On the stone road

© Venia Mishin, 2019

ISBN 978-5-4496-8790-6

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

Chapter 1

Without hurrying, but looking at watches – Eric Lanter was coming back home, slowly walking along an empty street under the dim light of lanterns. In the town he was known as a guy with unnaturally pale gray color of hair.

Rising up the hill, Eric felt coming chill of autumn, which was blown by wind. Looking around, Eric observed the sad trees: the leaves were trembling, its fear was disseminating over the hill. Probably, it felt the death, which was coming. Diluting rustling sounds by steps, Eric thought about the last weekend of outgoing summer and about the school routine, that happens after the summer.

It was going to be the last year in school. Eric couldn’t believe that he never had to come back there, that this stage of life is going to come to the end. He thought that that this stage of life is going to long eternally and the moment, when he reach the age of 16 is never to come.

Everything would be fine, but it left almost a year before this memorable moment. During this time it was necessary to get prepared for the exams, for graduation, and certainly, to make a choice with the college. Eric had problem with the choice, even the problem was serious. He didn’t have any particular aim in life, he also didn’t know, what he is going to do in future and he had no idea, which sphere he wanted to devote his life. He didn’t want to regret in future about his choice and experience the desire to turn the time back. At the moment he had an only option – to study in college, that choses his best friend Konstantin Balington. Most likely, it’s was going to be an economical or juridical college.

Konstantin’s parents had owned a sawmill. In the childhood Eric and his best friend spent there almost all their free time. In unused space they were playing hide-and-seek, catch up, and sometimes they observed the magical process of conversion of huge logs into flat boards. When the guys grew up they visited the sawmill not for playing, but for working in order to earn some money for their daily needs. At least, one of them. Usually Konstantin was a company to his friend. Basically they did auxiliary work, and sometimes they helped Mrs. Balington with parsing documents in accounting.

Sometimes Eric thought that his friend is not excited about the future inheritance. It were not the best time for the sawmill because of bust of their town.

Silent Valley was an old town with forgotten history, which was slowly dissolving in nature. Some local entrepreneurs, who owned the chocolate manufacture or the ceramic plant after numerous crises stopped their activity. As the result, the work in mines has become the only occupation, which gave people a good income. The young people, who lived in the Silent Valley were intended to move to the big city because of the daily routine and the lack of opportunities. Those people, who had managed to do that, never come back to the Silent Valley any more.

Nevertheless, there lived some people, who didn’t want to move anywhere from this sinking into dormancy town. Eric didn’t like bustling metropolis, he also didn’t like places, where there are lots of people around. Lots of people everywhere. He was convinced, that it’s impossible to stay alone with himself, even in his head, when there are always millions of people around you.

Opposite to Eric, Konstantin dreamed about leaving this panting from boredom province. Once Konstantin confessed to Eric, that he doesn’t want to take the reins in his hands. He didn’t want to run a sawmill in future. In reply Eric suggested with a smirk to replace Konstantin in this post, if he doesn’t mind of course.

Sometimes Eric got angry to his friend, course he had so much, but he didn’t appreciate it. Wonderful parents, who work all the time, trying to give their son all the best. In the childhood Konstantin had the best toys, the best clothes, and their house considered to be the most beautiful in the Silent Valley. The situation hadn’t changed nowadays, but toys were changed by modern gadgets and by cool black and red motorbike. Eric, at the opposite, was brought up by his caring mother, whose troubles he all the time was trying to reduce and make her difficult life a little bit easier.

There was one more person in Eric’s life, but about his existence Eric has dreamed to forget forever. It was his father, who was a carefree sloven and the “killer” of Eric’s good mood.

Eric’s parents considered to be the representatives of the middle class, maybe even lower. They hardly had money even for moving. Karl Lanter accused of the lack of money all the family, but not himself. It was his principle to put the responsibility on others. Cause it’s so much easier to live. Mr. Lanter got very angry when someone was trying to hinder him, and he had never stunged by remorse.

The street, which was filled with darkness and slowly getting covered by fog, was faintly covered by dim light of lanterns. The view was gloomy, but exiting. Eric was impressed by this scene. The Hill street was shrouded in thick ghostly colors. The street got its name because of the location. Leading to the clouds hill scattered on the outskirts of the town. It was built by small white houses, which were similar to each other. All the house, except the house №17 were empty. Nowadays Lanters was the only family, who lived in this street.

