Good morning and Happy Hump Day ! If it's Wednesday, then it must be time for more flash fiction from the Wednesday Briefers! We're a group of authors who bring you our finest flash fiction every week, 500 to 1000 words, inspired by one of our prompts.
Char is surprised to see Tyrone unexpectedly turn up (you'd think he'd be getting used to it) and when he learns how he knows these idiots, well... see for yourself what's happening in this week's chapter of An Unholy Alliance. Don't forget to visit the other Briefers and see what's up with them. Their links follow my tale! Enjoy!
Baffled didn’t even begin to describe my state of
mind at the unexpected turn these proceedings had just taken. Momentarily
tongue-tied, I could only stare between Tyrone and the rednecks, curious to
know how they would react to this strange intrusion. I didn’t have long to
wait. They all began to yell at him, their voices a raucous cacophony that only
added to my confusion, until Frank screamed, “Shut the fuck up!” and blessed
silence reigned… for all of ten seconds.
“What the
hell do you mean this guy’s your friend?” He fisted his hands on his hips like
a petulant teenager. “Rover, get over here.” The dog was smarter than I’d
realized as he had the sense to pay no attention to his master’s commands, too
caught up in other attentions. Tyrone squatted beside him, gun still trained on
the miscreants with one hand while with the other he petted the ecstatic
canine.
“And what the hell do you mean by pulling a gun on
us?” Frank whined. “What does kin even mean to you, Tyrone?”
Tyrone stood, at the same time lowering his weapon slightly.
“You may be my cousins but that doesn’t mean I’m not
going to tell you when you’re being stupid. And it also doesn’t mean you get to
use offensive language in reference to my friend.” (Yes, I edited out the continuing
list of racial slurs as being not worthy of mention.)
Ah, that explained much, including the dog’s inexplicable
instant liking to me. He probably smelled Tyrone on me—not surprising after
that hug he blindsided me with—and assumed I was a friend. So he was related to
these inbred hillbillies? Tyrone, that is, not Rover. I would never have
guessed that. From what little I’d seen of him, Tyrone seemed a decent human
being with a great deal more intelligence than any of these fellows, even if he
had certain unusual proclivities. And an unfortunate habit of talking too much.
Of course, genetics wasn’t everything. Maybe he’d gotten lucky in this
backwoods gene pool.
And then something Tyrone had said came rushing back
to me.
It’s
my family. It’s what we do. Did that mean these
cousins of his were cannibals too? That was mind-boggling at best. Was this a
wide-spread practice that I was unaware of? I had a feeling that wasn’t the
case, but the revelation was disturbing nonetheless.
“Why are you standing up for him?” one of the others
angrily spoke up. “Maybe you should find out what happened first before you
assume you know what’s going on.” His words were echoed by the other cousins,
probably under the illusion that there was safety in numbers. Hadn’t helped them
the first time.
“Maybe I should, Caleb,” Tyrone replied in a tone
somewhere between condescension and amusement. I found myself liking him just a
little more for his no-tolerance-for-stupidity attitude. These might be his
relatives, but he obviously wasn’t going to cut them any slack on that account.
I could understand that—I felt the same way when it came to my brothers.
You might wonder why I hadn’t spoken at all during
these proceedings? We’ve already established that I’m no wallflower. Neither am
I one who’s afraid to stand up for himself. It’s self-control I lack, not
courage. The honest answer is that I was compelled by reasons I didn’t clearly
understand to watch this unfolding family drama, infinitely grateful that it
wasn’t my family drama, for once.
Besides, I was wrestling internally with another
question of my own. How had Tyrone managed to find me yet again? I couldn’t
decide if I was being paranoid or merely suspicious.
“We weren’t doing anything,” Caleb continued. “Just shootin’
at some targets. You know, having some fun. This here (insert racial slur)
attacked us for no good reason.” He glanced around at the others, as if seeking
confirmation, which they were quick to provide. “Yeah, that’s right” and
“That’s what happened all right.” I noticed these same men failed to meet my
glance as they uttered their calumnies.
I couldn’t help but snort at the absurdity of it
all. Tyrone caught my eye and gave me a quick wink before turning his attention
back to his cousins.
“Attacked you? Seriously? He attacked all four of
you at one time? Really? Sorry I missed that.”
“Well…” Caleb drawled ineffectually, but apparently
Frank had had enough.
“Tyrone, fuck that shit. It’s us against him and you
need to pick which side you’re on right now. Are you gonna take the part of
this black stranger against us, your
own blood relatives? You’ve known us your whole damn life. Do you think we
would lie to you?”
“In a heartbeat.” Tyrone’s easy demeanor changed
before my startled gaze as he quickly strode up to Frank after first sending
Rover scurrying back to me and planted one finger in the middle of Frank’s broad
chest.
“If family is so important to y’all, then why are
you hiding out in the woods, shooting at empties when you’re supposed to be
working? Don’t deny it. I was just at the store, talking to Aunt Joan, and
she’s hopping mad.”
“Why were you at the store? You don’t work there
anymore,” Frank said belligerently. I could almost feel his bravado amping up
at this assertion. At the same time, I felt a certain hesitation in Tyrone’s
manner, as if his cousin had just touched an exposed nerve.
Then Frank made a potentially fatal error—he balled
up his fist and started to raise it. The next second I’d stepped between them,
and Frank lay face down in the dirt beneath my shoe.
“I could end you right now, little man,” I snarled.
“Do something stupid…anything… and I’ll prove it.”
to be continued
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