Post by Sheriff Caleb on May 24, 2014 4:35:34 GMT
Psalms 78: 49-50: “He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague.”
“CRAP!”
I yelled as I woke up to my back spasming, I rolled off tha’ bed clenchin’ and tryna’ stretch it out. I try to breath, but the muscle be too tight to even choke some air in. I finally gasp some air in… the spasm starts to settle… Waylon comes chargin’ up the stairs, I lean against the bed tryna’ catch my breathin’.
“Pa’ everything okay?”
I nod my head yes, the wife was away at her mother’s for a few days till I went back on tour. I’s more lost than a blind dog at night without her. Waylon started to walk away, and I called for him.
“Son… Come here a bit…”
He sorta’ hesitated, he ain’t been right towards me sense my breakdown incident last month. He wandered in an’ leaned in the door way.
“You ‘aight son? Wanna talk ‘bout anything?”
“Nah Dad, I am good.”
“Ya’ sure?....”
“Yup…”
He said as he went to turn around.
“We need to talk ‘bout dat’ night…”
“What night?”
He looked at me confused like.
“The one where I acted like a crazy fool… Went tearin’ off into the field, had a flashback…”
He knew…He looked at tha’ ground sorta shook his head.
“Nah Dad its fine, it was nothin’.”
I reached my hand to ‘em, needed help up, he pulled me up.
“Bull…I know it was… Listen…”
“It just shook me up can we drop it please?”
“Son, listen ta’ me for five dang seconds… What happened that day, it can’t leave me an’ you son… I just picked up the pieces
for our lives, an’ we can’t risk it fallin’ apart again… Okay?”
He nodded his head.
“What was you doin’ in the pick up anyways?”
“Talkin’ to my girl on the phone…just stuff….”
I look at him
“You were spankin’ the monkey weren’t you?”
He shakes his head and I laugh as my back starts to spasm again…. Freakin’ karma for mouthin’ my boy.
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“How many times do I gotta beat the crap outta’ this literal clown?”
I say as they start settin’ up for a talk down with me. I look at the people settin’ up and I see a familiar face in the back!
“CRAIG! CRAIG! PRODUCER DOUCHE!”
It’s my friend Craig from when I first started in IWF! He’s a cool kid he done’ snitched on me though for “racial comments” kinda a douche for that, but I think we hit it off. He kept his head down though, maybe he jus’ didn’t hear me
“CRAIG! BUD! IS’ ME CALEB!!! C’MERE!”
He flashed his hand, and waved as he shook his head no. I kept wavin’ my hand motioning him to come here!
“CRAIG! CRAIGARY! I SEE YOU COME HERE!”
He done mumbled somethin’ under his breath but he walked towards me…
“I had a work order against you Mr. White….”
“Yeah I got a letter or somethin’ that said you wanted me to come to your 10 foot party. Sounded kinda’ gay though…”
“That said you can’t come within 10 feet of the other party….”
“Why’d you have two parties and only invite me to one?”
He gave me a weird look, he’s either thinkin’ or he’s constipated…
“Yeah Craig… I am just as confused. You the guy who’s gon’ be shootin’ this?”
He nods
“Well dayum! Its like I started with you, an’ we are havin’ the anny’ together! I bet we retire together!”
He shakes his head all crazy like.
“Please God no….”
“Craig why am I bein’ pitched against this crazy friggin’ clown so much? Is this that one Stephen King book? Is he goin’ to kill
me…and possible grape me?”
“Did you just ask if he was going to “grape” you?”
I nod yes.
“Its like dealing with a freaking child I swear…”
“Screw you too Craig I thought we had a retirement plan together!”
“Listen they are putting you against him so you can just beat the piss out of him so they can release him I am sure.”
I shake my head, this is jus’ gon’ be stupid like always….
“I done swear brother there’s 40 utter’ people they can pitch me ‘gainst but naw, is’ gotta be this fool. Back when I was in the Army we had this one jiggaboo fellar’ wore this dumb fricken skully bandana. Looked at him one day asked him why he wore it. Said it was some kinda “individuality, and strikes a certain fear”. Told ‘em he looked like a f’n queer twelve year old who plays too much video games. He asked me somethin’ back, “Why do people get scared ‘round you? Why are you so respected but I just get thrashed on.” To that point I didn’t realized people were scared of me, then again I was a lot meaner back then, hated a ton, just shot stuff and got drunk.
"
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"I wondered though I asked him what made him think people was scared of me. He told me people done’ cringe when they walk near me. They hold their breath hopin’ that I don’t turn an’ address them. When I walked into a village, People knew my name. They hid an’ the only ones dumb ‘nuff ta’ stay out was them bad guys. We named our platoon the “Angels of Destruction”, it’s after a Psalm of the bible. You read the bible Craig?”
He shook his head no.
