The Good One

Following is a story I wrote for a contest.  It was a 500 word limit and we were to use this quote from a Jekyll & Hyde play as a theme:  “It might be possible, of course, that far from being one, we may possess two selves.”  

Let me know what you think.

 

The Good One

Another day of marching against the current administration and crimes against our fellow man.  This was Sadie’s life. The 30 year old, white, straight women felt this was her calling. She loved helping people.  Between these marches and her job at the community center she felt at peace and purpose driven in her life. She was thinking about this when she was hit from behind and thrown into the cold brick side of the bank. The next thing Sadie remembered was waking up in the hospital with a large bandage around her head.  A anti-immigration supporter had driven his car through the group where Sadie was standing. Two others had died. Sadie had a concussion and a bruised brain. She was lucky.

That night Sadie had a headache.  The worst she’s ever had. She blacked out and woke up the next morning in bed, not remembering what happened last night.  On her nightstand were flyers for “The Wall” to be built and to supply all white citizens with guns. Was this some kind of joke? Where did these come from?  She crumpled them up and threw them away. Returning to her job at the community center felt good. That afternoon when she was helping a family apply for their green card renewal she intentionally gave them the wrong information.  Her head began to hurt and she excused herself. “These people make me sick”, she said to Sandy, another community employee. Sandy looked at her funny. “Oh, did they do something wrong?” “Yes,” Sadie spat, “they’ve come here to take advantage of our system and hard working taxpayers.”  Sandy was shocked. The look on Sadie’s face was one she had seen on those neo-nazi members as they screamed hate. It looked completely out of place on Sadie. “Maybe you ought to go home and tax a break,” she said. Sadie left the center. Unsure of what was going on with herself.

Sadie woke up in a cell.  They told her she burned down the Community Center last night.  There was a fun fair going on to raise money for programs at the center.  Five people died. Three of them were children. They showed her the CTV footage of her spreading gasoline and spouting hate speech.  People were screaming and asking her why. Calling her name. People she knew and loved. People she helped.

The jailer found Sadie the next day.  Hanging from the bars of the window in her cell by her shirt.   The note she left read this:

“Since the accident things haven’t been the same.  It’s as if there are two of me and they are constantly fighting.  After last night I can’t deny it anymore. There are two and the side that is dominating cannot be allowed to do so.  I am sorry.  Please remember the decent Sadie. The good one.  Everyone has two sides. Which side will you let win?”

The Great House

Sarah thought how lucky she was that Aggie had asked her to come with to the summer house. She had been enamored by the house and surroundings as soon as she arrived.  The large Victorian rooms. Windows looking out on the wild flowers leading from the expansive garden to the dark wood. Unfortunately their reasons for coming were not a holiday.  Aggie had come to get affairs in order. Her grandparents had recently passed and she was the last living member of the family. After dinner, in the study while having a drink in front of the fireplace, Sarah had to ask Aggie why she had stayed away from this beautiful home for all these years.  And now, that it was hers to enjoy, she was eager to be rid of it and get back to the city.

 

Aggie sighed.  Her beautiful auburn hair hung around her face, her dark eyes peeking out from under the fringe. Sarah thought her olive skin looked a bit ashy and attributed this to the loss of her grandparents and the stress of taking on this business.  Aggie took another sip of wine. “When you arrived, did you see the large tree trunk near the wood?” Sarah nodded. Of course she had. The tree was an imposing figure. It would take 3 grownups in a circle pressed against the trunk, arms hugging the tree and only their fingertips would touch.  The top bent off in giant, arm like branches that reached for the house. In these branches there was what appeared to be a hole. A dark chasm in the trunk of the tree. Another tip of the glass and her wine was gone. Aggie smoothed her skirt. She couldn’t keep still. “I loved coming here every summer.  Perfect place for a child. Places to explore. The magic of the world all yours. And Casey. My cousin, he loved it too. Casey was a few years younger than me and each summer we looked forward to our weeks spent at the Great House.

One summer, Casey was different.  He didn’t want to go wander the woods or play in the creek.  He stayed near the house. Staring out at the garden. To be fair, I was different too and didn’t really notice these changes in Casey.  I was twelve and had gotten caught up in the beginnings of being a teenage girl. I had brought a portable record player with me, remember those?, I lay in my room listening to music and reading Cosmo and other beauty mags I had stolen from my mother.

