Chapter: 18
Things will be OK
That night, Trixie slept in her silver nightcap with the radio playing low. She'd also locked her bedroom door - though the same centuries-old skeleton key opened every room in the house. So it was probably a silly thing to have done.
Before she'd gone to sleep, the troubled girl had removed the note Jim had written her from its secret hideaway and reread it a dozen times over. Then, she'd placed the folded paper under her pillow, hoping, in the way that only a fourteen-year-old girl might, that the power of her thoughts would somehow shield the young man from the unknown dangers which were lurking in the shadows.
And then she'd said her prayers. And finally, Trixie had turned out the lights.
Friday morning didn't start like most. The weather was just as sultry as it had been the previous day. But there was something heavier, hanging in the air, which Trixie couldn't put her finger on.
Daddy, who'd worked most of the night in his office, had left before the coffee had finished perking. And Brian, still unshaven and now resembling a werewolf, had cut out early too. He'd claimed the club had decided to up his hours. But Trixie had her doubts.
Worse, Moms seemed oblivious to it all. She was in another happy-happy mood. And her wary daughter avoided her mother as much as she could. Actually, Trixie had done her best to steer clear of all of her family – but Bobby had proved to be the most difficult.
For every time his big sister had turned around, it seemed the little ghoul had been standing there, glaring at her angrily and muttering to himself. Twice the unnerved girl had attempted to ask the creepy child what was wrong, but he'd just given her the evil eye and then stalked off silently.
Thankfully though, Honey had called quite early, wanting to see her friend as soon as possible. The nervous-sounding girl had been alarmingly vague over the phone. But Trixie had agreed to meet Honey at the stables at eight.
"I'll be back as soon as I can, so we can start canning," Trixie told her pod-person mother as she slipped into her riding boots. "Honey said Jim went out for paint yesterday, so he'll be working on the clubhouse while we exercise the horses. Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler are still in St. Louis. But they are supposed to come in today, I guess."
"Well, isn't that nice," Moms replied, straightening the knot in the blue bandana tying up her daughter's hair. On Thursday's Mega-Mart trip, Mrs. Belden had purchased Trixie three more of the oversized handkerchiefs in assorted colors. They'd been such a steal that Moms claimed she couldn't pass them up– which is the same thing she'd said about Burger Bucket.
"Yeah, well, Honey's pretty excited about it," Trixie said, pulling away uncomfortably. "Anyway, I'll be home soon."
"Take your time, sweetheart," her mother returned, smiling. "Enjoy your ride! The tomatoes will wait. In fact, I think I'll give Mrs. Lynch a jingle and tell her I'll take her up on her invitation for lunch at the country club today."
Moms hadn't been to the country club in years. So this wasn't good. And the cornered teen figured she'd better get out of the house while she still could.
"OK," Trixie said, making a push for the door. "Then I'll be back in time to take care of Bobby."
As her aimless mother wandered off, humming, Trixie was preparing to make her escape, when Mart reached out and grabbed her arm.
"That won't be necessary," he told the girl with a disturbing smirk. "Bob's with me."
Next to the camera-toting boy loitered his little brother, who was shooting daggers into his sister with his beady eyes.
"Where are you off too?" Trixie stammered as the two shoved her out of their way to open the screen.
"Out," Mart replied.
To which Bobby echoed coldly, "Yeahs, outs."
As Trixie heard gravel crunching in the driveway, she asked, "Does Moms know you're going out?" The young lady half expected to see Paul Trent's car as she glanced through the window, but this time, there was a strange black sedan with tinted windows waiting there.
Bobby giggled. "Yeahs, she knows its," he said. "Isn't that rights, Mart?"
"Unequivocally so," Mart cackled. "Now try to be a good girl and stick to your own knitting, hmm? Or is that too feminine for you? Shall we try 'go back to minding your own beeswax, dear Beatrix'?"
"No kidding, Honey," Trixie stressed. "One minute, they'd be acting all normal-like. Then whammo! The whole family was behaving like mental cases. And I tell you, Bobby had me quaking in my boots. Why I even ended up locking my door last night."
Honey shuddered as she and her friend walked Lady and Susie around the lake. Jim and Regan had exercised the other horses earlier. And they'd asked the young lady to ride along. But the reluctant girl had fibbed and said that she and Trixie already had plans of their own. Not only had Honey wanted to keep as far away from the crop circle as she could - but also away from her oddly behaving brother. So she completely understood where Trixie was coming from.
