{"id":16132,"date":"2020-07-13T05:00:32","date_gmt":"2020-07-13T09:00:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/bullmensfiction.com\/?p=16132"},"modified":"2022-08-03T13:12:26","modified_gmt":"2022-08-03T17:12:26","slug":"good-at-finding","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/fiction\/good-at-finding\/","title":{"rendered":"Good at Finding"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201cThe fox has many tricks. The hedgehog has but one, but that is the best one of all.\u201d\u00a0 <\/em>– <\/em>Archilochus<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

No one took it seriously in our little town. We\u2019d been warned a bunch of times, but the people here was a stubborn kinda people. I guess, in the end, we paid for it.<\/p>\n

First, there was those yellow jackets. That\u2019s what we called \u2018em, \u2018cause of those stupid outfits. Head to toe in yellow, like full grown rubber duckies just floatin\u2019 around askin\u2019 all kinda weird questions \u2018bout our old buildings and structures and pokin\u2019 in the thick dirt by Mr. Whitby\u2019s property. He wasn\u2019t too keen \u2018bout that. But if you knew Mr. Whitby, you knew that he\u2019d really let \u2018em have a mouthful of it. I heard that the third time they went pokin\u2019 around, he pulled out one of his huntin\u2019 rifles and pointed it straight at one of those yellow jackets and told the whole bunch to well, you know, take a hike.<\/p>\n

Sometimes I\u2019d see \u2018em on my way in for the night shift too. Always followin\u2019 orders from that one fella in the nice clean suit. I recognized him everywhere, \u2018cause there was no real reason for suits in Little Belleville.<\/p>\n

We wasn\u2019t those kinda people here with lots of money and suits and that type a thing. Just mostly a farmin\u2019 town, hands in the dirt, hardworkin\u2019 kinda people.<\/p>\n

I said that we was warned \u2018cause those damn alarms was goin\u2019 off lots. It was hard to keep track. Beepin\u2019 was comin\u2019 out of the old rusty Tornado system. You know, most of us was thinkin\u2019 it was broken or somethin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Those damn tornado alarms was so loud that I had to wear earplugs on my dayshift sometimes. Even with the big industrial vacuum cleaner goin\u2019, that beepin\u2019 couldn\u2019t be drowned out. It was installed in the first place \u2018cause we had one bad tornado when I was \u2018bout twelve. Completely flattened Mr. Zhao\u2019s bright red Chinese restaurant. \u00a0Mr. Zhao lost his leg and it was all my class talked \u2018bout for a year.<\/p>\n

Then the machine diggers came. They was real loud too. Those damn big things really changed the mood round here. They dug down pretty deep and for \u2018bout two-and-a-half months straight. That\u2019s when I started gettin\u2019 real concerned so I went and asked one of those yellow jackets what was goin\u2019 on.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s none of your business sir,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

And then I was like, \u201cThis is my hometown, course it\u2019s my business!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWell it\u2019s better to be safe than sorry. The government is takin\u2019 the appropriate precautions.\u201d<\/p>\n

I felt he was givin\u2019 me the runaround, so I got pretty heated and yelled real loud. \u201cPrecautions for what!?\u201d<\/p>\n

I told Jackie at Tuesday darts that I was right pissed they wasn\u2019t tellin\u2019 me everythin\u2019. I told her the stupid rubber-ducky man showed me some kinda silver badge and told me the details \u2018bout the precautions was secret. Jackie told me to relax. Said her grandpa told her a story when she was little \u2018bout the same type of men that came into Little Belleville and did stuff just like this, pokin\u2019 around and all. I told Jackie to put down her cold beer for a sec and really think on it.<\/p>\n

This felt different \u2018cause I also cleaned City Hall. Sometimes some government men came in and started showin\u2019 videos and givin\u2019 special classes to the important people in the town, like Mayor Fisher and Principal Anderson.<\/p>\n

Somethin\u2019 strange was goin\u2019 on for sure.<\/p>\n

I think the Gray family had the right idea. I always liked that Mrs. Gray. Real nice smile and she always talked to me politely and with respect. When I saw her at Lennie\u2019s Corner Store right by the water tower, she told me she was stockin\u2019 up on just \u2018bout every type of canned good. And that she, Mr. Gray and the kids even went to Home Hardware for some tools that mornin\u2019, just to be safe. Then she said she was watchin\u2019 the news and she was getting\u2019 real scared. Always honest that Mrs. Gray. I probably shoulda told her I was kinda scared too.<\/p>\n

