by Billy Dering
Kid smirked. “Brian is probably still going down there.”
For a long minute they both stared out from the edge of the continent. The ocean loomed before them like a massive audience in a large dark auditorium.
“I recognize that one,” she noted. Kid turned to her, uncertain what she was referring to.
Sara brushed his long, brown hair off of his shoulder and face. His cheekbones, which everyone described as prominent, were numb to the casual petting of her gloved hand. She finally clarified, “You were humming a song, that new one you were working on. I think you called it ‘Angels Never Cry’.”
“Sorry. I didn’t even realize I was humming it.”
“Sorry? Don’t be sorry. I love that one. I know you are working on getting your business degree, but I just hope you finally give music a shot. You’ve really got it in you. I see it and feel it. So does Bull the Bouncer and he sees bands all the time.”
Kid smirked. “Love that guy.” Bull was the big, Greek bouncer who guarded the door at the Stone Pony music club in Asbury Park. Over the summer, Kid played there a few times and was featured on the holograph circuit. His band, Airstrip One, was on stage in New Jersey, but with the holograph technology, it appeared as if they were concurrently playing live in several clubs around the country. The quality of the image was stunning. Kid’s cousin in Virginia had gone to a club in Richmond to see Airstrip One and said the hologram was so vivid that the band members looked more real than half of the live patrons in attendance. But Kid and the Greek bouncer had become fast friends, and for Airstrip One’s second gig, Bull ran on stage and introduced Kid as, ‘the Jersey Shore’s next musical legend.’
“Thanks Sara, but even if someone really has the music in them, that alone doesn’t guarantee success.”
“But you have such a conviction for it. And you’ll never know if you don’t give it a shot.”
“True. Wait, I have conviction?” he asked. “How many full academic scholarship offers did you pass up to follow your dream?”
He was transfixed by her hazel eyes. They, along with her full, red lips, were a perfect offset to her pale, yet somehow healthy-looking, skin. Her father, General Hyland, more than once had quipped that she could thank the Irish wing of the family for her fair complexion.
“Well, technically four.” Sara was majoring in Drama and Theatre at school in Maryland. Her number three class rank in high school had afforded her several academic scholarship opportunities, but she remained guided by her love of the arts. When she wasn’t acting or performing, she was painting.
“But you have to pursue what makes you passionate.” Leaning up and bridging the gap between her five-foot seven-inch frame and his six-foot frame, she planted a gentle kiss on his lips.
Under the pier, the embers in the fire sizzled and started blinking out.
Mike and Mark Norris, two stocky identical twins, finally returned after having left to go to the bathroom. They were accompanied by Mike’s girlfriend, Cathy Conroy.
Jess glanced up. “What took you guys so long?”
Mike was quick to point at his brother. “I told him not to eat that cheap burrito from the Quick-Fix.”
Turning to Cathy, Jess asked, “How do you put up with those two?”
She just smiled and looked away, reminding him of why Kid called her ‘Chatty Cathy.’ The girl hardly ever said a word. But Mike had told Jess in confidence that Cathy was quiet and socially awkward because she was physically and emotionally abused as a child.
The connection between Cathy and Mike made sense to Jess, because both Norris brothers were also abused, at least physically, by their father. The dad wanted his sons to be tough football players, and took it too far. Jess couldn’t count how many times both brothers came to football practice with bruises and cuts they did not get playing football for the school team.
“Alright, I’m freezing now.” Heidi stood up and stretched her five-foot-eight, slender frame. She rubbed her cheeks with her gloves and warm, visible breath shot out of her mouth in wisps.
Brian pointed. “And we went from two-foot waves to five-foot waves in just a few minutes.”
Jess turned to look and jumped to his feet. “Jesus! When did that change? We need to get out of here and fast.”
Chapter 2
December 26, 2044
Monday, 10:00 PM
New Jersey coast
The hour of the event
On top of the pier, Sara wrapped her arms around Kid’s neck. “Did you miss me this week?”
She had only spent three days at her grandparents’ place near Rutland, Vermont, but to him it seemed a lot longer.
