‘Things aren't the way they were before
You wouldn't
even recognize me anymore
Not that you knew me back then
But it all
comes back to me (in the end)…’
Levon was panting. He had managed to bring himself out
of the small cave using his makeshift crutch, but mainly by crawling. His leg
wound was bleeding profusely again and his arm hurt too much. His head wasn’t
that well either, he couldn’t stay on his feet for too long before getting dizzy
or falling down. Summarizing, he was in serious pain.
He was feverish and weak, but he was also severely pissed
off.
He was really, really angry.
Anger was the thing that had brought him outside, anger
and his trademark Lundy subborness.
Levon Lundy, hard core Texan, was not going to let a
thing like this beat him. Right? IT was just not right! Not meant to be! What
would his grandmother say?
Right?
So he had ignored the screams from his aching body and
slowly brought himself outside. He knew he needed water, he was certain he needed
a doctor and he was painfully sure he wasn’t going to make it out alive if he
didn’t act quickly.
The sun shone brightly above, smells of still wet grass
marked the aftermath of the previous night’s weather antics. The land seemed so
peaceful, it was hard to believe how savage the storm had actually been. Levon
took a deep breath, trying to rest a little bit before continuing.
How far was it to the river?
‘Which WAY is it to the river?’
He didn’t remember how long he had traveled the previous
day, but he didn’t remember it being so difficult; not as difficult as today anyway.
Furthermore, he didn’t remember HOW he had found the cave… There had been a wild
cat of some sort. Right?
It had been leading the way, right?
Man! He was definitely in bad shape.
Slowly, he scanned the surrounding area looking for some
kind of clue as to where the river was… or maybe another feline guide. Then another
dizzy spell came over him and he tripped and fell hard on the ground.
“Shit fire and save matches!” he cried in pain. The Texan
drawl stronger than ever. “Gawd dammit to hell!”
Eyes closed, Levon lay there on his back for a few seconds
trying to catch his breath again, when a dark shadow suddenly blocked the morning
sun. He opened his eyes. A human figure stood above him, he couldn’t make out
the features.
“Woah!” the shadow said, “You look like crap!” the voice
sounded slightly Italian. Levon smiled. “Guess ya ain’t the kind’o Texan cowboy
that knows how to do shit right, huh?”
Levon lost his smile. That wasn’t Joey.
A wave of adrenaline cruised down his spine as the shadow
moved and he suddenly caught a glimpse of the man’s features in the sunlight.
Conti.
Angelo Conti.
That sorry son of a bitch.
“You!” He exclaimed. “You should be in jail!”
“Yeeah... well, I ain’t one for doin’ what I should,
you know?”
Levon froze as the barrel of a gun appeared in front
of his still dizzy eyesight.
“Now be a good boy and do as I tell ya. We’re goin’ back
to the city to see your partner La Fiamma.”
Lundy chuckled, though inside he didn’t feel a bit funny,
“You mean ya traveled all the way out to the countryside just for me? Well, I’m
honored!”
“Yeh, BE honored!” Angelo grunted, “I walked a very long
way in that damned weather! Lucky you were here and I didn’t have to go all the
way to that cabin! But it still wasn’t fun! And now we’re walking back, so move
it!”
“Well, son,” Levon closed his eyes again and ran a hand
through his damp burning forehead, “Ah’m sorry to tell ya that I ain’t goin’ nowhere
without help. See, Ah was almost fried by a lightnin’ bolt yesterday and my leg
ain’t workin’ proper!”
“Yeah, right!” Angelo motioned the gun for Levon to stand
up, “How dumb do you think I am? Now get up and get movin!”
“I ain’t lying to you, Conti!”
“Get up!” Angelo was getting impatient.
“Man!” Levon graoned, “You think I’d be lyin’ in the
dirt like this for pleasure? Shit man! Look at my damned leg! Look at all the
blood!” He moved his arm and pointed at his wounded thigh closing his eyes again.
“I’m also burnin’ up!” he sighed and muttered as an afterthought, “Can’t walk
two steps before fallin’ flat on my face; I’m a mess! I think my arm is broken!
Hey, call 911.” He finished casually.
