Free The Switch by John Sullins

exit hole. His right eye was bulging nearly out
of his head but the bullet did not exit his head.
     
    John then rolled him onto his
side and searched the dead man’s pockets. He found a wallet in the hip pocket
and opened it. He found a Kentucky driver’s license with the name John Unger. Unger
was twenty-nine.
     
    John looked up and saw Renee
and Lynn standing in the middle of the bridge looking down with alarm in their
faces.
     
    He called up to them, “This
guy was attacking a woman. We have another man hurt down here. I think it is
the family who rode past us on the highway the other day. The father needs
help, bring the first aid kit.”  
     
    Renee stayed on the bridge
and huddled the kids around her so they would not see what had happened.
     
    Lynn opened the small
athletic bag tied to the rear of her bag and dug through it until she found the
small first aid kit. When she got to the black man’s side he was sitting up and
bleeding from his forehead.
     
    The woman was calming down
and hugging her daughter. 
     
    David and John stepped away
from the hearing of the others.
     
    “You were right, the rifle is
dead on.”
     
    David’s forehead was covered
in nervous sweat. “Damn John, what the hell do we do now?” He pointed to the
dead man.
     
    “Nothing, we leave the son-of
a-bitch where he is.”
     
    “No, I think we should at
least hide him in the bushes. There is no need to invite trouble if someone
comes looking for him. He may have some rogue friends hanging around.”             
     
    John thought about that for
two or three seconds. “Yea, you’re right. Grab a leg and we will drag him to
that pile of brush over there.”
     
    They each grabbed one of the
dead man’s ankles and dragged him behind a pile of brush.
     
    David gathered a few dead
limbs and sticks and covered him as best he could. The body was not totally
hidden, but he felt comfortable that a person passing by on the bridge would
not be able to see him. He then broke a limb from a small tree and used the
limb and leaves to sweep away the marks on the ground where they dragged the
body to the pile.
     
    John looked at David with a
slight smirk on his face. David could tell John was up to something, or at
least John was holding something back. He asked “What is going on?” 
     
    “I took his wallet. It is
full of money.” He held up a big wad of bills.
     
    “There must be a few thousand
dollars here. I’ll bet this guy has robbed a bunch of people the past week or
so. He has probably even killed some. He sure as hell would have killed these folks.”
     
    David shook his head, “Let’s
get everyone back on the road. I don’t want to hang around here.”
     
    John moved to Lynn’s side, “How
is he doing? Can he walk?”
     
    Lynn leaned into the man’s
bloody face, Sir, can you stand up? Are you able to walk?”
     
    He did not answer but he
pushed off the ground with his right hand and tried to stand. He wobbled and
nearly fell backwards but john grabbed his left arm and Lynn pulled on his
right. 
     
    Lynn asked, “Can you make it
up the hill to the road?”
     
    The man’s wife and daughter moved
to help. The wife put her hand on John’s shoulder. “Yes, he can make it up the
hill, thanks to you.” She had tears in her eyes.
     
    They moved slowly and the man
nearly stumbled twice, but he made it up the slope to the highway.
     
    David helped him get over the
guard rail.
     
    “Where are your bikes?”
     
    The girl said, “The guy threw
them over the rail on the other side of the road.”
     
    Cameron followed David across
the road and found the bikes in the weeds. They carried them to the roadway and
inspected them for damage.
     
    “They look ok, no visible
damage.
     
    John walked up to the man who
was sitting on the guard rail rubbing the back of his neck.
     
    John asked, “Are you ok? Is
there anything we can do for you?”
     
    The man ignored the question.
“Lord, please