Jack be Quick - 4. Chapter

The wind whips at my hair and clothes like a giant hand tugging at me from all sides. My eyes are shut as tight as I can get them. I don’t dare open my eyes, fearful that the hands of air tugging at me will rip my eyes out, all I can do is hang on for dear life. I shouldn’t have jumped on this speeding train, we have to be going like a 100 miles per hour by now, I think as I try to control my breathing. After what seems like a long time I slowly crack my eyes open just a little and am greeted with a view of the ground rushing past me I can’t even see what’s below me, tracks and rocks, very sharp rocks is all I can see through blurry eyes.

“What was I thinking?” I say to myself. I don’t want to die, at least not this way. I can’t stop thinking about what it would feel like to fall and get pummeled between the sharp rocks and the bottom of the train. My hands are getting tired and I feel my fingers digging into the metal bar I’m gripping with all my strength, I have to will myself to loosen my grip just a little or I’ll surely cut my fingers off on the beam I’m grasping onto, and then I’ll be fingerless and how will I be able to hold on then?, I think to myself as I relax my fingers just a little bit. I feel my body start to shift and quickly tighten my grip again and close my eyes so tight I see stars. “BJ,” I say in a barely audible voice, “why did you betray me?, I trusted you,” I say through clinched teeth. “This all your fault,” I say as I try to adjust my footing for a better perch, “if you didn’t want me why didn’t you just kick me out of your stupid truck and leave me alone?” I say letting the tears flow freely. I manage to find a good foot hold on some sort of cable and reposition my butt and take some pressure off my hands, I relax just a bit, I can feel I’m getting weak and don’t know how much longer I can hold on.

“This was the stupidest thing I have ever done in my life,” I say as I remember the time I dared to say, “I don’t want to put that in my mouth,” I got really beat up for that little comment, but even that was not this bad, at least that wouldn’t kill me by ripping my body apart in 25 different ways. Suddenly without warning my foot breaks through the cable I was standing on and I fall down, the rocks come rushing at me at a 150 miles per hour and a scream comes from deep inside me, so strong I can feel my teeth come loose as I am surely going to be ground into hamburger. I fall only a few inches, but it feels like I fell all the way to the center of the earth. I just barely hold onto a big round curved metal thingy. My foot is caught in a the cable that broke suddenly and my head is just inches above the rushing rocks. Several rocks hit me in the face and the back of my head, but I don’t have time to feel the pain, as I grip both hands on the big curved thingy. The cable that broke is hissing at me like a giant snake trying to strike me and released its venom into me.

I’m hanging on under the train between the cars by just two hands and my feet caught in a wire and I see the wheels of the train speeding over the rails. OH, great, I think, I won’t be hamburger after all, I’ll just be sliced and diced, I’ll be a salad and they salads are good for you, right? I feel a laugh come out of me mixed with tears as my grip starts to slip. “OH SHIT,,,,!” I hear myself yell as I try to tighten my already death grip on my last vestibule of hope. I manage to wedge my fingers in a grove between the metal, it hurts a little, but better than being sliced, I just stay there waiting for something, I don’t know what, but sometimes waiting is all you can do.

The first sign that the train is slowing down is the sound, it changes. Loud squeaky and shuttering as the train once again tries to throw me. I am holding and with all my might and have a minute where I think maybe, just maybe someone has seen me and is stopping this hell train. The cable is still hissing and seems like it wants nothing more than bite me and it does bite me on my back and legs with a hiss and a wave of pain, it’s not so bad as I thought, just a dull stinging. After what seems like hours the train comes to a stop, but I keep holding on with my death grip, not to daring to let go. The cable is still hissing, but not trying to strike any more or maybe it doesn’t have the strength to reach me anymore, either way I’m grateful for the small things.

I finally dare to open my eyes and look around and see I am indeed stopped, I release my fingers and fall the few feet to the sharp rocks below, not having the strength to hold on any longer. I lay there panting and trying to stop my sobbing. I hurt all over and feel like the time I said no, that memory brings me back to reality and I suddenly realize I can’t stay here and there’s no way I’m getting back on this hell train, so I crawl out from under the train car and sit up and look around. There are trees to the right of me and the train to the left, ahead and behind, only one way to go, because there’s no way I’m going under that beast.

