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It was a wet, gray Thursday morning when I blinked slowly out of my sleep, the dim light filling my bedroom and casting a pall on everything it touched. Of all days for it to be rainy, this was the last one I wanted. I kicked the blue and green plaid covers off of me and onto the floor, swinging my legs over so my feet touched the cold, wooden boards. It had been sweltering for over a week, but somehow, in a single night, the rain had managed to sap all the warmth out of the air and the house itself. The light offered no hint as to what time it was and my bedside alarm clock was still broken, sitting there surrounded by its many pieces. I had been too afraid to tell my parents it had been broken by accident when the guys were over for my birthday. School was only a couple of weeks away and I knew I’d have to tell them soon, but I figured another weekend wouldn’t hurt. Besides, our little gang had some grand plans tomorrow that couldn’t be spoiled by something as stupid as a broken alarm clock.
On August second- my birthday- everyone had come over to spend a night at my house. Dad was one of the few people in town lucky enough to have a corporate job in the next town over. Because of that fact, we had a pool, one of the few in the little town of Riverside. It wasn’t a big, fancy underground pool, but it was still deep enough to jump into from the raised deck surrounding it.
Mom and Dad rarely let me have friends over. Mom kept the house sparkling clean at all times and Dad just wanted to be left alone. But it was my twelfth birthday and I promised that we would stay out of the house and spend the night out in the yard in the ratty old tent we had gotten from Kevin’s house. Begrudgingly, and with my mother’s help, my father had agreed. Within an hour of their approval there were three additional bikes abandoned in the yard and four boys hollering as they jumped into the shallow pool.
“Cowabunga!” Kevin yelled every time he jumped into the water, grabbing his nose.
Kit was right behind him, tossing his skinny form haphazardly off the wooden deck. I never knew what he was going for, but it looked to be an artistic interpretation of a dive I had never seen in my life.
“Are you gonna yell that every single time, Kevin?” Chris asked as Kevin surfaced, pushing his mop of hair out of his face.
“Only if you keep bitchin’ about it, loser!” he cried back, striking his arm against the water, sending a spray of chlorinated water directly into Chris’s eyes.
“Knock it off, dickbrain!” Chris yelled back, leaping forward to push Kevin under the water, a maniacal smile stretching across his face.
“Guys, cool it on the swearing!” I snapped. “You know how much of an asshole my Dad is!”
I was ignored as they continued to wrestle, yelling obscenities at each other as they went.
“Sorry Ryan,” I heard Kit’s small voice behind me say.
“You didn’t do anything wrong Kit,” I said with a sigh. His real name was Jonathan, but to me he would always be Kit. “It’s these assholes that won’t KNOCK IT OFF!” I yelled as I threw an inflatable tube at the two idiots.
Chris quickly wrapped Kevin into a choke hold and pulled back, causing him to sputter.
“Say it!” Chris yelled over the splashing water, still holding tightly.
“Eat shit and die!” Kevin managed to choke out just before he was slammed under the water once more.
Chris pulled him back up, tightening his hold. Although he was easily the shortest in the group, he somehow always came out on top.
“SAY IT!” he yelled again.
Kevin mumbled something under his breath, but the sound was drowned out by the splashing.
“I can’t hear you!” Chris sang mockingly.
“I have a tiny dick!” Kevin choked out as loud as he could.
Chris released his hold and leaned back against the edge of the pool with his arms crossed. “That’s what I like about you Kevin. You’re always so willing to give in.”
Kevin winced as he rubbed his neck, his wet hair slick against his face. “Maybe next time you could try to not actually kill me, you asshole!” he spat, rubbing his eyes to work out the chlorine.
“You mess with the bull,” Chris replied, lifting his hands to form makeshift horns sticking out from his temples, “you’re gonna get the horns!”
“You’re full of shit, Chris,” Kit’s meek voice cut through.
“I’m gonna let that one go, Johnny-boy,” Chris sneered, puffing up his chest and kissing one of his biceps. “You’re too dinky to be any real threat anyway.”
To my surprise, it was Kit that attacked first as he dove towards Chris, swinging wildly. I watched as Kit put his all into every swing and Chris toyed with him, letting him land a few minor hits here and there.
The entire group regarded Kit as the small one to protect and Chris stepped up to that role the most. He’d let Kit land a few punches, sometimes even pretending to let him win, like an adult wolf play-fighting with a puppy. Kevin took on the role of big brother many times at school, always putting himself between Kit and danger. I, on the other hand, served more of a supportive role, always being there when Kit needed me. Even as young as we all were, we knew that we were the only real family Kit had.
