Ch. 1: Austin

Back to Arheled

             Why   it   is   that   the   wimpy   nerds   who   always   get   picked   on   make   the   most   interesting   characters   in   books,   Austin   had   no   idea. He   mulled   it   over   as   he   walked   up   Lake   Street;   his   phone   showed   no   new   text   messages   since   he’d   texted   Brianna   he   was   turning   up   Lake,   so   likely   she   was   in   swimming   already. Maybe   it   had   to   do   with   the   tormented-soul   thing   his   elder   brother,   who   was   taking   literature   classes   down   at   the   Community   College,   was   always   talking   about;   characters   had   to   be   conflicted   or   have   conflicts,   they   had   to   be   ones   the   reader   would   identify   with,   and   so   on. Stupid   if   you   asked   him;   he   despised   wimpy   nerds. Walking   was   dull,   but   when   your   dad   wouldn’t   get   you   a   car   and   you   were   too   lazy   to   fix   your   bike,   there   wasn’t   much   choice. You   needed   stuff   to   think   about   when   you’d   forgotten   your   earbuds   and   your   IPOD   was   a   useless   weight   in   your   pocket.

             He   passed   the   fork   where   Boyd   Street   bore   right,   winding   in   a   long   curve   up   the   same   hill   Lake   Street   climbed   straight   up. Bittersweet   vines   from   the   untended   steep   bank   below   the   left-hand   houses   overhung   the   sidewalk   and   he   had   to   stoop. The   steep   road   bent   left   around   a   high   shoulder   of   hill. Dimly   Austin   noticed   the   house   on   the   right-hand   corner   of   the   curve:   it   was   older   than   the   others   and   made   of   stone,   but   it   entered   his   sight   and   passed. He   seldom   paid   much   attention   to   things.

             Now   he   was   past   the   hill. Ahead   he   could   see   the   concrete   barrier   at   the   edge   of   the   lake,   like   a   horizon;   and   he   walked   on,   impatient   to   get   there. He   couldn’t   see   the   gatehouse   or   tell   if   Brianna   was   there. Maybe   she   would   be   wearing   that   lemon-colored   top   of   hers   again,   the   one   that   barely   held   in   her   round   breasts. The   thought   made   him   breathe   heavily   as   he   walked.

             Old   houses   ran   beside   the   road   on   the   left,   with   woods   on   the   right. There   was   a   ruined   structure   still   there,   boarded   up,   bushes   around   it,   faded   blue   letters   on   the   side   still   saying   UNION   PIN   COMPANY. Then   there   was   the   marina   boat   shop   on   the   left,   across   from   the   ruin,   and   he   was   crossing   the   intersection. He   saw   a   girl’s   slim   white   back,   interrupted   only   by   the   string   of   her   bikini,   above   the   concrete   barrier   beside   the   gatehouse. Golden   hair;   that   would   be   Jenna. Then   a   streaming   head   of   dark   hair   popped   up   beside   it,   and   Brianna   was   yelling   “it’s   Austin!”   She   wore   the   lemon   top,   sure   enough. Sopping   wet   as   she   was   she   hugged   him   tightly,   hoping   to   get   him   as   wet   as   possible.

             “Hey,   Bree.”   he   drawled. She   kissed   him—Brianna   was   free   with   kisses,   sometimes—and   dragged   him   up   by   the   gatehouse. A   gap   in   the   barrier,   closed   by   a   green   thick   metal   floodgate,   was   open,   giving   onto   a   small   grassy   terrace. The   gatehouse,   a   square   box-like   hut   with   a   peaked   shingle   roof   that   housed   the   machinery   for   lowering   the   underwater   gates   inside   the   dam,   stood   on   a   ledge   of   masonry,   great   stairs   of   huge   pinkish   slabs   of   granite   descending   into   deep   water   on   either   side. Just   in   front   of   the   gatehouse   the   water   was   very   deep;   below   this   the   gates   opened,   but   in   summer   they   were   shut   and   the   overflow   trickled   across   the   nearer   of   the   two   spillways. Lake   Street   ended   at   a   T;   to   the   right   West   Lake   St   came   down   from   Boyd,   crossing   the   spillways   at   a   ford,   and   to   the   left   it   ran   on   over   the   low   hill   as   E. Lake   St.

             “Austin,   jump in   with   me!”   yelled   Brianna.

             “I will   if   Jenna   does.”

             “Ooh,   it’s   gonna   be   cold,   and   I   don’t   really   wanna—“   said   that   individual. But   she   did   jump   after   a   while,   splashing   Brianna   and   Austin,   who   were   already   in   by   that   time. The   water   was   cool   and   felt   so   nice. It   felt   even   nicer   when   Brianna   squashed   her   breasts   up   against   his   chest   and   wrapped   her   smooth   legs   around   him. She   gave   him   cute   little   Bree-kisses,   small   and   clingy,   while   Jenna   mocked   them.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Let’s   go   up   to   the   beach.”   said   Bree   when   they   were   getting   tired   of   jumping   in. They   climbed   up   the   steps   and   stood   around   on   the   cement   barrier. Jeremiah—Austin   hadn’t   even   noticed   the   kid   come,   he’d   been   too   occupied   with   Bree—was   hanging   around   with   Jenna   and   telling   her   and   another   guy   who   Austin   hadn’t   seen   come   that   he   was   supposed   to   be   hiding   from   the   cops   because   he’d   tried   to   fight   another   boy.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   shouldn’t   be   waving   at   every   cruiser   that   passes   by,   then.”   the   other   guy   said   dryly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   I   showed   up   at   the   park   when   I   said,   but   the   other   f--   brought   his   f--ing   parents.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   hope   my   phone   still   works.”   said   Brianna   carelessly. “I   broke   it   again   the   other   day.”   She   showed   the   other   guy   the   cracked   I-phone,   elicting a   couple   of   sardonic   remarks   as   to   what   could   she   have   been   doing,   then   linked   her   arm   in   Jenna’s   and   headed   off   in   front. She   had   a   crazy,   bubbly   sort   of   personality,   lively   and   abrupt. Seeing   those   two   slender   leggy   girls,   all   white   skin   with   only   a   few   sexy   streaks   of   fabric   interrupting   it,   was   one   of   the   day’s   better   moments. The   three   guys   followed   at   a   slower   pace,   the   other   guy   pushing   a   battered   green   bike   with   a   basket,   Jeremiah   saying   something   now   and   then.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “She’s   mad   hot.”   he   said   after   they’d   passed   the   spillway. The   road   went   over   it   like   a   roller   coaster,   dipping   down   then   up   then   down   again   to   the   second   trench-like   hollow. The   two   girls   were   pushing   each   other   and   running   on   ahead   for   no   reason,   screaming   with   laughter.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Bree?”   said   Austin. The   bike   guy   said   nothing.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Naw,   Jenna. I   could   so   totally   go   for   her.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You’re   only   14.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “So,   I’m   only   two   years   younger. Cassie   screwed   with   a   boy   in   Pearson   last   month.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Cassie’s   mad   fun   when   she’s   drunk. Those   b—s   of   hers—“

