Read Online An Incidental Reckoning by Greg Walker - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Greg Walker
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interesting. All right, now you show me where he is.”
He motioned for Will to get up, and he came abreast of Jon and they walked together towards the stream. Jon hoped that somehow the body had floated further downstream on its own, but he doubted that could happen with the shallowness of the water. And anyway if the body wasn’t there, it would amount to a lie in Jim’s eyes. Either way, he didn’t see any happy ending. Maybe they should both try to run, each darting a different way. One of them at least had a chance. But he had no way to signal Will, or find out if he would agree to the plan…and he especially didn’t want to be shot. For his part, Will only stared straight ahead and gave no indication as to his thoughts. And then they had reached the bank of the stream.
“Down there,” Will said.
Jim stopped behind them. “I want you two to climb down there so I can see all of you at once. You try to run, I guarantee one of you will die, but more likely both of you.”
Will went first and Jon came down behind, sliding on the slick and exposed dirt from their previous climb up the bank, and splashed into the water, the corpse bobbing up and down in the waves they created. Jon turned around so he wouldn’t have to look at the dead man. He stood nearly knee deep in the cold water. He caught Jim’s perplexed expression as he looked beyond them at Chris.
“Well I’ll be. Getting more interesting by the minute. Come on back up here, both of you and let's talk.”
They clambered back out of the stream and had nearly reached the top, when Jim said, “Shit. A ranger. Get back down. Either of you says anything, I’ll kill him, and then at least one of you. And the other can live out his life knowing he was responsible for three deaths today. And be quiet.”
They obediently crawled back down. Jon’s thigh still hurt, and he also felt a throb in his hand, looked down at the four small puncture wounds where the snake had bit him, had forgotten all about it, seemed so trivial now. He assumed it wasn’t venomous or he’d be in bad shape, wondered what else he could get from a snake bite. Probably a flesh-eating bacteria, which would fit right in with the direction things had gone today.
They heard the sound of a vehicle door slam, and then Jim said, “Hello, sir. Something I can help you with?”
“Evening. I found an Amish kid walking down the road, said he was harassed by a couple of guys just a little while ago near the park. When he tried to leave they attacked him. He didn’t know any car models, but said theirs was green. Did you happen to see anything?”
“No, I didn’t. Wish I had, so I could have helped him out. Is he going to be okay?”
"I think so. But he didn't even want me to call the police. It burns me that someone would do that. They're good people, just want to be left alone."
Jon could hear everything said clearly, figured that if the ranger took a few steps forward he would see him and Will and Chris. He knew that the state park rangers carried sidearms, but doubted that in the time it took the man to process what he saw and then react he would still be breathing. He looked at Will and caught him shivering, and only now realized that his own legs had started to lose feeling.
"I agree. As a biker, I understand how people ostracize what they don't understand. But I guess in our case, we're not the sort of people you want to attack. Maybe they ought to start painting flames on those buggies and getting tattoos."
Jim laughed, and the ranger chuckled reluctantly along with him, but then his tone grew serious.
"Say, I actually came around here to talk to those guys over at site 13. They're the only ones I have registered to camp. Do you plan on staying the night? Need to pay for it if you do. And I saw two motorcycles but I only see you. Everything all right?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. My friend took a little walk on the
He motioned for Will to get up, and he came abreast of Jon and they walked together towards the stream. Jon hoped that somehow the body had floated further downstream on its own, but he doubted that could happen with the shallowness of the water. And anyway if the body wasn’t there, it would amount to a lie in Jim’s eyes. Either way, he didn’t see any happy ending. Maybe they should both try to run, each darting a different way. One of them at least had a chance. But he had no way to signal Will, or find out if he would agree to the plan…and he especially didn’t want to be shot. For his part, Will only stared straight ahead and gave no indication as to his thoughts. And then they had reached the bank of the stream.
“Down there,” Will said.
Jim stopped behind them. “I want you two to climb down there so I can see all of you at once. You try to run, I guarantee one of you will die, but more likely both of you.”
Will went first and Jon came down behind, sliding on the slick and exposed dirt from their previous climb up the bank, and splashed into the water, the corpse bobbing up and down in the waves they created. Jon turned around so he wouldn’t have to look at the dead man. He stood nearly knee deep in the cold water. He caught Jim’s perplexed expression as he looked beyond them at Chris.
“Well I’ll be. Getting more interesting by the minute. Come on back up here, both of you and let's talk.”
They clambered back out of the stream and had nearly reached the top, when Jim said, “Shit. A ranger. Get back down. Either of you says anything, I’ll kill him, and then at least one of you. And the other can live out his life knowing he was responsible for three deaths today. And be quiet.”
They obediently crawled back down. Jon’s thigh still hurt, and he also felt a throb in his hand, looked down at the four small puncture wounds where the snake had bit him, had forgotten all about it, seemed so trivial now. He assumed it wasn’t venomous or he’d be in bad shape, wondered what else he could get from a snake bite. Probably a flesh-eating bacteria, which would fit right in with the direction things had gone today.
They heard the sound of a vehicle door slam, and then Jim said, “Hello, sir. Something I can help you with?”
“Evening. I found an Amish kid walking down the road, said he was harassed by a couple of guys just a little while ago near the park. When he tried to leave they attacked him. He didn’t know any car models, but said theirs was green. Did you happen to see anything?”
“No, I didn’t. Wish I had, so I could have helped him out. Is he going to be okay?”
"I think so. But he didn't even want me to call the police. It burns me that someone would do that. They're good people, just want to be left alone."
Jon could hear everything said clearly, figured that if the ranger took a few steps forward he would see him and Will and Chris. He knew that the state park rangers carried sidearms, but doubted that in the time it took the man to process what he saw and then react he would still be breathing. He looked at Will and caught him shivering, and only now realized that his own legs had started to lose feeling.
"I agree. As a biker, I understand how people ostracize what they don't understand. But I guess in our case, we're not the sort of people you want to attack. Maybe they ought to start painting flames on those buggies and getting tattoos."
Jim laughed, and the ranger chuckled reluctantly along with him, but then his tone grew serious.
"Say, I actually came around here to talk to those guys over at site 13. They're the only ones I have registered to camp. Do you plan on staying the night? Need to pay for it if you do. And I saw two motorcycles but I only see you. Everything all right?"
"Yeah, everything's fine. My friend took a little walk on the
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