As we made our way through the traffic, my vision of Adam seemed to guide us towards the Golden Stage Diner. I pulled into the lot, parked, and as we all three settled into the same booth we'd had the day before, D approached us with three glasses of water and a big smile.

We all chorused "fine" as the boys opened their menus and I excused myself to go to the bathroom. I had hoped to grab a chance to talk to D away from the boys. I found the men's room and checked to see that it was out of sight of our booth. I peed, and then noticed D waiting on another table nearby. Catching her eye, I signaled her to come see me, and then waited in the hallway. D took the order and then came over.

"Kenny and I found Rusty with a bad actor yesterday. The creep hurt him pretty badly. Fortunately they're only superficial wounds that will heal rapidly, but I want you to warn all the kids you know about to stay away from this guy. He's really bad news."

"Oh my God, Jim! I saw Rusty leave with that guy yesterday and I didn't have a good feeling about him. He looked like trash - you know, a real greaser. Oh Lord, is Rusty going to be okay?"

I replied, "Physically yes. Emotionally, I'm not sure. It's too early to tell. My doctor friend, Roger Hansen, treated him at my house and we're due at his office Monday morning. I think we may know then. But I arranged for Rusty to stay with us a few days. I'll be able to watch him for any signs of serious emotional damage. Right now, I think that being with Kenny is the best thing Rusty could be doing. Those two really are soul brothers."

"You got that right. Ain't they great for each other? Well I'll be sure to tell the other kids that I know. Are ya going to file charges against that jerk?"

"That's a tough situation, D. I can't right now because I don't know that I could find him. He ran away when we came upon him yesterday. I hope he's gone for good, but you never know."

"Yeah, I know. Well, I'll keep my eyes open and warn everybody I can. I gotta get back and pick up an order now."

She shot me a snaggle-toothed grin and then hurried over to the serving window as I returned to the table to find the boys sitting where I had left them, studying the menu, and Rusty seeming to grow out of his bro he was sitting so close to him.

I almost jumped I was so startled. But then, I should have known that in a close relationship like the one we were developing, there would be absolutely nothing I could put over on this kid. "Um... uh... could I tell you later?" I smiled, but looked pointedly at Rusty and Kenny took my hint.

"I think I'm gonna have a double bacon cheeseburger with extra cheese like you get, Kenny. I'm kinda hungry today."

Kenny and I chorused, "You bet it is!" Rusty grinned and I thought I could detect a brighter light in those hazel eyes.

"So is D gonna tell the other kids about that creep?" asked Rusty. Kenny and I stared at him. "Well, that's what you were talking to her about, wasn't it," he asked me.

"Well it's not like I'm igneous, ya know. I'm not TOTALLY stupid!" Rusty grinned impishly.

I continued in a sober tone. "Rusty, I wasn't trying to hide anything from you, but I was very concerned not to upset you."

"Oh," he said. "Well I don't think I'd be upset now, Jim. After all, the creep's gone."

Kenny had followed my exchange with Rusty intently. Rusty seemed to be unaware of the "mind bonding" he'd just done. However, Kenny knew. I could see it in his intense study of our conversation. And, I could feel it even more than observe it.

"So, what are youse guys gonna have?" asked D as she came to the table. "Rusty, you're sure looking good, hon."

Rusty beamed. "Well, I'm gonna have what Kenny always gets - one of them double bacon cheeseburger things with extra cheese and fries!"

"Uh-oh, you wouldn't be startin' a growth spurt like Kenny did, would ya?" D teased the boy.

"Well if eatin' them things will help me get one started, I'll just hafta begin t' eat more of 'em." Rusty joked. "Cuz I got a lotta catchin' up to do!" We all laughed.

D looked up from her order pad. "Kenny! You? Salad? Boy! You must be beginning to listen to Jim."

Kenny just gave a coy smile. "Well, maybe it's time I started eatin' a little more healthy, ya know?"

I smiled and felt very proud of Kenny just then. "I think I'll have the same, D. Thank you."

