Come Get Me Page 5

  “That doesn’t sound like something that would’ve killed him,” Jim said slightly confused. “His stand could only be about what, ten feet up? It might have hurt him a little bit, but it’s not something he should’ve died from. Even then it that thing was so hard I don’t think it would’ve done more than knock him out.” He didn’t know what it was but from the little he’d just heard something about this whole accident wasn’t making any sense. Falling from ten feet up wasn’t something a person should die from. Sure, it would hurt but Jim had heard of people falling from greater heights than that and coming out no worse for wear so why hadn’t Tommy?

  “Jim, that’s not the only thing,” his mother said interrupting his thoughts. What else could there be, he thought.

  She paused to collect her thoughts. He didn’t think he was going to like what she had to say. If her demeanor was any indication it wasn’t good, although not much recently had been. “I don’t like thinking of Tommy like this,” she said after a few seconds. “You’ll have to excuse me if it takes me a minute to get going,” she paused again. Jim didn’t want to hurry her but he was beginning to wonder what she was holding back that could be so bad that his mother was having this hard of a time speaking about it. She’d been around when other people had died but Tommy’s death must’ve been worse than anything else she’d experienced. It obviously wasn’t just another unfortunate accident that happened in most small towns.

  “Jim,” his mother finally said, “once they found Tommy he wasn’t exactly just laying on the ground.”

  “How couldn’t he be on the ground? If he fell he had to land somewhere. He wasn’t just floating was he?” Jim answered.

  “No he wasn’t floating and I’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t be a smartass. This is hard for me too,” she answered smartly. Instead of saying anything else he picked up his coffee cup and took a sip. “He was stuck to a tree,” she said quietly just as he was about to swallow.

  “A tree?” he squawked spitting out everything in his mouth. “How was he stuck to a tree? What are you talking about Mom?”

  “Well, like I said, he fell,” she said as she started wiping up the mess he’d made, “but when he fell he didn’t exactly land on the ground. Now remember this is just a rumor. It could be nothing but gossip from them that do that sort of thing but from what I hear he supposedly landed on a broken tree of some sort.” He was about to ask just what the hell she was talking about when he looked up and saw that his mothers eyes were about to overflow. What she was saying didn’t make much sense but it also wasn’t her fault. She was just answering his question. He knew he shouldn’t be yelling at her and felt bad that he was, but unfortunately she was the only one there. How could somebody fall on a tree? He wondered. It just wasn’t something that happened, at least not around a place like this. He was trying to figure it out when it finally dawned on him.

  “Wait a minute, you mean he was impaled?” he choked out hoping she would say no.

  “Yes that’s exactly what I mean,” she said as tears began trickling over the edges of her eyelids. “I just didn’t want to say it like that. I really don’t like that word and I really don’t like thinking of Tommy in that way. It’s bad enough he’s gone I don’t have to think about how he went.” Jim watched the tears run down her face as he tried to comprehend how something like this could have happened.

  “Are you alright?” his mother asked through her sniffles after she’d finished crying. He realized he hadn’t said anything for a few minutes. There was nothing he could think to say.

  He heard her ask him something else but he didn’t respond to that either. His mind was lost in other thoughts. Impaled, echoed through his head. Thinking about it he realized he didn’t like the word either. It made Tommy’s death sound dirty. It also made it harder to believe. He almost thought this might be some kind of elaborate joke his friends had used to get him to come home for a visit. They were sure to jump out any minute and yell surprise. He looked up hoping they would but after a few seconds of nothing happening he realized this wasn’t a joke. It was all too real, he couldn’t believe it. Tommy had been an avid hunter from the time he was old enough to go all the way through high school and apparently right up til his death. Tommy used to love going out in the woods early in the morning and waiting for that one perfect moment when a deer walked into his sights. All that was left was to pull the trigger. If anybody ever asked him why he went he would tell them the thrill of the hunt was just as addicting as any drug could ever be and everything else seemed boring compared to it. He seemed to enjoy it so much that Jim had eventually allowed himself to be talked into going along so he could see what it was like. After his first kill he decided it wasn’t the thing for him. He’d gone a few more times just to make Tommy happy but always made sure he aimed a little off each time he took a shot. Tommy always thought something was wrong with Jim’s gun when this happened. Jim didn’t tell him he didn’t like it because he was afraid he would hurt his friend’s feelings, but after this type of thing happening every time, Tommy eventually figured it out on his own. After that he’d quit asking. He never said anything about Jim humoring him he’d just quit asking. It was just one of many examples of how Jim had grown apart from his friends. They liked simple things and Jim didn’t. It wasn’t their fault, if it was anyone’s fault it was his own.

