Living Forest (8 page)

“What about?”

His response seems to flow from his mouth naturally,

“I can’t discuss that with you Sir. My orders are strict. Now if you will, please have a seat in the chopper and put on the headphones. We have much bigger problems to attend to.”

I step up and sit down inside the helicopter. Putting on the headphones, the door slams shut. Before any others are able to seek shelter off of the ship with me, the helicopter starts up and prepares for take off. I can hear the pilot through the headphones,

“Just sit tight and buckle up, in a few minutes we’ll be back on the coast.”

Nearing the coast, I see an Air Force base that sits with costal view. Seconds pass there after and we now hover over the hospital. I see three men dressed in black suits with matching sun glasses walk on the landing pad. The helicopter lands smoothly, but the engine didn’t have time to shut down before the door closest to me flew open. A black suited man firmly speaks,

“Mr. Wolf, Sir please come with us.”

I want to know indefinitely because this entirety still feels surreal,

“Did William live or…?”

Once again he speaks firmly. By the sound of this man, I’d despise being his son.

“This is why we need you to come with us.”

Muttering in disappointment,

“Fine!”

Leaving the helicopter behind me, the three men escort me inside. An Emergency Room sign points left, but they drag me right towards a set of elevators. I want to ask,

“Where are we going?”

By the looks of these guys, a governmental programmed response might be all that would pour out of their mouths. Walking inside an elevator with them, the door closes. One of them decides to press a button stopping the elevator. Responding wearingly fearing their actions,

“What’s going on, what are you doing?”

They don’t speak. At the same time two of them reach into their pockets. The worse pessimistic thought pierces sharply through my mind,

“Oh shit! Do they have a gun? They’re going to kill me.”

I run backwards, slamming myself against the rear elevator door. If they are going to kill me they’re going to have hell. Flowing through my head as if I actually had the power to dodge bullets or if I was on fire,

“Dodge, drop, and roll. Dodge, drop, and roll.”

The third man I completely blanked out even being here. That should be acknowledgment to exactly how scared shitless I am right now from the two that have their backs turned to me looking like they have guns. Rapidly pulling their hands out of their pockets, they now hold their hands out as if they are going to turn and shoot me dead. Screaming at the top of my lungs in fear,

“NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!”

Not caring to live less than an hour ago, oddly I find myself wanting to cling to life now. Ringing loudly,

“Ding”

The door pressed against my back quickly opens. I fall backwards while still screaming for my life. The surprise landing knocks the breath out of me, instantly silencing my screams to short squeals. The giant of the three is now sitting in the corner of the elevator pissing all over himself. Looking up, gasping for air, District Attorney Jordan looks at me with a slight smile starting to stretch across his cheeks. His shoulders and chest bounce up and down, in and out as if holding in the laughter. I think it’s his goon that wet his pants bringing him to laugh.

District Attorney Jordan, trying to hold in his laughter, his arms make a stopping notion at his goons. He says,

“Are you okay Hollister?”

The sound of developing tears chokes me while trying to utter words from my vocal chords causing my reply to come out in squeaks.

“NO! I thought they were going to kill me.”

Why does it seem that the world is against me? District Attorney Jordan is now sitting down in a chair trying to not have a “Jolly Attack”. That’s what I call a laughter induced Heart Attack. Stress is stress, no matter the level and intensity, and I only call it this because of William. That’s the way he said he always wanted to die. He wanted to die laughing, but instead his death caused people to laugh. District Attorney Jordan bellows while gasping for air supply,

“Will you three dingle berries shut up so I can calm down and speak with Mr. Wolf.”

I can tell that he didn’t think so highly of those three. I know what a dingle berry is. It’s not even a real berry or edible. Well I guess it can be if you like the taste of hairy toilet paper poop rolls that seems to cling to your butthole if you don’t wash or wipe properly. I calm down enough to catch my breath and stand up. Speaking angrily because I’m upset and tired of crap like this happening to me,

“Why have you brought me here?”

He speaks as if William’s death is a wonderful event,

“I’m sorry about all of this Mr. Wolf. Once William’s body arrived, and well… let’s just be honest. Your video is going viral over the internet. When William adopted you Hollister, he also changed his will. You’re now the head of William Peak’s Estate, investments, and finances.”

Shockingly I respond.

“Huh?”

The district attorneys actions and greedy tone shows where his determination lies,

“Okay Hollister, here it is. If you were to die on that cruise ship, all of William’s assets would’ve went to another country to a distant relative. Mr. Peak’s owned many businesses’ here across the Gulf coast and we fear that all would’ve been wasted if you died as well.”

Concerning the fate of others I ask,

“What do you mean, if I were to die? Is everyone on the ship okay?”

His tone turned mono, like a news anchor trained to read lines with no emotion.

“A fire broke out on the ship during one of the many fights that were provoked. A small explosion took out one of the kitchens. Twenty five people have minor injuries and three are dead. One of them being William, the two others was cooks in the kitchen that exploded. After hearing the rioting and well… your incident, I knew we had to take control and extract you.”

              Curious about the ships condition,

“Did the ship sink?”

Speaking as if this ship is the pride of the south,

“Oh no, ha, ha, ha, it would take much more than that to put that chunk of metal under water. You’ll just have some costly repairs to do in order to get it back in commercial condition.”

Depression became my tone, but the sound can be easily confused with exhaustion.

“I’m not sure I can take anymore stress right now. I need to go home Mr. Jordan. I’m so tired. I just want this day to be over with.”

