Wolf Hollow

Chapter 27

Looking through the plane window, Darren felt like sobbing into his coat. How would he ever find a girlfriend as good as Eleanor.

He remembered wishing her goodbye, kissing her, and telling her how much he loved her.

They were on the plane to Illinois as a family of four. Leah, Kent, Darren, and Ruthie. They would be going to live with Leah's parents until they could find a house, but remain close in the area.

Darren sat back, reading his book. He hoped Eleanor and Felix would call him or send him letters sometime, but they wouldn't know where he was.

The four took a taxi to west lane and walked from there. The two dogs started barking. Grandma and Grandpa were excited to see Darren and Ruthie.

They all exchanged hugs and then Grandma and Grandpa showed them to their rooms. Darren and Ruthie would be sharing a bunk bed.

Leah lectured her kids through the usual 'This was my bedroom and that was your uncle's.'

They knew their Uncle Ron but times were tough for him, and he never came around anymore. He was in rehab about now.

Leah lived in Illinois practically her whole life. She even met Troy in Illinois and raised their kids there until the divorce and drastic moves.

With a book in his hand, Darren climbed into the top bunk. His files were already on hand for school. He spent kindergarten and first grade in the district. He would start in three days.

He worried about baseball and if he would ever get to play it again. He couldn't stop replaying his father's face as he was laying dead. He couldn't help but to look at the scar of the shot in his thigh.

Ruthie washed up and came in for bed. She demanded the top bunk. To shut her up, he climbed down.

Leah and Grandma came in to tell them goodnight. There was a faint sound of snoring coming from the other bedroom. Darren held back his laugh.

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It was another first day of school. Darren didn't know how he was still shy. He felt that he should've been outgoing now.

The day was long. It was nothing like the first day at Wolf Hollow high school. It was much simpler here. Darren knew how this district was, even though he had never been to the high school here.

When teachers called his name, a few others glanced like they knew his name sounded familiar.

He remembered a kid in his grandparents neighborhood he used to play with, and got up the nerve to talk to him. It took a while, but he noticed him. His name was Ryan.

After school, Darren showed up at the baseball field. The coach made the players pause when they saw him coming. Darren appeared at the gate, and the coach looked irritated.

"We're practicing for our game Friday," The coach said. "you can't come in. Bleachers are over there if you wanna watch." The coach pointed to the bleachers behind the cage.

Darren sighed. "I wanna try out. I had to move schools."

"It's a little too late for tryouts." The coach crossed his arms.

"Please, sir. I won't let you down."

The coach opened the gate and let him onto the field. Coach Trude, declaring by his shirt button, gently gave a muscular Hispanic boy with a mustache a slight pat on the shoulder.

Coach Trude directed Darren to the plate to hit. Darren could tell now what he was going to do. He would have to hit off this Hispanic pitcher with a mustache.

Darren thought to himself. Mustaches in high school should be illegal.

He had an eery grit in his teeth. His smile was fierce.

"Carlos, give em' the heat!" The coach sneered.

The other guys stood back at the dugout with their eyes peeled to Carlos. They were rooting for him. Darren got his favorite bat out of his bag.

Carlos stared intently at the catcher who was swaying on his knees. The catcher wound up and threw a solid curve that scared Darren back.

There was clapping from the dugout and from the coach. Darren was already shaking with nerves. He knew that whether he made the team counted on if he could hit off a pitch from Carlos.

The second pitch was a ball. Darren backed up so he wouldn't be hit. Darren couldn't recognize the second pitch. He swung and missed at it.

One more pitch. The dugout was full of guys jumping up and down and screaming. Carlos leaned over and winded up to throw the last pitch.

Darren set himself up. He wanted to be ready but he wasn't sure. He wanted another baseball season, even another after. This was it.

Carlos threw a fastball down the middle. It was incredibly fast, especially for a high schooler, even though this guy looked like he'd been held back twice.

Darren swung so hard it hurt and blasted through the gloves. His arm extended up and sent the ball flying in the air to left center.

It was still flying. Carlos bent his head over. The guys in the dugout gripped onto the gate and the guys in the outfield moved over.

The left fielder launched himself into the fence, but the ball swooped over it.

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Darren couldn't remember the last time he'd felt this good. He had an adrenaline rush while rounding the bases.

Carlos let out a loud sigh. The guys in the dugout started to cheer when the ball made it over, to Darren's surprise.

Coach Trude and his assistant, as well as the guys from the dugout greeted Darren at home plate. The basemen and the outfielders ran over delayed. The outfielders were more disappointed than anything. Carlos didn't move from the mound.

"Like an uncaged beast," Coach Trude shook Darren's hand. "i don't know how but I like you already. What position you play?"

"Center field." Darren told him.

"Perfect," The coach replied. "meet us back tomorrow."

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For the first time in a while, Darren wrote in a diary. The happiness he felt at tryouts was temporary and it was a small possibility that coach would put him in center field on Friday.

Darren started to write with his blue pen. He tried to think of how to start.

'I spent a few months of my life in Wolf Hollow, trying to make everything make sense in the hopes that my father would never harm us again. I met people. I had best friends and a girlfriend. I had a neighbor who was once a serial killer, but I grew fond of him somehow. I'm finally free from my father, but it doesn't feel right.

'So much of me is drained and I don't know if the emptiness in my soul from all of this will ever be whole. I may never find a girlfriend like Eleanor again, or even a friend as great as Felix, but I can try. I hope I never have to experience the events that happened in Wolf Hollow ever again. I risked everything, even getting myself shot. I've watched people die, and I just want to be happy instead of remembering all of it. I've already rekindled with two people I used to know when I was younger and made the tryouts for baseball.

'It is March 23 1984 and I'm not too sure where my life will lead. No one is for certain what life will bring them. I'm glad to be alive, but it still hurts inside.'

Darren finished writing and laid the pen down. He couldn't think of anything else to say or any other way to finish it. He was a junior in high school. He was barely 17. He had so much life left to live. But moving on wouldn't be easy.

The End.