Cracks by Mike Klaassen

Author:Mike Klaassen [Klaassen, Mike]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2017-05-08T16:26:19+00:00

CHAPTER 11

Bodie lay on his back as pain coursed through his body. He groaned. For a moment, he tried not to breathe. Even that small effort hurt. Unable to bear it any longer, he allowed his lungs to fill, wincing as his chest expanded. He blinked, thankful that he hadn’t broken any bones.

Remembering why he had spent the night in a tree, he staggered to his feet and reached for the limb above him. Too high. He jumped, but missed it by a foot. He turned, half expecting a hungry wild hog to charge him. Instead, only tree trunks and brush surrounded him in the twilight.

He sat with his back to the tree, arms around his knees. The sunrise seemed stubbornly slow as the eastern sky turned shades of pink, orange, and purple. Tug’s wide silhouette climbed down from his perch. From separate trees appeared the lanky form of Spider and the shorter Adam.

“Any sign of Rusty?” asked Spider, as he joined Bodie.

Bodie shuddered when he recalled the hogs ripping Rusty apart.

Tug snorted. “I seen a movie once where the mafia fed dead people to pigs. The hawgs ate everything, including the bones. The only thing that didn’t digest was the teeth. I guess the mob figured no one would bother looking for human teeth in the hog shit.”

“Have you gentlemen ever seen pigs like those before?” asked Spider.

“I read about them in the paper once,” said Bodie. “They’re a cross between wild breeds and domestic hogs. A nasty combination. Super-sized razorbacks, with an attitude. We even have them in parts of Kansas now.”

Adam glared at Tug and Spider. “What happened to you guys?” he asked. “Bodie and I were the only ones trying to help Rusty. You two were in the trees before I knew what was going on.”

“Screw you, faggot,” said Tug.

Spider glanced toward the woods. “He didn’t need any help.”

“What do you mean?” asked Bodie.

Spider shrugged. “He probably OD’d. I never heard him scream. Did you?”

“Whatever!” said Adam. “At least now I know who I can count on.” He wiped dew and damp debris from the Rambo knife. “I’ll stand guard and walk a perimeter around the camp. If I see anything, I’ll yell. But then it’s every man for himself.” He shoved the knife into the sheath on his belt and tromped into the twilight.

Bodie dreaded what he might see when, or if, they found Rusty, or part of him. He was tempted to start looking right away but feared the twilight might still be hiding the feral hogs. Occasionally, he saw Adam’s silhouette at the outskirts of the camp. When the morning brightened, Bodie studied the woods until he was satisfied that the hogs were nowhere close.

With muscles aching all over, he strode to the flattened, gray-white pile that had been their campfire. He snatched up a stick and stirred the ash. Powdery flakes puffed up like snow, then drifted back to the pile. A wisp of smoke snaked upward from the coals, and the smell of charred wood hung heavily in the damp morning air.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.