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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI bet we can just pull these things out.\u201d<\/p>\n
She hefted at the shackle. She put her fingers around the thick spike and shook it a little.<\/p>\n
\u201cI betcha they just stuck these in the ground. Like a tent spike.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grandmother tried for a grip around the spike. She lifted her arm, testing the shackles\u2019 leverage against the spike. She tugged at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cCome right out.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grandmother tugged a few more times. She yanked on the shackle, straight up. The chain attached to the spike and shackle went straight, then limp, at her attempts. The grandmother grunted and lunged with all her might.<\/p>\n
\u201cFuck,\u201d she panted, \u201cfuck. Mine\u2019s in solid. Maybe they fucked up on yours?\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman weakly shook her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cCan’t even try,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
The grandmother paced her breaths. She sighed, then yawned. \u201cI\u2019m kinda tired. After all that. Just gonna rest.\u201d The young woman made no indication of having heard her. \u201cTry again in a bit.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grandmother turned her head away from the glaring sun. Her mouth dipped on the dry dust and she spat. She reached her head toward her hand, and wiped the dust off her lips. \u201cWhy, those...\u201d she grunted harshly like a dog.<\/p>\n
The sun cast slight shadows from a few bushes. The grandmother judged an hour had passed.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hear it gets cold at night, down here,\u201d the young woman said. She huddled into a semi-fetal position, away from the grandmother.<\/p>\n
\u201cNah, it\u2019s nice all night. Nice and cool. It’s the best time of day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d the young woman said weakly.<\/p>\n
The wind died down. The young woman saw a dust swirl somewhere off in the distance.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat do you think about coyotes?\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think I\u2019d like to shoot one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cDo you think\u2026?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNah,\u201d the grandmother said. \u201cThey\u2019ve got cameras. They\u2019ll come and shoot them. Probably already shot them all by now. Government property.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman shuddered. \u201cI hear they have scorpions. In the desert.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can\u2019t shoot all\u2019a them.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, they can\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n
The bush crackled in the sun.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey live in your shoes,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t want no scorpions in my shoes,\u201d the young woman whimpered.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary-Ann,\u201d she said, \u201cthey go in there when you take them off. That\u2019s why you don\u2019t just put on your shoes, like when you go camping.\u201d The grandmother sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s true,\u201d the young woman said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey can\u2019t get in your shoes if you\u2019ve got feet in them,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
The young woman nodded.<\/p>\n
The grandmother spat out some dust.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m sorry, little girl, I\u2019m sorry,\u201d the young woman mumbled.<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up.\u201d<\/p>\n
Dust caked in their sweat. The sun cast longer shadows off the rocks nearby, off the cliffs in the distance. \u201cFinally,\u201d the grandmother said, \u201cit\u2019ll be night. Night\u2019s cool like the beach. Can\u2019t see a goddamned thing. Goddamned sun.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMy face is warm, gramma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s probably a sunburn. From the sun all day.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know, gramma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat, you want some sunscreen then?\u201d The grandmother spat. \u201cYou want me to rub some fucking sunscreen on it for you?\u201d The grandmother struggled with her shackles. \u201cWhat the fuck you say that for?\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman sniffled.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s right,\u201d the grandmother said, \u201cyou just shut the fuck up.\u201d<\/p>\n
A grasshopper jumped about. The grandmother followed its irregular path. Slight colors shifted from the sun. A mini-sunset started glowing off in the distance. \u201cThe night will cool off your cheek,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSunset’s pretty,\u201d the young woman said.<\/p>\n
The grandmother arched her neck. The shackles rang as she tried to point above her head.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see that over there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The young woman stayed curled.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou see that? All the black suits? Lawyers, just waiting for something to happen. Then we\u2019ll sue them.\u201d She snorted. \u201cThis? Anyone can do this, doesn\u2019t matter. Something\u2019s gotta happen first, then we\u2019ll sue them. That\u2019s where the money\u2019s at. The fucking judge.\u201d She pointed again. \u201cYou see them up there? On that rock?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI saw, gramma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThose fucking lawyers,\u201d she laughed. \u201cCan\u2019t blame them, they gotta make a dime, too.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The sun disappeared. Night set in, and stars started to appear in the clear sky.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s cold,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
