Sudden Independents

by Ted Hill

  Hunter flared like a struck match. “What do you think I did? I beat the shit out of the guy! And then Patrick finished him up. Apparently the kid has a reputation.”

  “Tommy the Perv,” Raven said. Hunter nodded. She shrugged at Jimmy. “Sorry, I forgot about him.”

  Hunter’s face split into a humorless smile. “Well, we won’t have to worry about him anymore. Patrick told him to leave town. I’m pretty sure the kid took the advice.”

  Jimmy’s mind processed the events and he came away feeling more than a little angry. Number one, he hadn’t been there. Number two, someone touched his girlfriend and he hadn’t been there. Number three, he now felt like he owed the kid that once beat him close to death some type of gratitude, all because he hadn’t been there.

  “Where are you meeting Patrick tomorrow?” Raven asked.

  “Back at the cafeteria for breakfast,” Hunter said. “Do you know what kind of work I’ll be doing?”

  Raven rolled her eyes. “Something easy, I bet. Patrick doesn’t get his hands dirty, unless there’s a fight. Which cafeteria were you at again?”

  “Place called Jackson’s Joint.”

  Raven made a face. “Yeah, that place was always disgusting.”

  “It still is.”

  “Scout and I can start there,” she said. “Maybe we’ll get lucky and pick up his trail.”

  “Why? I’m set up to meet him in the morning. You guys don’t have to risk yourselves tonight.”

  Scout jumped from his chair. “Oh, yes we do. I can’t stay in this house a straight twenty-four. I’ll go crazy. Plus, every second counts. Right, Jimmy?”

  “Cut the crap, Scouty,” Hunter said.

  Jimmy broke out of his thoughts. “We’re close now. Let’s not get careless. We’re lucky Hunter and Ginger made it back tonight. I worry about you two just as much as I do for them when you’re out there.”

  “Then why aren’t you waiting at the window when we get back?” Scout asked.

  “That’s my job,” Molly said, reentering the room. “I promised your sister, remember? Why do you think I sleep on the couch?”

  “Because Hunter snores.”

  “Good point.” Molly touched Jimmy on the shoulder. “She wants to see you. Just take it slow with her. She’s under a lot of emotional strain right now.”

  Kicking his chair back, Jimmy pushed off the table with a great deal of nervous energy. The chair clattered over. Molly gave him a funny look, but he walked into the dark hallway before she could evaluate his behavior further. A light shone under the door to the bedroom he and Ginger shared. The candlelight wavered when he opened the door, but the small flame quickly regained its brilliance.

  Ginger sat on the bed staring at the flickering flame, her feet on the floor, hands folded in her lap. He never liked the idea of her coming on this rescue mission, but feared he wouldn’t make it back to see her before his birthday. Seeing her like this caused him to regret his selfishness. She was everything to him now.

  Anger rose up in Jimmy again, but he buried the feeling deep and closed the lid. The time for anger had passed. Hunter settled the score, and Jimmy was confident his brother did it right. Ginger was here and Jimmy only wanted to be here for her. He sat down next to her, letting a quiet moment pass.

  “I made candles today,” Ginger said.

  He nodded. “That’s an important job.”

  “I’m so sorry, Jimmy.” She brought her hands up and caught her tears before they fell. “I didn’t know what to do.”

  He wrapped his arms around her. “What happened is not your fault. I’m just glad you’re back and you’re safe.”

  “But it’s not safe. That boy is still out there. He put his hands on me in front of all those strangers. I don’t want to think about how terrible things could have gotten if it hadn’t been for Hunter. It’s just not safe here.” She shook in his arms.

  Jimmy felt helpless, holding her close. He stared at the candlelight for so long that when he closed his eyes, the image of the flame had burned into his mind. Ginger’s tears lessened with time and she slowly sat back, holding his hand tightly while they gazed at the floor together.

  “How many candles did you make today?” he asked.

  “Fifty or so,” Ginger said. She sniffed and wiped her nose with a linen handkerchief. “I enjoyed making them.”

  “You helped a lot of people today just by doing that one job.”

  “I guess so.”

  “You know what’s important about candlelight?”

