Casey groaned as she dropped the heavy bucket of manure, and reached up to massage her aching back. She was hoping to carry it over all by herself because it was her garden and therefore her responsibility but it wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d though.
Casey straightened up and walked over to the tall Mango tree next to the old shed, she looked up at it and smiled, she never could resist climbing it. Without giving it further thought, she leapt up onto the lowest branch and pulled herself up, she didn’t stop until she was at the very top. She could see the front yard from there, as well as Mrs. Howding’s dog house and even her rival’s place, even as far as the beach, that’s what made this view special. She wasn’t up there for a good minute when she noticed the dancing coloured crowd marching out into the back yard of the Pascal’s house. Casey narrowed her eyes dangerously, it would be so easy to sneak over there and ruin Judy’s little fun fest.
She searched the yard with squinted eyes and spotted her mother and uncle a little way off, they were whispering at each other. Her uncle looked angry and her mother was wearing that ‘deer caught in the headlights’ look. Casey quietly lowered herself from her perch and dropped to the ground quietly, she remembered her mother’s warning and it distracted her for a moment, on some other day she might have listened, but today she was feeling incredibly devious and with Tommy gone she had no one to make trouble with.
She snuck through the tall fence trees lining the side of the yard and edged out onto the road, once she was out of sight and hearing distance she started running. As she did she calculated the amount of time she would have to wreak havoc on the life of the bullying, smart mouthed Judy Pascal before her mother noticed she was gone.
Music floated up to the main road from the Pascal’s place, excited chattering could be heard from the dancing crowd on the paved back yard. Casey snuck along the length of the wooden fencing and peered through the spacing. The smell of barbeque drifted toward her along with the unmistakable voice of Judy. But for once she didn’t sound condescending and snide, she actually sounded like an excited girl at her ninth birthday party. Casey stood up to get a better look. Judy was standing in the midst of the crowd an ecstatic smile on her face, she was absolutely glowing with pleasure, Casey sighed. Who was she fooling? She didn’t hate Judy because she was mean, she hated Judy because she had everything she wanted, family, friends…
“Casey?”
She looked up with a start. Standing on the other side of the fence was Mr. Pascal with a wide grin on his thin face, another thing Judy had that she didn’t; a father.
Casey forced a smile, feeling caught.
“What are you doing standing out there, come in Casey.”
Casey shook her head, “um no thanks I was just passing by…”
“Oh… well here have some cake,” he handed her a paper plate with a slice of iced cake covered with plastic wrap.
She took it and gave an awkward bow of thanks, feeling quite ridiculous and guilty. She looked down at the cake in her hand and sighed, this did change things.
“Hey… Mr. Pascal?”
The man turned around, his smile slipping back onto his recently disappointed face, “yes?”
“Tell her I said happy birthday.”
“Sure thing Case.”
She turned and rolled her eyes, she couldn’t believe how soft she’d gotten, “cake, Casey? You gave up your one chance of revenge… for cake,” she muttered as she walked away. But somehow there was this odd feeling in her gut, not quite like satisfaction but something quite like pride, she smiled, maybe her mother was right, it paid to do the right thing.
Casey was walking along the old dirt road toward her house, licking her fingers from the cake she’d been given. It made sense to eat it, seeing that she couldn’t carry any evidence home. She was about to duck under the fence that allowed her to sneak back into her back yard without getting caught, when she heard the annoying laughter of some of the boys from her school; she continued walking.
“Hey Casey, wah goin on girl?” one of them called out to her, it was a voice she identified as Trevor’s.
She looked over to find him beside her, he was on his bike with a trail of boys peddling behind him.
“What do you want Trevor?” she asked wearily.
“I’m jus saying hi Casey,”
“Well you said it just leave me alone now. I’m not in the mood,” she was holding the paper plate in her hand, now folded into pieces.
Trevor looked back at his friends who were snickering childishly, he turned back to Casey.
“Yuh not even in the mood for a ride” he knew Casey had a thing for bikes; she never was able to resist taking a few turns, even though she had her own.
She looked over at him now, she was frowning. Trevor was grinning from ear to ear, everyone knew he was not the kind of boy to trust, but he was always very nice to Casey, and he had promised her a ride from the time he got his pretty, bright yellow mountain bike.
“Alright Trevor,” she agreed, thankful for the opportunity to forget her bitter sweet moment of weakness for a while. Trevor smiled as he got off his bike, “I gotta tell yuh girl, this will be a ride you never gonna forget” the other boys joined him in laughter as Casey mounted the prized bicycle.
Casey and the boys rode through the neighborhood until they came to a muddy off road track where the cyclists usually rode.
