CHAPTER 77
BUSHLAKE, OCTOBER 2016
T hey drove into town. Igoshi told Anna when they passed the city limit sign.
“Doesn’t look like much of a town. Basically, a Main street, a supply store, and a bar. To our left is a church spire and further down there’s a sign saying…”
“Hayseed Café,” Anna said. She smiled to herself, thinking about all the cheesecake she had gotten there. She wondered if this one also had cheesecake and if it was just as good as Doris’s.
Lucas was humming in the back seat. “I think it looks awesome,” he said and peeked out between the seats. “They have Polar Pops. At the gas station. The one we just passed outside of town ten minutes ago.”
“What might that be?” Igoshi asked.
“Only the greatest soda ever made,” Anna said, laughing. Her dad had taken her to the Circle K while they had stayed in Bushlake and they had tasted it. She suddenly missed him like crazy. She knew he had to be wondering by now why she wasn’t waking up. Every now and then, if she listened carefully, she thought she could hear him yelling her name, screaming desperately and it made her feel awful, but she had to stay here for now. She was determined to.
“Can we have some, Grandma’? Ple-e-e-a-se?” Lucas said.
“Maybe later,” Igoshi said.
Her heartbeat was up. She was nervous about this, which was only natural, Anna guessed. They were, after all, about to face the guy that had blinded Anna.
Anna had learned a lot about him while she was in Bushlake with her dad. She knew who he was and that he had grown up in this town. She also knew what his own mother had done to him; but how he managed to hurt people in a world he had died in, she didn’t understand. She had explained it to Igoshi, who suggested that maybe he wasn’t dead at all, that he might have been simply in a coma for all these years. It made a lot of sense to Anna. She had no idea how to stop him, but she was going to at least try. It had been about four hours since she left the hospital and even then Stephanie had been in trouble. Anna didn’t know if she was alive or not. She feared she wasn’t.
“So, where exactly are we going?” Igoshi asked as they stopped at a red light.
Anna stayed quiet for a long time. She didn’t know if the light had turned green or not. “I think I have an idea,” she said. “Turn right at this intersection and go past the church. We need to find First Street. There’s a house there. An old one with a big porch and a chandelier outside. Used to be a real pretty house.”
“As you wish,” Igoshi said and took the turn. “Going past the church now,” she said, “and it looks like First Street is coming right up.”
“Turn down the street and look for the house. Should be on your left,” Anna said, remembering how her dad had navigated around in Bushlake, telling her everywhere they went, describing all the houses and roads to her, even what bushes and trees were in the yards.
“It’s the one with the big live oak in the backyard. The tree goes all the way back to eighteen something. It’s the oldest tree in town.”
“Here it is,” Igoshi said and drove slowly up the road.
“Whoa,” Lucas exclaimed. “That’s one big tree.”
“Used to be where they’d hang people in town,” Anna said, remembering what Stephanie had told her. “There was a massacre, the Bushlake Massacre in nineteen twenty-three. All the black men in town were hung here. They don’t know how many it was, but the guess is more than a hundred.” Anna sighed.
Igoshi spoke. “So, why are we here?”
“This is where Gubba grew up.”
“Gubba?”
“Robert Bloom. Umbrella Man. A friend of mine went to visit his mother in jail and she told her the story.”
“And you think Gubba might be here?” Igoshi asked.
Anna nodded. “Yes. Does it look like he is living there?”
Igoshi clicked her tongue. “Not really. It looks very abandoned. And there is a for sale sign outside. Looks like it has been there for quite some time. Sorry.”
Anna exhaled, disappointed. “Well, it was a long shot.”
They sat quietly in the car for a little while, when suddenly Lucas spoke. “Does this Umbrella Man hold a black umbrella?”
“Yes?” Anna said. “Why?”
“Because someone holding a black umbrella just entered the yard over there and walked around the house.”
