by Nye, Laine
That same night, Brad tried to call Linda.
“Not talking.” Her mom said in a singsong voice. Then hung up. This time she wasn't kidding. Puzzled, he could not understand why Linda was not talking to him. He would try to find out when he could.
When his parents got home he decided to go to bed a little early as he felt extra tired. Brad quickly fell asleep, and it was that night for the first time that he awoke to something pressing against his face. He opened his eyes and found himself floating against the ceiling with his blanket draped over him dangling down to the bed. He allowed himself to lower down to his bed, and he lay there musing over the realization that he had now used his “g-force” ability even while asleep.
He wondered where this thing would go next. Then a new realization hit him! Floating against the ceiling, against his will, vividly brought back a memory of another situation when he had been in a similar predicament; Floating. Against his will. The event that rushed back into his mind seemed so remote from this time, place and situation, but now it was all making sense to him as the distinctive memories thrust themselves into his mind.
Brad continued to hover above the ground in his back yard. His thoughts turned backward to an older memory than Milo Weathers, Linda and Florida; Just like he did that night when he awoke with his face pressed to the ceiling when they still lived in Florida. He thought back to the time and events when he was much younger. It was a situation that had occurred before his family had moved to Florida, before they had even moved to North Ogden. This situation had occurred while they were living in a little rural town called Huntsville, Utah about fifteen miles away from North Ogden. He had been 13 years old then. It was an event that was forever etched in his memory. He thought back to every detail that had occurred...
Chapter Three
Brad and his friends were running as hard as their legs could carry them. They knew they were capable of outrunning most adults, but the figure had been steadily gaining on them for three blocks. They hardly dared look back at him for fear the backward glance would slow their speed, but when they rounded a corner at the end of the block they looked over their shoulder and there he was so very close!
In the summertime while school was out, they all got together at night with their sleeping bags and took turns sleeping over at each of their respective homes. They would sleep in the back yard and stay up late talking and joking. Then around midnight, they would sneak out of the bags, out of the yard they were in and go walking around town while Huntsville seemed deserted.
They had started hearing about this strange person who would always be near his house late at night and often chased after the late-night wanderers. Until this night, they had never run into him. Brad had just happened to turn and look behind them when they were about one hundred feet from where the old man was supposed to live. There he was, standing in the middle of the street with his legs spread apart. Because the street light was behind the person, all that could be seen was his silhouette but Brad could tell that the man was facing them.
Once Brad pointed him out to the others they all turned and stared at him.
One of Brad's friends yelled, “Run! That's him!”
They did not know why he had chased others and was now after them. All they knew was that there were stories he wasn’t real, wasn't alive. His place never showed signs of activity. The yard was overgrown with weeds. The house needed work and the branches of the willow trees in the front yard reached the ground making the area look unkempt. In the dark, the willow trees looked scary. The figure was only seen at night adding to the rumors that he was a ghost. Whether or not it was true did not matter to Brad and his friends. There was something about the figure that made them all feel very insecure. So, they ran for all they were worth.
When they turned the corner at the end of the third block from where the chase had started and saw how close he was, it alarmed them. He had been steadily gaining on them. It was particularly frightening to Brad as the figure was approaching him fast, and he would be the first to be caught. Brad was shorter than his friends and could not run as fast as they could. He had steadily fallen back from the rest of the five guys he was with so that now, he was the closest to the very swift, determined man.
Brad picked up his speed more than he thought he was capable of to stay out of the reach of the ghost, murderer, or whatever he was.
How much further could Brad run at this speed? How much further could the figure run? If he was a ghost, then he could easily catch them. Was he toying with them? Would he grab all of them once they slowed down? Could he handle all six of them at the same time? Being so abnormally fast, they could only believe that he must also be abnormally strong, that is, if he wasn't a ghost!
Another full block of running at full speed, and they finally dared a peek backwards again. He was gone! Nowhere in sight. They looked at the sides of the road, next to the trees, in the irrigation ditches, everywhere, but there was no sign of their pursuer. They slowly brought their run down to a fast walk, each of them gulping in air while looking all around them waiting for the horrible surprise that he might be somewhere nearby ready to pounce.
Their walk back to Brad's home was the longest walk they had ever taken as they were afraid he was lying in wait for them somewhere. Finally, back in the yard, they felt safe again. There was no sign of their pursuer anywhere. They talked, speculated and spoke “what ifs” for several more hours before they were finally exhausted enough to fall asleep. After only an hour of sleep, dawn came. Needless to say, they all slept in very late that morning.
Living in a valley that was surrounded by mountains, ski resorts, a reservoir, and rivers provided the boys with ample opportunity for many adventures. They swam, fished, hiked and rode their bikes far from home knowing they were always safe. No one ever committed serious crimes here. So, with so much daily adventure in their lives, they quickly put their nightmarish experience in the back of their minds.
Brad's family had lived in Huntsville since he was seven years old. The guys he roamed around with had been his friends since early in Elementary School. They trusted each other and leaned on each other whenever their summer activities put them in any degree of danger. One of their favorite things was to ride their bikes around town after dark because there were so few cars on the road then.
