by Rue Volley
“Yea… I remember going there to get Rue’s phone. I don’t remember anything after that,” Sara said as she turned her barstool and looked at the door.
“You fed Sara. You didn’t do it long enough to cause any real harm. You will feel like you have the flu for about a week now,” Josh said, as he scanned the woods.
“OH MY GOD,” she said.
“Listen to me Sara. Where is Rue?” he asked her.
“Rue...? I don’t know Josh!” Sara said it a little too loud into the phone.
The waitress set her coffee down in front of her and stared at her.
Sara raised her eyebrows and turned from her.
“I am going to freak the hell out here,” she whispered into the phone.
“Did I hurt anybody?” she asked him.
“How would I know Sara, as far as I know you probably ate somebody,” Josh said as he paced back and forth.
“Oh... oh my!” Sara leaned forward and threw up on the floor.
The man behind her dropped his fork on his plate and stood up. Sara looked up at him.
“I am so sorry,” she muttered to him.
He frowned at her and walked out.
“Did you just hurl?” Josh asked her.
“Oh god… Josh. I can’t… I could have never done...” Sara tried to say, but she had to grab her napkin and put it over her mouth.
“Well, look at the upside… you are probably not a virgin now.” Josh said as he grinned.
He was so pissed with her that he had every intention of torturing her.
“What? I am a virgin!” Sara yelled into her phone. Josh laughed.
The waitress walked up to her and handed her a check. She obviously wanted her to leave. Sara looked at it and at her. She reached into her coat and couldn’t find her wallet.
She looked at the girl and started to cry.
“I don’t have any money!” Sara yelled out as she cried.
The waitress looked at her and shook her head.
She leaned forward as Sara freaked out and started to babble.
“Don’t worry about it honey, just go home,” she said.
Sara held the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She continued to freak out. Josh tried to talk to her but she was beyond consoling. The waitress stepped around the counter and took her arm. She started to walk her towards the door. Sara looked at her, tears streaming down her face.
“I am a good person… I am. I love helping people...! I was a boo bear when I was eleven. We fed the old people at the nursing home! They loved the meatloaf, I don’t, but they did.”
The waitress nodded at her as she walked her to the door.
“I have a kitty, her name is Puss Puss. She has a pink collar, with little sparkles on it.”
The waitress stopped at the door and opened it.
“You get some sleep,” she said to Sara. She pushed her out and closed the door.
Sara stood there and gripped her phone.
“I love my Puss Puss!” she yelled back at the diner.
Sara could hear laughing and she looked down at her phone. She sniffled and placed it to her ear. Josh was dying on the other end.
“Sara?” he said.
“Josh… you have to help me!” Sara said in a panic.
“I am sure that you didn’t eat Puss Puss,” Josh said as he chuckled.
“Oh god!” Sara said as she cried into the phone.
“Sara...” Sara started to babble. “Sara!” Josh yelled into the phone.
Sara blinked and shook her head.
“What!” she yelled at him.
“Find out where you are, okay?” he asked her.
Sara looked around and noticed a banner hanging across the street.
“It says Pendleton Festival days,” she said as she wiped her nose.
“Okay… find a safe place. I will be there super-fast; once I get into town I will find you,” he said.
Sara sniffled. “Josh?”
“What,” he said.
“Are you mad at me?” she asked him.
Josh rolled his eyes and looked at the phone.
He wanted to rip her apart, but it wouldn’t be the best plan.
“I would be more worried about Rue being mad than me, Sara,” he said.
She cried out. “Oh god, Ruebear!” she said.
“Sara?” Josh asked.
“Uh huh?”
“Knock it off,” Josh said as he pressed the button on his phone and shook his head.
Sam flashed up to him and tilted her head.
“Were you yelling at somebody?” she asked him. He tucked his phone into his leather.
“Sara woke up and she is freakin out,” he said. Sam shook her head.
“Perfect,” she said, as she stared at him.
“Follow me, I know where she is; we will get her first and then Rue… Send Elin, Kai, and Theodore to take care of Johnathan,” he said to her.
“Fine,” Sam said, as she flashed from him.
Sara looked around and grinned at a couple walking by. She remembered the boy that she left in the motel room. She had told the cleaning lady to come back in a couple hours. She couldn’t even imagine going back there and untying him. Why was he tied up anyway? OH MY GOD!
Her stomach hurt, but not as bad as it did at first. Hurling actually made her feel better, at least a little bit.
She looked around and saw a little clothing store. She shook her head and brushed her dress off. It was dirty and she was mortified that she was wandering around looking crazy. She walked up to the door and caught a glimpse of herself in the glass. Her hair was a mess; she leaned up and she had dark circles under her eyes. She looked older. She groaned, straightened herself out as best as she could so she looked halfway to being human again.
“What?” she said as she leaned in closer.
A girl popped up in the glass and Sara jumped back from her. She was working on a display. Sara sighed and walked to the door. She opened it and walked in. Both sides of the store were lined with dresses. Sara stared at them. The girl peeked over her table in the window and grinned.
