Change the World / I'm Not Alone, C.T. Lang [short books for teens .txt] 📗

worrying."

"What are you going to tell them?"

"Maybe that Roy's been kidnapped and he's staying on a fishin' boat." The sarcasm was unmistakable.

"No!" Mullet snapped his fingers, his blue crystal eyes lighting up. "You'll call and pretend you're a church minister, and there was a church party tonight…"

He trailed off, but Bea caught on fast.

"Hello, ma'am, this is Sherry Cornwallis, youth minister at First Presbyterian. Your son Roy just told me he forgot to call you about the lock-in tonight. Oh yes, he's here, and everything is fine. Yes ma'am, but I could bring him home if there's a problem… we normally drop them off at school the next morning, and he says he brought a set of clothes. We will have them sleep a few hours. What? Oh yes ma'am we're very organized, they all have cots and we'll pop in a relaxation CD after prayer," Bea clapped a hand over Mullet's mouth to keep him from making faces at her while she was talking. I could hear my mom's higher voice asking a question.

"Yes, the church has a telephone, but…" Bea was a good improv. actor.

"I just remembered. I'm so sorry ma'am, our line was cut when the gale cut all the power a few days ago. That's why we've been operating off of cell phones. But if Roy needs anything we can call. He's having a lot of fun now, they just finished playing bible Jeopardy."

Now I was chuckling too, though it hurt the skin on my face. "Yes ma'am, I'll tell him. Yep. Uh huh. Oh, wait, I have to go, one of the girls wants me. I'll tell Roy you said hi. Thanks! Good-bye, Miz Eberhart."

Bea hung up with a "thunk" and burst out laughing, a wheezing, side-hugging laugh that Roy found irresistible and Mullet too, apparently. But the laugh turned into a yelp when my lips finally split and blood gushed out of the raw, purple skin. Without panicking, Mullet tore off a sleeve of his brown rocker T-shirt at the seam and pressed it on the source of blood-flow, completely Marine-style.

"Careful, there, man. A joke isn't worth killing yourself over." But he was smiling with sympathy. I hated the pity. I was already mad. Mad at myself, for teasing Dana, for falling for his trick, for ending up frozen, for being so helpless! It was unbearable. I couldn't move. My muscle tone was shot.

Bea walked out to the deck and came back with a bottle of water from the fridge, which she opened and handed to Mullet. "This is too gross for me. You do it, bro." He took it and poured a dribble onto the rag, now blood-soaked. He proceeded to clean blood from my face and hands, especially under my nails, where I had struggled the hardest. "And now to stop dehydration." I wanted to hate being fed like a baby, but it felt really good. Then I remembered it must've been Mullet massaging my head, to help clear it. Where did he learn all this?


Chapter Four: FLASHBACK; Where He Learned It All

A boy lay wide-eyed under a bunk-bed while his mate slept soundly. A groan emitted from his chapped lips.

"Somebody, help me!" He whispered. He was sick, he was tired, he wanted his mom, he wanted Bea, he wanted to go home!

"Psst!" An unfamiliar voice, deeper than the 10-yr-old's.

"W-who's there?"

"Shut up! Unless you wanna get thrown in the slammer outside, with the bats and roaches!" The voice had a different feel, some accent.

The younger boy muttered something that sounded like "Rather have the bats and roaches," but the older one wasn't listening.

"Hey, you. You're comin' with me, right? I can help you."

So he followed, a difficult task in the pitch-black darkness maneuvering around the four beds in their cabin, and the older boy cut the alarm bell before opening the door wide enough to get out.

"Yea, we're going on a little trip." And with no further ado, he tossed a brown lunch bag over the little boy's head.

"Wha? Why are you-?"

"Don't ask questions. Just walk forward. I'm here with you. Sorry, but you can't know where this is. The officers will try to trick you into telling."

A firm hand guided him around the waist.

"Who are you, anyway?"

"Name isn't important. You can call me Merlin."

"Why?"

"Merlin was a wizard. He could do magic, and cool stuff like that."

"I know who he was. But you aren't a wizard."

"I know that. But by the time we're done you'll think I am."

Now the blond boy was even more confused. They took several more steps before his grip clenched on the young'un's waist and they halted. He felt the bag slide off.

"We're pretty far from camp. Not that you'd wanna go back in that shape." Merlin, he saw, was pretty tall and lanky, with dark brown hair and slitted black eyes that shone in the moonlight.

"Why are we out here?"

"You wanna get better, right?"

"Y-yes."

"First you gotta tell me how they did this."

He shook his head. He didn't want to remember. Because some things that happen at military boot-camp should never be told. But the brunette wouldn't take no for an answer, so he plunged in, wishing it was already over. He told, in a halting, gulping voice, about the taunts that turned into getting smacked around, that turned into getting whipped, that turned into…

"What???"

"H-hickeys."

"How do you know that's what those are?"

