Episode Notes
The Chain of Time by Killian Crane
After the disappearance of a little girl in the woods by a Middle School another boy is lured into the woods, the house isn't made of gingerbread but the oven is just as dangerous!
Music by Ray Mattis
http://raymattispresents.bandcamp.com
Produced by Daniel Wilder
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Transcription:
Andrew Leid felt like a freshly poured fountain drink; from his blond curls to his pudgy 12-year-old belly, he absolutely fizzed. He was blind to the children enjoying recess around him on the playground of Pine Hill Middle School. His entire world was a bridge of grass to Claire Ellis.
Claire sat in the front corner of his class. Andrew, who would never admit it to anyone, found himself looking at her more often than the white board.
She faced away from him, staring into the expansive forest behind the school. She had brown hair held up in a long pony tail by a pink ribbon.
He knew he had no business talking to a girl like her, but he decided that morning that he would ask her if she’d like to go to the Gumbo Festival with him. He just couldn’t seem to move his feet.
He finessed past several crinkling snack wrappers and drew his brass pocket watch. Flipped open, it showed there was still fifteen minutes of recess.
As he tried to put the watch away, the chain went taught and flew from his hand. Bewildered, Andrew turned to see Thomas Daniels. Thomas jiggled the watch, making it glint wildly.
“Whatcha doing, chubber?” Thomas asked.
Andrew’s fist clenched. “Thomas, please. Just give it back.”
“Oh, I will,” Thomas jeered. He swung the watch evenly. “If you can catch me.” Andrew saw Claire still staring into the woods, and then focused on Thomas. He
made a clumsy lunge, and Thomas pulled it taught, palming the watch then letting it fall free again as if he was walking the dog with a yoyo.
“Try again, fatty.”
Andrew did, but Thomas still held the watch.
“Cut it out, Thomas!”
The metal grazed Andrew’s fingers before it was pulled free a third time. Children gathered around to watch the spectacle. Thomas, the circus master, led
Andrew in a wide circle like a prize animal.
“Uh uh uh!” he teased.
Andrew’s face grew blood red with anger and effort. He charged, head low. Thomas
dodged and stuck his foot out to catch Andrew in an embarrassing trap. The crowd roared approval as he thudded to the ground.
He struggled to his feet, his heart limping in his chest. He put his hands over his head, fighting the need to puke.
“Look at those fat titties!” one kid squealed.
Andrew, instantly shamed, covered his chest with his hands.
“Who said that?” he squeaked, spinning around, trying not to jostle himself. No one
answered, they simply pointed and laughed.
Thomas spun the pocket watch high above his head, cocking his arm to throw it,
when an adult voice cut through the laughs of the children.
“What’s going on here?” Miss Minner demanded.
The circle fell instantly silent. Her eyes locked onto Thomas.
“Office, mister Daniels. Everyone else, back inside. Recess is over.”
There was a collective groan as the crowd headed for class. Thomas flung the watch
hard into Andrew’s chest.
Once the watch was safe, Andrew searched the crowd for Claire. He didn’t see her
pink bow anywhere.
The tree line, like a storm on the horizon, loomed silent and empty.
Ten minutes into class, Claire still wasn’t in her seat in the front corner. When he saw that Miss Minner still hadn’t noticed, Andrew raised his hand.
In the five weeks after Claire’s disappearance, Andrew gained twenty pounds.
He sat at the dinner table of his mother’s small apartment, watching a man who claimed to be an expert on the occult.
The man waved his hands excitedly. “In fact, people back then always kept precious metals on their person. Certain metals were believed to ward off the evil eye.”
Andrew’s mother changed the channel to the news. The oven chimed, and soon a baking sheet packed end to end with French toast lay before Andrew. Crispy crusts, buttery middles, and the perfect amount of cinnamon. It was Andrew’s favorite dessert.
“Thank you, mama.” Andrew said as he dug in.
She tousled his hair. “Love you, gummy bear.”
The Leid family hadn’t always lived in a small apartment. Once upon a time, the
Leid’s were the proud owners of a successful restaurant. Andrew’s father ran the business, and his mother was head chef. Andrew was the professional taste tester, if he finished his homework. Monday nights, when business was usually slow, they watched Westerns at the bar.
Despite great business, Andrew’s father had made many mistakes with the money. The last thing Andrew ever heard his father say was “It’s getting where we can’t even afford to feed him!”
The next morning, his father was gone.