That same night I was on the library cleanin\u2019 shift. I usually was in the zone polishin\u2019 the hardwood floors but so much was on my mind. So many questions was whizzin\u2019 back and forth and I just didn\u2019t understand why the people in Little Belleville wasn\u2019t askin\u2019 for more answers. Why wasn\u2019t people more frustrated!?<\/p>\n

Right then and there I decided the next mornin\u2019, bright and early, I\u2019d head straight over to Mr. Whitby\u2019s house. Together we\u2019d march over to Mayor Fisher\u2019s office to get some better answers. We would demand it! That\u2019s what my plan was gonna be.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I didn\u2019t hear the first blast, when it came, but I saw what it did. My headphones was in and I was listenin\u2019 to the radio and emptyin\u2019 the metal garbage cans. I was listenin\u2019 to a special on bees and how some fancy scientists was goin\u2019 country-to-country and countin\u2019 how many bees was remainin\u2019 in the world. You go to school for all these years and get all this high praise, and you come out countin\u2019 bees. I just thought that was funny\u2026 and while I was standin\u2019 there thinkin\u2019 \u2018bout how strange this world was, I looked up and about a hundred books, of all different sizes, just flew right off the shelves at once. You see, I don\u2019t believe in ghosts or any stuff like that, but right then, you coulda fooled me.<\/p>\n

Then the second blast came. I didn\u2019t hear that one either. Sure felt it though. Knocked me right out cold.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I woke up and the sun was shinin\u2019 right through where the stain glass window used to be. \u00a0Was the first thing the librarian talked about when I started here. She said I had to be very careful when cleanin\u2019 it \u2018cause it was real old and needed a special chemical to keep it nice. I laughed in my head a bit, \u2018cause lookin\u2019 up from where I just got thrown, I could see most of the windows got blasted all out. Most well\u2026 everythin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Matter of fact, the entire library was caved in right from the top of the roof. Lots of books was split in half too. Ripped pages and history was all over the place. The floor was covered in broken chalky drywall. I laughed again. No way in hell they could pay me enough to cleanup this mess.<\/p>\n

I touched the back of my head. It felt wet so I grabbed a page that didn\u2019t have too much dirt on it and stuck it to me. Was I gonna miss Tuesday darts today? Jackie hated when I missed it. She always wanted to get her drinkin\u2019 in. My thoughts was all over the place again, like I was tryin\u2019 to catch them. Everythin\u2019 was covered in a kinda cement dust. I tried lifting myself up and passed right out again.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

My Ma always said I had a horseshoe up my\u2026 well you know. I was a real shy kid always walkin\u2019 around with my eyes on the ground. Had a hard time lookin\u2019 at people. Never had too much confidence really. But \u2018cause of this, I was always findin\u2019 all kinda cool stuff. I had this brown wooden chest filled with it all. Ma tried to get me to throw it out lotsa times. Caused a real big shoutin\u2019 match. She said there was no reason to be collectin\u2019 all that garbage. But I told her, to me it wasn\u2019t garbage.<\/p>\n

Then this one afternoon when I was walkin\u2019 home from school, I saw somethin\u2019 shinin\u2019 in the bush. I walked over and picked it up. It was this bright gold watch.\u00a0 A real beauty. The name of the owner was scratched out the back. Maybe someone stole it, scratched out the name and dropped it tryin\u2019 to get away from the owner. Or maybe even the police who was chasin\u2019 him. As a kid that\u2019s what I thought. When I took it over to Percy\u2019s Pawnshop he gave me a whole three hundred dollars for it. I\u2019d never seen so much money. I had a real knack for findin\u2019 things. People around town started knowin\u2019 me for it. If they lost their diamond weddin\u2019 ring or their cat was hidin\u2019 on them, they\u2019d just got to holler over at the Marcy\u2019s boy and he\u2019d come runnin\u2019 to look in the bushes or your backyard, magnifyin\u2019 glass and all. I didn\u2019t think it was luck or a horseshoe up my behind like Ma said it was. I was just real good at findin\u2019 things.<\/p>\n

When I got older, I learned to say I had a real good attention to detail. That\u2019s what I said when I inquired about the cleaner job for the city. Ma didn\u2019t want me to be a cleaner and she said there was no real job in Little Belleville for a grown man that\u2019s just good at findin\u2019 things. I know she had higher hopes for me, like a doctor or lawyer or somethin\u2019. I can still hear her sayin\u2019, \u201cWhy you want to clean up after people\u2019s dirty selves. Not too much pride in that.\u201d<\/p>\n

