CHAPTER 4
“Father!” Mike shouted, as Father turned in the stairwell. He had heard the glee in Mike’s voice as he walked down the stairs. Kevin had made his way out of the kitchen and stood next to Mike at the front door.
“Sounds like you found somebody for us.” Father said, flashing a smile.
“Yessir! We got ourselves a busy night ahead of us!” Mike blurted out. He couldn’t look happier. For such an unsettling man, Mike managed to look surprisingly jovial when he was excited. Kevin looked satisfied, but not to the extent that Mike was. Kevin thought about the close calls and mistakes they had made in the past, so he never wanted to get ahead of himself.
“Son, we need details. Spit it out.” Father said.
“There is a lovely little gal. Small, but not to small, and she has some real nice curves. Perfect for another carrier. Little gal goes by Victoria.” Mike talked about her real slowly as if she was a new prized pet he had just brought home.
Father was ecstatic. Another girl! Another carrier! Now, he would definitely take Sofia to Mother. If they could get a new, hopefully more obedient, carrier, they would be set for a hell of a while. The timing was impeccable with Sofia only having a few more months left in her pregnancy and little Eli just about ready to be used up.
“I’m sure she’s not alone. Who is she roaming around here with? Her boyfriend?” Kevin asked, interrupting Father’s thoughts.
“She does have a boyfriend and a couple other companions.” Mike said. He sounded dismissive. That was irrelevant, all that really mattered was the girl. The rest of the party wasn’t nearly as important.
This got Father’s attention – not in a good way.
“How many people are you talkin’ about?” Father snapped. This should’ve been the first thing out of Mike’s god damn mouth.
“A boyfriend and two other guys. There’s four of them camping out; that’s counting little Victoria.” Mike said.
“You came in here celebrating, but we have to take out three guys tonight? You’re fucking kidding me.” Father said.
Mike’s eyes grew, as his expression shifted from pure joy to the look of a skittish dog.
“What kind of guys are we dealing with? We can’t just waltz in there, scoop them up, and bring them here.” Kevin asked knowing that Father was fast approaching another lecture to Mike.
“Yeah, the guys. One of ‘em, the boyfriend, he was a little short. Maybe five nine. But he seemed more intimidating that the other two combined. He has a macho vibe, and he isn’t in half bad shape. He also pissed his buddies off pretty good back there.” Mike added the last sentence with a chuckle.
“And the other two?”
“One’s a lanky boy. He couldn’t be more than a hundred sixty pounds, but he’s a bit above six feet tall. I doubt he would hurt a fly, he played peacekeeper in a couple of their spats. The other one was a fat boy. Tall guy, but he was a chunk of meat. Harmless whiny brat. Nothing to worry about. He couldn’t pack a punch.” Mike said casually, then added, “They look like they’re twenty, maybe younger. Either late high school or early college kids.”
Father took a deep breath. The descriptions were genuinely comforting. The guys they find out here are usually nothing to scoff at. If you’re going for a seven mile hike, you’re generally in pretty good shape. A lot of people in their late twenties find their way up here, and if there were four built men in that age range, it would be a hell of a time catching them. But a couple wussy kids got dragged out here. That’s no problem.
“They’re camping out in the clearing. Shocker, right?” Mike chuckled. They always camped out there. He didn’t blame there; realistically, It’s the only place to camp out at. The woods were littered with trees, rocks, roots, and branches making it almost impossible to find a decent spot. Only on a few rare occasions did groups camp just off the trail.
Lucky for the family, their rickety house wasn’t far from the clearing. A fifteen minutes walk at the most, usually less. Their house was off to the side; people never stumbled by on accident. They always went straight ahead if they didn’t stop at the clearing. Then they turned around and went straight home. Every now and again people would plan to try and loop around over the hill, but that took at least a couple days. That was rare.
“We still have an issue. The three of us can’t count on dragging four of them back here all at once.” Father said. It’s four on three. We haven’t had a four on three in a while. It’s been a couple or group of girls, at least in recent years.
“Any creative ideas?” Kevin asked, looking at Mike.
“Father, I figured you got something up your sleeve. We’ve done a few little tricks before.” Mike said.
He considered it for a moment. He hadn’t mentioned the variable that makes a dramatic impact on their plan. Assuming it was a couple, he would have stayed behind. With every moment, he grew more certain that tonight there should be a tribute. For that, he needed to prepare Eli. Tonight felt right in a way that he couldn’t articulate.
