Burning Second Street Park

A Novel

by Tom Bessette

Copyright 2009 BessetteBooks

Chapter 9
Ricky Kozinski

Mission accomplished!

Enemy dead being taken from destroyed supply dump.  Commendations will be due from headquarters for this great victory.  Fame, glory, instinction!

Commanding officer calling me back to headquarters.

“Ricky!  Come back inside, I don’t want you to see that.”

I looked around.  Geezum!  What am I doing?  I been sleepwalkin’ again?  Geezum crow!

Janie Stoltz with puffy eyes, looking at me.  She tries to say somethin’, but can’t; her little sister Jenny crying an’ holdin’ on ta her.  What’s goin’ on?

The Manette’s house!  Burned down!  Oh. God, what happened, who did this?

“Ricky!  Now!”

“Annnhhh, OK, mom.”  I follow her into the house.

Inside, she asks me where Matty is.

“Annnhhh, I ain’t seen ‘im.”

“Ricky, he’s been gone all day.  I’m worried about these fires.”

“Ma, he don’t start fires!”

“I know, but what if he got caught in one?”

“He’s probly jus’ sleepin’ in the park. He’s done that lotsa times, right?”

She thought for a minute. “Wouldn’t he have seen the fire and come to watch?”

“Annnhhh, maybe he was an’ we jus’ didn’t see ‘im.  There was lotsa people.”

“Well, I talked to the police an’ they’ll start looking this morning.  We’ll just have to wait until they find him. What a terrible night this has been, and now this. I don’t know why my boys are always running from home.”

I figured I could get up when it gets light an’ head out myself.  Check the park an’ the towpath an’ other places I knowed he went.  Some of the guys could help me, an’ maybe even Bobby’s brother, Bummer an’ his crowd. I bet I could find ‘im afore the cops did.  They was pretty stupid an’ couldn’t never find nobody.

My mom sat in the parlor with her book an’ I went up ta bed.  I don’t know why I was so tired, like I been runnin’ races, instead a jus’ sleepin’ an’ getting’ up ta watch the fire.  Geezum!  I mus’ be gettin’ ole.  I scrunched under the covers an’ think I was out like a light in no time. Sweet dreams.  Lullabies! Forty winks.

I woke up with sun in my eyes.  Geezum, but I was stiff an’ sore.  I didn’t know why but ever bone in my body felt broke.  My whole side a me was sore, like a truck had hit me, or somethin’. I sat up in bed, wonderin what time it was.  I saw my clothes in the corner, all ripped an’ muddy, like I had crawled through a ravine or somethin’.  Again?  This kind a thing happened more than I liked.  Wake up all sore an’ messy an’ not know why.  Have ta figure it out sometime.

I dressed in my other clothes an’ went downstairs.  There was mom asleep in her chair.  Her book had fall on the floor an’ ‘er head was all back an’ she seemed almos’ dead or somethin’.  I went over an’ poked ‘er elbow.  Her eyes snapped open an’ she looked at me like I was a spook or somethin’.

“Oh, my goodness, Ricky, what time is it?”

“Annnhhh, I dunno, mom.  I’m hungry.  Can I have some Panny Cakes?”

“Sure.  Did Matty come in?”

Geezum.  I had forgot all about Matty not bein’ home.

“I’ll go look, mom.”

I walked back up stairs, all stiff an’ slow.  Matty wasn’t there an’ his room didn’t look no different.

I yelled down, “He ain’t here!”

I clopped down the stairs an’ went back to the kitchen.  She was already mixin’ Panny Cake batter an’ had the fry pan on the stove to cook ‘em in.

“I can’t believe I fell asleep.  I was hoping Matty would show up.  I wanted to be awake.  I can’t imagine what has happened to him.”

“Annnhhh, I’ll go look fer ‘im after Panny Cakes, mom.  We’ll get the guys an’ spread out an’ search everywheres.  We’ll find ‘im.”

“Well, don’t you go get lost, too.  The police are searching.  Or at least they told me they would.”

