A Shock to the System
Nick couldn’t even remember the last time he had ever felt like this before. He had to tell himself to calm down as they all sat around the fire and acted as if everything was right with the world. The chill in the air was matched by the one around the hibachi that Ariana was using to cook her hamburgers.
The teenager watched like a hawk as she prepared them in front of everyone. At first, he wanted to run back into the tent. The thought of being by her was something he couldn’t even wrap his head around. Especially when he realized what it was she was doing. Now it was crystal clear to him that she was involved in something bad. What’s worse is she also knew he had been watching her.
“Time for my secret ingredient.” Nick looked up and once again caught her eyes. She was staring at him and smiling. “I bet you want to know what it is, don’t you.” She asked in a whisper that chilled him to the bone. She sounded so evil, how could her husband not pick up on that?
He decided not to answer her, mainly because he was too scared to speak. Something else she seemed to delight in. “Well, okay…if you want to give me the silent treatment, I guess I’ll just tell you.”
“My wife makes the best burgers in the world.” Howie cut in, reminding Nick that he wasn’t alone with the maniac. In fact he was sitting mere inches away from his big brother who seemed to be watching intently as if she were on the cooking channel.
Right there Nick knew there was no way Ariana could use that Aconite stuff, not with everyone watching, but then again she could always disguise it. As he was thinking that through, she pulled out a salt shaker, only it wasn’t full of salt but some other powdery substance.
“What’s wrong with you?” Nick looked up and saw everyone staring at him. Right up until then he hadn’t realized that he gasped.
Once more the look on her face showed nothing but sheer delight. He couldn’t understand why no one else could see it. “Nothing I…just, what is that Ariana?”
She was waiting for that question, how predictable can one child be? “Oh this is my special seasoning blend Nick. I put it in all of my meat. It makes the food…pop!” She said the last word as she opened her hand as if to catch an invisible bubble.
“Can’t we have it without that blend?”
“Nick!” Kevin sounded annoyed at his brother. “Mind your manners.”
“It’s okay, not a big problem…maybe he’d like to try some first? See if he likes the taste of it?” she took the shaker and held it out to Nick, motioning for him to open his palm so he could try some.
“I will if you will.” The two of them were staring at each other intently. It was clear that she hadn’t expected that reply and Nick couldn’t help but feel good about that. After a few seconds, she once again plastered on her fake smile.
“Okay, no problem but Nick, you shouldn’t be so afraid to try new things. Some spice is good for you every once in awhile.” She finished her sentence by taking a little bit of the powder onto her finger and then licking it off.
“Very garlicky.” She said as she smiled and once more held the container out to the teenager.
He allowed her to shake some onto his hand and this time he put it in his mouth as well. It tasted like garlic powder mixed with salt and pepper. She was playing him, what a bitch! “See? It’s not that bad, right?”
“Yeah, at least it won’t kill you.”
“Nick!” once again Kevin scolded.
“It’s okay Kevin…he’s only joking.” She laughed but made sure to add a nervous tinge to it, so her husband would pick it up and perhaps bring it up later when she knew things would get more interesting.
She enjoyed the look that Kevin gave his younger brother just as the meat touched the flames, filling the air with a garlic aroma. There was a look of disgust and doubt, but what she noticed most, was the look of concern on his face. He was worrying about Nick and that meant he believed what Howie told him.
The blonde sat there and nervously fidgeted to the point that Kevin actually hit his leg to calm him down, “What is your deal?” He whispered faintly.
“I want to go for a walk or something,” Nick knew if he stayed there much longer he would have a nervous breakdown so he stood up and started to walk towards the lake.
“We’ll be eating in about thirty minutes.” Ariana called after him.
“I’m not sure if it’s a good idea he goes alone Kev…he tends to get lost pretty easily doesn’t he?” Once again Ariana hid her smile when Howie said that. She knew he was trying to coax his friend into following so he could go through Nick’s bag.
Kevin nodded, “Wait for me Nicky!” He said, standing up and jogging over to his brother’s side.
Both Ariana and Howie watched as the Richardson boys disappeared into the woods. Once out of site, her husband stood up and made his way over to Nicky’s tent. “I’ll be right back…keep a lookout for me, okay?”
