I found my grandmother's Browning handgun on the dining room table when I went downstairs that night. She had long since gone to bed, as had her husband and my parents, so now the house was dark and quiet save the blue bars of moonlight spilling over furniture and the creak of wood settling. After checking to see that the gun was loaded, I went outside to Calhoun's pick-up truck; his keys hadn't been hard to snag, just a few sticky fingers on my end and a few loose ones on his. He and my mother were too fast asleep, having drunken their fair share of wine, to hear the truck start with its usual sputter.
I stuck the Browning on the dashboard, then peered out into the blue-black countryside for the way we'd come. Once I'd found it, I flicked on the headlights, switched the rig into gear, and followed the gravel road out as best I could. Upon reaching the main road, I drove down it as far as Marylou had described. Not a single car save my own lit up the darkness. This was typical on country roads, but all too disquieting given the ample population of Morningbird.
When the odometer clocked in a mile, I slowed down to read the landscape. It wasn't long before I caught the porch-light of a farm. Not wanting to awaken the owner of this farm or his family, I pulled off the road into a forested patch, then cut the engine. It ticked idly while I sat there, re-checking the handgun once more and wondering, again, whether this was the best course of action. But by now, you now how quickly my self-doubt rivets back to certainty, even if that certainty's unwarranted. That's what happened here. I stuffed the gun in my pocket, then went outside into the cool and formless night.
The Spinster house looked like it had been built by half-blind cripples. I could tell this from the one porch-light illuminating its front: the paint was a sickly death-white, the boards were split open in several places, and the whole house leaned out like an old man in a grocery store, to say nothing of the tilting weather vane or unrolled hose.
I made my way to the cornfield at the back of this house. A light breeze touched the stalks, and they leaned into each other in a low, rolling hush. Even with the moon as bright as it was that night, I couldn't see far across the field, and crop circles or not, the field itself only looked like a solitary and gently stirring mass. This made me consider that perhaps the whole effort really was a waste of time, since any visitors who came down would be nigh indiscernible--assuming, of course, they came down at all.
I made my way to the cornfield at the back of this house. A light breeze touched the stalks, and they leaned into each other in a low, rolling hush. Even with the moon as bright as it was that night, I couldn't see far across the field, and crop circles or not, the field itself only looked like a solitary and gently stirring mass. This made me consider that perhaps the whole effort really was a waste of time, since any visitors who came down would be nigh indiscernible--assuming, of course, they came down at all.
All the same, I was determined to wait out the night, knowing it would be my only chance since our family would leave in the morning. Figuring it was already one or two A.M., not long till the sighting-times my grandma mentioned, I decided to sit in a tire-swing nearby and overlook the field. As often happens to children who try to stay up late, despite the errant will of some of them, and despite their resistance to a thousand greater forces, the touch of sleep eventually took me.
Great stuff man keep it up.
ReplyDeleteYeah I really enjoy these. Keep it up!
ReplyDeletethats so intense story telling bro.
ReplyDeletecan't wait until your next post!
ReplyDeleteliked it quite a bit, keep up the good work
ReplyDeleteAm becoming an avid reader.
ReplyDeleteLoved your description of the cornfield- beautiful and yet still slightly spooky.
Your blog is also awesome :)
ReplyDeleteVery good, keep it up.
ReplyDeleteAmazingly vivid story. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteI will be following this tale!
ReplyDeleteI am going to have to catch up here because this last post was amazing. You have some serious skill.
ReplyDeleteReturning the favor, following and showing support.
This story is really developing onto its own series I'll follow and wait for the rest.
ReplyDeleteim gonna print this out and read it. on my ebook. in the dark.
ReplyDeleteYou got some serious writing skills.
ReplyDeletecrazy stuff man good job!
ReplyDeletenice! keep it up dude!
ReplyDeleteReally well written, and enjoyable!
ReplyDeleteFollowing,
Mike
Lifehack's guide to a better BJ is out now!
Hey, thanks for the post! BTW you can turn off captcha on your comments by going to settings/comments/scroll down. It saves everyone a few seconds :D
ReplyDeleteincredibly well written and a beauty of a pistol to boot
ReplyDeletegood stuff cant wait to read more
ReplyDeleteIts revelant to my interests. ;) Sup.
ReplyDeletenice post bro
ReplyDeleteluv dayly ;)
cool story dude
ReplyDeleteyea I agree with everyone else that was a great read
ReplyDeleteMan, you can't post more soon enough. I'm hooked at this point, although I have to admit this felt like a filler chapter. Got great expectations for what's next.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
ReplyDeleteman i am loving your story!!
ReplyDeletevery cool story brother,
ReplyDeleteindeed the story was very intens. good read.
ReplyDeletenice poll, btw
ReplyDelete^^
Thanks for the read. Waiting for the next one.
ReplyDeletenice story man
ReplyDeletehope it was a hi-power amirite?
ReplyDeleteawesome so far man.
ReplyDeleteVery cool post bro !
ReplyDeleteVery good read, can't wait for more!
ReplyDeleteHey thanks for the reply. This is an interesting website. Haven't read a good story like this in awhile
ReplyDeletekeep it up good work i like this post
ReplyDeleteYou're an excellent writer!! I'll be following with interest. What's gonna happen next??
ReplyDeletenice work here
ReplyDeleteFascinating read.
ReplyDeletesuch style
ReplyDeletegood storytelling! keep it up
ReplyDeleteThanks for the read
ReplyDeletecool story bro :D
ReplyDeletehaha I'm just kidding
To be honest I always like people who are trying to write something, it's always an excercise, and who know? maybe you'll write a book someday ;)
anyway: 'The life and times of a badass' sounds cool, I'll read the whole thing.
cudn't stop reading. MOAR
ReplyDeletenice story
ReplyDeletethx 4 checking me out.
ReplyDeletecool blog, supporting
Interesting post..
ReplyDeleteI love the vivid description of small details, really makes the story come alive.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work !
ReplyDeleteMay The FORCE be With You!
Keep up the good job bro!
ReplyDeleteJust started these today! Looking forward to part 5
ReplyDeletespeaking or tornadoes man this storm rolling in might spawn a few crap
ReplyDeleteNice story, looking forward to reading more :)
ReplyDeletegood stuff
ReplyDeletewow, I loved reading this, nice job man
ReplyDeleteNice read, keep it up man!
ReplyDeleteGreat read, I'll be back for more tomorrow
ReplyDeleteYour best attribute is detail.
ReplyDeletecrazy man, makes me want to brush up on the ol' creative writing skills.
ReplyDeleteI enjoy reading this.
ReplyDeleteThat was really descriptive, imagined tornadoes in my head.
ReplyDeleteawsm story!
ReplyDeleteGood story. Looking forward to Part V.
ReplyDeletethis story is intense!
ReplyDeletegood stuff to read on the bus
ReplyDeleteCan't wait for the next one bro!
ReplyDeletehey when's the next one
ReplyDeleteCool story bro
ReplyDeletenice story. keep up the good work
ReplyDelete