“I think you just drive ‘til you get to the field.”
●
Skye & Scott
Skye couldn’t believe that Scott was sitting next to her, she was so nervous and couldn’t think of anything to say.
“Skye, you look beautiful in your cat costume, I love the whiskers,” he said, slowly grabbing her hand. He brought her hand to his mouth, opened it kissing her palm.
Skye shivered, looking at Scott in disbelief, “What are you doing? You just broke up with Sophie. I don’t want to be a rebound for anyone, especially you.”
Scott pulled her close still holding her hand. “You are definitely not a rebound, especially not mine.” He leaned in slowly running his tongue across her lips before kissing her softly. Skye had never been kissed like that. He took his time before slipping his tongue into her mouth. He slowly kissed her, then pulled away, looking into her eyes.
“You are so beautiful, I’ve wanted to do that since I took you home that night two years ago. It pissed me off when I saw Paul putting his hands all over you. I almost broke his neck. But then you slapped his face. I laughed my ass off until he started walking towards you, I knew I had to step in. That’s when I knew you would be mine someday. Hell, I didn’t think it would take two years though,” he said while holding tightly to her hand.
Skye was shocked, she grabbed his head and kissed him deeply.
Pulling her head back from his, she said, “Well, it’s about damn time!” Scott kissed the top of her head and pulled her close.
Whispering softly to her, he said, “This is going to be a helluva a year, babe.”
●
The Drive
While Skye and Scott were connecting in the backseat, Jo-Jo was trying not to freak out, as Jacob was sitting in her jeep. She couldn’t believe that he was sitting next to her.
“Are you okay Jo-Jo?” Jacob looked at her strangely.
“Yeah, um...I’m fine,” she said. Jo-Jo was so nervous that her teeth were chattering. She hated when she did that it was embarrassing.
“Are you cold? I can give you my jacket,” Jacob was concerned at how much she was shaking.
“No, I’m not cold, it happens when I’m nervous,” she confessed then immediately regretted her words.
“Do I make you nervous?” Smiling, Jacob liked the idea that she felt something when he was around.
“No! Of course not! Driving down this foggy road makes me nervous,” she said as her voice was shaking. Jacob had to smile because he knew she was lying.
A green light in the distance started to flash, “Do y’all see that?” Jo-Jo stopped the jeep, grabbing Jacob’s arm.
Skye leaned forward, “Maybe that’s a light from the party.”
Jacob was too busy enjoying the fact that Jo-Jo was grabbing his arm to really listen to what Skye was saying.
Scott smacked Jacob in the head, “Dude, should we follow the light or not?” Jacob looked at the light and shook his head going back to stare at Jo-Jo.
“So, Jo-Jo? I guess we follow the light?” Skye tried not to crack up laughing at the fact that Jacob stared at Jo-Jo and she chattered nervously. The jeep jumped into gear and started slowly down the gravel road. The group was chattering about the party up ahead, it didn’t seem like anyone noticed that green light was gone.
“Hold up a minute, Jo-Jo…the light is gone,” Jacob continued to look around for the light.
“That’s so strange. It’s gone…we didn’t turn off somewhere did we?” Scott asked as he looked for the light. Skye continued to hold onto his arm. Jacob and Scott started talking over each other about whether they should turn around or not. Jo-Jo continued to look around trying to figure out which way to go. She started moving forward slightly, turning to the left, it was hard to tell if it was the right direction or not, since it was so foggy.
“Why the hell is it so foggy?” she said as she continued to scan the area when something in the distance caught her eye. “Hey, guys look up there! Do y’all see a light moving toward us?”
Skye looked in that direction, “Yeah it looks like it’s coming right towards us.”
Both Jacob and Scott stopped their bickering about the green light.
“Alright, Jo-Jo let’s get out of here before whatever that is runs right into us,” Skye said and Jo-Jo attempted to move her jeep, but once she put it into first gear, it stalled out. She tried starting it again, but nothing happened.
