PROLOGUE
Brian
stood by himself on the wet grass. Though he was surrounded by many of his
friends he felt totally alone. It was a semi-gloomy
day - weather-wise and emotionally - for him and many
other people, and the circumstances of him standing here only made it worse.
Brian E. Hill was somewhat of a loner, though the teenager had many friends in school, this was one day he felt like he was
the only person on the planet.
"Ashes
to ashes, dust to dust... he is in a better place. He was a good friend, a son, a
brother, a grandson, and a cousin. His laughter touched many,
his smile soothed many, his pranks may have angered many... but Erik Jason Quince
will rest in peace - for now, for all of eternity."
The
minister closed his Bible in a hushed tone after he uttered the statement and
glanced around at the people gathered. Most were teenagers, obviously friends
of Erik from school, but many were grownups, maybe family
or family of family. The minister rested sight on Brian, who seemed most hit by
the loss - aside from the parents.
Brian
had a full face and short dark hair that was curly on top. Usually, he sported
a jovial face but today he was so serious. He turned around, his classmate
Jordan was standing right behind him and both of them
had tears in their eyes. There was more reason for their grief than just being
at a funeral, these two friends had a history with their dead friend - and this
history would haunt them for days or years to come. The way he died would
forever be etched on their brains, you see - Erik was their
best friend. Brian turned and motioned for Jordan to join him and they both
approached their dead friend's parents, Erik's mother was
overcome in tears, and her husband held her close, wiping tears from his
eyes as well.
"Mrs.
Quince," Brian tried to face her, but he stared down instead, "...I'm so sorry..."
"Don't speak to me!" she screamed.
Everyone
there at the funeral was witness to that outburst. Her broken voice was so loud
that some people jumped when she belted out those four words in anger, she couldn't hide her Hispanic accent, and she couldn't hide her
rage either. The words spewed from her lips like swords of wrath. Jordan took
Brian by the arm and cautiously pulled him away.
"C'mon,
Brian. I think we need to go."
The
two high school students and Erik were known as the Quatro by many at school, quatro - meaning four in Spanish - they were in Spanish class and AP American
History class together as well as marching and concert bands. The remaining
member of the group, Elizabeth, was standing further off under an umbrella with
her mother. She didn't say a word the whole service,
of everyone there, she felt most to blame.
"Family
and friends, the Quince family would like to thank you all for being here on
this rainy day, to share in their time of grief and sorrow. The original plans
were to meet at the Quince home after the funeral, but they uh..." the minister
turned to Erik's father, he shook his head 'no', "...
instead, they request you give a donation in Erik's name to the charity of your
choice. This will conclude the funeral services for Erik J. Quince. May the
Lord bless you all."
It
was a Saturday, a day none of the friends would ever forget, after
all, it was only a week ago, and an incident ago that something happened
that caused them all to be out here, standing in the rain at a Brandon, Florida
cemetery.
"A
week ago today," Elizabeth muttered, the three friends were sitting together at
Mariposa's Bakery - a popular eatery in the small Florida community of Brandon,
which was just east of the Tampa Bay area, "... I can't
believe it, guys. We were in here a week ago and..."
She
burst into tears. Brian reached over and held her in a reassuring embrace, but
his eyes were teary too. Elizabeth, a senior at Victoria High in Brandon, was considered the leader of their little group, she was the
cornerstone, 'the rock' as Erik used to call her. Jordan looked away. Right
after the funeral, the three decided to meet at their favorite hang-out instead
of at Davis Park where many of the other friends from
school decided to attend a bar-b-que fundraiser in Erik's name.
Jordan
saw the look of despair on Elizabeth's face. Normally she was always the one in
the chipper mood, smiling and getting everyone else on task.
"Elizabeth,
we need to pull ourselves together, Erik wouldn't want this, you know, us
mourning over him like this," Jordan said.
Brian
turned to him, in disbelief and forced a smile.
