Date: Thu, 19 Jul 2012 04:32:30 -0700 (PDT)
From: rtbrno65@yahoo.com
Subject: Quincy and that unusual friend of his chapter 4

All the usual disclaimers, warnings, and caveats apply.

		  "Quincy And That Unusual Friend Of His"

				 Chapter 4


The electric garage door on the side of Quincy's house made a metallic
groan and started to open. It clattered it's way up the railing and came to
a shuddering halt once it was fully open. A second later, Quincy and Erik
came riding out on Quincy's bike, laughing and shouting. Erik was sitting
side saddle on the bike rail while Quincy stood and pumped the pedals as he
steered his way around the driveway. Quincy would do a circle, go down the
driveway, turn around before hitting the street, and ride back up the
driveway to repeat the process.  As he rode, Quincy noticed that Erik would
keep perfect balance while he was on the rail, no matter what he did. He
also noticed that Erik added no weight to the bike. Quincy and Erik had a
vigorous wrestling session on his bed the evening before, and Erik had
pinned him down several times, and yet at times like right now with the
bike, he seemed to have no weight or mass at all. He seemed to be regular
flesh and blood if you actually touched him, but otherwise he seemed as
though he wasn't even really there, which Quincy thought was very strange.

It was Sunday, and Quincy and his parents had their first day at their new
church. It went longer than usual because of the congregation wanting to
meet the Congressman and his family. Quincy stood with his parents
embarrassed as people filed by and shook their hands, including some kids
whom he would probably be going to school with who were going to have a
field day at his expense over this, he thought. Afterwords he had Sunday
School, and got home right at lunch time. He then went up to his room and
convinced Erik to go out on the bike with him, after several minutes of
hard negotiations.

"Whoa Quincy...! WHOA!! YEAH!!!" Erik yelled in delight with a giant grin
as Quincy plunged down the driveway, only to make a hard left turn onto the
lawn and back on up the driveway. Erik stayed perched right on the bike
rail, hardly moving. Quincy then rode back up to the top of the driveway
and stopped right next to the garbage cans.

"This is fun!" Erik grinned excitedly.

"I want to go into the street now, are you ready?"

Erik lost his grim immediately, to be replaced by a frightened, worried
look.

"I guess..." Erik sighed.

"Don't worry, I'll make a right turn so we won't go over that spot. If you
start screaming and rotting again I'll turn right around back into the
driveway, OK?"

"I'm scared." Erik said quietly.

"Don't worry. I'm here. I'll keep you safe." Quincy said.

Erik turned to Quincy and gave a brave smile. He then put his hands on
Quincy's right arm.

"Are you ready?" Quincy asked.

Erik hesitated, gave a deep sigh, and then nodded with his eyes closed.

"Alright, here goes nothing," Said Quincy as he began pedaling.

The two of them plunged down the driveway. Quincy gave a quick look to make
sure no cars were coming, and the two of them rode out into the
street. Quincy made a sharp right, and they were now shooting down Forest
Lane towards Chesterbrook road. Erik opened his eyes, broke into a huge
grin, and began laughing and shouting. Quincy burst into a huge grin at how
delighted and liberated Erik seemed to be.

"WOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOO!!!! GO FASTER GO FASTER!!!" Erik shouted while he held
his arms out. Quincy laughed and began pedaling harder. Soon they were on
Chesterbrook road. Chesterbrook was pretty well traveled, and cars were
continuously whizzing past them, so Quincy crossed the road to get to an
asphalt path on the opposite side that ran parallel to the road. Erik was
pointing out all the things that had changed since he had last been through
there. Apparently none of the neighborhoods and side streets had been
there, and Erik pointed out a hill that was covered with recently built
townhouses where he said there had once been an abandoned old mansion that
everyone thought was haunted. Quincy laughed out loud when he said that,
much to Erik's apparent puzzlement.

They eventually arrived at Chesterbrook shopping center, about 3/4 of a
mile from the house. Erik showed Quincy a little shortcut behind a church
and a garden shop to get to the shopping center, which Quincy thought was
pretty handy. Once they were in the shopping center, Quincy rode past the
Safeway and parked his bike in front of the CVS. Quincy and Erik dismounted
and Quincy began locking his bike up on a bench.