CHAPTER 78
BUSHLAKE, OCTOBER 2016
T he men from the trees that he had known since he was a child were waiting for him in the backyard, sitting on the old patio furniture that had almost rusted away. Only two of them were left. Jimmy and Sammy. Gubba had known them since he was just a child and he had met them in his dreams. That was when they told him they had died in his backyard and how they had been killed by white people in the massacre. Gubba had always believed they were real, even though his mother told him they weren’t. Now, he knew he had just traveled at night as a child and met with them. They had told him how they wanted revenge for what had happened, even though it was many years ago. As the years passed, he had been convinced it was his mission in life, to fulfill their revenge. He still believed that. Only now, he wasn’t sure he would be able to anymore and that was what he was about to tell them.
“I died,” he said, feeling awful for having to disappoint them. “I can’t get back anymore.”
Jimmy cursed something. He had a bottle of whiskey in his hand that he put to his lips and drank from. He and Sammy had both been teenagers when they were killed. Now they were so old, Gubba sometimes felt like he could hear their bones squeak when they moved.
“Dang it,” Sammy said. “And you’re sure?”
Gubba nodded, not looking directly at them. All his life, he had devoted to avenging these men, and it pained him to not be able to fulfill his promise to them. It devastated him greatly.
“So, they killed you too, huh?” Jimmy said. “Finally got rid of the last black man.” He paused and chuckled. “Even if the last black man is white as a ghost.”
“Hey. I am black and proud of it. I might be albino, but my mother was black. Skin color has nothing to do with it.”
Sammy scoffed. He drank again. “The bastards,” he mumbled.
“I’m not giving up,” Gubba said. “I’m trying to find a way. I will find a way to get back.”
Sammy and Jimmy both stood up. They walked away, slowly. Gubba watched them as they did. He felt such great anger inside of him. He was sick of that town and what they had done. Now he was stuck in this place and it was all their doing. They were going to feel his wrath. Some way or another, he was going to succeed.
He got up and turned, and then he spotted her. Right there in front of him, standing in the tall grass, was the Injun girl. The blind Injun girl.
“What the…?” he asked with a smirk. He was surprised to see her alive since he had left her to bleed to death. Why was she here?
“Gubba?” she called.
A chill went down his spine. Gubba was his mother’s name for him. How had she learned that name?
“What do you want?” he asked with a laugh. “You want me to finish you? Tired of life?”
“I’ve come to stop you.”
Gubba laughed again. “You? Stop me? Don’t you know you’re blind, little girl? You can’t even see me.”
She didn’t speak. He approached her slowly, curious as to what had made her think she could just come here like that and threaten him. She had to be more than unusually stupid. But if she really wanted to die today, then he could easily arrange that. He was in a killer mood anyway.
CHAPTER 79
BUSHLAKE, OCTOBER 2016
J ust hearing his voice again made Anna’s legs shake. But still, she stood firm and tall in front of him as she heard him approach her. She could hear the grass bending beneath his feet, some of it sweeping across his legs. She could hear his breathing, the smacking of his lips, even the sound of his eyes blinking.
“You want to
die, little girl? Huh?” he asked.
She heard the sound of his long sleeves moving as he raised his hands. She focused on the sounds, imagined he was walking towards her, his hands raised, ready to grab her by the throat.
Anna remained completely still. There were many sounds in the yard, but she managed to navigate them and focus on the ones coming from right in front of her, approaching her, like a light sniffle, the lifting of an eyebrow. If she focused really hard, she could even hear the sizzling sound coming from his blisters. It was like they were still burning even after all these years.
“Come, kitty, kitty,” he said, making the sounds you would to get a cat to come to you. “Here, kitty, kitty. Come to Gubba.”
“My grandmother told me to stay in the car and wait, but I wanted to be here. I wanted to see,” she said.
An eyebrow was lifted. It was the right one, she guessed.
“See what?” he asked.
“See you go down. I also wanted to make sure you got my warning.”
