The Twilight Swimmer (4 page)

“Aghh! What are you doing?” she hollered as she grabbed the handle to the passenger door and climbed in, pushing a pile of loose CDs onto the floor where the rest of Spider’s collection resided. “And why do you still own CDs? It’s not 1995.”

Spider laughed and shook his head, turning the ignition. The engine labored as it rumbled to life. “God, you’re so
difficult
. One question at a time.” He put the station wagon in gear and performed a quick u-turn, piloting his vehicle out of her neighborhood. “First question: I had to turn the lights on to get a better look at you. Black jeans, red top, not quite low cut but getting there. It’s a very becoming outfit. You’re welcome.”

Brandi shook her head to dismiss the compliment, but had to look away to hide her smile.

“Second question: I still have CDs because, when used, they cost about a nickel. Until the inheritance comes through, I’ve got more used-disc-nickels than download-dollars.”

Spider punched the gas to blow through a yellow light just before it turned red. The station wagon’s engine howled with protest, barely able to reach 45 miles per hour. “Third question,” said Spider.

“I only asked two!”

“Third question, which you were about to ask: I drive a station wagon because, like CDs, they only cost about a nickel. If you say mean things about the wagon, you get to walk. I have a zero-tolerance policy toward wagon abuse. No pretty girl exemptions. Understood?”

Brandi turned on her hip and saluted, pretending she hadn’t noticed the word ‘pretty’. “Aye aye, Spider, sir.”

 
Spider shook his head, smirking. “
So
difficult. I was just kidding, by the way.”

“About what?”

“The inheritance. If only, right?” Spider cranked hard on the wheel and they were on a back road, cutting through overgrown fields. The moonlight searched for openings in the web of arching trees overhead, but the leaves were dense, black on black. Light from the wagon’s headlights was absorbed by the dark road that wound its way toward… she didn’t know where.

It was an industrial park, long since abandoned. Weeds had pushed through asphalt and concrete to begin slowly reclaiming the lot, once the home of a large fish cannery. Now the brick and steel structure was in disrepair, its roof sunken and torn loose at two corners, its large glass windows mostly shattered. It overlooked an estuary that flowed for miles before finally reaching the sea.

As they climbed out of the wagon, they could see the partygoers through broken windows. There was Randy Dunn, wearing his oversized basketball jersey – number 12 – and a pair of cargo shorts. He was nearly as tall as Spider, but clean cut and not so lean. Randy had his arm around Sam Dunleavy, the cheerleader. Her blond hair was pinned on top of her head in an elaborate nest, very different from how she normally wore it.

“I didn’t know you hang out with these people,” said Brandi.

“What, Randy and Sam? They like to have a good time. Don’t judge cool kids by their cover.” Spider jammed two fingers in his mouth and gave a shrill whistle. Randy turned and shot a hand up in greeting. Sam tried to whistle back, but produced only a pathetic exhalation. She laughed and covered her face with both hands, embarrassed. Another girl, Kelly Crutes, threw hear arms around Sam and buried her face against Sam’s neck. She was a thrift-store princess in an old wedding dress with elaborate lacing and ruffles, yellowed at the edges. Her eyes were lined with heavy black makeup, her lips lined just as dark and her cheeks rosy with a heavy application of blush. “You were expecting Kelly, though? Just a bunch of Kellys?” Spider asked with a grin.

“Yeah, I was. Your crowd. Don’t pretend I’m weird for thinking you would hang out with
your
crowd,” answered Brandi, a little defensive.

“Relax, I’m just teasing. Crowds are a school thing. This isn’t school.”

Brandi smelled pot, but it wasn’t strong and she couldn’t determine its source. There were beer cans on a ledge against one wall, and two bottles of liquor. Someone had hung a stereo on a large metal hook. It was pumping out hillbilly hip hop that had a few kids dancing.

Randy and Jory Wainscott – another guy from the basketball team – dragged dead branches into the center of the warehouse. Spider dove in to lend a hand, leaving Brandi feeling alone in the crowd. She sidled up to Kelly Crutes.

“You look like a real bride,” said Brandi. “Like you stepped out of an old photo.”

