Renewal 7 - When the Student Is Ready Read Online Free PDF Page B

the truck was actually clean, he worked in the fenders and underneath the truck. He went at it with the intensity of a man who really wanted every last molecule of cannibal off his ride. The truck washing left disgusting bits on the grass. Terry backed the truck away and Seth proceeded to wash the yard where it had stood. Finally when all evidence was gone, Seth closed the valve on the nozzle and nodded at Terry, who killed the motor on the pump.
    Without a word, Seth marched uphill to the middle lake, stripped down to his underwear, and dove into the green water. Terry and the other guys decided it was good idea, and followed suit. They spent twenty minutes playing in the water, swimming back and forth and trying to drown each other in the way boys do. Seth had an unfair advantage in that game.
    “Ok, I think I feel clean now,” Seth announced, and climbed out of the water on the grassy sloping bank. He hated to put his “cannibal clothes” back on, but there were no other options at the moment. He promised himself to change as soon as he got home.
    The group walked back down to Big Bertha. Terry opened the back of the truck, and offered Rob and the guys and ride. He and Seth took their normal positions as Terry started the diesel. They crawled slowly around the yard to the front side of the shop, where Terry picked up the access road, and made the two minute drive back to the community. He pulled Big Bertha into the West Barn, and carefully locked up the truck before pocketing the keys and heading over to Bill’s house.
    The other guys scattered, but Seth and Terry were approached by no less than five different people on the two hundred foot walk, all wanting to know what had happened. Terry escaped each encounter by saying that they needed to report to Bill first. That worked remarkably well in the community. Bill was a respected leader.
    Sally opened the door to the Carter’s home. Terry smiled reflexively when he saw her, and she smiled back. She seemed to know enough to refrain from verbally attacking him. She could wait. They marched upstairs, and met a serious looking Bill with his leg propped up on about five pillows.
    “You boys ok?” Bill asked, as they entered his room.
    “Yeah, we’re fine. Bertha took all the heat.” Terry said.
    “Well, not all of it.” Seth added.
    “What do you mean, Big Seth?”
    “Our boy, here, did his gun magic again. I was trying to shoot, but I was too busy throwing up to aim. By the time I drew a bead, the first pack was down. I say pack, because there were two dogs running flat out for me, and Mr. Wizard, here, shot them both at 30 yards with a handgun.” Seth was a little breathless. He wasn’t much for long speeches. “And, he was dangling out the side of the truck at the time.”
    “What do you say about that, Mr. Shelton?” Bill seemed more curious than upset.
    “I don’t know, Bill. It was like in Nashville. I saw Seth getting sick. I was trying to talk him into the truck when I caught sight of the cannibals coming. I heard this weird noise, and I just did it. Then, when Seth got in the truck, it was crazy after that. There were just a few seconds of calm before there were cannibals everywhere.”
    “All right, Terry. You go talk to Kirk in the morning. Maybe he can help you make sense of it.” Bill said. “So, I guess we can forget about help from our neighbors in Tullahoma.”
    “I think we can either ignore Tullahoma, or we may want to think about burning the whole place down. I keep thinking about how many there were, and I can’t figure why they aren’t all over the county by now.” Terry said, with a wondering tone.
    “Cannibals are never that successful. We dealt with lots of bands in the early years. They get aggressive for a while, and then the health problems catch up with them. They usually end up eating each other, which makes them even sicker, and so on...” Bill said. “Anyway, I’m sorry I sent you two over there. I was going on the