The Legend of the Firewalker (23 page)

Eva Marie mumbled words of protest underneath her breath, while Samantha helped Angela to turn some of the tables around.

“What are you guys doing?” blurted out Alan.

Lafonda looked up to see Alan standing outside the restrooms.

His mouth was wide open. “We’re turning the tables and chairs around?”

Alan’s pants leg was wet and he had a distressed look on his face. “Why?” he said. “For what? I thought we were close to being done.”

Lafonda pointed to the projector and then the retractable screen. “It’s my fault,” she said. “I didn’t know we were u
sing the projector to watch the movie.”

“Who said we were using the projector?” grumped Alan.

Lafonda looked past him. “My grandmother.”

Alan turned around to find LaDonda instructing Nathan and Jonas where to move one of the tables.

“Freaking unbelievable!” he said.

Eva Marie stopped turning chairs around and walked over to Lafonda. “Dinner is almost over,” she whispered, pointing to the cafeteria doors. “And we probably don’t have enough chairs set out yet. Do you want me to go find more people to help set up some more?”

Lafonda scanned the room. “You’re probably right,” she said to Eva Marie. Lafonda then turned to LaDonda. “Grandma, dinner is almost over. Do you want us to get more people to help us set up?”

LaDonda headed to the front of the room and stood next to Alan and Lafonda. “We have enough chairs,” she said. “If we run out of seats, people can just sit on the floor.”

Alan stared at the floor and frowned. “Unbelievable,” he muttered. “I am not sitting on the floor.”

“Why not?” asked Angela.

He gawked at her and pointed to the dripping water from LaDonda’s poncho. “Because it’s wet.”

Angela’s face turned sour. “Oh.”

Alan took in a deep breath. “So what movie are we watching, anyway?” he sighed.

“Grandma,” called Lafonda. “Can I see the DVD?”

LaDonda handed her the DVD and she glanced at it before passing it to Alan.

Alan frowned and leaned over to Angela to whisper. “We’re watching this,” he muttered. “What does watching the last presidential inauguration have to do with inspiring leadership?”

“Oh, no!” said LaDonda in a worried voice.

A loud crack of thunder filled the room, and the lights flickered on and off. “I hope we don’t lose power because of this storm,” she said. “Then what are we going to do?”

“Not stay down here,” Alan snickered.

Angela and Lafonda laughed.

The door from the cafeteria opened and the lobby filled with the sounds of chatter and laughter. Erin, Jonathan and the other counselors and campers slowly trickled into the lobby area.

Lafonda looked around the room. “Good,” she said with an exhausted tone of voice. “Guys, I think we’re done!”

Eva Marie and Christina looked at each other with relief and sat down.

“Awesome!” cried Alan. “Finally!” He glanced down at his pants and then at his hands. “Ugh,” he sighed. “I’m going to wash my hands.” 

“Me too!” said Angela, running to catch up with him.

Nathan watched from the back of the lounge as everyone came in and took seats. He was surprised that, al
though there were seats still open, some took to the floor. When he turned around, Jonas was no longer standing next to him.
Where did he run off to?
he wondered.

Nathan searched around the room to see if he could find Jonas. He stood on the tips of his toes and tried to see further back and over the crowd. As he was scanning the different faces for Jonas, he saw a familiar face looking back at him. Malick grinned and headed towards him.

“So look who found a way to get out of work today,” chuckled Malick.

Nathan grinned. “Ha-ha,” he said. “Tonight’s bonfire was only canceled due to the rain, and not because of me.”

“I know, I know,” said Malick with hands up in the air. “I was just teasing you.” He ran his hand through his hair. “So, what happened to you?” he asked. “If the bonfire was canceled tonight, why weren’t you at dinner?”

Nathan’s eyes quickly darted over Malick’s shoulder. He continued to look for Jonas. “Oh,” he said. “I ate quick and left early today.”

Malick had a confused look on his face.

“I knew that LaDonda would have something else planned for us, so I wanted to call my grandfather before whatever that was got started,” he said. “You know, b
efore I forgot about it.”

“Got it,” Malick said.

Nathan’s eyes perked up. He got a glimpse of Jonas heading towards the cafeteria doors. “Excuse me, Malick, but I wanted to talk to Jonas about something.”