“Damn you!” Angelo’s face turn red with fury. This, he
hadn’t expected.
“Really! I’ll show you the X-rays when we get home.”
Levon muttered once more.
“You stupid cop!” Angelo yelled, “I shoulda shot you
when I had the chance!” he pointed the gun at the fallen man again.
Levon felt another wave of fear cruising though him.
What if this moron decided to kill him now?
“Hey, boy, now, don’t fret. I’ll do my best to walk,
I’m just sayin’ you’re gonna need to help me a bit,” he said, as he scanned the
surrounding area looking for something that might help him. “After all, if you
shoot me now, you’ll have to carry a dead man instead.”
“NO!” Conti was really furious now, “I’ll just tell him
where to find your rotten corpse. I had somethin’ else in mind but sometimes things
don’t go as planned. You’ll see, he’ll spill the beans about the tape just to
save you. I’ll get him to talk one way or another before sendin’ him over here.
Then.. I’ll send HIM to hell! Goddamned son of a bitch!”
“I don’t think he’ll tell you nothin’ boy. No matter
what you try or what you say… the fact is… my par’ner don’t believe nothing that
ain’t there to be seen. He only believes his eyes and nothing else!”
“He’ll believe me!”
“Nah, he won’t!” Levon continued. “Joe ain’t one to negotiate
without proof. He’ll see right through you, pal, and nothin’ you can say or do
will change that. He’s way smarter than you, believe me!”
Angelo was really mad now, he hated to be taken for a
fool. “The hell he is!” he retorted, “He was stupid enough to walk into my trap
the other day, and he was stupid enough to cross me and get me in jail! And he
was stupid enough to allow’em to let me go! He’s not even a good cop! I’ll kill
him—and you—for that! He hasn´t got a chance. He’s gonna tell me where he hid
that tape, and then he’s gonna die!”
“No, he ain’t! He’s going to grab you by the nuts and
make you eat’em,” Levon replied calmly. “See, my partner don’t like it when people
call him stupid… Ain’t that right, La Fiamma?”
Ice cold steel touched the back of Angelo’s head at the
same time that his voice froze inside his throat. Conti was smart enough to recognize
a gun when he felt it. ‘Shit!’ he thought.
“That’s right, Lundy!” Joe’s deep voice echoed on the
warm morning breeze. “I hate it when morons talk about the brains they lack! Why,
you should know all about that, Angelo!”
“La Fiamma!” He glared at Lundy, his mind working furiously.
“Sometimes things don’t go as planned!” Levon grinned
as he replied while preparing all his remaining strength to do something to help
his friend.
“La Fiamma, you son of a bitch!” Conti barked.
“Leave my mother out of this!” Joey grabbed the man by
the collarbone. “You insult me and now you insult my family? Well, you oughta
know better than that! Now drop the gun, turn around slowly and keep the hands
where I can see’em!”
“No!” Angelo smiled, “YOU drop YOUR gun or I’ll shoot
him!”
“Angelo,” Joey patronized, “don’t prove my point by being
stupid! You shoot him, I shoot you!” he said, trying to keep himself from looking
at his wounded partner.
“But he dies!”
“He’s strong,” Joey felt his heart racing. “He can take
it, he’s been shot before.”
“Oh, now, you’re gonna start again with that crap you
were tryin’ to feed me up on the rooftop? I didn’t fall for it then and I ain’t
fallin’ for it now!” Angelo barked. “You do what I tell you or he’s dead. I mean
it!”
Joey glanced at his best friend now, this wasn’t working.
It was time to get nasty! “Hear that, Lundy? He means it!” Man! Levon looked like
hell! He looked feverish too. They had to end this fast.
“Yeah, La Fiamma,” Levon replied, his voice weak, his
entire being getting ready to fight. “I guess we’d better do what he says ‘cause
he sure sounds like he means it!”
Joey gave Levon a meaningful look, one that the Texan
understood as if Joey had screamed it. ‘Get
out of the way, I’ll protect you!’ Levon’s eyes answered back, ‘I’m ready.’
La Fiamma fought his fear and gave the signal. “Okay,
Angelo, you win. I’ll d-d... drop the gun.”
