Stranger in the Woods

by Geof Johnson

  Mr. Ward rubbed one hand over his bald skull and stared at the boys for a several tense seconds, then turned to her and said, “Well, the Superintendent did send us a memo about keeping kids in school whenever possible. She wants us to cut down on the out-of-school suspensions.”

  “But if you give them in-school suspension, they’ll still miss class. They can’t learn anything sitting in your office.”

  “No. They can’t.” He studied the boys long and hard and the office grew quiet, until he finally said, “All right, you two. Go back to class. But don’t let me see you in here again.”

  The boys stood and Jason said, “Thanks, Mr. Ward. You won’t see us. We’ll be good.”

  Mr. Ward said to Liz, “I’m trusting you to talk to their mother for me.” Then he glanced at his watch. “I’m late for a meeting.”

  He left, and the twins started to follow him, but Liz put a hand on Justin’s arm before he and his brother reached the door. “Thank you.”

  “It was nothin’.”

  “It was more than that. You risked getting suspended to help Zach, and I really appreciate it. I’m sure he does, too.”

  Jason grinned. “It was fun. Never liked Trey much, anyway.”

  “Still, I’m grateful. I just want you to know that.”

  * * *

  The conversation at the dinner table that night was all about the fight, no matter how hard Liz tried to steer it in a different direction. “Dad!” She shot her father a harsh look. “Aren’t you interested in anything else that happened today? First day of school for both of us, in a new facility, lots of new people, exciting things going on?”

  He waved her off with a flick of his hand and turned his attention back to Zach. “So tell me again about when that boy hit you. You had no idea it was coming?”

  “It was a sucker punch. Apparently he’s done that to some other kids. I met a guy named Greg in my math class who Trey had done it to a few times last year, trying to get money from him. Greg’s dad finally had to go up to the school and threaten a lawsuit to get the administrators to do something about it.”

  “We have new guidelines this year for how to deal with bullying,” Liz said. “I heard that Trey might get expelled. The reason the school hasn’t done it sooner is that there’s no other school around here for him to go to. It’s not like Raleigh where they have alternative facilities for the problem kids.”

  “Jason said not to worry about Trey anymore,” Zach said. “He won’t mess with me. But, gosh.” He blew out a tight breath and frowned. “It’s embarrassing, having to have somebody else fight for me.”

  Liz pointed her fork at him and shook it in rhythm with her words. “You are not fighting! You hear me?”

  “What am I supposed to do if somebody else hits me? I’m the new kid, remember?”

  “Do you think there’s a possibility of that happening?”

  “Well…no. Not after what Jason and Justin did.”

  Her father nodded at Zach. “I bet word got around that you’re part of their gang.”

  “They’re not a gang!” Liz said.

  “Okay, their clan, or tribe, or whatever you want to call it.”

  “We’re friends, Grandpa,” Zach said.

  “Obviously.”

  “Can we talk about something else now?” Liz said and forced a smile. “Did you hear they moved the fall dance up a month? It’s in two weeks.”

  “Good.” Liz’s father took a sip of his iced tea and said, “You going, Zach?”

  “To a dance? Are you kidding?”

  “Everybody goes, or at least they used to. That’s a big tradition at that school, the fall dance.”

  “There’s no way I’m going to a dance.” Zach hacked at the piece of meatloaf that was on his plate as if he were trying to kill it instead of cut it.

  “Yes, you are going,” Liz said firmly. “I already volunteered to chaperone, and I texted Tina and she said she wants me to take her kids, since she has to work.”

  “Jason and Justin aren’t going to like that.”

  “But Shelby will. She likes to dance.”

  “Shelby? Who would dance with her?”

  “That wasn’t nice.”

  “Well…still, who would? Nobody will dance with me either.”

  “Shelby would.”

  He curled his lip and she said, “Zach, don’t look at me like that. Shelby’s a nice girl, and it wouldn’t hurt you to dance with her.”

