fiction

The River’s Secret: Chapter III

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Chapter III: Gudge’s Predicament

            Gudge the First knew precisely two things when he woke up.  One, he was not a smart man and that meant there was a good chance he may not get out of his current predicament.  And the second thing he knew without a doubt was that he absolutely hated Martin Gregory.  But all the hate he felt for the man was not going to change his current situation so he went back to the first thing he knew.  How was he of all people going to get out of this predicament?  He didn’t even know where he was or where he was going because there was a burlap sack over his head.  He could hear horses and felt the familiar rocking motion of a wagon so he knew he was being taken somewhere. 

            Two men apparently were riding in the wagon also because he could hear them discussing his fate.  So, he pretended to still be unconscious to decide his course of action.  He had been prepared for this kind of outcome, he told himself.  Though he had been assured multiple times it was “unlikely.”  Think of the script, think of the script… he thought to himself.

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The River’s Secret: Chapter II

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Chapter II: Gudge the First’s Final Moments

            Gudge, Sr, or as his posterity came to call him, Gudge the First, opened his and then narrowed them when he saw his captor and watched the man.  He couldn’t tell where they were but noticed the ceiling was so low his captor could not stand straight up but kept his head down.  And he noticed his captor’s uniform was faded and rather tight around his middle with his undershirt poking out between the lower buttons.  His midsection hung over his trousers and Gudge assumed it had been some years since the man had seen his own feet while standing.  One thing was certain, Gudge recognized it was not a friendly uniform whose wearer would be sympathetic to him or his cause.  That told him everything he needed in order to proceed cautiously. The affable and guileless Gudge was going to have to be a very good actor if he wanted to get out of wherever he was at the moment. His mind raced as he tried to recall the exact words of the script he had been forced to memorize. “You won’t get caught,” he had been promised, “but just in case you do commit this to memory.” He desperately tried to calm himself enough to remember. He was a fine tapestry merchant, traveling to see his brother…no sister.  Sister, he was on his way to see his sister who had raised him after their parents died. It was a rather tragic tale intended to invoke sympathy if needed.

But first things first, where exactly was he? His mouth was gagged with a dirty handkerchief that tasted horrible on his tongue, and he was lying prone on a cot with his hands tied above his head and his feet tied at the other end of the cot.  He couldn’t turn his body but he could move his head and look around.

            His captor wiped the back of his neck. “Sure is hot down here.”  He looked at Gudge.  “Look who woke up!”

            Gudge nodded but never took his eyes of the captor.

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The River’s Secret: Chapter I

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Chapter I: The River’s Secret

            The area had been in a drought for years.  Everyone knew it and knew the river was getting lower and lower.   “Wonder what secrets we’ll find when it dries up?” the younger generation would tease.  “Probably nothing that any of us want to see,” the old timers responded. 

The little rainfall the area did receive was never enough to raise the level up.  It couldn’t even maintain the level.  Instead, year after year, the water level dropped.  First the difference was noted in inches and then in feet.   

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The Feud: Chapter V

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The Fishing Hole

            Calvin did not, in fact, witness his first nursing home fisticuffs and to tell the truth, he couldn’t help feeling slightly disappointed.  It should be quickly added that he was mostly relieved at not having to stop a physical altercation between two brittle participants and very relieved Nurse Clementine’s attention would not be drawn to his antics.  But still a tinge of disappointment that nothing physical materialized. The confrontation played out exactly how one would think it would play out in a nursing home.  By the time Marty made his way to Gus and Calvin he had expended his energy and the only thing he could do was sit down on a chair next to the couch they sat on to catch his breath.

            Gus stood up when he saw Marty making his way to them but by the time Marty had reached the couch, Gus was already sitting down again apparently tired of standing.

            “So,” Calvin said after letting them both catch their breaths, “you two have been going at this since high school?” He asked then realizing how long ago that was he repeated and emphasized, “high school?”

            “Ha!” Marty said.  “He wishes we had been friends in high school.”

            “I don’t wish,” Gus mumbled.  “You wish.”

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The Feud: Chapter III

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The Avon Incident

            Marty smiled from his bed as Calvin tested the cushion on the chair to make sure it was firm before sitting down. “I’ve fallen for that trick before,” he said sitting down when he was satisfied he would not sink to the floor.

            Marty chuckled, “That was a good one.”

            Calvin nodded his head.  If he hadn’t been the one to sink to the floor after sitting on Marty’s chair on more than one occasion, he probably would have agreed more heartily.

            “Well,” Marty said.  “As usual, the Doofus next door left out a few key details in his story.”

            “How did you even hear him talking?” Calvin asked.  He strained to hear any other sound besides Marty’s television set at a rather loud volume and the noise from out in the hall.  There was no possible way Marty could have heard the conversation that had taken place next door.  At least, no natural possible way.

            “Eh?” Marty asked.

            “Oh, that you can’t hear but you could hear your neighbor next door telling a story?” Calvin asked.  Maybe the two men weren’t as paranoid as everyone believed.  Maybe they had been busy spying on each other.  He shook his head not wanting to spend time drifting on any tangents.  “Are you going to tell me your side of the story?  Because it doesn’t really need explaining.  I get it. You were a teacher trying to teach.  Seems simple enough.”

