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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

TFW WAR CH 5 DIG













D I G








I heard the sound that a mighty steed makes when it is in fear. I knew three things, which are these:

1.  Big Bryan had driven us out into the nightscape to the north in this white-painted utility truck to the place where Katheena drowned in the desert.

2.  The mighty horse was Mayhem, and he had died in a stable on fire, locked inside by evil people.  Now long dead, he pulled a carriage hearse driven by a ghost cowboy preacher once called The Glinty.

3.  We should get the fuck out of there, because The Glinty had come back.






Inhaler   by Foals 






I stumbled out of the white-painted utility truck and ran after Bryan.  I could see him from under the light of the huge red moon overhead, and she was heading to the west.

East was my home, my homeland, my island in a river.  I should have never left it.


The glow from his flashlight reflected back from the shiny side of a large golden stone rising up from the hard desert sand.

A furious rain had embedded this golden nugget into the earth during a very bad night.  Katheena had given up her life for us all.  She had stolen books from the library of the baptized mansion.  Them books held secrets about which we had no clue.


As I ran, I saw Bryan walk to the other side of the golden nugget, and when I reached him, I knew without having to see that is was Katheena’s car.


All sorts of emotions surged up, but I stuffed them back down.

I was good at doing that.

You have to keep the emotions away when you are in a war.

You have to become a machine, a robot.

Later, there is no hope for you.



Bryan looked just when I rounded the front end of the Thunderbird that Katheena had named Phoenix.  He said, “There’s a blue glow from the back seat.”


I slammed into him and he dropped the flashlight, and it went out.


He said, “HEY!  What the fuck?!” as he went down hard.

I said, “Bryan!  You took us out here when the Glinty dude is coming!”

He got back up and he shouted, “Will!  Why did you attack me?!”


I stepped back.  I was ready for a fight.  It didn’t matter that he had gotten very strong in prison.  It didn’t matter that he was now very angry at me. 

I had the fear of being here.

It was all about self-preservation.

I guess that our sense of betrayal was mutual.


And then he stuffed it all down inside, just like I always did.


He said, “OK.  I don’t get it, but OK.  I guess I fucked up.  We need to get away from here, I understand.”

I nodded, and my knees felt weak.


He said, “Then we will go.  But first, tell me why you fear this car.”


I shook my head.  I said, “I don’t fear this ride.  I fear this place.  This is where my lady died.  I don’t want to die here like she did.”


We both heard a horse whinny off in the dunes.


Bryan said, “Do you keep hearing that?  Is that what makes you afraid?  It’s just a horse!”


I said, “Bryan, that is an evil omen.  Bad things are going to happen.”



He said, “Bad things always happen.  But just hear me out.  Would you please just hear me out for a minute?”


I felt my ankles get weak, but I heard myself saying, "OK.  Shoot.”


Bryan pointed down, in the waning red light of the red moon that was nearing the western horizon.


He said, “There is something here.  I was drawn here by it.  You have to trust me. Right now.”


I thought about all of the things he had always done to protect me, and he had never failed me, even when I thought that he had.



I heard myself saying, “I trust you.  Go ahead.”


He crawled into the drowned car through the busted out driver’s side window, across the hard sand that had once poured inside it like water, and made his way to the blue spark.


I heard a horse snort in approval, and it sounded like it was from a hundred years ago, echoing across the red desertscape.



I shivered in my boots.



Bryan reached the back seat of the car.  He shouted back, “The blue light is coming from between the seats back here!”


I moved my boots.  I went to the window and bent down and looked in.  I said, “It’s a secret compartment.  Katheena crafted it to hide things.  You have to reach in there.”



Bryan turned back to me in the dark interior of the ride.  The side of his face was lit by the blue glow shining between the back cushions.


He said, “You have got to be fucking kidding me dude.”


I said, “Hey.  You wanted to come here.  You asked for it.  Now ya gotta stick your hand in there.”


He swung his head to look at it, and then he looked back at me.  He said, “Maybe this was a bad idea.”


I said, “That’s what I’ve been telling you Bryan!”



He said, “Fuck it.  I’m going in.”



I have to tell you, my friend, that he showed true Mettle in that instance.



He reach in and said, “Arrrgh!   It cut my hand off!  Arrrgh!”



I jumped back in horror.


And, of course, 

He was joking. 



Fucker.



He pulled some books out and said, "I did all of this for some overdue library books?  That's fucked up, man.  Just pay your dues!"


The glow from inside the secret compartment glowed brighter, and he looked back at it.


He said, "i guess there are more in there."



He stuck his hand in there and reached around for more, and he pulled them all out.


One particular book glowed with blue light on the rear seat of the drowned car.



He handed them to me all, and when he did, the blue glow evaporated.




I had a bunch of books in my arm now.


I just had no clue what this meant.


But I singled out the one particular book, and I put it up on top of the pile in my arms.


I smelled it.



It smelled like a desert rose.






When you are in a war, every little hint means something.









God Help You.

God Help Us All.

---willies out.






Jewels and Gold   by Angus and Julia Stone 











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