He tried looking serious but once he saw the indignant look that came over her face he couldn’t help but laugh. She tried looking mad for a few seconds then joined in but not until she’d swatted him on his arm. Hard. They were getting a few strange looks by then but Jim didn’t really care about that anymore. He was sick of all these people and their petty little looks they gave people they thought didn’t fit in.
They climbed in to his car still laughing. Once they finally were able to bring themselves back under control he asked, “So now I’m your driver?”
“Yup, you get to take me home,” she said smiling.
Pulling away from the graveyard they began talking about little things like the weather but by the time they’d arrived he knew almost her whole life story. Before getting out of the car they agreed that since their previous attempt at a date hadn’t really worked out too well they’d try again that night.
Jill was just getting out of the car but she suddenly leaned over and gave him a kiss on the lips and said in a mischievous voice, “See, women do need men for some things after all.” then she jumped out with a giggle leaving him to stare after her.
10
When Jim returned to his mother’s house there was an unexpected message for him from Pete. He wanted him to come to the police station so that he could talk to him. Jim debated on whether he should go see him or whether he should just ignore his request. He didn’t really want to see Pete when he was behind bars but he knew that if Pete was reaching out to him he should probably at least go and find out what he wanted. If nothing else at least he could be there for him since he hadn’t been there for Tommy or Rob.
After being home for only a few minutes he once again found himself in his car on his way back to town. Arriving at the police station within a few minutes, he went inside only to be told he had to wait a while before he could see Pete. After what seemed hours but was only probably ten minutes he found himself seated in a room with a guard.
While he was waiting he looked around and idly wondered if it was always this easy to see someone in jail. When he arrived he asked why Pete was still being held, and was told they were afraid that if they released him he would either disappear or hurt himself in some way. So it was safer if he just stayed with them a little while longer. According to what little the guard would tell him he hadn’t been any help in figuring out what had happened to Rob so far, so he didn’t see the point in keeping him. Then again, he quickly added, it was his job to follow orders not make them, so that’s what he did. They exchanged little else before they finally brought Pete in. They just about threw him into a chair on the other side of the table before retreating to the corner of the room closest to where he sat. The guard that brought him informed Jim he’d become violent last night and it had taken three other guards to restrain him. One of those guards was in the hospital now, so they were going to stay in the room whether he liked it or not just in case it happened again.
Ignoring their hostility, Jim instead sat quietly across from his friend and waited to see what it was Pete wanted. Not much was changed since he’d last seen him. He thought they’d at least make some attempt at cleaning him up but apparently not. He was still dressed in the same clothing he’d been wearing the previous night. The only thing different was his head. His hair and complexion looked much greasier than they had last night. Jim figured it must’ve been the lighting. The night before he’d only seen Pete in firelight, now he was seeing him in the light of day or what passed for it in the police station. Jim wished he still only had firelight. It would have made it much less painful for him to see his friend. Say Pete didn’t look well was an understatement. As these thoughts passed through his head the smell of extreme body odor assaulted his nose. He turned his head looking askance to the guards who only shook their heads and looked at Pete. Leaning forward slightly made the smell stronger. He quickly figured out Pete was its source. He tried ignoring it but that only seemed to make it become stronger. Pete must not have showered in days, maybe even weeks judging by the reek that emanated from him.
Oblivious to everything, Pete sat across from him rocking back and forth, mumbling to himself just as he’d done the previous night when confronted with a situation he didn’t like. He hadn’t said anything since they’d brought him in. Jim wasn’t even sure if he knew he was there. If he did he gave no evidence of it. He tried a few times to engage him conversation but Pete just sat there ignoring everything that came his way. Jim tried a different approach.
He talked about Tommy’s funeral for a few minutes but when he notice that wasn’t going to get an answer either he let his sentences trail off into silence again. Jim looked at the guards hoping they might have a suggestion but they only shrugged their shoulders and stared back at him blankly. He tried once more and thought he might have gotten through to Pete when he paused in his mumblings and looked up at him as if he might say something but then he farted and began talking to himself again. Jim felt helpless and disgusted at the same time. He couldn’t do anything to help his friend. He stood up sadly and started making his way to the door feeling that spending anymore time here would be useless. As his hand reached for the doorknob he heard something behind him.
“Did you say something?” he said looking at the guards. They both shook their heads and pointed at Pete. Jim looked back at the table only to find Pete staring at him. “Did you say something Pete?”
“It’s not over,” he said as he stared at Jim through his greasy hair.
“What’s not over Pete?” Jim asked.
“He’s not done,” Pete said in a quiet singsong voice. “He didn’t finish,” he continued, “There’s two more left.”
“Two more what?” Jim asked quickly. “Who are you talking about? Who’s not done?”
“What are you a fucking owl?” Pete yelled almost standing up before the guard shoved him back down. “What do you mean who? You know who you damn idiot!” Pete yelled springing from his chair. The guards swiftly stepped forward and grabbed Pete’s arms. They wrestled him back to his seat and stood waiting to pounce should he try again. Pete looked over his shoulder glaring at them before turning his attention back to Jim.
“You know who Jimmy,” he said meaningfully.
Pete was right. Jim did know who he was talking about but he couldn’t say anything in front of the guards. He might end up in here with Pete if he did. Instead he said, “There’s no possible way that it could be what you think it is Pete. The thing isn’t real. I’ve been trying to tell you that.” He paused to look at the guard to see what they were making of all this. They seemed to not care at all about what was being said but Jim knew they were paying very close attention to everything. If Pete really hadn’t said anything since being brought in this was a golden opportunity to find out what he knew. Jim understood now why it seemed so easy for him to get in. They wanted him to get Pete to talk. Unfortunately for Pete all he had to say would make him look even crazier than he already did. Before he could say anything else Pete started talking again.
“We called him Jimmy,” he said in a rough voice, “whether you want to admit it or not we called him and he came. He came for the ones who called him but we ran. We thought we got away. We thought we were safe. But, no, oh no, we didn’t get away. He just waited. He waited until the time was right. Now he’s back. No, we didn’t get away at all. He’s back now and he’s going to get us just like he got Rob and Tommy!” Pete was bouncing up and down in his chair by now. The guards were holding his shoulders but they didn’t seem to be doing anything other than keeping him from falling out of his chair. They threatened to get rough but Pete didn’t seem to hear them. He was focused on Jim.