by Ian Dawson
“Nice try,” said the boy in black. He was out of breath. The older boy was stocky and had bright blue eyes. He was in a black T-shirt, black jeans, and black hat, which covered short black hair. His pale chubby face made him appear years younger than he actually was. His hands were covered in blood-red scratches.
“What do you want?” Daniel asked, his voice trembling as he tried to catch his breath. He could feel sweat trickling down from his forehead. Even though it had been a cooler summer day, the humidity was still high, which meant sweating was inevitable. And a chase only made it worse.
“We want to have a little fun. Don’t you?” The boy in black smiled and revealed a set of crooked, yellowed teeth.
“I really should be getting home.” Daniel turned his handlebars so his front bike tire faced the street. The boy in black moved his front tire to block Daniel’s. He was boxed in.
“You’re not going anywhere except where we tell you to go,” the boy in black said with a sneer. “Isn’t that right, James?”
Daniel didn’t hear the boy behind him say anything but judging from the smug smile on the boy in black’s face, his question had been answered.
Daniel looked around. It would be dark soon. And these two older boys had no intention of helping him get home. He was out of options.
Until he saw headlights.
A glimmer of hope coursed through him as a red Chevy Tahoe appeared on the horizon. The two older boys looked at one another, the boy in black nodded.
As the car approached, the older boys waved toward the vehicle. The driver, obscured by the windshield, honked and waved back as they passed by.
“Didn’t think that was a way to escape, did you?” the boy in black laughed. “We know everyone around here. It’s no use trying to get away.”
“Where’re we taking him, Austin?” James asked. Now he knew their names. Not the brightest guys, are they? He thought. But then another thought popped into Daniel’s mind: What if they don’t plan on letting me go? As this thought ricocheted through his mind like a bullet, the boy in black – Austin – looked around, pondering the landscape. His eyes settled on a wooded area across the street.
“There,” he pointed. He grabbed the center of Daniel’s handlebars. “Get off.”
Daniel hesitated for moment; his bike was the last familiar thing he had right now. But he obeyed and got off his bike. Daniel’s bike was handed off to James who walked his and Daniel’s bikes across the street.
He had to try and get away again. They had control of his bike and had him trapped between them, but there was open space behind him. Daniel thought fast: the redheaded kid, James, was out of shape, and Austin clearly wasn’t in-shape either. Could he outrun them if he cut through the open field across the street? There had to be a house nearby. A house whose residents might be able to help him.
Daniel took what he felt was his last chance. He spun around and shot like a bullet out from between the two boys. Just when he thought he might make it, Austin grabbed onto his wrist and yanked him backwards, hard, which caused Daniel to almost lose his balance. His wrist felt as if it were in a vise, the older boy’s grip growing tighter as his face turned red in anger.
Austin yanked Daniel toward him until they were face to face. Daniel could smell beer and stale cigarettes on Austin’s hot breath each time he exhaled. “Try that again and you’re dead. Got it?” Daniel gave a slight nod as Austin held fast to Daniel’s wrist and pulled him along.
The three began their trek across Rancho Road. Daniel wondered in desperation where all the cars had gone. As luck would have it, not one vehicle passed by as he and his captors crossed the street.
They arrived on the sidewalk at the edge of a wooded area. “Hide the kid’s bike,” Austin said. “I don’t want him getting any ideas while we’re in there.”
Ideas? Daniel thought. What ideas? Ideas of escaping you two crazy psychos? Those thoughts would not go away anytime soon.
Austin released Daniel’s wrist, spun him in the direction of a pathway, and shoved him forward. “Move,” he said. Daniel stumbled on the loose red dirt as he and Austin made their way up a small path that turned up a slight hill and finally came to an open clearing surrounded by dense clusters of trees.
Daniel looked around as he arrived inside the clearing. From where he stood he was surrounded on all sides by tall trees, dried-out weeds, and tree stumps that were old and rotted. A twisted patch of thorny weeds lay in the distance to his right, and Daniel could see a chain-link fence overgrown with bushes and weeds at the far left end of the clearing along with a broken concrete drainage pipe like the ones he and Kyle had crawled into at the construction site the previous summer.
Where he was standing was flat and clear of brush. Low-cut tree stumps stuck out of the red earth and an old fire pit surrounded by blackened rocks was in the center of it all.
Through small openings where the trees were separated, he could see bits and pieces of the sidewalk, not twenty feet away. So close, yet so far, given the circumstances.
Daniel and Austin stopped walking. Austin spun Daniel around and looked at him with wild eyes that sent a chill through Daniel’s body.
“Time for a little fun,” Austin said with a devious smile.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Kyle turned down his block just as the street lamps buzzed and flickered to life. The yellow light from above cast long, fuzzy shadows on the ground as Kyle rode past. Arriving at his driveway, Kyle noticed Daniel’s bike wasn’t in its regular spot: propped by the side gate.
He looked across the street toward Daniel’s house. The light in his kitchen window was on, but Daniel’s bike wasn’t near the front door. Where was he?
Kyle stashed his bike on the side of the house, ran around to the back and entered through the sliding glass door.