“Is Poppa home?” I asked.  I can’t think about him.  I can’t.

I’m starting to remember some stuff from las’ night.  Yoder!  The bastard lit the fire at Nolette’s, Bummer said.  Thought I did it.  I’d never light no fires, that’s sure!  An’ somethin’ about it bein’ him that hurt little kids, not Mim, like we thought all along.  I dunno where I hear that but I believe it.  Some little kid?

I needed a find my brother an’ Yoder.  I was a little ascared a Yoder, though.  He was crazy an’ you never knew when he’s go off on you. It’s like he wanted to hurt guys.  Fun to play baseball with, but, wow, he was a nut.

Mom give me a big plate a Panny Cakes with syrup from a Aunt Jemima bottle.  I couldn’t think no more fer a while ‘cause you can’t think an’ eat Panny Cakes at the same time.  I had a whole stack an’ my belly was drum tight when I done.

I looked at the kitchen clock. It was 9 o’clock already.   Been daylight a long time already.  Time’s a wastin’.  Get on the stick.  Early bird gets the Slug.

“OK, mom, annnhhh, I’m gonna go figure out what’s what.  Get the guys an’ do a search.  We’ll find ‘im.”

“OK.  Check back once an hour or so, so we can keep each other informed.  Maybe the police will find him first.  I’ll stay right here.  Your father will be home soon to help, I’m sure. No church today, I guess.”

My father hardly ever got home from work.  He was always doing overtime an’ he cleaned an’ fixed stuff at the schools.  This was a busy time getting’ ready for school to start next week, so he was even not home more than usual. He was hardly ever home.  But, when he was… NO!  I can’t!  stop.

I headed out to the park to see if I could find Matty.  An’ Yoder.

I run out a the house an’ aroun’ down Second Street.  Folks was lookin’ at Manette’s house.  Somebody had put a cross an’ some flowers in front a it. The house outside was mostly still all up, but you could see the insides was all burned up an’ parts a the second floor had fell on the first floor an’ the whole back a the house was all caved in, like maybe there was more fire there.

I saw Janie sittin’ across the street on Gilly’s Gramma’s porch.  She looked sad but real pretty.  Maybe she’d like me if I went over an’ sat with her a while.  I was ascared a talking to her.  I dunno why, I didn’t care about no other girls.

I walked over next to ‘er an’ stood, wonderin’ what I could say.  Then she looked up an’ saw me.

“I can’t believe they’re dead.  Jenny and Cathy were best friends.  Jenny’s home in bed and won’t talk to anybody.  I can’t believe it!”

Me nuther,” I said.

“Somebody set that fire.”

I said, “Maybe it jus’ started itself.  Or Mrs. Manette dropped a cigarette.  Or, cookin’ or somethin’.”

“Oh, no. The fire investigators were looking at the house this morning.  My dad talked to them. They said they could see that somebody used a…a…a celerrent, or something, like maybe lighter fluid or car gas.  Something like that.”

“You mean they think fer sure that somebody did it on purpose?”

“Yeah. They said they could tell it was splashed all over the back stairs and around there.  Like, lots of it.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah!  Like somebody wanted to kill them or something.  Like they had enemies.”

“What about maybe the Archambeault’s enemies?”

“They’re old people, who would be enemies to them?”

“I dunno, somebody.”

She said, “I think it was because of that talk about Mark.  Those stupid stories that he bothered little kids.”

“Annnhhh, yeah I heard ‘em.  They’re not true?”

“My dad says no.  He’s a social worker and hears about all kinds of stuff like that.  He says Mark isn’t that type.  He would know, too.”

“But everybody says so!”

“Stupid kids say so.  Like that creepy Jimmy Yoder.  He’s bad.  He’s mean and he likes to hurt.”

Yoder!  I could feel me getting’ mad.

“He ever hurt you?”

“No, but I know he hurt the kid you call Frecks, and, well, somebody else, too.”

“Who?”

“Just somebody.”

“Tell me!”

“I don’t know for sure and I don’t want to get you all nuts or anything.”

