I swung my legs around and put my feet on the cold floor. Geez, maybe I needed a rug. Onyx stood, still wagging his tail. I searched the floor for something to wear. Looking around, I realized that being organized meant I couldn't find anything. Finally, I found one pair of clean socks in a drawer. I sighed, looking at the dirty clothes in the hamper. I sorted through the thing, silently thanking Mom for not getting me anything white anymore. Sorting colors was for chumps.
I scooped a huge pile of dirty clothes into my arms. Onyx rushing ahead as I stumbled down the stairs, looking around the laundry to see where I was going.
“What are you doing?” Mom asked. “Oh! Laundry? Miracles never cease. Don't forget to take Onyx out.”
I glanced at Onyx patiently waiting by the back door. As if he’d let me forget….
I went to the laundry room, stuffed the whole bundle into the machine and added some soap.
Mom rounded the corner. “Did you remember how much soap to put in?”
Busted.
“Ah... I put in this much.” I held up my hand with my index finger and thumb about two inches apart.
“No! You're going to wash the world, honey. Scoop some out.”
I scooped until she was happy, then turned on the machine
After that, I opened the back door for Onyx.
I watched him run around the “potty area.” It was the lamest name in the world, but the lady from the animal shelter had said using the same words they used at the shelter would keep things consistent for Onyx. I think he would have taken a growler just about anywhere, being as it was his absolute favorite thing to do. As I thought this, he did the old hunch-back, laying a steamer on the gravel—a prize to be scooped up later, by me, of course.
We went inside and I smelled pancakes. Dad was on his pulse-top, reading boring news or looking at stocks. I plopped down in my seat, whipping out my pulse to talk to Jade.
Caleb: Hey, hotness.
JLeC :Hi! Whatcha doin'?
Caleb: Just sittin' here waiting for the deelish pancakes!
JLeC: Jealous! Are they fruit pancakes?
Caleb:
JLeC: What do you have against fruit? It's good for you!
Caleb: That.
JLeC: What? That it's good for you?
Caleb: That.
JLeC: Okay.
Caleb: I want to show you the new place.
JLeC: Are we being careful here?
Caleb: Always.
JLeC: Okay... what time?
Caleb: Three o'clock. I'll pick you up.
JLeC: Idk, do ya think it's good for you to come to the neighborhood?
Caleb: Yeah. Are there more problems with your dad?
JLeC: Not atm but he goes off in random rages. He's definitely not predictable.
Caleb: Doesn't matter. I won't hide.
JLeC: I know. That's why you're so special.
Caleb: You're special too, ya know.
JLeC: Thank you ☺ See ya later.
Caleb: See ya.
“Who's that?” Mom asked, putting a stack of pancakes down in front of me.
“Jade.”
“No more pulsing at the table,” Dad said. “What are you guys doing later this evening?”
Third degree. “Ah...we're just going to walk around and stuff.”
They looked at each other, parental radar detection system on line.
Mom said, “You two are welcome to be here at the house.”
“I know. We just want to walk around. It's warm now,” I said.
Dad nodded. “The summer stretches before one, shimmering in its ethereal beauty.”
Mom and I stared at him.
Dad shrugged. “Just waxing poetic.”
“Well... don't, Dad.”
Mom burst out laughing, batting her eyelashes.
Dad smiled at her.
Geez.
I slipped Onyx a wad of pancake.
The Boy handed the Dog some wonderful food stuff, full of life and not the dead food that he was accustomed to eating from the building-full-of-dogs. It was because he was a Good Dog. The Boy's word-smells filled his head, and the Dog was happy and wagged his tail.
Onyx did a subtle wolf-down of the pancake. He was a great dog. Dad caught the whole food thing and gave me the look that said Mom should not find out. I nodded.
After breakfast, I headed for the bathroom to complete the shower hassle. I had gotten used to being clean and didn't like the grimy feeling anymore. Not that I would admit that to the Js or anything. Dudes on hygiene... no.
