Free Earthbound by Adam Lewinson

checked out the damage to the tree, and I’d made nine nice
little holes all in a row. This was my kinda weapon.
    Pace was next and this time I held my ears.
Didn’t wanna go deaf someday. He wasn’t nearly as confident with
his gun, and his aim was off too, but I was patient and gave him
some pointers. He genuinely seemed interested in improving. Which
was good cause he was gonna need it.
     

     
    That night I couldn’t much sleep. Usually
with enough whiskey in me it’s not too hard to pass out. Maybe it
was the adrenaline from learning how to use the revolver, or the
sense of power it gave me to hold it in my hand. Or maybe it was
something else, something I couldn’t quite figure out that was
right on the periphery of my mind. Anyway, maybe at 5am or so I got
up and for reasons I can’t quite figure out I cracked open the door
to what used to be my parents’ bedroom. I never went in there much.
Not much need to. I had left things pretty much the way my mother
left them before she killed herself. Seemed fitting.
    I passed by the old chair by the fireplace
and ran my finger alongside it. Dust. Becca wouldn’t have let dust
collect on it. We used to sit in that chair together and she’d
read. She’d read me all sorts of stories and books about
everything. That’s why I have a pretty decent vocabulary I suppose.
She’d tell me about words I didn’t understand without asking. I’m
not a good reader as you know. She’s great at it.
    I’m not gonna tell you what I was thinking
about at this point. You can probably figure it out on your own.
But I will tell you what I did. I bundled up cause it was pretty
cold that night and hopped on Charon for a ride. Needed to see
something with my own eyes.
    One of the benefits of not talking much is
that you’ll hear people telling you things if you’re willing to
listen. Pace had told me where he likes to take his lady friends
when he’s seducing them. There’s a hill over by the blacksmith’s
where there’s plenty of trees and decent seclusion, especially at
night. Not the most beautiful view in the world. But a view doesn’t
matter much I guess when your eyes are closed.
    I made sure to ride Charon across a pile of
collected branches so we made plenty of noise. I wanted to give
them plenty of warning, so I didn’t see anything that I didn’t want
to see, if you know what I mean. I’m not sure I interrupted
anything though. Sure enough, Pace was there. And so was Becca. And
there was a sleeping bag sprawled out under a tree. But everyone
was fully clothed, to my infinite relief. Although it was cold,
they needed to bundle up, sometimes body heat isn’t enough. But who
knows what they did overnight. Although it looked like Becca had
been crying.
    “Ash,” Pace said, greeting me with a smile.
He did seem a little surprised.
    “Yeah,” I replied. That’s all I said about
that.
    Pace walked up to Charon and looked up at me
on my perch. “Are you pissed at me?”
    “Can’t blame you for doing what I’d do, if I
thought I could get away with it.” Pace seemed relieved. I don’t
think he could handle my fist in his face like back in our
schoolyard days. I tugged on the reins and walked Charon over to
Becca. “Becca, I’ve come to talk for a minute.”
    “That’s good,” she said, tugging at my pant
leg so I’d dismount, “because Pace is so unreasonable!” Pace
shrugged, guilty as charged. “Asher, you can’t go through with
this!”
    “Fine, give me a good reason,” I said.
    “You’ll get caught!”
    “This whole settlement’s a jail,” Pace chimed
in. “What’s the difference?”
    Becca turned on him and pointed an angry
finger. “We’re done talking. This conversation is with Asher.”
    “Okay okay,” Pace responded, holding his
hands up in defeat.
    Becca turned back toward me to continue.
“Could be a lot worse than jail. You could get shot down.”
    “By who?” I asked. “Boze? I’ll take my
chances on that. Pace has a