End Of The Year Collection - 2014

by Spain, Laura

  out to where the night was darkest, so they could see.

  But no one could guess which of the fireflies

  pinned against the sky was still alive.

  Earlier, a boy in the outfield couldn’t quite grasp

  the gravity of fireballs. He stared at the white,

  secret sky until the crack and howl of a well-swung bat

  awoke him.

  The brown, scuffed baseball hung against the clouds

  before diving down, burying its nose into the plain

  of his leather glove. Cradling his hand,

  he let the ball roll out, onto the earth,

  and watched as it spun and crushed the grass.

  * * * *

  Seventh day: the last corner-store open

  still has a little flour, a little wine.

  Martha began taking the brightest, gleaming rings,

  pendants, brooches and cuff-links,

  picking them out of the curtain-red, velvet grooves

  of the jeweler’s display cases,

  delivering them down into a pillow case.

  As she approached her brother’s home,

  her nieces were already waiting by the window,

  shocked alive by the sheer size

  of her sagged and stretching cargo.

  Their mouths jammed up with pseudonyms,

  the longest princess names they could conceive,

  sweet enough to glue in gems on a bedroom door.

  As her brother divided the last of the good port,

  Martha saved out a single rose-gold ring,

  and turned it in her palm.

  John tossed the keys to Martha the night before.

  He never wanted to be a jeweler, he said,

  turning a compass in his hands.

  In the morning, he found her address

  in lipstick on the walls.

  Leaving the shop behind like an empty ring box,

  John walked out to dump his one-man tent

  and pack silk ties instead,

  marking a new x on an old map.

  * * * * *

  Twelfth day: Wormwood has begun

  to cast his own shadows.

  1:08 am, wandering in a ditch-effort to find

  a half-eaten meal, or a bottle of water,

  a seminarian kicks around the debris

  outside a grocery store, unconvinced.

  A thousand animals there before

  ground the broken glass into coarse sand.

  Now only a grasshopper twitches across the rubble,

  which ripples gently through his eyes.

  The ocean now under his feet splashes

  when he kicks at it, scattering the liquid garnet-drops

  and ruby globs so they splash and peal.

  A silver fish twists under the surface and rockets,

  bursting into feathers as it ruptures the atmosphere

  to encircle Wormwood’s fire. Too dark against the meteor,

  the bird unfolds its arms. A gull scream echoes

  and the seminarian stops, unsure in his vertigo and

  hunger if a man stares at him, hanging in the red sky.

  Her face streaked in sharp relief,

  a young girl strains her neck to see

  the second sun from a small, barred

  basement window. A foot scuffs a wooden stair.

  Too heavy to leap, she carries herself

  into her rusted, wheezing bed to draw

  a horse blanket over her back and head.

  With a faint tick behind the padlocked door,

  the single light, a bulb in a yellow, paper star

  shudders on. Having nothing left to give the unborn,

  she closes her eyes to beg the falling star itself

  for swift delivery; for the cleanliness

  that can only come from fire.

  The MoPac Trail

  by Aaron M. Wilson

  Inez Wick pedaled along The MoPac Trail, the Missouri Pacific Railroad’s Omaha Belt Line Trail, which when finished would connect Lincoln with Omaha. The trail would provide bikers with more than seventy miles of continuous car-free bike path. The crushed limestone trail made for an excellent ride, even with street tires. The sound the gravel made was satisfyingly rugged, a rough sort of crunch that one would expect from a much larger vehicle. Inez rode a Surley Big Dummy cargo bike, loaded down with panniers, a duffle bag, a single occupant tent, and two fishing poles. The current section of the trail Inez rode had a line of trees acting as a wind barrier on one side and an open pasture with dairy cattle on the other. And who ever said that Nebraska was flat either never biked it or was geometrically challenged. The MoPac followed a very flat route, but it still had hills. On top of one such hill, at dusk, just at the sun reached its zenith, the curvature of the earth was visible. The MoPac Trail was not the fastest or the most direct route to Lincoln, US 6, Cornhusker Highway, was quicker by bike but less friendly. On the plus side, The MoPac Trail had designated camping sights, one of which was at the bottom of the hill, and daylight was quickly slipping away.