The waitress turned back towards the kitchen, shaking her head. I thought I heard her muttering something about 'marvelous effect.' No, I thought, that was probably just my over-active imagination.

"Oh, great!" spouted the younger boy. "Like we can fly fighter jets or rockets or somethin'!"

"Yeah, just be sure you don't go crash and burn, little bro," advised Kenny, grinning at his 'little bro.'

Kenny grew serious. "Jim, we just did it again, that mind-bonding thing, didn't we?"

"I think we did, Kenny. I didn't even know it was happening until we were into it. And, I think Rusty still isn't aware of it."

Suddenly, Kenny and I were startled into an awareness that Rusty indeed knew of our special bond. It was almost as though he accepted it without question. I was beginning to see Rusty as a boy who understood the world in a very different way than many of us.

"Know what?" he asked as Kenny slipped his arm more snugly around Rusty's shoulders.

"Oh, that's easy. Ican just feel it," said the slim little redhead. "It's like I can feel you, Jim - when you're turned on to us, when you love us, when you're afraid. That's why I trust you so much. You're honest. Yesterday, when I was upset and you were rubbing my back, I could feel your love.You wanted to love me, not to have sex with me. I don't think I ever felt anything so good!"

In my mind, I could feel Kenny reaching out to me; it was almost spiritual. I could also feel Rusty basking in my acceptance of him. I was trying to "beam" back my acceptance of both boys when I felt them reassuring me - I didn't have to try to project my feelings; they picked up on them anyway. We exchanged no words.

Kenny said, "Rusty don't trust many people, Jim. But he locked onto me last year and that's when I started responding to him in this way. You know how I said we'd seen you at the beehive? Well what I meant was, we were kinda reading you. That's how we figured you'd be a good guy. That's why we wanted to meet ya."

"Here ya go guys!" said D as she brought our platters - Rusty his cholesterol bomb, and Kenny and me our Caesar salads. I smiled at my young charges and dug into my salad. We didn't talk much as we munched; we each seemed lost in our own thoughts. Yet I could feel that bond of trust and love as if it were a golden ring encircling us. How strange! I don't think I'd ever felt that way before, even with David. I wondered: If David had been with us then whether he would have tuned in on our vibes? Glumly, I thought that I'd probably never know.

"Ya never can tell, Jim," said Kenny between mouthfuls. "I know how much you miss him and how much you loved him!"

I realized that I hadn't said anything; that I had thought it; and then I started to choke up. "Oh, Kenny. That means so much to me!"

"Yeah," said Rusty. "Now that we know you wouldn't throw us out if ya ever find David..."

"No chance of that, guys!" I avowed. "I just can't imagine how somebody could just disappear like he did."

"Early on, yeah. But the Child Protective Services wouldn't give out any information about him, especially to me. Rog and Peter tried to help me find out, but they couldn't get anything, either. Later, I tried to find out if he'd gotten a driver's license, or had a credit record. Nothing. It was like he literally disappeared."

There seemed to be nothing more to say on the subject, so we finished our meal in silence. Every now and then I could detect D keeping an eye on us, good soul that she was. I went to the cash register to pay the bill, the boys at my heels. D was busy with other customers, so she could only nod her farewell to us.

Rusty bounced out to the car, with Kenny and me not far behind. I could tell that his head was already full of piloting rockets or airplanes. Kenny seemed more sedate about the whole thing. I couldn't tell what he was looking forward to, so I made a mental note to check out where he went first.

The mall was located close to the diner. We could have walked, but that would have required crossing two one-way parts of a busy state highway. Even though there were crosswalks at a light, driving seemed the more expedient way to get there. Five minutes later, we were getting out of the car with the diner across the highway and up a hill. The mall was a multi-level thing, built into the hillside that continued down from the diner.

As we entered the building, the hollow hiss of a large fountain and echoes of people talking and calling to one another filled our ears. A loudspeaker system added to the din, occasionally issuing calls for the parents of little so-and-so to call for her at the mall security office or notifying the owner of a white Mustang, license number such-and-such that the car lights were on.

