red moon over west virginia - 17. first day

by jeremy witherington

part 17 of 36

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joey’s whole life changed on his first day of school. he met tony, who would become his best friend, even though they did not really like each other all that much. and he first encountered trixie, whose fate would be so intertwined with his, although he did not suspect it at the time. what joey did know is that he was scared. all he could do was pretend not to be scared and hope for the best. tony took notice of joey. tony needed followers, if he was to establish himself as alpha boy of the kindergarten class. joey looked like a good bet. he was not bad looking, did not look too goopy, but would surely follow tony’s lead in all things, hopefully without being too obvious or a suckup about it. tony looked around for one or two more like joey. tony’s competition was barry. barry was the biggest and strongest boy in the class. barry’s dad was also the richest man in town, but this could be used against barry, if tony played his cards right. the teacher had two names, ms wilcox - somrthing. she was old, even older than joey’s mom. but where joey’s mom still looked almost like a movie star, old as she was, ms wilcox-something made joey’s flesh crawl. but now ms wilcox-something was clapping her hands together. this will only take a minute. people, she was imploring the children. she would always refer to her charges as “people”, never “children” or “boys and girls”. this will only take a minute, ms wilcox-somehimg repeated. we all need to know each other’s names. she pointed to a girl and smiled. and what is your name. trixie, trixie replied loudly, looking ms wilcox-something straight in the eyes. next

red moon over west virginia - 16. lucky night

by jeremy witherington

part 16 of 36

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this might be my lucky night, pete pickering thought, when he saw the woman running along the side of the road ahead of his truck. pete figured right away that she was running like she was running away from something. she was not dressed in the manner of a person running for exercise, or running in the classic style of someone doing so. but what was she running from? pete had not seen anything. pete was probably still not close enough to her that she could see the light from his headlights. she was still running at full speed, and a bit awkwardly. pete was more sure than ever that she was runnning from fear. he decided to speed up. and overtake her. he would ask her if she needed help. trixie saw the lights from the headlights before she heard the vehicle’s motor. there was no way she could get to the motel before the vehicle overtook her. maybe it is a police car, she thought hopefully. she stopped running. she took a deep breath, and started walking. the light did not increase much. had the driver slowed down, or maybe even stopped? as casually as she could, she took her phone out of her pocket. behind her, pete had indeed slowed down almost to a stop when he saw trixie stop. he did not know what to do. in all his driving around, seeking to pick people up, he had never faced this exact situation before. maybe the woman had just been running for exercise after all. and not running away from something. he drove toward her at twenty miles an hour and quickly overtook her. hello there, pete called out cheerfully. trixie appeared to be absorbed in texting on her phone and did not look up right away. she looked up as if surprised to see pete. next

red moon over west virginia - 15. nine minutes

by jeremy witherington

part 15 of 36

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trixie came to a bend in the highway. she checked her phone. she had been walking for nine minutes, it was starting to get a little chilly, and she was getting a bit sleepy. might as well start walking back to the motel. but she was this close to the bend in the road, she thought, i may as well look around it. because she really would like a cup of coffee and a donut or whatever. she walked around the bend. suddenly there was a lot more grass beside the road, and what looked like thick woods behind the grass. and she saw something. not a restaurant or cafe or 24 hour store but some kind of squished dead animal lying in the road. yuck! she did not want to get too close to it, so she turned right around, practically pirouetting. as she did she heard a voice behind her… help me, said the voice. it could not be the animal! it was totally flattened, and besides it was just an animal, a fox or a raccoon or something. help me, it said again, but it was more like she was hearing it in her brain than with her ears,… am i dreaming again, she wondered, like i was with the algebra test… but it was too cold to be a dream… wasn’t it? trixie forced herself to look behind her. after all she had been through with joey and tony and the doctor, was she going to lose her nerve now? she looked back. the smushed animal, or whatever it was, was gone. of course! it was some kind of plant. she took a deep breath and waited to hear the voice again. but she did not. she started to run. she had always been a pretty good runner, and she was in good shape. her coat was flapping around her slowing her down, and she held it closed against her body with one hand. she did not hear anything behind her. she could dimly make out the dark shape of the motel. it seemed miles away. next

