The ‘OX’ Spot
Carl was excited. He’d gotten married just 2 weeks earlier. After years of failed relationships, he’d married one of the girls that we’d often thought of as just one of the guys. Stacey was short and a little plump. She was the only girl in a family of boys, and she was tough. In Junior High we knew she’d broken up with Scott when he came to school with a black eye. Six years later, he still hadn’t lived it down. Nowadays, she worked for her father’s house-building business. All us guys were surprised when we saw Carl and Stacey holding hands one day. Looking back, Carl must’ve been the only smart one of us, thinking of Stacey as more than just one of the guys. Being recently married wasn’t why Carl was excited. He’d found out that as a wedding present, Stacey’s father was building them a house. It was Sunday morning and we were at his new house. They’d just put in the windows and doors. Carl and I were inside, pouring over the plans. It would be a single story 1,200 square feet house with a 600 square feet basement under one end of it. It was on a 10 acre lot Carl’s grandfather had donated. Only a few things were being done for free; most were being done “at cost” and Carl’s new father-in-law had co-signed on the loan. It felt good to see someone like Carl, who always worked hard and lived a life most would call “poor” finally get a break. As I leafed through the pages, past the electrical plan, foundation plan and other things I wasn’t interested in, I found a copy of the county’s property map for the area. Back off the beaten path as we were, nearly everything was farms. Then I noticed something: at the back corner of his grandpa’s farm was a piece of land cut off from all the county roads. I pointed at it, and asked Carl what it was. “Well, Derek, that is…huh. It touches the back corner of grandpa’s farm. That’s all woods back there. I thought it was the McClintocks farm.”
“No, see, here you can see the McClintocks farm. Here’s Boone’s, Martins, Johnson’s and your grandpa Roydon’s. They’ve all got the ower’s name on them. This doesn’t.” “Look, there’s a name Wait.. why the heck does it say ‘OX’?” “Ain’t no family I ever heard of. I thought that was like a bad-ass cow of something.” “Beats me. Why would someone put an ox on a map? They don’t mark cows or nothing.” “Maybe since it’s land locked, you could pick it up real cheap.” “Why would I wanna do that?” “Well, your grandpa would let you cross his land to get to it, that’s for sure. We could have a little hide-out like. A party spot, where nobody would see or hear us” “Damn, I like the sound of that! I’ve already got the “we’re gonna keep our new house nice, aren’t we?” speech,” said Carl. “No more beer can pyramids in the living room.” “I figured as much. Tell ya what, I gotta take some papers down to the courthouse tomorrow. I’ll see who owns that land.”
“Cool. Hell, bein’ way back here, they mighta forgot all about it.”
The tail end of my lunch break the next day, I went to the County Courthouse. Old Man Brannon still worked with the deeds and maps. I asked him about the name. “’Ox’? Son, you’re mistaken…No land is going to say ‘ox’ on it.” “No, it does! I swear.” “Then look it up and show it to me. Try book…11J.” I pulled the huge book of the shelf and opened it up on the table. I leafed through it and found the map. Sure enough, it said ‘OX’. He finally shuffled over to the table. I pointed it out, and said, “See? ‘OX.’” He got out a magnifying glass and looked. His eyes opened wide and his mouth hung open. I thought his dentures would fall out. “Mr. Brannon?” I asked, “Are you okay?” “Um, yeah. I’m okay. I’d forgotten all about that parcel of land.” “Why’s it say ‘OX’ on it?” “It doesn’t,” said Mr. Brannon. “You see when these maps were made, we typed with an old letter set. You clamped them together, inked them and pressed down. Some things are abbreviated; like ’Rd’ means ‘Road.’ Some things aren’t abbreviations so much as symbols. ‘RRX’ means ‘Railroad Crossings’ even though there is no ‘X’ in the word “Crossing’ but and “X” kinda looks like a cross.” “So, what does ’OX’ really mean?” “The ‘O’ is a skull, the ‘X’ is crossbones. It means ‘Poisoned.’”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“Poisoned?” I exclaimed. “What the heck does that mean? How can land be poisoned?” Mr. Brannon was quiet for several moments, as if he was deciding what to tell me. Then he said, “Why do you have ay interest in that land anyhow?” “A friend of mine was thinking of buying it.” “It ain’t for sale,” and he closed the book. “Who owns it?” I asked as he put the book up. “Nobody ‘sides, it’s landlocked. You can’t get to it.” “Somebody’s got to own it,” I said. Maybe the County-or the State. Surely one of the nearby farms would let me get to it-“ “AIN’T NOBODY gonna give you easement. They can’t. it’s part of their deeds. “But-“ “Look, young man…You just forget about it. There’s other land for sale…Like, the Hardy’s. They’re sellin’ riverfront lots. You should look them up. It’s good land.: “But…I still don’t know how land can be poisoned.” He sighed, and faced me. There was concern on his face. He said, “Look, son. There are something’s in this world that are better off left alone. Like…like hornet’s nest, for example. You see one, you give it room, you leave it alone. You don’t go messin’ with it. Now, I’m an old man, and you’re a youngun. Just listen to me on this one thing…that land ain’t worth messin’ with.”
