Harvey

By Freddy Beans

Harvey was born all alone in this world, with a mysterious condition that made him physically untouchable. Anyone that gets within a few feet of him becomes violently ill. Cast off to an orphanage, dark thoughts set in even as his imagination blossoms. A young girl named Diedre arrives with problems of her own. Ostracized from the other kids, they forge a friendship, in large part thanks to Harvey's gift as a natural storyteller. Deidre is the only friend Harvey has ever known.

Unfortunately for Harvey, children in the system come and go, and their friendship wasn't meant to last.

Years later, a chance meeting on the streets of Sacramento reunites them. Diedre is just as broken, and Harvey is just as alone as they were as children. They've both built walls, but Diedre finds hers crumbling, finds herself wanting to connect… needing to.

The problem is that Harvey has a new friend now, a possibly dangerous friend… and he's preparing to spread his wings for the first time.

Harvey is the debut novel from Freddy Beans, a darkly whimsical tale of friendship, loss, and horror.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Red Cape Publishing
• Release date: Jul 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215966235

Book preview

HARVEY

Freddy Beans

To Kathy and Mike for grabbing a li’l vagabond and taking care of him so we wouldn’t have yet another Harvey lost in the system.

To Mr. Miller, the only teacher I ever had worth a damn. He encouraged and pushed me to chase this dream.

And to Jenny, without you I'd still just be all talk and no write... you da best!!

Copyright 2023 for Red Cape Publishing

Cover artwork by Cassidy Trapp and Red Cape Graphic Design

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www.redcapepublishing.com

First Edition Published 2023 by Red Cape Publishing

The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

CHAPTER 1

WOLFULA

Deidre woke suddenly, braids whipping across her face as she sat up rigid. A dark void surrounded her. Eyes which feel useless, barely making out shapes in the room. The cots gradually come into view and her heart slows with the appearing familiarity.

She can hear the other boys and girls sleeping in the next room. Deidre had quit sleeping in there when they had gotten too cruel. The accompanying room she sat in now was perfect.

Six cots to sleep two. She liked that math. Two of the cots were even bunkbeds.

Groggy eyes searched the textured ceiling for inspiration.

Did I sleep too long?

It’s a question she asks herself because Deidre hated missing the stories now. Funny, how long she had avoided them and now she couldn’t wait to hear Harvey’s tales that took her far away from this place.

Waking eyes finally make sense out of the entire room. A creak invaded her senses.

Deidre froze in fear and watched the shadows. Feet slapped on the cold oak floor as they approached her. One slap after the other, carrying a large shadow closer and closer.  It seemed to take forever for them to make any distance. Frozen, she almost jumped when the shadow spoke.

You awake?

Fear was replaced immediately with a smile but she didn’t respond, she simply scootched back on her cot until her back was pressed flat against the wall. The position pulled on her braids and she readjusted her weight for better comfort.

Taking it as his cue, Harvey crept quietly across to the door separating their private room from the rest of the kids. Deidre watched him intently. Excited for the stories he created every night, her heart was racing.

Dancing used to make her feel like this. Mama threw on Marvin Gaye or Bill Withers and they would dance for hours, usually collapsing in a sweaty, giggling heap together.

A tear dropped from her eyelid and landed on her cheek. Deidre wiped it away but more appeared at the brim of her lids. Frustration set in and she began wiping harder, using the bedsheet to soak up more of her emotional mess. The tears won for the time being.

She missed her mom. The people who took her away said she couldn’t see her anymore. It didn’t make sense. They said she wasn’t a good mother. Always talking about her mom’s boyfriend. The one who touched her. They said he never should have done that. Deidre didn’t care about that anymore, though. She just wanted to dance with her mama. To hold her warm dark skin tightly and never let go. Her young arms wrapped around a nearby pillow instead, holding it tightly.

Bill Withers’ words filled her mind with a song she’d heard many times.

There was certainly no sunshine when her mama was gone.

Deidre got up and walked to the window. Peeking through the tiny slit in the curtain, a pitch-black night greeted her seeking eyes. Mama was hidden from her sight.

A crinkling in the corner of the room knocked some sense into her. She collected herself as quickly as possible and found Harvey unrolling the carnival poster. Eager eyes pushed so hard, she felt they might pop out of their sockets. Deidre dabbed at the ebbing waterfall her eyes created, happy to not have to think of her mom for a while.

Harvey was good to her. He always had been. Just sitting there, watching her patiently. Deidre couldn’t believe he’d hit Jeremy. No one messed with that kid. He was humongous! He’d not only messed with Jeremy, he’d hit him hard and the poor kid couldn’t stop throwing up after.

Harvey had that kind of effect on people. She was no different. Deidre hadn’t gotten closer than a couple feet from Harvey. Even at that distance, she could feel whatever was wrong with him. It sat on him like an invisible shield. No one could get close to him. That made her sad. Everyone needed a hug.

