The Legend of the Firewalker (9 page)

She turned to look at him again, and her happy face quickly turned sour. “Um, Nathan, is that really any of your business?”

“Okay then, don’t tell me,” protested Nathan. “It’s just that I noticed yesterday you were gone most of the day.” He cracked a smile and then snickered. “And it didn’t help my curiosity any that every time someone called looking for you, LaDonda kept saying you were at Jim’s place.”

There was a brief silence, and then slowly Lafonda opened her mouth. “Jim and I,” she said abruptly, “decided to take a break. At least for the summer, anyway.”  

Nathan thought he saw what looked like a half smile creep onto her face.

“I hope this didn’t have anything to do with me or the fruit punch,” he said.

“No, Nathan,” she said, sounding annoyed again.

He smiled. “All right,” he said with a grin, “I won’t ask again.”

They sat in silence for a while, and as the car continued down the road, Nathan thought about the events of that night. In his mind, he recalled his shaky hands and the stained white dress. He also remembered overhearing the conversation Lafonda was having with her friend Amanda and how suddenly he’d wanted to dance with her.
Now, that was definitely weird
, he thought.
But I wonder what Leah looks like. I bet if I saw a picture of her, I would know for sure if she was the same person.

“So,” he said, taking a long pause before continuing, “any news about your friend?”

“What friend?” she asked suspiciously. “Are you talking about Amanda?” Her face distorted into a slight frown as she tried to glare at him while keeping her eyes on the road. “She has a boyfriend, you know.”

“No,” he sighed. “Your friend Leah.” He took a deep breath. “I overheard you and Amanda talking about her. Is she okay? Is she still in the hospital?”

Lafonda sat in silence for a while before slowly answering. “The last time I heard anything about her was two days ago,” she said. “She’s still in the hospital as far as I know. It’s been a few days since I’ve spoken to her mother.” She paused. “I haven’t spoken to Leah since the day she was committed to St. Lucas Memorial Hospital in St. Louis.”

“Okay,” muttered Nathan, sounding slightly sad.

“Why?” she asked. “I mean, why are you asking?” Lafonda’s face softened. “Did you know Leah?”

Quickly, Nathan sat up straight again. “I don’t know,” he said. “She does sound familiar. Do you have a picture of her?”

Lafonda paused, and her eyes fluttered for a second before she said, “No, not with me. But I’m sure there’s a freshman class photo of her in the school’s yearbook.” She smiled. “We all took pictures right before the end of the semester. We should be able to find a yearbook once we get to campus.”

She stopped mid-sentence and squinted as they drove around a corner. Nathan looked on, but looked slightly co
nfused. “What’s wrong?” he asked.

Lafonda blinked her eyes a few times and then quickly shook her head. “Uh, nothing,” she said. “It’s just so dark all of a sudden.” She exhaled. “And I swear a dog or something darted across the road.”

“Well, then turn your lights on, Lafonda!” Nathan said. “You’re going to hit something if you can’t see.”

“Yeah, but it’s not even five o’clock yet,” explained Lafonda. “I don’t want to look silly driving with my lights on when the sun is still out!”

“Ugh, just turn your lights on, Lafonda,” he said in a weary voice. “It won’t matter what people think if we hit something or have a car accident.

Suddenly, Lafonda gasped and the red Ferrari swerved. 

“What — what happened?” asked Nathan, sounding panicked.

“Did you see that?” she shouted. “Something just darted across the road!”

“What?” he asked. “Another dog?”

She looked into her rearview mirror. “I don’t know,” she said. “It was dark. I couldn’t make out the shape from the shadows.”

Nathan followed suit by scanning the road behind them and then the trees. “It probably was a deer or a fox crossing the road,” he said. “Now you know why I asked you to turn on your lights.”

“Oh, my God!” complained Lafonda, cringing slightly and then squinting.

“What now?” he groaned, while quickly scanning the road and the trees again. “I don’t see anything.”

