Author's Note:35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvMmHYwFlTT
Thank you for getting this far into the story! I promise that that a lot of your outstanding questions will answered in time. Hang in there.
Inside the tiny shack was just as simple as its owner. A wooden chair hugged a small table across the room and a sheet hammock hung slack behind it. To his left at the entrance stood a wood burning stove with an iron skillet resting atop it. A light layer of desert dust coated the room, apparently free-flowing from the window whenever a light wind would visit the home.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjEHhLqUMm7
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl7SqyNu6Hx
In the center of the room was an upside down clay flower pot, spot lit by the rays pouring in from the gap left in the shutters on the window.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡdazDfYuUeb
It was small, with enamel glaze or flowers on the outside that looked to be painted by a child. It rested on the dirt floor with a long crack down the side and paint that chipped at the edges. Still, Zeph decided to carefully walk around it and sit at the table.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSwvoeg3Ps
Only moments passed before the man pushed open the shack door and took a few steps into the room. He spared a look at Zeph, sitting bare-cheeked in his only chair, before wordlessly shaking his head and setting down his things.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0k31IIpfbj
Zeph impatiently bounced his leg, watching the man set his basket on the ground next to the table and move around a pot and some utensils as if he was preparing to cook. He was rough looking; a thick raggy shirt draped from his shoulders and thicker pants clung drying mud to the fabric around his knees. He bore an unkempt, mostly grey beard and matching long grey hair that hid his aging face, leaving only his dark brown eyes and sun-spotted nose exposed to the elements.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5PbC5tEuiU
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TVsEaswfl
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqTlU1ysal5
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡG4g0sgvcwF
It took a longer moment than Zeph would like to admit before he understood the man’s meaning before responding,“I have nothing to give.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEbSbAPFotF
“And you get that in return,” but just as the man finished his sentence, movement caught Zeph’s eye from the center of the room.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfK8FzK8E2B
The pot wiggled.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1E9FnaOCHd
The man spun around, quickly slicked back some droopy curls from his forehead and dropped to all fours, his head mere inches from the flower pot. With a free hand, he gently lifted it from the ground revealing a tiny, pinky-capped mushroom.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ07XkKhXhUN
The man drew his face so close to the mushroom that he nearly touched it with his nose, eyes crossed as he watched it. He listened to it. He paused for a moment before he spoke.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmyFFfXkwvu
“Well sure but he isn't a ‘somebody’, neither.” The man addressed the fungus, straining his eyes to maintain focus on it. Zeph watched the man speak to the mushroom in the middle of the room and began to wonder if entering this shack was a mistake.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN5epTaUNOA
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡP3Wf8fg88k
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDQ6adQ8gWh
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUUNtWKDx9W
“I guess that's true.” Seemingly satisfied, the mushroom man stood up, leaving the clay pot next to the mushroom. He turned around to fetch a small cup full of well water from a bucket in the corner.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvLVqui4p25
“Go ahead and grab my spare garment from the chest behind you.” He sprinkled water and bone dust on the soil around the mushroom and replaced the clay pot.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiIotGVO4ha
It took a moment for Zeph to realize the man was talking to him now. He looked behind the chair and found a small wooden chest on the floor. He retrieved the only set of clothes inside.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0QPG4cd2Ns
While Zeph was busy getting dressed, the mushroom man skirted around him to his favorite and only chair. He spared a moment of still reprieve before bringing himself to use a small cloth to wipe the dubious shapes Zeph left behind in the dust with his naked rear.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0qeRfMdfEX
“Baker,” the old man began. He pinched out the rest as he sat, enduring the creak of his old bones, “hadn’t been so busy before late.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4Gns742e2v
“Who’s Baker?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnIWuENDMfV
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJD7xjKZNWW
“Aint a ‘who.’ Baker’s a town about 3 miles north from here,” he scratched some dirt free from his beard before continuing, pointing a weathered finger in various directions as he explained. “First, some dead Laudendales two nights back. Then a poor farmer’s family there on one side of town, same night. Wuddn’t but last night that the banker, Crock, and his wife on the other side turn up dead in the most heinous. Lotta dead folk. Lotta strangers.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCmBecRwXRf
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvzklZs8mVn
“Trouble ain't something you bring along with you. I got a feeling trouble is sumin’ you gon find,” he took a visual inventory of the oversized clothes cascading over Zeph’s body. “Stranger.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0gg4kAJQFW
“I’m trying to find a lost boy. He’s the one in trouble. Is there anyone else new to town? It would have been last night, I think.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡexO5WHlgmd
“Well, it wuddn’t no ‘last night’ but they say a stranger came from the forest. A boy, but he’s wanted by the sheriff.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSKZmB0ajTm
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJDDHZa5c9z
“Well, if’n you know the boy, you oughta get to town and state a case for ‘em. Though, he might get hanged ‘fore then.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJbFEF5ZpaO
Zeph’s arms dropped.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhPjgJsQthJ
Without a word he sprinted out the door back into the savanna. The man looked down introspectively until the sound of footsteps came back to his door as quickly as they left. Zeph came bursting back through the door.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡrlZ3lu2FUK
“Which way is Baker again?”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ89oENKajt3
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTH2QgStY56
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡyzv61IqQUL
Zeph heard it but dismissed it for the crazed rambling of a dessert loner. If he found Dylan, he has no intention of staying here. Wherever here was. He doubted he would ever see that little shack ever again.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQ6auBoXudI
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.
