Curfman’s buttocks, which must have been very painful when I think about it.
“Shut up, Eugene!” Dad shouted. “Or, I’ll be happy to shut you up myself.”
Eugene responded with his usual diplomacy. “I’ll kill you! I will find you, and I will kill you! No. I’ll kill your family, and then I’ll kill you!”
“In that case, I think I’ll just wait until you bleed out through your ass,” Dad said. “I really hate to admit it, but it’s kind of fun watching you suffer.”
“My men will...”
“I don’t see any men, Eugene. They’re all dead. You got some more around here?”
“Oh, I got more. I got lots more, and they’ll kill you. They’ll find you, and....”
“Ok! I think I got the gist of it,” Dad replied. “Bill, you and Kirk go check out that shed. Art? We all clear?”
“Clear as far as I can see!” Arturo answered, stepping into sight.
Eugene rolled around, getting his first look at Arturo. “You brought a spic? A goddam spic?”
“That’s enough, Eugene,” my dad said calmly, and just as calmly, pulled the trigger.
Dad came up behind Kirk and me as we were trying to figure out how to open the heavy padlock on the shed door. Dad went back to Eugene’s body, and dug around until he found a key ring. He came back and tried the keys, but none of them worked on the lock. He went to the truck and looked behind the seat. He returned with a huge screwdriver, and simply pried the hasp loose from the wood and particle board doors.
The twilight was getting deep as the doors swung open. Anything could have been inside. We had our weapons pointed into the shadows, but we took a step or two back just in case. “Arturo! Need a light over here,” Dad called.
Arturo limped over, pulling a mini-flashlight from his belt. He snapped it on and shined it into the shed. Huddled as far from the door as possible were three grown women and a young girl with copper red hair, appearing about my age. They were all completely naked, and all terrified.
Kirk and I could not have spoken if our lives depended on it, but Dad said, “It’s ok. We’re not going to hurt you.” They did not react at all, except to jam themselves further into the back corners.
“Bill, Kirk. Go through the tents. Find some clothes. Anything will do. Go!” Dad ordered. We took off at a run. “I’m sorry, ladies. I know you’ve been through a lot. This is my friend Arturo. We’ll just look the other way until we get you some clothes.”
Kirk and found plenty of clothes, mostly in the form of big flannel shirts, and mostly in need of serious laundry services, but we brought back a double armload as fast as we could.
“Just set it inside, boys. Then turn around so they can get dressed.” Dad spun his hand in a circle to emphasize his point.
While we waited, Arturo walked out to get the station wagon. He pulled it through opening in the fence and backed it up near the shed. As far as we could tell without looking, none of the women had made a move yet. Dad tried again. “Listen, ladies. We’re not part of the group that locked you up. I have a wife and four kids. We’re not in the business of hurting people unless they try to hurt us first. It’ll be ok. Just get dressed and I promise, we’ll take you to a safe place where you can get warm and eat some decent food.”
Nothing happened.
“Ok. Arturo, you think you can guard these women alone? I’ll take the boys and get Beth out of the tree. Maybe she can reassure them...”
“Sure, David. But if you hear any gunfire, come running,” Arturo said.
“You can count on it. Boys, in the car.”
We passed two cannibals on the way up the hill on the far side of the bridge. They must have been smart enough to hide when their leader tried to charge across an open field. They made no threatening moves. Maybe they had seen us killing the same guys they were supposed to kill. Maybe they were just the smartest cannibals. Dad pulled up on the side of the road right
“Shut up, Eugene!” Dad shouted. “Or, I’ll be happy to shut you up myself.”
Eugene responded with his usual diplomacy. “I’ll kill you! I will find you, and I will kill you! No. I’ll kill your family, and then I’ll kill you!”
“In that case, I think I’ll just wait until you bleed out through your ass,” Dad said. “I really hate to admit it, but it’s kind of fun watching you suffer.”
“My men will...”
“I don’t see any men, Eugene. They’re all dead. You got some more around here?”
“Oh, I got more. I got lots more, and they’ll kill you. They’ll find you, and....”
“Ok! I think I got the gist of it,” Dad replied. “Bill, you and Kirk go check out that shed. Art? We all clear?”
“Clear as far as I can see!” Arturo answered, stepping into sight.
Eugene rolled around, getting his first look at Arturo. “You brought a spic? A goddam spic?”
“That’s enough, Eugene,” my dad said calmly, and just as calmly, pulled the trigger.
Dad came up behind Kirk and me as we were trying to figure out how to open the heavy padlock on the shed door. Dad went back to Eugene’s body, and dug around until he found a key ring. He came back and tried the keys, but none of them worked on the lock. He went to the truck and looked behind the seat. He returned with a huge screwdriver, and simply pried the hasp loose from the wood and particle board doors.
The twilight was getting deep as the doors swung open. Anything could have been inside. We had our weapons pointed into the shadows, but we took a step or two back just in case. “Arturo! Need a light over here,” Dad called.
Arturo limped over, pulling a mini-flashlight from his belt. He snapped it on and shined it into the shed. Huddled as far from the door as possible were three grown women and a young girl with copper red hair, appearing about my age. They were all completely naked, and all terrified.
Kirk and I could not have spoken if our lives depended on it, but Dad said, “It’s ok. We’re not going to hurt you.” They did not react at all, except to jam themselves further into the back corners.
“Bill, Kirk. Go through the tents. Find some clothes. Anything will do. Go!” Dad ordered. We took off at a run. “I’m sorry, ladies. I know you’ve been through a lot. This is my friend Arturo. We’ll just look the other way until we get you some clothes.”
Kirk and found plenty of clothes, mostly in the form of big flannel shirts, and mostly in need of serious laundry services, but we brought back a double armload as fast as we could.
“Just set it inside, boys. Then turn around so they can get dressed.” Dad spun his hand in a circle to emphasize his point.
While we waited, Arturo walked out to get the station wagon. He pulled it through opening in the fence and backed it up near the shed. As far as we could tell without looking, none of the women had made a move yet. Dad tried again. “Listen, ladies. We’re not part of the group that locked you up. I have a wife and four kids. We’re not in the business of hurting people unless they try to hurt us first. It’ll be ok. Just get dressed and I promise, we’ll take you to a safe place where you can get warm and eat some decent food.”
Nothing happened.
“Ok. Arturo, you think you can guard these women alone? I’ll take the boys and get Beth out of the tree. Maybe she can reassure them...”
“Sure, David. But if you hear any gunfire, come running,” Arturo said.
“You can count on it. Boys, in the car.”
We passed two cannibals on the way up the hill on the far side of the bridge. They must have been smart enough to hide when their leader tried to charge across an open field. They made no threatening moves. Maybe they had seen us killing the same guys they were supposed to kill. Maybe they were just the smartest cannibals. Dad pulled up on the side of the road right
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