Bound by Blood and Brimstone by D. L. Dunaway Page A

no idea how it was so. I didn’t think any of us did, except maybe Janine. I’d not understand
    the full implications of Lorrie Beth's threat until years later, but at the time all that mattered was
    whether or not Caleb got it. As might be expected, he didn't.
    The next thing I heard was his braying laughter. He was doubled over, holding his
    stomach, chortling, incapable of speech, while Janine and I broke our paralysis long enough to
    exchange a look.
    "Is that the best you can do, little girl? You think you’ll just badmouth me to death?”
    Suddenly, he raised his head and gazed at all of us with deadly calm. "I could put a hole between
    your eyes before you could blink.” He was pulling something out of his pocket.
    It must be whatever he was fidgeting with earlier . Dear God, has he got a gun? Is he
    going to shoot us dead in broad daylight? My heart skidded, my galloping thoughts nothing
    more than broken prayers. With a flourish, he revealed his weapon. It was a slingshot.
    "What, you think you're King David now, ready to bring down Goliath?" Janine burst
    out.
    "Huh?" Clearly, Caleb hadn’t read his Bible. "Look, little Miss Hotshot," he said
    smoothly, turning his pale eyes on Lorrie Beth. "You can’t have your sister with you all the time.
    This little tramp, neither. You’re going to be by yourself sooner or later, and I'll be around.
    You’re the reason I got my arm busted, and I always pay my debts. You'd best not forget that.”
    With that he turned, pocketed the slingshot, and left us standing like statues with only
    twittering birds to break the stillness. It wasn't until we started back down the road that I realized
    Caleb had forgotten to call Lorrie Beth "Gimpy" when he left.
    Janine was the first to interrupt the awkward silence. "Say, Cleo, just what was it that
    Cat said to Turd-face the first day of school that’s had him so hot under the collar?” I sighed and
    tossed my empty pop bottle over into the weeds by the side of the road.
    "She told him he had a big fat pumpkin head," I said sadly. Janine laughed all the way to
    Crystal Creek.

    Everybody called it a creek, but in truth, it was an inlet deep within the woods beyond the
    point where Crystal and Silver Rock Creeks merged. Together, they cascaded over a small
    outcropping of rock, feeding into a cove enveloped on all sides by virgin forest. The end result
    was a pond of singing water so clear the smooth rock bottom could be seen, even at its deepest
    point.
    Its bank, consisting of an enormous, flat-topped, jutting rock, appropriately named Big
    Rock, made the perfect spot for diving, jumping, and belly flopping. The dappled sunlight
    peeking through the treetops had even spawned enough wildflowers to grant a faint essence of
    perfume to any who came to play.
    There was no preparation for me before going in. My swimming clothes were simply
    mid-thigh cut-offs and a cotton shirt. I knew I’d dry out in no time once we came out of the
    woods into full-blown sunlight. Giving my towel a quick toss in the grass, I leapt off Big Rock
    with a squeal.
    Nothing compared to the first swim of summer and the intoxicating rush of that cool, wet
    embrace. My head broke the surface, and I flung my hair back, treading water, waiting for my
    companions.
    Finally freed from socks, shoes, and necklace, Lorrie Beth held her nose and did an
    awkward cannonball, spraying water in all directions as she landed inches from me. I dunked her
    several times before she dove under to grasp my feet and flip me. We were splashing and
    giggling when I turned and saw Janine standing near the edge of Big Rock, smiling down at us.
    What’s she waiting for ? I thought.
    "How is it?" she called.
    "Great! Come on in!" I hollered, expecting her to step off the edge with a big splash.
    Instead, she reached for the hem of her sleeveless top and pulled it up over her head in one fluid
    motion. Then her shorts came down around her ankles. She's going to go skinny-dipping! In