The van rocked and bounced down a heavily-rutted dirt road. Behind the construction site lay the swampy woods, dark and foreboding. A place few people- kids or adults- dared to enter, for fear of coming upon something that didn't concern them. As the trio forged further into the trees, the more the mossy overgrowth hemmed them in.

The Eds were in the belly of the beast.

In earlier times, any visitor in a southern town would find themselves introduced to a whole other world- easygoing, frozen in time, and painfully traditional. But, if some considered these idyllic hamlets to be sleepy tributes to the past, then the woods and swamps would be a nightmarish parody, a twisted caricature of the past that was as real as it was horrifying.

In one hundred fifty years, the concept of poor white trash has not changed much. Ignorant, backward people, living in abject poverty in the sticks. As a matter of fact, the rumors made up by the Cul-De-Sac were not dissimilar to those Northerners spun of "swamp people" in the deep south- Starving people, absolute squalor, prolific drug use. Some kids claimed that the park residents ate clay- a rumor straight from the Confederate canon.

But, the image was hardly accurate. while drug use was far worse, and accomodations weren't the ritz, the vast majority of these rough-cut people were upstanding working-class people- albeit rather ignorant.

This did not include the Kanker Sisters.

Whereas the rest of the trailers had either been lovingly maintained, or replaced by sturdier mobile homes, the Kanker residence had only gotten worse. A blue tarp, tied to the ground with tent posts, flapped and fluttered on the roof. The blue-on-blue sheet metal had accumulated surface-rust. A leaky old air-conditioner on its last legs grinded and sputtered in the kitchen window. An old Plymouth crouched on their dead lawn, joined by an old lawn chair and a derelict washing machine. To the Eds, it was the Marsten House- dark, foreboding, with its unmistakable aura of darkness.

"So, uh...sockhead!" proposed Eddy, patting his buddy on the back, "Why don't you go first..?"

Double D took out a handkerchief, gingerly swabbing the sweat from his forehead."S-..Surely, you must be joking?"

"No, not at all!.. Heh, you got a way with the ladies, y'know that?"

Edd was not impressed. "..I appreciate the sentiment, Eddy, but those ladies, as you so generously dub them, are responsible for the worst recurring nightmares I have ever suffered!"

Eddy stomped his foot. "Fine, who needs you? Ed, go ring the bell!"

"You got it, chief!" Ed, not thinking, slung the two over each shoulder and charged for the trailer, crashing into the door and spilling them on the ground before it. Straightening himself, he wailed on the door incessantly, as the other two backed slowly behind him.

A knock on the door interrupted another glorious movie marathon. May and Marie were on the couch, while Lee was in the kitchen, making the popcorn. They had rochambeau'd to pick who'd go; naturally, she lost.

Bzzzzzzz. Someone was ringing the buzzer now.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzt.

Lee, still standing over the stove, growled. "IS ANYBODY GONNA OPEN THE DOOR?!"

"Get it yourself!" came Marie's shrieking response, "The racy part's comin' on!"

May let out a bubbly giggle. "You better hurry, Brad Pitt is gettin' nakey~!"

Lee took one glance at the popcorn bag upon the stove, then to the door. "FINE, I'll get it, but you girls better rewind!" And, thus, she stomped to the door, to face these interlopers.

While the Eds waited, all three assessed the conditions of the park.

"Y'know," Eddy suggested, "This place ain't as bad as I thought it was."

"I will concede," Double D admitted, "There are far fewer dogs…"

"And blue tarps!" added Ed.

"Yes," Double D agreed, "And the ratio of stripped cars to complete ones is far more optimistic!..."

They all jumped at the muffled hollers from inside. Double D had hopped into Ed's arms, while the latter simply held him there, unsure of what was going on.

"...I'm still terrified of this particular dwelling."

Ed nodded in agreement. "We've seen some bad stuff here, Eddy."

