Into The Night, page 9
“Who’s Eddie?” His mother stopped wiping down the countertop and stared at him.
Jonah froze.
“You’ve never mentioned him before. Who is he?”
Thinking quickly, Jonah said, “It’s kind of embarrassing, Mom. He’s my imaginary friend.” He dropped his head.
She tousled his hair. “Don’t be embarrassed. It’s normal to have imaginary friends.”
“It is?” Jonah wondered if maybe he’d made Eddie up in his mind.
“Yes, it is. Now go on out and tell your dad to come in for lunch.”
After that, if Jonah mentioned anything about Eddie, his family smiled and gave each other knowing looks and nods. Meanwhile, Eddie appeared during all of Jonah’s adventures. Over time, he appeared wherever Jonah was, but no one else could see him.
This continued, and the two became virtually inseparable. Eddie accompanied Jonah to school on most days. Eddie turned out to be a mischief maker.
“Hey, watch this,” he whispered into Jonah’s ear.
Eddie walked over to Kyle Sinclair’s desk and jerked his chair out from under him just as he was about to sit down. The whole class laughed, including Jonah and Eddie. On another day, he tripped Paul Hadley as he walked down the aisle. Once again, everyone laughed as the embarrassed boy pulled himself off the floor.
On the playground at recess, Eddie became increasingly rough. He pushed children to the ground, even from the swings when they were in midair. He climbed to the top of the monkey bars and pushed Mike Whitley off. The thud of Mike hitting the ground garnered everyone’s attention, but it was the cracking sound of a compound fracture that caused everyone to gasp in horror. Complete silence settled across the playground, except for the agonizing screams of Mike Whitley and the hysterical laughter of Eddie.
Jonah glared at his invisible friend. “What’s wrong with you?”
“Lighten up, kid. It’s all in good fun.”
“Mike’s really hurt.”
“He’ll get over it.”
Over time, several children had incidents to “get over.” Considering the number of injuries children suffered at recess, the school made an unprecedented decision.
“Boys and girls, I hate to announce this, but for the remainder of the school year recess will be spent inside your classrooms. We don’t want any more children having accidents. From now until we get out of school for the summer, we will have art and music enrichment instead.” Mr. Halpert, the school principal, made the announcement over the intercom.
The children grumbled, but even they were relieved. Too many had been hurt, and frankly, they were traumatized by the injuries they’d seen. The most traumatized was Jonah who witnessed every fall, cut, and broken bone. The most disappointed person in the room was Eddie.
Months crept by, and finally summer vacation arrived. Daily fishing trips resumed. Occasionally, Eddie tipped canoes over or took part in other acts of minor mayhem. Usually it was nothing serious, but it still bothered Jonah. As the summer ended, Jonah knew he needed to say something to Eddie.
“Uh, hey. I’ve been thinking.”
“What about?”
“When school starts.”
Eddie rubbed his hands together and grinned.
“No, Eddie, that’s what I’m talking about. You can’t just go around hurting the other kids.”
“All I was doing was having a little fun.”
“I don’t think it’s fun.”
“You laughed when I did things.”
“I laughed when you tripped people or pulled chairs out from under them, but it wasn’t funny when you broke Mike’s arm or cut Tim Collins.”
Eddie stared at the pond. “Just what are you saying?”
“I think maybe you should stay home. I’ll see you after school.”
Eddie’s temper flared. He threw a log far out into the water then stood with his back to Jonah, hands on his hips, breathing deeply. Slowly he turned. Through clenched jaws he said, “Fine. Have it your way. I’ll stay home.”
“Thanks, Eddie. It’ll help me pay attention better too. I have a lot of fun with you, but mom’s worried I’m not reading as well as I should be. She talked about making me get a tutor.”
Eddie ruffled Jonah’s hair. “We don’t want that to happen. Sure, I’ll see you after school. Remember, I’m always here for you. Now let’s go catch some fish.”
The two walked around the pond to enjoy an afternoon of catch-and-release.