Blinking away the last of her tears, she moved away from the window and walked to Harvey, taking a seat quietly across from him at a safe distance.

A few books sat on the corners of the poster to hold it down. She didn’t care about them and ignored them to look at the poster. A flashlight sat in the middle, its beam illuminating the red creatures drawn on the poster.

Red lettering and black creatures stood out on the white poster. The letters told of a coming Carnival. She snickered at the date. March 10th, 1988. It was funny because it was already 1989. There were other words written in red but she wasn’t great at reading yet.

Deidre didn’t care about reading. She only cared about the creatures stuffed into the top half of the poster. Their red stenciled shapes contrasted sharply with the simple black and whites of the rest of the poster.

In the left corner stood a smaller man with a triangular face. The far right held another man. He was much larger and had long tentacles for arms. The tentacles escaped his black borders and wrapped around two of the other creatures.

One was a small, prudish looking woman on hairy spider legs. The other, a comically round furry woman with wolf-like ears.

Towering over all of the creatures stood a bald woman with wings that expanded across the entire poster. Her head was positioned right under a moon that reminded Deidre of the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland. The woman looked like an angel, but one that you should be a little scared of.

Harvey had told a story using the wolf woman in it last night.

Wolfula had begun easily enough. He and Deidre were walking down a path. All his stories had them as characters. They were jogging and holding hands. This had reminded her that they couldn’t do that in real life and she felt sadness tug on her heart. They were always so happy and free in his stories. No orphanages. No bullies. Just the two of them meeting fantastical creatures. This story was no different. Then there were growls coming from nearby bushes. Unable to figure out which bush was growling at them, they decide to run. They split up. It was scary, but she knew it was only a story.

An enormous creature wearing clothes which bulged with fur jumped into her path and howled. In the story, Deidre ran as fast as her feet could carry her. She was so scared she ended up lost. Deidre didn’t think she would react that way but she kept it to herself.

She had called for Harvey. A nice man had appeared instead and asked her what was wrong. He’d laughed at her when she’d mentioned the big wolf woman. The man quit laughing when the monster appeared and tore out the man’s larynx.

What’s a larinse? she’d asked at the time. He’d corrected her, informing her that it was called a larynx and that it was a fancy name for a throat. She had rubbed her own throat, wondering what that must feel like, to have it ripped out in a bite.

In the story, Deidre had screamed in terror. The wolf woman ate the nice man loudly. Glistening in the moonlight, her eyes were drawn to a gun lying on the ground. She picked it up. The wolf woman stopped eating and looked at her. Deidre closed her eyes and shot in the monster’s direction.

Eyes still closed, she first heard a yelp. Then she heard a heavy thump on the ground. Deidre opened her eyes to see the wolf was dead and its hair was slowly disappearing. Underneath all of it sat no woman. Harvey was beneath the fur. He had died and Deidre had killed him.

She hated the story and told him so. Harvey had recoiled in pain, asking her why.

We’re spost’ to be good, Harvey! We don’t hurt each other. Monsters don’t win.

Sometimes… they do. Harvey had said the last two words more quietly than the first.

It made her feel sick to her stomach to even think of it. Deidre didn’t want to hear another story about the wolf creature. Any of the other monsters would do tonight. Just not that one.

She had noticed his stories had gotten a little meaner recently. Last night’s wolf story had come after they’d both learned she was going to be adopted. Deidre didn’t want to be adopted. She wanted to be with her real mama.

Harvey sat still in front of her, silently studying her with his eyes. The twelve-year-old boy sat cross legged and kept his eyes on her.

Deidre didn’t understand why he was nice to her, but she knew why she had started talking to him. Because he was alone. He felt like her. Then he had hit Jeremy and that was enough for her. Harvey would have been nice to everyone, she felt, but no one liked him back.

She wasn’t sure what exactly was wrong with Harvey. No one else was nice to him or even bothered to talk to him. Even the nuns avoided him. That’s how he’d gotten this back room for them. No, Deidre had no idea what was wrong with him but she knew the hairs on her arm stood straight up when he got too close. She’d never dared to touch him. It hurt her stomach, like when she ran too fast, if she got within a couple feet. The only person she’d seen touch him was Jeremy, when Harvey had hit him with his fist. Jeremy had thrown up in response, his lunch spreading out for all to see. The kids had laughed and pointed at him and Jeremy had done what all bullies do when the focus of ridicule. He ran. Almost making it out the double doors before he threw up again. Deidre had heard rumors he had thrown up violently for hours after.

Deidre liked Harvey but she didn’t want to throw up like that. So she kept her distance. It made her sad she couldn’t help him. She had no idea what was wrong with him. Deidre only knew what was wrong with her.

Her skin.

