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Jase & the Deadliest Hunt
Copyright © 2014 by John Luke Robertson. All rights reserved.
Cover and interior illustrations copyright © 2014 by Jeff Gregory. All rights reserved.
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Designed by Jacqueline L. Nuñez
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Jase & the Deadliest Hunt is a work of fiction. Where real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales appear, they are used fictitiously. All other elements of the novel are drawn from the authors’ imaginations.
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Robertson, John Luke.
Jase & the deadliest hunt / John Luke Robertson ; with Travis Thrasher.
pages cm. — ([Be your own Duck Commander ; 4])
ISBN 978-1-4143-9816-7 (sc)
I. Thrasher, Travis, 1971- II. Duck dynasty (Television program) III. Title. IV. Title: Jase and the deadliest hunt.
PZ7.R5465Jas 2014
[Fic]—dc23 2014023383
ISBN 978-1-4964-0008-6 (ePub); ISBN 978-1-4143-9839-6 (Kindle); ISBN 978-1-4964-0009-3 (Apple)
Build: 2014-09-12 04:06:03
This book is dedicated to my uncle Jase.
Jase, first of all, thanks for the dating advice!
Most important, thank you for never being afraid to share the gospel message with others. It’s something I have witnessed my whole life, and it has helped shape me as a Christian man.
Keep calling ducks and people to the water!
CONTENTS
Warning! Don’t read this book straight through!
This Is Who You Are
The Island of the Great Unknown
Double Vision
Let the Good Times Roll: A Note from John Luke Robertson
You’ll miss out on all the fun if you do.
Instead, start at the beginning and decide where to go at the end of each chapter. You will be given many options. Just like in life, some of the choices you make will be good ones. Some will be bad. Very, very bad. Like being-mauled-by-a-raging-beast bad. But that’s okay. You can always try again.
If you reach the end of one story, go back and start over. There are multiple story lines and many endings. You get to decide what happens. So it’s your own fault if things go terribly wrong. You will have nobody to blame but yourself (and Willie, of course).
So get ready for the grandest adventure of your life. Be careful about what lies in wait in that cave. Don’t get too risky around the river. Don’t let Mount Fear live up to its name.
Oh, and avoid the hogs. Seriously. Stay out of their chubby way.
Have fun. Make sure you bring your son and nephew back home.
But it’s okay if you leave your brother behind on the island.
THIS IS WHO YOU ARE
BEFORE WE BEGIN, THIS IS WHO YOU ARE.
Your name is Jason Silas Robertson. Jase for short.
Your parents are Phil and Kay Robertson. Your father started Duck Commander, where you currently hold the position of chief operating officer. That’s right. You’re the chief. Your responsibility (among many) is creating unique duck calls for the business. But come on—you’re really the company mascot.
You have three brothers. One of them, Willie, claims to be your boss and talks about being the CEO of Duck Commander, but you know who really runs this ship. You married your beautiful high school sweetheart twenty years ago, and you have three amazing children.
You take after your father in being a strong hunter—you’ve been at it since the age of eight. You are a frog’s worst nightmare since you love catching them and you love to eat them even more.
You are a man of faith. A man committed to his family. You also have a great love of the outdoors and the animals in it. You appreciate every creature God made, and you love examining their strengths and weaknesses. Your favorite animal happens to be whichever one you’re currently hunting. So go ahead and get some!
THE ISLAND OF THE GREAT UNKNOWN
YOU ARE ABOUT TO EMBARK on the greatest hunting expedition man has ever seen, yet you have no idea where you’ll be hunting, nor do you know what you’ll be trying to track down.
There are four of you seated in a helicopter: you; your brother Willie; his eldest son, John Luke; and your middle son, Cole. You’ve gotten used to the rumbling of the chopper through your entire body, though you’re also amazed at how smooth this trip has been. So far, all you’ve seen is water below. The helicopter took off from Fiji, where you arrived earlier this morning. Or maybe it was afternoon—your sense of time has disappeared since leaving West Monroe and flying to Los Angeles, then getting on a flight lasting over eleven hours.
You’re ready to get there, wherever there might be.
“You ready to swim if this thing goes down?” Willie asks, sitting across from you.
You can tell he’s bored.
“If this thing goes down, it’s ’cause of you, big boy,” you say.
“So you think this is going to be as good of a hunting trip as the wives promised?”
You shake your head. “Well, if it’s not, then we better get another birthday present.”
“Hey—it’s your birthday month officially. I already had my present back in April.”
“Mom says this counts for your present next year,” John Luke says.
“Make sure you don’t remind her,” Willie says. “Got that?”
You gaze out over the Pacific. “Missy and Korie sure talked up this trip. The guy they met was either the real deal or some fraud who could’ve sold them a plot of land on the moon.”