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Bree’s   gonna   be   mad   if   she   hears   you   say   that.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin   gave   a   careless   belly   laugh. “Winsted   girls   are   all   just   out   for   sex. Everyone   knows   that.”   The   guy   with   the   bike   paced   a   little   behind   them,   saying   nothing,   only   listening   in   an   odd   thoughtful   way.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   got   to   the   beach,   and   the   bike   guy   kept   egging   Brianna   in   swimming,   but   she   said   lazily   she’d   be   in   later. They   sat   on   the   grass   across   the   street   from   the   beach. A   short   way   past   the   spillway   was   the   boat   launch,   and   Lake   St   went   on   up   while   the   shore   road   turned   sharply   left   around   the   launch   parking   lot,   then   sharp   right   at   the   water. Between   road   and   lake   was   a   long   sandy   strip,   narrow   and   steep,   swiftly   plunging   into   deep   water. It   was   crowded   with   little   black   kids. Jenna   and   the   bike   guy—he   was   older   than   any   of   them,   probably   in   his   twenties—went   in   with   Jeremiah,   and   when   they   came   out   the   five   of   them   sat   around   on   the   grass and   chattered. The   bike   guy   said   very   little,   only   listening,   now   and   then   an   ironic   smile   crossing   his   face. Austin barely   noticed   him:   he   was   just   background. The   girls   were   the   only   points   of   actual   existence.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Brianna,   there’s   a   little   kid   behind   us   who’s   changing.”   said   Jeremiah,   pushing   back   his   longish   sandy   hair. There   was   a   small   dirt   lot   in   the   square   angle   of   the   corner,   with   cars   in   it. “Ooh,   he’s   naked!”   as   the   kid’s   towel   slipped. Brianna   turned   around   and   looked.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Aw,   you   looked.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Shut   up,”   she   said,   smiling. “Jenna,   look,   my   phone   doesn’t   work   now!”   she   exclaimed. Jenna   leaned   forward,   her   tiny   silver-fish   bikini   bottom   folding   as   she   did,   so   that   all   three   boys   could   see   the   firm   lines   of   her   pale-tan   abdomen   going   down   into   nether   regions.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Um,   Jenna,   I   can   see   like   right   down   you.”   said   Jeremiah.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know!”   she   snapped,   straightening   up. Austin   snickered. They   chatted   for   a   long   time,   he   barely   noticed   how   long;   the   careless   who-cares   talk   of   high   schoolers. Suppertime   was   drawing   near,   he   supposed,   as   he   was   getting   a   little   hungry   and   the   shadows   were   long. Jeremiah   had   left   sometime,   Austin   didn’t   know   when,   and   he   and   the   girls   were   alone. “I   suppose   we   should   be   getting   home.”   Jenna   said   now.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Let’s   get   wet   one   more   time   before   we   go.”   said   Austin.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Nahh,   I’m   getting   cold.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “How   ‘bout   we   hang   at   the   park? Julian   said   she’d   be   there,   and   Jas   was   supposed   to   show—you   know,   Jasmine   from   the   Grill—“   said   Brianna.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “F--   yeah,   I   know   her.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Brianna   looked   at   him   with   one   of   her   wide,   half-shy,   half   lively   smiles. She   was   wearing   her   glasses   now   and   it   gave   to   her   face   a   rounded,   pretty,   sidelined   appearance. “And   you   didn’t   ask   her   out?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   I’m   going   out   with   you,   not   her.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know,   I   know,   I’m   just   funning. Every   guy   I   know   is   all   over   her;   they’re   like   She’s   got   such   awesome   b—s,   and   those   t—s…”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   think   your   b—s   are   better.”   While   the   girls   were   howling   over   that,   and   commenting   on   the   probable   state   of   certain   parts   of   him,   they   started   ambling   down   the   road. At   the   spillway   a   car   was   coming   as   they   crossed   the   pedestrian   footbridge. It   charged,   sending   water   a   dozen   feet   into   the   air,   all   over   Brianna   who   had   fallen   behind. She   shrieked   with   pure   joy,   running   up   to   the   others,   totally   drenched.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   park   was   down   in   the   valley. Most   of   Winsted   was   valley,   either   on   the   narrow   floor   or   climbing   up   the   hills   behind. It   was   a   small   town,   tall   brick   storebuildings   along   one   side   of   the   main   street,   old   townhouses   packed   closely   along   the   bizarre   twisting   streets. At   the   other   end   of   the   valley   was   a   flat   area   opening   out   into   the   Torrington   valley,   and   along   the   street   running   south   was   the   park. Silver   maples   of   great   size   overhung   a   playground;   past   this   were   two   ballfields,   one   fenced,   up   against   the   swamps,   and   across   the   road   were   more   ballfields. A   drive   entered   the   park   and   there   was   a   clubhouse   near   the   parking   lot,   shutting   in   the   playground. The   dugouts   on   the   nearer   ballfield   bordered   the   playground   and   road   respectively. The   lot   was   divided   from   the   basketball   court   by   a   high   chain-link   fence.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Just   as   she’d   said,   there   was   Brianna,   in   the   middle   of   a   group   of   her   friends. She   squealed   when   she   saw   Austin   and   ran   over   to   kiss   him. Delilah,   chubby   and   brassy   with   short   hair,   hooted. The   other   girls   all   said   “Hi,   Austin”   and   went   on   chattering. They   were   standing   or   sitting   on   the   paved   walk   behind   the   clubhouse,   facing   the   field. A   lot   of   others   were   there,   on   the   bleachers   or   in   the   dugout   or   hanging   around   the   court   where   some   black   kids   were   shooting   hoops:   many   of   them   girls   Austin   knew,   and   some   of   the   usual   guys. There   was   the   Zimmerman   kid,   tall   and   gangly   and   plump,   long   blond   hair   under   a   sort   of   black   derby   hat. He   had   glasses.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “This   has   been   one   crazy   summer,   man,   hasn’t   it?”   Connor   was   saying.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know,”   said   Ally,   shaking   her   head;   plump   and   buxom,   Austin   thought   her   cute   but   too   fat. “There   was   that   freak   earthquake   or   flood   or   whatever   down   Third   Bay,   last   month—the   whole   end   of   the   lake   was   just   like   wiped   out.   Kevin   died   there,   did   you   know? His   island   house   got   like   scrubbed   off   the   map.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   heard   it   was   all   a   hoax,   the   earthquake   stuff,   I   mean.” giggled   Jasmine. She   had   rounded,   slightly   chubby   features,   bright   soft   eyes   and   a   buxom   figure. “Some   people   are   saying   it   was   a   government   bomb   or   something.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Well,   I   heard   it   was   as   if   the   lake   peeled   itself   up   and   poured   down   on   Kevin’s   house.”   said   Cassie   lazily. She   had the   same   sort   of   rounded   cuteness   as   her   sister   Ally   and   Jasmine,   and   the   same   buxom   sexiness.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “And   my   dad   says   it   was   all   an   alien   attack!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It   really   was   freaky,   though.”   put   in   Zimmerman. “I   went   out   Mad   River   Dam   way,   just   to   check,   and   the   news   was   right,   the   whole   dike   vanished.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Where’s   that   again?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   know,   up   Rt. 44—Main   St,   that   is—just   west   of   us. The   flood   control   dike. And   it’s   just   gone   poof. Vaporized.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   maybe   we’ve   got   superheros   running   around!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Aw,   c’mon,   supers   only   exist   in   movies.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   dunno,”   said   Zimmerman,   “my   grandpa   says   there   were   real   ones   in   his   days.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Get   out,   he’s   an   old   geezer. There’s   no   Internet   stuff   about   them. If   they   really   existed,   they’d   be   on   the   Net.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   can’t   wait   for   the   carnival. Isn’t   it   supposed   to   be   next   week?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It   should   be;   we’ll know   when   we   see   all   the   rides   suddenly   appear   out   of   nowhere   in   the   field. I   haven’t   seen   any   signs.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   it   is   next   week.”   said   Connor,   who   was   in   the   volunteer   fire   dept.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Maybe   it’s   the   Wild   Man of Winsted   thingy.”   said   Ally,   going   back   to   the   topic.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What’s   a   what?”   said   Brianna.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   some   caveman   legend   that’s   supposed   to   appear   around   here. Butt-naked,   too.”   said   Jasmine.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I’d   love   to   see   what   a   Wild   Man’s   d--   is   like.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   you   just   wanna   feel   it   in   you,   Cass.”   jeered   Delilah.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Shut   up,   f—head.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Go   f--   yourself,   a—h--.