Tongue Tied Episode 7

Tugal and Aria began searching the Thurium dig site by the light of the full moon.

They finished skirting the site perimeter.

“If there’s a dragon here, I can’t see it,” Tugal said. Morning was close, and a fringe of light was already growing on the horizon.

Aria leaned over the edge of the hole and scrutinized each cliff and crag. “I can’t believe he lied to me.”

“You did shoot him with a blaster.”

She picked up a rock and threw it into the pit below. “Not before he told me this dragon was supposed to be here.” She watched as the rock dropped. It stopped in mid air with a hollow thump, then rolled to the ground. “That’s a might odd.”

“What?”

“Watch this.” She threw another rock. This time it dropped straight down and landed on the dirt with a solid thud.

“That is odd,” Tugal said. “The rock went down.” He made an arc with his hand and whistled as he imitated the path of a falling rock. “Thud.”

“It didn’t do that last time.”

“Go down?”

“It didn’t… Uh, maybe… I should—just accept Grant lied to me. You take the roan and go on back to the saloon. I’ll deal with Grant for his lying thieving ways, and meet up with you later.”

“Don’t you want I should go down there and have a look-see before we give up?”

In the dim light Tugal couldn’t see the change in Aria’s affect. If he had, he might have figured out that she was hiding something. “Nah. He played us like a pair of deuces. I bet he was hoping we’d let him go before we came out here to check out his story. You go on back and get some sleep and a hot meal. I’ll be along,” she jerked her finger in the direction of the carriage where Grant lay unconscious, “once I’ve dealt with him.”

“I could kill him afore I go.”

Fear flashed in her eyes, hidden from Tugal in the darkness, and her face went hot. “No.” Aria blurted out. “I mean.” Her mind stumbled. “I want him awake when I take care of him. I want to look him in the eye.”

Tugal smiled in the darkness. “Aria, you learn from Tugal. It is satisfying to watch a man’s soul leave.”

“Uh. Yeah. That’s it. I want to see his soul leave. By myself. I want to do it.”

“Tugal understands. I will wait for your return. Do not delay too long, the others may begin to wonder where you have gone. They become restless in the daylight when you are not back.”

Ten times she had tried to escape. Ten times she had fled into the desert in a different direction, each time finding no water, no food, and no other settlements. The saloonies hadn’t hurt her, as such, when they found her and brought her back. But they hadn’t been none too gentle either.

Thanks for reading along with Tongue Tied. I hope you are enjoying them.

(Did you arrive here at Episode 7 and haven’t read the first six episodes? Click here for Episode 1)

(If you just missed Episode 6, click here)

(I think Aria is up to something, how about you? But will it work out – for her, or Grant? I will post a link to Episode 8 here when it’s available)

Tongue Tied Episode 6

Tongue Tied Episode 6

J.E. Thompson

Grant

“If you’re feeling froggy,” Aria said, “jump.”

Aria wouldn’t shoot me. Would she? I mean she could be mad at me for leaving her here. But turn me into a crispy critter? She wouldn’t. I took a step toward her.

“Give me my blaster.”

“Stay where you are, Grant. You tell me where the reward money is, and you might walk out of here.”

She was bluffing. I think. I slid my foot forward and braced myself. If I can catch her off guard… ”You put down the blaster, and I’ll tell you.”

“You tell me, then I’ll give you the blaster…” She gave me one of her irresistible crooked smiles. The kind that convinced me five years ago to drop her here rather than turn her over to the Territorial Magistrate.

“…after I have the opportunity to collect my money.”

Not gonna happen. But… dang that smile. “Two miles west of town. The old thurium dig site.”

“You best be telling the truth. If you’re having me send Tugal out on a wild boar hunt, he won’t be happy.” She dropped one hand from the blaster. “And when Tugal gets unhappy, he tends to break things — arms, legs, necks…”

She reached for the communicator on the table, and I lunged for the blaster.

I couldn’t have been more wrong. Aria didn’t hesitate a nanosecond before she pulled the trigger. I saw the projection port glow, felt the blast’s searing heat and the tachyon’s sledge-hammer impact, then everything went black…

###

My head felt like somebody had it in a vise. The rest of me felt like I’d spent roast cycle in a microwave. It was dark, and Aria’s face hovered over me like a full moon in the night sky. “Am I in heaven?” I asked. The words slurred out of my parched throat and over my numb tongue.

Truth be told, I fell in love with Aria five years ago. Now to have my head cradled in her lap, I… “You shot me.”

“Where’s my money?”

My mind began to clear. “What did you do to me?”

Aria held up a hypo-spray. “Just a little gentle persuasion.”

“I can’t feel my legs… Or my arms… Or my tongue…” I struggled to sit up. “I can’t feel anything.”

“That will most likely be the horse tranquilizer.” She pressed the hypo-spray against my bare chest where I could see it. “Tell me again - where is my reward money.”

“Don’t,” I said as she reached for the trigger.

“Where?”

“I told you. Thurium dig. West of town.” The world rocked and shifted, rolling me sideways.

“We’ll know soon enough,” she said.

A dam break of light flooded the darkness, boring shafts of pain through my head.

“Miss Aria,” a masculine voice reverberated through my mental fog. “We here. But I don’t see no dragon.”

“You lied to me?” Aria said. The hypo hissed hard into my chest, and the world dissolved into night.

(Are you confused about what’s happening to Grant, and how he ended up here? Did you miss episode 5? Click here.)

(Ready to find out what's next? Here is Episode 7)