by Hart, Jerry
“Mr. Peterson, do you mind!” Mr. Locke yelled.
Conner froze in place, staring at the teacher in shock. The whole class looked at Conner.
“I am trying to teach a class and you are distracting everyone!”
Conner just stood there, his folder hovering over the pile. He simply stared, completely motionless, like someone pausing a movie. That horrible feeling returned to Jordan and his heart skipped a beat. Even Mr. Locke seemed a little uneasy by this behavior.
“Mr. Peterson?” the man said, slightly less angry.
That was the moment Conner chose to tip the teacher’s desk clean over. It crashed to the floor with a sound as fierce as Conner’s anger. The entire class was startled into absolute silence. Mr. Locke’s face turned bright red.
Conner’s face was redder.
* * *
Of course, it wasn’t shocking when Conner got suspended from school. Mr. Locke had wanted him arrested, but the principal didn’t think flipping a desk was that illegal. Mr. Locke, however, insisted the boy was dangerous. The teacher had seen it in his eyes, he’d said in the principal’s office. Jordan had eavesdropped, of course. Mr. Locke had felt that wave of evil wafting off of Conner. Jordan would have laughed at the melodrama had he not also felt that “wave of evil” for himself.
Dad was none too pleased about the suspension and grounded Conner for a month. That meant no TV, videogames or hanging out with friends. Surprisingly, Conner didn’t argue.
Jordan had to face a barrage of questions from his classmates in the days following the incident.
Was Conner on drugs?
Was he taking steroids?
How did he flip that heavy desk like that?
Did he have a girlfriend?
That last one came from a girl notorious for getting into abusive relationships. Though one person in particular showed a surprising amount of interest.
“How’s he doing?” Travis asked Jordan during lunch.
“Um...okay, I guess.”
“I wouldn’t have imagined someone so skinny being so...strong.” Travis was distracted, lost in thought. A moment later, he came back to himself and added, “Tell him to get better and come back.”
“Will do,” Jordan replied, confused as ever.
* * *
Jordan was in the den, watching TV, when Conner walked in and sat down next to him. It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and Dad was shopping for groceries. Until now, Conner had followed through with the grounding. For some reason, he decided to venture out.
“You shouldn’t be down here,” said Jordan. “You’ve only been grounded for a week.”
“I know.”
Jordan turned to the news just to spite his cousin. If there was one thing Conner hated, it was the news.
“You would want to check up on your girlfriend,” Conner teased.
“Diedre Marshall is not my girlfriend.” And then Jordan remembered something. “A lot of girls at school are suddenly attracted to you after that stunt you pulled. Want me to get you some numbers?”
He nudged Conner with an elbow and raised an eyebrow. Conner frowned at him.
“No thanks.” A silent moment passed before he added, “You can get me some guys’ numbers, though.”
That struck Jordan like a ton of bricks. “Are you saying what I think you’re saying?”
“I’m gay.”
“Since when?” Jordan felt his IQ drop the moment he asked. He truly was shocked.
“Since forever,” Conner replied, mercilessly reminding Jordan of his stupidity. “I’ve been angry lately because I haven’t been able to talk to anyone about this.”
“Am I the first person you’ve told?”
“No.”
“Who else knows?” Jordan found himself strangely offended.
Conner sighed. “Travis.”
“Travis! Why would you tell...”
It suddenly made sense. Jordan thought back to the time he caught Travis and Conner in that classroom during lunch, alone, with Conner apparently upset. He even thought of how Travis and Erin’s relationship had taken a nosedive. Had she found out about her boyfriend’s sexual orientation?
“You and Travis were hooking up?” he asked Conner.
“We were. Then he broke it off with me. That time in class...”
“So, you were crying.”
“I was a little upset, yes.” Conner grinned. “I’m allowed to show emotions, aren’t I?”
“I wouldn’t have thought of you as sensitive. Or human.”
