Chapter 143
The next few days flew by rather quickly, with Elliott selling an additional four cars and Peter swearing he was doing something to manipulate people, though he couldn’t quite put his finger on it. Elliott joked he was working with a gangster or the mafia, but Peter didn’t think it was funny.
During the church service, the pastor preached on chastity, and his eyes lingered on Elliott more frequently than they should have, which he personally found a bit humorous since his damage was already done, and he was probably more chaste than most of the other teenagers in the room, but he knew the pastor was good friends with Deacon Farr, and pretty much the entire community was under the assumption Elliott had taken advantage of sweet Nancy and turned her into some sort of trampy baby factory, ruining her chances of ever becoming an accountant—or the first female President.
Nancy decided to go to her parents’ house to take a nap while her folks watched Wally, so Elliott headed out to the farm alone and happy for it. He wouldn’t have minded bringing his son to look at the cows and horses, which he loved, and to see his grandparents, but he realized his mom saw Wally probably just about as much as he did, and his dad hadn’t been feeling well lately. The doctors weren’t sure what it was, but they’d suggested he keep to himself as much as he could until they figured out what was making him feel so weak.
Peggy greeted him with a hug and sent him upstairs to Jimmy’s room, saying he’d disappeared back up there after lunch. Elliott knocked on the door, and when Jimmy said nothing, he said, “Come on, man. It’s your brother.” A few moments later the door opened, and Jimmy, who was still lanky but now almost as tall as Elliott, let him in and then returned to his bed, flopping onto the mattress like a fish plucked from the water.
“What’s going on?” Elliott asked, turning around his brother’s desk chair to face him. “How’s school?”
Jimmy sat up and positioned himself on the edge of the bed so his elbows were on his knees. At thirteen, Jimmy had started his freshmen year of high school a few months ago. He had always done well academically, but Peggy mentioned she was worried about his grades now that he’d been so despondent. He wasn’t a member of any of the organizations, nor did he play any sports. He spent a lot of time listening to music on the radio, but when she’d suggested band he’d scoffed and left the room.
A shrug was about all Elliott got in response.
“You doin’ all right, little brother? You look… sad. What’s going on?”
Jimmy sighed loudly. “Did Peggy send you in here?” he asked, getting up and approaching the door. He pushed it to and then came back to the bed. “I told you, I’m fine.”
“You didn’t actually,” Elliott reminded him. “Mom didn’t send me anywhere. I was worried about you, so I wanted to stop by and see how Wally’s favorite uncle is doing.”
Jimmy’s eyes rolled back in his head. “I’m Wally’s only uncle.”
“I know. And that makes you important. What’s going on, man?”
Green eyes nearly the same color as his own stared back at him for a long moment before Jimmy swallowed hard. “If I told you, you wouldn’t believe me. And you’d tell her, and then she’d try to make me go see some sort of psychologist or psychiatrist or some shit.”
“Language,” Elliott said, though not harshly. “Man, whatever it is, I’m sure that’s not true. Do you think you’re going nuts or something? Because, believe me, we have all been there.”
“No, I don’t think I’m going nuts,” Jimmy said defensively. “That’s just it. I know I’m not going nuts. I know what I saw. But no one else is going to believe it, so there’s really no point in saying anything to anyone.”
Elliott narrowed his eyes and studied his brother’s face for a moment. He’d seen some odd things in his day, too. The first thought that entered his mind were the strange forms in the woods at Lawson’s Point that horrific night, the night everything had changed in more ways than he cared to count. And then there was that bus driver so many years ago…. He hadn’t really put much thought into that in a while, but every time the picture from the woods popped into his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder if they were related. “Listen, Jimmy, I’m sure, whatever you saw, I won’t think you’re crazy. There’s some weird sh—stuff out there, brother. I know it. I’ve seen some odd stuff, too. So, whatever it is that has you so… not yourself, why don’t you go ahead and let me know what it is?”
Jimmy didn’t look completely convinced that speaking up was a good idea. He ran his hand through his hair, which was much straighter than Elliott’s but almost as long on top, and let out a loud sigh. “You promise you won’t make fun of me?”
“I promise.”
“And you won’t tell nobody? Not even… her?”
“I promise.” That one might be harder to keep, but he wouldn’t know if he’d need to break it until he heard what Jimmy had to say.
He gulped in air and said, “All right… a few months ago, I was out riding my bike, near the woods, out by where Settler’s Creek goes under the road out there by the Miller place. Down near the railroad tracks.”
Elliott nodded, with him so far.
“Well, it was getting dark, and I was just about to head home, but some movement in the woods caught my eye, so I turned my head expecting to see a bird or a squirrel or something. But it wasn’t no animal staring back at me, Elliott. It was a person. Or… something like a person.” He sighed and ran his hand through his hair again, struggling to get it out. “I’m not sure what it was. But it was kind of deformed, with really long arms, and claws at the tips of its fingers. His skin was pale, and his hair was long and stringy. He had this sick smile on his face, like he wanted me to see. Like he wanted me to be scared. So… I screamed, and then he started to laugh. I took off peddling as fast as I could, didn’t stop till I reached home, and even then, well, I was scared as shit. Sorry. I was real scared.”
