Stranger in the Woods

by Geof Johnson

  * * *

  After her bath that evening, Liz found Zach in the family room, idly scrolling through channels on the television. She sat down beside him on the sofa and patted his leg. “Thank you for being such a good helper today. I couldn’t do this without you.”

  He rolled his eyes toward her without moving his head. “You make it sound like I’m four years old. A good helper? That’s what they told us in preschool.”

  “Would you like a gold star?” She chuckled but his face remained stiff. She furrowed her brow and said, “What’s wrong, Zach?”

  He lifted one shoulder and let it fall, as if it were too heavy to hold up for long. “Just tired, that’s all.”

  “You got a lot of sun today while you were painting the fence. That’ll wear you out.” He didn’t answer or look at her. Instead, he stared at the television and began clicking the remote again.

  “Zach, something is bothering you, I can tell.”

  He pressed the mute button and turned to face her. “I talked to Jason and Justin today about the school. What it’s like and all. Now I’m worried.”

  “That’s understandable. It’s a totally new situation for you, and you’ll have to find a way to fit in, but I’m sure you will.”

  Zach glanced at his lap for a moment. “That’s the problem. All of the other kids have been going to school together since kindergarten, and I’m the new guy. What’s worse is the popular kids play sports and stuff, and I’m terrible at that, so that’s out. And I’m not geeky enough to fit in with the nerds. Not that I want to, but still.” He looked at her, his eyes miserable. “That would be better than nothing.”

  “Zach.” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it and tried to think of something to say that didn’t sound like it came from a Hallmark greeting card. “You’ve got three friends already, and from what I can tell, they’re good friends, not just the rainy-day types who only want to hang out with you when things are going well for you.”

  “Well, that’s true.” He smiled cheerlessly. “Because things aren’t going well for me.”

  She took a long breath while she wondered how to respond, and she suddenly had the urge to say, How do you think I feel? Have you even considered that, or is it always about how hard life is for you? Instead, she patted his leg again and smiled thinly as she stood. “We have a home, I have a job, and you have three friends. Try to be happy with that.”

  * * *

  Zach’s mother pushed them relentlessly the rest of the week, and the work proceeded quickly. He and his friends were allowed to paint inside, after a short trial under her watchful eye. By Friday, he was tired and begged for a day off. She said it could be on Sunday.

  Sunday it rained.

  * * *

  Liz searched the downstairs for Zach and found him in the living room, staring dolefully out of the front windows at the downpour. He turned when he noticed her and said, “There’s nothin’ to do.”

  “Tina just called, and she’s bringing her kids over in a few minutes.”

  “Aren’t they getting tired of being over here?”

  “Apparently not, but I am. We were thinking about going bowling. How’s that sound?”

  “Mom, you know I’m a terrible bowler. I bet even Shelby’s better than I am.”

  “We could do something else.”

  “Like what? Their mom doesn’t have any money. That’s what Jason and Justin are always saying.”

  “We could go to the dollar theater. That’s cheap, though it won’t have any newer movies.”

  “I haven’t been to the movies in forever, so they’re all new to me. Do we get to pick which one?”

  “It has to be something we all agree on. I thought about asking your grandfather if he wants to go, too. He might like that.”

  “Aw, we’ll never agree on anything. We’ll probably end up watching something stupid.”

  “You can stay home by yourself, if you’d rather.”

  “No. Whatever. I’ll go.”

  Tina arrived soon after with her family, and Liz proudly showed off the results of their painting. The kids headed to the family room to watch television until it was time to go to the movie. Liz’s father came over a few minutes later, and he joined Liz and Tina in the kitchen for coffee.

  They were only halfway through their cups when Zach appeared in the doorway. “Mom, what movie are we going to see?”

  “We thought we’d let Shelby pick.”

  “Shelby?” His voice rose and his brow fell. “I thought you said it would be something we all agreed on.”

  Tina smiled with her lips together, “We all agreed that Shelby should pick.”

