Rendezvous with Drama - 2

AUTHOR'S NOTES A nightmare followed by a family outing from hell. Part two is finished and awaiting your reading and or appraisal. Any feedback/comments/criticisms etc. on how best to improve would be appreciated. Also if you spot any typos don't hesitate to point them out. Thank you.
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Misty rain fell as Logan hastened through a dark and eerie forest, vaguely illuminated by a full moon. Above him squawked giant birds of prey, behind him bellowed the intermittent roars of a savage beast out for his blood, and all around was the constant shrill of cicadas.   

Distracted by a movement deep in the woods ahead of him he suddenly tripped over a protruding tree root and landed hard, skidding across the brittle undergrowth on his hands and knees. The forest seemed to swim before his teary eyes but he could not afford to linger, not even for a moment. He got to his feet again and continued fleeing but a sharp shooting pain stopped him in mid step. His body crumbled and he slumped back down again.

He gasped at the sight of blood, oozing from a nasty gash on his right knee and tricking down his shin. Outrunning the beast was no longer an option; his only hope now was to hide somewhere. Goosebumps shivered up and down his spine at the sound of another roar. The gap between them was closing fast. 

His stinging hands trembled as he retrieved a handkerchief from the hip pocket of his filthy shorts and vaguely tied it around the wound then lay on the forest floor and slithered awkwardly like a snake toward some nearby bushes, trying his best not to let his knee scrape against anything sharp. A sticky resin suddenly seeped from the surrounding foliage and glued the front of his tee-shirt  to the ground.

Panic overwhelmed him as he heard the snapping of twigs and heavy footfall approaching. He grabbed hold of a nearby tree root with both hands and writhed and heaved and pulled this way and that until seams of his top tore away and he was able to wriggle free. What good was such a garment if it only served your certain demise- no matter how frigid the air may be?

Prickles jabbed and pieced his exposed belly as he slithered beneath the bushes. Moments later he found himself entangled in dense brambles. The more he struggled the tighter their grip became. Soon his upper body was well and truly wedged whilst his legs remained sticking out; reminiscent of a bedtime story Kelly had once read him about the how Winnie the Pooh got stuck in a window.   

The footfall ceased and he could now sense the presence of something or someone standing directly behind him. He frantically fought against the brambles but their grip was too tight and he was filled with the same helpless vulnerability he experienced whenever Daniel forced him over his lap in anger. 

“Let me go!” he pleaded as a pair of scally hands clasped hold of his ankles. The brambles abruptly relinquished their grip and he was slowly hauled from his sanctuary to face the wrath of this savage beast.


**********


Logan woke with a start and found himself back in his bed. He sat upright and stared deep into the darkness that surrounded him. The nightmares were getting more frequent and intense. Most featured savage monsters chasing him and no matter how fast he ran or how well he hid they would always get him in the end.

His mind drifted back to the dishevelled living room and he wondered if anyone had bothered to tidy it up, which was unlikely. Such negligence would have surely cost him a  stern lecture and a timeout, but such penalties did not apply to Daniel or Kelly.

He drew a heavy sigh, roughly fluffed his crumpled pillow and then nestled himself amongst the tangled bedcovers again; hoping for the chance of more pleasant dreams. There he lay willing the sandman to sprinkle more magic dust, but his troubled mind would not stop obsessing over the domestics, the mess, the welts on Kelly’s cheeks and her hostility towards him when he tried to intervene.

It seemed grossly unfair that his nobility should be treated with such distain without showing the slightest hint of appreciation; yet deep down he could not help but feel that he wasn’t completely without fault. His stubborn defiance and cussing would surely have only acerbated her stress levels. Everyone has their breaking point, no matter how patient.

Logan felt confident she would apologise in the morning and he’d accept it if he knew what was good for him.

********



Going through the motions, it’s what the Regis family did most Saturday Mornings. Feigned apologies, make-up sex, empty promises, and pancakes with jam and golden syrup for the kids, followed by an outing where they would once again play "happy families"; an unofficial truce until the next altercation.

" Get fresh for the weekend” sang Logan sitting in the left hand rear seat of Daniel’s Holden Commodore.

“Showing out” harmonised Anthony sitting on the right.“Baba- ba de baba, baba ba de baba”

“ Get fresh for the weekend,”

“ Showing out, baba- ba de baba, baba ba de baba , Showing out!”