He tried to quickly maneuver through the crowd of cou
nselors and campers while keeping a watchful eye on Jonas.

“Jonas!” he called out.

Jonas froze as if his hands had been caught in a cookie jar. He slowly turned around, but suddenly looked relieved.

“Oh,” he uttered, his breath sounding a little labored. “It’s you, Nathan.”

Nathan was a little mystified. “Yeah,” he replied. “Were you expecting someone else?”

“Oh
— no,” said Jonas. He smiled wearily. “You just caught me off guard.”

Nathan had a skeptical look on his face. “Caught off guard from what?” he asked.

“Oh, it’s nothing,” responded Jonas. “I was just heading into the cafeteria to grab something I’d forgotten.”

“Wait,” said Nathan, catching Jonas by the arm. “How are you doing?”

Jonas raised his eyebrows. He looked confused.

Nathan leaned in closer and then spoke softly, “You know,” he said, “how are you dealing with everything else? You know, with your ability and
—”

“Oh, you mean with the monsters and having no memory of how I got there. I just don’t think about it,” he shrugged. “I just concentrate on something else.”

Like your brother?
said Nathan to himself.

Jonas took a deep breath. “Well, it looks like LaDonda will be starting soon,” he said. “I better go grab my stuff.”

“Wait,” said Nathan.

Jonas turned around, and Nathan noticed that this time he looked nervous.

“I’ll go with you,” Nathan said.

“No!” responded Jonas abruptly.

Nathan was surprised by Jonas’s reaction and he frowned.

“I mean, it’s okay,” said Jonas immediately. “I got it.”

Nathan folded his arms across his chest and his eyes squinted. “Hold on,” he said. “Something is not right; you are definitely up to something.”

“Everything is cool,” Jonas said.

Nathan rolled his eyes. “Uh-huh, right,” he said. “Something isn’t right. You don’t even have your basketball with you.”

Jonas glanced down. His cheeks began to turn red. “I’m going to see my brother!” he blurted out.

“What?” Nathan quickly grabbed Jonas by the arm and pulled him to the side. “What are you talking about?”

Jonas winced. “I figured that since the bonfire is canceled tonight I would go home,” he said.

Nathan shook his head. “You can’t go see your brother,” he said. “No one is supposed to leave Lawrence Hall by themselves, let alone campus!”

“But I don’t live far from here,” Jonas pleaded. “We would be back before anyone even noticed that we were gone.”

“We?” blurted Nathan.

“Yeah,” explained Jonas. “You said no one could leave campus alone; you could go with me.”

“Go where?” asked Malick, suddenly joining the conversation.

Nathan rolled his eyes.

“Home,” said Jonas. “I mean, to my parent’s house, to see my brother.”

Malick’s eyes lit up. “How far away is it?” he asked.

“Not far at all,” said Jonas. “It wouldn’t take us that long to walk there.”

Malick dangled the keys he had gotten out of his pocket and grinned. “Why walk when you can drive?” he said.

“We’re not going anywhere,” whispered Nathan in protest. “No one is supposed to leave Lawrence Hall and besides, I have duties.” He glowered at Malick. “And you have duties too. We both are supposed to be here at camp.”

Jonas had a sad look on his face.

Malick looked at Jonas. He then placed his arm around Nathan’s shoulder.

“Look,” Malick said. “The kid really needs to see his brother. Who are we to stand in the way of that?” He leaned in close to Jonas and spoke softly. “Why are we going to see your brother again?” he asked.

Jonas hesitated. “Uh, he’s in summer school,” he said. “And my mom said he’s been falling asleep in class. I’m worried about him.”

“See,” said Malick. “It’s important.”

Nathan shook his head. “You know no one is supposed to leave campus,” he said. “What are we going to say to LaDonda and the others?”

Malick paused shortly, and then a huge smile formed on his face. Nathan’s stomach twisted into knots; he hadn’t felt that way since Malick had challenged him to a bonfire ligh
ting competition weeks before.
Here we go,
he thought. He recalled how Malick had mysteriously started all twelve fires in record time — he had to have cheated. 