That night was bowling night with the guys. I told them all what I’d found out. The best explanation we’d came up with was that the land had an illegal dump on it. We decided that maybe the County owned it, dumped on it, and was hiding it since they’d broken some environmental law. We decided therefore was no way we could get into trouble for trespassing. Carl said we could use an old farm road that went to his grandpa’s back field, and then hike the rest of the way. We’d go at night so no one would be working the fields and see us. One of the things that confused me was that if the county used it as a illegal dump, how were they getting to it? We figured they must be crossing the McClintock’s farm, because they were the family none of us knew much about. We’d have to be careful; there was a chance we’d sneak in when stuff was being dumped. There was also the fact that Old Man Brannon knew someone had asked about it, so they might be watching it closer. I suppose all these stipulations should have just made it not worth or time. If we were really desperate for a remote party spot and didn’t mind trespassing, we surely could have found somewhere else But we did mind trespassing; around there, land rights were taken very seriously. Trespassing meant risking an encounter with the landowner and his shotgun. In the end, we decided to go because all of us were real curious what was being dumped there. Saturday night finally came. We’d hung out in town and all of us had excuses ready for why we had to turn in early. This adventure was to be for only the 3 of us: Carl, Scott and myself. Scott drove his old Chevy 4x4 back the farm road, and parked in the back corner of the field by a corn thrashing machine that hadn’t moved in over 30 years. We all had flashlights, but not much else. Scott said, “I dunno man. I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” “Grow some balls, ya pansy.” Carl said. “You act like you’ve never snuck around in the dark before.” “Dude, we’re checkin’ out an illegal dump!” “Maybe. I got to thinkin’…remember when we were all kids and that sheriff got arrested by the Feds?” I answered, “Yeah I remember that! He was sellin’ stolen cars and stuff, right?”
Carl continued, “Yeah, well maybe this is where he kept the stuff.”
“Then why didn’t the Feds find it?” Scott asked. “and why would it still be hid? That was a long time ago.” “My Daddy always said the Sheriff couldn’t have done all that on his own; some of the other cops must’ve been in on it. Some of ‘em are still ‘round here. They might have hid his this stuff for him so he wouldn’t turn ‘em in.” “Damn.. I hadn’t thought of that Carl.” I jokingly said, “I always knew you were smarter than you looked.” “Thank God,” said Scott, “otherwise, he couldn’t tie his own shoes-“; Carl punched Scott in the shoulder.
The field stopped suddenly, and we found a way through the brush into the woods. We walked uphill only a short distance when we came to a fence. It was Carl’s grandpa’s property line. We crossed it where a fallen tree had it held down.---The hill got steeper and rockier. Carl mentioned that his grandpa had always led him to believe this property we were now on was the McClintock’s. He wondered if his grandpa had misled him on purpose or had been misled himself. Then, as the hill got quite steep, there was a stone wall. It was probably 6 feet tall, but with us being downhill, it seemed even taller. Scott exclaimed “What the hell?” A wall this size had taken a lot of work, but for what purpose? We followed it to the right. After a while, Carl said, ”Fuck his shit,” and started climbing up it where a large old tree had grown into it. Scott and I waited at the bottom. When Carl got to the top, he peered over. I asked “Well? What do you see?” “Derek, you’re not going to believe this. It’s…more trees.” “What?” exclaimed Scott. “You messin’ with us?” “No, really, it’s just more woods, C’mon; it looks a lot easier once you get over it.” We climbed over. We walked on a bit further, when suddenly, there was a light on us from behind. Scared, we stopped and looked at each other. We were caught. All 3 of spun around. When we did, no one was there. I said, “I coulda swore…: “Yeah, me too,” said Carl. Scott said “They musta hid when we turned around.” “Why would they do that?” I asked. “We’re the ones that ain’t supposed to be here.” “Maybe it was just a reflection. I mean, I think we’re a bit easy to spook right now.” “Tell ya what,” said Scott, “I’ll go back the way we came to make sure no one’s following us” Carl said, “Chicken Shit.” “Am not.” “Are too.” Oh, for crying our loud! “Shut up, you two!” I said. “We ain’t splitting up! Haven’t you learned anything from the movies? Splitting up is when things go down. We’re stayin’ together! Now, let’s keep going.” We walked onward. The land curved down like a bowl. We nearly fell into a ditch; it was hidden by the terrain. I was looking at it when Carl whispered, “Guys?” We stopped. Carl’s light showed 2-no, 3 people head of us; just standing there with their backs to us. Scott whispered “Oh crap” and jumped into the ditch. The people started to turn around and Carl and I both jumped into the ditch. We saw the light over us for a moment, and then it was gone. I asked, “Why does this feel familiar?” Scott said. “Oh, I dunno…how often do you nearly piss your pants?” Carl said.
“No, Scott–he’s right. Didn’t you notice what those three guys were wearing?”
