by Glenn, L. M.
“Oh Desiree, I need you to drop your brother off at school this morning. I won’t have time. I have an early appointment this morning.
“But M-M-Mom I’m picking up Kat this morning.
“Listen to your mother, Dez, give your brother a ride to school.”
“Fine!” With lips tight, Desiree grabbed a slice of toast off the plate and stomped out of the room. “You got f-f-five minutes, brat.,” she called out to Jayden as if it was his fault she had to take him to school.
Desiree glanced one more time at herself in the mirror hanging above the basin. After brushing her teeth and pulling her frazzled hair up into a ponytail, she applied some gloss to her lips. Desiree was tall for a girl at five feet eleven inches. With large green eyes and blonde wavy hair, she took after her dad in looks. Her brother was a redhead like her mother.
She slipped her notebook into her bag and skipped down the stairs. “Come on, brat, let’s go.”
After she dropped off Jayden at Davidson Elementary, she picked up Kat. “You’re a bit early,” Kat said with an African lilt to her words.
“I had to drop off Jayden again. I can’t wait until I g-g-graduate and can leave this place behind.”
They both had applied to the same college, and both had been accepted. They planned on leaving right after graduation so they could settle in to their new school and find jobs before the fall semester began. Desiree had applied to all the colleges that were the farthest away and had been accepted to Hamilton in Clinton, New York, rated one of the highest for English majors. Some day she wanted to be a writer. Since it was out of state, it would cost a small fortune, but they both planned on getting jobs as soon as they got there. Desiree had a college fund, small compared to Kat’s, which would pay for her first year.
“I have an idea, Desiree.”
Desiree raised her brow.
“About your dress. We can go to the thrift shops and find your dress.”
“Are you serious? No way will I wear someone else’s c-c-clothes. And what if someone recognized me in it. I mean what if it b-b-belonged to one of our classmates?”
“We will be shopping in another town so it’s unlikely. Anyhow, we can alter it.”
No Kat, I can’t d-d-do it. Can you imagine w-w-what would happen if anyone found out?
Kat frowned and turned her head away. “Half of my wardrobe came from those type of stores, Dez.”
“That’s different. You can sew and it’s by choice.”
Kat wanted to be a designer. She could take an ordinary pair of pants and turn them into something extraordinary.
“I can sew for yours too. Desiree, it’s all right. You’re getting upset over nothing. Everything will work, you’ll see.” Kat patted her shoulder.
“I don’t know … maybe …” A plan began to form. Kat was great with a needle. She could re-design just about anything. She bit her nail. “Do you think we could find one?”
“Sure.” Kat smiled
Desiree nodded her head in excitement. “Then we’ll have to g-g-go by ourselves, without the others.”
Kat nodded in agreement.
****
She pulled into her spot, and grabbing her book bag from the back seat of her blue VW bug, she walked beside Kat into the school.
“Hey, beautiful,” said Craig, slapping her on the butt as he came up from behind them. He wrapped his arm around her and leaned in for a kiss.
She lifted her face up, brushed her lips against his, and tried not to cringe. She was going to break it off for good before she left for college. She wasn’t sure how he would take it. He could be such a jerk sometimes.
In her mind, Craig was a typical jock. He was conceited and his family was richer than the Hiltons. He was a big show-off. She couldn’t be too hard on him though. He had helped her become popular. She had always had problems making fiends because of her stutter.
The kids picked on her all the way up until high school. Kat had stood up for her on many occasions. It was because of her that she had met Craig. They had been on-again, off-again since her junior year. He was the first boy to kiss her. He was a head taller and husky with a rounded face. His brown eyes matched the color of his hair.
“Hey, Bret, wait up!” Craig called out to one of his classmates and ran ahead to catch up with him.
He left her without a goodbye or see ya later—nothing. Just one more thing to add to the list of a hundred things she didn’t like about him. Once they entered the school, she and Kat split up to go to their designated classes. They only shared one class together and that was English Literature, the last class of the day, her favorite.
