Chapter Fourteen

 

Howard sat alone atop the mountain. The crosshairs of his scope fixed upon the right eye of Mary Jane. Oh Sweet Mary Jane, your time will come, he thought. He enjoyed his excursions through the wilderness and his time with Mary Jane. He could not kill her yet, instead he would settle for an elk or deer, any helpless animal that roamed the wilderness. Soon, very soon. It won’t be long until their suspicions fade. Just a little while longer and I can resume my work. A true master must practice patience, he considered. Since the discovery of Tom and Tommy, the group had been on edge. Although he found it entertaining to watch them scurry around in fear, he was not eager to find himself dangling from the end of their rope, which he nearly had when Eric charged him.

Howard too had wondered what had happened to Kevin. When they split up, Kev had headed directly toward the bodies and he knew that he had likely found them. He had sent the others off searching in the wrong direction, knowing that he would encounter some repercussion, yet clinging to hopes that Kevin had not found the boy and his father. He was amazed in how simply it had all worked out. The boy covered for me without even knowing. Gut swiping critters, he laughed. I couldn’t have come up with anything better myself. The pastor won’t be as easy to explain. Perhaps I should take him to the field.

He continued to watch through the scope as Mary Jane scrubbed clothes against a washboard in the creek. He considered several methods and plans as he watched. It is so easy to get any of them alone. So many ways to die. So many accidents yet to happen. He watched her for a long while, before moving on, searching for something to kill.

He followed the trail into a valley. The valley opened up in a small field of grass and shrubs and he stopped, watching for movement. He saw nothing and after an hour, he picked up and moved on, deciding to follow the valley a ways further before heading back to town. Not only did he want to return with some meat, having enjoyed his title of hunter, but he also yearned for a kill. Animals were certainly no match to the thrill of killing a human, but it was still more pleasing than not killing at all. He loved to watch the life fade from their eyes. With humans, he could watch the questions filter through their mind as they gasped their last breath. He doubted that animals even wondered why they were dying, but the power he held over them as their life faded, seemed to ease his hunger nonetheless.

He was a good shot with his rifle, but he chose to injure them instead and finish them up-close with his knife. He had once tried to strangle a deer by hand. Amazed by its resilience, he found it unbelievable that it could be that difficult to squeeze the life from it. He remembered his enjoyment as it struggled and the feel of its blood pumping under his fingers. He had not finished it though, having given up after several minutes and using his knife instead.

He watched the hills as he walked, reminiscing over the deer. Perhaps I should try again. Certainly, I am stronger now after all this fucking work. It has been too long since I got to feel something die, too long indeed. The eagerness brewed inside him at the thought. Perhaps it will keep me from snapping and slicing open that sweet little cunt’s neck. Waiting, waiting, waiting, fuck waiting, I need to feel the life fade from something.

He continued walking for several minutes before he turned around a bend and saw a small herd of whitetail deer standing, clustered together. His blood pressure swelled as he selected the one to die then fixed the crosshairs of his scope upon it. He took a long hard breath and squeezed the trigger.

The deer dropped and lay bleeding, gasping for breath. The bullet had slammed into its spine, leaving its rear legs immobilized. Howard’s nerves lit up with excitement as he circled around behind it. He would normally sit and watch as it faded away, but this time he would pounce on top and squeeze its neck until the air stopped flowing, the blood stopped pumping, and the life drained from its clueless eyes.

He circled around nearly twenty yards away and slowly closed in. The deer yelped and snorted as it lay crippled in the tall grass. It perked up, aware of his presence struggling wildly to regain the use of its hind legs. He stepped closer and closer, using caution with each step to avoid making even the slightest noise. He could feel his heart, thumping out of control in his chest, as the excitement continued to build. He could begin to make out its light brown coat through the tall grass as he crept forward. He took another step and lunged onto its back.

He hung on like a bull rider in a rodeo as it huffed and snorted, startled by the attack. It jolted itself up, getting its front legs underneath it and hopped wildly. Howard clung tightly to its neck, squeezing with all he had. The deer stomped and flopped to its side, causing Howard to lose his grasp slightly. His weight shifted and he fell forward, still clasped to the wild animal’s neck. It hopped up, once again getting its front hooves under it, and thrashed wildly, kicking and stomping as it fought for its life.

Howard was amazed at its strength. It had flipped him over like a ragdoll and pounded viscously into his face. He held up his arms do defend the blows but the rock hard hooves came fast and hard. He reached for his knife and lunged forward, stabbing deep into its chest but it did little to deter the violent swarm as the deer continued its barrage. He stabbed and stabbed as the deer continued to kick. He felt it smash into his face, his arms, his shoulders, even once on his elbow, which shot a charge of tingles to his hand. He rolled back in disarray and despair. I let my guard down, he thought. I let this fucking deer get the better of me. How could I be so fucking stupid? Is this my end? Do I really die like this, at the hands, or hooves, of a simple stupid animal? How could I…? Another blow struck solid into his temple and his thoughts drifted off. A curtain of darkness fell over him as he drifted into unconsciousness.