Author's Note:33Please respect copyright.PENANABlifs2lg3C
Thank you for getting this far into the story! I promise that that a lot of your outstanding questions will answered in time. Hang in there.
Inside the tiny shack was just as simple as its owner. A wooden chair hugged a small table across the room and a sheet hammock hung slack behind it. To his left at the entrance stood a wood burning stove with an iron skillet resting atop it. A light layer of desert dust coated the room, apparently free-flowing from the window whenever a light wind would visit the home.33Please respect copyright.PENANAhXYnqymdiH
33Please respect copyright.PENANAhUu55IeOlu
In the center of the room was an upside down clay flower pot, spot lit by the rays pouring in from the gap left in the shutters on the window.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAMl7yJHCdKU
It was small, with enamel glaze or flowers on the outside that looked to be painted by a child. It rested on the dirt floor with a long crack down the side and paint that chipped at the edges. Still, Zeph decided to carefully walk around it and sit at the table.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAxA8qdd945A
Only moments passed before the man pushed open the shack door and took a few steps into the room. He spared a look at Zeph, sitting bare-cheeked in his only chair, before wordlessly shaking his head and setting down his things.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAm0jDHrZTb1
Zeph impatiently bounced his leg, watching the man set his basket on the ground next to the table and move around a pot and some utensils as if he was preparing to cook. He was rough looking; a thick raggy shirt draped from his shoulders and thicker pants clung drying mud to the fabric around his knees. He bore an unkempt, mostly grey beard and matching long grey hair that hid his aging face, leaving only his dark brown eyes and sun-spotted nose exposed to the elements.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAPlJAzoBLUY
33Please respect copyright.PENANAjyYQzOG9kj
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAdLZOWrHeWi
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAzOJMf6FF63
It took a longer moment than Zeph would like to admit before he understood the man’s meaning before responding,“I have nothing to give.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAV672bNTNnW
“And you get that in return,” but just as the man finished his sentence, movement caught Zeph’s eye from the center of the room.
33Please respect copyright.PENANA0PvBpmr6ya
The pot wiggled.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAwC2piCIdKu
The man spun around, quickly slicked back some droopy curls from his forehead and dropped to all fours, his head mere inches from the flower pot. With a free hand, he gently lifted it from the ground revealing a tiny, pinky-capped mushroom.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAPpa6Lmz3d2
The man drew his face so close to the mushroom that he nearly touched it with his nose, eyes crossed as he watched it. He listened to it. He paused for a moment before he spoke.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAI4JCTu9oYf
“Well sure but he isn't a ‘somebody’, neither.” The man addressed the fungus, straining his eyes to maintain focus on it. Zeph watched the man speak to the mushroom in the middle of the room and began to wonder if entering this shack was a mistake.
33Please respect copyright.PENANA2kjgdDIGQ5
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAzmG2A7tQql
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAoESg5VmqSB
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
33Please respect copyright.PENANA3Fadd0J7PP
“I guess that's true.” Seemingly satisfied, the mushroom man stood up, leaving the clay pot next to the mushroom. He turned around to fetch a small cup full of well water from a bucket in the corner.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAidlWOAD729
“Go ahead and grab my spare garment from the chest behind you.” He sprinkled water and bone dust on the soil around the mushroom and replaced the clay pot.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAaYIV7J48HU
It took a moment for Zeph to realize the man was talking to him now. He looked behind the chair and found a small wooden chest on the floor. He retrieved the only set of clothes inside.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAYbyvuxB5Xv
While Zeph was busy getting dressed, the mushroom man skirted around him to his favorite and only chair. He spared a moment of still reprieve before bringing himself to use a small cloth to wipe the dubious shapes Zeph left behind in the dust with his naked rear.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAZyB3kmGJqt
“Baker,” the old man began. He pinched out the rest as he sat, enduring the creak of his old bones, “hadn’t been so busy before late.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAvcynufyET2
“Who’s Baker?”33Please respect copyright.PENANAlevUssHYfa
33Please respect copyright.PENANAEZDdu8yVfL
