-1
Framed by a Phantom
By Matthew Stephens
Copyright by Matthew Stephens 2008
Published by Smashwords
Bobby Jensen was not very thrilled when his parents told him they were moving to a farmhouse in a small town called Boyd. He didn't want to move two states away from his best friend, Brandon. So as you could imagine, when he got there and realized it was nothing but a tiny town surrounded by cornfields, he started acting up.
The Jensen's farmhouse was only about a quarter mile outside of town. Bobby would ride his bike into town on the weekends and try to find something to do or someone to hang out with. When no kid's his age seemed to be around to play, he kept himself entertained in other ways.
The first of his trouble's started when he beat up a ten year old at the park just for fun. When Carl Jensen got the call from a ecstatic crying mother, he flew to town in his beat-up pickup to teach his boy a lesson. Bobby got the lesson alright, and two bruises on his arm to show for it, but that didn't stop him. It was only two days later that Bobby pulled a big one.
He was in the back yard hitting small stones with a baseball bat. Then the boredom started kicking in. He decided he would like to see what it felt like to be behind the old pickup's steering wheel. He was going to be taking driver's Ed this oncoming school year and thought, "Why not?"
At first he was just playing with the wheel, turning it back and forth. Then he found the key in the ignition. He turned it half way and the radio came on, so he started fumbling through the channel's. Then he started fooling with the gear shifter, It slipped into neutral. The truck started rolling backward. Bobby panicked and froze. He did not see the tiny tool shed the truck was headed for. Bang! The shed turned into a pile of splintered wood and rusted tools. His mother came running out of the house.
"Oh my God! Are you alright!" She was clutching his face.
The shock Bobby was in, quickly turned to fear when he saw his father come out of the house. He was heading toward the truck like a soldier on a mission.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" He hollered as he ripped Bobby from the truck. After a few good licks on his butt he screamed, "Get your ass inside."
Bobby was grounded and told he could do nothing but sit in his room. He couldn't even do that because his ass hurt so bad. After a few weeks, his parent's let up enough to let him go fishing, under one condition, he takes his little sister and keeps a very good eye on her, and be home before dark!
Katie Jensen was the cute little blond five year old you see on every cover of mother magazines, but Bobby thought of her as more of a nuisance. She was always bothering him when he was trying to read his Goosebumps and getting all the good attention from his parents.
"Ookaay!" He told his parent's and Bobby and Katie were on there way to Bonley's pond.
The pond was a good mile away. Bobby was already irritated. How was he supposed to enjoy a quiet evening trying to catch fish when his sister would be asking twenty questions and getting into everything? They got there and Bobby baited his hook and cast his line. The sun was just starting to go down. He figured he had about an hour before they were to start heading back. Katie was playing in the dirt and being pretty good for the most part. Bobby felt a big tug on his line and his heart filled with excitement. He stood up and gave Katie a call to come over. She ran over to him and then things started going wrong.
The little tug became a hug jerk and it ripped the pole right out of Bobby's hands. An object sprang out of the water. Bobby couldn't believe his eyes as Katie let out a piercing scream. It was a man wearing a long black trench coat and a black cowboy hat pulled all the way down over his brow so you could hardly see his face. In a seconds flash, he went from about ten feet away to standing right in front of them. This dark, dripping wet man raised his arm and Bobby noticed his meat hook for a hand as he brought it down in a quick swipe. Bobby jumped out of the way and covered his face. Then he heard his sister's gargling scream. He looked up to see the man holding her up in the air. Her arms and legs were flailing. The hook was in her mouth and out her cheek just like a caught fish. Blood ran down her neck and started staining her little white dress. Bobby rushed for her and then the man disappeared, along with his sister. There was ripple in the pond. "Kaatieee!'
Bobby ran home so fast he couldn't feel his legs. His mom was doing the dishes when he burst through the door.
"Mom, It's Katie she, she ahh-" Bobby couldn't speak. He was out of breath and his head was spinning. Dorothy Jensen immediately went into panic mode.
"Where's your sister? What happened? Talk to me!" She was trying to shake the information out of him.
"The pond! In the pond," was all Bobby could get out before his mother was out the door screaming for Carl and getting in the truck. Bobby's parents took off through the fields toward the pond. Bobby sat on the couch and closed his eyes.
He woke an hour later to a slamming door. His parents came in with Officer Maxsted. John Maxsted was the town's only officer and Bobby had conversation's with him before, after he broke a few windows in town.
"Bobby, how are you?" Maxsted asked as he sat down next to him. "I'm going to need you to tell me what happened!" He said calmly. Bobby went through the story and Maxsted sat and listened.
"Alright kid, try to get some sleep!" Maxsted got up. Bobby could hear the officer telling his parents he thought the story was a little far fetched. Maybe it was due to shock or something. He said there would be a crew at the pond shortly, combing the water and searching the area.
"Sorry Mr. And Mrs. Jensen. Hope everything works out." Maxsted walked out.
Bobby lay in his bed that night sobbing. He was running everything over and over in his mind. It took hours before he finally fell asleep. He woke up in the middle of the night to a storm that was throwing a heavy rain against his window, complete with loud thunder and lightning. He was staring out the window when he heard a squish, squish sound from the front of his bed. When he looked, a flash of lightning revealed a figure standing there. Another flash and Bobby could see it was Katie. Her hair was wet and one side of her mouth was split wide open. Fear started to overtake him as the lightning began flashing rapidly like a strobe light. Then she spoke.
"Why didn't you save me Bobby? Your gonna pay! Your gonna pay for this!" Her voice sounded scratchy and hoarse, making her seem older. She lunged at him and he screamed.
Dorothy came almost instantly and flipped on the light. She looked wide awake, but her cheeks were all puffy from crying. "What's wrong?" She said running to the bed. Bobby sat there in his mother's arms crying. " I know, I know!" Dorothy started to cry herself.
The next morning Bobby was woken up by his father. "Bobby, I need you to come downstairs." Bobby crawled out of bed and warily walked down the steps. His mother was sitting on the couch crying heavily in to a handful of white tissues. Officer Maxsted was standing by the doorway talking to his father. When the officer saw Bobby, he walked toward him.
"Good morning, Bobby. I'm gonna need you to come to town and have a little talk with me, Alright?" Bobby didn't understand why, but he agreed to. As they made their way to the police cruiser, Bobby looked over his shoulder and saw his parents by the doorway. Dorothy was buried in Carl's chest looking up occasionally. Carl just looked at Bobby with concerned eyes.
"Well Bobby, This is what we got!" Officer Maxsted started as he lit a cigar. "We drained the pond this morning and we found your sister. Not a pretty sight!" Maxsted was closely observing Bobby, looking for any signs of fright. "Along with her, we also found this!" He set a small tackle box on the table. Bobby thought- so what, I panicked and forgot my lures. Big deal.
"It was also at the bottom of the pond, and when we opened it, we found this." Maxsted pulled out a rusty meat hook. "Your dad said he had one similar in the small tool shed you ran into a few weeks ago with the truck." Maxsted sat back in his chair puffing on his cigar.
"You think I did it?" Bobby squealed and started to cry.
"Sorry son, but what do you expect me to think?" Maxsted said while getting up.
They sent Bobby to a mental evaluation center for disturbed youth. His mother and father visit every so often, but they don't look at him the same. The doctors ask him every day why he did it and he keeps denying that he did, but Bobby is starting to believe he is crazy. His sister has been visiting him in his sleep, laughing an evil cackling sound of victory.