Robert Rowan

The speed limit flashed in his periphery in a blur, forgotten almost as quickly as the speedometer climbed higher on the dashboard. Nothing could touch him here, not as the world outside was stripped away, replaced with the engine roaring in his ears and the music vibrating under his fingertips. He was invincible behind the wheel. Unstoppable.

He could pretend for a moment that it was true. In those rare moments of privacy, he could ignore the sting in his lip and the throbbing of his eye. He could get in his car and race to the end of the world, push everything in his mind to the side and believe there existed a chance to escape. Maybe there was a refuge for someone like him? But there was blood on his chin and bruises along his ribs and his knuckles remained unblemished on the wheel.

He was stuck here.

A town that looked like it had given up a long time ago was the perfect place to punish someone who dared to dream. Fists and violent words were no longer enough to keep him bound, submissive or the picture-perfect son his father had in mind. Bobby Rowan knew that’s why they brought him here. He got too close to happiness and had to be moved to a more permanent prison. But their new small house on Tulip Lane couldn’t hold him forever. And he wouldn’t be squashed by the fear of his neighbour’s disapproval. No. He was a storm wrapped up in a hurricane that would surely destroy everything in his path. This town would quiver at his feet. Or destroy him.

The treeline grew thicker as he sped towards the end of town, burying him beneath the canopy and stealing his view of the stars. Sunlight had long abandoned him; it was no longer enough to protect him from the beast within his own home. So he followed the guidance of the headlights, hoping they would get him far enough away…

The road narrowed suddenly as it curved, twisting deeper into the forest without sign or warning. Bobby slammed his foot on the brake. Dust exploded into a cloud around him as the car ground a halt, throwing his body forward against the wheel. Shooting pain burst through his bruised abdomen as his heartbeat thundered in his ears.

Bobby smiled, ripping open the split in his lip, and tipped his head back in a sinister laugh.

There was nowhere to go. Nowhere beyond the trees. Nowhere but this town.

Slamming his hands into the wheel, he laughed again. Fresh blood coated his tongue and dripped onto his open shirt, joining the old stains. A fighter. That’s what they thought he was. A delinquent and a liability. He didn’t mind playing the game, as long as he won in the end. But a year felt all too long to wait for that pay out. He needed to finish school. He needed to save up. He needed to survive.

For the first time, he doubted that he could do it.

A flash of light behind him filled the car and the rumble of another engine tore him from his thoughts. He expected it to pass him without a second thought, but luck wasn’t on his side. Not tonight. Not ever.

Bobby watched through his mirror as the car door opened, and a tall man stepped out. His eyes were covered in dark glasses, and his hands fell to his hips the moment the door was closed again. Bobby scoffed. Who wore shades at midnight?

Then the headlight caught on the badge of gold on his chest…

Bobby stopped breathing. He felt it suddenly, with absolute clarity. He was going to die in this town.

Knuckles rapped on his window until he lowered it with shaking hands. The copper looked at him over the glasses, before resting them on the top of his head.

“It’s late kid. You heading home?”

Bobby nodded. “Yes, sir.”

He watched as the officer glanced from his swelling eye to the blood on the lower half of his face, his eyes widening slightly. The officer nodded toward his face.

“What happened?”

“A fight at school. Football practice gone too far,” He flashed his teeth in the way that got adults griding their teeth and getting ready to throw the book at him, but the officer’s eyes bounced to the wheel instead. Bobby felt his eyes, knew exactly what they were focusing on, knew what he would ask now. He moved his hands away.

“Kid -”

“Guys round here don’t have thick skin. They don’t like the new guy getting in on their turf. I got dragged into a scuffle. No hard feelings.”

The officer straightened his back, and Bobby noticed the dark shadows beneath his eyes. Good. He had a plan to get out of this quickly, and continue on his way – or better yet, set up camp for the night and settle down here. He couldn’t go back anyway, not until the morning. He still had hours before school. But he’d have to fix his hands first…

“You can’t stay here, kid. You’re too close to the forest, there’s a lot of animals around here.” He leant back down to look at him through the window, and Bobby hated the pity he saw there. “Go home.”

“Why, sir,” he said with a sneer, leaning his head back on the headrest. “I think you’ve gone soft in your old age. I think I can take a squirrel.”

It usually works. The arrogance. But the officer laughed.

“What about a wild dog? Or a bear – do you think you can take a bear?”

He had heard the rumours in school, the quiet chatter along the corridors. The forest was off limits. Too many people had gone in and never returned. Their bodies never found. The stories ranged from mythical goblins to a secret cult operating beyond the trees, but Bobby had dismissed them completely. What small town doesn’t have a few missing people related to the densely packed forest surrounding the place? It was boring small-town gossip to fill the minds of the boring small-town people. There was nothing extraordinary about that forest.

“I’m going.”

But he saw the flicker of fear in the man’s eyes. Not at him, not at the mention of bears, but after a glance over his shoulder. The tree’s seemed to whisper to him, nattering away at his sanity until he placed a firm hand on the door.

“Go straight home, Kid. Don’t stop until you’re home.”

Bobby nodded, his mind silent of his usual retorts. Go home. He couldn’t go home. But he didn’t want to spend another second with this officer, before he changed his mind and took him home himself.

“Yes sir.”

He nodded, taking his words at face value and stepped back towards his car.

“Oh, and kid,” He turned around, and Bobby forced his face not to move into a grimace. “We can help you-”

The engine drowned out the rest of his words, as Bobby sped off down the gravel path. This town was quiet. That was the symptom of being so small. He had a year until freedom, and nothing, not even the threat of wild dogs or do-gooding police officer was going to stop that.

A town like this had many rules, many unspoken expectations and social currency that went beyond his understanding, but it followed the one same pattern as every other place he had ever been taken too. The town had one rule that he would follow: stay silent.

But like a hurricane destroys, it chews itself up. There was a stone waiting for him here with his name on it, and it would be spelt wrong.