by R. J. Garcia
I started thinking out loud. “It’s creepy out here. Can you imagine that a lady was murdered and buried here?”
Finn slowed down and turned back to face me. “But a lot of good things happened in these woods, too. It’s just a backdrop.” He might have said it to talk himself out of being scared. It made sense. My snap judgment of him being a dumb kid without a care in the world couldn’t have been further from the truth. He was smart. While I used to struggle to take care of one little sister, he looked after four siblings with amazing ease.
We walked shoulder to shoulder for a while and were almost to our meeting place when I saw the girls had beaten us there. The lantern positioned by her feet cast up a fair amount of light. Silence was messing with Annie’s hair. As we got closer, I noticed Annie looked shaky and wet. I asked “What happened? Did you fall?”
Annie’s voice registered in a higher pitch than usual as she told us, “I think it was Ryan and Mudget. They were chasing us, and I fell. They wanted to scare us, so we’d go home.”
“They were wearing crazy masks and had knives. It was creepy. I was screaming like a girl,” Silence said, fishing twigs and dead leaves from Annie’s hair
Annie directed her gaze to Finn, still speaking in an elevated pitch. “Earlier, Ryan told us not to come out tonight. He said Mudget was going to kill you.”
Silence added, “They just ran off a few minutes ago.” She picked up a steel bat. “Ryan almost got this from me.”
“Well, he messed with the wrong girl.” Finn smiled at her approvingly and took the bat. “It’s a good thing, he didn’t get it. Hell, he isn’t going to get close to us if we’ve got a bat.” Then he told Silence he had a blanket. Silence removed the blanket from Finn’s backpack and wrapped it around Annie.
I tried to process it all. “Let’s just get out of here,” I reasoned. The wind still whistled and, in a way, it felt more like I was watching a movie.
Finn said, “Maybe Tommy’s right. We should walk you girls home.”
“What if they jump us on the way back? Did you think of that? They’re acting mental. They had on the masks from the old Scream movie,” Silence said, putting her arm around Annie. “If we stay in the clearing, we’ll see them coming.” Her eyes settled on Finn. “Anyway, I’m not leaving you.”
Finn stared at her. “Thanks.” He looked down, biting his lip.
Annie looked scared and lost. I put my hand on her shoulder. It started her talking again. “Ryan said killing would be the ultimate thrill. It should be legal one time a year, like in The Purge.” It was a movie out a while back about crime, even murder, being made legal one day a year. I only caught the previews.
“I’m for the legalization of marijuana, but that’s nuts.” I tried to sound light but was becoming more and more weirded out.
Finn complained, “I hate all these bored idiots who watch too many horror movies!” He shifted his gaze to me, his voice edged in nervousness and doubt. “You got my back, right?” I noticed that his eyelids fluttered.
“I don’t want to fight two guys in crazy masks wielding knives. Then again, I may not have a choice.” My tone was sarcastic. I wasn’t sure how I would react if two guys with knives charged us. I started chewing my thumbnail.
Silence only looked a little worried, when she asked, “What if they kill us?”
“Those little shits.” Finn cracked a smile to help her feel better, I think.
Her eyes twinkled at him in a kind of awe.
I heard a crackling sound like someone was walking through the trees, rustling the branches along the way. I told everyone to be quiet. Tightness filled the air. We all listened, not moving, or saying a word. We heard twigs crunching as footsteps approached. I was a breath away from asking, “What’s the plan?” It was too late. Two shadowy outlines sprung into view through the haze. I flinched inside, staring at two masked figures. I glanced over at Annie who was latched onto to Silence’s arm, with her eyes squeezed shut.
Silence said, “Be careful, Finn,” in a tense whisper.
“Stay with the girls,” Finn told me and started walking toward the boys, clenching the bat. They both just stood there, still wearing masks and holding large kitchen-type knives. Finn walked even closer to them. My heart beat crazy fast as I stepped forward and then stepped back. I ran my fingers through my hair, feeling a sense of urgency. I didn’t know what to do about it. I struggled to even catch my next breath.
