The girl behind the wheel cut the truck lights at the first sign of dawn. Blue hews and shadows amongst trees as they rumbled over asphalt. The waning moon was still visible amongst the bramble of canopy overhead. Insects and other creatures of nature moved about unseen in anticipation of the day's return.
There was music playing through the small middle window leading out to the truck bed where the two men sat, faces puffed from lack of sleep. Situated between them was a wide duffle bag that shifted with the truck's movement. Metallic jingles radiated from within.
The shorter of the two leaned toward the cab and spoke through the window's opening.
"Hey, Hon. You mind lowerin that radio? Got a hangover that's splittin me top down."
The girl behind the wheel did not respond. Both hands remained still. If he didn't know her, he would have considered that she was deaf.
"I wouldn't be callin Crystal names like that, Boots."
Boots turned back to face the other man in the bed.
"You serious?"
The second man nodded. "Not a good idea."
"Just tryin to be cordial. Shoot I know she's your girl."
"I ain't sayin it for my sake. I'm sayin it for yours."
Boots looked at him for a moment with an eyebrow cocked and then settled back down next to the duffle and folded his arms.
"She still ain't talkin, is she?" Boots gestured back to the girl.
"Not to you."
"Not to no one."
The man stared back at him.
"That's enough talk about her."
"Damn, Bryce. You need to cheer up."
"You need to wise up. I think all that shit you take makes you stupid."
"Well I've seen you put down about as much as me before so I'd say we're workin with similar capacities."
"More to the point."
Bryce leaned his head back over the side of the bed and let the passing wind wash over his face. It was cool against his skin. Something to be robbed in the coming hours as the heat began to sink in its teeth.
"You gunna tell me why you dragged me outta bed?" Boots asked.
"To get paid."
"You gunna tell me how I'm comin to earn it?"
"Haven't decided yet."
Boots mumbled and shook his head. "Forcin a man up at that hour. No warnin. It's a damn abomination."
"There's a hell of a lot of folks that get up for work at that time every day."
"Yeah and I've done just about all I can to make sure I ain't one of them. I would've thought that was obvious by now."
"It is."
Boots looked around at the passing world. "This road heads up towards Rich Quinn's place."
"That it does."
"So why're we goin there?"
"Troop business."
YOU ARE READING
Conflagration
Mystery / ThrillerAfter his boarding school tuition fund runs dry, Bill Dixon is forced to return home to Schodack, a town under the yoke of a corrupt Sheriff's department and the location of his father's suicide thirteen years before. It is also the home of Meadow B...
