Backtracker

Chapter 2

Chapter 2Like Indians from an old Western movie, the lot of them swarmed toward Dave Heinrich, attacking him in a wild, flurrying pack. Stunned by the sudden attack, he hesitated in the doorway for a precious instant--and by the time he'd decided to turn around and flee, it was too late for an escape.

"Yaaaa!" shouted the three ambushers in a mad chorus, pouncing like lions on their shell-shocked prey.

"Hey!" wailed Dave as he struggled to fend off the lunatics. "Let go!"

"Forget it!" hollered one of the hooligans, locking Dave's right arm in a tight grip. "You're comin' with us, buddy-boy!"

"Yeah!" one of the others snickered gleefully. "You're goin' for a little dip, buster!"

Gritting his teeth, Dave pivoted in their grip, wrenched and squirmed and tried to find a weak point in the holds of his kidnapers. Helplessly, he felt them bounce and jostle him through the basement, watched clusters of faces flash past as he traveled unwillingly onward.

"Don't do it!" he yelped as they passed through a doorway and the cold night air licked at his face. "Come on! Put me down!"

"Hey guys!" crowed one of the attackers. "He wants us to put him down! Whatta' you say?"

"If the man wants down, let's put 'im down!" laughed another of the hooligans. "We aims to please!"

The three captors stopped in their tracks then, and Dave was hoisted higher. "Noooo!" he screamed as they swung him back and forth, one guy holding his legs, one at each of his shoulders.

"One!" they all hooted in unison, swooping him forward.

"Lemme' go!" shrieked Dave, gaping down at the moonlit ripples which awaited him.

"Two!" belted the trio of crazies, swinging him forward again, higher this time.

"Put him down!" commanded an angry, familiar voice then, the voice of Dave's girlfriend, Darlene. "This isn't funny!"

"Threeee!" barked the squad of nuts at last, swinging their prisoner higher than ever and finally releasing their hold on him.

Unable to stop himself, Dave coasted through the air and came down with a great splash in the freezing water of the swimming pool. Though he was fully clothed and even wore a coat, he felt a sharp, terrible shock when he hit that water, a keen, blinding burn which pierced his body. All sound disappeared as he plunged downward, as he dropped for an instant into another world, a realm of cold and quiet and darkness.

His feet touched the bottom of the pool. Immediately, he thrust himself upward.

Erupting from the surface, he leaped toward the sky and howled.

"How's the water, Dave?" said one of the ambushers.

"Geez!" yelped the victim, moving as fast as he could through the chest-high ice-water, aiming for the ladder which hung from the lip of the pool. "Thanks a hell of a lot, you guys!"

"Any time, man!" chattered wiry Billy Bristol, grinning crazily. "We figured you'd like to go for a swim!"

"I'll tell ya' what," cackled broad-shouldered Jack Bunsen. "When you show up at a party, you sure make a big splash, Dave!"

"Thanks," Dave said bitterly, grabbing the cold metal frame of the pool's ladder. "Thanks for nothing." Tugging himself upward, he found the bottom rung with his sneaker and clambered out of the frigid water.

"Dave!" piped Darlene, rushing up the wooden steps which ascended from the patio to the deck around the pool. "Are you all right?"

"Oh, just great," said Dave. As the water ran and dribbled from his soaked clothes, smacking and pattering onto the deck, he folded his arms and hunched forward, trying to warm himself.

Her wide, dark eyes filled with concern, Darlene touched his elbow and gently guided him forward. "Let's hurry and get you inside," she said, leading him down the deck stairs. "I don't want you to catch pneumonia."

Shivering as the March breeze fluttered over his face, Dave nodded. He felt a little better now that Darlene was taking care of him.

"Hey Dave!" said Morris Blovitz, the third of the three guys who'd thrown him in the pool. "Now you're a member of the Polar Bear Club!" Better known by his nickname, "Boris" was overweight and jocular, an eccentric character who always triggered mayhem.

"Wonderful," said Dave. "Just what I've always wanted."

Led by Darlene, Dave shuffled past the others. Any other time, he would have joined right in with their joking; he and Billy and Jack and Boris were great friends. Since the dunking, though, Dave just wanted to get inside the house and dry off.

"Hey Dave." Billy hustled toward his sopping-wet victim. "Wait up, man."

"Aw, buzz off," grumbled Dave, following Darlene to the basement door.

"Hold on a minute." Billy sprang forward to grab Dave's shoulder.

Dave turned an irritated frown on him. "What?"

"You're not really mad, are you?" Billy's bright blue eyes twinkled mischievously. "I mean, it was just a joke, y'know?" Expectantly, he watched for Dave's reaction, hopefully flashing his childlike smile.

"Yeah, yeah," said Dave.

"You gotta' admit," said Billy. "If that had been me getting tossed in the pool, you would've thought it was pretty damn funny."

Dave thought it over, wiping the water from his nose with the back of one hand. "Yeah," he said finally. "I guess that would've been funny."

"Well, see then?" Billy spread his arms wide. "It was funny! You gave everybody a good laugh! You oughtta' be glad, not mad!"

"You know what?" said Dave. "I think you're completely trashed right now."

"I am! I am!" Billy laughed. "We all are!"

"Honest to God," said Darlene. "You're just like a little kid, Billy. Come on, Dave."

"Hey, Dave," said Billy. "Don't stay mad for too long, okay? It's not good for ya'."

"Yeah," said Dave. "Sure."