This is the continued story of
Simon’s Journal.
I would highly recommend you read the first volume of this story,
Simon’s Journal
Thirteen Days – The First Crusade
before you begin this novel.
The following
narrative is nearly a complete work of fiction.
Any similarity to actual individuals living or dead is completely
unintentional.
If reading a coming of age story about boys wearing diapers and exploring
their awakening
sexuality is offensive or illegal in your area, then might I suggest
you go read War
and Peace or something equally stimulating.
Simon's
Journal
Volume II
Thirteen
Nights – After the Crusade
Written by
Danny
Author of Thirteen Days
PART 5 – Sunday, March 07, 2004 – Bump in the Night, Continued
For the last competition there were twenty four of us that had made
it and I was so thankful that we were allowed to bring one adult backstage with
us because I was so nervous that I couldn’t even talk and I felt like I was
going to have a breathing attack at any second. Actually, I wasn’t the only one
backstage that was so very nervous because when I went to the bathroom to go
pee there were at least a dozen nervous boys in there waiting in line to pee
too.
Mom and dad had stayed out front while Molly had escorted me to the
back. As luck would have it, they had us perform by high scorer first and since
I had the lowest score out of all twenty-four of us by two and three-quarters
points, I had to go last. This meant Molly and I had to stand backstage for
over an hour while we watched each kid perform. We each were given exactly
three minutes to show our stuff while the panel of eight judges scored us on a
multitude of categories.
After the first five had finished I was feeling like I didn’t
belong with such fantastic champions. After the fifteenth I was ready to throw
in the towel and go home. While the boy that was a head of me was out there
something happened that breathed new life into me.
The
International Junior Yo-Yo Champion, Sherry Yimmerman walked up behind me,
tapped me on my shoulder. Someone had told me that after winning the competition
last year she had apparently decided not to compete again this year but instead
had come to support everyone else. So when she tapped my shoulder I was both
surprised and not surprised. I had seen here a couple times throughout the day
but never imagined I would ever get to talk with her. I only turned partially
around because Molly had a hold of my right hand and was massaging my fingers.
Her voice didn’t seem to match her appearance; she sounded younger, much
younger and I think it at first distracted me from what she said next because
it wasn’t until she left that her words reached my brain. She had said, “I have
been watching you and I think you are good enough to win today.”
That’s
it; that is all she said to me, and she had said it soft enough that none
around me heard her but it was plenty strong enough for me. As a matter of fact,
it pumped me up so much that when they called my name and number I ran out onto
the stage determined to win and nearly fell over my own two feet in the
process.
While
I was performing on stage, something unexpected happened to me during those
three minutes. I honestly do not remember anything that happened after the
spotlight hit me, I mean as far as my performance that is. Had Molly not told
me about my performance afterward I’d probably never have known; really all I
can recall is thinking about the fact that I only had three minutes which lead
me to thinking about the number three. This then sent my mind off on the
wildest thought process and I found myself thinking about stuff that I didn’t
even know I knew about. Here’s how it went . . .
“Three minutes—three
minutes—three—three—three. In school I remember learning that it is possible to
go three weeks without food and still
live. And there was this one guy, I think his name was Gandhi, he went longer,
but he cheated by drinking orange juice. I also remember learning that in a pleasant
climate I could go three days without
water, but less in hot weather? But what I really found amazing from that
lesson was that it is possible to go a full three-minutes
submerged under water without any air but any longer and I would drown. When I
asked what would happen if I were to stay under longer but didn’t die-drowning
and my teacher had said that if I happen to survive I would probably wish I had
drowned because I might have brain damage. So I guess the order of importance
to my existence is oxygen first, then water and last food.”
It
wasn’t until I was backstage again that I came back to my senses. Actually it
took Molly shaking and hugging the stuffing out of me to bring me around.
“Molly
I can’t breathe!” I managed to eek out despite her bear hugs.
“Oh
Simon you did better then I could have ever hoped!” Molly said squatting down
in front of me and wiping a tear away that had managed to leak from her left
eye and was racing down her wrinkled face.
Earlier
in the day I had given her my jacket and she had stuffed it into a big canvas
hand bag that she always carried with her. However she was pulling it back out
at this moment which I thought was very odd given that I had sweat poring off
me.
“You
can hold it, I’m too hot!” I said pushing it back to her.
But
she gave me that look that she always gives me when she is training me and I want
to be goofy, so I stopped resisting. Instead of putting it onto me properly she
wrapped it around my waist and using the sleeves she tied it to me.
