should be here any minute, and we still need to bring Rufus back inside so, we’ll get out of your hair.”
“Moving truck? See to it that it doesn’t hit your son.” With that, Mr. West nodded at Dan and brushed past Meg and Gage, stalking back to his own house, in what could have been a dark cloud of misery.
...
It had been two days since the Cains had moved into their new home, and Dan hadn’t seen any more of Herbert West so far. Dan was set to start working at the university come Monday, so he wanted to spend his next five days helping Meg set up the house, and keeping Gage entertained. Dan was glad to be out of the old apartment, especially because Gage loved the yard so much. Every chance he got, Gage would demand “Outside!” sometimes even running for the door in just his diaper, as Meg or Dan chased after him.
Currently, Dan was pushing Gage on the tire swing as the kid laughed uproariously demanding to go “Higher! Faster!” Dan stopped for a minute to rub at his sore arms and caught a glimpse of a familiar face looking at him from the neighboring porch.
“Morning Mr. West!”
“Mr. Cain.”
“Come on over, it’s nice and sunny.”
Mr. West frowned but came over anyway. He stood so that he was close to Dan, but out of range of the swing.
“It’s nice weather for November.”
“It seems so. And it’s Herbert, if you don’t mind.”
“Okay Herbert. I hope Gage hasn’t bothered you too much.”
“Lucky for him he hasn’t. Yet.”
Dan almost rolled his eyes, but he wanted to make a good impression on the man, show him that his family wasn’t all that bad. “I heard you mention a lab at some point when we met. What do you study in there?”
“Death.”
“Oh. That’s…interesting. Are you a mortician of some sort?”
“Just a student of the sciences. I used to go to Miskatonic, you know, but they weren’t ready for what I had to show them.”
Dan didn’t know what to say, so he kept pushing Gage on the swing.
“When do you start working?” Herbert asked, inching closer to Dan.
“Monday. Trying to spend time with my boy before I’m busy all the time. I hate leaving him, but it’s an important job, taking care of other kids like him.”
“The preservation of life. Of the innocent. It’s not easy work. I’m not surprised that someone like you would want to pursue that kind of career.”
“Someone like me?”
“Wide eyed and idealistic. You want to save everyone.”
“And what about people like you?”
“I could have saved people too. But the soulless minions of orthodoxy didn’t seem to understand my work.”
“Okay.” Dan was feeling quite uncomfortable, but he wanted to hear more. This Herbert was probably the strangest person he’d ever met, but he felt drawn to him in some way that was unfamiliar to him.
“Did you get your cat out of the bush?”
“Yup. Rufus is safe inside.”
“Rufus!” Yelled Gage, pointing at the house. Dan looked over to see the cat sitting in the window, it almost looked like Rufus was watching Gage.
“Gage and Rufus have been best buds since Gage was born. It’s pretty adorable. You know, I have pictures of Rufus sleeping next to baby Gage in his bassinet. I can show you sometime.”
Herbert wrinkled his nose. “I’ll pass.”
“I’m done.” Gage chirped. Dan slowed the swing and let the boy hop down. He went to the window and stood on his toes, trying to see through the window almost two feet above him. “Rufus! Wanna see my kitty cat!”
“You wanna see Rufus, huh?” Dan scooped up Gage and held him up to the window. Rufus rubbed his head against the glass, Dan swore he could hear him purring. He looked back to Herbert and smiled, “Cute, huh?”
“Sure.”
Dan put Gage back down and followed the boy as he made his way toward the back of the house, Herbert trailed behind. “Does Carl Hill still work at the University?” Herbert asked when he caught up with Dan.
“Maybe. I feel like I heard him mentioned. Is he a friend of yours?”
Herbert laughed. Dan realized it was the first time he’d seen the man smile so far. “He’s no friend of mine. He’s a disgusting, washed up, pig-headed, plagiarist!” Herbert’s cruel smile morphed into something of pure contempt. “The fact that that bastard still has a place there and not a genius like myself!”
“Watch your mouth around the kid please.” Dan decided not to question Herbert on his self-assigned genius.