“Count VanderVelde,” Willie reminds you. “He’s the guy who bought the Duck Commander crossbow at the silent auction. Paid ten times the price. He’s no joke.”
“Every time I hear someone named Count anything, I think of Count Chocula,” you say. “Do they still sell that?”
Cole, who’s sitting next to you, just shrugs. Missy is the one who does the shopping, and Count Chocula isn’t on the menu these days. It’s not exactly a health food.
“Is that stuff any good?” John Luke asks.
“Of course it’s good, John Luke,” Willie says. “Come on.”
Missy said the cost of this trip was a little high, but it would be a once-in-a-lifetime experience. You know that few things described that way actually turn out to be once-in-a-lifetime. But she promised it was going to be a hunting expedition like you’d never seen before. You reminded your wife that you’ve seen some pretty awesome things and hunted down some pretty wild things.
“Not like this,” Missy said.
Now you’re wondering what kind of island you’re heading to. Obviously it’s an island. It’s gotta be an island. No way you’re gonna be hunting for anything on an oil rig or an aircraft carrier.
“Did I tell you I got a call from Luke Bryan?” Willie asks. “He said he went on one of these expeditions.”
“So what’d he say about it?”
“He’s sworn to secrecy
. That’s part of the intrigue—not knowing what you’re hunting for until you get there. Luke just said we couldn’t pass on this opportunity.”
“Oh yeah? Well, Lady Gaga called me and said she’s been to this island,” you joke. “Said not to order the veal. Bad idea.”
Willie shakes his head while the boys laugh. You like to make fun of Hollywood Willie with all his famous buddies. Sure, country musician Luke Bryan is a part of Buck Commander. Maybe you can start Truck Commander and get some famous people to participate. Maybe someone like Darius Rucker. The musician. Yeah. That’d be cool.
“So we still have the wager going on?” Willie asks.
“You bet.”
This wager will determine who wins the much-beloved family trophy that says #1 Robertson Hunter. The trophy’s been passed back and forth between Phil and Uncle Si but now happens to be owned—horror of horrors—by Willie. He got it after nabbing a twenty-point buck on one of his Buck Commander hunts. That was pretty good, but you like to remind him that some teenager was reported on the news for bagging a twenty-four-point buck.
Thank goodness for the Internet and Google to show up fast-talking Willie.
“It’s time to put the trophy in its proper place,” you say.
“You know, one of the boys might get it,” Willie says. “What do you say, Cole? Think you’ll nab the biggest buck this weekend?”
“It might be something else,” Cole says.
“The biggest catch. That’s the deal. Whoever gets it.”
You simply smile at your brother. Willie’s all talk and no action. He’ll get tired and try to convince someone to shoot the game for him.
Not this time. On this trip, it’s every hunter for himself.
Then Willie points outside. “Looks like we’ve found the island from Lost.”
You peer out the window and spot an island far below. It’s covered with a thick jungle, a river cutting through it. A single mountain towers over everything, and you can just make out the entrance to a cave on the mountain slope. You can’t help but think of Tom Hanks in the movie Cast Away, but this island is much larger than that one.
As the helicopter rounds the steep mountain, you catch sight of a large resort/lodge complex at the base. A landing pad and a small runway with a private airplane on it stretches in front of the resort, right next to an endless beach.
“The ladies are gonna be jealous,” Willie says.
“The ladies aren’t gonna see a picture of that,” you tell him. “Or else we’ll never hear the end of it.”
It’s a rare moment when Willie immediately agrees with you, but in this case it’s for certain that he does. All Missy said was that you’d be going somewhere rugged and dangerous and wild.
But this . . . this is a tropical paradise.
As the helicopter descends toward the landing pad, you look at Cole and John Luke. “So, you boys ready to become men?”
“I think that’s, uh, technically called puberty,” Willie points out.
You shake your head and ignore his comment. “Whatever’s on this island doesn’t stand a chance,” you say. “They haven’t met the Robertson clan yet.”
After landing, you climb out of the chopper and are greeted by two military-looking men carrying M16 rifles and dressed in camo. They take your bags but don’t bother saying anything to you. The blades of the helicopter never shut off—as soon as you and your gear are unloaded, it takes off again.
“Check out this place!” Willie says.
“Looks like Fantasy Island to me,” you tell him.
“See any animals while we were flying over the island?”
“Nope. There’s a lot of terrain to cover.”
“I want to fish,” Cole says. “Maybe go on some deep-sea excursion.”
“Last time you did that, you were puking over the side of the boat,” you remind him.
“I want to know what kind of weapons we’ll be able to use,” John Luke says.
You follow the armed guards toward the multilevel lodge complex. It’s sticky hot here, just like back home, but there’s a cool breeze coming off the ocean. The sand looks so pure, and so does the water.
You’re sweaty and probably stinky and could use a nice cool shower. “Man, I’d love to dive in there right around now.”
