Red Rain

40

A few minutes earlier. Daniel pushed down on Ira’s head. The boy kept thrashing and squirming under the churning water, but weakly now.

“Be careful,” Samuel said, tugging his brother’s arm. “Don’t get carried away. You just want to scare him, Daniel. You don’t want to drown him, do you? Do you?”

Daniel’s eyes were wild and distant at the same time. Samuel always wondered what he was seeing at times like these. Samuel knew what he saw. An endless dark chasm stretching beyond them forever.

“Daniel, please-”

Daniel blinked, as if coming to consciousness. He lowered his hands around the struggling boy’s waist and, with a grunt, hoisted him out of the water.

Ira emerged coughing and choking, eyes wide, water rolling off him, legs still churning. Daniel held him high, allowed him to spew up a stream of water, cough and groan and sputter.

Behind them, Ethan shrieked at the top of his voice: “Are you okay? Is he okay? Is he okay? Ira?”

Samuel thought he could see the heartbeats in the boy’s bony white chest. Now Ira made hoarse vomiting sounds, dredging up only pool water.

Daniel held him up, his biceps round and hard, too developed for a twelve-year-old. But Samuel knew where his twin’s strength came from.

Ira’s hair was matted over his face like a clump of dark seaweed. His head was down, arms limp at his sides, legs finally still.

“Is he okay? Is he breathing? Is he going to be okay?”

Samuel gave Ethan a reassuring thumbs-up.

Ira grew quieter. His chest still heaved but the choking and vomiting had ceased. He raised his head slowly, groaning. He brushed the wet clump of hair off his eyes with one hand.

Daniel laughed. “You did it, laddy!” he cried exultantly.

Ira squinted at Daniel, struggling to focus. “Did it?” His voice a choked whisper.

“A minute-twenty!” Daniel declared. “You broke your old record. I knew you could do it!”

Ira just stared at him, his face vacant, obviously trying to decide Daniel’s intent. Did Daniel just try to drown him? Was he playing a vicious game? Or was he really trying to help Ira break his underwater record?

Daniel kept the grin on his face. “Way to go, lad. Next time, a minute and a half.” He lowered Ira gently into the water. Then he turned to Samuel. “Wasn’t that amazing?”

“Amazing,” Samuel echoed.

“But you forced him,” Ethan protested. “Didn’t you see he wanted to come up?”

“I knew he could break his record,” Daniel insisted.

“C-cold,” Ira stammered. “I’m. . getting out.” He started to paddle weakly toward the side, gliding as if in slow motion.

“Get him some more towels,” Daniel ordered Ethan. “Maybe a sweatshirt or something.”

Ethan splashed out of the pool. His bare feet thudded on the deck, leaving dark footprints as he disappeared into the house. As soon as he was gone, Daniel nodded to Samuel.

Samuel knew the routine.

Each taking an arm, they led Ira out of the pool. “Th-thanks,” Ira stuttered. The poor kid was shaking.

“Here. Lie down in the sun,” Daniel instructed in his most gentle voice. Like a harmless little boy, Samuel thought.

They helped Ira onto his back on the sun-hot deck boards. He stretched out flat, water running off him, still breathing hard, shuddering.

“Ssssh. Relax,” Daniel whispered. He turned expectantly to Samuel.

Time for me to go to work.

It was so funny, actually. Daniel was the angry one. The bold one. Face it-the evil twin. Daniel was the one who wanted to act. Daniel wanted to rule the pool or rule the school or rule the fools.

Samuel knew he was different. He was shy. He was peace-loving and calm. No, not kind or sweet or feeling. But calm, at least. Not eager.

So funny, since Sammy was Death Man.

Sammy was the killer-man. Sammy had the beam, the ray, the whatever-you-want-to-call-it. Sammy had the heat. The burn. The furnace. Go ahead-say it: the fire of Hell.

Yes, together on the island where the dead met the living, they stepped out of a blood rain. Yes, the blood was on their shoulders and in their hearts. The blood splashed at their feet and puddled all around them, ran down their faces and stained their skin as well as their clothes.

Like a nightmare. I know we are nightmares.

And the strange part: Daniel brought the anger. But Sammy brought the death.

Now Daniel eyed him eagerly. Samuel leaned over Ira, brought his face close to the shivering boy’s, and began to fire up his eyes.

Samuel’s eyes clicked as if someone had bumped a switch. And they began to light instantly. The white around the pupils darkened to pink, and then the pupils disappeared into the growing red glow.

