Chapter 21

 

It was time for the sun to drop below the horizon.

Back in the Burkeville Police Station, Darin sat depressed in his cell and kept on checking his watch. He was getting nervous and wondered how he could get out of jail. But whom could he call? He couldn’t call his dad, as the young Darin was over in Ocean City, New Jersey.

He just knew that Robbie was on his way to the woods to kill Sheryl at this moment. His stomach started to get sick.

Officer White sat at the desk at the end of the hallway and just opened up the June 1971 issue of Penthouse. He bought it on the way to work and couldn’t wait to check it out.

Darin got up from his bunk and walked over to the cell doors. He craned his neck and could see Officer White’s head buried in his Penthouse magazine. He thought of an idea. It was a stretch but figured he had to try it. “Officer, I need to use the bathroom,” he called out.

“Can you wait?” called out Officer White.

“I could, but you might be cleaning up the floor in a few minutes. Explain that to your Chief,” said Darin.

Officer White rolled his eyes while he got up from the desk with his Penthouse magazine in hand using his thumb for a bookmark.

He walked over to Darin’s cell and unlocked the door.

Officer White escorted Darin to the bathroom at the entrance to the hallway.

“Hurry up,” he said when they got to the bathroom door.

While Darin went inside the bathroom, Officer White leaned up against the wall and returned to his Penthouse magazine. He finally drooled over the Penthouse Pet of the Month, Josee Troyat. But boy did he have nasty thoughts with getting naked with that hot blonde.

After a few seconds, Darin slowly opened the bathroom door and saw Officer White’s head was still drooling over the Penthouse Pet of the Month. He figured it was now or never and cautiously inched his way out of the bathroom.

He paused for a second, and Officer White didn’t notice, as he was too involved with the pictures of the naked ladies.

Darin tiptoed away and tiptoed into the office area.

He glanced back, and Officer White didn’t come after him.

Darin quietly rushed through the office area and headed to the front door.

The area was quiet, and he figured he was good to go, so he quietly opened up the front door and slipped outside.

Once Darin got outside, he spotted the squad car and knew this was his opportunity.

Darin rushed over to the squad car, quietly opened up the driver’s door and sat behind the wheel. He smiled when he saw the key in the ignition. He remembered that the police back then left their keys in the ignition. After all, nobody in Burkeville would think about stealing a squad car.

Darin started up the engine and placed the car in reverse.

Back in the station, Officer White finally suspected that something was wrong when he didn’t hear the toilet flush.

He lowered his Penthouse and walked over to the bathroom door and stepped inside. “Are you done yet?” he said.

The bathroom was quiet. He didn’t see Darin at the urinal or saw feet in any of the two stalls. It took a few seconds for it to dawn on Officer White.

He ran out of the bathroom.

He ran down to Darin’s cell. It was empty.

He ran down the hallway and into the office area.

He ran to the front doors and rushed outside.

Once he got outside, he saw his squad car pull out of the parking lot and turned south on Primrose Avenue. “Fuck!” he cried out and knew Chief Hanson would have his head on a platter later tonight.

Since Chief Hanson had the only other squad car, he ran over to his 1969 Mustang.

He jumped behind the wheel of his Mustang and started up the engine with a varoom.

He shoved it in reverse, screeched backward then shoved it into first gear.

He screeched his Mustang off down the parking lot with the rear tires smoking.

Darin raced the squad car south on Primrose Avenue.

He glanced in the rearview mirror of the squad car and saw the 1969 Mustang make a screeching left turn out of the police station parking lot. He thought that this might help his, as having a cop show up at the lake would help arrest Robbie.

Darin turned his eyes at the windshield and saw the dirt road to the lake was really close.

He slammed on his brakes, and the back tires smoked.

Darin turned the squad car onto the dirt road leaving a trail of dust and raced it to the parking area.

He slammed on the brakes, and the car stopped a foot from Sheryl’s Malibu.

He left the engine running while he opened up the driver’s door and jumped out.

He looked at the bench and saw nobody sitting there.

He looked at the woods and knew where to go and ran off in that direction.

Officer White screeched his Mustang to slow down by the entrance of the dirt road.

He turned onto the dirt road and raced down it, leaving a trail of dust.

Darin ran through the woods.

“STOP!” he heard Sheryl screaming out and knew that Robbie was attempting to rape her at this moment. He knew he arrived on time.

Back at the parking lot, Officer White screeched his Mustang to a stop by the squad car.