A long flight of stairs at the front of the complex leads you to a spacious deck complete with a pool and lounge chairs. You’re tempted to dive into the water here too, but you refrain for now. You want to be dry when you enter this building.
The guys with the rifles put down your bags. “Someone will be here to meet you soon,” one of them says.
You’re wondering if “someone” is that Count VanderVelde. Missy said he would be here. But his absence only adds to the mystique of this place.
An older man with a head of thick white hair and a long, slender face emerges from a nearby door, carrying a tray of fancy champagne glasses.
“Good day, gentlemen. I’m Winchester. I’ll be guiding you to your accommodations. First, anybody care for some freshly squeezed orange juice?”
“My buns feel freshly squeezed after traveling all day,” Willie says.
All of you take glasses and toast to the hunt. You realize you’ve never had orange juice this good in your whole life.
“Where’s the count?” you ask Winchester.
“He will be with you shortly,” Winchester says. “He has asked whether you would like to go to the weaponry room or whether you would prefer to see the operations room, which will give you an overview of the island.”
Options already! This is gonna be fun.
Do you choose the weaponry room? Go here.
Do you choose the operations room? Go here.
GOLDFINGER
YOU ARE SITTING IN THE SHADE as the river flows by. It’s not that wide, nor is it that deep. You’ve spent half a day walking upstream and crisscrossing the river to check for any animals. But you guys haven’t seen anything. You’ve finished your lunch and are still waiting.
“Is there somewhere else we should go?” John Luke asks. You let him pick the crossbow this time, and he’s itching to use it.
He’s standing on top of a bank leading down to the sand at the riverside. Willie and Cole are behind him, sitting down like you.
“I think you should head out to the middle of the river and chill,” Willie jokes. “Maybe some creature will show up then.”
John Luke seems to decide, Why not? So he carefully walks down the bank, crossbow in hand. Next thing you know, he’s standing in the center of the two-feet-deep water.
“Now stay there,” Willie yells. “An hour or two. Something will show up.”
Dense jungle foliage covers both sides of the river. You already feel like you’ve lost five pounds from sweating today.
“What do you think we’re supposed to be looking for?” you ask.
“Bigfoot?” Willie says.
“I haven’t seen anything moving.”
You’re staring at John Luke but not really paying attention when suddenly something bright falls from the sky and darts right onto John Luke’s head. He drops his crossbow, grabbing at whatever’s attacking him.
The rest of you stand up as the flying beast heads into the sky again. You study it and realize it’s a duck.
Except that’s like no duck I’ve ever seen. In my life.
“Jase, did you see that?”
“Well, if you’re talking about the gold thing that landed on John Luke’s head and took off again, yeah, I saw that.”
“What was that?” Cole asks.
“I think it was a duck,” Willie says.
“Oh, that was a duck all right,” you say. “But I think it’s like the hog.”
“How so?”
“It’s . . . special.”
You try to say the last word in Count VanderVelde’s enigmatic tone.
As you follow Cole and Willie down to John Luke, who’s out of the river now and seems to be okay, you glance a
t the Sphinx 300 crossbow in your hands and already know how useless it will be. Soon you’re by the water with the other guys, laughing at John Luke.
“That thing was like a hawk or something! Did you see it?”
“It was a duck, John Luke,” Willie says.
“That wasn’t a duck.”
“Yeah, I have to say it was,” you tell him. “And I also have to say—we’re out of luck, gentlemen.”
“What do you mean?”
You give them a meaningful look. “That there was one of the fastest ducks I’ve ever seen in my life. Not to mention it’s gold. Gold. I think if we were in a blind and had our shotguns, it might be difficult enough—”
“But we have crossbows,” Willie says.
“Yep.”
“John Luke, why’d you take the crossbow?”
“Told you I should’ve picked,” Cole says.
You think for a minute. “Well, this will make for an interesting afternoon.”
“I’m not giving up just yet,” Willie says. “You got your duck call on you?”
You can’t believe he asked you that question. Of course you have your duck call.
“I would think the CEO of Duck Commander would bring his duck call for a day of hunting, wouldn’t you, boys?”
John Luke and Cole agree.
Willie mutters something about leaving it back at the lodge. Seems like a flimsy excuse to you.
“Are we going to have to build a duck blind?” John Luke asks. “Wait it out in there?”
You shake your head. “I don’t think that’s an ordinary duck, just like that boar wasn’t any ordinary hog. I say we give the duck call a try. See what happens.”
But it produces absolutely nothing. There’s no sign of the duck at all. You try the duck call again and again for an hour, but it’s no use.
“Maybe it’s ashamed of hitting John Luke on the head,” Willie suggests.
You’re about ready to trek down the river when suddenly you spot the duck, floating as casual as can be on the surface of the water.
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