A New Life in Lawrenceville

Chapter 34

Miller shot me an email with the details of my next assignment. It seems someone was attempting to start a new little league for golf. Golf is one of those sports that is more about precision and skill than anything else. It is not like basketball or football, in which certain physical qualities such as height or mass made you a good player. Golf is a very mental game. Your mind needs to be totally in tune with your body to keep the perfect form and angle for every shot. You also need to estimate which club will get you the best shot for whatever scenario you are in. The amount of thinking that goes into the game makes it what it is as a distinct sport. On the negative side, golf has always been one of the most expensive sports to play. For that reason, it has always had an elitist and stuffy air about it, making it a sport that was not for everybody.

I looked up the location of the golf course where the initial sign-up event was going to be. I drove out to the location called "The Green." As I pulled up, I saw the perfectly trimmed hills and the rows of golf carts with white roofs lined up outside the clubhouse. I parked the car and walked into the clubhouse to learn what I could. The bar had a few people sitting there talking. All the golfers wore the same general outfit: cargo shorts, collared shirts, and vizors.

The bartender walked over to me. He said, "Can I help you sir?"

"I'm here about the new golfing little league," I explained, "I'm reporting on it for the Lawrenceville Herald."

"They will be out on the driving range," he said, "You want something to drink or eat? We make a mean turkey club."

I took out my wallet and purchased the turkey club sandwich. I went out to the driving range and saw three wooden buckets floating in the lake. A man was standing in front of a group of children that were sitting around him on the ground. A few other adults were standing a few feet back. I surmised that they are the parents.

I spoke to a few parents and took down some notes about what they thought about the program and its instructor. I watched as the instructor demonstrated the proper form to the students and adjusted the student's form if they were slightly off. Golf has always been such a perfectionistic sport. I sat and took a few bites of my sandwich as the kids fired off some shots at the wooden buckets. Only a select few managed to make some shots. Some kids bounced up and down with excitement. Others looked at the ground and pouted as they struggled. The instructor attempted to comfort them, insisting that practice will help them improve.

After a while, my eyes began to drift shut. I attempted to force them to remain open, but eventually, I slumped in my chair and fell into a deep sleep. As I slept, I had the most disturbing dream.

In the dream, I was inside the cave with that insidious apple tree. I watched as Phil and Josh seemed to walk inside the cave towards the tree.

Josh grabbed Phil. "Don't do it!" Josh shouted, "That tree is evil." His voice echoed in an unearthly way.

"You're the evilest thing around here," Phil said as he shoved Josh to the ground, "I've never had a buzz like these things give me."

Phil walked toward the tree. I attempted to call out to him, but no voice would leave my mouth.

Phil downed one of the apples, then another one, and then another. Each time he finished one, he would pluck another. His body would sway from here to there as he struggled to keep standing.

Josh crawled towards him and yanked on Phil's leg to bring him to the ground. "You have to stop!" He yelled.

Phil looked at him. His eyes seemed wild, almost as if possessed. He kicked Josh in the head violently, seemingly knocking him unconscious. Phil crawled back up to the tree. "So close," he said, "I am so close to freedom."

I felt goosebumps form all over my body. Phil's voice sounded less like his own and more like the voice I had been hearing since I left the island. Phil ate more apples, ravaging them as he ripped bites from one apple in each hand.

All at once he stopped. He let the half-eaten apples fall out of his hands. He turned and walked towards Josh. He grabbed Josh's hair and yanked him up near him. "Get up and receive my majesty you fool," Phil said. His voice no longer sounded anything like his old voice.

Josh seemed to come too. He looked up at him. Josh attempted to shove him away, but Phil punched him in the stomach.

"I recognize you," Phil said, "You were that boy that came here long ago with his father."

Josh looked at him as if horrorstruck. "Who are you?" he asked with a shaky voice.

I woke up with a shout and I was on the golf course again. I looked around, sweating profusely as a few people whispered and gave me some odd looks. Was it all just a dream? If it was, it was a very strange one. Could it have been real?

I saw the lesson was over. I walked over to the instructor and shook his hand. He politely nodded and answered my questions, but I could see in his face he thought I was a little off.

I went back to my car and looked over my notes to start drafting an article. My phone buzzed and I looked down at it. Carla had texted me. It read, "I have a task for you my little whipping boy." I rolled my eyes. I wasn't sure if I should be more afraid of my dream or what rotten task Carla would have for me.