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I’m   bored.”   said   Zimmerman,   rather   loudly:   he   was   a   little   tiresome   to   swear   around. “Who   wants   to   play   baseball?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It’s   too   hot.”   said   Jasmine.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   we   all   know   you’re   just   gonna   sit   around   and   root,   what   are   you   worried   about?”   Brianna   said   abrasively.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Sounds   good   to   me.”   said   Austin;   he   was   a   little   tired   of   just   hanging   around. It   would   be   really   cool   if   some   of   the   girls   played. Even   if   they   didn’t,   at   least   he’d   get   to   show   off   his   sporting   prowess. Brianna   wanted   to   pitch. She   turned   out   to   be   such   a   lousy   thrower   that   Connor   sent   her   out   to   play   base. That   suited   Austin   just   fine;   when   he   actually   got   a   hit   and   made   it   to   1st   he   got   to   kiss   Brianna   and   fondle   her   a   little   before   Zimmerman   spoiled   everything   by   getting   a   double   and   forcing   him   to   advance   to   third. After   several   innings   everyone   was   too   hot   and   tired   to   play   any   longer. They   decided   to   hang   out   on   the   old   rail   bed   across   the   cemetery,   as   the   river   would   hopefully   be   cooler.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “And   buggier.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   brought   bug   spray;   I   always   carry   some.”   and   Ally   went   around   spraying   everyone   with   bug   repellant   that   smelled   perfumed. Some   of   the   boys   complained   it   made   them   smell   all   wussy   and   girlish. “Yeah,   I   can   see   why   it   repels   the   bugs—who’d   want   to   be   around   that   smell?”   hooted   Austin.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Laughing   and   chattering,   they   headed   across   the   parking   lot   and   down   the   cemetery   drive. Beyond   the   park   a   low   hill   rose,   with   scattered   pine   trees,   and   the   cemetery   sprawled   over   this   hill   and   down   to   the   base,   where   one   of   the   many   winding   driveways   ringed   the   edge.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Do   we   have   to   walk   by   here?”   said   Brianna.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What’s   wrong,   Bree,   are   you   scared?”   mocked   Deli.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No,   it’s   just   I   always   freak   when   I   go   near   a   cemetery. You   know   it’s   not   very   nice   there.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What,   you   think   zombies   are   gonna   push   up   a   gravestone   or   two   and   come   after   you? Or   maybe   a   ghost   in   green   mist?”   Delilah   said   flippantly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You’re    mean.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   it’s   broad   daylight.”   said   Austin.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “And   ghosts   and   zombies   are   only   in   horror   movies.”   said   Zimmerman.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   walked   around   the   base   of   the   hill,   following   the   level   drive. Thick   new   tombstones   filed   past. Austin   barely   noticed   them;   he   was   too   busy   watching   Brianna’s   breasts   swing   as   she   walked   beside   him.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Did   anyone,   like,   bring   pot?”   she   called. “This   would   be   a   perfect   time.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   wanna   get   high   in   a   graveyard??”   said   Ally.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No,   silly,   on   the   railroad.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             All   the   kids   in   Winsted   knew   about   the   park. Not   many   of   the   kids   in   Winsted   knew   about   the   old   railroad. Sure,   there   were   signs   about   it   all   over   the   bike   path   in   the   center   of   town,   and   if   you   had   a   good   eye   for   it   it   was   easy   to   trace   the   grade   across   Bridge   St   and   along   the   fenced   garden   behind   the   old   Hogie’s   Ice   Cream   place,   behind   the   condo   and   so   to   the   old   stone   walls   behind   the   skateboarding   park   and   the   level   ledge   below   the   cemetery   which   ran   out   onto   the   high   causeway   across   the   swamp. But   such   an   eye   was   not   common   in   the   average   Winsted   high-schooller   in   the   Year   of   Our   Lord   2011,   and   so   if   they   knew   at   all,   it   was   by   hearsay.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   pushed   into   the   woods   on   the   south   side   of   the   cemetery. Honeysuckle   bushes   formed   the   understory   beneath   black   birch,   beech   and   oak. But   to   the   teens   it   was   just   a   vague   mass   of   waist-high   green   twigs   under   high   open   grey-black   trunks,   as   they   pushed   through   discussing   whether   Lady   Gaga   had   male—privates. A   high   steep   ridge   barred   their   way,   nearly   20   feet   high   and   narrow   at   the   top. They   scrambled   up   this   somehow,   Brianna   and   the   boys   nimbly,   Ally   and   some   others   with   considerable   help   from   the   boys. On   top   was   a   path,   with   old   shells   of   rotting   wood   embedded   in   blackish   cindery   soil   under   the   leaves,   between   honeysuckle   bushes   with   their   pale   knotty   white   stems   and   small   green   leaves. After   they   turned   left   and   followed   this,   they   came   to   a   high   lip   of   masonry   above   Still   River. Hornbeam,   beech   and   birch   clung   to   the   black-earthed   slopes. Below   was   the   languid   brown   river,   broad   pools   fenced   with   water   sedge   and   high   grass,   often   full   of   water   lily.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   like   this   place.”   said   Brianna.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Don’t   even   think   about   going   off   this   headfirst!”   yelled   Austin.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Shut   up,   you   retard,   I   told   you   I’m   on   meds   to   handle   that.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Did   you   hear   what   Julian   did   the   other   day??”   said Deli.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Maybe   if   you   sit   up   and   beg.”   said   Ally.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Shut   up,   you   a—h--!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   what   was   it   she   did,   anyway?”   said   Zimmerman.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh,   she   changed   out   of   her   suit   right   on   the   beach,   and   the   lifeguard   threw   her   out. She   loved   every   bit   of   it. The   lifeguard   was   a   guy,   too,   so   he   didn’t   throw   her   out   until   she   was   done,   and   he’d   had   a   good   loooook….”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   changed   into   my   suit   on   Main   St   yesterday.”   said   Cassie. “A   lot   of   people   hooted   at   me. Mostly   old   guys,   though. I   bet   it’s   the   first   action   they’ve   seen   in   twenty   years.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   did   NOT,   girl!”   shrieked   Brianna.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   know   what,   you   people   are   gross.”   said   Zimmerman.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin   tossed   and   turned. The   summer   night   was   stifling,   fan   or   no   fan. His   sleep   was   thick   and   groggy,   with   dreams   like   fever.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             No   sooner   had   he   dropped   off   than   he   saw   them. He   did   not   know   what   they   were,   but   he   knew   they   were   evil:   long   sinuous   monsters,   short   legs   dragging   their   serpentine   bodies,   some   with   mighty   folded   wings,   some   wingless;   some   crawled,   some   stalked   on   two   legs   with   short   bodies   and   long   tails   and   no   arms;   some   had   one   head,   some   had   five. Strange   beards   and   ears   shaped   like   flames   adorned   their   heads. Long   snouted   faces   passed   him,   sinister   and   sarcastic,   with   long   sly   smiles. Eyes…he   could   never   remember   their   eyes,   only   that   the   very   sight   of   them   was   a   nightmare.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             He   had   dreamed   of   them—or,   more   properly,   they   had   begun   walking   through   his   dreams—only   for   the   last   few   months. Some   of   his   friends   had   had   similar   dreams,   and   they   knew   names   for   these   awful   creatures:   dragons.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Tonight   he   was   tiptoeing   amid   a   pacing   procession   of   dragons,   avoiding   their   cold   bodies   and   praying   none   of   them   turned   to   look   at   him. Then   they   all   stopped,   and   drew   aside,   and   bowing   low   they   did   homage. As   Austin   stared,   unable   to   move   from   fright,   he   became   aware   that   the   sky   in   front   of   him   was   actually   a   dragon   vaster   than   the   others,   and   it   had   seven   heads,   and   every   one   of   those   heads   was   looking   straight   at   him.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Austin.” <span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">   said   the   Huge   Dragon. “Adore.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I—I—I—I—don’t   know   what   that   means,   dude.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   dragon   laughed,   an   awful   sound. “Oh,   you   will   come   to   know   it   so   very   well,   you   fatherless   bastard.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know   my   father!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Do   you   now.”   sneered   the   Dragon. “Adore. Or   be   my   sport. You   do   not   want   to   be   my   sport.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “But   what’s   an    adore??”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Time’s   up.”   the   Dragon   said,   and   a   torrent   of   black   water   burst   from   his   mouths…

