I pushed open the back door, which was our mode of entry. The first floor of the building was empty other than for scattered trash the guys and I had mostly been responsible for leaving around. The second level was full of old wooden barrels and crates, probably left behind from those days when the business was in operation. A spiral staircase was situated in the middle of the lower floor which had a few rails missing on both sides as you made your way up to the second and third floors. Sam was already there on the top level waiting on the bench we’d hauled up there the previous year and had parked right in front of the wide window facing the southern side of our neighborhood. That window offered the best view in the house and gave us a good cover too. Sitting there for a couple of hours every day offered us more entertainment than you can probably imagine.
She got up and hugged me tightly. You would’ve thought we hadn’t seen each other in years.
“Everything went okay?” I asked.
She shook her head and I noticed she’d been crying. That was a rarity for Sam. She’d seen me teary-eyed more times than I’d ever seen her, so I knew she must’ve really been worked up.
“They’re not acting right at all,” she said, “—not even Taylor.”
“I know. Same with my peeps. So, you weren’t able to find out anything?”
She shook her head again. “I got nowhere. For the most part, they went about their business acting as if I wasn’t even there. I just can’t wrap my head around this!”
“Me neither.”
“I thought I’d try and reach my Aunt Regina who lives out of town to let her know what ‘s going on around here, but I couldn’t get a signal on my cell. So, I tried the landline in my room, but even though I got a dial tone, that’s pretty much all I got. I wasn’t able to dial out.”
“My cell doesn’t have a signal either,” I said. “I don’t have any contact for any of my relatives outside of Eppington and my Uncle Charlie...well… you can see he’s no use even to himself right now.” I paused for a moment, then said: “I heard Dillinger on the phone when I was there. I’m not sure if he was using the cordless or one of my folks’ cell phones, so I have no idea if our landline is working or not.”
“Your dog Dillinger was using the phone?” She grimaced. “Are you kidding me?”
“Nope. Well, we’ve heard the dogs talk out there in the street, so I’m not too surprised that they can use the phone.”
“But who would they call? This is crazy!”
“I’d think they’d call each other. They’re acting just like humans. Weird.” I sighed deeply. “So, where’s Rob? It’s been more than half an hour...”
“I know. Sure hope he’s all right,” she said. “I’m really scared for him now.”
I went and sat down.
“Do you think he’s coming?” she pressed.
“Rob’s terrified, I know, but he’s a smart kid and pretty slick too. I’m willing to bet he’ll be here any minute.”
She shifted in her seat. “The way he was before we split, I just don’t know...”
I turned and faced her. “It was you who gave him the confidence he needed today to venture off on his own, you know. He wasn’t listening to me.”
“You think so?” she studied me.
“Yep. Sometimes, you can really say the right words, and what you said to him made all the difference.”
“Do you really believe that? I mean… that I sometimes say the right things to people?”
“’Course you do! You give me good advice all the time. How can you not know that?”
She lowered her head a bit. “I wish I could say I did the same for Taylor. Only today, I realized I hardly ever even noticed her; was always so wrapped up in myself and what interested me. She’s my sister and I couldn’t care less what she was interested in. And my folks… well, that’s another story.”
I gently placed my hand on hers. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I’m sure Taylor and your folks know you love them.”
“I sure hope they do. I actually told them that before I left and they had no reaction at all—even though that’s probably the first time they ever heard me say it. They barely even looked at me. I felt horrible!”
She became emotional and I tried my best to console her.
“They’re gonna be all right,” I said. “Somehow, we’re gonna be able to fix things. I just know it.”
“You’re just saying that, Hewey. Even though you’re an optimist, I know you. You don’t have a clue about what’s really going on or how to fix any of this.” She was clearly frustrated.
“You’re right, but I sure as heck will try and that counts for something.”
She caressed my hand. “Of course, it does.”
We waited for Rob for at least another twenty minutes before Sam and I became worried.
“Do you think he’s gonna show?” she asked. “Maybe they got him. It’s been about an hour since we parted ways.”
I wasn’t sure what to think, but the possibility that he’d been influenced, I guess you could call it, had crossed my mind from when I first met up with Sam and realized Rob was nowhere in sight. “I don’t know,” I replied.
Suddenly, there was a loud screech downstairs. Sounded like the door. “Someone’s here,” I said.
Sam stood up; a worried look blanketed her face as she stared toward the doorway.
I went over to get a peep downstairs, when I saw Rob hurriedly making his way up. “He’s here!” I told her.
“What a relief!” Sam replied.
Moments later, Rob entered the room. He was sweating and looked frantic.
“We thought you weren’t coming!” Sam exclaimed, very happy to see him.
“I wasn’t sure I’d make it.” He flopped onto the bench by the window, then focused on me. “I did everything you said; didn’t make any eye contact. But I had to pass a few dogs getting to my house and then on my way here they all seemed to be giving me this suspicious look. Man! My nerves were on me. I thought they were onto me. So, I went and took the back route to dodge anybody who might want a piece of me, but then I saw about twenty dogs standing around the park and I turned back. That’s what took me so long to get here.”