Chapter 4
Surfing through the channels on their big screen TV, Desiree couldn’t decide what she wanted to watch, The Walking Dead or Bitten, when her mother poked her head into the front room. “Desiree, will you call your brother in for dinner, please?”
“Where is he?” she asked clicking the off button on the remote.
“He’s outside,” Mom said impatiently. Sandy glanced at the clock on the wall and with a frown added, “As a matter of fact, he’s been out there awhile. See what’s keeping him. he knows what time we have dinner.”
Noting the worry in her mother’s tone Desiree hastily went in search of Jayden. She stuck her head out the back door and hollered. “Jayden, time for dinner!”
She waited a minute for a reply, and when none was forthcoming, she hollered again. “Jayden!?”
Dang it! She didn’t want to have to put her shoes on, but he was probably into mischief. She pulled her Skechers on and went out looking for him. The first place she checked was the tree house, his favorite hiding spot. When she didn’t find him there, she checked the shed. He knew the rules, no leaving the yard. They lived on a three-acre lot with a fenced backyard. If he left the yard, he was going to get the whipping of his life.
Desire stopped and with hands on her hips, she looked around. Jayden usually followed the rules. He wasn’t a risk taker like her. He had to be here somewhere. She followed the fence line and noticed a damaged board. One of the boards from the wooden fence was split in half. She stepped over a few limbs lying in her path from the storm the night before on her way to investigate.
A hole in the ground the size of a small tire was visible. Desiree knelt down to get a better view. It looked to be a drainage pipe of some sort. The storm must have uncovered it. She had a funny feeling in the pit of her stomach. “Jayden?” she called down into the pipe feeling a bit silly after the fact. There was no way he fell in that. Surely he knew better and had stayed away from it. She stood and dusted off the dirt from her pants. She started to walk away when she heard a slight sound. Turning back around, she peered back into the hole. “Jayden?”
“Help,” she heard distantly. “Help!”
“Oh my God! “J-J-Jayden!” She fell on her knees and stuck her head down into the pipe opening. “Jay … Jay can you hear me?”
“Desiree?”
Desiree tried to swallow her fear.
“Desiree? Help!” he cried.
“H-H-Hold on, Jay, I’m going to go find help.”
“No, don’t leave, Desiree, I’m scared. Please don’t leave me.”
“Jayden, I can’t g-get you out without help. L-let me go find some rope. I need to go get D-D-Dad.”
“Please, Dez, please don’t leave me!”
Hearing the terror in his voice, she relented. “Okay, okay, Jayden.” Desiree quickly assessed the situation. She could crawl into the pipe with Jayden and stay with him until her parents found them. It wouldn’t be long before her mother knew where she had gone. They could find the opening just as easy as she had.
“How far d-d-down are you?”
“I don’t know, about as tall as Dad,” he replied, his voice shaky.
That wasn’t too far. Maybe she could push him out once she climbed down there.
Taking a deep breath, she eased herself down. “I’m c-c-coming, Jayden. Hold on …”
> Lying on her belly, she backed feet first down into the pipe. She took a deep breath and dangled for a minute before she let go. Upon landing, she twisted her ankle. She thought about smacking him. The drop was about as tall as her dad? More like three of him.
She tested her ankle and deemed it okay. It was dark except for the dim light shining down from the opening. It would be dark soon and even that light would be gone. She felt Jayden’s arms wrap around her middle. His sobbing was soaking through her T-shirt.
“Knock it off, Jayden, you’re not a baby. It’s going to be all right. Stop crying.” She hoped he didn’t keep that up for long. It would drive here bonkers for sure. One more thing she could goad him for later. She leaned against the pipe wall and slid down taking Jayden with her. This was about the stupidest thing she had ever done. Why didn’t she just go get her dad? Now they were both stuck.
“I hurt my knee,” he mumbled into her side.
