Chapter 8
Daniel climbed back onto the tractor after shutting the gate. He looked up at Jimmy standing on the back hitch.
“I don't see her. Do you?”
“No.” Jimmy shook his head and yelled. “Lynda!”
They stayed still listening to see if she would respond. Daniel shrugged and put the tractor into gear. At least he got to take the tractor out again today. Duncan had told him to go down to the store when he woke them that morning. Daniel hadn't been aware that there was a store close. Duncan had said to go back down to the intersection and instead of taking a left onto the other gravel road get onto the hard surfaced road and it would lead them to it.
He didn't talk too much to Jimmy while they rode, partly because the roar of the tractor drowned out their voices but mainly because he wanted to think.
He had been disappointed when the women didn't show up that night, not so much because of the sexual thing, after all his scratch was still tender, but he wanted to prove to Jimmy that it really happened.
The morning had been quiet, almost too quiet as if something was brewing just waiting for the right moment. Daniel shook the thought from his head. Now he was becoming paranoid. But he had to admit even Duncan had been subdued when he woke them up. He just flipped on the light and stuck his head in the door and yelled at them. Maybe that was because Jimmy was there. Daniel, literally shook his head at the thought. No, that wouldn't stop Duncan. He did whatever he wanted to. He had certainly chewed Daniel out in front of Jimmy before. So, that was definitely not the reason.
Daniel pulled the tractor half way out of the narrow road to let a car pass. The driver didn't seem to mind and Daniel figured he must be used to people running their tractors out on the road. He had the gas pedal all the way down and the tractor was moving along. The wind in Daniel's face seemed clean and gave him the feeling of freedom.
As they rounded a curve the road split. He saw the little white building that was easily recognizable as a store. It was small with two gas pumps out in front. Its parking area was graveled and to one side was a small air pump. Its two large windows stared at them with their blue black reflection and Daniel pulled over to one side and turned off the engine.
“This must be down town hicksville.” Jimmy joked as he jumped down.
“That's Snowville or actually I think it's Simpkins town. Snowville's over the hill there somewhere or other.” Daniel pointed back at the asphalt road.
“Same difference. Hickville, Snowville, you might as well face it, you live out in the wilderness.”
“You go first.” Daniel prodded.
“Hey you got to live here you might as well get over being so backward. Then again this bass-ackard place is perfect for you.” Jimmy pushed Daniel forward toward the screened door.
Daniel figured Jimmy was right and got up his courage. After all what was there to be afraid of?
Daniel gritted his teeth as screened door screeched open. He stepped in and glanced around. Not much of a store, he thought. The floor was unpainted wood worn smooth from years of foot traffic. A bread shelf with cakes and on one wall were cans of food. An ancient looking cooler that must have been for sodas and a freezer were on each side of the door. There was a Warm Morning coal stove sitting in the back and a glass counter filled with candy. In the back were several shelves filled with sacks of something. Daniel figured it was probably some kind of animal feed. He thought he recognized the sacks he used to mix the slop for the hogs.
He grinned remembering how hard Jimmy laughed but when he had to feed the pigs–he hadn't thought it was so funny. It was really a lot of work but he didn't hold it against his friend for laughing.
The store looked empty.
“Hello.” Daniel called and was surprised when a woman stood up from a chair behind the counter.
“Howdy do.” She said in a slow hillbilly draw as she straightened her brown and gold paisley dress. Daniel had to do a double take before he said anything. He glanced at Jimmy who was trying with great effort not to laugh. Seeing the laughter in his eyes made Daniel want to laugh too but he made himself behave. The woman was normal, well… almost normal, a plain bland face, mousey poorly permed hair but what made them want to laugh was her eyebrows. Actually it was the lack of eyebrows for she had none and had taken some kind of makeup pencil and drawn thin ones which arched high onto her forehead and over pale silver eyes. The whole effect only made her look more bland than she could have been. He thought she looked pretty old also, at least late twenties or early thirties!
“Uh, hi. I'm Daniel and this is my friend Jimmy. I just moved in recently.”