It was on one such night that something occurred that Brad now realized as he thought back on the situation that his whole world was about to change. They encountered the old man again!
Among the six friends was the largest one whose name was Jeff Rowley. Jeff's size gave him some deferential treatment yet they all seemed to be unaware of it.
Alan and Paul McAllister are brothers, and they had a strong rivalry between them but still wanted to hang out together with this group whenever they all had plans. The last two were Rudy Van Buskirk, a medium-sized but very strong kid, and Brent Dixon who was the one the girls favored due to his good looks. Brent wasn't able to do as much with them as he would have liked. His parents were strict with his summer outings, especially after dark. But on this night, they were all together. Several times since that night, they had walked and ridden their bikes past the home they believed housed the mysterious man. Nothing occurred. But this was actually the first time they were going by the house after dark.
From the broken-up sidewalk that led to the door of the mysterious house came the silent rapid moving figure. Brent saw him first and yelled in alarm, “He's here. Move it!”
Everyone started peddling as fast as they could, rapidly switching gears to maximize their speed. They had been riding their bikes fairly slow by the mysterious house, watching carefully, feeling cautious, when the person came bolting out of his front door.
That's when Brent yelled as he spotted him. It was when they all began peddling as fast as they could go, rapidly switching through the gears on their bikes that the disasters started happening to Brad. Disaster number one struck when his gear cable broke and the derailer forc
ed the chain to jump all the way to the highest gear sprocket long before he was ready for it. Brad found himself having to push with all his might to get his bike up to a speed that would match the demands of the highest gear. His legs agonized over the increased pressure he was forced to use, and he saw the others quickly pulling away from him.
The second disaster hit when Jeff, who was in the lead, decided to turn right onto a street Brad knew was filled with potholes deep enough to cause a bike wreck if any of the guys hit one. Potholes are caused by winter snow and cold and snowplows that damage the road. Sometimes potholes could be a foot deep.
No street lights lit up this particular street, so seeing the potholes was very difficult. Jeff and Rudy both had lights on their bikes; the rest of them did not. They must have believed everyone was close enough to see where the holes were at by the two lights, but Brad had fallen woefully behind still exerting enough energy to get his bike up to top speed with no intermediate gears.
Suddenly, Brad realized that he was about to fall into a pothole. He swerved to avoid it, but his back tire went in the hole. He was thrown forward off his seat, and with most of his weight shifting onto the handlebars, he almost lost control of his bike. Just after he had barely regained control, he hit another hole with his front tire that almost threw him over the handlebars completely as he swerved wildly. He was able to recover from that too. But it slowed him down.
Disaster number three hit when they all turned down an alley in the middle of the block. Most of the alleys were dirt roads cutting between all of the properties that were on each side of the block. The alleys were good escape routes during their adventures. This particular alley had a deep irrigation ditch running across the center of it and that is what concerned Brad the most. One ten-inch wide board had been thrown across the ditch so they could ride or walk across it when using the alley. It was nearly impossible to see in the dead of night without a light.
After trying to get his bike up to speed and still somehow not fall into any more potholes, now he was faced with heading down the dark alley alone with no light, trying to catch up to his friends. Brad had to attempt to get across the ditch with almost no vision at all. He could hear the footsteps of the old man behind him getting closer as he approached the ditch. It was too dark! Brad had followed the others because he felt there was strength in numbers, but now he wished he had gone his own way. He wished he had never turned onto the pothole-filled road, or down the alley. Too many obstacles had slowed him down and now he was hitting his brakes so that he would not crash into the ditch. He frantically looked for the board that crossed the ditch.
“Wait up guys!” He yelled in a blind panic.
The trouble was, his friends had already cleared the alley and were down the road around the corner with a house between them and Brad. They never heard him.
He saw the ditch! He lined his bike up with the dead center of it knowing that was where the board was placed. Then, suddenly he felt a hand grab the back of his pants, and he was jerked off the bike in one swift move.
He was hanging by his belt that was in the hand of the strange man. His feet and hands were barely touching the ground; therefore, he couldn't get any purchase under his feet to run and maybe break the hold the old man had on him. His bike crashed into the dry ditch. Brad hung helplessly while his captor walked down the sloping side into the ditch, picked up Brad's bike and turned back the way they had come. He was holding Brad in the same position in one hand and the bike in the other. When they finally got back to the road, the man spoke for the first time.
“Can I set you down boy, or do you prefer to be a puppet?”
“Please, just let me go.” Brad responded.
“Only if yer willing to not run off on me and leave yer bike behind. I don't want the thing.”
“Why are you doing this?” Brad asked.
“I mean you no harm boy. You just calm down and walk with me for a spell. Can I put you down, or do I have to carry you?”
“If you don’t hurt me, I won't run.”
“Hurt you! Boy, I'm going to make it so people won't hurt you.”