The Hill street was shrouded by wild charm and filled with wonderful smell, which was disseminated by weak blowing of wind. Fragrant flowers and scented bushes emitted a pleasant smell and all the houses in this street were drown in this magic smell. Eric scared, that once someone will get to know about this wonderful place.

Walking past these empty windows, without hurrying, Eric came to his home. By the way, their house didn’t suit the general atmosphere. All the yard seemed to be a little island, surrounded by high green trees. There were many garden flowers around manicured lawns. These flowers seemed to be weak and vulnerable to wild nature, which surrounded its yard.

Before stepping on the concrete path, green-eyed boy observed his dwelling and habitually thought “I love this place so much, but at the same time I hate it!”

Eric loved his dwelling, but at the same time he hated his house because he had to share it with his evil and useless father. He scared, that one day he will become familiar to his father.

Softly moaned, Eric moved to the house. Rising the steps on the porch, he looked back through the shoulder: thin subtle sound caught his attention. He turned sideways to the door and saw a ball, which was flying directly to him. In a second he was rammed the bright sphere: the hit was so strong, that Eric felt down and he flied through the wooden platform, then he hit his temple on the front door and went through it on the wooden floor of a small porch.

There was a flash inside and outside. Burning multi-colored contraption soaked in a teenager’s body, like a drop of water in a dry land.

Pain. It spread from a single point on the entire body. It has spread and ruthlessly burned everything on its way. Eric opened his moth: he didn’t have a force even for shouting. Poor guy spurted gained air and fought the neck to the floor. Then he began to choke.

Never before had he felt such unbearable torments. In this time he thought, that he will never fell anything any more, that the pain is the last feeling, that he experienced in his life. Each piece of his body simultaneously punctured both inside and outside. The body was shaking, hands and feet overwound and writhed in convulsions. Then everything inside has been phased out and cuddle up to each other, as if rammed into a solid mass.

Finally the hurt stopped. Just as suddenly as it had begun.

Eric was afraid to make any movement, he was frightened and got stuck in one motion, not daring even to blink. He feared that if moves, everything will be repeated again.

When the front door opened, it hurt Erica’s knee.

– What’s happened? – shouted Mila Lanter, when she saw her petrified son with pale face. She immediately leaned over to help him up.

Eric did not respond to her efforts, he was silent, remaining motionless.

– Eric, dear, what had happed? – Woman was shaking her son, taking him by the shirt her small arms. Only after a few seconds Eric’s glazed eyes spotted her in front of him.

When Eric comes out of the stupor, the he has facilitated the work of his mother. He abruptly jumped to his feet and Mrs. Lanter flinched in surprise.

– I fell down. – Eric quickly muttered to himself and walked into the house without further explanation.

The woman followed him. She couldn’t understand what had happened, and just forget the fact that she found him hardly alive, lying on the floor of the porch.

– Eric, wait! – she shouted after him.

Eric didn’t wait her, he was thinking about what happened to him. But he was afraid to put forward a hypothesis that could explain the unexplainable.

When he run into his room, Eric immediately locked the door. He knew that his mother was about to rise to the second floor to arrange the questioning that he couldn’t bear. He threw his backpack into the corner and immediately fell into bed, and buried his face in the blanket.

There was the expected knock at the door. Mrs. Lanter knocked on the door with his hands, sparing her new manicure, whom she was creating the last twenty minutes after cleaning.

– Open the door immediately! Can you hear me? – She had never been able to give convincing orders. She was very kind and polite woman, but that was not always good to her. – Eric, open the door! – Resumed Mrs. Lanter. – I want to know what happened to you! Can you hear me?!

No reaction has been reported. He continued lying on his stomach on the bed, with his eyes closed, and his mother didn’t stop knocking at the door. A few minutes later, concerned about the state of her child, Mrs. Lanter decided to call a doctor. Her intention didn’t please Eric; he didn’t want her to do that.

Eric panicked even more. He would not, and could not tell anyone what had happened to him: at least because even Eric is not exactly knew what happened to him.

Eric was sure – if he tells anyone about the glowing ball crashed into him, he will be definitely considered to be crazy. Therefore, he firmly resolved to prevent the appearance at home people in white lab coats, so as not to leave it with them, in a white shirt.

