Dissension (16 page)

“I hate you guys!”  Sticks yelled.

He ran off and jumped on his bike.  Anthony didn’t bother to chase after him; he knew how he must feel.  He stood there for some time looking at everyone else hoping one of them had an answer, an idea on how to bring Maxey back.

“Don’t look at me.  It’s all her fault, dude.”  Mikey jabbed as Anthony turned to him.

Anthony sighed then turned around and grabbed his bike.

“I’ll catch you guys later.”  He mumbled dismally, before riding off.

Anthony headed for his house, his mind racing a mile a minute.  As he turned the corner to his street he saw his mom and dad standing outside with the police.  Anthony slowed down and stopped his bike.  He stared ahead, debating if he should run or not.

“Anthony!”  His dad called, waving him over.

Reluctantly, Anthony slowly rode down the sidewalk.  His mom turned and gave him a reassuring smile as he approached.  He wanted to turn and go back to Steve’s house, but the officer was already staring at him skeptically.

Anthony dropped his bike and gave his mom a hug.  She kissed him on the forehead and turned back to the officer.  He was short for a cop, not much taller than Anthony’s mother.  A hairy mole grew on the side of his nose and his crooked teeth gleamed yellow as he grinned.

“Good thing this guy wasn’t home,” he smiled at Anthony.  “We’ll let you folks know when we find something.”  The officer turned and headed to his car.

Anthony looked to his parents in confusion.  His dad patted him on the back as they headed into the house.

“Someone broke into the house while you were at school.”  His mom whispered to him.

Anthony quickly glanced around.  The house seemed perfectly normal.  Not a thing was touched or out of place.

“Seems they were only interested in your room.”   His dad added.

“What!” Anthony quickly sprinted up the stairs.

“The police have already been up there, nothing is missing.”  His mom yelled after him. 

Anthony yanked his bedroom door open to find the room a mess.  The TV was thrown on the ground, his drawers were open and clothes were tossed about.  Some of his soccer posters had been torn from his wall and his balcony door swung in the wind.  As he looked around the room, he noticed that while everything was out of place he really wasn’t missing anything.

“I’ll help you clean it up,” his father said from the door.

Anthony looked over to him and smiled.  “How’d they get in?”

“Not totally sure, but the police are looking into it.”

Anthony shook his head.  He knew this had to be connected to everything else that was going on.

”Well, let me know if you need some help.”  His dad smiled then headed downstairs.

Anthony spent the rest of the evening trying to get his room back in order.  As he plugged the TV in he noticed a card wedged between the dresser and the wall.  He reached down and grabbed it.  When he opened it he saw his uncle’s familiar writing and suddenly it all hit him.

We need to talk, you’ll know when,” it read.  He couldn’t have known about Anthony’s condition.  But it all seemed like much more than coincidence.

Anthony stared at the card for hours.  How could his uncle have known that he would need to talk to anyone?  An eerie feeling slowly crept up Anthony’s back and for the first time he was starting to connect the dots.  Why would someone only be looking in his room, but take nothing?  Any real house burglar would’ve had a field day.  His Xbox, laptop and stereo seemed ripe for the taking, yet they all remained.  If Maxey had told, they already knew who he was so what could they find in his room?

Anthony questioned what was going on long into the night.  At some point he fell asleep still holding the card in his hands.

The next day Anthony met up with Mikey and Mit at the beach and told them how his house had been broken into.  Mit wasn’t sure what to make of it all, but Mikey went into full blown conspiracy theory mode.

“Things are getting crazy dude.”  Mikey said as he tossed a rock into the water.  “Maybe they injected you with something.  Maybe they’re trying to make Maxey grow wings.  Maybe it’s in the water.”

Anthony frowned at him.  As outlandish as Mikey sounded, everything he said could be right.  Anthony turned and stared out to the bay.  The water rushed against the shore like a lullaby.  He hadn’t said a word to his friends yet, but he already knew what he had to do.

A little later Sticks and Steve showed up and were just as puzzled as Anthony retold the story.  They all sat on a boulder overlooking the water taking turns guessing what was really going on.  Sticks seemed more interested than anyone else and he quickly related the break-in to Maxey’s disappearance.  Mikey however, was creating scenario’s that would puzzle even Sherlock and Steve kept trying to involve Ms. Sniz. 

“What could they find in your room?” Mit asked.

Anthony shrugged his shoulders.  He’d thought maybe the card, but what was that worth?  Who would care what his uncle wrote him or where he lived?

“Well…I got a hot date.  I’ll catch you guys later.” Anthony grinned as he slid off the rock.

He gave Steve a high-five then jumped on his bike and headed off.  The boys stared after him for a minute then went back to discussing Mikey’s theories on the break in.

