WEBVTT 1 00:00:08.320 --> 00:00:12.560 Let's depart for one podcast and get away from the 2 00:00:12.640 --> 00:00:17.039 monster stories and the bigfoot stories and the werewolf stories 3 00:00:17.079 --> 00:00:21.800 and ghost stories and read something that's just normal. What 4 00:00:21.839 --> 00:00:24.719 you're about to hear are the first few scenes from 5 00:00:24.760 --> 00:00:28.960 a novel titled Salvaged this World by the author Michael 6 00:00:29.000 --> 00:00:31.760 Ferris Smith. When I'm done reading this, I'll talk to 7 00:00:31.800 --> 00:00:34.200 you a little more about what you're about to hear. 8 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:44.520 So here we go. She stood bathed in twilight, the 9 00:00:44.640 --> 00:00:46.840 dust in her hair and a kid on her hip. 10 00:00:47.359 --> 00:00:50.240 She stared at the approaching storm as if trying to 11 00:00:50.280 --> 00:00:53.439 figure how to wrangle the thunderheads and steer them to 12 00:00:53.560 --> 00:00:57.159 a distant and parched land where desperate souls would pay 13 00:00:57.159 --> 00:01:01.880 whatever ransom she demanded. The acres of sugar cane cutting 14 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:05.599 up surrounding the house. A dry autumn turned to an 15 00:01:05.680 --> 00:01:10.599 unpredictable winter, and then, eleven days ago, he left, and 16 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:14.599 she'd seen no one since it was a mile walk 17 00:01:14.640 --> 00:01:18.159 along the dirt road that separated the acreage. Another eight 18 00:01:18.239 --> 00:01:21.400 miles to walk to the nearest telephone, but even if 19 00:01:21.439 --> 00:01:24.079 she wanted to bundle up and make it, she wouldn't 20 00:01:24.079 --> 00:01:27.799 know who to call. He was gone, and he had 21 00:01:27.799 --> 00:01:31.079 taken the car and the cigarettes and every dollar except 22 00:01:31.120 --> 00:01:34.560 the stash she kept hidden beneath the floorplank in the closet. 23 00:01:35.480 --> 00:01:37.879 She had finished the last of the whiskey three nights 24 00:01:37.920 --> 00:01:42.920 before the milk had run out. Yesterday, Jesse stared at 25 00:01:42.920 --> 00:01:45.159 the storm, and the wind began to blow, and dust 26 00:01:45.159 --> 00:01:48.719 clouds rose like souls awakened, and she listened to the 27 00:01:48.760 --> 00:01:52.920 wind and welcomed the sound of something else. She shifted 28 00:01:52.920 --> 00:01:55.400 the child from one hip to the other and pointed 29 00:01:55.439 --> 00:01:57.840 out at the lightning, and said, look at the light. 30 00:01:58.159 --> 00:02:01.480 Can you see the light? One side of the sky 31 00:02:01.680 --> 00:02:04.239 was thick with storm clouds, and the other side of 32 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:07.400 the sky was wrapped in a rusted belt that bled 33 00:02:07.439 --> 00:02:10.639 into the horizon like an open wound. And the child 34 00:02:10.680 --> 00:02:13.759 lifted his small hand and pointed at the light. But 35 00:02:13.840 --> 00:02:16.360 it was not the lightning he saw, but a gathering 36 00:02:16.400 --> 00:02:20.960 of headlights approaching in the distance. The thunder roared and 37 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:24.120 the engines roared, and she turned and ran for the house, 38 00:02:24.560 --> 00:02:27.639 setting the child down on the porch and hurrying for 39 00:02:27.759 --> 00:02:31.919 the bedroom. Her footfalls hard against the floorboards, and her 40 00:02:31.960 --> 00:02:35.000 breath in quick sucks as she took the pistol from 41 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:37.680 beneath the mattress and grabbed the set of keys from 42 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.199 the dresser drawer that he had always told her to 43 00:02:40.240 --> 00:02:42.520 grab if she had to make a run for it, 44 00:02:42.879 --> 00:02:45.479 And then she hustled out and scooped up the child, 45 00:02:46.759 --> 00:02:49.800 the headlights growing closer and splitting the dusk as she 46 00:02:49.879 --> 00:02:52.719 hurried around the house and along the beaten trail through 47 00:02:52.759 --> 00:02:56.400 the high grass that led into the woods. And she ran, 48 00:02:56.680 --> 00:02:59.280 and the child bounced in her arms, and she had 49 00:02:59.319 --> 00:03:01.599 just reached the edge of the woods when she looked 50 00:03:01.639 --> 00:03:04.280 back to see the vehicles skid to a stop in 51 00:03:04.319 --> 00:03:08.000 front of the house, a pale and powdery cloud rising 52 00:03:08.039 --> 00:03:11.719 around them. She heard the engines cut and the door 53 00:03:11.840 --> 00:03:14.919 slam behind her, and then she heard the shouts coming 54 00:03:14.960 --> 00:03:18.360 in her direction as the last of twilight seeped into 55 00:03:18.479 --> 00:03:22.439 the earth. They called out as they chased her into 56 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:25.199 the woods, and the child squeezed her neck and held 57 00:03:25.240 --> 00:03:28.759 on but did not cry as she ran. She had 58 00:03:28.800 --> 00:03:31.840 gone far into these woods before, but never far enough 59 00:03:31.879 --> 00:03:34.159 to know if there was anything on the other side. 60 00:03:34.800 --> 00:03:37.000 She was seized by the thought that she may run 61 00:03:37.039 --> 00:03:39.080 over the edge of the earth, and that she and 62 00:03:39.159 --> 00:03:44.120 the child would plummet soundlessly into nothing. That thought was 63 00:03:44.159 --> 00:03:47.840 interrupted when a shotgun fired into the night, its echo 64 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:52.759 ringing through the trees. She pushed harder, squeezing the child 65 00:03:52.800 --> 00:03:56.120 close to her chest, praying not to run over the edge, 66 00:03:56.240 --> 00:03:58.479 or if there was such a thing, praying that her 67 00:03:58.520 --> 00:04:03.199 fall would be brief and painless. Another shotgun blast, and 68 00:04:03.240 --> 00:04:06.719 then in another, and she knew they were looking for him. 69 00:04:07.400 --> 00:04:09.840 She knew there was a fine damn reason he had 70 00:04:09.840 --> 00:04:13.319 never returned. She knew she and the child could never 71 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:16.279 go back to the house, and she knew she would 72 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:21.000 have to keep running. They shivered through the night. Jesse 73 00:04:21.319 --> 00:04:24.639 unbuttoned her flannel shirt and held Jase against her skin 74 00:04:25.040 --> 00:04:27.759 and wrapped the shirt around them both, but it did 75 00:04:27.800 --> 00:04:33.120 not stop the shaking. He cried some little whimpers of discomfort, 76 00:04:33.480 --> 00:04:37.600 little whimpers of hunger. She sat on a pile of leaves, 77 00:04:37.639 --> 00:04:40.519 with her back against a white oak and held him tight. 78 00:04:41.279 --> 00:04:45.079 She rocked a little, hummed, and sometimes sang, and she 79 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.680 kept promising that everything was going to be all right. 80 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:52.279 The boy slept in increments, the ragged sleep of distress 81 00:04:52.319 --> 00:04:57.000 and discomfort, and an owl hooted, and nightbirds sang. The 82 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.839 deer moved in the dark, and their creeping sounded like 83 00:05:00.160 --> 00:05:04.560 monsters and wait. She nodded in and out of sleep, 84 00:05:05.040 --> 00:05:08.399 and when her eyes fell heavy, she imagined strong arms 85 00:05:08.439 --> 00:05:11.800 and strong hands reaching for her through the dark, prying 86 00:05:11.839 --> 00:05:15.120 the child from her grasp. She would wake with a 87 00:05:15.199 --> 00:05:18.399 jerk to find herself squeezing the child so tightly that 88 00:05:18.439 --> 00:05:22.480 he was struggling for freedom. She would stroke the back 89 00:05:22.519 --> 00:05:25.040 of his head and coax him back to sleep, and 90 00:05:25.120 --> 00:05:28.360 her eyes stayed open, wide, watching the woods and watching 91 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:31.480 for the arms and hands that approached in her dreams, 92 00:05:32.040 --> 00:05:36.879 but then closing them again. Finally there was light. She 93 00:05:36.959 --> 00:05:39.680 rubbed her eyes and felt the warmth of the child's 94 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:43.600 skin against her own. She did not want to wake him, 95 00:05:43.639 --> 00:05:47.079 so she sat there and watched the morning come, listen 96 00:05:47.160 --> 00:05:49.279 to the chirps and whistles and the movement of the 97 00:05:49.319 --> 00:05:54.040 early creatures. The child lifted its head and coughed, opened 98 00:05:54.040 --> 00:05:58.560 his eyes and looked with question at his mother. She 99 00:05:58.680 --> 00:06:00.720 kissed the boy on top of his ear and said, 100 00:06:00.759 --> 00:06:03.920 it's all right, it's all right. She then tucked the 101 00:06:03.920 --> 00:06:06.480 empty pistol into the back of her pants, and she 102 00:06:06.600 --> 00:06:10.439 started them walking south, believing if she kept walking south 103 00:06:10.519 --> 00:06:14.600 that she would run into de Cambre. Amidst the trees. 