Richard Hale - Frozen Past

“You guys do know that if this gets worse, we’re going to have to tell them all,” John said. “For their own safety.”

Everybody nodded, but Luke didn’t want to think about it getting worse. That voice he heard was going to keep him awake tonight as it was.

“We should walk Ellie home,” Luke said.

“Thanks, guys,” she said. The four of them headed off toward Ellie’s house.

The snow was falling hard now and Luke could hardly see ten feet in front him. They talked about mundane stuff as they walked and their voices had an odd quality to them; muddled and stale, like they were trapped in a vacuum. Ellie said only a few words here and there, then suddenly yelled at the top of her lungs. “Whoo hoo!”

They stopped and looked at her as she smiled, sheepishly.

“Did you hear that?” She said. “No echo at all. It was like my voice was sucked away.”

“You are weird,” Jimmy said, but was smiling. Luke laughed and John just stared at her.

“You scared the crap out of me,” John said.

“Whoo Hooooooo!” Luke yelled, and then laughed.

“Aaaaeeeeeee!” Jimmy piped.

Pretty soon they were all yelling at the top of their lungs and laughing at the stupidity of it. As they stopped, the giggling quieting down, they heard a distant “Whoo hoo!” mocking them and they all froze. Ellie shifted next to Luke and grabbed his arm. Luke felt suddenly colder and wished he were home in his warm house.

“Come on,” John said, and started walking faster.

They got to Ellie’s house and stood at her door.

“It could have been anybody, you know,” Jimmy said.

“Yeah,” Luke mumbled. “But it could have been him, too.”

“Thanks for walking me home,” Ellie said. They were all quiet for a minute, then Ellie added, “You guys are my best friends.”

Luke didn’t know what to say and apparently neither did Jimmy or John, because they all stood there shuffling their feet.

“Bye,” she said reaching for the handle, but then stopped. She turned, quickly took a step toward Luke, and kissed him softly on the lips. She smiled coyly and Luke felt himself turning red. She opened her door and disappeared inside.

“What was that?” John asked, grinning.

Luke couldn’t help the big grin on his face, but he said nothing. He could still smell her hair and the feel of her lips on his. He looked away, embarrassed, and led the way home.

Luke couldn’t sleep. The evening’s events had his head in a spin and he couldn’t shut it down. The voice kept replaying in his head and that laugh chilled him to the bone. He could not seem to get warm. Several times over the last few hours he thought he heard it again, outside his window, a whisper, like sandpaper against the glass, or a little titter of laughter. He thought he was imagining it, but he couldn’t be sure. It did little to help his restlessness.

Then there was Ellie. Every time he thought of her, the voice would slip from his thoughts. He relived the kisses over and over again and felt silly at how good she made him feel. The smell of her was still on his jacket so he lay with it next to him. Jimmy and John would think he was stupid, but he didn’t care. She was the most beautiful thing in his life right now and he clung to that ferociously. He could hear her voice in his head saying to him, “I know you’ve been wanting to do that, but I knew you wouldn’t, so…” and he thought it very cool she was so bold. She was right. He would’ve never kissed her first.

His cell phone vibrating on his bedside table startled him. He looked at the clock. It was 3:32 am. He picked up the phone looking at the caller I.D. and smiled.

“Hey,” he whispered.

“I can’t sleep,” Ellie said.

“Me neither.”

“Is the voice keeping you awake?”

“Yeah,” he said, pausing. “Along with you.”

“I’ll hang up then,” she teased.

“No-I mean-not now. Thinking of you was keeping me awake.”

“I know, silly. I was teasing you. You’re keeping me awake too.” And he could tell she was smiling even though he couldn’t see her.

Silence for a moment and then he could hear her rustling in her bed. Imagining her laying there was making him feel funny.

“Are you ok?” he asked.

“Yeah. Just scared. I’ve been wanting to call you for the last three hours but I was afraid I’d wake you.”

“You can call me any time, remember? I told you, for any reason. Any time.”

“I know, I just…”

“Any time.”

“Ok. I’m glad you were awake.”

“I’m glad you called.”

She giggled. “Now we know we’re happy about that. Why can’t we sleep?”

“That creepy voice won’t leave my head. I keep thinking I hear it again outside my house.”

“So do I,” she whispered. “But that can’t be, could it? Not at both our houses.”

“Yeah. No way. I know it’s my imagination, but I still hear it.”

She was quiet for a long moment and then said, “What are we going to do?”

“I’m not sure, but you could kiss me some more tomorrow.” He couldn’t believe he had said it.

She laughed. “Ok. It’s a date.”

“I’m glad you did it first. You were right. I probably never would have gotten up the nerve.”

“I figured, but what I can’t figure is why? Do I scare you that bad?”

“How long have we known each other now?” he asked.

“Oh…let’s see…third grade…about five years. Why?”

“We’ve gotten to be pretty close friends, right?”

“The best.”

“I guess I was scared to mess it up. What if you got mad at me? I couldn’t stand the thought of you hating me.”

“How long have you felt this way Lucas Harrison?” she asked.

“Since you called me a ‘Goofy Goober.’”

She laughed at him and he realized if he couldn’t hear that laugh all the time, he would feel lost.

“I could never hate you,” she said quietly.

“Ok. Promise?”

“Promise.”

“I feel better,” he said. “Don’t you?”

“Yes. I think I can sleep now.”

“Me too.”

“See you tomorrow?” she said.

“I can’t wait.”

They both hung up and he was asleep before he could count to ten.

All four were in the backyard of Luke’s house looking at the ground. The white snow made everything new and clean, and it was hard to feel threatened in the crisp, white world that now surrounded them. The sun was out, shining bright, and everything sparkled and twinkled.

“The snow has covered any tracks he made,” Jimmy said, more to himself than anybody specific.

“There’s nothing in the bushes,” Luke yelled from the side of his house where the hedge they hid in stood covered in snow.

“Let’s check by the pool,” Ellie said and they all trekked down the hill in Luke’s backyard toward the hole in the fence that led to the sports complex.

Luke’s fence backed up to the tennis courts and pool complex that belonged to the neighborhood. The homeowners would pay a yearly fee and have use of all the amenities for everyone in the family. There were tennis teams, swim teams, diving classes, water aerobics, a kiddie pool, and swimming classes. Just about anything you could think of.

Cotton Court’s entrance was all the way on the other side of the main street into the neighborhood and was a pretty good walk to the pool area, but Luke’s backyard lay right up against it. There was a path that ran down the side of his house and through the backyard to a hole in the fence. Everyone in the court cut through it to get to the pool.

Luke’s Dad was upset about this at first, but now he didn’t seem to care. Nobody hurt any of his shrubs or grass and it was convenient for him also. Just a quick jog down the short path, slip through the hole between the fence and the giant hedge of honeysuckle, and you were right there.