Thursday, December 01, 2005

Green Desert - Chapter 3.5.2 - Tamé


In my rearview mirror, I caught a glimpse of Deputy Nulıpéshı giving me the evil eye. Then she disappeared.

I got out of the truck, walked back to hitch up the minivan. Séara ran around the side of the house. She’d been mad at me for moving her car, but luckily she had bigger snakes to trap.

I hooked up the van and lifted it up on the chain. This thing probably had front-wheel drive, which meant the front tires wouldn’t turn. Unless, of course, the transmission broke. I lifted my cap, mopped my forehead with my handkerchief. Aw, shucks. It served them right.

I got back in the cab, started forward slowly. The van didn’t move. Dead weight. I goosed the engine and we started dragging the van. I could feel its tires pushing gravel, bumping over it. The transmission wasn’t giving out yet. These Vurınos were built pretty tough.

I turned right on the road, passed the police car, and pulled off the pavement. Twin streaks of black traced their way from the driveway to the new gravel trenches from the van’s tires. Burned rubber stung my nose as I walked to the van.

I unhitched it and went back for the next car. It also faced the wrong way. A Huírupho. Foreign car. Probably that foreign kid’s. I didn’t think its transmission would hold up, but that kid was crazy and I had a job to do.

I hooked it up and towed it down the driveway. I was wrong about the transmission. I made another pair of tire marks, this time turning left across the highway.

At last, my quarry was unprotected.

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