Gubba laughed, but it was nervous laughter. That was good. He was getting scared. She wanted him to.
“What are you babbling about, little kitten? Did you lose your mind too when I took your eyes, huh?” he asked. “What could you possibly have to warn me about?”
“Two things. First of all, about this,” she said and pointed a thumb behind her, where she could hear tires screeching and car doors opening. If only she could see his face, but hearing his small gasps were more than enough. “My grandmother and the chief of police, I assume,” she said. “As far as I know, you’re still wanted in this town for killing five kids at a Christmas concert almost twenty years ago. I think they’d like to have a little chat with you about that.”
Anna took in a deep breath, thinking about Hannah Charles, who had told her about Gubba’s cruel doings in her childhood town.
“You little…”
Voices were yelling now, feet approaching, running, guns being pulled. Her grandmother yelled her name, angry that she had defied her direct order to stay in the car. Anna could hear Gubba’s teeth clattering and his jaws clenching. Soon, he was grunting and police officers were yelling as he was being pulled down to the ground. When she heard the cuffs being closed and she sensed he was walking past her, probably guided by a few officers on each side, she leaned over and whispered.
“Oh, and the second thing is this: I know you’re alive in the other world. When I get back, I am going to make sure you’ll be dead. That way, you can never return. Never again.”
Anna was waiting for his reaction, but once it came, it was nothing like she had expected. Instead of fear, he scoffed at her.
“You’re too late, little girl. I’m already dead there. Your friends made sure of that.”
Anna gasped and pulled away. She felt her grandmother’s hand on her shoulder. Gubba was taken away while Anna wondered who had killed him.
“I told you to stay in the car, Anna. Will you never listen to your old grandmother?” Igoshi said, sounding angry, yet relieved.
Anna sighed deeply. “Sorry, Nanna.”
“I’m just happy nothing happened to you,” she said. “Now let’s get back to the car.”
Anna nodded and walked hand in hand with her grandmother back towards the car. Nanna didn’t even have to guide her; she could find it perfectly by using her other senses. It was amazing how much you could do without being able to see. Still, she wished she could look at her family once again. She would give a lot to be able to look into Lucas’s eyes once again. Just once.
Anna stopped as they approached the truck.
“Something is wrong,” she said.
Her grandmother let go of her. A small shriek emerged from her. “The door is open. The door to the truck’s passenger seat,” she said. “Lucas is gone. Lucas is GONE!”
CHAPTER 80
BUSHLAKE, OCTOBER 2016
T hey searched all day, or what was left of it. A bunch of locals formed a search team and, along with Bushlake’s chief of police and all their officers, they searched the town and the nearby forests and lakes. Still, there was no trace of Lucas. By the time the sun had set, Anna found herself sitting in the truck with her grandmother, crying helplessly, scared to death.
Igoshi tried to comfort her, but it didn’t help much. Fact was, Anna was the one who should have stayed with Lucas, but she left him, and for what? Because she wanted to face the man who had blinded her? Because she wanted him to know she was the one who took him down? For the simple feeling of revenge? It was all just so stupid, and now she regretted it more than anything in her life. It was all her fault if anything happened to her beloved baby brother. All Igoshi had told her was to stay in the car with her brother who was supposed to keep an eye on the man with the umbrella and make sure he didn’t leave the yard before she could bring the police. That was all, and she messed it up. Oh, how she had messed it up.
“How could I have been so stupid?”
“We’ll find him,” Igoshi said with a deep sigh. She wasn’t even close to sounding convincing.
The worst part was, they had no idea how he could have suddenly disappeared. “Could he have gone out on his own?” Anna asked. “Gubba was with me all the time, so he couldn’t have hurt him, that’s for sure. He wasn’t even near the car at any point. He couldn’t have been. Could Lucas have left the car on his own? Would he do that, you think?”
