The Pact - Season1: Episode 16

We all looked up at that moment. I looked at David and Steve, and there was a different look in their eyes now. It was as if they had suddenly remembered something long forgotten. Mandy must have noticed it too, because she asked,

“You remember now, don’t you?” she asked. I nodded my head. I remembered everything clearly now. Mandy had been telling the truth. David, Tyrone, and she were the children that we used to play with everyday in Sherwood – together with Danny. I looked at David. He was staring straight ahead, as if lost in thought. It was a moment before he spoke.

“Danny. How could I forget?” I also remembered who Danny was, and I started to ask David.

“David, Danny was your…” He looked at me, tears in his eyes.

“My twin brother,” he finished. “How could I forget? How could I forget what happened that day in the woods? How could I forget my own brother?” Steve seemed to find his voice at that moment.

“I forgot everything too,” he said as he looked at David. “I don’t remember being sick afterwards, but I don’t wonder. But now I remember everything else that happened. No wonder I had that terrible nightmare the first time I met you.” David nodded in agreement.

“That’s why I’ve been having nightmares too, every time I met Tyrone. I did not remember, but I guess my subconscious did. They were not just bad dreams – they were terrible memories.” Mandy looked at them, and did not say a word. But I didn’t know what they were talking about. No one had ever told me what happened when my brother got sick, and now I wanted to know.

“What happened that day in the woods? What made you so sick Steve, and what caused you to run away and have your accident David?” David looked at me and shook his head.

“I wasn’t running away. I was going to get help, and in my haste I must have fallen off my bike and hit my head. Do you want to know what happened that day Michelle?” I stared at him. Tears were streaming down his face, as he said the next words. “I killed my own brother that day.” I looked at him, shocked.

“Danny is dead?” David merely nodded his head, as he kept crying.

“You didn’t kill him Dave,” replied Steve. “It was an accident. It was not your fault. The fault was entirely mine. I was the one who talked you guys into doing that stupid thing, and I was the one who brought the gun.” I was totally shocked to hear all this.

“Steve, what are you talking about? What gun? What accident?”

Steve looked at me, and I could see that he was crying too now.

“That day, on the 19th of May, eight years ago, you girls did not come to the woods. Mandy had some chores to do at home, and you went to the market with mum. So I starting talking the others into having some bad fun, and shoot bottles. At first they wouldn’t agree with me, but in the end they gave in. So I ran home, and stole dad’s hunting gun. At first it was fun. We set up some bottles, and we started shooting them, seeing who could shoot the most.

Soon we ran out of bottles, and sat down on the grass laughing. I still remember Danny’s happy look on his face, because he was the one who had shot down the biggest number of bottles. Then Tyrone saw a bird in the trees, and he wanted to shoot it. We all said no, but he leaped up and picked up the gun. He took aim at the bird. I remember I was shouting for him not to shoot the bird, and to stop, and so was David. And then…”

And Steve burst into tears. I looked at them in amazement.

“And then what?” I blurted out before I could stop myself. David looked up, and said,

“And then I got angry at Tyrone for wanting to kill that innocent bird. So I ran up to him, and pushed him hard so he won’t shoot the bird. Tyrone fell over, and the gun flew from his hands.

As it hit the ground, it suddenly took off, and the bullet hit Danny in the chest.

I remember running over to him, seeing him lying there, and I got on my bike, and rode off to get help. And that’s the last thing I remember…

… I had saved an innocent bird, and killed my own brother.”

He had to stop talking, because the tears were almost choking him now. Both David and Steve were crying like little children whose balloon had just burst at that moment. Mandy sighed.

“I've talked to Lynn, and she had spoken with some of her professors about you, and they all said the same thing.That must have been what caused the memory for block both of you - the guilt. You both have been blaming yourselves for Danny’s death. Steve blamed himself, for getting the idea and bringing the gun, and David blamed himself for pushing Tyrone. Your minds could not deal with the guilt, so it shut those memories down. Your parents took you away, and you could not remember. Now Tyrone was a different case. Tyrone stayed there in Sherwood, and he was forced to remember everyday. And he blames himself as much as you do, because he feels it’s his entire fault for wanting to shoot that bird. That’s probably the reason why he’s so messed up today. And that’s why he couldn’t be here today. You guys have just relived that memory, and it’s obvious it’s been very hard for you. Tyrone has had to live through that memory every day for the past eight years, and he just couldn’t go through it one more time. ” I looked at her, and asked.

“So what happens now?”

She looked up at me, but before she had time to answer Steve got up, and said,

“I just want to go home. Maybe we’ll talk about this in the future; maybe we won’t even see each other again. But right now, I want to go home. Please Mandy, can we go?” Mandy looked at us. David spoke up.

“I need to go too.”

So there was nothing else for me to do except stand up too.

“I promised Tyrone I will go and speak to him after this. I will go right now, if you can tell me where to find him, and then I’ll go home.” Mandy nodded her head.

“There’s a park not far from here, on the edge of town. Tyrone will be there.”

We all walked out of that place together, and then we all went our separate ways. Together we had just been to hell, and back, and now we had to find a way to go on with the rest of our lives.