you'd be pulling him away."
"He's a service dog," I said, as RayAnn giggled.
"What kind of service? Not like ... the breakfast patrol for carnivores, right?"
"I'm visually impaired. Lanz..." I patted my thigh for him to come while fumbling for my glasses, and RayAnn moved for another light switch. Too much light at once could give me a knife-through-the-eyes effect.
I heard Justin plopping into the chair with a sigh. "Would you mind not putting on any more lights, please? No need to flood us out. He's some sort of blind, and I'm, well, in more need of darkness than light." He seemed a little wound up, drumming the arms of the chair and bouncing a bit. "Wish I had the Ring of Power. I could just ... put it on and walk around town invisible, ya know?"
Lord of the Rings
was my favorite trilogy, so that sucked me a step or two closer, studying him through my trusty lenses. His eyes told me he wasn't on anything in spite of his nervous drumming. He obviously had things to be nervous about. I suggested, "You're hiding from someone."
I expected him to dive into a load of grief about his mother, but he said, "Mostly from myself. Even though that's not possible. Ha. How did they put it in rehab ... all these wonderful speeches about 'assuming responsibility for yourself.' Endless, wonderful speeches. So. What is it you want to talk to me about?"
"I was actually thinking of a different
time
..." I tried.
"You want to know about my brother, right?"
"Correct. I want to write about him."
"It's about time somebody else wanted to write about my brother. A couple other college dudes came around over the past couple years, but nothing was ever printed. You gonna make it?"
"I'll make it."
"'Cuz he's different than me, but he's my brother, and I think he's awesome."
I moved my eyes to RayAnn, who raised her eye
brows at me, obviously noting how Justin just used the present tense.
"You think he's alive?" I asked.
"Of course he's alive."
"But ... he hasn't contacted you, right?"
"Wrong," he said. "Among other things, I've had two e-mails from him."
I was speechless. "You're ... sure they're from him?"
"It's a long story, but trust me on this one. I'll show them to you, if you want. But it'll have to be later. They're on my hard drive at home. Well hidden." He grinned broadly. "My mom still checks my e-mail every day, if I forget to cover my keypad when I change my password. She's got a video cam hidden somewhere near my terminal, so she can see me change passwords."
I shuddered, but he only cackled. He enjoyed my reaction.
"So, you ... know where he is?" I suggested, my heart revving up like I was on the treadmill at the gym.
He was still resting his head on the back of the chair, staring straight up at the ceiling. "I can't tell you exactly where he is, but I can tell you somewhere he's coming to."
"Which is?"
"Close to here. My mom doesn't know. He's totally, beyond reasonable sanity, scared of my mom. It's ridiculous. But you can't tell anyone what I tell you, because if he gets any idea that she may be onto him, I'll bet he won't show."
"Uh ... we can relate to that," RayAnn said on my behalf.
I stared, a thousand questions banging through my head, starting with
When can I see those e-mails?
and ending with
In what other ways has he contacted you?
" The whole thing rattled my brain like that earthquake was still going on.
I settled on "Uh, when is he coming?"
"He might already be here. I've been kind of out of the loop," he said.
"So, he wouldn't be at your house," RayAnn guessed.
"No way. If this makes sense ... he would be at the place you were at with Mary Ellen and Kobe tonight. The Lightning Field."
I exchanged glances with RayAnn and saw her bang her palm on her forehead, probably wondering if Chris Creed could have something to do with the light she saw out by the trees earlier, the one she said looked like lightning coming out of the ground. Could it have been a person striking a match? A flashlight
"He's a service dog," I said, as RayAnn giggled.
"What kind of service? Not like ... the breakfast patrol for carnivores, right?"
"I'm visually impaired. Lanz..." I patted my thigh for him to come while fumbling for my glasses, and RayAnn moved for another light switch. Too much light at once could give me a knife-through-the-eyes effect.
I heard Justin plopping into the chair with a sigh. "Would you mind not putting on any more lights, please? No need to flood us out. He's some sort of blind, and I'm, well, in more need of darkness than light." He seemed a little wound up, drumming the arms of the chair and bouncing a bit. "Wish I had the Ring of Power. I could just ... put it on and walk around town invisible, ya know?"
Lord of the Rings
was my favorite trilogy, so that sucked me a step or two closer, studying him through my trusty lenses. His eyes told me he wasn't on anything in spite of his nervous drumming. He obviously had things to be nervous about. I suggested, "You're hiding from someone."
I expected him to dive into a load of grief about his mother, but he said, "Mostly from myself. Even though that's not possible. Ha. How did they put it in rehab ... all these wonderful speeches about 'assuming responsibility for yourself.' Endless, wonderful speeches. So. What is it you want to talk to me about?"
"I was actually thinking of a different
time
..." I tried.
"You want to know about my brother, right?"
"Correct. I want to write about him."
"It's about time somebody else wanted to write about my brother. A couple other college dudes came around over the past couple years, but nothing was ever printed. You gonna make it?"
"I'll make it."
"'Cuz he's different than me, but he's my brother, and I think he's awesome."
I moved my eyes to RayAnn, who raised her eye
brows at me, obviously noting how Justin just used the present tense.
"You think he's alive?" I asked.
"Of course he's alive."
"But ... he hasn't contacted you, right?"
"Wrong," he said. "Among other things, I've had two e-mails from him."
I was speechless. "You're ... sure they're from him?"
"It's a long story, but trust me on this one. I'll show them to you, if you want. But it'll have to be later. They're on my hard drive at home. Well hidden." He grinned broadly. "My mom still checks my e-mail every day, if I forget to cover my keypad when I change my password. She's got a video cam hidden somewhere near my terminal, so she can see me change passwords."
I shuddered, but he only cackled. He enjoyed my reaction.
"So, you ... know where he is?" I suggested, my heart revving up like I was on the treadmill at the gym.
He was still resting his head on the back of the chair, staring straight up at the ceiling. "I can't tell you exactly where he is, but I can tell you somewhere he's coming to."
"Which is?"
"Close to here. My mom doesn't know. He's totally, beyond reasonable sanity, scared of my mom. It's ridiculous. But you can't tell anyone what I tell you, because if he gets any idea that she may be onto him, I'll bet he won't show."
"Uh ... we can relate to that," RayAnn said on my behalf.
I stared, a thousand questions banging through my head, starting with
When can I see those e-mails?
and ending with
In what other ways has he contacted you?
" The whole thing rattled my brain like that earthquake was still going on.
I settled on "Uh, when is he coming?"
"He might already be here. I've been kind of out of the loop," he said.
"So, he wouldn't be at your house," RayAnn guessed.
"No way. If this makes sense ... he would be at the place you were at with Mary Ellen and Kobe tonight. The Lightning Field."
I exchanged glances with RayAnn and saw her bang her palm on her forehead, probably wondering if Chris Creed could have something to do with the light she saw out by the trees earlier, the one she said looked like lightning coming out of the ground. Could it have been a person striking a match? A flashlight
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