1 Summertime
This book is dedicated to my Mother, for her years of dedication as my editor; to my
Baby Brother, who keeps me busy; to my Dad, who let me watch Horror Movies on the
sly; to Dudley, my old dog, without whom I would not be here; to my supporters, on
twitter and facebook, and in person, who enthusiastically offer their help whenever
needed, to Sean, my first reviewer, and to a certain someone without whom this book
would not be in paper you know who you are. Thankyou all.
And also, I would like to dedicate this book to all of those that tried to hurt me, that
tortured me, that tormented me, that promised to make my life miserable. This book is a
testament to your failure. Heres to hoping the old rule shows true and what you gave me
comes back to you times three.
Happily, and sincerely, Cheyenne Leo.
2 Summertime
This story is entirely fictional. Any similarities to real people, places, or events were
entirely unintentional.
The whole forest listened, the whisper of the breeze through the trees the only
audible sound beyond the muffling effect of the evergreens. It was green here, each
particle of matter soaked in the colour each living thing saturated along with it, right
down to the fungus that grew among the roots of the ancient trees. The silence was
almost ominous here this world seemingly untouched by the scraping destruction of
mankind, save for the one small dirt road, barely visible beyond clumps of grass and
overgrown weeds hanging in the road. Suddenly, the silence was broken by the sound of
a vehicle, hitting potholes, the radio wailing along in the background of its engine.
3 Summertime
The wheels hit another pothole, and Danielle gripped the steering wheel tighter to
keep from popping out of the jeep altogether. Just as she got over the one, she would hit
another. They were all but invisible against the brown dirt of the road beneath the green
light filtered through the trees. She cursed as the jeep bottomed out briefly, a loud
scraping sound coming from the floor beneath her feet. Branches of the surrounding trees
hit the windshield, sweeping over her head, catching in her hair. Carefully, one hand left
on the wheel, she plucked her earrings out of her ears and dropped them securely into the
ashtray. Another branch suddenly whipped out and combed through her long, black hair
yanking out a few of the tangles as it went. She winced, peering ahead, trying to see when
the forest would clear. She clicked the radio to off, irritated by the clicks and white noise,
punctuated by the occasional wail of the old rock song they were playing the best
reception she had been able to get since leaving the highway. She leaned out the window
slightly, slowing down as she saw more potholes coming. She peered ahead into the bush
as she came to the next group. She was looking for a camp ground.
As the barely existent road made a steep swerve to the left, she finally saw, up
ahead, the first signs of civilization; a pair of outhouses. As she drove further along, the
road cleared up, and soon she could hear, among the shouts and whistles of kids, the
lapping of Glacier Lake against the rocky, sandy shore. She passed the first few tents,
each green bathed occupant turning to stare as she rambled by, her gear fairly bouncing
4 Summertime
out of the back as she came to another long row of potholes. She slowed even more as a
group of kids, smacking each other over the heads with sticks and laughing hysterically at
the pain, ran in front of the jeep. As she passed, a frazzled mother came streaking out of
the bush after them, screaming about eyes and the possibility of losing them. Danielle
laughed, turning in her seat to see the children screeching warnings to each other,
laughing and running away, while the mother seized one stick and narrowly missed being
smacked by another. The child on the other end of the confiscated stick yelled like an
Aztec warrior, karate chopping her mother in the hip before she ran for dear life after her
siblings. The road bent again here, and remembering the possibility of more children in
the road, Danielle turned her attention back to the task at hand. As the road swerved, she
was momentarily blinded by sunlight, and she finally saw the main campground. There
were a plethora of tents here tents in the bush, tents on the beach. Beyond these, the calm
and patient lake went about its own business, blissfully ignorant of the noise on the shore.
Four and five tents to a campfire. Three and four people to a tent. People milled
about here, shouting, laughing. It was a tiny community of fair weather friends, all
grouped together for the glorious summer by the lake quickly evacuating at the first sign
of chill. It was like a little city, if you could count tents as buildings. No animals would
come here there were too many people, too much noise. This was known as the safest
campground for miles. Only 40 feet from the shore, the forest towered up again, the
ancient trees gnarled and hunched, casting their green light on all that lived below. It was
5 Summertime
dangerous, it was widely known, to go too far into the forest; it was all old growth, and it
was all too easy to lose your way in the uniform green surroundings.
The children from behind the bend suddenly ran around the back of the jeep,
screeching and hollering each holding a five dollar bill. “There went fifty dollars” she
muttered to herself, grinning at the children’s excitement. They ran up to a once beige,
dilapidated camper, each holding up their bill to show the old man who sat in a fraying
lawn chair by the door, dozing. Catching sight of the money, he jerked up, stepping up
into the rickety camper, returning moments later with various cans of budget pop, taking
the bills, returning coins to the children’s outstretched hands. People passed back and
forth over the road, holding up their hands to be sure Danielle saw them. It was a ritual
they would hold up their hands, she would smile and nod, they would pass, and she
would travel a further two inches before the next placid camper would hold up their hand,
asking to cross. People gave her sympathetic looks as she crawled along like rush hour,
but she didn’t mind. This is what she had come for to see the people, to see the
communication. To swim and talk with people she didn’t see except for in the summer
time. The dust kicked up by the feet of the crowd choked her now and then, but it was no
worse than the air in the cities.
The crowd suddenly cleared as she reached the edge of the main campground, and
she carried on quickly up the remaining distance to her favorite campground a circular
6 Summertime
spot, shielded by berry bushes on either side, with a little path that led off the site to the
nearest outhouse. It was naturally defended from rain the branches touched overhead in
the two mammoth evergreens that grew on either side of the campsite, but high enough
they weren’t affected by the campfire. It was set back a bit, but you could still hear the
lake especially when the nightly summer storm swept through, when the waves would
crash on the shore like waves in the ocean. Easily defended from marauding snoopers,
but close enough to the main campground if she felt like inviting people back. It was
green here too, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust after coming out into the blaring
sunlight by the lake’s calm, dark waters. Bringing the jeep to a squeaky stop, she stepped
out quickly, stretching her back, aching from so long in the seat, hunched over to avoid
branches and then stopping and starting to avoid people. She clunked around to the back,
moving her box of firewood out of the way and grabbing the end of her tent, sticking out
of its cloth cover. She pulled it out, dropping it on the ground by the tire. There was a pop
sound, and the whole thing inflated, knocking Danielle over on her ass in the mud.
“Shit.” Danielle rolled her legs underneath herself, raising herself up high enough to see
into the back of the jeep. The bag of stakes lay on the smooth metal, the hammer too far
away to reach. Her lower back aching from the impact, she rose to her feet and, grabbing
the tent by its peak, raised it carefully up as not to rip the bottom and moved it carefully
over closer to the fire pit. She ran back to the jeep, afraid lest a gust of wind should pick
up the tent and carry it off she had ended up sleeping in the bed of the jeep just last year
when that exact thing had happened, landing her expensive tent lid up in the lake. Not
that the multitude of children weren’t greatly entertained by the sight. She had been
7 Summertime
forced to head for the hills after the first night, having been soaked thoroughly when the
intimidating August storms rolled through at midnight, the thunder nearly striking the
trees that stood, netted together above her campsite. She tapped the first stake in,
snapping the tent onto it. She pulled with all her body weight on the stake, making sure
no wind could rip it out. Satisfied, she carried on with the task, and soon all eight stakes
were in. She returned to the jeep, dropping the hammer into the back with a satisfying
CLANG. She dragged the box of firewood over to the pit, dropping some kindling in and
a few balls of paper. She lit the paper carefully with her windproof lighter, burning her
fingers in the process. The kindling, dry as popcorn’s fart from being stored in the corner
of her garage all year, caught quickly. She dropped a few logs on top of it all, and soon
she had a crackling fire going. Finished with her camp, she plunked down at the picnic
table provided and surveyed her temporary kingdom. There was booze in her cooler, no
worries for that. But she hadn’t brought much food never did. She brought snacks and
sandwiches but for everything else she walked down to the little diner on the other side of
the campground. It was only for the summer, and it was just a shack with some tables out
front but it did in a pinch. The fire banged suddenly, jerking her out of rest. She hopped
up; investigating the source of the noise finding it was only sap bubbling up out of the
hot wood. She went back to the jeep for the cooler and her sleeping bag. She left her
clothes in the jeep it was safer, she thought, than if there was an emergency and she
would have to get the hell out and leave all of her clothes behind. The tent was
replaceable, but some of her clothes had been given to her by her grandparents, all dead
now. As she turned back towards the fire, a voice caught her off guard. “Hey, short
8 Summertime
stack” the voice belonged to a tall, skinny man, dark hair stuck to his sweaty forehead,
sweating profusely from the almost pure humidity that hung here under the dense trees by
the lake. “Hey, beanpole” she joked back, grinning at him over her shoulder. Jack Vance
grinned at the back of her head, grabbing the second box of wood out of the bed and
following her over to the fire. He plunked it on the ground, grabbing the one she had
started and stacking it carefully on top. “You know you didn’t bring enough, right?”
“What?” Danielle peered out at him through the open door of the tent. “Firewood.” he
said, tapping the stacked boxes with his foot. “You didn’t bring enough for a week.”
Danielle dropped her sleeping bag on top of the cooler she kept in the tent. “Well, maybe
I will have to get some big strong man to go gather wood for Me.” she joked, fluttering
her eyelashes comically. He rolled his eyes, turning back towards the trail to the main
campground. “I’m going for dinner, will you come?” he asked over his shoulder. “I will
be there soon, going to get changed first” she said, reaching into the back of the jeep,
unzipping her bag. He disappeared around the bend in the trail, grumbling about how
slow she was. She grabbed a dress, and running into the tent, changed as quickly as she
could. In bare feet, as she always was in summer, she ran out of the campground, leaving
the tent unzipped, and caught up with him on the trail to the main campground. They
walked down to the diner together, gathering a few people on the way. A girl named
Alice LaRocque came with, her bangs hanging down in her eyes. A red haired man
named Andre Peters came along too, abandoning the fish he was trying to cook by
rubbing it with salt and looking expectantly from the fish to the fire, as if it was just
9 Summertime
going to jump in on its own accord. The fish ended up in the pan of the pop man, as the
kids kept calling him, who Danielle had seen selling pop as she came in.
The frazzled mother rested against the wall of the shack/diner, her children milling
around the largest table, eating French fries and throwing hotdogs. Danielle shot her a
sympathetic look as her group settled down as far away from the sticky children as they
could get. “How have things been going?” Alice asked, spearing a French fry on the end
of her toothpick. “Fine,” Danielle said, squirting ketchup on her food, “work has gotten
more complicated Angela got fired last week so now I have her job to do as well.” “So
quit” Jack said, laughing at himself. “I need the job.” Danielle said flatly, hoping to avoid
another tirade about how they should all move to Vancouver. Alice, thankfully,
interrupted. “We should get together more often” Alice said, nibbling on the edge of her
speared French fry. “Not just up here in summer.” Andre and Jake lived in Vancouver,
so they saw each other quite often, but Alice lived in golden, and Danielle lived in
Ashville, just a few km away from the lake.
Andre seemed intent on stuffing as much food into his mouth as he could at one
time. Jack shuffled over closer to Alice, disgusted by Andre’s table manners. “What do
10 Summertime
you all want to do tonight?” he asked, looking at his friend with guarded horror as if he
was some kind of new bug he had never seen before. Danielle shrugged, looking down at
her French fries. “We could just go back to my camp and party in private.” Danielle said,
nibbling on the hard, crispy ones. “What about if we rent that Speedboat the pop man has
up for rent?” Alice spoke up, grinning widely. Alice loved speedboats. “We could go
down the way we went last year on foot only we could go farther this time.” Danielle
nodded her mouth full. “How much is it?” Jack asked, pulling out his wallet. “100 bucks
per night,” Alice said, her eyes glittering with excitement. “I’ll cover it” Jack said,
grinning widely. “I got a promotion at work since last summer.” Andre, suddenly done,
spoke up too. “I’ll spring for the life Jackets.” Danielle laughed. Of course safety
conscious Andre would get the safety gear. “What time?” she asked, finishing her dinner.
“Should we meet around 8?” Alice asked, looking from person to person. Danielle
checked the clock on her cell. It was 6:45. “I’m good with that.” She said, dropping it
back down on the table. The boys agreed, and soon she and Jack were headed back to her
camp. Alice had gone to change, and Andre had gone to get his wallet. On the way, they
stopped to see the pop man, who leaned against his camper door, snoozing in the late day
sunlight. A painted cardboard sign was duct taped to the side of the camper, messy black
lettering scrawled across it “Boat Rental 100/day.” “Hey, buddy.” Jack said, tapping
the base of the chair with his foot. The old man jerked, snorting. “What?” he asked
gruffly, glaring at them from deepset, bloodshot eyes. Jack held up his hands in apology.
“We wondered if we could rent your Boat for the night.” he said politely. The old man
considered it for a minute. “S’long as you fill ‘er up when you bring ‘er back.” he slurred,
11 Summertime
settling back down in his chair. “Last people left ‘er untied floatin’ by the shore without a
drop of fuel.” He glared off towards the opposite shore, as if the attendant at the Gas spot
was involved. “Well, that was rude.” Danielle observed, shifting from foot to foot. “Yea
it was.” the old man said, reaching under his chair for his beer. “What time?” “Around
eight, if that’s okay?” Danielle asked, leaving Jack opening and closing his mouth like a
fish out of water. “Alright, but you might as well have the keys now.” the old man said,
fishing them out of his pocket. “If you’re planning to go any good distance, you’ll need to
get some gas by then.” Danielle nodded. They would have to cross the lake to the fuel
spot on the other side, unless Andre had some he often brought some for his dirt bike.
The old man dropped the keys neatly into her hand, grinning at the flummoxed Jack.
Grumbling, he paid the pop man, and the two escaped just as the poor old man was once
again drowned in children, come to get more soda to fuel their midnight escapades. Their
mother, looking as stressed as ever, arrived just in time to get him to give them sugar
free. “Hey, Mr. Pop man” one of the boys yelled, hopping up and down. “It’s going to be
my birthday soon.” “Happy birthday!” the old man laughed, giving him back one of his
quarters.
Back at her camp, Danielle considered the three bathing suits she had brought with
her. Jack sat on the picnic table, occasionally glaring in her direction to show his
12 Summertime
annoyance with her behavior at the pop man’s camper. She ignored him, digging through
her bag. Eventually she selected a red top and bottom, and cut off shorts and a tshirt to
wear over it all. Considering the possibilities of breaking toes on the Boat, she grabbed
her high top sneakers too, zipped it all up, slid it under the jeep’s passenger seat, and
locked the jeep up. She went into the tent, still ignoring her obstinate friend. “We should
take this with us” she called out, sliding the cooler out of the tent opening before zipping
it securely closed. “Why do we need a crap load of food?” Jack asked, distracted from his
annoyance. “It’s not food, its booze” she said, changing quickly, lest he stand up and
catch sight of anything through the clear plastic tent top. “Well, actually, there is some
food.” she corrected herself, “but definitely mostly booze.” Jack opened the cooler. “You
weren’t kidding” he laughed, pulling out two cans of beer. “I thought you didn’t drink?”
he said, digging through the cooler. “Yea, that’s why there’s pop in there too.” she said,
emerging from the tent holding her sneakers in her hand. She plunked down on the picnic
table’s bench, raising her foot carefully onto the splinter friendly seat. Jack cracked open
a beer, swigging down half in one gulp. “You always were generous to your friends,” he
laughed, dropping the other beer back in and snapping the cooler shut again. She
grinned, tying her shoelaces tight. “Hello?” Alice ducked around the bend at the mouth of
the campsite, looking for her friends. “Did you get the keys?” she asked, fairly skipping
over to sit beside Danielle on the bench. “Danielle negotiated it all, yes.” Jack said,
remembering he was annoyed. Alice laughed, and, popping the cooler open, grabbed a
beer. “Don’t you think you should wear shoes?” Danielle asked, frowning down at her
friend’s bare feet. “Says the barefoot wonder.” Alice snorted. “Hey, I’m wearing Shoes”
13 Summertime
Danielle laughed. “I won’t be the one with broken toes.” She said stoutly, tapping her
foot off the ground. Jack checked his watch. “We should go on down to the Boat now, the
old guy said we have to get it gassed up.” Jack led the way through the bushes on the far
side of the campsite down a narrow path to the beach. “I didn’t even know that path was
there.” Danielle said, making a mental note.
They came to the beach quickly, Alice skipping over to the waiting Boat. “That is so
not a speedboat” Danielle laughed, looking over the old, stained Boat. A simple outboard
Boat motor hung off the back. “Hey!” The three turned and saw Andre, hurrying down
the beach with three big gas cans one in each hand and one tied to the handle of the
other, so that he walked tipped over to the left, like a blown down tree. “Woohoo!”
Danielle laughed, waving at him. One of the rampant children followed closely behind
him, holding a crayfish. Seeing the gleam of impending evil in the kid’s eye, Alice
intervened. “Excuse me!” she shouted, waving down the beach, “you lost one!” the
frazzled mother, busy distributing chips and marshmallows between the other 9 children,
dropped what she was doing and ran down the beach, stopping the kid from dropping the
angry Crayfish into the hood of Andre’s sweatshirt just in time. Dragging the kid away by
his arm, much to his protest, she apologized to Andre fervently, and handed him ten
dollars. Andre laughed, holding the money up for the others to see. “At this rate, I’ll
make the gas money it took to get here back again” He handed the gas cans over to Jack,
who began to fill up the little engine. “Hey, where are the life Jackets?” Alice asked,
14 Summertime
walking around Andre like a prize fighter. “They didn’t have any left.” Andre said,
referring to the ‘campground hosts’ who lived at the far edge of the property. “We don’t
really need them, do we?” Jack asked, dropping the empty gas can on the beach. Danielle
appeared suddenly at his elbow, carrying the cooler. He took it, plunking it down in the
storage bin at the end of the Boat by the motor. “I guess not,” Andre said, laughing. “You
guys can swim, right?” Danielle and Alice climbed in, using a bucket for a step, laughing
and trying not to fall out again. Alice immediately scooted over to the cooler, grabbing
out another beer while Danielle, unaccustomed to being in a Boat, sat down quickly on
the Boat’s plastic bench that ran along the side. Andre jumped in rather than use the
bucket, making the Boat slosh around dangerously, Alice losing her balance and landing
face down in the bottom of the Boat, Jack clinging to the motor for dear life. Andre sat
down quickly after that, across from Danielle. Alice, shrieking in disgust, leapt up onto
the seat beside Danielle, flicking fish guts out of her hair. Danielle cowered against the
side of the Boat, laughing and holding her hand out to block the flying guts. Andre,
having caught the worst of the barrage, jumped kamikaze style off the side of the Boat,
washing them off in the water. Jack, thoroughly annoyed by this point, kicked the beer
Alice had dropped out of the way, and started to pull the cord. Andre pulled himself out
of the water and, using the bucket this time, climbed back in, shaking his head, spraying
Danielle with water. The bucket cracked, popping over on its side in the water and
floating away past the engine. After a few quick pulls, the engine sputtered to life, and
the Boat began to move down the shoreline, quickly leaving the campground behind.
Alice was laughing, hanging onto the side of the Boat to keep from tipping over. Andre
15 Summertime
put on his sunglasses, leaning against the side of the Boat with a wide smirk. Danielle had
to laugh she knew in about ten seconds, he was probably going to throw up a theory that
was confirmed as he spun around, the smirk disappearing as his undigested dinner came
up. Alice, thoroughly grossed out, fished a bottle of stomach pills out of her purse, which
she had strapped across her body, popped one out and passed it to him, her fingers
withdrawn so as not to touch the offending person. He took it, but couldn’t swallow it he
was still leaning over the side. Danielle turned away, looking out over the lake. The sun
hung low and hot in the sky, not yet sunset, but not midday any more. Bugs skipped over
calm places on the lake, and here and there, fish jumped to catch them. The lake stood
out like a big dark eye looking up from the earth, surrounded by the neverending green
of the forest. Behind them, closer to the campground, there were other Boats; some big,
mostly small. The tiniest one, a little red rowboat with two little kids in it, was doing laps
around the tallest Boat, the adults on the big Boat leaning over the sides, talking to the
kids. The tents on shore looked like flags from here like a little human army up against
the hunched and towering army of trees. The gas spot on the other side was empty, the
owner sitting forlornly on the dock, waiting for customers. Their Boat was fast
approaching a little island, situated about 40 feet away from shore. “Watch out for the
island, Jack!” Alice shrieked nervously, grabbing onto Danielle. He easily avoided it,
rounding a bend in the lake, and when Danielle could finally turn back towards the
campground, it had disappeared behind the trees, the only evidence of its existence being
the tiny red rowboat, a tiny red speck on the water, floating a bit farther out than any
other Boat at that time. As they passed the little island, a single tent appeared there, a
16 Summertime
child sitting on top of an upturned canoe, gnawing on a piece of smoked fish as they
passed. As they traveled farther away, even this faded away, and it soon seemed like they
were alone here like they had the entire lake to themselves. The roar of the engine
drowned out conversation, so the four of them went along together, alone. Alice sat in the
corner of the Boat, already apparently bored, and drank beer. Andre, still sick, leaned
over the side, the stomach pill gripped in one hand. Danielle, tired of looking back,
moved shakily over to sit beside Alice, reaching past her for a cola. “Feeling sick too,
now?” Alice asked, leaning away. “No, just wobbly in the legs.” Danielle laughed,
opening her pop. “Hey, Jack” Andre yelled, catching the girls’ attention. “Are you
okay?” Jack wobbled by the engine, his head dropping, his eyes rolling back. Suddenly
his knees gave way, and he fell to the floor of the Boat, cracking his head on the edge of
the plastic bench. The Boat swerved, Jack sliding to the other side of the Boat, his body
weight pinning Andre’s feet to the floor as he tried to get up, tried to catch the turning
engine before it turned too far. Alice and Danielle were screaming, Danielle holding on
tight to Alice even as her friend was falling out of the Boat, her head almost level with
the rushing, black, churning water agitated by the turning of the Boat. The engine roared,
and the Boat sped towards the shore. Danielle pulled with all her might, and Alice
popped back into the Boat, sliding onto the floor with a gasp. She dove for the engine, but
too late; the Boat, going as fast as the engine would go, hit the rocks on the shore,
skimming over the sharp points with a metallic scream. Her scream was lost in the sound
as the Boat got air, flying up over the rocks and into the imminent forest on the
unpopulated shore. Trees flew past as the four friends clung for dear life to the Boat, a
17 Summertime
terrifying projectile in the air. Danielle turned the engine every which way, her mind
frozen in that state. Andre, free of Jack, was trying to hold onto the unconscious man
while getting Alice away from the dangerous, hard plastic bench. The Boat’s nose began
to dip down, and Danielle, remembering the danger she was in, dove for the bottom of
the Boat, clinging to the base of the engine. The Boat came down in a hazelnut thicket,
ripping the bushes out of the ground, spraying dirt every which way. The jerk snapped
Danielle’s body forward against Andre’s back, forcing her to let go of the engine. As the
back of the Boat hit the ground, the engine ripped out of its place, stabbing sharply down
into the metal bottom of the Boat, the stick ripping a hole right where her head had been.
The Boat skimmed across the forest floor, knocking down saplings, the sound
horrendous, deafening Alice felt as if she would choke on it. She clung to Andre’s arm,
her head bowed over Jack’s, Danielle holding onto the two of them for dear life as the
Boat bounced and bucked as it destroyed the surrounding forest. Suddenly, the Boat’s left
side came up, groaning and cracking, rolling them out of the Boat, dropping them
violently on the ground. They fell in a heap, Andre on the bottom. The Boat came neatly
down on top of them, slamming down into the dirt, encompassing them in sudden
darkness. The sudden silence after the screaming and howling of the crash was shocking.
Danielle could hear Alice, trapped under Jack, who was underneath herself, sobbing.
Somewhere, Andre moaned long and low, like he was in pain. Danielle sat up on her
knees, her head bouncing off the bottom of the Boat. Realizing she was kneeling on her
friends, she scrambled off, kneeling in the dirt. She tried to look around, but the confines
were limiting all she could see, from here, was someone’s arm stretched out at an odd
18 Summertime
and painful looking angle and a beam of light coming through the rip made by the
engines stick. She stretched her limbs as best she could, realizing that she was fine there
were no broken bones, she wasn’t even bleeding. Her back ached, though and for a few
moments it made it hard to move her legs beneath her. She crawled carefully around
Jack, checking to make sure he wasn’t pinched anywhere by the Boat. She heaved him
over, lifting him off of Alice, who scrambled to get out, still sobbing. Andre moaned
again, and Danielle finally found him his arm being the one that looked so mangled. He
lay beneath them, cushioning their fall. “Are you alright?” she asked, trying to check his
eyes for a concussion. “Ribs hurt.” he muttered, his breathing coming in short gasps.
“Anything else? Can you feel your legs?” she asked, feeling his ribs critically. “Yea, their
fine, just my ribs. I didn’t hit my back or my spine. I didn’t hit my head either.” He
grinned, looking almost like himself again despite the mud soaked tears streaming down
his face. “Guess I’m pretty lucky.” “We all got lucky,” Danielle said, satisfied that he
would be alright for the moment. “Alice, are you alright?” Alice sniffled, her sobs dying
down. “I’m okay, he was holding onto me.” she said, her voice shaking hard. Suddenly,
Jack stirred, groaning in the back of his throat. “Jack?” Danielle scooted down the length
of the Boat to kneel beside him again. His eyes slid open, darting from side to side.
“Where are we?” he asked, his voice shaking as hard as Alice’s. “We crashed in the Boat,
you passed out” she said, leaning closer. A beam of light from the ripped out hole the
engine had made fell across his face. His pupils were sharply dilated. “I passed out?” he
asked, trying the words out in his mouth. He tried to clear the cobwebs from his mind,
pain searing across his mind from his back, pressed into the dirt. “I took a pain pill before
19 Summertime
supper but it wasn’t a strong one, just a T3!” he said, backpedaling at the look of fury on
Danielle’s face. “You drank after taking a pain pill.” She said flatly, resisting the urge to
smack him, “and then decided to drive a Boat with three other people on it?” he looked
away, ashamed. “You could have killed all of us. Andre is hurt.” she choked her words
back, leaving it for now. A thin crack of light seeping beneath the edge of the Boat
caught her attention. She crawled over Jack, pressing her eye up against the ribbon of
light. She could just see some fronds, a fallen sapling, and torn up dirt. The dirt she
pressed her face against felt soft, and so she tried scooping it with her hands but the Boat
had only ripped up a few inches of top soil, leaving the rest as beaten down and hard as it
always was. She turned back to the others. “I think I can dig us out, but I need something
to dig with” she said, running her hands along the ripped dirt, searching for something.
Andre sat up, wincing with the pain in his ribs and pointed a shaky hand at the end of the
Boat, where the engine had been. “I saw a little compartment down there, in the seat” he
said, trying his best to get up on his knees, “check that, maybe there’s something in
there.” Danielle crawled down to the end, feeling along the bench seat with her hands.
She felt a crease, and pushed on it and with a click, the compartment flopped open,
spilling its contents onto the dirt. She backed up, letting the light from the torn out part of
the bottom spill onto the items. “There’s a pair of shoes, little canvas ones” she said,
grabbing them and tossing them deftly back to Alice. She slid them on, tying them tight.
“She told you, wear shoes” Andre said, leaning forward against his own hands, trying to
relieve the pain in his back and ribs. Alice ignored him, wiggling her toes. They were a
little big if she shook her foot, it would slide around inside but it was better than
20 Summertime
nothing. “A flashlight” Danielle said, rolling it back to Alice as well. Alice grabbed it,
holding it to her chest so as not to lose it in the dim light at this end of the Boat. “And
some papers,” these looked like legal documents “here’s some matches.” she put these
in her own pocket. Finding nothing else left on the ground, she reached up into the
compartment, feeling around. Something round caught the tip of her finger. She hooked
her finger around it, pulling it out. “I found a Frisbee” she said, grinning widely. “Not up
for a game, sorry” Andre said, still leaning forward. “I can use it to dig, numb brains”
Danielle snickered, sliding back over to the opening. “Are you sure we can’t get through
this?” Alice asked, sliding down to look through the opening punched by the stick. “It’s
too small, even for you” Danielle said, using the scooped edge of the Frisbee, digging
furiously. Alice, unconvinced, tried pushing her arm up through the hole. She could only
get it halfway the metal of the bottom of the Boat stuck up here, sharp and deadly. She
withdrew her arm, settling back against the side of the upturned Boat, watching as
Danielle dug deeper and deeper into the firm soil. Soon, she was able to, on her stomach,
crawl out through the hole. Alice followed quickly, all too happy to escape. Alice found a
stick and together they dug the hole wider and deeper big enough for Jack and Andre to
get out. Andre came first, Jack helping him as the injured man tried weakly to crawl out
on his own. Eventually, they dragged the ashen faced Andre out, moving him gently over
to lean against a tree. While Danielle and Alice tended to their injured friend, Jack
crawled out from beneath the Boat on his own, bringing the flashlight and Frisbee over to
rest beside Andre. The four sat for a few moments, simply staring back and forth at each
other and sitting in silence. The lake lapped against the scarred rocks, unscathed. “we
21 Summertime
should get help,” Andre broke the silence, pushing with his right hand down against the
ground, trying unsuccessfully to move his body on his own. Danielle cringed, seeing his
ribs move unnaturally in his chest. “Just rest” Alice said, pushing him gently back
down. Danielle pulled her cellphone out of her pocket, flipping it open. It was turned off,
so she pressed the power button, expecting it to light up but it remained black. She tilted
it, revealing a million tiny cracks in the screen. “My cell is broken.” she said flatly,
flipping it shut. “I didn’t bring mine” Andre gasped, trying to find a comfortable way to
be. “I didn’t either, its back in my tent” Jack said, scratching at the ground in front of
him. “Mine was in my purse,” said Alice, shuffling her feet, “but somewhere in the crash
I lost the whole purse.” “It’s almost dark,” Danielle said, evaluating the position of the
sun. “What we should really do is build a fire, and wait until morning to go get help.”
Andre moaned, letting his head fall back against the tree. “Look, I know you’re in pain
but it’s the best thing to do. For all we know your hurt worse than we think and shouldn’t
be moved. I think we’re all a little in shock right now.” Danielle stood, brushing dirt off
her knees. “I’ll get some wood for the fire, then” Alice said, hopping up as if nothing had
happened and jogging off into the woods. Danielle looked back at the Boat, inspiration
hitting. “Do you think the cooler is still in there?” She turned to Jack. “I'll check that.”
He said, moving quickly to help. He moved, face down, through the hole they had dug to
get out. Blood seeped through the back of his shirt, revealing foot long scratches deep in
the skin of his back. Danielle felt a twinge of guilt for being angry with him he had not
been unscathed by his actions. Jack wedged himself through, carefully avoiding letting
his back touch the edge of the Boat. Once he got back into the space, he looked around.
22 Summertime
With the Boat upside down, it was hard to tell whether or not the cooler had remained in
its place, clamped into the storage bin near the bow of the Boat. He crawled down to the
front end, the space becoming more and more cramped as the Boat's sides angled in.
eventually, he came to the edge of the storage bin. He couldn’t get the top open, but the
side had been wrenched open by the crash. “Yea, it’s here” He shouted back to Danielle.
“Can you get it out?” She asked, peering through the hole. Jack pulled on the side of the
storage bin. It popped off, falling to the floor of the opening with a clang. The cooler
rolled out, water dripping out through the sides. “I got it!” He shouted, dragging it
triumphantly towards the escape hole. Something fell out of the bottom of the storage
container, hitting the floor with a soft WOOMPH and a sharp rattle. He reached back,
feeling for the object. “Hey I found a first aid kit!” He shouted, dragging it along with
him. Danielle almost jumped for joy. “Good!” she said grabbing the Frisbee and digging
more space for the cooler to be squeezed through. “Do you think it has bandages in it?”
