The Final Shortcut

by G. Bernard Ray

  Safely nestled behind locked doors surrounded by bundles of leather and hides, he worked at a fevered pace. Dozens of patterns were stacked beside him held together with clothes pins, waiting to be assembled. He poured into his craft oblivious to any outside distraction, a near frantic expression on his face. Every since the incident with the family in the RV, his nerves had been at a ragged edge. His thoughts ranged from extreme guilt to delusion. Not only had someone discovered his mine, they forced him to put two young girls in danger. A thought that was driving him over the edge.

  The only solace to his torment was working. Immediately after the deal with Tree he reworked his entire security system at the mine. Installing a complex network of sensors that covered the entire area, including his shack. Not so much as a dog could pee on a tree, without him knowing it in a flash by remote paging. And once that was finished he moved into his shop and began refilling the shelves with all new masterpieces. The quality of his goods did not suffer due to his mood. In fact it got markedly better. It seemed the more manic he became the more expressive and creative his work turned out.

  And right now he was particularly detached, hardly looking at his work but piecing it together flawlessly. While he was cutting out the patterns he cut his fingers three times without noticing. He only put a bandage on one finger because it was staining the leather. Already during the assembly he stabbed an awl into his knee, but the pain never dissuaded him from the hurried pace. It was as though he could work away the feelings of guilt. Make enough good things to make up for all the bad things he had done. An empty bobbin was spinning in the machine and the sound woke Junior out of his delirium. Only then did he notice the pain in his hands. Only then did he stop to tend his wounds. As he washed the cuts in the sink he looked out across the rolling mountains. It as already full dark and he could see lights blinking on through the miles of forest. He began to feel more relaxed; the tension had subsided for now. By the sound of his stomach he could tell it had been too long since he’d eaten. The canned soda next to his sewing machine had long since fallen over and dried into a sticky mess on the floor. He turned toward the restaurant door but stopped before taking two steps. Some of the new materials he was experimenting with were lying out and they grabbed his attention. He immediately started thinking of new designs, after eating he would try something radically new. When he walked up to the door his reflection in the glass panel seemed to jump out at him. And when he looked closer at it, he could see his fathers face glaring angrily back at him.

  “YOU NEVER HARM CHILDREN!”

  The voice echoed in his ears and he screamed out loud. He fell to his knees and covered his ears with his hands.

  “No, no no I didn’t. I treated ‘em good. They were ok when they were with me.” His tears and his mutterings flowed like water, his stability rapidly declining. When he stood up his sore knee buckled a little and he slumped into the counter. The new material caught his eye again and his tears seemed to dry away at once. He grabbed the bundle of exotic samples from around the world and started creating anew. The tears gone, the guilt gone and his father’s image was gone. He piled into the floor and began laying out patterns, he had forgotten about the meal. All that mattered now was keeping the demons at bay, a task that was becoming increasingly more difficult.

  Most of the businesses along their street were closed by now. Only the streetlights illuminated the lonely blacktop. The deep valleys and the abundance of tall trees made the nights very dark. And on nights like tonight, even though the sky was clear, the dark seemed to suck up all light. An eerie still cooled the air and the animals seemed strangely quiet, an icy feel to the air made anyone outside shiver. The flow of traffic on the interstate made a mournful sound. It droned loudly at the intersection but faded quickly, filtered by the dense trees. Only a mile away the sounds were nothing more than a faint buzz. A lone pair of headlights ambled along the popular shortcut barely piercing the night. The dirt road wasn’t used as much at night. It was most popular with the local route drivers, but it wasn’t unusual to see traffic at any time. Puttering along well below the speed limit, a small rental car eased down the road, seemingly lost.

  “I think we’re almost there.” Fudd pulled his head back in the car and pointed his flashlight outside.

  “How can you tell? I can hardly see the road myself.” Taipei drove carefully along keeping an eye out for other traffic.