I
was about to ask why and did manage to get out the words, “Why you doing it
like. . .” but she answered in a soft whisper, “Because you have a wet spot on
the front of your pants. I didn’t want to say anything before because I was
afraid you wouldn’t have gone on stage if you knew.”
“Y-y-you
l-let m-m-me g-g-go o-out th-th-th. . .” I wasn’t able to finish what I was
saying because I was stuttering so bad.
“No
one was looking at your pants!” she said gruffly.
Apparently,
when I had gone to the bathroom before my performance I must have cut off my stream
of pee before I was finished. After tucking my tiny boy penis back into my
underwear, I guess I didn’t realize that more pee had come out; enough to soak
through my underwear and onto my pants leaving a wet spot for the entire world
to see.
Though
for maybe two seconds I thought I might start crying from embarrassment, I
didn’t have time to get all worked up before all twenty four of us kids were
marched out on stage and given our final scores. They started the ceremony with
the lowest score first and proceeded until down to the three finalists.
I
was sure I’d get one of the lowest scores given that I had not been able to pay
attention while I performed but that turned out to not be the case. As each
score was given, a ribbon was pinned to each kid’s shirt before being escorted
off stage. A couple of the kids left crying and one girl got plane rude and had
to be carried off kicking and screaming by her father; at least I think it was
her father.
I
don’t think I realized I was still standing on the stage until someone
announce, “And here are our three finalists!” It was Svetlana Vonovich who had
won the competition two years ago and was fourteen years old now. She was standing
to my left and had a hold of my hand so tightly that had I not been so nervous
it probably would have hurt. To my right was Matthew Bender who aside from the
year Svetlana beat him had been champion since he was only eight years old, he
is now twelve and has a huge following. I don’t really care for Matthew’s
style; I mean he’s really good but he seems to be all about the lights and glamour
more then anything else. Maybe that’s why he hasn’t been able to win the last
two years. And then of course there was me, dwarfed by two older and taller
past champions and a jacket tied around my waist to hide the wet spot on my
pants. I think I have a small idea what it was like for David when he went up
against Goliath and his brothers.
The
lady that had been announcing all of the others then handed the microphone to
Sherry Yimmerman, who I had not even seen walk onto the stage. The crowd was deafening
as they cheered for her. When the roars and clapping finally calmed down again,
she was handed a three by five card that the three of us found out contained
our names and whether we took third, second or first place.
“The
third place champion is . . .” Sherry said slowly allowing the anticipation to
continue a few more seconds; she really was good at drawing out the suspense.
“Svetlana Vonovich!”
The
crowd exploded even louder then they had when Sherry had come out on stage. Svetlana
looked both happy and sad that she’d not won but she took her trophy and waved
as she exited the stage.
That
just left Matthew Bender and me. My ears were buzzing so loud that I couldn’t
hear anything else and it wasn’t until I saw Sherry hand Matthew the second
place trophy that I realized I had won the competition.
Mom,
dad and Molly rushed the stage, swept me into the air and were parading me high
for everyone to see. It was an experience that changed me forever.
When
I thought things couldn’t get anymore amazing the crowd again went quiet and
the lady who had been doing the announcing before Sherry Yimmerman had come out
again spoke.
“Ladies
and gentlemen, boys and girls today has been magical and I would like to thank
someone special for donating this year’s First Place Tri-State Championship
trophy.” She held up a golden yo-yo for all to see. The crowd again cheered.
The
lady announcer then turned to where mom, dad, molly and I were standing and
said in a booming voice, “The world
famous, Fabulous Molly Holly!”
The
crowd was quiet for a moment and then the murmurings began which grew louder
and louder until I thought my ears might implode from the roaring applause of
the spectators. They screams, whistled and clapped for at least ten minutes
before anyone could calm them down enough to be heard. It finally took Molly
stepping up to the microphone to hush the elated crowd.
“Thank
you so very much for your applause! I am deeply moved and honored to be
remembered by so many,” she paused momentarily, “but today isn’t about me and
my accomplishments. I had my time in the limelight. Today is Simon Leonard’s
day!” Molly said stepped to one side and motioning toward me.
The
crowd of on lookers again broke into cheers and applause. It was the most
wonderful and scary feeling to have kids who I had competed against coming up
to me and asking me to sign my name on their yo-yo’s. Molly said it was one of
the prices of fame. They kept coming too, and for over an hour Molly and I
stood side-by-side signing our autographs for everyone.
