Hunger

By Joshua Beavers

"Goddam it Sammy drive on the right side of the road" said Kurt in the driver's side of the '69 Cadillac.

"There's nobody out here, why should I drive on the right side?"

"Because someone could come and smack us"

"Yeah, someone like who?" said Sammy as he tipped back a bottle of Southern comfort and sucked down a warm mouthful.

"Like that ten-foot-tall guy standing over there."

"Kurt, you're seeing things again, I told you that meat was bad."

"Just try to drive safely." Kurt said as the two of them blew over the dry, dusty, desert road. The hot sun beat down of their oversized monstrosity of a car, the air over the road rippled in the Arizonian heat.

"Man, Kurt, I'm stuffed."

"While I told you not to eat so much," he looked over at Sammy. "You're gonna throw-up aren't ya?" Sammy made that gut-wrenching noise that only exists before a pile of chunks."Could you at least do that over the side." He leaned over the side of the speeding convertible and unloaded his dinner in a straight row down the dry, orange road. He propped himself back up on his hot vinyl seat and threw back another warm slug of Southern comfort.

"YEEH-HAW" Kurt screamed in a vibrating voice. "Are we living or what?" Sammy peered sadly into his empty bottle.

"We got any more of this sweet, sweet stuff?"

"Try the cooler back there" Kurt said as Sammy reached behind the seat and momentarily lost control of the car. The wheels left the narrow path of rough sand and swerved onto the smooth sand. Sammy plucked a cold bottle out of the cooler and returned his attention to the road. The wheels met the rough sand again.

"You know what I could go for right now?" asked Sammy.

"What?"

"A nice swim in a cold pond, or something"

"Yeah, that'd be nice."

Sammy stuck the end of the bottle in his mouth and pulled it out with the cap remaining between his front teeth.

"Stop the car!", yelled Kurt. The car skidded and fish-tailed a little and came to a stop in the middle of the reddish-brown panorama. "You almost hit that ten-foot-tall guy, goddamit, watch where you're going."

"Sorry" Sammy apologized, stepping out of the car and placing his foot into the heat-rippled air and tilted back another slug of Southern comfort. "Man, I'm getting hungry"

"You just ate, and threw-up"

"I GOTTA EAT!" he yelled, his voice now slurred.

"Okay, settle down buddy, we'll get something, just calm down." said Kurt. "Do you see that oasis over there?"

"No, I don't see any damn oasis" Sammy said as his voice started to crack into a helpless cry. Kurt pointed to a blue and green blur that he thought he could see. "Oh, that oasis." said Sammy as he started to run wobbly over to the blur in the distance, Kurt followed close behind him. They ran until the adrenaline kicked in and Kurt doubled over with cramps.

"There is no oasis, Sam."

"Where'd the car go?" he asked panicking. "Where’s the car? We gotta find the car." Kurt pointed his reassuring finger towards the big monstrosity glimmering in the distance, and they began to walk towards it.

The buzz of an airplane began to get closer to them. Sammy looked up and was met by the sun. "Ahh, shit" he cried out.

They got back to the car and climbed back onto the vinyl seats, they had taken the precaution of placing towels on the seats so not to burn themselves.

"Let's rock this thing" Sammy screamed as he stomped the gas pedal and kicked up a cloud of dust behind the car.

"Kurt, Why do we do this all the time, eh?"

"Because, we gotta eat don't we?"

"While, yeah, but..."

"But nothing, besides you gotta love the weather"

"Yeah, you're right." Sammy said throwing his second empty bottle into the hot, empty abyss.

Up ahead they could see a rusty sign in the desert. "Welcome to Wickton" population 100. It was a well-deserved break for the two care-free men. The scorched road continues through the town and kept going. The sides of the road were lined with broken-down houses made from wood that had rotted over the years. A patch of wind mills resided on the east of the town to provide electricity to the 75 air conditioners.

"Hey, do you think we'll find some food in here?" asked Sammy anxiouly.

"Yeah,with a population of 100, there better be."

"I haven't eaten since the last town. What did you think of that?"

"It wasn't bad, maybe a little fatty." said Kurt as the pair blew past the sign kicking up a cloud of dust that settled on the already dusty sign. Sammy threw back another swig. The denizens rushed out of their homes and stood on their verandas. Their eyeswide open and jaws extended to the ground.

"There's a lot of people in this little town, eh?" said Sammy as he tried to conceal a sly grin blooseming out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yeah, this should be good."

The people came out of their homes as the Caddilac drove down the road at parade-speed. They pulled up infront of a store where there was an old, thin looking man standing infront gawking at the unexpected trvellers. The two men stepped out of their huge car and onto the dusty, desert road.

"Hey there" said Kurt.

"G'afternoon" said the man apprehensively.

