Revenge of the Bully (14 page)

“Uhh, explain to me again why I'm being interviewed down there?”

“This is the Ledges. It's a famous place in these parts. The producer said it will make a real dramatic backdrop. Now look, it's my job to see you go in there, so get moving.”

For the first time there was a threatening tone to his voice. Being an official coward, I hurried ahead into the gorge. As the trail dipped lower into the chasm the air grew cooler and wetter. The rock sides were covered with a thick, slimy green moss. I was soon at least fifty feet down in the depths of the chasm. I looked up. There was no way to climb out other than the trail—which I suddenly noticed was marked
RED
! I went over a big tree root and wound around some boulders and under a ledge or two. Every now and then side passages branched off in different directions. I hoped I hadn't wandered off and gotten lost.

“You made it,” a slick voice suddenly sounded from up ahead.

I didn't see anyone, but hearing a voice brought a wave of relief.

For a moment. Then I recognized the voice and my knees began to quake. How could I have been so dumb? I had walked straight into a trap and now found myself at the bottom of a gorge with no means of escape. I had even sent my dad away!

On the bright side, I no longer needed to worry about tomorrow's game or Mama's grand opening. It seemed pretty unlikely I'd be returning from Nelson Ledges anytime soon.

Chapter 15

IN THE DEPTH OF THE LEDGES

“So,” I asked, “I take it the photo shoot is off?”

Toby stepped out from behind a bend in the trail. “I have to admit,” he sneered, “I was getting a little worried that you wouldn't come. Sorry for doubting you.” He let out an evil laugh. “How funny
was
that whole ESPN thing? I mean, why on earth would ESPN want to interview you of all people? Who'd be dumb enough to fall for that?” He paused and held his hand over his mouth. “Oh yeah, Rishi would!” He laughed some more and wiped a tear from his eye. “That guy cracks me up. He actually believes you're someone special.”

Despite the fear coursing through my body, my anger rose when he insulted my best friend. “At least I can count on him . . .”

“To what?” Toby asked. “To always get you in trouble? Anyway, I've finally got you right where I want you, Rat-bone. Last year you weaseled your way out of all my plans, and this year you've managed to win over my lame brother. He's athletic, but I've got the family's intelligence gene . . .”

He continued to ramble on. I was only half-listening. I knew that in addition to being evil, Toby was a big coward. Hey, it takes one to know one! That meant somebody else was probably lurking nearby to do his dirty work. But who? Josh and Trevor were now my friends, so they were out of the picture. I couldn't think of anyone else in Garrettsville strong enough, tough enough, or nasty enough to join him out here. Maybe Toby's plot wasn't as brilliant as he thought.

“Sorry to interrupt,” I said, “but I think I'll be leaving now.”

“Not so fast. My tutor has lined up a few surprises for you.”

His tutor? I should have guessed Lutzkraut was behind this! It certainly explained the “mature” woman who had called Rishi about the photo shoot. My legs began to shake as my eyes swept the ravine for alternate escape routes. Toby noticed.

“Oh, there's no escape. I made sure of that.” He snapped his fingers. Four kids wearing Windham Bombers sweatshirts came out from around the bend. They glared at me with folded arms.

I remembered Belicheat's phone call to Mrs. Lutzkraut. This wasn't good at all. I started inching back the way I'd come.

“Going somewhere?”

I spun around. Sure enough, Bruno and Bart were blocking my way. At least this time their names were printed on their shirts! Bruno smirked, “I'm looking forward to the game tomorrow. I'll let you know how it turns out. And as for our little bet from the other night, looks like we'll be finding out right now how tough you are. Ain't that right, Bart?”

“Yep.”

By now my legs were shaking so bad that a cloud of dust began to form around my feet. I noticed an opening to my right that separated two massive boulders. It wasn't much more than a wide crack.

“You're not going anywhere,” Toby ordered. “I've waited a year for this moment. The time has finally come to get my revenge! Hahahaha! You're mine now and there's no way out. . . .”

“What about over there?” I asked, pointing to the crack I'd been eyeing.

Confusion flashed across his face. “What?”

I didn't wait to give him an answer. Instead, I sucked in my stomach and plunged between the rocks. I could hear Toby scream, “Get him!” as I scrambled frantically through the narrow channel. It was real tight and dark. I scraped my way through. I almost got stuck but pushed on, popping buttons off the front of my shirt. I realized this was one time being small was a definite asset. Bruno and Bart would have greater difficulty, and I knew Toby wasn't going anywhere without them.

