River of Bones

by Angela J. Townsend

I tore the corner and started to open it, then hesitated. “Wait, let’s unwrap it downstairs so I can check on Benny.”

  Wolf's gaze danced over the package. “Cool. I can’t wait to see what’s inside.”

  The two of us rushed downstairs. Benny lay cuddled in his blankets, dozing off while he played with his toys. Wolf plopped beside me on the sofa. I ran my hand over the gift and tore the hole I’d made in the paper a little wider. My fingers tingled, I felt like a kid at her own surprise party. A wave of guilt drowned my excitement. Was it right to open a present meant for someone else?

  “Are you feeling okay?” Wolf asked. “You don’t look good.”

  My throat burned worse now than ever. “No, I feel totally trashed.” I tried to swallow and winced. “My throat is killing me.”

  “Let me see.” He clicked on the flashlight and aimed it at my mouth.

  “What?”

  “Come on, open up.”

  No way was I going to show him my gross throat. What if I had a bunch of spit or something hanging off my tonsils? I would totally die if I did.

  “Come on, Dharma!”

  “No way.”

  Wolf gave me a hard look. “I'm only trying to help, and you're making things difficult for no reason.”

  “All right,” I said, slowly opening my mouth, wanting to please him. “No” is such a simple word, but I can never seem to say it.

  Wolf peered inside and cringed.

  My cheeks flamed. “That bad?”

  “Worse.” He frowned, pressing his lips into a hard line. “Grab your stuff and I’ll give you a lift into town. They have an urgent care center where you can just walk right in. They were great when I snapped my ankle in track.”

  “I’d rather wait and see how I feel in the morning. Besides, I don’t have much money.”

  His face softened. “I really think you should go now, but I can’t force you.”

  “I promise to go in the morning, if I’m not better.”

  “Promise?”

  I held up three fingers. “Scouts honor.”

  “All right,” Wolf said. “Now hurry and open the package.”

  “Let me grab some water first.”

  Wolf jumped to his feet. “I'll get it. You better rest.”

  “Thanks,” I said, apparently a bit too loud, since Benny woke up to the sound of my voice. My brother would be hungry again, and as I watched him sit up and rub his eyes, I knew that Wolf had probably been right about staying still. My legs felt like over-chewed bubble gum. “Can you grab a snack for Benny?”

  “Sure, just don’t open that package until I get back.” Wolf jogged into the kitchen and returned with bottled water and graham crackers for Benny. My empty stomach rumbled. I felt like my gut had been scraped out with a shovel—but there was no way I could swallow anything other than liquid. He tossed me the water and handed Benny a cracker and sat on the couch—right next to me.

  Every beat of my heart hammered in my ears. Could Wolf hear it also? What if I smelled bad? Like major B.O. or something? What about my breath? Did it stink, too? Was I breathing too loud? Any moment now he'd probably make some excuse just to move to the other side of the couch.

  “Are you going to open it? Or should we just sit here until we’re like fifty?” he asked.

  I stared at the package. “I feel bad opening someone else’s present.”

  Wolf rolled his eyes. “They’ve probably been dead forever. I’m sure they won’t mind.”

  “I guess you’re right,” I said, biting my lip. I tore off the brittle paper. Inside, a purple silk cloth, still bright and vibrant, concealed a rigid object. I carefully peeled away the layers to reveal a small painting inside a square frame.

  “It’s the Cobb family,” Wolf said. “Same people in the painting in the dining room. It must have been a gift for the General, since it was at the head of the table.”

  “Wow, it’s beautiful. I wonder why he never opened it?” I leaned closer to the picture. Another person, a tall black woman with cold flinty eyes, stood behind the children. “I wonder who that is?” I pointed at the green turban wrapped around her head.

  Wolf’s jaw hardened. “Probably one of the servants. Did you see the slave shacks by the edge of the swamp?”

  I nodded. “Yeah, it’s horrible. Someone should've burned them down a long time ago.” The room started to swirl, I fought the urge to puke. No, please not now. Not in front of Wolf. I twisted the top off my bottled water and sipped the cool liquid. Spinning the cap back on, I took a few deep breaths. The lump in my throat disappeared, but I felt exhausted, like I'd ran a thousand miles.

