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  “We have to get out of here,” Conrad said.

  “What do we do?” Heather asked.

  “We’ll never get out of here,” Simon said.

  “I’m running,” Conrad said.

  “No, wait I have an idea.”

  He turned on Conrad who stood holding a duffel bag.

  “We can hide. This house has a secret room upstairs but we have to hurry.”

  Conrad looked to the window, he looked to the back of the house, and then up the stairs and let out a moan of frustration. Simon tapped him on the arm and ran past him up the stairs. Heather followed. Conrad was right after them. He reached the top of the stairs and heard knocking which made him turn and look back down.

  “This is the police,” a man said from the other side.

  He turned away and followed after Simon and Heather as Simon got his mother then headed to the Master bedroom. They went to the closet where he moved as carefully as he could to the back, past the clothes, and worked a hidden lever. He opened a secret door, ducked and slid past it taking his mother with him. Heather and Conrad followed. Simon closed the door behind them.

  Chapter 32 - Escape

  The room was lit with old fixtures but there was enough furniture for them to each to find a place to sit. Heather realized she was still holding the knife in her hand which looked ominous in the small room so she set it down on a table. She rubbed at her eyes. There were no windows, presumably no other doors except the one they used to enter. There was no way to tell if the police had come into the house and if they were searching it. In the small room everything seemed quiet and it felt like they wouldn’t even know if someone was in the master bedroom.

  “What do we do now?” she asked.

  “We wait,” Simon said.

  Conrad clenched his jaw.

  “We need to know what’s going on,” she said.

  “Well, I’m not stepping out there,” Conrad said.

  “We need to get out of this house,” she said.

  “I’m all for it but we have to wait,” Simon said.

  Simon’s mother moved to the corner of the room. She was dressed in black, thin and short. Heather thought for a moment that she looked frail until the woman turned on her and she saw her prune face and dark eyes. She wasn’t ugly as in deformed but something else, frightening.

  “Shit, I should have thought of it sooner,” Simon said.

  “What is it?” Conrad asked.

  “We could have taken the escape tunnel,” he said.

  “This place has an escape tunnel?” Conrad asked. “Where the hell do you live?”

  “It used to be a bootlegger’s place,” Heather said. “They used to store illegal liquor and goods here.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “I told her,” Simon said.

  “What are we going to do?” Heather asked.

  “We wait until we know the cops aren’t in the house. If they are still outside then we use the escape tunnel. It will take us to the river.”

  “Where do we go then?” Heather asked.

  “We part ways,” Conrad said.

  “No, we go to old man Blatty’s farm. I’ve been there before and I know it’s still abandoned. It’s just up the river. We get some supplies and we can stay there for a while. No one will think to look there and it’s pretty far back from the road.”

  “But how do we get out of here? I’m not leaving this room with cops out there.”

  “Why not?” Heather asked.

  Conrad looked to her. His face turned pink.

  “I don’t like cops,” he said.

  She squinted at him but he didn’t react. She looked to Simon, the only person in the room she might be able to trust and she had her doubts about him too. She needed help. They needed help. She took out her phone and checked for a signal. She moved to the corner of the room to get a stronger one, found Kevin’s number in her contacts, and called him. It rang a few times before he answered.

  “Hey, where are you?”

  “I’m at Simon’s,” she said. “I need your help.”

  “Anything,” he replied.

  “We had to check on his mother and now we’re stuck. We are in this hidden room because the cops are outside the house with Lucy’s brother. We don’t know what they are doing. We need your help.”

  “What do you want me to do?” he whispered.

  “I’m not sure. We need to get out of here but we need to know if the cops are inside the house. We need to know when they leave and if Lucy’s brother goes with them. Can you come here and spy on them?”

  “Yeah, no problem, I have to get out of work though,” he said.

  “Tell them I told you the cops are at Simon’s house and that you want to check on it and see if it’s worth investigating,” she said.

  “That’s great,” he said. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

  There was help after all, she thought. She paused though before speaking again as she looked around the room. Blatty’s farm was a good idea but they needed a better plan.

  “Do you know where Blatty’s farm is?” she asked.

  “No, but I can find it,” Kevin said.

  “After you get us out of here we need you to get some supplies for five people, enough for two days at least and meet us there. Make sure no one is following you.”

  “Who would follow me?” he asked.

  “Just make sure,” she said.

  “Let me go and I’ll call you back when I’m outside the house,” he said.

  She ended the call and smiled. She had come up with a plan. It was a good plan, better than anyone else had done. They just had to wait.

  “We get out of here and then what?” Conrad asked. “How long to we stay at this farm?”

  “Until we find out what’s going on and we come up with another plan,” she said.

  Simon crossed his arms.

  “I have some money,” he said. “It’s here in this room. I didn’t think it would come down to this but we can use it. We can separate.”

  Conrad nodded and clutched his bag.