She reached through the hole, grabbing the handle of the cooler and dragging it out. Jack
crawled out after it, the kit handle in his teeth. Once he got up on his knees, he dropped
the kit on the ground. “Let’s find out.” He unzipped the kit, ducking as Alice arrived;
almost invisible under a pile of twigs and branches she carried over both arms, her back
bowed to take the weight. She tottered over closer to Andre, dropping them heavily on
the ground. “We made a lot of mess,” she said, looking over the crash site. Danielle
shrugged. “We couldn’t help it,” she said, pulling bandages and a bottle of Tylenol out of
the kit Jack held out towards her. “And at least, if we ripped out a few saplings, we're
going to use the wood.” She opened the cooler, disappointed by what she saw. Most of
23 Summertime
the bottles of alcohol were broken, and the container of strawberries was mashed. There
were 12 bottles of water, and 13 cans of beer remained. “Triumph!” She said, pulling the
plastic margarine container full of Sandwiches out of the bottom. She struggled to her
feet, carrying the heavy container, 2 bottles of water and 2 beers. She tottered over to sit
beside Andre, watching as Alice rolled rocks over to make a fire pit. Jack helped,
arranging them in a cohesive wall. He kept yawning widely, apparently exhausted from
the crash. "Here, eat this." She said, popping the container open and offering Andre one
of the many sandwiches. He made a face, leaning his head away from the food. Danielle
frowned. If Andre didn’t have an appetite, things might be worse than they looked.
“Look, it says on these pain pills you have to take them with food, so just eat one, and
you can take two pills.” Resigned, he took the food, choking it down. Every time he
swallowed, every time he took a breath, his ribs moved and pain sang out over his whole
existence. Danielle watched him carefully, sneaking the Tylenol out of the bottle before
he saw it. As he swallowed the last bite, she held the two pills up along with the bottle of
water. He took them gratefully, swallowing them quickly and grimacing at the pain.
“Jack, you come here now,” Danielle said, turning away from Andre. “Why?” He asked,
helping Alice push bits of dry grass in between the chunks of wood. “Your back is in
shreds, that's why.” She said, grabbing him by the arm and dragging him over to sit
beside Andre. “Take your shirt off,” she said, turning away to pull some of the larger
bandages out of the kit. He pulled the shredded shirt off carefully, wincing as one of the
already clotted scabs ripped off. Danielle pressed one of the bandages against the wound,
taping it down carefully with medical tape. “Here, eat one of these and then take two
24 Summertime
pills.” she handed Jack the box of sandwiches and the bottle of pills, leaving the bottle of
water at his side. Andre, catching sight of the bottle, frowned. “You don’t have to eat to
take those.” he said, glaring at Danielle over Jack’s bowed head. “It’s good to eat after a
shock.” she said matteroffactly, not entirely sure if she had her facts right. Andre
grumbled, turning his head as far away as he could without pain. Alice, her voice
distressed, caught Danielle’s attention. “Danielle, I can’t get the matches to work...” she
held the wooden match at an odd angle, striking it sharply on the smooth cardboard.
“Here, like this” Danielle said, taking the box and striking the match properly. The match
flared to life, and Danielle dropped it carefully into the dry grass stuffed around the
wood. The fire flared to life, the wood popping and sizzling as fresh sap dripped out into
the flame. Alice leaned back, avoiding the smoke. Danielle laughed, throwing some
more substantial pieces on top of the sapling pieces. Alice had never been good at
starting fires.
“Well, look at us” Alice said, sliding over to rest beside Andre, “we’re regular
survival buffs.” Jack snickered, leaning against a large rock beside the tree, careful to
only let the rock touch his side. Andre, still angry with Danielle, still glared out over the
lake. Danielle sat by the fire, watching her three friends closely. Jack and Andre seemed a
little in shock, but that was to be expected. Alice seemed fine, laughing and joking like
she always did. It was good, she decided. At least no one was delirious. And they would
all need to be able to work together to get out of the forest to get help. Jack seemed tired,
25 Summertime
though he kept yawning. Sweat stood out in beads on his forehead, although here, by the
water, it wasn’t hot. Something caught her attention, drawing her gaze into the deep
forest on their right. She stayed frozen for a few moments, staring into the leaves and
fronds with wide eyes but then, she could see no more, and turned her attention away
again.
The people sat, laughing, around the fire. The Creature could smell blood on the air
one of them, at least, had been hurt when their Boat had come flying up off the lake into
the trees where the Creature had been standing. The women seemed fine, but the two men
were hurt one of them crippled, and the other seemed to be the source of the blood. He
craned his neck around the tree he hid behind, trying to get a better look at the people, but
as he did, the woman closest to the campfire turned, staring right at him. He ducked
behind the tree again, hoping to avoid being seen. He could feel her dark eyes on him,
was sure he had been seen but nothing happened. Eventually, he looked out again, and
26 Summertime
she had turned back to her friends. He settled down in the thicket, watching carefully as
the sun came slowly down over the mountain behind the lake.
The shadows grew longer, the lake inky black. The sun had set behind the mountain,
the sky above the ring of the valley still bright, sparkling blue. The fire stood out on the
shore like a bright beacon in the dimming light of twilight. Danielle sat beside the fire,
looking out over the lake, hoping to see the lights of some stray Boat, or hear a voice
calling out from the dark. Alice sat back beside Andre, supporting him while he slept.
Whenever he moved, his ribs moved unnaturally, and she was afraid that if he lay down,
one of them would puncture his lung. Jack still leaned against the rock, the throbbing in
his back almost gone, now. He yawned repeatedly, his hands shaking. He watched over
everyone, feeling the responsibility of his actions for the first time. As the light grew
dimmer, he turned the other way, trying to keep an eye on the forest, and watch out for
bears. This time of year, the sky never really went black just a deep, oppressing,
sparkling blue that showed the stars like a ribbon shooting across the sky. Lying beneath
the trees, Alice could see the outline of the tree tops against the blue. As the shock of the
27 Summertime
crash wore off, hunger and exhaustion began to set in. Danielle left the shoreline to get a
sandwich, and ended up passed out on the far side of the fire, a quarter of a ham sandwich
held in her hand. Alice ate too, and, despite her best efforts, passed out against Andre,
still holding him up. Jack stayed awake the longest, still staring into the trees, ready to
raise the alarm. But soon even he fell asleep, his head dangling down until he slid, slowly
and gently to the warm, soft dirt ripped up by the crash.
Danielle was woken by the soft yet hard THUD of feet against the ground by her
head. Her eyes snapped open, and she almost turned over to see what it was until she
remembered the possibility of it being a bear. She froze, her eyes wide open, her breath
coming in short gasps from the fear that coursed through her body, at the same time
acutely aware of the quarter sandwich she held in her hand. Across the dying fire, she
could just see the glow of the embers reflected in Alice’s eyes, wide open and fixed with
terror on the Creature that hovered, sniffling around Danielle. Andre still seemed to be
asleep, but Jack was obviously awake, frozen with his eyes closed. His eyebrows knit
together in one line across his forehead and he seemed to be cringing against the rock.
Silence ruled over them all, save the Creature. It sniffled and grunted as it shuffled along
the makeshift campsite. It sniffed the sandwich in Danielle’s hand and let it be.
Confusion made Danielle’s heart pound. What would a bear want, if not the food? As the
Creature came around her body, she crushed her eyes shut, trying to play dead. As she
closed her eyes, the last thing she saw was Alice’s face, twisted with terror. The Creature
28 Summertime
sniffled at her hands, her torso, and her face licking deftly at the end of her nose. Its
breath was horrendous like rotting meat, laced with sickly sweet, like hot metal on the
wind. And what was more, now that it was in front of her, it was obviously too small to
be a bear. It seemed, almost, to be crawling. Suddenly, the silence was broken. Alice,
unable to hold it in any longer, let out one, small whimper. The Creature snarled, its body
twisting towards the girl who lay on the other side of the dying fire. Despite herself,
Danielle’s eyes opened just enough for her to see her friend, obviously shaking, her hand
up over her face to hide her shaking mouth. The Creature scrambled towards her, and
something registered in Danielle’s horrified, sluggish mind whatever it was, the Creature
wore boots. It couldn’t possibly be a man not the way it moved, not the way it wheezed
and grunted. Not the way it had snarled when Alice had made the one solitary whimper in
the silence. It advanced on Alice, its back hunched, its face level with hers, now on the
ground. Andre leant against the tree, held up by it alone. Its face was right up against
Alice’s, now and suddenly, horribly, Andre woke up. Seeing the Creature hovering over
his friend right beside him, he yelled, jerking painfully upright and striking out at the
Creature with his fists. Alice screamed, cowering into the dirt. The Creature leaped for
Andre, stomping on her back. Danielle jumped to her feet, diving for the Creature. Jack
tried to jump up, too but the scabs on his back screamed, momentarily crippling him with
pain. The Creature grabbed Andre by the throat, hauling him up off the tree in one fluid
movement. He choked and sputtered, his ribs and arm blinding him with pain. His left
arm flopped uselessly but he struck out with the right, connecting with the Creature’s
face. It screamed, a long, keening howl and the sound shocked everyone for a moment
29 Summertime
just long enough for the Creature to haul Andre up out of the divot created by the Boat.
On solid ground, not ripped up soil, the Creature seemed to get a better footing. It threw
Andre over its back like a sack of potatoes, ignoring his screams of pain, and took off
among the trees. “Stop” Danielle ran after the Creature, jumping over the twisted, gnarled
roots of the ancient trees. Andre screamed with every jolting step the Creature took, his
pain a torture for his friend who ran behind them. Danielle ran as fast as she could after
them, but soon the way was almost impossible. Instead of looking up to see where they
were, she was forced to look down at her feet, the trees creating an almost complete cover
of darkness. Andre’s screams got farther and farther ahead of her, until they seemed to be
echoing beneath the canopy. She called out for him, but he didn’t seem to hear her.
Suddenly, the sounds seemed to stop moving. Even as Danielle ran as fast as she could
after him, Andre’s screams seemed to rise and fall. They got closer and closer, louder in
her ears, until suddenly, just ahead of her, there was a loud and sickening SNAP. A
terrible silence fell over the forest again. “Andre?” Danielle screamed, throwing herself
back into the pursuit. “Andre?” Suddenly, she burst into a clearing. The moon light fell
through a small hole in the canopy here, illuminating the clearing. Ahead of her, on the
ground, in a long, sputtering, broken and eventually dying line there was a streak of
blood, dark and haunting in the pale light against the green moss. It pointed straight
ahead, into the unforgiving forest. “Danielle” Alice suddenly ran right into her back,
knocking them both down onto the ground. Danielle fishtailed, spinning around in her
efforts to get back on her feet. They both hauled themselves up, staring around
themselves in panic. They ended up back to back, afraid to let the Creature sneak up on
30 Summertime
them. The sound of footfalls to their right spun them around, just in time to see Jack
come hurtling over the tree roots behind them. “What is it? Where is he?” Jack ran to the
other side of the clearing, peering into the trees. “Why did the screams just stop like
that?” Alice demanded, spinning Danielle around to face her. “I don’t know” Danielle
covered her face with her hands. “I was running behind them but they were so much
faster than me” Jack came back across the clearing, stopping at the sight of the blood on
the ground. “That’s a lot of blood to lose” he said, walking in a circle around it. “He
wasn’t bleeding before” Alice said, tears streaming down her face. Danielle’s knees gave
way, and she slid in midair slowly down to the ground, her stomach coming up in the
moss. Alice held her hair back, rubbing her back in an effort to calm her down. “What
was it?” Jack asked, crouching to be on the same level as Danielle. “Did you see it?”
Danielle shook her head, her hand over her mouth. “It was wearing boots” Alice said, her
eyes wide. Danielle nodded. “So it was a man?” Jack asked, his forehead furrowed with
confusion. “No,” Danielle choked, retching emptily. “Where are we?” Alice asked,
staring around them. Jack stood, looking left to right. On the right was the dark forest, on
the left the clearing. Across the clearing was just more forest, and behind that the
mountains rose again, spiking high into the stars. Behind them were more trees, in front
of them more trees, and nowhere was there a single indication of where they should turn.
The trees that surrounded the clearing limited the visibility of the sky to a small circle,
and no identifiable stars hovered there. “What if it comes back?” Alice asked, shivering.
“I don’t think we should stay here.” “We came from that way.” Jack said, pointing into
the trees at the right side. “Are you sure?” Alice asked, looking deep into the trees. “No,
31 Summertime
but I know we didn’t come that way” he said, pointing towards the trees on the other side
of the clearing. “Listen for the lake, the Boat is by the shore.” Danielle sat back on her
heels. The three stayed silent, listening carefully for the unmistakable sound of the
whispering, lapping water; but there was no sound, no indication; all traces of the outside
world obliterated by the trees. The silence was ruled by crickets; even the moonlight that
fell into the clearing fell from directly above, the bright crescent moon in the center of the
circle of trees. “Why do you even want to get back to the Boat? Shouldn’t we be heading
for help?” Jack asked, his voice beginning to rise with frustration. “We’re lost. If we
don’t even know where to start, how can we find help?” Danielle glared him down. “I
think we should try this way,” Alice said, pointing slightly to the left of the direction Jack
had indicated. “What’s so special about that way?” Jack asked, looking critically in that
direction. “I don’t know, but I think those bushes look familiar” she said, helping
Danielle to her feet. “I think she’s right,” Danielle said, her voice hoarse. “I think that’s
the way back to the Boat.” “So what do we do about Andre?” Jack asked, holding his
arms out in a gesture of frustration. “I don’t think there is anything we can do for Andre,
or at least not right now.” Danielle said, her head hanging down briefly as she fought to
control her stomach. Jack stared at her for a minute, his mouth hanging open. “Alright”
he said, striding ahead of them into the forest. “We’ll try this way.” they left the light of
the clearing, walking carefully back into the darkness of the trees. Alice held tightly to
Danielle, the two of them carefully watching out for tree roots. Jack strode ahead
carelessly, his mind wheeling, guilt overriding his whole being. It was his fault they had
crashed. Anything that happened now was his fault too. He tripped more than once,
32 Summertime
landing face down in the mercifully soft moss that formed the forest floor. They walked
and walked, the trees melding together, the forest becoming one uniform, dark torture. “I
see something,” Alice said, halfcrouching and squinting to see ahead. Something glinted
in the forest ahead, illuminated by a single ray of light that made it through the canopy
above. “Can you tell what it is?” Danielle asked, unable to see the glint. “Not yet,” Alice
said, getting back on her feet, “but we’re going that way right now anyways.” they
walked a little farther, picking their way carefully. Suddenly, the ground changed there
were no more roots, but now there were rocks large rocks, small rocks, sharp rocks.
They pressed into the insoles of Alice’s thin shoes, so that she had to alternate staring
down at her feet and looking up for the glint she had seen. The trees became thinner, and
suddenly, they heard welcome sound running water. The next second, Alice cried out
“my feet are wet” Danielle looked down, and there, swirling around their feet, was an
extremely shallow stream. The moonlight glinted off of the bubbling water. It was the
glint Alice had seen before. “All creeks run to the lake” Jack crowed, running in the same
direction as the water. Danielle took off after him, leaving Alice behind. Terrified to be
left alone, she ran after them, jumping from big rock to big rock and avoiding the sharp
ones that hurt her feet. Ahead of her, Jack’s voice sang out among the trees. “We found
it” Danielle laughed, catching up to him beside a large cotton tree. Immediately at the
roots of the tree, the lake began a large, unbroken sheet of glass in the moonlit night.
Alice caught up to them, leaping from the rocks to the soft soil that dominated the ground
beside the creek. Jack knelt down, using his hands as a cup. “Hey, do you smell smoke?”
Alice sniffed the air, turning in all directions. Jack stopped short, sniffing the air too. “It’s
33 Summertime
coming from that way” he said, taking off again. “Jack, wait” Alice yelled, her feet still
sore from the rocks. “Come on, we better follow him” Danielle said, offering Alice a
hand. They hurried after him, following the shoreline so as not to lose the lake again.
The Creature licked his hands, savoring the taste of the crippled man’s blood. The
three other people had been walking for a while, the second man kept stumbling. His
blood smelled particularly sweet, like he was afraid of something. When he looked up,
they were gone again the water still rippling from where it had run, undeterred, around
their feet and on into the lake. He followed their scents, stalking past a cotton tree, its
pollen tickling his nose.
“Hello?” Jack was shouting, leading the way through the trees. “Jack, why are you
yelling?” Alice ran to catch up, her voice hushed. “Where there’s smoke there’s people”
he shot back, jumping over a fallen tree. “He’s right” Danielle panted, scrambling over
the same tree.
The forest ended suddenly, bringing them to a jolting stop. Disappointment flooded
through Danielle’s entire body. Their own fire pit, now almost completely dead, had been
the source of the smoke. The upturned Boat still sat in the destroyed earth. The box of
sandwiches still laid there, the flashlight still perched on top of it. “I thought you said
34 Summertime
there would be people” Alice said; panic beginning to lace the edges of her voice. “We’ll
find people” Jack said, sitting heavily down on the rock he had leant against earlier.
“When?” Alice screamed, making Danielle jump. “When do we find people? When do
we find help? It’s been hours, Andre is hurt and he needs help” Alice spun, pivoting on
one foot, her panic taking over. “We’ll be okay, Alice” Jack said impatiently, shaking his
head as if trying to shoo away a fly. “No we won’t” she was crying now, still spinning
with one foot planted, apparently afraid to stop. “Why are we back here then?” she
sobbed, her words almost lost in the sound. “It’s going to come back here looking for us.”
She slouched miserably around the makeshift camp, talking into her chest. “Why would it
come back here?” Danielle grabbed more wood, throwing it on the dim embers. “Don’t
do that!” Alice sobbed, grabbing the wood out of her hands. “Do you think sitting here in
the dark is going to help anything?” Danielle snapped, grabbing the wood back. Jack just
shook his head, lost in thought. Danielle threw the pieces of wood onto the fire, blowing
gently on the tender embers that still remained. The wood caught, and flame licked up the
wood. In the growing light of the fire, Danielle thought she saw something sparkle
between the branches of the little maple tree at the end of the unnatural clearing but she
blinked, and it was gone. Alice, now completely miserable, slumped down on the ground,
using the Boat to support her back. Danielle retrieved the box of sandwiches from its spot
behind Jack’s rock, forcing one into his hands. “Danielle, I don’t want to eat after that”
he said, shoving it back towards her. “Just eat it, and keep your strength up” she said,
refusing to take it. He took it reluctantly, staring at it instead of eating it. Danielle took
one to Alice, who initially refused but in the end ate two still shaking from the shock,
35 Summertime
occasionally wiping stray tears away as she ate. Danielle ate one herself, sitting by the
now bright fire and staring out over the lake, hoping to catch sight of a Boat light or
maybe the long casting light of a campfire but she could see nothing. After almost an
hour, Alice broke the silence. “What if it comes back?” Jack lost his patience. “What are
we supposed to do about it? If it comes back it comes back.” He snapped, his voice
ringing out in the night. Alice began to sob again. Danielle stared back at them, her mind
running flat. “The Boat is pretty solid.” she muttered, barely discernable above the
crackling of the fire. “What?” Jack asked, shaking his head like he had water in his ears.
“I said the Boat, is pretty solid” she raised her voice to be heard. “We could get back
underneath the Boat until morning.” Alice looked from Jack to Danielle, tears still
running down her face. “I think that might be a good idea.” Jack got up, grabbing the
flashlight and the box of sandwiches from beside Danielle. He shoved them into the
opening they had made, sweeping the dugup dirt to the side. He held his hand out to
Alice, and she took it, letting him help her crawl slowly into the opening, and get under
the Boat. She moved to the wider end, clutching the flashlight to her chest, making room
for the other two. Danielle got up, grabbing more of the ripped and torn wood. She piled
it onto the fire, the flames jumping brightly up into the sky. Jack helped her, piling the
wood in a tent shape to keep it until morning. The ring of light grew larger, and the
Creature backed further away in the bushes. As he watched, the man helped the dark eyed
woman get under the Boat, finally crawling under himself. For a few brief moments, the
Boat seemed illuminated light seeped from the cracks where the edges of the Boat
weren’t quite buried in the soil, and the man’s arm came out again through the opening,
36 Summertime
making a sweeping motion. Then, quite suddenly, the light went off; and all the Creature
could see now was the bright, revealing light of the fire. He settled down again, watching
carefully, his eyes reflecting the moonlight as he watched diligently through the night.
The forest was silent, as it always was at night;
Somewhere in the darkness, cougars and wolves hunted; owls swept silently from
branch to branch, staring down with their magnificent eyes to the forest floor, watching
for voles and mice; and coyote chased Bush rats along the ground, digging them deftly
out of their holes, ignoring the bites and scratches received. Eventually, the fire burnt
down; so that now, the ring of light was limited to immediately around the rocks that
made the pit, and only glinted slightly off the side of the upturned Boat. The Creature
stirred, getting up stiffly from his place hidden among the branches in the last of the
hazelnut thicket at the end of the unnatural clearing. The ripped up, soft soil muffled his
footsteps as he approached the Boat, circling curiously. The edges of the sky had begun
to brighten. He found the ripped out part of the bottom easily, leaning gently against the
side to peer into the opening, sniffing quietly. He could smell them, and their food. There
was a strange, metallic smell too; the one who bled had taken something, it made him
smell different. He leaned down even further, sniffing gently.
37 Summertime
Danielle looked up through the hole, trying to stay as low as possible. Something
moved there; it blocked out the light at the edges of the sky, then it moved again; she
could see the trees, black against the red at the edge of the sky. She moved, her hand
scuffling along the dirts and loose rocks. The Creature pressed itself against the bottom of
the Boat suddenly, getting its face as close to the dangerously sharp metal as it could. It
breathed deeply, not caring about silence anymore. Alice reached out, touching Jack’s
arm. He moved silently back, stretching out his foot to touch Danielle’s back. She stayed
where she was, afraid to make more noise. Looking down through the hole, the Creature
suddenly saw what it had been looking for; the light suddenly gleamed in the eye of the
person sitting below him. He thrust his arm in, ignoring the pain where the sharp metal
scratched his arm; Danielle felt it’s hand wind into her hair. He pulled up as hard as he
could, yanking her head hard against the top of the Boat. She screamed in pain, twisting
her body and kicking out in a futile attempt to escape. The Creature screamed, banging
her head repeatedly off the bottom of the Boat. Alice turned the flashlight on, shining it
towards Danielle as Jack rushed as fast as he could in the limited space to help. Danielle
was screaming, stars swimming in front of her eyes, her scalp bleeding, ripped open as
the Creature hit her head off the Boat repeatedly, trying to force her body out through the
hole. Jack grabbed it by the wrist, hauling down on it with his entire body weight. The
Creature was forced into the sharp metal, screaming as it punctured the skin of his neck.
His blood ran down Danielle’s face. Alice scrambled down to Danielle, dropping the
flashlight. Its light bounced, dropping away behind Jack. Alice grabbed the arm Jack
38 Summertime
held, biting the wrist as hard as she could, drawing gushes of blood. The Creature
screamed in shock and pain, letting Danielle go with a reluctant growl. The three
scrambled away from the hole, Danielle sobbing and holding her scalp. Her head
pounded. The Creature leapt away from the Boat, trying to pinch the wound in its neck
the wound on its wrist running down its arm. It ran into the bush, its screams echoing off
the imminent mountains. Danielle sobbed, the pain in her head made her want to vomit.
She fought to keep her food down, afraid to be weakened. She knew she needed her
strength especially now that she was hurt, too. Jack held her tightly, trying to keep her
warm to keep away shock. Alice huddled on her other side, her eyes wide as she stared at
the opening in the top of the Boat. The light outside grew brighter and brighter. Alice
pressed her eye up against the crack between the edge of the upturned Boat and the
ground. She couldn’t see anyone or anything in the makeshift camp at least not from this
angle.
She looked from each side of the Boat to be sure before she said, “I don’t see
anything. I think its safe to go outside now.” they crawled out, dirty and bloody. Jack sat
Danielle down by the almost non existant fire, throwing more wood on.
The warmth
soaked into her aching body. Herlegs were muddy and bruised, her Tshirt was torn. Her
cutoff shorts were caked with mud, and her hightop sneakers were functional, but ruined.
Dried blood was in her hair, on her face. Jack pulled the bottle of pain killers out of the
sandwich box, dropping two of them in her hand. She sat, staring emptily at the small
39 Summertime
round tabs until he gave her a bottle of water out of the cooler, which still sat,
miraculously, by the shore. Alice grabbed a beer, guzzling it, trying to get the taste of the
Creature’s blood out of her mouth. Jack fished around in the cooler, assessing what was
there. The sandwiches were almost gone, only 6 left. There was some mashed
strawberries, and most of the alcohol was broken in the bottom. He found a margarine tub
full of peeled boiled eggs, and took three to Danielle. She ate methodically, not really
wanting the food but knowing she needed the nutrition, especially after losing blood.
Alice would take only two, saying she had had some nutrition from the beer. Jack
finished the last three, and that was all there was. Alice retrieved the first aid kit from
where it had fallen when Andre was taken, behind the tree he had been leaning against.
As she passed back towards the makeshift camp, she saw four long, fresh scratches in the
bark of the tree as if he had tried to hold on. Danielle sat up on the rock, removing her
Tshirt and shorts, so Alice could give her first Aid. The dried blood made it hard to find
the cuts and tears on her scalp. Alice used bottled water to clean the blood away; the
brown clotted muck turning bright, angry red as it re hydrated and ran down Danielle’s
back, staining the straps of her bathing suit. The actual cut was definitely not as bad as it
had seemed; just a small, triangular cut in her scalp. It didn’t bleed much, now; and soon,
Alice had bandaged it, using small butterfly bandages, carefully moving Danielle’s dirty
hair out of the way. Then, she took her clothes, and washed them carefully in the lake
the dirt falling away from the clothes in clouds. Minnows gathered, nibbling the blood
specks that flew along in the water. Jack used some of the longer chunks of wood and a
half empty roll of medical tape to construct a clothes rack over the fire high enough that
40 Summertime
they wouldn’t burn, and the tape wouldn’t melt. It fell once, jack catching the wood just
before it caught in the flames, singing the hair off the back of his hand. They hung her
clothes there, the water steaming off in the heat. Danielle washed her legs and arms and
face in the lake, careful not to let the water get near the wound on her head. She sat close
to the fire afterwards, letting the water steam off. Alice washed her clothes next, hanging
them beside Danielle’s. Soon, Danielle’s shirt was dry, and Jack took it carefully down,
not letting it touch the flames. She wrapped herself in it gratefully, the warmth welcome.
Jack washed himself carefully now, dipping his head in the water, washing his bare chest
and arms while at the same time avoiding the cuts on his back. Alice washed up close by,
mending a tear in her bathing suit as well as she could without a needle, knotting both
ends of the tear together gently, stretching the fabric to accommodate. Alice’s clothes
were dry, the polyester shorts nearly smoking, so Danielle took them down, folding them
neatly and leaving them on top of the cooler. She pulled down her shorts then, slipping
them on while Jack was turned away. Their shoes were mud cakes, and couldn’t be
washed; so Jack took them all, one by one, and smacked them off the tree, spraying dirt
into the forest.
Silence ruled over that morning, as if each person was afraid of their own words;
there was no sound of Boats, no sounds of shouting from the campground. As she sat
41 Summertime
drying, looking out over the lake, Danielle was struck by the odd silence. “Why aren’t
there any Boats?” Jack looked up from what he was doing, rethreading Danielle’s
shoelaces on her shoes. “I don’t know,” he said, pulling them tight. “Could there be a
reason for everyone at the campground to leave?” “I don’t know,” Danielle said, getting
up and walking to the shore, looking down to where she thought the campground should
be, past the bend. “Maybe if there was a forest fire, but if there was I think we would
notice.” Alice walked out of the lake, plunking down where Danielle had been by the
fire. “There are always people camping at different places, too, like by the road in” she
said, sticking her foot out so it almost touched the flames. “Is there a festival or
something going on in the town?” Jack asked, coming back, plunking Danielle and
Alice’s shoes down beside Alice. “Not that I heard of,” Danielle said, trying hard to think
back. There hadn’t been any notices at the store, at least not that she had noticed. “Hey,
Danielle” Alice switched feet, warming her toes even though the sun’s warm rays had
begun to heat the depression in which the lake ran, “why is it called Ashland?” Danielle
turned back towards the fire, the rising sun hurting her eyes. “So named for the ash that
falls from the sky every summer when the wildfires get bad,” she said, plunking down on
the ground beside Alice. Jack tied his shoes on, cinching them tight. “So what should we
do?” he asked, leaning forward, his elbows resting on his knees. “What do you mean?”
Alice blinked slowly in the rising light. “Should we make a break for the campground or
should we stay here and wait until we hear or see a Boat and wave like crazy?” Jack
smirked, apparently amused. “There aren’t any Boats because its so early.” Danielle said,
remembering suddenly. “It’s summer, the sun just rose. That means its around 4 in the
42 Summertime
morning.” Jack’s head hung down, and for the first time since Andre had been taken, he
laughed. “I can’t believe I forgot that ” Alice perked up, looking brightly from Danielle
to Jack. “If its so early, do you think we could get back to the campground by noon? We
could get a search party going for Andre ” Danielle nodded enthusiastically. “We should
bring water,” she said, sliding over and opening the cooler.
The Creature hovered behind the tree line, watching carefully. Snippets of
conversation floated back to him. He touched the neatly wrapped bandage that covered
the wound on his wrist, pain still searing underneath it. The small woman had bit him; it
had to have been her, because he’d had the dark eyed woman by the hair. He turned his
attention back to the people; the dark eyed woman was pulling bottles of water out of
their cooler. The small woman pulled off her hoodie, spreading it out on the ground, and
together they bundled a dozen bottles of water into it, tyeing it securely around them,
fashioning the arms into a strap to carry the bundle. The man who had bled took the
bundle, putting it on his shoulder, careful not to let it touch any of the bandages that
covered the wounds on his back, blood already seeping from underneath one of them. If
he felt pain, he didn’t show it; he pulled the two women along, now, walking towards
where the Creature stood, hidden in the trees. The Creature slipped away, watching.
43 Summertime
Jack led Alice into the trees, looking back to make sure they weren’t followed.
Danielle stooped to grab the flashlight, putting it in the crook of her arm. She ran after the
two of them, afraid to be left alone. “Alice, you saw that thing didn’t you?” Danielle
suddenly remembered, the look of terror on her friend’s face as the Creature had been
sniffing around her body. Alice shook her head, her face twisting. “All I could see was
shadows but it was pretty big. I thought it was a bear.” she said, following closely
behind Jack. He marched ahead of them, oblivious to the conversation going on behind
him. “But you had to have seen something, there was still light coming from the fire or a
bit, anyways” Danielle’s voice became insistent.she reached forward, grabbing the
hoodie/bag that hung on Jacks shoulder, sliding the flashlight gently in. Alice shook her
head again, her voice rising. “All I saw was shadows. All I know is that it was big, and I
think it had ears” Jack stopped without warning, Alice slammed into his back, falling
onto the ground. His body twitched as pain registered in his brain, but what he saw ahead
had him frozen in plain, cold fear. Something stood in their path. Danielle stepped lightly
over Alice. “Jack, what” she stopped short, staring ahead. Alice dragged herself upright,
peering beneath Jack’s arm to see what the others saw. Ahead of them, in their path,
stood something unidentifiable. It stood like a person, but it couldnt possibly be it’s face
distorted, its brow jutting out over its eyes, its eyes set deep in it’s skull small and beady,
44 Summertime
but sharp and bright. Its gaze swept over them, taking everything in. It’s arms hung at its
sides, ending in strange hands the thumbs almost non existant, the fingers short and fat,
like sausages. Its nose was a smear, extending from just beneath it’s jutted forehead to
just above it’s wide, pink mouth. It was flat, the nostrils slits. at the edges of it’s mouth,
teeth jutted up out of it like tusks, ending in sharp points directly underneath each eye. It
had earflaps , which started on top of its head and hung down into its face like hog’s
ears. It stood at least seven feet tall, a hulking figure, dwarfing all three of them. Jack
held his arms out, grabbing Danielle by the wrist, herding Alice. They moved slowly
backward, towards the Boat. But for every step they took back, the Creature took one
forward, so the distance between them didn’t get any more. The Creature’s face distorted,
a low, rumbling growl emanating from its chest. Danielle stumbled over a rock, barely
keeping her footing; and the Creature leapt forward. They screamed, turning and running
back towards the Boat. Afraid to look back, Danielle grabbed Alice by the wrist, trying to
pull her along; but Alice, just as panicked as Danielle, didn’t need it. The Creature
pushed himself harder, trying to close the distance between them. Jack burst out of the
forest, finding the Boat. Alice was right behind him, and he grabbed her, trying to shove
her underneath the Boat but she slipped, and the Creature was upon them. He flew out of
the trees, snarling and reaching out to grab Alice as she lay on the ground, screaming.
