Not Alone

by Frederic Martin

  “What are you talking about? And why did you bring me all the way over here to show this to me? And what are you doing now?”

  Blue had started climbing the tree. She climbed like a cat right up to the lowest branches. “Can you see me from down there? Walk around, and see if you can spot me.”

  Will was starting to feel like he was a trained monkey, and he was getting a little ticked off by it. She’s moody all week, then leads him here, hands him a joint in a ziplock, then climbs a tree and tells him to walk around and see how well she is hiding? What was happening? He felt like leaving, like dropping the joint and just going home. But she was a kid—she was his responsibility. He felt like an older brother wrapped around the little finger of a bossy little sister.

  “Well?” came her vox from above.

  Will hesitated, but then gave in. He couldn’t leave her alone, and if he was going to find out what was going on, he was just going to have to see this evening through.

  He looked up from where he stood. The broad canopy of the tree kept the light from the streetlight out and deepened the shadows near the trunk of the tree. Will could make out the silhouette of her head and one shoulder “I can make out your head, but only because I know it’s there.” He saw a light blob bouncing a little bit, “And I can see the white bottom of your shoe.”

  “Damn, I forgot about these sneakers. I need to wear my black slippers. What about from over there near the parking lot?”

  Will could hear her making some adjustments in her position up in the tree. He walked slowly backward toward the parking lot, moving his head around to see if he could spot anything that was a giveaway.

  “Well?” came a vox from the tree.

  “Well, I can’t see you from here, and I know where you are. Let me check it out from different angles.”

  Will and Blue spent the next few minutes checking out different angles and different positions. Some were perfect from one angle but not so perfect from another angle. If anyone had been watching, it must have looked like a lost deranged boy was lurching silently around the tree as if he had never seen one before in his life.

  Finally, Will voxed, “I really doubt anyone who didn’t know you were there would ever spot you. You’d have to make noise to give it away.” Then he remembered he had the night vision camera hanging around his neck. “Wait a sec, I want to see if I can find you with this.” He powered it up and turned the illuminator on and then held it to his eye. There was Blue, clear as day waving at him. He put the camera down and squinted carefully. Nothing.

  “Is there room up there? I’m coming up,” Will said, and he climbed up to join Blue. Now he could see why it was easy for her to hide. It was a very roomy spot where several large branches converged. “You were clear as day in this night vision camera with the illuminator on, but I couldn’t see anything without it.”

  Blue reached out and nodded her head at the camera. Will took the camera from around his neck and handed it to her. She took it and fiddled expertly with the controls and then held it up to her eye and started scanning the area below.

  Will watched her. She was totally engrossed. Hidden under her dark hair and buried somewhere deep was this place she retreated to. In that place, she was dancing to a different drummer, living a different life. Nobody seemed to know what that was. Will decided that he was going no further until he found out. Things were starting to get just a little too weird, and he didn’t want to be a partner in madness.

  “What’s up with the joint, Blue?” he whispered.

  She looked at Will. “It was a test. I got the joint this afternoon. I went to the park and decided to see if Greazal would sell me a joint. If he did, I decided I was going to take those guys down. He didn’t sell it to me, he GAVE it to me!”

  She paused for Will’s reaction, but he was silent.

  “Don’t you get it?” she asked.

  “No, I don’t get it, Blue. You are tight as a drum. I don’t know what the hell is going on in that head of yours.”

  “Look,” she voxed, “on the way back home I heard a man and woman chiss about scoring some smack—heroin! They’re going to meet a guy, Bronco, here at midnight tomorrow night and buy it from him! Gronk is Bronco! With this night vision camera, we can take these guys down!”

  “What? Geez Blue, you’re not serious! Let’s just tell the cops and let them handle it! That’s what they are paid to do!” He didn’t even try to hide his voice.

  “Stop talking! For crying out loud, you want to give away this hiding place!”

  “Sorry! For some reason I just went completely nuts, because you are insane. Forgive me! For God’s sake, Blue, I can’t keep going on this crazy vendetta without knowing what is going on in your head. Even then, I still think it’s crazy. We’re not superheroes. You can’t just go out and sneak around conquering bad guys.”