“I don’t know,” Igoshi said. She was biting her lip. Anna could hear it. “I guess he could have. It’s the most plausible explanation, but where would he go? It’s so unlike Lucas to wander off like that. And wouldn’t we have found him by now? He can’t have made it very far on foot and we’ve searched all over town. He’s just a young boy.”
“Could he be hiding somewhere?” Anna asked. “Maybe he got scared; maybe he saw Gubba and was afraid?”
“Maybe. But he would come out from hiding when we called, wouldn’t he?” Igoshi said.
“Yeah, I guess. So, what do we do now?”
“They want to go into the swamps to look, but I don’t see how he could have made it that far. Besides, he is terrified of both forests and swamps. He would never go into one alone. It makes no sense.”
Anna wiped her tears away and tried to picture her brother. Lucas had to be so scared. Wherever he was.
“All he wanted was to get a…” Anna stopped. “Hey, wait a minute. Polar pop. He wanted one so badly. He talked about it all the way down here. Do you think he would…”
“He might,” Igoshi said and started the truck back up. “It’s outside of town. Takes about ten minutes by car, but a lot longer when you’re only eleven and your legs are short. Lucas’s legs are very short.”
“It’s worth a try,” Anna said, as Igoshi drove onto the street. The gas station was about two miles outside of town, so it was possible no one had looked there yet. Anna decided to remain hopeful.
Igoshi told her when she could see the Circle K sign in the distance, while Kurt Cobain sang on the radio. Anna thought it was sad he had left Nirvana and gone solo after so many years together. She had been a big Nirvana fan all of her life. Well, at least in this life.
Igoshi took a turn and stopped the car. They both jumped out. Anna could hear Igoshi’s rapid heartbeat and ragged breath, and soon it was mixed with the thousands of sounds coming from inside the gas station as the doors slid open. There were voices by the counter talking about the Seattle Supersonics’ latest big win, a radio playing The Smiths’ latest, rustling of candy bags, crunching money changing hands, someone chewing tobacco, but nowhere could she detect her brother’s heartbeat. It was something she had realized while being blind, learning how to navigate without her eyes, helped along by her father, that every heartbeat had its own rhythm and if you listened really carefully, you could tell them apart. She could hear a heartbeat from very far away and, therefore, always knew if someone was approaching. She had learned to distinguish the rhythm of her loved ones’ heartbeats from those of other
people. It was like they played a song. A song only she could hear.
“He’s not here,” she said.
“How do you know? We just got inside,” Igoshi said. “He could be lingering over there by the candy, in that aisle that we can’t see, or maybe he’s over by where you get those darn Polar Pops, now where is it?”
Anna could hear her grandmother’s hand be lifted and guessed she was pointing. Anna grabbed her arm.
“He’s not here,” she said.
Her grandmother’s breathing intensified. Her pulse went up, the blood was rushing faster through her old worn veins as it squelched against their sides. The sound was almost deafening.
The sigh that exited her grandmother’s mouth was deep-felt and heavy. She knew Anna was right, but still fought it. “Maybe he’s in the restroom?”
“He’s not here, Grandma.”
“I’ll at least check,” Igoshi said and Anna could hear her walk away, then stop. She could hear her hand touching a door and her voice calling his name.
He’s not here, Nanna. Why won’t you listen?
“You’re right,” she said as she returned. “He’s not here.” She could hear that her grandmother was holding back tears, trying to stay strong.
They walked outside. The warm Florida air hit Anna in the face. It was moist. “It’s getting late,” she said.
“You’re right,” Igoshi said. “It’s almost nighttime. You need to get some sleep. You have to get back.”
They got in the truck. Anna sat down with a sigh. “I’m not going back. Not tonight.”
“What are you talking about? Of course you’re going back. Your dad needs you.”
“You need me more,” she said. “Lucas needs me more right now. Dad will have to understand. He’ll have to. I’ll stay awake tonight and not go to sleep.”