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The Feud: Chapter II

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The Student

            “You were best friends?” Calvin asked unsure if Gus was setting up a punchline for a joke.

            Gus merely nodded and squinted his eyes.  “Can you believe it?”

            Judging from the way the two had acted since their arrivals, Calvin could honestly say he did not.

            “Let’s just say,” Gus smiled, “there isn’t as much criteria for a ten-year old.” He folded his arms, “that comes later,” he thought about it, “with experience.”  He folded his arms and leaned back in the chair clearly proud at his wisdom.

            Calvin shrugged.  That sounded fairly logical.  He could hear Nurse Clementine’s voice from her post at the desk down the hall and leaned forward.  “So, what happened?” he asked wanting to get to the bottom of this feud before she discovered him doing what she referred to as “unnecessary hovering”.

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The Feud: Chapter I

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The Nursing Home

              “Have you checked on room 1211?” Nurse Clementine asked without looking up from the clipboard she was studying.  As always, her readers rested on the bottom of her nose but never slipped off the tip. A feat that always impressed Calvin just a little bit.  He rolled his eyes at her request but tried to cover his initial reaction by answering quickly, “No ma’am.”  Even though the older nurse wasn’t looking he knew she still could sense his attitude by the way she her lips pushed together.  When he still didn’t move, she looked up and cocked an eyebrow at him.  That was worse than a lecture or a verbal lesson any day.  That was her way of saying, ‘best get on it’ combined with ‘don’t make me tell you again.’

            He suppressed the urge to sigh and stood up. “Right on it,” he said forcing any bitterness from his voice.  Nurse Clementine ran a tight shift and the last thing he wanted was to get on her bad side which was so easy for him to do.  She had been a night nurse supervisor at the nursing home longer than the current manager had been alive and was granted some allowances managing the staff other supervisors didn’t get.  She was the default superior that everyone looked to including the manager although that was done discretely.  If her word got back to management about any unruly staff that staff usually was gone by the next shift.  “There is no room here for bad nurses,” Nurse Clementine often said.  

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Story Behind the Post: The New Seasons

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When I decided to simplify my life and only do weekly posts, I had to decide if I wanted to keep doing 5-part short stories during the months with 5 Wednesdays (switched from Saturdays). I decided, yes, I will keep at it for a while anyway. The first 5-Wednesday month was in April which seemed like plenty of time for me to prepare a story. If you know me, you know that isn’t my style. I was plagued with my usual writer’s block until the 11th-hour. But inspiration came from real events. I should say, real events mostly. Real events with a little modification and a whole lot of what-if.

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The New Seasons: Chapter V

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The New Season

            After my initial disclosure to grandma and mom and receiving that warm grandma hug I gained even more confidence to expand my circle. I took mom and grandma downstairs and showed them everything I had stockpiled.  Grandma was impressed.  Mom was a little worried at the cost but grandma just waved her hand at her.

            “You’ve been busy,” grandma said.

            I smiled.  “You have no idea.”  I took a deep breath because I knew the time had come to show someone my shed in the back.  I almost didn’t want to because it had been my private place for so long.  But I knew I needed to do this to truly expand my circle. 

            I led them back up the stairs.  Even though it was technically winter we just needed light jackets outside which we were still getting used to.  They followed me through the backyard.  We walked the little pathway to the back of the garage.  I showed them how to get through my wall of dry weeds I had set up as a barrier and then we stepped into the little clearing with the shed.  Of course, they knew about the shed but it had been a while since either of them were back there.  Mom took note of the hole I had dug for fuel storage and raised her eyebrows. 

“Storage,” is all I said and shrugged my shoulders. 

Grandma’s face broke into a delighted smile and she clapped her hands together when she saw my garden of onions and carrots.  They walked around a little bit inspecting my work.  I had spent so much time working in the area that the whole ground around the shed was clear of weeds and obviously a place often visited.

            They looked at each other as I opened the padlock on the shed door and opened it. I didn’t tell them what was inside but gestured for them to step in.  They slowly did and to say they were surprised is a bit of an understatement.

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The New Seasons: Chapter IV

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Winter

            The first thing I did after I left Stuart’s was to find all that literature he had given me.  Thankfully I didn’t throw any of it away.  Some of it was lost but I found most of it in a pile.  The pages with the diagrams were pretty tattered and on top of the pile but I didn’t need those pages any longer.  I spent the rest of that day scanning through it all and any time I saw the word shift I read the paragraphs around it for context.  No matter how many paragraphs I read, I still didn’t understand.  I needed someone to translate it to my level of understanding.  There was no way I would go back to Stuart though.  It just didn’t feel safe.  That left me with one choice: Carpenter.

            I used my phone and took some photos of the paragraphs that I thought might be most helpful.  Was I taking pictures of too much?  Too little?  The wrong thing?  I had no idea but this was my best plan.

            The next day I stayed after work for an hour waiting for a chance to nonchalantly catch her in the break room.  When she finally came in and sat on the couch another coworker was in the room.  I nervously waited for 10 minutes and it was getting close to Carpenter to return to work.  Just in time, the other coworker stood up and left which means now was my chance. 

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