Jack punched out, knocking the Creature off his feet for a moment; and Danielle grabbed
Alice up, sprinting into the trees away from the Boat, towards the mountains. They left
the lake far behind, Jack following behind them. The Creature, disabled by the loose,
slippery dirt recovered and was after them within seconds. Danielle and Alice flew over
45 Summertime
the tree roots, their feet scrabbling as they fought to stay upright. Jack felt blood running
out of his back, leaping over logs and taking the roots two trees at a time. They were
running away from the campground, but in their panic they didn’t realize that. Alice’s
feet pained, the thin canvas shoes barely any protection. Suddenly, her foot caught in a
root, and she sprawled out onto the forest floor, cracking her head off a tree. Dazed, she
rolled around on the ground, unable to find up. Danielle and Jack skidded to a stop,
reaching back for her; but the Creature was right behind them, and grabbed her before
they could. Jack leapt at it, but his wild swings didn’t work this time. The Creature threw
him easily, knocking him into Danielle. They fought to untangle from eachother, panic
taking over. The Creature withdrew between the trees, Alice screaming as he forced her
to come along. “Danielle ” she screamed, tears running down her face. Danielle yanked
her foot free of the tangle, her sneaker slipping off. With one bare foot, she flew to her
friend, grabbing her arm. “Let her go!” she punched and slapped at the Creature’s head,
cutting her hand on one of it’s tusks. It grunted, knocking her down easily, kicking her in
the leg hard. Pain disabled her for a moment, radiating from the bone outward. Alice
clung to a birch tree, the loose bark slipping between her fingers as she fought to keep
hold. Jack came running again, but this time, the Creature was ready he punched Jack in
the face, his head snapping back as he crumpled to the ground, unconscious. Danielle
scrambled, trying to protect Jack’s head as the Creature kicked violently, stomping on his
body. Alice lost her hold, and it picked her up easily, ignoring her screams. It lowered its
head to her neck, and for a second it looked like it was sucking on her; her screams
changed from terror to pain as blood spurted beneath the Creature’s teeth. Her voice cut
46 Summertime
off as it bit through her windpipe, forcing her head back further and further until her neck
snapped. Danielle screamed helplessly, vomiting, her heart pounding in her head, fast and
hot. Alice’s dead body hung limply as the Creature licked blood off his face, pulling her
head off the rest of the way. It slung her body over its shoulder, her blood running down
it’s back. It held her head by the hair. Danielle sobbed incoherently, trying to drag Jack,
still unconscious, away from the Creature. It turned away, disappearing between the trees.
Danielle screamed, urine running down her legs as she knelt, dragging Jack along a bit at
a time. She managed to drag him to the shelter of the low hanging branches of a cedar
tree, but there, her strength failed her. She collapsed across his body, convulsing and
retching, her stomach empty.
***
The sun came up above the lake, warming the grass, demolishing the dew that
glittered, scattered amongst the grass. It slanted in through the windows of the huge, grey
camper, shining in the eyes of Robbie, one of the ten children that ruled the campground
this summer. He sat up, stretching. A quick check confirmed that his mother still slept,
passed out on the convertible kitchen table all of the sweet things in the compartment
underneath her body, impossible to get at. Today was his ninth birthday. He slipped out
of bed, narrowly avoiding his brother, who snored loudly in the bed beside him. They all
slept two to a bed, the youngest crammed in beside the oldest, her little leg dangling
47 Summertime
down. He pushed it gently back into the bed, afraid to wake her lest she cry and wake
their parents. He crept softly out of the bunk area, creeping past his sleeping mother,
stepping softly over his father’s legs, sprawled out from where he slept, in the turned
around passenger seat, his neck at an odd angle as he snored. He stumbled out the camper
door, clicking it shut behind him before he lost his footing on the stump used for a
stairway and fell heavily to the ground. “Ow.” he said flatly, shaking the dirt out of his
hair. He got to his feet, looking around the early morning campground. Barely anyone
was awake most tent’s still contained snoring people. He picked his way quietly towards
the lake.
“What are you doing?” a harsh voice startled him, shattering the morning silence.
“Nothing!” he said, spinning around. The pop man laughed, sitting in his chair by the
door of his camper. His wife sat inside, grinning at him from the kitchen table. “Where’s
your mother, sweetie?” she asked, biting into a piece of toast. “Asleep still.” he said,
smiling now that the shock was gone. “I’m going to the lake.” “Oh, big adventure eh?”
the pop man’s wife smiled, dusting off her fingers. “Yea” he said, zeroing in on the pop
man. “Hey, can I buy a pop?” he asked, smiling widely. The pop man scoffed. “Not this
early in the morning” he said, shaking his head. “You can have an orange juice if you’d
like” his wife interrupted, disappearing into the camper. She came back with a glass
bottle of orange juice, cracking it open. She took his dollar, sticking it in her own pocket.
48 Summertime
“Thankyou” he said quickly, running towards the lake before they could say anything
else.
He passed more tents, a baby girl staring at him out the window of one as he
passed. He looked back, feeling sorry for the girl. She couldn’t open the door of the tent.
He waved, and she laughed, disappearing suddenly as she fell on her bottom, right on her
father’s face. He grumbled, and the boy ran, avoiding being blamed for waking the father
up so early.
He came to the beach, the sand just getting warm as the morning sun scattered
brightly over it. He buried his bare toes in it, reveling in the warmth after the cold of the
dew on the grass. He sipped his orange juice, the sharp sweetness waking him up even
further. He skipped along the beach, stopping to grab up freshwater clams dug up out of
the lake and left to die by other children along the beach. He threw them back in; hoping
at least some of them would make it. As he bent to grab another, something on the shore
by the water caught his eye.
It was a woman’s purse, the long strap broken, trailing off and covered in sand.
He ran to grab it up, lifting it over his head to get the strap out. It was too long, and he
had to walk backwards to finally get it out, the buckle on the end clicking like a dog
49 Summertime
collar. He put it down on the sand, wondering whose it was. He unzipped it, feeling
around inside. It was all wet there was a wallet, and a bottle of queasy pills like his
mother always kept in her purse, and a candy bar (this he promptly ate, tossing the
wrapper into the lake to destroy the evidence.) He opened the wallet, checking the ID
inside. The purse belonged to Alice LaRocque.
***
Jack opened his eyes. Above him hung the green branches of an evergreen tree,
and for a single, blissful second he forgot where he was, and what had happened. Then he
registered Danielle’s body weight across his chest, and the searing, itching pain in his
back and he remembered it all, the force of his grief coming down on him like a lead
anvil. He sat up, Danielle sliding down his body, resting in his lap. She was conscious,
but in shock, her eyes wide open, her body limp. “Danielle?” he shook her, afraid she had
died but she blinked suddenly, focusing on his face. She stared at him for a moment, and
suddenly, she let out a wail the sound made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. It
came from the bottom of her stomach, and ripped its way out through her mouth, a single,
grief stricken wail. She wailed again and again, her face contorting, her body shaking.
Tears ran down her face, and she shook all over, clutching her chest. “Are you okay? Are
you in pain?” Jack picked her up, pulling her up into a sitting position. “He took Alice”
she wailed, “he killed Alice.” Jack looked past her shoulder then, her head resting on his
50 Summertime
chest. The blood coating every leaf and fiber was selfexplanatory. He looked down,
finding his own body covered in Alice’s blood. “Come on, get up.” he said, dragging her
to her feet. Her knees buckled, not ready to take the weight. She slid down his body,
kneeling on the ground again, sobbing now. “Why?” she sobbed, her face in the dirt.
“Why does this have to happen?” Jack’s stomach churned, guilt rising like bile in his
throat. He regretted the pills now, regretted going out without life Jackets. He regretted
every sip of alcohol he had had, and most of all, he regretted letting himself be knocked
out by the monster, leaving Danielle alone. He took her by the wrists, bending down to
look her in the face. “Come on, Danielle we can’t stay here.” he picked her up, putting
the hoodie full of water on her stomach, carrying her easily, moving on into the trees.
Danielle let him carry her, still sobbing, still weak. She focused on the passing
forest, trying to keep her mind blank. She had to blink, and every time she did she saw
again, her friend’s head hanging off of her body. A bird ruffled its feathers in a branch
above them, and she threw her arms up, cowering away from the sound, screaming. There
was no way to tell what time it was, because they couldn’t see the sun, and they didn’t
know how long they had been under the cedar tree but the sun still burnt hot, the
humidity hanging heavy under the trees.
They stopped, eventually, under a birch tree, Each of them drinking a bottle of
water. Danielle flicked the flashlight on and off, staring at the light. Jack watched her
51 Summertime
carefully, afraid of saying anything. He had been unconscious when Alice was killed he
had seen nothing. Danielle had been alone. The light came from low in the sky, now
slanting down through the trees, making long shadows. Jack got Danielle up, and this
time she could walk. Jack knew they couldnt stay here the Creature would come back,
he was sure it would, now and there was no Boat to protect them now. They moved on,
grabbing what food they discovered. Danielle found a bush of wild blueberries, and they
cleaned the bush, drinking them down with water. With food in her stomach, Danielle’s
mind cleared a bit, and she was able to push the horrible images to the sides of her mind.
Acutely aware of the dying light, she pulled the flashlight out of the hoodie/bag , carrying
it once again in the crook of her arm.
The Creature tracked them, following their scents through the forest. He had gone to
where he left them, expecting to find the man, at least, dead there; but he had lived, and
carried on, and now they were far from where he had left them. The small woman was
gone, the taste of her blood still in his mouth; he strode through the forest, ready for the
next catch. He carried a pickaxe, sharp and deadly in his hand.
52 Summertime
Danielle turned the flashlight on, the light sweeping over the surrounding forest. She
kept the beam pointed down, hoping not to tell the Creature where they were. Every
sound seemed a danger, now; and they sped through the forest almost recklessly, their
hands clasped tight together so as not to lose eachother in the dark. They were forced to
let go, once or twice; but they held on tighter afterwards. There was safety in numbers,
or so it seemed; Andre had been dragged off, whether he was dead or not, they didn’t
really know; Alice had been forcibly seperated before she was killed. All around them,
darkness pressed in like a hot, thick wet blanket. The flashlight beam cut through the
night.
“Stop.” Jack pulled her back, crouching down to the ground. He took the flashlight
quickly, switching it off. They stayed low to the ground, listening, barely daring to
breath. Ahead of them, to the right, they could hear something creaking. “What is that?”
Danielle whispered, her spine tingling. The feeling of being watched pressed in on her
from all sides. “I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” Jack let go of her hand, moving
forward into the dark. “No ” Danielle almost shouted, grabbing onto his arm. She cried,
tears pouring down her face. “Please don’t leave, don’t leave” she sobbed, terrified to be
left alone with the monster somewhere out there, in the dark. He pushed her hands off,
pushing her to sit on the mossy ground. “Just wait here, your hidden. Just be quiet,” she
nodded, tears streaming down her face. “Don’t make any noise” he cautioned, moving
forward into the dark. As soon as he left her side, he was lost in the dark. She couldn’t
53 Summertime
see anything, didn’t dare turn on the light. The seconds seemed to be minutes. The
minutes seemed to be hours. She stayed, crouched there, her eyes darting frantically in
the velvet black, unable to see even one sliver of light. She clung to the flashlight, the last
security she had. Suddenly, hands grabbed at her arms. She screamed, striking out with
the flashlight. “It’s me ” Jack dragged her to her feet. “Come on, I found something ”
she jumped up, letting him pull her along in the dark. She couldn’t see anything, until
suddenly, there was a strange, bright rectangle. It was a door. Jack shoved her inside,
blinking in the sudden light. He turned, slamming the door shut, putting two huge slabs of
wood in the brackets that made the lock for the door. He swung a padlock shut, and,
lacking the actual lock part, shoved a screwdriver in the loop to keep the metal bar in
place. the door was metal. Danielle stared around, shock creeping up on her again. They
were in a small shack, the walls reinforced with metal. There were knives on the walls,
and strange dark stains on the table that ran like a low counter along one wall. There were
two cots on two of the other walls, dirt and smears on the sheets. There was a pump in the
corner, and a small, low sink beside it. Jack turned to this, pumping the handle. It
creaked, and Danielle cowered, afraid the sound would attract the monster. Noticing her
reaction, Jack reached out to calm her. “This place is bear proof, it’s a hunting shed.” he
said, sitting her down on the less dirty cot. “It looks like some hunters were here recently
and forgot to shut the door right there’s just a latch on the outside. This place has water,
and look, a kerosene lamp” he pointed to the lamp, hanging on a long hook that jutted
from the wall above the other bed. “There are ten more bottles of kerosene, and some
bush food too. That water is from the lake, it’s clean; and there’s a chamber pot, a wash
54 Summertime
basin, and a drain.” he said, grinning widely. Danielle stared at him, completely
nonplussed. “What are you talking about?” she asked, exhaustion ruling her brain. He
blinked sharply, patience reining his features. “We can hide out here until we can find
help,” he said, Letting her go, pulling a chair over by the bed. “This place is bear proof.”
he said again, raising his eyebrows as if she was missing something important. Sudden
realization brought hope flooding into her body. “It can’t get in here.” she said, sliding to
the edge of the cot. Jack nodded enthusiastically, his grin widening. “This place has a lot
of food, too” he said, pointing to the boxes that were stacked neatly beneath the stained
table. “All dried and canned.” he pulled one out, pulling out a package of beef jerky. He
opened it, handing two pieces to Danielle. She chewed hungrily. “As long as we keep that
door shut, it shouldn’t be able to see the light, either; there’s no windows, and the
peepholes have covers.” “Peepholes?” Danielle asked, her mouth full of food. “Yea,
look” he said, pointing to two of the walls. “There are two on every wall. They have little
flip covers.” Danielle spotted one by the door. “Whoever built this place was either safety
conscious or paranoid, but I don’t care which. We can hide out here. Someone is bound
to look for us soon I mean, we’re a day late returning the pop man’s Boat, aren’t we?” he
grinned widely. Danielle felt giddy from relief. Maybe they really did have a chance of
getting out of here. “We will have to go outside to drain the chamber pot, but you can
wash here, there’s soap, and some clothes in there.” he pointed to a rubbermade tub that
stuck out from under Danielle’s cot. Danielle looked down at herself. Her tshirt was torn
and bloody, barely covering her certainly leaving nothing to the imagination. Her legs
were scratched, torn and bleeding; she hadn’t even felt the injuries in her panic. Relief
55 Summertime
and happiness died away, and grief suddenly took hold. She sobbed emptily, her hands
over her face. She felt Jack’s hands on her arms, and he moved her gently over to sit on
the chair. She heard him rummaging through things, too exhausted to open her eyes.
Eventually, she felt his hands again, and he moved her back over to sit on the cot. She
cracked her eyes then, looking down at the bed. He had found clean sheets, and there was
a good, thick blanket. He pulled her shoes off, putting them under the bed, forcing her to
lie down. She still clung to the flashlight, unable to let it go. The cot felt like the softest
cloud in the world after all that had happened, and she floated drowsily along. Jack got
her to sit up, handing her the beef jerky she had dropped on the sheet. “Eat it, its protein.”
he said, putting a bottle of water in her hand too. She ate the jerky, and took a big gulp of
water before she dropped the water on the floor by the bed, within arm’s reach and lay
down, spinning off into the world of sleep. Jack sat in the chair beside her bed, watching
as she drifted off. Once her breathing was deep and even, he got up and made his own
bed, pulling the bedding from where it sat underneath the cot. He grabbed a piece of
jerky, going over to evaluate the rest of the food. There was an entire box of condensed
chicken soup, a few boxes of Tang thrown in the bottom. The next box was almost
entirely jerky, and the next had dried fruit. The boxes were chewed on the edges; but they
were wooden, and heavy; and so, luckily, whatever had been chewing hadn’t been able to
pull them out far enough to get at the food. He thanked their lucky stars that no bear had
been by; there wouldn’t have been anything left. A sudden sound caught his attention.
He froze, listening sharply. He heard heavy footsteps pass by, not far away in the forest.
He stayed frozen where he was, listening to the footsteps slowly disappear in the
56 Summertime
distance. He waited for a full five minutes before he dared move again, pulling another
box out of the shelf. There were tin cups and bowls in this, a box of cutlery on the
bottom. There was a big box of matches, and a glass bottle full of instant coffee. This had
been opened, the powder half used. There was a sealed container of sugar, one ant
wiggling its antennae at the lid. The last box contained a bush burner a tripod like holder
with a pot, and about a hundred small pucks of burner fuel, each of which burnt for 30
minutes, hot enough to boil water, at least. He set the burner up on the table, ready for the
morning. Dizzy with exhaustion despite his period of unconsciousness, he left the coffee
powder and two cups beside it and went to bed, turning the lamp down to almost nothing
leaving it just bright enough that each corner of the small room could be seen. He got
underneath the warm blanket, and sleep seemed to seep up out of the mattress, sliding
away with him like water down a rock.
The monster walked, stepping deftly over the tree roots that caused so much trouble
for Jack and Danielle. The forest was pitch black to human eyes, but his eyes were sharp
the pupils wide, catching all moonlight that made its way through the trees. A bobcat
crossed his path, pausing momentarily to hiss at him, a supposed intruder. It scrambled
on when the Creature didn’t stop, still striding confidently forward in the night. The
Creature was having trouble finding the right scents. He remembered what his prey
57 Summertime
smelled like but other predators followed them too. He could smell, crisscrossing over
the path, two bears following them; and their rancid stench eliminated the scent of his
human quarry at places. He wandered, his strange nose seeking out the remaining
humans. The night went on, hiding the strange Creature as he hunted, the pickaxe he
carried occasionally glancing against a tree.
Danielle rolled over, her eyes tight shut. It was Thursday she had to get up and get
ready for her shift at the general store. She lay for a few moments longer, enjoying the
warmth of the blankets. Then, resigning herself, she threw them off, sitting up in bed. As
soon as she opened her eyes, reality came back and slapped her in the face. Jack lay
across the small room from her, his back to her. The scabs on his back were dark in the
middle, all the edges bright red. It looked painful, inflamed. Danielle looked around the
rest of the dim room, remembering. Suddenly, outside, she heard a bird sing. She got up
quietly, going to look out one of the peepholes. Outside, it was daylight. The hunting
shed was solid no light seeped in here. She looked around, as well as she could through
the limited view, seeing nothing but peaceful forest. The kerosene lamp had long since
burnt out the wick small and black, shriveled up. What little light there was came from
the tiny cracks in a closed grate in the ceiling Danielle had not seen before. She reached
up, rolling her thumb along the gear that opened it. It clicked open almost silently,
58 Summertime
revealing the canopy above. Light flooded in, illuminating the small room. She spotted
two cups, a pot, and a glass jar of coffee powder on the stained table. She went to these,
inspecting the strange tripod that sat on the table. “It’s a burner,” Jack said, sitting up in
bed. She whirled around, her heart pounding. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he said, seeing the
look of terror on her face. “I shouldn’t have scared you.” he got up carefully, pain evident
on his face. Danielle remained where she was, her back pressed against the stained table,
watching her friend like he was some kind of enemy. He came over to where she was,
pulling matches out of his pocket. “Look, this is how you use it.” he said, reaching under
the table for one of the pucks of fuel. He popped it in the circular holder, just beneath
where the pot was held up. He struck a match, laying it on top of the puck. It caught with
a hiss, a small puff of smoke going up as the quick blue flame jumped up. He took the
pot, cranking the pump’s handle. Water squirted out, rattling the pipe. It came out brown
at first, but a couple of cranks had it coming out clean. He filled the pot easily, placing it
carefully on the burner. Danielle still watched him carefully, her eyes darting from him to
the door. Being in a place where she couldn’t see out made her uncomfortable. She went
to the peephole again, peering out. There was nothing there, just the same trees. She went
to another and another, staring out of each for a few seconds. Jack stayed with the burner,
a cup of water in hand just in case he needed to put the puck out. Danielle, satisfied that
nothing lurked beyond the walls of the hunting shed, pulled the chairs over to the table.
Jack fished out a can of chicken noodle soup, handing it to Danielle to open with a can
opener he found in the box of cutlery. He put two bowls on the table, two spoons
appearing beside them as he dug around under the table. He pulled out a can of
59 Summertime
condensed milk, the sweetened kind, and left it between the two cups on the table.
Danielle opened the can, removing the sharp lid carefully. She looked around for a
garbage, but there didn’t seem to be one, so Jack put all the dishes up on the table,
stacked neatly and they used that box, shoving it so that it stayed in its sealed position
underneath the table. The water boiled, and Jack poured water into the cups, dropping a
spoonful of coffee powder in each. Danielle opened the sweetened condensed milk, using
a spoon to scoop out a glob of the thick, sticky substance. She stirred a teaspoon into each
cup, passing one to Jack.. It was too hot to drink, so he left it on the table while he
poured the can of soup in with the remaining water. Soon, the soup was boiling, and he
added a handful of dried peas he found under the table. They let it boil, each taking a
chair and sitting beside each other, looking at each other and the table and the walls and
whatever else was there in silence. “Why do you think someone left all this here?”
Danielle asked finally, sipping her coffee, thankful for the caffeine. Her mind was clear
now, and she was able to wonder about these things. Jack shrugged, draining the last of
his cup. “They probably plan to come back this fall and hunt for deer,” he said, reaching
over to stir the pot as it threatened to boil over. “Why do you think that monster didn’t
kill them?” she asked, swirling what was left of her coffee around in the bottom of her
cup. He shook his head, pulling the pot off the burner. “I don’t know if it did or not, but if
it didn’t then it probably just doesnt come over this way.” he said, pouring the soup into
the bowls. He passed one to her, turning away from the table towards the pump. He put
the pot in the basin beside it, pumping the handle. Water spurted down into it, and he
washed it out, using his hand to scrub the sides of the pot with cold water. The puck was
60 Summertime
only half used by now, so, unwilling to waste the fuel he filled the pot with water again,
putting it back on the burner. He sat, and they ate in silence. The soup was thicker than it
should have been thanks to the peas, and the hot food did both of them good. Soon, the
pot was boiling again and Jack made them both another cup of coffee. Danielle looked
up, spotting something on the low shelf that ran along the wall about 3 feet above the top
of the table. She reached up, snagging it with her hooked finger and dragging it off the
shelf towards herself. It was a watch, a silver digital one, the kind that had the date
sprawled across the display at the bottom. August 14, 2006 7:23 AM .
***
“Robbie? Emily?” the frazzled Mother marched around the back of her camper,
searching for her two middle children. The other eight were inside the camper some of
them sitting quietly, some of them pressing their noses up against the glass, making faces.
The youngest leaned against the window, facing back into the camper, her diaper pressed
61 Summertime
flat against the glass. The Mother checked her watch, impatient. 7:23 AM. “Robbie
Emily ” she walked through a bush, pushing the branches away from her face
impatiently. “We’re right here, Mom ” Robbie popped up, waving his arm. He and his
sister knelt on the ground, something dark and square on the ground between them. Her
daughter looked toward her, revealing bright red stains, smeared across her face. “Oh my
god ” she sprinted forward, pulling her to her feet. She pulled her little pack of baby
wipes out of her pocket, yanking one out and scrubbing at her daughter’s face. The red
came off easily, turning the baby wipe pink. “What is that?” she demanded, inspecting
the wipe. “Lipstick, Mom ” the little girl sputtered, leaning away. “Where did you get
lipstick?” she demanded, her eyes falling to the square object that lay on the forest floor.
She let her daughter go, who hastily retreated. She picked the object up, inspecting it. It
was a purse, the long strap broken, the contents spilled on the forest floor. She picked the
contents up, popping them back inside. She found a wallet, popping it open and
inspecting the ID inside. The purse belonged to Alice LaRocque. She looked at the
picture. It was the girl, the friend of the man who Robbie had tried to attack with a
crayfish. They had rented the Mason’s Boat. “You shouldn’t play with other peoples
things. Now I have to buy this girl a new lipstick.” she said impatiently, dropping the
wallet in with the rest and zipping the purse shut. “Come on, we’re late. We have to go
down to Ashland to get groceries and your Dad has to come, so, so do all of you.” “Can
we get marshmallows?” Robbie asked, hopping up to follow. “Of course we’re going to
get marshmallows, we’re camping.” she smiled, her mood brighter now that she knew
where they were. “Mom?” Emily yanked on her Mother’s shirt, demanding her attention.
62 Summertime
Her Mother caught her hand, pulling her along. “What, sweetie?” she asked, folding the
strap of the purse with one hand and tucking it under her arm. “Do you know the lady
who owns the purse?” the little girl swung her Mother’s arm. “Yes, I do.” she said,
holding the branches of the bush out of the way so her children could pass. “Are you
gonna tell her I wrecked it?” she pouted, referring to the lipstick.”yes, I am.” she said
briskly, taking her daughter’s hand again. “But don’t worry, because while were in town I
will buy her a new lipstick of the same shade and give it to her when I tell her. She’ll be
happy you found it anyways her ID is inside, and that’s expensive to replace.” They
arrived at the camper, the Father holding the camper door open. “Get inside, now.” he
said sternly. The two kids scrambled up the stairs, running to get a seat on the long, 6
person bench. The others ran to sit around the kitchen table, buckling themselves in with
the seatbelts that stuck out of the seats. Once all kids were buckled in, the Mother and
Father started the camper up, backing carefully out of the campground to where they
could turn around on the gravel road in. The purse lay on the dashboard, heated by the
sun.
***
Danielle leaned forward, trying to see the top of her head in the small, square
mirror that she had found on the wall by Jack’s cot. Her scalp was not as bad as it had
seemed already it was healed, a sensitive pink line running along where the rips had
63 Summertime
been before. She washed her hair gently, wincing as the soap stung the wound. She had to
keep it clean, though, or risk infection. Jack sat at the table, his back turned away.
“You’re not looking, right?” Danielle shot over her shoulder, her voice laced with a
threat. “Not looking, I promise.” he said serenely, staring at the blank shed wall. She took
her shirt off, tossing it in the corner. It could be used as rags, but that was about all it was
good for now. It used to be white and grey, but now it was brown, with maroon stains and
streaks running down it where her blood had run. Her cell phone, broken and useless, fell
out of her shorts pocket, landing on the floor. She kicked the smashed cell over to where
the shirt lay, marking it in the same useless category. She reached down into the
Rubbermade bin, pulling out a men’s plaid shirt. There were a pair of women’s jeans,
too but the corresponding shirts were too small for her. She pulled the shirt on, buttoning
all but the top two buttons. She was thankful for her swimsuit it was cool, and now,
inside the metal walled shed, the temperature was beginning to rise. She stopped what she
was doing, stooping to scoop some cold water out of the wash basin. This was stained,
like the table stains Danielle was getting all too used to seeing. She splashed the water
over her face, cooling herself. “We’ll have to open the door soon.” Jack said, turning his
head. “I said no looking ” she snapped, jerking upright. “I’m not ” he snapped his head
back around, staring at the wall again. Danielle stayed where she was for a minute,
watching him suspiciously. Then she snagged her swimsuit bottoms of the bed, jerking
them on. They had needed washing, which thankfully, had been easy. She pulled on the
women’s jeans, finding them just a little tight around the thighs. She stretched her legs,
and they gave easily. She walked over to where Jack sat, plunking down in the chair
64 Summertime
opposite him. He was already changed, wearing almost the exact same thing she was. She
had checked his back, cleaning the cloth bandages in soap and boiling water. The cuts
were dark in the middle, inflamed red on the outside. She worried about him his
forehead felt hot when she touched it but it could just be the heat inside the shed. “You
can look now.” she said matter of factly, sipping her cup of water. “Too bad, I already
looked before you said.” he laughed, sitting so that his back didn’t touch the chair. It hurt
more than he would let her know every time he breathed, it screamed with pain. He felt
tired, too so tired he could almost go back to bed right now, and he hadn’t been up very
long. He looked down at the watch Danielle had found, now holding prime place on her
wrist. 8:57 AM.
“We should open the door, don’t you think?” Jack asked, sweat beginning to run
down his forehead. “Yea,” Danielle said, looking unsure. “Check through those
peepholes,” he got up briskly, checking the one above the table. There was nothing there,
just the usual forest, saturated green in the morning light. They checked the other
peepholes, finding the same. “Why do you think they put peepholes in here?” Danielle
asked, her hand on the door locks. “I would imagine it would be for the bears.” Jack said,
taking a big drink of water. “Its kind of in the middle of nowhere, right? They would
have to walk a long way to get help if someone got hurt or mauled for the catch.”
Danielle nodded it made sense to her. Jack pulled the heavy blocks of wood off the door,
dropping them on Danielle’s cot. Danielle pulled the screwdriver out of the padlock,
65 Summertime
putting it on the ledge above the door. She cracked the door just a little, peering out at the
daylight. Cool air rushed in the crack, cooling the room. Seeing nothing, she swung the
door wide, stepping out into the cool morning. “It’s so cool out here, why is it so hot in
there?” she turned around, looking back at the little hunting shed. A beam of sunlight fell
directly on the roof, the source of the heat. “If we could get rid of that light, we could stay
inside rather than be out here.” she said, analyzing the tree line. “We can’t stay inside all
the time; we have to find a way out of here.” Jack said, sitting on a stump that was left by
the door. There was a fire pit, too probably, Jack thought, used for tanning hides.
Danielle stopped, looking into the forest suspiciously. She turned quickly, hopping back
up into the shed. “Danielle?” Jack leaned backwards, calling into the shed’s open door.
“Where are you going?” she reappeared, a long machete in her hand. “I refuse to be
unarmed.” she said matteroffactly, swinging the big knife around. Jack laughed. “Just
don’t use it on me, okay?” Danielle looked around, squinting into the trees. “So, where
do you think we should go now?” Jack considered this, leaning forward so his chin rested
on his fist. “You look like the thinking man.” Danielle sniggered, dragging another stump
over by where he sat. “I don’t actually think we should try going anywhere today.” Jack
said, straightening up. “My back is killing me, to tell the truth, and you werent doing so
well last night.” Danielle nodded. It was the truth the night had been plagued by
nightmares Alice’s head, hanging from her neck what it had felt like when her friend’s
hot blood had squirted over her body Andre’s screams, cut short in the black. Jack got
up, walking to the foot of one of the trees. He looked up the trunk, squinting. He couldn’t
see the top. Danielle watched him curiously, worried for his back. “I’m going to climb
66 Summertime
it.” he announced, jumping up to grab onto one of the low branches. “What?” Danielle
jumped up, striding over to stare up at him from below. He hauled himself up onto the
branch, his back screaming. “I’m going to climb to the top and see which way is best to
go.” he said, grinning down at Danielle. She crossed her arms, the machete dangling from
her right hand. “Are you sure?” she asked, looking around nervously. What if that
monster came back while he was in the tree? She would be alone. “Look, just go back
inside the shed and lock the door. Watch through the peephole for me to come down ,
you’ll be fine.” Before she could argue, he began to climb higher up into the tree.
Danielle whirled, running for the shed. She got just inside the door, looking out at her
friend. “Well, be careful then, if your gonna be stupid ” she yelled, slamming the door
shut. The clang of the door echoed in the forest. Jack shook his head, exhausted already.
He climbed higher, pulling himself hand over hand into the treetop. Danielle dropped the
wooden blocks into their brackets as fast as she could, grabbing the screwdriver off the
ledge and wedging it securely in. This done, she sat down quickly in the chair by the
table. Unable to rest, she tapped her foot repeatedly, bouncing her leg up and down. A
branch scraped against the back of the shed, sending her whirling up, the machete back in
her hand. When nothing presented itself, she sat gingerly back down again, checking her
watch. 9:20 AM. She wondered how long it would take Jack to climb the tree, and get
back down.