“I’m going to mess you up!” Finn called, breaking the quiet. His voice rang out, loud and cool like he had it all under control. One of the masked boys ran off and a hope stirred in me.
“Bye, Ryan,” Finn shouted, keeping his eye on the remaining boy. He was a few inches taller than Finn and thicker. “Mudget, drop the knife and I’ll drop the bat. Let’s do this right. You want to fight me, fight me.” Finn challenged him.
Mudget tore off the mask, revealing a cloud of light hair framing an ugly face. He rocked back and forth, holding the butcher knife with both hands, looking crazed. Annie’s eyes were now opened and in a watery horror. She maintained a tight grip on Silence, who looked like she might jump in.
“Okay. I don’t need the knife to kill you.” Mudget dropped the knife and Finn kicked it away, calling me to, “Get the knife, Tommy!” I couldn’t move. Annie released Silence who picked it up.
It happened. Finn kept his word about throwing the bat down. Mudget jumped on him, knocked him to the ground and landed a good hard punch to Finn’s face. Silence shrieked, and Annie burst into tears. Then Finn head-butted Mudget and got on top of him. He punched Mudget’s face again and again. You could hear each punch. The third time Finn drew back and punched him with incredible force. He held his hand out in pain, staggering to his feet before regaining his balance.
Silence dropped the knife and ran to Finn. They hugged. I picked up the knife, worried that Mudget might come to and reclaim it. My hands continued to tremble, and I dropped it. I was useless. I might as well have pissed myself. I should have been glad we were all fine. Even when I got beat up one time, I wasn’t this messed up inside.
Finn picked up the bat with his good hand. “I just put him down for a nap. Let’s get out of here.”
Annie had calmed herself and collected the knife.
We tromped through the sludge and made it to Annie’s house. Silence decided to spend the night there. She touched Finn’s hand and gave him her half smile, saying, “Call us when you guys get home.”
I wanted to tell her about what I found out the other night on the internet, but it didn’t seem like the right time. Annie told us in a sleepy, downbeat voice, “I’m glad we’re still alive.”
Finn and I walked along the side of the road on the way home, even if it added over fifteen minutes to our trek back. We had enough of the woods for one night. I wanted to be a guy like Finn or my friend Simon. “I didn’t know you could fight like that,” I admitted to Finn, feeling like he must have thought I was such a loser after how I acted.
“Me either. If you get your ass kicked enough, you learn a thing or two.” He said, “Thanks for having my back.”
He didn’t sound sarcastic. A swell of nervous guilt ran through me. “Are you kidding? I was scared shitless,” I confessed.
“So was I. Ryan bailed. You stayed.”
“I do have your back.” I wanted him to know this. It seemed important to me that he knew this. “How’s your hand?”
He grimaced and brought his hand close to his face and looked at it. “I busted my knuckles pretty good. It hurts.”
All the sudden, we were both blinded in the glare of headlights. I saw a police cruiser, pulled to the side of the road. The window rolled down to reveal Polar Bear. His eyes flickered between me and Finn. “Get in, girls.” He smiled with clenched teeth. Our night wasn’t over yet.
Chapter 10
The Ride
Finn
Tommy slid into the backseat of the cruiser first, and I got in right after him. I braced myself.
This wasn’t going to be pretty.
My stepfather gripped the steering wheel. “What the hell are you two doing out this late?” he asked. I was glad that a steel mesh stood between us.
I racked my brain for the right words to say. Honestly, there were no words that could get me out of this. Tommy started talking. “It’s my fault, sir. I lost my wallet in the woods earlier and I talked Finn into helping me find it.”
“Let’s get this straight. You went out in the middle of the night, after curfew, to look for your wallet?” Polar Bear let out a fake, hard laugh.
Tommy sounded very polite. “Yes, sir. It wasn’t well thought out.” Tommy and I exchanged a look.
Polar Bear’s voice sounded cool, yet I knew better. “Do I look like an asshole to you?”
Tommy halfway grinned in reply, but said, “No, sir.”
My stepdad started driving, his tires skidding as he pulled out onto the street. He pumped at the brakes, driving so slowly that the car almost crawled.