"This used to be a Drug Fair." Erik said. He then stepped out into the
street. "I don't recognize any of these stores, except for the Safeway, and
that looks different too."

"Drug Fair? They really called it that?" Quincy laughed.

"Drug Fair was cool!" Erik said with a scowl. "There was a soda fountain in
the back that we used to go to."

"Well that's definitely not there now. Come on, let's go in!" Quincy said.

Erik and Quincy entered the air conditioned coolness of the CVS. Quincy
walked over to the soda cooler to grab a Pepsi. Erik was following him
while looking around the store.

"Wow, it's changed so much." He said. Quincy then tucked the soda under his
arm and walked over to the candy counter.

"Do you have any money?" Quincy asked with a smile.

"Ha ha, very funny." Erik said.

"Yeah, where would you keep it, right?" Quincy laughed. He began looking
over the candy selection. "So what kind of candy do you like?" He asked.

"I haven't eaten candy since...well, you know. I used to like Mounds."

"Yeah, Mounds is pretty good. I like Kit Kat and Take 5 bars."

"What's Take 5?" Erik asked.

"Here's one." Quincy grabbed a bar and showed it to Erik. "It's totally
awesome! It's a pretzel with caramel, peanut butter, chocolate, and
peanuts. I think I'll get that!"

"Sounds good. You better eat it right away, otherwise it'll melt out in
that heat." Erik said.

"Yes, Dad." Quincy smirked. He then heard a loud cough and looked over the
shelf. In the next row over was a heavy set, older woman with a very
obvious wig on. She had a shopping basket over her shoulder and was
perusing through the tiny grocery aisle next to where the boys were.

"It's Mrs. Rizzi from across the street! She's the one who called my
parents and told them about me running off when you freaked out the other
day, at least I'm sure that was her !" Quincy whispered.

"She must have moved into the old Pappadapoulis house." Erik said.

"She's a bitch! I can't stand her!" Quincy hissed.

"Do you want to have some fun with her?" Erik grinned.

"What are you thinking about?" Quincy whispered with a big smile.

Erik walked over to the other aisle. Quincy peeked over the shelf and saw
Erik walk up behind Mrs. Rizzi. He clapped his hands twice behind her and
vanished. She looked behind her startled but saw nothing. Quincy laughed
silently but then exploded into belly laughter when her wig all of a sudden
flew off of her head, revealing a tight bun of thinning, grey hair. She
screamed and grabbed at her head as the wig fell down to the ground. She
reached down for the wig and it moved away from her. Quincy moved over to
the front of the aisle she was in, facing behind her, tears streaming down
his face in laughter. She continued to chase her wig down the aisle while
bent over. She would get close enough to grab it, only to have it move away
from her by a couple of inches. Eventually she wound up in the aisle that
sold feminine hygiene products.  The wig then flew into the air in front of
her and started spinning while she shrieked in horror. The lights then went
out and a big, howling wind suddenly tore through the entire store, sending
displays, greeting cards, and the wig blowing towards the front. Mrs. Rizzi
turned and ran out of the store screaming in terror, along with all the
other customers and employees. Quincy ran out along with them, almost
blinded by the tears of laughter that were pouring out of his eyes. He ran
over to the bench where his bike was and collapsed onto it. Erik
materialized next to him and the two of them rolled in laughter on the
bench while passerby walked by staring. Quincy thought he was going to pass
out.

"OH...OH...MY GOD!...OH MY GOD!!! DID YOU SEE...DID YOU SEE...!" Quincy got
out between guffaws. Erik was gasping with laughter. It took both of them a
full ten minutes to get even close to any kind of composure.

"Erik...remind me to NEVER piss you off!" Quincy finally got out. This made
Erik burst into laughter again.

"Quincy...Quincy...stop! I can't laugh anymore! I'll die if I laugh
anymore!" Erik gasped.

That made Quincy explode into another round of racous laughter, it took
another five minutes for them to finally calm down enough to be nominally
functional.

"Oh my God, that was so...oh my God, did you see her FACE!" Quincy said
while he wiped tears from his face.

"Unfortunately yes!" Erik said and the two of them exploded into another
round of laughter. Quincy then saw that a small group of adults in front of
the Safeway were staring at him.

