The Star Group (11 page)

My solitary hike was to bring matters into some kind of focus. At least I got some exercise out of the failed attempt. But I was surprised, on my way back, to find that Sal had also gone out for a walk. Actually, he was hanging out by a stream, throwing rocks into the water.

Throwing
very big
rocks into the water – boulders actually.

I surprised him as I came up behind him. He jumped.

“Daniel!” he scolded as he removed his hand from the stainless revolver he had tucked into his belt. “Don't do that. I thought you were a bear. I could have shot you.”

“Sorry. I was so intent on watching you play that I forgot to announce myself.” I gestured to the rocks he had thrown in the stream. “What are you doing?”

“Getting a little workout. I didn't bring my weights because there was no room in the van, but I need to work out every day.” He paused. “Is there something wrong?”

I sat down on a medium-size boulder. “No.”

Sal smiled. “I love this place. I feel so good here. I slept like a baby last night.”

“That's what I wanted to talk to you about, last night. At breakfast this morning you didn't say anything about Mentor.” I paused. “Do you think it's all nuts?”

Sal sat and pulled out a cigarette. “Not at all. There's something there, that guy sure can speak on profound subjects.”

“But what did you feel after he led us through the seven centers?”

Sal lit his cigarette. “I just felt great, but I think I fell asleep somewhere in the middle.”

“What's the last thing you remember?”

Sal considered and then shook his head. “I'm honestly not sure. I just know I had a bunch of psychedelic dreams afterward.”

“But you feel good now?”

“Yeah.” Sal stood back up and did a couple of deep knee bends. “What do you think of that?”

“I don't think you should go out for the cheerleader squad in college. What do you mean?”

He beamed. “My knee feels better than it has since I hurt it. You probably don't notice because I don't walk with much of a limp, but I always have some pain in my left knee. Now it's gone.”

“Totally?”

“Yeah. I don't even feel a twinge.”

“That's incredible. Do you think it has anything to do with last night?”

Sal was puzzled. “Why do you say that?”

I shook my head. “Never mind.” I pointed at the rocks. “Those are pretty big rocks to be tossing around.”

Sal measured me with his eyes, which made me feel uneasy. But it wasn't as if his manner was hostile, only elusive. I couldn't imagine Sal angry, especially not at me.

“What are you getting at, Daniel?” he asked.

I stood. “Nothing. Have a nice hike. I'm going back.”

Sal didn't offer to accompany me.

I found another solitary explorer thirty minutes later – Jimmy. He was sitting by himself on a stone ledge, staring off into the distance. The sun was brilliant in the sky, and I missed having my sunglasses. Like Sal, Jimmy did not even notice me approaching. He didn't jump when he saw me, only flashed me a beatific smile.

“How are you?” he asked. He appeared to be drunk.

“Great.” I climbed up on the ledge. “Where's Shena?”

“I don't know.”

“What are you doing out here by yourself?”

“Grooving.”

I sat beside him. “Are you stoned?”

He kept grinning. “I feel like it, but I'm not. I think your Mentor session did something to me.”

He was a pleasant change from the others. Actually, Jimmy had already been out for a walk when I awoke. He was the only one I hadn't questioned.

“Tell me what's happening,” I said.

It was his turn to look embarrassed. “I know this will sound crazy, but when I sit here and close my eyes I’m able to see things far away.”

“What are you talking about?”

“I see things in my head. Things that I can't see when my eyes are open.”

“How do you know these things are real?”

“Because I can see them! They have to be real!”

Mentor had mentioned that powers would manifest themselves.

“Can I test your ability?” I asked.

“I knew you were going to ask that. But don't give me a formal test, just go with me to see if the treasure is where I think it is.”

“What treasure?” I asked.

“Somebody buried a bag of gold dust a mile from here. I can see it. I can see it even underground!”

I was doubtful. “Do you know how ridiculous you sound?”

Jimmy was offended. “Ridiculous? You told us last night about an alien from another planet communicating with you via some sort of telepathy, and you say that l sound ridiculous?”

He did have a point. “How are you going to dig up this treasure? We don't have a shovel.”

Jimmy was already on his feet. “We won't need a shovel if I'm right. It's only three feet below the surface.”

