Traveller - L.W. Samuelson (free e books to read online TXT) 📗

a blanket,” Willy said staying right behind him. Minutes later Tim and Traveller heard two doors slam shut.
Jesse and Willy had the Scout running with the heater on when Traveller and Tim walked through the trees several minutes later. Traveller immediately opened the back of the vehicle and, despite the cold, pulled a beer out of the cooler. He pulled the tab off, guzzled some and the sat on the end gate.
Tim got in the back seat. “Nothing like a thirsty alien,” he said.
“Well what’ll we do now?” Jesse asked. “Dang Air Force ruined our fun.”
“I’ve had all the fun I want for a long time. I say we head back home,” Willy ventured. “Nice warm shower set me right, make me forget ‘bout spoonin’” he shuddered.
“I’m not ready. Let’s build a fire and rest up today. Go home first thing in the morning,” Traveller said.
“We have four days of spring break left and you losers want to go home? What’re we going to do when we get there, sit around all day? Let’s go to Jackpot. We can pool our money; get a hotel room, shower, and then gamble.”
“How much money you got?” Willy asked.
“Twenty dollars.”
“Fool, ain’t got no money. What you gonna do when they see that peach fuzz on your chin, find out you ain’t twenty-one?”
“I’ve snuck in there before. If they catch me, I’ll go back to the hotel room and watch T.V.”
“Let’s stay here today,” Traveller pleaded.
Tim spoke up, “I’m with Travis. Let’s stay here and rest. Go to Jackpot tomorrow.”
“Fore we make any plans to go gambling, we best be checkin’ the money situation. I got fifty bucks,” Willy said.
“I have thirty dollars and some change,” Tim said.
They all turned their heads and looked at Traveller. “Two hundred dollars,” he said.
“Man, I knew there was a reason I liked you so much,” Jesse said with excitement. “So it’s settled, Jackpot tomorrow?”
Traveller raised his beer in agreement. Tim nodded. Willy said, “Good Lawd, we being led by a fool.”
For the rest of the day, Traveller sat on the end gate chain drinking beer while his friends slept. Toward evening they were up and about again.
Tim stoked a fire big enough for a congregation. Everyone but the alien gravitated toward it, drawn by the warm dancing tongues of red and orange.
When Traveller finally did slide off the tail gate, he staggered into the sagebrush to relieve himself. He returned after several minutes to hear Jesse chide, “We now know where the Yellow River came from. I hope you didn’t drown too many Chinese.”
Traveller remained taciturn as he grabbed another beer and walked back to the fire. He sat against a log away from everyone. “You okay Bro’?” Willy asked.
Traveller waved his hand remaining silent. His companions’ conversation inevitably drifted toward the events of the past couple of days. “Man, I closed my eyes, thought we was gonners,” Willy began.
“Oh Gawd, Tim and I just rolled ourselves up in the tarps, pulled them clean over our heads,” Jesse said. “I’ve got bruises over ninety percent of my body from being thrown around.”
“I thought for sure Travis had bought it when I heard that explosion. I’ve never been so happy to see someone in my life,” Tim said referring to Traveller’s appearance after the explosion.
“Yeah, you’re stuck here with us now Travis,” Jesse pointed out. “How does that make you feel?”
Traveller guzzled the rest of his beer. “How would you feel? That spaceship took over two hundred years to design, engineer, and build. I stole it with the intention of performing the mission it was intended for. Now look what I’ve done. I’ve destroyed it with my stupidity. Not only that, but I’m stranded here with no hope of contacting my family or anyone else from Benwar.”
Willy got up and sat down by his blood brother, put his arm over his friend’s shoulders and said, “We’re your family now, Bro’. We’re your family now.”
“Yeah, Travis, you’re one of us now,” Tim said.
“Welcome to Earth and pesky black people,” Jesse joked.
“Stupid Jesse,” Willy said looking sideways to see the tears in Traveller’s eyes.Chapter 39 - Jackpot

The men were hobbled by their aches and pains the next morning. No one wanted to roll out of the warm cocoon of an individual sleeping bag where they lay unencumbered by the rigors of spooning. For Traveller it was more a matter of motivation. His head hurt and he saw no reason to do anything else.
When the light finally crept into Jesse’s consciousness, he started thinking about their new adventure, the smorgasbords, the gambling, free drinks at the tables, and a hot shower. These visions danced in his mind like sugar plums. “Yeah baby!” he yelled. “Let’s get out of bed and enjoy life.”
He jumped out of his bag like it had just been invaded by chiggers. He threw his clothes on then opened the tent flap. A bright, sunny day had dawned. The air was fresh and invigorating. Best of all, there wasn’t a jet or plane in the sky. “Poddy on!” he yelled at the sky.
He quickly rekindled the fire before setting the coffee on to boil. “Get your butts out of bed!” he yelled. “Jesse’s cooking breakfast.” He put bacon in the cast iron skillet and placed it on the grate. “Willy, I can feel the hot water washing my sins away. There’s a shower with your name on it in Jackpot. Little soap and water and you might find out you’re white underneath all that dirt.”
“Tim,” Willy asked calmly. “Where Jesse put his gun? I’ll shoot’im, put’im out of our misery.” He thought for a moment before reconsidering. “‘Course he too dumb to die.”
When the men got up and ate breakfast, no one noticed that Traveller had hardly touched his food. Jesse was in such a hurry to get to jackpot that he did the dishes and loaded a lot of the camping gear by himself. With everything jammed in the back of the Scout they left. Willy curled up in the back with his head on Traveller’s lap and slept while Tim rode shotgun.

