9

The inside of the truck had a subtle sweet perfume that lingered for a while even as the windows were all the way down. Both friends sat there without saying a word. They watched as the bus left and in quite a hurry, headed north and away from them.

Vincent was high in some kind of stupor, the feelings he felt resonated with him, and uttered something that surprised even his friend.

"I think she might be the one!"

"And I don't blame you my friend, surely both of them are keepers." Said Julio also in some kind of a trance, surprised even at his own remark.

Vincent did a double take, never having heard his friend refer to any woman in such terms.

"I thought this was just another one of your exploits. Did you really mean what you said to her about seeing her again?" Asked Vincent in return, unsure of his friend's intentions.

Julio did not respond right away. His mind was noticeably elsewhere after attempting to start the truck without the use of his keys, hoping his friend didn't notice a thing. He fastened his seat belt instead but only as a distraction before suggesting that they consider staying out in the country for one more night.

"What if we take our time on the way back? We could drive halfway and set up another camp." Offered Julio as he ignited the truck.

The engine roared with fury as it ventured over hillsides away from forests and into large pieces of land, where sheep and cattle spread out for miles. Vincent noticed the air no longer felt thick, clear winds gently brushed against wheat, barley and soybeans.

"I wish I had brought my camera with me." Said Vincent while he admired the view and noticed bright yellow colors from sunflower fields that extended towards the horizon as far as his eyes could see.

"Remind me, how did you win that thing again?" Said Julio, stepping on the pedal and forcing more diesel into the valves.

"I won it in a contest. I'm sure I told you. In fact, the reason you don't remember is because you had the measles or something like that?"

"I hardly remember but you're probably right." Replied Julio as he gestured his friend to pry open a pair of coconuts, wishing they were ice cream instead.

"I used to listen to a university station that would run contests every other week. When I tuned in, the DJ was asking who had invented photography and to my surprise; no one had called it in." Said Vincent, lost in thought recalling that particular day.

"So? What was the answer?"

"The answer was so simple! I remember calling the station, the line ringing a few times. Just as I was about to hang up, someone answered and I just yelled, "Joseph Niepce, and just like that, I was immediately placed on the air."

"That's it? Did they not give you a math problem you had to solve or some other gimmick? They usually pull shit like that you know…. sneaky in my opinion." Said Julio with a sort of disregard for the way radio shows handled their business.

"Well, if you had called, I'd probably give you a test as well." Replied Vincent with a playful tone.

"They asked how I knew the answer but I told them about an anecdote instead. My grandfather and I once took apart an old engine in order to understand how it worked. He explained the intricacy of the machine and mentioned that Joseph Niepce and his brother had not only achieved fame for inventing photography but had also created the first internal combustion engine. Their design would include a series of controlled explosions that moved pistons up and down within cylindrical chambers and their breakthrough would encourage other thinkers of the era to improve the development of the engine that revolutionized the automobile we know today."

Vincent recalled, reminiscing in silence as to how his grandfather would take his time to explain every little detail of how each component worked.

"Earth to Vincent!" Julio called out, wondering where his friend had gone after recounting his anecdote.

"What exactly do you think about when you space out like that?"

"I don't space out! I was merely thinking about stuff, memories of my past life." Vincent replied almost annoyed.

"I'm actually getting tired of driving. And I think we went farther than we planned." Said Julio while looking for a place where they could stop to rest.

"Then let's camp somewhere near, I'm sure the ranchers won't mind as long as you don't fuck their sheep!" Said Vincent, trying his best to imitate something awful only his friend would say.

Julio just stared and frowned at his friend, but neither could contain themselves, leading them to uncontrollable laughter until they found the perfect space to set up two tents.

Too many hours of driving without stopping were the main source of Julio's irritability, his bowels groaning with contempt, aching for attention or at the very least the taste of stale bread. He tried ignoring it but to no avail, not even until all of their gear was unloaded and their camp finally set.