I was lying on my bed flipping through one of the magazines when there was a cough at the door.  Casey stood there. Despite being the height of summer he lacked the golden brown skin that we took home with us.  He was pale and I was shocked at the sight of him. I immediately felt ashamed and realised how I had neglected him that summer.  I foolishly thought that he looked so despot because his playmate was growing up.” Unable to sit any longer Aggie got up and started to walk towards the window.  She abruptly stopped and turned to the fireplace. She stood fiddling with the doily that lay on the mantle. I leaned forward in my seat and looked out the window. Taking up most of the view was the old, massive tree.

Aggie began again, “So, I asked Casey to come in.  I started apologising for not spending as much time with him but he quickly stopped me.  I asked him what was wrong then, eager to get back to my narcissistic ways. He asked me if I had any bad dreams.  I told him of course, everyone does. Casey shook his head and said ‘no, have you had any here. At the Great House.’ I had begun thinking of an article I was reading about how to perfectly apply blue eyeshadow and was barely listening to him at this point.”  Aggie paused. “Isn’t it funny how I can remember silly things. Like reading articles about blue eyeshadow? Anyway, point being I wasn’t listening really and I said no. Casey asked if things felt different here this summer. Again, I thought he meant me growing up and I said to him, Casey just tell me what’s going on.  Casey then told me that a few days ago he had been playing in the garden by the big tree. He heard a whisper. He thought it was me.” Aggie smiled sadly. “Casey asked, ‘Where are you?’ The voice responded, ‘the tree’. Casey looked up into the tree but didn’t see me or anyone else. He kept playing with his toy soldiers.  He heard the voice again. It was telling him to join them. This time when he looked around and didn’t see anyone he got scared so he gathered up his toys and ran to the house. That night Casey said he dreamt of the tree. He dreamt that a beautiful girl was in the tree and wanted him to play. When he said he didn’t want to the branches of the tree became great arms and grabbed for him.  At that point he woke up.”

Aggie refilled her glass from the decanter on the table.  She drank the full glass in one go. Her hands were shaking.  “Casey was telling me how he had that same dream every night. That every night the girl asked him to come and he would say no and the tree would reach for him.  He had stopped going outside during the day and was having trouble sleeping at night. He asked me if that night, he could sleep in my room. Anxious as ever to put on another record I said fine, of course.  I’ll never forget how happy he looked when I said he could stay with me. That night Casey came to my room dragging along his blanket and bear. We got tucked in and went to sleep. At some point I woke up and noticed Casey was gone.  The moon was almost full and it was quite bright. I saw Casey walking through the yard towards the tree. I jumped out of bed and ran, as fast as I could down to the garden. As I reached the tree I heard a gasp. That’s all. Just one gasp.  The tree was before me. Bear was on the ground. Casey! I called. Casey! I started to move towards the tree but I thought of what Casey told me and was too scared. I turned and ran back to the house screaming for my grandparents. I told them I had seen Casey walking through the yard.  I didn’t mention the tree. For three days we searched the woods, creek and gardens for Casey. Our parents came up, the whole town rallied around us. On that third day I gathered the courage to climb that tree. I looked down into the space and there was Casey. His hair had turned white but other than that he looked like a sleeping angel.  Of course, he wasn’t sleeping.

Summers obviously were never the same.  My grandparents kept the home but visits from us were rare.  I don’t think Casey’s parents ever came back. About ten years ago my parents and Casey’s were killed in a boating accident.  Now that my grandparents are gone, it’s me. I can’t be here. That’s why I asked you to come. I need to take care of this, but I couldn’t be here alone.  I’m going to sell the home, but first I’ll have that tree removed.”

Sarah sat there stunned.  She had been so jealous of this place and excited to be here, having no clue that her friend felt completely opposite.  Aggie put her glass down. “The men come tomorrow to take out the tree.” She smiled, then said good night and went to bed.

That night Sarah tossed and turned.  At one time she thought that she woke up and saw Aggie in the yard by the tree.  When she woke in the morning with the sun shining in the windows, she laughed at how she had let Aggie’s story get the best of her.  Sarah went down to breakfast. No Aggie. She wandered out into the garden, calling for her friend. No response. At nine the men came to take the tree out.  Without Aggie to give the go ahead, they wouldn’t do anything. After waiting a half an hour they left.

Sarah went back out to the tree.  “Aggie”, she whispered. “Please” was whispered back.  Sarah stumbled over an exposed tree root and ran to the house.  She threw her things in the car and quickly left.

