Dante [https://scontent-dfw5-1.xx.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/64768997_2347765458826905_7127263048187772928_n.png?_nc_cat=107&_nc_eui2=AeGSrvQ-pILwNdoafLA-jXjRV_fjJT5B5mJ2U6nezNEEjYQ8FBvxXkFOp2pwPQrpLTRwbWfgAvF7kBaiQ5UyOCOLda9wzJ1dzqQnPbPD12iniQ&_nc_oc=AQkjw_a3XpE4c34TlZ_rBNBrWEvQio6Z-Rne_wOd4KfyMlngfueHrkT7v0_lno-4C4ra0CAODPJ9tEnwMIPh9Rjp&_nc_ht=scontent-dfw5-1.xx&oh=7e2d9eb65174f8175fda9e09266de621&oe=5DC279B2]
The chilled winds of the north carried far as the searing monstrous howl tore through the moon filled night. It was the kind of sound that would wake even the deepest of sleepers in the dead of the night. Keeping them up, shivering in deathly fear. Till dawn found them cowering beneath their covers, begging to survive the night.
The shadow of the large beast took motion as it looked up from its bloody meal lying lifeless with pieces scattered among the thorn filled bushes and leaves. As the shadow slowly transformed from the towering beast to the thin shape of a near naked man, “great” the small shadow turned to run but paused to look back at the large chunks mixed with clothing, grass, leaves and hair that had just served as its meal. Reaching down to unclasp the shiny gold Rolex as the morning light brought its beauty to life on the severed remains of an arm. Then in a flash, the creature was gone, melding into the neighborhood of houses.
A younger man, with dark hair and features you would associate with a South American heritage, walked up to a run-down house sporting a new Rolex upon his right wrist. The loosely fitted watch looked out of place as if it belonged to someone with a much larger wrist. Most of the windows of the house were either busted out or covered in cardboard. The peeling yellow paint hung off the house as if it was trying to free itself from an old fling that ended badly. The young man didn’t look much better. Only wearing a tattered pair of jeans half covered in a dried red liquid. His shaggy long hair hung loosely down to his shoulders fitting well with his scruffy unshaven facial hair.
As soon as he walked through the door, a well-aimed fist greeted his unsuspecting face, slamming him to the ground in one smooth motion. “What the hell was that for?” “What were you thinking Carlos?” demanded Jax. Jax, with his nearly six and a half feet frame, loomed over Carlos like a grizzly bear standing over its newly caught trout. Veins rippled through his body like long slender snakes slithering across a desert landscape, protruding even atop his hairless scalp. His biceps were twice the size of Carlos’s. A deep wide scar ran down the side of his face as if he had tried to peel his own face off starting from the left side.
“What, I got hungry. It’s not a big deal Jax.” Carlos responded as he got to his feet. “Tell him Marco.” Marco stepped out of the shadows. He had the same brown skin and black hair as Carlos, giving the appearance of brothers. His hair was much shorter though, coupled with his full beard, there wasn’t much resemblance to carry that line of thinking. He was a little bigger than Carlos also, but nothing like Jax. “No way Carlos, you know the rules.”
“Oh come on, it was one man. Nobody saw nothing.” Carlos defended himself. He looked around to see if anyone would back him up. The other four remained hidden in the shadows, refusing to step forward. Jax reached out at surprising speed for a man his size, using only one hand, lifting Carlos by his neck until his feet were dangling in the air. “Yea, lucky is more like it. Did you know the one who chased you was packing a silver bullet?”
Carlos tried to answer as his face began turning red, no words could make it through Jax’s vice-like grip. As Carlo’s eyes began to bulge, Marco took a step forward as if he wanted to say something. A sudden leering glance by Jax warning him to stay out of it, made the message clear, this isn’t your fight. “Of course not” Jax’s grip tightened “I only brought you on as a favor to your cousin. But that doesn’t mean I won't slaughter you like a pig if you disobey me again. We carefully pick our prey to stay off the radar.”
He dropped Carlos to the floor leaving him holding his neck, writhing on the floor as he gasped for air. He wanted to get up, show him he wasn’t afraid. One look into Jax’s eyes ripped that thought right out of his mind. Realizing that would’ve been the last thing he would have ever done. “Ye… yes sir.” He said once his breath returned to him. “Jax” Marco interrupted. “The forest will be closed tomorrow.” “Good”. Jax seemed pleased with the news. “Then I guess it’s about time we head up there.”
