Chapter 2b - The Timrod Library (Tony)

Tony stood under a tree in the yard of the library and watched people come and go for a few minutes to get a lay of the land before she went in.

It was families mostly that came and went from the library that morning, but Tony spotted a few teenagers too. She saw one boy—he looked like a junior or senior in high school—head toward the library but then hop off the porch and head around the side of the library toward the back.

Tony pulled her hat down close to her sunglasses and followed the boy around the same side of the library. She stayed at the front corner until he was around the back and then followed him, trying not to be seen. She reached the back corner and peeked around to see what she could see.

Tony peeked around the corner of the house and saw four kids, three boys and a girl, sitting on the ground behind the AC unit. She couldn't hear what they were saying over the roar of the compressor fan. But she could see they were laughing and passing around a blunt.

Tony took off her hat and tucked it into the back of her pants. She straightened her ponytail and stepped around the corner to the back of the library. She gave the kids a nod and a wave.

The boys jumped up and the girl, who had the joint in her hand, froze. They all four eyed Tony suspiciously.

"Who are you?" one of the boys said. He was short and stocky and had tousled blond hair. The others looked at him and then back at Tony.

"Relax," Tony said and put up her hands in a show of peace. She took a few steps closer so she wouldn't have to yell to be heard over the AC. "My names Tony. I'm in town for a few days against my will and I, well, honestly, I was looking for . . ." She pointed at the joint. "You know where I can get some?"

"We're from North Carolina. Raleigh. I live with my step-sister. She came down here to visit some friends. I had to come with her. It's been a lot of togetherness." She made "togetherness sound like an obscenity. "I've been sober for, like, five days straight now. It sucks ass. I need some relief, and I could smell you guys a mile away."

"Of course," Tony said. She edged her voice up a notch as she pulled out the cash she'd taken from Andrea. "Now, are you going to sell me weed or are you going to keep on being a little bitch?"

The girl laughed so hard as she exhaled that she started coughing. She passed the joint to the next boy, a Latino kid with a buzz cut. "He is a little bitch," she said.

"Fuck you!" the blond kid said.

"My name's Ash," the girl said. "This is Sean." She pointed toward the blond kid who had just said "Fuck you." "This is Mark." She pointed to the Latino kid who was taking a long drag on what was left of the blunt. "And this is Jake." She pointed to the last boy who was tall and dumpy-looking with long hair.

Tony softened her tone, but "Hey" was all she said in reply.

"My stash ain't here," Sean said. "I've got a spot in the woods where I keep the good stuff. Come with me and I'll sort you out."

Tony looked dubious and glanced at the other's faces to get a read on them. "Me, go with you into the woods? How about no? How about you just bring it here?"

"Suit yourself then." Sean made a dismissive shooing motion with his hand. "Move along."

"It's cool," Ash said, sounding impatient. "I'll go with you." She got up and dusted grass and dirt off her bottom with her hands.

"Lead the way," Tony said.

"Man, you small town kids sure do make it hard to get high."

Tony turned around to face the door, but every muscle in her body tensed. Unless he decided to shoot her in the back or something, she figured she could make it to the door before he could make it to her. This wasn't the first dangerous situation Tony had been in, but she was starting to feel like this was an incredibly stupid plan to get information from the kids, information they probably didn't have.

"Now who's being the little bitch?" Sean asked.

Tony could hear him moving something around. She heard the sound of wood banging against wood, and then it was quiet.

"Here." Sean said as he put his hand on Tony's shoulder. Tony jumped. "Fire this up and prove you aren't a bitch," Sean said. "This is the good stuff."

Tony took the joint and sniffed it. "What's in it?" she asked as she took the lighter from Sean. "Should I sit down first?"

"Yeah," Sean said with a wicked grin. "You want some too?" he asked Ash.

Tony sat down on the rotten couch, fired up the blunt, and took a long drag.

Ash sat down beside her, close enough to be within arm's length of Tony. Sean sat in the nearby chair, also within arm's length.

Tony exhaled the smoke. She immediately felt the hit of the marijuana. It wasn't anything special, not that she could tell.

"Give it a minute," Sean said and gestured to Ash to take a hit.

"It's not bad," Tony said as she waited for whatever the weed was laced with to kick in. She wasn't an expert on recreational drugs, but she had spent most of her 15th and 16th years trying just about everything once, in an effort to silence the visions. Weed didn't work, and alcohol worked about as well as anything else, and was probably safer. But she only drank when it was really bad. "Not bad," Tony repeated and closed her eyes. But I'm not hitting it again until you do," she told Sean.

Ash took a hit and then passed the joint to Sean. He took a long drag too and handed it back to Tony. "Feel that yet? I've got a bag full. A half-gram in each. Ten buck apiece."

Tony did feel it now. It came on slow and soft, but it was there, a growing, profound sense of relaxation and a swelling euphoria.

"Ten bucks seems high," Tony said, and as she said the word "high" she let out an involuntary giggle. "What's in it?" she repeated but took another long drag.

Tony took the joint and took another drag. This time the drug kicked in with both feet.

Tony closed her eyes, and everything went quiet. She couldn't hear Sean's mouth-breathing. She couldn't hear Ash's giggling and the squeak the couch made as she rocked. She couldn't hear the buzz of the bugs, the chirps of the birds, the rush of the wind in the tops of the pines.

Tony turned her attention inward, and all was quiet there too. The constant noise in her brain, like a thousand fingernails on a chalkboard, was suddenly still. She couldn't even hear her own thoughts. She felt panic rising around the edges of her consciousness, but they passed as quickly as the arose. Those feelings couldn't get past the warm blackness of the drug. Her body was incapable of releasing adrenalin, so it gave up trying. This was bliss. She was floating in a vast black lake in a silent green swamp, the thick black water up over her ears. It was glorious and still. It was everything she wanted in this world.

Tony stood to her feet but had to steady herself on the arm of the couch. She shoved her hand into her pocket and pulled out a small stack of bills. She only had about $95. It was nearly all of their extra money. "I'm a little short. Keep one, and I'll buy the rest." Tony swayed a little as she held her hand out. She closed her eyes, and she was back in the quiet black swamp floating in peaceful bliss. She slowly opened them again and blinked Sean back into existence.

Tony had approached these kids for some info on the town. She found something a lot better. Drugs! Really sick drugs! She knew she should go to the library now and do what she was supposed to do. Following two very high strangers into the woods was stupid, so stupid. But they might have some good intel they'd need. And besides, how dangerous could it be. They were just two kids. They seemed cool.

"Wait up!" Tony called as she ran after Sean.

Tony saw the dark water of the of the river and the bliss from before, that was still floating in her brain just beneath her surface thoughts, washed over her again. She was calm. Her brain was quiet. Her body was warm and relaxed. The river looked so inviting. What could go wrong?

Tony pulled her shirt off and pushed her shorts down below her hips so they fell to the ground. She reached her hand behind her back to unclasp her bra when she noticed that Sean was still wearing his shorts.

"You first, swamp boy. Vamos a ver esa bicho."

"Fair."

Tony unhooked her bra and dropped in on top of her shorts. Then off came the panties. She held them up in front of her and then dropped them on top of her shorts.

"After you." She gestured toward the water.