“You’re funny. You should write for Johnny Carson.”
“I really should,” Jordan agreed, though he had no idea who Johnny Carson was.
“I should get back upstairs before the führer returns,” Conner joked. He jogged out of the den and up the stairs to his room. Jordan could hear his footsteps directly overhead. Why didn’t this house have any carpeting?
Before he could ponder that question more, a news story came on, one that wholly caught his interest. It was about Jack Goldsmith.
He was dead.
Jordan didn’t even notice when Dad returned. Jack had committed suicide, according to the story. He couldn’t live with the horrors he kept seeing every time he closed his eyes, according to his distraught parents.
“Jordan?” Dad called from the kitchen.
Snapping out of his daze, Jordan quickly turned off the TV. “Yeah, Dad?”
Dad had only wanted to know what he wanted for dinner, but Jordan had no appetite. He couldn’t stop thinking about Jack. What did Conner do to that boy that was bad enough to drive him to suicide?
And what about Leo? Was he in danger as well? Jordan made a mental note to visit him as soon as possible.
* * *
He told Erin his idea at school the next day during P.E., and she asked if she could tag along.
“I don’t know,” he said reluctantly. “It’ll be hard enough to get myself past his parents. Two of us will be pushing it.”
“I think his parents will think it’s touching, two of his classmates visiting him, seeing if he’s well. My parents would.”
“When you put it that way....”
Erin studied him as they ran laps on the track. “Why do you want to see him all of a sudden?”
“It’s not sudden,” Jordan said defensively.
“You’re acting guilty or something. It’s not like you did anything to them.”
Not me, Jordan thought. Just my cousin. “Those guys were at the arena that night, you know,” he said.
“Were they?”
“They picked on Conner and me.” Jordan couldn’t stop the flow of words. He was about to confess Conner’s possible involvement in the incident. What was it about Erin that made him so comfortable?
“Maybe Conner mentally tortured them,” she joked, and Jordan almost laughed at how close to the truth she was.
* * *
Don sat in his narrow, dark study with a phone in his hand. He’d tried calling Monica several times but kept getting her voicemail. He really wanted—no, needed—to talk to her. He would answer any questions she had, no matter how uncomfortable they were, just to have a conversation with her.
It was nearly five in the evening and Conner was upstairs, stewing. Jordan had asked if it was okay if he studied with Erin at her house for a little while. Don didn’t see the harm; he knew his son had a little crush on her and figured Jordan deserved some time with her now that she was single.
Don laughed at how much he knew about his son’s love life. Most parents weren’t fortunate enough to be as involved in their children’s lives, and Don had been among those very people once. But then everything changed at the dinner table when Conner made him laugh at the situation they had been going through.
Now, though, things seemed to be turning dark once again. Conner was involved somehow.
Don knew nothing of his nephew’s love life, but he did know that Conner exuded some kind of negative vibe that Don could feel in his heart.
A cold, nauseating energy that scared the hell out of him. Conner’s teacher, Mr. Locke, had pretty much summed up the same feeling when describing the events that took place in the classroom.
And that was the main reason Don had grounded his nephew: to keep an eye on him, to see if that vibe would go away...or grow stronger.
* * *
Jordan was now glad he had allowed Erin to join him on his visit to Leo when he’d suddenly realized he didn’t know where the boy lived. Erin, however, had many connections and was able to find out. It seemed Leo actually lived a few blocks from her.
Jordan and Erin walked to Leo’s house, getting there around four in the afternoon—not too late in the day, and not too early, either. Mrs. Williams answered the door a moment after Jordan rang the bell.
“Hello, Mrs. Williams,” he greeted. “We’re friends with Leo and were just wondering if we could see how he is doing?”
He hoped he sounded convincing when he said that. The mother looked hesitant, however.
“I’m not sure,” she murmured. “He’s very sick right now.”