“I reckon, you must be the kid that belongs to the woman Duncan married.” She said, no expression of emotion crossed her face.
“Yeah.” Daniel answered and thought everybody seem to know about him. Daniel glanced down quickly at the bodice of her dress at the slightly exposed cleavage and thought for and old woman she had nice breasts. Daniel blushed and looked away when his eyes came back up and met hers. Her face remained blank but her pencil drawn eyebrows raised slightly.
“We, uh, we just came to pick up some items Duncan needs.” Daniel stammered and he heard Jimmy snicker. He felt like punching his friend. Jimmy was probably doing the same thing but he was the one that got caught. Seemed he was always the one that got caught.
“Well, you boys, just get what you need and bring it over. I'll put it on Duncan's bill. Bye the Bye, my name's Brownie.”
Daniel dared to look back at her and see if she was offering out her hand. He sighed with relief when she didn't. He could feel his palms sweating.
“Nice to meet you, Brownie.” Daniel kept wondering what to say. He wished Jimmy would say something to help break up the uncomfortable silence but he could feel Jimmy grinning at him, just enjoying watching him squirm. Daniel finally decided to get the stuff on the list and set them on the counter and watched as she pulled out a small pad and unfolded a piece of carbon from the back and put it between the white and yellow sheets. She slowly scribbled down each item and its price. As she wrote Jimmy walked over to the soda cooler and opened it.
“Hey Daniel, check this out.”
Daniel walked over and looked down into the cooler filled with water. They each took a soda out and dried it on a towel hanging on the side for that very purpose.
“Never seen one like that before but it works.” Daniel said as he opened his drink.
Brownie looked up. “You want me to put that on his tab?”
“No. I'll pay for them.” Daniel reached into his pocket just as the screen door screeched open. Daniel turned to stare at the giant figure filling the doorway. A cold chill ran down his spine as he stared at the man. His head almost touched the door seal. The straps of his bibbed overalls crossed his thick muscular shoulders and the lack of a shirt displayed the excessive bush of hair on his chest. He was a few years older than they were but seemed much older because of his size.
“Brownie.” He said acknowledging her as he entered glancing at Jimmy but he stared his pale eyes at Daniel and grinned. “Who's these here boys?”
“That there's Daniel and Jimmy.” She pointed. “Daniel there is Osborne's new kid.”
New kid, Daniel repeated in his mind but quickly lost the question that was forming when the man stuck out his big hand to Daniel.
“How' you doing? My name's Gurvis. That thar's my cousin.” He nodded toward Brownie.
Daniel watched as his hand was engulfed by the man’s surprisingly gentle grip. For a quick instant he was afraid his hand was going to be crushed.
“Hi.” Daniel squeaked and then cleared his voice. “Uh, please to meet you. This is Jimmy.” He tried to refocus the man's attention onto his friend when he felt the man had shaken his hand longer than was socially acceptable.
Gurvis turned to Jimmy and looked down. He grinned real big and offered out his hand again.
Jimmy reluctantly offered up his hand and Daniel watched as again the man seemed to hold onto the hand longer than it should have taken.
At first he had thought the man might be funny, like maybe he liked little boys and his chest was hairy like the first night when he had felt a man behind him. Daniel dismissed the thought entering his mind and figured the man seemed kind of slow maybe he was just one of those slow people.
“I see Duncan's done let you drive his tractor. I guess he must trust you pretty much.” Gurvis turned to Daniel as he let go of Jimmy's hand.
“Trust? I don't think it's trust.” Daniel answered defensively. “He just wanted something done, that's why he let me drive it.”
“Duncan, must trust you, cause he don't let just anybody touch anything that belongs to him.”
Daniel shrugged and turned to Brownie. “If you say so.”
”Hey you boys want to go swimming?” Gurvis grinned, eying Jimmy.
“Swimming?” Jimmy asked enthusiastically before Daniel could say anything. “Where?”
“Up at the scout camp. They've got a real nice lake with a sandy beach. It's hot out thar today and I was just taking off from work for a while and try to cool off.”