I caught on, and said “That was us!” Scott said, “Are you nuts?” I started to get up out of the ditch. Scott tried to hold me down but it didn’t work. I shined my light, and no one was there. “They’re gone,” I said. “Yeah. They-I mean, we’re-gone.” Carl haltingly said. Scott got up and looked. He said “What the hell is this place This can’t be-“ “Hey, you two,” I said, “look at this ditch. Seems rugged, don’t it?” Carl said, “Yeah…that’s odd. Doesn’t look like water runs down it. It kinda looks… gouged. Like a old log-drag.” Carl started following it. We stayed close behind. I said, “Y’know, Carl, I think Scott’s right. Something ain't right here. We should go back..” Carl said “I…I’ve be here before. I’m sure of it, but…I couldn’t have. I only moved here 10 years ago. But, I remember being here…and mad, but sad, too.” He stopped and faced us. “Like, that déjà vu thing, but stronger.” Then he looked past us. “That’s not funny, Carl. Not here, man,” Scott said. He kept staring, and then said, “Guys?” Scott and I turned and looked. There was a bushy , fur-wearing man walking toward us with no light. He had some old rifle, and was looking at the ditch, paying us no attention at all. Then, he walked through a tree. So, as the three of us ran, I guess we weren’t thinking clearly, because we were still following the ditch. Carl, being the tallest, was in the lead. I was right behind him. There was a boulder or something ahead; Carl tripped and fell in front of it. I tripped on Carl and fell past him, toward the boulder. I had my hands out to brace myself. My hands landed on a round, smooth stone that had a ball-shape raised in the middle of it. It glowed. For a moment, I saw the boulder was concave; as if a ball had been busted open and this stone was in the middle. As I looked up, I had the strangest feeling. It felt as if I was in a dream. Like my mind was disconnected from my body. The sky seemed to strobe between light and dark; everything moved impossibly fast. I looked down, and the stone glowed steady-but my hands appeared to change into other people’s hands. My eyes were attracted to the ball shape in the middle of the stone. As I peered at it, I felt a wash of memories that felt like my own, yet couldn’t possibly be, since I was only 20 years old. There was some sort of lost connection there; some sort of knowledge that I never knew I lacked-- Hands pulled me up from behind. Carl and Scott had helped me up, and now Scott had led us to the right-roughly the direction from where we’d came. We came upon the stone wall, and stopped, gasping for air. Carl said, “It’s fucking HAUNTED!” “Right through the tree!” exclaimed Scott. “A ghost!” I asked, “And what about that stone?” They looked at me, and Carl said “What, that big boulder? In the middle of the woods? Yeah, that’s weird too.” “No, I mean that glowing stone in it.” They looked at each other and then back at me. Scott said, “I think you just hit your head, man. You were layin’ there…that’s why Carl and I picked you up.” “I was? Laying there?” “Yeah,” said Carl, “I fell and then you fell. But, I think you hit the boulder.” “Yeah,” I said, “That must've been it.” We climbed over the wall and made our way back to the truck.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
The truck was bouncing as we drove down the farm road. I was riding in the middle. Scott turned on the radio. I was laying back with my eyes closed; I had a pounding headache. I heard the end of an AC/DC song, then Hank Williams started. I said, “What station is this?” A voice I didn’t recognize with a deep southern drawl said, “890. Why? Don’t you like Hank?” I jerked my eyes open. It was daylight. There were no seatbelts; the dash was steel. The cab was very tall; the hood narrow. I looked at the driver, the only other one there-he was in his early 20’s, wearing bib overalls, and wrestling with a huge steering wheel He looked at me from under his cowboy hat and asked, “Whatsa matta wit’ you?” Then, I felt a hand pull on my jacket from my right. I looked and saw Carl, who had a hold of my jacket, looking worried, and saying “--with you?” I was back in Scott’s truck in the middle of the night. “Uh,” I said. “I guess I must’ve dozed off.” Carl touched a spot on my head. “YOW!” Scott said ”Shit.” “What?” “You’ve been acting funny since you hit your head. Carl, don’t let him doze off again.” “What’s the matter with you two?” I asked “You might have a concussion.” Scott said. “We’d better get you the hospital.” “A concussion? Aw, c’mon, guys. Carl, he’s talkin’ bullshit.” Carl answered, “I dunno, Derek…your eyes do look kinda funny.” “Oh, give me a break! I don’t need no hospital. I’m just tired, is all. Besides, where we gonna say I got hurt?” “Not the truth, that’s for sure,” Scott said. “I know,” said Carl, “you fell and hit a brick at my new house.” “Good idea. We don’t need any trouble. We can’t tell anyone we checked out that haunted land.”
I ended up at the local E.R. at 2 am. I answered the same stupid questions over and over again. Carl left, but Scott stayed. After 2 hours, they made me an appointment for an MRI in 2 weeks. They wanted to shave part of my head for a Band-Aid, but I wouldn’t let them. By the time Scott got me home, my parents were eating breakfast. I had 2 bowls of oatmeal and went to bed.
I dreamed. There was that strange stone, but it was in a clearing. I saw the bushy fur-wearing man walk up to the stone. He looked tired and haggard. He kneeled down, set down his rifle, and put his hands on the stone. It glowed. I heard his thoughts; felt what he felt. He instantly went from cold to warm; from tired to rested. He heaved a sigh of relief. He felt peaceful. He just knelt there, with his 2 hands on the glowing stone. Day changed to night; he was still there, unmoving. A coyote approached but the stone glowed brighter for a moment and it ran off. The sun rose, and he was still there. No fatigue, no hunger was felt. The days and nights moved quicker; he remained. He fell onto the stone, still holding it, but never noticed. It rained; nothing changed. His body shook, he exhaled, and the glowing ceased. His dying thought was, “It needs more than I can give.” Animals dragged off his body.
