Pitfall Trap

Ten feet deep in the snowy ice-covered earth of northern Pennsylvania lay bones of all sizes. All entangled, and some buried beneath damp dying leaves in an almost ancient-looking pit trap. Two men stood by the edge of the large square hole, looking down.

“This thing looks old. Looks like someone trapped all kinds of animals inside and didn’t even know it. See all those bones?” the taller brother of the two, Adrian, said to his brother Benjamin; pointing down at the trap.

“Maybe the guy who made it fell in it by accident,” Benjamin joked.

“That would be a truly terrible way to die. I mean, look at those sharp rocks at the bottom.”

They looked down for a moment more at the bones below, but quickly grew bored and started trudging through the half-melted snow. Their campsite was close by. A hefty two-person tent was set up for them to rest after long days worth of unsuccessful hunting. Fortunately, the wind had died down to a small breeze.

Adrian threw his heavy backpack into the tent entrance towards his side. He crouched down. Crawling inside, he grabbed a lighter from next to his sleeping bag. He peaked out of the tent and looked towards Ben.

“Hey,” Adrian grabbed his attention and tossed the lighter to him.

Ben snatched it from the air and went towards the fire logs piled with dry dead twigs to light it. The flame grew easily in the light breeze and Ben sat back onto a boulder as he finished. He stared intently at the edges of the flames. His brother crawled from out of the tent with a pack of hotdogs from the cooler. Adrian grabbed one and set the rest beside Ben.

In hungry silence they focused on their hot dog cooking. The sun was completely behind the hills now. The only light was the waxing gibbous moon in the sky above, and the glowing of the fire below. The fire crackled, radiating pure warmth that beats against the cheeks and forehead when you get your face close to it. The smoke only slightly stung their eyes while they ate. The night couldn’t have possibly been more perfect for winter camping.

The two of them ate an ungodly amount of hotdogs and looked up at the partially clear night sky. The moon reflected light against the clouds, giving them an angelic white glow. They were hypnotized by the beauty of the cosmos. The blanket of stars tended to make you unable to peel your eyes away.

“What would you do if you found a bunch of money?” Ben spoke up, his words following the sound of distant owl hoots. Late nights under the moon were the best time for tired conversation. When the most honesty would come spewing out.

“I would start my own business. Invest it, and sell all those wood sculptures I got in my shed. What would you do?”

Ben sighed and leaned onto his back against the flat boulder.

“I would use it for my daughter. We can’t find anyone willing to donate an organ for her. They cost so much. I don’t know what to do.”

Adrian turned his head to look at his brother.

“Sorry, man. I know how hard it is. I’m here for you, brother,” he paused, “what would you do with the money if she was healthy then?”

He thought for a moment.

“I would pay to ride a rocket to space. Just as a passenger. I don’t know how much that would cost though,” Ben chuckled and looked towards Adrian.

They both appreciated that moment together, finally at peace and laughing in nature. They believed nothing could ever tear them apart. They spent the rest of that night joking, and bringing out inner honesty and dark secrets to light. Joyous energy radiated from them through the night as they finally settled down and fell into a peaceful sleep upon the forest ground inside the tent.

A loud rush of wind slapped the side of the tent. Ben’s heavy eyes opened slow, after being almost glued shut by rheum around the edges of his eyelids. They fluttered open to see a rapidly flapping tent wall beside him. He groaned as he felt his bladder begging for release. The wind was just too cold to go out at this hour to take a leak. He didn’t even need to feel it to know it was going to be a terrible experience, but he managed to throw on his coat and crawl out of the tent.

Outside the tent, the sky glowed a coral pink from the sunrise. Ben awkwardly jogged towards a clearing between trees and sighed as he relieved himself. After zipping his pants, something silver and reflective caught his eye. Down the path towards their hunting spot was a metal briefcase standing up. Ben’s scruffy eyebrows pinched together in a look of concern. He walked towards it, nervously trying to figure out if it was a bomb. He listened for a ticking sound or any electronic device humming. Nothing came from it. Ben nervously opened it, hoping to God it wouldn’t contain a limb or an organ. He flipped it open and hopped back as a reflex.

“Oh my God.”

The briefcase laid flat on the ground, revealing stacks of money and a black leather book inside. Ben felt his heart race in excitement. He looked around frantically for anyone who may be watching. Maybe it was a trap. He inched closer to fix his gaze on the money. His rough calloused hands rustled through the money, counting it quickly. He put the stacks of money back in the rows and picked up the little black book on top and flipped through it. There was only a single page with words on it. He read it.

“There can be only one with riches.”

