Wild West - Chapter 5 - Part 4 - 5 minute freewrite challenge

“So, now what?” James asked after about a minute of absolute silence.

“I’m thinking. I’m thinking.” Crax now spoke very slowly inbetween puffs of his pipe. “I mean, the cells bellow are crowded, and, for the record, you still don’t have your serial numbers. So you two, … don’t even exist yet.” He took another puff from his pipe and blew the smoke straight into the two sitting opposed him – making sure it was obvious they could be gone just as fast as the smoke.

“We can work.” Tom added hastily when he got the reference.

“That right? And what would that be?”

“We’re carpenters. We built a house on our own from scratch.” Tom had his father’s house in mind that he built entirely on his own.

“Carpenters, that right?” He looked at the size over their shoulders – they were both muscular. “I’m thinking miners.” He took another look at them both. “Definitely miners. Always a shortage of those.” Crax winked at them as a reference to many miners losing their lives during work. “So! It’s the middle of the night, I bet you two boys are sleepy and could use a quick nap.” Crax lit up with energy again and was back to his former energetic self. He got up from the chair and told the two to follow suit. “A night in the cellar will do you well,” he opened the doors and pointed to the three guards standing just outside to take Tom and James downstairs and lock them up. “I’ll send the tattoo guy down when he comes. You do want your numbers, that right?” He smiled slyly and puffed on his pipe as they were being taken away by the guards.