After
winning the Tri-State competition Molly continued to train me and I continued
to complete. Most of my friends had grown bored with watching me practice at
recess every single day. Most afternoons I would be off all by myself on the
playground happily practicing.
Eventually
I convinced Molly to train me to do the Galaxies Revenge, using things like
trees, telephone poles and a punching bag as a stand-in while I learned. It was
a good thing too because on more occasions then I care to remember, I’d lost
control of one or more of my yo-yo’s and left a notable gash in the bark of the
trees and the wood of the poles. It took a long time for me to master the Galaxies
Revenge and to be able to graduate to using a real person. Molly was my first
assistant and after some convincing, Sean agreed to let me practice with him.
Only once did I ever hit anyone and it was Sean; thankfully I only nipped his
nose and didn’t do any permanent damage.
The
day finally came when I decided that I was going to use the Galaxies Revenge.
My parents had let me travel with Molly to the Minnesota Junior Finals which
was a three day competition in which I had to complete a total of nine times. Molly
and I had not come alone, Sean who had sort of become my good luck charm when I
completed was there too. I think he liked it because it meant he got out of
going to school.
At
the Minnesota Junior Finals I had made it all the way to the final four and I
was the last one to compete just as I had been in my very first competition. I
needed at least eight points to win and though I could have earned those in my
sleep, I had decided that on this particular day I was going to retire from competition
and wanted to go out with a bang. I had already told Sean my intentions before
entering the competitors ring for the final time; I had kept my intentions from
Molly because I was afraid she wouldn’t try to stop me or something. Only a few
days before leaving for the competition she was saying that I still wasn’t
ready to attempt the Galaxies Revenge in competition but she didn’t know that I
had been practicing it with Sean in my backyard for over a week.
I
started out with the normal routine Molly had trained me for and that would
have been enough for me to win but I wasn’t aiming to win, I was aiming to go
out with style. All I had to do was glance Sean’s way and he knew it was time.
He stepped into the center of the competitors ring; I could see Molly off to
one side holding both hands up to her mouth. The crowd of watchers and judges
all around us watched in astonishment as I added each yo-yo one by one until I
was up to all six at once. Not a sound was made, not even a gasp, until I was
finished and then as if someone had fired off a canon everyone began screaming
and cheering.
The
three judges walked into the center of the Competitors ring carrying the First
Place trophy, “Ladies and gentlemen, it gives me great pride to announce Simon
Leonard as our first place winner!” one of the judges said while handing me the
trophy which was nearly half as tall as me.
Molly
was still standing just outside the ring looking as proud as I’d ever seen her.
The judge who’d given me the trophy asked if I wanted to say anything to the
crowd of spectators and I sure did.
I
handed the trophy to Sean as the judge held the microphone up to my chin. “I
would like to take this opportunity to announce my retirement from competition!”
Molly
looked shocked at my statement and the crowd gasped with surprise.
“I
have accomplished everything I had set out to do, and now I want to go back to
playing Kick ball with my friends!” I said calmly.
After
the crowds of kids began to disburse from around me and with Sean off with some
other boys for a few minutes enjoying his own measure of fame from having
survived the Galaxies Revenge, Molly sat herself down next to me and was
stroking the first place trophy with a single finger.
“I
suppose you are pretty mad at me huh?” I said looking down at my shoes.
“Mad?
I could never be mad at you! Oh sure I might yell at you a lot when we are
training but . . .” she said and I jumped in before she could finish. “I knew
that you never meant it.”
“You
know something?” She asked and I looked up at her waiting for her to continue,
“I think what you did today was probably the smartest thing you could do. Maybe
if I had been as smart as you, I wouldn’t be so old and alone today.”
“You
are not alone!” I said looking right into her eyes, “You got me and I will
still come visit, I mean if you will let me.”
And
I did go see her after that; we would talk, play with our yo-yo’s just for the
fun of it and have a good visit each and every time. However, I saw less and
less of Molly over the next few weeks though I was always sure to stop by every
so often just to visit with her until the day came when I had come to visit and
found her house completely empty. There was an envelope taped to the front door
with my name on it.
I
opened and read it,
My dearest Simon,
Words cannot express the joy you brought back
into my life. You gave me something that I never knew I had lost; something I
didn’t know I was missng until you came beating on my
door that day. These past few months have reminded me how much I used to enjoy
life and so I have decided that instead of spending what time I have left
sitting in this stuffy old house, I am going to travel the world once again!
