There's Blood on the Moon Tonight (69 page)

Yet even with all the lights on, it made little difference to the consuming darkness. It seemed to suffocate any penetrating light, leaving all but the lamps and overhead fixtures barely aglow. Joel’s annoying absence wasn’t helping her nerves much, either. Josie had intended on speaking with her brother as soon as she got home. Even though she’d discounted his feelings as nonsense, his fear had been a palpable thing, which had stayed with her throughout the day. Eventually infecting her, drawing out of her subconscious some long dormant trepidation that the modern world had till then kept sedated and slumbering. A trepidation that Bud Brown dealt with on a daily basis. In this dark vacuum, the ancient fear came on particularly strong. Urging her to flee into the night.

Get out, Josie! Get out, while you still can…

“Get a grip, Tits,” Josie said out loud. The act was akin to whistling past a graveyard. Just to prove she wasn’t afraid. “Joel’s safe and sound. And so are
you
, girlie.”

After changing into the sports bra, Josie dumped the shopping bags on her mattress and pulled her gym bag out from underneath the bed. The first thing she placed in the carryall was the finished pages of her novel. The rest of the shopping bag’s contents went in next, followed by a few other necessities from her dresser and bathroom.

As an afterthought, she added a few select sections from the Sunday funny pages. She kept a small stack of them inside her closet. Best gift-wrap in the world, the funny pages. And you couldn’t beat the price! She’d left Tubby’s coat with Bud, and would wrap it later.

Despite what she’d said to Ralph, just thirty minutes ago, she had no intentions of coming back for anymore of her things. It was the same with Bud and Rusty. They had all been through this drill so many times before that they no longer took it serious. Despite the uproar that always accompanied these storms, she had no doubts her stuff would still be here when she came home in a day or two. It was how most teenagers processed reality; bad things, like hurricanes blowing away your home, only happened to other folks on CNN or Fox News. Of all people, Josie O’Hara should have known better. Her whole childhood had been one long, continuous hurricane.

              She stopped in the kitchen, noticing for the first time a note on the refrigerator. A wax museum magnet held it in place. Dracula, baring his bloody fangs.

              
 
Josie, I don’t think I’ll go with you on Ham’s 

         boat tomorrow. I’m taking Joel with me to the

        Mainland until the storm passes.

             
                                See you real Soon, baby…

             
       Shayn
a
             

            
 
The note unsettled Josie on more than one level. First off, it didn’t say whether they’d left for Beaufort already or not. Secondly, Beaufort wasn’t going to be much safer than Moon, if the hurricane came this way as predicted. Thirdly, and most importantly, Joel wouldn’t have wanted to go with their mother! Like the house, there was something
off
about the note.

             
That last line
:
See you, real Soon, baby…

Something about that
dot dot dot
, made her skin crawl. Her mom’s handwriting was different, too. The script spidery, uneven. As if another person had written it. Then again, maybe that’s what her mother’s handwriting looked like when she was clean and sober. Shayna was probably suffering from withdrawal.
Sure, that’s it! The poor thing! I should be there for her!

Josie had her hand over the kitchen phone to call her Aunt Sissy, when suddenly it rang. “AAAHHH!!!” she screamed. Embarrassed, she lifted the receiver off the hook.

             
“Hello?” she said, taking a calming breath. Her heart felt like it was going to rip right through her chest.

“Josie,” Bud said on the other end. “I’m glad I caught you!”

“What is it?” she said, impatiently. She glanced up at the black cat clock on the wall. Its ebony tail and its slitted eyes flicking from side to side. It was louder than usual tonight. She was used to the laughing eyes, following her wherever she went, but tonight they seemed to be more intent, alive with mischief. She wondered what had possessed her to buy the ugly damn thing. Kitschy or not, she loathed it. She sniffed. There was a hint of bleach in the air. As if someone had recently mopped the kitchen floor—and underneath that, an odor she couldn’t identify except on a primal level. For some reason she flashed on the gray bitch in the Pines. Right after Bud had opened her belly up with the shotgun. All that blood and guts…

Frosty fingers traced the knobs on her spine, the chill raising goosebumps all over her arms.
I need to leave this house.
I need to leave it right
now
…

“Gee, it’s nice to hear your voice, too.”

“I’m sorry, love. I was expecting someone else.”

“Something wrong, Red?”

“No…not really. It’s just that Joel’s not here, and I was hoping to talk to him when I got home. Shayna took him over to the mainland until the storm passes.”

Somewhere in the house, a floorboard creaked. The fine hair on Josie’s arms stood on end. Josie stared at them in dull disbelief.

“Is that a bad thing? It sounds as if she’s trying to be a more responsible parent.”

“I guess. She
did
allow Ham to board up all the windows.”

“Well, hey! That is a good sign!”

“Yeah, you’re right. I guess this dark empty house just got to me.” She shivered. “It feels like one of those sinkholes we used to play in as kids. Did you call for a reason, or is this your lame idea of an obscene phone call?”

“Now there’s the girl I love and fear. I was just wondering if you could pick up Tubby’s birthday cake before the bakery closes at the grocery store. Some candles too. Bilbo and I still have a little more to do around here.”

Josie checked the clock. It was already five-thirty and the bakery closed at 6:00. And just like that, she forgot all about calling her Aunt Sissy. “Sure thing, and while I’m there I’ll pick up some chips and soda.”

Another creak. Louder this time. Josie looked over her shoulder at the dark hallway behind her.
Yuck, what’s that stink? Did Joel forget to flush the toilet again?

