Crabapple Farm was located on a cliff. The cliff overlooked the sea. Somewhere beneath the cliff, there was a cave. No one in the town of Carefree, Nebraska, knew how long it stretched, and they didn't want to find out. Rumour had it that someone had ventured in 50 years ago and never came out again. But they knew it was long and deep. Somehow they knew. They could feel it in their veins.
It was a black and white sort of dawn; stark and sudden and crisp. The faint silhouettes of two men could be seen.
"So what's the plan, boss?" said one of the men.
The other man adjusted his suit under the faint moonlight. He looked around, making sure there was no one around.
"You oaf! Talk softly! You could wake the dead with your voice!" The other man whispered.
"Sorry, Mr. Grasshopper."
"Now, I brought you here because I've heard some... news, about you," the grasshopper's glasses glinted as he said those words. "I need your help. It's about... the cave."
The other man recoiled back in shock. Then he composed himself. "Well, I guess if you pay me enough, I could do whatever you want... But the price is high. I want at least one thousand dollars."
The grasshopper laughed softly.
YOU ARE READING
An Imperial Affliction
General Fiction"It is not in the stars to hold our destiny but in ourselves."
