I hadn’t seen Codie in almost ten years. Out of my small group of friends in high school he had done the best since graduating. He got a job out west with some tech company then got married and had kids. I was eager to meet him again. It gets lonely in the little hick town we grew up in. The stuff that had once been entertaining to me now felt dull and tired without the ole’ gang.
People give you weird looks when you hang out up town on a Friday night. That’s the realm of the young and naïve. A thirty year old gets labeled a “creep” real easy in this town. I don’t care though. We had our own place to hang out back in the day, and I still go down there once in a while just for the hell of it.
I saw Codie walking down the trail lined with tall grass and paved with rocks and broken glass. He smiled and I felt the companionship I hadn’t fully experienced in years. Married life must have been good to him, because he had gained about 20 pounds. But his wide toothy smile set under thick glasses hadn’t changed one bit. He called out, “Jerry! Man, it’s good to see ya!” It felt good to hear someone call out my name. I actually fought back tears.
When he stopped in front of me he reached out his hand and said, “Really? We’re going out there, huh?”
He wasn’t annoyed, just a little surprised. He had suggested on the phone going somewhere to eat. I think he said something about steaks and drinks, but I was too excited about having at least half the old gang together to go down to the “Slash” again.
We said all the things old friends say when they haven’t seen each other in a while. Admittedly I was a little embarrassed. I hadn’t done much since graduation except float from one shitty minimum wage job to another. I hadn’t even had a legitimate girlfriend in probably eight years. I don’t care, though. I don’t begrudge my friends for doing something with their lives. In fact, I was proud of Codie.
I led him down the trail and into the shroud of trees that cover the Slash. The Slash has both a calming effect, and strangely, a sense of foreboding when you enter. Maybe I invest too much emotionally in our old stomping grounds, but I always felt some strange duality of emotion when we hit the trail and descended the steep sides of this place. I looked back to gauge the mood of Codie and was pleased to see him smiling back at me.
"So, have you talked to Brian or Eric, lately?" asked Codie.
It grew dark quickly because the Slash was thick with vegetation. I pondered the question for a short moment then turned and said, “Nope. I was surprised to hear from you.”
We kept descending the steep grade toward the place we used to convene our immature gatherings during our high school years. I heard the dirt slip from under Codie’s feet and turned just in time to see him reach out and steady himself with the trunk of a young tree.
The Slash is unique, I think. Maybe not, but I bet the terrain is rare. I had heard that it had once undergone extensive strip mining long before my home town was more than a row of houses next to a railroad. The fact that it was a natural valley carved by a shallow creek over the centuries had only aggravated the human excavation. This land on the edge of my boring hick town was virtually useless. I have come to the conclusion that the best way to save nature from the slow creep of suburbs, shopping malls, and convenience stores is to strip mine the place. Because if you’ve come across the jagged scars of land that has undergone such treatment then you know that decades later it will be uninhabitable by the human constructions built by contractors.
"I had kept in touch with Eric for a while, but I don’t know what he’s been up to for the last couple of years. He doesn’t have a Facebook page," said Codie.
"Oh, he’s still around. The last time I saw him was after he got divorced. I haven’t heard from him the last few years, but he always kept his feelings to himself," I said.
The bottom of the Slash was close, and I could hear the lazy flow of the creek. When I hopped onto the mossy ground next to the water I looked up the way we had come and could see the obsidian colored veins that men had dug out of the earth so long ago it was almost like a mythic story. Other than the coal and dirt we were enveloped in gloomy trees and thick tussles of briar and bush. The sun was still in the sky somewhere, but you wouldn’t know it from here.
"Have you seen Brian? I haven’t heard from him either," said Codie.
"He quit college and got a job at the tire factory," I said as I stared down the bed of the valley toward the area where our little hangout still existed.
"Is he still seeing that girl he was dating? The bartender?" asked Codie.
"The last I heard, but it’s been a while. Man, it’s good to see you again Codie. It gets lonely around here without you guys."
Codie looked slightly embarrassed at my revelation, but he smiled and said, “I know. I got my family and I hang out with guys from work, but it’s not the same.” Codie took in the Slash in an extended glance. “I forgot how deep this place was. Is our place still there? I know the city was talking about demolishing it when I left.”
I started to walk and Codie followed. “It’s still there. After you guys moved on, kids started getting out of control. Really pissed me off because I always thought of that place as special.”
Codie laughed. It was a warm, knowing laugh that reminded me of when we were young, stupid kids.
