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Nikki sat in the back seat squeezed between Hank and Willie. Dustin drove like they were in a video game so the tires squealed on sharp turns. He’d promised to drop everyone off after they visited the old barn. Nikki wanted to sit next to Dustin, but Melinda claimed the middle front seat. Zeke sat on her other side.
Melinda was all “Oh, Dustin, you’re so great Dustin, sit next to me Dustin” it made Nikki want to gag. She couldn’t help giggling when Dustin paid attention to her instead of Melinda, happy he believed her story about the barn. The others probably would have ignored her.
This way, at least they all would share the secret. Nobody would tell on Nikki without getting themselves in trouble.
The barn was spookier at night. Chatter in the car died away when Dustin pulled to a stop and set the brake. Nobody made a move to get out, and Melinda finally giggled, a high-pitched nervous sound that made Nikki jump.
Dustin cleared his throat. “I got a flashlight in the trunk.” Nikki was surprised to hear a slight quaver in the older boy’s voice, but when he swung out of the car, his swagger remained intact. “Zeke, you and Hank come with me. The rest of you wait in the car.”
“No way.” Melinda followed the boys out of the car, her jaw shoved forward with determination. “What you gonna do, clobber him with the Eveready?”
Dustin shook his head, and popped the trunk, his voice hushed. “Take care of the little kids. Probably shouldn’t have brought them, anyway.”
The words were a stomach punch and Nikki blinked back tears. Willie sat quietly in the back seat, and seemed happy to do as he was told. She got halfway out the door before Hank could shut it. “I’m not a little kid!”
“Shh! Quiet, Nikki.” Hank narrowed his eyes, and whispered. “This could be dangerous. For you too, Melinda.” He threw out his chest and tried to lower his voice but it came off pathetic.
Melinda made a rude noise, and Nikki giggled. “Girl power. Right, Nikki?” The older girl put her hands on her hips. “We’re not going to wait around for the pig-sticker to sneak up on the car. We’re all in this together, or we all go home, right now.”
Nikki held her breath. Maybe Melinda wasn’t so bad after all.
Dustin rolled his eyes, but gave in. “Fine. But you’re in charge so keep them together. Willie, come stay with your sister.” He switched on the flashlight, and it flickered a moment and then burned steady after he thumped it softly against the side of a tire. “Stay close. Hell, we’ve made enough noise, I’ll be amazed if we find anyone lurking around. Lurking in the barn.” He said the word again, as if relishing the sound. “Lots of bushes to lurk in.”
The group slowly circled the rickety old structure. They startled a hidden animal once, and even Dustin jumped and cried out. “It was nothing.” He lowered his voice to a gruff growl, compensating for the loss of he-manliness. Nikki thought it was funny, but was glad he couldn’t see her smirk. He’d called her a baby, but she didn’t scream and pee her pants. She thought of the sick raccoons and her smile faltered.
The flashlight beam swept back and forth, keeping the path around the barn illuminated as much as possible. A big iron pot rested against the back wall of the structure, blackened wood scattered beneath. Nikki thought it must be a witch’s cauldron like in Harry Potter spells, but hadn’t been used in forever.
“Don’t step in a hole and break an ankle. The armadillos turned the ground into a moonscape.” Dustin stayed ahead of the small group, and every few yards stopped and turned back to light the way for those following. It didn’t take long before they’d returned to the front of the building. He held the flashlight under his chin to make a scary face. “Nobody here but us chickens.”
Nikki giggled. “Don’t you want to go inside? Bet the scary man’s hiding in there.” Her nerves had calmed, but she didn’t want the forbidden excitement to end.
“Inside?” Dustin turned to his cousin. “This the hangout you told me about? It’s deserted.”
Zeke nodded. “It’s pretty cool. Cobwebs and creepy crawlies. And cats, like Nikki said.”
Hank agreed. “The outside door’s padlocked and nobody uses the place anymore, far as we can tell. But we always check before going in. Whoever owns the place would have to unlock the barn door, so we’d know to keep driving by.”
“How you get in?” Dustin shined the light over the bleached gray of old boards. Any paint had long since worn off.
Nikki pointed. “There’s a loose board.” She led the way when Dustin shined the flashlight in that direction. “It sort of swings back and forth on an old nail, wide enough to get through. That’s where I ran out today, and Mr. Felch stood right there.”
“Nobody’s here now.” Hank reached the board, pushed it to one side, and eyed Dustin. “Might be a tight fit for you. It’s wider at the bottom. You’re wearing your good clothes, man. Your mom’ll be pissed if you get all grunged up.”