"It's kinda hot out here, don't ya think?" Sammy said as he stepped up onto the porch infront of the store and walked closer to the old man.

"Hey, hey now boys, I don't want no trouble."

"We're not looking for any trouble" said Kurt reassuringly.

"Well, we don't get much visitors 'round here, it's a pretty small town ya know"

"Yeah, we're just out on a drive looking for some food" Kurt said.

"Well, if it's food yer looking for, Elly's is just down the road a few."

"Thanks, we'll try there then, see ya." Sammy said politely. The man starred at them with suspicious and squinted eyes.

Kurt and Sammy walked off the porch and stepped onto the dust. They walked silently towards the old two-storey building down the road. They stopped in front of it and stepped into the crowded bar and grill. The smell of raw meat and stale smoke wafted up their nostrils. They spotted a burley-looking man sitting at the bar. Across the bar from him was where the bartender cleaning glasses with an old dish rag. The two of them walked across the worn and creaky wooden floor and sat down five seats from the burley guy.

"Excuse me barkeep" Kurt said. The bartender slowly accelerated from standing to walking as he lurched toward them.

"Can I help you?"

"I'll have a whiskey,"

"Any thing for your friend?"

"No thanks" said Sammy. The barkeeper walked back to the stacked up bottles behind him. He reached his arm to the back of the rows of bottles and picked out a full bottle of whiskey. He grabbed a shot glass with one of his stubby fingers and filled it with the sweet alcohol. The whiskey splashed onto the walnut bar when he slammed the glass down.

"Thanks" said Kurt.

The burley man shifted his eyes toward the newcomers. "Hey, you're those folks with the fancy car, ain't ya?"

"Yeah that's us, nice little town you guys got here."

"Yep, it's not bad."

"So what do you do?" asked Sammy anxious for an answer.

"I work a ranch a mile out of here, a lot of heavy lifting" he said starting to smile. Sammy did the same out of courtesy. "Excuse me a minute, I gotta use the can." he said as he got up from his chair and walked across the crowded, smoke-filled room to the door with the mens sign.

"What do you think?" asked Sammy.

"I think it's worth it, let's go" Kurt replied. They got of their seats and invited the burly man to a game of pool, he accepted. They walked through the stale cigarette smoke and found a table in the pungent fog.

"You guys any good?" he asked.

"We don't play much, but we're okay," replied Kurt.

The burly man lay his cue in front of the off-white ball and rapidly added another blue chalk mark to it. The springy sound of billiard balls sounded and the once-triangular grouping of balls had exploded onto the pool table.

"Damn, didn't get nothing that time." said the man.

Kurt grabbed the cue from Sammy and dropped an easy one in the left corner pocket. A solitary ball sat at the far end of the green table. He pulled back the wooden handle and prepared himself for a burst of power. The end of the cue shot forth from his fingers and dug itself into the green felt. An inch-long mark appeared right where the cue was.

"What the hell's wrong with you, look what you done." exclaimed the burly man.

"It was an accident," said Kurt begging.

"Hey officer, come over here" he said signaling a lone officer sitting at the long bar. He walked over to the three men standing around the table. "See what these guys done, they tore up Elly's table here."

"We don't take to kindly to strangers, especially the ones who vandalize Elly's," he said squinting his eyes at the two ashamed men, their gaze pointed downwards. "You two are going to the jail." he said as he slapped the cuffs on their wrists and dragged them away.

"Aw, come on, it was an accident," pleaded Kurt.

"Accident or not, you two are going to the jail." he said authoritatively.

The jail was only two buildings down the dusty road and it only took them a minute to get there. No one talked the for the entire minute, but the two law breakers did size up the officer. He was about 200 pounds, 6 feet tall. They knew they couldn't get away from that kind of creature.

They arrived at the wooden doors of the jail and were marched in and shoved into the cell.

"What's the bail?" asked Sammy reluctantly.

"Bail, there ain't no bail,"

"While then, when do we get out of here?" asked Kurt exasperated.

"When I say so" he said turning his head back to his issue of Asimov's.

Sammy and Kurt crept back into the back corner of the cell and murmured.

"Kurt, I'm getting hungry again," said Sammy.

* * *

The glimmering Caddilac sped across the desert, the two happy, almost euphoric, men inside licked the fleshy bits from their hands.

"That'll teach them townsfolk not to screw with us, eh?"

"Sure will, well, at least that officer"

Kurt pushed the gas pedal to the floor and the Caddilac took off into the red desert sun.

The End

Josh Beavers is a new writer who has written several short stories. He currently runs an E-zine of his own and spends most his time with his schoolwork.

E-mail: rapmaster47@hotmail.com

URL: http://josh225.freeservers.com//zine.html