I awoke suddenly with my mom’s hand shaking me. “You were having a nightmare,” she said.” She echoed when she talked. The room looked transparent. I was sweating. She said, “You look awful. Come eat some lunch.” Feeling a bit unsteady, I got up and went to the kitchen. Dad was there. He glanced at me and said, “Eat up. You’re helping me tear apart that old tractor, remember?” Mom said “He doesn’t look good,” Then Dad said, “Well, if I stayed out all night, I wouldn’t look good either.” Then to me, “Eat up. This ain’t gonna be easy,.” I stuffed my mouth and Mom said, “You want some oatmeal?” “No,” I said, “I had 2 bowls this morning.” “No you didn’t,” said Dad, “You just had one bowl.” “No, I had two.” “Derek, honey, you only had one bowl. Well, if I’m wrong, what did the second bowl look like?” I started to answer, but stopped. Mom had a particular bowl she always served me oatmeal in; it had a scene of a horse in a pasture on it. I suddenly realized that the second bowl had been identical; that was impossible. We only had one bowl like that, and Mom would never use the same bowl twice in one meal. “I’m sorry,” I said. “You’re right. I just remembered wrong.” Dad stopped eating and looked at Mom; I knew what they were going to say. I said first, “I’m not smoking the reefer, Dad.”
The afternoon was spent with Dad. He had 3 tractors, each similar but each had something wrong with them. He had big plans to make one good one out of them and sell it for good money. It was my duty to help him; I wouldn’t, however, share in the profit. Strange things kept happening. Dad would ask for a tool, I’d get it for him, and he’d say he hadn’t asked for it yet. When we took a break, I saw a man on horseback ride up-but Dad obviously didn’t see him. The house was smaller and the barn was different and old; I was getting scared. I closed my eyes and held my head; then everything was fine. I said, “Dad? How old is our barn?” “Um…I guess I was a teenager when your grandpa tore the old one down and built that one. The old one was falling down anyway…Why do you ask?” “Did the old one have something sticking out the front by the roof?” “Well, yeah...for the way they used to do hay. How did you now that?” “Uh….I think grandpa mentioned it once.” It was a believable lie. But I was getting scared; seeing things from the past and hearing things that hadn’t happened yet. This was going to drive me nuts; but I couldn’t tell my parents; they’d be sure I was on drugs. We ended up working a little later than intended; we were pulling the transmission off one of the tractors - essentially pulling the tractor in half. Dad was getting suspicious. He had went to use a gear puller on a part, and I had already seen him do it. I told him he shouldn’t, but he ignored my advice like he always did and the gear broke. He got mad and blamed me for it. When Carl showed up, Dad was still angry. He yelled at me to get cleaned up for my friend, as if it was my fault we were working late. As I took off for the house with Carl following me, Dad yelled at Carl to stay behind; he wanted to talk to him. Carl’s face was fearful as we separated. The visions were getting more frequent. Sometimes, I could see them happening and take back my sanity. Just when I thought I’d learned to stop them, one would force its way through. I opened the shower curtain. A naked woman was there. ‘Hey there; shugar,” she said as she stepped into the shower. I knew her and she knew me. We embraced as we often did, the water on me making her soft curves slide against my muscled body. We started to- I opened the shower curtain. My heart was pounding with the excitement of the vision I‘d just had. It was like the memory of someone else. I didn’t know anyone like that, and my body was not muscular-at least not like that. And now as I looked at the bathroom I realized it had been different, too. For one thing, our toilet didn’t have the tank way up the wall. Maybe this was what it was like to go crazy. I wanted to go back to the poisoned land and find that stone. But the dream; was it a warning of the fate that awaited me if I went back? I dressed quickly, and when I stepped out, I saw Carl standing with my Dad. Carl saw me and we left. Dad yelled at me not to stay out so late. As Carl drove out of the driveway, he said, “Your Dad thinks you’re tripping.” “Did he accuse you of anything?”
“Naw. He, uhh…he told me to keep an eye on you. Keep you out of trouble.”