Mama had insisted she be proud of her dark skin. It was like being in one big happy extended family of brothers and sisters. With her mama that had felt true.

Here, that wasn’t true at all. There were no other brown kids here. Deidre was all alone. Darker than everyone else where it was a bad thing to be different. Tears played at her eyes.

They absorbed back into her recesses, but she wiped her eyes absently anyway, drawing her knees up to her chin to have something to hold onto. She could feel him just a few feet away, but it didn’t upset her tummy at this distance.

Harvey was still looking at her. This time it bugged her. It felt empty. Like he was looking past her. He felt sad to her. The smile didn’t fit right and she frowned in response. Harvey’s brow crinkled curiously and she tried the smile again to set him at ease.

Ready? he asked.

Yes, but no wolf woman tonight. Okay?

Soft easy laughter filled the empty air between them.

Deal.

Grabbing the flashlight, he lifted it and pointed it directly at the wolf lady. Deidre cocked her head to one side, making sure he saw the stank-eye clearly.

Eenie Meenie Miney Mo. The flashlight bounced to a different creature with each spoken word.

Catch a tiger by its toe. Each creature lit up momentarily before being left alone again in the dark.

Deidre couldn’t handle the excitement and closed her eyes, unable to watch any longer. Her ears perked up, however, listening intently.

If it hollers let it go. Eenie Meenie Miney Mo. She was about to peek her eyes at the surprise when he continued. Harvey clearly enjoyed her suffering.

My dog says… He stopped midsentence, giggling uncontrollably. Deidre was the one waiting now. His giggles finally stopped, replaced with a quiet. Deidre couldn’t stand it and took a peek.

You’re too easy! Harvey kept the light shining on the poster while laughing at her. She took her eyes off his smug smile, down his arm to the flashlight and the creature it was lighting up. The biggest one of them all had a bright aura around her now.

The woman with wings looked at her. She hadn’t heard a story involving this one. It was exciting and she dropped her legs, crossing them in anticipation, wondering what name he would give this tale. She had liked Wolfula for a title but not the story itself.

Angel Slayer! He usually announced the title first, then took a minute and started his stories.

She loved that name. It sounded cool.

Deidre noticed the light filling the back of the room and saw that Harvey’s cot was really dirty. She’d never noticed it before because the cover was always on it. Now, the cover was pulled back and the white sheets underneath were stained brown. It made her wonder if anyone washed his sheets like they did hers and the rest of the kids’. She was sad again when he finally started the story.

Once upon a time there was a young girl who wanted to be strong. She was small and too young to fight back though. She met an older boy who was nice and liked protecting her. He kept her safe from the bullies, but also the monsters at night. The boy was bullied too. They were always picked on when alone, but when they were together they became strong. Every night they prayed together for things to change.

There were obvious similarities that she couldn’t help but notice. Deidre was intrigued though, so she stayed quiet and listened.

One night, when he was alone, the older boy was caught in the halls by the bully. The bully beat him so bad there was a pool of blood around the poor kid. His heart stopped. They rushed him to the hospital but the kid died on the way.

Deidre gasped. This felt like another story she wouldn’t enjoy but now she needed to know what happened, so she kept her feelings to herself.

"The little girl spent the next two nights crying. She was very sad at losing her friend. She felt all alone again; he was the only friend she knew. On the third night, she started praying again. This time not for things to change, but for revenge. She wished all the kids that did her friend harm would die. When she got tired, she went to bed.

She woke up to one of the big kids punching her in the stomach. She tried to run but more kids were holding her arms and legs. She was hit again in the stomach and couldn’t catch her breath. The little girl started crying and begging the mean kids to stop.

Deidre had had enough and jumped up.

I don’t like this story. It’s mean. I like it when your stories are nice.

She pursed her lips to say something else but didn’t, before slowly sitting back down and that was all Harvey needed to continue.

It gets better, he said, then resumed the tale.

"The boy kept hitting the little girl, again and again and again. She begged them all to stop, but they wouldn’t. The rest of the kids were even worse. They were laughing at her. The little girl closed her eyes and prayed for a way to be free from the pain. She barely got the thought out when a warm liquid splashed her face. The grip on her arms and legs disappeared and she opened her eyes to bloodcurdling screams. The mean kids were running in every direction. Something was zipping through them and a red liquid sprayed from one of the kids. In less than a minute, all of the children lay dead in a growing pool of their own blood. The thing that ripped through them all slowed and eventually walked to the little girl. She was scared and tried to run. With one hand, the Angel Slayer wiped blood off her chin and used the other to reach down and grab the girl's hand. The Angel Slayer told the little girl how she was trapped, unable to move for years, when the little girl called to her and freed her.  So, the Angel Slayer had flown to the girl to free her in return.

The little girl told the Angel Slayer that she was too late. That her friend had been killed by the