  Zach glared at them silently and Liz said, “Like I said, you don’t have to go.”

  He spun on his heel and stomped away, only to return shortly after. “Mom? When are we gonna go?”

  “The movies don’t start for another hour, at least. Try to be patient.”

  “We’re bored.”

  “Watch TV until then.”

  “There’s nothin’ on.”

  She spread her hands and angled her head as if to say not my problem.

  Zach frowned for a moment, then said, “Can we look for the key to the lab?”

  Tina’s eyebrows drew together. “What lab?”

  Liz’s father pointed at the closed door behind them. “My Uncle Nicholas’s old laboratory is down in the basement.”

  “So he really was a mad scientist?”

  He huffed a laugh. “He wasn’t crazy, he was just reclusive. He was an inventor, and he did all his work here. But the door is locked and we don’t know where the key is.”

  Sparks flashed in Tina’s eyes. “I want to see that. I’ve never been in a lab before.”

  Zach bobbed his head. “So can we look for the key? Just ’till it’s time to go to the movie?”

  Liz glanced at her father, who didn’t respond, so she said, “Okay, but try not to get dirty. It’s filthy down there.”

  “We’ll be careful. Thanks.” He turned and yelled into the family room, “Hey! She said we could.”

  Liz’s father led the way down the unfinished wooden stairs to the basement, limping with every other step.

  “Mr. Ogletree?” Shelby said, walking behind him. “What’s wrong with your leg?”

  “Injured my knee when I was younger.”

  “He hurt it in the war,” Zach said as they neared the bottom. “He was a hero, just like my Great Uncle Bill. He was Grandpa’s brother, only he died in Vietnam.” They spilled out across the cement floor, and Liz shot her father a hard look. He never told Zach what really happened. Her father dropped his gaze to his feet and scratched the side of his neck, avoiding her eyes.

  Shelby’s expression saddened, and Liz said, “It’s okay, honey. It was a long time ago.”

  “Did you know him?”

  “Uncle Bill? No, he died before I was born. But my brother, Will, is named after him. His full name is William.”

  “He’s the one who called you Lizard?”

  “Yeah.” Liz chuckled. “That one.”

  The boys had already lost interest in the conversation, and their curious eyes were darting about the dusty room. “Where do you think he might’ve put the key?” Jason said.

  “Could be anywhere,” Liz’s father said.

  “But the trunks and boxes are off limits right now,” Liz said quickly. “We’re not getting into those today.”

  “Come on, Mom,” Zach groaned. “What if it’s in one of them?”

  Liz’s father shook his head. “I told you, Uncle Nicholas wouldn’t have put it there, and I don’t think he kept it on his key ring because he would’ve worried about losing it.”

  “So?” Tina said. “I’ve lost my keys before. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  “But someone might’ve found his, and then they would’ve had the key to this lab, and he wouldn’t have allowed that. My sister, Winnie, always thought he hid it down here, somewhere close by.”

>   He turned and gestured at the stairs behind him. “He would come down these every day when he was ready to start working, and he would want to fetch the key out of someplace that was handy, but not obvious. And he was an inventor, so keep that in mind. It was probably someplace clever.”

  “Like a secret compartment?” Jason began thumping the wall beside him with the flat of his hand. “Maybe it’s here somewhere.”

  Shelby looked at the steps and said, “Or maybe he kept it hidden somewhere on these. Then he could’ve gotten it on his way down.” She and Zach began peering under each tread and running their fingers along the wood, while Jason and Justin checked the entire length of the plain, white wall, whose only features were the closed steel door and the light switch next to it.

  Zach suddenly stopped what he was doing. He turned and stared at the plastic switch plate, yellowed with age. He went directly to it and said, “Maybe it’s in here. This would’ve been a handy place to keep it, right by the door.”

  “Sneaky, too,” Grandpa said.

  Zach flipped the switch a few times while the rest of their group crowded around him.