“So he thinks I’m a dope head, but you’re clean.” :Yeah.” We were both silent for a while. Then, he said, “You don’t look so good.” “I’m…I don’t know what I am.” “Did you tell your Dad you hit your head?” “So, that was real, right”? “Yeah!” Carl said. Didn’t your Mom see the bump on your head?” “Carl…the bump’s gone.” Carl reached over ad moved my hair He said, “What hell?” I don’t know. I was starting to doubt it ever happened. Have you been okay today?” “Yeah, sure.” “What about Scott?” “I don’t know. Tell ya what, I gotta stop by the new house and count outlets for Stacey. We’ll hunt Scott up after that.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
When we pulled in the driveway, I couldn’t believe it. The house was finished, the yard mowed. It was impossible for there to be grass. It had to be another vision; I tried to hide the fact it was happening. Carl jumped out and said he’d be right back. The place was modest, but well kept. It looked somewhat transparent, like one scene laid over the top of another. I had to get out and look around. Besides, Carl would be busy inside for a while. There was a small tree growing in the front yard, where there should have been just dirt. The windows had curtains. Then I heard a bark from inside the house. I went inside- The place was finished. Carpet, furniture and pictures were around. I smelled muffins. A little dog yipped and wagged is tail. Stacey was in the kitchen She said to me “There you are! Where’s Carl?” A little girl ran up to me yelling “Unca Derek! Unca Derek!” and grabbed a hold of my leg. Her hair was long-then short-then pony-tailed. She looked up at me, her face shifting sligthly. “When’s daddy comin’ home?” Everything seemed solid, not transparent now. A transparent Carl walked toward me as Stacey asked something about the upcoming weekend. Carl’s voice was distant, calling my name. The little girl smiled up at me. Then, Carl grabbed my arm. “Derek!” he yelled. There was just 2x4s, plywood, ad the smell of sawdust. Everything else was gone. Carl looked scared as I looked around, seeing things as they were. He said “What are you looking at?” “Nothing…nothing” “Let’s find Scott” On the way to town I asked, “Carl? Is Stacey pregnant?” “What? No!. I mean, I don’t think so. We’ve talked about it, and we both would like a baby, But…the time’s not right, right now.” “Are you sure?” “Sure I’m sure! She tells me everything. And I told her we gotta get things settled down and stable before we think about making a family. What brings this up?” “Well, ya know, you’re married now, and…” “Did you see something back there? Did you have some sort of hallucination or something?” “I saw the future, Carl. The place was finished. There was…a little girl, and a little dog. Stacey was cooking muffins.” “That’s nuts! Stacey can’t cook. And I hate little dogs!” “What about the little girl?” “I, ahh…look, Derek, something’s wrong with you. We gotta figure it out. We’ll go the pool hall. I bet Scott’s already there.” Scott was a darn good pool player. Carl and I were about equal to each other, but it was rare that either of us beat Scott. He’d grown up around it; he’d even played in a few tournaments. So if you didn’t know where he was, checking the pool hall was a safe bet. Scott was there, playing a pinball game in the back. It was early, so hardly anyone was there yet. He said the night before had him shook up, but otherwise, he was fine. We each got some food and drink and sat down to talk about it all. I told them everything. It took a while; they both wanted to know more about the hot chick. Then Carl started asking about the stone. Neither of them had seen it glow that night. I’d seen it glow bright enough that it should have been obvious. The stone was the key; it somehow distorted time. It must have been why we’d seen ourselves after getting onto the poisoned land. And the ghost we’d seen; it must have been an echo of the past. The question was, what to do about it? I desperately wanted to go back there. Carl and Scott were firmly against it. They were sure it would kill me or drive me insane. I told them how seeing the future had helped me know what to do with Dad earlier. They didn’t believe I could see the future. They said if I could, I should know what to do about all this. I told them I needed to go back to the stone. Finally, we made a bet: I’d play Scott in a game of pool. The winner got to decide what to do. I lined up for the break. I watched myself do it several different ways. I was starting to learn to control the visions. I sunk 2 balls. I thought out each move, and saw the different outcomes. I started sinking one ball after another. I played a perfect game, running the table, and Scott never even got a chance to shoot. Scott and Carl were staring at me like I was some sort of freak. Then, I saw ghosts of other people. They were everywhere; I even saw ourselves as kids. I closed my eyes and held my head to clear it. It didn’t work. I saw someone talking on a little gadget in their hand, apparently some sort of miniature portable telephone. I saw a 30’s model car drive by. It was getting to be too much; I was losing what was now and what wasn’t. my head hurt; the room spun. Scott and Carl caught me as I started to fall. Their contact broke the multiple visions. They helped me to a chair. It was good to hear, see and smell only one place and time. Carl said, “Derek? Can you hear me?” “Yeah, sure. I’m…I’m okay, now” “Really?” said Scott, “’cuz you look like shit.” “Gee, thanks.” “Well, that does it. Scott, when Derek gets feeling a little better I’ll meet you all there.” “Okay,” said Scott. Carl left.
Then, I was somewhere - and somewhen else.