“What about your folks? Are they under the spell?” I asked.
He quickly nodded, yet with noticeable disappointment. “They’re not there, man. Believe me when I tell y’all.” He glanced at Sam. “What I saw a while ago was a shell of them. It’s like something took over their body.”
Sam patted Rob’s shoulder. “I know what you mean. Same thing with mine. I was talking to them and it was like I wasn’t even there.”
“Same here,” I said.
“So, what are we supposed to do now?” Sam asked.
“We have to put our heads together this time, guys. We have to do something to make our folks normal again and at the same time keep ourselves safe. The answer’s out there; we just have to find it.”
Sam nodded.
“Does your cell have a signal?” I asked Rob.
He slid it out of his pocket. “No, but we always have a signal in here!”
“It’s not having a signal in here that’s the problem,” Sam said. “We’re not getting a signal anywhere.”
“Maybe the thing we saw—that UFO knocked out the signal,” I surmised.
“But you said Dillinger was on the phone,” Sam returned. “If by chance he was using a cell phone, it makes sense to believe that only they have access to the signal and not us.”
Rob was flabbergasted. “Dillinger was using the phone?”
“Uh-huh?” Sam replied.
“Seems like the mutts are definitely trying to take over our town,” Rob opined. “Doesn’t look like cats and other animals have been drinking the same weird juice as they were.”
“I noticed that,” Sam commented. “It’s just the dogs from what I could tell. Our cat, Lucy, seems like her old self. She was the only normal one
in the house!”
“Why dogs though?” I wondered. “Why not all the animals? Seems even stranger that it’s just the dogs, don’t you think?”
“I’d say so,” Sam replied. “Chief Mays’ poodle seems to be the leader, if not one of them. The crazy stuff she said out there in the road boggles my mind and honestly scares the hell out of me.”
I sat down next to Rob while Sam stood near the window, peeping out occasionally.
“I say we stay here together until we can figure out what’s going on,” Sam suggested.
“We’ll need food,” Rob submitted. “We can’t stay here without food.”
“I agree—which means we’ll have to go back to one of our houses at least, to get the food,” I said.
“We can go to my house,” Rob replied. “Mom always keeps the cupboards and fridge stocked up. We can get plenty of stuff for a few days. I don’t think they’ll be eating it anyway.”
“Why do you say that?” Sam asked.
“I think I know why,” I interjected. “Some talk of dog food?” I looked at Rob.
He nodded. “How do you know?”
“My mom offered me dog food. I still can’t believe it.”
Sam frowned. “Are you guys for real?”
“Yep,” I said. “It’s all weird, to say the least.”
“That’s beyond weird!” Sam exclaimed. “I don’t know what I would’ve done if any of my peeps offered me cat food! I’d tell them to get their heads checked.”
“I don’t think that would help, considering the circumstances,” I told her. “What’s going on in this town is beyond any shrink’s expertise.”
“What’s funny though...” Rob added, “...is that we don’t even have a bloody pet! And they still mentioned how we’re having dog food for dinner. Guess they plan to go out and shop for some.”
“That’s true!” Sam’s eyes widened. “Y’all don’t even have a pet!”
We decided to make a move for the food after nightfall. That way, we figured we could maneuver about better without being easily noticed. After another hour or so of brainstorming and exploring different scenarios that might explain what could be happening in Eppington, there was one thing that was blatantly clear: We were only three regular kids in a town overrun by some sort of strange phenomenon. And if we couldn’t get to the bottom of things soon, there was a high chance that our town would be doomed forever—and eventually, the three of us might become victims ourselves.
6
_________________
As we walked down the street toward Rob’s house, I must admit, the whole time it was nerve-wracking! The guys had no idea, but every simple sound made me edgy, and at one point, my stomach felt queasy. It wasn’t unusual to hear crickets that time of night, but even their chirping was almost enough to send me into panic mode. I believe what made this event more harrowing for me was that we were traveling together as a group which, in my mind, could look suspicious if we happened to be seen. There was no way we could outrun some of those dogs, especially the Rottweilers and Pit Bulls. The very thought of them catching up to us and shredding us to pieces was enough to make me find the Powells’ guest bathroom the minute we stepped inside the house.
“Are you okay in there?” Sam spoke quietly outside the door five minutes after I’d gone in.
“Yeah. Coming out now.” I was washing my hands.
Rob’s house was one of the finer ones in our neighborhood. His dad was an accountant and his mom our high school principal. If you asked me, both of his folks seemed pretty grumpy, but they loved their Rob to bits. Gave him everything he wanted and discouraged him from being too free-handed, especially with us guys. Guess they weren’t big believers in sharing, yet despite their greatest efforts, Rob was just different. He was the kindest kid I knew; would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it. All of us were pretty free-handed, I guess you could say. Probably why we remained friends for so long. We had a special camaraderie; everyone looked out for each other. It was like an unspoken pledge from day one.
