Flanigan and Hugh watch as the criminalists take over the scene and finish their work. When the Pine County Coroner picks up the bodies, Sheriff Flanigan and Deputy Hugh finally make their way back to their cruisers.
Sgt. Williams walks over to Flanigan. “Looks like this one is yours boys,” he says, throwing in a dip.
“Thanks Hank,” Flanigan says, lighting a cigarette and taking a draw, “I’ll let you know if we get anything new.”
“Thanks,” Hank says with a sarcastic huff, “nothing like a three man task force.”
“Four,” Flanigan says, pointing out Hugh.
“You boys be good,” Hank says as he makes his way back to his cruiser.
“All due respect, but you are aware that those things will kill you, right?” Hugh asks pointing at Flanigan’s cigarette.
“Been smoking for years, quit twice already,” Flanigan says in a defeated fashion. “I always end up coming back to it. You did a couple of years on the street before robbery back in Louisville, right?”
“Yes sir,” Hugh responds.
“And before that, you were in the Marines right?” Flanigan asks.
“Yes sir, two tours in Iraq, I never saw any shit like this though. I’ve seen people shot dead in the streets and in robberies back in the Ville’. But that is kind of a different monster. As an M.P., I saw all kinds of horrible things, but that was war, you can kind of put it in a box and make sense of it no matter how bad it is… this… I don’t know about, hopefully I can get used to it,” Hugh says.
“I hate to disappoint you,” Flanigan says, “but you never really do. You get used to the smell of it, the sight of it, but that sinking feeling in your stomach never goes away when you walk up on a scene… anyways, enough of this morbidity, are you in the mood for a burger? I know a great place in Lexington, it’s about a thirty minute drive, but it’s worth it. You ever heard of Tolly Ho?” Flanigan asks.
“I’m not very hungry right now, but I guess that I can try to eat,” Hugh says.
“Well then, follow me,” Flanigan says.
Flanigan looks up as they walk back to their cruisers. The moon and the stars illuminate the night’s sky, the irony of the beautiful night and the cool breeze hitting him cause him a bit of irritation. He would much rather be home with his wife, sitting on the porch and drinking iced tea. He looks at Hugh and thinks of how rough it is going to be for the next few months, when the reporters and newspaper writers begin to question his intelligence as well, eroding his confidence. He pats Hugh on the back as they separate and get into their cars. They speed away into dark evening, in search of anything to relieve their minds, even if only for a moment.
C
hapter 5
After their escape, Drake, Kris, Tyrone and Hiram hide behind a large red van in the parking lot of Brask. Now that they are no longer captive, the world is a lot larger now and anything seems possible.
“So we’re out here, what are we going to do now?” Drake asks.
Hiram seems to be the only one not worried at this point, so he throws in his two cents, “We can run into the woods and hide,” he says.
Tyrone starts laughing at him, making Hiram self-conscious, “You moron,” Tyrone says, “They would find us in two seconds on foot, no way I’m trying that shit.”
Kris chips in, “Whatever we do we need to hurry,” he says as he points to a group of cars in the part of the parking lot that isn’t well lit, “we could steal one of these cars.”
Drake disagrees, “Won’t someone notice their car missing and call the cops? I mean, Jesus… think about it for a second man.”
This annoys Kris, “Come on Drake, make up your mind, we only have two options, run or drive. And I don’t think we will get very far on foot.”
Kris is right and Drake knows it. He nods his head in affirmation and asks, “Okay Kris, what car should we get?”
Kris pulls a set of keys out of his pocket and shows it to the group. “I have Jeff’s keys,” he says.
“And you know what kind of car he drives?” Drake sarcastically responds. Kris looks at the keys and notices a Ford emblem on one of them.
“A Ford,” he says.
The boys peek around the van and notice that there are several Ford’s in the parking lot.
“Shit, he doesn’t have one of those car remotes so it must be old. But there are like a million cars out here,” Drake says, “I can already see it, we are going to get caught out here looking for a fucking getaway car. C’mon Kris, you’re supposed to be the smart one, what do we do?”
