G-157 (6 page)

Stop it,
she told herself.
Troy’s not like that and you know it. He’s probably slowing down so you can look at the billboard longer, now be cool
.
She focused on steadying her breathing, and forced a smile.

“Oh, look at that one,” she shouted. The billboard ahead harbored a rainbow of flashing lights, its luminosity
blazing across
the dull grey fields as they approached it. There was no picture on this one. She jutted her chin forward, searching it for any sign of an advertisement, but there was nothing, only a flurry of flashing lights in the darkness as the bike continued to slow. It idled down into first, coming to a stop in the middle of the highway under the
empty pulsating
rainbow.

“Troy, what are you doing?”

The engine ceased. Her ears rang in the
new
quiet, the sound o
f engine and smell of gasoline
resonating around her body. The ringing began to dissipate, enabling the sounds of the night to chime through. A crisp breeze rustled the leaves of nearby
trees. C
rickets chirped in their reestablished peace, yet still no sounds from the boy, only a quivering in his muscles.

“Troy?” The slight tremors of his back magnified as his shoulders started to shake. A great sob from deep within him echoed
across the fields
. “Troy, what’s wrong?”

“I don’t…I don’t know,” he gasped. “I just got so
… so
sad
all of a sudden.”

“Sad about what?”

“I don’t know, I can’t explain it. I just feel like…like life is over if I go one more inch.” He turned to look at her from the corner of his eye, and wiped away the wetness glistening on his cheek with his jacket sleeve. “I’m sorry, Aire, but I just can’t keep going.”

“Okay,” she
said, placing a hand on his shoulder
.

“I’m really sorry,” he repeated. “I just don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

“It’s really okay. We can turn around if you want. I won’t be mad.”

He nodded and
kicked the bike
,
maneuvering
it in a half circle to face town. His wrist ra
c
ked back
on the gas
as he gunned the engine. The front wheel leapt from the ground as he hammered on full throttle until they were topped out in fifth gear. The wind ripped at her cheeks and stole the wetness from her eyes as they charged back to John’s Town. Her hands stung in their tight grip around his waist, her breath coming in staggered gasps at the dangerous speed. She squeezed her eyes tighter, silently pleading for him to slow down.
Her heart began to pump faster with every bump and jar that sent her rear flying up from the seat. Her hands made damp splotches on Troy’s shirt as she clung to him. She wanted to speak up, to tell him to slow down before he got them both killed, but she couldn’t. She could only hold on and silently plead to him, and soon, he began to slow.

She opened her eyes to see the familiar shops
along Bourbon
once more, astonished at how quickly they had returned. He continued to slow as they went further into town, putt
er
ing down the empty streets and finally stopping when they reached her house. Her parents peered through the living room window
, and quickly rushed back to their places on the couch and
pretended
to read as they watched her from the corners of their eyes. She led him behind the giant oak tree in the corner of the yard to escape their prying.

“Listen, Aire,” he began.

She put her hand up to silence him. “You don’t have to explain anything.”

“No, I do.” He took a step closer to her
, his height causing her to suck in her breath
. “Look, I don’t know what happened back there. I’ve never cried in my life. I didn’t even know people were still capable of crying. It was like I just had such a wave of… I don’t even know what. It was the most
awful thing I’ve ever felt. I just wanted to end everything and never breathe again. But as soon as I turned that bike around, I felt better. And when we passed the last billboard, I felt like myself again.”

The porch light flickered on and off. She sighed and ran her fingers through her tangled hair.

“Look,” she told him. “I don’t understand what happened either, but I don’t think less of you because of it.”

“Really?” The crease in his brow faded as a smile began to take hold of his thin cheeks.

“Really. And I won’t tell anyone at school about it either,” she said, offering a small grin. “Still giving me your jersey?”

“Of course I am,” he said, pulling her into a hug. “You’re the best.”

“You’d do the same,” she said as she buried her face into his chest
, taking in one last breath of his scent
. She let go and nodded her head. “Goodnight, Troy.”

“Goodnight, Aire.”

She plodded to her front porch as his footsteps crunched across the grass to the street. Mounting the steps, she turned to wave at him. “See you Monday,” she called.

“Can’t wait,” he shouted over the bike’s engine.

She waited until he disappeared around the corner to turn towards the house. Her hand resting upon the doorknob, she took a deep breath before opening the front door. Her parents looked up at her, grinning when she entered the living room.

“How was your ride?”

“It was good.”

“Really,” her mother said. “Are you sure?”

“Yes, it was good,” she said, forcing a smile.