It was just one moment.
A fraction of a moment.
And it all went to hell.
Oh! Damn! He had done it! Joey couldn’t believe it! All
the time he’d been fighting it! All the years he’d been controlling it and all
his efforts! All his resolve had to waver now! Shit! Not now!
But he was too scared! Scared for his friend! Plus, he
still had the feeling, the feeling that told him something was going to go wrong...
for sure.
He was terrified, his tongue had slipped, and he had
stuttered.
‘God please!’
Angelo was laughing, “Wh... what Joe?” he mocked the
stutter, “You’re gonna d-d.. drop it?”
‘Thank you, God!’
Joey let out his breath. For a second he thought Angelo
had seen through him, but it had been the other way around. By laughing, Angelo
had let down his guard, and that’s all Levon needed.
The second Conti lost his concentration he took his attention
away from the gun in his hand. In that same instant, using every ounce of strength
he had left, Levon kicked with his good leg up and across, knocking the gun out
of Angelo’s hand and, at the same time, taking him off balance.
Joey took his chance and attacked. Unfortunately Angelo’s
arm had flown back with Levon’s action and hit Joey right on his injured shoulder.
He let out a cry of pain as he lost his own gun to the motion. The weapon flew
though the air and landed behind him in the bushes, where it dissappeared.
He was unarmed.
But that wouldn’t stop him now, would it? Angelo fell
back against Joey who seized the moment to hit the criminal square on the side
of the face.
It was all fists and kicks after that.
Joey hit Conti repeatedly and as hard as he could, but
no matter how much adrenaline pumped though his veins, it was not enough to make
up for the loss of energy and strength caused by all the injuries he’d endured
throughout the past few days. He’d been hit, beaten and almost blown up by this
same bozo before, then almost killed by the storm after that. He hadn’t had a
chance to heal properly, his head still felt like there was a big piece of ice
inside it, he hadn’t even had breakfast!…
And Angelo kicked like a mule.
Reality hit him like a speeding truck on the highway.
Joey could lose this fight! He had to do something fast or he and Levon would
be dead for sure.
Angelo caught Joey right on the jaw and that was followed
by another blow to the stomach. Joey felt all the air leaving his lungs as bright
spots began dancing before his eyes.
Meanwhile, Levon had crawled across the clearing and
was now about a foot away from Conti’s fallen weapon. Just then, both men crashed
down on the floor right on top of him. Levon cried out in pain, his arm and leg
screaming at him. Conti’s elbow came down on his injured head and for a second
he thought he’d pass out. His good arm was pinned to the ground by his own body,
he couldn’t move and saw no way to help his partner. Then, once again, his and
Joey’s eyes met and everything fell back into rhythm.
Silent communication flew between them and, just like
always, Joey and Levon began acting as one. Joey grabbed Angelo and pulled back
as hard as he could, using his own weight to get Angelo off Levon’s back; in that
same instant Lundy’s arm got free and he reached for the gun. The other two had
rolled off and were now five or six feet away. Angelo raised his fist and prepared
to hit Joey again, but Levon’s yell caught his attention.
“Stop!” he panted. “Stop or I’ll shoot!”
Angelo turned to see his own gun pointed at him. He grinned,
his eyes reflected only hate. He let his fist fly toward Joey’s face as Levon
fired.
Blood spurted out from Joey’s mouth as he fell unconscious.
Levon lay there stunned.
The gun hadn’t gone bang… It had only gone click.
Shit!
Levon couldn’t believe it.
Conti was laughing now.
“It wasn’t loaded!” Levon hissed. “How could you come
here with an empty gun?”
“Actually, it was an accident,” Angelo said, getting
up and walking a few feet away from Joey’s still form. “I forgot to pack up enough
bullets, but I figured you’d fall for it anyway.” He was a few feet away now.
“So you were bluffin’ back there? You really wasn’t gonna
shoot me?”
“Oh, no, Cowboy, I wasn’t kiddin’! I WAS going to shoot
you! Only an idiot would carry just one gun!” he said, reaching down to his ankle
and producing a second weapon that had been concealed by his pants, and pointing
it right at Levon’s head. “And I ain’t an idiot!”
