Nevermore!
By: Henry Higgins
(Copyright 2005 & 2006 by the Author)
The author retains all rights. No reproductions are allowed without the
author's consent. Comments are appreciated at...
17--Rusty Goes Down
As we made our way through the traffic, my vision of Adam seemed to guide us
towards the Golden Stage Diner. I pulled into the lot, parked, and as we all
three settled into the same booth we'd had the day before, D approached us with
three glasses of water and a big smile.
"Well I'm glad to see youse guys back so soon. How are yez all, anyway?"
We all chorused "fine" as the boys opened their menus and I excused myself to go
to the bathroom. I had hoped to grab a chance to talk to D away from the boys. I
found the men's room and checked to see that it was out of sight of our booth. I
peed, and then noticed D waiting on another table nearby. Catching her eye, I
signaled her to come see me, and then waited in the hallway. D took the order
and then came over.
"Thanks, D. I'm glad you caught my meaning," I said.
"Sure, Jim. What's up?"
"Kenny and I found Rusty with a bad actor yesterday. The creep hurt him pretty
badly. Fortunately they're only superficial wounds that will heal rapidly, but I
want you to warn all the kids you know about to stay away from this guy. He's
really bad news."
"Oh my God, Jim! I saw Rusty leave with that guy yesterday and I didn't have a
good feeling about him. He looked like trash--you know, a real greaser. Oh Lord,
is Rusty going to be okay?"
I replied, "Physically yes. Emotionally, I'm not sure. It's too early to tell.
My doctor friend, Roger Hansen, treated him at my house and we're due at his
office Monday morning. I think we may know then. But I arranged for Rusty to
stay with us a few days. I'll be able to watch him for any signs of serious
emotional damage. Right now, I think that being with Kenny is the best thing
Rusty could be doing. Those two really are soul brothers."
"You got that right. Ain't they great for each other? Well I'll be sure to tell
the other kids that I know. Are ya going to file charges against that jerk?"
"That's a tough situation, D. I can't right now because I don't know that I
could find him. He ran away when we came upon him yesterday. I hope he's gone
for good, but you never know."
"Yeah, I know. Well, I'll keep my eyes open and warn everybody I can. I gotta
get back and pick up an order now."
"Okay," I said. "Thanks, D. You're a huge help."
She shot me a snaggle-toothed grin and then hurried over to the serving window
as I returned to the table to find the boys sitting where I had left them,
studying the menu, and Rusty seeming to grow out of his bro he was sitting so
close to him.
"So, what'd you say to D?" Kenny asked, piercing me with his intense look.
I almost jumped I was so startled. But then, I should have known that in a close
relationship like the one we were developing, there would be absolutely nothing
I could put over on this kid. "Um… uh… could I tell you later?" I smiled, but
looked pointedly at Rusty and Kenny took my hint.
"Sure," he said. "No problem."
"I think I'm gonna have a double bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese like you
get, Kenny. I'm kinda hungry today."
"That's a good sign," I observed.
Rusty looked at me quizzically. "Huh?"
Kenny chimed in, "It means your wounds are healing."
"Oh. Well, that's good, isn't it?"
Kenny and I chorused, "You bet it is!" Rusty grinned and I thought I could
detect a brighter light in those hazel eyes.
"So is D gonna tell the other kids about that creep?" asked Rusty. Kenny and I
stared at him. "Well, that's what you were talking to her about, wasn't it," he
asked me.
I could only be truthful. "Um… Yeah, Rusty, it was. How did you know?"
"Well it's not like I'm igneous, ya know. I'm not TOTALLY stupid!" Rusty grinned
impishly.
"You mean ignorant, don't you?" corrected Kenny.
"Yeah, I guess," said Rusty.
I continued in a sober tone. "Rusty, I wasn't trying to hide anything from you,
but I was very concerned not to upset you."
"Oh," he said. "Well I don't think I'd be upset now, Jim. After all, the creep's
gone."
Kenny had followed my exchange with Rusty intently. Rusty seemed to be unaware
of the "mind bonding" he'd just done. However, Kenny knew. I could see it in his
intense study of our conversation. And, I could feel it even more than observe
it.
"So, what are youse guys gonna have?" asked D as she came to the table. "Rusty,
you're sure looking good, hon."
Rusty beamed. "Well, I'm gonna have what Kenny always gets--one of them double
bacon cheeseburger things with extra cheese and fries!"