***
67 Summertime
The frazzled Mother held onto her daughter’s hand, wandering down the makeup
aisle. She held the destroyed tube of lipstick in one hand, holding it up, trying to find the
right brand. “I don’t know if we’ll find it here,” she said, ducking down to compare it
against the brand on the lower shelves. “Mommy, why do we have to find a lipstick?” the
youngest girl asked, kicking her feet in the seat of the shopping cart. The Mother
straightened up, just in time to receive a kick in the forehead. She wheeled around, her
mouth set in a thin line, and her eyes tightly shut. “I’m sorry, Mommy.” the little girl
cried, reaching out to pat her Mother’s back. The other five children she had taken with
her into the store crowded around, patting her arms and asking if she was okay. Emily
was among them, and she held up something for her mother to see. “Is this it, Mommy?”
she asked, putting a lipstick into her mother’s hand. Recovered from the kick to the head,
the Mother looked down at the lipstick, comparing it to the one her daughter had
destroyed. It was an exact match, right down to the colour. “Good job, sweetie ” she said,
kissing her daughter on the cheek. They took the lipstick with them to the front, the kids
pushing things that fell from the cart back in as they went. She noticed several things she
was sure she hadnt put in herself showed up as they went along, like a box of icecream
cones they had no icecream for, and a bulk size box of gummy candies. She came
around the corner, looking for her husband, and her other five children. “Gloria ” she
turned at the sound of her husband’s voice. He waved at her, occupying the five older
children by the door. She sent the four that walked beside her over to him, telling them
sternly to sit quietly. The youngest stayed with her, standing up in the seat of the cart to
68 Summertime
help her Mother put things on the belt. When everything else was rung through, she
suddenly remembered the lipstick she still held tightly in her hand. “This, too.” she said,
handing the lipstick over her daughter’s head. The cashier rang it through. $21.00. Ouch.
She paid for it anyways, resigned. She stuck the receipt in her purse, the lipstick rolled up
inside.
By the time they had the groceries put away in the camper, and all ten children belted
in, the frazzled Mother had forgotten the expense.
***
In the tree, Jack was getting higher and higher. The forest looked different from
here one solid swath of green, each bow dripping with moisture. The humidity here was
amazing but at the same time, it was cool. The tree trunk, when he stopped to rest
against it, was cold almost as cold as Glacier Lake. The sunlight was brighter here, with
less branches in its way. Plants grew on the branches here mostly moss, but some long
strings of green matter hung here and there. Fungus grew all along the trunk, and he
69 Summertime
wondered if he should take one for Danielle she liked that kind of thing but it wasn’t a
necessity, and what would she do with it here?
He carried on into the tree, stopping now and then to look around, but never
down. As he climbed, he suddenly came to a break in the canopy. Looking down, he
could see, far below him, the roof of the shed, illuminated by the light. Feeling dizzy, he
steadied himself against the tree. The source of the light was a branch, held out of its
usual place by another probably blown together in a windstorm, now caught and unable
to move. He stomped on the base of the offending branch, freeing the one that usually
kept the shed cool. It swung back into place, the roof of the shed disappearing from view.
Inside, Danielle looked up, the change in the light noticeable. Instantly, the shed
cooled down. She got up, peering through the roof grate. She could just see Jack, working
his way carefully up the meshed branches. Then, suddenly, he disappeared. She sat back
in her chair, checking her watch. 9:56 AM. She settled down, watching that spot, not
70 Summertime
wanting to miss him coming back down. The shed was cool, now so she got up, cranking
the pump handle. Cold water gushed out, the pump now primed. She filled the pot easily,
putting a new puck of fuel in the tripod burner. She lit it carefully, holding the wooden
match at the very end. It lit in a circle, the blue flame jumping from the middle like a
living thing. She put the pot on, holding the handle carefully for a minute in case it
wobbled. Her whole body ached, now and she was glad that they weren’t planning on
going for the campground today. She stretched, her back cracking. She felt old.
She grabbed two cups from the end of the table, where she had left it after
washing them this morning. The small bottle of soap they had found beneath the sink
basin suddenly tipped, falling to the floor with a bang. She jumped, almost knocking the
tripod burner over. She grabbed it, steadying it easily. The soap still lay on its side on the
floor, when suddenly, as she bent to grab it up, she heard heavy footsteps pass by, not far
away in the forest. She froze, her eyes wide with terror. The footsteps passed, fading
quickly away. She turned, silently picking the machete up again, the soap held tightly in
her other hand.
71 Summertime
Jack broke through the canopy, bright sunlight blinding him for a minute. He
blinked, letting his eyes adjust. There were taller trees, but this one was alright tall
enough to get a good look around without having to be at the very top. He scrambled a
little higher, holding on carefully as the tree wobbled a little. He looked out over the
trees, and at first he saw nothing. Then, as he slowly turned, the glittering lake came into
view or the edge of it anyways, just the far shore glittering in the sunlight. It was at least
5 km away. On the opposite side, just off to the left, lay the campground. Jack blinked
rapidly, afraid he was seeing a mirage. But as he watched, a Boat skidded into view past
the trees, pulling up rapidly to the shore. Jack grinned, sure, now that it was no mirage.
He pointed his body in the right direction, holding his arm out, pointed at the
campground, trying to memorize the direction. Then, wobbling, he began to descend. The
going was easier now, but his back screamed with pain at regular intervals. Even so,
taking breaks, he got down the tree in a fraction of the time it took him to get up it.
Danielle still sat below, watching through the grate for Jack’s return. Sudden
movement caught her eye. There he was, coming down the tree already. The pot had
boiled, and she had poured them both a coffee already; it was still too hot to drink, the pot
back on the burner. It had taken longer this time, though; or Danielle hadn’t been paying
enough attention; she sat rigid in her seat, the machete in her hand. Seeing him come
72 Summertime
down the tree filled her with relief. She sprung up, checking all the peepholes. Nothing
but friendly green forest met her eyes, and so, when Jack finally stood on solid ground,
she swung the door wide. “Well?” she asked, tapping her foot impatiently. “what did you
see?” Jack laughed at the expression on her face. “It’s thataway.” he said, standing
rigidly and pointing off to the left, grinning foolishly in the green light. “good.” she said,
retreating a little inside, “now come in... I heard someone walk by a while ago.” Jack
bolted for the door, some of the fear returning, bubbling in his gut. They closed the door
securely, the shed cool now that Jack had released the branch that shaded the shed.
Outside, the Creature watched carefully. The hunting shed was solid too solid, he
knew, for him to get into; but the scent of his prey, so close, was so tempting. He settled
down to wait; at some point, he knew, they would try to get back to where the other
humans were, at their campground. He nestled down in the moss and leaves, watching
patiently.
73 Summertime
Jack took a big swig of coffee, glad to be out of the tree. Glad to have some solid
walls between him and whatever that thing was that had killed their friends. Danielle
checked his back, expecting to find it bleeding again; but it was alright, the inflammation
now coming down a bit. She wiped it clean, though there were tiny black specks all in
the scabs, and the cut closest to his shoulder seemed puckered. He kept the pain inside,
not letting her know it hurt. He didn’t want to worry her. “What did you hear, exactly?”
he asked, putting the cup down on the table. Danielle pushed his shirt back up on his
shoulders, walking around his chair. “Your back is fine, and what I heard was footsteps.”
she said, dropping another spoon of coffee in his cup. She poured hot water in, shoving
the can of sweetened milk towards him, the spoon sticking up out of it. She gave him his
cup of coffee, and then fished a can of soup out of the box. She topped up her own coffee,
adding only half a spoon of powder this time. She opened the can carefully, pouring it in
with the boiling water. It seemed weak, so she dug another can out, pouring it in with the
other, adding a bit of water. The soup bubbled, the smell making Jack’s stomach growl.
His back itched, but it felt a little better than before. Maybe it was just resting it? He
wondered, sipping the coffee Danielle gave him gratefully. She let the soup boil, going
back to locking the door. The screwdriver had already been in the door, but she had let
the wooden bars slide while she checked Jack’s back. Now she put them in place, making
sure they were solid. That done, she checked out the peephole again, just to make herself
feel better. There was still nothing there, just the green forest, and one small, yellow bird
that looked like its beak was too big for its head cracking a pinecone and pulling out the
seeds. She went under the table again, pulling out the box with beef jerky. She pulled out
74 Summertime
the opened pack, putting it on the table. Something blue caught her eye among all the red
packages. She pulled it out, holding it up. “You found crackers?” Jack asked, his
eyebrows raised. His nose ran, he kept having to wipe it away with the back of his hand.
Danielle turned, grabbing the roll of tissue from beneath the sink. She handed it to him
without looking. “These people really stock this shed with everything.” she laughed,
dropping the crackers on the table beside the jerky. “Hey, I’m glad they do. What would
we have done otherwise?” Jack grabbed the crackers, opening them carefully. “We
should leave them a thank you note. If it weren’t for their shed we wouldn’t have made
it.” Danielle said, pouring the soup. “We should leave them a thank you note and some
money.” Jack laughed, pulling his wallet out of his pocket. Danielle grabbed the Sharpie
that lay on the shelf, pulling some butcher paper off the roll that lay beside it. “What do I
say?” she asked, her nose wrinkling. “Thanks for your shed being open right when we
needed it as we ran from a murderous monster that killed two of our friends?” “No.”
Jack said, his face serious. “Just say, “we got lost, were chased by bears, found your shed
open. Thank you for the use of your shed, hiding out. Here’s a 50 to replace what we
used. Thank you.” or something like that.” he said, crushing some crackers into his soup.
Danielle wrote the note, taking the money Jack handed her and folding the two pieces of
paper together carefully. “What should we do with it, where should we leave it?”
Danielle asked, putting it down on the table and pulling her soup over. “Tomorrow, when
we head out, we should leave it under one of the bowls in the middle of the table.” Jack
said, shrugging. “How could they miss it?” “I guess that’s true.” Danielle laughed,
dropping crackers into her soup, breaking them with her spoon. Jack pulled out a piece of
75 Summertime
beef jerky, gnawing on it. He was feeling tired again, the jubilation of finding the right
way wearing off. “So the campground is exactly that way.” Danielle said, pointing over
her shoulder. “Well it’s exactly that way and across the lake.” Jack said, devouring his
soup. Danielle choked, her eyes popping wide. “Across the lake? How did we get all the
way around the lake?” she sputtered, grabbing her coffee to help her stop choking.
“Probably in the dark, running away from that thing” Jack said, clapping her on the back.
“Don’t worry, we can get to the edge and get someone’s attention on the other side. Or,
we can swim for it. Or, we can hug the shore and walk around. Any way we do it, we’ll
get out. It’s only about 15 Km anyways.” He said, smiling like a car salesman. Danielle
just stared at him, her eyes wide. All that distance was a lot of opportunity for that
monster to catch up.
She checked her watch, conscious of the passage of time. 11:45 AM. Jack was
exhausted, his head drooping to nearly touch his chest. “Jack?” Danielle poked him in the
knee. He jerked upright, his head snapping up, his eyes remaining shut. “What?” he said
groggily, drinking the last of his soup. “I think you better lay down, you look so tired.”
she said, worried for her friend. “I think you might be fighting away infection from those
cuts they were pretty dirty, and you haven’t had much rest,” she worried, pulling him to
his feet. “I’m tired anyways. I don’t think I have an infection, though.” He said, holding
his hand out to her. She helped him up, using her whole body weight just to get him to his
feet. “I think we should both get as much rest as possible,” he said, letting her pull him
76 Summertime
over to his cot. “You lie down, get some sleep.” she said, pulling his blankets down for
him to lie down. He pushed his shoes off, swinging his legs up. She covered him
carefully, worry lining her forehead. It wasn’t like him to be so tired so early in the day.
She went back to the table, finishing her food, pulling out a piece of jerky for herself. She
ate it all down, listening carefully to the outside world through the vent. Birds sang, and
suddenly, somewhere in the distance, someone shot a gun but it was far, far away. She
cleaned up; pouring the boiling water she had used the last of the fuel puck for in with the
cold and soap. The dishes now clean, she washed her face, scrubbing up her arms. She
shook them dry, sitting back down in the chair. She sat there for a few minutes, with
nothing to do. She kept looking over at Jack, sleeping quietly. Tears ran from his eyes
periodically, and she wondered if he was having problems with allergies. He turned over,
and she crept over quietly, pulling the blankets away, lifting his shirt. The cuts on his
back looked just a little irritated, but not enough to cause this reaction. She remembered
him telling her he had taken a pill before dinner the night the boat had crashed, and
wondered exactly what he had meant. Then, suddenly, she jerked up, moving quickly and
lying down in the bed opposite Jack. He was right, she decided they should both get as
much rest as possible. The shed was cool, and she kicked off her shoes before she lay
down. She covered with the warm blanket, staring up at the ceiling. A few glow in the
dark stars were stuck here and there, and it made her wonder who owned the shed. Maybe
it wasn’t a couple who came here, she thought maybe it was a father and daughter,
coming to stock their freezer with deer or duck before winter set in. She looked over at
77 Summertime
Jack, already fast asleep in his bed. She checked her watch. 12:04 PM. She rolled over,
closing her eyes, willing sleep to pass the time.
***
“Mr. Mason?” the frazzled Mother strode up to the door of the popman’s camper,
holding the broken purse in one hand. “What?” he snapped, turning away from what he
was doing trying to get cell service. “Do you know where the people who rented your
Boat the other night are camping?” she asked, taken aback by his rude behavior. “I wish I
knew where they went at all ” he said argumentively, waving the cell phone around.
“They’ve only gone and made off with my Boat! One night they said they’d have it!
One night! ” he stomped over to his chair, giving up on the cell. He plunked down, the
chair creaking ominously under his enormous weight. The frazzled Mother stopped short,
her forehead creasing with worry. “Are you sure they're alright?” she asked nervously,
brushing her hair out of her eyes. The pop man looked up at her, his eyes narrowed.
“Why do you ask it like that?” he asked cautiously. “My son found this on the beach,
buried in sand.” she said, holding the purse out to him. He took it, unzipping it, popping
out the wallet. The ID said plainly; Alice LaRocque. It was one of the women who had
78 Summertime
gone on his Boat. “I’m calling the Police.” he said, matter of factly. “Make sure your kid
stays around here, they might want to talk to him when they get here.” the frazzled
Mother nodded, hurrying off to find her son. The pop man looked after her, his face
masked with worry. What if something really HAD happened to them?
***
Danielle was woken by a loud BANG. She jerked upright, panic taking over,
convinced the Creature was on her, its teeth coming down on her throat.... but then she
realized, it was only Jack... laying on the floor, unconscious. She jumped out of bed,
grabbing him... but he didn’t respond, and he was too heavy to move. “Jack?” she shook
him, his head flopping around. She put him gently down, running for water. She filled a
cup with cold water, releasing the water held in the sink basin by yanking out the rubber
plug. She poured the cup of water over his face, panicking. He sputtered, bolting upright.
“Are you okay?’ she asked, concern flooding her face. “Yea, fine” he said, looking
around. “You don’t seem fine, you passed out.” she said, helping him to his feet. His skin
was hot, but he shivered as if he was cold. He sat down on his bed, yawning widely. “I
think I was sleepwalking,” he said, rubbing sleep out of his eyes. “Are you sure?” she
79 Summertime
asked, sitting down across from him. “Yea, I was having a nightmare.” he said, lying
down again. Danielle just nodded. It was understandable, with all that had happened.
Jack looked down at his hands, trying to erase the dream from his mind. The monster had
been watching, watching through the grate in the ceiling. He looked down at his hands,
afraid to look up, afraid it really would be there. Across the tiny room, he spotted the time
displayed on the watch; 6:25 PM.
Ominous thunder rolled in the distance. A summer storm was blowing up, the first
haughty clouds rolling across the sky with all the authority of a rookie cop. Danielle got
up, peering through the ceiling grate. She could see the canopy above, and beyond that,
dark grey clouds. A fork of lightning licked across the sky, and she reached up, clicking
the grate shut. The room was thrown into dark, and Jack’s body jerked, fright taking over
for a second, unable to see. Then, slowly, his vision came back and he could see Danielle,
putting another puck of fuel in the burner. The blue flame licked up, illuminating the
table. He got up, grabbing the kerosene lamp from the wall. The flashlight lay on the
floor, halfway under Danielle’s cot. He put it up on her cot, moving over to the table with
the lamp. He took one of the matches, lighting the lamp carefully, making it bright. He
left it sit on the table, turning to help Danielle. She was digging around under the table,
inspecting the food in the boxes. She came up triumphant with a can of cream of
80 Summertime
mushroom soup, a change from the rest of the food that day. Jack sat in the chair at the
end of the table, watching in silence as Danielle made their dinner. The thunder rolled
closer, and it made them both nervous sitting in a metal shed under a lot of tall trees is
not the best place to be in a thunderstorm and soon, suddenly, the rain came crashing
down. It fell even through the canopy, drumming on the roof of the shed. The noise it
made was deafening, so that Jack had to shout to be heard. “If it had been raining last
night, we would have found this place sooner!” Danielle grinned, nodding
enthusiastically. The grate kept the rain out, somehow it rolled down the angled slats and
on down the roof. As Danielle stirred the soup, the rain hid Jack’s sudden whimper of
pain his back was beginning to burn, mixing with the sickness he had felt before. Heat
rose from the injuries, spreading across his back like an oozing slime.
Outside, the Creature took advantage of the rain. The thundering noise made it
impossible for the humans inside to hear him as he snuck up on the shed, sniffing
carefully. They were cooking something the smell made his stomach growl. He had not
eaten yet today. He sniffed at the cracks of the door, registering in his mind where the
smells dulled and sharpened these places were where the door was barred. It was solid,
and he knew he couldn’t get in at least not until they opened the door. Suddenly, he
81 Summertime
heard footsteps, crossing the floor, and he crushed himself against the wall to the right of
the door.
Danielle stood on tiptoe, looking through the peephole. The rolling thunder made her
nervous, and she was thankful for the peepholes. At least she could see outside, when
someone standing outside couldn’t see in. Behind her, Jack’s strength flagged already.
Danielle had just finished heating a can of soup, and already he was tired his head
drooping repeatedly. He found himself unable to lean back against the chair for support
the shirt would stick to his back, stinging and burning. He dropped his spoon as another
wave of exhaustion hit him, rolling along his consciousness like a poisoned cloud.
Danielle heard the clatter, and so did the monster. Its ears pricked up, listening carefully.
Danielle turned away from the door, finding her friend almost dropped onto the wooden
floor. “Jack!” she pulled him upright in his chair. “What’s wrong with you?” it was cool
inside the shed now, and there was no mistaking it his skin seared hot, a severe fever
wracking his body. “Turn around.” she said authoritatively, pulling him onto his feet. He
wobbled, turning carefully as the room spun, straddling the chair. He rested against the
back, his eyes fluttering close from exhaustion as Danielle carefully pulled off his shirt.
The state of his back almost made her vomit. Pus dripped from the wounds, running
down, staining the waist of his jeans. The bandages were loose, hanging from his back
82 Summertime
he must have pulled them off in his sleep somehow. And worst of all, an angry red line
ran all the way from the cut on his left shoulder, across his right shoulder and curled
along his collarbone. Jack had blood poisoning. She tried to get him up, But he was
almost unconscious against the back of the chair. She went to her shirt, still crumpled in
the corner, and rushed to the sink, pumping water into it. She poured the last of the soup
into one of the bowls, scrubbing out the pot as quickly as she could. She filled it, setting
it on the tripod burner to boil. As the water came to a steam, she ripped the shirt into rags.
She scrubbed them against the rough, barred side of the sink basin, using it like a
washboard. She kept an eye on Jack over her shoulder, worried that he would fall off the
chair, or that he would die, succumbing to the poisoning that threatened, already
weakened by whatever had been happening before. The water was hot, sending plumes
of steam up into the air. She pulled it off the burner and poured the water into the biggest
bowl, adding a few drops of soap. She filled it again with cold water, setting it again on
the burner. She went to Jack, wetting one of the now clean rags into the hot water, wiping
it gently against the wound that led the red line. Jack’s entire body tensed, his head
jerking up. He almost screamed in pain, clenching his lips together to stop the sound.
“I’m sorry!” Danielle cried, tears streaming down her face. Helping him was going to be
painful. She wiped around the wounds, removing as much pus and discharge as she
could, the rag coming away green, black and yellow. She took the dirty rag to the pot,
putting it in the steaming water. She retrieved another rag from the sink, making sure it
was clean, and came back, dipping it once again in the bowl of hot, soapy water. “This is
going to hurt, but it will help.” she told him, steeling herself. His whole body was tense
83 Summertime
as he waited for the pain that came with the hot cloth. She pressed it against the wounds,
blotting gently, cleaning them. He screamed as soon as the hot water and soap touched it,
putting his head down and clinging to the chair to keep from reacting violently. The pain
made stars blink in front of his eyes. Danielle sobbed, forcing herself to continue. If she
didn’t clean the infection, he would definitely die. The wounds turned angry red, pus
pouring out everywhere she touched with the cloths. She had to run, dropping cloths into
the now boiling water repeatedly, grabbing rags from the sink, and cleaning and cleaning
his back to keep the infection from running into the other wounds on his back. Jack held
onto the chair, trying not to scream. The pain seared it screamed and above all else, it
itched and he was barely able to keep from bolting up out of the chair. Eventually, the
wounds she had been working on stopped pouring discharge but they were still dark and
now even angrier red at the edges. The red line seemed to be diminished, but another,
Danielle knew, could produce itself from one of the cuts lower down on his back that she
had not yet tended. She dropped the last rag into the boiling water, pouring soap in with
it.
Jack’s breathing came heavily, the pain fading away gently as he clung, still, to the
back of the chair to stay upright. “Are you okay?” Danielle asked timidly, watching him
while she waited for the cloths to boil clean. “That depends.” Jack said, his eyes still
closed, sweat running down his forehead. “On what?” she asked, pouring the boiled rags
into the sink. “Are you done yet?” Jack muttered, his eyes still shut tight. “No. No I’m
84 Summertime
sorry” Danielle sobbed, filling the pot with cold water once again. She had to light
another puck, placing the water on to get hot again. She scrubbed the cloths out hard,
mortally afraid of making the infection worse. Jack waited, holding himself up. The water
began to steam, and Danielle poured it back into the bowl, which he had cleaned out,
adding more soap into the mix. She set the pot back on the burner, and turned back to her
friend, soap and water and cloth in hand. He steeled himself, trying to brace himself
against the pain. She knelt gently beside him, her hand shaking as she pressed the hot
cloth against the cuts that littered the lower half of his back. He screamed, a long keening
sound that carried, even in the muffling forest, quite a way. He sucked air in with a
strange, whistling squeak, and suddenly, another scream ripped its way out. Danielle
simply sobbed, forcing herself to keep cleaning her friend’s wounds.
Outside, the monster was riveted to the wall, listening to the man’s tortured screams
inside. He licked his lips, waiting.
***
85 Summertime
The red and blue lights advancing up the dirt road alerted the campers to the Police’s
presence. Everywhere, everyone who had anything to hide scrambled. By the time the
cops had arrived, the campground seemed as straight laced and clean cut as a suburban
neighborhood men sitting with wide smiles , marijuana and other illegal substances
tucked in their boots, or under the stumps they sat upon, or in their socks in their tents
and campers. They pretended not to notice the Police, who left their car behind at the
entrance of the campground so as to avoid the possibility of running over children. The
female Police officer strode up to one particularly guilty looking group of campers,
looking from face to face. They all looked back, waiting to hear what she had to say. “I’m
looking for Mr. Mason.” she stated simply, watching their reactions. Instantly, their faces
cleared, worry lines disappearing from around their eyes. They all pointed at the same
dilapidated, old beige camper. An old man stood there, his gut overhanging the edge of
his shirt. She walked around the first camp, walking up to speak to the old man. Her
partner followed, scrutinizing the first group closely. They looked back, perfect pictures
of politeness written on their faces. “You called down, said some young men and women
had gone missing?” she asked, approaching the camper. “Yea, they went missing with my
boat, I let them take it out.” he said, inviting them inside. The camper was small and
cramped. The female Police officer shook her head, opting instead to sit gingerly down
on the stump on the opposite side of the door. The old man plunked down himself,
leaning forward conversationally. Her partner opted to stand, looking out of place and
uptight among the relaxed campers. “When did they go missing?” she asked, pulling out
a pad to write the information down on. “Two days ago, I think.” he said, scratching his
86 Summertime
ear. She paused, looking up at him critically. “You think?” she asked incredulously, her
eyebrows knit together. It had taken three hours to make the drive up to the lake. “Well, I
know they left two days ago with my Boat around dinner time and I haven’t seen them
since. That’s about all I know, except a kid who’s staying here with his family this
summer found one of the women’s purses on the beach, broken and buried in sand.” He
pulled the purse out from under his chair, handing it over to the officer. She took it
gingerly, offering it to her partner. He promptly pulled out a plastic bag, holding it open
for her to insert the purse. “What did you do that for?” the old man asked, examining the
process. “It may be some kind of evidence.” she explained calmly, carrying on with her
questions. She asked him for a description of the group, and he told her all he
remembered; two women, one small, one tall, both with dark hair, both wearing shorts
when they left. One of them with the purse, strapped across her body. Two men, one with
fuzzy red hair, one with longer dark hair, both wearing Tshirts the last time he’d seen
them. Next, she asked him for a description of the Boat silver on the bottom, white on
the sides with a red stripe. Inside there were two benches, and a storage bin in the back,
by the engine. Just a plain little Motorboat, and yes it had regular maintenance, thankyou
very much. She wrote it all down, her mind going a mile a minute in the background.
“And the boy who found it is where?” she asked, when he was finally done talking.
“That’s their camper over there.” he said, pointing towards a large, grey camper where,
out front, a woman stood, nervously waiting. As they looked towards her, she raised her
hand, waving as friendly as she could as her hand shook. “One final question, Mr.
Mason,” she said briskly, tapping the book she wrote in shut. “Do you know any of the
87 Summertime
people personally?” he shook his head. “So you don’t actually know if they knew how to
run your Boat or not?” she said sweetly, an accusation hidden in her words. His face
clouded, anger showing. “I am not responsible for their actions after they rent the Boat.”
he said brutishly, waving his hand dismissively. She got up off the stump, brushing off
her pants. “As a matter of fact, Mr. Mason, if anything happened to them, you may be
guilty of negligence.” she turned away, walking up towards where the woman waited, her
face becoming more and more nervous. Behind her, Mrs. Mason popped her head out of
the camper. “I told you not to rent that Boat ” she said, sitting heavily down on the stump
the female officer had left. “I told you ” he shook his head, covering his eyes with his
hand. The Police interviewed the frazzled mother, who seemed to be pulling her
eyebrows out in chunks. All she could tell them was what the pop man had told them
already her son found the purse on the beach, buried in the sand. her daughter,
apparently, had played with and destroyed one of the lipsticks inside the purse; the
mother had bought a replacement for it.
By the time the two officers returned to their car, they both agreed on one thing; the
four youths were missing, and possibly hurt. They radioed down to Ashland, Calling for
backup and a search.
***
88 Summertime
“Jack.” Danielle shook him gently, trying to get his attention. His back was bandaged
again, this time, with a clean tenser bandage she had found in one of the bins under his
bed. She hoped it would keep the wounds clean. It wrapped completely around his torso.
“Hey Jack, Jack”
He opened his eyes, staring at her blearily. “I need you to help me help you put this
on, okay?” she held up a clean shirt. He closed his eyes, moaning. He stayed where he
was for a moment, then, wearily, he lifted one arm. She slid the shirt over it, being gentle,
oh so gentle to his back. Her hands shook, the shiver coming from right down in her
middle. The last time she had heard someone scream like that, they had died. With the
clean shirt on, she now tried to convince him to drink some of the soup that was left. It
was almost cool. She held the bowl to his lips, pouring it in his mouth a bit at a time. He
was almost too weak to drink it, exhaustion from a combination of pain and fever. “We
gotta take the Boat back.” he mumbled, his chin resting on the back of the chair. “Okay.”
she said, trying to humor him. “But first, you gotta go to bed.” he moaned again, shaking
his head. “Yea, yea come on now.” she coaxed him out of the chair, leaning heavily on
her. He was delirious. She put him in bed, face down, his head turned so he could
89 Summertime
breathe. He lay there without moving, and for a moment, she thought he had died but
then, he sighed, and she gently covered him, barely daring to let the covers touch his
back, even cleaned and bandaged as he was. She sat down heavily in the chair he had
been sitting in, wiping the sweat from her own forehead, the tears streaming down. He
was so sick so sick, and that monster was between them and help. She wished with all of
her soul she had brought the first aid kit from the Boat but she had thought they
wouldn’t need it, she had thought they would be back at the campground within hours.
She leaned her head on the back of the chair, staring at the barred door, thinking. She
remembered, once, her mother had blood poisoning, from a cut on her leg. The doctor
gave her pills, but they didn’t do very much. Her cousin used to put teabags on it..... she
jerked up out of her seat, whirling, yanking out the food containers. They had coffee, why
not tea? She remembered the screams when the hot teabags were applied to her mother’s
wound, just like Jack had screamed.... and she remembered the relief after, with some of
the poison coming out with each tea bag.... and she remembered, most of all, that
receding red line, traveling backwards down her mother’s leg to the infection. She spilled
the box of beef jerky on the table, scattering it with her hands. Nothing. She pulled out
the box of cans, dumping it out on the floor. Some different kinds of soup, but not one tea
bag. She pulled out the next box, but it was just the garbage. She threw it over by the
door with a clatter. She pulled out the next box, it contained the pucks. She dumped it
out, and mercifully, from the bottom, spun across the floor a generic, red label bag of
black tea. She grabbed it up, turning it over and over in her hands. Her heart pounded,
relief flooding her body. She had something, something that would help. She put the bag
90 Summertime
on the table, looking slowly around at the mess she had made. She picked it up, slowly,
putting each thing back in its respective box, hoping she hadn’t broken anything, acutely
aware, now that this shed, and everything in it, was not hers. She put the last box, the
garbage, in the shelf. She looked down the shelf, catching sight of one small, narrow box,
wedged in the tiny amount of space between the box that contained the pucks and the
edge of the handmade table shelf. It had looked, before she pulled the other boxes out,
like it was just part of the table but now it was obviously a box, the others no longer
flush with it’s side. She pulled it out, looking inside. On top of the items, and chief in her
mind, was a bottle of ibuprofen. She pulled it out weakly, putting it up on the table. There
was rubbing alcohol, as well as bandages, and a small bottle of iodine. She put it all up on
the table, looking at all they had used. “We’re gonna need another 50, y’know.” she said
to the sleeping Jack, who didn’t respond. She pulled a chair over by his bed, feeling his
forehead. It was moist, his fever high and staying high. She stayed there, looking at him
critically. She didn’t want to wake him up already, but she wanted him to take some of
these pills, and get his fever down. She drew a cup of water, popping two pills out of the
bottle. She sat down in the chair by his head, looking at his face. “Jack.” she stared at his
face, waiting. He slept on, the only indication of life being the flutter of a piece of thread
on the pillow by his nose. “Jack.” she said firmly, raising her voice. He opened his eyes
suddenly, looking at her like she made no sense. “Take these.” she said, holding up the
pain pills. He looked from the pills to her and back again like he was trying to decide
which was more disgusting. Finally, silently, he took the pills, popping them in his
mouth. He refused to sit up, tilting the cup sideways to slosh some of the water into his
91 Summertime
mouth. He swallowed hard, the pills sliding down. He lay down again, silently. She
stayed there beside him, watching him breathe. Almost an hour later, his fever finally
broke. He stopped sweating, finally sleeping peacefully. She pressed her fingers to his
wrist, making sure he wasn’t dead. She checked her watch. The time had seemed, to her,
to be days but it had only been around 7 hours. It was 1:39 AM..