“Of course, Daniel. Whatever you want.”
“Just Dan is fine.”
“Daddy!” Gage called out from a few paces ahead, “A path!”
Dan looked up, and saw there was indeed a dirt path, leading into the trees a few feet ahead. “Where does it go?” he asked Herbert.
“Somewhere special.” Herbert grinned at Dan, the sun bouncing off his glasses as if he had a particular gleam in his eyes. “I can take you.”
“I don’t see why not. I’ll get Meg, we can go together.”
Herbert’s smile vanished. “Fine. But it’s not too easy of a walk. She’ll want sensible shoes.”
“I’m sure we can find some. How about we go after lunch? We’ll meet back here at, let’s say, one?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Dan picked up Gage and began carrying him toward the back door. “I’ll see you soon! He called to Herbert, but the man had already begun to leave, and if he heard Dan, he didn’t seem to care.
Dan sat Gage in his high chair, and his plate on the tray. Meg had made Gage his current favorite, a tunafish sandwich with apple slices on the side. Gage got to work gnawing on an apple slice, and Dan poured some iced tea for himself and Meg, before sitting down. Meg came in shortly with sandwiches for the two of them.
“Turkey deli for me?”
“Of course.”
Dan smiled as he tucked into his lunch, he’d worked up quite an appetite chasing Gage all morning.
“I saw you talking with Mr. West in the yard.”
“Yeah, he was actually gonna take us somewhere after lunch.”
“Oh. Where?”
“There’s a path going into the woods. Herbert says it leads somewhere special. I thought we’d make an outing of it.”
Meg didn’t look too thrilled at the idea. “Are you sure he’s not taking us there to murder us or something?” She whispered, making sure Gage wasn’t listening.
“Come on hon, West’s just a bit of a curmudgeon. I’m sure he’s harmless. Besides, it’ll be good for him to get to know you, see that you’re smart and sensible.”
“Let’s say I wasn’t. Would you still want me to come along?”
“But you are! And he’ll see that. He’ll open up to us, all of us.”
“Okay, but if he starts being weird Gage and I are turning around.”
“And so will I. It’ll all be fine, I’m sure of it.”
Meg sighed but made no more argument. Lunch finished uneventfully and soon Dan was wrestling Gage into his tiny hiking boots and lacing up his own while Gage stomped around the house squealing in delight.
The three Cains met Herbert in the backyard. The man was dressed in what seemed to be his usual, white shirt, black pants and tie. However, he wore hiking boots instead of loafers. Upon seeing Dan, he nodded, but he gave no acknowledgement to Meg and Gage. “Come on.” He said and began walking toward the path. Dan gestured for Meg to follow him with Gage, and they set off down the path.
The trees were thick, but the sun still shone through the canopy, casting sunbeams on the greenery surrounding the group. The temperature had dropped slightly, and a gentle wind blew. Dan was grateful he’d worn his jacket and dressed Gage warmly. Herbert walked quickly, as if he were on a mission, while Meg walked slowly, pointing out birds and plants to Gage. Dan walked in between, wanting to talk to Herbert, but not wanting to leave his family too far behind. When Meg and Gage weren’t too far back, Dan sped up slightly to walk next to Herbert.
“So, where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise. I think Gage will like it.”
How considerate. Dan had been under the impression that Herbert didn’t care about anything that Gage liked or disliked. “Well, I’m looking forward to seeing it. How much further?”
“Not too much longer, over that hill.” Herbert pointed ahead, and Dan could see a small hill not too far away. “I used to walk this path all the time as a boy.”
“Have you lived here all your life?”
“Pretty much. My family has owned parts of this land for generations.”
“Is it just you in the house?”
“Just me. My family is long dead.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
“Don’t be.”
Dan turned to see that Meg and Gage had fallen rather behind. “I’m gonna go help Gage.” He muttered and jogged back down the trail toward his family.
Gage had stopped to look at a ladybug, and Meg had knelt down next to him, helping him count its spots. “I can walk with Gage for a little. You should try to talk to Herbert.” Dan said.
