There's a Deal You Can Make on a Midnight Walk Alone

Karen sighed as she looked out at the diner in front of her. It was broad daylight out there, and plenty of people were around, but she couldn't shake her feeling of eerieness. It was identical to what she had felt when that woman had approached her at Keith's funeral. Karen had never seen her before, but the woman had spoken to her like they knew each other. She had told Karen that nothing was set in stone and given her some written instructions. There was an address for the diner she was now parked in front of, a floor plan pointing to the booth all the way at the end, and a code phrase to utter nearby. It had felt incredibly insensitive to be told such a thing after the funeral of the love of her life. Karen had initially theorised it was some attempt to recruit her for a pyramid scheme while she was vulnerable from grief. But the unexplainable phenomena had begun when she had tried to throw out the piece of paper, and it had magically appeared on her bedside table when she had gotten home. Every other attempt to get rid of the letter, right down to burning it, had not made it go away. So, curiosity had brought her here. The diner was unremarkable but had a vintage fifties feel. It looked no different to any other roadside bed-and-breakfast or cafe in the middle of nowhere, but something about this place felt different.

To hell with it. She could at least get some coffee; she hadn't slept a wink since Keith was killed. The house was too quiet, even when Lucas was there. She missed Keith's snoring. She missed how he would hum to himself when he woke up early before going to the garage. She missed every damn thing about him. Right now, anything sounded better than going home and aimlessly staring into space. Karen got out of the car and buttoned up her coat. When she walked inside, the booth at the end called to her like a siren. There was something almost magnetic about it. Her hands shook as she looked down at her note, then back up again. This felt ridiculous, but there was no point in turning around now. Slowly, she made her way down. There was only one person there. A man. He looked about ten years older than her and had his head down in a notebook.

"I hear the pastrami sandwich is good here," Karen muttered.

He looked up, closed the book, and motioned for her to sit. She observed his striking blue eyes that seemed to stare into her soul.

"What can I do for you?"

Frankly, she wasn't sure. The woman who referred her had been very vague.

"Someone told me that nothing was set in stone and directed me here."

"Well, I'll put it this way." He clasped his hands on the table in front of her. "I grant favours. Ask me whatever you want, and I'll give you a task. If you complete the task, you'll get your wish."

She quirked a brow. Was this some kind of joke? Worse, was he a con man? Linked to organised crime? A loan shark? None of those things sounded good, and even if she was desperate, he couldn't get her what she wanted most of all: Keith.

"Right, and next thing I know, you'll break my kneecaps or kidnap my family."

He laughed a little, not maliciously, not in a way that confirmed her theory, but with amusement. "I'm not that kind of guy."

"Then what kind of guy are you, Mister…?"

"Names aren't important. There is no catch. No obligation. No hidden fee. Nothing. You can ask me to do anything, and I mean anything, and I'll give you a task in exchange. If you do the task, you get what you want. If you don't do the task, no strings attached, and we go on with our lives." He spoke with the fatigue of an insurance salesman who had recited the same palaver fifty times a day, every day, for the duration of his career.

"Well, unless you can bring people back from the dead, you can't help me."

Karen went to get up and order something to go, not interested in whatever this man's charade was, but the way he spoke next made her still.

"If that's what you want, I can make it happen."

She met his gaze with scrutiny. "You're a cruel man, you know that?"

"No, I'm an honest one. Tell me, who do you want back from the dead?"

"If this is some bizarre pick-up line, then I am not interested," Karen said warningly.

He tapped the table. "Sit. Talk to me. Maybe we can arrange something."

Admittedly, she was still fascinated by the man, so she found herself sitting back down, albeit with a frown.

"Who do you want back from the dead?" he repeated.

She sighed. "His name was Keith. He was the love of my life, and he was killed trying to protect my son."

The man nodded and opened up his book. He hummed in thought and wrote something on a napkin before folding it and sliding it over to her. When Karen opened it, she saw a list of three items, each containing similar details: a school, a date, a time, and a description of an appearance. The schools were in neighbouring towns. She was familiar with them but didn't know any parents there or their children.

"You're going to call each school at the specified date and time to tell them there's an active shooter inside."

Her blood ran cold. "Excuse me?"

"That's your task. If you warn each school about the shooter, then Keith Scott will be alive and well."

Karen sputtered. What a terribly cruel proposal, and for what? This was ludicrous. There was no way that any of this had the power to bring Keith back. No matter how much the tone of the man's voice inclined her to believe that he really could make anything happen, she was not going to put her faith in him. She was clearly still in denial. She was going through the stages of grief, and this man was taking advantage of her. Then something occurred to her.