  Blue looked away from Will. She was looking off into the dark at nothing. She finally spoke in a whisper, “What more do you need to know than the fact that these guys are giving kids drugs—little kids! Me! All they want is easy money, and they don’t care about anyone. Do you want Rose or Sam to start smoking dope? Do you think Gronk or Greazal cares what happens if they did? Do you think you could prevent Rose and Sam from doing it just by saying ‘Don’t do it’? Really, how stupid are adults thinking they can just tell kids not to do it and think they won’t?”

  “That’s it then? You don’t trust adults? Is that what this is all about? Is that why you don’t want to go to the cops? Well, what about me? Do you trust me? Do you think it’s stupid for me to tell you not to do this and hope that you won’t do it? You think it is stupid for me to care when it’s all I can do? It’s all I can do because I don’t know what is driving you! If I did, I’d try and stop that!”

  Blue looked down and was silent. Will waited. She finally looked up at him. He was expecting a look of anger, but instead it was a look of anguish. Even the deep shadows of the tree couldn’t hide it.

  “You can’t stop it. I’m the only one that can stop it,” she voxed.

  Will could sense that this was the core. Something happened that only she knew about, and she didn’t trust telling anyone else, so she was dealing with it on her own.

  “You’re wrong. There are people who will listen and help. What about Ma Beth? She’d listen to you. I will listen and help. My Mom would listen and help. She is awesome. She is a psychiatrist, you know.”

  Blue’s face became hard. “You don’t know anything about it! They’ve been trying to tell me how to stop it for years, and they don’t have a clue! I honestly don’t know why anyone listens to those people. They are so full of crap!”

  “My mom’s not full of crap. She’s really good at it,” voxed Will calmly.

  “Therapists! Doctors! Psychiatrists! That’s exactly what I’m talking about! I’ve been to so many of them, and I trusted them, and all their drugs and talking and therapy. Do you know what it did to me? Do you?” hissed Blue in an angry, exasperated whisper. She didn’t wait for an answer. “A psych ward for six weeks! You know what it’s like being around crazy people? Best thing that happened to me there was I figured out I wasn’t crazy! Half the people in there weren’t crazy; they just didn’t play the game. I figured it out. I started playing their game. I became ‘normal’, so I could get out. No drugs, no therapists, just me. ‘Ready for reintroduction into society!’” She turned away and put the camera to her face and started scanning again with renewed intensity. “If you don’t want to help me you don’t have to. Just go.”

  Will didn’t go. He couldn’t move, because he was trying to digest this new information. He decided he wasn’t going to give up. “It doesn’t mean there aren’t people out there that can help. There’s me. There’s my mom. You’ve never talked to a psychiatrist that could vox.”

  Blue pulled the camera from her face and glared at Will. “I don’t want to talk to your Mom! I don’t care if she’s the world’s greatest psychiatrist! No more psychiatrists!
No more anyone! Fat lot of good talking to you has done me, too!”

  She scrambled down out of the tree and headed back, fast.

  He scrambled down after her and followed—though he made sure to give her some space. She ignored him all the way to the hedge outside the O’Day house, until she finally turned and voxed, “I don’t want your help anymore. Just leave me alone.” She turned back and plunged through the hedge.

  Will didn’t follow. He just stood there for a while. He knew he had done the right thing to push her, but now he didn’t know quite what to do. If he could talk to his mother about it, she would give him great advice. But he couldn’t talk to her—that would betray a confidence between him and Blue. He wasn’t ready to do that. It wouldn’t be right. He thought his mother would agree on that point.

  Finally he turned and went home. He would just have to work it out himself. Just like Blue.