"Uh-oh, you wouldn't be startin' a growth spurt like Kenny did, would ya?" D
teased the boy.
"Well if eatin’ them things will help me get one started, I'll just hafta begin
t’ eat more of 'em." Rusty joked. "Cuz I got a lotta catchin' up to do!" We all
laughed.
"Kenny, how about you, hon? You gonna have a cholesterol bomb, too?"
"No, D." the boy answered. "I think I'll have a chicken Caesar salad."
D looked up from her order pad. "Kenny! You? Salad? Boy! You must be beginning
to listen to Jim."
Kenny just gave a coy smile. "Well, maybe it's time I started eatin’ a little
more healthy, ya know?"
I smiled and felt very proud of Kenny just then. "I think I'll have the same, D.
Thank you."
The waitress turned back towards the kitchen, shaking her head. I thought I
heard her muttering something about 'marvelous effect.' No, I thought, that was
probably just my over-active imagination.
"So what kindsa new stuff do they got at the arcade?" asked Rusty.
"I heard that they got in some flight simulators," I said.
"Oh, great!" spouted the younger boy. "Like we can fly fighter jets or rockets
or somethin'!"
"Yeah, just be sure you don't go crash and burn, little bro," advised Kenny,
grinning at his 'little bro.'
"Oh, not me! I'm gonna be the best pilot over there," said Rusty.
Kenny grew serious. "Jim, we just did it again, that mind-bonding thing, didn't
we?"
"I think we did, Kenny. I didn't even know it was happening until we were into
it. And, I think Rusty still isn't aware of it."
"Aware of what? Our mind-bind thing?" asked Rusty.
Suddenly, Kenny and I were startled into an awareness that Rusty indeed knew of
our special bond. It was almost as though he accepted it without question. I was
beginning to see Rusty as a boy who understood the world in a very different way
than many of us.
"How did you know, Rusty?" I asked.
"Know what?" he asked as Kenny slipped his arm more snugly around Rusty's
shoulders.
"That we were mind-bonding."
"Oh, that's easy. Ican just feel it," said the slim little redhead. "It's like I
can feel you, Jim--when you're turned on to us, when you love us, when you're
afraid. That's why I trust you so much. You're honest. Yesterday, when I was
upset and you were rubbing my back, I could feel your love.You wanted to love
me, not to have sex with me. I don't think I ever felt anything so good!"
In my mind, I could feel Kenny reaching out to me; it was almost spiritual. I
could also feel Rusty basking in my acceptance of him. I was trying to "beam"
back my acceptance of both boys when I felt them reassuring me--I didn't have to
try to project my feelings; they picked up on them anyway. We exchanged no
words.
Kenny said, "Rusty don't trust many people, Jim. But he locked onto me last year
and that's when I started responding to him in this way. You know how I said
we'd seen you at the beehive? Well what I meant was, we were kinda reading you.
That's how we figured you'd be a good guy. That's why we wanted to meet ya."
"Here ya go guys!" said D as she brought our platters--Rusty his cholesterol
bomb, and Kenny and me our Caesar salads. I smiled at my young charges and dug
into my salad. We didn't talk much as we munched; we each seemed lost in our own
thoughts. Yet I could feel that bond of trust and love as if it were a golden
ring encircling us. How strange! I don't think I'd ever felt that way before,
even with David. I wondered: If David had been with us then whether he would
have tuned in on our vibes? Glumly, I thought that I'd probably never know.
"Ya never can tell, Jim," said Kenny between mouthfuls. "I know how much you
miss him and how much you loved him!"
I realized that I hadn't said anything; that I had thought it; and then I
started to choke up. "Oh, Kenny. That means so much to me!"
"Yeah," said Rusty. "Now that we know you wouldn't throw us out if ya ever find
David…"
"No chance of that, guys!" I avowed. "I just can't imagine how somebody could
just disappear like he did."
"Have you ever tried to find him?" asked Kenny.
"Early on, yeah. But the Child Protective Services wouldn't give out any
information about him, especially to me. Rog and Peter tried to help me find
out, but they couldn't get anything, either. Later, I tried to find out if he'd
gotten a driver's license, or had a credit record. Nothing. It was like he
literally disappeared."
There seemed to be nothing more to say on the subject, so we finished our meal
in silence. Every now and then I could detect D keeping an eye on us, good soul
that she was. I went to the cash register to pay the bill, the boys at my heels.