"How… how do you know it's Keith Scott? I never told you that."

"I have my ways. Now, we're finished here. If you want Keith back, you better call those schools."

She still couldn't believe that this was real. It seemed… too easy. Somehow, if he operated the way he claimed, then the task of reviving someone from the dead should be much harder than a few phone calls, even if she didn't want to make them. Despite her lingering doubts, Karen tucked the napkin into her purse before walking out of the diner.

She broke down in tears when she came home. The grief made its presence known to her like a knife through her chest. It was hard to breathe. It was hard to do anything when all she could think about was that Keith was gone. Even Lucas, her dear, sweet Lucas whose optimism and resilience always put things into perspective, couldn't console her. Perhaps because a selfish part of her blamed him for Keith's death; if he hadn't gone in there to save Peyton, Keith wouldn't have followed him. But blaming Lucas wouldn't change anything. And he was grieving, too. Keith was the closest thing to a father that he'd ever had. Lucas had a compassion that knew no bounds, a compassion that children usually grew out of. But Lucas could still recognise Mary Edward's grief, on top of the vitriol from the many people in Tree Hill who'd loved Keith. He, Marvin McFadden, and others had gone to support her at Jimmy's funeral. While most of the town mourned Keith and despised the man — because something as atrocious as murder was the action of a man, not a boy — Lucas still had space in his heart to mourn Jimmy, too. Karen wanted to be proud of him for seeing it with an open mind and heart that few were capable of. But she was too filled with resentment to care.

Through all of these feelings, Karen was still aware of the scrawled list on the folded napkin in her purse. She was sure she would have thrown it out by now or done something to rid it from her thoughts, but somehow she knew it wouldn't be possible, just like the piece of paper from the woman. The first date was three days away. Calling in a false alarm about a school shooting just a few weeks after one had devastated Tree Hill was a cruel thing to do. The children in that school were probably fearful enough about something happening so close to them. The man's instructions were simply a psychopathic mind game. It reminded her of that terrible horror movie Lucas went to see with Peyton a while ago. She loved Peyton like a daughter, but the girl certainly had a dark idea of fun. More than that, even if she did call them, the police were smart enough to trace calls these days-

God, what was she doing? She was not seriously entertaining this.

But no matter how much she tried to ignore it, as the first date got closer and closer, the note seemed to call to her louder and louder. She wished she hadn't gone to that damn diner, but, at the same time, could she have resisted if it had nagged at her like this? It was only when she was
mindlessly watching re-runs of a cop show before bed that an idea occurred to her. Those cheap cell phones you could get at a gas station. They lacked the ability to message and surf the internet and all of the features Lucas and his friends raved about but they were phones nonetheless. They could be thrown away. And, if those shows were even partially rooted in truth, she believed that keeping the calls short would minimise the chances of being traced. Karen didn't know what possessed her, but she ended up driving to a twenty-four-seven convenience store and bought not one, not two, but three phones; one for each call she had been tasked to make. At multiple points, she stopped and told herself this was ridiculous. But curiosity got the better of her, and she found herself staring at one of the phones fifteen minutes before the time she was meant to call the school.

If this really could bring Keith back… then she had to try. It was insane to think it would, but she wanted to believe in it so badly. Her faith that it would do what the man had said was… intuitive. Somehow, in her gut, it sounded right. And, although a false alarm was not a nice thing to do… she wasn't hurting anybody. Scaring them, yes, and she would feel guilty about it forever, but it wasn't like he'd asked her to shoot up the school herself.

Her hands shook as she dialled the number for Orange Grove High.

"T-There is a shooter inside the school," she informed the receptionist, who had greeted her chirpily, but then her voice turned very grave.

"E… Excuse me?"

Karen gulped and began to recite the details the man had given her. As she did so, she noticed something familiar about the shooter she was describing: a tall, brunette man in his forties with a strong build. Maybe this was just a cruel detail. It could be anyone, but it did sound a lot like Dan Scott. She had a lot of reasons to dislike him, but he wouldn't do something like that… right?

Karen was put on hold and waited nervously for the receptionist or principal to reprimand her for such a cruel prank, but when the voice on the other line came through, Karen was surprised to be met with gratitude.

"Oh my God, ma'am, you're right. A man fitting that description is outside. We've called the police."

Her eyebrows raised. It hadn't been a false alarm. Could the man have known that?

