this van comes out of nowhere, and screeches to a halt next to us.
My cell phone is hidden in my waistband, so maybe I can sneak a call when we stop.
They put us in the van and drive us out into the woods.
There’s a big hole in the side of one of the hills.
They pull to a stop in front of it and make us get out.
Brian is barely able to walk, so they yank him out and toss him on the ground.
He’s groaning, and making some noises that sound like ‘ …ick your ss…’.
Brian!
My heart is racing and I am so afraid he’s badly hurt!
They take us into the mouth of a cave and start aiming guns at us!
I grab hold of Brian, who weaves and wobbles, and try to run away from the men.
Mr. Mitchum – Randy – grabs Brian’s other arm and puts it over his shoulders.
Together, we drag him along.
He’s starting to regain consciousness.
Thank God!
Wait?
Are they going to leave us in this hole?
What are they doing?
Oh, my God!
They are still aiming those guns at us.
I turn on my cell phone, to use as a light. There’s still no signal, out here.
Brian’s hurt, he’s bleeding. The blood runs down his face in a dark stream, from the top of his head. His hair is matted and bloody.
Randy helps me move Brain deeper into the cave.
Then, he sits there and peers back at the entrance.
He digs a Marlboro out of his crumpled pack of cigarettes.
“Shit!” he says, frowning. “It’s my last one!”
He lights it with a match.
He takes a deep drag and closes his eyes for a minute. He looks contemplative, but about what I can’t tell.
“Brian’s a good man, Kim. Remember that, in the coming months,” he says.
I’m confused.
Why would Randy care about us? What does he mean about Brian? Why did he ask me to remember…
“My last cigarette…” he mutters, and just then I see the thugs.
They speak to each other; and then there’s some kind of hissing noise.
They are tossing something into the mouth of the cave!
It fizzes and smokes.
Randy sees it and yells “Run!”
He races towards the thing, his cigarette dangling from his mouth, his hat falling off as his boots clatter over the rocks on the floor of the cave.
No, Randy!
Run away from it!
I scream silently and turn to look at Brian for a moment.
When I look back, it’s like a dream.
Randy is moving in slow motion, the thing on the floor bouncing towards him. He scoops his arm towards it like he’s bowling. He grabs something and tosses it overhand, towards the cave mouth.
The cigarette glows brightly one final time…and falls to the ground.
Randy bends over to pick it up.
Just as he reaches it, there’s a loud noise.
I see Randy, completely surrounded by orange fire. He is looking back at me.
He’s smiling.
Then, it’s as if the mouth of a wolf has opened up around him!
Randy disappears in a big puff of black and white smoke and that weird, strange light!
Then loud noise envelops me, and smoke.
I smell something burning.
I feel myself falling, and my head hits the rock floor of the mine.
Darkness…
*****
BRIAN
Kim! Are you okay?
It’s hard to breathe; I think I broke a rib. And, I see blood everywhere on my clothes.
I wonder what happened? The last thing I remember was trying to help that old guy with those thugs.
Mr. Mitchum, I think.
There’s smoke and dust all around me, and I can only barely see because Kim’s cell phone is blinking off and on like a strobe.
I find Kim, face down. Her arms are covering her head, but she’s out of it.
Oh my God, is she okay?
I find my cell phone, in one of my pockets. I don’t know how it got there. I flip it on, but there’s no signal. No bars.
I use the flashlight app and see Kim doesn’t have any blood or obvious bruises.
I don’t know what happened, but my ears are ringing, and I think I can guess.
There’s a piece of something buried under some loose rubble, and I see that it’s a leg attached to a rattlesnake skin boot.
The same kind of boot Mr. Mitchum
My cell phone is hidden in my waistband, so maybe I can sneak a call when we stop.
They put us in the van and drive us out into the woods.
There’s a big hole in the side of one of the hills.
They pull to a stop in front of it and make us get out.
Brian is barely able to walk, so they yank him out and toss him on the ground.
He’s groaning, and making some noises that sound like ‘ …ick your ss…’.
Brian!
My heart is racing and I am so afraid he’s badly hurt!
They take us into the mouth of a cave and start aiming guns at us!
I grab hold of Brian, who weaves and wobbles, and try to run away from the men.
Mr. Mitchum – Randy – grabs Brian’s other arm and puts it over his shoulders.
Together, we drag him along.
He’s starting to regain consciousness.
Thank God!
Wait?
Are they going to leave us in this hole?
What are they doing?
Oh, my God!
They are still aiming those guns at us.
I turn on my cell phone, to use as a light. There’s still no signal, out here.
Brian’s hurt, he’s bleeding. The blood runs down his face in a dark stream, from the top of his head. His hair is matted and bloody.
Randy helps me move Brain deeper into the cave.
Then, he sits there and peers back at the entrance.
He digs a Marlboro out of his crumpled pack of cigarettes.
“Shit!” he says, frowning. “It’s my last one!”
He lights it with a match.
He takes a deep drag and closes his eyes for a minute. He looks contemplative, but about what I can’t tell.
“Brian’s a good man, Kim. Remember that, in the coming months,” he says.
I’m confused.
Why would Randy care about us? What does he mean about Brian? Why did he ask me to remember…
“My last cigarette…” he mutters, and just then I see the thugs.
They speak to each other; and then there’s some kind of hissing noise.
They are tossing something into the mouth of the cave!
It fizzes and smokes.
Randy sees it and yells “Run!”
He races towards the thing, his cigarette dangling from his mouth, his hat falling off as his boots clatter over the rocks on the floor of the cave.
No, Randy!
Run away from it!
I scream silently and turn to look at Brian for a moment.
When I look back, it’s like a dream.
Randy is moving in slow motion, the thing on the floor bouncing towards him. He scoops his arm towards it like he’s bowling. He grabs something and tosses it overhand, towards the cave mouth.
The cigarette glows brightly one final time…and falls to the ground.
Randy bends over to pick it up.
Just as he reaches it, there’s a loud noise.
I see Randy, completely surrounded by orange fire. He is looking back at me.
He’s smiling.
Then, it’s as if the mouth of a wolf has opened up around him!
Randy disappears in a big puff of black and white smoke and that weird, strange light!
Then loud noise envelops me, and smoke.
I smell something burning.
I feel myself falling, and my head hits the rock floor of the mine.
Darkness…
*****
BRIAN
Kim! Are you okay?
It’s hard to breathe; I think I broke a rib. And, I see blood everywhere on my clothes.
I wonder what happened? The last thing I remember was trying to help that old guy with those thugs.
Mr. Mitchum, I think.
There’s smoke and dust all around me, and I can only barely see because Kim’s cell phone is blinking off and on like a strobe.
I find Kim, face down. Her arms are covering her head, but she’s out of it.
Oh my God, is she okay?
I find my cell phone, in one of my pockets. I don’t know how it got there. I flip it on, but there’s no signal. No bars.
I use the flashlight app and see Kim doesn’t have any blood or obvious bruises.
I don’t know what happened, but my ears are ringing, and I think I can guess.
There’s a piece of something buried under some loose rubble, and I see that it’s a leg attached to a rattlesnake skin boot.
The same kind of boot Mr. Mitchum
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