The Degenerates - Under Edit

t h i r t y e i g h t

I drove Trey and I out of town, on the lookout for anyone who looks like they could be watching us.

It was a risky, and dangerous game we were playing with the police. I always had this anticipation and paranoia that they're going to arrive suddenly and arrest us for a crime that we, obviously, didn't commit. My other fear, is that one of us is going to get shot.

The police have been too quiet since their visit to the dorm room. Granted, it's only been two days, but I had an inkling that something was coming. They knew more than they were letting on and it concerns me that they know too much. Another concern I had was Trey. What did they know about him? And were they on to Theo?

We'd spun a dangerous web, an overlapping circle of cat and mouse. I couldn't stop my involvement even if I wanted to; the second I met Trey meant I was in, whether he realised it at the time or not. I couldn't deny that my feelings for Trey were unplanned; but I can't imagine it being any other way now. Each step I took I look for Trey for my back up. Each move I make, I reached for him. I was in this wholly, and I had to learn to play the game.

"Park a little further down," Trey directed and I followed.

There was a hunting store situated in the next town over, it was closer to the forest and had more of a reliance on the product of hunting in the woods. I left Trey in the car, watching him pull a hood over his head. I replayed the scenario in my mind before approaching the front door.

The store was old, you had to hold onto a door handle and hoist it open, sliding with some resistance on rails embedded in the floor. The floors were still a grey carpet, some staining apparent. The store was slightly musty.

To my surprise, it was a younger male standing at the till. For some reason, I had expected an older man, maybe in his fifties, with the stereotypical feature wall of photos of things he has shot or caught. I rested my hands in my jacket, which was too big for me, and patrolled the aisles. I acted interested, when really, I had absolutely no idea what I was looking at.

A glass cabinet behind the till caught my eye, display items glimmering. I walked closer, around an aisle corner.

"Hey, you need some help?" The young male clerk called out. My breath hitched in my throat, I forced a smile.

"Hi," I greeted, approaching the counter, "I am looking into some...pest eradication techniques?"

I basically felt Trey's eyes from the car burning through my body with the ridiculousness that I just came out with.

Ignoring my stupid question, I mentally reminded myself that realistically, I wasn't doing anything wrong. The shelving unit behind the counter was stacked with hunting rifles behind a metal cage.

"Like what? Rabbits? Rats?" he asked.

I nodded, "Yeah, some rabbits. But mainly wild pigs, they're really starting to get on my nerves."

"Oh okay. Considering the rain we've been having, I haven't seen as many around lately without really searching for them. Where's your land?"

I stared at the shopkeeper for a second, wondering what to say next, "I'm on Mill Parade..."

The shopkeeper nodded, "Right on the tree line, no wonder you get so many invasive pests. You looking for traps?"

I exhaled, thanking Trey for knowing what he was talking about, "I'm looking for a more permanent solution actually...I want to know what the best weapon would be to keep the pigs at bay."

The shopkeeper didn't flinch when picking up a clipboard, "Yeah I can help you, you have a license?"

I freeze, "Um, no, I need to get one but..." I scrape my brain for anything that comes, "I broke my hand a couple months ago, it's still not quite right yet."