by C. L. Stone
Derrick came around from the shed, he stood on the grass by the edge of the trampoline. “Show him how you can do the front flip.”
Gabriel’s eyes widened. “Holy fuck. You flip?”
“I can’t do it that well,” I said, trying to tuck the locks of hair falling into my face behind my ear. I couldn't get them to stay. “I end up on my knees.”
“Show me.”
I held up a hand to get him to back up. He sat down on the metal bar. I blushed, more nervous now that I was doing this in front of him and not just Derrick.
I started bouncing around to pick up momentum and when I felt comfortable, I pushed forward and flipped. I tilted a little, but twisted enough to land on my knees like before.
Gabriel shoved a hand against his chest, laughing. “Aw, little Trouble’s a fucking ninja.” He jumped up again. “Let me try this.”
Derrick got up on the bar, and launched himself up onto the black mat. “Let’s do one at the same time.”
“Aw shit, yeah,” Gabriel said. He bounced hard. “Get back, Sang. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
I stepped back, sitting on the bar like Gabriel had done.
In a flash, they were bouncing hard. It was enough to make me clutch the trampoline ridge, thinking I’d get thrown off by how much they shook it. Gabriel’s blond and russet hair flew around his face.
With a couple of heavy jumps, they counted off. They bounced, flipped, and both landed feet first, but the momentum they had going on the black mat had them both bouncing backwards. They ended up on their backs.
Gabriel and Derrick were laughing, loud and heavy. I was giggling to myself, trying to catch my breath when I heard the first hoot, sounding something like a squealing pig with a crow in the distance.
I stopped short, unsure of what I was really hearing. I swallowed, held my breath and listened.
The second time, I heard it more clearly. “Suuuweeee!”
The boys were still laughing and started up, bouncing around again.
“Derrick,” I said, unsure of what to do. I wasn’t supposed to let the guys know about the signal, but it was an emergency call. I was sure of it.
Derrick was still giggling, but focused on me. I motioned to where the hooting had come from and then held my hand against my ear to signal the need to listen.
Gabriel was still bouncing around, facing the other way.
The next signal came, a little clearer this time, and with a heightened sense of priority. Someone was in trouble.
Derrick’s face set firmly. He got up, set off across the mat and leapt from the metal bar to the grass.
I wasn’t going to let him do it alone. I raced after him, leapt from the trampoline, landing hard on the grass beside where he had landed. I tumbled forward, my ankle radiating a wave of pain. I’d forgotten to be careful with my ankle. I wobbled forward, stumbling.
“Where are you going, Trouble?” Gabriel asked, still jumping and laughing, but slowing.
“Be right back,” I said, scrambling after Derrick toward the shed. I bit back the pain I didn’t have time for.
When we got to the driveway, the signal sounded again. North was under the basket, looking after Silas, who had run off after the basketball which had rolled underneath Victor’s car.
Derrick motioned to the two bikes and took one look at me. It was all I needed. Follow him.
I picked up the bike before North turned on us. “What are you two doing?” he asked, a curious almost smile on his face.
“We’re going to go get Micah and Tom,” Derrick said. He ran with the bike to give it a push start before jumping on, standing on the pedals.
I did the same, jumping up, trying to avoid North’s eyes. I was excited to be able to help, although I didn’t like lying to North about what was going on. Technically it was true, of course, we were going to get whoever was calling for us, but since it was the emergency call, it meant one of the boys was lost or hurt. I’d made a promise though. I wasn’t going to betray that trust.
As another hoot sounded, I reacted to it, looking out into the distance to where it was coming from. This time, the tone was sharper, the ending squeal sounding desperate to me.
North turned toward it, too, looking confused. I started pedaling.
“No, wait,” North said, turning back quickly. His hands splayed out as if he wanted to stop the bike, but I was far out of reach before he got close.
I pedaled past him, zooming down the drive after Derrick. There wasn’t time to waste.
“Silas! Stop her!”
