Vortex by Ray Garton Read Free Book Online Page A

take him away from it. All we would ask is that you be discrete and keep our presence and our work here to yourselves. We don’t want to draw attention to ourselves until we have information we can use.” Gertie’s father had been very enthusiastic, of course, and was eager to go along with Ryker if it meant learning more about the childlike creature she had discovered eating one of their goats. As far as he was concerned, it was his destiny to deliver the secret of the mountain to the world.
    But Gertie’s initial suspicion had become concern as soon as she’d seen the adolescent girl brought to the shed. It had become fear when she saw the small children. It stirred up too many memories, none of them good.
    Gertie pushed her chair away from the desk and stood, then began to pace the length of her bedroom, casting her gaze at the gap in the curtains now and then.
    As a girl, Gertie had found school difficult. Her teacher claimed she was withdrawn and refused to participate, implying that she was antisocial. Her parents were confused by her behavior. Gertie never told them the reason she froze up at school. She was fat and ugly and the other students never let her forget it. She was the object of ridicule and bullying on the playground. She had never felt close enough to her parents to tell them about it. She knew they had great expectations for her and she was afraid if she told them how she was treated at school, they would be disappointed. Rather than let them down, she blamed herself and said she simply couldn’t concentrate. Convinced she could benefit from the focused attention of a teacher at home, her parents had taken her out of school and hired a tutor.
    Mr. Fielding had been a plump and pleasant middle-aged man from nearby Weed, rosy-cheeked, with a contagious laugh, always smiling, very attentive and encouraging. At first, Gertie’s lessons had gone well. She began to do better on tests and actually enjoyed learning. She came to trust Mr. Fielding and look forward to her lessons with him. That was when Mr. Fielding began taking her on long walks into the woods at the edge of the Mahler property. He called them biology field trips, but for Gertie they were nightmarish ordeals. His smile never went away as his hands moved over her, as he removed her clothes, as he sucked and slobbered on her and forced himself inside her. He even kept smiling when he told her repeatedly that if she shared their secret with anyone, he would butcher her parents like pigs and make her watch.
    It went on for more than two years. Gertie began to have trouble sleeping and her health was affected. She became depressed, although she didn’t recognize it as depression at the time. Neither did her parents. She gained more weight. Her parents accused her of being lazy and gave her more chores around the ranch because they said she needed exercise. She tried to tell Mama the truth about Mr. Fielding once but didn’t know how to articulate it. When she tried, she stuttered and stammered and Mama thought she was complaining about having to do schoolwork. “You mustn’t be weak when it comes to your studies, Gertrude,” Mama said, putting her hands on Gertie’s round, fleshy shoulders. “You must work hard so you can achieve later in life. Hard work builds character. Mr. Fielding is your friend and you must do as he says!”
    Gertie endured the abuse for another year, becoming more withdrawn, sleeping less, eating more. Then one day, Mr. Fielding did not arrive to begin her lessons. After an hour passed, Mama called his home. Mr. Fielding lived with and cared for his elderly mother, who said he had left that morning to go to the Mahler’s house. Two more hours passed and Mr. Fielding still did not arrive, so Papa got in the pickup truck and went looking for him. Mr. Fielding had been killed in a head-on collision with an 18-wheeler that had a blowout.
    Mama and Papa had insisted on attending the funeral. Mama had cooked a few dishes