"What's your name? We're grateful you warned us-"

Karen hung up then, her heart racing in her chest. She didn't know how to feel. That small, almost child-like part of her that believed she was working to bring Keith back was ecstatic. One down, two to go. And, she had actually done something very good. She had saved lives, albeit unintentionally. Another part of her was unnerved by the eerie nature of all of this. A third part was very paranoid that she could still somehow be traced, not because she feared repercussions but because she feared not knowing what to say if the police asked her how she'd known about the shooting. She wondered whether she would still have to deal with the fallout even if Keith returned to her alive and well. She was grateful she'd purchased three separate phones. Tracing the call back to her was unlikely; from her understanding, the tracing program had to have been active from the start of the call. Plus, the school wouldn't ask the police to trace a call — unless they suspected wrongdoing from the get-go.

Still, she didn't sleep at all that night, full of anxiety about the two upcoming calls. Maybe this first school had just been a fluke. Maybe she would suffer the consequences next time. It was difficult to keep breakfast down in the morning. She was full of nausea, and for good reason. Lucas looked at her commiseratively, likely figuring grief was the reason for her lack of appetite. Still, Karen managed a few sips of coffee. A headline on the morning news made her heart stop.

The mayor personally praises this anonymous hero and has asked for her to reveal her name so she may be honoured for saving Orange Grove High…

She had made the news? Rationally, she should have expected that, but some delusional part of her had hoped it would blow over.

However, the suspect is still on the lam, and authorities are requesting anyone with information to come forward…

Lucas had a bittersweet smile on his face. "I'm glad someone was able to stop a tragedy from happening in Orange Grove." His voice lowered to a mutter. "Just wish someone could have gotten through to Jimmy before it was too late."

"Nobody could have known, Lucas."

His voice hardened. "Yeah, we could have. We could have saved him, and we could have stopped him from doing this. But now…" He huffed. "There's nothing we can do."

When he spoke like that, he reminded her so fondly of Keith that it actually hurt. Lucas was proof that nurture could out-win nature because he was nothing like Dan, for which she was grateful. Karen tried to say something, but he wouldn't have it, and left for school, making her sigh. She wished she could tell herself that bringing Keith back would help Lucas, and it might, but it wouldn't be enough. He was such a good person that he would always carry some guilt about Jimmy's death, about somehow not being there for him enough, and she wished she could take his pain away. He had suffered so much at such a young age. She wished she could make life easier for him. She felt like a failure of a mother. She was too wrought with grief and this task that she couldn't be there for her son when she was the only parent he had right now.

Despite her worry, the second date on her list came around, and Karen made the call, a little less assuredly this time. She was surprised that the description of the shooter was identical to the first. But she was outright shocked to be deemed a saviour for Red Valley High like she was for Orange Grove. And, when the final date came around, she knew that three times really couldn't be a coincidence when she saved Green Acres High. She became a local hero. The three mayors of those towns begged her to come forward. It almost made her paranoid to leave the house, in case someone recognised her voice. She wasn't sure what she expected after the third call. If the man had been telling the truth... shouldn't Keith be here by now? Was there just a delayed effect? Or had it all been some big metaphor or life lesson about doing the right thing with her grief? Admittedly, she felt good for her deeds but didn't really feel like she deserved to be rewarded when her motivations had been personal.

Throughout this period, her nausea had grown worse and worse, and she believed it was too intense to just be caused by excitement over Keith possibly coming back. A simple blood test confirmed she was pregnant, and she almost laughed at how she hadn't picked up all the signs of morning sickness. No wonder it had gotten harder to button up her coat. Maybe she should buy some maternity clothes; Brooke would love to do that with her. It both pained and delighted her to realise she was carrying Keith's baby. It also seemed to put everything into perspective. Maybe she wouldn't get Keith back. Even in the peaks of her naivety, she'd never fully believed the man at the diner. But she would always have a part of him with her now. However, this new life was not the only remnant of Keith: Lucas was, too. She needed to hug her son. She needed to set aside her feelings and be strong for him because he was grieving, too, and she should acknowledge what he was going through.

So, she did.

She told him how sorry she was for not being there, and he both seemed very understanding of her behaviour and appreciative. They went through photo albums. They talked not just about Keith but also Jimmy. Karen almost forgot about her deal. She realised she could be okay with this. Those calls had been risky but paid off. The police believed the attempted shooter of the three schools was the same man. Something would hopefully come out of it. Then, she could move on and do her best to be there for Lucas and his little brother or sister. That was all that mattered.

Karen decided to pay the man another visit nonetheless. She wanted to ask him what her task had really been for and whether he'd had any inkling that she'd be intercepting real shooting attempts. Now that she wasn't angry, on edge and full of suspicion, there was something almost charming about how he spoke. He was a good listener, too.