Andrew’s mother sold the restaurant, their house, traded in her car, and moved them into the apartment. Despite their tight budget, she always made sure that her son was fed. She cooked three hearty meals every day, with plenty of snacks in between.
Shortly after his father left, Andrew began to gain weight.
The telephone rang and she quickly answered it. She looked over her shoulder before going out of the room to take the call in private. Andrew wiped his fingers clean, and downed the last of his chocolate milk. On the television, the window over the reporter’s shoulder faded into a picture of Claire sheepishly smiling.
A piece of ice lodged itself in his heart, and the reporter’s words drove the ice home.
“The search for Claire Ellis, twelve-year-old daughter of James and Olivia Ellis, has been discontinued by authorities. Claire was last seen wandering into the woods behind Pine Hill Middle School. The Ellis family asks that anyone with information involving Claire’s disappearance to call the number below.”
Feet pattered from down the hall back into the living room.
“A candle light vigil will be held Saturday at six p.m. at the Pine Hill Middle School. On behalf of all of us here at Channel 6 News, -”
The channel abruptly changed to cartoons. Andrew’s mother held out the remote, letting out a sharp breath as she replaced the phone.
“I’m sorry you saw that, gummy bear. Let’s not think about that tonight, okay?”
But Andrew had thought of Claire every night. As far as the police had learned, Andrew was the last one to see Claire. Despite being full, he wanted something to snack on.
He flipped open the brass pocket watch. It was only seven.
His mother sounded like a cracked china cup as she spoke. “What’s your watch say, cowboy?”
The previous year, Andrew and his mother went to the movies and saw a vintage western. When the hero strode into town, two bad guys leveled their guns. The hero
pulled a brass pocket watch from his duster and said “Will ya look at that? It’s high time things changed ‘round here.” He pulled his gun and shot the men down. Andrew had been overjoyed, clapping loud enough to draw a “Shhhh!” from somewhere in the dark. On Christmas day, Andrew had an exact replica of the watch.
“Seven. It’s getting late,” he told her, holstering the watch.
Though he truly loved the watch, it reminded him of times with his father, watching westerns. They had been a family then, and Andrew, whether he meant to or not, had ruined that. He was the reason his father left. The more he thought about his failures, to his family, to Claire, the more he wanted to eat and forget.
He rose and gave his mother a gentle hug. “I’m gonna go to bed, mama. I feel really tired.”
She hugged him back, and Andrew remembered a time when she had been able to wrap her arms all the way around him.
“Goodnight, gummy bear. I’ll have a big breakfast for you in the morning.” “Sounds good, mama. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
He drifted to his room, closing the door behind him. He no longer felt nice and full
and sleepy. He felt fat.
If he hadn’t been fat, he wouldn’t have been picked on by Thomas. He wouldn’t have
had a problem asking Claire to go to the Gumbo Festival with him. Claire wouldn’t have disappeared.
The large bag of pretzels he kept in his night stand lay in his lap, open. He sat on his bed watching the pocket watch tick away the seconds, silently eating the pretzels until they were gone.
The next day, the children were allowed on the playground for the first time since the disappearance. Andrew sat at the edge of the forest eating from a plastic sleeve of mini donuts, watching the other kids play. Thomas was occupied humiliating another target.
Behind Andrew, the new fence polls stood, but no fence barred the forest. During a lonely lunch two days before, Andrew heard Coach Bart say to another teacher, “those guys building the fence are really dragging butt.”
In the distance, Thomas gave some poor soul an atomic wedgie, pulling him off the ground, feet kicking.
“I wish I could help you, kid,” Andrew said around a mouthful of donut.
A familiar voice hissed behind him. “You could help me, Andrew.”
He turned wide eyed to see the back of Claire Ellis. She looked exactly the same as
the day she disappeared, down to her long ponytail tied with a pink bow. “Claire?”
She laughed.
There was a scream from the playground, making Andrew wheel around. Coach Bart, who had taken Miss Minner’s place as Andrew’s teacher, had Thomas by the ear, marching him towards the school. A crowd of kids followed, cheering and laughing.
When Andrew turned back to the forest. “Claire?”
The smallest crescent of Claire’s face peeked from behind a tree deep inside. “Claire... people have been really worried about you. Where have you been?” She grinned, saying nothing.
The wrapper crinkled in his trembling hand. “You want a donut?”
With a laugh, she turned and fled deeper into the woods.
“Claire, wait!” he called out as he breached the tree li