by Kit DeCanti
The moon went behind some clouds; making the night darker as they rowed up near the dock of Windmill Island.
“Good! No boats.” Jimmy said. The boys looked at him wide eyed. The possibility of anyone being on the island never occurred to them as they approached it. Jimmy took the oars and rowed skillfully and quickly around to the other side of the island, where he had stashed their supplies. Jumping off the boat he grabbed the line; and started pulling the boat to shore. Without being asked Timmy jumped off and helped him, then they both helped the younger boys off the boat. The five boys worked together to pull the boat out of the water, onto dry land.
“Well- were here!” Jimmy grinned. He handed out the rolled up sleeping bags and strapped on his back pack, then with the pop-up tent under one arm he grabbed Little Jon’s hand with his free hand and said, “Everyone join hands. We can’t chance turning on a light.” Although the moon was peeking out from the clouds the trees and tall tules made the island very dark. Jimmy guided the boys to the tarp where he had stashed the supplies. He rustled through the pile until he found an extra tarp and spread it out and with in moments the boys were inside the tent giggling and eating apples. Jimmy and Timmy had spread two sleeping bags, that had gotten wet on the boat ride, on top of the tent; so Jimmy felt safe turning on a flash light, although he kept it inside a back pack to muffle the light into a soft glow.
“Apple core!” Timmy said, looking at Little Jon. Jimmy stiffened.
“Oh no! Is Timmy going to start picking on the boys again?” Jimmy thought. But he need not to have worried.
“Baltimore Little Jon” laughed.
“Whose your friend?” Timmy laughed back.
“YOU!” cried Little Jon gleefully, and Timmy tossed the apple in the air letting it land on his head. The boys rolled with laughter.
The laughter continued amidst practical jokes, funny stories and then as the boys lay snuggled up in the tent while sharing two sleeping bags zipped together, the conversation drifted into more sentimental areas.
“I saw you watching that old lady in the wheelchair today. Was that your mama?” Little John wanted to know.
“Yes,” Jimmy said without hesitation, then added, “Not my real mama, but the only one I ever knew. That was the only place that I ever really felt was home.”
“Why did you leave?” Denny asked.
“She got sick. She almost died. And while she was in the hospital they made me go to Melbourne’s.” Jimmy said sadly. “She’s too sick to be a foster mom now. But she will always be my mama here,” Jimmy said patting his heart.
“I never had anyone like that,” Little Jon said. “Never. I guess I never will.”
“How about your real mom?” Timmy asked.
“I never knew her. I heard she died. But I don’t know for sure,” the little boy whispered.
“My mom and pop died in a wreck,” Marty said. “I lived with my grandma for awhile, but then she died too. That’s when they took me to that place,” looking at Jimmy, “you know, the place where we met.
The boys’ conversation turned to what they remembered if anything about their days before becoming foster kids.
“Where were you before then? Before that night?” Marty asked Jimmy.
“I don’t know, I can’t remember. All I know is that I can’t remember ever not being in the system,” Jimmy said. “I don’t even know if my name is really Jimmy Maldoon. I overheard someone saying once they weren’t even sure if my parents gave their real name before dropping me off at a firehouse. I’m not even sure I’m Irish. But I guess maybe I am with my blue eyes and red hair. I always hated how they made me stand out in a crowd. It attracted bullies. But I learned to fight,” he tried to laugh it off. “But everywhere I went it seemed like old ladies would say, “Oh look at that cute little Irish lad. And one of my foster fathers used to call me ‘Fire Truck’. I thought that was cool until I learned that I was dropped off at a firehouse.”
“Maybe your hair is fire truck red when its clean!” Timmy joked trying to lighten the mood. “But now you look as Native American as Denny!” causing all the boys to laugh. Jimmy looked down at his once freckled white arm and saw what he meant. These months of sun gave him a tan like he’d never thought possible. And of course no real baths added to the dark color. He tugged at his hair and saw that as it grew the curls straightened.
