Author's Note:84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKHBzzeqPSN
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.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡcr63K08Qzx
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNksMzin2qH
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQicgdCi4zt
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8K6KDDsMOZ
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡA5kesAubby
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQC7HMtEzjF
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAsFBAe6pJ1
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFSuoRZ8ib7
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSWtlSic2r9
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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlb55o6lVX4
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNLvtbDm1yF
The pot wiggled.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAMJjN9sWOz
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡBREZVLXv8e
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfRN4urFZsk
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvSHlcKeiDx
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqOt9Ws08XI
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhlqeGJ0lSQ
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVX7cJLuphd
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMBFoqtQ994
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjfu6v32NCL
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡO2T21VbtZU
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5uMPZ2C0tj
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡekmPNLGZRG
“Who’s Baker?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡy3nQdLlq5W
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlWAzOs34jX
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ04tjKvjM2I
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡN9kMleeXT6
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡS9e7u0z0Ax
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ7pRQ4BEada
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSIe9SNXxM
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNQJ7dXN5FB
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIBL3xVgDzi
Zeph’s arms dropped.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTTIKfGbhCT
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡpM2tbX6ZWV
“Which way is Baker again?”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHGwV3pEi66
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaB21BpcCzr
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3pmYsfkM1h
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡRluulQAEV9
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ56E2S7K91g
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡWjuxTiQZKH
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXxP5bnRE8O
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0btB3bQMnD
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVSChDM8wf1
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0TF73b0ryK
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHaOfEYO342
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxDSiEtxKjp
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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTcYOHoADK5
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqyMWRCdnl3
The pot wiggled.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLJhLocmeeh
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6qq3hJvVPq
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiKAhRqGkxL
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlTYMOuVBE5
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9lpMCS0BqQ
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡYnf5QkefGt
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAij85F1yAi
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlNTt0aZIl1
“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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡsJr9FL84TH
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwwczLyJSmY
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlZfLDf112V
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPGYGiQEKa8
“Who’s Baker?”84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvGBdwtB9UQ
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡohgjTmXfbb
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡVOm5K7nvbT
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡC2ioI4INjq
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk83tA8RKHp
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡm1RgsgpEqY
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvoBPDOBhix
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡiHlcdTAnpH
“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.”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGgSbs3zutj
Zeph’s arms dropped.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡNBjM5bqSsf
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQqMUZUXFYa
“Which way is Baker again?”
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡJHSqAsX8s2
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ9EbeASlnwG
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡowFr7YYGWm
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.
84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡMOqqaA9EfJ
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.84Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡSDHLsGIOzg
and then Add to home screen.