Ryan Ruiz - The Black Cadillac

On the way back home, Cody once again gazed across the street at the church. The car was no longer there, and frustration took over. Cody and Olive continued home, pedaling slowly.

They pulled up to the wooden gate in the driveway. Olive threw her bike down and ran inside. Cody gave her the other piece of candy before she ran inside.

“It’s okay, Ol. I will put your bike away for you,” Cody said sarcastically.

“Thanks, brother!” a little voice said from far away.

As Cody was putting both bikes back in the garage, he heard a voice from over the fence.

“Hello, Cody!” said the voice.

“Oh, hey, Mr. Durkbridge. You kind of scared me for a second,” said Cody.

“I’m sorry, son. I was just outside in the garage, doing some spring cleaning,” said Mr. Durkbridge.

Cody wasn’t very fond of Mr. Durkbridge. He was always calling him “son” every time he saw Cody. There was something about him that just didn’t sit right. Even Olive, who was one of the friendliest kids Cody had ever seen, didn’t like Mr. Durkbridge.

In his midforties, Mr. Durkbridge was a friendly neighbor. He had moved next to the Roberts family ten years ago. In some way, Mr. Durkbridge felt bad for Cody’s mother because she had to raise the two kids on her own. He was always working in his yard or outside of his house. There was something about Mr. Durkbridge that both Olive and Cody did not like. Maybe it was the fact that Mr. Durkbridge was the same age as the kids’ stepfather that had left their mother.

Mr. Durkbridge lived alone and was always home. No one knew if he had a job or what he did for a living. Cody and Olive always tried to stay clear of Mr. Durkbridge. He always wore these V-neck sweaters that people wore twenty years ago. The man had thinning gray hair and had a large nose. When Cody actually thought about it, Mr. Durkbridge looked sort of on the creepy side. The guy was probably harmless.

“Well, have a good day, Mr. Durkbridge,” said Cody quickly.

“You do the same, Cody, and tell your mom I said hello,” replied Mr. Durkbridge.

“Okay, I will,” said Cody even though he had zero intention to do so.

Cody walked in the house through the back door. His mom was washing dishes, and Olive was reading a jumbo-sized book in the living room. She had her Laffy Taffy pieces right next to her on the coffee table. His sister looked content.

Cody had some thinking to do. He ran upstairs into his room, shut the door, and sat at his desk. He pulled out the bottom drawer, opened his secret compartment, and grabbed his drawing of the vehicle.

Staring long and hard at the drawing, Cody tried to remember what the vehicle looked like at the church. More questions came to mind.

Did the black car at the church have darkened windows? What did the wheels look like? Whom did that car belong to? Why was it there? And was that the car Cody saw that frightening morning?

Cody knew he had to tell Zach what he’d seen. However, it was Sunday, and Zach wasn’t available today. It would have to wait till tomorrow.

He grabbed his sketch pad and started drawing what he saw today in the limited time he saw it. While he was drawing, he wondered what the odds were that the same vehicle would be there next Sunday or any other day of the week.

It took another hour, but Cody’s drawing, when it was finished, was eerily similar to the first drawing. Was it enough, though? He kept wondering what the odds of it being the same vehicle were. Cody put the drawings back in the drawer’s secret compartment.

It was the middle of the afternoon, and Cody was getting hungry and headed downstairs to make something to eat.

“Ask your sister if she wants something, Code,” his mother said, seeing her son open the fridge.

“Okay, Mom. Ol, do you want a sandwich?” he said.

“Sure. Peanut butter only, please,” the little girl said.

“How about some juice too?” asked Cody.

“Yes, please,” his sister squeaked while walking into the kitchen.

Cody made the two of them sandwiches and walked into the living room. Olive carried the glasses of juice right behind him.

They ate their sandwiches and watched television. Olive loved watching cartoons, and her brother didn’t mind them, either.

The two of them watched cartoons for a few hours. Eventually, Cody dozed off to sleep on the couch. Olive shortly followed his lead.

The evening came and went, and it was bedtime already. Cody said good-night to his mother and sister then hurried to his room. He sat on his bed and looked around his room. It was as if there were a presence in the room with him. The hairs on his arms shot straight up, and goose bumps took over his whole body.

“Papa?” said Cody.

He put his head on his pillow and drifted off to sleep. The nightmares began again.

The next morning, Cody woke up early and got ready for school. He decided he would meet up with Zach at his house and surprise him.

Zach was still eating his cereal when Cody arrived at his house.

“What’s up, dude?” said Zach, who was bright-eyed and bushy tailed for a Monday.

“Hey, Zach. Good morning, Mrs. Madden! I thought I would get here early so we could discuss some things about our science project, Zach,” said Cody.

Zach knew exactly what that meant. He finished his cereal, tossed his bowl in the sink, and grabbed his book bag.

“Well, let’s get going. Bye, Mom!” said Zach.

“Bye, honey, have a good day, you two, stay out of trouble,” Zach’s mother advised.

“Bye, Mrs. Madden,” said Cody.

“So I was thinking about this science project…” Zach’s voice trailed off as his mother listened.

The two of them headed out the door and made a right toward the school. They still had a half hour till the first bell. Cody and Zach stopped at the playground right behind the school.

It wasn’t really a playground; it was more of a mulched area with a few rusted swings and worn-out benches. They each sat on a swing and put their feet on the ground.

“I saw something yesterday. I’m not for certain, but I saw something,” said Cody.

“What did you see? The car?” exclaimed Zach.

“Yes, I think, but like I said, I’m not certain. Ol and I were heading up to the store on our bikes, and you know that church on Lincoln? I saw a black car like my drawing parked across the street from it,” said Cody.

“Did you get close to it or write down the plates?” Zach questioned his friend.

“I couldn’t, Ol was with me, and she saw that I noticed something. You know I don’t want her to have anything to do with our investigation. We stopped briefly but kept on going. Believe me, I wanted to cross the street and check it out,” explained Cody.

“I totally get it, dude. I would have done the same thing,” he continued. “Have you ever thought about what we are going to do if we do find this man and car?”

“Yes, absolutely,” replied Cody.

“I mean, what if this guy is completely harmless and was just playing a joke? On the other hand, what if we are onto something and there is a much bigger picture here?” said Zach unsurely.

“Well, first off, that’s a pretty sick joke if that was the case. And secondly, we are onto something big, I just know it. I have this feeling in my gut that tells me so,” Cody explained.

“Your nightmares? I hope you’re right, I really do, buddy,” said Zach.

Cody had told Zach all about the nightmares every night since the incident.

A thought popped into Cody’s head.