Read Dustland Requiem (A Bard's Folktale) Page 7


  Chapter 7. Shutters and Boards

  “There’s nothin’ I won’t do for my family.”

  – Siggy’s Memory Book

  Siggy sat in the passenger seat, trying to see anything beyond the windshield. Evenings were dark in the desert—the roads illuminated only by starlight. A single truck with a set of headlights didn’t do much but stand out to every bandito looking for something to raid. Siggy looked over to his brother, once again trying to read the blank slate he so frequently wore.

  “Ade, I’m worried ‘bout Lorena same as you, but why’re ya’ tryin’ ta’ get us killed?”

  Adelais snorted, accelerating as the truck started rumbling over the rocky terrain. He was forced to slow his pace to dodge a roaming coyote.

  “This is what I mean. What’re ya’ doin’?”

  “I’m drivin’. Gonna find Alejandro, deal with him, and take what he’s got.”

  “Ade, do you even know what we’re lookin’ for? Or where to find Alejandro?”

  “Medical shit! Bandages, pills, I dunno! Can’t be that hard ta’ figure out. And Alejandro’s a dumbass bandito like the rest of ‘em. Only two places he coulda gone—wanna make a bet on which one? I’m startin’ with the easy one.”

  Siggy shrugged, watching his brother, trying to remember what Adelais had been like before he had become a monster of a man. He couldn’t remember much. Siggy laid his head against the passenger side window as the truck continued barreling along. Resting his head, the excitement of the day finally started catching up with him. After a while, weariness ambushed his sleepy eyelids, and dragged them down to the resting place.