“Guys the jeep won’t start…I can’t get it to start!” Jo-Jo’s voice trembled as she kept putting the jeep in gear, but all it did was crank over. Jacob grabbed her hand, he could she was panicking.
“Look at me Jo-Jo, breathe and calm down. Let’s try it again. Push the clutch in, make sure it’s in first and try to turn the key,” Jacob guided her. She tried starting it again, but the jeep wasn’t turning over. Skye and Scott both started talking at the same time. The windows on the jeep started to shake, the doors rattled and the insides of everyone felt like they were vibrating.
“We need to get out of the jeep. The light is getting closer and it sounds like it’s coming fast,” Scott said tapping on Jacob’s shoulder, while Skye was pushing on the back of Jo-Jo.
“Come on, Jo-Jo! Let’s just leave the jeep. COME ON, LET’S GO NOW!” Skye screamed at her friend.
Jo-Jo and Jacob both flung open the doors making sure that Scott and Skye cleared away from the jeep. All four of them ran away in the opposite direction of the light.
HOOT! HOOT! What sounded like a train grew louder and louder. The group of four slid down a small embankment landing on the ground. Scott grabbed hold of Skye and the ground began to shake. Thunderous sounds kept getting closer. It sounded just like a train approaching.
“Oh my God, Jacob, this is so crazy,” Jo-Jo cried into his chest not realizing that Jacob had his arms around her trying to calm her.
Just then what appeared to be a train, appeared in the view of the teens, “It’s going to crash into your jeep,” a stunned Jacob looked down at Jo-Jo.
Then as soon as the train got in their view, they noticed it didn’t look like a normal train of today, it was an old coal train. The smell of the coal and the smoke made the kids cough, then the train went right through the jeep. Just as suddenly as it appeared, the train had completely vanished into thin air. Scott and Jacob got up at the same time looking around, “Scott, do you see anything?”
“No man, that was the craziest thing, was that really a train that just came through here?”
“Girls are y’all okay?” Jacob turned to look at them, Jo-Jo and Skye were standing there both looking stunned.
“Yeah, I think we’re good. Let’s get out of here before anything else happens,” Jo-Jo said, holding Skye’s they both started walking towards her jeep.
Once they got to the jeep, Jacob walked over to the driver’s side grabbing Jo-Jo’s hand. “Let me drive,” he said, reaching for the keys.
“Yeah go-ahead Jacob, it’s foggy and I’m tired of looking for the right direction,” Jo-Jo said as she handed Jacob the keys.
Trying to lighten the mood Jacob whispered, “You look really good tonight, Jo-Jo. I meant to tell you earlier.” Then he leaned down putting his hands on her face, slowly kissing her.
Surprised, Jo-Jo wrapped her arms around Jacob’s shoulders kissing him back.
Skye smirked as she leaned into Scott; he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. “Let’s go lovebirds, it’s creepy out here,” he snickered.
●
The Bridge
Jacob turned the jeep around and headed away from the railroad tracks. Jo-Jo looked around, “Do you know where we’re going?”
He grabbed her hand, “We will figure it out together.”
Scott was holding onto Skye, kissing her the base of her neck, whispering, “We will be fine…and o
nce we get to the party, we will dance all night.”
Skye leaned in, “Damn you smell so good.”
Jacob turned the jeep right, “we came from that way,” pointing to the left.
The group agreed. “Okay, so we went through the first gate, that’s towards the left, so we need to continue right.” Jacob continued slowly, it was getting easier to see as the fog started to clear.
“Hey, look up ahead, does that look like a trestle? If so, then we are going in the right direction,” he said pointing ahead of them.
Everyone began to relax a little bit and started discussing the party. Jo-Jo started talking really fast, “What do you think everyone is wearing? What about music? Do you think there will be food?”
“Breathe Jo-Jo,” Skye laughed. She knew how much Jo-Jo loved costumes. “You know your costume is the bomb.”
Jacob winked at her, “Babe, all I’m interested in is spending time with Bonnie.”
Jo-Jo’s eyes lit up, fiery attitude coming forward, “Who the hell is Bonnie?”
Jacob laughed, “You, silly!”