We’d been best friends since the first grade, but it wasn’t until the winter his mom died that I felt us grow inseparable. Something between us had changed. I’d stood beside him at that funeral with a front row seat to his anguish. That experience had lifted a veil between us, making us more than just childhood friends. Afterward he’d developed a habit of snuggling up close to me whenever we were together and being so young at the time, I thought nothing of it. My parents hugged me even when I didn’t want them to, but Kit had no one, not even his father who was drowning himself in work and whiskey. When Kit fell asleep, he’d curl up in a little ball against me, his head across my leg. With his strawberry-blond hair he reminded me of the small fox cubs I’d once seen at the zoo. That’s how I came to call him Kit.
As I watched Kit wrestling with Chris I realized how far he’d come since that seemingly never ending winter. His heart and personality had finally begun to thaw and I could see the hints of spring around the edges of his smile. Although I’d never tell anyone I felt or observed such things, especially Chris, I couldn’t help but let a small smirk cross my face.
Out of nowhere, as Chris was toying with Kit, pretending to fight with him, Kit swung wide. His fist made contact with Chris’s jaw, the sound of flesh hitting bone echoing through the water. Everyone sucked in a breath and went silent.
“Oh my god... .ohmygod ohmygod...” Kit repeated over and over, holding his hand in the other, fist still clenched.
Chris slowly closed his mouth and spit over the side of the pool. Pulling his hand up to wipe away the blood trickling from his split lip he turned to face Kit.
“Christopher,” I said warningly, stepping up to Kit.
He waved his hand to shush me. Grabbing Kit by the shoulders with both hands he pulled him close, eyes boring into him with a look of controlled rage.
“That...” he said, voice trembling, “Was a man-sized punch Johnny-boy.”
“S-s-sorry,” Kit stammered, still clutching his hand.
Chris smiled maniacally, blood streaming down his chin, “I’m not taking it easy on you anymore Johnny-boy, so you better watch yourself.”
“Kit,” I said, pulling him away from Chris who was looking more like a psycho with every passing second, “Let’s go get some ice for your hand.”
“Don’t take him away!” Chris cried out. “I was just beginning to feel alive!”
“That’s what I’m afraid of,” I replied as I pulled Kit up onto the deck by his good hand. “Go cool off you goddamn animal.”
“How about you, Kev?” Chris turned, holding his arms up. “Wanna go?”
“Go fuck yourself, you psycho,” Kevin replied, still sore from being nearly choked out.
“You’ll be back... the dweebs always come back for more...” Chris chuckled, ducking low to the water, winding his way through like a crocodile.
It had the intended effect and as Kevin thrust water over Chris’s head. Aroused by the attack, he tackled Kevin once more and they were at it again.
I could hear the yells and curses as I led Kit towards the house, shaking my head. I sat him outside on the patio and wrapped a towel around my waist, doing my best to dry off before heading inside. I knew that if I got water on my Mom’s clean floors she would have a cow right there at the sink in her rubber gloves.
With no small amount of luck I was able to sneak into the kitchen, wrap some ice in a towel, and make it back to the patio before anyone had the chance to question me further. As I handed the ice to Kit, I pulled up a chair and sat down across from him.
“Does it feel broken?” I asked, not daring to touch it. Not that I’d have any idea what I was looking for.
“I don’t think so. Just hurts like hell,” he responded, hissing as he pressed the ice against his skin.
“You really clocked Chris! Like damn! Just wham! Right in the face!” I exclaimed, unable to hold back my joy any longer. “I’m glad someone finally did it! He deserves it!”
“It... it felt kinda good.” A smile broke through at the corner of his lips. “Somehow... I’m even more worried now.”
“Yeah... I wouldn’t try fighting him again.” I leaned back in my chair and crossed my arms behind my head. “It might be the last thing you ever do.”
He chuckled, “You’re probably right. Don’t ever let me try that again.”
At that moment my Mom pushed open the French doors and stepped out onto the patio. As usual, she was dressed to the nines and wearing heels. As they clacked against the paving stones I wondered why she insisted on dressing that way all the time. It was embarrassing with the guys around. Chris especially liked to make as many remarks as possible.
She came tic-tacking over and stooped down next to Kit, “Did someone get hurt?”
“No, I’m fine Mrs. Parsons,” Kit lied, pulling his hand back towards him.
“Are you sure? I can call your Dad if you’re not okay,” she gushed, looking down at Kit’s hand.