“I won’t get all nuts!  Don’t say that!”  I was getting mad at Janie, now.  Why didn’t she tell me nothin’? Why did she say nuts?

She just looked at me an’ stopped talkin’.

“Tell me!” I yelled.

“I gotta go home!”

She started to leave but I caught her arm an’ squeezed hard.

“Let me go.  Leggo. Leggo!  Daaaadddyyy!!!”

“You tell me, Goddam you!”  I had pushed her on the ground. An’ was shovin’ at her face.

“Help. Help me!”

I heard footsteps runnin’ an’ alova sudden saw people runnin’ at me, some a them dads from the neighborhood.  I right away got up an’ took off fer the park, runnin’ as fast as I could, still all stiff an’ sore.

I run right through the park an’ down the towpath.  I lost ‘em, finely, by the time I got down near the old fort.  I stopped an’ looked back. I couldn’t remember why I was runnin’ alova sudden. My head was really poundin’, like it was gonna axplode or somethin’. Was Yoder chasin me?  Yeah, that was it. I remember now.  Goddam Yoder chasin’ me, the bastard.

I wondered where he went.  Couldn’t see him anywheres.  Be jus’ like him to hijack me from behind.  Maybe he’s hidin’ in the fort.  Better go see.

I go down to the fort.  Secret mission.  Something wrong.  Fort destroyed.  Yoder!  Destroyer!  Get down low, sneak to entrance.  Stifling heat, smell of char.  Destruction everywhere.

Place has burned, very recently.  Enemy operation.  Damage our facilities until we can no longer fight.  Need to investigate.  Look for survivors.  Bury the dead.

Walk to the back of the building. Stairs up collapsed, upstairs level fallen.  Stench of death.  Rubble.

A pile sticking out from fallen beam.  Burnt cloth. Ripe, rotten smell. Dead animal. Sacrifice.  Kick it. It’s soft to the foot touch.  Push beam, underneath, black, burnt hand, red fingernails.  Fallen colleague. Shock!  Concernation! Sound the alarm.  Play Taps. Day is done.

Must search out enemy.  Must end this wanton destruction.  Retreat!  Fall  back.  Attack on the flank.  Find the enemy.  Destroy, fight, win!  Go, Go, Go!

Back to sunlight.  Need the high ground.  Careful! Enemy snipers.  Booby traps. Get down!  Crawl, for the love of God!  Cover and concealment.  Conflagration and covenance!

Check two way wrist TV. 10 o’clock local time.  Sunny, fair, 10% chance of thunderstorms.

Back up to towpath, belly crawl entire way.  Slow, safe and secure. Gee honey, that’s great coffee!

Head back toward headquarters for reinforcements.  Platoon sighting, 360 degrees, north northwest.  Take it easy, take it slow, go team go!

Colonel Nolette, congratulations on your promotion.  Major?  How are you, Major Nosal?  All is well, I trust?  A little dab’ll do ya!  You’ll look better in a sweater washed in Woolite!

Lieutenant Clark!  We must go out to dinner sometime.  Discuss strategy and the like.  Yes of course!  Your servant!

Heads flaring together in a mass of westin collaboration.  Gringo to bolderdash, toomay!

Dizzy, everything’s blurry!  Can’t see, can’t….see. Ringing! Ringing!! Singing!!! Sinking, ever down, down, down, to the deep blue sea, my baby and me.  Have gun will travel.

“I want to tell you a story ‘bout a man named Jed. A poor mountaineer, barely kept his family fed.  They’re creepy and they’re spooky, mysterious and…”

Darkness. Outer limits. Twilight Zone.

I woke up to sun in my eyes an’ a pain in my side.  I was tired, tired, tired.  More pain, what’s goin’ on?

Voices:

“Jesus, Bummer, ya think he’s alright?”  Nosal’s voice!

“Christ, he’s a crazy fuck!” 

Bummer!  Geezum, what’s goin’ on? Where am I?

Sure enough, Bummer, Nosal an;’ the guys are lookin’ down at me.