"Psh," Eddy hissed, taking point to show what a big man he was, "Get over yourselves, it's just a trailer. We're grown-ass men now, I ain't scared."

And then Lee answered the door. Taken aback slightly, she flinched a bit, before scowling at them through her bangs. "Well, lookit that.. Somebody left trash on 'da lawn again."

Ed, confused, took a look behind them. "There's nothing here but us, Lee.."

Immediately, he regretted stepping in front. From the corner of his mouth, Eddy whispered to his cohorts. "...Okay, fine, I'm scared."

"Lee," Marie hollered, "Who is it?"

"Nobody, Marie! Just the girl scouts!" Lee crossed her arms, glaring down at Eddy. "..You got a lotta balls t'come over here, after what'cha did'ta us."

The noise in the trailer abruptly stopped, the movie pausing. May called out.

"Girl Scouts?!"

The Eds jumped at the sound of clattering cans,garbage shifting, and skittering footsteps toward the door. Lee turned round to find her two sisters, both clad in their trashy, "casual" clothes (in reality nothing more than old t-shirts and baggy shorts) crashing toward the door, pushing and shoving for pole-position.

"Ask if they have cookies!" screeched May.

"No way," jeered Marie, "Your fat ass always eats 'em all!"

"They were my cookies, Marie!"

"I loaned you the money, lardass!"

As these two rolled over and over on the muddy floor, pulling hair and throwing punches, The Eds simply stared, speechless in their bewilderment.

"They haven't changed a bit," Double D mused.

"That's not true, Double D," Ed interjected, "Their legs are hairier! See?"

Lee turned to face them, not impressed. "Are you jus' here 'ta insult us, or do you want somethin'?"

Eddy could see his life flashing before his eyes. "..Well, uh, about that.."

Double D mustered some courage and stepped forward, adjusting his hat. "..We, hm… are attending a social function tonight, and were wondering-"

Lee slammed the door- in which his foot got caught. Double D, racked with pain, let out a screech like a boiling cat.

Eddy threw it open again, while Ed grabbed Double D and began to rock him in his arms. "What the hell was that for? That could'a been me!"

The redhead chucked a vase at Eddy, which went sailing past his head and into the side of another trailer. "You ain't got no shame!" she cried, "You broke my heart when I was just a girl, spend years jerkin' me along, you sent Marie 'ta juvie… An' now, you and your buddies want dates?! Go 'ta hell!"

She slammed the door again, only for Eddy to catch it and fight to keep it open.

"Nnnn-No, you don't understand!" He struggled to speak, straining against the Kanker's monumental strength, "We ain't here for that!.."

Double D, now free of Ed's comfort, hopped over to the door on his good foot. "We were only wondering if you had… any more of that… delectable nectar you gave us after prom..!"

Lee echoed him. "...Nectar?...What, the French perfume we stole outta that train wreck…?"

Eddy blinked. "What? No!"

The door slid open, and Eddy, now pushing against nothing, fell on his face with a grunt.

"That… strong stuff; you used to make it outta Walmart grapes, and antifreeze," he mumbled.

grinning vacatly, thrust forth the jug. "Refill, please!"

Lee pushed her bangs aside, and studied them intensely. "...How do I know you ain't Narcs?"

"Narcs? Ha! Lee, baby, we'd never do that to ya!" Eddy tried to put an arm around her, which she promptly threw off.

"Ya did 'ta Marie, when ya told her 'ta take that watch in tha mall!"

"I told'ya, I WAS FRAMED!"

"People, please!" Double D got between the two, who were fixing to brawl. This was a brave move for a man on one foot. "Lee, we simply ask to purchase some of your wares. If the police required informants, surely they could gather better candidates for such a position, than a trio of gentlemen best-known for flim-flam and trickery?"

"So, what you're sayin' is, you're the obvious choice.. And that makes ya a terrible choice?"