red moon over west virginia - 14. the highway

by jeremy witherington

part 14 of 36

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trixie could not get back to sleep. the dream about the hotel and the algebra test lingered in her mind. she wondered if there was any place open where she could get a cup of coffee and maybe a donut or a piece of apple pie. she had not noticed any cafes or such when she had walked up the highway to the motel after being dropped off at the crossroads. she decided to go outside and take a look. even if she could not find any place open, the walk would be good exercise and might tire her out enough to help her get back to sleep when she got back. there was nobody at the desk when she went downstairs. the only light was a red light, not blinking, on the phone on the desk. trixie went outside. the highway had a super deserted look. there was only one car in the parking lot - probably the desk clerk's. she walked down to the highway. to the left was the road back to the airport and she could not remember seeing any cafeterias or franchise places on it, so she started walking to the right. the road stretched straight before her. she decided to walk to the first bend - or for ten minutes, whichever came first - look around the bend, and if she did not see anything, start back. she checked the time on her phone and started walking. next

red moon over west virginia - 13. gerald

by jeremy witherington

part 13 of 36

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gerald harcourt, with his usual smirk on his face, entered the drawing room. aunt agrippina was seated in her red armchair beside the fireplace. the tea table in front of her was empty, and none of her usual confidants were in attendance, nor were there any servants in the room. you wished to see me, aunt? gerald drawled. i did, gerald. this won’t take long. may i sit down? if you like. but as i say it won’t take long. gerald seated himself languidly on a settee. then let’s have it. as i am sure you know, the financial situation in the world is deteriorating. global markets collapsing and all that. surely that is the time to invest, is it not?, gerald interposed. these things always blow over, and those who have stood firm reap the reward of their fortitude. please don’t interrupt. be that as it may, i have resolved to cut back on expenses by ridding myself of my most blatant and worthless parasites, beginning with yourself. gerald coughed discreetly. i see. does that mean i am to be left out of your will? you were never in my will. i mean i am no longer supporting you, as of now. you have twenty-four hours to pack up and go. oh dear, that’s a bit harsh. am i allowed to keep my allowance? you can certainly keep whatever you have left of the last installment of your allowance. although i have always understood you were not the saving sort. i consider saving to be beneath a gentleman. tell me, are you prepared to settle any outstanding debts i may have? aunt agrippina laughed. of course not. well then, am i to be fed until my twenty-four hours are up? why not? consider it the condemned man’s last meal. gerald stood up. he hesitated. and might - might i take something with me when i go - some sandwiches or cream tarts or such?. i will leave that weighty matter to the discretion of cook. but gerald - please do not think you can get away with filching any jewelry or other valuables. the servants will be on their guard, and dumphrey will be instructed to search you thoroughly when you depart. i understand. gerald bowed to aunt agrippina and left. the interview had not been completely unexpected, and he thought he had handled himself rather well. next

