The Sludge

by David Bernstein

"Would you just tell me already?"

  Cole laughed. "Okay, you've suffered enough. We're heading to Lolo National Forest."

  "We're an hour north of Helena," Derek said. "Lolo is straight west of the city. What the hell we come all the way up here for?"

  "To throw off the feds. When they find the money bag you tossed, and this Camry, or rather what's going to be left of it, they'll assume we're heading north towards Canada. We'll be over four hours west of this very location."

  "Man, you're good," Derek said.

  Cole smiled. "Stick with me, little brother, and you'll be just fine."

  "Wait," Derek said, his eyebrows knitting. "We're staying in the woods? For real?"

  "Shitting in a hole and burying it," Cole said.

  "We've got all this money and we're going to be wiping our asses with leaves?"

  "I got us toilet paper, but basically, yeah. We'll live it rough for a bit. But no one is going to find us there. I set the whole place up with some nice stuff. Food, water, tent and other shit. Don't worry, it'll be better than Dirk's cabin."

  "Let's just hope we make it there," Derek said. "Lolo is pretty far. If they know it was us, they'll be looking."

  "Stop worrying," Cole said. "We'll be traveling back roads. We'll be fine. Enough talking. Let's get the fuck out of here."

  Cole opened the Charger's trunk and took out two five-gallon gas cans. The brothers each grabbed one and then went over to the Camry. Cole doused the interior with one can's contents, then soaked the exterior with the other's.

  After that, the brothers hopped into the Charger and drove away, but not before Cole lit a book of matches and tossed it into the Camry's driver side window, setting the vehicle aflame.

  CHAPTER 3

  During the four-hour trek to Lolo National Forest, the Garrett brothers had kept an ear on the various AM news stations. Unfortunately, Cole had forgotten to take the police scanner out of the Camry before torching it. The bank robbery was periodically being reported on various channels. The brothers had hoped not to hear news about themselves, and so far they hadn't. But they had heard that one of the three gunmen had been seriously injured and taken to a nearby hospital where he was undergoing surgery. Cole hoped his friend wasn't going to make it.

  When Cole drove the Charger off the sun-bleached and cracked backcountry road and onto the overgrown fire trail—at least that's what he assumed it was—that led into Lolo National Forest, he found breathing much easier.

  The beginning of the road-trail was barely visible from the paved street. Even if someone did attempt to drive along it, to explore, that individual would quickly find out it wasn't a good idea unless he or she wanted to damage their car. Of course, if he or she had a four-wheel drive vehicle with plenty of ground clearance, they'd be okay as long as they took it slow during some stretches. The path was full of ruts and divots that needed to be maneuvered around with a regular car. Bottoming out and breaking an axle would be anyone's fear. Cole's destination was almost an hour in too, making it highly unlikely, if someone did venture in, even with a four-wheel drive vehicle, that they'd come to where he'd set up camp. The place was simply too far away.

  The Charger bounced along, the suspension put to the test. The skeleton dangling from the rearview mirror wildly swung side to side like a hanged man in a hurricane. The undercarriage scraped the ground at times, but Cole managed to mostly avoid the larger ruts and holes, though with the overgrown grasses, it was hard to see everything.

  "This is it, bro," Cole said, as he drove slowly along. "I know it's rough, but it evens out a bit farther up."

  "Damn, ain't no one going to come up here looking for us," Derek said.

  "Exactly."

  "I hope we get there soon. I had to piss over an hour ago, and with all this bouncing around, I think I might piss myself."

  Cole stopped the car. "So get out and let it flow. We're far enough in. There ain't no one around."

  Derek opened the door and got out. Almost immediately, Cole heard the sound of urine hitting flora. He decided to relieve himself too and climbed out. The solitude was overwhelming. He sprayed his stream from side to side as if marking his territory.

  Finished, he got back in the car and lit a cigarette with his Zippo lighter. He loved the metallic click the thing made. Derek was standing outside the door, his business finished.

  "Man," he said, "it feels so good to stretch."

