The Black Sheep

Blood covered my whole front side of me as the body laid rested on my lap. I leaned over as my tears started to wash the body. "How could you die on me?" I cried as I held the lifeless body closer to me. "Why did you do that? Why couldn't it be me laying here?" I stared what seemed like an attorney at his all so bloody face, able to remember everything to what had lead to this point. I closed my eyes and tried to go back to the first time I meet him

Flashback

Have you ever just wished some things could be a bad dream that you could wake from and the thing you dread the most disappeared, well that is how I sometimes wish my life was? It's amazing how fast your life can change by one thing such as a birthday, winning something, or just something you can't even imagine. Well as my dad said 'your life will change every five years' even now I believe that to this day. I'd looked back five years ago and I was living in a brand new house just entering sixth grade. I didn't even know what my life had planned out for me but hell I still don't. What could a seventeen year old girl really know about life, well not much but what I do know is my life sucks right now. It all started with a call from a police man about three days ago, about my mother had died. No one could tell us how she died, the only information me and my father had was that she died quickly. The day of the phone call I will never forget.

I sat on the green coach watching an old romantic film, when the phone right next to me on the table that separated me and the TV. I grabbed the phone and looked at the number, the number stated unknown. I set the phone back down on the glass table and stated staring at the movie at the girl who was shut about to meet her love, then the phone rang again. I looked down at the phone, shook my head slowly and picked it up again. The same number shone again on the caller id, I'd answered the phone with an irritated voice. "Hello." "Hello is Mr. Shelben available?" an older man's voice shock as he asked. "Um yea, my I ask what it's regarding." "I am afraid I need to talk to him right away." His voice harsher but still shaky "Dad, phone." I yelled "who is it?" John yelled from the kitchen "I don't know he says he needs to talk to you right away."
John came from the kitchen, grabbed the phone as I handed it to him. He looked at me with a questionable looked in his eyes; I shrugged my shoulders at him and sat down to finish the last part of the movie. My father stepped out of the room as he started to talk in a low tone. I turned down the volume, listing in to what he was saying. I sat there trying to figure out what was so urgent that he had to talk to my father right away; I listened in toning out the TV. "What! How? No. Where? You what? No its fine we will be down there as soon as we can. It said what? I don't know about that. Well ok we will be down there in. When? Ok will do so, thank you sir." John walked back into the living room; I'd sat there acting like I was still watching the movie. "Aries, Baby. We need to move." He said in a low voice. I took my eyes from the movie and stared at him. I took a long look at his unreadable face. "What is it?" "It's your mother, she was killed." I shot out from the seat and looked at him, "what! Killed? How?" I rushed trying to get all my answers. I was still in shock from the words killed, that it took my breath away. "They don't know, some fellow found her body all mangled. When the police got to the seine they said it had looked like she was eaten by some thing."
I just stood there up able to move anything; my body was frozen till I had felt the warmth of my father's arms around me. I placed my face onto his shoulder, to shock to cry I just stood there, arms to my side listening as my father cried. It felt my checks moisten but I'd not been able to tell if I was crying, everything felt so numb and so unreal. It wasn't even a week from the last time I talked to my mother over the phone. My mind raced faster and faster, I tried to push my father off me but my arms felt too heavy to move from my sides.

The room was spinning, the lights in the room were bright and it was to blurry to see where I was. The first thing that ran through my head was ' I'm dead'. "Sweetie are you ok?" I sat up, rubbed my eyes and the muffled voice spoke again. "Aries, are you ok? You took a pretty good blow to your head." my father stood there next to me holding a clear plastic bag full of ice. My vision slowly came back; I
still laid there trying to remember what happened. "Do you want some water?" I shook my head "no I'm fine, what happened?'
"I told you about your mother, then the next thing I know you fell. You must have hit your head pretty hard, you have been sleeping for at least three hours" he explained to me.
I sat up, swung my legs over the edge of the couch and thought about my mother. I looked up at my dad who was still watching me to make sure I did not have to be rushed to the ER. " So what are we going to do now?"
"We will have to move down."
"Move! What? Why? I stood up from the couch. John grabbed me just before my legs gave out and slowly guided me back down. "It's hard to explain but we need to get down there as soon as we can."
He turned around to take the phone off the table and looked back at me "I need to find someone to move this entire house inn just a few days. Are you going to be ok?"
"Yea I guess so."