“That would be nice.” Daniel interrupted again his thoughts began to spin looking for an excuse and was relieved when he found one. “But we don't have any trunks and these jeans stay soaked when they get wet. Besides Duncan will probably be expecting us back soon.”
“I just saw Duncan headed towards town, he won't be back for a long time. And ain't you boys ever heard of skinny dippin'.”
Daniel glanced over embarrassed by the whole subject to see how Brownie was reacting. “Uh, I still have a lot of chores to do.”
“Everything done?” Jimmy looked over at Daniel. “I'll help you with anything else that might need to be done. Let's go.”
“How about these groceries? We had better take them back.”
“There's nothing there that will spoil. Come on, let's do it.” Jimmy pleaded.
“Come on Daniel. What's the matter you scared?” Gurvis taunted like a young boy.
Scared? Daniel thought, that wasn't quite the word. Embarrassed was more like it. He hated his body, the rolls of fat. He didn’t even like to see himself in the mirror. He had never even undressed in front of Jimmy, although, he had seen Jimmy without his clothes lots of times. Jimmy never thought anything about it. Hell, Duncan would laugh at him for being like that.
He gritted his teeth and nodded. “Okay.” But then the thoughts about Gurvis being funny reentered his mind. He dismissed the thought quickly. If the first night with the woman and the man hadn't been ghosts then it could have been someone like Gurvis or even Gurvis.
His eyes opened wide as he realized that if it had been Gurvis then the woman might have been Brownie! He looked over at her and the first emotion he had seen cross her face grew into a faint hint of a smile. He couldn't help glancing down at her breasts. If he could only touch them he was sure his fingers could tell him what his eyes were unsure of.
“Okay boys, let me get a pop and then you follow me on your tractor. I've got my truck outside.”
The two boys picked up the bags of groceries on the counter. Daniel heard himself thank Brownie and they went outside. They finished putting the bags in a tie-on-bag on the tractor as Gurvis came out.
“I'll go ahead and wait at your gate.” Gurvis got into his truck and sped away.
“Jimmy, do you think we should be doing this?” Daniel started to regret being taunted into going as he climbed onto the tractor seat.
Jimmy seemed to stare off into space for several seconds and spoke as if he were reading something. “Where the earth and sky, meet the sea.”
“What?” Daniel spun around and stared at Jimmy. It was the same words he had thought he heard when they had the flat by the lake.
“Uh?” Jimmy shook his head several times.
Daniel looked fiercely at his friend and demanded again. “What did you just say?”
“I, I didn't say anything?”
“I heard you. You said where the earth and sky, meet the sea. Why did you say that?”
Jimmy stood on the back of the tractor and stared at Daniel as if he was crazy. “I didn't say anything. Are you losing your mind?”
Daniel opened his mouth to repeat the question but saw that Jimmy really hadn't realized what he had said. Daniel shrugged, turned and started the tractor.
The roar of the tractor droned into Daniel's head as he headed out. Why had he agreed to this?
He felt his palms begin to sweat as they left the hard surface onto the dust and gravel road. At his gate he pulled to a stop and cut off the engine.
“Are you sure you want to go?” Daniel twisted his body to scan the area across the creek to see if Lynda was there. Hoping she would be and he could use it as an excuse not to go through with this unsettling idea.
Jimmy grabbed Daniel's shoulder to get his attention. “Yeah, I do. Daniel it's something I want to do.” He lowered his eyelids and paused. “I don't know why but I've got to do it.”
“Daniel, I know what's bothering you. I've never said anything before, cause you're my friend but I've seen how you go out of your way to not undress in front of me and in gym you always wait until everybody's finished dressing out before you change. You're embarrassed by your body.”
Daniel opened his mouth to deny it but closed his mouth quickly. He couldn't lie to his friend.
“I understand but it's okay. We're just guys and besides you've lost a lot of weight. I know you don't realize it. You're not fat at all now. I don't know what happen, I mean you've not been gone that long but it's like each day changes you more. You're taller than I am. I guess that's how puberty works or something. Anyway, let's go swimming.”
Daniel didn't respond, he just started the tractor and headed further up the dirt road.