Eddy jerked a thumb at their ride.. "With a van like that, you could see us comin' a mile away!" Wiping the dust off himself, he offered a crooked grin to disarm her. "...See? We just want some'a your hooch. Trust us!"

Lee gave him one final glance, and shrugged. "Eh, what the hell. Come on in; the place is a mess, but I don't care."

As the Eds filed in, they passed May, finally pinning Marie to the ground- nose bloodied, but triumphant.

"Ha! You're the lard-ass, lard-ass! Now, where'd those Scouts go to?"

"There weren't no Scouts, May," Lee grunted, "You're just stupid."

The two, dazed, looked up from their positions to find the Eds filing into their bathroom.

Marie cocked her head. "...When'd they get here?"

The place was a mess, smelling strongly of B.O. and cheap weed. Mud was tracked everywhere, and cans littered the floor. Despite all the decay, all four of them were still surprised indeed to find a middle-aged brunette woman asleep in the Kankers' bath-tub, which was filled to the brim with wine. The room stank of fermenting fruit, while flies buzzed busily around the single lamp. The woman, completely unphased, wheezed peacefully, up to her neck in the red liquid. A Little River Band song played softly on a shower radio hung from the curtain-rod.

Lee scratched her head. "Ah, hell, this ain't good."

Eddy was perplexed. "...Who's this old bag?"

The red-head Kanker gave him a dirty look. "That old bag's our ma, Eddy."

Double D was shielding his eyes. "To think, it took us this long to meet her! If only it had been on more.. Pleasant terms."

As the other half of the family filed in, May reacted in delight.

"Hey, mom's home!"

Marie put her hands on her hips. "How'd she sneak in without us noticin'?"

"WHO CARES?!" Eddy got on his knees and wept like a girl; ma Kanker didn't stir one bit. "We were so close to gettin' in- so freakin' close- and God dumped this used up old broad in the bathtub and screwed up the whole program! I'm gettin' so tired of this crap, I'm gonna get an aneurysm or somethin'..."

At this point, he wiped his tears and stood up. "Y'know what? Forget it."

Double D fretted behind him. "...I'm sorry, Eddy-"

Ignoring his two friends- and the Kankers, frankly- Eddy stomped out to the living room to the door. "I try my whole friggin' life t'get these guys t'like me, and we still gotta buy 'em beer! I can't believe this crap!"

Marie, who'd been silently watching, approached. "...They ain't gonna let you boys in unless you're their mule..?"

May concurred. "Sounds like they're milkin' you for the piss!."

All three were taken aback, even the relatively cultured Double D.

"..Ec… Excuse me?"

May looked between them and went red in the face. "...It's… an Australian…nevermind..."

"Well, if you don't mind me sayin' so," interrupted Lee, "They sound like a bunch'a deadbeats, even compared t'you. Why're you boys hangin' around with 'em anyways?"

Ed fielded this question. "That is simple, Lee; They are our neighbors."

Eddy nodded. "You expect us t'drive an hour t'Lemon Brook t'go to a party? I ain't welcome back there after eighth grade..

Lee tried to keep herself from smirking. "..Wow… that's, uh… that's kinda sad."

"We're well aware," Double D replied with a sigh, "But, there is little we can do about it at the moment."

There were a few moments of silence, with nothing but the sound of ma's radio and the hum of the VCR. The Kankers exchanged glances between each other, before breaking into a huddle. They whispered sharply amongst one another, occasionally throwing glances back to the boys, before beginning again in earnest

While it was like Double D to worry, now all three boys were disconcerted by this behavior.

At last, the Kankers broke huddle, turning around to face them.

"Y'know," Marie proposed, stepping forward gingerly, "We got this guy, who makes moonshine in his backyard…"

"We already tried Rolf," grunted Eddy.

She cocked her head. "... The hell's a 'Rolf'?"

Lee shoved her back, and strode confidently to meet Eddy. "Alright, wise-guys, here's the deal. We'll show you our boy, and get'cha some of the stuff for free.."