She heard a howl off in the distance. \u201cIt\u2019s probably on the other side of the fence,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
\u201cDidn\u2019t see no fence,\u201d the young woman whispered.<\/p>\n
The grandmother sighed. Crickets chirped. A crackle sounded off in the distance. \u201cProbably a fox,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
\u201cProbably a fox,\u201d the young woman said.<\/p>\n
The crackle died down. \u201cFoxes don\u2019t eat people,\u201d the grandmother said. \u201cMy daddy trapped one, once. I was little.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman sighed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re pretty things, foxes. Got into the coop, though. Can\u2019t have them get into the coop.\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman shivered. \u201cWe did wrong, gramma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t mean to.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYes we did, gramma.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe didn\u2019t know,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The wind pushed a soft rustle through a bush.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe coulda just let her to stop and got a cup of...\u201d<\/p>\n
The young woman trailed off. She cried softly. The grandmother looked over and saw her shivering. Her cries became a muted snoring.<\/p>\n
The grandmother sighed. She stared into the pitch of the sky. \u201cYou out here and you thinking about water. The things you do, you don’t take them back if they stink to you later. You gotta take what is.\u201d She yawned. \u201cLied about them lawyers,\u201d she said. \u201cJust wanted you to feel better. You goddamn baby.\u201d She shook her head. \u201cJust rest. For now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her eyes darted across the night sky. \u201cHaven\u2019t looked at the stars. Not since I was a little girl.\u201d A pang of regret bit her. \u201cAnt on my neck.\u201d She bent her neck toward her hand and attempted to flick it off. \u201cYou little bastard\u2026\u201d she reached harder. \u201cDammit.\u201d The grandmother bent upward and landed down harshly. \u201cFucking ant.\u201d She banged about a few more times. She lay back and relaxed. \u201cOh, goddamn. Fuck it.\u201d She stared into the sky and panted. \u201cToo fucking cold.\u201d<\/p>\n
She stared at the crescent in the sky. \u201cMoon\u2019s out,\u201d she said. \u201cyou\u2019ll miss it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Later the sun pierced into the grandmother\u2019s eyes. She shifted onto her other side, away from her daughter-in-law. \u201cJust thirsty,\u201d she said. \u201cCould use some drink or something.\u201d<\/p>\n
The desert came back into focus again. There was the bush on the incline, with three sets of shoeprints making their way down to the small clearing where she was held. Her wrists hurt. \u201cMary-Ann, wake up.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMary-Ann.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sunrise came over the young woman\u2019s skull. Her hair was long and dark, tangled with reddish dirt. The wind blew it softly.<\/p>\n
\u201cMary-Ann, wake up,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
She lay huddled toward the sunrise, as if stretching toward its warmth.<\/p>\n
\u201cSome people can sleep all day. Whatever. Not like we\u2019re going anywhere.\u201d<\/p>\n
The grandmother shielded her eyes from the sun. \u201cYour parents must\u2019ve shit you right out, huh?\u201d She peeked at her daughter-in-law from under her hand. \u201cSleep a lot.\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned on her back. \u201cYou lucky bitch.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sun slowly crept higher. The slight reds and solar hues diminished quickly, and soon the sun was a ball of yellow-white fury. \u201cGod damn,\u201d the grandmother said.<\/p>\n
\u201cGod damn it.\u201d<\/p>\n
She sighed. \u201cWell, I gotta...\u201d She twisted about, restrained by chains. \u201cFucking assholes.\u201d Warmth crept down her thighs, and the soil darkened. \u201cFuck. It’ll dry out.\u201d<\/p>\n
She rubbed her nose; it was moist. \u201cLeast I didn’t shit myself. Fucking disgrace,\u201d she said. She looked at her finger. There was thick fluid and blood on it. \u201cGod damn, what the...\u201d She gently touched her face; it’d stopped burning, and was numb now. Her fingers cautiously dabbed the blisters forming on her cheek. \u201cJesus,\u201d she said. \u201cOh god.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shivered. \u201cFucking cold.\u201d She drew a long breath. \u201cI’m going to lose my face, it’s going to melt off. I’m going to live in bandages. Fucking christ.\u201d She closed her eyes. \u201cToo fucking bright out.\u201d<\/p>\n
She heard flies buzz about. One landed on her wrist, and she flipped it away. \u201cGet at her,\u201d she said, \u201cshe’s the dead one.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFucking god.\u201d<\/p>\n
Her chest heaved. She calmed herself down and attempted to regain control. She drew long breaths. The desert landscape crackled in the sun. \u201cI hope the maggots get at you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She drew a hand near to wipe her forehead, and thought better of it. \u201cDear god,\u201d she said. \u201cCan’t even dry my own sweat. Fucking god.\u201d She sounded a hollow laugh. She turned on her side and vomited. \u201cUgh,\u201d she muttered.<\/p>\n
She heard a loud whoosh and flapping. She opened her eyes to a vulture, almost waltzing, on the desert sand, just beyond her daughter-in-law. \u201cYou go, you git!\u201d she yelled. \u201cYou fucking git!\u201d Her voice gave out, hollow like a shadow.<\/p>\n
The vulture stood, staring.<\/p>\n