I stepped out of the shower, swished the towel over the mirror, and examined my face. Jade would be up close and personal. No zits—check. No unsightly man-hair on the face—check. But I did need a haircut.
I got dressed then went downstairs and told Mom about the hair situation.
“I'll give you a buzz, son,” Dad said.
“Okay. Can you not make me look like a retarded nerd?”
“Caleb—” Mom started.
“That's an oxymoron, it's not technically a put-down,” I said cleverly, using yet another vocab word.
Dad tried not to grin and failed.
Mom frowned. “I loathe the whole retard talk. I thought we had moved past that.”
“Apparently not!” Dad badly his grin.
“Okay, not funny! You goons do the male bonding thing.” Mom huffed out of the room.
“Nice, Dad.”
“Once in a while, I have a moment of clarity. I'll have to sweet talk her later.”
The haircut took forever. Dad said he needed to taper it for styling. I just itched, and my feet got hot.
Mom came back and surveyed the pile of hair growing on the floor. “What about the little hairs getting all over and inside your clothes?”
I shrugged. I'd get through it somehow. I sure didn't want to repeat the whole shower routine.
“Done!” Dad said.
I got up, brushing off my shirt. Onyx went over to the pile of hair and gave it a sniff. He backed away, emitting a low growl.
The Dog smelled the Boy, who was standing while a part of him was on the floor. It was confusing for the Dog. Was the Boy hurt? The Dog looked up at the Boy, the rest of the pack seemed untroubled by the pile of Boy-smelling stuff on the floor. The Dog backed away.
“It's okay, Onyx,” I said, toeing the pile.
Mom headed for the kitchen. “Let me get a broom before that gets all over the house.”
Dad said, “Go check it out in the mirror.”
I stepped into the foyer and looked in the mirror. I hoped Jade liked short hair. The cut made me look older and taller. That couldn't be all bad. The top of my head felt like a million soft needles poking my palm.
When I went back, Mom was cleaning up the mess. Onyx looked as if he thought part of me was getting taken away and buried.
I thought, It's okay. Good dog.
He looked at me and began to wag his tail. The connection thing was pretty awesome.
Dad looked at me expectantly.
“Oh, um… thanks Dad.”
“You like?”
“Yeah, it's all right.”
“What do you think, hon?” he asked Mom.
She looked critically at my nearly bald head. “It's... short.”
“Come on, Mom. You're always bugging me about my hair,” I said, defending Dad's skills.
She nodded. “That's true. You won't need one again anytime soon.”
I took off to my room, Onyx on my heels. I jumped on my bed, bouncing and Onyx settled at the end of it. I pulsed the Js.
Jonesy: We need the zombie work force, Caleb.
John Terran: I don't normally agree with all of Jonesy's ideas, but he's right. A zombie in there could take care of the tunnel issue right away.
Caleb: We can't talk about all this stuff on pulse.
John Terran: You're right. Let's meet later.
Caleb: No. You guys, I nee
d to be with Jade tonight.
Jonesy: We have nights now? Nights? It's like joint custody or something!
Caleb: Okay guys, okay. You jerks don't have gfs, so you don't get it.
Jonesy: Tomorrow then, Romeo?
Caleb:
John Terran: Deal.
***
Pedaling hard, I rounded the corner and entered Valley Keys, Jade’s neighborhood.
I pulled into her driveway and hopped off my bike, swinging my leg over and doing a little skip and jog to slow down. Engaging the kickstand, I set it up close to the fence, smacking the latch on the gate and walking up to the front door. Jade's Aunt's house was all white. White body, white trim and white door. Kinda creepy.
Jade stepped out the front door looking fan-tas-tic. She wore her dark jeans, and her hair was swept back in neon-green elastic hair thing. A cami that matched the hair thing peeked out from beneath her hot pink top.
She walked over, zipping up a hoodie that was as midnight blue as the jeans.
“Hey.”
