lost and found - part 1
This isn't one of those stories that starts in a land far far away. It isn't from once upon a time. It isn't even from the days when our grandfathers walked a mile to get to school, uphill, in the snow. No, it starts in 1986 in our very own back country off the 14 freeway, the high desert, where you could find yourself wearing shorts during the day and a winter coat at night. The Antelope Valley wasn't your ideal California town, nothing like it looks like today. There were hardly any large establishments; the bowling alley and your front yard became the hot spots to spend time with your friends on the weekend. It would be years before Palmdale would have it's own shopping center, aka mall. The Antelope Valley Freeway was the only link that the high desert had with the booming metrolopolis, Los Angeles, separated by the San Gabriel mountains, unless you count the Los Angeles aqueduct as a means of transportation.
Most would call it a small town, and like all small towns, it has it's stories.
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"Aren't you supposed to be in track or somethin?" Devin called back to Greg as they trekked up the hill behind his house. Devin wasn't an athlete, but growing up with three brothers was a type of training in it's own right; sunday football matches, races down the street, wrestling matches. Everything was a competition.
"Shut it! i've only been in track for half a year, and climbing steep hills isn't something we train on." Greg rounded the top of the 65 degree incline and bent over to catch his breath.
"What's the rush anyway? It's not like we have anything important to do anyway." Greg said between breaths.
"Alright. Last one is a rotten egg and all that crap" Devin called down while adjusting his backpack.
"I'm gonna kick your ass when I get up there" Tyler said as he looked up towards Devin, towering over the two. Tyler was the biggest of the group, both in height and girth. And though his appearances made him a more daunting figure than the typical 12 year old in middle school, he was typically soft spoken and his friends thought of him as the gentle giant.
"All this tough talk doesn't suit you" Greg called down Tyler "I can't even believe you just said 'ass'"
"You'll be surprised what I can say when I'm tired and hungry." Tyler finally made his way next to his friends and turned around reaching out his hand.
"C'mon Jesse, grab my hand" Tyler said as he lifted the frail kid up to their level.
"Thanks...Tyler" Jesse said as he reached into his pant pocket and take out his inhaler. He took a few deep puffs and placed it back in his coat pocket.
Jesse was the glass man of the group, being the smallest out of the four and finding a way to injure himself when put under any type of physical strain. Jesse was the smallest, but he also had the biggest mouth, and this made his friendship with Tyler a perfect match.
"Now we kick his ass!" Jesse pointed to Devin as he jumped on Devin's back and started into a sleeper hold he learned from watching WWF.
"Ack! I'm being attacked by a little girl! Oh no! Help!" Devin jested as he stumbled around before backing up and pinning Jesse between himself and Tyler's belly.
Jesse made a sort of squealing noise before he released Devin.
"Good one, Jesse. Let's keep movin'" Greg said as he picked up Jesse's inhaler from the ground that had somehow managed to make it's way out of it's owners pocket.
They walked along the dirt path that overlooked the small neighborhood below them and finally made their way to their destination. The mouth of the tunnel was dark and foreboding, and faint chirping was heard from within. The passage led underneath the aqueduct and emerged on the other end. The goal was what lay inside the tunnel.
"Flashlights?" Greg asked.
"Check" Devin replied.
"Shoeboxes?"
"Check"
"B.B. gun?"
"Check"
They were all set. Devin handed Jesse the flashlight and the B.B. gun to Greg. He took out the shoebox from his backpack and placed it under his arm.
"You ready big guy?" looking at Tyler.
"Yeap" Tyler said, rubbing his hands together.
They made their way towards the dark opening and as they got closer, the din from inside grew louder and louder.
"We only need 4, so don't go around wasting your time. Just grab 'em and throw em in the box" Greg explained to Tyler.
They slowly made their way into the entrance of the tunnel as a single file line. Jesse leading with the flashlight, followed by Tyler, Devin, then Greg. Each step into the tunnel echoed against walls of the chamber. The water dripped along the sides of the walls and it's cadence was unsettling, as anyone who walked this path was well aware of the millions of gallons of water pressing in against the walls.
As they got further into the tunnel, the light from where they had come had now become a reflection on the small ravine of water that lined the bottom of the tunnel, and only darkness lay ahead of them.
"Almost there" Jesse called back to the three.
"Good" Devin said, looking around, trying to mask his emerging fear.
The walls were now reverberating with throaty croaks and high pitched chirps.
"This is far enough" Greg called out ahead of him. "Don't go any farther"
The beam from the flash light kept proceeding forward.
It was difficult to be heard through all the noise, so Greg yelled out for them to stop again.
"Jesse, hang on" Tyler called out to Jesse who was a few paces ahead of them now.
"Jesse, stop..." and before Tyler could finish his sentence, the flashlight clicked off.
They stood in darkness, the thrum of the amphibians almost over powering. They could hear each other walking around, trying to grab hold of their friends.
"At least we're not alone in the dark", they would think to themselves. Though this very thought was the exact thing fostering the growing fear in their gut.