  20

  Mortal

  It would be midnight soon. Blue was settled comfortably in the big crook of the tree. She had been there at least a half an hour, and she was quite certain no one had seen her climb up silently in the blackness. She let her dark hair and clothes melt into the shadows of the tree, and this time she remembered her dark slippers. She had taken the last-minute extra step of rubbing some ash from the barbecue onto her face just to erase the last pale patches of her skin from possible detection. She even smudged some on the backs of her hands. She had a clear view of the pavement between the parking lot and the restroom where just the slightest streetlight reached through to make long, weak shadows.

  The night vision camera hung at the ready around her neck. She and Will had both forgotten that she still had it the night before when they had their tense parting. She didn’t notice it until she was climbing back in the second-floor bathroom window, but by then it was too late to take it back, and it would have been too awkward anyway. She would take it back tomorrow, after she had gotten what she needed. She felt a little bad about how she had acquired it, yet she also felt it was another good sign that it wound up in her possession the very night that she needed it.

  She was still angry at Will. He just didn’t get it, but on the other hand, who ever did? In truth, he was still probably the best thing that had happened to her besides the O’Days. She didn’t want to blow it with him. But a psychiatrist! God, if he had to pick one thing she loathed, it was psychiatrists. And up until then she and Will had been working together so well. She sighed. She knew they both would be mad about it for a while and then they both would forget about it. She should forget about it now, but some of his words kept nagging her: “We’re not superheroes. You can’t just go out and sneak around conquering bad guys.”

  She did want to conquer these guys. It was true. But she wasn’t pretending to be a superhero. She was just taking advantage of the skill she was born and raised with. So what if she was trying to conquer something. She was striking back at something that took something from her and continued to threaten her—her family, her friends, her life. It was a just cause. And it wasn’t that she felt super-powered, she felt cursed. She wanted to get rid of that curse. Will just didn’t get it. She desperately wanted him to get it, though.

  She was going to miss him tonight. It would have been great to have him on the ground as a spotter. That was the way she and her dad had hunted and stalked. You didn’t have to whisper with vox, it was like talking out loud right in front of your prey and they didn’t have a clue. You could talk about them and share observations, and they heard nothing. It almost wasn’t fair when there were two of you. But one would be enough for tonight. She wasn’t nervous about it. It was a comfortable thing to be doing. This was like getting back to her roots. Frankly, the biggest thing she was worried about was being missed back at the O’Days. She had to leave a little earlier tonight than on the nights she had met with Will. If she were missed, that would be a big problem. It was late enough that everyone would be going to bed, but early enough that someone just might check on her. But she didn’t think they would. Things had gotten comfortable enough for her at home that Ma Beth often didn’t bother coming up the attic stairs anymore. She would, without fail, however, say softly from the bottom of the stairs, “Goodnight Blue. Sweet dreams!”

  Blue wasn’t usually a sucker for that kind of sappiness, but from Ma Beth . . . it was nice. Will had said she could trust Ma Beth with this whole issue and Blue knew he was right. She thought about bailing. Just go and tell Ma Beth, and she would take care of things, she thought. Yeah right. The DFC would find out what Blue and Will had been doing, and that would be the end of this happy little life with the O’Days. Besides, she had pledged she was not going to get them involved. She was going to protect them.

  She shook her head and admonished herself “Concentrate!” This was not the time to second guess anything, it was the time to make sure she was prepared. She went through a mental checklist. Controls, check. Batteries, check. She had practiced with the night vision camera that day and had put in fresh batteries. She knew where the controls were without having to look. She took some practice shots now just to make sure everything was good. It worked perfectly, as if it had been designed for stealth operations like this. She was ready. She would take her pictures and go home, and the next day she would send them with a description of all the activity to Westbury Police Chief Hannah. Blue would send them anonymously, so she wouldn’t get in trouble. The police couldn’t ignore this. They’d have to follow up and Gronk wouldn’t have a clue. They would stake out the same place she was now, and Gronk would be put away for a long time. Maybe Greazal, too, and she felt a little bad about that but not bad enough to let it worry her. He had made his choice.

  Now Blue just had to wait. She closed her eyes and listened. It was a warm night, but not too warm, and there was a slight wind. With the wind, the crickets, and the night birds there was enough background noise that Blue had no worries about any sound she might make short of breaking a branch or sneezing.

