Grueberfest 06: Round 1 - Come Sit a Spell (796 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.91 on 28 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by ghola (View user info) at 2006-10-02 00:07:42 EDT
Everyone has an innate talent, a god given skill for which they were created. Heidi happens to be a witch. She's a six year old witch, but a witch all the same.
Joel, Lucas and Derrick have lived on the same street as Heidi since they were old enough to stumble around in their front yards. The only reason they let her hang around was that they were scared shitless of her. Heidi had always been a weird kid. Once she'd made Lucas disappear for a whole hour and when he'd returned he didn't remember where he'd been. Another time all of the boys on the street woke up naked in their front yards. Their parents thought it was some sort of prank, but all the boys held Heidi accountable.
This particular morning they are all gathered around a mole that'd crawled out of its hole and was stumbling across the ground.
"Look man," Derrick says, reaching for the mole.
"Yeah," Lucas exclaims, pushing him out of the way so he can grip the feeble critter.
The helpless creature writhes and twists, kicking up bits of dirt with its back legs. It pushes its nose to the ground and walks in clumsy lopsided circles.
"Let's keep it," Joel says, elbowing Lucas's side.
Heidi glares at the group and then squats down next to the mole. She stretches an arm out in front of her and brushes the tip of her finger against the back of its neck.
The mole jumps. Its little legs spread out in a fan position and it almost seems to levitate in the air for a moment before it plops back to the ground.
"What are you doing? You freak," Joel murmurs, taking a step away from Heidi and the mole.
She drops to the ground, props herself up with one arm and laughs at the boys. She's seemingly impish with dimples in her cheeks, thick dark eyebrows and short stubby legs.
"You're some sort of fucking freak," Joel continues. "I don't know why you follow us around, like some pathetic lap dog begging for attention. Can't you find friends your own age? Girls or something?"
The mole twitches and slowly starts to double in size. Its fur stretches to cover its body and fangs protrude from its gaping mouth.
Heidi reaches over and pets the nearly cat-sized mole. "Good boy," she whispers.
None of the boys move. They stand frozen with their feet firmly planted on the ground.
The mole's taller than Heidi now and she reaches up, grabs a handful of its fur and pulls herself onto its back. Leaning forward, she wraps her arms around its neck and clamps her knees against its body.
"Let's go," she whispers and they start to plod down the road, away from the boys, who stand silently in their crooked semi-circle for nearly ten minutes before speaking.
Joel breaks the silence. "You think she'll be back?"
They all glance nervously at each other and Derrick shrugs.
Joel has trouble sleeping that night. He tosses and turns, pulling his covers up to his nose and jumping at every noise. The clock hanging on his wall offers a gentle ticking and the crickets outside his bedroom window lull him into a calm state. He finally falls asleep with one leg slung off the side of the bed and his arms wrapped around his pillow.
He doesn't dream. He doesn't wake the whole night through. In fact, he doesn't wake at all.
Lucas's mother calls him into the living room the next morning.
"What mom?" he asks. "I'm gonna be late for school."
It only takes her a few moments to explain that Joel died peacefully in his sleep. "He didn't feel a thing," she adds.
Lucas doesn't respond. He sits squarely on the middle of the coffee table and drops his book bag to the floor beside him.
"I don't have to go to school today, do I?"
That night Lucas doesn't bother trying to sleep. He huddles under his bedspread with a flash light and a dirty magazine he'd stolen from his father. The pages are creased and worn and the book automatically falls open to a spread in the middle.
He grins and traces the women's outline with his fingers, inhaling and exhaling slowly.
"What you looking at?" the mostly nude model asks him.
He blinks and leans in closer to see the picture. She's blonde and wearing a black thong bikini bottom.
She shakes her head and wags her finger at him. "Wanna play?" she asks.
Lucas's death is harder to explain. There isn't generally a viable explanation for a young boy's organs to be strung across his bedroom. There's even blood smeared across his clothes inside his closet. Later probing would find various organs in his jacket pockets, underneath his bed inside of board games (namely Operation), and a few wedged inside dirty tennis shoes.
Derrick hears about Lucas first thing at school. Everyone's talking about it. Who wouldn't be? The story runs the gambit from, "Didn't you hear about that serial killer?" to, "His parents HAVE been stressed out lately," and finally to the one word everyone is thinking, "Heidi."
No one has seen her since the day she rode off on that mole's back. None of the children told anyone or even discussed it amongst themselves. It was Heidi. Heidi always did weird things.
The principal calls a midmorning assembly to discuss the recent deaths and offer counsel to the children. Derrick shuffles to his seat and props his feet on the chair in front of him.
"Attention," the principal calls out over his clip-on microphone. "Attention," he repeats, tapping the microphone with his index finger.
