When surviving an animal attack, don’t run
or it will see you as prey and instinctively chase you.
While Dylan and Sadie continue their reunion and whisper how worried they were about each other, I move to the window and peek out again. “What do you think is going on?”
Sadie massages her wrists—still blood red from the tight ties. “I don’t know. But whatever it is, it isn’t good.”
I lick my lips, cracked from the dryness and thirst. “You think he’s going to kill us?”
Dylan walks next to me. “He’s crazy but he’s hopefully not totally insane. A killer. He probably wants to scare us into leaving him alone.”
Something doesn’t sit right with me. I press my hand against my stomach to ease the upset. “I don’t know. I have a bad feeling.”
“I’m sorry guys. I got you into all this.” Sadie’s voice cracks like an old record. “I shouldn’t have asked Dylan to come to the protest.”
I spin around and face her. “You didn’t do this. You’ve been protesting his place for months. I’m the one who went to Uncle Bob’s after Cat and started snooping around. If it wasn’t for me, we’d all be eating patties and pies at Birdee’s place.”
“Blaming someone isn’t going to help any of us.” Dylan runs his big hands through his long blonde hair. His muscles twitch as if they are preparing for battle. “Let’s focus on getting out of this place before he gets back.”
Sadie springs to attention. Like someone pulled her string, forcing her to liven up and talk. “We could make a run for it.”
“Wait!” I hold my hand out to her chest. “There’s a guy right outside the door. You’ll never get past him.”
“They’ll shoot us before we reach the trees. Nowhere to hide out there. Like a freckle on a baby’s butt.” Dylan says the last line without laughing so I know he’s equally stressed. “We have no idea where we are. No supplies. No water. We’ll have to wait.”
“For what?” I ask, searching for some idea of a concrete escape plan. I need to know I’m getting out of this dump. Right now, my flip-out switch hangs on a tiny wire. “He said he’d let us go. Right?”
Sadie gives me a look like I’m stupid; yet, with her hair and eyes, she’s more likely to be the crazy one. “Yeah, sure, and I like fur coats.”
“We need to come up with a plan. This will be much harder than you think.”
“I say we go for it. I’d rather run for it than end up a beached whale.” Sadie paces the dirty floor, kicking dust up into the air. My eyes burn and my nose itches. “I overheard them talking about some hunting game when they thought I was out of it still.”
“A game? Like a joke?” My brain still refuses to believe this guy is on a kill mission. But the more information I get on this guy, the more I sweat. I yank the t-shirt away from my body, praying the extra sliver of space will allow me to breathe better.
“Doubtful.” Sadie says.
“I heard it too. Couldn’t make out all of it but sounds like they like to hunt animals.” Dylan says. “Some kind of ongoing challenge.”
I sit in the corner and hug my knees. The more these two talk, the more I want to throw up. “Wait...these guys hunt in the Glades?”
“Of course they do!” Sadie hits her fists against her legs. “That’s the whole freakin’ problem with these zoo asshats. They don’t care about animals. Hunting to them is like eating to us. Not only that, they don’t respect animals so they buy them illegally too. Problem is catching them in the act is practically impossible.”
My brain thump thumps from the information. It’s happening all over again. Someone is out to get animals, I get in the way, and then all hell breaks loose. “Maybe we can stop these guys. If they’re talking about hunting tonight, we should wait. Sneak out after them and get proof so when they let us go.”
The faint knocking sound returns.
“There’s that noise again.”
Dylan pushes his hair behind one ear, pulling back the veil so he can hear. “What is it?”
I crawl over to the earlier spot and press my ear to the damp wood. “You guys hear that?”
Sadie and Dylan do the same. We all look kinda stupid staring in a line with our heads pressed against the wall.
I close my eyes to concentrate. A few seconds go by and nothing. Then I hear it again.
Tap, tap, tap.
“Someone’s on the other side of us.” I strain to hear, wishing I knew Morse code. “Someone must be in trouble.”
Sadie doesn’t miss a beat, nor does she sugarcoat anything sour. “You mean besides us?”
I’m not exactly sure how long we sit in the hot, dusty room with our ears to the wall, trying to communicate. At one point, I smack myself a couple times to wake up. The rush of adrenaline combined with shutting down and settling down in the unbearable heat makes me sleepy.