He didn’t want to reveal this to the boys. They would lose focus of their current task, and that would be a painful waste of this amazing opportunity. But he was compelled to the idea that it was Eli’s night. Just like last time, the impulse washed over him. It was a sign that he could not ignore.
“Okay,” Father said after a few moments of thought. “One of you divert their attention. The other has to pick off two of the boy. At least get rid of one. You can always go back and get the bodies later.”
“But they won’t be fresh that way.” Kevin said.
“Kevin, you’re a fucking genius! No shit! Of course, they won’t be fresh. But you’re playing a numbers game. We’ll see if we can salvage them, but getting a carrier is far more important. Don’t be fuckin’ retard.” Father snapped, he was angered that Kevin dare interrupt him. Father shook his head. “If you drop two, you can probably tie up the other two. All I care is that the girl gets back here alive. Anybody else is a fucking bonus.”
“So you aren’t coming with us?” Mike asked. “You’re making it sound like you’re staying back.”
“I have business I need to take care of. Now, you and Kevin can handle them. Just bait them one way and sneak up the other. You guys have taken out tougher men, especially if two of them are frail faggots.”
Mike and Kevin nodded. Kevin showed signs of apprehension; he didn’t have a ton of faith in Mike. But if they only had to get the girl, they could do it. Kevin was still uneasy. Even if Father said they didn’t need the others, Kevin knew that was a lie. They needed them, Kevin knew that they needed to restock. Father was just setting priorities. If they could bring back the girl and three fresh bodies, they’d be fucking set.
“So help me, don’t you boys even think about fucking this up. We need that girl. I expect her here in one piece. Y’all better get the move on.”
“Yes, Father.” Mike said. The brothers stepped out into the cool air, with a mission on their mind.
* * *
As Thad expected, he didn’t find any kind of creature off the trail. He faintly heard something, but it sounded far off. Thad was confident that it was a squirrel darting from tree to tree. Nothing to concern himself with. He reassured Victoria, and she seemed at ease. Nobody had jumped out at Thad, and they seemed alone. She still felt jittery, but there wasn’t a good reason, so she put it past her.
Ryan didn’t look relieved one bit. If there was a person watching them, they could have easily gotten out of eyesight. They could’ve hid behind a different tree and waited for Thad to come back to the trail.
For the rest of their hike, Ryan looked side to side. He could not void the unnerving feeling that someone was watching his every move.
The group progressed forward through the growing darkness. With each step, their feet ached, but they knew they were getting closer and closer to the clearing.
After what felt like an eternity, Thad broke the silence. “I see it guys! Just through there!”
Everybody perked up. It wasn’t long before the roots and leaves were replaced by healthy grass. They found themselves in the open air; there had to be half a football field of space before the woods resumed.
* * *
It didn’t take long before their tents were pitched, and the four teenagers were comfortably sitting around a small fire. While looking for a spot to set up, they stumbled onto a makeshift fire pit that must have been set up by past campers. Rocks outlined a large circle of dirt with enough space to build a fire in the center without a high risk of it spreading to the rest of the grass. They were truly lucky; it would have been a hell of a hassle to dig out several feet of grass to make a fire pit for themselves.
The summer night was cool, but it wasn’t frigid. They enjoyed the heat emanating from the flames, but it was by no means overwhelming. Thad always wanted things to be picturesque, so nobody was surprised when he wanted a bellowing camp fire, the type you would see in a movie. Despite Thad’s insistence, Danny and Ryan kept the fire calm and closely under watch. The last thing they needed was a wild fire, and they were willing to endure Thad’s condescending remarks.
“Come on, don’t be a pussy. I’m not a retard. It’s not going to get out of hand.”
Danny and Ryan ignored the remarks, and Vic was silently thankful that things didn’t get any more confrontational.
They devoured ramen cooked over the fire, dried fruit, and more of the trail mix they had left over. This was a testament to the intensity of their hike earlier, not the quality of their food.
Danny, Ryan, Thad, and Vic laughed, as the night wore on. With their stomachs fed, they lightened up. Thad toned down his intensity and Ryan seemed to forget his concerns during the day. He quickly forget about his desire to be at Lake Murray and his concerns that they were being watched.
The group reminisced on their time in high school, and they discussed their expectations for their first year in college. They couldn’t help but come together when they thought about the things they got away with – well, mostly the things that Thad and Danny got away with.
The guys laughed, but Victoria tried her best not to encourage them.
“I never told you about when Mr. Acosta confiscated our notebook?” Thad laughed, as he looked at Vic with shock.