 

A week later the news was talking about someone finding Aggie’s body in the tree.  Her hair was white. They don’t know how she got in there. The chasm was so tight, they had to cut apart the tree to get her out.

Rough Draft of the short story The Cats

The Cats

By Iekika

My English teacher tells me that writing things down is good for a person. It helps them work things out. I’m hoping this paper and pen can help me. I haven’t been able to fully wrap my head around what went down that Friday afternoon. I keep going over and over it. My brain says no way this happened but when I look in the mirror, I see the faint yellow bruising from my black eye, and my arm from shoulder to elbow has that raw pink look of new skin. Maybe all this will seem more real when it’s something I can hold. Here goes.

I’ve been going to the market for my mom since I was about five. That might sound especially young but as mama says, I’ve always been a responsible kid. Now I’m eleven and I’m pretty much running the house. Mom fell sick right after dad left. I’ve been taking care of us just fine though, so don’t be feeling sorry. When mom needs her medicine she calls down to Mr. Long’s store on Elm and lets him know I’m coming. Then she ties the money in a bandana and I head out. Mr. Long knew us before mom got sick so he lets her send me. When I go in he always asks how she’s doing. I wish he wouldn’t. He looks at me with a painful expression on his face. It makes me feel uncomfortable, and I can hardly look him in the eye. I give Mr. Long the bandana and he takes a bag from behind the counter. He takes the money and puts the hanky and change in the bag. Then he staples it up and I head back home. When I get home, if it’s a good day mama’ll take her medicine in a glass and sit on the sofa watching whatever’s on TV with me. She only watches for a short time but it’s the best. If it’s a bad day, she’ll take the bag, both hands trembling and stumble into her room shutting the door behind her. Ok, you’ve got a little background. Now I can get into the real reason I’m writing this story. The cats. I don’t really get on with people and that’s fine by me. Yeah, people kinda suck but I got the cats. There’s a bunch of ‘em that hang out near the abandoned store that I pass on the way to Mr. Long’s. It’s a nice quiet spot. A small bit of parking lot with trees around it. Just a place that’s been forgotten. You know those places? They have a special feel to them. A bit of magic. So, I’ve started hanging out there. I like to take my book and sit on the roots of this oak tree. The cats come and sit with me. I talk to them a bit and sometimes read to them. I felt like the cats and I had become friends like. They mean a lot to me.

About a week and a half ago I was headed to the shop on my regular route. It was a really nice September day. The kind where the sky’s a bright blue and the sun is beaming down. I was walking through the parking lot kicking stones and thinking about being back in school. So deep in thought I was, I didn’t hear trouble coming right in front of me. Joel Patross slid his bike to a stop and smiled a nasty smile when he saw me. If I had been paying attention, I might’ve ducked behind the dumpster and Joel would’ve kept going. I’d have been saved from the pain and scars, but then I wouldn’t have my story.

Joel was sixteen and puberty had not been kind to him. He was big in the belly and had bad skin. Because Mother Nature was not being kind to Joel, Joel felt it was his duty to pass that on to everyone else. He let his bike drop. “Hey there shithead,” he said. Scared as I was, I had to choke back a laugh. Joel’s voice was changing and every now and then it sounded like it was squeezed through a blade of grass. “So this is why I hardly see you. You’re sneaking around.” Joel started to walk towards me, “what do you do back here? Jerk off?” When he said that he put his hand down by his crotch and moved it back and forth, “uh uh uh”. A laugh snorted out. This isn’t my first run in with Joe, but I’ve managed to avoid him for awhile. Now I see that he’s missed me. Joel’s the happiest I’ve ever seen him. Positively over the moon, thinking about the beatdown he’s going to give me.

