Come Get Me (6 page)

Other than that Pete just came, got his food,
got teased and picked on and left. Jim could tell his mother wished
there was something more she could do, but knew there was nothing.
It didn’t make her very happy that one of her boys was considered
the town weirdo but unfortunately that was life.

After that bit of bad news was over with she
surprised him and gave him a bit of good news. She happily told him
that Grandma was still alive and kicking. About a year ago she’d
finally quit working at the store and semi retired. Semi retired
because instead of sitting at home taking it easy like a retired
person was supposed to do, she could still be found making her way
around town gossiping just like she used to do. The only difference
now was that instead of the gossip coming to her she was going to
it.

After a while the conversation drifted off
into a slightly tense silence. Everything the two of them had
wanted to talk about had been said. All that was left was the thing
neither wanted to mention. Finally after a couple of minutes Jim
broke the silence.

“So how did it happen?” he asked quietly.

“I was wondering when you were going to get
around to asking,” she replied.

“Well, I didn’t really want to, but it’s not
going to go away just because I want it to, so, I figured better
now than later,” he snapped. “But,” he said a little more
pleasantly after calming down, “I want to know so that I can have
some sort of chance of getting over this whole thing. If I just
keep thinking about it not knowing what really happened all I’ll do
is make myself go crazy.” He watched her while waiting for her to
speak. When she didn’t say anything after a few seconds he tried
again. “Look Mom, I know I haven’t seen him in a while but he was
one of my best friends, hell if you think about it I’ve known him
for pretty much my whole life.”

“Well,” his mother began slowly, “I really
don’t know all the details so I’m a little reluctant to say too
much. I don’t want to get it wrong. If you want to know everything
you’d have to talk to Rob. I heard he was there when they found him
so he’d be your best bet. All I have really is gossip.” She paused
and took a sip of her coffee. Jim wanted to hurry up and get this
part over with. He really didn’t want to talk about how his friend
had died but knowing would make it easier for him to accept so he
had to do it. “Now then,” his mother began again, “from what I
understand, Tommy went hunting by himself early that morning.
Apparently he got out to his tree stand and was sitting there fine
and dandy when for some unknown reason he fell out.”

“That doesn’t sound like something that
would’ve killed him,” Jim said slightly confused. “His stand could
only be about what, ten feet up? It might have hurt him a little
bit, but it’s not something he should’ve died from. Even then it
that thing was so hard I don’t think it would’ve done more than
knock him out.” He didn’t know what it was but from the little he’d
just heard something about this whole accident wasn’t making any
sense. Falling from ten feet up wasn’t something a person should
die from. Sure, it would hurt but Jim had heard of people falling
from greater heights than that and coming out no worse for wear so
why hadn’t Tommy?

“Jim, that’s not the only thing,” his mother
said interrupting his thoughts. What else could there be, he
thought.

She paused to collect her thoughts. He didn’t
think he was going to like what she had to say. If her demeanor was
any indication it wasn’t good, although not much recently had been.
“I don’t like thinking of Tommy like this,” she said after a few
seconds. “You’ll have to excuse me if it takes me a minute to get
going,” she paused again. Jim didn’t want to hurry her but he was
beginning to wonder what she was holding back that could be so bad
that his mother was having this hard of a time speaking about it.
She’d been around when other people had died but Tommy’s death
must’ve been worse than anything else she’d experienced. It
obviously wasn’t just another unfortunate accident that happened in
most small towns.

“Jim,” his mother finally said, “once they
found Tommy he wasn’t exactly just laying on the ground.”

“How couldn’t he be on the ground? If he fell
he had to land somewhere. He wasn’t just floating was he?” Jim
answered.

“No he wasn’t floating and I’d appreciate it
if you wouldn’t be a smartass. This is hard for me too,” she
answered smartly. Instead of saying anything else he picked up his
coffee cup and took a sip. “He was stuck to a tree,” she said
quietly just as he was about to swallow.