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin   floundered   in   his   covers. The   water   was   thick,   very   warm,   and   unwet. He   came   groggily   awake. His   pajama   pants   were   damp   and   sticky. Half-asleep   he   shambled   into   the   bathroom   to   shower.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   shower   had   the   side   effect   of   waking   him   up. He   couldn’t   get   to   sleep. What   an   awful   dream. He   must   have   been   watching   too   many   movies. What   did   adore   mean,   anyway? And   how   could   he   dream   a   word   he   didn’t   know?

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             He   was   so   rattled   that   he   turned   on   the   light   and   played   video   games   on   his   IPAD   until   the   grey   dawn   told   him   it   was   time   for   breakfast.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Today   was   not   one   of   his   better   days. He   went   up   to   the   beach   again   but   Brianna   didn’t   show. Grumbling   to   himself   he   walked   down   past   Rockwell   St   where   she   lived,   wondering   if   he   should   just   knock   on   the   door   or   try   calling   a   fifteenth   time. The   houses   on   Rockwell   were   spaced   far   apart   on   the   upper   end,   until   you   got   to   the   sudden   downhill   into   the   suburb   on   the   south   wall   of   the   Winsted   valley. Brianna   lived   in   an   old   settled   white   farmhouse   with   no   farm;   a   barn/garage   stood   beside   it,   and   behind   it   the   woods   fell   steeply   downhill.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             There   she   was,   all   right. She   and   that   fat   black   a—h—were   lying   around   on   the   porch and   chilling   out,   and   he   even   had   his   arm   around   her. AJ,   that   was   his   name. He’d   been   going   out   with   her   before   she   switched   to   Austin. A   surge   of   bile   rose   in   his   throat.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   Bree!”   he   said   harshly   as   he   headed   up   the   steps. “I   see   you’re   having   fun.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hi,   Austin. What’s   wrong?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   got   your   f—ing   nerve,   bitch,   I’ve   been   calling   you   all   day,   you   know   you   were   going   to   meet   me   at   the   beach   and   now   you’re   dissin’   me   for    him?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   I   was   just   getting   ready   and   then   AJ   dropped   by. Stop   being   a   retard.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Listen   up,   fat   f—“   Austin   snapped   at   AJ. “You   lay   off   my   girl,   you   hear?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Just   because   she’s   your   girl   don’t   mean   she   drops   all   her   friends,   bro.”   AJ   said,   putting   his   hands   on   her   shoulders. Brianna   laughed. “And   friends   get   benefits.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Furniture   flew   every   which   way,   Brianna   among   them. Things   got   dim   and   blurry. Trees   became   grey   and   green   shadows. Porch   and   railings   were   only   faint   shapes. The   world   concentrated   on   the   fat   pig   sprawling   on   the   floor.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “So   you   lookin’   for   a   fight,   dude?”   AJ   sneered   as   he   got   up. “Come   on   then,   little   man.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             AJ   was   strong,   but   Austin   was   faster. He   barely   noticed   what   happened. One   or two   blows   broke   into   the   grey   whirlpool   of   fury   in   his   eyes,   but   did   not   hurt. His   own   fist   hit. Both   fists   hit,   one   after   another. Then   AJ   wasn’t   hitting   at   him,   because   he   was   on   the   floor,   and   Austin   kicked   and   Austin   hit,   a   horrid   maniac   need   to   render   extinct   the   pig   filling   what   little   mind   he   had.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   sirens   shook   him   awake. The   pulpy   mess   in   front   of   him,   still   whimpering,   was   no   longer   black   but   dull   red. It   pleased   him. The   sirens. He   realized,   all   at   once,   they   were   coming   nearer. They   were   coming   for   him.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Going   from   fury   to   panic   in   2   seconds   flat,   Austin   jumped   the   railing   (what   remained   of   it)   and   plowed   crazily   downhill   into   the   trees. He   retained just   enough   sense   to   angle   left,   towards   the   Historical   Society   which   was   never   open   and   away   from   the   fire   department   beside   it. The   slope   was   steep   and   rocky   under   the   far-set   maples,   a   small   watercourse   and   a   stone   wall   marking   the   border   of   the   Society   backyard. He   stumbled   out   onto   the   driveway   of   the   huge   palatial   white   house   the   Society   had   taken   over   and   refurbished:   paved   but   furrowed   into   two   trenches   with   age,   it   ran   between   stone   walls   to   plunge   steeply   to   Lake   St   just   below   the   Boyd   St   fork. The   mansion   occupied   a   high   tongue   of   land,   a   square   highland   twenty   feet   above   the   street,   Prospect   Street   plunging   down   to   meet   Lake   on   the   east   and   Lake   St   climbing   on   the   north. He   scrambled   around   the   front. Square   and   tall,   white   columns   fronted   the   porch   and   great   old   maples   stood   about   on   short   mossy   turf. Old   pearlbushes   stood   above   the   high   retaining   walls   edging   the   remains   of   the   railroad   overpass   that   had   been   destroyed   long   ago:   it   had   cut   across   the   corner,   crossing   both   streets. Austin   raced   across   Prospect   and   jumped   the   cement   wall   with   its’   railing,   landing   awkwardly   on   the   steep   slope   behind. Locusts   and   maples   rose   from   the   plunging   ground,   and   thirty   feet   below   lay   Mad   River,   a   shallow   stony-bedded   stream   about   twenty   feet   wide. Sirens   still   sounded. He   was   trapped:   even   as   he   crept   down   the   slope   he   saw   police   cars   howling   up   Main   St   which   ran   above   and   parallel   to   the   river   on   the   far   side. He   crouched   behind   a   big   maple,   breathing   raggedly.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You’re   in   a   big   hurry.”   said   somebody. Austin   spun   around   with   a   gasp. A   tall   thin   young   man   with   red   hair   and   sharp   features   was   straightening   up   from   a   blackberry   bush   nearby. “Wait. I   saw   you   yesterday   at   the   beach,   didn’t I? With   Brianna?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   bike   guy! Of   course! “Uh…maybe…uh,   can you,   like,   keep   it   down,   man?”   said   Austin   nervously   as   another   police   car   cruised   slowly   with   flashing   lights   along   Main   St   across   from   and   almost   on   a   level   with   them.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “They’re   after   you?”   said   the   bike   guy.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin   nodded.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Shoving   his   berry   container   into   a   black   backpack,   the   bike   guy   beckoned. “Follow   me. Dead   quiet. Slow   and   careful.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   crept   down   to   the   river. It   was   stony   and   shallow,   flat-bedded   and   not   very   swift   this   time   of   year. “Wade.”   the   bike   guy   said. “Hug   the   far   shore. Slowly.