Ryan Ruiz - The Black Cadillac

Zach pretended like he didn’t hear the man and kept walking on the sidewalk. The man stared at Zach as he walked down the street and then looked around the neighborhood. Cody ducked before the man gazed in his direction.

Cody started running after he saw the man turn around and close his chain-link gate. Zach met up with his friend near the intersection where Scotty was parked. They turned the corner and hopped back into Scotty’s car.

“Drive, Scotty!” said Cody.

“Okay, what’s the big deal? Did you guys find what you were looking for?” asked Scotty, now sounding a little concerned.

“Um, we think so. Now please drive us back home,” demanded Zach.

“I’ll drive you home, but first, we are stopping at a gas station. You two are buying me gas. And wouldn’t you know it? My tank is almost empty,” laughed Scotty.

“Fine, that was the deal, now get us out of this city,” pleaded Zach.

“Please drive, Scotty,” Cody chimed in.

Scotty started his car and cranked the steering wheel shifter into drive. He pulled out of the spot and drove off. As they were passing the street, the boys noticed the man walking to his car.

“Keep driving, Scotty,” said Zach.

Scotty was almost back into Tippwood but on the outskirts of Crestwood when he spotted a gas station on the right-hand side a little up the street they were on. Surprisingly, they were only a few blocks away from Reagan Park, where Zach told his mom they were going.

Calmed down, Zach kidded with his friend.

“That was a close call, we could still go to Reagan Park if you want?” said Zach.

“Um, no, I just want to get home,” replied Cody.

“I’m just messing with you, dude,” said Zach.

Scotty turned left into the gas station and parked next to one of the pumps. Zach reached into his pocket and pulled out a five-dollar bill. Cody handed Zach a ten-dollar bill out his pocket.

“Here’s fifteen dollars, Scotty,” said Zach, handing his brother the money.

“No, no, no, you get out, put the gas in, and go pay for it,” demanded Scotty, pushing the money away.

“Are you serious, dude?” Zach said in disbelief.

“I told you, I would drive you, and that’s it. Get out and pump the gas,” Scotty said with a little anger in his voice.

“It’s okay, Zach, I’ll pump it,” Cody told his friend.

Cody took the money from Zach and opened the back door to get out of the car. Cody walked inside the gas station and handed the cashier the money.

“Fifteen dollars on pump two, please,” said Cody.

The cashier didn’t say anything and took the money. Cody started walking back outside toward the car. Cody lifted up the handle and grabbed the nozzle off the gas pump. He clicked the trigger in place and let go of the gas gun. He grabbed the squeegee and started washing Scotty’s front windshield. Scotty actually smiled at Cody from inside the car. Cody nodded at his friend’s brother.

What happened next sent Cody’s heart racing a mile a minute. A black vehicle pulled into the gas station and parked on the other side of the pump that Scotty’s car was on. Cody tried to get a closer look at the car. It was the same black Cadillac from the house.

“Oh my god, did he follow us here?” Cody thought, his stomach churning. Cody tried to stay calm and put his hood up.

A man stepped out of the car and started walking toward the back of his car. It was the man that Cody and his friend had been spying on. Cody was just five feet away from the man. The man noticed Cody.

“Hey there, kid, you know what time it is?” he asked.

With his hood drooping over his head, Cody looked in to the man’s eyes. What seemed like minutes was actually only a few seconds as Cody’s eyes were locked on the man’s eyes. Were they were the same beady eyes he had seen just over the passenger window of the black Cadillac?

“I’m sorry I don’t,” Cody quickly responded.

The man grabbed the nozzle and turned to place it in his car. Now that Cody was just a few feet away from him, he actually got a closer look at the man’s face. The man had blotchy marks on his face and was a little over a foot taller than Cody. He estimated his weight around 250 pounds. The man’s hair was gray and thinning.

“Sure is a nice day out here today, isn’t it?” the man said, staring at Cody.

“It is” was all Cody could mutter, hoping the nozzle would finish pumping.

“Not like it was a few weeks ago. It sure was frigid wasn’t it?” asked the man.

“It was cold a few weeks ago.” replied Cody.

“You live in the area?” the man surprisingly asked.

“Um, no,” replied Cody, thrown off by the question.

“I like this area, I have lived here my entire life. Where do you live?” the man said, opening the large trunk of his car.

“Um, few cities over,” said Cody, lying.

The gas stopped, and the nozzle clicked. Cody lifted the gun out of the fuel tank and placed it back on the pump. Cody noticed some things in the man’s trunk. Cody made sure the man didn’t see him peering into it.

“Well, you have a great day, kid. Before you go, one thing.” The man took two steps toward Cody. “I commend you for not wanting to talk to me. This is a bad world, and your parents must have taught you well. Don’t ever talk to strangers. You never know if someone is out to get you, you know?” he said, letting out a tiny laugh.

“Yeah, I know,” Cody said, screwing the cap back on the gas tank.

The man was staring right at Cody.

Zach and his brother were in the car, trying not to be seen by the man. The pump was shielding them from his view. Cody opened the back door and jumped into the backseat. Scotty started the car and put it in drive.

Cody’s heart felt like it was going to beat right out of his chest.

“Did you guys see or hear that?” he asked, knowing they probably did.

“Yes, are you all right? What the hell did the guy say to you? Do you think he saw me?” Zach anxiously said.

“Um, that was weird, did he know we followed him?” asked Scotty, now very concerned.

“I don’t know, guys. He started talking to me about the weather. He was very strange,” responded Cody.

“Oh my god, was that a close call or what!” yelled Zach.

“You’re telling me! He stared at me out there and said strange things,” said Cody.

“Okay, guys, there is something you are not telling me. What is going on? Or I am going to Mom, Zach?” said Scotty.

“Dude, can we tell him? He’s my brother, we can trust him,” Zach said, sounding defeated.

“Yes, we can tell him, but, Scotty, could you please keep this quiet? What we are about to tell is a secret, and no one can know,” said Cody, directing the question at Zach’s older brother.

“I can and I will, but what sort of trouble are you guys in?” asked Scotty, now very interested in what the two kids were up to.

The whole way home, the boys told Scotty everything. Like his brother, Scotty really understood how important this was to Cody. He also had heard about the missing eight-year-old girl, Mandy, even though he was at the college when it happened. Scotty had a newfound respect for the two boys.

By the time they got back to Zach’s house, it was going on five. Scotty parked the car in the street. The boys got out of the car and headed into the house, and Scotty was behind them, following. The boys marched right upstairs into Zach’s room.

“I think that’s him, Zach, I really do. He said the word kid to me twice. Though I can’t be for certain, it sounded like the same voice of the man that tried to pick me up,” explained Cody.

“Dude, I think we are getting close, maybe a little too close. I mean, why did that car, the car that we tailed for several miles, stop at the exact same gas station we were at?” said Zach, sounding worried.