She sighed heavily. ‘I’m sorry, but I can’t see anything down here.” Her voice echoed. “We’ll just sit here and wait, okay? When I don’t come back, Mom and Dad will come looking for us, and Mom will take care of your knee.” She leaned her head back and silently prayed they would find them soon. The clawing feeling of claustrophobia was closing in.
It wasn’t long before they lost all light. The dampness began to seep into her clothes. Although it was spring, it was still chilly in the evenings. Her thin cotton pants weren’t the best thing against the chill. If only she had her cell phone. She let out a deep sigh and leaned back to wait.
****
Desiree moved slightly stretching out her legs the best she could and was hit by soreness. How long had they been down here? It felt like hours. Jayden had fallen asleep with his head resting on her shoulder. She rolled her head around...
Something was crawling up her leg. It felt like tiny feet with big claws. She screamed and woke Jayden.
“What’s wrong,” he sniffed with a slight tremor to his voice.
“God, I think a rat j-j-just ran across my legs.” She brushed frantically at her pant legs and then stood. She shook her arms and legs. “We n-need to get out of here.”
Jayden sniffed again.
“Mom! Dad!” Desiree screamed. “Help!” She screamed until her voice grew horse. What was taking them so long? Surely they figured out they hadn’t come back.
Jayden tilted his head back to look up in the hole. “I don’t think their coming.”
“Maybe it’s too d-d-dark for them to see. Jayden, I want you to stand on my shoulders and see if you c-c-can reach the opening.”
“Okay.”
“I’m going to bend my knees a bit and h-h-hold my hands together. I need you to step your foot into my hand and I will hoist you up. Stand on my shoulders, okay?” Desiree bent her legs and guided Jayden onto her shoulders. “Can you reach it? She winced as his heel dug into her shoulder.
“No!”
“Stretch.”
“I am. I can’t reach it.” He glared down at her.
“Dang it, Jayden, it isn’t that high. C-C-Come on, stretch.”
“I am! I can’t reach it!” he cried.
“Fine! Then get off me!” She swung him down and back onto his feet, and she groaned. She was sure to have a few bruises. Wrapping her arms around her middle, she tried to focus on her surroundings. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the darkness, she could make out shapes. Another tunnel ran from the left of them. It was large enough for them to walk through. Maybe it was a way out.
“Come on, Jayden. I think I see a w-w-way out.” She flapped the front of her shirt to cool off.
He pulled on her arm. “No, Dez, it’s too creepy. I don’t want to go in there.”
“Come on, you cry baby, it’s just a t-t-tunnel and probably leads out of here. Mom and Dad obviously can’t find us or they would have by now. Come on.
“Don’t call me a cry baby. You’re scared too.”
“No, I’m n-n-not,” she said trying to sound fearless.
“Then why are you stuttering, huh?” he snickered.
She shook her head in exasperation. “Just come on.” She grabbed his arm and dragged him farther down into the tunnel. Since her stutter tended to get worse when scared, it was difficult to hide her fear.
They hadn’t gone far when the tunnel split again into two opposite directions.
Chapter 5
A rotten smell was emitting from the dark tunnel to the left.
“Which way?” Jayden whispered, his sweaty hand clenched into her own.
“This way.” Desiree pointed. It was the lesser of two evils. At least it didn’t smell like something had died like the other one. “C-C-Come on, let’s try this one.”
“Okay,” he answered shakily.
The tunnel was dark and damp. She felt as if they were going downward. The temperature rose the farther they went. The air smelled acrid and moldy reminding her of the shed after a good rain. Grabbing the edge of her shirt, she blotted at her face and neck.
It felt like they had walked two or three miles when she finally stopped. “I need to rest a minute,” she told him panting, her voice echoing off the cement walls. Desiree sat on her knees and took in a deep breath. The air was thick with moisture. Jayden’s face was covered in a sheen of sweat. “Are you okay?” she asked.
“Yeah, I guess. Um … I’m scared, Desiree. What if we never get out? What if this tunnel goes on and on forever?”
She reached over and ruffled his sweat-dampened hair. “It has to s-s-stop somewhere, Jay.”
