Trouble is a Friend of Mine

I saw Felix’s head pop up in the window for a split second before he ducked down.

‘Don’t make me tell you again, kid. Lock the door,’ Ezekiel said.

Digby pulled down the door and locked up. I seriously hoped Felix wasn’t afraid of the dark.

‘Now move,’ Ezekiel said.

Then again, what was I doing feeling sorry for Felix when we were the ones who were probably being death-marched to a body dump by the river? I remembered the no-second-location rule and my knees locked. But then I realized going to a second location that wasn’t a deserted storage facility in the dead of night would probably improve our chances of survival, so when Ezekiel screamed ‘Move!’ again, I moved.

‘Digby, are we going to die now?’ I said.

‘Relax … I got it.’ Digby smiled.

‘Hand over your phones,’ Ezekiel said.

We did and obeyed when he waved for us to climb in the trunk of his car. The confidence on Digby’s face reassured me.

Just before he shut the trunk, Ezekiel went through Digby’s pockets. I took a break from my panic to notice the weird jumble that came out. One latex glove, a whistle, half-eaten candy, string, a rubber band ball, more string …

Then he found Marina’s old phone. ‘Two phones. Bet you think you’re real smart.’ Ezekiel slammed down the trunk lid.

In the dark, I felt like a fist had tightened around my heart. I was glad Digby and I were packed so close, spooning, because having him next to me was the only thing keeping me from losing it totally.

‘Now what?’ I said.

‘Yeah, uh … that second phone was pretty much my entire plan, so …’ Digby said. ‘I got nothing right now.’

‘What?!’ The fist squeezed in my chest.

‘Gimme a second.’

‘Think fast.’

Ezekiel started the car and peeled off, fishtailing around corners. We were quiet a long time. I lay there, trying to calm down. Then I felt Digby’s hands patting around the trunk. And other places.

‘Hey,’ I said.

‘Oh, was that you?’ Digby said. ‘I was exploring our options.’

‘They don’t include my butt, though, right?’

‘Uh … I guess not.’

‘So maybe you can get your hand off it, then?’

‘Don’t be mad. Ballers be balling.’

‘Seriously? Now?’

‘I dunno … I’m a sixteen-year-old guy.’

‘Should I feel better you’re still a nasty perv? Guess that means you don’t think we’re going to die.’

Digby patted the taillight by my face. He made a fist and three-inch punched the taillight’s housing, but since this was life and not Kill Bill, he got nowhere.

‘Use one of your horseshoes and kick out the light,’ he said.

I recoiled and kicked with enough force to do that, but immediately regretted it when a huge cold draft shot up my dress after I did. Digby slipped off one of my shoes and hammered out the light right in front of our faces.

‘We’re going too fast. The fall would kill us if I pulled the trunk release,’ he said. ‘Maybe when he stops and opens the trunk, we jump him.’

‘I have Felix’s EpiPen. I could stab him.’ I took it out. ‘God, I hope Felix isn’t having an allergic reaction right now.’

‘He’s sitting in an ambulance, so I’d say he’s in the perfect place for an allergic reaction. There are probably a million EpiPens in that thing. So, that’s the plan. You stab him, I jump him.’ Digby pointed out of the hole where the taillight had been. ‘Check it out. He’s headed to your part of town.’

‘You don’t think … back to the mansion?’ My heart lifted at the idea of getting closer to home.

‘Imagine if you died across the street from home,’ Digby said.

And then my heart sank.

‘Then again, he didn’t kill us at the storage place, where he had privacy and a place to stash our bodies …’ Digby said. ‘So, the good news is that this probably means he’s in a complicated situation. Now he’s got to think his way out, and this guy … isn’t that bright.’

The car stopped in the alley behind the mansion.

‘Get ready. When the trunk opens, hit him with the pen and I’ll grab his gun,’ Digby said. ‘You can do this, Princeton. Just focus.

‘Yeah, I’m okay. I think.’

‘Here he comes.’

The next bit’s a blur, and whereas memories are normally like movies, all I have of the next couple of seconds is sound bites and screenshots.

First, Ezekiel cursed when he saw the punched-out taillights. Then the trunk opened and Ezekiel stood over us. I swung the EpiPen in his direction and pushed the plunger. I felt the needle stab flesh. Then Ezekiel screamed, and I screamed, and, weirdly, Digby screamed too. Then the trunk lid slammed down again. Ezekiel paced beside the car, cursing and sobbing.

‘You were supposed to take his gun,’ I said.

‘You freaked me out and I froze,’ Digby said. ‘That was gross. I can’t believe you stabbed him in the eye.’

‘I stabbed him in the eye? That is gross.’