A Village—LATE AFTERNOON
The last thing I remember is getting grabbed from behind by two huge thugs while sitting at the snack bar in the village. My guess as I am blindfolded, dragged off and shoved about is that my kidnapper must be Spike (likely assisted by Gunny Bill).
After all what other nemesis do I have?
Soon I find myself unbound, unmasked and hurled into the stagnant water at the bottom of a sand pit on the edge of town. In the struggle to toss me into the pit, Spike and Bill have broken a bottle and the broken glass and it is embedded in my hands. I am not waiting around to find out what is next. When they look away, I pull out a large shard from the palm of my hand and counter attack, aiming to slit both of their throats, but knowing that Spike will never be so easy. I grab at Spike's legs and he loses footing on the slumping edge and falls in, pushing me backward unto a pile of trash. I snatch the heaviest metal pieces and hurl them at his head as Bill tries to help him out of the pit. I head through the muck to the far side of the borrow and eventually make my get away.
I make it back to the snack bar where some guys from the crew are still are hanging out. The Sailor is boring everyone with a story. I sit next to Iris and since she currently is disgusted by me, decide to apologize.
“I’m sorry,” I tell her, “I must smell awful, I’ve been kidnapped in the woods for god knows how long and I don’t want to bug you.”
She turns, and says, “But I want to hug you.”
“I’m sorry, I said ‘bug you,’ not hug you.”
“Too bad,” She shrugs.
“Of course I want to hug you. I’ve wanted to for a long time.”
She hugs me. She smells like flowers and is soft in her burgundy angora sweater. We leave the bar and I put my arm around her tiny frame.
“Don’t hold me like that,” she hisses. I am crushed for a second, but then she adds, “No hold me this way. Pull the strap of your shoulder bag over my head too and then hold my hand so we look like school children.”
It is getting dark as we reach the end of the boardwalk, and we decide to cut through a field to the ranger station.
We come across two dead bodies lying in the grass.
“Spike and Bill did that, as I recall,” I say, mostly to myself.
“Who?”
“My kidnapper’s gang. Listen, let’s quietly continue on our way for now.”
We do so. The ranger’s station, where the crew van is still parked slowly gets closer. However, a pickup. Spike’s. Now tears across the field and cuts us off. Guillo-Tina lolls out the driver’s window.
“That you, Frank?” she demands.
I nod.
“Where the hell’s Spike?”
“I don’t know. Haven’t seen him.”
“Well, he told me to hold you if I saw you, so stay put. Right there.”
More trucks, which had been prowling the village, now begin to converge on our spot in the field, as Tina radios in our location. We slowly back away, but Tina, waves at one of her gang who leaps out of the back of a truck and trains a shot gun on us.
I whisper to Iris that I will make a distraction and she should run as fast as possible. I prepare to jump at our guard’s shot
gun, suddenly willing to die for Iris.
Meanwhile one of the figures approaching is not one of Spike's gang, but as he approaches the truck headlights, we all see the new comer is the Park Ranger who had been patrolling the grounds. As we all realize what is happening together, our guard, quickly shoots the Ranger and he goes down.
On the ground, the Ranger unholsters his revolver and levels it at the shotgun wielder, and I figure the next round of shots that will likely ensue will cause a distraction allowing us both to run, though I feel guilty choosing to save Iris over trying to help the Ranger. When the guy aims I give her the signal and we both run, but she doesn’t run very fast, I get behind her and push her along. A human shield. Figuring if they shoot they will only hit me.
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