Ghoul

The pink bellies and the wedgies and swirlies? How they made you wear girl 's underwear on your head that time on the school bus? Or how Ronny used to squeeze your… well, your tits, until you cried?'

'I don't have tits,' Doug said. 'And I cried because it hurt. And no, I haven't forgotten about any of those things. How could I?'

'Exactly. So why worry about them?'

'I don't know. I just do.'

'Those guys are jerks. They picked on you constantly.'

'Yeah, they're jerks, but that doesn't mean I want some crazy guy to kidnap them and do stuff to them. That's wrong, man. Nobody deserves that.'

They started walking again. The wet grass soaked through their sneakers. They passed by Randy Graco' s grapevines, which had been flattened by the storm. To their right, at the top of the hill, the Wahl 's cherry tree was spilt in half, the unfortunate victim of a lightning strike.

'I just hope they come home safe.' Doug stepped over the drooping vines. 'That's all I'm saying.'

'They deserve whatever happens to them,' Timmy said. 'Serves them right. I don't care.'

'Yes you do,' Doug said. 'You're just pissed off right now.'

'So? I'm serious. Why should I care what happens to those assholes?'

'You cared about Catcher when Barry started beating on him, and he was just as mean to us as Ronny and those guys were.'

'Catcher didn't know any better. He's just a dog, and he was just doing what all Dobermans do. They're attack dogs. It's instinct.'

'Not necessarily. The guy that lives next door to me used to have a Doberman, and it was nice, because he'd trained it to be nice. Catcher was mean because Mr. Sawyer didn' t teach him any different.'

'So Ronny, Jason, and Steve's parents taught them to be assholes?'

'Maybe.' Doug paused, choosing his words carefully. 'Look, with everything I told you last night, I know I' ve got problems. But when Barry started kicking Catcher the other day, who did he remind you of?'

He shrugged, and then mumbled, 'His father.' Timmy wondered how his friend could be so nice, how he could keep such a positive attitude with all that had happened to him. But even so, Doug was right. He was about to admit that he 'd been thinking the same thing, that maybe grownups were the real monsters, when they reached Barry' s house. Timmy decided to wait until later.

They slowly approached the front door. The window shades were still closed, and the house looked dark.

'Go ahead,' Doug whispered. 'Knock.'

'You knock. It's your turn. I knocked last time.' Doug rapped on the door twice. They heard shuffling sounds inside. Then the door opened, the rusty hinges squeaking. Mrs. Smeltzer peered out at them through one good eye. The other one was swollen shut and looked black and purple. Timmy and Doug gasped in surprise, but she just smiled.

'Hi, boys.'

Timmy thought she sounded sadand maybe a little relieved as well.

'Um, hi Mrs. Smeltzer. Is Barry home?'

She nodded toward the cemetery. When she tilted her head, Timmy noticed that another pair of new earrings sparkled in her ears.

'He's out helping his dad. You might not want to go over there this morning, though.'

'Why not?' Timmy stared at her black eye.

'Well, Mr. Smeltzer didn't get much sleep last night. He was out late. He's a little grumpy.' Neither of them replied. Doug stared at his feet. Timmy couldn't look away.

'You okay, Timmy?'

Am I okay? he thought. You're the one with the black eye, lady.

'Yeah, I'm fine. Didn't sleep much last night, either. The storm kept me awake.' She smiled at them again. 'Well, I'll tell Barry that you stopped by.'

'Thanks, Mrs. Smeltzer.'

She closed the door, and they turned away and started back down the sidewalk.

'Jesus,' Timmy whispered. 'Did you see that shiner?'

'See it? How could I miss it? The whole side of her face is swollen up. What do we do?' Timmy sighed. 'Nothing we can do, except maybe tell my parents, and if we do that, Barry might get pissed at us, or they might say we can' t hang out with him anymore. Let 's just not think about it. We'll go find Barry. Make sure he's okay. If he doesn't have to work, then maybe we can explore the tunnel today after all. If not, tKen we'll just hang around inside the Dugout until he' s finished.'

'Maybe we better not. Mrs. Smeltzer said Barry's dad was in a bad mood. The way her face looked, I'd say she was right.'

'Screw him. I'm in a bad mood, too.'

He crossed the road. Doug followed after a moment's hesitation. They passed by the newly installed no trespassing sign and went around the side of the church.

'I noticed something else,' Timmy said. 'She had on another new pair of earrings. I'm telling you, man, something weird's going on. Something more than just him hitting them.'

'But, like you said, there's nothing we can do. Barry's dad is a grownup. We're kids.' Timmy kicked a stone. It shot across the church parking lot, careened off a telephone pole, and rolled away.

'He's no adult. He's a monster. Barry should tell somebody.'

'Maybe he's afraid to.'

They reached the rear of the church and started down the cemetery's center road. There was no sign of Barry or his father, and they didn' t hear the sound of lawnmowers or anything else. This morning, even the birds and insects seemed silent. It was almost as if all the wildlife had abandoned the grounds.

'Why would Barry be afraid to tell?' Timmy lowered his voice, in case Mr. Smeltzer or Barry were within earshot. 'He' d be safe. Him and his mom both. The cops would lock his old man up in a heartbeat.'

'Maybe he's embarrassedlike I was.' Doug sighed. 'I still can't believe I told you last night.'

'Are you sorry that you did?'

'No.' Doug hesitated. 'But I am afraid that you'll tell somebody. Your parents, or Reverend Moore.'

Timmy clapped him on the shoulder. 'I promised that I wouldn't tell, and I won't. But you've gotta do something, man. You can' t just stay there and let her keep doing this to you. It 's not right. She's no better than Barry's dad.'

'I know, I know. It's justshe's all I have left, Timmy. I can't just leave her.'

'But you have to. You have to get out of there.'

'I can't. I know it's wrong. I know it' s doing something bad, like the time we put the shotgun shell on the railroad tracks to see what would happen when the train ran over it.' Timmy shook his head. 'It's a little worse than that, Doug.'

'I know. All I'm saying is that I know it's wrong, but I can't stop it, other than locking my door.'

'Do you like it? Do you want it to keep happening?' Doug looked horrified. 'No. Of course I don't like it. I hate it. I told you that.'

'Then get some help.'

'I can't. It wouldn't be'

'She's a monster.'

'She's also my mother!'

He shoved Timmy, hard. Timmy stumbled backward, almost tripping over a low gravestone.

Doug advanced on him, meaty fists raised in defiance.

'She's my mother and don't you dare call her that, you jerk. Don't you dare!'

'Hey'

'Shut up. It's not for you to say.'

Timmy held his hands up in surrender. 'Okay, okay. Take it easy. I'm sorry. Seriously. I shouldn't have said anything.'

Doug' s face had turned reddish purple, and the veins stood out in his neck. Another one throbbed on his