“We won’t have to say anything,” said Malick. “We’ll slip out through the kitchen after the movie starts and L
aDonda turns off the lights. We’ll be back before anyone even notices.”

Nathan caught a glimpse of Lafonda looking his way. “Don’t count on it,” he said underneath his breath.

“All right, everyone,” shouted LaDonda. “Quiet now. I am about to start the movie. Please take your seats!”

Malick walked over to the light switch that was closest to the cafeteria doors. “I got the lights, Mrs. Devaro!” he said.

LaDonda smiled. “Thank you, Stephen!” she replied. 

Malick looked at Nathan intently. He was waiting for him to signal.

Nathan caught a glimpse of Lafonda looking at him again before she took her seat. He heard Malick clear his throat.

“Jonas,” Nathan said, letting out a huge sigh, “do you still feel like your brother was in the stairway that night?”

Jonas responded eagerly, “Yes.”

Nathan then slowly nodded, and Malick turned off the lights.

15

MIDNIGHT TRAIN

The back door to the kitchen of Lawrence Hall swung open. Nathan blinked furiously. He was doing his best to see through the rain but he barely missed bumping into the dumpster. The rain continued to pound against Malick, N
athan and Jonas as they darted towards the silver metallic car. Before Nathan could grab the door handle, the polished-looking vehicle with aluminum wheels purred to life while blinking its red lights. Nathan heard the sound of the door locks pop open. 

“Wow,” said Jonas, “it’s really crazy out here!”

Moving quickly, Nathan folded back the front seat so that Jonas could climb in.

“Yeah,” Nathan said to Jonas, “and you were going to walk in this?”

Nathan wiped the rain from his forehead, feeling the cool of the leather seats underneath his damp clothes. The Camaro was relatively clean and still had that new-car smell. He glanced over to find a gleaming Stephen Malick grinning at him from the driver’s seat.

“What are you so happy about?” Nathan asked.

“I’m sure you never imagined that one day you would be riding shotgun in this car,” Malick laughed. 

Nathan frowned as he continued to wipe the rain from his forehead and his arms. “Not exactly,” he said. “Not after the stunt you pulled on the first day of camp.”

Malick started the windshield wipers and turned on the heat to defog the windows. “Did I ever apologize about that?” he asked.

“No.”

Malick grinned. “Oh. Well, now I just did.”

Nathan looked up to the ceiling of the car and shook his head. He was caught off guard when he felt a buzz in his poc
ket. It was a text from Lafonda. “Where are you?” it said.

Nathan’s face immediately turned red. “Lafonda knows I’m gone,” he said. He placed his phone back into his poc
ket. “It’s just a matter of time before she realizes that you and Jonas are gone too.”

The front windows were clear now, and raindrops spla
ttered on the hood of the vehicle. Malick grinned as he put his car into gear. “It’s now or never,” he said.

Nathan glanced back at Jonas from the rearview mi
rror. His hair was wet and, aside from the fact that he had clothes on, he looked like he normally did after stepping out of the shower.

Jonas realized Nathan was looking back at him and smiled.

“Just go,” Nathan said to Malick.

Malick hit the gas hard. The tires screeched as the car cut through the water in the parking lot. Malick continued to beam as he quickly turned the corner. “Where to?” he asked with a smile.

“Ooookay,” said Nathan, while fastening his seat belt. He heard the clicking sound of another seat belt from the backseat. “It is raining outside. Can you try not to kill us?”

“Uh, yeah, he’s got a point,” said Jonas.

Malick smiled and then reached to turn on the radio.

“Can you not be so excited about breaking the rules?” Nathan asked.

Malick had a mischievous look on his face. “Can you not look so distraught for breaking them?”

Nathan smiled slightly.

Jonas took off his seat belt and leaned over the driver seat to give Malick directions. Nathan looked out the window as the car whooshed by rows and rows of houses. His leg vibrated again, and he had a good guess at who was texting or calling him.

Jonas pointed towards Nathan’s side of the window. “Turn right after the railroad tracks,” he said. “Our house is the next-to-last one at the end of the block.”

The silver car abruptly came to a stop, throwing Nathan and Jonas forward. Jonas held on as tight as he could to the passenger and driver seats, but still landed in the front of the car.