  *******

  The plan went through easily. Kevin moved in from the woods until he had a clear view of Josh’s car and a police cruiser that sat in front of the house. He observed the house for several minutes until they felt comfortable no one was inside the house. And they made their way out of the room, down through the house, got some flashlights in the kitchen, and went into the basement where Simon led them to the secret tunnel. Simon had last explored it when he was ten years old. It was smaller than he remembered but they managed to fit inside if they all hunched over. Heather and Conrad used their phones for lights.

  It felt at times that they had went too far and they couldn’t go back. It felt at times that they would never get out the other end. Sometimes they worried it would collapse on them. It was filled with water and mud. They brushed against things but didn’t want to know what they were. Just when they had given up hope they saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

  “Look,” Simon said.

  They got to the end to find a screen and stones there. Conrad moved up past Heather and Simon’s mother. Together with Simon he pushed his way out, pulled the grate from its place and to the side. Simon helped his mother out first and then Heather as they stepped onto a stone ledge along a river bank. It had rough stone walls to hold back the dirt. A few feet below them was the river. They looked across to the other side which seemed impossibly far. They looked to each side that seemed impossible to climb. It felt as if they had escaped to the edge of the world.

  Conrad looked at the stone walls, estimated his own abilities. He signaled for Simon to move with him.

  “Help me up,” Conrad said.

  Simon looked to Heather and his mother and worried that Conrad would leave them. He shook his head.

  “I go first,” he said.

  “I’m better at this,” Conrad said.

  “But you’re stronger than me. You can he
lp them.”

  Conrad looked to the two women. It was true.

  “Okay, but don’t bitch to me if I have to touch your ass,” Conrad said.

  “Let’s just do this,” Simon said.

  Conrad helped Simon up the wall. As he pulled himself out they all felt a small moment of victory until they realized Heather would have to be next. After that it was Simon’s mother and finally Conrad. They celebrated for a moment until it became uncomfortable and Simon took the lead. He headed up the river and everyone else followed. The path was easy and they didn’t see anyone as they walked. It took them almost an hour to get to the farm. Simon held the barbed wire fence for them to enter the pasture.

  After that it was an easy walk through the field to the barn and then the farmhouse. Conrad stopped in the middle of the yard. He looked over the abandoned farm. It was slightly more than living on the street. It was four walls and a roof but it wouldn’t last long before someone would find him there, report him, and then he’d still have the police on him. No, he needed something else. There was only one person who could help him. He pulled out his phone and dialed.

  “What is it?” a familiar voice asked.

  “Marcus, you need to come help me. I’m in serious trouble.”

  “Tell me where you’re at and I’ll come get you,” Marcus replied.

  “I’ll text you the details,” Conrad said.

  The farm house was old. Its white paint was stained and flaked off in large pieces. The pillars were bare because the varnish had worn off. The boards of the porch creaked under foot and felt like they would break with too much weight. The four of them made their way around looking for an easy way inside and collected at the front door. They looked around to each other unsure, unprepared, to do what needed to be done next, except for Conrad who didn’t want to be too eager, too willing. He waited until they seemed to be desperate enough to forgo their ethics.

  “I’ll take care of it,” he said.

  He stepped to the door and inspected the locking mechanisms. He pushed on it a little to see if it would give. He was tempted to kick it in just so he could impress them but decided to pick the lock. He used a card on the locking handle and was surprised when the deadbolt was fastened. He pushed inside and held the door for the rest of them.

  “Where are we?” he asked.

  “Richard Blatty’s farm,” Simon said. “I used to help him in the summers when I was a kid. I couldn’t do much but he always liked having me around. He died when I was away.”

  They entered and looked around at the empty rooms. There was nothing on the walls, no objects on the floor, just corners. Simon took his mother by the hand and led her up the stairs to the second floor. Heather walked back through the first floor and found the kitchen. Conrad went into the living room, pulled his phone from his pocket and texted the name and town to Marcus before he put it away and opened his bag. Everything he would need was right there and upstairs, if he could get it, Simon had more. It’s too easy, he thought.

  “I just got a message from Kevin,” Heather said as she stepped into the room breaking him from his reverie. “He said he’s at the store and asked if we need anything special.”

  “How about a drink?” Conrad asked.

  “I’m not going to ask him for booze,” she said.

  Conrad looked to her, made his best pleading face.

  “All right I could use one too,” she said.

  “Beer and whiskey,” he said.

  “No promises,” she replied before walking away staring at the phone in her hands as she typed a message.

  Conrad touched the pistol in his bag, felt it with his finger. He closed his eyes. Had he thought about every last detail? Was he ready for what needed to be done?

  Chapter 33 - Fooling Around

  Kevin and Conrad had walked all around Blatty’s farm with Heather and Simon and through his house but found themselves separated from the other couple because there was nothing of interest for them in the place. Kevin would have ordinarily hated being alone with Conrad but there was a reason for it. Simon and Heather were locked into their own little group, wanted their own time and their own privacy, the two held hands practically the entire time.