Anthony arrived to the ice cream shop at exactly at eight.  Nickie was already outside with two cones sitting at a table.  He smiled, grabbed the cone from her outstretched hand and sat down.

“I normally only eat vanilla, but I’ll make an exception.”  Anthony laughed.

The shop was the local hang out in North Shore.  Everyone from the retirees to the grade-schoolers would gather there to eat ice cream and watch the local bands play.  Tonight was no different as the tunes of “Snider and the Boys” echoed throughout the courtyard.

“Wasn’t sure you’d show,” Nickie smiled at him.

“Yeah, well you know, I gave my other ladies the night off.”  Anthony retorted as he dropped a blob of ice cream on his pants. 

“Smooth,” Nickie laughed.  “Any word on Maxey?”

“Nah, just more dead ends.”  Anthony hung his head.

Nickie smirked and then quickly changed the subject.

“So how’s the team going?”

“Eh, you know Haggerty.  Building an army one kick at a time.”

Nickie laughed.  For the rest of the night she didn’t bring up Maxey again.  Anthony found out they had a lot more in common than soccer.  Nickie was also an only child, and like him had a fondness for the water.  She was also an avid risk taker and had the scars to prove it.  She was almost as clumsy as Anthony.

Anthony grinned from ear to ear as she talked.  He was mesmerized by her, in shock that he was actually on a date. Just being around her took his mind off of everything else that was going on.

Nickie’s tanned skin glowed in the moonlight.  Her hazel eyes gazed right through Anthony.  They sat in silence, lost in each other’s eyes until a voice snapped them out of their trance.

“It’s closing time,” the middle aged shop owner announced.

Anthony glanced at his watch, certain it was at least midnight by now.  He was shocked to see it was barely ten, which was actually thirty minutes past his curfew. 

They both stood up and she reached out and grabbed his hand.  Her smooth skin felt like cotton against his palms.

“Walk me to my car,” she whispered.

Anthony smiled and headed into the parking lot.  As they reached her car she turned and wrapped her arms around his neck.  Although she was two years older she still had to stand on her tippy toes to reach him.

“I had a great time Mr. Dimair,” she smiled at him.

Anthony smiled back.  “Me too.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer.  She leaned into him and gave him a kiss.  Anthony closed his eyes trying to hang onto the moment.  In the split second when their lips touched nothing else mattered.  He was simply a boy on a date with a girl and the rest of the world faded away.  Then it was over and he was staring into her eyes again.  She beamed at him relaxing her arms and turned to open her door. 

“Call me.” she said as she stepped into the tiny silver two-seater.

“Of course I will,” Anthony gleamed back.

“Uh huh.”  Nickie grinned as she drove off.

Anthony stared long after the car had disappeared.  The night went better than he could’ve imagined.  As the parking lot started to empty, Anthony finally went back to the table to grab his bike.

Riding off into the night he smiled to himself.  There was something about Nickie that just made everything better.  He’d never met any person like her.

Anthony rode this path so many times he absent-mindedly glided home without even thinking.  His mind was still on Nickie and the passionate albeit short-lived kiss they had shared earlier.  As he crossed over Bayshore Boulevard onto Ocean Drive he noticed a white SUV sitting in the parking lot across the street.

At first glance Anthony didn’t think anything of it.  People routinely parked there when the lot across the street was full.  It was just another car in another parking lot.

As he cautiously rode by, the SUV suddenly lit up and pulled onto the road behind him.  Anthony pedaled faster and turned on the next street.  When the car swung around the corner with its tires screeching he realized he was in trouble.

Cutting through a grocery store parking lot, he doubled back past the speeding vehicle.  The SUV slammed on the brakes and whipped around.  They hopped over a median and a row of bushes then swerved through the parking lot behind him.

Anthony frantically pedaled harder than he’d ever pedaled in his life.  He zigzagged across streets and sidewalks, his legs burning like fire.  The SUV roared as it sped up, keeping Anthony in view.

As he neared his neighborhood they got closer and closer.  He slid his bike around and rode through an open fence into someone’s backyard.  He jumped off the bike and sprinted through the grass.

The SUV screeched to a halt and the doors swung open.  Anthony dove across another fence and rolled under a row of bushes.  He tucked his legs into a ball and held his breath.

Men swarmed across the backyard with weapons drawn.  Anthony froze as someone neared the fence.

“I found his bike over here,” a deep harsh voice shouted out.

Anthony could hear more scuffling and then the sound of someone climbing a fence.  To his relief they’d run to the wrong house and ended up in the yard next to him.  A dog barked loudly and someone started shouting obscenities.