  He shook himself from the past and back to the present where his mother was still watching him with a concerned look on her face. He was still thinking about Tommy’s death. He just couldn’t understand how a person who’d been in and out of trees for most of his life could so easily fall out of one and not only hurt himself, but kill himself in the process. It just didn’t make any kind of sense. Tommy was always careful whenever he and Jim had gone out. He had continuously told Jim things that would ensure his safety. That was just how Tommy was. Obviously this time something went wrong he hadn’t planned for. Or something had happened that Tommy couldn’t have planned for.

  “Jim? Are you alright?” his mother asked again, concern touching her voice. Judging by the look on her face he must’ve been ignoring her for some time. Instead of answering he buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes trying to make his mind accept the manner of his best friend’s death.

  “How could something like this have happened?” he asked.

  “Like I said,” his mother said as she slowly shook her head, “I only know what I’ve heard, if you want to know more I think you really should try to find Rob. He would know all the details. All I have is rumors. He a policeman plus he’s your friend, talk to him. Other than what I’ve already told you I don’t know anything else. I’m sorry sweetie, I wish I did. I wish there was some way I could make all this better but there isn’t. Rob is your best bet.” She looked at him for a moment then added, “I’m sorry I don’t know more.”

  “It’s not your fault Mom,” he quickly said (she already felt bad enough he didn’t need to add to it by making her feel guilty because she didn’t know anymore). “It’s just; well it’s kind of hard to believe. I guess I’m still trying to get used to everything.” He shook his head slightly and ran his hands through his hair, “Impaled! How does something like that happen?” He still couldn’t see how it could’ve happened. He would definitely have to find Rob and see if he could shed any more light on this.

  “I think I need some air,” he said getting to his feet. His mother watched him sympathetically as he walked to the door. “I think I’ll just go for a walk or something. Maybe look around a little bit. I just need some time to think about this a little. I might even try to find Rob while I’m out.” Waving goodbye, he walked out with thoughts of Tommy’s death running rampant through his head and how he was ever going to make himself accept that his friend was gone.

  3

  At first Jim walked aimlessly through the development not caring where his feet took him but he soon found himself seeking out all the old spots he played at as a kid. Upon arriving at each one he wou
ld stand still and let his mind reach back and replay scenes from his childhood. He was so caught up in his memories that he was surprised when he suddenly found himself at Main Street. Looking at his watch he saw that it was still early. Not wanting to go back to his mothers’ house and having nothing else better to do he decided to walk into town. Maybe if he was lucky he would be able to find Rob and get some real information from him. If nothing else it would be a good waste of time. He’d only gotten to see the changes in the town from his car before, now would be a good time to do the walking tour.

  He was still finding it hard to believe he was home for a funeral of all things. Especially that of one of his friends. If he’d ever thought of a reason for coming home it sure wasn’t for something like this. He just couldn’t believe that something like this could happen. This was the kind of thing you heard about happening to other people. It wasn’t supposed to happen to him. He’d grown up in this town and for the life of him couldn’t remember anyone ever dieing from anything other than old age or some other natural cause. Something like this happening was just unheard of. After all these years Jim figured the town had gotten off pretty good but as of a couple of days ago things must have decided to catch up with a vengeance.

  Being lost in his thoughts he smelled food cooking and looked up to find he was just coming abreast of one of the new fast food places that had settled in since he left. He wasn’t very hungry so decided to pass it by when he heard something.

  Someone had called his name. Thinking the person calling had obviously not meant him he ignored them and kept walking. Nobody in town could possibly recognize him after all these years. Surprisingly after only taking a few steps he heard someone call out again. This time he couldn’t resist. Maybe somebody had recognized him as far-fetched as that might be. He’d changed a lot since high school. He wasn’t a scrawny, little teenager carrying a superhero book bag anymore. He was a grown man now.

  Still thinking it was just some mother calling for her misbehaving child he stopped and turned around. Studying the parking lot didn’t reveal anything right off the bat except some guy sitting in his good ol’ boy pickup truck by the back of the building. Jim strained his eyes thinking he might know the guy but quickly gave up when he saw the stranger was returning his scrutiny. Quickly looking elsewhere Jim risked a glance and saw that the guy was still looking at him. This didn’t just seem to be mild interest either. He was really taking an interest. Jim almost wanted to walk over and tell the guy to take a picture but knew that would probably cause trouble. You never knew with some people and this guy looked like one of those you didn’t want to mess with.