Don’t be sad, rejoice with me and remember the
dreams that together we made come true. Remember that the best is yet to be
Simon; so do it well and do it right.
I forever remain your biggest fan!
The Fabulous Molly Holly
I
was never to see Molly again but occasionally I still get postcards from
different places around the world. The last post card I received came two days
before school started this year; she said she was in
I
was eventually brought out of my mental blast to the past when the headlights
of a car flashed on me momentarily as the car pulled into the parking lot. It only
took me a second to recognize it as Bull’s car and I don’t think I could have
been happier to see anyone then I was just then.
Emerging
from my hiding spot, I raced to his driver’s side window and he was the first
to speak. “Sorry Spaz, I had a hard time sneaking out of the house tonight! So
what’s up little man? You ready to do this or what?”
Apparently,
I must have been trembling like a leaf from being so cold because when I tried
to talk all that came out of my mouth was the sound of my teeth chattering.
Bull, seeing my nearly frozen condition slammed the gear shifter into park,
jumped out from behind the wheel and pushed me into the front seat. I suppose
had I not been so cold I might have been concern with the idea that as I crawled
across the seat to the passenger side I was showing my amply diapered but to
Bull. As soon as I was out of his way he got back in and closed the driver’s
side door.
“I’ll
crank up the heat!” Bull said pushing the controls all the way to right for
maximum warmth.
“Th-thanks!”
I managed to say still with chattering teeth.
“Man
it is good to see you Spaz!” Bull said giving my leg a squeeze.
“I-I
d-didn’t th-think you w-w-were c-coming!” I said placing my hands directly over
the air vent on the dashboard of his car.
“Sorry,
but I had to push my car over a block from our house before starting it or my
parents would have heard it for sure.” he said petting the steering wheel as if
he were petting a dog.
“Oh!”
I was all I said back.
“So
you said you have a gang of friends?” Bull asked.
I
looked over at him, “Did I say gang?” I asked him.
“Uh,
I thought you did!” he said giving me a light backhand to my still frozen arm.
“So downtown then?” he asked.
I
nodded and he pressed the gas peddle to the floor which threw me back against
the seat with the force of our sudden acceleration.
Bull
stayed mainly to the back roads just incase his parents had found out he was
gone and had called the cops. While he drove he told me that some judge said that
he is not allowed to go anywhere without one of his parents being with him and
he isn’t even supposed to be driving at all. Besides the fact that his parents
took his car keys, the judge also suspended Bulls license before releasing him
on a $10,000 cash bond and into his parents’ custody.
When
he was finished I explained, in better detail, that I thought I knew where
Mikey and Tater might be, in the barn BJ and I had found and how Runt had told
me to stay away from it.
“So
that’s what your email the other day was about?” Bull asked.
“Which?”
I asked in return.
“The
one where you said you thought Runt was in some barn or something like that.”
He said as we drove past the Kemmel Tire Plant. I only knew what it was because
I saw the sign all lit up on the side of the factory building.
I
then told him everything I knew that related to Runt since that day I saw Runt
after having been chanced by the man in the rusty minivan. I told him all about
the man in the van too but I left out the part about the old man whose house I
had hid out in that same day. That was when I remembered about the package yet
again and tried to make a mental note to remember to check what it was the
second I got home . . . “If I survive the night!”
I’d
not realized I had said that last part out loud until Bull asked, “What was
that?”
“Uh,
nothing. Just thinking out loud.” I recovered quickly.
Now
I have not known Bull for very long but even still, he seemed to be reacting,
for the most part, the way I would expect him to act upon hearing these things
and yet there was something that I just couldn’t put my finger on about him right
at that moment.
When
he pulled up to Jamie’s building downtown I was shocked and disappointed to
only see Jamie standing there alone. He spotted me and ran for the car. I opened
the passenger door and scooted myself closer to Bull to allow room for Jamie to
sit up front with us. As Jamie sat
himself down next to me I heard the unmistakable sound of a diaper rustling and
knew instantly that he was defying his mom and was still enjoying wearing
diapers. Bull must have heard it too because his eyes were about to bug out of
his skull. I couldn’t help wondering where he got his hands on diapers but
almost as quickly as I had that thought another replaced it, “Probably snuck
them out of the bag when I was staying with him.”
“Where
is everyone?” I asked returning my attention to my brother while he pulled the
passenger door closed.
“They
gave up and went back up about twenty minutes ago.” Jamie said after blowing
onto his blue fingers. “They were too scared anyway!” he complained before
adding, “Ah it is so nice and warm in here!”