“Hey guys!” Jess yelled up from below the pier, sounding grumpier than ever. “Kid, Sara, are you ready to go?”
“You were gone this week?” Kid whispered.
Sara smacked his shoulder and yelled, “We’re coming down Jess!”
Jess responded without hesitation, and his voice conveyed an urgency. “We need to move! The storm is coming in faster than we thought!”
Kid’s moment of humor dissipated as he peered out to sea. The horizon had been swallowed by a blackness that was rolling toward shore, devouring the gray sky in its path. He looked down over the rail. Ferocious, churning whitecaps roared in an angry cacophony. Right then, a frigid gust of wind whipped his face so hard that his teeth hurt. Closing his mouth and taking a deep inhale through his frozen nostrils, the characteristic scent of the sea penetrated enough to finally register, and reminded him of his grandfather’s freezer full of salted fish.
He actually felt some measure of relief that he was standing nose to nose with a storm. The earlier period of calm had been so deep, and so absolute, that it had not felt like a simple precursor to a weather event.
It had felt like a warning.
Kid and Sara hustled back under the pier. They had to stop short as the incoming tide almost kissed their shoes before it made a hasty retreat.
“Where’s Heidi?” Kid asked as he approached Maria.
She brushed her straight dark hair off her olive colored face. “Under the pier, over that way,” she said while pointing. “I think she wanted a few minutes to herself. Let’s go get her.” She wrapped her arm around Kid’s.
“And quick. You won’t want to be outside when this storm hits,” Jess grumbled. “And don’t you have work tomorrow morning?”
Maria shrugged. “Yeah, but no big deal. If I’m late, I’m late.”
Kid smirked. Maria was so aloof at times, and unfortunately that extended to most areas of her life, including work. She had not lasted at any job for more than six months. The only thing that kept her grounded in life was her autistic younger brother. She was his primary caretaker and was always there for him.
Sara turned and started folding up her beach chair.
“Want to come, Sara?” Maria held out her other arm.
“That’s alright. Y’all go. I’ll help out here.”
“I wouldn’t leave us alone. I’m a little tipsy.”
Sara smirked. “Just don’t leave any marks.”
Maria turned away laughing. As they walked, she said, “I love that girl. I’m glad Sara’s not insecure, like that last one you dated.”
Kid was also thankful that his long-time friendship with Maria wasn’t threatening to Sara. He was one of the first people Maria met after her family escaped her violent, alcoholic father and moved into town from southwest New Jersey. That was back in fourth grade when they were both nine years old. They had grown up akin to siblings, and their relationship had always been platonic.
“The last one I dated?” He turned to her. “What did you call her, the Prom Queen? Hey speaking of…”
“Stop there, Kid,” she warned.
He started laughing. “You could have been a Prom Queen. That is, if you didn’t threaten to kill anybody who voted for you.” His comment earned him an elbow to the midsection.
In all the years he had known Maria, senior prom was
the only time he could remember her getting dolled up to the hilt. Her dark hair was slightly curled and her make-up was applied to perfection. Kid, like every other person in the room, was awestruck. She seemed a bit uncomfortable wearing anything other than blue jeans, but she carried herself well for the entire event. He even approached her at the end of the night and asked in the most formal of tones as he bowed, “May I have this dance… beautiful lady?” Maria’s formal response was, “Sure… dirt-bag,” as she grabbed him by the tie and walked him out to the dance floor.
“My feet still hurt from those pumps I wore,” she said as they took a few steps back from the rising tide. “Speaking of Prom Queens…” She pointed to Heidi, who had her arm around a pillar and was staring out to sea. Waving a hand, Maria called over, “Hey, Miss Wander-Off! Come on. Time to go.”
After they hustled back to the vehicle, Kid climbed in and sat against the back door next to Sara. Jess and Maria were also in the back, sitting across from the Norris brothers and Chatty Cathy. They all had to cram in and sit on the floor since Brian had removed the back seat in preparation to transport some furniture the next day.