“Well,” Kris says, “we don’t want to make any noise busting out peoples windows, so I suggest we pick out the closest unlocked car, steal it and get going. Does anyone know how to hot wire a car?”
“I do,” Drake quickly responds.
“Me too,” Tyrone says with a cool confidence.
“Well, let’s quit squatting here like a bunch of idiots and get going,” Kris says.
The boys crawl from car to car until they find an unlocked blue Ford Bronco. Kris opens the passenger door and immediately crosses over and slides into the driver’s seat. Tyrone and Hiram quietly follow and slide into the backseat. Once everyone else is in, Drake hops into the passenger seat. Kris closes his eyes…
“Please tell me that you are stupid enough to hide them up here,” Kris says as he pulls the visor down, hoping that car keys will fall out. He is disappointed to find that there are no keys hidden in the visor.
“Check the console man,” Kris says to Drake. Drake opens the console. He searches through gum wrappers, breath mints and gas receipts, but finds no keys.
“Nothing man,” Drake says.
“Shit,” Kris responds.
“Let’s switch seats Kris,” Drake says.
“Fuck that man, I wanna drive,” Kris responds.
“Do you know how to hot wire a car dipshit?” Drake asks.
“No,” Kris says.
“Well then shut the fuck up and switch seats with me,” Drake says. Drake and Kris get out of the car and switch seats. Drake smiles as he gets behind the wheel. He looks back at Tyrone.
“Hey Tyrone,” Drake says, “Look in the back and see if there is a toolbox or something so I can pop this column and we can get going.” Tyrone leans over the top of the cheap fabric seat and slides into the hatch. He quickly locates a screwdriver and a crowbar; he slides back into the backseat and hands both of them to Drake.
“If you can’t handle this, I’ve hit an old truck like this before,” Tyrone says.
Drake turns around and smiles at Tyrone while he splits the column with the crowbar without looking. He turns back around, throws the crowbar on the floorboard and shoves the screwdriver into the ignition switch to expose the wiring. He rips out the wiring and looks at Kris, who is rather impressed with his criminal expertise.
“You ready to roll?” Drake asks the group with a confident grin. Drake touches two wires together, sparking the ignition and then puts the Bronco in drive. He slowly pulls the Bronco out and drives toward the exit.
“Here we go,” Drake says as he slowly pulls through the exit, hitting the road and immediately taking a right. Kris notices that something is funny about the road… it is getting darker the farther away they get from the building.
“The lights,” Kris says, “the lights, man hit the lights.”
“Oh shit,” Drake says as he turns on the headlights. Kris begins bouncing up and down in his seat like a five year-old who sees the top of a rollercoaster on a trip to the amusement park.
“Holy shit!” Kris says, “We made it out, I can’t believe it! What do we do? Where do we go? This is fantastic! I need to get some alcohol, that’s what I need.”
“Calm down Kris, how about we actually get somewhere before you start planning what we are going to do?” Drake says.
“Good idea,” Kris says, “but I really do want to want to get hammered.” Tyrone rolls his eyes in the backseat, as he is a little bit tired of Kris
hyperactively blabbing on. Drake sees headlights that turn into flashing police lights coming from the opposite lane heading directly towards them.
“Shit!” Drake says, “I can’t believe this is happening man.”
Kris starts to freak out, “Fuck man, I knew this wasn’t a good idea,” he whines.
“Kris, if you don’t shut the hell up I am going to beat the fuck out of you,” Tyrone says. The boys hold their breath for several seconds as they see the cruiser rapidly approaching. The cruiser passes them at a high rate of speed and everyone in the Bronco sighs in relief.
“I knew nothing was going to happen,” Kris says, suddenly trying to act cool. Drake rolls his eyes at Kris. Tyrone smacks Kris in the back of the head.
“What the hell man?” Kris shouts.
“I told you to shut the fuck up,” Tyrone says.