I try to stand and I can’t, I get dizzy and my legs give way as I fall back down on my sore back. I just lay there thinking, maybe I’ll just lay here and die, as I ponder what do next. “DJ would help me,” I say to one one, “and then call the cops,” I say sarcastically , “but how would DJ help me?,” I wonder as I try to think of something he would do, I come up with nothing. If someone did see me, I think, they are sure taking their time getting to me. I wonder if that’s a good thing or a bad thing. I should I just give up and let them come, at least I would be home again, but I realize that this way of thinking will get me killed as surely as that train tried to do. “NO!” I say to myself forcefully, “I wont ever go back, they will have to drag my lifeless body back to my parents before I let that happen,” I promise myself. After a long while I say out loud,”time to go,” as I get my unsteady feet. Looking around I see the trees are not far, all I have to do is get to them before someone comes and slowly make my way to the shelter of the forest.

I look straight at the forest as I stumble that way, it’s hard to focus, but I manage to keep it in sight the whole way, afraid if I take my eyes off the forest it will suddenly disappear and I’ll be lost forever. I collapse into a bunch of bushes at the foot of a large tree and just lay there on my belly not having to strength to move or even turn over, too tired to even cry and hurting all over, I think this is the worst hurt I have ever had and I’m suddenly aware of voices in the background of my dreams?, or thoughts?, it’s hard to tell.

“What’s that?” I hear one voice say.

“It looks like a shirt, now how did that get there?” The other one says.

“Well it doesn’t matter, let’s hook the air lines back up, we have a schedule to keep,” he says.

“I don’t know,” the first one says, “I think maybe someone was on here,” he proclaims, “look is that blood?”

“Nahh,” the second man says, “ it’s just rust, besides there’s no way someone could have been on here, that shirt probably just got blown up by the wind,” he proclaims.

“I think we should have a look around just to be sure,” the first man says.

“We don’t have time for that, besides if somebody was between the cars, they would have died for sure,” he claims.

“But,,,,” the first man says.

“Look, “he states plainly, where would we look?, 10 or 20 miles behind us?” He states plainly, “look you can file a report it if you want but we don’t have time to go on a wild goose chase,” he claims “now let’s hook and get going, my wife will be furious if I’m late for dinner again.”

The next thing I realize is that its dark and that I hurt everywhere. “Where am I?” I say to no one in particular. Looking around it all comes back to me in rush, the Hell train, BJ’s betrayal, my escape from home, all of it, I have a minute to wonder if I’m dreaming, but no, you don’t feel this much pain in dreams?, do you? I feel all over my body, experience has taught me to self check and see where I hurt so I can determine if I need medical care, even if that means an old man prodding me all over, everything seems ok, but sore, “good,” I proclaim. Where is my shirt, I wonder as I look around and don’t see it anywhere, I guess that was my payment to the Hell train to get off before I arrived in Hell, a small price to pay I figure.

“What now, BJ?” I ask, not sure why I’m talking to that trader, but what the heck, he did help me, even if was a ruse, I think to myself. Maybe if I can get others to help me and then get away before they call the cops, that won’t be so wrong, will it? Well there’s no one here now, so I’m on my own, the question now is where do I go or what do I do? I go over ever inch of my body once more and it hurts a lot, but I seem to be in one piece.

Getting on my feet is hard, but I manage and look around. “I could just walk into the woods,” I say to myself, but that scares me, bears live in the woods and I can’t see anything at all in there, getting my courage up I say, “No, I’ll stay on the tracks,” I say out loud, “I mean I’m not really afraid of the woods, it just makes more sense,” I proclaim loudly in case anyone is listening, they will know I’m not afraid.

My mind made up I stand for a minute and look around, the train is long gone and it’s all quiet, well not all quiet, bugs are buzzing and other sounds are invading my ears, some I know, but most I don’t, no one ever told me how noisy the dark can be. I start to walk a little weirded out and I hear a tearing sound as my pants fall down to my ankles, “great,’ I say, I must have stepped on the ripped pants leg and really tore it. Reaching down I see that they are ripped down the back and side, the little bit of waist that was holding them has just ripped. Well score another one for the hell train, it took yet something else as the last payment for letting me off before the final stop in Hell, I think to myself. Looking at the damage, there’s no way I’ll be able to wear them so I just take them off and toss them aside and continue in my underwear, at least my shoes are still somewhat intact.