I was mad at her for thinkin\u2019 I was stupid so I started goin\u2019 to the library and readin\u2019 all the books I could find. I remember readin\u2019 some smart words by a preacher fella. I even cut it out to show Ma\u2026 but I don\u2019t think she ever looked at it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I woke back up with such bad pain in my right leg and on the back of my head, I thought I was gonna pass out again. I tried to lift up a second time but my ankle and leg was trapped under these metal bookshelves. Good thing was, they made some sort of frame and protected me from the ceilin\u2019 comin\u2019 down.<\/p>\n

I pulled at my leg for what felt like a whole hour till it finally got free. On the last pull I ripped almost all the skin off. It was damaged pretty bad but I had to get out of there. The rest of library could come tumblin\u2019 down. I dragged myself out in front usin\u2019 my two arms. It all happened so fast and my body was shakin\u2019 like crazy. Felt like I was gonna puke from the pain.<\/p>\n

Lookin\u2019 around only a few of Little Belleville\u2019s buildings survived the blast. And me of course. Maybe Ma was right, maybe I got a horseshoe up my\u2026 But I didn\u2019t feel lucky at all.<\/p>\n

I don\u2019t know if it was \u2018cause I wasn\u2019t thinkin\u2019 too straight or \u2018cause it was my first plan but when I could move more, I limped over to Mr. Whitby\u2019s property. Or what was left of it. I thought if anybody was gonna survive the second blast it was gonna be Mr. Whitby. He had a real old way of thinkin\u2019, like the world was gonna end at any time. Probably had a bunker he dug himself and everything.<\/p>\n

It took me two hours to drag myself \u2018cross Main Street. Over both sidewalk humps and through the well-kept corn field in front of Mr. Whitby\u2019s. He lived a lil isolated. My leg was stingin\u2019 and leakin\u2019 red. Looked like a snail just trailin\u2019 blood.<\/p>\n

When I got closer to Mr. Whitby\u2019s property I could see his farm house was gone. And the porch he\u2019d told the whole town he was proud of buildin\u2019 himself was gone down into the earth too. Looked like the world was real angry and just pulled him in \u2018bout ten-feet-deep.<\/p>\n

I got over to the giant hole and there was Mr. Whitby. He wasn\u2019t breathin\u2019 no more. His black hat was over his chest and his right arm was missin\u2019. Looked like part of his porch was stickin\u2019 straight outta his stomach. \u201cI put that last coat of blue on it myself you know,\u201d he just told me last summer. His left hand was still grippin\u2019 his huntin\u2019 rifle. That old cowboy was just waitin\u2019 for the fight to come to him.<\/p>\n

I crawled around to the other side of the hole and found a half-busted ladder to drop myself down to Mr. Whitby. It was hard pullin\u2019 that rifle outta his grip. Stiffness was startin\u2019 to set in. I had to pull back his fingers one-by-one to get at it. Then I checked his pockets for his truck keys. I lay there for a while next to him trynna catch my breath. The sky was a color I\u2019d never seen before. I remember he used to help Ma with groceries when I was real young.<\/p>\n

Bout ten minutes later, I got outta the hole and limped to his old beat-up truck. I swear that thing was as old he was. I pulled myself in and tried the keys. The tank was full. Good man that Mr. Whitby.<\/p>\n

I headed to Mrs. Gray\u2019s house usin\u2019 my better leg to push down hard on the gas. They lived in one of the biggest houses in town. It was a real old sturdy thing off of South Road. Mrs. Gray\u2019s husband was a real handy man too, so he musta set somethin\u2019 up. Mrs. Gray was talkin\u2019 \u2018bout how they was preparin\u2019 in case the reporter on TV was right.<\/p>\n

When I turned right on Mrs. Gray\u2019s lane, I couldn\u2019t believe what I saw. The lane was split down the middle and the real nice maple tree that was always there at the top, looked like it was hit by lightnin\u2019, or somethin\u2019. There was just pieces of it everywhere. I kept goin\u2019 down the lane for a little bit to where the house was supposed to be. There was a bend left before usually. But when I turned I saw no house. Nothin\u2019. Just some of the foundation. The blast took the whole damn thing away. All I could see from the truck was a bright green shape right under where Mrs. Gray\u2019s was before.<\/p>\n