Silas stood up, looking confused. He spotted me coming down the drive, held out his hands looking unsure. “Where are you going?”
“Have to go,” I said, with my heart in my throat. I couldn’t stop. Something was wrong, and I didn’t have time to explain. They would make me if I hesitated now.
“Don’t let her go,” North bellowed at him.
I swerved the bike, trying to avoid hitting Silas. Derrick was already at the road, lingering slightly to wait for me.
Silas sidestepped to get in the way.
My heart thundered. If he didn’t move, I was going to crash into him. “Silas, we have to go,” I yelled at him, afraid he wouldn’t understand. “Trust me.”
His eyes flashed. He grunted. At the last moment, when I was about to pull up short and stop, possibly falling over, he dodged out of the way.
“God damn it, Silas! I said stop her.”
“She was going to crash into me. I was going to hurt her.”
I zoomed out of the drive. Derrick took the lead. The calls were coming from the woods behind Kota’s house, although I wasn’t sure exactly where. Derrick seemed to have an idea though.
We raced down the road together. I felt, rather than saw, North, Silas and Gabriel all running after us. They were still no match for the bikes.
We rode through Kota’s driveway. I was going to stop short and walk through the woods, but Derrick didn’t, so I didn’t, either. We cut through Kota’s lawn, with Max barking at us from the house. Crap. Kota was going to see me.
Derrick zoomed through the back yard. He ducked when we got close to the twin palm trees that made an archway toward the wood path. I followed.
The grass on the other side of the tree line behind Kota’s house was thicker than I remembered, but it was also long and laying over on top of itself. Derrick blazed the trail, and I followed right behind him. I was standing on the pedals now, pushing hard to get through the rough. The ground was relatively even, and the grass bent easily, so we were able to keep moving, but not without effort.
The signal sounded again.
“Sawdust pile,” Derrick called behind me.
I’d never seen the sawdust pile. I remembered Nathan telling me not to go over there and I hadn’t been back since that day. He’d said it was dangerous. Didn’t Micah and Tom know that?
At the end of the tall grass path, there was a smaller, dusty trail off to the right between clusters of trees. We had an easier time with this one since the ground was smoothed, dry and cracked. Derrick sped up and I did my best to keep near him. I wondered if North and the others would be able to follow. I didn’t want to betray the secret, but if there really was trouble, I hoped they would come in and help.
We came out of the trail on the other side. There was a clearing about as big as a football field. At the far end was a pile of sawdust about as big as the garage at home.
Tom was at the foot of it, waving his hands after us. Beads of sweat trailed down his dirty cheeks. “He’s going to sink in,” he cried out.
I glanced up. Micah was at the top of the pile, waist deep into the dust. His shirt was off. He looked nervous, but the moment he set his eyes on me behind Derrick, he frowned. “Why’d you bring her with you?”
“You’re probably lucky she did come along,” Derrick said, pulling his bike up near the pile and stopping. He got off, dropping it. His bare chest was heaving as he caught his breath. “What in the world w
ere you thinking climbing up there?”
“We were testing it out.”
“That was stupid.”
I stopped my bike next to Derrick’s. I wasn’t eager to stand in the grass in my bare feet, but it was softer than it looked. I stood back, putting my hands on my hips and looking up at Micah. “How do we get him out?”
“Climb up and yank him out, I guess.”
I nodded. Derrick was right. They needed me right now. I was lighter. Someone like Kota or Nathan being much heavier might create more problems. Derrick was probably too heavy for this, but I wouldn’t want to ask Tom to climb up there.
“Let’s do it before the cavalry catches up,” Derrick said.
“They’re coming?” Micah said. “I told you she’d tell.”
“She didn’t tell. They were there when you signaled.” Derrick planted a foot onto the pile. “If we hurry, they might not find out at all.” He gingerly put his weight onto it. His foot nestled into the mound of sawdust but he didn’t sink. He stepped forward again, crawling his way slowly up the pile.
