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The next few days were hell. I was imprisoned in my own home, and it was driving me insane. They told my parents how Beaumont and Lester were released after questioning because there was no evidence to hold them. They were free to kill and steal bodies, and no one could do anything about it, least of all me.
Jeff came in to the front room, where I was spread out on the couch, reading Louis L’Amour’s Milo Talon, and Tadd sat in a chair chatting on the phone to his latest girlfriend, curled cord stretched around the wall and into the kitchen to the wall jack.
“Ret, I think you might be right.” Jeff swallowed hard, and I saw in his eyes he knew something.
“What is it?” I sat up and put the book down.
“News is all over the town. People have seen Todd Harrison walking around.”
“You’re shitting me.” I perked up.
“I overheard Mrs. Crawford, over at the gas station, telling the attendant how her son saw Todd and another guy digging up bodies at the cemetery. The attendant asked her, ‘Did they call the cops?’ and she didn’t know what to say.” Jeff chuckled.
“What do you mean? Did the cops come or not?”
“No. You know her son, Chase. He’s a pothead. He was at the graveyard, smokin’ dope with his buddies. He’s not going to call the cops. She knows it too but doesn’t want to tell the attendant that. She just said, ‘No, they were too scared, so they ran.’” He rolled his eyes and waved it off with his hand.
“I didn’t think much of it at first, until I went down to Pederson’s with my friends, and there was Joey Rascone, talking to a whole bunch of people. You should have seen his face. If you did, you’d know he wasn’t lyin’.”
“What did Joey see?”
“He said he woke up to girls screaming next door. You know he lives next door to the Harrisons, right?”
I nodded agreement.
“He grabbed his shotgun and ran outside, and that’s when he saw Todd Harrison in the front yard, tugging on his daughter, trying to pull her out of Angie’s arms. Joey cocked the shotgun, pointed it, and told him to stop. Fortunately, he did, and this is the creepiest part.
“Todd Harrison turned his head slowly and spread a crazy smile across his face, and he said, ‘That’s my girl!’ He pointed at Cheyenne in her arms. Joey said his voice didn’t sound right. Said it sounded like he had marbles in his mouth, and thick black liquid dripped from his lips. ‘They got to come with me,’ Todd said. ‘No one’s goin’ with you, mister,’ Joey told him, and threatened to call the cops. Then Todd started to laugh, and not in a funny way. Then he took off.”
Jeff’s hands were trembling. The fear was in his eyes too.
“That night you told us the whole story of what happened, I wasn’t sure if I could believe it all. But now...”
“Geez,” I exclaimed. “So, did Joey call the police?”
“Yes, and Sheriff Packard came. They told him everything. Of course, he thinks it was someone else who happened to look like Todd Harrison, and he said something like ‘In light of his recent death and the traumatic grieving, it’s not unusual to see a stranger look like your loved one.’ Basically, he’s chalking it up that they’re crazy. But Angie was frantic and couldn’t be consoled. She demanded they exhume her husband’s body for proof.”
“What does ‘exhume’ mean?” I asked.
“That’s when they dig someone up from their grave.”
“Really?” I gasped.
“Yes.” He nodded. “She kept fighting Packard on it so much that they’re exhuming the body later today.”
“Wow,” I exclaimed.
I got a twinge of excitement. Things were happening. More witnesses were popping up, and once they exhumed Todd’s body and found out he was missing, Sheriff Packard would have to start believing me. I can only hope.
“Anyway.” Jeff slapped my thigh. “Looks like you’re not crazy.” He grinned.
He stood up to walk away, and I stopped him.
“Did you think I was?”
He paused and turned his eyes to the ceiling as if in thought. “I didn’t know what to think. I know you wouldn’t lie or make up shit.”
“Thanks.”
“Just be careful. Don’t do anything stupid like sneaking into that house again.”
I agreed, and he walked into the kitchen to get a drink. I turned to look at Tadd, who was leaned far back in the recliner, flirting with a girl on the phone.
“Bring her with you, and I’ll bring Steadman. We’ll make it a double date.” He grinned and glanced at me. I was staring at him and mouthing the words, “Are you finished yet?” He scowled and returned to his conversation. “Steadman’s not a jerk, I promise. We’ll both be on our best behavior.” He paused as she talked. “Yes, tonight. We’ll see you around seven. Okay, you bet. See you then.” He pressed the button on the phone to hang up and glared at me.