Three days later

Thunder grew louder and the lightning lit up the large grey sky and rain pounded on the large glass window of my large empty room. I stood, staring out the blurry window in hope the night would be over already. I turned around towards the dark room with only a little light from the crack under the door. I stood there examining everything in the empty room from the white carpeted floor to the light blue walls. I walked to the center of the room and sat down on the floor. As I sat down I noticed a small black bug slowly moving through the threads of the carpet. The bug struggled as it tried to climb up one of the higher stains and fell down on its back. I slowly put my hand out to help him. "Aries can you come down here, I need your help packing this box." A deep man's voice shouted up the stairs just before I could help the little bug out.

I slowly stood up and walked to the door. I rested my right hand around the door knob as I glanced around the room again. I swung the door open and started down the hall. As I walked down the short hall and down the stairs, I looked at the walls which light gray highlighted little squares on the wall were pictures use to hang. I slid my hands on the rails on both sides of the stair case as I slowly walked down. I glanced into the kitchen where I saw my father fighting with a plastic tub. The lid would not fit over the huge mound of close he had stuffed in the blue tub. I leaned with my back against the doorway "Why don't you use my other plastic tub? I filled up my other one and still have one left." I stood up straight and started to the old living room were three big blue plastic tubs laid. I took the first one off the top and opened it; it was full of old dress shirts my dad used to were at his work place before he lost his job. I grabbed the middle one full of all my old jeans and shirts and then the last one I picked up and started back to the kitchen.

My dad had a huge grin on his face as he walked down the hall holding the huge tub full of more cloths of his. The lid looked like it could pop off at any minute "see no need of the other tub. Man's best friend is tape." He smirked. I just stood there and shucked my head as he passed by me. He set it down on top of the other two I stacked up and walked back towards me still with a grin. "So are you going to hold that all night or do you want me to take it?" he asked. "I don't know that depends are you going to have that funny looking grin on your face all night?" I smirked as I went to set the tub down on the floor with the others. "Aries, we are leaving early in the morning to get all your transcripts for school and then we are headed down to the new place." He added. I stood up and turned to look at him "early morning? I thought we went going till noon?" I argued "well it's a ten hour drive and I don't know about you but I don't want to be driving all day and all night." He explained. "What ever, I am going to bed." I snapped as I started to the living room again.

There in a corner of the living room floor laid two large blankets and two pillows. I grabbed one of each and spread them over the floor. I lay down on the cold hard floor with my hands behind my back and my legs flat on the ground, moving my feet side to side. I stared up at the ceiling trying to fall asleep but I could not, too many things ran through my head as I laid there in the dead silence room.
Hours went by before my dad grabbed his bedding to sleep but I guess he also had a hard time falling asleep for he was tossing and turning most of the night.

The bright light shone through the dirty window of the living room, the light shone right in my face waking me up from the three hours I slept. I sat up to see my father's bedding was all folded up and placed near the plastic tubs. "Good morning Aries. Slept good?" he asked me as he stepped the room with a big brown bag in his right hand. I just glared at him and rubbed my eyes wiping the sleep out. "I bought some breakfast for us." He said as he put the bag out in front of him to show me the bag. He walked up to me and sat down in front of me and set the bag down between us. John opened the bag full of food and pulled out a sausage sandwich full of egg and cheese and handed me the hot sandwich. I took the sandwich from his hand and took a small bite then set it down on my lap. I looked up at him "so when do you want to go?" I asked in a low voice. He looked up at me "as soon as you're done, we are going to pack the stuff in the truck." He stated finishing his last bite of sandwich. My father stood up and left the living room with the empty bag.

