by Donna Cain
Hunter was curled up with his arms around his stomach on Eli’s bed. He hadn’t thought of it the way Eli had. He rose up on one elbow and thought a moment. Eli was rubbing his temples and sitting at his desk.
Finally, Hunter said, “Yes. I think we should open it. If what you’re saying is true, we need to know. But I honestly think that whatever is making us sick is on the outside of this thing. The sooner we open it, the sooner we can ditch the box. I’m sure whatever is inside doesn’t have anything to do with how we’re feeling. How could it? What could penetrate a steel box? We’ve got to look inside, Eli, we have to.” He got up slowly from the bed and retched into Eli’s trash can.
Eli grabbed the wire cutters and said, “Fine, let’s get this over with.” He got the blades of the cutters around one of the links of one of the chains and pressed with all of his strength. Nothing, it didn’t even make a dent.
Seeing the problem, Hunter got up from the bed to get the vice. He secured it onto the edge of Eli’s desk. Next, he brought the box over and positioned a link into the vice’s opening. Then he twirled the bar of the vice until it tightened upon the link. Once the link was secure, Eli reached for the small crow bar and threaded it through the link and pushed it forcibly sideways. The link bent at first then it popped open under the pressure. The boys looked at each other as if to say, “No turning back now.”
There were five other chains to get through before the padlock on the box itself would be freed. Eli did most of the work on the chains because Hunter was once again heaving into the trash can. When the fifth chain slipped off the box, Eli looked at Hunter. He was in a ball as he held the trash can in front of him in the corner of the room. Eli’s head was hurting but not unmanageably.
“Look, this padlock is going to take a while to figure out. The cutters aren’t going to get through, so we’ll have to think of something else. Why don’t you go home for a while, and I’ll come get you if I can get the lock off,” he suggested to Hunter.
“Yeah,” Hunter replied weakly. “I don’t think I’m going to be much help. Sorry, Man. Maybe you’re right. Maybe that thing is what’s messing us up. Fiddle with it if you want to, but if you still want to take it back to the hole in the woods, I’ll go with you. Just not today. I feel like crap.”
He pushed himself up from the floor. He was still holding tight to the can. “I’ll bring this back later.” He motioned to the trash can and left.
Eli sat looking at the silver box with the padlock on the front for a few minutes. “What in the world is this thing?” He asked himself. The fact that it made them sick was no longer disputed. Hunter even acknowledged that now. He wondered if there could be some chemical on the outside of the box like Hunter suggested and the inside was fine. He couldn’t think of anything potent enough to penetrate steel and have an effect on people. Eli was stumped. He didn’t know if he wanted to open it or not. He decided to grab a drink and take an aspirin for his head, so he left his room and made for the kitchen.
Passing Heather’s doorway, he could still hear her crying on the phone to Jake. It sounded like the fight was dying down because he heard her say, “Do you know how many guys I don’t flirt with every day? I do that because of you. I make that sacrifice for our future together! You need to remember that! You’re not the only one who could cheat, you know! You’re lucky I haven’t so far!”
Eli rolled his eyes. That was far too much drama for him. He rounded the door to the kitchen just as his mother was coming in with Brody. The dog saw Eli and jumped up in the universal jump of joy greeting that all dogs bestow upon their families. Eli petted the dog and sat down in one of the kitchen chairs. “What’d the vet say?” He asked Lara.
“She said that he really did lose a lot of fur, but dogs can do that in instances of high stress. Something about the adrenaline. He’ll be fine, though. How was school?” She asked.
“Fine, nothing special,” Eli replied. “Heather and Jake are having another fight. Last I heard she was threatening to cheat on him.”
“I’m afraid that relationship may be taking a turn into unhealthy territory. She asked me this morning what age is too young to get married.” Lara’s eyebrows furrowed as she remembered the conversation with her fifteen year old daughter that morning. At first the thing between Heather and Jake had seemed sweet, but now it was getting a little too serious for Lara’s comfort level.