Suddenly the night lit up and Anthony could see everything.  It was like he was looking through night vision goggles, but better.  He peered through the slits in the fence and could make out three men wandering around the backyard.  They were dressed similar to the ones that had taken Maxey.

“He’s gone,” one of the men shouted out as he holstered his weapon.  “We’ll catch him tomorrow.”

The men slowly made their way back to the SUV still scanning as they walked.  Anthony waited for them to drive off then he emerged from the bushes.  He looked around the backyard his eyes still beaming like a flashlight.  Shaking his head he blinked a few times and his eyes went back to normal.

“Cool.”  He mumbled under his breath.

With shaky hands he picked his bike up and pushed it out to the road.  He stared down the street looking for any sign of the SUV or the men.  There was nothing there, not a car in sight.

Anthony jumped on his bike and rode off into the night.  He moved quickly, constantly checking his back.  He was afraid someone might still be following him, so he rode out of the neighborhood and came back in through the rear entrance.

It was 11:30 when he finally made it home.  His father was sitting in the living room watching TV.  His eyes were glued to the screen and he didn’t even notice Anthony walk in.

Anthony quietly tiptoed to the stairs.  He slowly crept up them and before reaching the second floor he glanced back at the living room.  A banner scrolled across the bottom of the television in bright red letters.

”The skeletal remains of a young girl missing for six years were found in desolate area in Wyoming.”  Anthony paused before turning and taking the last few steps.  He cringed as he heard the reporter repeat the name, “Carol Belanovak.”

FAREWELL

“Don’t touch that!”

“But I need it.”  Mikey pleaded.

“Your father will kill you if you ruin his tent.”  Mikey’s mother proclaimed.

“I’m not gonna ruin it, we’re camping out in the backyard.”

“Ugh!”  She rolled her eyes and stormed off.

Mikey continued to roll the tent up and stuff it into his bag.  He looked around his room one last time, considering his surf board for a moment.  With a sigh, he turned and headed out of the door.  His mother vanished around the corner and he quickly slipped outside to avoid any more questions.

Winter was now in full effect in North Shore, which meant the low seventies on a cold day.  Christmas lights flickered on, illuminating the houses as the sun retired for the evening.  Winter break had just begun and kids littered the streets playing tag and riding bikes.  A group of carolers shook bells as they sang “White Christmas,” going door to door.

Mikey moved swiftly down the sidewalk trying to counterbalance the heavy pack he was carrying.  An assortment of tools jingled as they brushed against his leg with each step.  In his book you could never be too prepared.

It was barely ten after seven when everyone made it to Anthony’s house.  He met them outside on the porch and they quickly ran upstairs.  Anthony lingered behind for a moment.  He walked towards his mother and gave her a giant hug.  He looked into her hazel eyes and smiled. 

“I love you,” he said. 

“Of course you do.”  She smiled back at him.

Fighting back tears Anthony grinned, then turned around and joined his friends upstairs. 

“Did you get everything?”  Mikey asked looking at Mit. 

“Yeah, we are ready for nuclear war.” He smiled as he slung his stuffed camping bag onto the bed.

Mit had assembled just about every hiking necessity imaginable from slings and ropes to searchlights and hunting knives.  He opened his bag and a pile of dried meal rations spilled onto the bed.  Beneath that was a map that he laid out on the bed and began to circle particular spots in red. 

“We are really gonna do this?” Sticks asked nervously. 

“You can go home if you want.  No one said you had to come dude.” Mikey said as he sneered at him. 

“I’m in…I mean I just was asking.”

Anthony looked over at Sticks and smiled.  He understood him, understood what he meant by asking.  Anthony had made his mind up a while ago, he was leaving.  He knew no one was safe while he was around.  His uncle might be the only person that could help him and he was determined to find him.

For everyone else, no one really asked the question.  Of course his friends agreed to go and Sticks was shamed into doing whatever he could to find Maxey.  However, no one stopped and asked if it was a good idea.

“So we first have to cross through the Mojave Desert,” Mit cut in.  “We can take I-15 through there. Then we’ll backpack through the few miles of the national forests into Nevada where we’ll get back on the road.  Then it’s more desert then Utah and here we come Colorado.”

“Dude, Steve’s gonna back pack a few miles?”  Mikey laughed.

Steve shot him an angry look and he shrugged his shoulders.  “I’m just saying.”

Anthony was still in disbelief that any of this was happening.  His life had really just started.  He made the varsity soccer team and fell head over heels for Nickie.  Yet here he was planning a journey that was sure to get him killed.

Anthony started to drift off.  His mind wandered to the nightmares he used to have.  He thought about what he was doing.  He barely knew his uncle, but something deep inside told him he was doing the right thing.  Or maybe he was just kidding himself.