red moon over west virginia - 12. algebra test

by jeremy witherington

part 12 of 36

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as soon as trixie checked into her room on the forty-first floor of the grand hotel, she realized she had forgotten to study for her algebra test, which she would have to take on tuesday… four days away… and she had forgotten to pack the algebra book. not that it would have made any difference, she had not opened the algebra book all year. she did not really even know what algebra was. it was hopeless. she would be exposed as a fraud, and her life would be over. she decided to go downstairs, and wander aimlessly through the streets of the great city until it was time to find someplace to eat. but when she got down to the lobby she found it in a state of great disrepair and confusion, as if it were suddenly being completely remodeled. she could not even find the front desk, to ask what was going on. she decided not to wander through the streets of the great city, but to just go back up to her room and order a grilled cheese sandwich from room service before things got any crazier. she got back on an elevator. it was a wide elevator, like a freight elevator. there was no freight on it, or anything else or anybody else. she saw that it only went up to the fortieth floor, but her room was on the forty-first. well, it should not be too hard to get to the forty-first floor from the fortieth. she pressed the button for the fortieth floor. the elevator started moving sideways! the indicator above the door showed letters - a, b, c, d… instead of numbers. she began pressing the lettered buttons. nothing happened… the elevator kept moving sideways.. like the shuttle in an airport … she tried a, b, c. d… trixie pressed the letter e, really hard. it took forever, but the elevator - or subway or whatever it was - finally stopped, and the door opened. she jumped out. she was in what looked like a big department store, with ceilings as high as a train station. she could see a street outside through big windows, but nothing looked familiar. she decided to go into the interior of the department store, where maybe she could find her way back to the hotel. everything for sale in the store - mostly coats that looked like they were for people eight feet tall, was behind glass, and looked really expensive, though there were no price tags. the carpet in the corridor was green, as as soft as grass. trixie kept walking down the green corridor, without seeing another person. maybe she should have gone outside into the street. she could have asked somebody for directions. finally she saw somebody approaching. it looked like mister davis. mister davis! suddenly it hit her. she was not in school any more. she did not have to take an algebra test on tuesday… it was all - a dream. she woke up. she looked over and joey was not beside her. of course he wasn’t. it all came back to her. she was in the motel room outside wheeling west virginia, and joey was long gone. there was a little clock on a table beside the bed, and the red illuminated numbers said 2:44. it was all cool. she did not have to take an algebra test, now or ever. and joey was gone. and so was tony. next

red moon over west virginia - 11. socks and ties

by jeremy witherington

part 11 of 36

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after moe had wandered aimlessly down the street for a while, the wind picked up a bit and he decided to turn around. he passed juan the con’s bodega on the way back, and considered going inside and buying a package of beef jerky, but remembered that he still had a couple of dark chocolate bars in his room, and decided to just continue on home and eat those instead. when he got back to his room he ate one of the dark chocolate bars and then spent the rest of the night just doing nothing much, but asking himself, as he often did, what was going on. he fell asleep just before dawn. moe had a dream. unlike his life, which tended to be unfocussed, moe’s dreams were always classically structured. in moe’s dream, he was not a bum on welfare who hung around the pool hall, but mr morley, a suave salesperson at the grand department store in the great metropolis. he was in charge of men’s socks and ties, and took his duties seriously and carried them out conscientiously. mr morley had an eye for a pretty face and a shapely ankle, and a fair amount of these passed through men’s socks and ties, purchasing items for their sweethearts and husbands. in the dream, moe/mr morley was surveying his kingdom from behind his little podium, when a modestly dressed but bright eyed young woman approached him. she did not look more than sixteen or seventeen years old. can you hep me, sir? the maiden asked. it is what i am here for, miss. the request i am making may be an unusual one for you, the young woman began hesitantly. mr morley smiled. just tell me what it is, and i will be the judge of that. i was here in the store yesterday and i lost my algebra textbook. i was wondering if you had happened to come across it. an algebra textbook? mr morley gave the young woman an even friendlier and more debonair smile than before. i am sure i would have noticed such a thing if it happened to be on the floor. and in any case, have you applied to our excellently efficient lost and found department, located on the fourth floor of the south wing? indeed i did, sir, but they were unable to assist me. do you mind if i look around in this department? suit yourself, miss, so long as you do not knock any of the displays over. and perhaps while you look you might find find a nice tie or pair of socks that you could purchase for your father or brother or other man in your life. oh thank you, sir. and with that the maid left mr morley and disappeared behind a display of brightly colored cravats. suddenly a terrible presentiment assailed moe/mr morley. he hastily reached into his pocket! but his wallet was safely there, and he quickly opened it and saw that the two dollar bill he had placed there to purchase his lunch in the emporium cafeteria was also safe. but when he put the wallet back in his pocket, he felt it brush against something else. what could it be? it was a plain white envelope. and inside the envelope was a neatly folded sheet of white psper with something scribbled on it in no careful manner - moe woke up. how long had he been asleep? outside it was day, but a gray day, and rain pattered against the window… next