"I locked myself in my room, too," Honey confessed. "But that was at eleven when I heard the front door shut and then the sound of voices out front."
"Do you know who was there?" Trixie asked as the girls paused to let their rides take a drink at the water's glassy edge.
"Jim and the front guard," Honey quietly revealed as if someone might be hiding in the cattails listening. "I could see them distinctly from my window. My brother had his laptop and his notebooks with him too, Trixie."
Her friend put her hands to her mouth and drew in a deep breath before she asked, "Do you know where he was headed?"
Honey nodded. "To the garage. Jim spent the rest of the night out there, with the lights on. He only came back in for breakfast."
"So unlike yesterday, he ate this morning?" Trixie asked as Lady and Susie had their fill and let the young ladies lead them back up toward the boat dock.
"Like a horse," Honey admitted. "And after he was through, he went to help Regan with Jupe and Starlight. Now Jim's supposed to be down at the gatehouse getting things ready to paint. He mentioned that Brian's going to join him once he gets off work. Still, I feel guilty that I didn't offer to lend a hand, Trixie. Jim must be awfully tired. And he's got a game this evening too."
"Maybe once my scroungy brother gets home, you and I can go down to the clubhouse together and help out," Trixie suggested. "I feel like I should be pitching in too. It's weird, isn't it? One minute the boys are behaving as normal as can be, and the next, they're acting like cuckoo birds. It's almost as if "They" are throwing a switch which turns the craziness on and off."
Honey giggled, despite her worries. "That's what you keep telling me," she said. "But you're right, Trixie. I just hope that alien lever doesn't start controlling you and me."
So far, Trixie had avoided telling her friend that she'd been reduced to wearing an aluminum hat and listening to the radio for fear it might. And she almost suggested to Honey that she do the same. But Trixie didn't want to upset the uneasy girl even more than she already was.
"At least Regan, and Tom and Celia, have been acting fine," Honey went on, as the girls neared the stables and the tall red-headed groom waved. "And who knows. Maybe Miss Trask will snap out of it once Mother and Daddy are home."
Only Trixie couldn't help but fear that Mr. and Mrs. Wheeler would simply fall victim to the madness too.
On her way down the hill towards Crabapple Farm, Trixie gazed off into shadows of the game preserve and wondered with a chill how Dan was fairing. She hadn't seen the boy since the day the Bob-Whites went to Mr. Lynch's office, and so much had happened since then.
At least her dark-haired friend hadn't gone to Mr. Sanderson's with her brothers and Jim. So maybe Dan wasn't suffering from the insanity the other boys were. But even if so, the young man needed to be warned. And Trixie felt that now was the perfect time to do it.
She had no real reason to go home. Moms was going out. Bobby was with Mart. And Trixie was caught up on all her chores. So the footloose girl decided to take quick detour and cut into the woods.
Catching the trail to Mr. Maypenny's, Trixie was surprised when none of the security guards popped out from behind the trees. Just yesterday, they had been swarming the preserve like wasps, but today, she didn't encounter a single buzz.
Reaching the cabin, the anxious young lady tried knocking on the door. But when she didn't get an answer, she figured Mr. Maypenny and his charge were probably out at the cornfield.
Heading that direction next, Trixie was midway down the newly graveled road when Officer Anderson approached her. A more pleasant female guard had replaced Dandy Andy at the Wheeler's front gate, as Chief Ogilvy had moved the man to crop circle duty.
"Sorry, Miss," the dapper young officer said, lowering his dark sunglasses enough to see who he was talking to. "No visitors are allowed past this point."
Trixie clicked her tongue and glared at the puffed-out twenty-something. Dandy Andy took his job very seriously, but those silly glasses were completely unnecessary in the dimly lit woods. And she knew he was only wearing them to appear more menacing.
But it wasn't working.
"Please go tell Mr. Maypenny that Trixie Belden is here to see Dan Mangan," she said, trying to be nice and play by the rules.
Only Officer Anderson crossed his arms across his chest and replied again, "Sorry, Miss. My orders are not to let anyone pass."
With growing irritation, the teenager began tapping her foot impatiently. "I'm sure that doesn't mean me," she replied. "So please just go ask him."
When Dandy Andy refused to budge, Trixie had had her fill and tried to go around the officer. But he reached out and grabbed her arm to stop her.
"This is your last warning Miss," he said. "If you don't turn around, I'll be forced to put you in handcuffs and call for backup."
