Chapter 1

Background color
Font
Font size
Line height

Barlow Jackson didn't know how to stop Pet's tears. All he could do was continue to hold her until the tears ended.

Breaking up was so very hard to do.

Especially when the breakup involved lifelong childhood sweethearts, two kids who had grown up together as next-door neighbors. As little tykes, they splashed in the same mud puddles. In first grade they walked hand-in-hand to their school bus stop. In middle school Barlow protected her from bullies, and she had given him his first kiss. Then, in high school, she had given him everything else and they became inseparable.

Pet wanted to keep in touch. They could call or text each other every day, but Barlow was pragmatic and understood the reality of the situation. After tonight, they would slowly drift apart, and there existed the very real possibility they would never see each other again. Saying those words out loud was what had led to Pet's tears.

"Don't even think like that. We were meant to end up together," she had said before collapsing into his embrace and sobbing.

Pet would be starting university in the fall. Barlow knew she would accomplish great things in her life. She was intelligent, yet down-to-Earth and beautiful. He was proud of her.

Barlow was just a C student who had a crappy home life. His future was doubtful at best. Their paths were about to diverge, their destinies no longer compatible. If he were selfish, he could ask her to marry him, but he loved her too much to hold her back. Pet needed to be set free.

It wasn't easy though. He hurt too. She was going far away, so he also needed to leave Perry County behind and get away from everything that would remind him of her. Except Barlow knew he could never forget her, his Pet, his best friend and lover.

To counter Pet leaving for university, he had enlisted in the Marines and was Parris Island bound. Who knew what would happen to him if he ever saw combat?

Pet pulled from his embrace and stared into his eyes. He admired, probably for the last time, the light dusting of freckles across her cheeks, the way her nose crinkled when she laughed, her hair the color of corn silk, and her scent.

Her nose started to run from all the crying, and in that instant, Barlow recalled with fondness seeing her often that way as a little girl.

His heart felt as if it would shatter, but he kept a brave face. For her.

Using his shirt tail, he wiped her nose. She emitted a nervous giggle. "You take such good care of me. Who's going to do that now?"

He dropped his gaze. Time to go, because he wouldn't be able to hold it together much longer. "It's late. I have an early flight."

Pet said nothing. She wiped her eyes.

He embraced her one final time. When they separated, he kissed her forehead, turned, and walked off her parent's porch.

Neither of them said goodbye.

Half past midnight and Barlow decided to walk home on the footpath along the Juniata River. He could've taken the road, it being a shorter route. His house and Pet's were the last two located at the end of the rural road, so privacy wasn't an issue. He just needed to be alone to decompress from their farewell.

The full moon guided his way, the August night warm. After finding the forest-lined foot path, he walked slowly, not wanting to trip over the numerous tree roots looming as obstacles. The smell of pines and the gurgling river current usually calmed him, but he was too distraught tonight.

In the distance, Barlow made out the hazy outline of an old weeping willow tree that served as a landmark. The township road made a sharp turn just on the other side of the willow. He got to the tree and stopped, having second thoughts.

Weeping Willow Tree

Had he done the right thing? It wasn't too late. He could still run back to Pet's house, pound on her parent's door, and when she answered tell her he had been temporarily insane. They could make it work. Their love was strong enough.

He took a deep, cleansing breath and squeezed shut his eyes.

No.

Stepping away from the willow, Barlow continued walking. His mind wandered to the one good thing about leaving home. His old man owned a struggling construction business. Things were slow, at least that's what his father always said, using it as an excuse to not pay him.

Over Barlow's continuing objection to the unfairness of the arrangement, the old man would utter, "What you don't get paid in wages is more than made up for through gaining valuable experience in the building trade."

Or some other such bullshit.

Finally, he'd escape from under the old man's thumb and his twentieth century mindset. Barlow actually enjoyed construction, but having been his father's slave left him with a bad taste for that business.

While pondering his fate, Barlow was suddenly overcome with an uneasy feeling. Something seemed out of place. He stood still and looked around. An eerie calm had set in. The only sound, the hiss of water rushing through the river bed.

A pale, ethereal glow illuminated the water ahead of him. The source of the light seemed to come from beneath the ripples. It couldn't be a reflection from the full moon which shone in the water behind him.

The underwater glow drifted his way. Startled by this apparition, he scrambled up the bank and ducked behind a tree. Daring to peek around the trunk, he eyed the ghostly light. After a few moments, he worked out that the strange light hadn't really moved. The rippling current flowing above the glow provided only an illusion of movement.

After calming himself, he approached with caution and...oh, wow! The eerie glow came from two underwater automobile headlights. A sedan lay submerged with only the back half and trunk sticking up from the current.

Barlow guessed someone had driven too fast, didn't make the curve in the road, and ended up in the drink. Could the driver still be in the car? Were there other passengers? He waded in and shouted, "Hello?"

No answer.

Despite the warm August night, his body recoiled from the shock of cold water. He waded onward. The thought of what he might find in the car repelled him, made him want to turn back, run home, and call 911. Let someone else deal with this. But how could he live with himself if someone drowned because he was too cowardly to act?

With a trembling hand, he pulled open the passenger side door. The downstream rush of water caught the opening door and yanked it from Barlow's grasp almost pulling him over. The scene inside the sedan made him wonder if he was dreaming.

A large steamer trunk lay in the back seat. It had sprung open, probably from impact and spilled its contents. Bundles of sopping wet cash had been thrown everywhere. Thousands of dollars' worth, Barlow figured. Maybe a million dollars' worth. The driver was still strapped in his seat with his head underwater.

A Typical Steamer Trunk

Fighting the urge to vomit, Barlow reached beneath the surface and with hands numb from the icy water unlatched the seat belt. He pulled the man across the seat and out the passenger side. He ignored the bills escaping from the car being swept downstream.

His hands had become stiff from the cold, nearly useless, and he could barely maintain his grip on the back of the dead man's collar. Barlow managed to get him to the river's edge. He struggled and pulled the man up the bank and onto level ground.

Moonlight illuminated the corpse's face. A young man, barely older than he was, eyes half closed. Not a local. Barlow didn't recognize him. He rolled the man onto his side to check for a wallet and ID.

Suddenly, the corpse spasmed. A gout of water shot from the man's mouth and he gasped.

What is your first impression of Barlow? Is he doing the right thing by Pet, or is he not giving their relationship a fair chance?

Do you have any theories as to what the stranger is doing with so much cash?




You are reading the story above: TeenFic.Net