  “I made a mental note of some landmarks so I could find …wait…there it is. Stop!” Fudd held his flashlight high enough to illuminate a small level spot in the bushes, just off the road. “Ha, I told you I could find it. Pull in there and kill the lights”

  “Ok, I still think we could have waited until morning, I do my best work in the morning.” Taipei parked carefully trying not to get stuck. “One more night on one of those feather pillows…”

  “Well too bad! You know I trust my instincts, and when I feel like a safe house isn’t safe anymore, then I leave.” Fudd was a little irritated at his prodding even though he knew Taipei would follow him anywhere at anytime. “After we take a look around here, we’ll get out of here and go to a real city, ok?”

  “Ok. What is it we’re doing here again?”

  Fudd cocked his head and gave the big man a sideways grin. “You are just in a picking mood tonight aren’t you? I just want to see what that guy has tucked away back in the woods.” He climbed out of the car and went to the trunk.

  “What makes you think there’s anything back there. It’s very dark, no signs of life.” Taipei went to the trunk and pulled on a black sweatshirt and cap to conceal him in the dark, Fudd was similarly dressed.

  “A gut feeling. He either has a place back there or there’s another shortcut. Somewhere where he could have hidden two girls. And maybe he has something else of value hidden away.” He checked his pistol and flashlight before starting out. “I believe if we walk across this rise we should cross the road I saw him use after his meeting with Tree, about half a mile that way.”

  “Ok, if you say so. You don’t mind if I follow you at a distance. In case you fall in a hole, or off a cliff.” Taipei couldn’t help poking a little more fun at him.

  “Very funny, just don’t get lost.” Fudd set off into the thick foliage, his city boy manner far behind him now. His hunter instincts, honed over many years of use, were guiding him now to what he hoped was treasure.

  They swiftly moved through the tangle of underbrush almost as though they knew their way. The scattered stars produced a helpful, but dim glow across the ground. Each step was calculated for stealth and speed, each movement deliberate. Both men loved the thrill of a hunt and with each passing step they became more excited. Neither of them made any noise other than the occasional rock fall, they even took care to push branches out of the way instead of breaking them. It took less than twenty minutes for them to find the dirt road that lead away from the shortcut. And they stepped onto it carefully, still reserving their flashlights for later. Fudd was the first to speak, and he did so very triumphantly.

  “There, I told you I had a special talent for direction. I believe that…” He walked out further in the road and looked both ways before talking again. “There, that’s the intersection where Tree picked up the brats, and we’re standing on the road I was looking for. The one that leads back into the dark abyss.” He looked over at Taipei with a broad grin and put both hands on his hips.

  “I never had any doubt, shall we go?”

  “Yes, we’ll probably be ok on the road for a bit, I can’t see any signs of life back there.” Fudd started at a leisurely pace but instinctively moved to the edge of the road for cover. Taipei followed silently keeping an eye on their rear as well as scanning the countryside to their sides. For several moments they trudged along quietly, mindful of every silhouette looming out of the dark. Studying each acre searching for a familiar shape.

  “I’m beginning to wonder if we stepped into another time, this looks like a desolate stretch of woods.
Taipei spoke in a muted tone just loud enough for Fudd to hear.

  “It is certainly that….if we don’t see anything soon….we’ll go back and get the car. We could be looking at another shortcut.” Fudd kept walking as he talked, his voice at a low tone. They continued on as they had before, quiet and cool. Then, as they made a slight curve to the left, Fudd stuck out his hand and they both stopped at once. “I think I just saw something.” He took a couple small steps backward and crouched to peer through the leaves. “Let’s walk up this bank a bit.” And without another word they pushed through the brush and climbed a six-foot bank that opened into a clearing. “That looks like a small house up there on that rise, I make it another fifty yards.”

  “It looks more like a shack, probably a hunting shack. And very dark.”

  “You’re not afraid of the dark are you?” Fudd quipped at him without looking around. He stood there silently and they both scanned the area for more clues. “There, by that tree.” Fudd pointed to a tree just under the shack. “You see that, looks like a parking place.”

  “You may be right.” They walked closer to examine the clues. “There’s an oil spot, looks like he uses this place quite a bit.” Taipei crouched lower and followed the tracks through the woods, pointing out the route that leads away from them in the opposite direction.

