“How do you want to do this?” she asked. I wasn’t sure. I didn’t want to risk losing him again and also wanted to avoid a confrontation. Then I had an idea. I pulled Steph toward me and lent in close, whispering to her. She listened intently, then gave me a big grin and a thumbs up, agreeing to my suggestion.
2.
It didn’t take long to find what we were looking for. We found the first almost immediately, lying only a few yards from the edge of the clearing. The second took a little longer and I asked Steph to remain on watch while I searched for it. When we had both, we carefully lifted them and made our way towards the truck.
When we were about forty yards away, I motioned to Steph to wait. I dropped my cargo very carefully onto the ground, trying to remain as quiet as possible. Then, almost slithering the rest of the way on my stomach, I made my way closer to where he was hiding. Before we could proceed with our plan, we had to confirm that the person in the truck was actually Clancy and not some random drifter, taking shelter in an out-of-the-way metal hut.
When I was almost twenty yards away, I heard my confirmation from the voice that was singing.
“Ring-around the Rosie, a pocket full of posies,” the unmistakable voice sang. He sang quietly, the small vent-window slightly askew. I made a mental note to remember that when it came time to execute my plan. We needed time to set the plan up and if he heard us, would jump out of the truck and escape into the bush. If that happened, particularly with the weather, he would disappear as soon as he ran behind the first bit of undergrowth. I made my way back to Steph, one step at a time, slowly edging my way through the mud. The slightest twig was going to warn him. When I got back to her, I confirmed that I had heard him and directed her to the other side of the truck.
We each carried our cargo, tree branches around 8 feet long and about 4 to 5 inches thick. They needed to be substantial enough so that they wouldn’t bend or break. My plan was simple. Wedge each branch against one of the truck doors and trap the bastard inside, preventing him from opening the doors. If he wound either window down, we would have enough time to run around to the window and stop him.
The crawl back to the truck was much more difficult carrying the branch. I was almost at the door when it slipped from my fingers, threatening to fall to the ground. But I had just taken a step forward and caught the branch on my foot, holding one end about an inch off the ground. Clancy was still singing, the same song over and over again. I carefully pushed the thicker side into the mud, praying it would be deep enough not to slide if the door opened, while the thinner side of the branch I carefully wedged above the door handle. I waited for Steph to finish her side, peaking under the truck for her signal. I could see her feet moving this way and that, then saw the branch lean against the door. A few seconds later, she peered under the truck and gave me a thumbs up.
“The time had come,” I thought to myself. I was about to get to my feet right next to the window and make my presence known when a massive explosion rocked the ground beneath us, night instantly turned into day. A bolt of lightning had struck a tree about 50 yards in front of the truck, the tree now sending sparks into the night sky. Clancy let out a shriek and for a moment I was sure he would bolt from the truck. But when I peered in through the window, he had covered his head with a jacket, hiding beneath it. He was still singing that damn song, louder than before. He seemed to know only the first line, sounding like a scratched record, stuck in the same loop, over and over.
“Ring-around-a-rosie, a pocket full of posies, ring-around-a-rosie, a pocket full of posies, ring-around-a-rosie, a pocket full of posies,” over and over and over. It was driving me a little insane as I kneeled beside the door, cold rain running down the back of my neck.
3.
“Clancy!” I shouted, knocking on the window as he cowered beneath the jacket. He jumped in fear, lifted the jacket off his head and just stared at me with one terrified eye. I shone my torch into the cabin and Clancy did exactly as I predicted, rolling himself to the other side and trying to push the door open. But Steph had the presence of mind to shine her torch in through the window, the man in the cabin screaming with fear. Because Steph had stood back and shown the torch in from a couple of feet away, it lit the entire window up in a burst of light, her face hidden in the
