The Tower Kids

Theo’s dad stood hunched under a sagging pop-up with one hand on the lid of the grill and the other jabbing the air as he spoke, all the while rain stippled the picnic tables and ran in thin lines down the park grills.

“The forecast said sun. Sun!” He complained. “I tell you, if I had the God-given ability to dictate the weather, we'd be out doing this every Sunday!”

His mother pulled her hood tighter while setting a tray of buns on the table, her bracelets clinking as she moved. “You don't dictate anything,” she said. “You read an app and the app was wrong.”

“Well, it was accurate yesterday!”

“Annnd it’s raining now.”

“That’s not the point, Tyra!”

Theo, however, sat at the far bench with his shoulders folded in, his black hair hanging into his eyes. His skin seemed washed out against the wettened wood, his skin a ghostly pale in comparison. As his parents bickered in the backdrop, his eyes kept to the ground near his shoes and whispered a few soft words. Then there was a pause before another reply came.

Evie, his older sister, leaned against the table while her thumbs moved over her newly-gifted iPhone 5s, her blonde hair pulled neat even in the rain which fell over one shoulder. She didn't even look as she addressed him.

“Who're you talking to, you little germ?”

Theo froze when she spoke before his face warmed. “Just, uhh… thinking,” he replied, his tone unconvincing even to him.

“Well, think quieter!” she snorted.

Theo sighed before pushing off the bench, standing as the wood creaked beneath him.

“Where're you going?” His mom asked with concern.

“Just taking the loop, mom,” Theo replied quietly, stuffing his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt.

“Figures,” his father muttered with a shake of his head, lifting the grill lid. He groaned with annoyance as the smoke was flattened in the rain, poking at the grate before snapping it shut again.

Theo walked by the tables and onto the trail, the sounds of the failing cookout thinning behind him until the woods took over. For a while, he counted his steps only to lose count and then rinse and repeat. The trail kept the same width, the same boring gray with nothing special about it. He’d been here before for field trips, family walks, and even on his own assertion.

Then… Voices. Those Goddamn voices whispered in his ear:

Not loud, this one…

Thin, like a breath through a crack…

His cheekbones burned from embarrassment, slowing but not stopping. He always told himself that it was just the rain or wild life that made the noise. That’s what everyone told him, anyway.

“Just shut up already…” He whispered to himself as he kept walking. His thoughts slid sideways as they did, from Evie's snark, to the way his dad always shakes his head in disappointment, to the way people acted around him due to stories others made about him.

He always wondered if there was a way to practice being… ordinary. Something like drills or reps. He should just say less, smile once, and don't stare too long.

Then, a second voice came, sounding a little higher than the last that spoke.

No… not here.

Theo's foot hung over a shallow puddle, setting it down and watching as the water darkened the toe of his shoe.

“Why…” he whispered, not exactly aiming the question at anything.

The trail dipped and rose, the trees feeling as if they pressed closer and branches knitting a makeshift roof overhead. Now, he could even hear his own breathing.

Turn…

The word landed clear enough to make him stop.

The word was bold enough to make him stop. He listened hard to his surroundings, the woods answering with small things such as a bird’s chirps, a drip hitting a nearby stone, or the barely audible chatter from the park. To his… odd disappointment, there were no footsteps or voices he could point out.

“Did something happen?” he asked, barely moving his mouth.

“What…? Is something wrong?” He whispered aloud, barely moving his mouth.

After… fell… quiet…

Theo frowned. After what? He looked down the trail, curving out of sight as always. Nothing significant or a real reason for him to turn back.

He took one cautious step forward before the voices returned.

Don’t… too much… Turn…

Theo let out one annoyed sigh, his fingers curling into fists at his sides. “Turn? You said that last time!” he replied before rubbing his palms against his jeans as if that’d wipe away the damp. “All I’m doing is going for a walk.”

The voices didn’t argue, instead they multiplied. One slipped behind him, another to his left, and another in front of him.

Happened…

Theo furrowed a brow, his eyes tracing the ground, looking at the leaves that pressed into the mud in uneven shapes. He knelt down and touched one with two fingers. The mud was cold and gave a little.

Then, a short, dull noise, like something hitting wood cut through the silence. Theo straightened, feeling like he was about to jump out of his skin before he waited.

The voices became closer, Theo feeling now like he’s being crowded and overlapped by the unseen forces.

Turn… Wrong… Place!

“A-Alright, alright!” he squeaked out. Theo backed up a step, then another as the pressure eased up a bit, like someone loosening their grip before he finally turned and started back along the trail.

Once he reached the bend, he glanced back once, the path seeming empty before he shook his head and walked on anyway.

“It’s nothing… it’s nothing…” he muttered, echoing his mother’s words of reassurance. “Just… thoughts…”

He tried to focus on normal things like the park or the way his dad swore at the rain while his sister always pretended like she was never there. Stuff that made sense.

That’s when he heard it.

Off to his right came a sound, a scrape like a shoe sole catching on bark.

Theo stopped, holding his breath without meaning to. The sound came again, much closer this time.

