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Back Black Ambrosia Save as PDF
Chapters (46)
  1. CoverImage
  2. Introduction by Grady Hendrix
  3. Acknowledgments
  4. 1
  5. 2
  6. 3
  7. 4
  8. 5
  9. 6
  10. 7
  11. 8
  12. 9
  13. 10
  14. 11
  15. 12
  16. 13
  17. 14
  18. 15
  19. 16
  20. 17
  21. 18
  22. 19
  23. 20
  24. 21
  25. 22
  26. 23
  27. 24
  28. 25
  29. 26
  30. 27
  31. 28
  32. 29
  33. 30
  34. 31
  35. 32
  36. 33
  37. 34
  38. 35
  39. 36
  40. 37
  41. 38
  42. 39
  43. 40
  44. 41
  45. About the Author
  46. About the Cover

I threw the blanket to the ground and swung out of the hammock, pulling on my boots as quickly as I could, keeping one eye on the two gray-­haired men. Earl hefted a six-­pack of brown bottled beer onto the picnic table and watched me. I heard one of them speak to the other, but all I caught was an exclamation of surprise and the word “girl.” I brushed wrinkles out of my clothes and walked toward them as they settled on either side of the table.

“Hello,” I said.

“Hello. Didn’t ’spect to find nobody here,” said the one with the long hair. His hair was yellow-­gray with a few black streaks. It hooked around his ears and hung to his shoulders in greasy strings, curling up slightly at the ends. His beard stubble was all gray, and red and purple veins had burst across his nose and cheeks like fireworks. He looked muscular in a sunken sort of way—like he used his stringy muscles, but only halfheartedly. “Beer?”

“No, thank you. I don’t drink.”

“Don’t drink, huh?” They exchanged glances. “My name’s Juice. This here’s Earl Foster.”

“I’m Angelina.”

“Angelina.” Earl Foster spoke for the first time. “Well now, that’s a fine name.” His voice was harsh with irony. “Wouldn’t you say so, Juice? Angelina. Kind of what, rolls off the end of your tongue?” He drained his bottle of beer without taking his eyes off me. Earl had a solid round beer belly and loose stubbly jowls. His eyes were dark brown swimming in yellow and rimmed with red. His hair was thick and white and recently cut. As I stared at him with revulsion, he belched and smiled at me grotesquely. He had no teeth and his gums were red and diseased.

He tossed his beer bottle into the weeds and selected another, unscrewing the cap and flipping it to the side without looking.

“Angelina,” he said again.

My sense of atmosphere reeled, trying to stabilize the feeling that flitted about me. Was it danger? I looked from one to the other, trying to decipher the rhythm of their relationship. I couldn’t honestly be­lieve either one was capable of raping me, but as I was still a virgin, I wasn’t all that sure of what equipment was necessary. Juice seemed by far the physically stronger of the two, but Earl seemed in control. Earl had the brains, if there were any brains to be had between the two of them. Juice just smiled.