"I'm so hungry that my insides are beginning to eat themselves." Julio griped.

"Well, I think you forgot you bought those chorizos and bread. Replied Vincent hoping that would at least appease his friend.

"Fuck! I completely forgot about that!" Said Julio with a grin; his belly no longer grumbling as if somehow it knew that food was soon on its way.

"Listen, if you set up the tents, I'll start the fire and prepare the grill. Does that sound fair?" Offered Vincent as he gathered several rocks and began arranging them in a circle.

"Better yet, let's smoke another joint and then I will set up the tents." Offered Julio prior to changing into something warmer other than what he had on.

"Sure, but help me gather some more wood that we can burn before it gets dark. Daylight in this place won't hold up as well as when we were near the lake." Said Vincent while scouring the ground for more tinder they could burn.

As soon as it was dark, almost pitch black, the fire struggled to stay lit, as most branches were still green. In spite of what his instincts warned, Julio did not hesitate and siphoned a bit of gasoline so he could use it to fuel the fire that struggled to burn. They ate in silence once again, chugging beers one after the other due to the spiciness. Though they were used to eating anything with some heat, nothing could prepare them for the chorizos Julio had bought by mistake; some kind of Bratwurst mixed with jalapeño peppers and whatever else.

As soon as they were finished and could no longer move, Julio took the opportunity to gather some courage and apologize to his friend about the unnecessary tension he exhibited the night before.

"Fogedabout it!" Replied Vincent with an Italian accent similar to the one Tony Soprano would use.

"I know but it's not right. I acted like an insecure little bitch!" Said Julio, his fist raised in anger towards himself.

"Hey! It's the nature of the beast and it's now water under the bridge. So, don't worry about it." Urged his friend mimicking the way another gangster spoke but this time not as good as the one before.

"The fire is almost out. I'll get more wood since you don't look so good and probably need to piss!" Said Vincent as he walked away, attempting to avoid talking to a drunk, let alone about the shenanigans from the night before.

Vincent grabbed all the branches he could carry and ran back barely holding the pile of wood in his arms, hoping to surprise his friend. However, Julio was no longer there. He stood a couple of feet from the fire, close to where he dropped the load, hoping the noise would be enough to startle him, revealing his hiding spot.

Close to ten minutes went by before Vincent began to worry and decided to go look for him, heading in the direction he assumed as a choice, given that a beer can littered the place. Vincent reached down to pick it up, somewhat ticked that his friend had left it there. Out of nowhere a black figure emerged from underneath the grass and grabbed his victim by its feet.

Vincent screamed in horror as he fell backwards and landed on his ass!

"You should have seen your face! It was actually ghost white! Gosh! I wish I could have recorded it!" Julio laughed hysterically, belching uncontrollably, unable to conceal his mirth.

"You are such an asshole! I was genuinely worried for you. I thought you hit your head and was lying unconscious in a ditch!" The anger in Vincent's voice revealed how he actually felt but Julio was too drunk and far too entertained by his prank to even realize.

"You are so predictable, man! Who falls for that?! You really crack me up Vince!"

"Well, I'm glad you brought me along so I can at least entertain you!" Vincent fired back before retreating towards the camp.

Both friends sat back by the fire, ate and drank everything on sight and later rediscovered their passion for fireworks. They lit up the night with loud and colorful explosions, giving them a backdrop for the immense fun they used to have when they were young.

Unbeknown to them, Lorenzo Baroni was in a frantic, unable to sit still and enveloped by a myriad of anguish and despair produced by unsavory thoughts in regards to his grandson, who unknowingly would become involved and used as a Trojan horse.

Later that night he struggled in bed, tossing and turning, sweat staining the sheets as his body convulsed and twisted from an uncontrollable pain. Millions of thoughts came and went, his grandson, his daughter, even his torment. Nothing made sense one way or another; nothing could change what he'd done, despite knowing his end would soon come.