Evil Heights, Book III: Lost and Found

by Michael Swanson

  "Who?” Lee was so rattled, he asked without thinking.

  Phoebe pointed, locking her elbow as she stretched out her arm. “You. Who else? The hundred other people on this river?"

  "Yeah?” Lee came back. “And who with?"

  From her expression he could see he had her.

  "I guess by yourself,” Phoebe came back, again interested in watching her toes.

  "That wouldn't be any fun,” Lee replied, sure he had her now.

  "You got friends don't you? You told me about that one friend, Ronnie."

  Lee gave her a questioning squint, “A couple of guys out runnin’ around naked together at night? That doesn't seem weird to you?” He said this, but at the same time he was thinking, Art would probably be up for it for sure.

  Phoebe nodded. “Yeah, I guess when you put it like that, it does sound a little strange. I guess it's different being a girl. When we have sleep overs we even take baths together and all that.” She gave him a squint of her own. “I doubt y'all guys do that?"

  Lee laughed, breaking the tension the little argument about his night sportin’ with the boys had raised. “Yeah, it's a little different with guys. We don't take baths together. We don't do each other's hair either.” He wasn't about to tell her about Art's penchant for mooning, and even worse, his love of masturbating where everyone could see. In his mind he preferred to dwell on thinking about what it would be like if he could ever convince Phoebe to give him a night sportin’ lesson some time. Then in almost the next heartbeat, he realized he didn't think he'd like to try it out on Seminole road at night, not even with Phoebe.

  CHAPTER NINE: LOST AND FOUND

  Phoebe spun about to look downstream and pointed to a rusty railroad trestle, which had just come into view around a bend, looming ahead a hundred yards or so downstream. “Does that go into the rail yard?"

  Lee happened to not be facing downstream, but he didn't really need to look. “Yeah. The rail line used to be the main way in and out of the valley fifty years ago. But they haven't used that bridge for anything in at least ten years, maybe more."

  Spanning the river was the PS&Y rail yard trestle. It was a typical boxy steel frame suspension bridge like thousands of others found throughout the Southland. The rusty, riveted girders were layered with decades of graffiti, the only paint the decomposing relic had seen in many a year. Amongst the messages, the largest and most visible warned the world, in a bright red that: “Jimbo Sucks.” And in a runny, greenish-yellow, all future high school classes were warned: “SRS ‘52 Rule.” Lee's favorite, a long one done in a mustardy-yellow along the bottom girder simply read: “Whatever."

  "Did they blast out the cut in the cliffs?” Phoebe was looking about for more rocks in the water, perhaps thinking they were about to come across another version of the Chutes. There were a few of the massive boulders sprinkled throughout the river here, but nothing like what they'd experienced up stream.

  "No, it's natural. They say the Indians used to come through here. People find arrowheads and stuff around here all the time."

  Phoebe measured with her eyes the twenty or thirty feet between the river level and the rust and graffiti spattered span. “I guess the Indians had to jump."

  "I think the river level was different back then,” Lee came back. “I'm not sure. But folks say the railroad followed along the same old trail from way back."

  "Do people ever jump off the bridge?” Phoebe's eyes brightened at the aspect of more adventure. “It looks like it'd be fun."

  "Only if they want to die,” Lee replied. “Some drunk teenagers tried it a couple of years ago and one guy broke both his legs. There's a big, shallow gravel bar stretching across the river through here.” Lee pointed ahead to the quick little, silvery ripples skittering across the surface of the water under the bridge. “It's really pretty shallow all through there."

  Phoebe put her head back and just languished.

  Lee let his eyes roam up from the tips of the cracked pink polish on her toes, following up along her calves and thighs, past the creases from her legs along the edges of the polka dots bikini bottoms. His gaze crept upward over her flat tummy, past her tightly pinched navel, hesitating for a bit around the hint of exposed curves filling out the top edges of her polka dot top, then up her neck, and finally to her face, with its peaceful smile and blissfully closed eyes.

  Her eyes came open, catching him staring.

  She sat up. “What're you looking at, buster? Thinking about night sportin’ are we?"

  Lee was embarrassed; still he managed some composure. “Just seeing what the guy back up on the bank was so interested in."

  "That creepy bean counter?” She cast a quick glance back up stream. “He did look like someone out of a Vincent Price movie."

  Lee absently cupped some water with his hand and splashed it on the tube to cool it off. “He never paid me any attention at all. Didn't you notice?"

  "Well, all I know is I just caught you giving me the once over. I did, didn't I?"

  Lee couldn't read her expression; was she angry? He couldn't tell.

  Glaring at him, Phoebe put her palm down on an exposed section of the tube and quickly jerked her hand back. “Hot!"

  "Splash some water on it.” Lee saw this as an opportunity to escape and paddled over with his feet, kicking up a wake like a motorboat until their tubes bumped. “Here, let me."

  He splashed a little water on the hot, black rubber. They were suddenly right up next to each other, knees touching, all alone, drifting.

  Silence came in from all around.

  "What were you thinking,” Phoebe asked, her face still enigmatic. “You know, just then, while you were looking at me?"

  Lee had to swallow, suddenly conscious of just how close they were.