“Well, it’s a good disguise!” he laughed, and then looked at his brothers trying to remember how they looked when they first arrived at Melbourne’s. Timmy, though tall and thin seemed so much taller now with the weight loss brought on by the months of not enough food. Tall and stringy. And his hunched shoulders were even more hunched over causing his chest to sink in. His white skin had taken on an eerie paleness from the months of no sun, even through the cave dirt and dust that still coated his arms.
Even Denny who was Pomo, and Joey who was Italian were pale and sickly looking. Marty’s once close cut black hair had now grown into a full Afro, and was full of tangles, and his chubby body was gaunt. Little Jon had lost the glasses he had arrived at Melbourn’s with, causing his naturally almond shaped oriental eyes to be a constant squint; as he tried his best to see clear the world that had turned so threatening.
Yes being in Melbournes so called ‘care’ took its toll on his five brothers. The guilt once again rose up like a giant boulder in Jimmy’s throat making it hard to swallow. He became aware that his brothers were still talking, and Timmy had just related that other than them he had no family.
As the boys talked it became apparent that they all had one thing in common. Just as Jimmy was thinking it, Timmy looked at him and raised an eyebrow and said, “We are all orphans.”
Instantly the six boys knew that that was why they were chosen. Why Melbourne chose them. They were all orphans. No one would miss them when they disappeared.
Nothing else was said that night.
The boys woke up to the sound of the radio. Jimmy was sitting on a rock outside the tent listening to the morning news. They all heard the news at the same time.
“The search has been called off. It has been determined that the lost boys are not on Mt. Konocti. The grieving foster parent has announced that he is certain that the boys have fallen down the bottomless pit in one of the caves on Konocti. The first missing boy, Jimmy Muldoon is suspected to have snuck back and convinced the boys to follow him up on the mountain. Whether it was an accident or a suicide pact is undetermined. The mountain road has been gated and twenty four hour security guards has been posted there to keep other boys from going up onto the mountain.”
Jimmy turned around and looked into the wide eyes of the five boys not knowing what to say.
After a few moments Marty asked hopefully, “Does that mean they aren’t looking for us anymore?”
“No, it just means no one except Melbourne and The Henchman are looking for us,” Jimmy replied. “They just don’t want anyone else to find us.” The boys grew quiet again, until Jimmy jumped up and said, “Hey- they won’t find us! We’ve proven that we’re too smart for them!”
The brothers jumped up and a spontaneous game of hide and seek ensued. The five boys chased each other up and down the stone stair cases, followed by Hero; and hid from each other in the bushes and tules; finding better and better hiding places as the morning wore on. Following Jimmy, Timmy climbed a rail and hugging the side of the upper cottage they inched their way around to the balcony where they perched on the rail looking out at Konocti, while the younger boys continued their game.
“So, they don’t think were up there…” Jimmy said.
“Well, we’re not.” Timmy replied, looking questionly at him.
“No- not yet!” Jimmy grinned back. “But we soon will be. There’s a cabin up there. Mary Downen the first homesteader on the mountain, built it in 1903, and it’s still standing. We can stay there. There is also a spring near by, until the late summer, and I have tablets to purify the water.” As if thinking out loud, Jimmy added, “
And walnuts trees and grapes… we’ll be fine.” Then looking at his brother he said, “We can’t stay here much longer because they rent this island out for parties and weddings. And honeymoons,” he added wondering if Ron and Kat sat on this balcony when they spent their honeymoon night here. He remembered their big wedding at Rancho del la Fuentes’, and how proud he was to be their ring bearer.
“How are we going to get up there?” Timmy asked, bringing Jimmy back to the present.
“We can row almost straight across.” Pointing he asked, “See those rocks?”
Timmy strained his eyes, but said, “Not really. It’s too far.”
“Well, Ron and I explored the shore over there and I know a place where we can stash the boat and then we can climb up onto the mountain through the Black Forest. It is really cool there. It gets a little steep but we will be able to stay out of sight no problem. And we won’t have to travel during the night until we get closer to the top. Even then there’s so much brush, I think we’ll be fine.”
“When will we shove off?” Timmy asked already in the pirate role.
