“You may meet people with bad intentions.” Garrett looked at Justin with the eyes of a man who would know. Garrett hands Justin a small oiled leather pouch.
“For that day.” Inside is a stainless steel Ruger 357 magnum revolver and a box of shells. Justin takes it. It feels heavy in his hand.
“And a river map. Good luck to you. Don’t worry about the motor noise. Those dam guys hear us go out all the time at night. We bring them catfish.”

Justin starts the outboard and noses the boat out into the pond and through the cave to the river beyond.
The outboard sings its song to the trees lining the banks of the river. The echoes return carrying secrets back from the forest. Justin keeps the boat in the center of the channel. The darkness is complete and the river is alive. Behind them the water plants rise and fall in the passing wake of the boat. And along the shore, the animals of the river observe them with thousand-year-old eyes. Turtles, river snakes and alligators stir in their nests at the sound of humans passing on the water.