I stood up as I took my last bite of the breakfast sandwich and started to the stack of blue tubs that still sat in the middle of the living room. I looked around the living room as I grabbed the first tub off the stack and started out to my father's old truck. The tub seemed heaver then last night most likely from the lack of sleep I'd have last night. As I walked through that old empty two story house, I tried to remember all the great things that had happened in here. I never thought this would ever happen well, at least this soon, she was so young. My mother was only thirty five when she was laid to rest in a small town in Texas called Oaks. I'd never been to the town of Oaks but my mother had told me it's a quiet and peaceful place to live and it was better than Oklahoma City . I'd never think about living in the country and nor did I ever want to.

I opened the squeaky screen door and headed down the walkway towards the five year old white truck. The truck was like new, that was my father's baby. Sometimes it felt like he loved his truck more than his own family till my mother passed. He would sit outside in that driveway washing his truck every night and would not make it into the house till after midnight when every spot was cleaned. My mother left him because he never would spend time with her. All my father would do was go to work, eat and go tailor to his truck. My mother loved my father but she could not stand watching her life be taken away from her so she left.

I'd set the tub in the back of the trucks bed, slid it agents the wall behind the passenger's side and started to the screen door again. "Hey Aries don't worry about the other tubs, I will grab them if you can just walk through one more time just to make sure we have everything." He asked as he popped his head out of the driver side door with a smile on his face. I'd continued up the steps, opened the screen door, and started around the house. As I when through each room, I'd slide my hand along the wall still trying to understand why we had to leave the city and move to the country but it just didn't make sense.
"Trucks all packed. Are you ready to hit the road?" John yelled up the stairs as I was just about to finish looking in my old room for the last time. I started down the stairs sliding my right hand down the hand rail, and I continued out the front door for the last time. I'd opened the passenger side door; just about to get in I'd looked up to the old yellow house. "Hey Aries we still need to get your old transcripts from your school." "Sorry, just taking in all this all at once." I'd sat down in the red passenger seat then slammed the door not even thinking. "Aries are you trying to make the door fall off the hinges?" he snapped in a harsh tone. I'd rolled my eyes then straitened up in the seat as John slowly backed out of the driveway. Shortly as we started down the road I closed my eyes falling into a deep sleep.

A few hours later

The sky turned an orange reddish color as the sun started to set in the horizon. I could see the trees calmly swaying in the wind as we continued down the long highway of 281. The highway was very open, only a few cars were going the same way that we were going. I looked out my window still thinking about all the changes we will have to make. Something inside me thought of this move as a bad thing and the other part of me said this could be the best thing to happen.

I looked at my father who just looked existed from the eight our drive. "You know dad let's pull over and I'll drive for the remainder" is what I wanted to say but I know my father all too well. He wouldn't let anyone drive his truck; he says it makes him look less of a man if a woman drove. I guess we all have are points were you just want to do it ourselves not anyone else but still is it worth killing us and besides we are in the middle of no were.
"Aries, can you look to see if we are almost there. This just does not seem right; there has not been a sign for at least thirty miles now."
I leaned down to grab the map that was sprouled out on the floor board by my feet. I picked it up and laid it the best I could on my lap. Skimming my right index finger along a long curvy line till I found our rout. I turned my head to look at John
"do you know what exit we passed last?"
" uh I am afraid I am not sure, I know it's in the mid two hundreds."
I shook my head at him then looked back at the map.
" let's see, we got off of exit two twenty four for gas and you said we have went about thirty miles so that would put us." I sat there trying to estimate were we were. "Dad look, you're going to miss it." I pointed to a sign that was hanging upside down by what looked like one bolt.