  And now there was some activity down below. A car pulled into the parking lot and stopped, but no one got out, they just sat there. She couldn’t see any faces, but she bet anything it was that couple. It wouldn’t be long now.

  Soon someone came walking around the restroom. It was Gronk! He paused and lit a cigarette, and she could see his face clearly for a moment in the glare of the match. She looked through the eyepiece of the night vision camera. He was clear as day. She took a picture. She didn’t see Greazal, and she should have been disappointed, but deep inside, she was kind of glad. She was starting to think she would be willing to give Greazal a second chance. Not Gronk, though. No way in hell.

  Gronk cased the area out. He was very good at it, she had to admit. If you weren’t looking for it, you wouldn’t know he was doing anything but enjoying a smoke. But she could see how he checked out every angle, every spot where someone could be watching. For just a moment she had a flash of fear that he would see her, in spite of all her confidence and precautions. He looked briefly her way and almost right at her. She held her breath. But he never looked up. They never look up, thought Blue. She took another picture after he looked away. Then she started the video recording.

  After about a minute, Gronk made a gesture that must have been a signal. The car doors opened. A girl and a guy got out and walked over to Gronk. They looked like they’d done this before. The exchange was very practiced. Gronk offered the guy a cigarette, but it was more than a cigarette. There was a little package inside the palm of his hand. The guy took the package and the cigarette and took the offered match for his cigarette. He looked around and then stuck his finger in the package, and then sucked on it.

  Blue was watching through the viewfinder carefully and quietly. This really was pretty easy. It almost felt like a game.

  After a pull on his cigarette, the guy reached into his pocket and pulled out what looked like a roll of bills. The guy nodded and Gronk took a pack of cigarettes out of his pocket and handed it to the guy,
only Blue knew it wasn’t a pack of cigarettes. She was beginning to have some doubts. They were too good at this. They made it look just like some friends having some smokes. There was the wad of bills, though. A big wad. This must have been a big deal. That had to show up in the video, along with the guy testing the powder with his finger. Blue zoomed in on the guy’s face and then the girl just to make sure she got good shots of their faces. Then Blue remembered to zoom over to the car. She could clearly see the license plate number. Good! This was going to work.

  The three chatted quietly and naturally for a few minutes. Gronk never stopped looking around, but he made it seem like he wasn’t looking around. Blue stopped the video recording. She had what she needed and was anxious for them to get done, so she could get home. Finally, the guy put out his cigarette, crushed the butt with his shoe, nodded at Gronk, and the couple got back in their car and pulled out.

  Gronk stood for a moment, and then casually turned around and walked off. She waited until he was well across the park before she finally let out a sigh of relief. It was over. She had done it! Now she had to get home and get in the house without being detected. Then she had to see if the pictures and video were good enough to see all the details. And then she had to get them to Chief Hannah anonymously somehow.

  She climbed carefully down the tree, but not as carefully as when she went up. She had nothing really to hide now, no need to be cautious until she got back to the house. If somebody saw her, they’d just think it was someone hanging around the park late at night. She finally hopped onto the ground. A small stick snapped. Instinctively, she looked up.

  She was looking right into the face of Gronk.

  Time stopped. She wasn’t sure she really believed what she was seeing. This just wasn’t possible. Gronk had walked across the park. She had watched him, just to make sure. This must be a ghost. But then the ghost started talking. She couldn’t really understand what he was saying. Her ears weren’t working properly, her conscious mind was shutting down, but she felt her body starting to go into emergency mode. Gronk took a couple of steps towards her. Her mind wasn’t sure what to do, but her body reacted for her. It took off like a rocket. She heard Gronk curse and then heard his footsteps pounding behind her. She ran and ran. The footsteps started to fade away behind her, but she didn’t stop. She just cared about getting away and getting home. She knew she could do it; she was fast and she knew the park, even in the dark. She just didn’t quite sense a low-hanging branch hiding in the deep shadows.