So I’m standing there. I’ve a twenty in my pocket for ma’s meds. I can’t let him have that. Maybe he’ll just kick my ass and not go through my pockets. “I asked you a question fucko. What are you doing here?” Another step. Shit. I manage to get out, “going to the shop to get medicine for my mom” I tried to steel my voice to not sound scared, but I was. A smile broke out over Joe’s pock ridden face. It must hurt him to smile. Maybe that’s why he’s so pissy. “Medi-i-cinnnnn” he stretched it out into a whine. “Gimmie a break. Your mom’s a lush. Is her docs name Jack? Pathetic. Nope. No medicine today.” My hand tightened around the bandana in my pocket. Not only did I not want him to get the money, I wasn’t going to let him see it in the hanky. Mom kept doing that, like I’m still a little kid or something. “She does need it.” I said, “and I’m going to get it for her.” Joe took a step closer to me. No longer grinning. “Buying her booze isn’t going to help her. It’s only going to hurt you.” He cracked his knuckles in both hands. Another step. His fists are clenched. “The store knows I’m coming.” I kept talking. I took a step back and looked around. No matter what I did, he would catch me and I’d get a beating. I slid my right foot back and felt it bump something. I looked down and saw Sir Thomas at my feet. Purring and looking up at me with those yellow cat eyes. Gimmie a break about the name all right? I was into Thomas the Train at the time I named him. “Aw cute. Your pussy came to help you out. Maybe to help you rub one out.” Joel was cracking himself up. Thomas purred again. I looked down and gave him a weak smile. “It’s all right buddy. Go on. Get outta here.” I gave him a tiny nudge with my foot. “Yeah scram before I decide to break your scrawny neck.” Joel was leering at Thom. That was the last thing I wanted. I wouldn’t be able to handle it if Joel hurt the cats because of me. Thom walked away slowly, stopping to give Joel a hard stare before disappearing into the woods. Now, you’re thinking up til this point it’s all pretty normal kid stuff. Right? I swear to you. That cat was staring Joel down. Joel didn’t notice, but I did. Once Thom was in the woods I relaxed a bit until I turned back to Joel and his shit eating grin. “Now”, Joel squared his shoulders. “Don’t give in too easy. I want to enjoy this.” Joel rushed me and I stumbled backwards falling on my side. When Joel fell on me, I went sliding across the asphalt. Pretty much Joel riding me like a sled. When we stopped, Joel grabbed both my ears and banged my head on the ground. The world grayed out for a moment and when I saw the light again, stupid me tried picking my head up. It got slammed back into the ground when Joel’s fist made contact with my nose. A groan escaped my lips as I felt my nose move in an unusual way. “I knew you were a little perv.” This time Joe punched me in the side. The pain was intense and I felt a warm, wetness spread over my pants. “What the fuck!” Joe yelled, he jumped off me and started kicking. “You better not have gotten any of your piss on me. Are you not freakin potty trained?” I rolled to my side and Joel kicked me in the ass. I kept my eyes closed and tried to make as little noise as possible. Hoping he would get bored if I didn’t react. He kicked me hard in the shoulder and my face scraped the ground, raising a new fresh hell from my nose. Just when I was ready to let go and let the darkness take over I thought I heard something. Joel must’ve heard it too, because the beatings stopped for about a second. Then he stomped on my shin. The noise came again. This time I could tell it was a growl. It was louder. I opened my eyes. Thom was back. He nudged my head with his and licked my sweaty hair off my face. “Stupid cat. Take a hike.” Joel said and bent down as if to grab Thom. I tried with all my might to sit up and protect the cat. Thom didn’t even move. As soon as Joel bent over he let out this inhuman scream. Joel started spinning wildly, trying to grab something that was on his back. He finally got it and a black cat went flying across the lot. He landed on his feet and started right back at Joel. Three more cats were on Joel and more attacking every second. Cats were coming from everywhere. Taking any piece of Joel they could get. The screams from the cats and Joel were like something out of one of those horror movies they show Saturday nights on TV. It was insane and louder than anything I’ve ever heard. I closed my eyes tightly. As bad as Joe was, this was hard to watch. A piece of what I believe to be his scalp landed on the ground by my hand. His clothes were in ribbons and streaked with red. Everywhere there seemed to be pieces of skin hanging off him. He was mangled.

The cries had changed to loud moans and whimpers. I opened my eyes to see Joel stumbling off. Weakly kicking at any remaining attackers. Finally he was out of sight. Some of the cats were sitting and cleaning themselves or each other. I closed my eyes again. I didn’t know what to think. I was in too much pain. Not sure how much time passed before I finally tried to sit up. I sat there with my eyes closed. Finally I was able to open my eyes and slowly move about. The cats had formed a large circle around me. Thom was sitting next to me. He nudged my hand, as if to ask how I was. I scratched him behind the ears. “I sure owe you guys, don’t I?” The cats stuck around in that circle as I painfully picked myself up and started to walk. When I got to the path that cut through the woods, I turned around. All the cats had gone except Thom. I raised my hand to him and he turned and walked away. I started through the woods. I had to get ma’s meds and get home.

So that’s it. Teacher was right, I feel better writing it out. You can believe it or not. I know what happened.