Copyright Jean L Hayes
There are some parts of this earth that have never felt the weight of a man’s foot.
Some blades of grass, straggling roots, vicious briar patches or barren wastes that remain unsullied by the tramp of careless boots, or the mindless crush of four-wheeled monsters.
I will find such a place.
As eagles wheel in the skies above, and others flock to join them, I will become the first adventurer upon such hallowed ground, gifting it with a reverence demanded by its virgin status.
But it must be soon.
The corpse in the trunk is ripening quicker than I’d imagined.
Bon voyage to the Friday Fictioneers leader, Rochelle, as she sets off for Israel. Enjoy, my friend.
castelsarrasin 
Sooner or later, you will be found out, although it may take several decades
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I’ll be long gone… 😉
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Laughing.
Wonderful, but I think you have been keeping bad company!
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I learned everything I know about murder from you…
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That was quite the zinger at the end, Sandra.
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Thank you 🙂
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Dear Sandra,
The title led me to believe you might be writing a Star Trek story. 😉 You skillful descriptions put me in the moment…right to the end with the stench of the ripening man in the tree. Well done.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Ah! now I meant that the victim was in the boot of the car (as we say) but I knew our US contingent might be flummoxed by that so I put trunk… only to confuse the issue even further. 🙂 Have a safe mission, Rochelle.
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A valiant effort. 😉 It’s still very early here.
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So poetic … those corpses in the trunk certainly drive humanity to new heights. Well done
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Inspirational, I’d say. Thanks for reading.
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Think of it as exploration, breaking new ground for humankind, quite literally!
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🙂
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It’s always important to have a reason for adventuring. A lovely welding of two genres here, Sandra
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Better dispose off the corpse. The eagles above are circling.
https://ideasolsi65.blogspot.com/2019/05/barbed-fence.html
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Indeed they are.
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And what better reason? Thanks Neil.
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lol, yes, you better be sure it is a place where no others can find you…
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I think so. 🙂
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Reads like we have a killer on our hands! Well done Sandra.
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Thanks Colline.
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Great story (albeit grim). Driving through parts of west Texas I’ve had that same thought. Nobody ever set foot there because there was never any reason to!
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Where we live we often have to drive through thickly wooded forests. I often reflect on how the insect and wildlife must know nothing of our existence in its depths.
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Nice misdirection, Sandra!
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Thank you Penny. And as soon as I locate my password I’ll deal with the Link thinie. 🙂
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Brilliant! Love the twist in the tail. I didn’t see that coming. 🤣
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I think the corpse may have been blissfully unaware of what was coming too.
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😯
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Well, my word! I was really getting into this character, appreciating his thinking—until the ripening body in the trunk came into play 🙂 Nice one, Sandra.
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Thanks for reading, Linda.
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Very misleading, nicely done.
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Thank you.
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The straggling roots and briar patches are about to receive a welcome lump of rotting compost. Interesting!
‘Retribution’, my short story.
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She’s a true conservationist at heart.
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Hard to judge how fast a body will decay!
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I’ve never had to work it out, but I can imagine there are a number of variables.
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I think the eagles will be happy… they will have a bone to pick with the body.
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Hah! 🙂
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Them birds circling up may not by what you think they are … is all I can say … 😉
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So true.
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Aaaargh
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🙂
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😊😊
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Never trust those who focus on purity. They have very little patience for humankind. The owner of that body in the trunk obviously did not live up to the killer’s standard. 😊
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A perceptive observation. 🙂
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Love the big reveal in the last line, Brilliant! Is trunk American for Boot?!
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’tis indeed.
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Yes, I’m a Brit, but I do this for our American contingent. I draw the line at some things though… 😉
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Methinks you have been hanging around certain people too much 😉
Excellent misdirect.
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Yes there’s a ‘CE’ ness to this, isn’t there? 🙂
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There definitely is… 😉
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And here was me thinking your character was moving to the wilderness for the love of nature 🙂
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🙂
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Still laughing. She is highly motivated to find that virgin ground away from the rest of humanity. Excellent!
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No better reason.
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A bit scary. Not sure if it’s crime fiction or SF. Either way, a good read.
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Thank you, Patrick.
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Good writing and a marvelous ending twist, Sandra. One of those places would be a great location to bury a body. I’ve read there are favorite locations contract killers use to bury their victims. —- Suzanne
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We used to live near Saddleworth Moor. Now there’s a true horror tragedy.
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Your word choice was spot on. I’ve been to places like these and wondered where the bodies are.
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Thanks, Tanille.
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Yikes! Better hurry to get rid of that body. I love your descriptions. Having lived in such areas, you really captured the feeling of being there.
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Thanks, Alicia. 🙂
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Such poetry until that last stunning sentence!
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Thanks, Liz.
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Oooooo great last line… I thought… And then…
Well done. Loved it.
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Thanks, Laurie.
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Nice twist. The virgin earth will be spoiled by your four wheeler. But one has to do what one has to do.
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Needs must, when the devil drives.
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And there you have it. All of that eagerness to explore, be the first, because…well, of course, there’s a corpse in the trunk. Ha! Love it. Well done, Sandra!
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A pressing need to explore, I guess.
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Have you been visiting Las Vegas? The stories say there are lots of places like this. Receptacles of the remains in the trunk.
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I can imagine. No, I’d hate Las Vegas. That would be my idea of hell.
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I like how the words flowed; they were poetic. It drew me into a search for serenity and peace: then wham. But remember where a body lies the vegetation glows the greenest.
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Yes, that could be a give away. 🙂
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Ripening…ewww…
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Festering, then…. 🙂
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