Page 10 of Dead End

Stomping feet pounded the pavement behind us. Now she outright giggled behind her other hand and bumped her shoulder with mine. Thank God the same old Maddie was still in there. It was going to be just fine. I had my best friend by my side, grumpy assholes watching our backs, and I knew what direction we were heading in. That was…unless they planned to use me as bait in the event things did go south. I really wouldn’t be surprised if that happened.

It felt like we’d been walking for miles before we finally approached the orchard up ahead in the distance, but the itching feeling of being watched kept coming and going. I’d felt it for the last twenty minutes, and I thought Maddie did too, because her head was on a constant swivel.

Five more minutes, and we were at the edge of Farmer Orson’s orchard, but something didn’t look right. For an orchard, it was awfully thick and dark. If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost call it a forest. This wasn’t right. Something was off about this place that was both familiar and alien at the same time.

I knew that on the other side of the orchard was a cornfield and the cemetery before reaching the town line, so we’d be home free, I hoped. The road took a detour, cutting the orchard or forest in half, so we had no choice but to head straight into it. It shouldn’t have taken us more than ten minutes to walk through, but still, nobody moved. We’d come to a dead stop on the edge of the treeline, darkness looming ahead.

There wasn’t one single sliver of movement from any of us as we peered into the darkness. The eerie sea of spindly trees was thick enough that it blocked out most of the moonlight. Orange fog still surged between them, folding over a landscape of upturned roots on either side of the two-lane road. I couldn’t even hear the usual crickets or howling of the wind. It was as if everything had stopped moving at once. Even my own heartbeat seemed to slow. Fuck, I really didn’t want to go in there.

“Maybe we should take a different route?” My voice came out a little too high before I cleared my throat and refused to meet anyone’s gaze. They were all looking at me.

“Don’t tell me a goth chick is afraid of the woods,” Norman sneered. His sideways smile goaded me. He was such a fucking ass sometimes.

“Be my guest.” I gestured ahead with a dramatic sweep of my hand and watched his eyes flicker with a small hint of doubt before he shrugged it off and bumped into my shoulder. “Your funeral,” I added cheekily, just to grate his nerves.

Freddy rushed past me to walk along with his twin, quietly whispering in his ear. His jaw was clenched, and he rolled his eyes at whatever Norman said back to him. Jason and Michael stayed behind Maddie and me, giving us enough space that they weren’t breathing down our necks.

How are you holding up?” I asked Maddie, staring idly down at my black stockings and finding it silly how just this morning I was throwing clothes around left and right across my room because I knew the guys would be at the carnival. Dress to impress, even for my enemies. It all seemed so trivial now.

“Honestly, not great. I don’t get how you’re so calm right now. I’m one more bat, shadow, or scarecrow away from running around in circles screaming,” she said with a straight face, telling the truth.

I squeezed her arm tighter, noting the hopelessness creeping into her stare. She was petrified, but in usual Maddie fashion, she was trying to be tough for everyone.

“Call me crazy, but after what I saw earlier...” My voice caught as vacant eyes flashed through my memory. “Everyone was dead... I didn’t even know where you were until I saw your hand sticking out, but everyone else...” I trailed off, scared to talk about it because it sounded crazy, even to my own ears.

If I could, I’d bleach my entire brain. I needed those images gone. Taking a deep breath, I said, “I think I can handle the strange and unusual as long as you're here too. And the guys…” The last part was a whisper as I stared straight ahead at Freddy's sunkissed hair, then quickly glanced away when his eyes strayed to mine. His lips curled up on the sides, and my belly flipped at that stretch of perfect lips. There was no way he could have heard me; they were too far ahead.

“It’s all right, Tobs,” she said with a small, sympathetic smile. “You can still love them and be afraid at the same time. After what happened last year... I know it seems impossible, but if you could just see what’s right in front of you...” She bit her lower lip and froze when I suddenly stopped walking.

I crossed my arms and turned away, staring into the dark trees. “You have no idea what I went through. None of you do. You think you know because of what you heard on the news, but you don’t. I’m so not talking about this right now.” My body was vibrating with tension, and suppressed anger was swelling up in my chest.

“No, I don’t know, because you never talk about it,” she snapped, stepping into my space. Suddenly, it was like the forest, and the accident was forgotten. “I’m your friend, Toby, your best friend. We’ve been family for over a decade, and you never talk!” Her chin wobbled, but she refused to back down. I couldn’t believe we were having this conversation right now, with everything else that was happening. But so be it. If it was time to hash it out, it might as well be now, to top it all off with a nice cherry.

“You really want to know, Maddie?” I said it bitterly with an emotionless laugh. “Want me to talk about it? Do you want to hear the gory details? Maybe I should’ve prepared a slide show!” Small tears trickled down her cheeks, matching my own, but I wiped them away angrily. I don’t cry about this anymore. Not in front of anyone, at least.

The guys had gone suspiciously silent. Jason and Michael moved closer, while Norman and Freddy were heading back in our direction, taking small, cautious steps. All I could do was stare at Maddie, but in reality, I was somewhere else—some other time and place.

“Tobs,” she whispered brokenly, but a small sob ripped from my lips.

“I’m fucking angry!” I squeezed my fists closed, my nails biting into my skin. “I’m so fucking angry, and nobody gives a shit!” I looked at Maddie through watery eyes, pleading with her to understand. “They left me here, and I didn’t get a choice to stay or go! They left... and I didn’t even get to say goodbye.” My throat closed, each intake of breath growing more difficult. “And for all of this shit to happen tonight of all nights...” I choked, a tear sliding down my cheek in earnest.

Realization seemed to dawn on Maddie, and her hands flew to her mouth. “Oh god, October! I didn’t even realize it was tonight! The accident…”

I was suddenly pulled into her arms, and a wave of comfort and familiarity surrounded me. “I’m always here, sis. You’re never alone. I promise you’ll never be alone. I was stupid and didn’t pay attention to what day it was. I didn't realize how the bus crash would have brought it back,” she whispered softly.

I couldn’t pick up my head from her shoulder. My face was buried in her hair as I let the last of my tears fall. We stood there for a minute or two before I felt myself calm down. I felt her hands slide through my hair for a split second before that touch was gone. To say I was embarrassed is an understatement. I felt like a coward, and I didn’t want to lift my head just yet. I didn’t want to see the judgment or hear the jabs from the guys about my rare show of weakness.

Everything was silent. All I could hear was the sound of everyone breathing and my own heartbeat pulsing in my ear. But a second later, I felt the ground vibrate under my boots. It was like a semi-truck was passing over a road, but we were miles away from a freeway, and the bus had no driver, so it wasn’t going anywhere.

“Anyone else feeling that?” Freddy asked quietly, coming closer now. His chest was puffed up, and his head was on a swivel as I peered at him behind the curtain of my hair.

I finally lifted my head and stepped away from Maddie, wiping my face and hoping my makeup wasn’t smeared all over my cheeks.

“Um, the trees are moving,” Norman announced in a deep voice, grabbing my hand in an instant. I froze at the coolness of his touch and the fact that he was even touching me at all. He angled his body in the other direction, as if he were going to make a run for it with me in tow.

“Mine,” he whispered, but his voice sounded like Freddy’s had earlier—too quiet.

What the hell was going on? I watched his mouth, waiting for him to speak again so I would know I wasn’t losing my mind, but he was staring intently at the tree line. Maybe I’d imagined it.

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