Misplaced

By Brian Bennett

When upperclassman Trey Collins welcomes Nigel to Longwood High School, he senses something eerie about the odd young student.
Chilling visions begin to haunt Trey's nights that point to the strange newcomer and dark times ahead.
Two dodgy men in sloppy suits arrive in the small midwest town and ask questions about Nigel. Before long, the boy is missing.
Trey and his closest friends soon find themselves on a dangerous road in pursuit of Nigel and answers they may not want to uncover.

• Language: English
• Publisher: vireopub
• Release date: Apr 28, 2016
• ISBN: 9781311673275

Book preview

Chapter One

Trey gazed over the subdued cafeteria during afternoon study hall. The mangled aromas from lunchtime still lingered in the still air as he sat on the tabletop. A handful of fellow seniors clustered around him in similar posture.

Butts off the tables, Mr. Emerick muttered in passing.

In unison, the group of seniors obeyed the shop teacher's command and eased down onto the benches.

Before Emerick had gone far, Trey raised himself back onto the tabletop. Everyone around him snickered except Zach. Trey's best friend shook his head, swinging his shaggy blond hair in disappointment. Long and lean, Zach was an all-round athlete, but distance running was his passion. He lived and ate healthily and it showed.

Students gravitated to their usual corners, leaving swaths of slate-gray tables unoccupied throughout the large dining hall.

Who's the new kid? Trey asked, looking toward the group of advanced students. The crowd of middle-grade kids had bumped up to high school classes, but most looked more at home on a playground.

The new boy was small like the others, but somehow he exuded a much larger confidence. A swarm of youngsters fluttered around him like bugs to a lantern.

Trey flung a pen cap into their midst, bouncing it off one of their unsuspecting heads. When their attention slowly turned toward him, he casually waved the new kid over.

The flock parted, making a pathway for the dark-haired boy to walk to the table of seniors.

What's your name, kid? asked Trey.

The young boy answered with no sign of apprehension. Nigel.

Are you new here? Or did you just get smart?

I'm new.

Welcome to Longwood High School, Trey said with false sincerity. I'm Trey. This is Zach.  He didn't mention the gang of others hanging on his words.

Nice to meet you, Nigel said.

Now, we take care of our new students, but we need to know they appreciate our efforts.

Nigel stared at him with dark-brown questioning eyes.

Trey pointed to the vending machine hugging the far wall. That's all juice and water.  He leaned back and dug two quarters from his faded blue jeans. But the teachers have their own machine right outside that door. How about you be a good sport and get me a Coke?

With little hesitation, Nigel took the quarters and marched toward the unmarked exit.

You really are a butthead, said Zach.

The others in their rank snickered with anticipation.

Nigel went through the steel door and it snapped closed behind him. Moments later, the handle jiggled. The door was locked.

The table erupted in muffled laughter.

The younger kids looked desperately at the sealed door, seeming to want to open it for their new friend Nigel, but afraid to step forward.

The gag had played out, so Trey gave a nod toward the exit, and a couple of the small boys rushed to let Nigel back inside. One looked around the outside of the building while the other held the door.

He's gone, the boy said, stepping back inside.

At that moment, the bell rang, echoing through the empty halls. A mob of students grabbed their belongings and filed out of the cafeteria on their way to their next classes, leaving the frazzled boys to sort out the problem of their missing companion.

Trey and Zach strolled together through the bustling halls to Trey's locker.

I'll catch up, Trey said, stopping just long enough to throw all his books inside.

He swung the door closed and nearly plowed into the small boy standing in front of him. Nigel stared up at him with a look of accomplishment and a can of Coke.

* * *

Long after midnight, something woke Trey from a deep sleep. A shadowy figure stood at the foot of his bed.

Zach? What do you want? Trey groggily asked, struggling to make sense of the intrusion. It's late. Leave me alone.

Zach held up three fingers. Slowly, he pulled back a dark hood, revealing his true identity.

It wasn't Zach. It was Nigel, the new kid from study hall.

Trey threw back the covers and lunged toward the boy.

What are you doing in my room, you little twerp?

He grasped at the neck of the boy's shirt, but his fingers slid through nothing but air. The boy was gone.

He looked at the locked window and the closed bedroom door. Oh man, I must have had supper too late.

He scuttled back into bed and was quickly back to sleep, but the invasive memory lingered with him long into the night.

* * *

Throughout the following day, Trey watched for Nigel around the high school, but he rarely saw the younger students outside study hall unless they happened to be in one of his classes.

Afternoon rolled around, and Trey was unusually quiet while waiting for the group of advanced kids to flock into the cafeteria. He craned his neck, looking for the new leader of the young brainiacs. He finally spotted Nigel in a plain t-shirt and jeans. In some small way, the fact that the young boy was not wearing a dark hoodie made it more obvious that what he saw in the night was a dream or a figment of his imagination.