104 00:06:14.639 --> 00:06:17.120 She would stop and listen for the hum of the highway, 105 00:06:17.519 --> 00:06:19.480 and set the boy down and rest him in it 106 00:06:19.800 --> 00:06:22.920 and listen. Then he would cry to be carried again, 107 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.240 and she would tell him to hold on, hush a second, 108 00:06:27.160 --> 00:06:29.639 but he was not concerned, and he cried harder and 109 00:06:29.759 --> 00:06:32.920 made little mad fists, and she would pick him up 110 00:06:32.920 --> 00:06:36.839 and start again. In an hour, she came to a clearing, 111 00:06:37.120 --> 00:06:40.800 and the earth grew soft and heavy. The damp ground 112 00:06:40.879 --> 00:06:43.360 sucked at her feet, and she set the child down 113 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:47.319 and retied the laces on her boots. He wabbled and 114 00:06:47.399 --> 00:06:50.639 plopped down on his behind a smack as his ass 115 00:06:50.720 --> 00:06:55.160 hit the wet ground. He screamed something different now from 116 00:06:55.240 --> 00:06:59.040 toddler whimpers. And he screamed and shook and slapped at 117 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:02.399 his own legs, red faced and releasing as much anger 118 00:07:02.600 --> 00:07:05.959 as his little body could muster. And she propped her 119 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:08.639 hands on her hips and looked down at him and said, 120 00:07:08.839 --> 00:07:12.920 let it out, Let it all out, boy, And when 121 00:07:12.920 --> 00:07:15.199 he was done, she reached down and helped him to 122 00:07:15.240 --> 00:07:18.720 his feet. In the back of his pants muddy, he 123 00:07:18.759 --> 00:07:21.199 stood next to her and they both looked out across 124 00:07:21.240 --> 00:07:26.240 the marshland cranes stood on stumps. A flock of blackbirds 125 00:07:26.439 --> 00:07:29.959 rose from a cluster of young cypress and scattered across 126 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:33.639 the low sky, and the sun sat on the horizon 127 00:07:33.720 --> 00:07:37.120 and lathered the Martian gold, and it seemed beautiful to 128 00:07:37.199 --> 00:07:40.759 her in a way she had not expected. But there 129 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:44.199 was no time to admire. The child was now wet 130 00:07:44.519 --> 00:07:47.920 and hungry and cold, and she was hungry and cold, 131 00:07:48.480 --> 00:07:50.839 and she didn't know where they were, but she knew 132 00:07:50.839 --> 00:07:54.959 there was a highway somewhere. They circled around the edge 133 00:07:55.000 --> 00:07:57.439 of the marsh for at least an hour, and crossed 134 00:07:57.439 --> 00:08:01.439 into another wood, where the trees thinned. The sun rose 135 00:08:01.519 --> 00:08:05.240 higher into a blue and cloudless sky, and their pace 136 00:08:05.279 --> 00:08:08.000 had slowed, and the child slept with his head on 137 00:08:08.079 --> 00:08:12.079 his mother's shoulder. The pistol was cold and hard against 138 00:08:12.120 --> 00:08:14.079 the small of her back, and every now and then 139 00:08:14.240 --> 00:08:17.439 she touched the pocket of her jeans, feeling the keys 140 00:08:17.519 --> 00:08:20.680 and making sure she had grabbed them, and it was 141 00:08:20.720 --> 00:08:25.720 not part of some hurried dream. First she saw the smoke, 142 00:08:25.839 --> 00:08:28.319 and she followed it until she was close enough to 143 00:08:28.399 --> 00:08:31.079 smell it. She came to the edge of the woods 144 00:08:31.120 --> 00:08:35.039 and stopped hid herself behind a tree. Saw a small 145 00:08:35.120 --> 00:08:38.720 cabin with smoke rising from its chimney and a trailer 146 00:08:38.759 --> 00:08:42.679 next to it. A truck sat unavidly propped up by 147 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:47.320 a jack, a front tier missing the hood raised behind 148 00:08:47.360 --> 00:08:50.279 a truck, a hatchback sat running and the driver's door 149 00:08:50.440 --> 00:08:53.840 was open, a cloud of exhaust from the tailpipe as 150 00:08:53.879 --> 00:08:57.799 the heat met the coal. A woman