“Ouch!” he said, rubbing his arm. “You could have warned us.”

A loud horn suddenly blared, and Nathan saw a flashing red light.

Malick pointed over the dashboard. “Sorry,” he said, “but a train was coming.” He had an apologetic look on his face. “I didn’t see it until the last minute.”

Nathan adjusted his seat belt and glanced at Jonas. “That’s why you wear a seat belt,” he said. He then pointed at Malick and continued, “Especially if his truly is driving.”

Jonas made his way back into the backseat and fastened his seat belt. “I hate that freakin’ train!” he gru
mbled.

Nathan’s face squinted as he peered through the front windshield. “Where is the railroad crossing guard?” he asked. It was difficult to see because of the downpour of rain. “All we have is a flashing red light?” 

“I don’t know,” said Jonas. “And the stupid train runs right behind our house.”

“That sucks!” commented Malick.

“Yeah,” said Jonas. “Try sleeping through the screeching sound of an approaching train at midnight.”

Slowly, the silver metallic car pulled into the driveway of the next-to-last house at the end of the block. Malick turned off the engine, shutting off the radio and causing the rapid motion of the windshield wipers to come to a stop. He squinted as he tried to look through the fast-accumulating raindrops. “You are right,” he said. “You can see the railroad tracks right b
ehind your fence.”

“Yeah,” responded Jonas. “And it sucks.”

Nathan got out of the car and stood outside. The block that Jonas lived on was heavily lined with trees. That plus the rain gave the street an ominous appearance.

Malick rested a hand against the wet car, and Jonas walked across the grass to the concrete path that led to the front door of the house.

Nathan waved his hand through the air. The heavy rain was now a light mist. “At least the rain has finally let up,” he said.

“I know,” commented Malick in a drawn-out voice. “I was really getting tired of being trapped indoors.”

Nathan watched as Jonas sprinted up the steps to the red door of the gray, one-story bungalow. The modest house with sloping roof and white trim had a cheery appearance, and the red potted flowers that hung from the porch and adorned the gray steps stood out against the overcast day.

Jonas looked excited as he knocked on the door. “Come on, guys!” he shouted. “What are you standing over there for?”

Nathan and Malick carefully cut across the grass. Malick made an effort not to get mud on his shoes.

“I’ve never seen you be so particular about walking in mud before,” said Nathan.

Malick looked up. “It’s rude to track mud into somebody’s house.” he said.

“Oh,” said Nathan, as he rubbed the bottom of his shoes against the yellow straw mat in front of the red door. “J
onas,” he said. “Don’t you think your parents will find it odd that you’re showing up like this? I mean, technically you should really be at camp.”

“Nah, it’s okay,” he said. “My mom is expecting me.”

Nathan looked confused. “What?” he asked. “Why?”

Jonas smiled. “I was going to sneak out regardless of whether you were coming,” he said. “Remember? I told my mom I was coming home yesterday.”

Nathan slowly nodded. “Oh — yeah — right,” he said. Then he suddenly looked confused again. “And she went along with it?”

The red door to the front of the house quickly swung open.

“Jonas Bartholomew Riley!” shouted the woman at the door. “Give your mother a hug!”

Jonas smiled big and embraced the lady with curly blond hair. She was short in comparison to Jonas, and his arms could probably wrap twice around her tiny waist.

“I love you, Mom,” he said, while still wrapped in her embrace.

“Aw,” she uttered, “I love you too, honey!” She attemp
ted to comfort Jonas by rubbing his back. “These three weeks away from home must have really gotten to you.”

“Jonas!” shouted another voice.

Jonas quickly released his mom. “Bobby!” he yelled with excitement. Jonas playfully ruffled the dark curly hair of the boy in front of him. “Did you miss your big brother?” he asked.

Bobby winced playfully. “Um, a little,” he said, and then he grinned. “What’s to miss when you’ve called practically every night this week?”

Jonas playfully put Bobby into a headlock and continued to ruffle his hair. “I am going to take that as a yes!”

Jonas’ mom turned around to glance at Nathan and Malick. “Oh, my goodness, how rude of me,” she said. “And is it still raining?” She paused briefly to stick her head ou
tside the door. “Come in, come in,” she said, with a hand gesture, “before it starts raining again.”

