by Eric Vall
Eric Vall
Chapter 1
The morning was cool and damp as I crouched down behind some trees to camouflage myself. I had woken up early and headed out to the woods with just my rifle and my tanto blade. After the day before, I needed some time to just be and not think about all the bullshit that surrounded me lately.
I’d dealt with plenty of assholes both before and after the EMP hit, but nothing like what Brody had done yesterday. Killing those women was the final straw, and I couldn’t let it slide. There was something about a man who preyed on women that just made my blood boil. Abuse was not something I tolerated, not before the EMP, and especially not after when most women had no one to stand up for them but themselves. I started to understand why the women at the commune had separated themselves away from all men and anyone else who might find them.
While most men I knew were generally good, the few that weren’t gave us all a bad reputation, and it always killed me to see a woman scared of a man’s presence. The women that Brody had taken out were already terrified, and the fact that they had been abused for who knew how long, and then saved just to end up killed by a different man… well, that just broke me up inside.
After we had left I had decided I would make it right. I had to, and that meant taking care of Brody. It wouldn’t be today, or even tomorrow, but the day would come, and I couldn’t wait for it. We had decided to avoid Brody, but with the runs we went on I thought we would encounter him sooner or later, and that meant I would get my chance. I still felt sorry for him, but the more I relived what had happened the day before, the more I felt we had to take him out.
I took a deep breath and steadied myself. I didn’t need to be angry. I came out to the woods to take my mind off of everything. I looked up to the sky above the tree line. The dawn had barely broken the horizon, and the day looked like it would be beautiful and clear, not a cloud in sight.
As I stared at the new day ahead of me, I heard the snap of a twig, and I turned to look to my right. Five or six large male elk walked into a clearing and started to graze. The females of the herd must have been nearby, but the males were typically larger, which meant more meat.
I spotted the largest one. He was massive, at least six hundred pounds, if not more, and his antlers stretched a good three feet upward. I watched the small herd for a moment as they gently pulled grass into their large mouths. They were calm and quiet, and I felt a sort of tranquility wash over me as I watched them.
After a moment I slowly pulled my rifle up to my shoulder and aimed just below the lungs of the second largest male. He was about two thirds the size of the largest in the herd, but there was no need to be greedy. Besides, the largest male would mate and pass on his genes, which meant we’d get larger elk to hunt in years to come. Five hundred pounds of elk was plenty for my family. I tried to only take what we could use.
I took a deep breath, then let it out slowly as I pulled the trigger. The beast let out a loud bleat before it fell to the ground in a heap. It’s strangled noise alerted the others and the rest of the herd scattered.
I knew the sound of the shot would have scared the rest of the herd off, but I still waited a few moments before I made my way out of the trees and over to my prey. It had been a clean shot, straight to the heart, and the creature had suffered as little as possible.
A smile crossed my face as I crouched down and looked over the massive creature on the ground in front of me. Its shaggy fur was shedding from the winter months, but it was still thick when I ran my fingers through it. I took a moment to just sit with the beast and thank it for the sacrifice it made for my family. It felt good to provide in the best way that I knew how.
I did have a problem on my hands, though. I had gone out expecting to bag a deer but instead wound up with a five hundred pound behemoth of a thing that I wouldn’t be able to carry back to camp all by myself.
I’d definitely need help to even lift the thing, and we’d need a truck or the ATVs to carry it back to campus. I ran my fingers through the beast’s fur once more, then I stood up and started the trek back to campus. I was at least a half-mile away, and it would take a few minutes to get there, I just hoped my kill would be safe for the time being.
It had been a long time since I’d had elk meat, and I was looking forward to it. The last time was when my buddy had paid to hunt one at a reserve run by the state. I had seen plenty of large deer when I was out in the woods alone, but there was no point in taking one down when it was just myself that I needed to feed. The extra meat would have rotted before I could have used it, or attracted other wild animals, and I definitely didn’t need that. I had a few close calls, but mostly I left the wildlife alone, and they returned the favor. The carnivores in the wilderness had plenty of options when it came to food, and humans weren’t typically at the top of their list, so as long as you didn’t wander into their territory or piss them off, you were typically pretty safe.
I was almost back to camp when I heard Winchester bark, and a second later the black headed dog appeared in front of me, tail wagging as he barked happily again.
“Hey, boy,” I cooed, and I reached down to give him some love. “Where are the girls?”
“We’re out here,” Tara called, and I walked through the tree line to see that they all sat by the fire, coffee in hand.
“You all built a fire?” I chuckled.
“It was chilly this morning,” Anna said. “But we wanted to be outside when you got back.”
“I figured I’d let you all sleep in,” I said.
“Yeah, right,” Anna laughed. “With the schedule you have us on, we’ll never sleep in again.”
“Speak for yourself,” Tara muttered. “I could’ve slept all day.”
“You’re the exception,” Paige said with a roll of her eyes. “Not the rule.”
“Thanks,” Tara replied with a grin. “I think you’re pretty exceptional, too.”
“You know that’s not what I said,” Paige responded with a glare.
“Yeah, but it’s fun to make you mad,” the platinum blonde said.