The arcade was across the atrium from where we had entered. I noticed Kenny drift over to a DDR game that some kids near his age were playing. Rusty headed directly for what I remembered as an old Link trainer, a mocked up cockpit mounted on a pivoting base that could simulate climbing, descending, and banking in an airplane. I was surprised and pleased to see that the line of kids in front of Rusty was short so that it wouldn't be long before he would get to play. As I approached, the little redhead was standing in the number four position of the line.

Having assured myself of Rusty's position, I turned back toward the DDR group just as Kenny took a turn on the pad. His agility surprised me as he followed the dance steps on the screen. I watched for a while and then turned back towards Rusty to see how he had progressed in the line. What I saw made my blood run cold.

Rusty stood frozen in place, number two in line, as he stared over the top of the little trainer at something toward the back of the arcade. He was making a croaking sound that I immediately realized was some kind of attack affecting his breathing. I called to Kenny to come over as I rushed up to Rusty. When I got to him I could see that he was turning an ashen color as he tried to breathe but could only croak. I also could see what had brought on the attack. At the back of the arcade was the same greasy creep that had attacked him the day before.

"Oh, God! Rusty, what's wrong," Kenny cried as he joined us. I didn't have much time. Just then I saw that the creep had seen us and was heading for an exit door at the back of the arcade.

I ran around the flight simulator toward the creep as he darted through the back door. I noticed the lights in the place come up on high, so I figured Kenny had succeeded in summoning help, which probably wasn't too far away these days. I ran through the back door into a utility hall for the mall. Which way had the piece of shit run? I had to choose in an instant so I bet that he would try to get out of the mall, that he wouldn't be smart enough to try to meld in with the shopping crowd.

I could also tell that he was panicked - little streaks of wetness lay on the floor. I ran down the hall to a door that led outside. It stood slightly open, letting a shaft of bright daylight fall across the dim interior of the hall. Somewhere in my mind I had heard back-up signals blaring as I neared the door. I stepped outside and saw why. The door opened onto a narrow stairway that flanked a loading dock for trucks. A tractor-trailer rig had been backing into the dock, but had stopped before reaching it.

The creep was nowhere to be seen. As I approached the edge of the loading dock, I saw him under one of the rear trailer wheels blood oozing out into a dark red puddle around his neck and his head bent back from his body at a crazy angle. His face was frozen in a mask of terror. Two men and two mall security guards were approaching him from the front of the truck.

"Ain't never seen anything like it!" one of the men was saying. "Crazy ass come runnin' out th' door, missed th' stairs and th' guard rail, and fell down right behind th' trailer. It all happened in about fifteen seconds."

I had seen enough, so I turned and ran quickly back into the hall and up to the back door of the arcade. It only opened out from the inside. There was no way to open it from the hall, so I ran around to the front of the arcade, looking for Kenny and Rusty. They were nowhere to be seen.

Panic surged through my guts as it felt like everything was letting go. No! I couldn't do that here. Not with the boys here. I shouted, "Kenny! Rusty!" people in the arcade turned to stare at me, but my boys were not there. "Does anybody know what happened to two boys?" I shouted. Now, people looked at me as if I were the madman. A pair of mall guards was closing on me fast.

"I need to find my boys. The younger one couldn't breathe and the older one was going to help him. Did the paramedics come?" I could hear the desperation in my voice as I struggled to get my own breath. No wheezing, though. I struggled for a calm that seemed to be just beyond my grasp.

"Who are you sir?" said the guard. "We just had some trouble where a man seemed to be approaching one of the kids in the arcade. He ran out the back though. Are you that man? Why do you want to know about these boys? Are you their father?"

Panic gave way to dread as I began to realize how quickly my situation had become grave. I tried to calm down, though. "I'm a neighbor. We had lunch together at the diner across the street and then came in here to play some games. The younger boy started to have an asthma attack. He couldn't breathe."

"I see, sir. If you could come with me to the mall security office I think we can get this straightened out," said one guard.

