Ole' Broken Bones Pete

Life-Long Friends Volume 2:

"Don't worry! It's just a scary story!", "Yeah! What are you a pussy?" the two 13 year old boys said taunting Charlie, the latest transplant from San Antonio. Charlie was scared but didn't want to look like a "Pussy" in front of the neighborhood kids. These were the kids who would decide if he was ok or not... they would tell other kids if he was cool.... or a big wussy. He just wanted to make new friends in this new place. He knew well enough that if he didn't go in, and shout "Ole' Broken bones Pete, I have a bone for you to break!" he would live the rest of his time there as such, and God knows how long that might be, being he was only in 8th grade. 

"Hell no I'm not scared!" growled Charlie, who was standing in front of an old abandoned shack on a dirt lot. Its white paint had mostly chipped away, and the wood was old and ragged and hung from its original places here and there. There was no skirting at the base as it was built on stilts. It was black as pitch underneath, and at the top the roof was made of rusted old tin and the windows were all knocked out. It was more than just a shack really. It was more of a tiny house. Regardless, it was ominous. Graffiti was sprayed in dark green on the front door reading "Fuck You". A large yellow jackets nest was alive and moving under the eve just to the right side of the porch. The foul odor of death emanated from the lot, likely a dead animal under the house, maybe more judging by the potency of the stench. It was a hot Texas day in August, which intensified the smell, and if you've ever been in Texas during the month of August, you have a pretty good idea of what the weather in Hell is like. 

The sound of flies could be heard from under the house. Charlie imagined maggots squirming around whatever dead carcass lay rotting in the darkness. He liked a good ghost story and scary things but he was a bit of a chicken when it came down to actually exploring them. "Why did I have to ask about the town ghosts?!" he asked himself. "Ok, here I go". The wiry boy slowly crept up to the porch, noticing the silent yet very active yellow jackets nest. As he stepped onto the worn, weathered boards of the porch floor, they let out a small squeak. "This house must be a hundred years old! These boards could break any minute!" Charlie stalled, looking back at the boys. 

"Hey man, we've all done it and nothing's ever happened to us!" said Joey, the chubby kid. 

"He's just scared. Look, do you want to be known in Lytle as a pussy? No-one will hang out at school with you if you don't go in! We'll tell everybody you punked out!" said Jason, the skinny, intense one. 

Joey Maher was one of two children that lived with their mother, father, and pedophile grandfather. Joey's Grandfather was released from prison 6 years ago for indecency with a child, a neighbor girl just 9 years old down the street from his house in San Antonio. He was retired from the Air Force and lived at home with his wife Brenda when the incident occurred. During his incarceration, Martha had overdosed on Vicodin. After his release, his son decided to allow him to live with him and his family. To get away from the city, they moved to Lytle when Joey was just a year old. 

Jason Pruitt on the other hand was a bad seed, the black sheep of his family. He had 2 older sisters and one younger brother. His was a middle-class working family and he never had to go without. Jason's parents were always puzzled at how different he was compared to the rest of the family, just a black cloud. Once, when he was 5 years old, he was outside with his Mother and their dog Bailey startled him by barking suddenly. Just as clear as day in front of his Mother he said, "What the fuck, Bailey?!" 

Charlie scanned the ground and property for some sort of weapon, anything he could use to stab or cut anything inside waiting to snatch him up and take him under the house and do God knows what with him. When he was still living is San Antonio, a few months back, Charlie had earned $20 from doing all his chores the past 2 weeks and wanted to go to the mall right down the street to blow it at the arcade and on S'barro's pizza at the food court. After he made his way to the mall with his big sister Marie, they separated so she could meet up with her friends. Charlie made his way to the video arcade to play his favorite classic game, Street Fighter. While playing, a middle-aged man made his way over to Charlie and watched him play. When Charlie looked back at him he could see the man reach into his jacket pocket, pull out a porno magazine and glance at it for a moment and put it back in his coat pocket. Immediately Charlie became uneasy but kept playing his game since he was on a roll. He was in an intense match against Saggot, the final Boss of the original game. The man introduced himself to Charlie and began asking him questions. Things like "So what's your name? How old are you? Where do you go to school? What is your favorite character on this game?" The man was a middle-aged, balding Hispanic, wore glasses and had a thick Mexican accent. By now Charlie was sure the creepy guy's intentions were clear - he meant to harm him. Charlie decided to purposely lose his game, walk away and report this guy to someone who worked at the mall. Just then the biggest man he had ever seen had walked up to them. He looked like a 6'7" Glenn Danzig. He had to be a body builder. Right then Charlie felt queasy and the middle-aged Mexican man introduced Charlie to this "Godzilla". As the huge man extended his beefy hand for Charlie to shake, Charlie spotted the game room attendant and quickly walked over to him and told him what had just happened, totally bypassing Godzilla's huge extended hand. In seeing what Charlie was doing, the two men quickly disappeared out of the fire exit. That wasn't the first time he had nearly been abducted. Charlie's parents felt that it was time they moved away from the city and into a smaller knit community. After all, Charlie was beginning to grow into a very handsome boy.