*****
Beep beep beep...Harry’s hand flew over to the alarm slamming down to shut it off. He lay in bed for a moment before looking over at it. 5:00 am, he couldn’t believe it, he was always up before that cotton-pickin contraption. “I’m losing my edge.” he told himself as he laid there. He went to get up and a sharp pain shot through his back forcing him back down. This happened every morning now. His back locked up overnight as he slept. “Come on old man. You’re too young to be acting this way.”
He forced himself to get up. After a few minutes he could breathe again. “There you go” he said as he stood up. He took a moment to look around. The ranger station was only made up of three rooms; the front office where the computer sat on the desk, across from the desk was a table with the radio on it. That was the only way to communicate with the outside world. It connected to a radio at the police station and Harry’s own radio he kept at his house. Then there was a small room for the ranger’s to sleep in. There was a small stand up closet that Harry had put up himself and a three drawer dresser that doubled as nightstand along with a fridge shoved in the corner. Oh and the bathroom of course which wasn’t even big enough for a tub, only a small shower.
It was time to get moving. He knew he had to get his stuff done before Dante showed up. Not like that tinder foot was going to be on time. He quickly got dressed into his ranger attire. Then he started to get his stuff packed up. He wasn’t going to be sleeping here for a while with winter coming.
Harry just about had everything. He went over to the nightstand to grab his picture. As he picked it up he had to take it in. It was his late wife Betsy. She was a beautiful woman, black hair that laid over her shoulders and a smile that he could watch all day. Her eyes were as green as the grass in spring. She had passed over twenty years ago from cancer. Harry was never able to move on. No other woman made him feel the way she had.
He smiled and put the picture in his bag. “Enough of that, you got work to do.” He zipped it up and headed out the door. As he walked outside he took a deep breath. There was nothing quite like the smell of the forest in the morning. He has worked here most of his life but he never got tired of the view. The trees were a wonderful blend of red, yellow and orange. Leaves would rain down from the trees all around as you walked through every fall.
Harry also loved stopping and listening to the birds sing. It was better than anything you could hear on the radio, except maybe for some Johnny Cash. As he drove through the park he looked around for any other vehicles. They seemed to be all gone which was good since they were supposed to be cleared by sunset last night. Harry drove up to a cabin that still had a little blue car parked outside. It belonged to Ms. Dalen, an old friend of his.
He made his way up to her door. He wasn’t afraid of waking her, she was an early riser like himself. No more than thirty seconds passed after his knock before she opened the door. “Well, good morning Harry, please come in.” She stepped to the side letting him through. “Good morning Marge, how are you doing this fine day?” Harry was happy to see her in high spirits.
She had already changed out of her nightgown into a lovely red dress covered in blue flowers. She always kept her white hair pulled up in a bun. Despite the fact that she was ten years older than Harry with the wrinkles to prove it, she seemed to get around just fine. “Wonderful now, are you leaving for the winter?”
“Yes, it’s that time of year again. Will you be staying a few extra weeks again?” He wasn’t supposed to let anyone stay but he had a soft spot for her. She and her husband had been coming here for years and he was very good friends with the both of them. After her husband passed he made sure to keep an eye on her. Marge liked staying in the cabin a few weeks after close to enjoy the quiet. It was her and her husband’s favorite place.
“Yes I think I will if that’s ok. But only a week this year, my grandchildren are coming to visit!” Her face lit up as she told Harry. “Of course, you’re always welcome here. Well I better get going, still more to do.” Harry smiled and turned to the door. “Oh wait I have something for you.” Marge walked over and handed him a bag of homemade cookies.
“I can’t say no to that, thank you.” Harry loved her cookies. She gave him some every year. He gave her a hug and was on his way.
The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there.
*****
Before Harry walked back out of the station he flipped through some paperwork. He had to make sure he didn’t forget any. He set them in his passenger seat as he heard a truck pull up behind him. He turned to see Dante pulling up. He had taken a liking to the kid over the years. Out of all the rangers he had worked with he had come to like him the best. Not that he would tell him that. He didn’t need him getting a big head.
Harry reached into his pocket and pulled out some dip. Sure it was a bad habit but he had done it his whole life and it hadn’t killed him yet. He waited for Dante to park his truck and hop out. “Hey Harry, how’s it going?” Dante said as he closed his door behind him. “You’re late Dante.” Harry decided to shoot off from the start. I didn’t want him relaxing already. Dante looked at his watch with a confused look. “What are you talking about you crazy old man? I’m ten minutes early!”
