by Lauren Salem
“So you’re telling me you can’t reach your own ass?” I laughed.
“The sooner you insert the USB, the sooner I can deliver your information.”
I took off the USB cap and gently inserted the drive into Vincent’s port.
“Harder,” he demanded.
I glanced around uncomfortably as I pushed the drive harder into Vincent’s port.
“You’re almost there…I can almost feel the information!” he said excitedly.
When I jammed the USB as deep as it would go, a wave of electric currents danced on Vincent’s metal body, and oil leaked from his front side. “You’re looking for your biological father, who can be found at the Swamp Bar located at the end of the river. Oh, that was fun; let’s do another one!”
“Actually, that was kind of weird for me; I’m going to pass,” I said as I pulled out the USB, replaced the cap, and threw it back into the mining cart.
“No wait, please, my hard drive craves information! I want to know when the world will end, what’s so special about Walnut Cherryville, and why Laura chose not to be with me. I need answers! I must know everything!”
I thought I understood now why someone would purposely program robots with the inability to reach their own ass. The information made Vincent crazy like an addict addicted to drugs or sex. Once he got a taste of information, he didn’t know when to stop, and he became greedy. No person or robot should have the answers to all the world’s questions.
I walked my cinnamon stick to deeper waters, leaving Vincent behind, pleading for more information. He reached for me and tried to grab me, but the ball and chain held him back. I sat on the cinnamon stick and floated downriver until I reached the swamp.
The Swamp Bar that Vincent talked about looked like a log cabin stranded on an island in the middle of a pond, which the champagne river emptied into. The pond was surrounded by overgrown bald cypress trees that reached toward the cloudy red sky. When the cinnamon stick ground against the land, I knew it was time to get off for my last stop. Why would I be looking for my father, who had been dead for years? How could Laura, Collins, and Vincent know I was looking for something when I myself didn’t know I was looking for something? I walked onto the island and stood at the entrance of the Swamp Bar but hesitated to open the door.
My hand turned the rusty doorknob cautiously to reveal an angry bar fight. I stepped into the bar, which was flooded up to my knees with a combination of blood, piss, and beer, and closed the door. For some reason, the flood was retained in the bar and didn’t spill out into the pond. Every square inch of the bar was occupied by naked men who wrestled each other, ripped their opponent’s flesh off with their teeth, and spit it out on the floor. Chunks of skin floated past me, still bleeding, as I searched for my father. For the first time today, I realized that below my jeans, I was wearing cowboy boots, something I hadn’t worn for years…not since…I spotted my father punching the man I killed when I was ten years old, the man who Dad claimed was his friend. My heart pounded, and my body clammed up as all the memories of that night, which I tried to keep out for years, rushed back into my mind. I thought it was time to face the consequences for what I had done.
“Hello, Fredrick,” I said.
“Fredrick? Johnny, I’m your father; what happened to calling me Dad?”
“You haven’t been my father for years.”
“I’m sorry to hear that, son, but whether you like it or not,” Fredrick kicked his friend into the bar, “my blood runs through your veins, and that’s what makes you a Cockit.”
The man bounced back with a furious punch to Fredrick’s nose. They kept fighting each other like they felt no pain.
“There’s something you need to know about your family; once I tell you, you need to listen to me and follow the instructions I give very carefully.”
“After I protected you by killing this man, it ruined my life, so why would I follow any instructions coming from you?” I asked.
“His name was Angus Quinton, the father of Kenneth,” Fredrick announced.
“I killed Kenneth’s dad!”
“Johnny, you have to understand that what you did needed to be done to protect the family. I only wish that I had the chance to kill Angus before you intervened. That’s why I told you to stay in the car, but you didn’t listen. If there was ever a time where it was critical that you listen to me…the time is now. Our families have been feuding over the land of Walnut Cherryville for centuries, and the Quintons stole what was rightful Cockit property.”
Angus held Fredrick in a familiar chokehold and pushed Fredrick up against the wall, but Fredrick quickly kicked him away.
“The only thing I care about is getting my friends safely out of Walnut Cherryville, which clearly isn’t going to happen now,” I said. “The Quintons can keep their property because I don’t want it.”
“The land is yours, Johnny, and you need to take ownership of it in honor of the Cockit family. Its magic prevents the two families from ever becoming physically ill or dying while they’re on the land. Even though Walnut Cherryville is located in the most remote part of the Sonoran desert, its fertile land has provided the families with food and water since the beginning of our bloodlines. If you want to ensure a future for yourself and your future kin, you need to kill Kenneth because he for sure is not hesitating to kill you.”
“I thought you said I couldn’t die on the land of Walnut Cherryville?”
“Well, there is an exception to that rule…You and Kenneth can kill each other whether you’re on Walnut Cherryville soil or not because you both come from direct bloodlines. That’s why you were able to kill Angus at his house in Phoenix, and it’s why Grandpa Cockit died from a gunshot wound in the park. Anyone could kill us with any object if we’re not in Walnut Cherryville. The rule only protects you against dying from murder attempts by people like Kenneth’s mother, who married into the bloodline. As long as you’re in Walnut Cherryville, there is absolutely nothing she can do to kill you.”
“I can’t believe you’re asking me to kill Kenneth! Haven’t I made him suffer enough? No wonder he’s trying to kill me; he must be really upset and angry about the death of his father.”
“Don’t forget that his family killed your father and your grandfather, so don’t be so quick to hand out forgiveness. You must kill Kenneth exactly the way I tell you to. Somewhere in Walnut Cherryville, your great-great-great grandfather hid a sacred knife that you need to find in order to kill Kenneth correctly. On Walnut Cherryville soil, Kenneth will only die if you stab his heart with this knife. Killing him with anything else will cause a false death, and the land will not safely be yours if any Quinton is still breathing.”
“Am I still breathing?” I asked.
“My son, you are still very much alive…All you need to do is wake up, up, up, up…” My father’s voice faded out to the blow of the wind and the sound of a dog whistle.
My vision quickly became blurry, and everything I saw in front of me disappeared into white, blank nothingness. I couldn’t feel my limbs anymore, and my body became numb, yet I felt like I dropped thousands of feet back into reality. After taking a few deep breaths, I opened my eyes, where I found myself lying in a coffin…still alive.
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Lauren Salem graduated from Wilkes University with a degree in Communication Studies and currently lives in Pennsylvania. This is her first published novel and the first book in The Eternal Feud Series. She also writes short stories and poetry. When she’s not writing, she’s trying out new cooking recipes and delicious teas.
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bsp; Lauren Salem, Reunion at Walnut Cherryville (The Eternal Feud Book 1)