FIRST CHAPTER: Back to the mountains

   -"That`s the way it is, boy. You have no choice".
    Brian was completely appalled: "Daddy, do I deserve this?"
   -"It`s not wickedly scheduled,  but for your good. It`s just a workcamp, in which you`ll live through
amazing experiences..."
    Brian`s dad carried on speaking, meanwhile his mind was ahead from
the present time, self-engrossed and wondering how his second workcamp in Spain could be.
Nothing simple, since last year his soul mate fell into the empty from 100 meters high, and
lost her life in front of Brian`s eyes.
    A year had gone by, though nothing happened to have changed concerning his fears, which
tended to visit him every now and then while dreaming. To let himself in for such an adventure again,
wasn`t easy at all; consequently; he refused to go. But too late:
    -" I enrolled you to the workcamp`s main list yesterday morning at
school. The countryside in Avila looks great, and no mountains to climb up this time..."
    + "This is nuts!" -cried Bri. "Everything was mapped out from the
very beginning, and I`m missing a beautiful summer in Gijón because of your wishes".
    -"Touching!" -added dad histerically laughing. "However, if you
ever quitted the workcamp, you`d know what that stupid mistake would mean, boy" .
    Brian was up to it perfectly= the coal mine would be his single destiny then: lost at his dad`s job
somewhere in the mountains of the region of Asturias. Only god knew how
he hated mountains and heights in general since last summer`s tragedy. But the workcamp day
approached, as well as July.
__________________________________________

    The coach reached Avila`s Middle Age walls and 40 kilometers left.
Hurtumpascual de la Sierra was a sinister place.
At least that was commented inside by some of Brian`s teenaged schoolmates.
What could he do? Disappointing his dad was craziness. Socialising was
the other alternative. In fact, Sheila hardly could quit an eye from him in the other side of the
aisle. However, Liza, his soulmate, had meant everything for him, and no girl could replace her
aura and her smile: "Absolutely no girl" -that was Brian`s way, but it would change soon.
_________________________________________

    *"Next busstop, Hurtumpasssssssssssssscual!" -cried Mr. Hillier as sun was hiding
in Serrota mountains 300 kilometers faraway. Hurtumpascual was a 100 inhabitants
village. Just one bar: el bar de la Feli. The church had to be restored on the back side= the
cementery.
    3 weeks with some excursion to the mountains! Brian didn`t think about it at all. He could only
stare the houses while the coach was passing by. 15 mates would accomplish him in his fears every
night, and the shameful feeling of waking them up with his cries in the
middle of the night, was the only thought he was occupied with during big part of the trip.
    Mister Hillier got off the coach and was welcome by a 70 year old woman, called Libia.
She owned a 2 floor single mansion, nothing to do with the suburban area
where he lived, wathing TV in Gijón, while dad argued with mom or nobody was there. Brian was sure
they would divorce on day, but last summer`s shock delayed things apart.
    Endless lectures were the hardest part to stand in Mr. Hillier`s way.
  Libia didnt say anything while the 16 of excursionists were sat down in the main garden listening
to the main instructions to follow up along the 3 weeks together.
    - "I rue the day I came here" -wondered Brian while listening to
Mr. Hillier`s words, while Libia nodding all time. Brian was easy-going though. He only refused the fact
of being matched with that Sheila Maxon and her gossip.
    But just before the lecturing session was over, Brian`s attention
focused on Laura Jenkins.
But she was the only girl already going out with a guy. Though he wouldn`t refuse his expectations for her,
because Tommy Dexter was a complete asshole. Definitely the most jerk in
the neighborhood. Bri knew from a reliable source that they weren`t good together probably
about to break up.
Nevertheless, Tommy "Asshole" Dexter would follow her everywhere.
    - "I^ll think about something" -thought Bri while Sheila approached, right after the end of the lecture.
    +"Thinking about anything special, Bri?" -asked the long haired and
brown eyed girl.
    - Don`t call me Bri, is that okay? -replied Brian bitterly.
    + Sorry. Want some gum? -some cinnamon gum went out from her left
jeans-pocket, but Brian refused it, this time more politely, and more calmed down, now that
Patt Samuels joined them from the back.
    * I do, I love cinnamon -cried Patt excitedly. And Sheila shared
listlessly the half of one piece of gum, that would undoubtedly belong
to Brian some seconds before, if he hadn`t rejected it.
___________________________________________________
    Next day was Monday and work started in the sorroundings of the church,
grabbing old plants and cleaning the area off from the stones spread around. Brian was
panicked not only from heights, but also from cementeries. Though the worst part would come
every night after frequenting the bar de la Feli along that first week, and after getting into the sack.
Nightmares were there deep inside his dreams, and short ones but intense cries would make
come true the fatal reality of sleeping alone next to Mr. Hillier`s room, in the ground floor
-faraway from "his" Laura, oozing up there with the others, especially that "asshole".
Thus the weekend finally came with the first excursion: the mountains!!.
______________________________________________________