Kids these days, they had no sense of pride in their work. Back in his day if your boss told you to be in at eight you had better been there by seven thirty. “Oh Well.” Harry thought. No point in trying to explain it to a whipper snapper like him.
Harry spat a wad of chew to the side. “Anyways...” He started. “Everything looks pretty good around here. Everybody’s out of the park. Well, except for Ms. Dalen of course.”
“Alright sounds good.” Dante replied. “Did you get the front gate locked up on your way in?” Harry already knew Dante had. He wouldn’t make a rookie mistake like that. He just wanted to ruffle a few feathers. “Yes harry I got it.” He could hear the sarcasm in his voice. “Alright then I’m going to check out the campgrounds one more time then head out the back gate, i’ll make sure it gets locked up.”
Harry walked over to his truck. He could see the way Dante looked at it. As if it needed to be taken out and shot. But he loved this old truck, his wife bought it for him as a birthday present the year before she passed. He could never give it up. “Ok thanks. You be careful out there, you know how dangerous it can be for an old defenseless man like yourself.” Dante smarted off.
“Show some respect to your elders you little prick.” Dante always had a smart mouth on him but he knew it was all in good fun. “Now remember kid, I’ll stop by in a month or so to check up on you. But if you happen to have an emergency, you can get a hold of me on the radio in the station.”
“Yea yea you tell me that every year. Now get the hell out of here you old fart, you’re starting to stink the place up.” “Alright kid, just watch your back. I don’t wanna have to clean your corpse off the walkway cause you let a bear get ya…Tinder foot.” Harry let out a laugh. He wasn’t sure how many more years he could do this but he would miss Dante when the time came to retire.
*****
Harry pulled up to the campgrounds. As soon as he did he threw the truck in park and jumped out. “Crap!” Harry saw a small fire going in the bushes. Somebody hadn’t put out their campfire before heading out. He ran over and started to kick some dirt on. It was spreading to quick. All of the trees and bushes were dry from the winter.
He ran back over to his truck and pulled out a shovel and a jug of water. “I hope it’s enough.” He said as he shook the jug around. Harry ran back over and started to pour the water around the surrounding grass. He had to stop it from spreading any father. “Damn, out.” He tossed the jug behind him. He started digging up piles of dirt with the shovel and tossing them over the fire. Harry probably worked on that for an hour or better. Finally he got it all put out.
Harry dropped the shovel and set on a rock beside him. “Stupid kids could have burned the whole place down.” He couldn’t stand the thought of losing the old forest. It was as much his home as his own home town. He stood up to grab the shovel and jug. A sharp pain shot through his back. He hadn’t felt it until now thanks to adrenalin but he threw out his back. He wobbled over to his truck and pulled himself in. “Just a small rest.” He told himself as he closed his eyes.
Harry dreamed about his wife. The time they first meet in the forest. He saw her standing under a tree as the leaves fell around her. She was so beautiful he almost thought she was a part of the forest. The scene changed to their wedding day. He had never been more happy. She glowed in her wedding gown. For all he cared they were the only two in the room. When she said “I do” His heart about jumped from his chest.
The scene changed again. She was laying in a hospital bed, her time was almost up. He didn’t know if he could make it through life without her by his side. She reached over and grabbed his hand. “Don’t worry my love, even though we go our separate ways for now we'll be together again one day. I don’t want you to cry over me but to live for me instead. I will always love you..” Her hand fell limp as she let go. Harry cried out in pain but he told himself that he would live until the day he could be with her again.
“Betsy!” Harry’s eyes shot open. Confused he looked around forgetting where he was. He wiped a tear from his eye as he looked at his watch, Five o’clock! No way, he had slept the day away. He was about to start the truck when he heard some voices coming his way.
He looked out his window to see three kids walking up to the campsite. There was two girls and a boy. They looked to be about seventeen, maybe eighteen. The girl on the left was really pretty with her dark blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail. She had on a blue low cut shirt despite the cold. Obviously trying to show off for the boy in the middle. She held on tight to his hand as they walked. He had black hair that ran all the way down his back. Harry just couldn’t understand how boys could let their hair get long like that. All it did was make them look like a girl. Plus those jeans, why bother buying a pair of jeans with holes already in them. It made no sense to him. The girl on the right stood a couple steps away from them. Even Old Harry could tell she was a third wheel. She was built a little heavier than the other girl. Her hair was a weird color of blue and she wore a black choker around her neck.
