Secret Garden Of Eden (Secret Window Fanfiction)

Crazy Rainey

I was sitting with my boyfriend Trevor and a few of friends in the local ice cream parlor trying to escape the worst of the summer heat. I stirred the chocolate puddle in my bowl and considered drinking it like a milkshake. The boys broke into a fit of laughs forcing me to look up.

"What'd I miss?" I asked, only having zoned out a few minutes.

"Joey just--" Trevor choked out in between laughs, "He just told us he's cutting school!"

"But its summer, how could he...?"

"Exactly! His dumbass got stuck in summer school!"

They went into a laugh again while Joey's face reddened. Unamused, I turned and faced the window. A black jeep pulled up across the street. I frowned when a strange man got out- strange in the fact that I didn't recognize him. Tashmore Lake was a small town and in the years my family lived there, I became familiar with everyone. Seeing a new face was pretty well out of the ordinary.

I nudged her Trevor. "Who's that?"

He looked up, a smile still on his face, but it dropped upon seeing the man.

"No way!" he said pressing his face against the window to get a better look. He watched the man put change into a meter and head inside a dentist office. "No fuckin' way..." he repeated.

"What is it?" asked Cory, craning his neck to see what he was looking at.

"Is that Rainey?" Trevor asked incredulously.

"What!?" Joey and Cory exclaimed while jumping up.

"Who?" I asked.

"That's Crazy Rainey!"

My eyebrows raised in confusion. Trevor looked at me in amazement. "Mad Man Mort? The murderer?"

I tilted my head slightly and he sighed, "Even I know who he is! Mort Rainey killed four people twenty years ago. Lives up in the woods by the lake," he explained.

"If he killed people then why isn't he locked up?" I asked trying to get a better look at him.

Trevor opened his mouth to answer but Joey, always eager to get my attention, beat him to it. "No proof. He got rid of the bodies." He leaned in closer. "My theory is that he dumped 'em in the lake. Weighted 'em down and dumped 'em. Let the fish eat up the evidence."

I shuddered and glanced in Rainey's direction. I couldn't spot him inside. My eyes rested on his black jeep.

"He isn't supposed to come into town," Cory said, obviously not wanting to be left out. I turned back to him. "He's supposed to be a writer. I read a book of his once-"

"Loser" Trevor teased.

Cory scowled but kept going, "It was really sick, about some guy, Todd killing his wife and other people. Guess what happened to Rainey's ex-wife?"

Joey made a gagging noise and dragged his finger across his throat. I licked her lips nervously, "I never would've thought..."

"Yeah, I don't think she did either!" Trevor exclaimed.

"Of course it's the normal looking guys that are crazy. I mean if you look nuts, you're sure to get locked up" Joey said.

"Hey..." Trevor said, a gleam in his eye. "How long do you think he'll be in there for?"

Cory shrugged, "I dunno, check his meter. Why?"

Trevor grinned and moved to the door, "Go get your bikes, boys!"

~

"You can't be serious," I said, watching Trevor pull spray paint out of his backpack. We were standing outside Rainey's cabin.

"Don't be such a killjoy. No one's forcing you to do it," Trevor replied, popping off the lid and approaching Rainey's house.

I stepped in front of him, "If he really is a nutcase, why in God's name would you want to mess with him?!" I almost shouted.

He rolled his eyes. "He won't be there. Joey said he had at least an hour on his meter. I mean if the cops can't get him, why not do a little civil justice?"

"Because it's illegal, it's called vandalism, in case you haven't heard" I said aggravated.

Behind me Joey and Cory rode up on their bicycles. "C'mon, Trev! We've got no time to lose!" Joey shouted.

I frowned as they wheeled their bikes around her. "Look, I'll be careful," Trevor told me.

I gave him a hard look, wondering why I put up with his bullshit. Trevor was always one of those guys who pulled stuff like this. He clearly did it for kicks, but he always found a way to legitimize his immature actions by making it look like he had a point to prove. And he always pegged me as the wet blanket for pointing it out.

"Look Eden, if it bothers you just leave" Trevor told me. "No one's forcing you to stay."

I sighed, knowing he wasn't just talking about the vandalism. "Just hurry and do what you have to" I told him, walking off.

I explored the other side of the property, not wanting to witness them vandalize the cabin. Something about this felt wrong. After all, we didn't know this guy. We just knew rumors. Who were we to take revenge?

I walked around, exploring the property, trying to piece together just who this Mort Rainey was. On the south end of the house there was a garden with corn stalks. It was all corn stalks. I hardly think people who garden can be murderers...

The wind picked up, causing the corn stalks to rustle against one another. I jumped when I heard a loud bang. I looked up and saw a window. A small window that sat all by itself on this side of the house, looking over the garden. It had slammed shut in the wind.

I chuckled humorlessly at myself. Why do I let Trevor and his stupid friends get to me like that? A better question would be why do they do it in the first place?

I made my way back over to the other side of the house to find the dipshit brigade. Only they were gone.

I looked up at the cabin. "Oh shit..."

It was a wreck. The windows were broken, toilet paper was thrown about and the word 'KILLER' was spray painted across the door in red. The door was open. God, I hope they didn't do anything inside. Vandalism was one thing, but breaking and entering was sure to land us all in jail!

Hesitantly, I stepped past the screen door and onto the wooden porch.

"Trevor?" I called peeking my head into the cabin.

No answer. I called again. Still, no answer. I wasn't about to go in there. From where I stood, I couldn't see any interior damage. When I find Trevor, I'm going to kill him!

I stepped off the porch and was getting ready to run. Then the most horrifying sound of gravel crunching reached my ears. I looked up and saw a black jeep pulling into the driveway...