11 Days

TRAPPED BIRDS

I remember reading about a theory that said you were always where you should be. There was no wrong place, there was not really a wrong time but there was always the possibility of not being the person expected in that place. By the time half the town had reached the main avenue where Carla's car was parked in front of her store, I began to wonder if we were all really in the right place at the right time or we were just not the people indicated to participate in this equation. Carla's red car, overshadowed by dust and dirt, was surrounded by a yellow tape with the words KEEP OUT on it - considering that we all pushed forward to try to get a better view, the tape was not very effective. Joey, Carla, Tony, Maven, Echo and I had been among the first to arrive at the crime scene before the police chief and his team even got the call. By the time the police had arrived, a large number of people crowded around the car and began taking photos of the rear. Blood dripped from the sides of the trunk, causing a huge puddle between the tires. Some had begun to speculate that there was a dismembered body, others said that it was a joke in bad taste, others were already predicting the other tragedies. I just knew this was just the beginning.

“I want everybody back to mind your own business!” Chief Tyler yelled at everyone, The Chief's brown eyes studied us all with great cunning, he was a tall man with an athletic body with natural muscles born from field work in his youth. His straight ash-colored hair danced freely in the wind as he paced around the ribbon. Behind him was Marcus talking to one of the forensics, apparently, they were trying to decide how to proceed. "Joey! Help me here, will you?" The Chief pleaded with Joey who was still holding his sister to prevent her from collapsing on the asphalt. "I want everyone out of here."

Joey had Tony hold Carla while he forced everyone away with the promise of buying drinks for everyone at the bar if they complied. Incredible enough, they agreed; little did they know he was planning on getting water instead of actual alcohol.

When the avenue was clear Chief scowled at our tiny little group. “You kids too, need to go.”

“Oh, hell no!” Maven stomped her foot as she placed her hands upon her hips. “We are going to stay here; this is our friend’s car!”

“Exactly, this is Carla’s car.” Chief countered with a roll of his eyes; he barely had any patience to deal with her. “Get back to work, now!”

“They won’t bother, let them stay.” Joey pleaded with a warm smile. This man was a living teddy bear and he knew it.

The Chief agreed for some reason and had his men open up the trunk with ease and precision, careful to not distress the scene. When the trunk was opened, a slight putrid smell mixed with the fresh air and we had to cover our faces. Echo pulled me close and against his chest to ward off the foul scent. The cops coughed and choked when they took a look inside the trunk; They were several black plastic bags with mysterious content, but what was obvious was that they all had blood inside. When one of the forensics came to open the bag, he leaned back with a yelp of surprise as the contents of the bag overflowed. More blood came out of the bag and inside were a lot of birds that looked like stuffed animals. "But what the f**k is this?" The Chief had been struck by the harsh reality that this town would become a macabre circus and we were the actors.

Joey asked us to take care of the diner while Cara and he talked to the police so the little group went back to work - except Echo - as if nothing had happened. People, on the other hand, were commenting and making assumptions about the sinister events that had taken place in the town. I decided not to pay attention to them, so I forced myself to pretend that these people didn't really exist, and their voices were just noise. Echo left but he promised to come later and wait for my time to leave the diner, I thanked him, and it was the only thing that encouraged me the rest of the day.

Later that night, after Echo picked me up in his toy car, we both found ourselves sprawled on my bed as I considered calling my brother and telling him what had happened. "You're pretty good at this, huh?" Echo was lying at the foot of the bed while he massaged my feet with incredible expertise. Was there something those hands couldn't do? "Hey Echo, don't you think we're going a bit fast?" Echo stopped stroking the arch of my foot and stared at me dead in the eye, then shook his head. “What are we? Are we just friends? Are we friends with benefits? Are we each other’s booty call?”

Echo shifted and sat cross legged, he quickly went to grab at my ankles and dragged me so he could hook my legs around his waist. We are getting to know each other. He signed as he mouthed each word slowly and I was grateful for that. We will see.

And then I remembered, “Back at the diner, you signed when Joey asked you about the car.” Echo arched his brows but didn’t appear all too surprised to hear me mention it, which lead me to believe he’d been expecting it. “He also called you by your name.” A nod, “You two talked before?” Another nod. “When?” When Echo shrugged, I took that as an outright refusal, he had no desire to share that information with me and I also had no desire to keep asking questions. We both fell asleep a while later, if it hadn't been for the police officers standing guard outside the building, I really wouldn't have been able to close my eyes at all. When I opened my eyes the next morning, I felt Echo’s lips on my throat and his hands roaming everywhere, effectively ruining every intention I had to be early at work.