Chapter 4: Jake meets Sheriff Graham
(Meanwhile…)
For the most part, the drive home in the car was quiet for both Margaret and her daughter Carrie. They say in tense silence, the likes of which that normally occurred with any kid who's had their parents called for any form of trouble at school. The car rattled and sputtered as they drove through a more rundown section of town.
"I'm sorry you had to come to school today, Mom." Carrie apologized.
Margaret turned toward her for a second, placing a hand upon Carrie's. The car's brakes squeal as it pulled up to their home, the blue house which its neighbors dread passing every day. Margaret sighed in resignation, while Carrie looked down with dread.
"Let's go inside, little girl." Margaret replied plainly. "You need to come inside with me."
"Mama, why didn't you tell me?" Carrie asked in concern. "I was so scared, Mama. I thought I was going to die. Mama, they laughed at me… and they threw things at me."
But Margaret gave no form of response to satisfy 'any' of her questions. She merely stepped out of the car while Carrie looked on.
"We'll talk about this inside, Carrie." Margaret responded.
Carrie got out of the car, but she was still upset and confused.
"No." Carrie spoke loudly.
(Later at Ewen High School in the Changing Rooms…)
Everyone was washed and getting shirts, to finish for the day… Tommy and Jake however were still showering, washing his elegant and feminine body.
"Jake, have fun swimming." Tommy replied.
"Yep." Jake replied.
"Oh, we saw the scary horror." Tommy replied.
"Scary horror?" Jake asked in concern.
"Yeah. The monster movie." Tommy replied.
"Oh. Whoa. Man, the monster movie!" Jake replied.
"Heh, too." Tommy replied with a smile.
"Hey, the monster was hisses." Jake replied.
Tommy turned his head to Jake.
"Hisses?" Tommy asked in concern.
Jake hisses on his left hand to claw.
"Claw? No." Tommy replied.
"Come on!" Jake replied.
Tommy and Jake were both laughing.
"You're a joke." Jake replied.
"No, I'm not joking." Tommy replied.
"Tommy. Jake." A voice came.
Tommy and Jake turn around to their friends: George Dawson & Freddy Holt coming here.
"What's up, guys?" Tommy asked in concern.
"There's some cops here." Freddy replied.
"What cops?" Jake asked in concern, as he turned his head.
"They said they have something important to talk to Principal Morton and Ms. Desjardin about." George replied.
"Are you sure?" Tommy asked in concern.
"Jake." A voice came.
Tommy, Jake, George, and Freddy turned and looked up the voice on the radio.
"Principal Morton waiting for you to come to his office." A voice came.
"Oh, boy." Jake replied.
"Are you sure?" Tommy asked in concern.
"Yeah." Jake replied.
"But Mr. Morton-" Tommy replied.
"Hey, please calm down." Jake replied.
"Okay. You're right." Tommy replied.
Jake nodded yes.
"I can feel it. We're very, very close." Jake replied, as he went and finished getting shirts.
(In the hallway…)
Jake slowly ran and went inside and from there went past the assistant Principal's office and the secretary's deck and into his office.
(In Principal Morton's office…)
Jake was brought into the Principal's office along with Desjardin and Morton. When he was waiting… Sheriff Graham turned around to Jake.
"Jake?" Graham asked in concern.
"Yes?" Jake asked in concern.
"Sheriff Ray Graham. Chamberlain City Precinct." Graham replied.
"Jake, have a seat, please." Morton replied.
"Sure." Jake replied.
Jake sat down in the chair in front of the Principal's office and looked up at Graham.
"I'm afraid I have bad news about your father." Graham said.
"Dad? What happened? Is he hurt?" Jake asked in concern.
"I'm sorry but it's worse than that. He just passed away last night." Graham replied.
Jake's expression dropped under shock.
"Wh-What?" Jake asked in concern.
Morton's expression dropped under shock.
"What?" Morton asked in concern.
Desjardin's expression dropped under shock.
"Oh my God!" Desjardin replied.
"I'm sorry Jake. It's possible he fell asleep while driving. We found his truck crashed into trees. But when his body was brought in we found…claw marks on his body." Graham replied.
"Claw marks?" Jake asked in concern.
"What claw marks?" Morton asked in concern.
"Are you sure?" Desjardin asked in concern.
"Yeah." Graham replied.
"What'd you say?!" Jake replied.
"I'm sure the marks could have come from anywhere. We don't know from where. But…I'm really sorry for your loss." Graham replied.
Jake's eyes winded and looked down to see his father died.
"I'm talking to your mother." Graham replied.
"Sure." Jake replied.
Jake's saddened face looked down. As Graham's left shoulder on Jake's right shoulder. Jake is sad that his father died…
(Later at the White's Residence…)
Margaret turned and faced Carrie, surprised over the sudden outburst. Yet there her daughter stood, trying to sound braver than she ever felt in her entire life.
"I want to talk about it right here." Margaret continued. "I don't… I don't want to go inside with you."
Margaret merely turned and walked into the house. Realizing her own mother would not give her the satisfaction, Carrie sat back in the passenger seat of the car. She tried to think, to make sense out of 'everything' that happened in one day, but no answer she could think of would satisfy the strange happenings in this town.
"Claws." Carrie replied.
All of a sudden, a bratty neighbor boy on a bike slapped the driver's side window, startling poor Carrie…
"Crazy Carrie, Crazy Carrie!" The boy replied.
The boy pressed his face to the glass with a snort. Carrie merely sighed in annoyance, for this wasn't the only time a neighbor referred to her as 'crazy'... especially to her face. But kids such as this one... they were far worse. The boy rode his bike around the front of the car shouting.
"Crazy Carrie, Crazy Carrie." The boy replied.
One glare from Carrie and all of a sudden the boy's bike flew over, sending the boy rolling on the grass. Carrie's eyes went wide, as she wondered, 'Did I do that?'. The boy, slightly scared by her expression and the 'coincidental' fall, picked himself up, grabbed his bike, and rode away. Carrie looked up toward the sun peeking through trees, then back toward the house. Eventually, Carrie decided to go into the house knowing her mother would be waiting for her…
To Be Continued…