  The campsite was a small barbed wire fenced area just off the side of the path. It was nothing to write home about. The ground was thankfully flat and soft with unkempt grass. In the northeast corner of the campsite stood one lonely blue port-a-potty. In the southwest corner, stacks of wood were piled next to three fire pits made from rings of large limestone. There was one very large tent in the center of camp. Two bikes were locked together to the tent, but no one was in sight.

  Inez quickly constructed her tent away from the fire pits, the potty, and the other campers. The tent went up quickly. It was goldfish yellow and only required two cross poles and seven stakes. She threw her gear inside the tent, including her seat and seat post and both tires. She locked the bike’s frame to tent and tied fishing line to the fork, which she ran in thought the front door.

  As the sun set, Inez succeeded in starting a fire in one of the fire pits to warm a can of soup and cook stick-bread, which was really just a Pillsbury crescent roll wrapped on a to the end of stick and baked over a fire like a marshmallow. While she waited for her bread to cook, she played a few disorganized notes on a one of those Native American reed flutes that she had found on the road a few days back as she had crossed through Iowa. It had taken her a few attempts to even figure out how to get the darn thing to make sound, but she had finally stumbled into a few notes.

  However, her flute playing did get the attention of the other campers. A nude man and woman hurried across the path and into the large tent. Do you think we were seen? I think so. We should go say hello. Can I get some room here? Have you seen my other shoe? Umm, what should we say?

  The sun was down. It was a clear night. The moon was waxing and the stars filled every corner of the sky. Not only were the stars out, but the wide and clear sky also provided an excellent view of the connotations: Orion’s Belt, the Three Sisters, and the Big and Little Dippers.

  So struck by the stars, Inez did not hear her soup boil over, her bread burn to a crisp, or the nudists sit on the other side of the fire. “Oh! Your food!” said the woman. Her hair was long and pulled back at the base of her head. Her eyes were too big for the fine features of her jaw and the straightness of her nose. She wore a light jacket over the typical tight biker clothing that either professional racers wore or the rich and trendy. These folks struck Inez as the latter.

  “Its alright.” Inez took the can of soup off the fire and retrieved what was left of the bread. “I’ve got more bread, and I don’t much care for the soup.” She took out a spoon full of mushy vegetables, blew on it for a few seconds, and ate it. “Seems right enough.”

  This time the man spoke, “If you’d like, we have plenty. I could make you a turkey and cheese sandwich with mustard.” He paused. “The mustard is spicy, FYI.” He looked to the woman and smiled.

  “Thanks, but no turkey.” Inez took a bite of the blackened bread. It made a loud crunch as she bit into
it. She spit it out. Some of center was still editable, so she picked at it before tossing the rest into the cook fire. “The mustard sounds good. I like spicy.”

  The man stood and held out his hand. “Jason.” Inez took it and shook. “And this is my wife, Heidi.”

  “Inez.”

  “Oh!” Heidi asked, “Is that short for something? I had a fr…”

  “Nope. It’s Inez, short for nothing.” She kicked the fire with the toe of her army surplus combat boot.

  Jason left the fire, “I’ll be back with that cheese and mustard sandwich.” He disappeared into the tent.

  “So,” said Heidi, “it is a nice night.”

  Inez nodded and finished what she could of the soup. “It is. I like this trail.” She packed up the rest of her uncooked bread. “Usually, the bread turns out better. I guess I just got lost in the stars.”

  “Sure.” Heidi turned to look at their tent. “Hey, before he comes back, I was wondering if you were okay. I mean, you’re out here all alone and all.” She looked into the fire. “We could help, you know, if you need it?”

  Inez had kept her expressions mild. She knew that she wore her opinions openly, which she hated. The offer of help was kindly given, but Inez was tired of people assuming that a lone woman was always in need of help or worse, saving. Thus, her mild expression darkened into a hate filled scowl.

