Shadow Walkers

by R L Delaney

  "Last night, I hardly slept," Justin began.

  Amy's eyes widened. "Oh?"

  Justin licked his lips and shared what had happened to him. First he told her about his awful dream, then about the encounter with his father in the kitchen, the strange dog in the basement, and about Uncle Harry’s discovery of the chemistry tools.

  When he was done he studied Amy's face for a moment. Then he asked, "Don't you think it's rather strange to have a nightmare like that? I never have nightmares."

  Amy pressed her lips together and shrugged her shoulders. “I guess it happens to all of us sometimes.” She looked up, her face held a gentle smile. “I dream all the time. I even have nightmares sometimes, so I know what you are talking about.”

  “You do?” Justin stared at Amy. “I having a nightmare about school isn’t fun.”

  Amy chuckled. “A lot of people believe dreams can carry a message. There are tons of books out there that supposedly help you to interpret your dreams.”

  “How’s that?”

  Amy shrugged her shoulders again. “I don’t know. I never read them, but some people seem to believe the people and objects you encounter in your dreams can be symbols of your subconscious.”

  Justin broke out into a laugh. “Well Sternfoot would certainly be a good symbol for anything that’s not right in my life. Actually, if it had not been so scary, it would have been funny. Imagine Sternfoot with smoke coming out of his ears?”

  This time Amy laughed out loud. To Justin, her laughter was like rain on parched, dry ground. “I wouldn’t mind seeing it,” she hiccupped. “But since Sternfoot is always doing these weird experiments that produce smoke and vapors, maybe you subconsciously just associated that with the smoke coming out of his ears.”

  Justin shrugged his shoulders. “Still it was weird. But what is weirder still, is the fact that Uncle Harry found a lab burner in my Dad’s wine cellar.”

  Amy leaned back on the bench, basking her face in the sun and closed her eyes for a moment. Maybe she had heard enough about nightmares, Sternfoot and chemical burners in basements. Justin leaned back too and stopped talking. A sparrow, hopping around on the grass, looked up at him with his beady, little eyes. Then the bird tilted his head, almost as if he was pleading with Justin for something to fatten his feathery, little belly.

  “Sorry, friend,” Justin whispered, “my bread is still at school.

  Amy looked up. “You like animals, don’t you?”

  “Of course. Don’t you?”

  Amy nodded. “Tell me about that dog that fell in through the basement window. Is he cute?”

  Justin’s eyes began to shine. “Yes, he is. I’ve actually always wanted a dog, but Mom never wanted one.”

  “So, can you keep him?”

  Justin sucked in his cheeks. “Hope so. I think it will work out. I am going to call him Balthazar.”

  Amy raised her brows. “Where did you get that name?”

  Justin scratched his head. “Just came to me. I read somewhere it means protector. In any case it’s a good name as one of the three Wise Men in the Christmas story was called by that name.”

  Amy leaned back as she studied Justin. “You believe in Christmas?”

  “Sure. It’s the best time of the year. It’s cold outside, and warm within. Anything nice happens at Christmas.” Justin’s face flashed with happiness as he thought about it, but strangely enough, Amy did not seem to agree. Her shoulders drooped and her eyes no longer sparkled, but held a sad stare.

  “It’s not always true,” Amy replied. She looked down at her feet and then said in a low voice, “My Dad left us at Christmas.”

  “He did?” Justin felt anger rising in his chest. “That’s just stupid.” How could a father leave anybody as pure as Amy? “When did that happen?”

  Amy curled her lips. “It’s been over two years now. He supposedly found somebody else, but that relationship is already broken too.” She let out a deep sigh. “It’s mostly hard on my Mom.”

  Justin did not know what the right thing to say was, so he opted for the most innocent thing he could find. “Do you have brothers or sisters?”

  Amy shook her head. “Nope. It’s just me and my Mom now. I do miss him sometimes, but I am also a little angry at him.”

  “Of course you are,” Justin said while he wrinkled his nose. “You still see him?”