“Carl,” I said. “Where’s Carl?” I was sitting in a chair in a dining room. Scott was in front of me; he was old, balding and overweight. I felt weary; my hands looked old. Someone went by using a walker. There was a bulletin board advertising Bingo; I could hear hymns being sung somewhere. With an older voice, Scott said, “Derek…you keep forgetting. Carl’s gone. He died over 50 years ago. He…he went to that stone that drove you crazy. He busted it with a sledge hammer, but then he withered and died right there.” I had a memory of Scott and I running through the woods; Carl had went on ahead of us. We got there just in time to see him hit the stone. There was a flash; we ran up to find him just rotted clothes and bones. It was horrible, gut-wrenching and heartbreaking. He’d done it for me, and it hadn’t helped. Scott continued, “Stacey was pregnant but hadn’t told him yet. She was devastated; she nearly lost the baby. After a couple of years, we married. I t still hurts us that little Carla will never know her Daddy.” Then, I was back in the pool hall. Only a moment had passed; we were young again. But Carl had already left. I grabbed Scott and said, “We gotta get to Carl! We’ve got to stop him, before it’s too late!” I started running to Scott’s truck. “What the hell you talkin’ about?” “Its. . . I can’t explain. Just trust me; if Carl goes back to that stone, something bad’s gonna happen to him! We got to tell him not to go there!” “You know Carl,” said Scott, ”Once he decides to do something, there’s no talking him out of it.” “Just drive!,” I said. “I think I know how to stop him.” We caught up to Carl at his grandpa’s garage; that’s were he kept all his tools. He was starting to pull out when we pulled in. We got out and talked. I said, “Carl, you can’t do it” “Do what?” “You can’t bust the stone with a sledge hammer!” “I’ve got to, Derek. The things making you nuts.” “If you break it, it’ll kill you Carl!” “That’s crazy, Derek. How--“ “I don’t know how, but I know you’re planning to do it, and when you do, you’ll die and be nothing but bone, and I’ll still go crazy, and Stacy will have a baby that’s yours after you’re dead, and later Scott will-“ “A baby! Damn it, Derek, I told you earlier she ain’t pregnant.” “Call her and see. If she’s not, then I’ll admit I’m goin nuts.” Carl looked at Scott, who just shrugged. Carl walked to the garage to use the phone. I heard his side of the phone call. “Yeah, Mr. P? This is Carl. Well, uhh, do you know when she’ll be back? Well, it’s just that I heard something and I wanted to ask her myself. Well, you know, it is a small town.” Carl paled a bit. “She’s…she’s pregnant? How could I be mad? I love your daughter. Well, yeah, but…sure. Of Course, Mrs. P. yeah, sure. Yeah. Bye.” Carl hung up the phone. He stared off into space for a bit, then turned to us and said, “I’m gonna be a dad. Holy shit. I’M GONNA BE A DAD!” He smiled and danced and hugged us. I had never seen him so happy. He smiled was huge. His eyes seemed to sparkle. Finally, I said, “See? I’M NOT NUTS!” He sopped, pointed a me and said, “I gotta save you, Derek. This kid’s going to need an uncle Derek.” “But how? What are we going to do?” “I’ve got to go back there,” I said, “by myself.” “NO!,” they both yelled in unison. I said, “I’ve got to find out what it wants!” I started moving slowly toward Scott’s truck, but they noticed. Scott said, “DEREK. Stay away from my truck.” “I’ve got to,” I said, Carl, you’re gonna be a dad. You can’t risk yourself for me.” “I’m still your friend, Derek,” said Carl. “Damn it,” said Scott. “That place is haunted!” Carl said, “Look, Derek we’ll ask around-find out what people know. We’ll get help.” “We’re not kids anymore, “ I said, “We’ve gotta figure this out ourselves.” I made a run for the truck. By the time I got it started, they were there. Before I got it in gear, Carl reached through the window and grabbed me. Scott came through the other side and grabbed my feet. I struggled; I yelled at them to let me go, but they dragged me out of the truck. I tried to push and twist away; I couldn’t hit a friend. They overpowered me and laid me face down on the ground. I was furious. They HAD to let me go! I felt twine tie my feet and hands behind my back. They had me; I heard Scott say it was for my own good. I yelled at them to let me go, but they ignored me. Then I heard Scott say, “We’ll take him to the rehab hospital. Maybe they can calm him down.” Carl said, “God. Derek, we’re gonna get you some help, okay? We'll get them to make you better.”
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Suddenly, I was back standing in the door of the garage, happy that Carl was happy. I said, “See, I’M NOT NUTS!” Carl pointed at me and said,
“I gotta save you Derek. The kid’s going to need an Uncle Derek.”
‘But how?” said Scott. “What are we going to do?”
I had been through this already; I knew how it ended. I had to change it. I said, “Lets…let ask your grandpa, Carl. I mean its behind his land, so maybe he knows something about it.” I had to get back there, but I couldn’t tell them that. Maybe I could wait and sneak off when they were busy. We found Carl’s grandpa in his living room, taking an old vacuum cleaner apart. He looked up and saw the three of us. Carl and his grandpa had a close relationship; I often thought Carl got along with him better than his dad. He said to us. “What are you three into? Margaret’s gone to town, but I think I know where they’re some pies.” He tottered off to the kitchen. The vacuum cleaner looked ancient, but was still among the newest items in the house. We all sat down at the kitchen table; we’d learned long ago not to fight being fed in this house. Besides, the pie was excellent. I found I felt more at ease in he house. Everything felt more stable, less temporary. Carl said, “You’re going to be a great-grandpa.” “Well, then Carl; you get the bigger piece of pie.” “You don’t seem surprised.” “Well, heck; when you’re having sex like rabbits, it’s gonna happen.” Scott and I choked on our pie. Carl’s grandpa never ceased to entertain. He sat down with his own piece, the one being left in the pie plate, and joined us. Scott said, “Aren’t you going to use a plate, Mr. Roydon?” “Naw. Margaret would see how many is dryin’ and know I had the last piece. I deserve it for fixin’ that loud contraption. Well, congratulations Carl. I’m sure you’ll make a good father.” “Really; I mean…a little boy….I could really mess him up.” I said, “It’s a girl” They all looked at me, suddenly silent. Mr. Roydon said, “How do you know that? Could be a boy.” “No. It’s a girl.” Suddenly he was very serious. He stared at me and asked, “Do you already know what I’m gonna say next?” “No.” “You,” he said motioning at all of us with a fork, “Haven’t been back to the poisoned land, have you?” Carl answered, “Yes, we have.”