“Sure thing…hurry baby.”
“You said his backpack right?” She nodded at him as he darted quickly into the tent.
As soon as he was gone, she took out a small vile of powder and this time, dumped a pinch of it into one hamburger. “This is going to be fun!” She said, actually laughing as she did so.
“Nick, what is your problem?” Kevin asked just as the two of them reached the water.
“Can’t you see what she’s doing Kevin?” All Nick wanted was to be left alone; he was annoyed that he was followed only to be further lectured.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. All I know is she was cooking for us and you were rude.”
“Don’t you see the way she looks at me?” The teenager turned around, now more than ever trying to get his brother on his side, “The way she smiles at me and massages my shoulders when she thinks no one is looking?”
Kevin didn’t even know what to say. “No, I can’t say I have. Are you saying she’s harassing you now?”
The way the question was posed was enough for Nick to stop. Truth was, at this point he wasn’t even sure if he believed himself. He sat down and dipped his feet into the water. It was cold, but yet felt good, like a nice shock to the system, making him more alert and alive. A few seconds later he heard the small splash of his brother’s feet joining his in the water, “Nicky…I’m not sure what’s going on with you but I wanted to say I’m sorry for bringing you out here. I wanted this to be a fun and relaxing trip for us both but it’s not exactly turning out that way huh?”
All Nick could do as shrug since he was so overcome with emotion. He suddenly found himself missing his mother. She would have stuck by him and understood. It just felt like, no one understood him anymore. He wiped away a tear, hoping that his brother didn’t notice and was grateful when nothing was said about it.
The two of them sat there for a few more minutes in silence, before getting up and walking back to camp, where the smells of grilled hamburgers were wafting through the crisp night air.
Howie felt so incredibly guilty for going through Nick’s things, that he actually found himself making the sign of the cross and begging for forgiveness as he opened up the backpack. If Kevin saw him doing this, he realized their friendship would be over just like that. After all, if the tables were turned and he caught his best friend going through his wife’s belongings it would make him furious.
This was different though. Drugs were supposedly involved and when it came to things like that, he felt like he had an obligation to get to the bottom of it. Maybe in time, Kevin would understand or an even better scenario would be he wouldn’t have to. Howie was hoping against hope that he would find nothing in there. It was possible his wife made a mistake. It could have been anything, maybe even baby powder.
His hopes were dashed however, when he came across a baggie containing what appeared to be a white substance. Howie grabbed it out of the bag and looked at it more carefully. He could understand why his wife might think it was drugs from a distance but upon closer inspection, he was able to rule out both cocaine and heroine. When he opened the bag, there was a distinct smell, almost like rotten food.
“What the heck is this Nicky?” He found himself asking as he took the bag and placed it in his pocket. He wasn’t sure if that was the wisest move, but by doing that, if it was something innocent like talcum powder or something, Nick would have no reservations about bringing it up as missing. If it was however, something that he was trying to hide, he would never mention it. Taking the baggie was more like a test than anything else.
He zippered the backpack and then quickly made his way out of the tent and towards his wife, “I found it.” He said glancing down at the bag he had retrieved.
“Was I right? Are those drugs?”
“I have no idea…it doesn’t smell or look like any of the hard stuff.”
“Did you taste it?”
He shook his head, “When I smelled it, I decided it wasn’t a good idea to taste it.”
“So what are you going to do? Are you going to tell Kevin? Or confront Nick?”
Howie rubbed at his temples, “I don’t know what to do.”
“May I make a suggestion?”
Howie nodded at his wife as she pulled the burgers off of the grill, making sure the one she has poisoned was off to the side. “How about you bring that stuff to the lab and have it analyzed before confronting anybody.”
“Aw, I don’t know Ariana…I mean, I can’t just do that and have no one question me about it either way.”
“But I can send it down to the lab, I can mark is as part of your case and then say I made a mistake, no one would even think twice about it. You know I DO run that office.”
Howie grinned, “I know…but still…”
“Honey, it’s up to you, but I think the more information you have for Kevin, the better it will be for you.”
Howie let out a sigh, he looked so tired and warn out and once again Ariana felt only the slightest bit of regret for putting them through all of this hell. Her husband was a good person and he didn’t deserve any of this, but in a way she was sparing him now wasn’t she?