The Texan was speechless. How could it all have gone
so wrong?
When had they lost the edge?
Angelo smiled. “This one is alive.” He motioned to the
gun. “I made sure of that!” he pointed
it at the fallen Texan and an evil look crossed his face. This time, there was
a lot more resolve in it. Fear washed over Lundy and threatened to overwhelm him,
there was no way out now.
Conti smiled, aimed at Levon’s head and fired the gun
as a shadow leapt from the side like a ghost. Levon closed his eyes.
The sound of the shot echoed in the lonely woods, and
a loud thud followed.
Levon jumped in fear as he realized he hadn’t been hit.
Understanding filled his head and a sharp, horrible pain seized his heart. He
knew what had happened. Drowning in dread, he opened his eyes to see the bloody
form of his best friend lying right before him.
“No!” he heard a scream. It had been his own.
oooo0000oooo
Levon moved, all pain forgotten, and tried to take the
limp form in his arms.
He cursed loudly.
The shadow. It had been Joey. The Italian had come to
almost immediately and had witnessed it all while trying to stop the world from
spinning. The gun had been aimed and Joey had found no other option. He couldn’t
let this guy kill Levon, no way!
He had jumped in front of the gun without even thinking.
The shot had hit Joe square in the chest. Joey had taken
the bullet for his best friend and was now lying there, unmoving. Angelo was furious.
“Oh shit!” he grabbed his head in frustration as he yelled, “Goddamn son of a
bitch!” he went on, “How could you? Now I’ll never have that tape! You stupid,
stupid idiot!” He turned to Levon, his eyes more hateful than ever. “You!” he
hissed, “It’s all because of YOU!” he raised the gun to shoot again.
Just then, a sound froze the killer’s heart, it was a
wild roar.
Turning around he saw a huge mountain lion right in front
of him, it’s yellow eyes burning a hole through him, it’s tail moving madly from
side to side, ready for the hunt.
Angelo stood there, frozen for a moment. Then slowly,
very slowly, he began to raise his gun, aiming it at the cat.
Rage moved Levon now. He saw the criminal turn around
to face the lion and saw his opportunity.
Only an idiot would carry just one gun.
And Joey wasn’t an idiot.
Levon reached inside Joey’s jacket and found what he’d
been looking for. He called Angelo’s name,
the man turned, fear filled his eyes as he realized what was happening. He raised
his gun to Lundy but the Texan fired first and, this time, it DID go bang.
Angelo fell to the ground, his eyes still open in terror.
It was over. He was finally dead.
The mountain lion grunted, turned away and left.
oooo0000oooo
‘You kept everything inside and even though
I tried, it all fell apart
What it meant to me will eventually be a memory
of a time when I tried so hard…’
Joey lay in Levon’s arms. He was dying.
Lundy found the wound on Joey’s chest and took the bandana
off his own head to cover it. He applied as much pressure as he could.
“Damn you, La Fiamma!” he muttered.
“Oh, come on,” a weak voice answered. “Can’t you let
it go? I said I didn’t mean it!”
“Joe!” Levon’s heart raced with fury now. “That’s it,
partner! Hang on now, ya hear?”
“Sure!” Joey’s voice was really low, and Levon had to
strain to hear it. “Ah!” he cried, then clenched his jaw in pain.
“Take it easy, La Fiamma,” Levon held him as hard as
he could. “I’ll get you home partner. Now, don’t ya worry, you just hang on.”
He was lying, he knew it. It was taking all the energy
he had left to just keep talking. Blood covered Joey’s chest and his breathing
was weakening by the minute. There was no way in hell Levon would be able to get
Joey to a hospital in time.
A whole different terror filled his entire being as he
realized he was going to watch his friend die in his arms. ‘No, God, please NO!’ he pleaded in silence.
“Don’t fret, Lundy” Joey was staring at him. His face
must have had betrayed his thoughts. “Help will get here. Gordon… Gordon will
help us… Don’t worry,” he said shaking his head slightly and closing his eyes.
“Who?” Levon was lost now.
“Gordon… Lightfoot. He’ll bring help.”