stood on the 151 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:01.320 cabin porch with a lit cigarette, and then another woman 152 00:09:01.480 --> 00:09:04.840 joined her. She held a shovel and she leaned it 153 00:09:04.840 --> 00:09:09.559 against the doorframe. They both wore denim jackets with collars 154 00:09:09.600 --> 00:09:12.519 pushed up around their necks, and both stood with their 155 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:17.039 hips propped while they smoked. They talked between inhales and 156 00:09:17.080 --> 00:09:20.879 exhales and one and two word sentences, and when they 157 00:09:20.879 --> 00:09:23.480 were done smoking, they flicked the butts into the dirt, 158 00:09:23.799 --> 00:09:26.480 and one of them yelled out toward the trailer, come on, 159 00:09:26.799 --> 00:09:30.960 we got shit to do. The women then stepped back 160 00:09:30.960 --> 00:09:34.720 inside the cabin, leaving the door open, and Jesse sprinted 161 00:09:34.759 --> 00:09:37.799 from the woods, the child waking with a sudden jolt, 162 00:09:38.039 --> 00:09:40.399 and he let out a cry that she didn't acknowledge 163 00:09:40.399 --> 00:09:43.200 as she darted between old tires and a pile of 164 00:09:43.240 --> 00:09:47.320 firewood and a smoldering heap of trash, and then she 165 00:09:47.399 --> 00:09:49.960 heard the growl as a wolf on a chain rose 166 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:53.600 from slumber and lurched at her backside with its bone 167 00:09:53.639 --> 00:09:57.159 white fangs, only to be held fast by a chain. 168 00:09:58.480 --> 00:10:01.559 She screamed, and the wolf yet, but she didn't slow down, 169 00:10:01.960 --> 00:10:05.200 making it to the hatchback and hopping in, just as 170 00:10:05.200 --> 00:10:08.519 a man in coveralls emerged from the trailer holding a 171 00:10:08.559 --> 00:10:13.399 coffee mug. He sipped and watched dumb eyed, before realizing 172 00:10:13.480 --> 00:10:16.639 that it was a stranger in the car, a stranger 173 00:10:16.759 --> 00:10:21.000 holding a child. He hollered, and two women came from 174 00:10:21.039 --> 00:10:23.080 the cabin, and the three of them came down the 175 00:10:23.159 --> 00:10:27.559 steps and ran for the hatchback. As Jesse shifted into reverse, 176 00:10:27.960 --> 00:10:30.559 the car door opened and flapping like a wing, and 177 00:10:30.600 --> 00:10:34.320 then slamming shut when she hit the brakes, shifted into 178 00:10:34.440 --> 00:10:37.759 drive and stamped the gas, the tires spinning and the 179 00:10:37.799 --> 00:10:40.759 three of them trying to corral the hatchback like some 180 00:10:41.039 --> 00:10:44.879 untamed animal. And as the car raced away from their cries, 181 00:10:45.279 --> 00:10:48.200 a coffee mug crashed on the hood as if dropped 182 00:10:48.240 --> 00:10:51.600 from heaven, just as the tires caught firm on the 183 00:10:51.639 --> 00:10:56.440 gravel road. She drove along the back roads away from 184 00:10:56.480 --> 00:11:01.440 De Cambre and toward Lake Penure, finding a solitary gas 185 00:11:01.519 --> 00:11:04.200 station where she stopped and bought a small bottle of 186 00:11:04.279 --> 00:11:09.120 milk and honey, buns and powdered doughnuts, cigarettes and a lighter, 187 00:11:09.200 --> 00:11:12.039 and a pack of diapers. Then she left the store 188 00:11:12.080 --> 00:11:16.159 and drove east a long highway fourteen, the landscape shifting 189 00:11:16.240 --> 00:11:20.360 from swamp to crops and back to swamp. She turned 190 00:11:20.360 --> 00:11:22.759 off down a dirt road, and she and the child 191 00:11:23.039 --> 00:11:25.279 ate and drank until there was nothing left but to 192 00:11:25.320 --> 00:11:29.799 lift the sugar from their fingertips. She changed the boy's diaper, 193 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:33.480 leaned back the passenger seat, let him lie down while 194 00:11:33.519 --> 00:11:36.360 she sat on the hood, smoked a cigarette and tried 195 00:11:36.360 --> 00:11:39.519 to figure out what the hell to do. She would 196 00:11:39.559 --> 00:11:41.840 need to get rid of the hatchback, and she was 197 00:11:41.879 --> 00:11:45.399 ready for that. The upholstery was stained and poked with 198 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:50.200 cigarette burns, and smelled sour and sick. The back seat 199 00:11:50.279 --> 00:11:54.320 was piled with wadded clothes and fast food bags. And 200 00:11:54.399 --> 00:11:57.799 as foul as the hatchback