It all started when I was 16. My mom and I had been living in another state for close to a decade and finally decided to move closer to family. My mom didn’t much like her sisters or mom that much so her idea of moving closer to family was moving into the same state but about three hours away; close enough to make a weekend visit every month or two.
We moved to this small town in the mountains that looked like it was a couple of decades behind the rest of the world. This was the middle of the 80’s and everything could easily fit in nicely with something from the late 50’s or early 60’s. It gave the feel of a cross between something from Happy Days and The Andy Griffith Show… very family oriented and innocent.
My mom got a job as the editor of the county newspaper and commented about how a lot of people seemed offended by her being given the job. Mom had years of experience in a few other states and I guess that along with recommendations from some big papers was enough for them to hire her and… overlook the fact she was a woman… their words, not mine.
She settled in at work and I tried to settle in at school. Thankfully the school had a dress code so I was able to blend in with the other students, but the uniform was very old fashioned and I felt like I stuck out like a sour thumb.
The first few months were as you’d expect while trying to settle in. I had some bullies threaten me… had the different cliques try to see where I fit in… and had a few girls flirt with me. With the cliques… I didn’t really belong with any of them so I ended up an outcast… which was fine with me. I made a few friends and we would just hang out and talk.
With the girls… I will be honest and say I was socially inept to the point that I had to have a girl take a hold of my face and ask me if I liked other guys before I realized she liked me as more than a friend. Awkward and shy… that was me. Thankfully I liked her back so I avoided a potentially embarrassing situation.
As for bullying… well, that’s where things took a bad turn. I’d been picked on a lot in some of the big cities we lived in and developed a… well… a destroy them so they’re too scared to bother you… approach. Sadly this didn’t work well in a small town. I ripped a bully apart in front of his friends and two days later was brought before the principal where I was given a lecture and forced to apologize to my bully. When I said no, I was suspended for a month.
Mom was not thrilled and because she wanted to keep her job… sided with the school. She vilified me over it and ordered me to apologize as well. When I told her the same thing, she let her anger issues come to the surface and beat me with the closest thing she could find, which was a metal spatula.
I knew mom would get mad easily, but she hadn’t hit me since I was little and my dad stepped in and stopped her. This was before they divorced and she never got that mad until we moved. It was as if she was becoming like all of the other adults in that town. She beat me until I was bleeding and only then stopped… but there was this gleam in her eyes.
She punished me for being a bully… ignoring that I was the victim here. She punished me for getting suspended and then punished me for making her hit me. I tried to argue and she growled at me and sent me to my room.
I tried to call my dad and tell him what happened but he wasn’t home. I called my grandparents and mom caught me on the phone and ripped it out of my hands. I gave up and just decided to hide until she went to work the next day. Returning to my room, I waited until morning.
The next morning I waited until she left then went downstairs and was going to try to call my dad again but found that mom had removed the phone and taken it with her. I just stood there in shock and didn’t know what to think. I knew I needed to call my dad and tell him what was going on but I was unsure how.
I went back to my room and sat down on my bed, trying to think if I’d seen any pay phones in town. I hadn’t really explored much of it yet and the parts that I remembered as we drove through town didn’t have any that I could remember seeing. I figured my best option was to just go wandering and try to find one. I had about ten hours before mom got home so I had plenty of time.
I grabbed my change and left, headed toward the middle of town where all the stores were. I figured if there was a pay phone anywhere, it would be there. I walked for about a dozen blocks when a car pulled up next to me and honked.
I jumped in shock and noticed it was a police car. The guy behind the wheel was giving me the evil eye and yelled at me for being out of school. I told him I was suspended and wasn’t allowed back for a month. He didn’t believe me.
I swear it was like something out of a bad B movie. He got out of his car and walked toward me with his hand on his gun at his hip. He called me a no good troublemaker and a liar and he was going to “teach me a lesson” then drag me back to school.
I know this part was a mistake now but at the time, I didn’t like the way he just threatened me and I knew I had two options. 1… I use my skills from growing up in some nasty neighborhoods and defend myself… possibly getting shot for it… or 2… I made a run for it.