As
if he’d only just saw Bull Jamie’s eyes widened and squealed, “Oh my gawd! Do
you know who you are? Oh my gawd! You are John ‘The Brahma Bull’ Hawkins of the
Panthers!” I was so embarrassed for Bull
to have Jamie gushing over him like that.
“Oh
you are so amazing!” Jamie shouted and then squealed even louder, “How cool is
this?”
I
watched as Bull’s expression went from confusion to shear delight but I was
just plain annoyed. “Would you please shut up?” I growled at Jamie and then
directed my words to Bull, “Bull, this is my brother Jamie!”
“Sup
J-man?” Bull said to Jamie, who was smiling like some scatterbrained little
school girl.
“So
what took you guys so long anyway?” Jamie asked while elbowing me in the arm.
“Sorry
J-man! It’s not a pretty scene ‘round my place these days.” Bull said and I
felt a twinge of gilt stir within my gut.
Bull
drove while I again explained what I had in mind so that they were both clear
on the idea. “We go in, find Tater and his little brother Mikey and then get
the heck out of there!”
“What
do we do if someone hears or sees us?” Jamie asked.
“We
just have to make sure we are not seen or heard!” Bull answered for me.
Seeing
how the front entrance to the sports park is always blocked off by a gate after
dark, the three of us decided that it would be smarter for us to go back to the
corner store and leave Bull’s car parked behind the store where it was not
likely to be seen.
The
three of us started for the park on foot with Bull leading the way, me taking
up the rear position, which left Jamie in the middle and right in front of me
so that I could check out the diaper bulge in the back of his pants while there
was still light enough to do so from the street lamps. Now from the Corner
Dairy store’s Parking lot, about a block away, there is another back entrance
to the park that goes past the basketball courts, which is the path we chose to
take. It served us in two ways, it got us off the streets so that we wouldn’t
be seen or picked up for being out after dark and also it was much faster then
going in the way I usually did!
I’m
not sure why I didn’t get scared walking through the park after midnight. I
guess having Bull and Jamie along gave me courage I otherwise wouldn’t have
had.
From
the basketball courts inside the sports park there is actually a shortcut that
leads down to the running track but it isn’t exactly part of the normal paved paths
that wind through the park; it’s actually just a dirt path that’s been made by
so many people wanting to shave a couple minutes off there walking time.
However, Bull didn’t want to go that way due to all the mud we’d have to trek
through. He said we needed to stay on the paved path that took us past one of
the two concession stands in the park. Of course the stand was closed and
locked up during the winter but the water fountain that is mounted on the
outside usually is still working most of the year. However, it wasn’t tonight
and I figured it was either froze up or someone shut if off inside to keep the
pipes from freezing. I probably didn’t need more to drink anyway. I could tell
by the way I had to walk that my diaper was filling up fast which made me
wonder about the condition of Jamie’s diaper as well.
We
had made it to the main part of the park fairly quickly but stopped when we saw
the silhouette of a car sitting in the middle of the parking lot. I knew that
the park rangers closed the drive gates at dark and would normally chase any
cars out so I figured this car must have been left here by someone.
“Maybe
it’s broke down.” Jamie whispered just before letting go a very loud and very
wet sounding fart.
Bull
and I both just looked at him in complete disbelieve that he had actually done
it. I was about to accuse him of trying to give us away but he spoke first,
“Sorry but that happens when I get nervous!” He had directed his words to Bull
rather then me since I already knew this fact about him.
In
the dark I could barely see Bull smiling as he said, “We better not take any
chances with that car down there.”
So,
the three of us decided to take the long way around instead of cutting straight
across the parking lot. The long way, oddly enough, was the running course and
took us past the park entrance I normally use when coming from my own house.
One
of the good things about staying on the running course is that it kept us from
sinking into the muddy ground which was the main reason we’d not taken the
short cut earlier. We discovered just how muddy the ground was when Bull
accidentally stepped off the paved path onto the brown grass and sank up to his
ankle in mud.
“Oh
that’s disgusting! Like stepping on one of Jasper’s used diaper!” Bull commented
and I’m not sure he even realized what he had said but Jamie and I sure knew.
We were looking at each other and giggling while Bull was attempting to clean
his shoe off with a stick he had pulled off one of the many trees around us.