D was busy with other customers, so she could only nod her farewell to us.
Rusty bounced out to the car, with Kenny and me not far behind. I could tell
that his head was already full of piloting rockets or airplanes. Kenny seemed
more sedate about the whole thing. I couldn't tell what he was looking forward
to, so I made a mental note to check out where he went first.
The mall was located close to the diner. We could have walked, but that would
have required crossing two one-way parts of a busy state highway. Even though
there were crosswalks at a light, driving seemed the more expedient way to get
there. Five minutes later, we were getting out of the car with the diner across
the highway and up a hill. The mall was a multi-level thing, built into the
hillside that continued down from the diner.
As we entered the building, the hollow hiss of a large fountain and echoes of
people talking and calling to one another filled our ears. A loudspeaker system
added to the din, occasionally issuing calls for the parents of little so-and-so
to call for her at the mall security office or notifying the owner of a white
Mustang, license number such-and-such that the car lights were on.
The arcade was across the atrium from where we had entered. I noticed Kenny
drift over to a DDR game that some kids near his age were playing. Rusty headed
directly for what I remembered as an old Link trainer, a mocked up cockpit
mounted on a pivoting base that could simulate climbing, descending, and banking
in an airplane. I was surprised and pleased to see that the line of kids in
front of Rusty was short so that it wouldn't be long before he would get to
play. As I approached, the little redhead was standing in the number four
position of the line.
Having assured myself of Rusty's position, I turned back toward the DDR group
just as Kenny took a turn on the pad. His agility surprised me as he followed
the dance steps on the screen. I watched for a while and then turned back
towards Rusty to see how he had progressed in the line. What I saw made my blood
run cold.
Rusty stood frozen in place, number two in line, as he stared over the top of
the little trainer at something toward the back of the arcade. He was making a
croaking sound that I immediately realized was some kind of attack affecting his
breathing. I called to Kenny to come over as I rushed up to Rusty. When I got to
him I could see that he was turning an ashen color as he tried to breathe but
could only croak. I also could see what had brought on the attack. At the back
of the arcade was the same greasy creep that had attacked him the day before.
"Oh, God! Rusty, what's wrong," Kenny cried as he joined us. I didn't have much
time. Just then I saw that the creep had seen us and was heading for an exit
door at the back of the arcade.
"Kenny, call 911 NOW!" I said, as I handed him my cell phone.
I ran around the flight simulator toward the creep as he darted through the back
door. I noticed the lights in the place come up on high, so I figured Kenny had
succeeded in summoning help, which probably wasn't too far away these days. I
ran through the back door into a utility hall for the mall. Which way had the
piece of shit run? I had to choose in an instant so I bet that he would try to
get out of the mall, that he wouldn't be smart enough to try to meld in with the
shopping crowd.
I could also tell that he was panicked--little streaks of wetness lay on the
floor. I ran down the hall to a door that led outside. It stood slightly open,
letting a shaft of bright daylight fall across the dim interior of the hall.
Somewhere in my mind I had heard back-up signals blaring as I neared the door. I
stepped outside and saw why. The door opened onto a narrow stairway that flanked
a loading dock for trucks. A tractor-trailer rig had been backing into the dock,
but had stopped before reaching it.
The creep was nowhere to be seen. As I approached the edge of the loading dock,
I saw him under one of the rear trailer wheels blood oozing out into a dark red
puddle around his neck and his head bent back from his body at a crazy angle.
His face was frozen in a mask of terror. Two men and two mall security guards
were approaching him from the front of the truck.
"Ain't never seen anything like it!" one of the men was saying. "Crazy ass come
runnin' out th' door, missed th' stairs and th' guard rail, and fell down right
behind th' trailer. It all happened in about fifteen seconds."
I had seen enough, so I turned and ran quickly back into the hall and up to the
back door of the arcade. It only opened out from the inside. There was no way to
open it from the hall, so I ran around to the front of the arcade, looking for
Kenny and Rusty. They were nowhere to be seen.
Panic surged through my guts as it felt like everything was letting go. No! I
couldn't do that here. Not with the boys here. I shouted, "Kenny! Rusty!" people
in the arcade turned to stare at me, but my boys were not there. "Does anybody
know what happened to two boys?" I shouted. Now, people looked at me as if I
were the madman. A pair of mall guards was closing on me fast.
"What's the matter here? Why are you shouting sir?"
