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Chapter Six-
It's been almost two weeks since arriving in Paradise, the Halloween parade that they put on in town is supposed to be happening tonight. Sarah had invited me to show up and that she hoped to see me, it's just about the only reason me and Henri are not at home training right now. Training is slow going right now building up my immunity to fire, practicing telekinesis, and seeing the visions of the past. My physical training has been slowed down of course by training my new abilities, I take to practicing my animal telepathy with BK he doesn't ever really say much just that he is happy to be with me.
It's a cold day, the sun peeking intermittently through thick white clouds gliding by overhead. The town is bustling. All the kids are in costume. We have bought a leash for Bernie Kosar, who is wearing a Superman cape draped over his back, a large "S" on his chest. He tells me that he is unimpressed with it. He's not the only dog dressed as a superhero.
Henri and I stand on the sidewalk in front of the Hungry Bear, the diner just off the circle in the center of town, to watch the parade. In its front window hangs a clipping of the Gazette article on Mark James. He's pictured standing on the fifty-yard line of the football field, wearing his letterman jacket, his arms crossed, his right foot resting atop a football, a wry, confident grin on his face. Even I have to admit he looks impressive. Henri sees me staring at the paper.
"It's your friend, right?" he asks with a smile.
Henri knows all about what's been happening at school from the near fight to the cow manure to the crush I have on his ex-girlfriend.
"My best friend," I correct him.
Just then the band starts. It's at the head of the parade, followed by various Halloween-themed floats, one of which is carrying Mark and a few of the football players. Some I recognize from class, some I don't. They throw handfuls of candy to the kids. Then Mark catches sight of me and he nudges the guy beside him—Kevin, the kid I kneed in the stomach in the cafeteria. Mark points at me and says something. They both laugh.
"That's him?" Henri asks.
"That's him."
"Looks like a dick."
"I told you."
Then come the cheerleaders, walking, all in uniform, hair pulled back, smiling, and waving to the crowd. Sarah is walking alongside them, taking pictures. She gets them in action, while they're jumping, doing their cheers. Despite the fact that she's wearing jeans and no makeup, she's far more beautiful than any of them. We've been talking more and more at school, and I can't stop thinking about her. Henri sees me staring at her. Then he turns back to the parade.
"That's her, huh?"
"That's her."
She sees me and waves, then points to the camera, meaning she'd come over but wants to take pictures. I smile and nod.
"Well," Henri says. "I can certainly see the appeal."
We watch the parade. The mayor of Paradise passes by, sitting on the back of a red convertible. He throws more candy to the children. There will be a lot of hyper kids today, I think. I feel a tap on my shoulder and turn around.
"Sam Goode. What's the word?"
He shrugs. "Nothin'. What's up with you?"
"Watching the parade. This is my dad, Henri."
They shake hands. Henri says, "John has told me a lot about you."
"Really?" Sam asks with a crooked grin.
"Really," Henri responds. Then he pauses a minute and a smile takes shape.
"You know, I've been reading. Maybe you've heard it already, but did you know that aliens are the reason we have thunderstorms? They create them in order to enter our planet unnoticed. The storm creates a diversion, and the lightning you see is really coming from the spaceships entering Earth's atmosphere."
Sam smiles and scratches his head. "Get out of here," he says.
Henri shrugs. "That's what I've heard."
"All right," Sam says, more than willing to oblige Henri. "Well, did you know that the dinosaurs really didn't go extinct? Aliens were so fascinated by them that they decided to gather them all up and take them to their own planet."
Henri shakes his head. "I didn't know that," he says.
They go on like this for a bit, I can tell that Henri is fishing for information. To see how much Sam really knows about aliens. It goes until both Henri and I stop frozen in fear by what he says just a little bit later.
"Did you know that the Mogadorians are on a quest for universal domination and that they have already wiped out one planet and are planning to wipe Earth out next? They're here seeking human weakness so that they can exploit us when the war begins."
Henri stares at Sam, dumbfounded. He's holding his breath. His hand tightens around his coffee cup.
"You guys look like you've seen a ghost. Does this mean I win?" Sam says as he sees both of us just staring at him, it came so sudden that I didn't have time to reign in my facial expressions.
"Where did you hear that?" I ask.
Henri looks at me so fiercely that I wish I had remained silent.
"From They Walk Among Us."
"Do you have a copy of that I might be able to borrow?" Henri says with a cough.
