Chapter 2 Jocks

• As soon as the words escaped his mouth Jed heard the sounds of needy desperation and he changed the topic back to the one at hand. "Kyle was going on his first date Saturday and wanted advice. He's one of the few people I told what you and Mom know about Quade and... me. How is his dad doing sir?"
• The sheriff patted the seventeen year olds back. Most of the world saw a weak soft boy. Sheriff Blaidd saw an incredible strength and a kind spirit... Being gentle does not make one weak. "I knew you would have nothing to do with it Jed. I still had to talk to you. I figured it would be easier to find out about Kyle's death from me, then from the rumor mill.
• Mr. Jennings is taking it really bad Jed. That boy was all he had left. I'll try to keep an eye on him. I'm just afraid he's going to quit on us. Only so much pain a body can take." Dutch used that momentary slip to remind the boy... "For what it's worth, you should tell your father about your Papa Quade at some point. He has a right to know son." The sheriff realized he went a little too far. Jedidiah was nodding in agreement. Dutch knew that day would come, but this was not that day.
• "My boy Arian wanted to make sure you were okay too. Don't be out too late. The sun is going down; you know that's when the predators come out of the swamps. One of these cases in a career is all I can handle."
• Jed saw through the sheriff's eyes... He saw the crime scene as the sheriff saw it. He saw Karl's head and decapitated body and Kyle's body torn and scattered like pieces of a discarded torn rag doll.
• He also saw the three dead panthers that had to be put down by fish and wildlife for scavenging on the remains. The teen reached his breaking point and vomited.
• The Sheriff replied, "Fuck! I forgot you could do that." One of the gifts that Jedidiah shared with his mother and his grandmother is the ability to create an empathic connection with others. On rare occasion he could actually transmit and receive thoughts and images to another, if they were emotionally close. He also knew instantly if someone was lying, that gift had only failed him twice.
• When Jedidiah recomposed himself he replied to the sheriff, "I'm okay. I just wasn't expecting to see... um... that..." The sheriff apologized, and repeated his warning. Jed replied, "I'm just going to go out to check the irrigation system in the North grove. Hopefully dad will calm down by the time I get home. For now, I think I'll just trust the wildlife."
• The sheriff nervously watched the boy walk to the pole barn. The young never see the danger till it is too late. Especially the gentle ones like Jed and Kyle. Everyone looked at Jedidiah and saw an entitled, spoiled, golden child.
• The sheriff knew the full story. He knew the boy had already survived so much, too much. Even though this great evil touched the boy, he remained innocent and kind.
• Jedidiah knew one thing better than most; there were a lot of places to hide on the many acres that made up the family spread. He turned off his phone and slid it into his pocket. The last thing he wanted to deal with was a phone call from his father tonight. Jed waved at the sheriff then headed out into the woods.
• Jedidiah hadn't been lying to the sheriff when he said he needed to work on the irrigation system. The new micro sprinkler system required constant attention. It wasn't just a convenient excuse to get out of the house. Today's repair however only took fifteen minutes once he arrived. Mud dauber wasps plugged the emitters again. With the repair complete he rode over to the east grove to watch the moon rise.
• Two hours later, Jed was on his back in the dump bed of his ATV. He was watching the rise of the super moon. It always amazed him how large the thing was as it crept over the orange trees when the atmosphere was heavy with humidity like tonight. The night before Jed witnessed the rise of the near full moon from the top of the pole barn. There was something about a sunset and moon-rise that was special to him.
• Jedidiah loved watching the night sky come alive. He could see the path of stars that led the way to the "City in the West." The land where is Mother's parents now lived in the afterlife. Jed knew one day his parents and he too would walk the Milky Way to join with the Breathmaker, just as Kyle had now done.
• While he respected his father's beliefs, he did not share them. He sought comfort in, and shared his mother's faith. Neither his father nor Papa Quade liked that decision, but his father admired his thoughts and convictions. As to his grandfather's opinion, it never mattered... at least not to Jedidiah.
• The last time Jedidiah darkened the door of a church was for his Grams memorial service. In the eighth grade she went missing. Jed refused to go to Papa Quade's service. His absence was explained as a sudden sickness. It was Jed who found Papa Quade's body.
• Jed and Kyle used to come to the orchard to share the experience of the night sky awakening. The other thing that they used to do was bitch about the guys at school. Jedidiah's favorite target was the sheriff's son Arian.
