by Russ Watts
GOLIATH
Russ Watts
Copyright 2016 by Russ Watts
www.severedpress.com
In an insane world I’d like to thank my family and friends for keeping me sane. The monsters in this book are for you.
Now you know what dreams are made of…
CHAPTER 1
“Norman, what are you doing?” whispered Melanie. She looked at her colleague as the bus ran over another pothole, throwing her back into her seat.
Norman Livingstone cast his weary eyes around the school bus, and then slowly back to Melanie. A bead of sweat ran down the side of his forehead. God he felt old. He had been teaching twenty-four years, and instead of it getting easier, he felt like it was getting harder. The classrooms got larger, while the budget got smaller. As Vice Principal, he shouldered a lot of responsibility, and though he hadn’t discussed it with anyone but his wife, Joan, retirement was a distinct possibility in the next couple of years. He wanted to be able to spend some time with his wife before the job killed him. He had no doubt that fate would somehow find a way of bumping him off on a Friday afternoon, just before summer vacation.
“Norman. Hello? What are you doing?”
Melanie was only in her third year at Saint Joseph’s and still enthusiastic about everything. Literally, everything. She volunteered for anything going: netball practice, co-ordinating dance class for the lower grades, and organizing the annual Christmas Dinner for all thirty teachers. Now, she was helping him take a class of delinquents out into the Mojave.
“I’m thinking,” he replied. He wiped the bead of sweat away with the back of his hand. They had chosen May to visit, as it was cooler at the start of summer. It was only in the nineties instead of over a hundred if they had come a month later. Unfortunately, it was proving to be a very hot start to the day, and inside a cramped crowded bus with almost thirty boisterous children, it felt like an oven. Norman was counting down the minutes until he could get off.
“What are you thinking about? I thought we were going over the schedule for later. You kinda…tuned out there. I thought you might be having a stroke or something.”
Norman offered Melanie a weak smile at her equally weak attempt at humor. She meant well, but her bubbly personality and enthusiasm was beginning to grate. She was attractive with short blonde hair and always had a long queue at parent-teacher evening, mostly from the single fathers. Norman doubted if she would ever wake up one day to the reality that this was hell. Teaching had been rewarding at times, but mostly at the start of his career rather than the end. Now, he just found it to be completely and utterly draining. Inner-city schools in Los Angeles tended to rank low on the list of ‘Top Fifty Places to Work’ list. It wasn’t just the kids either, but the red tape and bureaucracy, the tick-boxes and forms that constantly had to be done. He hadn’t signed up to spend half of his day looking at revenue-streams, expenses and attending urban school facility planning forums.
Norman looked at his colleague and leaned over to her conspiratorially. “I was thinking how nice a day it could be to be out here all alone, just wandering through the desert with nothing but the sky above me for company. Then I remembered I have thirty delightful children to look after for the next twelve hours. I was thinking, how many of the precious little darlings will I have to send home with a detention slip today? I was thinking, how many of them have smuggled alcohol or drugs on board?”
Melanie laughed. “Norman, you’re such a joker. They’re only ten years old!”
Exactly, he thought. He returned her laugh with a deadpan smile. “You’re right, Melanie, I’m joking.”
The bus turned a corner in the dusty road, and Norman felt his stomach go as they jolted over another pothole. Christ, hadn’t they heard of asphalt out here? It wasn’t just the heat or the noise he had to contend with, or Melanie’s constant never-say-die chirpy attitude, but the cheap rust bucket the school had provided for them. It had most likely last been serviced when Nixon was facing off against Kennedy.
“So, you think we should—”
The bus lurched and came to an abrupt halt, and everybody was flung forward in their seats. Some of the children joined Melanie in screaming, and Norman wondered if they had hit something. As long as it was a skunk and not a hitchhiker, he could live with that.