  “Mom, you can make me go, but you can’t make me dance with anybody.”

  * * *

  Zach lay in bed that night and let the events of the day run through his mind, over and over. He recalled the agony he’d felt when Trey hit him, then the relief and gratitude that followed when the twins retaliated. Zach knew he would never forget the image of Trey’s flabby face squashed against the locker, while Jason and Justin brawled on top of him.

  News of the fight must have spread quickly. Throughout the rest of the day, kids in the hall seemed to be staring at Zach, or talking behind their hands to each other as he passed. He knew at least part of what they were saying — that’s the new kid, the one Trey tried to bully — but he could only guess at the rest.

  They would already know that he was friends with the Ross twins, and Zach wondered what that would mean for him. Would that make him cool? He shook his head to himself. I doubt it. Most everyone knew that their father was in prison and looked down on them for it. Will they look down on me since I’m friends with them? He took a long breath while he considered it.

  Probably.

  He decided he didn’t care. It was worth it, having friends like that.

  Chapter 25

  Zach pulled the bowstring back to his ear and held it until Bo said, “Release it.”

  Zach let go and the arrow zipped toward the distant target, a burlap bag filled with straw that Bo had attached to a tree at the edge of the meadow, and the feathered shaft clipped the bottom corner before being deflected to the ground.

  “You missed!” Jason said from behind him.

  “At least he hit the bag,” Shelby said, “which is better than we did.”

  It was Saturday, their first chance to return to the woods since school had started, and Bo was trying to teach them the skill of archery, letting them take turns with the new bow he had carved for them. It was much smaller than his, and far easier to draw. It still felt powerful in Zach’s hands, and natural, as if he’d held it a thousand times already.

  They were practicing in the meadow. Beepee sat in the shade nearby and whined, desperate to fetch the arrow (and chew it to pieces, no doubt), but Bo turned to her and said, “No, Beepee.”

  She was not on her leash, and when Zach had worried that she might run off, Bo assured him that she wouldn’t. “Why not?” Zach said.

  “Because I asked her not to.”

  “I didn’t hear you say that.”

  Bo didn’t respond, and Zach didn’t bother seeking a further explanation. He knew he wouldn’t get one.

  Shelby ran to retrieve the arrow and said, “That’s five shots now. Is it my turn again?”

  “Yes,” Bo said. “You were first.”

  Zach reluctantly handed her the weapon, then stepped aside and watched as Bo helped her position herself properly.

  The white-haired man had been patient and encouraging with each of them, even though they were terrible at it. He made Zach feel like he could do it, though, that he would soon get the hang of archery, and Zach had noticed some improvement with each attempt. His first shot missed by several yards, landing in the ground embarrassingly short of the target. The twins had laughed, but not Bo. Shelby hadn’t either.

  Bo showed her the proper stance again, and stood beside her and mimed the technique for how to hold the bow and draw. As he pulled his elbow back, Zach saw something on the inside of Bo’s forearm that he hadn’t noticed before — a round spot the size of a quarter, dark, like a tattoo.

  Zach pointed at it. “What’s tha
t, Bo?”

  Bo paused and glanced at his arm. “It is a bonding mark.”

  “A what?” Justin said.

  Bo hesitated as if deciding whether or not to tell them, and it seemed as if he wouldn’t, but he took a tight breath and said, “It was given to me when I was a baby. It is a pledge to my betrothed.”

  “Betrothed?” Shelby’s eyes brightened. “That’s like being engaged, isn’t it?”

  “I suppose so, from what I understand of that tradition.”

  “You were engaged when you were a baby?” Jason said. “Is that like an arranged marriage or something?”

  “My parents and her parents agreed, and we were bonded. This mark is proof of that. She has one just like it.”

  “Oh, but….” Shelby put one hand to her mouth. “You’ve been gone for so long. She might’ve married somebody else by now.”

  “She has not.”

  “How do you know?”