“Arr! Avast and becalmed! We’re marooned here fer a few days. But we’ll be weighing anchor as soon as you and the boys take a caulk, me Matie. Arr! Shiver me timbers! I’ll be wantin’ to listen to the news a few days to make sure no landlubbers are up there looking for us.” Jimmy replied, thoroughly enjoying showing off his Pirate Talk abilities. His pleasure was only slightly lessened by the knowledge that it was Ron who taught him. Timmy was by then rolling on the balcony deck laughing heartily.
Jimmy joined him in his laughter; but kept his eyes on the mountain.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Goons and Psychopaths
The hired goon hung up his cell phone and grumbled. The midnight phone call didn’t get the results he had hoped for. Instead of getting the go ahead to head up on the mountain and pick up the handful of brats that they were paid to find, they were told to sit on it some more. He didn’t like waiting. He especially didn’t like having to wear the monkey suits that he and his buddy had been forced to wear while taking turns parked in the heat, at the gate that shut off the road leading up to the great mountain. He was itching to get back up there.
“But the ‘Bossman’ insists on doing it the easy way. The sissy way!” he grumbled to himself, before taking a long drink from the bottle he had been holding while listening to his orders. So far the only action he and his buddy had been allowed, was the bugging of the porch of a deputy’s house- outside of a few times when they did their own maneuvers on the mountain.
A couple times instead of just trading places at the end of a shift, he and his partner had gone up on the mountain to run maneuvers. Once they found a cave they had gone back up a few times hoping to catch the kids.
But mostly it was just sit and wait. This was not what they were trained for. They were mercenaries and they were itching for action. They had commando skills to be used. “We didn’t sign on to be used like ‘rent-a-cops’!” the goon growled and finished off the bottle.
He and his fellow goon had been sure that now, armed with the information they had been waiting for- the info they recorded from the bug they had planted under the deputy sheriff’s deck, that Melbourne would give them the go ahead. But they were told to wait some more… to wait for his guy to come and lead them up the mountain. “Ha! That’s a laugh- that guy couldn’t lead us to the lake!” the goon scowled.
“Well Melbourne’s man had better get here quick or we’ll take matters into our own hands,” he scowled looking out the window of his drab motel. For them it wasn’t about the money. It was about the action.
The two men took turns waiting at the motel where Melbourne had put them up. Where, while waiting for their turn as security for the gate, they ate slept, drank beer, and listened to the bugging device all the while waiting for some action. His buddy was on shift now, which meant he had nothing but time on his hands- and that was not enough. He was aching to see some blood. And tonight he was going to see some- and he didn’t care whose blood it was.
Finally he saw headlights and he walked through the door towards them, fresh bottle of beer in hand. He enjoyed seeing the fear in Melbourne’s man’s eyes as he met them with his own ice cold eyes. He contemplated the many accidents that could occur, ending up with this guy off Melbourne’s payroll. The thought made him laugh.
“What’s so funny?” asked Melbourne’s henchman uneasily.
“Inside joke.” the goon grunted as he shut the door. “Let’s roll!”
They stopped and picked up the other goon who after locking the gate behind them, climbed in laughing. It seemed he had thought of the same ‘inside joke’.
The three men rode in silence up the steep, bumpy and winding road which was more like a rugged cow trail towards the top. When they could drive no more, Melbourne’s henchman put the vehicle in park and the three men climbed out of the vehicle.
Pocketing the keys Melbourne’s henchman said, “The cave is this way. We’ll find them there.” He turned and stared at only scrub brush.
The mercenaries had disappeared into the darkness.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
KONOCTI KIDS
A few weeks earlier
The trek up the mountain wasn’t as effortless as Jimmy described. But the boys were up to the task. In fact they made games out of everything. One minute they were pirates sailing across the lake, the next they were hunters as they paddled their boat towards the blanket of pelicans that stretched out over a cove.
The game came to a halt and the five boys watched in amazement as the pelicans themselves became hunters; herding fish into the cove for harvestings. The spell was broken when Jimmy called out, “Step Hearty, Me Maties! If yer don’t wanna be walkin’ the plank!” The boys whooped with glee and continuing paddling toward the rocks and the Black Forest.