His uncle could’ve been talking about anything.  Maybe he wanted to have a puberty discussion.  Maybe he had decided to leave him some type of inheritance.  Anthony decided to travel across four states in hopes that his uncle could help, but couldn’t muster one rational reason why.

He reached down and grabbed the card off of the bed and stared at his uncle’s hand writing.  He looked at the address written in the bottom right corner.  “
14 Alpine Way Capitol City, CO
.”

He wondered what it would really take to make it there and whether or not they were prepared to go the distance.

“You guys sure about this?”  He looked to his friends who all stared back him nodding their heads. 

“I mean you don’t have to come, I…I can do it myself.”

“Go to sleep dude, we’re leaving in three hours.”  Mikey demanded.

Grabbing a pillow Mikey rolled over onto the floor and closed his eyes.  Mit folded up the map and stuffed it back inside his bag, then sprawled out on the floor next to Mikey. 

“Yeah we gotta hit the road and I want time to stop for waffles.”  Steve smiled as he yawned and laid back.

“You guys sure we’ll be back in time?”  Sticks looked around.

“Of course we will.”  Mikey gave a forced smile.  “You remembered the plan right?  You’re staying at Mit’s house.”

“And I’m staying at Steve’s house.”  Mit Chimed in.

“And I’m at Mikey’s house.”  Steve said.

“And we’re all at Anthony’s house.”  Mikey laughed.

Anthony slumped back on the headboard and thought about the last time he’d seen Nickie.  Her glowing face made him smile and he questioned if he’d ever see her again.  He envisioned her hearing about his death and running off with one of the twins.

His mind drifted from Nickie to soccer and then to his parents.  Slowly, the idea that he was possibly leaving forever had evaporated from his mind; before he knew it he’d drifted off to sleep and was snoring loudly.

Three hours went by in what seemed like three minutes.  Before long they were all standing on the balcony looking out at the night.  They smirked at one another, wondering why they chose this as their escape route.

Anthony looked across the street at the neighboring houses, envious of them in their simple little lives.  Families sat watching television oblivious to the real world around them, the world that Anthony was just being introduced to.  The day to day worries of what to wear and which movie to watch seemed miniscule against the struggle of life and death.

He smiled as he reflected on his own life.  Anthony had so many questions and the thought that his uncle may have any of the answers made him hopeful.  Above that Anthony finally felt like he had purpose, like each step he took actually meant something.

A heavy rope dangled from the railing down to the bushes below.  Mit had already slid down and was waiting at the bottom.  Anthony gripped the rope and slowly scampered the length of it, trying to relish every moment.  His last time escaping from his balcony he thought.

Once they all hit the ground, they did one last equipment check as the huddled together in the night. With a heavy sigh they threw on their packs and headed towards the front of the neighborhood, where a taxi waited for them.

  Anthony turned and looked back at the house he grew up in.  A sense of sadness and despair overwhelmed him and the gravity of his actions crashed down on him like waves.  This was it, after this point there was no turning back. 

His face felt wet, but the sky was as clear as a blank canvas.  He couldn’t even tell them goodbye he thought.  They’d have no clue why he left or where he went.  His mother would come to wake him tomorrow morning and she’d surely think the worst.

His heart sank as he imagined her crumbling to the ground screaming that her only child had been taken in the night.  But if everything worked out, he’d come back.  Although he’d told no one else, he planned on writing her as soon as he reached his uncle’s house. 

He thought about leaving a letter, but if someone else got a hold of it they’d be able to track them down.  He had to disappear without a trace.  That was the only way to keep everyone safe.

Nickie would never understand.  He only just found her and now he was forced to leave her behind.  He’d probably never see her again.  His uncle would make him live with him in the remote areas of Colorado.  He would force him to live out the rest of his life off the grid.

  Anthony suddenly felt a sense of overwhelming guilt.  His thoughts were on his own situation, his own despair.  But here were four other guys all doing the same thing.  Only Mikey and the others were leaving their own family for him.  They could’ve easily let him go alone; return to their simple life and be right back in Mr. Douglas’ Geography class.  But they didn’t, they chose to follow him, to help him.

Anthony smiled and turned around.  Everyone was staring at him with blank faces. 

“Let’s go.”  He said.

Quietly they walked into the night and were consumed by the darkness.  The streets were empty now, only a few porch lights were left on and the occasional Christmas lights flickered.  They walked deliberately, taking each step as if the further they got the harder it was to walk.  No one spoke, everyone consumed with the battle taking place in their own mind as they headed into uncertainty.  They approached the outskirts of their neighborhood and a beat up white taxi came into view, idling loudly as it pumped dark, gray smoke into the air. 

“Our chariot awaits,” Steve laughed.