I stood and brushed off my pants. “If we find it do I get half?”

Jimmy hurried down the side of the ledge. “No. Ten Percent.”

I followed, not expecting to find anything. “You should be the business major in college, not Teri.”

Jimmy led me a mile through the woods, maybe more. By the time we reached the spot, I was tired and thirsty. We had dead-ended against a rocky cliff, and there wasn't anything to mark the area as unique. Then Jimmy seemed to develop a confidence crisis. He passed up and down in front of the cliff while I caught my breath. The air was thinner here in the mountains. For a moment, as I held up my hand to shield my eyes from the sun, I thought I saw it turn slightly blue. But the effect lasted only a moment.

Jimmy suddenly let out a howl.

“I know where it is!” he said.

“Where?”

He pointed behind a brittle little bush. “There.”

“If we dig there the roots will get in our way,” I warned.

He was impatient with me and my attitude. “If we don't dig there we won't find the gold. Do you want your ten percent or not?”

“I just wish we had a shovel,” I said, judging how hard the ground was.

Jimmy scoured the area. “We'll find some stout branches. This will be money in our pockets. I don’t know why you're so negative.”

“Probably because you can see the gold and I can’t.”

We set to digging ten minutes later with a couple of thick sticks that were of questionable aid. The ground was gritty with tiny pebbles. We could use the points of the sticks to loosen the soil, but we still had to scrape it out of the way with our hands. Within minutes my fingernails felt like they were coming off. Jimmy was digging harder than myself, he actually had blood forming under his nails. I tried to stop him, to take a break, but he was like a man possessed.

“You are such a wuss,” he said.

I plopped back on my rear. “Call me anything you want. I just don't like pain.”

He was feverish. “No pain, no gain, Danny Boy.”

He had never called me that before.

The last person to call me that had been Gale.

“Jimmy?” I said.

“Yeah? I think another foot and a half ought to do it.”

“Can I ask you a personal question?”

“Sure,” he said.

“How well do you know Gale?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, do you know her better than I do?”

“I don't know. I don't think so. You're right, I'm starting to hurt, too.”

“Then stop, we can finish later,” I said.

“No way, I want this now. Why are you asking about Gale?”

“Well, I know you talk to her a lot.”

“I never once told her you were interested in her. I told you I wouldn't.”

“That s not what I'm asking. I was just wondering, you know, after Shena had her accident if you ever felt attracted to Gale?”

That stopped Jimmy. He stared at me.

“What kind of question is that?” he demanded.

I shrugged diplomatically. “She's a pretty girl. I just wondered if you ever thought of doing something with her.”

“Doing what with her?”

“Nothing.”

“Are you implying that I slept with Gale?”

“No.”

“Because if you are, you're pissing me off. I'm your friend. I wouldn't do that to you.”

“I know that.” I hesitated. “But were you ever interested in her?”

Jimmy averted his head.

“No,” he muttered.

“Jimmy?”

He looked up. “What did she tell you?”

“Nothing. I swear, I just got this weird feeling.”

Jimmy needed to take a deep breath. “I asked her out once. Just once.”

“When?”

“I don't know. I think it was last summer.”

“But you were going with Shena then.”

“Maybe it was after that. I don't remember.”

“But you were going with Shena after that.”

He snapped. “I told you I don't remember! And I just asked her out, I didn't actually go out with her.”

I spoke carefully. “Was it after Shena's accident?”

He was far from comfortable. “Yeah, It wasn't long after.” Jimmy shook his head. “Shena was in the hospital and hating me. She wouldn't even take my calls. And Gale…she had been there that night. She had been through the horror with me. She could understand what I was going through. Could understand that
I
needed someone to talk to.”

“You could talk to me.” I was thinking that during that time I had talked to him an awful lot about Gale, and consoled him while he wept about Shena. But he was absorbed in himself and kept shaking his head.

“Gale was there. She helped me through a bad time.”

“But you never went out?”

He threw me a hard glance. “We did not go out.”

My anger showed. “You mean like you didn't get a pass from the principal to screw her? Is that what you're trying to tell me?”

Jimmy jumped up. “I don't have to take this crap from you.”