After a few feet the passage began to open up and I could move more quickly. I was increasing my lead, but once they squeezed through the opening I knew my pursuers would be right on me. I weaved in and out of the twisting passage. I came around one big turn and was faced with a horrific sight. The path ended at the foot of a massive slab.

I stood there gaping, breathing hard. The rocks around me rose straight up for at least thirty feet, too steep and high to climb. I was cornered. My chest tightened as I was gripped by an unbelievably powerful fear. I backtracked a few feet, in case I had missed some passage. It was no good. The shouts from Toby and company were getting louder. They must have squeezed through and would soon be on me.

Yes, I've been in more bad spots than any kid I know, but hearing the approach of Bruno, Bart, Toby, and the other Windham players was the most scared I've ever been in my life.

Until I heard something near my feet go, “Pssst!”

“AGGHHH!” I screamed. Was I losing my mind? I glanced down into what looked like a black hole. Two eyes glowed back at me. Was it a zombie? Was it Gollum? I fell back against the wall. Whatever it was, the creature was coming out to get me . . .

“Rodney,” it whispered.

. . . and it knew my name! I got ready to bolt back to Bruno and Bart, preferring their fists to whatever this beast had in store for me.

A gray hood popped out of the darkness. “Rodney, it's me . . . Pablo.”

“Pablo?”

“Yeah, from school.”

“You're not a zombie?”

“I don't think so. Are you being chased by those guys?”

“Huh? Oh, yeah.”

“Then hide in here with me.”

It sounded like a great offer. He slid back in and I squirmed my way in after him. The opening was super tight but inside the hole opened up a bit and was large enough for us both to sit. He lifted a couple of rocks and partially concealed the opening.

I wanted to ask him what he was doing in a hole in the middle of Nelson Ledges but noises from outside stopped me. I watched feet stomp by. I knew they'd be back once they reached the end. I just prayed they didn't see the hole. Sure enough, I heard a howl of confusion and anger. After another minute I heard the grumbling gang returning.

“I don't understand it. Where did they go?” Toby's voice whined.

“You said you picked the perfect place,” Bart or Bruno barked at him. “You said there was no escape.”

“There isn't any escape! I chose this spot after studying like three trail maps. I don't understand.”

“Well apparently there
is
a way out! My dad and the tutor aren't going to be happy about this. Let's get out of here.”

I heard them walk off. After a minute I said to Pablo, “That was a close one.”

“Guys!” Toby shouted from right above me. “Get back here. I heard a voice coming from this hole. I knew that coward Rodney was hiding! And he's talking to himself!”

Great. Like getting caught wasn't bad enough, now everyone would think I was crazy, too.

Pablo tugged on my sleeve. “Hurry,” he whispered, “there's a passage at the back of the hole. It's real narrow and loaded with spiders but it does lead to an exit. That is, if we don't get stuck.”

My brain launched into a frantic debate. Creepy, dark, tight passage full of spiders or Bruno and Bart's fists? Why couldn't I be wrestling with a simple choice like vanilla or chocolate milk shake?

A booming voice yelled, “We got you now, Rathbone!”

Okay, creepy passage it was. I motioned onward and Pablo started crawling. I went to follow but a hand reached in and grabbed my ankle. One of the twins was trying to yank me out! I kicked back hard and felt a crunch.

“Aghhh! My nose! You're dead, Rathbone!”

Under other circumstances, I would have been paralyzed by fear hearing those words, but not today. Pablo had disappeared into the dark before me. I wiggled after him on my hands and knees. Before I could stop myself, I slid down a wet, slick rock into pitch-blackness. At the bottom the passage leveled out. I heard Pablo scrambling along ahead.

“Wait up,” I yelped in the dark. There was only enough room to wiggle on my stomach. I knew it would be impossible to turn around. Without Pablo I'd never get out alive.

“This way,” he said.

I wanted to cheer,
Thank God for Pablo!

“I think,” he added.

“What do you mean, you ‘think'?” I screamed. I felt like I was about to suffocate and realized I could now add claustrophobia to my long list of fears.

“I've never done this without a flashlight,” he said, “but I'm pretty sure we're going in the right direction. Of course if we're not, then we could be in big trouble.”

“What kind of trouble?” I asked.

“Ever read
Tom Sawyer
?”

“What?” I wheezed. I didn't think this was the time for a literary discussion.

“Well,” Pablo continued, “there's this bad guy named Injun Joe who gets lost in a labyrinth of caves.”

“What happens to him?”

“Oh, he never finds his way out and dies.”

“He dies?” I almost screamed.

“Yeah, it was a real good book. Last time I crawled through here, I got home and found three spiders in my pants.”

