4 C. Four: Regrets Along The Riverbeds

   This lengthy expedition was not unfamiliar territory for this young duo, however they did have someone else tagging along. Kay didn't know what was around her or where to step, so she simply followed Andre's tracks, who followed closely behind Dak's leadership. "Hold onto me if you need, Kay" Andre told her with comfort, which made Dak glance behind him in jealousy. What lied ahead of them was a heavily dense, but naturally favorably made forest, teemed mostly with large mammals and birds around the size as the explorers. That aspect had little to no phase towards these brave kids, if their name wasn't Kay. It was understood by both of the boys why she was merely petrified to even contemplate strolling through the forest, so the three sat along the outskirts of the forest floors, comforting Kay until she felt secured. Dak took the role of holding Kay with comfort, which unbelievably made the dreaded ponders just a pigment of her imagination in just a few minutes. Some time passed with the trio sitting directly in front of their marked entrance, with Dak finally asking her "How do you feel?" Kay replied with a short "I'm ready now." Dak and Andre replied with a smile of approval, which brought them from the leaf-abundant grounds and onto their small feet. "I'm sooo excited to show you Kay! This is going to be huge!" Dak joyfully told her as she held onto his left arm, walking towards the awaiting sky scraping trees. "I can't wait either!" she happily replied.

The hike felt like a million years to the inexperienced, but to the duo felt nothing less than a detour. Through the process of making it to the profoundly known and simultaneously mysterious Bankstown, Kay kept her presence under the flattered Dak. The time the two crushing kids spent together felt nothing more than a fantasy, with them exchanging their favorite things and affectionate laughs. At such a young age, they were deeply into each other, but, there was another on this journey, who indeed felt like a third wheel. Andre kept his space while navigating their way through the thick trees and bushes, while also maintaining an eye on the fellow new inductee. Striding between the rustling brownish red leaves and amphibious creatures below them, Dak's feelings weren't hidden anymore, as he was obviously enjoying this experience, thus extracting his typical stuttering/shyness from his adolescent mind and body. This divine energy Dak gave was like nothing before, which effortlessly made him believe was the greatest feeling he can possibly have. Kay has always been known for her upfront affection, and she did not shy away from that, which was no surprise to the boys. Andre didn't seem to mind the loving atmosphere, however, he did want his normal best friend back, who didn't give much talk to him so far on the trip. All he received were simple "Yea, Andre likes that too." and "Surgey we're getting close."

"Bankstown is right through these bushes Kay" Andre stated, as they halted near a descending mound stiffly guarded by thick, white and black prickly shrubs littered with poisonous salamanders and dart frogs. "We made a different path to go around these things, it's sorta underground and dirty, but it's gonna be quick." Dak uttered while bending down to check if his favorite green socks hadn't attracted any crawling insects. Kay glanced around the broad environment and felt no sense of fright, which made Dak smile. "Over here Kay, and Dak hurry up." Andre said, making his way towards the subterranean entrance. Dak was still distracted by his sock dilemma, but Andre and Kay stood patiently near the underground entrance. "Sorry, sorry. I'm ready now guys!" Dak yelled as he ascended from the grass. Andre entered the area first, with Kay following close behind, and Dak last. The burrow was slightly compressed and muddy, but it was a simply constructed and fast gateway to the place Dak and Andre called their second home. "This isn't that bad" Kay said, crawling and staring at  Andre's butt. "Almost there. I can't wait!" Dak yelped.