“Good. And you settled the kick off dinner matter?”

“Yes, mother. Goodnight.”

She scurried up the stairs, closing her bedroom door behind her for another sleepless night.

Chapter Seven

John’s Town

In the beginning…

Ronny and Richie Tillman slipped quietly through the streets, the knife and book of matches in Richie’s pocket slapping quietly against his thigh. The boys went relatively unnoticed, though a few bystanders shot queer looks their way at seeing the boys out so early, and without their mother to boot.

“So what we gonna do with those matches, Richie?” Ronny asked his brother as they turned onto Buffalo Trail. “You want to burn down that stupid school?”

“Maybe,” Richie said as he scanned the tree lined dirt road. “Maybe.”

“Aw, that would be so fun. Get those jerks back for kickin us out. That would be great. We could even-“

“Shh,” Richie hissed.

“What is it?”

Richie grabbed his brother by the shirt and yanked him into the bushes, his eyes staring at the road ahead.

“What is it, Rich?”

He put his fingers to his lips and pointed down the road. Ronny squinted his eyes and pushed aside a thick branch that blocked his view. A smile swept across his face when he saw Stacey Tilker coming up the road alone, school books in hand.

“Oh, she’s nice looking,” Ronny whispered. “Look at those legs.”

“When she gets to that blackberry bush right there,” Richie said, pointing to the thorny bush a few feet from them, “we’re going to jump out and grab her.”

“What?” Ronny’s eyes widened.

“We’re gonna grab her.”

“Why?”

Richie rolled his eyes and let out a groan. “Do you want to spend the rest of your life playin with yourself or do you want to have fun with that girl?”

Richie turned back to look at Stacey, his jeans becoming tight around the groin. A sick grin spread across his lips. “I want to have fun with her,” he whispered.

“Alright then, you follow my lead.”

Ronny nodded, and the two crouched silent in the bushes. He felt his jeans become even tighter as she ventured closer, and his heart began to beat faster as he thought of the fun they’d have
. I’ll show you a
real
good time, honey
, he thought, his hands beginning to shake.
I’m gonna show you the time of your life.

“Get ready,” Richie whispered.

His knees trembled, the adrenaline pumping through his veins made his hands shake even more. Hot breath steamed from his nostrils as he kept his eyes on the girl, ready to pounce as soon as Richie gave the word. Ronny grew light headed when she came within twenty feet of them, and he felt as though he’d black out when she was within a few yards.

“Now!” Richie hissed. The Tillman twins leapt from the bushes and rushed towards Stacey. Ronny felt a wetness in his pants as he landed a blow to the girl’s jaw before she had time to scream. Richie followed with another hard punch to her temple. Stacey’s eyes rolled back in her head as she dropped her books and crumpled into the dust.

Ronny stood looking down at the blood trickling from her lip. He was breathing hard, the armpits of his shirt soaked with sweat. “What now?”

“To the park,” Richie said as he scooped the girl up and threw her like a burlap sack of potatoes over his shoulder. Ronny nodded, and they began to walk towards the woods.

***

Lucita Tillman’s face continued to smile as she walked towards Laura Wester and her friends. The little girls had found a young bullfrog along the banks, and laughed as they scurried around trying to catch it. It leapt into the pond just as Lucita joined them along the water’s edge.

“Hi, Mrs. Tillman,” Laura said as she flipped a long blind braid over her shoulder and squinted to look up at the woman.

“Hi, Mrs. Tillman,” Connie Sandoval called.

“Hi, Mrs. Tillman,” Sandy Roberts echoed.

Lucita Tillman continued to tower over the little girls, the smile never leaving her face. Laura shifted uncomfortably under the woman’s silent gaze.

“Mrs. Tillman?” she asked. “Are you okay?”

Lucita let out a jerky nod. “Swimming.”

“No,” Laura shook her head. “Not today. It’s still too cold and I ain’t got my suit.”

“Swimming,” Lucita repeated.

“No, I can’t. I don’t have my suit and my momma would be mad if I got in with my school clothes on.”

“Swimming.” Lucita took a step forward.

“Mrs. Tillman?” Laura’s eyes were wide and glistened with fright. Her hands pawed at her pink school dress, bawling it into tufts and raising the hem nearly up to her undies.

“Swimming.” Lucita continued towards the cowering girl. Connie and Sandy backed up quickly away from the banks, leaving Laura to the towering woman.

“Mrs. Tillman, you’re scaring me,” Laura hiccupped, and began to cry.

“Swimming.” Lucita took several more steps forward.