I drove the truck off the lane and towards the green shape. I was hopin\u2019 it was what I thought it was. But when I got closer I could see more. \u00a0I stopped the truck cold. Stickin\u2019 outta the bright green trap doors of her own bunker, was Mrs. Gray. She had a deep bloody cut on the side of her neck.<\/p>\n

I stood there for a good minute just starin\u2019 at her face. She didn\u2019t look scared. She was smilin\u2019. I went back to the truck and got in. Anger was boilin\u2019 in me. I slammed my head into the steerin\u2019 wheel settin\u2019 the horn off. I got all dizzy and stopped.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when I heard the whistles.<\/p>\n

I used the truck to push away what was holdin\u2019 the door stuck. Then I yelled to stay away from the door. I used the truck again to roll over the door and bend it enough that it snapped. It took me four times tryin\u2019.<\/p>\n

Lookin\u2019 up at me and their dead Ma was Mrs. Gray\u2019s two young daughters. Big blue eyes on the both of them. Whistles danglin\u2019 from their mouths. It stuck with me what they said. \u201cMister, our mommy isn\u2019t movin\u2019 anymore. I think \u2026 I think she\u2019s dead\u2026 but we can\u2019t see her face.\u201d I grabbed them one at a time and lifted them out, past their Ma, and into the truck.<\/p>\n

Mrs. Gray\u2019s family built a real deep bunker. She gave her girls some music with big headphones to listen to. On the second blast I think she got trapped trynna get back in. Poor girls said they gone to another part of the bunker when their Ma\u2019s legs stopped movin\u2019. Mr. Gray was nowhere to be seen. Musta got blasted away too.<\/p>\n

I put Mrs. Gray\u2019s two daughters on my right side with the rifle over our laps. The girls was holdin\u2019 hands and cryin\u2019. I had another stop I had to check.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

When I was a kid I loved Chinese food. Ma would sometimes have to stay late at work so she\u2019d leave me a fiver on the table to pick up some noodles from Mr. Zhao\u2019s. I\u2019d run over, cash in my hand, to order my chow mein. I liked it with extra sauce. Sometimes I\u2019d get so excited running back home, it\u2019d leak out and go everywhere. And I\u2019d just eat it right out the bag. I\u2019m sure if Ma knew, she\u2019d think her boy was dirty\u2026 but she wasn\u2019t there.<\/p>\n

There was no alarm to tell me what was comin\u2019. I remember the sky turned all black and the wind trynna blow me \u2018cross the street. I was bout fifteen yards from Mr. Zhao\u2019s red door when the tornado came. I saw it all.<\/p>\n

The ceiling crashed down on top of Mr. Zhao\u2019s. I stood there and watched the whole thing happen. I was so scared. Mr. Zhao was just screamin\u2019 and screamin\u2019. He was trapped. I just stood there lookin\u2019 at him. He was begging me and screaming at me to help him. But I was just frozen doin\u2019 nothin\u2019. I shoulda helped him but I was so goddamn scared.<\/p>\n

It felt so long before the others came and pulled him out. He was all smashed up and the bones in his legs was all stickin\u2019 out. I still couldn\u2019t move. I thought I just watched him die and he was carried him away.<\/p>\n

That year the kids in my class called me all kinds of names. Cause\u2019 sometimes, out of nowhere I\u2019d just have these fits. I\u2019d stop breathin\u2019 and just start smakin\u2019 my head on over and over on my desk. Like I was thick or something.<\/p>\n

I wasn\u2019t lucky like Mrs. Gray\u2019s daughters. Maybe it isn\u2019t luck but I didn\u2019t have no bunker to protect me and hide me.<\/p>\n

Maybe that\u2019s why Mrs. Gray was smilin\u2019 when I found her.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

I pulled up in front of what was left of First Ave Primary and told Mrs. Gray\u2019s daughters to stay in the car. I didn\u2019t want to leave \u2018em there but they\u2019d seen enough and who knows what was inside there. \u00a0I reached for the truck door to hop out, and then the older girl grabbed my arm. I turned around to look at her. She wiped away tears and put her whistle in my hand.<\/p>\n

I knew my way around the school but it was gettin\u2019 dark. My eyes was stingin\u2019 from all the dirt and dust and my head still poundin\u2019. What a sight I was, wanderin\u2019 around on a busted leg with a piece of book stickin\u2019 out of my head. I was so tired.<\/p>\n

The right side of the school was destroyed. I twisted and bent myself just to get in the broke front of the lobby. Principal Anderson\u2019s office was fully wrecked. I got to the set of doors that separated the front of the school and the main hallway. If I could just get to the end that hallway.<\/p>\n

