III
Its heartbeat slowed down a bit as it saw the man fell asleep on the park bench. It was a mere step away from being caught. It heaved a huge sigh of relief and stepped out of the bush, quietly. It touched its own forehead and when it removed its finger, the skin was stuck to it. It grimaced as it forcefully yanked it off, peeling some of the skin off. The air was too dry. It needed more oxygen. It turned its attention toward the dense forest next to the park and decided to venture into it.
Little did it know, it was indeed a very, very wrong decision.
***
If there is one thing that the whole of Deadwood Town know of, it is indubitably Mr Jenkins. This infamous 62 year old ex-soldier is the Roadrunner and also the Wile. E. Coyote at the same time. He is as agile and swift as he is deadly. Well-equipped with a soldier's battlefield experience, Mr Jenkins now owns a patch of land in the forest, no wider than 5 acres. Surrounding the land are fences as tall as ten metres and fully flanked with razor sharp barb wires. What is it that is so precious to him that he guards it with his life, you ask? Well, no other than his patch of carrot farm. Well, the truth is, there was never any carrots. Half the land was planted with opium poppy plants. Having served as a U.S. soldier, Jenkins was unfortunately addicted to the drug heroin. In order to feed his crave for heroin, he plants a hefty amount of poppy plants and converts the morphine into heroin. The reason why Danker Whittleman, the town mayor, never gotten the acknowledgement of this large drug farm is probably due to ignorance, or maybe the fact that the land is heavily guarded. Next to the entrance hung a sign eerie enough to send a chill down your spine.
It goes on something like this:
Come right in, step right up,
Let me know, I'll blow you like a pup.
I swear to God, and with my gun,
I'll make sure you die, and not flee or run.
The townspeople do not know which is scarier, Mr Jenkins' interest in poetry, or the fact that he actually owns a gun. The privilege was given to him after he retired from the force. A loophole in the town constitution allowed Jenkins to keep his Beretta after the war. There are stories which says that Jenkins killed more than a handful of townspeople over the decade due to trespassing. A very, very dangerous man indeed.
***
It paced through the woods as the hoots of owls greeted it. It walked slowly as it was dark, albeit the moonlight was glaring on that night. It stepped on a jagged rock and tripped, flinging itself forward and down a steep ravine. It rolled and rolled and finally came to a halt at the base of the ravine. It was badly bruised all over. It shook off the dizziness and looked up. Ahead of it was a large space, surrounded by a metal net, and above the metal net was fitted with sharp, pointy needle-like structures. Inside the net was a land filled with leaves growing from the ground. At the center sat a large trailer, decorated with the United States flag. Next to the entrance hung a sign, both rusted and inscrutable.
With naturally implanted curiosity, it took its first step into the compound, not knowing the deadly consequence.