“The singer? God, La Fiamma, you’re delirious!”
“He’s a singer? I though he was a politician.” Joey raised
an eyebrow. “Weird.” he trailed off.
“La Fiamma!” Levon called, “La Fiamma!” his voice was
full of fear.
“I’m here, I’m here. Stop yammerin’” Joey said in a strong
Texan accent.
Levon chuckled. “Is that supposed to be me?”
“Like it?” Joey smiled. “It’s my impression of you… nagging…
Aaah!” he shut his eyes again and fought another wave of pain.
“Shhhh!” Levon held him tight, “I’m right here, La Fiamma!”
“I know you’re right here! I can see you!” Joey replied
clenching his jaw. “I told you help is coming. I ain’t gonna die on you, Lundy!
Stop,” he stopped to breathe, “stop being so sweet or I’m gonna have to hit you!”
Levon chuckled again.
Joey took deep breaths for a minute trying to control
the burning pain that threatened to drive him mad. He was tired, so tired, and
the hell that his body had become threatened to crush him between the aching of
his wounds and the burning of his mind.
It was all a mess.
The only thing that kept him centered was Levon’s hand
applying pressure to the hole in his chest. It reminded him that he wasn’t alone.
It gave him strength to fight.
Still, he knew he could lose the fight. He had known
it from the beginning, back when he started fighting Angelo, back when he felt
that warning, he knew things were going to go badly, he knew…
He could die right now.
He was very weak. He had confidence in Lightfoot and
his noble will to help, but time was running out… and blood didn’t last forever.
He needed to fix things now, it could be his only chance.
Slowly… he tried to talk.
“He had a rifle on you.” He said.
“What was that?” Levon asked.
“He was on the roof. He had a rifle… pointed at your
head. I had to stall him.”
Levon caught Joey’s train of thought, he’d been thinking
along the same lines for the past few moments, “I figured as much.” He said.
“You did?”
“Yeah.”
“Then why did you…” Joey frowned as he fought a dizzy
spell and Levon applied more pressure. “Why did you get so riled up?” he finished.
“I’m dumb.” Levon smiled, “I let that Fed draw me into
his game. And then you…” he trailed off, he suddenly didn’t want to talk about
it.
“I didn’t mean it!”
“I know.”
“The FBI! They were listening that day, and they didn’t
help me.” He closed his eyes again, fighting the pain. “You told me about that
tape then… and I realized it.”
Levon widened his eyes, getting the full picture of what
had happened inside Joey’s mind that day.
“I was… scared…” Joey continued slowly. “I should have
told you then… I was an asshole. I’m sorry.”
Levon closed his eyes. He hated these moments. Men weren’t
supposed to have these moments! Especially not him and Joey! Women had these moments!
Men did not! Men drank beer instead! They were supposed to argue! That’s what
they DID! Fear washed over him again as he looked at his friend’s pallor. He looked
terrible.
Blood kept running, the bandana was soaked now. Levon
closed his eyes.
Damn it! Joey had apologized!… Joey was dying.
“I’ll get you home, partner!”
Joey moaned in pain. “Oh man! Just get me a doctor!”
he whispered.
Damn it! Where the hell was that Gordon guy?
“All that stuttering thing” Joey whispered, “It was just
bullshit.”
“I know.” Levon answered, his eyes still closed. “I was
an asshole too, La Fiamma!” he began, “I shoulda thought things over better, I
shoulda listened to my own self! You’ve been…” he sought the words.
Joey stared at his friend’s face and grinned. He always
enjoyed seeing Levon struggle with his feelings. He was such a wimp!
“In five years you’ve been nothing but a friend to me,
La Fiamma,” he opened his eyes. “I’ve always known that… I shoulda…” he paused
again, a lump keeping the words from coming out of his throat.
“I know, I know!” Joey interrupted, this was too much.
“Please, stop it now or you’re gonna break something.” He half smiled and weakly
raised his hand. Levon took it with the hand that wasn’t applying pressure to
the wound and winced in pain. It was his ‘bad’ hand. He tried not to think about
how weak Joey’s grasp was.
