Forest of Savages, Rookie Burwick [the giving tree read aloud TXT] 📗

side of this.”

 

Prine pulled out a drawer, and rustled around inside it for a moment. Then, he slapped a thick stack of money, as well as a single piece of paper, in front of him. The money was all in hundred dollar bills.

 

“I am offering you six thousand dollars to do this job.”

 

Nick’s eyes widened.

 

“You’re hiring me now? You’re not even sure what I’m hunting yet!”

 

“Yep. I know it sounds crazy, but, as I said, I wanted to see if you can pick up at least a trail of something. Sort of a. . .pre-hunt to figure out what we have to deal with. I hired another hunter earlier this month. He couldn’t find jack squat.”

 

Nick looked down at the money.

 

“That much? For just looking for tracks of some animal?” he asked.

 

“If there is a dangerous predator on the loose, I’ll do anything to get it taken down. You’re jobs to hunt. My job, however is to protect the citizens of the town. And that means, going through a lot to make sure these people are safe.”

 

Nick nodded. “I see. But that still doesn’t explain the high payment.”

 

“What really adds to the pay is the fact that I want this done quick. Can you begin the hunt within the next three days?”

 

“Oh sure. Heck, I could probably get it by Monday.”

 

Prine was surprised, Nick could tell. But, the old sheriff smiled, and nodded.

 

“Excellent. Do we need to provide camping supplies?”

 

“Oh no, I can cover that.”

 

“You sure?”

 

Nick nodded.

 

“Good. Now, I am going to provide you with a police radio, in case anything goes wrong.”

 

Those last five words chilled Nick to the bone.

 

“But, what could go wrong?” he asked, smiling weakly.

 

“Let’s hope nothing.”

 

As he managed to forget about what the sheriff had said, a smile started to grow on Nick’s face. Not only was he going to get publicity, but he was being paid real well. He looked down at the money.

 

“I have two other guys working for me. Is it okay if I split this three ways?”

 

“Fine by me. Two thousand for each of you.” Prine eyed him carefully. “But you don’t get the money until the job is done.”

 

“I got that, no worries there.”

 

“Now, this paper here,” Prine gestured to the piece lying next to his elbow, “Is a contract. You’ll have to sign it before you do anything.”

 

Nick picked up the paper and read it over. It was simple enough. It declared that he follow Prine’s instructions down to the very last word, and that he abide by the hunting laws.

 

Prine handed him a pen. He snapped off the lid, scribbled his name, and slid the paper back to Prine.

 

“Alright then. Can you commit to this? Make this your priority?”

 

“Yes, I understand the importance. I will make it priority.”

 

“Alright. This is serious stuff, Nick. Whatever’s out there is obviously dangerous. It can kill a man, as I’ve seen. Lord willing, you won’t have to see. That form you signed, on the back, shows that we will cover any injuries of any kind insurance wise. The terrain is rough back there. I’ve had deputies come in from a call to help a stranded hiker, bruised and cut up to hell.”

 

Nick gulped.

 

“Right, I know it can get nasty. But, what about. . .um. . .”

 

Prine smiled suddenly.

 

“Oh, don’t worry about that. I seriously doubt you’ll actually find an actual predator. Just hike on up the Grandide Trail, just about half a mile up from the woodcutting site. Scout out the area, look well for tracks. Report to me if you find anything at all. You’ll be alright, we haven’t had any other bear attacks around here for over twenty years.”

 

Nick nodded, but still grimaced.

 

“You’ll do it then?”

 

Nick paused and thought over his worries one last time. Then, with fear oozing into his eyes, Nick smiled. “I’ll do it.”

 

***

 

Nick leaned against the door of his blue truck, fidgeting with his phone. He had just upgraded from a flip-phone to one of those frustrating new iPhones, as they called them. He had managed to punch the phone numbers of his hunting buddies into the phone, but was having one bad time finding those numbers again. The man at the front desk had given him the police radio promised by Sheriff Prine. He had made sure several times on the way out that it was as far down into his pocket as possible.

He tapped the little phone icon, nothing. He tapped on the notebook icon, nothing. But finally, he found the button in the settings that said “contacts”. He tapped on it, and sighed with relief when the numbers popped up. There were three other numbers beside the two he needed. He tapped on the first one in the list, Alan Rinch. Alan was the newbie of the group. Nick had hired him five months earlier. They’d done only about two full hunts together, so Alan had a lot to learn.

Grasping the phone harder, he held the phone up to his ear, and listened to the annoying riiiinng of the other end. He was always afraid that somehow, he would push the wrong button with his cheek. He shook his head at the thought.

Alan, like him, was a pro at big game hunting. Alan was the one who had done the dangerous stuff. He’d had two close-calls with both mountain lions and bears. Wolves, however, were fairly rare to see, much less shoot.

Another ring went by before Alan’s hippie-toned voice sang roughly into his ears.

“Hey Nick! What’s happening?”

“Hi Alan, how are you?” he asked.

Alan chuckled.

“As good as I can get.”

“Good. I called to let you know that we’ve got a job.”

“Aw sweet! Let’s hear the details.”

“Well, the sheriff wasn’t sure. . .”

“The sheriff?” Alan interrupted.

He clear his throat sternly, then continued.

“Anyhow, the sheriff isn’t sure what exactly we’re looking for.”

There was a pause.

“But then how on earth are we even gonna do it?”