“Hello…?” The word came out dry and to no one's surprise, no one answer. However, the air became foul with a strong scent, like damp earth mixing with something sour.

At the same time, the voices returned all at once.

Don’t… Leave it… Don't look…

Theo squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head, whispering “Stop… just… stop!” before he dropped into a crouch, his knees soaking through when they met wet ground. He eased closer to the brush at the edge of the trail, his fingers digging into bark and leaves to remain steady, brushing away rain that slid off the brim of his hair.

Leaning in, he could finally see the source of the noises and what the voices have been trying to turn him away from this whole time. The forest opened up a few yards ahead, allowing him to make out three shapes standing in a rough knot with their backs turned. They wore dark jackets with hoods on, all bent toward something on the ground.

Between the three was what looked like to be… Oh God… is that a body?! It laid wrong, its limbs slack and in the process of being buried by the group. Theo's chest tightened and he couldn't believe if his eyes were deceiving him or not. He couldn't tell anything except that… He did not belong here.

He shifted his weight a little to get a clear angle, but a branch snapped sharply, causing one of the figures to turn towards him. Then the others followed. One lifted their hand, flashing metal. Theo felt his breath lock in his throat, his eyes fixed on the blade.

From the distance, he heard one of them yell. “Shit! Hey! Hey, kid!”

Theo let out a sharp gasp, his foot sliding and causing him to pitch backward, hitting the ground hard. Pain flared up his spine and water splashed up his legs, but he scrambled to his feet and ran as fast as he could.

Branches slapped at his arms and gravel bit through the soles of his shoes, his lungs burning as he tore through the trail, his breath and blood pounding in his ears. Behind him, the woods erupted in shouts and the sounds of another pair of footsteps crashing through the brush.

Theo burst out of the trees, his shoes skidding on wet gravel as his breath tore in and out of him.

“A body…” he shouted, his voice cracking. “There’s… there’s a body!”

As soon as he shouted, heads turned. His dad looked up from the grill, his mom froze with a paper plate in her hand and a few people near the tables paused mid-conversation. Their eyes followed Theo as he staggered closer, rain plastering his hair to his forehead.

Evie glanced up from her phone and rolled her eyes with a tired groan. “Ugh, what is it now?”

“There's a body in the forest!” Theo yelled through pants, raising his voice before waving an arm back toward the trail. “Back there, there… there's someone on the ground…”

“A… body?” Tyra repeated with a furrowed brow, looking at her son with worry.

“Body?!” A woman near the cooler echoed, her hand flying to her mouth.

A man by the benches frowned. “What did he say?” he asked.

Theo nodded quickly. “I saw it, I swear! There were three people with masks and… One-one of them had a knife!”

That caused a ripple to go through the group, someone cursing beneath their breath while multiple let out sharp and disbelieving laughs.

“Oh, great,” a guy said. “Kid's got quite the imagination.”

“Jesus, kid, you can't just say things like that!” A woman snapped.

“Oh my God, I'm not making it up! They saw me, they chased me!” Theo exclaimed, the heat increasing on his cheekbones from the embarrassment.

Evie let out a scoff while resting a hand on her hip, a grin present on her face. “You are such a liar,” she said with an incredulous chuckle. “Gosh, do you always need this many eyes on you?”

He turned to her with narrowed eyes. “I'm being serious, Evie! I know what I saw!”

Then, his father finally put the foot down, his face as red as Theo's sweater. “That's enough!” He snapped. “Right. Now.”

His mom sighed and gently tugged at his dad's arm. “Perkins…”

“No,” he said before pointing at Theo. “You can't just scream stuff like that. Especially not here!”

Theo's hands trembled at his sides and he pointed again towards the trail. “Dad, I… I saw them… I swear I saw them…”

“Apologize,” his dad said firmly. “Now.”

A teenaged couple nearby had already pulled their phones out while another woman paced a step away from the group, whispering urgently. “Look, if there's even a chance…”

“I’m calling it in,” someone else said. “Just in case.”

Theo looked around as panic and confusion tangled in his chest. “Please, you guys need to believe me! I'm not lying!”

His dad shook his head, embarrassed heat creeping up his neck as more eyes landed on them. “You're embarrassing this family,” he snapped in a sharp whisper, his eyes staring daggers into Theo's soul. “Apologize!”

“Told you,” Evie snorted while checking out her nails absentmindedly.

His mom stood torn, her lips pressed together and watching as the crowd split between suspicion and worry while two or three phones rang behind her. Theo stood there soaked and shaking.

Cops eventually came and Theo stood with the crowd, watching as two emerged from the trees. Their hats were pulled low and one of them shook his head before anyone asked.

“Everyone can calm down now, there’s nothing out there,” he said.

A woman near the front would lean forward. “You didn't see… Anything? Like, at all?”

The cop glanced at his partner before back at the woman. “Nothing but trees, animals, the usual. No bodies, no masked knife wielding maniacs, you can all go back to your day.”