"REALLY?!" Eddy knelt before her, grabbing her hand in an uncharacteristically passionate move. "Oh, baby, thank you! You're the best! Did I ever tell you how good your hair looks in a beehive?"

Lee, irked by this blatant ass-kissing, flung Eddy into his two friends like a bowling ball.

"Only catch is, you gotta sneak us in."

After all the abuse in this chapter, Eddy was beginning to see spots. He crawled from his pile of friends, trembling. "Like… like, a date?"

The girls erupted in incredulous laughter.

"Naw, stupid," sneered Marie, "We wanna scope out the out-of-towners!"

"But, they'd never let us in alone, so you're sneakin' us in," Lee added.

May was grinning, tense with anticipation. "I dunno what you two are talkin' about; I'm goin' with Big Ed!"

Lee shrugged. "...Suit y'self, I guess."

Ed was horrified; throwing open the door, he ran out screaming, taking sanctuary in the van. May was not phased.

Eddy sizzled unhappily. "You runaround little-... Okay, fine…" By now, he felt well enough to go nose-to-nose with the redhead. She was taller than him, and held her ground firmly. "...But, if you guys ruin this like you ruined homecoming, you're gonzo, capiche?"

Nothing but silence, and the two glaring and growling just a bit. Eddy was dimly aware of a sucking noise- like a jet engine winding up.

Lee hocked a loogie with such force, that, when planted on his forehead, Eddy dropped on his tailbone, shaking the trailer. Marie and May busted a gut, while Double D, shocked by this act, contemplated the inertia.

Eddy scrambled to his feet, appalled at the way he'd been treated. "What the hell was that?!"

"Just a traditional Kanker handshake," Lee replied, looking pleased with her handiwork, "You got'cha self a deal."

Eddy, limping from his merciless thrashing in the last scene, followed Lee through the court. Double D skittered meekly behind, flanked by the two younger sisters. Ed, who had rejoined them, trailed far in the rear, not content to abandon his friends were led to a clean, cream-yellow double-wide in the very back, placed on a small peninsula on the edge of the swamp. A regular flock of lawn flamingos grazed on a lush lawn, with a faded-yellow Chevelle parked out front.

The impression was not lost on the boys.

"Whoa… Up-town!" declared Ed, nodding with approval at a rooster-themed weathervane.

"I must say," agreed Double D, "For all its gaudy kitsch, it certainly brightens up the shady surroundings!"

Eddy, not impressed, turned his chin up. "Eh, looks kinda fruity to me."

Lee shuddered with a suppressed laugh. "Yeah, 'cause you'd know somethin' about bein' fruity."

"...What's that supposed'ta mean?"

May put an arm around him and pointed an index finger to his chin. "Aw, c'mon, shortstop! Don't act like you ain't heard the rumors!"

Eddy seethed. "..WHAT rumors?!"

"The ones about you and Double D," purred Lee, "Y'know, huggin', 'n' kissin', 'n' gettin' it on in the janitor's closet…"

Double D blushed; Eddy threw May off, her teeth plowing deep furrows in the earth as she landed. "Who keeps sayin' that stuff?!"

Marie, mortified, blindsided Eddy and tackled him into the grass. "Don't you go touchin' my sister, bub!"

Lee, not bothering to help the struggling May up, stomped over to confront them. "Are you gettin' fresh with my man?"

Marie blinked. "What..? No, idiot, I-"

"Did you jus' call me an idiot?"

"Hell yeah!"

And, as such, they were at each other's throats again, with Eddy right in the middle. Double D recoiled in horror and hid behind the Chevelle, while Ed watched grimly, preparing to intervene.

Silently, stoic, he pulled them up by their britches and turned them about to face him. Lee and Marie had never seen Ed at his worst- Only May had, and they'd never believed her stories- but the storm brewing in his mind was readily visible to them, and they found their courage shrinking inward.