“I was raised Jewish but I am not into religion.”
“Lord be with you son… You got a lotta problems don’t you? Any ways, you’re Jewish the Psalms right up ya’ ally. Psalms 78:
49-50: “He cast on them the fierceness of His anger, Wrath, indignation, and trouble, By sending angels of destruction among them. He made a path for His anger; He did not spare their soul from death, But gave their life over to the plague.” We came we conquered we killed, we was like a guy defeating some unheard of undefeated streak, and we never let it be unheard! Craig that stupid Private made a point though, I was fear! I was the one who knocked! Now what am I?
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"People was afraid ta’ be ‘round me, I lived by that verse ‘cause I done thought I was the righteous anger sent to clear the wicked! Way back when I remember readin’ the bible as a kid, Ezekiel 31:21 was another one that kept me going “I will pour out My indignation on you; I will blow against you with the fire of My wrath, And deliver you into the hands of brutal men who are skillful to destroy.” When you turned against the almighty I was Saul of Tarsus, I was the one who was skillfull ta’ destroy ya know?”
“What’s your point?”
I laugh a bit, kinda’ smirk at him and grab him by the shoulder.
“The clown kid an’ that private, they ain’t too different ya’ know? They are two stupid kids for one, an’ fir two…. They both are too stupid to realize just how scary I really am… See here’s the real point that Private said that at the beginnin’ a’ the tour. He made small observations on ta’ what he saw, yeah I’s a cold blooded man, but I did what I needed to for freedom of the fallen. Now it’s freedom of my family I be fightin’ for. So why don’t people wanna take me seriously? Because I am old? Because I got a scraggly beard? A bald spot startin’ to form? That kid realized why I was feared so much at war, because when you got nothin’ personal to fight for you’re reckless, when you’re a drunk ya’ get real mean, you fight over anything. I did what I wanted to overseas because I could, I was hopin’ for death, I wanted to die. I was a kid with nothin’ to live for.
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"Now the roles reversed, I have fought an’ killed for myself an’ for a whole country. Now I bash skulls for three beautiful kids, an’ my wife plus my parents. I need to win for survival because if I fail I have nothin’ to provide. I need to see my family live, an’ I need to bring a paycheck home for food. See boy I am still an Angel of Destruction, but in a different form. I am just an old outlaw sheriff, I fight for the people, I give justice to the sinners. I do the right for the righteous, it just so happens my families part of the righteous, and the unjust sinners are all the bad that stands in my way. Mr. Happy is an unjust sinner who needs cleansed. Craig do you know how we cleanse the sinner?”
“Isn’t it by baptism? Like dunking him in water?”
I nod to a point…
“Matthew 3:11 reads “Indeed I baptize you by water unto repentance, but the Holy one baptizes you unto the fire of the spirit”… The Holy One has sent for the fire to the sinners…. See ya ‘round Craig.”
I get up an’ walk away, I like to leave people feelin’ little different than how they started….
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Its three o’clock in the mornin’ not a soul in sight, kids are all asleep. Outside a storms been ragin’ on hardcore like. The thunders been beatin’ down hard, lightening’s been awful. I look outside an’ the rain’s coming down hard. I see it bouncing off the ground hard, I go back to the table. Was hard to focus on writin’ out my thoughts with tha’ rain bouncin’ of the roof like it was. Every crack of lightening sent chills down my spine an’ shock my nerves. I took a deep breath as I looked out the window…. I see the bushes rustlin’ round… It’s not like the wind was blowin’ it though, it’s prolly nothing. I turn back to the table, an’ another crack a lightenin’ goes off…. The shock to my nerves sends my back straight up in pain…
I take some air in, I just need ta’ relax… I look out of the corner of my eye as another lightenin’ bolt passes… I jerk my head to peer out the window… A shadow….somethin’ out ther’…. It sure ain’t an animal… It moved from the bushes… It was somewhere…juss’ couldn’t find it in the midst of all the darkness. I shut the lights off in tha’ house, and creeped back over to the window… I waited for another crack of lightenin’… It happens… It gives ‘nuff light to see the shadow dart away…. I grab the rifle from by the door. I step out the door just a tad… I can hear a stick break.. I rack the pump on the gun…
“Get outta here before I put you six feet under!”
I step back into the house as I feel a hand on my shoulder. I jerk back an am ‘bout to shoulder the rifle… I see in time it’s my son.
“What’s up Pa’? I heard you up, an’ then you yelled.”
I sigh, I feel my stomach in my heart….
“Nothin’ son thought I saw a panther out there er’ somethin’. It was nothin’ ya.. Ya just snuck up on me haha!”
He smirks and he goes back to bed…I keep mumblin’
“Juss’ nothin’….”
I dead bolt the door…an’ load the gun… I peer out the window… An’ the thunder rolls….
Well howdy there pardner.