My mouth was a little dry. Whoever said beautiful girls were mouthwatering must not have actually talked to one.
I smiled, swallowing to conjure up some saliva.
“Hey back,” I finally croaked out. Jade's smile turned into a grin. Great, so she knew I was reacting to her so much it made me ache.
Her aunt appeared in the doorway.
I cleared my throat.
“Where are you two going?”
I sure wasn't going to tell her the actual place, she'd tell Psycho-Daddy for sure.
“We're going to check out the ice cream shop.”
Jade gave me a look. I looked back like, don't blow it.
“The one where the old Baskin-Robbins used to be?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I was little when they got rid of it.”
“What's the name now?” she asked. Man, she was goin' for the details.
Jade answered, “Terhune's Ice Cream.”
“When do you need to be home?” Andrea asked Jade.
“Ten.”
Jade swung her leg up over her bike, standing with her sandal clad feet on either side of the bar between the seat and the handlebars. On girls' bikes you could do that. Boys' bikes had the ball-buster feature.
Jade balanced on her seat, one foot hitting one side, then the other taking over. I swung up on my seat as I started to pedal with my left foot first, putting on that burst of speed just to get going. I looked around to see if Jade was close. She was but I slowed down, she was shorter and I didn't think she had that maneuver down that the Js and I did. But, I was wrong, she was right on my flank, no trouble at all.
We rode down Kent-Kangley, a dangerous stretch if you didn't pay close attention. My parents always said, “Caleb, pay close attention.” I'd respond, “I won't get creamed today, guys.”
Confidence inspiring.
We took the back route to Scenic Hill. We passed the cemetery on our left after cresting a long hill that at the bottom you think, no problem. But at the top you're like, thank God that's over.
It wasn't long until we were at the dump.
Jade looked at me, balanced precariously on her seat. “Okay...so this is the hideaway?”
I realized that I didn't know the combo for the lock.
“Hold on a sec.” I pulsed John.
John Terran: Hey, what's up?
Caleb: I'm here with Jade and I forgot to get the combo from you.
John Terran: Smooth, Hart, in front of the gf and the whole jazz.
Caleb: I know, dill-weed. Just give it to me.
John Terran: Look up there at the sign and just reverse the last four of the phone number.
Caleb: Which part?
John Terran: Didn't I just say?
Caleb: There’s a bunch of numbers.
John Terran: It's the one that begins with the area code in parentheses.
Caleb: Okay. Thanks.
I put my pulse back in my pocket.
“Sorry. John had to give me the combo for this.” I jerked a thumb toward the massive lock.
I explained about John figuring out the combination and how we had found a tunnel underneath a mound of cars.
Jade's face scrunched up in a cute way. “I don't want to sound like a lame adult here, but is it safe?”
“Of course! The Js and I went in there for a couple of hours.”
She didn't look entirely convinced.
“What I mean is… do you think the pile will collapse?”
“No. But, I guess we'll see what's what when the zombies take care of some space issues. There's a tight spot in there just before it opens up into the main room.”
Jade's black eyebrows rose, arching prettily on that smooth forehead of hers.
Flicking her hair over her shoulder, she said, “So let me get this straight. The zombies are going to go in there, and if they get stuck, they're already dead, so zero loss?”
It sounded bad put like that.
“Ah, I haven't really thought about it that much. Me and the Js,” Jade threw up her hands.
“What?”
“Tell me. Was it Jonesy?”
“Well, yeah.”
“His ideas always get everyone in trouble.”
“Sometimes,” I replied loyally.
“Usually,” she replied with accuracy.
“Alright, I guess we'll just have to be careful with the zombies.”
“Let's get a girl with some brains in on this too.”
“John and I have brains.”
“But somehow Jonesy comes up with all these schemes, and you and John bail everyone out with a shovel.”
I shrugged.
“Okay, who's the smart girl?”
“Well, we're all smart.”
“Ah-huh.”