Norman reached over the aisle and touched Melanie’s arm. “Are you okay?” He turned around to see dozens of scared faces looking back at him. “Is everyone okay? Settle down, and stay seated please, I’ll check what is happening. Miss Sykes is here if any of you need anything.”
Norman unpeeled his legs from the worn leather seat, and approached the driver. Other than a cloud of dust, the view through the front window was unimpeded. As the dust cloud settled, Norman saw sparse scrub, and the burgeoning Joshua tree forest ahead. He could see no reason for an emergency stop.
“What’s the problem?” Norman asked the driver. “We just add to the roadkill count?”
The driver was an old man who had been driving school groups and tour groups to the area for as long as he could remember. He was an employee of the bus company and cared little for pleasantries. Norman had been on plenty of trips with drivers just like him and knew full well that the drivers loved children about as much as they did potholes.
“Goddamn roads out. See? Shit, if I hadn’t seen it when I did, we’d be ass over teakettle now.”
Norman looked to where the driver was pointing, trying to ignore the peculiar expression emanating from the old man’s mouth, and noticed the subsidence in the dirt road. To the left, it fell away into the scrub narrowing the already constricted road down to barely a single lane.
“Can we get through?” Norman asked.
The driver shifted in his seat to look at Norman and turned up his nose. “No. I’ve barely enough room here to turn around. If you want to carry on, you’ll have to go on foot. The parking area is about a hundred feet up ahead. You’ll find the gift shop, bathrooms and signs pointing out where the path is through the forest. I suggest you head on in. Just retrace your steps when you’re done. I’ll back up and find some place to turn us around, and wait here for you. I’ll have to call it in too. We can‘t bring any more tour groups down here with the road like this.”
“What happened?” Norman knew there had been no rainfall in the area for a couple of weeks, and precious little before that. Perhaps it was just old age that had caused the road to collapse. He could identify with that very well. Norman knew the roads out here often suffered from poor maintenance. They were low down the list of priorities compared to the network in LA. Just like Vice Principals, he thought.
“We had a good jolt three weeks back, that could’ve done it. There’ve been a few shakes lately, more than is usual for here.” The driver shrugged his shoulders to indicate he wasn’t interested in discussing the condition of the road any further. “Anyways, you want to get off here?”
“Thanks, yeah. Let me and Melanie get the kids ready, and we’ll see you back here in, what, about two hours?”
The driver nodded and opened the bus door, letting the warm air inside. Norman felt the heat envelope him, cuddling him in its arms like an overly protective mother. It felt like he was slowly suffocating, and he wished he was back at home sipping a cold Chardonnay with Joan in the spa pool. Instead of enjoying some down-time, he was walking through a hot desert with a group of future petty criminals. It was going to be a long day.
Sighing, Norman turned back to Melanie and explained what was happening. Together, they herded the excited children off the bus and outside into the sunshine.
“Oh, I do love the drama,” said Melanie. “Isn’t this just fascinating? This may be old news to you, Norman, but I’ve
never been here before. I don’t know who’s more excited, me or the children.”
Norman smiled, and when Melanie turned away from him to wave the driver off, he rolled his eyes. Give it twenty years, then see how exciting you find it, he thought. Norman pulled the backpack around his shoulders tight, feeling the weight of it press against his back. Rivulets of sweat were already forming, and he was going to need more than a shower when he got home. Joan would probably hose him down in the back yard. The backpack was essential though, full of medical supplies and water, just in case one of the precious children decided to fall over and scrape a knee. He also had thirty candy bars tucked away at the bottom of it, a little bribe to make sure they all stayed in line. The threat of denying them their sugar fix would soon see all but the most delinquent of them follow orders.
A slender pale hand reached up and took Melanie’s. Sparkling blue eyes looked up into hers. “Miss Sykes, I need to go to the bathroom.”
“Okay, Robert, we’re going now. We’ll be there in a few minutes. You can stay with me until then.”