  “Maybe it moves,” Justin said. “Try sliding it up and down or turning it.”

  Zach did. It wouldn’t budge.

  “That’s not it,” Liz’s father said. “You’d see scrape marks on the wall from where it had been sliding over it, but there aren’t any.”

  “Push on it,” Shelby said. “Hard.”

  Zach tried that. There was an audible click, and it popped open. Everyone’s mouths fell open, too, as they caught their collective breath.

  “He put a spring mechanism in there,” Liz’s father said. “That’s just like him. Clever and sneaky.”

  A small square cavity was now visible behind the switch plate, and Zach dug his fingers inside it and suddenly grinned. He withdrew something small and held it aloft.

  The key.

  “Oh, geez,” Tina said. “That’s really cool.”

  “Open the door,” Jason said eagerly.

  Zach turned to his mother. “Can we?”

  “Why not? I want to see it, too.”

  “Let’s get the lights on, first.” Liz’s father reached over and flipped the switch up. “And hope they still work.”

  Zach’s hands shook as he jiggled the key into the lock, and he struggled with it for a few seconds and stopped. “It won’t work.”

  Liz’s father extended one hand. “Let me try.” Zach moved aside and his grandfather fiddled with it briefly, then withdrew the key and pounded on the lock a few times with the flat of his fist. “This might do the trick. If it doesn’t, I’ll have to put some graphite in it.” He slipped the key back in and twisted it. The lock turned with a metallic clack.

  He glanced over his shoulder and said, “You ready for this? It’s liable to be pretty musty in there. This hasn’t been opened in eleven or twelve years, at least.”

  Tina tapped Shelby on her shoulder. “Do you have your inhaler?” She nodded and Tina said, “Well, what are we waiting for? Let’s go in.”

  Liz’s father turned the knob and pushed the door open. Light flooded out, accompanied by a cloud of stagnant-smelling air, and Liz immediately thought of the pyramids of Egypt and the ancient tombs beneath. She felt like an explorer, excited and nervous, about to view the mysterious burial chamber of some long-dead pharaoh as they all filed inside behind her father.

  The room was large and cluttered. Instead of an Egyptian king’s tomb, it seemed more like Dr. Frankenstein’s lab. Cobwebs draped from the four overhead lights and across the old machines, which filled every available surface. An exotic apparatus or instrument was in every corner. Workbenches lined the walls, stacked high with antique-looking electronic equipment, most of which she didn’t recognize.

  “Jason, Justin,” Tina said firmly, “don’t touch anything! You hear me?”

  “Yes ma’am,” they said in sullen unison.

  “That goes for you, too,” Liz said to Zach.

  “What is all this, Mr. Ogletree?” Shelby said, looking about, wide eyed.

  “This is where Uncle Nicholas made his inventions. I’ve never been in here before. I don’t think anybody has but him. We’re probably the first to ever see it.”

  “This is interesting.” Zach went to a contraption in the middle of the room. It looked like a control station, chest-high and slightly wider than a dishwasher. It’s dusty, slanted front was crammed with large, black knobs, rows of switches, and meters, like something from a NASA rocket launch in the early days. Project Mercury. Apollo 1.

  On either side of that, set about a dozen feet apart, were big cylinders that stretched from the floor to the ceiling. There was an opening at the front of each one, large enough for a good-sized man to fit through, and their corrugated walls were made of long, finger-width metal tubes fitted tightly together.

  Zach nodded toward one of them. “What were those for?”

  “They look like futuristic phone booths,” Tina said.

  “What’s a phone booth?” Justin asked.

  “It’s a place where you used to be able to make phone calls for thirty-five cents.”

  “They cost a dime when I was a kid,” Liz’s father said.

  The kids stared at him vacantly and Liz said, “Never mind. I’ll find a picture of one on the Internet for you, later.”

  Jason reached for one of the dusty black knobs on the control station and Tina snapped, “Don’t you even think about it!”