The children are all quiet. No one makes a noise, moves an inch or even breathes. The principal is frozen where he stands. One of his eyes is squinted a bit more than the other and he's biting the inside of his left cheek.
Heidi makes her way up the middle aisle and cuts across the third row. "Derrick," she whispers, "Won't you play with me now?"
And he does. He has to. Gathered amongst over one thousand students and assorted faculty he grips her wrists and spins her in circles, teetering this way and that.
They stop for a moment and he pants, "Heidi?"
"Shh," she answers. "We're not finished."
"But..."
"We'll never be finished, Derrick."
User Reviews
Submitted by carbon (user info) at 2007-07-28 17:59:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-10-06 10:22:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I am trying to get you a place in Berty's project. Apparently i'm going to be a hobbit. This sucks.
Submitted by redskieslookfake (user info) at 2006-10-05 02:39:43 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by gravitas (user info) at 2006-10-04 16:29:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i love halloween.
Submitted by forensicgirl3 (user info) at 2006-10-04 16:15:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
evil little girl +2
Submitted by UnderOathMeal (user info) at 2006-10-04 15:31:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good.
Correction: Very good.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-10-04 15:18:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I like it when you write like this.
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-10-03 22:55:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
As I said to Jake- for competitors who share the same basic premise, you two sure had your own stories to tell.
You have such a great way of writing quirky characters, I love reading the ideas you come up with- and in this piece you followed through on them, which you don't always choose to do. I really liked both these entries for different reasons.
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2006-10-03 21:35:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
1.5
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2006-10-03 21:34:49 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No Comment
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-10-03 17:07:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2006-10-02 22:37:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
good
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2006-10-02 10:08:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
No shit? Really, it's a different world over there.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-10-02 08:34:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2006-10-02 04:42:22 (#)
Ranking: 1
Joel, Lucas and Derrick have lived on the same street as Heidi since they were old enough to stumble around in their front yards.
-------------------------------
And were forever bound together by their improbable names. Not that that really matters of course
------
those were the names of three kids that lived by me when i was a kid.
Submitted by Berty (user info) at 2006-10-02 04:42:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Joel, Lucas and Derrick have lived on the same street as Heidi since they were old enough to stumble around in their front yards.
-------------------------------
And were forever bound together by their improbable names. Not that that really matters of course.
I don't feel like +2'ing this thing. I mean it wasn't bad by any stretch of the imagination but I just didn't enjoy it all that much, you know?
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-02 04:25:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Goddamn, I wanna know who you are, Elvis.
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-10-02 03:46:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Started giggling half way through this...
Submitted by VelvetElvis (user info) at 2006-10-02 03:25:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
u caught me just before I was going back into their machine. (The answer is you.) I've pumped g all I can to them "Read this, read that." Personally, I like her tenacity more than yours, but apparently you would sell more books? According to others. Does that make sense? But she is very much being watched? Hope that makes sense.
I didn't even check, but make sure that your email, you and g's, are included in your earlier posts, as most are. (I could say more about that but won't for now. Out VE)
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-02 03:08:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Are you talking to me, or ghola, and what do you mean by 'being scouted'?
Submitted by VelvetElvis (user info) at 2006-10-02 03:02:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-02 02:53:02 (#)
Ranking: 2
Especially when I review something before you, Elvis.
//
bitch-head. BTW, you're being scouted by some Big League Players. I can safely say this under my alter.
Damn i miss the old days
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-02 02:53:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Especially when I review something before you, Elvis.
Submitted by VelvetElvis (user info) at 2006-10-02 02:49:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Everybody looks at my reviews, then decides how to rate things. (Well, let's see what Elvis thinks...) I like and hate it. (And I'm a "nobody" here. hehe) -joking, this did kick
Submitted by goferforhire (user info) at 2006-10-02 02:34:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
marvelous
Submitted by simple_catalyst (user info) at 2006-10-02 01:47:46 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by VelvetElvis (user info) at 2006-10-02 01:37:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Every post seems so abbreviated here, as opposed to letting go for 5000 words or more. (So I try to read b/t the lines to understand why those words were cut.).
Corn (or maybe someone else?) I vaguely recall a small feud b/t u and ghola, as in her innate talent being questioned. The girl can, and hopefully will continue, to write (for free!) for us. As I hope you will, also.
ghola, go home, this kicked.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-02 01:31:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Pretty cool, but this:
-----------------
"I don't know why you follow us around, like some pathetic lap dog begging for attention.
-----------------
struck me as a bit off for a kid's dialogue. How old is Joel?
Submitted by Sepsis (user info) at 2006-10-02 00:34:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i didnt even read it...
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2006-10-02 00:14:59 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautiful.
Spooky.
I'll say it again, this reminds me of the movie "Bad Seed" (1956).