Free Dastardly Bastard by Edward Lorn

looked. He left his girlfriend to confront Jaleel. Marsha worried a fight might break out.
    “I don’t remember,” Jaleel admitted. His face was honest, concerned. From what Marsha could gather, he was telling the truth.
    Brrrrr… brrrrr… brrrrr…
    What is that?
    “You aren’t getting off that easy. My girl’s a wreck. We got a kid that wants to kill himself and a dead fat guy. What the fuck happened?” Trevor growled, his teeth clenched.
    “Baby,” Justine pleaded, coming to her boyfriend’s side.
    “I can’t remem—”
    “Fuck you, man! You tell us—”
    “He’s telling the truth,” Marsha finally said. Everyone stopped and looked down at her. Trevor’s eyes were filled with anger, Jaleel’s, curiosity. Justine only nodded.
    Brrrrr… brrrrr… brrrrr…
    “How do you know?” Trevor asked after a moment.
    “Because I don’t remember anything, either. All I remember is darkness, a black area where my thoughts should be. It’s all gone, like it never happened. One minute, I was watching those two go back and forth.” Marsha pointed at Jaleel and Donald. “The next, I was looking at Lyle. And… he was…” She fought back a hard spot in her throat. “He was scared of me. After that, he tried to jump off the cliff. I wanted to help, would have done anything to save my child, I promise you that, but I couldn’t move. My arms and legs just wouldn’t function . Thank God, that man… that man…” She broke down, her body racked with sobs. She looked back on Lyle’s form.
    Brrrrr… brrrrr… brrrrr…
    Lyle’s eyes fluttered open. He put a hand to his temple and massaged the area. “Mom?”
    “I’m right here.”
    “Where am I?”
    “We’re still on the trail, hon. Don’t worry. We’re gonna get help.” Marsha looked up at Jaleel, directing the next comment at the tour guide. “Help will be here soon.”
    “Does anyone have a cell phone?” Jaleel asked.
    Trevor sighed. “Yeah. You can use mine.” Trevor pulled a silver cell phone from his front pocket and handed it to Jaleel.
    “Thanks.” Jaleel flipped open the phone. “Damn it! No signal.”
    Marsha saw something in Jaleel’s eyes. A hint of dishonesty. She was a mother; she knew that look well. “What about your—” She started to point out the radio attached to Jaleel’s hip, but there was that damn noise again.
    Brrrrr… brrrrr… brrrrr…
    “Shit!” Marsha yelled, cursing herself for being so stupid. “It’s on vibrate!”
    Trevor slapped his hands on his legs. “Now what is she talking about? She ain’t going crazy on us again, is she?”
    “No, no, I’m not crazy.” Marsha went at Lyle, clamoring for his pockets. The boy tried to scurry away, still obviously scared of her, but she had to ignore it, if just for a moment.
    “It’s been ringing,” Marsha told them as she pulled the phone from her son’s pocket. “It’s been on vibrate. I thought I was just hearing things.”
    The screen read “Unknown Caller” in green letters. She slid the bar at the bottom, unlocking the device. Shoving it up to her ear, she yelled, “Sorry, but we’re in trouble. There’s been an accident, and we need help. I need to use this line to call the po—”
    “Let me talk to Lyle.”
    The voice was terribly familiar, but she couldn’t quite place it. Something was blocking her memories again.
    “Who is this?”
    “Marsha, give the phone to Lyle.”
    Her mouth went dry. She was left with ice in her veins. “Is this some kind of joke?”
    The voice was loving, sugary-sweet. “Nobody’s jerking you around, sweetheart. Though I might let you grab my crotch another time. For now, give the phone to our son.”
    Marsha felt lost. Everything was wrong. The norm had been disturbed, her entire way of looking at things changed. She had lain next to her dying husband, felt his hand loosen in her own, watched his life slip away. Yet his voice was on the phone. It just wasn’t possible.
    But it’s him . I will never