Sounds of relief and disappointment rolled through the crowd, settling heavily on Theo's shoulders.

“Figures,” he heard someone mutter.

He heard a kid a few feet away snort. “Told you… He's a weirdo.”

“Kids these days…” a disappointed man muttered.

Theo felt his throat tighten, like he'd been holding his breath for far too long. His eyes never left the trail entrance, doing his best to avoid all the eyes that stared at him. Something he was beyond used to.

The voices returned, quieter this time.

They'll never hear you… They won't…

He flinched and looked down, then up again.

His dad stood stiff beside him, his eyes locked on the cops with something furious sitting behind them. He could already tell he was in for it. He just knew it.

And so, after the group loosened and peeled away in ones and twos, Theo found himself in the back of his father's minivan, right beside Evie. He kept his eyes on the rain droplets that streaked the windshield as they rolled through Cedarwood, where nothing but the sounds of wipers thumping side to side filled the silence.

But, of course, his dad didn't wait long.

“First it was the maggots,” he began, his voice a mix of exhaustion and frustration. “Had the whole damn school calling us because you swore some kid had bugs crawling in his hair.”

Theo’s eyes kept out the window, though the face of Harmony’s face flashed in his head, how she’d screamed and slapped at her scalp while everyone backed away and how the nurse had to fight with her just to find nothing but dandruff.

“Then there was the… what was it? The Wood Devil?” He went on. “Thinking it’s a great idea to tell your classmates that some tall scary monster was watching them from the woods behind the playground. Because why behave when you could have the cops asking a load of questions about you?”

Theo bit his tongue this time, wanting to defend himself so badly but knowing it'll be for naught.

“And now this,” his dad continued. “Dead body. A dead fucking body. You, son, have gone way too far.”

Evie scoffed from beside him. “Seriously, like, do you know how embarrassing it is? Guys hear who my brother is and suddenly I'm repulsive.” She rolled her eyes. “As if I don't have to deal with enough already.”

Theo let out a slow breath, his eyes closed. “I said I saw them… I'm not making it up.”

The minivan finally turned onto their street, where two story houses sat close together, their pale sidings darkened by rain with lawns trimmed short and edged with stone. Porch lights were already coming on despite it being the middle of the day.

They pulled into the driveway and came to a halt. “Tired…” his dad started. “Tired of this. Tired of you making a fool of yourself and this family.”

Evie pushed her door open, hopping out and already texting as she headed for the front steps.

His dad turned in his seat to look at Theo. “You're grounded. No Wii for a week,” he ordered before stepping out and slamming the door a little harder than he needed to.

Theo stayed put, his shoulders slump and the knot in his stomach tightened further. Then, his mom turned around from the passenger’s seat, reaching a hand out to hold her son's knee.

“Hey… You okay?” She asked, her voice quieter.

He shook his head, his throat feeling tighter than usual.

“I didn't lie,” he said firmly, avoiding her gaze.

She gave a slow nod, squeezing his knee. “I know you believe that, sweetie,” she said. “Just… Try to keep your head down, alright?”

He nodded, though it didn’t feel like an answer to anything.

Theo gave an empty nod before he finally left and entered the house. Inside, it smelled like wet coats, old wood, and the faint smell dead of his mother’s incense. Theo didn’t speak or acknowledge his sister or his dad and instead went straight up the stairs and into his room.

His room was small and narrow, with a bed pressed against one wall and a desk against the other where the window was. Posters of the Friday the 13th movies peeled at the corners.

He dropped his bag and crossed to the window.

After tossing his wet sweater to the back of his chair, he crossed to the window. Outside, his neighborhood remained quiet with only the distant sound of someone’s dog barking once before stopping. Rain continued to rattle against the window, somewhat soothing his nerves despite everything.

Theo pulled the curtain shut and sat on his bed, trying his best to pretend that nothing had happened at all and that what he saw at the park was nothing more than a figment of his imagination. The voices didn’t give him time to linger and crept around the edges of his room.

They saw you…

You are marked…

Theo gritted his teeth and pressed his palms against his ears. “Shut up…” he said, his voice coming out thin. “Shut up… shut up… shut up!”

The words kept coming anyway, stacking over one another and passing through the pitiful attempt of his ear blocking.

Watch… look up…

His stomach churned further, if that was even possible, squeezing his eyes shut and leaned forward with his elbows on his knees, his breathing hard through his nose. He had no idea if he was hearing warnings, memories, or something worse. No idea if they were real at all.

Maybe everyone was right. It was probably just his head. His stupid head, filling gaps and making shapes out of nothing. Like always.

“Leave me alone already,” he muttered loudly. “I didn’t do anything!”

The voices thinned out before surging once more, a low rush that pressed in on him from all sides.

Late… too late…

Theo's eyes snpped open before he finally snapped. “I said shut up!” He exclaimed before burying his head into his pillow. He repeated it like a mantra until, eventually, the voices pulled back.

They weren't gone and left him laying on his bed, breathing heavily and struggling to decide whether he was scared of what he'd seen or of what had seen him.