Danielle lay down in her own cot, still watching Jack. She left the lamp burning
bright, afraid to let it be dim. She slowly fell asleep, sliding down into darkness, the
echoes of her friend’s screams reverberating across her dreams. The rain still pounded
down outside, turning the mossy forest floor into mud. Thunder reverberated off the
mountains, the light flashing at the closed grate. The monster was still there, pressed
against the shed wall. Slowly, he realized that the humans inside had fallen asleep. Water
poured down his back, getting into his ears. He shook his head hard, the flaps slapping
against his forehead like a Labrador retriever’s, he retreated, now, disappointed. And still
very, very hungry. He retreated to the shelter of a Larch tree, leaning up against the trunk.
The rain was less here, and he was able to clear his ears of water. He wondered, forlornly,
if he would be allowed to go home. The humans weren’t going anywhere the man was
sick, the woman too loyal to abandon him and get herself out. The crashing of the thunder
above him made his mind up. He turned back in the direction of the campground, running
his fingers gently along the collar that hung about his neck, hidden by the collar of his
shirt. Readjusting it so the black box didn’t rub so much on his neck.
92 Summertime
***
Dogs barked, pulling at their leads. Campers were packing, grumbling and shooting
nasty looks at the uniformed men who strode about the campground. None of them were
allowed to leave however the officers had made that clear. Each and every person had to
be interviewed before they could leave, had to tell all they knew about the four young
people who had gone out in the Boat, and hadn’t come back. The frazzled Mother tried to
keep her children together, almost impossible when there were so many interesting things
to look at, so many nasty looking dogs to pet. Robbie and Emily, in particular, were hard
to keep a hold of. Robbie skipped around, telling the officers all about the man he had
tried to “get with a crayfish,” and how the “mean lady” had stopped him, and told on him
to his mom. Emily seemed to be of the opinion that the “mean lady” had horrible fashion
sense, and in particular, horrible taste in lipstick, and this she kept saying loudly to
everyone within earshot. The Masons stood in the doorway of their camper, distributing
93 Summertime
pop to people still, watching all that was happening outside. Neither they nor the frazzled
Mother’s family had any intention of leaving, not until they found out what had happened
to those kids.
***
The singing of morning birds woke Jack, his back still aching. He felt like he
might just break apart, the pain of the treatment last night still fresh in his mind. He got
stiffly up, still in pain but, he noticed, he felt stronger. He looked around, something
nibbling at the back of his mind. Something was missing but what? With a jolt he
realized the door was open, Danielle gone out of the room. He panicked, getting up too
quickly, getting dizzy and almost falling. “Danielle?” he called, collapsing into the chair
she had left by his bed. “Danielle?” he tried to get up again, tried to get to the door. The
world spun, his head suddenly aching again. Danielle burst through the door, her eyes
wide. “What is it? Are you okay?” she asked, her eyes darting around the room. He
relaxed into the chair, relieved. “Where did you go?” he asked, his voice louder than he
intended. Danielle stopped short, a hurt look coming into her eyes. “I was just looking for
something to use for a broom.” she said, brushing her hair out of her eyes. “I took the
94 Summertime
machete with me.” she held the knife out for him to see. He looked at the floor, ashamed
of himself. “Im sorry I yelled at you.” he muttered, looking down and away. She stood
for a moment, her head to the side, considering her friend. “It’s okay,” she said, dropping
the machete on the table, “As long as you didn’t rip your back .” “I will be back in one
minute, okay? Just stay there.” she ran out the door before he could protest. His eyes
were fixed on the machete, which she had left sitting on the table. Before twenty seconds
could pass, she was back, carrying a long cedar branch. She leant it against the table,
grabbing the bottle of pain pills off the shelf where she had left them. “Here, take these.”
she said briskly, handing him two with a cup of water. He took them gratefully, hoping
they would end either the throbbing in his back or the pounding in his head. “What
happened? He asked, his mind groggy. “You got blood poisoning.” she said, turning to
the pot that she had bubbling on the burner. “Blood poisoning?” he asked, trying to make
his mind focus. “Doesn’t that mean I need a doctor?” “Yes, ideally.” Danielle said,
putting handfuls of something in a red bag into the pot. “But since we are in the middle of
nowhere, all you have is me.” she stirred the pot with a spoon. “Do you think you could
lay down on those?” she pointed to the other side of the room. He turned his head, taking
it in. She had lined about 6 wide logs up, like a bench. They were all level. “Maybe, if we
put a blanket on top.” he said, a question in his voice. “Okay, then put a blanket on it
while I get this ready.” he got up, grabbing his blanket and throwing it over the logs
haphazardly. “What are you doing?” he asked suspiciously. “I am going to make you
better.” she said over her shoulder, still stirring the pot. He walked up behind her, looking
down into the mix. “What are you going to do with teabags?” He frowned, confused. “my
95 Summertime
mom had blood poisoning before, and my cousin used teabags to get the poison out.” she
said briskly, taking the pot off the burner. She poured it into the biggest bowl, almost
overflowing it. Jack watched curiously. She looked up at him, uncertainty in her eyes.
“Its going to really hurt again.” she said, her voice trembling. Jack shook his head. “If it
will make the pain stop in the end, I’m all for it.” he said, turning towards the makeshift
hospital bed. “No, wait.” she said, directing him toward the chair. “Eat some dried fruit
first, you threw up all your soup last night around 4.” she said, pushing the dry food
toward him. He gnawed on a blueberry, watching her carefully. She washed out the pot,
filling it and setting it back on the burner. The bowl of teabags sat in the middle of the
table, steaming ominously. She swept the floor with her cedar branch, sweeping it all out
the door and off the step. She left the makeshift broom outside the door, closing the door
securely sliding the screwdriver back in, popping the wood blocks back in their brackets.
When he was done, Danielle straightened the blanket, folding it under itself a few times
to give him some padding. He pulled his shirt off, laying it carefully across the back of
the chair. He unclipped the bandages, letting it unravel a bit at a time. She took the
bandage, turning towards the boiling pot. As he watched, she dropped it delicately in, her
fingers withdrawn so as not to get burnt. She let it boil there, turning towards him again,
picking up the bowl of teabags. He lay down on his stomach, dreading the treatment that
was about to come. He cradled his head , crossing his arms under his chin. She knelt
beside him, picking one of the tea bags up out of the bowl. “I told you this is going to
hurt, right?” she asked timidly, the steaming tea bag held in her hand. “Just do it.” he
said, closing his eyes. She placed the teabag squarely on the worst part of the infection,
96 Summertime
where the red line still ran along his shoulder. His whole body jumped at the pain. It felt
like she had stuck a hot knife through his shoulder, and tears streamed from his eyes in
response. Every nerve ending in his body seemed to be on fire. She placed another one
beside it, doubling the pain. She added another, and another, placing them gently, never
pushing hard. It was torture, but this time he managed not to scream. The pain was
incredible, but yet, it was less than the night before. Soon, the bowl was empty every one
of those boiling hot teabags on his back. He could feel the infection, now it bubbled, it
hissed, it screamed its displeasure at being sucked out. It sent crackling pain all along his
body, making his limbs jerk and jump. “I’m going to leave them on, for ten minutes.” she
told him, getting up. She sat in the chair beside him, watching her watch carefully. The
infection still bubbled, he could feel it; but he could also feel it, slowly being drawn out
each molecule that left his body a relief. Behind the pain was a delicious, healing feeling
like sinking into a warm bath. Danielle checked her watch it had only been two minutes.
She watched her friend sadly, watching the pain play out across his face. Blood began to
seep out from beneath one of the tea bags, and she ran to the sink, grabbing one of the
rags she had sterilized with boiling water. She wiped the blood away, lifting the teabag
gently off his back. The wound was bright red there, all of the black scab and dirt
removed. She dropped the tea bag into the garbage box, bringing it over to sit beside
herself. She watched carefully, but no more tea bags produced blood. Only five minutes
had passed. Jack could feel that warm feeling, spreading all the way to his toes. “I think
it’s working.” he said, almost giddy with relief. Danielle grinned. It was the best news
she had had in days. “ It wont be healed the first time, not when it was that bad.” she
97 Summertime
cautioned, “but I hope it will give you some relief from the pain.” six minutes had
passed, when the puck suddenly burnt out underneath the pot. She left him for a minute,
draining the pot into the sink, fishing the hot tenser bandage out of the boiling water. She
pressed it out, holding the doubled bandage with one fork and pressing the water out with
the back of one of the many hunting knives that hung on the wall. She hung it over the
wash basin sides, leaving it to steam dry. Suddenly remembering the time, she looked
down at her watch. It had now been 12 minutes. She went back to Jack, beginning to
remove the tea bags. He sighed, the relief immeasurable. Danielle laughed, happy that her
friend seemed a little better. “How does it feel?” she asked, picking them off carefully.
The undersides, where they had touched his back, came off ringed with black, poison
dripping out. She put her hand underneath them as she lifted them, trying to keep it from
dripping back onto his back. “Amazing.” he said, waiting patiently for her to be done. “I
hoped you would say that.” she picked the last few off. He sat up, looking down into the
box. It was a pile of poison, all black and brown, red in places, crystallized pus clinging
to some of the bags. “Wow.” he said simply, staring at what had just been pulled out of
his body. “Yes, wow.” she said, shoving the box over by the door. “Now, you have to
hold still while I clean all that tea up off your back. She washed his back again, and this
time, it only stung a little compared to the horrible, keening pain of the night before. She
bandaged him carefully, using the fresh bandages she had found, and wrapped him with
the tenser bandage, still slightly damp. He put his shirt on over it again, standing up. The
room didn’t spin so much now, but he was still light headed. “Here, have a coffee.” she
said, pushing a cup towards him. She checked the peephole quickly, unbolting the door.
98 Summertime
“What are you doing?” he asked, leaning over so he could see. “Im taking the garbage
out.” she said simply, swinging the door open. “Be careful, Danielle ” he shouted, getting
up to stand in the doorway. “Jack, I have seen one friend disappear, one friend definitely
die, and one friend nearly die of blood poisoning. If that thing really wants to tangle,
when I am armed” at this, she swung the machete up for him to see, glinting in the sun
“then let it. I’ll castrate it.” Jack laughed, wobbling in the doorway. He suddenly had a
picture in his head of the monster, running for its life, Danielle chasing after it, screaming
like a warrior and swinging the machete.
***
The pop man sat in the doorway of his camper, watching the activity outside.
Robbie, the one who had found the purse, sat beside him, drinking a pop. The Police
walked back and forth, assessing things. Almost every other camper had left, except for a
little girl and her father, who had already packed up. Just the Mason’s camp, and
Robbie’s family’s camp remained, where there were people. There were three other
camps left, with no owners. One, Robbie knew to be the tall woman’s, one of the ones
who had been on the Boat he had run past her car when she was coming in, and he
99 Summertime
recognized it now, sitting empty in her campground. One of the other two had two tents
one of them contained the ID of the dark haired man, Jack Vance, and the other had
women’s clothing inside. The red haired man, Robbie knew, had been staying in the tent
right
Across from the pop man’s. The Police left these standing, walking around them,
looking, not touching. “Why do they do that?” Robbie asked the pop man, leaning
forward to get a better look. “I don’t know.” the pop man said, taking a big sip of coffee.
Robbie considered for a moment, watching the Police. “Can I go ask?” he said brightly,
hopping up. “Oh, no.” the old man said, laughing at the boy’s eagerness. “Your Mother
said stay here, and I think you better.” Robbie considered this for a moment, looking back
towards his family’s camper, where his Mother kept his siblings busy, painting. Her
eyebrows were almost nonexistent, since she had been pulling them out with nerves. Her
lipstick was smeared across her right cheek, and she had forgotten to put on any eye
makeup this morning. She was definitely not in the mood to be messed with. “You’re
right.” he said promptly, plopping down again. The old man laughed, turning his
attention back to the Police. Two Policemen boarded a Boat, taking off down the
shoreline in the direction people had seen the young people go.
***
100 Summertime
Danielle dumped the box out a safe distance away from the shed, hoping to avoid
bringing bears around. As she bent over, the sound of a twig snapping not far away in the
bush ahead of her brought her back upright, the machete held high in her hand.
“Danielle?” Jack called into the bush, the sound not lost on him. Danielle flinched,
wishing he would shut up. Now, whatever was out there, knew she was out there too
alone. She backed up slowly, her eyes wide, scrutinizing the bushes ahead. Everything
seemed peaceful the green light illuminating everything, a snail sliming its way up the
nearest tree trunk. The creek than ran through the forest not far away bubbled merrily,
punctuated by the occasional tumble of a rock down the stream bed. The sun warming the
forest pleasantly, a soft breeze ruffling through the fronds of the evergreens that were
most dominant here.
The Creature peered through the trees, his eyes sharp on the girl who stood, not
far away, the knife raised high in her hand. He took her whole body in, analyzing her she
could bring the knife down fast, and hurt him but not if he grabbed her wrist first. He
tensed, ready to take her by surprise.
101 Summertime
Danielle listened carefully, the silence pressing in on her like a ton of bricks.
Every nerve in her body was on fire ready for flight, wanting to fight knowing that
wasn’t a viable option. She backed another step away and a soft, brushing sound alerted
her to the Creature’s presence. She bolted, running backwards before she even turned, the
machete flashing in her hand. “Jack!” she screamed, flying for the shed. Jack stretched
out his hand, unable to run, unable to help. Caught off guard, the Creature screamed,
running after her. She was up the steps before it had even cleared the bushes. It burst out
just as Jack swung the door shut, putting all his weight against it. Danielle pushed against
it, too, swinging the padlock shut, dropping the screwdriver in just as the Creature threw
its entire weight against it. The door dented, groaning and popping. Danielle screamed,
clapping her hands over her ears. Jack grabbed the wooden blocks off the bed, kicking
the dent out of the door. He dropped the first in its bracket, spinning to grab the other one
as the Creature screamed, throwing its weight repeatedly against the door. It banged its
head off the metal in frustration, blood running down its face. He had been so close. Jack
dropped the second bracket in place, backing up, grabbing onto Danielle. They held onto
each other, staring at the door in terror. “I told you to be careful.” Jack said, his breath
coming in short gasps. “I’m sorry.” Danielle sobbed, barely able to keep from urinating.
The Creature threw himself against the door repeatedly, screaming and screaming.
Suddenly, it stopped. The silence was deafening. “Where is it?” Danielle whispered her
voice barely audible. “I don’t know,” Jack whispered back, looking at the door
cautiously. Danielle began to cry silently, tears streaming down her face. Jack moved
102 Summertime
cautiously, getting up to the peephole by the door. He moved the cover back, pressing his
eye up against the peephole and the Monster was looking back. He yelled, falling down
onto his back, the pain instant and horrifying, taking his breath away. The Monster
screeched in triumph, throwing itself against the wall. The two friends cowered inside,
Danielle in tears, Jack barely able to breathe from the pain. The monster’s fury lasted
forever, until suddenly, it stopped again. “Is it gone?” Danielle whispered, staring at the
wall. “I don’t think so.” Jack said, getting up on his feet. Danielle crept up to the other
peephole, on the other side of the door. She stood on tiptoe, peeking through the hole.
The monster paced, facing the shed at all times, its head tilted down, as if it would
charge. “It’s still there.” she whispered, turning to face Jack. “I think it’s going to stay
there, too.” Jack said, sitting down heavily in the chair. “What are we going to do?”
Danielle asked, tears streaming down her face. The sound of a helicopter cut off their
conversation. Danielle grabbed the other chair, jumping up to see through the grate. A
helicopter was flying, a distance away, almost right in front of them, but off to the left
right where Jack had said the Campground was. “They're looking for us” Danielle
sobbed, happiness mixing with anguish and fear. “Jack, they're looking for us!” The
helicopter moved to the right, stopping far to the right of the grate. She pivoted on the
chair, staring at the helicopter, trying to see what it was after. A rope descended from it,
extending, it looked like, to the ground. “Are they coming this way?” Jack asked, still
sitting gingerly on the chair. “No, I think its picking something up...” she said, pressing
her face against the grate. Suddenly, the Helicopter lifted up, and at the end of the rope,
like a giant ornament in the sky, swung the Boat. “They found the Boat!” Danielle
103 Summertime
jumped down from the chair. “They have the Boat!” Jack grinned, the pain momentarily
forgotten. Suddenly, behind them, the creature growled again. The sound reverberated
around them, as if it were breathing down their necks. Danielle gasped, spinning around.
The creature threw itself against the back wall, snarling, trying to find a weak spot. “I
don’t think we can stay here until they get this far.” Jack said, his voice shaking with
stress. Danielle grabbed the bottle of pain pills, pulling out two, pushing them into his
hand. “What are you doing?” he asked, confused. “Just take them, Jack.” she said, pulling
boxes out from under the table. “I think I have a plan.”
***
The police woman stood, her hand shading her eyes, staring up at the sky, where the
Mason’s boat dangled, shredded. Mr. Mason stood beside her, his mouth gaping stupidly
open as he stared at the mess his boat was in. “You found the young kids, right?” he
asked, looking down at the policewoman. “No, we did not.” she said sadly, staring sternly
up at the boat. Mr. Mason stared from her to the boat, speechless. Robbie stood nearby,
listening in. The boat was sure shredded, he thought the motor was totally gone. A new
104 Summertime
vehicle drove up, the doors popping open. Four men hopped out, each of them carrying
diving equipment. Mrs. Mason began to cry, her hand pressed over her mouth.
***
Danielle tightened Jack’s bandages, the flashlight shoved into the waist of her
borrowed jeans. “We’re gonna have to run, you know that right?” she asked, tightening
them as hard as she could. “Yes, I know.” Jack nodded, holding his arms above his head
so she could reach around his body. “What are you planning, anyways?” he asked,
wincing as she clipped the bandages into place. They were very tight but he could still
bend, and that’s what he needed. The bandages would keep the wounds from opening
again. The creature still threw itself against the wall, but now on a different side. The
entire shed bounced and shivered from its efforts. The banging punctuated her words as
she explained. “I am going to make a sling, to throw that heavy jar with.” She said,
nodding at the coffee jar on the table. “I will put it through the grate at the top, and use
the sling to throw it as far as I can to the back.” she gathered up rags and unused
bandages, tying them together. Jack nodded, readying himself. “What should I do?” he
asked, listening carefully. She stopped to think, looking at him with a blank expression.
105 Summertime
“Watch out the back.” she said finally, shaking her head to clear it. “Okay.” he said,
hopping up on the cot. He pressed his eye against the peephole, watching carefully.
Danielle dropped the bottle of pills into her pocket. “Be ready to run as soon as you see
him go.” Danielle cautioned, getting up on the chair. He nodded silently, watching. She
checked the watch. 10:20 AM. She put her arms up through the grate, holding onto the
sling in one hand, wedging the coffee jar through with the other. She slung the coffee jar
in, trying to see towards the back. She swung it in a circle, pumping with her arm, once,
twice; and then she let it go. It sailed in exactly the right direction, high and far. Jack saw
it disappear among the trees, and all three of them heard it smash. The monster whirled,
taking off after the sound with a maddening grunt, squealing as it pumped its legs, trying
to run faster and faster. As it took off, Jack jumped down off the cot, as silently as he
could, grabbing Danielle around the waist, pulling her down off the chair. They threw the
boards away, wrenching the screwdriver out, throwing the door open, and simply ran.
The creature still ran in the other direction, fury ruling its mind. Jack and Danielle ran as
fast as they could, passing the pile of garbage and the garbage box, still laying on its side
in the moss. They ran faster, terror gripping them as they heard the furious, keening,
howling scream of the monster as it came around a tree to find the smashed jar of coffee,
the sling crumpled in a heap with it. Their feet pounded the moss down as they flew over
the raised roots of the trees, hurtling through the forest, barely seeing anything as they
flew. Jack’s back screamed at him, the pain a motivation as he gripped Danielle’s hand,
pulling her along behind him. Danielle found herself pulled along like a ragdoll behind
him, her feet barely touching the ground in places. Even as fast as they went, the monster
106 Summertime
was catching up behind them. Suddenly, Jack took off to the left, swinging Danielle
along. She tried to be quiet, now; and they ran into a thicket, hiding there, just as the
monster burst through the bush where they had been, racing into the forest ahead without
stopping, missing them even as they were still visible between the branches of the thicket
they hid in. They both fell to the ground, eyes wide, panting. The screams of the monster
disappeared ahead of them, fading away. Jack grabbed Danielle, jerking her upright. “He
won’t be fooled long,” he whispered, pulling her along again. They jogged, now off to
the left, towards the campground. The maintained their forward momentum, aware of the
need to reach the lake. The creature still ran forward, way off of their actual course. Jack
and Danielle ran as far as they could before they had to rest. They stopped in another
thicket, the branches so close together they couldn’t be seen inside. They could hear the
campground, or at least, they thought they could; there were dogs barking, a lot of dogs
barking. Afraid to stop for too long, they tromped on, too tired, now, to run. They kept
moving, the instinct to survive overriding all else.
***
107 Summertime
The police woman stood, her arms outstretched, in front of the pack of dogs that ran
towards the campground. “Stop!” she yelled, waving her arms. The team turned, the man
on the wheeled sled behind them squinting at her like she’d lost her mind. “What’re you
doing here?” he asked haughtily, as if he owned the whole world. Another officer showed
up behind her, backing her up. “I’m afraid we can’t allow any new campers in.” she said,
folding her hands behind her back. “I’m not here to camp,” he said gruffly, craning his
neck to see behind her. At the sight of the destroyed boat, resting on the beach where the
helicopter had left it, his eyes widened. “I bring my dogs up here for exercise, once a
week or so.” he said, looking back at the officers. “Even so, we can’t let you in.” she said,
keeping her voice level. “There has been an accident, and there are four missing people.”
He nodded, the entitled look disappearing from his face. “Do you all need any help?” he
asked, his voice lowered now. “No, just please leave now.” she said briskly, turning back
to the job at hand. The man on the wheeled sled took another, long look at the destroyed
boat, whistling long and low. He turned back towards the town, spitting over the handle
of the sled as he went. The baying of the dogs died down in the distance.
***
The light was beginning to fade beneath the canopy, making the going harder for Jack
and Danielle as they fought to keep going, their exhaustion and terror threatening to
overtake them. Danielle was flagging fast, following behind Jack as quickly as she could,
108 Summertime
who went surprisingly fast for an injured man. Behind them, the creature had once again
caught their scent, after hours of chasing nothing. His fury propelled him forward, his lips
drawn back from his teeth, bared at the scent of his prey.
Danielle stopped short, listening hard. The sound of the dogs was disappearing,
fading into the distance. “Oh, no.” she said, speeding her pace. “Oh, no, JackTheir going
the wrong way!” Jack heard it too. They sped up, the fading light their enemy. Suddenly,
Danielle tripped, falling face forward... into water. She sputtered, dragging herself up and
out. “Jack!” she shouted triumphantly, standing up, dripping wet. They looked at each
other, jubilation plain on their faces. “All creeks lead to the lake!” they said together,
taking off down the creek bed, wading in the water. Danielle slipped once or twice, but
they made a good pace along the creek. Suddenly, Jack’s feet flew out from under him...
and he slid the final distance down the slippery rocks, right into the lake. Danielle fell
after him, barely able to avoid hitting him as she spun, out of control, into the lake.
Danielle opened her eyes underwater, rolling over. Jack was above her, trying to find the
way up. They broke the surface, laughing hysterically. Jack turned around, looking to the
opposite shore, expecting to see the campground but there was nothing. The smile faded
away from his face. “Wait,” he said, turning frantically in the water, “where did it go?”
Danielle’s smile faded, tears replacing the happiness. “What do you mean, where did it
109 Summertime
go?” Danielle screamed, her heart pounding in her chest. Jack turned slowly, horror
settling in. They were nowhere near the campground. Not even close. “No!” Danielle
began screaming, her cries echoing off the trees around them. Jack sucked air in, turning
towards the other shore. “HELP! ” he screamed, his voice coming back to him. On the far
other end of the lake, Robbie thought, for a moment, that he heard a voice.... but the
Divers were down near where the boat had been found... and he was sure, he was
positive, in fact that it was just the divers, shouting back and forth, getting ready to come
back before the light failed them completely.
Jack and Danielle dragged themselves out of the lake, Danielle in tears. She collapsed
on the ground, her body exhausted from the chase. “Where do we go?” she sobbed
incoherently, her heart pounding, her chest paining. Jack, unable to understand her,
dragged his aching body out of the lake. The pain pills were wearing off, the pain in his
back screaming at him again; the poison winning over. He was exhausted, the fever
beginning to spike again; he wasn’t sure how much farther he could run. His muscles
shook in response to the stress, and it didn’t make things any easier the world shook
around him, making him feel sick even as he spread his arms out, trying to steady himself
against the ground.
110 Summertime
The monster watched through the bushes silently. They were in the lake he couldn’t
possibly follow them there he wasn’t allowed to leave the safety of the trees. He had
already broken the rules once, walking into the clearing they had made with their boat.
He had been punished severely for it. He would not stand it again. They came up into the
bushes again, their voices rising and falling.
“You said! You promised.” Danielle was screaming, her heart pounding in her chest.
“I’m sorry!” Jack screamed back, “I don’t know what to do anymore!” Danielle
collapsed, grief taking over. She sobbed, completely drained. “Why don't you think of
something for once?" Jack turned away, the responsibility of all he had caused falling on
him. The monster stepped out of the bushes, creeping up behind Danielle with silent
steps, intending to grab her before she could run again, before the infected man could
turn around. Jack turned to Danielle, his eyes popping wide. “Look out!” Jack dove for
Danielle, grabbing her up and out of the way. They whirled to face it, their backs to the
trees. The creature tripped, falling on its own face, thrashing around to get up again. In
the dying light, Jack and Danielle ran for their lives, their feet pounding over the forest
floor. The monster scrambled to its feet, running after them as silent as it could, hoping to
111 Summertime
catch them by surprise. It followed the sounds of their flight the pounding of their feet
against the wooden tree roots, the scrabble of a rock as they kicked it free, the panting of
their breath, periodic rips as their clothing caught on the brambles and brier they ran
through, and most of all, the inescapable beating of their hearts.
Danielle sped ahead of Jack, turning back to see where the monster was. He had
disappeared again, somewhere among the trees and bushes, but she knew, she felt, that he
was there. She ran, her bones in her legs cracking and popping, aching as she pushed
herself harder and harder to get away. Jack ran behind her, his back bleeding down his
legs, barely able to keep up. Suddenly, Danielle split herself away from him, running
down into a gully. Jack was alone, running in the dark. “Danielle?” he skidded to a stop,
swinging around in the dark. Before he could turn back the way she had gone, the
monster was on him. They collided, falling to the ground. Jack screamed in pain, reacting
violently as the remaining scabs on his back ripped open beneath the bandages. He
punched out, hitting the monster in the head repeatedly. It let him go, screaming in pain.
He jumped up, running down into the gully after Danielle.
112 Summertime
Danielle stood at the bottom, her eyes wide with horror. All around her, piled
high, leaves covering some, flesh still rotting off the ends of some, were human bones.
Children’s bones. Adult’s bones. The gully was a trash heap, garbage from the monster.
Maggots writhed and pulsed in the upturned skull of a child, sucking and popping,
crunching on the bone. Flies whirled up from the heap as she stumbled past, settling back
down again, gorging themselves on the remains. Bush rats whisked over the piles,
delicate morsels of human flesh hanging from their mouths. Something large growled as
she passed, pulling a large bone from the bottom of the pile. There were skulls, separate
from the piles they were lined up, all along the edges of the gully, looking down on their
own remains. Suddenly, one tottered and fell in, skipping over the bumps in the forest
floor. It landed by her foot, staring up at her. Maggots writhed in its eye sockets, sucking
and popping just like in the other skull. She vomited, the smell overpowering. Jack
caught up to her then, covering his face as the smell hit him. He didn’t stop to let the
horror register he grabbed onto Danielle, pulling her along behind him like a kite. As he
passed, he kicked the skull, sending it flying against a femur that stuck out of a
particularly old looking pile. It spun in midair, spraying its contents all over the gully.
They flew up and out of the gully, dodging the flying filth, exhaustion replaced by the
drive, the need to live. They took off to the right, into the deeper bushes hoping it would
hide them from the monster.
113 Summertime
The monster lay on the ground, his head aching. The man had hit him so hard... he
sniffed, tears standing out in his eyes. He got to his knees, moaning long and low in his
throat. “Get up, Douglas.” a voice came from his left, a voice he knew. He cowered,
shielding himself with his arms. “I said get up, or else.” the voice demanded again, sharp
and harsh. An electric shock was delivered through the black collar under the collar of
his coat, sending him wheeling to his feet, an obedient puppet. He stood with his head
bowed, waiting for the order. “Go and get me that meat, boy.” the voice said coldly. The
creature nodded, taking off once again after Jack and Danielle.
Jack and Danielle ran desperately through the forest, their bodies humming with
adrenaline as they ran. Danielle’s eyes were dry now, her heart pounding, all thought
absent. Her spine tingled, expecting, at any moment, for the monster to grab her from
behind. Jack led her along the shore, running back in the way they had come. The bush
was dense here, and they crashed through it, knocking over entire bushes in their hurry.
They were finally heading towards the campground, but they didn’t know that. They
couldn’t see, couldn’t pause to climb a tree and get their bearings. The monster chased
them, no farther away than just behind the next tree, closing in all the time. Pains shot
114 Summertime
across Danielle’s chest, hampering her progress. How, how had the monster been allowed
to make that pile? She felt the monster's hand trail through her hair, his fingers slipping
through it, grasping without achieving purchase. They turned down an easier path
suddenly, momentarily confusing the monster but just for a moment. It was after them
again the next second, pushing itself hard to make up the lost distance. Jack gripped her
wrist like iron, but Danielle was having trouble tripping and stumbling, having trouble
keeping her balance as she was pulled along her heart pounding unusually loud in her
chest. Suddenly, the monster choked and screamed behind them, and they knew, from
the sound, that it had stopped stopped without any apparent reason. They didn’t stop,
still running as fast as they could.
The monster had fallen, its legs wedged into an opening in the rocky earth. It
screamed, clinging to the surrounding earth to keep from falling into the cave. It
screamed and squealed, calling for help. Nothing and no one came. The monster was all
alone, clinging to the dirt. He slid slowly but surely down, his feet dangling.
Jack and Danielle ran blindly into the trees, stopping only when the monster’s
screams died out in the background. “What stopped it?” Danielle panted, holding a stitch
in her side. “I think it got stuck, like there was a hole or something.” Jack slid down a
tree, grimacing at the pain in his back. “I think we can rest, just for a minute.” Danielle
checked the watch. 9:36 PM. Breathing heavily, she flopped down on the moss,
115 Summertime
catching her breath. “How far away from the campground do you think we are now?” she
asked, dreading the answer. He shook his head. “I have no idea anymore, don’t ask me.”
He got up all too soon, holding his hand out to her. She pushed herself up off the ground,
taking his hand. They began to pick their way over the roots and pits in the forest floor,
finding their way through the dark. "Do you think it's safe to use the flashlight?" Danielle
asked hesitantly, pulling it out of her waistband. Jack's head jerked back. "You mean
you've had a flashlight this whole time?" he asked incredulously, stomping over roots,
smearing moss to mush. She smiled in the dark after everything, it felt unnatural. She
pulled the flashlight out, switching it on. It flickered, water between the two layers of
glass that made the lens over the bulb. Danielle shook it hard, stopping to smack it
soundly off a tree trunk. It came on steady, cutting through the darkness. They carried on
into the now complete darkness beneath the canopy, the flashlight now their only
advantage.
"What was that, back there in the gully?" Jack asked, trying to take the flashlight out
of her hand. She held onto it, glaring at him like she would bite his hand off. He gave it
up. "A lot of bones." she said, shaking her head. 'Yes," Jack said impatiently, holding a
branch out of her way, "I got that. I mean how do that many people go missing and no
one notices?" Danielle shook her head again, trying to make sense of it all. "A lot of
people go missing off the highways around here." she said, shining the flashlight ahead
for him to see. "All I can think of is that some of those bones are some of those people
116 Summertime
there are flyers all over the place." She shuddered, remembering the wall of missing
person flyers at work. There were young people, old people. People, who had been
hitchhiking, people who seemed to have gotten flats. People even went missing from
their yards, sometimes but didn’t they everywhere? Didn’t they always? Didn’t people,
sometimes, just decide to pack up and go without telling anyone at all? It happened but
those bones belonged to somebody. She turned it all over in her mind, holding onto Jack's
hand. "Danielle, don't hog the flashlight." Jack said flatly, tugging on her hand. "Oh, I'm
sorry!" she said, shining it ahead for him to see again.