I gritted my teeth. I had to do it. We were the only ones here. If we waited any longer, he could sink in and disappear. I placed my bare foot onto the sawdust, feeling the grit, like thick sand, under my feet. I was half expecting a thousand splinters but it was softer than I expected.
I didn’t sink. I placed my hands into the dust to scramble up.
Derrick slipped up next to Micah, his hands out and looking unsteady. He inched closer to Micah. The dust started to collect over the tops of his feet. “It’s softer up here,” he warned me. “Be careful.”
I nodded. I climbed up on the other side of Micah, approaching like Derrick had done by sidling up slowly. On top of the pile, it was easier to walk across, but I was sinking in deeper, too. The sawdust spread out under my feet, swallowing me up to almost my ankles. I tried not to look at how high up we were, like standing on a rooftop.
Derrick frowned. “We’ll have to do this a little at a time.” He reached down, holding out a hand. “Give me your hand, Micah.”
Micah groaned, shoving a hand up. As he did, he sunk a little lower, until the dust claimed him up to his ribs. “Hurry,” he said. He lifted his other hand toward me.
I stepped closer, tilting almost unbalanced as the sawdust below my feet started to shift again. I planted my feet as best as I could. I reached out, clasped at Micah’s hand. I locked my fingers around his palm, trying to make sure I had a good grip. “Ready,” I said.
“Pull him up slow,” Derrick said to me. “If there’s a sink hole here, we don’t want to fall in after him.”
I nodded.
Derrick counted out. “One, two ...”
I pulled. Derrick yanked up. Micah started coming up, exposing his bare belly button. As we tugged at Micah, we sunk in. The sawdust filled in over my ankles.
“Stop,” Derrick said. He readjusted. “Pull yourself out, try not to sink in any further.”
I pulled my feet out, allowing sawdust to fill in the space and trying to stand on top of it. I did sink in, but only to cover part of my foot.
We pulled together again. This time we got Micah up far enough so I could see his hip bones.
“Wait,” Micah said. “Don’t do any more.”
“Why not?” Derrick asked. “We don’t have time to wait.”
Micah rumbled. “My shorts aren’t coming up with me.”
“Well you should have thought about that before you decided to go jump into a sawdust pile. I’ve told you to stay out of here.”
“I’ll close my eyes if you want,” I said, eager to get this over with.
Micah cursed under his breath. “Whatever. Just pull.”
“On three again,” Derrick said.
I grabbed Micah’s hand. It was sweaty, making it harder to hold on to him.
“One.”
The sawdust shifted around my feet again as I tensed, sinking me a little down around my ankles again. I regripped again, hoping another good tug would get him high enough that he could pull himself out.
“Two.”
“Baby! Get your ass off of there!”
North’s deep voice was so pleading, so desperate, that it jolted me. I stumbled off-balance.
The ground shifted.
Micah sunk in to his shoulders. His hand grasped mine in a death grip.
Unbalanced, I dropped down over on top of him, afraid to let go. If I let go, we wouldn’t be able to find him if he sank down deeper.
Before his head went under, I curled myself over him to cover his face.
Derrick landed on top of me, possibly thinking the same thing. He grabbed at my waist, still hanging on to Micah’s hand around me.
The sawdust piled up around us.
LETTING GO
The feeling was familiar, like being surrounded by pool water. It was stifling hot, warmer, thicker, and itchier.
It was also pitch black.
Micah was scrambling below me. I wasn’t sure how he was moving so much but the more he twisted and turned, the further we sank together.
I held his hand, squeezed it, willing him to stop.
With my free hand, I cupped around my mouth, trying to keep the sawdust away from my face and trying not to breathe it in.
At some point we settled. Derrick was hunched over my head, pulling up and away from me using his back. He held up the sawdust around him, creating an air pocket. I felt the space opening up next to his face and chest.
“Pull him up,” Derrick said through the dark. He readjusted his grip until he was holding me up around my shoulders.
I yanked on Micah’s hand and tried to pull him up against me. When he broke through next to my head, he sputtered, spitting and gasping.