“A tree?” he squawked spitting out everything
in his mouth. “How was he stuck to a tree? What are you talking
about Mom?”

“Well, like I said, he fell,” she said as she
started wiping up the mess he’d made, “but when he fell he didn’t
exactly land on the ground. Now remember this is just a rumor. It
could be nothing but gossip from them that do that sort of thing
but from what I hear he supposedly landed on a broken tree of some
sort.” He was about to ask just what the hell she was talking about
when he looked up and saw that his mothers eyes were about to
overflow. What she was saying didn’t make much sense but it also
wasn’t her fault. She was just answering his question. He knew he
shouldn’t be yelling at her and felt bad that he was, but
unfortunately she was the only one there. How could somebody fall
on a tree? He wondered. It just wasn’t something that happened, at
least not around a place like this. He was trying to figure it out
when it finally dawned on him.

“Wait a minute, you mean he was impaled?” he
choked out hoping she would say no.

“Yes that’s exactly what I mean,” she said as
tears began trickling over the edges of her eyelids. “I just didn’t
want to say it like that. I really don’t like that word and I
really don’t like thinking of Tommy in that way. It’s bad enough
he’s gone I don’t have to think about how he went.” Jim watched the
tears run down her face as he tried to comprehend how something
like this could have happened.

“Are you alright?” his mother asked through
her sniffles after she’d finished crying. He realized he hadn’t
said anything for a few minutes. There was nothing he could think
to say.

He heard her ask him something else but he
didn’t respond to that either. His mind was lost in other thoughts.
Impaled, echoed through his head. Thinking about it he realized he
didn’t like the word either. It made Tommy’s death sound dirty. It
also made it harder to believe. He almost thought this might be
some kind of elaborate joke his friends had used to get him to come
home for a visit. They were sure to jump out any minute and yell
surprise. He looked up hoping they would but after a few seconds of
nothing happening he realized this wasn’t a joke. It was all too
real, he couldn’t believe it. Tommy had been an avid hunter from
the time he was old enough to go all the way through high school
and apparently right up til his death. Tommy used to love going out
in the woods early in the morning and waiting for that one perfect
moment when a deer walked into his sights. All that was left was to
pull the trigger. If anybody ever asked him why he went he would
tell them the thrill of the hunt was just as addicting as any drug
could ever be and everything else seemed boring compared to it. He
seemed to enjoy it so much that Jim had eventually allowed himself
to be talked into going along so he could see what it was like.
After his first kill he decided it wasn’t the thing for him. He’d
gone a few more times just to make Tommy happy but always made sure
he aimed a little off each time he took a shot. Tommy always
thought something was wrong with Jim’s gun when this happened. Jim
didn’t tell him he didn’t like it because he was afraid he would
hurt his friend’s feelings, but after this type of thing happening
every time, Tommy eventually figured it out on his own. After that
he’d quit asking. He never said anything about Jim humoring him
he’d just quit asking. It was just one of many examples of how Jim
had grown apart from his friends. They liked simple things and Jim
didn’t. It wasn’t their fault, if it was anyone’s fault it was his
own.

He shook himself from the past and back to
the present where his mother was still watching him with a
concerned look on her face. He was still thinking about Tommy’s
death. He just couldn’t understand how a person who’d been in and
out of trees for most of his life could so easily fall out of one
and not only hurt himself, but kill himself in the process. It just
didn’t make any kind of sense. Tommy was always careful whenever he
and Jim had gone out. He had continuously told Jim things that
would ensure his safety. That was just how Tommy was. Obviously
this time something went wrong he hadn’t planned for. Or something
had happened that Tommy couldn’t have planned for.

“Jim? Are you alright?” his mother asked
again, concern touching her voice. Judging by the look on her face
he must’ve been ignoring her for some time. Instead of answering he
buried his face in his hands and rubbed his eyes trying to make his
mind accept the manner of his best friend’s death.

