Re: Alvin Ever After: Alvin in the Fourth
Twenty-seven surfers were eliminated from the competition on the first of the three-day event and two dropped out due to injuries. That left only 67 of us and today’s waves were bigger and meaner than yesterdays as we were getting the skirtings of a storm that was several miles off the coast. Directly overhead and further inland were blue skies and puffy white clouds while near where the ocean met the sky was a solid wall of evil black.
The storm wasn’t supposed to come any closer, but everyone was still watching and listening to the weather reports all day long, Meek and I included.
Thankfully, I didn’t see Adam or Scotty all that day, which was a good thing. Meek on the other hand said he had another face-to-face encounter with them while I was on my fourth and final run for the day. He said they were mostly just talking bad about me and telling him he should watch his back while competing against me.
I honestly do not know where that was coming from. Never in my history of surfing and competing have I cheated or done anything purposefully to cause another surfer to lose points. If anything, I would help my fellow competitors to do better on their next run.
All day the top placement of surfers kept changing. At one point, I was in the lead, then I was in third, then first again, and after my final run of the day, I was in second place, behind Scotty by just a single point. Trailing behind me by 8 points was some Asian girl named Luisa, with Meek only 1 point behind her. However, after Meek’s final run, which I didn’t get to see, he went all the way to first place with a five-point lead over Scotty. That bumped Scotty down to second and me down the third.
Why was I not number one all day? Because of my dang knee! I never actually took a spill, but man it was all I could do to stay on my board out there on those crazy waves. I was getting good points mainly because I was picking the meanest and most dangerous waves, otherwise, if I hadn’t been, I probably would have been pushed so far down the order that I wouldn’t have a chance of catching up, let alone ever winning.
Right after Meek had told me about running into Scotty and Adam he had to go out for his fourth and final run of the day. It was then that thing really got crazy bad for me.
All day, when we were not actually competing, Meek and I were doing are best to hide from everyone, which includes our folks, the news people who want to interview all the surfers and from surfing fans. However, it was during Meek’s last run that I let my guard down when I should have been extra vigilant in watching my back.
I had gone up to the boardwalk to get a better view of Meek and the other’s out there. I was standing up on the boardwalk railing, which was something, that is strictly forbidden but people do it anyway. Meek was about to make his turn and grab what from my vantage point looked to be the wrong wave. It was going to end up being too big and too mean for Meek to handle. It was then that I felt a sharp pain in my right ankle followed by a quick jerk that spun me completely around.
For the briefest of moments, I was looking down into the angry eyes of my Grandfather who had a death hold just above my foot. The moment was maybe a quarter of a second long because the effect of Grandfather spinning me while I was standing on that railing was to cause me to lose my balance.
“G-GRANDFATHER!” I shouted down at him right before I began to fall backward.
I remember screams and a dozen hands reaching out to grab me in slow motion but all of them missed. From my vantage point I saw, I could see all the hands extending toward me like flashes of photographs as I slowly fell backward. I instinctively threw my arms out as if to grab something, however, there my fingers found nothing but air.
Now if you go back up there and read that again, you’ll see I said that Grandfather had a death grip on my ankle. That is the only reason I did not fall to my death and oh yes, I would have surly died; of that, I have no doubt at all.
“I GOT YA BOY!” Grandfather shouted as others around him reached out and took hold of my other leg.
I looked down for an instant and saw everyone below me looking up and holding out arms as if to catch me should I still fall.
I was hoisted back up and oddly hugged tightly by Grandfather before he held me at arm’s length and asked, “You alright boy?”
Right then, is when the pain hit me. Remember me saying it was my right leg knee that had been kicked and my right ankle Grandfather had grabbed? Thus, it had been my right leg that I was hanging upside down by. Yeah, the pain hit me like a sledgehammer to the kneecap.
I don’t remember anything until I woke up lying on the back seat of Grandfather’s car. The pain had been so intense that I had blacked out.
