Nick Rollo
Introduction
The day began just as any other. As the sun slowly crept over the horizon and birds tweeted their early morning tune, the men staying at the Buck River Hunting Lodge began to stir. It had been a relatively fruitful summer for hunting, with Elmer Brown baggin’ and taggin’ two full grown elks by the first weekend in July, and since the hunting season in Buck River, Oregon ran from the last weekend in May to the first weekend in September, he quickly became the talk of the town. The kills also secured him the title of Best Hunter for the first time in his five summers on the mountain.
A simple man, Elmer was tidy, quiet, and always alone. He awoke that morning as he did every morning; the sun streaming through the half open blinds was his wake up call. He swung his feet over the side of the bed, ran his hands through the remainder of the gray hair on the sides of his bald head and let out a satisfied breath. He had had a very successful summer, title aside, and he was excited to spend the final weekend of the season in the forest before returning home to his wife, Alma. The elk meat alone would last them through the winter, and for that he was most grateful.
He stood up, cracked his back, and donned his gear for the day: camouflage pants, shirt, and cap, a neon orange vest, and dark brown hunting boots. He kissed the picture of Alma he kept on the bedside table, sent his daily prayer of thanks to the Lord, and made his way to the bathroom to finish his morning routine of brushing his teeth and washing his face.
His room was at the end of the hallway on the second floor, and as he walked toward the stairs, he gave a polite smile and head nod of greeting to the few other hunters who were up as early as he was. Elmer was surprised to see that Rich Tuner’s door was open and the room completely bare of the man’s possessions, though there were very few to begin with. The two men spoke on occasion, but nothing more than the friendly small talk between two relative strangers who only saw each other three months out of the year. After the second elk kill, and the subsequent praise that followed, their acquaintance ceased altogether. But he understood; Rich had been Best Hunter every summer for as long as the title had been around and pride was a mean bitch to a man like Rich Turner. But none of that was on Elmer’s mind that morning; he was just ready to go home.
The air outside of the lodge was brisk and there was a slight breeze. Elmer grabbed his rifle from the back of his pickup truck and made his way into the forest. The ground was damp from the morning dew, causing his boots to make a squishing sound with each step. This wasn’t his ideal setting, but as the day went on he knew the sun would dry the ground. The pine trees smelled their best in the morning, and Elmer breathed deeply as he made his way deeper and deeper into woods. He made sure to stay as light footed as possible; he didn’t want to scare away any potential hunts for the day.
He walked for about a half hour before the ground began to slope downward, and he began his descent into a small valley. He had always had the best luck in this area, but he kept pushing just in case the animals became aware that that was a danger zone. Elmer’s route was known only to him. He never discussed where he hunted; only what he hunted. As nice a man as he was, he still had to take care of Alma and letting the others know where to find the best prey was out of the question.
Unfortunately for old Elmer Brown, he didn’t think to make sure he was alone when he entered the forest that morning. From the moment he set foot into the foliage, he was followed. Keeping a safe distance apart from him, the watcher slowly matched pace. When Elmer finally got settled into his hiding place, his follower kept on walking just in case he had noticed. Maybe there was still time to take Best Hunter away from him, and this was the place to do it.
An hour passed, then another, with no signs of any deer, elk, or even a damn rabbit. By the time the sun began to shine through the tops of the trees, the animals seemed to feel safe and roamed around the forest floor. As if placed by God Himself, a beautiful deer grazed into Elmer’s line of sight. A ray of sunshine slanted through the leaves and branches, Nature’s spotlight just for the deer. Elmer smiled, lined up his shot, and began to picture how happy his wife would be with his bounty this summer. The last thing Elmer Brown thought of was his wife’s smile before the bullet rocketed through the back of his skull, spraying blood and brains all over the forest.