The Incident at Pine Hills Mounds
Black-eyed kids and other shenanigans.
Separate Ways: Israel and Ramon
Israel had received a text message from Jonty saying that he and Ramon should go home for the day. Israel texted back and said, “Okay.” He then asked why, but Jon hadn’t responded. It probably had something to do with the weather. About ten minutes later they saw, from their seclusion on the eastern property line, Theodore Lang’s truck speeding toward Fairton. Israel texted again, and the two men decided to eat lunch and wait around to see if Jon would answer.
They’d brought Lang’s large bulldozer—surplus equipment from the military—for a few reasons. First, the cab was on it, and it was dry inside the cab. Second, they needed it to push some fallen oaks around so that they could eventually start cutting firewood. Third, the eastern property wasn’t quite as muddy as the rest of the land. Sure, it was bad. The farm trucks and even the tractors might get stuck, but it was highly unlikely that the dozer would get bogged down.
Since the interior of the dozer was the driest place available, they climbed in and began to eat their sack lunches. Israel had two fried egg and cheese sandwiches prepared just the way he liked them, heavy on the black pepper. Ramon, the night before, had eaten in Clarkston at The C-Town Bistro. He had some leftover steak and potatoes. He offered to share it with Israel, but Israel declined. The two men began to enjoy their lunches, talking a little but mainly eating and listening to the rain as it fell onto the cab.
About 15 minutes later they were through eating. Jon hadn’t texted, so they decided to head back to the dozer’s garage. Before they could crank the equipment, however, they saw what they at first took to be a nude or scantily clad woman walking along the tree line. She turned and walked straight toward the men.
“Do you see what I see?” Israel was surprised and his voice reflected that surprise.
“You’d better not look,” said Ramon. “Your wife will be mad.”
“Hah,” said Israel. “She’d want me to help a lady in distress.”
“Well it looks like you’ll get your chance. Here she comes. Wait! That’s Tom Decker’s baby. Elisa, I think her name is. Something’s got to be wrong. We’d better check on her.”
The men climbed from the bulldozer’s cab and met Elisa a few yards away. Fortunately, she was dressed. “Good morning,” said Israel. “You’re Tom’s daughter, Elisa, right? Can we help you?”
“Tom’s daughter Elisa, right,” the girl intoned. Her voice was as cheerful as a crypt. She raised her head to look directly at the two men. Something was wrong with her eyes. “Can you help me? Yes, you can. Come with me. I need you and that machine. Do you have others like it?”
“We have an excavator for earthwork.” Both men replied at the same time. “Go and retrieve it. Then follow our tracks and come to our location.”
A short time later, Israel was drenched. The rain was getting harsh. He stepped into a low spot and his shoe filled with turbid water. He paid no attention to the discomfort. Elisa needed the excavator. He had to reach the excavator.
While Israel was walking, Lang’s bulldozer and its two passengers reached the north tree line. The machine turned to the left and began to move in a northwest direction. The tracked vehicle moved slowly but surely. As long as Ramon kept it relatively close to the trees and didn’t attempt to go very fast, there was no way they were going to get the behemoth stuck. In less than an hour the bulldozer entered into the tree line and pulled alongside a large, circular mound of earth.
© 2023-2025 Ren Adama