  “Well, are you ready to see if anybody is home?” Fudd turned and crept toward the shack, Taipei closely in tow. The closer they got the lower to the ground they got, so when they approached the door they were nearly crawling. Taipei put his ear to the wall and confirmed that it was empty. A short nod to his partner and the big man muscled the door open.

  At that same instant, back at the leather workshop Junior’s beeper sounded loudly. The sudden burst startled him and he stared at it for a few seconds before turning it off. He sat bewildered for a second before acting; someone was encroaching on his private property, again. This time he would not be caught by surprise. In a flash he locked the shop and headed for his truck, he would be at the mine in less than three minutes. His beeper gave him a code that indicated an intruder was at his shack, and since he always kept a weapon behind the seat, he would be ready.

  Once the two men entered the shack it only took a brief moment to look around, thoroughly searching everything. An electric stove, small refrigerator, a small table and a single bed lined the wall. Only one small window next to the table and a gun rack next to the door, complete with a pump shotgun.

  “Well, other than being very well furnished for a hunting shack, I would say we haven’t found the treasure.” Taipei grinned some and poked a little more fun at Fudd.

  “Yeh, it looks that way. Maybe we should get out of here.” Fudd spun on his heel and slipped on a rug nearly falling. “Whoa!! Watch that rug….Hey! Do you see what I see?”

  “I sure do, it looks like a secret door in the floor.” Taipei looked at his friend and they both smiled.

  “Let’s have a look shall we?” He reached down and grabbed an indent that served as a handle and raised the door. The exposed ladder was well used and inviting so they wasted little time in climbing down. Once at the bottom they turned on their flashlights and set out, following the tracks in the dirt.

  “It stinks down here, like something died a long time ago.” Fudd curled up his nose and tried to find his way in the pitch black of the mine.

  “It would be very easy to get lost in here, I think we should think about this…”

  “Not afraid of bats are you Tai?”

  “No, but a very old coal mine, which this probably is, could have many pitfalls and weak timbers that could collapse easily.” Taipei walked carefully watching his path with the utmost scrutiny. “And these flashlights are almost useless in this place, I can hardly see my feet.”

  “You’re right about that, I feel like I’m in a bad B-horror movie.” They walked carefully along, following a well-packed path until it intersected with three other tunnels. “I don’t like the looks of this. How do you feel about wandering into a maze?”

  Taipei seemed short of breath when he whispered his answer. “I think we should get out of here man!” He stood half crouched, shying away from the overhead timbers, pacing very nervously.

  “What is it?”

  “I just got a real spooky feeling about this, we should follow our tracks back out of here before we get lost.”

  The hair on Fudd’s neck stood straight up and he felt his heart speed up a notch. “I’m beginning to think the same thing. I don’t want to be a statistic.” They turned in unison and started back. They hadn’t walked very far but in the clinging gloom of the mine but it seemed like miles. “Wait a minute Tai. I didn’t notice this cavern before. We had our heads to the ground and walked right by. How could we have missed this big th… what the…” Fudd pointed his light across the wall of a spacious cavern that was only yards from the ladder. Something caught his eye and he slowly walked forward trying to make out what he saw. “Oh my God, it’s a skeleton. Well, two of them right ….Tai… can you see this.” Fudd stared transfixed with his mouth agape, “I’m not believing what I’m seeing.”

  “We are in big trouble my friend.” Taipei stood a few feet away at the center of the chamber scanning it with his light. An endless crowd of skeletons lined the walls of the cavern. Some were clothed in faded rags, the only remnants of their former life. And some were clothed in newer outfits. But each was posed neatly around the wall facing the center. The still, white, bones gleamed in the stark darkness. Their faces seemed to move in the shadows mocking the intruders. “I’m getting a serious case of the creeps here, there must be two dozen of them. What kind of freak does this?”

  “Some of these have been here a long time. And I don’t want to join them.” Fudd turned toward the way out but Taipei stopped him by grabbing his arm.

  “Say…why are they so clean?”

  “What do you mean?” Fudd looked up at him, standing close enough to feel him tremble.

  “You’ve seen bodies that were left to rot, they aren’t clean and white like that.”

  “You’re right…these look like he polishes them.”

