Page 16 - FINAL DESTINATION

G B TAYLOR
Neil could think of only one thing to do. He took a deep breath and blew. The sudden breeze seemed to surprise it but the spider held firm and did not budge. It now moved in the direction the wind had come from—toward Neil.
With his heart about to burst from his chest, Neil inhaled deeply and angled the box up so he could blow straight across it. With spider coming straight at his face, Neil blew as hard as he could. The breath caught the spider head on and sent it flying out into the room.
Relief washed over Neil. Here he was hiding in the dark, carrying his mother's ashes, stalked by a drug dealer and dangerous creatures. He had taken off work to do this. He had spent good money on a plane ticket and a rental car to do this. For what? To fulfill an obligation to a woman who would never know that he had done it. Yet another thing he would do for her that would never be acknowledged or appreciated. The absurdity of it made him laugh.
It was just a small laugh. A very soft laugh, but not soft enough.
There was someone still downstairs. Someone who had been very quiet, listening for the presence of somebody in his house and now he had heard Neil’s laugh.
“I know you’re in here,” a gruff voice called out.
Neil race through his options. Maybe the farmer wasn’t sure he had heard something. He could be bluffing. Hoping that he could draw someone out. Neil considered that he could just be quiet and wait him out. It might work, provided there were no more spiders. The other option was to talk to the man. He would explain what he was doing here. How he was just trying to carry out his mother’s last wishes and convince him that he didn’t have any interest in his stash.
“I’m goddamn tired of you boys coming in here and taking what ain’t your’s.” Neil could hear anger and frustration in the man’s voice. “This shit ends now.”
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