Meadowview Acres (39 page)

The scene at the hospital was organized chaos. Everyone had split off into small groups. Sheriff Buchanon told the medical team that the group had been part of a training exercise. That accounted easily enough for Darren’s exhaustion and Hunter’s dehydration.

The sheriff’s headache had subsided as they made their way out of the woods. The flashing lights disappeared. Deputy Clay’s nose bleed was gone, as well as his light-headedness. That left Eli.

Dr. Hill had told Lara that the blindness was most likely a delayed result of his experience in the fire. She said that it was “ocular trauma”. Only the residents of Meadowview Acres knew the real cause. Lara was upset, but eased somewhat by Eli’s mood. He was remarkably calm about the whole thing.

Eli was sitting up in the hospital bed when Hunter went in to talk to him. Lara was in the hallway with Dr. Hill, so the boys were alone.

“Hey, Dude,” Hunter said as he walked in. “Guess who?” Hunter immediately wished that he hadn’t said that, but he saw Eli smile.

“Hmmm…let’s see,” said Eli. “It kinda sounds like my Grandma Andrews. Hi Granny, nice of you to visit.”

Hunter was caught a little off guard by Eli’s joking attitude. He didn’t quite know what to say.

“Um, sorry, I didn’t really think before I said that,” he told Eli.

“It’s fine, Hunter,” Eli responded truthfully. “I’m alright with this. I really am. It’s like I said at the site; I’ve been expecting it for a while, so it’s not that big of a surprise to me.” Eli thought for a moment and then added, “I think I’ve been expecting to die this whole time, Hunter. I really have. I’m almost thankful that this is all that’s happened.”

Hunter sat on the edge of the bed. “I don’t get it, Eli. Why? I didn’t have any lasting effects, neither did anyone else. So why would you?”

“It’s just the way the curse works. It affects different people in different ways. Professor Monroe and I were the ones who took the rock from its resting place both times. Maybe that had something to do with it. I don’t know. This is my first time being cursed.” He giggled again.

“It’s really weird how cool you are with this,” Hunter told him. “Maybe it touched your brain and made you weirder than you already were.” Hunter was starting to get on board with lightening up the situation. He guessed that Eli was right. After what that curse had done to the others, they were lucky.

“So what are we going to do when you get out of here?” he asked Eli.

“I guess you’re going to have to Shazaam me some kind of titanium walking stick with motion detectors and secret compartments.” Eli thought of something else then. “Unless you’ll be too busy with your new girlfriend,” he added.

Eli couldn’t see Hunter blush. He said, “I won’t be too busy with Clara. She’s cool, you’ll see.”

“What do you mean, “I’ll see”?” Eli tried to look offended but he couldn’t help laugh when he heard silence from Hunter.

Finally, Hunter caught on and joined Eli’s laughter with his own.

Bug was sitting on Shasta’s lap in Darren’s hospital room. He had checked out fine, but the doctors wanted him to have some fluids before he left.

“I think all of us are super lucky,” Bug was saying. “I didn’t tell everyone all of the things I read about in
Curses of Ancient Tribes
. Some of those things are brutal. Well, I guess this one was super brutal, too.” She thought of pretty little Heather, with her hair styled all wrong, laying in her casket at Peaceful Hearts.

“We were lucky, Bug,” said Shasta looking at Darren. “Even though we all lost special people, we still have our loved ones with us.”

Darren winked at her from the hospital bed. “I can think of one more thing that would help me recover,” he said.

Shasta smiled, “What’s that?”

“An extra-large deep dish with everything from Hot Slice! Let’s get one on the way home tonight,” he said. He had just noticed that he was starving.

“That sounds amazing,” Shasta agreed. “Want to come with us, Bug?”

“Nope, I’m way behind on my reading and there’s a documentary on tonight about how toxins and chemicals released into the atmosphere will ultimately destroy our race.” She had been waiting for weeks to see that one. Luckily, she was free tonight.
Knowledge is Power.

“Alright, then,” said Shasta. “Tomorrow we’re going for ice cream with Clara, right?”

“You bet! I need a double scoop after all of this,” she said.

“It’s a date,” said Shasta.

Bug got up from her lap and went to Darren. She gave the man of steel a big hug and said, “Thanks for getting rid of that thing.” Then she left the room.

As she walked down the hallway to the waiting room where her parents were, she thought of Eli. It had been surprising to everyone when Sheriff Buchanon had broken the news about his blindness. But it hadn’t been surprising to Bug.

As she waited for news while looking out the window of the Port’s house, she had been replaying everything in her mind. She began with the day she followed the boys into the woods, the feeling that she had sitting on the fallen tree. She remembered how Eli had looked that day. He was a different boy now, she realized. As she stared out the window, she tried to think what he reminded her of. She remembered how he looked when she and Shasta had gone to speak with him and Hunter about the rock. He looked different then, too. What was it?

She had realized, sitting in the Port’s living room waiting for news, that Eli’s face had become Preston Monroe’s, the lines around the eyes, the strange dullness of color. Every time she saw Eli, his eyes had become a little less blue. How could she not have noticed sooner?

When Bug got to the hospital and heard the news, she wasn’t surprised. That was his fate, just as it had been Preston Monroe’s. Eli would be different, though. Bug was determined to make sure Eli didn’t spend his life worrying about the curse. He wasn’t going to end up the way the professor had.

She passed a room on the way to the waiting area and overheard laughter from inside. It sounded like Hunter. She crept over and peeked in. Hunter was on the side of Eli’s bed, and they were both laughing. Maybe she wouldn’t have to worry about him after all.

EPILOGUE

C
lara was sitting in a pedicure chair at Curls for Gurls. She was waiting for Shasta. It was prom night and they had decided to get ready together. The two had become close again over the past six months. She couldn’t believe it had only been six months since the nightmare had been buried. To Clara, it seemed like last week.

