The Turtle

It was a summer day in South Dakota was fit to be an Icelandic winters day. Unlike most summers no one one was swimming in the icy lake in front of the cottage.

Benj and I were in his S10 fire red pick-up truck. We cruised down the high-way with not a care in the world. The wind combed it’s fingers through my hair while I tapped my hand on the outside body of the truck to some country song of unknown origin.

“Hey Davie,do you want to make this trip longer?” said Benj as we were about to turn off to the cottage.

“Yeah, why not,” I said. A longer drive was infinitely better then a day of chores which awaited me like a death knocking at a old man’s door.

The truck meandered across the high way and made a right turn to the sand pit lakes. Popping sounds came form under the truck as it moved at a snails pace over the yellow brownish gravel road. After we turned in we saw a turtle, but not just any turtle, the beast of all turtles.

This thing was a monster. He was about Godzilla sized. When I asked Benj. “What does it eat?” He replied, “Other turtles and slow swimmers.” And rightly so; this thing looked like it got into some pretty catastrophic fights with a mere stump for a leg and a socket for an eye.

“Let’s get it and keep it as a guard turtle,” said Benj.

“Sure,” I said , “but you have to get it in the truck.” When I said this I thought that there is no way in hell that Benj can get that in the truck. But before I could blink , he was trying to pick it up. Turtlezilla hissed then snipped ; Benj almost lost a finger . Then he tried again and was rewarded with a scar on his left arm.

“That isn’t going to work,” I said. As I flipped the tailgate down to sit on when a lightbulb moment happened. “We could flip it on it’s back.”

“Good thinking,” Benj said. Then he kicked Turtlezilla on it’s back. It hissed as if warning us, “Try it and I’ll I kill you!” Like a waiter, Benj held the monster and slowly ( while the turtle snapped wildly) he moved closer to the fire red pick-up truck. Finally the monster was in the red cage of the truck, Benj and I hopped in and drove off into the sunset. After all that , we showed off that turtle all summer.