They crossed several small hills and then came to a fork in the road. He slowed down his eyes finally rested on a sign to the camp. He turned right gearing the tractor down to first to make the steep climb it required. Daniel glance at the left fork wondering what lay down that path. The tractor spun dirt and gravel as it climbed the quarter mile road to the crest. At the top they expected to see a lake or something but were surprised that the road wound further into the thickly forested mountain.
Daniel was beginning to wonder if someone had screwed with the sign just as they turned a curve and he had to squint from the reflection of the mirrored lake.
Nestled in between the mountains the cool water invited to him peacefully. Pines and oaks clustered the area reflecting along its edges. Gurvis was standing outside of his truck parked in front of a small man made beach.
“I thought you might have done changed your mind.” Gurvis greeted them as Daniel pulled the tractor alongside and turned off the engine.
Jimmy jumped down as Daniel carefully climbed down.
“We made it didn't we?” Jimmy grinned.
“Let's do it then.” Gurvis said as he started unbuttoning his overall straps and then reached down and pulled off his boots. “We can lay our clothes in the back of my truck.”
“Are you sure nobody will come up here?” Daniel asked as he slowly unbuttoned his shirt trying not to look at either of them. He felt his face becoming warm from embarrassment.
“No, not a soul.” Gurvis answered as he pulled off his overalls and stood for a second in his briefs watching them so hard it made Daniel uncomfortable.
Daniel finally slipped out of his shirt and laid it into the truck bed. He was surprised that Jimmy was already stripped down. He jerked down his underwear and threw them in the truck bed and ran for the lake.
“Last one in, is a cock sucker!” He yelled as he ran across the short beach and splashed into the water.
Daniel slipped out of his trousers and stood there in underwear.
“What's the matter
, are you shy?” Gurvis wasn't grinning as Daniel glanced up at him. “Hey, I don't know why you feel like that but from what I can “
Daniel's jaw dropped at the statement. Everyone had been saying that lately. He looked down at himself in wonder and then looked out to see where Jimmy was but his friend was submerged up to his head. He looked down at his stomach again and realized there really wasn't any fat there.
Daniel looked back at Gurvis and his eyes widened. The man was now butt naked and he was hung like a damn donkey! Daniel couldn't help but stare. He had been careful to never stare when he and the boys were changing for gym class but he couldn't help look now. He had even guessed everybody looked now and then but they never stared. But this man was built like some hairy body builder and more than well endowed. He couldn't help look at the long flaccid meat. Even his stepfather naked had been big, but this man was huge–all over! Daniel let his eyes move up the man's fur covered sculptured chest and then turned purple when he looked at his face.
Gurvis' big white grin made Daniel realized he had been caught inspecting. He wanted to drop through the ground.
“Your turn to get naked, now.” Gurvis said pronouncing the word 'neck-kid' and made it sound lewd.
Daniel was glad to have an excuse to look away from the man and turned slightly and slipped out of his shorts.
“Turn around and let me see what you're so embarrassed about, it's my turn to look at you the way you looked at me.”
Daniel didn't know what to say and just turned and looked up. “Damn it!” He thought. “Why should I be embarrassed? This is what he wanted to do. I knew it back at the store. He's a pervert and he has to be the one that was in my room.”
He realized, as he remembered that first night, the hairy man behind him had lifted him in the air and his great length had reached completely through Daniel's legs and impaled the woman. Daniel shook physically and turned towards the water quickly as he felt himself becoming erect remembering how it had felt when his cock had been forced down onto the man's shaft and forced into the slick warm moisture the woman offered. God he hoped Jimmy didn’t look at them and was relieved to see he wasn't.
“Let's get in the water.” Daniel murmured as he headed towards the beach. Hoping the cool water would deflate his painfully embarrassing hard. He groaned to himself with fear that he was thinking like a gay boy.
Gurvis was suddenly beside him heading towards the water. His bigger strides shortly overtook Daniel. He stopped in front of Daniel and turned. He was gigantically erect and Daniel was speared in the stomach by it's thickness before he could stop.
Daniel backed away and looked up and was ready to turn and run.