“I just need it for a few seconds.”
He held the phone out for me to grab it, but I gestured with a stop motion. “I’ll take the phone in Mom and Dad’s room.”
“Whatever,” he grumbled, and I walked into my parents’ bedroom to use their phone in privacy. I had to call Gary.
“You’re public enemy number one,” Gary said to me over the phone. “My mom and dad grounded me from you forever.”
“Not a surprise. I guess I’d do the same.”
“You’re not the enemy. I chose to go with you. You didn’t force me. I think it’s just easier for them to blame it all on you than to think I’d do anything wrong.”
“So, are you grounded too?”
“No. Just from playing with you, and no more sleepovers this summer. Geeze!”
“I’m sorry I pulled you into this.”
“You didn’t pull me into this. You needed help, and I’m your friend. That’s what friends do. I made the choice to go with you.”
“Thanks.” I was itching to share the news about the Harrisons with Gary, but I was hesitant it would force him to make another choice that could put him in hot water.
“So, what’s up?” Gary asked, and I couldn’t hold back.
“Did you hear about the Harrisons?”
“No. What about them?” His voice cracked anxiously.
“The police are digging up Todd Harrison’s grave today. Apparently, he’s been seen around town. Mrs. Harrison demanded they open his coffin for proof.”
“Holy shit!” His voice was barely a whisper, and I heard a deep breath taken in and blown out.
I needed to see my friends. I was still grounded, but I had to find a way at any cost. “We gotta find out what’s going on. Do you think you could break away? Meet me at the cave?”
“I can go out. I just can’t go with you. If my parents catch me with you, I’m dead.”
“It won’t be for long. I’ve been cooped up in this house for three days, and I can’t stand it anymore. I’m going to call Jax and Rosco too.”
“I know Jax won’t be able to. He’s on a strict lockdown. His mother is home all day and watches everything. He’s not going anywhere. I don’t know about Rosco.”
“I called Dawn,” I said. “Her little brother answered. He said she’s grounded from the phone and going outside at all.”
“How are you getting out?”
“Tadd is supposed to watch me.” I lowered my voice so no one outside the room could hear me. “He’s busy talking to his girlfriends on the phone and watching TV. It was all I could do to pull the phone away from him for a few minutes to call you. He’ll be easy. I’ll sneak out the back while he’s on the phone.”
“I guess if I get caught, I’ll say I just ran into you.”
“That’ll work. See you in about fifteen?”
“Yeah.”
***
FOR OVER TWENTY MINUTES, I stood next to Cueva, watching and waiting for Gary to show. The sun was hot and baking my scalp. Sweat ran down my temples. Finally, a cloud crept in front of the sun and gave me some relief. I concluded Gary wasn’t coming and that his parents had probably found out.
I rode my bike across the street and climbed atop one of the Moguls. Gary’s house was at the far end of the Moguls, on Redwood Road, and it was visible in the distance.
Gary appeared on the south side of his house, riding his bike toward me. He stopped a few feet from the house. I vaguely heard a voice bellow to him. It sounded like his dad, but I couldn’t make out the words.
Gary’s head turned. He responded to the yelling. He sat for a good few minutes, and I could see the frustration as he shook his head and gestured with his arms. Finally, he turned the bike around, rode slowly toward home, and disappeared around the corner. I was alone, feeling guilty about the trouble I’d brought on my friends and that I’d been able to escape my house even though they couldn’t.
I rode my bike back to our cave and parked it. As soon as I’d crawled inside, the shade was a relief from the sun and heat. I shuffled to the back of the cave and curled into a comfortable lying position. I looked at the structure and remarked on how well it was built. It was the best structure we’d ever created.
A shadow crossed the entrance, and I shot up in a sitting position. Two adult legs stood in front of the opening, and when the man bent down to peek inside, my heart nearly leapt out of my mouth.
“Hello, Ret.” Lester’s greasy smile spread across his face. “You in here all alone?” His beady eyes ran across the interior of the cave.
Body clenched, I sat still.
“Pretty nice place you boys have built here.”
“What do you want?” I asked.
Lester bent his knees and crouched. “I want your head.” He smirked. “To be completely honest, I want to pin your body to the ground with stakes in each arm and leg and scoop your eyeballs out with a spoon.” He chuckled with a sick glee in his eyes.