“Annnhhh, what’s goin’ on?”

Bummer looked like I was some kinda loony.  “What’s going on?  You tell me, dickwad!”

“I dunno!”

Bummer looked at Nosal.  “He says he dunno!”  They all laughed. “What a jackass!”

 I don’t like ‘em laughin’ at me, but these are big guys an’ they do what they want a.

Nosal said, “Ya was callin’ us all army names an’ sayin’ weird shit like go to dinner, an’ ya was singin’ TV songs!”

“Yer nuts!” I said.

“An’ then ya were rollin’ around on the ground, like a goddam snake!”

“I was not!  Yer jus’ kiddin’ me!”

Bummer looked at me like I really was a snake.  Then he smiled an’ I knew then that they was kiddin’ me, which is OK fer big kids ta do.  Geezum, I thought somethin’ was wrong there fer a secont.

“OK, OK. Guys,” he said, “we were kidding, right?”

“Yup!”

“Uh, huh!”

“Sure.”

“Yeah, right!”

“Whatever you say.”

“So,” Nosal said, “yer brother come home yet?

“Annnhhh, no, he ain’t.  My mom’s all worried an’ stuff. She tole the police, she said, an’ they’re lookin’, but I don’t believe ‘em.”

“Yeah, the cops suck, right, guys?”

More yeahs!

Bummer said, “We’re gonna go look for Yoder, kick his ass for him, startin’ fires and all.”

Yoder!  Fires.  Hurtin’ little kids.  Bad, bad, bad.  Janie said so!  Janie screamin’…somethin’.

“Janie says her dad said that the firemen said that somebody lit Mims house on purpose.”

All the guys looked at each other.

Bummer said, “How do they know?”

“Like, ‘cause they found somebody put gas or lighter fluid all over the back stairs an’ porch, she says.”

“Jesus Christ!”  said Nosal.

“Think it was this asshole, Yoder?” asked Bummer.

Yoder!  Fire. Spreading lighter fluid on the steps.  Bad.  Kill the enemy.  I remember!

“It was him!” I said.  “I’m sure!”

“How are you sure?” said Nosal.

“Annnhhh, he said yesterday that he was gonna do it.  He wanted me ta help but I didn’t.  I didn’t really think he’d do it.  Ask Gilly an’ Bobby an’ those guys, they was there.”

“I’ll be dipped in shit!” said Bummer.  “That bastard, even talking about it. Mim is dead, and his sister and mother!  We gotta get him!”

“Yeah,” I said, “let’s burn his house with his mother an’ sister in it, the bastards!”

“You fuckin’ nut job,” said Nosal, “Yoder ain’t got no sister!  Jeesh!”

“Nutso,” Bummer said, “you go find your brother, like your mama said, and we’ll take care of Yoder.”

I looked as mean as I could.  “I ain’t no Nutso!”  Bummer looked at me like I was a jerk, which I ain’t.

“Oh, for Christ’s sake, ya gotta be fucking kidding me!  Come on guys, this guy’s fucked up!”

“Annnhhh, I ain’t no Nutso, an’ I ain’t no effed up!”

They started walkin’ away.  All of ‘em!  Leavin’ me behind.  Behind enemy lines.  Promotions or no promotions, those guys were bad officers.  Goes to show! Incompetence ever’ where. Like a cat coverin’ shit on a hot tin roof. Come one, come all. A penny saved is a penny earned.

Geezum, what am I doin”?  I forget!  My head is killin’ me.  I wonder why?

Somethin’ about Yoder.  Yoder!  Bastard, burned down Mim’s house.  Little sister screamin’ in the window.  Barrels of gasoline flowing down the stairs.  Yoder laughing, burn, baby, burn!

Conflagration, confusion reigns, consterpations.

No, I can’t think.  Can’t…think…all dark…can’t see…mist…blur…

I was sittin’ on the towpath with the sun in my eyes.  Maybe I slept here all night.  I’m all dirty like I been rollin’ around in the dirt, or somethin’.  Geezum, why does this keep happening?