Gurvis put out his large beefy hand and squeezed Daniel's shoulder and spoke. His voice was calm and nonthreatening. “It's okay, Daniel. You showed me yours so I thought I would show you mine. Remember it's not what you got, it's how you use it. It's true with everything in life, from money, to cars, to women.” He turned and ran out into the water and dove under.
Daniel paused for a second somewhat surprised but no longer frightened and saw Jimmy starting to turn around and look back. He ran as hard as he could out into the water and dove under as soon as he could.
When he came up and the water cleared out of his eyes he saw Jimmy climbing up on the diving dock built out into the lake. Gurvis was swimming great strides and had moved half way there.
By the time Daniel reached the dock the cool water had relieved all of his ardor.
They spent the next thirty minutes and all seemed normal. Running, jumping and tossing each other off the dock. Although the two boys were unable to throw Gurvis in, they finally managed to get him in. Jimmy crouched down on his hands and knees behind Gurvis and Daniel shoved him backward. They laughed harder as the man's big frame displaced the water and he came up spitting and sputtering water but grinning.
After a while Gurvis told them he had to get back to work and headed back towards his truck. Jimmy talked Daniel into staying a little longer and told Gurvis they would try to be back up here tomorrow at the same time but made no promises.
They continued swimming as Gurvis climbed out of the water and slipped into his clothes.
It was almost simultaneous that the thought hit Daniel and Jimmy that their clothes had been in the bed of Gurvis' truck.
When they got to shore they looked around to see if he had remembered to leave them.
“I can't believe this.” Daniel groaned and wrung his hands. “We can't go back without any clothes! Duncan will kill us.” He could just imagine what Duncan would call them and he would never get to drive the tractor again.
“What choice do we have?” Jimmy grinned.
“It's not funny! He'll just send you home. He'll probably beat the shit out of me.”
“Chill. Here's what we will do. We will stop on the hill above the house and sneak down through the hollow to your window and get some clothes. Then we will go back and get the tractor.”
“I don't know.” Daniel said resigning himself to the situation. “Like you said, what other choice do we have?”
They climbed their naked behinds back on the tractor and Daniel sat down on the metal seat but jumped back up with a yell of pain.
“Ouch!” He screamed and rubbed his butt no longer thinking about being embarrassed. “Jesus Christ, Almighty God, that's hot.”
Jimmy broke into a roar of rancid laughter and almost fell off the back of the tractor when Daniel scowled.
“It's not funny. None of this is funny. I need something to sit on.”
Jimmy wiped the tears from his eyes. “Why don't you put the groceries into the carry bag and use the paper bag.”
Daniel hopped off the tractor and went around to the side of it and hauled the bag out, placing the individual articles back into the carry bag.”
“Need any help?” Jimmy asked, humor stilling tinting his voice.
“No!” Daniel snapped.
“Okay, have it your way. By the by, did you see how that son of a bitch was hung?”
Daniel looked up a little startled by Jimmy's question. Boys didn't talk to each other about such things but then again they had never seen anything like Gurvis before but he was relieved Jimmy had said it. He had been worried about himself and the incident on the beach when he was caught staring.
Daniel shrugged his shoulders and tried to sound casual. “Unbelievable.”
“That's putting it lightly. When you were busy swimming around the dock and left him there alone with me.” Jimmy shook his head. “I couldn't believe it, he started getting a hard on, it was big around as the calf of my leg and as long as the distance between my wrist and elbow.” He tapped his elbow for emphasis. “Hell, I felt like a baby and a gay boy.”
“A gay boy?” Daniel looked up shock registering on his face.
“Yeah. When he got hard, I got hard too. I'm worried there might be something wrong with me. You don't think I'm a gay boy do you? Look at me!” Jimmy made a half whining cry and pointed towards his cock. “I'm getting a boner just remembering seeing his.”
Daniel glanced at Jimmy's erection and then saw the worried pain in his friend's face.
“Thank God!” Daniel exclaimed. “I thought there was something wrong with me. It happened to me too. I mean, after you had jumped into the water and I was still with Gurvis, I looked at him and then started thinking about what happened that first night―I told you about it, you know the one with the man and the woman, but I got a hard on first and then he got one. Scared the hell out of me.”
