chapter 2 a walk in the dark episode: 4

Anthony was in my grade ever since I can remember. kindergarten, elementary, middle school, and now freshmen year of high school.  In kindergarten Anthony was nice in fact we were pretty good friends. In the rest of elementary Anthony became more and more confident until he was darn right pushy. In middle school he crossed the line and hurt a lot of people who cared about him. He would say things that would make you shake your head in disgust and any sympathy you might have for him, would be squashed every time he would start a fight with someone half his size. Near the end of eighth grade he started hanging out with some very dangerous people. I did not see him all summer or even much of the school year up to this point. I see him here and there but we don't share any classes. Our paths while occasionally parallel have never crossed.

Anthony has a red bandanna tide around his head and the guys that stand next to him I recognize as gang members that went to my school. The game has changed again and I know its not my lunch money I should worry about. there is a sharp feeling of danger in the air. my heart races. my tongue feels twice as big as normal and I'm pretty sure that even if I had anything to say it would come out in a mess. I breathe in deeply. Each inhale and exhale is broken up into several pieces by powerful and frantic pounds of my heart against my rib cage.
"Your out kind of late aren't you" says one of the gang standing to the immediate left of Anthony
"Your right I should be getting home" I say much more intelligibly then I previously thought possible. I start walking toward the trees with every muscle tensing out of fear. a hand of one of them rests on my shoulder with a grip that seems to have the power to drain someone of all hope. I turn around and again look at the face of the one who had stopped me. I summon courage from some forgotten part of myself and make direct eye contact with him.
"When you pass through this part of town this late you have to pay a toll. The toll is the exact amount of everything you have in your wallet." after he finishes speaking I scramble through my pockets to find my wallet. I find it and toss it to him with out hesitating. He opens it and looks at the cash pocket in the back and sees there is only one dollar. He throws the wallet down into the mud with a look of disappointment and frightening optimism.
"I was wrong. it seems that you don't have nearly enough. This is a shame. You have disrespected me and my friends by coming here with out a decent amount of money. We are going to have to teach you respect." he steps forward. I fall down with out him even touching me. they all laugh. he grabs my shirt and says
"Here, let me help you stand up" he puts me on my feet and slaps me hard with one hand but keeps me from falling with his other hand's tight grip on my shirt. My face stings and burns. He punches me in the gut and holds me upright for a moment before letting me fall to the muddy earth. I writhe in pain and try to find my breath. He turns to his cohorts and says simply
"Do you know why he is not fighting back?" they all shake their heads or mumble no or other wise grunt to communicate they don't know the answer.
"It is because he is too frightened to" he pauses for a moment.
"And that is a very good thing" he crouches down to where I lay curled up and says so I can hear him clearly over the rain that was coming down very hard at this point.
"Because if he did fight back, I would kill him" he grabs me by the shirt again but only pulls me half way up. He kicks me in the face. Blood sprays out of my nose like a faucet. I clutch my face and groan loudly. My face is erupting with more pain then I can handle and rain camouflaged tears fill my eyes. It gets suddenly colder and thunder and lightening crack and boom. The rest is a blur of kicks from all of them as they circled around me, a helpless heap of blood and mud.

 I do not know how long I lay there cold and defeated but eventually I regain some portion of awareness. My body is a confusing mixture of pain and numbness. I will become seriously sick if I continue to lay here in this severely cold rain. I sit up and slowly get to my feet. the park is empty. the street lamps that had once lit the park are dark. the only light comes from the street lights back on the road or from the frequent flashes of lightning that cascade over everything I can see. going back to the road and facing any possibility of seeing them again was to overwhelming to enter my mind for more then a second. I face the woods, knowing I will have to climb down and up the walls of the gully on the other side of the trees with a badly bruised and broken body. It seems almost a comfort compared to the road.

I limp and shuffle holding my sides with crossed arms until I pierce the line of trees at the edge of the park. It is dark and wet, but the trees even with nearly bare limbs seem to have sympathy for me. The scanty but welcome shelter of the branches decreases the rain to a medium tempo. I am reminded of the intensity of the storm with each illuminating flash of lighting and each time water is dumped on my in the bare spots where no branches have grown. I continue my labored journey through the woods. Another of the reoccurring flashes almost blindingly brings every detail into sharp focus.

