SIX

By Charles Howard

Love covers a multitude of sins, but does love conquer all? Six delves to answer that question as it tells the story of Alex Williams, a young, exceedingly smart, and timid high school student. With a father who's in and out, a mother who is overworked, and a sister who's mentally exiled from her surroundings, Alex has been made to feel like an outcast all his life. Things soon change when Alex is tasked with a summer project from school that has him going out into his community for service work. Doing good things in your community often gets you praise, but when the praise starts going above you to forces and beings you don't understand, that's when you get more than you bargained for. While facing the harsh reality of being a kid in an adult situation, Alex will hastily transition from the shadows to the center of his town's attention in this fictional thriller. Has the preparation of dealing with his less-than-functional family given him the skills he will need to get his life together before he succumbs to it? Or will he be forced to turn his back on the most precious gift he has in order to save himself?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Mar 12, 2021
• ISBN: 9781645443773

Charles Howard

Charles Howard lives in Toronto, Canada. He enjoys Stephen King, Richard Matheson and H.P. Lovecraft. He writes imaginative horror in an effort to stave off his own crumbling sanity.

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SIX

Charles Howard

Copyright © 2021 Charles Howard

All rights reserved

First Edition

PAGE PUBLISHING, INC.

Conneaut Lake, PA

First originally published by Page Publishing 2021

ISBN 978-1-64544-376-6 (pbk)

ISBN 978-1-64544-377-3 (digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

The Good, the Bad, and the Same

Attendance

Tough Luck

Early Bird

Day One

Long Nights

Ghosts

Sunday Funday

Forty-Eight Hours

Candles

The Hunt

Hide-and-Seek

Dreams and Nightmares: Sins of our Father’s

Family Secrets

A Mother’s Love

Position of Power

Almost

Epilogue: I Can Explain

Chapter 1

The Good, the Bad, and the Same

Kids were yelling in unison.

Get him, come on, get him!

Do it, hit ’em already.

Alex backed up against the wall, legs weak from fear, face flushed red, eyes almost out his sockets from staring at what his mind perceived to be a horde of older kids all wanting to see his demise.

Please, stop! Alex yelled. He put his hands up in preparation for an attack. I swear I didn’t say anything! I didn’t even see what happened! Alex said with great fear, hoping that the kids would put away their pitchforks and torches and return to the village whence they came.

Why should we believe you! one kid shouted out. The rest of the kids settled down, as if the young boy talking was the ringleader. You’re too quiet! That means you’re up to no good. That means you can’t be trusted! the ringleader said, as he paced back in forth in front of Alex.

Please, you don’t understand! Alex cried out as he weighed his options. There were only two: fight or flight.

So now I’m and idiot, huh, kid?

No, no, I didn’t mean it like that, I swear!

Waah waah, shut it, kid! Why are you always carrying around that book then, huh? What’s in there? Give it to me!

It’s my journal! I keep notes on what I do every day! Alex, now hyperventilating, pleaded his case.

Give it! the ringleader said as he snatched the book from Alex’s hand. He waved it around mockingly, as if to show his comrades that he had achieved victory.

Let’s see…chapter one. Dear diary, I don’t know why I’m still pissing the bed! I think it’s because of the milk I still suck from my mommy’s tit at night! the ringleader said, as he made up an entry and read it in a baby voice. The surrounding kids laughed and cheered. The ringleader raised his hand as to demand silence. The kids quieted down. Let’s skip to the last page and read the part from today, where we beat you to death! The kids laughed. It sounded sinister.

Brian, that’s enough! a voice shouted from behind the group of kids. The ringleader, Brian, turned his attention away from Alex, who, without having a single blow dealt, cowered in defeat against the wall.

This better be good! Brian said angrily. The kids rallying behind Brian began to move one by one, as a red-haired girl made her way through them. Ivy? What are… Brian paused as if embarrassed, or afraid. What are you doing here? Brian managed to recollect his thoughts. The flame from the torches were doused, and the pitchforks vanished. There was a new sheriff in town, and the bandits were scattering with their tails between their legs.

Since when did I need permission to go where I want? Ivy scowled. She was older than Alex. She had green eyes, ember-red hair, stood about five feet six, tattoos, ear gauges, and piercings. She was not your run-of-the-mill Bancroft Township girl. Made infamous by the vines tattooed on her foot that spread up her leg with poison ivy leaves scattered throughout it. Her clothes concealed how far they reached.

Brian was speechless. His group’s morale was declining steadily as the confrontation continued.

What’s going on? Is that your book you’re holding? Ivy asked sarcastically. She was intending on humiliating him as he had been doing Alex, who was not sure what was going on or whether he should be afraid. It can’t be. Since when do you use books for anything other than coasters and doorstops? A few kids laughed and then quickly stopped when they realized whose side they were supposed to be on.

It belongs to this loser, Brian said as he nodded his head in the direction of Alex, who was beginning to show signs of life.

Well, give it back, and stop being a dick! Brian turned to Alex and looked at him as if he had gotten him in trouble with his parents for something he did not do. He twisted his face and turned red. Brain was pissed, but he knew he had better take off.