"I need to find my boys. The younger one couldn't breathe and the older one was
going to help him. Did the paramedics come?" I could hear the desperation in my
voice as I struggled to get my own breath. No wheezing, though. I struggled for
a calm that seemed to be just beyond my grasp.
"Who are you sir?" said the guard. "We just had some trouble where a man seemed
to be approaching one of the kids in the arcade. He ran out the back though. Are
you that man? Why do you want to know about these boys? Are you their father?"
Panic gave way to dread as I began to realize how quickly my situation had
become grave. I tried to calm down, though. "I'm a neighbor. We had lunch
together at the diner across the street and then came in here to play some
games. The younger boy started to have an asthma attack. He couldn't breathe."
"I see, sir. If you could come with me to the mall security office I think we
can get this straightened out," said one guard.
I felt wooden. I could hear myself speaking as if from a great distance outside
my body. Realization grew upon me like a cloak of lead as the desperation of my
predicament loomed over me.
"Yes, I'll come with you," I said. "Are my boys there? My younger boy couldn't
breathe. Do you have first aid equipment there? He needs a doctor!"
"Just come with us sir. I'm sure we can sort all this out," said the other
guard. Numbly, I followed them.
I fought to contain my indignation and panic. My survival instinct dulled the
other reactions as I walked woodenly between the guards, across the mall, and
down another hallway to a door marked "Mall Security." I was aware of a huge
emptiness just then. I tried reaching out to Kenny and Rusty with my feelings,
but I was numb. I couldn't feel anything. I could only see the visions of my
arrest and imprisonment years ago… and David's face screwed up in horror and
fear as the two of us were torn apart. Now it seemed to happening all over
again. The guard took me to a small room off a hallway inside the Security
Office, where they indicated for me to sit down at a table.
"Sir, we know you're concerned about your boys. If you can wait here for a few
minutes, we can get it all straightened out for you," said one of the security
guards.
"I need to know about my younger boy," I demanded. "He couldn't breathe." My
panic was notching my voice up in pitch. I felt crazy… just barely in control of
myself. They didn't answer me further and left the room. I became quiet to the
point of lethargy, filled with dread as I considered the situation.
In a few minutes, a uniformed officer came into the room. I recognized the
uniform as County Sheriff rather than mall security. "Mr. Watson?"
"Yes," I answered.
"We're trying to get an idea of what happened just now. I'd like to ask you some
questions."
"Okay," I replied. "But first, could I find out what happened to the boys that I
was with? One of them was having trouble breathing, an asthma attack. Is he
okay?"
"Both boys are at a nearby hospital emergency room sir, and are receiving care
there. Now could you help us understand what happened?"
I tried to think, but my mind was mired and numb. I couldn't talk about the perp
because that would betray the boys' trust in me. More on instinct than anything
else, I sorted out what I could talk about and what could be corroborated--and,
to reveal as little as possible without seeming to be hiding something.
"I'm not sure, myself. The boys are best friends. I was doing the younger boy's
mother a favor and taking her son to the doctor's office for a blood test this
morning. She had to work and couldn't take him. After the blood test, we had
lunch at the diner across the street and then came over to the mall so the boys
could play some of the new games at the arcade. That's when I found the younger
boy wheezing and gasping. I ran out the back door of the mall hoping to find
some help while I gave the older boy my cell phone to call 911. When the back
door to the arcade closed, I found that I couldn't get back into the arcade, so
I ran around front and that's when I found the boys gone and the mall security
guards came up to me."
"Did you see anyone else go out the back door of the arcade, Mr. Watson?" asked
the officer.
"No. When I didn't see anybody in the hallway, I tried to get back into the
arcade and couldn't, so I had to go back around to the front," I replied.
"What do you think gave the younger boy the asthma attack?" the officer asked.
"I don't know," I lied.
"Mr. Watson, are you aware that a man was run over by a truck around the time
you ran out into the hallway?" he asked.
"No. I didn't see anybody in the hallway," I replied.
"That man was a registered sex offender with a long list of repeat offenses. I
think there may be some link between him and the younger boy who had the
difficulty breathing. Can you help me with that? Did you see him in the arcade?"
"Was?" I asked.
"He was killed when the truck ran over him."
"Oh, no!" I replied. "I was so focused on Rusty, that's the boy's name, that I
didn't notice anyone else."
"Mr. Watson, we know that you also are registered with the state as an
offender."
To be continued...