The Home Run

Pickling the Beast!

Izzy's POV

       Only one kid had ever attempted what Benny was about to, and he got eaten.
So obviously, we were all worried, even when Benny brought out his secret weapon. They were shoes that were guaranteed to make a kid run faster and jump higher, P.F. Flyers.
       "We can't let him do this, man," Kenny said as Benny finished putting on his new P.F. Flyers. We all watched as he walked up to the fence.
       "Benny, wait. It's okay. It was my fault. You don't have to do this." Smalls said.
       "Yeah. Come on, Benny, man. You don't
have to do it. Forget about it. It's like committing suicide, Benny. Don't do it." Squints said.
       "Yeah, don't do it, Benny," Timmy said.
       "Yeah. Don't do it. It's suicide." Tommy said.
       "Yeah, I do, Smalls. I have to do this." Benny said.
       "Benny..." I said, "C'mon, don't do this."
       "I'll be okay," he told me.
       "Benny, I can't lose you too!" I said, trying to stay calm.
       "Izzy, I promise you I'll be okay," Benny said. With that, we watched as he got ready to hop the fence. He turned around and looked at us one more time, gave us a thumbs up, then went over the fence.
       "Son of a bitch!" I said, upset.
       "He's gonna get himself killed..." Bertram said.
       "We just gotta wait," Ham said.
       "I think that's all we can do." Yeah- Yeah said.
       After what felt like forever Benny came over the fence and landed in front of us. We all cheered for him and he stood up.
       "I'm okay." he hugged me.
       "You're okay," I said into his chest. He gave me a small kiss.
       I took the ball from him as we all talked happily, and Benny tried to catch his breath. I looked at the dirty ball and turned it over in my hand, wiping off some of the dirt with my finger.

(If possible, play:
Song: Wipeout
by The Surfaris)

       "Oh, shit!" Benny said. We all looked up and saw The Beast. My eyes went wide as I saw him coming right at me.
       "Shit!" I said and started running.
       "She had the ball!" Smalls yelled behind me.
       "Keep running!" Squints yelled.
       "No shit!" I yelled, still running as The Beast barked and ran after me.
       "Come on! What are we waiting for? Let's get them!" Smalls yelled behind me.

*~*

       The Beast continued barking as I ran away from him. I ran as fast as I could, doing everything to evade The Beast. I ran all the way into town. I ran past a guy on a bike, I may have accidentally pushed him over, and ran over the top of a car. I looked behind me and saw the guys' bike fly up in the air, then The Beast ran on top of the car too.
       "Shit!" I hissed
       I ran down an alley pushing trashcans and other stuff over, but The Beast pushed right through them. I got on top of a trashcan, jumped over a tall concrete wall, and ran into the town's movie theater through the back doors. I heard glass breaking behind me as I ran through another set of doors.
       I ran and slid under the giant movie screen, "Enjoy the movie!" I said, getting up to continue running. Everyone gasped. Then, I heard screams and barking as The Beast tore through the movie screen

*~*

       I ran through the park, which was full of people. It was Founders Day so of course, practically the whole town was there. I ran past a couple of tables and into someone knocking them over.
       "Hey!" they said, yelling incoherent curses at me.
       "Sorry!" I yelled, getting on top of a table and running. People screamed as I ran past them. I felt awful for ruining these people's day.
       "Look out!" I yelled, approaching two bakers with a large cake. They put it down just in time as I jumped over. I heard them scream as The Beast ran by. Then I heard them yell at the boys
       "Hey mom, Hi dad!" I said, running past them at the park.
       "Isabel?" my dad questioned. I looked back and saw The Beast take out my dad's legs causing him to fall. Then I saw the boys saying hi to them before running after me again.

*~*

       "Mommy, Mommy, look. A doggy!" a little boy said happily as I ran through the pool, "Ooh, a big doggy!"
       People quickly moved out of my way as I continued running people shouted at me and screamed when they saw The Beast.
       As I ran out of the pool I saw the boys.
       "Ball!" Benny yelled. I quickly tossed it to him and he took my place running as The Beast chased him.
       "Sandlot!" I yelled, trying to catch my breath, "Go to the Sandlot!"
       "Sandlot! Let's go!" Benny yelled at the boys.
       "This way! Sandlot! Shortcut, you guys! Let's go!" Squints said and we started running again.

(Stop the song.)

*~*

       "Where is he?" Ham asked as we all tried to catch our breath, "Does anyone see him?"
       "I don't see him." Squints said.
       "There he is!" Smalls yelled. Our heads shot toward the dugout. The Beast was barking and Benny was still running.
       "Oh, no." Squints said. The Beast was gaining on him.
       "C'mon, Benny," I said.
       The Beast bit off a piece of his jersey, but Benny kept running. The Beast got angry and started barking louder. We all moved out of the way for Benny as he jumped over the fence that separated the Sandlot from Mr. Mertels. He screamed as he flipped over. We heard Benny hit the ground and as he moved back. Then, The Beast jumped through the fence. The fence gave an angry creak as it began falling.
       "Look out!" Benny yelled. We all jumped at the loud noise it made as a cloud of dust surrounded the backyard. Smalls and I stepped forward, looking at the fallen fence. The Beast was trapped.
       "Oh, man," Benny said, looking at The Beast as it whimpered.
       Smalls and I walked around the fence I kneeled down by The Beast's face. Some of the boys gasped as Smalls tried to lift the fence.
       "Come on, guys. Help me!" Smalls begged, "Please!"
       "It's okay." I cooed at The Beast petting his head as he continued crying. I realized he wasn't a beast, he was just a dog and he was in a lot of pain.
       "Benny! Benny, help me, please!" Smalls asked.
       "Benny, he's hurt." I said, looking back at him, "We can't leave him like this."
       "Come on. I can't lift it." Smalls said. Benny walked over and tossed the ball to Ham. I moved away from The Beast and to the other side of Benny. I reached down and helped Smalls and Benny lift the fence. The Beast quickly ran out from underneath it. Smalls, Benny, and I dropped the fence, panting.
       Smalls turned his head and The Beast was looking right at him. Benny stood up quickly and pulled me up with him. All the boys looked at Smalls terrified. I rolled my eyes and looked at Smalls and The Beast. After they had finished their staring contest, The Beast began licking Smalls' face. I laughed at the face that Smalls made.
       The Beast walked up to me and I squatted in front of him, "Aww, who's a good boy." I said, petting him, "You just wanted someone to play with. Didn't you?" He licked me and then walked away.
       We all followed him and were in awe at what we saw. A hole filled with hundreds of baseballs.
       "Now we can play forever," Benny said, hugging me.