“Take that BJ,” I say gleefully, “I totally destroyed the brand new clothes you bought me, “I say with much satisfaction, “but you deserve it after you betrayed me you bastard,” I say as a final though to BJ. I will have to get some more clothes somewhere, I think to myself, but for now I’m fine, no one is around, as I slowly make my way down the tracks looking everywhere and at ever sound that I hear.

“Woooo,,,, Wooooo,,,” I hear in the darkness.

“What was that?,” I ask to myself. I don’t get an answer. “I’m not scared,” I say in a voice that I hope will sound brave, “so you can stop trying to scare me,” more hesitantly this time. I don’t hear anything else and looking around all I see are train tracks and dark looming trees and black bushes to the left and right of the tracks.

“Owwllll,,” I hear as look here and there, I look down and pick up a rock about the size of my hand and throw it into the woods to my right and yell , “go away,” I say in a loud voice, “you don’t want to mess with me, I know Judo,” I claim as my rock crashes into the foliage. I hear nothing for a while and think I scared it away, what ever it was. I hear a dull rumbling , but it doesn’t sound evil, so I decide that it’s nothing. It takes a minute, I suddenly realize that it is another train coming. Do I stay here and flag it down?, maybe they will take me out of the haunted woods, or I could run into the haunted woods? I see a light ahead and know it’s the train coming. If I run into the woods, I might get attacked by something that I can’t see, but if I stay they might take me away from the spooks or whatever is out there. I don’t want to be in the haunted woods any longer.

I stand on the tracks and wave my arms over my head and call, “HEY, STOP, I’m HERE,”at the top of my lungs. I keep doing that trying to get them to stop. The light is coming for me, but surely they will see me, it is so bright I feel like I’m blind, how can they not see me? you could see the moon with those lights, I think. The rumbling sound is getting louder and louder and I can feel my young bones begin to rattle. That’s the hell train, I think in terror as I jump out of the way, it didn’t even slow down. “WHAT THE HELL, ARE YOU TRYING TO? KILL ME YOU BASTARD?” I yell at the top of my lungs as I lay on my back looking up at the stars. I sit up and watch the Hell train speed past me with dust blowing all around and making gag. I see yellow eyes looking at me from the out line of the train, the others who didn’t get out, I suppose on the way to Hell, I think to myself, as I stare in awe. “That could have been me,” I realize. Only then does it occur to me that I can’t even hear my own voice over the roar of the Hell train, I would just die if I had to hear that all the time, it makes me feel sad for those poor souls stuck on the Hell train. It goes its way without trying to catch me again, grateful I watch as the lights and sound drift off in the distance leaving me in the darkness of night once more.

Dusting myself off I get up and start to feel cold and wonder what is worse, the Hell train or the haunted forest. I look around waiting and watching to see what is going to come get me next, but nothing happens. It’s then I notice a dim light in the distance, but it’s somewhere in the depths of the haunted forest. I try to decide if I should go and see what it is, maybe I can get some food or a place to spend the night or take a chance the Hell train will come back for one more try.

“I’m not scared to go in there,” I tell myself in a hushed voice, “there’s no such thing as a haunted forest,” I say out loud mustering my courage, “that’s just fairy tail stuff, made to scare little kids,” I try to convince myself. “ I’ll just march right in there and have a big turkey dinner,” I say extra loud, so anyone or anything that hears me will know I’m not afraid. Courageously, I walk towards the dark looming forest, looking and listening to everything around me. I stop at the edge and peer into the gloom of the woods, a final thought becomes to me before I walk into the darkness, I must be crazy, and just then a sound from behind me makes me jump and let out a yelp. I look behind me expecting to see a werwolf or something, but see only the tracks shining like a beacon in the moon light. “Haha,” I say out loud, “very funny, you almost got me there,” I claim and enter the dark forbidding forest very cautiously.

