Valknut: The Binding Read Online Free Page A

hide,” Lennie
said. “There’s no one else here. We’ll be fine.” As long as the
train keeps moving, anyway.
    Jungle Jim didn’t seem reassured. He curled
on his side and began whimpering. Lennie could think of nothing
else to say. More than anything, she wanted to go home. The house
might be empty, and so was her life, but at least she would be
safe.
    She left her hand on Jungle Jim’s shoulder
and watched the setting sun flash between evergreens in a
windbreak. Eventually the whimpering faded. His rocking slowed and
finally stopped. Certain he was asleep, Lennie got up and joined
Junkyard at the door.
    She didn’t say anything at first. She was
still afraid of the change in him. Tension poured off him like
sweat. It was clear he knew something about Tin Can Petey’s murder
that wasn’t included in Jungle Jim’s story.
    The sun was a pink ball bleeding into the
horizon. A cool wind whistled into the boxcar. It would get cooler.
Rubbing her arms, she said, “I don’t suppose we can close this
door.”
    Junkyard grunted. “Not unless you want to
risk getting locked inside for a few days. Or weeks.” He pointed to
a railroad spike jammed into the bottom runner of the door.
“Whatever you do, don’t take that out.”
    Stuck in a smelly boxcar with two strange men
and no food or water—not a pleasant prospect. “Uh, I guess I can
stand a little wind.”
    She settled to the floor inside the door and
watched the sun sink out of sight. Junkyard hadn’t moved or spoken
by the time the first stars appeared. She wondered if he planned to
stay there with a scowl cemented on his face all night.
    “Did you know Tin Can Petey well?” she
finally asked. “Or is something else bugging you?”
    He didn’t answer for a long time. His gaze
flicked along a grey-cloaked stretch of farmland, but, judging from
his harsh expression, his thoughts were somewhere far less
pleasant. When the response came, she barely heard his voice over
the wheels and wind. “This isn’t the first time I’ve seen...heard
of this sort of murder.”
    Before she could say anything, Junkyard
turned back into the train, leaving her at the door. He dragged a
piece of cardboard next to Jim and sat down on it.
    ”First thing tomorrow,” he said, “I’m calling
Jim’s sister. She’ll reserve a ticket, and I’ll put him on a bus
and send him home.”
    Awake after all, Jungle Jim yelped and sat
up. Tears had left muddy trails through the dirt on his face, but
now his eyes were dry and wide with alarm. “Oh, don’t do that!” He
crushed his felt hat to his chest. “Please don’t make me go back! I
haven’t missed the Festival in twenty years, an’ I’m not about to
start now. The kids’d be too disappointed.”
    Junkyard shook his head. “You shouldn’t be on
the road after a thing like that happens, Jim.”
    “Aw, but them kids are all I got left! I
can’t hold a job, an’ my buddy is gone—heck, there’s nothin’ else
that matters.” Jungle Jim folded his arms over the hat, his face
set in a stubborn sulk. “If you put me on that bus, I’ll just hop
right off at the first stop and hitch back.” Junkyard held up his
hands. “Okay, okay. We’ll wait until after the festival. And then
I’ll put you on a bus. And you better plan to stay close to me at
night.”
    Jungle Jim frowned and muttered to himself,
but didn’t protest. Junkyard turned to Lennie. “As for you, as soon
as Jim is on that bus, you and I are catchin’ out for Ames. You’re
going home. This is no time for some cherry woman to be riding the
rails.”
    Lennie stared at him, too astonished to be
angry. It didn’t matter that she had already been thinking of going
home. She wasn’t about to let him order her around. She left the
doorway to stand over him. “Listen, guy, I’ve been taking care of
myself since I was eleven years old. I don’t need you or anyone
else to tell me what to do.”
    He scowled up at her. “Oh, and I suppose you
face down