“Jeez,” replied Eli. “That’s a little much. What’d you tell her? Thirty?” He laughed at his own joke and then popped the aspirin into his mouth. He followed it with a big chug of water. “Well, Hunter and I are working on something, so I’ll be in my room for a while.”
“Oh, Shazaam Brothers at it again? I’ve missed those performances. What is it this time? Never mind, don’t tell me. Just promise to go outside if it involves anything being blown up.” She laughed and headed off to her room to change out of her work clothes.
Back in his room, Eli decided once and for all to open the box, find out its contents and go to Hunter to apprise him of the situation. He sat down at his desk and studied the padlock. It was completely sound. No getting around that sucker without the combination. Next, trying to find a vantage point, he looked at the box itself. Bingo. On the back were two hinges connected by screws. He started to work on them with his Phillips head.
It was going to be tough because they were in there tight. As he worked, he heard Brody sniff at the door, issue a low growl and pad off back toward the kitchen.
There! The first screw turned slightly under the pressure of the screwdriver, so Eli decided to get out his power driven one. It had been charging since he had brought all of the tools in from the garage. Once he started though, he found that it didn’t have enough juice to be powerful enough. “I guess this is going to take elbow grease,” he said aloud. Getting his Phillips head once again, he pushed down as he turned. A little at a time, the screw turned. It took a lot of energy, but a few minutes later he had one screw in his hand.
“One down, three to go,” he said to the empty room. He started on the next screw and noticed his head thumping. Damn it! He tried to think of other things as he worked to keep his mind off the pain.
The door down the hall to Heather’s room opened and slammed shut, followed by her voice yelling, “Mom! Mom! I need a ride!”
He heard the mumbled reply of his mother from the kitchen where she was cooking dinner and then Heather screeched, “Why? Why can’t you now? I’m not hungry, I don’t want to eat! I have to go see him!”
His mother’s voice was raised a little in her response but still not loud enough for Eli to hear what she said.
Yes! The second screw released its hold and fell into Eli’s hand. His head pounding now, he got out his flathead screwdriver and jammed it under the hinge. At first it was stuck tight, but Eli worked at it until he was able to pry it off the box. He set to work on the third screw, but had to stop and close his eyes a moment. He had started to see little flashes of blue light. He took some deep breaths and opened his eyes. Better, good. He set to work on the third screw.
“Just take me now and you can come back and finish your stupid dinner!” Heather wailed at her mother. “You just want to keep me prisoner here! You don’t want me to see him! You don’t understand how in love we are!”
Lara finally had enough and yelled, “I said I will take you when I’m finished, Heather! That’s maybe twenty minutes tops! Now sit down and stop this or you won’t go at all! I’m tired of you speaking to me this way! You’ve been treating your brother and me horribly for the last few weeks, and this is going to stop!”
The rest of the argument came in waves of murmurs and overly dramatic teen cries as Eli rescued the third screw from its tight home and started work on the fourth. Excitement surged through him now that the end was near. His mind pushed his headache aside as he worked, allowing him to entertain ideas of what he would find in a mere few minutes. The fourth screw was turning along with his mind. What could it be? A map to s
ome adventure? Secret documents worth millions? A lost artifact?
“Plop” the screw landed on the desk. Eli picked up the flat head and went to work on the hinge. Sounds from the argument in the kitchen picked up once again, but Eli was too psyched to listen to what they were saying.
The headache was almost blinding now as he worked, refusing to stop. He was so close, so close now. Spots were twinkling like stars in his eyes when finally the hinge popped off and the box was no longer sealed. Eli squeezed his eyes together in an effort to clear his vision. He took a deep breath and pried open the back end of the box. His ears popped loudly as if he were on a roller coaster then started to ring. Inside the box were two items – an old piece of some kind of rock and an envelope.
Eli was having trouble thinking because of the blinding pain. He needed Hunter. He needed to get away from that box! He grabbed his backpack off his bed and emptied the contents. Then he grabbed the rock and the envelope and put them into the pack. He zipped the backpack closed and slung it over his shoulder. His head felt like it would split open at any moment and he was having trouble seeing through the flashing lights. “Just like in the woods,” he said. He had to run to Hunter’s.