The car’s roof inclined lower in the back seat. I had to keep my head bent to fit, and that, along with the mesh bars, made me feel like I was in a cage. My heart began to hammer, and a sense of unease pierced my stomach. I shifted around on the seat’s smooth vinyl.
Polar Bear continued, “You were meeting those little girls.” He held up his index finger, “Or maybe you two got something else going on, huh?” He made several clicking sounds with his tongue, adding, “You seem awfully close.” He emphasized the word close. “Two pretty boys, alone in the dark.”
“We were looking for my wallet,” Tommy insisted.
“The more bullshit you talk, the more Finn’s going to get after I drop you off.”
I inhaled slowly, my hand aching, my brain exhausted. “Shut up, Tommy,” I whispered.
The cruiser pulled into Reese and Holden’s driveway. Polar Bear lost all his pretense, saying, “Hey, faggot, get the hell out. Tell your little, colored sister that I said hi.”
An expression I never saw before crossed Tommy’s face. This time his voice had a hard edge to it. “You know who I could pass the message along to. My caseworker. Yeah, she’s visiting me, Monday. She might want to know about my fourteen-year-old neighbor who gets beaten and battered by his joke of a sheriff stepfather.”
I looked away and moaned.
“You are both dead!” Polar Bear raged. “I’m going to kill you both and drop you in an abandoned well. No one will ever find either of you or give a shit!”
Tommy looked at me. “Go inside, Finn,” he said. I shook my head and immediately tried the door, but it was locked.
Calmly, Tommy held his phone up. A lady’s voice said, “911. What is the nature of your emergency?”
Polar Bear jerked back his anger. In the quiet, he let out a low, guttural sound. The doors clicked open.
“This isn’t over, boys,” he said as I slid out of the car, with Tommy right behind me. We ran to his house.
The words, “I love you, man!” rang out, while Tommy struggled to open the downstairs window. He just got it open and gestured for me to go first. I dropped down onto the sofa. Tommy climbed in after me. He closed and locked the window. I reached over and turned the lights on. He perched on the arm of the sofa, red-cheeked.
“You were really tough!” I gushed, feeling buzzed from an adrenaline-filled night. I also felt really impressed. Tommy was the coolest guy I’d ever known.
He broke into a satisfied smile. “Yeah, I kind of was.” His expression changed. It looked as if he was thinking about something. He decided, “You’re not going back there. Not when he’s there.”
No one understood before, not really. Not like Tommy did. It seemed like I had been holding on for a long time and could finally let go. I dropped my head against the sofa and set my feet on the coffee table.
Tommy got up. “Let me get an ice pack and some Tylenol for your hand.”
I had the feeling that we’d won. I never really won anything. For the first time, I parked on Easy Street. “Ah, could you get me a sandwich too? And maybe a glass of milk?”
“Sure, why not,” he replied and heading up the stairs. Suddenly, the doorbell rang. I turned and looked out the window. Oh hell, the cruiser was still there.
I jumped to my feet and Tommy hurried back down the stairs and we met in the middle of the room. I didn’t want to get my ass kicked, not tonight. I wanted one night of glory. Racking spasms of fear and anger shot through me. I swore. “Tommy, you’re the guy who’s got it all figured out. Now what?” I asked, no longer believing that he was more than a dumb kid.
Chapter 11
What Can Go Wrong
Tommy
It was 3 a.m. Finn and I were in the living room with a groggy Reese, and Holden. Reese cinched her bathrobe a little tighter and Holden was throwing a T-shirt on, wearing only his plaid boxers.
Polar Bear stood bigger than life in his tan sheriff uniform. He talked about dropping Finn and me off and about curfew, rules, and consequences. He said, “I hope you discipline your boy. I know I will discipline mine.”
“No. You can’t let him take Finn.” I turned and pleaded to Reese. Tears stung my eyes. “Please, Reese.”
The sheriff burst into a wide smile, revealing teeth a shade too white to be natural. It was a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. He went over to Finn, putting his arm around him and saying, “Finn gets into my booze. He smokes cigarettes and sneaks out at night. I might have to let the authorities deal with him. Oh wait, I am the authority.” Polar Bear’s gaze dropped to our muddy footprints. It seemed like he was playing a part as he said, “And it looks like these boys have ruined your carpet.”