Seeing as his mother is going to press the last digit of three-digit phone number, Eric barely had time to pull out the blue tube from her hands. His action came as a surprise for her again, and again she shuddered with fear.

– What are you doing?! I’m OK, I… I just tripped and fell. So because of this stuff we need a rescue service? Before his eyes everything was twitching as noise on an old TV screen.

Eric could hardly stand on his feet, because of dizziness, which was bringing him down.

– I’m your mother. – Loudly, but lovingly, said Mrs. Lanter. – For me, the slightest adversity happens to you, it’s an emergency.

Realizing that she is going to hug him, Eric took a step back, and walked into the kitchen. He really wanted to go back to his room, but he couldn’t do it. He had to convince his mother that everything is ok with him, in order she didn’t worry about anything: and only then he could safely return to his room, don’t worrying about her.

– How are you? – Asked Mrs. Lanter, going to the gas stove, intending to reheat the chicken breast.

“I do not know” – thought to himself Eric, anxiously looking around, sitting on a chair. He put his hands under the table, in order to conceal its trembling from the mother.

– As usual… well. Not bad – as convincing as it possible Eric mumbled.

– Mom, I do not want anything, I do not want to eat. He was now not to meal.

– A little bit. – babbled petite Mrs. Lanter, similar to nice and pleading creation.

– Mom!

The breast remained in the frying pan untouched.

Mila Lanter brewed a cup of tea with raspberries and sat down at the table to his son. She drank tea from a tiny cup, the only survivor cup of the pale pink colored tea set. One day, Mr. Lanter returned home in even worse mood than usual. For his regular dismissal had to pay grandmother’s porcelain gift.

– I won’t be here tomorrow. I have some problems at my job, and I need to sort them out, so early in the morning, I go to the office, – she said.

Mrs. Lanter did the selection of staff in the agency hiring nannies and governesses.

Now in basket stork child necessarily comes with a nurse if this privilege you can afford.

The agency, where Mila Lanter has worked, was in a nearby town. Her family has not moved there, because of high rent. Poor women have to spend every day for two and a half hours to get to job, and the same to return back home.

– Your father returns tomorrow, after a night shift, – informed Mrs. Lanter, putting the empty cup on the table.

– It is a pity that I did not have to work tomorrow – Eric muttered, barely holding himself in mind.

With every second his ability to pretend that everything is fine was volatilizing.

Weakness squeezed his eyelids, he could barely keep his eyes partly opened. The head has not stopped spinning, forcing Eric to hold on to the seat of the chair to keep from falling down.

– Well, dear, it’s late, I’m going to bed. Today I am very tired, however, as usually.

Mrs. Lanter had chronic fatigue, so she went to bed early.

After his mother’s words, Eric felt relief.

Soon it will be possible to leave the line, go back to the room and close the eyes. Climbing the stairs, Eric thought again about what had happened on the porch. The question didn’t cease in his head. He didn’t know what, and why, could this happen with him? Eric scared like never before. Fear even more weakened him and he almost crept to his room. When he turned out on the other side of the door, he stopped struggle with tearing exhaustion. As soon as Eric stopped seeing the moonlight, which was slightly getting to his room, his thin body sprawled on the multi-colored nylon carpet.

Meanwhile, Mila Lanter finished washing the dishes. Water from the tap is no longer knocked on the metal surface of sink. Wiping her hands with a soft towel, the woman went to her room. Horrified with the sight of the location of the arrow on the dial, she decided to do without reading before bedtime today.

Mrs. Lanter loved reading, and if she takes up any romance, she undoubtedly reads its each word, even though the story predisposes to yawning.

The standing on a wooden bedside table lamp, went out; exhausted by the hard day, Mrs. Lanter fell asleep. Exactly five hours later, she turned off the alarm clock that stood on the same bedside table as the lamp. Shower, exhausting pulling the worn-out clothes, which over the years has become a size smaller, strong coffee, and now – she was ready to go to job to the office.

Before leaving, Mrs. Lanter wanted to look into the room to his son, but she didn’t want to wake him up at such an early time, so she quietly, not without effort, passed by the creaking floor and left the house.

Wandering through the maze of consciousness, Eric was trying to escape from the brightly glowing ball, lying on his multi-colored rug.