He bolted from his room down the hallway and into the kitchen.
The fight was still going full force, but his mother stopped mid-sentence when he burst into the room.
“Eli,” she said, her face full of concern. “You look horrible, Honey. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing, I. I’m going to Hunter’s.” He blinked and started again in the direction of the door.
“Oh, sure! Poor Eli! What’s wrong with Eli!” Heather chided. “Nobody cares about Heather! Nobody cares what’s wrong with me! I know! I’ll go live with Dad! Dad will let me do whatever I want! He’ll let me see Jake all the time if I want!
Heather’s face was turning bright red as she continued her tirade. Eli and Mrs. Andrews watched as her eyes grew bigger and her face grew pinker, but she wasn’t backing down. “Go on, Eli! Go to Hunter’s house! I’m sure no one will care as long as YOU’RE happy! I’M going to pack and go live with…” suddenly she stopped. Looking shocked she said, “Wha…?”
A tiny trickle of blood rolled out of Heather’s left nostril and she collapsed in a powder pink heap on the tiled kitchen floor. Her perfect chestnut ringlets made a weird, little pillow around her head. Heather was dead.
Even through the blinding pain of his head, Eli knew it was bad. He had watched in horror as his sister’s face had grown alarmingly red. Her eyes grew wider and wider. His mother seemed frozen in shock until Heather hit the floor. That broke the spell, and Lara was kneeling by her daughter the next instant.
Eli instinctively yelled, “I’ll get help,” and ran quickly from the kitchen out the door and over to Hunter’s house. He didn’t bother knocking; he just ran in the side door of the Massey’s house.
Mrs. Massey was washing vegetables in the kitchen sink. She whirled around quickly when Eli burst into the room.
“Eli, what…,” she began.
“Hurry! It’s Heather! My mom needs help!” He kept running through the house to find Hunter. His eyes wide with fear, he flew into his friend’s room.
Hunter had been lying on his bed and nursing his sick stomach, but was instantly alert when he laid eyes on Eli. Eli was frantic.
“It’s this thing!” He yelled at Hunter holding up the backpack. “It’s a curse or something! Hunter, it just killed Heather!”
Hunter’s face was incredulous as he tried to comprehend what Eli had said. “What do you mean it killed Heather? What happened, Eli? What was in the box? What’s wrong with Heather?” His heart was pounding in his chest.
Eli fell onto Hunter’s bed and started sobbing.
“I don’t know what it is! It’s just a rock! I don’t understand it! I threw it in the backpack and was on my way over here. Mom and Heather were in the kitchen fighting and, and,” he had to stop a minute to catch his breath.
Hunter reached for the trash can and once again started to heave the contents of his stomach.
After a moment, Eli was more in control. “It’s like it just stopped her, Hunter,” Eli continued in a soft voice. Still sniffling, he said, “One second she was yelling at Mom and me and the next second she was on the floor. It was so fast. It just stopped her,” he repeated.
He looked at the backpack in his hands. “I know it’s this rock. It has to be, because the box is still on my bed. My head is killing me. You started to heave the second I came into the room with this thing.” Eli looked at Hunter through his tears and said, “It kills people.”
“That’s it,” Hunter said, angry now. “Give me that thing. What is it, anyway?”
“Like I said, just a rock. It just looks like a rock. I don’t know what it is,” Eli responded expressionless.
Hunter was putting on his shoes . “Go home, help your mom. I’m taking this thing back to the hell hole it came from. Give it to me.”
Eli handed the backpack to Hunter who immediately choked back another dry heave. Throwing the backpack over his shoulder, Hunter flew out of his room and ran out of the house.
CHAPTER 16
Clara & Hansen
Clara had been having a pretty good week. The football team was having extra practices in preparation for playoffs, so Hansen was busy after school until late. That, coupled with Clara helping her mom and Mrs. Port pick up and deliver meals to Darren’s house, had meant that she hadn’t seen Hansen since Sunday. She thought it was a really nice break.
