Snared

6

At night we do the bonfire thing.

The bonfire was a tradition with Redlands Beach teens that went back generations. There on the beach, they built a cone of wood and lit it up, allowing the flames to illuminate their parties, giving each gathering a sense of celebration. Not that there was much to celebrate in Redlands Beach, not for teenagers anyway. Though most kids dreamed of getting out of town and leaving it all behind, few ever made it. Those that did often traded Redlands Beach for a town just like it. Against such a gloomy background, any star, even one as small as Ev, shined brightly.

The ocean roared on her right as Lindsay picked her way over the sand toward the dancing flames in the distance. She didn’t even know if this was the bonfire Ev meant, as she didn’t get specific directions. In fact, Ev only said “You totally can’t miss us. We’re like full-on tribal.”

Her parents were thrilled to hear that she’d made friends already. Her mother gave her an I-told-you-so look, and her dad just looked pleased, like he’d introduced her to Ev and the other girls with fractured names. Whatever, Lindsay thought. She was happy, and they were happy, so it didn’t really matter.

Or at least, she was mostly happy. Poor Mark. All cooped up in his room. She’d walked through the alley between the houses when she left, but his window was covered by a black shade, so she didn’t see him. She thought about tapping lightly on the glass, maybe asking him to sneak out, but she didn’t know him (or his guardians) well enough to try a stunt like that.

And of course, there was Kate’s party. Lindsay called to check in on Kate after dinner. She could hear how nervous her friend was, even though Kate tried to play it cool. Fortunately Trey was there, helping Kate set up, keeping her distracted with jokes.

For a minute Lindsay was pissed off at her parents again. Hearing Kate on the edge of panic hurt, because Lindsay was too far away to do anything about it. Plus, there was the party itself. All of the fun. All of her friends. She should have been there, not here on some beach with a bunch of strangers.

After another ten minutes, Lindsay found herself at the edge of the bonfire’s light. A stack of wood that came up to her waist burned and crackled. All around the flames, two dozen kids, boys and girls, sat in the sand. Some drank from beer cans, others upended bottles of cheap whiskey and vodka. A Shakira song blasted from a portable player, seemed to stoke the fire with a dense bass beat.

Ev’s laugh, like a siren, drew Lindsay to the far side of the fire. The girl and her friends were all giggling wildly, rocking forward with the power of their own amusement. Around them, a group of boys, some in nice shorts and others in ragged cutoffs, sat listening and smiling.

“Totally!” Ev cried amid a splutter of shrill giggles. “He’s like Rob Schneider, only creepier. And he was like trying to French me, like ‘eat my tongue,’ ahhhhhh.” She waved her hands in the air as if fighting off the boy she was describing. Tears were filling her eyes, she found the moment so funny. “And I’m all, nooooooooooooo!”

The kids around the fire broke up laughing.

“Supergirl,” Ev shouted, her voice slurring.

“Hey,” Lindsay said.

“Pull up a boy and get comfortable.”

A second later someone handed her a beer. She turned to thank whoever had given it to her. A guy with light brown hair smiled down at her. At first glance he was cute, but as Lindsay looked at him, she realized he was older than most of the kids around the fire. A lot older. Maybe twenty-three or twenty-four. Lindsay also noticed his teeth were kind of crooked, which made his smile look sinister. He worked out though. His pecs were huge and his arms were feathered with thick veins. She had to admit the guy had a nice body, but Lindsay preferred tighter bodies like Mark’s.

“Thanks,” she said.

“Anytime,” he replied, his voice heavy with flirtation.

“That’s Doyle,” Ev called. “He has a lot to offer a girl. Know what I mean?” This sent Ev into another round of hysterics. Lindsay noticed she was already drunk.

Next to her, Ev’s entourage said, “Totally,” “A lot!”, and “So much to offer.”

Lindsay decoded the less-than-subtle message, and felt uncomfortable. She sipped at her beer. Doyle just kept smiling, nodding his head as if she’d already agreed to date him.

“Well, thanks,” Lindsay said, then knelt on the sand to join in Ev’s conversation.

Char slid closer to Ev until their butts touched and put an arm around her friend as if protecting her.

“So, Lindsay, do you have a boy back in Pittsburgh?” Tee asked. Her green eyes reflected the fire and they glowed like emeralds.

“Helensburgh,” Lindsay corrected.

“Like there’s any difference,” Char said. She burst out laughing, but since no one else did, she reeled it in fast.

“Ease up on the meds, Char,” Mel said. Lindsay looked her way.

“She’s always trying to be funny, and it somehow continues to elude her,” Ev added.

“Man, Ev,” Char said, pouting.