“You all calm the hell down,” Drake says as he turns on to the highway, “I have no idea where we are right now and no idea where to go.” They pass several fast food restaurants as they speed down the road. Hiram, perpetually hungry, wants to ask Drake to stop at one but knows that none of them have any money. The silence of the ride is killing Kris, he wants to talk so badly, but is afraid of getting smacked in the back of the head again. Tyrone is trying to think of what to do next. He is considering contacting some of his friends in the Louisville area, but is aware that the police might have an easier time finding him if he found his way back to his old stomping ground. Drake is just concentrating on the task at hand, as he always does. They have been in the car for about ten minutes. As Drake looks down at the gas gauge he notices that they are almost out of gas, so a decision must be made quickly.
Kris sees the sign and gets excited. “Dude, drive to the county line and drive into the woods, that would be perfect,” he says, “I’m from here so I know where everything in the area is, there are woods to camp in everywhere and there are tons of kids our age if we need to get out. We’ll blend in and stay off the road. No one would expect us to stick around.”
Drake agrees, “Yeah, I agree, my mom went to high school here and she told me a lot about it. My grandpa taught her how to hunt and fish. There definitely will be places to hide.”
“Turn here,” Kris says.
“Where do we go?” Drake asks as they pull off of the highway.
“Take a right on this road, it will lead us to a spot in the next county where we can camp overnight if we need to,” Kris responds.
“Lead the way,” Drake says. They drive for a bit, and Drake takes in the scenery. The city disappears and the landscape has suddenly become rugged and rural. They take an exit, pulling onto a small road of freshly laid black pavement. Drake focuses as he swerves through the large bends in the winding road.
“You know what I love about the night?” Drake asks.
“What’s that?” Kris asks.
“The dark brings out the light in things that you usually wouldn’t see,” Drake says.
“Wouldn’t you love the light then?” Kris asks, “It is what allows you to see everything.”
“Naw man, look around right now, the only thing that we can see right now is what’s alive or what’s in front of us,” Drake says, “everything else has disappeared.”
Tyrone looks around and is amazed at the size of the trees on the side of the road. It feels as if those trees are insulating them from the outside world, the way the branches come down just over the top of the hood and reach into the sky forever. Kris rolls the windows down and a gentle breeze comes through the window and instantly cools them off. The fresh air fills the car with the smell of pine. They pass over the county line and Drake sees a gravel road with a camp site sign.
“Alright everybody,” Drake says, “I am pulling off right here and maybe we can find a place to set up camp or something.” Drake pulls onto a seemingly deserted dirt road, the lights illuminating the high grass separating the dirt tracks. He begins to speed up and dirt kicked up from the tires begins to form a cloud behind them. Drake slows the vehicle down and notices that the road leads to a campsite. He hits the end of the road and puts the Bronco in park. The boys get out of the Bronco and stretch.
“What time is it?” Tyrone asks.
“Time for you to get a watch,” Kris says.
“You are one annoying little dude,” Tyrone says.
“Sorry,” Kris says, “If I had to guess I’d say it’s around nine or so.”
“We have been gone now for twenty minutes. I’ll bet after ten or twenty minutes, they had the whole world looking for us,” Drake says.
“Yeah, they probably do know that we’re gone by now Drake,” Kris says, “What do you think they’ll do? Will they call the cops right away?”
Hiram shakes his head at the paranoid group. “Don’t worry until we get caught,” he says, “but we need to get food. I’m from Richmond and I have been around this area a couple of times, so as long as Kris or I go we can find our way back pretty easy.”
“You are right,” Drake says, “some of us are going to have to head into town and risk getting caught.”
“Yeah, but we should split up, just in case we get caught,” Kris says. “Let’s play rock, papers scissors to see who goes.”
“Ready, one two three…” Kris says. They throw hands and look down at the results. Kris and Drake get scissors, Hiram gets paper and Tyrone gets rock.
“What does that mean, odd men out?” Kris asks.
“I guess,” Drake says.
“Well then, I guess its Tyrone and Hiram that will be going,” Kris says.
“That sounds aight,” Tyrone says, “I’ll let the spic ride with me.” Hiram looks at Tyrone as if he wants to kill him, but he is hesitant to do anything about it given their previous encounter. Tyrone notices Hiram’s anger and tries to cool him down.