I felt wooden. I could hear myself speaking as if from a great distance outside my body. Realization grew upon me like a cloak of lead as the desperation of my predicament loomed over me.

"Yes, I'll come with you," I said. "Are my boys there? My younger boy couldn't breathe. Do you have first aid equipment there? He needs a doctor!"

"Just come with us sir. I'm sure we can sort all this out," said the other guard. Numbly, I followed them.

I fought to contain my indignation and panic. My survival instinct dulled the other reactions as I walked woodenly between the guards, across the mall, and down another hallway to a door marked "Mall Security." I was aware of a huge emptiness just then. I tried reaching out to Kenny and Rusty with my feelings, but I was numb. I couldn't feel anything. I could only see the visions of my arrest and imprisonment years ago... and David's face screwed up in horror and fear as the two of us were torn apart. Now it seemed to happening all over again. The guard took me to a small room off a hallway inside the Security Office, where they indicated for me to sit down at a table.

"Sir, we know you're concerned about your boys. If you can wait here for a few minutes, we can get it all straightened out for you," said one of the security guards.

"I need to know about my younger boy," I demanded. "He couldn't breathe." My panic was notching my voice up in pitch. I felt crazy... just barely in control of myself. They didn't answer me further and left the room. I became quiet to the point of lethargy, filled with dread as I considered the situation.

In a few minutes, a uniformed officer came into the room. I recognized the uniform as County Sheriff rather than mall security. "Mr. Watson?"

"We're trying to get an idea of what happened just now. I'd like to ask you some questions."

"Okay," I replied. "But first, could I find out what happened to the boys that I was with? One of them was having trouble breathing, an asthma attack. Is he okay?"

"Both boys are at a nearby hospital emergency room sir, and are receiving care there. Now could you help us understand what happened?"

I tried to think, but my mind was mired and numb. I couldn't talk about the perp because that would betray the boys' trust in me. More on instinct than anything else, I sorted out what I could talk about and what could be corroborated - and, to reveal as little as possible without seeming to be hiding something.

"I'm not sure, myself. The boys are best friends. I was doing the younger boy's mother a favor and taking her son to the doctor's office for a blood test this morning. She had to work and couldn't take him. After the blood test, we had lunch at the diner across the street and then came over to the mall so the boys could play some of the new games at the arcade. That's when I found the younger boy wheezing and gasping. I ran out the back door of the mall hoping to find some help while I gave the older boy my cell phone to call 911. When the back door to the arcade closed, I found that I couldn't get back into the arcade, so I ran around front and that's when I found the boys gone and the mall security guards came up to me."

"Did you see anyone else go out the back door of the arcade, Mr. Watson?" asked the officer.

"No. When I didn't see anybody in the hallway, I tried to get back into the arcade and couldn't, so I had to go back around to the front," I replied.

"Mr. Watson, are you aware that a man was run over by a truck around the time you ran out into the hallway?" he asked.

"That man was a registered sex offender with a long list of repeat offenses. I think there may be some link between him and the younger boy who had the difficulty breathing. Can you help me with that? Did you see him in the arcade?"

"Oh, no!" I replied. "I was so focused on Rusty, that's the boy's name, that I didn't notice anyone else."

"Mr. Watson, we know that you also are registered with the state as an offender."

Authors deserve your feedback. It's the only payment they get. If you go to the top of the page you will find the author's name. Click that and you can email the author easily.^* Please take a few moments, if you liked the story, to say so.

[For those who use webmail, or whose regular email client opens when they want to use webmail instead: Please right click the author's name. A menu will open in which you can copy the email address (it goes directly to your clipboard without having the courtesy of mentioning that to you) to paste into your webmail system (Hotmail, Gmail, Yahoo etc). Each browser is subtly different, each Webmail system is different, or we'd give fuller instructions here. We trust you to know how to use your own system. Note: If the email address pastes or arrives with %40 in the middle, replace that weird set of characters with an @ sign.]

^* Some browsers may require a right click instead

Nevermore!

by and © Henry Higgins

Chapter 17