The Motel Keys - Chapter 1

The Motel Keys

A fiction story by Norman D. W. MacDonald
All rights reserved. Protected by author copyright.
Echo Dawn Media

The story is finished. There is editing and rewrite work to do.
This is the less-than-perfect version.

Chapter 1

Two young boys straddled their bicycles at Broadway and Fourth basking in the baking sun of southern Alberta on the Canadian Prairies. Both were sandy-haired though twelve-year old Sam tended to be more reddish. Sam was trying to persuade his younger brother, Andy, to follow him to the river. They were forbidden from going anywhere near the river valley alone. Sam’s persistence paid off as it usually does. Andy agreed to go. What they find there shocks the town’s only cop, a young man newly appointed to the job.

“Come on" Sam urged as he tried to get Andy going.

Andy looked at Sam with a troubled look. Sally their sister and guardian told them the river was off limits. There were only a few places in town that they were forbidden to go to by themselves.

"We shouldn't" Andy replied as he straddled his bike and dug his feet in the gravel.
Sam smiled and signaled Andy to come and saying, "It'll be fun."

“I know, but Sally told us not to go down to the river by ourselves." Andy replied.

“Hey. Come on, Andy, we just won't tell her or are you chicken?" Sam put on the tough-guy act. He knew he could get Andy to go.

"But what if she asks?" Andy’s argument got weaker.

"We'll just let her think we were hanging around town." Sam replied with reassuring confidence.

Andy could see that it was no use arguing anymore, Sam was determined, besides he wanted to go anyway; it would be an adventure. Sam being twelve always took the lead and Andy a year younger followed. Andy shrugged and pushed his bike forward and started riding.

Sam jumped on his bike and caught up, "I'll lead."

The river was down on the south side of town. They rarely went to the south side. There was no need because they lived a couple of blocks from the uptown, the schools and the park. They lived close to everything. Sam decided it was best if they were seen around town first so they stopped at their grandfather's grocery store.

"Hello, boys, what are you up to this fine day?" Their grandfather cheerfully greeted them. They loved him.

"We, ah" Andy started but could not get the words out.
Sam interrupted, "Oh, we're just hanging around town not doing much." Sam walked around to the candy counter. "Can we have some Allsorts and orange pop? Sam pulled some coupons out of his pocket. Grandfather let them use coupons to pay for candy when they did not have any money.

"It's a nice day out so enjoy yourselves," Grandfather said as they headed to the door.
Sam turned to go over to Main Street. They rarely went on Main Street so it was unlikely anyone on that street would pay them much attention.

It was about seven blocks to the river road. They rode fast for a couple of blocks then slowed down.

Sam remembered the day he got his bike. His father told him he was getting one and asked Sam to come with him to get pick it up. They walked a couple of blocks to the barbershop. Sam waited outside while his father went in to talk to the barber.

"It's out back," his father said as he came out. Sam followed as they went to the back of the shop to a broken down fence by the alley. Sam couldn't see a bike. His father bent over and started pulling at something in the high weeds. As Sam moved closer, he could see a dirty old black bike tangled up in the weeds. It took some pulling before it came free. Sam was shocked; this was not his idea of getting a bike.

His father said, "It does not look like much now but we'll take it home and clean it up."

Sam noticed the tires were flat and old as he watched his father pull weeds out of the spokes. When done, his father handed the bike over for Sam to push it as they walked back home. The thing creaked and wobbled and it was ugly. Sam felt embarrassed and hoped no one he knew would see them.

At home, they took the bike into the garage and his father started to clean it up and check it over. He got out the hand pump to fill the tires, one tube leaked. His father removed the tube and placed it in a bucket of water to find the leak. Sam watched as his father put on a heat patch. Sam always liked watching a heat patch because the last step was to set it on fire. The heat would dry the glue and set the patch. Sam liked to smell the burning sulphur. His father put the tube back on the wheel and pumped it up. It held the air so he put it back on the bike. Sam noticed a couple of bulges form on the sides of the tire and pointed them out. His father wrapped some black cloth tape around the tire and rim then greased the axles and made sure the wheels turned freely. Next, he oiled the chain until it stopped binding and making noise. Sam had to admit that it did not look so bad now. The cleaned sign plate said the bike was a CCM bike. That was okay with Sam as CCMs were popular.

