Country Roads, Take me Home

[Mick the Rogue]

Somewhere in the mountains of Colorado

 

"Remember the instructions I gave you Danny. You get to Silver City and I promise we'll get you a job. Just stick to the road and the path I gave you."- Uncle B

 

Daniel kept walking. The bus stopped a while from where Uncle B said to go. The roads out here were somewhere between asphalt and gravel, raised high on either side with a ditch on murky mud or water. The whole thing meant Daniel either had to walk directly on the road, or risk wandering into the ditch

 

The sun was hot and thankfully setting. It was in theory only another 15 miles or so to Silver City, though the signs seemed mute on the subject. The cars and trucks along the road had largely vanished, and there were no road lights to be seen. It was getting dark, but the country dark that had stars and the moon bright enough to light the way.

 

It was then that Daniel heard an honest to goodness wolf howl. It was far off, but still too close for comfort, especially if Daniel had lived in a city all his life.

 

After another turn, Daniel spotted a different light. A campfire just off the road. There wasn't a car or a truck nearby which was odd. But the smell of something savory cooking was alluring. He was still too far away to see details. And to get over there meant getting off the road... But it was dark, and starting to get cold...

 

[ELC1837]

Uncle B's words still resonated in Danny's head as he pressed forward along the rocky road. Although he was lucky enough for a generous stranger to give him bus fare to get this far, he still had quite a few miles to hike before reaching Silver City, and he neither had the shelter nor the food to ensure that he arrived healthy enough to work. And, as much of a tough guy as he imagined himself to be, he knew for sure he wouldn't be able to fend off a pack of coyotes, let alone actual wolves.

So, when he spotted the campfire and smelled the enticing fragrance of cooked food, the vagabond stopped and considered his options. He could continue on along the road, hoping that his tenacity and cunning alone would help him reach Silver City in decent physical condition. Or he could actually take note of his limits as an actual human being for once and do what he can to ensure he gets there in that same condition.

Having lost everything by always doing the former and never the latter, Daniel stepped off the side of the road and cautiously headed towards the fire below.

[Mick the Rogue]

Daniel left the road and cautiously jumped over the ditch in the middle. As he got closer, even from this distance, he could feel the warmth of the fire. Or maybe it was just in contrast to the icy wind that began to blow. Had it been cold before? It was hard to say, it was early autumn and he wasn't from this area.

 

"Hello stranger." said the person by the fire. His voice was low, rumbly, like gravel draped in velvet. "Haven't seen another person around. You hungry?" he said leaning forward. He motioned to a chair by the fire, a very low chair

 

As Daniel got a better look, the man was short and stocky. He saw on a low wooden chair and his knees were splayed to the side. Oddly his pants seemed very dirty, looking to be covered in mud and leaves that had caked on. His torso had a very nice vest with brass buttons and an offwhite shirt underneath. He had wide shoulders and a well muscled frame. His face was weathered and wrinkled, he was bald but with a bright red beard that curled and looked half like moss growing from a rock.

 

"You can call me Mark... What's your name son?"

 

 

[ELC1837]

He warily eyed the man as he accepted his offer to sit down. Mark--or so he called himself--looked like he had been through the roughest years of his life and had came out stronger and wiser than most his age, let alone those younger. Not that him being built like a recently retired linebacker was unsettling to the new arrival; no, instead it was what Mark wore that rose his suspicions. Although his pants may have been muddied (presumably from wading in the ditches to get down here), his fancy vest and shirt suggested that he had some wealth still--unlike himself or other roaming vagabonds he came to associate with fires like this one.

"The name's Danny," he introduces himself. "And I wouldn't mind a bite; what are you cooking?"

[Mick the Rogue]

Mark moved to the pot, grabbing a potholder and opening it up. The bubbling concoction smelled heavenly, as most things did when you were hungry. "Hunters stew. Squirrel, deer, onion, radish, potato. Hearty." he said leaning back again, he sounded like an old house, creaking as he moved. "Pleased to meet you Danny. Happy to sup with you." he looked back. "You're just in time smells like."

 

Wandering back and forth from the tent was another older man, blond, and with a similar look but with clean pants, instead he looked like he had been eating out of the soup. His blonde to white beard was splattered with bits of food or other bits. His beard was longer than Marks. As he left the tent for a brief moment Daniel heard the faint sound of music.

 

"This is my brother, called Ben." Ben for his part gave a head nod and came to the pot, taking a sip with a wooden spoon from his pocket. Ben was dressed in black slacks with suspenders, and a long sleeved thick power blue shirt. The shine on his cuffs and the suspenders were silver. He nodded and pulled a ladle from over the fire and began to pour it into bowls that laid by the fire. Oddly there already seemed to be four bowls ready.

 

"What brings you round these parts?" Mark asked as Daniel was handed a bowl. It smelled delightful and had the sheen of fat on top. His spoon was wooden and looked hand carved.

 

 

[ELC1837]

Danny mentally shrugged off the idea of eating squirrel as he accepts the bowl; anything cooked half-way decently would certainly be more palatable than the day-old cheese pizza he found while dumpster diving one time.