His grandpa dropped his fork down. I said, “What do you know about it?”
“You touched the stone, didn’t you”
“Yes, I did.” He looked at the others, who looked at me. He said, “Just you?” “Yes” His head fell He looked at the remaining bit of his pie, and said, “Damn.” He got up ad through it in the trash as started washing his plate. Carl said, “Grandpa? Tell us what you know.” “Carl…you ever hear ‘em talk about Delbert McClintock?” “Wasn’t he that crazy guy they kept upstairs a long, long time ago?” “He was the first McClintock. ‘Round here, at least. These 4 farms ‘round here; they started out as all one farm. This was all McClintocks land. Delbert was a trapper, and a hunter. He got along with the injuns they say. That tells ya how long ago it was. Anyway, the injuns, since they liked him, gave him the job of guarding the bad land. I’d a told ‘em to stuff it but apparently, he thought it was an honor. So, he walled off the land. But some kid went missing’ or somethin’ like that, and him bein’ a trapper and hunter, he went a-lookin’. When he came back, he was nuts. Weren’t no mental hospitals or pills or nothin’ back then, so they us did the best they could. “Sometimes, someone would go see him, ‘cuz they said he could see the future. But, it made him nuts, too. He said knowin’ how ever thing’s gonna turn out ahead of time made life just not worth livin’. No new no surprises. He snuck out one day, and they never saw ‘em again. But they knew where he went.” “To the stone,” I said. He walked over to me and looked me in the eyes. “I wish there was somethin’ we could do for ya, son. You’re a good young man. I’d a never wished it on any of Carl’s friends.” “Why didn’t you tell me, Grandpa!” Carl exclaimed. “’Cuz you’re young. You don’t understand that some things are better off left alone.” Scott said, “We found out about it anyway, Carl. And what did we do? We went looking for it. And now Derek…” “I’ll be okay,” I said, “I just need to get back there.” Carl said, “Grandpa? There’s got to be something we can do.” “You think the McClintock’s didn’t try everything they could think of? They even tried blowin’ it up with dy-no-mite!” Scott asked, “Why didn’t they bury it?” “They did! It kept risin’ back up.” “We got to do something,” said Carl, “Derek’s my friend.” We were all silent. Finally, I asked, “Mr. Roydon? Where’s your bathroom?” “Down the hall, last door” I got up and went to the bathroom. Once inside, I locked the bolt, climbed on the toilet and went out the window. No one was going to lock me up anywhere! Once outside, I knew which way to go. I could feel the pull of the stone. I took off on foot, running ‘til I was tired. The sun would be down in just a couple of hours; it would be difficult in the woods without a flashlight. Why I was thinking clearly about that, but hadn’t considered Scott and Carl would be waiting on me, I don’t know. My mind felt jumbled; some things were clear to me, like thinking about Scott and Carl, but other things, like what had been the name of my science teacher, I couldn’t remember. I swore I walked through the same patch of woods 3 or 4 times, but the sun seemed to move incredibly slow. When I finally came up to the rock wall, it was a different place than before. And farther down, it looked fresh, like it had just been built with no overgrowth and the sun shining brightly. I crossed it, nonetheless. I was seeing so many ghosts now-people, trees and animals-it was hard to tell where to walk. But finally, I started getting close to the stone. I felt strengthened; emboldened. And as I neared it, I saw Carl and Scott, waiting for me. Scott was holding a stick of wood and Carl had twine sticking out of one pocket. I saw ghosts of them stopping me; and then I realized I had more control over time this close to the stone. Scott held up the stick and said “Derek. We don’t want to hurt you” “You can try,” I said, “But you won’t stop me. I can see; I can see the ways you will try to stop me. They won’t work. You know I’m right; you can’t fight it. Just step aside, let me pass, and no one gets hurt.” “I don’t care,” said Carl, “I don’t care if I can’t stop you. I can’t stand by and watch you get hurt.” Scott approached me, unsure and unwilling. Then, he swung the stick at me. I dodged, grabbed, twisted and jerked it out of his hand. He fell and laid face up. I stood over him, held the stick over him and let go. As it fell, I moved it in time with my mind. It withered, broke apart and dirt rained down on Scott. He was terrified. Carl walked up to me and said, “You going to do that to me?” Confused, I said, “I could never hurt you, Carl” Carl was bigger, stronger and faster than me; always had been. He answered, “You got that right Derek!” He whirled on me, grabbed me, and went to pin my arms behind me; a move that would’ve worked any other time. But, I moved a foot between his ankles and got him of balance. He let go instinctively, trying to break his fall. I ran to the stone. I went around it, so I would be facing them, so I could see their faces. They got up and came toward me as I knelt, ready to touch it. Here, above the stone, all the ghosts were gone. Scott yelled, “Don’t do it!” as they stopped just across the stone from me. I said, “I have to.” Then Carl said, “We can’t stop you now.” Scott said, “But if you do it, we’re doing it too.” I said, “You can’t. This is me, not you. Carl, you’re gonna be a dad. Scott, you’re going to college.” “We don’t care,” Carl said, “You’re our friend, Derek. If you do it, we have to live with it. Please, Derek, I’m begging you…Don’t do it.” How could I send them to the same fate that awaited me? How could I live, knowing what I’d caused them to do? But…the stone. It needed me; there was something there, bigger than all of us. I slammed my hands down on it and it glowed. Carl and Scott both fell to their knees, and did the same. The glow got brighter and brighter,, until it was all I could see…
* * * * * * * * * * * *
Carl, Scott and I were standing in a bright green nothingness. There was silence. Carl said, “Where are we?” I said, “I don’t know.” “I think we’re in the stone,” Scott said. “I don’t understand,” I said. Carl said, “Are you alright?” “I think so,” I said. “Yeah,” said Scot. “YOU ARE BETWEEN,” a disembodied voice said. “Where are we?” I asked, “When are we?