Trixie rolled her eyes and then yelled out as loudly as she could, "Mr. Maypenny! Dan! It's me, Trixie. Would somebody please come and get this ridiculous ape off of me?!"
Within the flash of an eye, the gamekeeper, along with Chief Ogilvy and Officer Wilcox, came running down the lane toward the struggling pair.
"That'll do," Chief Ogilvy said, as Dandy Andy let loose of Trixie's arm. "Miss Belden, Officer Anderson is only acting on order. No one is allowed at the circle today."
"Not even me?" Trixie gasped, looking at Mr. Maypenny questioningly. "I just came to talk to Dan," she added.
As the looming gentlemen exchanged crafty grins, Mr. Maypenny chuckled mysteriously, "Not even you, young lady. Besides, the boy's not here. I've got him out chopping wood this morning." The gamekeeper cast the officers a wink. "Those chilly days will be here before we know it," he added.
Trixie had begun to feel very uncomfortable in the gentlemen's presents. Plus, it bothered her why she wasn't being allowed at the crop circle. "Well then, can you at least tell me where I can find Dan?" she asked.
As Mr. Maypenny pointed to a side trail and gave the young lady directions, a familiar black sedan with tinted glass crept the group's way, headed in the direction of the cornfield.
Spying it, Officer Wilcox stepped up and unchained the gate and then waved the shady vehicle on ahead. Once the car had passed through to the other side, he re-secured the access and then noted to the other men that they needed to be going.
"Best be on your way, too," Mr. Maypenny said firmly to Trixie, shooing her onto the trail.
The young girl's heart was now beating very fast. The men from Safe And Sound Security had gathered around the towering woodsman and were waiting for her to leave.
So stepping it up, down the narrow trail, Trixie made sure she was completely out of the men's sight before she stopped and removed her hair bandana. Then, using it to flag her path, she tied it to a tree branch. God willing, Trixie would return for it soon. But if she didn't, at least she was leaving Honey, or perhaps a Dan, a piece of evidence, that she'd been this way.
Keeping to a straight line, the experienced hiker followed the climbing sun in the direction of the cornfield. Each time her foot accidentally came down, snapping a twig, Trixie would hunker low until she was sure no one was coming after her. But so far, so good. And soon, from the occasional whickers which she heard filtering through the brambles, Trixie knew Brownie's loafing shed was up ahead. Which meant she was almost to her destination.
Finally reaching the tree with the deer stand, the anxious girl glanced about nervously and then scaled the ladder to the lookout point.
Now peering down upon the clearing, Trixie let out a small yelp. At the center of the crop circle rested a large triangular U.F.O. And all about it was a cluttering of men, including one teenage boy –Mart Belden.
Straining her eyes, the unbelieving girl scanned the area hoping to see Bobby but didn't spot the little boy anywhere. Then, something unexpected happened. Trixie sneezed. Then she sneezed again, this time loud enough to raise the dead.
As Mart's head jerked up and glanced about, Trixie's stomach took a flip flop. It was one of the awful feelings that told her he knew she was lurking nearby. And that meant she'd better get out of there fast!
Upon safely reaching her flagged trail, Trixie untied her scarf and stuffed it into the hip pocket of her dungarees. Her jeans were sticking to her body as if attached by hot glue, but she was glad she was wearing them on this occasion. They'd protected her legs from the raspberry canes she'd had to fight her way through to get to the deer stand. But the poor girl's uncovered arms weren't so lucky, and they burned from fine crimson scratches.
Trixie knew she must look an awful sight. She was winded and tired but still in one piece. And it was more important than ever that she find Dan. The perceptive teen had a hunch, from how Mr. Maypenny had been acting, that he'd sent the young man off to cut wood to keep him away from the cornfield. If so, it was likely that her friend had not yet been infected with the madness that was spreading like wildfire through Never Land.
A short time later, Trixie's ears picked up on the sound of splitting wood. The idea of Dan Mangan wielding a hatchet if he was under the alien "They's" mind control went way beyond frightening. It actually bordered on petrifying. But the determined girl forced herself on ahead.
As not to startle the ax swinging teen by sneaking up on him, Trixie called out, "Hey Paul Bunyan! Where's your blue ox?" She'd decided to play it cool. The cautious girl wanted to be sure her friend was himself before she went blurting out the reason she'd come.
Glancing up, the grinning boy buried the hatchet blade into the stump he was using as a chopping block, and then wiped his sweating brow with his forearm.