While
we waited for Bull to finish cleaning his shoe, I had time to notice and
thought it kind of peculiar that on all the areas of the park normally covered
in grass, the snow had melted but on the sand of the ball diamonds and
volleyball courts, the snow was still unaffected by the recent warmer weather.
I made a mental note to ask my science teach about that when I get back to
school tomorrow.
When
we finally reached the point that we had to leave the running course and head
for the trees to get to the barn we stopped long enough for me to have second
thoughts about what we was about to attempt. Not because I was scared and not
because I was getting cold but because I knew from this point on we would be
getting very, very muddy! Kind of stupid to think like that but it is what was
going though my head just then.
As
I took the first step into the mud and saw my shoe vanish in the mud I again
heard Jamie rip another fart though this time it wasn’t as loud but it sure
sounded like he was crapping his diaper. I stopped, turned my head to look at
him; Bull had the flashlight shining on Jamie. “You just shit yourself?” Bull
asked in a funny sort of voice that I’d never thought him capable of.
“NO!
I just farted!” Jamie said.
Forgetting
I had one foot already in the mud I started to walk without watching a head of
me and went down in the mud face first. This little spectacle of mine caused
Jamie and Bull to bust up laughing with fits of hysteria. I rolled myself onto
my back and began laughing too. We were all three hushing at each other and
trying not to laugh but it was just too funny.
Bull
took two steps into the mud and helped me to my feet but Jamie wasn’t budding
yet so I slogged over to him, took hold of his arm which caused him to exclaim,
“Oh Simon you are getting mud all over me!”
“Ssshhhhh!”
Bull hushed at him.
I
gave him a tug and he took only one step and fell forward onto his hands and
knees. This got Bull and I laughing all over again.
The
drudgery to the barn was as bad as we had all expected it to be and all three
of us were covered in cold caked on mud. Now I am sure that if anyone had been
looking out of the barn as we emerged from the trees, they would probably have thought
we were some kind of mud monsters out roaming the woods for fresh brains to dine
on. Jamie, despite his own appearance, seemed to get a kick out of seeing Bull
and I covered head to toe in mud and kept breaking into fits of quiet giggles
until I punched him right in the stomach to shut him up.
Since
I was the only one that knew about the little arched doorway inside the barn, I
lead the way in. We found the door closed and with Bulls awesome strength he
was able to open it despite the fact that it had been nailed closed again but
only with two nails this time.
I
was never so glad to have brought the flashlight then when we started in
through the door. Outside we had some light from the moon and stars to see by
but inside the barn it was completely and utterly dark except where the
flashlight was aimed.
The
spot where the ceiling sloped down and the floor ended turned out to be a very steep
set of wooden stairs that seemed to go down forever with the occasional jog to
the left and right. We also quickly figures out that these stairs were not
built to normal standards as even Bull had to watch his footing or risk falling
down into the darkness.
Bull
said something that at the time I’d not got the full jest of but now that I am
writing about it, I can’t believe I missed it. “Seems like we must have gone
nearly halfway by now.”
I
think it was all the cobwebs and dead rat skeletons on the steps that was
weirding me out which caused me to miss that obvious clue.
Since
I had the flashlight and was leading the way with Bull right behind me that left
Jamie at the back of our procession pretty much in the dark. For safety sake
Bull was holding my free hand and Jamie was holding tightly to Bulls other
hand. Jamie was silent as we descended stairs and a few times I stopped just to
check that he was still with us.
We
reached a level section in the ever declining corridor where to our left the
stairs continued downward while straight a head of us was a level corridor that
was low enough that Jamie and I could barely stand upright but Bull would have
had to almost crawl through.
I
shined the light on Jamie who looked like he was in considerable pain, “What’s
the matter?” I whispered to him.
“I
think I need to . . .” his words trailed off at the end so that I couldn’t hear
what he said.
“You
got on a diaper, so use it!” Bull whispered in a rather matter-of-fact sort of
tone.
Jamie
looked up at Bull with loathing written all over his strained face. I think he
was also taken back that Bull had put words to what we all already knew. I took
a shallow breath before adding, “If you can’t hold it, then just go so we can
continue!”
“No,
I can hold it!” Jamie said with a grimace.
Without
another word uttered by any of us we stopped and listened. Down the stairs we
could hear faint unrecognizable sounds where as down the corridor we heard absolutely
nothing. With a simple shrug from me, Bull took the flashlight and continued
down the stairs with Jamie next and me now taking up the butt-end position in
our ill performing conga line.