“Thought you guys ran away,” Kid said to Mike Norris.
“I almost did. You should have smelled the deuce he dropped in a hole in the sand,” he said as he pointed to his brother. Mark raised his middle finger.
Kid laughed. “Wait until some poor kid digs that up next summer. A souvenir from the Jersey Shore.”
“It couldn’t be worse than when Mark used to clear out the entire football locker room,” Jess said. Turning to Kid, he added, “You are lucky you stuck with baseball.”
“Maria, you are a piece of work,” Heidi blurted out from the front passenger seat while fastening her seatbelt. “Why do you always give people crazy nicknames? Tonight I am Miss Wander-Off. The other day I was Miss Priss, and just because I combed my hair?”
“No, you were Miss Priss because I had to repeat the same question three times since you were so preoccupied with that long, beautiful, blonde hair of yours. Anyway, I don’t know why I do what I do, and say what I say.” Maria turned to Kid and added, “Miss Analyst up there.”
Sara got on her knees and crawled forward. “Heidi, can you please hand me the gift-wrapped box that is in the glove compartment?”
Pulling it out, she muttered, “Pretty,” as she handed it back.
“Thanks. I have to open it soon. At 11:03 p.m. to be exact.” Heidi had an expression of curiosity, so Sara shrugged and said, “It’s hard to explain, but that’s my father for you. Anyway, Brian, can you wait that long?”
“That’s like, 20 minutes.”
“I know. I’m sorry. If it’s too long, just leave me here and I’ll call a car.”
“No need for that,” Heidi interjected. “That’s not much time to kill. We’re warm and dry inside the truck.”
“I know how to kill some time.” Brian put ZZ Top’s old classic, ‘La Grange,’ on the stereo and grabbed the shifter. “It’s time for a ride.”
“Don’t even think about it,” Jess warned from the back, but was jostled as the truck was shifted into drive.
Kid’s head banged against the back door as Brian put the gas pedal to the floor and started driving along the shoreline.
“At least get us off the beach!” Jess yelled. “Look over the ocean. The sky is pitch black.”
“You fixed the drive shaft. We already tested it,” Brian countered.
“I know, but now is not the time for a beach ride.”
“Who said I was going to drive on the beach?” Salt water shed off of the tires in high arcing sheets as he cut the wheel and turned the truck into the sea.
Kid and Sara braced against the back door as the hungry ocean loomed straight ahead of them outside the windshield. Sara grabbed his arm and held on tight.
“Brian! What are you doing?” Heidi shrieked from the passenger seat, her bright blue eyes piercing, not probing.
“Four-wheeling!” he exclaimed with an ear-to-ear smile. “I’ve been dying to do this, but I had to wait until we fixed the front drive-shaft.” Water splashed high in the air as he drove in the shallow surf. He then turned the vehicle back toward the beach.
“You’re getting carried away,” she said as she braced her hands against the dashboard.
Once more he turned the nose of the truck into the surf, and a tall wave splashed over the top of the hood.
“You are a madman, Brian!” Maria yelled, but not disapprovingly, as she slid across the floor in the back of the truck.
While bouncing up and down in her seat, Heidi turned. “Can we stop encouraging him?”
“I’m with her,” Mark said with one hand on his stomach.
Not wanting to spoil the fun, Kid stayed quiet but he was worried as he grabbed Sara’s hand. Brian did not have a good track record when it came to four-wheeling. It rarely ended well.
Driving further into the sea, he stopped short and put the truck in reverse. The tires spun, but the vehicle wouldn’t move. He lowered his window and popped his head out. “I can’t see my back tires! They are completely submerged!” Gunning the engine, the vehicle didn’t lurch a single millimeter. Turning to face the storm looming over the ocean, he uttered, “Holy shit.”
“Four low!” Jess yelled out from the back.
“No good.”
“Why not?”
“I’m already in four low.”
Jess looked out the window and barked, “This is not the time, or the place!”
Heidi glared at Brian, and did not even need to say the words, I told you so.
