Double Fugue

by Aiden Vaughan

  When the Molinaris reached their drop off point, David quickly unloaded their bicycles from the back of the van. He then said goodbye to Marie who told them she would look forward to seeing them back at home in a few hours. David and Davey put on their helmets, checked that the bikes were in order, and put on their mini-packs with water and snacks. Overhead the sky was filled with fast moving clouds, but as it was still sunny outside, they didn’t pay any attention to them.

  The first twenty minutes of the ride were very pleasant. There wasn’t a lot of traffic, and the ride was very easy. Then they started to feel a few raindrops. “See what I told you, Davey. It feels like we are going to get a little shower!”

  “Don’t worry, Dad. I’m sure the water will dry up real fast!”

  The two continued on their ride for another few minutes. Just as they were coming around a sloping bend in the road, they heard a loud clap of thunder and suddenly everything became dark very quickly. Now the rain started in earnest, and the two were beginning to get soaked.

  “Let’s see if we can get past this shower, or we will need to stop and take shelter somewhere.”

  “Okay, Dad,” Davey replied.

  But the rain kept building in intensity, and then they heard some loud thunderclaps and saw some flashes of lightning. The rain began falling in sheets of water and they could barely see in front of themselves.

  “Davey, we have to take shelter now!” Mr. Molinari yelled at his son through the downpour. “Look there is a farmhouse and barn over there. Follow me!”

  The barn was the closest building and even though it was only a few hundred yards away, it was a real struggle for David and Davey to get there. Eventually they had to dismount from their bikes and walk the last fifty yards. Luckily for them, the barn had a large overhang in front, so they were finally able to get shelter from the deluge. They parked their bikes on the cement stoop in front of the barn. At last they were out of the rain.

  David surveyed the property to see if anyone was home, but there were no vehicles parked anywhere, and no sign of any people inside the nearby farmhouse. Given the circumstances of the sudden storm, and no one around to say no, he felt that the owners wouldn’t mind if they waited out the storm in the barn.

  “I can’t believe this storm!” David exclaimed. “Are you okay, Davey?”

  “Just wet and a little sorry,” Davey said with a downcast face. “I guess we should have waited until another day.”

  “Don’t feel bad, Son. I think you needed to take a shower anyway!”

  “Very funny, Dad. I wonder if we can get inside the barn and dry off.”

  David tried opening the barn door, but it wouldn’t budge. “I think the door is bolted somehow.”

  “Let me see if I can find a way in.” Davey then went around the front and looked for another way in. Over toward the end was a window. The window was just slightly open, and Davey was able to pry it open a little more. “Look, Dad, I think I can squeeze through the window!”

  “Be careful, Son. I don’t want you to hurt yourself!”

  Young Davey was just able to fit himself through the narrow opening in the window. “I’m inside, Dad! I’ll see if I can open the big door.” A minute later, David could hear some noise at the door. “There is a board holding the door together. I’ll remove it.” After Davey removed the board, the double doors easily opened.

  “I think I will just rest outside here, and watch the storm.”

  “I want to stay in here, Dad.”

  David peered inside the barn. “You can play inside for a while. Just stay near me here.”

  “Okay, Dad.” Davey was still at an age where his active imagination was very uninhibited. He had brought one of his small model airplane toys with him. He took it out of his mini-pack and began to fly it around the barn. Soon he had created a game where he was running around dive-bombing imaginary planes and flying saucers. He forgot all about the noisy storm pounding on the barn roof.

  Outside the rain continued pouring down at an unbelievable rate, with occasional claps of thunder. David sat on the cement stoop in front of the barn and watched nature’s amazing display. No timpani drums or crash cymbals could ever match this! he thought to himself.

  CAN CHUCKS REALLY FLY?

  (Friday Afternoon)

  In the loft of the barn, where Daniel was being held captive, the unconscious teen was oblivious to the oncoming storm. But this was no ordinary storm, and soon the intense rainfall was coming down with great fury on the tin roof of the barn. The raindrops hitting the roof were as loud as hail. Then there were several loud crashes of thunder, the last of which was quite earsplitting and nearby.

  After the last thunderclap, Daniel woke up from his stupor in a daze and very disoriented. Then he realized that he was still in great peril, gagged, blindfolded and tied to a wooden pole. He struggled with the ropes for a few minutes, but was unable to make any progress in getting loose. He tried calling out for help, but his gag stifled that, and the rain was so loud even a regular voice would be hard to hear.

  Gradually the noise of the rainfall lessened as the storm eased up for a few moments. Then Daniel heard some totally unexpected sounds. It was a human voice! Daniel listened very carefully again, to make sure of what he was hearing. The voice was saying the strangest things: “Vroom, vroom, aaaeroo, aaeroo,” like an airplane was diving. It didn’t make any sense at first, and then Daniel realized he must be hearing the sound of a little kid playing!

  He tried shouting out again, but his gag prevented him from being heard and the rainfall still was coming down. Damn, he thought to himself. I’ve got to figure out a way to get the attention of that kid or whoever was making that noise. Then he worried that maybe the kid was the son of one of the cops who had tied him up. But this was his only chance, and perhaps the kid didn’t know what was going on anyway, even if he was the son of one of his kidnappers.