    A weak stream with pure water was falling down from one of the hills where the excursionists
decided to camp for the night till Sunday morning. No more snow since it was summer season,
though the submit used to be covered in white magic powder till mid-spring every year. The stream
was the last consequence of a white and cold period already far. Few flowers remained there too.
Just a few little bunches of violets nearby the hundreds of little
rocks spread around the area where the campers and Brian settled.
    No Tommy, no Patt, none of the other stupid guys of class around for a moment.
All of those made up their minds to wander around the area to hunt some grasshopers
and throw them at the girls to scare them. Brian hated grasshopers, he wouldn`t even dare to stare
one of those for more than 2 seconds. Brian had been told that Libia even used to hunt them and eat
them. But since it was Patt Samuels who had told him on their way to the mountains -he was sitting
down by his side on the coach then-, you could believe it or not, and it didn`t really matter.
    Laura was right there, cutting some violets, and suddenly someone
came from behind and put a violet on Laura´s ear:
    -"This is for you, Laura. Don`t ask why, because you look pretty
even without it".
    +"Oh Brian you`re a sweetheart...."
    But even if Laura went of talking, that "sweetheart" had got to his
heart and no man could steal that magic glory to him. So he keep nodding at everything Laura said
him, as if he was a plane with the automathic pilot, and...
    +"Brian, you agree death penalty?" -asked Laura surprised. Brian was
like still dreaming about that "sweetheart" and what he would do if she was her girl one day, and
no clue about what she was talking about.
   -"Oh, sorry. I was thinking. Of course not. That`s gross!
    And they went on talking till one thick hand grabbed his shoulder
from behind and pushed him violently away, followed with a "you schmuck".
    * What were you both doing together, hey? -asked Tommy "prick"
Dexter while Brian tried to get up.
    * Anyway, I have grasshopers for everybody...
    ** You Tommy Dexter will leave those grasshopers go now, is that
okay? -asked furiously Mr.
Hillier, who appeared "in the right moment", like Brian would think
later on their way back home on Sunday.
    And Laura blinked one eye, as a gesture of affection that Tommy
appreciated a lot.
_____________________________________