  “You are in trouble, aren’t you?” Heidi continued. “Well, whatever it is, I’m sure that the three of us can figure it out. You know, we – Jason and I – are good people, and we sometimes think that God is testing us. Most people don’t always see the opportunities that God hands them, but Jason and I, we are constantly vigil, on the look out for tests and situations that require good Christian believers.” She paused and looked at the tent, again. “Are you a believer, Inez? Do you know Jesus?”

  Inez said nothing.

  “I know that I can sometimes be a bit forward. I apologize, but I like to put all my cards on the table, for better or worse. Just the other day, I was minding my own, you know, and there on the corner was this boy. See, this boy, he looked hungry. So, I stopped and asked him. Sure enough, he was. So, I took him to a McDonald’s and got him a burger, fries, and a cold drink. That boy was so thankful that he kissed my cheek. Yes, he did.” She paused. “But, I’m sorry, I seem to be running my mouth, again.” She looked at the tent. “I guess I’m nervous. I get chatty when I’m nervous.”

  Inez continued to look into the fire as she packed a few more things. She avoided eye contact with Heidi.

  Suddenly, the wind was starting to pickup, which blew the flames down to embers. It was warm and from the south. The tall grass rustled and leaned over in the breeze. The air picked up scents of farm life, a heady sent of manure, feed, and diesel.

  Heidi said, “There it is. We were blessed with a day of no wind, odd, but I’m thankful. Riding in the wind is the worst, and,” she shrugged, “it rarely ever stops. Do you get much wind where you’re from?”

  Inez forced a smile, which was obvious. “No, not like this.” The smile disappeared as Jason made his way back to the fire.

  Jason said, “Here, one cheese and mustard, to go.” He laughed, which made Heidi laugh. He was clean-shaven, but had a full head of dark black hair. His eyebrows were manicured, as were his fingernails. He wore a gold ring on his ring finger, but strangely Heidi did not.

  Heidi spoke up, “I was just telling Inez, here, about that time I help that hungry boy.” She cuddled into Jason’s arms after he sat down next to her. “We are always on the lookout for good Christian things to do.”

  Jason nodded and looked at Inez.

  Inez took a bit of the sandwich, chewed, and ducked her head, so Jason and Heidi would not see her spit it out into her hand. “Nice. I like it.” She took another bite and repeated. “I’m tired, I think. I road a long way today, and if you say the wind is bad, tomorrow is going to be hard. So, I’m going to get some rest.” She stood up, but she said before leaving, “Feel free to enjoy the fire.”

  Inez tossed the sandwich behind her tent along with what she had spit into her hand. Then, despite truly being tired, she started to pack the rest of her things. When finished, she turned out the light and lay down. She put her head on one of her bags and held on to a size seventeen cone wrench. She would just close her eyes for a few minutes, let the crazies make their way to their tent, and then quietly strike camp and black track a mile or so and camp in the middle of a field.

  * * * * *

  When Inez woke, her hands were tied behind her back, and she was nude from the waste up. She tried to stand, but her legs were also tied but not so tightly that she was not able to sit up. When she did sit up, she found that she was not in her tent. She was in Heidi’s and Jason’s tent, and they were nude sitting at a folding table playing cards. Inez’s mouth felt like it was stuffed full of cotton, and she coughed.

  Heidi and Jason looked up from their cards. Heidi said, “Well, looks who’s awake.” She got up from the table and walked over to where Inez sat. Nude, Heidi looked fit, as if she took exercise and diet seriously. There did not seem to be an ounce of fat on her lanky frame. “Like I was saying before, I like to watch out for opportunities to help those that God puts in front of me. And,” She looked Inez up and down, “by the look of those tattoos, you are in serious need.”

  Inez’s body was covered in tattoos. The most intricate were her arms, which were covered from her wrists to her shoulders in dark green vines and various flowers. However, she had others, including a large Tree of Life on her back, the phrase “Natural Woman” under one arm, EarthFirst!’s logo on one wrist, and others colorful designs on her ribs and abdomen.

