The tracks stuttered into the distance, weeds growing thick over the rusty skeleton. The moon poked through the sky, a scythe in a field of stars. The bottles clanked in the plastic bag.
Anthony whistled as we walked, some tune I couldn’t recognise. The night was still, none of the trees moved. Our feet shifted and scraped against the loose pebbles beneath the old tracks. For as far as we could see, there and back, it stretched out spindly fingers in the dark.
‘Man, can you imagine if a train ever did come by here? How freaky would that be!’ Rob laughed. He said the same thing every time.
‘It would be sick,’ Anthony agreed.
Sam sighed. ‘You know the track’s been abandoned for ages.’
‘Yeah, but what if there was an accident, or something forced it to come this way? Then we’d be screwed.’ Rob sounded almost smug about it.
‘Whatever.’
Rob bounced ahead, a dab of white in the gloom. A smile tugged at my lips.
‘Come on, bust out the drinks already,’ I said.
Anthony looked at me in surprise. Then grinned. ‘Get the party started early, I like it.’
He opened the bag, passed out the bottles of root beer. Rob came dashing back, teeth flashing. ‘Brilliant, let’s get it on,’ he said.
Sam rolled her eyes. ‘Calm down, Bow Wow.’
Rob shot her a look. In the dark, it was hard to tell if it was joking or not. She returned his look with a laconic grin. He looked away, muttered something and strode ahead. After a moment, he turned abruptly and pushed his way into the trees. We looked at each other, confused, but hurried quickly after him.
A bird darted out of the shadows, flapping frantically. It squawked its outrage.
Was that --? My neck craned but trees blotted out the sky and the next minute was full of nervous thrashing and scrambling limbs. We hung together, breaths puffing a chilled chorus. Anthony got out his phone, fumbled with some buttons and bright light shone on his face. He turned it outward so we could see just ahead.
‘Where the fuck’s he going?’
‘The lake,’ Sam guessed.
‘Shit, you’re right.’ A little surer of ourselves, we continued on the way. We used to come round here every summer; in the cold night, our familiar haunt was transformed into something sinister. Anthony’s huge shape was both reassuring and terrifying in the half-light of the stars and the phone.
‘Aw, I’m getting scratched the shit out of,’ he whined, batting at his arms.
‘And there are webs everywhere,’ Sam shuddered. Invisible strands plucked at our hair, with the odd line here and there revealed in idle flickers. I couldn’t see Rob ahead and as the path became broader and less cluttered, I stopped looking. I figured he was just being his usual impulsive self. I opened my bottle and had a pull; bitter warmth flowed down my throat.
‘Urgh, this is gross. Remind me why we keep drinking this skanky shit?’
‘Because it’s all Jimmy bothers getting. And what Jimmy gets, Rob gets –
‘And what Rob gets, we get, okay, okay.’
‘Can you guys see him?’
Silence.
‘Hey Rob, Rob!’
Rob! Rob!
‘Rob!’
Ob! Bob!
‘Rooooooooooob.’
‘Ruuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuubles.’
In the chill spaces between barren branches, our cries grew slanted and haunting.
‘Where are you Bobble Robble?’
‘Barney! Barney Rubble! Come out, come out wherever you are!’
Anthony’s voice changed into a deep baritone, harsh and rabid as he shouted. Sam’s giggling was getting out of hand, lancing into our ears. Our breaths danced in a ragged choreography as we began to jog ahead, pushed on by growing excitement. I started barking and a moment later Sam’s short yipping and Anthony’s howling joined the fray as we crashed through the underbrush.
Moonlight threw individual spears into the forest.
Up ahead, water glittered. We whooped and hollered and screamed; why no longer mattered, it had become something else all on its own. Individual shouts of ‘Rob!’ and ‘Robby!’ still echoed as we came out of the trees and onto the banks of the lake. It was a sorry excuse for a lake, more of a giant pond with delusions of grandeur than anything else.
We stopped, chests heaving and sprawled to the ground. I took a gulp of beer, noticing it was mostly gone now and that my hand was sticky with its spillage. In the ensuing silence, the others drank as well. Their eyes gleamed, excitement still pulsing between us. Crickets chirped; water lapped at the bank. Leaves creaked, joints popping in the wind - behind that, splintering cracks resounded, growing in frequency and volume. We glanced about anxiously but the gloom revealed nothing.
I was just beginning to wonder if I should move or run, when Rob came bursting out of the bushes, kicking up a storm of dirt and sticks. I lurched to the side as everyone scrambled out of the way, yelling and shouting and laughing all at once.
‘You guys scared the shit out of me!’ Rob said, when he could, and that just set us off again. He ruefully admitted he’d set out to scare us initially but that our catcalls and barking madness had begun to freak him out.
‘It was seriously fucked up, sounded like a thousand rabid cats and dogs just going nuts.’
The chuckles died away and we just sat there, drinking. Trees leaned over, gaunt, toothless old men hard of hearing. The lake gleamed with a dark chill. Rob was sprawled next to Sam. Anthony and I were opposite.
I shivered. ‘Don’t suppose we could get a fire going?’
‘And what, be douchebag teens sitting by a campfire telling stories?’ Rob said. ‘Maybe we could get deep and meaningful and discuss our problems, like how I have an issue with my height.’
‘Yeah, or we could talk about how I haven’t got a boyfriend,’ Sam smiled.
‘Or how I’ve got no prospects and will probably end up a Lifer at Maccaz.’
‘Or about my fucked up family?’ I added.
We looked at each other, then collectively said, ‘Nah.’
Laughing, I added, ‘So…skinny dipping it is, then?’
