Deastro - The Shaded Forests [mp3]
They had just crossed the Missouri border when he said, “We’re out of cigarettes.” OJ doubted that conclusion. He glanced at the dashboard clock, noting the hours that had passed. He said, “It’s been hours since the explosion.”
Earlier: A motorcycle passes on the right. OJ is lighting a cigarette and Scott is sucking hard on a little glass mushroom when it happened. They each drop their wares at the sound and the lit cigarette starts to burn OJ’s leg, causing him to veer into the right lane. The motorcycle is gone around the corner a mile ahead before a discussion can be had. It passed on the right, as OJ drove far above the speed limit in the left. Scott could not feel his heart beating for a moment and even after the moment had passed, he continued to feel his chest for the familiar rhythm. It was faster when he found it.
Returning now: “If you think this is a game, well, you’re wrong.” OJ listened with interest to Scott’s pleadings. OJ didn’t know what Scott was talking about though and he forgot even the sentences exchanged just a moment before. His mind seemed to be playing tricks and he wanted to ask Scott if he had ever been betrayed unknowingly. But then, if he knew, it wouldn’t be a mystery. He was thinking about the motorcycle again, as it angled around the bend. He was thinking about the rush of wind and he felt it again. “What are we talking about again?” OJ asked. Scott stared ahead with a blooming in his eyes, the pupils dilated to their previous highs in the darkness of the passenger seat. Scott said, “There, it is.” OJ laughed at the odd sentence construction and they exited the highway.
Earlier again: “WHAT THE FUCK WAS THAT?” Scott asked. OJ said, “WHAT THE FUCK! FUCK MY LEG!” They veered into the right lane and Scott worried that maybe they’d fall into a groove left in the road by the motorcycle. But OJ quickly recovered both the control of the vehicle and the cigarette. The hair on his leg was singed lightly. Scott stared stupidly at the snarled, blackened hair and he seemed to be on the point of caressing OJ’s leg when OJ said, “I think it was a motorcycle driving really fast.”
Now later: Scott struck a match and held it to the fuse. The firework started to crackle and they took a few steps back. The explosion brought them back once more to the scene on the highway, the motorcycle passing on the right at a speed in excess of their wildest dreams. The firework ascended into the sky and then all around, there were lights twinkling and reflected in the Iowa River. OJ asked Scott, “Have you ever been unknowingly betrayed?” Scott thought for a moment, thinking that maybe he had but how would he know. OJ told him, “You have, you just don’t know it yet.”
Deastro is a rhythm and blues band from Detroit. The featured song is from the album Keeper’s. Purchase the music at Amazon | Insound | eMusic.
