An Excerpt from REUNION.
By me, Jeff Bennington, the dork in the profile pic!
.....David and his ramshackle vehicle were parked in the back of the school parking lot at 9:22 a.m. He stepped out of his car, walked toward the rear of the vehicle and carefully opened the dilapidated trunk. He lifted his duffle bag with a grunt and set it on the ground. After slamming the hatchback shut, he reached inside the car and pulled out his manifesto. Careful not to bend or disfigure the critical document, he painstakingly inserted the proclamation into a plastic zip-lock bag. With the paper securely in place, he fastened the bag to his shirt with four baby pins to protect the document from the spray and splatter of the massacre. He posted it on his chest to ensure that those who’d find him read the document.
Satisfied with his preparations, he pulled his black jacket over the holstered guns, threw the duffle bag strap over his shoulder and began to walk toward his destiny. Aware that he would be hated forever, he ignored the consequences. He looked straight ahead, took one last drag from his cigarette and flicked it to the ground.
As David walked across the pavement, a young mother led her son away from the school.
“Hurry up! We’re going to be late for the orthodontist,” she said as she pulled at his jacket.
The boy and the mother stared as David came closer. David sensed her distrust. That’s right, lady. Don’t trust the boy in black, he thought. He stared back at the woman and grinned a villainous smile.
As the mother and son approached him, David recalled a time when Sheila had taken him out of school for a court appearance when he was six. She had pulled and tugged at him too. The memory reminded him of how she grew desperate for stability and financial security, and eventually shacked up with John Ray. They married and he gave his name to David to serve as a reminder of his affection. Four years later, they divorced and Sheila pressed charges against John.
“Come on David! Hurry up!” Sheila had scolded her 6-year-old son, as she pulled him along.
“But I don’t wanna go. I hate him! I don’t ever want to see him again!”
“Listen baby; you gotta go. The court said you gotta be there and you gotta say what he done to you.”
“No!” he fired back. David pulled away from Sheila and ran into the playground. Sheila chased after him. She caught up with him at the jungle gym, grabbed his arm and yelled, “David! Stop it! Now listen to me. I done everything I could to take care of you. I done my best to find you a daddy and a father figure. I ain’t perfect! Ain’t no one perfect. But you gotta tell the judge everything, if you want John Ray to leave us alone. You gotta tell the judge where he touched you and what he done to you, and everything! I can’t do that for you, Baby!” Sheila wept and wiped her tears as she cried out, “I can’t help you this time! You gotta do it, boy.”
“But I’m scared, Mama.” David started to cry. “I’m scared he’s gonna get me again. I’m scared he’s gonna make me do those bad things or hurt you! What if they let him go, Mama? What if he kills me like he said he would? What if he comes back into my dreams again? What if—?” David collapsed into Sheila’s arms, crying as she held him tight. He trusted her. She kissed his little head.
Moments later, she pulled away, looking him square in the eye. David remembered her promise. “Listen, Davey. I love you more than anything in the whole world! You know that. And I ain’t ever gonna let anyone hurt you or me again, you hear me? You hear me, boy?” David nodded his head. “Ain’t nobody ever gonna do that to you again. If they try, they’re gonna have to kill me first, cause life just wouldn’t be worth livin’ knowin’ that someone touched you or hurt you again. Do you hear me, Davey?”
David heard her loud and clear. He told the whole truth and nothing but the truth that day in court. The jury convicted John Ray of several counts of child molestation, neglect and battery. Sadly, Sheila didn’t keep her promise to her son.
Returning to the moment, David stood in the parking lot, absent of all emotion, while the mother glared at him suspiciously. David looked at her and shrugged. “Better get the hell out of here, lady,” he said. “You and your boy.”
She grabbed the boy’s hand and took off running toward her car. She don’t know shit, he mused. Probably thinks I’m gonna start a fight or something. He laughed and picked up his pace. He looked at his watch and thought, right on schedule. It was 9:28 a.m. He heard the woman’s car tear out of the parking lot, but kept looking straight ahead. By the time David stood in front of the glass entryway into the cafeteria, which also served as the school auditorium, he could hear sirens screaming in the distance. He grinned, growled and reached for the door.
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| REUNION By J. Benningto |
Thanks for reading. REUNION will be available on May 1, 2011
You can dowload it to your eReader on April 1st!
As always, I'd love to hear your comments! BOOM!
Very nice flow, kept my attention the whole time. Great job. :)
ReplyDeleteDanielle
Thank you, Danielle. In my opinion, as tainted as that is, this is just one of many great scenes that hit the beat one after another. Thanks for reading and commenting!
ReplyDeleteLooks really good!
ReplyDeleteThank you, William!
ReplyDelete