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   sloshed   into   the   river,   shoes   and   all. The   bike   guy   wore   pants. The   water   was   cool,   coming   barely   halfway   up   their   calves. Round   stones   slipped   underfoot. They   waded   under   the   lee   of   the   brush   hanging   over   the   bank. On   Main   St   above   them,   hidden   by   a   steep   brushy   bank   and   young   locust   trees,   they   heard   voices,   but   no   one   looked   down   into   the   gulch   and   they   were   unopposed. On   the   left   a   junkyard   occupied   the   widening   wedge   of   flat   ground   between   the   river   and   Prospect   St,   followed   by   the   rambling   wings   of   an   auto   garage. On   the   right   was   the   driveway   of   the   ambulance   place   now,   the   river   bending   away   from   Main   St,   and   the   crackle of   cop   radios   came   from   above. They   breathed   easier   once   the   brick   wall   of   the   ambulance   place   shut   them   in,   and   still   more   when   that   was   past   as   well   and   the   corrugated   grey   metal   wall   of   the   daycare   place   next   to   the   garage   rose   on   the   left. Ahead   was   the   Lake   St   bridge.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Daslenga   will   protect   us.”   said   the   strange   guy.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Who?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Sh. The   river   will   only   help   those   who   are   careful.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Weird,   thought   Austin. They   waded   slowly,   glancing   up   warily   at   the   bridge. A   pedestrian   passed   but   took   no   notice. The   river   looked   so   different   from   underneath,   the   stripes   of   the   concrete   bars   passing   overhead   and   the   darkened   pebbly   concrete   abutments   that   held   it   up. They   were   so   relieved   when   they   were   safely   under   the   bridge   they   had   to   stop   and   rest.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “So   what   exactly   did   you   do?”   the   bike   guy   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Beat   up   that   fat   bastard   AJ.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   hope   he   deserved   it.”   the   other   said. He   spoke   this   in   a   very   odd   tone,   almost   of   reserved   judgement.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “H--   yeah,   he   was   petting   my   girl.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Bree   is   somewhat   too   free   at   times.”   the   man   agreed. Austin   could   barely   hear   him   over   the   river-murmer.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What’s   your   name,   man? I   owe   you   one.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   am   Ronnie   Wendy.”   the   other replied. Now   that   Austin   was   so   close   to   him,   he   felt   strangely   repelled   by   his   rescuer. Something   about   him   was   utterly   alien   to   Austin   and   everything   he   knew. Hard,   sinister,   weird:   as   if   Austin   and   the   minds   and   attitudes   of   everyone   else   all   flowed   in   one   more   or   less   general   way;   and   this   Ronnie   slashed   across   in   a   totally   different   direction,   he   jarred,   he   clashed,   every   time   he   opened   his   mouth   it   came   out   like   a   smell,   a   hard   clean   smell   Austin   hated   by   instinct.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What   do   we   do?” he   asked.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   can   help   you   cross   to   the   woods. After   that   our   ways   will   part. I   aided   you   because   you   are   hunted. I   have   my   own   business   to   attend   to. I   cannot   shepherd   you.”   Something   in   the   tone   made   Austin   realize   Ronnie   felt   as   little   liking   for   him   as   he   for   Ronnie.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   waded   on,   hugging   the   left   shore. Here   Main   Street   came   so   close   that   the   river   flowed   at   the   base   of   a   high   cement   wall   with   a   metal   kerb   below   the street. The   left   shore   was   hung   with   bittersweets   and   drooping   branches. Some   way   on,   a   large   stream   flowed   chattering   in   on   the   left. “Lake   outlet.”   whispered   Ronnie. After   maybe   six   hundred   feet   a   factory   rose   on   the   left   behind   the   trees,   brick   and   complicated,   and   a   side   street   crossed   the   river   ahead   of   them. The   right   side   beyond   the   bridge   was   a   crude   masonry   of   huge   piled   boulders   with   trees   growing   in   them. Main   St   bent   away   from   the   river   and   a   gas station   where   Austin   and   his   friends   sometimes   hung   out   at   night,   took   its’   place.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Here   we   part.”   said   Ronnie   Wendy. “Do   you   see   that   pipe?”   In   the   boulder-wall   was   an   ancient   concrete   conduit,   four   feet   high. A   stream   flowed   out   of   it. “That   way,   after   many   twists   and   turns,   will   lead   you   out   near   the   Hinsdale   school,   from   which you   can   cut   up   into   the   Gilbert   High   School   grounds   and   the   woods. Or   you   can   follow   the   river   to   where   Indian   Meadow   Brook   enters—beyond   that   the   river   is   too   open—and   that   will   get   you   to   the   woods   behind   the   hospital   north   of   Winsted. Your   path   is   up   to   you. I   wish   you   luck.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Thanks,   man.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You’re   welcome.”   said   Ronnie   gravely. He   climbed   up   the   bank   and   was   gone.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin   waded   up   the   river. He   decided   to   climb   the   wall   and   peer   over:   maybe one   of   his   buddies   was   there   in   the   parking   area. He   got   lucky:   Dustin   and   Connor   and   their   girls   were   having   a   beer,   and   Connor   when   he   casually   asked   for   a   lift   agreed   to   drive   him   to   his   house.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             They   didn’t   have   far   to   go,   only   up   into   the   steep   streets   of   West   Winsted;   but   as   they   drew   near   the   house,   Austin   fell   quiet.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Why   is   there   a   cop   staking   out   the   house?”   Connor   said.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Quick,   drive   on   past!”   yelped   Austin,   sinking   in   the   seat. “Too   late! He’s   seen   us! Oh   d—!”   as   the   cruiser’s   lights   burst   out   in   red   and   blue. Connor   pulled   over. “Hey,   man,   what   the   h--? We   can   outrun ‘em!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Sorry   dude. You   didn’t   say   nuthin’   about   the   police. I’m   probably   gonna   be   screwed   enough   just   having   you   in   the   car. Now   you   better   sit   there   and   tough   it   out,   man. It   ain’t   gonna   be   that   bad.”   He   locked   the   doors.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “You   f—ing   traitor!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “No   skin   off   my   a--,   man. I   ain’t   getting   in   trouble   on   your   account. Not   anyone’s.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   group   of   young   people   got   out   of   Vanessa’s   small   red   car   and   headed   up   the   grassy   trail   of   Stillwater   Pond   in   Torrington. Austin   knew   nothing   about   it,   only   that   it   was   in   Torrington,   a   larger   city   south   of   Winsted   and   joined   to   it   by   a   long   flat   valley. He   barely   noticed   the   tall   pines   overhead   or   the   green   walls   of   brush   on   either side,   making   an   open   secret   avenue   of   shaded   green   grass. It   was   three   days   after   the   fight. Brianna   walked   beside   him,   while   Julian,   Delilah   and   Vanessa   were   chattering   about   boys.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   sorry   about   you   getting   nabbed.”   she   said. “AJ   was   a   jerk. I   didn’t   call   you   in. My   mom   did.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   and   now   I’ve   got   to   do   community   f—ing   service   till   Kingdom   come.”   said   Austin   sulkily. The   judge   had   “slapped   his   wrists”,   making   him   do   community   and   report   to   a   probation   officer,   but   not   anything   else,   to   the   ire   of   AJ’s   mom. Let   her   bitch. Right   now   he   wanted   to   enjoy   himself. Then   maybe   he   and   Bree   could   go   off   somewhere…alone…