  The only stop they made since leaving Great Falls had been to fill up gas. Cole had worn a baseball cap low on his head when he went in to pay and wouldn't let Derek leave the car. The less anyone saw of them, the better. He also didn't want to stop alongside any roads to let Derek take a leak for fear a cop would come by—however unlikely—and cause trouble.

  Derek climbed back inside. "How much farther?"

  "About forty minutes."

  "So we really are staying in a tent?"

  "Well, I didn't build a fucking log cabin. But it's sweet. Don't worry."

  Cole drove on, taking the road at a gradual pace. He hadn't been back here for over two weeks. Some of the grasses were somewhat flattened, as if someone had recently driven by. He supposed it was possible that a ranger had used the road. If so, the park watchman was long gone by now. Still, the sight unnerved him a little. It was also possible that the grass hadn't sprung back up since he'd been here, but that seemed unlikely.

  As he thought about possibly running into people, his mind brought him back to the woman Dirk had killed. An innocent. Dirk was probably dead too, but the man had known the risks. He didn't want any more people to die, not because he gave a shit really, but because more bodies meant more trouble. But if it meant keeping him and Derek out of prison, he'd put more people down.

  "If anything happens to the Charger out here, we're fucked," Derek said.

  "No shit. No point in worrying about it. If it happens, we'll deal."

  "I'm just saying."

  "Well stop 'just saying'," Cole said. "Stop worrying. We made it. We're free and clear. Safe."

  "All right. I know. Ain't no one finding us out here."

  The brothers made idle chat here and there. Derek tried bringing up Dirk, the feds and the dead woman, he felt bad for her, but Cole silenced him on all accounts, leaving only room for bullshit about a girl they’d fucked, a fight they'd been in, and so forth.

  An hour later, after driving at a crawl at times, they came to where the road wound around a small cliff that looked out over the forest below. Cole drove past it and pulled into the woods where a small area had been cleared but was surrounded by dense brush and pine.

  "We're here," Cole said, and killed the engine.

  "Man, if I thought we were in the middle of nowhere before . . ." Derek said. "Where we are now really is nowhere."

  The brothers opened their doors, the hinges squealing loudly. They climbed out and took the duffel bags with them.

  "This way," Cole said, and the brothers headed back out to the road.

  "Woo hoo," Derek yelled. "Fuck you, coppers."

  "Yeah, fuck you all," Cole said, giving the middle finger back the way they'd come.

  They headed down the road and over to the cliff. "Wow, what a view," Derek said. "You don't get this shit where we're from—all that flat farmland as far as the eye can see." He looked down. "Oh, shit. You didn't tell me there was a lake. We've got water and fish. We can live up here for a good while."

  "Yup," Cole said, "but I got our food covered. No need to be eating like hillbillies unless it comes to that."

  "Hey, I like fishing and eating what I catch. And ain't nothing wrong with no hillbilly I ever met. They're good folk, if only just a bit unrefined."

  Cole laughed. "Suit yourself, but we're wealthy men now. Have to start acting like it."

  "For real, you going to get all snooty on me?"

  "Nah," Cole said, gently punching his brother's arm. "I ain't changing nothing about myself, except no more bank robbing. We're going legit now. C'mon, let me show
you our temporary housing."

  Cole led Derek into the woods and down the slope to where the rocky outcropping started. The lake was just off to the right. They continued onward for about a hundred feet before coming to a small clearing, where skyscraping trees stood a good distance apart from one another.

  A large, square camouflage tent with room to stand in sat in the open space. There was a fire pit with a roasting spit and grilling grate. Plastic storage bins were alongside the tent, many open. Two raccoons popped their heads up from one.

  "Son of a bitch," Cole said. He let the duffel bag fall to the ground and pulled out his gun.

  "Wait," Derek said, and put a hand on Cole's weapon. "We might be out here alone, but gunshots travel. Sometimes pretty far. We don't need to take the chance."

  Derek rushed forward and made growling noises. The raccoons leaped out, but stood their ground, hissing. Cole knew the pesky critters could be dangerous. He picked up a fallen branch and tossed it at them and that did it. The raccoons scampered away into the brush.