The light fades away very quickly and I’m soon in complete darkness, “I’ve never been afraid of the dark,” I say to myself under my breath, “so why would I be afraid now?,” I do my best to convince myself that there’s nothing to be afraid of. I look around and around and slowly the shapes start to take shape, little by little at I can see more and more, soon I see pretty well. It’s not as dark as I though, but it is so creepy, I think. I keep expecting a zombie to jump out at me at anytime. “I’m not afraid of zombies,” I say with a confident voice, “now where did I put my anti zombie spray,” I say louder and pretending to search my pockets for the spray, knowing full well that I don’t have pockets. “There is it is!” I say bending down and picking up a funny looking branch and pointing it all around, “I must have dropped it,” I proclaim, hopefully sounding like a real threat to any zombies lingering about.

I stand there brandishing my “anti zombie” spay waiting and nothing happens for a while, “that’s what I thought,” I say proud of myself, “you are all a bunch of scare-d-pants,” I mumble. I see the light in the corner of my eye and head that way on shaky legs, still holding the ‘zombie spray out front of me. I can see now that the light is a small cabin with a porch. There is a rocking chair and logs piled next to the door. I crunch on a twig and drop down behind a rock. I wait and see nothing, waiting and looking, I get braver and slowly stand up and sneak closer to see what it looks like. There’s an old car parked to the right of the cabin and a tree swing, so maybe they have kids?, I think to myself, that means maybe they are not bad people. I sneak even closer and look into one of the windows next to the porch, careful not to make a sound.

A man has a young boy in his lap reading a book. It looks really warm in there, I think this must be a scene out of a fairy tail, they look so happy, but that can’t be real, no one is ever that happy except in stories, I think to myself, but there they are. The boy has his head on the mans shoulder and looks to asleep, the man keeps reading, not realizing that the boy is not listening.

A woman comes into the room carrying a tray milk and cookies and looks right at me and screams, the tray goes flying across the floor. I bolt upright from the crouch I was in intending to make a run for the trees and fall backwards into a pile of wood and get all tangled up, logs fall on me from all sides and I get another beating and as I struggle to get free, I see a man with a shot gun pointing right at my face and freeze.

“FREEZE,” the man yells, so loud I think it might wake the dead, “don’t move a finger.”

“Don’t shoot,” I plead, “I’ll clean it up, I promise.”

“Henry!,” the woman shouts, “put that away, he’s just a boy, what are you going to do kill him,” she demands as she bends over to help me get up. “Now what have we here?” She asks looking me over.

“I’ll clean it up, I didn’t mean any harm,” I claim, “I was just looking,” I say realizing how stupid that sounds, “ummmm I mean I was just ,,ummm trying to,,,” not sure what I was trying to do.

“What happened to you young man?,” the man says as he looks even up and down, lingering on my waist.

“Mommy, what’s going on, who’s that naked boy?” A little boy asks.

“Never you mind Tod, go back in the house,” she commands. The boy walks backwards very slowly looking at me stopping at the door and peering around the corner from just inside the doorway.

Looking back from her boy the woman says to me, “where did you come from, there’s nothing around here for miles?”

“Ummm. I’m ,, I’ll clean it up and leave, I don’t want to cause any trouble,” I say looking around for a place to run to. “I promise.”

“Nonsense,” she says to me, “at this hour, you’ll do no such thing,” she states, “Henry I told you to put that club away, you don’t even have any bullets,” she admits, “or are you going to use it to beat him to death,” she asks him.

“Listen woman,,,” he starts.

“Don’t you woman me,” she threatens, “ do as I say or you’ll be sleeping in the barn tonight.”

“Henry looks from her to me and back to her and says,” he might be dangerous you know,” he says as he points the gun at me.

“I’m sure a big man like you can handle an 8 year old boy without scaring him to death,” she chides. He finally lowers the shot gun and looks at me like I just crawled out of the swamp, and I guess I did, sort of.

“I’m keeping an eye on you boy,” he warns me, “don’t try anything or you’ll be sorry,” and takes a step closer to me.

“Now,” she says “where were we?,,, ahh,, yes, where did you come from and what happened to you clothes?” She is looking at me with warmth in her eyes and that gets me to relax a little bit, she seems nice, but I have to be careful with strangers, especially with armed strangers. I remember BJ seemed nice and all so helpful, but in the end betrayed me, so I’ll be on guard against these nice people. “Well, “she says, “cat got your tongue or something ?”

I realize I’ve just been standing here just staring at her and decide I have to say something, “I fell off the train on the way to,,ummm,,,”I say, I have to think for a minute, “New York City,” I say hopefully sounding confident.