"Are
you kidding? Erik always wanted to be
the center of attention; he'd be gloating through all
this in that silly smile of his."
The
three friends stared around at each other as smiles slowly crept onto their
young faces.
"Ha,
you know he's right." she sniffed.
Jordan
was shaking his head in a smile as he felt someone brush up next to him.
"Guys,
sorry to hear about Erik, he and I knew each other since fourth grade. I know you guys were really close. I'm
going to miss him, you know?" Morgan said, walking up to them, "... why didn't
you guys go to the bar-b-que?"
"Because
we're the Quatro and Erik was a
member of the Quatro, so everyone
would be on us, you know, asking about that day... and we, we..."
"We
don't feel like answering questions anymore," Jordan said finishing Brian's
statement.
"Well
don't worry - I won't ask you guys any questions. I
know this has been hard on all of us who were really close to him." Morgan
reassured.
She
was also a friend but didn't hang with this group so
much, Morgan was an Honor Roll student that was in the band with all four
friends, but she was in a different circle, yet she knew Erik more than any
other friend at Victoria High.
"Yeah,
this isn't going to be easy on any of us, especially with his family blaming us
for it."
Morgan
looked down at the group leader who was still wiping her tears.
"We'll
get through this Elizabeth; Erik meant a lot to a lot of people." Morgan
smiled.
"Yeah,"
Brian shrugged," ... but it isn't fair. Why'd he have to die?"
The
three friends got up and walked toward the door.
CHAPTER 1
Brian
Hill's first day at Victoria High back in his freshman
year was awkward. He wanted to join the band but didn't
really know how to play any instrument, he sat in on the orientation and the
band teacher picked the tuba for him. Usually, the bigger kids get picked the bigger instruments and Brian fit that
equation, not that he had an issue with it, but he asked for percussion. He was
later told that he'd be accommodated. He didn't mind, Brian was a very easy-going type and quickly
got along with everyone. He was like everybody's little or big brother,
depending on what age you were or what grade you were in. He was the last
joining member to make the Quatro... the Quatro.
Elizabeth
Baker was handed a clarinet, Jordan a trumpet. Erik played sax. He was already
a sax player, he'd been playing since fifth grade and
he was good. They all got to know each other that year, the band turned out to
be more like a family instead of just another class, and the friends quickly
bonded; each of them had come from a different middle school.
Jordan
Lunas and his parents lived in an affluent neighborhood of Brandon, he could
easily have had his pick of friends, but he blended in nicely with the Quatro when the four first met on
the very first day of band camp. Jordan and Erik were bunkmates. Brian slept on
the bunk next to them with Peter - who was in percussion.
Morgan
and Elizabeth were bunkmates on the girl's side of band camp. Morgan, a blonde who didn't really fuss with her hair and liked to
wear Adventure Time hats, looked like she was into athletics - but she wasn't.
She
and Erik's families were friends, so they saw a lot of
each other and even went on vacations together. Morgan was a free spirit, and
she didn't socialize much.
Elizabeth
Baker was a tall brunette who looked like she belonged
on the cover of a fashion magazine, but she didn't act like it. Her first
meeting with Erik was during the summer just before first-year band camp for
them. The school had a team spirit event at the Campbell's Ice Cream shop on
Parsons.
Erik
and Elizabeth had both separately ordered the exact same sundae, and when the
girl brought it out, they both grabbed it and sent ice cream back into the
server's face.
"That
was my ice cream!" Erik yelled.
"I
beg to differ, it was mine. But you can have it now." She smiled.
"Man,
that sucks." He said.
"No,
you suck." She pointed.
The
band teacher walked up to the two.
"Ok
children, you both are going to be a part of my band, and there's
a rule in the band. We don't fight, we're family. I
suggest both of you buy each other another one and get over it."
She
walked away.
"Did
she just call us children?" Erik smirked.
Elizabeth
laughed while wiping whipped cream off her forehead.