  And because of the party just the night before there was a comfort between the two young men, a familiarity. After all, Kevin told himself, he had been sitting on Conrad’s lap and let himself be groped. He had enjoyed it. He wanted to do it again. It was naughty and risky there in the living room surrounded by small town heterosexuals but since there was a gap that formed between them.

  Maybe it was the time apart, maybe it was that they weren’t meant to be together or that Kevin had regrets despite Thad’s words. Maybe it was the tragic death of Lucy or maybe it was Simon and Heather somewhere else in the house or on the farm, or maybe it was because if he made the first move he would seem too desperate, taking advantage.

  They were in the master bedroom by a large window that looked out at the farm when Conrad decided to try and take advantage of the situation. He moved close to Kevin, shoulder to shoulder until their hands touched. He ran the back of his finger up Kevin’s hand eliciting a giggle and a look. He took his hand.

  Kevin smiled. He felt the warmth of another hand and his ears turned red. He decided to make the next move and faced off with Conrad, moved in for the kiss. They touched lips and their fingers unlocked to grab at each other. Kevin decided to be more aggressive and he felt up Conrad, grabbed at his ass through his jeans. He needed this escape. He wanted to feel something else.

  Even when Conrad took Kevin’s hand and put it down the front of his jeans and he felt the slimy contents it was something else. They kissed and sucked at each other’s lips, their tongues pressed together and explored each other’s mouths until they were out of breath and leaned against the window. Kevin pulled his slime covered hand from Conrad’s crotch and held it up for them both to see.

  “Come on, I need this,” Conrad said. “Grab it again.”

  “Slow it down,” Kevin said.

  “Please,” Conrad said.

  “What are we going to do here? We can’t just fuck on the floor.”

  “Maybe we can do something else. Maybe you can suck me off? You know you want it. Come on, it’ll be easy.”

  Kevin pushed him away. He was repulsed by the idea of doing anything in this house but least of all getting on his knees. Would there even be any kind of reciprocation?

  “Not here,” Kevin said.

  “What about the blankets you brought? They’re in the trunk of your car.”

  “No,” Kevin said.

  “What about your car?”

  Kevin rolled his eyes.

  “Come on, just come with me,” Conrad said before he took Kevin’s hand.

  Kevin let himself be pulled along out through the house and to his car. They didn’t make it to the front and instead Conrad lured him into the back seat and pulled him close. There was a thrill for Kevin and he didn’t want it to stop but there were limits. He wanted to make them clear but then Conrad was kissing him on the throat and he relaxed against the car door. He felt Conrad undoing his belt and he started to sit up, opened his mouth to speak, but he saw Conrad’s head lower to his crotch. He saw the back of his head there in his lap, the way hairs stuck up and caught the light. He grabbed hold of the hair, just to feel it, not some kind of porn move. His underwear was pulled down and tucked under his balls. His cock was free for a moment before he felt Conrad’s wet mouth around it.

  “Oh god,” he said.

  It didn’t take him long to orgasm and afterward Conrad sat back as if he had accomplished something, his own pants were wet. Kevin pulled up his underwear and closed his jeans.

  “Do you want me? I mean after that I--”

  “--Not right now. I just came myself. But we could do more.”

  “Here? In this car? It’s so impulsive.”

  Conrad pulled out a cigarette and lit it, offered one to Kevin but he refused. He asked
Kevin for the keys, leaned into the front, stuck them into the ignition, turned it back to get power before he retreated into the back seat and to the other side of the car. He lowered the window a little and blew smoke out.

  “So who was the guy at the party? The one I helped you with to the car.”

  “I could ask you the same thing,” Conrad said.

  “Just someone I met on my way out of the party. I guess people were talking about us.”

  “Rednecks,” Conrad replied.

  “So who was he?”

  “Just some guy who was helping me.”

  Kevin raised his eyebrows.

  “We were supposed to be selling drugs together and he drank too much. I don’t blame him. I like to indulge.”

  “So that’s your life? That’s what you do?”

  “You don’t get it, so I’ll tell you. You have to do everything you can when you get it. You have to live like you could die tomorrow. I never leave anything behind.”

  “Well, we’re not going to fuck here,” Kevin said.

  “It’s too small,” Conrad said. “I wish I had my car. I loved it. When I was six years old my uncle bought an old Cadillac for my father. It was old but it had power everything. I was impressed just by the size of it and I didn’t know any better so it was this great new thing. I remember they laughed and laughed about it. When they were coming up it was their dream car but my father forgot about it. They both moved on to newer things but my uncle remembered. So he buys it for him.

  “One night we’re coming back from a guys’ night out at this steak place. My dad had a few too many, my uncle had more but my mother hated when we’re out too long so we’re headed back. I’m sitting in the backseat playing with my toys and everything is just fine, everything is normal. My uncle he’s fallen asleep like he does. I remember the sound of him snoring. Bam, it was all over. My father hits an oncoming car, just enough that we’re spinning out of control and right into a tree. My uncle died right there. My father, he went to jail for D.U.I. and manslaughter. The people in the other car were fine, mostly. I just know they didn’t die.”