“I’m fine, just hit it on the deck as I jumped in,” he replied without missing a beat. “My Dad would just get too worried if you told him, it’s not a big deal.” Another lie.
“Well, if you’re sure...” She stood up once again, straightening out her white dress. “If you boys are getting hungry, I could order some pizzas for you?”
“Thanks Mom, that would be great,” I smiled, wishing she would just go back inside.
“You look lovely today Mrs. Parsons!” Chris yelled from the pool, waving like an idiot.
“Why, thank you Christopher,” she called back, waving daintily. “Such a nice boy...” she murmured to herself as she turned and tic-tacked her way back into the house.
Rolling my eyes as hard as I could I looked at Kit who burst out laughing as soon as the door had closed.
It wasn’t until later, surrounded by boxes and cans of cola in my room, that the alarm clock got smashed. Chris, as usual, was the culprit for any breakage. After Kevin had given us a play by play of the latest episode of Ninja Turtles, Chris decided to become a ninja warrior right there in my bedroom. I thought nothing of it as he karate chopped a pillow and kicked my bed frame, but then, for some reason, he decided my alarm clock was next. Before I could say a word he chopped his hand downward, yelling “hi-yah!” as he did so. The clock didn’t stand a chance. The screen shattered, the numbers disappeared, and the front face rocketed off the nightstand onto the floor.
“Dude!” I yelled at Chris, “What the fuck!?”
“Shit! Sorry Ry!” he back pedaled. “I thought you could run over these things with a truck... I’m sure I can get ya another one... somehow. Maybe I can steal one from my old man...”
I picked up the broken pieces, scooping them across the nightstand into a neat pile. “Your Dad’s a dick... won’t he beat you if he catches you?”
“He’s gonna beat me either way so what’s the difference?” Chris said casually, as if it were nothing.
We all knew it was true, although he rarely talked about it. There were many times he came to school with bruises that weren’t self inflicted, but all the teachers turned a blind eye. Nobody wanted beef with Craig Thompson, especially over his troublemaker son.
“I’ll just lie to my Mom or something, don’t worry about it.” I sighed, contemplating how I would do it. “Go set up the tent before you find another way to get me grounded.”
“Seriously, I’ll steal you another one.” Chris said, his eyes glimmering with mischief.
“C’mon psycho, let’s go!” Kevin urged, grabbing Chris by the arm.
“Yeah yeah... fine.”
Kit helped me consolidate the pizza into two boxes and carry the rest down to the kitchen. The sun was already low on the horizon, casting the room in a warm orange glow. Mom was standing at the sink in her yellow rubber gloves, as always, cleaning the plates her and Dad had used for dinner.
“You boys heading outside for the night?” she said gently, stopping for a moment to look over her shoulder.
“Yeah, we’re going out there now.” I replied.
“Good,” Dad declared from the table, where he sat looking over some papers from his briefcase. “Hard to get anything done around here with you carrying on like you do.”
“Oh George, we could barely hear them,” Mom responded, letting her shoulders droop.
“I don’t think I asked your opinion on the matter, Deliah.” he said coldly. “Besides, the boys are already stopping you from finishing your own work.” He eyed the dishes over his glasses. “Go on, time for you boys to be outside.”
Not wanting to be anywhere near either of them, we hurried out.
Chris and Kevin somehow managed to work together to put up the tent, a miracle to say the very least. Once it was staked down, we filled it with sleeping bags, snacks, and even more soda before we all piled in. Our flashlights were stuffed in the pockets hanging from the sides of the tent, illuminating it from the inside. Outside the sky grew dark, spreading like spilled ink from the eastern sky. The stars blinked into life one by one and the last fireflies of the year danced across the grass. Trees in the distance became nothing more than a black, shapeless mass as the night came down upon us. Inside the tent was cramped, but comfortable. Lying on our backs we could see the bright band of the Milky Way through the mesh top, stretching across the sky above us.
“Did you know there are approximately a hundred thousand million stars in the galaxy?” Kevin stated, lying on his back.
“Dude, that’s not even a real number,” Chris replied.
“I’ll write it down for you sometime... that way you can wrap your neanderthal brain around it.”
“Whatever, dweeb.”
“Anyway,” Kevin continued. “There are all those stars out there and our sun is only one of them... I wonder how many other worlds are out there just like ours?”
“Is that even possible?” Kit asked, the back of his head resting on my thigh like it always was.