  “I would have felt it when she broke the pledge.” He glanced at his arm again. “And this mark would have turned completely black.”

  “It wasn’t always like that?”

  “The circle was empty when it was imprinted on my skin. It has gradually filled in as I have gotten older.”

  “What happens when it fills in all the way?”

  Bo looked off toward the distant hills before answering. “Then it will be too late.”

  “Too late for what?” Zach said.

  “Too late for me to complete the bond.”

  “You mean, to get married?”

  “If that is the way you want to look at it, yes.”

  “If you could get back home before the circle goes totally black,” Zach said, “could you still get married, or bonded, or whatever your people call it?”

  “Yes, but how?” Bo spread his arms and looked about. “I am trapped here. And even if I could manage to return, it must be before the mark on my arm fills in or there will be no point. My people will reject me. I will be an outcast. I would be better off to remain here, in a way. At least I have a few friends here.”

  Zach stared at Bo while considering what that meant. “You…if you managed to get home, but the mark had filled in, you’d have to live by yourself? No friends at all?”

  Bo nodded gravely.

  “But that’s mean!” Shelby said. “They wouldn’t do that to you. You’re too nice.”

  “It is the way of my race. We have children so much later in life than your people, so this custom guarantees that we honor our responsibilities of bonding and hopefully, procreation. Otherwise, our birth rate would fall below sustainable levels.”

  “You make it sound so clinical,” Shelby said. “Doesn’t love have anything to do with it?”

  “Quit pesterin’ him, Shelby,” Jason said. “That’s personal.”

  The giant turned away from them again and faced the far side of the meadow. He stood that way for a long time, and Zach and his friends waited awkwardly while the silence stretched on, until Justin said, “Uh, Bo? We, uh…we brought you a couple of books, me and Jason did. They’re in my backpack.” He gestured with one hand. “Over there by the tree.”

  Bo turned back to them with a troubled expression that quickly vanished. “Thank you. I look forward to reading them. What kind of books are they?”

  “Science, both of ’em. We got ’em from the library ’cause we got our cards now.”

  “I will read them quickly so that we may discuss them the next time I see you.”

  “Uh….” The twins looked at each other and Jason winced before saying, “We didn’t exactly read ’em yet. We haven’t had time, with school starting and everything.”

  “I am sorry to hear that. I will give them back to you when you return, and then you may read them. We will have a lively discussion then.”

  Shelby opened her mouth as if to say something, probably critical of her brothers, but Zach nudged her before the words came out. “Not now, Shelby.”

  She turned and glowered at him, then said, “I brought a couple of books, too.”

  “Dumb romance books,” Justin said. “Bo doesn’t want to read those. Those are for girls.”

  “Not necessarily,” Bo said. “I have read several novels from the romance genre and found them to be entertaining, in their fashion. I will be happy to read them, Shelby.”

  “I read them already and I can discuss them anytime you want.”

  Zach wanted to kick her on the ankle. She can be so snotty sometimes. Jason and Justin frowned at her, then faced each other with determined glints in their eyes. I bet they’ll read those science books, now. Probably the first science books they’ve ever read.

  Zach had brought a book, too, Southern Generals of the Civil War, but decided not to mention it. It was thick and boring, and he had only skimmed through it. He realized now that skimming would not be good enough. He would have to thoroughly read any book he brought to Bo, and understand it, too. So we can have a lively discussion. Oh, boy. It was an intimidating thought.

  He was not going to embarrass himself in front of his new friend.

  * * *

  No one spoke on their hike back through the woods until they reached the spot where they had hidden their bicycles.

  “That’s awful about Bo,” Zach said.

  Jason glared at the stony ground. “How can his people do that to him? It’s not right. It’s not like he’s bailing out on his marriage because he wants to.”

  “Wish we could help him,” Justin said.

  “We have to,” Shelby said and dipped her chin firmly.