“You think you could handle this kind ah road” Benny teased, he was a thin dark skinned boy who seemed to be balding from the front of his head.
Casey looked over her shoulder at him, “I bet I can handle better than you could” she dared. The other boys hooted in excitement, at the challenge.
Benny looked over at Trevor, and the older boy nodded, it seemed they looked to him to make all the decisions. Trevor was straddling an old silver peddle back and was grinning deviously, but she was too caught up to notice, all she could think about was proving to these boys she was just as skilled as they were.
“A’right hotfoot, lets see wat yuh made of” he said, and he motioned for Benny to get ready.
“Let’s see who could make it up that hill there” he pointed to a muddy road with tree roots jutting out from the ground. Casey swallowed hard and thanked God it hadn’t rained, because even she knew she couldn’t handle that road if it were slippery.
“Down the grassy path over there…” Trevor continued, “and through the forest, first” he turned to them with a smug smile, “when yuh get down unto the grass we’ll leave off and wait for yuh by the road, the first one out wins.”
Casey nodded, but her heart was pounding tremendously and her mouth had gone dry, she had never been through there before, and she didn’t know how to get to the road by passing through the forest, but there was no way she was going to back down.
Trevor gave the count and the two cyclists sped off, they had started on a hill so they could boost themselves up the next hill. As they started, Casey had the lead; she smiled to herself as she pushed her way up the slope, Trevor’s bike was really coming through for her. She squinted her eyes against the stinging wind, which was whipping up the loose dirt as she sped down the dirt road. Casey was a good way ahead and heading onto the grassy road when she felt the bike jerk as it popped into a pothole, she peddled harder in an effort to push herself out of the spot, of course, she thought it was only a single pothole; she was wrong. Casey held her breath as the bicycle jumped and swerved slightly, she looked back to see how Benny was handling it, he was riding higher up; it was obvious he would know the better place to ride. She could hear the shouts and laughter from the boys behind them; they would be preparing to leave now. Casey swung onto the path Benny was on, he was ahead of her now and quickly approaching the dark place they knew as “Mr. Thomas forest”.
Casey sped past the two tree stumps known as the opening to the dark creepy place. Tall nutmeg trees rose up above her, their huge leafy branches restraining most of the evening light. The g
irl swallowed hard; she could only make out Benny because of the huge white T-shirt he wore. She tried not to think about the creepy shadows from the hanging branches and vines or the fact that she could only see a little way in front of her, she wished she hadn’t looked at so many horror movies; so many frightening possibilities loomed about her. Casey was riding hard, which added to the impending danger of her limited sight.
It happened quickly, before she could realize what was happening she found herself lying in a rather painful position with Trevor’s bike fallen beside her, its wheel was still revolving even after it had hit her back upon their fall.
The bicycle had somehow run into a large root, causing it to flip forward, sending Casey soaring forward. Trevor’s bike followed her, striking her on her lower back as she landed on her chest and skidded into the huge trunk of a nutmeg tree. She then fell forward into a deep drain on her bended knees. Casey cried out in pain; she could barely move, it hurt even to groan. She licked her lips and she tasted blood, she tried to lift herself in an effort to unbend her right leg but couldn’t. She cried out again as a wave of pain shot through her. She looked over at her aching right arm and noticed it was dangling from its socket, Casey suddenly felt nauseous; the sight sickened her so much she had to look away.
“Benny!” she called out, with all the energy she could muster but there was no response, the clinking of his bicycle chains had long faded and she knew she was all alone.
The boys cheered loudly as Benny appeared through the bushes and skidded to a stop, his arms already lifted in a triumphant gesture. Trevor slapped him on the back proudly with a face splitting grin on his face.
“That’s the way we roll!” he cheered, the boys joined him in laughter and jumbled cries of approval.
“All we have to do now is wait for her to come out there” said Trevor,
“She taking long, yuh don’t think?” said one of them,
“Maybe she so shame she took another road home” Richie joked, he was the shortest of the group, and the only one who was missing a couple front teeth.
“She better not, she on me bike” said Trevor, who seemed genuinely concerned, he looked back at Benny. “How far behind yuh she was?”
Benny shrugged, “the last I saw of her was when I took her over on the grass” he boasted.
Trevor shook his head, “I think she taking too long to come out ah there” he grabbed the handle of his borrowed bike, “Benny, Kyle. Come with me, let we gwan get me bike” and he peddled off. The two boys followed reluctantly, it was getting late and most of the others had specific times to be home, so it was obvious they would be the ones Trevor called.
Trevor was already ahead of them, peddling recklessly, they knew he wanted to get home as much as all of them, he just never admitted it.
