Chapter 13
Three shadowed figures went racing across the boulevard as the sun began to set.
“Come on Oki,” Vince hissed under his breath. “Keep up, will ya?”
“Yeah, come on!” Kai echoed as well. They were way ahead of poor Oki.
“Yeah, yeah,” Oki barked back at them. “You guys aren’t lugging this crap around.”
They reached their destination on the darkened side street and all three boys hunkered together low to the ground.
“Take a knee, boys,” Vince whispered.
Throwing the backpack to the ground with a heavy thump, Oki answered, “We already are, doofus. Damn, that thing weighs a ton. What the hell you got in there? And why did I have to be the one carrying it?”
Vince ignored him though. “All right men, here’s the plan. We didn’t get too far last time due to Kai’s weak knees.”
Kai pushed him over and Vince fell back on his rear. “Up yours, man.” Vince started laughing even though he was flat on his back. Oki thought it was amusing too.
Lifting himself back up, Vince became serious again. “This time we take that element out of the equation.”
“Ooo, such big words,” Oki teased him.
Vince continued, “This time we take advantage of the big mango tree over on the side.” He pointed to the right side of the house. “I’ll climb up there high enough so I can see into that side window.”
Kai did not seem convinced. “Well, what do we do? Stand around with our thumbs up our butt? Plus it’s too dark up in that tree. You can’t see to climb.”
“That’s what the flashlights are for, dummy,” Vince said matter-of-factly. “I need you to give me a boost to that first branch, then you shine the lights on the branches so I can see where the hell I’m going. Just don’t drop me this time.”
“Whatever,” Kai said flatly.
“Well, what the heck do I do?” Oki asked.
“What else? We need you to keep watch for us,” Vince answered.
Oki frowned and pouted. “Why do I have to be the one who keeps watch all the time? I wanta see Bigfoot too and so does Kai. And what if we see Tua again?
Kai shook his head. “I don’t wanta see some humongous lady that needs to be shaved down. I’m just here so I could get away from the dorm. Ya’ll can have the Yeti.”
“She’s no Yeti,” Vince again tried to assure them. “That’s what I’m trying to prove. She’s a goddess. She has to be. I bet she’s a demon in the sack.”
“Oh, don’t make me imagine Sasquatch in the sack,” Kai muttered. “I just ate.” Oki started laughing out loud.
“Quiet, you guys!” Vince hissed. “I bet you’re both wrong. Come on, let’s do this thing. Get the stuff out.”
Oki began pulling items from the overstuffed backpack. He pulled out flashlights, gloves and a large bundle of ropes and straps. He looked at the ropes strangely. “What the heck is this?”
Vince answered as if it were no big deal. “It’s a climbing harness. What else?”
Kai lifted the ropes and looked at him crazily. “You need a climbing harness for a mango tree?”
“Safety first,” Vince said casually. He started to secure the harness around his waist. Kai and Oki looked at him as if he were mad.
“Aren’t we pressed for time?” Kai asked smugly.
“I’m ready. Let’s go. Oki…”
Oki rolled his eyes. “I know. Go keep watch. Bite me.”
They quietly crossed the street and snuck into Fat Mazy’s yard. Kai and Vince quickly ran over to the large mango tree. Kai showed his flashlight into the branches while Vince threw the long rope from his harness around a branch high above. He caught the end as it fell back down to him and he pulled it taut.
“All right, lift me up,” he whispered. Vince put his foot into Kai’s cupped hands and Kai lifted him easily to the lowest branch. Vince swung the rope over to Kai. “Hang on to it tightly.”
Kai kept his light on the branches just above Vince’s hands and Vince slowly made his way to a good vantage point that overlooked the side window of Fat Mazy’s house.
Oki kept watch from the other side of the street, watching cars pass by on the nearby main street and the next one down in the neighborhood. So far the coast was clear.
Vince inched up the large branch, his legs wrapped around it as best he could. Soon he was in a comfortable position. He then produced a pair of binoculars and lifted them to his eyes. Holding on to the branch with one hand, he peered through the glasses using his free hand. He tried to hold himself as steady as possible.
Oki whispered loudly from across the street, “He see anything?”
Kai echoed his question to Vince, “You see anything?”
“Shhh!!” Vince hissed under his breath. He wobbled a bit on the branch and he dropped the binoculars and let them dangle from his neck. He quickly wrapped both arms around the tree branch. Kai did his best not to laugh out loud. “Cut it out, man! This branch is big.” He was able to steady himself and then was able to grab the binoculars again with his free hand.
Suddenly Oki called out, “Car!”