“ Can’t afford to buy you many things but that’s alright, we just won’t lose anything anytime. O-o-only takes a moment to feel okay…”

“ Get fresh for the weekend, showing out! Baba- ba de baba, baba ba de baba…”

“Oi that ain’t not fair! I sing the “Get fresh for the weekends” and you do the music and “showing outs”…member?”

“Makes no diff who sings what as long as it’s sung.”

“We’re meant to take turns; you stole part of my turn and ruined everything.

“Did not ruin everything…’sides you were singing the wrong words.”

“Was not,”

“Was too, when you sing the wrong words you sound like a fool.”

“He who calls his brother a fool is in danger of hell’s fire. twenty first letter of Saint Paul to the Fistleobians. When you die God’s gonna say – depart from me ye cursed into the fiery pit of screams and good riddance to bad rubbish..." 

“Stop it both of you!” exploded Kelly from the front passenger seat. Her unexpected interruption startled the boys and seized their immediate attention. “I’m sick to the teeth of listening to you two squabbling!”

"You're sick of our squabbling?" groused Logan under his breath.

“Kelly’s right,” added Daniel sternly “You’re getting on my nerves. Either you both shut up or I’ll turn this car round and go back home and you’ll both spend the rest of the day in your room….is that clear!”

“Yes Daddy,” conformed Anthony, cowering in his seat.

“Yes sir,” replied Logan a few seconds later, folding his arms and pouting with head hung despondently. It had taken him a lot longer to accept Daniel’s authority than his younger sibling. He had distrusted the man from the moment he first laid eyes on him. Time had proved his initial fears were not without just cause; less than three weeks after Daniel became his legal guardian he received his first hiding from him for spilling Cocoa-Cola over a magazine.       

“We’re about ten minutes away from Carterton. If you two boys can sit quietly until we get there I’ll buy you each an ice cream,” promised Daniel, suddenly lessening the extent of his wrath like Mr Hyde regressing back to Dr Jekyll. 

“I bags hokey-pokey!” piped up Anthony.

“And I bags Strawberry,” added Logan, his bitterness overcome by greed.

“You’ll get what you’re given,” retorted Kelly.

“If you keep quiet,” reiterated Daniel “And that’s a mighty big if”

“We will!” they responded simultaneously, sitting up straight and placing their index fingers on their lips like well-behaved little cherubs; both with imaginary halos, both scheming how best to provoke the other into making a noise and miss out on the ice cream.

Logan studied the mirror and strategically chose a moment when Kelly and Daniel were distracted to nudge Anthony hard in the ribs with his elbow. The boy gasped slightly but then grit his teeth and managed to resume his angelic status.

He drew a heavy sigh and watched the rural scenery flash by; awaiting his younger sibling’s counter attack. A multitude of sheep grazed the predominately green pastures and every now and then the odd heard of cattle or horse could be seen basking in the midday sun. The sky seemed uncharacteristically cloudless and only the gentlest of breezes cascaded though his partially open window.

Lulled into a sense of unwarranted security, Logan was caught unawares when Anthony backhanded the right side of his left thigh. Pain surged and he had to bite his bottom lip to suppress the urge to cry out. He checked the mirror again then kicked Anthony’s lower leg, and received a retaliatory kick to his shins.

The two boys squirmed, desperately trying to conceal their injuries. Anthony’s eyes were starting to mist whilst a tear had already found its way down Logan’s left cheek which he hastily licked away, lest it betrayed his disobedience.

“You two okay back there?” asked Kelly suspiciously, as if somehow sensing their mischief.  “I would hate you boys to miss out on ice cream so I do hope you’re both being on your best behaviour.”

“We’ve both been very good little boys” lied Logan "haven't we Tones.”

“Sure have,” managed Anthony.

“That’s very good to hear,” affirmed Daniel. “We’ll be there in about three minutes. I only hope for your sakes you can remain quiet as church mice.”

“Eek-eek” replied Logan and even Daniel could not help but smile.

******

Carterton is a relatively small township situated approximately 14 KMs south west of Masterton on state highway 2, with a population just over 8,600 residents. It has three schools, railway station, shopping centre, several motels and ample places that one may wish to treat two scallywag con-artists with ice-creams.