Daniel finished emptying the bag and climbed back on the tractor. He paused and put the bag on the seat then looked at Jimmy and pointed at himself. “Look it happen to me too. You know, and I'm not sure, but I think the man in my room that first night was Gurvis and I have this sneaky suspicion that the woman was Brownie.”
Jimmy stared at Daniel's hard and shrugged. “Maybe we'
re both gay boys ....”
“No we're not!” Daniel screamed out in denial. “There was a woman there too, that first night and the second night it was just a woman.”
“Okay. Then if I'm to believe your story that makes you bi and I guess that leaves me as the gay boy.”
Daniel opened his mouth to argue and then shut it and just stared at his friend.
Jimmy finally grinned. “Well I would say we look like two gay boys right now.”
Daniel forced himself to laugh. “I guess you're right.” Then he broke into a real belly chuckle. “If it's true I sure won't admit it and I won't tell if you don't.”
Jimmy flitted his eyelids up and down rapidly and tried to look demure. “Since you're the muscular one that makes me the girl. Besides yours is bigger than mine.” He glanced down and Daniel did the same.
“I'm not the muscular one and I'm not bigger.” Daniel denied but he was slowly starting to believe that maybe he was.
“Have it your way Brutus. If you want to continue to believe you’re fat then that's up to you.”
Daniel started to say something in further protest but change his mind. “Let's go. We've got a long way to go and if we get caught I really don't want to have a hard on when it happens. That is unless it's with Lynda.”
“Yeah.” Jimmy grinned. “Maybe she'll be down there and we can both have a turn.”
Daniel grunted and sat down. “Jimmy the god damn, crack of dawn, wouldn't be safe around you.”
It pissed him off when Jimmy talked about Lynda like that. He didn't know why? He had only met her but he was feeling like she was his or something. He hoped she wouldn't see them. He groaned at the thought. He would never be able to face her again.
He started the tractor and jerked it into gear and stepped on the gas. He just knew they were going to run into somebody. His thoughts were full of turmoil as he drove trying to think of a good reason why they were naked. He finally came to the conclusion the truth would be his best defense. He was surprised how quick he was back and pulled up to the gate. Jimmy jumped off the back and ran to open the gate, scanning down the gravel road and across the creek to see if anyone was looking.
“Hey! Look, look!” Jimmy waived his hands and yelled. “Turn off the tractor.”
Daniel clicked off the engine and wondering what Jimmy wanted.
“He left our clothes.” Jimmy shouted enthusiastically.
Daniel hopped off the tractor and hurried over and they dressed.
“Thank goodness. I almost thought he did it on purpose.” Daniel finished buttoning his shirt. “I guess he must have remembered it and figured he remembered it after he was headed back to work.”
“I'm just glad he remembered. Wait a minute I'm going across the creek for a second. I've got to take a dump.” Jimmy headed for the log to cross the creek.
Daniel climbed back onto the tractor and waited.
“Daniel, come over here a minute!” Jimmy called.
Daniel crossed over the log. “Where are you?”
“Over here at the cabin. Come here and look.”
Daniel moved through the overgrowth and came to the burnt cabin.
“What did you do shit and you want to show it to me?” He grumbled as he came upon Jimmy standing in the center of the wooden skeleton.
“Look.” Jimmy pointed to the earthen floor.
Daniel stared down at a large circle of what appeared to be blood. “Is it blood?” He bent down and started to touch it.
“Hey if it's blood don't touch but I think that's exactly what it is and look here.” He handed Daniel a piece of paper.
Daniel stared down at what must have been a piece of a magazine with printing on it scrawled in what appeared to be charcoal.
DANIEL, MEET ME AGAIN TONIGHT, SAME TIME, IF YOU CAN. -LYNDA
“Looks like you got a date.” Jimmy said.
“We've got a date.” Daniel corrected. “Let's go.”
On the way back home Daniel kept wondering what was going on. So many strange people and now blood. If that was what it was and it sure had looked like blood and fairly fresh too.