She shook her head, as she blushed. She didn’t know where this one was going.
As Thad recapped the classic story, Danny found himself mentally stepping away from the conversation. In that moment, he wasn’t listening to Thad describe the disturbing pictures that they drew during class for the better part of two years.
Instead, Danny considered the three people around him. He could see Thad and Victoria’s future. They have only been dating for a few months, but they didn’t seem like the typical high school couple that would fall apart. They were planning on moving in together as soon as they could. Thad and Vic were thinking about building a life together; a life with two kids, a mini van, and a nice little house with a white picket fence. For all intensive purposes, their lives were spelled out in Danny’s mind, and he had trouble seeing it go any other way.
Thad and Vic were going to start at community college in the fall, and Danny didn’t expect either one of them to pursue a bachelor’s degree. That’s not a bad thing, but he could tell that they were just going to college because that’s what families expect nowadays. They were going to settle down with decent jobs and Vic would have a kid within three years.
Danny and Ryan were heading off to state in a couple months. It wasn’t far, less than an hour drive from their home town, but Danny had the creeping concern that he wasn’t going to be driving back in town to see Thad and Vic often.
He wasn’t even sure if he would see Ryan. They weren’t going into the same field, and state split up their student housing based on the school they were attending. He didn’t expect Ryan to assimilate to college well either. Whenever Thad convinced his older brother to buy them a twelve pack, Ryan never drank more than one beer, and Danny suspected that Ryan poured out half of it. Sure, Danny wasn’t going to get plastered seven nights a week, but he wasn’t planning on being sober every weekend.
Just like the jump from middle school to high school four years ago, rising up from high school to college was going to cost Danny a lot of his friends. He’d find new ones.
“I can’t believe you didn’t get suspended.” Victoria said with astonishment making Ryan and Thad bust out laughing.
“I don’t know why Mr. Acosta didn’t give our notebook to the principle. He had to have thought it was funny. If he didn’t think it was funny, he would have assumed we were disturbed kids.” Ryan laughed.
“I mean, there was a picture of Hedwig, the owl, with an artistically drawn dick. That shit had to have had him laughing his ass off.” Thad said. Vic rolled her eyes.
Danny’s realization made it all feel bittersweet. His friends laughed, but he become more overcome with the feeling that he wished this could be his life forever. Running gags, shitty jokes, and not having to worry about any real responsibility.
Danny pushed those thoughts out of his head; if he didn’t, they would realize he wasn’t feeling great. Luckily, his thoughts were interrupted by Victoria passing around ingredients to make s’mores.
After another half an hour of sweets and laughs, Victoria suggested that they should head to bed. They had a long walk tomorrow, and they were all exhausted. Thad briefly protested, he hadn’t begun delving into the alcohol he had packed, but he quickly ceded to her. No need for drinks, they already had a great night.
After putting out the fire, Danny found himself bundled in a sleeping bag next to Ryan. His eyes were wide open, as he stared at the dark fabric that pieced together the old, withering tent.
Danny wondered how many more nights he would have with Thad, Vic, and Ryan. He didn’t know how many times they’d be able to goof off during the summer, and he doubted that they’d do it more than a couple times once his university classes started. He sighed. It should be a time of excitement. He should enjoy himself. As an eighteen year old kid, Danny shouldn’t be thinking that hard. He should be living his life without a care in the world. But he couldn’t.
* * *
Thad sat up and pushed his blankets to the side.
“What are you doing?” Vic asked, clearly upset that her big spoon had suddenly moved. They had been lying down for about five minutes, and she was on the edge of succumbing to sleep.
Thad dug through his backpack, and he turned to Vic with a bit of surprise. He figured she had fallen asleep a couple minutes ago – she was like that most the time.
“I’m going to take a shit.” Thad said. “I thought you were asleep.”
“Have fun with that.” She let out a slight chuckle. Classic Thad. You couldn’t get annoyed with his crass language or else you’d always be pissed off.
She turned away, and Thad took out a roll of toilet paper and a flashlight from his backpack. Thad clumsily unzipped the tent and stumbled into the fresh air. He zipped it back up before turning to the world around him. He didn’t want to shit in the middle of the field. It would be easier if he did it inside the forest – weren’t you supposed to hug a tree while you shit in the woods? Thad thought he’d heard that somewhere. The closest trees were to his right, so without another thought, he turned on his flashlight and walked in that direction.
___
Next Chapter: Mike and Kevin make their first move and we see the fallout from that conflict.
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Tom Chambers 