The 5th of july

[ronfiction]

Lou had really enjoyed himself yesterday. The day off from work at the paper mill, plenty of barbecues to go to, fire works in the streets. Classic rural America. Lou had enjoyed plenty of food and then... plenty of drinking. For all the fun that was the 4th of July, the 5th of July was off to a much rougher start.

Lou had managed to get back to his apartment... some how... most likely with the help of sheriff Winters and woke up with one of the nastiest hang overs he had ever had. Lou was not much of a drinker, in fact, he hardly ever drank. His father had had a drinking problem and it had turned Lou off to the stuff. Whenever Lou did drink, it didn't take much to get him going.

Whenever Lou felt this sluggish he knew what he had to do. Despite it being July, it was still brisk in the morning. Rolling out of bed, Lou did his best not to wake the others in the his apartment block. Dallas was out all night with the rest of the fire department making sure that a rouge fire work display didn't start a forest fire, Harry and Jacob were the type that slept in most days anyways and V... well... V was V and moved at his own pace anyways.

Lou found a towel and made his way to the lake's edge. The rising sun assaulted his groggy senses and the early morning chill made his skin crawl some in waves of shivers. When he got down to the shoreline his pounding head ache had reached critical mass and there was one or two instances of a held back dry heave. He got down to his shorts and looked out at the light fog rising off the lake's surface. He cringed some but he knew what he had to do.

He readied himself and with some hesitation, he dashed into the water about waist deep and dove into the water. The icy plunge woke him, like a veil being pulled off of him. He got see more clearly, hear more clearly and in general, felt more alive. He came back to the surface and got a deep gasp of air. He stood the water for a time, looking out at the wilderness.

[Heather N]

The fourth of July was always a beautiful holiday to Dallas. So many colors in the sky and just the atmosphere from freedom emanating from the world. It was hard for her to really enjoy the holiday due to the fact she had to stay on duty, but that did not bother her. She fed off of the excitement from those around her. She always sacrificed her own enjoyment to keep others safe. It was just how she always knew how to do things.

She was tired from working late, but now that things quieted down, she wanted to really just enjoy the peace. As she made her way down the path, she looked up to see Lou standing in the water. A soft smile curled up on her face. She tried to quietly approach in an attempt to not disturb whatever moment he might be in. Getting up on the dock, she clumsily slipped out of her shoes. Doing things with one arm was slowly getting easier. Once they were off she sat down and slipped her feet in. The cold water made her flinch and sigh in relief. The reality had hit in that she had been on her feet for way to long. This was a well need relaxation.

With a soft sigh, she just looked to Lou.

"Did you have a great night?"

[ronfiction]

The normally obvious handy man was caught off guard by dallas's arrival and turned, surprised, to see her. He smirked and rubbed his temples while blinking water out of his eyes.

"Yeah; too much of a good time you could say. Yeah, next year will be more ribs and less rye if you know what I mean."

He said and waded his way through the shallow water to stand closer to her.

"I tried not to wake you. Sorry if I'm cutting into your day off."

[Heather N]

Dallas looked in to the cool water and just smiled.

"No, of course not. My days off are spent out enjoying the beautiful weather. You never know when the grey clouds could roll in."


She slowly rubbed her injured arm and just kept a smile.

"It is when everyone is asleep and tired out from their fun, someone like me can really just sit and relax for a few moments. I nice period of quiet."

[ronfiction]

"I can see how a city slicker like you would look forward to some peace and quiet. I'm glad I kept some clothes on for my swim."

Lou said with a chuckle and dunked his head back into the water. He came back up and shook his head some, his hair even more of a mess than normal.

"I'm enjoying my time off from work, t's back to business on Monday. It's weird being back on a normal schedule. First steady job I've had since the High school I work for two years ago."

Lou says and moves back over to where Dallas was sitting and climbed up onto the dock to sit with her.

[Heather N]

She smiled at him as she rubbed her arm.

"I am so proud of you! It is always a great feeling to know you are secure. I really would be lost with out this job; even with the injury risk. I really found my calling."

She then nudge him with her good fist.

"And maybe this new job is yours. You sure worked hard for it."

She paused for a moment when something dawned on her. She did not know much about Lou's past. She knew he used to work at a high school, but she did not know why he left. With a raised brow, she eyed him.

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you leave your janitor job? You definitely have the trade in your genes."

[ronfiction]

Lou frowned some at the mention of his old job back in Berlin. He shifted some in the shallow water and looked across the docks for a moment.

"I don't want to bore you with that old story Dallas. It's too early in the morning for a sad tale."

He said and gave a huff. He had known her for a while now and didn't really have a hard time teller her about it. But, he knew what kind of a story it was and didn't want to weigh her down with something so heavy on such a peaceful morning.

