Old Scratch by Kristopher Rufty

Author:Kristopher Rufty [Rufty, Kristopher]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Dark Autumn Publishing
Published: 2023-10-25T00:00:00+00:00

21.

The inside of the car smelled like sour meat from the amount of beef sticks Benny had eaten. One after the other, he’d torn open the plastic and quickly munched them. I don’t know how he had a stomach that could handle so many. I cracked the window, letting in the cool air that smelled of wet leaves, but it didn’t help eliminate the odor very much.

Travis drove, keeping both hands on the wheel and his back rigid. Every so often, he checked the rearview to make sure the truck with the others was still behind us. Like me, he didn’t speak very much. I kept my head resting back on the seat, eyes focused out the window. Every so often, my elbow would rub against my coffee cup. Knowing it had gotten cold before I even got to take a single sip depressed me.

The day had worn on, not getting very warm, though the sky was a vibrant blue and there were no clouds in sight as it hovered over endless acres of colorful trees and fields choked with dead weeds. Placed here and there was a scarecrow, perched on a stand in tattered clothes, like sentries that had been left to slowly die.

I wondered how things were going back in the truck. Olivia was doing the driving while Lynn sat in the middle with Ian on the other side, his knife ready to stab her if she did anything stupid. I hoped Ian wouldn’t freak out over something and start slashing her before we got there. Since Benny had Ian’s gun, we had no way of defending ourselves if Benny went crazy because Ian went crazy first.

My biggest fear was that Olivia would steer them off the road and crash. She looked so small when she’d climbed behind the wheel and buckled up, like a little girl playing pretend in her daddy’s truck. But she’d been doing a decent job, from what I could tell, so far.

The crackling sound of a soda bottle opening came from the back seat. “Want a Coke?” Benny asked.

I thought about declining his offer because the thought of accepting anything from him made me feel sick. But I was thirsty. “Yeah. Thanks.”

The Coke appeared over my shoulder. I took it.

“You two can share,” he said.

“Fine.”

The bottle was still cool, but it had lost its chill. Didn’t matter, though. It tasted great going down and scratched away the dry itch in my throat. I passed it to Travis. Holding the steering wheel with one hand, he raised the bottle to his lips with the other. His throat worked as he drank. He passed it back when he was done. I took another swallow before putting the cap back on.

There was less than half left.

Benny moved around in the back seat. A plastic bag rattled as he stuffed empty wrappers inside. He sighed. “I could go for a nap.”

“Go ahead,” I said.

Benny snorted. “Yeah right. I may be an idiot, but I wasn’t born yesterday. Took me a long time to become what I am.

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