Ben peered up again to check his surroundings for anyone or cameras in the trees. Nothing seemed to be around. Not even birds made a sound. They stood silent in the trees almost as if they were watching fate unfold. Did this message mean only he was allowed to take the money?

Ben closed the briefcase and jogged back to the tent. He crouched down, not making a peep, and looked in to check if Adrian was asleep. He was wrapped in his sleeping bag, completely knocked out. Ben snuck in slow, sliding the briefcase into his sleeping bag to hide it. There was no way Adrian would ever find out. Ben found it, and it was meant for him. He refused to share his newfound treasure.

On the way out, he grabbed his favorite book and sat outside the tent on the rock he had spent half the night chatting with his brother on. Acting nonchalant, as if he had never found a briefcase full of money at all. Composing himself, he read his novel and became entranced in the fiction world of it as the sun rose.

In the tent, Adrian finally stretched awake, humorously rolling off his sleeping bag as he stretched his arms above his head; hoping to annoy his brother by rolling over him to wake him like they used to do as kids. A sharp corner jabbed him in the side instead.

“Ouch, what the hell?”

He realized Ben wasn’t even in the tent. Just a sharp cornered rectangular object inside his sleeping bag. Adrian rubbed his side in pain and zipped open Ben’s sleeping bag. Revealing the metal briefcase. Out of curiosity, he opened it and his eyes grew huge as he peeked inside.

“HOLY-“

“Shit,” Ben growled, hearing the exclamation from the tent.

He smacked himself in the forehead for not thinking of a better place to hide it. He turned towards the tent and Adrian was coming out of it frantically. Leaving the briefcase inside.

“Excuse me, when were you going to share with me that you had an entire briefcase of money?” Adrian asked in utter shock.

“I found it. I don’t know where it came from.”

“Did you count it? What’s with the weird notebook?”

“Only in a rush. I’m estimating it to be $20,000. I was going to take it home first then count it. I have no idea. I think it means only one person can take it.”

Adrian tilted his head, a bit confused.

“You mean you weren’t going to tell me about it at all? Why did you ask that question about the money yesterday then?”

“That was just a coincidence, I swear this wasn’t planned. It has nothing to do with that. I found the money and I need it.”

“But we are brothers Ben. Who cares if we share the money? I don’t see anyone watching us anywhere. Who’s going to know?”

“I told you, I found it. It’s mine and I need this money, Adrian.”

“You know what, I’m not going to let this money get between us.”

Adrian stormed to the tent and grabbed the briefcase, shutting it tight.

“No! what are you doing? You’ll ruin everything!” Ben cried out, getting up to follow Adrian as he walked down the path through the woods. He moved at an almost running pace towards their hunting spot by the pit trap. He stopped next to it and held the briefcase over the deep hole.

“We can’t do this to ourselves.”

Ben’s eyes flamed with fury. He didn’t care what it would take, he needed that briefcase. Adrenaline was starting to pump inside of him, and he made his impulse decision. He lunged for the briefcase, trying to push Adrian out of the way. Ben’s hands grasped the briefcase, yanking it from his brother. At the very moment Adrian let go of the briefcase, he felt himself falling back into the pit as his eyes locked with his brothers.

The sound was gut-wrenching, and Ben shut his eyes. Standing silently with the briefcase, he was terrified to look down into the trap. He paid his price for $20,000. And what did he do? He walked away with his money and never looked back.

As the truck drove away filled with betrayal and a large sum of money, the birds from the trees took flight through the mountains. They grazed the skies as the sun moved across it. They landed upon a remote building in the Pocono Mountains. Attached to the wall of the building was a birdhouse. The birds entered the building through the tiny hole. It led into an office. Two men and one woman sat in it, discussing research.

“This is the tenth person this week who has killed someone they care about. It’s amazing what humans will do for greed,” the woman in a white lab coat shared. She was looking through her scribbled notes in her research book.

They heard a rustle in the giant iron box connected to the wall. One of the two men stood up and walked over to open the lid, revealing the birds.

“Charge them, then we can let them take out another briefcase for us later.”

The man grabbed each bird and unscrewed the heads. Inside was a detachable camera. He pulled them out from each robotic bird and set them on a charger on the other side of the room.

“Do we know where the next two are right now?” The other man at the table inquired.

“They are staying at a cabin on a romantic get-away tonight,” The woman replied.

She stood up and went over to the other end of the table where a briefcase laid open, with piles of money beside it.

“Do you think they’ll turn on each other?” The man by the birds asked.

“Some people will do just about anything for money.”

The woman paused and organized the stacks of money in the briefcase. On top of the money, she gently placed the little black notebook on top. She closed it, pulling the latches down.

“Even kill.”