  Besides, Jim wanted to find Rob not have Rob come find him because he was coming to arrest him for disturbing the peace or something. The guy didn’t seem concerned that Jim had noticed him so Jim decided to adopt the same attitude. Seeming bored with what he saw the guy eventually looked away and so did Jim but not before risking another quick look. This time Jim realized the face actually was familiar. He just didn’t know why. It must be someone he knew when he’d lived here before but he couldn’t remember who. Not wanting to walk up to somebody who quite probably was a stranger Jim gave up the idea of trying to find out who it was and turned to leave when suddenly something else caught his eye. A woman about his age, dressed in a restaurant uniform had just come out and was jogging towards him from the back entrance of the building. Watching her bounce her way to him he thought she was awfully bubbly. She was slightly tall, maybe a little on the thin side but not overtly so, with dirty blonde hair that trailed in the wind behind her and she bounced nicely in all the right places. She almost looked like a model he’d seen on TV but not quite. Being curious as to who it was he decided to wait and see. He didn’t recognize her but that didn’t necessarily mean anything plus she was a looker so he figured it might actually be a good idea to wait. He’d been gone a long time. Hell, for all he knew the guy sitting in the truck was Rob and this was his girlfriend. Worse comes to worse it would all be a mistake but then again maybe not. He thought she looked more and more familiar the closer she got. He still couldn’t place her but he thought the possibilities of knowing her were increasing. Just about the same time she reached him a long forgotten memory flashed through his head. It was from high school and a girl that looked a lot like the one smiling at him was trailing him through the halls. He looked over his shoulder every once in a while and there she was. Then he was back staring at her hoping she hadn’t said anything to him while he’d been daydreaming. The memory still lingered. Looking at her he remembered she’d had some kind of crush on him or something. He would tell her she should stop following him but she would never listen. She constantly bugged him and his friends. They teased him unmercifully. He really hoped this wasn’t the same girl but the more he looked at her the more he was sure it was. She changed a lot since then though. He remembered her being skinny with no shape whatsoever.

  That wasn’t the case now.

  He was having a hard time keeping his eyes above her neck especially since her chest was heaving up and down from her running to catch up with him. Her name was on the tip of his tongue when she finally got enough air to speak to him.

  “I’m glad you stopped,” she huffed, “I was calling you from the drive through. I didn’t think you heard me at first. You’re Jim Collins right?”

  “Yup, fraid that’s me,” he answered. “I actually didn’t think you were talking to me. That’s why I didn’t stop. I haven’t been around here for a long time…..” he finished still struggling to remember her name.

  “Maria,” she said supplying it for him, “Maria Derch.”

  “Oh yeah, that’s right Maria Derch. I remember now. We knew each other in high school right?” he said trying unsuccessfully to cover up that he hadn’t remembered her name. “I think we even had a few classes together.” He hopped he was right about that. It was bad enough he didn’t remember her name. That probably made her feel real good.

  If the smile that spread over her face was any indication he’d said the right thing. Jim was still a little vague on anything other than the fact that she used to pester him but he figured acting like he remember more wasn’t going to harm anyone. He didn’t really want to hurt her feelings either since she was the first person he’d seen from the old days. It didn’t hurt that she was good looking either. Who knows maybe she’s changed, he thought as she began speaking.

  “Right,” she said giggling like a teenager, “you do remember me! Although we had more than a few classes together if you know what I mean.” Unfortunately he had no idea what she meant. The way she said it made him think she thought he should know. Too bad he didn’t. For the life of him, all he could remember was being in math and maybe an art class or something with her back in the twelfth grade. Except her following him around but she couldn’t possibly mean that. If she was talking about anything else he was drawing a blank.

  “Oh yeah, that’s right,” he said cautiously not wanting to look like an idiot. Thinking it was a safer route to take, he quickly changed the subject to something he was a little more comfortable with. “So how have you been since graduation?”

  “Oh you know,” she began without too much enthusiasm, “not too much to do around here. We have a bake sale every now and then and we finally have some new restaurants and a Wal-Mart being put in but other than that it’s small town life as normal. Still as exciting as ever.” After that she launched in to how he was and what he’d been up to. He didn’t have much of a chance to say anything since almost as soon as he started speaking she took off on another topic. Something about the town and some of the people still living there. He didn’t pay much attention. His earlier idea about her having changed seemed to’ve been shot to hell, she was still as annoying as ever. She did still look pretty good he thought trying to distract himself from her voice. He could always use a gag if they hooked up. She was in the middle of saying something or other that he wasn’t really paying attention to when
he caught a name he recognized.

  “Excuse me what did you just say?” he asked before she could start in on another topic and forget all about the name she’d said.

  “I said, you must’ve come home because of Tommy’s funeral. It is in a couple of day’s y’know,” she said rolling her eyes dramatically as if repeating herself were too troubling.

  “Yeah,” he muttered, “that’s about the only reason, other than my family, I have for coming back to this place.” He hoped she might say something else about Tommy. Maybe he’d left a message with her or something. She seemed like she’d at least known him so maybe she had more information. It was like he was expecting something from beyond the grave to explain everything and he was looking towards anyone he met to give it to him. Looking at Maria though he knew she definitely wouldn’t be the one. Tommy would never be that desperate.