  Wolf’s eyes filled with concern, but then his expression lightened as I forced a smile. “Why don’t you take a nap,” he said. “I’ll head upstairs and continue exploring, just to be sure no one’s up there.”

  “Cool. Thanks.” My shoulders slumped. If only I had enough strength to go with him.

  Wolf hiked upstairs and I leaned on the arm of the sofa, listening to his footsteps clomping overhead. My heart skipped. I could only imagine what those flawless lips would feel like, feathering across mine. Those smooth hands touching my face. I sighed. Like that would ever happen in a million years. And by some galactic miracle if it did, what good would it do to get hooked up with some guy, just to be ripped away from him? Mom would probably show up, as usual, with a lynch mob at her heels, running us out of town.

  I scooped up Benny from the playpen. He snuggled his head under my chin and I curled up next to him on the couch.

  “I love you, Ben,” I whispered, soaking in his warmth. “No matter what.”

  Sassy passed a painful night. The aspirin she’d taken for her hip and sore head didn’t kick in until early dawn. She struggled to get out of bed, her body stiff as an ironing board. Somehow she managed to muster the gumption to rise, get dressed and make her morning tea and grits.

  Her father always said she was as tough as rawhide, guess he was right. Come tomorrow she’d make her way to that old plantation house. For now, she managed to make it as far as the porch, lowering herself into a wicker chair. She rubbed her sore leg and pursed her lips. Give her hip one more day and, by golly, she’d be as good as new. It hadn’t beaten her in seventy some years and she wouldn’t let it beat her now.

  She surveyed the boggy waters, the grim cypress stumps and steely sky. Lord, the swamp was still this morning. Her gaze crossed the marsh to the rotting corpse of a building next door. Something else had a hold of Mother Nature. And she knew what that something was.

  Daylight seeped through the mansion’s moth-eaten curtains. I sat upright with a bolt of fear stabbing into my chest. Was it morning already? Benny still slept beside me, curled in a ball, but what had happened to Wolf? Why didn’t he wake me before he left? Feeling betrayed, I pulled myself upright, careful not to disturb Benny. My temples throbbed with each movement and a hollow ringing attacked my ears.

  Tears came to my eyes as I tried to swallow. I had to get more water from the kitchen, but my ankles hurt as if they’d been caught in a bear trap. I glanced at my feet. A weird flash of color caused me to pause. What was wrong with my skin? Had I stepped in something? My breath hitched in my throat. I rubbed the discolored areas around my ankles. It wasn’t coming off! My heart slammed against my ribcage. My skin was actually blue, almost as dark as my toenails!

  Careful not to disturb Benny, I got up and limped into the kitchen. I guzzled a whole bottle of water at once, my throat screaming with every gulp. Wolf walked in behind me, his face dark. He pinned me with a serious gaze. “You have to go to the doctor, now.”

  “When did you get here?”

  “What are you talking about? I never left. I stayed in the chair all night listening to you struggle to breathe with those giant tonsils. You snore worse than my grandpa. Now get your stuff and let’s go.”

  Normally, I would have melted into the ground in total humiliation, but I was too sick to care about anything. I gathered Benny’s toys and
cup, and slipped on my shoes. Wolf took the things from my hand. I picked up Benny, feeling a weird rush of weakness. We started down the fresh cut trail, my knees wobbling. Wolf grabbed my arm before Benny and I hit the ground.

  “I’m sorry. I don’t know what’s happening to me,” I said. Waves of fear attacked me. I couldn't lose control. I couldn't let anything happen to me. I had to take care of Benny, otherwise someone might try to take him away and he was all I had.

  “I’ll get the truck. Can you hold onto your brother until I get back?”

  I nodded, pressing my lips to Benny's head, fighting back tears. Wolf jogged down the path, returning with the pickup moments later. After we buckled in, he headed for town.

  “Look,” Wolf said, “when we get to the main road, why don't I call my mom and she can watch Benny until we get done at the clinic?”

  My stomach flipped. “I don’t know. I never let anyone take care of him but me.”