“How could something like this have
happened?” he asked.

“Like I said,” his mother said as she slowly
shook her head, “I only know what I’ve heard, if you want to know
more I think you really should try to find Rob. He would know all
the details. All I have is rumors. He a policeman plus he’s your
friend, talk to him. Other than what I’ve already told you I don’t
know anything else. I’m sorry sweetie, I wish I did. I wish there
was some way I could make all this better but there isn’t. Rob is
your best bet.” She looked at him for a moment then added, “I’m
sorry I don’t know more.”

“It’s not your fault Mom,” he quickly said
(she already felt bad enough he didn’t need to add to it by making
her feel guilty because she didn’t know anymore). “It’s just; well
it’s kind of hard to believe. I guess I’m still trying to get used
to everything.” He shook his head slightly and ran his hands
through his hair, “Impaled! How does something like that happen?”
He still couldn’t see how it could’ve happened. He would definitely
have to find Rob and see if he could shed any more light on
this.

“I think I need some air,” he said getting to
his feet. His mother watched him sympathetically as he walked to
the door. “I think I’ll just go for a walk or something. Maybe look
around a little bit. I just need some time to think about this a
little. I might even try to find Rob while I’m out.” Waving
goodbye, he walked out with thoughts of Tommy’s death running
rampant through his head and how he was ever going to make himself
accept that his friend was gone.

3

At first Jim walked aimlessly through the
development not caring where his feet took him but he soon found
himself seeking out all the old spots he played at as a kid. Upon
arriving at each one he would stand still and let his mind reach
back and replay scenes from his childhood. He was so caught up in
his memories that he was surprised when he suddenly found himself
at Main Street. Looking at his watch he saw that it was still
early. Not wanting to go back to his mothers’ house and having
nothing else better to do he decided to walk into town. Maybe if he
was lucky he would be able to find Rob and get some real
information from him. If nothing else it would be a good waste of
time. He’d only gotten to see the changes in the town from his car
before, now would be a good time to do the walking tour.

He was still finding it hard to believe he
was home for a funeral of all things. Especially that of one of his
friends. If he’d ever thought of a reason for coming home it sure
wasn’t for something like this. He just couldn’t believe that
something like this could happen. This was the kind of thing you
heard about happening to other people. It wasn’t supposed to happen
to him. He’d grown up in this town and for the life of him couldn’t
remember anyone ever dieing from anything other than old age or
some other natural cause. Something like this happening was just
unheard of. After all these years Jim figured the town had gotten
off pretty good but as of a couple of days ago things must have
decided to catch up with a vengeance.

Being lost in his thoughts he smelled food
cooking and looked up to find he was just coming abreast of one of
the new fast food places that had settled in since he left. He
wasn’t very hungry so decided to pass it by when he heard
something.

Someone had called his name. Thinking the
person calling had obviously not meant him he ignored them and kept
walking. Nobody in town could possibly recognize him after all
these years. Surprisingly after only taking a few steps he heard
someone call out again. This time he couldn’t resist. Maybe
somebody had recognized him as far-fetched as that might be. He’d
changed a lot since high school. He wasn’t a scrawny, little
teenager carrying a superhero book bag anymore. He was a grown man
now.

Still thinking it was just some mother
calling for her misbehaving child he stopped and turned around.
Studying the parking lot didn’t reveal anything right off the bat
except some guy sitting in his good ol’ boy pickup truck by the
back of the building. Jim strained his eyes thinking he might know
the guy but quickly gave up when he saw the stranger was returning
his scrutiny. Quickly looking elsewhere Jim risked a glance and saw
that the guy was still looking at him. This didn’t just seem to be
mild interest either. He was really taking an interest. Jim almost
wanted to walk over and tell the guy to take a picture but knew
that would probably cause trouble. You never knew with some people
and this guy looked like one of those you didn’t want to mess
with.