THE DEAL
by Elliot Richard Dorfman

Sixteen year old identical twins, David and Josh Sherman, really enjoyed their life in Brooklyn, New York. And why not? Everything for them seemed almost perfect.

They lived in a beautiful two-level ranch house in an affluent neighborhood that had a view of the water and the Verrazano bridge. Both brothers had excellent marks in school, were on the varsity football team, and dated some of the prettiest girls around. So it came as shock when they were informed that their family was being uprooted to Upstate New York in late September because of their dad's new job as manager of a local Mohawk Valley bank..

From the start, David and Josh didn't like anything about the new place they moved to. The house was old and way out of town, with nothing surrounding it but empty fields. They had just gotten their learner's permit to drive, but were still at the mercy of their parents to go anywhere. The students in school seemed backwards when compared to the city kids they had known, and the idea of having to prove themselves all over didn't appeal to them.

Having nothing better to do one Saturday in late autumn, the twins decided to take a walk and explore some more of their new surroundings. Unfortunately, the endless bucolic view did not improve their impression of the area.

After walking for almost a mile, they saw two strange looking boys about their own age moving toward them from a path across the field.

" Hey, Davy, check out their outfits," laughed Josh. "They remind me of Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn."

The strangers approached them. "Glad to finally meet someone new around here," said the taller one. "My name is Quartos and my cousin here is Thadeus."

"Cool names," David remarked, "very unusual."

"Not in these here parts," replied Thadeus.

"Well, we wouldn't know," Josh explained. "We're from Brooklyn."

Thadeus looked puzzled. "And just where would that be?"

"Don't you know where Brooklyn is? It's one of the boroughs of New York City."

Thadeus looked at his cousin in bewilderment.

Josh shook his head. "Wow, what's up with you guys, Sounds like you never went to school."

"Don't worry about us, " Quartos replied. "We learned what we need to know. Come on and join us on a hike."

" Okay, why not," David answered, after asking his brother. "We've got nothing better to do."

The twins followed the two local boys till they came to a neglected graveyard.

The old iron rusty gates were open, so they walked in. Josh and David looked around with curiosity.

The tombstones were old and decrepit. You could hardly read the engravings etched on them anymore. One stone was even incorporated into the trunk of a tree that had grown from the grave beneath it.

David began to get bad vibes. "Let's get out of here."

Thadeus blocked him. "Oh, no you don't. You're not going anywhere. It took us long enough to find the two of you."

Josh angrily pushed Thadeus to the side. "What the heck are you talking about?"

"Go ahead and try to leave" dared Quartos, "See what happens!"

To their astonishment, David and Josh couldn't get past the entrance. Some kind of invisible force kept pushing them back.

"What's going on?" Josh asked, shaking with fear.

"Cut the crap, or you two are asking for a beating," shouted his brother.

"Cut what? I don't understand you," replied Quartos. "Don't try starting a fight with us because it won't solve anything."

"We aren't to blame. We've got to keep you here." Thadeus added. "It's all a part of the Chief's deal. "

"Chief, what chief? " David asked, starting to become exasperated.

"The chief of the local indian tribe. Calm down and I'll explain everything."

They found a clearing and sat down on the ground as Thadeus continued.

"Back in seventeen seventy-five, my parents settled in this region."

"Seventeen seventy-five?" interrupted David. "I think you've made a mistake about the year.

" No, I haven't."

"But that's two hundred and seventy-eight years ago! You'd be long dead."

"We are."

David and Josh held back laughing.

"Give us a break. Do you really expect us to believe you? Although you certainly look and speak like you come from that time!" Josh kidded.

"Be still," Thadeus responded sharply. "You won't think it so funny when the exchange is done at last."

"Exchange?"

"It will all make sense to you soon enough " Thadeus said, smirking and looking at them with his dark-brown eyes which seemed to penetrate right through them.

Totally puzzled, Josh looked at his brother who just shrugged back.

"When Quartos and my family first settled here, the local indians couldn't understand how we thought and lived, but what else could be expected from them? After all, they were nothing more than a bunch of savages."

"Don't go acting so high and mighty," interrupted David. "What makes you think your civilization was so superior to theirs? The Indians didn't plunder the land which caused environmental changes that harmed native plants and animals. Besides since they were here first, you were the ones invading their domain."

Thadeus looked puzzled. "I don't understand your fancy talk. Either you are daft, or a bit touched in the head. Maybe you even got some of that savage indian blood running through you since you sure tend to favor them so darn much. Now stop interrupting me and let me finish my tale!"

David was angrily going to retaliate, but his brother signaled him to keep quiet.

"One moonless night my brother and I went hunting into the woods. Hearing something move in the nearby bushes, we drew our muskets and shot in that direction. When the smoke cleared, two of the chief's eldest sons lay dead. To be honest, neither Quartos or I felt any guilt in killing a couple of indians. The next day, rumors came back to the settlement that the chief had used some magic rites to resurrect his sons and was swearing revenge on whoever was responsible for the crime by casting an ancient curse on them."

David sneered. "Curses are harmless, just a lot of superstitious nonsense."

"How wrong you are. For within a fortnight, my brother and I developed a high fever and died. My grief stricken parents went to the chief and begged him to use some of his powerful magic to restore us back to life just as he had done with his sons. The chief hesitated at first, but then made a deal with them to have our souls return to earth and be able to linger around here until we could find two other young males like us to exchange places with. That finally happened today when we met you. Now the chief will shortly return and fulfill the deal at last.."

Somehow, the brothers were actually believing this fantastic tale. Josh took David aside."I feel like a fly that is caught in a spider's web. Isn't there anything we can do to get out of here?"

His brother looked blank. "Beats me."

As the sun began to set in the western sky, dampness permeated the ensuing night air. Suddenly a glowing amber fog came rolling in, eerily lighting up the graveyard. From the distance a steady beat of drums could be heard. The chief appeared in the center of the graveyard. He was an imposing figure in his large colorful feathered headdress and beaded outfit. His eyes shone with an inner light, and the etched lines on his face was a testament to all of the pain and suffering he had experienced on earth.

Quartos spoke to him in a cheerful tone. "Well, we've done you bidding, Chief. Here are two other young males like us. Now keep your word and give us their bodies so that we can be whole again."

The chief walked over to David and Josh and starred at them for a long time. Then he smiled and put his hands on their shoulders as if to protect them.

Quartos became anxious. "Go on, Chief. Do as you promised."

The Chief shook his head. "No, these boys are not like you at all. Their souls don't have your hate and destructiveness."

"Does that mean we are free to leave?" David eagerly asked.

The chief nodded. "Yes, leave and make sure never to return here."

David, grabbed his brother. With the invisible barrier gone, they quickly ran out of the graveyard. Quartos and Thadeus watched them leave in dismay.
.

" It was hard enough to find them, Chief. Just what happens if we can never fulfill the deal?" Quartos asked, totally frustrated.

"When that time comes, you and your brother's spirit will be sent to purgatory for eternity."

The great Indian Chief faded away, leaving the brothers to ponder their pending dismal fate.