Jacob's Ladder

Sorry for the long update, computer trouble. Thanks for the hits for the first chapter, I how to earn a review for the second chapter. Enjoy.

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The Town of Jacob's Ladder

Fields, fields, and more fields as far as can see... The Midwest always had such diverse collection of scenery. Miles of fields of wheat or corn stretched out like an never ending sea. In April's opinion it's a wonder how people who live out here haven't gone insane. Then again April Lark, had spent most of her life on the East coast in the cities and what not. This would be her first time coming to the Midwest, more specifically Kansas. So far, her first impression of the place was "dull".
Hopefully the rumors are true, and my new home won't be as dull, thought the girl.
The old pick-up rumbled down the abandoned road the seemed to go on for miles. The air was dry and hot, like what would happen if a person was an ant and a little boy was holding a magnifying glass above it. The heat felt as though it was targeting its victims with the intent to render them to a state of flames. It didn't help the A/C was broken on the ancient vehicle.
"Of all the times to die, you choose now" muttered April. The windows were down, but provided little relief from the heat.
To think I have to live with this, well as least its better then Virginia humidity, thought the girl.
Another hour bumbling down the empty road, April consulted her directions.
"Okay, after an hour on this, make right at Route 666...666 are they serious?" spoke April.
No sooner did she turn her attention back to the road, did a beat up white sign come into sight. its black, worn writing depicting, "Route 666".
"Good grief... it actually exists. I don't know if this is a cheesy affect or what. What you think?" the girl asked her many passengers. Her back seat filled to capacity by many little cages, full of her pet rats. soft squeaking answered her.
"Hope this is the right way" she said turning onto the road that was barely paved.
Now what could lay ahead of such a devilish road? Why Aprils new home, the town of Jacob's Ladder, Kansas. According to April's resources it was small town, a near inexistence dot on the plains. The town was placed in the scenic bit of the middle of nowhere. However, being a remote town, it was well known to its neighbors. Other towns in the vicinity made it a vow never to go anywhere near the place. Why? because it was cursed.
April, had always been interested in the paranormal, and this town was known as the Mecca of paranormal activity. Not even top investigators dare go to the town or at least that's what April had heard. Supposedly, for a small town, it had the highest fatality rate ever seen. Not with murders, but mysterious or accidental deaths. How people continued to live there was a mystery in itself. As April had heard, "The only ones that lived in Jacob's Ladder, lived to forget, to change, to hide, or to die. " Truly, the devil's town. April hoped so, she was ready to change her life. A devoted disciple of witchcraft, the town seemed to be the ideal place to practice her arts without being bothered. After all, being a necromancer is not a thing that most people look highly on.
April had come from parents that were successful necromancers, regrettably, that's how they met their end. Apparently, necro-using is a very rare gift in the witching community and it's not uncommon for some witches to hunt down others to steal their powers. This had happened to April's parents. April choose to forget that night, leaving it far behind in the confines of her mind.
In any case, the death of her parents left April orphaned. She had been shoved onto many would-be foster parents. The horrors people hear about the foster care system, is very true. April couldn't remember a home she was ever happy in, though her last family lasted longer than she expected. They were over religious people that desperately tried to rid April of her unhealthy interest in the occult. Beatings were a favorite of the father, and yelling of the mother. April carried the scars to prove it. She had spent three years in that hell; it had ended with her being emancipation and put on her own at seventeen. Which was fine, for April. Odd jobs and a brief stay in a convent had given her enough 'get up and go' to live on her own. Though, she still carried the scars of her traumatic childhood. April grew to be overly shy and paranoid, thus why she moved all the time. She hoped that Jacob's Ladder would be her true home, a place where she could finally rest her head.
After a hour on the forsaken road (which every few miles there was a dead animal on the side of the road), April consulted her directions, "Turn left on local road"
"What the hell does that mean?" spoke April. "What is 'local road' is that its name, or do they not know its name. Stupid directions!"
April's rant was cut short when a worn wooded sign came into view, signaling a unpaved road. Whatever had been written on the sign had long worn away, leaving nothing but porous wood. Though the sign was not what got April's attention, but the tree behind it.
It looked to be an old, evil tree, the kind a person would see in a horror movie; gray and dead looking. The skeleton branches reached out like arms, the limbs decorated with either nooses, animal skulls, or little stick dolls.
April stopped the car and gawked at the disturbing looking tree.
"Guys, either this is some hoax gone to the extreme or the rumors are true and we'll entering the Devil's Town." spoke April. The rats squeaked, their little noses twitching in excitement. "Well...here we go"
The car made the turn and headed down the road. Not long a large wooden sign came into view, it writing clearly visible,

