Of Mice And Men (extended ending)

Chapter 7

Rain pattered on the roof of the bunkhouse, the ranch was silent with uneasy tension to it ever since the sound of the gunshot echoed through out the fields. Bottles and solitaire cards were scattered about on the wooden floor from last evening's events.
George just remained still on his bunk, folding his hands together as both his elbows rested on his knees. He thought of how Lennie would be up by now, asking if he could see the pups again but there was only silence.
"Let em' rest Lennie, let em' rest..." George muttered as if Lennie was there with him.
"Lennie ain't here no more George." Slim's voice snapped him out of his daze, making George jump slightly. He looked helplessly at Slim then back at the cold wooden floor, fidgeting with his hands. Slim sat himself down on the bunk next to George, rubbing circles on his back.
"You did what's best for em George, coulda' been worse." Slim said softly. Silence followed after, George's hands now shaking slightly.
"Didn't wanna cause no trouble damn it, he didn mean it. I told him to stay away from her." George spoke, his voice laced with anger. His thoughts went to thinking about how Curley's Wife would go around, asking where Curley was. Then, once again, thought of Lennie.
"S'pose you want to meet the new guys? They gonna be arriv'n today." Slim offered, changing the conversation. George stood up, stretching his arms and legs. "Why not, better than sittin' around think'n bout..." He trailed off, shaking that thought off his head and decided not to continue on. The two went to go grab supper, grabbing what was left.
They went out, meeting the cold early morning air and the smell of the rain that had just cleared. The grass was fresh with morning dew and rain. The fog hung low, covering almost every inch of the fields. George sat himself down on the damp fence, not caring if the wood is wet.
"The boss is gonna be out today an' tomorra'... For the funeral. An' so is Curley. Been upset about losin' his daughter-in-law ya know?" Slim informed, taking a bite out of his bread. George answered implicitly by giving him a short nod, his mind elsewhere.
"Tell me like you done before."
"Tell you what?" George asked softly to himself, inaudible to Slim.
"'Bout the other guys an about us."
"Guys like us got no fambly. They make a little stake an' they blow it in. They ain't got nobody in the worl' that gives a hoot in hell about 'em...." he paused, sucking in a breath. Slim looked at George with a bit of concern.
"But not us!"
"But not us.." He said softly, making Slim raise a brow.
"Because I got you an'-"
"GEORGE?" the sound of Slim's voice snapped the poor man out of his trance.
In front of him, he was met with Slim's slender fingers continuously snapping to get his attention. He met his eyes and sighed, shaking his head. "Thought I lost ya for a second. Still comin' to meet the new guys?" he asked. He stood up from his spot, nodding. From there, he followed Slim to another part of the ranch where two men of different heights were standing.
The bigger male had curly dirty blond hair with blue eyes bluer than the ocean and he was fiddling with a crow feather while dazing off. The shorter male kept elbowing him to stop and made eye contact with the other two males heading towards them. The bigger male snapped out of his state and made eye contact as well, still fiddling with the raven feather.
"S'pose you two are the new guys work'n here?" Slim asked, a bit of a greeting. The two men nodded.
"You the boss sir?" the shorter male asked, referring to Slim. The skinner shook his head and chuckled. "The boss is out for personal reasons, you'll meet im' later. I'm Slim an' this here is George." he nodded to George and turned back to the two.
"What are your names?"

"The name is Howard, Howard Mills." The shorter man looked at the larger man, signalling its his turn to talk. "M-My n-name is uh H-Humphrey Masons." he stuttered, his fiddling intensified slightly.

George eyed the two and had a familiar pang in his heart. He cleared his throat, getting attention from the three. "I'd like to show em' around the ranch if ya don't mind Slim." He tried to give him a smile. Slim nodded, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I'll see ya around boys." With that, Slim left the two men to George.
"C'mon, I'll show ya around." He turned on his heel and went to the bunk house with the two new men following.

"H-Howard, is our ranch gonna be like this one?" George heard Humphrey whisper to Howard and froze.

"Rabbits" George spoke, making Howard and Humphrey stop and look at him in confusion.
He turned around and looked at them in the eye. "Are you gonna have rabbits on your ranch?" The two looked at each other then back at George. George sighed, then gave the two new men a small smile.
"I'll help ya."he said softly.

"R-Really s-sir?" Howard's eyes were wide as saucers. Humphrey lips turned into a huge smile.

"I'll give ya my share if ya let me work on your ranch." The two men smiled happily.
"Thank you sir!"