“Don’t bother. My pop already ordered a huge party platter from Mr. Pete. Oh, and Josie? Make sure you put this on my dad’s tab at the grocer. Bilbo said he’ll wring your pretty little neck if you pay for it yourself.”

Josie hung up without saying goodbye, dashing out the back entrance as if the house was on fire. Slamming the back door behind her, she suddenly felt silly for being such a scaredy cat inside her own home. She was tempted to go back in, just to prove a point to herself.
The next thing you know you’re going to be like Rusty. Jumping at every shadow and sound!
She had her hand on the doorknob, ready to go back inside, at least to flush the damn toilet, when she noticed how much brighter it was outdoors.

The sun had fallen well behind the trees, and the shadows had lengthened. And yet, despite all the lights she’d turned on in there, it was a lot brighter
out
side than
in
side.
Hmmm. Curiouser and curiouser…

“Screw it, “ she said, hitching up the bag on her shoulder and stepping into her backyard. “I don’t have a thing to prove to myself. And Joel can flush his own damn toilet. After a few days stewing in the commode, I bet he’ll never forget to flush again!”

Rusty was opening the picket gate in his front yard when he saw Josie walking down Huggins Way. “Hey, Tits! Wait up, girlfriend!” Like Josie, he had his bag packed. Their plans were to spend the night at the museum. He’d already worked it out with Tub’s folks, and it was his job to get their clueless friend there by six.

He caught up with Josie down the road. The girl acted as if she was in a big hurry. “Slow down,” he said, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “What’s the hub-bub, Bub? We’ve got loads of time.”

“I’ve got to pick up the cake before you guys get to the museum. How about give me another fifteen minutes before you head out?”

“Sure. I’ll stall Opie.”

“Say Gnat, how did Joel seem when you walked him home today?”

“Quieter than usual. Not upset like he was this morning. Why, is something wrong with the little delinquent?”

Josie shrugged. “I’m not sure. Shayna took him over to Beaufort until the storm passes. I was just hoping to talk to him. No big deal. By the way, it was nice of Ham to board us up like that. Did he mention if my mom said anything to him?”

“No. I just assumed he asked her first. Maybe she’d already left. Remember what happened the last time he did that without asking her?”

Josie rolled her eyes. Shayna had gone off the deep-end that time, calling 911, telling old lady Purcell that Ham was vandalizing her property. “Hey, Gnat, I wanted to tell you that book
really
helped the other night.” She looked to the skies. “Thank you, Ms. Larouche!
Wherever
you are!”

“Spare me the gross details, Tits.”

“Yeah. Like I’d tell you. Seriously, though. Thanks. I’ll get it back to you tomorrow.”

“No rush.”

“Don’t you need it?”

He sighed. “Not yet I don’t.”

              Rusty peeled off from her at the Drive-In, and Josie began jogging down the dirt road. With her sports bra holding the Bobble twins in place, it felt wonderful to be able to run without looking like a slo-mo promo for
Baywatch
. For some reason only straight men could understand, the sight of bouncing boobies made them salivate like…well, like
rabid
dogs. She snickered at the rather apt insight. She was passing the Academy when she heard something large lumbering about in the piney woods, off to her right.
A deer, perhaps?

             
Josie stopped and peered into the leafy shadows.

             
The rustling ceased at once. Silence, and more silence. Josie shrugged and continued her jog, although not before edging over to the other side of the road.   

             
                            *******                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           The birthday/induction party of Ralph “Tubby” Tolson was a smashing success, the Big Guy never having caught on at all. His real birthday was still a month away; this was just an excuse to make an even bigger deal of his formal entry into th
e
Creep
s
. They enjoyed their cake and ice cream up on the roof, lazing about on the beach chairs that overlooked the harbor below, sipping their sodas and giving each other shit (Tubby, dishing out his own brand of heck). Bilbo Brown made an appearance and gave Tubby a tote bag before excusing himself from the festivities. He had a large group coming in at 8:00, and without Bud to help him this time, there was much to do. The Dark Side of the Moon tote bag contained all of the treasures Tubby had been drooling over ever since he’d first set foot inside: The logo baseball hat, an oversized T-shirt featuring Ed Gein with his ubiquitous shovel, a
Stand by Me
lunchbox—to replace poor old Spidey—and last but not least, all four of the Frazetta reproduction posters rolled up in cellophane tubes. Bud dragged the Zenith out onto the gravel-covered roof and they all watched Tubby’s three favorite horror movies, one after the other:
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Shining,
and of course,
The Exorcist.
Tubby found it was a lot easier to watch that one with friends by his side.

             
But the highlight of the evening had to be the presentation of the club jacket. Tubby thought it clever, how Josie had wrapped it in old funny pages. Good ol’ Charlie Brown looked up from every corner of the box.

Feeling like it was Christmas Tubby tore away at the paper, hoping the box contained the one thing he wanted most in the world. And he wasn’t disappointed. He lifted the army coat from the tissue paper, much greener and cleaner than those belonging to his friends, and began to cry. It never occurred to him that deep held hurts would come spilling out of that opened box. Opening old wounds, while healing them once and for all. He swiped at the tears, ashamed of being such a baby, but the floodgates were open now, washing away all of the loneliness and hurt.

He blinked blurry-eyed at the raised stitch-work over each top pocket
:
The Creep
s
over the left
.
Tubb
y
over the right. Running his hand over both, making sure it wasn’t some cruel trick of the light.

“I told you we should have had Ralphie stitched on there!” Josie said, slugging Bud in the arm.