Close to noon the web of weakness gradually began to dissolve, and soon it let the guy free. Seeing his room above, Eric almost immediately became blind: mild pain swept over all the bones. He no longer slept, but at the same time he didn’t hurry to stay awake. He needed time to recover.

From rough kick hand, Eric suddenly opened his eyes, then closed, and his lips curled in disgust. His father stood in front of him, as always his face was swollen by irritation.

Carl Lanter returned from job later than usual. His team-mate Oliver’s car broke down, so Mr. Lanter had to spend three hours more at the cash register at a gas station.

– Oh, what a joy, you’re back … – Eric whined with a dejected tone, not looking at his father.

Eric was not sure exactly where he works. This was all because of his frequent change of activity. Changing job to job, Carl Lanter couldn’t find proper employment for himself. Looking at him, Eric shuddered of the thought that some of the inherited genes will ever come into force.

– It is better for you to shut tour mouth, bastard – omitting greeting, growled Mr. Lanter. He was never interested in the life of his only son. He was interested only in food in the refrigerator, and mindless sitcoms on TV.

– Where is your mother? The voice of Mr. Lanter had a special rate for Eric’s membranes. His sound was so nasty and irritable that the young man felt tackles stomach contents into the throat. The same was with visual perception, Eric could hardly contemplate hunched creature with bulging belly and flanks; almost always he looked away as he spoke to him.

– Try to guess – through clenched teeth, said to him Eric.

He displayed the audacity and almost suffered from the punishment, but he managed to dodge, recoiling aside. Eric got up from the floor, in front of him stood Karl Lanter and poisonous whispered:

– Do you want I break all the bones? – Mr Lanter threatened his son.

– Oh, I’m trembling. You don’t have to strain your imagination, coming up with a threat – they won’t work on me! – With a straight face said Eric, carefully hiding the fear of the consequences of his statements.

One of the favorite ways of Charles Lanter to get his own way was blackmail. He regularly practiced it on his wife, demanding desired from her. If he needed money, he had to beg them by means of threatening to sell something of value, which, by the way was a little bit. Basically, Mr. Lanter attempted the electrical equipment: TV, video player, tape recorder, video camera, which he sold, despite the fact that he had received the contribution to delay the sale until the next fit of rage caused by a lack of finance for the next scrap. In addition, Carl Lanter was generous on the physical threat.

– Bald bastard worthy of your mother, the same bald stuff. Probably, you cover her again, you just don’t want to tell me where she is, – loathing poured out of his mouth with saliva. By the crush, he had the worst wife in the world, Mr. Lanter vacated the room by his presence.

Eric hated everything associated with his father, everything, even his favorite things: whether the dish, color, or a musical composition on the radio – were associated with him, and he would like not to think about him as much time, as it possible. For a minute after standing in one place, Eric rushed to the cupboard for fresh clothes. Desire to get out of the house as quickly as it possible, made him neglect the morning shower. One of the most native people was the most hated man for him.

Eric untied torn red sneakers and his eyes began to run around the room in the search of his mobile phone. He forgot where he put it. Eric in a rush climbed every corner of the backpack, and the desk, then he dropped to his knees and went on searching for the phone under the bed.

Instead of finding he noticed some kind of strangeness. Metal bed legs haven’t been fixed; instead, they were bent away from the wall. Rising and looking around carefully, Eric began to feel that much in his room was slightly distorted. It wasn’t so much caught the eye, but if you look closely, you could notice in furniture or in walls some kind of bulge. He began to feel that the room was shrinking. Eric convinced himself that all this nonsense, but then he immediately thought of crashing into him a glowing ball.

Thinking about the establishment of a notebook, where he could write the events that occurred for unknown reasons – Eric grabbed the black jacket, which was lying on a chair and immediately left his room, and then he left the house. He didn’t want to stay there anymore.

“Anywhere but wouldn’t hear him!” – that was the eternal principle of a fifteen-year boy. When he went out on the street, he stopped for a moment to check whether there were externally concavities at the walls of his room.

Everything was as it was yesterday.

Going down the hill, Eric walked briskly on dark blue asphalt. The street was damp and the rain was drizzling. Disgusting and depressing. Maybe that’s why his father was so angry?