I can’t help but notice the sun has already gone down. Only a gray sliver streaking through the sky, reminding us that there once was a sun. And darkness is not permanent. The sun always rises. It’s a matter of when.
A voice approaches the hut. I pinch Dylan and whisper to Sadie, “Wake up.” She looks up at me with groggy eyes that would make a Bassett Hound jealous. I point to the door. “Someone’s coming.
The three of us stand and wait for the door to open.
One of the men from earlier walks in. “Grab your things and follow me.” And that’s all he says. Nothing cordial about it. But nothing deadly either. Just Switzerland-neutral.
Sadie puts her hands on her hips and stands her ground. “And why should we?”
“It’s time for you to leave.”
We all exchange looks, surprised at his request. Maybe this Bob guy will let us go after all. Maybe he only wanted to scare us. Get Sadie to stop picketing his business.
I snatch my backpack. Either this guy is too dumb to notice or too smart to care. The three of us follow the guy outside. As soon as we pass under a light, I notice this guy has changed out of the white bully t-shirt and the ragged jeans. He’s now sporting army fatigues.
“What’s the occasion?” I ask from the rear.
He ignores me but Sadie practically growls like a hungry lion and chows down on the bait. “You’re going hunting, aren’t you?” She mouths, told you.
The man keeps walking so I can’t see his face. “You could say that.”
I holler out again. “ It’s illegal to poach animals in a National Park.”
He nods and faces forward. “Ain’t never been caught yet.”
“Well that’s about to change dirtwad.” Sadie scoffs and hits him in the back once. “I’ll see to that.”
The guy stops and faces her. “Don’t touch me again. Or I’ll make sure you are first to go.”
Dylan grabs Sadie’s hand and pulls her closer to him, away from the camo guy. He keeps his voice low but I still hear what he says. “Chill out. We’re not out of here yet.”
“I will not.” Sadie frowns and jerks away. But she quickly gathers herself and grabs his hand as if to apologize.
The man leads us to a group of men sitting in a circle, cradling rifles on their laps like babies.
We three sit on a log in the middle and wait and wait and wait. The waiting has my guts spewing around in circles, making me want to hurl. I cover my mouth just in case.
I search around. Besides the run-down cabin (that now resembles a few man-made shacks) and the tent city they’ve created, there isn’t anything else around for miles.
“Where’s Bob?” I ask.
The man who retrieved us stuffs his pocket with ammo. “He’s coming.”
“And he’s letting us go?”
The other men smile as the head guy answers again. “Yes.”
Another man speaks up. “What else would we do?”
The group laughs, making me shift on the log. Something doesn’t sit right with me. I grip the straps of my bag for security. If they take my backpack, I’m going to lose it. I focus on the night sounds, letting them calm my nerves. I repeat mantras in my head.
Everything is going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay.
As I relish the peacefulness of the night sounds, something crashes through the woods.
I glance over my shoulder and scan the sparse trees behind us. The noise grows louder. And louder.
“Must be Bob.” Dylan whispers and pats Sadie’s knee. “We’re almost out of here. Stay calm.”
“I’m fine. He’s the one you should worry about.” Sadie balls her fists and then releases as if doing strengthening exercises on one of the squeezie balls. “But don’t think, for a second, that I’m not gonna to take a cheap shot at this guy the minute I get my chance.”
Dylan kisses her forehead. “God. I love your spunk. Especially the odds are stacked against us.”
The crashing sounds continue like elephants are marching through piles of parched sticks. I study the men to make sure they’re not listening. “Seems too loud for a man. He weighs under 200 pounds.”
“Maybe he’s got more men with him,” Dylan whispers.
I study the group more this time as the noise continues behind me. The men don’t seem fazed by the noise, which in some odd way calms me. If it was a bear or a panther, they’d be on their feet, fully armed. Most of these men are probably older than Dad. But one boy stands out. He’s standing in the back, almost hidden from view. He can’t be much older than me.
As I watch the men cleaning their guns or sharpening their knives, I think back to that day in the woods when I found the poaching campsite. Over a dozen men mutilating bears, milking them for bile. A few, including Carl and Chief Reed from the reserve, counted the money. I’ll never forget when Mo pulled off his hood. I could not believe he was involved in something so horrific. At the time, I had no idea what to believe, even after he told me he was trying to pay back the guys who killed his father. And who ultimately also killed mine. What sticks out to me now was how my body felt that moment when I first saw him. All the feeling left my body and I felt my heart break in two pieces. Even after he explained, something shattered in me that day.