  Amy shrugged her shoulders. “Now and then. I actually don’t like to talk about it too much, but since it happened on Christmas, I thought I’d tell you.”

  That was a nice Christmas present, Justin thought, and he decided he was never going to like Amy’s Dad. But at the same time, a wicked sense of victory washed over him. Amy had been showing him a tiny piece of her secret world. She had lifted a tiny slip of the veil of her life and had given him a peek within. There was so much more to this girl than he knew.

  Amy looked up. Her smile was back again. This girl bounced back really quick. “But…,” she said as she leaned over, “… I actually do like Christmas too.”

  Justin nodded and steered the conversation back to the dog. “If I can keep the dog, then I’ll consider him an early Christmas presen-”

  "Hey Justin," a voice called out to him from behind and interrupted their conversation. Both Justin and Amy looked up. Billy Bratmeyer and Joey Ashfield were sauntering in their direction. Justin wasn't particularly fond of Billy's loud mouth, neither was he the best of friends with Joey, but since they all were in the same class, having to face the same obstacles, there was a sense of camaraderie that tied them together. "Billy? Joey? What's up?"

  The two classmates walked over to the bench and Joey's face carried a mysterious smile. "Care for a good fight, Justin?" Joey asked.

  That was a strange question, and Justin cringed. "A fight? No… not particularly."

  Joey laughed. "I don't mean with me, stupid. I've got free tickets for an MMA fight tonight. Care to come along? I asked Jack, but he's busy tonight."

  Justin narrowed his eyes. "You mean boxing?"

  "It's more than just boxing," Billy added. "It's an underground fight. Anything goes. Kicking, hitting… sometimes they even bite each other."

  "Wow," Amy said while she wrinkled her nose, "that sounds like great fun."

  "It's not for sissies," Billy sneered as he glared at Amy. "It's a man's sport."

  "Be my guest," Amy snorted.

  But both Billy and Joey did not see the need to explain it further to Amy and turned their attention back to Justin. "It's cool, man," Joey said, "Guillermo Abasto, also known as the Butcher, is fighting Alvaro Ironbark."

  "Oh…I see," Justin said, while he nodded. He had never heard of these fellows, but judging by Joey's enthusiasm it was clear these fighters were famous celebrities, and Justin did not want to appear uneducated. "I am not sure… I mean, I've got a dog now, and I am behind on my homework."

  "Walk the dog?" Billy bellowed. "And… who is concerned about homework when Abasto is fighting Ironbark, and you can be part of it?" He pointed his chubby finger at Justin. "Come on, man… this is a once in a life time opportunity." He brought his face closer to Justin and whispered, "Before the match we'll go to Ironbark's dressing room and ask for his autograph."

  Justin stepped back. He didn't particularly like to come so close to Billy's unwashed face, and he raised his brow. "Why do you want a silly autograph?"

  Billy shook his head. "Don't you get it? For money. We can sell it here at school for a good price."

  Justin didn't see the logic. Why anybody would want to pay good money for the signature of some fierce redneck that most likely was all brawn and no brain, was beyond him, but he did not want to appear self-righteous.

  "What time is the show?"

  "It's not a show, stupid," *Billy corrected. "It's a fight."

  "Sure. I get it. What time?"

  Joey smiled, and seemed pleased Justin was willing to consider. "If you come along, we'll pick you up at eight. You will have plenty of time for homewo
rk and dog-walking."

  Justin nodded. "Fine. Why not?"

  "Cool," Billy said. He looked at his watch and frowned. "Hey man, we’ve got to go back to class, or we’ll be late for biology."

  Justin too looked at his watch, and seeing Billy was right, he let out a sigh and turned to Amy. "Wish we could talk more. Maybe later?”

  “Sure,” Amy said, although Justin noticed there was a concerned expression on her face.

  Then, just before Justin got up from the bench, she did something that Justin had not expected. Something that was wonderful, and terrifying at the same time, and that caused Justin's heart to start pounding again, although not at all like it had in the nightmare when he had faced Sternfoot.

  She grabbed his hand and held on to it for at least five long seconds while she looked intently into his eyes. Justin felt his ears redden.