“Kevin’s never going to forgive me for this Riri.”
“He’ll be mad, but in time…he’ll know you did this out of love for Nick.”
She started over towards him but stopped when she saw the brothers appear out of the woods, “They’re back.” She whispered as she pulled her hair out of her eyes.
Howie quickly made sure the powder was safely tucked into his pocket and once again let out a sigh.
“Stop cheating you bozo!”
“Bozo?”
“Yeah… Bozo!”
Brian was amused by the fighting; he knew AJ had found the perfect woman in Stacey because in many ways they were so much alike. They really did complete each other. It was awesome to see his little brother so happy.
“I’m not cheating.”
“You are cheating, you are the worst cheater ever AJ!”
“That’s because I’m not cheating.”
Stacey looked over at Brian and shrugged, “How did you live with this guy for so long without choking him?”
“After awhile you just get immune to him.”
“Hey!”
“It’s true J, and she’s right, you are a horrible cheater. You make it so obvious.”
“That’s it, I quit!” AJ threw his hands up in the air overdramatically and pushed himself away from the Monopoly board.
“Baby, you can’t quit just because we called you out.”
“No, really…I’m glad the two of you are having so much fun tag teaming me!”
Stacey and Brian looked at each other and then high fived, just to agitate the fireman. And apparently much to their delight, it did.
“Why don’t you guys go ahead and play without me, I have to do some research anyway.”
“Research?” Brian asked with one eyebrow raised, much the same way Kevin would ask that very same question.
“Yeah, we have to take these stupid refresher courses online, you know we have to read an article and then answer a question. Do you think the munchkin would mind if I used his computer?”
“No, but I think he would mind you calling him a munchkin.”
“What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him…maybe I’ll get lucky and find some porn on there.”
Brian shook his head, “I highly doubt that.”
“Why? I watched porn when I was his age.”
“But you are a freak…he’s not.”
“We’ll see about that.” He said winking at his soon to be wife and brother before heading up to Nick’s room.
All through dinner, Howie had to stop himself from glancing over at the young blonde as he ate quietly. He found himself looking for signs of drug use. Signs that maybe he had never thought to look for. Nick’s behavior had been erratic as of late, Kevin had said on more than one occasion, the youngest would take off only to be found hanging out in the graveyard.
What on earth are you into Nicky? What on earth is this stuff? He found himself thinking as he did look over at the teenager.
“Why is everyone so quiet? I hope it’s not my cooking!” Ariana said, breaking the silence as she attempted to hand out seconds to everyone.
“Sorry, these are great.” Kevin answered, smiling as he held his plate out for more.
She handed him another burger and spooned more potato salad onto his plate and then did the same for her husband. When she got to Nick she smiled at him, “What about you? Would you like another burger?”
“No thanks…I’m full.” He barely had touched his food. All of his salad was there and half of his burger.
“You should try eating a little bit more, you are a growing boy.”
“Maybe later.” He answered half heartedly, which caused Kevin to give him another look.
But Nick didn’t notice because he knew something wasn’t quite right. He wasn’t feeling very well suddenly, in fact he couldn’t seem to calm himself down. He felt his heart beating double time and that was making him anxious. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good sweetheart.” Ariana said kneeling down to look him in the eyes.
Of course that got Kevin and Howie’s attention, which was her intention. Let them see the boy having some kind of anxiety attack. “Nick?” Kevin asked, placing his hand on his brother’s shoulder “Is everything all right?”
At this point, his breathing was so unsteady, he couldn’t even speak. He thought he was having a heart attack and in that instant he knew she had done something. “Nick, talk to me buddy…what’s wrong?”
He found himself wide eyed, looking over at his brother with fear in his eyes. This wasn’t how he had planned on dying. He was too young and still had too much to do. “Nick…answer me! You’re scaring me!”
“C-a-n-t b-r-e-a-t-h…” He barely managed to say without feeling the need to pass out.
“He can’t breath!” Kevin said now panicked as he pat his brother’s back, unsure of what to do next.
Howie ran for his cell phone which Ariana intentionally forgot to pack. “Dammit! I can’t find my cell!”