Behind them, the creature dug his thick, stubby fingers into the earth, a high pitched
whine escaping as it tried to pull itself up. Its leg slipped, almost sending it down beneath
the surface.
"How far do you think we are from the campground, now?" Jack asked Danielle,
tugging on her hand to get her attention. She was going off into left field again, her steps
slowing as she pondered on the bones. "What?" she asked, snapping back to attention.
"How far do you think to the campground?" He lifted his leg over a fallen log. Danielle
completely missed it, almost falling over the log herself. Jack caught her, pulling her
upright with a jerk. She lifted her leg a minute too late, clearing the log but added yet
another bruise. She suddenly felt all of her injuries the aching in her legs from the
pounding motion of constant running, the scratches all over her face, including on her
117 Summertime
eyelids from the branches she ran through, and a sudden, inconvenient pain, right in her
back. "I don't know either, and it’s too dark to climb a tree and see." she said, taking the
lead, turning her attention back to the task at hand survival. She shone the flashlight up,
checking the trees around them. Nothing followed them not right now, anyways. "I think
we should change direction.” she said, pulling on his hand. "What?" Jack stopped dead,
facing the way they had been going, as if afraid to lose it. "Look, I think we're going
uphill." she said calmly. "What are you talking about? I don’t feel anything!" Jack said,
his voice rising with stress. "Oh, calm down, Jack!" she said sharply, her own voice
rising now. "I'm just stating my opinion!" she dropped his hand, striding off in another
direction. "Danielle!" Jack stood in the same place, staring after her. She had the only
light. She turned around, her temper erupting. "Do you know, if it weren’t for you I
wouldn’t even be here right now!" he nodded. "Yea, I know!" he said, still refusing to
leave his spot. "But shouldn’t we work together to get out of here?" "I don’t know if I
want to work together with you." she said, waving the light around. "I don’t know if you
can be trusted." she turned her back on him, fully intending to walk away and leave him
alone in the dark. "Danielle! Wait!" he called, leaving his spot. He ran after her, the terror
of being left alone overiding his stubbornness. "I'm sorry!" "It doesn’t change the fact
that all of this is your fault!" she screamed, nearly throwing the flashlight at him. "You
just had to have a beer. You couldn’t hold off! You couldn’t have any restraint! You
couldn’t say, "oh, I've had a PRESCRIPTION pain pill so I won't have a beer today!" no!
Not Jack!" She strode ahead of him, forgetting the need to be quiet. He followed quietly,
guilt burning in his chest. “And how many pills did you take, anyways?” she stopped,
118 Summertime
turning to face him. He looked away. She knew him too well back at the campground, in
his small tent, was a bag with 4 bottles of 100 prescription pain pills.
Behind them, the creature could hear them fighting. He whined, still stuck halfway in
and halfway out of the gaping earth. he stretched his fingers out, searching for something
to grab onto. his fingers curled around something, suddenly, and he clung to it, afraid to
lose his hold. he let his weight hang on that arm for a few moments, all of his muscles
shaking from the exertion of keeping himself from falling into the hole.
Jack grabbed her arm, trying to turn her around. She jerked away, still moving fast
ahead of him in the bush. He tripped suddenly; falling down amongst the raised, sun
baked hard roots, blood sliding out of him onto the ground. he felt weak, and just stayed
there the wounds crippling. Danielle kept walking, ranting at him for what he had done
until she realized that he no longer followed. "Oh, yea!" she said sarcastically, turning
around. "You so want to apologize! You want to apologize so frigin much you frig off in
the middle of a conversation!" her flashlight swept over the area, falling suddenly on
Jack. She bit the words off, stopping her rant immediately. He lay on the ground, almost
completely white. The tree trunk behind him was covered in blood he had been leaning
against that just before he grabbed her arm. "Jack?" she said hesitantly, taking a few
unsure steps forward. He was knocked out, the blood loss, infection, and stress simply too
much. She ran forward, turning him over. "Jack? Jack!" she smacked his face, his head
119 Summertime
snapping to the side. "Ow!" he jerked awake; the left side of his face stinging like a
million nettles had been rubbed on it. "What’s wrong with you?" Danielle raged,
dragging him to his feet. One look told her all the back of his shirt was almost
completely covered in blood. "Oh my god, Jack!" she said, putting him gently back
down again. "Why didn’t you say anything!!" "what am I supposed to say?" he snapped
back, his temper getting the best of him "oh, gee, Danielle, I know we're running for our
lives from a horrible beastie in the middle of nowhere, but hey, can we stop and fix up
my back, even though the whole situation is my damn fault!" Danielle shook her head,
exasperated. "you're no good to me if you die of blood loss." she lifted his shirt,
inspecting the damage. it looked like it was infected again bright red but when she tried
to put her hand close to see if it was hot, like it had been the night of the poisoning, her
hand came away covered in blood and so she wasnt sure if it was infecting, or just
bleeding. "can you walk to the lake? she asked hesitantly, pulling the tenser bandage out
partway, finding it matted to his back. "I think I'd better, dont you?" he said tensely, the
pain coming back quickly, washing over hm like waves in the sea. Danielle helped him
up carefully, her anger forgotten in the face of his pain. together, they wobbled through
the bushes, evenually finding the lake. "can you float, or should we walk down a bit to
the shore? she asked, looking down the immediate drop to the surface below. "I think we
should walk down a bit," Jack looked like he might vomit. Danielle pulled him along,
now taking more of his weight than him. He was so much bigger than her, she was
forced to wrap her arm around his waist, pressing against his back. The pain made his
breath come in short gasps, his body shaking as he tried to walk. twice he stumbled, his
120 Summertime
knees hitting the ground hard. Danielle dragged him up each time, her back aching as she
fought to keep him going. "Come on, just a bit further," she said, meaning to be
encouraging. Jack moaned, his legs almost giving out from under him. the world span,
Danielle's voice warped, he was so light headed, he found himself wondering if it was
possible for him to just float away, down the lake, to where the campground used to be, if
it wasnt gone, faded into another reality, a ghosts world from the past. He wondered if
anyone would find his cell, and tell his Mom. "By the way, Miss Vance, your son drank
when on pain pills and crashed a boat with three of his friends in it, resulting in the
horrible death of two of them and the possible consumption of the third." great.
The monster clung to the root he had found, letting his weight hang off. slowly,
surely, he pulled himself up, arching his back as well as he could to keep as much of his
body as possible on the solid ground his feet swinging in the darkness below him,
pendulums in the cave. He knocked a rock loose, stopping to listen. It fell for a full 60
seconds before it hit the bottom. he wiggled his ears, listening for any other sounds.
There was nothing, now the humans had moved far enough away that he could no longer
hear them. He pulled himself up abreast of the root, a third of his body out of the hole.
The sharp rock at the edge of the opening pressed into his guts, compressing his organs.
He reached further, grabbing on to another, more solid root that sprung out of a tree,
121 Summertime
pushed down into the ground by the solid pine. He pulled as hard as he could, straining
his back muscles and suddenly, his legs popped up and out, and he lay on the solid
ground beside the hole, panting. he felt along his stomach where the sharp rock had been
a few cuts, and he felt like he'd been squeezed like a tube of toothpaste, but nothing more.
He lay, resting, among the gnarled roots on the pine tree he had used to pull himself out
of the hole.
Danielle helped Jack down the rocky border that separated the forest from the tiny
strip of sand that made the shore. He fell another time, skinning his knee and almost bring
Danielle down with him. "I'm sorry," he mumbled, his eyes almost closing. His body
was so hot, the fever raging. "Its okay, Jack," she said, pulling him down and into the
water, "just sit down." he sat on the sand in the shallows, letting her pull the shirt off. She
scrubbed it on a rock, blood running out of it like a waterfall. More blood ran down his
back, but it wasn’t as bad as she had thought only one wound bled, the rest raging with
infection. She washed his back gently, letting the cool water flow down his back as
gently as possible.
Jack shook, unable to control his body. The water burned like acid in the infection.
Tears flowed down his face, and he held his breath to keep from screaming, the
importance of silence dominating his thoughts. His whole body jerked with each time
she let the water flow down, pus and blood running away in the lake. As she pulled up
122 Summertime
more cool water, a twig snapped behind them. Danielle froze, staring over Jack's shoulder
towards the opposite shore. She listened, quietly, for a few moments. Jack kept his head
down, his eyes wide open. Hearing nothing, she let the water run down his back again,
without turning around. "Is it there?" Jack muttered, his heart pounding in his chest. "I
don't know." she muttered back, masking their words with the sound of the water. She
turned towards the rock she had scrubbed his shirt on, grabbing the tenser bandage from
where she had left it. Her eyes flicked up into the tree line, and there, just for a moment,
she saw the monster, framed in the moonlight amongst the bushes at the very edge of the
forest but as she looked, it melted away, retreating once again. She turned back to Jack,
reaching around him with the bandage. “it is there." she muttered, her mouth near his ear.
"What do we do?" he muttered back, lifting one arm. "It can't come into the water, I don't
think." she said, her mouth by his other ear as she wrapped the tenser bandage carefully
around. "Why do you think that is?" he mumbled back, turning his head for her to hear
him. "I don’t know, stand up." she said, helping him gently up. He grimaced, his back
screaming at him in protest. "it really hurts, Danielle." Jack said, his voice taking on a
hint of desperation. "I know, Jack." she said, tugging the tenser gently, progressively
tighter. The pain became concentrated, thick and cloying like putting a spoonful of lard
in his mouth. His whole body shook. "Danielle, I can't run." he said, turning his head,
trying to face her; but she stepped deftly behind his back, keeping her face flat. "Just give
that thought a minute." she said, remembering the pills she had out in her pocket back at
the shed. she stepped in front of him, pulling the pills out of the deepest part of her
pocket. "Where did you get those?" he asked incredulously, his mouth hanging open. she
123 Summertime
grinned, popping them open. "I brought them with me from the shed." she said, putting
three in his hand. "Take them with water." she stepped back, pulling out two for herself.
They took them quickly, neither wanting to stoop down to drink for too long, not with the
monster right there watching. The water tasted like rust. "Why do you think he's not
attacking us?" Jack whispered, trying to make his back muscles relax within the confines
of the bandage. Danielle stood facing Jack, looking slyly over his shoulder, finding the
creature still standing in the same place, retreated only a little bit into the tree line.
"Maybe he's afraid of it." she said, still looking over his shoulder. Jack shook his head it
was hard to think of such a murderous monster as being afraid of anything. "Afraid of
what?" he asked, his brow furrowing in confusion. "The lake, the water." she whispered
back, taking her eyes off the creature on shore. She looked down at her hands, the red
still running off of them. "Are you feeling any better now?" she asked, concerned.
Jack
stretched, evaluating. "I think so." Danielle bowed her head, looking down at the water.
"It’s still not attacking." she mumbled, a smile spreading across her face. Jack watched
her wearily, fiddling with his shirt, wet and cold against his skin. "We just have to stay
out here, in the water." she said, looking up at him with a smile on her face. "We can
wade all the way to the campground, as long as there are shallows." Jack smiled, his brain
making the connection. "So we're safe?" he asked tremulously, letting go of his shirt and
crossing his arms against the cold. "I think so." she said brightly, turning in the direction
she thought the campground would be. "Let’s try it, anyways." she reached back,
grabbing his hand again. Together, they began to wade down the shoreline, the bottle of
pills rattling in her pocket, water dripping off his shirt.
124 Summertime
The creature followed alongside, confused. Up until now, the humans had been in and
out of the water but now, they stayed in, strolling along like they didn't have a care in the
world. It was infuriating but the pain of punishment was greater than this, and he shied
away from the water, afraid to break the rules.
Danielle checked discreetly over her shoulder, feeling its eyes on her back. Sure
enough, it shadowed them, just in the darkness under the trees. "Its following." she said,
turning her attention back to getting through the shallows, when she couldn't see her feet.
Jack, his left arm crossed over his stomach, just smiled. He could think of nothing to say
nothing that wouldn't reveal the guilt burning inside. The crash was his fault, the death of
two friends was his fault, and now it looked like he might make it out of this horrible
dream alive. His only relief was that Danielle was still alive, walking beside him to
safety, even as the monster trailed them, its eyes like heat against his back. The infection
burned, it sizzled, it hissed, and it was motivation he knew, above all else that he had to
get out, and get to a doctor. He had commitments he had a business to get back to, he
had an apartment he had left empty food still in the fridge, his mail delivered each day to
his dining room table by a helpful neighbor his dog, Luther, left alone in the kennel.
He let Danielle lead the way, his mind wandering for the first time since the monster
had attacked the hunting shed. He wondered what time it was, and if the sea bus had
stopped running yet. He pictured it, floating gently across the water, connecting North
Vancouver with the rest. He used to ride it every day, watching as home came closer and
closer across the water. He wondered, too, if the train was running right now he didn't
125 Summertime
know what time it was, or what day but on Sundays, when he wasn't gone, he would hop
on the train right from work and, instead of heading home, he would head to his mother's
house. he would do chores for her, fix the taps, plunge a drain, mow the lawn if she
needed it, fill her watering cans so she didn't have to do it, balancing them precariously
on top of her walker while her high powered hose spit and spun all over, soaking most of
her small garden anyways.
Danielle led the way, ignoring the daydreaming man who followed silently, splashing
through the water. She couldn't relax, watching the monster as it crept along beside them,
watching too. Each time the shore jutted out, she had to yank Jack's hand hard to get him
going in the right direction; he would stumble, splash, correct himself and move on. She
wondered about him; would he be alright when all of this was over. But she needed to
concentrate, turning her attention away from him again as the shore leveled out, once
again running parallel to their track. She let go of his hand, turning in a circle to get her
bearings. She stopped suddenly, disconcerted wasn’t this where the boat had crashed?
She turned left to right, confused. But it couldn't be the boat had crashed, she realized,
on the other side of the lake. She shook her head, turning back to Jack but he was gone.
"Jack?" she screamed, staring into the trees on the shore. The creature still stood, staring
at her from just beneath the shade of the trees, the moonlight that reflected off the lake
illuminating him just enough for him to be seen. She turned back the way she had come,
thinking that he had gone back; but there was no one there. "Jack!" she screamed into the
trees, taking two uncertain steps toward the shore. The monster snarled, stepping between
her and the trees, coming out in the light for the first time. She stared at him, speechless
126 Summertime
somehow, he had separated them. Drool ran down his chin in streams as he glared at her,
his forehead wrinkling as he snarled. She backed up again, her foot slipping off the edge
of the dropoff. She fell into the water, floundering. There was no bottom beneath her
feet so she scrambled back to the shallows, choking and spluttering. The bottle of pills
floated up and out of her pocket, breaking the surface and going with the tide away, away
down the lake. She got her footing again, in the soft, slippery sand by the edge of the
dropoff. She floated her way further in, afraid to fall again. The dropoff angled in,
becoming nonexistent just a few feet away. "Jack???????!!!!" she screamed as loudly as
she could, her lungs aching from the effort, water sputtering up and out. "Hey!" he
shouted, appearing between the trees only a few feet from shore. Sweat ran down his
face, his cheeks flame red. He wobbled dangerously whenever he tried to stand, as if he
would fall on his face. He stumbled a little, and turned away for a moment; revealing the
pus and bile that stained his shirt, the infection literally bubbling out of his body without
treatment. He was delirious with fever from it, wandering around in his own world. The
creature snarled, darting once again to be between them. Danielle looked from Jack to the
monster, realizing one horrible thing; she was the target. Jack leaned against a tree,
resting. the monster turned towards him, sniffing the air gently totally harmless. "Jack,
go for help!" she shouted to him, trying to move ahead down the lake shore. The monster
snarled, keeping track with her as she walked. "Danielle!" Jack said stupidly, staggering
into the lake again. the monster, distracted by her forward movement, bared his teeth, the
tusks jutting out like deadly weapons. he ran for Jack, his warped hands reaching out to
grab him. as he ran, he brought his arm up and in his hand, shining in the moonlight, was
127 Summertime
a sharp, shining pickaxe. Seeing the monster coming, Jack ran into the lake, splashing
and spraying water in crescendos over his head. Danielle caught his arm, yanking him
away from it, down the shoreline. The monster returned to the shadows, thwarted. It
snarled and snapped, fury pulsing in its heart. "What were you doing?" Danielle was
sobbing, hanging onto Jack's arm. He staggered, blinking stupidly. "I don’t think I'm
doing so well, Danielle." he muttered, stumbling almost to the edge of the drop off. He
held onto Danielle, dizzy and disoriented. He slowly slid down to the lake floor,
resoaking his shirt, and his jeans. Danielle sobbed, lost as to what to do. Soon, the
shallows ended, and all there was, was dropoff nothing to walk on. And there, horrible
and deadly, was the monster. "Jack, he's not interested in you anymore." Danielle
whispered to him, turning so she could speak to him without the monster seeing. She bent
over to be on face level with him, sitting on the lake floor. Jack looked at her, seeing
nothing. The poison was affecting him he felt heavy, heavy, and stars winked in front of
his eyes. his legs felt like mush, like they wouldn't support his weight and his hands felt
weak, too weak to hold onto anything, much less Danielle's hand in the dark. "Jack?
Jack!" she shook him, trying to make him understand. His head flopped suddenly, and
she grabbed it, trying to hold it upright, and prevent a neck injury. "Hey, I think I'm
dying." he said, snickering, as if it were funny. Danielle's breath caught in her throat,
tears pouring down her face. The monster hovered on the shore, pacing. Something
caught Danielle's eye, floating in the water about 15 feet from the dropoff. It was a long,
worn piece of drift wood probably broken off a tree, floating about in the lake for years.
Kids used them for boats. Inspiration struck like a hammer, and she rushed out to grab it,
128 Summertime
first running, and then swimming. She got up alongside the wood, testing it with her
weight. It supported her weight easily, barely even bobbing in the water. She grinned,
victory in her heart. She pulled it along behind her, swinging it in the water like a canoe.
It was long and almost flat, like it had been hewn in half at some point, and it
maneuvered easily in the water. "Jack, Jack" she tried to get his attention, moving quickly
over to him in the water. The monster snarled, seeing her plan. She pushed her friend up
and onto the makeshift boat, his body easy to move when bobbing in the water. He
murmured, the pain no longer just in his back now it was in his chest, his stomach, his
legs, his arms. The monster rushed into the lake after them, no longer able to stand
watching on the shore while his prey escaped. Danielle screamed, pushing Jack out into
the deep water, swimming frantically after him. Jack lay with his face pressed against the
damp wood, barely conscious. The monster reached out, grabbing Danielle by the hair.
Her scalp still not fully healed, she shrieked in pain as he pulled her back, the pickaxe
raised in the air.
Jack's body, from somewhere in its stores, pumped suddenly with adrenaline. He sat
up on the drift wood, his strength pulsing through his body. He swung his leg up and
over, sliding off of it into the water. The cold water on his body shocked him awake his
shoes heavy, the jeans restrictive. Not daring to lose his shoes, he made do as he swam
towards Danielle, who twisted and turned to avoid the stabbing pickaxe as it came down
again and again where the monster thought her body would be. Her scalp bled again,
129 Summertime
blood running down her arms as she clung to the monster's hand, trying to keep him from
pulling her scalp off. The water calmed the pain that ran through his body, and the danger
Danielle was in woke him up. He threw himself at the monster, which was distracted by
the girl he tortured. "LET GO!" he shouted it right in the monster's ear, shocking him. He
released her immediately, dropping the pickaxe and clapping his hands over his ears. He
squealed and screamed, plunging his head in and out of the water as if the sound had
driven him insane. The pickaxe sank to the bottom, right by his feet. He tripped over it,
hitting his head on a large rock that jutted out of the bottom. As he floundered, Jack and
Danielle took off on their makeshift boat, aiming for the trees they saw on the other side
of the lake. The monster screeched after them, like a child throwing a tantrum. It tried to
follow them, but at the drop off he fell, sinking like a stone. He caught onto the ledge that
made the drop off, dragging himself back up onto it underwater. The huge pit of Glacier
Lake stretched beneath him, black and mysterious. By the time he broke the surface,
choking and wheezing, the two of them were halfway across the lake, paddling with their
hands towards the far side. To get to them, the monster would be forced to run around the
loop of the lake to where they were he could not swim. He stood in the shallows,
screaming at them in wordless fury.
Jack, his strength once again failing him, lay back down on the drift wood. Danielle
bled, still paddling them towards the safety of the opposite shore. "Thank you, Jack." she
said tearfully, reaching out to touch his leg. "s'okay" he mumbled, his face almost in the
water.
130 Summertime
Far down the lake, Robbie's mother jerked awake from where she had been sleeping
by the fire. She listened carefully, wondering what had woken her up. A long, wailing,
bonechilling scream sounded suddenly in the night. She jumped up, racing towards the
police vehicle that sat at the edge of the campground the officer inside neglecting his
duty, fast asleep. She pounded on the window as another scream sounded down the lake.
"Wake up!" the officer jumped out of the car groggily, stumbling around. "What is it?" he
stammered, pulling his gun. "Listen!" they froze, listening carefully. Splashing was
coming from somewhere down the lake. A man's voice rang out. "LET GO!" a woman
screamed then, and it was mingled with an inhuman, savage sounding screech. The
officer ran to the lake's edge, peering up and down the shore. It was impossible to tell
which way the sounds had come from but he was almost sure it came from his right,
down near where the boat had crashed. He ran to his vehicle, grabbing the radio.
Robbie’s mother stood at the edge of the lake, listening carefully. She heard the inhuman
sounds three more times but then, no other sounds came just the pitch black, cold night.
Danielle got them to the opposite shore, pulling Jack back onto the driftwood twice.
She tried to drag him off, but the feeling of the solid ground beneath him woke him up on
its own. He dragged his body up the sandy strip, crawling in between some wild
raspberry bushes that lined the shore, and a small juniper bush. He lay on a pile of damp
birch leaves, fallen from the tree in the wind of the storm the night before. Danielle
131 Summertime
seized one end of the driftwood, dragging it up, up, up onto the sand. She left it there,
pulling the flashlight out of its place, wedged securely in the tight waistband of the
borrowed jeans. She flicked the switch, barely daring to believe it had survived but it
had. It shone brightly, cutting through the night. She went to Jack, kneeling beside him
on the soft bed of leaves. She held his head in her lap, leaning against the white birch
trunk and picking raspberries she could reach to feed to him, hoping the food would make
him stronger. They were mostly green, here in the darkest shade but they were still
edible. She held the flashlight in her other hand, shining it around them in the dark.
On the other side of the lake, the monster raced through the trees, making his way in
the shortest path he knew to get to the other side of the lake. Still, he knew, it would take
hours he could only hope that the man was too sick with the rancid smelling infection
that made him inedible to travel very far. He knew that the woman would not leave him.
Danielle gently moved his head off her lap, standing up, shining the light at the bush,
it was loaded with berries, more than enough for them to eat. They were mostly ripe on
top, too and she hadn't eaten since the previous morning. The watch told her that it was
2:56 AM. using the light, she found the ripest berries, using her shirt as a basket. She
knelt down beside Jack again, shaking him to wake him up. "Can you sit up?" she asked
blearily, yawning widely. He pulled himself up, leaning gently on his side against the
tree. She shone the light on the raspberries, her shirt full to brimming with the fruit. They
132 Summertime
ate them all, drinking them down with lake water Danielle got, using her hands to carry
it. Jack fell asleep again, laying in the safety and cover beneath the juniper and raspberry
bushes. Danielle ate a few more berries, feeling the nutrition racing through her
exhausted body, it spread like a tingle to every limb, and she was amazed how little time
had passed when she felt so hungry. She had been running almost constantly all that day,
but still. Jack slid down the tree, once again laying beneath it, Danielle, exhaustion
ruling, lay down beside him. he lay on his stomach, and he wrapped his arm around her,
trying to keep her warm with his body heat. laying together, they drifted off. Danielle
slept only a short while, waking up abut an hour and a half later with a jerk, in a panic.
How long, she wondered, had they been laying there? she checked her watch, and was
driven to her feet in anxiety at the amount of time that had passed. Her watch read 4:24
AM. the sun was making the sky bright, now rising between two mountains behind her.
Beneath the canopy, however, it was still dark and she used the flashlight to check
around them, panicking at every shape she saw. Jack was woken by her panic, sitting up
quietly to lean against the tree trunk once more. "What is it?" he asked groggilly,
yawning and stretching. Danielle screamed, whirling to face him. she laughed to see it
was only Jack, and she dropped down to sit on the ground. Jack looked at her like she had
lost it, reaching up to grab more berries for himself. "How do you feel?" she asked,
looking at him closely. "I feel a lot better, now except for the ants on my back." he
joked, chewing on a green berry. "What?" Danielle jumped up, pulling him forward by
the shoulder to check his back. "I'm kidding, Danielle!" he said, laughing. "That is just
not funny." she said, her temper flaring. he stopped laughing immediately, not wanting to
133 Summertime
make her mad again. "It's amazing how much better I feel, actually." he said, getting
stiffly to his feet. He began to pick berries again, using his shirt as Danielle had done,
filling it up with berries. he sat carefully back down beside her when he was done, and
together they polished off the lot, Danielle even picking more after they were done those
together, they went down to the water, drinking some with their hands.
As the sun rose, the monster ran through the forest, finally rounding the bend that
made the end of the oblong lake. He grunted and panted, sweat running down his body.
The pickaxe shone in his hand, reflecting light down the lake. If anyone had been looking
that way at the campground, they could have seen it; but they were all preoccupied,
looking for the source of the horrible sounds from the night before on the wrong end of
the lake. Divers searched for drowned victims, bloodhounds searched for their scent. so
far, they had found the pool of blood in the clearing but nothing else. The storm had
washed it all away. They did lead, however, on another scent their lowlling calls
echoeing off the mountain walls, changing in pitch and frequency whenever they hit on it.
Danielle, kneeling by the water, thought she saw something bright flash far down the
shoreline. “Jack, it's coming" she said, scrambling to her feet. "What?" he asked, jerking
upright, staring at the opposite shore. "no, no its coming around! look!" She pointed at
where she thought she had seen the flash, holding her breath. a moment later, it flashed
again sunlight off the head of the pickaxe. "Come on." he grabbed her hand, pulling her
along. "Wait!" she let go of his hand, running down the shore. "Danielle, come on! we
have a head start!" he stormed, holding out his hand impatiently. She ran down the sandy
134 Summertime
strip, stopping at the end. She held tight to a sapling, bending way over with her head in
the reeds, stretching out her hand to grab something. When she came up, she held the
bottle of pain pills in her hand. Jack goggled at her, lost for words. "How do you keep
doing these things?" he asked incredulously, taking the pills she offered him. "I'm a
woman, sweety. I know what I'm talking about." she said smugly, tucking the bottle into
the smaller pocket of her jeans. They took off then, the pain in Jack's infected back
slowly dieing away as the pills took affect. the first night, they had done almost nothing;
now, they dulled the pain, so that it didn't grate so hard on him it was possible to run and
breathe at the same time. Even just an hour and a half of sleep gave him a boost. They ran
along in the forest, jumping over roots and rocks and juniper bushes easily. The monster
pursued them from a distance, their scent wafting back to him on the breeze occasionally
just enough to tell him that yes, they were ahead of him still, and yes, they were moving
running from him again. He changed direction as the wind did, running in a broken line
after the prey, who got farther and farther away.
Jack and Danielle ran along, Jack taking it easy for now. Danielle ran a little ahead,
watching out for the monster. She carried the flashlight and pain pills in her waistband
and pocket, listening carefully for boats on the water. The shore began to angle up, and
suddenly, they found themselves standing on the edge of a small cliff, looking down at
the churning water that smashed itself against the sharp rocks at the base of the cliff.
Looking up, from here, they could see the glacier that fed the lake just part of it, a tiny
white spot at the very top of the huge, menacing green mountain. From here, finally, a
tiny stretch of land far, far down the massive lake, Danielle caught sight of the
135 Summertime
campground. From where they were, it looked empty no more tents, no more boats.
They could see only the beach, and maybe ten feet back, but when they had left it had
been full. Danielle stood there, staring a horrible possibility churning in her mind. "Jack,
what if everyone went home?" she asked quietly, staring down the shoreline to where the
boats should be. "That's ridiculous." he said firmly, pulling her along by the hand. She
left the spot unwillingly, her bottom lip trembling as she fought to keep her cool. If
noone was there, there would be no protection from the monster. If noone was there, it
would pursue them. it would follow them all the way there, and catch them on the way
out, maybe ripping them out of the jeep or, she thought darkly, just her. They kept
moving through the trees, all the time moving towards the campground, which was still
so very, very far away. Danielle felt her strength flagging, and wished she could get to
some water; but she couldnt, of course; the shore was still nonexistent, the cliff rounding
off as it finally declined. As soon as the water was close enough again, she ran to get a
drink, leaving the safety of the trees. From far down the shore, the creature screamed in
ecstasy at the sight of his target. Her head snapped up, staring down the shoreline. It
hurtled towards her, not far enough away not now. It got to the other side of the cliff all
too soon, running up as they had done, coming hard and fast. Jack held his finger to his
lips, warning her to be silent. He pulled her behind some trees, pointing at the ground.
There was an opening there, a small cave in the earth. She crawled into the opening,
barely wide enough to fit her, and then held her hands out to Jack. He shook his head,
held his finger to his lips, and disappeared. A few seconds later, she heard the pounding
feet of the beast stop just outside the cave entrance, above her head. Holding her breath,
136 Summertime
she pressed her back against the back wall of the cave, praying Jack was out of the way.
The creature's breathing came harsh and fast he wheezed, he sputtered, standing there
above her head.
Its shadow fell into the cave's opening, slanting down to display itself on the
opposite wall of the cave. Danielle tried to keep her breathing calm and even tried to
remain unnoticed. The creature sniffed and snarled above her, searching the surrounding
forest, bending so his nose was almost on the ground like a truffle pig's. Suddenly, it
thrust its head into the opening, only inches from Danielle's face; but facing the other
way. She held her breath, her lungs frozen half expanded. The monster stared around the
cavern, twisting his head in every direction except, thankfully, towards Danielle. It
withdrew its head with a snarl, knocking dirt and debris into the opening. a piece of dirt
got in her eye, and she snapped it shut, sucking air in sharply. Above her, the monster
heard it. The cave made the sound travel oddly, and he spun to the right, glaring into the
trees. He charged off, ready to catch her. Jack watched from a safe distance, leaning
weakly against a sapling, surrounded by the leaves of a Saskatoon berry bush. His
stomach cramped, and he was half bent over in the bushes from the pain. He was
nauseous, the world spinning periodically. The pain pills seemed to be making it worse
and they didn’t do much for the pain, just made it more bearable. He found himself
wishing, wishing dearly for one of the opiate pain killers he had in his tent. The pain was
too much for him to be able to properly hide. He couldn’t have gotten down into that
cave. As he watched, Danielle clawed her way out, getting up on her feet. He checked the
trees behind her, and then hobbled weakly over. “Where did you go?” Danielle was
137 Summertime
sobbing, holding her eye. He ignored her question for a moment, focusing on her injury.
“Let me see.” He tilted her head back, spreading her eye open. She hissed with pain, her
eye burning. Deftly, he used his fingertip to remove a small, cracked piece of some kind
of leaf from the corner of her eye. He let her go, stepping back to lean, once again,
against the nearest tree. His strength, built up after the sleep he’d had, was failing fast.