I hear a shout from the park.  There’s some cops; I can see the hats.  They’re pointin’ at me an’ yellin’ “There he is!”  They start runnin’ at me. What the?

Whenever cops points at you an’ start’s runnin’ at you, that’s a good time to run the other way.  I’ll run up to Boulerice’s house an’ seek sanctuary.  I don’t know what’s wrong, but I don’t want to wait to ask.

They were gainin’ on me so I did my best runnin’.  I run down the towpath to where it come to Whitney Hill.  I dipped down into the valley an’ then chugged up the hill.  All the time them cops was yellin’ “Get ‘im, don’t let ‘im get away!”  Geezum, what’d I do?

Whitney Hill was a good choice ‘cause the cops was fatsos an’ couldn’t run up the hill like I could.  I left ‘em way behind.

The top of the hill was at Main Street an’ the Boulerice’s lived right across the street.  They had a steep yard an’ I chugged up it an’ hid in their lilac bushes.  They was thick an’ leafy an’ hid me good.

After a long time, the cops huffed up to the street.  They looked both ways an’ didn’t know where I was.

“Son (huff) of a (huff) bitch!” one cop said. He was standin’ bendin’ over with his hands on his knees, like he couldn’t stand up straight.

The other one didn’t say nothin’, jus’ huffed an’ puffed.  A few cars went by, slowin’ down when they saw the cops, an’ then speedin’ up again.

“Where’d ‘e go, you see?” said the first one.

The second one still couldn’t say nothin’.  I feel crushin’ on my head.  I’ve felt this before.

First cop: “Christ, and the car’s way down on Second Street, for God’s sake!”

Second Cop:  “Kid’s a goddam whack job!”

First Cop:  “Yeah, they said he just went off on her, no reason! People say you never know what he’s gonna do.”

I thought, who they talkin’ ‘bout?  Me?  I didn’t do nothin’.  Jus’ slep’ out, is all. Mom won’t care!

Second Cop:  “Stoltz gonna swear out a complaint, ya think?”

First Cop: “Mashed his daughter’s nose pretty good. I would.”

What?  Somebody hurt my Janie?!?

Second Cop:  “What the hell’s wrong with these kids, I wanna know?”

First Cop: “Fuckin’ TV, that’s what I think!”

Have gun will travel.  Rawhide.  My Favorite Martian!  On my brain!

I watch MP’s down below.  How to infiltrate, how to overcome?  Must gather intelligence.  Determine their plans.

They are walking north northeast towards enemy headquarters. 180 degrees. Marching, hup, toop, treep, forp.  Off we go, into the wild blue yonder.  Keep them doggies rollin’, rawhide!

I climb down the bank, hidden in the brush.  Feeling strong, feeling pure.  Be prepared!

MP’s down close to General Nolette’s headquarters.  No enemy platoons in sight. Opportunity!

Check two way wrist TV. 10:15:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time. Time to move.

I run across the street.  Forest on the side, steep banks. Thick brush.  Cover and concealment. Disguise, camouflage!

A path. A path down the bank.  Follow it down, crashing through undergrowth.  Behind some civilian buildings.  A yard, run across quickly, no enemy sees.

Come to another bank.  Stream down below.  Garbage flowing over the bank.  Trash of all kinds.  Food, cans, bottles, newspapers, years and years worth, rotting, stinking, growing.

No other way to get down to the stream.  Step off onto the garbage flow.  Slide and crash to the bottom, starting avalanche of refuse.  Rotted tomatoes, flies buzzing, chicken fat, worms and slugs, greasy lettuce.  Large rats squeaking, nipping, darting away.

Stream is smelly.  Putrid.  Floating shit and unidentifiable matter attaching to my pants.  Slimy shale, intense stench. Slip, slide. Human waste.  So thirsty…need water…must take a sip…uncontrollable thirst…must…drink.  On my knees and bend down to sup the water. Shiver in disgust.  Must do what I must do.  Relief.