The trip to Jackpot was filled with music. Jesse’s cassette case contained over fifty albums ranging from Creedence Clearwater to Carole King. The adrenaline provided by his excitement plus his love of driving as he listened to his favorite artists kept him awake. Tim and Willy slept, while Jesse and Traveller sang the songs from the cassettes rocking back and forth in rhythm.
The mood of each song infused Traveller with whatever the artist was feeling at the time he sang it. Concentrating on the lyrics kept his mind off the bitingly bitter disappointment he felt over the loss of his spaceship. That and Jesse’s contagious enthusiasm lifted his spirits.
It took over three hours to get to the little gambling town south of Twin Falls, Idaho. Jackpot, located in Nevada, was a favorite gambling destination for many of southern Idaho’s residents.
Tim and Willy woke up soon after they drove across the state border of Idaho. “Are we there yet?” asked Willy rubbing his eyes.
“Soon, my man, soon,” Jesse answered as he drove over a rise and down the long hill that ended at the gambling mecca.
“Let’s get a hotel room before we start gambling,” Tim wisely suggested when they entered town.
“What is gambling?” Traveller asked.
“Jeeze! You act like you’re from another planet,” Jesse said without thinking.
Willy noticed the tears that Jesse’s remark provoked. He placed a hand on Traveller’s arm and said, “It’s bettin’ money on whether you win or lose. It’s like when we played UCLA in the tournament. Let’s say you bet me two dollars they would win. When we beat their butts, you would owe me the two dollars. If they would have won, I would owe you two dollars.”
“It’s just like playing poker only you bet money instead of match sticks,” Tim elaborated.
Jesse pulled up to the front office of the hotel and told his companions, “I need money.”
“One room with double beds,” Willy said taking a twenty from Traveller and adding a ten of his own then handing it to him.
After they had carried their bags inside, Jesse said, “I’ll be back. I’m feeling lucky.”
“I get the shower,” Willy called.
“Here Travis,” Tim offered, “let me show you how to play twenty-one.” They sat at the small table with Tim dealing cards from a deck he had pulled from Jesse’s backpack.
Ten minutes later, Willy came out of the shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, “Ooh wee! Ain’t gonna lie to ya. That be the best shower I ever took.”
Tim and Traveller took turns testing Willy’s shower thesis. Both concurred with his opinion. When Tim came out in white underwear rubbing his hair dry, he commented, “Anything that feels that good has to be illegal.”
Just as they were all dressed, deodorized, and dry, getting ready to hit the casinos, Jesse came back. “Man, I ran out of money. My luck was just about to change,” he said before looking at Traveller and asking, “Can I borrow twenty bucks. I’ll pay you back when we get home.”
Traveller handed him the money and then exited the room with Willy and Tim. “I’ll catch up with you after my shower,” Jesse called after them.
The men started their gambling spree at Barton’s. When they opened the door, they were greeted by cigarette smoke. Traveller followed Willy with his eyes watering. He felt like he was on a totally different planet, one populated by old people smoking cigarettes with one hand and holding a drink in the other. The multicolored lights of the slot machines decorated the darkened interior. They clinged and clanged with provocation. The sound of levers being pulled could be heard over scores of people talking.
Strapped for cash, Tim started on the quarter slots. Willy sat down at a twenty-one table. Traveller stood behind him and watched the cards as the dealer shuffled and dealt. He kept a keen eye on the betting and how the cards fell as they were distributed among the players. He watched for over an hour before sitting down to gamble.
On the first five hands he bet the minimum two dollars watching the cards and memorizing their place in the deck as they were shuffled. On the sixth hand he bet fifty dollars and received twenty-one. He doubled down on the next hand and won again. The dealer bumped his half-opened hand in front of Traveller who reduced his bet to two dollars. When he lost that hand, he bet two dollars again and lost again. A cocktail waitress came by and asked if he wanted anything to drink. “Jack Daniels,” he said.
“On the rocks?” she asked.
“No, just pour it over ice,” he replied. She rolled her eyes.
Traveller bet two dollars on the next three hands losing each time. The dealer dealt again. Traveller received two aces and split them with a twenty dollar bet. He won.
The waitress came back with his drink. He downed it without taking his eyes off the cards and said, “Bring me another. I’ll try it on the rocks this time.” She laughed thinking it was a joke.
Traveller played on the same table long after Willy had gotten up and left in disgust. Over the course of the night, his pile of chips grew. The number of free drinks had also grown. It had taken him three more Jack Daniels to figure out that “on the rocks” meant over ice. Why don’t these humans just say what they mean