"They used to go in there and drink beer and smash the bottles everywhere. Then they’d leave idiotic graffiti all over the place."
Codie laughed again. “As I remember it, I had my first beer out there.”
"Yeah but, these kids didn’t respect the place. It wasn’t special to them, but luckily they’re gone now. No one comes out here much anymore and I’m glad."
The sides of the slash seemed to arch over us, choking out the sun of the late afternoon. It was cool down here. And quiet. As we neared a patch of beer cans and other random junk I stopped and sighed.
"There’s still a few that come out though. I wish I could catch them," I said, annoyance showing in my voice.
"What would you do if you caught them?" asked Codie.
I turned and laughed before shrugging my shoulders. Codie walked passed me. “We’re close,” he said then quickened his pace.
The floor of the Slash opened up, and coming out of the valley wall was a rectangular concrete thing with a loomin semi-circular hole like the gaping mouth of some Jurassic beast waiting to swallow up unsuspecting prey. I’m not sure what it was supposed to be. I had heard many stories. It was built by the power company or maybe here to redirect water during a storm. Once I’d heard it was built by a mining company who wanted to rip out the last precious bits of coal from the Slash but had been abandoned when they realized it wasn’t cost effective. Whatever it was, for as long as I had lived it had been a place for kids to explore. It had been abandoned by some company with a board of directors who couldn’t understand the value of this crumbling concrete husk decorated with protruding rebar and a carpet of moss. So, it’s mine now.
Here I had communed with Codie, Brian, and Eric. Here we had snuck away to drink beer and talk about our future lives. Here was one of the few places I had been truly happy. Codie stepped up to the mouth of the entrance. It was dark inside and a dank odor filled my nostrils. I reached into my pocket and pulled a small LED flashlight.
"This brings back memories," said Codie, admiring the mossy covered concrete.
I stood next to him and said, “I’ve been coming here ever since high school. I look after the place. I’ve even fixed it up a bit. I brought some lawn chairs and a put a coffee table next to the fire pit, but some kids tore it all up. I took care of that though.”
"How did you take care of it?" asked Codie.
"I came out and cleaned up again. It’s nice in there," I said then walked inside.
I turned on the flashlight and stood a few feet inside, looking back at Codie. His expression was stolid. After a long uncomfortable moment he walked forward. I was afraid he had changed his mind about the old place. I was always a bit insecure around my friends. I don’t have much else of value in my life.
I led him inside, it was a short tour. I pointed the light were I had painted over the obscene graffiti. I showed him were obnoxious kids had left beer cans, condoms and trash. Near the end there had even been needles. That had pissed me off the most. But I had cleaned it all up, because this place is special to me.
The fire pit was in a side room. The last rays of sunlight leaked in from a solitary window with rust stained steel bars. I took a seat in one of four lawn chairs and gestured to another. Codie took a seat beside me. He was quiet now. I stared at the pit lined with broken concrete from the surrounding structure. Beside that was a pile of sticks and newspaper I had gathered for a fire.
"What do you think?" I asked. My voice echoed slightly.
"It’s just like I remember it, except we used to sit on the ground."
"Do you miss it, Codie? I know you got a real life now. Kids and a wife and all that, but don’t you wish you could relive it every once in a while?"
He didn’t answer. Instead he said something that disturbed me. “I read that they found a girl’s body out here. She’d been strangled.”
It’s bad enough being called a creep by people you don’t care about, but I instantly knew what Codie was getting at. Didn’t he know me better? I suddenly realized I had come on a little too strong. My need for friendship had probably seemed desperate to him. But a guy like Codie, or for that matter Brian and Eric, well … they don’t understand. It was easy for them to go on after high school. Not me, I had lived in the past for more than ten years because I was a misfit.
"Yeah, I remember that. The cops asked me a bunch of obnoxious questions. That’s the problem with something like the Slash. Sometimes it attracts the wrong people. I wouldn’t care so much if people would appreciate it for what it is."
"Really? The cops came to you?" asked Codie.
"Someone said they saw me coming in here a lot. It’s true. I get bored with town. I come down here to forget about work and all the crap that goes with life. You want a beer?"
Codie seemed surprised. I turned on the flashlight and pointed the beam into the corner to reveal a Styrofoam cooler.
"You lugged that down here?" Codie seemed to regain his ease.
"Yep," I said, smiling. "When do you have to leave?"