Life had slowly returned to normal after the burial. Darren and Hunter had recovered completely. There had been no new instances of the curse affecting anyone. The gravel road and entrance to the woods had been cleverly disguised by Sheriff Buchanon. He’d had Darren use the Caterpillar to cover the gravel path with dirt, not all two miles of it, but enough so the road could no longer be seen from the highway. They had thrown out grass seed which had taken hold in no time. No one could tell there had ever been a path into the woods.

Lara Andrews was coming to terms with the loss of Heather. Eli was helping her a lot. He was doing really well and had attained almost Rock Star status at school. Most people were under the impression that he had been injured in the fire at Hallston High; only a few knew the real reason for his blindness. His positive attitude regarding his loss of sight was inspirational to everyone. He seemed to be a different guy in a lot of ways. He seemed lighter somehow.

Clara noticed Shasta’s truck pull into the parking lot and smiled as she watched Bug hop out. Clara was glad that Bug could make it. It was a special day, and she didn’t want her little friend to be left out.

Coming in the door, the girls scanned the shop and found Clara waving them over.

“Hey,” Bug chirped happily, hopping into the pedicure chair beside Clara. “We’re a little late because Shasta had to finish her paperwork for college.”

“Yeah,” Shasta confirmed. “I’ve already filled out all of the initial paperwork for my scholarship, but this form is for the school newspaper, The Dixon Times.” She took the chair on the other side of Clara and plopped her feet into the warm water. “I’m actually on staff now.”

“I’m so excited for you, Shas,” Clara said. “I’m going to miss you so much, but I know Dixon University was your number one choice.”

Shasta’s eyes sparkled as she said, “I still can’t believe I actually got in. I really thought it was a long shot.”

Shasta was excited about her future. When she had received the letter outlining her scholarship award, she had almost fainted. Dixon University was a two hour drive south of Hallston. It was still close enough to come home for weekends and Darren’s games were going to be a top priority. He would be playing for State College in Chester since Agnes had decided to stay in Meadowview Acres.

Bug squirmed in her chair; the lady doing her toes was being ticklish. She had started getting pedicures regularly because Clara had told her it was “Necessary Beauty Maintenance”. Clara was teaching her a lot about girl stuff since she had decided on attending the Beauty School in Shale. Bug was sad about Shasta leaving, but she was glad Clara would still be around.

They chatted about their plans for the evening until their nails were polished and dry. They were getting ready at the Port’s house so Darren and Hunter would pick them up there. Then, they were all going to meet at Emily’s for group pictures. From there, the group would be hopping into a limo for the trip to Glovercroft for dinner.

Bug watched the girls getting ready and wondered if she would ever be asked to a prom. Maybe she wouldn’t even want to go.
There might be a super good documentary on TV that night.

Later that evening, as the disco ball above the dance floor circulated beams of light around the room, Clara was genuinely happy when Shasta and Darren were voted Prom King and Queen. The happiness she felt now that she was herself again was better than any bejeweled crown. She and Hunter swirled around the dance floor then headed over to where Eli and Angie were sitting.

Angie was dying laughing as they came upon the two. Eli was always cracking people up; his new outlook on life was amazing.

“Hey!” Eli said as Hunter and Clara sat down at the table. “I smell something weird, Angie. Maybe we should find another table.”

“Haha, very funny,” Hunter said good-naturedly. “We got tired of dancing. Why weren’t you out there smacking people with your stick?”

“That’s for later in the evening. I don’t want to peak too early.” Eli was having a ball. He loved the sounds and the music. He was feeling better than he had in a long time, maybe since before his dad left. He still missed Heather and would always feel a certain amount of guilt, but he would be fine.

Darren and Shasta walked over then. Darren huffed, “This dancing is killing me. I’ve got to sit down.” He took the chair next to Eli and dug into the bowl of nuts in the center of the table.

Shasta laughed and said, “Man, what a wimp! Are you sure you’re football material? Maybe you should look into a knitting scholarship!”

That started all of them jabbing at each other and joking. Eli just sat back and listened. He thought of the people around him. They had been through hell and back. Six months ago, the span of just two weeks had turned their lives upside down.

Darren had lost his father and then almost his life trying to save Eli and Hunter in the fire, and then at the dig site when the curse hit him so hard he had been in serious danger. Shasta had been seriously injured in the fire, too. Clara had watched Hansen die and then been so fearless driving out to the dig site to help. Getting Darren out of there had been critical.

Then there was Hunter. He soldiered through right by Eli’s side. The whole time he had been solid, doing whatever was necessary. Eli knew that Hunter was a friend for life. They would spend their senior year together next year and after that they would stick together. Eli knew they would.

Mr. Just had been sorely missed at the high school. A memorial had been held and Eli didn’t know for sure, but it sounded like the whole town of Hallston had come to show their respects. Poor Ms. Leezil had taken a job in Shale. She said that Hallston High had too many memories for her to continue teaching.

Then there was Bug. Eli couldn’t get away from her. She had started coming over right after he had gotten out of the hospital. She had insisted on teaching him Braille. Then she had helped him set up the Braille internet reader. He was cruising the web in no time thanks to her.

Eli thought that Bug would have suffered some lasting effects from the turmoil with the cursed rock, but if anything, she seemed more mature. If he told himself the truth, he was glad that she came to see him all the time. She just needed to find another word to use besides “super”.

The dance was breaking up into little groups going to after parties so the friends said their goodbyes. Hunter and Eli, with Clara and Angie, headed off for a party in the neighborhood and Darren and Shasta headed home to Shasta’s house.

They were at the front door when Shasta grabbed his arm and pulled him down to sit on the stoop. Darren could tell that she needed to talk.