“Aint a ‘who.’ Baker’s a town about 3 miles north from here,” he scratched some dirt free from his beard before continuing, pointing a weathered finger in various directions as he explained. “First, some dead Laudendales two nights back. Then a poor farmer’s family there on one side of town, same night. Wuddn’t but last night that the banker, Crock, and his wife on the other side turn up dead in the most heinous. Lotta dead folk. Lotta strangers.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAAM2AkKr9vI
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAU1vdQl4C7q
“Trouble ain't something you bring along with you. I got a feeling trouble is sumin’ you gon find,” he took a visual inventory of the oversized clothes cascading over Zeph’s body. “Stranger.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANA29lxWXXaX6
“I’m trying to find a lost boy. He’s the one in trouble. Is there anyone else new to town? It would have been last night, I think.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAupMlAwEjUk
“Well, it wuddn’t no ‘last night’ but they say a stranger came from the forest. A boy, but he’s wanted by the sheriff.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANASh1vR3yoip
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAcbplKTMoTg
“Well, if’n you know the boy, you oughta get to town and state a case for ‘em. Though, he might get hanged ‘fore then.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANA8LHzlEOD2p
Zeph’s arms dropped.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAauJeNYKhmJ
Without a word he sprinted out the door back into the savanna. The man looked down introspectively until the sound of footsteps came back to his door as quickly as they left. Zeph came bursting back through the door.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAaIKsOTjMdZ
“Which way is Baker again?”
33Please respect copyright.PENANA8IPvIFWVBN
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAeJEQxyZAzT
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAlOF4IupliH
Zeph heard it but dismissed it for the crazed rambling of a dessert loner. If he found Dylan, he has no intention of staying here. Wherever here was. He doubted he would ever see that little shack ever again.
33Please respect copyright.PENANARW2GLe9i5D
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.
Inside the tiny shack was just as simple as its owner. A wooden chair hugged a small table across the room and a sheet hammock hung slack behind it. To his left at the entrance stood a wood burning stove with an iron skillet resting atop it. A light layer of desert dust coated the room, apparently free-flowing from the window whenever a light wind would visit the home.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAZtt06fRDUw
In the center of the room was an upside down clay flower pot, spot lit by the rays pouring in from the gap left in the shutters on the window.
33Please respect copyright.PENANABlBBTs3iRE
It was small, with enamel glaze or flowers on the outside that looked to be painted by a child. It rested on the dirt floor with a long crack down the side and paint that chipped at the edges. Still, Zeph decided to carefully walk around it and sit at the table.
33Please respect copyright.PENANApTFD9IbNui
Only moments passed before the man pushed open the shack door and took a few steps into the room. He spared a look at Zeph, sitting bare-cheeked in his only chair, before wordlessly shaking his head and setting down his things.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAZKTdu0Aggj
Zeph impatiently bounced his leg, watching the man set his basket on the ground next to the table and move around a pot and some utensils as if he was preparing to cook. He was rough looking; a thick raggy shirt draped from his shoulders and thicker pants clung drying mud to the fabric around his knees. He bore an unkempt, mostly grey beard and matching long grey hair that hid his aging face, leaving only his dark brown eyes and sun-spotted nose exposed to the elements.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAkX5K5qGP3j
33Please respect copyright.PENANAX1N5k5WvA5
Zeph interrupted the clamor of dinner preparation. “Uuuh, do you have any clothes by any chance?”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAPg0Qqz0e6S
The man didn't face him to reply, apparently addressing the kitchenware.“Nothing for nothing.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANA2AiBIqHqKy
It took a longer moment than Zeph would like to admit before he understood the man’s meaning before responding,“I have nothing to give.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAIDZcjpovqg
“And you get that in return,” but just as the man finished his sentence, movement caught Zeph’s eye from the center of the room.
33Please respect copyright.PENANA7ZhkqC7est
The pot wiggled.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAU3bp4gqAWk
The man spun around, quickly slicked back some droopy curls from his forehead and dropped to all fours, his head mere inches from the flower pot. With a free hand, he gently lifted it from the ground revealing a tiny, pinky-capped mushroom.