That day at school was no exception. She really didn’t have to see him very much between classes because there was very little time and after school she would be helping Ms. Leezil grade papers. “Just lunch,” she thought. “Make it through lunch and you’re home free.”
She grabbed her sack lunch from her locker and made her way to the cafeteria. Angie walked with her. Angie was chatting about how Joe was going to get to play more now that Darren was sitting out the next football game. Clara had been sad to learn of Mr. Jackson’s death. She liked Mr. and Mrs. Jackson – she thought they were nice. Darren scared her a little, though, because he was always so serious.
She and Angie found seats at the popular table next to Emily and Destiny. They were talking about Halloween costumes for Emily’s party. Clara tried to be excited about the party, but the fact that she would be stuck with Hansen all night didn’t excite her much.
Hansen and his cronies came in a few minutes later all amped up on some unseen testosterone high. Hansen went right to the cafeteria line and pushed a random kid out of his way. He grabbed a tray and, barking orders at the cafeteria ladies, went down the line. With looks of loathing on their faces, they served up what he wanted.
Clara inwardly groaned. “Why, why, why, does he have to act like that? What a jerk,” she thought. She tried to eat quickly, so she could maybe make an excuse and leave. It was in vain, though. The next minute he was squeezing his bulky way onto the bench beside her.
“Hey, Babe. Did ya miss me?” He said and leaned over to try and kiss her.
She fake giggled and turned her head away from him acting like she had a mouthful of food. Hansen decided he didn’t like to be denied in front of an audience. He grabbed the back of her blonde hair and forced her head toward him. He repeated maliciously and slowly, “I said, Hey, Babe. Did ya miss me?” and smashed his lips onto hers.
Clara was surprised. She knew he could be a jerk, but he never had been to her. He certainly had never laid a hand on her before this. She kissed him back dutifully and vowed that the kiss would be the last he would ever get from her. She could put up with his stupid and mean actions toward other people if it meant securing her popularity, but there was no way she would let him turn that meanness in her direction.
As soon as he released her hair, she started gathering up the rest of her uneaten lunch. She had caught Mr. Just’s eye as he stood monitoring by the cafeteria door. That had given her an idea. She wo
uld tell everyone that she was supposed to take a make-up quiz for his class, but before she could make her excuses, Hansen had decided that the lunchroom was too quiet. He and his goons had chosen a victim and were busy emptying packets of ketchup into a milk carton.
Clara, about to serve her freshly prepared lie, rose from the table when Hansen grabbed her arm – hard. “Sit down, Babe. You’re not going anywhere until you see my latest show.” He pulled her arm down forcing Clara to sit.
The poor kid across the room never knew what hit him. Clara didn’t know his name, but she had smiled at him in the hall. She thought he looked nice. Hansen launched the ketchup filled carton in a perfect arc that caught the poor schmuck directly in the back of the head. The carton burst open and the ketchup splattered him from his head down the length of his back.
Hansen and his crew busted out laughing as the rest of the students in the cafeteria looked in horror at the boy soaked in the red sauce. No one else seemed to think it was funny.
Mr. Just was beside Hansen in an instant. “Get up and get to the office!” He yelled. His face was full of fury. “NOW!”
Hansen started to open his mouth and spew some kind of lie, but Mr. Just knew him too well. “Hansen Reynolds,” he said with a steely tone. “If you don’t get to the office now, I am going straight to Coach Ripley and telling him that you are off the team. Move.”
Hansen seemed to take Mr. Just’s threat seriously and got his wide load off the bench. Giving Mr. Just a “No harm done, Dude” look, he sidled past him and out of the cafeteria.
By then, the laughter from Hansen’s table had subsided and the guy (Jeremy, Clara learned later) was being helped by friends to clean up. Mr. Martin, the Counselor was on his way over to Jeremy’s table, too.
Mr. Just looked at the other guys at Hansen’s table and said, “You’re just as guilty; detention for each one of you for the rest of this week.” The guys shifted their eyes around trying hard not to look at him. They weren’t so brave without the main instigator around.