"Come on, let's go to the 7-11. I still need to get my Pepsi and my Take 5
bar." Quincy said. He had dropped those items in the CVS while Erik was
tormenting Mrs. Rizzi. Quincy unchained his bike and Erik hopped onto the
bar. The crowd of employess and customers were still outside in front of
the CVS. A Fairfax County police officer was parked in front of the store
and taking statements. Quincy and Erik barely contained their laughter as
they rode unnoticed past the crowd. They reached the 7-11 at the end of the
shopping center.

"This used to be a High's." Erik said as he slipped off the bike.

"High's, Drug Fair, what was everyone stoned in this place back then?"
Quincy chuckled and he and Erik burst into another round of laughter and
giggles.

Quincy ran in and came right back out with his Pepsi and Take 5 bar. They
went to the side of the building and Quincy quickly devoured his snack.

"You sure you don't want any?" Quincy asked.

"You know I don't eat or drink, Quincy." Erik smiled.

"Or carry money!" Quincy laughed with a mouthful of Take 5. Erik laughed
and gave Quincy a friendly swat on his arm.

Once Quincy was finished he threw his trash onto the ground and hopped back
onto the bike. Erik hopped onto the bar. It was hot and humid out, so
Quincy took his shirt off and wrapped it around his waste. They rode back
towards the Safeway. The crowd in front of the CVS had dispersed. They rode
past the DVD rental place that was right between the CVS and the Safeway. A
middle aged, red haired man with an employee tag from the store was out
smoking a cigarette by the curb. He had a grey, light beard and a slight
paunch. Erik drew his breath sharply when he saw the man.

"Aaron?" Erik said.

"What, do you know that guy?" Quincy asked.

"Quincy, go back, go back!"

Quincy turned around and rode back towards the DVD store. He and Erik both
stared while they rode past, and the man noticed Quincy this time.

"Oh my God, it IS Aaron." Erik said, almost to himself.

"Who is he?" Quincy asked as he stopped on the other side of the shopping
center. Erik became silent and stared at the pavement in silence. "Erik,
are you alright?"

"He was my friend. He lived in my neighborhood. He was there that evening
when..." Erik said, as if he had forgotten all of this and was now
remembering it.

"Do you want me to ride past there again?"

Erik came to and looked at Quincy. "No." He finally said. 'Let's get out of
here. I need to be back at the house." He said.

"OK, sure, we'll go back to the house. Are you sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Come on, let's go." Erik said.

Quincy and Erik rode behind the shopping center and then went back the way
they came. This time, Erik sat in the bike seat with his arms around
Quincy's bare chest while Quincy stood up and pumped the pedals. They
turned onto Forest Lane. Erik had been quiet the whole way back. Just as
they were about to get within a block of the house, he asked Quincy to stop
the bike. Quincy came to a stop in an overgrown area next to a driveway,
dismounted, and faced Erik.

"What is it?"

"Quincy, I want us to ride over that spot really quickly."

"Erik, are you serious? After what happened last time?"

"Please, I need to. I was scared to go outside and you took me outside. I
was scared to go on the street and you took me onto the street. I don't
want to be scared anymore." He said.

"Ok. We'll go over it really quickly, like you said, then I'll turn around
and take us into the driveway, alright?"

Erik just nodded, and he looked more scared than Quincy had ever seen
him. He put his hand on Erik's back, and Erik turned and looked at
him. Quincy then got on the bike and Erik wrapped his arms around Quincy's
midsection as tight as he could get them to be. Quincy then took off and
started pedaling madly right towards the spot. Erik buried his face onto
Quincy's left shoulder as they sped right towards where Erik had been hit
by the car and killed. They sped past the first house, then the William's
house...

"Here it is!" Quincy yelled.

Erik then bit right into Quincy's shoulder. Not a slight nip, but a full
strength, piercing bite. Quincy yelled in pain but didn't stop
pedaling. They sped right directly over the spot. Quincy braced himself for
that awful scream, but didn't hear it. Erik however, dug his teeth even
harder into Quincy's flesh. Quincy turned the bike around at full speed,
and rode over the spot again, his shoulder in agony from Erik biting it. He
then pulled into the driveway and came to a stop in front of the
garage. Erik stopped biting Quincy's shoulder and relaxed. Quincy braked
his bike, jumped off, and grabbed his shoulder in pain. Erik jumped off and
started jumping up and down for joy.