    * Okay, this is the schedule for this second week: We will all work
inside the cementery outside
the village. I mean next to the church and that area we just cleaned
this first week....
    -"Gosssssssh! -shivered Brian while wondering. "At least I^ll cook with Laura next Wed.
    *.....Okay guys! Any questions? ..... No questions? So let`s take the tools, Libia just gave us and go for!.
    Breaktime was usually 11.30 AM, and lunch time around 2 PM. Then it
was nap or TV time, or maybe smoking time in case of Tommy and the rest of the "bullshit"
around, though he knew well they almost all still were 15 -but Tommy, who was 16, like Brian -which
meant an advantage of experience for him and one more year of stupidness for Tommy.
    8 PM was suppertime, but not outside in the garden because of the
fresh air of the mountains
-Brian had lost his panick to them the weekend before-.
    However, at supper time that Monday July 12, Patt Samuel was
missing. Tommy "trash" Dexter
and the others went smoking to the cementery before suppertime, then they played the "hide and
count" game, in which each one hid while one of the players counted and
searched for them. So suppertime was delayed to search for him, Mr. Hillier included:
    + "Patttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
    * "Paaaaaaaaaaaaaaaattie!"
    - "Patt Samuels, can you hear me?" -this was Brian`s voice, but
nothing seemed to change outside there, around the church and the woods next too.
Only less and less birds singing as the sun was
setting down.
    After supper time at 11 PM that time, each one of the 14 of us were
questionned one by one, even those who didn`t go to the cementery, but to "La Canaleja" -the
fountain in the rock, 2 kilometers faraway-, where Brian went with Sheila, Laura and the rest,
but Tod Michael, who was the autistic guy in the workamp. Every workcamp had one guy like this,
Brian thought.
    That night, one less person went bed, and fear settled among the 14
teenaged people left.
___________________________________________________

SECOND CHAPTER: Where is Patt?

The cops were seeking Patt 24 hours on that Tuesday, and job was
  cancelled by the moment. On Monday night, nobody was able to sleep at
  all, and Bri would know, the nightmares could be even horrible then.
      -"Where could this Pattie go?" -this was the most asked question
  during Monday and Tuesday night.
      The cops would still patrol all across the woods till Thursday.
  Patt`s parents wouldn`t be warned still and all of the workcamp`s
  participants were forbidden to call to Asturias to inform till
Thursday.
  It`s this day that workcamp would be cancelled and money given back.
      Last year Liza lost his life and now this:
      -"Im going to kill my dad" -wondered Brian with inside hate.
  ________________________________

    Wednesday morning came and Brian was happy= "cooking with Laura!!"
-he cried and cired inside his mind, and probably in dreams all around
the night. That was first night in a lot of time he didn`t have any
  nightmares. He just had one bizarre dream sequence in which Patt
Samuels was playing "hide and count" at the church:
      -"But, Laura, believe me if I tell you that Patt was missing in
my  dream in the most strange of the ways" -said Bri while peeling
potatoes and glacing at Laura`s breasts every now and then-.
      * "Well, where do you think he went, accoording your dream, Bri?"
  -the fact, she just called him Bri, made him shiver really.
      - "We.., well..". -Brian was still pretty excited. "In my dream,
  Brian go to open a hole in a rock and he got inside there...".
     * "....WHAT!" -asked Laura in a surprised way, about to have her
  left thumb cut with the knife, while peeling the carrots for the big  salad.
      - "Well that was a dream, but the point is that that big rock
lies  nearby the cementery, sorrounding the path to the woods".