Town of
JACOB'S LADDER
population: Subject to change


Okay..., thought April watching the sign as she passed it.
The town itself, looked normal. Sure it was small, but had the small town America thing going for it. The downtown area had narrow roads, with dated brink buildings lining the street. Specialty shops dominated the shopping district, no large store chains here. People comfortably walked the sidewalks, smiling and greeting each other. City Hall stood regale in the middle of town. Its white stucco chipping and worn by the unmerciful sun beating down upon it. Nothing seemed out of place or odd. No cheesy tourists traps, gimmicks, or silly museums.
This could be the real deal, thought April. Often the most normal looking places where knee deep in sin.
April bypassed the downtown and moved further out of town. There the land opened up, with old houses doting the landscape. One of the musty homes would be Aprils. She wanted something isolated but not too far isolated that she was cut off from everything (just in case).
Ten more minutes of driving, April approached her new home. A four bedroom, three and half bath, Tudor on a hill called Cypress pl. The house stood a imposing structure upon the hill, the wooded paneling was chipping and gray. The windows were covered in filth and grime, which probably blocked out the sun, the shutters lay crooked and ready to fall off. Even the trees around the home, bright with life, didn't cheer up the place.
April's trucked pulled up the long drive towards the house. April was surprised to see the moving truck already there, the movers busy with unloaded her stuff.
"Well...they're early aren't they?" spoke April. She slowly removed herself from her truck (happy to finally stretch her legs after a long car trip) and approached the house. It was surprising that she could afford such a big house, but the houses around here were dirt cheap. Well...no one in their right mind would want to move into the town, and with such a high death rate, homes quickly became empty.
"We're almost done miss" spoke a gruff of one of the movers.
"Oh...th...thank you..." stuttered out April. "You guys sure started early"
"We have no intention in staying longer than need be, miss" spoke the man, quickly going back to work.
"Oh...o...okay" spoke April, shrinking from the busy men. "I'll just walk around"
April, not a people person decided to walk around her property, she first retrieved one her favorite rats, a black rat by the name of Aiden. The small, fuzzy creature perched upon April's shoulder, crawling from one shoulder to the other, occasionally nibbling on a earlobe.
April made her way around back of the house. The back didn't look much better than the front. Same worn wood paneling, dirty windows, and tall weeds. At least is had a nice view of the countryside. Below the hill, stood woods. The trees were bunched closely together, casting sinister shadows that darkened the whole area. April could feel an cold aura coming from the woods.
I don't think it's really worth investigating, thought April, she learned long ago to trust her feelings.
She though she saw something move within the trees. The girl squinted her eyes to try and make out the elusive thing among the trees.
"Miss Lark"
A scream tore from the girls mouth, as she whirled around. Aiden the rat quickly scurried under long brown hair.
"Sorry miss, didn't mean to startle you" said the mover she had spoken to before.
"Sorry...Yes..."
"We want to let you know that we've done and you need to sign this, miss" said the mover holding up a clip board.
"Yes...alright" muttered April, as she messily scribbled down her name on the line.
"Thanks miss, um....good luck here. You'll need it..." muttered the mover. He then turned and with his coworkers the truck rumbled off, hoping to never be called out to the town again.
The rest of the afternoon, April spent getting her crap together, and cleaning some of the house. The young woman hadn't realized how dirty the house really was, but life was full of surprises, right?
With general dislike to the act of cleaning, April tied back her long brown hair. Baggy old clothes hung loosely from a small body of a girl about 5'7, with long prickly legs that conjoined with large hips who then shrunk to small chest of a B-cup. A slender neck held a oval head with a child-like face, which sported a few zits here and there. Hazel eyes narrowed in disgust as the orbs took in the sight of an unsavorily pile of dust/hair/grime. April Lark was no model, and disliked much of her appearance, but what average person didn't. However, she rather be who and what she was rather then a busty little, bleach blond, shamefully flaunting herself like a peacock or a overweight housewife, that long ago given up on appearing pretty. Average wasn't bad or was it good, a gray area, but that suited April just fine.
It was funny how time flew by when one kept busy, April didn't notice the passage of time, till a knock on the door stopped her.
Picking herself up from the floor, the girl made her way to the door and peeped through the peep hole.
God, I hope these are not the beginnings of many neighbors greeting me, thought girl, she shyness kicking in.
The sight before her was that of a young man in a brown police uniform.
Oh god, what is it, what would the police want? thought April, panic mode already set to go into overdrive. With a frantic beat to her heart, April opened the door to greet the police man. Her eyes widened as she got a closer look at the man.
He was slightly taller than April, with a slender frame and saggy dirty blond hair that nearly covered his eyes. Not imposing looking in the least, but some muscles had to exist under the light brown uniform shirt. However, what really caught April's eyes was the man's face. It was youthful and he looked no older than April, but while he didn't look old, he did appear dead looking. Brown eyes were dull in color with heavy black bags that perched under his eyes. Two fading scars covered his face, one across his nose, the other down his left cheek. The right cheek held a small scrape, still bright red with freshness. All in all, the man looked like he'd been through hell and back.
"Evening..." spoke a soft haunting voice "Sorry to disturb you so late, but it's a request from the Sheriff. You are Miss Lark?" asked the man, his eyes hardly blinking.
"Y..yes" responded April.
A soft smile pulled as the man's lips "Hello, I'm the Deputy, Scott Worth. Nice to meet you and welcome to Jacob's Ladder. I have a letter for you" the man replied, holding a folded piece of paper towards April.
Hesitantly, April took the paper and unfolded it. Her eyes scanned the contents.

Greetings and salutations!
On behalf of the citizens of Jacob's Ladder, we welcome you, April Lark to our humble community. We understand that you are busy with unpacking and such, but we humbly request your presence at the local high school, for a meet and greet, as well as, some business matters.
We'll be waiting for you at 7:00 sharp. Once again welcome.
Sincerity,
Mayor Harps


"It doesn't sound like I'm being given a choice" April said aloud.
"You're not"
"Excuse me!" piped April. I don't like this at all, she thought.
"Meaning to say that you are required to show up, Miss Lark." replied Scott. The man forced a smile on his grave looking face, "It's nothing bad or anything. You can see we don't get many outsiders here, and there a few things you need to know if you want to live here. Just formal stuff, no reason to be afraid"
"I see" responded April, not all convinced about this 'meet and greet'
I'm not a people person as it is, good grief, now I have to attend some social event, where the entire town is going to be there. Gah! why me, despondently thought April.
"It looks like I don't have a choice, I guess I'll be there" spoke April.
"Good to hear, Miss Lark. We'll be expecting you. Have a good evening" spoke Scott giving a dismissing nod. He turned to walk back to the beat up brown police jeep and drove away. The vehicle kicking up dust as it sped away.
"What have gotten myself into" spoke April aloud. All that responded to her were her rats and the wind.