He spoke in a hushed, deliberate voice. "Ladies," he huffed, "The business at hand."

Double D, feeling somewhat stronger behind Ed, crossed his arms and scowled. "Indeed. This secondary plot is growing quite tiresome."

Awestruck, the two nodded, and Ed set them gently down. "The doorbell."

Marie tried to crack a smile. "A-ah, yeah… C'mon, sis, let's get goin'."

The two approached the trailer, and rang politely. When that didn't work, they rang twice with urgency, and gave the door a pound or four. After a long ten seconds, Lee gave an irritated shout.

"PARNELLI!"

Bottles clinked, and something thudded. A dazed moan followed.

"Wh-...Lee…?"

The redhead kicked the door, putting a big dent in the thin tin sheeting. "Open the door, Parnelli, you got guests!"

There was a moment of hesitation, of silence- An unseen eye glared through the peephole, and then the clatter of locks and chains. Finally, the door opened.

Before them stood a greasy black pompadour of ridiculous size. Attached to that pompadour was a gangly white kid in thick, circular glasses. A thin black goatee like a goat's dangled from a weak chin. A wide-collared yellow Hawaiian shirt draped across his narrow, sagging shoulders. He wore wrangler jeans and no shoes. His toenails were a little long, and folks, even I don't wanna linger on them.

He looked around at his neighbors, scratching the back of his head. Then, his gaze turned to the Eds, wheels turning in that elongated noggin of his.

"Boys," Lee declared, "This'ere is Roy. He's the brewmeister here, makes good shit."

"Burn your nostrils off!" shouted Marie.

"I like it that way.." May giggled and looked away.

Ed stuck out a hand, and Roy gave it a limp shake. "How do you do, you?"

"Hey, man.."

Eddy shoved his buddy aside, sending Ed sprawling into a holly bush that he promptly shrugged off with a grunt. He grabbed Roy's hand and shook. The grip was so hard that veins bulged behind the porthole glasses.

"Hey, champ, how are ya? How about that rum-runnin' racket, huh? How's about hookin' us up?"

But, much to Eddy's bemusement, he wasn't focused on him. Instead, the bulging, beady eyes rest on Sockhead, who was glaring daggers at him. As his grip slackened, he saw Roy's eyes narrow.

Eddy chuckled, bewildered. "Uh- Hey, boys, am I missin' something?"

Lee spoke up. "What, you didn't know? These guys got somethin' between them. Somethin' about some school bullshit."

"Robotics," Roy clarified, with some pathetic nasal growl, "My Junior year. Edd was a sophomore."

Double D cleared his throat. "Mr. Parnelli, I suggest you let me elaborate. After all, it was my hopes of victory you dashed. It seems you attended for the sole purpose of drinking the complimentary soda pop. Your dental hygienists will be rich men and women, I assure you."

"You wanna elaborate, man? Tell these guys about how you tinkered with my rig! How it fell apart and lost the tourney!"

"Your main motor seized because you insisted in using spare parts from a set of decrepit windshield wipers! Which, I might add, were in horrendous shape. Have you any sense of quality, any sense of esprit de corps? You and your apathy embarrassed the brightest minds that school had to offer!"

Eddy felt Roy's grip tighten, his reedy voice rising to a shout. "If you weren't so uptight about cleaning, the motor wouldn't have jammed! I'd lubed her up real good before the match!"

"That monstrosity was filthy!"

The two began to bicker loudly, hurling insults and gesturing wildly. A few people rolled their windows down as the spectacle continued.

"Acne-scarred frog!"

"Filthy phillistine!"

"Virgin sunnovabitch!"

"I saw you make eyes at the ref when we went to state!"

"I was asking for the time!"

"Why, if I had a nickel for every-"

"...such a penchant for crude euphemisms-"

"...you got any skirt in your life.."

All the other five would do was watch- unstoppable force, meets immovable object. These two pointdexters were so consumed by ego that they'd probably probably just keep going and going- Like the Energizer Bunny!