“What the fuck is he doing?” said Officer White, as he wondered why would a guy escape from jail and hide in the woods by the lake. You would figure that a prisoner would be racing to get out of Burkeville by now.

Officer White heard a girl scream from the woods. He whipped out his revolver and ran off in the direction of the scream, thinking Darin was attacking a woman.

He left his Mustang driver’s door opened and the engine running.

Back in the woods, Darin rushed in the direction he heard Sheryl scream.

“GET OFF ME!” screamed out Sheryl.

Darin ran as fast as he good and cautiously, as he didn’t want to smack into a tree and render himself useless.

Darin stopped the second he saw Sheryl on her back in the dirt, her blue jeans down at her ankles, she still had on her white panties, and her tee-shirt was ripped off, and a guy fondled her bare breasts.

“STOP ROBBIE HANSON!” yelled out Darin. Darin’s eyes soon widened in shock. It wasn’t Robbie Hanson attacking Sheryl. It was his close friend Kenny Woods. Of all people, it was a close friend and not his long-time bully.

“Kenny?” said Darin in complete disbelief.

Kenny looked to his left and saw old Darin standing five feet away. He looked down at Sheryl while his hands were all over her bare breasts. “She likes it rough. So leave us alone old man,” said Kenny.

“NOOOOO!” cried out Darin and he bolted over at Kenny, lunged in the air and tackled Kenny off of Sheryl.

Sheryl jumped to her feet and covered her bare breasts with her tee-shirt.

“YOU FUCKING SON OF A BITCH! YOU'RE THE ONE THAT RUINED MY LIFE,” yelled out Darin while he repeatedly punched Kenny in his face.

Sheryl froze in fear while she watched this old hippy beat the crap out of Kenny. She wasn’t about to stop him after what Kenny did to her. She actually enjoyed seeing Kenny get a beating.

She heard someone running through the woods, and Officer White appeared.

“What the fuck is going on here?” he said, seeing Sheryl standing there covering her chest with her ripped tee shirt.

He saw Darin on straddling Kenny beating the crap out of him. He aimed his revolver at Darin and rushed over. “GET OFF HIM!”

Darin stopped a punch in mid-stream and saw Officer White with his revolver aimed. He smiled while he got off, Kenny.

“What the fuck is going on here? You broke out of my jail to beat up some kid here at the lake?” he said.

“He tried to rape and murder Sheryl,” said Darin and pointed at Sheryl.

Officer White looked over at Sheryl. “What happened?”

Kenny inched away on his butt, and Officer White noticed. “Move one more inch, and I’ll put a bullet in you,” he said, aiming his revolver at Kenny.

Kenny froze in place sitting on his butt.

“Again, what happened here?” Officer White asked Sheryl.

“I came here to watch the sunset like I always do,” she said, and her eyes welled up. “Then, after the sun was gone, Kenny walked over to the bench. We started talking, and I asked him why wasn’t he in Ocean City with Darin and Charles.”

“Why would he be there?” said Officer White.

“He went with my boyfriend Darin Archer and Charles Moore to celebrate graduating,” she said and wiped away some tears off his cheek. “Then he pressed a knife into my left side and told me that if I didn’t go into the woods, they would find my bloody body here on the bench,” she said and wiped away more tears. “I was scared and didn’t know what to do, so I went with him.”

Darin looked at Kenny, and he wanted to kill him this second. The fact is that if Officer White didn’t arrive, Darin would have been brought up on murder charges.

“He got me to the woods, forced me down in the dirt, then cut my tee shirt and bra and then held the knife to my throat while he pulled down my jeans,” she said and wiped away more tears.

Officer White looked at Kenny then he saw a penknife in the woods. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

Kenny looked at Officer White. He started sobbing. “She wanted it rough. I didn’t do anything wrong,” he said between sobs. Officer White saw the fear in Sheryl’s eyes and knew Kenny was lying behind his cries.

Officer White saw a penknife in the dirt near Kenny. He walked over and picked it up. “That’s for the courts to decide. You’re under arrest for attempted rape and murder,” Officer White told Kenny while he walked over to him, putting the penknife in his shirt pocket. “And don’t you think about running again. Cause if you do, I’ll shoot you in your back,” he said at Darin.

“I won’t,” he said and walked over to Sheryl.

Darin’s movement caused Officer White to aim his revolver at Darin. “I said, I’ll shoot if you run,” he said in a serious tone.

“I’m not running,” said Darin while he walked up to Sheryl and placed his right arm around her shoulder.

Sheryl sobbed in Darin’s chest.

“Get on your stomach,” Officer White ordered Kenny.