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ill pick this up later. it's a bit of an effort for me to actually capitalize words and add punctuation, so my brain needs a break. on the other hand, it's a good exercise. just need to get the creative juices flowing for the bigger story im gonna start working on, hopefully next week. anyway, i could probably keep typing but i think that's a good stopping point.
ill catch ya'll later.
-pbs
Most would call it a small town, and like all small towns, it has it's stories.
--------
"Aren't you supposed to be in track or somethin?" Devin called back to Greg as they trekked up the hill behind his house. Devin wasn't an athlete, but growing up with three brothers was a type of training in it's own right; sunday football matches, races down the street, wrestling matches. Everything was a competition.
"Shut it! i've only been in track for half a year, and climbing steep hills isn't something we train on." Greg rounded the top of the 65 degree incline and bent over to catch his breath.
"What's the rush anyway? It's not like we have anything important to do anyway." Greg said between breaths.
"Alright. Last one is a rotten egg and all that crap" Devin called down while adjusting his backpack.
"I'm gonna kick your ass when I get up there" Tyler said as he looked up towards Devin, towering over the two. Tyler was the biggest of the group, both in height and girth. And though his appearances made him a more daunting figure than the typical 12 year old in middle school, he was typically soft spoken and his friends thought of him as the gentle giant.
"All this tough talk doesn't suit you" Greg called down Tyler "I can't even believe you just said 'ass'"
"You'll be surprised what I can say when I'm tired and hungry." Tyler finally made his way next to his friends and turned around reaching out his hand.
"C'mon Jesse, grab my hand" Tyler said as he lifted the frail kid up to their level.
"Thanks...Tyler" Jesse said as he reached into his pant pocket and take out his inhaler. He took a few deep puffs and placed it back in his coat pocket.
Jesse was the glass man of the group, being the smallest out of the four and finding a way to injure himself when put under any type of physical strain. Jesse was the smallest, but he also had the biggest mouth, and this made his friendship with Tyler a perfect match.
"Now we kick his ass!" Jesse pointed to Devin as he jumped on Devin's back and started into a sleeper hold he learned from watching WWF.
"Ack! I'm being attacked by a little girl! Oh no! Help!" Devin jested as he stumbled around before backing up and pinning Jesse between himself and Tyler's belly.
Jesse made a sort of squealing noise before he released Devin.
"Good one, Jesse. Let's keep movin'" Greg said as he picked up Jesse's inhaler from the ground that had somehow managed to make it's way out of it's owners pocket.
They walked along the dirt path that overlooked the small neighborhood below them and finally made their way to their destination. The mouth of the tunnel was dark and foreboding, and faint chirping was heard from within. The passage led underneath the aqueduct and emerged on the other end. The goal was what lay inside the tunnel.
"Flashlights?" Greg asked.
"Check" Devin replied.
"Shoeboxes?"
"Check"
"B.B. gun?"
"Check"
They were all set. Devin handed Jesse the flashlight and the B.B. gun to Greg. He took out the shoebox from his backpack and placed it under his arm.
"You ready big guy?" looking at Tyler.
"Yeap" Tyler said, rubbing his hands together.
They made their way towards the dark opening and as they got closer, the din from inside grew louder and louder.
"We only need 4, so don't go around wasting your time. Just grab 'em and throw em in the box" Greg explained to Tyler.
They slowly made their way into the entrance of the tunnel as a single file line. Jesse leading with the flashlight, followed by Tyler, Devin, then Greg. Each step into the tunnel echoed against walls of the chamber. The water dripped along the sides of the walls and it's cadence was unsettling, as anyone who walked this path was well aware of the millions of gallons of water pressing in against the walls.
As they got further into the tunnel, the light from where they had come had now become a reflection on the small ravine of water that lined the bottom of the tunnel, and only darkness lay ahead of them.
"Almost there" Jesse called back to the three.
"Good" Devin said, looking around, trying to mask his emerging fear.
The walls were now reverberating with throaty croaks and high pitched chirps.
"This is far enough" Greg called out ahead of him. "Don't go any farther"
The beam from the flash light kept proceeding forward.
It was difficult to be heard through all the noise, so Greg yelled out for them to stop again.
"Jesse, hang on" Tyler called out to Jesse who was a few paces ahead of them now.
"Jesse, stop..." and before Tyler could finish his sentence, the flashlight clicked off.
They stood in darkness, the thrum of the amphibians almost over powering. They could hear each other walking around, trying to grab hold of their friends.
"At least we're not alone in the dark", they would think to themselves. Though this very thought was the exact thing fostering the growing fear in their gut.
--------------------------
ill pick this up later. it's a bit of an effort for me to actually capitalize words and add punctuation, so my brain needs a break. on the other hand, it's a good exercise. just need to get the creative juices flowing for the bigger story im gonna start working on, hopefully next week. anyway, i could probably keep typing but i think that's a good stopping point.
ill catch ya'll later.
-pbs