“Mrs. Tillman,” Laura wailed, her buckled shoes now splashing backwards into the water. “Please, stop!”

“Swimming!” Lucita bellowed, and lunged towards the girl. Her massive hand caught one of Laura’s braids as she turned to run. The girl let out a shrill screech as two thick arms wrapped around her torso and lifted her into the air.

“Swimming!”

Laura thrashed and screamed as she was carried into the pond. She cried and pleaded for Lucita to let her go, but the woman only continued to repeat that one word.
Swimming
. Her little body went into full blown panic when Lucita froze, the water reaching to the amazon woman’s chest.

“Mrs. Tillman?” Laura choked in a small voice. Lucita turned her head to look down at the girl, and for a moment she thought the woman had come to her senses and would let her go.

“Swimming!”

Laura Wester sucked in a lungful of water as her head was thrust into the pond.

***

Richie Tillman stared down at the sobbing, bleeding girl as his brother climbed off her. She lay naked on the ground, her eyes black, nose broken. Several of her teeth were gone, and more than three dozen cuts covered her body. She curled into the fetal position onto her side and gave a weak
cough. Richie smiled when he saw blood spill forth from her lips.

“That sure was something,” Ronny said as he zipped his fly up. “Wasn’t that fun?” he asked as he smacked Richie on the arm.

“You know what would be even more fun?”

“What? A brunette?”

“If we ate her eyes.”

Ronny’s dark skin paled. “Wh-what?”

“Yeah,” Richie nodded, tapping the knife against his thigh. “Yeah, that would be really fun.”

“Uh-uh,” Ronny shook his head as he took a few steps back from his brother. “No way, man. That’s sick.”

Pain screamed from his spine as Richie slammed him against a tree. The warm knife pressed against his neck, and for a moment he thought he was going to lose control of his bladder.

“You’re going to eat ‘em if I tell you to eat ‘em,” Richie screamed in his face, his breath hot and sour. “And you’re gonna like ‘em!”

A tear rolled down Ronny’s cheek. “Richie-“

“You’re gonna eat ‘em!”

“No I-“

Ronny’s eyes bulged as the blade ripped across his neck. His hands flew to his gushing throat. Gurgling, choking sounds erupted as he staggered a few feet and collapsed into the leaves, his body giving several violent spasms before stilling.

Richie stared at his brother for several minutes, watching his dark skin turn from ebony to an ashy gray. He turned his back to Ronny, and kneeled by Stacey’s side.

A thin blue film was beginning to build over her unblinking eyes. Her purple lips hung open in a frozen scream.

“Dead.” Richie shook his head. “No good dead. What do we do with dead?” He pulled the booklet of matches from his pocket.

“We burn dead,” he said. He struck a match and dropped it into the leaves. “We burn dead.”

Richie struck another match.

***

Walt Hadley couldn’t shake the sinking feeling from his gut. There had been something terribly wrong with Luctia, but for nearly a half an hour he struggled with himself on whether or not to go check on her. It was a struggle he regretted for the rest of his life.

It didn’t take long to find her once he got into town. All he had to do was follow the screams.

He began to run when he heard men and women shouting. Cold terror ripped through him when he heard an unnatural roar coming from the park.

Duck Park was in chaos when he reached the pond. A fire roared from the woods in the west. Half a dozen men were in the water trying to wrestle a lunatic Lucita back to the shore. Scott Tilker was near the waterline with tears in his eyes as he frantically tried to give Laura Wester CPR. Four men held back Lucy Wester as she screamed for someone to help her baby. Twenty other parents rushed through the park looking for and herding their children away from the scene, with more running in all the time.

Walt’s head spun as smoked filled the scene. He stood in shock as two fire trucks wailed and came to a halt at the tree line. Four military jeeps rushed in. He was vaguely aware of gunfire, vaguely aware that any non-Caucasian was dropping to their knees and collapsing in the grass. He watched in slow motion when he saw Lucita’s arms fly up and her body pitch forward. He fainted when he saw her bobbing face first in the black and red water.

***

It took two days for the fire department from Parker to put out the blaze in the woods. Twenty houses and four buildings in the business district burned. For three weeks the town was under house arrest, and people watched nervously as they saw the army jeeps go by as they sat by their windows with air filtered masks on waiting for the smoke to clear.

It took six more days until the military found Richie Tillman. Sixteen more girls had been raped and murdered. Four were missing their eyes. After they’d taken him, there were no more non-Caucasians left in John’s Town.

That was the first time the Army came in the daylight.