Chapter 15. Chapter 16. Chapter 17. Chapter 18. Chapter 19.
Ubi tenebrae cadunt, ignes accendunt.
Where the shadows fall, the fires light.
-Guard proverb
Gus sagged back into his father’s dilapidated recliner. A police offer dropped him off after several hours of questioning.
They were convinced he was not an arsonist, but he received more than a few raise eyebrows when he mentioned the hoard of giant bugs.
Gus did not mention the fact that he’d caused the fire with his bare hands. He didn’t understand it himself, but he had a gut feeling that telling the whole truth about what happened was a surefire way to either get labeled a kook or placed in a padded cell.
No, there was no way he could tell the police (or maybe anybody) what really happened. He looked crazy enough after his description of the bug attack; he didn’t need to include his own unique part in the fire in the mix.
The officer who brought him here told him he wasn’t in trouble and told him the owner of the Gulp N Go didn’t think Gus was to blame.
However, the officer did tell Gus he might get in touch with him again if he had any more questions.
Gus nodded glumly at this and thanked the officer for bringing him home.
Mercifully, it was mid-morning when he got home. This meant his dad was at work and his mother was out running errands, so he wouldn’t have to lie to them. However, he was going to need an explanation by the time they both got home.
Just then, Gus’ phone buzzed.
“What the heck?” Gus muttered to himself.
He looked at the screen. He had a text from Luke Lopez.
Gus had to think for a moment to remember who Luke was.
That’s right. It was Mr. Lopez’s son. A nerdy 6th grade Hispanic kid with shoulder-length brown hair and coke bottle glasses.
Gus met Luke just once before, when he went to the Lopez house to talk about purchasing the Silverado. They’d exchanged pleasantries but no more than that.
Curiosity prevailed over confusion, so he opened the message.
Luke: Hi Gus, this is Luke. I’m not sure if you remember me. I’m Mr. Lopez’s son. Can I talk to you about something?
Gus: Hi Luke, I do remember you. Is everything okay? Sure, I can talk anytime.
Luke: Great! Just a sec.
Just a sec? What the…
All of a sudden, Gus’ living room wall buckled in and out like a rubber band.
The wall buckled back into place, and now Luke Lopez was standing in Gus’ living room.
Gus fell off the recliner and backed away slowly.
“Oh man, I’m sorry, Gus!” Luke said, “I didn’t mean to scare you. I keep forgetting how weird it looks when I do that.”
Gus fought to catch his breath. Finally, he managed to say,
“Crap on a cracker, Luke! You scared the hell out of me!”
Luke looked sheepishly at his feet and back up again, his sad, earnest eyes magnified to a cartoonish size by his enormous glasses.
“I’m really sorry, Gus. I just need someone to talk to.”
“Why me, man? I want to help if I can, but we barely know each other.”
Luke paused, gathered his thoughts, and blurted out
“I heard something weird happened to you yesterday. Something freaky happened to me last week.
When I heard about what happened at the Gulp N Go, I knew I wasn’t the only one anymore. Can I tell you what happened to me? I need to tell someone, but my parents would never understand.”
Gus smiled wearily.
“Sure, kid. Pull up a chair.”
Just then there was a knock on the front door.