"I don't have any control over the tasks," he explained. "But sometimes, if I have hesitation towards fulfilling someone else's deal, the book will offer someone a task that can counteract it. I consider myself a pretty neutral person — that's why I have this job. Subconsciously, though, I still obviously have a degree of morals left in me. I was human, once upon a time."

"Was that what happened to me? Was the shooter someone else on a task for you?"

The man nodded. "I told him he had to try to shoot up a school. I didn't tell him he had to kill anybody, but knowing this guy… he would have done so anyway just to make sure he got his deal. And that was where I had to draw the line."

Her eyes widened, and she felt even more grateful she had entertained this task because she didn't want to think about what kind of tragedy – or tragedies – would have resulted otherwise. "Can I ask what he wanted you to do for him?"

"He murdered his brother and got away with it. But that wasn't enough for him. He asked me to make sure there was no evidence and that he never risked being caught out."

Although he hadn't specified names, the way her gut sank made her realise there was only one person he could be referring to.

"Was..." She met the man's eyes, seeing something solemn there. "Was that man Dan Scott?"

His expression softened. "Indeed it was."

"Oh my God…" She rasped. It hadn't been Jimmy; it had been Dan. She remembered seeing him there, trying to flaunt some mayoral authority while everybody told him that he was risking the lives of every child in that school — including his own — if he went in there guns blazing, just to demonstrate the town's police spending. Dan was a cruel man in many ways. He was an absent father and husband. He was selfish and ambitious to a degree that made her sick. But was he capable of killing his own brother? She didn't want to believe it, but the truth was right there. She hated herself for resenting Jimmy, or even Lucas. She needed to fix this.

And the only thing she wanted more than getting Keith back was ensuring the truth came to light about how he died.

"Can I ask you for something else?" Karen said, tears welling in her eyes. "A-A task to make sure Tree Hill knows that they're blaming the wrong man for Keith's death."

He didn't react in any way except pity. "I'm sorry. It's one task per person."

Her shoulders slumped.

"But you're more than welcome to direct anybody my way if they want to do this task for you," he amended.

"That's okay. I'll just…" She sighed. "I'll do my own investigating. I'll make sure the truth gets out one way or another." She promised herself she would find a way for the legal system to make Dan pay, mayorship be damned.

There was a storm the following night. She was just putting a few glasses away at the cafe after giving it a deep clean. It had been shut since Keith's death, but it was high time she opened those doors again. The town needed a place to come together and heal each other. A loud rap at the door startled her. She could swear she had looked outside just seconds ago, but now there was a shadowy figure standing there. Karen grabbed a large knife, concealing it behind her back as she went to the door. It was one in the morning. Who could be here if not to cause trouble?

But when she opened the door to see Keith completely drenched from the rain, her heart leapt in her chest.

"Keith…" she whispered.

Within seconds, she was in his arms, their lips meeting passionately. It was like she'd been seeing everything in grey, but now the world was colour again. It had worked. The man had been right. Keith was here. He was home. He was going to be there to father their baby. While she didn't really know the logistics of what had happened to Keith to bring him back, obviously he was dealing with a bit of shock, too, because he hugged her fiercely like she might disappear. When they finally managed to part, Keith brushed a hair from her face.

"How... how did you get back?" she asked.

"I-I don't know." He laughed a little, smiling through his tears. "I… I woke up in the middle of nowhere. But I started walking, and I ended up here."

She returned the smile. "God, everybody's going to be so happy to know you're alive. Except…" Her eyes widened. "Dan."

Karen quickly ushered him inside, fearful that he could be lurking around every corner. What if he had been stalking her? If he knew about the man, then maybe he knew that she had gone to him, too.

"Wait… they haven't arrested Dan for killing me?"

Karen shook her head. "Everybody thinks that Jimmy Edwards killed you."

Keith's expression faltered. "No… no, the poor kid was just-" His voice broke. "He didn't hurt me, Karen. I promise you-"

"I know," she assured him. "It's a long story, but I'm the only one who knows that Dan killed you. It's part of the reason you're alive."

Karen did her best to explain, but it took another visit to the man for him to get the full picture — thank God the diner was open twenty-four-seven. She admitted her part in the false alarm calls, trying to make Keith understand that she was deeply ashamed of her actions and that he shouldn't ignore them just because they had ended up being for good reason. But Karen underestimated Keith's ability to forgive and empathise with people because he told her it didn't matter. All that mattered was that they were both here and that they were safe. He was also very happy when she told him she was pregnant. Still, she wanted justice for him. It wasn't fair that Dan would get away with this because Keith was alive. They agreed they would have to fabricate a story about Keith being kidnapped and drugged, so he remembered nothing about his captors or where he was kept. Keith was desperate to see Lucas, and under any other circumstances, Karen would have taken him straight home, but she couldn't move past the fact that Dan had done this.