After stashing their row boat safely behind some rocks, the six little buccaneers transformed themselves into mountaineers raring to climb the shear rocks and cliffs up the side of the lake.
Wait here, and have a snack,” Jimmy said, and called Hero and disappeared around some huge rocks, carrying a rope taken from the cabin. About twenty minutes later the boys heard Jimmy calling to them from high above the cliff. After securing the rope to a tree; Jimmy lowered the loose end down to Timmy who tied it one by one to the back packs of supplies. Then it was the boys turn. Timmy nervously tied the rope around Little Jon’s waist first and watched as he was hoisted up the side of the cliff. The other boy’s argued to be next. One by one as the boys climbed Jimmy and the others who had joined him on the top of the cliff, walked around the tree with the rope gradually pulling the dangling boy to the top, while Timmy held his breath from below, hoping his knots would hold. Finally it was his turn to put his faith and life into Jimmy’s hands. It wasn’t until he got to the top that he saw how secure Jimmy had rigged the rope.
Finally all six boys and their dog were hiding behind a large boulder beside Soda Bay Road. When Jimmy was sure the coast was clear they ran across the road and disappeared into the Black Forest.
The going was much slower than Jimmy thought it would be, and they didn’t get very far before dark. They pitched the pop-up tent against a large moss covered boulder, and soon the boys were eating tuna on crackers, while Jimmy told them Indian lore about the mountain.
Jimmy realized that even though it would take longer, he needed to revamp the planned route. It was just too steep and too dangerous. All the boys including Little Jon were wearing back packs full of supplies. They even had a back pack strapped to Hero, which he wore proudly; but was having problems with on the steeper slopes.
The exhausted yet happy young boys slept soundly while Hero slept lightly with his head out of the tent, always on guard.
Early dawn found the boys already breaking camp and ready for another day’s climb up the mountain. By the third day Jimmy was beginning to wonder how long it would take them to reach the top. He was als
o beginning to worry whether or not he could find the cabin. He remembered how easily he and Ron got lost in the storm. From below it all looked so easy, but up here in the Black Forest, surrounded by trees it was closed in, and he got easily turned around. Jimmy was thankful to have the compass, which came in handier that he imagined it would. He hid his doubts from the other boys, keeping a positive front.
The weather was getting warmer now, and Jimmy started getting the boys up earlier and breaking camp before dawn and then calling the hike to a halt earlier and earlier. The boys, although hot and tired never grumbled. Nothing was as hard as what they went through in the caves. They felt wild and free.
When they approached the top of the first peak, Jimmy felt too exposed to travel during the day, so the boy found places to hide during the day; taking turns climbing a tree to be ‘look out’ while the others slept; and traveled at night the best they could. It was even slower going than the climb up the Black Forest wall.
The survival lessons from Ron came in handy. As they traveled up the mountain, Jimmy kept his eyes sharp looking for signs of wild animals and snakes while teaching his brothers what to look and listen for. And, most importantly what to do if they came across anything. Which they did.
They encountered some coyotes and if it weren’t for Ron’s lessons they might have become victims of the coyote’s tricks.
They heard whimpering and the boys thought it was an injured dog… or maybe a child and wanted to go check. Even Hero tried to go. But Jimmy stopped them. He told them it was a trick and that the coyotes used it to lure people or dogs away from a group to isolate them for the attack. And sure enough, soon they heard the yipping of the coyotes running away.
As the boys entered an area thick with manzanita trees which were loaded with berries Jimmy warned them about bears. It became necessary to travel in the day and to hold up in the tent with two boys at a time staying awake listening and keeping watch. Jimmy told them to watch Hero. He would know first if a bear was about. And sure enough one night the boys were all awaken by a low growl. Jimmy and the boys all started shouting and Hero joined in barking and although they never saw the bear, the next morning they saw droppings and a near by tree had been shredded. Jimmy would be very happy to get behind the doors of the cabin.