Danielle blinked furiously, the pain dissipating. “Where did it go?” she asked shakily,
turning right and left. “That way.” Jack nodded towards the trees behind her. She took a
few deep breaths, trying to calm herself down. It had been inches from her face just
there, close enough that even her breath would have given her away. “It will come back,
when it doesn’t find one of us that way.” Jack said, holding out his hand to Danielle. His
face was red she could see little veins in his skin, standing out at the pale edges, around
his eyes and around his mouth. “Here, you need more of these.” She said, pulling the pills
out of her pocket. Jack grimaced he was beginning to hate the sight of pills. He
swallowed them dry, grimacing at the taste. “You’re really ready to get out of here, aren’t
you?” Danielle grinned, watching the expressions play across her friend’s face. “Aren’t
you?” he said incredulously, wiping his dirty hands on his jeans. Danielle nodded, the
smile fading away. “Fair enough.” Jack tromped past her, heading towards the trees
behind her. “Jack!” Danielle spun around, confused. “I thought you said it went that
way!” “it did.” He kept going, ducking under the branches of a low hanging choke
cherry tree, the red fruit plentiful enough to bend the boughs. “Well, why are you going
that way then?” she took off after him, jogging to keep up. Still, even in the light of day,
she was afraid to be left alone for too long. “I’m not.’ He said simply, lifting his legs
138 Summertime
high to get over a fallen tree. He reached back, lifting Danielle easily up and over the
trunk. She stared at him, wondering how extensive the infection was. “I haven’t lost my
mind.’ He said firmly, glaring back at her. Danielle sniggered, the look on his face too
comical not to laugh. He took it as an insult, striding ahead of her again, almost leaving
her behind in the uniform green world they had been trapped in for so long. “Wait, Jack!
Don’t be mad!” She ran to catch him again, grabbing onto his hand. He slowed down
then, feeling guilty what right, he thought, did he have to be angry when they were only
stuck out here because he had been on drugs? In stony silence, they carried on, soon
coming back to the lake shore. Danielle stopped to get a drink, and now, Jack stopped to
wait for her. He got up on a rock that jutted up out of the lake bed just a few feet from the
shore, in the shallows, and looked as far down the shoreline as he could from there. Now
that they were down from the cliff, he couldn’t see the campground anymore but he
could see the gas spot, an empty lawn chair where the attendant usually sat. He grinned
they wouldn’t have far to go now. In the forest off to the right of them, a twig snapped.
Danielle jumped up, racing to Jack. He grabbed her hand, pulling her along again.
Together, they disappeared into the bushes at the edge of the lake; leaving no evidence of
their presence, save for a few negligable foot prints in the sand. The creature crept out of
the trees, scenting the air. He could smell his prey, but at every turn, he came up empty.
He knew they would need to come to the water to drink, however every prey animal did
eventually, and that was usually where he caught them. Memories flooded his mind the
young male prey he had been chasing, all too easy to find what with the bright red jacket
he had been wearing. The look of surprise on his face when he had put the weapon he had
139 Summertime
carried on the hunt right through his skull. His relative, come to look for him, standing
out just as brightly in neon purple, her hair pulled to the side which made it easier for
him to find her artery.
He sniffed along the ground by the edge of the water. The female’s scent was heavy
here. Drooling, he followed the smell along the ground, ending up with his face in the
leaves of the berry bushes at the edge of the shore, the scent mingling once again with the
muck, grime, and moss of the forest floor. With a frustrated hiss, he leapt up, following
the now weak scent into the forest. Danielle and Jack hurried ahead, their footsteps
silent as they purposely leapt roots and dodged stones, trying to remain ahead, and quiet.
Danielle tried to check the watch, but it was no use; it had stopped working, the time
stuck at 5:47 AM.
They went along so silently that Jack kept having to stop and look
back, confirming where Danielle was; twice, he could not find her, and had to shout out.
The monster took advantage, tracking them by their raised voices alone for a while. The
infected man left a trail so obvious, it was hard not to follow; he stumbled, he tripped, he
crushed leaves and left long scrapes in the dirt, and most of all, he bled. Soon, it became
obvious that Jack was too weak to carry on. His head drooped periodically, and he kept
slowing down, veering off the track with a dreamy look in his eyes. “Jack, come on!”
Danielle jerked him by the arm, trying to keep him on track. “pay attention!” but soon,
Jack had stopped altogether, and stood, wobbling, in the middle of a clutch of birch trees,
140 Summertime
staring dreamily up at the leaves and not moving. Danielle felt his forehead, and the fever
terrified her he was as hot as an electric blanket, as hot as she had ever felt another
human being be. He rolled his head around, staring at the surroundings. Danielle shook
him, standing on tiptoe to catch his eye. “Jack,” she shook him hard, almost knocking
him off his feet. “Jack, come on, follow me.” She said firmly, catching his eye. He
blinked stupidly, his forehead creasing with concentration. “Follow Danielle.” He said
simply, focusing sharply on her, forcing his body and brain to listen. She nodded, taking
him by the hand, pulling him with her. She searched for a safe place they could stop, but
she knew the monster was not far away.
It followed quickly, closing the distance between them, following the scent of the
injured man’s blood. It stank, now he smelled like rotting meat, putrid and heavy, he was
easy to follow. The creature had his nose to the ground, following quicker and quicker,
when suddenly, the scent changed direction. He stopped for a moment, confused; but the
scent did not lie, and therefore he took off after the new trail without a second thought. At
the end of this trail, drinking water from the lake thirstily, was a large bear, with a
severely infected foot.
Danielle, their good fortune unknown to her, rushed Jack along, dragging him as
quickly as she could through the forest, going faster and faster. He whimpered now and
then the pain now unimaginable. It spread like fire through every vein, throbbed in the
ends of his fingers and toes. He retreated into his mind, trying to pull away from the
agony he was experiencing. He let his body be pulled along blindly, trusting Danielle to
141 Summertime
get him to safety. He thought about the rules he had learned as a child; what his mother
used to tell him; “do what you want, but don’t hurt anybody” she used to say, every
morning when she did his coat up “but remember that good or bad, whatever you send
out into the world will come back to you three times over.” He drifted along, hiding from
the pain, wondering if this was pay back.
Danielle searched desperately for a place to hide, but nothing seemed safe enough
there was no more shed, and a bunch of branches surrounding them would neither protect
or hide them. As she walked, pulling along Jack, who was almost not there anymore, she
suddenly came upon an opening in the raised cliff she walked beside. It was a cave, just
small, but it hooked in from the door, creating a hiding place beside the opening. She
stopped suddenly, and Jack almost tripped over her. The jolt of the stop sent more pain
reeling along his body, burning and itching even inside his veins, inside his heart. He
breathed deeply, trying to suck in as much air as possible he felt like he was suffocating.
Danielle shone the flashlight into the cave, wary of danger, now just 5 days earlier, she
wouldn’t have thought anything of walking right into the cave, investigating. Now, things
were different she was careful, leaving Jack by the mouth of the cave to inspect the
inside. Finding nothing, she returned to Jack, pulling him inside. She left him sitting on a
rock that jutted up out of the floor of the cave, rushing outside, her heart pounding at the
thought of being alone. But it was neccesarry for her to leave the floor of the cave was
entirely sand and dirt, and Jack couldn’t lay on it without making the infection worse.
She rushed outside, running full tilt for a pile of fallen cedar boughs, ripped down during
the storm. She picked two good sized ones, rushing backwards carrying them, forcing
142 Summertime
them into the narrow cave opening. They got stuck for a moment, and Danielle threw her
entire body backwards in desperation, determined to get them in before she was seen.
They popped through the opening, brushing all the sand and dirt off the rocks around the
opening. She dragged the branches to the hiding place she had found, well hidden from
the outside looking in. she lay them carefully, making the softest part in the middle. She
got Jack up, terrified by the temperature of his skin. His breathing was labored, and he no
longer even bothered to open his eyes. She lay him down gently on his stomach, tears
pouring out of her eyes silently. As soon as he was lying down, she pulled his shirt up
and vomited at the sight of the mess his back was in. Multiple red lines extended from his
back all the way around his torso. The infection literally bubbled pus, stench emanating
from his rotting flesh. Now, between the cuts, black spread over his previously uninjured
skin. It looked like bruises, creeping along the ripped up flesh of his back.
Danielle sobbed, her heart aching for her friend she didn’t know how much longer
she could keep him going. The poison moved faster than they did, and without a doctor,
and medicine, she was sure, she was positive that Jack would die, too. Jack swam back
to the world, taking some of the pain, letting it roll along his body like burning hot irons.
“I’m slowing you down.” He mumbled, liquid running out of his eyes. Danielle kept her
voice steady, taking deep breaths to slow her heart beat. “No, you’re not, Jack.” She said
cheerfully, pulling the bottle of pills out of her pocket. “You’re doing fine, you’re doing
great.” She smiled brightly at him as he cracked one eye, staring at her incredulously. He
143 Summertime
sighed, letting his eye slide shut again. It took too much energy to keep it open, to let his
brain process images.
Danielle got up quietly, looking around the cave. At one end, half buried in the sand,
she found a two litre pop bottle. She yanked it out, dumping the sand out of the inside.
The lake was not far away, just through the trees outside the cave opening. She steadied
herself, turning to stand directly in front of the opening, looking out. “Jack.” She rose
him from his stupor. He cracked one eye again, moaning low in his throat. “I’m going for
water.” She said simply, keeping her voice strong despite her pounding heart and
trembling body. He stared at her, not making connections. “stay here, don’t move.” She
said, and ran out the opening before she could talk herself out of it.
Jack lay there, listening for her footsteps. As they faded away, his eyes fell on the
bottle of painkillers she had left beside him on the cavern floor. He stretched his hand
out, grabbing onto them. It took all of his energy. He dragged them towards him lifting
the top half of his body agonisingly off the floor. He dumped the entire bottle into his
other hand, staring at the pills. The bottle reccomended no more than 6 in one day. In his
hand, he held 67. He stared at them dully, contemplating ending his pain permanently.
Danielle would leave him then, he thought assuming it was the infection and rot that
wracked his body that had taken him. But the responsibility he still bore won out. With a
groaning sigh, he painfully poured the pills back into the bottle, all except for four. He
swallowed them dry, his tongue thick and aching on the top of his dry, cavernous mouth.
144 Summertime
He let his body Fall again, the bottle of pills in one hand, the lid to the bottle in the other.
He lay there, miserable, waiting for Danielle to return.
Danielle raced through the trees, her heart pounding. She fell once or twice, but she
would leap up, and keep running. She came to the edge of the lake, almost diving in in
her haste to get water. She slowed down just enough to rinse out the lid less bottle,
dumping out the last of the sand into the lake. She filled it to brimming, turning and
running as fast as she could through the forest again.
Above the cave, on the top of the cliff in which the cave was carved, stood the figure
who had punished the monster. He glared down with his ancient eyes, watching for the
woman’s return. She was his meat, his pay out after all the hard work his little hunter had
gone to. He had no weapon, but he waited patiently just the same, keeping an eye out for
the monster, as well. He had disappeared, and he didn’t know where he had gone; he
hoped, fervently, his heart aching like that of a worried parent, that his little hunter wasn’t
hurt. He withdrew a little, hiding behind a tall tree as the woman appeared suddenly,
racing back to her friend in the cavern. As she dissapeared inside, the old, bent man
returned to his place, directly above the cave, his shadow falling behind him. Achingly,
he slid down, using his walking stick to support him as he sat down to wait for the
monster.
Danielle ran inside, her heart pounding with fear. She stopped for a moment, the
precious water clutched to her chest, tears running down her face. Her hands shook hard,
and she took a sip of water to steady herself. Then, she turned quickly towards Jack and
145 Summertime
stopped short. In one hand, he held the bottle of pills, wide open. In the other, he held the
lid. He was face down in the cedar boughs, his breathing laboured. “JACK!” she
screamed, throwing herself down beside him. His body jerked in surprise, the sound
reverberating through his conciousness like an echo. “What the hell are you doing?” she
yanked the bottle and lid from his hands, forgetting to be gentle to his back. He screamed
in agony as her hair brushed along his bare back, the tickle becoming a hot, branding iron
burn, his vision swimming in and out. Danielle jumped, her heart rising into her throat.
She sobbed, her apology wrenching up from her heart, tearing itself to shreds on her
teeth. She stammered, sobbing. She didn’t know where to touch him where it would not
cause him pain. His head fell back on the cedar boughs, his heart skipping beats. “I only
took four.” He mumbled, his voice filled with pain and torture. Hearing the tone in his
voice, Danielle’s chin dropped down to her chest. She covered her face, and simply
sobbed.
Above them, the old man heard all. An expression of compassion on his face, he
listened sadly to the torture of the young man below. Suddenly, far below, the monster
appeared, striding angrily through the trees, his fists clenched tight at his sides.
“Douglas,” the old man whispered, his voice as quiet as the rustling of dry leaves. The
monster heard, spinning around to find the source of his owner’s voice. The old man
waved him over, and the monster broke into a lumbering run, making his way up the hill
behind the old man to stand beside him at the top of the cliff. He stood before him,
panting. The old man assessed his son, circling to see him from every angle. He had
bruises, it was plain they ran up his arms, and he had two black eyes. One of his tusks
146 Summertime
was chipped, and the old man touched it gingerly. The monster jerked his head back, the
stinging pain sounding suddenly in his mind. He whimpered, wiping tears from his eyes.
“it will be alright, Douglas.” The old man cooed, rubbing the monster’s arm
affectionately. “you have done such a good job.” The monster sniffed, keeping his head
down. He knew, that in the old man’s right pocket, was the torture of the black box. He
let the old man touch him, afraid to jerk away from his touch. “You must be so tired,” the
old man rubbed his arms, looking on him like a proud parent. “look, Douglas.” He pulled
the monster to the cliffs edge, pointing down towards the cave. The monster dipped his
head, looking with confusion down the cliff. He caught the scent of the injured man, and
he squealed, suddenly and loudly, shattering the peace of the forest. The old man jumped,
dragging him back. He stretched his hand into his pocket, pounding the button on the
black box. The monster’s squeal cut off suddenly, his body jerking with pain. He leant
against a tree, staring at his master with wide eyes.
Inside the cave, Danielle heard the monster’s triumphant cry. She scrambled away
from the opening, her back pressed against the solid rock as far away from the door as
she could get. Jack trembled, feeling death breathing down his neck. Danielle sobbed
silently, praying the monster would not find them at least not until Jack could run, not
until he had had rest. She prayed silently, her head bowed to touch her raised knees. Jack
raised his body up agonisingly, forcing himself onto his side. He drank from the bottle
deeply, the moisture running through his fevered body. He gagged, almost losing it in the
sand but he forced himself to keep it down. The motion of the gag sent pain once more
reeling along his body, but he ignored it, determined to drink. He drank a little more,
147 Summertime
forcing himself to hold it down. He left the bottle for Danielle then, letting himself rest
once again on the cedar boughs. He sank slowly into sleep, listening sharply to Danielle’s
muffled cries of terror, listening sharply for the heavy footsteps of their impending death.
Above them, the old man stood on the cliff edge, staring eagerly down at the opening.
He waited, but noone appeared and eventually, he turned back to the monster, who still
stood, trembling like a naughty child, staring at him with wide, pleading eyes. “Douglas,”
he said, and the monster flinched, rushing forward to him with outstretched hands. He
held the monster’s hands, smiling at him reassuringly. The monster stared down at the old
man’s feet, afraid to look him in the eye. “They need a rest, Douglas.” He said softly,
keeping his voice low. The monster’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. “You let them,
rest, and rest yourself.” The old man said soothingly, his voice as slick as a puddle of
spilled grease. “And when they come out, you herd them home.” He said softly, rubbing
the monster’s arm again. The monster nodded fervently, wishing he had the ability to
speak. “I will head home, and start your dinner, my good boy.” The old man said
lovingly, marching past the monster. He disappeared between the trees, leaving no trace
of his presence. The monster stayed frozen where he was, staring after him with wide
eyes until he was sure the old man was gone. Then, he finally took a deep breath again,
crossing his arms over his chest. Pains shot through his heart, the result of the shocks. He
cried quietly, tears running down his face, falling to the forest floor.
***
148 Summertime
Danielle stayed where she was, afraid to move towards the opening and escape,
even more afraid to leave Jack. He slept like he was dead, and she would have thought he
was except for the patient, constant motion of the cedar bough by his nose and mouth.
Hours passed, and the shadows outside grew longer and longer, eventually merging into
one giant shadow, the oncoming of night. She drank a little water, and took two pills for
her pounding head, but she dared not leave, even to find food. Occasionally Jack would
lift his head, and she would help him pour a little water into his mouth, before he let his
head fall heavily back to the cedar boughs, exhausted by even this.
But as time passed, she noticed that his skin was not so hot. His breathing came
easier. His eyes stopped running, and he stopped yawning periodically. Eventually, he
even opened his eyes, looking up at her, actually aware that she was there. At this, she
sobbed, relieved. “Don’t scare me like that.’ She told him tremulously, watching as he
rose himself up onto his knees. He cracked his neck, marveling at the effect sleep had
had. “I’m sorry,” he said, and meant it. His body still wracked with pain every
movement cut like a knife, hissed and screamed like someone burned at the stake. He
took two more pills, gulping them down with water. Danielle pulled the flashlight out of
her waistband, clinging to it in the growing dark. After a while, Jack looked at her, barely
able to see her in the black of the night, and held out his hand. They got up together,
silence ruling. They dared not make a sound as they crept to the mouth of the cave,
peering out at the dark.
149 Summertime
Not far away, the monster lurked behind a tree, watching them intently. He
waited, his eyes the only ones useful in the pitch black, moonless night. Together, they
softly crept out, picking their way blindly along the cliff. They waited until they got to
the edge of the cliff, feeling their way up the rocks that made the border to getting up the
hill to the top. As they began to climb, Danielle turned the flashlight on. The monster
crept up behind them, carrying the pickaxe in his left hand. He waited until they were
halfway up, following about ten feet behind them, silent, unnoticed. As they came to the
easier, less steep part of the hill, he sucked in a huge breath of air, and let out one long,
horrible, bone chilling, murderous squeal, sending the two friends spinning around in
panic. Danielle shone the flashlight in his face, and he bared his teeth, leaping towards
them, blinded by the light. Danielle kicked him in the knee as hard as she could, disabling
him for a moment. She grabbed Jack, dragging him up the hill behind her. The monster
chased them, limping now, slowed down. They crested the hill, running desperately into
the trees. Jack fell suddenly, dragging Danielle down with him, scraping her face open on
a tree. Irrational, blind with terror, Danielle dragged him painfully behind a large tree,
pressing her back against it. Jack let go of her hand, dizzy and nauseous with pain. He
clung to the branches of the tree to keep himself upright, his eyes sliding closed once
more. Danielle listened carefully, hearing nothing. She shone the flashlight around the
side of the tree, looking back the way they had come. “I think it fell down the hill,” she
said softly, barely believing their luck. She turned to Jack, reaching out to find his hand
in the dark, shining the flashlight up and around to see around him in the dark of the
forest. But as she did, there was a sudden scuffle sound behind him, and before she could
150 Summertime
warn Jack, the pickaxe the monster had been chasing them with came point down into the
top of Jack’s head, splitting his skull open, revealing his brain, crushed and scrambled,
running down his neck, onto his collar. Danielle choked and gagged, backing up against
the tree in horror. In the beam of the flashlight, Jack’s mouth opened and closed like a
fish out of water. Suddenly, a bubble popped out of it, and blood spilled down his chin,
soaking his shirt. He stumbled forward, reaching out to Danielle for help, his brain
sloshing forward. He fell to his knees, the pickaxe’s handle smacking against the maple
sapling beside him, making a sound like a beaver’s tail; THWACK. The sound jerked
Danielle out of her frozen horror. She screamed, and ran, running blindly into the next
tree as she did. She corrected herself, diving around it and hurtling off into the dark, the
flashlight’s beam betraying her position. Jack fell forward onto his face in the soft moss
and leaves, still oozing into the surrounding mud. The creature growled, inserting a finger
into the puddle of blood running down the back of Jack’s neck. It lifted the blood to its
mouth, licking it off the poison evident in his blood. He gagged at the taste. Just one
more victim now. With a screech, it took off after Danielle. Her heart pounded as fast as
her feet against the moist moss floor. It silenced her step, as well as the creatures. Unable
to hear the creature coming, its sudden breath on the back of her neck caught her
offguard. She dove, trying to avoid it, but it was just too close. It screamed as it grabbed
her around the throat, her air cut off so suddenly, her lungs seemed to bounce in her chest
as her body jerked to a full stop. Something cracked in her spine as her arms and leg flew
forward. The flashlight she had held in her hand flew away, its beam sweeping over the
area, briefly illuminating a small opening in the face of the mountain. Gasping for air, she
151 Summertime
punched blindly over her shoulder, Suddenly connecting with the creature’s clammy face.
It screamed again, releasing her and clapping its hands over its face, moaning long and
low in pain. She dove for the opening, throwing herself in and running full tilt into the
mountain, hoping for someplace to hide. She could hear the creature running after her,
banging against the sides of the narrow cave. As she dodged around a corner, sudden
light blinded her.
She was in a large, stone room, a low kitchen table on one side, scientific instruments
strewn about. A large, soft rug covered the stone floor. One side of the room was
whitewashed, but the other side was left raw as if, she thought, they couldn’t be bothered
with the other half. A long, low shelf ran along the wall nearest. Across the room, closer
to the table, were a few old, moth eaten sets of curtains hanging on the wall. But most of
all, what she saw was books books on the tables, books lined neatly and stacked hastily
on chairs, toppled onto the floor, covering the sofa. She froze, blinking stupidly at the
old man who rose stiffly from his seat by the large, carved out fireplace. He smiled at
her, the picture of decorum. “Welcome to our home,” he said, in a low, gravelly voice,
and then something came crashing down on her head. She fell forward, and the world
swam into blackness.
The old man smiled at the creature, pride shining on his face. “Good work,” he said,
sitting back into his comfortable chair. The creature practically purred, unaccustomed to
praise. “Now, put her away.” the old man said, putting his feet up on his stool.
***
152 Summertime
Danielle was cold. This much she knew for sure in between the blackness and the
light, she was freezing. She knew it was wrong...... she shouldn’t be cold, it was the
middle of summer. It never got cold in summer... unless she was in her basement in the
middle of the night. She raised her hand, felt her head. Opened her eyes. Pulling her hand
away, she saw there was blood on her fingers. Her scalp must have ripped open again.
She pressed her hand on the wound, feeling it carefully. It was ripped open again, for
sure blood seeping through her hair, clotting on the collar of the plaid shirt she had taken
from the hunting shed. She wished she was back there now. The watch was gone as well,
a mark on her wrist where it had been ripped off in the monster’s haste.
This place was different... the floor was made of rock, the walls too... she felt up
the wall beside her, searching for something.... but she didn’t know what. A light switch?
She laid her head down on her hands for a moment. She felt so very sick... and then
suddenly, it all came back to her. Andre, screaming... and Alice, the monster's tusks
sticking out through her neck blood running down her shoulder, dripping off the ends of
her fingers to the forest floor.... and then Jack, her last friend, holding his hands out to her
for help even as his life ran away down his neck.
Dim light came from somewhere beyond her feet. She was leaning against the
wall, in a dark, dank place and there was a dripping sound close by. She turned her head,
looking for the source of the drip. It hurt to turn her head, it made her temples pound.
Finally, on the floor, she saw there was a dark pool of liquid, slowly getting bigger and
153 Summertime
bigger, a drop at a time. Confused, she raised her eyes, looking for the source. Jack hung
there, his head drooped to the side, his mouth still hanging stupidly open. Danielle
screamed, crawling backwards, pressing her back against the wall. Her eyes travelling
down the corpse of her friend, she could see he had been gutted. A large bucket full of his
insides rested against the opposite wall. Wordless with horror, she slowly got to her feet.
His feet were gone, his blood dripping out through his ankles. She could see his toes
sticking up out of the gut bucket. She turned to vomit against the stone wall. But as she
turned, she caught sight of Alice, hung in a similar way, gutted with her toes sticking out
of the bucket, her decapitated head tied by her hair to her wrist. The sharp silver hook
stuck up out of her neck, coated with blood and tissue. Her stomach shaking, she looked
farther. Behind her, missing his arms and legs, hung what remained of Andre. His brain
fluid flowed freely from the holes where his eyes used to be. His tongue stuck slightly out
of his mouth, dry and useless against his dead lips. His ribs still stuck out at odd places,
but the reason for his death was obvious his throat had been cut, violently the wound
extending from ear to ear.
Her mind screaming, Danielle finally saw, behind Andre, a small red door, almost
circular, fitted into the rock. Looking up, she saw one long, curved, sharp hook left empty
hanging from the ceiling. Gagging on the vomit that threatened to come out at any
second, She ran down the length of the butchering room, pressed against the wall to avoid
the corpses. She wrenched the door open, and fell through it into the arms of the
creature. She gasped, jerking away from it, her stomach sinking like a stone. It grabbed
her by the arms, growling softly. She panted from terror, staring it in the face for the first
154 Summertime
time. Its forehead jutted forward over its eyes, making them look small and beady, set
back in its head. Its nose seemed flattened, the nostrils almost nonexistent except for slits
directly above its mouth. Large teeth jutted up out of its jaw, extending almost entirely up
its face to directly below each eye. Its lips didn’t seem to close, so that it always hissed as
it breathed. The look in its eye caught her off guard compassion? Remorse? But the look
hardened as she stared, and suddenly she found herself flung backward into the room,
hitting Andre and rolling onto the floor, screaming and smacking at herself as if covered
by bugs. The door slammed shut, and she was alone again with just the sound of the
creaky hook as Andre swung slowly back and forth. “Let me out!” she screamed, flying
back against the door, finding it locked. “PLEASE!” she screamed, pounding against the
door with her fists. “LET ME OUT! PLEASE DON’T LEAVE ME!” Danielle crumpled
against the door, crying so hard she shook the door in its frame. Suddenly, the contents of
her stomach forced their way out and she spun around, vomiting in the bucket that
contained most of Andre. On the other side of the door, the creature leaned against the
wood, his ear pressed to it, listening. He seemed to be working something over in his
mind. Eventually, he left the door, sitting down in his chair by his small fireplace that
kept his tiny room warm. Just an arm’s length away, the cold stone wall dripped moisture
onto his books, kept in crates against said wall. Across the room from him, on the left
side of the small red door, lay his bed a straw tick, covered in neatly bleached sheets,
with hospital corners. Beside this there was his bedside table, a thick volume of
Shakespeare balanced on top of an old digital alarm clock, run by Batteries. The dial
clearly read 11:20 PM.
155 Summertime
He picked up his copy of “wind in the willows” and began to read. Danielle,
cried out, leaned against the warm door, shivering in the dim room. Moments seemed to
pass in hours, with the creaking of the shining hook whispering into every corner of her
mind. Her stomach ached, her throat seared by stomach acid. Eventually, unable to sit
still any longer, she crept quietly away from the door, feeling around the floor of the
room. She was thinking that there must be a weapon somewhere here, something she
could use..... suddenly, her hand connected with something. She grabbed it and, lifting it
into the dim light from the cracks around the small door, found it was a metal file
probably used to sharpen the hooks. Inspiration striking, she leapt to her feet, raising her
hands to grab the empty hook that hung, sharp and gleaming in the dim light and....
dropped the file. It fell to the floor with a crash, and the creature dropped his book,
lurching towards the door, jerking it open. She crumbled to the floor before he got it open
more than halfway, pretending to cower in the corner of the room. She stayed there,
shivering from the cold as he stared in at her. His eyes missed nothing, and he walked in
his jerky way across the room and grabbed the file from its spot on the floor. Glaring at
her, staring her down, he marched out the door again. As the door swung shut, she leapt
up again and silently, carefully, grabbed the hook from its bracket set in the ceiling, and
in the same fluid motion rushed to a hiding place to the right of the door, pressed against
the wall. She held the hook at an awkward angle, ready to swing it up at someone as soon
as they came in the door. Ready to defend herself.
The creature left his small rooms, entering into the bigger room Danielle had
seen earlier. The old man sat at a table, fiddling with something in a petri dish.
156 Summertime
“Douglas,” he said, without looking up, “put more wood on the fire.” The creature,
Douglas, jerked over to the pile of wood and dumped two large pieces onto the glowing
coals. He sat down quickly in a chair, the file tucked into his boot. He didn’t look at the
old man, just sat. The old man didn’t look at him, just fiddled away with the glutinous
substance in the petri dish as the old clock against the wall struck 12 AM.
There were pictures on the mantle. One a close up of a small round jar, a small
speck floating around in liquid. The next was of a baby inside a larger jar but it was
mutated, or that’s what it looked like. Its hands had stubby fingers, and almost no thumb.
The next picture was of the baby, this time showing its face. Its nose was flat, with almost
no nostrils, except for slits directly above its mouth. Douglas rose from his seat, and
jerkily crossed the room to sit by his father. “It’s almost time for dinner, Douglas.” the
old man said, using a syringe to suck something up out of the dish. He turned, and deftly
injected the substance into another petri dish. Whatever was in this dish was round, pink
and opaque. The two substances mingled together. Douglas sniffed at the dish, making
small grunting noises in the back of his throat. “Make sure our guest gets some.” The old
man put the petri dish carefully up on a shelf, under a glass cover, and walked around the
creature into the kitchen. Douglas stayed there, his ears pricked up for the sound of his
father’s return. Hearing nothing, he carefully took the petri dish down from the shelf,
examining the contents. The round opaque thing seemed to be alive. His father’s hand
suddenly shot over his shoulder, seizing the dish. Douglas squealed, spinning and
backing up against the wall. “How dare you.” the old man thundered. “After all I have
done for you, you would tamper with my experiments” Douglas shook his head, raising
157 Summertime
his hands to cover his face. The old man seized a small black box that sat on the long
rectangular table that dominated the room. He pressed a button, delivering an electric
shock to the creature through the thick black collar it wore. Douglas’ body jerked, his
legs giving out from under him. He collapsed onto the floor, twitching and squealing in
pain. Leaving him there, the old man returned to the kitchen, coming back with two
plates of food. There was roasted meat, with potatoes and vegetables with gravy. He left
them on the table, glaring at the Pig man in the corner. Douglas stared back at him, his
beady eyes open wide. “Like I said,” the old man sneered, turning towards the door.
“Make sure our guest gets some.” He left quickly, shuffling through the tunnel Danielle
had come through earlier that night. Douglas got up and scuttled over to the opening,
listening carefully. Only when he could no longer hear his father’s shuffling footsteps did
he dare to return to the table, sniffling at the food on the plates. He went back to his
rooms, pressing his ear against the small red door. On the other side, Danielle was
waiting. In the silence of the dim room, it was hard to tell if someone was coming or not
until, suddenly, the door swung open. As prepared as she was, she suddenly froze in fear.
The creature hunched through the doorway, looking immediately to the last spot he had
seen her. Seeing she was gone, he turned quickly to look behind him. He saw her there,
crouched beside the door, the long metal hook held in her hands. They stared at eachother
for a moment, and then she dropped the hook and ran through the door. She spun around
as soon as she was through, trying to pull the door shut behind her, but as she turned, he
caught her around the waist. She screamed, punching him in the face, but it only made
him tighten his grip as he picked her easily up off her feet, and carried her against her
158 Summertime
will into the larger rooms. He put her down by the table, moving to get her a chair. She
whirled towards the tunnel, but he grabbed her by the back of the hair, throwing her down
into the chair and holding her down by the shoulders, standing behind her. Carefully
taking his hand off her left shoulder, tightening his grip on the right, he reached across
the table and dragged one of the plates towards her. She looked down at the plate, and her
stomach flipped over because there, on the crackling on top of the piece of roasted meat,
was the small rose tattoo that had once been on Andre’s thigh. She turned away from the
table quickly, Douglas letting go of her shoulders in surprise. She dropped onto the floor,
throwing up what was left in her stomach onto the carpet. “Don’t you eat meat?” the old
man shuffled back into the room, carrying a basket of some kind of fungus. Danielle
looked up at him, her eyes wide with terror. “Who the hell are you?” she demanded, still
gagging even on her words. The old man smiled, looking at Douglas. “Get the young lady
back into her chair.” he said calmly. Afraid of the black box, the creature reacted
immediately, grabbing her by the shoulders and hauling her up into the chair. She
allowed him to do this, gripping the edges of the seat tightly. ‘my name, for the record, is
Arseny.” He said calmly, the hint of a foreign accent in his haughty voice. “and you, of
course, are Danielle.” He said slickly. She stared at the old man defiantly, questions
pouring out of her mind. “Why did you send this thing after me and my friends?” she
demanded. Douglas flinched at the word “thing.” Danielle carried on, oblivious. “What
IS it, anyways? A monster?” the old man laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.” he snickered,
crossing the room and dropping some of the fungus out of the basket into a certain barrel
that lined the wall. “He’s my creation, my son.” he said lovingly, looking on the creature
159 Summertime
with something close to approval. Danielle gagged, revulsion like bile in her throat. “So
what kind of ugly bitch did you have to screw to produce this hideous thing?” she
demanded, past caring. The monster squealed, grabbing her around the throat. It choked
her, squealing and screaming constantly. Suddenly, the monster let go. Danielle gasped,
leaping up out of her chair and spinning around. The monster lay on the ground,
convulsing. Danielle’s throat ached and burned, and it made it hard to focus on what was
happening. A high pitched buzz emanated from the collar it wore around its neck, now
apparent without the coat it had worn when it had been chasing them. It stopped
suddenly, moaning long and low. It looked so pathetic, Danielle almost felt sorry for it. “I
created Douglas through a scientific process, mixing my own DNA with that of a pig.”