“Screw that.” Dustin stared at Melinda. “Seriously? You hang out in this dump?”
She crossed her arms and tossed hair over her shoulder. “City boy all scared?” She poked an elbow gently in Nikki’s ribs, and Nikki giggled.
His jaw tightened, and he thrust the flashlight at Hank. “You know the place. So go on through, then hold the light for me.” He blinked at Melinda. “Unless one of you wants to go first?”
It was a dare. Nikki thought Melinda might go for it, but she laughed instead. “Be my guest,” she said.
Hank took the light, pushed the board aside, and turned sideways to sidle through. The light inside the barn made gaps in boards show up in the darkness like a Jack-o-lantern toothy smile. Nikki shivered with delicious chills. She couldn’t remember ever having so much fun. Even the stinging of arm scratches faded. The earlier scare was worth it, her admission to being an official member of the cool kids.
Dustin knelt on the damp ground, turned and crawled in sideways with a one-handed posture through the narrow opening. She waited her turn, watching as Zeke followed Hank. She hurried after her brother, and helped hold the board for Willie and then Melinda last.
“Nikki, it’s show and tell time. What happened?” Dustin’s words were teasing, but not mean. She could live with that.
“There’s these cats live here, see? And I feed the mommy cat. I call her Hope. I think they live in that horse stall, because she always come out of there.” Nikki pointed and walked toward the area. “I sat right here to feed the kitties. A kitten came out, too. But then these raccoons followed the kitten. Sick ones.” She couldn’t help shivering. “Maybe sick with rabies. They scared Hope and she clawed me good trying to run, and I got scared and runned. I mean, ran. Out the board. And I saw that man with the gun. Mr. Felch.”
“Wait a minute.” Dustin held up a hand. “The cat scratched your arms?”
She nodded.
“I thought you said this Felch guy hurt you.” He glowered.
Nikki licked her lips. They hadn’t asked her what had happened. “I only said he had a gun. Maybe even he shot the gun, you know, while I ran away. I heard a boom.” Her voice sounded whiny, and she hated that. “He scared me!”
Dustin made a disgusted sound. “Got dragged all the way over here for nothing, for some cat scratches.” He took a step closer to her and she reflexively stepped back. “You sure it was cat scratches?”
She bobbed her head again.
“Not raccoon? Not a creepy man?”
She wrinkled her nose. “I’m sorry, but you didn’t give me a chance to explain—”
Melinda cut her off. “Never mind, Dustin. Give her a break. You should be glad it’s nothing serious.” She bent down toward Nikki and whispered, “Girl power,” and Nikki didn’t feel so bad after all.
“You’re right. Sorry Nikki. Friends?” Dustin held out his hand.
Nikki stared at the big, seventeen-year-old boy’s hand, and hesitantly put her small girl hand in it and shook. It felt very grown up. Maybe he didn’t think she was such a baby after all.
“While we’re here, do I get the tour?” Dustin shined the light around the inside of the barn. “Not much to see. Pretty clean, too. I expected it to be trashed.”
Hank waved a hand to encompass the entire barn area. “Don’t want anyone to know about us, so we always take out any trash we bring.”
“How environmentally friendly of you.” Dustin laughed. He walked down the center of the barn, shining his light inside each empty stall, three on the left and two on the right.
Nikki gasped. “The door’s open.” She pointed and ran to the far end of the barn. “Come on, bring the light!”
Next to the stall where Hope and her kittens lived sat a room she’d always imagined must house wonderful secrets, maybe treasures of sparkling jewels, or bags of gold coins. She remembered the bag that Mr. Felch had carried. Maybe this was his stash of treasure. He sort of looked like a pirate, only not as handsome as Johnny Depp.
The wooden plank door to the room had always been closed with a padlock, twin to the one on the outside of the barn but not so rusty. Some sort of grinder with gray-white powder inside sat next to the steps, and now the door swung open, and the lock was gone. If they found money inside, that could change things for her and Hank, and Mom. Especially Mom. It might make that worry spot between her eyes smooth out and go away.
“Hurry up!” She stepped from foot to foot, impatient for the light to come. Tentatively, she stepped up onto the wooden block that served as the single step into the room. Her nose wrinkled. It smelled dusty, powdery.
Dustin reached her and held the light high, illuminating the room. Nikki stepped on something brittle that cracked beneath her feet, and cried out and fell back into his arms, hiding her face.
Bones. The room overflowed with piles of blackened, charred bones.