His father handed the bike over and told Sam to take it for a ride. Sam was happy when he came back because the bike rode well enough. His father said they would get some new tires later.

Andy's bike was in fair condition and came from a neighbor who had bought a bigger bike for their boy. Both bikes were doing well on the ride to the river.

They stopped at the top of the hill for a rest. They could see the flat prairie all around, even across the river valley, which carved a huge gash in the flat landscape.

"You have to be careful going down the hill," Sam said, "There's a bunch of loose gravel so stand up and be ready to step on the brake before you get going too fast."

Andy nodded but he was not too sure about it.

"Ready?" Sam asked, as he got ready to push off.

"Ready." Andy called as he pushed off to follow Sam down the steep hill.

The thick gravel caused the bikes to wobble around and stepping on the brake caused the back wheel to skid, which they did for most of the way down the steepest part. The hill straightened out with a long gentle slope the rest of the way to the pump house beside the river. That part was fun because the gravel was packed down and they could get going fast. The pump house was where Redcliff got its water.

At the pump house, they turned left on the dirt road that led to the woods beside the river a few hundred yards further on. There were a bunch of dirt roads and trails through the huge cottonwood trees and bush. It was not a developed park and that added to the adventure.

They had been there once before when their parents were alive. The area was an unofficial park but not many people went there because there was supposed be a lot of rattlesnakes there. They had never seen any then but their father said they were there. Sam reminded Andy of their father's instructions to make a lot of noise and not to run through the weeds or bush.

Sam led them to the backwash of the river. They were hot from the ride. Splashing and wading cooled them down. They weren't worried about getting wet because their clothes would dry quickly in the hot sun. After cooling down, they rode around on the dirt tracks exploring and even walked on some trails. The river cliffs rose above them like dry ragged fingers reaching towards the river. Redcliff got its name because some of the cliffs had a reddish look while the others were grey.

They raced around on the dirt tracks for a while and had fun chasing each other. There wasn't anybody around so nobody bothered them.

After an hour so Sam decided it was time to leave. "We had better head home now,” he told Andy and led the way. Andy was slower to get going. They were crossing an open area of dry yellow grass. Sam sped along leaving Andy to catch up. About halfway across he heard Andy call him. Sam stopped and looked because Andy sounded afraid.
“S-s-s-Sam, a-a-a snake,” Andy cried as he pointed.

Sam was about fifty feet away but could hear the distinctive ‘sh-sh-sh’ of the rattle. He could see the snake. “Stay still, Andy, don’t move.”

Sam dropped his bike and found a broken branch. Sam walked slowly watching where Andy was pointing. As he got closer, he could see the rattlesnake coiled and flicking its tongue in the air. He moved quietly as he held the branch out in front of him. When he was close enough, he slapped the branch down onto the snake and held it down firmly.

“Back up and get away,” he ordered Andy, “Gooo!” Andy took a moment then started moving pushing his bike backwards at first, and then he turned and ran pushing his bike. Sam gave the branch a hard shove and dropped it as he ran after Andy. They go onto one of the dirt roads. It looked safe so they stopped and caught their breath. Andy was near tears but Sam was exhilarated. He stared down a rattlesnake.

Sam’s bike was where he dropped it but he was not going to back track to get it in case the snake was still there. They walked along the road. It passed close to the open area but was on a lower level. After some distance, Sam judged they were near the opposite end of the grassy open area. He found a path that went through the bushes and up a rise. He figured he could go up and get his bike from there. He told Andy to stay in the middle of the road and watch for snakes while he went for his bike. Sam found another branch and used it to sweep the path through the bush while he made a lot of noise with his voice. Andy watched as Sam disappeared.

After what seemed a long time, Andy heard Sam call to him from above.
Sam wheeled his bike down the steep path but it was difficult. About halfway, he slipped and fell with the bike falling on him. Andy heard the commotion.
“You okay, Sam?” Andy called more scared than he had ever been.
“Yeah, I slipped.” Sam replied as he untangled himself.