"Oh uh sure I think I know where I left it last, I can give it to John on Monday at school," Sam says though looking confused why Henri might want it.
Just then a petite woman standing behind Sam interrupts.
"Sam," she says. He turns and looks at her. "Where have you been?"
Sam shrugs. "I was standing right here."
She sighs, then says to Henri, "Hi, I'm Sam's mother."
"Henri," he says and shakes her hand. "Pleased to meet you."
She opens her eyes in surprise. Something in Henri's accent has excited her.
"Ah bon! Vous parlez français? C'est super! J'ai personne avec qui je peux parler français depuis long-temps."
Henri smiles. "I'm sorry. I don't actually speak French. I know my accent sounds like it, though."
"No?" She is disappointed. "Well hell, here I thought some dignity had finally come to town."
Sam looks at me and rolls his eyes.
"All right, Sam, let's get going," she says.
He shrugs. "You guys gonna go to the park and the hayride?"
I look at Henri, then at Sam. "Yeah, sure," I say. "Are you?"
He shrugs.
"Well, try to come meet us if you can," I say.
He smiles and nods. "Okay, cool."
"Time to go, Sam. And you might not be able to go on the hayride. I need your help at home," his mother says.
He starts to say something but she walks away. Sam follows her.
"Very nice woman," Henri says sarcastically.
"How did you make all that up?" I ask.
The crowd begins migrating up Main Street, away from the circle. Henri and I follow it up to the park, where cider and food are being served. "You lie long enough and you start to get used to it."
I nod. "So what do you think?"
He takes a deep breath and exhales. The temperature is cold enough so that I can see his breath. "I have no idea. I don't know what to think at this point. He caught me off guard."
"He caught us both off guard, I'm surprised that you just up and asked him for a copy like that. Couldn't you have just looked them up online or something?"
"I am online every day scouring for any information even remotely close to what he just said and I've never heard of these people. Make sure you get that copy," he says.
"I will," I say. "But still, it makes no sense. How could somebody know that?"
"It's being supplied from somewhere."
"Do you think it's one of us?"
"No."
"Do you think it's them?"
"It could be. Hell, John, I don't know. We'll have to look into it, though. It's not a coincidence, that's for sure."
We walk in silence, still a little stunned, turning possible explanations over in our minds. Bernie Kosar trots along between us, tongue dangling, his cape falling to one side, and dragging on the sidewalk. He's a big hit with the kids and many of them stop us to pet him. The park is situated on the southern edge of town. At the far border are two adjacent lakes separated by a narrow strip of land leading into the forest beyond them. The park itself is made up of three baseball fields, a playground, and a large pavilion where volunteers serve cider and slices of pumpkin pie. Three hay wagons are off to the side of the gravel drive, with a large sign reading:
BE SCARED OUT OF YOUR WITS! HALLOWEEN HAUNTED HAYRIDES START SUNDOWN $5 PER PERSON
The drive segues from gravel to dirt before it reaches the woods, the entrance to which is decorated with cutouts of ghosts and goblin caricatures. It appears that the haunted hayride travels through the woods. I look around for Sarah but don't see her anywhere. I wonder if she'll be going on it. Henri and I enter the pavilion. The cheerleaders are off to the side, some of them doing Halloween-themed face paintings for the kids, the others selling raffle tickets for the drawing to be held at six p.m.
"Hi, John," I hear behind me. I turn around and there's Sarah, holding her camera. "How did you like the parade?"
I smile at her and slide my hands into my pockets. There's a small white ghost painted on her cheek.
"Hey, you," I say. "I liked it. I think I'm getting used to this small-town Ohio charm."
"Charm? You mean boringness, right?"
I shrug. "I don't know, it isn't bad."
"So this is the Bernie Kosar that I've heard so much about," she says, bending down to pet Bernie Kosar.
He wags his tail wildly, jumps up, and tries to lick her face. Sarah laughs. I look over my shoulder. Henri is twenty feet away, talking to Sarah's mom at one of the picnic tables. I'm curious to know what they're talking about.
"I think he likes you."
"Look at this cape. It's, like, cute overload."
"You know if you keep that up I'm going to be jealous of my own dog," I say.
She smiles and stands. "So are you going to buy a raffle ticket from me or what? It's to rebuild a not-for-profit animal shelter destroyed in a fire last month in Colorado."
"Really? How does a girl from Paradise, Ohio, learn of an animal shelter in Colorado?"
