A mystery in the desert

                                                    PURE MURDER

The sound of light footsteps could be heard echoing in the darkness. A crunch of gravel, a brief stumble and then a thud as a body lay motionless in the narrow road.



The girl, having huddled behind a juniper bush, held her breath as much as she could so as not to be heard. She listened carefully trying to pick out a familiar sound. Shivering, she wrapped her arms around her waist. Blood trickled down her knee soaking the white cropped pants she wore, leaving a small pool of red in the white rocks beneath her.



There were no other sounds now, only the beating of her own heart, which seemed to be getting louder and louder as she stayed huddled in the darkness.



Slowly she turned to peek through the bush. A man lay stretched out in the dirt, legs spread apart, one turned in as if it were twisted, broken. Crawling now, she made her way to him and kneeling next to his head she grabbed him by his oily hair to raise his face toward her. She reached for the nearest tree, its limbs hanging out toward her. She grabbed one and pulled herself up until she could stand. Towering over him she glanced around until a huge rock caught her eye. She bent, picking it up she held it high above her head, then let it go. The heavy stone fell, striking the man directly in the head, making a crunching sound like the busting of a watermelon on pavement. She winced slightly, wiped her hands on her already dirty pants and hobbled back behind the juniper bush to rest.