looked and smelled, she knew 201 00:11:57.799 --> 00:12:01.440 it had been called in. They were not far from 202 00:12:01.480 --> 00:12:04.720 New Iberia, and there was probably a bus station there, 203 00:12:04.720 --> 00:12:07.159 and she could leave the hatchback with a nice note 204 00:12:07.240 --> 00:12:11.159 that said I was only borrowing it, but also a 205 00:12:11.200 --> 00:12:14.600 new Iberia. There would be real police made aware of 206 00:12:14.639 --> 00:12:18.360 the license plate and given a description of both them 207 00:12:18.519 --> 00:12:21.559 and the shitty little car. And where the hell do 208 00:12:21.600 --> 00:12:25.799 you think you're taking a bus to? Anyway, She made 209 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:29.320 a lap around the car, smoking and thinking, and looking 210 00:12:29.320 --> 00:12:32.320 in at Jace, who was turned on his side and sleeping, 211 00:12:33.320 --> 00:12:37.080 small hands tuck beneath a small cheek powdered sugar on 212 00:12:37.120 --> 00:12:41.000 the corners of his mouth. She flicked away the cigarette 213 00:12:41.200 --> 00:12:43.159 and looked at the heap and the back seat, and 214 00:12:43.200 --> 00:12:45.759 it didn't matter if she was going another mile or 215 00:12:45.799 --> 00:12:49.080 another one hundred miles. She couldn't do it with the smell. 216 00:12:49.840 --> 00:12:52.840 So she quietly opened the door, pulled the lever on 217 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:55.320 the driver's seat and it came forward, and she reached 218 00:12:55.399 --> 00:12:57.840 into the back seat and grabbed a mess of clothes 219 00:12:57.919 --> 00:13:01.399 and trash. She made three before she had it all 220 00:13:01.480 --> 00:13:03.440 lying in a pile at the rear of the car, 221 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:06.320 and then she took the keys from the ignition and 222 00:13:06.399 --> 00:13:09.320 she unlocked the hatch to shove it all into the back, 223 00:13:09.879 --> 00:13:13.519 but there was no room. It was covered in garbage 224 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:16.440 bags and bound with duct tape, and it was big 225 00:13:16.519 --> 00:13:20.759 and lumpy, and she knew what it was. She stepped back, 226 00:13:20.879 --> 00:13:23.840 tripping through the clothes and trash and falling to the ground, 227 00:13:25.080 --> 00:13:28.000 up quickly and hand over her mouth as she moved 228 00:13:28.039 --> 00:13:30.919 back toward the hatch and stared at it, wondering if 229 00:13:30.960 --> 00:13:33.919 it would jerk if she poked it. And she watched 230 00:13:33.960 --> 00:13:37.720 carefully for a moment, any rise and fall of breathing, 231 00:13:38.159 --> 00:13:41.919 any possibility of it being something other than dead as hell. 232 00:13:43.039 --> 00:13:46.559 But it was still, and the world hell still around her, 233 00:13:46.600 --> 00:13:51.039 as her mind could only find one thought, Is it him? 234 00:13:51.840 --> 00:13:54.360 She walked back and forth along the side of the car, 235 00:13:54.639 --> 00:13:58.639 mumbling to herself, rubbing at her face and neck, wanting 236 00:13:58.679 --> 00:14:01.600 to look and to keep away. And she picked up 237 00:14:01.639 --> 00:14:04.399 a rock and threw it, and then another and another, 238 00:14:04.679 --> 00:14:08.799 finally crying out in disgust with not just today and yesterday, 239 00:14:09.120 --> 00:14:12.039 but crying out against the years that had led her 240 00:14:12.159 --> 00:14:16.000 to now all the steps she had taken to arrive 241 00:14:16.200 --> 00:14:19.039 on this empty road in the middle of nowhere, with 242 00:14:19.159 --> 00:14:22.639 her small son asleep in a stolen car and a 243 00:14:22.679 --> 00:14:25.679 dead thing wrapped in a garbage bag and the hatch, 244 00:14:27.279 --> 00:14:30.240 and she screamed out into the void. And when she 245 00:14:30.279 --> 00:14:33.360 had screamed herself out of breath, she turned and saw 246 00:14:33.519 --> 00:14:37.559 Jason's face in the window, awakened by his mother, his 247 00:14:37.679 --> 00:14:42.320 nose and palms pressed against the glass. She slammed the 248 00:14:42.360 --> 00:14:45.200 hatch before opening the car door and lifting him out, 249 00:14:45.559 --> 00:14:49.320 talking to him in a flurry of motherly voice, did 250 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:52.279 you sleep okay? I didn't mean to wake you up. 251 00:14:52.360 --> 00:14:55.240 Do you feel