Chapter Twenty-Three



The following day William watched the kids ride towards the fair grounds. He had an uneasy feeling that something bad was going to happen. But he tried to ignore it, chalking it up to anxiety he still fights with since his abduction. All through the day he kept telling himself everything was ok and the kids were going to have a good time enjoying their day at the fair.

 

Meanwhile the kids were enjoying themselves at the fair.

"Hey, let's do the hot dog eating contest" Gene suggested.

"Sure I'm game" both Casey and Evelyn volunteered.

"Count me out" Robert announced and Beverly shook her head no. But they stood nearby to watch. There was room for one more contestant and some old lady from town decided to join them, probably thinking she could win against three little kids. Robert and Beverly cheered for which ever sibling seemed to be eating the fastest. Towards the end both Casey and Evelyn were slowing and trying valiantly not to gag as they couldn't eat anymore. But Gene kept shoveling hot dogs down and it was going to be a race to the end between him and the old lady. In the end Gene won by half a hot dog.

Gene was so excited he could hardly wait to go home and tell everyone at home. His prize wasn't much, a supply of hot dogs. Oh yay, like he'd want to eat more hot dogs, not! But his Dad might want one and possibly his Mom, so Gene decided to go home so he could show off his winnings.

"Come on Casey let's go home" Gene demanded.

"But I want to stay" Casey protested.

"Casey we can always come back. Let's go." Gene insisted and as usual Casey gave in to Gene's demands.

The others stayed, Beverly enjoyed picking flowers while Robert and Evelyn learned to roller skate.

"Beverly are you sure you don't want to join us?" Evelyn asked, feeling bad that Beverly had no one to play with.

"I'm ok."

"You're sure?" Evelyn insisted.

"Yes" Beverly said in exasperation. Why couldn't Evelyn just leave her alone. She liked doing things on her own.

"Come on Evie, leave her alone" Robert suggested as he skated by.

"Ok" Evelyn said as she tried to catch up to Robert. "I just want her to have some fun."

"How do you know she's not?" Robert inquired.

"Well, how much fun could picking flowers be?"

"I dunno, maybe a lot. Let her enjoy what she likes" Robert told Evelyn.

They soon tired of roller skating and decided to play soccer. They asked Beverly to join them but she declined, preferring to catch insects instead.

"Ugh insects" Evelyn said under her breath.

Robert grinned at her and said "Just because you don't like something doesn't mean someone else can't."

"We share a room. I don't want to share it with her and her bugs."

"Well it's better then sharing a room with Sydney, isn't it?"

"Yeah anything would be" Evelyn laughed agreeing.

"Including bugs?" Robert teased.

"Well, almost anything."

It was getting late and they had promised to be home before eight. Robert told Evelyn and Beverly to start home without him and he would catch up. He wanted to get a snack before he left. Once he finished he figured he was about five - six minutes behind the girls, he knew he would easily catch up to them because Beverly was so slow.

It was getting dark but that didn't really bother Robert. He was enjoying his bike ride as flew down the street past the pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. He remembered to use all his hand signals when he was making a turn and stopped at all the stop signs. He imagined he was driving, thinking that it might be fun to be a race car driver when he grew up. He started to pedal faster when he spotted Evelyn and Beverly a little ways ahead of him.

He noticed a car had pulled on to the road a little ways ahead of him. Nothing to be concerned about except they seemed not to know which side of the road they should be driving on. Robert debated on whether he should stop and wait for them to pass but he really wanted to catch up and pass the girls. So he pedaled faster, making sure he stayed as far away from the other lane as he could until the car passed.

Then as the car was about to pass him, it swerved into his lane. He tried to get out of the way but the car was going to fast and the headlights were so bright he couldn't see where he was going. There was a horrible crunching sound as his bike collided with the car and he was catapulted into the air. When he landed he hurt every where, it felt like he had been smashed into a million pieces. Something thick, sticky and warm was covering his face and running into his eyes. He couldn't see or move and he was dimly aware that someone was moaning in pain. It didn't register that it was him moaning, he kept thinking he should've left with the girls. Were they alright? He desperately wanted his Dad or his Mom to be here telling him he was alright.

He heard footsteps approaching him and people talking. "Oh man, you hit a kid. Call 911."

"Dude if I do that I'll lose my license for sure."

"Who cares about your license ? You killed a kid, not a dog or cat, you freaking idiot!" Then in the distance there was the sound of sirens growing louder as they drew closer.

"Look dude I'm sorry but I can't lose my license. I'm out of here."

"What's the matter with you? You can't leave. Don't you get it? You hit a kid! You deserve whatever they throw at you. Losing your license is the least of your worries; especially if you leave the scene of the accident."

"Your right, your right. What am I going to do?"

Robert had no idea who the voices were and was dimly aware they were talking about him but he was pretty sure he wasn't dead. He tried to tell them but they kept arguing amongst themselves. Then there was all the sirens and lights and someone in uniform came and knelt down beside him, asking him for his name. He tried to tell him but no sound came out. He wanted to ask the police officer to get his Dad but he couldn't form the words.

Meanwhile William was at a nearby house after excepting an invitation to a co-workers party. Everyone was drawn to the windows when they heard the sound of squealing tires and the crash. It sounded horrible, William hoped everyone was ok. Then one of his co-workers came running into the house announcing loudly that a drunk driver just hit a kid on a bike. William's heart stopped for a second as his mind replayed those words in his head "a drunk driver hit a kid on a bike" Oh no, this can't be happening he told himself as he took his cell phone out and called Jessica in a near panic. "Jess are all the kids home from the fair?"

"Yes I'm pretty sure they are, why?"

"Check" William demanded.

"What? I don't understand"

Cutting her off William demanded "Jessica just check."

"Ok, ok" Jessica checked but couldn't find Robert. Seeing Evelyn outside putting her bike away she asked "Where is Robert?"

"I dunno. He was going to get a snack, then meet up with us but he never did" Evelyn told her.

"William Robert hasn't come home yet." Jessica said starting to sound worried.

William disconnected without saying anything to her. His heart was racing as he felt he was reliving his worst nightmare. The nagging worry he had, the feeling that something bad was going to happen just came true. With those thoughts running through his mind he ran out of the house and down the street towards the flashing police lights and as he arrived on the scene the ambulance arrived. He passed the crumpled remains of a kids bike that he recognized as the new bike he had just given to his son.

William vaguely acknowledged the voice telling him to stop. "Halt sir you can't go beyond this point."

"I have to. That's my son's bike"

"Sorry sir. Come with me." The officer escorted William towards the ambulance. William's attention was riveted towards the EMT's huddled around a small form on the ground. Before he realized it he had taken a step or two towards them, when he felt a restraining had on his shoulder. "Sir you can't go over there. Best to let them do their job. You can ride with your son to the hospital." William knew the officer was right, he would only be in the way but he wanted to be there comforting his son. William was shaking as he pulled his cell phone out to tell Jessica to meet them at the hospital.