“We need to cover our faces,” Derrick said. “I don’t know how much longer I can hold this up.”
An idea sparked through me. “Hang on to Derrick,” I told Micah.
Micah didn’t answer, but he let go of my hand to double up on Derrick’s arm. Derrick yanked him up higher.
I shifted, sinking slightly, but wrenched off my tank top. I was too scared to be modest now, and they couldn’t see me anyway. We needed something to cover our faces and I was the only one wearing a shirt. At least I had a bra.
I pulled up the tank top into the air pocket. I felt around for Derrick’s hand. “Can you rip this?”
Derrick snatched the shirt from me. He grunted. There were ripping sounds. A second later, a cloth was shoved at my head.
“Keep it around your nose and mouth. Breathe through the cloth. Don’t suck in any more sawdust.”
I shoved the cloth of my shirt toward my face.
“Take slow breaths. Save the oxygen. I don’t know how long it will take them to find us.”
I wanted to do what he was telling us, but the cloth made the already unbearable warmth around us suffocating. I was sweating. The sawdust stuck to my skin.
Muffled voices seeped down to us. There was pressure above our bodies, and I wasn’t sure if we were sinking further, or if it was the guys looking for us from the top of the pile.
Micah coughed, convulsing his whole body. We started sinking again.
“I’m going to get him on top of us,” Derrick said. His voice was muffled now, and I imagined he had stuffed the cloth into his face. “I’m going to push him up so they get to him. This will probably cave in. Hang on to my leg. Don’t let go.”
“Okay.” I inched my way down Derrick’s body, embarrassed to think of certain parts I might have accidentally felt.
I wrapped an arm around his thigh, clinging to his jean cut offs, shoving the cloth into my face. With my knuckles protruding out from my face, it created my own little air pocket. Some sawdust still shifted in around my mouth but it was better than practically eating it.
Derrick shifted. Micah was pulled away. The harder Derrick pushed Micah higher up above him, the heavier the dust around us settled, weighing us down. I wasn’t sure if we were sinking fu
rther because of it.
I clung to Derrick’s leg in the dark. I hoped. I pleaded. I screamed in my head. I felt tears in my eyes. I didn’t want that because the sawdust stuck to my eyes and I had to squeeze them shut to keep it out.
All I could think of was how I didn’t want to die. North was wrong; I wasn’t self-destructive. I wanted very much to live. I couldn’t imagine dying in this nasty, itchy place. Their faces flashed through my mind. I wanted to be back with them. They were everything I wanted. In that moment, I knew. I had depended on them so much. I depended on them now. I should have never kept this a secret. I should have trusted them with everything. They were out there, I knew. I couldn’t feel them. I couldn’t see them. I could barely make out their muffled shouts above my head as sawdust filled in my ears. I simply knew they were there. The Academy was always there.
I wanted them. I wanted Kota and Nathan and Silas and Gabriel and Luke and Victor and North and Mr. Blackbourne and Dr. Green. How horrible it would be if they spent all this effort in keeping me safe and I ended up dying right here.
I would try harder, I promised myself. I would work every day. I would never complain. I would never think of wanting a day off. I never truly wanted one, anyway. It didn’t matter to me. What mattered was that the guys were around. If we worked at the diner, if we were coordinating things at the high school, I would follow. I knew then that if they were in the Academy, that’s where I wanted to be, too. If I could only get in, I would no longer be sitting on the sidelines wondering where they were, unable to go with them.
I would finally feel like I was part of their family. In the real way. In the way Kota had promised me I would and had yet to feel completely. The Academy was the answer. Despite Kota’s warnings, and Mr. Blackbourne’s grim assertion that it was almost impossible, I knew it was my only answer. Without the Academy, I could never really be a part of them because it was the part of them that they could never trust me with. Family meant trust. I had to earn it.
If I survived, I would do whatever it took.
Derrick started shifting above me. His leg moved up. He was either pulling himself up or being pulled.