I combined them both. I backed away from him as he came toward me and as I reached the edge of the sidewalk, kicked some dirt into his face and took off running. Luckily I got it in his eyes and he started cursing at me as he was blinded. I ran and didn’t look back.
Thankfully he never asked my name or address and I was new enough that very few people knew who I was. I ran until I could barely breathe and when I stopped to look around, realized I had no clue where I was.
I wandered around for close to two hours before I finally found something I recognized and was able to go back home. As soon as I got home, I went inside and hid in my room… hoping that the officer didn’t know me.
I waited in close to panic all day until mom got home. She didn’t say anything to me so I assumed that I got lucky. I avoided her as best I could and decided to just stay home a few more days until everything calmed down.
I waited a week before I tried to go find a pay phone. I chose a Saturday where mom had to work and as soon as she was gone, I headed out. I figured I had a much better chance with it being the weekend. Sure enough, I saw some of the kids in my class walking toward the town square and followed them.
Right in the middle of town was a park and the thing I was needing… a phone. Making my way over to it, I dialed my dad’s number and thankfully he answered. I told him everything and he was shocked.
“She beat you bloody? That makes no sense. You were standing up for yourself like I taught you. You were not the one who deserved punishment. Let me talk to her.”
I told him how I was using a pay phone because mom took the phone away and he got worried. He told me to keep calm and try not to get in trouble with anyone else and that he would come get me. I gave him our address and thanked him then decided to head home… knowing it would probably be a few days as Dad lived in Florida back then.
I turned around to head back home and found the bully from school smirking at me from across the park. He was sitting on the side of a car with three of his friends. Grinning at me he pulled his hand up to his face and made the “I’m going to cut your throat” motion then laughed.
I backed away from him and turned to go back home. That was my first mistake. I wasn’t paying attention to where I was going and I bumped into a man, knocking him to the ground.
“Sorry… I didn’t see you.”
The man on the ground look up at me glaring and his expression went from annoyed to pissed off. I knocked down the cop from before.
“You lousy little shit. I’m going to get you for this…”
I saw him trying to get to his feet and I did something very stupid and kicked him in the face, knocking him back down. Yeah… dumb, I know… but I was 16 and freaking out over this messed up town filled with weird people and I didn’t need a dirty cop trying to beat me to death.
I heard people yell at me when they saw what I did and I just ran. As I ran I heard the guy yell something at me that sounded like a death threat and I knew I was screwed. I was going to run home and hide but there were too many people there and at least a few of them knew who I was.
I didn’t really know where to go from there so I took off in a random direction and kept running until the houses thinned out and the streets grew a bit worse for wear. I somehow made it to the poorer part of town. It was so cliché that it reinforced how fake this town seemed.
I saw a lot of run down houses, some homeless people and what looked like a bar. There were only a few cars outside the bar so I figured it might be somewhere I could hide. I was 16 but I looked older… to some people… so I figured it was my best option.
I walked inside and noticed almost immediately that this place was different. There was actual 80’s music coming from a jukebox near the door, the decor was fairly up to date and the guy behind the bar was wearing a Bruce Springsteen t-shirt.
“How old are you kid?”
I looked at him and swallowed and knew I didn’t want to lie to him.
“I’m just sixteen but I don’t want anything to drink and I won’t cause you any trouble. I just need somewhere to hide.”
He looked at me kind of funny and I swear he had those “I can see your soul” type of eyes. He pulled out a Coke and motioned to the bar.
“Sit… tell me what’s going on. You look like you’re about to shit yourself.”
I sat down and sipped my Coke and told him everything. I didn’t know if he would help me or call the police but I knew if I wanted to hide for a while, I needed to be honest.
“… and he threatened to kill me as I was running away. Randy and his buddies were there and they probably told the police who I am so I don’t know what to do now.”
I sighed and shook my head.
“This place is so messed up. It’s like everyone is brainwashed… or naxis… or something.”