  “Right,” Justin said. “We’re gonna magically send him back to his home world. No problem.”

  Zach rubbed his chin with his thumb while he thought about it. “Maybe if we could figure out how he got here, we could help him get back. He said he stumbled into a room in some building and then ran out and found the woods. That place must be around here somewhere, don’t you think?”

  “Not necessarily,” Jason said. “Bo can probably run a hundred miles in a day, so it could be anywhere. Could be Tilton or Chattanooga, or maybe even all the way down in Georgia. There must be twenty towns within a hundred miles of here.”

  “We need to talk to Bo about it some more,” Zach said. “If we can find out how long he ran that day, maybe we can narrow it down. Like, figure how far he can run in an hour and estimate the distance and stuff.”

  “Ugh.” Justin stuck out his tongue as he climbed onto his bicycle. “Sounds like a math problem. Never was too good at those.”

  Zach mounted his bike, too, and put his helmet on. “Maybe it’s time you got better. I mean, if you really want to help Bo.”

  “’Course I want to help him, but I don’t see how. We’re just kids. We don’t know nothin’ about stuff like that.”

  “I don’t think anybody does,” Shelby said. “That’s the problem. I bet this has never happened before, an alien coming here from another world that way.”

  “Or if they did,” Jason said, “they kept it a secret, like Bo.”

  “You think there are other aliens around and we don’t know about it?” Justin asked.

  Jason shrugged. “Probably not, unless they’re just like us, which I doubt. I mean, look at Bo. He’s pretty different lookin’. He’s so dang big and got those strange eyes and everything.”

  “I think he looks nice,” Shelby said. “I don’t think he looks strange at all.”

  “I’m not sayin’ he looks like a weirdo. I’m just sayin’ he’s different, different enough so that he’d attract attention if he was in a crowd. He’s even got a few idiots hunting for him, like Uncle Marty.”

  “That’s why he needs other people to do stuff for him, sometimes,” Zach said, “and that’s what we gotta do. We gotta figure out where that room with the shimmering thing is, the one where he first came out of, if it’s still around, and then maybe we can see if there’s a way for him to get back to his world. That place holds the key to him going home, don’t you
think?”

  “Maybe. If it still exits.” Jason started pedaling onto the trail, and the others lined up behind him. “We’ll talk to Bo next Saturday and maybe then we’ll know where to start, if we’re going to help him.”

  “We’re going to help him.” Shelby began to ride with Beepee beside her. “We have to.”

  But how? Zach wondered as he followed at the rear of the line.

  Chapter 26

  Zach crept through the tall wildflowers and weeds, holding his breath the last few steps, and gleefully tapped Jason on the shoulder. “Got you!”

  “Crap!” Jason ripped off the blindfold. “How’d you do it?”

  “I just did what Bo said.”

  It was Saturday afternoon, and after spending some time practicing archery again, Bo was teaching them how to move silently through the woods. He had them playing a game in the meadow, a variation of hide-and-go-seek, and the rules were simple: One player would cover their eyes with a strip of cloth and stand in one spot while the others dispersed. Then, on Bo’s signal, they would try to sneak up on the blindfolded player and touch them.

  So far, Zach was the only one who’d managed to do it, when he’d tapped Jason. Shelby had gotten close when it was Zach’s turn to cover his eyes, but he’d smelled her strongly-scented bath soap before she reached him. “Approach from downwind,” Bo reminded her. “There are other senses besides your ears, remember? He doesn’t have to hear you to find you.”

  “But you have that other sense that we don’t,” Justin said. “You can tell when people are in the woods even if they’re a mile away. There’s no way we’ll ever be able to do that.”

  “Perhaps not, but you could do much better than you are right now. Tune your mind to the forest. It is always trying to tell you something.”

  “If you say so, but that sounds weird.” Jason shrugged. “Do we have time to play one more round of this game?”

  Zach checked his watch and shook his head. “We need to head back home. We have to get ready for the dance.”