Something I can never get back.
The same feeling I have now.
Uncle Bob appears out of the woods with a large shape lumbering next to him. “Ah good. Our guests are packed and ready to go.”
It takes me a second to realize his furry sidekick is the huge liger we saw at the protest. The massive animal lumbers toward us. What a beast. His head is as large as a grizzly bear’s and his back reaches my chest.
We all stare at the strange hybrid, afraid to move, as it moves closer.
“Sit.” Bob takes a whip off his belt and whips the animal. Even after the abuse, the huge animal stands still, as if deciding whether he will accept the command, and then plops his butt on the ground. Even sitting, he’s taller than me.
Uncle Bob pats his pet’s head with one hand and holds the chain with another. “Meet Hercules. He’s a beaut, isn’t he?”
The three of us don’t utter a word. We can’t. Personally, I’ve never seen an animal so enormous except for pictures of the Saber Tooth Tiger.
“Course, not all ligers are this big. Hercules weighs over 1,000 pounds. Eats over 100 lbs. of meat a day. How do you think I get that kind of food out here? Gotta hunt something.”
Sadie doesn’t speak. Instead of a smart, tough comment, she takes one step back. Her eyes wide. Her hands clenched. It’s the first time I’ve seen her retreat and the only time I have seen worry in Dylan’s eyes.
Their reaction sends my fear spiraling like a roller coaster. Crashing down into my stomach and then slowly climbing up my throat.
Uncle Bob nods to one of his men. The man disappears into another shack and reappears a few minutes later. He’s dragging someone behind him. The person fights back, mumbling from under a black pillowcase. Her feet are dirty but the red toenail polish gives her gender away. The man drags the poor girl to the front by Uncle Bob and yanks off her hood.
A young girl has duct tape over her mouth and wrapped around her hands like silver cuffs. Wide-eyed and groaning in fear, she looks around in a complete panic. Mud smears down her cheeks and across her forehead like war paint.
“Ho-ly shit,” Sadie mutters out of the side of her mouth. “It’s that missing girl they’ve been hunting for.”
That’s when I recognize the dirty, tattered girl. It’s the runaway from the news. The one that vanished over a week ago. She’s dressed in the same clothes as the picture on Nancy Grace. Tattered black pants. Dirty white t-shirt. She’s alive and has been here the whole time.
Uncle Bob strokes her hair. “It’s okay. Don’t be afraid.”
The girl muffles a scream and jerks away. When he grabs her by the hair, she struggles against his grip, trying to kick him. She’s definitely a fighter. Won’t go down easily. I already like her.
Sadie whispers in my ear. “Bet she was the one we heard knocking on the wall. Wish we had tried harder to reach her.”
The girl—I think her name is Annie—and I lock eyes. I try to give her a ‘you-will-be okay’ smile, but honestly, I can’t lie to her face. Right now, I can only hope he lets us go together.
And if he does, I’ll take care of her. Because I know how it feels to be ripped away from your family—everything you know—and shoved in a hole. Held against your will.
Unfortunately, I know it all too well.
Uncle Bob nods at the man who lets go of her and shoves her toward us. The girl stumbles toward us. I step forward and catch her in my arms before she falls to the ground. I help her up and keep my arms around her. She feels frail and she’s shaking like a caffeine addict who’s snorted coffee. She smells of sweat and mud, doused in fear.
I rub her shoulder and smooth her matted hair. “I got yah. You’re going to be all right. Okay Annie?”
She appears surprised I say her name but she nods very fast. Wanting to believe what I say. But the smear of panic and fear that fills her eyes breaks my heart.
I recognize that look.
She thinks she’s going to die.
I start to remove the piece of tape covering her mouth.
Uncle Bob picks up his rifle and clicks his tongue. “Wouldn’t do that if I were you. She’s a god damn screamer.” A few men cock their guns. The sound is louder than anything I have ever heard.
I drop my hand. “Please let us go. We’ll take her with us and we won’t say anything. To anyone.”