Sam’s nose wrinkled at the prevailing stench after I’d walked out of the bathroom. No one told her to stand guard at the door, but I guess she took her chances there rather than being anywhere near Rob’s folks who were sitting together on the living room couch watching television. The only problem with that was the television wasn’t on and they seemed not to notice.
Rob was busy grabbing whatever he could from the kitchen cupboards and the fridge while Sam and I waited near the front door. When he emerged a few minutes later, he was carrying two large backpacks—one on each shoulder.
“Did you get water?” I asked him.
“Yeah. I’ve got some bottles in here.” He shrugged his shoulder to indicate which backpack the water was in.
“Let me help.” I relieved him of one of the backpacks.
We headed back outside.
“Don’t you think we should take our bikes?” Rob asked as we stepped down from the porch.
“And do what?” Sam glared. “Get noticed even quicker? Have you seen any other kids riding their bikes today? I sure haven’t.”
“I guess you’re right,” Rob returned. “Just thought they’d come in handy if we ever needed a quick getaway, that’s all.”
“We have to blend in as much as possible guys,” I reminded them. “One off move could be the end of us as we know ourselves, then we definitely won’t be of any help to our families.”
As we were leaving the Powells’ property and heading onto the road lined with dimly lit streetlamps and willow oak trees, an air of sadness overwhelmed me. I felt like I was abandoning my family—Carl included. I wondered what they were doing and if Dillinger was constantly taking advantage of them. A tear slid down my cheek and I quickly wiped it before any of the guys noticed. I assumed they had similar thoughts concerning their folks. None of us, including Jase had the perfect family, but we all had a family that loved us and vice-versa. I honestly didn’t realize how good I had it and how lucky I was until my mother’s smile was no longer there and my dad’s interest was no longer in me, and Carl wasn’t his annoying little self anymore. I struggled to keep myself from thinking what it would be like if they never woke up from that unearthly daze.
“We shouldn’t go back the same way we came,” Sam remarked after we’d already walked a good distance in the very same direction we came from.
“Why are you saying that now?” I asked her.
She didn’t respond right away. “I don’t know… I just feel like something’s off.”
“In what way, Sam?” Rob probed as he adjusted the backpack on his left shoulder.
She sighed. “Uh...forget it. I think it’s just my paranoia.”
We continued on.
“Hey! Somebody’s coming!” Sam whispered loudly. “They’re straight ahead; walking on the same side as us!”
“Just stay calm,” I told them. “Keep your cool. They’re probably just out for a walk.”
We walked in silence and as the figure gradually approached, I heard Rob say, “It’s Jase, y’all. It’s Jase!”
I saw that he was right. “Still keep your cool, guys. We don’t know if he’s himself or not.”
“Exactly,” Sam agreed.
Wearing his famous grey jacket with the hoodie, Jase was walking alone with both hands shoved inside his pockets.
Before we passed each other, I stopped and said, “Jase, it’s me—Hewey. Are you okay?”
He stopped and looked at me, then at Sam and Rob. They say the eyes are the window to the soul, but the emptiness I saw in Jase’s probably meant that he was suddenly a human without a soul. I hated to think it, but our Jase was not present. If he was, I knew we wouldn’t be able to reach him, just like we couldn’t reach our folks. Without the slightest acknowledgment, he continued on his way, murmuring something about the ninth star or some nonsense I couldn’t comprehend.
We watched for a few moments
as he proceeded down the street as if he’d never known us.
“Poor Jase,” Rob said. “If only he’d stayed with us…”
Sam sighed deeply. “He’s too darn hard-headed! Always has been.”
“Let’s keep going,” I said. “It’s obvious talking to anyone under that spell from now on doesn’t make sense. We’re not gonna get anywhere with them. Let’s just get back to the spot and we can brainstorm some more before the night is out.”
We all got there in one piece.
The cool thing about our usual hideout was that it was never disturbed by anyone other than the guys and me. Rob had brought along a couple of search lights and even a blanket for Sam, and two sheets for him and me. We already had a few exercise mats (resting mats, as far as we were concerned) for when we got tired and needed a little shut eye before we called it a day and headed home. Those mats were leaning against a corner of the wall and braced by an old, white bucket partially filled with sand that had been there literally for years; left behind by someone who’d been there before we took over the place.
We also jammed a two-by-four across the inside of the door to barricade us in if we wanted no random disturbance. The famous writer might as well had left the place to us because it was just like we owned it anyway.
After we took care of some rather unhealthy snacks, we pulled out our mats, threw the covers across them and lay down in close proximity to each other, allowing a couple of feet in between the makeshift beds. With hands behind my head, I looked up toward the dark ceiling.
“I’m beat.” Sam yawned. “Are you guys tired?”
“Exhausted is more like it.” Rob rolled over on his stomach.
“This whole thing is enough to make anyone exhausted,” I said. “You two get some sleep and I’ll keep watch for a while.”
EPPINGTON: THE GUARDED SECRET Page 3