“So, where’s breakfast?” Bailey asked. “We figured you went out there to hunt.”
“I did,” I said. “But breakfast is still in the woods.”
“You didn’t get anything?” Paige asked.
“Slow morning?” Anna inquired.
“No,” I laughed. “I got something, I just couldn’t carry it back to campus.”
“Please tell me it’s not another bear,” Tara said.
“Not a bear,” I assured her.
“Do we need to grab the ATVs?” Anna asked.
“I think that’s a good idea,” I said. “And some rope and a tarp.”
“Alright,” the redhead said, and she headed over toward Rolly’s shed.
“Coffee?” Tara asked me.
“I’ll wait until we get back,” I said.
“I can go with,” Paige offered.
“Good idea,” I said. “We’ll need at least three people to lift it.”
“That big, huh?” the brunette asked.
“Damn right,” Tara answered before I could, and she shot me a wink.
“You’re terrible,” Paige laughed.
“You can’t set me up like that,” the platinum blonde chuckled.
“I gassed up the ATVs,” Anna said as she walked back over to the group. “We all ready?”
“Yup,” I said. “Paige is going to ride with you.”
“Alright,” Anna agreed. “Let’s go get whatever this thing is before something else does.”
“Right,” I laughed.
We hopped on the ATVs, and I led the way back through the woods toward where I had taken down the elk. Winchester ran beside us, just happy to try and keep up as we
sped through the trees.
Anna was always a speed demon, and I knew she wanted to try and go past me, but she was forced to follow me since only I knew where my catch was, so I tried to keep up a decent speed so she wouldn’t get too bored. Besides, ATVs were always fun.
Finally, we reached the beast, and I shut off the ATV and hopped off while Winchester sniffed my kill vehemently.
“Whoa,” Anna said as she pulled up and shut her ATV off as well.
“You were right,” Paige said. “That thing is huge.”
“This wasn’t even the largest in the herd,” I said.
“Couldn’t bag the biggest one, huh?” Anna teased.
“Hardly,” I replied with a smile and an eye roll.
“I read something about that in one of the books in the library,” Paige said. “That sometimes hunters will take a smaller member of the pack so that the larger genes get passed on.”
“Smart,” Anna said.
“No need to be greedy,” I said. “This is plenty of meat for all of us.”
“And then some,” Paige agreed. “Should we skin it and gut it real quick?”
“Not here,” I said. “We’ll wait until we get it back to campus. Like Anna said, we don’t want to attract any other animals.”
“And just how exactly are we going to get it back to campus?” Anna asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You got the rope and tarp, right?” I asked.
“Right here,” Anna said, and she patted the small storage container on the back of the ATV.
“We’ll put the elk on the tarp,” Paige explained. “Then we’ll tie it to the ATVs.
“I figured as much,” Anna sighed. “But that thing looks super heavy. Remind me not to volunteer before I know what I’m getting myself into anymore.”
“I’ll be sure to do that,” Paige laughed as she grabbed the tarp out and bumped Anna with her hip. “Come on.”
“Alright,” the redhead sighed. “But I mean it, no more accepting pickup duty if I don’t know what I’m picking up.”
“You’re the strongest out of all of us girls,” Paige laughed.
“I know,” the redhead said with a flashy smile.
“Is that all you wanted to hear?” Paige scoffed.
“Maybe.” Anna shrugged.
“You’re ridiculous,” Paige chuckled.
We laid the tarp out in front of the elk, then grabbed the legs and pulled it onto the blue canvas until it was almost in the middle. Then we folded the sheet over and pulled the rope through the metal holes so that each side was secured. Once that was done, we tied the ropes to the back of the ATVs, and we were ready to go.
Once we turned the ATVs on once again, Winchester barked and ran ahead like it was a game to him. I smiled at the dog and followed him slowly back toward campus. Anna and I had to be careful to keep the same pace as we dragged the elk, which meant we had to take it slower. The sky had grown brighter, though, and the sun shone through the trees and warmed us, so the drive wasn’t too bad.
“Alright,” Tara said as she walked toward us after we had parked the ATVs. “Let’s see this thing.”
“Hang on,” I chuckled as I hopped off the vehicle. “Let’s get the rope untied first.”
“What is it?” Bailey asked.
“Let’s see if you can guess,” I teased.
“An amorphous blob?” Tara asked, and she gestured at the lump under the tarp.
“Correct,” I laughed.
Anna and I undid the ropes and pulled the tarp back for the girls to see.
“I still don’t know what it is,” Tara said.
“It’s an elk,” Bailey said with a confident look in my direction.
“Right,” I agreed, proud of my blonde-haired hippie and her knowledge of wildlife.
“How do you know that?” Tara asked.
“There’s a couple reserves in Vermont,” Bailey said with a shrug. “I went to see them a couple of times.”
“You purposefully went to see those things?” Tara asked, her eyes wide with horror.
“Yeah,” Bailey said. “Actually, it was normally more than one since they travel in herds, they’re really pretty.”
“There haven’t been any wild elk in Vermont for like a century,” Paige said.
