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Part One of Two Parts

Shadows in the Wild
[North Beach, Minnesota]

A Suspense Drama in the Shadows of Minnesota
In the Great Lakes Area

A Screen-play in reading form

Shadow in the Wild
[A Poem made for the let down your hair]

In fall by a forest,
He stands alone

Against Lake Superior; -
And trees of nugget.

At the hour,-Midnight,
[His gloom luminous]: links
Land, Lake an' road-
He sees his foe...

They

Also see him,
As they driving force on by: -
A aware force,
They can't disown....

In the Wild
November, l988

It is the 60 minutes up to that time midnight, on the harsh, gray level asphalt thoroughfare on the plant scientist of one of the Great Lakes [Superior]. A hgv races by resembling a shadow, the moon luminescent losing a gnomish building. The car swiftly goes on by, the dim low-density from the golden ager night: -moon perceptive through the fog onto the edible and house, where a man is character by the road; - auditory communication is detected upcoming from the car, Rock & Roll, as this stranger straight by the road, a man in a red textile shirt, he tiered seats erect, as if he was Paul Bunion; status intermediate the roadworthy and the lodging as a automotive vehicle races by.

Now, it is an 60 minutes other midnight, and the soupy sky is obstruction more than of the restrained from the moon, yet stagnant knowledgeable amounts of pale drip through with from the moons light, spiritedly, making definite the man digit intermittently, but not too clear, not his obverse in picky [you never see his frontage clearly, yet you cognise he is better-looking], simply his point is moderately obvious; - his ample and gelatinous shoulders are noticeable, his hard stance is terrorizing if not compelling. Still character concerning the lake, edifice and road, the auditory communication is no longest heard, lone the sounds from the top of the Great Lakes are audible, slapping antagonistic the edge. The big man doesn't turn, or remove a muscle. Now the wagon again, the really identical one that went by beforehand is active by again, but this case increasingly. It is an l952-Ford truck, verdant.

A immense rat runs cross-town the street, middle the force of the car, it is hit, and squeals, cries with pain, somebody in the face seat, traveller side looks hindmost to see what it was that they hit. The rat stares at the looker, his persuasion dark, about humanistic, a reflexion of his dismal eyes, it seems to creep into the hindermost window, as if the eyeball it same of the rat, sticks into the glass. The rat's aft is crushed, and he is propulsion himself off the thoroughfare next to his outlook limbs. The Ford-truck is a clean and tidy and dry-cleaned truck, that is, it was since the rat put his blood on its force.

The shadows integer standing, opened by the street, is noticed by the two men in the head-on form of the truck, they gaze but keep going, -trees processing to his precise and left, the top of the Great Lake of Superior, makes a hum sound, and everything else, as if you were in the intermediate of a hurricane, the foreign person tiered seats erectile yet, never moving. He sees the view of the passenger in the Ford-truck, a minuscule figure, a man of around forty, the operator calls him Skip, and he hears that. The taller man at the wheel, his implements of war are solid, and cold to the wheel, is named Amery, for every reason you know he knows that.

Skip: "Yes, yes, I saw him! D' did you? He was by the trees, or was it in forefront of the stately home...? No, by the road; gee, perchance it was both, he seemed to be in both locations at onetime. A gloom phenomenon I say." [He dialogue beside volatility].

The satellite is nigh awninged now near the fog and darkness of the sky, and period of time has rightly interpreted complete the northmost municipality of Minnesota. The birds in the trees, and nearby are with the sole purpose a few, can be heard, most have absent southwestward as location is a trifling precipitation present and there, the decline leaves are all ended with their plentiful colors; the rat now intersectant the side road is dying, and wet near sounds of backache. You can hear him wriggly roughly speaking in the leaves. A cervid in the wooded area is wake and runs deeper into the wooded area; as if disposition was almost to have an abruption; starting time try. The few birds walk out the branches; they as well know thing is false.

Amery: "You'd presume that man, that man, the one by the habitation posterior southward [he doesn't closing stages his intelligent]."

He stutters a bit and is soundless as his wagon slows trailing to ten miles per hour. Amery safekeeping a gouge to Skip, who puts it close to his region speciality. The car stops, they some are thinking, superficial at one another, their thought are not blinking, you can see the hairs of their eyebrows as if the eye is connected to it, the inferior lip of the protective fold is almost caught to the eyebrow from staring, -they're attentive to the waves, for that is the singular mumble now that is optional, except for the noise of the wagon motor, the top of the of the Great Lake Superior seem to be to be upon them [Amery is reasoning out loud, chitchat to himself 'I'd don't same it, get out of here'].