Took her a moment before she started to laugh, “Oh, that’s right!” Jacob grabbed her hand pulling it to his mouth lightly kissing her knuckles. Jo-Jo shivered, looked into his eyes and gave him a shy smile.
“STOP!” Scott yelled.
Jacob slammed on the brakes, “Shit, sorry! Everyone okay?”
“Dude! I swear there was a girl standing in the middle of the road.”
Skye and Jo-Jo’s eyes darted around everywhere, neither one saw anything that resembled a girl. “There doesn’t seem to be anything. Maybe with all that’s happened tonight, it was your eyes playing tricks on you.”
“Maybe, you’re right Jo-Jo, I don’t see anything.” Scott still looked for something to explain what he saw. “Okay man, I’m sorry.”
Jacob started driving forward, “No biggie, it’s been a strange evening.”
“Look, Jacob, it’s the second trestle,” Skye patted on his shoulder to get his attention.
Scott saw movement on top of the trestle, “Hey, hey, Jacob! Stop and look at the top of the trestle. Do you see that?”
All of them looked up, there was a silhouette standing at the edge of the trestle. Jacob stopped the jeep, and everyone piled out.
“Look!” Scott pointed to what appeared to be a girl standing there, who suddenly jumped.
Skye and Jo-Jo screamed, the boys wrapped them both up, to hide their faces. The screams of the girl were deafening, then suddenly it was dead silent. The boys slowly looked around, as the girls pulled away opening their eyes. They all walked over to the area where the body should have been.
“Where is she?” Scott continued to scan the ground looking for any evidence. “She jumped right here, she should be laying right here.”
Skye touched Scott’s arm, “I don’t understand, where did she go?”
Scott grabbed her hand, “It’s kinda freaky…she just disappeared.”
Jacob shook his head, “Man if you asked me last week, I would have said I don’t believe in ghost, but now….”
Scott started walking to the jeep still holding Skye’s hand. “I’m beginning to wonder if this party is worth it.”
Jo-Jo spun around looked at Scott, “Well, I’m sorry if you don’t want to go to this party now, but I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing. I’ve been waiting since freshman year, so if you think I’m turning back now, you’re crazy. I will walk my happy ass to the party if I have to. There isn’t a ghost that’s going to keep me from that damn party.”
Jacob was shocked, “Damn girl, that was sexy as all get out. I didn’t know you had a temper.”
Jo-Jo shifted her hips, putting her hands on them, glared at him and she stuck her tongue out. Skye was laughing so hard, that the boys just stared at them. Jo-Jo was furious she huffed and stomped to the jeep.
Skye’s eyes dripped with tears, “Damn. I thought I was the only one who could piss her off that fast. Points to you, Scott.”
Scott still appeared confused, “Man, what did I say?”
Skye pulled him towards the jeep. Jacob was still astonished that Jo-Jo had lost her temper. He thought watching the fire in her eyes explode was amazing. She continued to surprise him. He walked to her side and crooked his finger for her to get out of the jeep. He could tell she was mad. Jo-Jo slowly got out of the jeep, still pissed.
She was going to that damn party.
Jacob turned her so that they were face to face, “I didn’t realize you were so passionate about costumes.”
“Well, I am.” She stood there stubbornly and he put his forehead against hers. “Well, that was sexy as hell,” he said as he tipped her head up. Jo-Jo had been kissed but not by someone she really liked. Jacob used his tongue to trace the outline of her lips. She finally relaxed and he gently slid his tongue into her mouth.
●
Gate #5
Jacob helped Jo-Jo back into the jeep, but not before kissing her again on the forehead.
“So, now what?” Scott leaned forward and looked at Jacob.
“Let’s just go past the bridge and see if we can figure out where to go next.” It started to get foggy again and it was hard to tell how late it was. They rode in silence for a little bit until they stopped suddenly when right in front of them was a black iron gate.
“I wonder which gate this is? We’ve already been through the one gate that everyone talks about.” Jacob looked around before he gripped the handle to the jeep.