 I see a figure dart behind a tree. I fall to my knees and fight back the overwhelming sobs that threaten to flood from me. I whimper and cry knowing I can't do anything against who ever it is I saw. I am too defeated to be afraid. another flash and another time I see the figure dart behind another tree. I set myself on my side and rest. I'm to tired to support myself on my knees. the figure comes from out of his hiding place and walks toward me in the darkness. I just watch to see the events unfold how ever they will. lighting strikes dangerously close. I see the stranger, he is dressed in all black with his head wrapped in a clothe of some kind.

I'm filled with a fury toward myself. I am looking at a ninja. there was only on explanation, I am day dreaming. I slowly get to my feet. I am delirious and filled with heavy frustration and wounds that are far more deep then the bruises, and possibly broken ribs.
"ahhhh" I yell at the figment "Ahhhh" I yell again "Why are you here?! Why now?! Why..." I shout and trail off.

Am I so far gone, so delirious that I'm haunted by my useless imagination? I think to myself. Am I in shock? Just ignore him, no mater how much you want to yell at him just ignore him... Ignore it. I walk forward and try to walk through the apparition. When I come close enough I put out my hand with the intention of It passing through first. I come in contact with a very solid chest. "Ahhhh" I yell for the third time "You're not real!" I push but it does not move "Your not real! So move out of my way!" after a few secants of it not moving I walk around it and continue on toward the gully.

It is dark and wet, but the trees even with nearly bare limbs seem to have sympathy for me. The scanty but welcome shelter of the branches decreases the rain to a medium tempo. I am reminded of the intensity of the storm with each illuminating flash of lighting and each time water is dumped on me in the bare spots where no branches have grown. I continue my labored journey through the woods. Another of the reoccurring flashes almost blindingly brings every detail into sharp focus.

I see the edge of the gully. I prepare myself in hopes that when I come close enough to climb down, I will have the mental energy to even attempt it. Im not certain I've succeded in that effort when I finnally reach it but regaurdless, I get down on my hands and knees do what needs to be done. I crawl backwards down the steep muddy slope. I do my best to stay steady with my numb and nearly useless hands. I use a large stone planted into the mud as a foot hold to lower myself down.

 the stone holds my weight just long enough for me to missplace my trust.  It dislodges from the mud and I roll down the unforgiving face of the hill. Rocks and sharp brambles cut my skin and bruise me much worse then Im sure I can feel through the cold. Water is flowing ankle deep through the bottom of the gully. I do my best to get to my feet before I become too exhausted. My feet feel like inarticulate flopping stubs on the ends of my legs. I balance and walk as well as I can across the rocky bottom. walking in betwen weed covered mounds and grassy low spots. I try to zig zag and outline the most level parts of the gully floor.

I progress carefully untill I reach the other imposing slope of the gully. Im sure I can't climb it. I walk parallel to the slope. I hope I can find a shallow incline to walk up. eventually I find one after a long search. I walk up to the top. through the shallow of the remaining trees I see the same patch of land with no grass I had walked along earlier that day. The shopping cart still there, upside down, and the graffitied bridge with its comforting familiarity. The stream that runs underneath the bridge is now rushing powerfully. I walk across the bridge to the complex I live at. The rain is starting to lighten to a drizzle.

 I dig through my pockets to find my key but wether I have forgotten it or my hands don't have enough feeling left to sense it in my soaked pockets I cant tell. I can't find my key. I crawl up the steps with an almost obsesive determination. When I reach the top I lean my back against the door and am thankful to be home even if I'm not inside. I feel safe. I don't feel lost anymore. I don't have to walk any further. I'm done. I close my eyes and rest for a long time. I feel as though I could sleep for days. A cold wind blows and my soaked clothes slap my body. I shiver more violently then I had been and I have no hope of even resting my eyes.

I see a decerative metal rabit and in desperation I grab it with my clumsy hands intending on braking the lock on the door, or at least attempt to. as I turn half way around I see a gimmar. I had left my key stuck in the front door! I use all my strength to grip the key with both hands, trying to squeeze out the last bit of hand strength I have left to open the door. It clicks and swings open. I imediatly walk in and shut the door. I grab a quilt off the couch and head for the bathroom, strip off my wet clothes, and wrap myself in the quilt. I turn on the shower as hot as I can so that steam will fill the room. I let myself collapse on the bathroom floor and I fall asleep.