Years went by. Sometimes Eddie was on good behavior. Sometimes he wasn’t. His level of aggression seemed to worsen as Jonah reached his teenage years. This became clear one summer day when Jonah was sixteen, and he and Eddie decided to swim in Baker Creek. A popular swimming hole lay directly beneath the McCarver Road bridge. Teenagers for years flaunted their bravery by diving into it. Bravery was needed. To either side of the pool were heavy stones. Dive a few feet off target, and serious injury or death were likely. Someone drew a red line on the side of the bridge alerting young divers to the only safe launching point.
On that day, Andy Callahan, the school’s quarterback and all around macho jerk, was also at the bridge. In his normal abrasive way, he pushed other kids around and threatened those he felt he could intimidate.
Jonah wasn’t big, and he wasn’t athletic. He’d inherited his mother’s thin frame. Standing no more than five and a half feet, he made an easy target for the looming Andy. He was used to the constant taunts and jabs. Today, however, Andy set his sights on Tommy Parker. Jonah knew Tommy came from an abusive home, and seeing Andy bully him angered Jonah. Tommy’s spirit was already crushed at home. He didn’t need to be tormented at a place that was supposed to be fun.
“Hey, Callahan, back off!” Jonah walked to the edge of the bridge. Andy’s threat to throw Tommy off the side was the last straw.
“Oh, yeah? Just what are you going to do about it?”
A heated argument broke out, and they shoved each other back and forth. Other teenagers stood in stunned silence. They wondered why any of them never stood up to Andy. Several of the other football players were present, and any of them would have been able to contend with Andy Callahan. Here was Jonah, however, half of Andy’s size, defending someone else. None of the teenagers moved as they watched Jonah confront the bully.
As the scuffle continued, Andy shoved Jonah and he fell to the ground. Standing, Jonah hit Andy’s chest with both hands, pushing him toward the edge of the bridge, to the right of the red line. At the exact same moment, Eddie ran full force into the much larger boy, knocking his legs out from under him. Down to the edge of the pool Andy fell. A snapping sound crackled through the air, and the lifeless body of Andy Callahan floated to the top of the water. Onlookers screamed.
Jonah turned to the smiling Eddie. “What did you do that for? You killed him!”
“I told you, Jonah. I’m always here for you. I wasn’t going to let a jerk like him treat you like that. I just took care of the problem.”
Jonah’s stomach turned.
Hannah Carlisle, Andy’s girlfriend, screamed. “You killed him, Jonah! You pushed him off. We all saw you kill him!”
A crowd gathered around Andy’s body as other members of the football team pulled him to shore. Andy’s best friend, Gabe, yelled from below. “Call an ambulance!”
The police arrived along with the paramedics, and they told Jonah they needed to take him down to the station for questioning. “You’re not under arrest, son. We just need to ask you some questions.” Officer Harris walked Jonah to the squad car.
Three hours later, Sheriff McGee walked into the interrogation room. “After talking to the other kids, it’s pretty clear this wasn’t intentional. We’ve called your mom and dad, and they’re here to take you home, Jonah.”
Eddie winked at him.
Word spread across the county of Andy Callahan’s death and of Jonah’s angry outburst that preceded it. People talked in hushed whispers when Jonah walked by. Once friendly store owners now viewed the Pyle family with sideways glances and greeted them with polite, but cool, exchanges. Andy’s father was the president of the local Chamber of Commerce. Accident or no accident, the son of a prominent family was dead at the hands of Jonah Pyle.
If only it had been an isolated incident.
Frequently, Jonah happened to be near someone who was seriously hurt or killed. Victims claimed they saw him step in front of vehicles on curvy highways, causing accidents. At those times, Eddie dragged him into traffic.
“Don’t worry, kid. I won’t let them hurt you.”
Sometimes all it took was for Jonah to walk past someone for them to fly into the path of oncoming cars. Eddie was, once again, to blame. Jonah couldn’t take it anymore, and arguments broke out between the two.
“I want you to go away. Leave me alone!”
“That’s not the way this works, Jonah. We’re friends. I’m not going to leave you.”
“Just what are you anyway? You aren’t an imaginary friend.”