“Oh you did, did you?,” she ask with a weird look on her face, “and what about your clothes?, did you just forget to get dressed on the way to New York City,” she asks me in a funny way.

“Oh, no, they got ripped off when I fell off the train,” I tell her, I mean it’s not really a lie, I think to myself, and that train might have been going to New York City, for all I know.

“Well never mind for now,”she says you must be freezing out here, come with me, there’s a nice fire inside,” she tells me as she takes my hand and leads me into the house. The boy surprised, almost falls over the door frame and scurries into the living room. “TOD, I told you to go back inside,” she scolds him as he runs inside ahead of us and hides behind the sofa, peeking out from the side to watch us.

“Henry, put that shot gun in the closet and get a blanket,” she commands him. “Sit down here in front of the fire,” she tells me and looks towards the couch “and Tod, you might as well stop trying to hide and spy on us,” she tells the boy, “make yourself useful and go to the kitchen and put the kettle on and heat up some waiter, we are going to have to warm this boy up before he catches he death of cold.” Henry hands her a blanket and she wraps me up and says, “there now, isn’t that better?” looking around seeing the mess the and tells Henry, “cleanup that mess please, I need to get this boy warm,” as she takes my legs and starts rubbing very hard.

I didn’t realize how cold I was till I got inside, it feel so good to be warm again, my nose is running and I wipe at it with my hands and start to feel tears coming, I have to stop it, I bite down on my hand to distract me, she sees me and grabs my hand and says, “don’t do that,” she says with a look of horror on her face.

“I know I’m not supposed to cry, but biting myself is the only way to stop the tears,” I inform her.

“What!?”she says, a boy who can’t cry? Why I have never heard of such a thing, you cry as much as you want dear boy,” she tells me, but I don’t believe her, it’s a trick I know it, I’m thinking in my mind.

“My name is Donna,” she tell me, “and that’s Henry, he’s not as scary as he seems, he’s just a little over protective of me and Tod is all,” she reassures me, “and that’s Tod, our only son,” she says as Tod comes back in the living room.

“The kettle is on mom,” he informs her. He’s looking at me like he’s never seen another boy in his entire life. He sees me looking at him and smiles and looks right at me and sticks his tongue out at me.

“TOD,” she scolds him, “that’s not nice, apologize to our young house guest now,” she demands.

“I’m sorry,” he claims in a small weak voice. I just look at him with confusion in my mind, no one ever apologizes to a child especially another child, that is enough to get you a slap or worse, but I don’t see anyone moving to hit him and he’s looking at me like I should do something.

“Well,” Donna says, looking at me, “what do you say?” She asks me, expecting something from me.

“Ummmm,,,” I say not sure what to say, “you’re not supposed to apologize, for something you did on purpose?” I say in a quiet voice, not sure if that’s the answer they want or not, what’s this new game they are playing and can someone tell me the rules, I say to myself.

“WHAT?” Donna says, “where you raised by wolves,?” She asks me, “you say thank you or it’s all right when someone apologizes to you,” she chastised me.

“Oh,,,” I say, “sorry?, I didn’t know, I mean I didn’t do it on purpose,” looking down at my lap, feeling the tears start to come back, why am I suddenly crying so much, I wonder as I try to figure all this new information.

“Well in this household you apologize if you do wrong to anyone even if you did it on purpose,” she says.

“Ok,” I say and start to get up, “I’m ready,” I say.

“Where are you going?” She asks with raised eyebrows.

“Umm,,,” I say slowly, “I’m getting ready for my punishment,” I say muttering under my breath.

“Sit down,” she says in a strict voice, “you did nothing wrong child,” she says with a surprised look on her face, “heavens, who raised you?” She asks me in a disgusted voice.

“My mom and dad,” I claim, “I am always spanked if I’m bad, it’s ok, I’m used to it,” I tell her looking her in the eyes confused, “don’t you punish your boy if he’s bad?” I ask curiously.

“Well sure, but what do you think you did that was bad?” She asks me.

“Ummm, well I didn’t say what I was supposed to say when Tod apologized to me, that’s bad right?” I ask in a low voice and my head hanging low.