The
further we descended the louder the sounds got until finally we reached the
bottom of the stair case. We were standing inside a small darkened area that
opened up to a humungous cavern. It was the first time I realized that the air
I was breathing was so moist and warm.
As
if he were invisible and with no signal to Jamie or I, Bull stepped out of
hiding and into the open while Jamie and I stayed cowering in the shadows. We
could see what must have been twenty or more children all about Jamie and my
age with the exception of one or two slightly taller boys. Each of them were
dressed in the same drab gray coats as I’d seen Runt wearing but none of them
appeared to not be wearing any pants because there legs were bear and exposed
from about mid-thigh down to their sandal covered feet. Each and ever one of
them looked to be rather frantic as they scurried about carrying boxes out of
the cavern room and down another large corridor.
“Bull!”
I tried to whisper for him to duck down before he was seen but instead he took
off at a fast walk and just that quickly he was gone leaving Jamie and I scared
and alone. What was worse is that he took the flashlight I had brought from
home so going back up the stairs would be ever so much harder should we chose
to retreat at this point.
“What
do we do now?” Jamie whispered into my ear and sounding almost hysterical with
fear.
I
was about to say, “Let’s go back!” when Runt stepped around the corner and
grabbed us both.
He
had a hold of the back of Jamie’s neck and had me in a headlock that made me
feel as though my head might just pop like a zit if Runt squeezed anymore.
“Hey!
Looky here what I found!” Runt shouted across the room.
The
biggest and ugliest man I had ever seen in my life made his way over to where
Runt was holding us. Jamie was still thrashing about in a vain attempt to escape
but I knew he was just wasting his efforts.
The
giant of a man grabbed Jamie by the leg and hoisted him upside down into the
air. Though he was crying Jamie was still able to articulate his thoughts with
very colorful words, “Let me down you over grown jackass!”
Unfortunately
for Jamie, hanging upside down allowed several inches of the disposable diaper
he was wearing to show and I guess he must have lost control of his bowels
because crap was spilling out the back waistband of his diaper and plopping to
the cavern floor beneath us.
The
giant of a man spoke in a low menacing voice that seemed to reverberate off the
cavern walls, “'Ey, loogy ‘ere!” he held Jamie even higher for the other’s on
the other side of the room to see, “E’s sheet ‘emself 'n e’s gots un a nappy!”
“Oloph,
put him down!” came a familiar voice but with Runt squeezing my head so hard I
was having a hard time making my brain work. “Gently!”
“Na,
O' dun’t ‘ink ‘o!” Oloph grunted.
“Let
him go now!” another voice said and I recognized it as Bull’s.
Oloph
obeyed Bull’s command and thankfully Runt released his vise like grip on my
head. However, when he did, I fell backward right into an awaiting wooden
chair.
“Oh,
dat’s a gude ‘ace fer ya!” Oloph said dropping Jamie on his head and into the
mess that had fallen out of his diaper.
“What
the hell are you doing here?” Runt said to Bull.
“Where’s
Madam M?” Bull asked ignoring Runt’s question.
“She’s
not here! We have to get out of here tonight, someone tip off the cops about
this place!” Runt said swinging his hand through the air drawing our attention
to the multitude of boys still working as hard as ever like nothing had
transpired.
“Son
of a . . .!” Bull started to curse.
“I
supposed you brought these little shits here too?” Runt said and Jamie, who was
getting to his feet had to duck to keep from being hit by Runt.
Jamie
was holding the spot on his head where he had hit the stone floor when Oloph
had dropped him.
“I
didn’t have much choice!” Bull said through clenched teeth.
“Bull?”
I said in disbelief.
Oloph
backhanded me so hard that both me and the wooden chair toppled over backward. Despite
my plastic armor beneath my coat, the blow hurt enough to knock the wind out of
me and I think I might have blacked out for a moment or two. When I finally was
able to catch my breath and regain my faculties I saw Oloph laying face down on
the floor of the cavern with a sizable pool of blood under him. I was still lying
on the floor clutching at my aching chest. Jamie, Bull and Runt were no where
to be seen and Mr. Segal was leaning over me.
“You
alright?” Mr. Segal asked.
“You?”
I said pushing him away and attempting to get to my feet.
My
chest was screaming with pain but adrenaline began to course through my young vanes
giving me the strength I needed to get out of his reach. I was still on one
knee when I saw the gun in Mr. Segal’s hand.
“It’s
alright; I followed you here!” he said trying to reach out for me but I managed
to move away from his grasp.