  “It’s nice talking to you, Justin. If your Mom will let you keep the dog, I would like to see it someday.”

  Joy rose up from unknown wells in Justin’s heart as he stared into those sparkling, curious blue eyes. “I-I…eh… whenever you like… Amy.

  Chapter Four

  True to his words Joey, who was borrowing his Dad's red Pontiac, stopped at eight sharp in front of Justin's house. The horn on his car was loud and demanding and caused Mom to jump up from her seat while letting out a small yelp.

  Balthazar showed his potential to become a fierce watchdog, as he broke out into a guttural growl, which earned him an approving glance from Dad.

  "Maybe he will be a watch dog," he mumbled, while he glanced at Justin with a weak smile from behind his newspaper.

  Justin nodded and was pleased. At this stage, it was crucial that Balthazar prove himself to be indispensable.

  “He can stay…” Dad had said when Justin had come home from school that afternoon, “…on probation.”

  Mom looked up as Dad shared the news. “For one month, Justin. He’s got one month to prove his worth.”

  Justin understood. Mom was not what they called a ‘dog person,’ but at least, this was a start. It was his hope that after one month, Balthazar would have wormed his way sufficiently into both Mom and Dad’s hearts that shipping him off to the pound in Bakersville would be out of the question.

  If he played his cards well, Balthazar was here to stay.

  He had arranged for Balthazar to say in his room for now, as tonight he had other things on his mind.

  "Bye," Justin said as he slipped into his jacket. "Oh…, and Mom?" He stopped at the door before he jumped out.

  She looked up and frowned.

  “Thanks for giving the dog a chance.” Then he was off, and seconds later he hopped into the car with Joey and Billy, and they drove away.

  Joey was in a good mood and was loudly singing along with Dusty Chesterfield and the Alligators, a CD his Dad seemed to like.

  "Got anything else?" Justin inquired. Justin loved country music, but this stuff was nothing but an infuriating warble that violated all rules of decent music. Anything else was better than that.

  "Sorry, man," Joey apologized. "I forgot my own stuff, so we just have to use my Dad's."

  Or listen to nothing, Justin thought, but he nodded and hoped they would arrive soon.

  The place where the fight was being held was a ways out of Dewsbury. First they had to drive a few miles on the road to Bakersville, but then, after they had passed Jim Denton's supermarket, Joey took a left and got off the freeway. Here the road was bad and full of potholes, and Joey, who definitely had been speeding, was forced to slow down. There were no more street lights either, and it was hard to tell where exactly they were going.

  "It looks like we are just about to fall off the planet,” Justin sneered, not sure if this was going to work out fine. He had noticed the car was not equipped with a GPS either.

  "Of course we won’t," Joey said, the irritation clear in his voice, but he kept his eyes glued to the road. "I’ve been here many times. Just a few more turns, a few more miles, and we'll be there."

  At last he took a right on a tiny dirt road that led into a dark forest. The headlights of the car bore into the woods before them and caused the trees to light up in strange, warped shades that were reaching out to them with their claw-like branches.

  Justin blinked. "That's a strange place for an important fight!"

  "You still don't get it, do you?" Joey sneered. "Remember, it's an underground fight."

  Justin blinked some more. "Enlighten me."

  Joey shrugged. "People do a lot of betting on who is going to win. It's not really legal, but it makes it a lot more exciting. Once you've been there, you are hooked."

  "Sure," Justin replied, knowing full well he was not going to like it here, and was beginning to regret he had agreed to come, but right now it was a little late to think such thoughts.

  The car took another turn, and they arrived at an open spot in the middle of the forest. They had arrived.

  Justin blinked. This was the place?

  Right around them, cars were parked at random on a wide stretch of grassland, and before them, some fifty yards away stood an enormous hangar-like structure, made from panels of corrugated iron, held together with rivets and bolts and a dome-shaped roof. Near what appeared to be the entrance stood a tall floodlight that illuminated the entrance and cast red and green rays of light on the ground.

  "Cool, huh?" Billy mumbled. "It used to be some sort of private airport, but now they use it for prize fights."