Like the coiled burners on an electric stove, Samuel’s eyes reddened and the heat began to radiate. His eyes were bright fire now, hot neon, red and hypnotic.

So hypnotic, Ira made no attempt to move or look away.

“Easy,” Daniel warned, bumping Samuel’s arm. “Don’t burn him. Back off a bit. You’ll blind him. We don’t want to hurt him. We only want to open his mind. Easy. Easy. We don’t want Mum to see that he is changed.”

“Okay, boyo. I’m being careful,” Samuel whispered. “Hurry. Ethan will be back.” He could see the red-glare reflection of his eyes in Ira’s eyes. “I’m just holding him. Not burning him. Go ahead. Tell his brain who is boss.”

Samuel was always surprised that he couldn’t feel the heat. Burning embers. No. Burning lasers. His eyes radiated blistering heat. But he couldn’t feel a thing.

Daniel leaned over the prone figure. Ira was hypnotized in the red glow.

“Okay, bruvver, I helped you today,” Daniel said, eyes on the glass doors of the house, watching warily for Ethan’s return. “Now we will stick together, boyo. Stick together like bruvvers. Yes?”

Silence for a second. Samuel kept the light on Ira’s face. “Yes,” Ira answered. Robotlike. But he gave the correct answer.

“Bruvvers forever,” Daniel murmured. “Even closer than bruvvers. And we’ll all be together day and night, all together we’ll rule the school.”

“Yes,” Ira said, this time without hesitating. He almost sounded enthusiastic.

Good boy.

Daniel gave Samuel the nod. The job had been done. Ira’s mind had been fixed. Samuel shut his eyes. He could feel a little prickling heat on the backs of his eyelids. He kept his eyes shut until they cooled.

When he opened them, he saw the new pa burst through the gate and stride onto the deck, his chest heaving up and down. “What’s wrong? Hey-what’s wrong?” In a panic.

Daniel helped Ira to a sitting position. “Wave at your pa,” he whispered.

Ira waved.

“Is Ira okay?” The new pa hurried up to them. Samuel saw the sweat stain on the front of his sleeveless tee.

“I’m fine, Dad. We were just taking a break,” Ira said.

“We had an awesome swim, don’t you know,” Daniel said. “Then we did some tricks in the water. And had some contests.”

“Ira can hold his breath a long time,” Samuel told him.

Ira nodded. “I beat my old record, Dad.”

The new pa studied Ira’s face, as if he still thought something had gone wrong. “When I saw you lying on the deck like that. .”

“Just relaxing,” Ira said. “What’s the big deal, Dad?”

“Where’s Ethan?”

Ethan reappeared as if on cue, carrying a stack of towels. “What’s up? Is Ira okay?”

“Of course I’m okay,” Ira insisted.

Ethan squinted at Ira, confused.

“Ethan, want to come to the ocean with us?” the new pa asked, wiping sweat off his forehead with the front of his shirt. “We have room.”

“No. Thanks. My mom said I had to stay home. She went to Cromer’s to get dinner. She’ll be back any minute.”

“Okay. Next time. Let’s hurry, guys. I left Roz and Axl in the car.”

Daniel helped Ira to his feet. He kept his arm around Ira’s shoulders as they made their way to the car. “I see you two are bonding,” the new pa said.

No one replied to that.

At the gate, Samuel turned back to Ethan. “Can I borrow this towel?” He held up the ragged white towel.

“No problem,” Ethan called. “Bring it back next time, okay?”

Samuel followed the others to the black SUV at the bottom of the drive. The boys greeted Roz and Axl. “Put beach towels down on the seats,” she told them. “Don’t get the car all wet.”

“Roz, it’s a beach car,” Pa told her. “It’s supposed to get wet.”

“Wet,” Axl repeated, and laughed.

Ira climbed into the passenger seat next to Pa. Samuel followed Daniel to the back. They climbed up next to the beach basket and supplies.

The car bumped off the driveway, onto the street. At the side of the road, Samuel saw big blackbirds feasting on the carcass of a stiff, dead squirrel.

After they had driven for a few minutes, Samuel poked his twin. Daniel turned from the window. Samuel grinned at him. “You win a prize,” he whispered.

Daniel’s eyebrows slid up. “What did you get?”

Samuel slowly unrolled the towel. Then, grinning, he revealed the prize inside. The iPhone Ethan had used to time the underwater contest.

Daniel started to giggle and soon Samuel was giggling too.

“What’s so funny?” Roz asked.

“We’re just happy lads,” Daniel answered.