It was a beautiful day. A light breeze floated across the horizon and the leaves responded with a fluttering wave of respect. The flowing grasses were caressed by the warm touch of the sun and the shadows of playful clouds, danced along their eternal path. The chattering of water could be heard from the brook as it rolled along it's stony bed.
They had picked a hollow that was exactly thirty yards from the brook. On their backside they were protected by a rocky knoll and on either side a thick grove of trees stood. In front of them the brook continued to flow.
"That damn brook," he cursed and he meant it. He was tall and broad, across his face was the brutal reminder of a fight long past. His clothes were dusty and a wide brimmed hat covered his face. He was the dark one. The brook continued to flow.
Squatting beside the dark one was a short man who had developed a nervous twitch. On his side he wore a colt handgun. He had a habit of grabbing it at strange sounds. His legs were thin with tightly strung muscles. He was the nervous one and the brook continued to flow.
Across from them was a man of medium build with blood on his hands. He stared at his hands, searching. His eyes were a forlorn blue and his hair was a wispy light brown. His pants were patched. He was the lonely one. The brook continued to flow.
"Get rid of that blood," the dark one said, "get it off."
"I killed him," the lonely one looked up despairingly, "I've never killed anyone before."
"Listen!! I can hear something, someone is coming!!"
"No one is coming," replied the dark one, he scowled at the nervous one.
"I've never killed anyone," repeated the lonely one.
"What is one old man? He's lived his life, he died well...he never knew what hit him."
The nervous one said, "Why don't you just go clean your hands off? Do you want them to come and see you like this? What did I tell you? Didn't I say this wouldn't work?"
"It burns." The lonely one cried out in pain and wiped his hands on the ground. The blood streaked on his hand, too dry to come off. "It burns!!!"
The dark one grabbed him, "Have you gone crazy? It's blood, it can't hurt you! I've seen streams bathed in blood, I've been covered in blood. It never burns!! "
"Do you know what this is?" The lonely one held his hands up as the tears marked his face. "This is blood, life, meaning, everything, this is everyone and its nothing."
"LISTEN!! You killed him, I didn't kill anyone, I had nothing to do with this. I'm innocent, you two did it. Their coming here, we have no where to hide, do you know what's going to happen if they catch us?" The nervous one began to pace back and forth.
The lonely one grabbed him by the collar, with his blood streaked hands. The nervous one stumbled backwards screaming and trying to wipe the blood off. "You idiot! If they see this they'll think I murdered that old man." He struggled to get the blood off, but it wouldn't come off his coat's fabric. Franticly he rubbed the coat, fear laced his eyes. "Get if off! Get if off!" He screamed. The brook continued to flow.
The dark one grabbed his coat, trying to rub the blood off. The lonely one stumbled backwards dazed. He looked at the dark one, looked at the blood that was now on the dark one's hands. "Your hands are bloody, we are all covered in blood!" He moaned and fell to his knees. The brook continued to flow.
The dark one looked at his hands and looked back up. "Who cares," he asked, "we all have blood, born and bred in it." The nervous one shook and cowered, he wore his coat inside out. The lonely one stared at them with glazed eyes. The brook continued to flow.
"That damn brook," said the dark one, then he paused, "The brook!! It will clean the blood."
The nervous one cowered even more and shook his head, "They may be out there, they'll see me, they'll see the blood, they'll kill me. We'll all be dead." He continued rubbing the coat even though it was inside out.
"How about you?" The dark one turned. The lonely one's eyes began to clear, "The brook will wash everything away." He stood and stumbled towards the brook, in exhaustion he collapsed at it's bank. Crying in relief and joy he watched the blood run away in the stream. He watched it. His eyes followed the blood as it pooled, moving away and then while staring into the water he saw his own reflection. He gasped in amazement and said, "Why it was my
