Solar Umbrella

Part OneCHAPTER ONE

THE FOAM DART bounced off the tree. "Missed again!" Parker shouted. This was his escape. Nothing beat a few hours in the woods with his brothers.

It was a perfect day. Hot again, always, but the dense trees blocked much of the summer sun. It was one of those days that felt like it never ended. There was enough of a breeze to keep the boys cool even as they ran from tree to tree, only peeking to see if one of the others was about to fire off another round of darts. It had been twelve days since the air had been clear enough to be outside for more than a few minutes and his parents had been quick to jump on the opportunity to kick their three boys out of the house.

Parker was the youngest, and had a hard time keeping up with his long legged brothers, but he was smart. He knew that if he used their overconfidence against them, he could surprise them. There was the trickling remains of a creek that ran through the middle of the woods. It was exposed to the sun, and the boys avoided it if they could. They had applied their sunscreen, of course, but being out there too long was dangerous. Parker knew he could take a risk and spend a few minutes cutting through the creek and get the jump on his brothers. It was worth the risk to win for once. He'd be careful. He always was.

He fired off a few darts randomly in the areas he thought they might be and used the distraction to slink away past a few thick trunks. Stopping briefly to listen for the breaking of a twig or rustling of leaves that would give away a would-be attacker, he calmed his breath to focus only on external sounds. With the sound of his heart pumping heavily in his ears, he smiled to hear only that—he was in the clear. Carefully maneuvering himself towards the opening in the trees before the creek, he popped on his sunglasses and approached the edge of the woods.

The light was oppressive. His eyes couldn't adjust quick enough, even with the sunglasses on. Nevertheless, he soldiered on, leaving the safety and relative cool of the woods in exchange for the hard packed earth surrounding the creek. The soil was baked, even this close to the water. It ran the usual muddy brown. A few small jumping insects roamed the surface of the water, but nothing else moved in the area that Parker could spot. No birds flew above the water. No animals could be seen as he looked up and down the banks. It was as desolate as always, but he could use the bank to sneak around and flank his brothers. The key was to be quick and quiet.

He moved like a rabbit, jumping bits of dried up brush and caked off dirt clods. His plan was to get as quickly as possible across the dirt and slide down the bank, using it as cover. Once over the edge, he could move freely behind them. He approached the edge and began to careen over. He noticed, too late, a rusty old sign turned flat blocking the way.

There was nothing to be done about it though. He slid onto the sign. What seemed an impediment at first turned out to be a boon, as the sign was embedded in what used to be mud. The sign created a six foot long slide, leading right down the bank.

Then, the sting.

He felt it run right up his leg—from calf to hip. A searing that released a yelp from his mouth. The game suddenly free of his mind, he felt an additional jarring as the rest of his body slid into the dirt and rocks just above the creek.

"Goddammit!" he yelled, more embarrassed than angry. Looking up the sign, a trail of red liquid slid down the already rusty Esso sign. He rolled over to reveal a cut running the entire length of his leg. There was a lot of blood, but it didn't seem too deep.

He heard his brothers above him, the game abandoned as they moved to where he had yelled. There was nothing to do but wait. They'd help him get home and cleaned up. He was the youngest and suffered because of it, but they would help him here for fear of getting in trouble, if nothing more.