‘Are you kidding?! We’d freeze!’ Rob’s legs snapped closed. ‘Screw that.’
‘Fine, be a bitch then and pass me another drink while you’re at it.’ I grinned.
‘Or what? You’ll punch me in the face like you did Mickey?’
Everyone froze.
‘Maybe… if you keep being such a douche,’ I said, smiling tightly. ‘Sides, I didn’t mean to do that.’
Rob lay back on his elbows. ‘Ah-huh.’ He threw me another drink. ‘What about Jess, then? You spoken to her?’
‘Not really.’
As I drank, the tension eased. I could feel the skin around my eyes getting stiff and I really wanted to scrunch my face up, just to feel the muscles moving. I laughed. Anthony was on his back, murmuring some song under his breath. I couldn’t quite make out the other two, they seemed so far away but I knew that wasn’t true. I could hear them whispering. Thoughts jumbled around my head, a frenzied lottery.
‘So-o,’ I said, giggling. ‘You guys should meet my friend. He’s pretty cool.’
Anthony propped his head up. ‘You finally coming out of the closet?’
I kicked dirt at him. ‘Only when you do, big fella. No, this old homeless guy at the bus stop on Connelly Dr.’
Sam was paying attention now. ‘You want us to meet some homeless guy? You know they’re only out for your money, or worse.’
‘Yeah, he probably likes little boys,’ Rob added. ‘Bet you love that, eh?’
‘Shut up, douche.’ I smiled, floating in a cloud of warmth. ‘And he hasn’t once asked me for money. He’s a magician, you know. He dresses all in purple. Calls himself Maharaj.’
I closed my eyes feeling sleep tugging at me. The silence prickled, an ugly itch that needed to be scratched. I opened my eyes and looked around – they were all staring at me.
‘Come off it, you’re not actually being serious?’ Anthony said.
‘I am!’ I insisted.
‘You can’t be for real,’ Sam added. She went quiet for a bit. ‘Is that where you’ve been lately? Hanging with some bum?’
‘He’s alright, I’m telling you.’
‘Go on then, show us,’ Rob said.
I rolled my eyes. ‘Fine.’
I got up, legs wobbling. They followed. The trip back to town was subdued and uneventful. It was a twenty minute walk filled with Rob’s whining, which, coupled with the cold, had a sobering effect. Why had I mentioned Maharaj to the guys? Everything had been going fine, another classic night in the woods. But something had prompted me to speak – must’ve been the drink, I decided and cursed myself for being a lousy lightweight.
What’s worse, I had a sinking feeling they weren’t quite taking it as lightly as I was. What was so hard to believe?
They’ll see for themselves now. Maharaj will show them.
‘God this walk takes forever, if only one of us could drive,’ Rob moaned.
‘I can drive…sort of,’ Anthony said.
‘L’s don’t count, loser.’
Anthony was easily the biggest of us, but his placid expression never changed. It wasn’t long before we were weaving through the darkened streets of suburbia. The closer we got, the more apprehensive I became. The chill intensified. Above, clouds blotted out the stars.
‘How’d you meet this Maroney person anyway?’ Rob said.
‘Maharaj. Dunno. Just saw him at the bus stop one day.’ I shrugged.
It sounded stupid and ridiculous, I realised. And I didn’t like it, because it had been anything but that.
‘Oh, I know! You said he was a magician right? Maybe he’s here for the carnival!’
‘What? What carnival?’
‘Jimmy was tellin’ me the other day about it,’ Rob boasted. Which meant that he’d probably overheard his brother talking to his mates. ‘There’s a carnival coming, s’pose to be the best ever. Not meant to be here yet, though.’
‘Huh. I guess.’ But it didn’t sound like Maharaj’s style at all.
Rain began to pelt down and the biting cold increased tenfold. We were soaked in seconds, hunched and miserable. Except for Rob, who decided to whoop and holler some more. Sam skipped ahead too, a smile dawning on her face, fresh and clear. I looked quizzically at Anthony, but he just shrugged. We turned on to Connelly Dr. Streetlights failed to pierce the downpour, the murk of midnight. Shrouded in shadow, curtained off by rain, the bus stop rose before us; gleaming metal crawling with graffitied messages.
We stopped at its edge and I wiped the hair off my forehead, shivering as I peered closer. No darkened form took cover beneath its shelter. For a minute, I was confused and I could feel the others glancing at each other. What were they thinking? That I’d finally lost it? Then I remembered. I looked across the street to where we’d first met but no purple suit met my eyes. Disbelieving, I dashed across the road – someone shouted my name but I ignored them.
He was gone.
Battered by gathering winds and stinging rain, I hung my head.
On the ground, a sunken top hat drooped. I bent down slowly, picked it up. It was huge and floppy, much larger than I thought. The roar of the rain really hit me now, as thunder boomed in the sky. The others splashed their way over to me.
‘Left his hat,’ I shouted.
Disbelieving, Sam took it from me. With a manic grin, she plopped it on her head. It slipped right down, consuming her face and going straight to her shoulders. She grabbed at it, trying to pull it off, but it only grew longer and longer. After only a moment later she was flopping frantically about, panicking. I hurriedly grabbed it and yanked it off her head.
‘You right there?’ I said.
‘Classic Sam,’ Anthony laughed.
She looked at me with wild eyes and red cheeks. ‘Get that thing out of my face,’ she huffed.
‘Oh come on, it’s just a prop.’
‘Whatever. I’ve had enough. Let’s get out of here.’
Lightning spat.
I flinched at the forks of light burning arcs through the sky. No one argued; it was definitely time to go.
Try again maybe?