  Jason got up and joined Heidi. He was less fit, but he was still healthy. His body was covered in think dark black curls that matched the hair on his head. However, it looked as if he kept all that hair under some kind of control; looked sculpted for effect. As he stood over Inez, Heidi ran a hand through the hair on his chest down to his erect penis. She took hold of it and squeezed. Jason said, “We are going to help you, young lady. Everyone needs to know what kind of woman you are, so they don’t go and waste good cheese on you.” He reached down to grab hold of Inez’s legs.

  Inez squirmed and kicked, but Jason got hold of the rope and jerked it so that Inez was pulled off balance and flopped onto her side. Inez still felt dizzy, but her wits were returning quickly. She felt for the small knife she kept tucked in her back pocket. The knife was there. She kicked again, while attempting to unbutton the pocket containing the blade. Jason jerked her off the ground and put her into a folding chair.

  Jason said, “Sit and receive the Lord’s message.” Then, he backhanded her.

  Inez let her head hang to the side and her eyes close. She stayed as still and as limp as she could after being hit. Only her fingers moved around the button on her pocket, which she was finally able to unfasten. With the knife in hand, she waited with her eyes closed.

  “Is she out again?” asked Heidi. “She needs to be awake. Jesus hates those who sleep through church.” She walked up to Inez and stomped on her foot.

  What followed was a flurry of action, starting with Inez releasing the knife’s blade. The knife made an audible click and metal on metal sliding sound. Next, Inez sprang up and spun, the blade extended as far out as she could with her arms bound behind her back and sliced Heidi across the stomach. Heidi fell clutching the wound with both hands as blood gushed out and on to the ground. Jason ran to Heidi’s aid, while Inez used the knife to remove her bonds. Without saying a word, Inez stepped up behind Jason and slit his throat. Jason fell to the ground as Heidi, on her back, tried to scoot away from Inez. Inez took two steps and plunged the blade into Heidi’s chest. Heidi trashed for a couple of seconds and then lay still. Inez retrieved her knife, wiped it off, and put it back into her pocket.

  Inez sat back down in the chair. Jason was still bleeding out. Inez opened the cooler next to the chair and found a can of mine
ral water. She opened it and drank while keeping one eye on Jason. Her eyes were heavy and as the adrenaline left her system, her body started to ache. She allowed herself the time it took to finish the water before stumbling back into action.

  She took off the rest of her blood stained clothes. Heidi, although several inches taller, seemed to be about Inez’s build. Inez found Heidi’s things and took what seemed to fit. Inez was lucky in that all of Heidi’s clothes were made from an elastic fabric, so they might have been too long in the legs and the arms, but they fit Inez’s frame snugly. Inez was not a fan of white anything, but she could not really be picky at that moment.

  After finding a few things to wear, Inez checked on Jason. He lay still. Satisfied that they were both dead. Inez found a small bag of charcoal and set it aside. She left the tent for a bit of fresh air. In the east, the sun was just beginning to lighten the horizon.

  Inez worked quickly. She took down her own tent and packed her things on to her bike. She put her bike and things into the tent. Then, she brought both Heidi’s and Jason’s bike inside. Once inside, she pushed everything away from the center, so that they bikes gear and bodies formed a large square inside the tent. The inside of the tent looked a like a storm had erupted and flung everything aside.

  * * * * *

  The next three days passed in a blur of sleep and digging. When Inez was awake, she was digging with the emergency collapsible shovel that was usually her no-trace camping tool for digging and covering her waste and fires. It was a poor tool for what she was using it for now. She was digging a very large pit. Thus far, she had created the edges and scooped about three feet from the surface. The ground was hard, much of it clay and sod. But, Inez was being careful to leave the sod and grass in large unbroken chunks, so that she could place them back on top when she was finished.

  At the end of the third day, she had completed the hole. It was three feet square and five feet deep. The first things that Inez tossed inside were the bodies that she had stuffed into their respective sleeping bags to keep them from smelling up the tent. After the bodies went the bikes. It was a shame to see such nice machines wasted, but what was done could not be undone. Once the bodies and bikes were in the pit, she worked on arranging the rest of their gear; it all fit, but just barely. There was even just room for the tent along one side when it was time to bring it down.