“Not on the road!” cried Lafonda, still squinting. “The car behind us is driving way too close and they have their high beams on.”

He spun around to see what she was talking about, only to be repelled by the car’s bright headlights. “Who is that?” he spouted.

“I don’t know,” she muttered through clenched teeth, “but it’s quite annoying.” She paused and then abruptly turned to look at Nathan. “Wait, did he just speed up?”

The roar of the engine from the vehicle following close behind them could be heard as it accelerated, and its lights grew closer and closer. Both Nathan and Lafonda turned to look at each other as the vehicle weaved dangerously close to Lafonda’s car.

“Um, Lafonda,” said Nathan, with a hint of fear in his voice, “I think he wants you to move.”

“Um, Nathan,” she responded angrily, “you think?”

Lafonda continued to drive along the road with both hands clenched tightly around the steering wheel. She su
ddenly became focused and only moved when her eyes occasionally made contact with the rearview mirror.

Nathan noticed that her hands appeared to clench tighter and tighter as the new red car gradually accelera
ted. “Uh, Lafonda,” he said, while keeping a watchful eye on the still approaching vehicle, “you’re not pulling over.”

Her dark brown eyes made contact with the rearview mi
rror again and her lips pursed with concentration as she accelerated.

Nathan’s eyes grew wide as he watched the dial grad
ually move up on the speedometer. “Look, don’t piss them off!” he shouted. “Just move or pull over!”

“I know, I know!” she yelled.

Nathan’s face suddenly looked beleaguered. “If you know,” he snapped, “then why the heck are you accelerating!”

“Look, Nathan,” she explained with a confident grin, “I’m driving a Ferrari, and if this guy thinks he can keep up with me, well, let’s find out!”

Nathan sighed heavily and shook his head. “Whatever,” he said. “I guess this is the part of the movie where I buckle my seat belt and say a prayer before we have a car accident!”

“You are so dramatic, Nathan!” she shouted.

“Dramatic!” he cried, while gawking at the speedometer. “Look who’s talking!” Nathan noticed the trees alongside the road were now whizzing by in a blur. “One hundred miles per hour!” he yelled. “Lafonda, this guy is not going to give up!”

The headlights from the tailgating car continued to dance side to side as it attempted once to pass Lafonda’s vehicle.

“I don’t think so!” Lafonda groaned, shifting gears and slamming down the accelerator.

In response, the engine of the unknown car behind them roared and proceeded to drive on the approaching-traffic side of the roadway. Nathan could now make out the metallic silver car as it drove beside them, matching Lafonda’s speed. “Lafonda!” he yelled. “Let the guy pass us already, before another car comes!”

“Okay, okay,” she spouted. “But can you see who it is?”

“What? No!” he yelled, only pausing briefly to look at the silver vehicle. “The windows are tinted, and besides, what difference will it make if we’re dead!”

“Ugh!” she huffed, and the red Ferrari began to decelerate. “What a freaking jerk!”

Nathan sighed, and his chest heaved in relief. “Yeah, he’s a jerk,” he said with a nod. “And you’re freaking cr
azy!”

Suddenly, Nathan’s mouth fell open as they both rea
lized what was approaching from the top of the hill in front of them. “Lafonda!” he screamed. “A truck is coming!”

“I know, I know! I see it,” she stuttered, a hint of de
speration settling in her voice. “But he’s not passing me! He keeps matching my speed!”

The approaching truck drew closer as the silver car next to them continued to match Lafonda’s speed. They could hear the horn of the approaching truck.

“Are you crazy!” Lafonda yelled, while gawking at the person behind the tinted windows.

“He’s not going to stop!” Nathan cried, his palms swea
ting and his heart racing now. “Just brake, Lafonda! Brake!”

“I am braking!” she yelled.

“Then just pull over, Lafonda!” he moaned. “Just pull over before you get us killed!”

“I’m trying to,” she stuttered, “but there’s nowhere to pull over to!”