  Cole went up to the containers. "Damn it. I thought I sealed this stuff really good. Half the food is gone." A few of the containers still had locks on them and were intact.

  "Them little fuckers got noses better than bloodhounds," Derek said. "I think we came upon the last of them, the rest of their little party gone off with full bellies."

  Cole went through the food bins, cursing as he did so. "We got about two weeks’ worth of food here. The rest is gone or opened and partially eaten."

  "What are we going to do?" Derek asked.

  "We'll be all right," Cole said. "I'll go into town and get more supplies in the morning. And like you said, we got the lake to get us fish." Cole knew he should've tied the food up in the air a good ten to fifteen feet off the ground, but there'd been so much of it and it had taken him a long time just to transport what he had. He'd done it all by himself.

  Next, they checked inside the tent, finding it sealed and the contents untouched, presumably because there was little food in there. There were a couple of inflated air mattresses, rolled up sleeping bags, lanterns, flashlights, fishing gear, packages of batteries, including a car battery, bags of dried fruit, powdered milk, a few jugs of spring water, and two cases of beer. Two folding chairs and a folding table sat in the center. Chess, checkers and a few other board games were stacked in a corner.

  "Damn, bro," Derek said. "How the hell did you get all this shit here?"

  "It wasn't easy, but I did it."

  "That beer ain't going to last but a few days, why so little?"

  "You try doing all this by yourself. Besides, I got more in the trunk, you think I'm stupid? Be out here all these days with no alcohol? Hell no."

  "Phew, you scared me there for a minute," Derek said, wiping his brow.

  They both laughed.

  The duffel bags were deposited inside the tent, and the table and chairs were taken outside and set up next to the fire pit.

  "We going to count the money now?" Derek asked.

  "After we set up and eat. I'm starving."

  "This is going to be better than that shack we stayed in," Derek said. "Hey, seriously, how long you think we're going to have to stay here?"

  Cole shook his head. "Like I said, a month at least. Maybe more."

  "I love being outdoors and relaxing, not having to work at the Dairy Mart, but I'm worried I'm going to lose my shit out here."

  "Just remember the money, and that being out here is only temporary."

  "The money, right. I feel better already. Hell, it'll be totally worth it once we're wherever we're going to be after this."

  "Amen to that."

  "Where are we going after here?" Derek asked.

  "In time, brother. I'll tell you all you need to know soon enough."

  Derek rolled his eyes. "That shit again?"

  "It's for your own good. Just remember, I got us this far. Trust in your older brother, okay?"

  "Yeah, okay."

  Cole dipped his hand into a backpack and brought out two cell phones. He tossed one to Derek. "Burners. Hard to get a signal out here, but we can use these if we have to."

  "I wish you told me you were going to toss my old phone in the swamp before we went up to Dirk's cabin. I had all my bitches’ numbers on it."

  "Why you still harping on that?" Cole asked. "You don't need them anymore. That life and everyone in it is history. Think of us as if we're in witness protection now. No contact with anyone from our previous lives."

  "I know," Derek said. "I just wish we could've taken Sallie Ann with us. Damn, she could suck and fuck like a porn star."

  "Hell yeah, she could."

  The brothers set up their camp, getting it fully operational, not that there was a lot to do. Firewood was gathered—Cole not having done so previously—and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, with slices of salami and cheese on the side, were consumed. The brothers ate at the table. Derek wanted to get a fire going to keep the bugs away, but Cole reminded him that smoke could be seen from afar and that they would only be able to have fires at night.

  "I gotcha," Derek said. "The smoke will be harder to see."

  "If at all," Cole said.

  After their meal, they went inside the tent and counted the money, twice, coming to a grand total of $200,560.

  "Holy shit," Derek said, "we're fucking rich."

  "Yeah, not bad," Cole said. "I'd hoped to have a little more."

  "Well, we have Dirk's share, so that's like more right there," Derek said, sounding upbeat.

