by Sergio Gomez
They’d stayed and played games. Air hockey, skee-ball, the basketball game, some of the chance games, and so on. It was only a pseudo date because his little brother Oliver was there, and Jamie played some fighting games with him fora while. In between games they talked and laughed and caught up with one another.
She didn’t want it to end because she hadn’t been on a date in two months, and that one hadn’t been that great. She’d gone to the movies with an older boy from out of town named Miles, but it had been nothing like hanging out with Jamie. Nothing like tonight.
Now they were outside, watching the sun set over Dutch County.
Jamie sent Oliver into the truck ahead of them, so it was just them two sitting on the curb in front of Lou’s.
“I’m guessing none of that was overtime,” Jamie grinned.
Sam laughed. “Nope. Not at all.”
“Drats, thought we pulled one over on Lou.”
Sam leaned into him, bumping his shoulder with hers. “You owe me a real date, though.”
“Jeez. I can’t pull one over on anyone, huh?” Jamie laughed.
“Ha-ha, funny guy.”
“We’ll go on a real one. Promise.”
“You better mean it.”
“I do.”
“And, you better not pull your disappearing trick and leave town tomorrow or something.”
She shot him an icy glare that was playful, but he knew there was a layer of seriousness underneath the joke.
“I ain’t going anywhere until after Thanksgiving. Don’t you worry your pretty little head,” Jamie said, putting his arm around her waist. It felt right somehow.
They didn’t have much time to get comfortable because a sedan’s headlights flooded the parking lot as it drove toward them.
“That your pops?” Jamie said, moving his arm away from her.
Samantha nodded as they both got up.
The white sedan stopped in front of them, and Donovan McCourty poked his head out of the window and waved. “Jamie Harper, that you, son?”
“It is indeed, sir,” Jamie said.
“Welcome back. And thanks for serving, too.”
Jamie saluted him.
“You hear for a long time?”
“Until Thanksgiving, at least.”
He nodded, then said to Sam, “Hurry it up, I want to make it back before halftime is over.”
“Sixers?” Jamie asked.
“Yep. They’re up twenty.”
Jamie gave him a thumbs-up. Though he didn’t watch sports, he pretended to keep up with them to get in good with girls’ fathers. That’d been a trick he learned early on when he started dating. Oldheads could yap on and on about sports and stats, and if you could yap some back to them, they would take a liking to you.
Sam hugged him one last time, and then stood on her tiptoes to peck him on the lips. “You better call me, Jamie Harper.”
“I will,” Jamie said. “Now hurry up. Your dad has important matters to attend to.”
She laughed and then went into the passenger side of the car. Donovan McCourty hit the horn as he backed out, and Jamie waved to both of them before heading back to Big Bob’s tow truck.
A fight.
A rekindling of an old flame.
A night out with his little brother.
What a return.
In that moment, there was no possible way for him to predict how much more the town had to welcome him back with.
No one could have predicted, really.
Chapter 19
Raymond had come back from downtown with an overstuffed brown bag from the Theater Store. He set it down on the coffee table.
Lucas still sat on the window sill, given that he didn’t have enough strength to do anything else. He did, however, have enough strength to turn himself around to watch what Raymond was doing.
Raymond pulled out two masks, one of a rabbit and the other of a gray alien with big blue eyes like a fruit fly’s. “Which one?”
“The rabbit one,” Lucas said.
“They surprisingly didn’t have many options. I guess after Halloween season they don’t really stock up their masks. It was one of these two or a masquerade mask.”
“Do you think, Father, that the people at the store will know it’s you when you rid this world of Bob Harper?”
Raymond shrugged. “There probably isn’t much to worry about. I’m sure these masks are sold all over Dutch County—and I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s bought one around here. Besides, if all goes right, no one will see the mask.”
“Father, you may need that mask sooner than we thought.”
Raymond stopped. “What’re you saying?”
“A panic entered into Oliver earlier while you were out shopping,” Lucas said. “The connection wasn’t strong enough for me to completely read his thoughts, but it was enough for me to sense that the boy is in danger.”
It was true. The thoughts had mostly cleared from Oliver Harper’s mind, but they still weighed on his subconscious. Lucas could read that, but again, the thoughts were obscured to him.
All he could gather was that the disturbance was caused from something they needed to eradicate—just as much as they needed to eradicate Bob Harper from his life.
Only, this one might be a more immediate threat. It was strange, because to Lucas it seemed to have manifested out of nowhere, but now it was more worrisome than the boy’s father.
In fact, whatever it was, seemed to be here in the neighborhood. Lucas could feel a danger waiting, threatening to ruin Lucas’ only chance at truly coming alive.
“Father, we need to act fast. I think the boy might already be in trouble.” Lucas swiveled back around to look out into the street, but he couldn’t see anything. It was too dark.
The edge in his son’s voice made Raymond worried. “What do you mean? Something’s out there?”
“Yes,” Lucas said. “But I don’t know what.”
As he headed upstairs to his bedroom, Raymond called down to Lucas, “I’m going to change and head on out.”