"It's my aunt's. I've convinced all the girls on the cheerleading squad to participate. We're going to take a trip and assist in the construction. We'll be helping the animals and getting out of school and Ohio for a week. It's a win-win situation."
I picture Sarah dressed in a hard hat, wielding a hammer. The thought brings a grin to my face. "So you're saying I'm going to have to cover the kitchen alone for a whole week?" I fake an exasperated sigh and shake my head. "I don't know if I can support such a trip now, even if it is for the animals."
She laughs and punches me in the arm. I take out my wallet and give her five dollars for six tickets. "These six are good luck," she says.
"They are?"
"Of course. You bought them from me, silly."
Just then, over Sarah's shoulder, I see Mark and the rest of the guys from the float walk into the pavilion.
"Are you going on the haunted hayride tonight?" Sarah asks.
"Yeah, I was thinking about it."
"You should, it's fun. Everybody does it. And it actually gets pretty scary."
Mark sees Sarah and me talking and scrunches his face into a scowl. He comes walking our way. Same outfit as always—letterman jacket, blue jeans, hair full of gel.
"So you're going?" I ask Sarah.
Before she can respond Mark interrupts. "How'd you like the parade, Johnny?" he asks.
Sarah quickly turns around and glares at him.
"I liked it a lot," I reply.
"You going on the haunted hayride tonight, or are you going to be too scared?"
I smile at him. "As a matter of fact, I am going."
"You going to have a freak-out like in school and run out of the woods crying like a baby?"
"Don't be an ass, Mark," Sarah says.
He looks at me, seething. With the crowd around there is nothing he can do without causing a scene—and I don't think he would do anything anyway.
"All in due time," Mark says.
"You think?"
"Yours is coming," he says.
"It may but it's certainly not going to be coming from you or any of your friends," I say.
"Stop it!" Sarah yells. She works her way in between us, pushing us away from each other. People are watching. She glances around as though embarrassed by the attention, then scowls at Mark first, then at me. "Fine, then. You guys fight if that's what you want to do. Good luck with it," Sarah says, and turns and walks away. I watch her go. Mark doesn't.
"Sarah," I call, but she keeps walking and disappears past the pavilion.
"Soon," Mark says. I look back at him.
"Mark you are not a threat to me and you never will be, you can try and bully me all you like. Not only will you get nowhere but I will put you in your place if you keep this up."
He retreats to his group of friends. Henri walks up to me.
"I don't suppose he was inquiring about yesterday's math homework?"
"Not quite," I say.
"I wouldn't worry about him," Henri says. "He looks to be all talk."
"I'm not," I say, and then glance at the spot where Sarah disappeared. "Should I go after her?" I ask, and look at him, pleading to the part of him that was once married and in love, that part that still misses his wife every day, and not the part of him that wants to keep me safe and hidden.
He nods his head. "Yeah," he says with a sigh. "As much as I hate to admit it, you should probably go after her."
I see Sarah, sitting alone, gently pushing herself on the swing. I weave my way through the screams and shrieks of kids running around in their costumes. When Sarah sees me she smiles those big blue eyes of hers like a beacon.
"Need a push?" I ask. She nods to the swing that has just opened beside her and I sit. "Are you doing okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine. He just wears me down. He always has to act so tough and he's downright mean when he's around friends." She twists herself on the swing until the rope becomes taut, then she lifts her feet and it spins her around, slowly at first, then gaining speed. She laughs the whole time, her blond hair a trail behind her. I do the same thing. When the swing finally stops the world keeps spinning. "Where is Bernie Kosar?"
"I left him with Henri," I say.
"Your dad?"
"Yeah." I am constantly doing that, calling Henri by his name when I should be saying "Dad."
The temperature is quickly dropping, and my hands are white-knuckled on the rope chain, becoming cold. We watch the kids run amok around us. Sarah looks at me and her eyes seem bluer than ever in the coming dusk. Our gaze stays locked, each of us just staring at the other, no words being said but much passing between us. The children seem to fade into the background. Then she smiles shyly and looks away.
"So what are you going to do?" I ask.
"About what?"
"Mark."
She shrugs. "What can I do? I've already broken up with him. I keep telling him I have no interest in getting back together."
I nod. I'm not sure how to respond to that. "But anyway, I should probably try to sell the rest of these tickets. Only an hour before the raffle."
"Do you want any help?"
"No, that's okay. You should go have fun. Bernie Kosar is probably missing you right now. But you should definitely stick around for the hayride. Maybe we can go on it together?"