“I know, right?! I feel like, I don’t know, like historical.”

The music changed from hillbilly hip hop to an acoustic ballad, a fragile male voice against precisely plucked guitar chords. Kelly closed her eyes and danced alone until she accidentally spun into Spider’s waiting arms. He spun her playfully, but he kept looking past her – at Brandi. He finally spun Kelly away and beckoned for Brandi to take her place.

“I don’t want to dance,” she said with a nervous smile.

Spider took a few shuffling steps forward. “I’m not asking you for anything but a dance. Once you start, you’ll be glad you did.”

 
“Spider—”

“Jesse,” he interrupted.

The name hung in the air for a moment, and Brandi was confused. She found herself leaning toward him until… the stereo skipped and the music cut out. Everyone stopped dancing. Spider shook his head mournfully, realizing that his moment with Brandi had been ruined.

“We might as well get the fire started,” said Spider, a hint of frustration unmistakable in his voice. He jogged over to a large plastic container and poured its pale brown liquid contents on the huge pile of branches. “Somebody in here is cool enough to have a lighter on them,” Spider declared.

Kelly clapped her hands and lifted the hem of her wedding dress. She wore a pair of jean shorts underneath and pulled a blue lighter from her back pocket. She tossed it to Spider with a giggle, and he lowered it to the gasoline-soaked branches.

The branches went up so fast it looked almost like an explosion. Yellow light swept up the concrete walls of the warehouse and penetrated the deep shadows of the rafters. A pair of birds, mottled gray, burst in terror from their hiding place overhead, wings flapping wildly.

Admiring his handiwork, Spider wandered toward a nearby conveyer belt. Its track was missing sections and torn loose from the guiding platform. He hopped up and negotiated the length of the conveyor belt like a tightrope until he reached a ladder at its end. It led to a catwalk overhead, and Spider quickly ascended the rungs.

The music was blaring again and the dancers resumed their dancing. They moved closer together, bodies touching bodies, the heat of the fire bringing up beads of sweat. Their faces, their necks and hands and arms, glistened in the flickering light.

Brandi watched, cringing, as Spider stomped the length of the rickety catwalk, dodging obstructions as he went: stacks of cardboard boxes, wooden pallets and more. When he reached the end of the platform, he surveyed the party with a frown.

“Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls,” Spider began, his hand on his chest. “It’s like this: Nobody cares about me. Nobody cares about you. Nobody cares that nobody cares. It’s human nature. And if you care, you’re some kind of alien. Even worse, you’re a sucker.”

Kelly’s smile melted away. Suddenly sad, she twirled slowly away from the others until she found a pile of dark green tarps in the corner of the room. She flopped down on the pile and curled up into a ball, her knees at her chin.

Spider continued. “The sooner you get your head around that, the sooner you stop wasting your time being an alien and having all kinds of expectations for people who don’t care, the sooner you stop being disappointed, and the happier you’ll be.”

A stiff wind was punching through every opening in the fragile warehouse walls and feeding the fire, pushing it toward the catwalk where Spider was perched. He took a few hurried steps away. As he moved, his foot caught in a hole in the corrugated metal, his ankle twisted sharply and he cried out, in great pain.

“You all right?” Randy hollered, trying not to laugh at the clumsy move.

In answer, Spider took a few shuffling steps. He quickly pulled up his foot, however, wincing visibly.

That moment, the flames leapt higher and ignited a pile of cardboard boxes on the catwalk. The fire was immediately jumped to the wooden pallets as well and the catwalk was engulfed in flame. It was spreading quickly, finding flammable insulation protruding from the wall, tangled wires, and more cardboard and wood.

Spider cowered as the fire crept closer. He was looking over the railing, judging the distance. Could he jump? Maybe if his ankle wasn’t injured. He sat down on the catwalk and slipped through the railing, readying himself to drop

“Wait!” Brandi called out. She scanned the warehouse until she spotted a large net hanging on the far wall. She tugged the netting free from the wall. It was heavy, but Jory ran to help her.