better with your tummy full? Ready to 252 00:14:55.320 --> 00:14:59.840 ride some more? The child shook his head at her questions, 253 00:15:00.279 --> 00:15:02.440 rubbed at his eyes, and then he put his hands 254 00:15:02.440 --> 00:15:04.759 on her cheeks, as if to hold her still and 255 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:08.480 gain her full attention. Their eyes were close, and the 256 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:13.279 boy pushed at her cheeks. Home. He said, but I 257 00:15:13.320 --> 00:15:15.960 don't know where that is. She thought, I don't know 258 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:19.799 which direction. I don't know what to do, And then 259 00:15:19.840 --> 00:15:22.320 he said it again and pressed her cheeks harder with 260 00:15:22.399 --> 00:15:28.320 his little hands. Home. She squeezed him, walked down the 261 00:15:28.360 --> 00:15:32.840 road holding him, singing bits and pieces of songs, fragments 262 00:15:32.840 --> 00:15:36.039 of lullabies and a half of a verse of amazing Grace, 263 00:15:36.559 --> 00:15:40.799 and ending with both of them quacking like ducks. They 264 00:15:40.840 --> 00:15:43.799 sang and walked, and she kept looking back at the hatchback, 265 00:15:43.879 --> 00:15:46.480 as if hoping it had sunk into the earth, or 266 00:15:46.519 --> 00:15:51.320 maybe never existed at all. They returned to the car. 267 00:15:51.639 --> 00:15:54.840 Nobody would have called it in. She could drive it 268 00:15:54.879 --> 00:15:57.200 to the end of the world if she wanted to, 269 00:15:57.759 --> 00:16:00.639 but she didn't want to. She opened the milk bottle 270 00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:03.720 and Jase took a swallow, and then she took a swallow. 271 00:16:04.559 --> 00:16:07.360 She settled him in the passenger seat, and then she 272 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:10.759 returned to the back. You have to look, she thought, 273 00:16:11.159 --> 00:16:13.039 you know, you have to look and see if it's him. 274 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:17.799 She opened the hatch again and felt around and found 275 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.399 the head pulled at the plastic bags and tore a hole, 276 00:16:21.679 --> 00:16:24.960 and she saw matted hair and crusted blood on the forehead. 277 00:16:25.360 --> 00:16:28.679 And she turned the face toward her, and two bruised, 278 00:16:28.759 --> 00:16:32.879 pulpy and half open eyes looked at her, and she gasped, 279 00:16:33.080 --> 00:16:35.919 taken quickly by the stair of the dead, and she 280 00:16:36.000 --> 00:16:38.279 stepped back and put her hands on her knees and 281 00:16:38.320 --> 00:16:43.000 bent over, drawing deep breaths, settling herself because it was 282 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:45.919 not him, and she had been ready for it to 283 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:49.000 be so. But she took a breath and pulled at 284 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.600 the body and tried to rustle it out of the hatchback. 285 00:16:52.200 --> 00:16:55.120 It was heavy and awkward and kept flopping back down, 286 00:16:56.120 --> 00:16:58.360 but she finally got the legs over the side and 287 00:16:58.399 --> 00:17:01.600 she lifted the torso and the weight carried forward and 288 00:17:01.639 --> 00:17:05.559 the body tumbled out. It lay on its back, the 289 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:08.920 hole and the plastic, allowing its swollen eyes one last 290 00:17:08.960 --> 00:17:11.960 glimpse of sunlight before she turned it on its stomach 291 00:17:12.200 --> 00:17:14.920 and grabbed the legs and pulled it into the ditch. 292 00:17:15.880 --> 00:17:18.599 When she was done, she turned around and Jace was 293 00:17:18.640 --> 00:17:22.440 standing there watching her, holding the bottle of milk and 294 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:24.920 pointing at the thing in the ditch as if pointing 295 00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:28.960 at an animal in the zoo. The wrestling and the 296 00:17:29.039 --> 00:17:32.039 anxiety had given her a sweat, and she wiped her 297 00:17:32.079 --> 00:17:34.759 forehead and mouth, and then she scooped up the child 298 00:17:34.839 --> 00:17:37.920 and began telling the story of the Three Little Bears 299 00:17:37.960 --> 00:17:40.799 as she returned