The Tree on the Dike - chapter 7

"The Tree on the Dike"  [13+]

Chapter 7

         Susan ran into the schoolyard and stopped before the front doors to catch her breath. I've never been this late in my life, she thought. She knew there was no way that she could hide her lateness. Her only hope would be to sneak into the class room.

         Susan grabbed the steel handle on the front door to let herself in, and yelped in surprise as she felt a jolt of electricity run up her arm. She hadn't felt such a shock since Brad had tricked her into touching an electric cow fence. Had someone electrified the doors?

         Susan pulled the sleeve of her sweater over her hand and tried the door again. The door opened without difficulty, so breathing a sigh of relief, she went in.

         She stopped to look at the clock. It was 9:20, and her computer lab would be nearly half over by now. Should she wait for the next class or try to slip in? Susan knew that the first fifteen to twenty minutes were used to talk about what they would do that day. By now, everyone was starting to do the procedures in the textbook. With everyone looking at their monitors, she might be able to get to her seat, unnoticed.

         Susan looked through the glass window set in the door and saw the students were busy working at their terminals. She waited until the teacher was helping someone with a problem. It was a short wait; several students had trouble understanding how to use the computer programs. She slowly opened the door and slipped inside.

         The boy closest to the door looked up as the door squeaked closed. Susan tried to look innocent. The boy went back to work without giving her a second thought. This was going to be easier then she thought. She moved toward the back of the room and looked for an empty seat.

         "Where have you been?" came an annoyed voice from behind a row of monitors.

         Susan stepped backwards and looked down the row. There was Jill staring back at her. "Sorry Jill," she said as she sat in the chair Jill had saved for her, after first removing her friend's book bag and setting it on the floor. "You wouldn't believe what happened to me on my way to school today."

         Jill spoke in a quiet voice, "Did you see that man again? I'm surprised your mother didn't insist on driving you . . . Are you all right?"

         Susan wiped a tear from her eye. Jill didn't know about her parents. "When I went home yesterday--"

         "Susan, what did I tell you about talking in class?" The teacher looked over a monitor at the two girls.

         "Sorry, we'll get back to work." Jill turned to face her computer screen.

         Susan turned to face her own monitor, which was black, since she had not turned it on. She put her hands over the keys and pretended to type until the teacher was busy with another student. As she reached for the ‘on' button, a spark passed between her hand and the switch. There was a bright flash, and the next thing Susan knew, she was lying on the floor with several people standing around her.

         "What happened?" Jill was kneeling beside Susan's head.

         "Are you all right?" asked the teacher, who was standing behind a crowd of onlookers. "Can you move?"

         "I think so." Susan tried to lift herself up, but her right arm was numb and couldn't hold her weight. "I just need to rest a minute." She closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on moving her fingers.

         "How is she?" came a familiar voice from across the room. Susan opened her eyes and saw Ms. Kennedy coming toward her. "You're awake, that's a good sign."

         "I think I'm all right now." Susan tried to sit up again, and this time she succeeded, even though her arm felt like a hundred needles were stuck in it.

         "I don't like the looks of this." Ms. Kennedy turned Susan's right hand over and revealed that the tips of her fingers were black and blistered.

         Susan looked away from her hand and glanced up at the computer. The casing around the switch was melted and black rays of soot surrounded the spot. What had happened?

         "Can you stand? I need to take you back to the nurse's station to look at those burns." Ms. Kennedy helped Susan to her feet.

         Susan tested her legs and was surprised at how weak she felt. Her head began to spin and she leaned against her coach, who was also the school nurse. She felt safe in her arms and wanted to stay there.

         "Looks like you had a nasty shock. I guess I'll have to carry you." Ms. Kennedy picked Susan up. "Put your arms around my neck and try to hold on."

         Susan did as she was told, being careful not to touch her finger tips, which were starting to hurt as the numbness went away. She hadn't been held like this since her mother had carried her as a child. Thinking of her mother made her want to cry. She didn't have the strength to stop herself, so the tears flowed down her face during the trip to the nurse's station.

         Ms. Kennedy set Susan on a bed and gave her a tissue so she could wipe her eyes. Going to the sink, she put water on a piece of paper towel and carefully washed the soot off Susan's hand. After she sprayed the hand with some antiseptic cleaner, she wrapped a gauze bandage around it. "Those blisters don't look too bad," she said. "Keep your fingers wrapped up until tomorrow so they have a chance to heal."

         Susan looked at her bandaged hand. "It will be hard to hold a pen with my fingers wrapped up like this. I don't think I can write with my left hand."

         "Susan." Ms. Kennedy looked straight into her eyes. "I think you should go home and get some rest. I better call your parents and let them know what happened."

         "My parents are away," Susan said. That was sort of true. "I'm staying with my grandparents, but please don't call them. I don't want them to worry about me."

         "You really should go home and get some rest." Ms. Kennedy stood up and walked to the door. "You stay here and I'll come back after I make the call. Don't go anywhere and try to get some rest. You really don't look well."

         Susan watched her go and then lay down on the bed. Closing her eyes, she thought about everything that had happened over the last couple of days. Did that strange man have anything to do with her parents' disappearance? Where had the orange cat come from? Why had the computer overloaded? None of it made any sense.

         Susan was exhausted and soon fell asleep. She dreamed the orange cat was playing in the grass, and every time she moved closer, the cat would run away. She tried to run as fast as she could, but the cat was always faster. Exhausted, Susan gave up trying to catch it. The cat ran into some thick bushes and disappeared. Susan walked over to the bushes, got down on her hands and knees, and crawled inside. It was dark, but she could see something orange moving ahead of her. As she moved forward, the bushes moved farther apart, and she was soon in an open area. She stood up and tried to look around, but it was too dark to see anything.

         A glowing hooded figure appeared in front of her and slowly moved forward. Its voice seemed to echo in her head, "Susan, . . . come . . . I come for you . . . Susan. . . ."

         Susan turned to run, but everywhere she looked the same glowing figure could be seen moving toward her. The apparitions moved closer and closer until they were close enough to touch her. Using all her strength, Susan managed to push her way through the group. Thinking only to escape, she ran straight into the waiting mouth of the orange cat, which was now as big as an elephant. Susan screamed as the cat's powerful jaws closed around her.

Continued in "The Tree on the Dike - chapter 8"