Post #416710 by Cammo on Sat, Nov 1, 2008 11:03 AM

** Race Day

Part 6 **

We heard a WHUMP, like a giant hammer swathed in cloth hitting the car, once, then a split second later the blast. It was the loudest sound I’ve ever heard, way up there in the ear’s red line zone, louder than anything you’ve ever heard. The whole thing exploded in a giant fireball about sixty feet behind us, it wasn’t the blast, it was the HEAT of the thing that threw us all down, everything went slow-motion, and even though our backs were turned we knew what was happening and could feel the fire growing behind us, just touching our backs as we fell, like somebody had lobbed a few thousand blow-torches right at us. The car was on it’s side, the bottom facing away, so we were shielded from the worst of it, but there we were hitting the ground and trying to turn around to watch the thing, and could see the fire pushing through the car, over the seats, out the windows we had just left, the fire turning into black gushing streams of deep black smoke that smelled of rubber and burning plastic. I followed the smoke up into the sky, and there it was, mushrooming out into a flat ball for everybody in the whole damn county to see, and it would keep burning until every scrap of oil, gas and vinyl was turned to charred black carbon.

That’s what it took. Face down, watching that car gush heat, us there on the ground face down chewing dirt, the burning feeling on our necks and back, that’s what it took. We all had time for a minute there to think. It’s corny, but I guess we all grew up a bit, if growing up means aging a few years in about 50 seconds.

When we got up, slowly, careful that there wasn’t going to be another explosion, and we were quiet. Big clouds of black were still pouring out of the car, it was horrible but hard to look away from, but Andy walked right up to Jerry, stared him down, and spoke for all of us when he said

“You’re an ASSHOLE, mon.”

then just turned away. I got up, and was so mad I could hardly look at Jerry, but Drew was alright, he was getting up too, and we both went over to Bruce to see if he was okay.

“Yeah,” Bruce said, “but my dad’s gonna kill me.”

And we left them there like that, a police car was coming down the road, siren going, some fire trucks behind it, and we just got in the car real slowly and drove away, towards the ferry.
“That guy was an ASSHOLE,” Andy said, “I mean, really, you guys were great, you saved their lives! Bruce and those girls would be…”
“I didn’t do anything. Drew did it. I panicked.” I looked back at Drew, but he still looked like he was going to pass out. “Man, you should have seen what I saw, it was crazy, but Drew climbed right in. Couldn’t have done it.” Then I tried to smile. “Drew is like some kind of superhero. He pulled those guys right out of there all by himself. He punched out the back window so they could get out.”

“Can we stop?” Drew asked, weakly.

“Yeah, sure.” I was only driving about 25 miles an hour, so I stopped. Drew staggered out of the car, and threw up.

“He probably breathed a bit too much gas.” I said.
“Yeah, he’s really throwing up, mon. That’s a lot of stuff coming out.”
“Should we help him?”
“Doesn’t look like he needs any help, mon.”
“Andy, Drew pulled those guys out. I didn’t have anything to do with it. I was just helping. He did it all. Understand? And that’s what we’re going to tell people, too.”
“Yeah, I understand, Cam.”
“He still throwing up?”
Andy checked. “Yup. A lot of stuff has come out of that guy today. Still coming out. Didn’t think he had it in him, y’know!”
“He doesn't,” I tried to smile again, “anymore.”

I looked down at my hands for the first time, sitting there waiting for Drew, and they were shaking. Andy noticed but didn’t say anything. Finally Drew got back in, mumbling “Sorry.”
“No problem, mon, it’s good for you.”

I started the car, we rolled down the windows and drove slowly beside the water right to the ferry. Another friend of Maggie’s was standing there, she reached into her car as we stopped and all got out.
She handed us an envelope.
“Um, I think the race is over, Lydia.” Andy said. Then he told her what had happened. She was surprised, but just looking at us she knew we were telling the truth.

“The next clue is sort of hard, it’s the last, but I’ll tell you…” she started to say, but Andy was reading the note:

“A square and a box,
In a field with a fox.”

“It’s Fourfield Resort, it’s outside Woodrose Road.” She told us, “You’d better get over there and tell Maggie what’s happened.”

We got back in the car, drove away and then Drew said
“The road’s going to be closed. We can’t go back that way.”

And we could see the fire trucks from where we were, miles down the road ahead of us.

“We’ll go to the left, up to Lake on the Mountain, then down the other side. We’ll come out about a mile away from Fourfield.” But my heart just wasn’t in it. I drove real slowly, thirty five miles an hour the whole way, we turned left and there they were, we could see them now, a whole line of cars behind the crash site, stuck until things were cleaned up.
“See mon? Foam.” Andy pointed. Firemen were pouring foam on the car as we turned away.

It was a beautiful drive now, slow and easy, windows open, Drew was taking fluids, and when we got to the very top where the lake was I stopped the car. We all got out to look at the view, the town spreading below us, trees, a tiny church steeple over to the right. Peaceful. Then we got back into the car and drove real slowly down, winding through the turns down into the forest land, and out onto the long fields.

“In a field with a FOX?” Andy said.

“Yeah, what’s that mean?”

“It means, you know, the guy who owns Fourfield’s name is Fox.” Drew said from the back. It was the first thing he had said to us for a long time.
“Oh. OH.”
“Who knows stuff like that?”
“County kids. People who were born here.” Drew’s voice sounded sort of sad.
“Oh.” I wasn’t born in the County, we had moved there a few years before. Maybe being born there wasn’t something Drew was proud of, I’d never thought of it before. It was a small place, maybe to some kids it seemed like a jail they’d never get out of.

We came to a slow stop at a ‘T’ intersection, and just as I was about to turn right, a car blurred past us. It almost hit us, it was going so fast, and it went right through the intersection, pounding the mound of dirt that had built up there, actually launching the car a few inches in the air right in front of us. Then it was gone.

“Richard.” I whispered.

We just sat there. Because it was almost impossible, he must have been a half hour ahead of us, but Richard had had misunderstood the clues. He had been going in the wrong direction.

I turned the Silver Bullet right, we didn’t say anything, and I drove the normal speed limit right to Fourfield Resort. There were a few cars out front, and when we arrived Maggie was standing there with a few friends, and they were taking photos with little instamatic cameras, and Maggie handed me a silver beer stein.

“You WON!” she yelled.

“Yeah, thanks.” I said.
“Hey, Maggie, I don’t think they’re gonna let us hold these races anymore.” Andy said, then, "We're going to the bar," nodded at us and we all turned away.
“I think Drew should have the winner cup.” I said, and tried to hand it to him, but he wouldn’t take it.
So we just went into the Resort. My hands were still shaking, they’d spasm a bit and I’d hold them together, then they’d start shaking again.

Inside, we walked up to the bar. Nobody was there, but somebody was unpacking boxes in the back.
“Hey, you OPEN?” Andy knocked on the bartop.
“Yeah, what you guys want?” A kid not much older than us was serving, must be the owner’s son.

“I’m buying.” I said. “Jack Daniels on the rocks for me.”

“Beer.” Andy smiled.

“Johnnie Red.” Drew finally grinned too.

*the end

All Contents Copyright Cam MacMillan 2008*

[ Edited by: Cammo 2008-11-01 17:30 ]