"My mom… she had a lot of boyfriends."

"Oh. Those bastards."

"It's my fault. I'm a pretty boy. I deserve it."

Merlin tossed his head back at the moon, as if enraged that it would shine tonight.

"Now listen to me. Listen! Those boys are nothing but filthy criminals, okay? They're scum. They're evil. And you don't deserve it."

"Should I tell an officer?"

"NO!" Merlin's eyes widened too wide for their slits. "They'll make an example of you. No, next time they try anything, you run and tell me, and I'll make them stop. But as soon as you can, like on our next visit to town, you gotta run away."

The blonde shook his head.

"You have to."

"Nu-uh, can't."

"Why not?"

"My mom doesn't want me."

"Don't you have anyone?"

"Well, my sister likes me, but she's only 12."

"Hmm. I guess I'll have to teach you how to live on your own."

His face lit up.

"But first, I'll fix these scrapes. Is anything broken?"

"Not that I can tell. But my arms are stinging, and my head hurts a lot."

Merlin appraised him. "Your head comes first. You won't last here without it. Sit down." He lit a flashlight he procured from a knapsack and showed him to a seat on a warm rock. "Lean back. There we go." And he began to stroke his hair, as he did, telling him about all his favorite animals, in a soothing voice. The blonde boy lay back, drifting into welcome oblivion, listening to his first friend's voice, and feeling his masterful Taiwanese hands massage his cares away…


Chapter Five: Tension

Mullet seemed a little preoccupied as he kneaded the knots out of Roy's shoulders. In the short time he'd been working, he had pounded the frozen skin on his face and neck, and now he could move everything down to his fourth vertebrae. As he did, he talked about Sandy State, but Roy was only listening to the sound of his voice tripping over the Latin animal names.

"And there's even Hyra versicolor, the European grey tree frog, all up in those trees they want to chop down. They're scarce in this area. But then again, all the stuffed-shirts see is a great big money sign."

Roy only nodded. That was strange. Normally he gave great input about what course of action to take. So Mullet decided to trick him.

"So I'm thinking, we could just dynamite the whole thing!" He said, using a chopping motion down the center of Roy's back. He only nodded again.

"Hey, earth to Roy! What's on your mind? These frogs are dying, and you're just sitting there. You still pissed at Dana?"

"Nah…"

"Then what is it?"

"Well…" He had to think of something to say. "Um, how did you find me?"

"Oh." Mullet was thankful Roy couldn't see him blush. "I just… you know, heard you rustlin' around in that big ol' fridge and wondered if a raccoon got in there. Kinda weird to find a kid in there, instead." He chuckled, a little nervously. But Roy didn't catch it.

"Why were you at my school at… when was it?"

"Bea reckons you were in there for five hours, since your skin tone was puce, as opposed to a motley reddish brown. She's addicted to Google. So, er, yea, we think you were in there from 3 until eight. Then we took you here, and you woke up at eleven fourty-ish." Whew, he had skated over that one.

"Were you mad when I didn't make it to the site?"

"Nah, I just left the footprints as planned, and tore down all the direction signs."

"Where'd you put them?"

"Well, they just happened to shred themselves and scatter in the mailbox of the land developer. Oh, and I cut the fuel line on the lumber trucks, so that should stop the "progress" for a while." He smirked. He was so cute when he smirked. Damn him.


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(Okay, time for some Mullet Finger's POV!)

Why wasn't Roy paying attention to me? I had to freakin' fight for every look he gave me! It was so not fair. Not that I didn't like massaging him; that alone gave me chills. But he should appreciate it. I'm GOOD at massages, now. I can do all kinds, too. It would take an MD to fix that frostbite, and I've only been at it for a half-hour, and I've got half his body fixed. Now the legs.

"Stretch your left leg as far as you can."

"What??"

"Isn't it frozen stiff? Push it out toward my chair."

"No."

"Why not?"

"It's weird, man."

"No it's not. If you were a cougar with a broken paw, or a bear stuck in a trap I'd do the same thing."

"But I'm a guy! Not a stupid animal."

"Well if that's how you feel!" Now he was just ticking me off. Stupid Roy with his great first name and curly hair and stupid, stupid Roy!

"Look, you can sit here and rot until your flesh becomes blue and putrid with disuse and you need an amputation, OR you can let me fix it and go to school tomorrow and no one will ever know Dana did that to you."

Roy still wouldn't talk to me. I threw my hands up.

"Fine. Go ahead! Be paralyzed for life. See if I care!"

I stormed out to talk to Bea, who was sitting on the lawn chair drinking a Pepsi.

"Are you done with Roy already? That was fast!"

"No, Bea, he won't see reason. He's being an immature jerk just 'cause of a massage."

"Well it's understandable he'd be uncomfortable."

"No it's not! It's normal!" Her eyebrow shot up.

"It is too!"

"If you say