• Once upon a time Jed thought there was more than just a spark of interest. That spark of interest was quickly extinguished by Papa Quade. After that turn in his life, Jed knew he was not worthy of such a perfect boy, too much had happened to ever forgive.
• When Arian was alone with Jedidiah he was a pretty cool guy. In Middle School the two boys had been close friends. Freshman year Jedidiah's grandfather ordered Quin to stop talking to the boy "or else." When Quade told you to do something you did it. When his threat went unheard, Jed's grandfather made a complaint directly to the sheriff to keep his son away from his grandson and heir.
• The move hurt doubly because Jed had such a crush on Arian. As a freshman Jed new every single freckle on the older boy's body. When the friendship went cold, he guessed it was one of those nerd VS jock or social status situation things. He never understood that level of societal restriction, two worlds separated by an invisible line. Even still Jed always felt pulled to the boy.
• Then it hit him, his friend Kyle would never experience this with him again. Jedidiah began sobbing hard. He started remembering all the good things they did together. Pranks they played on the new members of the thespian's club. The paint fights during the set dressing for My Fair Lady last year. He remembered Kyle saying that he wanted his first romantic kiss under the moonlight.
• Then Jed saw the image from the sheriff's mind again. How the boy was torn apart. What kind of monster could do such a thing? "Breathmaker, don't let this be the way I remember my friend forever. Please give him the peace and love he was deprived of in this life."
• There was a disturbance in the brush that brought him out of his prayerful remembrance. At first he thought it was a coyote because it moved like a dog. He thought, "No it cannot be a coyote, the size isn't right. It doesn't move like a panther either." A silly yet frightening thought came to his mind, "What if it is Hutch-ko Chop-ko."
• When he was a small boy, a "cousin" from Oklahoma told him the tribal legend of Long Ears. The creature the cousin described was a hairy wolf like monster. It was four-footed, the size of a donkey, with a wolf's head, long pointed ears and a horse's tail. If the foul smelling beast of legend touched you, it would infect you with disease.
• Jedidiah laughed at the foolish thought. No, when the form collapsed in the meadow Jed saw the animal had more in common with a canine, a big one. Perhaps one of Mr. Parker's hunting dogs got loose again... Jed could tell the animal was struggling to breathe, but he also knew that wounded animals were dangerous.
• Still, animals were Jed soft spot. They were also part of his gift, a gift that he was not to tell anyone about. Jed took after his mother a little too much. If it was fur bearing it became their best friend. Neither could let an animal suffer.
• As he approached he saw the gray almost silver fur had been matted with blood. Clearly the animal had been in a mighty battle. The animal heard Jed approach and turned his head. Painfully the creature opened its eyes. When Jedidiah saw the glint of the yellow eyes staring back, he knew another wolf had crossed his path. Over the last few years he had helped several wolves. This one looked familiar.
• Jed knew this was going to be another wolf story that his friend Thomas the fish cop would not believe. Florida Fish and Wildlife had a major bug up their ass about there being no indigenous wolf populations left in the state. Somehow these creatures kept crossing Jed's path.
• The classic historical argument is that the black wolf or the red wolf is native to Florida. This was neither, it was too big and the wrong color. Jed found and treated more than a few injured wolves. He would do what he could, and then they would wander off afterwards as he recovered.
• Somehow wounded critters of all sorts found him, his mother, or his grandmother. She and her mother taught the boy how to control the healing gift they shared. He dismissed his many wolf encounters as just another part of the gift.
• There was something about the way this animal looked at him. Suddenly it was as if there was a light switch that flipped on. "It's you again Slick... What did you go and get yourself into now?"
• It was almost as if the beast said with his eyes, "I won't hurt you, please help me." Jed removed his shirt and soaked it down with water from his canteen. He started cleaning the animal's fur looking for wounds. He removed as much of the blood as he could. The animal whimpered under his touch.
• Jedidiah spoke to the animal, "Please don't hurt me Slick. I know you're hurting; I'm going to do what I can. Mom's going to kill me when she sees this laundry. I'd rather not pay for a good deed twice."
• The creature turned his head and looked at Jed. It was as if he smiled in understanding. Jed grabbed more supplies and the blanket from his ATV. He had been able to do this with other animals. But he had never tried anything like this on one so badly injured. Jed gently caressed each of the wounds on the animal; it was as if a zipper had been pulled closing each wound in its wake.
• Jedidiah had never expended this much energy on one animal. By the time the last wound was closed, Jed was exhausted, panting and covered in sweat and the animal's blood. The creature was so happy it licked and playfully nipped Jed's wrist.