On this point Eric didn’t bother, he was much more concerned about the events of yesterday evening. Of course, he was still puzzled by the incident that happened to him yesterday on the porch.

“Maybe that was hallucination caused by spasm, or a heart attack or stroke? Rubbish! "– Going through the options, one more stupid than the other, Eric decided to turn to the Internet. The phone was hidden in the inner pocket of the jacket. He looked at the mobile phone screen, viewing a bunch of references. Nothing suitable. Not paying attention to anything, he was almost run over by a Pickup truck, which was driven by a young girl. Not finding an answer to his question, Eric decided to forget about it as it was a nightmare. Nothing worked.

Half an hour later, he stood at the entrance of a dilapidated cinema theater, owned by the parents of his friend Noah Holm. In drizzle color, ragged walls of the building looked sad, though, like each of closely pressed to each other construction in a quiet town.

He had nowhere to go; Constantine went to his aunt for the weekend, so Eric decided to look back to place, where once he worked a little bit, and had a good time.

In the Holm’s cinema theatre worked exceptionally Holms. The head of the family Elton Holm economized on the absence of the staff. Noah had to persuade his father for a long time, before he hired Eric to work. The Holms cinema has been a popular place in The Silent Valley due to its small cafes.

Local hard workers and elderly people often looked to in order to alleviate the heavy burden of the harsh reality. After going through the empty foyer past the closed cash desks, Eric slowly dumped the hood and went to the cafe. Hospital lighting and annoying blinking lights made the café alien body in the cinema theatre that radiated the heat of the old days.

The withered tables were empty, only Mrs. Clara Holm was there. Standing at the bar, a woman with a big heart and the size of clothes, wiped clean glasses.

– How is the day? – Eric asked friendly, sitting on a high chair.

– You’re the first one who visited us today, – with a sad smile, said Mrs. Holm, adjusting a brown bundle on her head.

– It’s not evening yet! – Eric encouraged her.

It was in the evening when the remaining people of the Silent Valley were running together to the cafe.

– Is Noah here? – Eric asked Mrs. Holm, watching as she was going to wipe the dust where it wasn’t.

– Noah is going to come later. Maybe I’ll bring you anything? – She asked, hardly have said the previous sentence. Looking at the woman Eric could see her bursting desire to occupy herself with something useful.

– Pancakes – on reflection said Eric.

In fact, he even didn’t want to eat; he ordered pancakes only out of politeness to Mrs. Holm. Also, out of politeness, he became to push it into his mouth.

The meal was delicious, as always, but he didn’t want to eat at all.

In anticipation Eric watched through the panoramic window of the cafe as overcast sky gradually fills with frightening blackness. The street was dark, as if the night falls, although till the sunset was almost seven hours.

Ahead of heavy rain for a few seconds, Eric Noah came in empty restaurant. He was wound up and upset by something. Eric immediately guessed that the reason was Alice. In Eric’s point of view she was a local beautiful girl, and no more. He didn’t understand his peers, playing the game “I love you.” Eric is sure that this feeling they simply can’t experience, and those cutting the ear sweet words were a manifestation of childhood from which they so vehemently were trying to repudiate.

As it turned out later, Noah broke up with Alice. She left him, for the sake of a guy named William.

– What a foolish name! – Noah muttered resentfully. When he is angry, he becomes even funnier. – Who is now generally calls the child this name?

– Actually, no one! – assented Eric, just to calm down his friend.

– What have I done wrong? – Ruefully asked Holm.

– You did it! – Eric continued.

– Yes! I did everything right!

– Yes!

– She is bad!

– She is!

– Not me.

– Not you!

– Enough to you! – Noah cried out in exasperation at his friend.

– What? I just say what you want to hear – Eric stopped to act up, and began to behave yourself more seriously.

– I want to hear what you really mean to tell me – more calmly, said Noah.

– Come on. I have already said, but you didn’t listen to me.

His friend didn’t say anything. He lowered his head and ran his fingers through his hair, the same brown-colored, like his mother had.

– Unpleasant? – Eric asked, blaming his insensitivity, looking at each other.

– Not half…

Rain, with accompaniment of deafening clap of thunder, was so much beating on the windows, which began to seem as if they are about to be torn apart. Flown at Silent Valley wet night every moment was getting madder and more frightening.

– I’ll be back – Noah rose from his chair and walked to the fridge for a soda. – Would you like anything?