"Did you split all that wood this morning?" Trixie asked with amazement as he came her way.
Dan looked hot and overextended but also glad to see her.
"Mart's not the only one who's been building up muscles this summer," the young man laughed, drawing up a fist and flexing his bicep. "If those city kids could see me now."
Trixie giggled. Dan had been mighty scrawny when he'd first come to Sleepyside. And he'd never even stepped foot into a patch of woods before then. But now, the teen seemed more at home in the wilderness than he did in town.
As her friend went to retrieve two refilled bottles of water from a small cooler he'd stashed nearby, the discerning girl decided the boy seemed to be acting normal enough. But Trixie still decided to give it more time – just to be sure.
Taking a seat under a shade tree, the weary pair leaned back to take a breather. But as they did, something fell from above, and Trixie ducked to the side as the plummeting object just missed her head.
"An apple?" she cried with surprise as Dan scooped up the ripening fruit and flipped it into the air.
"Right as rain, Sir Isaac Newton!" he chuckled. He caught the apple with a snag and then tossed it to his startled friend.
"What's an apple tree doing way out here?" she asked.
"This spot is part of what Mr. Maypenny refers to as the old Van den Boogaard homestead," Dan revealed. "There's an abandoned cabin and family cemetery only a few yards from us, too. They're pretty much hidden by the undergrowth this time of year. But once the leaves fall, I'll show them to you, if you'd like?"
"Oh, I'd like!" Trixie exclaimed, polishing the waxy fruit on her pant leg. "I've heard Mrs. Vanderpool bring up the name from time to time, but I never knew the family lived around here? And there's a graveyard, too, you say?" The young detective was now wholly intrigued, almost forgetting the grim reason she'd come.
"There sure is," Dan laughed, sensing his friend's excitement. "I didn't know the homestead was here either until Jim and Brian showed it to me one day."
"Jim and Brian?!" Trixie exclaimed angrily, winging the apple away. "Why didn't they tell me about the cabin and cemetery?!"
The dark-haired boy winced. "I imagine because fellas thought you'd go looking for a mystery, find one, and they'd end up having to save you from some blasted criminal," he guessed. "Old houses are the perfect hiding place for venomous snakes too, Trix," he added sheepishly.
Trixie crossed her arms and clenched her teeth. That sounded like her two pirate overseers, alright. "But you're willing to show them to me?" she asked Dan with the raise of an eyebrow.
"Sure," he said. "Your big brother and Jim will likely string me up once they find out. So I wouldn't go blabbing about it beforehand. But, what the heck, I've been anxious to dig around the old place too. I sure wish we had a metal detector. Wouldn't that be far-out?"
"Gleeps, yes!" the excited girl exclaimed. "We could look for buried treasure! Captain Kidd used to sail up and down the Hudson River, you know."
"So I've heard," Dan laughed. "So it's a date?"
"A date?" Trixie ventured with nervous alarm.
The young man's cheeks turned candy-apple red, and he glanced down as he fiddled with his water bottle. "Not a date, date," he corrected himself awkwardly. I mean like the kind of a date you pencil on your calendar. Say the end of October?"
Trixie let out a sigh of relief. "I thought that's what you meant," she said. "So yes, we have a date," she finished happily.
As Dan looked up and smiled, he realized with a start that there were nasty scratches running down the young lady's arms. She also looked more disheveled than usual.
"So what's up?" he asked her seriously. "I take it this isn't a social call?"
"No," Trixie confessed darkly. "I'm sad to say it isn't."
Going on to explain the reason for her visit, Trixie grew concerned as the young man next to her sat in dead silence. His face showed no sign of emotion, which could have been a good or a bad thing. She just didn't know which.
"So you see," she finished unhappily, "Honey and I are probably just crazy, and imagining things. All on account of that dumb book. But now that I've seen the U.F.O. at the crop circle, I don't know? It's all so unbelievable. You do believe me, don't you, Dan?"
Dan scratched his head and took a sip of his drink before replying. "Sure I do," he said. "I mean, I believe you believe what you're saying. And that's good enough for me."
Trixie smiled, relieved to find that the solemn boy was in her corner.
"Besides, I'm not one to judge," he went on. "I've been thinking some pretty crazy things since seeing the spacecraft and the crop circle, myself. I imagine everyone has. Which could be at the root of people's odd behavior. Everyone reacts to things differently, Trix. But I do agree, we need to be careful."