Andre stuck his grubby head out of the furtive entry, and breathed a breath of pure fresh air. He had an yet another encounter with his very own atmosphere that himself and Dak essentially birthed, and it felt like nothing less than their true home, just as he described it. After Andre came Kay, who greeted Andre with a long gasp. Kay, visibly at awe at how aesthetic the land was, instantly felt coziness and security as she stared hard upon the remarkably creatively built treehouse, made directly in the midst of the magnificent land. Right after her came Dak, who grunted a heartfelt, "welcome to Bankstown" simultaneously with Andre, both expressing their happiness by raising their arms in the air. "Did- did you two-" Kay attempted to utter as she walked across the short cut grass field. "Yes, but we did have some outside help." Dak replied, strolling towards his treehouse while dusting off his clothes. "We made it next to water so we can easily escape if danger comes." Andre chimed in as he began to squat down, waving his chubby hands across the flowing grass. "Wow, it hasn't grown since last time" he said, "look Dak." His friend was already making his way up into the surprisingly finely-crafted adobe. "Up here Surgey!" he yelled from the blue sagewood-decorated top window. Kay still stood in the middle of everything, at defeat of how prepossessing of an aura the setting gave off. The scenery was covered with beautiful deciduous trees, but they didn't prevent the majestic view of the sun as it rose in mornings, and set at night. At this time of evening, the sun was completing its set, which created an equatorial, gorgeous reddish pink sky. "You- you guys are only nine and ten, I don't get it. How did you do this?" she continued to ask, this time not letting the bonny surroundings cause her to stutter. "Information that neither of us will give, sorry Kay." Andre told her, as he spilled his way towards the river down the small hill. Dak leaped from the back door of his house and rolled his way down the brae. "I want to know!" Kay yelled as she ran towards the tumbling boys.

Andre kneeled at the edge of the water, sticking a finger inside, which sent long ripples that stretched  outward. Dak soon met up with him after finishing his short roll down the hill, flopping his whole hand in the cool waters which caused Andre to give a serious look at him, and Dak immediately apologized. "It's fine." he replied. "I didn't want to roll so I just walked down. I almost slid down by accident though." Kay said with a chuckle as she caught up with the boys. The three began to gaze upon the rippling river, which casted the mesmerizing sunset reflection. "It's about to begin." Andre stated. "Oh yes! Kay! Look in the middle!" Dak told her. "Why-" "Shush", Andre interrupted. They all stared at the middle of the river, and after a few seconds, flying fish began to take flight into the air, giving a very pleasant and unique scenery to the watching children. "Amazing." Kay simply stated in awe once again at the beauty in front of her eyes. Some of the fish had vibrant colors that were cohesive with the bright red and pink sunset, which made the show feel even more magical. That was, until, the show was adjourned.

The piscis disappeared into the illusive waters, and an object began to rise from beneath the water. Andre squinted to ponder any ideas, but somehow Dak was the only one that realized what was floating. It was remnants of a skull, which instantly created a fear in Dak, causing him to take deep breaths. Andre looked at him and asked "What is it. Tell me" "Dak, I want to know too." Kay chimed in. But Dak stood up motionless, feeling like he was being mentally persecuted. Kay suddenly grasped him, which made him essentially snap his ongoing pause. "A skull, it's a skull." he mumbled while being engulfed in Kay's pleasant feeling, dark brown arms. Andre glared back at the waters, with the skull submerging back below the now roaring waters. In reaction, he told Kay to head towards the Bankstown's entry. "Why? Dak's not feeling good right now." "I know, we have to have a talk. Only between me and him." he explained to her, removing her firmly grasped arms from around his newly relieved friend. "Is it that serious?" "No, it's just getting late, we have to prepare some things in our treehouse before we go. Okay? Wait for us up there." he thoroughly told her. "Okay, Dak I'll see you in a minute. Move quickly please. The sun's going down." "We will." Andre replied. Kay began her way up the hill, but was suddenly stopped by a running Andre. "Kay! Hold onto this." he said. Suddenly, he grabbed a golden Cross from his jacket pocket, and placed it in her small hands. Confused but scared for Dak, Kay told Andre, "We need to get back soon." "We are Kay don't worry." he replied, running back down the hill.

Andre returned to a standing Dak, looking upon the rushing river waters. "Dak, listen-" "I don't know what's going on." an interrupting Dak told Andre. "What? You didn't let me finish. Don't you want to know where it came from?" "You go ahead, I'll go and be with Kay." he responded, glancing back at his best friend. "I can't go alone, the sun's going down. C'mon Dak, let's go." "Sorry Surgey, I said no." Dak stated as he began to shake, which made Andre reply with a cold hearted "You're scared that's all. Other times it wouldn't be like this. You're such a big wimp sometimes. I'm going by myself then."  Storming off away Dak, filled to the brim with bottled up with tension between him and Dak, Andre began his lone search.

