CHAPTER 8

The sky seemed darker than usual. Clouds heavy and oppressive loomed over us. There was a chill to the air, like the sky just ached to open up and drop its burden of snow upon the unsuspecting town. Josh was messing with PD's leash, trying to get the strap of canvas unwound from the dog's leg, both of them oblivious to the looming teenagers surrounding us. Ray stood there. Was he going to say something? Would he do anything to stop them from hurting us? But he remained silent.

The circle grew smaller around us, I could hear their breathing. I realized I had been holding my own breath, my lungs suddenly desperate for oxygen. I took a deep breath, readying myself to scream for help. I wasn't going down without a fight.

"Hey, kids!" came a familiar voice from behind me. Jesus Christ, it was that creep, Mr. Dawes. "What's going on?"

The group turned to watch Mr. Dawes slowly approach from the other side of the school yard, his spindly legs taking long awkward steps, an open sweater flapping around him. He looked like Mr. Roger's pedophile step-brother. That same god-awful grin on his face.

"I see you have met the Benson's," he added, waiting for a response from the gang of kids.

Did he notice the bats? Was he purposefully interfering? Trying to save us? Or was he as oblivious to the sinister circle of teens as everyone else?

"We're just about to start up a game of softball, Mr. Dawes," George Carpenter said, twirling one of the bats for effect. "Just thought we would include the newcomers, you know, before we pick teams."

Mr. Dawes laughed, it almost sounded fake, like he was trying so hard to push a laugh out of his rounded belly. Shit, could this guy get any creepier. I almost felt like we were better off with the psycho teens. "Sounds like a great way to spend the afternoon!" He adjust his broad tie, but the breeze just blew it awkwardly over his shoulder. Looking up at the sky, he pointed casually, "Hope your game doesn't get rained out."

The atmosphere around the group seemed to relax. Jesus, Mandy, keep it together. Not everything in this god-forsaken town is out to get you. Was I just jumping at ghosts again? Seeing threats that weren't really there? Had I misread the signals? I thought for sure we were about to find out what a Louisville Slugger tasted like. One minute I could feel them closing in, the next, there was no definable circle at all.

"Is that bat for hardball or softball?" Mr. Dawes continued his small talk with the kids. He felt so uncomfortable and out of his element. Did the creep have an element? Surely there was some dank dark hole he felt more at home in. He licked his thin fish-skin lips while trying to keep the wisps of white hair plastered to his skull. "Looks like a hardball bat to me."

"Hah, George wouldn't know," teased one of the kids, "He's never hit anything with it!"

Everyone laughed, including Josh. George mimed hitting the mouthy kid with the bat, a big smile stretched across his own face. Had I really imagined it all? Was there no threat? Just some kids playing around? I was never going to make friends if I spent life feeling like such a cowardly outsider. I was only going to be there for one year, like it or not, I needed to try making friends. Otherwise, what was college going to be like? Would I just hide in my dorm anytime I wasn't in class? I needed to get over my own imagination. Suck it up, have some fun. Kathy would be so embarrassed to see me now.

"How are things going with the new house?" Mr. Dawes asked, that lascivious look falling on me again, and I instantly forgot about the other teens.

"Okay," was all I managed.

"Mom and Dad are doing all the work, they just wanted us out of the house," Josh blurted out.

PD followed Josh's attention to the old man, and suddenly struck out to the limits of the leash, barking and snarling again. The kids laughed.

Mr. Dawes jumped back, then quickly tried to cover his sudden fear with an exaggerated look of disappointment. "Your dog still doesn't like me," he moved as close to PD as he was willing to dare. "Lighten up, pup."

PD responded with a toothy snarl.

"He hasn't seemed to like anyone today," I said, still not sure what had gotten into PD. Maybe he was becoming as cowardly as I was, seeing threats everywhere he turned. Heh. Me and PD had something in common, we instinctually didn't trust this town.

"Well, I am just on my way to your house to see if there was anything else your folks needed. Enjoy the game!" And with that Mr. Dawes turned on his heels and walked back in the direction he came from, cardigan flapping at his sides.

"He's such a nice guy," Ray said from beside me. I nearly jumped out of my skin, forgetting the pale little kid was there.

"Yeah, sure," I replied sarcastically, "a real nice guy."

The boy just smiled at me, guess he was too young for sarcasm.

