Casey McBadbat's Arc

Chapter 2 of 3

Casey walked around to the back of the trailer where the noise was coming from. The shovel sounds were louder now. Two different rhythms, hitting dirt in different spots. He turned the corner and stopped. The youngest had dug a foundation in the mud twenty feet from the trailer. Wooden beams sat crooked on concrete blocks, already sinking. Rebar stuck out at angles like broken bones. The middle boy was a hundred yards off building something with brick and metal — tall stacks rising up with statues carved into the sides. Muscled Greek guys. Same ones from the sketch on the kitchen counter with Casey's pen mark across it. Casey opened his mouth to yell but nothing came out. Both boys looked up at the same time and waved. The youngest held up the torn sketch like proof. The middle one pointed at the brick towers and grinned. They'd both heard yes when Casey hadn't said a word. They'd both started before Chester even showed up. He walked to the youngest first and kicked one of the concrete blocks. It shifted in the mud and the whole frame leaned sideways. "Stop," Casey said. Then he walked to the middle boy and looked up at the half-built factory with its stupid statues. "You too. Stop." Both boys stared at him like he'd just switched languages. Casey felt his chest tighten. He'd let them hear what they wanted instead of saying what he meant. Now he had to pick Chester's plan over theirs before they tore the whole property apart trying to win.