The hand went limp, Levon grasped it tightly. “La Fiamma!”
he called.
The yell pulled Joey back from the darkness. “I’m here,”
he whispered. “I ain’t dying on you.”
“You’ll pull through, Joe…” Lundy stared at his friend’s
fading eyes, “I have faith in you.”
That’s all Joey needed to hear. A single salty drop fell
on his face and he couldn’t help but beam inside.
“You’re so girlie, Lundy… If I didn’t know you I’d swear
you weren’t Texan!”
Lundy chuckled again. “Man!” he exclaimed blinking away
the moisture that clouded his vision. “There ain’t no pleasin’ you, is there?”
The Italian shook his head slightly and closed his eyes
to fight more pain.
“Hey, La Fiamma” it was Levon’s turn to ask. “Was that...
my hat I saw on your head just now?”
“You always leave everything… lying around Lundy!” Joey
whispered. “You’re such a mess… I always have to..” he hissed again grasping Levon’s
hand, “pick up after you,” he finished.
“Well, it looked fine on you!” Levon smiled. “We can
still make a Texan outta Joe La Fiamma!”
“Shoot me first!”
A wave of sadness washed upon Levon as he glanced at
Angelo’s dead form. “He did that, La Fiamma.”
he trailed off.
Joey muttered something but Levon didn’t hear him, he
was busy staring at the mountain lion that had suddenly reappeared beside the
corpse.
The cat waved his tail and looked up, there was a strange
sound coming from the sky. The lion stared at Levon for a moment and licked its
paw, then it started to retreat again.
“Thanks!” Lundy said. The lion stopped and turned back
to face the Texan once more.
“Thanks for everythin’, Lassie!” Lundy smiled at the
cat.
The lion stared at Lundy for a little while longer and
then headed down to the river. The strange noise from the sky was getting nearer
now and he wanted to see what it was.
“Lundy” Joey’s voice was nothing more than a whisper
now.
“Yeah?” Levon closed his eyes fighting a sudden wave
of dizzyness.
“Your head is bleeding.”
“I know.”
“Don’t fall asleep.”
Levon chuckled. “I know,
Joey, I know... Y’all stay awake too, now, ya hear?”
There was no answer, only a faint pressure on his fingers.
Levon grasped his friend’s hand tighter, and he didn’t let go, not even when help
finally arrived.
Down by the river, a helicopter landed, watched closely
by a mountain lion up on a nearby boulder.
oooo0000oooo
‘I've put my trust in you
Pushed as far as I can go
And for all this
There's only one thing you
should know…’
oooo0000oooo
Joe Bill McCandless kneeled beside his two wounded friends
and took Levon’s hand off Joey’s wound.
“No!” Lundy muttered, half unconscious. “Need to stop
the bleedin’”
“It’s alright, Levon, the paramedics are here. Let them
take a look!”
“No… need to stop…”
Two rescue unit members took Joey’s still body off Levon’s
arms. He tried to stop them but wasn’t strong enough to even complain. Esteban
helped Joe Bill and they lay Levon on the ground to be looked after by a medic.
Two others were tending to Joey’s wounds.
One knee on the ground, Joe Bill sat still watching and
suddenly closed his eyes, disturbed by all the blood that covered both of his
friends. He had some in his own hands too. Joey’s blood.
How could this have happened?
How had things turned out like this?
If only they had gotten there sooner. If only they hadn’t
wasted so much time trying to find this guy back in the city. If only he had followed
his instincts! If only...
He felt a hand upon his shoulder and opened his eyes
to see Esteban staring back at him. “Hey, amigo,” he said, “You ought to be thinking
how lucky we are to have found them in time!”
“Yeah.” Joe Bill nodded. “You’re right, amigo.”
The man who had led them to their friends was standing
a little apart from the rest of the rescue unit, watching. Esteban helped his
friend up and started walking toward the Native American that had turned up at
the ranger’s post just when they thought everything was lost. Joe Bill and Esteban
had arrived at the cabin hours before, right after the storm had ended, and had
started searching for their friends. A ranger unit had contacted them, alerted
by Joanne’s father, and they had picked them up and taken them to the post. They
had been looking for Joey and Levon on the helicopter for hours, but there was
so much land to cover! So little time!
