It's No Picnic Read Free Page B

late that she had a brain tumor. No pill in the world would take care of that. Cough up a doctor and I’ll show you a failed detective. Sure, they make a hunch, gather evidence, and interview suspects, but it seems a rare thing when they catch the killer in time. At least that’s one story. Cynical, sure. I don’t deny it. People make you that way. It’s not all them mind you, only those that can’t descend from the clouds long enough to talk to mere mortals. Politicians, businessmen, I took in more those parasites than I care to remember. Street people, sure, but that was a condition, not a choice.”—A gust of wind opened the door sending a cool breeze down the main hall. The abruptness moved Alex, so suspending the brief lapse. He picked up the pad and pencil that had fallen to the floor making one more note— nothing significant —afterward placing them somewhere safe and secure.
    Wanting a look at the forest before sunset, Alex moved down the hall to the door, opening it—walking out back to front—then closing , turning, catching hard pressing eyes, focused, intense. Who…
     
     
     
    C AP W ENT O N S TARING , Alex staying where he was, outwardly calm, motionless, not appearing at all frightened or curious, instead looking straight ahead. Then—Cap slowly dissolved into a seemingly friendly image allowing the mood to soften, saying, “That’ll get you in trouble.”
    “What?” Alex said coolly.
    “Hanging around this dump. Next thing you know, you’ll be attending . Anyway, what could possibly bring you up here?”
    “Curiosity, I suppose.”
    Cap—a curiosity. Only person so far not a towering cyclops. No, Cap was tiny by comparison. Perhaps explaining that contemptuous air, always seeming to make a person feel as if beneath him.
    “Don’t let it kill you. The air up here is thin. By the way, someone told me you were with the bureau.”
    “Not really. I was a detective.”
    “A detective. As you say detective .”
    As you say? What does that mean? Perhaps he’s trying to be likable. Maybe mocking to enjoy false superiority. Regardless, who was he? Entitled? A fool lacking any and all? Another in a long line of pathetic creatures walking the Earth, calling themselves human. Could be he’s just hiding something.
    “Look, if you have something to say…” Alex said with a calm, soft air.
    “I thought I did. Educational gaps? Perhaps something prevents you from grasping. Clear, that’s what I am, clear. Maybe the person is well, slow; or cannot follow simple English. But I’m clear.”
    Human, not . Clearly out of this world. A hybrid of all the best . A clear indication of a species on the right track.
    Alex did not want to reply; knowing if he did it would lead to more of the same. Not that it hurt or somehow made matters worse. No. Such talk was for the dogs, even if humiliating man’s best friend.
    “Well, I hate to break up this friendly banter, but I need to go.” Alex said.
    “So soon, and just when we were getting to know one another. I hope we can chat again. You’re a good fellow, I can tell.”
    “ Yeah .” Alex said, sharply.
    “Okay, well—don’t fall off the path. It can be treacherous in this weather.”
    “I’ll watch myself.”
    “I would.”
    Cap, a man truly facing opposite directions in chorus. Smiling while carving grooves in a person’s back; not complete stabbing—but enough to scar. Fashioning indentation into malignancy. Making human kind a cancer one cell at a time. A true leader of the grandiose, populating with word the refuse of the heap. Producing nothing of note; yet insuring the image produced remains undistorted; consigning each to consumption; not caring where it leads—other than, perfection of profit. On the other hand , he may simply be up to no good.
     
     
     
    A LEX P RESSED O N , rounding the bend of a ‘ U ’ shaped path connecting old church, community and forest; walking on—up the left side of the path—and into the