1982 A truck stop in East Arikara
Runs With Stick sat in the darkness at the truck stop. "Mother help me."
She thought about that night two years ago in the diner as she rubbed a bit of Indamo into her cheek fur.
It had taken her a couple of days to walk and hitch hike to this place, and another day of waiting for that bastard trucker. Now he was inside stuffing his face.
Runs With Stick slowly felt the tires on the passenger side of the truck. Pausing at the one with the retread she smiled, "This will do." as she cut into the sidewall.
She walked back into the darkness and waited.
Runs With Stick slipped out next to the highway and ran after the truck as it headed west.
Clarence swore loudly as the tread separated from the casing, "Damn lazy bastards, I should have known they'd sell me a rotten tire back there."
He eased the truck over to the shoulder to see which tire came apart this time.
He was struggling to remove the tire when Runs With Stick came up behind him.
"Need a hand Mister?"
"Yeah, lazy bastards sold me a piece of crap tire, son of a bitch blew on me...push on that handle there so I can get my hand under this."
She knelt down working the jack handle to raise it, "Like this?"
Clarence grabbed the tire from the top and bottom to rock it off of the studs.
Runs With Stick released the jack so that his hand was pinned to the dirt below it.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing? Get this damn tire off of me!"
She stepped back a bit, "We need to talk first."
"Who the hell are you?"
"I am Runs With Stick, I work at the Outpost Cafe."
"What's that got to do with anything, get this fucking tire off of me."
"That was my Mother and Grandmother you ran down on the highway."
His tone changed immediately, "That was an accident, I swear it, I thought they were coyotes."
"Do not lie to me, you were laughing about hopfoot hair in your grill."
Anger had shifted to panic, "What do you want? Money? I have money."
Runs With Stick set the cleaver and Indamo on the ground.
Kneeling beside them she said, "You were my Father's and his Father's before him. Blessed are the Spirits that live within you, Guide me in your proper use."
"What the hell do you think you're doing?"
Runs With Stick raised the cleaver above her head, "Mother help me." Then brought it down quickly severing the right foot from the trucker.
She turned and placed a knee across the his chest listening to his screams.
"Your screams are in vain, no one is listening to you. You have killed my Mother and Grandmother, and for this you shall pay."
Runs With Stick waited as his screams grew fainter then stopped altogether.
She sprinkled the Indamo is his mouth, "This is so that you may speak to Death on your eternal journey."
Moving her hand over his face to put the powder in his eyes, "And this is so that you may see that which is denied to you."
Standing up, she touched her Grandmother's necklace, "We are Cunni, my family can rest now."
Continued.
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