Kid groaned. “Come on Jess, we have to bail Brian out… again.” Opening the back door, he jerked back as he realized that the water level was almost even with the bumper. Half of the tail pipe was submerged. “Keep the idle up or else you’re going to stall!”
With a sharp audible inhale, Sara scooted her rear end away as some salt water sloshed into the back of the truck.
Kid jumped into the ocean. A second later the cold registered with his senses and he shook with a quick, spasmodic chill. Jess followed him out, and gasped as the water splashed halfway up his midsection. Running up the beach, Kid was frantic to find a solution. Without hesitation, Jess starting pulling out sections of dune fence. “Come on, grab some slats!” he urged.
While wrestling with a slat and sliding it out of the flimsy metal wire frame, Kid could only marvel at Jess’s quick thinking and ingenuity. Jess was not ‘book smart,’ but through their long-time friendship, it opened Kid’s eyes to the reality that there are different measures of aptitude. His friend was ‘earth smart,’ and was supremely proficient when it came to living and surviving outdoors. Kid used to joke that he could send Jess into the woods with a butter knife and a couple of rubber bands, and the guy would somehow build a house with a working waterwheel.
He and Jess took off their coats and shirts and handed them through the window to Heidi. Then following Jess’s plan, they crouched until the frigid water was up to their chests as they wedged fence slats under both of the back tires.
Standing up, Jess said, “We need to push toward the beach with the incoming tide, and hold the truck in place when it heads back out.”
They slogged through the thigh-deep water and came around to the front of the truck. Out over the ocean, Kid could see only blackness. Not good, he thought. The tidal storm surge was close to making landfall. “Everyone be ready to bail if we can’t save the truck!” he yelled.
“Save the truck?” Brian cried out in a panic. “I can’t lose the truck!”
Kid yelled, “Put it in reverse and hit it! Go!” While facing the hood and the beach beyond, they started pushing as the next band of waves ran ashore. Brian depressed the gas pedal and the truck started reversing.
“Stop! Hold!” Jess called as the waves retracted and tried to suck the vehicle out to sea. Both of the guys extended their arms and held with all of their might, but lost a few feet of progress.
“Go!” Kid shouted as the next swell of waves broke and rolled toward the beach. Gaining traction, the truck reversed with growing speed and finally escaped the jaws of the ocean. Brian kept going until he was halfway to the boardwalk. Kid and Jess were both drenched and out of breath as they approached.
Brian popped his head out. “Thanks guys, I…”
“Just get us out of here. Enough screwing around,” Jess snapped.
As they opened the back door and climbed in, the guys took off their soaked pants and threw them in the middle of the floor. They put their shirts and coats back on and climbed under their respective blankets.
“You should hang these so they start to dry.” Maria picked up their pants and hung them on hooks. “Hey, the least you could do up there is crank up the heat!” Brian complied without hesitation.
Sara’s mobile device started ringing, so she looked at the screen. “Private caller. There’s no number listed.”
Kid would have ignored it, but having been trained by her father to always answer her phone, he knew she would pick up.
“Hello? Hello?” Sara put down the phone. “Nobody there.”
Shrugging his shoulders, Kid exhaled as he rested his head against the back door.
“Anyway, it is getting close to 11:00 p.m.,” she noted as she pointed to the jewelry box sitting on her lap.
With smoke still coming from under the hood, Brian jumped out. He paused as Heidi said, “This night is just not ending well.”
Between the blanket and the blasting heat, Kid was just beginning to thaw out. “We’re lucky. That was a disaster in the making.”
Sara’s phone started to ring again.
“You are a popular girl at this hour of the night,” Maria quipped. She paused for a second and added, “That didn’t sound good.”
This time the call-in number activated a picture from her contact list. Sara was quick to answer. “Karen? Are you alright?” She held the device against her ear, but on an angle so Kid could hear.
Karen Stone, their good friend up near Rutland, Vermont, planned to deliver a cease-and-desist ultimatum to her unstable ex-boyfriend that night. Kid could tell that Sara was worried sick about Karen, who was a year younger and like a little sister to her.