Notes: Thanks to all my reviewers! You all rock!!! Sorry this took so long. And sorry this is ridiculously short! I kind of ran out of ideas, and I didn't want to get into the next chapter just yet, so I'm just ending it here.
And I sort of took bothBlondie 24-7's idea of stealing the old lady's purse and my idea of the bike and ran with it. Let's hope you all like it. :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Holes, or anything associated with it. That honor belongs to Louis Sachar. The title of the story is taken from the song "Down to the Valley" by Doc Watson.
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Chapter 4: the lies.
"I'm
in the middle of nothing, and it's where I want to be.
I'm at the
bottom of everything, and I finally start to leave.
This is the
story of my life,
these are the lies I have created."
-30 Seconds to Mars. "The Story"
The mess hall seemed more crowded than usual. Maybe that's just because I felt like I was suffocating. I wasn't ready to parade my murder charge around camp. After all, I didn't know any of the other D-Tent's stories either, save for the little bit Squid told me about Zigzag when I first got here (something about a gun, if I recall correctly). And I wasn't spilling anything until they spilt theirs.
Maybe I could lie. Lying seemed to be the best option as of now. But what could I say? They already knew I was framed for the murder I was convicted of, and that I had killed the one who framed me- my boyfriend. Well, ex boyfriend, I suppose. But they didn't know the little details. I hope it stays that way.
Dinner was the same slop as always: some form of chili, soggy green beans and broccoli, and the two pieces of bread. I tried to sneak off to another table, hoping that maybe D-Tent had forgotten about the little wager between Flash and I. No such luck, of course. Zigzag caught me by the arm, hauling me back to D-Tent's table.
"Nice try, Red," he laughed, sitting me down in the space beside him. "You ain't getting away that easily." I grumbled, picking up my fork and angrily jabbing my beans.
"Alright now," X-Ray said triumphantly, clapping his hands together. "Let's hear it."
"I'm not saying anything until I get some sort of trade off." I waved my fork at them. "My story for your guy's stories."
"Fine," Flash said nonchalantly. "I haven't got some embarrassing story about getting caught trespassing or some silly shit like that."
"Now wait just a sec," X said, holding his hands out. "That ain't fair."
"Fair or not, I'm not saying a word until I get something in return." I began spooning the chili onto my bread, creating a makeshift sandwich. X-Ray sighed.
"Fine. Whatever. Who wants to go first?"
"I will," Flash offered. He smiled. "As you all know, I have quite a fascination for fire. Anyway, I accidentally set fire to a police station in Yarmouth. I nearly toasted everything - and everyone - inside."
I frowned, smirking. "How'd you manage that?"
"Fireworks. It was the fourth of July, and I guess my friends and I got a bit, er, overexcited." He grinned. "A bottle rocket shot straight through the window and exploded inside an open file cabinet. Whole place went up in flames. Next thing I knew, I was being hauled off to court and charged for willful assault on police territory, and here I am." He flourished his hands and smiled.
"Nice," muttered X, grinning. "Okay, my turn. Nothing exciting, really." He shrugged. "My older brother, Jerrod, dealt drugs in Chicago, where we lived a few years ago. Anyway, he got caught and hauled off to jail, and we moved to Lubbock, Texas. Got in with a bad crowd, I guess, and started doing what my brother did. But it wasn't real, just parsley 'n stuff. But," he sighed heavily, "I got caught anyway. Too young for jail, so I got sent here. The end."
"Lovely," I laughed. "Okay, who's next?"
"How 'bout you?" X asked, looking at me. I shook my head.
"Not 'til all y'all are done. Who's next?"
"I'ma kleptomaniac. Well, sorta," Magnet said, resting his elbows on the table. "Stole a bunch o' stuff from Wal-Mart down in Miami. It was the perfect escape, simplemente hermoso. But, I had a puppy in my pocket, un perrito pequeño. Little bitty thing had been locked in a cage. I couldn't just leave it there, right? So, I took it with me." Magnet grinned lazily. "Thing started barking like a persona loca the second I got out the door. Tried to run, but got caught, and I wasn't about to go to jail. So, here I am."
I chuckled. "Never took you for a sentimentalist, José. Rescuing dogs? Didn't think you had it in you."
"Shut up, Roja," he laughed, pushing me playfully. I smiled.
"Armpit, you go," X said. Armpit sighed.
"I beat up some stupid punk kid. Kept messin' with me, so I broke his nose and next thing I knew, his parents were filin' a lawsuit against me. And, uh, that's about it."
"Fascinating," Zigzag said. Armpit scoffed.
"Well, what about you, Zig? What'd you do?"
"Stole a gun, right outta cop car," Zigzag said. I frowned.
"What did you need a gun for?" I asked quietly. Zig shrugged.