Vince froze in place and Kai ducked behind the tree trunk. But the car merely passed through the neighborhood on a side street a block away and never turned down their way.
“Sorry, false alarm,” Oki said.
Vince shook his head and went back to his snooping. The light was on in the window, but still he could not see anyone inside. We need to get her attention, Vince thought to himself. But he knew fireworks were definitely not an option this time. He thought for a moment. Suddenly he saw some movement from inside. He saw shadows on the floor just outside the room. He could not tell if the window led to a bedroom or some other room. “Come on, come on,” he whispered under his breath. Then the light in the room switched off. Startled, Vince let the binoculars down and stared intently at the window. His eyes widened as a figure cloaked in shadow came towards the window. Holy crap, it’s her! he thought to himself.
Kai noticed his reaction. “What is it? You see something?” But Vince didn’t answer. He kept staring at the figure in the window. He couldn’t tell if the person was large or not, it was too difficult to see.
“Shut off the light!” Vince called from above.
Turning off the light, Kai glanced over at the window. He too saw the figure in the window. “Whoa!!” he whispered under his breath in astonishment.
“What is it?” Oki hissed again. Suddenly his attention was drawn away from Kai and Vince. A police car passed across the intersection two blocks down. Oki’s eyes widened. “Uh oh.” He tried to get their attention. “Guys…”
Vince whispered down to Kai, “You see that man? Is that the Yeti?”
“I can’t tell! Can she see us?” Kai answered, trying to keep his voice down.
Then Oki saw the police car again, coming from the other direction, except it was now only one block away. Oki panicked. “Guys! It’s the cops!”
Kai looked away from the window when he heard that. “Huh?”
“The cops!” Oki cried out again.
Just then an outdoor light placed under the house awning on the side was turned on. Kai was startled and turned and tripped on a tree root. The light startled Vince as well and he lost his grip. The binoculars fell from his hand as he listed to one side of the branch, barely hanging on.
“Grab the rope, dude!” he whispered loudly, nearly shouting. Kai barely caught the rope in time as he fell to the ground. But Vince couldn’t hold on any longer and he slipped off the branch. The roped pulled completely taut and Kai lurched forward from the ground to try and keep hold of it. Oki came running over into the yard when he saw Kai struggling. Vince was swinging from the tree like a piñata.
“The cops are comin’, man!” Oki said desperately. “We gotta go!” He noticed the outdoor light on and then he saw Vince dangling from the rope high in the tree. He began t
o laugh uncontrollably. Kai began to laugh as well. Oki kept on laughing. “Holy crap, Vince!”
Kai tried his best to stand up while grasping the rope, yet he stumbled backward again on a tree root and lost hold of the rope. Oki made a lunge for the falling Vince. He plowed into his brother the same time Vince toppled on top of both of them. The three boys lay there in a heap with Kai and Oki still laughing.
Vince was all right and scrambled to his feet. “Come on, let’s beat it!” They had no idea if the person in the window had seen them clearly but there was a good chance they had. They ran as fast as they could down a few blocks until they thought the coast was clear. The boys stood panting, looking behind them to see if any cops were after them. Vince stood in a ridiculous mess with the harness and binoculars wrapped around him awkwardly and the ropes strewn all around his feet. Sweat poured down his face as it did Oki and Kai’s. They were still laughing at their latest stunt. Vince laughed along with them.
“You looked like a bunch of bananas swinging from that tree!” Oki laughed.
“Well, could you make anything out?” Oki asked curiously. “You think she made us?”
“No, but I can tell you this,” Vince panted. “She’s definitely not the tree trunk we thought she was. I couldn’t see her face, but I could tell she had a great body. The rumors are true boyos, she’s a sexual goddess!”
“Wow!” Oki exclaimed. “Dang man, I wanted to see.”
Kai looked at him as if he were insane. “Are you crazy? Dude, she was winder than the window! We needed to cut the side-walls out from the window frame just to see the rest of her. I thought she was gonna come out and pounce on us.”
Vince laughed out loud. “What window were you lookin’ at? You must need glasses, bro. I know what I saw. Ten bucks says the woman in that house is hot.”
“Man!” Oki said again. “I wish’d I’d seen that.”
Kai rolled his eyes, “Dude, she is the house! You’re on Vincent, ten bucks! And trust me Oki, you don’t wanta see her.” He looked at Vince and his harness pathetically. “You look stupid in that thing, you know that?”
Vince shrugged his shoulders. “Hey, it worked didn’t it? No thanks to you, butterfingers. Safety first, buddy.”