The Boy in the Raincoat
I was sitting in my chair glancing out the window. I noticed it started to rain and the leaves were falling off the tree. I decided to go outside for a walk until I saw my mother in the kitchen. She was making cookies and put the tray on the countertop. My little brother, Max ran out of his bedroom and almost toppled me over. “Watch out!” I said trying not to laugh. The three of us waited for the cookies to cool and we all had some. Chocolate chip was my favourite and Max’s too. It started to rain again but Max begged me to go for a walk. “Please Shannon, please!” I couldn’t resist so we put our rain boots and coats on. We walked down the same street we always go. Max was jumping up and down in the puddles. He was giggling as he was jumping. He was covered in mud but he didn’t care. I heard a noise and I turned around for a quick second. I turned around back to Max but Max was gone.
“Max!” I called out. “Max!” Still nothing. I began to panic after I called his name a third time and there was no answer, yet again. Only the steady pitter-patter of the rain hitting the concrete. Okay, I told myself, relax. The scent of the rain, letting the drops soak my hair and run down my face. After calming down, I began to search around, still continuously calling his name. Perhaps this was all a joke and Max would come running out from behind one of the trees, laughing and grinning like always. Holding on to this thought I took a few steps back, towards the puddles he was stomping through when I saw him last. As I stepped in a particularly large one I suddenly fell forward, completely drenching myself. Sputtering, I tried to climb back to my feet when I noticed red dripping into the puddle. Reaching up to my face I could feel a scratch along my left cheek.
Chunks of rock and gravel were dug in it. On the verge of tears now, I tried to finish getting to my feet when I realized I couldn’t. My right foot was stuck. Even more frustrated and scared, I yanked on it harder, but to no avail. All of a sudden I could feel long, loony fingers reaching up my leg, enveloping my boot and my calf. I screamed when I saw a hideous, demonic face grin up at me, dripping water and blood. I was frozen in place, and helpless as I felt him or whatever it was, pull me under, and the rainy world above was gone from my sight. I was dragged from under the puddle like a window. I could see the sky and the rain. The window got smaller and smaller as I was pulled down. “BAM!” I could feel with solid ground. Sharp red rocks are all around me. Fire and screams surround me. I glanced around and the demonic face was gone, but what was left wrapped around my leg was a letter.
‘Max ran away from me. We are going to play a little game. Find Max before I do. If you
win, Max gets to go home and nobody will be hurt again. If I win, Max will be gone
forever and the curse will be brought onto you.’
I guess I didn’t have a choice but to play the game. This short letter was my only clue. I stood on my sore knees. I twirled to see my surroundings it looks like - then it clicked. “Hell” I whispered the word. What had Max done that he was going to be sent here, why am I here? So many questions going through my head like a hurricane. Who would answer them? A sign popped out of the ground. Old wood and spiders pointed with a arrow written in blood, pointing to the devil himself.
I knew that it would save Max from this then I had to follow the arrow. I swallow thickly thinking of what could or would be waiting for me. I slowly began putting one foot in front of the other. I’m walking down this long tunnel and the arrow at the end pointed right. I debated turning left and sprinting as fast as I could, but decided against it. If Max was down here then I needed to find him and quick. I turned right and I was looking right at the monster. He was at least 7 feet tall with beat red eyes and razor sharp teeth with blood dripping from them. Claws that were sharp as the Wolverine and clothes that were ripped n torn. He slowly smiled at me and in an eerie voice said, “welcome to the end.” I screamed as he lunged at me. I felt his claws dig through my chest and with my last breath, I weakly yelled for Max.
My world slowly faded to black not knowing what happened to my brother. I woke up and thought I was dead. Looking around me, I noticed lots of pavement, gravel, and rocks that appeared to me as red. I was a bit confused, why would they be red? I started to regain my sight and strength. I still didn't know exactly where I was. Everything was still a blur to me, I guess you could say a mind blur. I looked around my surroundings again, realizing this wasn’t a dream. I started to panic because of the letter that I had read earlier, “Find Max before I do,” was all I could remember. I needed to find Max before it was too late. I got back up to my feet to realize I was in pitch black darkness. I felt a pile of small rocks beside me and made a pathway in case I got lost. I realized that making this path was getting me nowhere. I had no game plan. I’m going to lose Max. I’m going to lose everyone. All of a sudden, I saw a bright light shine above me with two men screaming, “we’ve found her!” They put down a long rope for me to grab onto and pulled me out of this strange place.
I saw my mother and ran into her arms. It felt like home. “But we have to find Max!” I screamed. She was startled but calm. She breathed heavily in and out a couple times. There was a long moment of silence, but comfortable. We unlocked arms and seemed to face reality again, but this time, it felt a lot scarier. “Where was I?” I asked the two men dressed what looked like construction uniforms. “You were trapped under a sewer, you have been stuck there for three days.”
My mind flashed back to what happened what seemed like moments ago. Max and I were going for a walk, the rain pouring, the puddle rippling from Max jumping in them. I remember turning around for only a second and he was gone.
“Shannon?” my mom shaking me.
I looked directly into her blue eyes, “Yes?”
“You were zoning out again. We need to get you to a hospital.”
“No! We have to find Max!”
My mother looked confused. She didn’t understand what I was talking about.
“Max, my little brother, we have to find him!”
I explained to her what happened but I could tell she didn’t believe me.
I don’t remember exactly what happened after that. I walked into the front door, took my boots off, and placed my raincoat on the hanger beside where Max’s coat would go. I kept wondering, if Max was okay, or if he was even still alive. It seemed everyone was going back to their normal lives. I knew at that moment I needed to save him before it was too late. My mother stopped me as I was about to head out the door. When I went to look at her, she looked like the monster that I had seen down in that..place. I screamed and as I did, I closed my eyes, hoping the monster would go away. Once I opened them, my mom looked like...mom again. Strange voices started to appear in my head and I couldn’t think straight.
After that moment, all I could hear was a car driving. Before my eyes, I saw an office. There was a couch and PhDs on the wall. A man stood in front of me. The man told me I had passed out. He asked me a couple of questions and I answered them. There was a moment of silence after a while.
“Max isn’t real.”
What? How could this be? I questioned all the times I talked about Max.
“I’m afraid you have schizophrenia.” The doctor said.
* This story was published in the Fresh Ink 2018 Magazine. *
Can be found at the St. Catharines Public Library.
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