Creeping up to Kay, who patiently waited for the two to return together, staying put in the burrow with only her head above, Dak told her the situation between him and his best friend and his whereabouts. "I did hear yelling, but I didn't know what as going on. But he didn't have to be so mean. It's okay Dak. We have to go get him though." she replied, rising from the hole. "We have to get home. Why is he so worried about that skull?" He bent down in front of her and attempted to explain his skull encounters. "Skull- I kept seeing a skull. I don't know what it means. It's hard because...I never explained this to...anyone." "It's okay Dak, I understand. But Andre shouldn't be down there by himself. I'm going. You can tell me later." she replied, ascending from the leafy grounds and heading downhill. "You can sit in the treehouse until we get back if you want, or come with me." she told him with a straight face. Dak stood and watched her leave his eyesight, startled mentally and beginning to become motionless once again. "No" he thought to himself, pushing himself forward slowly towards his crush and best friend, fighting that mental battle. "I need to go down there."

    Pushing himself to head back down the hill, Dak started to stumble, but this time it was involuntary. By the time he got down by the river, no one was in his sight. He let go of a long sigh he had been holding on to, still feeling paralyzed while laying next to the waters. Suddenly, a splash hit his face, causing him to breathe vigorously and rise from the grass. "You can't do your best friend like this" he thought to himself, as he attempted to build up courage to begin his search for Andre. Cold and wet, Dak began his trip down the river instead of upward, keeping his arms tightly within his sweater. Walking blindly next to the overflowing waters, he heard loud noises from across the river. He glanced for a mere second, at what caught his eye was something that he dreamed about before: a horse-drawn carriage. But from his angle, it seemed like no one was inside. His mental pain did not come to haunt him this time, which was surprising to him. Since the river was too wide, he couldn't swim across, so he stayed put and kept his dry eyes on the landau. In a few seconds, the horse neighed and started to race off into the forest, carrying the carriage with it. Suddenly, he looked behind him, and saw a sprinting Kay coming straight to him. In a reaction, he began to head back towards her. "Andre, he found the skull. But he wandered deep back by the treehouse." she told him, exhausted, but wrapping her arms around him. "Im glad you're okay Dak. Now let's go get Andre." Dak hugged her back, but he knew it wasn't the time to chit chat. "Ok." He started to pace off back towards the treehouse, with Kay slowly following.

    Back at the orphanage, Lieutenant Walker occupied himself by watching TV and reading his daily scripture. Having dry mouth, he heads back into the kitchen to grab a previously poured Coca Cola in his plastic cup, kept in the molded refrigerator. Looking down at his watch that was broken during the carriage altercation, he noticed that it's six fifty seven, three minutes before he goes and checks to see if everyone is still sleep, but he decides to head up early. "Let's get it over with so I can get my rest." he quietly uttered. Heading up the creaking stairs below his church shoes, he hummed the lyrics to his favorite gospel song "Imagine Me" by Kirk Franklin, while chugging down his fresh soda pop. He checked the girls' section first, with everyone catching Zs. One bed was empty, but he didn't bother to go in depth and look. "Must be sharing tonight." he thought, walking away from their section and onto the boys'. He closely viewed inside the room of Terrence and Andre's, gazing at Andre's bed, which looked like someone was in the bed. Terrence, of course, was loud with his mouth open, pouring drool all over his bed. "Jesus Terrence, ya darn sleepy ain't ya." Walker said as he quietly closed the oil-needed door. A few room checks later, he was down to the last one: Dak's room. He thoroughly looked inside of this one, and to his surprise, it was empty. No one in sight. No one shared a room with Dak, so he knew something was not right. He made his way back down the stairs, and met the blonde haired lady in the living room. "Surgery's friend isn't in his room." he told her. "Did you check all-" "Yes ma'am, he's not in any others also ma'am." he replied, making his way to the door. "This here door been locked since we all came in, yea hear." "Are you sure Yilly? You know you forget sometimes." "Lady, I done checked all dammit." "I'm gonna make sure, okay?" "Yea yea." Walker said with an attitude. The blonde haired lady headed upstairs, and Walker started to grow a suspicion that Dak left. "Damn children, Lord forgive me." he stated, walking towards the previously closed window. He re-opened the window and stuck his big head out, turning it left and right, and gazing at the sky, which was close to being fully dark. "Windows aren't for kids."

