Spirit Lake Ep. 1.22

Carla sat on the examination table in William’s office, her heels clicking on the metal side of the table in a hollow, erratic rhythm.

William entered the room, his eyes on the chart in his hand.

"Well, we’re seeing a lot of each other lately, aren’t we Carla." William looked up and smiled.

"Bumped my head. I’ve been feeling kind of dizzy. Thought I should get it checked out."

She felt like a small child sitting there. She was half expecting him to bribe her with a lollypop while the nurse snuck up behind her to give her a shot.

Without speaking he reached behind Carla’s head, his fingers gently moving along the scalp. She shivered.

How long had it been since a man had touched her?

Great, I’m getting off on a medical exam.

"What did you hit your head on?" William looked her in the eye as his spoke, but his hands continued examining.

"A cement wall."

"Well, that will do it." He took a step back, picking up his chart, and began to write.

"I want to run a few tests, just to be safe, but I think you might have a mild concussion."

"How much?"

"Your insurance should cover most of it." He flipped a few pages. "Or not."

"The librarians got their benefits cut." She shrugged.

He crossed his arms, a worried look on his face. Carla didn’t like that. If the doctor is worried then she should be scared out of her mind.

"Well, I want to at least do an MRI. I don’t want you leaving here and then dropping dead because I missed something. Bad for business."

"I can’t pay for it." She hopped off the table, and started for the door.

"I’ll foot the bill."

She stopped in her tracks.

"William, that’s a lot of money." She turned, leaning against the cold wooden door. "It’s probably nothing serious. You said so yourself."

"Yes," he stepped towards her, "but you smacked your head on a cement wall, and I want to make sure you didn’t do any real damage."

"Then let me pay you back." She took a step towards him, and suddenly a wave of dizziness came over her.

He caught her before she hit the floor.

"How about dinner?" He led her back to the table and sat her down.

"Dinner?" She looked at him, confused.

"Yeah, I pay for your MRI, and you go out with me on one date." He crossed his arms, smiling.

Carla suddenly felt very self conscious. She folded her hands in her lap, her eyes falling to the floor, and her feet started kicking the side of the exam table again.

"Okay." She looked up. "No sex though."

"Agreed." He laughed.

He turned to leave, but stopped, bending over to pick up something.

"You dropped this." He handed her a small, folded piece of paper.

She grabbed the article and shoved it back in her pocket.

"Must of fell out when you caught me."

"Anything interesting?"

"You ever hear of the Black Rose Society?"

He looked at her, his eyes going wide.

"Not since I was a little kid." He crossed his eyes, shifting his weight from one foot to the next. "What are you looking into them for?"

"It’s a long story."

William nodded, and turned to leave the room.

"Did they ever... hurt anyone? I mean, they kind of vanished, so I’m guessing there was a reason for that." Carla was surprised by how quickly the words fell from her mouth.

"Turned out the widows and widowers all had one thing in common." William glanced at her as he was leaving the room. "They killed their spouses."

Carla jumped to her feet, running after William. The room started to spin the second she got up, but she fought through it, clinging to the door frame.

"How do you know that?" She grabbed William’s arm.

It was his turn to look ashamed.

"Moira Clawson was my great-grandmother."

She let go of his arm, a little to stunned to speak.

"Why are you looking into them any ways?" He looked her in the eyes.

"They’ve... well, someone who associates themselves with them, has been harassing Julie. They’ve been leaving notes and flowers."

William took a step into the room, but not checking to make sure no one was listening to them.

He closed the door quickly, but quietly.

"My grandmother and that whole group were a bunch of sick monsters. Tell your friend to be very careful, because if someone is following in old Moira’s footsteps then she, and you, may be in real trouble."

"I know."

He stopped, letting the dots connect in his mind.

"How did you hurt your head?" He reached out, his hand gently touching the bump on the back of her skull.

"Someone, or something, I didn’t get a good look at it, but they attacked me." She held up the article. "While I was looking for this."