“So, do you have a boy, or what?” Tee asked again. She flipped her hair over an ear and leaned toward Lindsay. It was obviously information she really wanted.

“No,” Lindsay replied, though she thought about Mark. “No boy at home.”

“Why not?”

“I don’t know. I’ve gone out with a couple guys.”

“You weren’t in love?”

“Third degree much?” Ev interrupted. She took a long drink of beer and tossed the can in the sand. “Tee is a total perv. She wants like all of these private details.”

“I do not!” Tee protested loudly. “Why are you being such a bitch tonight?”

“Because it’s free and it’s low-carb.”

Doyle plopped down in the sand on the other side of Lindsay and flashed her a smile. She crossed her arms over her knees.

“Doyle,” Ev said “why don’t you get me another beer?”

“I just sat down.”

“Think of it as exercise.”

Doyle looked around smiling and nodding his head until he realized Ev was serious. He shook his head and whispered a curse under his breath. Then he stood and showered sand down on Lindsay’s head before stomping off.

Lindsay noticed that the sand had also fallen on the lip of her beer can, so she set it down. She ran her hands through her hair to get rid of the grit there and noticed Char giving her a nasty look.

She’s jealous, Lindsay thought. But is she jealous of Doyle or Ev? Maybe both?

“Sorry about Doyle,” Ev said. “He’s like a hound with a scent. Let’s take a walk.”

Lindsay and Ev stood. A moment later the other girls were also standing up, brushing sand off their backsides. Mel paused to check a tear over the pocket of her white shorts. She fussed with the edges, looking sad. Doyle appeared with Ev’s beer. She took it from him and said, “Thanks, baby,” before taking a deep drink. Doyle turned his attention back to Lindsay.

“Where are we going?” Char asked.

“Lindsay and I are going to wander for a few.” Char’s face fell. Anger crept into her expression. “I want to give the new girl the deluxe tour.”

Once they were north of the bonfire, out of earshot of the others, Ev slowed her pace. She drank from her beer and looked at Lindsay.

“Sorry about Doyle. He’s always around. The inland girls usually like him.”

“He’s kind of old.”

“Yeah,” Ev replied with a laugh. “He is, I guess, but he’ll always be around, like the ocean and the sand.”

“He’s just part of the scene?”

“Totally. And the scene never changes. That’s why I hate it here.”

“It seems cool enough,” Lindsay said. She was trying to be nice. She didn’t really know what to think about it.

“Yeah,” Ev said. “It’s cool if you like quicksand.”

“Quicksand?”

“You know, in those movies where people get stuck in it, and they struggle, and it sucks them down faster? That’s what Redlands is like. Mel and Tee are already up to their necks in it. They’ll both meet boys and get jobs at some grocery store or restaurant and have a bunch of kids. It’s like already written in stone. Char’s got a little time yet.”

Lindsay hadn’t expected this burst of philosophy. She didn’t think Ev was particularly deep, what with all her party girl talk and loud attitude.

“I’ve been planning to get out since I was a kid,” the platinum blonde continued. “I just knew I couldn’t stay here. So I got my GED and I worked at that crappy Dairy Queen on Harper’s and I bailed, because I knew I had to pull myself out. My girls aren’t like me, though. They think they can wait and something will happen or someone will come along and save them. The problem is, they think I’m the one who can save them now.”

“Don’t you want to help them?”

Ev stopped walking. The night breeze ruffled her straight hair, blew it across her face. She pushed it back with her hand. “I can’t,” she said. “They’re a part of this place, just like Doyle. They’re deep in the quicksand, and if I try to pull them out, they’ll drag me back in. My manager totally helped me see that.”

Now Lindsay understood. Ev was just quoting something an adult had told her. She hadn’t created the words, but she certainly believed in them. This left Lindsay shaken. Ev seemed harder to her now. Colder. How could she not want to help her friends?

“You could talk to them,” Lindsay offered. “Maybe they’d realize there was more out there.”

“All we did when we were little girls was talk about getting away from here. I did it, but they’re afraid to even try. The fact is, some people just can’t be saved.”

Lindsay didn’t want to believe that.

Lindsay lay in bed, staring at the ceiling. The party had been fun, she guessed. By the time she and Ev got back, most everyone was wasted. She didn’t know anyone and didn’t know what to expect from them, so she kept quiet, just sipping at her beer, never letting herself totally relax. Seeing Ev’s entourage after their chat totally depressed her. They seemed like blind prisoners—trapped but unable to see the bars around them. The fact is, some people just can’t be saved. The older guy, Doyle, followed her around, always smiling, always nodding his head like he was agreeing with things she hadn’t said. When he spoke, it was always some lame double entendre meant to sound charming or cool. At a little past midnight, Lindsay decided to bail.