  Cole stared at his brother. He'd been thinking the same thing. It was true, but he felt shitty about it. It wasn't something to celebrate. He still couldn't believe he had almost finished his friend off. It had been a spur of the moment reaction. A self-preservation move.

  "I didn't mean anything by it," Derek quickly said.

  "I know. It's the truth though."

  "Yeah, it ain't like we fucked him over or killed him for his share."

  "I know."

  "You think he made it?"

  "No way to know, but I doubt it."

  "Let's hope," Derek said, grinning. He popped the top on a beer and stepped outside.

  Cole followed, angry. He spun his brother around and pinned him to a tree, pressing his forearm against Derek's throat. "He was my friend. My best friend."

  "Okay, Cole, what the hell, man," Derek said, his face reddening from having his air supply impeded.

  Cole stepped back. Derek coughed and rubbed his throat, his beer still clutched in the other hand, foam spilling over his fingers.

  "He was my best friend," Cole said, again. "Yeah, he knew the risks, and yeah, his cash is ours, but it don't mean you have to fucking smirk and enjoy it."

  Derek took a sip of his beer, then eyed Cole through slits. "What do you want me to do, go around and mope about the guy? He fucking killed that woman. He didn't need to. He was itching to blow someone away. He never should've been there. He wasn't right in the head and you know it."

  "Watch it," Cole warned, pointing a finger at Derek.

  Derek rolled his eyes. "Look, he was my friend, too. Not someone I'd hang out with on my own, but he was a friend. I feel bad for the guy, but I ain't going to sugarcoat the fact that we have more cash thanks to his not being here."

  "I know he fucked up," Cole said, running a hand over his head. "And I hope he's dead, too. Spending a lifetime in prison is no way for a person to live. But show a little respect. The man was solid."

  Derek nodded, then downed the rest of his beer and tossed the can into the fire pit.

  "I didn't think anyone was going to die," Derek said. "An innocent woman. She could've had a family. Shit. I mean, fuck everyone and all, but when you think about it—"

  "I know," Cole said and patted Derek on the shoulder. "It sucks, but there's no going back. Her pain ain't ours, so forget it."

  "And you know what really bothers me?" Derek asked.

  "What?"

 
; "That fact that it doesn't truly wrack me to my core that someone died. I mean, I'm sad, but I'm all jacked up from pulling that robbery. I feel high as a cloud and shit."

  Cole grinned. "Yeah, me too. Makes you feel invincible."

  "Yeah, kind of. But at the same time, it kind of scares the shit out of me."

  "Screw it," Cole said. "For all the loot we got, I'd kill another bitch like her in a heartbeat. Got to take what you can in this lifetime. We ain't never going to be no lawyer or doctor or own a fucking factory and make millions. This is what we got and we're going to make the most of it. It's all about survival."

  Derek shook his head. "You're one evil dude."

  "Yeah, I am."

  Later on, they started up a fire and sat around it, drinking beer and talking about old times and the future. The smoke kept the bugs away, the mosquitoes appearing as soon as the sun had gone down. And it wasn't long before both men stumbled into the tent and fell asleep.

  CHAPTER 4

  The following morning, the Garrett brothers listened to the radio, the music-playing device able to pick up a static-laden AM station. There was nothing new on the robbery. No names were released as to who the suspects were and there was no word on Dirk. Cole then informed Derek that he was going for supplies. It was better to get them now in some small backwoods town than wait for the police net to widen. Derek wanted to go with him, but Cole said he was going alone.

  "No point in both of us getting caught," Cole said, downing the rest of the instant coffee in his mug.

  "Don't talk like that, man," Derek said.

  "I'll be fine. Black car, not red. And it's just me, not the two suspects they are possibly searching for." He placed the mug on the folding table. "I'll only be gone a few hours, two of those just for traveling down that trail. Have to replace what those raccoons stole, and I think getting it over with right away is best. Being potentially spotted now is better than being spotted in a week. The feds will think we're just passing through. If we're seen in a week or two, they might think we're still in the area. When I get back, we won't have to leave for a month or more. Plenty of food."

  "Just watch your back," Derek said, worried.