him to the car and buckled his 300 00:17:40.880 --> 00:17:43.759 seat belt. And she kept telling it as she cranked 301 00:17:43.799 --> 00:17:46.559 the car, and as they turned back onto the highway, 302 00:17:47.799 --> 00:17:51.519 Jay set silently and Jesse drove with both hands gripping 303 00:17:51.519 --> 00:17:56.119 the steering wheel. Her forearms clenched and her shoulders clenched 304 00:17:56.519 --> 00:17:59.799 as she deepened her voice for Papa Bear and lightened 305 00:17:59.839 --> 00:18:02.960 it for Mama Bear and the rough road thump beneath 306 00:18:03.000 --> 00:18:06.000 them as she told the story and tried to figure 307 00:18:06.039 --> 00:18:08.640 out how many years it had been since she had 308 00:18:08.759 --> 00:18:14.759 last spoken to her father. I've been doing this podcast 309 00:18:14.839 --> 00:18:19.720 for six years. It'll be six years this October, I think. 310 00:18:20.400 --> 00:18:23.920 And I've done some I've done several audio books. I've 311 00:18:23.960 --> 00:18:28.400 done hundreds and thousands of stories that you guys have 312 00:18:28.559 --> 00:18:31.960 sent me. I've done several stories that I've written myself. 313 00:18:32.000 --> 00:18:35.240 We've done the Steve Lily series, which if you don't 314 00:18:35.240 --> 00:18:38.440 know who Steve Lily is, it's another podcast. Just look 315 00:18:38.480 --> 00:18:41.640 up the Steve Lily Journals. I was able to write 316 00:18:41.680 --> 00:18:44.400 those and share them with you. But of all the 317 00:18:44.640 --> 00:18:47.319 all these all the time that I've been doing this, 318 00:18:48.279 --> 00:18:50.720 that what I just read you to me is the 319 00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:56.000 greatest honor that I've and greatest pleasure that I've had 320 00:18:56.240 --> 00:18:58.720 to share something with you. I'm not saying I did 321 00:18:58.759 --> 00:19:02.200 the story any justice, and it's just the beginning of 322 00:19:02.240 --> 00:19:05.480 the novel. But here's how this came about. You all 323 00:19:05.559 --> 00:19:09.160 know that I'm a I'm not a voracious reader. I'm 324 00:19:09.200 --> 00:19:12.920 a picky reader. I like to read good quality stuff 325 00:19:13.160 --> 00:19:15.920 and sometimes I like to read just you know, fun 326 00:19:15.960 --> 00:19:19.000 stuff that may not be written well. But I love 327 00:19:19.440 --> 00:19:23.799 Southern writers. You all know I live in Mississippi. I 328 00:19:23.839 --> 00:19:27.960 actually lived just about an hour north of this author. 329 00:19:28.960 --> 00:19:32.039 I came across his books. My wife and I went 330 00:19:32.119 --> 00:19:36.400 to a movie probably last year. The title of the 331 00:19:36.440 --> 00:19:40.119 movie is Desperation Road, and we thought it was a 332 00:19:40.119 --> 00:19:44.119 great story. We were enthralled with the movie. And when 333 00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:46.880 I see a movie that a film that I really like, 334 00:19:47.119 --> 00:19:50.359 I will sit through the credits to see if it's 335 00:19:50.400 --> 00:19:53.559 based on a novel, so that if it's a good story, 336 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:55.839 I can look up the author and see what they 337 00:19:55.920 --> 00:19:58.079 have out and maybe read their stuff. And I did 338 00:19:58.119 --> 00:20:01.119 on this one, and it it's very and it said 339 00:20:01.119 --> 00:20:04.240 it is based on a novel by Michael Ferris Smith, 340 00:20:04.880 --> 00:20:09.000 who is a Mississippi writer who's written a novel and 341 00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:13.440 it was turned into a really popular film. He has 342 00:20:13.720 --> 00:20:16.559 several books out. I've read them all. He has another 343 00:20:17.039 --> 00:20:20.599 novel out called The Fighter, which is an excellent, excellent 344 00:20:20.720 --> 00:20:25.160 story which was also made into a film called I Believe. 