I pushed the doors. It was easier than I thought. And that\u2019s when I saw the yellow pile of jackets. It looked like a dead-end or underground cave had crumbled down at the end of the hallway. I moved over a bunch of tumbled lockers and sat down at one of those student desks. It was in mint condition, even though it looked like grenades blew up everywhere else.<\/p>\n

I figured about 10 maybe 15 yellow jackets was lyin\u2019 there on the ground in front of me. They got smothered. They wasn\u2019t movin\u2019 anymore. Just like how I found Mr. Whitby and Mrs. Gray. The hallway had crushed them all. I didn\u2019t like \u2018em one bit but to go like that… well I don\u2019t think anybody deserved that.<\/p>\n

I had to get back to the girls. My leg was changin\u2019 colours. I hurt all over. My eyes was closin\u2019 and I told myself if I could just\u2026 just \u2026 rest a little. The whistle dropped out my hand and hit the ground. I laughed when picked it up. Maybe someone could come save me now. Then I just blew it.<\/p>\n

I heard a scream. Thought I musta been dreamin\u2019 or somethin\u2019. Then another scream. Then scratchin\u2019 and bangin\u2019. It was comin\u2019 from right after the pile of yellow jackets.<\/p>\n

I got up and move towards the sounds pullin\u2019 at the yellow bodies. All of them was stiff. I moved pieces of rock and pipe. Pieces of the buildin\u2019. I kept blowin\u2019 the whistle. Kept diggin\u2019 at a steady pace. I thought about Mrs. Gray and Mr. Whitby and the town I lost. I removed another big piece of concrete. The bangin\u2019 was getting\u2019 louder. I got to the other set of doors. I picked the biggest pipe I could find and just smashed over and over until a hole opened up in the door. I reached for the hole and started pullin\u2019. I could feel the inside of my hands rippin\u2019 but the hole was gettin\u2019 bigger. I was still whistlin\u2019. I was whistlin\u2019 so hard.<\/p>\n

There was these little hands that wrapped around my arm tryin\u2019 to pull me forward. Towards them. They was hollerin\u2019 for me. I pulled one last time and opened a hole in the earth. I looked at my hands and my fingernails. They was little bloody stumps. I was cryin\u2019 and my legs just stopped workin\u2019. I found them.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

It\u2019s been about a year now since I dragged myself and my broken leg outta that library and onto the street. After I found those kids in the school, I went lookin\u2019 for whatever those government men and those yellow jackets was diggin\u2019 for before the blasts. I found that too. I went lookin\u2019 till I collapsed all bloody and tired in the dirt. They was diggin\u2019 bunkers, just like Mrs. Gray\u2019s. They just didn\u2019t tell us in time.<\/p>\n

Seein\u2019 those empty bunkers\u2026 well just broke my heart. We coulda put Mrs. Gray and Mr. Whitby in there. I never found Jackie. I think \u2018bout her lots. We coulda put all those kids that died. We coulda put the whole town.<\/p>\n

I know they\u2019ll be lots of challenges comin\u2019 up. Before the blast I was a cleaner \u2018cause I guess it\u2019s what the world wanted of me. But the blast changed me.<\/p>\n

I do lots of different jobs now. Some days I\u2019m a doctor, fixin\u2019 up scrapes and bruises. Learnin\u2019 from any books that survived the blast, tryin to fix the bodies of the kids that was left. Other days, I gotta fix their minds. I gotta be a shrink or a preacher. Like when we had to bury their brothers, sisters, Mommas and Daddies. We even had to bury their dogs.<\/p>\n

And most of the time I\u2019m the teacher, readin\u2019 out loud from leftover schoolbooks or showin\u2019 the older boys and girls how to shoot and scavenge and protect themselves from whatever may come. I\u2019m not always real good at these different jobs so sometimes I need help from the older kids. Though I always try my best. But there was one job I was always pretty good at.<\/p>\n

I was always pretty good at findin\u2019.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.\u201d \u2013 <\/em>Martin Luther King Jr.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can still hear her sayin\u2019, \u201cWhy you want to clean up after people\u2019s dirty selves. Not too much pride in that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":16200,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[803,1361],"class_list":["post-16132","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fiction","tag-apocalypse","tag-rural","writer-sacha-bissonnette"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16132","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=16132"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16132\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16201,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/16132\/revisions\/16201"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/16200"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=16132"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=16132"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/mrbullbull.com\/newbull\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=16132"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}