As Melanie held little Robert’s hand, Norman felt guilty for being annoyed by her. She could be a bit over-the-top, but she meant well and always put the kids first. If he was twenty years younger, he would probably have had a crack at her too. He occasionally overheard some of the other younger teachers discussing how hot she was. He hadn’t failed to notice, but the days of chasing skirt were long gone. He was happy with Joan and had no desire to find himself a young plaything to ruin things. He was quite happy with how things were, and Melanie could screw her way through the entire teaching staff if she so wanted. He doubted she would even think about such things. Her private life remained private, and all he knew about her was that she had been brought up on a small farm close to Fort Worth with two dogs, a brother, and a regular visit to church on Sundays. She had been the perfect teacher since arriving and hadn’t had a single grievance raised about her performance.
“Right, stay in your pairs and follow me,” Norman shouted to the disorderly line behind him. “The bathrooms are right up ahead so try to control yourselves, please? Do not leave the road. Do not touch anything. And do not even think about… Benji, what are you doing? Now is not the time for dancing. Back in line, now. Right, follow me.”
Shaking his head, he led the line of children away from the bus and into the forest. He heard the bus reversing slowly, knowing the driver would ensure he found time to take a good nap whilst they were gone. He was lucky he didn’t have to accompany them on the field trip. Norman had come to this spot a few years ago, but it had been a while since the school’s last visit to the Mojave. After the Joshua tree forest, they were going to head on to Kelso Depot for a history lesson and some lunch at the only café for miles in a nearby store. Then it was back to Baker to the wildlife park before the long journey back to the city. Norman hoped that the kids would be able to run around at the park and tire themselves out. He could do with a quiet journey home, and the only way that was going to happen was if he could get the children tired. He knew he was going to be shattered, and tomorrow morning promised no respite, just meetings and classes, followed by more mundane meetings. He looked over at Melanie holding Robert’s hand and smiled. The boy trusted her to look after him completely. Norman knew he had to shake off this mood he was in. It wasn’t all bad. Joan often told him he was turning into a grumpy old man. Now that the bus was out of sight, he looked around and remembered why he liked coming here. It was so different from LA. There were trees for a start, and he could actually see the sky. The air was clearer, fresher, and the kids were more engaged. So many of them would never get the chance to do this with their families, and it was good for them not to be cooped up inside in a stuffy classroom for a change. Norman decided he was going to try to find some of that excitement that Melanie and the kids had, to feed off it and use it.
As they walked down the road, Norman noticed the trees were sparse, but thickening quickly. Occasionally, a small cluster would cast a shadow over the road, and he could feel the temperature drop just a few degrees. It was still very early in the morning, so the sun was just low enough to throw them a few shadows. It was a welcome respite from the sweltering heat. As they approached the parking area he realized that there was nobody else around. With the road out and the early time of day it was hardly surprising, yet it was a little unnerving to be so alone. He was used to people being around all the time in the city. If it wasn’t for the chatter and laughter of the children, he would probably be able to hear his own heartbeat.
At the sight of the concrete toilet block, the children splintered. Some of them ran straight for it. They had been on the bus for a couple of hours. Small bladders and long bumpy journeys were not a good mix. As the giddy children swamped the toilets, Norman approached Melanie.
“The gift shop’s closed. Maybe we’ll give them a few minutes to look around it after we’ve been into the forest and done the trail?”
“Yeah. It’s too early to be open yet,” she said, watching Benji raise his hands above his head and then perform a pirouette in the dust to the laughter of the crowd around him. “I’ll give them five minutes to do their business, then round them up. You want to check out the sign and make sure you know where we’re going? I can’t wait to get in there, it’s just so—”
“Fascinating? I know.” Norman winked and grinned. Melanie chuckled, and then went to gather the children as Norman examined the sign. There was a small map of the area with blue arrows indicating the best path through the forest. The circuit they were doing took almost an hour to walk, though Norman knew it would be a lot longer with nearly thirty excitable children in tow. There were the usual warning signs about snakes and coyotes, and a reminder not to touch anything or be tempted to take it home. The desert was precious and there for everyone to be a part of.