345 00:20:25.240 --> 00:20:28.920 The title is Rumble in the Dark. It's about a 346 00:20:28.960 --> 00:20:34.000 prize fighter, a bare knuckle fighter in the Delta in Mississippi, 347 00:20:34.440 --> 00:20:37.880 and it's just a saga of his last few days. 348 00:20:39.240 --> 00:20:43.440 But Michael Ferris Smith, so let me just you know, 349 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:45.720 you guys, I ramble a lot. So here's how this 350 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:48.440 came about. I've read all his books, and when I 351 00:20:48.599 --> 00:20:51.599 read good stuff, and since I do narrate some of 352 00:20:51.640 --> 00:20:55.599 this stuff for this podcast, as I'm reading these novels, 353 00:20:55.680 --> 00:20:58.519 I can I can hear it in my mind, and 354 00:20:58.559 --> 00:21:02.640 I can see the story with my mind's eye. Everybody's 355 00:21:02.720 --> 00:21:05.440 vision of what they read is different, but mine is. 356 00:21:05.920 --> 00:21:09.000 I pay attention to it. I pay attention to the 357 00:21:09.119 --> 00:21:13.599 voice as I read. And every time I read a 358 00:21:13.640 --> 00:21:16.440 really good book, I think, oh my gosh, I would 359 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:18.759 love to just be able to just share with this 360 00:21:18.880 --> 00:21:23.160 audience one chapter to show you how well these Southern 361 00:21:23.200 --> 00:21:27.359 writers are able to tell a story in a succinct, 362 00:21:28.160 --> 00:21:33.200 compact way, yet move a story from point A to 363 00:21:33.400 --> 00:21:37.559 point B, which could be one hundred miles in two weeks, 364 00:21:38.279 --> 00:21:41.920 and they can do it in three chapters. And it 365 00:21:41.960 --> 00:21:46.359 is and the adjectives and the way they describe the scenery, 366 00:21:46.720 --> 00:21:50.519 and all that is not over flowery. That's the best 367 00:21:50.559 --> 00:21:52.759 word I can think of, but it is so to 368 00:21:52.839 --> 00:21:57.039 the point and so beautiful. Anyway, I started reading Michael 369 00:21:57.039 --> 00:22:00.880 Faris Smith, and I love uh. This was the first 370 00:22:00.880 --> 00:22:04.799 book I read that he's written, is called Rivers, excellent book. 371 00:22:05.920 --> 00:22:09.160 I think Salvage this World, which is the first few 372 00:22:09.240 --> 00:22:11.680 scenes you just heard, was a second book I read. 373 00:22:11.720 --> 00:22:16.799 Then I read Blackwood, which is an excellent, very good novel, 374 00:22:17.720 --> 00:22:20.119 and then I went to Desperation Road because I had 375 00:22:20.119 --> 00:22:22.000 already seen the movie, so I kind of had an 376 00:22:22.039 --> 00:22:24.759 idea of the story. By the way, Desperation Road I 377 00:22:24.759 --> 00:22:29.640 believe was produced by Mel Gibson, he's actually in the movie. Anyway. 378 00:22:30.480 --> 00:22:33.160 So I read these books and I think, oh my gosh, 379 00:22:33.200 --> 00:22:36.240 I kind of do that, And you know, I'm into 380 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:41.519 this stuff. I love fiction, especially Southern fiction, and I 381 00:22:41.559 --> 00:22:43.599 think it would be so great if I could just 382 00:22:43.920 --> 00:22:47.160 read one or two chapters to show you all what 383 00:22:47.519 --> 00:22:52.000 really good writing sounds like and encourage you to maybe, 384 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:54.440 if you are a reader, to go buy these books 385 00:22:54.519 --> 00:22:57.839 and try these authors out. And so I got on 386 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:02.599 Michael Ferrissmith's website just to read more about him. I'm 387 00:23:02.680 --> 00:23:05.839 interested in writers, and you know how they do their thing, 388 00:23:05.880 --> 00:23:09.000 where they live, where there, what are their influences. I 389 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:11.200 don't know why I'm interested in that. I just am 390 00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:16.359 and there was a contact information a contact link which 391 00:23:17.039 --> 00:23:19.839 gave me his email address. So I thought, well, I'm 392 00:23:19.880 --> 00:23:21.799 just going to fire him off an email, and I 393 00:23:21.839 --> 00:23:24.240 sent him an email and I said, look, you staid 394 00:23:24.279 --> 00:23:27.480 nothing to gain from this, because I'm just a small 395 00:23:27.559 --> 00:23:32.559 podcast narrator, you know, who narrates audio book style stories. 396 00:23:32.599 --> 00:23:35.519 But I would love permission from you to share a 397 00:23:35.559 --> 00:23:38.839 few chapters from some of your books with my audience. 398 00:23:39.799 --> 00:23:43.079 And a couple of days later he responded and he said, 399 00:23:44.039 --> 00:23:46.599 he said, sure, that sounds great, go ahead and do it. 400 00:23:46.920 --> 00:23:50.799 And thanks for asking. What an I mean? This guy 401 00:23:50.880 --> 00:23:55.160