  She turned to face him, and he briefly lost where he’d been going with the whole candlelight thing. After everything she’d gone through, she was still so beautiful.

  “When it’s dark, a tiny flame from a single candle can make so many people feel safe. Think of how many kids out there who may be afraid of the dark now has one of your candles helping them to feel safe tonight.”

  Ginger smiled. “I love you.”

  “And I love you.”

  She fell asleep in his arms soon after. Jimmy counted the beats between each of her soft breaths as they brushed against his neck. He wished he could say he felt safe lying next to the girl he loved. But he couldn’t. His birthday was only a week away and they still hadn’t found Catherine.

  Darkness covered the city like a heavy blanket without the warmth as the search for Catherine’s whereabouts continued with the nightshift. After a little subtle convincing, Scout got his way and was able to escape the stifling confines of their hideout. He and Raven ran swiftly away from the front yard, concealing their movements through the deep shadows of the surrounding neighborhood. Litter lay everywhere. Whole houses were gutted, contents spilling out front doors, strewn into yards. Even furniture decorated the lawns, rotting and falling apart. Scout’s boots crunched over the jagged pieces of porcelain and fine china. He always kept his eyes open for baseball gloves, or better yet, an official Boy Scout uniform with an Eagle Badge.

  “I can’t believe the way they’ve ruined everything here.”

  Raven reached for his hand. “They’re just kids.”

  “Must be due to Chase’s influence if Molly’s theory about him being Catherine’s opposite holds any water. That dude must seriously put out some bad vibes.”

  “He’s bad. Trust me.”

  Raven averted her eyes. She never openly discussed her past life in Denver. Molly told Scout to have patience and understand that she still needed the space and time to heal, but there were things he wanted to know.

  “You and him used to be close? Is that it?”

  Raven tore her hand away and ran. Scout followed close behind, soon reaching out for her to slow down.

  “It’s not what you think. Chase is always sick and he never let’s anyone touch him. So there was never that between us. But the things he made us do to other people was horrible,” she said, gasping to catch her breath. “I can never tell you what it was like. I can’t tell anyone. I just want to forget everything.”

  Scout gently pulled her to him. “It’s okay. We don’t have to talk about it.”

  Raven hugged him tightly, reminding him of Catherine. Scout squeezed back.

  “I’m sorry,” she said as they started walking again. “Thanks for not pushing it. All I want to do is help you guys get that little girl back and then get the hell away from this place. I just wish I could get Kessie out of this mess when we leave.”

  “Is it okay to assume you were pretty tight with Kessie?”

  Raven punched Scout in the arm. “She was there for me when my sister died. We did everything together after that and took care of each other. I’d do anything for her and I know she’d do the same.”

  “Even now?”

  “What is that supposed to mean?”

  “You’re playing for the other team, Raven. Might be different if she found out.”

  They turned the corner and crossed the street to the eatery where Hunter and Ginger bumped into Patrick earlier. The place was closed and Scout doub
ted their ability to find anything new. That wasn’t the purpose for their night stalking anyway. They were just out stretching their legs. Hunter and Ginger were doing the real work in the daylight. Scout and Raven were waiting for when Catherine was found and everything went down. Then they would be needed.

  Raven led Scout to another street where a fire lit the sky. Dark smoke drifted upward in one long chain. A group of kids gathered by the blaze like demons of different shapes and sizes, summoning midnight. Raven and Scout worked around the side of a nearby house and climbed its fence to pull themselves up on the roof for stealthier observation.

  Below in the street, teenagers were busy throwing whatever they could find into the growing bonfire. Small kids danced around, picking up smaller objects, gleefully tossing them at the inferno’s edges. Four boys swung a couch and counted to three. The couch landed inside the flames, launching sparks into the heavens. Burning embers fell on the boys, who quickly scattered amid laughing echoes.

  Scout found a place to sit in the shadows of the roof’s fireplace and Raven huddled next to him. The fire alleviated the nasty odor that hung around the large city like flies around an open sewer. The smell also reminded him of the last big fire, the one that claimed all his possessions.

  “What are they doing?” Scout asked.