“Tommy?” Reese squeaked, looking down. “You have. You ruined the carpet!”
I looked down at my shoes caked in watery mud. I stepped out of them, saying, “I’m sorry.”
Reese continued, “Why are you sneaking out, anyway? You and Finn are welcome to hang out here!” She was flushed and shaking her head. She couldn’t see what was really going on. Was she really buying everything Polar Bear said?
“I can help pay to have the carpet cleaned for you,” Polar Bear added, getting on her good side.
Finn’s shoulders slumped, and his eyes were sad and empty. A red bruise with a deep bluish edge was already forming on his cheekbone. He looked pitiful.
Holden became my last hope. “He’s going to hurt him. Please don’t make Finn go home.” He seemed to think for a minute and swallowed hard before saying, “Ah, Polar Bear, since you’re still on duty and I can watch them tonight. I’ll make sure they don’t go anywhere.”
“Holden!” Reese snapped in protest.
“Yep,” Polar Bear gloated. “I can see how good you watched your nephew.” He put his large arm around Finn. “Luckily, I just got off duty. I’ll take my boy and give him a sweet talking to.”
Finn looked like a ten-year-old kid next to his stepdad. His baby face had a gentle splattering of freckles. His eyes remained partly closed, his lips set in a pout. He no longer looked like the tough kid ready to take on two, masked boys with knives.
A tear fell down my cheek. I had been holding it in so long, it burned hot. Reese suddenly looked concerned, saying, “Finn could stay. I have a lot of chores for that boy.”
“I feel like I’m breaking up Romeo and Juliet here.” Polar Bear forced a smile and announced, “Finn and I are leaving now.”
I apologized to Finn. He wouldn’t even look at me. Then Polar Bear grabbed Finn by the arm. I watched the door close behind them. They were gone. Just like that.
“Go to bed, Tommy,” Holden said firmly.
Reese went to touch my face, but I jerked away. “We’ll talk about this in the morning,” she said. They left the room.
I lingered there wondering how this night got so messed up. Polar Bear was violent for sure and maybe even an evil kidnapper, but my best friend went home with him. This wasn’t right. Nothing in this town was right. I threw Holden’s and Reese’
s closed bedroom door a hostile look and turned into the upstairs bathroom. I drank a little cold medicine and crashed on Isabella’s floor.
I heard it, a retching sound and a series of volcanic eruptions which faded into soft moans. I followed the sound to our small bathroom which seemed to grow a full city block. My bare feet sticky and cool on the floor’s linoleum. I found her kneeling by the toilet.
“It’s okay, Mom,” I said and reached for her hand and helped her to her feet. She swatted the fringe of hair out of her face. Her skin felt damp. Her pupils were pinpoints. It was the look of barely holding on. “I’m sorry, Tommy.” Just like a thousand times before came, the promise. “It won’t happen again.”
I walked her back to bed and pulled the blankets down. “Get some sleep,” I said.
Her voice was so sweet. “Yeah, baby.”
The moonlight poured in from the half-open blinds. My eyes drifted around the small, familiar room to find Izzy fast asleep next to my mom.
Unexpectedly, I heard Holden’s voice and something terrible happened. I woke up. It was Sunday morning and I was grounded. I had never been grounded in my life. My cell phone confiscated. I couldn’t call Finn or go over there and see if he was alright.
At breakfast, I looked at a plate of scrambled eggs and a couple strips of bacon. Reese snapped, “Eat up because you’re doing the dishes all week, kid.”
I felt empty but tried not to eat as a form of protest. I watched Izzy nibble on the end of the bacon strip. I looked away, but the smell of bacon kept wafting in the air. Unable to resist any longer, I crunched down a strip of bacon in seconds, not even tasting it. I took a sip of orange juice. It was the pulpy kind. My mom bought the good kind of orange juice without all that disgusting pulp. Reese and Holden even bought the chunky peanut butter. Don’t get me started on the well water. What was wrong with these people?