Chapter 3: RUBBING SHOULDERS

I didn't know how long I was out for. All I recall was that when I had been struck; it was day. And when I woke up; it was day.

I awoke to prickly bark being hard pressed against my face. The taste of iron in my mouth. My heart churning like a train engine. My head thumping like a brutal knockout. 

Adrenaline began to pump through my veins as I shuffled my feet along the pine needles below and tried to move my arms, but soon realised that I was constrained to the trunk of a large pine tree with a thick brown rope. 

Fear began to overtake my soul. The fear that I was not alone. I could almost hear the footsteps of a deranged axe-wielding lunatic heading straight for me, but I wasn't sure.

"This is what I get for being a good brother aye?" I thought to myself as I struggled some more. 

"Tied to a fucking tree, stripped of everything?" I pondered, as my fingers tried to rip the rope apart.

"What the fuck Maverick, why!?" I screamed internally as I pressed my legs hard against the tree trunk and tried to push away, to no use.

My heels felt a small metallic object against my bare foot. 

I gripped it with my toes, monkey-style, and brought it up to the base of my spine. I grabbed it from behind me with my restrained hands and brought it to my front. 

The small metallic object that I had found while ground shopping appeared to be Bando's lighter. 

I flicked it open and brought it up to my rope constraint and lit it ablaze.

The fire burnt slowly. My heart beating loudly in my ears. Devoured by fear; I watched as a small flame burnt through the rope. Eventually threads began to fizzle and burn and loosen, allowing me to break free. 

I swiftly looked around in all directions, searching for the sound of needles breaking under axe murderer boots.

Only when I was satisfied that I was alone did I begin to massage my aching arms. 

A shiver climbed up my spine. I shook it off and soon noticed that I had been stripped down to my bare jocks. They even took my Cuban link. 

'Those bastards took everything from me.' I thought to myself as I began to wander aimlessly through the pine forest.

Curiously, I found a brown burlap sack, a shovel, and a bottle of scotch resting against a pine tree. 

"Those idiots left behind evidence." I thought to myself as I tore arm and head holes into the burlap sack.

I couldn't recall the day but It had been Tuesday when I'd been knocked out, 'Please god let me carry on with my roofing apprenticeship. And god, if you're listening; Stop Marlon from stealing my smoko money. Amen.' I said in prayer.

I wriggled into the burlap sack. My gaze then caught the attention of the half empty scotch bottle. I went to press the bottle to my lips but a strange odour met my nostrils. I smelt the liquid strongly and began to pour it out. 

Breaking pine needles alerted me and so I spun around and threw the bottle at the mysterious stepper.

Maverick caught the glass bottle in the crook of his arms and raised the neck of the bottle to his lips.

"Don't!" I shouted, smacking it out of his grip.

The bottle spun in the air leaking urine over the pine needles below until it shattered against the thick trunk of a large pine.

"That's piss." I explained.

"Yeah I know it's piss! I'm tryna get on it!" Maverick replied, looking at the broken glass bottle in disappointment.

"Where are we, Mav?" I asked, looking around for a sign of hope. "How'd we get here?"

Maverick shrugged, "I don't know. All I know is they cabletied my hands and threw a bag over my head."

"Who's they?" I asked, itching at the burlap sack.

"Diane, Mike and this guy called Mason." Maverick replied, patting down his pockets, "I think they took my smokes as well."

"Mason? Who the fuck is Mason?" I blurted, massaging my forehead.

"He's just some guy that does our grocery run." Maverick answered, picking up a twig and using it to pick at his teeth.

"He shops for groceries and decided to take part in an impromptu kidnapping?" I spoke, looking around.

"Yeah, I think so." Maverick replied.

I thought things over, "Is there something you aren't telling me?"

Maverick sucked his teeth "He just does odd jobs for us. I think he came to pick up his guns." 

"What kind of people have you been rubbing shoulders with, Maverick!?" I yelled, shifting about in my burlap clothing.

"You know what the weird thing is? For some of the jobs he gets an 8-ball, but he does our grocery shopping for nothing. What's that all about?" Maverick thought aloud, stepping over my question.

We made our way through the Pine Forest, climbing a steep hill. Maverick began to sweat bullets, so he took his shirt off and tucked it into his shorts back pocket.

"Hey, why is it that I got stripped down and you got to keep your clothes?" I asked him.

"I don't know…It might be because I gave them the last of my stash…or it might be because I'm lucky I guess." Maverick replied, flicking his toothpick twig away.

"And what would you call me?" I asked, shifting in my burlap sack dress. 

"Unlucky I guess." Maverick laughed, "Now let's find our way back." he said, picking up the shovel.