Lee sidled up alongside the ensnared Eddy, and mouthed to him a message.

Watch this!

Slinking between the two, she looked up at Parnelli with a smirk, and his voice began to falter and fade. "Roy, buddy! Y'liable t'blow a gasket, carryin' on like that. These boys don't want no trouble! They wanna buy from ya!"

A horrific, magnified blink from behind the glasses met this remark. "...Yeah?"

She offered a husky giggle. "Of course, big guy, of course. You make some good shit!"

"Burns your nose up!" May replied, paraphrasing Marie with a giggle.

"Shuddup, May… Now, whadd'ya say?"

His jaw worked behind a closed mouth, as if chewing gum. He glanced around at the guys, then back to Lee, making a raspy, low whiny noise. "Iiiii dunno…. These guys, they… they get into a lot of shit, don't they?..."

Ed offered a finger-gun and a grin, before being socked by Eddy. Lee tried to ignore them.

"You know it, but, y'see, they're in a bit of a jam, and we promised you'd help 'em out. You got what they need, and they're willin' t'pay your goin' rate."

In a jam sounded pretty NARCy to Roy Parnelli, and he took a step back. "They… They ain't undercovers, are they?"

All three sisters cackled and snorted. Marie jerked her thumb at the purple GMC van crouching in the distance. "Does that look like undercover to you?"

Lee put an arm around him and he flushed. "We wouldn't bring 'em to 'ya if they weren't on th'level- like you."

"That… That isn't comforting.."

"Aw, don't be silly… Now, let's see'dat still, eh?"

A driveway, nearly grown over but still visible, led to the back of the property. Here lay a crumbling foundation infested by blackberries, amid a clearing of tall, swampy grass. A house had burned here in the early sixties, leading to the sale of the land to developers. But, a basement remained relatively untouched, and here lay Roy's greatest work. A mammoth still, a monster of winding copper.

The whole thing chugged and sputtered, seeming to vibrate and shudder. A steel oil drum stood atop a burner's clutch of blue flame. The burner was ran by a propane tank sprawled curiously on the damp floor. Copper tubing wrapped around the tank, shooting off in violent directions, kinking, swirling, spewing steam and shuddering. A dripping valve deposited their foul-smelling innards in the sort of jug you'd see atop a water cooler- Exactly like the receptacle the Eds had brought with them.

Eddy was dumbfounded.

"We wanted booze, not meth!"

Parnelli scowled and got a little defensive at this, tensing his shoulders. "Hey, man, that thing is a work of art! Probably the best still in the county!

Double D gestured grandly at the contraption. "That, my good man," he proclaimed in a theatrical voice, "Is a gargantuan pipe-bomb!... and a very shoddy one too, I must say... My word, it looks about to burst. How do you vent the pressure on this infernal thing?"

"You don't! That's what makes the whiskey so good! That's how you succeed at this!"

"That makes no sense if any! All you'll succeed in doing is scattering a thin dust of what used to be this dwelling across a fifteen mile radius! Not to mention the splinters those oak timbers will give you and your cohorts in the Park!" And you left it alone like this?! Of all the shoddy, haphazard-"

Eddy came crashing over, shoving his body up between Sockhead and Parnelli's timebomb.

"Wait a second, sockhead…. Why d'you know so much about this stuff?"

Edd's eyelids fluttered, and he tossed his head over his shoulder. "It's only elementary engineering, Eddy; any educated man would see its shortcomings."

Roy howled an interjection.

"Any educated man'd tell you you're a pussywillow!"

Double D barked a harsh, abrasive laugh. "Building a quality still isn't particularly difficult, Mr. Parnelli. Why, with some copper tubing and a bit of-"

It was Eddy's turn to butt in."Whoa, whoa, whoa, stop this showdown crap for a sec. You mean to tell me, you could've made moonshine the whole time?"