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   Aust,”   said   Julian   cattily,   looking   over   her   shoulder,   “I   hear   you   wanna   get   married.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “What! I   do   not!”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh   no? You’re   as   jealous   as   a   huuusbaaannnd!”   and   she   and   Delilah   raced   on   ahead,   shrieking   with   laughter. Ahead   of   them   an   old   woman   was   walking   down   the   trail. Austin   felt   embarrassed. She   looked   so   ridiculously   old   and   non-sexy   it   made   him   want   to   walk   past   as   quickly   as   he   could. Seriously,   hags   like   that   ought   to   be   shut   up   in   rest   homes   or   euthanized   or   something. She   had   a   dress   and   shawl   that   blew   out   around   her   as   she   walked.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hey,   there   you   are!”   Delilah   squealed. She   and   Julian   were   embracing   the   old   hag. “Oh,   these   are   our   friends   Austin,   Vanessa   and   Brianna.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   old   woman   looked   at   the   others   and   then   at   him   with   a   strange,   knowing   smile. It   made   him   three   times   more   uncomfortable,   as   if   she   was   having   a   private   joke   at   his   expense. Her   eyes   were   very   deep   and   dark.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Hello,   dragons.”   she   said   in   a   cracked   old   voice. “Such   a   pleasure   to   meet   you.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Uh…what?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   what   are   you talking   about?”   said   Julian.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Manners,   young   lady. Oh,   you   children,   so   shallow   and   stupid,   minds   in   your   buttocks. Just   as   they   should   be. We   have   labored   so   hard   to   produce   you,   dragons   and   witches,   and   the   time   is   ripe   at   last. ''   Listen   for   your   Father. Listen   for   his   call.”''