  Taipei stepped quickly to the ladder anxious to leave. “I have never had a feeling like this before, I’m scared shitless!”

  “Then climb, I’m ready to git too!” Fudd tried not to let his fears take over, something he had trained himself to do. But he could feel the same tension that Taipei was feeling. No matter how cold and unemotional you become something can always bring you to your senses. And a room full of skeletons is enough to rattle anyone.

  The forty-foot ladder seemed to grow longer as they climbed and Taipei sighed a sigh of relief when he stepped up into the shack. He stood still, catching his breath as Fudd climbed out. But when he stepped out he headed straight for the door.

  “You staying?” He barked out the phrase with a tough guy edge to his voice, trying to shake off the chills. Without wasting another second he snatched open the door and strode outside, his wind pulled the door nearly closed behind him. Taipei pulled the door opened and looked straight ahead. What he saw happen next unfolded to him in mind numbingly clear slow motion.

  A shot rang out, a rifle flash in the trees twenty paces ahead, and then he saw Fudds body thrown backward. The bullet sprayed blood out of his back in a small fountain as it passed through him just above the heart. With one hand over the wound he staggered boldly forward and managed to raise his pistol to shoulder height. The second shot entered just below the left eye and exploded the back of Fudd’s head like a melon. Spinning him just enough so that he fell on his side, eyes wide-open, staring back at Taipei. Dead before he hit the ground, the remnants of his brain were dangling in shreds.

  The shock of watching his only friend fall before his eyes had riveted him to the spot, but only for a moment. A millisecond after his body hit the ground, Taipei was on the move. The shots had come from straight ahead and he intended to fight back. He jumped back into the cabin and killed
his light. His pistol would be inadequate, fortunately his host had a gun rack by the door. He reached above his head and snatched the shotgun off the rack. That caused one of the support arms to come loose and fall loudly to the floor. Before he could react a hole exploded in his face. The plywood wall splintered as the high powered shell crashed through, simultaneously punching a dime sized hole in his chest just below the collarbone. He stood frozen and watched in agony as two more bullets blew splinters in his eyes before passing through his body. He felt his heart stop and for a silent moment he felt euphoric. Then he fell to the ground with his hands still clutching the shotgun. When Junior walked in he didn’t bother to be coy, he knew his target was dead. That shotgun rack trick had been one that Marty had thought of years ago, and for the first time the trick paid off. Confirming the fact that he was dead Junior trotted back outside and pulled Fudd’s body back in the house. He turned on some lights to take a closer look at the burglars. There was nothing on the bodies to tell him who they were, only a couple handguns.

  But one thing caught his eye as he undressed Fudd, a most unusual tattoo. There was something about it that made Junior start to laugh, an almost manic laugh. He held the arm up and looked at it from every angle.

  “Now this is something I can use. I never thought about using this kind of leather.” Still giggling he finished undressing the bodies and opened the hatch to the mine. Taipei’s body was heavy enough that Junior had to wrestle with it before forcing it into the hatch. Fudd’s was considerably easier to handle and before he pushed it in he had to look at the tattoo again. “ Yeh boy! That’s gonna make something real special.”

  He took another long look over Fudd’s bicep, a four inch color tattoo of Elmer Fudd on a Harley with the words “Live to Wide, Wide to Live” written underneath. “You know maybe I should carry you down, I would hate it if you messed up my prize. You’re gonna be immortalized in some of my artwork.” Junior’s eyes were glassy and wild, barely cognizant of his situation. He was in survival mode now, and in a world of his own. He was still laughing sporadically as he fetched a rope and tied Fudd's hands to the end of it. He carefully lowered the body down to the bottom, making sure not to scrape the tattoo and tossed the rope in after. “Th..Th..That’s all folks.” Still laughing, he started cleaning up the blood, mopping up the bulk of it with their clothes. As he worked he began to hum cartoon theme songs, every few minutes he would imitate one of his favorite characters and start laughing again. The blood was mostly cleaned off after thirty minutes, good enough for a shack that no one ever visits. The bullet holes went in one side and out the other, but should he have to, that could be easily explained. It was good enough for now, he had other work to do tonight.