Nathan frantically looked to the right side of the road, but she was right, there was no room for the red Ferrari. The entire right side of the road was lined by a deep ditch. The blaring horn from the approaching truck grew louder, and so did the sound of Nathan’s pounding heart against his chest.

“Why don’t you just come to a complete stop?” he yelled. But before he could continue, he noticed som
ething moving fast among the trees. It looked as if something shadowy was moving alongside them. He squinted, and as the shadowy shape continued to move quickly through the forest, he was sure it was some sort of animal. It wasn’t until the creature appeared out of the forest, with what looked like supernatural speed, that he was able to see what seemed to be a black and lean disheveled-looking dog. The creature’s bright blue eyes immediately connected with Nathan’s as it paced the small side road coming up ahead of them.

“Wait!” he yelled.

“What!” responded Lafonda in sheer panic, her hands still gripped tight around the steering wheel.

“Don’t stop, pull over there!” Nathan said. “There’s a side road up ahead.”

Lafonda looked frantically over the dashboard. “Where?”

Nathan’s eyes connected with the creature’s piercing blue eyes again. “Over there!” he shouted, pointing t
owards the side road. 

The adjacent road was close now, and Lafonda had only seconds to react. She immediately slammed on the brakes to make the turn as the tires of her red Ferrari screeched to a stop. The silver car that had tormented them quickly switched lanes right before the big, long semitruck passed them by in a whirl.

“Let’s not ever, ever, ever do that again!” cried Nathan, taking in a deep breath, which made his chest expand. 

Lafonda sat motionless as the car idled on the single-lane dirt road. “I hope you’re not planning on mentioning this to Roy or my grandmother,” she said.

“Oh, and ruin your reputation as Ms. Perfect Attendance and Ms. Honor Roll?” mocked Nathan in a high-pitched voice.

“You wouldn’t!” she gasped.

He smiled at her and gloated. He was happy that he finally had something on her. Lafonda stared at him and glowered. “Whatever!” she responded, rolling her eyes in protest. “Where did that dog go, anyway?”

Nathan scanned the road. “I don’t know. You probably killed it, and it’s lodged underneath the car, som
ewhere.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Nathan,” demanded Lafonda. “You can be so immature sometimes.”

She shook her head and began to back the car out onto the main road. Nathan continued to scan the road. “Well, so far it looks like you’re clear,” he chuckled, “Unless it’s still stuck underneath your car.”

Lafonda sat in silence and occasionally scowled at him on their way to campus. Nathan thought it was weird how his mind kept tossing over thoughts about the blue-eyed dog and not about his recent game of Russian roulette with Lafonda. He was definitely more focused on what he had seen amongst the trees: a black dog that appeared out of n
owhere and seemed to move as fast as a cheetah.

Things just keep getting weirder and weirder
, he thought.
This sounds strange, but it was like the dog magically appeared.
His mind continued to ponder as he focused his attention outside the car
. He appeared right on time. And stopped right on the road that we needed to see.

Nathan turned to look at Lafonda and took her silence to mean that she was still upset about his new trump card over her oh-so-perfect existence. He tried to stifle his chuckle, but Lafonda noticed, anyway. “I’d really like to know who that jerk was,” she said. “I would love to give them a piece of my mind.” She smacked the steering wheel. “Ugh! Why didn’t I think of getting their license plate number?

Probably because you were too busy trying to kill us
! Nathan thought, as Lafonda rambled on.

As they pulled into the street that led to IUCF, Nathan could see the buildings and monuments that were easy mar
kers for the campus. Although he had only been away from school for less than two months, he was still surprised that nothing had changed. The only thing that was odd or different was the absence of students, and that was due to summer.

As the red Ferrari pulled into the parking lot of La
wrence Hall, the dorm in which they would be staying, Nathan instantly recognized the sleek silver car with tinted windows sitting in the parking lot. “Well, it looks like we’ve found our jerk,” he said, pointing to the tall, slender guy who had just appeared by the trunk of the silver car.