  "I bet I know,” she gave him the sly eye. “But you gotta say it."

  "Well, I don't—"

  Her look had suddenly become so playful, she couldn't have possibly been aware that she was scaring the beejesus out of him.

  She cocked her head. “You got to say it if you want something."

  "I,” Lee found a stammer in his throat. “I ... I ... I was thinking, just now, you know, I'd, if you don't mind, I'd kinda like another ... kiss.” He finally managed to choke out the last word; now suddenly unaware it was he who was concentrating on his toes.

  "You are just too cute.” Phoebe reached out with her limp wristed palm and pushed him on the shoulder. “You shouldn't ask a girl. You should just do it."

  He looked up. “I guess you do owe me,” he said.

  She cocked an elbow on the side of the tube. “What are you talking about? How do I owe you?"

  Lee's grin spread out. “When we were playing tag out in your front lawn the other day. Remember, I caught you?"

  "Oh,” she said drawing it out slowly. “That's right. You did, didn't you?"

  Lee looked around again, nervous.

  She lowered her head and glanced up at him with just the tops of her eyes. “Well? What are you looking around for? There's nobody out here."

  His stomach in his throat, Lee scooted on his tube trying to find some way to get in close enough and maintain his balance. Phoebe didn't seem to be helping sitting as she was. Awkwardly settling in, his arms locked to either side, he leaned in and kissed her, closing his eyes and trying to hold the tubes together. Even here, out on the river, he could smell that faint trace of baby powder, which lingered close to her skin. Pushing in closer as the tubes began to move apart, his hand lost its grip on the rubber. Slipping out suddenly, he fell to the side and went crashing down, face first into the river.

  Sputtering, he came up to the sound of Phoebe laughing and clapping. When she saw his face she abruptly stopped the laughing and clapping, but the shine in her eyes was as bright as ever.

  Feeling as embarrassed as he could, Lee flung himself out of the water and back into the tube.

  When he was again facing her, Phoebe crossed her arms as though she was angry
and said, “So you'd rather kiss a fish than me, huh?"

  Lee paddled over, but she maintained her distance fending him off with her feet.

  "Aw come on, Phoebe,” he pleaded. “I slipped is all."

  She crossed her arms. “One catch, one kiss."

  She had him and he knew it.

  They lazed along until they arrived under the old PS&Y railroad trestle. Looking up from below, the parallel lines of the tracks ran down the middle of the bridge, and every square inch of the bottom of the steel framework seemed to be plastered over with globs of brown, the residue from untold generations of empty mud dauber's nests.

  Hanging out of his tube so that he was on his stomach and his legs were in the water, he could feel the gravelly bottom suddenly make contact with his toes. Realizing that he could touch down here a plan formed in his mind. The water wasn't any deeper than his chest. Letting go of his tube, he acted like he was treading water. “Come on in. The water's great."

  Phoebe must have suspected something. She pushed off from one of the concrete support pilings to let the sluggish current take her to the other side from where Lee was.

  He dog paddled around the piling, hoping for a good opportunity to tip her over.

  Phoebe pointed. “There goes your tube."

  Lee looked downstream, surprised at the distance the errant tube had achieved. It wasn't that the water was moving so fast, but that it had been caught by the persistent downstream breeze. It had scooted away maybe twenty yards in just this brief span.

  This time, not even thinking about showing off, he dug into the water. Lee could hear Phoebe laughing as she hollered, “Go boy! Go!"

  He got to the tube and pulled himself in. Phoebe had been caught behind in the almost nonexistent current of the eddy of the last pilings and was at least fifty yards behind. He waved to her, as he was about to go around the next bend. The last thing he saw before the bank obscured his view was Phoebe paddling, flinging water behind as she tried to catch up.

  Immediately, his plans changed to take advantage of the new situation. Spying a long gravel bar over along the right bank he tried paddling for it, but since the going was too slow, he slid out of the tube and hooked his arm through, towing it behind like a red cross rescue as he swam. When he got to the bar he looked back and saw that Phoebe hadn't rounded the bend. He ran up on the little peninsula formed by a myriad of river gravel and smoothly, polished rocks, which had been piled up out of the river during high water. Looking quickly, lest any second Phoebe come around the bend, he stashed his tube behind a clump of bedraggled bushes. The scraggly brush was almost leafless, but was adorned with shreds of dried newspaper and tattered strips of bleached cloth, snagged and left behind by a previous rise in the river.

  Looking back up river quickly, his heart beat even faster as Phoebe still had not rounded the bend. Selecting a green branch, which still had a few leaves, he twisted it free and ran back into the water, splashing until he lost his footing and fell in. Holding the branch, like a dog in his teeth, he swam out to a rock near midstream and grabbed on. He would have liked it better if he'd been able to touch down, but the current must have scoured out the riverbed behind the rock and when he felt down with his toes there was nothing there except the swirl of the colder bottom current.

  Not a moment too soon he held the branch up imitating a snag, just as Phoebe rounded the bend. If he hadn't been so involved just to hang on, he could have burst out laughing at the scene she presented. She was paddling furiously, her polka dots jiggling up and down with the effort. She would have obviously expected to see Lee, once she'd come around the rocks, and the surprise at seeing nothing but open water registered as shock on her pretty, flushed pink face.