Wade along stream, on course for General Nolette.  Pants darkened with slime, sneaks sodden and brown. Pushing on, good soldier, hup, toop, treep, forp, off we go…into the wild…blue…yonder. Take no prisoners.
Come to a large stone tower with a tunnel in front, from which the stream issues. Vines and moss cover the surface. This is touch point for General Nolette’s Headquarters.  Up the bank to the right.  This time construction debris.  Wallboard, studs, nails sticking out, step on one, which enters foot through sneaker.  Meant to keep enemies away.  Booby traps, trip wires, obstacle course.

Top of bank, eyes peek over top.  Coast is clear.  Backyard is empty, except for tall gardener harvesting tomatoes.  Could be a spy.  Could be enemy combatant. An assassin!  In league with MP’s, attempting to thwart the mission.  An assassin at General Nolette’s Headquarters!  Sound the alarms!  Attack, attack! Against all odds, attack! Now or never!

I crawl up over the top of the bank and run toward assassin, screaming, “Kill, kill, kill!”

Assassin turns around, dropping tomatoes, just as I jump onto him.  He falls back a few steps but keeps his feet, holds his ground.  Assassins are getting bigger every day.

“What the hell are you doing, you little jerk?”

Just as I thought, he speaks German.  I cannot understand his guttural grunting.  No communication.

“Die, assassin, die!” I yell.  My legs are around him and I am punching and scratching and biting and kicking.

Assassin: “What the hell? Get off me. What the fuck are you doing?”

More jibber jabber!

“Die, you Kraut scum!”  I keep fighting to the best of my ability. Against all odds. To the last man.  The captain goes down with his ship.

General Nolette was a good man and it was my duty to protect him, even at the cost of my own life.

Assassin (between my punches and kicks):  “Jesus!  Aren’t you that Nutso kid from up the street? The cops are lookin’ for you, ya little twerp!”

Hero:  “I’ll never surrender, assassin pig-dog!”

Assassin (turns around and yells up to the headquarters):  “Bobby, come get your whack job friend here before I goddam kill ‘im.”

I am thrown to the ground.  Large enemy force. Can’t hold my position. Insurmountable odds. Must retreat!

I get to my feet and beat a retreat out of the yard and into an area of low scrub between me and a children’s playground.  Enemy spies and combatants pouring out of headquarters.  They have taken over.  General Nolette captured! I find a path, used formerly by Indians back before the beginning.  The path leads to an area of larger shrubs and bushes.  I find a ramshackle shack.  Sanctuary.  Solace!  A place to rest.

Defeated.  Tired.  Done in.  Mist…Blur…can’t…see…day is done, gone the sun…I close my eyes….

I wake up with sun in my eyes.  I am in one of the small forts we build in the weeds near Bobby’s house.  There is a hole in the roof lettin’ the light in.

I wonder if I slep’ here overnight? I’m all dirty, like I could a.  Boy, I stink!  Geezum, looks like I got poop all over me. My mom’s gonna kill me!  These sneaks were new this week an’ now they’re all wet an’ brown an’, Geezum there’s a squashed tomater down the front a my pants! An’ Geezum, my foot hurts.  Like I got stung by a wasp or somethin’.  What the? 

Somethin’ about crawlin’ through the trash in Bouchard’s yard.  Somethin’ about drinkin’ the sewer water. Geezum, I get some weird dreams!  But I do got a bad taste in my mouth.  Musta forgot to brush.  An’ I’m feelin’ kinda headachy an’ shivery.  Musta been cold out here las’ night!  Jeesh!

I hear voices an’ suddenly I see Bobby’s older sister Sally’s big boyfriend Mike lookin’ in at me.  Why’s he here?  Geezum, what’s goin’ on?

“What’s goin’ on, kid?” he says.

“Annnhhh, I dunno!”  I don’t either.  What’s he want with me?  I ain’t never bothered him.

He looked behind him at somebody I couldn’t see. “He says he ‘dunno’!”  An’ he laughed.

Name, rank and serial number, that’s all he gets!