“Get out of the way!” Jory yelled at the other partygoers, and they scattered at the sound of his booming voice. The fire was spreading on the warehouse floor. They had nowhere to go but outside. Jory and Brandi ignored the heat and took up position under Spider. Randy joined them, and the threesome tossed the net up to the catwalk. Spider tried to grab it, but it slipped through his fingers.

“What am I supposed to do with a net?” Spider yelled.

“Just catch it!” yelled Brandi, her voice so powerful it surprised even her. “Higher!” she yelled at Jory and Randy.

They threw the netting again and Spider managed to catch it with his injured foot. The weight of the net was excruciatingly painful, but he used his foot to raise the net to his hand. “Now what?” he cried.

“Tie it to the railing and climb down,” Brandi pleaded.

“I can’t tie it! It’s too thick!” yelled Spider.

Overhead, the fire had reached the ceiling. Chunks of wood and insulation were ripping free and falling all around them. The other kids were outside now, looking in with horrified expressions, trying not to make eye contact with Spider. Sam ran up and grabbed Randy around the waist. Horror in her eyes, she dragged him toward the exit. Jory gulped hard and followed his friends.

Only Brandi remained. Spider stared down at her, desperation giving way to a strange resolve. But at last, Brandi had an idea. “Drape the net over the railing so it hangs down in two halves.”

“It’s not long enough,” he yelled down, suddenly indignant.

“It
is
long enough! Do it now!”

Spider pulled the netting through the railing and dropped the other half down to Brandi. She slipped her arm through the webbing and held on tight. “Now climb down the other side.”

Reluctantly, his legs shaking, Spider climbed over the railing and began to descend the net. His weight immediately pulled the net taut, and started to lift Brandi off her feet. Light as she was she couldn’t slow the net as it slid over the railing, lifting her and dropping Spider too quickly. He landed hard on the warehouse floor.

Brandi wrapped an arm around Spider and led him, hopping, through the warehouse exit. They were both coughing, their eyes burning from the acrid black smoke filling the warehouse, but they were alive.
  Frightened, but joyfully alive.

They all stood outside the warehouse, watching the flames grow inside. In the distance, they could hear the sound of sirens approaching. At the sound of the sirens, the other kids panicked and ran for their cars. Only Brandi, Sam, Randy and Jory remained. Randy pulled Spider in for a bear hug. “You could have jumped you asshole.”

“I didn’t think I could land it gracefully,” Spider chuckled.

Collectively, they started walking toward the gravel lot until… Jory’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god. Kelly.”

Jory bolted back inside the warehouse with Randy on his heels. Sam burst into tears and Brandi pulled her close. They couldn’t see the boys through the heavy smoke that had now filled the warehouse. But a few moments later, the boys stumbled back out, coughing violently and rubbing at their stinging eyes.

Jory was sobbing.  “I couldn’t see her! I couldn’t hear her!”

The sirens were louder now, almost at the warehouse. Through the trees lining the property, Brandi could just make out flashing red and blue lights. Randy locked eyes with Brandi, shook his head, and led Jory around the side of the warehouse. Sam wrapped her arms around her torso to stop shuddering and ran after the boys.

Spider pulled his wagon up and leaned out the window. “Get in the car, Brandi!” he screamed, pounding the dented door with his fist. He leaned on his car horn, trying to get her attention, but she couldn’t move. She stared into the warehouse, stared through the smoke. She stared at that rocky beach in her mind, and her sister’s lifeless body so carefully posed, so peaceful. She heard an insistent buzz like the static of a radio stuck between stations. She felt her skin go cold. Her insides were twisting, her heart racing.

Spider put his wagon in gear and took off, disappearing down an access road.

Brandi stood alone outside the warehouse, frozen. And then…

The smoke inside the warehouse parted and a tall figure. He was shirtless and pale, his skin almost blue. His head was bald, despite his obvious youth. His jaw was wide and firmly set. His hairless brow was strong, furrowed. His body was covered in lean muscle, his arms taut as they supported Kelly’s weight. Her wedding dress fell loosely across his upper legs, covering his midsection, and Brandi couldn’t see what clothes – if any – the man was wearing. His legs were powerful, thicker than his slender frame would suggest. And his bare feet. Why did they look so strange? So… wide…