Come on, guys, let’s go. I’m tired of this kid anyway, Brian commanded his flunkies. He flipped through the pages of the book before giving it back. Suddenly he came to a stop. Alex’s heart pounded, and his life flashed before his eyes. The mere thought of someone else reading the things he wrote in there was enough to kill him. He waited; sweat rolled down the side of his face, and every page turned delivered a sharp knife to the heart.

Here! Brian tossed the book at Alex and walked away with his crowd. It was over. Alex would live to see another day, thanks to the redhead who just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Ivy bent down to pick up the book.

I got it! Alex said in a panic, as if he was now afraid of her. Their heads collided in attempt to recover the book. Stars circled their heads, and a pulsating pain traveled from the point of impact to the lower part of the temple.

Shit, kid, what’s your head made out of? Ivy said as she shook off the stars, grasping the book in her hand.

Thank you, thank you so much! I don’t know why they started with me. I was on my way home when—

Yeah, yeah, kid. Here! Ivy cut Alex off as he tried to explain what happened, as if he knew himself. Alex took the book back and clutched it like a mother would a baby. Short on words, and even shorter on patience, Ivy walked off like she had never stopped in the first place.

Whew! A sigh of relief from Alex as he turned around and opened the book to check the pages for any damage. He flipped through it frantically, skimming pages and quoting lines from others. He was in a safe zone. Everything seems in order. Alex began to read a page as if to prove beyond any doubt that it was his and not some half-made replica in the few short minutes he was without it.

I saw her again today, Ivy, sitting on the hood of a car that was parked beside a barn. It’s where I always see her. It’s the reason I walk home from school the way I do! The sun shining on her fire red hair as the wind blew it in front of her face, almost as if it was hiding her identity, keeping her mysterious! She was barefoot, she had denim shorts on, a navy-blue shirt with a red heart on it across the breast. There was really loud music coming from inside the barn. She seemed to be listening to it from outside as she moved in rhythm with the beat. It was that loud music some people listen to, screaming and hollering. I’m not sure of the genre. How could anyone get into that. It sounded like the artist were inside the barn performing live. I don’t know her, but I sometimes imagine myself going over to start a conversation. What would I say? What would I do? Hi…I’m…I’m Alvin. God help me, I’m even pathetic in my mind! I’ve had this name for 16 years and suddenly, I see a pretty girl and lose it. She almost looks as if she’s looking right at me. I couldn’t tell, so I sped up to avoid being seen.

He heard movement behind him. He closed the book and his eyes simultaneously, hoping that whatever he heard would not notice him.

Creep! Ivy yelled as she slapped Alex’s face.

The noise rung out as her hand made contact with his mandible and spun his head around. He dropped the book. Gasping and heavily breathing, Alex sat up and opened his eyes from his sister Melissa smacking him in the face.

Get up, you retard, we got shit to do! his sister Melissa yelled as she walked out of his room. His dream was over, but the harsh nightmare that was his reality was just beginning.

Chapter 2

Attendance

It was the last day of school for the students of Bancroft township. Alex, on the other hand, was no ordinary student. Alex was heading to the twelfth grade at sixteen years old. He had all honors classes. He was smart enough, but not physically and mentally strong enough for the pressures and environment that came with being a senior. The school bells rang loudly, signaling the two-minute warning for first period.

What are you doing this summer?

Making up the classes I failed.

Wanna go out tonight?

Yeah, but not with you!

Several groups of kids were chattering in the hall as they made their way to class on the last day of school. It was a wasteland; only a handful of students showed up. Some kids were off on vacation, some were working, and some were at home still sleeping. Alex, still shaken up from his dream, walked to class, avoiding eye contact with anyone. He didn’t get much attention at Fairhill High anyway. The occasional kid would come up and ask for notes from the math and science class. He expected it to happen. So much, in fact, that he began writing multiple pages of the same thing, so he could give it out when asked…or hand it over when demanded. It was usually the latter.

Alex had talked to his mother about home schooling. Working two jobs, one as an overnight housekeeper and the other as a sitter for sick elderly people, did not give her ample time to monitor him. His father was in law enforcement, another time-consuming job.

All right, kids, settle down. Since there are so few of you, I figured instead of the usual assignment, I’d go ahead and let you work on your summer projects. Today is half a day, so take advantage of your time, take advantage of your resources! This will be your only class today. Three long hours in your homeroom! Michelle, Alex’s homeroom teacher said.

She was very strict yet easy to follow. She had not always been so hard on them. Michelle had been molded over the years by the constant negative attitudes from her students, the budget cuts, and the rat races to improve the test scores in the district. It was a joke. The kids never got the education they truly needed, and then to test them based on higher-budgeted schools’ standards was an insult. These types of things could turn someone who cared about their job into a mindless drone.

"For those of you who had not been paying attention the other times I mentioned it, I will repeat. The project is for you to find a problem in your community. Get out there, talk to your neighbors, listen to them, look for yourselves, do some investigative research. When you do that, I want you to think of ways to fix or solve that problem. Now I know it may seem like a lot, but you do not have to do the fixing. Explain how