Dan reached into his pocket and pulled out his switchblade. Trixie hadn't seen the knife since her friend had first come to town and was a bit surprised that he still carried it. Flipping open the blade, the boy seemed to be examining the sharpness of its edge.
"So what are your plans, now?" he asked.
"I don't know," Trixie admitted. "I guess head for home. Honey and I talked about going down to the clubhouse later, but her parents are coming in so we'll probably skip it."
"Well, you're welcome to hang out here with me?" the young man offered.
Trixie smiled gratefully but felt she should pass. "It's about Reddy's lunchtime," she explained. "So I really should be getting back to feed him."
As his pretty friend started to get up, Dan pulled her back down.
"What do you say I go with you?" he suggested. "I'd feel better if I knew you were OK. I can hang out until your family's back. If things are cool, I'll go. But if they're not?" Dan closed his knife and tucked it away. "Then we're out of there," he finished seriously. "And I promise that I'll take good care of you while we figure out what to do. I won't let anything happen to you, Trix."
Trixie trembled as the pair again sat in silence. She knew the young man was being sincere. And she was beginning to get an inkling of what he must have gone through when he'd lost his parents and had to take to the streets alone. And it was a very frightening feeling.
"Dan," she said quietly after a few minutes more. "May I ask you a question? I know your dad died while serving in the military. But whatever happened to your mother? I don't recall you, or Regan, ever mentioning it?"
The in-drawn boy simply shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know," he mumbled.
"You don't know?" Trixie gasped. "But surely you must know. She was your mother?"
"Well, I don't," the boy replied testily. "Look, Trixie, you may be my best friend and all, but that doesn't mean you need to know everything about me."
"Your best friend?" the girl said with surprise.
"Yeah," the irritated teen replied. "I don't trust many people, but for some reason, I do trust you. You're easy to talk to. And fun to hang out with. Plus, you tell it like it is, Trixie. I can be myself around you. That makes you my best friend. Is that OK?"
Trixie had never considered having a boy as a best friend before. But everything Dan had said was true for her too, she guessed. Besides, she'd been down a best friend ever since Di left.
"Sure it's OK," she said as the idea soaked in. "But I want you to know, as your best friend, if you change your mind and want to tell me about your mom, you can be sure I won't tell anyone. Best friends keep secrets, you know."
Dan stared down, watching an ant as it carried away a burden ten times its own weight.
"Not much to tell, really," he admitted after a time. "One day, I came home from school, and she was just gone. Her stuff too. My mother had taken off like that before. But usually, she came home in a day or two. Only this time, she didn't. I kept the landlord at bay for a couple of months, but then he got suspicious and threatened to call Social Services if I didn't pay up the back rent. So I took off. Mom always talked of the horrors of living in the orphanage."
"Gleeps," Trixie breathed, unable to comprehend what she'd just heard. "So she might still be alive?"
Dan went to take another drink of his water but found the bottle was empty, and he tossed it aside. "It's possible," he admitted. "But don't go getting any crazy ideas about trying to find her, Trixie Belden. This is my home now. And I'm not like Di. I kind of like it here in Never Land."
"But I don't understand?" Trixie went on. "How could she just leave you like that?"
Again Dan shrugged. "She was young," he said. "And life's tough. My mother couldn't handle the responsibility of being a single parent, I suppose. She never had a Mom to teach her things like you do."
"But she had to love you," the disbelieving girl stressed. "I mean, your mom used to sing to you. And tell you rhymes, like the one you did Bobby when you rescued him from the mountain lion cave?"
"Yeah, well, I was a little kid then," the sullen boy admitted. "When I got older, let's just say I wasn't the type of son a mother would be proud to call her own. I can't blame her for splitting."
Trixie sprung to her feet and threw her hands to her hips. Glaring down at him, she scolded, "Well, you should! That was a horrible thing for her to have done. You're an exceptional young man, Dan Mangan. And I don't want you to forget it!"
As Dan got up, he gave the incensed girl a shove. "Awe, cut the crap," he said. "We'd better get going. You got more than dog food at that house of yours? Or should we swing by the cabin and pick up something to eat first?"
Collecting the pair's water bottles, Trixie let out a sad little giggle. "How quickly you forget," she sighed. "Pod-person Moms bought out Mega-Mart yesterday."
And as the two best friends started down the path toward an uncertain future, the exceptional young man replied, "Don't worry, Trix. Things will be OK."