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"Think we lost 'em, Cletus?"
"Yep, Jeb. Think so. They ain't never gonna find us up here. Countryside's too dense and thick."
"Kinda like you, Cletus, huh?" His brother jabbed him in the ribs as they maneuvered their way through
the prickly underbrush.
"Oh, you're a funny one, Jeb. Keep it up and you're gonna find yourself like that there Sheriff Carter.
Jeb shut up quick as a wink. His brother had a short fuse and it was no fun setting if off. In fact, it was downright
dangerous. The sheriff learned that the hard way - hard like a hammer across the skull. The bloody image streaked
across Jeb's already addled brain.
"Anyway," Jeb said, changing the subject. "we got the money, and with winter setting in they'll
call off the search once the first hard snow falls. Ain't nobody liked that sheriff no how."
"You got that right, little brother; least of all us. Man was crookeder than your front teeth and just as
yellow."
The two cackled in the frigid, cold air as they lumbered up the side of the hill. Their heavy backpacks slowed
them down some, but lightening the load wasn't a possibility. They were rich men now, and they fully intended on
staying that way.
An hour or so into their hike, Jeb thought to ask, "Um, I don't suppose you know where we's headed, do you,
Cletus?"
"You suppose wrong, little brother. I know exactly where we's headed. Daddy told me about a cabin up here.
Said the miners used it before they realized there wasn't nothing worth digging for."
"Oh yeah, I plumb forgot about that place. But how we ever gonna find it? We don't even know where to look"
"Don't gotta look, Jeb. It's right there." Cletus pointed his thick, stubby finger up the hill. Lo and
behold, a squat, wood cabin sat directly above them.
"Man, Cletus, today sure is our lucky day." Jeb smiled a crooked, mischievous smile and took off running.
Cletus followed in hot pursuit. They were up the hill in no time flat.
"Home sweet home, little brother," Cletus said as he pushed on the door. It creaked and groaned, and
eventually gave way under his mighty, callused fists.
"Well, it's better than the cell waiting for us back in town."
"You got that right, little brother. Least here we can come and go."
"But where we gonna go to?" Jeb looked to his brother for a sage response, but none was forthcoming.
Jeb wasn't at all surprised. Cletus was all brawns and no brains. For Jeb, the reverse was true. It was a deadly
combination. Jeb was the mastermind behind their robberies. Cletus was the power. Thus far, it had been a successful
pairing; and they had two backpacks full of cash to prove it.
Closing the door behind them, the brothers had a look around. There were two rusty cots, each containing a thin,
moldy mattress. There was one nearly rotten table and two equally decrepit chairs. There were even some plates
and cups for them to use, once they were sufficiently cleaned. But best of all, there was a small fireplace in
the cobwebbed corner.
"At least we ain't gonna freeze," Jeb said.
"Freeze, no, little brother, but starve is a different matter entirely. We got money and nowhere to spend
it. And I'd kill for a Big Mac right about now."
"You forget, big brother, you done killed once already today. Sheriff Carter didn't even know what hit him."
Again the two laughed their sinister laughs. They stopped in an instant, however, when they both heard a scratching
noise to their right.
"What was that, Cletus?" Jeb asked in a whisper.
"Dunno. Probably just the wind."
"The wind ain't got claws, big brother."
"Well, we is in the woods. Probably just a coon outside."
Again they heard the noise, only this time it sounded like two animals scurrying nearby.
"Hush, Cletus," Jeb said, cupping his hand to his ear. "Sounds like it's coming from inside, not
out. Maybe we ain't alone in here."
"And maybe we'll have some dinner, after all."
Cletus rubbed his ample belly and tiptoed around the small cabin, searching for the source of the noise. Soon enough,
they heard it again. Cletus pointed to the corner of the cabin where a large pile of leaves had amassed. Slowly,
he made his way to the spot where the sound was coming from. And then, out of the pile sprung the largest rat the
two of them had ever laid eyes on. Both men jumped and screamed, but it was Cletus who quickly regained his composure
and, with a giant leap in the air, came crashing down on the massive rodent.
His steel-tipped boots pierced the gray rat directly through its heart, sending streams of gooey, thick blood across
the dusty floor. The sound of a sickening squish and a dying squeal permeated the cabin, as did the instant stench
of death. It was all Jeb could do to not toss his cookies on the spot. Even Cletus stifled a retch, but then finally
said, with a nervous twitter, "It ain't a Big Mac, but it'll do in a pinch."
Jeb, who'd been sucking in his breath during the spectacle, managed to add, "I hate to see what we substitute
for a side of fries."
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For more, visit the Author's Web Site at: TheRobRosen.com
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