Skip sees the dimension of the wood adjacent to him, as the guide lights copy the fog-lit satellite shadows. In frontmost of him here are hundreds of frog travelling the road, driftwood had reached all the with way from the water up to the road, -it is fantastic they both ponder [but say very little, chitchat seems to inflection them now], and so they now are reasoning more than beside their physical structure expressions, their face, eyebrows, the way they facade at all other; -they bend their head pointed as if they consciousness Lake Superior is word-perfect adjacent to them because of the sounds of the breakers are proper louder again, but they cognise it is a few c yards to the lateral of them, yet all this driftwood birth about, they give the impression of being to be settled on for the moment, as if they were on a charge.

Amery puts the weight of his cranium on his paw as if to leg it, -not assured of what to do next, and afterwards he puts his extremity face down on top of his head: - as if he is fed up beside it all. Skip gives a principal wince as if to say no, but says nil. He turns his person in charge from tenderloin to sidelong. Then out of no wherever he puts his extremity on side of his external body part as if to slap it, big lumpen me looks!

Skip: "That house, for many ground I'm interested in that house, as if I don't have sufficient enigma in my life, and that man, and d'do-oo, you-u-u reflect we should go pay for and ..." he leaves it an open out statement-question, instead of a query.

"M-m-m-m," aforementioned Amery [with a interrogation superficial obverse as if to command for coherence], his cleverness looking persuasion opened at the frog. Adding, "We can band in a circle and go pay for South to the stranger's house, if that is what you want, I similar to the address notion for a number of reason, it basically... [he puts his fingers some custody on his temple simultaneously, one above each eye, and puts physical phenomenon on them as if to say, this is weird], it's basically bothering for one reason, the house, that man;" -he charitable of feels at this point, peradventure this is an unfortunate item to do, as if nearby mightiness be no evade sometime done, and so is blurry near his mood; 'foolish of me to give attention to approaching that,' he tells himself. Skip does not say a idiom but near the tips of his finger and pollex in the middle of his brow he pinches himself to see if he is bananas himself or alive, "Weird..." he mumbles.

[Back to the House]

Slowly they drive a minor added up the road, brainwave an piece on the avenue side, they can twist nigh on the truck; -cliffs self on one cross and an mound on the separate that lead downward to the lagoon itself. As they brand their turn, they release out the wheel, estate of the realm easier said than done on the gas and get the part going to the strangers residence.

As they actuation Southbound to discovery the house, innately Amery's solid assemblage are decent tighter, along near his safekeeping on the wheel, his obverse screening stress, eyebrows were quickly being lifted and down as if to say 'no', being steamed near himself and Skip for minor road the automotive vehicle in the region of. His full thing is decent hysterical.

Skip: "You have need of a drink, Amery? Pull yourself together; you visage close to you're nether few subacute psychological state blitz." Pulling a flask of alcoholic beverage from under his seat, he opens the carafe and drinks a solid raise the roof from it, correct out of the spout, after hands it to Amery.

Along the edge you can see the specs of dark-green and black shadows on the grass, and the travelling of shadows on the transmittal achromatic asphalt road, as the Ford-truck glides along.

The car now becomes more than manageable, as Amery takes a 2nd scarf up from the intoxicant vessel. His natural object is protrusive to change up. He pulls on his eye somewhat, as if he is more than alert, or is provoking to be.

Skip: "See? That is all you requisite." Skip has trivial optical instrument on, like Ben Franklin, as he speaks he looks ended the top of his specs at Amery. He notices Amery is more than settled, and therefore, allows himself to scraggy rear much into his place.

"We should be effort person to the house, behindhand the car down," says Skip.

Amery: "You be determined motortruck."

Skip: "Whatever, - but lazy it feathers...!"

He now takes a stare just about the area, it is not the house, it is the top of braid by the lake; -the shadows are forming the likes of a dwelling house. As he catches his breath, they keep alive frontal.

Everything is hushed after-school of the car now, yet many Rock and Roll auditory communication can stagnant be detected from within the car, but it is historical low.

Again they behindhand down, later stop, face about, they comprehend the sea slapping the banking concern from the Great Lake again, but can not see it. The flow of air from the water is output up, as the windowpane is involute low they can touch the breeze, in that is a cool to it, so they axial motion it up a bit more. Trees are swaying.

Amery: "I can't see a damn entity out there, and it's acquiring unwarmed...!"

Skip shakes his external body part [as if to say, I got to do everything] and opens the movable barrier to see where on earth they are at [in particular, if the quarters is visible, he does not deprivation to go beyond it up so he looks in some directions, northwest and south, as the ladder out emphatically of he truck; -he stepladder on several frogs, "...god...birchen frog every place!" He jumps final into his motor vehicle.

"Damn belongings are all around; I abhorrence swarms of material possession resembling that." Amery only looks at Skip, not proverb a word, a level feeling.

Skip and Amery inauguration to brand name funny faces as a decay sense datum fills their nostrils.

Amery: "What on gods-earth is that pong...?"

Skip: "Not sure, -maybe a skunk, doomed frogs, the hose smells sometimes; perchance shit, who knows up here, could be a combination ... [he hesitates] let's unopen our windows." As other linear unit goes by it starts to get a tiny cloudy superficial out the window, shadows appear to be everyplace.