Chapter 20
The troubling feeling Lucas sensed was coming from Jarod waiting to attack Jamie and Oliver. The tow truck wasn’t in the driveway. They weren’t back yet. That was fine. Jarod was willing to wait.
He’d ditched the Ford at the bottom of a gulley at the front of the neighborhood because he didn’t want risk Jamie recognizing his car. That would fuck this whole thing up.
The gun bounced around in the pocket of his sweatshirt as he walked toward the Harper house. It felt heavier now that it was loaded and minutes away from being drawn and aimed at someone.
The thought made him laugh. He couldn’t wait to see that asshole’s face change from having a fun night out with his retard little brother to fear and terror when his life was being threatened.
He was banking on Jamie’s old ass parents being asleep at this hour, or their hearing being too shitty to hear someone trespassing into their property. If they did come out to stop him, he’d have to threaten them with the gun back inside the house or something.
Jarod hadn’t really thought this through, but that didn’t matter. He had the gun, which meant he had all the power in this.
He reached into his pocket to touch the gun. The cool metal felt good against his skin.
The Harper Brothers were feeling pretty good about the night. The arcades had been a blast, the radio was playing a pop song with a fun beat neither one knew the name of, the weather was just nice enough that the windows on the truck could be cracked open to let some of the crisp Fall air in.
But Oliver’s mind kept turning back to the question burning in his mind. He’d managed to put it away, to keep it from ruining the night with his brother. Now, it was all he could think about.
They were stopped at a red light. Jamie was looking out the window at the small strip mall at the side of the road. As much as Dutch County was the same as it had been a year ago, there were also differences here and there that c
aught his attention, like the comic book shop with the giant Superman decal on its window. That was new to him.
The pop song came to an end and the jockey came on to blabber about a new clothing line by a celebrity.
Oliver coughed to clear his throat, then said, “Jamie, you ever been in the tunnel at Lake Myers?”
Jamie looked over at him with a big grin on his face, eyeing Oliver up. “Yeah, I know that spot. Why? You been going there or something?”
“One of my friends showed me—Tommy Marino, remember him?”
“Yeah,” Jamie laughed. “I remember his brother more, though. Pauly Marino. He still alive?”
Oliver shrugged. “I guess. Never see him around. Anyway. The tunnel, Jamie. Tommy Marino said some girls did a witch ritual there a long time ago.”
“People are always doing all sorts of weird shit in there, yeah.”
“You think it’s true?”
“What? That some weirdo girls were playing around in there and did some witch stuff? Sure.”
The red light turned green and Jamie hit the gas.
“Supposedly it summoned up some spirit over the town.”
“Like the Jersey Devil, but the Dutch County Devil?”
Twist couldn’t help but laugh. “Yeah, when you put it like that, I guess it is silly.”
“Lots of weird stuff goes down in that tunnel, though. Mostly kids go there to make out, but I heard something about Pauly Marino.”
Oliver’s eyes grew big. “About Tommy’s brother?”
“Yup.” Jamie glanced at him, then said, “Heard Pauly took a girl down there to pee on her.”
“Ew.”
Twist was too grossed out by the thought of that to speak and sat there in stunned silence, while Jamie laughed his head off.
“Hey, Twist, don’t try to figure it out. I don’t even get it.”
Twist shook himself and joined his brother in the laughter.
After that died off, Jamie said, “But no, seriously. Lots of weird things go on in that tunnel. Everyone always says they feel some sense of something in there. That’s why we—” He looked over at his little brother, who wasn’t so little anymore.
Oliver was starting to lose the baby fat in his face, and his shoulders were broader than he’d remembered them being. The glimpses of the young man he’d transform into in the next two years were beginning to surface. Jamie decided he was old enough to hear this now, and if he was going to get this kind of talk from anyone, he wanted it to be from him.
“That’s why you what?” Twist asked.
“That’s why we took girls down there when we wanted to get them in the mood to fool around. They felt like they were surrounded by ghosts or some shit. Made them want to snuggle up close to you and what not.”
“You think there could actually be ghosts there, then?”
“If my first year in the Army taught me anything, it’s that we live in a crazy world, Ollie. I’d say anything is possible.”
Twist didn’t respond.
A few minutes of silence passed, and Jamie looked over at him to make sure he hadn’t fallen asleep. “That a good enough answer?”
“Yeah,” Twist said.
“Why’d you ask about that, anyway? You guys go down there recently?”
“Yeah, with some friends today.”
“And? What’d you think?”
“Kind of a spooky feeling, like you said.”
“Yeah, it’s certainly the strangest place I’ve been to in this town,” Jamie said.
Jamie turned the tow truck off Ridge Avenue onto Dudley Street. The street was as quiet as the two boys inside the truck.
The lights on the houses were the only sign that there was any life on the street, because not a single person was outside, not a single car drove down it. It was a regular night on Dudley Street, and it made Jamie realize he’d taken it for granted all his life.
It beat waking to explosions going off in the middle of the night in the desert, that was for sure.