He couldn’t explain it, but he had an odd feeling. Shouldn’t there be other tourists here by now? It was approaching nine thirty and it wasn’t that unusual for tour groups to get an early start out here, to avoid the midday heat. The shop was supposed to open at nine too. Norman shrugged it off. Enjoy the day out, he told himself. It beats sitting at a desk and marking tests all day long.
As they walked through the trail, Norman blocked out the sound of the children’s chatter. He stayed at the front, frequently turning around to make sure they were all following him. Melanie was busy pointing out various plants and describing the Joshua trees to them. Most of the class were enthralled by her, captivated by the way she spoke fervently about the native trees. Some of the children though were more interested in entertaining their friends or playing the fool. Benji was still busy dancing, Aaron was picking boogers and flicking them at Brooke, while little Lizzy Morrison was pulling Ophelia’s pigtails. The two girls were giggling away, and Norman knew they weren’t interested in the desert. They would be when they got back to class tomorrow and had to write about their experience.
Norman suddenly stopped and held up his hand. “Hold on, everyone, just hold it.” They had been walking for half an hour, pushing further into the forest, and Norman knew he hadn’t deviated from the track. He had walked this path before, and definitely had not gone wrong. So what lay ahead of him was very odd, very odd indeed.
The children behind him ceased walking immediately, and Melanie told Jessie to quit punching Liam in the arm.
“He started it,” muttered Jessie, before Melanie gave her a glare that told her to shut up while she was still ahead.
“Melanie, can you come up here a second?” Norman turned around and beckoned her forward.
“What is it?” Melanie swept the blonde hair from her eyes and peered at the track. She knew they couldn’t carry on. The trip was turning out to be a failure. First the awful road, and now this? “Oh…shoot. Norman, what happened?”
“My guess is the same quake that took out the road back there. Who knows? The driver said they’d had a few lately. Looks like the path has been taken out. Ther
e’s no way we can get through. The Joshua trees will have to wait for another day.” Norman saw the disappointment in Melanie’s eyes. He knew it wasn’t for her own sake, but for her class.
The path was gone. It looked like it had been torn from the ground, ripped up into pieces, and then thrown back down. Broken chunks of rock scattered the forest, and some of the trees had been uprooted, exposing their dark innards. It was quite impossible for even an experienced walker to carry on, and certainly there was no way to take the children through. That look of sadness in Melanie’s eyes punctured Norman’s thoughts. He felt like a bully, bursting her balloon for no good reason.
“Look, we can turn around, go back to the bus, and carry on to Kelso Depot early, or we can have an adventure,” he said, an idea suddenly popping into his overworked mind.
“An adventure?” Melanie looked at him, as if he were mad. “Norman, I don’t think the children are quite ready to go rock-climbing just yet.”
Norman dabbed at his forehead with a soggy tissue. “Look, the path has slumped away to the side here, and the ground is firm. You can see a clearing down there, so let’s just take the kids down there for a few minutes. They won’t know any different, and you can still show them what we came here for. It’s better than getting back on that big old yellow bus, right? Come on, just give it a few minutes. It’s perfectly safe.”
“Yeah, okay, it does look quite interesting.”
Norman smiled. “I’d say it looks fascinating.”
“Okay, let it go, old man.” Melanie turned around to face the children who were still lined up in their pairs. “All right, we’re going down here to a clearing in the forest. Mr. Livingstone has a treat for you all, if you behave. That includes you, Lizzy. You pull any more pigtails, and I’ll give your candy bar to Liam.”
The children squealed with laughter, and then Norman walked down the gentle slope through the forest. There were only half a dozen trees, and the ground was easy to navigate. The clearing appeared, although it wasn’t quite how he had expected it to be. The ground was firm, yet there was another opening through the forest, where the trees had been pulled apart as if by a giant.
