Free Will of Man - Part Two by William Scanlan Page B

middle of Main Street. Local musicians played music, people danced and laughed till late in the night. It was a great time and I can’t wait till we do it again. It was the first time in a long time my family really laughed and enjoyed ourselves.
     
    Tyler’s Journal Entry: 199
    Date: June 26
    Day: Sunday
    Weather: Sunny and warm
    Days since the LAST DAY: 1 year, 25 days
     
    At the fair earlier this month, I noticed Jax’s family was not there. Kendrick said he hadn’t seen Jax for a while and that he was worried about them. Jax lives nearly fifteen miles from me. I wanted to go check on him, so I asked Dad if I could go. He said yes, but to make sure I was back before dark.
     
    Mom gave me some preserves to give them and I carefully packed them in my backpack. I filled a couple bottles of water and headed out on my bike. It was fifteen miles away on paved roads. So I figured the trip should take me a little over an hour.
     
    It wasn’t like the old days when I could have Mom or Dad drive me over in less than fifteen minutes.
     
    Nowadays, if you want to go anywhere, you have to plan ahead and give yourself time to get back before dark. Our community is fairly safe (compared to others), but we still take caution at all times. You never know who may be wondering through and how desperate they may be.
     
    So I headed out, and I was right, it took just over an hour. I can tell time with the wind up clock Dad gave me. It’s a big clock that hangs on a chain. I feel kind of goofy with it, but it’s hard to find a cool looking watch that winds up. Almost every watch was battery operated and doesn’t work anymore.
     
    As I approached Jax’s house, I could tell I wasn’t going to like what I found. The grass was long, the house was dirty outside, and the front door was open with leaves blowing around inside the house.
     
    I laid my bike down and slowly walked up the front porch. There wasn’t a sound and as I looked inside I could tell no one had been living there for at least a few weeks.
     
    Jax’s house was a ways away from others and located on a back road rarely traveled. So if something did happen here – no one would know about it.
     
    The house was a two story house with bedrooms upstairs. I roamed the lower level looking for any signs of recent activity. The table was neatly set for six but only one plate looked used. The house looked kept up, but barely. I noticed pictures of the family still hanging on the walls and personal artifacts still displayed around the house.
     
    I began to worry. I asked myself why Jax’s family would leave these things behind if they did leave. And then I saw my answer from the back window. I saw five somewhat fresh graves with makeshift headstones. I walked out and read the headstones. They were Jax’s mother, three younger brothers, and Jax himself. My heart sank.
     
    Next to the five graves was a sixth. But this grave was open. There was a hole dug around five feet deep with a shovel lying next to it. The headstone had Jax’s Dad’s name on it with his birthday and a death date that read May twenty-seventh. But there was no body inside it.
     
    I walked back into the house and listened carefully.  I could hear a creaking upstairs and what sounded like a bunch of flies buzzing around. It didn’t take long to figure out what was upstairs. I paused for a long time and contemplated going upstairs. I knew Jax’s Dad was up there probably hanging and half rotting. I was right.
     
    I wanted to just leave rather than deal with his rotting corpses. But Jax was a good friend and I was going to show respect to him and his family. Near Jax’s Dad’s body I found a note. It basically asked for forgiveness and asked that whoever found his body would they please bury him near his family. So I did. And that’s all I want to say about that.
     
    I rode back and told Dad. He was proud that I honored Jax. I’m glad I did it, but not that I had to.
     
    Tyler’s Journal