  My stomach dropped to the ground. I could never leave Benny, I'd been with him from the moment he came into the world, chasing after him when the nurses snatched him from Mom and rushed him to the neonatal intensive care unit.

  I had stood for hours with my face pressed against the glass watching him cocooned inside an incubator, counting every rise and fall of his tiny chest. They said Mom was too old to have children and that his difficult birth would cause trouble with his development, but when his tiny hand wrapped around my finger, I knew Benny would be all right. I would make sure of it.

  Wolf slid his hand over to mine and squeezed it. I glanced at him, his eyes soft and his face full of concern. “I don’t want to seem like a jerk or freak you out,” Wolf said. “But I don’t think it’s a good idea for you to be around Benny until we find out what’s wrong. My mom's a retired teacher. You can trust her. She's been around kids forever.”

  “Okay,” I whispered, heartbroken as if I'd just given my baby brother to an orphanage, even though I knew it wasn't true.

  “Seriously,” Wolf said. “I think we better find out what you have. Whatever it is, it isn’t good.”

  I must have looked really horrible for him to say that. I flipped down the sun visor, and looked in the mirror.

  A frightened cry escaped my shredded throat.

  A cold knot formed in my stomach. Tears threatened. That couldn’t be me. My skin had weird patches of gray. Long thin strands of coppery blonde hair framed my pale face and bloodshot eyes. I looked a hundred years old—at least.

  “Don’t cry. It’s going to be okay. We’ll figure it out.”

  “Figure it out? I look like the crypt keeper.”

  “It’s probably just a virus or something.”

  “None of this makes sense. I’ve never been so sick, and why is my skin this color?” I turned my arm over and pressed two fingers into the flesh. It turned white a moment then oozed back to grayish blue. “It’s like I’ve been suffocated.”

  Wolf was right. I couldn’t be around Benny if I was contagious. My heart sank. Maybe he was already coming down with it and that’s why he was sleeping so much.

  We bounced down the rutted road to the main highway. Wolf drove with one hand on the steering wheel and the other resting on the seat next to Benny. I stared at his hand wishing I could grab it, find comfort and safety in him. I felt Wolf’s eyes on my face, but I couldn’t bear to look at him. Not like this. I pulled my hair to one side making a protective curtain between us, shielding him from my ugliness.

  He turned left onto the main highway, pulled to the side and called his mom. She agreed to take Benny but my stomach filled with knots. How was I supposed to trust someone I’d never even met before? What if she was a child abuser or something? My mind raced with horrible scenarios.

  We traveled in silence for several miles until we came to a big green sign that said, Welcome to Dooley, Louisiana.

  A boat repair shop, brown with large windows, sat on the right side of the street, the latest rates crudely painted across the weather-beaten glass. On the opposite side, we passed a gas station. Two scraggly old guys, resting on wooden chairs in front, eyed us with curiosity as we drove by. A checker board sat between them. One lifted a gnarled hand in a friendly wave while the other one spit on the ground and frowned.

  Seamless rows of houses in faded pastels rested high on stilts, and shrimp boats lined the docks.

  I pulled my cell phone from my bag, dialed Mom’s number and listened while it rang and rang. “Great.” I crammed the phone back in my purse.

  “No luck?”

  I shook my head. “No, and I only have one bar left before it goes dead.”

  “Can’t you charge it?”

  “I forgot the cord in the bus. By now, it’s impounded.”

  “You can borrow my phone, but there’s no reception at the old house,” Wolf said.

  I slumped down in the seat. “Thanks anyhow.”

  “Hey, cheer up. Maybe we’ll find your mom while we’re in town.”

  “I don’t know. Maybe,” I snapped. How could she be so irresponsible? My chest tightened. What if something horrible had happened to her? My blood boiled. So many times she’d made me worry, only to find out she’d been in a bar or hotel with some guy. Either way, I needed to find her before I could even think of anything else.

  The medical clinic didn’t open until noon, so we spent the morning searching every side street, cheap hotel and bar in Dooley. No sign of Mom anywhere.

  Wolf pushed the clock display on his truck stereo. “We better head to the clinic. It’s almost noon.”

  “I need to get something for Benny to eat before I go.”

