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Hamlet's Country Club |
Dave Law opened his notebook. The words scribbled down a list read; sulfur, horse's leg on the right, chicken's leg on the left, missing woman.
He removed his car keys from the ignition and exited the car. He looked up the small dirt road ahead. Hamlet's Country Club rested atop the hill. It was a steep climb, but Dave figured he'd walk off his lunch. He kept burping on his drive to the country club. Thai food never seemed to agree with him, but he always said,"I can't live without it!"
He fixed his suit and began to trek up the hill. The clouds formed an ominous backdrop. It was going to rain before sundown, and if Dave were to catch any clues, especially any scent of sulfur and print traces, he'd have to hurry. Halfway up the hill, he started working up a sweat. The wind rushed through the golf course, brushing the trees and greenery back and forth, but the air remained humid.
Dave finally made it to the top. He took a deep breath, looked around and spotted a few empty beer bottles strewn about the parking area. Around the building were a few overfilled trash bins surrounded by flies and many tire tracks on the ground.
He walked over to the building. There appeared to be no one on the premises. He checked for unlocked doors, but found none. He peered into a window. The tables inside still had numerous trays with food, and paper cups filled with liquid on them. There were cutlery and used napkins on the floor. The walls were covered with decorations, and even the dj's equipment was still inside with numerous boxes of LPs stacked nearby.
Loud thunder sprung from the sky and the wind picked up. Dave walked away from the building, still looking around. As he passed by the side of the building, he saw a used condom dangling from a bush. He shook his head and continued his inspection. He kept fixing his hair as the wind ran through it.
Ten minutes passed. A second crash of thunder resonated through the area. The windows trembled slightly. When he didn't find anything out of the ordinary, he decided to widen his search.
Something on the ground caught the corner of his eye.
He walked towards it, then bent down for a closer look. In the middle of the parking area, seemingly lost among countless tire tracks, he found a print; an animal print.
He reached out with his hand to inspect the track, when he heard a rustling sound in the bushes behind him.
"Who's there?" Dave inquired.
There was no answer. The sound grew louder.
Dave slowly stood up while the wind entered the sides of his suit jacket, lifting them it up.
"Come on out, whoever you are!" Dave commanded.
The source of the noise revealed itself.
"A donkey?" Dave murmured, as faint rays of sunlight crept from behind the gray clouds to shine down on Hamlet's Country Club.
The donkey approached Dave, cautious, but brave. It appeared to be hungry. Dave, surprised at the donkey's approach, looked beyond to the trail of footprints the animal was leaving behind.
A slight shadow formed beside the animal. The donkey slowly continued to approach, while Dave stood still, watching the donkey.
Suddenly, the sunlight shifted and caught Dave's shadow. The donkey, aware of the change in light, stopped. The man standing in front of the animal revealed an enormous wingspan. The donkey stood frozen as the wingspan's shadow began to flutter furiously. The donkey's eyes widened, as thunder sprung from the sky--then turning, it ran off.
Dave watched the animal disappeer. As he did, he noticed a large barn in the distance, down below, past the golf courses. The wind picked up speed. The skies cleared, and more sunlight began to appear. He turned, and faced the print on the ground. Using his foot, he erased the print he'd found among the tire tracks.
"Looks like you tried to trick me into thinking you'd bring rain," he whispered, glancing at the sky while his foot moved back and forth, mixing the dirt on the ground.
copyright 2004
Francisco
Dominguez |