“I guess we’re just going to camp out a few nights, try and catch this thing’s trail. Anyhow, whatever it is ripped some woodcutter apart up in the boonies.”

There was another short pause.

“Wow, sounds pretty dangerous.”

He smirked.

“Yeah, but we’re the best. Nothing can get us.”

“Who knows really. Anyhow, when do we go on the job?”

“Monday morning, if possible.”

“Wow, okay. Do I need to bring anything?”

“The only thing would be rifles. Bring your best rifles.”

This seemed to perk Alan up.

“Alright, will do. I’ve got three good rifles that can kill a big buck with two shots. I imagine it could kill a predator just as easily. Never had to do. . .”

“Okay, okay. Just bring the rifles.”

He rolled his eyes again.

“Got it Nick. Now, what will you bring?”

“I’ll bring four of my best rifles, the tents, sleeping bags, food supplies, and so on. Call up Danny, and tell him the news. Give him every detail I gave you, and make sure he knows to bring his best rifles as well.”

“Alright, will do. By the way, how much are we getting for this job?”

“Six thousand divided up. Two thousand for each of us.”

Alan whistled into the phone. He clenched his eyes shut at the annoying sound.

“Man, that’s nice!”

“You’ll get used to it.”

There was a pause, and a noise that indicated Alan was writing down the details.

“Alright! Thanks a lot Nick! See ya tomorrow!”

He couldn’t stand Alan’s voice any longer. He took the phone from his ear, and hit the red “End Call” button. There was no use in wasting his breath in repeating the same things to his other hunting partner, Danny. He figured Alan would be best fit to do that, since the guy had memorized Danny’s phone number like it was the emergency hotline.

He slid the phone back into his empty pocket, and got into his truck. He had a lot of work ahead of him. A long trip to the store, buying up tents, sleeping bags, food, supplies. He hated shopping the most of almost anything. But it was worth it to make two big ones.

As he turned the key and started the engine, his mind wandered back to the sheriff’s chilling words. . .just in case something happens. He didn’t know what he and his partners would find up in those woods. He just prayed they could take it down before it could feast on their dead carcasses.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

THREE

 

The morning sun set a bright shine over the pine trees. The mountaintops glistened in the blue sky that didn’t give home to a single cloud. The small streams of water running down the road from the melting snow made the faintest of trickling noises. The forest was peaceful.

 

Nick stood on the dirt road, waiting for his two hunting partners to show up. The markings in the sandy dirt from his pacing caught his eye several times. He’d been on the lookout for any sign of a track or footprint. But there wasn’t one in the general area of where the road lay.

 

Despite the long wait, he took in a deep breath of fresh air, and enjoyed the weather. The sun was still low enough to where it provided light, but not heat. The cold breeze that blew by felt good on his tan, Mexican skin. Even despite the breeze, he still wore his grey Idaho Fishing Company hat on top of his black hair. He knew it would warm up pretty quickly once they started the hike.

 

In the back of his pickup lay three sleeping bags, three tents, and one large backpack containing canteens of water, cans of portable soup, cans of beans, and lots of other foods that were canned. There were also four Remington Model 7600 rifles. They were truly the best weapons he possessed. Nick had spent two whole days preparing for the mission. He still didn’t feel quite ready, but it was too late to worry now.

 

He took another deep breath, and let it out in a sigh. Even though he was listening close for the engine of Alan’s van, he couldn’t help but glance down the road every few minutes. Obviously, neither of the guys didn’t understand the dependence the sheriff had laid on his shoulders.

 

Nick shoved his hand into his pocket, and made sure he had the sheriff’s radio. He would call in when they started off, which he felt like would be never. He decided to wait a few more minutes before calling them up, and losing it. Luckily for them, the van came bouncing along the thick sea of rocks only seconds later. This put a smile on his face. Alan was in the driver’s seat. He waved at Nick as they parked on the other side of the road.

 

Alan got out first. He was dressed in a black baseball cap, black shirt, and the usual dirty jeans.

 

“You’re gonna roast in that buddy,” Nick said, half-smirking.

 

“Yeah, I should’ve watched the weather forecast closer,” Alan replied.

 

“Well, learn to do it a lot more.”

 

Danny, dressed in a much smarter outfit of a white T-shirt, jeans, and white sneakers, got out and slammed the door.

 

“Sorry we’re late,” Alan said.

 

Nick rolled his eyes and snorted.

 

“Yeah, like an hour late. No problem,” Nick replied. “How many rifles did you bring?”

 

Alan opened his mouth to ask, but Danny spoke for him.

 

“Seven,” Danny said in his deep tone.

 

“Good. I brought four, that makes eleven. Hopefully we won’t have to use more than two, at most.”

 

Danny turned to him. “What exactly are we looking for?”

 

“Alan didn’t tell you? I have no idea. The sheriff advised we be on the lookout for cat tracks. That would be the closest suspect.”

 

Danny looked at him, as if waiting for him to continue.

 

“But, if we don’t find any fairly fresh tracks by tomorrow night, I think we’ll probably head back.”

 

“Shouldn’t they figure out what killed the guy before hiring hunters?”

 

Nick shrugged. “Yeah, they should. But the sheriff wanted to at least try. It’s sort of a pre-hunt, if you will.”

 

“Why so many rifles though?”

 

“The sheriff suspects this thing we’re hunting is pretty dangerous. Nothing wrong with being prepared.”

 

Danny didn’t respond. The tall, strong man had always