"Well, I can have a beer maybe two, but then I got to head out. My parents don’t live around here anymore and I said I’d visit them as I was driving through."
I was saddened by this. “How far away are they?”
"They found a nice place down state from here. It’s about an hour drive," said Codie.
I turned out the flashlight then moved to the cooler. I reached in and grabbed two cans.
Returning I said, “Brian used to try and tell ghost stories, remember that?”
Codie popped open the can and took a long drink. It was dark inside and the light from the window was growing fainter. “They were pretty corny, but he really tried. Though that time we spent the night here he actually spooked me a little.”
"Yeah," I said. My voice was dreamy. I really do miss the good ole days.
I walked back to the cooler and reached behind it.
"What are you doing?" asked Codie.
"Getting something," I said.
I placed the can of beer on the concrete. My other hand pulsed as it gripped the stone. It was big and heavy and completely round. I brought it forth for Codie’s inspection.
Codie stared. When we had discovered it in the creek years ago, Eric had called it a dinosaur egg. It certainly looked like one, I guessed.
I returned and handed it Codie. It was dark, but I could see confusion on his face. His eyes blinked behind thick glasses. “Do you remember this?” I asked.
He took it in one hand then seconds later his face lit up with the joy of sentimental acknowledgement. “Wow! I forgot about this. Didn’t Eric take this home?”
"Yep," I said. "I asked him to bring it the last time I saw him out here."
"Did you guys come out here?"
"Yeah, that was a few years ago."
"And Eric gave it to you?"
I frowned a little. “Yeah. I think he wanted to cheer me up a little. I keep it out here now.”
Codie handed it back then chugged the last of his beer. “That felt good. One more?” he said.
"Sure," I said then went back to the cooler. It was time.
From behind me I heard Codie say, “I always wondered if that was the kind of rock that had quartz in it. I’ve seen pictures of rocks like that where they’ve cut them open and you can see purple minerals inside. I remember Brian wanted to bash it open with his dad’s sledgehammer, but Eric wouldn’t let him.”
"Yeah," I said. "We were goofy kids. I’m glad we didn’t smash it even if it does have quartz in it."
I pulled out another can of beer then handed it to Codie. He accepted it. He popped it open and I raised the heavy, egg-like stone over his head. I could smell the sweet aroma of the fermented hops as I struck him as hard as I could. I didn’t want him to suffer any more than he had to. He was my friend after all.
He yelled something unintelligible and angry. He crawled across the concrete and I raised the stone over my head again. He tried to get up, pulling at my jeans near the thigh. He fought it, just like Brian had. I came down with both hands around the stone determined to crack his skull. He sensed this and put his hand up trying to block my attack. This seemed to soften the blow and I felt bad for prolonging the pain, but I had to do this.
I’m not sure what he said, but I think he was cursing me. I backed up to give myself room and he followed on his knees in a desperate attempt to wrestle me to the ground. I charged forward and swung the stone at his forehead. He went down making a gulping sound in his throat as I felt the warmth of his blood splattered across my fingers. He lay on the floor and his body convulsed once then went still. Beside his body lay his glasses, the right lens having broken during the struggle.
I took a few breaths to calm myself down before I wiped off the “dinosaur egg” with Codie’s shirt. Then I sat down and opened my beer. The Slash was dark as the sun had moved off toward the western horizon. It was quiet again except for the trickle of water over mossy rocks.
This had always been a special place for me, but without someone to share it with it isn’t the same. I brought ‘em all back to me to share the nostalgia of a time gone by. I’m not crazy. I know I’m not. But I do realize the selfishness of my actions. I do have empathy for their families who probably won’t give up looking for them. But I’m weak and sad and lonely.
I closed my eyes and took a drink of beer, letting it fill my throat and soothe my nerves. No one comes down to the Slash any more, and that’s fine by me. No one appreciates it like I do. I think I’ll make a fire and spend the night out here tonight. Nothing going on in town anyway. I’ve got my friends with me; Brian, Eric, and now Codie. They dwell with me here in a special place under the ground less than ten feet from the creek.
I’ll bury Codie with Brian and Eric after I drink this beer. Not the skulls though. I’ll keep them behind the cooler under the spot I carved out of the concrete. I keep them close to me and away from the kids who didn’t appreciate this place. Them, the bad ones like that whore I strangled, I cast out farther into the greenness of the Slash so their bodies can nourish this place. It’s the only thing they’re good for anyway.
—
Credits to: Nightwatch_SRB
Comments