      * "I think I know which one you mean, Brian, but you dream too
much, and too loud...and that`s why you sleep on the first floor -replied a
  kidding Laura to a red cheeked Brian.
  ______________________________
    However, that night, where no cops would be there, Brian would date
  Laura on the first floor, at the main entrance. They would go
together  to find out about that rock, because Brian was sure he had more a
  premonition that a dream, the strange it could look like. Moreover,
  Brian wanted the workcamp to last more, because he feel like having
any  chances to go out with "her" Laura.
      * "Where`s the main key?" -asked Laura in a low voice, once both
  were by the main door of the mansion.
      -"To be honest, no clue, though I think Libia should keep it
  someplace in her room".
      * "That `s a strange woman, Tom" -Laura had just called him Tom, but
  Brian didn`t mind much.
      Few minutes later, they both decided to approach from Libia`s
room nearby Mr. Hillier`s one, connected with the kitchen. It was close to
  midnight and Brian`s lamp was still powerfully lighting, this time
  pointing out at Libia`s main door.
      Laura wanted to pee so bad. "Why girls want to pee at the very
  unright moments?" -Brian thought while opening slowly and soft
Libia`s door.
      - "Locked, cheeeeeeeeeesse!" -whispered Brian with
disappointment, while Laura had gone to the bathroom in the other side of the room,
not too far from the kitchen.
      Brian went back to the dining room, waiting for Liza this time.
The others seemed to be quiet up there. Surely that "jerk" of Tommy
couldn`t move his body anymore because of the beers he secretly had had at el
bar de la Feli, with his friends. Now that Sheila Maxon accomplished him and
  the rest in their alcohol adventures. Mr. Hillier was too stupid to
  realize about it. All about his heart thought was "let`s find that
  Samuels and save the workcamp".
      Anyway, Laura rushed on her tiptoes into Brian, sitting on
Libia`s arm chair:
      -"What`s up? the door`s locked, -said Brian, because more than
  searching for his premonition`s signal at that rock, he jut wanted to
  date Laura for a while and see what happened, now that "foolish"
Tommy  oozed like a sow.
      *"Gotta come and see, Brian, because I just saw Libia in the
  kitchen, opening a secret door passage there!!".
      -"What?????" -cried Brian for a bit, being afraid he might wake
the others up-.
  ________________________________________
      *"I swear I saw that old woman getting into that passage and this
  looks like exciting to check, doesn`t it? -said a brave
Laura...braver that Brian, though in these cases Brian`s courage got bigger.
      -"Okay, I follow you"
      Once they were in the kitchen, everything seemed to keep it`s
normal rythm: the sauce pans hanging from the wall above the stove, the big
  wash machine lying there nearby the main table in the middle,
separating it from the fridge on the other side of the room.
      Laura pushed an upper button on the fridge that was supposed to
  control the fridge`s internal temperature. However, that "forgotten"
  button never touched by anybody who owned a fridge in the world -if
food kept cool and fresh, temperature was okay-, was the one, Libia
touched concerning Laura`s testimony. And....
      +"Goossssssssssh! -whispered both Laura and Bri at the same time,
  while watching the  fridge leaning forward from the wall supporting
it, meanwhile this same wall just discovered a secret door.
      Laura opened the door softly and nothing seemed to be locked this
  time:
      *"Give me the lamp, Brian, please" -Brian nodded, but also felt
  like a braveless boy beside "his" girl`s courage.
      They both entered a dark passage then, and the sound of the door
  back closing and the fridge leaning backward the wall, frightened
them even more, as midnight sounded on the clock.
  ____________________________________________________

