by Nye, Laine
They rode back to the alley and looked everywhere for Brad. Maybe he had to ditch his bike and hide from their pursuer. They checked the ditch and then rode down to the pothole-filled road. Then slowly and reluctantly they rode back towards the old man's place with their senses attuned to their environment so they wouldn't be caught by surprise. Just when they turned the corner and were now in front of the house they feared, they saw Brad's bike lying on the sidewalk near the porch. They stopped their bikes and froze. The door opened. They stood there wondering what would happen next. Brad came out the door, picked up his bike and nonchalantly walked down the walkway to the street. The old man they had all been afraid of was standing in the doorway with the light from behind him darkening his form; they still could see nothing of his features.
Brad looked up and saw them. “What's up guys?” he said in a friendly voice.
“Are you all right?” Jeff asked him in a near whisper.
“I'm fine, Brad said with a smile. “Come on, let's go home.”
“Were you with that old guy?” Rudy asked in amazement.
“Yes, I was.” Brad replied. “He's not what we thought. He's okay guys. We can quit worrying about him now.”
“I guess he’s not a ghost then,” Jeff observed.
“Not a ghost,” Brad said with a little smile.
“But, what happened?” Demanded Brent.
Brad didn't feel that he should tell them what it was all about. He hadn't been told to keep it quiet. He just had a feeling that it would be better not to talk about it. So, his response did nothing to satisfy any of his friends.
“We just had a little talk. He's really a nice guy.”
“Yeah, but what happened?” Echoed Alan.
“Nothing.” Brad said with a flippant attitude. “Let's just go home now.”
Chapter Four
At dusk the next day, Brad met Albert as agreed, and they immediately started walking down the street towards the reservoir which was only a block and a half away.
“How can you run so fast?” Brad asked Albert. “And how come you're so strong?”
“Just another ability I picked up in the last few years, He answered.
“Aren't you really old?” Brad blurted out in the usual reckless manner of a thirteen-year-old.
“Not an old man.” Belasco answered. “Not old at all.”
“But you gotta be at least sixty or seventy!” Brad stated.
Albert smiled. “I'm seventy-nine-years-young, he said. Brad looked at him in shock. He felt that anyone over forty was old but seventy-nine was absolutely ancient.
“You can run a lot faster than my dad and he's only forty-two. How is that possible?”
“No more questions Brad Shaw! You'll understand a lot more of what's going on after we're through”.
Brad silently followed him along the edge of the lake that was held back by Pineview Dam. Off in the distance, Brad could see the dam but not for long. The daylight was soon completely gone. Darkness came on them as they continued their walk.
“Up here, Belasco said as he turned and started up the embankment away from the water's edge. They slowed at the top of the slope and Albert began to look around at the ground carefully. He spotted what he was looking for and called Brad to come closer.
“See the hole?” Albert asked pointing with a flashlight he had pulled out of his pocket.
“Yeah I see it. Is that the same hole I saw you looking in?”
“Yup. Now watch this.”
Albert bent down, picked up a rock that looked to weigh around four or five pounds and tossed it gently over the hole. The rock did not fall into the hole as Brad expected. It hovered there about three feet off the ground and then slowly began to rise a little higher. Brad stood there amazed. Albert let him watch for a minute or so, and then he reached out, took the rock in his hand and threw it aside.
“See. Couldn't throw you in the hole if I tried. Feel any wind coming out of it?” He asked.
Brad stepped up to the hole and held his hand out over it.
“No! There's no wind whatsoever.” Brad answered in a thoughtful tone. “What's going on?”
“What we came for boy, Albert answered. He then reached out, picked Brad up off the ground and placed him over the hole. Brad yelped in panic sure that he would fall down the hole. It was about thirty-six inches across, and he could easily fit down it. Instead, he just hovered there just like the rock.
“Why are you doing this Mr. Belasco?” He asked distrustfully. Maybe he had been wrong to place so much trust in the old man after all.
“The name is Albert. Mr. Belasco was my father. Don't you worry none Brad. I told you I meant you no harm. This'll help you out in the long run.” He turned and started to walk away.
“Don't leave me here Albert!” Brad pleaded.
“Albert turned back and said, “When you feel yourself beginning to come down, just spread your legs. You'll touch down lightly on the ground, and then you can walk home.”
“What are you doing?” Brad demanded.
“Leaving you to percolate for a while boy. Don't worry, you'll be fine.”
Albert Belasco was soon out of sight and out of hearing distance. He'd left the flashlight with Brad, and Brad kept looking down into the hole with the light. He could see no bottom. He twisted his body back and forth and stretched out his legs and arms but no amount of gyrations would release him from the energy coming from the hole. He continued to hover helplessly for about forty minutes, and then he began to feel himself slowly drop to the ground. He spread out his legs like he'd been warned to do, and finally, both of his feet were on the ground straddling the hole. He quickly stepped away from the danger it represented and headed towards town very quickly.