“Simon
there isn’t time for this, we’ve got to get you out of here now!” Mr. Segal
said holding out a police badge to reassure me that he was here to help.
“He’s
not going anywhere with you!” a voice I recognized instantly as that of my Black
Amazonian Guardian!
Mr.
Segal flushed white as a diaper as he slowly turned and stood back up to see
Officer Mecums standing behind him holding a shotgun to his head.
Everything
that happened next seemed to happen so fast that I still have a hard time
getting it all straight in my mind.
“Well
Detective Thomas Segal!” Officer Mecums said derisively, “I had a feeling you
might show up here tonight.”
“You’re
making a big mistake!” Segal tried to tell her.
Officer
Mecums started to say, “Oh don’t even try anything with me or I . . .” but
Segal lunged at her. A second later I felt someone grabbing my coat. I looked around
to see that is was Tater who’d taken hold of me.
“Come
on we got to get you out of here!” Tater said with a tug.
“W-wait
I’m h-here to save y-you!” I said trying to get my feet to keep up with the
rest of my body.
We
crossed the great cavernous room which was now devoid of any of the children I
had seen when we first arrived at the bottom of the stairs. We rounded a corner
only to come face to face with Bull. For half a second I started to panic but
then I saw Mikey and two other boys I didn’t know standing looking horrified.
Bull
reached out his hand, “Take them out of here!” he said while handing his car
keys to Mike. “Simon knows where my car is.”
I
looked up at Tater who looked like he was about to cry, he also looked thin in
the face and was covered in bruises and partially dried blood. “I told you this
would go bad!” Tater said to Bull.
“Yeah
you did!” Bull said looking down at his leg.
I
was taken off guard by the fact that Bull was no longer wearing his pants and
was standing there wearing a blood drenched diaper. He pulled open his coat to reveal
a humongous gash in his side. He pulled a gun from his coat pocket and said,
“Get them the fuck out of here, I’ll try to find Jamie!”
I
started to reach for Bull but Tater grabbed me and pulled me away. I didn’t
have time to react or even think about what had happened until we stopped at
the edge of what appeared to be a foul smelling underground stream.
“Go!”
Tater grunted as he pushed all of us into the water. We continued in waist deep
water that smelled like rotting eggs for about ten minutes before emerging on
the far side of the park over by where they have the Independence Day carnival
every summer.
I
was so cold that I couldn’t feel anything below my neck and when I climbed up
the concrete encased bank to the small wooden walk bridge I could hardly move.
Tater made us all strip naked saying, “If we don’t get out of these wet things
we’ll die for sure!”
The
two boy’s that had escaped along with us, who I would later learned had been
two of the boy’s that had been kidnapped locally, were named Billy and Brian
and they were brothers. Without any hesitations or complaint they both stripped
off their wet grey clothes until they were standing there in the night air cold,
shivering and completely nude.
I
on the other hand was feeling apprehensive as I was wearing a diaper but when I
saw Mikey and Tater were nearly naked I swallowed my pride and stripped.
Had
anyone been in the park then they would probably have gotten an eye full and
more then likely would have fallen over laughing to see four completely naked and
frozen kids running through the park while followed closely behind by what
would have appeared to be a naked adult man.
Thankfully
we make it to Bulls car without being spotted. The five of us pilled in, Tater,
Mike in the front seat with Billy, Brian and me in the backseat, and we sat
shivering until the car warmed up enough to begin blowing out some warm air. No
one spoke, no one moved. The only sounds were that of our teeth chattering from
being so cold.
Oddly
enough it wasn’t until Tater started driving that Brian started to cry which
got Billy and Mikey going. Tater wasn’t crying but he also looked like he had
gone over the deep end and might never return. He sat looking out the front
windshield of the car while rocking back and forth and driving.
“Where
am I going?” Tater asking but the way he said it made me wonder if he was
asking one of us or just thinking out loud.
I
decided to answer anyway, “We have to go back for my brother!”
“We
can’t go back!” Tater said dismissively.
“We
have to!” I screamed at him from the back seat.
We
were already on the far side of the park and I’m not sure where Tater though we
were going. All of a sudden out of no where Tater, Mikey and I all saw Jamie come
running out from behind a house and right in front of us. I never saw the tree
we hit when Tater swerved to miss Jamie but I do remember hearing the squealing
of our tires and the crunch of metal as all five of us were thrown around
inside the car.
Next Installment:
Chapter 9 - Monday, March 08, 2004 – Scratchy, Heavy and
Smelly
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