“I was thinking Tiffany Weller,” Jade said.
“Tiff? I don't know. Sometimes things go weird.”
“What if she can help? What if adults show up?”
I guess, besides her dad, we hadn't had a lot of that. I didn't say it though.
“Okay, you pulse Tiff and see if she wants to involve herself. She's already said yes to the haunted house thing.”
“Another Jonesy idea,” Jade said.
“Yeah.”
“It does sound pretty cool,” she admitted.
“Yeah.”
Jade walked toward the gate with me following. I spun the numbers, and it clicked open smoothly, first time. We walked in and I adjusted it in the fake lock position.
“We can't stop living just because the government might be up-our-ass.”
“Up your ass.” She grinned.
“Right.”
We walked together hand in hand until we came to the pink fridge. Jade walked around the part of it that she was able to, but the very back was more or less surrounded by pieces of cars, with a whole car on its nose (scrunched down) all along the left side. It was still bright daylight out but I knew it would be gloomy-as-hell inside. That wouldn't work and I bent down, grabbing a metal tool, about sixteen inches long, with two curved sides opposite each other. I think Dad called it a crow... something. I used it to prop the door open and explained the coffin theory. The look on her face! Geez! I gave her a fierce hug, putting my hand on the back of her neck, leaning her into me.
I'll never let anything happen to her.
She scared easy but she'd been brave with her dad. Scared of being trapped?
“What is it?” I asked, brushing a wisp of hair behind her ear.
“I hate being in tight spaces,” she mumbled.
“We won't be. The crow-thing will hold the door.”
I led the way down the tunnel. It didn't seem to take nearly as long as it had the first time. I went through the tight squeeze first and turned to help Jade, but she just popped right out.
I clicked on the LED light and shone it around the area.
“Wow,” she said. “You're right. This is perfect. It's got a creep factor,
but it will be invisible to most adults.” She pulled out her pulse.
“Can you pulse?”
I got mine out and thumbed the pad: Pulse-signal impairment.
“No, I can't get squat.”
“Me either,” she said.
We sighed in unison and I gave her a kiss on the cheek, but she turned just enough and our mouths collided softly. I hadn't actually had a chance to kiss Jade but had given it a lot of thought. I used one hand to palm my pulse inside my jeans pocket and folded Jade into my body as if she was always meant to fit perfectly. I worked my mouth over the top of her lips, barely lifting off its silky surface for even an instant. She tasted wonderful. She stood on tiptoe to reach me, winding her slender arms around my neck, pressing her hand into the base of my skull as I clenched her body in against mine.
I broke away and looked down at her, our bodies just skimming each other. I watched her pulse thudding in the hollow of her throat, mine a mirror.
All I could think was she was so close to me, and she smelled great. A feeling of need pressed down on my chest, but I backed up a little, giving her some space.
“That was nice,” she said.
“Yeah, it was.”
“Our first real kiss.” She ducked her head, black hair falling forward.
I was dazed but definitely up for a repeat performance. Yeah, I was into the whole practice-makes-perfect philosophy. But I didn’t want to push it.
“We better get going, or your aunt will freak out.”
“Yeah, I guess. I could stay here with you all night.”
“Not scared anymore?” I teased.
“Not so much, no.” She smiled.
I turned off the LED, expecting the light from the tunnel to be enough to guide me to the opening. Instead, we were plunged into complete darkness.
“Caleb?” Jade cried.
“It's okay.” I flipped the LED back on.
No... no it's not. “I think someone closed the door.”
“What? Who?”
“Those jerks.
Carson and Brett.
“Brett’s been in here. He touched this spot over here.”
Well—hell. No pulse, no way out. In the dark with my girlfriend.
Hey... in the dark with my girlfriend. Now that had possibilities.
“Caleb!” She sounded a little hysterical.
“I'll think of something. Just stay calm. ”
My mind turned to the graveyard not two blocks away. I guess the zombie crew were going to have to start early.
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