That’s when he saw the flash of yellow. It was out of place in the grey dirt. Sam found a stick and poked at the yellow thing stuck in the dirt. He poked harder and dug at the dirt around it until it came loose. With the stick, he got the yellow thing close enough to reach for it. It was a plastic tag, with a key attached. He shoved it in his pocket and grabbed his bike. The place smelled bad and he hurried to get to Andy.
He showed Andy what he found.

"What is it?" Andy asked.

"Some kind of key.”

"What do you think it's for?"

"I'm not sure. We'll ask Sally. We better get going." Sam said as he picked up his bike.
They rode back towards the pump house. They didn't see any more rattlesnakes but there were lots of insects, grasshoppers and birds. It was a tough riding up the slope to get to the steep part of the hill. They would have to walk their bikes up. One car passed them as it went down.

By the time they got to the top of the hill, they were tired hot and dry.
They spotted a sprinkler watering a lawn at one of the houses they were passing. Sam was hot and the water looked inviting.

“Let’s cool off,” Sam said, as he laid his bike down and pointed to the spraying water. The sun was hot. They looked around and saw no one.

The cool water refreshed them as the cavorting in its spray. They were having fun until a loud gruff voice called, “Hey, what do you think you are doing.” The boys stopped dead and saw the man coming out his front door. “You hooligans get away from there.”
Sam grabbed Andy’s hand and bolted for their bikes. They rode off with the man yelling after them. They rode fast for a couple of blocks then started laughing. They were enjoying themselves and a little loud about it.

“Hey, what’s so funny?” The stern voice called from a driveway. Sam noticed three boys heading their way as the biggest boy challenged again, “Whatcha doing here?” Sam recognized the boys. The big was a bully.

Sam turned to Andy, “Let’s go.” He made sure Andy got going before he started. The other boys were running towards him as he got his bike going. Rocks flew at him as he sped away. A couple of rocks him his back. The boys yelled at them until they were over a block away.

When they got back uptown, Sam said, "We'll stop at the coffee shop to get a drink before we go home." By this time, their clothes were dry. The hot Alberta sun dries things quickly.

They took Main Street back uptown and nobody seemed to pay them much attention. On Broadway, they turn to go to the coffee shop.

Sally their older sister ran the coffee shop ever since their parents were killed in an accident a few years ago and Sally looked after them since. They liked Sally but she acted too much like a mother.

"Hi, boys," Sally said cheerfully as they entered the coffee shop. She was smiling because she was happy to see them. Sally was known for her friendly smiles.
"What have you guys been up to?" She asked.

A look-of-fear flashed over Andy's face and he turned towards Sam.
"Oh, nothing we just hung out around town and went to the park. We watched people swimming at the pool for a while," Sam replied, "We're pretty thirsty. Could we have a pop, please?"

"Sure, sit down. What do you want?" Sally asked as she turned to the cooler.

"Coke. You want Coke, Andy?" Andy nodded. The boys slid onto stools at the counter as Sally set the drinks down in front of them and then went to serve other customers. Sam was relieved that she would not be asking them any more questions. He gestured to Andy to hurry up.

As they got up to leave, Sally said, "See you at supper time."

The boys hurried out of the coffee shop and slowly made their way home. If Sally had help at the coffee shop, she would come home to make them supper otherwise they could eat at the coffee shop.

By the time the boys got home, they forgot about the key.

The following Monday was washday. Most families washed on Mondays. Sally gathered all the dirty clothes and started sorting them. Sally carefully checked the pockets. She never knew what she would find in them. The boys often left stuff in their pockets. Her worst fear was finding a Garter snake. She hated snakes. Any hard objects would damage the wringers on the washing machine. As she felt Sam's pants, she felt a hard object and felt around to make sure it wasn't alive before she stuck her hand into the pocket. She reached in and pulled out a large plastic yellow key tag with a key attached. She recognized it as a motel key and turned it over, and over, to examine it. It was dirty and the name was scratched so much that it could not be read.

"Sam, Andy" Sally called out. She wanted to ask the boys about the key.

Calling louder, "Sam, Andy", but she got no reply. Sally went up stairs from the basement to look for the boys. They weren't in the house.

I'll ask them later' she told herself as she returned to doing the wash.