"I'd like that," I say. A happiness blooms inside of me, but I try to keep it hidden.
"I'll see you in a little while, then."
"Good luck with the tickets."
She reaches over and grabs my hand and holds it for a good three seconds. Then she lets go, jumps off the swing, and hurries away. I sit there, gently swinging, enjoying the brisk wind that I haven't felt in a very long time because we spent the last winter in Florida and the one before that in south Texas. When I head back to the pavilion Henri is sitting at a picnic table eating a slice of pie with Bernie Kosar lying at his feet.
"How'd it go?"
"Good," I say with a smile.
From somewhere an orange and blue firework shoots up and explodes in the sky. It makes me think of Lorien and of the fireworks I saw on the day of the invasion.
"Have you thought any more about the second ship I saw?"
Henri looks around to make sure there's nobody within earshot. We have the picnic table to ourselves, positioned in the far corner away from the crowd.
"A little. I still have no idea what it means, though."
"Do you think it could have traveled here?"
"No. It wouldn't be possible. If it ran on fuel, like you say, it wouldn't have been able to travel far without refueling."
I sit for a moment. "I wish it could have traveled here, with us."
"It's a nice thought," says Henri.
An hour or so passes and I see all the football players, Mark in front, walks across the grass. They are dressed up as mummies, zombies, ghosts, twenty-five of them in total. They sit in the bleachers of the nearest baseball field and the cheerleaders who were drawing on the children begin applying makeup to complete the costumes of Mark and his friends. It's only then that I realize the football players will be the ones doing the scaring on the haunted hayride, the ones waiting for us in the woods.
"See that?" I ask Henri. Henri looks at them all and nods, then picks up his coffee and takes a long drink.
"Think you should still go on the ride?" he asks.
"No," I say. "But I'm going to anyway."
"I figured you would."
Mark is dressed as a zombie of sorts, wearing dark tattered clothes, with black and gray makeup on his face, splotches of red in random places to simulate blood. When his costume is complete Sarah walks up to him and says something. His voice becomes raised but I can't hear what he's saying. His movements are animated and he talks so fast that I can tell he's stumbling over his words. Sarah crosses her arms and shakes her head at him. His body tenses. I move to stand, but Henri grabs my arm.
"Don't," he says. "He's only pushing her further away."
I look at them and wish with everything that I could hear what is being said, but there are too many screaming kids around to focus in. When the yelling stops they both stand looking at each other, a hurtful scowl on Mark's face, an incredulous grin on Sarah's. Then she shakes her head and walks away.
I look at Henri. "What should I do now?"
"Not a thing," he says. "Not a thing."
Mark walks back to his friends, head hung, scowling. A few of them look in my direction. Smirks appear. Then they start walking towards the forest. A slow methodical march, twenty-five guys in costume receding in the distance. To kill time I walk back to the center of town with Henri and we eat dinner at the Hungry Bear. When we walk back the sun has set and the first trailer piled with hay and pulled by a green tractor takes off for the woods. The crowd has thinned considerably and those left are mostly high schoolers and free-spirited adults who total a hundred or so people. I look for Sarah among them but I don't see her. The next trailer leaves in ten minutes. According to the pamphlet, the whole ride is half an hour-long, the tractor going through the woods slowly, the anticipation building, and then it stops and the riders are to get off and follow a different trail on foot, at which point the scares begin.
Henri and I stand beneath the pavilion and I again scan the long line of people waiting their turn. I still don't see her. Just then my phone vibrates in my pocket. I can't remember the last time my phone rang when it wasn't Henri calling. The caller ID reads SARAH HART. Excitement rushes through me.
"Hello?" I say.
"John?"
"Yeah."
"Hey, it's Sarah. Are you still at the park?" she says. She sounds as though her calling me is normal
"Yes."
"Great! I'm going to be back there in about five minutes. Have the rides started?"
"Yeah, a couple of minutes ago."
"You haven't gone yet, have you?"
"No."
"Oh, good! Wait so we can ride together."
"Yeah, definitely," I say. "The second one is about to leave now."
"Perfect. I'll be there in time for the third."
"See you then."
I hang up, a huge smile on my face.
"Be careful out there," Henri says.
"I will." Then I pause and try to bring lightness to my voice. "You don't have to stick around. I'm sure I can get a ride home."
"I'm willing to stay and live in this town to get what we need but you need to remember that we are still being chased. I would rather wait here and be close by in case something happens also I don't like the looks those guys gave you earlier one bit."