Mr. Jordan looks at the biggest of his three goons,

“Sure thing Mr. Wolf, I’ll have Jimmy take you home.”

Speaking to Jimmy like he’s a dog,

“Jimmy boy take Hollister to the limousine and get him home.”

As Jimmy walks me to the limo, I can’t stop myself from asking,

“Why do you let Mr. Jordan talk to you like that? Why not find another job?”

Jimmy’s voice quivering,

“I’ve tried, but no one will hire me. The D.A. isn’t such a bad guy when you get to know him, he’s just too direct. Matters none though, I’d take a daily beating while starving to death to make sure my children eat. I live for the days a smile perches across my family’s cheeks.”

I feel the strong love this man has for his family. I miss that.

Along the ride home, Hollister ponders the meaning of life trying to find an explanation for why he’s still clinging to it. Hollister believes it’s because he still knows nothing about Amanda. The thought of her alive keeps him here. Confusingly, Hollister is still wrapped up in her lust, which she graciously blessed him with on the ship. Hollister’s beginning to see Amanda everywhere. Men, women, and even children transform to look like Amanda. As each individual would look back at Hollister, they’d transform from looking like Amanda back to who they really look like. Like an intoxicating drug, the sight of them transforming back to who they are makes Hollister nauseous. The feeling causes him to lie down in the back of the limo and sleep until they arrive at what was once William Peak’s mansion.

Jimmy nudges my shoulder as he speaks,

“Hollister wake up, you’re home. It’s time to go inside.”

Waking up from a bad dream where trees are killing people, I scream loudly,

“RUNNNNNN! They’re going to branch us to death.”

I snap out of it. Realizing that I’m still kicking and screaming, I look down and see Jimmy holding his mouth. Saying in remorse,

“I’m so sorry Jimmy. Did I kick you or something?”

Laughing at me,

“Oh… oh, oh,”

Jimmy coughs,

“No you didn’t kick me Mr. Wolf. All I have to say, you’re full of surprises. Now don’t tell me you’re scared of trees too. Ha, ha, ha,”

I speak in a tired, but sad tone,

“Ugh, no, it’s just a dream. Even my dreams are trying to kill me Jimmy.”

Jimmy quickly sucks in his now light giggles,

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings Mr. Wolf.”

Still speaking in a sad tone,

“You didn’t Jimmy. It just feels like even God is against me right now. Everyone I’ve ever cared for is either dead or doesn’t exist.”

Jimmy now speaks remorsefully,

“Oh no… I had no idea. I didn’t mean anything bad by what I said Mr. Wolf.”

Sadness left my voice to let exhaustion take over,

“I’ve been getting this a lot lately Jimmy. Its okay, I’m not upset. I’d like just one day in my life where I can be a child. I don’t know what it’s like. Well… I do, but even she was taken away from me. I’m sorry Jimmy, I’d like to talk more, but I’m really tired now.”

Annie is at the door waiting to greet me. She’s William’s butler or housekeeper. Annie’s duties are the same as a male butler. Really she’s better than a male butler because she adds a little extra care to her duties. I’m not going to say that all male butlers lack the motherly care that Annie shows, but this is something that doesn’t come naturally to a male as it does for females. Not all families need that type of care. This is something I think William missed as well. I believe he intentionally hired a female butler for that reason.

Annie speaks softly and caringly to me,

“Awe hun, come here and give me a hug.”

Her voice has the southern twain though her complexion is dark like mine or that of an islander. Still speaking sadly,

“Annie, I’m not sure if I can handle this. I’m all alone now.”

Her motherly tone, expressions, and actions is exactly what I need right now. Annie speaks firmly as if trying to pull me together,

“Hollister never let me hear that again. You’re not alone child as long as I am here. Now come inside and let me get you fed.”

Graciously saying while holding my stomach,

“Thank you Annie, I’m starved.”

Walking to the kitchen, the first available chair becomes my life sucking seat. Not because of fake vampire stuff, it’s because I want to sit here until I die. Yeah, I’m sure someone out there would say,

“You’re better than that.”

How many of them have nothing left to care for? I know I have money, but what’s it really worth if you have no one truly special to share it with. I can’t marry myself. Sure I can adopt children some day, but everything that has happened to me leaves me feeling less than special. I place my head on the table, like I’m back to sleeping in class. Barely making the plate of Angelic Shrimp and Lobster to the table, Annie burst into tears at the loss of William.

“Mr. Wolf, I’m sorry for asking Sir, but are we going to lose our jobs because of…”

Her tears bringing tears to flow down my right eye,

“No ma’am, you will not lose this job. In fact I need you to help me here. I have no where else to go right now.”

Still bawling,

“Thank you Mr. Wolf. Your words are very kind.”

From her tone and expression, I don’t think she has anywhere else to go either. She lives here at the mansion along with five other staff members. To William, they were family when he wasn’t with us. Giving the warmest sincerity from my heart, but overwhelmed with exhaustion I say,

“Annie, I think I’m going to head up to my room. Go ahead and let everyone know their jobs are safe as long as I live.”

After finishing my meal, I clean up and finally head to my room. Lying on my bed, William’s words keep entangling within my mind,

“I remember seeing an old wooden chest get loaded into the moving van that I know did not belong to your father. I’m just saying, when we get back home you should finally unlock that door and go into that room. Just take a look for yourself.”

I grab my key and walk to the room across the hallway. Unlocking the door, I walk to the closet which I have the only key for. The closet is more like a room in itself with over three hundred square feet of space. Taking off the last lock to the memories of my past, I open the door.

“Boom, crash, bang,”