“Hey man, wait nuh” called Kyle, he was having trouble riding through the dark forest.
“Catch up, sissy’s” he called over his shoulder, as he continued to ride.
Kyle looked at Benny questioningly, “Whaddaya crazy? I can’t see a thing here” Benny protested,
Kyle looked at him in disgust, “you really is a sissy” he said as he sped off, his laughter drifting after him maniacally.
Trevor rode onward, he could hear one of the guys coming up after him but he wouldn’t stop. His anxiety increased as he failed to find any signs of the girl and his bike, he was sure something had happened now, there was no doubt in his mind. Trevor whispered a silent prayer as he rode; he didn’t go to Sunday school for nothing and he knew as sure as the trees around him, that if something were to happen to Casey it would be his fault, and he would accept that blame, it was the least he could do. After all he did encourage her to go riding with them for a reason; he also allowed the challenge race and chose the track with a plan to teach her a lesson. He knew she wouldn’t be able to handle it without taking a few falls, but that was all he had hoped for and she seemed to have been handling it very well; so well that he had considered letting her ride with them again. Trevor continued to peddle on until he noticed the familiar bike, it was hanging over the deep drain and Trevor winced at the sight of it, it would never ride the same with that bent frame. He leapt off his bike and made his way toward it, that’s when he noticed there was someone lying in the drain, it was Casey. Trevor froze, all the frightening possibilities zipped through his mind and he felt sick, that’s when Kyle rode up beside him, breathless.
“Gosh man, I thought you would have never stopped.” he paused to catch his breath and to wipe his hands across his forehead as he followed Trevor’s gaze.
“What ya lookin at…jeez!” he exclaimed as his eyes rested on the object of his friend’s attention. He jumped of his bike in a rush and ran toward her, which seemed to snap Trevor back to reality.
Kyle was at Casey’s side in a flash, and already pulling her from the drain, before Trevor could get there. He pulled her up against him and she lay limp in his arms; panic gripped him and he looked up at his friend in horror.
“Ah could hardly tell if she breathing man” he whispered.
Trevor’s eyes widened and he cupped the back of his head with both hands, this was more than he bargained for. He looked down at Casey again, her hair clung to her face and neck, all he could make out was her parted lips, which was now a scary purple, her right cheek was bruised as well as her hands, he noticed the way her hand laid limp at her side and the bone pushing from the torn leg of her jeans, her breathing was faint and raspy.
“Casey?” he said, as he stooped next to them. Kyle looked up at him his eyes reflecting both their feelings.
“Casey can you hear me?” he asked, the girl groaned and her lips moved in an effort to speak.
“What yuh say?” she mumbled something again, and her eyes flickered open.
“Ah think she say puffer” said Kyle, and that’s when it dawned on Trevor.
“She have asthma!” he exclaimed, “I’m gonna get help Kyle, you stay here” he instructed as he rose to his feet.
“What am I supposed to do?”
Trevor looked flustered, “I don’t know… find the thing” he ordered, he picked up his bike and straddled it.
“And doh let her pass out!”
Kyle nodded, “go!” he cried.
Trevor rode out to the main road and peddled his way to the closest house, it seemed everyone had already turned in. That was usually how it was on Saturdays; everyone would work during the day and turn in at the first sign of evening, in order to prepare for Sunday morning service. Trevor was lucky to meet up with Mr Brooke, the owner of most of the forest land.
“Mr. Brooke!” he called, as he jumped off his bike and ran toward him; he was too concerned with Casey’s wellbeing to bother about the consequences of asking the old man’s help, because they really were not supposed to be out on his land in the first place and he had warned them many times.
“What is it bwoy?” asked the man grumpily.
“Ah need yuh help sah” said the boy, he was trying his best to be polite just so he wouldn’t get on his bad side. The man was looking at him suspiciously, but he made no comment, instead he just stood there waiting, so Trevor continued.
“Is one of me friends, she fall in the forest” he could see the change in Mr. Brooke’s expression, and he braced himself.
“What you was doing in my garden bwoy?” asked the man angrily.
“Look I know we not suppose to be there, and is my fault but she fall bad, please come help.”
Mr. Brooke seemed to be considering this; he stood there tapping his chin absently, as Trevor shifted from one foot to the next anxiously.
“Who the child for?” he asked. Trevor told him Casey was Ms. Wrights’ daughter, and held his breath, he was aware of Casey’s reputation.
“Okay then, I go go an take a look,” he decided, and he started walking back to his house slowly; he was an old man after all. Trevor realized this wasn’t gong to work; there
was no way this man would get there in time.
