Restless

Ironton

I was waken by the sound of Ben cheering and whooping loudly. The sun was starting to rise, as we passed a road sign that said "Ironton Next Exit". I opened my eyes and joined in on his celebrating. Despite the excitement, I wasn't the only one waken by Ben's cheers.

"What's going on here!?!" Zach yelled squirming around in his seat. He was still tied up from when we went to the store. Zach didn't seem scared, he seemed mad. "Who are you?! What have you done with Hannah?!"

"Zach, it's just us." Ben said, trying to keep control of the vehicle with all of Zach's thrashing.

"Ben? Where are we?" Zach asked calming down a bit.

"We can't tell you until we're there. Just relax." I said patting him on his leg.

"What do you mean relax?! I tied up somewhere going down the road!! Who else is in here?" Zach asked turning his head.

"No one, it's just us." Ben said taking an exit off the main highway. We were getting closer. My grandpa had purchased a piece of land in Ironton and planned to split it between his three oldest grandsons, Ty, Luke and me. "Where do we go from here Drayton?"

"Take that back road. It should lead to a gate." I said pointing down the road.

"Someone untie me, so I can punch you guys!!" Zach yelled as we drove. Just like I said, Ben followed an old dirt road and it led straight to an old, rusting gate. To open it, you would have to get out and unlatch the lock.

"Wait here. I'll get the gate." I said opening the car door. I jumped out of the car and approached this old gate, I had seen years before. Vines were starting to grow on the fence almost completely. The rusty lock required a key to open it, but I had a better idea. I pulled out my revolver and placed the barrel several inches from the lock. Pulling the trigger, I heard the lock break. I threw the remaining scrap out of the way, before pushing open the gate. Once it was open, I waved to Ben, waiting for him to enter. He slowly drove through the entrance and I shut the gate behind us. I got back in the car, to hear Zach still yelling.

"How did you guys get me out of my bed and into the car?!" He yelled trying to pull his hands through the cloth, that was tying him down. It was no use. I had tied the knots very tightly, so Zach was not successful.

"We're here, buddy!!" I cheered as we approached an open place that we would set up camp, under three tall trees. It seemed a lot smaller than it was the last time I was here. Zach growled, still trying to free himself. Ben parked the car and turned off the engine.

"Now, Zach, you can wait here and not move, or you can sit outside with us while we set up. Either way, we're not untying you." Ben laughed.

"I'll stay here, thanks. When can you take this thing off my eyes?!" Zach protested, shaking his head from side to side.

"When we're done setting up, I'll untie you, okay?" I asked Zach. He was quiet for a few moments. He finally nodded and stopped trying to escape.

"Let's start with the tent, Drayton." Ben commanded as we opened the trunk.

"TENTS?!?!" Zach yelled from the car. Me and Ben just laughed. It would take at least an hour for us to set up camp. We happily started constructing the first tent under one of the tall oak trees.

"This is going to be awesome." I said to Ben as we put the pieces together. I smiled the entire time.

"I can't wait to eat. I'm starving." Ben said as he watched me struggle with the tent poles. It was quite obvious that I wasn't the best at constructing tents.

"I can go start making the campfire. You'd probably get this done faster without me in your way." I said standing up and returning to the car. Zach was whistling a tune as he waited for us. I looked in the trunk until I found the lighter I had gotten at Walmart. I held it in my hand and examined it. It was light green and had a dragon design on the side. I slipped it into my pocket and decided to go look for something that my grandfather had left here from the last time we were here. I walked towards a fairly large bush that was covered in tiny red berries. A small brown bird landed on the bush and ate one of the berries. It quickly took off as I got closer. I remembered a large pile of chopped logs that we had left here. Circling the bush, I caught sight of something moving in the leaves. I recognized it as I got closer. It was a snake. I've loved snakes ever since I was little. My father knew a lot about the outdoors. We would go for walks through the woods,every chance we got. One thing he taught me, was how to identify a snake. He said that the eyes, it's nostrils, and it's tail could identify the type of snake it was. The snake was long and black. If the snake had a round snout and pupils, I could tell it was nonvenomous. It the snout was pointed and the snakes pupils were Elliptical, or vertical, It could kill someone. i was lucky that the snake had the features of an nonvenomous snake. It was a King Black Snake. He was beautiful. I slowly approached it and touched it's body. The snake showed no sign of fear and slithered towards me.

"Aren't you pretty." I whispered to the snake, carefully picking it up. It seemed very friendly. It was thick and heavy so guessed it was a male. I had to show Ben. When I was younger, I had a pet python. I remember letting him wrap around my arm or neck and rest. I let the snake in my hands, slither up and around my neck. It was a good two feet mlong, when fully extended. Once it was settled, I turned around and walked towards the campsite. The snake's tongue flickered in and out of it's mouth as we approached Ben, who was almost completely done with the tents. "Hey, look what I found."

"What did you-" Ben jumped when he saw the snake around my neck. He nearly tripped over one of the tents, he had just finished. "Where did you get that thing?!"

"He was just moving around in the leaves. You can touch him, he's friendly." I said, as Ben extended his hand. His fingertips rubbed the snake's tail gently. The snake just sat, watching us. Ben relaxed after realizing the snake wouldn't hurt him.

"Wow, he's awesome." Ben said, stroking the body of the reptile. "You should name him."

"How about Coal?" I asked Ben. The snake was dark as coal, so it went together. Ben nodded his head and smiled.

"Does he play basketball?" He asked. I was confused by the question. Basketball? What was he talking about? Obviously, the snake did not play sports.

"Of course not, Ben, he's a snake!!" I said trying to figure out what he was getting at.

"So we can't call him COAL-BY?" Ben chuckled. I facepalmed and we continued to set up camp. Coal coiled around my neck the entire time we set up our new campsite. When we were finished It was 11:57 in the morning. We had made a fire pit out of large rocks and started to fill it with sticks and dry leaves. Ben had put the tents facing the fire pit so we could have light at night. Ben and I even took the time to take the blankets and pillows out of the trunk and made our beds, in each of the tents. My tent was the red and white one, closest to the woods. Ben had the blue and white one that was in front of his car. We had given Zach the green and white tent that was under the biggest of the three oaks. Zach had been sitting in the car for a good three hours now. Ben and I decided that it was time to let our friend see our creation. We returned to the car and carried him quickly to a open spot on the ground, next to the fire pit. I grabbed the Blindfold that covered his eyes, and pulled it off. Zach then blinked and looked at our camp.