“Heavens to Betsy,” she proclaims, “no dear, that was bad manners is all, you didn’t know and not knowing is never bad, it’s just not knowing yet,” she informs me, “and now that you know you can be polite,” she explains to me like I’m a very young child.

“Ummm,,,,, thank you?” I say hesitantly, “is that the way to be polite?” I ask trying to understand what this polite stuff is all about, where I come from I only speak if talked to and then it’s yes sir or right away, I think to myself, I’m getting myself confused, I do apologize sometimes, I realize ,but only when the adult wants me to or I think they do, but even then sometimes I get hit anyway so I have to be careful. BJ never got mad at me except when he found me in his truck the first time, like these people and he betrayed me, are they to going to betray me? Maybe the nicer someone is the more likely they are to betray me.

“Boy?” Donna is saying as she snaps her fingers in front of my face, “you still with us?”

“Yeah,” I say looking at her this time.

“I said, what’s your name, we can’t just keep calling you boy, now can we?” She asks me.

“Oh right,” I say embarrassed, “my name is Jack,” I say and hold out my hand to shake.

“She takes my hand and says, “well looks like you do have some manners after all.”

“It’s just what I was told to do when ever my parents had clie,,,,” interrupting myself, “err,,, I mean friends over, I shake their hands and tell them my name,” I tell her bashfully. “It the way the it’s always been done,” I inform her.

They look back and forth between themselves and then at me, “Well it’s good manners young Jack,” Henry says in a confused voice, “welcome to our home, so you are traveling to New York City?” He asks with skepticism in his face.

“New York City?’ I question, “oh right,,” I stammer, “yeah I was going to visit my grandma, for ummm, a few weeks,” I claim.

“Ok,”he questions, “and how exactly did you fall off a train in the middle of nowhere?” He asks me straight out.

“I was outside on the um,,,, walk way,,, and I slipped and fell between the cars, my pants and shirt got caught on the round thingy and when I fell the pants ripped right off and the shirt did to.” I claimed. I’m feeling nervous and have trouble sitting still. I start looking all around to see if I can escape if I have to run fast. Let’s see there the front door where I came in and then there’s the kitchen, where Tod went to put on the kettle. Maybe a back door there? I see a big picture windows with drapes mostly drawn, but I don’t see a way to open it, so that’s no good. What about hiding places?, I think as I scan the room, not much here just a sofa and and old wood stove, a couple of over stuffed chairs and logs piled up next to the fireplace. A book case that goes to the ceiling. Wait, the fireplace, maybe I could shimmy up there, but there’s a fire, that’s no good, I realize, so only the front door and maybe the back door. Henry is between me and the front door and there’s no way I can get past him, but only Tod is between me and the kitchen, I could take him if I needed to.

“Jack?” Donna has been calling my name and I realize I have been spacing out again.

“Oh,” I say, “what did you say?” I ask perplexed.

“I asked when was the last time you ate, you look a freight,” she informs me.

“I Had ummm,,,” I have to think, when was the last time I ate? “BJ?” I think to myself.

“BJ?” Henry asks me with some alarm.

“What?” I ask confused, “oh, I didn’t mean to say that out loud,” I stammer, “I had a pizza last night,” I tell them embarrassed that I said that out loud, I was sure I just thought it, I have to be more careful, I think.

“Tod, it’s past your bed time, you get to bed boy,” Donna tells the boy.

“Awwww, but I’m not tired,” he complains.

“NOW!” His mom says very harshly. Tod gets up looking frightened and gives his mom and dad a kiss and a hug and says good night and I notice that his dad gives him a really big hug and squeezes his butt and whispers something in his ear, Tod looks at his dad and walks over to me and hugs me and whispers n my ear, “I’m glad you are here and good night,” and heads into the other room closing the door behind him, before I can react.

“Henry,” Donna says, “I need your help in the kitchen for a minute,” she claims. He gets up and looks at me and points two fingers to his eyes and then back to me and gives me a wicked smile and heads off to the kitchen.