I nod. "I'll be fine," I say.
"I'm sure you will. But just in case I'm going to be right here waiting."
Sarah pulls up five minutes later with a pretty friend who I've seen before but have never been introduced to. She has changed into jeans, a wool sweater, and a black jacket. She has wiped away the painted ghost that was on her right cheek and her hair is down, falling past her shoulders.
"Hey, you," she says.
"Hi."
She wraps her arms around me in a tentative hug. I can smell the perfume wafting up from her neck. Then she pulls away. "Hi, John's dad," she says to Henri. "This is my friend Emily."
"Pleased to meet you both," Henri says. "So you guys are off into the unknown terror?"
"You bet," Sarah says.
"Will this one be okay out there? I don't want him getting too scared on me," Sarah says to Henri, motioning to me with a smile.
Henri grins and I can tell he already likes Sarah. "You better stay close just in case."
She looks over her shoulder. The third trailer is a quarter full. "I'll keep him safe," she says. "We better get going."
"Have a great time," Henri says. Sarah surprises me by taking my hand and the three of us rush off towards the hay wagon a hundred yards away from the pavilion. There is a line of about thirty people long. We get to the back of it and start talking, though I'm feeling a little shy and mostly just listen to the two girls talk. As we're waiting I see Sam hovering off to the side as though contemplating whether or not to approach us.
"Sam!" I yell with more enthusiasm than I intended. He stumbles over. "You coming on the ride with us?"
He shrugs. "Do you mind?"
"Come on," Sarah says, and motions him in. He stands next to Emily, who smiles at him. He immediately starts blushing and I'm ecstatic he's along for the ride. Suddenly a kid holding a walkie-talkie comes over. I recognize him from the football team.
"Hi, Tommy," Sarah says to him.
"Hey," he says.
"There are four spots left on this wagon. You guys want them?"
"Really?"
"Yeah."
We skip the line and jump up onto the trailer, where the four of us sit on a bale of hay together. I find it odd that Tommy doesn't ask us for tickets. I'm curious as to why he let us skip the line altogether. Some of the people waiting look at us with disgust. I can't say that I blame them.
"Enjoy the ride," Tommy says with a grin, the kind I've seen people wear when told something bad has happened to someone they despise.
"That was weird," I say. Sarah shrugs.
"He probably has a crush on Emily."
"Oh God, I hope not," Emily says, and then fake-gags.
I watch Tommy from the bale of hay. The trailer is only half full, which is another thing that strikes me as strange since there are so many people waiting.
The tractor pulls away, bumps along the pathway, and drives through the entrance of the forest, where ghastly sounds come through hidden speakers. The forest is thick and no light penetrates other than what shines from the front of the tractor. Once that is off, I think, there will be nothing but darkness. Sarah takes hold of my hand again. She's cold to the touch, but a sense of warmth floods through me. She leans over to me and whispers, "I'm a little scared."
Figures of ghosts hang just over us from the low branches, and off the drive grimacing zombies lean against various trees. The tractor stops and kills its headlight. Then come intermittent strobes that flash for ten seconds. There is nothing scary about them and only when they stop do I understand their effect: our eyes take a few seconds to adjust and we can't see a thing. Then a scream shoots through the night and Sarah tenses against me as figures sweep around us. I squint to focus and I see that Emily has moved next to Sam and that he is smiling widely. I'm actually a little scared myself. I put my arm carefully around Sarah. A hand grazes our backs and Sarah grips tightly to my leg. Some of the others scream. With a jolt, the tractor turns back on and continues forward, nothing but the outlines of the trees in its light.
We drive for another three or four minutes. The anticipation builds, the foreboding fear of having to walk the distance we just drove. Then the tractor pulls into a circular clearing and stops.
"Everybody off," the driver yells.
When the last person is off, the tractor pulls away. Its light recedes in the distance, then disappears, leaving nothing but the night and not a single sound other than what we make.
"Shit," somebody says, and all of us laugh.
In total there are eleven of us. A path of lights turns on, showing us the way, then turns off. I close my eyes to focus on the feel of Sarah's fingers interlocked with mine.
"I have no idea why I do this every year," Emily says nervously, her arms wrapped around herself.
The other people have started down the trail and we follow. The pathway of lights occasionally flickers on to keep us on our way. The others are far enough ahead that we can't see them. I can barely see the ground at my feet. Three or four screams suddenly ring out in front of us.