“There’s one over there!” announced Logan leaning forward as far as his seatbelt would allow and pointing toward a nearby dairy.

“I’m sure Daniel can see it for himself,” grumbled Kelly “And sit up straight!”

“It’s also rude to point, boy,” added Daniel.

Logan slumped back until his shoulders reconnected with the upholstery. He then re-folded his arms and groused under his breath.

“Ha-ha you got growleded at,” teased Anthony.

“Not funny,” grouched Logan.

The Commodore slowed and pulled into a vacant spot outside the dairy. Daniel killed the engine, unfastened his seatbelt and placed his glasses in pouch ontop of the dashboard, before peering over his shoulder at his stepsons.

“You kept your end of the bargain and so I guess I’d best keep mine. One strawberry and one Hokey Pokey…single or doubles?”

“Double...” insisted Anthony then hesitated for a few seconds before adding “Please, if you don’t mind. I’m a growing boy.”

“At least your tummy is…and what about you Logan…single or double?”

“Double, but only if you think I deserve it?”

“Tell ya what, I’ll make it a triple and see if I can put a smile back on that sad face of yours.”

“That’s not fair, if he gets a triple then I ought to get a…” started Anthony but his sentence was abruptly interrupted by a sudden squealing of breaks, followed by a violent jolt as something hit the rear of the Commodore. Kelly and the boys lunged forward and where saved by their seatbelts, but Daniel hit his head against the windscreen and cursed out loud.

“Are you alright sweetheart?” asked Kelly but Daniel merely grunted. “Are you injured?”

“Injured? just wait and see what I do to that fecking dipstick!”

“Please calm down a bit before you speak to the other driver, I’m sure it was just an accident.”

“Accident my ass!”

“Please, just settle…”

Logan’s heart chilled as Daniel exited the car and slammed the door behind him. The constant bouts of violence that Kelly, Anthony and sometimes even he suffered had done little to immune him from the sickening feeling he got whenever he witnessed hostile adult confrontation.  He turned round and almost cried as he saw the terrified look on the teenage driver of the Mazda 323 that had hit them.

“Where the fecking hell did you get your fecking licence from ya stupid dipstick?” shouted Daniel as he approached.

“I’m sorry, sir. It was just an accident!” pleaded the terrified teen. “I didn’t mean too. If you give me your details...I’m sure my Dad’s insurance will pay for the damage.”

“Why the feck should your old man have to pay for your mistakes, huh? Get out here and I’ll teach your careless ass some fecking responsibility. Go on come out here and face me like a man!”

“I won’t do it again sir, I’m sorry.”

“Get out of the car!”

“Logan, Mummy, someone stop him!” blubbered Anthony as Daniel started kicking the Mazda but before anyone could act the panic stricken teen reversed slightly then planted his foot on the accelerator and sped off.

“Get back here you take your lumps ya fecking big girl’s blouse!”

Logan drew a slight sigh of relief that there hadn’t been any real altercation but his nerves quickly tensioned once more as Daniel jumped back in the driver’s seat and slammed the door, causing the entire car to shake.

“Hold on guys, I ain’t letting no punk get away with putting my family in danger.” 

"Danger?" thought Logan. "Yeah you’d know a lot about putting a family in danger."

Again the sound of squealing filled the air, though this time it was from Daniel in hot pursuit of the Mazda which was already some distant away from them. The chase led them along the main road for a short while, then along side streets and finally somehow back on the main road again; this time heading in the opposite direction toward Wellington.

After leaving the main township the two cars picked up speed. Logan was no stranger to high speed chases on the television, computer and Xbox games but none of the mediums he’d witnessed before prepared him for the alarming adrenaline that gripped him as he watched Daniel overtaking and change lanes; avoiding accidents by the narrowest of margins.

Anthony sat mute and paralysed by fear but Kelly was more vocal, still pleading with Daniel to slow down. She had already taken down the licence plate and kept assuring him that the police would eventually apprehend the youngster and whatever damage had been done to the Holden would be covered by their insurance. 

The good of the many must out-weigh the good of the few or the one–reasoned Logan, reaching into the right hip pocket of his burgundy sweat top and retrieving his cellphone. He placed it on his lap away from prying eyes, and tapped in a message to Dr Vanderhart, his therapist giving details of what was going on and requesting that she ring the police as soon as possible and then pressed "Send"


CONTINUES