that I’m taking care of.”
“You don’t seem to be doing such a good job of either if you ask me.” The man said he’d not. “No, so you didn’t. All right, Mr. Curtain. I’m going to give you an hour to be packed up and on your way. If not, I’m going to move you along faster by having you burnt out. It’s up to you.”
Grant moved through the next few people on the land. He met with the same lack of hospitality, the same claims, as well as people meeting him outside of whatever they were living in with a gun pointed at him. Piper thought warning them that they had to move had each of them gathering up a weapon of some sort and having their reasons all lined up for why they weren’t leaving. Like they’d been given a script to read over.
They were headed back to Mr. Curtain after they’d hit all the squatters. His name, as well as the other names, had been given to Grant by her. A quick search of his mind had not only the adult’s name but those of the children as well. Piper even knew how long it had been since the children with two of the families had eaten. It had been a couple of days.
“Mr. Curtain, you don’t seem to have taken me seriously. You were told what would happen if you didn’t have your things packed up and weren’t ready to leave. You’re starting to get me in a shitty mood. You don’t want that.” Mr. Curtain actually pulled his kids in front of him. “Are you going to use your children as a shield, thinking I won’t burn you out? That’s a very stupid mistake on your part, I’m afraid. You see, I’ve warned you. After you were warned the other day. This is your final time. Leave, or I will have you burnt out. I can’t believe you’d use your children as a way for you to not get harmed. Just so you know, that won’t stop us.”
“You think anyone is going to serve you with you burning out a man and his kids? Nah, you’re the one that is going to be fucked up in all this. My kids and me, we live here. There ain’t shit that you can do about it. Now, you get on back to where you came from and leave us alone. We got ourselves a nice place here, and we’re going to be living here long after you just start pushing up flowers.” Grant asked him if he was threatening him. “No. I know that’s against the law. I’m telling you right out, you either leave us alone, all of us, or we’re going to hurt you and yours.”
The man seemed quite satisfied with his rules against Grant. When Grant laughed, asking her to have a look-see, she hopped down off his shoulder and let her larger bird take her. She stood over Grant by several feet—the man and his children more so. Piper was happy to see Baker ask the kiddies to come on over to him, and they did. It was just the man standing there when Grant asked him once more if he was willing, on his own, to get packed up and go.
“You don’t understand what I’m telling you. You don’t have any rights to tell me where I want to live or not. And don’t think I’m not going to tell the cops that you took my kids from me.” Grant told him he could if he lived. “You’re thinking you can kill me, boy? I want you to know I’m not nearly as stupid as you think I am. I got me this here gun, and what do you have? Nothing, I’ll tell you, nothing at all.”
“I have her.” Grant pointed to her, and the man just glanced in her direction. “Doesn’t even her size make you think she might well be able to hurt you without much in the way of effort? Your kids are afraid of her.”
“Kids are stupid. You can have those two. They ain’t worth the trouble anyway. They’re forever hungry and wanting something from me. Take’em. I got no use for them. Hell, it’ll be nicer here without them.” Grant only nodded. “You gonna go away now?”
“No. I’m not. As I have said to you several times now, you’re trespassing.” The others started toward them. Piper had the feeling this man was the leader of this little