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Entry tags:
ljidol; young and hungry
I was ten when my father gave me a gun.
"You're old enough," he said. "You hunt or you don't eat."
I hunted real careful. We'd found a red hand print on one of the burnt up trees. Usually meant the People were around and I didn't want to be ate up.
From the darker part of the woods came this awful howl. Sounded like a cat being strangled but manlier.
Following strange sounds into a forest of ash wasn't real smart but I was never real smart either.
The sounds ended under one of the giant trees. In the dark shade underneath was a wolf. Or maybe something mixed in with wolf.
It watched me with yellow eyes. Its paw was caught in a trap with sharp teeth.
"Ain't ya'll supposed to chew that off? I heard a tale somewhere," I said softly.
The wolf followed my movements with its eyes.
"I ken get ya free but then you'd probably eat me."
I sighed and sat down across from the beast. It still watched me.
"You need a name. Names are important. Father says mine came from a kind of sickness. Sundown. Sounds right pretty for a sick thing. I think Beast is a good name for ya. Strong."
I talked and talked and talked. Finally, the wolf seemed to tire a little.
I pulled my small knife and opened the trap, backing away slowly.
Beast stood and shook his head. He limped back into the dark.
"You're welcome," I muttered.
Damn and I still hadn't killed anything. I couldn't go home until I did.
And since I'd been talking and moving around so loud all the game had run away.
It was dark by the time I gave up and started home. I could sleep by the river and maybe catch a deer in the morning.
Out of the night came the wolf.
Beast stood, not letting me past. He was as tall as me so there wasn't much I could do about it.
His muzzle was stained red with blood. He spat out a plump rabbit.
"Huh. He ain't never gonna believe I shot this thing though."
I bent to pick up the carcass. "You though, he might like. Ain't gonna last long with that paw anyway."
My pa did like Beast. Well, after he saved us from some cannibals.
"You're old enough," he said. "You hunt or you don't eat."
I hunted real careful. We'd found a red hand print on one of the burnt up trees. Usually meant the People were around and I didn't want to be ate up.
From the darker part of the woods came this awful howl. Sounded like a cat being strangled but manlier.
Following strange sounds into a forest of ash wasn't real smart but I was never real smart either.
The sounds ended under one of the giant trees. In the dark shade underneath was a wolf. Or maybe something mixed in with wolf.
It watched me with yellow eyes. Its paw was caught in a trap with sharp teeth.
"Ain't ya'll supposed to chew that off? I heard a tale somewhere," I said softly.
The wolf followed my movements with its eyes.
"I ken get ya free but then you'd probably eat me."
I sighed and sat down across from the beast. It still watched me.
"You need a name. Names are important. Father says mine came from a kind of sickness. Sundown. Sounds right pretty for a sick thing. I think Beast is a good name for ya. Strong."
I talked and talked and talked. Finally, the wolf seemed to tire a little.
I pulled my small knife and opened the trap, backing away slowly.
Beast stood and shook his head. He limped back into the dark.
"You're welcome," I muttered.
Damn and I still hadn't killed anything. I couldn't go home until I did.
And since I'd been talking and moving around so loud all the game had run away.
It was dark by the time I gave up and started home. I could sleep by the river and maybe catch a deer in the morning.
Out of the night came the wolf.
Beast stood, not letting me past. He was as tall as me so there wasn't much I could do about it.
His muzzle was stained red with blood. He spat out a plump rabbit.
"Huh. He ain't never gonna believe I shot this thing though."
I bent to pick up the carcass. "You though, he might like. Ain't gonna last long with that paw anyway."
My pa did like Beast. Well, after he saved us from some cannibals.
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I really enjoyed reading this. I love the strong imagery and dark weirdness.
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Great voice here-- it's so evocative, so utterly perfect for the character and for the setting where it seems the world fell apart a long, long time ago and proper language was lost along with the rest of civilization.
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