Ah, this prompt refers to you getting Hindsight finished before Christmas, because as of the 23rd you'll have very little writing time at all? This is my last day of quarantine, which is very heartening, and I'm looking forward to getting out of the flat tomorrow, and going to the gym! Right, i'm finishing the tale of the boys today, so this will probably need two posts. Maybe three, but I'll try not to be so rude. Then next week I shall try and be Christmassy!
A race against time We paused at the river in the valley to wash ourselves. Several days hanging out in the city and getting occasionally splattered by ichor had not done us any favours, and if we could smell ourselves then it was a pretty good bet that the Elizabethtowners would smell us as soon as we reached the top of the hill. The flowing water in the afternoon sunshine was actually as relaxing as the spa bath we'd had for one peaceful night in Eldorado, and we set off up the hill, Jimmy dragging the chupacapra behind him, in high spirits. The town seemed quiet -- and this is pretty much a one-horse town anyway -- when we arrived, but when I thought back to the slaughter at the docks I realised that that might have killed off 30% of the town. We walked down Main, which was empty, and saw smoke hazing above Josie's kitchen, so we headed over there. Josie was stood with their back to us, cooking up bacon and something I couldn't see, but smelled delicious. "Josie," said Jimmy loudly. They started and turned around. "Don't startle a person who's cooking with hot fat," said Josie. She sounded firm, but not annoyed. Then she took us in, and her eyes widened, and then she saw what Jimmy was dragging and all the colour drained from her face. Jimmy moved amazingly fast; if he wasn't expecting her to collapse, then it was a near miracle he got to her when he did: dropping the corpse and vaulting her counter to catch her as she sagged to the ground, and narrowly making sure she didn't knock any of the pans and pots over and onto herself. He landed, lithe as a cat, and his arms tried to encircle her (but she's a mite bigger than him), and she ended up falling against him and he stumbled back, pulling her out of danger and they both ended up sat on the floor together. "Still reckon they're sweet on each other," muttered Ben. His eyes lit on a packet of cigars on the counter and he 'borrowed' one so fast I swear I hear a tiny thunderclap as the air rushed in to where his hands had been. "What the hell is that thing?" said Josie, but her voice and face weren't matching up. Her voice sounded questioning and her face was looking terrified of something familiar. "Chupacapra," said Jimmy. "Took a mighty hunt to track it down, and when we did it didn't want to come with us. Broke out of three traps we set, took a round of bullets and still vanished into the evening and we had to track it for two more days before we found it again. I reckon we only caught it in the end because it went into a cave and there was no way out for it."
"You actually caught it?" Josie sounded incredulous, and her face matched up this time. I was sure that she believed we'd managed to hunt it down, though she clearly knew it wasn't a chupacapra and I was pretty sure she knew where it was from. "That's... I had no... I mean, no-one here knew it was a monster like that!" That was definitely a lie, and I could see it on her face as clear as her nose. "Well, that's what it was," I said. "And it's been a tough ride for us, so we'd like to get going if I'm honest. We thought this would be a two-day trip, tops, and it's been more like a week." "Two," said Josie. She heaved herself up and started to check her pans. "We thought you were dead or maybe had just skipped out on us." "I guess we won't be getting paid then," I said, spotting a chance to clear out before Shanghai Suzie turned up. "Can't say I'm happy about that, but maybe you could stick some bacon in a sandwich for us and we'll skedaddle with that instead?" Ben nodded approvingly, and his fingers 'borrowed' the rest of the cigars. Josie stopped what she was doing, and though her back was to us I was sure she was staring into the air and thinking hard. On the one hand she was expecting us to demand payment -- probably with a bonus given how hard it was to kill one of those things, and on the other we seemed to be offering to walk out with just a bacon sandwich each in our hands. She definitely wanted one, but she wasn't sure she could trust it. "Doesn't seem like enough," she said slowly. "Rightly you should get paid as