I sit there under the blanket and wonder what that was all about, they don’t seem to want to punish me, although I have given them plenty to punish me for. They gave to want something from me and what does that finger thing mean, is he saying he’ll see me later tonight? And see me for what, does he want me? I’m afraid I might know. I take another look around and realize they don’t have a tv, strange, I thought everyone had a tv, that’s when I realize they don’t have any lamps, I can’t even see a light switch. How do they see, the fire place and candles and lanterns? Where am I Little House on The Prairie? I laugh to myself, no one lives like that anymore or maybe, that train was not a train to Hell, but a train in time, maybe I’m back in time somehow and my parents can’t ever find me cause they have not even been born, that thought fills me with joy.

“Jack?” I hear Henry calling my name from the other room,”can you come in here?” I get up leaving the blanket on the floor and make my way to the kitchen. I walk in and Donna looks stunned when she sees me and just points at a chair. I look around not sure what to expect, what have I done wrong now, I ponder as I sit down. They have an old wood stove with a black pipe going up through the roof, an old table and what looks like antique chairs. The counter is made of wood and several bins line one wall and a door that leads out back. There is some sort of handle sticking up out of the surface of the counter right over the sink. Maybe I did go back in time, it looks just like the kitchen from that tv show.

“Jack,” Henry says, “pay attention, we are simple folk and don’t need any trouble, so start talking, what’s going on?” He asks forcefully. Donna puts a wooden bowel in front of me and hands me a wooden spoon and backs away.

I take a bite and it is wonderful, I never tasted anything like it, it has vegetables and some sort of meat. It warms me up and I’m eating so fast I almost choke on it and spit a mouthful out all over the table. When I catch my breath I see both of them looking at me like I’m some sort of wild animal that wondered into the kitchen.

Donna hands me a cloth and says,”not so fast, slow down or you’ll choke,” she says with a smile on her face, “now, where do you come from,” she asks with a pleasant tone, “and please don’t expect us to believe that silly tale of falling off a moving train, we want the truth,” she insists.

I take another bite to try to think,” I am from Michigan,” I confess, “I really did fall off a train, but I was not on the train,” I try to explain.

“Nonsense,” Henry says.

“Shush,” she tells him, “go on Jack.”

I take another bite, “this is the best soup I have ever had,” I tell her stalling and trying to explain everything, how can I tell them the truth when I don’t know how to explain it to myself, I ponder as I enjoy the soup.

“Thanks,” she says, “now out with it,” she demands.

“I jumped on the train and was between cars, trying to get away from,,” pausing to think of how much to tell these nice people, I mean nice means you can’t trust them, right? I think. “My foot broke the train somehow, the hose I was standing on broke and I almost fell, but I caught myself and the train stopped, I almost died, but hung on till it stopped,” I say starting to talk faster now, “BJ was searching for me and the cops were helping him, or he was helping them and BJ betrayed me and called them and so I ran cause I just couldn’t go back to that place they call home, and they were going to sell me or kill me like my brother, God Rest His Soul, and I heard them say I was too much trouble even though I was the best boy that everyone likes and,,,”

Donna grabs me and hugs me and says, that’s right let it all out as I am sobbing uncontrollably now. I try to speak and all hear is “shhhhhhh,,,,,” Donna coos,,I’m losing myself and start to struggle, I need to run, I’m trapped, I think, I can’t move I’m held in place by soft arms that are as strong as steel. I push her away and bang my fist on the table so hard and fast that Donna steps back in alarm.

“I HAVE TO GO!” I yell at them, “you don’t understand, they will kill me after they torture me,” I say softer this time.

Henry tackles me and holds me down till I still and just lay under him sobbing. “You are safe here,” he claims as he eases his weight up on me. After a while he looks me in the eyes and asks, “are you ok now?”

I think about it a minute and say, “yes, I’m better now,” I’ll be good, please don’t punish me, I’ve learned my lesson.”

Henry gets up slowly and watches me very closely as I get up, quickly pick up the over turned over chair and start to pick up the bowl and spoon from the floor, setting them on the table. I then bend over and drop my underwear and bend over the table and grip the edges and wait.

“What is he doing?” Henry asks.

“He wants you to spank him, I think,” Donna says.

“Well if it’s what he wants,” Henry says and gets behind me while I prepare myself for the beating that’s coming when I feel one hand on my shoulder and the other on my butt, he whispers in my ear, “be a good boy from now on” and then louder he says, so his wife can hear, “pull up your underwear young Jack,” he says softly, “there will be no punishment tonight and steps back to my surprise.