“Use mine, it’s in the tent…take it easy Nick…relax…try to take a deep breath.”
Howie ran to the tent sending the first sense of adrenaline coursing through Ariana’s veins. She knew that this part would be thrilling, and yet very risky. She had to take the chance though. It was well worth it, to make sure everything turned out to her liking.
“I don’t see it in here!” Howie said coming out panicked.
While all of this was going on, Nick tried his best to take a deep breath. Now he knew what it felt like. He always used to make fun of those people on those asthmas commercials, when they would take those overly huge, wheezy breaths. He’d never take something as simple as breathing for granted ever again.
“It’s gotta be in there somewhere!” Kevin yelled as he watched Howie run back into the tent.
“You can go help Howie look, I’ll stay with him.” Ariana said, which made Nick grab onto his brother’s shirt even tighter.
“I’ll be right back Nicky…” He said, breaking free of his little brother’s grasp and running into the tent, leaving Nick all alone with Ariana who slowly walked over to him and sat down.
AJ got a kick out of how messy Nick’s room was. He had clothes and random things thrown all over the place. If their mom had seen this room in the state it was in, Nicky would have been grounded for life. “I almost need a shovel to get in here.” He amused under his breath as he stepped over a mountain of laundry to sit at the computer.
Before he signed on, he noticed a pile of papers, randomly scattered all over the desk, so being the nosy brother he was, he picked them up to look at them. There were a few pages on all different kinds of poisons and the symptoms and side effects of them. “What kind of a report is he working on?”
AJ continued to leaf through the information, and stopped when he got to the last page, looking down amazed at what he was seeing. This paper was written out, more like a series of thoughts and scribbles. He was just about to put it down when he saw Ariana’s name circled a few times right in the center.
“What the hell?”
Upon further inspection, he also noticed a description of a man with an arrow pointing over at Ariana’s name as well as the word park bench, satchel, money, kissing and a whole list of crimes you might see on Law and Order. The word that stuck out in his mind which caused him to go back to the sheets which were printed out from the internet was the word Aconite.
AJ found the page that had the same title and read down, his mouth opening as he went. At the end of that page, his brother had simply written, Ariana bought this stuff followed by the time and date.
“I’m confused…”
“You’re talking to yourself again!” Stacey said which caused AJ to drop all of the papers all over the floor. His fiancé started laughing when he did that.
“What’s going on?” She asked when she noticed the shocked expression on her lover’s face.
“I wish I knew.” He whispered as he picked up the sheets and placed them back on his brother’s desk.
Once she saw that both Howie and Kevin were gone she placed her hand on the gasping teenagers face and slowly moved her fingers down his cheek. “You should have never meddled in my business Nickolas…that was the wrong move.”
He was wheezing very hard now, his lips turning the slightest shade of blue. He was terrified, she could tell by his eyes and how they desperately searched for his brother. “It hurts doesn’t it? Don’t worry it won’t last very long…I just had to send you a message.” She took a second and glanced over at the tent to see both men still frantically searching for the phone. “No one is untouchable Nick. I can do this to any of you at any time. I did this right under your brother’s nose.”
Slowly Nick’s breathing started to ease just a little, “Don’t think I’ll hesitate to kill anyone you love. Don’t think I’ll hesitate to kill you.”
“w-h-y..” He asked in a barely audible voice.
“That is none of your business; just know that if you tell anyone about anything you saw, I swear I’ll kill your entire family as you watch. You don’t want them to experience what you just did, do you Nicky? I mean think about it, you barely touched your food and you probably feel like your heart is going to leap out of your chest. Can you imagine if you got a whole dose?”
His eyes looked down at the ground as he once again took another big breath. “I wonder if that’s how your mother felt too?” She whispered into his ear and then bit on it. He tensed up and pulled her hair, but he was so weak, the tug actually felt good to her.
“Now…now…pulling hair is not nice.” She said as she grabbed a phone out of her pocket and placed into his, “Seems like you had the phone all along silly boy.”
“m-y…m-o-m.” He said just as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, the shock of all he had just been through finally catching up with him as everything faded to black.
Ariana tilted her head slightly and actually felt a few tears fall. She wiped them away, trying to bury anything left of her conscience and then frantically called to her husband and Kevin.