The phone call didn’t give Eric to answer.

– What happened? – Noah asked curiously, noticing the change in the face of his friend.

– It’s my father.

Holm immediately understood everything. He knew his friend was “lucky” with his father.

Eric was upset and he didn’t want to answer the call, but he knew that he must do that. Carl Lanter got furious when he was ignored by cellular. Most likely, he couldn’t phone Mrs. Lanter: it was not surprising: her old cell phone repeatedly hinted at the need for recycling. Perhaps Mr. Lanter has intended call her to inquire – whether it really is in the office, rather than in an institution encouraging adultery, in the company of a man generously treated her with cocktails. If Mrs. Lanter doesn’t answer the call – she certainly fondle in the alley with a scoundrel. From accusation to accusation the financial position and social status of a non-existent lover always varies. If the wife doesn’t answer the call, he should call her son in order to be convinced of her infidelity – it was turn-based strategy of “big mind” of Charles Lanter.

– I Listen, – said Eric, reluctantly holding the phone to the ear.

– Where are you, why so long … – immediately sounded annoyed howl on the other side of the line. Eric immediately left the phone away from his ear, and rolled his eyes upward. His friend Noah gave no sign that he heard the cries of Mr. Lanter.

– Why doesn’t your mother pick up the phone?! – Still angry, he continued to shout in a rude way.

As he had expected – his mother couldn’t answer the bell for some reason, and his father suddenly decided to ask him: – “Why?”.

– You seriously think I know it? – Eric said, almost screaming.

After the heinous insults, the beeps cracked. Angry parent hung up, didn’t telling a word any more.

Eric was so ashamed that such a disgusting person directly participated in his birth.

– I hate him – he admitted in a drooping voice.

Noah was silent; perhaps he didn’t know what to say and how to comfort him.

The sounds of bendable metal rang in the empty hall of a cafe. It became very hot around; Eric’s hands began to shake.

– Eric! – called him Noah in discouragement.

The guy didn’t take his eyes from the melting phone in the hand of his friend.

Glass screen pieces spilled from a solid body, which began to look like crumpled clay. Because of the panic the mobile device fell out of the hands of the owner. Another terrible abnormality messed frustrated teen from a place, and ran away in the storm.

Holm didn’t understand anything; he remained standing under the blinking fluorescent lights. Coming to himself, he couldn’t find his friend. Eric was far away.

The streets of the Silent Valley were deserted, its residents hid in their little houses, frightened of the lightning storm. Running through the sinking town, through the thin walls of water, Eric was trying to understand what was happening to him. His body was overpowered by anger and fear. Thoughts become darker as the clouds, filling an entire sky.

His mood has deteriorated immediately. His hands were clenching and twitching with anger. Eric wanted to run away from the bad things that happened in his life. He could no longer stand it.

Throughout his life, he watched as his father accuses his mother of betrayals, which, by the way, had never happened. As he spits at the sight of the bastard with gray hair, which he considers the conclusive evidence of adultery.

Eric dreamed that it was true, but, to his regret, it wasn’t. Carl Lanter really was his real, the vital father: for this fact Eric hated him even more.

In front him Eric saw flickering golden light. The lamppost, which was standing by the ruins of the arched gate in the town park, was similar to a lighthouse, which lures the travelers. The wet trees, which had arisen before his eyes, put Eric in impenetrable darkness with its rotting branches. The same blackness came out of the corridor in his old apartment. In addition to the suffocating darkness of the corridor, Eric could hear terrible cries.

The little boy was hiding his head under the pillow so as not to hear the pleas of his poor mother, who was desperately defending her face.

The sparks flew away behind Eric. An iron lamppost was bent like a dying flower stalk. The lamp struck the masonry of bricks and then shattered.

The nasty memories ruthlessly pushed through Eric’s head. There were so many, that soon there was not enough space for them.

Without pausing, he continued to walk along the tall trees, the winding path, past the benches, which were absorbed by vegetation. Suddenly Eric heard the crash; he looked up and saw, that one of the largest branches, standing next to a tree, was about to crash down on him. Acting as quickly as possible – Eric jumped to the side. He didn’t have time to catch his breath, as gloomy trees of the deserted park attack him again. Broken twigs rained down on his head with bendable to the ground branches.