33Please respect copyright.PENANA6wTdrIO60m
The man drew his face so close to the mushroom that he nearly touched it with his nose, eyes crossed as he watched it. He listened to it. He paused for a moment before he spoke.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAxEPZbeZfOw
“Well sure but he isn't a ‘somebody’, neither.” The man addressed the fungus, straining his eyes to maintain focus on it. Zeph watched the man speak to the mushroom in the middle of the room and began to wonder if entering this shack was a mistake.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAuWjroNXvbU
“Well, I guess I don't.” He spoke again. There was a long pause as the man intently listened to the toadstool.
33Please respect copyright.PENANA8qikEKsvtI
Zeph slapped both knees. “Welp, I guess I should be going.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAZdf9L7wMUl
He started to roll forward in his chair when the man continued raising an insistent hand for Zeph to stay put.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAiPdJxTZlJM
“I guess that's true.” Seemingly satisfied, the mushroom man stood up, leaving the clay pot next to the mushroom. He turned around to fetch a small cup full of well water from a bucket in the corner.
33Please respect copyright.PENANASojiBryUWh
“Go ahead and grab my spare garment from the chest behind you.” He sprinkled water and bone dust on the soil around the mushroom and replaced the clay pot.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAyTKPMjt5s7
It took a moment for Zeph to realize the man was talking to him now. He looked behind the chair and found a small wooden chest on the floor. He retrieved the only set of clothes inside.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAM3g3QY5H9U
While Zeph was busy getting dressed, the mushroom man skirted around him to his favorite and only chair. He spared a moment of still reprieve before bringing himself to use a small cloth to wipe the dubious shapes Zeph left behind in the dust with his naked rear.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAWUfK0jAkT2
“Baker,” the old man began. He pinched out the rest as he sat, enduring the creak of his old bones, “hadn’t been so busy before late.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAOCz6cBS3Sj
“Who’s Baker?”33Please respect copyright.PENANAlPGYLAUQfU
33Please respect copyright.PENANAyNoKzwaA83
“Aint a ‘who.’ Baker’s a town about 3 miles north from here,” he scratched some dirt free from his beard before continuing, pointing a weathered finger in various directions as he explained. “First, some dead Laudendales two nights back. Then a poor farmer’s family there on one side of town, same night. Wuddn’t but last night that the banker, Crock, and his wife on the other side turn up dead in the most heinous. Lotta dead folk. Lotta strangers.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAVMwCZGtmk3
Zeph caught a stare from the man as he pulled the ragged shirt over his head. “I don’t want trouble.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAYgJTuEnfXt
“Trouble ain't something you bring along with you. I got a feeling trouble is sumin’ you gon find,” he took a visual inventory of the oversized clothes cascading over Zeph’s body. “Stranger.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAICAtrnmAkO
“I’m trying to find a lost boy. He’s the one in trouble. Is there anyone else new to town? It would have been last night, I think.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANALvfi0aNAW3
“Well, it wuddn’t no ‘last night’ but they say a stranger came from the forest. A boy, but he’s wanted by the sheriff.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAvLDZiWiOQ2
“It has to be a mistake! Dylan is a good boy!”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAyLo6nFRBi8
“Well, if’n you know the boy, you oughta get to town and state a case for ‘em. Though, he might get hanged ‘fore then.”
33Please respect copyright.PENANA2btbmpdpT9
Zeph’s arms dropped.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAq7bgKR9CDl
Without a word he sprinted out the door back into the savanna. The man looked down introspectively until the sound of footsteps came back to his door as quickly as they left. Zeph came bursting back through the door.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAVRxx0xWHe6
“Which way is Baker again?”
33Please respect copyright.PENANAZGiJfbWV6t
Mushroom man simply pointed and Zeph left once again.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAtQSRH7k5wx
“See you tomorrow,” he shouted after him and the mushroom pot jiggled in agreement.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAVaMnlu2G6n
Zeph heard it but dismissed it for the crazed rambling of a dessert loner. If he found Dylan, he has no intention of staying here. Wherever here was. He doubted he would ever see that little shack ever again.
33Please respect copyright.PENANAKtuGzwd30R
Instead, he sprinted toward Baker, a middle of nowhere two to save Dylan from whatever horrible misunderstanding led to him being a wanted boy.33Please respect copyright.PENANAxc4YBzPRpy

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