Free Rogue's Hollow by Jan Tilley Page A

scare people?”
    Nodding, Malachi giggled like a kid, “Yep. That’s it, just an old home-made contraption. It’s light and sound activated. I saw a design for something similar in National Geographic eons ago. The original machine was meant to make a sound to scare critters out of your garden. I just tweaked it a bit and came up with this old thing. Quite a novel piece, if I do say so myself.”
    Malachi stood up and pointed toward the bridge. “When cars round the bend at night, their headlights hit the lens on the machine. Or, if they get out of their car and slam the door, or talk loudly, that triggers it as well.”
    “Wow, that’s awesome. How have you never gotten caught?”
    “Fear isn’t something that most folks mess with. No one hears that baby crying in the night and goes searching for it, they high-tail it outta here lickedy split.” He gave Travis a little wink. “It’s downright hilarious to watch them.”
    With excitement in his voice, Travis eagerly asked, “Can I watch sometime, or help you? This is really cool.”
    It was at that moment that reality set in and Malachi realized what he’d just done. He’d held this secret close to his heart for forty years, and now it was out in the open. Suddenly, he felt very exposed and took a deep breath, wondering if he’d made a mistake. “Travis, I hope that you realize what a big deal this is. If word got out that there was a hoax at Rogue’s Hollow it would ruin this town. Ruin me and the store.”
    Travis furrowed his brow, and nodded. “I totally get it. Believe me; I won’t say a word to anyone. I think it’s freakin’ awesome, Malachi. You can trust me. I swear.”
    Instinct told him that he could count on the kid to keep his secret. “You know Travis, as much as this has helped the town and business and all, there’s more to it than that. I really enjoy it. Sometimes, folks get too serious in life. There’s nothing better than a good old-fashioned scare. That adrenaline rush and surge of fear pulsing through your veins, throwing you into fight or flight mode. It’s priceless. I think people really enjoy what I do out here.” His face grew serious and he scowled at Travis. “Those that turn down the music and actually listen anyway.”
    Hanging his head, Travis grinned. “Yeah, I know.” He chuckled. “But, I really do like my M&M’s though.”
    They both burst out laughing at the inside joke between them. Malachi grew to adore the kid more every day. He brought a breath of fresh air into his stagnant boring life and it was fun to be around a youngster again.
    Taking a deep breath, Malachi looked somberly into Travis’s eyes, and smiled. “You’re a good kid.”
    Shifting nervously in his seat, he replied, “Glad you think so. No one else seems to.” Pain began to creep back in and Travis gently touched the stitches on his cheekbone.
    Anger boiled up inside Malachi as he looked at his young friend’s battered face. A vengeful feeling swelled inside him that he didn‘t like. “It’s gonna hurt for a few more days, but you’ll be okay.” Malachi smiled and leaned in closer. “Now, what do you think about a little payback?”
    Travis winced, and looked at him with confusion. “What do you mean?”
    “Don’t you think it’s time that Junior Barnett got a little scare of his own?”
    Shaking his head, Travis tried to hold his knee down to stop the twitching. “You want to use this thing on Junior? He’d probably be the one person that would come looking for it and ruin everything.”
    Malachi squinted his eyes and shook his head. “I think guys like that are big talkers. They like to put on a show for other people, but when they’re alone, they’re just big sissies.” Throwing his hands in the air, he said, “There’s only one way to find out. Are you up for it?”
    Travis sat in silence for a moment, pondering all that Malachi had just said. Then his face lit up and he grinned. “I’m in. Do you think we can