Free Living Forest by Travis Lyle

his goon that wet his pants bringing him to laugh.
    District Attorney Jordan, trying to hold in his laughter, his arms make a stopping notion at his goons. He says,
    “Are you okay Hollister?”
    The sound of developing tears chokes me while trying to utter words from my vocal chords causing my reply to come out in squeaks.
    “NO! I thought they were going to kill me.”
    Why does it seem that the world is against me? District Attorney Jordan is now sitting down in a chair trying to not have a “Jolly Attack”. That’s what I call a laughter induced Heart Attack. Stress is stress, no matter the level and intensity, and I only call it this because of William. That’s the way he said he always wanted to die. He wanted to die laughing, but instead his death caused people to laugh. District Attorney Jordan bellows while gasping for air supply,
    “Will you three dingle berries shut up so I can calm down and speak with Mr. Wolf.”
    I can tell that he didn’t think so highly of those three. I know what a dingle berry is. It’s not even a real berry or edible. Well I guess it can be if you like the taste of hairy toilet paper poop rolls that seems to cling to your butthole if you don’t wash or wipe properly. I calm down enough to catch my breath and stand up. Speaking angrily because I’m upset and tired of crap like this happening to me,
    “Why have you brought me here?”
    He speaks as if William’s death is a wonderful event,
    “I’m sorry about all of this Mr. Wolf. Once William’s body arrived, and well… let’s just be honest. Your video is going viral over the internet. When William adopted you Hollister, he also changed his will. You’re now the head of William Peak’s Estate, investments, and finances.”
    Shockingly I respond.
    “Huh?”
    The district attorneys actions and greedy tone shows where his determination lies,
    “Okay Hollister, here it is. If you were to die on that cruise ship, all of William’s assets would’ve went to another country to a distant relative. Mr. Peak’s owned many businesses’ here across the Gulf coast and we fear that all would’ve been wasted if you died as well.”
    Concerning the fate of others I ask,
    “What do you mean, if I were to die? Is everyone on the ship okay?”
    His tone turned mono, like a news anchor trained to read lines with no emotion.
    “A fire broke out on the ship during one of the many fights that were provoked. A small explosion took out one of the kitchens. Twenty five people have minor injuries and three are dead. One of them being William, the two others was cooks in the kitchen that exploded. After hearing the rioting and well… your incident, I knew we had to take control and extract you.”
                  Curious about the ships condition,
    “Did the ship sink?”
    Speaking as if this ship is the pride of the south,
    “Oh no, ha, ha, ha, it would take much more than that to put that chunk of metal under water. You’ll just have some costly repairs to do in order to get it back in commercial condition.”
    Depression became my tone, but the sound can be easily confused with exhaustion.
    “I’m not sure I can take anymore stress right now. I need to go home Mr. Jordan. I’m so tired. I just want this day to be over with.”
    Mr. Jordan looks at the biggest of his three goons,
    “Sure thing Mr. Wolf, I’ll have Jimmy take you home.”
    Speaking to Jimmy like he’s a dog,
    “Jimmy boy take Hollister to the limousine and get him home.”
    As Jimmy walks me to the limo, I can’t stop myself from asking,
    “Why do you let Mr. Jordan talk to you like that? Why not find another job?”
    Jimmy’s voice quivering,
    “I’ve tried, but no one will hire me. The D.A. isn’t such a bad guy when you get to know him, he’s just too direct. Matters none though, I’d take a daily beating while starving to death to make sure my children eat. I live for the days a smile perches across my family’s cheeks.”
    I feel the