“I don’t want to die in here and never see Mom and Dad again.” His voice trembled.
“Don’t c-c-cry, Jay. We’ll get out of here. We aren’t g-g-going to die, brat. It’s just a tunnel. And I’m sure it’s not much further. The tunnel has to end sooner or later.”
She didn’t want to admit that she was frightened also, but he probably knew that already. What if the tunnel was blocked? They would be stuck in here forever. They could try to go back the way they had come or try the other one, but she was afraid of whatever that smell had come from. She didn’t want to die down here. She had to find a way out.
She stood up and tried to wipe off the cobwebs from her arms without screaming and scaring Jayden even more. If she hadn’t been scared herself, she could have had some fun with him, but this was definitely not the time considering. She reached down and pulled Jayden up.
Her mouth was dry. A gallon of water was definitely needed right about now. She knew Jayden was tired since he had slowed down and was dragging his feet. It was only a matter of time before she would drop.
Jayden grabbed her arm. “I want to go home, Desiree.”
“So do I, Jay. I’m trying to get us there, just hang on.” It shouldn’t be much farther, she hoped. What if she was leading them farther away instead of closer to a way out?
The farther they walked, the darker it became. Desiree fought a tightening sense of panic. It wasn’t long before she wasn’t able to see Jay at all. She heard scraping sounds. Maybe it was a good thing they couldn’t see. She hated rats, and from the sounds coming from behind them, they were about to be visited by a few.
“Desiree, what’s that?” Jayden whispered, pointing to something ahead of them.
She could just make out the shadow of his finger as it pointed. She could see a small crescent moon of light ahead of them.
“Maybe it’s the w-way out of here, Jay.” Grabbing his hand, she tugged. “Come on, hurry.” She pulled him along faster trying to reach the end before they both croaked from dehydration and the dark or what could be crawling in the dark. The crescent light widened the nearer they got. Now she could see beyond the light, and what she was seeing made her run. “Come on, hurry, Jay.”
She jogged dragging him behind her until they stood outside the tunnel looking out over a lush green field. Desiree fell to the ground with her hand to her throat as she took in great gulps of heavy air. Jayden was also on his knees staring at the
view before them.
“Where are we?” he whispered in awe, his eyes looking right and then left.
The temperature had increased to what must be above ninety degrees. Sweat poured off her forehead and in between her breasts.
“I’m not s-s-sure. It doesn’t look familiar, b-b-but we must still be in Oakdale.” At least she hoped. To the right lay a small pond surrounded by wildflowers in colors so vivid they almost blinded. The grass was a bright green as if someone had taken a paintbrush and splashed it with that color. She rose to her feet dusting off the dirt from her knees.
“Come on, let’s go check out the p-p-pond. Maybe there is somewhere we can get a drink.” The pond in question was more like the size of a small lake. Bushes in various shades of green dotted the hillside behind it. Small trees grew beyond the pond.
“What time do you think it is?” Jayden asked as he too stood.
“I don’t know, around eight PM, maybe? We were in the tunnel a couple hours I think.” She had left the house at dinner, around five, in search of him. But hadn’t they taken a nap? Now she wished she’d never crawled down into that darn pipe.
Jayden leaned his head back and exclaimed excitedly, “Look up, Desiree!”
She tilted her head back and looked into the sky. Two perfectly round moons cast a glow on them. What? How was that possible? A slight tingling began to crawl up her spine.
“Desiree?” Jayden called, his voice taking on an odd note. She whipped her head around ready to confront whomever had him frightened. Although she wasn’t brave at all, she would defend her brother against an enemy.
“What?” she asked, taking a fighting stance with her legs apart and knees bent.
“Look,” Jayden shouted and pointed.
She followed his hand.
“I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore, Toto,” Jayden mumbled. “What is th- that?”
Desiree took a step back grabbing Jayden’s arm. A dark image appeared on the other side of the pond watching them. This wasn’t looking too good for them. “I think it’s a c-c-cat. Or m-m-maybe a lion?”