  She quit paddling and let her arms dangle in the water, her ponytail swiveling about from side to side as she scanned the banks. She looked right at his rock, and Lee was glad he'd thought to grab the branch as she surely would have seen him if he hadn't had it up in front of his face.

  Cupping her hands to her mouth she called out, “Lee! Lee, where are you!"

  She was drifting in closer now. The current was just right. He held on more tightly and braced his feet against the rock.

  "Lee!” she yelled, sitting up as high as she could and still maintain her balance.

  Her tube was coming up to his rock, now only about five feet away. He let go of the branch and went under, pushing off of the rock with all the strength in his legs. Opening his eyes in the murky, green water and stretching out with each stroke, he caught a glimpse of the white soles of her feet dangling in front the of darker circle of the tube. The polka dots were visible in the center. Ignoring the polka dots, though it was tempting, he tickled her toes.

  Even though he was under water, he heard her panicked scream, and the feet flew up out of the water. Next it was the polka dots turn, as he was running out of breath. Just the right pinch using his fingernails on a soft part of the fabric, rewarded him with another scream from above. His air almost gone he pulled up using her tube and roared, shaking his head and splashing water everywhere.

  Phoebe shrieked, kicking and thrashing.

  At the top of his extension, Lee rose out of the water like an enraged reptile. He grabbed on as he came back down, pulling the tube and the frantic girl over with him as he went back under.

  Polka dots and arms and legs were going everywhere. Luck entered on the side of vengeance, and Phoebe planted a foot into Lee's stomach, obviously leading her to think she'd just kicked the alligator.

  Lee came up sputtering having swallowed some water.

  "You!” she screamed. “I thought you'd drowned!” She grabbed on to her tube for support. “I'll kill you!"

  Lee couldn't mistake her fury, bringing to mind a quick variation of another quote from school: “Hell hath no fury like a woman scared."

  Lee swam for his life back to the gravel bar with Phoebe hot on his heels. She had hooked her arm in her tube and was dragging it behind her, kicking as madly as she could and hurling threats while gulping for air.

  Lee held up his hands defensively and got low as she came walking up out of the water. Fire in her eyes, she shook the tube at him. Out of breath, she growled, “You think that's funny, huh?"

  "Come on Phoebe,” he attempted a laugh, “It was just a joke.

  She threw the tube at him.

  Lee blocked it with his arms. “Come on, you should have seen your face.” He raised his hands up like a bear and growled playfully, “Rarrrrr!"

  Phoebe went for him with a roar of her own.

  Lee went down under the onslaught, covering his head and falling into a ball on the sandy gravel.

  Phoebe landed on top of him and straddling him, started tickling anywhere she could.

  Lee would cover his ribs, and she'd go for his armpits. He'd cover an armpit only to have her punch him in the stomach.

  "Help!” he yelled, though there was no rescue for miles. “She's killing me!"

  "How do you like that Mr. Alligator?” She dug her thumb into his ribs. “Sneak up and scare people will you?"

  Lee curled up and lay still in a ball, so she sat on him.

  Triumphant, she looked down. “I bet you won't be trying that one again."

  He shook his head.

  She held up a fist. “Will ya?"

  He shook his head again.

  She got up off him and raised her arms to the sky turning around. “Winner, and still champion, alligator slayer, Phoebe!” She beat her hands on her chest and yodeled like Tarzan.

  Lee pulled himself to his feet and began slapping off pieces of pebbles and sand that had stuck to his skin.

  "Did I hurt you?” She pouted and spoke exactly as though she was talking to Evie. “Poor little alligator."

  He shook gravel out of his hair.

  She softened right before his eyes helping to brush some sand from his shoulder. “I didn't mean to get so rough, but you scared the livin’ daylights out of me. Where'd you come from anywa
y?"

  "The depths,” he replied, using his creepy Boris Karloff voice.

  "Well don't do it again,” she admonished, ceasing brushing the sand and waggling her finger in his face.

  Something glistening just in back of Phoebe caught his eye. It was intensely bright, beaming him like a mirror reflecting the sun. Whatever it was, it was caught in the muddy roots of a tree stump upended on the gravel bar. “What's that?” Distracted, he came around Phoebe, and walked over, kneeling down to pluck the thing out of a gnarled clump of wood.

  "A chunk of quartz,” Phoebe appraised, as he held it up. “We've got lots of that stuff around Gatlinburg."

  "No! Look at this!” He ran his finger along one edge. “It's sharp."

  He walked over to the water and squatted down, submerging the clot of mud and stone, rubbing briskly to clean off the dried clay.

  "It's a spearhead!” Lee jumped up and spun about holding it out for Phoebe to see. “Look! It's too big to be an arrowhead."

  "Ooh, let me see,” she rushed over and cupped his hands in hers. “Oh, that is beautiful."

  "Can you believe it?” Lee was so excited. “I just looked over, and there it was. Over in those roots."

  "It looks like new,” she said admiringly, twisting it, so its worked facets caught the sun. “How old do you think it is?"