Meg looked up, an annoyed expression on her face, “Can’t you see he doesn’t want to be around me? He keeps sneering at me when you aren’t looking.”
“Maybe he’s just squinting, it’s pretty sunny.”
“He doesn’t like me Dan. And he doesn’t like Gage. I don’t know why we’re following him.”
“He was just telling me that Gage would like the place we’re going. He’ll warm up to us, we just need to show him we’re good people.”
Meg huffed. “Chat with him all you want, but unless he approaches me first, I’m not talking with him.”
“Fine. Just try to hurry up a little, we’re almost there.”
Meg didn’t respond, instead she picked up Gage and brushed past Dan, walking quickly, but not so quick that she’d catch up with their guide.
Dan sighed, maybe he shouldn’t have brought Meg.
Dan dragged his feet, walking a few feet behind Meg. Finally, he heard Herbert call out “Here it is.” Dan sped up to meet him and saw that they had arrived at…a cemetery. Great. Just what he wanted Gage seeing.
“What is this place Herbert?”
“It’s the pet cemetery.” He pointed at a sign at the entrance, written in child’s handwriting, reading “Pet Sematary”
“Jesus Herbert, why did you want me to bring Gage here, isn’t that a little morbid?”
“I loved coming here as a boy. It’ll be a fascinating experience.”
Gage had come down from Meg’s arms and was walking around, touching all the markers. “Mommy, what does this say?”
Meg walked past Dan, shooting him a glare as she passed. She knelt down by Gage and read out the writing on the crudely made wooden cross. “Tommy the dog. 1968 to 1979.”
Dan looked around, there were all sorts of markers, for all sorts of pets. One proclaimed the animal at rest to be a goldfish named Billy, who lived from 1941 all the way to 1967. As he walked around, he realized the markers were arranged in a spiral and got more decrepit the closer they were to the middle.
Herbert walked to a simple stone marker, in the second outer circle of the spiral and knelt down. “Gage!” He called. And the kid came running over. “This is where I buried my rabbit Archimedes, back in ’51. Do you know why we bury things Gage?”
Gage shook his head.
“Because they die. Everything dies someday, dogs, rabbits, goldfish, cats. Even you and me.”
“Will Rufus die?”
“Yes. One day. You never know, it could be in ten years, it could be tomorrow. Everything dies at some point.”
Dan stood in disbelief, he wasn’t quite sure if that was what he wanted Gage hearing. But Meg was quite sure it wasn’t. She snatched Gage up and glared at Herbert. “What business do you have speaking to my son like that? What kind of cruel man brings a child to a place like this and tells him those sorts of things! You should be ashamed of yourself Mr. West!” With that, she stormed off down the path, not waiting for Dan to follow.
Herbert stood up, brushing the dirt off his slacks. “That was quite a scene.”
Dan finally came to his senses, “I should think so? Did you bring Gage here just so you could spook him? Some neighbor you are.” Dan turned to leave but Herbert followed.
“I apologize Dan. If you haven’t noticed I’m not the best at socializing. I was just sharing what interested me as a boy.”
“You had to know that Gage isn’t that type of kid.”
“Well now I do. And I’m sorry for upsetting your wife.”
“So, you’ll apologize to her?”
“I’m not sure she’d want to hear it. It might be better coming from you.”
Dan rolled his eyes and kept walking down the path. He couldn’t see Meg and Gage up ahead, they must have already gone past the hill.
He walked quickly and silently, trying not to pay attention to Herbert following closely behind him. Eventually Herbert spoke again. “I mentioned I study death, yes?”
“You might have.”
“I’ve been working on a scientific way to reverse the process actually. Or at least, I try to with what little resources I have. I tried to take my work to Miskatonic but, you heard how that went.”
“Uh huh.”
“I get what little I have second hand and it’s not very good. You’ll be working at the university soon, and they have plenty of equipment just sitting in closets there. I’m sure nobody would notice if some of it…went missing.”
Dan whipped around in a fury. “Did you just ask me to steal from my new job?”
“Maybe just borrow?”
“God! What is wrong with you!” Dan turned and quickened his pace down the path. This time, Herbert didn’t follow.