"I dunno. I just felt like stealin' something."
I nodded, but I didn't believe him. Oh well. He'll tell me when he's ready. "Well, that leaves you, Squid." I grinned at him. "What's your decline into delinquency?"
Squid tch-ed, scowling. "I ain't gotta tell you nothin', Red. These guys already know what I'd done."
"Fail English, among others?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. The boys laughed. "I swear, my pet gerbil speaks better than you do." Squid's scowl deepened.
"Shut up, man."
I chuckled. "Fine then." I turned to X. "What did Squid do?"
"I dunno if I should say. It's, uh, kinda embarrassing." Grins broke out on everyone's faces, save for Squid of course. He growled.
"Don't you dare, X." Squid was looking death at X-Ray. X just smirked.
"So, what he did--"
"X, shut UP!!!"
"--he tried to steal this 80-year-old lady's purse--"
"X-RAY! SHUT UP!"
"--but she caught him--"
Squid slammed his head into the table. "AHH!"
D-Tent was in tears by now. X could barely talk. "--and she started hitting him on the head with it!"
I started cracking up, covering my mouth with my hand.
"But wait, it gets better," Flash said, smiling widely. "He stole some five year old's bicycle as a getaway. And she was the one who caught him. She tackled him to the ground long enough for the cops to get there."
"No way." I stared. I could just imagine Squid on some little girl's pink bicycle with the tassels on the handlebars and the wicker basket in the front being chased down the street by some old lady in ripped stockings and a big brimmed hat and a five year old girl. I started laughing harder.
"I hate you," Squid growled. His face was beet red. The table laughed.
"We know," everyone chorused.
Squid looked murder at me. "Alright then, Red. What's your big story?"
Great.
"Yeah, it's only fair now," Flash said, leaning his elbows on the table. Everyone was looking at me.
Just great.
I tried to act casual, but my hands were shaking. I coughed. "Well, it's nothing really," I muttered, shrugging. "My boyfriend, Jimmy, was a drug dealer, and this, uh, this guy didn't have his money one night, so he attacked Jimmy. Jimmy fought back and killed the guy. Next thing I knew, the police were knocking on my door, saying they had to talk to me. I ran, tracked down Jimmy and, uh, killed him. Got caught the next day. And, umm, that's about it, really."
Well, it was sort of true. I tried not to lie (I hated lying), but left out a few details in the process. They didn't need to know that I had been there when the whole thing happened; that I had watched in horror as Jimmy plunged the knife into Andy Levokowitz's stomach; that Jimmy had come up to me, covered in blood, as I stood screaming in the corner of the alley, and told me to leave, to run, and to not tell a single fuckin' soul what had just happened, 'cuz no one needed to know; that I had raced home, crying so hard I threw up; that I had scrubbed my hands 'til they were raw, trying to wash away the still-warm blood of Andy Levokowitz that Jimmy had left when he grabbed me in that dark alley just ten minutes earlier; that all I felt as I hunted Jimmy down was revenge.
Suddenly, I couldn't think. I stood from the table, nearly knocking the whole bench over.
"Red, what's gotten into you?" X asked, staring up at me. I just shook my head.
"Nothing. Uh, cramps. I'm gonna go lay down or...something." I left my tray on the table and practically ran from the mess hall. I knew I was crying; I didn't need to feel the hot, wet tears on the back of my hand as I wiped them away, or the burning pain in the back of my throat that didn't let me breathe properly until I reached the tent. I stood there, breathing heavily, tears streaming down my face. Suddenly, I let out a scream and pounded my pillow, trying to put all my energy into destroying it, rather than myself.
I was so mad at Jimmy-- mad at him for being stupid enough to fucking kill someone, mad at him for framing me and sending me to this fucking hell-hole, mad at him for ruining my whole life.
I continued my assault, screaming all the while. White-hot rage clouded my vision as my sobs reached a crescendo. Suddenly, I felt someone's arms around me, pulling me back, setting me down on my bed. I struggled, not thinking clearly, only that I had to get away.
"Charlie. Calm down, you're going to make yourself sick."
Zigzag.
I hiccupped, panting heavily, letting him set me down in his lap on my bed. I was shaking. I wrung my hands together almost compulsively, until he stilled them by placing his own hands on top of mine.
"Charlie, what's wrong?"
"Nothing. I--" I paused, biting my lip. "I just freaked out. I don't know. Just thinking about that night drives me insane. I hate him so much." I sighed and shook my head, more tears brimming at my eyes. "I'm so glad he's dead. I hate him."
Zigzag didn't ask me who I was talking about, but I think he already knew. He simply wrapped his arms around me and rested his head on my shoulder, rocking me gently.
I sniffed. "You're not gonna t-tell anyone about this, right?"
I could feel him smile and he held me tighter. "I promise."