Chapter 21
In 1418 Dudley Street, Jack, Maria, and Scott were deep into their movie marathon. The volume was turned all the way up on the surround sound, the candy plentiful, the popcorn popped. Movie night was a go, with not a care in the world between them at the moment.
Thoughts of the tunnel were gone from Jack’s mind.
Scott wasn’t worried about starting a new job on Monday.
Maria wasn’t worried about the drop off in tips at the diner.
They were bonding, growing closer as a family—however makeshift it was—and turning this house into a home.
Down the street, Tatyana Bobkin was in a deep slumber because her alarm clock would ring in about four hours for her to get up for her night shift at the hotel. Anything short of the house being on fire wasn’t going to wake her.
Gina was downstairs at the kitchen table, wearing her big headphones and listening to Britney Spears while doodling in a sketchpad, far enough away from the living room so Anya couldn’t annoy her, but close enough to keep a watch on her at the same time.
It was too late in the night to go out finding other neighborhood kids. So, drawing fantasy towns was how she was going to spend her night until she grew sleepy and went upstairs.
In 1417, Bob Harper was fast asleep already, because the pain medication he’d gotten from the doctor put him in a deep slumber the minute he swallowed the pills.
Wilma was crocheting some chicken decorations to hang in the kitchen, and occasionally glanced up at the television to get the evening reports from Larry King. She had cookies in the oven that her mind turned to occasionally. Bob had gotten her a new timer, but still. There was nothing like your own judgment when it came to trying new recipes.
Oliver was out with Jamie, so that was one less concern for her. Jamie was old enough, an Army solider even, and so she didn’t have to worry about them.
She could relax and crotchet while the nightly news provided the house with some background noise.
If she would have peeked out of the window and saw what was coming down her driveway, her concerns would have shifted to her boys.
Chapter 22
Just as he thought, the old folks in the house were too old to realize he was out here. There hadn’t even been a stir inside the house that suggested they might have heard him walking into their yard.
Jarod got into position, behind some hedges at the side of the house closest to the driveway. They shielded him from being seen pretty good; you’d have to know what you were looking for to spot him. At the same time, there was enough space between the gaps of the branches that he could see down the driveway.
He hid there, and had to stifle a giggle as the tow truck pulled up. The two brothers looked happy, even with the lumps on their faces and the black eye Twist had.
But he was about to wipe the happiness off their faces.
Jarod watched as Jamie turned the ignition off. That was his cue to start moving. He got up from his crouch, touching the front pocket of his sweatshirt just to make sure the gun was still there. It was.
He reached in and grabbed it, ready to draw it out. Ready to put it in Jamie’s face and watch him piss or crap his pants. Or better yet, maybe he’d get a double hitter and he’d do both.
Jarod shuffled out of the shadows and into the porch light’s radiance as the two boys were climbing out of the truck. They weren’t aware of him yet, they were laughing about something.
It pissed him off. He drew the gun out, and didn’t know what else to say so he said, “Hey!”
Jamie turned around, and saw it was Jarod. The side of his face was swelled up, like he was trying to store nuts in his cheeks for the winter. His long red hair was a mess on his head as usual, but there was something in his eyes that was different. It made Jamie freeze.
His eyes slid down to what he was holding in his hands, and Jamie felt ice shoot through his veins. “Whoa, man.”
Behind him, he heard Oliver coming around the truck, into
harm’s way.
“Ollie, stay back!” he shouted.
His warning was too late, though. Jarod shifted his aim over at him and told him not to move.
Twist froze between the garage door and the front of the car.
“Come on, man,” Jamie said, putting his hand out, “you don’t want to take it to this level. It was just a scuffle—”
“Shut the fuck up, Harper,” Jarod spat. He raised the gun up, pointing it at Jamie’s head.
“Let’s just talk this out,” Jamie said. “Look, at least let Twist go. He had nothing to do with this.”
“Bull fucking shit. Poochie is in the hospital right now because of him.”
Jamie saw Jarod’s knuckles going white with how hard he was clutching the gun. He was probably minutes away from his breaking point—the point where he’d either come to his senses and put the gun down or shoot at him.
Jamie took in a deep breath. If it came to the latter, his only chance would be that Jarod’s aim was as bad as his ability to keep a girl.
“You’re scared, huh, you little bitch?” Jarod taunted, laughing.
“You’re making a huge mistake.”
Jarod moved the gun back over to Twist. “Maybe I should shoot him first? Watch you cry before I kill you.”
“Leave him out of this Jarod.” Jamie tried to keep his voice stern, tried to make it sound more like a command than a plea. He wasn’t sure if it worked.
“Eeny, meeny, miny, mo,” he sang as he aimed the barrel of the gun between them, “Shoot a Harper in the toe.”
The gun stopped on Jamie. The panic that had rang through him slowed, though it didn’t disappear. “Come on, Jarod. Put the gun down and we’ll squash this out like men.”
“You’re such a pussy, Harper. Always were.”
Keep him talking, keep him talking. His basic training instructor’s voice rang through his mind. As long as they’re talking they aren’t shooting.