“Well, what kind you want?” he asked
“I’ll take a root beer.” Danny replied
The stranger popped some change into the machine and pulled out a bottle.
“Here you go” he said handing it over
The bottle was cold and wet with condensation dripping down its sides.
“Thanks” said Danny as he tipped the bottle up and took a long draw of the cold, bubbly liquid.
It was good. At twelve years old, a cold root beer was one of the best things in life.
“I really thought I had you in that last game” said the stranger “but you got me with that steely”
“Yeah” Danny replied “that’s my ringer. It always seems to do the job.”
“Well, we’re even Steven now, right?”
“Oh yeah” said Danny “Even Steven! Hey, what’s your name anyway?”
“My name’s Lonnie Martin”
“Well hey Lonnie, my name’s Danny Poe.”
The two boys sat in the shade at the Phillips 66 station on Old Mill road in Pelican Island, a suburb of Charleston, SC.
It was a typical summer afternoon. Hot and humid, and the boys had just finished several games of marbles, the majority of which Danny had won. Which is why Lonnie had provided the soda pop. As they lounged in the shade listening to the sounds of the crickets that emanated from the surrounding fields, they got to know each other discussing their families and personal histories. Lonnie was also twelve years old and had recently moved to the area from Virginia. His father worked for a government agency and he’d been transferred to Charleston. Hs mother stayed home and took care of Lonnie and his brother Hoyt.
After an hour or so Lonnie turned to Danny and asked “Hey Danny do you want to see my secret hangout?”
“Well sure, I guess. Is it far away?”
“Naw, it’s just a few minutes walk. it’s in some woods over yonder” he said pointing to a stand of trees at the rear of a large field behind the station
“Well okay then. Let’s go check it out”
As they walked through the field of hip high brush behind the station Danny enjoyed the sun on his face and the slight cool breeze that occasionally caressed him. He loved Pelican Island, the only home he’d ever known, and never planned to leave. Right now his father was at work at the fire station and mom would be home starting to get supper ready. Maybe she’d have Dad BBQ some ribs or something he thought, as his stomach started getting that empty feeling that signaled that supper time was coming.
The boys soon reached the edge of the woods and slipped into the trees.
“It’s not far now” said Lonnie. “There’s a little crick near my spot where we can smash some frogs or something”
After a few minutes they arrived at a small clearing in the woods. There wasn’t really anything there, just an open spot in the trees on the bank of a small creek. The water was slow moving and stained a light brown from tannins leeched out of tree roots bordering the waterway. However, it was light enough to see a sandy bottom about nine inches below the surface, which was peppered with waterbeds and algae. There were quite a few dragonflies hovering above the surface and small guppies swimming around below.
“Wow, this is a pretty nice spot” said Danny “Ever do any fishing or crawdadding in this crick?”
“Naw, I ain’t got around to it, but I was thinking I’d try it one of these days. I was also thinking about maybe building a little fort out here or something”
“Now that’s a real good idea Lonnie, you could have your own clubhouse”
“I had a place like that up home, but it got burnt down.”
“Burnt down? How’d that happen?”
“Well, don’t tell anybody I told you, but I burned it down. I had to.”
“Wow Lonnie why’d you have to burn it down?”
“My dog died and I kind of lost my mind, you know? I didn’t want anybody to see the dog and I just youldn’t think straight to figure out what to do, so I put the dog in my fort with a bunch of dead tree limbs and such and I burned it down. I never told anybody about the fort or the fire. I never went back.”
Danny get up from the spot where they sat and went to the bank to look at the water, leaving Lonnie still seated behind him.
“Gee Lonnie, that’s some story. I’m sorry about your dog. What was its name?”
“His name was Bingo. He was a black lab.”
“Sounds like a nice dog” said Danny watching the waterbeds skate around the creek.
Lonnie got up and bent down to search the ground as he spoke.
“Yeah, he was a good dog most of the time.” said Lonnie, picking up a ball peen hammer he’d left in the woods earlier.
“Until he started saying evil stuff to me about my family.” he said moving toward Danny
“What do you mean saying things about your family!?” laughed Danny
Lonnie had reached a position directly behind Danny “I mean, telling me to kill my mom and dad, stuff like”
“Wha….?”
Lonnie swung the ball side of the hammer down on Danny’s head making a loud crunching sound. Blood exploded from Danny’s head and he collapsed to the ground. Lonnie hit Danny repeatedly with the hammer until he was unrecognizable, all the while reliving the afternoon at his old spot back in Virginia when he had not only killed his dog, but also his little brother Hoyt whose body had never been found. It had been thought that Hoyt had been abducted and taken somewhere, but Lonnie sensed that his mother suspected him of involvement with the disappearance. Things had not been right between them since. But this was the least of Lonnie’s problems, because even though Lonnie had killed the dog after dispatching Hoyt, he still heard the voice constantly urging him to kill. He had controlled it the best he could, but it had been nine months and he just couldn’t control himself any longer. He had been planning another killing and had found this spot and left the hammer hidden there in preparation. Happening across Danny that day had just been a convenient coincidence.
Lonnie removed his clothes and waded into the creek and laid down in the cool water to wash the blood from his body. Afterward he found the brush that he’d lain over the pit that he’d dug earlier. It was mostly filled with brush and wood. He dragged Danny’s body to the pit and tossed it in, then set the wood ablaze.
It was time to get home to supper. He didn’t want to annoy his parents by being late as they had promised to take him to the pound tomorrow to find a new dog.