“Mr. Brooke sir, no offense o’ anyting but we en have much time” he pressed, and to Trevor’s surprise the man only looked back at him and instead of yelling at him he nodded.
“That’s right my boy, lets take the truck” he said.
“Mister,” Trevor called and the man paused; waiting for him to speak.
“Yuh have a phone? I tink I should call the hospital” he explained.
“It dat bad eh? Yes go inside, ask me wife” Trevor nodded and ran off to the house.
Meanwhile, Kyle was desperately trying to keep Casey awake while Benny, whose guilt had caught up with him, was combing the dark forest hoping to find her puffer. Casey looked up at Kyle as she sobbed silently, she was still struggling to breathe, her chest was heaving uncontrollably and she was making a frightening wheezing sound, which only increased the sharp pain in her leg and arm. There was no apparent head injury other than a couple swollen bruises and scratches on her cheeks, stomach and hands. They had lifted her from her uncomfortable position and had laid her in the flat. Kyle never left her side; he refused to give up on her now but it didn’t take a genius to know that the longer they took to get her some professional help the lower her chances of survival might be, he had taken a first aid course as a scout when he was in primary school and he had never been more grateful for the knowledge. He looked over his shoulder as he heard Benny approaching, he was expecting to see him waving the puffer triumphantly, but instead he looked terrified and anxious.
“Yuh get it?” he asked, Benny shook his head frantically.
“nah, ah could hardly see anyting” he replied, as he walked up to Kyle and looked over his shoulder.
“Don’t stop man, what’s wrong with you?” Kyle scolded.
“I dunno man, ah can’t do this no mo’ man. I scared man” Benny sobbed and he held his head in his hands as he continued to cry.
“I freakin’ out man, I freakin’ out. She gonna die and its all gonna be our fault, I shudda kept my stupid mouth shut…” by then Kyle had gotten to his feet, he angrily grabbed on to Benny’s shirt and lifted him to his full height.
“Snap out of it, or I swear I gonna beat you all over this forest until you get some sense into that ugly head ah yours” Kyle was furious; Benny could see it in his eyes. He gave him one last shake before he pushed him away and turned back to Casey. Benny fell to the ground on his behind with tears coursing down his cheeks.
Kyle had barely moved when he heard the familiar sound of Mr. Brooke’s old pickup truck, Benny looked up at him panic evident in his teary eyes. Kyle just stood there, it had occurred to him that maybe the old man wouldn’t be happy to find them on his land but on the other hand, Mr. Brooke might be just what they needed. It didn’t take long for Mr. Brooke to reach them, but it took him a while to get out, Trevor had jumped from the back and was walking to them. Kyle heaved a sigh of relief and motioned to Benny to get off the ground. Mr. Brooke had finally gotten out and he was walking toward them, they could hear the sound of sirens approaching and the boys looked at Trevor questioningly.
“Ah call the ambulance, I tink it would be better, am goin and direct them in” he explained, and he turned and got onto Kyles’ bike.
“Now you boys gone and get yourself in a load ah trouble huh, I know the reverend not gonna take it too light, all ah yuh parents should cut all yuh little tail” said Mr. Brooke as he approached them.
“The ambulance coming sir” said Kyle, “we should wait for it” he suggested. Mr. Brooke looked him over slowly, and then looked down at the scared girl behind him; he could see she was in a lot of pain.
“Okay,” he agreed, just as a white vehicle burst through the clearing, its bright red and blue flashing lights almost blinding them. The paramedics had alighted from their transport and were running into the wooded area with a stretcher. The boys lined up and watched as Casey was lifted onto a stretcher with an oxygen mask held to her face and carried to the waiting ambulance.
“I’m gonna follow after ‘em” volunteered Mr. Brooke and he immediately set off in the direction of his truck.
Kyle looked over at his friends, “Who’s gonna tell her Mom?” he asked,
“I will” replied Trevor, “all yuh could go home, it real late now”
“No way man am goin with you” countered Kyle; his chin lifted defiantly. Trevor sighed and looked over at Benny.
“What ‘bout you?” he asked “you gonna come too?”
“Hell no man, I tink I had enough for today” he replied anxiously “ya’ll could go on if yuh want but I goin home”
“Alright man” Trevor agreed wearily, he then turned to Kyle.
“Let’s go, it’s getting late” he picked up his bike and turned to Benny, “When yuh passing out, drop me bike by mister Brooke eh.”
Benny nodded, there was no way he would argue with them now; he already felt like a fool. The three boys got on their bikes and rode out to the road together, with Benny and Trevor pulling the yellow bike after them, and they parted at the crossroads.