“Hello mam,” she said to her. Sara didn’t even look at her.
She has never been called that… ever. The girl stood up and walked over to her. Sara was slowly walking down the row of dresses and googling. It was the only thing that would calm her down… shopping.
“Mam?” the girl asked her. Sara turned to her and smiled.
“Oh, I didn’t know you were talking to me,” she said.
The girl looked at her dress, as Sara looked back at the dresses on the wall.
“Can I help you today?” she said. Sara smiled.
“Oh, I am a professional shopper” she said as she pulled a dress out and looked at it.
“That one is beautiful…” the girl said.
Sara looked at it and smiled. “Yes… I just love it.”
“Do you want to try it on?” she asked her. Sara nodded.
The girl carried the dress to the fitting room and opened the door.
She placed it on the hook and turned to her.
“Well, I think it will look awesome on you,” she said.
Sara stepped in and dropped her coat on the bench. She looked at the dress and started to pull her own off. She let it fall to the floor then picked the dress up and took it off the wooden hanger. She turned to the mirror and dropped it on the floor. Her hair had some gray in it. She walked to the mirror and looked at it. She touched her face. She had dark circles under her eyes and wrinkles by her eyes. She backed away from the mirror and dropped onto the bench. She cried out as she grabbed her face. The girl ran to the door and lightly tapped on it.
“Mam?” she called out. Sara sucked in her breath and stood up.
“Yes?” she asked her.
“Are you okay?”
“Yes… oh yes, listen… it was the dress. Oh my god, it is a dream...! Could you grab like ten more similar dresses for me?”
The girl leaned
into the door and raised her eyebrows.
“Ten more?” she asked her.
“Yes! I trust your opinion, just grab whatever… I am in a buying mood,” Sara said as she watched her hair get another stripe of gray in it.
“Oh… okay,” the girl said as she started to look through the dresses.
“Size two,” Sara yelled out to her.
“Okay,” the girl called back to her.
The girl grabbed a few dresses and walked to the door. She tapped on it.
“Here you go.”
Sara’s hand popped over the top and she wiggled her fingers. The girl looked up and handed them to her. Sara dragged them over the top of her door and backed up to the bench, dropping down on it.
“Oh this is going to take me awhile,” Sara yelled to her.
The girl shook her head and walked back to her window display.
Sara pressed the button on her phone again. It rang a few times.
Josh answered.
“Oh my god, what?” he said to her.
Sara leaned into her phone and whispered.
“I am getting older,” she whispered as she stared at her reflection.
“I know,” Josh said.
“I am going to freak out,” she whispered as she stood up and walked towards the mirror.
“Listen to me, just calm down… you will be fine. I won’t be long.”
Sara stepped back and watched as her skin started to get brown spots.
“Ohhh,” she said a little loud.
“What Sara?” Josh said.
“I think that I just hit forty!” she cried out. The girl looked up from her window display.
“Where are you?” Josh asked her.
“Shopping.”
“Why the hell are you shopping Sara?”
Sara felt her hair and some fell out in her hand.
“Because it makes me feel better. Holy crap Josh, my hair is falling the freak out!” she yelled at him.
“Sara! Keep your voice down okay?” he said to her as he started to flash forward.
“OOOOOOOOKAYYYY,” she said in a panic.
Josh dodged a tree and held his phone out from him. He pulled it back to his ear.
“Sara?” he said.
“Yea?” Sara said as she turned to look at her butt.
“Stop calling me okay? I am running at about two hundred miles an hour right now,” Josh said as he ducked a branch.
“Okay… okay, no more calls, I promise,” Sara whispered into the phone.
“Okay… I will be there as fast as I can Sara, I promise,” Josh said as he pressed the button and grumbled.
Sara looked back at the mirror and covered her mouth when she saw her skin wrinkling on her hand.
“Oops,” she said quietly, “Please hurry Josh.”
Chapter Fourteen
Fire Good
I looked at Blake and gave him the “we are about to cause some shit” grin. I don’t think he knows how driven I really am.
I remembered when I was ten I told my parents that I wanted a dog. They continuously told me no. I ended up adopting the neighbor’s dog; I spent more time with it anyway. The owner was an older man who really had no reason to have one. He kept the dog out in the yard, chained to the tree, with this little crappy shack that he passed off as a doghouse. I never understood why people do that crap. Just let the dog go to a family who is not uptight and unwilling to let the dog enjoy a life. If I would have had that dog I would have let him sleep in my bed and on the couch… that cared. Dogs are so awesome anyway. They always act like you are the only person in the world, happy to see you… loving.
Anyway… I spent almost an entire summer sneaking into this guy’s yard, petting the dog…giving it treats, playing as much as I could with the restrictions of its chained situation. One day I slipped into his backyard and the dog was gone. I stood there looking at the chain and at his shack of a house and scratched my head. I couldn’t imagine that the dog had gotten loose. He was chained up pretty good. I went home and waited. The guy returned home at his usual time and I decided to go to his door and find out where my friend had gone. I stepped up and tapped on the door. I was a little nervous. This man had lived down the street from us for years and never waved at us, or had tried to talk to any of us ever. He opened the door up and I looked up at him. He raised his eyebrows.