  All of a sudden, Daniel had an idea. He remembered that his shoe was loose on his foot from when the cop was leading him up the stairs and had stepped on the back of it. If I can just throw it from my foot hard enough, maybe it will make enough noise to get that kid’s attention. Now he was really thankful that his black high top chucks were so lightweight and that he had spent a lot of time doing leg lifts and sit-ups this summer at his YMCA workout classes. Even though his knees and ankles were bound together with ropes, Daniel could still lift his legs up and toss that shoe away. First he made sure that the shoe was as loose as possible on his foot. Then he reared back as far as he could, almost using the pole he was tied to as a springboard. Then he tossed off the shoe as hard and far as he could with all the leg strength he could muster. He heard his sneaker fly away and fall down with a very resounding and satisfying plop.

  The noise from the kid completely stopped. That was a good sign, Daniel thought to himself. I hope that was enough to get his attention. Then he worried that he hadn’t done enough. Maybe there was a way to get his other shoe off and toss it as well. This was going to be harder to do but again there was some luck on his side. In order to look more “rock and roll” this morning, he hadn’t laced his chucks up to the top eyelet. He discovered that by applying pressure on the heel of his remaining sneaker he could eventually slip it off his other foot. He then worked to position it so that he could toss it also. This was hard to do with a blindfold on, but by concentrating and moving very slowly, he was able to get his other high top in place.

  Downstairs, Davey continued to play his airplane fighter game in the barn. Suddenly he was startled by a flying object that whizzed by him and fell on the floor. Davey went over to see what it was. It was a black Chuck Taylor high top sneaker. He picked it up and then went all the way to the front of the barn and outside where his dad was still sitting and watching the storm.

  “Dad, can shoes fly?” Davey asked.

  “What on earth are you talking about, Davey?” David replied.

  “I was playing in the barn, and suddenly this black sne
aker flew right by me! How could it do that?” Davey persisted.

  “Son, shoes can’t fly, at least by themselves. Are you sure it didn’t just fall down from the upstairs?”

  “I don’t know, Dad. It just seems very strange that it would fly right by me!”

  “Maybe you should stay out here with me, Davey.”

  “No I want to continue my game and try and figure out what happened.” Davey went back inside and got involved in playing his airplane game. Soon the jets were flying again, “Vroom, vroom, aaaeroo, aaaeroo.”

  As soon as Daniel heard the sounds of the kid playing again, he knew he had to try one more time to get his attention. He had his other sneaker ready to go, and he was able to position it, rear up, and launch it, just like the first time. The shoe flew in the air and then fell to the ground with a second resounding thud.

  Again Davey was startled by the flying shoe. This one fell very close to where he was playing. He grabbed it and went out to his father in front of the barn. “Look, Dad, here is another flying shoe!”

  David then realized that this was no accident. “Davey, there must be someone else here in the barn. Maybe that person is pulling a prank on you. Stay here while I check it out!” David got up and went inside the barn. After looking around downstairs and seeing no one, he decided to check out the loft. He began climbing up the stairs. “Is anyone here?” he called out.

  As soon as Daniel heard this, he began to make all the noise he could through his gag. Hearing strange muffled sounds, David realized that someone must be in trouble. He hurried up the stairs and spotted Daniel tied up to one of the posts.

  “Oh my God! Don’t worry, help is on the way!” David said to Daniel. He then shouted out to his son, “Davey, get our water canteen and the Swiss Army knife from my mini pack and bring them up the stairs right away!”

  When David reached Daniel, he pulled off his bandana blindfold. “We are not with the people who did this to you. We are friends!” David then worked on untying the knots holding Daniel’s gag in place and pulled the rag out of Daniel’s mouth. “My son is getting you some water and our knife so that I can cut these ropes off of you.”

  Just then Davey arrived with the water. When he saw Daniel his mouth opened in astonishment. “Who did this, Dad? Who would leave someone tied up alone in a barn like this?”

  “I don’t know, yet, Son, but we will find out! Hand me the water bottle. Here,” he said to Daniel, “have some water before you try to speak” David held the water bottle up to Daniel’s mouth and he took a big drink from it. “Tell us who you are and how you got into this mess while I work at untying you.”

  “My name is Daniel Holmes and I have had the most strange things happen to me today. I got to meet rock star Ethan Savage, and then later I saw that somebody had drugged him, was taking him away in a van and he was being replaced with a double. Then two policemen came up to me, and I told them what I had seen, assuming that they would help me and help Ethan. Instead they grabbed me, handcuffed and blindfolded me, and brought me here. We have got to get to the real authorities right away. Ethan Savage is in serious danger!”

  “That’s quite a story, Daniel. It sounds like a nightmare!” David replied as he began cutting the ropes binding Daniel’s hands and feet. “My name is David Molinari and this is my son, Davey.”

  “Molinari,” Daniel replied. “Mr. Molinari the music teacher?”

  “Yes, how do you know me?”

  “I am a student at Merriam High School and I sing in the choir. My friend Jason and I are planning to attend your youth orchestra concert next Friday and see our friend Robert Fischer perform!”

