The Dread

By Russell B. Crites

Luke was running away from something but you can’t escape yourself. What in his past was it: school, hot rods, accidents, war, the girl he left behind, parties, work, or the railroad? There was something there. What is it? The past followed this Montana boy from the 50’s to the 80’s. It followed him always there, lurking. “The Dread”.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Dec 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781304720825

Book preview

The Dread

The Dread

By Russell B. Crites

First Edition

Copyright © 2014 Russell B. Crites

All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-304-72082-5

Chapter 1

The not knowing was the hardest. It was a gnawing grief in the back of his mind, awake or asleep, never really leaving.

Like an unstable uncle that lives in your basement, always in the background, ever ready to break into the forefront.

Luke wanted to change, he had really tried to change, but it always came back, lurking, waiting to drag him down.

He could remember the girl, he remembered the house party, but the rest was a blank.

He tried not to think about it but it was always there. Even now all these years later it gnawed at the back of his mind.

Chapter 2

Luke was eight years old when the man from the Great Northern Railroad had come to the house to tell his family that there had been an accident at work. His dad worked in the diesel shop for the railroad and a crane had knocked him off of a ledge and he had fallen about 15 feet and hit his head.

Luke’s dad had hung on about a week after that but never regained consciousness. Luke had been shuttled in and out of the hospital room two or three times to watch his dad just lying there breathing. When he died Luke hollered at him, Daddy don’t leave me, Daddy don’t leave me alone, I’m all alone.

He withdrew and wouldn’t talk. He shut the door to his room and just stared at the walls and cried and asked questions that there were no answers to: Who is gonna play ball with me in the backyard? Who is gonna take me hunting? Dad you left me how am I gonna go fishing like you promised?

His mom tried to talk to him but Luke just shut her off.

Before the funeral mass the priest came to the house. After he talked to Luke’s mom, brother and sister he came to Luke’s room to try to talk to him.

The priest’s name was Father Retfur and he said to Luke, You know that everything is God’s will little man.

Luke thought the hell with God if this is his will. What kind of God would take my dad away from me? I don’t want anything to do with you if you are that kind of God.

Chapter 3

When Luke went back to school after his dad died he was a changed boy. He just couldn’t grasp how cruel a God had to be to take way his dad. He disliked anything to do with religion or God. Bad place to be going to school when you feel that way, especially in a Parochial school, which was a pretty strict environment. Most of the nuns were just plain scary to the kids in their charge. They had their favorites. Luke was not one of them after his dad was gone.

School had been okay before, but afterward Luke always found ways to get into trouble. If it wasn’t fighting or teasing or breaking windows it was bad grades. He threw spit wads during religion class, made faces at the girls and really was just not all that interested in school.

He usually was in a seat very close to the front of the class and he was there almost every afternoon when the rest of the class had gone home.

He was the ringleader for pet names handed out to the teachers. There was Big Fanna for Sister Anna and Netty Netty Big Fat Betty for Sister Annette.

His crowning achievement was in the sixth grade when he talked his classmates into staging a fake fall out of the second floor class room window. After the noon break he and his classmates opened the window and he told them to stand by looking out when Sister Annette came back from lunch. He then went down to the playground and lay down as if he’d fallen out the window.

When Netty Netty Big Fat Betty came back from lunch after saying her noon prayers for strength to teach this class of renegades, she was presented with a room full of students peering worriedly out the second floor window.

She rushed to the window and when she saw Luke laying on the pavement it was too much for her. The first year teacher ran from the classroom never to be seen again. The kids heard she had a nervous breakdown, whatever that was. All they knew was that Netty Netty Big Fat Betty was gone.

Chapter 4

John Somerset’s dad had won a bushel of booze from the Moose Lodge at a Christmas raffle. Joe Somerset had put this prize in his basement for safe keeping. The truth of the matter was the Moose Lodge had cleared out all their booze that just didn’t sell and put it in the raffle basket. Joe Somerset had tasted a few of the bottles, but he soon discovered what the Moose Lodge already knew that most of it was just plain unfit to drink. It sat in the Somerset basement gathering dust.

Of course John Somerset knew it was there and like all boys he was very curious about liquor. He made a boast to Luke one day after school about the treasure wasting away in the basement of his house

The two seventh graders hatched a plan. They would help themselves to the booze by taking a little out of each open bottle and replacing it with water. They reasoned the scheme was foolproof. They poured the booze into a mason jar and carefully filled the missing liquor in the various bottles with water.

Next they each told the same story at home that they were going to camp out in the others back yard that Friday night. They headed with their bedrolls to the city park where they had arranged to meet some classmates.

The concoction they had mixed up was wicked stuff and nearly caused the boys to throw up the first drink. Luke held his nose on the next drink and when the warmth hit his stomach the second time and the glow started lighting up his head he wondered where this has been his whole life. It felt like a brand new beginning. The more he drank the better he felt. He started saying and doing things that were hard to explain afterwards, but right then they seemed like a very good idea.

This first time Luke drank he cussed up a storm, spit at some of his fellow drinkers, and ran semi naked through the park. As they say a good time was had by all. Alcohol sure affected Luke much differently than his buddy John. When Luke was performing all John did was sit in amazement and laugh. Yes he had drunk out of the same Mason jar but to a different result. Luke’s nature had changed with a drink. John’s had stayed pretty much the same.

Luke was a little embarrassed the next day but not so much as to not want to do it again. It was a little like burning your finger with a match, you just make up your mind to be a little more careful next time.

Chapter 5

After confirmation and eighth grade graduation, Luke made the decision to go to public school for high school. This was much to his teachers’ relief. They were as glad to see him go as he was glad to go. That last year had been a struggle for everyone involved; Luke’s mother, his teachers, nuns and priest alike. Most of all Luke had hated every minute of the God talk and religion. How he made it through confirmation was a miracle in itself.

Public school was much better, the classes were bigger and his reputation didn’t precede him. He could blend in a little more.

He had no time for sports or any extra-curricular activities. His time was spent drinking, thinking about drinking, planning drinking and hangovers. Any time that was left over was spent on cars. He bought all the car magazines he could, built car models and really enjoyed high school auto shop class. He became a pretty fair mechanic throughout