Skulls by Tim Marquitz Page B

traveled a little further and once again felt as though he were being watched. He stopped and looked to the windows of the nearby houses, but saw nothing. There were no flickers in the curtains, no creases of light through the blinds like he was used to from the park. There was nothing to indicate anyone even knew he was there. But still, he couldn’t shake the feeling of eyes on his back.
    Cold sweat trickled down his scalp. He dashed along the sidewalk and stuck close to the streetlights that fluttered to life above him. He held his breath as he ran through the darkness that welled up between them.
    Everything around him was a blur. He snapped his head around as he passed a clustered grove of trees, certain he saw something move within them. Images of Jenks and the old man’s axe crowded into Jacob’s head, pushing the dead aside.
    He was fueled by fear. No longer worried about shadows or streetlights, he ran until his heart threatened to explode. His footsteps barely made a sound as he flew along, finally reaching home with a shuddered gasp.
    Jacob dug in his pocket for his keys. He forced the key into the handle and pushed his way inside. He barely opened it wide enough for him to get past before he slammed it shut behind him. He let his keys fall from his hands as he fumbled with the locks. The front door secure, he bolted through the house making sure every window was sealed tight.
    When he was done, Jacob found himself staring out the front window. He saw the lighted road sign of the trailer park as it flickered off in the distance. Only the first four letters of the word Paradise still shone bright, the Park part still clear.
    A shiver ran down his spine as his subconscious mind read it as Paranoid Park. With that, he went to the kitchen and grabbed the biggest knife he could find. He ran to his room and locked the door behind. Then he hunkered down in his closet, the knife held out before him. He struggled to catch his breath.
    It would be hours before he felt safe enough to leave the cloistered sanctuary of his closet. His hands and knees ached when he got to his feet, his back throbbing. Adrenaline had long since burned off into exhaustion. He set the knife beside his bed, within easy reach, before turning off the lights and dropping onto the mattress. Darkness claimed him almost immediately.

Chapter Seventeen
    “Are you stupid, boy?”
    Jacob’s eyes popped open at the sound of his father’s voice, a rough hand pulling him from bed. He looked up through sleep-glazed eyes to see the fury carved deep into the lines of his father’s face.
    A handful of possibilities for what he could have done flashed through Jacob’s mind, but he kept his mouth shut. The stale scent of liquor on his father’s breath was a warning. His dad took his silence for a yes.
    Jacob was hauled to his feet, still dressed from the night before. His father latched onto the scruff of his neck and dragged him out of the room. He pulled him down the hall and through the living room to the back door.
    Jacob knew better than to resist. No clue what had his father so angry, he hurried alongside him to keep from being choked by his own shirt collar, which had bunched around his throat.
    His dad pushed the door open and shoved him outside. He barely managed to get his feet beneath him as he hit the steps. Jacob bounded down them fast before scuffling to a stop at the bottom. He blinked his eyes clear in the bright, morning light and looked out into the yard.
    He knew then why his father was so mad.
    The lawn bags full of yesterday’s grass clippings were shredded over the length of the yard. The cut grass was everywhere, strewn about in moist piles. The trash cans, which had been on the side of the house, had been tossed into the yard as well. Their contents dumped on top of the grass clippings. A mountain of beer cans and empty liquor bottles shined in the early morning sunlight.
    The bitter stink of old whiskey hung heavy in the air,