“That is the plan.” Uncle Bob faces the line of men like he’s about to give them a war speech. “You boys ready?”
They all cheer and hoot, firing a few rounds into the air.
The girl next to me quivers uncontrollably. Like she’s freezing. Only it’s 95 degrees out here. At least.
Dylan removes his shirt and wraps it over her shoulders. His muscles bulge in the moonlight but he doesn’t care. After knowing him only a few weeks, I know the girl is the first thing on his mind. Dylan always thinks of himself last, putting everyone else first. He glares at Uncle Bob and steps forward. “Stop playing games and let us go.”
“When we’re ready,” Uncle Bob says.
“Ready for what?” Sadie asks.
The leader laughs and the other men chuckle behind him.
“Junior! Come up here.” Uncle Bob waves over the young kid hiding in the back. “Time to become a man, son.”
The boy shuffles forward with his hands stuffed in his pockets like he’s searching for change. No expression except for a quivering lip. He approaches Uncle Bob and then turns to face us. Hunched over, head down, slumped in uncertainty. His body language tells me he’s uncomfortable with whatever is about to happen. Like he knows something. His eyes scan upward and he tries real hard to scowl, to look mean and scary.
I bet he’s about to pee in his pants.
I keep my arm around the girl who’s now got her face buried in my shoulder. Soft whimpers find my ear as she cries under the strip of tape.
Sadie finds her voice. “Can we get on with this? I’m bored.”
“Oh sure.” Uncle Bob tosses his rifle to the boy. “You ready to hunt?”
“Yes.” The boy mutters the word but it sounds more like a question than a statement.
Uncle Bob eyes Annie. “You ready too?”
Before I can blink, the runaway girl jerks out of my arms and bolts across the field. The tape on her hands prevents her from running fast enough. Her bare feet cause her to stumble as she trips over rocks and twigs.
Uncle Bob rolls his eyes. “Dammit all!” He hollers at the pensive boy. “Well? Go get her!”
It takes me a second to realize what exactly he’s commanding the boy to do. When the boy raises the rifle, I start to run after her but Dylan grabs me with both arms in a bear hold, holding me back. Keeping me safe.
He growls in my ear. “Don’t.”
The frantic girl runs and stumbles through the thick weeds. Every few steps she peers back at us. Her path is erratic like she doesn’t know which way to go. Which way is safer. Which way is home.
The boy draws up the rifle and aims for Annie. His arms are shaking, either from the heavy load or the fear of harming another human being. He squints into the sight and hooks his finger on the trigger.
“No! No!” I scream out, too loud, and my throat instantly turns raw. I jerk against Dylan’s arms. “What are you doing? Let me go. Sadie, do something.”
Sadie stands next to me with her hand clamped over her mouth. Saying nothing. But she looks like she’s about to haul-ass out of here.
Dylan hisses at her to stay back.
We all stand there. Helpless. Guilty. Conflicted.
I finally scream. “Annie. Run!” because there’s nothing else to say or do. But watch.
Uncle Bob waits for a couple more seconds as Annie moves further and further away. His impatience peaks and he storms over to where the boy stands. Finger still on the trigger.
Uncle Bob snatches the rifle from him and throws the boy to the ground. “Get out of my way.” He raises the rifle.
I only squeeze out one word when the gun explodes. “No!”
I watch in horror as the girl goes down.
For a second, the world slows down. Her hands fly up and her body thrusts forward before she disappears in the tall grass.
“Oh my God.” I bend over and put my hands on my knees. The trees spin in a circle. An acidic taste rises in my throat. I try to swallow, but my body won’t let me do any normal function. It’s shutting down. My legs give way and I crumple to the ground. That poor girl was gunned down like a wild animal.
And I did nothing.
I bury my face in my hands and try to hold back sobs.
Sadie mutters, “Jesus Christ,” followed by Dylan’s long sigh.
For once, he’s speechless.
Uncle Bob hands one guy his gun and pats his liger on the back, “Dinner is served, Hercules. Go.” He lets go of the leash and Hercules bounds off to claim his meal.
My breath jerks in and out as my lungs convulse. I can’t breathe as panic and reality all settle in together for the night.
Uncle Bob isn’t letting us go home at all.
He’s using as a prey.
For his biggest hunt yet.