Forever Man by Brian Matthews Page B

carefully blew a ribbon of air at his little Whoville, sending the small world flying off to other adventures.
    Drawing his legs under his body, he pushed up into a kneeling position. From this height, he could see the stuffed animals lying on his bed—Sponge Bob, a furry sheepdog, a white monkey with long arms and one gray foot—as well as his desk cluttered with piles of drawing paper and several boxes of crayons. A folding chair sat in front of the desk.
    Kevin’s narrow face lit with excitement. He knee-walked over to his desk, his tongue poking out of his mouth as he tried to keep his feet from touching the ground, his skinny arms flapping to help keep his balance.
    When one toe touched the carpet, he jerked both feet up hard. His heels dug into his butt. His tummy bowed out, and his head had little choice but to follow. With his hands still busy trying to keep the balance he’d already lost, his upper body slid forward and his forehead smacked hard into the edge of his desk. Pain shot over the top and around the sides of his head.
    “Ayiee ahh!” Kevin cried as his hands finally grabbed the desk. With his eyes watering, he pulled himself up and sat on the chair. He stared at his reflection in the mirror that hung on the wall opposite him. There was a red mark on his forehead. He rubbed it with one hand, then brought up the other and jammed his thumbs in his ears. Wiggled his fingers. Stuck out his tongue. A giggle escaped from his lips. He blew air into his cheeks and crossed his eyes. Laughter overtook the giggles. He laughed so hard that his face turned red.
    While Kevin gasped to regain his breath, a clearness spread inside him. It was as if someone had opened a dirty window and let the outside world stream in.
    The outside world, and more.
    Thoughts that were normally blocked or shunted off to meaningless areas of his brain found their correct paths. Connections, that since his birth had been so misaligned, nudged a little closer to true. He looked at the boy in the mirror, the one with rosy cheeks and tousled hair, the one who kept him company in his room.
    “That’s me,” said Kevin.
    He quickly snatched a sheet of paper and spilled a box of crayons. The clearness wouldn’t last long. Kevin closed his eyes.
    Trees and mud surrounded him. He stood before a wide glade. Across the field of grass rose a low hill with a dark hole on its face like an open mouth screaming into the forest. A cave? He sensed that something lay inside, something that was here but shouldn’t be. And through it, he sensed another.
    Thin fingers skimmed over the rainbow of wax sticks until he found the ones he needed. As he put crayon to paper, a name flashed through his mind.
    Natalie.

 
     
Chapter 9
     
     
    Patrolman Carlton Manick pulled his police cruiser into the drive-thru lane and ordered two breakfast burritos with extra hot sauce and a large black coffee. When he fished out his wallet, he found four singles. That was it. Payday had been two days ago, and he’d set aside two hundred, enough to get him through until his next check. But after his little run-in with Morris yesterday morning, he’d felt agitated, out of sorts. He’d needed some release. So he’d gone out last night and hit the casinos. Hit them pretty hard. Now he’d be scrimping for the next couple weeks.
    Pulling up to the pick-up window, he tried a wink and a smile on the girl taking the money. Maybe he’d get a little cop courtesy and she’d give him his breakfast for free.
    “That’ll be $3.06,” the girl said with a roll of her eyes.
    Sighing, Carlton handed over the last of his cash. Damn kids didn’t appreciate authority anymore.
    “Thanks,” he said sourly as he got his change. “I’ll remember this.”
    He parked in an empty space near the exit, set his coffee in the console cup holder, and attacked the first burrito.
    It had been a bitch of a morning.
    Painfully hung-over, he’d snored through the alarm and had to shower and dress