  “Mom will feed him, no worries.” Wolf steered down a long gravel driveway. A handsome white cottage with a picket fence stood at the end. Daffodils lined the cozy footpath near a garden, lush with plants. A picture-perfect home. I let out a long sigh. Just what I always wanted.

  Wolf parked the truck in the shade of a large weeping willow. Its branches drooped like the arms of an octopus. We walked up the path to the house, greeted by a middle-aged woman in a black velour sweat suit, flamingo pink sandals and brunette hair swept into a loose bun. She gave us a wide, welcome smile and waved. As we drew closer, the smile dropped from her face and she reached out to me, putting her arm around my shoulder. “Oh, honey, you look like you could collapse right here on the porch. Why don’t you give that baby to me and come in for some lemonade.” She rubbed my back. “I’m Mrs. Bodine. My son has told me all about you.”

  “Thanks, it’s nice to meet you.”

  There was something about her that made me feel safe, at home. I handed Benny to her. He smiled and played with her glasses that hung on a gold chain around her neck.

  “Why, you’re just the cutest little guy,” she said, kissing him on the forehead. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

  “We’re heading to the clinic, Mom,” Wolf said.

  “All right. You kids go on. Benny and I will be just fine.” She sat Benny at a sunny-yellow table, peeled a banana, and gave it to him. He greedily ate the fruit.

  I bent over and kissed his head. “I’ll be right back, Benny, okay?”

  He pointed a finger at my face. “Maudit.”

  Wolf’s mom gasped. “Where in the world did he learn a word like that?”

  “I think he’s saying mother.”

  She shook her head and frowned. “No dear, it’s French. It means…cursed.”

  I stared at Benny, my mouth gaping open. His first word. Could Wolf’s mom be mistaken?

  Wolf grabbed my arm. “Come on, he’s in great hands.”

  “I know he is. Thanks, Mrs. Bodine, for taking care of him.”

  She looked up at me and winked. “I just love babies. You go on and don’t worry one bit. You can call if you need to. I can keep him as long as you like.”

  A warm ache spread across my chest. I felt I could trust her, and Benny seemed content, but it was still hard to leave him.

  “The clinic is just aroun
d the corner,” Wolf said. “Hop in and I’ll give you a ride.”

  I nodded and climbed in the truck. I felt so crappy, so weak. It was like someone else had invaded my body and was slowly destroying it from the inside out.

  We drove down the block and around the corner to a small brick building with long dark windows. Wolf held the door open and I lumbered inside to the counter.

  An older woman in a stern gray dress and thick square heels typed on a keyboard. Her alabaster skin matched the color of her hair, clipped close to her scalp in tight curls. I cleared my throat. She peered at me over a pair of wire-rimmed glasses. “Can I help you?”

  “I need to see someone. I haven’t been feeling well.”

  She studied me and frowned. “That would be me, I’m Dr. Lea. My secretary is ill today.” The doctor motioned for me to follow her with a wave of her hand. “Come on back, sweetie.”

  I followed her into a crisp white room while Wolf waited in the lobby. After giving my medical history, I told Dr. Lea all about Benny, my swim in the pond, and my symptoms. She looked me over carefully, taking my temperature and blood pressure. She had me open my mouth and examined my tonsils and felt the glands on my neck. She began to move her hand along my back, then paused.

  “When did you notice these welts?” she asked.

  “Welts? I didn’t know I had any.”

  Dr. Lea’s features were grim. “I want to take a blood test. This appears to be something I rarely see—typhoid. It’s not common, but it’s treatable with antibiotics. My guess is that you contracted it in the pond.”

  She jotted notes in my chart. “Other than the dip in the swamp, have you been drinking any water bottled in different countries or eaten any foreign foods?”

  I shook my head.

  “What about the water from the tap at the old house? Have you been passing any blood?”

  “No,” I said, my heart hammering. “Should I be alarmed?”

  She gave me a firm look. “If it is typhoid, you should be fine as long as you take your medication. If you don’t, it can progress to pneumonia or intestinal problems. This is a fairly advanced case, but I’m sure we’ve caught it early enough. You’ll be back on your feet in no time.”