The old man pulled a chair up, sitting down near her. “It was all very sanitary, I assure
you.” Danielle stared at him, nonplussed.
“My son has the intellect of any other human being, with the senses of a pig you
know, the smell, the sight, the hearing.” He began to sort through the fungi, holding the
basket in his lap. “Here, Douglas.” He said firmly, holding one particularly dirty one out
to his son, who still lay, trembling on the floor. Douglas got up shakily, reaching out and
taking the fungis gently from his father’s hand. He put it in his pocket, avoiding having to
look at Danielle as she stared at him, confusion on her face. The old man was hurting
him why didn’t he run away? Kill the old man? He was strong enough. But here he was,
following orders and wearing a shock collar, taking treats like a big, violent, intelligent
dog. “He has 44 teeth, useful for ripping and tearing, and digging, if he needs it.” The
old man returned to his work, separating the fungi’s into two piles. “He finds the most
160 Summertime
wonderful truffles, as well.” The old man held a small, round, dirty object up for her to
see, dropping it back into the basket. “Most commonly around the roots of Hazelnut
trees.” He stopped what he was doing, smiling up at Danielle. “That’s how we got onto
your scent, by the way.” Danielle’s mouth snapped open, questions flooding her mind
but she snapped it shut again as quickly. “If you hadn’t driven that boat right up into that
hazelnut thicket, we probably wouldn’t have known you were even here, on this side of
the forest.” Danielle stared, her heart sinking. If they had crashed anywhere else, none of
this would have happened. “What are you going to do with my friends?” she asked
quietly, dreading the answer. The old man blinked at her, surprised by the question.
“Well, eat them of course. Except for the infected one he, of course, is tainted.” he
answered calmly, his face a serene mask. “Don’t you know, my dear, that the meat of
man is a delicacy, comparable to the sweetness of pork?” She gagged, nothing left to
throw up. The old man watched her, enjoying her reaction. “You, though, my dear are
just too thin for butchering.” At this, he reached out, poking her harshly in the side. His
finger met her ribs, making her jump back sharply. He smiled at her, condescension plain
on his face. “The bacon wouldn’t be very thick. Therefore, eat up.” he pushed the plate
of food towards her. “I want to get you fattened up before the snow flies, my dear.” He
smiled, watching pure terror slowly fill Danielle’s eyes. “It would be no good to try and
age your meat once the temperatures drop and what a waste it would be, after all of my
son’s hard work.” Danielle slid gently off her chair, collapsing to the floor. “And don’t
worry about anyone being upset about the state of the hunting shed, by the way.” He said,
leaning down to try and see her eyes. She turned her head away, closing them tightly.
161 Summertime
“They shot at Douglas a few months ago, and I was, of course, forced to defend my
child.” Danielle bit her lip, barely able to keep from shaking. She held it in, determined
not to let him see her weakness. The old man smiled serenely, leaving them alone again
in the room.
The creature watched her carefully, his forehead furrowed in what appeared to be
thought. He knelt down gently beside her, watching her as she burst into tears, covering
her face and cowering away from him. Her whole body felt like a limp noodle drained,
exhausted. Memories flashed through her mind Andre, looking back at her as he
screamed from the pain of his ribs and arm as the monster ran ahead of her, bouncing
Andre on his shoulder. Alice, her screams turning from terror to bubbling howls and
choking shrieks of pain as the monster bit and tore her head away from her body. And
Jack, reaching out to her for help, crumpling to the forest floor as his eyes went blank, his
soul leaving silently. She looked up at the Monster, her face contorting into rage. “Just
kill me!” she screamed, raising herself onto her knees. She began to punch the creature in
the head, screaming “kill me! Just kill me!” the punches did nothing to the creature he
just sat there, looking at her, thinking and blinking periodically as her fists struck his
face. Eventually, she collapsed again, another round of tears coming. Her wish for death
ruled absolutely. Suddenly, the creature grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her to her
feet. She screamed again, recoiling from the monster’s clammy hands. He clapped his
hand over her mouth, listening carefully to the tunnel that led to the front entrance of the
162 Summertime
cave. He could hear nothing there was no sound of breath, no sound of footsteps. His
father was nowhere near the cave. Danielle whimpered, trying to pull away from the
monster that held her, her tears overflowing and running down his hand. Douglas began
to drag her along with him, to the back of the cave. He pulled back a curtain, revealing
another tunnel that seemed to lead deep into the mountain. Creeping cold rushed along
Danielle’s skin as he pushed her towards the opening.
He pushed her into the tunnel ahead of him, closing the curtain behind himself. When
the curtain was closed, the tunnel was saturated with thick, cloying darkness, and
Danielle had no choice but to stick with the creature, the only one who could see the way
in the darkness of the mountain. They walked and walked into the mountain, Douglas
keeping his hand firmly on her shoulder, turning her gently as the tunnel turned, catching
her when she fell once, tripping over a long, thin object that rattled like driftwood against
the stone floor. They walked for what seemed to Danielle to be hours until, suddenly,
there was a dim light ahead. She focused on it, still unable to walk on her own in the
darkness. The creature steered her towards it, and suddenly she realized they were
passing other openings in the tunnel. She tried to look down the break offs, but only a
few feet in the tunnels would once again get as dark as the tunnel they had just left, to
come down towards the light. Danielle realized that she could hear the lake she could
feel it, too the ebb and flow of the water moving the rocks that made the cave. They
weren’t in a mountain they had been under the lake. As they came into the brighter light
at the end of the tunnel, she realized that she could also hear people she could hear
children, laughing as they played she could hear dogs barking, mothers calling, she
163 Summertime
could hear motorboats and cars and amongst it all, a sound like a radio, the sound rising
and falling as if someone walked about with one and then, suddenly, she could hear a
loud, metallic rattle high above her head. She looked up, and about 100 feet above her,
set high in the ceiling, was a small, round hole covered by bars. She stared at it stupidly
for a moment, and suddenly she realized it was the storm grate, the same storm grate she
had seen every year she had been coming to the campground the storm grate that sat in a
divot amongst weeds and garbage only a few feet from the entrance of her own campsite.
This was a flood tunnel the cavern in which the creature lived used to be a mine to keep
the water from washing everything away in the spring when the lake became swollen,
violent and destructive. The water was meant to come down here, soak into the dirt
tunnel floors, recycled into the water shed, staying well away from the tunnels the miners
had worked in, who knows how long ago.
She stared up at the opening, then down at the creature, who stood, silent, in the
middle of the cavern. Beside him, gently swinging, hung a long, red rope. He pulled the
rope in one hard jerk, and with a rattle, a rope ladder rolled down from the opening as if
it belonged there, as if any of this belonged here. He held the ladder still, looking from
the girl who stood, covered in mud and blood, with her clothes ripped and hanging, the
skin of her knees shredded, up to the opening repeatedly trying to convey what he
wanted.
“Are you letting me go?” she whispered, her heart rising up into her throat,
creating a lump there that pained as she tried to breath around it. The creature nodded,
holding his hand out to her offering to help her up the ladder. He looked at her sadly, an
apology in his eyes. She began to cry again, tears streaming down her face as she,
164 Summertime
ignoring his hand, grabbed onto the ladder and began to climb as quickly as she ever had
in her life. He held on tightly to the bottom of the ladder, trying to keep it steady, lest she
fall. With each rung, the air became sweeter. With each rung, the higher she went, the
clearer she could hear the laughter of the children who ran and played in the campground.
Suddenly, she could hear the frazzled mother, yelling at her children as she ran after
them her voice rising as falling as she passed the grate, probably not even aware of its
existence. The tears stung the scratches on her cheeks, her back ached from the chase, her
knees shook, threatening to give out at any moment but she focused on the sounds of the
lake, the thrill of birdsong, and now the clear blue sky she could just make out through
the grate. Far below, the creature hung on tightly, watching anxiously as she got higher
and higher. He hung his own body on the bottom of the ladder, trying to keep it in place
for her as she climbed but it was harder the further she got. Soon she had to slow down,
and pick her way carefully no matter how much he clung to the ladder, or planted his
feet she swung slightly in the void of space. There was a sudden sound behind him in the
darkness of the tunnel. Douglas whirled around, sniffing the air anxiously. High above
him, Danielle spun, screaming helplessly and clinging to the ladder. Douglas could smell
it his father’s rage. He could hear the footsteps as they hurtled down the tunnel towards
him. He looked up at the girl who clung to the ladder, staring down at him in horror. He
squealed at her, wordlessly urging her to get out! She climbed again, ignoring the
swinging of the rope this time. Something had the monster below scared and if
something was so bad, she thought, she had to get away from it. She was fifteen feet
away from the opening fifteen feet away from freedom. Just as Douglas began to think
165 Summertime
she would get out, his father burst through the blackness at the end of the tunnel. He
raised his hand, a metallic silver flash drawing Douglas’ attention. He screeched,
releasing the ladder to lurch towards his father, to stop him, but he wasn’t fast enough.
The old man shot the pistol he had in his hand, aimed directly at the girl on the ladder.
The reverberating explosion deafened the creature. He clapped his hands over his ears,
collapsing to the floor in agony as both eardrums popped. Danielle, almost to freedom,
her hand outstretched to the blue sky she could see through the grate only inches from her
fingertips, felt the bullet pass through her heart. For a second, she hung there, a
precarious ornament in the twilight of the cave. Then her body let go, and she felt herself
fall. She was dead by the time her body hit the cavern floor, making a sound like a
cracking egg.
Douglas moaned, the sound registering past the pain that reverberated in his head.
Silence ruled then, broken only by the old mans harsh breathing and the whimpering of
the defeated creature. He knelt on the floor, afraid to look up. He stayed there, staring at
the sand that made the bottom of the cavern floor, until the old man finally spoke his
voice thick, his breathing labored. “Pick her up.” he said, glaring at the monster that
knelt, cowering on the floor. Again, silence reined. The monster shook his head. He
would not move the dead girl. The old man pulled a rectangular black box out of his
pocket, pressing the second button down. The monster howled, his body jerking in pain
as the collar delivered a severe shock to his body. The old man removed his finger, and
the pain stopped. “I said, pick her up.” again, the monster shook his head, cowering
against the floor like a dog that has done something bad. The old man, a mad glint in his
166 Summertime
eye, pushed the third button down. This time, the monster flipped completely over, his
body seizing, his head bashing against the floor as he howled and jerked. The old man
kept his finger on the button longer this time thirty seconds, then a full minute then two.
Finally, he let it go. The creature clutched at his heart, moaning low and long in pain,
small whimpers escaping as he tried to breath. The old man waited, patiently staring at
the monster as it lay there. Finally, the monster turned over and climbed to its feet. The
old man held the black box up, hovering his finger over the fourth button. The creature
cowered away, shaking hard like a frightened, abused child. He raised his hands to the
old man, pleading with him.“Pick her up.” the old man said, watching the monster
carefully. Still hesitant, his head down, the creature turned and gently picked the dead girl
up. “Good,” the old man smiled, putting the box back into his pocket. “Now take her
back and hang her to drain. I want some proper bacon this year, even if it will be thin.”
flinching at the words, the monster shuffled past the old man, disappearing into the
darkness once more. The old man watched as he went, then turned and, brisk and
business like, kicked sand over the red pool of blood that coloured the cavern floor where
the girl had lain.
***
Mr. Mason packed up, passing his wife the big blue cooler up the steps of the
camper. The police were packing up, too the dogs being put away, the divers getting out
167 Summertime
of their gear. The search had produced nothing, nothing since the boat had been found.
He stood for a moment, looking sadly out over the lake, feeling horribly responsible. He
hadn’t even asked if they knew how to drive a boat. He hadn’t even asked that they wear
life jackets. He bent to his task again, rolling the stumps out of the way. Robbie stood,
not far away, watching the search ending, his face streaked with tears. It was awful just
awful that the people hadn’t been found. He had heard the police talking earlier. He
knew what they thought, now that most of the people, at least two, had drowned in the
lake when they had crashed. Maybe the others had head injuries, maybe they were hurt
some other way, maybe they just didn’t know how to get back to the campground. They
thought they were lost, off somewhere in the forest. He knew, that they had found a lot of
blood somewhere in the forest. He wiped the tears away, his heart heavy wishing he
hadn’t been so mean to the man with red hair. “Robbie!” he turned towards his camper,
heading for the sound of his Mother’s voice with a heavy heart. He sat in the window of
the camper, still watching. The police took down the people’s campgrounds, tagging and
bagging everything. A tow truck made its way slowly up the gravel road, coming for the
tall woman’s car. The others had hiked in their cars were all the way down the dirt road,
at the parking lot. They broke down the red haired man’s tiny tent, pulling his pack out.
They spread the contents out on the ground, coming up with what looked like an address
book. Mr. Mason stopped again, holding his hand up to get the police woman’s attention.
She came over, her face stern, her mouth turned down at the corners. “Are you going to
be able to find their loved ones?” he asked, hoping the answer would be yes. “We think
so.” she said authoritatively, nodding. “We’ve just taken down the licence plate of the
168 Summertime
one woman’s vehicle, and we found an address book in one of the men’s tents. The other
two left their cell phones in their tents, so in their cases it should be easy.” Mr. Mason
nodded, his heart heavy. She turned back to her job, supervising the officers who packed
up, everything put neatly away, categorized. Soon enough, the job was done; and one by
one, the police vehicles retreated down the dirt road, heading back for civilization. The
Masons followed, their dilapidated camper bouncing over each and every rut in the road.
The frazzled Mother and her family followed next, all ten children strapped in everyone
unusually silent.
Behind them, the lake glimmered, idyllic and peaceful in the late summer sun. the
clouds puffed, bright and fluffy, over the dark lake, sparkling in the jewel blue sky. The
silence, in the absence of campers, was broken only by the twitter of birds. It was the
kind of scene you would expect to see on a postcard; wild, untamed, beautiful. Glacier
Lake lapped serenely, whispering to the forest as the forest stretched up, reaching for the
sky.
Did you enjoy the book? If so, head on over to
http://www.shelfari.com/books/35899603/Summertime-a-tale-of-Horror-and-Supsense
And leave a review
169 Summertime
AND NOW….. The first chapter of St. Aidan’s; coming soon to a reading device near you.
ST. AIDAN’S
Chapter 1
The Beginning
170 Summertime
The jack o lantern grinned in its place on the low garden wall, illuminated by an electric
candle. The bright orange face was visible far down the road, a must when you lived so far
from the town, its lights visible in the valley below. Natasha held her son’s hand tight, pulling
her satin witch’s cloak tight around her. It would be cold tonight. She was glad she had put
together a clown costume for Theo- her son, smiling impatiently up at her, his glow in the dark
pumpkin bucket held tightly in his excited little hand. The wig would keep his ears warm, and
the many layers she had used to make him look rolly polly and jolly would keep him warm for
sure, even later in the night when everyone at the community kids Halloween party they
planned to attend would gather outside to see the annual fireworks. Sudden wind howled
around the tiny brick house, ripping at her cloak and freezing her to the bone.
Her husband stood at the door, his face concealed behind a werewolf mask. Every time
Theo saw it, he would squeal in fear and hide behind his mom. His voice sounded muffled
behind the thick rubber mask. “what time will you be back?” he held a bowl of brightly
coloured candy in his hand. She considered for a moment, only replying when Theo, pushed
well beyond the patience of any 6 year old, began to tug her along, heading for the party.
“around 1!” she called back, turning to see him illuminated in the porch light surrounded by
the darkening sky. He waved once, stepping inside and closing the door. Natasha turned back
to Theo, carrying on down the road. The surrounding forest stretched up high, closing in on
them once they left the clearing in which their home stood, looking out from the cliff over the
valley and the town below. “mommy, can I eat some candy now?” he asked, shaking his
bucket up and down. Natasha laughed, squeezing his hand tight. “you haven’t even gotten
any yet!” she said, adjusting the pin that held her cloak on. He smiled widely at her, sheepish.
“I forgot,” he giggled uncontrollably, forcing Natasha to stop while he calmed down. She
waited patiently, looking around the serene, sunset forest. Rich golden light soaked itself
171 Summertime
down through the canopy of the century- old evergreen trees, pooling in spots on the needle
and moss covered forest floor, the muddy soil beneath baked hard by the summer of hot,
unforgiving sun. the scent of the summer forest fires still clung to places, would be there
almost until the first snow in mid- November, around the time Americans had their
thanksgiving. The sky above was darkest in the middle, venus showing through on the edge
of the suspended pool of inky blue. Through the trees, still down the road a little from where
she and Theo stood, Natasha could see a building. She stared at it, fiddling with the clip that
held her cloak on again. It was small and silver, shaped like a face- with no eyes, a wide,
gaping mouth.
The building had once been a hospital, a place where people with mental problems came
to live. The old sign still hung above the gate- the cracked, faded red lettering still emblazoned
the building’s name across the old growth forest. ST. AIDAN’S ASYLUM FOR THE CRIMINALLY
INSANE AND UNSTABLE. It’s plain brown, weathered front betrayed nothing of the torture
that had happened inside, the windows twinkling merrily, visible from high in the air and from
far across the valley on the risen mountains on the other side. Its front door had received
damage- probably from one of the resident bears, and it now hung open, slanting outwards as
if it would fall on any that came up to the front door. The porch was old, extended out only
on the side of the building, behind the point where the once solid iron fence had stood. It had
been ripped out years ago, remnants of the once majestic wrought lay strewn on the ground.
a few hopeful remains of a garden still stood- the last roses immediately beside the building
still displayed a few beautiful blooms each year. But they were no longer as majestic as they
had once been, not without the loving care of giselda, the old Romanian patient who had
cared for them in her time here. It was said that when the building had been shut down, on
the last day when the nurses were loading up the other patients for transport, giselda had
172 Summertime
slashed her own throat in her room with a pair of sharp scissors she had snuck out of her
nurses’ pocket.
The building was old, older than any resident of the town below could remember- but it
had been in use until just 15 years ago. Natasha shuddered, remembering the shrieks and
mournful pleas for help that would float down from the hospital into the valley below.
Children, playing in the school playground, would stop what they were doing to scream back
at the poor trapped souls, telling them to shut up and die already. The last few crickets of the
year sang a mournful song of impending winter as she stood still, holding her now calm son’s
hand and staring at the building. “Mommy, look at that!” Theo suddenly took off from her
side, dropping her hand and his bucket on the road side. “Theo!” she ran after him, her heart
pounding in her chest. His bright red jacket flashed along in the streaks of light that came
from the almost completely set sun angled down from the horizon through the canopy of
trees. The multicolored wig fell off, rolling along behind him in his wake. Natasha simply leapt
over it, reaching out her hand to catch the back of his jacket- but he slipped away again,
picking up speed. “Theo!” he didn’t even turn around, dodging up and into the suddenly
imminent building. Natasha skidded to a stop, instinctive fear rising in her chest. What if the
floor was too old? What if her baby fell through? “THEO?” she screamed into the black maw
of the building’s front door, hanging stupidly open in the late autumn light.
tears streaming down her face, she screamed once more into the gaping mouth of the
building. Hearing nothing, she spun around, her hands pressed to her face, looking for help.
The gate hung open, creaking back and forth. The empty road seemed so far away. Suddenly,
from the inside of the old, Dilapidated building a voice sounded- “Mommy!” it was Theo, and
he was crying. Her mind made up, Natasha threw herself into the opening, narrowly avoiding
173 Summertime
the door as it fell, generating a thick cloud of dust. “Theo? Where are you, sweetie?” she
narrowed her eyes to slits, trying to see in the dim light. She was in a hall, the ceiling high
above her head, extending all the way up the four floors of the asylum. In front of her, there
was a double winged set of stairs, rising majestically in the dim dust to the second floor, the
main staircase that led from imminently at her feet to where it split off after only 7 stairs up.
A faded carpet lay on the middle of the stairs, at the landing and then split as well, up the two
flights of stairs to opposite ends of the second floor. A tall spiral staircase could be seen,
beginning at the middle of the second floor and extending all the way up to the ceiling above
the fourth floor. A tall hallway split down the asylum, leading all the way to the back of the
cavernous building, split down the four levels, the spiral staircase rising beside it halfway up.
On either side there were once- white wooden railings, picket fence style. Down the long,
unbroken center of the tall hallway there was a long, chipped white, wooden planter with
weeds growing up out of it. The ceiling was adorned with stained glass windows, letting their
colored light fall on all below. It would have been beautiful, if it was maintained. Now it
looked dangerous, the tall levels missing railings in places, some of the stained glass broken in
by confused birds, now lay strewn, still sharp on the floor. The smell of mold prevailed, and
Natasha covered her face with the edge of her cloak as she pressed on into the building. The
open faced construction reminded her of a prison block- and as she moved further and further
into the building, passing the foot of the stairs and carrying on towards the left, she could see
that the building was separated into hundreds of plain rooms, with double bolted doors. Some
still contained beds, some of the beds had been thrown to the ground from high up. There
was an elevator, but it appeared to no longer work- the lights were off inside it, as they were
all over the building. “Theo?” Natasha called again, her voice muffled by her cloak. Suddenly,
above her, footsteps rang out. She threw her head back, staring up at the levels above.
174 Summertime
Running along an open section above her, high up on the third level, was theo, his bright
clown costume standing out like a beacon in the multicoloured light against the black mold
that had taken over the wall. He laughed, and the sound echoed endlessly among the
labyrinth of halls and rooms and dust and mold. The squealing of rats blended into it,
becoming one with the child’s laughter. “Theo! Wait there! Don’t move!” Natasha whirled,
running back for the foot of the staircase. She hurtled up the tall, steep stairs, forgetting to
worry about rotten floors. Some of the stairs crunched like potato chips as she pounded up
the stairs. She hurtled around the bend in the staircase, taking the flight that led to the left,
hurrying as well she could with her cloak hampering her progress. She stopped to look up
once, and Theo was on the spiral staircase, running up, looking down occasionally, all the time
laughing. “Theo, it’s not safe, baby!” tears ran down Natasha’s face. She made her way
through the molding second level, trying her best to ignore the ominous moans and crackles
of the floor beneath her. Cockroaches and rats ran before her feet, bowling eachother over to
avoid being stepped on. Things slithered to and fro around her feet, and she tried to avoid
looking down. “Theo?” “come on, mommy!” his voice called down to her. “come look at how
pretty it is!” his innocent voice spurred her on, and she made it up to the third floor quickly,
hurtling down the hallway to the foot of the spiral staircase. Only one side had a railing, and
the other side just dropped off- maybe something once had been there, but now it was gone,
and Natasha clung to the remaining railing, trying to ignore how much it shifted under her
weight. Her head spun, the world tipping almost completely over, the colours rippling and
draining, like when someone pulled the plug in the sink. She had to stop several times to
steady herself, the vertigo almost unbearable. Finally, she made it up to the fourth level,
crawling thankfully onto the steadier floor. “Theo?” she called again, rising up on her knees to
looks around herself. “Mommy!” he caught her attention, his back to her, looking out of the
175 Summertime
window at the far end of the floor, in a long, rectangular room with a lot of beds lined up
against the walls. “Theo, why did you run away from me!?” she got on her feet, running down
the length of the building to meet him there. “I’m sorry, mommy.” His voice was serene in the
twilight beneath the stained glass. “come and see, mommy.” Natasha ran down the building
towards him, entering the long, thin room. As she entered, she past a window that faced out
to the road…. and stopped short. She stood for a moment, staring at the little boy, who stood
happily at the other window, looking out over the valley. Slowly, she turned her head to look
out the window beside her, to see what it was that had made her stop, that had caught her
attention. Down on the road, his tiny face twisted in confusion, stood her son. His pretty red
jacket stood out in the near dark, his pumpkin bucket now glowing. The flower button that
was in his lapel could be seen plainly now, flashing brightly in the dark- in case she lost him.
She had turned it on before they left. “mommy?” he called her, a question ringing out in his
voice. She turned, terror rising in her heart, back to the other little boy. He stood suddenly
closer, just an arms length away. His eyes were white, as if they had rolled back into his head.
He smiled at her, and his teeth were pointed and sharp, stained yellow and black. He stank of
rotted flesh, and there were black spots all over his skin. “mommy,” he snarled at her, his
voice coming out in a rasp. He raised his hand to take hers. Natasha screamed, throwing
herself backwards into the hallway to avoid the rotting hand. She stopped, blinking hard in
confusion. Inside the long room, the little boy still grinned at her amongst the scrabbling
cockroaches and silverfish that crawled up out of the rotted boards of the floor. The beds
were rotting away, some of the springs showing. Mold lay its velvet hand on every part of the
wall but where the sun would touch the brightest. But here, just outside the door in the
hallway, it was suddenly as if the asylum was still in operation. The floor gleamed with black
and white tile, scrubbed to a mirror finish. The walls were painted white, and people walked
176 Summertime
back and forth, holding the backs of nightgowns together and some dragging tall metal poles
on wheels, various clear bags of liquid hanging off of them. Two women in robes, with hard,
clacking shoes appeared around the corner at the end of the hall, dragging between them a
thin, frail woman without any hair. Her eyes were surrounded with black, as if she had been
beaten up, and her feet dragged behind her, despite her efforts to stand on her own. “come
on, now, Sarah.” The nurse on the right said, her voice the polar opposite of her stern face.
“I’m sorry.” The woman said breathlessly, letting her head loll forward. “I’m just so tired.” As
they passed, Natasha stood frozen, her entire body rigid with terror. The little boy was
laughing, now- his crow’s rasp echoing along the hall. Some of the patients clapped their
hands over their ears, stopping to lean against the wall, howling to drown the sound out.
“that’s enough!” another stern faced nurse appeared at the end of the hallway Natasha was
in. she spun her head around, staring at the imposing woman- who now was looking directly
at her. “back to your rooms!” she marched down the hallway toward Natasha, who began to
edge her way along the hall, still pressing her back against the wall, afraid to move. The
patient across the hall from her stopped howling and ran as if the devil was after him, first
down the hallway, and then skidded around the corner. The nurse’s face seemed to twist, the
heat of her rage melting it.
“I SAID GET TO YOUR ROOM!” she stretched her clawed hand out, the nails glistening red
in the light below the stained glass. Natasha screamed again, finally regaining control of her
body. She ran along the hallway, throwing herself around the corner after the other patient,
heading for the spiral stairs. Beside her ran the railing, and immediately over it was the drop,
fourty feet to the hard tile below. All over the asylum, things ran as if the building was new.
Patients screamed at her as she passed, pleading for help, their wrists and legs tied in place,
the metal tables they were strapped to rattling with their efforts to get free. Some just lay
177 Summertime
there, drugged beyond comprehension. All of it was startlingly clean, gleaming, slippery in
places. Her feet fell out from under her just as she made it to the head of the stairs, sending
her flying along, falling down 14 of the spiral stairs, cracking the wood of the bannister. Out
from the crack, cockroaches and filth- bugs ran. She looked up at the head of the stairs from
where she sat, her eyes wide with terror. The nurse had caught up to her, her face still twisted
in that awful way. She clung to the railing, dragging herself up. “stay away from me,” she said
shakily, trying to back away down the stairs without falling again. “all you need is your pill,
Natasha.” The nurse said soothingly, her teeth bared. “I’m not your patient!” Natasha
whimpered, slipping, forced to look behind her. She looked back, and screamed in terrorthere was the nurse, right in her face. The nurse grabbed her face, trying to force her mouth
open, a pill held tightly in her other hand. Natasha fought back, slapping the nurse as hard as
she could, kicking her in the knee. Nothing seemed to hurt the nurse- she carried on trying to
force the unknown pill down natasha’s throat. Suddenly, the patient she had seen in the
hallway appeared over the nurse’s shoulder. Howling without any words, he grabbed the
nurse by the hair. She screamed, her body jerking backwards. “RUN!” the patient screamed at
Natasha, holding the nurse back. “GET OUT!” Natasha turned and hurtled down the stairs,
making it down to the second floor without seeing anything but her feet pounding down the
immaculate tile. She could hear the nurse screaming for help, telling the others to CATCH
HER! CATCH HER! She could hear, as loud as if they were beside her, the feet of the nurses as
they ran to stop her. As she came to the foot of the spiral staircase, there were two male
doctors there, their faces twisted, the same as the nurse. She threw her hands up into their
faces, clawing at their eyes. They ducked, and she threw herself past their grabbing hands and
flew along the hallway, to the staircase at the end. All around the hospital, she could hear the
patients screaming- GET OUT! GET OUT! Suddenly, just ten feet away from the staircase, an
178 Summertime
arm clamped down around her throat. Her screams choked off, she was dragged backwards.
An empty room loomed in front of her, the metal bed unoccupied. “get in your room!” a voice
hissed in her ear. She clung to the door frame, unable to breathe. In her minds eye, she saw
her son, standing outside alone. How long would it be until he came into the building to look
for her? She threw her body backwards twice, earning herself no purchase. Whoever held her
was inhumanly strong. She put her foot up on the doorframe, pushing with all her might. The
steel grip gave just a bit, and she forced her other foot up onto the doorframe, pushing even
harder. Suddenly, the grip gave way and she flew backwards, and flipped over the railing. Her
body fell heavily down, landing on the staircase- her leg twisted underneath her. She
screamed as the bone ripped and tore, breaking in two places. It popped apart like frozen
meat, grating against itself inside. She slid down to the landing now, dazed. “mommy!”
looking up, Natasha saw that theo stood in the doorway. The hospital entrance was as it had
been before- rotted, decaying away. The door hung open. Her son’s terrified little face
hovered in the opening made by the open, hanging maw of the door. “RUN, THEO!” she
screamed, lurching to her feet, her leg screaming with pain. She fell down the rest of the
stairs, the bones in her leg screaming with hot pain as she went. “mama!” Theo sobbed in the
doorway, tears running down his face. She dragged herself along the floor, trying to get to her
son. The nurse appeared suddenly, at her feet, by the staircase. Theo screamed, his eyes
snapping wide in terror, unable to understand. “RUN! THEO RUN!” Natasha screamed again,
dragging herself towards the door. The nurse bent, grabbing her ankles. The patients began to
scream his name all over the building, howling at the little boy. THEO RUN! THEO RUN! He
turned, finally, and ran out of the door and out of the gate. Natasha sobbed, trying to kick at
the nurse that held her. Suddenly, she felt the bottom half of her body leave the floor, and her
feet pointed suddenly straight up in the air. She clung to a rotting pipe that stuck up out of the
179 Summertime
floor, hanging on for dear life. She looked up, and screamed again. The nurse’s feet hovered,
six feet off the floor, her eyes white like the child’s. she smiled a horrible smile as she dragged
her up. The patient that had helped natasha before suddenly appeared in front of her. “leave
her alone!” he screamed at the nurse, picking up rotting pieces of wood and throwing them
at her. They just bounced off, falling to the floor. The pipe gave way with a SNAP, and Natasha
flew up into the air, her screams dieing out into silence. The empty, rotting building stood
once more, alone. Theo ran down the road as fast as he could towards the town, screaming
for help- his flashing flower standing out in the now complete darkness.
Watch out for St. Aidan’s, coming soon to a reading device near you.