  “Burning stuff and trying to keep warm, I guess.”

  “So this is what city kids do for fun.”

  “It beats staying indoors and staring at the walls.”

  Scout watched the progression below. “At least there won’t be any trash left when they’re done. They should have fire parties on every block until this place is cleaned up.”

  Raven craned her neck for a better look at something and Scout followed her line of sight to a group of kids seated on the ground below. Scout thought he recognized a girl as she stood and left the others.

  Raven waved Scout to follow and they crept, making scratchy noises scooting across the rough shingles to the edge where they had gained access.

  “Who is it?” Scout whispered.

  “Kessie.”

  Kessie opened the gate to the backyard. Scout figured she was probably going to the bathroom. Raven scrambled over the side of the house to the fence below.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m going to talk to her.”

  “You can’t. She’s one of them. You’re not thinking straight.”

  “She’s my best friend. She’d never cross me, no matter what. I just want to talk to her, okay?”

  “You’re going to mess up everything and blow our cover. Kessie is not like you. She’s still under Chase’s influence.”

  Raven shook her head. “Just stay here. It will be all right. Trust me.” She dropped without a sound before Scout could argue his point anymore.

  Scout swore under his breath and crawled to the other edge of the roof overlooking the back. He saw Kessie doing her business by a bush. He felt guilty for spying on her like that, but his girlfriend was about to walk right into the fire, and Scout wanted to be ready to pull her out before she got torched.

  Raven’s cheery voice rose from below. “Hey, what’s going on over there? Are you watering the lawn?”

  Kessie hustled getting her pants up. “Raven! Is that really you? How did you…? When did you…? Come give me a hug, girl.”

  “Are you going to wash your hands first?” Raven laughed. Kessie ran up to her and the two embraced.

  “What have you been doing all this time?” Kessie asked. “Did they actually let you go?”

  “Yep, they weren’t going to hold me forever. What could they do? Then I had to wait for the snow to melt before I could make it back.”

  “Did that bitch survive? What was her name? Mandy?”

  “Molly. She did. They found her after that blizzard finally stopped. I told them they didn’t have a prayer of coming here and causing trouble. Not with the numbers we got.”

  “That’s the truth,” Kessie said. She dropped her arms and stepped back from Raven. “Is that the truth?”

  Raven approached her friend, but Kessie held up a hand. “Some weird stuff went down when that bitch ran off,” Kessie said. “That little girl isn’t exactly a little girl. Did you know that?”

  Raven snorted. “The kids back at that town think she has magical powers. What a bunch of bull, right?”

  Scout leaned back and shook his head, suddenly fearing that he and the rest of them trusted Raven too soon. No, he told himself. Her fear of Chase was real. Raven was real.

  “Yeah, did you know about Chase?” Kessie asked.

  “What about him?”

  The silence spread out between them. Scout couldn’t take it anymore. He crawled back to the low spot over the fence. The red dancing glow out in the street appeared like a backdrop from hell. Scout hit the ground, silently making his way to the corner of the house.

  “You can’t be serious,” Raven was saying. “Why would you?”

  “You were gone and I had to make a choice. As long as we’re living in hell, I might as well be on the demon’s side.”

  “Demon,” Raven said. She shivered and stuffed her hands in the pockets of her coat. “I didn’t come back here for that. I’m not interested in that kind of stuff anymore.”

  “Why did you come back?”

  “This is my home. I wanted to see you.”

  “Chase said you’d be different if you came back. He said I’d notice it. He was right.”

  “I don’t care what Chase says!”

  A tingle crawled up Scout’s back and settled on top of his scalp. The air grew heavy with the surrounding cold. He wished Raven would get away from Kessie before things escalated out of control.

  “I’m sorry, but I have to take you to him.”

  “What? I don’t want to see him.” Scout heard the fear in his girlfriend’s voice.

  “He said you’d say that.” Kessie beckoned the shadows on the opposite side of the house.

  Three raggedy boys rushed at Raven, who dropped the first one to reach her with a solid punch across the jaw, but the other two dragged her down quick. Kessie watched quietly.