“It’s statistically impossible that we’re the only life in the universe... probably the galaxy too,” Kevin replied thoughtfully. “I wonder what they would be like...”
“Who?” I asked.
“The aliens,” Kevin said, his eyes glazed over. “I bet they’ve even been to see us already...”
“Yeah,” Chris sneered, “and all your nerdy shit scared them away. Can we do something else?”
Kevin went silent, crossing his arms and refusing to make eye contact with anyone as he stared up at the stars that enraptured him.
“How about some... scary stories?” Chris moaned, trying to sound spooky. “Or we could listen to Dweeby McDweeberson over here tell us about math and aliens.”
Everyone was silent, not wanting to offend Kevin. Surprisingly it was Kit that spoke first.
“I wouldn’t mind a scary story,” was all he said. “But I’m gonna keep watching stars too,” he added, nodding to Kevin.
Kevin let out a long sigh, “What’s this super scary story you’re telling?”
“How about the legend of...” Chris paused, “The Snatcher!”
Kit sat up, clearly excited. The Snatcher was a local legend that we had all known about for years, but the story never seemed to get old.
“Again?” Kevin hissed.
“Shut the fuck up,” Chris snapped. “It’s my turn to talk.”
Slowly and methodically Chris turned off all the flashlights in the tent, keeping one for himself. He sat back on his heels, arranging himself as if he was performing in front of a large audience. Pulling the blue plastic flashlight up, he flipped the switch, illuminating his face from underneath so that it cast deep shadows across his features. His left hand swung up, palm facing us, fingers outstretched. He paused.
“Let me tell you the tale of... The Snatcher!” Chris began dramatically.
A large sigh came from Kevin to his left, but he ignored it. He zeroed in on Kit who was sitting with rapt attention. Chris knew his audience and dove into the story with gusto.
“At least fifty years ago, some say even a hundred, when our little town was no more than a depot on the old railroad tracks, the snatchings began. Small children began to go missing in town, and families were worried sick. At first there was talk of a predator on the loose! A bear? A rogue mountain lion? Nobody knew. But as they continued to guess, more and more children went missing.”
Kit was starting to lean forward, closer to Chris.
“The townspeople had taken to locking their children up,” he continued. “Some of them were locked in their rooms, others in root cellars, but nobody was safe. One by one they continued to disappear, never to be seen again.
“And then, one day, one of them came back. A small boy, no more than ten or eleven, stumbled out of the woods covered in grime and blood, wounds covering his body. His clothes were torn as if he had been attacked by a wild animal. He collapsed at the edge of town and was rescued by a passing carriage. At first he didn’t speak, but two days later, just before he died, he told the worried and powerless adults where he had been. He told them how a large man had found him playing out in the fields. Then, how he’d snatched the boy up and taken him back to his stone hut in the woods to do god knows what to him.”
Kit gasped, right on cue, spurring Chris on with greater enthusiasm. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Kevin was pretending not to listen, but now and then he’d turn his head to watch Chris’s performance.
“With the location of The Snatcher, the adults locked up their children one last time. They gathered up their weapons and headed out into the very woods that surround us today. All day and night they searched until at long last, they came upon a stone hut with a light in the window. Approaching quietly, they surrounded the house. All at once they stormed inside, crying out into the night. There, sitting in his armchair, was an enormous bearded man, helping himself to dinner. At his side was a great axe and he scooped it up, taking down five of the townsmen before they wrestled it from his grasp!” Chris paused again, letting the moment linger.
“It wasn’t until they had him tied up outside that they realized the dinner he’d been enjoying was a roasted leg of one of the children with the shoe still on his foot! Searching the house they found bones and hacked up body parts, salted and hung up to cure like a butcher shop!”
“Gross...” Kit whispered.
“Right then and there they put a noose around his neck. When asked if he had any last words, he gave them a final warning. The feast will never end!” Chris said, pushing his voice lower. “My spirit will live on, feasting on the flesh of your children for all time! None can vanquish... THE SNATCHER!”
At that moment Chris leapt forward, scaring Kit half to death. He toppled backwards on top of me, our heads striking each other hard.
“What a bunch of bullshit,” Kevin said, his quickened breath giving him away. “That’s the fakest story I’ve ever heard.”
“I know it’s true! I’ve seen the house!”
“Bullshit! I’ve read the town history twice and there isn’t any mention of it.”
“I’ll fucking prove it to you dickweed!” Chris yelled, pointing a finger wildly at him. “I’ll take you to the house! Unless you’re too much of a pussy to go!”