Priest’s feet came to a stop, and as he stared down at Robbie, he wondered how he’d ever thought him haughty or frivolous, because he was neither of those things. He was beautiful in his earnestness, trusting in his innocence, and he brought a certain joie de vivre to their life that he and Julien had been missing.
Priest moved over by the side of the bed and peered down at Robbie. “This is not a pretty story,” he said. “But it is mine.”
He then turned his back so he could find his bearings before he took them all back to where they needed to go—to the day the monster finally showed himself.
THE HIGH-PITCHED SOUND of a mosquito in Joel’s ear zipped and zapped from his left to his right as Victor wove the aluminum airboat through the narrow channels of the bayou, and expertly dodged the gnarled roots that grew out of the water like tentacles on some alien life form. At least, that was the story Joel was making up in his head to take his mind off the truth, which was far scarier than aliens invading.
It was a Friday afternoon and the sun was blistering as it shone down on them, the humidity so thick it made the clothes stick to your body as though you’d just stepped out of the shower wearing them.
Today had been the day his father was supposed to meet him at school for his parent/teacher meeting with Mr. Stevens. But after an hour had passed, and Mr. Stevens had checked his watch for the hundredth time, Victor had knocked on the classroom door instead, causing a sense of unease to rise in Joel’s stomach.
As tall as a mountain, and as burly as a bear, Victor was a man of few words and living relatives, which made him perfect. He had no family, no ties, except a son a couple of years younger than Joel, and he was as loyal as a Labrador to Big Jimmy, whom the entire town feared due to his reputation for dealing harshly with those who got on his wrong side.
It was a side Joel witnessed often these days, as his father seemed intent on bringing him deeper into the fold. But even at the tender age of seven, Joel knew enough to tell good from bad when he saw it, and the town was smart to stay away from Jimmy Donovan, because nothing but pure evil resided in his heart.
As the boat made the final turn on the waterway, a cottonmouth darted out from under it and skimmed across the water, making Joel shudder. He hated this place. He’d only ever been there once, a couple of weeks ago, when his father had given him his first hunting knife and decided to teach him how to kill a snake. It was a day Joel was still trying to erase from his memory. He hated the thought of killing anything, but Jimmy had been insistent that day, handing Joel the knife and telling him exactly how to cut off the snake’s head, nice and clean. Jimmy also explained that even though the head was cut off the body, the snake could still land a deadly blow.
This place was full of things that could hurt you. That was the other reason it made Joel’s skin crawl. There were dangerous creatures lurking beneath the surface wherever you looked, and as the boat slowed near the dock, Joel’s eyes latched on to the thing he knew was the deadliest of all—his father.
As Jimmy pushed open the rickety wooden door, making it slap against the side of the shack, his shrewd eyes focused on the boat now docking at the pier. The loud thwack sent the two herons wading in the reeds flying up into the clear blue sky, and as Joel watched the man he feared more than the devil walk down the beat-up stairs, he wished that he could escape the same way.
Tall and muscled, Jimmy was intimidating even without the glower he always seemed to sport. But once you added that, it was easy to see why men cowered before him. Whether it was because they owed him money, drugs, alcohol, or a favor, no one walked away from Jimmy unscathed if they were brought before him to atone for their sins.
Jimmy wore a grey Irish flat cap that covered hair a brighter shade than his son’s, and also had on grey pants held up by suspenders over a white shirt with grey stripes. He’d rolled the sleeves up his thick forearms, as though he were about to do some hard work, and as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his pants, Joel couldn’t help but wonder what exactly his father had in store for him today.
Joel got to his feet and walked to the edge of the boat, knowing how his father hated waiting for anyone, even his son. But something caught his eye off to his right, and Joel quickly turned to look out into the scrub, knowing there were gators all over this area. As he did, his foot caught on something wrapped up in a tarp, and when he fell over and landed hard on the bed of the boat, he was grateful he hadn’t landed in the water where one of those reptiles might decide he looked like a bite-sized treat.