Operation Paintbrush: Part 4

Boys skip school, in the hopes of seeing a nude woman posing in an art studio. (PG-13, Language and suggestive themes.

The boys were enjoying their warm beers, and practicing their drunken mating calls (known as belching), while Curby struggeled with the new information he discovered. He wasn't sure how to ask Flunk. After all, how does one ask if their father's abusive?

The indirect approch seemed best. Curby took his turn at belching, laughed and said, "Damn, I bet your father's awesome at belching! It must be fun when he's around." Everyone agreed with Curby, while Flunk took a massive swig of "The Beast."

"Yeah, he's pretty fun. Sometimes, he throws the cans. Just at random... you know. They're empty of course... most of the time at least." Piggy got a laugh out of that. "So you mean, he's trying to throw them into the trash can?"

Flunk grinned at that question, and to Curby it looked like Flunk was thinking: You're a lucky guy Piggy, cause you have no idea what I'm talking about. That was all the evidence Curby needed. "Let me ask you something Flunk..."

"Morton? You okay man?" They all paused for a moment, looking at Morton. They knew he was scared of the forest, but this seemed different. He put his beer down, and seemed to be in a weird trance. Piggy noticed the blood had run from Morton's face and felt compelled to ask the question.

Morton didn't move, nor speak, his eyes were drawn to the dark recesses where the sadistic undergrowth held it's secrets. This is a killer's paradise, and no one should have fun amongst it. All followed his gaze.

Beneath the shifting shadows of the oppressive trees stood a figure, and they were getting closer. All Piggy had to say was, "Oh s**t." and the boys knew what to do. Curby and Ham snapped Morton out of his trance. They pulled him over the side of the truck, where the others were hiding, and waited as the footsteps of the unknown got closer.

Ham wanted to see what the intruder looked like, but Piggy stopped him. "No, wait. I'll look. If I get caught, run as fast as you can back to Rally Point Zero, and call for help, Okay?" They all nodded and Piggy peered around the side of the truck. "Holy s**t." Piggy said as he got back to the side of the truck, "Guys, he's got a gun."

Frozen in fear, the boys listened as the footsteps got closer. The armed man was close enough now, that the sound of a cigarette lighter flicking could be heard. He flicked it several times, called it a piece of s**t, and threw it at the truck. It hit with the collective force of an angry mob, and the boys all jerked wondering if it was thrown at them on purpose.

Ham heard his beloved rocks being smashed under the man's weight and all figured he was following the creek, same as them, but in the opposite direction. Ham whispered, "Is he hunting?" Flunk answered, "No, there's no hunting allowed in these woods. It's within city limits, that makes it illegal." Piggy hung his head down and rubbed the sweat from his forehead, "Great, that's what I wanted to hear."

The man drew level with the front of the truck, and the boys moved to the back of the truck with stealth and precision. It wasn't just any gun the man was carrying, the boys could tell that now, it was a military style weapon and the man seemed to be agitated by something. Like a madman, he was talking to himself while picking at his skin around his mouth. "Larry's so f*****g paranoid, there ain't no one out here. He needs to stop using his s**t, and start selling it."

Morton looked at Curby, "What the hell is he talking about?"

Curby shrugged. "I have no idea, but it's clear... he's looking for us." Piggy said what all the boys were thinking. "When he gets further out, we need to make a run for it... Guys, we can't go back the way we came. Is there another way out."

Neither Flunk or Curby had an answer. They only knew that going off course was not an option. The forest was vast and somewhere within them was Larry: a man that felt the need to be protected by hollow-points, and they sure as hell didn't want to find out why. When the madman followed the creek around a bend, and the boys made their move.

Flunk took point, and ignored Piggy's plea for a quiet getaway. He ran hard, forcing the boys to run behind him like baby ducks. Leaf litter and sticks crackled under foot, the rocks in the creek smashed while the water splashed, and the boys knew the madman heard them. He wasn't that far behind, and Curby felt the madman's crosshairs focus in on his back. He ran harder, as his back got warmer, and he swore he heard a shot.

Their gym teacher would be forced to give the boys an "A" in track and field, if he had seen how fast they were moving, and they didn't stop running until the reached a clearing.

Breathing hard, Curby asked his friends to look at his back. "Have I been shot? I know he tried to kill me!" No one else had heard the shot, but they checked out his back anyway, and discovered no bullet holes. Curby sighed with relief and took a seat in the grass with his friends.

Ham passed him the thermos, and the sound of him drinking was all they heard. Being silent was the only action that made sence, as they wondered if April was worth dieing for. She was not, and Piggy decided to call off the operation. "Guys, we were almost killed, let's just go home."

All but Morton agreed. He was on the other side of the clearing going to the bathroom, and would never know about the decision to cancel the operation. He yelled for the guys to take a look at what he saw: the fence line that inclosed Underhill's campus.

Operation Paintbrush was back on!

© 2014 Kayja Symphious

Author's Note

Is it solid?

Any corrections or advice would be great.

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Featured Review

Jonas

Alright, that is great. You can hold suspense and easily react the tempo, and that is something to be proud of. Love that.
One thing that bothers me so damn plaguedly is that you mix Flunk with Fluck and that seems always really distracting. When that problem is fixed, I think it's dandy.
Yeah, you seem to be on a right track in general. You have the power to write and sure as hell you better make it to the very ends.