“Right,” I agreed. “They must have gotten out of the reserves after the EMP hit, and now they’re repopulating in the wild.”
“Holy shit,” the platinum blonde replied. “No, thank you. This thing’s huge.”
“It’s not as big as the two bears that went after Bailey,” Anna chuckled.
“I guess that’s true,” Tara agreed. “That’s probably why they went after you. They smelled you in the woods before walking around all the time, and they wanted a taste. Shouldn’t have spent so much time out there running around with elk.”
“None of that sounds right,” Paige laughed.
“You don’t know that,” Tara said. “And the bears are dead, so you can’t exactly ask them why they attacked her.”
“You couldn’t ask them anyway,” Anna said, and she busted up laughing.
“There’s no proof that bears can’t talk,” Tara said matter of factly.
“Pretty sure there is,” Paige said.
“Where?” Tara asked. “Just because nobody’s heard it doesn’t mean they can’t do it.”
“You’re just arguing to argue,” Paige said with an eye roll. “Come on, Tav, let’s skin this thing.”
“And on that note, I’m going back over to the fire,” Tara said.
“You do that,” Paige laughed. “I can’t hear another word of your bullshit.”
“You’re just mad I’m right,” the platinum blonde called out over her shoulder as she walked back toward the fire pit.
“Do you guys need any help?” Bailey asked.
“No,” Paige assured her with a smile. “You and Anna can head back over to the fire, too.”
“Would one of you bring me a cup of coffee, please?” I asked.
“Sure,” Anna said, and they followed Tara across the courtyard.
“I don’t know why she offers to help,” Paige chuckled. “Bailey’s a great shot, but I know she hates this part of it. She’s just too sweet.”
“She is,” I agreed. “So, are you ready to skin your first elk?”
“Definitely,” Paige said with a grin. She was always the first to volunteer for the bloody tasks. Her pre-med background came out, and she was all curiosity when it came to that kind of stuff.
“I’ll let you take the lead,” I told her.
“Just like skinning a deer?” she asked.
“Mostly.” I nodded. “Trust your instincts, you’ll do fine.”
“Alright,” she said, and she pulled her knife out of her pocket. “Can you hold this leg up?”
“Got it,” I said as I lifted up the hindquarter of the creature.
Paige made a low incision by the pelvis, then continued the cut downward toward the genitals. I knew that she wouldn’t need much instruction. She had skinned enough animals to know how to do it, and even with something new, if you knew what you were doing it wasn’t difficult to apply your knowledge to a new animal.
Anna brought over two cups of coffee, and she set one down by Paige’s knee, then handed me one to my free hand.
“Thanks,” I said, and I took a drink of the dark nectar. “Did Rolly make this?”
“No,” Anna said with a shake of her head. “Bailey did.”
“It’s good,” I said. “I was just wondering where Rolly was since I haven’t seen him this morning. He’s normally up by now.”
“He wasn’t up when we got up,” Anna said. “That’s part of the reason we all came outside. I think everyone has just been working really hard lately and it finally caught up to them.”
“He and Betty deserve to sleep in,” I said. “Tell Bailey the coffee’s great.”
“I will,” Anna said with a smile.
“Oh,” I said, “and if you se
e Rolly and Betty get up, tell Betty not to make breakfast. I’m going to cook up some elk for everyone.”
“Awesome,” Paige said. “I was hoping we would get a reward for all our hard work.”
“You definitely earned it,” I said as I watched the brunette cut down the leg of the elk.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had elk,” Anna said.
“Me, either,” Paige agreed.
“You’ll like it,” I assured them.
“Want me to see if Tara can make some biscuits or something?” Anna asked.
“Sure,” I agreed. “And can you all gather up some eggs as well?”
“Alright,” Anna said. “We’ll go ahead and feed the animals, too. No sense in sitting around while you guys work.”
“I appreciate it,” I chuckled. “But feel free to finish your coffee first. This will take us a little bit longer.”
“I don’t know,” Anna chuckled, and she gestured down to Paige. “She works pretty fast.”
The redhead walked away and left us alone once more. She was right, though, Paige did work fast. It was nice to have someone on the team who didn’t mind getting their hands dirty. All the girls would get things done without complaint, but Paige was always the one to volunteer for the job, and it gave me a certain respect for her. I respected the hell out of all my girls, but they all had different strengths, and getting dirty just happened to be one of Paige’s.
Soon enough both hindquarters were done, and she moved upward toward the front legs.
“I can do this half if you want,” I said.
“Nah,” she replied, but her eyes never left her hands. “I’m good.”
“Alright,” I chuckled. “You’re making quick work of this.”
“It’s not hard if you know what you’re doing,” she replied with a shrug.
Winchester came to sit by us, and he looked back and forth between the two of us and the elk, his tail wagging in anticipation.
“Oh, alright,” Paige laughed, and she cut most of the meat from one of the hind legs, then gave him the shin bone.
The black-headed dog gave her hand a quick thank you lick before he gently took the bone and laid down in the grass nearby to munch on it.
“That was nice of you,” I told her. “He could have waited until we were done.”