    Back in the forest, Dak and Kay's journey to find Andre came to a stop. Kay was completely drained of energy, so she laid in bushes protected by thorns to keep her out of danger's view. "Go get em I'll be here." she told him, finally catching her breath. Both of them heard a crashing noise from the left of them, causing Dak to lift his head up and search for the source. Nothing was in his sights. Having dropped all of his fear on this journey, temporary or not, he chose to go towards the noises's direction. Exhausted as well, Dak kept pushing, gripping onto his pants pockets as he ventured into more of the forest. The broad area was dead silent, no birds, no crickets, no movement. Except for the lone Dak. A few minutes pass, and he finally caught something in his gaze. Once again, it was a carriage, but this time the horse was gone, and the wood was spread throughout the forest floors. The remnants of it had a white blanket covering it. Dak cautiously walked towards the blanket, dipping his hand down, readying to grab it. That was until, he heard a scream. A scream that seemed so familiar. He instantly thought of his best friend, which sent a sudden shock down his body, causing him to fall flat on his back in panic and fear. "Get up", he thought, but his body said otherwise. Minutes of motionless pass by, with Dak staring upon the forest canopy.

    He laid defeated, starting upon the forest canopy. As he closed his eyes, a sudden surge of anger entered his small body, which made him sit up, then rise to his still shaky feet. His socks felt like they hosted creatures, but he kept his mind on the real goal: to get Andre. He was then caught off guard from behind by Kay, who caught up with him in a matter of minutes. "I couldn't leave you in here. Did you have any luck?" she asked, grabbing Dak's sweaty hands. "A scream. It came from over there. I-I think-" "No. No we have to be positive. Let's go Dak. I'm afraid to but Andre means a lot to me and you." "He does." he responded, as the two strolled with caution even further into the now dark forest. Time had finally caught up to the three.

   Kay started to cough hard, so Dak suggested that she stopped walking and wait on him. "You need water and you're getting sick. That isn't good." "It's so cold. I just want to find him so we can go home." "We will, just stay hidden Kay." he told her. Dak continued the search, yelling out Andre's name over and over until he himself started to wheeze. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a blue jacket, similar to Andre's, and it was for sure Andre. "ANDRE!! CMON LETS GO! PLEASE!" he yelled with all of him, chasing down the running Andre. He came to an abrupt stop, in the middle of six trees in a circular shape. Dak stopped too, hidden by the bushes behind the trees. What rose from the shadows on the other side was a man. A man with a pale white face, white hair, draped in black clothing, standing in front of Andre. The frozen child suddenly turned towards Dak'a direction, which caused him to shriek "OVER HERE. ANDRE LISTEN, WE HAVE TO GO!" Andre stood motionless, just like Dak in past times. This time it was the opposite. Dak began to run towards his friend in peril. In a swift motion, the man's overly large hand latched onto Andre's small head. Dak continued his run. Seconds later, his hand began to apply more pressure, bringing a pool of tears to Andre's eyes. Dak continued to sprint. The more seconds pass, the more pressure was being used. The moment the weary, adrenaline pumped and utterly scared Dak made it to Andre, all there lied was his body. A body drenched in blood. There was no man in sight. Moments later, a surge of lightning scattered deep across the forest, sending shocks through the breathing kid. In sync, thunder erupted, which brought a huge rainstorm upon him. In the midst of that rain was a wailing nine year old child, filled with every bad emotion imaginable. Holding onto his decapitated friend, his eyes grew wide, and was swallowed in darkness. Long minutes of crying later, his body finally gave in. Dak was defeated.