13 WINDOWS

Chapter 3 Part 1: READY OR NOT. HERE I COME!

Rupert slid down the hill towards the ravine. It was wet and mucky after the series of thunderstorms that had been passing through the city. Terry was further down towards the road behind an old tree, which had been knocked down during the storm. It looked like a giant skeletal hand reaching down towards the road. They were playing 'Tag and Seek', which was a combination of the game 'Hide and Seek' and 'Tag'. They had invented the game up at the family cottage in Muskoka.

"I'M GONNA FIND YOU! COME ON OUT! SHOW YOURSELF LOSER!" yelled Rupert. Terry giggled quietly behind the tree. He was so much lighter in weight that he had been able to maneuver down the hill easier than his brother. He crouched down and hid his small frame out of Rupert's sight within the broken branches of the tree.

Rupert eventually slid right past Terry, not noticing his hiding place. He picked himself up and looked around frustrated. "WHERE THE HELL DID YOU GO?" Suddenly he heard his brother unable to control his laughter.

"Right behind you - you IDIOT!" laughed Terry.

Rupert stumbled up the hill and tagged his younger brother. "Alright. You're it! Now. Catch me if you can!"

"You better RUN!!!!" Terry said with a bright smile and eyes lit up with excitement. And then he turned his face towards the tree to start his countdown.

For the rest of his life Rupert would replay this moment in his memory. He tried to remember what his brother looked like that day. That very moment. Terry covered his eyes and started counting down from sixty.

"60...59...58..."

Rupert's heart raced. He couldn't see anywhere other than trees to hide. So he tripped and stumbled down towards the road at the bottom of the hill.

"39...38...37...". Rupert spotted a utility box across the service road, near the bottom of the train bridge. A train was rumbling by on its way to downtown Toronto. He quickly ran across and sank behind the electrical box. The train was so loud he couldn't hear his brother's voice counting down anymore.

After the train had finished hurtling by the ravine fell silent. There was only the sound of a car going by. He was surprised to hear a car down here at all. It was not a well-traveled road.

Rupert waited, for several more minutes. He had a big grin on his face and he tried to smother his giggling. It was such a good spot. Several more minutes went by.

Rupert couldn't contain himself. Out of curiosity he peeked around the corner. He couldn't see anyone around at all. He waited a bit longer still huffing and puffing from the run.

He heard a car door shut and then the sound of an engine starting. He peeked around the other side of the box. There was a two door brown Buick skidding away. As the car passed the utility box Rupert could only manage to see the silhouette of a man and another person, shorter, in the seat next to him. Maybe a child? It was just an instant. He couldn't make out the faces because of the reflections on the car window.

Rupert felt something was wrong right away in the pit of his belly. He stood up and watched the car disappear around a corner at the bottom of the road. He glanced around in all directions. There was no sign of Terry.

"TERRY!" he called. Nothing happened. The city was quiet. A few birds chirped.

"TERRRRRY!" He started to panic. His brother. His younger brother! He ran across the road to the edge of the trees leading up to their house.

"TERRY! I'M HERE! WE HAVE TO GO HOME! NOW!"

He looked up into the trees of the ravine but he couldn't see anything. He just kept thinking about that brown car.

'Please God don't let this be what I think it is...'

Coming on Monday Aug. 3/2020 Chapter 4: ...The SHADOW MAN...