“YOU ARE BETWEEN, NEITHER HERE NOR THERE. YOUR ESSENCEE IS ENERGY; YOU HAVE UNLOCKED THE ARTIFACT.”
The three of us looked at each other. I said, “We don’t understand.” “IN YOUR FORM, YOU ARE INCAPABLE.” “What has been happening to me,” I asked, “What have I been seeing?” “YOU, YOU BONDED WITH THE ARTIFACT FOR A MOMENT. YOU BECAME UNSTUCK IN TIME. YOU SAW PAST AND PRESENT OF PLACES, OF PEOPLE, AND YOUR OWN PAST LIVES AS WELL.” “Can you fix him,” asked Carl, “Make him like he was?” “WE WILL MAKE ALL AS IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN; THIS ARTIFACT WILL BE REMOVED FROM YOUR TIME STREAM.” “What do you mean,” said Scott, “How can you do that?” “TIME AND SPACE ARE DIFFERENT STATES OF THE SAME, JUST AS MASS AND ENERGY ARE.” I asked, “What happened to us? What happened to Delbert McClintock? “YOU THINK IN LINEAR TIME ONLY. YOU THINK OF EXISTANCE IN THREE DIMENSIONS ONLY. THE ARTIFACT BRIDGES THESE GAPS.” “Who are you?” asked Scott. “I AM THE WATCHER, THE RETRIVER OF THE ARTIFACTS. YOUR…ESSENCE HAS ALERTED ME TO ITS POSITION. YOUR ESSENCE, SINGULARLY ARE NOT ENOUGH TO ALERT ME. BUT TOGETHER I HAVE FOUND IT, AND YOU.” “Let us out of here!” said Carl. “YOU WILL BE AS YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN. WE WILL ALTER AS LITTLE AS POSSIBLE AS A SIGN OF GRATITUDE. YOU WILL NOW RETURN TO YOUR APPROXIMATE SPACE-TIME.”
My mind felt as if it were being dissected. I tried to look at my friends, but we all seemed to be falling to pieces. Scott opened his mouth, and it fell apart. I tried to scream.
* * * * * * * * * * * *
“8-ball, corner pocket,” said Scott. The sound of the billiard balls the smell of fries and cigarettes. Memories filled my mind; new memories. Scott made the shot and it went in. I stood watching, and Carl looked around. Scott said, “Sorry, Carl.” Carl put the pool cue up. I was 18; graduation had only been weeks earlier. I said, “Hey, lets sit down and talk.” We sat down at a table. Carl and Scott looked round. I asked them, “How old are we?” Carl said, “Well, I’m twen-no, wait; I’m 18.” Scott said, “Weren’t we just…somewhere…” Stacey walked in and went to the game room. Carl watched and said, “You know…I coulda swore her and I…” “The stone,” I said. “The poisoned land. Do you two remember?” “Yeah! Said Scott. “But…it’s weird” “Like a dream,” said Carl. “I mean, it’s…it’s not there is it?” Somehow, I knew he was right. Scott said, “It never was, was it?” I answered, “No. Not here; or, in this here.” “Who are the McClintock’s?” asked Carl. “I ahh…there’s no family by that name around here.” I said. Scott said, “There was…in another time stream.” “Memories,” I said, “What I thought was real, it seems like a dream, now. This. . .time seems to be more real.” “Its fading,” said Scott, “Where and when we were before. This here and now is becoming stronger in my mind.” “You know,” I said, “I think maybe I better write it all down, while I can still remember it at all.” “We’ll just think its fiction,” said Carl, “all made up.” “I know,” I said, “but I want to write it down anyway. Before we forget it all.” “You go right ahead,” said Scott, “I’d just as soon forget it all.” We were all silent for a bit. Then, Stacey walked out, and Carl said, “Ya know, I think I’ll go ask her out.” He walked off. Scott said, “Now, why didn’t one of us do that before?” “I think we did,” I said, “Somewhere. . . sometime.” I went to find something to write on. I had work to do.