"Heading out west to make a new life for myself," he answered Mark's question before sampling the stew. "Got some family out that way, and not much at all back the way I came from." As he stirred the stew a bit and took another bite, he made a note of how well-dressed both Mark and his brother Ben were despite the 'middle of nowhere' vibe the roadside camp had. The revolver and knife the red-bearded man had on his person suggested these two (and whoever else they may have been traveling with) were seasoned wanderers, yet their shirts and the metallic adornments on such suggested they had yet to get their hands dirty.

"How about yourself? Are you from around here?"

[Mick the Rogue]

"Family huh? Family's important. Friends come and go. Family, that's blood, can't get rid of blood." says Mark, a smile crossing his face. Danny ate a spoonful, it was hearty, meaty and delicious. Under other circumstances he would say it needed more spice, but it was just what he wanted right now. And it felt... comforting, like a warm blanket lying down on him

 

"Most city folk forget, try to break blood ties. Don't know those blood ties're still there. Pullin', draggin' but they ain't got context for where and how." he took a slurp. "We got some ties up in the City, but we're out here lookin' at the land we own." he nods.

 

"New life huh? Heh... Ey Shawn. Fella on a journey!" he shouted, the tent shuffled slightly. "Ask 'im if he wants a readin'"

 

Mark turned back. "Grandson Shawn's been workin' on tarot, likes to try it out on folks." he said as he picked at the food.

[ELC1837]

Danny finished enjoying the rest of the stew before he wiped his modestly bearded mug with the sleeve of his gray shirt, all while nodding attentively to Mark's insights. His initial wariness had managed to wear off to a more general caution--even if Mark and Ben had proven to him that they were decent folk who knew how to cook a hearty meal, he didn't know much else about them or the area and didn't want to step on any toes.

So when Mark mentioned his grandson working on tarot, the east-coast nomad nodded and leaned forward, mostly out of courtesy, though somewhat out of curiosity.

 

"I think I heard about that," he admits. "That's kinda like the crystal ball thing, but with cards, right?"

[Mick the Rogue]

"Somethin' like that. Soothsayin' is listening to the world. Cards just make it easier. More combinations of cards in a deck that atoms in the universe I heard tell." he glances over "Another bowl?"

 

Whether or not he did Mark would reposition himself for comfort. "You need a place to stay tonight Danny?"

[ELC1837]

Danny nods as Mark explains what he knows about 'soothsaying' and how it relates to tarot cards. "Just half a bowl more, if you don't mind," he requested more of the delicious stew as he held his bowl ready for more. As he sat back down with the last of his gifted dinner in hand, he looked back towards the road and considered himself lucky that he met this family.

"Yeah, I do. Do you got the tent space or at least an extra blanket I could lay on?"

[Mick the Rogue]

"Hospitality is important round here. We've got and extra blanket to lay on in the tent." Daniel finished the second bowl and for the first time in a while felt sated .

 

"Now, what family you got in Silver City?"

[ELC1837]

The new arrival stifles a belch with his hand and gives his stomach a few good pats to help any more gas out before answering. "Not sure to be honest; my mom told me I have an Uncle B there, but I never met him and I don't know if I have any other relatives out there either."

[Mick the Rogue]

There was a slow chuckle that graduated to a long large slightly unsettling raucous laughter. Ben from behind just stopped and stared. Whether it was at Daniel or Mark was hard to say. The look however, was that of annoyance.

 

"You ever see Penny Jo or JP, you tell 'em I said hi." he said with a low chuckle that for a moment reminded Eddie of the rumble before an earthquake.

 

"Anyway, I won't keep ya, go talk to my grandson Sean, he'll get a kick out of you." he said gathering Danny's bowl once done.

 

The tent behind seemed large, the kind that could be semi-permanent, like in festivals and fairs. It was unassuming on the outside, though he could hear the dim sound of music within

[ELC1837]

Danny couldn't help but chuckle nervously in response to Mark's dramatic laugh. He glanced over to Ben, hoping that the man's expression might give him a clue whether he should be worried or not, but the blonde brother just seemed to be annoyed.

"I, uh . . . I'll do that," he tells Mark as he mentions two names--a Jenny Po and PJ.

Wait . . . I already got that messed up didn't I?

Massaging the side of his scruffy chin with his palm, Danny let Mark take his bowl before standing up and approaching the tent Shawn was in.

This seems way too large for homeless wanderers. And is that . . . music?

Curiosity got the best of him as he entered.

[Mick the Rogue]

Entering the tent Danny was accosted by several sights all at once. There were four cots with large blankets and pillows all set up on a large brown bear skin rug. To the far side there is a large card table with a radio on it. On either side of the table were two folding chairs. On the far side was a man with a shiny bald head, round rimmed glasses and another bushy beard. If he was Mark's grandson, someone either looked very young or very old for their age. He was dressed in a button up blue shirt, his lower section was hidden beneath a large table cloth on the card table that draped to the floor

Sean made a motion to Danny to sit as he shuffled the cards. "Welcome! I see grandpa gave you a welcome. He likes to mess with folks from Away, don't mind him." he said shuffling the cards a few more times. "Sean by the way, your Name please?"

 

The radio next to him played off beat music Danny hadn't heard before. It was an odd jazz, alt rock, folk mix. It stopped and an announcer came on. "Thank you for listening to WODS 90.9, Silver City's best and only public radio. That was the Roman Chorus, with their song, Sirens for a Siren. We'll go over the winner of our call in for a brand new mortar and pestle after this next song from Ana C, Crawlin' Feelings."