Hoodie or not, he was still distracted and found himself looking toward Nigel to see what the strange boy was doing.

Butts off the tables, said Emerick.

The group of seniors slid down onto their seats, but this time, Trey stayed down instead of sneaking his rear-end back up onto the table.

What's up with you today? asked Zach, sliding next to him.

Trey shook his head. Nothing. I just can't shake a crazy dream, that's all.

Zach turned toward the cheerleader table and raised his eyebrows. Do tell.

It wasn't— Trey cut his words short, realizing how bad it would sound, given the context, to mention dreaming about Nigel. It's none of your business, perv.

The subject was dropped, but throughout the period he couldn't shed the uneasy feeling.

He stole another glance toward the group of young students. The smart kids were fully absorbed in their open books, but this time, Nigel wasn't with them.

Trey rose onto the table and casually gazed around the lifeless cafeteria. Before he could spot the missing boy, the school bell rang out, waking the dead crowd. He gave up his search and gathered his books from the table.

A short while later, Zach left him alone at his locker. Trey swung open the door and was quite surprised to find a single can of Coke planted conspicuously inside.

* * *

At the end of the school day, Zach threw his book bag in the back of Trey's small pickup truck and climbed into the cab. Trey opened the driver's door for Amy and followed in next to the curvy blonde.

The trio sped through the small town of Longwood, just slow enough to make it not worth Sheriff Smead's time to fuss with them.

It was Tuesday, so Trey swung past the movie theater to check the new postings.

Well, we know what we're doing Friday, Trey said, after reading the top movie listing.

Ugh, Jigsaw 3! said Amy.

You don't have to go, Trey offered.

Oh, I survived the first two. I can handle one more.

I think I'm busy, said Zach.

Aww, B S! You have to go. Billy's been waiting for this for months.

I know. But maybe I'll be deathly ill. Who knows? One can hope.

They all laughed in agreement.

Farther down the street, the truck pulled up in front of Longhaven housing community. The narrow entrance wasn't gated, but the manicured shrubbery and security cameras clearly stated you are not welcome here.

Zach got out and grabbed his pack from the bed. He threw up a hand and walked down the sidewalk into the development. Amy stayed close to Trey's side as they drove away.

Just past the edge of town, the couple turned onto Route 868. The two-lane blacktop road stretched as straight as an arrow from one end of the county to the other. Before long, they were pulling into the driveway of the small run-down house where Amy lived with her single-mother. Ms. Parker was walking back from the mailbox with a handful of bills and stopped to wave as they drove in.

Amy leaned over and gave Trey a small kiss on the cheek.

Even Amy’s mother was under the impression that her and Trey had been dating for the last year.  The lead up to the junior prom had been such a fiasco for both of them, the two most sought after individuals in the school, that they had struck an agreement to go as a couple.  The mock relationship had served them well since.

See ya, Amy said, sliding out of the truck.

As she strutted up the driveway toward the little white house, her best attempts at dressing conservatively in loose jeans couldn’t conceal the fact that she was downright sexy, and that was exactly what made her such prey.

Trey wondered if he was making a mistake by not dating her for real, but he knew they weren’t right for each other, and anything more than friendship would make him no better than the hounds that lusted after her.

Chapter Two

Sometime in the dark, quiet hours that night, Trey bolted upright from a dead sleep. A shadowy figure stood motionless at the foot of his bed.

How did you get in here? Trey asked, breathing heavily with apprehension. The sound of his own words gave a sense of reality to the moment. This was not a dream.

What do you want? he asked softly.

Without speaking, the intruder raised two fingers. As before, he lowered his dark hood. It was clearly Nigel standing in Trey's bedroom, but the boy had miraculously aged by several years.

What does— 

Before Trey could complete his question, Nigel vanished.

* * *

Early the next morning, Trey's truck was deathly quiet after he finished telling Amy and Zach about his strange nighttime experiences.

Amy broke the long and awkward silence. I think it means you feel guilty for picking on him.

Trey shook his head. "But I'm telling you, I was not asleep. It was not a dream."

She reached to feel his forehead.

I'm not sick either, he snapped, pushing her hand away.

Zach chimed in. So, what? We're supposed to think he's some sort of vampire or something?

No! I don't know. I shouldn't have said anything.  Trey adjusted the mirror to see the bus lane. You guys don't have to wait, but I'm going to talk to him.

Whoa whoa whoa, said Zach, You can't just ask this kid if he magically appeared in your bedroom last night.

Trey huffed. How stupid do I look?

They both turned to him simultaneously, neither cracking a smile.

Bite me, he said, prompting restrained snickers from his friends.

Zach regained his composure and leaned forward. Seriously though, have you thought about what you're going to say?

Yes, I thought about it all night. I'm just going to thank him for the Coke and ask if there is anything he’d like to talk to me about.

Uh-uh, said Amy.