I got up slowly. “You knew I was obsessed with her. You're a popular guy, you could have had any girl in school. Why did you have to hit on her?”

He fought to control his temper. “Nothing happened between us. We just talked. You can ask her if you don't believe me. In fact, I don't care if you believe me or not. You have no right to accuse me.”

“Nice speech. Friend.” I turned away. “Goodbye.”

He grabbed my arm, panic showing on his face. His words spilled out.

“Don’t go, Daniel.” He put his other hand on my shoulder. “I’m sorry, it was a lousy thing to do and I know it. But I didn't do it to hurt you, I did it because I was weak.”

I held his eye. “What exactly did you do because you were weak?”

He looked away, and I died a little right then.

“Nothing,” he muttered.

“You didn't sleep with her?”

“No.”

“You can tell me the truth. I would rather have the truth.”

He stared down at his invisible buried treasure. “We just talked. Nothing more. I swear to you, Daniel. You have to believe me.”

I stood there. Felt the hot sun. Felt my hot blood.

“I believe you,” I said flatly.

Jimmy was relieved. He patted me vigorously on the back.

“Good. I'll give you twenty percent. Let's get back to digging.”

I don't know why I continued to help him. Maybe I thought if we dug deep enough, I could bury him in the hole.

But we found the sack of gold dust at three feet.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

MY WALK BACK TO THE CABIN TOOK MUCH less time than Jimmy’s. The bag of gold dust weighed at least forty pounds, and he insisted on carrying it. Fine with me. With the goods actually in his hands, I didn't know if he was reconsidering my percentage and I didn't care. I had a bad feeling about his new power and how he was using it.

Gale, Teri, and Shena were sitting on the porch. Teri was wrapping sterile gauze around Gale’s hand, the sight of which immediately brought out the protective boyfriend in me. But the gifts laughed at my concern.

“I slipped on loose gravel while we were out walking,” Gale explained. “It’s only a scratch. It's Teri who insisted on making a big deal of it.”

“It's a pretty bloody scratch,” Teri said as she reached for white medical tape. “It was gross to clean the pebbles out of the flesh.”

“Don't talk about flesh,” Shena said. She spoke to me. “Have you seen Jimmy?”

I sat down, I was weary. “He's right behind me. But he couldn't keep up. He's carrying something heavy that he refuses to put down.”

“What is it?” Shena asked.

“A bag of gold dust,” I said.

They stared at me. “What are you talking about?” Shena asked.

“Jimmy and I dug up a forty-pound bag of gold dust.” I paused. “Jimmy woke up this morning with amazing powers. He says he can see things far off in the distance. I believe him. He sure could see the gold a long way off, and it was buried.”

Teri frowned. “You're joking, right?”

I sipped somebody's glass of lemonade.

“I'm not,” I said. “That session we had last night has affected Jimmy and Sal in amazing ways. I ran into Sal while I was hiking. He said his injured knee is healed. At the same time he seems a lot stronger than he should be.”

Gale looked worried. “Why do you say that?”

“He was working out – as he called it – with stones I don't think he could have picked up yesterday.”

Teri giggled. “Yeah, right. My boyfriend has turned into a superhero.”

I leaned forward in my chair. “He has changed, Teri. You can talk to him about it when he returns. You can see Jimmy's bag of gold when he gets here. I’m not making these things up. They are facts. Now what I want to know is if any of you girls have noticed any differences. I quizzed you at breakfast, but that was awhile ago and maybe something has changed since then. Shena? Anything?”

She considered. “I have felt sort of powerful since I woke up. Not that I can lift heavy stuff, but I do feel a kind of inner strength deep in my gut.”

“Can you do anything you could not do before?” I asked.

She shook her head. “No.”

I turned to Teri. “How about you?”

Teri laughed. “Oh. I can fly through the air now. I have X-ray eyes. How am I supposed to answer a question like that?”

“Honestly,” I said. “Have you noticed any change since last night?”

Teri hesitated. “No.”

“Teri?” I insisted.

“I feel a little different. I wouldn't say powerful, but I feel a charge in my body. I don't know what else to call it. But I assumed it was from sleeping in the mountain air. I sure can't work miracles or anything like that.”