Jordan took stock of the woman’s appearance. She didn’t look too well, herself. Her brown hair was thin and streaked with gray; her eyes had dark, baggy circles beneath them; her skin was oily and pale. Jordan could only imagine the hell her family was going through, not understanding the mystery of Leo’s mental illness.
“Please, Mrs. Williams,” Erin said, stepping closer to the woman. “We heard about what happened to Jack. He probably didn’t have any friends visit him, to comfort him, like your son does. We just want him to know that he has people who care about him, who want him to get well.”
Jordan was impressed—and slightly appalled—by Erin’s emotional manipulation. It seemed to work, however, as Mrs. Williams stepped aside and invited them in.
None of the lights were on in the house, the only source of illumination being the setting sun coming through the blinds. Even if Jordan hadn’t known better, he would think something bad had happened here. It was so gloomy.
Leo’s mom showed them to his room. The door was closed, so she knocked lightly and then opened it. The room was even dimmer, the windows facing the east. It took Jordan a moment to realize that Leo was sitting on his bed, back against the headboard. He was staring at his visitors.
“Leo, some friends came to see you.” Mrs. Williams’s voice was so falsely optimistic that it nearly broke Jordan’s heart.
Leo continued to stare—a pale corpse in the shadows. Jordan could see from the doorway that the boy had lost a lot of weight since he’d last seen him. Mrs. Williams cleared her throat, smiled at Jordan and Erin, and left the room. She left the door opened a crack, no doubt the better to spy on the conversation. Fiercely protective, she was. She clearly wanted to make sure Leo’s “friends” didn’t upset him in any way.
Erin sat at the end of the bed, never taking her eyes from Leo. Jordan simply stood behind her. He couldn’t believe he had let her come along—she would find out about Conner. Jordan had no idea what Leo would say, if he said anything at all, but if Jordan was right and his cousin was responsible for this boy’s condition....
Did Jordan really care, though? He had already talked to Erin about Conner’s possible involvement. The situation was so strange that he couldn’t deal with it on his own. He was scared, and Dad was keeping to himself a lot lately. Erin was the only person he trusted.
“Hey, Leo,” Erin said gently. “We just came to see how you were doing.”
“Who are you?” he whispered.
Erin looked to the cracked door before saying, “Friends. We go to the same school. We heard about what happened to you and Jack.”
For the first time, Leo looked directly at Jordan. And then he jumped in surprise. “Get away from me!” he said in a fierce, frightened whisper. He didn’t have the strength to say it any louder.
Erin looked at Jordan as she tried to comfort Leo. “We’re not here to hurt you, Leo. We just want to know what happened.”
“His cousin happened,” the boy responded, struggling against her.
Jordan stepped closer. He couldn’t help it. “What did Conner do to you?”
Leo stopped struggling and went rigid. Tears spilled from his eyes, yet his face was blank. “Are you like him?” he asked.
“I don’t know,” Jordan replied. “I don’t think so.”
“Your cousin isn’t human. He...isn’t human.”
Jordan stepped even closer. “What did he do?”
“He showed us things in our heads. He did it to Jack first. Then Jack started screaming, only I couldn’t hear it. His mouth was open but no sound came out. And then your cousin looked into my eyes. And then I saw...monsters. I was surrounded by them. They whispered my name and touched my arm. I don’t know how long it went on—it felt like forever—but the next thing I remember is waking up in the hospital.”
Erin placed a hand to her mouth. Jordan felt nauseated; he could only imagine what that must’ve been like.
“Every time I fell asleep,” Leo continued, “it would happen all over again. The doctors kept pumping me full of drugs that made me sleep, even when I begged them not to.”
“That’s horrible,” Erin said quietly.
“Do you see them when you’re awake?” Jordan asked. “The monsters?”
“No. Thank God. I remember your cousin saying something at the arena. He said it to me and Jack, and I think that’s why Jack killed himself. He didn’t want to see or feel those demons anymore, with those horrible lips all over their bodies.”