Instead of going straight towards his home, he turned left towards Belasco's place. He was angry and wanted further explanation. When he arrived at Albert's, he knocked loudly on the door. There was no response. He tried again even harder. Nothing. Brad was not to be put off, so he grabbed the doorknob and turned. The door opened. He went inside. He searched the whole place calling out Albert's name. He was nowhere to be found. Brad walked back outside and went to the detached garage around the side of the house facing the other street. The door was open. The garage was empty. Belasco had left.
Brad went home totally puzzled by the whole situation and all that Albert had said to him. He sought further explanation from Albert on several occasions after that but never found him home. He waited out in front of his place after dark when he seemed to be out but there was no sign of him.
Three months later, his parents moved them from Huntsville down to North Ogden. He did not get another chance to talk to Albert before leaving...
Brad lay above his bed in Florida thinking over the whole mysterious situation that had occurred to him almost three years ago. The words of Albert Belasco came back into his mind as he thought of the trouble he'd had with Milo at school. “...So you won't be hurt anymore.”
Brad remembered that as a young person, Albert had been bullied a lot. He'd seen it while gripping Albert's hand. He'd had no defense against the cruelties of those bullies, the same as Brad. He had somehow discovered the hole in the ground which gave him “abilities” as Albert had called them: The hand shake that exchanged memories, the incredible speed that the old man could run proved his great strength; The way that he carried Brad like a little lost puppy. All of these abilities Albert had acquired from the weird hole.
And now, Brad knew what had happened to him by being placed over that hole. He had an ability too! “...So you won't be hurt anymore!” Brad had been the smallest and slowest of his friends making him a target for bullies. Albert sought to compensate for that on Brad's behalf.
Brad left behind two people who had picked on him a lot of the time when his family moved from Utah to Florida. One of them had been taking Kung Fu lessons for years and loved to practice his moves on Brad and a few others. He had been so tired of always being a target,
and now here he was once again with this Milo creep. Now that he understood what Albert was doing for him, his determination grew strong inside of him. He would not be walked on anymore!
Yet how would he lash out at these bullies when it was necessary to do so without everyone seeing what he could do? He was still uncomfortable with others knowing of his ability. That thought made him wonder why Linda Day wouldn't talk to him. Did she suspect something? He was just going to have to find out. He would ask her why she was suddenly so distant.
The next day at school, he approached Linda as soon as third period was over. Walking up to her from behind he said, “Is there a reason why I'm suddenly your enemy instead of your friend?”
Holding her books across her chest with both arms in a defensive posture, she looked at him. She waited until everyone else passed by them, and then she said to him with a look of anger and fear in her eyes, “I saw what you did to Milo.”
“Why are you blaming me for that? Don't you think that would be just a little weird that I could do something like that? Come on Linda, get real.”
“Brad. I felt it coming from you!” She answered forcefully. “I know it was you.”
“You felt what coming from me?” Brad demanded.
“I felt the energy coming from you as Milo went flying up in the air. Then, I looked at you, and you had a smile on your face. You were happy about what you were doing to him. I saw you the next day looking at his cast and smiling again. I know it was you, you monster!”
“I am not a monster. I'm just Brad Shaw, former friend to Linda Day!”
“Okay, too strong of a word. You're not a monster. You’re a freak. And I don't want to be around you anymore.”
“If you go around and tell people what you just told me, they will think you are the freak, Brad retorted.
“Don't worry. Your secret is safe as long as I never see it again. Now, just leave me alone; I don't want you lifting me up in the air and throwing me down!”
“I would not do that to you Linda!” Brad stated forcefully.
“So, you admit that you could,” she retorted. She spun on her heel and walked away quickly. Brad just stood there in silence as she walked away. He didn't know what to say to throw her off course now. She knew, and he had helped to verify it for her. He was mad at himself for his slip. But he was especially mad at her!
Six weeks went by. Brad noticed that Milo had his cast off. He knew it was just a matter of time before he was cornered by this bully again. His anxiety level once again started climbing. Could he use his ability to defend himself without others knowing it was him? What If Linda happened to be nearby again? Would she tell everyone what she knew? How could she have felt some kind of energy coming from Brad? No one else seemed to notice anything. Brad felt the stress of the situation building. It was just a matter of time!
Much to Brad's relief, he found out that Linda's family was moving to Macon, Georgia. He was relieved, but he also realized he was going to miss her and the enjoyable relationship they had begun. He decided to put his fears of her reaction to him aside and say goodbye to her.
He approached her in the cafeteria when she sat down to eat. He sat next to her with his back to the table. She turned her head and looked at him in surprise. “I heard you were leaving, he told her.
She nodded her head but did not return comment. “Well, I just wanted to tell you that I really wish things would have turned out differently between us. I really did like you, Linda.”
“Did?” She asked angrily.
“Yes. Did. Because you were friendly to me, but now you are not. But, I still wanted to just say goodbye to you.”
She studied his face for a moment. Then she spoke in a conciliatory tone. “I really did like you too Brad. But you scare me now.”