Expecting to be yelled at, I was shocked when he just laughed.
“Welcome to Hell kid. You’re one of the few with their eyes open.”
I looked up at him in shock and he looked to his left as a guy came out of the restroom. He just stared at me and then sat down at the bar.
“Little young to be in here… isn’t he Mitch?”
Mitch… the bartender… just smirked.
“He can see it Will. He’s aware.”
Will, the new guy just hissed and shook his head.
“Damn kid… sorry you woke up. It’s hard on you when you’re aware of the shithole we live in.”
I looked in shock between the two of them and just gaped in shock.
“What’s going on?”
They looked at each other then explained… everything. They’d been living there for a few years… ten years for Will and seven for Mitch. They both had run ins with the local police and knew how screwed up the town was.
“This place is stuck in the 50’s with the same ideals and beliefs… only seriously bigoted against anything and anyone that doesn’t fit in.”
Mitch nodded.
“Sounds like your mom has already been indoctrinated. You got lucky… or unlucky, depending on how you look at it… for being immune. There’s a few of us who are aware… and we keep an eye on things and try to help out when we can.”
The whole thing made no sense. It sounded like complete crap but I’d seen weird shit growing up and knew there had to be something to it. Why would two adults make up a story for a teenage kid.
“What do I do? If I go home, the police will probably be waiting for me. That cop was ready to shoot me just for not being in school, let alone for hitting him. I’m dead… and if he isn’t at my house, I know my mom would probably beat me and drag me to them anyway.”
The guys looked at me then at each other and leaned in to whisper. I looked around the room and saw it was starting to get dark outside.
“You can stay here. I got a cot in the back and you can lock the door from the inside. You say your dad is coming to get you in a couple of days? I’ll have Will keep an eye on your house and if someone shows up that looks new, we’ll divert him here for you.”
Will nodded and gave me a smile.
“Don’t worry kid. We’ll help you get out of this hellhole before it either kills you or brainwashes you too.”
I thanked them, feeling like I could finally relax some and asked them why they didn’t just leave.
“Nowhere to go. All my money is sunk into this bar… and Will’s wife is the sister of the mayor. If he tries to leave, they’ll trump up every charge they can think of on him and he’ll be dead by morning.”
Will nodded.
“I have to pretend like nothing is wrong just to keep my skin. If I didn’t have Mitch I’d probably have ended it years ago.”
I felt so sorry for them and didn’t know what to say so I just nodded. I yawned and my stomach growled. Mitch laughed and shook his head.
“I’ll fix you something to eat kid. Why don’t you head into the back room and hide. Probably won’t see any cops but you never know. There’s a fake wall that I installed a few years back. If you hear me holler, you hide behind it and I’ll let you out when its clear. I’ll bring you some food in a bit.”
I nodded my thanks and headed in the direction he pointed. His back room/office area was messy but looked more normal than anything I’d seen in a long time. I saw the cot Mitch mentioned as well as a desk, tv and a bookcase on the far wall.
Mitch came in with some nachos a little later and handed them to me then pointed out the secret room to hide in before heading back out to handle the influx of customers. I saw down on the cot and started eating.
Time seemed to move so slowly as I waited. I was in the back of a bar waiting for me dad to come rescue me from what Mitch had called Hell. I wanted to watch some tv but didn’t want to make too much noise.
I stretched out on the cot and just stared at the ceiling, listening to the music from the jukebox. The sounds of Joan Jett filled the room and then suddenly stopped and were replaced by something much older and I knew I was in trouble. I grabbed my empty plate and ran over to the fake wall. Opening it, I snuck inside and waited in terror.
I don’t know how long I was in there but I heard arguing… then yelling… then the sound of something breaking before I heard angry footsteps into the room.
“… can’t go back there. That’s my private office.”
That was Mitch’s voice.
“I can do whatever the fuck I like, Mitchel, so mind your own damn business before I beat you like the little shit you are.”
I didn’t know the voice but I knew I needed to keep quiet and not move.