well. And... and, well, there's people come here looking for you too." Bingo, the perfect moment to sort this out for all of us. "Suzie," I said, letting a little steel creep into my voice. "She's been chasing us down from Colorado with a cock-and-bull story about being pregnant by Jimmy here." Jimmy looked more shocked than Josie had when she saw the chupacapra. "But it's been more'n nine months now, so unless she's got a baby suckling at her breast, it's still a cock-and-bull story." "Ain't no baby," said Josie, and there was a hint of understanding in her voice. "There's a man with her too." Ben snorted. "That'll be her latest beau," he said. "She's got one in every town." "She sounds a little... wild," said Josie, the way other people's mothers looked at Ben and said, 'he seems... spirited, dear'. "Could put it that way," I said. "Tell you what, make that enough bacon sandwiches for tomorrow too and we'll clear off out of the way and with us gone Suzie'll head off too. Just... point her in the wrong direction, if you wouldn't mind?" Josie's shoulders set, and I wondered what she'd decided. "Sure," she said after a moment. "You've caught the goat-killer, so it's not like I have to worry 'bout meat any more." Ben looked at me and raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged back. She was determined to keep the story going, it seemed. "By rights you should have more, but I guess avoiding a scene and trouble with this... flirty lass is in your interests too." "That it is," I said, smiling broadly. And so it was that we rode out of town on stolen donkeys, eating bacon sandwiches, heading for a second Eldorado and hoping that Suzie fell out of the balloon while hunting for us over the wrong set of mountains.
Greg - well, I did want to get it done ahead of Christmas. And I did! Not by much, but I did!
Jimmy is impressively quick with a detailed story to tell Josie. And I very much enjoyed all the details you sprinkled throughout this.
That's a fitting end to a truly excellent tale. Not at all what I would've expected from these lads, but I should know better by now than to expect anything other than the unexpected with them. Congrats on bringing things to a satisfying conclusion, and in time for Christmas to boot!
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Ah, this prompt refers to you getting Hindsight finished before Christmas, because as of the 23rd you'll have very little writing time at all? This is my last day of quarantine, which is very heartening, and I'm looking forward to getting out of the flat tomorrow, and going to the gym!
Right, i'm finishing the tale of the boys today, so this will probably need two posts. Maybe three, but I'll try not to be so rude. Then next week I shall try and be Christmassy!
A race against time
We paused at the river in the valley to wash ourselves. Several days hanging out in the city and getting occasionally splattered by ichor had not done us any favours, and if we could smell ourselves then it was a pretty good bet that the Elizabethtowners would smell us as soon as we reached the top of the hill. The flowing water in the afternoon sunshine was actually as relaxing as the spa bath we'd had for one peaceful night in Eldorado, and we set off up the hill, Jimmy dragging the chupacapra behind him, in high spirits.
The town seemed quiet -- and this is pretty much a one-horse town anyway -- when we arrived, but when I thought back to the slaughter at the docks I realised that that might have killed off 30% of the town. We walked down Main, which was empty, and saw smoke hazing above Josie's kitchen, so we headed over there. Josie was stood with their back to us, cooking up bacon and something I couldn't see, but smelled delicious.
"Josie," said Jimmy loudly. They started and turned around.
"Don't startle a person who's cooking with hot fat," said Josie. She sounded firm, but not annoyed. Then she took us in, and her eyes widened, and then she saw what Jimmy was dragging and all the colour drained from her face.
Jimmy moved amazingly fast; if he wasn't expecting her to collapse, then it was a near miracle he got to her when he did: dropping the corpse and vaulting her counter to catch her as she sagged to the ground, and narrowly making sure she didn't knock any of the pans and pots over and onto herself. He landed, lithe as a cat, and his arms tried to encircle her (but she's a mite bigger than him), and she ended up falling against him and he stumbled back, pulling her out of danger and they both ended up sat on the floor together.