“There you are,” his mom said with some relief in her voice. “What happened to you? Where’s Daniel?”
“We had to grab something from Daniel’s room,” Kyle said as he sat down at the kitchen table. Before him was a plate piled high with corn dogs, beside it a big metal pot of chili.
“Really? Then why did Daniel’s mom say she hadn’t seen either of you since you came over here?”
Crap! Kyle thought. I guess they were gone a little too long, which would cause his mom to worry. If Daniel wasn’t here, and he wasn’t at home, he still had to be in the field. But where?
Kyle knew he had found the perfect hiding spot, but was it worth having Daniel still wandering the field? Kyle slumped back in his chair, his mind spinning as he tried to concoct some explanation for what was going on: one for himself, and one for his mom.
He grabbed a corn dog and put it on his plate and smothered it in chili. “Me and Daniel went back into the field to get something from our secret hideout out there. I know that you said we couldn’t be out there after it starts getting dark, but it was important that we got our map so we could work on it tonight.
“When we got back, me and Daniel went over to his place, which was after you talked to his mom, and he found out that his dad was calling from Iraq tonight, so he decided to stay over there and talk to him.
“I came back over here to grab some food and take it back over there so I could say hey to his dad, too.” He looked at the clock by the stove, 6:50. “He’s calling around seven, so I thought I had enough time to eat with you before I headed over there with some corn dogs. That’s why we asked for it.” He grabbed the wooden stick impaling his corn dog and took a bite into the crispy, breaded top.
Kyle’s mom stared at him for what seemed like an eternity. Finally, after she took a drink from her glass of iced tea, she spoke. “Does this mean you’re staying over there tonight?”
“I don’t know. I guess it depends if April starts to be a pain in the ass or not.”
“Kyle,” she shook her head.
“So
rry.” He shoveled down the excess chili on his plate, guzzled his fresh can of Mountain Dew, and stood. The chair skidded across the tile floor as he pushed it back.
“It would be nice if you were here when your father got home,” Kyle’s mom added as he wiped his mouth with a napkin and tossed it on his plate.
“What time’s he coming back?”
“He’ll be back around eight. And I expect you to be as well.” Kyle’s dad had spent the week leading a men’s Bible retreat in Colorado. Kyle was glad he was coming home, but the whereabouts of Daniel were starting to weigh on his mind. And now he had less than an hour to find him.
“I’ll come back over. I’ll probably see his car when he gets here.” Kyle headed down the hallway to his room.
His room was littered with action figures, comic books, and Legos. He had all the Lego Star Wars sets built and on a shelf. He and Daniel had put them together last summer. In the corner, Kyle’s pet guinea pig woke from her all-day slumber and was busily taking a long drink from her water bottle. Her teeth clinking against the metal tube.
“Hey, Chloe,” he said as he tapped on the glass. “Where do you think Daniel is?” The black and white guinea pig stopped drinking and started to roam her cage, making faint whistling noises as she did.
Kyle headed to his dresser and opened the top drawer. He rifled through and found what he hated to wear stuffed in the back corner: his watch. He put it on. If he was going to find Daniel, wherever he was, he had to make sure he was back in time to greet his father. If he wasn’t, his mom would definitely get suspicious.
Kyle grabbed a pair of black and white running shoes and put them on. This was not the time for flip-flops.
From his desk he picked up his black flashlight, checked to see if it still worked, then added it to the supplies in his backpack, which he slung over one shoulder.
“I’ll be back later,” he called out to his mom as he exited the hallway and headed for the front door.
“Have fun. Say hi to Daniel’s dad for me.”
“I will,” Kyle said as he left out the front door and headed across the street.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Above Daniel, the blueness of the daytime sky had faded into a pale grey. Black birds punctuated the oncoming dusk as they flapped and coasted across the clearing to neighboring trees. Daniel looked around using just his eyes, afraid to make any sudden movements with his head or body. His stomach felt twisted in knots, his palms damp with sweat. He had to get out of here, but how?
Austin pulled a switchblade from his black jeans and flicked it open in one deft move. “Take off your shirt and shoes,” Austin ordered as he pointed the switchblade toward Daniel.
James entered the clearing and stood beside Austin. “Bikes are hidden,” he said. He still had his sunglasses on despite the oncoming darkness. Daniel noticed several things about the redheaded boy. Unlike his friend, James had a tall and lanky frame, which gave him an awkward appearance that was capped off by a bad haircut. Daniel also noticed there was something wrong with the right side of James’s face. He tried to look and not look at the same time, but his eyes were drawn to what looked like thick white and pink scars that ran from behind the older boy’s sunglasses to his neck. He also dressed a little better than the boy in black: a white polo shirt and blue jeans.
“Hey! Your shirt and shoes,” Austin said.
“Why?” Daniel asked. He had no desire to comply with their demands, but had a feeling he had no choice.
“Because if you don’t, I’ll cut ‘em off,” Austin said. “And I won’t care if I cut you, too.” His lip curled into a snarl.
Daniel quickly removed his shirt. It was cooler than he expected. He then pushed off his shoes using only his feet.