The grandmother waited. It waddled in place. It crept closer to her daughter-in-law, and extended its neck. The grandmother rattled the chains around her arms, and it jumped back. Another vulture flew down, a couple yards away, and the first vulture turned and squawked at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou two fucking eat each other, now,\u201d she said. She closed her eyes and sighed. The vultures argued.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s not that bad,\u201d she said. \u201cYou stop feeling the pain. It’s not all that bad,\u201d she said. \u201cI hope that fucking scorpion, or what-the-fuck, I hope it goddamned hurt. You lucky cunt. You fucking lucky...\u201d<\/p>\n
A cruel smile came over the grandmother. \u201cI bet you fucked it. I bet you paid it to fuck it.\u201d She laughed hoarsely. \u201cYou fucking bitch, I shoulda known.\u201d<\/p>\n
The sun traced higher. The shadow from the bush on the incline shortened. \u201cGod, I gotta shit, too. God damn it.\u201d She gulped dryly. \u201cThey’re gonna find the two of us out here, shit our pants, gonna think we were fucking pussies.\u201d She shivered. \u201cThink we goddamned cried ourselves to death, huh?\u201d She exhaled deeply. \u201cFuck, they’re going to have to clean it up.\u201d The grandmother grunted. She shifted about. \u201cFuck,\u201d she said. \u201cFuck, I’ll just do it later.\u201d<\/p>\n
The squawking grew louder. There was another voice or two in the argument. \u201cCome on now,\u201d the grandmother said quietly, \u201cthere’s plenty of her to go around. You fucking vultures.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat?\u201d<\/p>\n
The squawking continued. She huddled into herself and closed her eyes, as if straining to hear something. The vultures’ small feet padded about in the dust, and they flapped their wings slowly. \u201cWhat was that? Fuck you,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShut up,\u201d she said. \u201cGoddamn shut up.\u201d<\/p>\n
The squawkings grew quieter and closer. \u201cPlease goddamn shut up already,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
She felt a beak cut at her. The grandmother drew her sight to an oily-feathered vulture. Its eyes were wet. \u201cTry, you little bastard,\u201d she said. The vulture tried for another peck, and her hand darted up and grabbed its throat. She heard the other vultures fly back. It attempted a few feeble caws. \u201cGary you piece of shit,\u201d she said, \u201cI’ll wring your goddamned neck.\u201d Her grip grew tighter around the vulture, and its eyes bulged slightly. \u201cFucking kill you, cocksucking bastard,\u201d she said. She drew her fingernails into its neck, and her hand starting shaking. \u201cSon of a bitch...\u201d Her hand lost its strength and the vulture withdrew from her grip, dazed and hacking. \u201cPiece of shit,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The grandmother panted. \u201cSo this is it,\u201d she said, closing her eyes again. \u201cFuck. Shoulda used the goddamn chain,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The squawks grew distant. A chorus of caws grew more insistent. \u201cShut up already,\u201d the grandmother said to the corpse. \u201cI just saved you now.\u201d<\/p>\n
The vultures shuffled about on the dust. \u201cAnd then I’ll go to hell,\u201d she said. Another flapped down into the group.<\/p>\n
A shiver shot through the grandmother. She calmed her nerves and stuck her tongue out. \u201cDry,\u201d she said. She opened her mouth, and bit down on it. \u201cOwfmph.\u201d She tried again, weaker the second time. She slowly dragged her rough tongue back in. \u201cChrist,\u201d she said, \u201cfucking christ. Can’t even-\u201d<\/p>\n
She turned her head toward her daughter-in-law, her eyes still closed. \u201cSo this is what it’s like,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou just keep yapping,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
The cacophony of birds quieted down. She heard them shuffle closer again. \u201cYou know,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know that fox?\u201d The grandmother patted the ground with her hand. \u201cMy daddy, he followed that fox. She had pups in her hole.\u201d She shivered. \u201cThey was beautiful.\u201d She drew another breath and calmed herself. \u201cHe reached in and grabbed them, drowned them one-by-one. Said they just starve without their mom, put them out of their misery.\u201d She shook her head. \u201cI watched him drown each one, in the trough. Fox pups, now they yip a lot.\u201d She sniffled. \u201cI miss him. I do.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThings you just do, sometimes.\u201d Her voiced wavered. \u201cThem pups sure do yip.\u201d<\/p>\n
She yawned and rested her eyes. The desert sounds seemed to quiet. \u201cWhat?\u201d The grandmother turned her head to the side, straining to hear. \u201cWhat now?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her body relaxed a bit. \u201cWhy,\u201d she said, \u201cwhy dead girl, you’re gone, but? But laughin’... laughin’ at me?\u201d<\/p>\n
Her heart beat faster. \u201cNo, not laugh... a smile... but why, jus’ say it why? Say.\u201d<\/p>\n
She shook slightly. \u201cWha...? Wha said...?\u201d<\/p>\n
Another shiver ran through her. \u201cI don’... wha you mean...?\u201d She turned her head slightly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don’ unnerstan’, I-\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
To S. H.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2823","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fiction"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2823","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2823"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2823\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2898,"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2823\/revisions\/2898"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2823"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2823"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ducts.sundresspublications.com\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2823"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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<\/a><\/p>\n