"Oh no," Sarah says, and squeezes my hand. "Sounds like trouble ahead."
Just then I hear something moving nearby but I can't see anything, I'm too late anyway as something heavy falls on us. Both girls scream and so does Sam. I trip and hit the ground, scraping my knee, tangled in whatever the hell the thing is. Then I realize it's a net!
"What the hell?" Sam asks.
I tear straight through the twisted rope but the second I'm free I get shoved hard from behind. Someone grabs me and drags me away from the girls and Sam. I break free and manage to trip whoever was pulling me. This isn't part of the ride.
"Who are you and what do you want," I say as I catch my breath, adrenaline pumping through my veins.
A guy laughs in response. I can't see a thing, and he has managed to get back up.
"Let go of me!" one of the girls yells. The girls' voices are moving away from me.
"John?" Sarah calls.
"Where are you, John?" shouts Sam.
I am about to go after them but I am tackled from behind, with all my training I'm able to hold my ground and grab them from their waist slamming them onto the ground.
I stand there a few seconds and don't hear a single sound other than the guys groaning as he lays there. Then I hear a scream from one of the girls, followed by the sounds of struggle. I grit my teeth. I am shaking.
"Get off of me!" Sarah yells. She is being pulled away, I can tell that much.
"Okay," I say to the dark form on the ground. Anger surges through me. "You ready to tell me what's going on now?" I say, loudly this time.
A malicious smile takes shape and my body feels as though it has grown bigger, stronger. I turn my Lumen on but only on two of my fingers to make it seem like I have a flashlight.
Kevin is laying down holding his right shoulder, probably where he landed when I slammed him down. The lights stun him and he looks up at me, trying to figure out where they're coming from. He's wearing night-vision goggles. So that is how they are able to see us, I think. I grab him from the ground after turning off my Lumen. I rip the goggles from his face and throw them as far as I can and know they will land at least a couple miles away, maybe even a dozen, I am angry and am losing control of my strength. So I just toss him back onto the ground as I hear more screaming.
"Let go of me!" I hear from down the trail.
I look up and turn my light back on I can't tell if the voice is Emily's or Sarah's. I take off in their direction. I see Sam up ahead, standing with a zombie's arms around him. Three others are close by. The zombie lets go of him.
"Chill out, we're just kidding around. If you don't resist, you won't get hurt," he says to Sam. "Sit down or something."
The closest person steps towards me and I swing and hit him in the side of the face and he falls motionless to the ground. His goggles sail into the overgrown brambles and disappear. The second person tries to bear-hug me, but I just sidestep him and give him a couple of jabs across his face and side to knock the wind out of him dropping him to the ground in the process.
"What the hell?" says the third guy, confused.
I run up to him grabbing him by his shoulders tossing him into a tree nearby. I look over to the fourth guy, the one who was holding Sam.
He lifts his hands in front of him as though I'm aiming a gun at his chest. "It wasn't my idea," he says.
"What does he have planned?"
"Nothing, man. We just wanted to play a joke on you guys, scare you a little."
"Where are they?"
"They let Emily go. Sarah is up ahead."
"Give me your goggles," I say.
"No way, man. We're borrowing them from the police. I'll get in trouble."
I step towards him. "Fine," he says.
He takes them off and hands them to me. I throw them even harder than I did in the previous pair. I hope they land in the next town. Let them explain that one to the police.
I grab Sam's shirt with my right hand. I can't see a thing without turning on my light. Only then do I realize I should have kept the two pairs of goggles for us to wear. But I didn't, so I take a deep breath and let my left hand glow and begin guiding us up the path. If Sam finds it suspicious, he doesn't let on.
I stop to listen. Nothing. We continue on, weaving through the trees. I turn the light off.
"Sarah!" I yell. I stop to listen and hear nothing but the wind blowing through the branches and Sam's heavy breathing. "How many people are with Mark?" I ask.
"Five or so."
"Do you know which way they went?"
"I didn't see."
We push on and I have no idea in which direction we are headed. From far off I hear the groan of the tractor motor. The fourth ride is starting. I feel frantic inside and want to sprint, but I know that Sam can't keep up. He's breathing heavily already.
As we pass a thick tree with a knotted trunk I get tackled from behind. Sam yells as a fist hits me in the back of the head and I'm momentarily stunned, but then I pivot and grab the guy by the throat and shine the light in his face. He tries to peel my fingers away but it's useless.
"What is Mark planning?"