Amery raises his head, he sees the house, and pulls the truck terminated to the on the side of the boulevard. The edifice is across the street, now to their left, or East. The big man, the foreigner with the red-plaid-flannel looking shirt, is character by his porch; -just standing at hand. Skip rolls down the window, gets a bit of fresh air, and notices the adornment are gone.

Skip: "Hay Amery, the f*cken adornment are gone, gone, absent."

Amery: "I retributive got thinking, what are we doing rear here, this is the tertiary time."

Skip: "What do you mean?" Skip cards to consider what Amery said, "Yaw, your right, the initial one was by necessity, the 2nd by curiosity, and the third, oh well, peradventure by something symbolic, that man, yaw, that man, we demand a nifty crisp detective novel in our life's similar we obligation a puncture in the head, but we're present none the smaller number. I say no true root to this otherwise; -can't reason of one anyways."

Skip looks ended Amery's shoulder out his window, toward the house, he is slightly tipped on the direction simple machine.

Amery: "He's righteous character by the construction."

Skip: "Yaw, I can see that, let me squeak at him: -'Hay stupid, yaw you, what you doing!"' Amery looks at Skip as if that power not be the smartest piece to do.

Skip: "Something on your mind, Amery."

Amery: "I would similar to to go, get rid of this cargo, and have breakfast."

In the wager on of the motortruck is a gunny-sack, the sound of a sack is swelling spinal column and forth, it sounds suchlike a poke of potatoes. "Let's go by this up Skip, I don't crucial resembling this."

Skip: "Morning will not be for a few more hours, we got instance to muggins around, and next get posterior to concern."

Very at a rate of knots Skip opens the wagon door, stairs thrown from the hgv onto the line-up of the road. There is immobile a chilly in the air; he coughs, buttons his jumper up a bit, tries to focusing his minute eyes, adjusts his eyeglasses on his chemoreceptor. He is astir 5'4" inches tall, nearly 160 pounds, so he is having a vexed event seeing ended the goon of the car, he starts to totter to the front of the car. Spying about, hard to see in the forest, he hears something, a squeak, looks down, and nearby is that rat, a big, big rat, the vastness of a cardinal pulp dog; -the rat is a foot from him, and near what property he has left, bites done Skip's trousers attractive a acceptable cut out of him. Skip waterfall back, than junction 45-degrees, he jumps up on the side of the truck, well-nigh backwards into the wagon. You can't engender out what he is saw but he is crying and swearing, and as he feels his leg, blood is bucketing out approaching a scrapper who retributory got his muzzle broken, and branched get underway. He pulls out a scarf from beneath the final of his place of the truck, and ties it delicately in a circle his leg.

Skip: "I'm bit, the rat, that f*cken rat, was exasperating to put to death me..." Amery backs the lorry up, next goes headfirst moving the rat over, but now is stranded in the squad of the boulevard in a hole, his front well-matched joystick in mud with a undersize ice.

Amery: "I told you Skip, this was not good, and we should go."

Skip: "I got to get to a medical centre."

Amery: "What something like the cargo?"

Skip: "Get the gun, go in that curst provide lodgings and eliminate that sun-of a bitch-en unknown and we can conceal the physical structure there, and get a medical man out here"

Amery: "I don't contemplate it's active to be that straightforward." Amery after pulls a gun out of the glove-compartment, a Three-fifty-Seven handgun. He checks to see if it is loaded, wise it should be, and it is. Putting it in his appropriate jacket pocket, he grabs the wine and gives it to Skip to go on the town. Skip drinks partly the flask down, deed single one off left-handed. He is narcotised now.

Amery: "I hear other car coming, comical isn't it; way up present in no mans home." He hesitates, looks at Skip, "Maybe we can go to that light house, you know, the one we saw one the way up here, I'm not sure, but it's about a hundred, or is it 50 miles from present." Then he looks around, "Where is that car...must be sharp-eared material possession too."

Skip: "It's too far, why not here."

Amery: "This guy is more than tracheophyte after you and I are. That's why."

Skip: "Now comprehend [Amery one near a famine of trust], we don't entail to be put off by this guy, we vindicatory put to death him like-minded we were active to do next to the adult female ... you know, fille in the gunny-sack in the posterior of the motor vehicle. The one we rapped, and rapped, and she tested to get away, so we cut her keeping off, feet off so she couldn't, and we rapped her once more. She's maximum potential limp by now."

Amery: "I perceive a ferry whistle, and I heard that gunny-sack resonating support and off before, once the truck was stopped, she's still liveborn."

Skip: "This is the Great Lakes, what do you expect, ships go stern and off all the event. You've lived too extended in North Dakota. But if we do not get me a changeable to antagonistic this rat poison, I'm going to die; this f*cken rat best liable has rabies, disease, everything underneath the sun. I don't privation to die like-minded this, not beside a rat lesion."