Then a tall Sioux had walked through the door.
They were really grateful to this man, more than he could
possibly know.
“Thank you.” Joe Bill stood beside Gordon as they watched
the medics work. “We would have lost them without you!”
“Oh, don’t mention it.” Gordon smiled, “I’m glad I could
help.” He had told them all about Joey’s adventure the previous night and how
they had followed Levon’s trail in the morning. Both Joe Bill and Esteban were
marvelled.
“However,” Lightfoot continued, “It was Igmutaka who
led us to them. I lost Joe in the river.”
“Igmu… who?” Esteban asked exchanging looks with his
partner.
Gordon paused for a minute, his eyes traveling to a high
rock where two yellow eyes watched them with great curiosity. Joe Bill and Esteban
saw the big cat. They had all followed it after Gordon jumped off the helicopter
and yelled ‘This way!’
“I told Joe that the land out here is noble,” Lightfoot
spoke again, “it wouldn’t take your friends’ lives!” he smiled at the two men
beside him. “You should thank the land!”
Joe Bill and Esteban stared at the big man in awe. “What?”
Joe Bill asked.
“It is good land, noble land, life flourishes all over
it,” he said pointing at the trees and plants around them. “It is a good mother,
this land; it took care of your friends. You should thank the land for that, you
should thank the noble land.”
Joe Bill and Esteban exchanged looks again, then they
stared at the people frantically working to save their friends and then at Joey
and Levon themselves, all covered in blood, both sleeping, both alive.
Without thinking they spoke at the same time. “Thank
you noble land.”
Gordon let out a big laugh as the rescue crew began loading
the two injured friends into the helicopter.
Joe Bill, Esteban and Gordon watched them work and then
walked to the chopper themselves.
“Gordon Lightfoot?” Joe Bill suddenly asked. “Ain’t that
a folk singer?”
“Yeah,” the Sioux replied as they walked. “We were baptized
in the same church.”
Esteban chuckled as he climbed into the helicopter.
“What?” Joe Bill asked.
“Never mind. I’m an Indian; he’s a Hobbit.” He climbed
and sat next to the Mexican. Joe Bill climbed last and the chopper began it’s
ascent.
“What?” he asked again, totally confused.
The helicopter flew away. Down on the ground, a mountain
lion watched it fly until it vanished and then set out to look for some lunch.
But in the end, It doesn't even matter
I had to fall, To lose it all,
But in the end, It doesn't even matter.’
Well, this was long! I hope y’all liked
it.
Feedback is Oh SO welcome! (Killash_tg@yahoo.com) Tell me if you liked it, PLEASE! I’ve been away from writing
for too long now, tell me if I should rethink my life choices.
Finished June 5th, 2002 at 2:47 a.m.
‘I want to thank my manager, for all his support that he’s given
me, as a person and as a player, and I want to thank my teammates and the rooters
and the fans for keepin’ us going all through the championship and forcin’ us
to give a 110 percent… and I want to thank my drama teacher for the words of encouragement
and the hours and hours of constructive criticism and strip poker (smmack, kiss,
blow) and I also wanna thank my mom and all the cast and crew of the show, the
roadies, the tour manager and the judges for bein’ there when they were needed
and bringing the tweezers… that was important! I also want to say ‘special thanks’
to Madam Pomfrey for mending all my broken bones so fast, Gred and Forge Weasley
for keeping the bludgers off me while I wrote this story and Oliver Wood, our
keeper, for keeping the hoops protected throughout the whole game!
And of course I want
to thank… the lion… without “whom” this thing would’a never ever happened. Growl!
Thanks and goodnight!
Back to you, Casey!’
*No mountain lions were harmed during the
production of this work of fiction. The Hat, however, was totalled, no matter
what Levon keeps saying.
*Gordon Lightfoot appears courtesy of “Cuandoeltecolotecanta Productions”. He’s
not really that tall, but he insisted.
The song “In the End” is by Linking Park. They sang all the way through
the whole fanfic. Lets give’em a big round of applause!
...and
the Storyteller closes the book.
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