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Then   she   walked   on,   her   garments   blowing   behind   her,   the   black   laurel   cane   in   her   hand   stabbing   the   ground   every   other   stride.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Shall   we   go   off   the   dam   first   or   the   rope   swing?”   said   Brianna   as   they   stood   looking   irresolutely   after   her.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Naw,   they   totally   trashed   the   rope   swing.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Aw   man! I   want   to   see.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Let’s   jump   off   first.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Accordingly   they   took   an   intersecting   trail,   maybe   a   hundred   feet   in   from   their   car,   that   led   left   down   a   dent   in   a   small   hill   to   an   open   grassy   dike. Deep   shade   cast   by   the   huge   white   pines   around   them   made   it   quite   cool,   but   Austin   barely   noticed   the   pines;   he   only   saw   the   girls. Coming   from   out   of   the   pine-shadow,   the   sun   was   wonderfully   bright   and   hot. On   the   left   the   steep   back   road   plunged   down   into   a   valley,   crossing   Naugatuck   River’s   eastern   branch   on   a   high   bridge. There   was   a   gate   below   the   dike   at   the   edge   of   the   grassy   area   and   enough   space   in   front   of   it   for   two   cars   to   park,   and   some   of   those   silly   state   signs   saying   NO   SWIMMING   were   tacked   up   here   and   there   and   everywhere. The   dam   of   Stillwater   Pond   went   on   in   front   of   them,   low   at   the   near   end,   but   as   the   ground   on   the   left   fell   farther   the   berm   grew   higher,   steep   and   grassy,   almost   forty   feet   on   the   left. The   water   lapped   the   stones   ten   feet   below   on   the   right. At   the   far   end   was   a   brick   gatehouse   above   a   sheer   cement   cliff,   a   ledge   running   around   it,   ten   feet   above   the   spillway. This   was   very   high   at   the   gatehouse   end,   but   a   great   slope   of   rock   climbed   up   to   engulf   it,   so   that   the   farther   end   was   only   a   few   feet   high   and   green   with   water-slime. An   elbow   of   very   deep   water   thus   extended   under   the   gatehouse   ledge   to   a   square   corner   with   another   wall   terminating   the   rocky   berm,   fenced   by   corrugated   metal. Jumping   off   this   ledge   was   pretty   much   the   whole   point   of   coming   here. The   lake   stretched   out,   long   and   winding,   white   pines   fencing   it   in   on   all   sides,   a   few   houses   nearby   on   the   left   but   otherwise   all   state-owned,   curse   it,   because   the   goons   kept   vandalizing   perfectly   safe   rope   swing   stands.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Two   other   girls   were   sitting   on   the   ledge,   dripping   wet   and   evidently   warming   up. One   was   short   and   very   young,   maybe   about   12,   with   a mobile,   shrewd   and   pleasant   face. The   other,   a   tall   skinny   blonde   with   startlingly   light   blue   eyes,   leaped   up   and   embraced   Vanessa   and   Delilah,   laughing   and   exclaiming. The   12-year-old   had   a   green   one-piece,   and   the   blonde,   much   taller   and   leggier,   had   a   dissapointingly   unrevealing   red   top   and   shorts. She   had   a   handsome,   almost   statuesque   sort   of   face   with   a   vivid   expression.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin   and   Brianna   jumped   in   and   then   climbed   out   to   sit   on   the   spillway. The   girls   were   on   the   ledge   above   them,   still   chatting   as   they   worked   up   nerve   to   jump:   their   conversation   had   an   oddly   halting,   uncomfortable   note,   as   if   neither   side   knew   quite   what   to   say;   as   if   they   were   old   friends   that   had   so   changed   since   their   last   meeting   that   they   could   no   longer   speak   their   old   language. He   didn’t   notice   this,   of   course;   all   he   was   noticing   was   whether   Bree   would   let   him   put   his   hand   all   the   way   inside   her   bottom   or   whether   he   would   have   to   be   content   with   her   waist. It   pretty   much   depended   on   whether   she’d   taken   her   meds. Finally   there   were   several   loud   splashes   and   then   the   dark   heads   of   the   four   girls. Vanessa,   Julian   and   Delilah   swam   to   the   spillway   and   pulled   themselves   up;   the   other   girl   swam   over   to   the   rocks   and   climbed   up   to   rejoin   her   friend.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Ooh,   the   water’s   nice   but   it’s   cold.”   said   Vanessa.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “So   who   was   that?”   Brianna   wanted   to   know.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That   was   Broke,   you   know   her,   the   Three   Fatalities?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Oh   yeah!”   Brianna   giggled. “The   three   blondes. You   guys   were   thick   as   gays   all   last   year.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Not   now.”   said   Delilah. “She’s   got   some   little   chick   with   her   and—she’s   changed. She’s   gone   really   weird. The   things   she   says   are   so—I   don’t   know. Like   she’s   up   on   some   pedestal   or   something.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “She   sounds   like   a   homeschooler.”   said   Vanessa   with   a   curled   lip. “Like   that   Midwinter   bitch   I   worked   with. Big   words,   big   thoughts—I   don’t   know   what’s   gotten   into   her.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Probably   trying   to   get   a   Catholic   to   date   her.”   said   Julian   cattily.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “She   should   just   show   some   b—b.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin,   feeling   like   doing   a   “gainer”   to   impress   the   girls,   swam   over   to   the   shallows   where   the   berm   began—the   only   way   to   get   back   up,   apart   from   climbing. The   water   was   so   cold   he   decided   to   lie   on   the   grass   a   little   first   before   he   jumped. Brooke   and   the   little   kid   were sitting   on   towels   just   above   him, and   Austin   spread   his   and   stretched   out. Their   conversation,   muted   but   melodious,   drifted   down   to   him.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “…what   Arheled   would   say.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             Austin’s   heart   went   cold. What   the   heck   was   an   arheled? And   why   did   he   instinctively   feel   both   fear   and   revulsion   at   its’   very   sound? He   listened   intently.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             The   12-year-old   was   speaking. “He   probably   would   tell   you   that   both   of   you   have   grown,   but   in   opposite   ways.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “Yeah,   I   mean,   I   listen   to   them   and   I’m   like   How   did   they   get   like   that? Were   they   always   that   crass?”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It   could   be,   and   you’ve   been   speaking   with   Arheled   so   much   that   you   suddenly   see   exactly   what   they   really   are. Or   it   could   be   something   else. They   might   be   growing   worse,   while   you   are   growing   more—high.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know,   when   you’ve   been—wooed—“   Brooke   began   giggling   the   way   a   girl   does   when   she’s   blushing,   “by   Wild,   you   don’t   see   anything   the   same. And   not   to   mention   how   much   I’ve   been   through,   as   well.”   Her   voice   was   so   sombre   it   surprised   Austin,   listening   while   pretending   not   to.