  "Is it even safe?" Justin asked, sincerely concerned. The place looked seedy and dilapidated, but it looked like lots of people were streaming in.

  "Of course it's safe," Joey sneered. "If it wasn't, nobody would go in."

  Justin didn't follow his logic, but decided not to push the subject any further.

  "Lots of folks from Bakersville," Billy explained, with a hint of admiration. "And some from even further away."

  Justin nodded. What did he care where these people came from. Hopefully this would all soon be over, and he could go home again.

  After they had parked the car next to a rusty pickup truck, they joined the queue and slowly moved towards the entrance. Even though they were still outside, loud waves of music with the monotonous beat of drums that came from the hangar, already rolled over them. Heavy metal. Raw and dark.

  They were slowly moving forward behind two rough looking fellows with shaved heads who were holding a bottle of beer, and were making course jokes. Red, grinning skulls were printed on the back of their jackets and when one of them turned to take a look who was standing behind them, Justin pretended to look the other way.

  Just before they reached the door, Joey pushed a grimy ticket into Justin's hand. "Here," he whispered. "It's your free pass."

  "How did you get it?" Justin wanted to know. Joey shrugged his shoulders. "Doesn't matter… but if you'd rather pay $ 15… be my guest."

  Justin had no time to answer, as the ticket man, who was just about the same size as the two fellows that had stood in line before them, held out his grubby hand and demanded the ticket. After Justin had handed it to him and the man had studied it with suspicious eyes, he ripped it in two, handed half of it back to Justin, and then motioned with a nod of his stony face that Justin was supposed to hold out his hand.

  "Why?" Justin glanced at Joey, who chuckled.

  "He wants to stamp your hand… It is proof you have the right to be here."

  Seconds later, Justin and his buddies were in. As he stepped inside, an oppressive, sweltering wave of heat washed over him, and his nostrils filled with the scent of sweat and beer. While the music had already been loud on the outside, here it was deafening as it was blaring from several giant speakers that were attached to the outer walls and it was hurting his ears. But he had no time to stop and think, as the stream of people was pushing them into what appeared to be some sort of hallway that Justin assumed would lead them to the main area.

  He was right. Another 20 yards, and
they entered into the center area. It was quite dark, except for the middle area, where giant lights, attached to the roof of the hangar, were illuminating the boxing ring. Here it was a bit more spacious, as everyone could spread out and Justin was relieved to see he had a bit more elbow room and space to breathe. The boxing ring was occupied by some scantily dressed girls that were performing some sort of seductive dance in the hopes of heightening the spirits of those attending. Justin curled his lips when he realized it was the sort of place he had seen in an unpleasant B-movie; except, this place was real and he couldn't just turn off the DVD player or change channels.

  Billy poked Joey in the back and shouted something in his ear. Joey nodded and turned to Justin to explain what Billy had said. "We need to go to the dressing room. Remember? We want the autograph of Alvaro Ironbark."

  Of all the stupid things one could think of. Justin shook his head. "Sorry. I am staying right here." What were they thinking? He wasn't going to take one more step unless it was to leave.

  Joey gave him an incredulous stare, but Justin could care less. He leaned forward and shouted in Joey's ear, "You can find me here right next to the hall. Good luck."

  Joey grimaced and shrugged his shoulders. Then he motioned for Billy to come and within seconds they had disappeared in the mass of bodies.

  Justin pushed the little light on his watch to on.

  8.30. The show was about to start. He noticed several men in yellow vests, who were pushing their way through the crowds, while waving some hard to identify cardboard sheets in the air. Probably bookies; shady characters whose assistance you needed if you wanted to place a bet.

  What a very strange place this was.

  Just as he was beginning to wonder if this show would ever begin, something caught his attention. Not too far away from him, with his back turned, he noticed a man whose posture he had seen before.

  But who could be here that he knew? He narrowed his eyes and peered into the darkness, trying to focus as good as he could. There, not more than ten feet away, half hidden behind some other fellow stood a man that looked just like Sternfoot.