I scanned the crowd, suddenly wondering how much the mood would change again now that the adult had left the field. I waited for the circle to reform. But everyone began walking towards the end of the schoolyard furthest from the road. They were joking around, the boys once again pushing each other, the girls giggling and laughing at the boy's stupidity. Or were they laughing at me. God, I felt so dumb. Of course they weren't trying to kill us. I really was losing it. I was making up threats now. For what purpose? To convince myself I didn't want to live here? That seems a little drastic. I hope they aren't laughing at me, I thought. It wasn't so bad, right? I didn't scream or piss myself. Could they tell I was even scared?

The playground was completely empty save us and the gang of kids on the field. The rest of the town's kids probably stayed in to watch TV, or decided it wasn't worth the risk of poor weather. A baseball diamond was jammed into one corner of the field, its outfield stretching toward the school and road. I wondered how many kids had gotten a ball onto the roof of the school? Or through a window? Wrapping around the backside of the school was the usual old welded metal playground equipment. A set of swings hung lopsided on rusted chains beside a jungle gym and monkeybars. It was all pretty typical, and serviceable, if not a little rough. But Pine Valley had its share of underused playgrounds too. Outside was struggling to keep up with MTV and Nintendo.

Josh tied PD to the chain-link fence running along the perimeter of the school grounds, far enough away that he seemed content to stop barking or lunging at the limits of his leash. Jerry Franklin took the bat from George and they quickly placed their hands one after the other up the length of the bat. Jerry's hand finished the ritual, placing his hand on the rounded pommel of the wooden bat, allowing him to pick first for his team lineup. I hadn't mentioned my softball history and love of the sport, so I was surprised when Jerry picked me for his team. I wasn't his first pick, but I was far from last, and I was a little glad that George hadn't picked me, part of me still didn't completely trust the redhead.

"You any good?" Jerry asked me after the teams were chosen.

"I do alright," I stated modestly. "Played back at my old school."

Jerry nodded with approval and put me in as shortstop. We didn't have gloves, or enough players, but for a casual game of slow-pitch, we got by.

Taking the field, I actually felt more comfortable than I had since we moved to Dark Falls. The diamond felt familiar. From one field to another, there was a comfort in their uniformity. I wasn't wearing a uniform, or even a hat, but I was already feeling part of a game I loved. As we played through the first few outs, the sky began to lighten. The sun never emerged from the clouds, but the dark seemed to break up and go on its way. We were left with the overcast grey I was coming to expect from Dark Falls.

We didn't do spectacularly, but I was proud of the double I knocked in on my first at bat. Ray was pretty quick on his feet and caught up to my midfield grounder, a slower kid and I could have brought in our first point of the game. Over the course of the afternoon, I found myself laughing and actually having fun with this group of misfits from a sleepy town. While holding my position, half shortstop, half first base (Jerry wanted more players in the field for Bill's at bat), I started up a conversation with Karen Somerset. She was on the other team and had managed to get on base with a bunt. She had a great smile. I can't even remember what we talked about in all honesty. But I remember not sounding like a complete idiot, so I must have done alright. I don't know how she felt about girls. This was new territory for me. I don't think it's something you just ask someone you just met. But how do you know?

Bill lobbed the ball hard to left field and I was overly enthusiastic when one of the younger kids leapt up and snatched it right out of the air. "That's third out!" he yelled, waving the ball in his hand as proof.

We moved infield to change the inning when I saw a bright stripe of light stretch across the dirt. The sun was actually trying to break through what remained of the clouds. Jerry whistled loudly with fingers tucked into his mouth, summoning the entire gang to where he stood halfway between the pitcher's mound and homeplate.

"We better call it quits," he stated, the rest of the group nodding their heads. He looked over at me and Josh, "We promised our folks we wouldn't be out too late today, and we all have church this evening."

Church? On a Saturday? I guess it didn't surprise me that a town this small would be religious, I was just glad they didn't invite me to go along. I had been dragged to that awkward circus a few too many times by friends back in Pine Valley. It felt early, but they all seemed adamant. They called out their goodbyes and took off running in every direction from the schoolyard. It was actually shocking how fast they could run. I pictured someone's angry father threatening them with a belt. Something motivated them to get home in a hurry.

Karen ran past me, her head down, with the hood of her sweatshirt pulled up over her short blonde hair. The sun was coming out, but the air still had the crisp coolness of autumn. "It was really nice meeting you Amanda," she called out to me as she ran, turning and backpeddling for a moment as she waved. "We should totally get together sometime."

"That sounds great! I would love that," play it cool, Mandy, don't be so eager. "Do you know where I live?"

For the second time that day, I could have sworn she had said, "Yeah, I know it. I used to live there."

I couldn't have heard that right.