Inside the tiny shack was just as simple as its owner. A wooden chair hugged a small table across the room and a sheet hammock hung slack behind it. To his left at the entrance stood a wood burning stove with an iron skillet resting atop it. A light layer of desert dust coated the room, apparently free-flowing from the window whenever a light wind would visit the home.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡn7xkG2e3dJ
In the center of the room was an upside down clay flower pot, spot lit by the rays pouring in from the gap left in the shutters on the window.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsCyOUeeCHP
It was small, with enamel glaze or flowers on the outside that looked to be painted by a child. It rested on the dirt floor with a long crack down the side and paint that chipped at the edges. Still, Zeph decided to carefully walk around it and sit at the table.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5cD1Pi2MWr
Only moments passed before the man pushed open the shack door and took a few steps into the room. He spared a look at Zeph, sitting bare-cheeked in his only chair, before wordlessly shaking his head and setting down his things.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNdDYUPY3Bw
Zeph impatiently bounced his leg, watching the man set his basket on the ground next to the table and move around a pot and some utensils as if he was preparing to cook. He was rough looking; a thick raggy shirt draped from his shoulders and thicker pants clung drying mud to the fabric around his knees. He bore an unkempt, mostly grey beard and matching long grey hair that hid his aging face, leaving only his dark brown eyes and sun-spotted nose exposed to the elements.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaDH4wJVkcP
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡH6zSaIWKTH
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lhV57UKtu
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5vlstU1HTu
It took a longer moment than Zeph would like to admit before he understood the man’s meaning before responding,“I have nothing to give.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKzuqU6sF1r
“And you get that in return,” but just as the man finished his sentence, movement caught Zeph’s eye from the center of the room.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8Wz29sks7U
The pot wiggled.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLkttvI0YCH
The man spun around, quickly slicked back some droopy curls from his forehead and dropped to all fours, his head mere inches from the flower pot. With a free hand, he gently lifted it from the ground revealing a tiny, pinky-capped mushroom.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBh6uBpFbIL
The man drew his face so close to the mushroom that he nearly touched it with his nose, eyes crossed as he watched it. He listened to it. He paused for a moment before he spoke.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1MSybDSuVy
“Well sure but he isn't a ‘somebody’, neither.” The man addressed the fungus, straining his eyes to maintain focus on it. Zeph watched the man speak to the mushroom in the middle of the room and began to wonder if entering this shack was a mistake.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡky7bpQwMeJ
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIjAqA5vqSX
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡd8iExEqmqn
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYdVFAF6Vr2
“I guess that's true.” Seemingly satisfied, the mushroom man stood up, leaving the clay pot next to the mushroom. He turned around to fetch a small cup full of well water from a bucket in the corner.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNUhCRZja2L
“Go ahead and grab my spare garment from the chest behind you.” He sprinkled water and bone dust on the soil around the mushroom and replaced the clay pot.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZfISUJFdYC
It took a moment for Zeph to realize the man was talking to him now. He looked behind the chair and found a small wooden chest on the floor. He retrieved the only set of clothes inside.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqFEi3oh7gD
While Zeph was busy getting dressed, the mushroom man skirted around him to his favorite and only chair. He spared a moment of still reprieve before bringing himself to use a small cloth to wipe the dubious shapes Zeph left behind in the dust with his naked rear.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYB12Y8qRrK
“Baker,” the old man began. He pinched out the rest as he sat, enduring the creak of his old bones, “hadn’t been so busy before late.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2grZA3wBgH
“Who’s Baker?”35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDcKdMJBlYL
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡa2iV59e4Mh
“Aint a ‘who.’ Baker’s a town about 3 miles north from here,” he scratched some dirt free from his beard before continuing, pointing a weathered finger in various directions as he explained. “First, some dead Laudendales two nights back. Then a poor farmer’s family there on one side of town, same night. Wuddn’t but last night that the banker, Crock, and his wife on the other side turn up dead in the most heinous. Lotta dead folk. Lotta strangers.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ24PEbiuL9O
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJzee57B0ig
“Trouble ain't something you bring along with you. I got a feeling trouble is sumin’ you gon find,” he took a visual inventory of the oversized clothes cascading over Zeph’s body. “Stranger.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEDa0i49cok
“I’m trying to find a lost boy. He’s the one in trouble. Is there anyone else new to town? It would have been last night, I think.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡq9X38HALcl
“Well, it wuddn’t no ‘last night’ but they say a stranger came from the forest. A boy, but he’s wanted by the sheriff.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTVQZKNFzvj
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡycG8epOEjl
“Well, if’n you know the boy, you oughta get to town and state a case for ‘em. Though, he might get hanged ‘fore then.”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGoFAH6HUVq
Zeph’s arms dropped.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡu9PGjO2nEj
Without a word he sprinted out the door back into the savanna. The man looked down introspectively until the sound of footsteps came back to his door as quickly as they left. Zeph came bursting back through the door.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVdUyOOnrFo
“Which way is Baker again?”
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCqhAnWm7eR
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4jG7fVFIOq
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmVCAqaWAmr
Zeph heard it but dismissed it for the crazed rambling of a dessert loner. If he found Dylan, he has no intention of staying here. Wherever here was. He doubted he would ever see that little shack ever again.
35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9gBcQBci1A
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.35Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSn0U14puvV
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