She closed the door and faced them, peering over her glasses, which sat oddly crookedly on her nose. “Ah,” she said. “Let me guess
— you must be Nathan.”

Nathan paused. He was a little startled by her accurate prediction. “Yeah,” he said. “That’s me.”

Jonas’s mom clapped her hands together and smiled. “Oh!” she said, dragging out the word. “I am just so thrilled to meet you.”

Nathan raised his eyebrows and gave a quick look to Malick before rewarding her with an awkward smile.

Linda placed her hands on her hips and laughed so loudly that Malick jumped back.

She smiled and fluttered her eyelashes. “Don’t act so su
rprised,” she said. “Jonas talks about you all the time!”

She extended a hand first to Malick and then to N
athan.

“As you probably already guessed,” she said, “I am J
onas’s mother, Linda Ann Riley.”

Nathan still had a surprised but awkward look on his face. “Nice to meet you, Mrs. Riley,” he said, while shaking her hand. 

“Aw,” she said. “Just call me Linda.” She fluttered her eyelashes over her glasses again and grinned at Malick. “And I apologize; what’s your name?”

Malick gave a cynical smile. It looked like he was trying not to laugh. “Stephen,” he said, “Stephen Malick, but just Malick will do.”

Linda stared at Malick. She raised one eyebrow and twitched her lip. “Malick,” she said. She hesitated before speaking again. “Oh, okay. Well, then have a seat, Malick. And you too, Nathan.”

Nathan sat down next to Malick on a yellow-and-white floral upholstered sofa, and Linda sat in the matching ar
mchair. The living room was neat and sparsely decorated. In the corner, next to a bronze floor lamp, a Siamese cat was sprawled out on the hardwood floor. Nathan thought the cat’s bright blue eyes were hypnotizing.

“Jonas!” said Bobby. He had an excited look on his face. “Guess what?” he asked. “I finally completed the last board of
Wizards and Warriors!”
Bobby grabbed Jonas by the hand. “Come on,” he said. “Do you wanna see?”

Jonas smiled. “Oh, okay,” he said. “But you need to say hello to Nathan and Malick first.” 

Bobby quickly looked over at Nathan and Malick. It was as if he had noticed them for the first time.

“Oh, hi,” he said. He slowly walked over to Nathan and put out his hand. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “I’m Bobby. Do you play video games?” 

Bobby looked tired, and there were what appeared to be faint scratches on his forearm. Nathan noticed the scratches were red, so he assumed they were probably recent. “I play a little,” he said with a smile. “But it’s been a while since I’ve last played a video game.” 

Bobby turned to Malick. “Do you play?” he asked.

Malick ran his hand through his hair. “I’ve played my share,” he responded cockily.  

Jonas turned to look at Nathan. “I’ll make it quick,” he said.

Nathan nodded and Jonas hurried around the corner with his little brother.

“Jonas is really good with his little brother,” said Linda. “He really does look out for him. He’s done a great job e
ncouraging Bobby with school and with his studies.”

“He mentioned Bobby has been having problems in school,” said Nathan.

The Siamese cat that had been spread out on the floor next to the floor lamp was now at the foot of Linda’s leg. It purred as Linda rubbed its back.

“This is Lacey,” Linda said. “She helps to keep me co
mpany.” 

Linda paused. She suddenly appeared uncomfortable. “He’s a young boy,” she said. “Considering everything that ha
ppened, I think he’s doing well.” She looked sad, but still tried to smile. “He’s still doing the normal things most boys his age do,” she said. “Playing video games, roughhousing with his brother — you know, the normal stuff.”

Nathan was a little confused. He didn’t know what she meant by “considering everything that happened.”

“So are things better now?” he asked. “I mean, did something happen at school?”

“Well,” she said, “things have gotten a little better. His teacher said he’s turning assignments in on time, but fal
ling asleep in class is still an issue. I think he sneaks at night to play his video games, but I don’t want to come down too hard on him.”

Lacey attempted to sit next to Malick, but he shooed her away. She meowed and Nathan leaned over to pet her.

“This might sound strange,” Nathan said, “but I noticed there were some scratches on Bobby’s forearm. Did he fall recently?”