In the flash fiction piece “Summer Equinox In The Old Pioneer Burial Ground” by Albert Katz, four friends gather for an “equinox reveal” where the leader of the group starts accusing the other three of crimes.
Mystery Tribune has previously published “Tarot Card Reader” by Mr. Katz.
*****
It was a chilly June when Derrick gathered us around the campfire for what he called the equinox reveal. Derrick was the oldest of our little gang; almost 19. He liked to think of himself as our leader.
Curious, we did as he had suggested and had sneaked out to the abandoned graveyard and had lighted the fire as the day turned into night.
In the darkness, the sounds of the squirrels and birds rustling in the grass sounded loud and ominous. The fallen over headstones, barely legible in the daylight were vague outlines with the names of the dead mere runes; their final resting place untended.
“In just a few days”, Derrick started, “there will be a celestial balance with an equal amount of daylight and nighttime. This is when all grievances, old and new, are settled, and where injustices are revenged.”
With that last word he shone his flashlight onto his face, turning his features satanic. And he laughed, an evil cackle that made Tommie jump up in surprise.
Knowing that he had us in the palm of his hand, Derrick continued talking, now with his body outlined by the dying light of the fire.
“There is one among the dead around who will arise this evening and seek his revenge. Which of you will pay?”
He spun quickly, his flashlight on the face of Tommie Anderson, still standing. “Will it be you in revenge for my Mom’s suicide, caused by your false testimony?”
“I just reported what I had seen.” Tommie cried.
But by then Derrick had turned his light on James Wilcox.
“Or will it be you, in revenge for backing up Tommie’s lies with your own. You sniveling brown nose.”
“No. I didn’t lie either! Leave me alone.”
And then he turned his light me.
“No. I think it will be you, Percy. Why? What did you get that evening at the corner store? Less than a lousy $100 dollars and poor Liza shot dead!”
“What’s wrong with you? I did no such thing!”
“What’s wrong with me? It’s you Percy. And Tommie and James. You are pathetic losers!”
And then he started blubbering. “And you killed Liza. Why?”
“Derrick. None of us killed Liza. We all liked her and, hell, you know I loved your sister as much as you did. It was a robbery that went wrong. The cops will find those responsible. “
But Derrick ignored my comments, and turned the light back to his face, looking demonic again.
“Deny. Deny. Deny. Liars. Murderers. Tonight the truth will be revealed, and revenge will have its way. Blood for blood. If I were you three, I would not sleep deeply tonight!”
And with those words, he turned off his flashlight and disappeared into the darkness, leaving the three of us shivering around the now-dying campfire.
We talked. We reviewed what Derrick had said. We cursed him. We were sad for him. But we recognized that he had crossed a line and was not one of us after all.
I loved Derrick like a brother, just as I had loved his sister; less brotherly. But she had recognized me at the corner store and I knew she would blab. Just as we three knew Derrick would blab. And none of us were going to go down for a lousy hundred bucks.
We picked straws.
I picked the short one. Again.
*****
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