Sighting.

(Knacker Wagon Chronicles - VI)

The van rumbled down the gravel road. Sarge drove steadily, hidden behind a pair of sunglasses. Pudgi had donned a set of headphones and flipped open a laptop. Baye couldn't tell what Pudgi was doing but whatever it was consumed Pudgi's attention. Rev had returned to reading his book. Baye thought he could make out the words The Holy Bible from the elaborately scripted cover. Hamm had closed his eyes and may have slipped off into a deep slumber. Tweed was absorbed with the passing road. Baye didn't mind the solace.

Sarge had turned down the stereo, its rhythms no longer pumping through his chest cavity. The van trundled onward, its occupants all self-absorbed, including Baye. He drifted into the past again. Fairness is subjective, he thought. Was his sentence fair? Was his conviction fair? Was it fair that he lived and the other guy didn't? Did any of it matter? Especially now did it; he second guessed himself about pondering the past at all. First order of business was to survive, only then maybe he could address matters of philosophy.

"Whoa, Whoa, WHOA!", exclaimed Pudgi.
"Speak up, Pudgi", replied Sarge.
"A new sighting just came over the wire - and it's close," said Pudgi. "It's near our border with the Vengeance Crew."
"Sweet," said Sarge, with a broadening smile. "Any luck and we'll meet them head on. Give me directions Pudgi."
Tweed interjected and Baye lost track of the conversation between Sarge and Pudgi. "Hamm, wake up!" bellowed Tweed. "We got a new sighting. Make sure the pups are ready to go." Tweed tugged at a side pocket of his pants. His hands brushed against Baye. Baye scooted away just in case Tweed might be up to some new game. Tweed unsheathed a knife that was nearly a foot long. "You guys have your happy sticks? Sorry, Baye, you don't get a happy stick today, you've had some bad vibes." Tweed grinned. Baye watched Tweed's handling of the knife with exquisite care. He ran through his options of what to do if he found the happy stick coming towards him. Tweed fondled the blade's edge and appeared satisfied. Baye relaxed once the happy stick was resheathed.

Rev had set his book down and was fumbling through a duffle bag. "Hey, Baye, try this on." He tossed a cloth object onto Baye. Baye lifted it unsurely. "Baye, you get to be our mascot. It might save your life. Then again, it might not." Baye snapped the cloth to examine it more closely. It was a pink shirt with a large red circle. The circle had a diagonal bar across the middle. Inset inside the circle and slashed by the bar were the words 'NO SPLAT'. "That's our motto Baye", said Rev.
"Maybe you won't get run over," suggested Tweed. Baye looked perplexed.
"Well, put it on!", Rev urged. Baye obliged. He was no longer combative now, he had moved into observation mode. As stupid as he felt, he would pick his battles, and this suggestion was one he could live with. "It comes pre-scented," said Rev. "Charm and Beauty won't maul anyone wearing it. They don't know you're stink yet, so we're doing you a favor."
"Thanks a million,"snorted Baye.
"Besides, you look so pretty now you might be a distraction", said Tweed.

The van lurched through a turn. Sarge was in some sort of hurry. The chatter from Pudgi remained excited. Sarge kept an even tone. Baye felt himself pressing into the metal wall beside him as Sarge accelerated. The van was tearing down a asphalt road. Baye could feel the tension rising within the van. Another turn and this time the tires squealed in agony. Sarge pounded the accelerator again. He flipped the stereos on and cranked up the volume.

"Just up ahead, less than a mile now!" yelled Pudgi. Every bump in the road jolted the van. Sarge ignored any potholes. He steered straight on, pushing the van to greater speeds. Charmed yipped beneath Baye, as if registering a protest. Baye watched the terrain flash by. His nerves were rattled but it looked like everyone elses' were as well. He looked ahead for whatever this sighting could be. A car? A person? A UFO?

He was launched forward as Sarge slammed the brakes. He dove into Tweed who in turn rammed into the back of Sarge's unyielding chair. "Everyone OUT" bellowed Sarge. The side door slid open and he felt himself pushed out. He unceremoniously sprawled onto the ground. He was stepped on at least once, and kicked some more, as the rest of the crew piled out of the van.

"Hey! Mind the mascot!", hollered Baye. He stood up quickly. Everyone had taken off running. To Baye it looked like a pre-arranged pattern. They were searching for something - or strategically spacing themselves. The crew was fanning out in an oval, spreading most quickly beyond the front of the van. Baye walked in that direction. He saw an empty road - no cars, no people, no UFO. He didn't see anything worthy of all the fuss. Perhaps it was trap, maybe the border with the Vengeance Crew was an ambush in-waiting.

"Got it!" yelled Tweed, farthest up the road. The others sprinted toward Tweed. Baye joined the rush. There was an object laying in the middle of the road.
"It's a fat rodent!", added Tweed. "And it's ours!"