• Jed spread the blanket over both the animal in himself, "I'm just going to lay here and pool our body heat. I need to rest, and then we can try to get you loaded in the ATV. I need to get you to the vet to have a real doctor look at you inside." Fatigue overtook the teen and slumber crept over him.
• After midnight Monday morning...
• A couple hours had passed and Jed woke under the blanket alone and cold. It would be several hours till the sun began to chase the moon from the sky. If the moon's reflected light had been a little brighter Jed might have noticed the human footprints in the sand walking away from where he slept.
• As he reloaded the ATV to roll out, Jed knew he was going to catch hell from his father for being out most of the night. He quickly folded the blanket and loaded his tools on the ATV.
• On the way back he passed the Sheriff's cruiser. The man held his hand out shouting angrily as he approached, "Where in the fuck have you been Jed? Your parents have been scared shitless boy. Your dad has called for updates six times in the last hour! I have twelve deputies out looking for you." As they drew closer the big man saw all the drying blood and his tone changed to concern. "Are you injured Jed?" He asked.
• The older man climbed out of the police SUV and started examining Jed. "The blood is not mine sir. I had to care for a wounded animal. If I didn't help, it would have died. When I woke up sir, the wolf was gone." There was a brief moment of panic in the man's eyes as Jed described the animal.
• The sheriff's panic turned relief and concern. "Jed, it was a very stupid thing for you to stay out this late. Treating injured wildlife alone is high up there on the dumb scale too. You sure you ain't got any punctures in you boy?"
• "No sir, it nipped at my wrist but I don't think it even broke the skin" Jed extended his arm to show him the small bruise that was forming on his wrist. The sheriff and his mom were the only ones who believed his past wolf sightings.
• Sheriff Blaidd examined the bruise, as the big man sniffled in the cold pre-dawn air. "I'll call your folks, you run straight home boy." Jed heard the sheriff's broadcast on the radio, "Cancel the second search, Juvenile Glynis located." Hearing that, he knew they were looking for another and his act of shame stole resources from THAT search.
• There is no way to sneak home when you're riding a diesel powered ATV. The first person he ran into was his father removing the tack from his horse. He simply yelled across the paddock, "Quin! Park it, and get your ass in that house!"
• Jed's mom briefly freaked when she saw all the blood on her only child. Jed was able to explain that a wild animal got off the nature reserve and needed help. Mother and son really didn't need to explain things to each other, they knew. Neither could walk away from a wounded animal, it just wouldn't be 'human.'
• She had Jed strip out of his clothes and walk straight to the shower. When he came out his mother already had breakfast ready for the family. His father spoke, "Quin about last night, I wasn't angry at you son. I was just a little shocked. Your mother and I suspected..."
• Hachi arched her eyebrow looking at her husband, "Okay your mother knew, and I sort of suspected... but it wasn't until the sheriff told us about you kissing Kyle that it kind of rang home... for me at least."
• He put his hand around the young man's shoulders. "Your mother and I love you no matter what. That means we love you pal, no matter what you do or who you love..."
• The conversation went on for some time longer but Jed stopped listening at that point. He heard all that he needed to hear, that his father's love was unconditional. The family completed the normal morning routine caring for the farm.
• A couple hours of hard morning chores later, Jed showered again and prepared himself for school. He reminded his mother that he had theater practice and he would stay late. "I'll get a ride from someone else in the troop. Now that Kyle is... gone I am alone in the sound and light booth. They need me mom."
• The school day started with a note in homeroom for him to report to the guidance counselor's office. The school had a team of crisis counselors on-site to talk to students about the murders. The staff knew Kyle, the McCormick boys and Jed were best friends, so he was at the top of the list. After that an announcement was made about the two boy's deaths.
• The rest of the day students who barely paid attention to him, suddenly were concerned about the loss of his friends. Teachers kept an eye on him, looking for signs of trouble or trauma. Everyone expected the weak boy to fold under the pressure of the violent loss of his friends. Through the day he had an odd feeling. It was like someone was following him.
• His suspicions were confirmed before fourth period when Arian cornered him on his way to shop. "Hey, how you holding up?"
• "God I wish people would stop asking that already. Arian we haven't been real friends since the middle school. The only time you're interested in me is when your friends aren't around."
• As soon as the words came out of his mouth he felt guilty. He hadn't meant to sound as harsh as he did. He could tell that his words hurt the older boy. He also knew he didn't deserve such a fine prize as Arian.