I slowly stand up and pull my underwear up and stare at them the whole time, confused, I say just one word,”why?”

“Because you did nothing wrong,” they both tell me at the same time.

“I don’t know what kind of family life you are running from, but I cannot ever allow a child to go back, you are welcome to stay here for as long as you like,” Henry claims, while looking at his wife who smiles back at him.

“So I guess you will call the cops on me, right?” I ask, not wanting them to answer.

“Did you hear us Jack?” Donna asks, “we are not going to call anyone, we don’t even have a phone,” she chuckles as she says this, besides we can always use an extra hand with the chores around here.

“OK,” I say reluctantly, “I can do chores,” not sure what they mean by chores, “I’m sure what ever you want me to do is alright, I’ve done it all before, but just for a few days,” I tell them, “I need to keep going so they don’t find me.”

“Who is they?” Henry asks me, “I didn’t get most of what you said before your break down,” he tells me.

“Never mind,” Donna tells me, and whispers to Henry,,”don’t upset him,,,, we don’t ,,,, it can wait till,,,,” she says quietly and looks at me, “let’s get you cleaned up, you look like you just crawled out of the swamp.

I look around, once again looking for a way out and see Tod standing in the doorway, rubbing his eyes, “is Jack going to be my new brother?” He asks in a small voice.

“What are you doing up, you’re supposed to be in bed,” Donna asks.

“I heard noises and got scared,” he claims.

“Ok little man,”she says as she walks over and picks him up and leaves the room, “get Jack cleaned up, and find him something to wear, wii you Henry?” Donna asks him.

“Sure thing,” he says and holds his hand out to me and waits. I slowly raise my hand and allow myself to be led outside.

“Where are we going as we go out the back door?” I ask curiously.

“We don’t have running water and it’s not too cold tonight, so we will run a basin of water and get you cleaned up out here,” he tells me. I allow him to lead me along a path to a water pump where he shows my how to use it and soon the basin is half full of water. “Strip,” he orders and I do as I’m told, it’s freezing cold but I have no choice. I stand naked in the basin shivering as he washes me from head to toe. “Now that you are clean, we have to go over some ground rules, just between you, me and Tod, but not Donna, she is a girl after all,” he says seriously.

“I know what you mean,” I say as I reach for his belt, he doesn’t stop me or protest, so keep going, doing what I’ve been taught ever since I can remember.

“Yes you know just what I mean,” he says “as he watches me, now be a good boy and do as I tell you,” he commands me. I do everything he wants and while I do I go to that special place I always go at times like this.

I’m standing on a beach, overlooking the sea as the waves come crashing to the shore. There’s a slight breeze blowing my hair and I can smell the salt air and rocks around me. I feel no pain or cold, I never get hungry and I never get sad, there is nothing but love, pure love. I see a ship out on the water as usual and it calls to me, “come out here and sail away.” It says to me in a pleasant pleading voice and I know I can walk on the water, so I walk out on the waves heading to the ship, it’s so inviting and I know I’ll feel nothing but love there, I’ve made this journey many times before and I seem to get closer and closer each time. I feel such a thrill being free at last, but it’s a lit scary too, I make it about half way, the farthest I’ve ever been, when I hear someone calling me from the shore. I can see someone, but I can’t tell who it is. I stand there undecided, should I keep going or turn back? It’s so nice here and no one wants anything from me. I will never be told I’m a bad boy or to do anything I don’t want to do. I know if I get to the glorious ship, I’ll never come back to the shore and that makes me very happy, but then the person on the shore will be unhappy. I don’t know who he is, but I want to know him. I’m torn and finally with a heavy heart I turn back and leave the glorious ship for another day, it’s always there when I need it. I never quite make it to the shore before I come back to reality and often think I must be going mad, there is no shore and no glorious ship either, but there is something and maybe one day I’ll leave the shore and never get back.

It’s over before I know it and am soon walking back to the cabin naked and cold, “let’s see what we can find for you to wear,” he says with a sly smile on his face, “we are going to get along just fine, you and me, and tomorrow, maybe I’ll introduce you to Tod, he is quite eager for you to join our little family,” he says with a laugh and a squeeze of my naked butt. Well not much has changed in this new house, but at least I’m not getting hit, sold, or killed, I think as I walk hand in hand with my new dad?