Haunted Organic (2014 Watty Award Winner)

Seven: Plucked (Part 1)

SEVEN - Plucked (Part 1)

It was not lost on Josie that the girl everyone wanted to find was right next door to his house.

But he guessed that the same haunted spirits that made a giant squid with eel tentacles come to life and live on land and water, was probably the same haunted spirits that would make Trinket completely inaccessible to anyone trying to save her.

Josie was pretty sure he and Emerald would never get to Trinket. There was no reason to try.

He slipped out the back door and stood in the shadows of her side porch, watching the news vans, looking for any sign of movement.

He was about to crouch down and run out into the grass, past a frangipani bush, and take another look to see if anyone was lingering around on the street, when something came whipping out the door behind him, grabbed his hand and pulled him through the yard.

"Agh!"

"Sssh! Be quiet!" the voice said, and he knew it was Emerald. They scrambled behind a lime tree in her front yard.

"Keep your head down," Emerald ordered.

Josie looked at her and could see that she had changed clothes. She was wearing narrow black jeans, a black sweatshirt. Her hair was tied into a bandana and she had smeared some kind of mud across her face.

She looked fierce. And a little crazy. But still fierce.

"Why'd you do that?" he glowered at her.

"I'm not going."

"Yes..." she said matter-of-factly, and scanned the neighborhood with her father's high-powered binoculars.

"You're going."

Even behind the big lenses of the binoculars he could see that she was serious and unwavering. She was sure of herself in ways he had never seen before. He both liked her and hated her at the same time.

"If they find me out here..."

"If they find you, they are going to lock you up in juvie..." she explained, putting down the binoculars and looking straight at him.

"And if Bangkok eats her when he comes in from the sea, then you will be known as a child killer no matter whether you go to jail or not...your life will be over."

Josie was trying to think up a rebuttal, but nothing had formed in his brain. Not that Emerald noticed.

"And really, Giraffe Boy, don't you care at all about that kid? I mean think about someone besides yourself....Geez."

Emerald put the binoculars up to her face again and looked in the direction of the Organic Food Store.

"The little alley between your house and the store is dark.

"We can go there," she said pointing, "...and get in the side window, the one right across from your bedroom window."

Josie swallowed hard. He closed his eyes and tried to get a hold of himself. Emerald kept talking.

"No one will be able to see us in the alley...but we'll have to be quick."

Emerald pulled a crow bar from a side pocket on her pack.

"This is happening," Josie thought and the air in his lungs turned to lead.

"It's happening and there's nothing I can do to stop it," he thought, and wondered why he got involved, why he went to her house, why he didn't just stay at home. Alone.

He could tell that everything Emerald tackled happened just this way. She was a two-ton steam roller barreling down the road 80 miles an hour and everything in front of her had to jump out of the way or perish under the weight of her.