“That’s very detailed,” I said.
“That’s what I’d like to do... but it seems we’re under a bit of scrutiny from the police. The cops and media won’t leave us alone.” He dug his forefinger into the dirt wall of the cave and dug out a small clod that crumbled to the floor.
“Maybe you should give yourselves up,” I said.
“Well, you’ve put us in a desperate mode. I’ll give you that. We have dire work to finish that can’t wait. Thanks to you.” He shook his head, and his face colored up. “You little shits should have left us alone!” Spittle flew from his lips as his anger erupted. “We’re out of time now, and lives are at stake!”
“Our lives are at stake! You’re stealing and killing our people! Why?”
“‘Our people’?” He sneered. “Why should I care?”
“Why do you care about them?”
“Because they care about me! No one in this world cares for me! No one sees me.” He pounded his chest with his hand. “But they care, and they have more to offer. A whole lot more.”
“They’re only using you. Why can’t you see that?”
“No, they’re not!” he snapped defensively. “People use me here all the time, but not these people. They need me. There’s a difference.”
“And what happens when they’ve made it through? Once Beaumont has all his prison buddies back? They’ll throw you to the wolves, Lester.”
There was a pause as he pondered, then he scoffed and chuckled again. “What the hell do you know? Just a punk kid? You got a lot more growin’ up to do, and when you do, you’ll see the world for what it really is. Like I do.”
Lester wiped sweaty bangs from his forehead. “It’s a dog-eat-dog world. An eye for an eye. You do someone wrong, well... they’ll do something equally wrong back to you. You have to pay for the things you do to people. That’s the way of this world, and you have to pay for what you did, Ret. You and your friends.” He pounded the wall of our cave with a fist, and a crack appeared in the dirt.
“Just leave me alone, please. I won’t break into your house. I won’t involve the police. I’m finished doing anything. I’m not even supposed to be here. I’m grounded.”
“It’s too late for that, Ret. You cost us time and lives, and you have to pay for that.” He hit the wall harder, and a large chunk of dirt fell.
He crawled deeper into the cave, and I scrunched my knees to my chest. His arm bumped one of the supports, nudging it slightly out of place. Small clumps of dirt rained down on his head and the back of his neck. Gritting his teeth, he glared at me and kept coming.
“What are you doing? Get out of here!” My leg shot out and kicked his head, and it really set him off.
He bolted forward faster than I’d imagined he could, then he grabbed the front of my shirt in both hands and pulled my face to his.
“We have her, Ret.” He snarled then giggled. “We took your girlfriend. That’s how it works. You mess with us, you call the cops, try to blame Andrea’s death on us, and well... you only brought this on yourself.”
“No,” I said. “Please leave her out of this.”
He pushed me, and I landed against the back of the cave. The wall cracked, and a ton of dirt fell on top of me.
“You want her? Come and replace her. Tonight, before we feed her to them. Or save yourself and don’t come. Either way, I don’t care. Just remember to come alone. No cops!”
He erased his smile. His face went dark and grim as he backed out of the cave. He swept two standing support beams out of place with his arms. They tumbled to the ground, and more dirt fell.
Once outside, he stood and began kicking at the sides of the entrance. I watched in horror as the roof crumbled and a cloud of dirt blocked out all sunlight coming through the entrance.
“No!” I cried. It was all I could say. “No!” I started to crawl to the entrance.
He went to the south side, and without the support beams, it only took two strong kicks before the entire fort caved in.
An immense weight hit my back, slamming my stomach against the ground. My knee scraped a rock, and pain screamed inside me. Dirt, clods, and rocks buried me, and panic set in. I heard his muffled laughter outside as he walked away.
I pushed against the weight on top of me, arching my back as dirt ran off and surrounded me. I still had a pocket of air in front of my face, but it was quickly filling up.
Come on, come on... I moved my legs and arms, pressing and crawling. I clawed at the dirt and shoved massive amounts to either side. Sunlight peeked in, and soon I broke the surface, pulled myself out, and fell onto my back, panting.
I stared at the sky until I heard footsteps approach.
Startled, I turned to see Tadd standing a few feet away from me, looking pissed off. I smiled with relief that it wasn’t Lester.
“What are you smiling at?” he snapped.