FINAL CHAPTER: The passage
 

-"This passage seems to go down, Laura" -said Bri in a confusing way,
but Laura, who was walking in front of him said nothing..... nothing
till they both heard a gate opening some meters further, all after 150
meters already walked.
*"Cheeeeeesse, Bri, what was that?" -whispered Laura.
  -"That old woman just entered someplace, and I would like to guess
where that is".
    Both, Brian and Laura reached the origin of that sound.
Nevertheless, it wasn`t a gate, but a big sewer driving to someplace in the village...
  -"The CEMENTERY!!" -wondered Brian about to cry when he opened the
steel cover of the sewer -this one covered on artificial soil, never
appreciated while working in there a few days before.
  -"What`s she doing? -asked Brian to himself.
  *"Where are we Brian?" -asked Laura impatiently while lighting the
lamp off.
  -"The cementery!! And there`s someone digging down somewhere 5 meters
from here next to Libia. She has a lamp too, but... IT`S Mr. Hi..!!!!!!!!!
__________________________________________

    Evidently, and surprisingly for Brian and Laura, Mr. Hillier was
there, digging down persistently, and Libia had met him. Nothing good
smelled.
A bag, the lenght of a human body, was lying there, next too Mr. Hillier`s lamp.
No moon up in the starry sky fading by the help of a thick paste of
clouds approaching. All of this shadowed clouds seemed to have the
height of the cementery as meeting point. Suddenly...
  +"Gosh, who`s there!!!!!" -cried Libia when she heard a noise coming
from the sewer in the middle of that little cementery -sorrounded of
Middle Aged walls.
  $ Go and have a look, nena -asked Mr. Hillier in a indifferent voice.
  -"Cheeeeesse, I`m a fool. Let`s rush Laura...!"
  +"Don`t you try it, boy" -said unmercifully Libia while Laura hid in
the underground and the old woman pointed at Brian with a gun. "Get the
fuck out of there now, pricky stuff!!".
  -"It`s okay. I`m out" -said Brian as if nothing had really happened.
  $ Hey boy! Do you have any clue of who`s there?
    But before Brian could guess, Libia hit him on the neck and the boy
fell off like a feather. Even Laura could hear the sound of the hit
down there. What could she do? No good intentions grew up outside at the
moment. Calling the cops through radio would have been to late to save
Brian of any danger.
  + Oh geez, I must react right now!!  -wondered Laura excitedly.
  *"This young boy will accompany Patt Samuels in the hole, but you`ll
have to dig down deeper, my dear -said Libia smiling in the most evil
of the ways  -just as Mr. Hillier did-. And this moment was profited
by Laura to open the sewer . Though Libia once more heard, and Laura
didn`t think about it twice and rushed back into the hole as fast as
she  could.
  * Dammed shit!! Somebody else is there! I^ll have to go down and have
a glance to check on. Be right back, my dear -said Libia while rushing
into the sewer after grabbing the gun from her apron`s belt.
_____________________________________
  Laura went down and hid in the darkness. Her taek-kown-do classes
should help this time. She died the lamp`s light out and stayed quietly
in the passage behind the stairs up to the sewer. While Libia was going
downstairs, Laura shook the stairs agressively and Libia fell down from
6 meters high.
  *"Aaaaaaaaaaaaay!!"
  $ "Stupid old bag of bones" -cried disappointedly Mr. Hillier while
digging. I^ll have to go and see what`s going on".
  Though when Mr. Hillier opened the sewer`s cover to get down, a gun
was pointing out right at his large nose:
  +"Tread back, my dear prof" -added Laura ironically, but pretty mad.
  $ Don`t worry little girl. We were just getting the soil ready
for...tomorrow`s work...
  +"Bullshit, Mr. Traitor!! -interrupted Laura violently. "I don`t give
a crap what you make up this time. You put your hands up behind your
head and shut up!".
  Mr. Hillier went on talking, even no nore treading back, but
approaching to Laura little by little.
  +"Hands up behind head, I say!!!"
  But after lifting up one hand, the "Traitor" grabbed a knife hidden
in the sleeve, which reached Laura`s shoulder.
+"Agggh!"
  $ "Good try little girl. Now three bodies will sleep at my hole, ha,
ha, ha!".
  (KRACK!!!!!!!)
  -"This is for Patt, bullshit!! -cried a brave Brian hitting Mr.
Hillier with Mr. Hillier`s forgotten  shovel, just on the head. This
last fell like a drunk at 2 AM. Then Brian rushed into Laura and kissed her lips:
  -"Are you okay?" -these were his words after that magic kiss.... that
night of July 19, and Brian couldn`t believe it.
  +"You saved my life, my Prince. This hurts but I don`t mind. By the
way, Brian...
  -"What?"
  + "Kiss me again, please!!!!!!!".
___________________________________
  The cops arrived by 2 AM, and Patt`s wrapped up body was finally
found.
He had been apparently asfixiated, because of no marks on his body.
Though the autopsy would decide later.
   10 AM in the morning and everybody sorrounded Laura at her bed in
Avila`s hospital -40 kilometers beyond the facts place-. Mr Hillier and
Libia were under strict arrest inmediately.
    Tommy Dexter remained there all time grabbing her hand. And Brian
looked from the background among all the curious bodies there. Their
love adventure had actually started the night before, and Laura would
break with Tommy once back Asturias, right after Patt`s crowded funeral
at highg school, presided by the major of Gijón and the king of Spain,
Juan Carlos I.
    And Brian wondered by then: -"The courage I lost with Liza`s lost,
is what I just got back with Laura, and even if the workcamp was over, as
well as the innocent life of Patt Samuels, a true eternal love life
started up on the most beautiful of the days: July 19".      THE END

July 19, 2000
To Cuchi Cuchi