“Wait, are you sure it’s a good idea to get out?” Jo-Jo touched his hand.
“It will be fine, we can’t go anywhere else.” Jacob got out the jeep, walked over to the iron gate. He tried to push it open, but the gate appeared stuck. He bent down and tugged the grass out of the way. He dug at the bottom of the gate and was finally able to push it open. He walked back to the jeep, and just as the vehicle moved through the gate it died.
“What the hell, just happened?” He jumped out of the seat after he popped the handle to the hood. “Hey, Jo-Jo! Jump behind the wheel and I will see what’s wrong.” He lifted the hood, but there was nothing, no headlight, no interior lights, and it wouldn’t turn over. He was utterly confused.
“Yo, Jacob, check out your phone, is yours working at all?” Scott’s cell didn’t have power. He looked at Skye’s phone, “She doesn’t have power either…hey, Jo-Jo do you have any?”
Jo-Jo dug into her purse, pulled out her cell, “No, nothing.”
“We found Gate 5.”
“Skye, what are you talking about?” Jacob had walked to the driver’s side.
The girls looked at each other, “Go ahead and tell them, you brought it up.”
Skye took a deep breath, “My great-grandfather told my dad that the 5th gate of hell leads to the Old Garbee Farmhouse. Once you pass through that gate anything electrical doesn’t work.”
The boys looked at each other, “That’s one rumor we hadn’t heard.”
“Yea, a lot of the older generation didn’t want the information out because of visitors coming to town looking for the gates, so very few people talked about it.”
●
Old Garbee Farm
“Shhh!”
“Jo-Jo, what’s wrong?” Scott looked at her strangely.
“Be quiet, don’t you hear that?”
The group became silent and voices could be heard in the distance, “Catch him, there he goes, don’t let him get away.”
Their eyes grew huge. They looked around. Jacob pointed further down the road, lights could be seen dancing through the trees. WOOF! WOOF! Several dogs could be heard running after something or someone.
“What the hell,” Jo-Jo whispered. Her eyes followed the trail of the flashlights and the barking dogs.
“I don’t know, but let’s go fi
nd out to make sure nothing is wrong.” Jacob opened the door, so Scott and Skye could get out.
The four of them walked up the gravel quietly, looking around for an evidence of what was going on or if they were heading in the right direction. There was very little light from the sky, but it was enough to see what was just ahead of them.
“Where’d that boy go, we need to catch him before he gets away...,” the voice said.
Jacob motioned them to hide in the trees, “Do you see who’s talking?”
No one answered.
SWOOSH! SWOOSH! Sounds of people running surrounded them. Skye and Jo-Jo looked at each other, both confused about what they were hearing.
“Look,” Skye pointed up. Jo-Jo looked up and the trees that surrounded them had vines hanging from them. She gave Skye a puzzled look.
“What’s with all the vines?”
Skye shook her head, “I don’t think they are vines….”
Before Jo-Jo could respond the boys grabbed them to lay down on the ground underneath the bushes. In this position, it wasn’t easy to see what was going on.
Jacob looked up and watched as what appeared to be men running past them dressed in white masks and gowns, very similar to the KKK.
“Did you see that?” Scott looked at Jacob shocked. “I know it’s Halloween but who dresses up like the KKK and decides to run around the woods?”
Both girls looked up to the guys, “What!?!”
Just then, the bushes they were hiding near moved and an African American teen laid down next to them. The girls looked over, “What the what?” Jo-Jo whispered, jumping slightly.
“Where did you come from, dude? Are you okay?” Questions rolled out of Scott’s mouth. The teen just laid there quietly not looking at any of the four. He looked exhausted like he had been running for hours. He looked about 15 years old, and his clothes were likely torn from running through the woods.
“Hey, are you okay? Can we help?” Jo-Jo went to touch his arm, but suddenly he was gone. “What the hell? He was just sitting there, where’d he go?” she said.
“I don’t know! One minute he was there and the next he was gone.” Jacob sat up a little bit to look around, but at that moment saw nothing.
Tricks or Treats: An Anthology for Charity Page 29
