Stress Test Ch. 22

The hole was plenty wide and nearly deep enough for the tank. Billey figured if he'd saved all his sweat, it would just about fill the hole to the brim by now.

Each day, it seemed a little harder to straighten his back when he took a break and fetched himself some water. Each day, Black Wolf's tongue seemed to hang a little bit longer; his head rocked a little more quickly as he panted. Each day, the sun seemed a little more determined to cook them up like two beans that had spilled onto the Coleman.

Used to be Billey's skin was smooth, and pretty much the same whatever part of his body he looked at. Now shapes stuck out all over his arms and chest like hub caps under a blanket. He could make a fist harder than the dirt he fought every day.

Billey leaned against the shovel and bowed his head as he caught his breath. Even when he heard the pickup, he didn't move his head more than an inch so that he could see the truck bucking over the field, kicking up plumes of dust.

Elwood climbed out and swung the door shut. "Otis, I swear I can't tell if Billey's holdin' the shovel up or the shovel's holdin' Billey."

"Can't tell by me." Otis hawked and spit. He walked around the pickup with stiff knees, swinging his legs out sideways as he hitched up his oil-stained pants.

"Which is it, Billey?" Elwood hunkered down and squinted at how the shovel's handle touched Billey's forehead. "That shovel proppin' you up?"

"Hell, no, it ain't."

"Hear that, Otis? He says, 'Hell, no, it ain't.'" The man turned back to his son. "What good's a shovel for, if it ain't proppin' you up and if it ain't diggin' no hole by itself? What kinda good is a shovel like that?"

Billey stared at the ground he'd cut up beneath his feet. He rubbed his forehead back and forth against the smooth, wooden handle. "I dunno," he said.

"I dunno," Elwood sang through his nose. "I'm Billey an' I dunno shit." He circled around the young man. "I bet you don't even know what day it is, Billey."

"Tuesday?"

The men burst out laughing. "Tuesday!" Elwood shouted. "Otis, tell Billey what day it is."

Otis pointed to his crotch. "Mr. Peter says it's Wednesday, Billey boy."

Elwood shook his head. "Otis, I don't know how you ever got to be your age without dyin' 'cause you forgot to breathe. I swear if you was any dumber, you'd rust." He turned a sour look to Billey. "So what the hell you doin' if you ain't diggin' and you ain't holdin' up that shovel. You think that hole's gonna go and dig itself?"

Billey sighed heavily. "I dunno."

"You look at me when yer talkin' to me, Billey Elwood."

Billey raised his head and showed Elwood his eyes, reddened by sweat but defiant. "I said, 'I dunno.'"

Elwood narrowed his eyes for a long moment. Black Wolf padded closer to see what was going on.

"What's that shit on yer face, boy? Looky that, Otis. Is that peach fuzz or dog shit?"

"Yeah, yeah," Billey said. "You're real funny."

"Don't you sass me or I'll whup you good. You think you're a big, tough man all a sudden? That what you think?"

Billey looked at the sky. "What do you want?"

"What do I want?" Elwood thumped his chest with his fist. "What do I want? Tell him what I want, Otis."

"He wants my peter when I'm dead. That's okay. I won't need it no more then."

Elwood didn't even bother to scold Otis. "I'll tell you what I want, Billey. I want you to dig me a hole, just like I told you before. Can you hear me this time or you got whiskers growin' inside your ears, too?"

"You want a damn hole so bad, why don't you just dig it yourself?" Billey threw the shovel in the dirt and turned to go down to the river.

The hand on his shoulder spun him around a split second before Elwood's fist thudded into his stomach. Billey doubled over and gasped for air. The fist cracked against his jaw like a rock, sending him through an arc to the gravel.

Far, far away, Black Wolf barked in excitement. The sound came closer and Billey opened his eyes to see Elwood and Otis shimmering like angels in the sky. The tank glowed behind them.

Elwood spat, but missed his mark, even though Billey hadn't moved yet. "Yer a long way from bein' a man, Billey Elwood. You push me again and I'll show you just how long."

Black Wolf snarled and barked at Elwood. He lunged and hopped back, looking for an opening.

Billey propped himself up on his elbows and moved his head from side to side to see how much it hurt. He wobbled up to his feet just as Black Wolf found his chance. The dog darted in and sunk his teeth in Elwood's ankle. He growled and shook like a wild thing.

"Gahdam sonuvabitch!" Elwood tried to kick Black Wolf with his free foot but lost his balance and thudded to the ground. Black Wolf let go of the ankle and scrambled for the eyes with blood on his teeth. Elwood slugged him and Otis kicked the dog in the ribs.

"Leave him alone!" Billey cried out, surprising himself as much as the others. "He's a good dog."

"I'll show you what he's good for," Elwood said, running to the truck with Black Wolf nipping at his heels.

"Black Wolf! Come here." Billey felt sick in his guts.

Elwood reached through the window of the pickup and yanked out the big, silver gun.

"Black Wolf, get out of there!"

Elwood danced around trying to get a clear shot at the dog so he wouldn't blow his own foot off.

"Hold still, you muthah! Otis, come here and hold this dog while I shoot it."

Black Wolf pressed his advantage, darting around Elwood's feet. Billey dived to help. Otis got to the dog first, but fumbled it into Billey's arms.

Maybe Elwood got tired of trying to aim, or maybe the collision of Otis, Billey and Black Wolf jarred the trigger. The gun blasted and they all fell to the ground, ears ringing like church bells.

Black Wolf's tail landed near Billey's face, but he saw the rest of the dog sprint under the pickup and across the open field. Elwood saw it too and jumped back up and took aim through the open passenger's window of the pickup.

Elwood must not have noticed that the driver's window was rolled up. When the gun roared again, glass peppered the field, confusing Elwood long enough for Black Wolf to get out of range.

"Look what you made me do, Billey," Elwood snarled. "How you gonna fix a mess like that?"

"It's your mess, you fix it."

Elwood looked at the gun in his hand. He rubbed the barrel against his cheek. "Maybe I oughta shave them whiskers offa you with a lead razor, Billey."

"Maybe you oughta."

"Hell. Bullets cost money and I can't get me no money 'til you dig me my hole. So I'm just gonna whup you, boy. 'Cept this time I'm gonna whup you like a man so's you can see how you like that."

Billey had let Otis get behind him. He felt the big man pin his arms behind his back. Billey kicked at his daddy, but he couldn't land a good one. He felt the blood spray from his nose with the first blow.

The next ones all ran into each other until Billey found himself back on the ground, watching through a swollen eye as the pickup sprayed dirt and gravel.

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