Logan's Hill
The Blood Brothers of the Night
by John M. Scanlan
List Price: $24.95
Pages: 227
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9780975540527
Publisher: Bookmasters, Inc.
“AWK. AWK.”
“What was that?” Jerry asked, diving behind the Tribal Log.
“I dunno,” Dave replied. He stared downhill into the eerie gloom that was Logan’s Hill after dark.
“Whatever it was,” Dwight whispered, “I’m ready for it.” He wrung his grip upon his giant stick.
Jake grabbed a fresh dirt clod from the top of his pile, and knelt next to the fire. The only thing discernible was two tiny, red, glowing dots at the edge of the clearing. They seemed to grow brighter and fade . . . grow brighter and fade . . . grow brighter and fade.
“AWK. AWK.”
“There it was again,” Jerry said, his eyes scanning downhill.
Big Dwight cocked his stick back like a bat, poised to defend his fellow Blood Brothers.
Following Dwight’s lead, Jake cocked back his dirt clod.
“It sounded like a crow,” Dave whispered.
Suddenly, Jerry bolted erect. Shaking his head, he mumbled “Man, I can’t believe those two idiots.”
“What two idiots?” Dave asked.
“Shhhhh,” Jerry instructed, gazing over the Tribal Log.
Slowly, Jerry arose to his knees, with three pairs of eyes watching him. He cupped his hands around his mouth, and imitated the whistle of a Bobwhite Quail “Whew – whew – WHITE.”
An eternity of silence followed, before the same crow replied “AWK. AWK.”
Dwight cocked his stick back even further, and Jake poised his arm to launch the dirt clod. But Jerry rose to his feet.
“Whew – whew – WHITE,” he repeated.
The two red, glowing dots continued to grow brighter and fade . . . grow brighter and fade . . . grow brighter and fade
Then the four cousins at the Tribal Log faintly detected some whispering from the edge of the clearing. The crow replied again, “AWK. AWK.”
Jerry placed his hands on his hips and shook his head again. Dave, Dwight, and Jake heard him mumble something about “skipping procedural steps”, and then they watched him bellow into the darkness “HALT! WHO GOES THERE?”
Dave cocked his ear downrange. Big Dwight’s fingers anxiously wrung upon his stick. Jake dropped his dirt clod and jumped behind the Tribal Log.
The two red, glowing dots continued to grow brighter and fade. Again, the only sound the four cousins heard was a weak whispering.
Jerry sighed. “IS THAT YOU, ROMULAK AND PULSAR?”
After another moment of silence, familiar voices pierced the night.
“Yes, it is I, Romulak the fearless.”
“And it is I, Pulsar the deadly.”
“ADVANCE AND BE RECOGNIZED,” Jerry commanded.
Emerging from the darkness, Tim and Oscar suddenly appeared, each with a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth. They carried a cooler between them.
Dave slung his head down, Dwight dropped his stick, and Jake rolled his eyes.
Upon spying Tim and Oscar, Jake couldn’t get his mother’s immortal words out of his mind. She had always said, “Don’t smoke --- it’ll stunt your growth.”
Hmmmm, Jake thought. Tim and Oscar both seem to be of normal height.
Likewise, she had always said, “A cigarette has a fire on one end a fool on the other.”
Hmmmm. In Tim and Oscar’s case, that seems to be more appropriate.
“BLOOD BROTHERS OF THE NIGHT --- ”
“ --- aw, Jerry, cut the shit,” Tim interrupted. “It was hard enough climbing Logan’s Hill in the dark with this cooler. We don’t need that shit too.”
“Well, what happened?” Jerry asked. “Did you forget our Quail whistle?”
“Quail?” Tim asked, before inhaling a drag.
“See?” Oscar said, hitting Tim on the arm. “I told you that it wasn’t a crow.”
“Well, I knew it was some type of a stupid bird.”
“And what about your Blood Brother names?” Jerry asked. “You can’t remember a simple name?”
“I’m sorry,” Tim conceded. “All I could remember was Romu-something.”
“I’m sorry too,” Oscar admitted. “Pulsar the deadly is just too hard to remember.”
Jerry sighed, and then exchanged the secret handshake with his two new arrivals. Dave arose from his prone position to do the same. Likewise, big Dwight and Jake welcomed Romulak and Pulsar. Then Tim and Oscar carried the cooler into the camp.
“Well, did you get ‘em?” Jerry asked.
“See for yourself,” Tim said, opening the cooler’s lid.
By the light of the fire, Jerry could make out dozens and dozens of eggs. “Nice job, you guys,” Jerry said.
“Thanks,” Tim and Oscar replied.
“Now, we’re only missing Alex and Jeffrey.”
“Well, don’t worry. Alex will be here,” Jake stated. “Plus, you know Jeffrey --- he’s always late.”
The six Blood Brothers of the Night rubbed their thumbs together over the fire.
Excerpted from Logan's Hill © Copyright 2008 by John M. Scanlan. Reprinted with permission by Bookmasters, Inc.. All rights reserved.
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