Now she stared at the ceiling. Kate’s party would be in full swing. Lindsay would have known a lot of people. She could have relaxed, and Doyle would have been a thousand miles away, nodding at some other girl.

For the second night in a row, she heard the odd chanting, the chimes, and the drum. This was another oddity. If Mark’s guardians were so hung up on New Age crap, how could they be so strict? So mean?

She pictured them. Muscular. Severe. Nasty. Playing lousy music into the middle of the night just to torment Mark.

“I’m hating this,” Lindsay said to her ceiling.

The chanting grew quieter. The drums beat louder.

“Crap.”

Lindsay climbed out of bed. She went to the window and looked into the sandy alley below. A frame of light surrounded a black shade behind Mark’s window. The lines of light seemed to fade and brighten with shadowy movement. Maybe he was watching TV.

But she didn’t remember seeing a TV in his room.

She leaned away from the window. Knowing she’d never get to sleep, Lindsay dressed herself in shorts and a salmon-colored blouse, which she buttoned slowly. She slipped on a pair of flip-flops and left the room. Her ears were still alert, trying to pick up any revealing sound from the house next door.

In the kitchen she grabbed a diet cola from the refrigerator and walked to the porch.

Lindsay sat on the wooden bench, cradling the soda can in her lap. Dark water stretched to the horizon, where it met the sky. Both were black, but of different depth. The ocean was as dark as onyx. The sky was more of a plum black pierced by millions of tiny stars. She watched the ghostly white lines of foam crest and fall to the beach and listened to the rhythmic crash of the waves. She breathed in the salty air. Sipped from her drink.

To the north, Ev’s bonfire party was probably still going on, with everyone paired off. Maybe tomorrow night Lindsay would loosen up a bit more, have a better time.

She began to relax, letting the sound of the surf lull her. She thought about Mark, thought about what hanging out with him would be like. Not hanging out like they did that afternoon, with a windowsill separating them, but really hanging out. Going for coffee or lying on the beach. She wished Mark were with her now, sharing the bench and the cool night air.

But would she get the chance to spend any normal time with him? She was only staying at her uncle’s place for nine more days. What if Mark was grounded the whole time and they only got to chat with a wall between them? That would be a major shame. Even though it had a Romeo and Juliet flavor, that kind of romance was completely unfortunate.

She glanced at the house next door and was surprised to see movement on the porch. Her heart tripped rapidly. For a moment, she felt certain Mark was sneaking out.

Please, let it be him.

She squinted, trying to make sense of the shadow on the neighboring porch. Leaning close to the side railing, she was about to whisper Mark’s name, but paused. She was glad she did.

The shape was too broad and short to be Mark. It seemed to glide across the porch like a black ghost until it emerged into the moonlight.

Lindsay’s breath caught in her throat. Wearing the same slicker he’d worn the first time she saw him, Jack, the more muscular of Mark’s guardians, descended the stairs. His feet sank into the sand, and he paused, staring out at the ocean. The slicker flapped against him in the breeze coming off the water. Lindsay pulled away from the railing, pushed herself tight to the bench. She held her breath, frightened she might be discovered.

She didn’t want Jack to know she was there. He scared her. Both of Mark’s guardians did.

Finally the stubby man left his place by the stairs. He walked across the sand toward the surf. When he reached the tide’s edge, he removed the slicker, and Lindsay saw he wore a loose, boxy bathing suit. Black, of course. Across the man’s back were numerous dark lines: a tattoo. Lindsay couldn’t tell what the design was (or if it was several individual patterns), but it covered his entire back.

So much for being a respectable authority figure.

Jack dropped the slicker on the sand and ran into the surf. Water crashed against his shins. He dove forward, disappearing beneath a white curtain of froth.

“I hope you drown,” she mumbled. “Or sharks chew off your legs.”

For a moment, she thought her wish had been granted. She searched the ocean for any sign of the man, but he seemed to have vanished into the waves. Is he some kind of fish-man? A sea creature that can make itself look human?

That’s stupid. But where did he go?

The explanation was simple enough: It was too dark for her to see. Still, Jack’s disappearance creeped her out.

Lindsay decided to go inside and put a locked door between herself and the freak. She stood, but a second later a sharp click sounded in the night. She turned quickly to the source of the noise.

On the porch of the house next door, a tiny flame flickered. In its dancing light, she saw the face of Mark’s other guardian, Doug. The tall, bald man was lighting a cigarette, and he was looking right at her.

Terrified, Lindsay raced inside.