“I’ll take a root beer.” Danny replied
The stranger popped some change into the machine and pulled out a bottle.
“Here you go” he said handing it over
The bottle was cold and wet with condensation dripping down its sides.
“Thanks” said Danny as he tipped the bottle up and took a long draw of the cold, bubbly liquid.
It was good. At twelve years old, a cold root beer was one of the best things in life.
“I really thought I had you in that last game” said the stranger “but you got me with that steely”
“Yeah” Danny replied “that’s my ringer. It always seems to do the job.”
“Well, we’re even Steven now, right?”
“Oh yeah” said Danny “Even Steven! Hey, what’s your name anyway?”
“My name’s Lonnie Martin”
“Well hey Lonnie, my name’s Danny Poe.”
The two boys sat in the shade at the Phillips 66 station on Old Mill road in Pelican Island, a suburb of Charleston, SC.
It was a typical summer afternoon. Hot and humid, and the boys had just finished several games of marbles, the majority of which Danny had won. Which is why Lonnie had provided the soda pop. As they lounged in the shade listening to the sounds of the crickets that emanated from the surrounding fields, they got to know each other discussing their families and personal histories. Lonnie was also twelve years old and had recently moved to the area from Virginia. His father worked for a government agency and he’d been transferred to Charleston. Hs mother stayed home and took care of Lonnie and his brother Hoyt.
After an hour or so Lonnie turned to Danny and asked “Hey Danny do you want to see my secret hangout?”
“Well sure, I guess. Is it far away?”
“Naw, it’s just a few minutes walk. it’s in some woods over yonder” he said pointing to a stand of trees at the rear of a large field behind the station
“Well okay then. Let’s go check it out”
As they walked through the field of hip high brush behind the station Danny enjoyed the sun on his face and the slight cool breeze that occasionally caressed him. He loved Pelican Island, the only home he’d ever known, and never planned to leave. Right now his father was at work at the fire station and mom would be home starting to get supper ready. Maybe she’d have Dad BBQ some ribs or something he thought, as his stomach started getting that empty feeling that signaled that supper time was coming.
The boys soon reached the edge of the woods and slipped into the trees.
“It’s not far now” said Lonnie. “There’s a little crick near my spot where we can smash some frogs or something”
After a few minutes they arrived at a small clearing in the woods. There wasn’t really anything there, just an open spot in the trees on the bank of a small creek. The water was slow moving and stained a light brown from tannins leeched out of tree roots bordering the waterway. However, it was light enough to see a sandy bottom about nine inches below the surface, which was peppered with waterbeds and algae. There were quite a few dragonflies hovering above the surface and small guppies swimming around below.
“Wow, this is a pretty nice spot” said Danny “Ever do any fishing or crawdadding in this crick?”
“Naw, I ain’t got around to it, but I was thinking I’d try it one of these days. I was also thinking about maybe building a little fort out here or something”
“Now that’s a real good idea Lonnie, you could have your own clubhouse”
“I had a place like that up home, but it got burnt down.”
“Burnt down? How’d that happen?”
“Well, don’t tell anybody I told you, but I burned it down. I had to.”
“Wow Lonnie why’d you have to burn it down?”
“My dog died and I kind of lost my mind, you know? I didn’t want anybody to see the dog and I just youldn’t think straight to figure out what to do, so I put the dog in my fort with a bunch of dead tree limbs and such and I burned it down. I never told anybody about the fort or the fire. I never went back.”
Danny get up from the spot where they sat and went to the bank to look at the water, leaving Lonnie still seated behind him.
“Gee Lonnie, that’s some story. I’m sorry about your dog. What was its name?”
“His name was Bingo. He was a black lab.”
“Sounds like a nice dog” said Danny watching the waterbeds skate around the creek.
Lonnie got up and bent down to search the ground as he spoke.
“Yeah, he was a good dog most of the time.” said Lonnie, picking up a ball peen hammer he’d left in the woods earlier.
“Until he started saying evil stuff to me about my family.” he said moving toward Danny
“What do you mean saying things about your family!?” laughed Danny
Lonnie had reached a position directly behind Danny “I mean, telling me to kill my mom and dad, stuff like”
“Wha….?”
Lonnie swung the ball side of the hammer down on Danny’s head making a loud crunching sound. Blood exploded from Danny’s head and he collapsed to the ground. Lonnie hit Danny repeatedly with the hammer until he was unrecognizable, all the while reliving the afternoon at his old spot back in Virginia when he had not only killed his dog, but also his little brother Hoyt whose body had never been found. It had been thought that Hoyt had been abducted and taken somewhere, but Lonnie sensed that his mother suspected him of involvement with the disappearance. Things had not been right between them since. But this was the least of Lonnie’s problems, because even though Lonnie had killed the dog after dispatching Hoyt, he still heard the voice constantly urging him to kill. He had controlled it the best he could, but it had been nine months and he just couldn’t control himself any longer. He had been planning another killing and had found this spot and left the hammer hidden there in preparation. Happening across Danny that day had just been a convenient coincidence.
Lonnie removed his clothes and waded into the creek and laid down in the cool water to wash the blood from his body. Afterward he found the brush that he’d lain over the pit that he’d dug earlier. It was mostly filled with brush and wood. He dragged Danny’s body to the pit and tossed it in, then set the wood ablaze.
It was time to get home to supper. He didn’t want to annoy his parents by being late as they had promised to take him to the pound tomorrow to find a new dog.
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