Sockhead hesitated; in his hubris, he had betrayed a vital secret. "W-well…. Yes."

"Then why didn't you build one in the FIRST PLACE?!"

A heartbeat went by. Then, the Sock circled. He stormed around the room, gesturing wildly with one index finger.

"Oh, certainly, Eddy, why not? It's not as if we've acquired a reputation for rickety contraptions- contraptions that garner the attention of law enforcement! It isn't as if my internet history is forever placed on a watchlist! It isn't to say that my mother and father wouldn't find out, and banish me forever from their home, after all the flimsy and foolhardy machines you've commissioned from me for the last twelve blasted years! Oh, and have you ever considered the possibility that this thing does explode? Oh, certainly, even with my talent, there's a possibility of grave error! What about grievous bodily harm, or, dare I say, the SWEET EMBRACE OF DEATH?!"

The group had watched this tirade unfold, a tirade that spiralled into some cartoonish caricature of human behavior, something both the Eds and Kankers had gotten good at. But, Roy was out of patience.

"Look, man, you wanna buy or not?"

An unspoken glance went between Double D and the four-eyed freak, and then between he and Eddy. Eyes turned to the jug of foul moonshine, and then back to Roy, with a poker face that'd make any card shark proud. With a subtle nod, he grunted his response.

"Can you get us two jugs by six tonight?"

"You kiddin'? I got a whole bunch stockpiled in an old well. I'll take eighty for the pair?"

Eddy sat silent. Ed felt it necessary to comment.

"It looks like water, Eddy.."

That it did, but it tasted great. He and his buddies had gotten wasted after graduation on it, and never went blind. If this stuff was as good a quality as it was potent, he'd be a big hit at the party. Favors, acceptance, stardom- all would be within reach, if only he closed the deal with good booze. Besides, the kids'd smell it from a mile away.

"You know what, Roy? You got a deal." He forked out for twenties, and the guy eagerly took it. "Now, if you could just help us load this stuff up, it'd be great…"

The seven of them piled out of the cellar, and went there separate ways. The girls went up to their trailer to get ready, while the Eds hung back to bullshit about the intricacies of making whiskey- well, Ed and Eddy did. Double D kept his distance. They all walked together up the old driveway, Edd sidling behind as he listened with disgust. His two best friends, listening to that creep Parnelli, hanging on his every word as he talked his slick wannabe greaser speak. They'd never given him a chance when he described his projects. But, then again, his projects never got them wasted.

"You got many customers?" Eddy could see the moneymaking potential already.

"Nah, man," Roy oiled, "This stuff' only for friends and family. You three my first sale."

"No kidding?"

"Nope. started doin' this with a buddy of mine a few years back. He's really hip on this homesteading stuff, a real back-to-nature type. Bald kid, wears sandles- good guy, though."

Eddy snorted. "Oh, don't tell me, Jonny was back here?"

Roy's eyes lit up. "The same! You know 'im, don't you? He's from your neighborhood, I think!"

Eddy shrugged. "Yeah, he used to be around here all the time. He'd be out in the lane, either pissin' Sarah and Jimmy off, helpin' Rolf with something, or even off, doing his own thing! Had this board he carried around when we were younger…. Haven't seen much of him lately."

Roy nodded. "Yeah, he stopped comin' 'round the start of last school year. Real abrupt… but, I kept seein' him at school! He'd talk to ya, really friendly too! But, man, there wasn't the same shine to the guy, the same-"

Arms outstretched, stopping the Eds in their path. Ed unbalanced Roy and he fell in the dirt while Double D snickered covertly. Eddy, who'd gotten a greasy mitt in his face, was less than pleased.

"Man, what's the hold-up?"

Roy doubled the displeasure by cupping that hand over Eddy's mouth. The free one gestured to their van, visible through the trees- and a blue Plymouth that lay beyond it, barely visible.

"Somebody's following you."