“There was never anything to be afraid of Linda. I would never harm you in any way. What happened to Milo was pure self-defense. If I had not done it, Milo would have beaten me to a pulp. I can't see how that would have been a better outcome to you than what happened.” He started to get up to get his own lunch.
“Wait,” she said putting her hand on his arm. He turned back to her.
“I would not have wanted him to hurt you Brad. In fact, I was getting ready to step in front of him before anything happened to you. You just beat me to it.”
“It's better that I did Linda. He would have no problem with smacking you down to get to me. Besides, do you have any idea how much worse things could have been for me when it got around that a girl had to defend me?”
“I didn't think about that,” she said in a quiet voice. “Sorry.”
Brad nodded, “Thanks.”
“But you still scare me.”
Brad sighed, “All right Linda. Well, take care of yourself. I hope you don't run into anymore freaks like me in Macon.”
When he said that, her hand came off his arm and she looked down. “Goodbye Brad,” she said quietly.
“Bye.” He got up and didn't go get his lunch. He wasn't hungry now.
Before he hardly knew it had happened, she was gone from school and from his life. He felt sad and a little lonely. Right at the end there, he thought he had a chance to mend their friendship. Now it was over, forever.
Albert Belasco sat quietly in his home in the near dark. He was thinking hard about Brad Shaw who he had not seen in over two years. Some events had been happening in Brad's life recently. Albert knew that of a certainty. He had felt it.
He knew that Brad had used the energy that controlled whatever gift he had received when he put Brad over the hole in the ground. He could feel it whenever Brad had used the energy. All this time and not a hint, then all of a sudden, he was using it over and over. The first time he felt the energy being expressed from Brad, it was a major amount of energy that he knew would have tired the boy out considerably. But he had used it in a minor way three or four times shortly after that first time within the same few minutes. Then, nothing. Months went by before he felt Brad using the energy again.
He wondered what was going on in Brad Shaw's life. Was he having trouble with bullies and protecting himself? The amount of energy Brad had used the first time could have killed a horse. Of course, that depended on the kind of ability Brad had gained. But whatever it was, it gave him access to a lot of power.
Albert knew that it drained Brad a lot whenever he used this ability-whatever it was. Took so much energy from him that his life force was threatened to a small degree. It bothered Albert enough that very first time that he lent Brad some of his own pent up energy. Why not. He had plenty to spare. Every time he went back to the hole, he got more and more energy along with new abilities.
Albert had long ago stopped questioning how that blasted hole worked. How did it give these abilities to people and only to certain people? Where did the energy come from that caused a full-grown man to be able to hover over the hole while he absorbed the energy? Why did it only emit energy around dusk? What was the source of the energy? He would never know that one for sure because he knew that the hole was deep. Maybe the deepest of any cave or mine or volcano tube in the world. Maybe it was as deep as the Mariana Trench off the coast of Guam. That trench was somewhere around thirty-eight thousand feet below sea level if he remembered correctly. Albert would never know the answers to any of these questions so he quit asking himself and continued to keep the knowledge of the hole to himself and a scant few boys who he felt qualified to experience the power and influence of that nondescript hole in the ground.
There was no more to be learned about Brad at this time. Albert let the subject slip from his mind. He would contemplate on it again some other time.
One day while he was still missing Linda, Brad had missed the bus and his father took him to school. His father stopped on the side of the road across from the football field to let Brad out. He thanked his father for the ride while exiting the car. He was wondering if he should tell his parents about the problem he was having with the giant.
As
he crossed the football field, he thought it over. School had already started ten minutes before and there were no other students in sight. Brad decided that since he was going to get a tardy anyway, he'd just take his time while he thought things over. He was also not in a hurry to enter the hunting ground where the predator lurked. Without warning, he heard an all too familiar voice from behind.
“Hello rat boy!”
Brad spun around in fear and fury and saw Milo about seventy feet away. No one was watching. No one was around. It was time to stop the bully!
Brad stopped and faced Milo waiting for him to get closer. Milo was taunting and insulting him as he closed the distance between them.
“Not going to run this time rodent?” Milo taunted. “You have to be the dumbest rat alive. You should be running from me you little piss ant!”
Brad concentrated on the ground underneath Milo's feet, intensifying the gravity several times. Milo grunted as he collapsed, forced to the ground.
“It ends now Milo!” Brad yelled hoarsely. “You're not doing this to me anymore!”
Milo began to pull his arms and legs back under himself. Exerting all his strength to get up, he began to rise.
“You're dead rodent! I told you that,” he said through clenched teeth.
“You will stay on the ground Milo! It's over! You're never going to bother me again!”
Brad thrust more G-force energy underneath Milo. Milo fell back to the ground heavily grunting more harshly this time.
“Are you going to stop?” Brad yelled in a shrill voice.
With malignant hate in his eyes coupled with confusion about how heavy he felt, he forced his head up looking at Brad and said, “I'm going to slaughter you!”