"Hang on…" Karen realised, turning to face Keith in the booth. "Even if we fake the story, you could make a deal so the town learns the truth about Dan." She looked back at the man. "That's something you can do, right?"

The man nodded.

"Karen, I… I don't need that. It's okay-"

"It's not okay! He tried to kill you, and he's the God-damned mayor of Tree Hill. He needs to be held responsible-"

"I agree. I just- if I've only got one request, I want to make it count, and there are better things I can do than get Dan arrested."

She furrowed her brow upon seeing a very sombre expression on his face. Then it hit her.

"You want to bring Jimmy back."

He confirmed her belief and turned to the man. "What do I have to do to bring him back? Please, I was the one who was supposed to save him, and I couldn't."

Karen covered Keith's hand with her own on the table.

"Actually… you don't need to do anything because someone already has that task."

Both of them looked at each other, confused, then back at the man.

"His mother, Mary Edwards, came to me the other day."

That made sense. If Karen had been desperate to bring Keith back, then God only knows how far she would have gone to bring Lucas back.

"What's her task? Can we do anything to help her?"

The man smiled. "Actually, you can. Her task is to befriend you, Karen. She's come back to me multiple times asking for another task because she doesn't think it's possible. She's too afraid to face you."

A pang of guilt struck her. She hadn't been the most amiable to anybody since Keith's death, so Mary probably hadn't wanted to get anywhere near her. That was a more than easy thing to fix. She would go see her and bring her some food and coffee, and they would have a long talk. She would do this before Keith returned to the public eye — she didn't want Mary to think she only wanted to talk to her because Keith was okay.

Karen thanked the man earnestly for everything he had done. She and Keith agreed to try to find evidence of Dan's wrongdoing before requesting another task. There was no reason to ask the man for something they could probably manage themselves.

When they got home, Lucas was up waiting for them. He nearly fainted when he saw Keith standing next to her. Given his heart condition, she probably should have warned him, but once the initial shock wore off, utter joy took over at their reunion.

Still, Lucas seemed to share her anger about Dan. "What if Dan tries to hurt you again?" Lucas pointed out.

"I'll talk some sense into him," Keith proposed. "I'll make sure it's fine."

Her eyes widened. "Keith, are you insane? He'll kill you."

"No, he won't." He smiled. "Because he doesn't know I'm alive yet. He'll be in too much shock to think that the man brought me back — if he even gets that far."

"You're counting on him assuming you're a ghost?" Lucas concluded.

"This is my brother we're talking about. I know him better than anyone. Trust me… it'll be fine."

—

For someone so paranoid, Keith was surprised that Dan still kept the spare key in the same place. He also didn't stir when he walked in and came to the foot of his bed, although Keith was slightly alarmed by the pistol on his bedside table. While he in no way wanted to harm his brother — despite what he had done to him — he wasn't going to take any chances, so he took the gun and held it at his hip before saying Dan's name quietly.

He gasped when he found him standing there. "Keith…"

The expression on his face was less shock, more fear. Perhaps his guilty conscience had already made him think he was seeing things. After all, he didn't think Dan had made the decision to kill him lightly.

"You need to confess to what you did and stop letting Jimmy Edwards take the fall. He was a kid. An innocent kid. You're a grown man, and you should act like it," Keith warned him.

"I-I didn't kill you because I wanted to," he claimed. "I did it because I thought you tried to kill me at the dealership first!"

That surprised him a little, but Dan had always been paranoid.

"Well, I didn't. You killed the wrong man."

Dan's chest rose and fell rapidly with terror.

"W-What can I do? What can I do to stop seeing you? I can't take it anymore, please."

"Step down as mayor of Tree Hill and leave. Leave Deb, Nathan, Lucas, and Karen alone. Deal with your problems somewhere else."

He nodded shakily. "Okay… O-Okay. I'll do it."

Keith held up the gun threateningly but didn't point it too intently, just in case. "Promise me, Dan."

"I promise." He raised his hands. "I'll leave them alone." His voice trembled enough that Keith was inclined to believe him.

He told Dan to go back to sleep, who did so with the fear of a child being told that Santa wouldn't come to visit if he didn't behave, and Keith placed the gun back down on the side table before leaving.

And, with his second chance at life, it thrilled him to know that he would make the most of every second with the people he loved because Dan Scott would not interfere anymore.