John turned the wheel, crossing three empty lanes nearly missing the exit. I pressed my hands against the dash trying to support myself as John pushed on the breaks making the back wheels squeal to a stop.
"Wow that was close. So now where do we go?"
"Well I remember your mother saying she was about fifteen miles from the highway, so it should not be that far. Can you get the directions out of the glove box?" he held out his hand. I opened the glove box and searched through all the other paper work, tiered of looking in the glove box, I pulled all the papers out. I set the large stack of papers on my lap and started looking through it. As I looked through the stack I noticed there were parking tickets and paystubs all stack in with other paperwork. I pulled out all the parking tickets as I looked for the directions and stacked them beside me. I came to a napkin that was folded up into a small square, I opened it up and seen it had a small road map drawn on it. I looked at him and then looked at the little hand drawn map. "Ran out of paper?" "That's all I could grab at the time." I shook my head in disbelieve. I stated to put all the paper back "oh yea dad I do hope you have been paying these tickets off. Is it that hard to find parking?" "Yes they have, why do you ask? You don't trust you good old man?" "You got the old man part right." We both smiled at each other as we continued down the paved road.

I looked out my window trying to imagine living in the country but I was still having a hard time picturing my out in the middle of no were. As I looked outside all I could see out my window was trees, and fields. Some fields were filled with farm animals, some with corn, and others were just empty fields. I knew the country would be flat farm lands but I guess I just never pictured the country fresh.

The sky darkened and so did the road, with only the lights of the truck guiding us to our new life. John slowed the truck down trying to keep his eyes out for any animals. Seconds latter something large ran across the dark road, making John slammed on his breaks trying to stop the truck from hitting the black shadow that just missed the front bumper. The truck started to spin out into a ditch.

I opened my eyes to a dash in my face. My body ached but mostly my head, I sat there with my head rested on the dash trying to gain focus. As I sat there I could see the thing running in the road, but it looked nothing like I have ever seen. "Aries are you ok?" I sat there looking still at the floor "yea I'm fine" I lied. My body felt cold and my neck hurt along with the throbbing in my head.

I felt something warm on my back, it felt so good and comforting. "Aries are you ok?" I looked up at my father. His face turned completely pale and his moth fell open. "What wrong?" "Oh um hunny do you feel ok? He asked with a stutter. "I feel ok. What's wrong?" and there it was, the reason of his reaction. Blood dripped from my finger tips. "It's not that bad, you know the forehead bleeds more then it really seams" he stated. "I flipped down the miore and stared. My stomach turned as my face turned pale. I quickly opened the door and hung my head over the ditch. "Hunny are you ok." I felt his warm hands on my back again. "Your freezing, I think we need to get you to the hospital." "No, no hospitals. I will be fi....." there my stomach went again.

When I looked up my father stood in front of me holding his black shirt out to me. "Here put this on your head" I looked up at him and took the shirt. "The truck will have to stay here tonight. We need to get a tow truck to pull it out in the morning. Come on town is not that much farther down. We will find a hotel there and rest." he reaches out and lifted me out of the truck, its not like I weighed much only 95 pounds. He set me down gently on the soft grass till he could get his foot out of the thick mud. He then raped his arm around my hip and I rested my arm around his shoulders as we started to the hotel.

It was a long walk to town, my feet hurt and I was so tiered. When we started through the town my father looked around in amazement. I didn't see anything amazing about a town that had old western looking buildings that looked they were going to collapse. "Aries how about that place, it looks nice."

"Looks nice? Is that place even running?" I looked at the three story building and then looked at my father. "Shingles falling off the roof, paint peeling, dead grass around it! Wow ya lets stay in the haunted hotel."

"Well do see any other hotels around us Aries?"

"Well no but I wouldn't even consider that a hotel."

"Aries! Now you can either sleep here or we can stay in the hotel for a night. Make up your mind."

"What ever. Let's just go."

We started down a little path to the hotel, till we came up to a sign that was barely hanging on the post.

"I don't thinks it's open"

"Aries will you stop, we are going in."

We started up the stairs that looked all rotted out and weathered, and up to the door that matched the porch. I looked through the window that was by the door as my father started to knock. I cupped my hands around my face and push them agents the glass. The room was to dark to see into, no lights on and no sign of life. "Well better start walking, this one seems condemned." I smirked.

They started down the steps and just then a small scratchy voice spoke behind them.

"May I help you?"

We both turned in shock to see who was standing in the doorway.