“No, I’m as real as you are.”
“But no one else can see you. Are you a demon?”
Eddie laughed an odd chuckle. “No, I’m not a demon. At least not in reality. You humans would mistake me for one, though.”
“I don’t understand. What are you then?”
“There’s a lot you won’t understand, Jonah, but I belong here too. I’m an interdimensional traveler. I occupy the same space as humans, just in a different way. I choose to be seen by you.”
“You have to stop doing these horrible things to people.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because you are hurting and killing people.”
“That’s not my concern.”
“You’re making people think I’m a monster.”
“Yeah, well, isn’t everyone a monster in their own sort of way?”
“Eddie, go away.”
“No.”
No amount of pleading by Jonah made Eddie leave. Day and night, he was by Jonah’s side. It wrecked the boy emotionally and physically. He couldn’t eat. He couldn’t sleep. He was failing all his classes during his senior year. To onlookers, he appeared to be the stereotypical troubled teen. People gossiped.
“It’s just too coincidental. I think that boy is evil.”
“I think the boy’s on drugs. I mean, just look at how he is. Losing weight. Withdrawn. He’s nothing like that sweet kid we used to know.”
The rumors flew. Local authorities took interest in Jonah, and anytime a tragic accident happened, the first person they thought of was Jonah Pyle. Too often, he was in the area when someone was hurt or killed, and the entire community became fearful of him. Even property loss was blamed on him. If someone’s lawn mower went missing, Jonah was sure to have a visit from local police.
The final straw happened six months after Jonah turned eighteen. He’d pulled off the side of the road, getting out of his vehicle to talk to Ike Guthrie. The affable old man was a town favorite, and everyone knew and loved him. That morning he walked out of his woods carrying the wild turkey he’d harvested moments before during the fall hunting season. Ike had long been one of Jonah’s grandfather’s best friends.
“Hey, Ike. That’s a nice looking tom you got there.”
Ike grinned. “Jonah, I’ve been after this ol’ boy for years. I finally got him. Look at the size of his beard.”
“He’ll make a great dinner. I haven’t seen you for a while, and I thought I’d say hello.”
Eddie rolled his eyes.
Just then, Margaret Fisk came driving along Old Mill Road. She slowed to avoid Jonah’s vehicle, and she watched as Jonah and Ike talked on the side of the road. She jumped when a loud boom shook the air.
Ike Guthrie’s twelve-gauge shotgun fired, blowing the poor man’s head to pieces. Margaret screamed and sped off, fearful that Jonah would turn the gun on her. As soon as she was safely out of sight, she hit the emergency button on her On-Star system.
“What’s the emergency?”
“I just saw a man shot to death on Old Mill Road. Please, send help!”
“We’re notifying the authorities now, ma’am. Stay on the line with me. Do you feel safe?”
“No. I’m scared.”
“Stay on the line with us, Mrs. Fisk. Keep driving until you come to someplace you feel safe, then park. I won’t get off the line with you.”
The sirens blared as the officers found Jonah crouching on the ground, crying next to the body of Ike Guthrie. The deputies approached with caution.
“He’s shouting to someone who isn’t even here, calling out to an ‘Eddie.’ Just who do you think he’s talking to, Mitch?”
“I don’t know, but call dispatch and let them know we have someone who’s either crazy or strung out on drugs.”
The trial was speedy, lasting only two days. Jonah had no defense other than to say that it was Eddie’s fault. When questioned, the best his mother could come up with on the stand was that Eddie had been Jonah’s imaginary childhood friend.
The prosecuting attorney grilled him in court. “Mr. Pyle, did you know it was wrong for Ike Guthrie to be shot dead?”
“I didn’t do it.”
“That’s not what I asked you. I asked if you knew it was wrong for Ike Guthrie to be shot.”
“Yes, it was wrong.”
“Did you know it was wrong at the time of the shooting?”
“Yes.”
