It was getting dark and he had driven almost to the main road when a grey wolf ran in front of the Bronco. Billy jammed on the brakes as the wolf ran into the underbrush. The truck lurched and stalled, the lights dimming some. Billy turned off the lights and tried to start the engine, the motor turned slowly but didn’t catch. Trying again the motor struggled but still wouldn’t start. Trying one more time, he slammed his left hand onto the dash in frustration and the motor came to life. He felt something when his hand hit the dash but ignored it figuring it was just one of those funny spots where the dash covering was split and cracked.
There was a lot that didn’t add up this afternoon. Suddenly he was feeling tired, he decided he would have to come back tomorrow and look for answers, but for now he just needed to get out of here. Go try and get some rest or at least get his head straight. Turning the lights back on he pulled out onto the main drag. As he was heading north on 121 he saw the moon was up and full, wow it had gotten dark early. Looking down the clock on the dash displayed 7:45. Wait, he had left the cliff around 5 and it was only about a 20 minute drive to the main road, somehow he had lost almost another hour and a half.
“Whoa, what a day.” It had been one thing after another ever since… What, he wasn’t even sure what had happened on the cliff. Had he imagined the whole thing? It couldn’t have really happened, he’d be dead right?
His folks lived about fifteen minutes away and it was on the way back to his place anyways he decided to stop there and decompress. He’d be careful what he said, he didn’t want to freak out Mom.
When he pulled into the driveway, he saw that the house was dark except for a light upstairs and in the living room that he knew were on timers. Parking his car he peeked into the garage and saw Mom’s minivan parked on the right but his Dad’s Corvette was missing. They must be away, Dad always liked to take the Corvette when they went on a getaway. He said it made him feel young and alive to get out on the open road every so often, so a couple times a month they would go away for an overnight or weekend.
Billy went around to the back and shuffled around the garden next to the stairs. There it was; he found the special rock vault and sliding the special door open the spare key was still inside. He unlocked the back door and replaced the key. Stepping into the kitchen and closing the door behind him he flipped on the light switch. Things hadn’t changed much since he moved out a couple years ago. His stomach growled and he realized that he was both hungry and tired.
Opening the fridge he saw that there were some leftovers. “Ahhhh”, mom’s special Mac ‘n Cheese; “perfect!” He put it in the microwave to heat and used the bathroom to relieve himself and wash up. Afterwards he poured himself a glass of milk and took the Mac ‘n cheese out of the microwave and chowed down. Putting his dishes in the sink he realized he was exhausted. Mom had turned his old bedroom into a guest room shortly after he’d moved out so he thought he’d lay down for a few minutes and then head home.
Stripping down to his boxers he slipped under the covers and could feel sleep overcoming him. His last thought before he crashed was of his childhood days growing up. He fell into a deep sleep and was resting very comfortably. After a while he began to dream, had anyone looked into the room through the open door they would have noticed two things out of the ordinary. First, they would have noticed a violet glow that seemed to be surrounding Billy where his skin was exposed, the rest seemed as if the glow was trying to break through the covers. Second the covers were being pushed up towards the ceiling as if Billy were somehow floating upwards.
An observer from the street around 3AM passing by might have noticed a brief violet flash that came from the back of the house. But then there was no one even up in the old neighborhood around that time so no one witnessed the flash.
Billy shivered as he felt a cold breeze blow across his body and sat up quickly. “Ouch” He fell right back down, onto a hard floor? His head throbbing, he was seeing stars. He lay there with his eyes now fully open and began to survey his surroundings. He was laying in his boxers on a 2 x 8 plank floor, plywood walls and a wooden ceiling above him. To his left was a small opening in the wall where the wind was blowing on him. There was a 2×4 rafter not two feet over his head, that must be what he hit, he rubbed his head. Feeling disoriented, confusion was the next thing to strike him. Why wasn’t he in his old room in bed? Where was he? It seemed familiar but why?
He was looking across the tiny room, when another breeze blew across him and raised goose bumps on his arms and legs. “Brrr”, he shivered. Turning his back to the cold, he noticed an old poster tattered and faded In the corner. Keeping his head low he scooted over to take a closer look. “Eew” he felt something slimy on the floor and started upwards slamming his head into the low ceiling. “Dammit!” Looking down at the greenish tinge on his hands and feeling the wet spot in his boxers that had absorbed some of the goo. He saw what appeared to be what was left of an old indoor outdoor carpet. Loaded with dust so that the pattern was no longer visible, it was moist and slimy. Now that he had disturbed it, the pungent smell of mold attacked his nostrils. “Yuk”, he felt revulsion as the smell turned his stomach.
Only a foot or so away from the poster he could make out the faded image of a star fighter and the words Captain Snowmese where the moonlight shone through an old porthole window.
“No way”, he thought. Crouching low he made his way over to the opening where the cool breeze was blowing in. Sure enough he was looking at the back of his parents house from his childhood tree house. “What the hell? How did I get up here and how am I going to get down?”
There was no ladder, Dad had said, “If you’re going to have a tree house then you’re going to have to learn how to climb.” I smiled, of course he had used a ladder to build it for me, and I’ve been climbing everything ever since.
Dad had said he was going to tear it down several years back. It had served its purpose and that it was no longer safe anyway. “I guess he hadn’t gotten around to it yet”, I thought. After all that was around the same time he had picked up the Corvette. I chuckled to myself, “priorities”.
The breeze blew again and brought me back from my reverie. The next order of business was to get down without a ladder. I was bigger now but it was still too far to jump safely. Even if I could manage to jump across to one of the supporting tree trunks, there were no branches to secure a landing and the trunk was smooth the rest of the way down.
“Hmm”, I reached around under the floor near the entrance. The wood was damp and felt soft in places. I probed around with one hand while using my other to brace myself at the frame of the doorway. I brushed something, maybe. Leaning out a little harder I was able to grasp it and pull it up. Excellent the old rope with climbing knots still in it, seemed in decent shape at least Dad hadn’t gotten around to removing it either.
Looping the rope over the hook just behind the opening and making sure it was firmly attached I dropped the end straight below. I could see the old sand box below though it looked different from up here. Sliding my legs out and brushing around I felt my foot brush against one of the knots. Grabbing the rope with both my feet I grappled the rope above the knot and felt a solid grip. Excellent!” This was going to work perfectly. I eased my body out grabbing the rope with one hand and slid my feet down to the next knot. Grabbing the top of the rope with my other hand I was now fully onto the rope. “Okay, let’s do this!”
“Shit”, I heard a crack from above. “Ouch”, I had barely sworn before I hit. Spluch, sliding into the muddy pit, my head fell back and hit the timber at the edge of the pit. I saw stars and passed out.
Not sure how long I lay there, when I opened my eyes it was still dark but the morning glow of dawn was just creeping up the horizon. I heard car doors. As I stood up covered in mud my parents came around the corner. “Billy, what the…”
Come on back next Monday for the next episode!
Episode 3 – Coming 4/26/21
Return to Billy Einkhorn Main Page
(c) 2021 Trell Waindah, All Rights Reserved