The OAD ORK HEAD

Chapter 1

"I'm scared, Louie. You really went in, and there was nothing? Just old tools?"

"Yeah, Sis. Just some old tools. Don't be such a chicken. I went in by myself."

"Yeah, but you're bigger."

"I'm a kid, same as you. Monsters are only afraid of adults."

"Monsters??"

"There's no monsters in there, Monica. Just GO."

In the bright sun, the entrance of the mine looked completely black. It was mostly covered by large, fallen rocks, but a small framed person could get through the gaps pretty easily. As she walked, she didn't know how her legs were able to hold her up while shaking so much. She turned on her flashlight.

"Louie?"

"WHAT, Monica?"

She didn't answer. Shining her light through the dark gaps, nothing inside lit up. When she looked down to check her footing on a rock, a tear fell from her eyeball, past her long blond curls. She realized she was crying; not just crying, but her cheeks were cool in the breeze from being wet.

"I can't believe you're tricking your little sister to go in first."

Instant shame. "Shut up, J." Louie was starting to worry about his sister. He hated his cowardice, and the need to rescue her grew more urgent with each step she took. J's words were a judgment on him, and he wanted to shove J for saying them.

"Tell Mom and Dad I'm the one who spilled Dad's bag of seeds, and I'm sorry that I didn't pick them up. I was playing with dollies and I forgot. I really meant to."

She closed her eyes tightly, slid through a small gap, and disappeared.

She was sure she'd feel hands on her, grabbing and hurting her. Maybe even claws. She imagined blood ruining the front of her pretty blue dress. Her heart was so loud in her ears that she didn't know she was whimpering between sobs. She waited for her tortured end. After a while her mind started to wander, and then when it came back, the only sound she could hear was her brother and J fighting about something.

She shivered. The air felt cool and damp after being in the warm Sun. She opened her eyes and saw the circle of her flashlight on the wall, illuminating the rock. Now that her eyes were adjusting, the shafts of light from the gaps were easily bright enough to illuminate the mouth of the mine. She turned off her light, but then she remembered something. She frowned, turned her light back on, and scanned the floor quickly.

Both boys screamed when Monica's head popped out between two rocks next to them and yelled, "There's no tools here!" Her soft hazel eyes flared with anger. Louie stumbled backward, tripping, and landed on his butt on the edge of a rock. 

"Aghh!" Louie grabbed his injury and rolled on his side, trying his hardest not to cry in front of his friend and little sister. He willed it with all of his might, but they burst forth anyway. With disgust he wiped his tears with his hands, smearing rock dust on his face. Though he hated his shaggy hair, he was grateful that he could hide behind it.

"Instant karma's gonna get you," J said. He didn't know his Mom was quoting a Beatles song when she used it.

Monica burst out laughing, and Louie instantly felt better. Not his butt, though. He was happy to endure this pain and humiliation to make Monica laugh, and relieve his guilty conscience. It was a small price, really, even as bad as it hurt. He knew guilt was powerful, and could ruin a man. His Dad told him stories about his own childhood, and how his guilt had caused him to do dumb stuff. Best way to be safe from guilt, Dad said, was to not do the stuff that will make you feel guilty. It's a guide to help you make good choices. This was Louie's first real challenge to make a good decision, and he failed.