I was sitting in the car, watching the scenery change from city to farmland, when my mother began to cry.
"This is only temporary," she said. "Your dad and I love you very much. Whenever this remodeling is finished, you'll be moving back in with us."
I knew this was bullshit. I was 15 years old, not a child, and I could see the real issue was that my parents had a drug problem. The money trouble, the weird people coming over, the mood changes -- my dad had finally managed to hook my mom and now the house was a drug den. The question was, would shipping me off to my grandma's give them time to rehabilitate, or would they waste away to nothing?
"It's OK, mom," I said, even though I was mad at her. I felt like I had to be forgiving so she wouldn't get too distracted and crash the damn car.
After another hour, we turned onto a country road that led to a fading-yellow ranch house set among oak and willow trees. The lawn was reasonably cared for -- my uncle stopped by every other weekend to mow the grass -- but there was still junk everywhere. A rusted BBQ grill stood like a sad android next to the winding sidewalk that led from the driveway.
I grabbed my bags and looked back into the car to tell Mom goodbye. She was busy texting someone on the phone and barely acknowledged me. I didn't have to guess too much as to who she was talking to.
Instead of my grandma, it was Sam who answered the door, wearing a bright red "Elmo" sweater, baggy jeans, and bargain-market running shoes. Sam was about the same age as me and was developmentally disabled. She was basically like a big kid.
And you know what? I wouldn't have had it any other way. She and my grandma were the sweetest people on the planet. I embraced her and nearly coughed from the way she bear-hugged me. Then grandma walked up, her back bent, her white hair even thinner than when I last saw her.
"Lord, how skinny are you!" she said. "You need to eat, young lady!" She playfully shook her finger at me before giving me a big hug.
"I was actually thinking I should lose weight," I said, "but thank you. How have things been?"
"Bah." She waved her hand like she was swatting a fly from the air. "Damn coyotes or something have moved into the neighborhood. I hear em screaming all hours of the night."
"Batman!" said Sam.
"Yes, Batman," said Grandma. "She obviously doesn't think it's a coyote."
"That's no good!" I said. "I remember it always being so peaceful out here. All those new developments must be pushing nature further and further inland. Anyway, I hope I'm not a burden. Maybe I can help you with dinner?"
"Nonsense. I don't need any help making dinner because I'm not making it. I ordered pizza. It might take an hour for the damn fool to find my house, so you and Sam go play in the yard in the meantime."
Coming from anyone else, it would have been insulting to be sent away to "play in the yard" like a toddler. From Grandma, however, it only made me laugh. "Sure thing," I said. Sam grabbed a blue ribbon stick and we went out into the backyard.
While the front yard looked messy, the back yard looked like a postcard from a nature preserve. Tall grass mingled with wild flowers and young poplars. Birds and squirrels pranced around, looking at us suspiciously. There was no fence, so Grandma's property blended in with the sweet-smelling forest beyond it.
"Batman!" said Sam, pointing towards the woods. "Batman want out!"
"Does he?" I said. "Well, we have to rescue him, don't we! Let's go save Batman!" Sam laughed and we ran squealing into the woods, the afternoon sun pouring over us like a warm shower.
As we walked, I thought about everything I'd be missing that summer. There were parades, festivals, block parties. My friends would be at all of them. I grew sad.
But then we happened upon a small creek running over a fallen log. It looked like a miniature waterfall. As we stood there, I saw a chipmunk spying on us and a beautiful blue bird gathering twigs for her nest. I also noticed the lack of car horns and construction noise. Even a coyote howling wouldn't ruin this peacefulness, I thought. It might even enhance it.
Soon, however, I saw something that dented my vision of those woods as a paradise. We followed the stream until we came upon a toilet flipped upside down. Near it was a dirty old loveseat, its fabric shredded. Other garbage lay nearby: A stack of old lumber. A rotten piece of drywall. A cardboard box filled with nails. I stood there, disgusted, while Sam danced around, waving her ribbon.
"Batman!" she said. "Batman want out!"
"No," I said, "I don't think Batman would like this very much. Do you know who dumped all this stuff here?"
She smiled and nodded. "Instruction workers," she said, and pointed eastward towards what had to have been another development project.
"I see," I said. "Why don't we move along, Sam? We'll see if we can find Batman --"
"Batman! Batman!" she said, now getting agitated. She flapped her ribbon and grabbed my hand. Before I could protest, she dragged me further along the creek to where there was even more trash. I was about to stop her (or attempt to, as she was quite strong) when we arrived at an old refrigerator.
"Batman," she said with a satisfied look on her face. She pointed to the refrigerator. It lay lengthwise with its door to the ground. The grill and condenser coils behind it faced upwards; they were rusted brown and covered in spider webs.
"Sam, you know not to play with these, right? You could get cut back here and --"
She bent over and patted the side of the refrigerator. "Batman want out," she said.
I squatted down and met her eyes. "Is someone in here?" I said.
She nodded.
The sunlight had dimmed and it was getting colder. A crow cawed and flew away from a nearby empty paint can. I decided to knock the refrigerator on its side. At worst, the old skeleton of some unfortunate homeless person would come rolling out; more likely, the thing would be empty and Sam would have to think of another game to play.
"OK, Sam. I need you. Get on this side and help me push this beast over --"
"No! No!" she said. She started breathing heavily and smacked the ribbon-stick against her leg. "Batman! No batman, no batman!"
She repeated this several times before it occurred to me what she was saying. It wasn't "Batman, Batman."
It was, "Bad man, bad man. Bad man want out."
I held up my palms and looked into her eyes. "It's OK, it's OK," I said. "We won't knock it over." She calmed down slightly but got excited again when I pressed my ear against the side of the appliance. I lost my patience and told her to hush. She stood there twisting the ribbon and shaking her head.
For a moment, there was nothing, but then I heard something scratching at the walls, like cockroaches underneath a newspaper. It started on one end of the refrigerator then moved to the other, until it was right next to my ear. Then there were three firm, muffled knocks.
"No!" I said, jumping backward. Sam stopped fidgeting and now looked me with a worried expression. I realized I was clenching my fists and was close to hyperventilating.
"Let's go," I said, tugging at Sam.
"Batman want out!" she said. "Kill Batman!" She made a gun with her hand and shot at the refrigerator.
I apologized for snapping at her, then I apologized again for nearly yanking her sweater off as I pulled her away. She may have been strong, but she could see how scared I was, so she came willingly.As we left, I turned and looked at the refrigerator.
Maybe it was just the adrenalin in my veins, but I swear I saw it shake back and forth a little. Sam and I broke into a full run as we followed the creek back to our impromptu trail. I almost panicked when I realized I didn't know how to get back to Grandma's house.
Luckily, Sam did. She was an expert at those woods.
"I was just about to come looking for you two!" said my grandma when we arrived. She said it more playful than worried. I scarfed down three pieces of pizza, belched, and had another. Running all the way home had built up my appetite, and I wanted to have plenty of strength.
Just in case something happened.
Want to read something not as scary and with a bit more humor? Try this:
Submitted June 25, 2016 at 04:08AM by finewiththefog http://ift.tt/28TUKZM nosleep
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