“Spiders?” He wasn't helping my panic level.

“Yeah, they weren't nearly as bad as this big millipede thing that—”

“You think you could change the subject?” I begged. By now I had thousands of little itches all over my body.

“Oh, okay. Hey, I just saw this real good show on the Discovery Channel. It was about earthquakes. I bet this passageway is the absolute worst place to be in an earthquake. There are millions of pounds of rock and dirt above us right now. It wouldn't take much to bring it all dow—”

“Ahhhhh! Ahh! I need to get out!” I shouted. “OUT!”

“Okay, relax, Rodney. There's the exit. See the light up ahead?”

He was right. With each slither, more light came pouring in. I'd never been so happy to see the sky peering through the cracks. I noticed the space around me getting higher and wider and suddenly we were in a big cave. I was able to stand up and it felt great.

“This is a cool cave, right?” Pablo asked.

I nodded and sat down on a boulder. As my heartbeat gradually returned to normal I noticed that the top of the cave opened up to the sky. One wall sloped gradually and wasn't too steep. Tree roots hung down almost like the rungs of a ladder. I looked over at Pablo and smiled. “So, do you mind my asking, what were you doing back there in that hole?”

“Oh. I heard people coming so I ducked into it.”

“But what were you doing out here, at the Ledges, by yourself?”

Even in the dim light I noticed his face sag a bit. “I spend a lot of time out here,” he said.

“Why?” I asked.

“Well, I like to walk here from town and explore. I sketch the cliffs, but I guess that's not the real reason.”

I didn't ask what the real reason was. I figured if he wanted to tell me, he would. In school I had heard all kinds of stuff about Pablo. I knew that some of it was true and that some of it was just mean stuff kids say.

After a minute he decided to talk more. “You see, things aren't great at home. My mom's been away for years and my dad, well, he drinks a lot and, well, I don't like to spend much time there.”

He didn't use many words but I got the picture. It also explained why he wore the same hooded sweatshirt to school every day. There was nobody at home to tell him not to. I realized that my parents may be clueless once in awhile, but I had it pretty good. I decided to change the subject. “Hey, Rishi's using your Borscht picture on Mama's website. You gotta be the best artist in the whole school.”

His face brightened back up. “I was invited to take some art classes in Cleveland on Saturdays . . . but . . . my dad won't pay for them, and I have no money.”

I thought of Mama's and busing tables tomorrow night. Maybe he could join us. “I may be able to get you a job.”

“Really? You'd do that for me?”

“Hey, you just saved my life.” We both laughed. “Anyway,” I said, “I'll try. Right now, let's concentrate on getting out of here.”

We began our climb from the cave, taking our time and working together. At last, I gripped a root and pulled myself up and over. I felt a cool breeze blow across my back and head. It felt great to be surrounded by the late-afternoon light. I reached over the rim and pulled Pablo up. He looked past my shoulder and the expression on his face told me something was very wrong.

“Well, well, well,” Toby's voice boomed from behind me. “How nice of you to drop in. Or should I say, climb out? Just in time, too. We were about to leave. How lucky.”

Yeah, how lucky. Typical Rodney luck. I'd been so eager to escape from underground that I hadn't thought about what I was climbing into.

Toby continued, “I've waited—”

Bruno cut him off. “No more of your speeches. He's all mine. Look what he did to my nose.” Then he turned to me. “You're dead, Rathbone!”

He began to advance. I was too exhausted to look for places to run. Anyway, Bart and the other Windham players had fanned out to cut off escape routes. This time I really was a goner.

“I'd leave him alone if I were you,” a girl's voice called down through the woods. It sounded a lot like Jessica.

“Go away,” another female voice joined eerily. I was pretty sure it was Samantha.

Bruno's eyes grew wider. “Who said that?”

Then, from much closer, a third girl yelled, “Touch him and you're dead.” I was positive that voice belonged to Kayla.

Bruno spun around. “I'm not afraid of some weirdo ghost girls!”

“Did you just call me a weirdo?” Kayla's head popped up from behind a rock.

Bruno laughed nasally, looking a bit relieved. I saw white pieces of paper sticking out of his nostrils. “Get a load of this crazy one,” he said to his brother.

“Now you're calling me crazy?” Kayla stepped around the rock and came closer.

“Yeah, you're crazy.” Bruno laughed, smiling back at his brother.

Kayla howled and launched herself at him. She was a whirlwind of flying hair and flailing arms. Bruno fell back in alarm. In a second she was on him. He held up his hands to protect himself but soon yelped and took off—with Kayla hot in pursuit.