  “Well, we musicians sure live in a small world! I am pleased to be able to help you out, Daniel, especially so since you are a member of our student body and music community. It sounds like you have come across some pretty mean characters. How long have you been a prisoner here?”

  “I was grabbed in the middle of the morning. After they tied me up, I was knocked unconscious, so I have lost track of time.”

  “Right now it is about 2:30 in the afternoon,” David said, looking at his watch.

  “Daniel, I am so happy that we found you!” Davey said enthusiastically. “I’ve never helped rescue anyone before!”

  “Thank you, Davey. If you hadn’t been playing inside the barn, I would have never been rescued. You are the hero of the day, young buddy!” Now that he was loose from his ropes, Daniel got up and gave Davey a big hug.

  Davey had a wide smile on his face. “I have more things to help you with. Let me go get your shoes.” Davey then raced back down the stairs.

  “Daniel, are you hurt or injured in any way?” David said with concern in his voice. “I know you are worried about Ethan Savage, but I am concerned about you. It couldn’t have been very pleasant for you the last few hours.”

  “I am okay, Mr. Molinari. I feel a bruise on the top of my head where one of the cops clubbed me, but other than that it is mostly my self pride and respect for figures of authority that has been injured!”

  “That bump looks serious, Daniel. You should see a doctor when we get back to town in case you have a concussion. Do you feel any dizziness?”

  “No, I think I am okay. Actually this is the second time I have been slugged like that this summer. The other time was when I was helping my friend Jason Hunter go after his kidnappers.”

  “Of course. That’s where I have heard your name before. You were on the local news. That was a very selfless thing that you did for your friend!”

  Just then Davey came charging up the stairs to the loft. “Here are your shoes, Daniel,” he said handing them to Daniel. “I thought it was so cool when they went flying by me. I have a pair of these black Chuck Taylor shoes at home. I wonder if mine can fly just like yours?”

  “Thank you, Davey,” Daniel replied as he began to lace them up on his feet. “I know that it feels like you are flying when you run around in a pair of these chucks, but I don’t think they can fly by themselves.” He then explained to Davey how he was able to launch his chucks in the air even while tied up.

  “Wow, that was really smart!” Davey said with admiration.

  “Mr. Molinari, I would really like to get out of here and contact the authorities,” Daniel said with some impatience in his voice. “I am worried sick about what these people did to Ethan Savage. You have seen what they did to me! And who knows when they will come back to deal with me!”

  “Right now our first concern is the storm,” Mr. Molinari answered. “Davey and I were on a bike ride when the storm hit. It was so intense that we had to take shelter here. I have my cell phone, so we could call for help. The only means of transportation right now is our bikes.”

  “I also came here originally by bike,” Daniel replied. “When those two cops took me prisoner, they also packed up all of my belongings, including my guitar and my bike. I would like to see if they are anywhere around here. Where are we now, actually? When they captured me, I was handcuffed and blindfolded so I don’t know exactly where we are.”

  “We are in a barn on a small farm off of Valley Road,” Mr. Molinari continued. “There is a house nearby but no one is home as far as I can tell. Let’s get out of this loft and figure out what to do.”

  Daniel and David made their way down the loft steps. Davey had already run down ahead of them. “Dad, Daniel,” they heard him call out. “Come over here! Look what I found!”

  Davey had found the place where the two cops had put away all of Daniel’s belongings. “You hit the jackpot, Davey!” Daniel shouted enthusiastically. “Now we can get out of here!”

  Daniel quickly checked everything out. All of his things were there, including his cell phone. He also grabbed a snack bar as he hadn’t had anything to eat since very early in the morning.

  David went outside to check out the status of the storm. It was still raining but the storm was breaking up and the rain was very light.

  Daniel came up to the barn door.
“Do you think we can make a break for it, Mr. Molinari? I know I don’t feel safe here, and now that you have found me and heard what I have to say, you and Davey are in danger here also!”

  “It’s still a light misty rain,” Mr. Molinari said. “But the town of San Mathias is about ten minutes down the road, and I believe there is a sheriff’s substation there. We should be safe in town. When we get there we can call our families and contact the proper authorities regarding Ethan Savage.”

  “That sounds like a good plan,” Daniel replied. “But before we leave, let’s check out the house. Maybe there will be a clue as to who lives there. There has to be a connection somehow with the criminal activities going on because that is where my kidnappers took me first!”

  Daniel, David, and Davey gathered their gear and mounted up on their bicycles. They quickly rode over to the farmhouse nearby. It was locked up tight though and they couldn’t get inside. They looked in the windows but didn’t see anything or anyone. They then left, but not until Daniel wrote down the address so that the authorities could eventually track down who owned the property. Daniel, David, and Davey then headed out down Valley Road to the town of San Mathias in the misty rain.

  THE VOICE OF THE SHERIFF

  (Friday Afternoon)

  A sense of relief gradually overtook Daniel as he began putting distance between himself and that barn. He and the Molinaris made good time as they cruised toward San Mathias. By the time that they had reached the outskirts of town, the storm was clearing up. A couple of blocks into the town, they spotted a sign for the town civic center and the sheriff’s substation.