"I did it I did it!!" He yelled in delight. Quincy was still clutching his
shoulder as waves of seering pain tore through it.

"Augghhh...Erik...! You bit my shoulder, Dude! Aughhh!"

Erik's smile disappeared and he came over and looked at the nasty bite
wound he had put on Quincy's shoulder.

"Oh my...oh Quince. Quince, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to...!" Erik said,
sounding like he was about to cry.

They went through the garage to the laundry room. Erik turned the water on
in the sink, and Quincy took a rag, wet it, and placed it on his shoulder.

"Oh wow." Quincy muttered in pain while Erik rubbed his shoulder with the
rag. Just then Quincy's mom came into the room with a load of laundry. The
rag dropped off of his shoulder, revealing the bite wound.

"Quincy! What on earth happened to your shoulder!" She cried out as she
dropped the laundry to the floor. She went over and looked at the wound.

"I...fell off my bike." Quincy said. He glanced over at Erik next to
him. Erik had a frightened look on his face.

"This is a bite! I can see the teeth marks! You didn't fall off your bike!
Who did this to you?" Carol yelled. Quincy just stood in silence, staring
down at the sink. She grabbed his chin and turned his head toward her."Who
did this to you!?" She yelled. Quincy still said nothing. "Come on! We're
going to the emergency room!"

"But Mom...!"

"Don't talk back to me! Put your shirt on and get in the car! And you WILL
tell me who did this!" She yelled. She went into the kitchen, grabbed her
keys and her purse, grabbed Quincy by his arm, and lead him out of the
garage. Erik gave a sad little wave as Quincy's mom practically dragged him
out to the car.

Carol drove Quincy to the Kaiser Permanente in Falls Church, a few miles
from his house. They went through the lobby and were admitted to general
medicine. After a thirty or so minute wait, they were ushered into an
examination room. After another ten minute wait, a young Indian physician
entered the room. "Hello, I'm Dr. Singh. I guess that you are Quincy?"

"Yes, Sir."

"So it says here that you have a bite on your shoulder?" the doctor asked
while glancing at the paperwork on his clipboard..

"Yes, Sir."

"Quincy, tell him what happened!" Carol said angrily.

Quincy looked at the doctor. "I was playing football with some kids in a
neighborhood near me. I got tackled, and one of them bit me."

"And you can bet we're going to drive to that neighborhood tomorrow and
you're going to show me this kid who bit you !" Carol said.

Dr. Singh studied the wound, looked back up at Quincy, and then back down
to the wound. "So you say that you were bitten, Quincy?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Well, I do see teeth marks, and they do appear to be the teeth marks of a
child between the ages of nine and eleven." The doctor then checked
Quincy's vitals, checked his throat and so on. He then went to a cabinet,
opened it up, and took some equipment out. "Quincy, I'm going to take a
blood sample. If you will please make a fist."

"Oh man! I don't want a shot!"

"Quincy! Do what the doctor tells you to do!" Carol said.

"There's a lot of bacteria in a human mouth, Quincy." Dr. Singh said as he
tied off Quincy's arm. "We need to make sure you don't have any blood
infections." Quincy gave an exasperated sigh and winced while the doctor
took the blood sample. The doctor left with the sample and returned a few
minutes later.

"Quincy, will you please leave the room and wait outside while I speak to
your mother?"

Quincy got up and left the room and the doctor closed the door behind him.

"Mrs. Lenhardt..." Dr. Singh said. "I'm going to recommend that you have
Quincy admitted to a hospital tonight for observation."

Carol gasped. "For a bite wound? Why?"

"Because that's not a bite wound." He said.

"What?"

"A human bite is a pressure wound. It is a puncture caused by the pressure
of the jaw and the teeth against the skin. That's not what I'm seeing on
Quincy's shoulder. What Quincy has is a burn."

"A burn?"

"Not just any kind of burn, but a radiation burn, or some kind of super
ionized plasma. I've never seen anything like it."

"Oh my God!"

"I think that we need to have Quincy checked for radiation exposure." He
said.

Carol gasped with her hands folded over her mouth as the doctor began
filling out the admission paperwork. Outside in the waiting room, Quincy
had his shirt collar down and was looking at his shoulder. Erik's bite mark
had completely disappeared.


			     End of chapter 4