"Nothing," he says.
"Wrong answer."
I thrust him into the nearest tree five feet away, then I pick him up and lift him a foot off the ground with my hand again around his throat. His legs kick wildly, hitting me, but I tighten my muscles so that the kicks do no damage.
"What is he planning to do?" I lower him until his feet touch solid ground, loosening my grip to allow him to speak. I sense Sam watching, drinking all of this in, but there is nothing I can do about it.
"We just wanted to scare you guys," he gasps.
"I swear I will break you in half if you don't tell me the truth."
"He thinks that the others are dragging you two to Shepherd Falls. That's where he took Sarah. He wanted her to see him beat the crap out of you, and then he was going to let you go."
"Lead me," I say.
He shuffles forward and I turn my light off. Sam takes hold of my shirt and follows behind us. When we walk through a small clearing lit by the moonlight overhead I can see that he's looking at my hands. I'll explain to him what they were later I'm trying to stay focused on what's to come. We walk for nearly a minute until we hear the sound of running water just ahead of us.
"Give me your goggles," I say to the guy leading us.
He hesitates and I twist his arm. He writhes in pain and quickly rips them from his face.
"Take them, take them," he yells.
When I put them on the world turns to a shade of green. I push him hard and he falls to the ground.
"Come on," I say to Sam, and we walk ahead, leaving the guy behind.
Up ahead I see the group. I count eight guys, plus Sarah. "I can see them now. Do you want to wait here or come with me? It might get ugly."
"I want to come," Sam says. I can tell he's scared, though I'm not sure if it's because of what he's seen me do or the football players ahead of us.
I walk the rest of the way as silently as I can, Sam tiptoeing behind me. When we are just a few feet away a twig snaps beneath Sam's foot.
"John?" Sarah asks. She's sitting on a large rock with her knees to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. She isn't wearing goggles and squints in our direction.
"Yes," I say. "And Sam."
She smiles. "Told you," she says, and I assume she's talking to Mark.
The water I heard is nothing more than a small babbling brook. Mark steps forward.
"Well, well, well," he says.
"Shut up, Mark," I say. "I told you that the next time you did something that I would make you regret it, obviously you didn't heed that warning."
"You think? It's eight on two."
"Sam has nothing to do with this. You scared to face me alone?" I ask.
"What are you expecting to happen? You've tried kidnapping two people. Do you really think they'll keep silent?"
"Yeah, I do. When they see me whip your ass."
"You're delusional," I say, then turn to the others. "For those of you who don't want to go into the water, I suggest you leave now. Mark is going in no matter what. He's lost his chance to barter."
All of them snicker. One of them asks what "barter" means.
"Now's your last chance," I say. Every one of them stands firm. "So be it," I say.
A nervous excitement plants itself in the center of my chest. As I take one step forward Mark steps back and trips over his own feet, falling to the ground. Two of the guys come at me, both bigger than me. One swings but I duck his punch and send one of my own into his gut. He doubles over with his hands holding his stomach. I shove the second guy and his feet leave the ground. He lands with a thud five feet away and the momentum pushes him into the water. He comes up splashing. The others stand rooted, shocked. I sense Sam moving over toward Sarah. I grab hold of the first guy as he lays there getting his breath back and drag him across the ground. His errant kicks slice through the air but hit nothing. When we are at the bank of the brook I lift him by the waistband of his jeans and throw him into the water. Another guy lunges at me. I merely sidestep him and he lands face-first in the brook. Three down, four to go. I wonder how much of this Sarah and Sam can see without goggles on.
"You guys are making it too easy for me," I say. "Who's next?"
The biggest of the group throws a punch that comes nowhere near hitting me. I grab his outstretched arm and I judo throw him towards the water tumbling and rolling in.
"Any volunteers?"
Two of them hold their hands up in front of them in surrender; the third stands with his mouth gaping open like an idiot.
"That leaves you, Mark."
Mark turns as though he intends to run, but I lunge forward and grab him before he can, pulling his arms up into a full nelson. He writhes in pain.
"This ends right now, do you understand me?" I squeeze tighter and he grunts in pain. "Whatever you have against me, you drop it now. That includes Sam and Sarah. You understand?"
My grip tightens. I fear that if I squeeze any tighter his shoulder will pop from its socket.
"I said, do you understand me?"
"Yes!"
I drag him over to Sarah. Sam is sitting on the rock beside her now.
"Apologize."