Harry got out of the truck to go confront the kids. They weren’t supposed to be running around the park. He also had a sneaking suspicion that they were the ones responsible for the fire. “Excuse me, what you are doing here!” Harry made sure to raise his voice enough to startle them, it worked. The girl on the left nearly jumped out of her skin. “OMG you scared me!”
The boy looked back at him and quickly put on his game face trying to look brave for the girls. “We are camping, what does it look like?” Both girls started to snicker. A wise guy huh. “Are you the morons that don’t know how to put out a campfire?” “What are you talking about? I had that out early this morning, old man” Replied the boy, still trying to be tough. “Is that right? Then why did I stumble upon a small forest fire when I got here? If I hadn’t shown up this place would probably be up in flames by now. How cool would you be then when you were surrounded by flames because you thought you had it out? Even if you made it out, starting a forest fire is a serious crime, accident or not.”
“Well I…” The boy started to say something but his girlfriend stopped him. The other girl stepped forward. “We are very sorry sir. We will be more careful in the future.” At least one of them had manners. “You’re not even supposed to be here. The park is closed. I’m going to have to ask you to leave immediately.” “Of course sir, but all of our stuff is back down at our cabin. May we please grab it before we leave” asked the other girl who still wouldn’t let the boy speak?
Harry sighed, “Alright but hurry up. When you get to the front of the park, stop by the ranger station. Ask the ranger there to open the front gate for you.”
“We will, thank you sir.” They all three ran off as soon as they could. Harry watched as they headed back down the path. He hadn’t seen a vehicle back there. Maybe they were dropped off by their parents. He thought about giving them a ride. Nah...It wasn’t that far to the station, Dante could do it himself. Besides he was running enough behind. He looked at the sun that was slowly going down behind the trees.
“Better get a move on.” He told himself as he headed back towards his truck. Harry drove down a narrow road towards the back gate, if you could call it that. Most “roads” were just paths beaten down over the years from wear. But this was one of the worst. It didn’t get much use and was real rough. Harry hated driving down it but you gotta do what you gotta do.
Harry was so lost in thought about the events of the day he almost didn’t see the giant branch laid out across the road. He slammed on his brakes coming to a stop just in time. “That was a close one.” He sat in his truck calming his nerves. He stepped out to look it over. It must have fallen from that storm last week. He looked it up and down not sure he was going to have the strength to move it. He heard some rustling back in the trees. But Harry had gotten used to all the sounds of the forest over the years. He didn’t give much thought to it.
“Alright here we go.” Harry grabbed the branch and lifted, it barely budged. He was afraid he might have to go grab Dante. No. He told himself. He could do it. Harry lifted with all he had and tossed that branch off to the side of the road. “Ha! I knew I still had it.” He congratulated himself. As he went back to his truck he heard the the rustling again. But this time it was closer and accompanied by a low growl. Harry wasn’t sure what it was. There shouldn't be any wolves or bears up in this part of the forest. He slowly inched his way towards the brush with his hand on his gun. He carefully pulls the limbs to the side to get a better look. The sun had finally set, he could barely see inside.
A large dark furry shape flies at Harry sending him backwards landing heavily. Harry quickly scrambles to his feet. He couldn’t believe what he was seeing. This thing was bigger than any animal he had ever seen before. It began on four legs but as it stalked him, it stood up on its hind legs. It was pretty dark so Harry couldn’t make out what it was other than a lot of fur and those yellow eyes that seemed to shine from within.
Harry wanted to get in his truck but it stood in his way. Left with no other choice he ran. He hoped to be able to make a circle back towards his truck. He could hear the beast chasing him. “What the hell was that thing? I've never seen an animal stand straight up on his hind legs before.” Fear ran through his veins. Just thinking about that thing catching him made him tremble. He stopped behind a tree to catch his breath. Harry pulled out his gun. He had to make a stand if he didn’t this thing could make its way back towards Dante. He waited for the steps to get closer. Now, He turned around and aimed. Nothing, did it run away? Almost relieved, his heart jumps into his throat as a warm breath touches the back of his neck.
Harry turns and points his gun but it smacked it out of his hand. “What are you?” The beast did not respond. As it raised its arm, it's harry hand gleamed, showing long claws protruding from the tips. Harry closed his eyes. “I’m coming, Betsy.” Harry heard the slicing of air as the massive claws made their way through his flesh. Fresh blood now painted the trees and ground a dark red for anyone to see who might pass by later.