"You sure you want to hear this?"

[Heather N]

She frowned slightly at the idea of it being a sad story but quickly gave him a reassuring smile.

"You would never bore me. Sometimes it helps to share these things with the people who care about us. The more I understand you, the better I can help. Never feel like you are bothering me."

She patted the dock next to her and nodded her head.

"If you want to, you can tell me your sad story."

[ronfiction]

Lou moved to the edge of the dock and leaned on it while remaining in the water. He heaved a sigh and shrugged his shoulders some.

"A lot of folks look at me funny when I tell them the best job I ever had was my Janitor gig at the Berlin High school. All these fancy medical professionals, big-wig execs and FBI agents... You know, important people who've suddenly showed up here in Coos county. They must think I'm simple or something."

Lou says with a chuckle as he splashes some water around himself.

"But, I went to that school when I was younger. The good old mountaineers. That was our sports team. Yeah, I didn't finish. I might get my GED at some point. Heck, if Harry can get V a college degree then maybe he can forge something for me."

Lou said and gave Dallas a wink.

"But yeah, I got the job from the principal who put in a good word for me. He knew me and my brother from when we were students, knew our family too. Wanted to help me out and got me the janitor gig. Never worked so hard in my life. Showed up early every morning and stayed late every night. The job was a blessing for someone like me. I was even able to keep the house that my mother left to me for a while with it. But, it wasn't meant to be."

He said with a little sneer as he thought about the old times.

"I saw some punk kid making fun of a girl at the school one day. One of those darn, fancy pants southerns who got moved up to Berlin and was suddenly the cool kid because they had money. This bastard was just going to town on this poor freshmen because her clothes had patches in them. I wasn't gonna stand for it. Patched clothes aint nothing to be ashamed up. Waste not want not you know..."

Lou catches himself before he went off on a tangent about poor man pride.

"I told the kid off and scared him something good. Kate, the girl that was getting teased and I became pretty good friends. I liked looking out for the kiddo. She was a good person."

There was a certain hollowness with the last line about Kate. she WAS a good person, sounded strange in conversation.

"Well, I should have known I was only going to make things worse. I mean, what kind of kid wants to be seen hanging out with the ragged janitor drop out right? Well, that punk kid, the one that was making fun of Kate the day we met, he started to spread a rumor that the two of us were... well... involved with it each, if you know what I mean."

Lou said and just hung his head.

"Thankfully I was in the clear. The community at large had my back. They knew I wasn't up to anything like that. The principal and father Ashmore both went to bat for me and I got no flak on my end. But poor Kate..."

He said, head still hung and eyes tearing up.

"She got bullied so much in school because of that rumor she went home one day and hung herself in her bedroom. It really was all my fault. Kids can be so mean some times and small towns can just get you down... you know... one rumor and... you know..."

Lou said, struggling to finish his words. He swallowed hard a few times to keep his composure and he shook his head some to clear his mind.

"After that happened, I couldn't bare to stay in Berlin anymore. My scum bag dad, my poor dead mother, and then Kate. Couldn't stand to go home, couldn't stand to go to work. I finished the school year, sold the house, got a job trimming trees limbs by the power lines for the highway department. Left town but couldn't think of anywhere else to go. I've hardly left the northeast ever. Coos county is my home. I was just driving around, town to town, till I ended up on that island, stuck with the rest of the people and things just got weird. FBI quarantine and what not. Whisper Hill always had a bad rep but it's the last place in the county that I hadn't tried to live in, and well... here I am now."

Lou said in a tired voice.

"I never got a chance to apologize to harry's brother about how I treated him. I went off on him because he reminds me of that bastard that bullied Kate till she killed herself. Rich kids that run their mouth. I shouldn't have said those things about him like I did, but... It still gets to me though... Kate, hanging herself over something that we all know to be minor, now that we're adults and out of high school. Poor girl though... poor Kate."

[Heather N]

As Dallas listened to his story, it was obvious her eyes were swelling with a bit of emotion. It is stories like this that really drive her to be who she is today. This world does not need wendigo or giant moths to scare you. There are plenty of monster just in the human race itself. She frowned slightly and put her hand on his shoulder.

"At no point was it ever your fault Lou. You are an amazing person and did the right thing sticking up for her. You can not control things outside of yourself. There are a lot of real things in this world that can be so cruel. Even with out all this supernatural weird stuff, it is a dark place. I have seen some horrific things in my life time and I am only 27 years old."

She paused for a moment to look away. Her heart ached, reminding her of her brother for a moment.

"Awful people can and will take the things that you love from you. It is a harsh reality of the world."

She looked back to him with a soft smile.

"But that is why you need to keep sticking up for those who are taken advantage of. You can not save everyone, but you will save someone. And that one life matters."