  Scout charged around the corner of the house, but Raven caught sight of him before the others and yelled, “No!” He slid to a stop and rolled behind a thick evergreen tree, with the sweet sticky scent of Christmas filling his nose as his heart hammered in his chest. He’d missed his chance to surprise Kessie and her group while their back was turned. When he peered underneath the boughs, Kessie was staring his direction.

  She shrugged and bent next to Raven. “Chase is going to be so happy to see you again. You’re still a part of our crew no matter what you want. We’re not some afterschool club you can just quit.”

  Kessie kicked the boy who still lay on the ground shaking his head as if dazed. “Get up and help.”

  As the three kids forced Raven out of the backyard, Kessie faced the bush Scout hid behind and smiled. Scout stopped breathing until she left after the others. Then he swore and jumped the fence to follow.

  There was some kind of lump in the middle of the couch, or at least that was Molly’s excuse for rolling on her side again. The back of the couch smelled funny, so she turned once more, staring up at the ceiling for the sixty-fifth time that night. Not that she was counting.

  Her mind raced with worry about Scout. She’d given Vanessa her word that she would watch over him, but some promises were impossible to keep. Especially when dealing with a teenage boy used to doing whatever he wanted.

  Jimmy and Molly tried to keep Scout and Raven from their night wanderings, but Scout played on Jimmy’s fear to find Catherine before he contracted the plague. It was manipulative and low. Molly thought Scout wasn’t being hurtful intentionally.

  Raven knew the city, and Scout knew about being sneaky. Maybe that was a function of the Boy Scouts, but Molly wasn’t sure. She just hoped his survival skills were in perfect working order out there in the night.

  Molly left Hunt
er to sleep alone so he could get a good night’s rest, since these thoughts kept her rolling at night. During the daytime, she allowed Jimmy the bulk of the worry waiting at the window for Hunter and Ginger, while Molly rolled restless and awake in the back bedroom.

  After another revolution, she was back on the lumpy side of the couch. Ginger sat in the worry chair facing the window. Her arms were crossed as she stared out into the dark hours of early morning.

  Molly swung her feet to the floor and stretched. “You can’t sleep either, huh?”

  Ginger’s head turned around and her tired eyes glanced Molly’s way. She didn’t smile like usual. Instead, Ginger sighed and pulled at the large sweater she wore. Her hair showed no signs of mangled sleep the way Molly knew hers did after all her spinning on the couch. Molly reached up and tried to smooth the rat’s nest into place.

  “I gave up,” Ginger said, “I keep tossing. I didn’t want to worry Jimmy anymore tonight, so I thought I’d sit out here and wait for Scout and Raven to come back.”

  “Job’s taken,” Molly said, bringing the hoped for result; a tiny smile cracked through Ginger’s restlessness. Molly could appreciate those tender smiles a lot more now.

  She walked over to the window for a look. The stars were much closer here and filled the sky. Jimmy said it was because of Denver’s high elevation.

  A series of loud noises rumbled from one of the bedrooms and reverberated through the house. Molly smiled, and shook her head.

  “Does Hunter always snore that loud?” Ginger asked.

  “Always.”

  “How do you sleep at night?”

  Molly shrugged. “You get used to it. Luis said he might be able to remove Hunter’s tonsils and adenoids in a couple of years.”

  “What’s an adenoid?”

  “You got me, but it sure sounds loud.”

  “I bet Catherine could fix him.”

  Molly flinched at the word “fix.” She experienced one of those “miracle fixes” that Catherine performed in her short time with them. Fixing Hunter’s broken arm and stopping Vanessa from bleeding to death were medical fixes, physical healings. But Molly’s so-called healing still left a bad taste in her mouth. She knew now that she’d been screwed up. At least she thought she did. Her memories were fuzzy around the edges, like a dream that quickly fades when your head leaves the pillow. She remembered being angry all the time. And normal people usually don’t burn down houses. But since Catherine did whatever she did, Molly just wanted what was best for everyone else. Was that her cure? She didn’t know. All she knew was she was happy now, people included her in things and she counted a lot of them as her friends. The best part was Hunter being there for her after everything she had put him through.