The Hole in the Wall - Lisa Rowe Fraustino [22]
I had a sinking feeling about that. “Cluster said the goons came to test the Zenwater yesterday. I bet it flunked.” Had it turned all colorful and foamy like the spring at the Hole in the Wall? Suddenly I felt scared for my friend.
“Whether it did or didn’t, I don’t see how they possibly could have moved out this quickly. And there are lights on upstairs. They must still be here.”
Ma poised her hand to knock at the door.
“Wait, Ma!” I shone the flashlight around searching for hidden cameras, but only saw animal eyes glowing from a tree. “Ma, you sure you want to knock? What if the people inside are Authorized Personnel Only?”
“What if they’re the Dogstars? I have to warn them about the eggs. Let Stanley Odum try and prosecute me for doing the right thing.”
At that, Ma swallowed hard and rapped loudly on the door.
7
We waited, listening for footsteps inside, and heard nothing but the wind in the trees and the roof settling. Bats swooped and rose in chaotic patterns. A puff of wood smoke wafted by, making me cough. Feeling the cold, I blew on my hands and jogged in place.
Ma knocked again. Still nothing. She reached for the doorknob. My heart quickened as her hand twisted.
The latch clicked. The door swung open with a long, spooky squeak. Ma shone her flashlight inside and screamed. My heart stopped. The Dogstars lay on the floor before us, moaning and frothing at the mouth, their skin splotched with colors like in the polluted spring at the Hole in the Wall.
No, my brain made that up. Must be all those horror movies Pa watched on the TV. Ma didn’t scream. She still had her hand on the knob. It didn’t turn. The door was locked. My heart restarted.
“Maybe they just left a candle burning when they left,” she said, turning to look at the pale ribbons of light the upper story windows cast on the yard.
“And a log on the fire,” I added.
“Well, nobody’s answering the door, so we might as well go,” Ma said.
We hurried back along the trail, wondering out loud where our friends had gone so suddenly. “Surely tomorrow there’ll be word around town,” Ma said. I hoped so. I didn’t like not knowing what happened to Cluster.
When we got home I stooped to retrieve my hidden souvenir pebble. It wasn’t hard to find—it winked at me when I poked my head under the steps. Nice pebble.
It was past our bedtime, so Ma sent me straight upstairs. Barbie was already in bed reading. At first she didn’t sound concerned when I told her everyone at the commune had been abducted by aliens, or else maybe put into the witness protection program, or else maybe buried in a mass grave under a slag pile in the gore.
Barbie just rolled her eyes at me. “Sebby, you’re outrageous. Did it occur to you that they just decided to go somewhere? Like, a concert? Or a long weekend vacation?”
Then I remembered to tell her about the ORC sign on the lodge door, and reminded her about the water test, but she was still being stubborn. “Goofball, Boots Odum has been trying to buy Zensylvania out for years. Maybe he just made them an offer they couldn’t refuse.”
Ma came upstairs and kissed us good night. “Lights out, now. Time to stop talking and go to sleep.”
“I second that,” Grum called from the bedroom formerly known as mine.
Pa wasn’t home yet, so the house was perfectly quiet when the phone rang. Not even a whole ring. Just a chirp. A sound that always made me happy even if it stopped me from getting to sleep.
“Jed!” I blurted.
“Praise the Lord for good news,” said Grum.
“Amen,” said Ma.
Barbie sighed and jiggled happily in the bottom bunk.
The day after Jed ran off, Ma filed a missing persons report with the police, but they said there wasn’t much they could do since he’d turned eighteen. About a month later, he called for the first time. He didn’t stay on the phone long and wouldn’t answer any questions. He just told Ma how he’d be calling every so often and letting the phone ring once to let us know he was okay, because he didn’t want us to worry. Whatever number he called from, it never showed up on Caller ID.