The whole time he kept a watchful eye on Austin and James. With his shoes off, Daniel stood in his socks on a matted-down section of weeds. He felt awkward, a little silly, and very vulnerable.
Austin motioned toward a thin tree just to the side of the clearing. “Tie him up to that tree,” Austin ordered James. “Use his shirt to tie his hands.”
James crossed over to Daniel and pointed toward the tree with one of his freckled arms. “Walk.” James shoved Daniel forward, as if he were a jailer taking his prisoner to his cell.
James made Daniel turn around and place his back up against the slender tree. The rough texture of the bark scratched Daniel’s back. James took Daniel’s hands and tied them together on the opposite side of the tree using Daniel’s shirt as instructed. Daniel could hear the shirt’s fabric stretch as James tied the knot tight around his wrists.
Guess this was a bad day to wear my favorite Batman shirt. He didn’t want to show fear, and he certainly didn’t want to cry in front of them. Who knew what they would do to him if he started crying.
The last time Daniel had really cried out of fear he was eight. He had snuck down the hallway while his parents were watching Jaws. He just happened to arrive for the scene when the man gets his leg bit off and it floats to the bottom of the ocean.
Daniel had burst into hysterical tears, his parents leaping up in surprise that he was there. It had taken Daniel weeks to get the shocking image out of his mind and even longer to sleep through the night. And two weeks later at Brandy Creek he didn’t dare swim even though he was assured it was shark-free.
But that was a movie; this was reality.
James stalked back over to Austin, and the two started to have an inaudible conversation. Every once in a while they would look over at Daniel, then continue their meeting.
Daniel tried to free his hands, but James must have been a Boy Scout or something before he turned bad, Daniel figured, because his shirt bindings held tight. He had to figure out some way to work himself loose without drawing attention to himself. Attention from these two was the last thing he wanted.
“So, the kid’s tied up, now what?” James asked quietly as he made his way back to Austin. James was getting concerned. It was bad enough that Austin was torturing one kid. But two?
“I have a few ideas,” Austin said with a devious grin.
James looked Daniel’s way. The kid stood silently against the tree he was bound to, his hands bound behind him, his head down. James noticed the boy had the beginnings of a farmer’s tan – his arms and neck were darker than his chest and torso – and his spiked hair seemed undamaged from when he took off his shirt. He looked back at Austin. “What do you have in mind?”
Austin flashed him a smile. “Just stay here and watch him. I’ll be back soon.” Austin hurried back up the pathway they had entered from as James stood in silence and stared at Daniel.
James and the younger boy looked at one another for a moment, then James cut off his gaze. Why am I doing this? James asked himself. This is crazy. I should just let him go, tell him about Colby so he can get help, and deal with the consequences when Austin gets back. James stepped toward Daniel, then stopped. A chill ran up and down his spine. He turned in the direction of the street.
Austin stood staring at James with his dead eyes, watching him. Still as a statue. James backed away from the boy and nearly tripped over a tree stump. He sat down and watched the boy for a few seconds afraid to move his head anywhere else. He then took a deep breath, exhaled, and turned his head back toward the pathway.
Austin was gone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Kyle knocked on Daniel’s front door. As he waited he looked at the swarm of bugs and a couple of tree frogs that had accumulated around and on the front porch light. He preferred the frogs near the light and nowhere near his crotch.
It was possible that Daniel had stopped by his own house to grab something, or maybe email his dad. Either way, Kyle needed to be absolutely sure where Daniel could or couldn’t be. And there was only one way to find out.
The front door opened. It was April.
“Hey, April.�
�
“Hi.”
“Can I come in?”
“Danny isn’t here.”
That answers that question, he thought. “I know. He’s at my house.”
“Then why do you want to come in?”
“Because he sent me to get something.”
“Why didn’t he come and get it himself?”
“Because he’s busy.”
“Doing what?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“Then you can’t come in.” April closed the door on him. He heard her lock the deadbolt. The porch light went out. He knocked again. This time he heard Shelly’s muffled voice on the other side.
The porch light sprang to life once again, the door unlocked. Daniel’s mom opened the door with a smile. “Sorry about that,” she said.
“No problem,” Kyle said. “I’ve gotten used to her.”
Shelly opened the door further and let him in. As she closed the door behind him, Kyle noticed April sitting at the kitchen table, Candy Land in front of her. “Wanna play?”
“Uh, how about no?” he said back.
“So, what are you and Daniel up to tonight?” Shelly asked. She returned to the table and took her turn on the board as Kyle talked.
“Me and Daniel are working on our map of the field tonight. We’re gonna add that new place we found earlier today.”
“And that new place would be that lovely pond you two swam in?” Shelly asked as she moved her blue game piece four spaces.
“It really wasn’t deep enough to swim in. We sort of waded out into the middle and found some frogs. But yeah, we have to draw the pond on there and other stuff we found today.”
“You guys are boring,” April added as she placed her red game piece on a pink square next to an image of Gramma Nut.
Kyle held back what he wanted to say. He knew he would never get out of here if he started to verbally spar with Daniel’s eight-year-old sister again. Some things you never wanted to experience a second time.