“Where-where am… Grandfather? Why? Where’s mom? Where are we going?”
“Lie still boy! We’ll be at the hospital shortly,” Grandfather spoke, “and then we’ll be getting you back to Maine where you belong.”
“What? No! I can’t! Not yet!” I cried out.
“QUIET DOWN BOY!” Grandfather shouted in a very uncharacteristic manner.
I pushed myself up as the car slowed for a traffic light. Not thinking, I reached for the door handle, swung it open, and leapt out before the car had come to a complete stop.
When I hit the pavement, I rolled a few times, being skinned up in the process as all I had on was my board shorts. Grandfather’s car lurched to a stop as I was attempting to get to my feet. However, when I put weight on my right leg it buckled under me.
I cried out in pain!
“Are you alright kid?” Someone shouted at me.
“ALVIN!” I heard Grandfather yell.
“NO!” I screamed back as I forced myself to stand and begin to run as best I could.
The pain was unbearable and I could not see for the tears. Behind me, I could hear Grandfather cursing after me, but his curses quickly vanished as I ran around a corner and down another road.
I was in such pain, and crying so hard that I did not even think about where I was going, only that I needed to get as far from Grandfather as I could.
What’s that saying, ‘If it weren’t for bad luck, I’d have no luck at all?’ I even think it’s a song too. Anyway, we had been a good distance from the boardwalk and only about three blocks from the hospital when I’d jumped out of Grandfather’s car.
When I ran as far as I thought I could, I finally stopped while leaning against a very pungent restaurant trash container. You know the type, about the size of a sub-compact car, all-metal and painted an awful greenish-brown. It smelled of meat that had been left out in the sun for days. However, my pain was so great that I didn’t mind the smell or all the flies that buzzed around me.
I was gasping, sobbing, and cussed all at the same time, but none of what came out of my mouth was intelligible. The adrenalin and pain were overpowering everything else, even my ability to form words. I slid down the side of the trash receptacle to the ground while holding onto my throbbing knee. I think I was there five, maybe ten minutes before I was able to start to think a little better. My knee, besides being skinned up and bleeding from having jumped from a moving car, was also quickly swelling up on me. It was already more than double its normal size.
Scanning my surroundings, I realized I knew where I was. I was in the alley behind the Stir Fry Palace, which is several miles from the cave Meek and I were calling home. In my current condition, I couldn’t make it more than a few more blocks, let alone a few miles.
Right then a police car pulled into the alley. I was in plain view and they spotted me right away. They must have been looking for me because their siren came on almost immediately.
Again I switched into flight mode and was up and running before I knew it.
Thankfully, the trash receptacle I had been leaning against was sticking halfway out into the alley and thus blocked the cruiser. I was able to limp my way down the alley and duck between two delivery trucks. One of the officers ran right past me, soon followed by the cruiser. Once they were past, I reemerged and limped quickly back the way I had come.
When I had gone maybe four blocks I knew I could go no further but that was okay. I had managed to get myself into to the back of a strip mall that backed up to a low-income residential complex and was able to slow my pace. There was also a long metal chain-link fence that ran along the back edge of the residential properties that I use as a crutch to lean on.
Just when I started to think I was safe at the far end of the alley, a long black car turned and stared toward me.
“GRANDFATHER!” I cried and turned to run.
The horn blared, but I didn’t stop as I pulled over trashcans to slow him down.
There was narrow separation between the buildings and I took a left turn between them to keep Grandfather from following me.
I slowed only long enough to see Grandfather’s car slowing to look down the narrow corridor and that was enough to get me to quicken my limping pace.
Realizing I could not keep up the pace, I quickly turned and ran between the cars parked out front. I had to hope a small block wall only to come down on the other side into a bunch of bushes, which added to my scrapes and cuts. I was sure Grandfather could not follow me without going all the way around, but I could still hear his horn blaring, or I imagined I could. I crossed a street toward a gas station, rounded the service station, and actually hurtled their back fence before crashing onto the gravel back alley with a hard thud. My leg had completely failed me and my right elbow was bleeding pretty bad. That was it, I could go no further.