Jordan gasped. He’d seen those demons too, in his nightmares. “What did my cousin say?”
More tears now. “He said that for as long as we’re alive, we’ll always see those things. He said we’ll always go to their world underground! The more times we go there, the harder it will be to come back. We would be trapped there.
“Yet, here I still am, and Jack isn’t. He always thought of me as weak, but in the end, he was the weak one.”
Leo smiled then, and it was the most unsettling smile Jordan had ever seen on a person.
* * *
It was getting dark and Don noticed that his son wasn’t home yet. He looked at a clock in his study and saw that it was a little after six. A few times, he heard Conner walking around upstairs. Damn this house for not having carpets.
He turned back to his printed manuscript, a red pen in his right hand, continuing with the editing, when he heard voices. They were coming from the vent in the ceiling. Conner didn’t have a TV in his room, so it couldn’t be that.
He had someone in his room with him.
Don couldn’t tell what they were saying, though. His study was directly beneath his nephew’s room, which resulted in a lot of overheard conversations. Conner, who knew about the vent, used to think it was funny and would sometimes yell down his dinner order to Don.
He wouldn’t find it funny now when Don burst into his room to chew him out for breaking the rules. As he quietly made his way upstairs, he thought of the video he’d found. It had to be Conner who had recorded it; it was his camera, and it was found in his room.
Conner killed Mr. Leper.
Don could not deny or forget this simple truth. Nor could he decide how to handle the situation. He couldn’t turn his nephew over to the police, and he couldn’t very well kill him. Conner deserved as much of a chance as Don himself.
What about Ethan? Don asked himself. Did you give him a chance?
Don had killed his own brother out of fear. He couldn’t allow that fear to overcome him again. Conner could live a normal life, curse-free. Just like Don’s birth father. If only Don knew the secret.
The voices grew louder as he grew closer to the room.
* * *
Jordan and Erin walked back to her house in silence. Neither of them knew what to say. Jordan didn’t know if she believed anything she had heard in Leo’s room. It had all sounded too impossible to be real. Jordan was grateful that she h
adn’t assaulted him with questions, though.
They stood on her front porch now, the motion-activated light shining down on them. The sun had almost set completely, casting the whole neighborhood in blue.
“I guess you were right about your cousin,” she said. Her face was that of complete puzzlement.
“I don’t understand what’s happening,” said Jordan. “I want to talk about this, but I don’t know what this is.”
Erin nodded. “I’m trying to understand it, too. Maybe your cousin hypnotized Leo and Jack?”
Jordan considered that for a moment. “Do you really believe that?” he asked her.
“No.”
“Do you believe that Conner is a monster?”
“I think you should ask yourself if you believe he is.”
Jordan blinked at having the question thrown back at him. “I think he’s sick.”
“Me too.”
“I think he needs help.”
Before Erin could reply, the front door opened and Erin’s dad stood there.
“Ready to go home, Jordan?” he asked with a friendly smile.
“Sure thing, Mr. Springer.”
* * *
Don was right outside Conner’s room. The talking had ceased, and Don heard nothing but movement. And then another sound that he couldn’t place. Kissing? Was Conner making out with someone?
For a moment, Don was stuck with indecision. Besides the fact that his nephew was grounded, Don was afraid that if he let the two teens continue, they would end up having sex. Don and his brother hadn’t been careful during their first sexual experiences and both ended up passing the curse to their innocent children. Don couldn’t let Conner do the same.
He took a deep breath and charged into the room. He met a most unexpected sight.
There was no girl in this room; only two boys. One was Conner and the other was...Travis Hooper, Erin’s ex-boyfriend. The boys had been making out, but suddenly stopped and looked at Don with shock.
“Oh,” Don managed to say.
“What the fuck are you doing!” Conner screamed, jumping to his feet. Travis stayed seated.
Don slowly got over his own shock and stared at his nephew. “What are you doing? You’re grounded, remember?”