C4 antho - Chamber Four

~210~ The Chamber Four Fiction Anthology
Miguel cried, leaning over the lamb.
“We could throw it in the creek,” Billy said. Wewoka
Creek was only a couple hundred yards away.
“Throw it in a creek? There is blood all over.” Miguel
stood and walked away from them into the dark. Billy, hearing
Miguel’s crying intensify, ducked his head and stared at
the ground like he always did when he was nervous. He noticed
blood had splashed his boot. It beaded up in red halfmoons
that with a shake rolled to the ground.
Miguel reappeared, calm. He pointed a finger at his
brother. “His name is Cordaro.” The boy started to correct,
but Miguel leapt onto him, pinned him to the ground, and
knocked the knife from his hand. “Cállate el hocico! I want to
hear nothing from you. Hear? Nada!” Miguel’s brother
looked vacant, as if focusing on some curious point far beyond
his brother. Miguel crawled off of him and went to
Billy. He started to cry again but stifled it. He picked the
lamb up from the ground and held it like a dead baby.
“Which way?”
Billy led him to the creek. It was full of spring rain.
Miguel waded chest deep and released the lamb. Watching it
float downstream, he washed away the blood, then washed
his brother. Billy, sitting on the bank sobering up, caught
movement downstream. In the moonlight, he saw Dog slip
through the cattails on the opposite side of the creek. He was
after the lamb. Billy stood.
“Get,” Billy yelled. Dog looked up and saw him but appeared
unconcerned.
“Que?” Miguel asked, pulling his brother close.
Dog stretched his neck out into the water, nipped at and
missed the lamb. He hunkered his haunches. Billy knew he
was going to leap. He ran down the bank toward Dog, throwing
anything he could grab as he closed the gap between