Looking around I saw I was in yet another alley. I tried to catch my breath but then saw at the far end, first a cop car go by, and then Grandfather’s car quickly followed.
Just then, I noticed the back door to a moving truck that was partially open. This was one of those full size commercial moving trucks. You know the kind for moving the entire contents of a families home. Without thinking, I sort of crawled and limped toward it and rolled myself inside, pulling the door closed behind me. It clunked when it closed and at first, I didn’t realize that what had happened was I’d just locked myself inside. I lay motionless trying my best to breathe as quietly as I could even though my lungs were screaming for oxygen. Once again, my tears began to flow like great rivers down either side of my face as my body ached all over.
I didn’t have to wait long at all before I heard both cars roll past the door. I could hear the police radio, which is how I knew it was them. They must have stopped a little ways past where I was hiding because I could still just hear them, “He must have turned back and is heading to the beach.”
“That was grandfather for sure!” I whispered to no one.
“Follow us through there. We might get ahead of him again.”
I wasn’t sure who had said that, but assumed it to be the police.
I waited a bit longer; listening to be sure they had gone. That is when I realized I was in completely darkness. There wasn’t a speck of light coming from anywhere. I continued to lie there on the metal floor of the moving truck out of fear, out of pain, and because the coolness of the metal against his sweat drenched body felt so good. Even despite the fact that I was in so much pain, I could still enjoy the coolness and it somehow calmed me. I was also letting myself rest and catch my breath.
Swallowing down my fear, I wiped away my tears and I got myself to my feet. Putting all my weight only on my left leg I was able to stand. I then placed my hands on door for support and pushed but it didn’t budge.
I tried again with all of my strength, “Ah damn!” I cussed, “It must have locked when I closed it!”
Feeling panic setting in, I began to frantically fumble in the dark with my hands but felt nothing but metal. I took a breath, let it out, and then took a step forward being sure to keep my arms and hands fully extended into the blackness. My right knee screamed as I put pressure on it, but it held me up. Shuffling my feet slowly forward; I expecting to find boxes, or crates, anything but a monster!
“No I can’t think about that! There is nothing in here but me!”
After several minutes of blindly feeling my way through the darkness, it occurred to me that if I had been using my head all I would have had to do was to just follow the moving truck door to the wall and then follow the wall around until I found the side door which most moving trucks have. Since I was relatively sure what was behind me, I decided to turn around and head back for the garage door. Now ask me why I didn’t just go sideways and find the side wall? Honestly, sometimes I think I am the dumbest person on the planet!
Once I had found the door again, I followed it to the left until I felt the corner where the door and the wall met. My hand bumped something that at first I thought was a snake but then I realized was just a holding strap. I felt my way along the metal wall. I continued to slide my hands along the smooth, corrugated metal, occasionally feeling one of the cleats used to secure cargo. Then my hands felt what I was sure was the side door. Just as luck would have it, it was locked from the outside too. More than a bit aggravated at this point I kicked at the door while praying it would open but it did not.
Now I was really getting scared and my mind now had me convinced that something or someone was waiting in the dark to grab me or worse eat me! Turning around, I put my back to the door and leaned my head back against it and that is when I heard IT!
There was a sort of muffled DINK DINK, a pause then another DINK.
I froze in place, not even daring to breath.
My mind began to tell me what I was hearing was something moving toward me, about to attack me when in reality, what I was hearing was the sound of my own blood from my elbow running down my arm and dripping off my fingers.
Sure I was about to be something’s next meal I slid down the metal side door, rapped my arms around my aching legs and laid my head on my knees as I wept and waited.
Two nights of nearly no sleep, the stress of the competition, and running from my Grandfather with a busted up knee got the better of me and I fell asleep despite my pains and fears.