“You’re the little girl down the street, Volley, right?” he said. I smiled at him.
“I’m Rue Volley… me and my family live down the road,” I said.
He stood there and waited for me to reveal why I had decided to knock on his door.
“I wondered where your dog is?” I asked.
I was pretty good at getting right to the point when I was ten, well, I am even better at it now. Some people think it is rude…I think it’s time effective.
“Oh… well he’s gone,” the man said. I crinkled my eyebrows at him.
“What do you mean gone?” I asked him.
“Well, animals get sick and sometimes you have to put them down,” he said as he stepped onto his porch. I stepped back from him. Had he killed my buddy?
“I just saw him yesterday… he was fine,” I said as I started to rub my hands together.
“No… he’s been sick for a long time.” I looked up at him.
“No he wasn’t,” I said and then I ran back to my house crying.
I ran up to my room and slammed my door behind me. I dropped down on my bed and kept getting flashes of his little face in my mind. I had never experienced loss before, so the loss of the dog was just heart breaking. I finally collected myself and sat up. I didn’t believe him. For some reason I thought that he was lying to me. My Mom was out in our backyard… messing with the flowers she loved to grow every summer. I ran out to her and told her that we had to go to the police.
She looked up at me and grinned.
“And what for this time Rue?” she asked me.
Truth was, I always thought the police needed to be involved in anything that I found suspicious.
I leaned over and whispered to her.
“The old man down the street has murdered my friend,” I said to her. She stood up.
“Murder?” she asked me.
“Yes… he murdered my dog,” I said to her.
She leaned down and touched my face.
“Did you see him murder his dog?” she asked me.
I shook my head “no”.
“Well then, how do you know that he did it?” she asked me.
I looked to the left and then back to her.
“I just know,” I said.
“Rue… you can’t always think that there are serial killers in the neighborhood, it’s very odd for a girl your age,” she said to me as she walked towards the house.
“Mom...! I just saw the dog yesterday and today poof! No dog. I went to his house; he said that he had been sick… he lies,” I said to her.
My Mom stopped and looked back at me.
“Would it make you feel better if I go down there and talk to him?” she asked me.
I nodded. She walked through the house and to the front door. I followed her; I had every intention of going. She turned to me.
“You stay here,” she said as she held out her hand.
“Mom!” I whined.
“No, Rue, I will solve the mystery and return, you watch T.V.,” she said as she opened the door.
I dropped down on the couch and crossed my arms. I flipped the T.V. on and some old movie with a boy running around with his dog was on. I crinkled my eyebrows. My Mom was gone for about a half hour. She opened the door and looked at me. I sat up and looked at her.
“Did he confess?” I asked her.
She grinned and sat down next to me on the couch. She looked at me.
“The dog was put to sleep, Rue,” she said to me.
“What...? Where? Why!” I asked her.
“It seems that the man didn’t want him anymore and he is going to be moving, he
had no one to take him,” my mom said as she touched my hair.
“I would have taken him!” I said.
“He didn’t know that you liked him so much, Rue. Now I don’t agree with what he did, but it was his dog… his decision. The dog did not suffer,” she said to me.
I stood up and ran out onto the porch. I hated him so much. He didn’t even try! He could have found somebody to take him. I could have begged my parents to take him. He didn’t have to die, he just didn’t.
I sat down on the porch and stared down the road. The longer I sat there the madder I got. I felt like my body was humming. Now, I know why… but then it was just weird. I ran around the house and opened our shed up. My dad kept a can of gasoline in the shed, for emergency car situations. I picked it up and grabbed a box of matches from the tool counter. I stepped out and decided that I was going to make one last effort to properly say goodbye to my dog.
I ran down the street, with the can and the matches, and snuck into his backyard. I poured the gasoline all over that crappy shack of a house my dog had, and I lit a match. I stared at the gasoline dripping from the doghouse and at the small fire in my hand. I had one moment where I looked up and said goodbye to him. I apologized to him for not saving him and then I flipped the match onto the house. It lit up in a roar.
Trees burn really fast. Yeah… I didn’t think about the fact that the shack sat right against it and that the branches were really close to his house. I stepped back when I realized that my small offering was now a blazing fire of fury. I stumbled back and knocked the can over; the fire reached it… from the leaking gasoline on the ground. I screamed and started to run. The gas can blew up and flipped into the air behind me. I ran so hard, the top of my body was ahead of my legs. I fell down and skinned my knees. I rolled over and rubbed it as I looked at his house... the fire was spreading like I had poured it on his house.
“Oh crap,” I muttered.
I felt a hand wrap around my waist and pick me up. I looked up and it was my Dad.
He shook his head at me.
“You didn’t,” he said to me. I grinned.
I didn’t know what else I should have done. I was glad that his house was on fire. I felt like it was fair. My Mom took me from my Dad and he ran towards the old guy’s house. He went to the back first. I don’t know why. My Mom took me in the house and sat me down.