“Just playin’ man, you know, the nigger comment,” Tyrone says as he playfully pats him on the back. Kris and Drake try not to laugh as Hiram sulkingly walks towards the Bronco.
“You all don’t leave us here, make sure you come back,” Kris says, paranoid.
“We’ll be back man,” Tyrone says, “I’ll try and score some green and liquor when I get into town.”
“Dude, get me some Mickey’s if you can,” Kris says.
“I’d like a 40 of O.E. if you run across it,” Drake says.
“Aight, I’ll try to hook y’all up,” Tyrone says as he walks to the Bronco; Hiram is already in the passenger seat. Tyrone gets in and starts the Bronco. He turns on the radio and a teeny-bopper song is playing.
“Fuck this shit man,” Tyrone says as he continues flipping through the stations. Most of the stations are playing the same song, others are playing oldies. Tyrone flips all of the channels and doesn’t like anything playing so he decides to turn the stereo off. He looks over at Hiram, who is still upset about the "spic" comment and begins to back out. He puts the Bronco in drive. “And we ride,” Tyrone says. Hiram grudgingly stares out the window; he is very hesitant about the uncertainty of what the night may hold.
Drake and Kris watch as Tyrone and Hiram drive off. They wave and watch as the tail lights disappear. Drake flops to the ground on his back. Kris does the same as they lay on the dirt road staring up at the stars.
“So, do you think the Cats are going to be any good this year?” Drake asks.
“With Cal, you always know that we will at least have a shot at a national championship,” Kris replies.
“I am dying for my iPhone,” Drake says, “I haven’t got to check KSR since last season.”
“Yeah,” Kris says, “Drew Franklin is pretty damned funny.”
“Yeah,” Drake says.
“Do you think we should have warned Tyrone about Hiram?” Kris asks.
“Tyrone seems like he can take pretty good care of himself,” Drake says with a chuckle. Kris turns his attention away from the sky and looks at Drake who in turn, looks at Kris.
“Yeah Tyrone can scrap, but Hiram is a pretty fucked
up dude,” Kris says, “I don’t trust anyone who’s done the kind of things he’s done.”
“Yeah, I know, fighting doesn’t do too much good when you are dealing with someone like Hiram. Anybody who would shoot their own mother isn’t worth shit in my book,” Drake says.
Kris pauses for a moment, “That’s not what I heard, he didn’t shoot her,” he says, “I mean from what I heard from his old roommate he said that he stabbed her, and when she got to the hospital the lack of oxygen caused her to be brain dead and they cut off life support after a couple of days,” Kris says.
Drake shakes his head in disagreement, “Yeah, well I heard that he shot her, either way, he did something to kill her and now she is dead.”
“He never really talked about it in group. Why do you think he did it?” Kris asks.
Drake takes a moment to answer, “Some people are just evil I guess, I mean I would never do anyone like that, much less my mom. That is twisted on so many levels. That’s probably why he never talks about it. I don’t know, I think it just comes down to him being evil.”
“I don’t believe in evil,” Kris says, “I think that sometimes people just do what they have to do or they have mental illnesses, it’s pretty much all physiological.”
“I guarantee you that Hiram didn’t HAVE to do that to his mom Kris,” Drake says.
Kris gives Drake a sly look, “So he has a serious mental illness then. What about you Drake, why did you do all of the shit you did? Are you evil?”
Drake becomes irritated, “What, who are you now, Ed? Dude, seriously come on now… do you not wonder why I am constantly having to save you from getting your ass kicked?”
“No seriously…” Kris says, “I really want to know, every time your past or Hiram’s past comes out in group neither of you talk about it.”
“Do you really want to know or are you just messing with me?” Drake asks.
“Yeah man, I really want to know,” Kris says.
“Fine,” Drake says, “It’s simple, I stole a car for fun and I set fire to the gym because I could. You know why I did what I did to Ted… what about you Kris… why did you bring a gun to school? What, were you going to take out everybody?” Drake asks.
The Light In the Dark Page 5