Brad didn't know what that meant. Did that mean he was to be killed so that nothing could hurt him ever again?
The man lightly tipped Brad back onto his feet and set him down. “Yer safe with me young'un. Don't you worry about that.”
“But you've been chasing us. Scaring us.”
“Sorry I alarmed you boy. Wasn't my intention.”
“Well, why are you making me walk back to your house with you?”
“I can help you, so you won't be hurt anymore.”
“What does that mean? What are you going to do?” Brad asked in a shaky voice. He was near tears. Looking at the man, he could see he was old as they had suspected.
“What I'm going to do tonight is just talk with you. It’s tomorrow when the really important thing happens.”
“You're going to keep me until tomorrow?” Brad whined.
“No, just for a bit. We'll talk and then you can go 'til tomorrow.”
They were now back at the old man's house, and Brad was allowed to follow the old man up the sidewalk.
“Careful on the walk, son. I don't much care for fixing up the outside of a place. Don't want ya to trip and fall.”
Brad was definitely confused but less frightened now. The man's voice didn’t have a threatening tone to it. The first time he had spoken, he had sounded amiable and conversational. Yet, the way in which this old man could move had shaken Brad up.
Once in the house, the old man turned on a light and turned to face Brad. He was tall, gaunt and looked very old. His hair was graying from a dark brown. His face was pleasant and without a look of evil, or cruelty. To the contrary, he had kindly eyes and a ready smile. He seemed loving to Brad the way Brad's uncle in California was.
“Shake my hand boy.” Albert said as he held out his hand.
Brad slowly put his hand out until they connected.
“Not like that son. Put some grip in yer grip!”
So, Brad squeezed his hand much harder.
“That's better boy; now hold on for a bit.”
Something happened then that Brad could not comprehend but he felt it just the same. The old man told him to look into his eyes and then spoke his name. “My name is Albert Belasco,” he said.
Brad didn't give his name. He was too mesmerized by what was happening to him. Brad was seeing images flash through his mind. He could see Albert as a young boy being chased and beaten by bullies. He could see him getting married; and after that, two children were born. Later, the wife was killed in a car accident. Shortly thereafter, he saw Albert get arrested for something he didn't do. While he was in custody, someone broke into his house and killed one of his daughters while the other one escaped. He saw the girl grow up, turn against her father and leave him one night for a local boy. Albert never saw her again.
It was many years later when Albert was accidentally shot by a friend while they were out hunting. Belasco barely survived with a bullet in his lung. Years went by, and Albert moved to Huntsville after he lost his job, and his home was foreclosed. Brad next saw him as an old man wandering along the edge of Pineview Reservoir in the dark, not far from where they were right now. Something strongly took hold of Albert's attention, and he walked over to a hole in the ground and peered in.
Suddenly, the images ceased, and Albert let go of Brad's hand, stepped back and said, “Now you know a big part of my story and I know yours as well.” Albert nodded, tipping his head slightly to the right as he did so, and Brad inexplicably nodded the same way at the same moment.
“How did you do that?” Brad asked in awe.
“Just an ability I picked up a few years back. You saw the hole in the ground. It's important that I take you to that hole, Brad Shaw.”
Brad's mind was reeling with the rapid change of events and information.
“How do you know my name?” He asked, but as he spoke he realized th
at the old man had seen into his life when Brad saw into his; Brad's name included.
Albert Belasco simply smiled because he knew Brad already had his answer.
“You still scared of me boy?” Brad was asked.
“Well... no. But I don't understand why you chased me and brought me here.”
“Because you were the slowest runner and biker.” Albert said simply.
“What does that mean? You were just after whoever was the slowest?”
“Yes. I could have caught up with any one of your friends. Not just you. But you are the one who can use my help the most.”
“Why do you say that?” Brad asked still puzzled. He could have caught anyone of us?
“So you won't be hurt anymore, he said once again. “Now, you can plainly see that I mean you no harm. So, I figure that right about now, it's time for you to git on home. You come back here tomorrow at dusk. I'll be waitin' for you. We'll take a walk down to the reservoir and afterwards everything will start to make sense to you.”
“You want to take me to that hole for some reason, Brad stated.
The old man nodded and Brad nodded also at the same moment. Brad just stood there without speaking, looking at Albert Belasco who was not a ghost, nor a cruel old man or anything evil. He had a very different way about him. That was for sure. But Brad knew now that he wasn't afraid of him, or of coming back tomorrow. In fact, his curiosity was piqued. But he had to ask. “You won't throw me in that hole, will you?”
“Nope. Couldn't if I tried.”
This is going to be interesting. Brad thought.
When Brad's friends realized that they had somehow lost Brad, they drew close together on their bikes to decide what to do. Should they go tell Brad's parents that he went missing while being chased by a strange man? Should they call the police and report what happened? Finally, they decided to first backtrack and see if they could find Brad. Maybe he had wrecked his bike in the ditch and was hurt. Maybe the old man had caught him and dragged him off somewhere. They thought they should at least look for him before they informed anyone of their fears.