Kenny obeyed, and Officer White handcuffed Kenny’s wrists.

He brought him to his feet. “You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford an attorney, one will be appointed for you.”

Officer White looked at everybody. “I want everybody to walk to my squad car and don’t think about running.

Officer White grabbed Kenny’s right arm while he grabbed Darin’s left arm.

They all walked through the woods and headed back to the parking area.

Once they got to the parking area, Officer White placed Darin and Kenny in the rear seat of the squad car.

He placed Sheryl in the passenger seat.

He walked over and turned off his Mustang and locked the door.

He rushed back to his squad car, got behind the wheel, and turned it around.

He drove the squad car down the dirt road.

When Officer White drove down Primrose Avenue, Darin stared at Kenny while Kenny just stared at the floor. He wanted so bad to return to beating the crap out of him but refrained.

After he placed Kenny in cell number four and Darin back in cell number two, he got Sheryl one of his extra police uniform shirts to wear.

He walked her over to his desk in the office area and had her fill out a statement.

After her statement was completed, Officer White put her in Chief Hanson’s office. He then called Chief Hanson and told him the news of what happened down at the lake.

Down in Philly, the Gladiator’s bar played the song Make It With You by Bread on the jukebox.

Robbie slow danced with Sal along with six other men couples.

After the song ended Robbie and Sal walked back to the bar.

Robbie glanced at his watch. “I better get home,” he said.

Sal glanced at his watch. “Me too,” he said.

Robbie and Sal walked off to the front door of the bar. They left the bar.

Once they got outside, Robbie walked Sal over to his white four door1969 Ford Galaxy.

They stood by the driver’s door.

“I wish we could go somewhere private,” said Sal.

Robbie looked at Sal, and he had this burning desire to be alone with his new friend. “Me too, but it’s too late, and I better get home,” he said then his eyes lit up with a great idea.

Robbie leaned over and whispered in Sal’s right ear.

Sal smiled with what he heard. “I can do that,” he said.

“Great, I’ll see you then,” said Robbie with sparkles in his eyes.

Robbie and Sal smiled at each other, then Robbie turned around and walked away.

Sal got behind the wheel of his 1969 Ford Galaxy.

Robbie got behind the wheel of his Camaro.

The guys started up their cars and drove out of the parking lot.

They drove off in different directions.

Back at the Burkeville police station, Officer White had Darin, handcuffed so he wouldn’t escape at his desk while filling out his statement.

“So, tell me why did you escape from my jail, drive off and to the lake and somehow stumbled upon Kenny Woods raping Sheryl Watson? Tell me how could that have happened?”

Over at Chief Hanson’s office, Sheryl stood by the doorway eavesdropping on Officer White and Darin.

“I was driving down Primrose Avenue and thought I heard a woman screaming from the woods by the lake. I had to help,” said Darin.

Officer White looked at Darin. “You expect me to believe that?” he said. “The window of the squad car was opened.”

“Or you can believe that I came here in a time machine from nineteen ninety-five and I knew that there would be a murder tonight at the lake,” Darin said.

Officer White looked at Darin like he was loony. “You’re one fucking smart-ass,” he said.

Over at Chief Hanson’s office, Sheryl chuckled over Darin’s time travel answer. She smiled and thought of old Darin as her knight in shining armor.

Officer White looked at Darin and felt it was useless to ask him any more questions. “Back to your cell,” he said and got up from his desk.

While he escorted Darin back to cell number two, Chief Hanson and Mayor Watson rushed inside the station. A few minutes ago, Chief Hanson drove over and picked up Mayor Watson and brought him to the station.

“Sheryl,” called out Mayor Watson when he and Chief Hanson rushed around the front desk and headed into the office area.

Sheryl ran out of Chief Hanson’s office and through the office area to Mayor Watson.

He hugged her, and she sobbed in his chest. “Everything will be alright,” he said while he hugged her tight.

Chief Hanson walked over to them.

“I’m going to take her to the hospital and have her examed by a doctor,” said Mayor Watson.

“Please do that,” said Chief Hanson.

Chief Hanson watched while Mayor Watson, with an arm around Sheryl, walk her to the front door.

“Officer White,” he called out after Mayor Watson and Sheryl left the station.

“Chief,” said Officer White while he walked out of the Cell Way hallway.

“What the fuck happened tonight?” said Chief Hanson.

Officer White proceeded to tell Chief Hanson how Darin escaped and ran off to the woods just in time to catch Kenny Woods attempting to rape Sheryl Watson.