• "I'm sorry Jed. You were just so shy and standoffish after Middle School. When your Papa Quade told my dad to keep me away from you, I thought you didn't want..." The boy stopped. "I know you were really close to Karl and Kyle. I wanted you to know, I asked the coach and the faculty to dedicate homecoming to them. They agreed. Why the hell would they go out into the woods?"
• "Kyle was really looking forward to his first kiss. He wanted it to be perfect. He wanted to lose his cherry in the open, looking at the stars. He was probably seduced by the moon too; we both love the full moon. The preserve is our favorite place."
• Arian gave a shoulder hug to the smaller boy. "Jed, eat with us at lunch today. Please..."
• Jed was amazed at the pained look on the older boys face. He was truly asking...no begging for his attention. He responded with a simple, "K." As he walked away he realized what the other boy had always called him. "Arian, thank you for calling me Jed; you, your dad and Kyle are... were the only ones who did."
• "I can feel the hairs on the back of your neck bristle whenever anyone calls you Quin. I always could pal." The second bell went off, they were late.
• Mr. Jackson was annoyed and requested to know why the county's golden child delayed his teaching schedule. "I'm sorry sir. People have been stopping me to talk about Kyle and Karl. I was just told by the team captain they're dedicating homecoming to them." The educator nodded in acceptance and understanding. He too got the memo tread carefully with the boy.
• This was the one class that Jed's father insisted upon. "You have to know how to repair the shit that breaks on the farm." There is one good thing about shop for Jed; it had a lot of big jocks to sneak peeks at. Both Karl and Kent McCormick, the Wolves Offensive Guards, had been in this class with him.
• Jedidiah's heart broke at the sight of Kent and the empty stool. Jed couldn't help but notice the red swollen eyes of the surviving twin. Jed slid from his stool and wrapped his arms around the older boy. It was just an attempt to share comfort. Jed didn't care what anyone else thought.
• Kent asked Jed to fill his brother's now vacant workstation. Later during the class, Jed was mindlessly rubbing his wrist. Kent leaned over and asked, "Love nip?"
• The older boy briefly grinned as Jed told him the story of how he took care of the wolf. "Kyle really loved your brother. He never said Karl by name, but he described him so well. God I never expected him to land one of you guys. I am glad it was him. Kyle deserved someone really good. You two understood us."
• Kent replied, "They were going to announce being a couple today. Kyle loved Karl for what he was, not just as a dumb piece of meat. I know you were his best friend. Your friendship meant the world to him. I guess neither of us should have come in today."
• Jed replied, "Unfortunately with my family, if I missed school my hair would have to be on fire, or have a major artery severed." Kent laughed. The teacher arched an eyebrow at the interruption. Under the circumstances it was forgiven. He knew the two boys were hurting, and laughter was a mechanism for both coping and healing.
• Kent added, "Mom and dad wanted me to stay home today. I could hurt there or I could hurt here. I didn't see any reason just to be home staring at our four walls... Pal, if you need someone, I am always here." Jedidiah returned the sentiment.
• The next two periods passed without incident. Jed couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched. Every so often he saw Kent, Arian or another member of the football team out of the corner of his eye. As school mascot he dismissed it as just being part of the cheer squad. He was just a peripheral jock family member.
• Lunch came and Jed found Arian waiting outside his graphic art class door. By the time they made it to the lunch room, most of the varsity "A" squad was there. Jed noticed almost every member of the alpha squad was sniffing as they got near him. Jed was starting to think that the alpha jocks were sharing a cold.
• When the new Glynis High was built, the team went from being the Indians to being the Wolves. It was hard to perform with the large canine head. It was actually Kyle who came up with the modified harness that kept his head from twisting around.
• The last to arrive at the table was Donovan McNabb the tight end. His arm was in a sling. Jed asked what happened. He replied, "I was injured last night screwing around. It's just a sprain, but I may not be ready by game time." Jedidiah knew the boy was lying, but didn't call him on it.
• Jed thought with the game being in honor of his friends, there was too much at stake. "Can I see your arm?" Donovan shot a look to Arian who simply nodded. With that, the wall of muscle winced as he extended his arm. This would be the second time Jed attempted a healing on a human.
• Jed gently held the athlete's elbow with his left hand, and then pressed his right middle finger where the muscles gathered together. Slowly he worked his way down towards the wrist. He attempted to hide what he was doing as if it were just simply a massage. When he was done, sweat was beading on his brow as he asked, "Is that better."