"Yep,
I believe she did, but she's right. So what do you
want? My treat."
Erik
shone his famous smile, they became friends that day.
Morgan
was also at the ice cream social, but she didn't
socialize with many. The new freshman quickly was set
apart from a lot of her friends. While in band camp, which was across the state
in some remote forest region close to Ocala, the blonde
sat alone a lot and stared out into the woods. There were times she'd sit there and not communicate with any of her friends;
something had her glued to the spooky woods just outside of their camp. On a
couple of nights, the camp director would tell scary stories about ghosts of
the region and their relationships to this camp.
"During
the Civil War, Captain Armwood Harrington - an officer of the Confederate Army
- and his regiment massacred a platoon of Union forces right here on this land.
It was a bloody battle and Union Captain Elijah Oliver and his men lost their
lives. They were beheaded at the lake... and their blood
sank deep into the soil. Some say their headless
corpses come out late at night in the mist from the lake here looking for other
heads to replace theirs. The soldiers were young, some
as young as you are. Make sure you lock your cabins tonight..."
The
kids would scare easily, except for Morgan who'd stare
at the camp director then glare out into the woods with an eerie smirk. Erik
was the only one she'd let into her world, and
whatever was going on, they kept it secret.
That
first day of High School was uncomfortable for Brian, an outgoing friendly type
who had learned more than once that not everyone else was as outgoing as he
was, or as friendly. On the first day, Erik approached him when he saw Brian
lend lunch money to another student, then the student kept coming back, every
day.
"Ok
Johnny, this is going to stop. You can't keep taking
money off Brian, you get lunch, what are you, saving up for college? Don't
jocks have scholarships for that?"
"Keep
outta this Quince!" the tall student said.
"Or
what? You going to bench press me?"
Johnny
was six feet two inches tall and on the football and wrestling teams, Erik was
five seven and thin as a rail, but Erik learned back in elementary school not
to back down to bullies, he was used to this. He'd gotten written up in fifth grade for punching the
school bully in the face. That didn't sit right with
him, Jacob was the bully - but Erik got in trouble.
"Punk,
you challenging me?" Johnny huffed.
"Na,
see challenge wouldn't exactly be quite the right
word, Frankenstein. And I call you Frankenstein in reverence - after all that
is what you are, right? A big lug made of by-products? Anyway, Neanderthal, my buddy Brian here ain't giving you a red cent from now on,
that's all there is to it."
"Neanderthal?
Are you insulting me, dweeb?"
"See?
It's so easy even a caveman can understand." He smiled
patting Brian on the shoulder.
No
one in school ever challenged Johnny Bernard Goode and lived to tell about it,
much less spoke down to him the way Erik did. Johnny reached out to grab Erik
and found himself instead in the air, when Erik grabbed his fist, bent over,
and threw him over his side - the muscular jock then landed on the principal's
prize rose bush. Just in time for the principal to walk out and catch him
screaming in pain from the thorns as he tried to get out. Mrs.
Diriscall was not in a happy mood after that with Johnny. Erik and Brian had
already walked away.
"Man
dude, Johnny's probably going to get both of us for that." Brian smiled
nervously.
"I
can handle his type, hey after school a bunch of us in
band are going to the Brandon Music Showcase store to check out some musical
equipment, I need more reeds for my new sax. Then we're
going to Mariposa's, you coming?"
"What's
a Mariposa's?"
"Brian,
Brian," Erik smiled, "... dude, you need to get out
more. It's a bakery about a half mile from here. You
in? You can ask your Mom to pick you up there instead of here at school, or one
of the guys can take you home. We were going to talk about some
band stuff, then pig out on Cuban sandwiches."
Erik
always had this confident smile that shone on his dark skin. A dark-skinned
Hispanic was something new to Brian, but he soon came to learn that it was
something common in the Tampa Bay area.
"Sure
Erik, sounds like fun. I love Cuban sandwiches."
They
became best friends that day.