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I   know,   you   actually   called   the   whole   lake.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “I’m   still   trying   to   figure   out   how   I   did   that,   Bell.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “It’s   pretty   simple   to   me. You   have   an   affinity   with   water. You   affine   with   it   and   it   responds.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             “That’s   pretty   much   how   Arheled   put   it.”

<p class="MsoNormalCxSpMiddle" style="margin: 1em 0px 10pt; line-height: 115%; mso-add-space: auto;"><span style="line-height: 115%; font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12pt; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri;">             So. A   name,   then. Some   creepy   old   dude,   likely,   who’d   been   putting   them   through   some   stupid   church   camp. Or   maybe   a   Bible   group   leader. He   got   up,   suddenly   sure   that   if   he   heard   them   babble   on   like   that,   all   remote   and   lofty   and   f—ing   snooty,   he   might   throw   up. He   glanced   out   of   the   side   of   his   eyes   as   he   walked   by:   (Our   Lord’s   name   in   vain),   but   she   had   hot   legs,   that   Brooke. He   wanted   to   get   on   top   of   her,   screw   all   that   high   stuff   out   her   bottom,   he   wanted   to   so   bad   it   actually   surprised   him:   was   something,   like,   wrong   with   him,   man? He   wasn’t   no   rapist! Hurriedly   he   jumped   in   and   swam   over   to   the   girls. He’d   evidently   been   way   too   long   without   sex.

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