"Still reckon they're sweet on each other," muttered Ben. His eyes lit on a packet of cigars on the counter and he 'borrowed' one so fast I swear I hear a tiny thunderclap as the air rushed in to where his hands had been.
"What the hell is that thing?" said Josie, but her voice and face weren't matching up. Her voice sounded questioning and her face was looking terrified of something familiar.
"Chupacapra," said Jimmy. "Took a mighty hunt to track it down, and when we did it didn't want to come with us. Broke out of three traps we set, took a round of bullets and still vanished into the evening and we had to track it for two more days before we found it again. I reckon we only caught it in the end because it went into a cave and there was no way out for it."
"You actually caught it?" Josie sounded incredulous, and her face matched up this time. I was sure that she believed we'd managed to hunt it down, though she clearly knew it wasn't a chupacapra and I was pretty sure she knew where it was from.
"That's... I had no... I mean, no-one here knew it was a monster like that!"
That was definitely a lie, and I could see it on her face as clear as her nose.
"Well, that's what it was," I said. "And it's been a tough ride for us, so we'd like to get going if I'm honest. We thought this would be a two-day trip, tops, and it's been more like a week."
"Two," said Josie. She heaved herself up and started to check her pans. "We thought you were dead or maybe had just skipped out on us."
"I guess we won't be getting paid then," I said, spotting a chance to clear out before Shanghai Suzie turned up. "Can't say I'm happy about that, but maybe you could stick some bacon in a sandwich for us and we'll skedaddle with that instead?"
Ben nodded approvingly, and his fingers 'borrowed' the rest of the cigars.
Josie stopped what she was doing, and though her back was to us I was sure she was staring into the air and thinking hard. On the one hand she was expecting us to demand payment -- probably with a bonus given how hard it was to kill one of those things, and on the other we seemed to be offering to walk out with just a bacon sandwich each in our hands. She definitely wanted one, but she wasn't sure she could trust it.
"Doesn't seem like enough," she said slowly. "Rightly you should get paid as well. And... and, well, there's people come here looking for you too."
Bingo, the perfect moment to sort this out for all of us.
"Suzie," I said, letting a little steel creep into my voice. "She's been chasing us down from Colorado with a cock-and-bull story about being pregnant by Jimmy here." Jimmy looked more shocked than Josie had when she saw the chupacapra. "But it's been more'n nine months now, so unless she's got a baby suckling at her breast, it's still a cock-and-bull story."
"Ain't no baby," said Josie, and there was a hint of understanding in her voice. "There's a man with her too."
Ben snorted. "That'll be her latest beau," he said. "She's got one in every town."
"She sounds a little... wild," said Josie, the way other people's mothers looked at Ben and said, 'he seems... spirited, dear'.
"Could put it that way," I said. "Tell you what, make that enough bacon sandwiches for tomorrow too and we'll clear off out of the way and with us gone Suzie'll head off too. Just... point her in the wrong direction, if you wouldn't mind?"
Josie's shoulders set, and I wondered what she'd decided.
"Sure," she said after a moment. "You've caught the goat-killer, so it's not like I have to worry 'bout meat any more." Ben looked at me and raised an eyebrow, and I shrugged back. She was determined to keep the story going, it seemed. "By rights you should have more, but I guess avoiding a scene and trouble with this... flirty lass is in your interests too."
"That it is," I said, smiling broadly.
And so it was that we rode out of town on stolen donkeys, eating bacon sandwiches, heading for a second Eldorado and hoping that Suzie fell out of the balloon while hunting for us over the wrong set of mountains.
Greg - well, I did want to get it done ahead of Christmas. And I did! Not by much, but I did!
Jimmy is impressively quick with a detailed story to tell Josie. And I very much enjoyed all the details you sprinkled throughout this.
That's a fitting end to a truly excellent tale. Not at all what I would've expected from these lads, but I should know better by now than to expect anything other than the unexpected with them. Congrats on bringing things to a satisfying conclusion, and in time for Christmas to boot!
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