"Come on, man. You've proven your point." I squeeze. "I'm sorry!" he yells.
"Say it like you mean it."
He takes a deep breath. "I'm sorry," he says.
"You're an asshole, Mark!" Sarah says and slaps him hard across the face.
He tenses, but I'm holding him firmly and there isn't a thing he can do about it. I drag him to the water. The rest of the guys stand watching in shock.
"You're not going to say a word to anybody about this, you understand me?" I say, my voice so low that only Mark can hear me. "Everything that has happened tonight, it dies here. I swear if I hear one word about it in school next week this is nothing compared to what will happen to you. Do you understand me? Not a single word."
"Do you really think I would say anything?" he asks.
"You make sure you tell your friends the same. If they tell a single soul it will be you that I come for."
"We won't say anything," he says.
I let go, put my foot on his butt, and push him face-first into the water. Sarah is standing at the rock with Sam beside her. She hugs me tightly when I get to her.
"Do you know kung fu or something?" she asks.
I laugh nervously. "Could you see much?"
"Not a lot, but I could tell what was happening. I mean, have you been training in the mountains your whole life or what? I don't understand how you did that."
"Well yeah almost, there was the past ten years of martial arts training."
"You're amazing." Sarah laughs.
"Let's get out of here."
None of the guys say a word to us. After ten feet I realize I have no idea where I'm going so I give the goggles to Sarah to lead the way.
"I can't friggin' believe that," Sarah says. "I mean, what an asshole. Wait till they try to explain it to the police. I'm not letting him get away with it."
"I think we should leave things alone, they won't say anything."
"Why shouldn't I after that? It was bullshit. Mark's dad's job is to enforce the law, even when his son breaks it."
I shrug in the darkness. "I think they received their punishment."
I bite my lip, terrified of the police getting involved. If they do I'll have to leave, no way around it. We'll be packed up and headed out of town within the hour of Henri knowing. I sigh.
"Don't you think?" I ask. "I mean, they've already lost several of the night-vision goggles. They'll have to explain that. And that's not to mention the icy cold water."
Sarah doesn't say anything. We walk in silence and I pray that she is debating the merits of letting it go. Eventually, the end of the woods comes into view. Light reaches in from the park. When I stop, Sarah and Sam both look at me. Sam has been silent the entire time and I'm hoping that it's because he couldn't really see what was happening, the dark for once serving as an unexpected ally, that maybe he's a little shaken up by everything.
"It's up to you guys," I say, "but I'm all for just letting the matter die. I really don't want to have to talk to police about what happened."
The light falls on Sarah's skeptical face. She shakes her head.
"I think he's right," Sam says. "I don't want to have to sit and write a stupid statement for the next half hour. I'll be in deep crap; my mom thinks I went to bed an hour ago."
"You live nearby?" I ask. He nods.
"Yeah, and I gotta go before she checks my room. I'll see you guys around."
Without another word, Sam hurries away. He's clearly rattled. He's probably never been in a fight and certainly never one where he was kidnapped and attacked in the woods. I'll try talking to him tomorrow or Monday. If he did see something he shouldn't have then Henri and I will have a talk with him about it.
Sarah turns my face to hers making sure I'm not all bruised and bloody from the fight then she traces both my brows, staring into my eyes.
"Thank you for tonight. I knew you were going to come."
I shrug. "I wasn't going to let him scare you."
She smiles and I can see her eyes glistening in the moonlight. She moves towards me and as I realize what's about to happen my breath catches in my throat. She presses her lips to mine and everything inside of me turns to rubber. It's a soft kiss, lingering. My first. Then she pulls away and her eyes take me in. I don't know what to say. A million different thoughts run through my head. My legs feel wobbly and I'm barely able to stay upright.
"I knew you were special the first time I saw you," she says.
"I felt the same with you."
She reaches up and kisses me again, her hand lightly pressed to my cheek. For the first few seconds, I'm lost in the feel of her lips on mine and in the idea that I'm with this beautiful girl. She pulls away and both of us smile at each other, saying nothing, staring into each other's eyes.
"Well, I think we better go see if Emily is still here," Sarah says after about ten seconds. "Or else I'll be stranded."
"I'm sure she is," I say.
We hold hands on the walk to the pavilion. I can't stop thinking about our kisses. The fifth tractor chugs along the trail. The trailer is full and there's still a line of ten or so people long waiting their turn. And after everything that happened in the woods, with Sarah's warm hand in mine, the smile doesn't leave my face.