“I don’t see anything but I’m watching you. We don’t like people like you. You and your freaky friends are going to fuck up sooner or later and I’m going to enjoy watching you swing and burn. You had better tell me if you see that punk kid. He’s dead when we catch him.”
The sound of boots walking away echoed in the small room and then nothing but the jukebox. I waited, trying not to breathe much… not knowing if there was anyone still out there. Suddenly the music changed to Boy George and I let out the breath I didn’t know I was holding.
“You’re ok now…”
The panel opened and I saw Mitch’s face. His eye looked puffy and his lip was split and bleeding. He took my hand and helped me out then sat down on the edge of his desk.
“The sooner we get you out of here, the better.”
I frowned and nodded.
“I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble. He hit you because you’re hiding me…”
Mitch shook his head.
“No… he hit me because he’s homophobic and thinks everything different is anti-american. This…”
He pointed to his face and frowned.
“This isn’t about you… no, this is just his anger and bigotry like usual. You’re ok kid. We’re gonna get you out of here… I promise.”
I nodded and Mitch smirked and ruffled my hair before taking the empty plate and heading back into the bar.
Hours passed and eventually I must have passed out because I woke up sometime later with a blanket over me and some donuts and a Coke on the floor nearby. I sat up and ate something then headed out into the bar area.
Mitch was watching something on tv and smiled when I came in.
“Morning. Don’t have a shower here but you can try to wash up in the men’s room if you want. Shouldn’t have anyone come in for another couple of hours so you shouldn’t be disturbed.”
Nodding my thanks I did as he suggested and then asked if I could help out until my dad showed up. Mitch nodded and said I could clean up while no one was there and then just hang out in the back if it was someone who shouldn’t see me. Sounded good to me so I got started.
Three days passed before my Dad showed up and by then I was worried he’d abandoned me. I was washing out mugs when I heard Will’s voice.
“… should be in here somewhere.”
I looked around into the bar from the kitchen and smiled at what I saw.
“Dad!”
I came tearing around the corner and hugged me dad harder than I ever had in my entire life. I wrapped my arms around him with a death grip and started crying as the stress of everything just came pouring out.
“It’s ok son… I got you. You’re safe now.”
I sniffled into his shirt and nodded as he thanked Will and Mitch and then led me out to his car. I asked him why it took so long and he said he called Mom first and was trying to get legal paperwork done before coming to get me.
“She’s insane Danny… she has to be. My lawyer was there and heard her screaming at me before I left and he agrees with me. He records all his calls and assured me I can get custody of you. This town… it’s seriously fucked up.”
I nodded and settled back in the passenger seat, finally relaxing.
“Did mom call the police on you?”
Dad shook his head.
“Not yet… at least I don’t think so… but Will… that friend of yours… warned me to grab you and just run. Forget trying to talk to your mom, forget going to go get your things. Just grab you and go… and after the looks I got driving through town, I think I’m going to listen to him. Let’s just go home.”
I nodded as Dad started his car and headed out of town. We drove back to Florida and there, his lawyer got everything started. I got some angry phone calls from Mom; threats to punish me that turned into threats to kill me. Dad stopped answering her calls and told the lawyer everything.
The day of the hearing came and no one on mom’s side showed up. The judge waited for what felt like hours before growing very angry and just gave me to my dad. Dad and his lawyer filed a restraining order against my mom, after mentioning the death threats and a different judge approved it.
Soon we were back home and life was better from there on. I’d get some weird phone calls and letters from mom or other random people, but once we moved a year later all of that stopped.
I don’t know what happened to mom. I never heard from her again until years later when a letter from a lawyer arrived saying she’d passed away and I was listed as next of kin. I called the lawyer and told him to destroy everything or give it to charity… I didn’t want anything from her. He tried calling me over and over to force me to pay for everything, making up excuse after excuse. I told my own lawyer what was going on and then blocked his number.
I don’t know what happened to mom in that town. I don’t know if she was crazy… if something in that town changed her… or if it really was a little bit of Hell on Earth. All I knew was I never wanted to ever deal with that place… ever again.