“Your Honor and members of the jury, I ask you to disregard any claim of innocence by reason of insanity. The defendant has testified in court that he knew it was wrong. He knew the difference between right and wrong then, and he knows it now. Given this young man’s prior behavior in our community, there is no other reasonable assumption to make than that he intentionally killed Ike Guthrie. This was nothing but a cold-blooded murder.”
The jury took only an hour to return with a decision. “Your Honor, we the jury find the defendant, Jonah Lee Pyle, guilt of murder in the first degree.”
His mother wept, but cheers erupted in the courtroom. At his sentencing hearing, Jonah received a life sentence without the possibility of parole.
***
The door slammed to cell D-321. Jonah Pyle, now known as Inmate 45281, sat on his bunk as the guard in the wing yelled, “Lights out!”
The darkness was complete. A familiar voice spoke. “Jonah, my boy, I’ve enjoyed our time together. It’s a shame you had to take the fall for my actions, but you are a mere human and your life is expendable. I will be leaving now. There’s no fun to be found sitting inside a prison cell for the rest of your life.”
“I hate you, Eddie!”
“Good. Good. As if that matters to me. Goodbye, Jonah.”
***
The next day, Tyler Adams, six years old and full of adventure, tossed rocks into the river. He leaned over to pick up a nice stone for skipping and saw his reflection.
A smiling man stood next to him. “Hello, Tyler. My name is Eddie. I’d like to be your new friend.”
A FEW TICKS OF THE CLOCK
“In a galaxy far, far away.” Darcy Chilton laughed at the quote he had taped to the top of his dashboard. It came from a movie he’d once seen as a small boy. The film was old even when his father was a child, but modern technology made it possible to not only preserve, but enhance, the quality of obsolete media. How old was he when he saw it? Seven or eight at most. His favorite character was the big hairy beast. He couldn’t help but hum the theme song as he adjusted his seat and checked his instruments.
It wasn’t accidental that Darcy recalled that movie. The beeping lights and warm buzz of the electronics covering his ship’s dash reminded him what his mission was. He and several of his colleagues were on their most vital assignment, and it came at a critical time for mankind. Their commanders, also familiar with the classic cinematic story, dubbed this mission “The Death Star.”
Not long ago, the first inkling of trouble arrived. It seemed innocent enough. A faint signal from a distant solar system, nothing more than a few blips on a frequency never utilized on Earth, was detected. Scientists from around the world swarmed to Old New Mexico, the name the state of Libertad used to be known as. A few generations had passed since the United States of his grandfather’s youth existed. The search for extraterrestrial life had continued in that area despite changes in political boundaries, and the antennas outside Old Socorro still scanned the skies for proof that life outside our solar system existed. Well, it did.
Less than three months after the first blips were heard, contact was made. A small, seemingly harmless, unmanned ship arrived. Onboard were gifts for any civilization that it came upon. New types of electronics just waiting for the eager hands of engineers to tinker with, mysterious plaques engraved with writing that captivated linguists, and a cryptic music that played constantly from the craft all mesmerized our planet. Strangely, some of the engraved figures resembled ancient Egyptian hieroglyphics, further exciting the masses. Could they be our link to the ancient world?
Then hell broke loose. A month after the unmanned ship arrived, a swarm of battlecraft appeared, and these were definitely manned--if you could call the beings “men.” Whatever they were, it didn’t take long to realize their intentions weren’t friendly. All of the hoopla about connecting with benevolent beings from another planet flew out the window. These creatures were not looking for peaceful cohabitation. Anyone who doubted as much were convinced when multitudes of aggressive crafts began circling Earth. Thankfully, our governments had invested in a space shield, what the renowned historical leader Ronald Reagan called “Star Wars” technology. Our shields and space forces managed to fight off the raiders. Peace wouldn’t last long, however, as our satellites detected a large menacing mothership heading our direction. Its dimensions were more massive than our moon, and potentially millions of invaders were at our celestial doorstep.
Far too late, scientists realized that those gifts on the expeditionary craft were used as tracking beacons. Once the gadgets were turned on (which the scientists had prematurely prided themselves over), the home planet forces knew exactly where to set their sights. Sometimes we humans forgot the lessons of the Trojan Horse.