  He snatched his hand back.

  Liz’s father stepped beside him and said, “We don’t want you to get shocked, though I think this machine is kaput. Look here.” He pointed to one side of it, where there was a vent with black smudges rising over it. “Something inside burned out. Probably a lot of stuff, from the looks of it.” He leaned close to it and sniffed. “Still has that fried-insulation smell.”

  Liz gazed about the lab and pursed her lips. “I think it would be better if we kept this room locked for now. I don’t want you kids playing around in here and getting hurt or burning the house down.”

  “But Mom,” Zach said. “We could…we might learn something in here.”

  Tina gave her two boys a severe look. “You mean, like how to electrocute yourself?”

  “Right,” Liz said. “It’s not safe.” Liz extended her hand toward her father. “May I have the key, please?”

  “I want to make a copy of it, first. Then you can have it.”

  Disappointment swept over Zach’s face and Liz added, “Maybe after we get the rest of the house fixed up we can come down here and sort this mess out.”

  “I want to be with you when you do that,” her father said. “In case you stumble across something important and don’t realize it.” He gestured at the contraption with the two cylinders. “Uncle Nicholas was obviously working on something significant before he died. I’d love to know what it was.”

  Chapter 12

  Rosemary-and-garlic-scented steam rose from the browned chicken as Liz lifted it from the roasting pan and set it on a white ceramic platter that she had placed on the counter by the oven. She looked up when she heard footsteps, and her father entered from the door to the family room. She said, “Is Zach still on the computer in there? It’s almost time to eat.”

  “He’s looking at Facebook.” He smiled at the chicken and said, “That smells good, Liz.”

  “I hope it will be.” She turned to face him, resting one hand on her hip and the other on the back of the nearest chair. “When are you going to tell Zach what really happened to you in Vietnam?”

  “I don’t think he needs to know that, do you?”

  “He looks up to you. You heard him. He thinks you’re a hero.”

  “Well,” he said slowly, “I don’t want to dispel him of that notion.”

  “Dad, it’s wrong! I want him to look up to you for the right reasons, like, that you tell the truth.”

  “Do I have to?”

  “Yes, you do.�
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  He turned his face to the far wall and exhaled through puffed out cheeks. “All right. I’ll tell him during dinner.”

  Once they were all seated around the kitchen table and their plates were served, Liz said, “Zach, did you see anything interesting on Facebook today?”

  Zach jabbed his fork into a piece of chicken on his plate and pushed his lower lip out. “Why hasn’t Cousin Emily accepted my friend request?”

  “How long has it been?”

  “A few days.”

  “She could be busy. They might be on vacation.”

  “She still probably gets on Facebook.”

  “Not if they’re out of the country.”

  Liz’s father gestured at Zach with his knife. “They went to Italy two years ago. The whole family, all five of them.”

  “Must be nice to be able to afford that,” Liz said.

  Zach’s lip pushed out even more. “If they can afford to do that, they can afford to come here and visit.”

  Liz’s father eyed his plate and took a moment to answer. “Italy’s more fun, I guess. We’re too boring here in little ol’ Whitmer.”

  He looked up and she caught his attention. She nodded once toward Zach, who was staring at his own plate. Her father cleared his throat and said, “Zach, there’s something I’ve been meaning to tell you.”

  He scrubbed his wrinkled cheek thoroughly with one hand before continuing, “It’s about what happened to me in Vietnam. It’s about…it’s about how I hurt my knee.” He covered his mouth with his fist and coughed once. “I didn’t hurt it doing something heroic. I, uh, fell out of a jeep when I was roarin’ drunk.”

  Zach’s brow fell and his grandfather said, “It was the day my brother got killed.” His lip twitched and he swallowed hard. “That was one of the worst days of my life, almost as bad as when your grandmother died. I got the news late that afternoon, and me and a few of my buddies managed to get some passes and went into town that night to a bar. We decided to drink in his honor.”