EPPINGTON: THE GUARDED SECRET

tonight, I’m not sure we’ve got what it takes to fix any of this. For one, we don’t have the slightest clue what to do anyway; and two: we’re out numbered.”
“There must be something we can do. Maybe Jeffreys has the answer.” I was hopeful.
“Doubt it.” Rob sucked his teeth. “If he had the answer, don’t you think he would’ve made a move on it already?”
“We won’t know what he knows unless we hear him out. That’s the least we can do,” I rebutted.
I knew what was announced at the meeting pretty much knocked the wind out of Sam and Rob. I was definitely stunned at the magnitude of what we were facing too. Surely, we got some answers, but not nearly as much as we needed. We assumed that strange object in the sky had something or everything to do with it, but there was no hint as to why or how to reverse what’s been done. In spite of everything, I couldn’t allow myself to think that we were powerless although we were clearly the minority.
“I’d be interested in knowing how Jeffreys snapped out of it,” Sam remarked. “If he did, that means everybody could, so I’m looking forward to hearing what he has to say.”
“When you think about it that way, it does give you hope, doesn’t it?” I said. “If everyone is able to snap out of this weird state, together we can take back our town and we won’t need any outside help.”
Rob’s face lit up. “You two may have a point there. We may not need an escape plan after all. They’re the ones that might need it.”
“This all sounds well and good, but let’s not get our hopes up, guys,” Sam commented. “Best to just wait and see what Jeffreys says tomorrow.”
I agreed. There was nothing worse than dashed hopes.
* * * *
That night, something summoned me from my sleep. I’m not sure if I heard something or sensed it, but rubbing my eyes, I got up from the mat and sauntered over to the window.
Down the street, I immediately noticed a white van was parked in front of Johnette Christie’s house. And moments later, two men emerged from the home carrying a stretcher with what looked like a body on top. I assumed it was Mrs. Christie’s body on the stretcher, but wondered why they’d chosen to collect it in the middle of the night. Two dogs, walking on their hind legs were with them and after one of the animals opened the back doors of the vehicle, the men lifted the stretcher inside. One of them must’ve hopped in the back as I only saw the two dogs and the other man appear at the side of the van. The dogs entered through the passenger doors while the man took the driver’s seat. I heard the engine start and they drove away.
I quickly went over and nudged Sam. She woke up right away, a bit startled.
“They just came and got Mrs. Christie’s body,” I told her.
“They did?” She seemed a little surprised, considering how sleepy she obviously was.
“Yep.”
“Okay, that’s good then.” She yawned. “Go back to sleep. We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
She rolled over and moments later, I heard her snoring.
It wasn’t easy for me to fall asleep again. In fact, I stayed up a long time as my thoughts were all unsettling.
* * * *
The next morning…
8:58 A.M.
The roar of buses broke through the silence of our neighborhood and the guys and I rushed over to the window overlooking our street.
Five big, yellow school buses pulled up one after the other, parking on the western side of the street. I noticed the last one had stopped directly in front of my house.
None of us spoke a word as we watched and waited to see what would happen. Soon, the first bus drove off and pulled up on the opposite side of the road in front of the McIntosh residence, then the second drove up to the second house on the western side of the street. The third one moved next, stopping in front of Joe and Betty Kincaid’s house and the last two remained where they were.
Nervously, I watched, hoping for that last bus to drive away, but then like clockwork, several large dogs exited each bus and walked towards the homes they were parked in front of.
“Oh, no!” Sam muttered, glancing my way.
I said nothing; only watched. Then within a couple of minutes, I saw my parents and Carl being escorted out of our house. They were walking quietly and submissively toward the bus with suitcases in hand.
“I’m sorry,” Rob said, as I felt the anger building inside of me and the tears simultaneously flowing down my cheeks. I hated what was being done to them and the fact that there was nothing I could do to stop it. The guilt I harbored was overwhelming and I desperately wanted to run down there and fight as hard as I could to save my family, like any of them would’ve done for me if I was in that exact, same situation. I was a failure as a son and a brother.
We continued watching as all the families they came for were driven away, one bus behind the other, and we had no idea where they were taking them.
Sam placed her hand in mine. “Hewey, I’m really very sorry,” she said. “I wish there was something we could do…”
I shook my head and sat on the bench. “I won’t let them get away with this. Mark my word. I’m gonna find out where they’re taking them and I’m bringing them back home.”
Rob sat down next to me. “I’m with you, buddy. We’ll find a way to fix this just like you said.”
Sam nodded. “When they hurt one of us, they hurt all.”
I sat alone while Sam and Rob got a quick bite to eat before Jeffreys was due to show